Outside the Beltway

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.

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.

Based on his job approval numbers, President Trump could face an uphill battle in 2020.

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

After a decade of using the alleged problem of “voter fraud” to justify things like Voter ID Laws, Republicans are remarkably silent in the fact of an actual example of fraud and election tampering.

A North Carolina Congressional Election that was tainted by Absentee Ballot Fraud will be redone.

Thanks mostly to it’s complete and enthusiastic embrace of Donald Trump , the Republican Party faces a bleak demographic future.

The ignominious saga of Anthony Weiner appears to have reached its end.

Walter Jones, a former supporter of the Iraq War who became one of the most prominent anti-war voices in Congress, has passed away at the age of 76. He will be missed.

William Barr was easily confirmed as Attorney General in a 54-45 votes that included three Democrats crossing over to support him.

Another Friday, another political mess for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Looking ahead, the political landscape does not look well for the President.

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.

After twenty-five days, there’s no end in sight to the Federal Government shutdown. You can thank the President for that.

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.

The Supreme Court is taking up the issue of partisan gerrymandering. This time, though, they’re likely to reach the merits of the cases rather than punting like they did last year.

As the shutdown continues, there’s little sign of progress on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

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

California is set up throw a huge curve ball into the 2020 Presidential nomination fight.

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 latest entry in the unity third party presidential candidate genre is just as bad as they always are.

An argument against “bothersiderism” in this case and, yet again, noting the problem with single seat districts.

Trump has selected current Budget Director Mick Mulvaney to replace John Kelly as Chief of Staff, but that’s unlikely to change how the West Wing operates.

Gerrymandering. It’s not just for Republicans.

Jacob T. Levy has a column worth a read.

President Trump’s first choice to replace John Kelly as Chief of Staff turned the job down, leading one to wonder why anyone would want the job.

Republican lawmakers in Michigan and Wisconsin are responding to their party’s losses at the Gubernatorial level by attempting to restrict the powers of the incoming Democratic Governor.

Mia Love, recently narrowly defeated in her bid for re-election, has some parting words for her party. They probably won’t listen, but they should.

Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith has made several mistakes since Election Day, but she’s likely to win tomorrow’s runoff election.

Donald Trump is engaging in another round of baseless and bizarre conspiracy theories about alleged voter fraud.

Democratic pickups in several state legislatures could impact redistricting after the 2020 Census.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders hints that he’s thinking of running for President in 2020.

She’s quite likely the youngest 4-star general in the U.S. Army, if not the U.S. military.

Yesterday’s test of the Presidential Alert system went about as planned.

Is the reopened investigation of Brett Kavanaugh a real investigation of the charges made against him by three separate women, or is it a political sham? It’s beginning to look much more like the latter than the former.

Voter turnout in primary elections in 2018 was significantly above normal levels. especially in Democratic races.

As Hurricane Florence bears down on the East Coast, most people are listening to orders to evacuate, but some people aren’t.

A Federal Court has ruled that North Carolina can use its current Congressional District map for this year’s midterms notwithstanding a ruling that it is an impermissible gerrymander.

For the second time this year, a three-judge panel of Federal Judges has struck down North Carolina’s Congressional District map. The immediate question is what impact, if any, this will have on November’s election.

The Republican Party’s nominee for Senator in Virginia really is as bad as you’ve heard, probably worse.

Paul Laxalt, the former Nevada Senator who was one of President Reagan’s closest confidantes outside the White House, has died at 96.

Notwithstanding his dismissive public rhetoric about the former Vice-President, Donald Trump apparently sees Joe Biden as his biggest potential threat in 2020.

Republicans will hold their 2020 National Convention in the same city that hosted the Democrats back in 2012.

The Supreme Court term began with hopes that the Justices would shake up the redistricting process with rulings against partisan gerrymandering. It has ended with three whimpers.

The Supreme Court avoided ruling on the merits of two partisan gerrymandering cases, but the issue will be back before them sooner rather than later.

A federal trial court has ruled the practice an unconstitutional infringement on suffrage.

A 9-0 ruling side-stepped the broader issue of to what extent purely political considerations may be applied.

Earlier this week, the Illinois legislature ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. What’s unclear is if this act has any meaning at all.

After the Ronny Jackson disaster, President Trump has made a new selection for Secretary of Veterans Affairs.