Outside the Beltway

The Senate is back from its recess, but no closer to a health care bill that has any realistic chance of passing.

Congress is running out of time in its effort to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act.

The Administration suffers another defeat in defense of its effort to ban Muslim immigrants.

President Trump’s speech on Islam was a change of tone. However, as critics noted, it was short on substance and is unlikely to accomplish anything.

Another day in Court for President Trump’s Muslim ban.

As usual, an attempt to explain congressional behavior brings us back to the issue of our basic institutions. The way we elect congress matters.

Once again, the GOP punts on ‘repeal and replace’ because they don’t have the votes.

With a government shutdown looming at the end of the week, the Administration has appeared to back away from a demand that a government funding bill include money allocated for the President’s promised border wall.

As he nears the end of his first 100 days in office, President Trump continues to suffer from bad poll numbers.

Faced with the fact that it has little to show for its first 100 days in office, the Trump Administration is pressuring Congress to come up with a new health care reform bill before the end of next week.

Two more losses for the Trump Administration.

The announcement of a new Muslim travel ban Executive Order has been delayed once again.

Once again, Donald Trump has played his supporters for suckers.

Even if you’re not sure who you should vote for, it’s obvious who you shouldn’t vote for.

Two of Chris Christie’s closest aides were convicted in the criminal trial resulting from the ‘Bridgegate’ scandal.

Two Republican Senators are exchanging barbs over the idea that the GOP should block any attempt by Hillary Clinton to nominate anyone to the Supreme Court if she becomes President.

In which Ted Cruz endorses the guy who called his wife ugly and said his father was involved in the Kennedy assassination.

President Obama is being criticized for remaining on vacation while Louisiana deals with historic flooding.

Five months after becoming Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan seems to be running into some of the same difficulties that John Boehner did.

The American people do not seem to support the Republican position on whether President Obama’s expected Supreme Court nominee should get proper consideration by the Senate.

The President has another plan to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. It’s as likely to be well-received on Capitol Hill as all of his other previous plans on this issue.

Republicans are putting much on the line in their refusal to consider any Supreme Court nomination from President Obama.

As if to further demonstrate just how fair off the rails the GOP has gotten, Donald Trump’s unconstitutional, wrong-headed, racist notions are supported by wide majorities in the party that still claims to the by the “Party of Lincoln.”

Not your average DC-area snowstorm.

Donald Trump is out with his first television ad, and it’s about what you’d expect.

The anti-Muslim rhetoric Donald Trump has been using on the campaign trail has shown up in a recruitment video for an al Qaeda off-shoot group.

A political cartoonist for The Washington Post crossed a line and, rightfully, got condemned for it.

Ted Cruz surges to a lead in the latest Iowa poll, setting up a seemingly inevitable showdown between the Texas Senator and Donald Trump.

Polling shows that most Americans oppose Donald Trump’s plan to bar Muslim’s from immigrating to the United States, but Republicans are far more receptive to the idea.

Donald J. Trump continues to turn the dial higher and higher on his fascist demagoguery.

A new Gallup poll shows public approval of Congress once again approaching historic lows, but it means far less than anyone thinks.

As expected, the Senate easily passed the two-year budget deal early this morning.

With only a handful of opposition, Paul Ryan was easily elected the 62nd Speaker of the House.

Yesterday, Paul Ryan spoke out against the procedure under which the new budget deal was negotiated. Today, he announced that he’ll vote for it anyway.

Paul Ryan is blasting the process that led to the new budget deal between the GOP and the White House, but one suspects he’s secretly quite pleased with the fact that it makes his job-to-be a lot easier.

Congress and the White House have reached a tentative deal on the budget and debt ceiling that promises to make Paul Ryan’s initial months as Speaker a lot easier.

A new poll shows that the Tea Party movement is more unpopular than it has ever been before, even among Republicans and conservatives.

With the top conservative caucus in Congress acquiescing to his candidacy, Paul Ryan is largely certain to become the next Speaker of the House.

Paul Ryan has never really wanted to be Speaker Of The House, but he’s take the job if House Republicans meet the conditions he’s set out.

Paul Ryan has yet to say if he will run for Speaker of the House, but that hasn’t stopped the opposition on the hard right from forming already.

Paul Ryan is getting pressure from all sides to get into the race for Speaker Of The House.

Yes, Ben Carson’s comments about the debt ceiling are silly, but it’s the fact that a lot of Republicans agree with him that’s dangerous.

Congress will get a temporary funding bill passed in time to avoid a shutdown on Thursday, but it may just be delaying the inevitable.

John Boehner let loose on the “false prophets” on the right yesterday, and he’s absolutely right.

Big news out of Washington, D.C.

Congress has just over a week to pass a funding bill, and it’s not looking very good.

The final effort to block the Iran Nuclear Deal failed in the Senate yesterday, meaning that the deal will now move forward.