Commentary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, January 29, 2025. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

Comment: Health science on trial at Senate hearing

RFK Jr.’s nomination signals new strength for skepticism and anger toward traditional health policy.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, January 29, 2025. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

Eco-nomics: Knowing causes shows how to correct climate crisis

Attribution science allows us to better link the causes of warming to the climate crises that result.

Comment: Because he’s president doesn’t mean he’s right

Trump’s slim plurality of the electorate is no mandate and no reason to silence our convictions.

Comment: How China’s DeepSeek opened up AI better than OpenAI

It should worry Sam Altman and other tech giants who insisted on demanding money and opacity.

Comment: Senators, immunize against RFK Jr.’s vaccine hypocrisy

Claiming to support vaccine ‘safety’ isn’t a reasoned position; it’s attempt to obfuscate his past positions.

Comment: Trump’s firing of IGs aims for Supreme Court mandate

Trump is betting justices will give him the power to hire and fire more federal employees at will.

Comment: What Trump and most people missed in bishop’s sermon

When you ask for God’s care, as Trump did, you ask for God’s rebuke and correction, too.

Comment: China’s AI, DeepSeek, could deep-six Silicon Valley

Big Tech’s broligarchs face a ‘Sputnik moment’ from a cheaper, simpler and better AI tool.

Comment: Trump may not have trade leverage he thinks he has

He may have more to lose with Canada and Mexico than he can gain in trying to force concessions from them.

Comment: Trump’s medical research freeze leaves NIH in limbo

Work is at a standstill as researchers and officials wait for word on even how long the pause will last.

Comment: American workers have lost their leverage

While the jobless rate remains low, so is the hiring rate, letting employers call the shots on benefits.

Comment: Consider your words carefully, AI is listening

If your write or participate in a virtual meeting, AI is making a record of what you say and learning from it.

Comment: Republicans will hand poor the bill for Trump’s tax cuts

Expect GOP lawmakers to move quickly on cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and other anti-poverty assistance.

FILE — Supporters of then-President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. There were no FBI undercover agents at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a Justice Department report. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Comment: Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons fly ‘in the face of the facts’

A retired federal judge weighs in on pardons by Trump and Biden and the court of public opinion.

FILE — Supporters of then-President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. There were no FBI undercover agents at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a Justice Department report. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Comment: Restoring judicial discretion is in victims’ interest

Mandatory sentences don’t restore justice and often deny victims their voice and support they deserve.

Comment: U.S. economy is on the move; let’s keep it that way

President Biden left the new administration with a strong hand. It should build on that success.

Comment: Musk’s abrupt silence on AI concerns is deafening

Not long ago, AI was an existential threat in the tech mogul’s mind. Does political convenience now reign?

Comment: Crusade against birthright citizenship classic Trump

Even if meant only to discourage immigration, the effect will be brutalize all Americans.

Comment: The scene at the MLK Jr. memorial on inauguration day

Reflections on Martin Luther King Jr., Michelle Obama and Trump’s exhausting return.

Comment: Trump may actually prove to be king for just a day

Issuing more than 200 executive orders on Day One, Trump may find the going harder from now on.