Outside the Beltway

Former President Obama took on his successor in his first major political speeches since leaving office.

The second day of questioning for Judge Brett Kavanaugh was a bit rockier than the first, but nothing happened that seriously threatens his eventual confirmation.

Day One of questions for Judge Brett Kavanaugh went about as you’d expect.

Jennifer Rubin wants to build a new political party from scratch.

A Federal Judge in Texas has declined to grant a request to bring the DACA program to an end, but its days appear to be numbered unless Congress acts.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh reportedly told Senator Susan Collins that he considers Roe v. Wade
“settled law.” This will likely be enough to get her support and that of another holdout Republican Senator.

The latest reports about the circumstances surrounding the payoff to Stormy Daniels could pose big problems for Michael Cohen and his client.

Care to guess the demographic makeup of the county?

Another Federal Judge has ruled in favor of a transgender student seeking the right to use the gender that conforms to the gender they identify with.

The race for the Republican nomination for Governor between Governor Jeff Colyer and Secretary of State Kris Kobach is even closer than ever and will likely remain undecided for weeks.

There’s been a noticeable drop in foreign tourism to the United States since Donald Trump became President.

Another Federal Judge has dealt a legal blow to President Trump’s effort to shut down the DACA program.

Another morning, and another unhinged Twitter attack on the Mueller investigation by a President who claims the entire investigation is a “hoax” and “Fake News.”

A powerful political network is distancing itself from the Trump-dominated Republican Party.

The recent report of 4.1% GDP growth over the previous quarter is indeed welcome news. However, taking a look at the data both recent and in the past and there are some reasons to be concerned about GDP growth in general.

Trade deals take more than an afternoon chat.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down part of a Hawaii law barring open carry of weapons, but this win for gun rights advocates may turn out to be short-lived.

The situation isn’t as awful as portrayed by the AP—but it’s still pretty bad.

After months of allegations regarding improper use of taxpayer dollars and the use of agency resources and personnel for personal needs, he is finally out.

Today is a great day to reflect on the Enlightenment ideals that fueled a Declaration.

A thoughtful liberal argues the Justice has “altered and destroyed his legacy” by allowing Donald Trump to appoint his successor.

What was once a rare symbol of national mourning has become so commonplace as to be meaningless.

After hitting a stumbling bloc in April, Mitt Romney coasted to a win last night, and has a clear path to Washington and the U.S. Senate.

In a ruling that largely relies on the authority granted by Congress to the President to regulate immigration on national security grounds, the Supreme Court has upheld the final version of the Administration’s travel ban.

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

Two months ago, the President called on states to send National Guard troops to the border. As expected, they’re not guarding the border.

The Attorney General of New York has filed a Complaint against President Trump and several members of his family alleging widespread fraud in the operation of Trump’s charitable Foundation.

In a significant First Amendment ruling, the Supreme Court has held that a Minnesota law barring “political apparel” at polling places is unconstitutional.

The Federal Government is signing on to an effort by Texas and several other states to have the DACA program declared unlawful.

The Trump Administration is declining to defend the Affordable Care Act in Court, arguing that the individual mandate is now unconstitutional because the tax penalty has been eliminated.

After a period where Republicans seemed to be closing the gap, Democrats may be widening their lead heading into November.

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

American companies are struggling to comply with the EU’s new privacy regulation, with many outlets choosing to simply block access abroad.

President Trump continues his unhinged, and unsupported by facts, war on Amazon and its owner Jeff Bezos by pressuring an independent agency to raise shipping rates.

Enforcing our immigration and drug laws comes at the cost of fundamental rights.

A big win for Federalism and common sense at the Supreme Court.

For some reason, the President wants to help a Chinese company that has been accused of being a security risk by American intelligence services.

Don’t look for a Trump agenda for the rest of the year. It doesn’t exist.

The Postal Service is losing billions of dollars, but not for the reasons the President claims.

While the Trump Administration slowly tries to remake the Federal Judiciary, states are moving to pass radical new challenges to Roe v. Wade.

Andrew Sullivan wonders, “Will there always be an England?”

The Trump Administration has suffered another setback in its efforts to repeal DACA.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a Trump Administration Order that purported to punish so-called ‘sanctuary cities.’

Republicans on Capitol Hill and in positions of power are slavishly backing their President over their country. They should be ashamed.

Whoops.

An attempt at defining the conversation.

Mark Zuckerberg’s second day before Congress was somewhat more contentious than the first, but at the end of the day it’s still unclear that more regulation is the answer to the issues raised by recent Facebook “scandals.”

President Trump isn’t reacting well to the raid on his attorney’s office.

Trump’s tariff plan isn’t going over well in farm country, and that could cause problems for the GOP in November.

The DJIA (and other markets) are not too happy about all of this trade war talk.