Trump Administration

Opinion Headlines

Trump Administration. “The Kushner-Cohn Ascendancy.” [The Trump White House has more conservatives than Steve Bannon.] 4-14-17
Trump Administration. “’You’re Fired,’ Trump Should Tell Cordray.” By David B. Rivkin Jr. and Andrew M. Grossman. [Under a dubious statute, the CFPB head can be dismissed only for cause – but there’s plenty of it.] 4-14-17
Trump Administration. “Does Steve Bannon Have Something to Offer?” by Peggy Noonan. [In 2014 the beleaguered White House aide raised important moral questions about today’s capitalism.] 4-15-17
Trump Administration. “Behold the Master Conspirator.” By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. [Adam Schiff and Cater Page have in common cluelessness and ambition.] 4-19-17
Trump Administration. “Highway From the Endangerment Zone.” [Scott Pruitt is right to avoid a fight over an anti-CO2 EPA finding.] 4-19-17
Trump Administration. “Freud’s Government Shutdown.” [Maybe it’s time to kill the filibuster for appropriations.] 4-25-17
Trump Administration. “Trump’s Next 200 Days.” [The White House needs far more discipline to sell tax reform.] 4-29-17
Trump Administration. Dodd Frank. “MetLife’s Systemically Important Case.” [Trump’s failure to stop Obama’s appeal could limit his policy choices.] 4-29-17
Trump Administration. “’Nationalist’ Shouldn’t Be a Dirty Word.” By Walter Russel Mead. “Trump will be successful if he puts U.S. interests first – while still helping to maintain global order.] 5-2-17
Trump Administration. “Not Draining the Swamp.” [The latest budget deal is mostly a win for government as usual.] 5-3-17
Trump Administration. “Give Trade Paranoia the Heave-Ho. By George Melloan. [Advice for Trump: Tell Bannon to hit the showers, revive TPP, and undo Obama’s economic legacy.] 5-3-17
Trump Administration. “Be Careful What You Wish For, Washington.” By Karl Rove. [The press, Democrats and Republicans get what they want. They won’t be happy.] 5-4-17
Trump Administration. “Health Reform’s House Breakout.” [The GOP needs to show the country – and Trump – it can govern.] 5-4-17
Trump Administration. Religion. “Religious Liberty Reincarnation.” [Trump’s executive order doesn’t live up to its hype or criticism.] 5-5-17
Trump Administration. “Here Come the Trump Judges.” [The White House moves to fill vacancies on the appellate courts.] 5-9-17
Trump Administration. “Obstruction of the Executive.” [Democrats peddle an absurd standard of FBI accountability.] 5-15-17
Trump Administration. “The Methane Rule Canary.” [A Senate defeat shows the cost of eroding Trump approval.] 5-15-17
Trump Administration. “Trump’s Pretty Good China Deal.” [Modest trade benefits for both sides, even if they were overhyped.] 5-15-17
Trump Administration. “The Trump Trade Team’s Vocabulary Problem.” By Chad P. Bown and Alan O. Sykes. [It’s not clear that officials understand the meaning of ‘reciprocity’ and ‘most favored nation.’] 5-15-17
Trump Administration. “Who Needs the Daily Press Briefing?” by Joshua Spivak. [Ending it would be good for everyone, except the president.] 5-17-17
Trump Administration. “A Republican Survival Strategy.” [The best defense against Trump scandals is to pile up policy victories.] 5-20-17
Trump Administration. “Deregulators Must Follow the Law, so Regulators Will Too.” [As the Labor Department acts to revise the Fiduciary Rule and others, the process requires patience.] 5-23-17
Trump Administration. China. “How China Managed to Muffle the Voice of America.” By Sasha gong. [The Foreign Ministry warned VOA’s Beijing correspondent against ‘interference.’] 5-24-17
Trump Administration. “Acosta’s Fiduciary Duty.” 5-25-2017
Trump Administration. Big Govt. “The Ivanka Entitlement.” [Democrats are already calling a $25 billion subsidy too stingy.] 5-26-17
