Akbar Shahid Ahmed
@akbarshahidahmed.huffpost.com
Senior Diplomatic Correspondent at HuffPost // Writing a book on Gaza and the Biden administration for W. W. Norton // he/him
Say hi: akbar.58 on Signal or [email protected]
Say hi: akbar.58 on Signal or [email protected]
EXCL: Dubious Trump narratives on Minnesota are all too familiar for @ilhanmn.bsky.social Leading 150 House Dems in urging a credible investigation re: Renee Good, she told me the ICE attack is "essentially on all Americans," discussed the link to fraud claims & more
www.huffpost.com/entry/ilhan-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/ilhan-...
Ilhan Omar Refuses To Let ICE Shooting Investigation 'Die In Darkness'
"This attack is essentially on all Americans," the Minnesota representative told HuffPost Friday, as she led the largest call for a credible investigation from among Democratic legislators.
www.huffpost.com
January 9, 2026 at 11:02 PM
EXCL: Dubious Trump narratives on Minnesota are all too familiar for @ilhanmn.bsky.social Leading 150 House Dems in urging a credible investigation re: Renee Good, she told me the ICE attack is "essentially on all Americans," discussed the link to fraud claims & more
www.huffpost.com/entry/ilhan-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/ilhan-...
"A full paycheck from one job goes to rent. Still, Ms Fuentes makes too much to qualify for SNAP... After [PTA] meetings at her children’s school, she asks for bottles to recycle. She needs the $20 to buy milk for her 4-year-old, one of the few things he will drink."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/n...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/n...
They Thought They Had ‘Made It.’ Now They Can’t Afford Food.
www.nytimes.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:29 AM
"A full paycheck from one job goes to rent. Still, Ms Fuentes makes too much to qualify for SNAP... After [PTA] meetings at her children’s school, she asks for bottles to recycle. She needs the $20 to buy milk for her 4-year-old, one of the few things he will drink."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/n...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/n...
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Did a Q&A w/ @akbarshahidahmed.huffpost.com @huffpost.com, on "running" Venezuela, Marco Rubio's (too) many hats, the (too) many different reasons Team Trump supported the move, why focusing on Congress is a red herring, & what it would take to restore guardrails.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
‘You Can't Treat This Like Any Other Intervention’: Expert Describes Fears About Trump Venezuela Gambit
HuffPost spoke with Columbia University professor Elizabeth Saunders about the risks of a "personalist" foreign policy and potential pushback.
www.huffpost.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:49 PM
Did a Q&A w/ @akbarshahidahmed.huffpost.com @huffpost.com, on "running" Venezuela, Marco Rubio's (too) many hats, the (too) many different reasons Team Trump supported the move, why focusing on Congress is a red herring, & what it would take to restore guardrails.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
On X, a senior U.S. Justice Department official is promoting a post that praises colonization as “one of the greatest things that ever happened to the backwards parts of the world.”👇
January 5, 2026 at 12:44 AM
On X, a senior U.S. Justice Department official is promoting a post that praises colonization as “one of the greatest things that ever happened to the backwards parts of the world.”👇
NEW: @profsaunders.bsky.social unpacks reasons to fear what's next with Venezuela, full US occupation or no
-echoes of Iraq with even fewer chances of course correction
-attempted accommodation with remaining regime could quickly backfire
-no guardrail or clear goals
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
-echoes of Iraq with even fewer chances of course correction
-attempted accommodation with remaining regime could quickly backfire
-no guardrail or clear goals
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
‘No Reason To Expect It Would Go Any Better Than Iraq’: Trump’s Venezuela Gambit Could Go From Confusion To Disaster
HuffPost spoke with Columbia University professor Elizabeth Saunders about the risks of a "personalist" foreign policy and potential pushback.
www.huffpost.com
January 4, 2026 at 11:29 PM
NEW: @profsaunders.bsky.social unpacks reasons to fear what's next with Venezuela, full US occupation or no
-echoes of Iraq with even fewer chances of course correction
-attempted accommodation with remaining regime could quickly backfire
-no guardrail or clear goals
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
-echoes of Iraq with even fewer chances of course correction
-attempted accommodation with remaining regime could quickly backfire
-no guardrail or clear goals
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
At 11:35 EST, I’ll be live on @ms.now with @velshi.com to talk Venezuela, oil & where we go from here — tune if you can!
