Outside the Beltway

For better or worse, Mike Pompeo will be confirmed as the 70th Secretary of State by the end of this week.

The transformation is complete. The GOP is now the party of Donald Trump. If you’re sticking around and not speaking out against what the President represents, you’re part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Despite facing headwinds in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mike Pompeo will probably be confirmed as the next Secretary of State. That’s unfortunate.

Kyrsten Sinema, the likely Democratic nominee for the Senate in Arizona, is leading all three of her potential Republican challengers. This could spell trouble for the GOP.

Republicans are blaming the President for the fading popularity of the tax reform law passed in December. It’s more complicated than that.

Republicans have been hoping that the tax bill passed in December would help them in the midterms. That’s appearing to be less and less likely by the day.

Whether they like it or not, Republican candidates in the midterms will have to run with the albatross of Donald Trump around their necks.

Mississippi’s Governor has chosen a replacement for Thad Cochran, but the White House isn’t too happy about the pick.

We may about to see a wave of teacher strikes.

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

The prospects for extending legal protections for DACA beneficiaries are getting grimmer by the day.

A Federal Judge In Kansas has blocked enforcement of a state law barring anyone who does business with the state from engaging in a boycott of Israel.

After an extended break for the Republican retreat, Congress heads back to work today with just three days before a possible government shutdown.

The current budget deal expires in six days and Congress doesn’t seem to know what it’s going to do about it.

A train carrying Republican Congressmen and Senators, and their families, was involved in a crash in western Virginia.

With just hours to go, it seems increasingly unlikely that the Senate can reach a deal to keep the government open.

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

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

Charles Manson, who led a cult-like “family” to a series of murders in 1969 and subsequently spent more than 40 years in prison, has died at the age of 83.

Arguments advanced by those advocating a bill that would prevent Americans from participating in a boycott of Israel would not violate the First Amendment appear to be without merit.

Big developments in the Russia investigation that could start making President Trump deeply uncomfortable.

“I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree. “

President Trump delivered a wholly inappropriate political speech to the Boy Scout Jamboree, but that should surprise nobody.

The Senate isn’t giving up in its efforts to ‘repeal and replace’ the Affordable Care Act, despite the fact that it seems clear that the votes aren’t there.

What looks like it will be the Senate GOP’s last effort on the issue of health care reform died less than a day after being put on the table.

With the defection of two more Senators, the latest effort to ‘repeal and replace’ the Affordable Care Act has gone down in flames.

Senate Republicans have introduced their latest version of a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Senate Republicans are back home and hearing from their constituents on health care reform. It’s not going well for them.

Once again, Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to attack women, embarrass himself, and embarrass the nation he purports to represent.

Once again, a bad CBO score is casting doubt on a Republican health care reform bill.

The Senate GOP health care reform care bill faces a crucial week, and things aren’t looking good.

Senate Republicans released their proposed health care plan this morning, but it could already be doomed.

By the barest of margins, the House passed its bill repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, but the future of that bill is highly uncertain.

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.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch even as it became inevitable that Republicans would be forced to invoke the ‘nuclear option’ to confirm him to the Supreme Court.

Next week’s big news is likely to be the Senate’s vote to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, which could mean invocation of the so-called ‘nuclear option’ by Senate Republicans.

Senate Democrats are divided on how to approach the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, making it likely that he’ll be confirmed.

Whether you call it TrumpCare, RyanCare, or GOPCare, the Republican replacement for the PPACA isn’t very impressive.

With two votes last night, President Trump’s Cabinet is coming together.

After a highly contentious nomination process, Jeff Sessions was confirmed last night as the new Attorney General of the United States.

In the end, an effort by Democrats to block Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court does not seem like a good use of their rather limited options.

Congressional term limits are a good idea, but they are only a partial solution at best and may not be the best solution to the problems facing our political system.

As things stand, Democrats will have a hard time winning back control in the Senate in 2018.

Canada is phasing out coal as a source of electricity production by 2030. The same thing will happen in the United States no matter how much politicians try to stop it.

Some Hillary Clinton supporters have a foolish and unworkable “plan” to steal Trump’s victory in the Electoral College. They should abandon it.

The man who was brought in to clean up the I.R.S. after the alleged targeting scandal became public is facing censure and possible impeachment. Proving that there really is such a thing as a thankless job.