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
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Last Episode : July 2, 2025 11:04pm
Last Scanned : 6.1 hours ago


Episodes
Episodes currently hosted on IPFS.
Confirmed 1
GOP Big Beautiful tax cut & spending cut bill stalls in House by groups of Republicans seeking changes to Senate-passed version House is slowing working on the modified Budget Reconciliation bill, the tax cut & spending cut 'One Big Beautiful Bill', passed yesterday by the Senate with VP JD Vance's tie-breaking vote, slowly because Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump have been meeting with both conservative and moderate Republicans opposed to the bill for different reasons, either it does not cut enough spending or cuts too much, and Republicans can only afford to lose 3 of their Members since all Democrats plans to vote 'no'; FCC Chair Brendan Carr lays out what he calls a 'Build America' agenda in his first major policy speech as chair to “unleash high-speed infrastructure builds…. restore America’s leadership in wireless… boost the U.S. space economy…. and advance our national security'"; interview with Variety Senior TV Editor Brian Steinberg on Paramount settling a lawsuit with President Trump over the editing of a CBS News' "60 Minutes" interview with then Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris (24); State Department and Pentagon comment on the U.S. reportedly pausing some weapons shipments to Ukraine, including air defense missiles
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Expires in 42 hours
Published Wednesday
Confirmed 3
Budget reconciliation bill passes Senate 51-50 after last-minute deal with Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) to secure her voteSenate passes the budget reconciliation bill, also called the One Big Beautiful Bill, containing President Donald Trump and Congressional
Republicans' domestic agenda of tax cuts, spending cuts and more money for border security and defense, by a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie. Sen Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) provided the necessary 'yes' vote for passage after negotiating last-minute changes on health care and food aid; Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell confirms that the Fed would have cut interest rates this year had it not been for President Trump's 'Liberation Day' high tariffs, whose impact on inflation is still uncertain; Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with the foreign ministers of Australian, India & Japan, the so-called Quad, as tariffs and trade talks continue with those allies; President Trump visits a new immigrant detention center a remote area of the Florida Everglades dubbed Alligator Alcatraz and says it could be a model for similar facilities to increase deportations.
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Expires in 18 hours
Published Tuesday
Marathon vote-a-rama on One Big Beautiful Bill amendments underway in Senate; final passage not assured given potential GOP holdouts
The Senate's vote-a-rama continues, as members offer and vote on amendments to the Republican's tax and spending cuts bill. But passage of the bill isn't a sure thing. Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have both said they're voting "no", while Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska haven’t said how they'll vote. Congressional Republicans and President Trump have said they want the bill passed and signed into law by July 4th. Last night on the floor, Sen. Tillis criticized both the bill's Medicaid cuts and the president for breaking a campaign promise to not interfere with Medicaid benefits. That prompted responses from the president on social media, including one announcing he'd said he would back a primary challenge against the senator. Not long after, Sen. Tillis announced he would not seek reelection next year. A federal appeals court heard arguments today on the president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act. Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union say the Trump administration is unlawfully using the law to take away due process for possible deportees. The administration maintains that a Venezuelan gang is carrying out an invasion of the US at the direction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
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Published Monday

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, Congressman Adam Smith – top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee - discusses U.S. military action against Iran – and what comes next. Then - a discussion about the history and evolution of the War Powers Act Philip Wallach from the American Enterprise Institute. Plus, it was a stunning win for Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani in this week's Democratic primary for New York City Mayor. We speak with Spectrum News New York One (NY1) political director Bob Hardt about what happened.
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Published Saturday
Supreme Court in birthright citizenship Executive Order case rules single judge cannot impose a 'nationwide injunction'
Supreme Court rules that individual judges do not have the power to block a president's policies across the country, known as nationwide injunctions. The underlying case, whose merits have not been decided yet, involves President Donald Trump's Executive Order restricting birthright citizenship; Supreme Court also handed down other closely-watched
decisions today, including in favor of Maryland parents who want to have their children opt-out of a curriculum with LGBTQ books and upholding a Texas law requiring age-verification for adult websites; Senate Republicans look to have their first vote on the tax cut & spending cut budget reconciliation bill on Saturday; House members get a classified briefing on the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear site; Foreign Ministers of Rwanda & the Democratic Republic of Congo meet in Washington to sign a peace agreement brokered by the White House; Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) talks about this year's Virginia governor election between Winsome Earle-Sears (R) and Abigail Spanberger (D).
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Published Friday
Supreme Court rules South Carolina can cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood because the group provides abortions
Supreme Court decides that South Carolina can cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood because the group provides abortions, ruling that Medicaid patients are not allowed to sue over their right to choose their doctor; Senators get a classified briefing on the U.S. bombings of Iranian nuclear sites, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth & Gen. Dan Caine, Joint Chiefs of Staff chair hold a news conference with more details about the attack and fresh criticism of news outlets for their coverage of a Pentagon intelligence on the extent of the damage; On the tax & spend One Big Beautiful Bill, some Republicans want the Senate Parliamentarian
fired for ruling some key Medicaid provisions cannot stay in the bill because they violate Budget Reconciliation rules; President Trump holds an event at the White House to champion the bill and the first Senate test vote is expected soon; former Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) has died. She was known for supporting gun control, elected after a mass shooting that killed her husband and severely wounded her son.
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Published Thursday
President Trump criticizes 'fake news' outlets citing Pentagon intelligence report suggesting U.S. bombing of Iran nuclear sites may have resulted in less than 'obliteration'
President Donald Trump says the leaked U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report suggesting Iran's nuclear program has been set back only a few months after the recent U.S. bombings is wrong, the nuclear sites have been destroyed – in his word 'obliterated' - and the reporters who published the DIA reports finding are 'bad people', 'sick' and are demeaning the hero pilots who carried out the U.S. attack; CDC Director
nominee Susan Monarez says at a Senate confirmation vaccines are "life-saving" and she has not seen evidence linking them to autism; Senate Commerce Committee approves Bryan Bedford, CEO of a regional airline, to be FAA Administrator; Claims of a Justice Dept whistleblower who says the Trump Administration planned to disregard court orders that would hinder immigrants deportations come up at several Senate hearings today, with the Attorney General Pam Bondi and former top Justice Dept
official Emil Bove, nominated for a federal appeals court judgeship; Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell again points to the threat of inflation from President Trump's tariffs for not cutting interest rates; surprise win in the New York City Mayoral Democratic primary by Zohran Mamdani, a self-described Democratic Socialist.
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Published 06/25
President Trump says Israel-Iran ceasefire 'in effect' after voicing frustration at apparent violations on both sides
President Donald Trump says a ceasefire between Israel & Iran is "in effect", after expressing frustration with both countries for apparently violating the agreement he mediated; President spoke before flying from Washington to The Hague, Netherlands for a NATO leaders' summit; House & Senate Democrats upset today that scheduled classified briefings by Trump Administration officials about the U.S. military attacks on Iran's nuclear sites have been postponed until later this week; House votes down an impeachment resolution against President Trump introduced by Rep. Al Green (D-TX) over the bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. A majority of House Democrats voted against the impeachment resolution; As Senate Republicans are still putting together the final text of tax cut and spending cut One Big Beautiful Bill, with debate and votes that could run into the weekend, Senate Parliamentarian has been knocking
out bill provisions that violate budget reconciliation procedures – known as the Byrd Rule. We will talk about what is no longer in and how Senators could restore them if they want with Forbes Senior Writer Kelly Phillips Erb (32); Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tells a House committee that an interest rate cut in July is not likely; Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) wins a House Democratic Caucus secret-ballot vote to be the next ranking member of the Oversight & Reform Committee.
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Published 06/24
President Trump calls Iran's missile attack on U.S. air base in Qatar 'weak'; bipartisan war powers resolutions on Iran could get votes in Congress
President Trump responds on social media, "Iran has officially responded to our Obliteration of their Nuclear Facilities with a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered….There have been 14 missiles fired — 13 were knocked down, and 1 was “set free,” because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction. I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done." On Capitol Hill, two bipartisan war powers resolutions are moving their way through Congress. In the House, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) are leading one that blocks U.S. involvement in the conflict. In the Senate, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) says he plans
to push for a vote this week on a similar resolution and that Republican
lawmakers in his chamber have expressed support for it. Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and European leaders urged Iran to return to the negotiating table.
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Published 06/23

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, a discussion about the history – and future -- of Iran's nuclear program - with Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association. Then, Axios Politics Reporter Steph Kight (like kite) discusses members of Congress receiving security briefings following the Minnesota lawmaker shootings. Finally, CNN's Jake Tapper discusses former President Biden's declining health during the last year of his term in his book "Original Sin."
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Published 06/21
President Trump says two-week pause on next steps for U.S. action against Iran nuclear program is "to see whether or not people come to their senses"
President Donald Trump says two more weeks he is waiting to decide to whether to attack Iran over its nuclear weapons program is “a time to see whether or not people come to their senses"; United Nations Ambassadors from Iran and Israel trade accusations at a UN Security Council meeting as their countries continue their military campaigns against each other; head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warns the Security Council of the dangers of a military campaign targeting
nuclear facilities; federal appeals court in California rules President Trump
likely had the authority to deploy National Guard troops to deal with protests against immigration raids without Gov. Newsom's consent but the courts do have a role in reviewing the specific actions the troops will be doing; Federal Reserve board member thinks interest rates should be cut as early as next month; Supreme Court releases decisions, including one allowing a lawsuit from fuel producers against California vehicle emissions standards to continue.
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Published 06/20
President Trump calls for Iran's 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER', threatens Supreme Leader would be an 'easy target' to kill
President Donald Trump is back in Washington, DC, returning early from the Group of 7 leaders' summit in Canada, posting and commenting about the ongoing military conflict between Israel and Iran, including he wants 'better than a ceasefire', "I have not reached out to Iran for “Peace Talks” in any way, shape, or form", calling that Fake News, and on Iran's Supreme Leader, "We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now"; U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco hears oral argument in Newsom v. Trump, case where Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is challenging President Trump's deployment of National Guard troops in response to immigration protests with the governors' consent. We will talk about it with The Hill's Legal Affairs Reporter Zach Schoenfeld (23); Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) deletes social media posts in which he blamed Democrats and Marxists for the fatal shooting of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband and the wounding of another lawmaker and his wife; latest on proposed Medicaid changes in the Senate Republican version of the budget reconciliation bill – the one big beautiful bill – which are different than the House-passed version.
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Published 06/17