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Other Voices: Trump’s Desire For Revenge Jeopardizes GOP Senate Control

President Trump proved again Saturday that he can crush Republican dissenters by helping to defeat Sen. Bill Cassidy in a Louisiana primary. The question is to what end? Mr. Cassidy earned Mr. Trump’s eternal enmity when he was one of seven GOP Senators who voted to convict him after he was impeached a second time in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. It was a vote of conscience for Mr. Cassidy, but fealty counts for more than principle in the Trump universe. Mr. Cassidy tried to earn back Mr. Trump’s support by overcoming the Senator’s misgivings and voting to confirm ...

Federal Court Decision Has Impact Beyond Distilleries

Judges occasionally declare federal laws unconstitutional. But usually when a law passed by Congress has been on the books for more than 150 years, it’s in the clear. Not so for the federal ban on homemade whiskey, vodka and gin. Last week, an appeals court invalidated a federal law dating to 1868 that criminalizes at-home distilleries. The spirited ruling is a boon to small-time liquor hobbyists and entrepreneurs — but also an important statement on the limits of the federal government’s taxing power. Congress imposed the ban as a companion to legislation taxing alcohol and ...

Hungary Election Reminds All Of The Power Of Casting A Vote

Whether you loved him or hated him, you cannot deny the influence Viktor Orban has had on the world during his time in politics — nor the iron grip he had on his own country’s electoral machine. And yet, on Sunday, the people of Hungary decided that, after 16 years in office, enough was enough. Despite time as — at first — a popular incumbent followed by time as — at second — an authoritarian who bent the system to give himself every edge to stay in power…in the end, none of it mattered. The election in Hungary shows that the will of the people remains ...

Voter List Is An Overreaction To A Small Problem

Can the President order the U.S. Postal Service not to deliver mail he doesn’t like? Add this to the list of, er, innovative questions that President Trump is posing to the courts. On (March 31) he signed an executive action to create a federal list of people pre-approved to vote by mail, while telling the USPS to refuse to deliver ballots from anybody who isn’t on it. Democrats have already filed lawsuits, saying Mr. Trump’s plan tramples on the authority over elections that the Constitution gives to the 50 states. The USPS is an independent agency, and the Postmaster General is ...

Colorblindness Won’t Enforce Itself Despite DEI Pushback

The Trump administration has ruthlessly targeted diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs that classify Americans based on a progressive racial hierarchy. But the federal bureaucracy is vast, and the White House apparently didn’t catch them all. Hence a new lawsuit challenging a medical scholarship administered by the Department of Health and Human Services that bars applicants who don’t have Native Hawaiian ancestry. The lawsuit, filed Monday by the medical group “Do No Harm” and first reported here, argues that this racial requirement for a federal government benefit is ...

Trump Cannot Deliver A Quick Exit From Iran

Whatever else Donald Trump’s “ pause ” is, it is not a ceasefire. Iranian barrages targeted Israel, Gulf Arab states and northern Iraq on Tuesday, while Israeli and US warplanes struck across Iran. What Mr Trump’s statement did was to narrow US targets to exclude power plants and energy infrastructure to calm jittery markets. But the fighting continues. With reports that the US is considering boots on the ground, Washington is waging war while searching for an exit – without a credible or unified negotiating position, as Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu pursues his own ...