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

Why are we rushing to defend Ukraine?

The military-industrial complex and its clients sprinkled throughout both political parties seem to have decided that the next place we need to go and kill people is Ukraine, assuming that Russia decides to slice off a section of its former province. Published January 22, 2022

Sens. Dole, Reid compared: Why it’s easy to hate Washington

Two men were recently granted the honor of being laid in state in the Capitol. Their lives were each instructive in their own way. Published January 19, 2022

American financial institutions’ hypocrisy on China

One of the latest fads on the left is the "environmental, social and governance" or ESG movement. Published January 16, 2022

All the fact-checkers in the world can’t save the public health community’s clown show

Last week I wrote, and The Washington Times ran, a column arguing that, whatever else they are, the "vaccines" are not vaccines like you and I understand that term. Published January 12, 2022

Joe Biden, the 33% man

The reporting on President Biden's approval rating is a steady-state feature of our national discourse. Right now, Mr. Biden is, depending on who you believe, anywhere from 8 to 17 points underwater. Published January 8, 2022

COVID-19 shots are not vaccines

What is a vaccine, anyhow, and at what point is the public health community gaslighting us? Published January 5, 2022

Projections for 2022

With Yogi Berra's cautionary note in mind, let's think about the coming year. Published January 2, 2022

Year in review: 2021 has been a dumpster fire

A female friend of mine said recently: "Every woman knows there's one eye where your makeup looks great and another where it looks like a mess. The front end of 2021 was the good eye; the back end was the other eye." Published December 29, 2021

The melancholy of Christmas

Christmastime is characterized by parties and celebrations, and dinners with friends and family. Why, then, is part of it characterized by melancholy? Published December 25, 2021

What is Christmas really about?

God's message of hope and optimism delivered and remembered most pointedly each Christmas endures precisely because it is the antidote to the pathologies and problems we see around us and in us. Published December 22, 2021

Rep. Gary Palmer interview transcript

This is the transcript of an interview between Michael McKenna, columnist for The Washington Times, and Rep. Gary Palmer, an Alabama Republican who is chair of the House Republican Policy Committee. Published December 20, 2021

Republicans need solid policies and thoughtful leaders in Congress

It is likely that we are going to suffer through a year of triumphalism among some Republicans in anticipation of the party winning control of the House and probably the Senate next November. Published December 18, 2021

Tea parties, Trump’s victory and Jan. 6 truth

On Dec. 16, 1773, the Boston chapter of the Sons of Liberty painted themselves as American Indians, marched to Griffin's Wharf, boarded three ships and took hatchets to 342 chests of tea, eventually tossing the contents into the harbor. Published December 15, 2021

Who will insist on fairness and equity for female swimmers?

As a member of the women's swim team at the University of Pennsylvania, Lia Thomas has been racking up an impressive number of wins and records this season. Published December 11, 2021

Biden makes China first, America last

Biden likes to say that climate change poses an "existential" threat. I imagine the slaves in China and the children working in open-pit mines in the Congo have a slightly different sense of what might constitute an "existential" threat. Published December 8, 2021