Author: Max Thornberry

District in disarray  A unified Republican government interested in flexing greater control over Washington, D.C., is almost certain to make life rough for the deep-blue district. Democrats have total control over the district. Presidential candidates with a “D” next to their name have never received less than 74% of the vote there since 1980.  President-elect…

GOP triple threat to DC  Washington, D.C., has always had a strained relationship with the rest of the country and the federal government most of all. It sits as a quasi-state, with some representation in the House and in the Electoral College but without a say in bedrock values such as the ability to vote…

Draining the swamp 2.0 President-elect Donald Trump rode to victory eight years ago on a promise that he, an outsider, could row into Washington and sweep up the streets. It’s hard for him to make that same case now. He is an established member of the political class as a former president and perennial campaigner. …

Not so fast, pardon President Joe Biden is under pressure to start doling out pardons to Democratic, and some Republican, allies who don’t share his last name. In addition to reported concerns that the threat of prison time would push his son Hunter Biden back into the throes of addiction, the president’s blanket pardon covering…

Jeff Hurd finds himself in the herd Colorado Republicans are few and far between these days. Democrats have made steady gains in and around the Rockies, forcing the handful of Republicans left to band together, even if they find themselves in office almost by accident and running to replace one another.  That’s how Colorado Republican…

Hunter no longer hunted President Joe Biden was adamant he would not interfere in the justice system as his son Hunter Biden has undergone grueling public scrutiny. Then, on Sunday night, before he left the country for four days, the president changed his mind and offered his son a “full and unconditional pardon” for any…

Setting up the new Senate This cycle was always going to be about who won the White House. Every four years, the House and Senate contests are going to take a back seat to the race everyone feels like they must participate in. Republicans weren’t swimming against that tide, but outgoing Republican Leader Mitch McConnell…

Quad-core legislators President-elect Donald Trump isn’t returning to the White House without backup. Even with a Cabinet full of loyal followers, there will only be so much the president can accomplish.  That’s where Congress comes in.  (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:11095963150525286,size:[0, 0],id:”ld-2426-4417″});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=”//cdn2.lockerdomecdn.com/_js/ajs.js”;j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,”script”,”ld-ajs”); In the first installment of our Capitol’s New Crop series, Associate Editor Hailey Bullis introduced some…

Capitol crop  The House and Senate are out, but the Capitol was buzzing last week as lawmakers returned to town and next year’s newcomers joined the festivities.  There was a flurry of activity last week, with President-elect Donald Trump filling out his Cabinet and advisers list, House and Senate members picking up new assignments, and…

No time to waste Eight years ago, the then-President-elect Donald Trump was a political neophyte. He had pulled off a shocking upset of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and was barreling toward entering the White House and public life in a very different role than he was accustomed to.  His status as a novice…