Reasonably Optimistic

As the Trump administration challenges Congress’s “power of the purse” and grumbles at court orders slowing down its deluge of executive actions, it seems like a showdown among the three branches of government is brewing. But is this panic warranted, or will President Trump and his allies do what the courts say? Columnists Ruth Marcus, James Hohmann and Jason Willick get into it. 

Additional reading by our columnists:

Ruth Marcus: Can the courts — can anyone — stop Trump?

Jason Willick: Save the panic over Trump’s ‘power grabs.’ It might be needed later.

Many U.S. office workers have gotten used to hybrid or remote work in the past few years. These arrangements changed where people live and added flexibility to their schedules. But now, the trend seems to be reversing – some companies are wanting people back in the office five days a week, and President Trump said federal employees need to end remote work, too. Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Heather Long discuss how the balance of power between employers and their workers is shifting, and whether our cities and our lives can really go back to the way they were.  

Additional reading by Post columnists: 

Heather Long: Who will follow Amazon back into the office?

Catherine Rampell: Return-to-work mandates are an invisible pay cut

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One thing we can control is how we spend our money. So should the places where we shop align with our values, or is the politicization of corporate America just one more way the country is fracturing? Post Opinions’s Drew Goins, Molly Roberts and Heather Long discuss boycotts on both sides of the aisle, from Chick-fil-A to Budweiser, and whether voting with your dollars can change anything.

Additional Reading:

Target’s DEI cuts have Black entrepreneurs saying ‘clear the shelves’

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President Trump wants to take over Greenland and “clean out” Gaza and is threatening both friends and foes of the United States. Is Trump's shock-and-awe approach a smart tactic, or is he weakening America by alienating our allies? Columnists Dana Milbank, Catherine Rampell and Max Boot discuss the pitfalls of Trump bringing his real estate developer instincts back to the world stage.

Read more from our columnists:

Max Boot: Why McKinley makes an alarming Trump presidential role model

Eduardo Porter: Trump is popular abroad. But will his foreign policy doom humanity?

David Ignatius: Trump’s Gaza remarks put willing Arab partners on guard

The first day of Donald Trump’s presidency featured a fire hose of execution orders, pardons for the Jan. 6 defendants and lots of long speeches. Columnists Ruth Marcus, Dana Milbank and Jim Geraghty discuss what stood out to them among the barrage of actions, what might not pass legal muster and how presidential pardons are getting out of hand.

Additional Reading:

Ruth Marcus: Big Tech’s power surge

Jim Geraghty: Trump’s inauguration vow to uphold the law clashes with his TikTok stance

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It’s “Dry January,” non-alcoholic drink sales are soaring and the surgeon general is warning people about the links between alcohol and cancer. But is it really so bad to have a few drinks at a weekly happy hour? Opinions editor Drew Goins chats with contributing columnist and physician Leana Wen and columnist Molly Roberts about the hierarchy of cancer risks and how to weigh the pleasures and perils of drinking.

Additional Reading:

Leana Wen: The right lesson to draw from the surgeon general’s alcohol warning

There’s a housing crisis in America: high interest rates, not enough homes, and regulations that seem to favor building massive “McMansions” instead of more diverse housing stock. How did we get here, and can we find our way out? Post columnist Heather Long talks to the Atlantic’s Jerusalem Demsas, who’s written a book on the housing crisis, and Bryan DeHenau, a Michigan roofer who sees the struggles in the building industry on the ground every day.

Additional Reading:

Heather Long and Amanda Shendruk: “The new American Dream should be a townhouse”

Heather Long talks with Bryan DeHenau about his ideas for how to build more homes in America: “A Michigan roofer’s smart plan to end the housing crisis”

Jerusalem Demsas: “An American-Style Housing Crisis in New Zealand”