Outside the Beltway

Republican chances to hold the Senate were boosted in West Virginia last night thanks to the fact that a fringe candidate was soundly defeated.

Whether Don Blankenship wins or loses in West Virginia, his success is yet another example of how Donald Trump has changed the GOP for the worse.

National Republicans are increasingly concerned that an upstart, racist candidate who has unleashed personal attacks on Mitch McConnell’s family will sneak through and win tomorrow’s primary to decide who will face Joe Manchin in November.

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

For better or worse, Mike Pompeo will be confirmed as the 70th Secretary of State by the end of this week.

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.

President Trump appeared to change positions on several gun control ideas, but he probably doesn’t mean it.

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

While final votes remain to be taken, the Federal Government shutdown effectively ended this afternoon with an overwhelming bipartisan vote to reopen the government, combined with a commitment from Republicans to consider a DACA bill over the next three weeks. What happens next, though, is entirely uncertain.

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

Some Democratic Senators are suggesting that Al Franken should reconsider his decision to resign from the Senate.

Senate Republicans are back home and hearing from their constituents on health care reform. It’s not going well for them.

With a government shutdown looming at the end of the week, the Administration has appeared to back away from a demand that a government funding bill include money allocated for the President’s promised border wall.

As expected, Senate Republicans invoked the so-called ‘nuclear option’ to move the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch forward to a final vote on Friday.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch even as it became inevitable that Republicans would be forced to invoke the ‘nuclear option’ to confirm him to the Supreme Court.

Next week’s big news is likely to be the Senate’s vote to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, which could mean invocation of the so-called ‘nuclear option’ by Senate Republicans.

Let the games begin.

Senate Democrats are divided on how to approach the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, making it likely that he’ll be confirmed.

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

After a highly contentious nomination process, Jeff Sessions was confirmed last night as the new Attorney General of the United States.

Senate Democrats are set to almost unanimously oppose virtually all of the Trump Cabinet nominees yet to be voted on.

In the end, an effort by Democrats to block Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court does not seem like a good use of their rather limited options.

In the wake of failure that could have been easily foreseen, the Obama Administration is ending a program to train so-called “moderate” Syrian rebels.

The final effort to block the Iran Nuclear Deal failed in the Senate yesterday, meaning that the deal will now move forward.

At least on paper, Senate Democrats now have enough votes to block the Senate from voting on a resolution disapproving of the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Senate Democrats are now just one vote away from being able to block a veto override, meaning that the effort to block the Iran Nuclear Deal will most certainly fail.

Political reality shows us that the shootings in Charleston are not going to have any appreciable impact on the likelihood of any type of gun control law passing anywhere outside of the bluest of the blue states.

Rand Paul held the Senate floor for nearly twelve hours yesterday to talk about the PATRIOT Act, but it’s unclear if he accomplished anything.

Democrats like New York Senator Chuck Schumer could end up being the ones that scuttle the Iranian nuclear deal.

With three days to go, there are signs the GOP is ready to give up on its showdown over DHS funding.

West Virginia’s Joe Manchin is reportedly mulling leaving the Senate to run once again for a job where he’d have the ability to actually accomplish something.

Just one day into the new Congress, the first confrontation is already set.

On substance, the President’s immigration actions aren’t very objectionable. How he is implementing them, though, is problematic and seems needlessly confrontational.

Despite speculation, both Angus King and Joe Manchin will stay with the Democratic caucus. And that makes sense for both of them.

After spiking in the wake of the Newtown tragedy, gun control has faded back into obscurity as an issue voters care about significantly.

The GOP has a good chance of taking the Senate in 2014, but it will be by a narrow margin.

The tragedy in Santa Barbara will. inevitably, revive the same old gun debate. But can it ever evolve beyond shouting?

Once again, Washington politicians are pontificating about the Washington Redskins.

Mitch McConnell’s hopes to become Senate Majority Leader could hinge on what happens in his own state and in Georgia.

Former RNC Chair Ed Gillespie is challenging incumbent Senator Mark Warner for his Senate seat.

The likelihood of any action on gun control in 2014 is extremely limited