Trump administration. “The White House Mess.” [A shakeup needs to start with some self-reflection at the top.] 5-31-17
Trump Administration. “Trump’s Tweets vs. the World.” By Daniel Henninger. [Washington’s politics have become campus politics. Opposition now is everything.] 6-1-17
Trump administration. “The News You Didn’t Hear.” By Kimberley A. Strassel. [Reporters only want to talk about Russia, instead of what Team Trump is getting done.] 6-2-17
Trump administration. “Unsolicited Advice for Callista Gingrich.” By Adam O’Neal. [Convince Trump the Holy See can be a serious partner in U.S. Foreign policy.] 6-2-17
Trump Administration. “The Buck Stops Everywhere Else.” [Trump undermines his own travel ban and Justice Department.] 6-6-2017
Trump Administration. “You’ve Been Cleared for a Faster Landing.” [Trump’s air-traffic spinoff would be a great flight forward.] 6-6-2017
Trump Administration. “Where Have All the Inspectors General Gone?” by Joseph E. Schmitz. [The Pentagon is without a permanent watchdog – and so are the CIA and NSA. Trump should fix this fast.] 6-7-17
Trump Administration. “The Death of Obama’s Slush Funds.” 6-8-17
Trump Administration. “In Iran, Radio Liberty Doesn’t Live Up to its Name.” [The Persian-language service too often parrots state media and doesn’t give Israel a fair shake.] 6-12-17
Trump Administration. Defense. “The Trump Budget Still Shortchanges The Military.” By Mac Thornberry. [After the stagnant ‘70’s, Presidents Carter and Reagan boosted spending by double digits annually.] 6-12-17
Trump Administration. “Fighting Poverty Isn’t Brain Surgery, but Ben Carson Can Do Both.” By Jason L. Riley. [‘I don’t get upset when people say horrible things,’ the HUD secretary says. ‘People don’t like change.’] 6-21-17
Trump Administration. Defense. “Congress and Obama Depleted the Military.” By Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney. [The Trump budget would increase spending only 3%. With today’s threats, that’s not nearly enough.] 6-21-17
Trump Administration. (cf. “The Ivanka Entitlement.”) “The Blackstone Entitlement.” [Steve Schwarzman illuminates the family leave debate.] 6-24-17 (cf. #26, here, “Ivanka.”)
Trump Administration. “The Trump Labor Board’s List.” [One study says the Obama NLRB overturned 4,559 years of legal precedent.] 6-29-17
Trump Administration. “The Making of Steve Bannon.” (Bookshelf by Barton Swain.) [Devil’s Bargain.” By Joshua Green.] [A Series of investments in Hong Kong video gaming companies introduced Steve Bannon to a ‘hidden world’ of frustrated young men.] 7-18-17
Trump Administration. “The Trumps and the Truth.” [The best defense against future revelations is radical transparency.] 7-18-17
Trump Administration. “Sessions Hangs In There. [Trump needs the Attorney General more than he realizes.] 7-21-17
Trump Administration. “The Kushner Statement.” [The President’s son-in-law sets a disclosure example on Russia.] “Can Republicans Govern?” [Some Senators want to talk forever about health care. Time for a vote.] 7-25-17
Trump Administration. “Why Jeff Sessions Recused.” [The AG wasn’t weak. He was following the law and sound advice.] 7-27-17
Trump Administration. “Priebus Wasn’t the Problem.” 7-29-17
Trump Administration. “Kelly Sends a Message.” [The new White House chief of staff gives the Mooch the boot.] 8-1-17
Trump Administration. “The White House C-Words.” By Daniel Henninger. [Terms unheard from Anthony Scarmucci: credibility, coherence and consistency.] 8-3-17
Trump Administration. “Kelly’s Boot Camp for Presidential Aides.” By Karl Rove. [Trump’s new chief of staff knows how to impose discipline – if the president lets him.] 8-3-17
Trump Administration. “Can Kelly Conquer the White House Chaos?” by Peggy Noonan. “The new chief of staff has the confidence of a general and the power of the last available grown-up.] 8-5-17
Trump Administration. “All the President’s Men and Their Styles of Masculinity.” By Crispin Sartwell. [Trump may be the first man with his particular swagger to make it to the White House.] 8-5-17
Trump Administration. “Mueller Can Avoid an Iran-Contra Repeat.” By C. Boyden Gray. [He should proceed quickly to get the facts out. So should congressional investigators.] 8-8-17
Trump Administration. “McMaster and the Commander.” [The NSC adviser is the latest target of Steve Bannon’s media friends.] 8-9-17
Trump Administration. “Unmasking Samantha Power.” [We still don’t know why Obama officials needed to know the names of so many Trump officials.] 8-12-17
Trump Administration. “Republicans for Richard Cordray.” [Trump will pay a price for not firing the Obama holdover.] 8-12-17
Trump Administration. “Coal Makes a Comeback.” [Trump’s policies and exports to Europe are helping the industry.] 8-17-17
Trump Administration. “The ‘Resistance’ Goes Lower.” By Kimberley A. Strassel. [Green groups are attacking staffers merely for working in Trump’s government.] 8-18-17
Trump Administration. “All the President’s Advisers.” [Steve Bannon all but dares Trump and Kelly to fire him.] 8-18-17
Trump Administration. “Refighting the Civil War.” [Once was enough, as Robert E. Lee understood.] 8-18-17
Trump Administration. “After the Bannon Presidency.” [Trump can’t govern with a Breitbart coalition. Does he see that?] 8-19-17
Trump Administration. “Steve Bannon Isn’t Going Away.” By Walter Russell Mead. [He aims to defeat the ‘globalist’ crew by pushing China into the 2018 campaign.] 8-22-17
Trump Administration. “Good Riddance to Steve Bannon.” By Karl Rove. [The country is better off with him out of the West Wing, but now Trump has to step up.] 8-24-17
Trump Administration. “Steve Bannon’s Revenge.” By Wm. McGurn. [The anti-Trump response seems bent on outdoing the president’s excesses.] 8-29-17
Trump Administration. “I Guess We’re All McCarthyites Now. By Philip Terzian. [A congressman insults John Kelly’s service – and nobody notices.] 9-11-17
Trump Administration. “Trump’s Hurricane Rebuilding Job.” [A construction labor shortage will add costs and time to the recovery.] 9-11-17
Trump Administration. “Reining in Mr. Sessions.” [A victory in Congress against the revived civil asset-forfeiture program.] 9-18-17
Trump Administration. “Trump’s Western Firefighters.” [Interior reverses years of neglect on forest management.] 9-19-17
Trump Administration. “Trump’s Too-Big-to-Fail Punt.” [Treasury abdicates on MetLife’s Sifi designation.] 9-27-17
Trump Administration. “A Return to the Conservation Ethic.” (The Weekend Interview with Ryan Zinke by Kimberley A. Strassel.) [The interior secretary wants to restore the vision of Gifford Pinchot and use public lands ‘for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.’] 9-30-17
Trump Administration. “Trump’s Latest Casualty.” [The President doesn’t like cabinet members who get bad press.] 9-30-17
Trump Administration. “FEMA’s Foul-Up in Puerto Rico.” By Mary Anastasia O’Grady. [The emergency plan depended on generators but diesel was not delivered.] 10-2-17
Trump Administration. “In Hurricane Relief, 2 out of 3 Ain’t Good.” By Tevi Troy. [When it comes to natural disasters, a president is remembered for faltering, not for succeeding.] 10-3-17
Trump Administration. “America Will Return to the Moon – and Go Beyond.” By Mike Pence. [The U.S. is falling behind in the final frontier. The National Space council will help remedy that.] 10-5-17
Trump Administration. “John Kelly’s Heroes.” [The White House chief of staff teaches a lesson in grief and sacrifice.] 10-20-17
Trump Administration. “Philanthropy Booms in the Trump Era – but It Also Gets Political.” By James Piereson and Naomi Schaefer Riley. [Such advocacy fails to provide direct and tangible benefits to individuals in need.] 11-18-17
Trump Administration. “The Trump Treasury’s Disturbing Regulatory Turn.” By Peter J. Wallison. [It would give a Dodd-Frank agency powers that even the Obama administration thought too dangerous.] 12-7-17
Trump Administration. “The Trump Regulatory Game Plan.” By Neomi Rao. [Message to businesses and families: It’s OK to plan for the future.] 12-14-17
Trump Administration. “Another Escalation in the Judicial War.” By Ilya Shapiro. [ What will happen when a Senate majority votes in unison against every presidential nominee?] 12-18-17
Trump Administration. “The Trump Doctrine, in Theory.” [Realism about rising threats but some policy disconnects.] 12-19-17
Trump Administration. “The Book of Bannon.” [Trump’s divorce from his former aide is good for his Presidency and the GOP.] 1-5-18
Trump Administration. “Trump and Dow 25,000.) [A portent of growth but a bad measure for politicians to tout.] 1-5-18
Trump Administration. “Jeff Sessions’s Marijuana Candor.” [The AG is forcing legalizers to square federal and state law.”] 1-6-18
Trump Administration. “The Trump Paradox.” By Daniel Henninger. [This era’s most disliked president has produced a successful first year in office.] 1-18-18
Trump Administration. “The CBO Is the Tail Wagging the Dog.” By J.T. Young. [How the ObamaCare mandate sank repeal, then saved tax reform.] 1-18-18
Trump Administration. “Charles Is in Charge.” [Schumer previews life for Trump if Democrats retake Congress.] 1-20-18
Trump Administration. “A Tale of Two Shutdowns.” [Trump tries to limit harm to the public, unlike in 2013.] 1-22-18
Trump Administration. “Get Food Stamps Out of the Candy Store.” By Paul R. LePage. [Maine wants a waiver to stop SNAP paying for sweets and soda.] 1-24-18
Trump Administration. “A Rogue Treasury Department Turns Toward the 1930s.” by Peter J. Wallison. [The president shouldn’t allow an Obama appointee to guide housing finance policy toward disaster.] 1-24-18
Trump Administration. “The Aftermath of Schumer’s Shutdown.” By Karl Rove. “Whoever closes the government loses, at least in the short run. Ask Ted Cruz.] 1-25-18
Trump Administration. “The Rob Porter Mess.” [A fiasco that hurts part of the White House that was working.] 2-10-18
Trump Administration. “An Honest Federal Budget Would Help Control Spending and Debt.” By Glenn Hubbard. [Lawmakers argue over policies, but no one wants to be held accountable for overall priorities. 2-13-18
Trump Administration. “Trump’s Big Public Works Dig.” [Permitting and other reforms are a major policy breakthrough.] 2-13-18
Trump Administration. “The Deficit Problem in a Chart.” [(chart) “Entitlements vs. Defense”] 2-13-18
Trump Administration. “Kelly and the Chaos.” [The people who want him fired don’t want a better White House.] 2-14-18
Trump Administration. “Why Some Stops Are a Cut Above the Rest.” By R. Richard Geddis. [Trump’s infrastructure plan would improve highway amenities.] 2-20-18
Trump Administration. “A New GOP Entitlement.” [Some Republicans want to raid Social Security for paid family leave.] 2-28-18
Trump Administration. “The White House Family Business.” [Jared and Ivanka have to decide if they’ve become political liabilities.] 3-1-18
Trump Administration. “Trump vs. Jeff Sessions.” [If he really wants FBI answers, why not declassify everything.] 3-1-18
Trump Administration. “The Cohn Departure.” [The tariff mess has cost President Trump an important ally.] 3-7-18
Trump Administration. “Apres Cohn, le Deluge?” by Kimberley A. Strassel. [Trump’s top economic adviser departs, and the administration’s grown-ups worry.] 3-9-18
Trump Administration. “A Not So Liddell Problem.” [The front-runner for chief economic adviser has bad policy instincts.] 3-12-18
Trump Administration. “Pompeo’s Promise at State.” [Trump gets a top diplomat who shares his policy views.] 3-14-18
Trump Administration. “Kudlow Into the Breach.” [Trump needs his new economic chief’s focus on policies for growth.] 3-15-18
Trump Administration. “Tom Perez’s Fiduciary Flop.” [An appeals court rules that another Obama regulation is illegal.] 3-19-18
Trump Administration. “John Bolton for National Security.” 3-23-18
Trump Administration. “John Bolton Is No Bugaboo.” By Walter Russell Mead. [He believes the U.S. must be prepared to act alone, but Trump will take convincing.] 3-27-18
Trump Administration. “In for a Penny, in for Impound.” By Kimberley A. Strassel. [How Trump and the congressional GOP can undo the worst of the omnibus.] 3-30-18
Trump Administration. “A Trump Choice for Veterans.” [Shulkin favored the status quo of limited health-care options.] 3-31-18
Trump Administration. “Citizenship and the Census.” [Justice wants the data for more race-based gerrymandering.] 4-2-18
Trump Administration. “Thank You, Jeff Sessions.” By Wm. McGurn. [A capable U.S. attorney is a far better choice than a second special counsel.] 4-3-18
Trump Administration. “Trump, Amazon and the Post Office.” [The President is firing at the wrong target if he wants to save money.] 4-3-18
Trump Administration. “Bolton Faces a Dangerous World.” By Walter Russell Mead. [He joins the chaotic Trump team amid the greatest uncertainty since Truman’s era.] 4-10-18
Trump Administration. “Republican Spending Reprieve.” [Congress can claw back some of its spending with rescissions.] 4-10-18
Trump Administration. “Who Needs a Secretary of State?” [Democrats are trying to block even Trump’s security cabinet.] 4-19-18
Trump Administration. “Pompeo and Rand Paul Circumstance.” [The nominee advances despite a Senate Foreign Relations farce.] 4-24-18
Trump Administration. “Ronny Jackson in the Mosh Pit.” [Trump has ill-served his nominee to run Veterans Affairs.] 4-25-18
Trump Administration. “Trump’s ‘Forgotten Men and Women’ Include Prisoners.” By Jared Kushner. [The Administration urges Congress to make it easier for released inmates to re-enter society.] 4-25-18
Trump Administration. “Road Testing the 2019 Resistance.” [Tester’s smears against Ronny Jackson will e standard procedure.] 4-27-18
Trump Administration. “The Deep State Weaponizes Vetting of Trump Appointees.” By Sean M. Bigley. [Unaccountable Pentagon officials block a security clearance for a would-be White House aide.] 5-2-18
Trump Administration. “Justice’s Antitrust Humiliation.” [Judge Leon blows away the federal case against AT&T-Time Warner.] 6-13-18
Trump Administration. “Pompeo on What Trump Wants.” By Walter Russell Mead. [An interview with Trump’s top diplomat on America First and ‘the need for a reset.’ ] 6-26-18
Trump Administration. “Pruitt Drowns in the Swamp.” [The permanent green government takes out Trump’s deregulator.] 7-6-18
Trump Administration. “A Worthy Pardon for the Hammonds.” [Trump corrects a federal injustice against two Oregon ranchers.] 7-11-18
Trump Administration. “Trump’s Merger Appeal to Obama.” [Justice wants liberal judges to block AT&T-time Warner.] 7-14-18
Trump Administration. “Why an Antitrust Farce Must Continue.” By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. [In politics, a blunder like the government’s AT&T merger lawsuit must be hugged to death.] 7-14-18
Trump Administration. “Endangered Species Scare.” [A 1970s law gets a modest implementation review. Panic ensues.] 7-27-18
Trump Administration. “Trump Is Right About Clearances.” By Sean Bigley. [Preferential treatment for former officials doesn’t improve national security. It creates a caste system.] 7-30-18
Trump Administration. “The New Tariff Bureaucracy.” [Want a steel exemption? Meet your Commerce Department overlords.] 8-7-18
Trump Administration. “They Won’t Sink Zinke.” By Kimberley a. Strassel. [Environmentalists will find the interior secretary a harder target than Pruitt.] 8-10-18
