Washington Today

On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina devastating Louisiana, Mississippi and other parts of the Gulf Coast, tributes to those lost, pride in the rebuilding and recovery, and thoughts of preparing for future storms; President Donald Trump says he will cut $4.9 billion for foreign aid through a 'pocket rescission', which will not give Congress a chance to vote on it. Some Members of Congress, Democrats & Republicans, say that is illegal and unconstitutional; Transportation Department cuts nearly $700 million in contracts for 12 wind energy farms, calling the projects wasteful'; new tariffs on once-exempt small value packages have taken effect We will talk with New York Times business reporter Peter Eavis about what this means for you the next time you order something shipped from outside the U.S. (25); United Nations Security Council holds a meeting on Russia's continued deadly bombardment of Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv; former Rep. Randy 'Duke' Cunningham (R-CA) has died. He was a war hero who went to prison after pleading guilty to taking bribes from defense contractors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez was removed from her position because she did not align with President Donald Trump's “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda. She is challenging the dismissal and her lawyers say she chose "protecting the public over serving a political agenda"; Questions to Secretary Kennedy & the White House over how to respond to gun violence like the shooting at the Catholic School in Minneapolis, where a gunman killed two children, and the Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota talks about what is known about the shooter's motives; Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) deploys police teams to cities to combat crime, and is asked whether it is in response to President Trump's threat to deploy National Guard to more U.S. cities; President Trump suggests holding a Republican National Convention in 2026 before the midterm election; Vice President JD Vance speaks in La Crosse, Wisconsin about the Republican tax cut & spending cut bill, the one dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill; Russian missiles hit a European Union building in the Ukrainian capital city Kyiv; Germany, France and Great Britain tell the United Nations they plan to re-impose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, known as snapback sanctions under the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A gunman kills two children and injures 17 other children and adults at a Catholic school in Minneapolis during a mass celebrating the first day of school before killing himself. FBI Director Kash Patel says it is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime against Catholics; Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser says the three weeks after President Donald Trump's sent federal law enforcement officers to help fight crime in DC, the crime rate has fallen. She says that shows what could be done if DC were able to hire additional police; Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says his department will take over management of Union Station in Washington from Amtrak as part of the President's moves to reduce crime and homelessness. Duffy says the station has “fallen into disrepair” and it should be a “point of pride” for the city; AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler in a pre-Labor Day "State of the Unions" address criticizes President Trump's policies, saying, “This is the choice working Americans have been given: chaos or the same broken status quo. An authoritarian who tells us only he can make things great again, or convincing ourselves everything is already great"; FDA approves COVID vaccines with more restrictions; United Nations Security Council holds a meeting on the war in Gaza. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawyers for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook say she will sue after President Donald Trump said he is firing her after allegation of mortgage fraud. Cook says the president does not have that power; President Trump says he wants anyone who commits a murder in Washington, DC to be given the death penalty. DC Council repealed the death penalty in 1981; Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says California, Washington state and New Mexico will lose federal funding if they do not comply with new federal rules on English proficiency for commercial vehicle drivers; Resolution calling for an end to U.S. weapons shipments to Israel, over the war in Gaza, fails at the Democratic National Committee summer meeting in Minneapolis; South Korea's President talks about strategy for his meeting Monday with President Trump to avoid what he calls a "Zelensky moment"; First Lady Melania Trump announced a new "Presidential AI Challenge" for students to use AI technologies to find solutions to community problems; Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce engagement comes up at a White House Cabinet meeting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump welcomes the South Korean President and signs executive orders on the National Guard in DC, ending cash bail and prosecuting burning the American flag; judge orders ICE to keep Kilmar Abrego Garcia in the U.S.; Democratic National Committee starts it summer meeting in Minneapolis. 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, a conversation with Yevheniia Kravchuk -- a Member of Ukraine's Parliament about President Zelensky's White House meeting earlier this week - and a potential peace deal to end the fighting between her country and Russia.  Then, Steven Camarota of the Center for immigration Studies and David Bier of the Cato Institute discuss Trump Administration's deportation & immigration policies and their impact on the economy.  Finally, Bipartisan Policy Center's Matthew Weil discusses President Trump's vow to do away with mail-in ballots and some voting machines ahead of next year's midterms.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Justice Department released a transcript and audio recordings of the interview that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted with Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. From July 24th, 2025 here is the complete first day of the testimony. And a warning, there might be language that some find offensive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Justice Department released a transcript and audio recordings of the interview that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted with Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. From July 24th, 2025 here is the complete first day of testimony. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signals a possible cut in interest rates in the near future and stocks rally on Wall Street; FBI agents raid former National Security Adviser John Bolton's home in Maryland home and office in Washington. Sources tell media outlets it is part of a national security investigation involved classified material; Justice Department releases the full transcripts & audio of the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's prison interview with sex trafficker Ghislane Maxwell, one-time girlfriend of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; Republican National Committee elects a new chair, Joe Gruters from Florida, after chair Michael Whatley resigns to run for U.S. Senator from North Carolina; Texas Senate moves towards a final passage vote on a new election map designed to get Republicans five more U.S. House districts; President Donald Trump says Chicago and New York are the next two cities where he may deploy the National Guard; Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov the agenda is not ready for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vice President JD Vance travels to Georgia to promote the Republican tax cuts & spending cuts bill known as the 'one big, beautiful bill', but he does not use that phrase, instead calling it the “working families tax cut” bill, while Sen. Josh Ossoff (D-GA) criticizes the law for its health care spending cuts; White House announces details of a trade deal with the European Union, including that the U.S. gets more access to the EU market and most EU exports to the U.S. will be subject to a 15% tariff; President Donald Trump says he will join police and the military tonight to patrol Washington, DC streets, as we near the end of the second week of his federalization of the DC police; California's legislature debates and heads to a vote on a new congressional redistricting map drafted by the Democratic majority, as Texas' House & Senate are nearing completion on their own new map. In both states, the goal to flip 5 U.S. House seats: to the Democrats in California & to the Republicans in Texas; New York appellate court throws out the $500 million civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump in the case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, saying the penalty was excessive and violates the Constitution's Eighth Amendment, but the panel upholds the finding that Donald Trump, his company, and two of his children are liable for fraud. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices