Washington Today

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Weekend Edition: President Trump and President XI Summit, Trump Admin. and ACA Rolls, and 2026 Elections Sep 26, 2026

Show notes

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal.

First: The future of Artificial Intelligence was among the topics in the high-profile summit this week between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. We speak with former Biden Defense Department A-I official Gregory Allen about what's at stake.

Then: The Trump administration said this week they will remove several hundred thousand people off the ACA rolls who THEY say fraudulently enrolled. We did into the allegations and the fallout with Paragon Health Institute President Brian Blase – a former economic adviser in President Trump's first term.

Finally: Author, columnist, and constitutional Law Professor Kim Wehle discusses Trump administration efforts to influence the 2026 elections – and how the judicial system – including the Supreme Court – is responding.

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Chinese Pres. Xi finishes state visit, Pres. Trump says meetings were 'very productive'; Supreme Court OKs federal database to check for U.S. citizenship for voter eligibility Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

Chinese President Xi Jinping finishes a state visit hosted by President Donald Trump with tea at the White House and a trip to the National Archives; this time it is all on network TV, as the White House TV pool is back in operation now that the President has allowed CNN to return to the pool rotation, after a federal judge ordered it; Supreme Court lifts restrictions on the Trump administration use a federal database to identify voters suspected of being non-citizens; North Carolina Senate race is a top one to watch this year. We will hear from Republican nominee Michael Whatley & Democratic nominee Roy Cooper; Pope Leo XIV warns about the dangers of artificial intelligence, in his words, 'losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines invading and conditioning our daily lives'; Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) speaks at the Symposium of Young American Men; former Housing & Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is at the Family Research Council's Pray Vote Stand Summit; former first Lady Jill Biden and former President Joe Biden speak at a Delaware Planned Parenthood fundraiser.

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Pres. Trump hosts Pres. Xi for state visit with no TV pool coverage | Israeli PM Netanyahu speaks to UN | FDA Comm. nominee goes before Senate Cmte Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

CNN, Politico and MSNOW White House reporters are back at the White House after a federal judge put a temporary restraining order on President Donald Trump's attempted ban of those news outlets; President Trump hosts Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House for a state visit. President Trump says the two 'have forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually, built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people.' President Xi says '(U.S.-China) competition should be a healthy one and should be kept within bounds'; Senate defeats again an Iran War Powers Resolution to require President Trump to withdraw the U.S. military absent Congressional approval by a vote of 49-50; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas address the United Nations General Assembly; FDA Commissioner nominee Dr. Heidi Overton is questioned at a Senate confirmation hearing about vaccine safety and abortion pill availability; Updates on two bills the Senate could consider before adjourning for the midterm elections: permitting reform and AI data center restrictions; Justice Department holds a forum for victims and relatives of victims of violent crime.

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Iran's Pres. at UN calls Pres. Trump a bully and says Iran will never 'bend the knee' | Chinese Pres. arrives in DC for state visit | AI company CEO's brief UN Security Council Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

Iran's President tells the United Nations General Assembly his country has been the victim of terrorism by the United States and Israel and the Iranian people will never 'bend the knee' or submit to the 'language of force'; President Trump's Board of Peace meets in New York to unveil a multi-billion dollar plan to rebuild Gaza; Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and says there is interest in a 'limited ceasefire' with Ukraine involving grain shipments and energy-related targets; Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington, DC tonight for a state visit; OpenAI CEO Sam Altman & Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei brief the United Nations Security Council on AI safeguards; Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) calls a ProPublica report that the Trump Administration shut down an FBI investigation of an alleged pay-to-play scheme with a defense contractor a 'political hit job'; First Lady Melania Trump launches an initiative to help women entrepreneurs; tonight is the annual Congressional Women's Softball Game.

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Pres. Trump tells UN he has a 'big decision' whether to 'annihilate' Iran | Former Vice Pres. Harris campaigns for Michigan U.S. Senate Democratic nominee El-Sayed Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

President Donald Trump in a speech at United Nations says he has 'big decision to make' about Iran: cut a deal with them 'that lets them rebuild' or 'annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again'; President Trump also calls Cuba an 'absolutely failed state' that 'will fall' under U.S. pressure, leading the Cuban delegation to walk out; President Trump also meets the new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham for the first time, saying he is man he can do business with; Former President Bill Clinton opens his annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York City, rejecting what he calls 'the politics of brute force driven by zero-sum thinking: in order for me to win, you have to lose'; Kamala Harris, former Vice President and Democratic Presidential nominee, campaigns with Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic nominee for Senator of Michigan; Vice President JD Vance announces an anti-fraud effort targeting over 750,000 enrollments in Affordable Care Act exchanges that he says do not meet eligibility requirements or are not real people, saving $2.2 billion in taxpayer money; Secretary of State Marco Rubio defends President Trump's ban of Politico, MSNOW and CNN reporters from the White House, a day before a First Amendment lawsuit from those news outlets goes before a federal judge.

