You Love To See It: Defending America’s Gentle Giants
Conservationists go after Big Ag, Wyoming becomes an unlikely protector of women, Pennsylvania calls a spade a spade, and transgender Idahoans flush out a bathroom bill.
Recent coverage
The Most Powerful Political Office You’ve Never Heard Of
One elected official quietly controls a $300 billion fund and holds the power to move financial markets. Why is no one watching?
Who’s Kicking Money Out Of Politics?
Test your knowledge of Wall Street, dark money, and other issues that really matter.
Why Is Newsom Fighting California’s Billionaire Tax?
A California ballot initiative aims to fund schools and poverty programs by taxing billionaires. Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to kill it.
Midterm Madness: Have Super PACs Met Their Match?
A plan that would make it illegal for corporations to spend on elections will appear on Montana’s ballot this November.
Uber Wants Immunity. Survivors Want Justice.
Sexual assault survivors and advocates are urging Congress to strip a measure that could shield Uber and Lyft from lawsuits over assaults, injuries, and deaths.
Newsom Declares War On Behalf Of California’s Billionaires
The governor is leading a coalition to squash a one-time 5 percent wealth tax on California billionaires.
The Oligarchs Are Not Reading The Room
As Americans struggle to afford basic necessities, the country’s billionaire class is flaunting its wealth — and acting shocked by the populist backlash.
AIPAC Sneaks Money Into Manhattan
Rep. Dan Goldman has disavowed donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — while accepting money from an apparent AIPAC front group.
Lever Weekly: The Octagon Of Evil
Battle royale at the White House, Caddyshack at the Capitol, and more from The Lever this week.
You Love To See It: Democracy Dodges A Bullet
Elections stay safe, lawyers take a pay cut, immigrants stand their ground, and a pension fund earns an advocate.
ICE Tries To Raid Legal Offices, Demanding Files On Migrant Children
After freezing payments and demanding sensitive client data, the Trump administration has escalated its pressure campaign against lawyers representing unaccompanied migrant children.
The Real UFC White House Takeover
While the UFC’s White House event grabs headlines, the bigger story is a bill that could hand MMA tycoon Dana White unprecedented influence over professional boxing.
Who’s The Biggest Winner In The NBA?
Test your knowledge of the Knicks, Uber, and the issues that really matter.
Regulators Waived Investor Protections For SpaceX’s Wall Street Moonshot
As Wall Street gears up for SpaceX’s record-breaking IPO, regulators quietly granted brokerages an extraordinary exemption from rules protecting customers if markets turn volatile.
Data Centers Are Messing With Texas
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing for a suite of data center reforms aimed at protecting Texans from rising utility costs and depleting water reservoirs.
The Movie Trope That Explains American Politics
In U.S. politics, it’s slobs versus snobs.
Midterm Madness: The Epstein Effect
GOP Rep. Nancy Mace blames her primary loss on her support for releasing the Epstein files.
Congress Just Snuck In Uber Immunity
A provision tucked into a must-pass transportation bill could shield Uber and Lyft from lawsuits — as the companies battle thousands of injury and sexual assault claims.
Trump’s $8 Billion Box Seats
Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan rolled out the red carpet for Donald Trump weeks after the White House spared the arena from relocation plans.
Today’s Referendum On Graham Platner
The Maine Senate primary today has become a national referendum on populism, power, character, and the future of the Democratic Party. Here’s our essential coverage.
The Supreme Court Lets Corporations Sidestep Their Victims
Justices declined to stop a bankruptcy maneuver that allows companies to dump legal liabilities into a separate entity — and leave victims fighting for compensation.
Uber’s Secret Hawaiian Slush Fund
A new report alleges Uber has parked $12.5 billion in a Hawaiian shell company that could help finance robotaxis, sidestep taxes, and bankroll efforts to weaken consumer protections.
LEVER WEEKLY: Fighting Fraud — With More Fraud?
A top pension officer trading fossil fuels, the monopoly stopping fire trucks from fighting fires, and more from The Lever this week.
YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: ICE, Crushed
Immigration enforcers face justice from Minnesota to Texas, abortion patients preserve their privacy, and oil drillers come clean.
More Than One Thing Can Be True About Graham Platner
Platner’s critics, supporters, and detractors have valid points — but the most powerful voices in the debate are politically motivated to deny that complexity exists.
