Kevin Robillard
robillard.bsky.social
Kevin Robillard
@robillard.bsky.social
HuffPost politics editor. Dad. Terp. Massachusetts native. Pitches, bookings, etc.: [email protected]
Reposted by Kevin Robillard
Scoop: U.S. Customs and Border Protection is requiring officers to undergo more crowd-control training to square off with demonstrators in cities like Minneapolis.

This will likely result in more officers certified to shoot pepper balls and tear gas canisters.

www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Trump Admin Issues Concerning New Training Requirements In Internal DHS Memo
As anti-ICE protests erupt, the new requirement shows how rapidly the mission is changing at an agency traditionally focused on terrorism, drug smuggling and border security.
www.huffpost.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Read @igorbobic.bsky.social on the growing ideological divide in the Minnesota Senate primary in the wake of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis, including a very harsh back and forth between Craig and Flanagan.

www.huffpost.com/entry/minnes...
Democrat Calls Her Opponent 'Disgusting' As Senate Race Takes A Bitter Turn
The Democratic Senate primary between Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig has become a slugfest amid Trump's immigration crackdown.
www.huffpost.com
January 14, 2026 at 10:11 PM
New: Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and the DSCC have faced an unprecedented amount of intra-party criticism this cycle. With Peltola entering the Alaska Senate race, they think they have the answer to shut their critics up: Winning back the Senate.

www.huffpost.com/entry/democr...
Democratic Leaders See A Path To A Senate Majority, And An Answer to Their Critics
Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are confident they’ve recruited top-flight candidates in enough states to flip the Senate in 2026.
www.huffpost.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:24 PM
You either resign a conservative hero, or serve long enough to become Jefferson Beauregard Sessions IV
Exclusive: President Trump has privately ramped up criticism of Attorney General Pam Bondi, describing her as weak and ineffective.
Trump Has Complained About Pam Bondi Repeatedly to Aides
The president has privately criticized his attorney general as weak and ineffective in recent weeks.
on.wsj.com
January 12, 2026 at 9:29 PM
New: In an interview with HuffPost, Minn. AG Keith Ellison said he thinks the order for the feds to stop sharing information re: Wednesday's shooting with the state came from the president.

"This directive appears to be coming from Trump himself," Ellison said.

www.huffpost.com/entry/keith-...
Minnesota Attorney General Says Trump Blocked State From Investigating ICE Shooting
Keith Ellison said federal authorities stonewalled his office hours after an ICE agent killed Renee Good.
www.huffpost.com
January 11, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Now splashed @huffpost.com: The $100 million three-way battle over AI that is splitting both parties and the tech industry and could define the midterms.

Populist backlash to data centers vs. the AI industry vs. scientists worried about existential risk.

www.huffpost.com/entry/the-co...
December 31, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Incredible finding from Pew: Out of 107 democracies worldwide, only one -- Micronesia -- draws legislative districts through the same convoluted process the United States does.

www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
December 19, 2025 at 5:37 PM
New: Meet the most confident Democrats in America.

At the DGA meeting in Phoenix, confident predictions they’ll have a majority of govs after ‘26 and one of them will become president.

But also plenty of acknowledgments blue states need to do better.

www.huffpost.com/entry/meet-t...
Meet The Most Confident Democrats In America
Everyone wants to be a Democratic governor, and a lot of the governors want to be president.
www.huffpost.com
December 14, 2025 at 2:39 PM
New from @delaneyrules.bsky.social: House Ag Committee chair says RFK push to let states ban unhealthy food from SNAP will drive up grocery prices, an intra-party break over a key part of the MAHA Agenda.

www.huffpost.com/entry/snap-j...
December 11, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Subject lines you would not have expected in 2017.

INBOX: Former Gov. Ralph Northam Endorses Tom Perriello for Congress
December 11, 2025 at 4:36 PM
NEW: The redistricting wars aren't going to end with the midterms.

-Hochul committed to pushing through new maps in NY, Bennet + Weiser say the same in Colorado
-Dems will look to redraw in Wisconsin if they win a trifecta - other possibilities in MN, NV, MI.

www.huffpost.com/entry/the-re...
December 11, 2025 at 2:18 PM
New: With Crockett's entrance into Texas Senate, the Democratic Party is starting to see the downsides of its Tea Party moment.

-Dem Sens largely avoid weighing in on the race.
-TX-Sen not high enough priority at the moment for establishment to spend big political capital to keep her out.
December 10, 2025 at 8:46 PM
New Pan-Atlantic Research Center poll of Maine

Dem Gov. Janet Mills 43%
GOP Sen. Susan Collins 43%

Dem Graham Platner 43%
Collins 42%

In the Dem primary, they have Mills up 47% to 37% over Platner, with big splits around age and gender.

hs-21701012.f.hubspotstarter.net/hubfs/217010...
December 10, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Reposted by Kevin Robillard
Everyone's mad at FDA head Marty Makary over his review of the abortion pill mifepristone -- even anti-abortion organizations.
An Unlikely Group Is Calling For The Head Of The FDA To Be Fired
A handful of national anti-abortion groups called for FDA Commissioner Martin Makary to be fired this week.
www.huffpost.com
December 10, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Kevin Robillard
Exclusive: ICE has developed a plan to arrest undocumented migrants who try to voluntarily leave the U.S. via the Mexico border, so they can face formal removal.

Why bother? Possibly to juice deportation numbers.

It's being referred to as "Operation Irish Goodbye."
www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-pl...
ICE Has A Surprising New Plan To Arrest People Already Leaving The U.S.
“Operation Irish Goodbye,” as it’s being called, could be aimed at boosting numbers for Trump’s much-hyped deportation campaign.
www.huffpost.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:03 PM
NEW: Colorado State Sen. Julie Gonzales, a DSA member, is launching a primary challenge to Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper.

It's the first big progressive primary challenge to an incumbent senator this cycle.

www.huffpost.com/entry/progre...
Progressive Launches Primary Challenge To Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper
State Sen. Julie Gonzales argues the incumbent's centrist politics are out of step with the state.
www.huffpost.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Kevin Robillard
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) asked for dollar amounts and Trump contacts. Donors responded by boasting about their philanthropy and love of America.
Trump’s Ballroom Donors Blow Off Senator’s Questions About How Much They Gave
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) asked for dollar amounts and Trump contacts. Donors responded by boasting about their philanthropy and love of America.
www.huffpost.com
December 3, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Absolutely bonkers details here about how Democrats trying to defang a corruption watchdog in New Jersey treated
Sen. Andy Kim when he tried to speak against it.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/n...
December 3, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Progressive group @boldprogressives.org is endorsing Graham Platner in the Maine Senate primary and is out with a poll showing Platner with a big lead over Mills in the primary

Platner 58%
Mills 38%

Poll conducted by Z to A Strategies from 11/14 to 11/18.
December 3, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Kevin Robillard
Most presidents run into trouble near the end of their first year and so is Trump. But Trump isn't like any other president.

So what does rising disapproval, a fracturing coalition, election losses and policy reversals mean when the president is an authoritarian? www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Incompetent. Unpopular. Loser. Nothing Seems To Be Going Well For Donald Trump.
Donald Trump's attempt to transform the country has hit a serious roadblock as he faces rising disapproval numbers, growing opposition and a fracturing coalition.
www.huffpost.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The COVID backlash theory was popular among a certain group of very online writers and thinkers, but a simple look at its total absence from paid political media would have told you it wasn't actually a big vote mover for either party, especially after 2020.
November 20, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Kevin Robillard
Airman Logan Ireland thought with 15 yrs of service he would at least get retirement benefits even as he was being pushed out after SCOTUS green lit Trump's trans military ban.

The Air Force approved and then revoked his benefits. Now Ireland is now fighting back.

www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Trump Violates A 32-Year-Old Policy: ‘This Has Never Happened Before’
The move raises questions about how far the administration will go to reshape the armed forces.
www.huffpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Shutdown takeaways w/ @paulblumenthal.bsky.social:

• Mods folding hurts the case for "combative centrism"
• This wasn't about protecting the filibuster
• Dems controlled the news cycle
• This only matters for Nov if Trump approval stays down
• This thing was probably doomed from the start
Moderates Have Something To Prove After Shutdown Fold
And four other takeaways from the apparent end of the longest government shutdown in American history.
www.huffpost.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:33 PM
This article will be a fascinating artifact: A number of Trump allies complaining about someone who is simply more effective at manipulating Trump than they are.

It's other boyars complaining a boyar is corrupting the good tsar.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
‘Sold POTUS a bill of goods’: WH furious with Pulte over 50-year mortgage
The White House was blindsided by the idea and is now dealing with a furious backlash from conservative allies, business leaders and lawmakers.
www.politico.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:23 PM