Tangle

On Saturday, the United States government transferred hundreds of noncitizens and alleged gang members to a detention facility in El Salvador, despite  an order  from a federal judge blocking the deportation flights. According to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, the deportees  were transferred  on three flights and included 238 alleged members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tr...

Over the weekend, the United States  carried out  a series of aerial and naval strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels. President Donald Trump  said  the strikes were retaliation for the Houthis’ attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waters, adding that the assault would continue until the attacks stopped. At least 53 people, including five children, have...

On Saturday, President Donald Trump  signed  a stopgap bill to fund the government through September and avert a government shutdown. The bill — called a continuing resolution (CR) — was sent to Trump’s desk after the Senate  voted 54–46  on Friday to pass it, with two Democrats voting in favor and one Republican voting against. Prior to the final vote, the Senate invoked clotu...

In today's episode, Ari and Isaac discuss the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, the implications for free speech, and the legal rights of green card holders. They touch on immigration law and its intersection with free speech rights, political dynamics in Kentucky, the problem with Democrats, and the potential for a government shutdown. They also conduct an interview with River Page from the Free Press. A...

As part of the Tangle ethos, we solicit reader questions about politics and our work every day in our newsletter.  And every few months, so many questions pile up on the back end that we decide to answer a bunch of them at once in a members-only reader mailbag. Today is one of those days. We think this is a healthy exercise that not only allows us to critically examine some of our own writing...

The budget resolution and potential government shutdown. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives  passed  a continuing resolution to fund the government through September 30 in a 217–213 vote. The spending package  would extend  much of current federal funding until the end of the fiscal year, with a $6 billion increase in defense spending and a $13 billion decrease in nondefe...

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump threatened to  double  his planned tariffs on all Canadian steel and aluminum imports from 25% to 50%. Trump’s announcement followed Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s  decision  to impose a 25% surcharge on electricity the province supplies to 1.5 million American homes and businesses in response to Trump’s tariff threats. However, on Wednesday, For...

On Friday, the Trump administration  announced  it will cut $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University in New York City for allegedly failing to protect Jewish students from harassment. Additionally, the administration  has directed  the Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services to form a Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism and investig...

President Donald Trump is  reportedly  planning to sign an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to facilitate closing the Education Department. McMahon, who was  confirmed  by the Senate last Monday,  said  she does not know when President Trump will sign the order, but affirmed that he is "crystal clear" on the move. Ad-free podcasts are here!...

In today's episode, Ari and Isaac fulfilled a promise to recap everything that happened between Thursday and Sunday last week. Then Isaac tries to make opening a six pack a thing. They talk about Bill Ackman, comedians doing politics, pancreatic cancer vaccines, Doge, duh, Gavin Newsom, and good democratic talking points for once. And last but not least, the Airing of Grievances. This is a preview...

A little over six weeks ago, my wife gave birth to our first child. For today’s Friday edition, I decided to take a brief break from the news to share a bit about our experience, what I learned, and how having a kid has already begun to impact some of my politics. I hope you enjoy it! This is a preview of today's special edition that is available in full and ad-free for our premium podcast subscri...

Just after midnight on Tuesday, President Donald Trump  imposed  25% tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian imports — with a lower 10% tariff on Canadian energy imports — and doubled the existing tariff on Chinese products to 20%. Shortly thereafter, China  imposed  up to 15% tariffs on some U.S. imports, and Canada  issued  a 25% levy. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbau...

Tuesday night, President Donald Trump  addressed  a joint session of Congress for the first time in his second term. Though not technically a State of the Union address, Trump used the platform to tout his administration’s early achievements. Additionally, President Trump outlined his legislative agenda, called attention to stories of Americans who had been victims of crime, and highligh...

In January, Managing Editor talked with Meredith Sumpter. She is the CEO of FairVote, a nonpartisan organization that researches and advances voting reforms including ranked choice voting and the Fair Representation Act. They discuss the significance of ranked choice voting (RCV) as a reform for improving American democracy. She addresses misconceptions about RCV, emphasizing its simplicity and ef...

On Sunday, President Donald Trump  named five digital assets — Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, and Cardano — that will make up a “Crypto Strategic Reserve” for the United States. The announcement follows Trump’s January 23  executive order establishing the Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, which is tasked with evaluating the creation of a strategic stockpile of national digital assets...

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky  met  at the White House to conduct final negotiations over a mineral-rights deal. During an Oval Office discussion open to the press, Trump, Zelensky and Vice President JD Vance discussed the future of the Ukraine-Russia war. Toward the end of the meeting, however, Vance and Zelensky clashed over how the a...

In today's episode, Isaac is officially back! Isaac and Ari talk about Elon Musk obviously, government waste, DOGE, some of the people that are flying under the radar thanks to Elon Musk, the republicans new budget bill and the Ukraine deal. Finally, Ari and and Isaac play a game and learn about a terrible D3 college that ruin them. And last but not least, the Airing of Grievances. This is a previ...

In today's Friday edition, Executive Editor and Founder, Isaac Saul, debunks some of the myths and misconceptions about Tangle (and himself). He outlines our company's principles and gives a candid description about our mission, our work, and the goals we aim to accomplish. Thank you to all of our readers and listeners and we hope this gives clarity to everyone. As always, please feel free to writ...

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump  told reporters  that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had accepted the draft of a deal that would send partial revenues from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals to the United States. Zelensky described the agreement as  a “framework”  and said he and Trump would be holding further discussions. The deal could be signed as soon as Friday, when...

On Thursday, the Senate  confirmed  Kashyap “Kash” Patel as the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Patel was a former federal prosecutor who served in the White House during President Donald Trump’s first term and is viewed by many as a Trump loyalist. On Sunday, Trump  announced  that Patel had named Dan Bongino as deputy FBI director. Bongino is a pop...

On Saturday, Elon Musk  posted on X  that federal employees must respond to an email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) detailing their work in the past week, adding that “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” Shortly after, OPM  emailed  federal employees asking for a list of “5 bullets of what you accomplished last week” by Monday at 11:59pm ET ( scre...

On Friday, President Donald Trump  fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Charles “CQ” Brown Jr., as part of a series of dismissals of top Pentagon officers. Shortly after Trump announced Brown’s dismissal, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth  said  that he would replace Admiral Lisa Franchetti, chief of U.S. naval operations, and General James Slife, the Air...

In today's episode, Managing Editor Ari Weitzman and Executive Producer Jon Lall discuss various themes surrounding political dynamics, feedback on the podcast, and the implications of Elon Musk's actions with Doge. They talk about the challenges within the Democratic Party, the quest for authenticity in politics, and the complexities of government efficiency. Ari then speaks with Ray Brescia, a l...

The day Donald Trump was inaugurated, my son was born. In retrospect, the timing feels inevitable ("Founder of politics newsletter has baby on inauguration day"), but it created an interesting dynamic for me. Most notably, I got to step back from the day-to-day ruckus of what it's like when Trump is flooding the zone with news and could take in each story with a bit more thoughtfulness. And as I r...

Republicans in Congress are  moving  to pass a budget plan to advance President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda. On Wednesday, the Senate  voted  50-47 to take up the outline of a budget that would increase immigration and military spending but does not include an extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The vote is a key step in the  budget reconciliation process , whi...