At a congressional hearing this week, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) asked an irate and not entirely comprehensible question about his granddaughter’s iPhone. The only problem, as the tech exec who was the hearing’s sole witness explained, is that iPhones are made by Apple but the tech exec was the CEO…
Hosted by Charlie Sykes.
Hosted by Charlie Sykes.
Media love lets AOC punch above her weight class.
Hosted by Charlie Sykes.
As a confirmed "Never Trumper," I would be thrilled, if there were no other considerations, to see Donald Trump’s Republican Party get blitzed in these elections and Trump therefore be humiliated.
The polarization of American politics has done its work and we now have an especially ugly example of where it leads. I’m referring to the fight over the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as a justice of the Supreme Court.
PHOENIX — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is moving past the threats that came after she announced she would vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
The casual political observer in Indiana would be confused.
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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he has no idea how a key vote will go on Friday morning for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
A barroom tussle? Drinking beer on a weeknight? That’s nothing. How about the time the 19-year-old wrote a theater review in which he lamented the cast of “perma-smile actresses whose only qualifications seem to be their phenomenally large breasts and tight buttocks.” What sort of vile misogynistic…
A lot of those spontaneous calls from constituents are the work of lobbyists.
Plus, Cleveland's greatest bar chain turns 35.
James M. Banner Jr. reviews Joanne B. Freeman’s book on violence and bloodshed in the antebellum Congress.
The latest, paying down the national debt, met mixed reception from congressional Republicans (when it wasn't muted altogether).
A muted reaction to Helsinki from the GOP Congress.
Seth Grossman made multiple racist social media posts and called diversity 'a bunch of crap.'
If enacted, the STATES Act could provide a valuable framework for policy-making in a fractured and diverse country.
Ilhan Omar bids to succeed Keith Ellison in Minnesota’s Fifth District.
Allegations of fraud, theft, bigamy, and violence surround Imran Awan.
President Donald Trump was elected in 2016 in part on a pledge to “drain the swamp,” to eliminate the corruption that many Americans have come to believe dominates our politics. Here, Hillary Clinton served as a perfect foil, a stand-in for all the politicians who have gone to Washington to do good…
We have President Trump to thank for the noisy and exciting midterm elections. If John Kasich were president, the sound of the campaign would be zzzzzzzzz. Trump’s aides must have forgotten to tell him presidents aren’t on the midterm ballot. With luck, they’ll keep it a secret.
A number of rank-and-file House Republicans on Wednesday night expressed support for a bill that would limit the president's ability to impose far-reaching tariffs on national security grounds without congressional approval, despite President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts alongside Republican…
Dan Crenshaw, a 33-year-old former Navy SEAL, won the GOP primary runoff election in Texas's second congressional district on Tuesday night. With 90 percent of precincts reporting, Crenshaw led his opponent, state representative Kevin Roberts, 70 percent to 30 percent.
Senator Ron Johnson is unhappy about the amount of redactions appearing in documents sent to Congress by the FBI, and he’s doing something about it.
Paul Ryan’s attempt at institutional reform resulted only in sectarian and ideological strife.
What you should know about discharge petitions and the 'Queen of the Hill' rule.
Americans work hard for their money and expect their tax dollars to be spent wisely. Yet most Americans would be rightly upset to learn that Washington has allocated billions of dollars to be spent on autopilot for programs that are no longer necessary or even in use.
Below is a transcript of an interview of House Speaker Paul Ryan by Stephen F. Hayes, editor in chief of THE WEEKLY STANDARD at the TWS Midwest Conservative Summit earlier Monday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and concision.
The retiring speaker addressed the Midwest Conservative Summit.
A Democratic super PAC is boosting its spending against Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.V., in an effort to prop up Don Blankenship's campaign for the GOP nomination to take on Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday reiterated support for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in his address to the U.S. Congress. His remarks drew cheers from Democrats but a chilly reception from Iran hawks who want to withdraw from the deal.
Some of them don't even know who the rapper is.
If you had hopes of launching a nuclear weapon into orbit, we have bad news.
Political observers are understandably focused on November 6, 2018—Election Day. What happens then will be important for the next couple of years: a Democratic wave, carrying that party to control of the House for the first time since 2010, and perhaps even to a majority in the Senate? A strong…
But at least Paul Ryan told some hard truths about entitlements.
Facebook’s unofficial approach to violating the privacy of its users has always been “ask for forgiveness, not permission.” This week’s testimony by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg before a joint Judiciary and Commerce Committee in the Senate on Tuesday and the House Energy and Commerce Committee on…
Plus, Title IX... forever?
Plus, the British Virgin Islands Marlins?
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Today on the Daily Standard Podcast, managing editor Christine Rosen discusses Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before Congress.
The Wisconsin Republican took over as leader in 2015, replacing John Boehner.
House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday morning that recent efforts on the part of the White House and Republican lawmakers to retroactively cut already-authorized spending would undermine future bipartisan negotiations.
In less than three weeks, the 2018 election will head to Arizona. Republican Rep. Trent Franks resigned late last year amid a scandal involving money, staffers and surrogacy (it's a bizarre story), triggering a special election in Arizona's 8th District. In a normal year, this district would be…
Silicon Valley has long been the Wild West of capitalism, but we may finally be reaching a point where Congress feels both entitled and justified in starting to regulate monopolistic tech giants. Exhibit A: The announcement Wednesday that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg would be testifying before…
As all doomsday cults eventually learn, you can predict the end of the world only so many times before everybody stops listening to you.
Atlanta
President Trump threw a potential wrench into congressional budget discussions Friday morning, threatening to veto the omnibus package that Republican leaders pushed to his desk just hours before to avoid a government shutdown.
An omnibus funding bill is facing delays in Congress ahead of a Friday government shutdown deadline, with lawmakers scrambling to answer a number of open questions in the $1.3 trillion package related to border security, infrastructure projects, and gun violence prevention measures.
As Congress faces another deadline to pass a spending bill or risk the third government shutdown in three months, lawmakers see an opportunity to advance gun violence prevention measures that have previously stalled in Congress.
“Having a liberal fantasy is complicated.” The New York Times interviewed an Ohio man who, after President Trump was elected, opted to take extreme measures to stay up on precisely none of the news. (Well, except Cleveland Cavaliers basketball.) Lots of folks have thinkpieces out on this…
President Donald Trump’s decision last week to impose stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum—25 percent and 10 percent, respectively—rivals in sheer unpopularity the president’s early-2017 travel ban. Many of this nation’s chief trading partners lobbied against the tariffs—Canada, South Korea, Japan,…
The State Department signed off on a potential $47 million sale of 210 Javelin anti-tank missiles and 37 launch units to Ukraine Thursday, moving the planned purchase one step closer to completion.
During a televised bipartisan meeting to discuss gun control proposals with members of Congress on Wednesday, President Donald Trump split with conventional Republican wisdom and suggested that guns be confiscated from individuals who could pose safety threats before due process is carried out…
CALLERY, Pa.
In a crowded nine-way Republican congressional primary in Texas, former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw has decided that the best way to break out of the pack in his run for Congress is to run for Congress—literally. February 20 marked the first day of Crenshaw’s 5-day, 100-mile run through a congressional…
When Matt Gaetz came to Washington last year, he could easily have been mistaken for the typical freshman member of Congress. The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call ran a short profile of him under the headline “The Least Interesting (Fresh) Man in the House.”
With just three days remaining until a government shutdown deadline, House Republicans on Monday night moved forward on a stopgap funding measure that is likely to breeze through the chamber on a party-line vote but will face slim odds in the Senate.
“What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?” Bill Murray asks in Groundhog Day. “That about sums it up for me,” a drinking buddy answers.
For much of December and early January, Democrats held a double digit lead in the RealClearPolitics average for the generic ballot–a poll that basically asks a national sample of voters which party they intend to vote for in the upcoming congressional elections. Today, that advantage is down to…
House Oversight Committee chairman Trey Gowdy announced Wednesday that he will not be seeking re-election and will instead be returning to work in the justice system.
Republican members of Congress travelling to an annual retreat at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia on Wednesday morning were involved in a train wreck with a garbage truck, a House Republican aide told THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
During his first state of the union address Tuesday night, President Donald Trump repeatedly called for bipartisanship, painted hopeful images, and told inspiring stories about guests in the crowd. But a year’s worth of partisan battles cut through the president’s optimistic rhetoric.
President Trump’s second annual address to Congress passed Tuesday night without him mentioning a sole word about entitlement spending, continuing a deviation from the economically conservative Congress he inherited.
It is remarkable that the January 20-22 government shutdown was greeted with a collective shrug from the public. Compared to Newt Gingrich’s epic 1995-96 tussle with Bill Clinton and Ted Cruz’s showdown with Barack Obama in October 2013, this one barely registered on the national radar.
It’s not surprising that members of Congress would have a habit of repeating a short list of talking points, given how often they face the media and how important it is for them to stay on message. But that tendency was more apparent than usual last week during a feud over a stopgap spending…
On the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the U.S. government shut down.
Former White House aide Sebastian Gorka vehemently denied charges from a Democratic congressman that he endorsed a Hungarian neo-Nazi political party during a congressional hearing Wednesday.
Amid floundering bipartisan negotiations over a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) replacement plan and a key spending caps deal, Republican leaders are trying to shore up enough votes to pass another stopgap funding bill before a government shutdown deadline on Friday.
A major theme of the Trump administration lies in its effort to discipline the regulatory state, with the Justice Department playing a key role. In November Attorney General Jeff
Last week, I wrote that I thought Donald Trump was dangerous but that it would be a “tragic mistake” to remove him. Here’s why: The 25th Amendment. There’s been a lot of talk recently about invoking that amendment in order to remove Trump from office.
One fact of the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency is that the policy results have been pretty conservative. For some conservatives, this is enough to sustain a great enthusiasm for Trump and his presidency. For others, like me, the concerns about Trump’s erratic behavior, his casual…
Trade experts, lawmakers, and investors panicked across the board Wednesday night after Reuters reported Canadian officials were increasingly convinced President Donald Trump is planning to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement.
A tweet from President Donald Trump Thursday morning sowed confusion about the White House’s position on a key intelligence program and imperiled the already shaky efforts to renew the federal government’s ability to monitor the communications of terrorists and other threats.
The fight over a key surveillance authority is pitting House committees against each other and fueling intraparty tension, as lawmakers dive into the debate over the power’s renewal this week.
Republican lawmakers are gearing up to debate an uncomfortable question they won’t be able to put off much longer: Resurrect earmarks, or leave the controversial practice dead and buried?
Republicans’ first victory of 2018 will likely be Judge Timothy J. Kelly’s denial of the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction in English v. Trump following a hearing on the Friday before Christmas.
*Correction, 1/3/17: The piece originally stated that "President Trump will meet with Paul Ryan, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, and Chuck Schumer on Wednesday to start on the list with a discussion of the government funding bill." Officials from the White House, not President Trump, will be meeting…
Back in December, lawmakers put off the long-term reauthorization of Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a powerful surveillance authority, amid a pre-Christmas legislative whirlwind. Now the House and Senate have until January 19 to agree on a reauthorization bill that…
I met Chris Gibson early in his first congressional race, at a campaign breakfast my family hosted at our house in upstate New York in April 2010. The sun was out that morning but winter was still in the air, as it often is there at that time of year. The fields and orchards of the Hudson River…
Sometimes The Scrapbook thinks that the D.C. city government exists solely so that Congress won’t be the most incompetent political entity in Washington. We’re no strangers to writing about the effects of terrible regulations, and we really have to give D.C. credit for cooking up this one: The city…
Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Monday afternoon that she will vote for the final version of the Republican tax bill, likely guaranteeing that it will pass the upper chamber this week.
The Tax Foundation on Monday said the final GOP tax bill would increase the national debt by $448 billion over the next decade, far less than the estimated $1.5 trillion in lost tax revenues under the bill.
For a Republican to lose the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions one year after Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Alabama by 28 points, everything had to break just right for the Democrat. And it did. Turnout was high in heavily African-American Democratic counties. It was low in rural and…
A neighbor has parked his classic Jaguar in front of my apartment building for the last two months. Around it are a new BMW, a Mercedes, and two Audis.
It was a close call, but China finally edged out Congress for the Hypocrite of the Year Award. Congress grabbed the lead when Republicans, who bemoaned the wreckage President Obama did to the nation’s credit by adding some $7 trillion to $9 trillion to our national debt, decided that adding to our…
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that no matter who wins Tuesday’s Senate election in Alabama, Republican Luther Strange will remain in the seat until the end of the session this year.
There are plenty of understandable objections to the tax bill sailing through Congress. Some people think it will increase the deficit. Others cry foul that it is being rushed through without sufficient deliberation. And there are those who like big government and frankly oppose the idea of letting…
Sen. Al Franken took a quick glance up at a jam-packed Senate press gallery as he entered the chamber Thursday, preparing to ask Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, who was presiding over the chamber, to allow him to make the speech that would end his political career.
A bill that would pressure the Palestinian Authority to stop financially rewarding acts of terror against Israelis and Americans easily passed the House of Representatives Tuesday.
Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., would be more likable were it not for the fact they’re craven opportunists.
If cleverness has often been a sign of decadence throughout history, the attempt to be too clever by half is an even more reliable marker of cultural decline. And a fondness for complicated rationalization, a proclivity for sophisticated excuse-making, and a tendency toward rushed and forced…
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said Monday that he would vote for Democrat Doug Jones over Judge Roy Moore in the Alabama special election for Senate and would support expelling Moore if he wins.
Breitbart News sought this weekend to discredit the Washington Post and a woman who accused Roy Moore of trying to initiate sexual encounters with her when she was a minor, but the right-wing tabloid ended up doing the exact opposite.
To those feverishly speculating, whether in glee or in terror, that the election results in Virginia and New Jersey portend loss of GOP control of the House of Representatives in midterm elections a year from now, I ask this question: What difference does that prospect make not as of January 2019…
Tax reform looked like it was in peril. Influential business groups, including real estate agents and homebuilders, opposed it. Lobbyists were working feverishly against it. Opinion polls showed the public was as unenthusiastic as many members of Congress.
With each passing week, more and more congressional Republicans are announcing their retirements. Their reasons are varied. Jason Chaffetz of Utah quit Congress to take a job as a Fox News commentator. Several members not seeking reelection, like South Dakota’s Kristi Noem and Tennessee’s Marsha…
House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday pushed back against criticisms of the provision repealing the adoption tax credit in the Republican bill to overhaul the tax code, saying the bill overall would benefit families. "It is a tax credit that goes to higher income individuals. Middle and low income…
The resignation of Lebanon’s prime minister over the weekend is heightening congressional scrutiny of Hezbollah's wide-ranging influence in the country, with a top lawmaker calling on the Trump administration to reassess military assistance.
Consider this imaginary situation: A new chief of staff can organize President Trump’s harum-scarum White House operation into a crack, disciplined, and loyal team, or he can stop the president from tweeting. eThe catch is he can do one of these but not both. Which should he choose?
Arizona senator Jeff Flake issued a sharp rebuke of a Republican Senate candidate’s controversial past remarks and warned about his nomination Tuesday, while many of his GOP colleagues skirted the subject.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, told constituents in a Tuesday email that he will not seek re-election in 2018.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, Congress’s longest-serving member, is privately planning to retire at the end of his term, according to a report from the Atlantic on Friday.
The three technology media giants absorbing most of the spotlight for Russian influence in 2016 election on their respective platforms are poised to testify in open hearings next week before Congress.
“Over the years,” wrote the editors of the New York Times, “the gun lobby, claiming to defend the convenience of hunters and other gun owners, has so bullied Washington that . . . sensible proposals seem beyond reach. But as gun mayhem continues to mount, the political roadblock looks less and less…
Today on the Daily Standard Podcast, senior writer Tony Mecia talks with host Eric Felten about how Congress abuses its hearings power to spank private citizens.
Its public approval at record lows, Congress this week returned to popular and comfortable territory: flogging CEOs.
Today on the Kristol Clear Podcast, editor at large Bill Kristol talks with host Eric Felten about everything from Twitter's new logorrhea to the civil war in the Republican party.
Today on the Daily Standard Podcast, senior writer Tony Mecia talks with host Eric Felten about the details in the tax reform bill that is supposed to be announced later today.
