James Arkin: Campaign writing samples

Trump Makes Closing Argument in New Hampshire

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Donald Trump campaigned at a packed and raucous arena here Monday night, rallying the same supporters who gave him his first political victory in the primary nine months ago, setting him on the path that ends Tuesday night with either a come-from-behind victory, or a third consecutive Republican presidential defeat that would leave the party’s future in question.

Senate Republicans are bullish about the 2018 midterms as they target Democrats running for re-election in states carried by President Trump. But facing a turbulent political environment and seasoned Democrats who have won tough races before, some Republicans are growing concerned about their recruitment progress, anxious that potential GOP challengers aren’t stepping up to run in top-tier races.

Most Republicans caution patience, arguing it’s still early in the cycle and pointing out they have potential candidates in most of the races expected to be focal points next year. But others say that unless those potential candidates make their bids official soon, their prospects might not be as rosy as most believe.

House Picture Murky As GOP Aims To Limit Losses

Democrats are poised to gain seats in the House of Representatives this year, but with well over a dozen competitive races still viewed as tossups just one week before Election Day, the extent of that gain — and whether Republicans can stem the bleeding and keep a strong grip on their majority — remains uncertain.

Democrats for months have hoped to nationalize races, tying Republicans down the ballot to Donald Trump and hoping a big loss by Trump could flip a significant number of seats. They saw gains early in October when Republican polling in swing districts fell after the release of the “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump boasted about making unwanted sexual advances on women — something that prompted more than a dozen Republicans to withdraw their support for the party’s nominee.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Sen. Marco Rubio stood behind Donald Trump this week, but he didn’t stand up with him.

The junior senator didn’t appear at any of the four rallies the GOP nominee held across the state. Dozens of other Republicans have withdrawn their support from Trump’s flagging campaign in the wake of a published video of him uttering lewd comments about women and saying he made unwanted sexual advances.

Rubio did not join those who fled the campaign, but in a tweet Friday, he did condemn Trump’s comments. In a statement Tuesday, Rubio said that while he had rejected Trump’s “offensive rhetoric and behavior” and wished there were “better choices for President,” he viewed Trump as the lesser of two evils.

PHILADELPHIA – Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, two progressive senators who are among the most popular and well-regarded figures in the Democratic Party, are making their much-anticipated debuts on the campaign trail for Senate candidates by stumping for Katie McGinty, who is challenging incumbent Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania.

The appearance of the two most popular Democratic figures outside of President Obama and Vice President Biden is a sign of how critical Pennsylvania will be in determining which party controls the Senate in 2017. But it’s also a sign that of all the Democrats challenging incumbent GOP senators this year, McGinty might need the most help.

….

Meanwhile, Portman has opened up a sizable lead in the Senate race over the last month and is outpacing Trump by double digits in the state.

Republicans point to Portman’s campaign as an exemplar of how to run a down-ballot race in 2016 and think he’s positioned himself to win whether or not Clinton carries the state.

Democrats counter that Portman’s numbers are inflated and the race will tighten in the coming weeks. With Republicans holding a slim four-seat majority in the Senate and defending a number of toss-up races, Ohio could prove critical in deciding which party has the majority in the upper chamber next year.

[…read more…]

James Arkin: Congressional writing samples

GOP Senators Push Trump To Fill Administration Posts

Republican senators are growing impatient with the White House’s slow pace in filling out the administration and are pushing President Trump to speed the nomination process, concerned that the dearth of Cabinet deputies could hamper the executive branch’s ability to function.

The Senate has taken longer to confirm Trump’s nominees than it has those of past presidents, but Trump also has been slower than his predecessors to make nominations.

After seven years of campaign promises to repeal and replace Obamacare — a call that yielded Republicans the House, Senate and ultimately the White House — and after dozens of votes in Congress to undo President Obama’s signature legislative achievement, Speaker Paul Ryan conceded Friday that it would remain in place “for the foreseeable future.”

His remarks came after the House GOP failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act Friday, lacking enough party support to pass their measure and canceling a vote just minutes before it was scheduled to take place.

Sen. Ted Cruz’s unyielding opposition to the Affordable Care Act and his willingness to publicly take the fight to fellow Republicans helped cause a brief government shutdown four years ago. But now, with a Republican in the White House and repeal legislation working its way through Congress, the Texas Republican is keeping a low profile, putting his head down and working back rooms to influence the legislation.

The war against ISIS began with airstrikes a year ago this week and lawmakers have spent significant time in the last 12 months debating the strategy and, in many cases, criticizing the way the Obama administration is conducting the fight. But one thing members of Congress have yet to do is have a vote – or even a substantive debate – over authorizing the military campaign.

