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President Trump warned that a “big price” would be paid for a chemical weapons attack in Syria that killed at least 42 and injured hundreds, just a week after the president said the U.S. would be pulling out of Syria. In a tweet, Trump hurled blame in two directions:  at Vladimir Putin, one of the few times he has cast aspersions on the Russian president, and, of course, on former President Obama. US policy in Syria is the subject Wednesday of an event at the  Atlantic Council that includes a conversation with Ambassador Fred Hof, former special advisor for the transition in Syria. The really big show this week in Washington, of course, will be Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s two days of solo testimony on the social network’s privacy policies before the Senate and the House. On Tuesday, ...

Good morning! Congress is out of town this week, and the Supreme Court is relatively quiet, which leaves much of the attention in Washington focused just where a certain person likes it – on President Trump. The president came out swinging over the weekend, in fact, warning of “caravans” of immigrants flowing over Mexico’s southern border and headed for the U.S. That means no more DACA for immigrants brought here illegally as children, the president tweeted, and possibly no more NAFTAfor Mexico.  China, meanwhile escalated a trade war, imposing tariffs on pork, fruit and other U.S. exports. With members of Congress out of town, there could be plenty of seats to be had for the week’s biggest event: Thursday’s home opener for the Washington Nationals, who face the New York Metropolitans at N ...

Whew! What a week! No doubt there are many in the Trump Administration who consider themselves lucky to still have a job. The recently departed include Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, and National Economic Council Head Gary Cohn. Not to mention Trump lawyer John Dowd, who left saying the president routinely ignored his advice. Who’s next? Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin was reported on Sunday to be on his way out. If the changes lead to less turmoil inside the White House, all to the good. But some administration officials who Trump is believed to like and respect are said to be worried about their ability to get along with new National Security Advisor John Bolton. Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis have reportedly ...

Good morning! We’ve written about pending government shutdowns so often that it would seem more of a surprise if Congress went a month without a threatened closure. But here we are again: The government will shut down Friday without a budget resolution. Neither the House nor the Senate has passed a bill to fund the government. And President Trump has said he will veto anything that contains money for a new tunnel between NY and NJ. Since he subpoenaed business records from the Trump Organization, Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been under renewed fire from the White House, with President Trump over the weekend abandoning the advice of his lawyers to avoid directly attacking Mueller. The president used Mueller’s name on Twitter for the first time, raising questions about whether Trump mi ...

• To the polls! In yet-another foreshadowing that something significant will (or won’t) be happening come the fall midterms, Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District on Tuesday conducts a special election to fill its seat in Congress. The Republican candidate, State Legislator Rick Saccone, appears poised to beat the Democrat challenger, Conor Lamb, not least because Republicans have spent $9 million to defend a district President Trump won by 20 points. But it will be the size of the victory that matters, in a district that might not even be around come November, thanks to court-ordered redistricting. • President Trump shocked advisors and allies alike last week by saying he wants to meet Rocket Man, the North Korean leader known informally as Kim Jong Un. This week brings multiple oppo ...