Anne Kim
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Articles by Anne Kim
Higher Education After Trump
The Trump administration has largely failed in its efforts to impose a new MAGA-inspired “compact” on higher education.
Who Are the “Trump Regretters”?
A new survey finds that 18 percent of voters who supported Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election now say they regret their vote. Many of these voters come from groups that swung toward Republicans in the last election, including young people, Black and Hispanic voters, and moms. What drove these voters to change their mind about Trump? And how much could this shift benefit Democrats in this fall’s midterms?
Barney Frank’s Last Harsh Warning to the Left
For more than 30 years, Representative Barney Frank was one of the nation’s most visible liberal lawmakers. The Massachusetts Democrat who died earlier this year was the first member of the House to come out publicly as gay, and the first in Congress to marry a same-sex partner.
Will a Wave of “Trump Regret” Lift Democratic Boats This Fall?
I confess to some smug satisfaction when a disciple of Donald Trump turns heretic—especially after some very public humiliation or as just desserts. Take, for instance, the recent case of the right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. Once an avid and vociferous supporter of President Trump—and of Trump’s anti-immigrant policies in particular—Yiannopoulos was himself detained and deported by ICE for allegedly overstaying his visa. He now says he’s “ashamed” of his support for Trump.
The hypocrisy of the Republican doctor turned senator who sued 700 patients for unpaid debts
Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas — or “ Doc Marshall ” in his campaign ads — portrays himself as a kindly country physician, the sort who, in a bygone era, might have made house calls on elderly neighbors or answered midnight queries from anxious new parents.
The hypocrisy of the Republican doctor turned senator who sued 700 patients for unpaid debts
Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas — or “Doc Marshall” in his campaign ads — portrays himself as a kindly country physician, the sort who, in a bygone era, might have made house calls on elderly neighbors or answered midnight queries from anxious new parents.
“Deceive, Disrupt, Deny.” The Looming Threat to This Fall’s Elections
Recent weeks have seen an escalation of the Trump administration’s efforts to interfere with this fall’s elections. Its aggressive efforts to restrict mail-in voting, for example, could potentially disenfranchise millions while sowing chaos in state election offices. President Trump has also threatened to arrest election officers accused of wrongdoing (many of whom are volunteers) and to send ICE agents to the polls.
Washington Monthly’s 2026 College Guide and Rankings
If you want to know what really counts in higher education, look at the Monthly’s rankings—you’ll find some welcome surprises. Arne Duncan, former Secretary of Education Welcome to the Washington Monthly’s annual College Guide and Rankings, where we rate schools based on what they do for the country. It’s our answer to U.S. News & World Report, which relies on crude and easily manipulated measures of wealth, exclusivity, and prestige. Click here to read our methodology.
What You Need to Know About Election Threats This Fall
Here’s how crazy things have gotten in America. The most significant threat to our elections this fall isn’t Russian interference or terrorism. It’s our own federal government. As a candidate, Donald Trump made his lies about a stolen election the focus of his campaign. As president, Trump has made election denialism a cornerstone of his presidency. And in recent weeks, he’s accelerated his efforts to subvert November’s elections.
For the second time in Trump’s two terms, Americans are fretting about toilet paper. That’s not good.
Remember the Great Toilet Paper Panic of 2020? In the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic, massive supply chain disruptions led to shortages of many basic goods, including — crucially — toilet paper. People bartered face masks and hand sanitizer in exchange for precious rolls. Criminals attempted daring toilet paper heists. Bidet sales soared. More than six years later, Americans are freaking out over a potential surge in toilet paper prices after President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada.
Liberals Need to Care About the National Debt
The U.S. national debt recently surpassed $40 trillion—a milestone that generated headlines in the press but shrugs among many liberals. “Milestones are milestones: They measure, and they help pass the time,” wrote economist James K. Galbraith wrote in The Nation last week. “Otherwise, they have no intrinsic importance.” “Progressive deficit hawks” are about as rare as snowballs in July.
DOGE Is Done, But the Wreckage Remains
As the head of President Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” billionaire Elon Musk wielded power for a scant four months. But it was long enough to scar the federal government for potentially decades. More than 250,000 federal workers have lost or left their jobs as a result of mass layoffs, including nuclear safety engineers, hurricane researchers, cybersecurity experts, and many other workers vital to Americans’ health and safety.
Death by a Thousand Papercuts
Since last April, according to government data, the number of people getting help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—often referred to as food stamps—has dropped by more than 5.3 million people, including more than 1.5 million children. In Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana, the declines have been greater than 20 percent, and in Arizona, the number of beneficiaries has plummeted by more than half. No, the nation has not miraculously solved its hunger problem.
DOGE Has Made Americans Less Safe
“Numident” might be the most important federal database you’ve never heard of. It’s the Social Security Administration’s master dataset, and it contains the personal information of every American ever registered with Social Security, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and the names of people’s parents. Think of it as proof of your existence.
Get Smart: Our Summer Reading Roundup
You don’t need us here at the Washington Monthly to tell you to read Regime Change, the juicy blockbuster by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan that’s on track to be the runaway nonfiction bestseller of 2026. But how about a deeply illuminating biography of Preston Brooks, the South Carolina slaver who caned Charles Sumner on the Senate floor in the run-up to the Civil War? Or an analysis of the coming revolt by over-educated, disillusioned baristas?
Businesses Should Step Up to Defend Democracy
American businesses have been noticeably mum since President Donald Trump’s return to power in 2025. Many of the nation’s most prominent executives have gone out of their way to accommodate the president, even as he has increasingly asserted control over their industries. A phalanx of billionaires paid court at Trump’s inauguration, while top companies—including Caterpillar, T-Mobile, and Altria—are helping to fund Trump’s ballroom.
Why Autocracy Doesn’t Pay
On January 6, 2021, as rioters swarmed the U.S. Capitol, one of America’s most powerful business lobbies—the National Association of Manufacturers—issued an extraordinary condemnation. Headlined “Manufacturers Call on Armed Thugs to Cease Violence at Capitol,” the statement by NAM President Jay Timmons decried the attack as “chaos” and “mob rule”: This is sedition and should be treated as such.
ICE Has Only Seemed To Be Quieter
As a U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin enjoyed a reputation for confrontation and theatricality. He often donned a cowboy hat on the Senate floor (a no-no for a body that prizes decorum) and strode the hallways of the Capitol bouncing a rubber stress ball.
How to Save the IRS
In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which invested $80 billion to fix the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The agency produced a 200-page modernization plan, promising a major overhaul of the agency’s processes and technology; and it introduced features like Direct File, a new free filing service that won high marks from government auditors. All of this progress ended with President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
How Trump and DOGE Broke the IRS
The Internal Revenue Service may never be the government’s most popular agency, but it could have been the most efficient. In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which invested $80 billion to fix the IRS. In 2023, then-IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel submitted a 200-page modernization plan to Congress, promising a major overhaul of the agency’s processes and technology. Among these reforms was Direct File, which debuted in 2024.
A Narrowing Vision of America
When the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage 11 years ago last month, the reaction was sheer jubilation. Couples flocked to courthouses to formalize their unions. Thousands rallied in community celebrations. The White House glowed with rainbow lights (I know, it’s unfathomable today). The Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges extended marriage equality to a group of Americans whose rights had previously been in doubt.
The Heritage Foundation’s Troubling “Pro-Natalist” Agenda
In 2023, the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation released “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise”—otherwise known as Project 2025. Already, more than half of the recommendations included in this blueprint have been implemented by the Trump administration, with profound and destructive impacts on public health, governmental capacity, civil liberties, and Americans’ safety.
Women Aren’t “Under-babied.” They’re Under Threat.
It’s the worst beach read ever. The ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation—the architect of Project 2025—is back with a “pro-natalist” sequel. Its 168-page report, titled “Saving America by Saving the Family,” blames social welfare programs and “second wave feminism” for America’s falling fertility rates. Its solution: Promoting marriage and motherhood, even at the expense of women’s freedom. The report is both exhausting and terrifying.
The Myth of the “Independent Creator”
Online sensations like Mr. Beast—the YouTuber with nearly 500 million subscribers—have spurred countless imitators with dreams of online fame. More than 127 million people say they work as “creators,” according to the influencer marketing firm NeoReach.
Why You’ll Never Be an Online Star
Online sensations like Mr. Beast—the YouTuber with nearly 500 million subscribers—have spurred countless imitators with dreams of online fame. More than 127 million people say they work as “creators,” according to the influencer marketing firm NeoReach.
The Washington Monthly Announces Finalists for 2026 Kukula Award Book Review Prize
The Washington Monthly proudly announces the finalists for the 2026 Kukula Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Book Reviewing—the only journalism prize dedicated to highlighting and encouraging reviews of serious, public affairs-focused books. Now in its seventh year, the award honors the memory of Kukula Kapoor Glastris, the magazine’s longtime and beloved books editor. Two prize winners will be announced on Monday, June 15.
Gen Z Has an Antisemitism Problem
Among the vilest figures in American politics today is the far-right influencer Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist and Holocaust denier who makes no secret of his hateful views. “We are done with the slavish surrender to Israel, the wars, the foreign aid, the policing of antisemitism, the Holocaust religion and propaganda,” he said in a 2025 video typical of his bigotry.
Real Men Teach—But We Need More of Them
For several decades now, girls have been outperforming boys academically. They earn , are less likely to drop out, and are significantly more likely to attend college. Women now earn the majority of professional degrees, according to the Hechinger Report, including 60 percent of master’s and doctorates. The growing gender gap in achievement isn’t just bad for young men, it’s bad for women too.
How to Save Capitalism
For at least the past half-century, market “efficiency” and the maximization of shareholder profit have been the paramount goals of U.S. capitalism. The result: a proliferation of billionaires, soaring inequality, and growing doubts about the fairness of the U.S. economy. A majority of California voters, for instance, say they support the “billionaire tax” on the ballot in November. New York City’s mayor is a democratic socialist.
The Capitalists Trying to Fix Capitalism
Playback speed × Share post Share post at current time Share from 0:00 0:00 / The Capitalists Trying to Fix Capitalism "Market humanism" is how the economy should work, argue Nick Hanauer and Eric Beinhocker. Billionaires are the apex predators of the modern economy. They tear up governments, buy politicians, and wreck the planet with carbon-spewing yachts. They control the news and what’s in our feeds. They spend $55 million on lavish weddings while the rest of us struggle to buy groceries and gas.
The Capitalists Trying to Fix Capitalism
Billionaires are the apex predators of the modern economy. They tear up governments, buy politicians, and wreck the planet with carbon-spewing yachts. They control the news and what’s in our feeds. They spend $55 million on lavish weddings while the rest of us struggle to buy groceries and gas. No wonder then, that billionaire backlash is growing. A majority of California voters, for instance, say they support the “billionaire tax” on the ballot in November.
Vote While You Still Can
When Hungarians went to the polls last month to defeat the authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, they did so in record numbers. A historic 77.8 percent of voters cast ballots—Hungary’s highest turnout ever. The last time U.S. voter turnout came close to that level was in 1900 (73.2 percent), when William McKinley beat Williams Jennings Bryan.
Get Ready for the AI Crash
In an ominous sign for the artificial intelligence industry, OpenAI reported this week that it had missed its targets for new users and revenue. The revelation sparked fresh worries about an AI bubble—and an imminent AI crash.
An AI Crash Is Coming. What Then?
Now This was one of my best experiences with a phone camera, and there's no going back. I have been reviewing phones for almost a decade. And countless times over this period, brands have claimed that their phones can replace actual DSLRs or mirrorless cameras. Every time I’ve heard that, I have wanted …
An AI Crash Is Coming. What Then?
In an ominous sign for the artificial intelligence industry, OpenAI reported this week that it had missed its targets for new users and revenue. The revelation sparked fresh worries about an AI bubble—and an imminent AI crash.
Why Americans Don’t Trust Higher Education
Higher education has been buzzing about a new report from Yale University on the decline of public trust in colleges and universities. The report is unexpectedly self-flagellatory, which is why it’s earned hyperbolic headlines since its release. (“Yale report savages Ivy League schools for destroying trust in higher education,” blared Fortune.) Many of the report’s recommendations, drafted by a 10-member committee, will no doubt improve Yale’s internal operations.
You Could Have Filed Your Taxes for Free This Year…
In 2024, Joe Biden’s administration piloted Direct File, a free tax filing program offered by the Internal Revenue Service to save taxpayers time and money. More than 140,000 taxpayers participated, and a subsequent audit by the Government Accountability Office praised the initiative for its design and accuracy.
Trump’s Budget: Cruelty, Contempt, and Endless Debt
The headline number from the Trump Administration’s fiscal 2027 budget, released last week, was the eye-watering $1.5 trillion demanded for the “Department of War.” But that’s not the only problem in this flaming dumpster of a document. If budgets are meant to be blueprints, what Trump is building is a mausoleum for America’s future. First, let’s be clear: Trump’s budget has no chance of passing Congress as is.
