Difficulties and developments in D.C.

Though the summer is normally a quieter season in the national news cycle, there have been many major news stories throughout the past few months, especially in Washington D.C.

Beginning on July 21, Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned after the hiring of a controversial new Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci. On July 28, after a feud with Scaramucci, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was replaced with Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly.

However, on July 31, Scaramucci was removed from his position by Kelly, according to the New York Times.

The turmoil in the White House seemed to be calming down for several weeks, until Chief Strategist Steve Bannon was removed on August 18.

Many have argued that these back-to-back staff changes, which involve individuals from all across the political spectrum, illustrate the instability and lack of control in the White House.

Another major story in Washington D.C. this summer was the controversy surrounding the new health care bill.

After campaigning heavily on the repeal and replacement of Obamacare for years, Senate Republicans struggled to come up with a strong enough bill that could receive a majority vote.

First, Senate Republicans tried to create a comprehensive health care bill that would be put in place of Obamacare. However, that bill appeared to be heading for failure, so an attempt was made at passing a “skinny repeal,” which would not be as comprehensive. On July 27, this bill was rejected by a 51-49 margin, ultimately leading to a temporary failure to repeal and replace Obamacare.

The events this summer continued the pattern in Washington D.C. of a very active news cycle, maintaining its pace even as the one-year mark of the 2016 election nears.