The five-term Senate incumbent is leaning on her Appropriations Committee chairmanship to justify a sixth term. Here’s an instructive example of why the coveted gavel may not save Collins.
Matthew Cooper
Matthew Cooper is Executive Editor Digital at the Washington Monthly. He is also a contributing editor of the magazine and a veteran reporter who has covered politics and the White House for Time, The New Republic, Washingtonian, National Journal and many other publications.
Matthew is on Bluesky @mattizcoop.bsky.social and X @mattizcoop.
Posted inPolitics
The Lost Journalistic World of 9/11
The mainstream press was far from perfect. But before the era of “hot takes,” information silos, steep budget cuts, and ugly charges of “fake news,” it had strengths that we need now.
Posted in2026 College Guide
The Return of the Native
Nicholas Lemann’s family history illuminates what it means to be Jewish in America and explains how we choose our religious and ethnic identities.
Posted inPolitics
Trump’s Election Integrity Dud
Donald Trump’s White House address to the nation about election integrity landed with all the force of a cotton ball. No one who has followed the last three presidential elections would have predicted an honest accounting from the 47th president, who continues to falsely insist that he won the 2020 contest against Joe Biden. The […]
Posted inPolitics
Can Trump Steal the Midterms? Six Takeaways from Our Election Investigation
On Thursday night, President Donald Trump is scheduled to address the nation and will reportedly repeat his false claim that the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden, was stolen. Reports indicate that he’ll focus on, among other things, the Chinese acquisition of (publicly available) voter files and returns from Georgia, a state […]
Posted inPolitics
Platner’s Conspiracy-Laden, Bitter Farewell
Platner’s Conspiracy-Laden, Bitter Farewell. He could have gone out on notes of grace, optimism, and Democratic unity.
Posted inPolitics
Graham Platner and the Working-Class Fetish
This bloc won’t be wooed by cosplay and pandering.
Posted inBooks
The Return of the Native
Nicholas Lemann’s family history illuminates what it means to be Jewish in America and explains how we choose our religious and ethnic identities.
Posted inPolitics
Be Thankful Barney Frank Wasn’t Pushed Out in 1989
The late great representative’s near political end in a sex scandal is a reminder of why Congress should pause before forcing members to resign.
Posted inIn Memoriam
The Architect of Empathy: Suzannah Lessard (1944-2026)
The Architect of Empathy: Suzannah Lessard (1944-2026). Among the first editors of this magazine, the celebrated author and progeny of Stanford White, had a tumultuous upbringing and a nuanced moral imagination.
