AirTalk brings you President Trump’s national security speech live, plus analysis and a debate with our experts on his position. We also parse through this week’s political news; dive into the future of workplace romances as high-profile sexual misconduct scandals continue to make headlines; and more.
Week in politics: House, Senate set to pass tax reform, the latest on Trump & Mueller, and more
Tax reform is the buzzy phrase of the week in Washington D.C. as Congressional Republicans eye a much-needed legislative victory in passing the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul package.
The bill is expected to pass along party lines, though Democrats are making a last-ditch effort to convince some Republicans on the fence to vote ‘no.’ There’s little room for dissent for Republicans, who hold a slim 52-48 majority in the Senate.
Meanwhile, at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., President Trump is preparing to deliver a speech that will broadly define his stance on national security. He is expected to talk about the need for bolstering the military and throttling the flow of immigrants into the U.S.
President Trump has said he is not considering firing special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Mueller has been in the president’s crosshairs for some time now, and that isn’t changing after the news that lawyers for the Trump transition team are saying that Mueller improperly obtained transition team emails and are asking for them to be given back. Mueller’s office maintains they got the emails through the proper channels.
We’ll also talk about what Doug Jones’ win in Alabama means for future Democratic prospects and explore the political implications of last week’s repeal of net neutrality rules.
Guests:
Lisa Mascaro, congressional reporter for the Los Angeles Times; she tweets
Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for NPR; she tweets
Lisa Garcia Bedolla, professor in the Graduate School of Education and director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley
Lanhee Chen, research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and former policy director for the Romney-Ryan 2012 presidential campaign; he tweets
Trump’s new foreign policy strategy places ‘America First’
President Trump will set a new direction for how the U.S. will engage with the world that many observers are characterizing as a sharp departure from previous administrations.
The Trump administration’s foreign policy plan, which the president will unveil in a speech this morning, will namecheck China and Russia as competitors to the U.S., and make explicit the protection of economic security in the U.S. as a national security issue.
Guests:
Gary J. Schmitt, co-director of the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute; he was executive director of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board during President Ronald Reagan’s second term and a former staff director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Brian Katulis, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress; expertise includes U.S. national security strategy; for more than a decade, he has advised senior U.S. policymakers on foreign policy
Latest on Amtrak train derailment in Washington state
A U.S. official says a train derailment outside of Seattle has killed at least six people and the death count is expected to rise.
The official who was briefed on the investigation also says preliminary signs indicate the Amtrak train may have struck something on the track before going off the track.
The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The high-speed train was making its first run on newly constructed tracks when it derailed before 8 a.m. Monday.
The official said because the tracks were new it was unlikely to be a maintenance issue.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Rolf Boone, reporter at The Olympian who has been following the story; he tweets
Checking in on Thomas Fire and larger firefighting strategy
Crews on the lines of Southern California's enormous wildfire — now the third largest in modern state history — hope to take advantage of a two-day window of calmer winds before potentially dangerous gusts return at mid-week.
The Thomas Fire, which broke out two weeks ago Monday, still threatens thousands of homes northwest of Los Angeles. It is 45 percent contained.
Fire spokesman Capt. Rick Crawford says cooler temperatures, slightly higher humidity and light winds forecast for Monday and Tuesday will be "critical" for firefighters hoping to make progress against the Thomas Fire. The hot, gusty winds that caused a huge flare-up and forced more evacuations over the weekend are expected to come back Wednesday.
We get the latest on the Thomas fire, as well as the firefighting tactics and larger strategy being used.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Mike Deponce, Thomas Fire PIO; he’s at the Santa Barbara Emergency Operations Center
As sexual misconduct scandals mount, a look at the future of workplace romance
Office relationships have always been tricky.
But new human resource standards to put the kibosh on sexual misconduct may also be squashing workplace romances. While the line between harassment and dating should be obvious, employees starting a relationship should be extra vigilant about actions at work. And for some who aren’t socially apt in their approach to asking a coworker out, the new climate could stop them from pursuing a date altogether.
Couples meeting at work isn’t anything new. As we spend more and more time connected to our jobs, the chances of meeting a significant other in the next cubicle or while working with a superior or subordinate is a definite possibility. The question is, what’s the right way to make love connections when horror stories about sexual misconduct have put human resources on high alert?
Guest:
Lisa Brown Alexander, CEO of consulting firm Non-Profit HR