Democrats: Solid opposition to Trump, but what comes next?

President Donald Trump is a unifying force for Democrats, bringing together disparate factions in opposition to nearly every presidential move. But solidarity - at least for now - doesn't necessarily add up to a strategy that can help Democrats win more elections after a precipitous slide from power in Congress and around the country.

4/09/2017

So the lesson from health care is that the White House needs to write its own legislation. What could go wrong? President Donald Trump has scrapped the tax plan he campaigned on and is going back to the drawing board in a search for Republican consensus behind legislation to overhaul the U.S. tax system.

Trump’s budget ideas are a gambler’s dream

President Trump spoke about budget policy during a meeting of the National Governors Association in State Dining Room of the White House on Feb. 27. The Star Tribune Editorial Board believes the president's numbers so far simply don't stack up. Four months after Donald Trump won the presidency, Americans have gotten only the barest glimpses of what his budget will look like.

Protesters’ ‘town hall’ demands are straight from a handbook guiding disrupters

Lee Anne Sgro writes to complain that people are unable to get through by telephone to Sen. Pat Toomey and Rep. Tim Murphy and that they have not attended "town hall meetings organized by their constituents" . Let's stop the pretense.

Retirement Anxiety Is Gripping America

A few weeks after the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives moved to kill rules allowing states to create portable retirement savings accounts, a new survey found that 75 percent of Americans support just such an option. The response was a common refrain in a report that echoed the growing dread of living out one's golden years in poverty.

What We Know About President Trump’s First Address to Congress

While President Trump has "accomplished more in just a few weeks than many presidents do in an entire administration," according to senior adviser Stephen Miller, somehow he still has historically low approval ratings. And while Trump says his White House is running like a fine-tuned machine, members of Congress are still unclear on his policy objectives for everything from tax reform to infrastructure.

The Note: GOP congressman calls for special prosecutor for Trump-Russia

The big story: Of all the bubbling questions and potential scandals of the early Trump administration, the one that now appears likely to hold is about Trump campaign contacts with Russians. There are sufficient questions surrounding these communications to merit a serious investigation, many in Washington believe.

AP sources: White House to propose boosting defense spending

The White House will propose boosting defense spending and slashing funding for longtime Republican targets like the Environmental Protection Agency in a set of marching orders to agencies as it prepares its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. President Donald Trump's proposal for the 2018 budget year, which will be sent to agencies Monday, won't make significant changes to Social Security or Medicare, according to an administration official.

AP sources: White House to propose slashing agency budgets

The White House is moving to propose slashing cuts to longtime Republican targets like the Environmental Protection Agency in a set of marching orders to agencies as it prepares its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Capitol Hill aides say the White House budget office on Monday will send agencies proposed levels for the 2018 budget year.

Thomas Perez – Mostly False: New DNC chair Tom Perez says Donald…

Democrats elected former Labor Secretary Tom Perez as their new national chairman on Feb. 25, 2017, over Rep. Keith Ellison, a liberal Minnesota congressman, after a divisive campaign that reflected the depths of the party's electoral failures. New DNC chairman Thomas Perez talks about the future of the Democratic Party with "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd on Feb. 26, 2017.

New DNC Chair Tom Perez Pledges to Repair and Unite Democratic Party

Newly elected Democratic national chairman Tom Perez pledged on Sunday to unite a fractured party, rebuild at all levels from "school board to the Senate" and reach out to chunks of rural America left feeling forgotten in the 2016 election. Speaking in television interviews, Perez indicated that an important first step was joining with vanquished rival Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, who agreed at Perez's invitation to serve as the Democratic National Committee's deputy chairman.