The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi

Metro is having a moment. The agency set ridership records over the July 4th weekend , riders are buying up Metro merch , and the agency is a key player in the city's biggest development project in decades. Yes, Metro is cool again , but challenges remain, including an uncertain financial future , extended shutdowns , and fare evaders . Metro General Manager Randy Clarke takes a ride into our stud...

Marylanders voted in key primary elections this week for congressional seats, county executive, county council, state legislatures, state's attorney, and other local seats. At-Large Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando appears poised to become the Democratic nominee to succeed Marc Elrich in the county's top role . The race was shaped by disagreements over data centers , taxes , and afford...

It was a historic primary election in the District , with several top jobs on the ballot. While it perhaps took longer than expected, the big races were finally called, including Janeese Lewis George securing the Democratic nomination for D.C. mayor . WAMU's D.C. politics reporter Alex Koma gets behind the mic to break down Lewis George's monumental win and what comes next. Plus, he talks about se...

D.C. voters are preparing to head to the polls to make their picks in the primary elections for mayor, D.C. delegate to Congress, and a handful of seats on the D.C. Council. A recent poll shows Ward 4 D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George leading her former Council colleague Kenyan McDuffie by double digits, but many voters remain undecided heading into the final stretch. WAMU's Senior D.C. Poli...

Montgomery County Public Schools are looking to cut hundreds of positions to close a nearly $40 million budget gap. The cuts follow the Montgomery County Council's failure to fully fund MCPS's budget request . Throughout the budget process, District 5 Councilmember Kristin Mink looked for ways to fully fund the school district . She joins the show to explain what the council can do now to support...

The Politics Hour goes on the road this week, broadcasting our D.C. Delegate Democratic primary forum live from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in Northwest D.C.! Kojo and Tom are joined on stage by all five candidates running in the Democratic primary to represent the District in Congress. We ask the big questions.. and get answers... about public safety, D.C.'s economy, protecting t...

The first public poll in the D.C. mayoral race is out, showing Ward 4 D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George with a slight lead over former At-Large D.C Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie. However, ranked-choice voting could play a huge role in the tightening race. The poll, from City Cast DC, is a fascinating deep dive glimpse into how age, race, geography, and even being a D.C. sports fan shape resi...

After months as the main roadblock, it appears Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson is softening his position on redistricting. The recent Supreme Court decision w eakening the Voting Rights Act and Maryland Governor Wes Moore notably leaving Ferguson off his list of political endorsements appear to be two big factors. WAMU's Maryland reporter Jenny Abamu gets behind the mic to tell us about wh...

The Virginia Supreme Court blocked the voter-passed redistricting amendment on Friday, sending shockwaves through the Commonwealth and the nation. The ruling dramatically alters Democrats' plans to take back the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, who represents Virginia's 10th Congressional District, joins the show to give us his take on the ruling and what comes next for his p...

A new report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments revealed that the D.C. area federal workforce is its lowest level in nearly 40 years. The Trump administration's 2025 cuts led to the loss of more than 60,000 federal jobs. Clark Mercer, who leads the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, joins the show to discuss what drastic job losses over the last year means for the...