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​U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, sitting behind a desk, appearing for a hearing.

Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick Faces Expulsion Over Pocketing Overpayment

New Iran Strikes Jolt Hormuz and Raise Questions for the U.S.

New Iran Strikes Jolt Hormuz and Raise Questions for the U.S.

Rolling Back Health Equity Training Requirements in Medical Schools Harms Us All

Rolling Back Health Equity Training Requirements in Medical Schools Harms Us All

President Trump and U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth standing next to each other at a news conference.

Hegseth, Trump, and the Desecration of the American Military

Naloxone displayed on a table.

Why Is Harm Reduction on the Chopping Block?

Video: The State of Global Democracy

Video: The State of Global Democracyplay icon
Panel: The State of Global Democracy
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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumJun 07, 2022
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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This week, we are excited to share a video series featuring panel discussions from the Global Democracy Champions Summit co-hosted by Keseb and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. We hope this series will spur dialogue and action to advance inclusive democracy in the US and globally.

Today’s feature is a panel discussion on the state of global democracy. Panelists discussed the trend towards nationalist authoritarianism and highlighted strategies for how to build thriving, inclusive democracies in the 21st century.

Moderator: Anne Applebaum, Senior Fellow, School of Advanced International Studies and the SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University; Staff Writer, The Atlantic

Panelists:

●Akunna Cook, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, US Department of State

●Salil Shetty, Vice President, Global Programs, Open Society Foundations

●Lisa Witter, Co-Founder of Apolitical and CEO of Apolitical Foundation

Check out the discussion: The State of Global Democracy

We will share one panel discussion from the Summit each day of this week. Come back tomorrow to view “Battling the Effects of Conspiracy Theories and Disinformation.”

Please visit Keseb and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University to subscribe and receive news of future Democracy Champions opportunities.

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MAGA is starting to question Trump

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press aboard Air Force One on April 17, 2026, just prior to landing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

(Win McNamee/Getty Images/TCA)

MAGA is starting to question Trump

If supporters of Donald Trump were to be studied — and I very much expect they will be for years and years to come — academics may be hard-pressed to find the connective tissue that unites them all together.

It’s clear they’re not with Trump for his ideology — he doesn’t really have one, not that hews to ideas espoused by the traditional political parties at least. His policies have been all over the map, and even within his own presidencies he’s reversed them substantively or abandoned them outright.

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Florida Democrat resigns, moments before the Ethics Committee was supposed to weigh her expulsion

House Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest, R-Miss., says the committee is committed to accountability for members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

(Photo by Samantha Freeman, MNS)

Florida Democrat resigns, moments before the Ethics Committee was supposed to weigh her expulsion

WASHINGTON – Florida Democrat Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from the House of Representatives on Tuesday, moments before the full Ethics Committee convened to weigh expulsion for allegedly stealing millions of dollars and funneling some into her congressional campaign.

Cherfilus-McCormick was not present at the hearing. “After careful reflection and prayer, I have concluded that it is in the best interest of my constituents and the institution that I step aside at this time,” her statement read.

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People protesting in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill, holding tulips and signs that read, "We can't afford another war" and "end the war on iran.'

Veterans, military family members, and supporters occupy the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill calling upon the Trump administration to end the war on Iran on April 20, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Getty Images, Leigh Vogel

Trump’s Iran “Victory” Echoes Iraq’s "Mission Accomplished"

It didn’t exactly end well the last time a president declared victory this quickly. On May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln in a flight suit, strutted across the deck for the cameras, then changed into a suit and tie, stood in front of a banner that read “Mission Accomplished,” and declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq. It was 43 days after the invasion began. Over the next eight years, as the conflict devolved into a protracted insurgency and sectarian war, more than 4,300 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died.

On April 7, Trump—presumably not wearing a flight suit—declared in a telephone interview with AFP that the United States had achieved victory in Iran. “Total and complete victory. 100 percent. No question about it.” This was the day after the President threatened to destroy a “whole civilization,” hours after a two-week ceasefire was announced. It took six days for the whole thing to fall apart. By April 15, he was back on Fox Business: “We've beaten them militarily, totally. I think it’s close to over.”

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A Lesson on “Matters of Morality” for the Vice President

American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost presides over his first Holy Mass as Pope Leo XIV with cardinals in the Sistine Chapel at the conclusion of the Conclave on May 09, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican.

(Photo by Simone Risoluti - Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

A Lesson on “Matters of Morality” for the Vice President

The Vice President has stepped into the fray between the President and Pope Leo. For those of you who have not been following this, Pope Leo has been critical of various things that Trump has said regarding his war with Iran, including his statement that he was ready to wipe out the civilization. In response, Trump called Pope Leo too liberal and easy on crime. He also said that the Pope was only elected because he was an American, in response to Trump having been elected President. In response, the Pope said that he had no fear of the Trump administration and that his job was to preach the gospel. He said in response to Secretary of War Hegseth's invoking the name of Jesus for support in battle, that Jesus “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

Into this exchange steps the Vice President, who says he thinks the Pope should stick to "matters of morality" and let the President of the United States dictate American public policy. The Vice President obviously doesn't understand the meaning of morality and its scope.

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