We’re suffering a period of remarkably low labor-force participation. The national unemployment rate was only 4.4 percent in August, but just 62.9 percent of the U.S. population is working or looking for work. Ten years ago, before the recession, the number was 65.8 percent. There are around 7…
We’re suffering a period of remarkably low labor-force participation. The national unemployment rate was only 4.4 percent in August, but just 62.9 percent of the U.S. population is working or looking for work. Ten years ago, before the recession, the number was 65.8 percent. There are around 7…
YOU get a baby, YOU get a baby, EVERYONE GETS A BABY! If you're not hip to the popular memes kids are using, that's an Oprah reference. Amazon mistakenly sent out an email to lots of people yesterday—perhaps hundreds of thousands—suggesting somebody bought something off of their (in most cases…
Something has gone missing from American politics. Since the beginning of the new administration in January, public debate focused on general ideas has largely disappeared. Yes, President Trump has a few issues he consistently supports, such as limitations on immigration and lower taxes; and yes,…
Something has gone missing from American politics. Since the beginning of the new administration in January, public debate focused on general ideas has largely disappeared. Yes, President Trump has a few issues he consistently supports, such as limitations on immigration and lower taxes; and yes,…
You may remember the grim warnings of draconian budgets cuts issued by liberal pundits, congressional Democrats, and the Obama administration in early 2013. That was just before “sequester” took effect—a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which ordered automatic, across-the-board budget cuts…
Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi came away from their Wednesday White House dinner with a simple message: President Donald Trump is ready to reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and he doesn’t mind not getting a border wall in return.
A year from now will mark the start of the traditional campaign season for the 2018 midterms—which will see all the seats in the House of Representatives plus a third of the Senate up for grabs. Obviously, these contests are too far away to estimate results, but a general outline is coming into…
Eight months into its current session, Congress has passed no major legislation.
If more congressmen like Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., start heading for the exits, it will become harder for Republicans to defend their House majority next year in what figures to be a challenging election cycle.
A year from now will mark the start of the traditional campaign season for the 2018 midterms—which will see all the seats in the House of Representatives plus a third of the Senate up for grabs. Obviously, these contests are too far away to estimate results, but a general outline is coming into…
Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, who after the departure of Jeff Sessions has emerged as the Senate's leading immigration hawk, says he would support the legalization of all current DACA recipients -- nearly 800,000 of them -- if Congress would at the same time pass measures to protect…
Since the defeat of the Obamacare repeal effort in the Senate, President Donald Trump has seemed to be on the warpath against the upper chamber. He has made negative comments about a number of Republican senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Some reports suggest he may strike out on…
The flooding and rain continues in Texas (and now Louisiana, too), but the White House is already talking about getting an emergency relief spending package through Congress next week. The Washington Post reports the funding “is expected to only be a partial down payment and serve in part to…
President Donald Trump’s response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville has drawn repeated criticism from Republican lawmakers. On Thursday, the president fired back.
There’s a 2010 episode of The Office where the bumbling Michael Scott illustrates how bad he is with money: “This has not be a blockbuster year for me financially. My Blockbuster stock is down.”
President Trump wants lawmakers to sign off on something his own Department of Homeland Security can’t yet provide. As Axios’s Jonathan Swan reported last week, “sources close to Trump say he’s dead serious about building an impressive wall and will go crazy when he realizes Congress has no plans…
More than a few times in recent years, tragic—and seemingly preventable—deaths have led to bills and legislation named after the victims. “Megan’s Law” gave us problematic sex-offender registrations. “Kate’s Law” was a failed attempt to deter illegal immigration. Such proposals are frequently bad…
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Tuesday that President Trump has indicated to him that the administration is prepared to strike North Korea to prevent an attack against the U.S.
Republican tax negotiators believe they are closing in on an agreement to overhaul the U.S. tax code but remain at odds over whether reform would be enshrined permanently or automatically sunset after a period of years.
Nevadans living in 14 of Nevada's 17 counties who want to purchase coverage on the state's Obamacare exchange won't have any insurers to choose from next year, after two insurers decided to exit the marketplace for 2018.
The firm that created the now-infamous "Russian dossier" on President Trump published before his inauguration is stonewalling investigators who want to know more about its connections to the Democratic Party and the FBI is refusing to confirm if it has documents showing a relationship with the firm.