Trump Administration. “Revenues Are Higher.” 8-11-18 (“… not falling revenues from tax cuts…”)
Trump Administration. “Don McGahn’s Quiet Achievement.” [The departing White House counsel helped remake the judiciary] 8-30-18
Trump Administration. “Nikki Haley’s Example.” [The Ambassador got along with Trump even when she disagreed.] 10-10-18
Trump Administration. “’That’s What You Want to Hear.’” [At least Trump is honest about his lousy new gift to ethanol.] 10-11-18
Trump Administration. “Jeff Sessions’ Successor.” 11-8-18
Trump Administration “Jeff Sessions’s Exit Interview.” By Judith Miller. [The departing attorney general leaves as gracious as ever, and doesn’t regret his controversial recusal.] 11-9-18
Trump Administration. “A Treasury Misfire.” [A misguided insurance gripe could kill the pro-growth Job 3.0 bill.] 11-29-18
Trump Administration. “The ABA Strikes Back.” By Kimberley A. Strassel. [After a demotion from Trump, the lawyer’s guild smears judicial nominees.] 11-30-18
Trump Administration. [Nauert Gives Hope to Journalists.] By Dovid Efune. [They insist she’s not qualified (to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations) because she’s worked in their profession. That’s far too modest.] 12-13-18
Trump Administration. “Mulvaney Into the Breach.” 12-15-18
Trump Administration. “The Mattis Repercussions.” [Why Trump’s handling of Syria and the Pentagon this week is so damaging.] 12-22-18
Trump Administration. “The Phony Shutdown War.” [Trump and Democrats put political symbolism over policy substance.] 12-24-18
Trump Administration. “The Phony Attack on William Barr.” By Michael B. Mukasey. [If the criticism is serious, it amounts to a demand that only the ignorant be considered for high office.] 12-26-18
Trump Administration. “Policing ‘False’ Claims.” [Justice calls out a scheme to exploit a federal whistleblower law.] 12-27-18
Trump Administration. “The Hidden Cost of a Government Shutdown.” By Fred C. Light. [The Trump administration plays it down by counting only employees formally on the federal payroll.] 12-28-18
Trump Administration. “Barr for the Presidency” [Some lessons for the left and right on constitutional grounds.] 1-16-19
Trump Administration. “The Shutdown and the Next Election.” By Karl Rove. [Both parties need to think bigger than this fight – they should be thinking of 2020.] 1-17-19
Trump Administration. “To End the Shutdown, Try Thinking Big on Immigration.” By Robert M. Gates. [Both parties are to blame for this embarrassing impasse. Yet a sensible solution may be possible.] 1-19-19
Trump Administration. “Judicial Scramble Drill.” [The white House walks away from a bad deal but harms a good nominee.] 2-1-19
Trump Administration. “Bill Barr’s Hot Mess.” By Kimberley A. Strassel. [He arrives at a Justice Department that is in desperate need of an infusion of credibility.] 2-15-19
Trump Administration. “Citizenship and the Census.” [Can the Commerce secretary overrule the career bureaucracy?] 4-23-19
Trump Administration. “Should Noncitizens Be Represented in Congress?” by David B. Rivkin Jr. and Richard Raile. [That is the deeper political and legal question behind today’s Supreme Court census case.] 4-23-19
Trump Administration. “A Real Attorney General.” [Bill Barr gets smeared for refusing to duck and cover like Loretta Lynch.] 5-2-19
Trump Administration. “Trump’s Blunt Ambassador to Berlin.” By Walter Russell Mead. [Richard Grenell isn’t apologizing, though he’s ruffled even pro-American feathers.] 5-7-19
Trump Administration. “What ‘America First’ Means to Pompeo.” By Walther Russell Mead. [The secretary of state elaborates on Trump’s slogan, appealing to the Founder’s vision.] 5-14-19
Trump Administration. “International Law Backs The Trump Golan Policy.” By Michael R. Pompeo and David Friedman. [For decades Syria has defied a U.N. mandate to negotiate with Israel.] 5-15-19
