WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

Jan 20 2025 20 ep. 24 mins 16.1k
WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch Podcast artwork

From the award-winning opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal, Paul Gigot, Kim Strassel, Bill McGurn and Kyle Peterson discuss the latest from Washington. Get critical perspective and the analysis you need on developments from the nation’s capital. Join them every weekday. Send your feedback to [email protected]

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Donald Trump Promises a ‘Golden Age’ in His Inaugural Address

Jan 20 2025 28 mins  
The 47th President declares that “America’s decline is over,” and announces his executive order to declare a national emergency on the southern border. Will the second Trump administration get off to a faster start after learning from the mistakes of the first term? Plus, Joe Biden uses his final hours in office to issue pre-emptive pardons to his family and political allies.

TikTok Loses at the Supreme Court, but Will Trump Enforce a Ban?

Jan 17 2025 24 mins  
The Justices uphold a law saying that TikTok must be divested from Chinese ownership by Jan. 19 or else it will be booted from U.S. app stores. Yet the social-media app's future remains unclear. With only days to go until the Jan. 20 inauguration, the Biden Administration says it will not enforce the ban, and Donald Trump has said he wants to cut a deal to save TikTok. Learn more

Who Won the Hamas-Gaza Cease-Fire Deal, and Biden Says Farewell

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The Senate Questions Pete Hegseth, as Trump's Cabinet Hearings Begin

Jan 15 2025 25 mins  
Nominated by Donald Trump to be the next Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth faces hostile inquiries at his Senate confirmation hearing regarding his alleged past personal conduct. But did the televised theatrics provide much insight about Hegseth's views on national-security issues or how he would lead the Pentagon, and does he seem to have won enough votes to get the job? Learn more

Two Supreme Court Arguments on Internet Porn and TikTok

Jan 14 2025 24 mins  
The justices hear a challenge to a Texas law that requires websites with sexual content to verify the ages of their users, which the Free Speech Coalition says is too burdensome for the First Amendment rights of adults. Plus, the high court sounds skeptical about saving TikTok, which faces a Jan. 19 deadline either to be divested from Chinese ownership or banned from app stores.

All Things with Kim Strassel: The End of a Tarnished Biden Presidency

Jan 14 2025 27 mins  
How will history remember Joe Biden’s one term in office? On this episode of All Things, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer recounts his investigation into the Biden family business, and his belief that the 40th president will not escape a public judgment of "corruption." Upon the publication of his new book about the probe--"All the President's Money: Investigating t

How Policy Failures Led to Devastation in California

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Fires in California have claimed at least 24 lives in what is becoming one of the costliest natural disasters in American history. What decisions made it harder to mitigate the damage, and how will Congress navigate the politics of providing federal aid for the recovery? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump's Hush Money Sentencing in New York

Jan 10 2025 22 mins  
With the president-elect about to take office, Judge Juan Merchan says a sentence of "unconditional discharge," meaning no penalties for a jury conviction on 34 felonies, is the only option that won't interfere with Trump's official duties. The Supreme Court split 5-4 on letting the sentencing go forward, but could it help Trump in the end, if it permits his appeals on the merits t

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Facebook Fires Its Fact-Checkers / The House's Laken Riley Bill

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