In November 2020, the Trump administration announced that it would reduce U.S. military troops in Iraq and Afghanistan during the president’s final days in office. Christopher Miller, then-acting secretary of defense, said that U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan would drop from 4,500 to 2,500 and troop levels in Iraq would reduce from 3,000 to 2,500 by Jan. 15, 2021. The move received a mixed response. Some lawmakers praised the plan as a key step in the larger push to unwind the U.S. military’s nearly 20-year involvement in the two countries, while others said it could be a security risk given…

The pros and cons of corporate influence in the White House came up for debate last fall when President-Elect Joe Biden began assembling his transition and administration teams. When Biden tapped several top staff members with backgrounds in the lobbying and corporate worlds, some progressives worried that the administration could favor the interests of big business over those of everyday Americans. For example, Biden’s choice for White House counselor, Steve Ricchetti, came under fire when reports surfaced that his brother, Jeff Ricchetti, had lobbying contracts with at least two pharmaceutical companies and Amazon. Ethics attorneys argued that Steve Ricchetti, a…