Outside the Beltway

The transformation is complete. The GOP is now the party of Donald Trump. If you’re sticking around and not speaking out against what the President represents, you’re part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Republicans are planning on pushing judicial nominees through the Senate in case they lose control in November. Meanwhile, the possibility of a Supreme Court vacancy raises the stakes.

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

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.

Whether they like it or not, Republican candidates in the midterms will have to run with the albatross of Donald Trump around their necks.

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.

President Trump’s call for National Guard troops isn’t going over well even with Republican Governors.

Yet more troubling news about the proposed citizenship question on the 2020 Census.

News anchors at dozens of local stations owned by conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group were recently required to read a script mandated by corporate headquarters, and it’s leading to some bad media coverage for Sinclair.

The woman who lost the 2016 election is apparently not going to go away.

Joe Arpaio is saying he might reopen his “investigation” into former President Obama’s birthplace if he’s elected Senator.

President Trump is not being bold on drugs. Instead, he is just recycling old, failed idea.

Profiles in courage? With Republicans in the Trump Era, it’s more like profiles in cowardice.

President Trump continues to obsequiously praise Russian President Vladimir Putin

We don’t yet have enough information to assign blame here. Naturally, that’s not stopping anyone.

The nominations of Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel could be in trouble in the Senate.

By all accounts, Gina Haspel is exceedingly well qualified to be the next C.I.A. Director, but she has a troubling past that the Senate will need to at least force her to answer questions about.

The Federal Government has fired another shot in the ongoing war over so-called “sanctuary cities.”

Despite the activism we’ve seen in the wake of the school shooting in Florida, it’s unlikely that we’ll see significant Congressional action on guns.

Democrats appear to have regained momentum in the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The President would like to copy Singapore’s zero-tolerance policy. The US Constitution stands in his way.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has redrawn the state’s Congressional Districts based on its recent ruling finding the current map to be unconstitutional partisan Gerrymandering. It makes a lot more sense than the map the state is currently using.

The prospects for extending legal protections for DACA beneficiaries are getting grimmer by the day.

The prospect for a fix to help DACA beneficiaries is looking gloomier than ever.

With time seemingly running out, the Senate debate over extending DACA is moving slowly.

One of the main objections that many on the right seem to have to proposals to legalize DACA beneficiaries and other illegal immigrants is the idea that they could eventually become citizens. There’s no good reason they shouldn’t be able to do so.

The Judge presiding over a case dealing with Trump’s proposed border wall expressed doubts about the project. The President will no doubt be irked by the identity of that Judge.

A Federal Judge In Kansas has blocked enforcement of a state law barring anyone who does business with the state from engaging in a boycott of Israel.

Last week, the President was calling for national unity. This week, he called political opponents “treasonous.”

Recent polls have caused Republicans to become more optimistic about their chances in this year’s midterms. That optimism is both premature and misplaced.

The Supreme Court has declined to stay a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling requiring the legislature to redraw the state’s Congressional District map.

Will Joe Arpaio cause the GOP to lose an otherwise winnable Senate race?

Another win for forces fighting partisan Gerrymandering.

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

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.

With just hours to go, it seems increasingly unlikely that the Senate can reach a deal to keep the government open.

With less than two days to go, the prospects for Congress finding a way to prevent a government shutdown aren’t looking good.

Two Republicans spoke out today against the President’s war on the news media, but don’t expect their colleagues to follow suit.

The GOP’s potential troubles in 2018 don’t just exist at the Congressional level.

That “Romney for Senate” campaign seems pretty much inevitable.

Once again, President Trump opens his mouth and proceeds to insult a good part of the world while embarrassing the country.

The numbers aren’t looking good for Republican prospects in this year’s midterm elections.

Controversial former Sheriff Joe Arpaio is running for Senate in Arizona.

2017 was quite a year. 2018 promises to be just as interesting.

With the results from Alabama. the GOP faces a hard road ahead defending its majority in the Senate.

There are no good outcomes for the GOP in Alabama.

Another one bites the dust.

The current temporary spending measure reached by Congress in September expires on Friday, and Republicans haven’t come up with a solution yet.

The Senate passed a tax cut bill last night, but it leaves a lot to be desired.