Washington Today

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Washington Today episodes

July 31, 2025 One day before 'libertarian tariffs' deadline, U.S. & Mexico agree to 90-day pause, federal appeals court hears challenge to President's use of emergency powers
One day until President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs take effect, but not on Mexico, as he announces another extension while trade talks continue; Federal Appeals Court hears a challenge to the emergency powers law the president used impose the tariffs on many countries. We will talk about it with The Hill's Legal Affairs Reporter Zach Schoenfeld, who was in the courtroom (8); Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will visit Gaza on Friday to survey the desperate humanitarian situation there; U.S. Senate votes not to prohibit certain weapons sales to Israel, but a record number of Democrats vote yes; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) goes to Austin, Texas to decry the Republican attempt to redraw Congressional district boundaries in the state to win more seats. We will talk about it with Texas Tribune Washington Correspondent Gabby Birenbaum (37); RNC Chair Michael Whatley announces he is running for U.S. Senate in North Carolina; former Vice President Kamala Harris promotes her new book about her 2024 Democratic presidential campaign; White House announces a construction on a ballroom, a pet project of President Trump, will begin this fall.

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56 min
July 30, 2025 Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged, despite President Trump's pressure to cut them, says more data needed on tariffs' effect on inflation
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announces no change to interest rates and says of President Donald Trump's tariff policy, “Higher tariffs have begun to show through more clearly to prices of some goods, but their overall effects on economic activity and inflation remain to be seen"; President Trump announces more tariff rates scheduled to take effect August 1st, including 25% on India plus an additional unspecified tariff if India buys Russian oil; U.S. economy grew at a very healthy 3% in the 2nd Quarter after shrinking in the 1st Quarter; bipartisan concerns at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing about the Agriculture Department's reorganization plan that would send DC-area-based staff to five regional hubs; Senate Democrats use an obscure 100 year old law to demand the Justice Dept to release the files in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation; Senate committee approves a bill to ban stock trading by Members of Congress, with all Democrats and one Republican, sponsor Josh Hawley of Missouri, voting yes; Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says he is
disappointed and offended by President Trump personal attacks on him for not bypassing the tradition called 'blue slip', by which Senators can block the president's judicial and U.S. attorney nominees from their states; Senate confirms Emil Bove, former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, and then Justice Dept official, to be a federal appeals court judge.

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56 min
July 29, 2025 Pres. Trump says he will not follow Great Britain in recognizing Palestinian State in Israel does not agree to ceasefire in Gaza and commit to two-state solution
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the United Kingdom will recognize a Palestinian state if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire with Hamas, improve what he calls the "appalling situation in Gaza", and commits to a two-state solution; President Donald Trump says the U.S. will not follow suit, and that recognizing a Palestinian state rewards Hamas, which he is "not about to do that"; on the Jeffrey Epstein case, President Trump says one of the underage girls Epstein hired away from a spa at Mar-a-Lago
– in the President's word 'stole' – later accused Epstein of raping and sex
trafficking her; Senate Republican leaders suggest Senate rules may need to be changed if Democrats do not agree to speed up confirmation of the president's nominees; Commerce Committee Chair Sen. Ted Cruz and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy unveil an aviation safety bill six months after the deadly midair collision of a plane and helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport; Health & Human Services Sec Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. warns about the risks of 7-OH, which can produce opioid-like effects, and is often sold in things like energy drinks & gummies at gas stations and convenience stores; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) talks about the mass shooting Monday night in New York City that killed four, including an off-duty police officer; President Trump celebrates the opening a new Trump branded golf course in Scotland; former President Barack Obama remembers the late baseball hall of famer Ryne Sandberg as a 'class act'.

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52 min
July 28, 2025 President Trump promises food centers in Gaza, continues to face Epstein files questions; Senate starts last scheduled week
President Trump continued his visit to the United Kingdom today. He and Prime Minister Keir Starmer talked to reporters about Israel’s war with Hamas. The president announced the US will open food centers in Gaza
to help the humanitarian crisis there and two leaders continued discussions on reaching a cease-fire in the region. The President also said he is shortening the 50-day deadline he gave Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine. And he continued to distance himself from his association with Jeffrey Epstein. The Senate begins their last scheduled week of work before the August recess. They are considering more of President Trump's nominations—including for CDC Director and Defense Department General Counsel. Also on the Senate agenda--more work on the 2026 federal spending bill, including funding for military construction projects and the Veterans Affairs Department.

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40 min
July 26, 2025 Weekend Edition: FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, Forward Party CEO Lindsey Drath, and Cuts to Voice of America
In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, a conversation with FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary on his first 100 days in office -- and goals during his tenure. Then, Forward Party CEO Lindsey Drath joins us to discuss that group's efforts to break through the two-party political system. Finally, former Voice of America National Correspondent Steve Herman talks about his career at the VOA – and the impact of massive cuts to the agency.

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31 min
July 25, 2025 President Trump flies to Scotland to promote his golf courses, meets UK & EU leaders on trade; DOJ interviews Ghislaine Maxwell for 2nd day in Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation
President Donald Trump flies to Scotland for a private visit to promote his golf courses there, but he will also be meeting elected leaders in Scotland, the United Kingdom and the European Commission, likely to talk about trade and foreign affairs hotspots. We will get a preview from C-SPAN's Westminster Producer Pete Knowles, who is in Scotland (8); Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche finishes a second day interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell, serving a long prison sentence as an accomplice to the late Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes, amid the pressure on the Trump Admin to release the Epstein investigation files. We will hear from Maxwell's attorney, President Trump, and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), ranking member on the Oversight Committee; Texas Senate Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting holds a public hearing on Republicans attempts to redraw district maps mid-decade to try to pick up seats; former FCC Commissioners analyze the FCC's approval of the multi-billion
dollar Paramount-Skydance merger that comes with commitments to address complaints of editorial bias at CBS News; latest on the collapse of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations; former Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who had a dramatic rise and fall in politics, reports to federal prison after his fraud conviction.

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58 min
July 24, 2025 Senate GOP again blocks Democratic moves to release Jeffrey Epstein files; President Trump tours Federal Reserve headquarters renovation construction with Chair Powell
Senate Democrats try again in committee and on the Senate floor to compel the release of the FBI files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but are blocked by Republicans; two Senate Republicans call for a Special Counsel to investigation the Trump Administration allegations that former President Barack Obama pushed a false narrative on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election; former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain testifies in closed session in the House Oversight Committee's investigation of former President Joe Biden's mental fitness in office; President Donald Trump tours the Federal Reserve headquarters renovation project with Chair Jerome Powell; Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announces a major reorganization that will send more
than half of the department's DC area employees to hubs around the country; Trump Administration announces a $200 million settlement with Columbia University over accusations of not protecting Jewish students; U.S. withdraws its delegation from the latest Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks, saying Hamas is not serious about reaching a deal; legendary pro wrestler Hulk Hogan has died. He spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

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54 min
July 23, 2025 President Trump unveils AI Action Plan to promote tech exports & beat China, quickly build infrastructure & root out bias
President Donald Trump presents an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan focusing on deregulation to encourage growth of the industry and making sure AI is not biased. We will talk about the plan with Wired senior writer Kate Knibbs (6); President Trump announces a trade deal with Japan that includes a relatively low tariff rate for Japanese imports combined with large Japanese-funded investments in the U.S., as directed by President Trump; FEMA's Acting Administrator defends the agency's response to the deadly Texas floods, in testimony before a U.S. House subcommittee; while a special legislative session in Texas will consider aid to flood victims, it also will take up redrawing the state's congressional district lines and that is getting attention from Democrats in Washington, DC; Director
of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard briefs reporters on new documents she and the president say show former President Obama led an effort to tie falsely Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign to Russia; House Speaker Mike Johnson gets more questions about the decision to not bring any bills to the floor this week that could be used for vote to release the FBI files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; United Nations Security Council holds a meeting on the war in Gaza, as aid groups warn of 'mass starvation' due to restrictions by Israel.

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1 hr 5 min
July 22, 2025 Speaker Johnson cancels legislative agenda to avoid votes on releasing Jeffrey Epstein case files; Pres. Trump accuses fmr Pres. Obama of treason over 2016 Russian interference in U.S. elections investigation
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is canceling much of this week's legislative agenda and telling Members of Congress to begin their month-long August recess early to avoid votes on releasing the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; House Oversight Committee and Justice Dept seek to interview Ghislane Maxwell, former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, now in prison related to his crimes; President Trump when asked about Maxwell pivots to the accusations of Russian interference
in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, accusing former President Barack Obama of 'treason' for allegedly manufacturing evidence; Senate takes its first vote on fiscal year 2026 spending bills, with Democrats warning Republicans unilateral push for rescissions packages is undermining any bipartisan goodwill in the appropriations process; President Trump meets with the Filipino President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos, Jr in the WH Oval Office to talk trade & Indo-Pacific security and China; President Trump announces the United States will withdraw again from UNESCO, the United Nations cultural, education and scientific organization due to, the president says, its woke agenda and anti-Israel bias.

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52 min
July 21, 2025 Congress moves to wrap up its work before its August recess with the Epstein files an ongoing issue; President Trump touts six-months in office as polling shows his approval rating underwater
Congress is back in session this week with the House wrapping up its work before its August recess. On the agenda: legislation to increase financial oversight of the Veterans Affairs department, and votes on bills to increase penalties on people who reenter the U.S. after being deported, and to reform the Clean Water Act's permitting process. The Senate still has another work week before leaving for their annual break. On their agenda: confirmation votes for several executive nominations. Hanging over all
of this--the ongoing issue of the Jeffrey Epstein files. House Speaker Mike
Johnson says doesn’t have any plans to put a resolution on the floor that calls for the Trump administration to release Epstein files. Instead, he wants to give administration time to put out documents on its own. And yesterday was the six-month anniversary of the second Trump administration, and polls say Americans are giving the president mixed reviews. A new Decision Desk HQ poll shows the president's disapproval rating near its highest level since January. Meanwhile, a new CBS News poll shows Americans say they want the president to focus on consumer prices instead of raising tariffs. And the Washington Post’s polling average showing a clear downturn in the president's approval rating on immigration.

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36 min

About Washington Today

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Catch up on the biggest stories of the day from Washington with interviews and analysis from leading journalists. Posted weekdays at 6:30 pm ET. From C-SPAN, the network that brings you the "Q&A"…