Trump Wants Lawyers’ Files On Migrant Children
As immigration courts accelerate deportation proceedings, the Trump administration is withholding funding while pressuring legal aid groups to disclose sensitive data about vulnerable children.
When Obama Gave Up On The Public Option
Newly obtained records show the former president once snarkily rejected calls to bypass Senate roadblocks to deliver public health insurance — the same barriers he now condemns.
Who’s Managing Your Retirement?
Test your knowledge of Citizens United, AI in the stock market, and other issues that really matter.
Midterm Madness: Progressives Push Back Against Party-Approved Dems
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is picking favorites before voters have a chance to weigh in.
Hawaii Is Overthrowing Citizens United
How an innovative new law is challenging the rules that transformed money into the most powerful force in American politics.
The First Real Legal Challenge To Trump’s Iran War
In a stunning House vote, lawmakers began an attempt to end the war without presidential approval — creating conditions for a potentially historic legal showdown.
Surveillance Price Ban Blocked By Colorado’s Lame Duck Dem
Gov. Jared Polis has again ruffled feathers within his own party by vetoing a bill that would have outlawed surveillance pricing in the Centennial State.
Big Firetruck Is Jacking Up The Price Of Fighting Fires
Cities across the country are suing private equity-backed manufacturers, alleging they cornered the firetruck market, shut down factories, and drove prices through the roof.
Midterm Madness: The Clickbait Candidate Strikes Again
Your weekly essential midterms update from The Lever newsroom.
Data Centers’ New Deep-Pocketed Champion: The Kochs
A Koch network-backed dark money front group is popping up across mainstream media as a new defender of the artificial intelligence buildout.
The Pension Chief Betting On Oil While California Burns
The top investment officer of California’s massive teachers’ pension fund opposed fossil fuel divestment — then went on to trade more than $1 million in oil and gas-related stocks.
The Shadow Campaign To Stop An Iowa Insurgent
Dem Party leaders and billionaire groups are spending millions to boost Josh Turek over progressive Zach Wahls in Iowa’s primary, despite claims of neutrality.
Graham Platner And The New Politics Of Character
Washington’s political and media class keeps trying to make Platner’s personal controversies the story. Voters may be focused on a bigger scandal.
The MAGA Money Behind Susan Collins’ New Favorite Democrat
A former Democratic party operative told Fox News that he prefers the Republican in Maine’s pivotal Senate race — without sharing that he’s recently lobbied on behalf of Susan Collins’ donors.
LEVER WEEKLY: Graham Platner DGAF
Maine’s revolutionary oysterman, Epstein’s Iran-Contra scandal, and more from The Lever this week.
YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: All Bets Are Off
Good things are happening! Lawmakers ban prediction markets, railroad safety gets back on track, Wall Street stays out of the neighborhood, and a state prepares to make drugs more affordable.
Inside Graham Platner’s Plan To Wield Power
The oysterman-turned-Senate candidate is plotting a political revolution against oligarchs and leaders of both parties.
Graham Platner Reveals The Real Story Of FDR
The Maine Senate candidate told The New York Times’ liberal audience a tale they’ve probably never heard — one that debunks their party’s pretend powerlessness.
Alleged Fraudsters Are Fueling Trump’s Fraud Crusade
The State Financial Officers Foundation has become a leading voice in Trump’s war on “fraud” — even as the group’s leaders face financial misconduct allegations of their own.
Midterm Madness: The Clickbait Candidate Strikes Again
Your weekly essential midterms update from The Lever newsroom.
The Spy Planes That Helped Jeffrey Epstein Take Off
How the convicted sex trafficker built his power in the shadows of the Iran-Contra affair — and why no one stopped him.
Master Plan Bonus: The Reagan Order That Shifted Power To The White House
How a little-known executive order helped weaken Congress’s control over federal policy.
Lever Weekly: ICE’s Phantom Contractor Just Got Ghostbusted
Obscure surveillance contractors get probed, dark money machines get exposed, and more from The Lever this week
YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: You’ve Got Mail — And Rights
Abortion stays a choice, New York goes to market, drugs remain discounted, parents’ rights activists score a new advocate, and Hawaii gives election power back to the people.