GSPM Student Ethan Fitzgerald | Photo by Cooper Tyksinski/GW Today

ISSUE 5 | MAY 2026

Exciting things are happening across the GSPM community!

Graduate student Ethan Fitzgerald (pictured above) has been selected as George Washington University’s 2026 Commencement Student Speaker on the National Mall, an incredible honor and a first for a GSPM student. A former Student Government Association president and dedicated mental health advocate, his selection is especially meaningful as we recognize Mental Health Awareness Month. You can read more about Ethan's  journey here.

We’re also proud to celebrate faculty members Dr. Matt Dallek and Dr. Natalia Dinello, who were recognized at the Spring all-hands meeting with Catalyst Awards. Dr. Dallek received the Community Excellence Award for fostering lifelong learning, inclusivity, and engagement across the college community, while Dr. Dinello was honored with the Partners in Progress Award for building impactful partnerships that expand opportunities and career pathways for students and alumni.

Together, these milestones highlight the strength of the GSPM community—from students making history on the National Mall to faculty driving meaningful impact across GW.

Dean Liesl Riddle, Ph.D., presents Catalyst Awards to Professor Matthew Dallek (left) and
Dr. Natalia Dinello (right) at the GW College of Professional Studies' Spring meeting

In This Issue:

A Live Now from Fox Interview with The Hon. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell,
Executive Director of The Graduate School of Political Management

INSIDE WASHINGTON

by Dr. Casey Burgat
Director of the Legislative Affairs Master's Program

The traditional model of accountability for lawmakers embroiled in scandal—expose wrongdoing, voters punish it, careers end—no longer consistently holds. For that chain to work, voters must first learn about misconduct, agree it matters, and see it as disqualifying. Today, each step has weakened.

Recent events on Capitol Hill illustrate both sides of that tension. Reps. Tony Gonzales, Eric Swalwell, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick all resigned amid mounting scandals and ethics investigations—seemingly reinforcing the idea that misconduct still carries consequences. 

But these outcomes are no longer guaranteed. One major shift is the modern information environment. Allegations of wrongdoing are now constant, circulating through news cycles and social media at a relentless pace. Rather than shocking the public, they blur together, making it harder to distinguish serious corruption from routine political attacks.

At the same time, rising partisanship shapes how that information is interpreted. Voters increasingly filter allegations through an “us versus them” lens, often dismissing misconduct by politicians they support as exaggerated or politically motivated.

The result is a paradox: corruption doesn’t just fail to disqualify—it can sometimes reinforce political support. For some voters, investigations and scandals are interpreted not as evidence of wrongdoing, but as proof that a politician is being targeted by opponents or entrenched institutions.

The broader takeaway is not that corruption no longer matters, but that the mechanisms of accountability have changed. Electoral consequences are less automatic, more contingent, and increasingly dependent on partisan identity and information ecosystems.

The conclusion is a sobering one: when voters no longer agree on what counts as disqualifying behavior, accountability can’t rely on elections alone—and must instead depend on stronger institutions, oversight, and sustained civic engagement.

POLITICAL ANALYSIS

by Dr. Matthew Dallek
Professor, Political Management Master's Program

Assassination attempts are ruptures in the social fabric that can take decades to fully understand. But in the immediate aftermath, we can begin to see the way attempts like the one President Trump just survived can change a president’s fortunes.

Although differences between Saturday’s incident and past attempts are plentiful, the past can be instructive: Assassination attempts against sitting presidents have tended to compound their political problems and isolate them from the public. Rather than reviving a president’s flagging fortunes, negative assessments have tended to harden. This can apply equally to a president’s party.

That illogic suggests that once a president’s ratings have fallen (and Mr. Trump’s approval rating remains below 40 percent), recouping lost ground is tough to pull off. Since 1950, the United States has experienced six assassination attempts on sitting presidents in which a gun has been fired or aimed at a president, including one that killed a president, John F. Kennedy. (This list excludes attacks on candidates and former presidents, as well as dozens of other plots.) Presidents Harry Truman and Gerald Ford survived attempts on their lives. But their stoicism in the face of danger failed to reverse their parties’ already waning prospects.

…Truman and Ford failed to overcome the structural challenges dragging them down, while it took an economic rebound two years after the attack to help vault Reagan to a second term.

Mr. Trump is waging an unpopular war in a time of rising costs and pain at the gas pump. He seems to be alienating more young voters and Latinos, two groups who helped elect him to a second term. Like Truman, he is a well-known figure who has stood at the center of national politics for many years. The latest attack may inspire parts of his base to turn out to support his party in the midterms, but whether it’s a midterm election or the rest of his presidency, history offers little hope that a near miss will reset his presidency.

EXECUTIVE POWER & POLICY

by Dr. Todd Belt
Director of  the Political Management Master's Program

Remember when President Trump kept classified documents in a bathroom and other unsecure locations at his club in Mar-a-Lago? Well, it’s back in the news and at the heart of a new struggle over presidential power.  

In April, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion arguing that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional. The act was part of the post-Watergate reforms that mandated that all presidential records must be turned over to the White House Archivist, with the intent of making as many of the documents as possible open to the public -- after all the president works for us. The Act also stipulates that the president cannot destroy or discard records (remember Nixon releasing tapes with missing material?)

There are two reasons President Trump is fighting this battle. The first has to do with his personal legacy and the second has to do with his expansive view of presidential power.

President Trump needs to create a narrative that he is a winner. He’s trying to rewrite history (lies about the 2020 election and the January 6th attack on the Capitol), obfuscate or make legal past actions (overturning court cases that went against him, getting prior charges dropped), and finally looking forward to burnish his legacy with build monuments to himself and have public entities named after himself. The Records Act falls into the middle category.

The second reason has to do with Trump’s view of presidential power. Trump views the president not as an employee of the people, but rather the leader of the nation. This is why he seems to have a much greater affinity for authoritarian leaders than leaders of democracies. He believes that the “Take Care” clause of Article 2 of the Constitution gives him the power to do whatever he wants. To some extent, his view was validated by the Supreme Court in Trump v. US (at least, presumptively for official actions). With his challenge, Trump asserts a dangerous power of the presidency -- one that is beyond the eyes of the public he serves.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

by Dr. Natalia Dinello
Global Residencies Program Director & Assistant Professor

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at his annual press conference/ / Photo by Justin Spike, Associated Press

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been called a "disruptor-in-chief" and a “black sheep” of the European Union (EU) due to his authoritarian and confrontational policies and ties to the Kremlin. Most analysts hailed the overwhelming defeat of Orbán’s Fidesz party in the April 12th election as a triumph of democracy and a promise of better times for Hungary and Europe. One week later, on April 19th, former Eurosceptic President of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, won a landslide electoral victory and is on course to become the country’s prime minister. What is going on, and what implications will these contrasting results have for Europe and the US?

Both cases are similar in signaling the demise of incumbents. The winner in Hungary, Péter Magyar of the Tisza party, focused his campaign on corruption inside the Orbán government and the poor economic performance. Radev’s victory followed massive anti-corruption protests and suggested a way out of the political impasse.

There are, however, significant differences. A Magyar government is likely to improve the relations with Brussels, maintain support for Ukraine, and secure the release of EU budget funds to Hungary. In contrast, Radev expressed his opposition to some EU policies and pledged to rebuild ties with Moscow.

Undercurrents and mixed messages are also notable. Magyar is expected to maintain tough immigration policies, the supply of Russian gas via the Druzhba pipeline, and opposition to a fast-tracked Ukraine’s EU accession and troop deployments to Ukraine. Although Radev is likely to reach out to Russia, his foreign policy will not be as disruptive toward the EU as that of Orbán’s.

On balance, the EU can rejoice, and the populist parties in France and Italy can lament Magyar’s win. Radev’s victory is less consequential, and its implications are less clear as he received votes from both pro-Russian and pro-European constituencies. What is certain is the blow from Orbán’s defeat to the Trump administration, especially in light of the extraordinary visit to Hungary by the US vice-president, JD Vance, to boost Orbán’s chances. As for Russia, it can look forward to more stability in relations with Bulgaria and less certainty in dealing with Hungary.

The Graduate School of Political Management welcomes Diego Area as a visiting scholar. Mr. Area is a recognized expert in business ethics and corporate responsibility, with experience spanning academia and industry. His work focuses on ethical leadership, corporate responsibility and the role of business in society.

During his time at GSPM, Mr. Area will engage with students and faculty through guest lectures and discussions that connect academic research with real-world application. His appointment reflects GSPM’s continued focus on bringing experienced practitioners and thought leaders into the classroom.

Learn more about his background here. 

Bob Asztalos, a graduate of GSPM's Legislative Affairs master’s program (Class of 1989), has built a distinguished career in public service, health policy, and veterans’ affairs.

He currently serves as Director of Florida’s Agency for Persons with Disabilities and previously served as Deputy Executive Director of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, helping lead a 1,500-member agency with a $220 million budget serving the nation’s third-largest veteran population and overseeing Florida’s state veterans nursing homes and domiciliary.

With decades of experience in government relations and health care advocacy, his work has supported long-term care providers and national health organizations. A U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve veteran with 29 years of service, he continues to serve through leadership in veteran and community organizations.

Bob’s career reflects the impact and dedication of GSPM graduates, leaders who apply their education to drive meaningful change and serve communities at the highest levels.

ALUMNI IMPACT

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GSPM alumni are key to the strength and success of our community. The Alumni Director's Circle is a group of engaged alumni leaders who serve as ambassadors, advisors, and connectors helping to strengthen relationships across our community, support mentorship and career pathways, and ensure alumni voices help shape the future of GSPM.

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