PBS News Hour - Politics

On Tuesday, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman became the first person on President Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to testify as part of the impeachment inquiry. He said he had been "concerned" by Trump's request during the call for Ukraine to open investigations into the Biden family. Yamiche Alcindor reports and joins Judy Woodruff and Lisa Desjardins to discuss.

Vice President Mike Pence has been central to U.S. policy in Syria. After President Trump's controversial decision to withdraw American troops from the country and the ensuing Syrian incursion by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pence was instrumental in securing a cease-fire agreement with Erdogan. Judy Woodruff sits down with Pence to discuss that effort and the impeachment inquiry.

NPR's Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including what the death of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi means for President Trump and how the impeachment inquiry might shift after the House takes a formal vote on it this week.

President Trump has made plenty of headlines for his policies and personality. But in the background, he is cementing a long-lasting legacy through his judicial nominations to federal appeals courts. Lisa Desjardins reports on how this little-noticed effort could influence the 2020 presidential election -- and federal courts for decades to come.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including trends around the federal judges President Trump is appointing, the Department of Justice's criminal probe of the Russia investigation, how the impeachment inquiry is evolving and campaign anxiety regarding 2020 Democratic candidates.

In the impeachment inquiry roiling Washington, Republican lawmakers are attacking the way their Democratic counterparts are handling critical interviews. Complaints escalated following testimony from the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine that directly links President Trump to withholding military aid to Ukraine for political favors. Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier of California sits on the House Intelligence and House Oversight Committees, both of which are involved at this phase of the impeachment inquiry. She joins Judy Woodruff to discuss why congressional interviews so far have been private, how the process compares to that of investigations of Benghazi and President Clinton and what she thinks of Republican criticism.

A group of Republican lawmakers loyal to President Trump stormed an impeachment inquiry congressional session Wednesday, forcing it to a standstill for much of the day. Democrats said the disruption indicated that the GOP is "desperate" after Tuesday's testimony shed critical new light on the president's actions toward Ukraine. Yamiche Alcindor reports and joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday ostensibly to advocate for his company's proposed new cryptocurrency, Libra -- but he faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers on multiple fronts. Facebook's controversial position of allowing false claims in political ads drew particular attention. Amna Nawaz talks to Vanita Gupta of the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights.

Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado is one of 18 candidates vying for the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination. He joins Judy Woodruff to discuss why he "never would have" pulled U.S. troops out of Syria, how his health care plan compares to that of Sen. Bernie Sanders, what he thinks of the impeachment inquiry and whether American democracy is "at risk" under President Trump.