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Mercedes Schlapp

Mercedes Schlapp

Mercedes Schlapp was a columnist for The Washington Times.

Articles by Mercedes Schlapp

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminister, N.J., Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017. The president raised the possibility that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should step down if he can't muscle health care and other legislation through the Senate, taking an extraordinary swipe at the man with the most power to steer the White House agenda through the chamber. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Biggest threat to Trump's agenda comes from fellow Republicans

Reaching the 200-day mark of his presidency, Donald Trump is getting resistance not just from the Democrats and their enablers in the liberal media, but from members of his own party who refuse to give the president a major legislative victory. Published August 10, 2017

The Capitol Dome of the Capitol Building in Washington, Monday, July 17, 2017. The Senate has been forced to put the republican's health care bill on hold for as much as two weeks until Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., can return from surgery. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Republican senators must embrace boldness to win health care fight

What's missing in the Senate these days is boldness, the kind needed to take action on health care — repealing Obamacare, stabilizing the individual insurance markets, and giving states greater flexibility to shape their own healthcare systems. Published July 20, 2017

A person demonstrates against the GOP health care bill, Thursday, June 29, 2017, in Philadelphia. Senate Republican leaders considered keeping one of former President Barack Obama's big tax increases on wealthier Americans and using the money to fatten proposed subsidies for the poor in a bid Thursday to placate moderate GOP lawmakers and salvage their struggling health care bill. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Medicaid is not the answer to our health care system woes

Has Medicaid become the gold standard for our health care system? For Democrats and moderate Republicans, the government-run program is becoming their favored solution for those lacking health insurance. Published June 29, 2017

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, leaves after Republicans released their long-awaited bill to scuttle much of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, June 22, 2017. GOP leaders hope to vote on the bill next week and can only afford two defections from the 52 Senate Republicans but the measure encountered immediate trouble as four Republican senators said they opposed it but were open to negotiations. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Obamacare repeal has its best chance now with GOP plan

To do nothing on health care is not an option, and time is not on the GOP's side, with less than 45 days left on the legislative calendar and six years of talking about Obamacare repeal and replace. Published June 22, 2017

A gunman shot at lawmakers during a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, Wednesday. Rep. Steve Scalise was injured in the attack. (Associated Press)

Shooting exposes the deep anger at the heart of the culture

The shooting of a senior GOP congressional leader, Hill staffers and Capitol police officers is a sober reminder of how deeply anger and division have penetrated our politics and our culture. We are forgetting the basics, failing to foster civility and respect for one another in America. Both political parties need to take inventory on how to restore civility in our nation and calm the political tension. Published June 15, 2017

Former FBI Director James Comey is sworn in by Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., foreground, during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

A disgruntled employee fails to make the case against his old boss

During Thursday's showdown Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, fired FBI Director James B. Comey came across as less as a fearless crusader for the truth and more as a disgruntled employee upset with the boss who unceremoniously let him go. Published June 8, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, sits next to British Prime Minister Theresa May during in a working dinner meeting at the NATO headquarters during a NATO summit of heads of state and government in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump inaugurated the new headquarters during a ceremony on Thursday with other heads of state and government. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool)

'Deep state' leakers undercut country in their zeal to hurt a president

The leakers of classified intelligence information are chipping away at our democratic institutions. It's becoming a dangerous game where those who are feeding sensitive information to the media are also creating distrust within our intelligence agencies and damaging relationships with our allies abroad. Published May 25, 2017

In this May 16, 2017, photo, President Donald Trump welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House in Washington. The Trump administration faced growing calls Thursday for a forceful response to violence by Turkish presidential guards on American soil, who were briefly detained this week but then set free. The unseemly incident added to U.S.-Turkish tensions that are being compounded by a growing spat over U.S. war strategy against the Islamic State group in Syria. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

No use trying to satisfy demanding Democrats

A close relative shared with me his thoughts on the odd situation we find ourselves in these days, where Republicans are in charge of the Congress and the White House yet it feels as if the minority Democrats are running the show. Published May 18, 2017

In this photo taken Dec. 8, 2016, the Capitol Building as seen in Washington. Congress wrapped up the 114th session early Saturday, a tumultuous two years marked by the resignation of a House speaker, a fight over a Supreme Court vacancy, bipartisan bills on health care and education and inaction on immigration and criminal justice. The new Congress will be sworn-in Jan. 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Lessons learned and challenges ahead in Hill's health care fight

The passage of the American Health Care Act in the House on Thursday is a major legislative breakthrough for Republicans, who are carrying the heavy load of repealing and replacing Obamacare with no help from the minority Democrats. Published May 4, 2017