Outside the Beltway

A 9-0 ruling side-stepped the broader issue of to what extent purely political considerations may be applied.

With two more weeks to go, there are plenty of “big” cases still awaiting the release of a decision.

The Trump Administration is declining to defend the Affordable Care Act in Court, arguing that the individual mandate is now unconstitutional because the tax penalty has been eliminated.

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

A new book reveals President Obama’s initial reaction to Donald Trump’s election, and provides some detail about their first meeting.

President Trump has issued another controversial pardon.

With one month to go in its term, there’s still a lot on the Supreme Court’s plate.

The inventor of New Journalism has died of unknown causes.

61 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of a man who left office a failed president.

The DNC is backing centrist candidates in a bid to win traditionally Republican districts. Party activists are not happy about it.

The number of Americans professing no religious affiliation is on the rise. This will have some interesting cultural and political implications.

While longtime supporters have turned on the legendary attorney over his support of Donald Trump, he’s been astonishingly consistent.

While the Trump Administration slowly tries to remake the Federal Judiciary, states are moving to pass radical new challenges to Roe v. Wade.

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.

Is everyone critical of President Trump by definition on the Left?

Instead of attending the White House Correspondents Association Dinner last night, Donald Trump took his show on the road where he continued his long-standing attacks on the press. Unfortunately, it’s a message that resonates with his supporters.

As expected, a Republican won the Special Election in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, but it’s not a win Republicans should really be celebrating.

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

Sean Hannity was Michael Cohen’s “secret client,” but it’s not clear that should matter to anyone.

President Trump’s job approval numbers remain historically low.

Hang on, the ride on the Trump Train is about to get a lot bumpier.

The Atlantic fired one of their few conservative voices for saying women who have abortions should be hanged. Was this beyond the pale?

Mississippi has passed a law that seems designed to directly challenge the underpinnings of Roe v. Wade.

A famous name enters the race to challenge Andrew Cuomo, but it’s unlikely she’ll have much of an impact.

Conor Lamb’s win in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District has set off an inevitable debate inside the Democratic Party about how to approach the upcoming midterm elections.

Two seemingly contradictory essays out today highlight the exhausting political conversation environment.

The students who survived last week’s mass shooting in Parkland, Florida are speaking out, and some on the right are responding by engaging in personal attacks and spreading conspiracy theories.

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

Americans were once largely united in their opinions about Israel and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. That’s not the case anymore.

Getting to a DACA deal isn’t going to be easy.

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

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.

President Trump has shut down the commission he established to investigate unsupported claims of “voter fraud” in the 2016 election.

Most Americans are unlikely to remember John Anderson, but he was a harbinger of things to come.

The Supreme Court held oral argument in a case that pits First Amendment rights against the rights of LGBT Americans.

Drip, Drip, Drip?

Democrats, Republicans, and Independents came out for an an election that can only been seen as a strong rebuke to President Trump and the Republican Party.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is making it clear she will not be leaving the court anytime soon.

Forget all the talk about a civil war in the Republican Party, the truth is that Republicans and conservatives have already surrendered to Trump and Bannon.

Stephen Paddock’s crime was clearly terrorizing, and will impact the lives of survivors, families, first responders in many ways for a long time. Based on the currently available evidence, though, the Las Vegas shooting was not “terrorism.”

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

Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer poked fun at himself on last night’s Emmy broadcast, and the political pundits are all in pearl-clutching mode because of it.

Sarah Palin’s lawsuit against The New York Times suffers a significant setback.

Donald Trump has had harsher things to say about Rosie O’Donnell than he did about the people responsible for yesterday’s violence. That says something about him.

Justice Kennedy is telling prospective law clerks for the term that beings in October 2018 that he is considering retiring at the end of the term that begins this October.

Sarah Palin has filed a defamation suit against The New York Times alleging defamation in an Editorial linking her to the January 2011 shooting of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. From the facts alleged, she appears to have a good case.

The Supreme Court ruled today that states may not exclude church-run schools from an aid program with a wholly secular purpose.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear its first case on partisan gerrymandering in more than ten years, but opponents of the practice shouldn’t start celebrating just yet.