Political Wire

Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!

Why the 2018 Midterm Elections Are Important

January 3, 2017 at 10:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Vox: “When 2009 began, the Republican Party looked like a smoking pile of rubble. The GOP had lost the presidency, and much of their outgoing president’s legacy seemed set to be reversed. They had fallen into the minority in both houses of Congress. And in the states, they held less than half of governorships and only about a quarter of state legislatures.”

“The party has since, of course, made a remarkable comeback. But that comeback didn’t unfold entirely in 2016. The seeds for it were sown all the way back in 2010 with the first midterm elections of Barack Obama’s presidency.”

The Most Single-Party State Delegations Since the 1950s

January 3, 2017 at 9:36 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A Smart Politics study finds that 15 states are sending single-party congressional delegations to the U.S. House and Senate for the 115th Congress – more than double the number from eight years ago and the largest number of such states since the 1950s.

Nine states currently have all-GOP delegations (Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming) while six are represented by only Democrats (Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island).

How Polarization Makes ‘Normal’ Candidates Unacceptable

January 3, 2017 at 9:23 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

Here’s a remarkable statistic: According to Gallup data, Hillary Clinton was as unpopular a presidential candidate as Barry Goldwater was in 1964 and Mitt Romney was as unpopular as George McGovern was in 1972.

Join now to continue reading.

Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.

If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

Inside Trump’s Strategy to Remake the Supreme Court

January 3, 2017 at 9:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Donald Trump has narrowed his short list for his first Supreme Court pick down to roughly a half-dozen finalists but the president-elect and his top advisers are already thinking about a second selection, as they seek to quickly remodel the high court with a reliably conservative bent. Trump’s team wants to make filling the seat held by the late Justice Antonin Scalia one of the earliest acts of his presidency, according to multiple transition officials, in hopes of scoring an energizing and unifying victory for the conservative movement.”

Josh Gerstein looks at the potential nominees.

Will Trump Bring Change or Just Inexperience?

January 3, 2017 at 8:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

First Read: “There is little doubt that change is coming to Washington with Donald Trump as president, whether it’s the rollback of President Barack Obama’s policies or the Tweeter-in-Chief who’s willing to defy the norms and previous protocols… But don’t forget: Trump and his team are the most inexperienced ever to run the White House and executive branch. Trump, after all, has never served in government before, and his top aides (Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon) have never worked in a White House. So what will be the early defining characteristic of Team Trump? The change they promised? Or their inexperience for the daunting job ahead?”

Schumer Leadership Promises Sharp Break from Reid

January 3, 2017 at 8:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “The most glaring display of the shift so far is the sprawling leadership team Schumer has appointed and promised to consult before making key decisions — in contrast to Reid’s smaller, close-knit group of lieutenants and knack for taking hard lines on his own.”

“The core group of 10 senators includes Manchin and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) at one end of the political spectrum, and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) at the other, making the leadership table a potential hotbed of ideological tension. The 10 lawmakers will be involved in all crucial party meetings, senators said. Reid often limited such gatherings to his top four and occasionally would act unilaterally.”

“Schumer configured a unique structure for his top deputy to head off a clash between Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Patty Murray (D-WA), who had refused to rule out challenging Durbin for the No. 2 post. The press-adept Durbin will count votes and serve as a rapid responder to Republicans on controversies of the day, while Murray will be more of a backroom operator and party strategist, paying special attention to Democrats up for reelection after shepherding them into office as DSCC chairman in 2012.”

Golf Club Shows Pitfalls Facing Trump Presidency

January 3, 2017 at 8:15 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Associated Press: “The decorative clock bearing the name of America’s incoming 45th president has yet to start at the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai, but the developers behind the project already are counting the money they’ve made. The 18-hole course is likely to be the first Trump-connected property to open after his Jan. 20 inauguration as president, joining his organization’s projects stretching from Bali to Panama.”

“It also encapsulates the host of worries of possible conflicts of interest circulating around a president who is very different from America’s past leaders. While the Oval Office has always been home to the wealthy, Donald Trump represents the first franchise president. Could foreign governments pressure or please Trump through his international businesses? Should projects bearing his name receive additional security? And how close should his ties remain to business executives operating in areas with far different opinions about human rights and justice?”

How Quickly Things Changed for Republicans

January 3, 2017 at 8:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “A few months ago, Republicans were beginning to openly wonder whether Ryan could survive as speaker with Hillary Clinton in the White House. There was talk of the Wisconsin Republican being forced into retirement. Today, he’ll be re-elected as the House’s top Republican with ease, and will be a top figure in navigating Donald Trump’s Washington.”

“Another storyline: how many Democrats vote against Nancy Pelosi on the House floor. Some congressional insiders predict that only a handful of Democrats will vote against Pelosi, and that many of those who led the charge against her last year during the internal caucus election will fall into line and back the powerful Democrat on the House floor.”

Trump Will Finally Hold a Press Conference

January 3, 2017 at 7:39 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President-elect Donald Trump will hold a press conference on January 11, CNN reports.

“After he was elected on Nov. 8, Trump broke with tradition and chose not to meet the press corps for a Q&A session. He has communicated with the public through tweets, rallies and a small number of interviews.”

“At the end of November, Trump said he would hold a ‘major news conference’ in mid-December to discuss the future of his businesses. But on Dec. 12, he postponed it.”

What Democrats Can Learn from the Tea Party

January 3, 2017 at 7:27 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Ezra Levin, Leah Greenberg and Angel Padilla: “We served as congressional staff members during the early years of the Obama administration. It was an exhilarating time to be a progressive in Washington: An inspirational new president was taking office, accompanied by a majority in the House and a supermajority in the Senate. But by February 2009, something had begun to change. Small protests calling themselves ‘tea parties’ were popping up all over the country. In April, their Tax Day demonstrations dominated the news.”

“Their tactics weren’t fancy: They just showed up on their own home turf, and they just said no.”

“Here’s the crazy thing: It worked.”

Republicans Face Messaging Challenge on Health Care

January 3, 2017 at 7:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “An early look at the GOP’s plans shows that they will be pushing the idea that ‘universal access’ to health insurance is better than mandatory ‘universal coverage,’ which has been the foundation of Obamacare.”

“It sounds like a subtle rhetorical distinction, but reflects a critical difference in the Republican vision of health care that emphasizes less generous coverage to drive down insurance costs. If they can’t sell voters on the concept, the repeal and overhaul of Obamacare could become a damaging episode for the new administration.”

Can Republicans Deliver on Their Promises?

January 3, 2017 at 6:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “After a tumultuous decade that has seen profound changes in the makeup and character of their party, Republicans are poised to complete their slow but steady climb back to power as they seize control of the House, Senate and the White House for the first time since 2006.”

“That political triad will leave them with a splendid opportunity for success. But there is little room for failure if they hope to satisfy their impatient constituents and deliver on bold promises to reshape the nation’s health care delivery system, restructure the tax code, drive job creation, muscle up American foreign policy, rebuild a crumbling infrastructure and set America on a new course.”

Wall Street Journal: “The nation’s new, all-Republican leadership begins to take power Tuesday with an ambitious agenda of tax cuts, regulation rollbacks and repeal of President Barack Obama’s health law, but they face a complicated legislative path pocked with unresolved policy details.”

Most Americans Oppose Overturning Roe v. Wade

January 3, 2017 at 6:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Pew Research: “More than 40 years after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, 69% of Americans say the historic ruling, which established a woman’s constitutional right to abortion in the first three months of pregnancy, should not be completely overturned. Nearly three-in-ten (28%), by contrast, would like to see it overturned.”

Trump Picks Lighthizer for Top Trade Post

January 3, 2017 at 6:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Robert Lighthizer, a veteran trade attorney and supporter of Trump’s defensive view of trade, as his pick for the next U.S. trade representative,” Politico reports.

“The longtime trade lawyer, who served as deputy U.S. trade representative under Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, was an early supporter of Trump and had been advising the incoming administration on its transition efforts at the trade-negotiating agency.”

House GOP Guts Ethics Panel

January 2, 2017 at 8:04 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“House Republicans voted Monday night in favor of a proposal that would weaken Congress’ outside ethics watchdog and remove its independence,” CNN reports.

Politico: “The office currently has free rein, enabling investigators to pursue allegations and then recommend further action to the House Ethics Committee as they see fit. Now, the office would be under the thumb of lawmakers themselves.”

“The proposal also appears to limit the scope of the office’s work by barring them from consider anonymous tips against lawmakers. And it would stop the office from disclosing the findings of some of their investigations, as they currently do after the recommendations go to House Ethics.”

Tensions Flare In Republican Party Over Russia

January 2, 2017 at 7:58 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Tensions within the Republican Party over how to handle Russia are becoming increasingly public as the Senate prepares for confirmation hearings on President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state and presses ahead with a review of alleged Russian cyberattacks during the 2016 election,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“At the heart of the intraparty split over Russia—which pits GOP lawmakers like Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham against Mr. Trump and his national security adviser designate, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn—is disagreement over a basic question: How much danger does President Vladimir Putin’s Russia pose to the U.S.?”

Trump Pledges to Stop North Korea

January 2, 2017 at 7:56 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

After North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said during his annual New Year’s address that preparations for launching an intercontinental ballistic missile have “reached the final stage,” President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that he won’t let it happen, Politico reports.

Said Trump: “North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won’t happen!”

New Year Flash Sale

January 2, 2017 at 7:06 pm EST By Taegan Goddard

For new members: Get a Political Wire annual membership for 20% off using coupon code “2017”.