In 2002, in the wake of 9/11, a panicked Congress — desperate to demonstrate bold action — haphazardly voted to smash together 22 agencies into a new “Department of Homeland Security.”
The sprawling interior ministry would envelop disparate functions from across gov’t – US Coast Guard and the TSA from Transportation; Immigration & Naturalization Service from DOJ; US Customs Service and the Secret Service from Treasury; the celebrated independent agency FEMA; parts of the USDA and HHS...
From the outset, there were warnings from both the left and right that DHS was ill-conceived – that it would not streamline gov’t, but exacerbate bureaucratic dysfunction; that its mandate was too broad and mission creep was inevitable; that it threatened civil liberties and was ripe for abuse by an overzealous president.
Suffice it to say, the current regime has gone even further than most critics foresaw, what with all their broad daylight executions and such. If there is a silver lining to this nightmarish new reality, it’s that deploying a Praetorian Guard with “absolute immunity” to terrorize American communities is, in fact, quite unpopular in the erstwhile land of the free.
So unpopular that suddenly nothing is off the table.
I won’t argue with a straight face that “dismantle DHS” is a politically advisable rallying cry, but I do hope Trump’s bulldozing of our democratic infrastructure – much of which was already unsound and failing to deliver for people – inspires Dems to embark not on a project of restoration, but of reimagination.
As I wrote in my inaugural newsletter, “whoever inherits Trump’s institutional carnage will have a singular opportunity to build a new, better American democracy.”
Highlights from dystopia:
Top Dems are vowing to deliver accountability to Trump officials engaging in criminality, from governors like GAVIN NEWSOM & JB PRITZKER moving to make it easier for state residents to sue immigration agents, to rhetorical warnings of broad prosecutions from a post-Trump admin. RO KHANNA offered perhaps the sharpest riff I’ve heard about why accountability and justice are essential to reconciliation and the country moving forward.
KHANNA also partnered with immigrant rights activist & news influencer Carlos Eduardo Espina on a 10-point ICE accountability & reform plan, and he & RAPHAEL WARNOCK were among the Dems who went to MN this week to show support for and hear from folks on the ground.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ threw her full support behind the nationwide general strike activists sought to organize for today.
RUBEN GALLEGO drew a red line on not funding DHS until Trump fires “this creep” Stephen Miller – and wrote a blistering op-ed for Fox News explaining why he “cannot vote to give this rogue agency a single penny while they continue these abuses.”
The next ‘No Kings’ protest is set for 3/28, with a goal of 9 million attendees nationwide & a flagship event in the Twin Cities; this will be a huge moment, with top Dems certain to headline rallies around the country.
Joshing around
JOSH SHAPIRO’s new memoir dropped this week, and his media tour de force has been something to behold. It included sitdowns with Fox News’s Bret Baier, Katie Couric, Norah O’Donnell, Jake Tapper, George Stephanopoulos, NPR’s Scott Detrow, Stephen Colbert, The View, a live event with RAPHAEL WARNOCK, and more.
But if you want to see what sets Shapiro apart, just watch this episode of Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway & Jessica Tarlov in which he effortlessly ping-pongs from dissecting DHS criminality in Minneapolis to critiquing the Biden Admin’s failure to deliver rural broadband to a nuanced analysis of geopolitical risks in Iran. There are simply not many Dems who can operate on that level.
I’m still working through the book, but one other thing that stuck out to me: He opens up for the first time about difficult chapters of his childhood and his mother’s mental health struggles – and I was genuinely moved by the tearful exchange he had with Norah O’Donnell about it. I’ve not seen that side of Shapiro before.
Speaking of books… CHRIS MURPHY joins the long list of 2028ers with ones coming out this year – Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America is due 5/26. That’s after NEWSOM’s Young Man in a Hurry (2/24) & BOOKER’s Stand (3/24), but before WARNOCK’s The Crooked Places Made Straight (6/16).
The Influency
JB’s big endorsement. JB PRITZKER joined I’ve Had It this week, where fellow Dems have routinely been bodied by co-host Jennifer Welch – a self-described ‘dark woke’ progressive who views party leaders as weak, corporate incrementalists. Her piercing one-liners & fierce interviews have delighted legions of disillusioned liberals and made her a powerful voice on the left. But Pritzker avoided becoming viral roadkill. In fact, he so impressed Welch that in her debrief – after a passing swipe at GAVIN NEWSOM “letting Ben Shapiro dog walk him” – she declared, “Right now, out of the names that are out there, I’m going JB PRITZKER.” It’s about as valuable a stamp of approval as you could get these days – especially for a Jewish billionaire whose path necessitates winning over the populist, pro-Palestinian left.
Dems get run over by a Van. Influential podcaster & political commentator Van Lathan joined The Ringer’s The Press Box podcast to break down his 2028 Democratic depth chart. Lathan – who is equally allergic to bullshit and disillusioned by the party as the aforementioned Welch – offered pretty brutal assessments of nearly every top Dem. Here’s a sampling:
on AOC: “A bright shining star” but “an oddly poor candidate for president” who “just doesn’t have it.”
on NEWSOM: “He’s a cuck… I am watching him get stuffed in lockers on his own podcast.”
on BUTTIGIEG: “It’s over…” He’s “a dynamic figure” but represents a "corporate centrist Democratic wing” that people are done with.
on SHAPIRO: “I don’t know who’s gonna figure [the Israel issue] out, but it’s probably not gonna be Josh Shapiro.”
on HARRIS: “A trailblazer” but “not a good presidential candidate… it’s a fact.”
Drafting the field. Political prognosticators Nate Silver, Clare Malone, & Galen Druke held a mock draft of the 2028 Democratic primary at the Comedy Cellar in New York – which is, objectively, kinda funny – and here’s how it landed:
1) NEWSOM… 2) AOC… 3) PETE… 4) WHITMER… 5) GALLEGO… 6) SHAPIRO… 7) WES MOORE… 8) KAMALA… 9) BOOKER… 10) WARNOCK… 11) OSSOFF… 12) MARK KELLY… 13) JON STEWART… 14) PRITZKER… 15) BESHEAR… 16) KHANNA… 17) KLOBUCHAR… 18) CHRIS MURPHY
Quick Hits
Housekeeping. I’m no longer tracking AMY KLOBUCHAR, who is officially running for governor, and TIM WALZ, whose political career is over. I hope to add a few other suitors soon who I believe should be on people’s radars.
Incoming. Tomorrow is a big, super fun Saturday, friends! The DNC’s rules panel meets in Puerto Rico to discuss the 12 applications they received from states vying to hold early primaries. It’s also the FEC’s 2025 end-of-year filing deadline, which means we get new candidate & PAC fundraising data + surely some other interesting tidbits about how 2028 hopefuls are building out their operations. I’ll try to publish insights early next week.
Suit shopping. JOSH SHAPIRO joined Philadelphia’s federal lawsuit seeking to restore a slavery exhibit that was removed from the President’s House in Philly, vocally denouncing Trump’s effort to whitewash history. And GAVIN NEWSOM filed a formal civil rights complaint on against Dr. Oz – who is somehow the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services – after he baselessly accused Armenian Americans in SoCal of fraud.
Primetiming. WES MOORE will kick off CBS News’s high-profile “Things That Matter” town hall series on Feb. 15, moderated by Norah O’Donnell; subsequent events will star JD Vance & Sam Altman.
Highlights from the Big, Beautiful Tracker
AOC on The Lead with Jake Tapper
JOSH SHAPIRO on Raging Moderates
RO KHANNA on Panic World with Ryan Broderick
MARK KELLY on The Press Box
WES MOORE on The Press Box
JB PRITZKER on News Not Noise with Jessica Yellin
GAVIN NEWSOM on Bloomberg Newsmakers
