WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

By Paul Gigot, The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture

What's WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch about?

From the award-winning opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, Paul Gigot, Kim Strassel, Bill McGurn and Kyle Peterson discuss the latest from Washington. Get critical perspective and the analysis you need on developments from the nation’s capital. Join them every weekday. Send your feedback to [email protected]

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Is the Cryptocurrency Crash...

05.13.2022

The stock market is on a rollercoaster, and traders of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have watched $1 trillion in value disappear in six months. Is there a risk here of economic contagion, and is Jerome Powell less likely to blink now ...

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch episodes:

05.13.2022 Is the Cryptocurrency Crash an Economic Alarm? The stock market is on a rollercoaster, and traders of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have watched $1 trillion in value disappear in six months. Is there a risk here of economic contagion, and is Jerome Powell less likely to blink now ...
05.12.2022 Senate Democrats' Message Vote on Abortion Fails Democrats in the Senate fail to pass a bill expanding abortion, losing Joe Manchin in the process. Was the vote smart politics, and how is the abortion issue playing out inside and outside the Supreme Court? Plus, Finland and Sweden ...
05.11.2022 A Union Drive in the Halls of Congress The House of Representatives votes to let its staffers unionize. But how is this supposed to work in practice, and if Congress wants to retain and attract talented aides, why not simply give them a raise? Plus, the inflation picture ...
05.10.2022 Biden's Inflation Speech and the 2022 Midterms With new inflation data coming this week, Joe Biden again points the finger at supply chain issues and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But does he have any new ideas to ease inflation before the November elections, and why does ...
05.09.2022 Protesters Picket the Homes of Supreme Court Justices Over Abortion After the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion reversing Roe v. Wade, the political debate grows heated as demonstrators visit the homes of Justices and the Senate prepares to vote on a law that would override 50 state abortion ...
05.06.2022 Democrats Claim the Justices Lied About Abortion The conservative Supreme Court Justices who might overturn Roe v. Wade were asked about the 1973 precedent during their Senate confirmation hearings. What did they actually say, and how does it compare to the language that liberal Justices have used ...
05.05.2022 Democrats See an Election Chance on Abortion President Biden says the repeal of Roe v. Wade will lead to a string of lost rights for Americans. Is this accurate and a winning political strategy, and could Republican lawmakers on the state level feel the pressure to address ...
05.04.2022 Does Ohio Show Trump's Midterm Power? J.D. Vance wins the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Ohio, showing that President Trump's endorsement still has weight for GOP voters. Yet Democratic candidate Rep. Tim Ryan, in contrast to others in his party, doesn't seem to think that ...
05.03.2022 The Supreme Court's Leak on Roe v. Wade A leaked draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito shows that the High Court might be preparing to strike down Roe v. Wade, which would return abortion policy to the states. How much can we read into this draft, which dates ...
05.02.2022 What Is the Disinformation Governance Board Trying to Accomplish? Why is the Biden administration creating a Disinformation Governance Board, and will it promote more mistrust than it prevents? Plus, Nancy Pelosi leads a delegation to Ukraine as Joe Biden requests $33 billion in aid for the country to resist ...
04.29.2022 Can Biden Legally Forgive Student Debt? With seven months to go before the November elections, Democrats want to shore up young voters by forgiving up to $50,000 a person in student loans. President Biden says he is considering it, although he has a lower dollar figure ...
04.28.2022 A Slowing Economy Gives Americans Another Reason to Worry The economy shrank by 1.4% in the first quarter. Does it signal stagflation or a recession ahead? And how should the Federal Reserve respond? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
04.27.2022 Vladimir Putin Cuts Off Gas to Two NATO Allies As Putin halts natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, Europe needs to move fast to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels. American frackers could potentially fill Europe's energy gap, but President Biden and Congress need to act if ...
04.26.2022 'Remain in Mexico' Gets a Supreme Court Hearing The Justices hear oral arguments in Biden v. Texas, a case challenging the White House plan to end President Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy for migrants. Meantime, Democrats are sprinting to oppose President Biden's proposal to stop Title 42 border ...
04.25.2022 Kevin McCarthy Gets Caught Between Trump and the Truth About Jan. 6 The Republican leader wants to be the next Speaker of the House, but can he govern a fractious Republican caucus if the GOP takes the majority in November? One obstacle will be the demands of fealty from Donald Trump. Plus, ...
04.22.2022 Florida Lays Siege to Disney's Magic Kingdom The Florida Legislature, at the urging of Gov. Ron DeSantis, has voted to end a special tax district that lets Disney World run its own government. It's a response to Disney's criticism of the state's "don't say gay" bill. But ...
04.21.2022 The Crack in America's Nuclear Deterrence Don't discount the possibility that Vladimir Putin could drop a tactical nuclear weapon in Eastern Europe, the CIA director recently warned. So why does President Biden's budget propose to cancel a U.S. cruise missile that could launch a similar American ...
04.20.2022 Does Ukraine Have the Weapons to Win? As Russian forces escalate their offensive in Ukraine's Donbas region, Volodymyr Zelensky says the war would have been over already if allies had sent Ukraine the necessary weapons to win. Joe Biden has pledged more military aid, but is it ...
04.19.2022 Joe Biden's Airplane Mask Mandate Doesn't Fly A federal judge rules against the Centers for Disease Control's mask rule for airlines, trains and even Ubers. Will the Biden Administration appeal, or is it quietly relieved to have the policy ended? Plus, the Republican National Committee decides not ...
04.18.2022 Joe Biden's Border Failures Are Poisoning Support for Immigration Reform The White House decision to rescind Title 42, the Trump-era immigration policy, has Democrats running for political cover as border chaos spreads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
04.15.2022 Biden Sends Howitzers and Helicopters to Ukraine The Biden Administration has approved another $800 million in military assistance to help Ukraine prepare for the next phase of Vladimir Putin's invasion. But will these weapons get into the right hands in time for them to be effective? Plus, ...
04.14.2022 The High Political Cost of Inflation for Joe Biden Despite strong job creation and low unemployment, Joe Biden's job approval keeps falling. Is soaring inflation the cause? Plus, Finland and Sweden consider joining NATO in reaction to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
04.13.2022 Will Democrats Ditch the Iowa Caucuses? The Democratic Party is considering whether to change how it chooses presidential nominees. In part this is a response to the chaos of the 2020 Iowa caucuses, but Democrats also want earlier primaries in states that reflect the diversity of ...
04.12.2022 Is 8.5% Inflation Really 'Putin's Price Hike'? Consumer prices are up 8.5% since last year, a four-decade high, and the White House is blaming Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. But elevated inflation isn't limited to energy, and Joe Biden's plan to allow more sales of E15 gasoline, ...
04.11.2022 A French Election With High Stakes for NATO Emmanuel Macron will once again face a runoff against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, but could inflation and the Russia-Ukraine conflict result in a different outcome than the one in 2017? Plus, Volodymyr Zelensky asks the U.S. and its allies ...
04.08.2022 Elon Musk, Twitter and Free Speech Now that the billionaire Elon Musk owns a 9.2% stake and a seat on the board of Twitter, are changes coming to the social-media giant? Plus, Musk is at the top of the Forbes billionaires list, but the numbers show ...
04.07.2022 Senate Democrats Revolt Against the End of Title 42 The Biden administration plans to end a Trump-era policy which turns away those trying to enter the country illegally at the border. Some Senate Democrats want an extension of Title 42 until the President comes up with a new policy, ...
04.06.2022 President Obama's Victory Lap for ObamaCare Returning to the White House for the first time since 2017, Barack Obama stood with Joe Biden to celebrate the signing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. But do his claims hold water that the law worked as intended, ...
04.05.2022 The Republican Votes for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson With Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins planning to support Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, her confirmation to the Supreme Court seems secure. What's their strategy, and will this buy any Senate goodwill for the next Republican High Court nominee? ...
04.04.2022 Joe Biden Wants A War-Crime Trial For Putin After evidence of atrocities committed by the Russian army surfaced in the town of Bucha, Ukraine, Joe Biden called for Vladimir Putin to face trial for war crimes. How will the horrific images change the West's response to the war, ...
04.01.2022 The Progressive Plan to Save Joe Biden With President Biden's poll numbers sagging, progressive Democrats think he should go big today to secure a victory in the November midterm elections. But what exactly do Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others want Biden to do, and would ideas like ...
03.31.2022 Can Joe Biden Solve The Gas Price Problem? Joe Biden announced the release of up to 180 million barrels of oil reserve to tackle soaring gas prices. But is this a viable solution to what the administration is calling "Putin's price hike at the pump?" Plus, Democrats are ...
03.30.2022 A Judge Says Trump Likely Broke the Law Federal judge David Carter has ruled that Donald Trump most likely criminally obstructed Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the Capitol riot. But does the burden of proof in a civil case like this suggest real legal jeopardy? ...
03.29.2022 What's in Joe Biden $5.8 Trillion Budget Proposal? President Biden unveils his 2023 budget proposal, including a "minimum tax" on billionaires that would treat their unrealized stock gains as income. But how is this supposed to work in practice? Does Biden's talk of increased military spending live up ...
03.28.2022 The White House Walks Back Biden's Comments on Putin The President concluded a speech in Poland saying the Russian president "cannot remain in power," but his advisers quickly said regime change in Moscow is not U.S. policy. Was it a gaffe, or did Biden mean it? Plus, the text ...
03.25.2022 Joe Biden Welcomes 100,000 Ukrainian Refugees While in Europe for an emergency meeting of NATO and a trip to Poland, Joe Biden announces that the U.S. will accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. He also promises more U.S. natural gas for our European allies, but will his policies ...
03.24.2022 What Have We Learned About Ketanji Brown Jackson? The Supreme Court nominee says she'll recuse herself from a case on racial preferences in Harvard admissions, but can we believe her claims to be a constitutional originalist? Plus, Joe Biden and NATO pledge to do more to help Ukraine ...
03.23.2022 The Sounds of Ukraine's Refugee Crisis Jillian Melchior joins the podcast from Lviv, Ukraine, to share what she is seeing on the ground and some of the stories of refugees fleeing the crossfire. Plus, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposes to make companies disclose climate risks. ...
03.22.2022 Joe Biden's Message to NATO on Ukraine President Biden is heading to Europe to attend a NATO summit, as Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine continues to stall. What should Biden ask of America's allies, as the free world tries to deter further aggression and see Ukraine through ...
03.21.2022 Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson Faces Senate Scrutiny Republicans are ready to explore her judicial philosophy, but charges that she's weak on crime aren't likely to succeed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
03.18.2022 Joe Biden Sends a Message to China on Ukraine During a nearly two-hour videoconference call, Joe Biden told Xi Jinping there would be consequences if China lent its support to Russia as its invasion of Ukraine continues. But was the President able to convey a strong enough message to ...
03.17.2022 How Ukraine Is Changing the Politics of Energy and Climate Change Rising gasoline prices and Russia's invasion mean that energy security and costs matter more than climate policies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
03.16.2022 Volodymyr Zelensky's Passionate Plea To Joe Biden In an address to Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a direct plea to Joe Biden for him to take the lead in helping Ukraine defend against Russia and Vladimir Putin. But will his words and striking visuals push President ...
03.15.2022 The Russia/Ukraine Conflict Creates a Humanitarian Crisis As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to address Congress to ask for assistance to fight Russia, refugees from Ukraine have been flowing into other parts of Europe. So what can the U.S. and other countries do to help? Plus, the ...
03.14.2022 Will Joe Biden Take the Lead on Ukraine? Despite calls for stronger actions to help Ukraine fight the forces of Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden has followed Congress and Europe more often than not. Is this a strategy, or is this part of who the President is? And how ...
03.11.2022 Biden Cuts Off Russian Seafood and Vodka In another move to crush Vladimir Putin's economy, Joe Biden announces a plan to sever permanent normal trade relations with Russia, as well as to block imports of seafood and vodka. Is this another step away from globalization? Plus, Covid-19 ...
03.10.2022 Inflation's Four-Decade High as Russia's Attacks Escalate As Russia stepped up its attacks on Ukraine, including a strike on a maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol, the consumer-price index reached 7.9%, a high not seen since January 1982. So how is Joe Biden handling the difficulties ...
03.09.2022 Congress's $1.5 Trillion Spending Bill With another funding deadline looming in Washington, Congress takes up an omnibus spending package that runs 2,741 pages. It includes more money for defense and aid for Ukraine, but congressional earmarks also make an inglorious return. Plus, the Supreme Court ...
03.08.2022 Joe Biden Bans Russian Oil After much debate, President Biden announces a formal ban on Russian oil imports to the U.S. But did Congress force him to make that move, and are Americans ready for even higher prices at the gas pump? Plus, the EPA's ...
03.07.2022 The Energy Sanctions That Would Really Hurt Putin Oil prices hit $123 a barrel as momentum builds to block Russia's energy exports. Plus, the rush to get weapons to Ukraine, including fixed-wing aircraft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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