Washington Today

President Trump and others on death of Pope Francis; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth callsthe New York Times story claiming he shared sensitive military attack information in a second unsecure chat on the Signal App 'anonymous smears'; four House Democrats travel to El Salvador to call for the release and return to the U.S. deported accused gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia; Supreme Court hears a case challenging a task force in the Health & Human Services Dept that decided want preventive health services must be covered by private insurance under the Affordable Care Act; Stocks fall again over concerns about tariffs andPresident Trump today demanding the Federal Reserve cut interest rates immediately,calling Fed Chair Jerome Powell a 'loser; former President  Clinton at a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the deadly Oklahoma City terrorist bombing calls for national unitythat follows the 'Oklahoma Standard'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First: a conversation with Axios Senior Political reporter Alex Isenstadt about his new book "Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power." Then we speak with Lingling Wei, chief China correspondent for the Wall Street Journal -- about the brewing trade war between the U.S. and China and the impact of retaliatory tariffs.Plus: with TAX DAY earlier this week – a discussion about tax fairness and future of the Trump tax cuts with Pete Sepp of the National Taxpayers Union and David Kass of Americans for Tax Fairness Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) returns to the U.S. after meeting Kilmar Abrego Garcia in a El Salvadorian prison, as President Trump again calls Garcia a violent gang member who deserved to be deported; Dr. Mehmet Oz is sworn in as CMS Administrator, pledging to deliver great care to the American people, but warning that involves facing some truths, including healthcare spending is growing faster than the economy and that is unsustainable; Secretary of State Marco Rubio says U.S. may be ready to "move on" from efforts to reach a Russia-Ukraine war peace deal if there is not progress in the coming days; Vice President JD Vance is in Rome meeting with the Italian PM and attending Good Friday services at The Vatican. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mass shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee; President Donald Trump meets Italian PM Georgia Meloni at the White House to discuss trade and tariffs;President Trump is asked about his social media post that Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's "termination cannot come fast enough", after the Fed Chair said that larger than expected tariffs may cause difficult economic conditions that do not warrant interest rate cuts; President Trump's tariffs are dominating the Canadian national elections debate. We will talk about the state of that race with Reuters Canadian Correspondent David Ljunggren (27); Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says he tried to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia in the El Salvador prison he was deported to from the U.S., but was denied; Supreme Court says it will hear oral argument next month in a case challengingPresident Trump’s executive order to end 14th Amendment birthright citizenship for the childrenof people in the U.S. illegally; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Myer's reenlistment into the U.S. Marines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says President Donald Trump's tariff increases are larger "significantly larger than anticipated" and "same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth"; Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) announces the first lawsuit against the Trump Administration over tariffs, challenging the President's use of emergency declarations as the legal basis; Attorney General Pam Bondi announces a federallawsuit against the state of Maine for not complying with the President's Executive Order banning transgender athletes in girl's and women's sports; Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said the increase in autism rates in children is evidence of an epidemic, contradicting the finding of a CDC study that pointed to increased awareness and better diagnosis; federal judge James Boasberg finds “probable cause exists” to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for violating his orders to stop the use of the AlienEnemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members; Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) travels to El Salvador to try to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported there, accused of being a gang member; President Trump has ordered the military into a new, enhanced role on border security, turning a narrow strip of land running along the U.S.-Mexico border into a de facto military base. we will talk about it with Military-dot-com reporter Thomas Novelly. (38) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump suggests Harvard Univ lose its tax-exempt status after the school refuses to comply with Administration's demands, as the Trump Administration freeze frozen over $2 billion in grants and contracts to Harvard; On this Tax Day, House and Senate members talk about the future of federal tax cuts and spending cuts, and IRS budget and staff; interview with The Verge reporter Lauren Finer on the FTC's antitrust trial alleging Meta killed its competition when it bought Instagram and WhatsApp (21); another court hearing in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man deported to a prison in El Salvador; President Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff talks about his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a peace agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump and El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele met at the White House today….Both made clear that they have no plans to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia--the Maryland man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador--back to the US…Their words come despite a Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia's return…President Trump also talked about tariffs, Russia's deadly attack on Ukraine yesterday, and the state of talks with Iran…We'll hear what he had to say about all of it and get reactions from two members of Maryland's congressional delegation coming up… With Congress in its Easter and Passover recess, Democrats continue to criss-cross the country speaking out on Trump administration policies…California congressman Ro Khanna was in Ohio today…and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker was in Arizona today…Both of them talked economic issues and possible cuts to Medicaid and other services in the Republican's budget…. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal.First, we speak with Rahna Epting – executive director of the progressive group MOVE ON. We'll talk about what the so-called "resistance" movement looks like in the second Trump presidency. Then, a conversation with Erec Smith – a research fellow at the Cato Institute – and co-founder of the online platform "Free Black Thought." We'll talk about why he SUPPORTS Trump administration efforts to dismantle DEI programs. Plus, a deep dive into President Trump's executive order related to how federal elections are run. David Becker from the Center for Election Innovation and Research joins us for THAT discussion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump has its annual physical exam at Walter Reed Medical Center, the first such exam of his second term; China raises tariffs against the United States to match the latest tariff increase against their goods from President Trump, who is still saying he expects this standoff to be resolved through negotiation; Consumer confidence falls in April, according to a new survey; We will talk about the markets and the economy one week into the imposition of tariffs with Gregg Robb, senior reporter with MarketWatch; federal judge orders the Justice Dept to give daily updates on efforts to return to the U.S. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador; National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy talks about the investigation into Thursday helicopter crash into the Hudson River in New York City, killing all six people on board; U.S. Senate confirms Gen. Dan 'Razin' Caine to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in an overnight vote; Ukraine Defense Contact Group meets at NATO HQ in Brussels, led to Germany and the United Kingdom, with U.S. Def Sec Pete Hegseth participating virtually; congratulations from Members of Congress who represent the universities whose men's and women's basketball teams won this year's NCAA March Madness tournaments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House Republicans pass Senate version of the Budget Resolution, overcoming initial reluctance from some conservatives who said the Senate bill did not cut federal spending enough; President Trump at a Cabinet meeting on his tariffs policies says, “there’ll be a transition costand transition problems" but “we think we’re in very good shape.” Elon Musk, head of the Dept of Government Efficiency, attends the Cabinet meeting with an update on expected savings from federal spending cuts this year; House passes a bill requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to vote; State Department on the release of prisoner exchange with Russia that has released aRussian-American ballerina convicted of treason for supporting Ukraine; Senate committee hearing on Daylight Saving Time and whether the twice-a-year clock switching should end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices