Outside the Beltway

Rudy Giuliani threw a live grenade into the middle of the Stormy Daniels affair last night, and he’s made things much, much worse for his client.

The new Secretary of State is an improvement over the worst Secretary of State in history.

Failed Senate candidate Roy Moore is suing several of the women who accused him of sexual misconduct during last year’s campaign.

Despite the fact that President Trump’s continues to praise him, Ronny Jackson will not be returning to the White House as the President’s personal physician.

General (Retired) Michael Hayden has some harsh, and concerning, criticisms of the Trump administration.

Instead of attending the White House Correspondents Association Dinner last night, Donald Trump took his show on the road where he continued his long-standing attacks on the press. Unfortunately, it’s a message that resonates with his supporters.

The House Intelligence Committee’s report is being touted as vindication by the Trump Administration and its supporters. It’s not.

Ronny Jackson did not invent the practice of giving Ambien and Provigil to high-level government workers.

President Trump may be looking to push Chief of Staff John Kelly aside by giving him a next to impossible job.

The White House physician is accused of excessive drinking on the job and improperly dispensing medication among other offenses.

The Kim regime has announced the end, for now, of its nuclear and ballistic missile testing programs. To understand why they made this concession, one needs to read between the lines.

In response to inquiries about frequent media mentions of the Director’s wartime service, the CIA has confirmed he did not serve in combat.

Barbara Bush, only the second woman in history to be the wife and mother of a U.S. President, has died at the age of 92.

Sean Hannity was Michael Cohen’s “secret client,” but it’s not clear that should matter to anyone.

President Trump undercut his own Ambassador to the United Nations today by blocking the imposition of new sanctions on Russia.

New polling shows the Democrat’s lead in the Congressional ballot poll shrinking slightly, but enthusiasm is still on their side.

President Trump is on the attack against James Comey as the former F.B.I. Director begins his book tour.

President Trump’s job approval numbers remain historically low.

Donald Trump could have more to worry about regarding the investigation of Michael Cohen than he does regarding the Mueller investigation.

There is no obvious strategy and even the expressed rationale makes no sense.

Given a choice between Robert Mueller and Donald Trump, most Americans are siding with Mueller. Unless they’re Republicans that is.

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