Trump Administration. “’Did You Bring your Handcuffs?” [At least Bill Barr has a sense of humor about the partisan furies.] 5-16-19
Trump Administration. “Bull Durham at Justice.” By Kimberley A. Strassel. [Bill Barr’s latest appointment reminds us how the department should operate.] 5-17-19
Trump Administration. “Census Target: John Roberts.” [Liberals spin a memo to influence the Chief Justice in a crucial case.] 6-2-19
Trump Administration. “William Barr’s Fresh Air.” [The AG is taking flak because he’s asking questions others won’t.] 6-2-19
Trump Administration. “Deflating a Trump ‘Scandal.” By Kimberley A. Strassel. [An email from Amy Klobuchar shows that officials acted on the policy merits.] 6-7-19
Trump Administration. “How to Put Citizenship Back in the census.” By David B. Rivkin Jr. and Gilson B. Gray. [The 14^th Amendment gives the Trump administration the justification it needs.] 7-5-19
Trump Administration. “Unalienable rights and U.S. Foreign Policy.” By Michael R. Pompeo. [The Founders’ principles can help revitalize liberal democracy world-wide.] 7-8-19
Trump Administration. “Nationalism Is Necessary but Insufficient.” By Walter Russell Mead. [Trump’s approach helps win allies in Asia. But it isn’t a basis for world order.] 7-9-19
Trump Administration. “Prosecuting Alex Acosta.” [Democrats try to blame the Labor Secretary for Jeffrey Epstein.] 7-10-19
Trump Administration. Census. “Sanctuary Cities Get a Census Bonus.” [Localities where migrants live – or are detained – will get a decadelong windfall of federal dollars. 7-17-19
Trump Administration. “Pompeo Gets Religion.” [“The State Department is holding its second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom …] 7-18-19
Trump Administration. “Gene Scalia’s Winning Record.” [Trump’s Labor pick has the legal experience to navigate the bureaucracy.] 7-20-19
Trump Administration. “A Bad Budget Deal.” [Trump can call Pelosi’s bluff over the federal debt ceiling.] 7-22-19
Trump Administration. “Accountability for Epstein’s Death.” [Bill Barr deserves credit for cleaning house at the Bureau of Prisons.] 8-20-19
Trump Administration. “Refinance U.S. Debt While Rates Are Low.” By Stephen Moore. [Taxpayers will save billions if the government takes new low-interest loans to pay off its current liabilities.] 8-30-19
Trump Administration. “Judicial Make-Up Call.” [With two more Trump nominees, this isn’t Obama’s Ninth Circuit.] 9-21-19
Trump Administration. “No More Rule by Memorandum.” [Trump gives federal agencies good guidance on bad ‘guidance.’] 10-10-19
Trump Administration. “Bill Barr ‘Gets’ Religion.” By Wm. McGurn. [The Attorney General gives a speech on secularism, and the left goes bananas.] 10-15-19
Trump Administration. “Trump Reverses Obama’s Anti-Christian Decree.” [No more discrimination against Catholics and evangelical Protestants in adoption services.] 11-4-19
Trump Administration. “Barr’s Loyalty Is to the Constitution, Not a Party.” By David B. Rivkin Jr. and Andrew Grossman. [The “unitary executive’ implies both a stronger presidency and clear limits on presidential powers.] 12-26-19
Trump Administration. “2019’s Adult of the Year.” By Kimberley A Strassel. [Attorney General William Barr has kept his promises and his independence.] 1-3-20
Trump. “Trump’s Worst Enemy.” [He needs to stop tweeting about cases and let Barr do his job.] 2-14-20
Trump Administration. “Why Trump Needs Bill Barr.” By Daniel Henninger. [We’re one resignation away from moralized hysteria as a normal tool of U.S. politics.] 2-20-20
Trump Administration. “Roger Stone’s Sentence.” [Apparently there hasn’t been a coup against the judiciary.] 2-21-20
Trump Administration. “Lawyers Cast a Stone at William Barr.” By Edwin Meese III and Michael B. Mukasey. [Former officials urge current officials to defy their supervisors. That’s an afront to the rule of law.] 2-24-20
