Outside the Beltway

The Trump Administration has issued an ultimatum, but the fate of the American Health Care Act is still very much up in the air.

With a vote tentatively scheduled for this evening, House Republicans appear to lack the votes to pass the American Health Care Act.

The president’s skinny budget would eliminate most funding for science and the arts to fund more Defense spending.

Part Two in a series of observations about health care and health insurance in light of the introduction of the House GOP’s health care plan. This post examines several ideas advanced by conservatives, and the reasons they aren’t complete answers to the problems we face.

The Congressional Budget Office delivered some bad news yesterday to House Republicans on their replacement for Obamacare.

Part One in a series of observations about health care and health insurance in light of the introduction of the House GOP’s health care plan.

Health care policy analysts seem united in their assessment of the House GOP’s replacement for the Affordable Care Act, and it’s overwhelmingly negative.

Whether you call it TrumpCare, RyanCare, or GOPCare, the Republican replacement for the PPACA isn’t very impressive.

It was both the best speech Trump has ever given and the worst presidential address I can recall

Budget hawks in the GOP face a showdown with Donald Trump’s spending ambitions this year that will likely decide whether we’ll ever get spending under control.

At Congressional town halls across the country, there are signs of what could turn into a movement that would cause real headaches for the GOP in future elections.

Repeal and replace is likely to take longer than many Republicans thought it would, but that shouldn’t be surprising.

With repeal of the Affordable Care Act now likely sooner rather than later, key Republicans are urging the party to have a replacement in place before repeal is voted on.

In the wake of the Democratic victory in the North Carolina Governor’s race, the Republican-controlled legislature has stripped the Governor’s office of significant power.

In a rational universe somewhere, John Kasich is preparing to become the de facto Republican nominee for President. In ours, he’s dropping out in favor of Donald Trump.

After oral argument today in a high profile case, it appears likely that public employee unions are likely to suffer a major legal defeat later this year.

The first post-debate polls of the GOP race have more good news for Donald Trump.

The final spending bill for the 2016 Fiscal Year sailed through Congress today, marking the end of a very successful first two months in office for Speaker Paul Ryan

Virginia Democrats tried to capture control of the Virginia State Senate by, in part, emphasizing gun control issues. The fact that they failed is instructive.

Republican Matt Bevin picked up what comes as a surprise win to many observers, and that sets up a big fight over what had been a PPACA program that the White House has touted.

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

Paul Ryan has yet to say if he will run for Speaker of the House, but that hasn’t stopped the opposition on the hard right from forming already.

Congress will get a temporary funding bill passed in time to avoid a shutdown on Thursday, but it may just be delaying the inevitable.

Mitch McConnell spoke a truth that many conservatives are likely not going to want to accept.

The low-polling candidates met in an early debate. It was about what you’d expect.

Ohio Governor John Kasich looks good on paper, but his campaign seems as though it’s unlikely to get out of the starting gate.

Finally.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a major case about public employee unions that could go a long way toward restraining their power.

In the wake of the latest Supreme Court decision, the Affordable Care Act seems to have become even more firmly established than it was before last week, and the prospect of repeal has become even less likely.

In an ordinary year, Ohio Governor John Kasich seems like he’d be a perfect candidate for Republicans in an era when winning the Buckeye State is essential to winning the White House. But things are far from ordinary in the GOP.

A powerful Democratic Senator looks like he’s about to be in a whole lot of trouble.

A popular idea that does nothing useful while simultaneously violating the Constitution.

In addition to gains at the national level and in Governor’s races, the GOP also saw more gains in state legislatures around the country.

Should the Legislature take back legislating from the Executive?

Rich guys are backing organizations that are taking over traditional party functions. Is that a problem?

The number of uninsured Americans has declined since the Obamacare mandate went into effect.

The Supreme Court has limited the ability of public employee unions to force people to join their ranks.

Some old fashioned political arm twisting has up-ended the apple cart in Richmond.

Strange goings on in Ohio.

A good idea, but do the ends justify the means?

The anti-vaccination movement has earned a dubious achievement, the return of a disease that was effectively eradicated 15 years ago.

After many ballyhooed glitches, 7 million Americans have signed up for ObamaCare. Now what?

Refusing to raise the debt ceiling does nothing at all to control spending.

Republican leaders continue to say stupid things. They may still retake the Senate in November.

Another day, another delay.

Thanks to current patent and drug regulation laws, we’re paying up to $2,000 for a drug when there’s a drug that does the same thing for orders of magnitude less.