Outside the Beltway

While much of the attention in the race for the Democratic nomination to date has been on the left, there is a path forward for a more centrist candidate.

After an essentially pointless 35 day shutdown, some members of the House and Senate are proposing bills that would make government shutdowns impossible.

The Speaker was dealt a winning hand and played it with the skill of a seasoned pro. But the outcome was all but inevitable.

As the shutdown enters day thirty-five, there are some signs of movement in Washington but no real progress.

The Senate rejected Republican and Democratic proposals as expected but there are some signs of movement forward.

As the shutdown enters its thirty-fourth day and the Senate gets ready to vote on proposals that have no chance of succeeding, Democrats are preparing a new proposal.

There’s a way that Congress and the President could make future government shutdowns impossible, but they probably won’t do it.

The Senate has the ball this week in terms of action on the government shutdown, but its work is going to end up being utterly pointless.

Not surprisingly, the President’s proposed shutdown deal is not being received well by Democrats on Capitol Hill.

President Trump put an offer on the table to end the shutdown, the question is whether it will actually lead anywhere.

Is Trump about to make an offer (plus the SOTU letter may have helped).

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.

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.

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 drags on, it’s beginning to have an impact on the economy.

Theresa May’s Brexit deal suffered the worst defeat in the modern history of the British Parliament, and nobody is sure what happens next.

Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a case that could make it easier to order and ship wine from out-of-state retailers.

As the government shutdown enters through its twenty-fourth day, attention is shifting to Senate Republicans who could be pressured to break ranks and potentially force a resolution.

If you’re looking for the biggest obstacle to a resolution to the government shutdown, look no further than President Donald J. Trump.

President Trump appears to be backing away from the idea of declaring a national emergency to get his wall built. But the other options he’s considering aren’t much better.

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

The government shutdown has now entered historic territory, and the Trump Administration is moving closer to a “national emergency” or other extra-legal means to get money for his wall.

President Trump’s speech on the border wall and the shutdown was fact-free, misleading, and overall a bomb.

As the shutdown drags on, Republicans are beginning to fear that members in the House and Senate may begin to fall away from supporting the President.

Washington has become the latest state to ban the sale of semiautomatic assault rifles to persons under 21.

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

In a late first-day session, Congress passed a series of bills designed to reopen most of the government, but they’re already ‘dead on arrival’ in the Senate.

President Trump began 2019 pretty much how he ended 2018, with irrational rants on Twitter.

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

A new law set to take effect in Utah before the New Year will lower the BAC limit for drunk driving by 40% to .05. Will the rest of the nation follow?

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

Is it possible that the solution to the government shutdown is letting the President pretend he got funding for his border wall even though he didn’t?

More evidence that Trump does not know what he is doing.

One of the strongest climate regulations in the country is almost certainly unconstitutional.

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

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.

The Senate passed a bill that keeps the government funded through the beginning of February, but fails to provide any funding for the President’s border wall.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed major reforms in Federal sentencing and related laws. As the name of the bill implies, it’s a first step, but a good first step.

With three days to go before a government shutdown, there are at least some signs that the President may be backing away from his threats to shut down the government over funding for his border wall.

As expected, the Justice Department has issued a new rule banning bump stocks. However, it is likely to face legal challenges.

On the way out the door, Scott Walker signed a bill to take powers away from his successor (and demonstrated a lack of understanding of Venn diagrams).

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.

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

Once again, President Trump is threatening a shutdown over the border wall that Mexico was supposed to pay for.

Senator Mitch McConnell and others are blocking a criminal justice reform bill currently pending in the Senate.

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.

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

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