Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Trump’s tariffs spur government’s improving deficit
The deficit has ticked down in the new fiscal year, and analysts said there's one obvious reason for the improvement: President Trump's tariffs. Published December 10, 2025
Environmentalists sue to erase Trump’s ‘bloated’ face from appearing on national parks pass
An environmental group filed a lawsuit Wednesday asking a judge to stop the government from putting President Trump's face on a new national parks and monuments pass, saying the country doesn't want to see his "bloated, fragile, attention-seeking" headshot. Published December 10, 2025
Is IQ of 72 too low to dodge death penalty? Supreme Court wrestles with cutoff
The Supreme Court struggled Wednesday to determine when someone is too mentally disabled to be executed for crimes, with the justices pondering when IQ tests or more subjective yardsticks are sufficient methods to determine intellectual ability. Published December 10, 2025
Judge orders Trump to stop using California’s National Guard
A federal judge accused President Trump on Wednesday of using National Guard troops to create a "national police force" and ordered him to relinquish control of the California troops he's commandeered. Published December 10, 2025
Appeals court rules in favor of Pentagon’s limits on transgender troops
A federal appeals court gave a boost Tuesday to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's limits on transgender troops, saying that a lower court that tried to block him didn't show enough deference to his decision-making. Published December 9, 2025
Supreme Court grapples with limits on campaign spending by political party committees
Supreme Court justices grappled Tuesday with whether to topple another domino in campaign finance restrictions -- this one a limit on political party committees' ability to coordinate with individual candidates on how to spend money. Published December 9, 2025
Senate report details 22 Americans caught in crosshairs of Trump’s mass deportation sweep
A report from Senate Democrats accuses Homeland Security of sweeping Americans up in its push to deport illegal immigrants, including some detained for more than a day, seemingly in defiance of Supreme Court guidance this year. Published December 9, 2025
ACLU sues to force release of legal justification for Trump’s attacks on alleged drug boats
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the administration on Tuesday to force disclosure of the Justice Department opinion that provides the legal backing for President Trump to carry out attacks on vessels he says are carrying drugs toward the U.S. Published December 9, 2025
Judge allows release of secret Epstein docs from Maxwell case
A federal judge on Tuesday approved the Justice Department's request to release files relating to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein that were kept under seal as part of the case against his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Published December 9, 2025
Boasberg calls DOJ whistleblower to testify as he considers contempt charge against Trump officials
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg demanded the Justice Department send one of its key lawyers to testify in person about why the government made three deportation flights to El Salvador in March despite what the judge thought were clear orders to ground the planes. Published December 8, 2025
DOJ says Loudoun school transgender policy violated Christian students’ rights
The Trump administration sued Loudoun County public schools on Monday, accusing the Virginia system of forcing its concept of "gender identity" on students without considering their religious beliefs. Published December 8, 2025
Supreme Court delivers win to religious vaccine resisters
The Supreme Court on Monday erased a lower court ruling that had upheld New York's strict school vaccine rules that don't allow religious exemptions, telling the judges to reexamine the case with an eye toward parental rights. Published December 8, 2025
Georgia state lawmaker charged with stealing pandemic unemployment money
A state representative in Georgia was arrested Monday on charges of stealing pandemic unemployment benefits from the government and making false statements to cover for it. Published December 8, 2025
Supreme Court poised to grant Trump broader firing powers over independent agencies
The Supreme Court signaled Monday a readiness to upend a 90-year-old precedent and give presidents expansive powers to fire top officers at independent agencies. Published December 8, 2025
Chief Justice Roberts blocks ruling that threatened Trump personnel moves
Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has put a hold on a lower court ruling that had suggested judges could step in to hear cases where the normal machinery of the executive branch wasn't working. Published December 7, 2025
DOJ dares Judge Boasberg to hold Trump officials in contempt
The Justice Department told Judge James Boasberg it has provided the information it is willing and able to share about the controversial deportation flights to El Salvador in March and said if that's not good enough, then he should move ahead with the criminal contempt proceedings he has been threatening. Published December 6, 2025
Supreme Court agrees to hear Trump’s birthright citizenship case
The Supreme Court said it will hear a case involving President Trump's attempt to rewrite the rules on birthright citizenship, adding a monumental battle over immigration and constitutional rights to its docket. Published December 5, 2025
Judge approves release of Epstein grand jury documents from Florida
A federal judge said Friday that the Justice Department can unseal and release transcripts from the original criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, citing a new law that overcomes the usual secrecy surrounding grand juries. Published December 5, 2025
Trump can fire labor, federal personnel board members, appeals court rules
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that presidents do have the power to fire members of so-called independent agencies if those panels wield substantial executive authority, in a decision that confirms some of President Trump's high-profile firings. Published December 5, 2025
DOJ asks Supreme Court to intervene in immigration judge gag order case
The administration rushed to the Supreme Court on Friday, asking the justices to set aside a lower appeals court ruling that gave anti-Trump litigants a new avenue to challenge the president's personnel moves. Published December 5, 2025
