Jonathan Chait

Washington, D.C.

Writer for the Atlantic. Tweets with links are intended as prompts to read the linked story, not self-contained arguments substituting for the linked story

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Articles

Why the Left Blames Liberals for Trump’s Authoritarianism

2 weeks ago | theatlantic.com | Jonathan Chait

The Trump administration is carrying out a brazen crackdown on academic freedom: deporting students for writing op-eds, withholding funds from colleges that defy his control, and justifying it all as a response to anti-Semitism. Who is to blame for this? According to one popular theory on the left, the answer is liberals who have consistently supported free speech and opposed Donald Trump. The logic of this diagnosis has a certain superficial appeal.
Opinion: The GOP’s new Medicaid denialism

2 weeks ago | adn.com | Jonathan Chait

Congressional Republicans claim to have achieved something truly miraculous. Their One Big Beautiful Bill Act, they argue, would cut nearly $800 billion from Medicaid spending over 10 years without causing any Americans to lose health care — or, at least, without making anyone who loses health care worse off. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that, by imposing Medicaid work requirements, the bill would eventually increase the uninsured population by at least 8.6 million.
The GOP’s New Medicaid Denialism

3 weeks ago | theatlantic.com | Jonathan Chait

Congressional Republicans claim to have achieved something truly miraculous. Their One Big Beautiful Bill Act, they argue, would cut nearly $800 billion from Medicaid spending over 10 years without causing any Americans to lose health care—or, at least, without making anyone who loses health care worse off. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that, by imposing Medicaid work requirements, the bill would eventually increase the uninsured population by at least 8.6 million.
The Coming Democratic Civil War

1 month ago | sueddeutsche.de | Jonathan Chait

A seemingly wonky debate about the “abundance agenda” is really about power. First published in The Atlantic on May 25, 2025 by Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic May 29, 2025 | reading time: 18 Min.
The Coming Democratic Civil War

1 month ago | rsn.org | Jonathan Chait

A seemingly wonky debate about the “abundance agenda” is really about power. A civil war has broken out among the Democratic wonks. The casus belli is a new set of ideas known as the abundance agenda. Its supporters herald it as the key to prosperity for the American people and to enduring power for the liberal coalition.
The Largest Upward Transfer of Wealth in US History

1 month ago | transcend.org | Jonathan Chait

Jonathan Chait | The Atlantic - TRANSCEND Media Service House Republicans voted to advance a bill that would offer lavish tax cuts for the rich while slashing benefits for the poor. 22 May 2025 – House Republicans worked through the night to advance a massive piece of legislation that might, if enacted, carry out the largest upward transfer of wealth in American history. That is not a side effect of the legislation, but its central purpose.
The Real Stakes of the Fight Over ‘Abundance’

1 month ago | theatlantic.com | Jonathan Chait

A civil war has broken out among the Democratic wonks. The casus belli is a new set of ideas known as the abundance agenda. Its supporters herald it as the key to prosperity for the American people and to enduring power for the liberal coalition.
The Largest Upward Transfer of Wealth in American History

1 month ago | theatlantic.com | Jonathan Chait

House Republicans worked through the night to advance a massive piece of legislation that might, if enacted, carry out the largest upward transfer of wealth in American history. That is not a side effect of the legislation but its central purpose. The “Big, Beautiful Bill” would pair huge cuts to food assistance and health insurance for low-income Americans with even larger tax cuts for affluent ones.
Kristi Noem Is Dangerously Ignorant

1 month ago | theatlantic.com | Jonathan Chait

Several top members of the Trump administration have been evading constraints on their lawless actions by playing a clever game of feigned ignorance as to the plain requirements of the Constitution and a series of adverse court rulings. Then there’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose ignorance appears to be utterly genuine.
Trump’s Immoral World Order

1 month ago | theatlantic.com | Jonathan Chait

Updated at 2:50 p.m. ET on May 16, 2025Earlier this week in Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump delivered what the White House billed as a “major address,” which is a long-standing way to signal that a particular speech is meant to lay down a historical marker communicating the president’s values. Or, in this case, the lack thereof. Trump’s message was that, unlike interventionist Americans of the past, he did not take account of democracy or human rights when dealing with foreign states.