Instead, President Obama has relied on past authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs) against al-Qaeda in 2001 and in Iraq in 2002 as the legal justification for the current campaign against the terrorist organization operating mostly in Iraq and Syria. Despite the White House’s insistence, lawmakers are split on whether they agree. Some believe the president is operating within a legitimate legal framework. Others don’t.

Ernest Moniz, nuclear physicist and former MIT professor heading the Department of Energy, landed a role above his typical job description in February when he became a key negotiator of the historic nuclear agreement with Iran.

Now, the White House has dispatched Moniz a little closer to home: he’s been spending his days on Capitol Hill, using his scientific expertise to press lawmakers to support the agreement he played a crucial role in negotiating.

[…read more…]

Where’s Schumer on Iran?

One of the enduring, and some ways endearing, jokes in the nation’s capital is that the most dangerous place in Washington is between Chuck Schumer and a television camera. Not this month. Since President Obama announced the nuclear deal with Iran, the usually gregarious New York Democrat has mostly avoided talking about the agreement other than to say he plans to study it carefully, and his critical support or opposition has been difficult to pin down.

When the agreement was initially announced last week, Schumer released a short statement with no hints as to which way he might be leaning, only saying he intended to “go through this agreement with a fine-tooth comb, speak with administration officials, and hear from experts on all sides.” He pointed to his support for legislation that gave Congress a say in the agreement, and added that the deal “is not a decision to be made lightly.”

[…read more…]

James Arkin: Diverse writing samples

Breaking News:

Politico:

Officials: White House, Russia talks productive

Mayors push Rob Portman on gun checks

Washington Post:

Former Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold gets jail time from judge

Husband of Reston homicide victim dies in Texas in apparent suicide

D.C. Council panel hears testimony on ‘living wage’ bill targeting large retailers

New York Daily News:

Metro-North Faces Israel-Palestine Ad Conflict

Metro-North Billboard Flap Rages On

Aurora Shooting Suspect James Holmes Jailed In Solitary (contributing reporter; interviewed family members of victims)

Medill News Service

House Committee Starts New Effort To Overhaul Education Policy

Obama Welcomes World Series Champion Cardinals To White House

DC Residents More Stressed Than National Average, Report Finds

Enterprise Reporting:

Medill News Service:

Smaller Class Sizes A Panacea? Not Everyone Agrees

Racial Disparities Remain In Education, But Some Schools Bucking Trend

New York Daily News:

Will Adriano Espaillat’s Summer of Unity Linger through a Primary Guillermo Linares?

Washington Post:

Fairfax Co. employees get mental health first aid training

Features:

Washington Post:

U-Md professor Sylvester James Gates Jr. to receive National Medal of Science

26 cyclists in support of gun-control legislation after Sandy Hook shooting reach Capitol

New York Daily News:

Bloomberg Interrupts Own Speech To Ask ‘Who Wrote This S—?’

Sports:

NU Receivers Helping With The Rushing Attack

Competition Pushing Wildcats In Practice

NU Runs Wild In Win Over Boston College

Persa Ready To Play

Featured

About Me

James Arkin is a congressional reporter with RealClearPolitics. Since 2015, James has been the sole reporter covering Capitol Hill for RCP, breaking news and writing deeply reported pieces on the inner workings of both the Senate and House of Representatives. He has broken news on a variety of major stories in the Capitol, including the end of the bipartisan push for criminal justice reform in the summer of 2016; the efforts by Senators Tim Kaine and Jeff Flake to bring up a vote on an authorization for the use of military force in the war against ISIS; and the growing concern among Republicans over the slow pace of nominations by President Trump. He also covered House and Senate campaigns in the 2016 election cycle, writing enterprise reports on different Senate contests, Democrats’ efforts to retake chambers of Congress, and Republican efforts to handle the unorthodox Trump campaign.

Before joining RCP, James received a Master’s from the of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a focus in magazine writing and editing. He previously graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Medill with a second major in Political Science. His work has appeared in in print and online for BuzzFeed, Politico, The Washington Post, the Columbus Dispatch, the New York Daily News, and the Medill News Service in Chicago and Washington, DC, as well as a variety of sports blogs and websites.

He has also worked as Political Director for the Northwestern News Network, a student television program. He previously held the role of sports producer and has anchored both sports and politics shows for the program. He has participated in live sports broadcasts for the Big Ten Network as an analyst, director, producer and cameraman.

Outside reporting, his interests include spending my time avidly following his favorite sporting teams: The Ohio State Buckeyes, the Northwestern Wildcats, and the Cleveland Indians/Cavaliers/Browns while trying to maintain some hint of optimist, which becomes increasingly difficult with each new season.

Follow James on twitter: @jamesarkin

Featured

Resume

View this document on Scribd