Washington Today

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First: A discussion on polling & how MAGA has impacted the Republican Party with Mark Mitchell, founder of The Honest Poll. Then: Jessica Tarlov, Democratic strategist and co-host of Fox News Channel's "The Five," discusses her new book "I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends." Finally: The winner of the 2026 National Civics Bee Championship, Peter Daniell from Broomfield, Colorado, discusses the competition and the importance of civics education. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) campaigns in Michigan for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, saying special interest money is being used to make sure no one can 'open their ears and their eyes to even give this guy a shot'; Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District race is a prime example of a Republican held seat that Democrats are hoping to flip on their way to getting majority control of the House. We will hear the candidates debate and talk about the race with Margery Beck, Flatwater Free Press Elections Reporter (14); Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) defends telling a UMD student reporter that she must stop filming his news conference; President Donald Trump says the execution of the Ft. Hood mass shooter will not be livestreamed; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presents the annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards for Advancing Women in Peace and Security; Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is asked about the growing deadly measles outbreak in Pennsylvania; Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) celebrate the 20th anniversary of a climate change law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle resigns amid allegations she asked a Republican donor to pay off a $100,000 credit card debt in exchange for political access; new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia holds her first White House news conference; President Donald Trump answers questions about continuing military strikes by Russia and Ukraine against each other targeting energy infrastructure despite the President announcing an 'energy ceasefire'; President Trump flies to Alaska to campaign for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan's reelection; Vice President JD Vance is back in Texas in support of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton, after the spread of false rumors that Democratic opponent James Talarico was not off the campaign trail sick with the flu, but supposedly getting mental health treatment in Ohio; U.S. Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro talks about a joint U.S.-UK-technology company operation to close down online scammers based in Africa; former First Lady Jill Biden speaks at an event in Delaware for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 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 – On Wednesday President Trump made his third trip to Texas in a month to support Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Senate candidate Ken Paxton who are facing stiffer-than-expected political headwinds. We'll dig into some Lone Star state politics with Spectrum News Texas reporter Reena Diamante. Then: The debate over whether and how to regulate artificial intelligence continues here in Washington as the President huddled with tech leaders again at the White House earlier this week. We break it down with Cato Institute's Jennifer Huddleston & AI Now Institute's Sarah Myers West. And finally: This week marked the 3rd anniversary of the October 7th attack on Israel. We speak with Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on where the conflict stands today between Israel and Hamas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vice President JD Vance announces Microsoft and some other technology firms have been suspended from sponsoring foreign workers with H-1B visas. He says Microsoft has been undercutting U.S. workers and treating foreign workers like indentured servants; President Donald Trump awards Microsoft's CEO the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, one of six technology & science medals he handed out today. President called another recipient, Elon Musk, head of Tesla and SpaceX, a 'modern day Thomas Edison'; New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman argues for greater regulation of AI at an American Bar Association conference on AI and national security; House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) & Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) talk about the midterm elections, now less than four weeks away; President Trump says he will not attack Iran again before the U.S. election; New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) is asked about being booed by protesters at a vigil Wednesday night on the third anniversary of Hamas' attack on Israel; Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) holds a briefing on preparing for the first hurricane of the season to make landfall; Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) gets a question on his public disagreement with President Trump on the wisdom of making Daylight Saving Time permanent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) debates his reelection opponent Dan Cox (R); Gov. Moore says the White House blocked him from speaking at an announcement of a multi-billion dollar defense company investment to build a submarine shipyard in Baltimore; reaction today to President Donald Trump's remarks Monday night at a rally in Nebraska suggesting Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles or San Diego; California ballot measure Prop 40 to impose a one-time tax on billionaires is attracting major money for ads and national figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders. We will hear from him and talk about it with Politico California Senior Politico Reporter Jeremy B. White (23); U.S. trade deficit tops $100 billion in August; World Health Organization gives an update on the reported plague death in Russia; U.S. Ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz speaks a commemoration on the third anniversary of Hamas' October 7th military attack on Israel; Professor Geoffrey Hinton, known as the Godfather of Artificial Intelligence, is asked how President Trump has been handling AI. 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: Gas prices around the country continue to rise as the conflict with Iran drags on. We speak with Patrick De Haan -- head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy – about what's behind the rise in gas prices – the impact on consumers - and who been profiting. Then: The looming crisis in Social Security is forcing many Republicans to re-think the party's long-standing position against raising taxes. We'll dig into the debate with anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist - president and founder of Americans for Tax Reform - and Chuck Blahous who served as a Republican trustee of the Social Security program. Finally: A conversation with longtime consumer advocate & former Presidential candidate Ralph Nader – on his monthly publication "Capitol Hill Citizen" – and how HE'S viewing the midterm elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump heads out on the campaign trail with just over a month until election day, and is asked why he is filling the itinerary with red states where his Republican party is already strong; Senate adjourns until after the midterm elections, but not before Democrats try and fail to reverse President Trump's over $800 million in spending cuts; Veterans and lawmakers rally at Memorial Circle near Arlington National Cemetery against the building of President Trump's proposed 250-foot triumphal arch; Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) orders a suspension of executions for the rest of the year and calls for an investigation after a failed attempt to execute a death row inmate Wednesday night by lethal injection; New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) celebrates the groundbreaking of a community park project in Brooklyn, twenty years after construction was promised; NASA successfully launches SpaceX Crew 13 to the International Space Station; Sebastian Gorka, a senior White House counterterrorism adviser, speaks about Trump Administration foreign policy goals at the Nixon Foundation's 'Grand Strategy Summit'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith tells the Senate Judiciary Committee his investigation proved 'beyond reasonable doubt' that President Donald Trump engaged in 'serious crimes,' but some Republicans on the committee accuse him of weaponizing the Justice Department when he sought records of their phone calls with the President after the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building; President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson meet with the CEOs of technology companies at the White House to discuss the future, and any government or voluntary limitations, of AI (Artificial Intelligence), while the President says he will officially rename it SI (Super Intelligence) by Executive Order; Trump Administration unveils an AI-powered website, America.gov,  designed to be a one-stop-shop for dealing with the federal government and a replacement for the current tens of thousands of government websites; Trump Administration's ban on $1 billion worth of Canadian goods goes into effect, covering dairy products, alcoholic beverages and motor vehicles; Second annual Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Summit is held in Washington, DC; New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks to his first Labour Party Conference about getting the government more involved in delivering vital services to the British people. He says it's a rollback of the privatization movement of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980's. We will talk about that, and the recent apparent foiled terror attack on a base in Great Britain used by the U.S. military, with Peter Knowles, C-SPAN's Westminster Correspondent. 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: The future of Artificial Intelligence was among the topics in the high-profile summit this week between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. We speak with former Biden Defense Department A-I official Gregory Allen about what's at stake. Then: The Trump administration said this week they will remove several hundred thousand people off the ACA rolls who THEY say fraudulently enrolled. We did into the allegations and the fallout with Paragon Health Institute President Brian Blase – a former economic adviser in President Trump's first term. Finally: Author, columnist, and constitutional Law Professor Kim Wehle discusses Trump administration efforts to influence the 2026 elections – and how the judicial system – including the Supreme Court – is responding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CNN, Politico and MSNOW White House reporters are back at the White House after a federal judge put a temporary restraining order on President Donald Trump's attempted ban of those news outlets; President Trump hosts Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House for a state visit. President Trump says the two 'have forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually, built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people.' President Xi says '(U.S.-China) competition should be a healthy one and should be kept within bounds'; Senate defeats again an Iran War Powers Resolution to require President Trump to withdraw the U.S. military absent Congressional approval by a vote of 49-50; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas address the United Nations General Assembly; FDA Commissioner nominee Dr. Heidi Overton is questioned at a Senate confirmation hearing about vaccine safety and abortion pill availability; Updates on two bills the Senate could consider before adjourning for the midterm elections: permitting reform and AI data center restrictions; Justice Department holds a forum for victims and relatives of victims of violent crime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump in a speech at United Nations says he has 'big decision to make' about Iran: cut a deal with them 'that lets them rebuild' or 'annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again'; President Trump also calls Cuba an 'absolutely failed state' that 'will fall' under U.S. pressure, leading the Cuban delegation to walk out; President Trump also meets the new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham for the first time, saying he is man he can do business with; Former President Bill Clinton opens his annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York City, rejecting what he calls 'the politics of brute force driven by zero-sum thinking: in order for me to win, you have to lose'; Kamala Harris, former Vice President and Democratic Presidential nominee, campaigns with Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic nominee for Senator of Michigan; Vice President JD Vance announces an anti-fraud effort targeting over 750,000 enrollments in Affordable Care Act exchanges that he says do not meet eligibility requirements or are not real people, saving $2.2 billion in taxpayer money; Secretary of State Marco Rubio defends President Trump's ban of Politico, MSNOW and CNN reporters from the White House, a day before a First Amendment lawsuit from those news outlets goes before a federal judge. 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: Washington this week was dominated by the debate over regulating A-I amid more threats from tech execs of the dangers if the technology is left unchecked. Politico A-I and tech influence reporter Brendan Bordelon breaks it down for us. Then – despite the AI debate, the House adjourned EARLY this week, kicking off its 7-week recess heading into November midterm elections. We speak with Reese Gorman of the Washington Sun about what happened. Finally: A discussion with Jeffrey Rosen – CEO emeritus of the National Constitution Center -- about the importance of this past Thursday's observance of Constitution Day and the role the founding document is playing in today's political debates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices