PBS News Hour - Politics

Six candidates for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination met on stage in Iowa Tuesday night for the final debate before the state's caucuses in early February. Electability was a prominent theme, as the candidates sparred over who would be able to beat President Trump in November. Amna Nawaz reports and Judy Woodruff talks to Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson about how Iowa voters are reacting.

It appears that the House of Representatives will finally vote to transmit articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate Wednesday, setting up formal trial proceedings to begin Thursday. Although no decision has been announced on whether witnesses will be called, the trial is expected to last at least into early February. Lisa Desjardins reports and joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

Although the 2020 presidential election cycle has proven fluid and unpredictable so far, a near certainty is that Wisconsin will again be a battleground state this fall. With that likelihood in mind, President Trump is holding a campaign event in Milwaukee Tuesday. Yamiche Alcindor joins Judy Woodruff from the rally venue to share what Wisconsin voters are saying about Trump, impeachment and Iran.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to transmit the two articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate within days. She had held out for weeks as Democrats pressed Senate Republicans to call witnesses -- but leaders of both parties said Monday they are sticking to their positions. Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor join Judy Woodruff to discuss what to expect next.

Only three weeks remain before the Iowa caucuses kick off 2020 primary voting, and the volatile race is exposing new rifts in the Democratic field. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders seem to have abandoned a longstanding truce as they jostle with former Vice President Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg at the top of the polls. And yet another candidate has dropped out. Lisa Desjardins reports.

NPR's Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including shifting poll numbers from Iowa that show strength for former Vice President Joe Biden, the withdrawal of Sen. Cory Booker from the 2020 presidential race, signs of animosity between Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and what President Trump is tweeting.

As the Democratic-led House prepares to move articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Republican-controlled Senate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday called for a fair trial that would include additional witnesses. Special correspondent Jeff Greenfield joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the Senate trial, the pressure being put on potential GOP defectors, and the 2020 presidential race.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, including how the Trump administration and Congress have handled conflict with Iran, indications House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is preparing to send articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial of the president and what all the tumult means for 2020 Democrats.

As tensions between the U.S. and Iran persist, both the House and the Senate are pursuing measures to restrict President Trump's war powers -- but there are differing opinions about what they should entail. How has presidential authority been leveraged and limited in past U.S. military engagements? Lisa Desjardins joins Judy Woodruff to discuss that topic as well as the latest on impeachment.

As President Trump's decision to kill a prominent Iranian general continues to draw scrutiny, what does Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, think of the move? Sanders joins Judy Woodruff to explain why the strike could set a dangerous precedent, how his health care plan will create jobs and why he is the best choice to beat Trump.