Outside the Beltway

Kris Kobach, former Kansas Secretary of State and former head of President Trump’s “Voter Fraud” Commission, is running for Senator in Kansas.

Joe Biden recently said that he’d consider nominating Merrick Garland again if there were a Supreme Court vacancy while he was President. Don’t count on it.

The Kaine-Udall amendment has met its predictable end.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi suffered a major defeat on a signature issue.

WIth the top two candidates in the race on the same stage, the second night of the first Democratic debate was much feistier than the first night.

President Trump’s first Supreme Court appointment has joined the liberal bloc on several cases.

Much to the chagrin of Republicans hoping to win back a Senate seat they never should have lost, Roy Moore is running for Senate again in Alabama.

Congress is considering a bill that would establish a commission to examine the issue of reparations for slavery.;

Donald Trump has endorsed a proposal by a Republican Senator to ban flag burning.

Democrats are trying to rein in President Trump. It won’t work.

Not surprisingly, the President’s opening speech of the 2020 campaign was filed with lies.

Hospital phone lines are being overwhelmed.

There isn’t a lot of legislating going on.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is being accused of giving preferential access to businesses and businessmen tied to her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

The House of Representatives passed a bill that would extend protection to DACA beneficiaries and other Dreamers, but it’s likely to die in the Senate.

The President’s foolish tariffs against Mexico are finally causing many Republican Senators to stand up against him.

Wherein I explore the notion that ignorance is bliss.

Republicans nationwide are trying to discourage Roy Moore from running for Senate again. Roy Moore doesn’t care.

Kamala Harris is trying to jump-start her Presidential campaign with an idea for a new law, but it’s probably unconstitutional and would never get through Congress.

Mitch McConnell has had an unsurprising change of heart on the issue of Senate consideration of Supreme Court nominees in a Presidential election year.

Hypocritical? Sure. Surprising? No.

Some reports are saying that Roy Moore will run for the GOP nomination for Senate again in 2020.

The House of Representatives has not even acted on impeachment, but Senate Republicans have already made up their mind.

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

An absurd theory for an absurd time.

Liz Cheney can pretty much write her own political ticket right now.

The problem is with our politics, not our institutions.

Other than confirming a lot of Trump Judges, the Senate has not been getting much work done so far this year.

There are several months to go before a budget must be passed but there are already signs that the White House and Congress could be headed for an impasse.

The President’s eldest son has been subpoenaed to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding Trump campaign contacts with Russia.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared “case closed” on the Mueller Report and the Russia investigation. This is far from the truth.

If the economy remains strong, then Democrats could find it harder to beat the President than they thought.

The former Kentucky coal executive, Republican fundraiser, and Ambassador to Canada would replace Nikki Haley in what used to be a position dominated by more experienced diplomats.

Six Democrats are boycotting on principle. Four Republicans don’t care.

In some expert trolling, the Senate Majority Leader decries “mindless, undiscriminating obstruction for the sake of obstruction.”

The White House clearly doesn’t have a plan beyond attacking Obamacare to score political points.

David Gergen lives in a fantasy world.

It’s been a rough two years under Trump, but America’s institutions are surviving.

Republicans are blindly loyal to this President in a way we have not seen before. They are likely to end up paying a price for that.

A novel proposal for making SCOTUS appointments more responsive to election outcomes.

The Senate yesterday confirmed a 37-year-old to a lifetime Court of Appeals seat.

Last week, the House passed two bills to strengthen the laws regarding background checks for guns, but they’re not likely to even make it to the floor of the Senate.

Republicans face a choice in the coming days. Do they support the Constitution, or do they support Donald Trump? You can count on them making the wrong choice.

While not subject to filibuster, it’s still subject to Presidential veto.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not be running for Senate despite urging from Republicans in Washington and back in Kansas,

Some thoughts on the current mess.

Supreme Court watcher Jeffrey Toobin speculates that Clarence Thomas could be the next Supreme Court Justice to step aside.

President Trump’s impending decision to declare a national emergency to get funding for his border wall will quickly face serious legal challenges. It may be more vulnerable than the White House suspects.

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.

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