In DC Confidential, New York Law School professor David Schoenbrod describes how Congress degenerated from a responsible legislature, one that took responsibility for difficult decisions, to a body continually looking to dodge blame. The book is an absolute delight. Schoenbrod begins with an…
Is the deck being stacked against President Trump? It's beginning to look that way since a special counsel was appointed a few weeks ago to investigate possible ties between Trump—or any breathing body in his campaign last year—and the Russians.
In DC Confidential, New York Law School professor David Schoenbrod describes how Congress degenerated from a responsible legislature, one that took responsibility for difficult decisions, to a body continually looking to dodge blame. The book is an absolute delight. Schoenbrod begins with an…
Is the deck being stacked against President Trump? It's beginning to look that way since a special counsel was appointed a few weeks ago to investigate possible ties between Trump—or any breathing body in his campaign last year—and the Russians.
In the wake of Wednesday's shooting at a practice for the congressional baseball game, politicians and pundits—appropriately—have made much ado about renewing bipartisanship and mutual respect in politics. Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi made statements of unity that were roundly praised; Bernie Sanders…
The Senate voted Thursday to impose new sanctions against Russia for its efforts to disrupt last year's presidential election through cyberattacks against the Democratic party and state election rolls.
Atlanta
Update 3:02 p.m. The hospital treating Steve Scalise reports that he is out of surgery and in critical condition.
Rock Hill, S.C.
Atlanta
Rock Hill, S.C.
Last week the Washington Free Beacon reported that roughly half of Congressman Luis Gutiérrez's campaign expenditures were paid to his wife, who serves as his campaign manager. What is most noteworthy about this is that Gutiérrez does not really need to worry about campaigning.
Republican businessman Greg Gianforte won the special election for Montana's open House seat Thursday, one day after instigating a violent confrontation with a reporter that his campaign blamed on the journalist and left him with a misdemeanor assault charge.
Republicans are not dead yet. In the House, they are moving ahead briskly on tax reform. In the Senate, Republicans are talking privately in hopes of agreeing on how to repeal and replace Obamacare, the House having already passed its bill overhauling the health care system.
Today on the Daily Standard podcast, senior writer Michael Warren breaks down President Trump's budget proposal.
Today on the Daily Standard podcast, executive editor Fred Barnes shares his outlook for President Trump and the GOP's agenda: what's possible, and what isn't.
"Does anyone remember when Donald Trump wasn't president?" Senator Roy Blunt (D-Missouri) asked the audience recently at a Capitol Hill seminar sponsored by the law firm Baker-Hostettler.
President Trump sees himself as harassed and abused. True enough. Presidents often feel oppressed. But Trump is protected and defended in a way that he appears to take for granted. It comes from having both houses of Congress controlled by his own party.
The headlines I saw said that only 29 percent of Americans approve of President Trump's decision to fire James Comey. That includes the headline written by NBC News about its own poll, which produced that result.
Wednesday seemed to offer a somewhat dispiriting conclusion to what had been a hopeful period for regulatory-reform advocates. Senate Republicans were unable to muster the 51 votes needed to repeal Obama-era rules governing methane emissions that stem from oil or natural-gas drilling. Vice…
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday panned President Trump's Twitter suggestion to do away with the 60-vote filibuster rule in the Senate.
Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign has been all the buzz in Washington. The book, by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, is full of stories that probably never would have been told if Hillary had eked out an Electoral College win. Not just because a victorious campaign tends not to air…
Rep. Mike Kelly is frustrated by his Republican colleagues' resistance to President Trump.
Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign has been all the buzz in Washington. The book, by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, is full of stories that probably never would have been told if Hillary had eked out an Electoral College win. Not just because a victorious campaign tends not to air…
It's supposed to go like this: Lawmakers make the law, and the president then enforces it. That very obvious function of government might help the Republican party prevent a government shutdown later this week.
Tuesday's special House election in Georgia carries with it an inordinate degree of focus on Donald Trump. The president created the House vacancy in the suburban district north of Atlanta after picking Representative Tom Price to be the secretary of Health and Human Services. Price had won the…
In the Kansas special election on Tuesday to replace former congressman (and current CIA director) Mike Pompeo, the Republican candidate won by seven percentage points (52.5 percent to 45.7 percent, with almost all precincts reporting).
