All DC Decoder
With Elizabeth Warren saying no to 2016, Bernie Sanders eyes populist mantleSen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, swings as hard left as Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts does. But can he appeal to the liberal base?
Obama criticized for 'Crusades' remark: What did he really mean?President Obama’s opponents took strong issue with his comments linking Christianity to some violent episodes in the religion’s past. But are they missing his essential point?
FocusABLE Act shows how Congress can get work done – and how hard it isCongress is beset by partisanship that has made it virtually impossible to get much done. But the ABLE ACT, which passed at the end of the last Congress and helps children with disabilities, could serve as a model.
US politics most polarized since Ike was presidentThe last 10 years – the presidencies of Barack Obama and George W. Bush – have been the most politically polarized of the past 60 years, according to Gallup’s calculations. Can a new Congress and a lame-duck president change that?
Joe Biden to skip Netanyahu speech, raising stakes in US-Israel dramaVice President Biden will now be out of the country on March 3, when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress. Congress's invitation was issued without consulting the White House, causing a breach of protocol.
Why Detroit? The meaning of Jeb Bush’s first 2016 speech.Jeb Bush pitched himself as a conservative reformer in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club, ahead of an expected presidential campaign. His message: Conservatives care about those 'on the edge of economic ruin.'
Inside Congress's first formal bipartisan luncheon in two yearsCongress used to be a more social place, with members of both parties meeting informally all the time. The rebirth of a bipartisan luncheon Wednesday was an effort to bring back some of that collegiality.
Thom Tillis questions food workers' mandate to wash hands. Legitimate or gross?The senator caused hand wringing among health experts by suggesting that requiring restaurant workers to wash their hands after going to the bathroom was government overreach. His remarks come amid a debate over the extent to which the government is responsible for promoting public health.
Senators fight on Tuesday, lunch on Wednesday. New face of bipartisanship?While Americans wonder if partisan bickering in Washington will ever stop, that's the wrong question. The battling won’t end. But it can coexist with cooperation.
Can Republicans govern? Budget 2016 could be biggest test.Republican leaders vow to show that they can govern effectively by following through on a budget. But that will take compromises both within the Republican caucus and with the president.
Chris Christie: Can the governors' governor upgrade to the White House?Chris Christie has raised money, networked, and wheeled and dealed tirelessly for his fellow GOP governors. Now the governors' governor will be trying to leverage that experience for his own ambitions.
Why Obama's 'dead on arrival' budget isn't such a bad thing after allRequiring the president and Congress to present public estimates of revenue and spending, debt and deficits, and for Congress to vote on them, is one of the distinguishing strengths of US democracy. Of great concern, however, are possible changes to the Congressional Budget Office.
Budget 2016: Obama moves left, testing RepublicansPresident Obama's 2016 budget seeks higher spending on education, roads, and bridges, and a boost to middle class incomes. Republicans want to spend more on defense. The search for common ground is on.- How these two women guided the Keystone bill through a divided SenateGOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell, even though they disagreed on the outcome, shepherded the Keystone pipeline bill through a divided Senate with trust and good-faith negotiations.
Romney says no to 2016. Who wins?Mitt Romney told supporters Friday that he will not run for president in 2016. Jeb Bush is a big winner. But so, too, are Chris Christie, Scott Walker, and Marco Rubio.
No more ‘sequester’: Can Obama’s budget gambit work?President Obama previews a key element in his 2016 budget proposal: the end of automatic spending cuts known as the 'sequester.' Many Republicans also don't like the sequester, but they reject Obama's remedy.
Keystone vote: Senate's new openness comes at a price: time and patienceThe GOP-controlled Senate has voted on more amendments on the Keystone bill than Democrats allowed in all of last year. But at this pace, it's not clear that essential Senate business will get done.
Obama's misfire on 529 college savings plan: Who is middle class?President Obama wanted to change the terms of the popular 529 college savings plans in the name of helping the 'middle class.' But many of the people hurt by the proposed change considered themselves middle class, too.
Human trafficking bills show how Congress can work together – aim smallThe fact is, Congress frequently works in a bipartisan way, but it is generally on small-bore issues. This Congress could chip away at a number of issues, starting with Tuesday's House human trafficking bill.
Murkowski's primal scream on ANWR points to Alaska's precarious balanceAlaska's Sen. Lisa Murkowski is livid over President Obama's move to ban oil development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). To her, it betrays the promise America made to Alaska in statehood.