January 4, 2026 at 3:40 PM
At 11:35 EST, I’ll be live on @ms.now with @velshi.com to talk Venezuela, oil & where we go from here — tune if you can!
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Please join me @velshimsnow.bsky.social 10a-1p w/
@mehdirhasan.bsky.social
@nancyayoussef.bsky.social
@cmgreer.bsky.social
@deanobeidallah.bsky.social
Bobby Ghosh
@jamessample.bsky.social
Renee Hardman
@akbarshahidahmed.huffpost.com
#Velshi
1/2
@mehdirhasan.bsky.social
@nancyayoussef.bsky.social
@cmgreer.bsky.social
@deanobeidallah.bsky.social
Bobby Ghosh
@jamessample.bsky.social
Renee Hardman
@akbarshahidahmed.huffpost.com
#Velshi
1/2
January 4, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Please join me @velshimsnow.bsky.social 10a-1p w/
@mehdirhasan.bsky.social
@nancyayoussef.bsky.social
@cmgreer.bsky.social
@deanobeidallah.bsky.social
Bobby Ghosh
@jamessample.bsky.social
Renee Hardman
@akbarshahidahmed.huffpost.com
#Velshi
1/2
@mehdirhasan.bsky.social
@nancyayoussef.bsky.social
@cmgreer.bsky.social
@deanobeidallah.bsky.social
Bobby Ghosh
@jamessample.bsky.social
Renee Hardman
@akbarshahidahmed.huffpost.com
#Velshi
1/2
Trump's promise to "run" Venezuela suggests a huge task for the State Department — which he + Rubio have decimated. Personnel at State, particularly the key Western Hemisphere Affairs bureau, are already stunned, anxious and saying they are badly under-prepared, a former State official tells me.
January 3, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Trump's promise to "run" Venezuela suggests a huge task for the State Department — which he + Rubio have decimated. Personnel at State, particularly the key Western Hemisphere Affairs bureau, are already stunned, anxious and saying they are badly under-prepared, a former State official tells me.
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
"Kamala will draft your sons to fight in Ukraine" was all over the place in 2024. I don't think the Dems appreciated how much the Liz Cheney appearances fed into that; Stephen Miller claimed Cheney would be her defense secretary and start WWIII.
January 3, 2026 at 5:20 PM
"Kamala will draft your sons to fight in Ukraine" was all over the place in 2024. I don't think the Dems appreciated how much the Liz Cheney appearances fed into that; Stephen Miller claimed Cheney would be her defense secretary and start WWIII.
"We are going to run the country" - Trump says of Venezuela.
January 3, 2026 at 4:45 PM
"We are going to run the country" - Trump says of Venezuela.
After decimating US gov expertise in foreign affairs, development & building democracies — as well as promising to halt nation-building + boosting resentment of the US as a bully — Trump has now signed up America to rebuild two of the most complicated, shattered societies on Earth: Gaza & Venezuela.
January 3, 2026 at 3:53 PM
After decimating US gov expertise in foreign affairs, development & building democracies — as well as promising to halt nation-building + boosting resentment of the US as a bully — Trump has now signed up America to rebuild two of the most complicated, shattered societies on Earth: Gaza & Venezuela.
Trump, Rubio & Miller are directing a foreign policy increasingly defined by big apparent violations of international law
Govt experts on that law are quitting or feeling silenced:
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
For US personnel + US influence, huge risks here..
Govt experts on that law are quitting or feeling silenced:
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
For US personnel + US influence, huge risks here..
State Department Experts Fear Retaliation For Questioning Trump And Rubio
“Imagine being afraid to provide what you think is appropriate legal advice," one former attorney told HuffPost.
www.huffpost.com
January 3, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Trump, Rubio & Miller are directing a foreign policy increasingly defined by big apparent violations of international law
Govt experts on that law are quitting or feeling silenced:
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
For US personnel + US influence, huge risks here..
Govt experts on that law are quitting or feeling silenced:
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
For US personnel + US influence, huge risks here..
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
EXCLUSIVE: @laurenweberhp.bsky.social & I have spent the last year collecting school+county-level vaccination data from across the US and found that only about 28% of counties now have herd immunity for kindergartners from measles—that leaves about 5.2mn kids unprotected.
Gift link: wapo.st/49zDc43
Gift link: wapo.st/49zDc43
U.S. vaccination rates are plunging. Look up where your school stands.
