‘Prisoner of his own impulse’: Inside Trump's cave to end shutdown without wall  —  His poll numbers were plummeting.  His FBI director was decrying the dysfunction.  The nation's air travel was in chaos.  Federal workers were lining up at food banks.  Economic growth was at risk of flatlining …

‘Complete, total surrender’: Why Trump waved the white flag  —  President Donald Trump touted GOP unity for 33 days of a partial government shutdown.  But by the 34th day, it was clearly gone — and so was the shutdown by the end of the 35th.  —  Senate Republicans had finally …

Trump signs bill to open the government, ending the longest shutdown in history  —  President Trump on Friday agreed to temporarily reopen the federal government without getting any new money for his U.S.-Mexico border wall, retreating from the central promise of his presidency, for now, in the face of intense public anger.

‘All for nothing’: Trump's wall retreat bewilders allies  —  Before President Donald Trump finished speaking from the Rose Garden, putting a temporary end to the five-week government shutdown, a running group text between several of his former aides lit up with complaints.

Uh-Oh  —  Criminal indictments are typically written in the dry, terse active voice of American legalese.  Special counsel Robert Mueller's criminal indictment of Roger Stone, who was arrested by FBI agents in the wee hours on Friday, is no different—with one notable exception.

What did the president know, and when did he know it?  —  For two years now we've heard, “No collusion!” and “Witch hunt!”  Such disparagement of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's work was never viable (e.g. we knew about the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 for well over a year); now it's simply wrong.

'She's not one to bluff': How Pelosi won the shutdown battle  —  Two months ago, Nancy Pelosi was battling an internal Democratic rebellion trying to bar her from the speakership.  —  Pelosi faced doubts over whether she was the right person to lead the new Democratic majority …