Political Horizons: The inescapable political element of criminal justice reform

Almost at the very beginning of a recent speech, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards reminded his Southern University audience that they were used as a backdrop "to scare people" in an ad attacking him during the 2015 gubernatorial campaign. Against the faces at the historically black university, Republican David Vitter's commercial - the first one out of the gate during the runoff - charged that the election of Edwards would lead directly to the release of "fifty-five hundred dangerous thugs, drug dealers, back into our neighborhoods."

Wendy Vitter won’t say if Supreme Court was right to outlaw segregated schools

Wendy Vitter, testifying Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee with her husband, former Sen. David Vitter, R-La., at right, said 'separate but equal' public education was immoral policy, but she would not say whether the Supreme Court was right to outlaw it. President Donald Trump has nominated her to be a U.S. District Court judge in New Orleans.

Stephanie Grace: Retiring Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran was there was Louisiana needed him

In this Jan. 21, 2018, photo, lights shine inside the U.S. Capitol Building as night falls in Washington. President Donald Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address Tuesday night but, as always, lawmakers are angling to steal part of the spotlight.

Louisiana Republicans elect first new leader in 14 years

Newly-elected Republican Party of Louisiana Chairman Louis Gurvich speaks to the state GOP's governing body, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018, in Baton Rouge, La. Newly-elected Republican Party of Louisiana Chairman Louis Gurvich speaks to the state GOP's governing body, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018, in Baton Rouge, La.

Stephanie Grace: John Bel Edwards hasn’t turned Louisiana blue, but he is part of a different trend

Gov. John Bel Edwards makes a point while speaking at the annual meeting of Jump Start, which allows high school students to get workforce training in addition to regular academic classes, Tuesday Jan. 23, 2018, in Baton Rouge, La. It's not exactly breaking news that Gov. John Bel Edwards' 2105 election didn't usher in a Democratic wave in Louisiana.

The Senate couldn’t refuse to seat Roy Moore. But it could kick him out.

Robert L. Walker, an attorney with the D.C. firm Wiley Rein, is a former chief counsel and staff director of the Senate and House ethics committees. If Roy Moore wins Tuesday's special election for U.S. Senate in Alabama, after he takes the oath of office the Senate will have the authority to begin an ethics investigation into multiple allegations that Moore engaged in unwanted or assaultive sexual conduct going back to the 1960s.

Former Senator Dives Into The Swamp With Lobbying Work For Alleged Macedonian Front Group

Just a month after leaving the U.S. Senate in January, David Vitter bragged about the access he would have to the Trump administration as a lobbyist for Mercury Public Affairs, a major Beltway lobbying outfit. "I can lobby the administration immediately," Vitter bragged to Politico in February.

California cities ready to fight Trumpa s call to punish so-called a sanctuary citiesa

California cities are mobilizing to fight the Trump administration's effort to strip federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities, which do not enforce federal immigration policy. Even as the Justice Department on Friday advised eight local governments and the state of California that they were at risk of losing federal dollars if they don't cooperate, several cities had already directed their lobbyists to oppose such efforts.

Former Louisiana Rep. John Fleming to join HHS under Trump

Former Louisiana Congressman John Fleming is going to be working for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NOLA.com/ The Times-Picayune reports that former U.S. Rep John Fleming says he has accepted a job as deputy assistant secretary for health technology within the department.

Review: ‘Long Shot: A Soldier, A Senator, A Serious Sin, An Epic Louisiana Election’

"Long Shot: A Soldier, A Senator, A Serious Sin, An Epic Louisiana Election" by Tyler Bridges and Jeremy Alford, Lisburn Press, $26.95 With the Democratic Party at is lowest ebb in Louisiana and the nation for almost a century, the contrarian tale of long-shot Democratic winner John Bel Edwards is irresistible for the party faithful, but it's a good read for anyone seeking an insightful look into how the game is played in the most idiosyncratic state of the union. Two of the state's best political writers - Jeremy Alford, editor of LaPolitics.com , and Tyler Bridges, who covers politics for The Advocate and others - engagingly profile the small-town lawyer who came from nowhere to seize the Governor's Mansion from the Republicans in 2015.

Trump Effect: Louisiana Republican John Kennedy Wins U.S. Senate Runoff Election

Republican John Kennedy has been declared the winner of Louisiana's runoff election for the U.S. Senate, defeating Democrat Foster Campbell and thwarting one of the last opportunities in 2016 for Democrats to gain a seat in the upper chamber. Kennedy's win on Saturday night, the first GOP win since Trump's election, gives Republicans a 52 seat majority in the U.S. Senate, making it that much harder for Democrats to make any headway in Washington.

Trump jovially rejoins campaign trail, tosses hat to a fan

Appearing jovial and relaxed, Donald Trump plunged back into election politics Friday, a full month after he won the presidency, enthusiastically prodding Louisiana Republicans to turn out for Saturday's Senate runoff election and protect the party's 52-48 margin in Washington. Addressing a large crowd at an airport hangar, at one point he tossed his trademark "Make America Great Again" hat to a supporter.

Trump: Ban Fed Employees From Applying to Former Clients

President-elect Donald Trump said Friday that he would propose a lifetime ban on federal employees who grant huge defense contracts from working for those companies - after saying this week that he wanted to cancel the "ridiculous" order for a new Air Force One. "But when you're talking about the kind of money [spent on such contracts] I said: 'Who gives these orders out?'" Trump told a rally in Baton Rouge, La., as part of his "thank you" tour of battleground states.

Trump mobilizing Louisiana Republicans in final Senate race

President-elect Donald Trump, right, greets Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, left, as he welcomes him to the stage during a rally at Hy-Vee Hall, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, in Des Moines. Branstad has accepted Trump's offer to become U.S. ambassador to China.