Washington has once again managed to turn a criminal investigation into a political firestorm, and this time, the center of attention is Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Yesterday, federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations searched Omar's Washington, D.C., home under a warrant obtained by the Department of Justice. The search was part of an…
Russian Diesel and the Ukraine Energy Ceasefire
President Trump has announced an agreement with Vladimir Putin to bring Russian diesel into American and global markets, hoping to relieve soaring fuel prices. His administration has temporarily eased sanctions to make it happen. Just days later, Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, only for Russian forces to continue attacking Ukrainian energy…
The Debate Over Permanent Daylight Saving Time
Of all the issues capable of starting a Republican family feud, daylight saving time probably wouldn’t have made my top hundred. Yet here we are. President Trump is pushing the Senate to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent for most of the country. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas is…
Presidential Families, Foreign Gifts, & the Senate’s Next Move
Washington has discovered a political dilemma old enough to qualify for Social Security: What happens when the standards politicians enthusiastically applied to the other party suddenly wander across the aisle and sit down in their own living room? Sen. John Curtis, a Utah Republican, is asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate whether presidential family…
When the Press Pool Becomes the Story
There’s something almost impressively Washington about a fight over news coverage becoming bigger news than whatever the reporters were supposed to be covering. President Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House has now escalated well beyond another round of complaints about “fake news.” Reporters from the three organizations lost…
Al Green’s Impeachment Effort and the Debate Over Immigration Enforcement
The dispute over President Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda has reached the impeachment debate. Representative Al Green’s effort raises a question that goes beyond whether Americans favor more deportations: When does the way an administration enforces immigration law become grounds for removing a president? House lawmakers rejected the effort. That establishes its immediate legislative outcome, but…
Trump, Kristen Welker, and the Boundaries of FCC Authority
President Trump and NBC’s Kristen Welker have managed to turn two ordinary words—“mixed results”—into a national argument about political influence, media bias, federal authority, and the First Amendment. Apparently, Washington had a quiet moment and needed something to do. The dispute began when Welker, appearing in a live promotional segment on NBC-owned WRC-TV before Meet…
AI Data Centers and the Future of Local Economies
President Trump has a characteristically understated message for communities resisting AI data centers: Accept them or risk becoming “backwards and poor.” He says the facilities will bring jobs, prosperity, and lower taxes, while opposition will please China and kill America’s technological “Golden Goose.” Subtle it’s not. Still, beneath the presidential megaphone is a serious question.…
Oil, Power, and the New U.S.–Venezuela Agreement
President Trump announced what he calls the biggest oil deal in history: an agreement that could give the United States a controlling interest in the output from 17 Venezuelan oil fields containing a reported 65 billion barrels. The arrangement could reshape American energy security, revive Venezuela’s battered petroleum industry, and shift influence in the Western…
Lake Ontario or Lake America? The Politics of a Name
Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to replace “Lake Ontario” with “Lake America” in federal maps, contracts, documents, and communications within 30 days. The order can’t force Canada, international organizations, private mapmakers, state governments, or ordinary people to follow along. It…
