The Prospect Weekly Roundup: Year-End Extravaganza
David speaks with several Prospect staff members about the year in review and what they’re looking forward to in 2026.
Jeffries Undercuts Congressional Stock Trading Ban
A bipartisan solution was gaining momentum, but the House Democratic leader just issued his own bill that will prevent consensus.
The Transphobic Mask Is Off
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene drew up a bill making it a federal felony to provide pediatric transition care of any kind. The ultimate goal is a ban on all trans health care and the end of civil rights for trans…
Republicans Can’t Escape Their Self-Created Health Care Problem
Another series of failures ensures that a debate they can’t win will extend into the election year of 2026.
USAID Cuts Leave Syrians on the Brink of Thirst
A year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, humanitarian needs are great. But the Trump administration’s cuts threaten stability for millions of displaced people.
Fearing for the Future of Special Education
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act turns 50 with educators and activists fighting to preserve the landmark achievement.
Trump’s Imaginary 2025
Not surprisingly, his look back at his first year as our re-elected president bore no resemblance to anyone else’s 2025.
Another Mass Staffing Purge at the VA
Up to 37,000 positions may be dropped, with the VA transformed into a facilitator for outsourcing, sources tell the Prospect.
Why Californians Will Pay $340 More for Electricity Next Year
The state public utility commission is poised to approve a rate of return that critics say overcharges customers by $4.4 billion per year.
Another Biden Financial Regulator Spins Through the Revolving Door
Michael Hsu, former OCC head, has joined a VC firm backing crypto and fintech companies.
Constitutional Softball: Congress Gives Up Its Power of the Purse
After the shutdown deal, Trump has gone right back to withholding funds and dismantling appropriated entities.
Amazon Has Been Conning School Districts out of Millions
Amazon Business is billed as a convenient one-stop shop for schools. Reality is more expensive.
Australia Proves Gun Control Works
The Bondi mass shooting would have been a lot worse if not for Aussie gun regulations—which if anything aren’t strict enough.
Not Left vs. Center, but the People vs. the Powerful
The flawed study ‘Deciding to Win’ may help Democrats get back to fighting for the forgotten middle class again.
A Talent for Comedy and Liberal Politics
Rob Reiner was a mainstream liberal, devoted to expanding social rights and benefits to people arbitrarily denied them.
GOP Forcing Eight Million Student Loan Borrowers Into Repayment
The most affordable of all the federal repayment programs is ending sooner than planned after Trump conspired with red-state attorneys general to kill it.
Why Should We Replace Our ICBMs?
Intercontinental ballistic missiles are massively expensive, environmentally hazardous, and dubiously successful as a deterrent—even Donald Trump recognizes the madness of modernizing strategic nuclear weapons.
They Power the U.S. Economy, but Will Struggle to Afford Health Care
Health insurance costs will skyrocket for millions of Americans if certain tax credits expire. Small business owners and the self-employed will be hit especially hard.
Pepsi and Walmart’s Monopolization Machine Revealed
An unsealed lawsuit that Trump’s FTC tried to bury puts the pricing schemes of business on full display.
The Kennedy Center of Contagious Diseases
Measles and whooping cough are spreading around the country. The man in charge of American public health is making everything worse.
Republican Conundrum: Working-Class Base, Plutocratic Agenda
Last week, some swing-district Republicans inched away, selectively, from their party’s economics.
Can Canada Rescue North America?
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has a grueling mission ahead to preserve the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
The Continuing Community College Conundrum
These schools can complement four-year institutions, but some students aren’t always set up for success when they transfer.
The Prospect Weekly Roundup: The War on Veterans
David speaks with Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early about attacks on veterans’ health care and veterans’ disability benefits.
The Republicans’ Endangered Health
The refusal to extend ACA subsidies becomes a huge political liability and signals deepening splits.
The Vulnerability of Black Immigrants
Black immigrants are more likely to be deported, in part because of their contact with the criminal justice system.
Indiana Republicans Reject Trump, Vote Down Gerrymander
The full result of Trump’s election-rigging scheme shows almost no advantage. And the way things are going, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
‘Cadillac Desert’ Reconsidered
Marc Reisner’s 1986 book demonstrates how a hypertrophic judiciary combines with America’s deadlocked legislature to make vast swaths of Western water policy dependent on 19th-century legal norms.
Democratic Voters Are Clamoring for AI Regulation. Their Leaders Aren’t Interested.
A new AI commission established by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries includes several corporate-friendly legislators.
Will the Court Rule for Trump or for Wall Street?
As the Supreme Court now considers whether Trump can take over the Federal Reserve, we lose either way.
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