{"id":5483,"date":"2026-07-14T01:24:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5483"},"modified":"2026-07-14T01:24:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:24:49","slug":"lindsey-graham-mitch-mcconnell-and-the-american-gerontocracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5483","title":{"rendered":"Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, and the American gerontocracy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"zephr-anchor\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><em>This story appeared in <\/em>Today, Explained,<em> a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/today-explained-newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Subscribe here<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Hi, friends, and good afternoon \u2014 I\u2019m delighted to be coming to you, for the very first time, at this far more civilized and adequately caffeinated hour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">As I previewed here on Friday, <em>Today, Explained<\/em> has undergone a little makeover: We\u2019re now shipping this newsletter on weekday afternoons. And we\u2019ve tweaked the format to make it more useful, entertaining and elucidating, with a renewed focus on exploring the fascinating, big ideas and hidden forces that drive the news cycle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Every afternoon, my pal Cameron or I will catch you up on the two to three big stories you need to know to feel grounded and informed about the day. Then we\u2019ll go deeper on one thread from one story: a fascinating bit of related science, an economic concept that might change the way you think, or the little-known context behind a pop culture fad that suddenly and surprisingly explains everything.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">My goal here isn\u2019t to help you \u201ckeep up\u201d with the news \u2014 as if the news were some terrible, never-ending treadmill you could fly off the back of \u2014 but to find better, smarter, more durable ways to think about the fast-moving infopocalypse that is our inescapable reality now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Speaking of inescapable realities: What better place to start, really, than with an\u2026unexpected death? South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudm94LmNvbS9wb2xpdGljcy80OTUxNDYvbGluZHNleS1ncmFoYW0tZGVhZC1kb25hbGQtdHJ1bXAtbGVnYWN5LXNlbmF0ZS11a3JhaW5lP3VlaWQ9ZDcwOTFhMWYyYTkyOGE2NmMwZjUwNDcwZTgyOTExM2Y\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbBd17dc634\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">died on Saturday<\/a> of likely complications from heart disease, shortly after traveling from Ukraine back to the US.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Graham was 71 years old, and \u2014 at the risk of sounding ever-so-slightly macabre \u2014 no one had the late senator on their Congressional death watch bingo card. A number of other high-profile national politicians <em>are<\/em> in visibly poor health: Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, for instance, who on Sunday <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY25uLmNvbS8yMDI2LzA3LzEyL3BvbGl0aWNzL21pdGNoLW1jY29ubmVsbC1ob3NwaXRhbC1hbm5vdW5jZW1lbnQ_dWVpZD1kNzA5MWExZjJhOTI4YTY2YzBmNTA0NzBlODI5MTEzZg\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbB25bf5530\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">finally explained<\/a> that his mysterious, weeks-long hospitalization followed a minor fall. Or President Donald Trump himself, who often appears in public with <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3RhdG5ld3MuY29tLzIwMjUvMDgvMjYvdHJ1bXAtaGFuZC1icnVpc2UtY2hyb25pYy12ZW5vdXMtaW5zdWZmaWNpZW5jeS8_dWVpZD1kNzA5MWExZjJhOTI4YTY2YzBmNTA0NzBlODI5MTEzZg\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbBca95bee4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">visible bruising<\/a> on his hands, and who is <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly9zdGF0bmV3cy5jb20vMjAyNi8wNi8yMy9lbGktbGlsbHktdW51c3VhbC13ZWlnaHQtbG9zcy1kcnVnLXRyaWFsLWNvbXBhc3Npb25hdGUtdXNlLXJldGF0cnV0aWRlLXRydW1wLz91ZWlkPWQ3MDkxYTFmMmE5MjhhNjZjMGY1MDQ3MGU4MjkxMTNm\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbB65d1ab22\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">maybe\/probably receiving<\/a> a high-powered, experimental obesity drug to treat pulmonary hypertension.