Democrats’ “Branding Problem” Is a Literal One
I was killing time at the Washington Dulles International Airport a couple of weeks back, having arrived five hours early for my flight. (The TSA lines were actually great.) In search of a travel pillow for one of the kids, we stumbled across a gift shop in the United terminal with a surprisingly abundant array of Trump-related merch. Garishly sequined MAGA hats. Garishly sequined MAGA sweatshirts.
Women Are Getting Slammed in Trump’s Economy
President Donald Trump has made no secret of his hostility to women, whether it’s his appalling tolerance of sexual predators, his misogynistic attacks on the women who’ve dared to challenge him, or the multiple allegations of misconduct leveled against Trump himself. It’s the Trump economy, however, that’s had the most widespread negative impact on women in America.
Trump’s Not-So-Great Health Care Plan
President Donald Trump recently unveiled his “Great Healthcare Plan,” vowing to bring down soaring premiums and “fix” the Affordable Care Act. But Trump’s single-page plan is likely to fall far short of his promises, says Edwin Park, a research professor at Georgetown University and a former health policy advisor to the National Economic Council under President Joe Biden. For instance, Trump wants to give cash directly to households to pay for health care.
Can “At-Large” Districts Push Extremists Out of Congress
Next month, Virginians will vote on whether to authorize a new Congressional map that could yield as many as four new Democratic seats. It’s the latest move in the gerrymandering wars touched off by President Donald Trump, when he demanded that Texas redraw its Congressional districts to help ensure a Republican majority after the midterms this fall. Since then, legislatures in including Indiana, Missouri, Maryland, Illinois, and California, have approved or are considering new maps.
The Republicans Who Could Save Democracy
President Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican Party has seemed absolute. But his consistent disregard for constitutional and societal norms might be leading to genuine fissures within the GOP.
The Corporate Conspiracy of Silence on “Affordability”
“Affordability” is on the lips of every politician in America and on the minds of most Americans. Surveys consistently find it to be a top concern for voters (though the war in Iran could soon displace it). But one group is conspicuously silent: the companies that rely on the low-wage workers hit hardest by inflation. On the one hand, companies haven’t been shy about their own affordability burdens resulting from Trump’s misguided policies.
The GOP’s Cruel Plans for Another Big Ugly Bill
My grandmother immigrated to the US from South Korea when I was three years old. She arrived in the country legally and got her green card around the same time my parents became naturalized US citizens a few years later. She took care of my little brother and me so that my mother could work as a typist for an insurance company (yes, those jobs once existed). Our family couldn’t afford child care.
Could New Orleans Be the Model for Fixing Public Schools?
In 2003, New Orleans public schools were among the worst in the country. Seventy percent of eighth-graders were not proficient in math, 74 percent weren’t proficient in English, and the graduation rate was . Moreover, the district was as corrupt as it was incompetent. FBI investigations led to the indictment of two dozen school officials; nearly $70 million in federal funding was missing. New Orleans schools have since achieved a remarkable transformation.
No boom in jobs for Trump's base
Stronger than expected jobs numbers have the White House crowing about a booming Trump economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the economy added 130,000 jobs in January, which Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer claimed as “proof that President Trump’s America First policies are working their magic.” “Magic”? Make that sleight-of-hand. Other numbers released by BLS betray a labor market that’s shaky at best, especially for the workers Trump claims to champion.
The companies secretly profiting from ICE
Earlier this year, 55-year-old Cuban immigrant Geraldo Lunas Campos died at an ICE detention facility on the grounds of Fort Bliss, Texas. Officials claimed Campos had been “in distress,” and guards had been trying to help. But his death was ruled a homicide, the result of “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.” Charges have yet to be filed; it’s unclear if an investigation is even pending. That’s not the only peculiarity surrounding Campos’s death.
Gen Z’s Problem with “Fake” News
In the eyes of today’s teens, journalism and the media are doomed.
How Democrats Lost Rural Voters-and How to Win Them Back
In 2008, President Barack Obama made major inroads with rural voters—a feat that Democratic candidates hadn’t been able to achieve since the 1992 and 1996 victories of Bill Clinton. Obama won 9 million votes from rural America and flipped 179 rural counties that had voted Republican in 2004. He still lost rural voters 45 percent to 53 percent, but his performance was a big improvement over 2004, when President George W.
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