Twitter Does It Again: Behold @cromnibus

(Photo from Twitter) Legislative crises have becoming a Holiday Season tradition in Washington right up there with powerful officials mingling with other powerful officials at invitation-only parties. But, thankfully, a snarky soul has created a Twitter account to help us all cope. On Tuesday evening, senior lawmakers rolled out what’s called a “cromnibus.” You may…

Introducing ‘CongressWatch Minute’

In our first CongressWatch Minute, Senior Congressional Reporter John T. Bennett discusses why Congress may stumble and bicker into failing to grant the Pentagon’s request for extra funding for Israel’s Iron Dome before leaving for a five-week summer break — even though the proposal has broad support among members of both parties in the House and…

Obama’s Former Man in Moscow Stirs Hornet’s Nest on #MH17 Shootdown

When the Obama administration’s former top man in Moscow told Defense News that Russian leaders should apologize for the shootdown of an airliner in Ukraine, he was greeted with charges of hypocrisy. In a Twitter exchange late Tuesday evening, your correspondent asked Michael McFaul just what the “accountability” of Russian leaders he was calling for…

ESSAY: Obama’s Bergdahl-Taliban Gamble Is All About Timing

Buried beneath the nasty political brawl over the Obama administration’s swap of five senior Taliban prisoners for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is Obama’s cold-blooded strategic thinking. And President Barack Obama’s big gamble already has deepened Republicans’ frustrations with him, which could make easing sequestration a political impossibility.

Vice President Lindsey Graham?

If the field of Republican candidates who could win the presidency in 2016 is slim, imagine the shallow pool of vice-presidential contenders. One longtime observer of national politics suggested a name that is very familiar to the national security sector: Sen. Lindsey Graham.