WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

Citing national security, Donald Trump puts 25% tariffs on automobiles, adding to his protectionist experiment, as he pushes U.S. taxes on imports to the highest in 75 years. Plus, the White House's effort to play down its use of Signal to discuss U.S. military actions results in the release of more messages, including one giving specific timing for "F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)."

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Recent polls have shown approval ratings for Democrats are reaching all-time lows, with voters voicing their dissatisfaction with the way major cities are being run and implementation of liberal initiatives. So what can the party do after some self-reflection? On this episode of Potomac Watch, political scientist Ruy Teixeira tells Paul Gigot what changes Democrats need to make and why the party seems to embrace dysfunction instead of reform. 

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The Justices hear two legal disputes that could have lasting consequences. Can Congress lend its taxing power to the executive branch without putting hard limits on its use? That's the question in FCC v. Consumers’ Research. And in a case about Louisiana's redistricting maps, the Court has a chance to say that racial gerrymandering isn't required and isn't even permitted.

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President Trump's top aides, including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, reportedly discussed U.S. war plans against the Houthis in Yemen via the chat app Signal, according to the Atlantic magazine's Jeffrey Goldberg, who was apparently added to the group by mistake. What do their texts reveal, and how serious was this as a security breach?

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The Trump Administration withholds $400 million in funding from Columbia University unless it institutes various policy changes, which president Katrina Armstrong surprisingly agrees to. Did the university deserve such a punishment, and how could this unprecedented sanction by the government be used in the future? 

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Surrounded by school children at desks, Donald Trump signs an executive order to begin the elimination of the Department of Education, moving to shift authority back to the states. What does the decision mean for grant money and student loan programs, what kind of legal challenges might the Trump administration face, and is this good politics? 

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Israel ends a two-week cease-fire with Hamas with a combination of air and ground strikes, but what will it take to secure the release of hostages? Plus, Donald Trump threatens the Houthis in Yemen will be “completely annihilated" if they continue to hold shipping routes hostage. 

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Donald Trump's phone call with Vladimir Putin didn't produce a 30-day cease-fire in Ukraine, let alone a durable peace agreement. Will Trump now pressure Putin to drop some of his demands? Plus, Europe gets serious about rearming as negotiations drag on. 

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Donald Trump invokes national security and the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport hundreds of alleged gang members to El Salvador, ignoring a judge's order to halt proceedings. This comes amid growing GOP calls for judicial impeachments, and prompts a rare pushback from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. What's at stake in this fight? And is the country headed for a showdown over judicial power?  

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Donald Trump is moving fast, yet one big question is how his more populist GOP will handle the pressing issue of healthcare. On this episode of All Things, Sally Pipes--healthcare aficionado and author of "The World’s Medicine Chest"--lays out the risks of Joe Biden's coming drug price controls, the need to cut billions in waste and fraud from Medicaid, the fading chances for replacing ObamaCare, and the upsides and downsides of some of Trump's health cabinet picks, including HHS Secretary RFK, Jr.

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The progressive majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court is at stake in an April 1 election, and Democrats have decided their best campaign strategy is to run against Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Will it work? Plus, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer endures the wrath of the left for helping Republicans avoid a government shutdown.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio expresses "cautious optimism” for a deal, but Vladimir Putin is making military gains in the Kursk region, raising the question of what the U.S. will do if Russia wants to keep fighting. Plus, Chuck Schumer faces the ire of fellow Democrats after arguing that helping to pass the House GOP spending bill is better than shutting down the government.

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Speaker Mike Johnson pulls together House Republicans to pass a bill funding the government through Sept. 30, putting pressure on Senate Democrats to agree before a deadline of midnight Friday. Plus, the GOP shields itself from a tough vote on Donald Trump's trade wars, as the president threatens to respond to Europe's tariff retaliation with a 200% levy on imported wine.

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Mahmoud Khalil, a "lead negotiator" for the anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University last year, is detained by federal agents who want to revoke his green card, and President Trump says more such cases are coming. Can speech, such as support for Hamas, be a legal grounds for deportation? What about the First Amendment? And could this case go to the Supreme Court?

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Amid a measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico that has put 29 in the hospital and killed a school-age child, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. calls MMR vaccines an option, while also touting steroids and cod-liver oil as a miracle treatment. Plus, an appeals court upholds a New York law ending school vaccine exemptions for religious beliefs, which could go to the Supreme Court.

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How is Donald Trump's much-discussed Department of Government Efficiency working in practice? In this episode of All Things, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin explains his agency's partnership with DOGE and the process by which they are identifying waste and fraud to make the federal government more accountable. What grants or programs are being cut, and why? What's happening to the EPA workforce? How much internal "resistance" is there to these goals? And how does EPA balance its mission of "clean air, land and water for every American" with the goal of a smaller government?  

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Despite warnings in financial markets, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says there will be no economic downturn. Donald Trump is more equivocal as he says the economy is in transition to better days as his tariffs are implemented. 

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The number of migrants encountered at the southwest border has dropped significantly since Donald Trump's re-election in November, as he turns the U.S. toward a message of deterrence. Meantime, mayors from major “sanctuary cities," including New York and Chicago, are called to Capitol Hill for tough questions about their efforts to shield illegal immigrants from federal law.

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The President's 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada are on again, then off, then on again, and then partially off--at least for a month. What's Donald Trump up to with his trade policy, and is the resulting uncertainty starting to hurt a U.S. economy that is already weakening?

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A defiant Donald Trump delivers the longest presidential speech to Congress in modern history, interrupted by jeers from Democrats, including Rep. Al Green, who is escorted out. But on the substance, has the President proposed enough clear direction for the GOP, given his many ambitious promises, from a balanced budget and tax-free tips to the Panama Canal and Greenland?

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