Outside the Beltway

The second summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un ended early without any kind of agreement, signalling that no real progress has been made in talks between the two countries.

While the rest of the world looks at other events, tensions are flaring in a long-standing global hot spot.

American military intervention in Venezuela would make the situation in that country worse, not better.

Republicans face a choice in the coming days. Do they support the Constitution, or do they support Donald Trump? You can count on them making the wrong choice.

While not subject to filibuster, it’s still subject to Presidential veto.

President Trump and Kim Jong Un hold their second summit in Hanoi later this week, but it’s unlikely anything significant will happen.

After two years of spitting in their faces, President Trump is finding it hard to get America’s European allies to come to his aid.

A bipartisan group of foreign policy luminaries says there is no factual basis for President Trump’s claim.

US policy is creating nonconstructive confrontation.

Rather than pulling completely out of Syria the United States will be leaving behind a token force of about 200 troops. This is a mistake.

Now that women are allowed into all combat roles, the rationale for excluding them from Selective Service has evaporated.

The House of Representatives has begin the process of challenging the President’s recent declaration of a ‘national emergency’ at the southern border.

President Trump will get his Space force, but it won’t exactly be what he wanted when he first proposed that idea.

Robert Mueller appears to be winding down his investigation and getting ready to submit a report to the Attorney General.

A Coast Guard officer and aspiring domestic terrorist was arrested late yesterday for plotting to kill Democratic politicians and members of the media.

Following Donald Trump’s lead, the GOP is making clear that its game plan for 2020 is paint all Democrats as ‘socialists, baby killers, and anti-Semites.’

The end of racism may have been prematurely declared.

The Trump Administration continues to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe, can it ever be repaired?

President Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border while at the same time undercutting his own case for doing so.

Walter Jones, a former supporter of the Iraq War who became one of the most prominent anti-war voices in Congress, has passed away at the age of 76. He will be missed.

In a rare display of assertiveness in the foreign policy arena, the House voted yesterday to bar U.S. assistance in Saudi Arabia’s genocidal war on Yemen.

The self-appointed Acting President of Venezuela has said he doesn’t rule out the idea of American intervention in his country, but we should rule it out immediately.

The arguments against withdrawing American forces from Afghanistan are becoming weaker and weaker.

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.

The date and location of the next summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un have been set, but it’s hard to see what can really be accomplished.

The President’s second State of the Union began and ended with calls for unity. In between, it was filled with the divisive partisanship that has marked his Presidency.

More than any recent President, Donald Trump displays a tremendous amount ignorance about the world. Even worse is the fact that he seems proud of it.

The American withdrawal from the I.N.F. Treaty gives Vladimir Putin exactly what he wants.

As threatened late last year, the Trump Administration has withdrawn from the Intermediate=Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. This is a mistake.

Roger Stone, who worked with the Trump campaign in an official and unofficial capacity throughout the campaign, has been indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

President Trump has backed down in his showdown with Speaker Pelosi over the State of the Union Address, but that does nothing to bring us closer to a resolution of the government shutdown.

As the shutdown continues, the President’s political position is becoming weaker. He doesn’t seem to care, though.

Pete Buttigieg, the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is the latest entrant into the 2020 race for President. To say is a long-shot is an understatement.

In what amounts to a setback, the Supreme Court has lifted an injunction barring the Trump Administration’s ban on transgender service in the military to go forward pending further legal proceedings.

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet again in February, but it’s hard to see why.

Thoughts on politics and constitutional powers.

With Democrats making a new proposal and the President set to speak later today, there could be movement on ending the government shutdown. I wouldn’t be too optimistic, though.

The efforts by Speaker Pelosi and President Trump to leverage their institutional powers raise interesting questions.

As the government shutdown continues, Washington is coming to resemble a fight between toddlers. Except the toddlers have the excuse of not knowing any better.

President Trump responded to the suggestion that the State of the Union be rescheduled by revoking military transportation for a Congressional trip to visit troops in Afghanistan.

The Speaker is well within her rights to make Trump’s invitation conditional on ending the shutdown. But let’s not pretend we can’t keep him safe.

Donald Trump continues to appear to advocate ideas that harm American national interests and benefit Vladimir Putin. Draw your own conclusions as to why.

Two years of Republican control of the Legislative and Executive Branches has put us back on a path toward $1 trillion budget deficits.

Carlos Sanchez, who portrayed Juan Valdez the unofficial ambassador of Colombian coffee for some 30 years, has died at the age of 83.

Paul Manafort’s attorneys reveal in a pleading that their client provided insider campaign data to Russian intelligence sources, something that seems an awful lot like collusion.

Herb Kelleher, who helped found an airline that revolutionized the industry thanks to his unconventional choices, has died at the age of 87.

Terrorists aren’t walking across the desert to get here. Flying is so much easier.

As the shutdown drags on, the President is digging in his heels even further.

Former Senator and Denocratic Presidential candidate Jim Webb is reportedly being considered for Defense Secretary.

It is sincerely disturbing that the POTUS has this level of understanding of history and foreign policy.