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Politico, CNN & MSNOW sue over White House reporter ban & major TV networks suspend pool coverage of Pres. Trump in solidarity with CNN Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

Politico, CNN & MSNOW sue in response to President Donald Trump banning their reporters from the White House, and four major TV networks suspend their shared coverage of presidential events, called a pool, in protest of the president's action; Calls for an independent investigation after an Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shoots an immigrant from Venezuela during a traffic stop in Austin, Texas; Foreign affairs on President Trump's agenda this week with the United Nations General Assembly in New York City and a state visit to Washington, DC by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to discuss trade and AI; Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says a new AI tool will help air traffic controllers manage congestion and reduce flight delays; California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) announces an agreement with Paramount to settle antitrust concerns in the companies over $100 billion merger with Warner Bros. He says more movies will made in the United States; House Budget Committee holds a field hearing in Dallas, Texas on creating a fiscal commission to tackle the U.S.'s over $40 trillion debt; Campaign 2026: Members of Congress with national name recognition travel to other states to help candidates in their party, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) in Nebraska and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) in New Hampshire.

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Weekend Edition: Regulating AI, House Adjourns, and Constitution Day Sep 19, 2026

Show notes

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal.

First: Washington this week was dominated by the debate over regulating A-I amid more threats from tech execs of the dangers if the technology is left unchecked. Politico A-I and tech influence reporter Brendan Bordelon breaks it down for us.

Then – despite the AI debate, the House adjourned EARLY this week, kicking off its 7-week recess heading into November midterm elections. We speak with Reese Gorman of the Washington Sun about what happened.

Finally: A discussion with Jeffrey Rosen – CEO emeritus of the National Constitution Center -- about the importance of this past Thursday's observance of Constitution Day and the role the founding document is playing in today's political debates.

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President Trump bans 'fake news' CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

President Donald Trump says he is banning CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House for what he calls their 'fake news' reporting; President announces all 50 states will be joining a program to provide prescription drug prices to Medicaid at the same, lower costs paid for the drugs in other countries; President Trump is asked about Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) putting out an ad critical of his immigration policy; Vice President JD Vance campaigns in Iowa for Republicans in close races, including Zack Lahn running for governor against Democratic nominee Rob Sand; Planned protest by artists and their supporters tonight at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after President Trump's threat to tear the building down if his name is not added to the facade in conjunction with renovations; Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) issues an executive order to create what she calls an 'accountability framework' to increase transparency around proposed data center projects and ensure Virginians are not stuck with highest energy bills.

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Bipartisan 'Stop Rogue AI Act' introduced in House; White House top aide says interest rate hikes could cause recession; Fmr. Sen. Kyle (R-AZ) dies Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

A Republican and a Democrat in the U.S. House join forces on a bipartisan bill to confront potential risks of Artificial Intelligence; White House continues to criticize the Federal Reserve and Chair Kevin Warsh for raising interest rates this week. Presidential adviser Peter Navarro calls it a 'monumental mistake' that could push the U.S. economy into recession; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomes closer ties to Europe even after President Donald Trump threatens more tariffs in response; U.S. Senate votes to advance a college sports regulation bill by a comfortable margin, almost guaranteeing a successful final passage vote next week; Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tells an anti-vaccine group that he once worked for, Children's Health Defense, that the true risks from vaccines are not known, in part because the government does not have a good enough safety monitoring system; Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Danny Danon says New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) should be arrested for calling for demonstrations when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits next week for the United Nations General Assembly; Former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has died at age 84. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) remembering him as 'a wonderful mentor' who 'taught me so much' and 'a highly effective, brilliant Senator, who made countless contributions to the state of Arizona and to our country.'

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Fed raises interest rates a quarter point; House passes Lindsey Graham Russia Sanctions Bill; Pres. Trump campaigns in N. Carolina for GOP Senate nominee Michael Whatley Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

Federal Reserve votes unanimously to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, first hike since 2023 Fed Chair Kevin Warsh says, 'The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long.' We will talk about the Fed's decision with Julia Shapero, Cryptocurrency and Finance Reporter for The Hill (6); House votes on the Russia sanctions bill related to its war with Ukraine named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) accuses House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) of cancelling Thursday's legislative session, sending Members home a day early to campaign for reelection, to avoid having to vote on Massie's resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war with Iran; Surgeon General Nominee Dr. Nicole Saphier at her Senate confirmation hearing is asked about President Trump questioning the safety of the MMR vaccine; Senate Agriculture Committee passes a 5-year Farm Bill with the crucial vote of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who returned to Washington after more than three months recovering from health issues; White House AI Czar David Sacks talks about the warnings from the tech leaders about the dangers of artificial intelligence; President Trump heads to North Carolina to campaign for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley; House Problem Solvers Caucus proposes bills to avoid another gerrymandering war as was seen this election cycle by red and blue states.

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