Women Rule

Margaret Spellings, President George W. Bush’s former education secretary, muses on the state of the cabinet under the current Republican White House and offers some praise for Betsy DeVos. Spellings also reflects back on her time as president of the University of North Carolina and her legacy on No Child Left Behind.

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Just days after an emotional, nationwide movement demanding stricter gun control laws, North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp launched a staunch defense of the Second Amendment and pushed back at those calling for reforms. Heitkamp sat down with Women Rule for a live podcast taping in Los Angeles, explaining her views on guns, her tough midterm race, and her relationship with President Donald Trump.

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Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, is smashing fundraising records. In the latest Women Rule episode, she explains her fervor for bringing in the cash: “If you have money you have power. And if you have money, you have a seat at the table."

McDaniel also spoke candidly about her relatively low profile in Washington (despite her prominent political family), her punishing work schedule away from her two children, and the Republican prospects in this midterm election.

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Kay Coles James is the new president of the Heritage Foundation, America's largest and arguably most influential conservative think thank. Her role is a groundbreaking one, in part because she’ll be the first African American woman to head up Heritage. Women Rule sits down with James to discuss the "true north" for conservatives, her attempt to work in the Trump administration (blocked, she says, by former "Apprentice" star Omarosa Manigault Newman), and her personal history - including the time she attended a segregated white high school as a young child in the '60s.

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Women Rule heads to Austin for SXSW, where host Anna Palmer speaks with Wendy Davis about what Democrats are doing in Texas, lessons she learned from her failed gubernatorial run in 2014, and whether or not she plans on getting more involved with Planned Parenthood.

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Sen. Tina Smith doesn’t want to talk about Al Franken.

When asked about her Democratic predecessor, who resigned the Minnesota seat amid allegations of sexual misconduct, she avoided even saying his name in this Women Rule interview. Instead, Smith is concentrating on the economic implications of the #MeToo movement, as she trains her eye on getting reelected this November.

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Rachel Holt, vice president at Uber and general manager of the company’s U.S. and Washington operations, spoke with Women Rule about the new directions the company has taken since Dara Khosrowshahi took over - and what it means for its women employees.

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Actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith, best known for her role as Dr. Nancy McNally on "The West Wing," has a new film focusing on incarceration among American youth. Women Rule sits down with her to discuss the critically acclaimed "Notes From the Field," Deavere Smith's social justice interests, art in the Trump era and her latest work with Shonda Rhimes.

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Sen. Tammy Duckworth has a problem: How can a senator who needs to vote take time off to care for her newborn?

The Illinois Democrat and Iraq War veteran, who is expecting her second child this spring, will be the first sitting senator to give birth in office. She plans to take 12 weeks of paid leave – but she’s working with her party’s leadership and her staff to figure out how she can still take important votes while she’s out. In this episode, the senator opens up about her history-making pregnancy, Democratic prospects in the midterms and her not-so-affectionate nickname for President Trump.

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Meghan McCain is not her father.

For one, she’s a daytime talk show host on ABC's "The View." And her father is Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a one-time presidential candidate and perennial thorn in Donald Trump’s side. But Meghan and her father are really close, and in this interview with Women Rule, the younger McCain opens up about some intensely personal topics, including her relationship with him. She also discusses his fight with brain cancer, how she feels (as a conservative) about the Trumps, and why she doesn't consider herself a feminist.

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