PBS News Hour - Politics

Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro told NewsHour Weekend on Saturday that his campaign has been about the most vulnerable Americans, "people that are often cast aside and marginalized." The former Housing and Urban Development secretary joins Yamiche Alcindor to discuss the impeachment of President Trump, how money is influencing the 2020 race and what motivates his campaign.

In Los Angeles, seven leading candidates for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination faced off for the final time this year at the PBS NewsHour/POLITICO debate Thursday night. They jousted over policy, campaign contributions and who among them is best equipped to take on President Trump in next year's general election. John Yang reports on how the contenders sought to distinguish themselves.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including risks for red-state Democrats who voted to impeach President Trump, how Trump reacted to impeachment, the potential for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to delay transmitting the articles to the Senate for trial and takeaways from the sixth Democratic debate.

A day after the House impeached President Trump, Sen. Mitch McConnell reassured Trump's allies and slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who says she may delay sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate -- a necessary step to begin a trial there. John Yang reports and talks to Michael Conway, who was counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment inquiry of President Nixon.

In our news wrap Thursday, the House approved one of President Trump's top priorities: the USMCA trade deal, which modernizes the existing NAFTA and won overwhelming bipartisan support, plus the backing of labor unions and business. Also, the Senate moved to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year -- and avoid a partial shutdown. The package now goes to Trump for his signature.

Since it was first created during the Obama administration, there has been no end to the fight over the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. The battle continues to play out on the campaign trail and in the courts, where a recent federal appeals decision struck down the law's individual mandate. William Brangham reports and talks to Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News for analysis.

The PBS NewsHour/POLITICO Democratic debate airs Thursday night from Los Angeles. Three of the debate's moderators, Judy Woodruff, Amna Nawaz and Yamiche Alcindor, join John Yang to discuss controversies around the debate qualifications and candidate diversity, how they have prepared for the big event and what recent polling says about the likely Democratic voters who will be watching.

The PBS NewsHour/POLITICO Democratic debate airs Thursday night from Los Angeles. Lisa Desjardins reports from Loyola Marymount University with a roundtable of guests eagerly anticipating the event: NewsHour West anchor Stephanie Sy, Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report and Ryan Lizza and Laura Barron-Lopez from POLITICO. They join John Yang to share a debate preview.

Our panel analyzes the impeachment of President Trump after a marathon day of debate in the House. Lisa Desjardins reports and joins Third Way managing director and former House Intelligence Subcommittee staff director Mieke Eoyang, former House Intelligence Committee staff director Michael Allen of Beacon Global Strategies, Nick Schifrin and John Yang to discuss a historic day on Capitol Hill.

The House is facing a moment of truth: the looming impeachment of President Trump on charges of abusing his power and obstructing Congress. As lawmakers took up the matter, Democrats argued that they must hold Trump accountable for his handling of Ukraine policy, while Republicans insisted the entire investigation is an unjustified "sham." Lisa Desjardins reports and joins John Yang to discuss.