President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress on Feb. 28 and no one knows what to expect from this most unpredictable of presidents. It’s another episode in the Washington reality show that is Trump’s presidency and representatives and senators are extras, perhaps against their will, in the drama. CQ Roll Call’s White House reporter John T. Bennett went to Capitol Hill to take their temperature.

The Washington Establishment Awaits, Anxiously, Trump’s First Address to Congress

Despite the Republicans controlling Congress and the White House, there is no GOP consensus, says CQ Roll Call’s Budget tracker editor David Lerman. That was underscored with some Republicans’ visceral objections to President Trump’s budget requests that could set off a crisis in funding the government, adds Lerman.

Why Trump’s Budget Could Spark Political Paralysis

President Donald Trump is taking his time reshaping his trade policies, says CQ Roll Call's trade reporter Ellyn Ferguson. She provides valuable insight on where things stand with the president's campaign pledges to rip up NAFTA and go after China as a currency manipulator - neither of which has happened.

Why Trump is Slow-Walking His Trade Policy

Donald Trump, the candidate, pledged to withdraw from foreign conflicts. As president, he has done the opposite, taking on North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Afghanistan. CQ Defense Editor Patrick Pexton and Reporter Patrick Kelley unpack what's at stake at a time when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's future is also uncertain.

The Trump Doctrine on Foreign Policy

President Trump has set a May 12 deadline for deciding whether to pull out of the 2015 deal with Iran to rollback its nuclear program. He has harshly criticized it, but is under pressure from foreign allies and even some in his administration to keep it, says CQ foreign policy reporter Rachel Oswald.

Trump's Iran Deadline Is Nearly Here

The House moved two big appropriations packages — a bundle of spending bills and a measure to cancel almost $15 billion already allocated — but their future remains uncertain amid Democratic opposition, says CQ Budget and Appropriations Editor Peter Cohn.

Minibus, Rescission Package Go to Senate, But Can They Pass?

In upstate New York, two Republican House freshmen are fighting for their political future against two Democrats who hope that kitchen sink issues like health care will power them through.

Rap, Race and Health Care Help Decide Upstate New York Fates

When the president of the United States labels you the enemy of the people, what’s a young, aspiring journalist supposed to think? While recognizing that journalism is in a crisis, Christina Bellantoni, a professor of journalism at the University of Southern California and a former editor of Roll Call and at the Los Angeles Times, says the era of fake news is actually bringing out the real value of journalism and helping to motivate the next generation to seek the truth.

Why Trump is Fueling Journalism Majors

In his first public statement after his two-year probe, Special Counsel Robert Mueller said this week that he had never considered charging President Donald Trump with a crime as he investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election. That's emboldened those in Congress who say representatives must read Mueller's report, which found evidence Trump may have obstructed the special council’s investigation as an impeachment referral. CQ Legal Affairs reporter Todd Ruger is here to discuss it. And later I'll talk with CQ defense reporter Patrick Kelly, about a potential split between the United States and Turkey that country's plan to buy a Russian air defense system. &nbsp;

Lawmakers on Impeachment and F35s to Turkey

The new film “Mike Wallace is Here,” shows how legendary journalist Mike Wallace shaped modern journalism and politics. But this world is one where journalists are in danger and their credibility is in question. What happened? Director Avi Belkin discusses the arc of Wallace’s career, and where things started to shift.

‘Mike Wallace is Here‘ shows how we got here

With only 25 days left with both the House and Senate in session before the new fiscal year begins, the Senate has yet to draft any of its 12 spending bills and has no plan in place to pass them. The result is likely another short-term stopgap funding measure as congressional leaders struggle to reach a bipartisan deal on overall spending limits. CQ Roll Call's chief budget reporter Paul M. Krawzak explains why Congress has reached this point.

Why there's no Senate spending plan as deadline nears

The Trump administration says it will round up undocumented immigrants who have missed a court date in an effort to deter others migrants from seeking refuge in the United States. But raids could exacerbate family separations, report CQ Roll Call’s Tanvi Misra and Jinitzail Hernandez, who just returned from visiting one of the largest migrant detention centers in Homestead, Fla., where the government is holding 2,000 teenage immigrants.

Immigrant raids could lead to more family separations

The House&nbsp;passed a bill this month that would order the Pentagon's inspector general to investigate whether the Defense Department weaponized ticks.&nbsp;Stanford University science writer&nbsp;Kris Newby, in a new book called "Bitten," hints that such experiments may have led to Lyme disease's rapid spread.&nbsp;Newby says that congressional inquiry into the matter&nbsp;"is exactly what I wanted to happen.'' And CQ Roll Call defense writer John Donnelly explains what Congress has asked the Pentagon to do and why&nbsp;many experts doubt it caused the public health crisis.&nbsp;

Did the Pentagon weaponize ticks?

Poor allocation of airwaves and the absence of a domestic telecom supplier could delay U.S. mobile carriers from deploying 5G as effectively as some other countries and thus cede leadership to China, says CQ Roll Call's senior technology reporter Gopal Ratnam. He explains how the U.S. is hoping to respond and why the trade war between Washington and Beijing may be complicating those efforts.

Why the US is behind in the 5G race

How do you make a story about data interesting? That was the challenge of documentary 'The Great Hack.' Filmmaker Karim Amer discusses the challenges and human tragedies behind chronicling the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

'The Great Hack,' Cambridge Analytica and our blurred reality

Political Theater is heading to the Iowa State Fair to check out how the 2020 races for president, Senate and four competitive House races are shaping up in this bellwether state. Why Iowa? Because that's where the candidates are! Here’s what we’ll be looking for in our trip to the Midwest, including what fried foods on a stick we might eat.

The Iowa State Fair: Our pro-active primer on politics, pork and public officials

CQ on Congress looks ahead at the fall congressional session with CQ Roll Call reporters Katherine Tully-McManus and Niels Lesniewski. Spoiler alert: The prospects for major legislation aren't bright. Then, Scot Schraufnagel, the chair of the political science department at Northern Illinois University and an expert on congressional productivity, explains why this Congress isn't doing much.

Congress returns for a bleak fall session

Congress is finally back in town after a long summer recess and the race is on to avoid another government shutdown before the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. Not one of the 12 annual spending bills needed to fund the government have been passed yet and there are only three weeks to go.&nbsp;&nbsp;CQ Budget has a preview of what's to come. &nbsp;

Can congress avoid a shutdown?

Lobbying firms on K Street and trade associations used to be a sure bet for retiring members of Congress. Not anymore. Julian Ha, a recruiter on K Street and advisor of FiscalNote the company that owns CQ Roll Call, joins the podcast along with CQ Roll Call senior writer Kate Ackley to talk about the current state of lobbying positions for former lawmakers.

K Street doesn't want your retired and hungry lawmakers

Around 400 people are suffering from respiratory illnesses and six have died after using electronic cigarettes, sparking a rare bipartisan response in Washington. After President Donald Trump announced that the FDA would ban the sale of flavorings for the devices, the spotlight is now on lawmakers of both parties who are considering legislation. Three guests join the show this week to explain the reasons behind this push and the challenges facing lawmakers moving forward: Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School who was previously head of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ consortium trying to stop kids from using tobacco; Rep. Donna Shalala, the Florida Democrat and former secretary of Health and Human Services during Bill Clinton’s presidency; and CQ Roll Call reporter Andrew Siddons, who covers the issue.

E-cigarette deaths prompt bipartisan response

After months of delay, Senate appropriators finally got to work on their spending bills for the new fiscal year, which begins in just two weeks. But it was a slower start than lawmakers had hoped for, and unlike last year’s effort, it was deeply partisan. The Appropriations Committee approved its overall spending limits for each of its 12 bills, but it wasn’t pretty. Where do they go from here?

Why partisan spending allocations spell trouble for the appropriations process

Donald Trump has challenged the idea, pioneered in George W. Bush's administration, that the best, and most cost-effective way to end homelessness is to offer people living on the streets homes, no strings attached, and to service their needs in a home setting. A new report from the president's Council of Economic Advisers says that has neither reduced homelessness, nor lowered costs. Richard Cho, who served in top positions at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness during the Obama administration and now heads the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, joins the program this week to discuss how "Housing First" has worked and how it hasn't.

Trump Upends Bipartisan Consensus on Homelessness

The Senate takes up a stopgap funding measure to avoid a government shutdown next month. But the continuing resolution does a lot more than just extend current funding.

Averting a government shutdown

The conventional wisdom is that impeachment could imperil Democrats in 2020. But beware the conventional wisdom, and relying on dated data and small sample sets, like 1998's impeachment of President Bill Clinton. CQ Roll Call's elections analyst Nathan Gonzales joins the show to explains why he thinks things might be a little different for democrats today than they were for republicans in 1998.&nbsp;

This is not your father's impeachment

With President Trump now facing an impeachment inquiry over his request that the president of Ukraine investigate his political foe, Joe Biden, White House staff now face a decision: Cooperate with Democrats or risk legal jeopardy themselves, says Justin Rood, director of the Congressional Oversight Initiative at the Project on Government Oversight. Still, it's not clear if a still-divided Democratic caucus in the House will have the votes to impeach, should it come to that, says Lindsey McPherson, CQ Roll Call's House reporter.

White House staff on the hot seat

Hot topics? The Supreme Court’s got ‘em this term. LGBTQ rights. Guns. Immigration. With the High Court's new term starting Monday, CQ Roll Call legal affairs reporter Todd Ruger joins the podcast to take a closer look at the biggest cases they will consider and how the justices have become political fodder themselves in the 2020 race.

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