Pete Hegseth in the hot seat, the latest Fed drama, and King Charles goes to NYC

Pete Hegseth in the hot seat, the latest Fed drama, and King Charles goes to NYC

From The Playbook Podcast by POLITICO

April 29, 2026 · 13 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's congressional sessions, the Federal Reserve's leadership transition, and King Charles's visit to NYC.

Starting today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth takes the hot seat in two rare back-to-back sessions with Congress–the Iran War will be top of mind for the lawmakers meeting with Hegseth. Meanwhile, Trump's pick for Fed Chair, Kevin Warsh, is set to inherit high interest rates and rising energy costs as Jerome Powell gets ready to leave the post. And in New York City, King Charles meets with Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a 9/11 ceremony. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and Megan Messerly dive into these key developments driving the day.

People in this episode

Hosts: Jack Blanchard, Megan Messerly

Guest: Pete Hegseth

Topics covered

  • Defense
  • Federal Reserve
  • International Relations
  • Government
  • Ceremony

Keywords

  • Pete Hegseth
  • Federal Reserve
  • Kevin Warsh
  • Jerome Powell
  • King Charles
  • Congress
  • 9/11 ceremony

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Congress

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