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  • How a U.S. admiral decided to kill two boat strike survivors

    How a U.S. admiral decided to kill two boat strike survivors

    In the minutes after U.S. forces attacked a suspected drug smuggling boat near Trinidad, Adm. Frank M. Bradley, the commander overseeing the operation, faced a choice.

    A laser-guided bomb had killed nine of the 11 people on board, sunk the boat’s motor and capsized the vessel’s front end, according to people who have viewed or been briefed on a classified video of the operation. As smoke from the blast cleared, a live surveillance feed provided by a U.S. aircraft high overhead showed two men had survived and were attempting to flip the wreckage.

    Ahead of the Sept. 2 mission, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had given an order to U.S. forces to kill the passengers, sink the boat and destroy the drugs, three people familiar with the operation said. It appeared to Bradley that none of those objectives had been achieved, the admiral would later recount for lawmakers.

    The video feed showed that the two men were struggling to stay atop the flotsam, which people who’ve seen the footage described as roughly the size of a dining room table. Bradley turned to the military lawyer advising him and requested input, according to members of Congress who spoke with him privately last week and people later briefed on those conversations. Under the law of armed conflict, were the men now “shipwrecked” and therefore out of the fight, rendering them unlawful targets?

    The admiral decided that definition did not apply, these people said. Instead, what Bradley explained to lawmakers left some with the impression that there was a prevailing lack of certainty — about the existence of any drugs beneath the wreckage and whether the survivors had a means to call for help or intended to surrender — when he concluded that further action was warranted.

    He ordered a second strike, killing both men. Moments earlier, the video feed had shown them waving their arms and looking skyward, people who saw the footage said. It was unclear, they added, why they were doing so.

    The 30-plus minutes that elapsed between the first strike and the second has become the most consequential moment in Bradley’s three-decade military career — one that includes direct involvement in more than 1,000 lethal strikes governed by the law of armed conflict central to understanding the events of Sept. 2 and whether the strike survivors were lawful targets. The episode has put the admiral and his advisers under a spotlight alongside Hegseth, who has expressed support for Bradley while attempting to distance himself from the fallout.

    Bradley defended his actions when summoned to Capitol Hill last week, telling lawmakers he weighed the fate of the survivors with the understanding that the Trump administration has argued illicit drugs are weapons responsible for killing Americans, and that those who traffic them are not criminals but enemy combatants. U.S. intelligence, he said, showed that everyone on the boat was a “narco-terrorist,” consistent with the administration’s definition, which allowed for deadly force. His testimony provided lawmakers with the fullest account of the operation since the publication of a Washington Post report on Nov. 28 revealing Hegseth’s authorization ahead of the first attack to kill the entire crew and Bradley’s order of a second strike that killed the two survivors.

    Law of war experts and some lawmakers have challenged the admiral’s reasoning and cast doubt on the lawfulness of using the military to kill alleged criminals.

    The military lawyer who advised the admiral, whom The Post is not identifying because they serve in a secretive unit, explained to Bradley how the law of armed conflict defines “shipwrecked,” these people said. International law defines “shipwrecked” persons as those who “are in peril at sea” as a result of a mishap affecting their vessel “and who refrain from any act of hostility.” Combatants who are shipwrecked receive special protection because, unlike troops on land, they cannot take refuge, experts note.

    Bradley spent about eight hours meeting with more than a dozen lawmakers Dec. 4. Four people familiar with those sessions said that he affirmed having sought real-time legal advice, but that he did not say whether his military lawyer considered the survivors shipwrecked and out of the fight.

    There was dissent in the operations room over whether the survivors were viable targets after the first strike, according to two people. What the lawyer advised, though, and whether they rendered a definitive opinion remains unclear.

    A spokesperson for U.S. Special Operations Command, where Bradley is the top commander, declined to comment. The military attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

    Former military lawyers said that in such situations a commander’s top legal adviser would be expected to offer an assessment, but their role is only to advise, not to approve a strike.

    This report is based on the accounts of 10 people who either spoke directly with Bradley on Capitol Hill last week, were briefed on his conversations afterward or are otherwise familiar with the operation. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is highly sensitive and Bradley’s communication with lawmakers occurred in classified settings.

    The chain of command

    Two Republican-led committees in Congress have opened inquiries into the Sept. 2 operation, though on Tuesday, Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Ala.), who heads the House Armed Services Committee, said that he was satisfied with the information he had received and planned to end his probe once other members of the panel are given an opportunity to see unedited video of the operation, as he has. A separate Senate inquiry continues.

    President Donald Trump appeared to support releasing video footage of the operation before abruptly backtracking this week and deferring to Hegseth on whether to do so. Hegseth has been noncommittal, saying the Pentagon is “reviewing” the footage to ensure it would not expose military secrets.

    Democrats have demanded fuller investigations and called on the administration to share more evidence with lawmakers. Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.), the Senate Intelligence Committee’s senior Democrat, said after meeting with Hegseth and other officials Tuesday that he was seeking written documentation of the opinion rendered by Bradley’s military lawyer.

    The first strike Sept. 2 was carried out with a laser-guided GBU-69, according to people familiar with Bradley’s briefings. The munition exploded just above the crew, a setting designed to maximize the blast and the spread of shrapnel fragments. The follow-on strike was taken with a smaller AGM-176 Griffin missile, which killed the two men on impact, people familiar with the video footage said. U.S. forces then fired two additional Griffins at the wreckage to sink it.

    While Bradley made the decision to conduct the follow-on strike that killed the two survivors, Hegseth was the operation’s target engagement authority, meaning he authorized the use of force and ultimately was responsible for the strikes ordered, people familiar with the matter said.

    Hegseth has said that he watched live video of the initial attack but left for other meetings minutes later and was unaware initially that the first strike had left two men alive. It was a couple of hours, Hegseth has said, before he learned that Bradley ordered the second strike.

    Sean Parnell, a spokesman for Hegseth, said in a statement, “We are not going to second-guess a commander who did the right thing and was operating well within his legal authority.”

    Gen. Dan Caine, who as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the military’s top officer, saw the full video of the Sept. 2 strike for the first time Dec. 4, when he joined Bradley’s meetings with lawmakers, two U.S. officials said. In a statement for this report, a spokesman for Caine said the chairman has “trust and confidence” in Bradley and military commanders “at every echelon.”

    The admiral’s defense

    The Sept. 2 operation was the first in what has become an extended campaign to target suspected drug runners in the waters around Latin America. In strikes on more than 20 boats, U.S. forces have killed nearly 90 people to date, according to public notices from the Trump administration.

    At the core of Bradley’s defense of the second strike, according to several people familiar with his conversations on Capitol Hill, was his assertion that the attack was not directed at the two survivors but at the boat wreckage and any cocaine it may have sheltered.

    The laws of war stipulate that military commanders must consider the collateral damage of a strike only if the action could pose a threat to civilians, said Geoffrey Corn, a retired Army lawyer. By labeling suspected drug smugglers as combatants in an armed conflict against Americans, as the Trump administration has done, the Defense Department can argue that the military did not need to consider the harm to survivors when striking again, Corn said.

    But many experts, Corn among them, dispute that the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with cartel groups. Corn also noted that even if they are combatants, once shipwrecked, feasible measures must be taken to try to rescue them before attacking the target again, he said. “That to me is the most troubling aspect of the attack,” he said.

    Bradley’s contention that he was targeting the boat rather than the people, Corn said, fails to explain why the admiral deemed it necessary to launch the second strike rather than first trying to rescue the survivors.

    The admiral told lawmakers that intelligence gathered ahead of the operation indicated the boat being targeted was expected to transfer its cargo to another vessel while both were at sea. After the first strike, Bradley explained, he and his team were unable to rule out whether the men, who were shirtless, had a communications device either on their person or somewhere under the vessel’s wreckage that could have been used to call for help.

    U.S. forces did not intercept any communications from the two survivors after the first strike, Bradley told lawmakers.

    The admiral also theorized, multiple people said, that the two survivors could have drifted to shore or found a way to sail the wreckage to their intended rendezvous point. When the U.S. aircraft providing the live video feed scanned the surrounding area, it did not find another vessel coming to the boat’s aid. And the admiral conceded to some lawmakers that the survivors probably would not have been able to flip the wreckage, said one lawmaker and a U.S. official familiar with Bradley’s conversations.

    The doubts that have emerged

    Todd Huntley, a former director of the Navy’s international law office, which handles law of the sea matters, said in an interview with The Post that the legal definition for being shipwrecked does not require that people are drowning or wounded.

    “They just have to be in distress in water,” said Huntley, a former military lawyer who advised Special Operations forces.

    Huntley also said that the potential presence of a communications device should have been irrelevant. “You can’t kill somebody in the water merely because they have a radio,” he said. The prospect of a rendezvous with another vessel does not indicate an intent to engage in hostilities or prove the survivors posed a threat, he added. “That is such a far-out theory,” Huntley said.

    Trump and other Republicans have framed the administration’s counternarcotics campaign as a necessary measure to defend Americans from fentanyl, the leading cause of drug overdoses in the United States. But the Sept. 2 strike — and most of those that have followed — targeted a boat believed to be ferrying cocaine. Fentanyl smuggled into the U.S. mostly comes through border crossings.

    People familiar with Bradley’s account to lawmakers said that the cargo in this case was heading next to Suriname, a small country east of Venezuela, not the United States. As The Post and others have reported, most of the narcotics that move through the Caribbean are headed toward Europe and Western Africa rather than the U.S.

    “That further underscores that this boat was not a threat to the United States and not a lawful target,” Huntley said.

    While speaking with lawmakers, Bradley said he looked for signs the men were surrendering, such as waving a cloth or holding up their arms. The admiral noted that he saw no such gesture, and did not interpret their wave as a surrender, people familiar with his interviews said.

    To legal experts, Bradley’s assertion that he scanned for a sign of surrender reflected a foundational flaw with the Trump administration’s lethal force campaign: The laws of war weren’t written to address the behavior of criminal drug traffickers, they said.

    On Sept. 2, the 11 passengers on board the targeted boat were almost certainly unaware the Trump administration had declared “war” on them, people familiar with the operation said. It’s unclear whether the strike survivors even realized a U.S. military aircraft was responsible for the explosion that had occurred, these people familiar said, or whether they knew how to indicate surrender — or that surrender was even an option.

    In the weeks leading up to the attack, the Defense Department ran simulations that showed there was the potential for people to survive a first strike, three people familiar with the matter said. That did not appear to affect military planning for this operation. On the day of the attack, the U.S. military had no personnel or equipment on hand to rescue anyone.

  • House passes defense bill to raise troop pay and overhaul weapons purchases

    House passes defense bill to raise troop pay and overhaul weapons purchases

    WASHINGTON — The House voted to pass a sweeping defense policy bill Wednesday that authorizes $900 billion in military programs, including a pay raise for troops and an overhaul of how the Department of Defense buys weapons.

    The bill’s passage comes at a time of increasing friction between the Republican-controlled Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration over the management of the military.

    The annual National Defense Authorization Act typically gained bipartisan backing, and the White House has signaled “strong support” for the must-pass legislation, saying it is in line with Trump’s national security agenda. Yet tucked into the more than-3,000-page bill are several measures that push back against the Department of Defense, including a demand for more information on boat strikes in the Caribbean and support for allies in Europe, such as Ukraine.

    Overall, the sweeping bill calls for a 3.8% pay raise for many military members as well as housing and facility improvements on military bases. It also strikes a compromise between the political parties — cutting climate and diversity efforts in line with Trump’s agenda, while also boosting congressional oversight of the Pentagon and repealing several old war authorizations. Still, hard-line conservatives said they were frustrated that the bill does not do more to cut U.S. commitments overseas.

    “We need a ready, capable and lethal fighting force because the threats to our nation, especially those from China, are more complex and challenging than at any point in the last 40 years,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, the GOP chair of the House Armed Services Committee.

    Lawmakers overseeing the military said the bill would change how the Pentagon buys weapons, with an emphasis on speed after years of delay by the defense industry. It’s also a key priority for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the armed services panel, called the bill “the most ambitious swing at acquisition reform that we’ve taken.”

    Still, Smith lamented that the bill does not do as much as Democrats would like to rein in the Trump administration but called it “a step in the right direction towards reasserting the authority of Congress.”

    “The biggest concern I have is that the Pentagon, being run by Secretary Hegseth and by President Trump, is simply not accountable to Congress or accountable to the law,” he said.

    The legislation next heads to the Senate, where leaders are working to pass the bill before lawmakers depart Washington for a holiday break.

    Several senators on both sides of the aisle have criticized the bill for not doing enough to restrict military flights over Washington. They had pushed for reforms after a midair collision this year between an Army helicopter and a jetliner killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft near Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport. The National Transportation Safety Board has also voiced opposition to that section of the bill.

    Here’s what the defense bill does as it makes its way through Congress:

    Boat strike videos and congressional oversight

    Lawmakers included a provision that would cut Hegseth’s travel budget by a quarter until the Pentagon provides Congress with unedited video of the strikes against alleged drug boats near Venezuela. Lawmakers are asserting their oversight role after a Sept. 2 strike where the U.S. military fired on two survivors who were holding on to a boat that had partially been destroyed.

    The bill also demands that Hegseth allow Congress to review the orders for the strikes.

    Reaffirm commitments to Europe, Korea

    Trump’s ongoing support for Ukraine and other allies in Eastern Europe has been under doubt over the last year, but lawmakers included several positions meant to keep up U.S. support for countering Russian aggression in the region.

    The defense bill requires the Pentagon to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment stationed in Europe unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests. Around 80,000 to 100,000 U.S. troops are usually present on European soil. It also authorizes $400 million for each of the next two years to manufacture weapons to be sent to Ukraine.

    Additionally, there is a provision to keep U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, setting the minimum requirement at 28,500.

    Cuts to climate and diversity initiatives

    The bill makes $1.6 billion in cuts to climate change-related spending, the House Armed Services Committee said. U.S. military assessments have long found that climate change is a threat to national security, with bases being pummeled by hurricanes or routinely flooded.

    The bill also would save $40 million by repealing diversity, equity and inclusion offices, programs and trainings, the committee said. The position of chief diversity officer would be cut, for example.

    Iraq War resolution repeal

    Congress is putting an official end to the war in Iraq by repealing the authorization for the 2003 invasion. Supporters in both the House and Senate say the repeal is crucial to prevent future abuses and to reinforce that Iraq is now a strategic partner of the U.S.

    The 2002 resolution has been rarely used in recent years. But the first Trump administration cited it as part of its legal justification for a 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Suleimani.

    Lifting final Syria sanctions

    Congress would permanently remove U.S. sanctions put on Syria after the Trump administration temporarily lifted many penalties.

    Lawmakers imposed economically crippling sanctions on the country in 2019 to punish former leader Bashar Assad for human rights abuses during the nearly 14-year civil war. After Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa led a successful insurgency to depose Assad, he is seeking to rebuild his nation’s economy.

    Advocates of a permanent repeal have said international companies are unlikely to invest in projects needed for the country’s reconstruction as long as there is a threat of sanctions returning.

    Lack of IVF coverage

    Democrats criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) for stripping a provision from the bill to expand coverage of in vitro fertilization for active duty personnel. An earlier version covered the medical procedure, known as IVF, which helps people facing infertility have children.

  • Pennsylvania Democrats are beginning their efforts to flip the state Senate in 2026 with this suburban Philly seat

    Pennsylvania Democrats are beginning their efforts to flip the state Senate in 2026 with this suburban Philly seat

    A Montgomery County Democratic Committee leader has set his sights on unseating a Republican state senator in the suburbs — part of a larger effort by Pennsylvania Democrats to flip the state Senate for the first time in 31 years.

    Chris Thomas, the former executive director of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee, who left his role at the end of November to run for Senate, launched his bid on Wednesday to challenge State Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, a first-term senator representing parts of Montgomery and Berks Counties.

    Thomas, 29, is also an Upper Frederick Township volunteer firefighter and taught in a Philadelphia public school for a year prior to his jump into politics. His campaign is focused on increasing public school funding, finding a new funding stream for mass transit, and making Pennsylvania more affordable for working people.

    Pa. state Rep. Tracy Pennycuick (R., Montgomery County). (Photo: Pa. House of Representatives)

    Thomas announced his campaign with dozens of endorsements from state and local elected officials, including five sitting senators from the Philadelphia suburbs. He also secured the endorsement of House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery), another driving force behind the Democratic efforts to flip the state Senate in the 2026 midterm election in attempts to control all three branches of Pennsylvania’s government.

    Pennsylvania is one of few divided legislatures in the country, where Democrats hold a narrow majority in the state House, 102-101, and Republicans control the Senate, 27-23.

    Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and House Democrats frequently butt heads with GOP Senate leaders. By flipping two seats next November, Democrats would tie the chamber 25-25 and Democratic Lt. Gov. Austin Davis would act as a tiebreaker. But Democrats are targeting four GOP-held seats, three of which are in the Philadelphia suburbs, in hopes of gaining control in the upper chamber for the first time in 31 years.

    How Democrats hope to use SEPTA cuts to flip the state Senate for the first time in 31 years

    The GOP-controlled state Senate has been a thorn in the side of Shapiro and House Democrats, as the more conservative members of the GOP Senate caucus have objected to most spending increases and rejected top Democratic priorities, like a long-term revenue source for mass transit. The state budget, passed in November, was 135 days late, requiring school districts, counties, and social service providers to take out loans or lay off staff to continue operating during the monthslong standoff.

    Mirroring national efforts to win control of congressional seats, Pennsylvania Democrats are targeting GOP-held districts that President Donald Trump won in 2024 but Shapiro carried in 2022. With Pennsylvania’s popular first-term governor and potential 2028 contender back at the top of the ticket — and a methodical, behind-the-scenes effort by Shapiro to orchestrate a decisive year for Democrats in 2026 — Democrats see it as possible this time around.

    Democrats are already planning for 2026 and think they can flip these four Pa. congressional seats

    Thomas’ first order of business if he is elected to Harrisburg and Democrats flip the chamber: electing Democratic floor leaders in the chamber.

    “No meaningful legislation moves in Harrisburg unless we fix who’s in charge, and right now Sen. Pennycuick is supporting a Senate leadership that’s failed working people,” Thomas said.

    Pennycuick said she “welcomes this campaign as an opportunity” to talk about the successes she has achieved while serving in the state Senate, such as her support for public education funding, reducing overreaching regulations, and her bipartisan proposal to create safeguards around artificial intelligence.

    Kofi Osei, a Towamencin Township supervisor and Democrat, has also announced his bid for Senate District 24, which stretches along the northwestern parts of Montgomery County and into parts of Berks County.

    The state Senate Democratic Campaign Committee does not endorse candidates in a primary election, and will support whoever wins the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s May 19 primary. However, State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Philadelphia), who chairs the SDCC, said Thomas’ candidacy is “the right time and the right moment.”

    “I’m really excited about having a young person in there, generating young people and getting young people motivated,” Hughes added.

    The state Senate Republican Campaign Committee, meanwhile, is fundraising off Democrats’ efforts to flip the state’s upper chamber, warning voters that Democratic special interest group dollars are already pouring in.

    “State Democrats have made it clear their goal is to have a blue trifecta in Pennsylvania in 2026,” the SRCC wrote in a fundraising email Tuesday. “They know Senate Republicans are the last line of defense against Josh Shapiro and PA House Democrats far-left agenda.”

    Thomas was a public school teacher for one year at the Northeast Community Propel Academy, teaching seventh-grade math and science. He comes from a family of educators, he said, but quickly realized he needed to get more involved to improve the education system and government services to better serve these students. He made the jump to politics to try to make change.

    “I was sitting there, trying to feed my kids in the morning to make sure they had full stomachs to learn, having supplies to make sure they’re fully equipped for the day,” Thomas added. “I saw a system that wasn’t working for our students.”

    If elected, Thomas would be Pennsylvania’s youngest sitting state senator, and would join State Sen. Joe Picozzi (R., Philadelphia), 30, as part of a new generation of leaders hoping to shape the state’s future.

    “Our generation has grown up during economic crashes, school shootings, endless wars, and now we’re watching our parents and grandparents struggle to retire with dignity,” Thomas said.

  • WTF? Embracing profanity is one thing both political parties seem to agree on

    WTF? Embracing profanity is one thing both political parties seem to agree on

    WASHINGTON — As he shook President Barack Obama’s hand and pulled him in for what he thought was a private aside, Vice President Joe Biden delivered an explicit message: “This is a big f— deal.” The remark, overheard on live microphones at a 2010 ceremony for the Affordable Care Act, caused a sensation because open profanity from a national leader was unusual at the time.

    More than 15 years later, vulgarity is now in vogue.

    During a political rally Tuesday night in Pennsylvania that was intended to focus on tackling inflation, President Donald Trump used profanity at least four times. At one point, he even admitted to disparaging Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries” during a private 2018 meeting, a comment he denied at the time. And before a bank of cameras during a lengthy cabinet meeting last week, the Republican president referred to alleged drug smugglers as “sons of bitches.”

    Trump strays from script at Pennsylvania rally, calling affordability a ‘hoax’ and Pa. a ‘dumping ground’ for immigrants

    While the Biden incident was accidental, the frequency, sharpness, and public nature of Trump’s comments are intentional. They build on his project to combat what he sees as pervasive political correctness. Leaders in both parties are seemingly in a race now to the verbal gutter.

    Vice President JD Vance called a podcast host a “dips—” in September. In Thanksgiving remarks before troops, Vance joked that anyone who said they liked turkey was “full of s—.” After one National Guard member was killed in a shooting in Washington last month and a second was critically injured, top Trump aide Steven Cheung told a reporter on social media to “shut the f— up” when she wrote that the deployment of troops in the nation’s capital was “for political show.”

    Among Democrats, former Vice President Kamala Harris earned a roar of approval from her audience in September when she condemned the Trump administration by saying “these motherf— are crazy.” After Trump called for the execution of several Democratic members of Congress last month, Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) said it was time for people with influence to “pick a f— side.” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the administration cannot “f— around” with the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who on Monday announced her Senate campaign in Texas, did not hold back earlier this year when asked what she would tell Elon Musk if given the chance: “F— off.”

    The volley of vulgarities underscore an ever-coarsening political environment that often plays out on social media or other digital platforms where the posts or video clips that evoke the strongest emotions are rewarded with the most engagement.

    “If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at the social media companies,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, said Tuesday night at Washington National Cathedral, where he spoke at an event focused on political civility. “It’s not a fair fight. They’ve hijacked our brains. They understand these dopamine hits. Outrage sells.”

    Cox, whose national profile rose after calling for civility in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination in his state, approved an overhaul of social media laws meant to protect children. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the state law.

    Tough political talk is nothing new

    Tough talk is nothing new in politics, but leaders long avoided flaunting it.

    Recordings from Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, for instance, revealed a crude, profane side of his personality that was largely kept private. Republican Richard Nixon bemoaned the fact that the foul language he used in the Oval Office was captured on tape. “Since neither I nor most other Presidents had ever used profanity in public, millions were shocked,” Nixon wrote in his book In the Arena.

    “Politicians have always sworn, just behind closed doors,” said Benjamin Bergen, a professor at the University of California-San Diego’s Department of Cognitive Science and the author of What the F: What swearing reveals about our language, our brains, and ourselves. “The big change is in the past 10 years or so, it’s been much more public.”

    As both parties prepare for the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential campaign, the question is whether this language will become increasingly mainstream. Republicans who simply try to imitate Trump’s brash style do not always succeed with voters. Democrats who turn to vulgarities risk appearing inauthentic if their words feel forced.

    For some, it is just a distraction.

    “It’s not necessary,” said GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who is retiring next year after winning five elections in one of the most competitive House districts. “If that’s what it takes to get your point across, you’re not a good communicator.”

    There are risks of overusing profanity

    There also is a risk that if such language becomes overused, its utility as a way to shock and connect with audiences could be dulled. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has talked about this problem, noting that he used swear words in his early routines but dropped them as his career progressed because he felt profanity yielded only cheap laughs.

    “I felt like well I just got a laugh because I said f— in there,” he said in a 2020 interview on the WTF podcast with fellow comedian Marc Maron. “You didn’t find the gold.”

    White House spokesperson Liz Huston said Trump “doesn’t care about being politically correct, he cares about making America great again. The American people love how authentic, transparent, and effective the President is.”

    But for Trump, the words that have generated the most controversy are often less centered in traditional profanity than slurs that can be interpreted as hurtful. The final weeks of his 2016 campaign were rocked when a tape emerged of him discussing grabbing women by their genitals, language he minimized as “locker room talk.” His “shithole” remark in 2018 was widely condemned as racist.

    More recently, Trump called Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey “piggy,” comments that his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, defended as evidence of a president who is “very frank and honest.” Trump’s use of a slur about disabled people prompted an Indiana Republican whose child has Down syndrome to come out in opposition to the president’s push to redraw the state’s congressional districts.

    Gov. Josh Shapiro says Kamala Harris’ descriptions of him were ‘blatant lies’ intended to sell books

    On rare occasions, politicians express contrition for their choice of words. In an interview with The Atlantic published last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, dismissed Harris’ depiction of him in her book about last year’s presidential campaign by saying she was “trying to sell books and cover her a—.”

    He seemed to catch himself quickly.

    “I shouldn’t say ‘cover her a—,” he said. “I think that’s not appropriate.”

  • The White House says the midterms are all about Trump. Democrats aren’t so sure

    The White House says the midterms are all about Trump. Democrats aren’t so sure

    WASHINGTON — A Dallas congresswoman opened her Senate campaign by telling voters that she “has gone toe to toe with Donald Trump.” Her Democratic primary opponent insisted that Americans are tired of “politics as a blood sport.”

    The divergent approach highlights how U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and State Rep. James Talarico are navigating a race where Democrats hope to break a three-decade losing streak in Texas. It also reflects a broader divide within the party, with some candidates continuing to focus on Trump while others barely mention his name.

    Figuring out the best approach will be critical for Democrats who are grasping for a path back to power in the 2026 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress and are already maneuvering for the 2028 presidential race.

    Republicans, by contrast, have been crystal clear.

    Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, said in a recent podcast interview that the Republican president will campaign aggressively next year and the party will “put him on the ballot.”

    “He is the greatest vote energizer in the history of politics,” said Neil Newhouse, a veteran Republican pollster. “But the challenge is that he does it as much for Democrats as he does for Republicans.”

    Crockett takes on Trump

    In her campaign launch video, Crockett was silent as audio of Trump’s insults played, including multiple times that he has called her a “very low-IQ person.” At the end of the video, she breaks out into a smile.

    On Monday, she addressed the president more directly.

    “Trump, I know you’re watching, so let me tell you directly,” Crockett said. “You’re not entitled to a damn thing in Texas. You better get to work because I’m coming for you.”

    Trump responded the next day, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that her candidacy is “a gift to Republicans” and “I can’t even believe she’s a politician, actually.”

    For nearly a decade, Democrats have used their criticism of Trump to draw attention and fuel fundraising. Governors who are considered potential 2028 presidential contenders, including California’s Gavin Newsom and Illinois’ JB Pritzker, saw their profiles rise as they positioned themselves as staunch Trump opponents.

    U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.) recently participated in a video telling service members that they should not follow “illegal orders.” Trump responded by accusing him of “seditious behavior” that’s “punishable by death.”

    Kelly started a national media tour and sent out a flurry of fundraising emails, both for himself and other Democrats. He said Trump has bullied everyone in his career, “but not now, because I won’t let it happen.”

    When it comes to running for office, “Trump is the red meat that drives donors,” said John Anzalone, a longtime Democratic pollster.

    “There are clearly some candidates that are playing towards the donor world that don’t actually make a great argument for winning races. But it’s great for clicks and making money. And money is the first primary that you need to win.”

    Talarico charts a different course

    Talarico has built a following with a less combative style. The former schoolteacher who is working toward a master’s degree in divinity at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary gained attention by posting viral social media content challenging Republicans’ claims to Christian values. He has focused less on Trump or other politicians.

    “The biggest divide in our country is not left versus right. It’s top versus bottom,” Talarico said in the video launching his campaign.

    There are echoes of other Democratic successes this year, such as when candidates for governor won in New Jersey and Virginia by focusing on affordability concerns.

    Voters in those states were much likelier to say they were voting to oppose Trump than to support him, according to the AP Voter Poll. For example, 71% of voters for Democrat Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey said their decision in the governor’s race was motivated at least partially by opposition to Trump.

    But Sherrill recently said that it is not enough for Democrats to rely solely on anti-Trump fervor.

    “Trump makes a difference. He’s a forcing mechanism to coalesce the party,” Sherrill said. “But to really turn out the vote in a really strong manner, you have got to run a really sharp campaign.”

    When Democrats talk about Trump, they have to connect his actions to voters’ everyday lives, she said.

    “You can’t just say, oh, I’m so upset that Trump demolished the East Wing of the White House,” she said. “You have to say, look, there’s a tariff regime that is being run that is enriching the president to the tune of $3 billion, and you’re paying more for everything from your cup of coffee in the morning to the groceries that you’re buying to cook your family dinner at night.”

    It is an approach that could have more staying power in the coming years.

    “In the not-too-distant future, Trump will not be on the ballot and that will be a challenge for both parties,” said Austin Cook, a senior aide for Democrat Elissa Slotkin’s successful U.S. Senate campaign in Michigan last year. “He is a starting gun for Democratic enthusiasm. But soon we won’t have him as a foil.”

    Republicans need Trump to turn out voters

    Republicans have little choice but to enlist Trump’s help, considering his enduring support among voters who are less likely to turn out during the midterms.

    “They need to energize Republican voters and the only real way to energize Republican voters and get them out to vote is by enlisting Trump in the campaign,” said Newhouse, who is advising some of the party’s U.S. Senate candidates.

    He warned that Trump’s popularity does not necessarily transfer to candidates he supports, “but there isn’t an alternative.”

    “What they are trying to do here is basically wrap themselves up in him, hope that his approval and the economic numbers improve and get their voters out to the polls to match the Democrats’ intensity,” Newhouse said.

    The White House has said that Trump will be on the road more in the coming months. He hosted his first rally in a while in Pennsylvania on Tuesday evening, where he blamed Democrats for inflation.

    “They gave you high prices,” he said, adding that “we’re bringing those prices down rapidly.”

  • A Democrat won Miami mayor’s race for the first time in nearly 30 years

    A Democrat won Miami mayor’s race for the first time in nearly 30 years

    MIAMI — Democrat Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayor’s race on Tuesday, defeating a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump to end her party’s nearly three-decade losing streak and give Democrats a boost in one of the last electoral battles ahead of the 2026 midterms.

    Higgins, 61, will be the first woman to lead the city of Miami. She spoke frequently in the Hispanic-majority city about Trump’s immigration crackdown, saying she has heard of many people in Miami who were worried about family members being detained. She campaigned as a proud Democrat despite the race being officially nonpartisan and beat Trump-backed candidate Emilio Gonzalez, a former city manager, who said he called Higgins to congratulate her.

    “We are facing rhetoric from elected officials that is so dehumanizing and cruel, especially against immigrant populations,” Higgins told The Associated Press after her victory speech. “The residents of Miami were ready to be done with that.”

    With nearly all votes counted Tuesday, Higgins led the Republican by about 19 percentage points.

    The local race is not predictive of what may happen at the polls next year. But it drew attention from the two major national political parties and their leaders. The victory provides Democrats with some momentum heading into a high-stakes midterm election when the GOP is looking to keep its grip in Florida, including in a Hispanic-majority district in Miami-Dade County. The area has shifted increasingly rightward politically in recent years, and the city may become the home of Trump’s presidential library.

    “Tonight’s result is yet another warning sign to Republicans that voters are fed up with their out-of-touch agenda that is raising costs,” said Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, in a statement.

    Some nationally recognized Democrats supported Higgins, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel traveled to Miami on Sunday and Monday to rally voters for the Democrat who served as a Miami-Dade county commissioner for seven years.

    Higgins, who speaks Spanish, represented a district that leans conservative and includes the Cuban neighborhood of Little Havana. When she first entered politics in 2018, she chose to present herself to voters as “La Gringa,” a term Spanish speakers use for white Americans, because many people did not known how to pronounce her name.

    “It just helps people understand who I am, and you know what? I am a ‘gringa,’ so, what am I going to do, deny it?” she told the AP.

    Republicans’ anxiety grows

    Republicans in Florida have found strong support from voters with heritage from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, because they likened some members of the Democratic party’s progressive wing with politicians from the governments they fled. Trump and other GOP members have tapped into those sentiments over the past eight years.

    However, some local Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated since November’s elections when Democrats scored wins in New Jersey and Virginia, where both winning gubernatorial candidates performed strongly with nonwhite voters.

    The results from those races were perceived as a reflection of concerns over rising prices and the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies.

    U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican whose district is being targeted by Democrats and includes the city of Miami, called the elections elsewhere a “wake-up call.” She said Hispanics also want a secure border and a healthy economy but some relief for “those who have been here for years and do not have a criminal record.”

    “The Hispanic vote is not guaranteed,” Salazar said in a video posted on X last month. “Hispanics married President Trump, but they are only dating the GOP.”

    David Jolly, who is running to represent Democrats in the Florida governor’s race next year, said the mayoral election was good news for Democrats in what used to be a battleground state.

    “Change is here. It’s sweeping the nation, and it’s sweeping Florida,” Jolly said.

    Miami mayor-elect gains national platform

    The mayoral position in Miami is more ceremonial, but Higgins promised to execute it like a full-time job.

    The city is part of Miami-Dade County, which Trump flipped last year, a dramatic improvement from his 30 percentage point loss to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

    As Florida’s second-largest city, Miami is considered the gateway to Latin America and attracts millions of tourists. Its global prominence gives Higgins a significant stage as mayor.

    Her pitch to voters included finding city-owned land that could be turned into affordable housing and cutting unnecessary spending.

  • Trump strays from script at Poconos rally, calling affordability a ‘hoax’ and Pa. a ‘dumping ground’ for immigrants

    Trump strays from script at Poconos rally, calling affordability a ‘hoax’ and Pa. a ‘dumping ground’ for immigrants

    President Donald Trump’s raucous rally Tuesday night in Pennsylvania was billed as the launch of a national tour focused on easing voters’ economic anxieties that threaten Republicans’ hold in Washington with the 2026 midterms looming.

    But the economy couldn’t maintain the president’s interest for the duration of the speech.

    Instead, he rallied the crowd at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono by fomenting anger at Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and other Somali immigrants who live in Minnesota and teasing a 2028 run, despite constitutional limits on a third term.

    Employing a method he calls “the weave,” Trump darted back and forth between cost-of-living issues and entirely unrelated material, such as claiming credit for the use of the phrase “Merry Christmas” during the holiday season.

    “If I read what’s on the teleprompter, you’d all be falling asleep right now,” Trump said.

    It was Trump’s third trip to Pennsylvania since he began his second term, following a campaign in which he spent a considerable amount of time in the Keystone State, winning it back in part by promising to cure a beleaguered economy. It’s the president’s first return to Northeast Pennsylvania, where he saw his biggest gains in the region during the last election, and which will be a crucial battleground in next year’s election, when the GOP’s razor-thin House majority is on the line.

    “America is winning again. Pennsylvania is prospering again. And I will not rest until this commonwealth is wealthier and stronger than ever before,” Trump proclaimed at the large casino and hotel complex tucked in between ski resorts in the Pocono Mountains.

    The speech comes as many Americans lament the cost of living, workers have lost power in the job market and with their employers, and people are bracing for Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire at the end of the year.

    The casino stayed open Tuesday and gamblers played slots and card games on the floor upstairs as Trump spoke in the ballroom below.

    Trump, in a speech that stretched over an hour, blamed high prices on his Democratic predecessor, former President Joe Biden. He argued gas prices are down and car prices are dropping thanks to relaxed fuel-efficiency standards. The stock market is up this year and overall growth for the third quarter is strong. Trump also has signed agreements to reduce list prices on prescription drugs.

    While Trump again called concerns about affordability a “hoax,” the event itself was at least an acknowledgment that frustrations with the economy are damaging the Republican brand ahead of the midterms. He spoke in front of a large “lower prices, bigger paychecks,” banner.

    “Democrats talking about affordability is like Bonnie and Clyde preaching about public safety,” he said.

    The most compelling part of the evening came more than an hour in, when the president called up members of the local community, including a waiter and an EMT to share personal stories about how no taxes on tips or overtime would benefit their families when tax returns are filed next year.

    Trump played to the Pennsylvania crowd, noting his connections to the state as a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “I love Philadelphia. It’s gotten a little rougher, but we will take it,” he quipped.

    He then reminisced about hosting the Philadelphia Eagles at the White House earlier this year following their Super Bowl win. He hailed coach Nick Sirianni as a “real leader” and marveled at running back Saquon Barkley’s muscles.

    “It’s like I hit a piece of steel. … He’s so strong,” Trump said about patting the Eagles player on the back.

    But despite these light-hearted moments, Trump repeatedly went after Omar and the Somali immigrant community.

    Trump asked if anyone from the crowd was from Somalia and asked them to raise their hands before tearing into Omar, the progressive Minnesota Democrat who left the African country as a refugee.

    “She comes from a country where, I mean, it’s considered about the worst country in the world, right?”

    Later in the speech, Trump complained about immigration from Somalia, Afghanistan and Haiti — instead of countries like Norway and Denmark — as he recounted and affirmed his use of the phrase “shithole countries” during his first term, something he denied at the time.

    He also accused Democrats of making Pennsylvania a “dumping ground” for immigrants.

    Despite this incendiary rhetoric, Trump also celebrated his performance with Black and Latino voters in the last election. He put up the strongest Republican performance with these demographic groups in decades, though a majority both went for Vice President Kamala Harris.

    “Black people love Trump,” Trump said. “I got the biggest vote with Black people. They know a scam better than anybody. They know what it is to be scammed.”

    ‘Everyone’s paying a lot more’

    Nationwide, prices and inflation have increased this year — with many experts saying that the president’s tariff policies have contributed.

    In his speech, Trump touted his tariffs as bringing in “hundreds of billions of dollars,” and noted his administration would be steering $12 billion to farmers through that revenue. The money is meant to help agriculture producers cope with retaliatory measures taken by China and other trading partners in response to Trump’s tariffs, which Trump did not mention in his remarks.

    “We gave the farmers a little help … and they are so happy.” Trump said.

    Poll after poll shows Americans see rising home prices, groceries, education, and electricity costing more. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index found a 17-month low in terms of trust in the economy, and the survey found Americans’ views of the job market are at their most negative since the end of Trump’s first term during the height of the pandemic.

    For the average Pennsylvanian, there is a “financial struggle” with higher prices on food, childcare, healthcare, and electricity, among other expenses, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

    He attributes it to Trump’s tariffs and immigration policies, including deportation, which he said limits the number of people working and has “hurt growth and raised inflation.”

    “Everyone’s paying a lot more for basic necessities, most everything,” Zandi said.

    Zandi noted Trump’s economic policies include a few positives for workers and employers, including tax breaks for businesses from Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act, as well as the tax cuts on tips and overtime.

    “But net, I think the policies have contributed to the financial hardship of the typical Pennsylvanian,” Zandi said.

    Pennsylvania, however, is the only growing economy in the Northeast, according to Moody’s Analytics. The state has secured $31.6 billion in private-sector investments since Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro took office in 2023, according to his administration.

    Shapiro has been quick to argue the state’s relative fiscal health has come in spite of federal policies he argued are hurting Pennsylvanians. He called Trump “a president who seems to want to blame everybody else, whose economic policies are failing,” in an interview Monday night on MS NOW.

    “I mean, if he comes to Pennsylvania and spews more B.S. … I think what you’re ultimately going to find are people tuning him out,” Shapiro, a potential contender for the presidency in 2028, said ahead of Trump’s visit.

    Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) told MS NOW in a separate interview on Tuesday that polling shows the president, “he’s really kind of losing the plot with a part of his own voters now front and center.”

    A key battleground

    The setting for Trump’s speech is also one of the most closely watched battlegrounds in the state, home to freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan’s district, which Democrats are targeting to flip. Bresnahan won by 1.5 percentage points last year.

    Bresnahan was more on message in brief remarks. He said he and Trump have heard the call for relief.

    “The message is the same everywhere we go: Lower the cost, higher-paying jobs, keep our community safe, and listen to the people during the work,” he told the crowd in Mount Pocono.

    He argued policies authored by Trump and passed by the Republican-led Congress, like tax credits for working families and seniors, are already helping people.

    The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee seized on the visit to blast Bresnahan in ads on the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader website, highlighting his penchant for stock trading. And Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat running to unseat Bresnahan, took the moment to call him “the exact kind of self-serving politician that Northeastern Pennsylvanians … all agree we need to get rid of.”

    Whether Trump’s message resonates in this part of the country will be telling. Monroe County, home to Mount Pocono, flipped to Trump in the 2024 election after backing Biden in 2020.

    The region is home to a large number of New York City transplants who have moved here seeking more-affordable housing in a region that largely relies on Pocono Mountains tourism as the main source of jobs.

    While views on the economy were mixed on the casino floor, attendees in the ballroom gave the president a warm welcome back to the state. The Secret Service had to turn people away, and many who got in had waited more than four hours outside on an 18-degree day.

    Trump’s ongoing response to affordability woes could have major implications for other vulnerable Republicans hoping to be reelected in the state. In last month’s election, Democrats successfully ran on affordability in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races — and picked up a slew of local seats in Pennsylvania.

    The DCCC has its sights on the seats of three other Pennsylvania Republicans, along with Bresnahan: U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Bucks County; U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie of Lehigh County; and U.S. Rep. Scott Perry of York County.

    Attendees in the crowd Tuesday night held “Keep the House, Keep the Country,” posters.

    Trump told the crowd he’d be back on the trail for Republicans in the midterms, and reflected, that like his off-the-cuff speech, he enjoys stumping.

    Whether the current state of the economy affects Republicans’ chances in 2026 could depend on how those future appearances go and how willing the party will be to keep acknowledging that many Americans are struggling.

    Marc Stier, executive director of the Pennsylvania Policy Center, who was a leading advocate for the establishment of the ACA, argued that “voters are not fools, particularly when it comes to their pocketbook.”

    “How they talk about it will determine in some ways how badly they get hurt,” Stier said. “If they acknowledge a problem and, say, come up with ideas to deal with it, they will probably be hurt less. If they followed Trump’s line … I think they’re gonna get clobbered.”

  • Trump came to a Pa. casino to promise prosperity. Gamblers here had a mixed view of the economy.

    Trump came to a Pa. casino to promise prosperity. Gamblers here had a mixed view of the economy.

    A smattering of people pushed their luck Tuesday at the Mount Airy Casino Resort, tapping neon slot buttons, flipping dice onto felt craps tables, and wandering the rows of glowing, dinging machines.

    A floor below, President Donald Trump was set to speak in a sprawling ballroom, where event staff hung a huge blue banner: LOWER PRICES, BIGGER PAYCHECKS.

    Trump picked this casino in the Pocono Mountains to deliver the first big economic speech of his presidency as polls show Americans are feeling the pain of high prices — and many are blaming him.

    Politically, the setting made sense. This northeastern corner of the state is where Trump saw the largest swing from 2020 to 2024, and it will be a key congressional battleground next year. It’s also a region home to a large population of aging, non-college-educated voters — the core of Trump’s comeback coalition.

    But the contrast at the casino was hard to miss: the steady slot machine chimes of financial risk and uncertainty above and a president’s promises of stability and revival on the floor below.

    How’s the economy working for Rosemary Migli?

    “It could be better,” said the 73-year-old retired bartender from Tobyhanna, taking a puff of a cigarette before winning 35 cents on a spin.

    Despite a frenzy of police and Secret Service, many gamblers, focused on their own troubles or celebrations, did not realize the president was coming. An older retired couple enjoyed an afternoon together with no obligations. Nearby, a recently widowed woman said the monotony of the slots helps her cope with her loss.

    Peter Jean-Baptiste celebrated his 33rd birthday at the casino with his fiancee. The Philadelphia-based couple are saving for a wedding next year.

    “It’s tough for everyone just trying to make a living, honest people trying to make a living,” Jean-Baptiste said. “One day you feel like [Trump’s] got your back, the next day he doesn’t.”

    Jean-Baptiste, who works in property insurance, said he has also seen housing prices rise. And, as a child of Haitian immigrant parents, he is struggling with how Trump’s anti-Haitian verbal attacks and immigration crackdowns have affected his family.

    “He does a bunch of hot takes and causes division between American citizens,” Jean-Baptiste said. “When, I feel, we really all just want to get along and get by.”

    Mount Pocono is a region with mixed fortunes: Wealthy retirees have second vacation homes here, while lower-income workers are employed in warehouses and hold up the tourism industry. The area is also a hub for New York City commuters who moved here for more affordable housing.

    “We live on a fixed income. We watch what we spend,” said Julie Dietz, sitting beside her husband, Glenn, as she played a buffalo-themed slot game. The Toms River, N.J., couple gamble for a few hours every now and then. She was a paralegal and he worked evaluating industrial facilities for safety before they retired.

    “We know what our limitations are,” Dietz, 71, said. “Yes, food prices have gone up, but I’ve also seen some things come down — gas prices in our area. And the economy took so many years to get to this point.”

    Dietz, who supported Trump in the last election, thinks an economic rebound is just going to take more time.

    “He’s been in office 11 months. Eleven months. So I feel full confidence that he is going to do what he said he’s going to do. Everybody wants things immediately.”

    Kathy F., who didn’t want to give her last name talking about politics and gambling, joined her husband at the casino Tuesday, despite her misgivings about losing money at a time when prices are going up.

    “I go to Costco and everything is $5 more than it used to be. That’s a lot,” she said, bundled in a puffy black coat as her husband gambled nearby.

    “I really don’t understand politics,” said the retired New York City civil servant, who voted for then-Vice President Kamala Harris last year. “It seems like they just fight with each other nonstop when all people want is to be able to afford to live.”

    As he stretched his legs between games, Stephen Miller — “not that Stephen Miller,” he clarified — laughed off the notion of going to see Trump in person a floor below.

    “If I want to see him, all I have to do is turn on the TV. He’s on at 12, he’s on at 3, he’s on at 5, seven days a week.”

    The 75-year-old retired contractor supports Trump, though, and called the economy “half-decent.” He said food prices are high but eggs have gone down.

    “The economy is glacial, so it moves slow. Democrats are definitely locked onto the affordability. But affordability means, what? It means whatever you want it to mean.”

    Miller glanced down at a few vouchers in his hand to set off for the next set of machines.

    “I’m not winning yet, but I will be and the Donald will be,” he said. “Give it time.”

  • Former Sen. Bob Menendez is ‘forever disqualified’ from ever holding public office again in N.J.

    Former Sen. Bob Menendez is ‘forever disqualified’ from ever holding public office again in N.J.

    Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is permanently banned from holding public office in New Jersey. If he tries to anyway, he could face criminal charges.

    Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy wrote in an order that Menendez is “forever disqualified from holding any office or position of honor, trust, or profit” in New Jersey state or local government.

    If the once-powerful New Jersey Democrat applies for public office or employment, or shows any efforts to campaign or be appointed to political office, he will be subject to a fourth-degree contempt of court charge.

    Menendez, 71, was convicted in July 2024 for selling the powers of his office to wealthy benefactors and acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.

    He accepted bribes of gold bars, cash, a Mercedes-Benz, and more from 2018 to 2022 in exchange for using his position to advance the interests of three New Jersey business owners and Egyptian officials.

    Prior to his conviction, Menendez floated the idea of running as an independent to maintain his Senate seat as a competitive Democratic primary was underway to replace him.

    He ultimately did not run and South Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim, a U.S. House lawmaker at the time, won his former Senate seat.

    In January, Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison and began serving in June at the Federal Correctional Institution Schuylkill in Minersville, Pa.

    New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin’s office announced Lougy’s order on Friday.

    “Critical to preserving the public’s faith and trust in government institutions is ensuring that elected officials who commit crimes involving their offices don’t find new opportunities to regain positions of power,” Platkin said in a statement.

    The former senator’s wife, Nadine Menendez, was convicted in April of serving a “critical role” in his scheme. She was sentenced to 4-and-a-half years in prison and is slated to begin her sentence next summer.

    Menendez rose from the Union City school board at age 20 to the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair position over the course of five decades, becoming mayor earlier in his career and later being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006.

    From March 2024: Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez will not run in N.J. Democratic primary, but may run as an independent

    Platkin’s office filed a lawsuit in May requesting Menendez’s lifetime ban on public office in New Jersey. At the time, Platkin’s office pointed to former Paterson Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres, who was convicted of contempt in December 2024 after running for mayor in 2022 in violation of a similar 2017 order not to run. sentenced to three years of probation through a plea deal, along with a $10,000 fine, in February of this year.

    Platkin said he hopes the order on Menendez “sends a message” that pubic corruption will come with consequences.

    “Too many people in New Jersey have a cynical viewpoint that corruption is a routine, widespread feature of our politics,” he added.

  • For every person who enrolls in ACA coverage through Pennie, two drop their plans

    For every person who enrolls in ACA coverage through Pennie, two drop their plans

    For every person who signed up for Obamacare health insurance in Pennsylvania last month, two others dropped their plans in anticipation of skyrocketing costs.

    The average cost of a health plan through Pennsylvania’s Affordable Care Act marketplace, Pennie, is expected to double, on average, with some people paying several times more in 2026, if Congress allows a key financial incentive program to expire at the end of this year.

    Pennie leaders say sticker shock for 2026 is undermining a program they credit for driving historically low uninsured rates.

    Nearly 31,000 people canceled their Pennie health plan in November, the first month of open enrollment, which runs through the end of January. About 16,000 people signed up.

    Pennie administrators previously estimated that roughly 150,000 of the nearly 500,000 people who bought plans in 2025 will drop out because they find their options for 2026 unaffordable.

    Some level of turnover is normal, as people move out of state, find new jobs, or become eligible for other government programs, such as Medicare or Medicaid. But the sharp rise in plan cancellations — more than the marketplace saw in all of 2025 — shows that cost remains a driving factor in health decisions.

    “People want health coverage, and when it can fit in their budget, they buy it,” said Devon Trolley, Pennie’s executive director.

    A partisan divide over the so-called enhanced premium tax credits was at the center of this fall’s longest-ever federal government shutdown. The subsidies have helped offset the cost of Obamacare premiums, ensuring no one spends more than 8.5% of income on health insurance through Democrats’ signature health coverage reforms implemented under President Barack Obama.

    The federal budget ultimately approved by the current Republican-controlled Congress did not include an extension of the tax credits, and it is unclear whether Democrats or Republicans will be able to secure enough votes for the fixes they have proposed.

    U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Bucks County Republican, is proposing legislation that would extend the tax credits for two years, with some restrictions.

    The subsidies have been particularly beneficial to working individuals and families who earn too much to qualify for other, income-based Obamacare tax credits, but who cannot afford to pay full price and do not have access to insurance through an employer. Income-based tax credits for people who earn below 400% of the federal poverty rate are part of the original ACA law and will not expire.

    The add-on tax credits have been approved annually by Congress since 2021, and the vast majority of people who buy coverage through Pennie qualify for at least some amount of financial assistance.

    Pennie will work to update rates as quickly as possible if Congress renews the tax credits before the end of the year.

    In the meantime, marketplace leaders are urging people to consider all the plan options — which range from high-deductible plans with low premiums to plans with steep monthly costs but fewer out-of-pocket expenses — before canceling their coverage entirely.

    Plan costs and expected increases vary, depending on age, income, and geography, which is why it is important for people to review their options, Trolley said.

    Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania suburbs are expected to see costs increase an average of 40% to 70%, while costs are rising an average of 400% or more in rural communities in the middle of the state.

    Increased outreach amid tax credit confusion

    State-based marketplaces and their partners have ramped up marketing and outreach in an effort to make sure people are aware of the cost increases.

    Pennsylvania Health Access Network has doubled the amount of text messages, phone calls, and emails it is sending past clients. Messages remind people of the deadline to enroll and urge them to review their plan online — even if they intend to keep it.

    The nonprofit has seen an increase in people reaching out early for information, compared with past enrollment seasons, as well as more people waiting to make a final decision about coverage, said Antoinette Kraus, the organization’s executive director.

    “We’re seeing fewer people say, ‘All right, sign me up today,’” Kraus said. “They’re taking time to figure out how this fits in the budget.”

    New Jersey announced it was expanding outreach efforts for its marketplace, Get Covered New Jersey, with more than three dozen enrollment events at shopping malls and grocery stores across the state.

    New Jersey has not released enrollment data for 2026.

    Justin Zimmerman, commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Banking and Insurance, urged people not to put off buying a plan, despite uncertainty about tax credits. In New Jersey, people must sign up by Dec. 31 for coverage to take effect Jan. 1.

    “It is especially important for consumers to shop and compare plans to find the best options for them,” Zimmerman said in a statement announcing outreach plans.

    Fitting health insurance into the budget

    People who are used to their plan automatically renewing at the end of the year may be particularly surprised by the new prices when insurers begin sending January premium bills by mid-December.

    Pennsylvania’s deadline for insurance that begins in January is Dec. 15, but people have until the end of January to make any changes to their coverage.

    That means people who are automatically reenrolled in their existing plan still have time to change it, if they realize after getting their first bill that they cannot afford it and want to look for a less expensive option.

    And people who canceled their coverage earlier in the enrollment period can still sign up if they change their mind.

    As of Feb. 1, when the enrollment period ends, people can still cancel their plan, but they will not be able to pick a new one until the coming fall.

    The marketplace’s enrollment specialists work with people to price out all their options. But Pennie’s executive director fears that without an extension of the add-on tax credits, many will not find an option they can afford.

    “We are doing the best we can to provide people with the best information,” Trolley said. “But ultimately, we cannot fill the hole of federal funding.”