Outside the Beltway

The actions of the Trump administration are helping Russian-EU relations (to the detriment of the US).

President Trump’s attorneys have put forward a shockingly expansive view of the powers of the President.

Just over a week after he called it off, President Trump announced this afternoon that the June 12th Summit in Singapore was back on.

President Trump is setting off another trade war, this time with some of America’s closest and most important allies.

South Korea’s President is saying that Kim Jong Un has renewed his supposed commitment to ‘denuclearization,’ but it isn’t at all clear what that means.

American companies are struggling to comply with the EU’s new privacy regulation, with many outlets choosing to simply block access abroad.

Jack Johnson, who was convicted of violating the Mann Act in a case obviously infected with racism, has been pardoned by President Trump.

Seemingly out of the blue, the June 12th summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been canceled by the United States.

A Federal Judge in Virginia has handed a significant legal victory to a student who sued their school district because they were barred form using the bathroom of the gender they identify with.

Not surprisingly, the North Koreans are pushing back against American efforts to force them into a corner on denuclearization.

The number of Americans professing no religious affiliation is on the rise. This will have some interesting cultural and political implications.

President Trump’s decision to violate the terms of the nuclear deal with Iran could be a turning point in relations between the United States and its most important allies, and not in a good way.

As expected, President Trump has withdrawn the United States from the nuclear deal with Iran. There was no rational basis for doing so.

Seven years after deactivation, the U.S. Second Fleet will be patrolling the North Atlantic again.

Israeli Prime Minister gave a speech yesterday designed to undermine the nuclear deal with Iran. The evidence was unconvincing, but the speech was really only aimed at an audience of one.

The United States is apparently looking to Libya as a guide for upcoming talks with North Korea. The DPRK most likely sees the fate of that nation and its leader as a warning.

An oak sapling brought to the United States by French President Macron went missing over the weekend. The reason for its disappearance has been answered.

Not surprisingly, Mike Pompeo was confirmed as America’s 70th Secretary of State today. Now, the hard work begins.

French President Emmanuel Macron predicts, correctly, that President Trump will pull out of the nuclear deal with Iran for the worst possible reasons. This will be a disaster for America’s national interests.

French President Emmanuel Macron is in the U.S. hoping to lobby President Trump to keep the United States in the nuclear deal with Iran. He’s got his work cut out for him.

President Trump undercut his own Ambassador to the United Nations today by blocking the imposition of new sanctions on Russia.

A Federal Judge has struck down the revised version of the ban on transgender members of the military from serving openly, and the ruling has significance that goes well beyond the issue at hand.

There is no obvious strategy and even the expressed rationale makes no sense.

Once again, President Trump’s foreign policy tweeting is causing problems.

Dueling data on civil service compensation belie the adage that you can’t choose your own facts.

Under the proposal certain visa-seekers (such as China and India) would have to have their social media presence scrutinized.

In selecting John Bolton as his National Security Adviser, Donald Trump has signaled to the world that he’s likely to take action that will only serve to make the world a more dangerous place.

The United States has joined Great Britain and much of Europe in retaliating against Russia for the attempted murder of a former Russian spy on British soil.

The President’s new attempt to ban transgender Americans from serving in the military is as legally defective as the original ban was.

President Trump continues to obsequiously praise Russian President Vladimir Putin

Not unexpectedly, Russia has retaliated for Great Britain’s retaliation for Russia’s apparent assassination attempt on British history.

The selection of Mike Pompeo as the next Secretary of State makes it more likely that President Trump will take the foolish and dangerous step of withdrawing the United States from the nuclear deal with Iran.

By threatening to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran, Donald Trump is making it far less likely that any upcoming talks with North Korea will succeed.

Few Western democracies have anything quite like our First Amendment. This is a case where the United States gets it right. 

The Defense Department will reportedly recommend to President Trump that transgender members of the service currently serving in the military be allowed to continue serving.

President Trump has announced a new round of sanctions against North Korea, but they are unlikely to work given the unrealistic nature of the Administration’s current policy toward North Korea.

Elliot Cohen laments the lack of steel in the spine of the statesmen, diplomats, soldiers, and thinkers of the current generation.

President Trump’s tweets, other public statements, and actions are causing world leaders to doubt the reliability of the United States on the world stage.

President Trump’s military parade would come with a not insignificant cost.

Today in an increasingly liberal, educated, globalized, and democratic world, we have more reason than ever to listen to the opinion of our peers and, where appropriate, to be open to their counsel.

Of course Donald Trump wants a military parade, it would be consistent with his delusions of grandeur.

The 2008 Republican nominee for president condemned his party and its president for the release of a controversial memo attacking the FBI.

International travel to the United States has declined since Donald Trump took office, and it’s having a measurable impact on the economy.

America’s closest European allies are rebuffing the Trump Administration’s efforts to renegotiate the nuclear deal with Iran. They’re right to do so.

President Trump has alienated America’s allies and friends, and they are acting accordingly.

Americans were once largely united in their opinions about Israel and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. That’s not the case anymore.

Thanks to Donald Trump, public opinion around the world about the United States is at its lowest level in ten years.

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

America’s closest allies sent a strong signal that they do not agree with President Trump on the nuclear deal with Iran.

2017 was quite a year. 2018 promises to be just as interesting.