WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

With Senate Democrats holding up Donald Trump's picks even for relatively minor jobs, Majority Leader John Thune proposes to speed confirmation by changing the chamber's rules to allow approval of blocks of uncontroversial nominees. Is this a good idea to restore a historical norm, or could it backfire if Democrats demand further rule rewrites when they return to power? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The values of the Western tradition have come under attack for unleashing a variety of sins, but is there a revival on the horizon? Paul Gigot speaks with historian Allen Guelzo about how “self-hatred” of Western civilization's achievements has replaced thoughtful self-criticism, how much of this can be contributed to an ignorance of history, and the goals of Guelzo's newest project, 'The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gets grilled on Capitol Hill, including by Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Barrasso, both of them physicians, about his agenda on vaccines, views of Operation Warp Speed, and staff changes at his department. Meantime, Florida officials say they will push to end all state immunization mandates, including in schools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump orders an airstrike on a speed boat in the Caribbean that he says was carrying narcotics, but should Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro also be worried, as the U.S. orders serious naval assets to the region? Meantime, Xi Jinping has a friendly photo-op with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, amid a military parade in Beijing that showcases an axis of American adversaries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrats move to eject 22 of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's board appointees at three colleges, which they say is to protect the schools from Trump Administration meddling. But the Education Department accuses George Mason University of “illegally using race” in hiring, and Republicans are going to the state Supreme Court, arguing that Youngkin's appointees aren't fired at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump has imposed global tariffs by citing a 1977 emergency law known as IEEPA, but a federal appeals court says 7-4 that this is outside of his legal authority. Otherwise, what would stop the next Democrat in the office from declaring a climate "emergency" to declare a carbon tariff? The White House plans to appeal, but will it have any better luck at the Supreme Court? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pressure on Iran is rising again, as U.S. allies in Europe trigger "snap-back" sanctions, citing Tehran's uranium stockpiles and nuclear enrichment. Meantime, two weeks after President Trump's peace summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin, Russia hits Ukraine hard with new airstrikes. Plus, Taiwan wants to raise its defense budget to 5% of GDP to deter a Chinese invasion.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump considers sending federal forces, including National Guard troops, to clean up Chicago's streets, but Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says he doesn't want the help. Could Trump do it over the objections of state and local leaders? And is this a winning political issue for the GOP, as Mayor Muriel Bowser announces that carjackings in Washington, D.C., have dropped 87%? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump argues the Smithsonian Institution has lost sight of America's ideals and become too focused on the country's historical failures, as his staff launches a review of selected museums and exhibitions. Does he have a point, and what might result from this audit, or does the outcome depend on whether it's done in a thoughtful way that Americans can support?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump dismisses the Fed Governor for "cause," citing allegations aired on social media that she claimed two primary residences while applying for mortgages. Cook says she'll refuse to go, setting up a serious legal and constitutional fight. But is this really about Trump's demand for lower interest rates, and do Americans want Fed monetary policy to follow political orders? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump pushes the Senate to give confirmation hearings to his nominees, after a federal judge rules that Alina Habba has been unlawfully acting as a federal prosecutor since July, and that Trump's maneuvers to retain her don't follow the law. The White House will appeal, but the Senate seems reluctant to end its "blue slip" tradition for vetting home-state appointees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Socialist Zohran Mamdani now leads the polls by a wide margin. Andrew Cuomo attacks Mamdani by calling him "very rich" and demanding he immediately move out of his rent-stabilized apartment. And two former aides to Mayor Eric Adams face separate scandals, after one is indicted for bribery and another hands a reporter a potato-chip bag containing at least $140. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, takes to social media to accuse Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud. Pulte has also made similar criminal referrals for Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Aren't investigations supposed to happen before announcements, and didn't Donald Trump promise to end lawfare? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After President Trump invokes an exclusion for national security, several agencies terminate collective-bargaining deals with unionized government employees, including the VA, the EPA, and FEMA. Since most Americans aren't union members, is this a good political fight for Trump, who can argue that such contracts make Washington more expensive and less efficient? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The White House considers taking a 10% stake in the chip maker, after Donald Trump meets with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, shortly after he demanded Tan's immediate resignation. Is this another example of MAGA corporate statism, along with Trump's "golden share" on the Nippon-U.S. Steel deal, his "export tax" on AI chips, and his talk of a sovereign-wealth fund? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump meets with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, as he pushes to end the Ukraine-Russia war. He says the U.S. will contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine, but what would that require for Ukraine to feel secure? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin head into negotiations over ending the Ukraine war, three years after Russia's invasion. But news leaks suggest Putin wants territorial gains that would let him leapfrog Ukraine's "fortress belt." Meantime, Trump is sounding more serious all the time about increasing U.S. leverage, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky isn't at the table. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Governor Gavin Newsom reveals his plan to redraw congressional lines in California to combat Texas' plan for redistricting. Newsom says his new map will 'end the Trump presidency,' but will voters in his state agree? Plus, the gerrymandering wars reflect the growing trend of politically influenced migration across red and blue state lines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump chooses Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni to lead the BLS, the federal agency that collects data on inflation and the nation's jobs numbers. What is Antoni's public record? Does he have concrete plans to improve the statistics? Can he win Senate confirmation? And what about public trust, given how Trump fired former BLS director Erika McEntarfer? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After declaring a crime emergency, Donald Trump orders temporary federal control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, while also calling in 800 troops from the D.C. National Guard. What's the reality about violent crime in the nation's capital? Since D.C. is a federal enclave, is Trump within his rights? And has local control by the D.C. City Council proven to be a failure? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska to work towards an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Can a deal be made without Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to participate? Plus, White House Council of Economic Advisers chair Stephen Miran is tapped to fill a temporary spot on the Federal Reserve Board. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump signs an executive order designed to combat 'debanking,' which deprives individuals and businesses of financial services. How bad is the problem, what's in the Trump order, and will it be enough to rein in regulators that put pressure on banks to cancel customers that supposedly pose "reputational risk"? Or does Congress also need to pass legislation making the changes permanent, reforming the Bank Secrecy Act, and encouraging more bank competition?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans started the latest round of redistricting conflict in Texas, but Democrats are promising to fight back in California and Illinois, and now Republicans are promising to escalate further in other states. What's the end game? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel contemplates reoccupying Gaza, but the move could lead to being responsible for millions of Palestinian lives and the possibility of Hamas returning to power. How can Benjamin Netanyahu raise the pressure on Hamas to accept a deal? Plus, the United States and others promise food and aid to the region, as Hamas uses the crisis to its advantage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dozens of Texas lawmakers flee the state, denying a legislative quorum that Republicans need to enact a new U.S. House map that could gain them five seats in the 2026 midterms. But how long can the absent Democrats stay away, since Gov. Greg Abbott can keep calling special sessions? And will Democrats really retaliate by redistricting California, New York or Illinois? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After fresh numbers show that hiring has substantially slowed, Donald Trump responds by firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, accusing the agency of manipulating the figures to make him look bad. But denying negative economic news doesn't change reality, and the White House's newly unveiled list of reciprocal tariff rates isn't doing much for business certainty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Environmental Protection Agency moves to repeal the 2009 "endangerment" finding that underpins federal regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions as pollutants. Plus, the Energy Department releases a report that reviews the science of climate change, but with an emphasis on uncertainty, and without the catastrophic outlook that is now in common circulation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Reserve chooses not to change interest rates despite calls from the Trump administration to cut them.  So how much will President Trump's August. 1 deadline for reaching tariffs agreements contribute to the economy, which is growing slowly, but still confounding the experts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A top official at the Food and Drug Administration steps down after the agency changes course on a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. What does this episode say about the Trump Administration's approach toward drug development and innovation? Plus, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he plans to overhaul the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump unveils trade agreements with the European Union and Japan that will set baseline tariffs at 15%, with promises that they'll also invest billions of dollars in the U.S., details unspecified. Yet the United Auto Workers warns that this could disadvantage U.S. carmakers, and the question now is whether more deals are coming before Trump's Aug. 1 deadline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polls give him so-so marks, especially on the issues of inflation and the economy that helped him win the Presidency a second time. The good news for the President is that Democrats are in worse shape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Border czar Tom Homan and acting ICE director Todd Lyons say that masked immigration agents are merely trying to protect their identities from online “doxxing” efforts targeting them and their families. On the other hand, critics worry that routine masking of police will erode accountability and public confidence, as Democrats push for legislation to prohibit the practice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Johnson adjourns the House for the summer to prevent a vote on releasing files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. How did the GOP get into this mess, and how can it get out? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State Sen. Omar Fateh wins the backing of his city's party machine, after Democratic convention delegates snub the incumbent, Mayor Jacob Frey. What is Fateh's platform, how does it compare with Zohran Mamdani's in New York, and is this another sign of where Democrats are going? Plus, Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams debate which of them should drop out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump says the GOP could pick up five House seats in the 2026 midterms by redistricting the Texas political map. That could double Speaker Mike Johnson's current majority, but Democrats promise to respond, and Gov. Gavin Newsom suggests further gerrymandering California. Is this simply the way the political game is played, or could Congress put limits on it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The European Union places tougher economic sanctions on Russia amid its war on Ukraine. Will Donald Trump do the same at last? Plus, a populist wave hits Japan as the Liberal Democratic Party loses its majority in the upper house as voters revolt against inflation.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate gets moving on Donald Trump's appeals-court nominees, including Emil Bove for the Third Circuit, despite a Democratic walkout of the Judiciary Committee meeting. What questions remain about Bove's record at the Justice Department, including his handling of the Eric Adams case? And could his appointment affect whether other judges choose to retire? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump says Republicans have been 'duped' into furthering the Jeffrey Epstein saga, though his own supporters promoted the theory that the sex offender didn't commit suicide in jail. Could a special counsel keep Democrats at bay, or would such an appointment make matters worse for the President? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. Rand Paul issues a report on the Secret Service's failures to protect Donald Trump last summer in Butler, Pa. What has been learned in the year since then, and does the Secret Service need bigger reforms, such as giving up the job of investigating financial crimes? Plus, the Senate moves on $9 billion in spending rescissions, including cuts to public broadcasting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prices rose faster in June than a month earlier, amid Donald Trump's tariffs that will be felt throughout the economy. Yet Trump again calls on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates anyway, while the White House also raises complaints about Powell's handling of an over-budget $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed's offices in Washington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reporting from Ukraine, Jillian Kay Melchior describes the scene on the ground as Vladimir Putin launches some of Russia's largest aerial attacks yet, involving hundreds of drones and decoys. What are the lessons of this emerging kind of warfare? Meantime, Donald Trump announces the U.S. will send Ukraine more weapons, which will be paid for by European allies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump keeps firing off letters announcing new tariffs starting Aug. 1, including 35% on Canada, which is America's No. 2 trading partner, as well as 50% on Brazil. Plus, the State Department cuts 1,300 employees after the Supreme Court lets the Trump Administration pursue "reductions in force" to restructure federal agencies and make them more efficient. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump has brought calm to the border, and one way he did it was by shutting off new asylum claims, which a federal judge now says is beyond the president's power. Meantime, another judge halts Trump's order on birthright citizenship, after certifying a class-action lawsuit. Plus, the White House offers more conflicting statements on mass deportation of farm workers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a cabinet meeting, Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin is "very nice" but it turns out to be "meaningless," as the U.S. also resumes arms shipments to Ukraine's defenders. Does this frustration with Russia suggest a shift in the White House's approach? One signal will be if the Senate passes Lindsey Graham's bill to sanction countries that buy Russian oil and gas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As his 90-day pause expires, Trump announces big tariffs on a range of countries, starting Aug. 1, including 25% on Japan and South Korea, which together accounted for about 8.6% of total U.S. imports last year. How much economic damage and business uncertainty will these new taxes create? And does Trump really want to cut tariff deals, or is he more motivated by trade deficits and the tax revenue?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyehu meet in person for the first time since the airstrikes on Iran's nuclear capabilities by the U.S. and Israel. How successful will the President be in making deals with both Iran and with Hamas? Plus, Elliot Kaufman discusses a proposal by sheikhs in Hebron for a multi-state solution which would bring peace to the West Bank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans pass their giant budget reconciliation bill with only two Republicans voting against it. Democrats are already attacking it, and who will win the messaging war? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump visits a new immigration detention site in Florida dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” while saying more such facilities are needed to carry out his mass-deportation plan. Yet the president also says that farmers, and perhaps other businesses, need a "temporary pass" system that would let them keep reliable migrant workers who might be in the country illegally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GOP's tax-and-budget package passes 51-50, after a late night of negotiating and a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance. What amendments did the Senate make, and will Speaker Mike Johnson have trouble selling them to House conservatives? Plus, Sen. Thom Tillis, who opposes the Medicaid reforms, announces he won't seek reelection in 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Much is made about the 6-3 ideological makeup of the Supreme Court and how it affects the rulings from the bench. But was there more unity this past term than people realize? Paul Gigot and legal scholar Ilya Shapiro discuss the evolution of the Supreme Court's conservative majority and the criticisms coming from the liberal Justices in their opinions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the last day of their term, the Justices issue a landmark opinion reining in "universal injunctions," with some pointed words by Justice Amy Coney Barrett toward one of the liberal dissents. Plus, rulings upholding parents' right to opt children out of transgender storybooks in elementary schools, as well as a Texas law that orders adult websites to verify user ages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices