Washington Week with The Atlantic is the longest-running primetime news and public affairs program on television. The show features a group of journalists participating in a roundtable discussion of major news events and can be found at 8pm ET on most local PBS stations.
President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey Tuesday, citing his lack of trust in Comey’s ability to lead the nation’s top law enforcement agency. Critics have questioned the timing of Comey’s firing since one of the reasons given for the decision was Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails. The last time a president fired the FBI director was July 1993.
Washington Post political reporter Robert Costa has been named the new moderator of Washington Week. Robert has been a frequent guest on Washington Week since 2014 and has been a guest moderator in recent weeks. Learn more about Robert’s life and reporting.
President Trump blamed his predecessor for Syria’s ongoing violence and casualties on Wednesday. He claimed that President Obama’s failure to act in 2013, after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad crossed the “red line” of deploying chemical weapons, has allowed the bloody conflict to continue.
When then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid invoked the nuclear option to break the filibuster on President Obama’s nominees, Mitch McConnell warned that it set a dangerous precedent. He also predicted that Republicans would not hesitate to also change Senate rules once they won back the majority. McConnell will likely have to do that later this week to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
In the final 6 months of 2015, President Obama took some of his most significant steps in his energy and climate change agenda. He announced the Clean Power Plan to cut carbon emissions. He rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline. He negotiated the Paris Agreement to slow the effects of climate change. President Trump has reversed many of his predecessor's decisions.
Congress continues to debate the GOP plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. Republicans are hoping to fulfill a years-long campaign promise. Seven years ago, President Obama signed his largest legislative achievement into law. It was “the most expansive health care overhaul in history” and dramatically shaped the political debate for the next four elections.
Like many other viewers we've heard from, Carol says that she watches Washington Week because she likes "unbiased reporting." Thanks for watching for the past 50 years!
Why do you love Washington Week? While we were on the road in Cleveland, we spoke with Tom who told us he watches the show because "there's no yelling and screaming" and the panelists are "really knowledgeable."
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, we asked people why they watch Washington Week. Phil watches not only to review the biggest stories of the week but to also hear reporters preview what happens next.
As Washington Week celebrates 50 years on the air, we asked our viewers what they like about the show. While we were on the road in Colorado, some fans shared that they like that different viewpoints are represented around the Washington Week table.
Many Republican lawmakers returned to their districts this week to face angry constituents voicing their frustration with efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Back in 2009, as the law was being written and debate, it was Democrats in Congress who faced the angry voters who didn’t want government to change the health care system.
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