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The stars come out for voting, thanks to Michelle Obama

Shonda Rimes, Kerry Washington, Tracee Ellis Ross

Michelle Obama has added a half-dozen celebrities to her voter participation efforts, including (from left) Shonda Rimes, Kerry Washington and Tracee Ellis Ross.

Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Michelle Obama is stepping up the celebrity power of her effort to promote voting.

The former first lady announced last week that she is adding singer Selena Gomez, actress Liza Koshy, television producer Shonda Rhimes, soccer star Megan Rapinoe, actress Tracee Ellis Ross and actress Kerry Washington as co-chairwomen of When We All Vote.

The national organization was created before the 2018 midterms as a nonpartisan, nonprofit group aiming to increasing voter participation.


Obama is a co-chairwoman, along with composer Lin-Manual Miranda, singer Faith Hill, actor Tom Hanks, actress Rita Wilson, and basketball star Chris Paul. Before the election a year ago, the group organized 2,500 local voter registration events across the country and texted nearly 4 million voters the resources needed to register and vote.

The effort was given some credit for a dramatic reversal in participation. Turnout in 2018 was the highest for a midterm in a century, after 2014 saw the smallest turnout for a midterm since World War II.





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Trump’s Second Year and the Crossroads Facing Latinos

illustration depicting Latinos at a crossroads

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Trump’s Second Year and the Crossroads Facing Latinos

As President Donald Trump enters his second year of his second term, the nation’s 62 million Hispanics and Latinos are bracing for a turbulent 2026 shaped by economic uncertainty, shifting political allegiances, and intensified immigration enforcement. New polling and research released throughout late 2025 paint a complex picture of a community that is increasingly anxious about its future and deeply skeptical of the administration’s direction.

Across multiple surveys, Latino voters consistently identify the economy, affordability, and jobs as their top concerns heading into 2026. A sweeping national survey of 3,000 registered Latino voters found that 65% believe President Trump and congressional Republicans are not doing enough to improve the economy, a five‑point increase since April. Half of respondents said they expect Trump’s economic policies to make them personally worse off next year.

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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) lat the U.S. Capitol on January 7, 2025 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Can Things Get Even Worse for Mike Johnson?

Two weeks ago, a column in the Fulcrum warned that Speaker Mike Johnson was entering a political season defined by "ritual human sacrifice," noting that in a Trump‑branded GOP, someone must absorb the blame when governing goes sideways. In this context, the "sacrifice" refers to the erosion of institutional norms, accountability, and the potential jeopardy of individual reputations. Jonah Goldberg wrote that "Mike Johnson might as well be tied to a stake in the lion’s den."

That line feels understated now, as cascading crises over the past several days have closed in even further around Speaker Johnson.

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Hollywood sign and The Capitol

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Hollywood Gets Congress Wrong—and It’s Costing America Trust in Democracy

The following article is excerpted from "Citizen’s Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials."

Since the 1970s, public trust in American institutions—including Congress—has steadily declined. Approval ratings for the House and Senate usually hover in the teens. Certainly, some misdeeds by our elected leaders have contributed to this decline, and mainstream national media can claim its fair share of “credit” in portraying Congress in a negative light. Yet another major ingredient in the ugly formula poisoning public opinion of Congress is Hollywood. Movies and TV shows routinely portray Congress as craven, corrupt, selfish, and completely indifferent to the public interest. Regrettably, this is a wholly incorrect portrayal of our nation’s legislators.

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Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs: A Defining Force in Milwaukee

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs: A Defining Force in Milwaukee

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs has been a defining force in Milwaukee civic life for nearly two decades, combining deep community roots with a record of public service grounded in equity, cultural investment, and neighborhood empowerment. Born and raised in Milwaukee, she graduated from Riverside University High School before earning her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Fisk University, where she studied Business Administration and English.

The Fulcrum spoke with Coggs about the work she leads, including eliminating food deserts in her district on an episode of The Fulcrum Democracy Forum.

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