Washington Today

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

President Donald Trump says he is banning CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House for what he calls their 'fake news' reporting; President announces all 50 states will be joining a program to provide prescription drug prices to Medicaid at the same, lower costs paid for the drugs in other countries; President Trump is asked about Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) putting out an ad critical of his immigration policy; Vice President JD Vance campaigns in Iowa for Republicans in close races, including Zack Lahn running for governor against Democratic nominee Rob Sand; Planned protest by artists and their supporters tonight at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after President Trump's threat to tear the building down if his name is not added to the facade in conjunction with renovations; Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) issues an executive order to create what she calls an 'accountability framework' to increase transparency around proposed data center projects and ensure Virginians are not stuck with highest energy bills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Republican and a Democrat in the U.S. House join forces on a bipartisan bill to confront potential risks of Artificial Intelligence; White House continues to criticize the Federal Reserve and Chair Kevin Warsh for raising interest rates this week. Presidential adviser Peter Navarro calls it a 'monumental mistake' that could push the U.S. economy into recession; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomes closer ties to Europe even after President Donald Trump threatens more tariffs in response; U.S. Senate votes to advance a college sports regulation bill by a comfortable margin, almost guaranteeing a successful final passage vote next week; Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tells an anti-vaccine group that he once worked for, Children's Health Defense, that the true risks from vaccines are not known, in part because the government does not have a good enough safety monitoring system; Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Danny Danon says New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) should be arrested for calling for demonstrations when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits next week for the United Nations General Assembly; Former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has died at age 84. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) remembering him as 'a wonderful mentor' who 'taught me so much' and 'a highly effective, brilliant Senator, who made countless contributions to the state of Arizona and to our country.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal Reserve votes unanimously to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, first hike since 2023 Fed Chair Kevin Warsh says, 'The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long.' We will talk about the Fed's decision with Julia Shapero, Cryptocurrency and Finance Reporter for The Hill (6); House votes on the Russia sanctions bill related to its war with Ukraine named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) accuses House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) of cancelling Thursday's legislative session,  sending Members home a day early to campaign for reelection, to avoid having to vote on Massie's resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war with Iran; Surgeon General Nominee Dr. Nicole Saphier at her Senate confirmation hearing is asked about President Trump questioning the safety of the MMR vaccine; Senate Agriculture Committee passes a 5-year Farm Bill with the crucial vote of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who returned to Washington after more than three months recovering from health issues; White House AI Czar David Sacks talks about the warnings from the tech leaders about the dangers of artificial intelligence; President Trump heads to North Carolina to campaign for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley; House Problem Solvers Caucus proposes bills to avoid another gerrymandering war as was seen this election cycle by red and blue states. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Attorney General Todd Blanche fills in as White House press secretary for today's news conference and is asked about the Supreme Court blocking the Trump Administration's plans to restrict mail-in ballots for the midterm elections; FBI Director Kash Patel tells the Senate Judiciary Committee FBI agents may be sent to the polls on election day; Director Patel is also asked about changes to hiring standards to no longer automatically disqualify applicants who had engaged in prostitution or bestiality; More questions to lawmakers about potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence and whether legislative action is needed, after President Donald Trump called such concerns a 'hoax'; Senate does not vote to advance a cryptocurrency regulation bill amid a dispute over whether there are enough ethical safeguards to prevent elected leaders from profiting off of digital assets; Federal judge rules the Kennedy Center Board cannot put President Trump's name on the building. Then the Board, comprised of the president's allies, votes to close the center for renovations, and the president posts the renovations will not take place unless his name is added because only he can raise the money needed; Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) tells reporters he will not switch to the Republican party; Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has an official Speaker's portrait unveiled in the U.S. Capitol. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress returns to Washington with artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency legislation, college sports and Russia sanctions on the agenda. Plus, with 50 days until the midterm elections, we look at key races in Michigan, New Mexico and Alaska. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. The first-ever Republican convention took place in Dallas – and the legal fight over mail-in voting dominated the week. We begin with a discussion with Cliff Young of Ipsos Public Affairs who shared fresh polling on the national mood as the midterm campaign season kicks into high gear. Then we dive into the mail-in ballot fight – and other voting issues overhanging the midterm campaign. That conversation with former Trump administration official Ken Cuccinelli now Chairman of Heritage Foundation's Election Transparency Initiative Finally- we sit down with Carlissia Graham – President of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. We talk about how Democrats are viewing the midterm convention – and the party's messaging and strategy heading into November. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twenty-fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, with ceremonies at the Pentagon, where President Donald Trump spoke, at Ground Zero in New York City, where widow Terry Strada criticized the government for not holding Saudi Arabia responsible for the attacks, and at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, which included Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA). We also hear from: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin; candidates for U.S. Senate in Michigan, Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who is Muslim; a retired New York firefighter at a ceremony in California; Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was a White House lawyer at the time of the attack; and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day Two of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, with the keynote speech from Vice President JD Vance. People are still talking about some of the moment from Day One: President Donald Trump proposing $5,000 for every American adult if Republicans keep control of the U.S. House and Senate and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) introducing Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA); Texas U.S. Senate race has been in the spotlight with the Republican convention in Texas; Rhode Island's governor loses the Democratic primary for reelection; President Trump visits the Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas; United Nations Security Council considers an accusation from the UN nuclear watchdog agency that Iran is failing to comply with its nuclear nonproliferation commitments; A day before the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, we hear from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) about the rebuilding of lower Manhattan, former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on the changing threat environment and former President George W. Bush about the Freedom Agenda his pursued after the attacks; White House tribute to the late Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk on the anniversary of his assassination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republican midterm convention begins in Dallas, Texas. We get a preview from President Donald Trump, a reporter, and two republican congressional candidates from Illinois who are attending, plus the perspective of the chair of the Texas Democratic Party; On the way to Texas, President Trump tells reporters high energy prices due to the war with Iran will not fall until after the midterm elections in November; In New Hampshire, former U.S. Senator John Sununu wins the Republican Senate primary over another former U.S. Senator, Scott Brown, while in the state's first Congressional District race, Stefany Shaheen, daughter of retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), wins the Democratic primary; U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro gets upset when reporters asked about the Reflecting Pool vandalism case, dropped for lack of evidence,  which President Trump wants revived; New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch calls for 'moral clarity' about who were the heroes and who were the terrorists during the September 11, 2001 terror attacks at the unveiling of a memorial of NYPD members who have died from 9/11-related illnesses, ahead of Friday's 25th anniversary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani orders the release of over 170,000 pages of documents revealing that city officials knew of severe toxic air quality risks at Ground Zero following the 9/11 terror attacks, and President Donald Trump honors 9/11 first responders at a Tunnel to Towers event in front of the White House, ahead of Friday's 25th anniversary; Canadian tariffs of up to 50 percent against $20 billion of imports from the United States take effect. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says, 'I don’t believe in escalating the conflict. But our tariffs are necessary to protect our workers, protect our companies and our communities'; It's election day in New Hampshire, where voters are choosing Republican and Democratic nominees for an open U.S. Senate seat. We get the latest from a New Hampshire Union Leader political reporter; Great Britain bans imports from Israeli West Bank settlements, citing Israel's 'ethnic cleansing' of Palestinians. It is a move praised by some of the UK's allies but opposed by Israel and the U.S.; NATO hosts another meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group to discuss Ukraine's need for anti-missile defenses; Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch is resigning after disagreements with the Trump Administration about how to present U.S. history. 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: We dig into the legal back and forth over mail-in voting and what it means for states ahead of this November's elections. That conversation with Dion Nissenbaum of the website "Votebeat." Then: The economy is the number one issue on voters' minds as the midterm elections approach. We speak with financial journalist Roben Farzad – host of the public radio show and podcast "Full Disclosure" - on the recent jobs numbers and what it means for the health of the overall economy. Finally: Immigration and border security is also a big issue in the midterm elections. We chat with Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies and Heidi Altman of the National Immigration Law Center about the Trump administration's record so far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Labor Department reports the U.S. economy gained 162,000 jobs in August, much more than many economists predicted. Unemployment rate stayed at 4.1%. President Donald Trump posting the numbers are 'great' and 'you haven’t seen anything yet!'; President Trump signs an Executive Order aimed at lowering beef prices by easing regulations on ranchers and farmers so they can process the meat themselves; Reaction to the Missouri Supreme Court striking down a new Congressional District map that advantages Republicans; North Carolina sends out the first mail-in ballots even as the Trump Administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the U.S. Postal Service to implement a plan to restrict mail-in voting in the midterm election; David Hearn goes to court to try to prevent the Justice Department from ever again charging him with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool; Members of Congress propose House rules changes, including banning insider trading, tougher sexual misconduct punishments and letting Members who are new parents vote by proxy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vice President JD Vance holds a White House news conference and is asked about the war with Iran and rising fuel prices ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend, when millions of Americans will be traveling; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responds to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's assertion that the Canadians cut off trade talks with the U.S. because of internal Canadian politics; State Department launches the Foundry School, which the administration says is 'a national program to train the entrepreneurs, engineers, technicians, and industrial leaders needed to rebuild American manufacturing'; House passes a bill to cut off federal student aid to colleges that support boycotts of Israel; Billionaire Leon Black defies a Congressional subpoena in the Oversight Committee's investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; President Trump says next week's Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas in the lead up to the November midterm elections is 'big stuff'. We will talk about the convention with Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau Chief Joseph Morton, who plans to be there (47); Feminist activist Gloria Steinem dies at age 92. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chevron signs an agreement to invest $7 billion in Venezuela to double its oil production in five years. We hear from the Chevron CEO & U.S. Energy Secretary in Caracas; President Donald Trump says he was joking when he posted the Strait of Hormuz should be renamed the Trump Strait. He is also asked about the resumption of U.S. and Iran trading missile strikes for the past several days; Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hosts technology company CEOs at 'G20 Innovation Ministerial' in North Carolina to discuss development of Artificial Intelligence; U.S. House Democrats meet on possible changes to party rules after two House Democrats voted with Republicans to advance Republican bills that were set to fail; House defeats a proposed Constitutional Amendment to require the Supreme Court have nine justices; House Intelligence Committee holds a hearing on national security threats that includes a discussion of Chinese spying; Wreath-laying at the World War II Memorial in Washington on this V-J Day, marking the Allies' victory over Japan that ended World War II in 1945. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House joins the Senate, with a large, bipartisan vote, in passing a short-term federal government funding extension from end of the fiscal year, September 30, through December 11. That means when President Donald Trump signs it into law there will not be another government shutdown before election day in November; It is primary election day in Massachusetts, where incumbent Ed Markey is being challenged by Congressman Seth Moulton; Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) defends himself on the House floor during debate on a resolution to censure him after the Ethics Committee found he sexually harassed two female staff members; Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in New York City announces the arrest of over 2,000 criminal illegal immigrants in the past month. At the same time, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) call upon Secretary Mullin to releases tens of millions of dollars in counterterrorism grants they say are being withheld from the city; Senior House Republicans react to the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll; Bill to create a monument in Washington to Medal of Honor recipients is about to become law; new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham makes his first statement as prime minister before the House of Commons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court allows President Trump to move forward with construction of a new White House ballroom. Plus, the latest on renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran, Congress returns from recess, and Campaign 2026 heats up in Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Maine and California. 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 U.S. and Canada are in the throes of an all-out trade war that started with an announcement of new tariffs at the beginning of week – and ended with the President renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America." We speak with White House trade adviser Peter Navarro to hear what the tiff is all about. Then: This Friday marks the 63rd anniversary of the March on Washington. We spoke with the Reverend Al Sharpton about THIS YEAR's March that he's leading – and why voting rights is the focus. And speaking of voting – the Supreme Court issued an emergency opinion this week – siding with President Trump on mail-in voting restrictions. We spoke with election law expert Michael Morley from Florida State University – about what it all means. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawmakers and civil rights activists speak at the March on Washington's 63rd anniversary, with the theme "Defend the Vote"; Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh gives his first speech at the Fed's economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, saying inflation is still too high, suggesting interest rate cuts may be coming. We will hear from the Chair and talk with Washington Post's Global Economics Correspondent David Lynch (17); U.S. war with Iran is six months old today. We will talk with Elise Labott, author "Cosmopolitics" Substack newsletter about the state of the conflict, strategy on each side, and what may come next (36); President Donald Trump visits the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas to award medals to the Artemis II crew, discuss plans for future space exploration and to announce the creation of a new U.S. Space Force Academy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump signs an Executive Order renaming Lake Ontario on the U.S.-Canadian border to Lake America, as the U.S.-Canada trade war shows no sign of ending; President Trump flies to Houston, Texas to raise money for Republican U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton, who is in a close race with Democratic nominee James Talarico; House Speaker Mike Johnson also campaigns today in Texas for Republican U.S. House candidates in Congressional districts that could decide the balance of power after election day; Data centers have become a campaign issue around the country seemingly overnight. We will talk about it with Nicol Turner Lee, director of the Brookings Institution's Center for Technology Innovation (34); Attorney General Todd Blanche in Puerto Rico announces a major international drug trafficking bust; Federal judge holds a hearing on the future of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, both its renovation and whether to add Donald Trump's name to the facade; White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says goodbye on her last day on the job at the White House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices