Outside the Beltway

Anyone who doubts that Republicans would fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 2020 is being incredibly naive.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo looks ready to jump ship in favor of a run for Senate,

Rich Lowry puts preferred outcomes over constitutional process.

Jeff Sessions is running to win back his old Senate seat, putting into play the possibility of a clash with President Trump.

Republicans in general and Donald Trump in particular suffered a big loss in the Kentucky Governor’s race.

It’s mostly a quiet Election Day around the country, but there are some races for Governor worth watching.

Today the House of Representatives approved the procedures for the impeachment proceeding against the President.

As the Turkish invasion of northern Syria continues, Donald Trump responds with basically nothing.

President Trump’s latest Syria move is coming under heavy criticism even from fellow Republicans.

An empty column with a seed of one good point buried in a bunch of nothing.

While some Democrats are calling for the impeachment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Democrats on Capitol Hill aren’t nearly as eager to go down that road.

Despite having utterly mishandled both areas when they actually held power, Republicans think they can win back the House of Representatives by focusing on the budget deficit and health care reform.

Julian Castro, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren are pandering to the base.

Republicans from around the country want Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to run for Senate in Kansas. Because they’re afraid they can’t win without him.

Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who dropped out of the race for President just last week, is running for Senate in his home state.

Another poll in the wake of this month’s mass shootings shows increased support for several gun control measures. That doesn’t mean Congress will act, though.

While Democrats debated among themselves about health care plans that will likely never become law, Republicans were pushing forward with judicial confirmations.

President Trump and the Republican Senate rewarded a top Republican donor with a prized diplomatic appointment.

President Trump’s nominee to be the next Director of National Intelligence is quite simply not qualified for the position he has been nominated to.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg isn’t very impressed by the proposals made by several liberal politicians lately to increase the size of the Supreme Court to counterbalance the conservative tilt created by the Gorsuch and Kavanaugh confirmations.

While much of the talk about Robert Mueller’s testimony has focused on the Trump campaign, there was another part to his testimony that brings attention to a far more serious threat.

The evidence is clear that Russia interfered in the election in 2016 and intends to do so again. Despite this, Mitch McConnell is blocking legislation designed to enhance election security.

In contrast to the idea of granting statehood to the District of Columbia, the American public appears to strongly support statehood for Puerto RIco.

President Trump and the Congressional leadership have reached agreement on a multi-year budget deal that that busts through all remaining controls on spending.

Some agree with him. Many others are cowards. But there’s more to it.

The failure of Republicans and conservatives to denounce the President’s racism reveals everything that has gone wrong with the “right” in the Trump Era.

The Trump Administration is warning Congress that we will need to raise the debt ceiling by September. Congress should take this as an opportunity to eliminate it entirely.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has a challenger. Much like 2014, though, it’s far too early to start writing his political obituary.

Kris Kobach, former Kansas Secretary of State and former head of President Trump’s “Voter Fraud” Commission, is running for Senator in Kansas.

Joe Biden recently said that he’d consider nominating Merrick Garland again if there were a Supreme Court vacancy while he was President. Don’t count on it.

The Kaine-Udall amendment has met its predictable end.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi suffered a major defeat on a signature issue.

WIth the top two candidates in the race on the same stage, the second night of the first Democratic debate was much feistier than the first night.

President Trump’s first Supreme Court appointment has joined the liberal bloc on several cases.

Much to the chagrin of Republicans hoping to win back a Senate seat they never should have lost, Roy Moore is running for Senate again in Alabama.

Congress is considering a bill that would establish a commission to examine the issue of reparations for slavery.;

Donald Trump has endorsed a proposal by a Republican Senator to ban flag burning.

Democrats are trying to rein in President Trump. It won’t work.

Not surprisingly, the President’s opening speech of the 2020 campaign was filed with lies.

Hospital phone lines are being overwhelmed.

There isn’t a lot of legislating going on.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is being accused of giving preferential access to businesses and businessmen tied to her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

The House of Representatives passed a bill that would extend protection to DACA beneficiaries and other Dreamers, but it’s likely to die in the Senate.

The President’s foolish tariffs against Mexico are finally causing many Republican Senators to stand up against him.

Wherein I explore the notion that ignorance is bliss.

Republicans nationwide are trying to discourage Roy Moore from running for Senate again. Roy Moore doesn’t care.

Kamala Harris is trying to jump-start her Presidential campaign with an idea for a new law, but it’s probably unconstitutional and would never get through Congress.

Mitch McConnell has had an unsurprising change of heart on the issue of Senate consideration of Supreme Court nominees in a Presidential election year.

Hypocritical? Sure. Surprising? No.

Some reports are saying that Roy Moore will run for the GOP nomination for Senate again in 2020.