In hindsight, much of the coverage of Donald Trump’s candidacy could have run under the same headline: "Unexpected bull poised to enter china shop." But commentators spent virtually all of their energy expounding on the first half of that metaphor. Our campaign ethologists incessantly analyzed the…
In hindsight, much of the coverage of Donald Trump’s candidacy could have run under the same headline: "Unexpected bull poised to enter china shop." But commentators spent virtually all of their energy expounding on the first half of that metaphor. Our campaign ethologists incessantly analyzed the…
No politician is bigger than the game. This is not a lesson unique to President Donald Trump, though he doubtless has a new appreciation for how entrenched Washington is in its ways. But it may be a revelation to some of the millions who voted for him, energized by a pledge that this would finally…
No politician is bigger than the game. This is not a lesson unique to President Donald Trump, though he doubtless has a new appreciation for how entrenched Washington is in its ways. But it may be a revelation to some of the millions who voted for him, energized by a pledge that this would finally…
Late in the Obama administration, the Department of Health and Human Services enacted a rule to stop states from defunding Planned Parenthood. On Thursday afternoon, the Senate voted 51-50 to overturn that rule.
In a short briefing of reporters in the Oval Office late Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump said he was "disappointed" and "a little surprised, to be honest," that the American Health Care Act did not have the votes to pass the House of Representatives. Flanked by Vice President Mike Pence…
President Trump is "moving on" from health care after the House scuttled a planned Friday afternoon vote on the White House-backed American Health Care Act, says a senior White House aide.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced his expected plans to vote "no" on Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court and promised that Republicans would have to overcome a Democratic filibuster in order to seat him.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said on Wednesday that the Senate parliamentarian has told him that it may be possible for Republicans to push harder on repealing Obamacare's regulations than the current House bill, which contradicts the assertion by House leadership that the legislation goes after…
As the Republican alternative to Obamacare winds its tortuous way through Congress, the parallels with the big mistake President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats made eight years ago are unmistakable. Such large changes to society should only be done with a broad coalition, otherwise they…
For decades, a favorite pastime of the Washington press corps has been to find "daylight" between the president and the vice president—a difference of opinion, a dislike, a secret irritation. But not any more.
For decades, a favorite pastime of the Washington press corps has been to find “daylight" between the president and the vice president—a difference of opinion, a dislike, a secret irritation. But not any more.
As the Republican alternative to Obamacare winds its tortuous way through Congress, the parallels with the big mistake President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats made eight years ago are unmistakable. Such large changes to society should only be done with a broad coalition, otherwise they…
The Congressional Budget Office on Monday dropped its highly-anticipated analysis of the House Republicans' healthcare plan, arming all sides with results that can back up their favorite talking points on healthcare. The CBO report, on the one hand, says that millions more people will be uninsured…
The era of big government is back. That was the clear message from President Donald Trump's first address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. His speech, as light on specifics as the White House promised, was nonetheless a call for a muscular response from government to the nation's…
A day before President Trump is slated to address the nation before a joint session of Congress (note: Not a State of the Union), Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi addressed reporters at the National Press Club to offer a prebuttal.
Upon hearing that Congress would attempt to overturn a regulation restricting the use of drug tests for unemployment benefits, several Republican governors sent a letter on Tuesday in support of the resolution.
If some sort of fundamental tax reform does occur this year—and the odds of its happening are looking good—the politicians, economists, tax lawyers, congressional staffers, trade associations, think tanks, academics, corporations, and others claiming credit for having influenced the legislation…
If some sort of fundamental tax reform does occur this year—and the odds of its happening are looking good—the politicians, economists, tax lawyers, congressional staffers, trade associations, think tanks, academics, corporations, and others claiming credit for having influenced the legislation…
For starters, he wants to cut taxes—"big league." The Tax Foundation estimates that the Trump plan would reduce federal revenues by $4.4 to $5.9 trillion over the course of a decade. Under dynamic scoring, whereby the growth of the economy is factored into the analysis, that number drops to…
Most presidential honeymoons are characterized by congressional and presidential vows of everlasting cooperation, but the policy cohabitations are soon torn asunder by the healthy re-emergence of political differences. President Trump's honeymoon period was different. He chose to abuse his…
As a candidate for president, Donald Trump did not offer much in the way of specific policies. Still, based on the handful of details he did present, it is pretty clear he wants to spend money, a lot of money.
