Washington Today

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" podcast.
Website : https://www.c-span.org/podcasts/subpage/?series=washingtonToday
RSS Feed : https://feeds.megaphone.fm/cspanwashingtontoday
Last Episode : March 27, 2025 11:27pm
Last Scanned : 2.6 hours ago


Episodes
Episodes currently hosted on IPFS.
Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announces a reorganization and downsizing of his department, calling the current setup a “sprawling bureaucracy; President Donald Trump & Attorney General Pam Bondi announce the arrest in Virginia of a top leader of the MS-13 gang, who they say is an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador; Secretary of State Marco Rubio is asked about a Tufts University graduate student from Turkey in the U.S. with a student visa who was detained in Boston for allegedly for supporting Hamas; President Trump withdraws the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations over concerns about the super-thin House Republican majority and the need for every vote in upcoming legislative battles; President Trump's announcement a 25 percent tariff on imported cars and auto parts is being criticized by virtually every foreign leader. We will talk about it with Brett Samuels. (38) The Hill's White House report; Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee holds a hearing on the investigation of the midair deadly collision
near Reagan National Airport between a commercial plane and Army helicopter.
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Expires in 45 hours
Published Thursday
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Atlantic magazine publishes Houthi military strike texts from Trump Admin. group chat; President Trump imposes 25% tariff on import cars & light trucksReaction to Atlantic magazine publishing texts of Trump Admin. group chat on Houthi military strikes; President Trump imposes a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks; NPR & PBS CEOs testify before House DOGE Subcommittee; NTSB Chair before House Appropriations Subcommittee on the effects of Elon Musk-led cuts in the government workforce; Supreme Court hears a case challenging the constitutionality of FCC fee subsidizing telecom for poor, rural areas, libraries, schools; memorial service in Tucson, AZ for late Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ).
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Expires in 45 hours
Published Wednesday
Trump Admin. officials mistakenly text plans for military strikes on Houthis to The Atlantic journalist
The Atlantic Editor in Chief Jeffrey Goldberg says Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior Trump Administration officials mistakenly included him in a discussion on an unsecure app about war plans against the Houthis; U.S. Court of Appeals hears the case involving the alleged Venezuelan gang member deportation flights and whether the Trump Administration violated a federal judge's order to pause them; President Donald Trump hold his third cabinet meeting at the White House, joined by Elon Musk to discuss his Department of Government Efficiency cost cutting, with Cabinet Secretaries providing examples of what they say are wasteful contracts; House and Senate Republican leaders plan to meet this week to work out differences the budget reconciliation bill that could contain tax cuts, border security measures, energy promotion and rest of their agenda. We get an update from Reese Gorman, reporter with NOTUS; President Trump announces Hyundai will build a $5 billion steel plant in Louisiana; Canadian party leaders gear up for a snap election in a month… and President Trump's tariff policy is a primary issue; former Rep. Mia Love (R-UT), the first Black Republican woman ever elected to Congress, has died.
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Published Monday

First: A discussion with former Rep. James Greenwood (R-PA) and Nick Penniman of the advocacy group Issue One – about their push for Congress to reassert itself against the executive branch.
Then, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure of the Century Foundation and Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute discuss potential cuts to Medicaid as Congress considers the upcoming budget.
Finally, an update on Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talks with Doug Klain, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center
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Published Saturday
President Trump & Defense Sec Hegseth say Elon Musk's Pentagon meeting was about efficiency, not China war plans
President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth say Elon Musk's meeting at the Pentagon this morning was to talk about government efficiency and innovation, and not, as the New York Times reported, U.S. war plans for a potential war with China. The two also announce Boeing will be building the next generation of Air Force fighters, the F-47. President is also asked about reports the U.S. may relinquish the top military position in NATO and the ongoing court case involving alleged gang member deportation flights to El Salvador. United Nations Security Council holds a meeting about the war between Israel and Hamas and the rising number of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. More contentious town hall meetings with Members of Congress: Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO). Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis is asked whether she will run for governor when her husband Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) term expires in 2026.
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Published Friday
Russian President Putin agrees to partial Ukraine war ceasefire after call with President Trump
Russian President Putin in a phone call with President Trump agrees to a partial 30 day ceasefire in war in Ukraine; Chief Justice Roberts pushes back on President Trump calling for judge in alleged gang members deportation case to be impeached; Sen. Schumer says he is
"best leader for the Senate" Democrats after backlash for supporting Republican bill to prevent a government shutdown; Vice President Vance says populist and tech-forward arms of the conservative movement can co-exist peacefully; United Nations Security Council holds meeting on resumption of Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza; Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams return to Earth after nine months in space that was originally scheduled for a week.
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Published 03/18
White House defends in court deporting alleged gang members after judge's halt order
The White House continues to defend this weekend’s deportation flights of hundreds of mostly alleged gang members from the U.S. to a prison in El Salvador. A federal judge hears arguments this afternoon on whether the Trump administration violated a federal court order stopping the removals from the country. We'll hear from Trump Border Czar Tom Homan and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. President Trump says he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow about a ceasefire deal in Ukraine. The State Department says South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S. has until Friday to leave the country. That comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused him on social media of being a “race-baiting politician” who hates President Trump. The New York Times reports that Houthi militia in Yemen has vowed to retaliate after U.S. military strikes on targets controlled by the group that it says killed at least 53 people. Those strikes were the subject of today's Pentagon briefing, the first of the second Trump administration.
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Published 03/17

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, we discuss what the Constitution says about the role of the executive branch and the importance of checks & balances with National Constitution Center President & CEO Jeffrey Rosen. Then, the Wall Street Journal's Richard Rubin discusses his recent examination of how government spending has grown and where the money is going. Finally, University of Ottawa Prof. Charles Etienne Beaudry discusses the Trump Administration's tariff threats against Canada and vows to make the nation America's "51st State."
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Published 03/15
Senate passes Republican-drafted CR to avert gov't shutdown; 10 Senate Democrats support key procedural vote
Senate passes a federal government funding extension to prevent a shutdown tonight; President Trump gives a speech at the Justice Department on 'law and order'; Secretary of State Rubio gives updates on negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and Hamas saying it is willing to release an American hostage; Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator nominee, testifies before the Senate Finance Committee; former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) dies at age 93.
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Published 03/14
Senate Dem Leader Schumer says he will support GOP-written federal gov't funding extension to prevent shutdown Friday night
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says he will vote for the GOP-written federal government funding extension to prevent a shutdown Friday night; President Trump says he will put a 200% tariff on European wine in retaliation for an EU 50% tariff on U.S. whiskey; President tariff policies a major topic at today's Senate confirmation hearing for the nominees for U.S. Ambassadors to Canada and Mexico; President Trump meets with NATO's Secretary General at the White House, as Russian President Vladimir Putin says he generally supports a 30 day ceasefire with Ukraine, but has reservations; White House withdraws nomination of Dave Weldon for CDC Director right before his scheduled Senate confirmation hearing; Senate Health Committee approves nominees to lead NIH and FDA; Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) dies after battle with cancer.
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Published 03/13
Senate Democrats say they will block House-passed 6-month CR to prevent gov't shutdown, push for 30-day CR to complete bipartisan funding negotiations
Senate Democrats say they will block six-month CR to avert shutdown unless there is a vote on one-month CR; President Trump responds to reports that half of the Education Department's workforce is being fired; Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on the effect of a CR on military readiness; Secretary of State Marco Rubio with an update on the Ukraine war 30 day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has accepted and is now being considered by Russia; court hearing for a Palestinian student activist at Columbia University who has had his green card revoked by the Trump Administration for demonstrations against the war in Gaza; Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin makes the annual St. Patrick's Day pilgrimage to Washington to meet with President Trump, and give him a bowl of shamrock, and attend luncheon with the President and Congressional leaders; interview with USA Today international correspondent Kim Hjelmgaard about what Greenland's election results mean for President Trump's stated goal of making the territory part of the U.S. (45); Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) announces she is not running for reelection in 2026.
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Published 03/12
House passes CR to prevent gov't shutdown at end of week, sends bill to Senate
House passes a six-month extension of federal government funding (Continuing Resolution or CR) to prevent a government shutdown on Friday; President Donald Trump announces a doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada, latest escalation in the trade war. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the previously announced 25% tariff on electricity to the U.S. will be suspended while further trade negotiations continue; White House reacts to Elon Musk comments about Social Security and other entitlements being the 'big ones' to find savings; Elon Musk joins President Trump at White House to buy a Tesla car; Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia and announces Ukraine has agreed to a 30 day ceasefire with Russia and the U.S. will resume military intelligence sharing with Ukraine; NTSB releases a preliminary report on the deadly helicopter & plane collision in January near Reagan National Airport and calls for a permanent change in the routes around that airport after finding a high risk of another collision.
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Published 03/11