Outside the Beltway

The tragedy in Florida last week revealed once again how hyperpartisanship is destroying our politics and harming the country.

While most of America slept, the government was shutdown thanks to some faux theatrics by a single Senator.

Congress seems likely to pass a budget deal today that will massively increase spending, putting to rest once and for all the rank hypocrisy of Republicans when it comes to claims that they are “fiscally conservative.”

In addition to deadlines on the Federal Budget and DACA, Congress also has to deal with the debt ceiling at some point in the next month.

It’s been seven years since Congress eliminated earmarking, and what we’ve seen has provided good evidence for the argument that it should never have been eliminated.

My latest for The National Interest has posted.

It’s Day Two of the Federal Government shutdown and there are few signs of a quick resolution.

A Federal Court in North Carolina has issued a stinging ruling against the partisan gerrymandering undertaken by the Republican legislature in that state.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a second case dealing with political Gerrymandering.

It’s been two years since John Boehner stepped down as Speaker, and he’s got a few things to say about his former colleagues and the state of American politics.

Due mostly to cowardice and naked self-interest, you shouldn’t expect many other Republicans to speak out against Trump in the near future.

Former Trump aide Steve Bannon is declaring war on Republicans in the Senate.

Another poll shows the vast majority of Americans want Congress to act to help the people covered by DACA.

Most Americans don’t support President Trump’s statements about the protests by N.F.L. players, but it’s just another example of him using hateful rhetoric to pander to his base.

President Trump’s job approval has improved slightly, but the numbers remain historically low for a newly elected President.

Senate Republicans are considering one more last-ditch effort to ‘repeal and replace’ the Affordable Care Act.

Americans support allowing Dreamers to stay in the country, and most of them also support allowing them to eventually become citizens.

Republicans on Capitol Hill and elsewhere were gambling when they lined up behind Donald Trump. So far, they’ve lost.

No, the deal this week is not Trump becoming an independent.

Perhaps it’s time to consider getting rid of the debt ceiling entirely.

Donald Trump made a deal with Democrats on spending and the debt ceiling, but it was an exceedingly bad one.

President Trump likes to take credit for the state of the economy, but the truth is that things are actually doing slightly worse under his Administration than they were under his predecessor.

As Congress heads back to work, a corruption trial in New Jersey could have big implications for what happens on Capitol Hill.

President Trump is threatening to end a program that has benefited at least 750,000 innocent people.

August’s Jobs Report came in below expectations.

Donald Trump is threatening to shut the government down if Congress doesn’t pay for the wall that Mexico was supposed to pay for.

Three new polls show Trump’s job approval down significantly in the three states that put him over the top in the Electoral College last year.

A new poll shows that most Americans want Republicans want to move on from their failed effort to ‘repeal and replace’ the Affordable Care Act.

In addition to everything else on its plate, Congress will have to revisit raising the debt ceiling again sometime this summer.

As usual, an attempt to explain congressional behavior brings us back to the issue of our basic institutions. The way we elect congress matters.

The House Freedom Caucus is apparently getting behind a revised version of the GOP’s plan to ‘repeal and replace’ the Affordable Care Act, but the GOP hasn’t revealed what the new plan entails.

Faced with the fact that it has little to show for its first 100 days in office, the Trump Administration is pressuring Congress to come up with a new health care reform bill before the end of next week.

Donald Trump has basically declared war on the people who blocked the AHCA from passing last week.

Republicans are saying that repealing the PPACA isn’t off the table, but practically speaking it probably is.

After just sixty-six days, there are some disturbing patterns emerging from the Trump Administration.

A major legislative defeat for Paul Ryan, the House GOP, and President Trump.

Reports indicate that President Trump will seek to increase military spending. We don’t need to, and we can’t really afford it.

With two votes last night, President Trump’s Cabinet is coming together.

Five months after becoming Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan seems to be running into some of the same difficulties that John Boehner did.

The American people do not seem to support the Republican position on whether President Obama’s expected Supreme Court nominee should get proper consideration by the Senate.

Republicans are putting much on the line in their refusal to consider any Supreme Court nomination from President Obama.

A new Gallup poll shows public approval of Congress once again approaching historic lows, but it means far less than anyone thinks.

As expected, the Senate easily passed the two-year budget deal early this morning.

With only a handful of opposition, Paul Ryan was easily elected the 62nd Speaker of the House.

Rand Paul is promising to filibuster the budget deal when it gets to the Senate, but it’s extremely unlikely he’ll be able to do anything but delay the inevitable.