The Breakdown

How politics and government really work, and why they don’t.

Our series seeks to show how politics and government really work, and why they don’t.

49 stories published since 2015

Can the Democrats Be as Stubborn as Mitch McConnell?

by Alec MacGillis

February 3, 2017, 5:00 am EST
Conservatives Plot Their Course on the Rising ‘Sea of Red’ in State Capitals

by Robert Faturechi

January 6, 2017, 12:43 pm EST
Rick Perry’s Texas Giveaways

by Alec MacGillis

January 3, 2017, 9:00 am EST
The Continuing Muddle at a Pro-Trump Political Committee

by Robert Faturechi and Derek Willis

December 23, 2016, 9:00 am EST
Would Washington’s FDA Fix Cure the Patients or the Drug Industry?

by Alec MacGillis

November 30, 2016, 1:23 pm EST
Meet the Candidate For Attorney General Who’s Hunted Quail with Corporate Donors

by Robert Faturechi and Sarah Smith

November 17, 2016, 4:14 pm EST
The Sheriff Gets His Man

by Alec MacGillis

November 15, 2016, 6:00 am EST
Revenge of the Forgotten Class

by Alec MacGillis

November 10, 2016, 9:00 am EST
Would Wall Street Have a Place in a Clinton Administration?

by Alec MacGillis

November 7, 2016, 1:01 am EST
Clay Pigeons: How Lobbyists Secretly Woo Top Election Officials

by Robert Faturechi, ProPublica, and Eric Lipton, The New York Times

November 4, 2016, 5:30 am EDT
The Democrats’ Bad Map

by Alec MacGillis

October 22, 2016, 2:30 pm EDT
Super PAC to Billionaire: We Need More Money to Save a Republican Senate

by Robert Faturechi and Lauren Kirchner

October 14, 2016, 12:55 pm EDT
Fact-checking Trump and Clinton on the Billionaire’s Tax Break

by Alec MacGillis

October 13, 2016, 5:23 am EDT
The Surreal Politics of a Billionaire’s Tax Loophole

by Alec MacGillis

September 7, 2016, 5:00 am EDT
As ISIS Brewed in Iraq, Clinton’s State Department Cut Eyes and Ears on the Ground

by Jeff Gerth

August 15, 2016, 12:00 pm EDT
‘White Trash’ — The Original Underclass

by Alec MacGillis

August 5, 2016, 8:00 am EDT
The Best Reporting on Hillary Clinton Over the Years

by Sarah Smith

July 28, 2016, 1:16 pm EDT
The Best Reporting on Tim Kaine Through the Years

by Robert Faturechi

July 22, 2016, 10:00 pm EDT
The Best Reporting on Mike Pence Through the Years

by Sarah Smith

July 15, 2016, 11:29 am EDT
What Newt Gingrich Really Thinks of Donald Trump

by Robert Faturechi

July 13, 2016, 11:00 pm EDT
Update: FEC Looking at Super PAC That Hyped Penny Stock

by Robert Faturechi and Derek Willis

July 7, 2016, 8:00 am EDT
‘On Like Donkey Kong’: How a Dubious Super PAC Boosted a Questionable Penny Stock

by Robert Faturechi and Derek Willis

May 27, 2016, 5:00 am EDT
The Best Reporting on Ted Cruz Through the Years

by Sarah Smith

April 12, 2016, 8:00 am EDT
Super PACs and Trump’s Wife: How a Photo Dispute Highlights Weakness in Campaign Finance Rules

by Robert Faturechi

March 31, 2016, 8:00 am EDT
The Most Terrific Reporting on Trump

by Sarah Smith

March 15, 2016, 5:00 pm EDT
The Referendum That Might Have Headed Off Flint’s Water Crisis

by Alec MacGillis

March 4, 2016, 1:00 am EST
Why Is Mitch McConnell Picking This Fight?

by Alec MacGillis

February 19, 2016, 1:30 pm EST
IRS Grants Nonprofit Status to ‘Dark Money’ Group Founded by Karl Rove

by Robert Faturechi and Derek Willis

February 9, 2016, 5:48 pm EST
The Conservative Playbook for Keeping ‘Dark Money’ Dark

by Robert Faturechi

February 4, 2016, 12:45 pm EST
Campaign Donations Reflect the Sharp Split in Congress Among Republicans

by Derek Willis

January 22, 2016, 6:00 am EST
The 10 Best 2015 Investigative Reports on Political Money

by Robert Faturechi

December 22, 2015, 2:36 pm EST
‘Somebody Intervened in Washington’

by Alec MacGillis

December 21, 2015, 11:00 am EST
How ProPublica is (Un)-Covering Politics This Year and Beyond

by Lawrence Roberts

December 21, 2015, 1:00 am EST
Who Turned My Blue State Red?

by Alec MacGillis

November 20, 2015, 6:00 pm EST
Hillary Clinton’s Mixed Record on Wall Street Belies Her Tough ‘Cut it Out’ Talk

by Jeff Gerth

November 13, 2015, 6:00 am EST
The Dog Ate My Vote: How Congress Explains Its Absences

by Derek Willis and Cecilia Reyes

November 10, 2015, 12:00 pm EST
Is the Gun Lobby’s Power Overstated?

by Alec MacGillis

October 5, 2015, 3:40 am EDT
Bankruptcy Lawyers Strip Cash from Coal Miners’ Health Insurance

by Alec MacGillis

October 1, 2015, 5:00 am EDT
How Senate Hopefuls Keep Donors Secret From Voters Until It’s Too Late

by Derek Willis and Robert Faturechi

September 18, 2015, 8:00 am EDT
Insurance Lobby That Fought Hillarycare and Obamacare Now Has Sturdy Bridges to Democrats

by Alec MacGillis

August 13, 2015, 5:00 am EDT
Road Hazard: How the ‘Embarrassing’ Gas Tax Impasse Explains Washington

by Alec MacGillis

July 22, 2015, 5:00 am EDT
As Hollywood Lobbied State Department, It Built Free Home Theaters for U.S. Embassies

by Robert Faturechi

July 2, 2015, 5:15 am EDT
Hacked Sony Emails Reveal Behind-the-Scenes Political Dealings in L.A.

by Robert Faturechi

May 20, 2015, 6:00 am EDT
Higher Ed Lobby Quietly Joins For-Profit Schools to Roll Back Tighter Rules

by Alec MacGillis

May 5, 2015, 8:00 am EDT
Rapid Rise in Super PACs Dominated by Single Donors

by Robert Faturechi

April 20, 2015, 5:15 am EDT
Private Emails Reveal Ex-Clinton Aide’s Secret Spy Network

by Jeff Gerth

March 27, 2015, 3:45 pm EDT
Super PAC Men: How Political Consultants Took a Texas Oilman on a Wild Ride

by Robert Faturechi

March 19, 2015, 5:00 am EDT
Hillary Clinton’s Top Five Clashes Over Secrecy

by Jeff Gerth

March 13, 2015, 8:00 am EDT
Echoes of Hillary’s Past as Emails Put Her on Defensive

by Jeff Gerth

March 10, 2015, 6:28 pm EDT