Outside the Beltway

After an extended break for the Republican retreat, Congress heads back to work today with just three days before a possible government shutdown.

The first jobs report for 2018 beat expectation slightly, but the most positive signs came in the underlying data on wages.

When it comes to foreign policy, Donald Trump has no over-arching philosophy and little knowledge, so don’t expect anything approaching a coherent doctrine from his Administration.

Donald Trump lies about even the most trivial matters, How are we supposed to believe anything else he says?

John Kelly continues to throw away the good name he earned in decades of service as a Marine to serve the agenda of President Trump.

The President talked about national unity last night, but given his own rhetoric as a candidate and as a President, it’s a call that seems to be hypocritical.

The White House’s immigration plan is facing opposition in both chambers of Congress from moderate and conservative Republicans alike.

Do yourself a favor and skip the State Of The Union Address tonight. You won’t be missing anything important.

The prospects for a deal in Congress on DACA are starting to look grim.

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 called on Senate Republicans to eliminate the legislative filibuster to resolve the government shutdown. That’s not going to happen.

At a time when our alliance is more important than ever, President Trump is responding by attacking our ally.

President Trump’s speech on Islam was a change of tone. However, as critics noted, it was short on substance and is unlikely to accomplish anything.

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

One month in, some Trump supporters are starting to wonder if he will actually deliver on what he promised.

The answer is pretty straight-forward.

Good thing the world is a static, simple place…

A report over the weekend raises questions about whether or not Donald Trump is changing positions on a central tenet of his campaign.

Donald Trump has spent more time recently attacking the news media than anything else. He ought to be condemned for it.

Chris Cillizza thinks “Rush Limbaugh totally gets Donald Trump.” I disagree.

Thirty years ago this week, tragedy struck America’s Space Program.

Ten American sailors detained by Iranian forces late Tuesday were released early today, something that seems to clearly demonstrate the value of diplomacy.

President Obama’s final State Of The Union Address was largely a recognition of the fact that his time on the world stage is quickly coming to an end.

The economy is booming. Except where it’s not.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul got a break today when CNN included him in the prime time debate on Tuesday even though he fell short of meeting the criteria.

Ted Cruz surges to a lead in the latest Iowa poll, setting up a seemingly inevitable showdown between the Texas Senator and Donald Trump.

We still don’t know very much about Robert Dear, the man who shot and killed three people at the site of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado, but that hasn’t stopped the usual suspects from politicizing the case.

Disturbing reports over the weekend that American leaders may not be getting the kind of unbiased intelligence analysis about ISIS that they need to make decisions.

Republicans insist that uttering the words “Radical Islamic Terrorism” is somehow important in the fight against ISIS and other terror networks, but it is entirely unclear what doing so would accomplish.

In a new book, former President George H.W. Bush is highly critical of two of his son’s closest advisers in the White House.

Paul Ryan’s admission that immigration reform will not happen as long as Barack Obama is President simply reflects the reality of immigration politics in Congress.

With the top conservative caucus in Congress acquiescing to his candidacy, Paul Ryan is largely certain to become the next 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.

Donald Trump isn’t backing down from his post-debate meltdown, now the only question is what the polls will tell us when they come out.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal enters the Presidential race today, but it’s hard to see how he even manages to become a plausible candidate.

Some unusually blunt, but true, language from the U.S. Secretary Of Defense.

The State Of The Union Address was more of the same, and the same will be true of Washington going forward.

There’s really no point in watching tonight’s speech.

President Obama believes the North Korean attack on Sony was “an act of cyber vandalism” rather than “an act of war.”

Michele Bachmann leaves office at the end of the current Congress, but we may not have heard the last from her.

Some on the right are suggesting that Congress retaliate against the President’s executive action on immigration by refusing to invite him to give the State Of The Union Address.