Tangle

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has gained access or attempted to gain access to numerous departments across the federal government for its cost-cutting initiatives. The actions have prompted state attorneys general to file suits blocking DOGE from accessing confidential data, and in the past week several U.S. district judges have  issued   temporary rul...

On Tuesday, U.S. and Russian officials  met  in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff led the American delegation, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov represented Russia. The meeting did not include Ukraini...

Editor's note: We are off for President's Day today, but have a special edition featuring a guest writer today. Core to our mission at Tangle is offering perspectives from influential and thoughtful voices from across the political spectrum. As we've grown, our ability to advance that mission has also grown, allowing us a broader reach and new ways to offer coverage of political news to our subscr...

Please enjoy this preview episode of our Sunday podcast. The full editions are available exclusively for premium podcast members. To become a member, please go to tanglemedia.supercast.com and sign up. In this episode, Ari and Will talk about a significant NBA trade, a lot of Trump administration talk and propriety in government. After that Ari and Will go over some global defense budgets in a fun...

This is the 3rd Annual Valentine's Day Podcast! On this special episode, Isaac and his amazing wife, Phoebe, talk about navigating through their experiences as first time parents, how their perspectives have expanded and changed on birth, healthcare, family leave, and abortion. They also discuss their future and what each is looking forward to. And throughout the episode, they are joined by a very...

Back in 2022, we  published  an original essay from our outgoing editorial intern Audrey Moorehead, who wrote about the experience of transitioning from her hometown in Lynchburg, Tennessee, to Harvard University. Audrey has remained a part of the Tangle family since the end of her internship, and last year, she recommended a Harvard classmate of hers, Sophia Downs , as a candidate for o...

On Monday, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove  directed  the Southern District of New York to dismiss without prejudice all charges in its corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams. In its dismissal, the Department of Justice  reasoned  that the case was politically motivated by the Biden administration and interfered with the mayor’s ability to combat the city’s...

On Friday, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought  took over  as acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and ordered the agency to grant officials from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to its non-classified systems. Over the weekend, Vought  directed  CFPB employees to “stand down from performing any work task,” then...

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order called “ Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports ” prohibiting all participants who do not meet the government’s definition of biological females from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. The order directs the federal government to withhold funding from K-12 schools and colleges that do not comply, drawing authority from Title IX of the E...

Ari Weitzman interviews Senator Andy Kim, the first Korean American Senator from New Jersey. They discuss Kim's political journey, his motivations for serving, and his reflections on the roles of the House and Senate. The conversation also touches on voter engagement strategies for Democrats and concludes with rapid-fire questions that reveal Kim's personal insights. This is a preview of today's s...

On Saturday, a federal judge  blocked  the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment systems. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled that only “civil servants with a need for access to perform their job duties” may use the system, while special government employees are explicitly barred. The ruling will remain in place until at l...

Please enjoy this preview episode of our Sunday podcast. The full editions are available exclusively for premium podcast members. To become a member, please go to tanglemedia.supercast.com and sign up. In this episode, Ari and Will talk about the complex relationship between the federal government and private companies, particularly in the context of Trump's governance style. They discuss Trump's...

On Wednesday, January 29, an Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers collided with an American Airlines plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members over the Potomac River. The plane had been approaching Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., and was preparing to land when the helicopter intersected its path,  killing all 67 people . The crash was the deadliest air acci...

Today, we’re publishing Editor Will Kaback’s conversation with Stephen Hawkins, director of research at More in Common, a nonprofit that researches political polarization and strategies to build more cohesive communities. The group recently published  a report  that found Republicans and Democrats have vastly different perceptions of what the other side believes, and we talked with Hawki...

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump  said  the United States will take over the Gaza Strip to facilitate its reconstruction after it was largely destroyed during the 15-month war between Israel and Hamas. Speaking at a press conference at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said that Palestinians living in Gaza should be permanently resettled in surroundi...

The Trump administration has started with a whirlwind, and we’ve been working overtime to keep up with everything. Between the Senate nominations, executive orders, government leaks and sudden emergencies, we haven’t had enough time to get into it all. We even dedicated last  Friday’s edition to covering three confirmation hearings just to stay up to date. Every once in a while, we break our...

On Monday, following a week of upheaval at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Secretary of State Marco Rubio  announced  he had taken over as acting administrator of the agency and told lawmakers that he intends to work with Congress to reorganize it. Rubio’s statement ran counter to comments made earlier in the day by Elon Musk, who  said  that he and Presi...

On Saturday, the White House  announced  that the United States will be imposing a 10% tariff on all imports from China and 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, with energy imports from Canada taxed at 10%. President Donald Trump used emergency powers under the  International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977  (IEEPA) to authorize the taxes,  citing  the...

Please enjoy this preview episode of our Sunday podcast. The full editions are available exclusively for premium podcast members. To become a member, please go to tanglemedia.supercast.com and sign up. In this episode, Ari and Will talk about tackling Tangle takes while Isaac is on paternity leave, reader feedback, the tragic accident involving an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter...

On Thursday, Senate committees  held hearings  to consider the nominations of Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Kash Patel as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). While most of President Donald Trump’s nominees have been  confirmed  by the Senate with bipartisan...

On Wednesday, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB)  rescinded a memo that had paused trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs. The memo had called for agencies to perform a “comprehensive analysis” of their grant and loan programs to ensure compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive orders, but was broadly written and crea...

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has issued a series of executive orders on immigration, which the White House  says  is part of its effort to establish firmer control over the southern U.S. border. Many of the actions are targeted at unauthorized migrants, but others have restricted legal immigration pathways, including orders to  indefinitely pause  the U.S. refuge...

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed executive orders to withdraw the United States from the  World Health Organization  (WHO) and the  Paris Agreement . As reasons for withdrawing from the WHO, Trump  cited  the political influence of member states and unfair contribution expectations of the United States, further alleging that the health group had mi...

On Friday night, President Donald Trump reportedly  fired  at least  17 inspectors general  (IGs) at several federal agencies. In response, several lawmakers expressed concern that the White House had violated federal rules requiring the president to provide Congress with at least 30 days' notice of intent before firing any inspector general, a Senate-confirmed position. The di...

Please enjoy this preview episode of our Sunday podcast. The full editions are available exclusively for premium podcast members. To become a member, please go to tanglemedia.supercast.com and sign up. In this episode, Ari and Magdalena talk about the feedback from Ari's take on the Elon Musk controversy, navigating the politics of social media, and civil discourse in the second Trump term. They a...