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">The White House <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly9ueW1hZy5jb20vaW50ZWxsaWdlbmNlci9hcnRpY2xlL2RvbmFsZC10cnVtcC1hZGRyZXNzZXMtaGVhbHRoLWhhbmQtYnJ1aXNlLXN0cm9rZS1tcmktZ3JlZW5sYW5kLmh0bWw_aXNOZXdTb2NpYWxVc2VyPWZhbHNlJnByb3ZpZGVySWQ9Z29vZ2xlLmNvbSZ1ZWlkPWQ3MDkxYTFmMmE5MjhhNjZjMGY1MDQ3MGU4MjkxMTNm\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbB0b35f8cf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">strenuously disclaims<\/a> all speculation about Trump\u2019s health, of course. But in America\u2019s so-called gerontocracy, health problems are something of an occupational hazard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement _13j8zv41 _13j8zv40 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<div style=\"position:relative\">\n<div class=\"_10sa9omj\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div style=\"background-image:none\" class=\"duet--media--content-warning _1wmfnm10\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--image-gallery-image _1hhpe710\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.508516\" id=\"dngyOmltYWdlOjQ5NTIzMw==\"><a class=\"_1hhpe711\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"822\" data-pswp-width=\"1240\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img alt=\"A chart showing the mean age of US Congress members from 1985 to 2025, going steadily up.\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"_1ssnpw50\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=256 256w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=376 376w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=384 384w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=415 415w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=480 480w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=540 540w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=750 750w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=828 828w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1080 1080w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1440 1440w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1920 1920w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400 2400w\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/ukGP7-1.png?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">You\u2019re not imagining it: Congress has never been <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcmNoaXZlLnBoL1NaM081P3VlaWQ9ZDcwOTFhMWYyYTkyOGE2NmMwZjUwNDcwZTgyOTExM2Y\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbB88a47aa4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">this old<\/a>. In January 2025, the median age for a sitting US senator was 64.7 \u2014 up more than a decade from 40 years ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">The simplest explanation is basic demographics: America is getting older as a whole.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">But there\u2019s also <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudm94LmNvbS9wb2xpY3kvMzU4ODYzL29sZC1wb2xpdGljaWFucy1nZXJvbnRvY3JhY3ktYWdlLWxpbWl0cz91ZWlkPWQ3MDkxYTFmMmE5MjhhNjZjMGY1MDQ3MGU4MjkxMTNm\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbBe673f21c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">another, more troubling reason<\/a> for Congress\u2019s demographic shift. Over the past century, growing political polarization and partisan gerrymandering have made congressional elections far less competitive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">As a result, many races are essentially decided by the primaries, where older, incumbent candidates have huge advantages: More voters recognize their names and more donors contribute to their reelection funds, for instance. Despite some high-profile upsets \u2014 like the recent triumph of <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudm94LmNvbS9wb2xpdGljcy80OTM4NjMvbWVsYXQta2lyb3MtZGVmZWF0cy1kaWFuYS1kZWdldHRlLWRzYS1pc3JhZWwtZ2F6YT91ZWlkPWQ3MDkxYTFmMmE5MjhhNjZjMGY1MDQ3MGU4MjkxMTNm\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbB1a14ab83\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">political newcomer Melat Kiros<\/a> in Colorado \u2014 only a handful of incumbents lose their primaries each cycle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Critics have floated a number of interesting remedies, including term and age limits for federal lawmakers. Lots of Americans say they\u2019d support those types of reforms. But the problem with the gerontocracy isn\u2019t actually lawmakers\u2019 ages \u2014 after all, older people benefit from a lifetime of accrued experience! \u2014 