Michael McKenna

Michael McKenna, a columnist for The Washington Times, is the president of MWR Strategies. He was most recently a deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the White House. He can be reached at mike@mwrstrat.com.

Columns by Michael McKenna

Congress and the lame duck session illustration by Greg Groesch / The Washington Times

Lame-duck Congress and America’s discontent

Now that the 2022 election is mercifully (mostly) in the rearview mirror and the Republicans have won the majority in the House and perhaps the Senate, it is time to refocus and get back to work. Published November 11, 2022

Incumbent Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis holds his son Mason as he celebrates winning reelection, at an election night party in Tampa, Fla, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Election Day winners and losers

As cruel as it may seem in the era of participation trophies and college admissions without tests, there are winners and losers in each election cycle, even when the election -- like this one -- is pretty much a status quo election. Published November 9, 2022

In this file photo, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., talks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Jan. 20, 2022. Mr. Scott, head of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, said on June 23, 2022, that he will vote against the bipartisan gun bill that has won the blessing of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, putting more distance between the two powerbrokers. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) **FILE**

GOP Senate majority closer to reality because of Rick Scott’s leadership

But if the Republicans do gain the majority, it will be in large measure because Sen. Rick Scott had a plan and stuck with it. Published November 4, 2022

Can Lee Zeldin save New York? illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Last stand to save New York: Zeldin closes gap with Hochul

Lee Zeldin, combat veteran, lawyer, father, husband and New York native, is on a mission to save the Empire State. Published November 2, 2022

FILE - The state Capitol building is seen on Dec. 12, 2012, in Lansing, Mich. The Michigan Legislature on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, added $1 billion in new spending to an already record-breaking $76 billion budget, a boost intended to attract large economic projects, meeting immediate pushback from several key Republicans. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

Republicans must win state legislatures to stop Democrats’ radical liberal agenda

In a cycle in which Republicans are likely to seize control of Congress, it is important for the national party to remain focused on state legislatures. Published October 30, 2022

Predicting Winners and Losers in the Midterm Elections Illustration by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

Midterm predictions: Republicans will roll

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent the last few weeks playing Frank Skeffington, careening around the nation in the waning days of her final, sad, losing campaign. Published October 26, 2022

President Joe Biden speaks about deficit reduction in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. Biden is flanked by, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, left, and Council of Economic Advisers Chairwoman Cecilia Rouse. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

An open letter to President Biden

Mr. President, many of us who share your Catholic faith are worried about the condition of your soul. Published October 21, 2022

Pete Stauber Portrait by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Pete Stauber is not your typical member of Congress

Minnesota Republican Pete Stauber is the kind of person that the Framers had in mind when they thought about the House of Representatives. Published October 19, 2022

Afghanistan Monument on the National Mall Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Memorializing the failures of the ruling class on the National Mall

Sometimes what Americans choose to memorialize is difficult to understand. Published October 14, 2022

Illustration on vanity and self aggrandizement with politicians and the government by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Politicians’ ‘achievements’ at the expense of taxpayers

A few days ago, Ben Bernanke, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, overseer of the financial meltdown in 2007 won the Nobel Prize in economics. Published October 12, 2022

Columbus Day Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Don’t let holiday hijackers discount Christopher Columbus’ contributions

As we wander into another Columbus Day, we have to listen to the usual suspects who want to hijack Columbus Day for their own petty political purposes. Published October 9, 2022

Tiffany Smiley Poster Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Why Tiffany Smiley can beat Washington’s incumbent Sen. Patty Murray

Perhaps the most interesting Senate race this cycle is between Tiffany Smiley -- a rookie candidate -- and Patty Murray, a grizzled 30-year Senate veteran. Published October 5, 2022

This GOES-East GeoColor satellite image taken at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows the eye of Hurricane Ian approaching the southwest coast of Florida. Hurricane Ian's most damaging winds began hitting Florida's southwest coast Wednesday, lashing the state with heavy rain and pushing a devastating storm surge after strengthening to the threshold of the most dangerous Category 5 status. (NOAA via AP)

Don’t be gaslit by the left: Hurricane Ian is not an indicator of the apocalypse

You had to expect that a major hurricane striking the state that has become ground zero of the opposition to the current regime would eventually become an occasion for political opportunism of the rankest sort. Published October 2, 2022

Voting for the economy in this year's midterms illustration by The Washington Times

Americans will get the economy they vote for, so be careful

Survey results this election cycle have repeatedly indicated that voters consistently identify inflation and cost of living as the most important issue facing the United States Published September 28, 2022

The Allure of Conservatism Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

The assault on national conservatism

There are no coincidences in politics, which is why when three different people attacked the idea of national conservatism from three directions in the span of a day last week, it was worth noting. Published September 25, 2022

Illustration on Ernest Christian by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Ernie Christian: An evangelist for American exceptionalism in all its forms

Washington, D.C. is a terrible place. It is a company town dominated by grasping, aggressive, trivial courtiers who spend their time thinking about the calculus of power. Published September 21, 2022

President Joe Biden speaks during the United We Stand Summit in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. The summit is aimed at combating a spate of hate-fueled violence in the U.S., as he works to deliver on his campaign pledge to "heal the soul of the nation." (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Forget Biden’s propaganda and his unity summits

Lost in the penumbra of the idiocy of Team Biden's celebration of yet another terrible number on inflation was President Joe Biden's "United We Stand" Summit. Published September 18, 2022

Defending free speech and the rule of law Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Why aren’t more Americans defending free speech and the rule of law?

It has been suggested that those on the right have been a bit too energetic in defending the previous president. Published September 14, 2022

This Nov. 7, 2006, file photo shows the late U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., as he speaks upon winning his ninth term, in Charleston, W.Va. Byrd created a stir in the mid-1960s within the nation's intelligence community when he obtained secret FBI reports leaked by the CIA. (AP Photo/Jeff Gentner, File)

Rarely observed, Constitution Day honors the founding of America’s greatest document

This year, we will celebrate the 235th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. Published September 13, 2022

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., questions witnesses during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing to examine an update on the ongoing federal response to COVID-19 on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ** FILE **

Democrats don’t help the poor and won’t tax the rich

Remember back in January 2021 when Democrats spent all their time talking about how now was the moment to use the power of the government to address a variety of troubling societal problems? Published September 11, 2022