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Manhattan prosecutors feared a Trump loyalist. Instead they got one of their own.

Attorneys in the office had feared an unqualified or overly political leader.

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President Donald Trump in the White House on June 18, 2026.

Iran announces plans to close the Strait of Hormuz, alleging ‘violations of the ceasefire’

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Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) walks to a vote on June 17, 2026. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)

Tom Cotton, the Senate’s foremost Iran hawk, is in a Trump-induced jam

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President Donald Trump

A small conservative group rises in influence under Trump 2.0

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The Independent Community Bankers of America logo is pictured.

'On the sidelines': Community bankers fear they are missing out on their moment

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President Donald Trump, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Council President Antonio Costa and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attend a working lunch with leaders of G7 and the Middle East in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Christian Hartmann/Pool Photo via AP)

Meloni, Trump trade barbs in escalating spat over G7 photo

By Tommaso Lecca

Column

The Most Surprising Miscalculation of Trump’s Second Term

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Trump Is Tired of Arming Allies. This Country Is Stepping Up.

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MORE TOP HEADLINES

Workers prep food at Preble Street.

The Quiet Unraveling of America’s Food Safety Net

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Former President Barack Obama, gestures during a rally for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Column

The Shadow Looming Over Obama’s Day in the Sun

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A GUR operative assembles a Liutyi long-range kamikaze drone.

‘This War Has Now Reached Your Homes’: Ukraine’s Startling New Message for Russia

By Ibrahim Naber

CIA Director John L. Ratcliffe speaks.

How Pulte’s new role is a win for CIA’s John Ratcliffe

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Dario Amodei speaks.

'They’re politically naive': The political fight behind Anthropic’s export controls

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PODCASTS

June 19, 2026

Democrats need to stop being ‘boring’ (with Jack Schlossberg)

Subscribe to The Conversation with Dasha Burns.
The stories behind the power.

NEWSLETTERS

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Column

The 2028 Democratic Ticket May Already Be Taking Shape

The timing is right for one of Georgia’s two Democratic senators.

By Jonathan Martin

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The New Right Has a Blueprint for Building a Christian America

Inside the conservative plan to chart a new political future, one town at a time.

By Ian Ward

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He Quit Parliament. Now He’s Set to Become Britain’s Prime Minister.

Andy Burnham is a mild-mannered populist who is using an American playbook to take power. It could be the center-left’s last chance.

By Jack Blanchard

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Column

The Generational Disaster of Trump, Bush and Clinton

The 1946 babies are leaving a rancid political legacy.

By John F. Harris

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‘They Don’t Know How to Accept Him’: Vivek Ramaswamy Navigates Identity in Ohio

Race, religion and wealth loom over Ohio’s fierce race for governor.

By Samuel Benson

The Epic Story of How Trump Seized the World Cup

A decade of diplomatic maneuvering, global intrigue and trilateral deal-making — and how it all ended up in one president’s hands.

By Sophia Cai

Inside Trump’s Reversal on HIV

The president’s first-term pledge to end HIV in the U.S. by 2030 has evaporated in his second term.

By Alice Miranda Ollstein and Megan Messerly

Column

Why Britain and America Can’t Stop Firing Their Leaders

In both countries, political revolts keep toppling leaders without solving the deeper crisis.

By Jonathan Martin

This World Leader Took on Trump Over Iran — and It’s Paying Off

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez may be embattled at home, but his opposition to the war in Iran has made him a “rockstar” who’s defying the odds.

By Aitor Hernández-Morales

Column | Nahal Toosi

A Deal With Iran May Need Some Delusional Thinking To Work

If both sides really want a deal, they’ll find a way to work around the inconvenient.

By Nahal Toosi

Taiwan’s Top Diplomat Opens Up About Trump’s Maneuvering

In a new interview, the self-governing island’s top diplomat to the United States says he isn’t worried about being “traded off to the Chinese.”

By Phelim Kine

Column

The Heart of the American Left Is Picking Its Next Standard-Bearer

Three Democrats are offering rival visions for the city Rep. Nancy Pelosi dominated for four decades, and for a party searching for its next direction.

By Jonathan Martin

THE POLITICO POLL

Images of protestors in in Nashville, Tenn. and Jefferson City, Mo. collaged with an image of Attorney Edward Blackmon Jr., 78, a civil rights attorney and a former state representative, left, and his son, State Sen. Bradford Blackmon, D-Canton, review a 2022 redistricting map in their law office

Poll: Democrats would give up Black voting power to beat the GOP

By , and

An image of people taking part in a protest against the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, and against conflict in Lebanon, Wednesday, April 8, 2026 collaged over an image of people holding a pre-revolution Iranian flag, a US flag and an Israeli flag during a 'Freedom for Iran' rally in Times Square on March 2, 2026 in New York, New York. U.S.

Trump keeps claiming victory in Iran. Our new poll shows voters aren’t buying it.

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POLLING: ELECTIONS

Poll: Republicans and Democrats agree on 1 big election issue

Images of a woman mailing in a ballot, people waving American flags, a voter casting a ballot and Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak receiving an "I Voted" sticker after voting at a polling center.

What Americans mean when they say they’re worried about a stolen election

An image of a voter casting her ballot at a polling station on November 4, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia collaged with an image of a participant wears flags on their coat during a naturalization ceremony for new U.S. citizens at Seattle Center on July 4, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. Another image of a United States passport collaged with a US citizenship certificate.

Poll: Voters aren’t so sure about Trump’s sweeping election bill

Image of bitcoin logo displayed on a smartphone collaged over an image of George Washington displayed on a stack of U.S. one-dollar bills.

Poll: The midterms' new big players are pushing agendas that voters don’t fully support

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang talks to a robot as he speaks during Nvidia Live at CES 2026 collaged over an image of President Donald Trump speaks during the "Winning the AI Race" summit hosted by All‑In Podcast and Hill & Valley Forum at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on July 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Poll: Job losses, China threats split GOP on Trump’s AI agenda

POLLING: MAHA

Your guide to who’s who in the MAHA movement

Women on stage before Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary arrive for a news conference at the Health and Human Services Department, collaged with an image of a woman in the audience wears a red hat that reads Make America Healthy Again during a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee Hearing on Capitol Hill on September 9, 2025.

Poll: Here’s what MAHA actually believes

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 12: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (L) welcomes Vice President JD Vance (R) for a discussion during The Official MAHA Summit at Waldorf Astoria Hotel on November 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. Top Trump administration officials, executives and influencers gathered to discuss the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda at the summit. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

RFK Jr. has turned corporate America’s name to mud, POLITICO Poll finds

An image of a Make America Healthy Again hat is seen on the floor during an event to "Celebrate the Implementation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans" at the Health and Human Services Headquarters on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC, collaged with an image of an audience members wears a "Make America Healthy Again" t-shit as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 29, 2025.

Poll: The battle for MAHA that could sway the midterms

CARTOON CAROUSEL

political cartoon

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

By POLITICO Staff

Congress

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Meta faces calls for Congress to probe scam ads targeting seniors

By Jacob Wendler

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Congress lays out path for final passage of housing bill

By Katherine Hapgood and Meredith Lee Hill

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Steil pushes bill to ban lawmakers from political prediction markets

By Declan Harty

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White House scheduled to meet with groups on AI and kids’ safety bills

By Owen Dahlkamp and Jacob Wendler

White House

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Pulte seeks major cuts in first day as intel chief

By John Sakellariadis and Gregory Svirnovskiy

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‘It’s a vulnerability’: Vance makes a political gamble with public-facing Iran role

By Megan Messerly, Myah Ward and Diana Nerozzi

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White House talks with Anthropic shift to setting AI security rules

By Cheyenne Haslett and Sophia Cai

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Republicans fear Trump is hurting their chances. He can’t understand why.

By Megan Messerly, Alex Gangitano and Myah Ward

Legal

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Federal judge gives DOJ green light to turn Biden’s audio files over to the Heritage Foundation

By Gregory Svirnovskiy

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Supreme Court says habitual marijuana users can’t be banned from owning guns

By Josh Gerstein

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Taxpayers may pay legal bills of activists in dropped case over ICE protests near Chicago

By Josh Gerstein

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Immigration judges are denying ICE detainees release. Federal judges are stepping in.

By Kyle Cheney

States

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Newsom’s feud with Trump enters riskier territory

By Melanie Mason and Jeremy B. White

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Uber, attorneys reach compromise to avoid California ballot fight

By Tyler Katzenberger

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What a traffic jam taught Los Angeles about the Olympics

By Daniel Miller

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How tech’s midterm beating is shaping its 2028 playbook

By Dustin Gardiner and Christine Mui

Elections

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Janeese Lewis George wins DC mayoral primary

By Irie Sentner

Republicans are betting their mid-decade redistricting gamble will pay off

By Andrew Howard

Burnham’s big gamble in Britain offers a big potential reward — if he can pull it off

By Jonathan Lai

Just a few thousand small-town voters are about to decide Britain’s future

By Tim Ross

Foreign Affairs

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Israel continues strikes in Lebanon despite ceasefire with Hezbollah

By Tommaso Lecca

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Britain’s Keir Starmer mulls a bleak future

By Dan Bloom, Esther Webber and Sam Blewett

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Israel and Hezbollah agree to renew their ceasefire, officials say

By Associated Press

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Now the Labour civil war really begins

By Dan Bloom

Earlier

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The Dutch diplomatic playbook in Texas

By Mike Lee

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About that ‘OUR SOIL’ meme

By Mike Lee

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Trump now says either Republican candidate would be a good pick in South Carolina’s governor runoff

By Associated Press

Lurie seeing red, white and blue

By Adam Wren

The Brazil-Haiti match that changed the world

By Sasha Issenberg

In Canberra, disappointment

By Ryan Heath

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The UK’s World Cup diplomatic mullet

By Gregory Svirnovskiy

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Trump unveils the new Air Force One, a converted Qatari jet

By Associated Press

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Campaigns get in the game

By Adam Wren

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Inside FIFA’s plans to commemorate Juneteenth

By Gregory Svirnovskiy

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Where Massachusetts wants to take its Scottish love affair next

By Ali Walker

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No Albo, still a party

By Ryan Heath

WUERKER

political cartoon

MOST READ

Joe Biden Jill Biden sit next to each other.

  1. Federal judge gives DOJ green light to turn Biden’s audio files over to the Heritage Foundation

  2. The Most Surprising Miscalculation of Trump’s Second Term

  3. Tom Cotton, the Senate’s foremost Iran hawk, is in a Trump-induced jam

  4. The Shadow Looming Over Obama’s Day in the Sun

  5. The Quiet Unraveling of America’s Food Safety Net

TALKERS

Photo illustration of Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, George W. Bush

The Generational Disaster of Trump, Bush and Clinton

US Senators Jon Ossoff (L) and Raphael Warnock take the stage during a campaign rally for US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage / AFP) (Photo by ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

The 2028 Democratic Ticket May Already Be Taking Shape

White foam is expelled Tuesday, June 16, 2026, into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool through hoses attached to machines.

Trump promised clear water. The reflecting pool went green.

A photo collage illustration shows Donald Trump with various Truth Social posts from May 2026.

The truth about Trump’s Truths

Cameron Hamilton testifies at a House oversight hearing.

How a fired FEMA leader got a second chance from Trump

VIDEO

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse talks Dem energy agenda, tension with Trump administration and more

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse talks Dem energy agenda, tension with Trump administration and more

Meta exec Joel Kaplan details the company's AI, data center and workforce plans at POLITICO's Energy Summit

Meta exec Joel Kaplan details the company's AI, data center and workforce plans at POLITICO's Energy Summit

FERC Chairman Laura Swett discusses the agency's AI agenda at POLITICO's Energy Summit

FERC Chairman Laura Swett discusses the agency's AI agenda at POLITICO's Energy Summit

Zeldin addresses data center skepticism: 'It really depends on how the deal is structured'

Zeldin addresses data center skepticism: 'It really depends on how the deal is structured'

'It's shared pain': Sen. Capito on permitting reform

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