Outside the Beltway

Hang on, the ride on the Trump Train is about to get a lot bumpier.

Out of the blue, President Trump plans to pardon Dick Cheney’s former Chief of Staff, but the move seems to have more to do with James Comey than it does Scooter Libby.

Trump suggests US might seek to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Dueling data on civil service compensation belie the adage that you can’t choose your own facts.

John Boehner is now pro-weed. The world just keeps getting weirder, man.

Paul Ryan won’t be running for re-election this year, opening up both a Congressional seat and a leadership spot.

Governor Rick Scott has entered the race to challenge Bill Nelson in Florida, creating what is likely to be one of the most closely watched races of the year.

A response to one of the most deadly chemical attacks in the Syrian civil war has come, probably from Israel. What’s next?

The answer is, of course, no. Really, this is a post about the wall as policy.

Dan Drezner notes some challenges on this topic, and I add some of my own thoughts.

After eight months in office, the pressures on Chief of Staff John Kelly continue to mount under a President who cannot be controlled and whose behavior will not change.

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

President Trump won’t attend nerd prom again this year. That’s a good thing.

The Atlantic fired one of their few conservative voices for saying women who have abortions should be hanged. Was this beyond the pale?

President Trump is talking about pulling American troops out of Syria, but his own White House is contradicting him.

News anchors at dozens of local stations owned by conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group were recently required to read a script mandated by corporate headquarters, and it’s leading to some bad media coverage for Sinclair.

The ‘permanent record’ of yesteryear is now real. Should there be limitations?

As a general rule, Presidents are entitled to have a Cabinet and advisers he is comfortable with, but a Cabinet full of “yes men” is not ideal with any President, and certainly not with this one.

Fourteen months into his presidency, he has no idea how the federal budget works.

Critics warn this move would lead to a drastic undercount of Hispanic voters, impacting Congressional districting, federal programs, and more.

Personal attacks on teenagers whose friends were murdered is a strategy sure to backfire.

The Department Of Justice is proposing a rule change that would ban bump stocks, but it could run into legal problems.

Supporters of Roy Moore tried to bribe the attorney for a woman accusing the former Senate candidate of sexual assault when she was just fourteen years old into repudiating his client.

Top White House staffers were preparing to fire several troublesome figures at once when the President suddenly upended the plan.

Republicans on Capitol Hill worried about all the leaking coming from the Trump White House would be wise to actually do the oversight the Constitution compels them to do.

Americans actings as agents for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been working hard to manipulate the President.

This is no way to run a railroad.

A new report confirms that the White House has indeed required staffers to sign non-disclosure agreements that are clearly not enforceable.

President Trump continues to obsequiously praise Russian President Vladimir Putin

A package exploded in San Antonio overnight. It was believed bound for Austin. It would be the fifth in a spree of bombings in the city this month.

A report in The Washington Post says that White House Staff under President Trump have been required to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Local and federal authorities are investigating a spree of explosions terrorizing Austin, Texas.

New reports indicate that Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen has been involved in efforts to keep Stormy Daniels from telling her story for at least the past seven years.

Theresa May’s government has not hit Russian oligarchs nearly as hard as they deserve because the UK benefits from turning a blind eye.

The FBI’s former deputy director was shamefully fired late Friday night, after which President Trump gloated on Twitter.

H.R. McMaster appears to be on the way out as National Security Adviser. The important question is, who replaces him?

Lizbeth Mateo, an attorney and immigrant rights activist, will serve on a California board helping disadvantaged students.

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.

Polls released since the Parkland, Florida shooting show that support for gun control measures is at its highest level since 1993, but will it last?

The nominations of Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel could be in trouble in the Senate.

Yet another example of the foolishness of having firearms in the schoolhouse.

While the nature of Rex Tillerson’s firing as Secretary of State was shocking in its abruptness, taken in context with the rocky nature of his tenure it was hardly surprising.

Next up: Pompeo

Ending an investigation that was flawed and tainted with partisanship from the start, the House Intelligence Committee has abruptly concluded its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Service members deployed to Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tunisia, and Uganda qualify.

An estimated 200,000 Americans have Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Dental professionals are 23 times more likely to be afflicted.

A majority of Americans say their lives are not “disrupted” by the time change. They’re wrong.

Kids are more likely to be killed driving to school than shot while there. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try and prevent them.

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