Federal gov't shutdown Day 14; Pres. Trump says of Hamas 'we'll disarm them' if they don't do it; PA Gov. Shapiro on sentencing of man who firebombed his home

White House Budget Director Russell Vought suggests at least 10,000 federal workers could be fired during the government shutdown, now in Day 15, but a federal judge in California temporarily blocks the layoffs as a violation of the law; Senate again votes down the Republican-drafted temporary government funding bill for a ninth time, with Senate Democrats insisting health care provisions be included; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accuses China of going back on a trade deal on rare earth minerals, saying, 'China is a command and control economy, and the United States and our allies will neither be commanded nor controlled'; President Donald Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel give an update on anti-crime efforts across the country they call 'Summer Heat'; Supreme Court hears a case on involving a Black-majority Congressional district in Louisiana & the Voting Rights Act whose decision could limit the use of race in drawing legislative maps. We will hear some of the oral argument and talk with The Hill's courts & legal reporter Zach Schonfeld (34); Arizona's Democratic Congressional delegation makes another push to get Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva sworn-in, accusing Speaker Johnson of not doing so to prevent release of federal files on the investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal government shutdown reaches Day 14, and Republicans and Democrats seem to be digging in for the long haul; Air traffic controllers union president talks about the first missed full-paycheck for his members; Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says despite no official economic data due to the government shutdown, the outlook for employment and inflation has not changed much since the September interest rate cuts, suggesting there could  be more cuts this year; President Donald Trump welcomes the President of Argentina to the White House and is asked about the $20 billion the U.S. is using to support Argentina's economy; Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) reacts to the guilty plea and sentence of the man who broke into the governor's residence earlier this year and set it on fire; assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presents the annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards for Advancing Women in Peace & Security; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defends new Pentagon media policies prohibiting reporters from publishing information not authorized for release, even if it is unclassified. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump proclaims, "dawn of a new Middle East" in a speech to the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem; world leaders sign the Gaza peace deal; Hamas frees the 20 living Israeli hostages, while Israel released nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners; U.S. government shutdown is entering its third week with no end in sight.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, House Speaker Mike Johnson talks about the government shutdown and answers questions from our viewers. Then, a closer look at how the shutdown is impacting federal workers with Randy Erwin -- National President of the National Federation of Federal Employees. And finally, a preview of the new Supreme Court term that began this week. That conversation with SCOTUSblog Co-Founder and Reporter Amy Howe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

White House Budget Office Director Russell Vought announces on X that federal worker layoffs have begun, with the federal government shutdown now 10 days old and expected to continue through the weekend; Conservative commentator Benny Johnson says the Democratic Party is 'mainstreaming violence as a political tool', as he appears with Attorney General Pam Bondi to announce federal charges again a man who mailed a death threat to him and his family; Senate defeats an amendment from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) to limit President Donald Trump's power to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago and other cities in the name of supporting law enforcement to fight crime and ICE agents carrying out immigration raids; Venezuela's opposition leader wins the Nobel Peace Prize, and the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee is asked about President Trump's visible campaign for the award; First Lady Melania Trump says she has a regular communication channel with Russian President Putin, and it has helped reunite children separated from their families in the war in Ukraine; former Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI), former Congressional Black Caucus Chair, has died. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump & Secretary of State Marco Rubio talk about Israel & Hamas agreeing to a pause in their two-year-old war and the release of hostages held by Hama in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, what President Trump calls Phase One of his Gaza ceasefire plan; Federal court hearings today challenging President Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon and Chicago, the president says, to protect federal immigration authorities from threats by protesters; New York Attorney General Letitia James is reportedly indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of bank fraud. She writes on X, "This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system." Day 9 of the federal government shutdown and Senate votes down for a seventh time Republican and Democratic proposals for short-term funding extensions; Federal Reserve Board Member Michael Barr urges caution on any further interest rate cuts, citing the risks of inflation from President Trump's tariffs; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she believes the Trump administration is preparing for 'some kind of military action' against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former FBI Director James Comey pleads not guilty in federal court in Alexandria to two felony charges related to previous testimony before Congress. We will talk with The Hill's courts reporter Ella Lee, who was in the courtroom, about the arraignment and what is next in this case (1); President Donald Trump holds a roundtable at the White House with journalists he says were attacked by anti-ICE Antifa protesters in Portland, Oregon; Federal government shutdown now at Day 8 and the situation remains the same: Senate again votes down competing Republican and Democratic temporary government funding bills; Arizona's two Democratic U.S. Senators confront Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson over the delayed swearing-in of a newly elected Democratic Congresswoman from Arizona, who would provide the crucial 218 signature on a discharge petition to force release of the federal files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; IMF Managing Director gives an update on the world economy ahead of next week's IMF/World Bank meetings; Supreme Court hears oral argument in a case brought by Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL), who seeks standing to sue over Illinois' mail-in voting law that allows ballots postmarked by election day but which arrive later to be counted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal government shutdown at Day Seven shows no sign of ending soon; White House memo says the 750,000 federal government employees furloughed are not entitled to backpay when the government reopens; President Donald Trump meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House to discuss trade and tariffs; Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, pointing to a report this week that the FBI as part of its investigation of the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol tracked Republican lawmakers' private phone records; Attorney General Bondi also has tense exchanges with Democratic Senators over everything from the Epstein files to a dropped ethics case against Border Czar Tom Homan and the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey; Supreme Court hears a case challenging a Colorado law that bans 'conversion therapy' for LGBTQ minors; today is the two year anniversary of Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate is back without a deal to end the government shutdown that's now in its sixth day. Meanwhile, the legal showdown over White House efforts to deploy National Guard troops into US cities continues. The State of Illinois and the City of Chicago sued the Trump administration today to stop the deployment of National Guard troops, while Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order declaring city property "ICE-free zones". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend's episode, three segments from this past week's Washington Journal. First, a discussion about the government shutdown and its impact on federal workers, with Max Stier – President & CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. Then, Retired Army Colonel Peter Mansoor – now a military historian at Ohio State University - discusses President Trump and Secretary Hegseth's speech to generals earlier this week. Finally, a conversation with Rob Henderson of the Manhattan Institute on combating political extremism in the U.S. -- and why some young men are increasingly being radicalized online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices