Washington Today

Ukrainian President Zelensky has a very tense exchange with President Trump and Vice President Vance in the White House Oval Office over U.S. policy towards on the war between Russia and Ukraine, with a scheduled minerals deal and joint news conference canceled; Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau rejects a suggestion to ban President Trump from attending the G7 leaders conference in Alberta in June, days before tariffs on Canadian goods take effect; United Nations Secretary General Gutteres says he is deeply concerned about large cuts in U.S. foreign aid; Vice President Vance speaks at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast about the Pope Francis' criticism of some Trump Administration policies; former White House Press Sec Karine Jean Pierre talks about the three weeks in 2024 between former President Biden's difficult presidential debate performance and his decision to leave the race.

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President Donald Trump meets British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on war in Ukraine and trade & tariffs. We talk with C-SPAN's Westminster Correspondent Peter Knowles (12); U.S. Senate joins the House in passing a resolution to overturn EPA’s rule imposing a fee on the oil and gas industries. It now goes to President Trump to be signed into law; Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on March 14 government funding deadline; Senate advances Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon on a party line vote; National Park Service gives the prediction for the date of peak bloom for the Japanese Cherry Blossom trees around Washington, DC.

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President Trump holds his first Cabinet meeting, where Elon Musk discusses the work of the Department Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut was he says his wasteful federal spending and the federal workforce; President Trump is asked about the House Republican budget blueprint that narrowly passed Tuesday night and whether Medicare and Medicaid spending will be cut to offset some of the proposed tax cuts; House passes a bill to reverse a Biden Administration methane emissions fee for oil & gas drilling; Senate confirms U.S. Trade Representative nominee Jamieson Greer; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. talks about the first death in the measles outbreak in West Texas, a child who was not vaccinated; interview with Washington Post Supreme Court reporter Justin Jouvenal on Supreme Court hearing a case claiming reverse discrimination, a heterosexual woman from Ohio says she lost two jobs to gay co-workers she says were less qualified (35); British Prime Minister Keir Starmer prepares to come to Washington, DC to meet with President Trump about the war in Ukraine and other issues.

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The House moves towards a vote on a Republican budget resolution to advance their agenda on border security, energy, tax cuts and spending cuts; White House is asked about Elon Musk extending the deadline for federal workers to list their accomplishments in the past week; GAO releases annual High Risk List of government programs at risk of waste, fraud and abuse; White House says the administration, not the White House Correspondents Association, will choose which reporters will be in press pool for events in the Oval Office, on Air Force One, etc; President Trump promotes a 'gold card' immigration visa with a path to citizenship for $5 million investment in U.S.; Vivek Ramaswamy announces he is running for Ohio Governor.

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President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron met at the White House today about ending Russia's war in Ukraine. The meeting came on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. The G7 nations held a virtual summit today to discuss ways to end the war….At the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to President Trump for continued U.S. support. That plea came after the US joined Russia, North Korea, Belarus, and 14 other countries in voting against a UN resolution that condemned the Russian invasion and called for its occupied territory to be returned to Ukraine.

In Congress, House leaders are hoping to move fast this week on their blueprint to pass President Trump’s agenda to cut taxes, reduce wasteful spending and secure the U.S. border.

And reaction and response continues to Elon Musk's email to federal workers asking to QUOTE understand what they got done last week” or face possible termination. CNN reports that managers at the Pentagon, FBI, State, Homeland Security, and Energy Departments all instructed their staff not to reply, while other managers, including at the Department of Health and Human Services, told workers to comply only to later reverse course. Still, others simply told their staff to wait until Monday — and not to reply to the note before then. The email also prompted the group of federal employee unions to expand their lawsuit against Musk's efforts, saying the email didn’t comply with federal regulations. And late word this afternoon from theHill.com that the Office of Personnel Management informed agency leaders that employee response to the email is voluntary and that failure to do so will not be considered a resignation

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In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, Fox News senior political analyst Juan Williams discusses his new book "New Prize for These Eyes: The Rise of America's Second Civil Rights Movement." Then, a conversation with Paul Dans - the former head of Project 2025 - about the role that policy roadmap is playing in the Trump administration so far. Plus, Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul discusses Trump administration trade & tariff policies -- and how they might impact the manufacturing sector.

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President Donald Trump and Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) spar at the White House over an Executive Order banning transgender women in sports; Senate approves a budget resolution after an all-night session that funds part of the President's agenda on energy, border security and defense; ceremonial swearings-in for FBI Director Kash Patel and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick; National Security Adviser Michael Waltz predicts Ukraine will soon sign an agreement with the U.S. over Ukraine's rare earth minerals; Voice of America Director nominee Kari Lake says VOA will not be "Trump TV" but also not be "TDSTV", short for Trump Derangement Syndrome.

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Senate confirms Kash Patel as FBI Director; Senate to vote on dozens of amendments to the Republican Budget Resolution; VP JD Vance interviewed at CPAC; Sen. McConnell (R-KY) says he will not run for reelection in 2026; DC Mayor Muriel Bowser asked about President Trump saying the federal government should take over running the nation's capital; Gov. Hochul (D-NY) says she will not remove NYC Mayor Adams (D) from office amid corruption case controversy; National Security Adviser Waltz gives update on talks to end Russia-Ukraine war.

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Senate HELP Committee confirmation hearing for Labor Secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer; Senate confirms former Kelly Loeffler as SBA Administrator; President Trump endorses larger House budget resolution over smaller Senate budget resolution; Senate Democrats respond to President Trump's claim he will not cut Medicaid spending to pay for tax cuts; interview with Politico's Megan Messerly on the President's Executive Order bringing independent federal agencies under more presidential control (37); President Trump calls Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator without elections” who "better move fast or he is not going to have a country left." 

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U.S. and Russian officials meet, agree to work towards ending war in Ukraine, improving relations with each other; Gov. Hochul (D-NY) considers whether to remove NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) for alleged quid pro quo with federal government to drop criminal charges in exchange for helping with immigration enforcement; U.S. Senate to start work on budget resolution funding border security and defense; Senate votes on Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick and FBI Director nominee Kash Patel; President Trump signs Executive Orders at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and answers reporters' questions about the status of Elon Musk at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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