Trump Threatens House Democrats Over Planned Investigations; Plus, Syria Two Years After Assad’s Fall

On today’s show, Democrats are preparing to take control of Congress, but a battle is brewing over who will lead them. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen is challenging Chuck Schumer for Senate Majority Leader, with the backing of Bernie Sanders, while Hakeem Jeffries appears poised to become the first Black Speaker of the House. Norman Solomon, director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, joins us to discuss the growing divide between progressive activists and the Democratic Party establishment, the influence of corporate money, and what the new Congress could mean for U.S. foreign policy and the war in Iran. Solomon is the author of The Blue Road to Trump: How Corporate Democrats Paved the Way for Autocracy. Then, as many as 2.4 million Californians could lose their health insurance by 2030, sweeping federal Medicaid cuts and changes to California’s Medi-Cal program threaten to reverse years of progress toward near-universal coverage. Christine Mai-Duc, California correspondent for KFF Health News, explains how new work requirements, eligibility restrictions, and state budget pressures could affect millions of residents. She also examines the challenges facing incoming Governor Xavier Becerra, who has pledged to protect healthcare coverage but has yet to explain how the state will pay for it. Mitch Jeserich guest hosts for Brian Edwards-Tiekert.   UpFront delivers a mix of local, state, and international coverage through challenging interviews, civil debates, breaking updates, and in-depth discussions with authors. The post Democrats Face Leadership Showdown in New Congress; 2.4 Million Californians at Risk of Losing Health Insurance appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Lisa Gilbert is Public Citizen’s co-president. She is a strong advocate of government transparency and integrity, financial reform, civil justice and consumer protection. 00:33 — Yassin al-Haj Saleh is a Syrian writer and activist. Saleh spent 16 years in Syrian prisons (1980-1996) for opposing the Assad regime and his membership in the Syrian Communist Party-Political Bureau. He is the author of nine books and has been writing on political, social and cultural subjects relating to Syria and the Arab world for several newspapers and journals outside Syria since 2000. He will be holding a talk at the UC Berkeley, Tonight from 6-7:30pm at the Social Sciences Building, Room 402.   The post Trump Threatens House Democrats Over Planned Investigations; Plus, Syria Two Years After Assad’s Fall appeared first on KPFA.

Author and artist Molly Crabapple joins UpFront to discuss her new book, Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund, exploring the history of a powerful Jewish socialist movement in the years leading up to World War II. She examines how the Bund resisted rising ethno-nationalism, challenged political Zionism, and fought for Jewish rights and liberation in the communities where Jews already lived. UpFront delivers a mix of local, state, and international coverage through challenging interviews, civil debates, breaking updates, and in-depth discussions with authors. The post UpFront – The Jewish Bund: A Working-Class Movement Against Nationalism and Zionism appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Reza Akbari is a PhD candidate in the history of modern Middle East and Iran at American University. His research focuses on Iranian politics, state-society relations, and U.S. Middle East policy. His Substack is The Guarded Domains. 00:33 — Rick Perlstein is a Historian and Columnist for the American prospect. He is the author of a four-volume series on the history of American politics and the rise of conservatism The post Iran War After the Midterms; Plus, How Congress Can End a War appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — John Feffer is Director of Foreign Policy in Focus. 00:33 — John Nichols, Executive Editor of the Nation The post Russia’s War in Ukraine; Plus, Unpacking Election Results appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Forrest Wilder is a senior writer at Texas Monthly, He grew up in South Texas and the Hill Country. 00:33 — Oscar A. Chacón is a co-founder and executive director of Alianza Americas. The post How Did Texas Become the Country’s Biggest Reversal this Election; Plus, What Does a “Blue Wave” Mean for Immigration Issues appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Erin Reed is an transgender journalist writing the newsletter “Erin in the Morning” where she discusses LGBTQIA+ legislation, news and daily life. 00:33 — David Dayen is the executive editor of The American Prospect. His most recent book is Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power (2020). 00:45 — Tim Redmond, founder of 48hills. Tim Redmond has been a political and investigative reporter in San Francisco for more than 30 years. The post Anti-Trans Laws Passed this Election Despite Progressive Wins; Plus, California Refused to Tax Billionaires; And, San Francisco Elections Results Continued appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color, a political media organization. His latest book is Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else? 00:33 — Mitchell Plitnick, is a political analyst and writer. He is the president of ReThinking Foreign Policy, and is co-author, with Marc Lamont Hill, of Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics. 00:45 — Rouzbeh Parsi is Affiliated researcher in the Department of History & Human Rights Studies at Lund University.   The post Debriefing Election Results; Plus, What Midterm Results Signal about Foreign Policy; And, What Comes Next in the War with Iran? appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color, a political media organization. His latest book is Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else? 00:33 — Joe Eskenazi is managing editor and columnist at Mission Local. 00:45 — Eileen Ma is an attorney and the Democracy and National Initiatives Program Director at the Asian Law Caucus. They recently launched: Know Your Voting Rights: Resources for 2026 Elections. The post Election Day Coverage; Plus, Knowing Your Voter Rights; And, San Francisco Elections appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 — John Feffer is Director of Foreign Policy in Focus. 00:33 — John Nichols, Executive Editor of the Nation. The post Russia’s War in Ukraine; Plus, Election Day Preview appeared first on KPFA.