Outside the Beltway

Either Trump doesn’t understand what he is talking about, or he thinks his supporters are dumb.

Wherein I explore the notion that ignorance is bliss.

It’s been just about fifteen months since President Trump imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. Not surprisingly, those tariffs have not had the effect the President claimed they would.

Last night, President Trump announced a new round of tariffs against Mexico for reasons that have nothing to do with trade itself.

As Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush remind us, there was a time when Republicans weren’t xenophobic nationalists when it comes to immigration policy.

So good. So easy to win.

Justin Amash doubled down on his criticism of the President and his call for impeachment even as he came under fire from fellow Republicans.

The President unveiled some incoherent ideas yesterday that have no chance of becoming law.

The President’s trade policies stand to benefit a lot of other countries, just not the United States.

As it has in so many other areas, the right has sacrificed it’s previously held beliefs on international trade to feckless obedience toward President Trump.

A longstanding legal question may finally come to a head.

Valerie Plame, the former CIA agent whose identity was outed during the Bush Administration, is running for Congress in New Mexico.

Donald Trump’s tariffs are hurting the American economy, American consumers, and American businesses.

As the Friday deadline for trade talks with China approaches, President Trump is threatening even more tariffs.

Its explanation for why its paywall is coming down 3 days leads us to an obvious question.

A months-long standoff is stopping hurricane relief.

The President has hit a dubious milestone barely two years into his administration.

Ballot measures across the country would deny access to those who refuse to release tax returns.

The House of Representatives is asking a Federal Judge to block the President’s emergency declaration to fund his border wall.

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appears poised to uphold the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.

More pressures on a region already struggling.

Stephen Miller and others wanted to punish Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats by dumping detained migrants in their districts.

In 2016, a crowded Republican field yielded an unlikely nominee. Could history repeat itself in 2020?

Trump’s threat will not make things better (and the notion of actually closing the border is insane).

Note to the folks at Fox and Friends: Central America is not part of Mexico.

The (Acting) Secretary of Defense has issued an unconstitutional order.

Some context for ongoing discussions.

Congress is doing its damned job for a change.

President Trump will ask for $8.6 billion for his border wall in his Fiscal Year 2020 budget. He’s unlikely to get it.

Not good, not easy to win.

Notwithstanding President Trump’s tariffs, America’s trade deficit hit a record level last year.

It turns out there actually is a crisis on the US-Mexico border.

There appear to be enough votes in the Senate to pass the resolution disapproving President Trump’s border wall “emergency,” but there’s not enough Republican support to override an expected veto.

Reason’s Nick Gillespie makes an interesting case but I don’t buy it.

In a two-hour rant before an adoring crowd of CPAC sycophants. President Trump displayed everything wrong with him and his Presidency.

The House of Representatives voted yesterday to block the President’s declaration of an “emergency” at the southern border. Now the matter goes to the Senate.

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

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

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 American Civil Liberties Union has joined the list of groups with lawsuits against the President’s declaration of a “national emergency” at the southern border.

The lawsuits against President Trump’s “national emergency” have begun. Except more.

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

Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld is preparing for a primary challenge against Donald Trump. He won’t win, but he could still have an impact.

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

The President will sign the bill to fund the government and avert another government shutdown, but in doing so he’ll also lay the groundwork for another showdown with Congress.

When it comes to the shutdown and border wall showdown that started back in December, Donald Trump is the biggest loser.

If all goes well, the bill to avert another shutdown should become law today.

President Trump now appears to accept the compromise worked out by Congress to avoid another shutdown even though he’s not pleased with it.

It was only a matter of time before Trump’s rhetoric against the press would lead to something violent. Last night in El Paso, it happened.

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.