The Tea Party

Seven Tests That Can Keep Republicans from Screwing Up

By Edward Morrissey

It didn’t take long for Republicans to make their first tin-eared mistake after winning a broad victory in November. In fact, they had barely opened the new session of Congress before performing a...
One Place the Trump Train Isn’t Stopping: Paul Ryan’s Backyard

By Martin Matishak

In a year in which an outsider candidate seized the reins of one of the country’s two major political parties, there’s one place where folks haven’t gotten the anti-establishment message: House...
Two-Thirds of the US Government Basically Won’t Work for the Next Year

By Rob Garver

With a deadlocked Supreme Court and a compromise-averse Congress, 2016 promises to be a year in which simply keeping the lights on will be a major accomplishment.
House Freedom Caucus Prepares to Challenge Ryan on 2016 Agenda

By Eric Pianin

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has gotten off to a strong start with the far-right conservatives in his conference who drove former Speaker John Boehner from office and blocked Boehner’s heir...
Ted Cruz Gets a Boost from Powerful Conservative Insiders

By Rob Garver

An influential political action group in Washington, Heritage Action for America, all but endorsed the presidential candidacy of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Monday, with the release of an analysis of the...

Boehner Ready to Exit a Historically Feeble Congress

By Rob Garver

As he heads into what appears to be the final week his leadership of the House of Representatives, House Speaker John Boehner will be the subject of no end of retrospective profiles of his career...
Did Paul Ryan Outsmart the Freedom Caucus?

By Rob Garver

The news that Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan had persuaded a large majority of the House of Representatives’ most conservative element to support his bid for Speaker of the House left the...
Paul Ryan Has Probably Already Lost His Shot at the Presidency

By Rob Garver

Regardless of whether Rep. Paul Ryan decides to declare himself a candidate for Speaker of the House sometime this week, his political future will likely sustain some real damage – and there is...
Meet the Freedom Caucus, the Group Inflaming Washington

By Martin Matishak

If you don’t know much about a group of congressional lawmakers called the House Freedom Caucus, don’t worry; you’ll hear about them plenty in the weeks and month ahead.
Why You – Yes, You – Could Be the Next Speaker of the House

By Martin Matishak

Spoiler alert: The race to be the next Speaker of the House is pretty much over.

Relief from Debt Ceiling Disaster Doesn’t Mean a Deal

By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

House Speaker John Boehner proved that he sincerely intends to avoid a government default, floating a plan Thursday to extend the debt ceiling for six weeks. It’s a positive sign that the economic...
5 Facts You Should Know about the National Debt

By Drew DeSilver, Pew Research Center

With the Republican-led House engaged in a stare-down with Senate Democrats and President Obama over raising the federal debt limit , it seems an opportune time to dig into the actual numbers...
3 Ways to End the Government Shutdown

By Eric Pianin and Josh Boak

There is no doubt about it: Americans are ready for the White House and Republican leaders to hammer out a deal to end a preposterous, nine-day-old government shutdown and save the country from the...
The Senate Tries to Break the Shutdown Stalemate

By Eric Pianin

With House Republicans seemingly spinning their wheels on ideas for ending the government shutdown and avoiding a first-ever default, Senate Democrats and a few Republicans declared on Tuesday that...
Obama and Boehner Star in “War of the Words"

By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

The government could teeter into default after Oct. 17, but President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner did little to settle their budgetary grudge match on Tuesday. Instead, both men played the...

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