In Federalist 48, James Madison writes that, far from having three "coequal" branches of government—an erroneous claim that's commonly asserted today—the "legislative department derives a superiority in our governments" from having "more extensive" constitutional powers that are "less susceptible…
Regulatory reform appears to be gaining traction in Washington, D.C. The White House directed agencies to halt the issuance of new regulations. Congress also got in the act. In its first week in session, the House of Representatives passed three bills to reduce the proliferation and costs of…
President Trump may not be a full-spectrum deregulator in the Ronald Reagan tradition. He hasn’t had much to say about the Food and Drug Administration or Federal Communications Commission—two favorite targets of regulatory reformers—and he sometimes sounds like an antitrust activist. But he has…
January 20 will be a banner day for the Republican party. On the steps of the Capitol, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the nation’s 45th president. In the building behind the ceremony, his party will be ready to enact his program with a sturdy congressional majority. The GOP is in historically…
President-elect Donald Trump says his proposal to replace Obamacare will guarantee "insurance for everybody" and "great health care" that is "much less expensive and much better." Here's more from the Washington Post's interview with Trump:
January 20 will be a banner day for the Republican party. On the steps of the Capitol, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the nation’s 45th president. In the building behind the ceremony, his party will be ready to enact his program with a sturdy congressional majority. The GOP is in historically…
January 20 will be a banner day for the Republican party. On the steps of the Capitol, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the nation’s 45th president. In the building behind the ceremony, his party will be ready to enact his program with a sturdy congressional majority. The GOP is in historically…
It was an appropriate, if inauspicious, beginning to Thursday's confirmation hearing for Mike Pompeo that the lights suddenly went out during opening statements. The Kansas congressman is Donald Trump's selection to head the Central Intelligence Agency, which operates in the shadows. But even this…
From the moment Donald Trump picked Senator Jeff Sessions to be the next attorney general, it was clear what Democrats would need to defeat the Sessions nomination: a surprise witness. It was such a witness whose testimony led to the Senate's rejection of Sessions for a federal judgeship in 1986.
The first day of the confirmation hearing for attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions could have been a zoo. As one of Donald Trump's earliest and most ardent supporters, Sessions might have been the first opportunity for Democrats and the activist left to indirectly channel their opposition to the…
President-elect Donald Trump may have cranked up the heat on Republican lawmakers working to repeal and replace Obamacare, telling the New York Times the two goals must be accomplished "together" in an interview published Tuesday.
South Carolina senator Tim Scott says he will support his fellow Republican senator, Jeff Sessions, for attorney general. In a statement released late on the eve of Sessions's confirmation hearing, Scott allowed that while he and the Alabama senator "may not agree on everything", he would…
Senator Jeff Sessions begins confirmation hearings on Tuesday to become the next attorney general. Since President-elect Donald Trump nominated the Alabama Republican to the post in November, critics have resurrected old allegations that Sessions is racist. The allegations were first made in the…
The Obama administration misled top lawmakers about the transfer of billions of dollars in assets to Iran, according to sources in and out of Congress who spoke to THE WEEKLY STANDARD, and a range of questions remain about the mechanics of the payments.
The Washington Post reports that House Republicans have revived an obscure rule that could prove to be the most significant civil service reform in decades:
When it comes to pushing the Donald J. Trump panic button, hardly anyone has been more industrious than just-retired Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-California).
Two of the country's top intelligence officers say the man behind the WikiLeaks organization, Julian Assange, has no credibility and has done damage to the United States.
Top GOP officials say their first order of business in the new year is to repeal and replace Obamacare. But the first order itself has a clear first step.
Arkansas senator Tom Cotton blasted Barack Obama for his accommodation of Russian aggression over the past eight years and argued that Russia has committed "crimes and transgressions against the United States and our interests" while the administration "looked the other way." Speaking to Tucker…
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