Outside the Beltway

In a small, but meaningful, step, the Senate has rebuked the Administration’s policies toward the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

President Trump has canceled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the recent confrontation between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea.

National Security Adviser John Bolton offered an utterly absurd explanation for why he had not listened to the tape of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

A filing in an unrelated case has apparently revealed the existence of a sealed indictment against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

As the Saudis continue to dissemble and put forward an utterly implausible explanation for the death of Jamal Khashoggi, the Trump Administration shows no sign of having a spine.

The evidence linking the Saudi Crown Prince to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi seems irrefutable.

President Trump is serving as a knowing apologist for a despotic regime.

Donald Trump is a coward and an apologist for evil around the world.

President Trump is choosing money and moral cowardice over human life in his response to the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.

Reports about tension between Defense Secretary James Mattis and President Trump are becoming louder, and it’s being suggested that Mattis could be out of office after the midterms.

As part of her position as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has use of a rather lavish private residence. This is not a real controversy.

Who could have seen this coming?

Two months after the Singapore Summit, there’s no sign that anything substantive has been accomplished on the Korean Peninsula.

The Trump Administration has taken the latest step in a process that began in May with the withdrawal from the JCPOA. Where it takes us is anybody’s guess, but the probability of something going wrong is quite high.

The Trump Administration continues to insist that North Korea is violating promises that it clearly never made.

The Trump Administration is falsely claiming that the North Koreans made commitments at the Singapore Summit that they clearly didn’t agree to.

Yet another sign that the Singapore Summit didn’t really accomplish much of anything.

Senator Corker provided a pretty damning run-down last week.

The Trump’s Administration’s rhetoric and actions have given the Iranians no reason to trust the United States going forward.

To the surprise of nobody other than, apparently, the President of the United States, the North Koreans are dragging their feet after getting what they wanted out of the Photo Op Summit in Singapore.

The President was up late last night sending an incredibly over-the-top tweet directed at Iran.

Jon Huntsman, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, is rejecting calls that he should resign in the wake of what everyone seems to agree was a disastrous summit meeting with Vladimir Putin.

Some Democrats want to compel President Trump’s translator to testify about his private meeting with Vladimir Putin. That’s a bad idea.

More evidence that North Korea isn’t living up to the promises it made in Singapore.

A thinly-sourced report says Yes.

The Singapore Summit meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un was about as substance-less as most analysts anticipated it would be.

With the start of the Singapore Summit just hours away, it’s not at all clear what the respective parties can possibly agree to other than what amounts to a photo opportunity.

Dan Coates, the Director of National Intelligence, has issued a strong warning that has received little attention.

“Winging it” isn’t how foreign policy should be made.

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

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.

The President and the Secretary of State had some oddly contradictory statements this week.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a bombastic speech on Iran yesterday that reveals just how empty and dangerous the Trump Administration’s policy toward Iran actually is.

As expected, Gina Haspel was confirmed as C.I.A. Director yesterday despite her controversial record when it comes to torture.

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

With a third Democrat crossing the aisle to support her, Gina Haspel now has the votes she needs to become the next C.I.A. Director.

The date and location of the meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un has been set, but there’s as much chance of failure as their is hope for success.

Gina Haspel faced some tough questions from Democrats regarding her role in the C.I.A.’s post-9/11 torture programs, but she’s likely to be confirmed anyway.

Some good news from North Korea.

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

The new Secretary of State is an improvement over the worst Secretary of State in history.

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

For better or worse, Mike Pompeo will be confirmed as the 70th Secretary of State by the end of this week.

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.

In response to inquiries about frequent media mentions of the Director’s wartime service, the CIA has confirmed he did not serve in combat.

Despite facing headwinds in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mike Pompeo will probably be confirmed as the next Secretary of State. That’s unfortunate.

Tammy Duckworth recently became the first sitting Senator to give birth. Thanks to a rule change, she’ll be allowed to bring her baby on the floor of the Senate if she needs to.

Top positions in the State Department are vacant, and there’s only one person to blame for that.

President Trump is talking about pulling American troops out of Syria, but his own White House is contradicting him.

As a general rule, Presidents are entitled to have a Cabinet and advisers he is comfortable with, but a Cabinet full of “yes men” is not ideal with any President, and certainly not with this one.