Outside the Beltway

Despite their rhetoric, Republicans in Congress have shown through their own inaction that they don’t really support the President’s border wall.

As the shutdown continues the numbers get worse for the President, but he doesn’t seem to care.

Theresa May survived the Labour Party’s call for a no-confidence vote, but the future for her and for her country remain as hazy as ever.

A Federal Judge has blocked the Trump Administration from going forward with a plan to put a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is the latest Democratic entrant into the 2020 race for President.

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

Later today, Theresa May’s Brexit deal will face a decisive vote in the House of Commons in a vote that could have implications for May’s own hold on power.

California Senator Kamala Harris is set to enter the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination later this month.

Iowa’s Steve King has long expressed anti-immigrant and racist views, now he’s asking why that’s a bad thing.

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.

In a move that is likely to have political and international consequences, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has officially severed ties with Moscow.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden will reportedly decide on whether or not he’ll be entering the race for President in the near future.

The Supreme Court is taking up the issue of partisan gerrymandering. This time, though, they’re likely to reach the merits of the cases rather than punting like they did last year.

As the shutdown drags on, Mitch McConnell finds himself facing pressure from the White House and from members of his own caucus.

Not surprisingly, President Trump significantly accelerated the pace of his lies in 2018.

With Democrats set to take control of Congress today, a resolution to the shutdown doesn’t appear to be any closer.

The President is blaming Democrats for the fact that so many of his Ambassadors have not been confirmed. The truth, of course, is quite the opposite.

Democrats have unveiled what appears as if it will be their first effort to end the shutdown, but there are already signs Republicans will reject it.

President Trump is now threatening to close the border if he doesn’t get funding for his border wall.

California is set up throw a huge curve ball into the 2020 Presidential nomination fight.

The fact that this President is a congenital liar is well-known. The actual number of lies less than two years into his Presidency, though, is astounding.

While it has an admitted populist appeal. the idea of Congressional pay being withheld during a shutdown is a non-starter due to the Constitution.

President Trump is now apparently on the warpath against the Federal Reserve Board Chairman he appointed only a year ago.

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.

Republicans scored a win in Court last week, but it seems likely to lead to a political loss in the long-term.

After a barrage of criticism, New Jersey Democrats are abandoning a controversial redistricting proposal.

Former Vice-President Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders are, not surprisingly, leading the early polls for the 2020 Democratic nomination.

An argument against “bothersiderism” in this case and, yet again, noting the problem with single seat districts.

The scandal-plagued Secretary of the Interior is leaving office at the end of the year.

Eight years after it was signed into law, a Federal Judge has ruled the Affordable Care Act to be unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor contends that a recent change in tax law unravels the basis for the Supreme Court’s upholding of Obamacare.

Gerrymandering. It’s not just for Republicans.

Theresa May is facing an unexpected challenge to her leadership even as she deals with trying to save a Brexit deal that nobody seems to like.

The verdict of last month’s elections was clear, but Republicans still don’t seem to get it.

Europe’s highest Court appeared to hand the United Kingdom a way of escaping Brexit altogether if it chose to go that route. This will greatly complicate the domestic political situation for Theresa May.

While often portrayed as left-leaning, the public broadcaster is ruthlessly capitalistic in its labor practices.

French authorities are investigating reports that Russian interference may be helping to exploit and expand the five-week-old “yellow vest” protests.

Cory Booker’s interest in running for President has been an open secret for some time, now he’s being far less coy about it.

This time, the rumors about John Kelly leaving appear to be true.

Current attempts to take power away from the state executive branch illustrates a lot of what I have been writing about for years.

Moscow continues using information warfare to sow division in Western society.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the U.S, Attorney for the Southern District of New York have filed sentencing memos that directly implicate the President in a series of felonies.

There’s yet another rumor that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly could be on the way out.

The economy is in good shape for the moment but there are storm clouds on the horizon.

Trump has reportedly told aides that he doesn’t really care about reports of an approaching crisis of the budget deficit and national debt because he’ll be out of office before it becomes a problem.

Republican lawmakers in Michigan and Wisconsin are responding to their party’s losses at the Gubernatorial level by attempting to restrict the powers of the incoming Democratic Governor.

Notwithstanding the temptation to do something, both the United States and NATO need to resist the temptation to get involved in the latest conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The 2020 campaign is already heating up, and California Senator Kamala Harris could be one of the first serious candidates for President to throw her hat in the ring.

After initially saying no, Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke is now reopening the door to the idea of running for President.