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.

$40B Food Stamp Fight Sets Up Fiscal Showdown

By Eric Pianin

In the latest round of fantasy budgeting, the Republican House on Thursday narrowly voted to slash federal food stamp funding by nearly $40 billion over the next decade – a move that if allowed to...
The Republican Budgetary Crackup

By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

On January 20, 2009, Republicans suddenly got religion and decided that the deficit was the greatest economic problem of our time. Despite a continuing economic crisis that three-quarters of...
GOP House Members Run Headlong into Traffic

By Jacqueline Leo

Nicolle Wallace is a smart woman. As George W. Bush’s communication director during the 2004 presidential campaign she knows how to score political wins and losses. Today, in a succinct and memorable...
Gov't Shutdown: The GOP’s Last Stand on Obamacare

By Eric Pianin and Brianna Ehley

Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the newly minted White House budget director, was among the few administration officials bullish that President Obama and congressional Republicans could somehow overcome...
Budget Brawl Could Sideswipe Fed Plans to Taper

By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

The Federal Reserve appears ready to tap the brakes on its monthly $85 billion bond-buying program, even though the jobs picture still looks dismal and an upcoming federal budget showdown could...

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