Outside the Beltway

Maybe his title should be “Minority Follower.”

The list is small but growing.

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

Justin Amash spoke out against the President and Attorney General. Unsurprisingly this is not being received well by his fellow Republicans.

In his business career Donald Trump relied largely on fear and intimidation to get his way on business deals. As President, he’s finding that nobody is afraid of him.

Before even taking office, Mitt Romney is taking on the President. It’s a good sign, but we’ll see what it leads to.

The government entered its third shutdown of the year with little sign of an immediate resolution.

Tennessee will have an open Senate seat in 2020 thanks to Lamar Alexander’s decision to retire at the end of his current term.

In a small, but meaningful, step, the Senate has rebuked the Administration’s policies toward the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

National Security Adviser John Bolton offered an utterly absurd explanation for why he had not listened to the tape of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

Senator Jeff Flake is threatening to vote against President Trump’s judicial nominees unless he gets a floor vote on a bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

It would be a rather quixotic effort, but Jeff Flake isn’t ruling out challenging the President for the Republican nomination in 2020.

As expected, the midterm elections ended up being a split result that gives Democrats and Republicans alike reason to celebrate.

With most forecasts assuming that Republicans will at least lose control of the House, the odds are that the GOP will react to that by moving further to the right.

President Trump is choosing money and moral cowardice over human life in his response to the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.

The evidence that Saudi Arabia murdered Washington Post columnist and American Permanent resident Jamal Khashoggi appears to be incontrovertible.

Republicans intend to “plow through” on the Kavanaugh nomination even after yesterday’s hearing, but it’s not clear that they have the votes to confirm him.

New allegations of sexual misconduct mark the start of a crucial week for the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

The status of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation remains up in the air, as does the question of whether or not Christine Blasey Ford will appear for a hearing on Monday morning.

Attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford want the F.B.I. to investigate the charges she has made against Judge Kavanaugh before she testifies, but it’s entirely unclear what such an investigation would accomplish.

Cracks are beginning to show in the previously united Republican front on the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation notwithstanding what appear to be credible allegations of sexual assault.

President Trump has made no secret of the fact that he is displeased with the performance of Jeff Sessions, but he could find it hard to replace him.

The GOP’s hold on the Bob Corker’s Senate seat in Tennessee may be in jeopardy.

Senator Corker provided a pretty damning run-down last week.

President Trump once said that “trade wars are good and easy to win.” It’s only been three months since he started this war and we’re already finding out just how wrong he is about that.

The GOP and Donald Trump are indistinguishable now. But it’s not clear what that means.

After a period where Republicans seemed to be closing the gap, Democrats may be widening their lead heading into November.

Republicans are at least a bit more confident that they’ll hold on to the Senate this year.

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.

With the start of her confirmation hearings just days away, Gina Haspel’s nomination to be C.I.A. Director is by no means secure.

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

The transformation is complete. The GOP is now the party of Donald Trump. If you’re sticking around and not speaking out against what the President represents, you’re part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Hoping that Donald Trump might not run for reelection? Don’t get your hopes up.

Despite facing headwinds in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mike Pompeo will probably be confirmed as the next Secretary of State. That’s unfortunate.

Republicans on Capitol Hill and in positions of power are slavishly backing their President over their country. They should be ashamed.

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.

Former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen appears to be poised to give Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn a run for her money in the Volunteer State.

Congress passed a funding bill to avert a shutdown with time to spare early this morning, but now the President is threatening a veto.

Profiles in courage? With Republicans in the Trump Era, it’s more like profiles in cowardice.

President Trump continues to obsequiously praise Russian President Vladimir Putin

To the surprise of nobody, Mitt Romney entered the race to succeed Orrin Hatch in the Senate. He’ll probably win.

Recent polls have caused Republicans to become more optimistic about their chances in this year’s midterms. That optimism is both premature and misplaced.

Two Republicans spoke out today against the President’s war on the news media, but don’t expect their colleagues to follow suit.

That “Romney for Senate” campaign seems pretty much inevitable.

Whatever goodwill may have existed between the Trump Administration and Steve Bannon appears to have evaporated.

The final version of the tax bill appears to be on track for passage, but the devil is in the details.

With the results from Alabama. the GOP faces a hard road ahead defending its majority in the Senate.

House and Senate Republicans say they have reached agreement on a final tax bill, and Democrats are engaging in an effort to delay a vote in the Senate until Doug Jones can be seated.

The Senate passed a tax cut bill last night, but it leaves a lot to be desired.