Author Archive

Russell Berman

senior associate editor, The Atlantic

Russell Berman is a senior associate editor at The Atlantic, where he covers political news. He was previously a congressional reporter for The Hill and a Washington correspondent for The New York Sun.
Russell Berman is a senior associate editor at The Atlantic, where he covers political news. He was previously a congressional reporter for The Hill and a Washington correspondent for The New York Sun.
Management

Is This the End?

The CDC’s surprising mask announcement was not just a public-health milestone.

Oversight

Democrats Don’t Know How to Handle Bill Barr

Dems have a long list of grievances against Attorney General Barr, but the president’s ally at the Justice Department is proving an elusive target.

Management

Facing a COVID-19 Resurgence and Unable to Act

Coronavirus cases are going up, but lockdowns seem less realistic than ever.

Management

2020 Democrats Are Already Giving Up on Congress

They know their grand progressive plans could stall out on Capitol Hill. So they’re embracing executive authority instead—just like the man they hope to defeat.

Oversight

Trump Becomes the Third President in U.S. History to Be Impeached

The voted capped a two-month investigation, but it was years in the making.

Oversight

Analysis: Impeachment Gets Weird

Democratic Chairman Jerry Nadler virtually lost control of Monday's House Judiciary Committee hearing.

Oversight

Analysis: The Political Funeral in the Age of Trump

Representative Elijah Cummings’s service showed how the president has even changed how his rivals are mourned.

Management

The Battle for Obama’s Legacy

A scrap over who deserves credit for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was the prickliest exchange yet between two top Democratic rivals, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren.

Oversight

Trump’s Intelligence Chief Didn’t Make Anyone Happy

Joseph Maguire did not endorse the explosive allegations of an anonymous whistleblower, but neither did he rise to the president’s defense.

Oversight

The Big Names Missing From the Mueller Hearings

The star witness of the House Judiciary Committee’s hearings on the Mueller report won’t be Robert Mueller.

Management

Mueller Breaks His Silence—Without Breaking Protocol

The career G-man is bound by the rules. He made it clear that the president is bound only by Congress.

Management

The Most Unrealistic Proposal in the Democratic Presidential Primary

Michael Bennet and Elizabeth Warren want members of Congress to ban themselves from ever lobbying after they leave office. Here’s why it’ll never happen.

Oversight

The Rarely Used Congressional Power That Could Force William Barr’s Hand

It hasn’t been done in nearly a century, but House Democrats could arrest the attorney general after they find him in contempt.

Management

‘Dozens’ of Whistleblowers Are Secretly Cooperating With House Democrats

The number of anonymous tipsters reporting wrongdoing from inside the federal government has spiked during the Trump presidency, the House Oversight Committee says.

Management

There’s a Slim Chance the Senate Will Vote to End the Shutdown

Lawmakers are voting on dueling proposals to reopen the government on Thursday, and key Republicans won’t say where they stand on the Democratic offer.

Oversight

Nancy Pelosi’s Power Move on the State of the Union

President Trump might be able to keep the government closed indefinitely. But the new Democratic speaker can deny him use of the country’s most effective pulpit to make his case to the public.

Pay & Benefits

The Impact of the Government Shutdown Is About to Snowball

The consequences will only get more severe after federal workers miss their first paychecks Friday—even as the Trump administration tries, in ways large and small, to mitigate them.

Pay & Benefits

Why Unpaid Federal Workers Don't Just Strike During a Shutdown

The law prohibits federal employees from walking off the job—even if they’re not being paid.

Oversight

An Awkward Beginning to Democratic Control of the House

The shutdown is undercutting the Democrats’ moment of triumph, muddling their opportunity to drive the national debate on their own terms.

Oversight

Democrats Quickly Confront the Limits of Their Power to Stop Trump

The incoming House majority raged against the ouster of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. But they’ve discovered there’s not much they can do about it.