
Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a major in religious studies, and a minor in integrated liberal studies.
Rafi lives in the Twin Cities, where he does not bike, run or take part in any team sports. He does, however, have a variety of interests, hobbies and passions.
Latest articles by Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
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Why are the Gulf States a linchpin in Iran’s war strategy?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION While the thrust of the combat has been between American, Israeli and Iranian forces, Tehran has sought to leverage threats against its oil-producing neighbors to force the West’s hand
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Trump ousts Noem, taps Senate ally to lead DHS
Speed Read Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) was nominated as Noem’s replacement
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Is James Talarico’s Texas win a sign of a rising religious left?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The state’s latest Democratic senate hopeful has brought an overtly religious message to his progressive campaign. Will other Democrats take note?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Kash Patel’s Iran agent firings are a catch-22 for the FBI director
TALKING POINTS Reports that Donald Trump’s handpicked FBI director oversaw the firing of multiple Iran experts at the agency highlight the professional tightrope Patel now finds himself walking
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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House panel subpoenas Bondi over Epstein files
Speed Read The GOP-led panel is seeking answers on her handling of the investigation
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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France deploys carrier in Iran war as Spain balks
speed read Conflict continues to spread in the Middle East
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Anthropic becomes the face of AI resistance in DOD feud
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Pete Hegseth pushed the artificial intelligence developer for expansive access to its potentially lethal creation. CEO Dario Amodei isn’t apologizing for pushing back.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Trump sends more troops to Mideast as Iran war spreads
speed read In the 72 hours since the US and Israel began bombing Iran, the war has already engulfed at least 11 countries
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Trump’s jumbled doctrine of global force emerges
TALKING POINTS A hastily launched war of vaguely articulated goalposts in Iran has thrust Trump’s vision of expanded empire into a spotlight for which it might not be ready
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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ICE arrests, releases student at Columbia amid uproar
speed read Federal immigration authorities arrested a Columbia University student, triggering protests on campus
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Trump redactions in Epstein files raise bipartisan red flags
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The apparent deletion of dozens of pages relating to sexual assault allegations against the now-president has lawmakers demanding answers — and investigations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Summers to leave Harvard amid Epstein fallout
speed read Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers steps down as a professor over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Hegseth gives Anthopic ultimatum on guardrails
speed read The defense secretary has threatened to cut business ties with AI company Anthropic and designate it a ‘supply chain risk’
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Longevity guru Attia out at CBS News over Epstein ties
speed read Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss hired Attia last month as part of her slate of new contributors
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Democrats seek calm and counterprogramming ahead of SOTU
IN THE SPOTLIGHT How does the party out of power plan to mark the president’s first State of the Union speech of his second term? It’s still figuring that out.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Quentin Deranque: a student’s death energizes the French far right
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Reactions to the violent killing of an ultraconservative activist offer a glimpse at the culture wars roiling France ahead of next year’s elections
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Britain’s ex-Prince Andrew arrested over Epstein ties
Speed Read The younger brother of King Charles III has not yet been charged
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Why are election experts taking Trump’s midterm threats seriously?
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the president muses about polling place deployments and a centralized electoral system aimed at one-party control, lawmakers are taking this administration at its word
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Ex-South Korean leader gets life sentence for insurrection
Speed Read South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison over his declaration of martial law in 2024
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Things Donald Trump has said about women
In Depth The president has a long history of controversial remarks about the opposite sex
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Last updated
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Colbert, CBS spar over FCC and Talarico interview
Speed Read The late night host said CBS pulled his interview with Democratic Texas state representative James Talarico over new FCC rules about political interviews
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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How Democrats are turning DOJ lemons into partisan lemonade
TODAY’S BIG QUESTION As the Trump administration continues to try — and fail — at indicting its political enemies, Democratic lawmakers have begun seizing the moment for themselves
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over video
Speed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
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Greenland’s capital becomes ground zero for the country’s diplomatic straits
IN THE SPOTLIGHT A flurry of new consular activity in Nuuk shows how important Greenland has become to Europeans’ anxiety about American imperialism
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
