Following years of wrangling and a very public and damaging public shutdown over funding for one of Trumps controversial election promises - His Border wall - President Trump has threatened a new tactic. He has threatened to try to by almost by pass Congress by using one of his Presidential powers - to use Emergency powers - Whether this is even constitutional or not we will have to wait and see. Certainly the Wall is continuing to divide US politics. 

The US Senate was rocked by protester yesterday who disrupted the latest confirmation hearings into a new Supreme Court judge who Trump has nominated and who could potentially sway the delicate balance of the court towards the conservative side. This causes a great deal of worry - from those worried about women's rights ; medical rights and even the ability of Trump to potentially bypass any intended impeachment. Click on the picture or link for the full story. 

Facebook founder Mark Zukerberg appeared in front of a US Senate committee to answer questions relating to the sharing of data from Facebook to other companies. He appeared to do well in the face of the grilling. He faces the House Committees next. 

For the first time in 25 years the Democrats have won a Senate seat in the most unlikely of places - Alabama - This is deeply conservative and republican territory. However, the republican candidate - who was wholeheartedly backed by President Trump,  has a string of allegations made against him. 
Winning this seat has been a blow for Trump and another chip away at the very slim Republican majority in the Senate. This is now reduced to only 1 and makes control of Congress and the legislative agenda much harder for the Republicans. 
It also makes Trumps decisions questionable as he backed Moore against the advice of his party leadership. 

I have created an interactive Political glossary on American Politics which should be really helpful to get your mind around key terms and theories. It requires adobe Flash at present. Sorry it may not work on all devices - I am looking to change this soon. Give it a few seconds to load up. 

The House of Representatives have passed a set of tax cuts being reported as one of the greatest tax reforms / tax giveaways in History.

This is a flagship of President Trump and has saw him cajole his Republican party into order to get it passed with a comfortable majority. The bill will raise ta thresholds (the amount you need to earn before paying tax) Supporters say this will be a huge benefit to the economy and the middle class. Democrats have all voted against the bill. They suggest that there will be obvious losers in terms of funding for programmes and a huge mortgage for the nation as the national debt will soar to pay for it. 

This first round has been passed in the House - The Senate version may be a lot different- It is currently going through - The compromise- if reached may be interesting. Certainly this is a victory for Trump who could not afford to lose this - especially controlling both the House and Senate. 

These are great articles which explain just how precarious President Trumps hold on the Senate is. He has already had John McCain voting against his repeal of Obamacare bill. Now he has Bob Corker, a very influential Senator and chair of the Foreign affairs committee speaking out against his policies.  Although Corker will stand down at the next election which gives him some freedom.  It clearly illustrates fluid and loose party ties in Congress.