Outside the Beltway

After one year at a job that has to be among the most frustrating in Washington, John Kelly has agreed to stay on through the 2020 election.

A Federal Judge in Oregon has rejected an efforts by a parent’s group to block a school district policy that allows transgender students to use the restroom facilities that conform to their gender identity.

Yet another sign that the Singapore Summit didn’t really accomplish much of anything.

A powerful political network is distancing itself from the Trump-dominated Republican Party.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she’d like to stay on the Court at least until she turns 90, but it’s unlikely she’ll go anywhere voluntarily as long as Donald Trump is President.

President Trump is suggesting he may force a government shutdown over his immigration policies just a month before the midterm elections.

Senate Democrats appear to be recognizing that there’s basically nothing they can do to stop the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

A Federal Judge in Maryland ruled last week that a lawsuit against the President based on a rather obscure provision of the Constitution could go forward.

The natural intuition of the aluminum tariff is that it would help Alcoa, the largest manufacturer of aluminum in the U.S. But apparently these things are a bit more complicated that one’s intuition would indicate.

The Secretary of State of West Virginia has barred Don Blankenship, who came in third place in the GOP Primary, from mounting a third-party bid on the November ballot.

Senator Corker provided a pretty damning run-down last week.

The recent report of 4.1% GDP growth over the previous quarter is indeed welcome news. However, taking a look at the data both recent and in the past and there are some reasons to be concerned about GDP growth in general.

Mid-terms are coming.

Trade deals take more than an afternoon chat.

One of the most prominent members of the American Catholic hierarchy has been removed from office in the face of mounting allegations of sexual abuse that stretch back decades.

A new poll suggests that Governor Scott Walker could be in trouble as he seeks a third term as Governor of Wisconsin, but he’s been counted out before only bounce back and confound the doubters.

One of the biggest names in Hollywood stands accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women in yet another ground-breaking report by Ronan Farrow.

I have heard Trump supporters offer the following rationale for Trump’s tarris, “It is a bargaining strategy.” Then they sit back and smirk, and tell me, “Trump really wants zero tariffs, but to get these other countries to come to the table he has to get their attention. And once he has softened them up, they’ll be willing to reduce their tariffs.”

Trump’s trade war will claw back 25% of the growth in GDP, slightly more than 20% of the wage growth and more than wipe out all the jobs his tax cuts would provide.

The man who knows all of Donald Trump’s financial secrets has been called to testify before the Grand Jury investigating Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

Going my way?

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly looking at the President’s Twitter feed as part of his ongoing investigation.

The economy grew at an exceptionally strong pace according to the first estimate of GDP growth, but several caveats remain.

Former Trump lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen is reportedly ready to tell investigators that the President is lying about his knowledge regarding the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer.

Happy Friday.

President Trump and the President of the European Commission announced an agreement late yesterday on trade issues, but it’s long on promises and short on results.

New polling shows that the ground looks fertile for Democrats in the fall.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down part of a Hawaii law barring open carry of weapons, but this win for gun rights advocates may turn out to be short-lived.

Deficits continue to rise.

Contrary to last week’s reports, we won’t be seeing a second summit with Vladimir Putin in the near future.

The Garden State has put a hold on marijuana prosecutions in anticipation of full legalization by the end of the year.

A new recording of a conversation between Donald Trump and his one-time attorney/”fixer” Michael Cohen appears to put the President in a more difficult position than he has already been in.

Notwithstanding his dismissive public rhetoric about the former Vice-President, Donald Trump apparently sees Joe Biden as his biggest potential threat in 2020.

Don Blankenship, who came in third in the Republican Primary in West Virginia earlier this year, is moving forward with plans to run as a third-party candidate in the General Election.

A fourth poll in less than a month shows that most Americans support keeping the rights protected in Roe v. Wade alive.

The Trump’s Administration’s rhetoric and actions have given the Iranians no reason to trust the United States going forward.

If President Trump’s trade war continues, it could have a serious impact on the political fortunes of President Trump and his party.

Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, who challenged Nancy Pelosi for a leadership spot in 2016, is telling supporters he’s running for President in 2020.

Based on what can only be described as pure vindictiveness, the President is apparently planning on revoking security clearances of former officials who have been outspoken against the Administration and its policies.

The President is apparently getting ready to take yet another ill-advised step in his ill-advised, economically illiterate trade war.

Most Americans disapprove of the President’s handling of our relationship with Russia, and foreign policy more generally, in the wake of the Helsinki Summit. That’s not having much of an impact on his overall job approval, though.

To the surprise of nobody other than, apparently, the President of the United States, the North Koreans are dragging their feet after getting what they wanted out of the Photo Op Summit in Singapore.

The President was up late last night sending an incredibly over-the-top tweet directed at Iran.

Jon Huntsman, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, is rejecting calls that he should resign in the wake of what everyone seems to agree was a disastrous summit meeting with Vladimir Putin.

In trying to assess the Helsinki press conference, a blast from the past deserves a second look.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is running for a third term under a dark ethical cloud. That probably won’t matter.

Donald Trump wants a flashier looking Air Force One. What could possibly go wrong?

For example, Turkey’s Erdogan.

At a minimum, Trump is betraying his oath of office. That is one hell of a minimum.