Rachel Leingang
rachelleingang.bsky.social
Rachel Leingang
@rachelleingang.bsky.social
Midwest political correspondent at @TheGuardian.com. Lots of Arizona journalism before this. Based in Minneapolis. Email: rachel.leingang@theguardian.com. Find me on Signal: rachelleingang.241.
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Help me do my job:

I cover democracy issues and misinformation and other politics stuff for The Guardian. I love story tips/leads/ideas. You can find me on Signal at rachelleingang.241. My work can be found here: www.theguardian.com/profile/rach...
Rachel Leingang | The Guardian
<p>Rachel Leingang is a democracy reporter focused on misinformation for Guardian US. She is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota<br></p>
www.theguardian.com
I spent a couple days in Oklahoma City last month to see how two suburban moms are growing leftwing podcast "I've Had It," not shying away from bullying Trump and his allies and critiquing Democrats who aren't doing enough. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
How two blond suburban moms gave Democrats an answer to the rightwing media ecosystem
Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan’s podcast I’ve Had It has risen up the charts and created a community with ‘a brand of fuck-you politics’
www.theguardian.com
October 6, 2025 at 1:30 PM
"'They spit, we hit.' Is that OK? I think so, they spit – it’s a new thing – ‘They spit, we hit’ ... I say it here, you can get out of that car and you do whatever the hell you want to do”. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025... via @neonflag.bsky.social
Trump says US cities should be ‘training grounds for our military’ in incendiary speech
President gave address after defense chief Pete Hegseth decried racial and gender diversity efforts in the military
www.theguardian.com
September 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Democratic members of Congress are finding abuses when they tour immigration detention centers. Now, Trump is making it harder for them to get in, impeding their legal rights to spot inspections. Inside this battle: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Democrats say Trump is illegally blocking them from visiting Ice detention: ‘The goal is to bully us’
Confrontations are playing out nationwide as lawmakers conduct checks of facilities where thousands are being held
www.theguardian.com
August 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Minnesotans are here in line to pay their respects to the Hortmans, who are laying in state at the Capitol this afternoon.
June 27, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Rachel Leingang
In New York this week, Zohran Mamdani decared victory in a mayoral primary race that Democrats will have watched carefully.
How did the "political nobody" beat the establishment Andrew Cuomo?
@rachelleingang.bsky.social and @moiradonegan.bsky.social discuss it all

open.spotify.com/episode/1VBF...
A socialist underdog makes history in New York
Politics Weekly America · Episode
open.spotify.com
June 27, 2025 at 7:09 AM
A main street in Gaza City, before and after, in the eyes of the people who live there: www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
A street in Gaza, a map of dreams, and the people desperate to live
Gaza City’s main high street has been destroyed but Palestinian memories of life before the ongoing Israeli assault survive. As those in Gaza face bombing, starvation and miserable living conditions, ...
www.theguardian.com
June 26, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Natalie Phelps, a 43-year-old mom of two, has stage 4 colorectal cancer. She has tried every available treatment. Her cancer "exploded" in recent months. A clinical trial at NIH offers a lifeline. But staff cuts at NIH are delaying her care. She doesn't have time. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Woman’s life-saving treatment delayed by Trump cuts to NIH: ‘Cancer shouldn’t be political’
Natalie Phelps, who has stage 4 colorectal cancer, has raised the alarm over how patients in the agency’s clinical trials are facing setbacks in treatment
www.theguardian.com
May 28, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Cataloguing the state of the opposition movement 100 days into the second Trump administration: “The fact that it’s ordinary people from across the country actually gives the protests more authenticity.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Trump 100 days: after tepid start, protest movements – and Democrats – find footing
Although the resistance at the start of Trump’s second term was wobbly, ‘ordinary people’ are pushing the movement forward
www.theguardian.com
April 30, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Minnesota is at the center of a sauna renaissance. As a winter-hater, I tried to get into saunas and the accompanying cold plunges to see if I could enjoy the season. (Quite a departure from what I normally cover.) www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...
I moved to the sauna capital of the US. Could I take the heat?
A thriving sauna culture is growing in frosty Minnesota as people warm to the health benefits and sense of community
www.theguardian.com
March 19, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reported from my hometown this week on the trial against Greenpeace, where seating a jury without ties to the fossil fuel industry or strong biases against the Dakota Access pipeline protests proved impossible. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Most jurors in US pipeline case against Greenpeace have fossil fuel industry ties
Trial-monitoring committee in Dakota Access lawsuit have shared concerns of judicial bias and due-process violations
www.theguardian.com
February 27, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Across the country, Republican lawmakers are eroding church and state separation by passing laws that favor Christianity. They want these laws to go before the US Supreme Court to overturn separation entirely. We zoom in on Oklahoma to show what this looks like. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
‘Testing ground for Project 2025’: behind Oklahoma’s rightwing push to erode the line between church and state
With Trump back in the White House, the state and others across the US are making efforts to install Christian viewpoints in governance
www.theguardian.com
February 27, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Rachel Leingang
A clear and straightforward breakdown of the likely effects of federal worker firings in the past month, from @rachelleingang.bsky.social:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
From weather apps to taxes: the trickle-down effects of Trump’s federal worker firings
Gutting of workforce will have far-reaching consequences as advocates warn of playing ‘Russian roulette’ with safety
www.theguardian.com
February 20, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Rachel Leingang
Energy Transfer’s $300m trial against Greenpeace begins on Monday - a classic SLAPP suit by a major Trump donor which seeks to rewrite the Indigenous-led Standing Rock protests and could have a chilling effect on free speech

By me & @rachelleingang.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Fossil fuel firm’s $300m trial against Greenpeace to begin: ‘Weaponizing the judicial system’
Experts warn victory for Energy Transfer, whose CEO is a Trump donor, could have a ‘chilling’ effect on free speech
www.theguardian.com
February 20, 2025 at 1:23 PM
I spoke with Jo Ellis, a Virginia National Guard helicopter pilot who was falsely named as the pilot in the DC crash. “I became collateral damage, just like so many other trans people that are being unnecessarily targeted.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘I became collateral damage’: the trans pilot falsely targeted over Washington DC crash
Without evidence, Trump blamed diversity after the crash, leading some to accuse Jo Ellis of being one of the pilots
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Help me do my job:

I cover democracy issues and misinformation and other politics stuff for The Guardian. I love story tips/leads/ideas. You can find me on Signal at rachelleingang.241. My work can be found here: www.theguardian.com/profile/rach...
Rachel Leingang | The Guardian
<p>Rachel Leingang is a democracy reporter focused on misinformation for Guardian US. She is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota<br></p>
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2025 at 7:21 PM