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Russell Payne

Russell Payne is a staff reporter for Salon, covering the right and how it wields power from his base in New York City. His reporting has previously appeared in The New York Sun and the Finger Lakes Times. Follow on Bluesky and send tips on Signal at russellpayne.72.

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Construction on Trump's enormous ballroom began this week. Not everyone was pleased about it. Even on Fox News. (Salwan Georges / The Washington Post / Getty Images)

Trump’s ballroom ploy might work, security experts say

Russell Payne
The Supreme Court on November 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Supreme Court guts the Voting Rights Act in “Jim Crow 2.0” ruling

Russell Payne
A woman casts her ballot during the Maryland state primary election at a polling station in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 14, 2024. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

Centrism is losing popularity, new data shows. Will Democrats listen?

Russell Payne
A drop of petrol falls from the nozzle of a petrol pump at a petrol station in Vélizy-Villacoublay, near Paris, on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)

The Iran war is about to hit small businesses — and your wallet

Russell Payne
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks with reporters on the House steps after a vote on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

What AOC really told RFK Jr.

Russell Payne
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, President Donald Trump, and media personality Joe Rogan attend an executive order signing regarding psychedelics on Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Photo Illustration by Salon / Allison Robbert / For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Why is Trump wooing psychedelics? It’s really about Iran

Russell Payne
President Donald Trump (SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump’s looming downballot disaster

Russell Payne
Ahead of today's nationwide scheduled protests, Gov. Ron DeSantis reminds Florida drivers that it's legal to drive through crowds of protesters if they fear for their lives. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

DeSantis’ national security power grab

Russell Payne
Cutting taxes. (Deagreez via Getty Images)

Tax refunds are up. Americans still paid higher taxes

Russell Payne
ICE officers depart the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on February 4, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

ICE is recruiting cops to track down kids

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Online surveillance. (Serg Myshkovsky via Getty Images)

AI is raising the stakes in the government surveillance debate

Russell Payne
Attorney General Pam Bondi listens as US President Donald Trump speaks before swearing in the new Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 24, 2026. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

“We love Pam”: Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi

Russell Payne
The Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters building on March 30, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)

Not just ICE: Do we need DHS?

Russell Payne
An American flag outside the US Supreme Court building on May 15, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

Supreme Court could create a whole new class of noncitizens

Russell Payne
A drop of petrol falls from the nozzle of a petrol pump at a petrol station in Vélizy-Villacoublay, near Paris, on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)

Why the Iran war could make everything, not just oil, more expensive

Russell Payne
Plumes of smoke rise over the oil depot tanks hit by joint Israel-U.S. over night in a station north west of the capital on March 8, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

Trump’s war may hasten the end of oil and gas dependence

Russell Payne
(Getty Images/Carol Yepes)

Why AI chatbots are getting more political

Russell Payne
Cleta Mitchell attends the House Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Oversight of the Office of Special Counsel Jack Smith," in Rayburn building on Thursday, January 22, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)

The conservative woman cracking down on conservative women

Russell Payne
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) talks to reporters after meeting with some of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers at the U.S. Capitol on September 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump allies might get their preferred Democratic Senate candidate from Illinois

Russell Payne
Residents watch from a rooftop as smoke rises over Tehran following a strike on March 3, 2026, with an illustration of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse faintly layered in the background. (Illustration by Salon / Getty Images / ATTA KENARE / Public Domain)

The ancient prophecy behind the Iran war is a modern invention

Russell Payne
(Illustration by Salon / Getty Images / Kevin Dietsch / iStock)

Labor Department chaos hides an anti-worker agenda

Russell Payne
A school bus in Pasadena, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

How the DOJ is using civil rights law to attack school desegregation

Russell Payne
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem as she speaks during a news conference in the National Response Coordination Center at FEMA headquarters on January 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

Kristi Noem is out: Chaotic reign at DHS ends amid personal scandal

Russell Payne
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters ahead of a briefing by Trump administration officials to members of the Senate on U.S. strikes on Iran, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on March 3, 2026. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Both parties at odds with own voters over Middle East policy

Russell Payne
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