Outside the Beltway

We won’t have Kevin to kick around any more.

A second Republican Speaker has reached across the aisle to avert a government shutdown.

A policy-leaning wing and a political-leaning wing make for an unworkable coalition.

He is so close.

More centrist fantasies.

Why oh why won’t people stop commenting on the lady Senator’s outfits?

“If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we’re not going anywhere.”

A progressive idea that could win conservative support.

Donald Trump is a complete package, you can’t support part of it without at least implicitly endorsing all of it.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other firebrands aren’t steering the ship. Yet.

The President’s latest ravings are “very bad, very bad.”

Congress will not be returning to Washington until some time next week. Thus guaranteeing that this shutdown will last at least through January 3rd.

With just hours to go, a partial government shutdown is becoming more and more likely.

Hours before the House was set to vote on a temporary funding bill for the government, President Trump has apparently changed his mind.

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

House Republicans reportedly don’t have the votes to fund the President’s border wall.

This month’s budget fight is likely the last chance the President will have to get any funding for his border wall.

Nancy Pelosi won a key vote yesterday on the road to returning as Speaker of the House again in January.

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.

Donald Trump is talking about a tax cut that appears to exist only in his own mind.

As I have repeatedly noted: Trump is the leader of the Republican Party.

Washington said farewell to John McCain today in a service that both remembered his spirit and his heroism, and stands as a sharp rebuke to what politics has been reduced to in America today.

California Republican Duncan Hunter Jr, who was an early backer of President Trump’s campaign, has been indicted on charges he used massive amounts of campaign funds to pay for personal expenses.

Recent reports have indicated that doubts are growing about the wisdom of keeping California Democrat Nancy Pelosi at the top of House Leadership.

The Republican Party’s nominee for Senator in Virginia really is as bad as you’ve heard, probably worse.

Republican Troy Balderson holds a narrow lead in a Special Election in Ohio. Even if he wins, though, the way this election played out does not bode well for the GOP in November.

A Special Election tomorrow in suburban Columbus, Ohio could tell us a lot about where the midterm elections might be headed.

Contrary to last week’s reports, we won’t be seeing a second summit with Vladimir Putin in the near future.

Jim Jordan, who heads the powerful House Freedom Caucus, is being accused of ignoring reports of sexual abuse by a team doctor while he was a coach at The Ohio State University.

Virginia Republicans nominated arch-Trumpist Corey Stewart for the Senate three weeks ago. His campaign appears to be going about as well as expected.

The odds of an immigration bill passing the House were already low. This morning, President Trump pretty much guaranteed failure.

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.

The incident involving Paul Ryan and the House Chaplain has raised some questions.

After hastily removing the House Chaplain under unclear circumstances, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has reversed himself.

Republicans joined with Democrats to advance a bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but it’s unlikely to go anywhere beyond that.

New polling shows the Democrat’s lead in the Congressional ballot poll shrinking slightly, but enthusiasm is still on their side.

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

Without Congressional authorization, any attack on Syria would be illegal, but don’t expect Congress to do anything about it.

Some Republicans are suggesting that Paul Ryan should be pushed out as Speaker before the November elections.

In addition to opening up the Speakership, there’s a legitimate possibility that Wisconsin-11 flips to the other party.

John Boehner is now pro-weed. The world just keeps getting weirder, man.

Paul Ryan won’t be running for re-election this year, opening up both a Congressional seat and a leadership spot.

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

Republicans are claiming that Conor Lamb won Tuesday’s Special Election in Pennsylvania because he campaigned as a conservative. These people are either deluded or lying.

Best known as a television host, he served in the Reagan administration and chief economist of Bear Stearns.

Despite the activism we’ve seen in the wake of the school shooting in Florida, it’s unlikely that we’ll see significant Congressional action on guns.

Congress seems likely to pass a budget deal today that will massively increase spending, putting to rest once and for all the rank hypocrisy of Republicans when it comes to claims that they are “fiscally conservative.”