Trump Administration. “Lawyers Cast a Stone at William Barr.” By Edwin Meese III and Michael B. Mukasey. [Former officials urge current officials to defy their supervisors. That’s an afront to the rule of law.] 2-24-20
Trump Administration. “Yes, Trump Can Close Congress.” By Sal Prakash. [The Constitution gives him the power to resolve a ‘disagreement’ over the time of adjournment.’] 4-17-20
Trump Administration. “The White House vs. John Bolton.” By Chuck Cooper. [Officials are attempting to use national security as a pretext to prevent the publication of his memoir.] 6-11-20
Trump Administration. “A Roomful of Characters.” (Bookshelf by Barton Swaim.) “The Room Where It Happened.” By John Bolton. [For serious people on the right, President Trump is not an easy problem to solve. John Bolton tried, with partial success.] 6-23-20
Trump Administration. “Pompeo Takes On the Politicization of Human Rights.” By Walter Russell Mead. [He defends the spirit of 1776 and 1948 and has harsh words for the New York Times ‘1619 Project.’] 7-17-20
Trump Administration. “The Mnuchin Follies.” By Kimberley A. Strassel. [With his help, Pelosi keeps outmaneuvering Republican senators on coronavirus bills.] 7-24-20
Trump Administration. Census. “Madison Warned About ‘Sanctuary’ States.” By David B. Rivkin Jr. and John S. Baker Jr. [He foretold their interest in ‘exaggerating their inhabitants’ to ‘swell’ their numbers in Congress.] 8-3-20
Trump Administration. Coronavirus. “The White House Prepared for a Pandemic.” By Joel M. Zinberg and Tomas J. Philipson. [A September 2019 report laid the groundwork for Operation Warp Speed.] 8-19-20
Trump Administration. “A Good Hurricane Response.” [Laura was a killer storm but governments seem to have coordinated well.] 8-31-20
Trump Administration. “The Next Census Brawl.” [Democrats are suing to delay the count into a Biden Presidency.] 9-14-20
Trump Administration. “Pompeo and the Pope.” 10-1-20
Trump Administration. Census. “The Judiciary Grabs the Census.” [A bad John Roberts ruling is leading to more legal mischief.] 10-9-20
Trump Administration. “Getting Counted for Fun and Profit.” By Matthew Hennessey. [Somewhere along the line, the census was transformed into a scramble for dollars.] 10-22-2020
Trump Administration. “Trump’s Defense Bill Kamikaze Run.” [His veto threat could end up hurting his own policy priorities.] 12-9-20
Trump Administration. “Trump Takes a Parting Swipe at the Executive Branch.” By Susan E. Dudley and Sally Katzen. [Stripping OMB staffers of civil-service protection will make it harder for the president to do his job.] 12-10-20
Trump Administration. “Thank You, Bill Barr.” [The AG was the right man for the job in hyper-partisan times.] 12-15-20
Trump Administration. “One Standard of Justice.” (The Weekend Interview with William P. Barr by Kimberley A. Strassel.) [The departing attorney general talks about John Durham, Robert Mueller, Hunter Biden, Mike Flynn and the flak he’s taken from both parties.] 12-19-20
Trump Administration. “Can Snowden Bamboozle Trump?” [He stole U.S. secrets. His allies cajole the President for a pardon.] 12-28-20
Trump Administration. “Betsy DeVos’s Education Record.” [She did much good for school choice and due process on campus.] 1-16-21
Trump Administration. “They Did Their Jobs Well.” [Here are some of the people and policies that served the country.] 1-19-21
Trump Administration. “There’s as Much to Learn From Trump’s Success as His Disgrace.” By Gerard Baker. [Responsible leaders made his election possible by creating a vacuum that a demagogue could fill.] 1-19-21
Trump Administration. “An Unflashy Number Two.” (Bookshelf by Barton Swaim.) “So Help Me God.” By Mike Pence. “This memoir may reasonably be taken as Pence’s de facto presidential announcement. He has two problems as a contender in 2024.] 11-15-22