Paul Kane
Covering the Capitol & its occupants for decades. Love all things Philly sports.
washingtonpost.com/people/paul-kane/
- Just a brutal read for congressional Rs from …. Brendan Buck, one of Paul Ryan’s top aides, a Ways & Means vet, BoehnerLand and Romneyville. It’s the “smallness” of agenda that will cut deepest in HC5 & Mansfield. urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
- The rise and (for now) fall of abortion as the most dominant issue in politics after SCOTUS overturned Roe in the Dobbs ruling Politico scooped 3 years ago this weekend. Now - like so much of politics - Trump blots out the issue. It will be back. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- Sen. Kennedy on Tuesday: “I don’t see any signs of a recession.” Sen. Kennedy on Wednesday: “I still don’t.” There’s a lotta Republican denial about the economy’s downward spiral that sounds quite similar to Dem dismissing inflation four years ago. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- For those clamoring for next-gen Dem leadership in Congress, @schatz.bsky.social tells me that he is officially running for Senate whip. It's the No 2 post. He's loyal to Schumer/Durbin, but he represents a new type of leader. "This is the only job I want." www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- Trump again today started the 51st state rhetoric as Canada's federal elections take place. It's completely bonkers, about 80% of Canadians are strongly opposed to the idea. And, craziest of all, as I wrote, it would be a huge political gift to Democrats. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- What would American politics look like if Canada actually was the 51st state? A “nightmare” for Trump & Rs. I took Trump literally & asked Canadian political experts @niknanos.bsky.social @fenhampson.bsky.social & others to break it down: Dems would have comfortable House majority & more … link …
- As someone pointed out on the other place, his mother and (ex) sister in law also made accusations. And latest ones aren’t “anonymous”. They’re coming from his closest (former) aides at DOD.
- “Think of them as a sort of advisory council to the people of the United States. And when the advisory council sounds the alarm, the people should listen.” An amazing Naftali Bendavid look at ex-POTUS’s publicly denouncing current POTUS. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- US attorney for DC might seem small potatoes given everything happening, but Ed Martin is sorta the tip of Trump's retribution spear in that post. Martin was already controversial. Now Spencer Hsu has uncovered 150 omitted Russian TV appearances by Martin! www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
- Easily the weakest day of Trump 2.0. He caved on misguided tariff war because the anonymous world of financial traders hated his policy. Then tonight / less than 24 hours after DJT ordered House Rs to fall in line / Speaker Johnson admits Rs don’t have votes to pass budget outline. Oof.
- A great look at most important divide in Dem politics right now: Generational. It's not ideology or geography, not Congress vs state capital. It's young vs old. “People want to see their rage reflected in their leaders.” Via Maeve Reston & Dylan Wells www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- My weekend column: @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social is not known for bombastic predictions. But in our 30-min talk Friday, he loosened up & declared: “If the election were held today, we would win back the House of Representatives comfortably.” Echoes of ‘06 & ‘18 www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- So much for FRIENDS, PARTNERS, ALLIES, NEIGHBORS. The Canadian embassy columns are no longer boasting about their friend, the U.S.
- From the Jan 30 peak (44,882, 10 days into Trump 2.0), the Dow is now down more than 4,000 points.
- Four years on, rest in peace, Billy. Flowers at the plaque at the security stop he stood guard. That was a very bad Friday for USCP & all Capitol community.
- Reposted by Paul KaneLike many things we've covered at the IRS, this is a sea change. Tax administration is supposed to be non-political. Tax *investigations* are supposed to be super non-political. And tax *criminal investigations* are supposed to be walled off from anything remotely political.
- Voters cannot stand how Trump is handling economy/tariffs, Exhibit 367. This AP poll is pretty brutal. The economy used to always be DJT’s strong suit. Even post 1/6. Now it’s his kryptonite. apnews.com/article/trum...
- The “method” some have missed here is that - just as Putin stepped down from president to become prime minister overseeing parliament but de facto in charge - Trump could become House speaker. Anyone can be voted speaker. Could run things like Putin. But he would turn 83 in June ‘29.
- He's not joking www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- My weekend column: A bipartisan pair of mothers in the House have a perfectly fine idea about modernizing Congress, for new parents. But Republican leaders can't not view proxy-voting as anything other than a pandemic era war. But Johnson might get rolled. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- “Forget the myths the media's created about the White House. The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.” Been thinking a lot about this Deep Throat/Felt/Holbrook quote from All The President’s Men. Early this year @gtconway.bsky.social posted it like 77 times 1 day.
- Reposted by Paul KaneApparently purchased with proceeds from a book in which she bragged about murdering a puppy. Great reporting (as always) from @drewharwell.com.
- Reposted by Paul KaneWhat a neat story “As the decades passed, few people gave thought to the bulb’s origin or longevity. Until 1972. That’s when Mike Dunstan, an 18YO cub reporter w/ Livermore Herald & News, got a tip: Word was, the fire chief said, that bulb in the middle of the station might be really, really old”
- Full link to @vermontgmg.bsky.social review of amazing Who Is Government book: www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/0...
- An incredibly well timed work overseen by the great David Shipley & @michaellewis65.bsky.social : Who Is Government? An ode to federal workforce. Want to know what Elon is taking a chainsaw to? It’s these people. Buy this book. Via @vermontgmg.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/0...
- Reposted by Paul Kane
- An incredibly well timed work overseen by the great David Shipley & @michaellewis65.bsky.social : Who Is Government? An ode to federal workforce. Want to know what Elon is taking a chainsaw to? It’s these people. Buy this book. Via @vermontgmg.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/0...
- Reposted by Paul KaneQuick update on this story: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
- Your weekend PKCapitol column: Talk of liberal tea party is premature. Yes, there’s rage at Dem leaders, who mistook lack of one big anti-Trump march for base being less angry. That’s wrong, base is angry as ever. But the R tea party was uniquely destructive force. Dems aren’t there … yet? … ? …
- Reposted by Paul KaneToday's column, on the anniversary of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, is about that Statue of Liberty tiff between a French politician and the White House. Caution: Contains Freedom Fries www.usnews.com/news/u-s-new...
- My weekend column: Democrats need to figure out their bitter House-Senate split on the CR. Because bigger fights are coming. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- Your weekend @PKCapitol column: Elon Musk acts as if he’s first to find govt waste. For decades liberal leaning POGO has exposed Pentagon overruns. Right-ish Citizens Against Govt Waste’s first Pig Book was in ‘91. Centrist Taxpayers for Common Sense revealed Bridge to Nowhere in early ‘00s. ….
- Every "spring forward" or "fall back" weekend, some members make this goofy claim: That they can pass a law for more sunlight. Today it's Rick Scott: "Let’s give families in Florida and across the nation the much-needed benefit of more sunshine ..." Dude, you can't legislate sun. It's just time.
- One of the craziest stats I've ever read about Congress, via #SherrodBrown in @newrepublic.com -- "... In the 1960s, about one in four members of Congress only had a high school degree. Today 96 percent of members are college graduates. ..." newrepublic.com/article/1920...
- Snapped this pic in Rotunda today. Like a ghost is coming up behind Washington …. …… …,……… It’s really just sunlight creeping through the window about 1 o’clock as sun tilts toward the west down the Mall.
- I did math, on a Sunday morning. To explain how House Rs are in a jam on keeping gov’t open past the March 14 deadline. It’s a standoff that could go on for a while. Great time on NewsNation’s The Hill Sunday w/ Chris Stirewalt. Always a smart discussion. pilot.latakoo.com/asset/200258...
- Well, if you cancel a certain web sales service platform, they’ll refund you. And then they’ll send you notes trying to ge you to rejoin. They offer 50% off to those on Medicaid.
- Reposted by Paul KaneBye Amazon. Good riddance. ((Note that they will give you a prorated refund your Prime subscription, but you have to ask for it.))
- For kids near Philly in 1980, Pete Rose was a hero. Won WS with him, he elevated Schmidt’s game to HOF level. But older I got, the more I saw him as a dirt bag. Finally in 2017 we learned, as a Red in ‘73, he “dated” a 14-yr-old. Yes, 14. Excuse: He thought she was 16. www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...
- As many Dems on Hill fixate on price of eggs, @gallego.senate.gov took a very different, more serious path in 1st Senate speech today: saving the free world. “America does not stand with dictators, and we never will and we shall never.”
- Reposted by Paul KaneSpeaker Mike Johnson just cast the deciding vote for Trump's budget bill on behalf on Rep. David Schweikert. Schweikert handed Johnson his voting card. Johnson cast the vote, and handed it back. That was the vote that put Republicans over the top.
- Your weekend @PKCapitol column: Forget fight over “one, big beautiful bill” or 2 reconciliation bullets. ICEBERG dead ahead: gov’t shuts down in less than 3 weeks as top leaders distracted. Usual spend-more-for-both-sides won’t work. Dems want Musk stopped. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- Reposted by Paul Kane📬🚨 HUGE NEWS 📬🚨 Trump plans to fire the USPS governing board, merge the Postal Service into the Commerce Department. It would disrupt 55 years of non-political mail service, and threatens to upend trillions of dollars of ecommerce and the 250 year-old US mail system.
- Reposted by Paul Kane🚨 SCOOP 🚨 The acting Social Security commissioner has left the agency after a clash over providing DOGE access to sensitive data It follows our reporting that DOGE is seeking access to personal financial data at the IRS for every taxpayer, business and nonprofit.
- Federal judges do have some power in criminal corruption cases. Rather than simply accept DOJ’s withdrawal of charges against Ted Stevens 15~ years ago, the judge also hired an independent counsel to investigate the prosecutorial misconduct. Judges have power. www.cnn.com/2012/03/15/p...
- Your weekend @PKCapitol column: Several dozen members of Congress went to Munich security conference knowing this would be a lot different. Their message to Europe: “You should not give up hope. But this is going to be a really tough couple of years.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- “All across Washington, D.C., right now, there is remarkable talent in political journalism because of Tim Curran. That was his genius.” Rest easy, friend. Your legacy will last decades for what you’ve done. RIP. Via @cqrollcallguild.bsky.social rollcall.com/2025/02/10/t...
- Reposted by Paul KaneJeff Bezos has never interfered with my coverage, which is notable because I cover the Postal Service in addition to Congress and write a lot of things Amazon doesn't necessarily like. If it was ever suggested that Bezos was involved in my coverage, I'd quit.
- A very important column to consider given the first 2 weeks: Why wouldn’t Trump just assume the GOP nomination in ‘28, Constitution be damned? rollcall.com/2025/02/05/d...
- An Army vet who survived sexual assault. A physician who specialized in childhood vaccines. A Marine intel officer with niche in Eastern Europe. Those 3 held fates of Hegseth, Kennedy, Tulsi in their voting hands. Then Ernst, Cassidy, Young ... all caved. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
- The signs outside the Canadian embassy: FRIENDS PARTNERS ALLIES NEIGHBORS* * Fact check: We are still neighbors.
- Sunday @PKCapitol column: Perdue, Loeffler, Collins have been walking around Senate past couple weeks, ginning up support for nominations. Yet all 3 Georgians are reminders of Trump’s limits down ballot. McConnell blamed DJT for sabotaging 2 GA runoffs and handing Biden his massive agenda. …
- A really smart Rachel Bade look at how Trump doesn't really like cutting spending/slashing gov't agencies. (He really just wants cuts to DEI & anyone associated with 1/6.) These massive efforts for dramatic cuts are from Musk & Vought, not Trump's own politics. www.politico.com/news/magazin...
- Kennedy wasn’t just normal pro-choice. In May he rejected any limits, opposing Dobbs & Roe’s legal foundation. Q: “All the way up through full term, a woman has a right to have an abortion?” A: “Yeah … I don’t trust the state.” My look at this for pro-life Rs. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
