Christopher Bedford

Washington, D.C.

Senior Politics Editor at Blaze Media

Snr. politics editor & DC correspondent for TheBlaze. Writer @ The FDRLST, Telegraph, New Criterion, Spectator, Fox, American Mind, WEX, TheDC, Compact & NYPost

Featured in: Favicon

foxnews.com Favicon

telegraph.co.uk Favicon

nypost.com Favicon

newsweek.com Favicon

yahoo.com (+1) Favicon

baltimoresun.com Favicon

nationalreview.com Favicon

substack.com Favicon

dailycaller.com Favicon

realclearpolitics.com + 43 more

Articles

The senators to watch in reconciliation’s next battle

2 weeks ago | theblaze.com | Christopher Bedford

Washington breathed a sigh of relief Thursday morning. After weeks of wrangling, members and staff of the House of Representatives finally got some much-needed sleep. But while the House’s passage of the reconciliation package marks a major win, no one should mistake it for the final battle. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it will be dissected, amended, and — barring a miracle — sent back to the House with underlines and edits.
Americans didn’t elect Trump to bust SALT caps or overhaul Medicaid

2 weeks ago | theblaze.com | Christopher Bedford

Republican lawmakers from every faction threaten to derail President Trump’s agenda if they don’t get what they want. Some raise valid concerns. Others don’t. But all of them want more. It’s a familiar scene in Washington: a president forced to spend political capital appeasing members of Congress who didn’t — and could not possibly — win a national mandate in 2024. When it’s time to vote, most of them will likely fall in line, take the win, and move on.
The reasons Democrats won’t learn a thing from 2024

2 weeks ago | theblaze.com | Christopher Bedford

No moment offers a political party a better opportunity for self-examination than losing the White House after a single term. But the Democratic Party refuses to seize that opportunity. Instead, party leaders and media allies have turned their ire toward the one man with no role in shaping the party’s future: Joe Biden. Yes, Biden’s four years exposed real structural problems worth sorting out.
Why the GOP is so frustrated trying to negotiate with the ‘SALT Caucus’

3 weeks ago | theblaze.com | Christopher Bedford

If you’re a normal person, you might find the phrase “Republican SALT Caucus” unintentionally hilarious. One of our editors literally laughed out loud when she first saw it in last week’s copy. But yes — this circus is real. The so-called SALT Caucus is pushing to bust the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, a move that overwhelmingly benefits wealthy constituents and donors in high-tax blue states.
The Great Biden Book War has finally begun

3 weeks ago | theblaze.com | Christopher Bedford

Everyone saw the Great Biden Book War coming. It loomed the moment Joe Biden left the presidential race last year. When Vice President Kamala Harris lost the popular vote to a resurgent Donald Trump, the storm became unavoidable. Now it’s here. Reporters, former aides, and opportunistic authors are scrambling to soothe their consciences, pad their wallets, and secure their place in the historical record. Even the Biden family has taken notice — hence last week’s cringeworthy media tour.
Who can lead the Democrats out of the wilderness?

3 weeks ago | theblaze.com | Christopher Bedford

On Tuesday, April 29, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called for mass mobilization against President Donald Trump, marking 100 days of the 47th administration with a clarion call that “these Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.” And no one listened. Except for maybe the single-looking white woman walking a dog who spit on acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin during a Newsmax interview Thursday. The faithful roared and stomped their feet so powerfully you could feel it in the rumbling floor.
The last march of the moderates

4 weeks ago | theblaze.com | Christopher Bedford

Blue-state Republicans are ready for battle. Their goal is to restore the state and local tax deductions, or SALT, that allow Americans in high-tax states and localities to deduct what they pay locally from the amount of taxes they owe the federal government. Conservatives are loath to let the federal government bail out high-tax blue states and need that revenue to pass President Donald Trump’s budget through the Senate’s reconciliation process.
Trump’s DC prosecutor pick blocked by a Senate saboteur

1 month ago | theblaze.com | Christopher Bedford

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is actively sabotaging President Donald Trump’s pick for Washington, D.C.’s top prosecutor, derailing the hard work to restore safety, law, and order to the capital city — and also threatening to upend the president’s ultimate (and more important) legislative agenda. Ed Martin currently serves as acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and has been nominated to keep the job permanently.
How to get Trump’s nominations through the Senate

1 month ago | theblaze.com | Christopher Bedford

The Senate moved quickly to confirm President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and several key sub-Cabinet positions, including the FBI director and the director of national intelligence. But now, it appears ready to coast through the spring while critical posts remain unfilled. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) could solve the problem in a week — but only if he’s willing to put in long days and late nights. This isn’t ceremonial work.
The next 100 days

1 month ago | theblaze.com | Christopher Bedford

We are now 101 days into President Donald Trump’s second administration. The pace has been relentless. No president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has reshaped the federal government so fundamentally. The days of tinkering around the edges are over. The long-overdue conservative revolution has finally begun. Cementing these gains will require discipline and focus. The next 100 days will be critical. The clock is ticking. The president faces major battles in Congress.