The NPR Politics Podcast

Late Monday night, President Trump tweeted that he would sign an executive order suspending all immigration into the United States. The proclamation that came on later in the week stopped well short of that, temporarily halting some green card processing with plenty of carve-outs. This episode: campaign correspondent Asma Khalid, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and national political corre...

Demonstrations supported by national conservative groups have begun to spring up across the country. They are protesting the severe restrictions that public health experts say are necessary to prevent thousands of additional deaths from the coronavirus outbreak. This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, national political correspondent Mara Liasson, and WITF health reporter Brett Sholt...

The $484 billion bill is expected to approved by the Senate Tuesday afternoon. The largest component of the legislation, according to a summary obtained by NPR, is more than $320 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, a popular assistance program created last month in an earlier relief package knows as the CARES Act. The package also includes $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for tes...

Note: This podcast contains an explicit description of an alleged sexual assault. Tara Reade, a former junior staffer in Joe Biden's Senate office, has accused the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of sexually assaulting her in 1993. The Biden campaign denies the accusation and says the alleged incident "absolutely did not happen." This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, co...

The White House has now issued guidance about when communities can begin to reopen, a phased plan based on downward trends in positive cases. But for that plan to be safely executed, testing will have to become far more widespread than it is now. Also, what role did gender play in the Democratic primary? This episode: campaign correspondent Asma Khalid, science correspondent Allison Aubrey, White...

5.2 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the four-week total to 22 million — nearly wiping out all the job gains made since the Great Recession. Retail spending, another key economic indicator, is also suffering: down a record 8.7% last month, the largest monthly fall since the Commerce Department began tracking retail sales three decades ago. This episode: political...

President Trump is impatient to get the country reopened. The administration's public health experts and the governors of California and New York say testing will have to become more widespread for that to be possible. In this episode: campaign correspondent Asma Khalid, political correspondent Scott Detrow, national desk correspondent Quil Lawrence, and KQED political editor Scott Shafer. Email t...

Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden in a twelve-minute video shared online Tuesday morning. So what does the former president's endorsement mean in an election cycle where Democrats have moved to his left and traditional campaigning has become impossible? This episode: campaign correspondent Asma Khalid, demographics and culture reporter Juana Summers, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson...

Rather than a sweeping national campaign of screening, drive-through sample collection and lab testing, NPR found a smattering of small pilot projects and aborted efforts. Also, the White House is working to reduce wage rates for foreign guest workers on American farms. Opponents of the plan argue it will hurt vulnerable workers and depress domestic wages. This episode: campaign correspondent Asma...

In a White House briefing Friday, the top medical experts from the coronavirus task force said the social distancing measures appeared to be constraining the outbreak. President Trump said that he would not take any steps to reopen the economy unless he was sure Americans would be healthy. Also, early data suggest that COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting African Americans. This episode: White...

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits shot up again last week, as 6.6 million more people filed initial claims, and analysts expect the numbers to keep rising. Also, the Federal Reserve announced several new lending programs Thursday, designed to pump an additional $2.3 trillion into a U.S. economy that has been severely battered by the coronavirus pandemic. Today's episode: White Hou...

In a livestream announcing his exit from the presidential contest, Bernie Sanders told support that while there was no viable path forward for his campaign, the progressive movement was as strong as ever. Sanders' decision comes weeks after the coronavirus pandemic upended the Democratic race. This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and campaign correspondents Scott Detrow and Asma K...

After a protracted tug-of-war between the state's governor, legislature and Supreme Court, voting is underway in Wisconsin's primary election. Results will not be disclosed until Monday to allow for the counting of absentee ballots. And is Bernie Sanders staying in the presidential race in order to extract concessions in the Democratic Party's platform? This episode: White House correspondent Tama...

Deaths from the coronavirus outbreak are expected to spike this week in some of the country's hardest hit communities. President Trump breaks from his medical advisers and recommends a coronavirus treatment that is still being tested. And lawmakers adjust to legislating in the era of social distancing. This episode: White House correspondents Tamara Keith and Franco Ordoñez, and congressional repo...

The Democratic National Committee has agreed to push back their nominating convention until mid-August. Mike Bloomberg is facing lawsuits from former campaign staffers who say they were promised jobs through the general election. And the NPR Politics team answers listener questions about the coronavirus outbreak. This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis, national political corresponde...

More than six million people filed for unemployment last week, on top of the 3.3 million claims the week prior. Analysts project the share of Americans out of work could go as high as 15 percent this year. This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis, chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley, and reporter Danielle Kurtzleben. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and...

As the White House warns the American public to expect 100 thousand or more deaths from the coronavirus outbreak, the administration is deferring to states to determine the best response. Many of those governors are looking to the federal government for more support. This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis, political correspondent Scott Detrow, WPLN reporter Sergio Martínez-Beltrán,...

Should abortion count as an essential medical service during the coronavirus outbreak? States disagree, prompting court fights. And lawmakers differ on what a fourth round of rescue legislation should look like. This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and national correspondent Sarah McCammon. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our coll...

President Trump is now asking Americans to stay at home through April, with some hints that the social distancing measures could last even longer. Even with the aggressive measures in place, the White House says 100,000 Americans could die from the outbreak. This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and science correspondent Richard Harris. See...

A record number of Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time last week as the coronavirus hammered the economy. It's nearly five times the levels seen during the Great Recession. Plus, President Trump has hit his highest approval rating since becoming president – 47%, according to an average of the polls. That's an increase of nearly 3 points over the last two weeks. This episod...

Joe Biden has held a number of web-based campaign events and fundraisers now that the coronavirus outbreak has grounded his campaign. Early efforts were plagued with problems, though there are signs things are improving. And congressional candidates are also facing challenges, even with the most essential of campaign tasks — like getting enough signatures to appear on the ballot. This episode: pol...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell touted a bipartisan deal to provide emergency funds in response to the new coronavirus pandemic and committed to passing the legislation Wednesday, though some in his caucus have raised objections to a key provision. If passed, the bill would provide cash payments to Americans, help to struggling small businesses and more resources to state and local governme...

A Senate agreement on emergency funding to address the coronavirus could be "hours" away, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday, as Republicans and Democrats seemed close to bridging disagreements that have stalled a deal on the approximately $2 trillion package. And on a Fox News special, President Trump said that he hopes the United States can begin to get back to normal by the middle of next...

As financial markets fall and case numbers soar, Congress has (so far) been unable to reach a deal on a major coronavirus aid package with an expected price tag of more than a trillion dollars. Also, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has become the first senator to test positive for the coronavirus. Close contact with Paul has led at least two other senators to self-quarantine. This episode: political corres...

The Senate is negotiating another aid package to address the coronavirus, one that would provide direct cash payments, loan guarantees for impacted businesses and more resources for testing and development of vaccines. Also, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee warned a small group of well-connected constituents three weeks ago to prepare for dire economic and societal effects of the...