- 29 minutes 45 secondsWeekend Edition: Texas GOP Senate Primary, Government Fraud, and Americans View of the Iran War
In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal.
First: A discussion with Cook Political Report's Jessica Taylor on what the brutal Texas GOP Senate primary tells us about President Trump's grip on the Republican party – and the bigger fight over the Senate this fall.
Then: OJ Oleka of the State Financial Officers Foundation discusses his group's efforts across the country to expose government fraud.
Finally: Institute for Global Affairs Director Jonathan Guyer discusses new polling on American views of the Iran war.
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30 May 2026, 8:30 am - 59 minutes 29 secondsPres. Trump holds Situation Room meeting on possible deal to end Iran War; Former Atty. Gen. Bondi is interviewed by House Oversight Committee on Epstein files
President Donald Trump posts a list of requirements for any deal to end the war with Iran peacefully, then says he is meeting in the White House Situation Room to make a final determination. Some media reports say he did not reach a decision; Russian military drone hits an apartment building in Romania. U.S., NATO & the European Union condemn it as a 'reckless act' by Russia; Week ends as it began outside the Delaney Hall Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, with protesters clashing with federal agents; former Attorney General Pam sits for a closed door interview with the House Oversight Committee on the process for releasing the files of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Democrats on the committee say she pinned the blame for any mistakes on now Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. She says that is not true; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gives a speech at the Reagan National Economic Forum in California titled “While America Slept”, arguing that U.S. policymaking has prioritized efficiency over resilience; Disney-owned ABC criticizes the Federal Communications Commission as it formally applies to renew early licenses for its eight broadcast TV stations, as the FCC demanded. One station writing, "This effort to suppress speech under the guise of bureaucratic process must not prevail"; Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) says she will not run for reelection; Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) promotes a bipartisan bill he introduced this week to overhaul the business of college sports.
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29 May 2026, 10:45 pm - 57 minutes 18 secondsReports of possible U.S.-Iran deal to extend ceasefire, reopen Strait, launch nuclear talks; Treasury Dept exploring $250 bill with Pres. Trump's portrait
There are reports of a possible agreement between the U.S. and Iran to extend the ceasefire and start negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, while a new inflation report shows the increase in oil prices from the Iran war has led to the highest inflation level in three years. We will hear from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; He is also asked about an effort to put President Donald Trump's portrait on a new $250 bill, and the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund that has already postponed legislation in the Senate because of concerns from some Republicans; Vice President JD Vance, giving the commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, tells the cadets is it okay to use artificial intelligence in warfare, but 'never submit to it' and 'if the warfare of the future is to live up to the moral values of our ancestors, decisions over life and death must be made by humans and not machines'; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, visiting New York City, calls for increasing the economic and diplomatic distance between his country and the U.S., what he calls 'strategic autonomy', which, he says, will make both countries stronger; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MMI) says she will not run for the Democratic nomination for President in 2028; former Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) speaks to graduates of his alma mater, Harvard Business School; New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) is asked whether he will sit with President Trump if the President attends an NBA Finals game in Madison Square Garden.
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28 May 2026, 10:53 pm - 59 minutes 46 secondsPres. Trump holds Cabinet meeting, talks about Texas primary results, Iran war negotiations, anti-ICE protests; retiring Sen. Durbin honored by Illinois legislature
President Donald Trump holds a Cabinet meeting at the White House, talking about Tuesday's election primary results, including in Texas, where his preferred Republican nominee for U.S. Senator, Ken Paxton, defeated incumbent John Cornyn. President also talks about talks to end Iran war, saying Iran was "negotiating on fumes" and "maybe we have to go back and finish it, maybe we don't"; and the President is asked about immigration, after protesters and federal agents having been clashing outside an Immigration & Customs Enforcement detention facility in Newark, New Jersey; American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten calls for guardrails on advanced technology in classrooms, such as screen time limits and a ban on artificial intelligence in elementary schools; Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) at a retirement tribute in the Illinois state legislature in Springfield his work to ban smoking on airplanes; former Vice President Mike Pence is asked at a policy conference in Michigan if he ever picks up the phone and calls President Trump; Iowa Democrats pitch the Democratic National Committee that their state deserves to once again be among the first to hold a Democratic presidential primary in 2028.
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27 May 2026, 10:42 pm - 59 minutes 26 secondsPres. Trump says physical went 'perfectly'; SC Senate GOP votes down GOP-leaning Cong. district map; Fed. workers to sign NDA's under proposed rule to prevent leaks
President Donald Trump has a routine physical fitness examination, posting 'Everything checked out PERFECTLY'; Republican South Carolina state senators help defeat a new Congressional district lines map intended to eliminate the state's only Black majority district and make the entire delegation Republican; Election day in Texas, with the closely watch Senate Republican primary runoff where President Trump endorsed state Attorney General Ken Paxton against incumbent John Cornyn; Secretary of State Marco Rubio predicts it will take 'a couple of days' to finalize any agreement with Iran to end the war, while Iran denounces new U.S. military strikes in Iran, which the U.S. calls defensive, as a sign of 'bad faith and unreliability'; Russia threatens more, intense attacks on Ukraine's capital Kyiv and warns foreign nationals, including Americans, to leave for their safety; Trump Administration has proposed all federal workers be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) prohibiting them from sharing 'confidential government information', in an effort to stem leaks. We will talk about it with Scott Nover, Washington Post media reporter (35); Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) is pepper sprayed while at a protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Newark, New Jersey; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney tells supporters of a referendum in Alberta to make the province a separate country that it is a 'dangerous bluff' and they might regret it if actually passes; New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) is giddy that his hometown Knicks are back in an NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
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26 May 2026, 11:03 pm - 31 minutes 9 secondsWeekend Edition: David Hogg on Young Voters, Ken Cuccinelli on Redistricting Battles, and Trump RX
In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal.
First: A conversation with political activist David Hogg – founder of the group Leaders We Deserve -- about young voters and future of the Democratic Party
Then: We chat with former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli - national chair of the Election Transparency Initiative – on the redistricting battles sweeping the nation and how they might impact the midterm elections.
Finally: Politico Heath Care Reporter David Lim talks about "Trump Rx" and recent efforts by the Trump Administration to lower the cost of prescription drugs.
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23 May 2026, 8:30 am - 1 hour 32 secondsDNI Gabbard resigns, Fed Chair Warsh is sworn in; Sec. Rubio says there's been 'slight progress' in talks with Iran to end the war
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard resigns, she says to support her husband, who has been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer; Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is sworn-in at the White House. President Donald Trump tells him he wants him to be 'totally independent' when making decisions, such as on interest rates. Warsh says he will lead a 'reform-oriented Federal Reserve'; Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden says there has been 'slight progress' in the talks with Iran to end the war; World Health Organization raises the risk of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 'high' to 'very high', but the global risk remains at 'low'; As millions set off on Memorial Day holiday weekend travel, Transportation Security Administration is looking at using more private contractors for airport security screening; In this peak time for college and university graduations, a sampling of commencement speeches C-SPAN has brought in: Gen. Dan Caine, Joint Chiefs of Staff chair, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), NBC journalist Lester Holt, Olympic gold medal winning skier Lindsey Vonn and rapper & music producer will.i.am; a tribute to CBS News Radio, going off the air after nearly 100 years.
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22 May 2026, 10:38 pm - 56 minutes 54 secondsSenate GOP puts off debate & votes on $70 billion immigration agencies package over concerns about Pres. Trump's $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization fund'
Senate Republicans cancel floor debate and votes on a $70 billion immigration agencies package known as the Budget Reconciliation bill because of concerns among Republicans about who would qualify to receive compensation under President Trump's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund; President announces a rollback of environmental regulations on greenhouse gas releasing refrigerants, he says, to lower grocery costs by reducing costs on supermarkets & transportation companies; Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is asked about President Trump endorsing his primary opponent Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R); Democratic National Committee releasing a report on why the party lost the 2024 presidential election, along with a disclaimer that the DNC 'cannot independently verify the claims presented.' We will talk about it with Dan Merica, co-anchor of the Washington Post Early Brief (16); House Republican leaders delay a vote on an Iran War Powers Act resolution offered by Democrats to force the President to end the war; House defeats a National Women's History Museum bill. Many Democrats opposed it because the bill specifically excludes transgender women from being represented in the exhibits; Justice Department announces Medicaid fraud indictments in Minnesota; actor Noah Wyle rallies on Capitol Hill on behalf of health care workers; National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration are predicting a below-normal Atlantic hurricane season.
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21 May 2026, 11:05 pm - 59 minutes 53 secondsReaction to Rep. Massie (R-KY) losing primary to Pres. Trump-backed opponent; Justice Dept. indicts fmr. Cuban Pres. Raúl Castro; fmr. Rep. Frank (D-MA) dies
What did the results of Tuesday's Republican primaries, especially the defeat of targeted Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), say about the power of President Donald Trump's endorsement? We hear from the President, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and an ally of Massie, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA); Justice Department indicts 94-year-old Raúl Castro, former Cuban president and defense minister, on murder and conspiracy, in the deaths of four U.S. citizens in the downing of two planes in 1996. It is part of the Trump Administration's increasing pressure campaign against the Cuban government; Senate Budget Committee advances on a party-line vote the budget reconciliation bill that Republicans are using to fund federal immigration agencies without the need to get the votes of Democratic Senators and therefore without the need to incorporate immigration enforcement reforms they demanded; President Trump is asked about the provision in his tax return leak lawsuit settlement that gives him, his family and his businesses immunity from IRS audits and prosecution for any unpaid taxes; House passes a housing affordability bill that is different than the Senate-passed version; Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. attends the signing of "Iowa MAHA", the first comprehensive state law incorporating elements of the Make America Healthy Again agenda; Senate subcommittee holds a hearing on sports betting and prediction markets regulation; Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is questioned at a Senate subcommittee hearing about who paid for him and his family's cross-country Great American Road Trip promotion; former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has died at age 86. He was one of the first openly gay Members of Congress and remembered for being one the authors of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.
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20 May 2026, 10:51 pm - 59 minutes 49 secondsActing AG Blanche defends $1.8B Anti-Weaponization Fund; Pres. Trump endorses TX AG Paxton over Sen. Cornyn in TX Senate GOP primary runoff
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defends before a Senate subcommittee the newly-created $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund designed to compensate people unfairly targeted by the federal government. Democrats on the committee call it President Donald Trump's slush fund; President Trump endorses in the Texas U.S. Senate Republican primary runoff Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn; President Trump tells reporters he was an hour away from ordering more military strikes on Iran when the request came from Mideast allies to give diplomacy another chance; President brings the media out to see the White House ballroom construction site, as Senate Democrats pledge to force Republicans to vote on whether they support a proposed $1 billion in taxpayer money for security upgrades included in a bill scheduled for floor debate this week; Centers for Disease Control & Prevention gives an update on the U.S. response to the deadly Ebola outbreak in Africa; Justice Department says Chinese executives and shipping container companies have been indicted on charges they restricted the supply of shipping containers during the COVID-19 pandemic to raise prices; Congressional Black Caucus Members celebrate that a college sports compensation bill has been pulled from the House floor schedule this week. CBC says it opposes the bill because it would "benefit major athletic institutions that continue to remain silent while Black voting rights and Black political power are being systematically dismantled across the South.”
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19 May 2026, 11:12 pm - 48 minutes 25 secondsTrump Delays Iran Strike, Senate Budget Fight Intensifies, CDC Confirms American Ebola Case
President Trump says he’s delaying a planned strike on Iran after pressure from Middle Eastern allies to continue diplomatic talks. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans push ahead on their reconciliation bill after key provisions were blocked by the Senate Parliamentarian. Plus — the CDC confirms an American aid worker has tested positive for Ebola amid new travel restrictions tied to the outbreak in Africa, and voters prepare for primary elections in six states.
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18 May 2026, 9:53 pm - More Episodes? Get the App