Outside the Beltway

Republicans are claiming that Conor Lamb won Tuesday’s Special Election in Pennsylvania because he campaigned as a conservative. These people are either deluded or lying.

The senior Senator from Massachusetts denies interest in 2020 but won’t promise to serve out a new Senate term.

The President tried bringing something akin to a traditional policy process to the White House. Now he’s rebelling against it.

Once again, there’s speculation in Washington that Justice Anthony Kennedy could retire this year.

The chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors is out after failing to convince the boss not to impose tariffs.

The 80-year-old Mississippi Republican, who was first elected to the Senate in 1978 after serving six years in the House, has been in poor health.

POLITICO buries the lede in making the case for “Donald Trump’s bubble presidency.”

After skipping such events in his first thirteen months in office, the President tried his hand at stand-up last night to mixed reviews.

President Trump appeared to change positions on several gun control ideas, but he probably doesn’t mean it.

Ben Carson comes to his senses, but questions still remain about his family seeming to benefit from his position in government.

The White House chief of staff has downgraded the President’s son-in-law’s access to classified information. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Blake Hounshell has doubts about whether Trump colluded with Moscow.

Whether it’s the abuse angle or the more serious issue of security clearances, the White House still can’t get the story straight on the Rob Porter case.

Israeli police have recommended that charges be brought against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Whether that damages him politically remains to be seen.

With time seemingly running out, the Senate debate over extending DACA is moving slowly.

Administration officials are admitting that it’s likely that Russia will try to interfere in the midterm elections just as it did in 2016, but they don’t seem inclined to do anything about it.

And the evidence for obstruction of justice continues to mount.

Thanks to Donald Trump, public opinion around the world about the United States is at its lowest level in ten years.

The GOP’s potential troubles in 2018 don’t just exist at the Congressional level.

Donald Trumps’ tweets are the public statements of the President of the United States. This makes them noteworthy and often important.

Donald Trump’s latest Twitter rant is one of his most bizarre.

Some Democratic Senators are suggesting that Al Franken should reconsider his decision to resign from the Senate.

Roy Moore’s loss in Alabama is bringing out into the open a civil war that has been going on for seven years now.

There are no good outcomes for the GOP in Alabama.

A seventh woman has come forward to accuse Senator Al Franken of having groped her as calls mount from his Democratic colleagues for him to resign.

With time running out in the year, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that the Senate GOP will be able to meet its deadlines on passing a tax reform bill.

President Trump put his thumb on the scale for Roy Moore, ignoring the allegations of harassment and sexual abuse that have been made against the candidate.

There’s growing evidence that Donald Trump’s tweets are hurting him but his aides have basically given up trying to control his Twitter habit.

A Fox News host has debunked the Uranium One conspiracy theory being pushed by his own network.

Roy Moore’s most die-hard defenders are living in a world of their own, and it’s unlikely they’ll change their minds.

The Moore situation illustrates the nonhierarchical nature of US parties. This is nothing new.

Republicans have a Donald Trump problem, and they can’t run away from it.

It’s been two years since John Boehner stepped down as Speaker, and he’s got a few things to say about his former colleagues and the state of American politics.

Forget all the talk about a civil war in the Republican Party, the truth is that Republicans and conservatives have already surrendered to Trump and Bannon.

Donald Trump’s entire modus operandi involves pushing divisive cultural hot buttons.

Republican Lamar Alexander and Democratic Senator Patty Murray say they’ve reached a bipartisan deal to fix an important part of the Affordable Care Act.

New polling shows increased support for gun control measures in the wake of Las Vegas, but it’s not likely to last and it won’t lead to any significant action by Congress.

At least for now, Republicans seem to be giving up on repealing and replacing the PPACA. That’s not going to make the base happy.

Reports are indicating that President Trump will decertify the nuclear weapons deal with Iran. This would be a foolish and potentially dangerous mistake.

The Supreme Court appears split on the question of whether or not partisan Gerrymandering is unconstitutional.

Trump loses his HHS Secretary amid a growing scandal involving the use of private and government jets by Cabinet officials.

While there are real differences between what’s being reported about White House officials such as Jared Kushner and what Hillary Clinton did, the charge of hypocrisy is well-founded.

In President Trump’s mind, American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights are “sons of bitches” who should be fired for exercising their rights.

President Trump’s job approval has improved slightly, but the numbers remain historically low for a newly elected President.

Independents don’t seek to shape party nominations.

President Trump reportedly openly humiliated his own Attorney General after learning of Bob Mueller’s appointment.

Americans support allowing Dreamers to stay in the country, and most of them also support allowing them to eventually become citizens.

Two polls find that most Americans support letting DACA beneficiaries to stay in the United States. Will that help move Congress to act?