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Bulwark Takes
The Bulwark
The news cycle doesn’t slow down, and neither does The Bulwark. Bulwark Takes brings you bite-sized takes on the news of the day from the entire Bulwark team, including Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, and Bill Kristol, and more.
15 claims · Clear filters
Mixed60% confidence6 sourcesAug 21, 2026Scott Bessent is attempting to create a deal between the Department of Homeland Security and the IRS to share tax records with immigration agents.Said by BThe record shows Bessent co-signed the IRS-DHS/ICE data-sharing memorandum of understanding in April 2025, so the deal and his role in it are supported. But the claim that he is 'attempting to create' the deal as of 2026-08-21 is contradicted, since the agreement had already been signed and was under litigation and congressional scrutiny by then. The post's wording is loose, so the claim is graded as the post's reference to the existing deal rather than a new negotiation.Mixed60% confidence7 sourcesAug 21, 2026The Trump Department of Justice acknowledged in a court filing in January 2026 that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees unlawfully accessed confidential Social Security Administration records to share with an outside political group.Said by BThe January 16, 2026 DOJ filing is well documented as acknowledging a secret agreement between a DOGE employee and a political advocacy group to share Social Security data to overturn election results, so the purpose element is supported. However, the filing hedged that DOGE 'may have' violated rules, and SSA said it had not seen evidence that SSA data actually reached the group, so the claim that DOGE unlawfully accessed records and shared them with the group is overstated.Mixed60% confidence8 sourcesAug 21, 2026Long-term interest rates for 10-year, 20-year, and 30-year U.S. Treasuries have increased due to debt problems and political dysfunction.Said by BThe sources support that U.S. long-term Treasury yields (10-, 20-, and 30-year) rose sharply in 2026, to multi-decade highs, and that deficits and debt are one contributing factor. They contradict the claim's implied primary causation by debt and political dysfunction: Yale, J.P. Morgan, and Russell attribute most of the rise to expected Fed policy, real rates, inflation, and term premium, and Yahoo reports that economists treat political dysfunction as a commentators' explanation rather than the driver. The claim also drops the post's hedge "some of" and was checked as of 2026-08-21, when these sources' yield levels were already elevated.