Outside the Beltway

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Steven L. Taylor · Friday, April 3, 2026 · 2 comments

Via CBS News: Hegseth ousts Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. Always a healthy sign in the middle of a major military operation.
Via NBC News: Hegseth has intervened in military promotions for more than a dozen senior officers. Care to guess what they had in common?
Via The Hill: Trump signs order imposing 100 percent tariff on brand name drugs.
Via Politico: Pam Bondi fails Trump’s loyalty test.
Via NBC News: Colorado court throws out election denier Tina Peters’ 9-year sentence for tampering with election equipment.
Via Politico: ‘What the hell did he just say?’ GOP Iran worries build after Trump speech.
Via NPR: Have Trump’s tariffs worked? This is where things stand a year after ‘Liberation Day’.
Via The American Prospect: The Opening of Trump’s Box.

FILED UNDER: Tab Clearing, CBS, Colorado, Iran, NBC, NPR, POLITICO, Tariffs, The American Prospect, Trump

About Steven L. Taylor

Steven L. Taylor is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter and/or BlueSky.

Comments

gVOR10 says:

Friday, 3 April 2026 at 08:47

Re GOP Iran worries, I’ll repeat what I asked in the Forum a bit ago, when will the GOPs do anything about this?

Come January, it’s likely a quiet word from about 17 GOP senators to the new Dem Speaker of the House would lead to a quick solution. That would leave us with JD whatever his name really is, but I’ve become convinced even that would be an improvement. But that’s still nine months away, and I’m genuinely concerned Trump has painted himself into a corner in Iran and will try to nuke his way out.

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Scott says:

Friday, 3 April 2026 at 08:50

Let me add this:

Trump doesn’t have to turn over presidential records, Justice Department says

The Justice Department has issued a legal opinion arguing that President Donald Trump does not have to turn over his presidential records to the National Archives at the end of his administration.

The Presidential Records Act of 1978 requires presidential documents be sent to the National Archives and Records Administration. In an opinion released Thursday, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel found the law “is unconstitutional for two independent but interlocking reasons.”

It exceeds Congress’ powers and it does so at the expense of the autonomy of the presidency, T. Elliot Gaiser wrote in the opinion, noting that Congress can’t order the papers of Supreme Court justices to be sent to the archives.

The president “need not further comply with its dictates.”

It should be noted that Gaiser clerked for Alito.

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