Defense One

Author archiveRussell Berman

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.

Virginia Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy cheers on Equal Rights Amendment demonstrators outside the Capitol in Richmond in January.

Virginia Diversity and Inclusion

The Deferred Dream of an Equal Rights Amendment

Newly empowered Democrats are likely to make Virginia the final state needed to ratify the long-dormant ERA.

BY Russell Berman READ NOW»

On Politics

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.

BY Russell Berman READ NOW»

On Politics

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.

BY Russell Berman READ NOW»

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

Intelligence Congress

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.

BY Russell Berman READ NOW»

Congress

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.

BY Russell Berman READ NOW»

White House

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.

BY Russell Berman READ NOW»

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., leaves the chamber after an emotional speech on the Senate floor in January.

Elections

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.

BY Russell Berman READ NOW»

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks at a hearing in 2018.

Congress

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.

BY Russell Berman READ NOW»

‘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.

BY Russell Berman READ NOW»

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., leaves the chamber after Senate Democrats blocked President Donald Trump's request for $5.7 billion to construct his long-sought wall along the U.S-Mexico border, as a partial government shutdown continues.

Shutdown Congress

The Senate Votes for More Stalemate

The defeat of two proposals to reopen the government sent the same sobering message: Congressional lawmakers and President Trump aren’t prepared to end the shutdown.

BY Russell BermanElaine Godfrey READ NOW»

Load more stories