Outside the Beltway

Yet another demand for a loyalty pledge from a law enforcement official by a President under investigation.

Embattled New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez has dodged a bullet, but still faces uncertain prospects for reelection.

Two weeks later, it’s still unclear what caused a false missile alert to be sent out in Hawaii.

A train carrying Republican Congressmen and Senators, and their families, was involved in a crash in western Virginia.

The President talked about national unity last night, but given his own rhetoric as a candidate and as a President, it’s a call that seems to be hypocritical.

A longstanding claim—that I myself believed to be true—is that spending money on preventative care like regular checkups would save money in the long run by catching health issues before they become acute. The evidence does not support this.

The White House’s immigration plan is facing opposition in both chambers of Congress from moderate and conservative Republicans alike.

In May, Irish voters will vote on a referendum to remove the near-universal ban on abortion in the nation’s Constitution. And it looks as though it will pass.

Once again, President Trump is going soft on Russia. Why? I’ll leave that up to the reader to decide.

Do yourself a favor and skip the State Of The Union Address tonight. You won’t be missing anything important.

Andrew McCabe has stepped down as the FBI’s number two after months of attacks from President Trump.

Three women who attended Annapolis together are running for seats in Congress.

Todd Rogers has been stripped of his world record for the Atari 2600 racing game Dragster.

International travel to the United States has declined since Donald Trump took office, and it’s having a measurable impact on the economy.

The prospects for a deal in Congress on DACA are starting to look grim.

The Trump Administration has acted in a manner to create the impression that there is “no daylight” between the United States and Israel. This is a myth, and pursuing such a goal poses real dangers for America’s national interests.

The recent cooling of relations between North and South Korea has led to some talk of eventual reunification, but for many South Koreans that idea is a non-starter.

A quarter century ago, soldiers were first using GPS to help them navigate the battlefield. Now, GPS is giving away their location.

A government panel has mandated a 50% increase in the revenue share streaming services pay songwriters and music publishers.

Democratic norms are eroding.

The Polish Government appears ready to approve a law that seeks to whitewash the truth about the role that many Poles played in the Holocaust.

And a little Electoral College for good measure.

Donald Trump is wildly unpopular in the United Kingdom, and that’s apparently causing him to eschew visiting the United States’s most important ally.

Despite mounting evidence and outrageous behavior, Republicans nationwide and on Capitol Hill continue to do the Administration’s dirty work. They’ll most likely live to regret it.

President Trump and his supporters like to claim that the economy has been booming since he became President. A look at the numbers reveals that this is not the case.

America’s closest European allies are rebuffing the Trump Administration’s efforts to renegotiate the nuclear deal with Iran. They’re right to do so.

The economy grew in the final quarter of 2017, but at a slower pace than earlier in the year and far slower than what the President has promised.

And the evidence for obstruction of justice continues to mount.

Less than a day after the President appeared to make a major concession regarding DACA, the White House has thrown a monkey wrench into the whole process.

Democrats in the Senate appear ready to de-link DACA from the budget. That would remove the threat of a government shutdown, but it could anger their base.

President Trump has alienated America’s allies and friends, and they are acting accordingly.

This is not unreasonable.

With the Administration set to commit the United States to a forever war in Syria, it’s time for Congress to act.

Americans were once largely united in their opinions about Israel and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. That’s not the case anymore.

Getting to a DACA deal isn’t going to be easy.

Just over one year after President Trump’s foolish and ill-informed decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Canada has stepped in to rescue the deal.

It’s been seven years since Congress eliminated earmarking, and what we’ve seen has provided good evidence for the argument that it should never have been eliminated.

We’re slowly fixing the site.

Another win for forces fighting partisan Gerrymandering.

My latest for The National Interest has posted.

The deal that led to the end of the Federal Government shutdown isn’t sitting well with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

While final votes remain to be taken, the Federal Government shutdown effectively ended this afternoon with an overwhelming bipartisan vote to reopen the government, combined with a commitment from Republicans to consider a DACA bill over the next three weeks. What happens next, though, is entirely uncertain.

President Trump is apparently pressuring the President of South Korea to give him the credit for talks between North and South Korea that the United States isn’t involved in at all.

As the Federal Government shutdown moves into the work week, there are some rumors of a possible deal, but nothing concrete and the lack of trust between the two parties could make a deal hard to achieve.

President Trump called on Senate Republicans to eliminate the legislative filibuster to resolve the government shutdown. That’s not going to happen.

It’s Day Two of the Federal Government shutdown and there are few signs of a quick resolution.

The redevelopment of the site that I posted about a few weeks back is underway in a phased approach.