but the sense that voters don\u2019t really have the opportunity to elect younger candidates, even if that\u2019s their preference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Changing <em>that<\/em> would require sweeping structural reforms that help newcomers challenge incumbent politicians and that make it more possible for either party to win a given district. Unfortunately, that\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudm94LmNvbS9wb2xpdGljcy80OTA4NDEvc3VwcmVtZS1jb3VydC1nZXJyeW1hbmRlcmluZy1hbGxlbi1taWxsaWdhbi1hbGFiYW1hLXJlcHVibGljYW5zP3VlaWQ9ZDcwOTFhMWYyYTkyOGE2NmMwZjUwNDcwZTgyOTExM2Y\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbBef4609e0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">not at all the direction<\/a> the US is moving in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\"><strong>\u27a8 Keeping up with friends is hard.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudm94LmNvbS9hZHZpY2UvNDk0NTI2L3Bob3RvLWR1bXAtZnJpZW5kc2hpcD91ZWlkPWQ3MDkxYTFmMmE5MjhhNjZjMGY1MDQ3MGU4MjkxMTNm\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbBf94b74d6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A weekly photo dump can help<\/a>. Vox\u2019s Allie Volpe observes this little digital ritual in her own group chat. Every Friday, her friends share a handful of casual, lo-fi photos from the preceding week to keep up with the small stuff in each other\u2019s lives. It\u2019s quick, it\u2019s easy, and it\u2019s actually in keeping with recent research about the most effective ways to nurture friendships online.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement _13j8zv41 _13j8zv40 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<ul class=\"duet--article--unordered-list _10sa9omi uyby7v0 pn04iq1\">\n<li class=\"uyby7v1\"><span class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\"><strong>Did you know\u2026<\/strong>that axolotls, those adorable smiling amphibians, <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudm94LmNvbS8yMjg3NzM1My9heG9sb3RsLXNhbGFtYW5kZXItcGV0LWV4dGluY3Rpb24tbWV4aWNvP3VlaWQ9ZDcwOTFhMWYyYTkyOGE2NmMwZjUwNDcwZTgyOTExM2Y\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbBee3e325c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">can regrow limbs, spinal cords, and even portions of their brains<\/a>? It\u2019s made them particularly popular in laboratory studies. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"uyby7v1\"><span class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\"><strong>Today\u2019s trivia:<\/strong> What\u2019s the name of the American politician and businessman, recently portrayed (but not necessarily <em>spotlighted<\/em>) in a hit Broadway musical, who served as the third vice president of the United States? (You can find this and other brain puzzles <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/6a46cfd46352b082500e86fe\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudm94LmNvbS8yMTUyMzIxMi9jcm9zc3dvcmQtcHV6emxlcy1mcmVlLWRhaWx5LXByaW50YWJsZT91ZWlkPWM3Mzg0ZDJhYzRmZDQ0YzcyZDI4OGQ4N2YxZjM5NDlh\/664389def568f1a4620aa3aeC7b08b10b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in Vox\u2019s daily crossword<\/a>. Look for the answer in tomorrow\u2019s edition.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"uyby7v1\"><span class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\"><strong>Something to watch:<\/strong> The Vox podcast <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXRmbGl4LmNvbS91bmV4cGxhaW5hYmxlP3VlaWQ9ZDcwOTFhMWYyYTkyOGE2NmMwZjUwNDcwZTgyOTExM2Y\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbB854ecdf9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Unexplainable<\/em> is now on Netflix<\/a>! You can catch new episodes there every Monday (and still <a href=\"https:\/\/link.vox.com\/click\/46551456.108234\/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudm94LmNvbS91bmV4cGxhaW5hYmxlP3VlaWQ9ZDcwOTFhMWYyYTkyOGE2NmMwZjUwNDcwZTgyOTExM2Y\/6941d515837d7038a00287bbB41d936cb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">listen every Monday and Wednesday<\/a> wherever you get your podcasts).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here. Hi, friends, and good afternoon \u2014 I\u2019m delighted to be coming to you, for the very first time, at this far more civilized and adequately caffeinated hour. As I previewed here&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/gettyimages-1295096506.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.732984293194%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}