The NPR Politics Podcast

The California Republican got his start in national politics as a self-styled "young gun" whose inveterate politicking has allowed him to outshine his contemporaries and rise to the top of the House GOP. Now comes the hard part: can he wrangle his narrow majority to accomplish his goals? This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political correspondent Susan Davis, and national politic...

Tensions appear lower between the U.S. and China following a meeting between the leaders of the two nations. Both described the talks as frank and productive. And Democrats held the Senate over the weekend and Republicans appear on track to have a slight majority in the House. This episode: political reporter Deepa Shivaram, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, China correspondent John Ruwitc...

Republican nominee Blake Masters lags incumbent Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly in Arizona, as we wait for that race to be called. GOP election officials there have decried Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake for spreading conspiracy theories about the vote counting process. And Democrats notched historic wins in statehouses and governors mansions. We talk through some notable races. This episode:...

Michigan's Jocelyn Benson and Minnesota's Steve Simon beat election deniers to oversee voting systems in their states. A key race in Arizona remains undecided. Nationwide, no major violence broke out at polling sites and losing candidates have generally chosen to concede rather than raise allegations of fraud. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, voting correspondent Miles Parks,...

Democrats outperformed expectations last night. Despite Biden's unpopularity and big economic headwinds, abortion politics and the unpopularity of Trump-backed candidates helped stave off a Republican wave. The House still looks like it's headed for GOP hands but not by a huge margin and the balance of power in the Senate is still uncertain. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, po...

The balance of power will take time to sort out, but here are some firsts you can talk about around the water cooler Wednesday: Vermont becomes the final state to elect a woman to Congress, Florida is sending the first member of Gen Z to the House and Massachusetts has elected the nation's first openly lesbian governor. Find the latest results at npr.org This episode: White House correspondent Tam...

More than 40 million Americans have already cast ballots in the 2022 midterms, but be prepared: results may not come quickly Tuesday night. We take a look at what races could serve as bellwethers for either Republicans or Democrats. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, voting correspondent Miles Parks, and senior political editor & correspondent Domenico Montanaro. Support the sho...

Trump and Biden signed off on historic amounts of stimulus money that helped the country's economy weather the pandemic, but — on top of supply chain straggles and shutdowns — that money may have come with a downside: increasing inflation. Now, as voters considered their midterm voter, rising costs are top of mind. This episode: political correspondent Susan Davis and White House correspondent Asm...

Biden gave a speech Wednesday night on the health of democracy — it's one of many things on the minds of young voters this election cycle, alongside abortion access and the economy. But our polling suggests that Democrats are struggling to mobilize people under 40 to cast a ballot. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political reporter Elena Moore, and senior political editor and...

Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, the first Latina U.S. senator, is in an extremely close race against Republican Adam Laxalt, Nevada's former Attorney General. Flagging enthusiasm and shrinking support among the state's Latino voters could cost Cortez Masto reelection — and cost Democrats control of the chamber. This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, poltical correspondent Susan Davi...

Violent crime remains higher than it was pre-pandemic and Republican candidates are blanketing suburban airways with ads about the issue. It has led many Democratic candidates to tout their support for law enforcement and distance themselves from the push for policing reform that took shape after 2020's racial justice protests. This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, criminal justice...

Rep. Cindy Axne was elected in a Democratic wave year from Iowa's 3rd congressional district. Now, she faces a tough reelection fight against Republican Zach Nunn. The campaigns have largely eschewed talking about local issues in favor of more national topics like inflation and abortion access. This episode: political correspondent Susan Davis, political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, and seni...

A man broke into the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacked her husband. The speaker was not home at the time and her husband is expected to make a full recovery. But, a source briefed on the attack told NPR, the assailant was looking for the Speaker. In Pennsylvania, a debate challenged Democrat John Fetterman as he continues to recover from a stroke. Though he is still ahead of his oppo...

In Arizona, rampant voter fraud conspiracies have led people — some armed — to observe ballot boxes and polling sites, sometimes leading to confrontations. Will it keep people from voting? And between four and five million Americans are unable to vote because of a past felony conviction. A confusing patchwork of laws and reform efforts have led to confusion — and, in Florida, criminal charges of v...

North Carolina has a number of high-profile races that will help to determine control of Congress — but, as is the case in much of the country, local issues have taken a backseat to national fights. This episode: political reporter Deepa Shivaram, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subs...

New Hampshire is a must-win state for Democrats in their campaign to keep control of the Senate. Sen. Maggie Hassan narrowly won her last race in 2016 by 1,017 votes. Recent polls show her ahead in the contest against GOP nominee Don Bolduc, a retired Army brigadier general. But with inflation and energy costs top of mind for voters in the purple state, both candidates are expecting the race to be...

More than $1.6 billion has been spent or booked on TV ads in a dozen Senate races, with $3 out of every $4 being spent in six states — Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada and Ohio, according to an NPR analysis of data provided by the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Outside groups, including those closely tied to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have poured in nearly $1 billion to b...

In a live show on Thursday, October 20th, at the Buckhead Theater in Atlanta, political correspondent Susan Davis, White House correspondent Tamara Keith and White House correspondent Asma Khalid discussed Georgia politics and the future of American democracy with WABE reporter Rahul Bali, GPB reporter Stephen Fowler, voting correspondent Miles Parks and national political correspondent Mara Liass...

Protect jobs or how much you can buy for a dollar? It's up to the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank, to strike a balance. Larry Summers, who worked in the Clinton and Obama administrations, says a recession is likely as the Fed tries to figure it out. Jared Bernstein, a top White House economist, touts the steps the White House has taken to boost the economy — but acknowledged that the ad...

Joseph Cuffari, the Trump-appointed leader of the Department of Homeland Security's watchdog agency, has been in office for three years. During that tenure, the majority of lawyers in the Office of Counsel have left. The pattern has hurt the attorneys' abilities to to conduct their oversight work. Now, some staffers have called on President Biden, who previously criticized Trump's dismissal of age...

Prosecutors in Los Angeles say Konnech, a small company that makes software for scheduling election workers, has illegally given its contractors in China access to sensitive data as part of a "massive data breach." A defense attorney said the prosecution was relying on dubious information from "one of the more discredited election deniers." This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, vot...

Addiction deaths remain a major problem in the U.S. as the public health focus has shifted to COVID-19. But as midterm voting continues, Republican candidates have spent millions trying to link migrants with crime and opioid smuggling. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, addiction correspondent Brian Mann, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro. Learn mo...

The White House has accused Saudi Arabia of helping Russia fund its war in Ukraine by pushing up oil revenues after the OPEC+ group of oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided to cut oil output by 2 million barrels per day. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby accused the kingdom of strong-arming other oil producing countries to agree to the cut. And a controversy in Los...

The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol held its final scheduled hearing today. What did we learn, what does it change and what happens next? The former president responded on his social media platform shortly after the hearing concluded, questioning why the committee did not call him to testify sooner. This episode: political corresponden...

The administration is trying to explain its policies to a core part of the Democratic base: young voters. A third of young people say they prefer to get their news on social media. This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, political reporter Barbara Sprunt, and political reporter Miles Parks. Learn more about upcoming live shows of The NPR Politics Podcast at nprpresents.org . Support t...