Take a look to see what the kindergarten measles vaccination rates are in your area.
wapo.st
December 31, 2025 at 2:29 PM
EXCLUSIVE: @laurenweberhp.bsky.social & I have spent the last year collecting school+county-level vaccination data from across the US and found that only about 28% of counties now have herd immunity for kindergartners from measles—that leaves about 5.2mn kids unprotected.
Gift link: wapo.st/49zDc43
Gift link: wapo.st/49zDc43
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
I had a great Q & A with @alannavagianos.bsky.social at @huffpost.com about whether low birth rates are a problem in and of themselves. www.huffpost.com/entry/should...
December 29, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I had a great Q & A with @alannavagianos.bsky.social at @huffpost.com about whether low birth rates are a problem in and of themselves. www.huffpost.com/entry/should...
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Fear Of Retaliation Grips State Department Lawyers Meant To Advise On International Law
Fear Of Retaliation Grips State Department Lawyers Meant To Advise On International Law
Fear Of Retaliation Grips State Department Lawyers Meant To Advise On International Law
www.huffpost.com
December 27, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Fear Of Retaliation Grips State Department Lawyers Meant To Advise On International Law
Now leading HuffPost—
My deep dive on a warning sign for foreign policy-making under Trump + Rubio: lawyers at the State Dept now fear unprecedented retaliation if they provide honest legal advice about big, damaging policies from boat strikes to mass deportations
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
My deep dive on a warning sign for foreign policy-making under Trump + Rubio: lawyers at the State Dept now fear unprecedented retaliation if they provide honest legal advice about big, damaging policies from boat strikes to mass deportations
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
December 27, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Now leading HuffPost—
My deep dive on a warning sign for foreign policy-making under Trump + Rubio: lawyers at the State Dept now fear unprecedented retaliation if they provide honest legal advice about big, damaging policies from boat strikes to mass deportations
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
My deep dive on a warning sign for foreign policy-making under Trump + Rubio: lawyers at the State Dept now fear unprecedented retaliation if they provide honest legal advice about big, damaging policies from boat strikes to mass deportations
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Some good quotes in here from my former L colleague Charlie Trumbull.
NEW: An unprecedented fear of retaliation has set in at the State Dept's legal office—usually a foreign policy guardrail
-Staff suspect frank legal advice could lead to them being sidelined/punished/fired
-Increasing politicization suggests their role has "vanished"
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
-Staff suspect frank legal advice could lead to them being sidelined/punished/fired
-Increasing politicization suggests their role has "vanished"
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
State Department Experts Fear Retaliation For Questioning Trump And Rubio
“Imagine being afraid to provide what you think is appropriate legal advice," one former attorney told HuffPost.
www.huffpost.com
December 27, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Some good quotes in here from my former L colleague Charlie Trumbull.
NEW: An unprecedented fear of retaliation has set in at the State Dept's legal office—usually a foreign policy guardrail
-Staff suspect frank legal advice could lead to them being sidelined/punished/fired
-Increasing politicization suggests their role has "vanished"
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
-Staff suspect frank legal advice could lead to them being sidelined/punished/fired
-Increasing politicization suggests their role has "vanished"
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
State Department Experts Fear Retaliation For Questioning Trump And Rubio
“Imagine being afraid to provide what you think is appropriate legal advice," one former attorney told HuffPost.
www.huffpost.com
December 27, 2025 at 5:38 PM
NEW: An unprecedented fear of retaliation has set in at the State Dept's legal office—usually a foreign policy guardrail
-Staff suspect frank legal advice could lead to them being sidelined/punished/fired
-Increasing politicization suggests their role has "vanished"
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
-Staff suspect frank legal advice could lead to them being sidelined/punished/fired
-Increasing politicization suggests their role has "vanished"
www.huffpost.com/entry/state-...
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
The USAID cuts by the Trump admin were devastating and fatal.
But one American group teaming up with locals in South Sudan to bring fresh water to tens of thousands of people, showed me how they are stepping up and saving lives.
Videos, photos, interviews inside:
But one American group teaming up with locals in South Sudan to bring fresh water to tens of thousands of people, showed me how they are stepping up and saving lives.
Videos, photos, interviews inside:
NEW: This is a story that took months to pull together and broke my heart a million times writing it.
But this isnt a sad story.
