Outside the Beltway

The Trump Administration’s School Safety Commission isn’t getting off to a very good start.

In the end, it may be insurance companies that have the biggest voice in the debate over arming teachers. 

After three years of ethical and criminal charges, Bob Menendez got a bit of a slap on the wrist from New Jersey Democrats.

A week before he turns 94, the former President is out of the hospital.

Republicans are at least a bit more confident that they’ll hold on to the Senate this year.

Earlier this week, the Illinois legislature ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. What’s unclear is if this act has any meaning at all.

President Trump is setting off another trade war, this time with some of America’s closest and most important allies.

In an early morning Tweetstorm, President Trump said he would not have hired Jeff Sessions if he knew he’d recuse himself from the Russia investigation.

Alex Jones is finally being called on to answer for his irresponsible lying about events like the Sandy Hook shooting.

We have a generation of schoolkids who aren’t even surprised when there’s a shooting at their school. That’s a problem.

A Federal Judge in Virginia has handed a significant legal victory to a student who sued their school district because they were barred form using the bathroom of the gender they identify with.

In their first year as an NHL expansion team, the Las Vegas Golden Knights have managed to do something that’s only been done once before in any of the ‘big four’ professional sports leagues in the United States.

The new President of the National Rifle Association has a new theory to explain mass shootings, but there’s no basis for believing it’s accurate.

As expected, Gina Haspel was confirmed as C.I.A. Director yesterday despite her controversial record when it comes to torture.

President Trump’s latest financial disclosure finally acknowledges that he reimbursed Michael Cohen for the payoff to buy the silence of Stormy Daniels.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court handed down a decision that reaffirmed a principle that should be axiomatic, namely the idea that a Defendant has the sole authority to decide whether or not to concede guilt.

At least one red state Democrat will be voting against Gina Haspel.

With a third Democrat crossing the aisle to support her, Gina Haspel now has the votes she needs to become the next C.I.A. Director.

Quietly, Mike Pence is seeking to create his own power base inside the GOP even as the White House pushes back.

Enforcing our immigration and drug laws comes at the cost of fundamental rights.

Oliver North is fitting right in at the N.R.A.

Joe Manchin looks to be facing a strong challenge from Patrick Morrisey.

The Generic Congressional Ballot has tightened in some recent polls, but on average the battle for control of Congress continues to favor Democrats.

When it comes to the Trump White House, the fish rots from the head down.

Support for gun control spiked in the wake of the Parkland, Florida school shooting but it appears to be returning to more normal levels, and that’s bad news for gun control advocates.

Republicans are worried about 2018, and they’re even more worried that they have a President who is refusing to acknowledge political reality.

Not surprisingly, Mike Pompeo was confirmed as America’s 70th Secretary of State today. Now, the hard work begins.

Hillary Clinton isn’t running for anything in 2018, but that isn’t stopping Republicans from running against her.

Hoping that Donald Trump might not run for reelection? Don’t get your hopes up.

Based on his recent behavior, it’s clear that the President is worried about how loyal Michael Cohen might actually turn out to be.

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

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

If we’re going to have a death penalty, he was its poster boy.

Cuba has a new President and he isn’t named Castro, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to see significant change in the near future.

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

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.

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.

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

Running for and being President of the United States has been very lucrative for the family business.

Dueling data on civil service compensation belie the adage that you can’t choose your own facts.

Governor Rick Scott has entered the race to challenge Bill Nelson in Florida, creating what is likely to be one of the most closely watched races of the year.

Trump’s tariff plan isn’t going over well in farm country, and that could cause problems for the GOP in November.

The FBI committed gross malfeasance in building a case against the widow of Omar Mateen. She nonetheless bears significant blame for 53 deaths.

Thanks to a combination of sensationalism and outright lies, a fairly conventional story about an annual protest march in Mexico was turned into Fox News fodder that raised images of an invading army of illegal immigrants.

A Federal Judge is allowing a lawsuit alleging that President Trump is improperly benefiting from business being done at the hotel in Washington, D.C. bearing his name to go forward.

Normally attorneys would be jumping at the chance to represent the President of the United States. With Donald Trump, the lawyers are distancing themselves from him as fast as they can.

New polling shows that public support for several gun control proposals continue to increase in the wake of February’s shooting at a Parkland, Florida High School.