Pbs Newshour - Politics

As the federal government shutdown heads into its second weekend, the Trump administration has begun what it calls “substantial” layoffs of federal workers. President Trump and his team had suggested this would be coming, but it was Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought who made it official. Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins reports on the agencies affected. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

As the government shutdown continues and the Trump administration begins mass layoffs, Geoff Bennett spoke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for reaction from the Democrats. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

An unlikely partnership between a utility and climate activists managed to convert a community to geothermal heating and cooling. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports on this project for our energy and climate series, Tipping Point. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart of MSNBC join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics, including President Trump celebrating the Gaza peace deal while targeting political enemies at home and the government shutdown entering its second weekend. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Formal negotiations are at a standstill on day nine of the government shutdown. But Thursday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader John Thune offered his Democratic colleagues a potential off-ramp. Amna Nawaz spoke with Sen. Thune about a potential vote on extending health care subsidies. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Former FBI Director James Comey was arraigned on Wednesday after federal prosecutors charged him with lying to Congress five years ago. The charges were brought against Comey by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsay Halligan. Halligan’s predecessor was ousted for refusing to charge Comey. Amna Nawaz discussed more with NPR's Carrie Johnson. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Thousands of flights have been delayed this week as the government shutdown enters its eighth day. It’s hard to know exactly how many delays are due to staffing shortages from the shutdown, but reports of air traffic controllers calling out sick in large numbers have surfaced at major airports. Controllers are required to work during a shutdown, but are doing so without pay. Miles O’Brien reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Even as the Trump administration continues to insist that its immigration policies are just targeting the worst of the worst, many other immigrants in America are being detained as well. William Brangham spoke with Leslie Gonzales, whose husband was arrested by agents near Boston. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Tuesday, National Guard troops from Texas arrived at an Army training center near Chicago ahead of an expected deployment, President Trump hosted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House, three U.S.-based scientists won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work in quantum mechanics and a medical helicopter crashed onto a highway in Sacramento. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee today underscored the deep partisan divide over the state of justice in America. In tense exchanges, Bondi and committee members clashed repeatedly, with each side accusing the other of politicizing and weaponizing the Justice Department. Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins has this report. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

As the government shutdown hits the one-week mark with no end in sight, President Trump issued a new threat, saying that furloughed federal workers may not be reimbursed with back pay once the government reopens. It reverses what's been a long-standing policy and possibly goes against a 2019 law that ensures back pay for federal workers. White House correspondent Liz Landers reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Monday, lawmakers appear no closer to reopening the government as the shutdown approaches the one-week mark, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Ghislaine Maxwell, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned just a day after announcing his cabinet and Israeli authorities say they've deported more than 170 activists who took part in a flotilla aiming to take aid to Gaza. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter join Geoff Bennett to discuss the latest political news, including the federal government shutdown reaching day six with no signs of the stalemate ending, President Trump's attempt to send troops into U.S. cities and California's redistricting election. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Sunday, Trump is sending California National Guard troops to Oregon after a federal judge blocked him from deploying Oregon’s National Guard to Portland, Russian strikes across Ukraine killed five people, Syria held its first election since the fall of Assad, and Speaker Johnson said the House won’t be back in session until the Senate passes a bill to end the government shutdown. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

After another day of deadlock, the Senate adjourned for the weekend, extending the government shutdown into next week. Democrats are holding out for Republicans to make health care concessions to their spending bill. But until lawmakers figure out a way forward, thousands of federal workers are left worrying about their paychecks and mass layoffs. White House correspondent Liz Landers reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Roughly 750,000 federal employees were furloughed when the government closed its doors. Not included in that number are the air traffic controllers who will continue to work, without pay, as long as the shutdown continues. That has raised concerns about the strain on an already understaffed and overworked cohort. Geoff Bennett spoke with Nick Daniels of the air traffic controllers' union. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart of MSNBC join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics, including the government shutdown showing no signs of ending quickly, President Trump taking the opportunity to further dismantle the federal government and Pete Hegseth's vision for the U.S. military. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

There were no signs of progress between lawmakers on Thursday. That ensures the government will remain shut down for another day as Democrats dig in on protections to health care. President Trump is also digging in and warning of far-reaching consequences. He even invoked the name of Project 2025, a policy blueprint he distanced himself from on the campaign trail. Liz Landers reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Congress did not meet on Thursday in part due to the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. But when the Senate returns Friday, the question is, what is the way out of this shutdown? There are some in the Senate trying to talk across the aisle and find a way forward. One of those is Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota. He joined Lisa Desjardins to discuss those efforts. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

On the second day of the government shutdown, party leaders are not budging, and President Trump is increasingly threatening Democrats and taking aim at Democratic-led states. To discuss the Democratic perspective on the shutdown, Geoff Bennett spoke with Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Biden and now a distinguished scholar at NYU Law. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy