Washington

What’s next after Trump win? Emboldened, he’ll take charge in a Washington he changed

Published

1 year ago

November 6, 2024

Press Room

What’s next after Trump win? Emboldened, he’ll take charge in a Washington he changed

Now what?

With a stronger-than-ever electoral showing, Donald Trump is poised to take charge in a Washington he has changed.

He leads a united Republican Party, the so-called Never Trumpers in the GOP establishment vanquished. He faces disheartened Democrats who have only begun the recriminations over what went wrong. With bolstered control of the Senate and perhaps also the House, the GOP is positioned to push the aggressive agenda he outlined in a bruising campaign.

One more thing: Trump himself knows more about how things work and is less willing to heed those who urge caution than he was when he unexpectedly won his first term in the White House eight years ago.

Donald John Trump, 78, has triumphed over Democrat Kamala Harris in a historic political comeback − prevailing despite two impeachments, two assassination attempts, a problematic debate, a criminal conviction and memories of the storming of the Capitol by his supporters four years ago. Not since Grover Cleveland in 1892 has a president come back from defeat to win a second term.

“We’ve achieved the most incredible political thing,” he told exultant supporters gathered for election night in West Palm Beach, Florida. He promised to “fix everything.”

This time, he not only carried the Electoral College but also the popular vote, the first Republican to do so in two decades. His victory was so decisive that there was no need to wait for days of counting ballots as in 2020.

Instead, most Americans woke up Wednesday morning to news that Trump had the White House in hand, and to speculation about what exactly he would do when he moves back in Jan. 20.

What will he do?

His supporters brag and his opponents fear that Trump will claim a mandate to do precisely what he said he would do.

That would include across-the-board tariffs on imported goods. Mass deportations of undocumented migrants. A rollback of federal regulations on energy and the environment. An extension of the massive tax cuts enacted in his first term. An “America First” foreign policy that could pressure Ukraine to make territorial concessions to end its defensive war with Russia.

He also vowed to seek “retribution” against his political foes and to pardon those convicted for their part in the Jan. 6 insurrection. He has made it clear he would end the federal prosecutions of himself − indictments charging that he tried to overturn the 2020 election and mishandled some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets.

The voices now likely to have his ear include controversial vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he praised at his victory celebration, and entrepreneur Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. “A star is born: Elon,” Trump declared to cheers.

The voices who will have more trouble getting his attention are likely to include the shrinking ranks of Republican moderates in Congress. With a Republican majority of at least 52 in the Senate, Trump could win confirmations and pass policy even if centrist senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine bolt.

Can disheartened Democrats rally?

For Democrats, the coalition that elected Barack Obama and Joe Biden has been shattered.

“We are going to have to sit down as a Democratic Party and look hard” at why voters didn’t turn out for Harris and down-ballot Democrats, said Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, an ally of Biden and co-chair of Harris’ campaign. On CNN, he dodged a question about whether he and other Democrats had regrets about Biden’s initial decision to seek a second term.

“Look, I think it’s hard to look back and talk to what could-of or might-of or should-have been,” he said − words that were not a denial.

Trump already had reshaped the Republican Party, making it more populist, more male and more working-class.

With Tuesday’s election, he also reshaped the Democratic Party. He eroded its core support among Latino and Black voters, especially men, and dismantled the “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that had once been a partisan bulwark.

In Edison Research exit polls, Trump carried a 54% majority of Hispanic men, a record for a Republican, and 37% of Hispanic women. Among Black voters, he won just 7% of Black women but 20% of Black men.

He defeated Vice President Harris among white voters 55%-43%.

The size and sweep of Trump’s victory defied any easy or singular explanation, especially against an opponent who was credited with record fundraising and a generally sure-footed campaign.

Some critics said Harris should have picked Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro instead of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, a choice that might have put the Keystone State in her corner. Others said she needed to do more to explain and distance herself from progressive positions she supported during her short-lived presidential bid in 2019. She faced hecklers, especially on college campuses, for the devastation among civilians in Gaza from Israeli attacks.

Most of all, though, voters said their top concern was the economy, expressing disapproval of the Biden administration’s record on inflation and saying they had suffered its effect on their own families.

On the other hand …

There’s another election in two years.

In victory and defeat, the late Democratic national chair Robert Strauss would caution that in politics, things are never as good as they seem or as bad as they seem − that the seeds of disaster or renewal are planted in the best and worst of times. Now, with their commanding position of power, Trump and his GOP troops are likely to be held accountable for good news and bad.

Midterm elections almost always deliver rebukes to the party in power as voters express unhappiness with promises not kept. In the past five midterm elections, for instance, the president’s party has lost an average of 31 House seats.

Which would, of course, switch power there again.

Source link

Click to comment

Washington

PHOTOS: Long Beach State Dirtbags vs. Washington State, Baseball

Published

10 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

PHOTOS: Long Beach State Dirtbags vs. Washington State, Baseball

The562’s coverage of Dirtbags Baseball for the 2026 season is sponsored by P2S, Inc. Visit p2sinc.com to learn more.

Long Beach State dropped a 9-7 decision against Washington State on Sunday afternoon, closing out a busy weekend on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.

The visiting Cougars took the lead for good in the eighth inning when Long Beach Poly grad Ryan Skjonsby delivered a game-winning two-run single with two outs and the bases loaded. Skjonsby was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and three RBIs for Washington State in their road victory.

For the Dirtbags, catcher Damon Valdez scored twice and had a key two-run single in the sixth to help lead a Long Beach comeback. Trevor Goldenetz had a pair of hits at the top of the order, including an RBI triple. Camden Gasser walked twice and singled, improving his on-base percentage to .574 on the season.

Long Beach State (4-7) will be back in action at home on Tuesday with an exhibition match against Waseda University from Japan. The Dirtbags will then visit San Diego State on Wednesday and open Big West play at UC Santa Barbara this weekend.

Source link

Washington

Week Ahead in Washington: March 1

Published

22 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – Operation “Epic Fury” — the weekend military operations carried out by the U.S. and Israel against targets in Iran — tops the agenda for Congress as lawmakers return to Washington.

Sunday, President Donald Trump said the new leadership in Iran wants to talk to the Trump Administration.

Democrats in both chambers called for Congress to return as soon as possible for classified briefings on Iran, followed by a move to vote on the War Powers Act. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war on another country.

Congress’ return to Washington was originally delayed due to the start of the 2026 midterm elections cycle.

Tuesday, voters in Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas head to the polls for primary elections.

North Carolina and Texas are drawing significant attention, as both states are facing congressional redistricting and competitive primary races for Senate seats.

In Texas, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R) is facing primary challenges from state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. On the Democratic side, Rep. Jasmine Crockett is facing state Rep. James Talarico.

In North Carolina, candidates are vying to replacing retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R) . They include former Governor Roy Cooper (D) and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley.

Also this week, the Rev. Jesse Jackson is laid to rest. He will be honored Wednesday in Washington before a final memorial service Saturday. Jackson died Feb. 17.

Source link

Washington

Caps Fall in Montreal, 6-2 | Washington Capitals

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Caps Fall in Montreal, 6-2 | Washington Capitals

Cole Caufield scored in the first minute of the first period and added another goal later in the frame, sparking the Montreal Canadiens to a 6-2 win over the Capitals on Saturday night at Bell Centre.

Washington entered the game with a modest three-game winning streak and six wins in its last seven games. Although they were able to briefly draw even with the Habs after Caufield’s opening salvo, Caufield and the Canadiens responded quickly and the Caps found themselves chasing the game for the remainder of the night.

“I didn’t mind some of the things that we did tonight,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “I thought we created enough offensively, we just made way too many catastrophic mistakes to be able to sustain that.”

In the first minute of the game, Caufield blocked a Jakob Chychrun point shot, tore off on the resulting breakaway and beat Charlie Lindgren for a 1-0 lead for the Canadiens, half a minute into the contest. Lindgren was making his first start since Jan. 29, following a short stint on injured reserve for a lower body injury he sustained in that game.

After the two teams traded unsuccessful power plays, the Caps pulled even in the back half of the first. With traffic in front, Declan Chisholm let a shot fly from the left point. The puck hit Anthony Beauvillier and bounded right to Alex Ovechkin, who had an easy tap-in for career goal No. 920 at 13:16 of the first.

But Montreal came right back to regain the lead 63 seconds later, scoring a goal similar to the one Ovechkin just scored.

From the left point, Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble put a shot toward the net. It came to Nick Suzuki on the goal line, and the Habs captain pushed it cross crease for Caufield to tap it home from the opposite post at 14:19.

Less than two minutes later, Lindgren made a dazzling glove save to thwart Caufield’s hat trick bid.

Midway through the middle period, Montreal went on the power play again. Although the Caps were able to kill the penalty, the Habs added to their lead seconds after the kill was completed; Mike Matheson skated down a gaping lane in the middle of the ice and beat Lindgren from the slot to make it a 3-1 game at 12:22.

Minutes later, Montreal netminder Jakub Dobes made a big stop on Aliaksei Protas from the right circle, and Suzuki grabbed the puck and took off in the opposite direction. From down low on the right side, he fed Kirby Dach in the slot, and Dach’s one-timer made it 4-1 for the Canadiens at 16:34 of the second.

In the waning seconds of the second, Dobes made one of his best stops of the night on Beauvillier, enabling the Canadiens to carry a three-goal lead into the third.

Those two quick goals in the back half of the second took some wind out of the Caps, who were playing their third game in four nights following the three-week Olympic break.

“We kill off a penalty, and then we end up going down 3-1right after the penalty,” says Caps center Nic Dowd. “Those are challenging to give up, right? You do a good job [on the kill], it’s a 2-1 game, and then all of a sudden, before you blink, it’s 4-1 and then the game gets away from you.

“And they defended well tonight; It’s tough to score goals in this League, and you go into the third period, and you’ve got to score three. You saw that [Friday] night when we played Vegas; they were able to score two, but it’s tough to get that third one. I think we have to manage situations a little bit better. It’s a 2-1 game on a back-to-back, we just kill a penalty off, or maybe we just have a power play – whatever it is – we have to manage that, especially in an arena like this, where the crowd gets into it on nothing plays. They can really sway momentum – and in a good way – for their home team.

“We just have to understand that if we don’t have our legs in certain situations, because of travel, it’s back-to-back or whatever, we really have to key into the details of the game and not let things get away from us quickly.

With 7:28 left in the third, Ovechkin netted his second of the game – and the fifth goal he has scored in this building this season – on a nice feed from Dylan Strome to pull the Caps within two goals of the Habs, who have coughed up some late leads this season.

But Montreal salted the game away with a pair of late empty-net goals from Suzuki and Jake Evans, respectively.

In winning six of their previous seven games, the Caps had been playing with a lead most of the time. But playing from behind virtually all night against a good team in a tough building is a tall task under any circumstances. And it was exactly that for the Caps on this night.

“They score on the first shift,” says Strome. “Obviously, Saturday night in Montreal is as good and as loud as it gets. They just got a fortunate bounce; puck was off Caulfield’s leg, and a perfect bounce for a breakaway. It’s just one of those things where we got down early and now they kind of fed off the momentum of the crowd.

“But I still think our game is in a good spot, and we’ve just got to keep stacking wins. Obviously, we’ve played more games than everyone so we’re going to need some help, but we’ve just got to keep stacking wins. It’s tough on the back-to-back in Montreal, but we’ll find a way to bounce back on Tuesday [vs. Utah at home] and then go from there.”

Source link