Washington’s Circus

3 articles on this topic

Legislative staff rush judicial robes, gavels and chairs into an overloaded calendar before closing time.

The Old Senate Is Booking Lifetime Appointments On The Closing Shift

Washington’s CircusOctober 15, 2026 at 5:19 PM EDTBy Margaret Mayakovsky

Republicans are planning back-to-back judicial-nomination hearings after the election. Voters may choose a new Senate in November, but the old one would still like to choose judges for life in December.

A federal investigator carrying an assignment folder approaches a retroactive performance-review turnstile.

The FBI Loyalty Test Apparently Includes Doing Your Assigned Job

Washington’s CircusOctober 15, 2026 at 5:19 PM EDTBy Margaret Mayakovsky

Nine former FBI employees say they were fired for work they were assigned to perform on the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation. The new personnel standard seems to be following orders, but only the orders that age well politically.

A Pentagon control room operator reaches for a giant off switch beside a darkened livestream screen and discarded popcorn bucket.

The Pentagon Cancels Its Most Deranged Livestream Pilot

Washington’s CircusOctober 15, 2026 at 3:10 PM EDTBy Jared Mejia

The administration has canceled plans to livestream a military execution, proving that even this White House occasionally locates the off switch.