This is about courage, compassion and survival. And the herculean efforts of a group of people who refuse to lay down and die.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
But this isnt a sad story.
This is about courage, compassion and survival. And the herculean efforts of a group of people who refuse to lay down and die.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Trump Cut Their Lifeline. Months Later, They're Still Fighting Like Hell To Survive.
A small organization powered by the people who need it most has found a way to save lives abandoned by the Trump administration.
www.huffpost.com
December 27, 2025 at 11:34 AM
The USAID cuts by the Trump admin were devastating and fatal.
But one American group teaming up with locals in South Sudan to bring fresh water to tens of thousands of people, showed me how they are stepping up and saving lives.
Videos, photos, interviews inside:
But one American group teaming up with locals in South Sudan to bring fresh water to tens of thousands of people, showed me how they are stepping up and saving lives.
Videos, photos, interviews inside:
Amid already significant fears among State Department staff that they will be evaluated based on fealty to Trump’s agenda & professional advice/work for past admins can lead to consequences, today brings another warning from a top Rubio aide.
Want to discuss? I’m on Signal at akbar.58 (anon ok).
Want to discuss? I’m on Signal at akbar.58 (anon ok).
December 23, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Amid already significant fears among State Department staff that they will be evaluated based on fealty to Trump’s agenda & professional advice/work for past admins can lead to consequences, today brings another warning from a top Rubio aide.
Want to discuss? I’m on Signal at akbar.58 (anon ok).
Want to discuss? I’m on Signal at akbar.58 (anon ok).
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
New: In September, federal agents swarmed a manufacturing facility in upstate New York, arresting 57 people on alleged immigration violations.
...all without a single arrest warrant.
Behind the unusual administrative warrant ICE used to question everyone:
www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-ra...
...all without a single arrest warrant.
Behind the unusual administrative warrant ICE used to question everyone:
www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-ra...
'Pull Up Your Pants!' ICE Raided A Plant And Detained Dozens — With No Arrest Warrant.
One agent called the raid a "s**tshow." A federal judge had a different term for what came next.
www.huffpost.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:07 PM
New: In September, federal agents swarmed a manufacturing facility in upstate New York, arresting 57 people on alleged immigration violations.
...all without a single arrest warrant.
Behind the unusual administrative warrant ICE used to question everyone:
www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-ra...
...all without a single arrest warrant.
Behind the unusual administrative warrant ICE used to question everyone:
www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-ra...
Important piece from a wonderful, brave colleague:
I wrote about getting cancer. But really it’s about an illness that’s trending younger and, as a top oncologist told me, being diagnosed in people “trying not to get cancer.” www.huffpost.com/entry/colon-...
At 44, I Received A Cancer Diagnosis I Never Saw Coming. Too Many Young People Will Get The Same One.
Generation Z, millennials and Generation X are more likely to get colorectal cancer – but funding cuts could see the search for a cure grind to a halt.
www.huffpost.com
December 23, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Important piece from a wonderful, brave colleague:
8 Jewish orgs ask Trump + Rubio to end their expanded travel ban, noting the bar on Palestinian Authority documents "forecloses access for students, medical patients, civil society actors + family members... compounding harm to civilians while doing nothing to advance security" amid claims of peace.
December 23, 2025 at 4:05 PM
8 Jewish orgs ask Trump + Rubio to end their expanded travel ban, noting the bar on Palestinian Authority documents "forecloses access for students, medical patients, civil society actors + family members... compounding harm to civilians while doing nothing to advance security" amid claims of peace.
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Reposted by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
here was Renton's message for trans youth: "Ultimately, community will find you, and you will find community, whether it feels impossible or not,” he says.
“We’re not going anywhere.” www.huffpost.com/entry/trans-...
“We’re not going anywhere.” www.huffpost.com/entry/trans-...
He’s The Trans Son Of An Anti-Trans Influencer. It’s His Turn To Speak.
Renton Sinclair’s mother is a former Miss Illinois who wants to force trans people out of public life. That’s exactly what makes her a rising star in MAGA World.
www.huffpost.com
December 18, 2025 at 6:57 PM
here was Renton's message for trans youth: "Ultimately, community will find you, and you will find community, whether it feels impossible or not,” he says.
“We’re not going anywhere.” www.huffpost.com/entry/trans-...
“We’re not going anywhere.” www.huffpost.com/entry/trans-...