Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon named the tactic in 2018: “flood the zone.” Since resuming office last January, Trump has doubled down on the maneuver, issuing an unprecedented number of orders on day one and continuing with a chaotic blitz of executive action throughout the year. Much of it has been only feebly restrained by courts, if checked at all. Meanwhile millions of lives, in the United States and abroad, have been upended—or far worse.

This reading list compiles coverage of the rapid-fire destruction in 2025—from the wars on immigrants, science, and universities to DOGE’s attacks on the federal government, enduring support for Israel, strikes on Iran, and a renewed bid for hemispheric domination in Latin America—and what the violent reconfiguration of U.S. politics and power means for the future of democracy and resistance.