Washington Week with The Atlantic

News and Public Affairs Series / 22 Seasons

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.

Watch Latest: S2024 E45

26m 46s

What both sides want out of the debt ceiling negotiations

15m 25s

Talks on raising the debt ceiling took an unscheduled break Friday as Republican negotiators abruptly walked away from the bargaining table. They said they paused the talks because the White House hadn't moved far enough in the Republican direction on spending cuts. Talks resumed Friday night and the House Speaker says a framework must be in place by Sunday to give Congress time to pass it.

Trump, DeSantis trade barbs ahead of campaign announcement

8m 7s

The field vying for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination is growing. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott filed election paperwork and said his announcement is coming Monday, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to say he’s running on Wednesday. It comes as DeSantis and the current frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, have been exchanging increasingly pointed barbs.

Debt deadlock continues as potential border crisis looms

15m 33s

In Washington, it’s crunch time for President Biden and Congressional leaders to reach an agreement on raising the country’s borrowing limit. With less than three weeks to go before the U.S. is expected to run out of money, a second round of talks has been postponed until next week. Plus, there's another potential crisis looming at the border as the pandemic-era deportation policy has expired.

CNN draws criticism after controversial town hall with Trump

8m 3s

CNN courted controversy and fierce debate after former President Trump headlined its latest prime-time town hall. Despite moderator Kaitlan Collins’ best efforts to fact-check Trump in real-time, he used questions from her and an audience of Republican New Hampshire voters to repeat many of his familiar false claims.

Senate Democrats declare GOP debt ceiling bill DOA

14m 38s

In his first major test as Speaker, Kevin McCarthy secured a notable win by successfully passing his debt limit and spending cuts package in the House. But Democrats reject the bill and the path forward in the high-stakes stalemate over the nation’s debt ceiling is unclear.

Biden launches 2024 bid, setting stage for Trump rematch

8m 42s

President Biden made it official this week, announcing his 2024 reelection bid and setting the stage for a possible 2024 rematch against his predecessor. Former President Trump, the current front-runner for the Republican nomination, immediately went on the attack.

Debt ceiling debate goes on as spending deadline looms

13m 29s

Two top leaders in Washington are in a standoff over raising the U.S. debt ceiling and each has potential problems within their parties. Speaker McCarthy said he would raise the debt ceiling into next year in exchange for major spending cuts. President Biden immediately rejected the opening bid calling it "The MAGA economic agenda."

How Democrats and Republicans are framing abortion messaging

9m 41s

The Supreme Court goes right up to its deadline and finally weighs in on the widely used abortion pill mifepristone. The court ruling preserves access to the drug and declines restrictions on its use as the lawsuit over its FDA approval continues. The panel discusses how this case and the overall debate over abortion rights will play in the 2024 campaign.

Supreme Court once again wades into abortion rights battle

13m 14s

It’s been a week of legal whiplash in the high-stakes battle over access to mifepristone, the most common form of abortion in the country. The Supreme Court is now involved and temporarily restored access to the drug, giving the high court more time to consider an emergency appeal filed by the Biden administration and the drug’s manufacturer.

Long-term impacts of damaging U.S. intelligence leaks

9m 56s

The arrest of an Air National Guardsman accused in connection with the most damaging release of classified U.S. information in years raises new questions about who is given access to our nation’s most closely guarded secrets.

Republicans rally around Trump following his arrest

17m 29s

History was made in New York City this week when, for the first time, a former U.S. president was indicted, arrested and arraigned on criminal charges. Republicans were quick to rush to Trump's defense while the Biden White House chose not to engage.

Tenn. lawmakers expelled in latest example of division

6m 3s

Tennessee’s House Republicans made extraordinary moves this week and expelled two of their Black Democratic colleagues for breaking decorum and floor rules. The vote came after Rep. Justin Jones, Rep. Gloria Johnson and Rep. Justin Pearson joined gun protests in the Capitol after the Nashville elementary school shooting.

Gun debate erupts in halls of Congress

9m 31s

The debate over guns in America is again rising after a deadly school shooting in Nashville. Republicans in Washington responded to the tragedy by saying it is too soon to judge while President Biden admitted that he has exhausted all of his executive authority to act on gun violence. Wednesday evening, the growing tension between the two parties boiled over into the hallways of Congress.

Breaking down the political response to Trump indictment

14m 13s

The nation faces another test of its institutions and politics as Donald Trump is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. Following an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a grand jury indicted the former president for a hush-money payment related to an alleged affair. It happens as Trump is the leading GOP candidate for the 2024 presidential nomination.

Trump makes new threat amid developments in criminal cases

14m 21s

Amid escalating legal troubles, former President Trump threatened “potential death and destruction” if he’s indicted by the Manhattan district attorney, whose office is investigating his alleged hush-money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in 2016. Trump is also being investigated by the Department of Justice and Fulton County, Georgia, for his efforts to subvert the 2020 election.

DeSantis criticizes Trump, Manhattan DA over hush-money case

9m 27s

After months of jabs, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis took aim at Trump for the first time over the hush-money investigation in New York. But DeSantis, who is one of Trump’s likely 2024 challengers, went on to say the Manhattan district attorney’s office was “pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office.”

Lawmakers respond as bank failures fuel economic concerns

14m 7s

Two bank failures exposed economic concerns this week. Trying to prevent more collapses, President Biden took the unusual step of promising that all depositors at those banks would be made whole. In Washington, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to know what went wrong and why bank management, and their regulators, were caught flat-footed, especially following the 2008 financial crisis.

Republicans divided over Ukraine aid as tensions rise

9m 8s

Tensions between the U.S. and Russia are on the rise after a Russian fighter jet intentionally engaged with a U.S. drone over the Black Sea. It is the most direct confrontation between the two powers since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Back home, Republican presidential hopefuls are divided over what role the U.S. should have in protecting Ukraine.

Republican presidential hopefuls set their sights on Iowa

11m 39s

As former President Trump prepares to visit Iowa on Monday, a new Des Moines Register-Mediacom Iowa poll shows the percentage of Iowa Republicans who say they’d definitely vote for him has dropped more than 20 points since June 2021. Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, who is eying a presidential run, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has declared her candidacy, traveled to Iowa this week.

Early battle lines are drawn on the debt ceiling debate

9m 28s

Battle lines are emerging between Democrats and Republicans as the deadline to raise the debt ceiling looms. This as President Biden unveiled his proposed spending plan for the next fiscal year, while previewing his 2024 election priorities. The $6.8 trillion budget would increase spending for the military and social programs and raise taxes on some to reduce future deficits and fund Medicare.

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