Washington Today

It is Day 20 of the government shutdown…and there are few signs that lawmakers are close to a deal to end it….The House continues to hold only brief sessions…The Senate is in today….and they have an 11th vote scheduled on the Republicans short term funding bill…But it does not include the extension of federal health care tax credits…Meanwhile, federal workers continue to feel the shutdown's effects…As the federal agency overseeing the US nuclear stockpile began furloughing most of its workforce today….We'll hear what House and Senate leaders had to say about the shutdown coming up… President Trump welcomed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the White House today…The two signed an agreement on rare earth materials…The President also said he could meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month during a summit in South Korea…and he took questions on the cease fire in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war…You'll hear what he had to say coming up… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First: A preview of this week's "No Kings" rallies taking place across the country this weekend with Joel Payne of the group "MoveOn" – one of the progressive groups organizing the events. Then: A conversation with Mike Brest - defense reporter for the Washington Examiner. We talk about how the shutdown impacted payday for active-duty military members this week – and the new Pentagon press policies which many news organizations are pushing back on. And finally: From long-lines at TSA to canceled or delayed flights - we check in with Reuters Correspondent David Shepardson about the impact the government shutdown is having on air travel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump tells Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a White House meeting that if the U.S. gives Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles, it would escalate the war between Ukraine & Russia; President Trump expresses confidence his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary will go a long way to ending the war in Ukraine; President Trump also talks about Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and recent military tensions; John Bolton, former Trump WH National Security Adviser, turned critic, pleads not guilty today in federal court in Maryland to felony charges of mishandling classified materials; Day 17 of the federal government shutdown, and with House & Senate not in for business, the shutdown will extend into the weekend; Saturday there will be mass protests around the country against the Trump Administration, what organizers call "No Kings" rallies; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gives an update on U.S.-China trade negotiations; former Secretaries of State Mike Pompeo & Anthony Blinken tell jokes at the annual Alfred E. Smith Foundation charity dinner in New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump speaks by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announces they will meet in Budapest, Hungary in the coming weeks to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine. President Trump will be meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday to discuss possibly sending Tomahawk long-range missiles to Ukraine; President Trump also asked about this online post, "If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"; Venezuela brings the matter of what it calls President Trump's “bellicose” language to the United Nations Security Council, after President Trump confirmed Wednesday that he secretly authorized the CIA to conduct covert action in Venezuela was considering military strikes on Venezuelan territory to combat illegal drug smuggling; U.S. government shutdown is on Day 16 and will go through the weekend, after the Senate rejected for the 10th time a Republican proposal to temporarily fund the government and did not advance a standalone Defense spending bill; Former Trump White House National Security Adviser John Bolton is indicted on federal charges of illegally keeping and transmitting classified material; Democrats push back on Republicans calling the 'No Kings' protests planned for Saturday around the country 'Hate America Rallies'; President Trump announces new steps designed to expand access to IVF; Border Czar Tom Homan flatly denies he took a $50,000 bribe from FBI undercover agents; President Trump presents models of a proposed Independence Arch he wants to build near the Lincoln Memorial as part of the America's 50th Anniversary in 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

White House Budget Director Russell Vought suggests at least 10,000 federal workers could be fired during the government shutdown, now in Day 15, but a federal judge in California temporarily blocks the layoffs as a violation of the law; Senate again votes down the Republican-drafted temporary government funding bill for a ninth time, with Senate Democrats insisting health care provisions be included; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accuses China of going back on a trade deal on rare earth minerals, saying, 'China is a command and control economy, and the United States and our allies will neither be commanded nor controlled'; President Donald Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel give an update on anti-crime efforts across the country they call 'Summer Heat'; Supreme Court hears a case on involving a Black-majority Congressional district in Louisiana & the Voting Rights Act whose decision could limit the use of race in drawing legislative maps. We will hear some of the oral argument and talk with The Hill's courts & legal reporter Zach Schonfeld (34); Arizona's Democratic Congressional delegation makes another push to get Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva sworn-in, accusing Speaker Johnson of not doing so to prevent release of federal files on the investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal government shutdown reaches Day 14, and Republicans and Democrats seem to be digging in for the long haul; Air traffic controllers union president talks about the first missed full-paycheck for his members; Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says despite no official economic data due to the government shutdown, the outlook for employment and inflation has not changed much since the September interest rate cuts, suggesting there could be more cuts this year; President Donald Trump welcomes the President of Argentina to the White House and is asked about the $20 billion the U.S. is using to support Argentina's economy; Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) reacts to the guilty plea and sentence of the man who broke into the governor's residence earlier this year and set it on fire; assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presents the annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards for Advancing Women in Peace & Security; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defends new Pentagon media policies prohibiting reporters from publishing information not authorized for release, even if it is unclassified. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump proclaims, "dawn of a new Middle East" in a speech to the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem; world leaders sign the Gaza peace deal; Hamas frees the 20 living Israeli hostages, while Israel released nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners; U.S. government shutdown is entering its third week with no end in sight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, House Speaker Mike Johnson talks about the government shutdown and answers questions from our viewers. Then, a closer look at how the shutdown is impacting federal workers with Randy Erwin -- National President of the National Federation of Federal Employees. And finally, a preview of the new Supreme Court term that began this week. That conversation with SCOTUSblog Co-Founder and Reporter Amy Howe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

White House Budget Office Director Russell Vought announces on X that federal worker layoffs have begun, with the federal government shutdown now 10 days old and expected to continue through the weekend; Conservative commentator Benny Johnson says the Democratic Party is 'mainstreaming violence as a political tool', as he appears with Attorney General Pam Bondi to announce federal charges again a man who mailed a death threat to him and his family; Senate defeats an amendment from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) to limit President Donald Trump's power to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago and other cities in the name of supporting law enforcement to fight crime and ICE agents carrying out immigration raids; Venezuela's opposition leader wins the Nobel Peace Prize, and the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee is asked about President Trump's visible campaign for the award; First Lady Melania Trump says she has a regular communication channel with Russian President Putin, and it has helped reunite children separated from their families in the war in Ukraine; former Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI), former Congressional Black Caucus Chair, has died. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump & Secretary of State Marco Rubio talk about Israel & Hamas agreeing to a pause in their two-year-old war and the release of hostages held by Hama in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, what President Trump calls Phase One of his Gaza ceasefire plan; Federal court hearings today challenging President Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon and Chicago, the president says, to protect federal immigration authorities from threats by protesters; New York Attorney General Letitia James is reportedly indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of bank fraud. She writes on X, "This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system." Day 9 of the federal government shutdown and Senate votes down for a seventh time Republican and Democratic proposals for short-term funding extensions; Federal Reserve Board Member Michael Barr urges caution on any further interest rate cuts, citing the risks of inflation from President Trump's tariffs; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she believes the Trump administration is preparing for 'some kind of military action' against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former FBI Director James Comey pleads not guilty in federal court in Alexandria to two felony charges related to previous testimony before Congress. We will talk with The Hill's courts reporter Ella Lee, who was in the courtroom, about the arraignment and what is next in this case (1); President Donald Trump holds a roundtable at the White House with journalists he says were attacked by anti-ICE Antifa protesters in Portland, Oregon; Federal government shutdown now at Day 8 and the situation remains the same: Senate again votes down competing Republican and Democratic temporary government funding bills; Arizona's two Democratic U.S. Senators confront Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson over the delayed swearing-in of a newly elected Democratic Congresswoman from Arizona, who would provide the crucial 218 signature on a discharge petition to force release of the federal files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; IMF Managing Director gives an update on the world economy ahead of next week's IMF/World Bank meetings; Supreme Court hears oral argument in a case brought by Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL), who seeks standing to sue over Illinois' mail-in voting law that allows ballots postmarked by election day but which arrive later to be counted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal government shutdown at Day Seven shows no sign of ending soon; White House memo says the 750,000 federal government employees furloughed are not entitled to backpay when the government reopens; President Donald Trump meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House to discuss trade and tariffs; Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, pointing to a report this week that the FBI as part of its investigation of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol tracked Republican lawmakers' private phone records; Attorney General Bondi also has tense exchanges with Democratic Senators over everything from the Epstein files to a dropped ethics case against Border Czar Tom Homan and the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey; Supreme Court hears a case challenging a Colorado law that bans 'conversion therapy' for LGBTQ minors; today is the two year anniversary of Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate is back without a deal to end the government shutdown that's now in its sixth day. Meanwhile, the legal showdown over White House efforts to deploy National Guard troops into US cities continues. The State of Illinois and the City of Chicago sued the Trump administration today to stop the deployment of National Guard troops, while Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order declaring city property "ICE-free zones". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, a discussion about the government shutdown and its impact on federal workers, with Max Stier – President & CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. Then, Retired Army Colonel Peter Mansoor – now a military historian at Ohio State University - discusses President Trump and Secretary Hegseth's speech to generals earlier this week. Finally, a conversation with Rob Henderson of the Manhattan Institute on combating political extremism in the U.S. -- and why some young men are increasingly being radicalized online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Day Three of the federal government shutdown, the Senate votes for a fourth time on the same Republican and Democratic proposals and again each fails to reach the 60 votes required to pass; President Donald Trump posts a video depicting OMB Russell Vought as the Grim Reaper as the president considers widespread layoffs of federal workers now on furlough with the government shutdown; Director Vought announces on X over $2 billion in federal funding for transit projects in Chicago is being suspended due to concerns about 'race-based contracting'; Labor Department jobs report for September that would have come out today did not because of the government shutdown; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he directed, on President Donald Trump's orders, a lethal strike against a drug smuggling boat off the coast of Venezuela that the Secretary says was "affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations", and that four people onboard were killed; President Trump says Hamas has agreed to the peace plan with Israel and he and the Israeli Prime Minister presented, after President Trump sets a deadline for Hamas or , 'all hell' will 'break out'; Senate Republicans block a Democratic request to extend a cybersecurity law that expired with the end of the fiscal year on Wednesday that provides legal protections for critical infrastructure like electrical grids, transportation, and communications to share cyber intelligence with the federal government and each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day Two of the federal government shutdown and zero chance it will be settled today, with the Senate not conducting votes because of the Jewish holiday. Republicans and Democrats are again trading accusations over which party is at fault for the impasse, and debate over health care continues, including the Republican accusation that Democrats want to provide care for illegal immigrants; President Donald Trump posts that he is meeting with OMB Director Russell Vought to see which "Democrat Agencies" might be cut. President says the "Radical Left Democrats" gave him an "unprecedented opportunity" with the government shutdown; Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) talks about how the federal government shutdown is affecting the people of his state; Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-FL) and Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) on the government shutdown's impact on the many federal workers in their districts; Israel intercepts an international aid flotilla heading to Gaza; we remember conservationist Jane Goodall, best known for her work with chimpanzees, who has died at age 91. We will hear her from a 2020 appearance at the National Press Club in Washington, from C-SPAN's video library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day one of the federal government shutdown, with hundreds of thousands of federal workers on furlough, White House preparing for layoffs, some government services suspended and both parties blaming the other. We will hear from the Vice President JD Vance, Congressional leaders, and some rank-and-file Members of Congress explaining the situation to their constituents; Health care is one of the key issues in the shutdown. Democrats say Republicans are refusing to extend help to keep millions from seeing insurance costs skyrocket. Republicans say Democrats want to give health care to illegal immigrants. We will talk to Newsweek Politics Reporter Daniel Gooding about his 'fact check' article (20); Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) talks about help his state is providing to those hurt by the federal government shutdown; Trump Administration says $18 billion for two big infrastructure projects in New York, for a commuter train tunnel under the Hudson River and Second Avenue subway line, is being withheld to investigate what the Transportation Department calls “discriminatory, unconstitutional contracting processes” involving Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI); a nominee for a seat on the National Labor Relations Board who is currently chief labor counsel for Boeing gets tough questions at a Senate confirmation hearing by a Republican Senator about a Boeing union contract dispute; Federalist Society preview of the Supreme Court case challenging President Donald Trump authority to impose global reciprocal tariffs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal government shutdown is looking like it is going to happen with President Donald Trump and Republicans and Democrats in Congress sticking to their positions about what must be included and not included in a funding extension, and no compromise agreement in sight that can get the needed 60 votes in the Senate to pass; President Trump and Pfizer CEO announce a deal to sell Pfizer prescription drugs at lower prices to Medicaid patients; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump tell hundreds of senior U.S. military officials meeting at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia there will now be “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness and “woke” culture in the military is over. President Trump also says he wants the military to use U.S. crime-ridden cities as training grounds; A Senate hearing on the Quiet Skies airline passenger screening program and allegations of weaponization by the Biden Administration, with people put on terrorist watch lists for political reasons and not because of any real threat to public safety; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer tells the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool that Great Britain faces a "battle for the soul of the country" against the rise of the populist far right represented by UK Reform Party leader Nigel Farage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) all meet at the White House to try to reach a deal to keep the federal government open past Tuesday night. President Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to announce a plan to end the war in Gaza. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield (D) sues the federal government to stop President Trump's deployment of the National Guard to Portland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, a discussion with former Democratic Congressmen Tim Roemer – and Republican Congressman Charles Boustany from the non-profit group Issue One -- on efforts to reduce political polarization in the U.S. Then, Former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler discusses the Jimmy Kimmel controversy and the role the agency plays in what stations can broadcast on U.S. airwaves. Finally, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary discusses the administration's new policy approach on vaccine policy and autism research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices