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Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 194

What Just Happened?

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 194: What Just Happened?

Using the Power of the Government to Win Elections

October 5, 2026 · 3:12 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Paul Rosenzweig: “The principle that government ought to be administered for the benefit of all citizens, not on behalf of one political party, lies at the core of America’s democratic enterprise. The Trump administration couldn’t care less: It appears to see the federal government not as something to steward on behalf of all Americans, but as an opportunity—a set of levers it can pull on to protect its reign.”

“America’s adherence to this principle of executive neutrality has never been perfect, but as a norm it has been honored more than breached.”

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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