Outside the Beltway

Should celebrities use their influence in partisan politics?

Just when I thought political humor was dead.

Is political satire even possible in the age of Trump?

The Merrick Garland precedent is power politics, nothing more.

A glance at Memeorandum demonstrates a problem that we’ve mentioned numerous times over the years.

Fifty years ago, a young college student who would become one of the most influential women in Washington was sexually assaulted by a Senator. She didn’t come forward with her story for more than fifty years, and the reasons why strike close to what we’ve been talking about for three weeks now.

Beto O’Rourke isn’t eager to get Barack Obama’s endorsement, but there’s a good reason why.

Open mouth, insert foot. Chuck Grassley didn’t exactly help his party when he was asked to explain the lack of Republican women on the Judiciary Committee.

A decade after the Great Recession, we now have data to answer the question.

One last Kavanaugh Cold Open.

Thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head for over a week.

Last Tuesday, Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain a document he needed. He hasn’t been seen since.

After a long and contentious battle, Brett Kavanaugh has been confirmed to become the 114th Supreme Court Justice.

President Trump got his revised version of NAFTA, but Canadians are less positive about the United States than they have been in at least twenty years.

Nearly four years after the fact, a Chicago Police Officer has been found guilty of murder in the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

The Kavanaugh fight is just another indicator of our national divide.

With the support of two holdout Senators, the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh now appears to be all but official.

Thanks in large part to an aggressive public health education program and vaccination, Australia is on course to effectively eradicate cervical cancer.

The Senate voted to proceed to an expected floor vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court tomorrow, but the final outcome is still uncertain.

September jobs growth fell short of expectations even as the top-line unemployment rate reached a point unseen since 1969.

Brett Kavanaugh is expressing some regrets over his performance last Thursday, but it’s largely far too little, far too late.

As the Senate prepares for a key procedural vote on the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh this morning, the Judge’s fate remains up in the air. However, signs are pointing to reasons for Republican optimism.

Despite his ethical issues, Bob Menendez appears to be solidifying his position in New Jersey’s Senate race.

At least for the moment, the fight over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court appears to be helping Republicans rally their base for November. The question is whether it will last after the fight is over.

Yesterday’s test of the Presidential Alert system went about as planned.

The F.B.I.’s updated background check is complete and will be reviewed by Senators beginning today. As a result, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is moving forward toward a final vote on the Kavanaugh nomination later this week.

While I was originally content to let Brett Kavanaugh sail through to confirmation, I now feel compelled to oppose his nomination to be a Supreme Court Justice.

After roughly a week of staying silent, President Trump decided last night to openly mock Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

The State of Texas is arguing in Court that a school district can force a student to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment.

Much of what Donald Trump has claimed about how he built his fortune is a lie, and at least part of it originated in his father’s shady efforts to evade taxes.

The three-decade-old name dispute between Greece and the former Yugoslav state of Macedonia remains unresolved after Sunday’s referendum.

The GOP has no alternative but to push forward with the Kavanaugh nomination, because they don’t have a viable alternative at this point.

After placing limits on the scope of the F.B.I.’s reopened background investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the White House has relented and is allowing a more open-ended investigation.

In a 2015 speech, he told law students that it’s vital for judges “To keep our emotions in check. To be calm amidst the storm.”

A Federal Judge ruled late last week that a lawsuit under the Foreign Emoluments Clause by more than 200 Congressmen and Senators can proceed forward.

For the second time in two years, the Supreme Court starts a new term down one Justice. That isn’t as big a problem as it might seem.

After passing on the opportunity in 2016, Elizabeth Warren is leaving the door open to a run for President in 2020.

Thanks to a last-minute agreement, the United States and Canada reached an agreement for a revised version of NAFTA. It’s a got a new name, but it’s basically NAFTA 2.0.

Is the reopened investigation of Brett Kavanaugh a real investigation of the charges made against him by three separate women, or is it a political sham? It’s beginning to look much more like the latter than the former.

Saturday Night Live inevitably mocked the Ford/Kavanaugh hearing on Thursday in their cold open.

Elon Musk has apparently come to his senses. At least for now.

By popular demand . . .

Surprise developments yesterday led to a pause in the confirmation process for Brett Kavanaugh. Where it goes from here is unclear.

A telling contrast of two Georgetown Prep schoolmates.

I’ve changed my mind on a couple of things and hardened my opinion on others.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the floor, but a last minute maneuver could delay a final vote pending an F.B.I. investigation.

The legal troubles for Tesla’s Elon Musk just got a lot more serious.

President Trump is once again threatening to lower the tariff hammer on one of America’s most reliable allies and biggest trading partners.

Republicans intend to “plow through” on the Kavanaugh nomination even after yesterday’s hearing, but it’s not clear that they have the votes to confirm him.

After eight hours of testimony, the only impression a non-partisan mind could be left with from the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh is that we need a full investigation of the charges against the Supreme Court nominee. Unfortunately, we’re not going to get that.