Washington Today

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal.

First: A discussion with Investigative journalist Dave Levinthal about a new push to ban individual stock trading by Members of Congress – and whether HE thinks it'll finally pass.

Then: Brad Bowman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies takes a closer look at the Trump administration's promised sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia – and how it COULD impact the balance of power in the Mideast.

Finally: It's been over 50 years since the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, but political commentator and author Chris Matthews says RFK's political influence can still be felt today. He joins us to talk about his new book "Lessons from Bobby."

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President Trump and incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met at the White House today…It's their first meeting since the New York city election earlier this month…And it comes after months of public hostility between the two…with the president calling the mayor-elect a communist and even threatening to arrest and deport him…While the mayor-elect himself has accused the president of acting like an authoritarian…We'll hear part of what they said to reporters coming up…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country’s alliance with the US could be at a breaking point…His comments come as the White House pressed President Zelensky to respond by Thanksgiving to its plan to end the war with Russia….Several media reports say the plan includes several items favorable to Russia….President Zelensky put out a video statement about it today…We'll hear part of it coming up…

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Former President George W. Bush says at the funeral service for his Vice President Dick Cheney that Cheney was "totally devoted to protecting the United States and its interests", while daughter Liz Cheney says her father knew "that bonds of party must always yield to the single bond we share as Americans"; President Donald Trump in online posts calls for six House & Senate Democrats to be arrested, tried and hanged for "seditious behavior at the highest level" after they urged U.S. military and intelligence community members not follow unlawful orders; Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the September jobs report six weeks late due to the federal government shutdown. It shows 119,000 jobs created and the unemployment rate rising to 4.4%. Vice President JD Vance says that shows “Trump economic policies are actually working”; Rep. Sheila Cherfilus McCormick (D-FL) says the federal charges she is facing for

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President Donald Trump at a U.S.-Saudi Arabia investment summit announces Saudi Arabia has been named a major non-NATO ally of the United States and visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has encouraged him to help stop the civil war in Sudan; Bill to require the Justice Department to release all documents in the investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has officially passed the Senate and is going to President Trump's desk to be signed. Attorney General Pam Bondi says, "We will continue to follow the law and to have maximum transparency"; House tonight expected to pass bills to repeal a law

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House passes a bill almost unanimously to release all of the files in the federal investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; President Donald Trump meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House, where the prince pledges to invest $1 trillion in the U.S and the president dismisses a question about the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence pinned on Saudi Arabia, saying the prince was not involved, Khashoggi

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President Donald Trump says he will sign a bill into law to

House Rules Committee takes up the Epstein files release bill today, ahead of expected House floor debate and a vote Tuesday.

Federal immigration agents descend on Charlotte, North Carolina to make arrests. Gov. Josh Stein (D-NC) says, "it's not making us safer, it's stoking fear and dividing our community."

President Trump talks about immigration when asked about his comment that he would meet with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as the U.S. continues to use military strikes against suspected drug carrying boats and to deploy military assets to the Caribbean.

President Trump threatens to endorse primary opponents of Republican Indiana state lawmakers, after they hold up a Congressional redistricting effort designed to win additional Republican U.S. House seats. 

Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks at a food allergy forum about new research to find the causes. 

United Nations Security Council passes a resolution on President Trump's Gaza peace plan.

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In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal.

First: as Congress ends the longest government shutdown in history – a conversation with Real Clear Politics President Tom Bevan on the winners and losers – if it'll matter in the midterm elections.

Then – the other big political story this week on Capitol Hill: renewed efforts to release the Epstein files -- with a vote scheduled next week. That conversation with former federal prosecutor and Politico Magazine writer Ankush Khardori.

Finally – as America celebrated our veterans earlier this week – we chat with Paul Rieckhoff – founder and CEO of the group Independent Veterans of America.

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New survey of Americans finds seven in 10 say raising children is now unaffordable; Trump Administration prepares to lower tariffs on some food items such as coffee & fruit, and announces a new trade deal with Switzerland; Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) visits a food bank in Chicago as federal food aid money through the SNAP program is now restarted with the federal government reopened; We will also hear from Sen. Durbin and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) on FY26 funding & health care debates and votes to be completed in the next few months; President Donald Trump calls for the investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's involvement with former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, Democratic mega-donor Reid Hoffman, wall street firm JP Morgan Chase and others, as Epstein emails mentioning

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First day of the federal government reopening following a record-long shutdown, and now the work begins to send the government employees who were furloughed back pay, get SNAP food aid benefits that were held up to beneficiaries' accounts and get air travel back to normal; Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announces $10,000 bonuses for TSA officers who came to work without being paid during the shutdown; more reflections on the deal in the U.S. Senate at the start of the week with eight Democrats that reopened the government without getting the

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Longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history is about to end with the House Republicans expected to join the Senate in passing a bill to fund most of the government through January and part of the government for the full fiscal year, through September 2026. House Democrats are speaking out against the bill because it does not have an extension of Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies they have been demanding. A provision the Senate added to the bill to allow Senators to

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