Outside the Beltway

Mitt Romney stumbled in his bid to become Utah’s next Senator but he’s still likely to win the nomination anyway.

With just over six months to go before the 2018 elections, the storm clouds are starting to gather for the Republican Party.

An essay from earlier in the year by Jacob T. Levy underscores some of the points I recently tried to make about democratic norms in the current era.

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

The Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. As a legal document, it appears to be little more than a political stunt.

A longtime “Hillary Beat” reporter ruminates on what she and her candidate could have done differently in 2016.

The highest ranking Democrat in the Senate has introduced a bill that would effectively decriminalize marijuana nationwide and leave it up to each state to decide how far they wish to go with regard to cannabis regulation. It’s a huge step in the right direction.

Despite facing headwinds in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mike Pompeo will probably be confirmed as the next Secretary of State. That’s unfortunate.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a Trump Administration Order that purported to punish so-called ‘sanctuary cities.’

Republicans on Capitol Hill and in positions of power are slavishly backing their President over their country. They should be ashamed.

Rudy Giuliani is joining President Trump’s legal team but it’s unclear what he actually brings to that team.

Former F.B.I, Director James Comey’s memos regarding his meeting with Donald Trump early in 2017 have been released, and they corroborate everything Comey has said about those conversations.

Kyrsten Sinema, the likely Democratic nominee for the Senate in Arizona, is leading all three of her potential Republican challengers. This could spell trouble for the GOP.

Tammy Duckworth recently became the first sitting Senator to give birth. Thanks to a rule change, she’ll be allowed to bring her baby on the floor of the Senate if she needs to.

The campaign-agnostic political science models predicted a toss-up in 2016 and again in 2020.

The first real poll of the Senate race in Texas shows Ted Cruz with a much thinner lead than might be expected in a state like Texas. That doesn’t mean we should expect a Democratic upset there, though.

Former Playboy model Karen McDougal will be free to speak about her relationship with the President.

Republicans are blaming the President for the fading popularity of the tax reform law passed in December. It’s more complicated than that.

Two months after the shooting in Parkland, Florida, support for gun control measures seems to be slipping.

The Supreme Court heard argument yesterday on the issue of whether online sellers can be required to collect sales taxes, and the status of the issue remains as confused as ever.

Barbara Bush, only the second woman in history to be the wife and mother of a U.S. President, has died at the age of 92.

Sean Hannity was Michael Cohen’s “secret client,” but it’s not clear that should matter to anyone.

Whoops.

The parents of two of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre are suing Alex Jones for falsely accusing them of lying about the deaths of their children.

Republicans have been hoping that the tax bill passed in December would help them in the midterms. That’s appearing to be less and less likely by the day.

CNN reports that the Interior Secretary, who claims to be a “geologist,” merely has a geology degree.

President Trump undercut his own Ambassador to the United Nations today by blocking the imposition of new sanctions on Russia.

A Federal Judge has struck down the revised version of the ban on transgender members of the military from serving openly, and the ruling has significance that goes well beyond the issue at hand.

The Editorial Board of the Newspaper of Record urges Congressional Republicans to steady themselves for a constitutional crisis.

New polling shows the Democrat’s lead in the Congressional ballot poll shrinking slightly, but enthusiasm is still on their side.

An attempt at defining the conversation.

Top positions in the State Department are vacant, and there’s only one person to blame for that.

White House service is usually a ticket to high-paying jobs in Washington. Not so for the current administration.

A Federal Judge in Texas has ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is barred by Federal Law. Legally speaking, this is a tenuous argument at best.

Donald Trump could have more to worry about regarding the investigation of Michael Cohen than he does regarding the Mueller investigation.

The United States can’t do any good in Syria, but we can do a lot of bad.

Given a choice between Robert Mueller and Donald Trump, most Americans are siding with Mueller. Unless they’re Republicans that is.

Hang on, the ride on the Trump Train is about to get a lot bumpier.

Out of the blue, President Trump plans to pardon Dick Cheney’s former Chief of Staff, but the move seems to have more to do with James Comey than it does Scooter Libby.

Trump suggests US might seek to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Without Congressional authorization, any attack on Syria would be illegal, but don’t expect Congress to do anything about it.

Once again, President Trump’s foreign policy tweeting is causing problems.

Some Republicans are suggesting that Paul Ryan should be pushed out as Speaker before the November elections.

Mark Zuckerberg’s second day before Congress was somewhat more contentious than the first, but at the end of the day it’s still unclear that more regulation is the answer to the issues raised by recent Facebook “scandals.”

President Trump took to Twitter this morning and decided poke a stick in the eye of the Russian bear.

In addition to opening up the Speakership, there’s a legitimate possibility that Wisconsin-11 flips to the other party.

John Boehner is now pro-weed. The world just keeps getting weirder, man.