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Tina Nguyen

Puck’s resident MAGA expert and insider, chronicling the transformation of the G.O.P. and the egos and intrigues within Trumpworld. Tina was previously a political correspondent at Politico and Vanity Fair.

THE LATEST ARTICLES
NEWSLETTERS
The fact that Republicans are still trying to find an impeachable offense speaks to the convoluted nature of the inquiry’s origins.
Tina Nguyen • December 28, 2023
The Biden Impeachment Starter Marriage
Predictably, the multipronged Biden impeachment inquiry looks to be turning up duds. But the Republicans I talk to aren’t all that worried or embarrassed. This whole thing may have been less of a boobie trap than a dress rehearsal for giving the old man hell.
Speaker Mike Johnson can only afford to lose two votes next year if he wants to pass bills without relying on Democrats.
Tina Nguyen • December 21, 2023
The G.O.P. Hardliners Who Stole Christmas
As budget armageddon approaches and Ukraine funding runs out, Republicans on the Hill are increasingly divided about whether to force a compromise with Democrats, to ritually sacrifice Johnson, or to succumb to their own impossible purity tests.
Donald Trump speaks at the New York Young Republican Club Gala at Cipriani Wall Street on December 09, 2023 in New York City.
Tina Nguyen • December 14, 2023
Trump’s Puppeteer Theater
Campaign officials have warned two “America First” think tanks, both attempting to help staff a putative Trump administration, that their gabbing to the media has become an “unwelcomed distraction.” But as always in Trump world, the wrist-slap follows a loyalty test.
Speaker Mike Johnson has kept his right flank placated, for now, with some carefully curated shiny objects.
Tina Nguyen • November 30, 2023
Johnson’s Biological Clock & Ronny Snub
News and notes from Capitol Hill and the fundraising trail.
To the extent that Republicans are still allowing Johnson some latitude, their open-mindedness mostly stems from the fact that Johnson is not McCarthy.
Tina Nguyen • November 22, 2023
Mike Johnson’s MAGA Love Tap
As lawmakers leave town for the Thanksgiving holiday, anger is continuing to build on the speaker’s right flank as Bannon, Gaetz, Kirk & Co. lay yet more political dynamite on the embers of the House G.O.P. dumpster fire.
So much for Johnson’s “honeymoon” period, which lasted all of two weeks.
Tina Nguyen • November 15, 2023
Mike Drop
Mike Johnson, the formerly unknown backbencher with the worst job in town, is learning what it’s like to run Congress ahead of a shutdown, to wrestle the MAGA anger blob, and the high cost of compromise.
Tina Nguyen • November 1, 2023
Does Mike Johnson Have a Clue?
Democrats aren’t the only ones accusing the newbie of waging “political games” with his too-clever-by-half proposal to offset Israel aid by gutting the I.R.S. “He may be playing with fire,” a Republican lobbyist told me. But others see a speaker willing to use the gavel more aggressively, and more creatively, than his predecessors.
It’s an open question whether Mike Johnson will be on the curb soon enough, yet another victim of this ungovernable conference.
Tina Nguyen • October 26, 2023
Mike Johnson in the MAGA Meat Grinder
The MAGA contingent of the House G.O.P. conference—the two dozen-ish lawmakers who made McCarthy’s life hell—aren’t putting the same screws to Mike Johnson. But they have their demands of the newbie boss, too.
The two groups wants to forge a ready-on-day-one army of trained political appointees and a clearly-defined ideological action plan.
Tina Nguyen • October 18, 2023
The Trump H.R. Shadow Battle
In preparation for a Republican nominee who is long on outrage and short on process, two shadow organizations—one staffed by ideologues, the other by the usual suspects—are competing to staff a putative second Trump administration with their own agendas in mind. What could possibly go wrong?
Steve Scalise and his allies had been making the case across the Hill that he would be a less volatile, more cooperative leader than his main rival for the gavel.
Tina Nguyen • October 11, 2023
War & Scalise
A small crew of Republican holdouts—McCarthy loyalists, Jordan fans, media gadflies—are threatening to tank Scalise’s speakership bid, just like they did to his predecessor. How long can the House G.O.P. chaos last?
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