Deep Dive with Washington Examiner

Washington Examiner Justice Department Reporter Kaelan Deese joins Deep Dive Host Natasha Sweatte to discuss the latest developments in the Epstein case with the Department of Justice releasing over 3.5 million pieces of documents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The federal government is expected to enter a partial shutdown starting Saturday, but it could be short-lived as Senate Democrats and the White House negotiate new restrictions for President Donald Trump’s sweeping deportation agenda. A procedural vote to advance a funding package and avert a shutdown failed to clear a 60-vote filibuster in the Senate on Thursday, with opposition from a handful of GOP defectors and all Democrats. Meanwhile, talks continued on a spending deal in exchange for Democratic demands to limit the tactics of federal immigration officials after recent deadly shootings.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington Examiner Homeland Security Reporter Anna Giaritelli joins Deep Dive Host Natasha Sweatte to discuss tensions rising in Minnesota with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The problem with sanctuary cities and its elevation in obstructing justice, compared to red states local law enforcement working with ICE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington Examiner White House Reporter Christian Datoc joins Deep Dive Host Natasha Sweatte on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's visit with President Donald Trump and their surprising positive interactions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington Examiner energy and environment reporter Maydeen Merino joins Deep Dive host Natasha Sweatte to discuss China's global control on rare earth and critical minerals, and how the Trump administration plans on investing more in America to become more independent with rare earth mineral development.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holiday sales growth this year is expected to be a bit more muted compared to past years, as consumers continue to grapple with affordability and cost-of-living challenges. Independent forecasters predict that while there will be a year-over-year uptick in sales, that growth will be more modest. Inflation has been a lingering concern for consumers and retailers alike, and that will likely be reflected in how holiday shoppers approach this year’s season.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington Examiner Congressional Reporter Samantha Jo-Roth joins Deep Dive Host Natasha Sweatte to discuss the issues with Air Traffic Controllers amidst the reopening of the government. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is trying to incentivize the ATC position. ATC workers express stress from the job, and the Federal Aviation Administration's hiring expectations are extremely low.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington Examiner energy and environmental reporter Callie Patteson joins Deep Dive host Natasha Sweatte to discuss the importance of electricity bills from voters amidst the governor races won by Democrats in both New Jersey and Virginia. New York Governor Kathy Hochul green lighting pipeline for gas infrastructure. The demand of electricity in the winter will increase electricity bills for many Americans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. military has thousands of troops currently in the Caribbean with thousands more on the way, and experts largely agree the buildup of firepower far exceeds what’s required for the missions they’re currently conducting. Since the beginning of last month, the military has targeted more than a dozen alleged drug smuggling vessels, killing more than 50 people, but hasn’t publicly released any evidence to prove the people aboard were in fact carrying illegal narcotics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington Examiner National Politics Correspondent Mabinty Quarshie joins Deep Dive Host Natasha Sweatte to discuss the Virginia governor candidates Abigail Spanberger and Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears for the 2025 election.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine safety panel on Friday morning agreed to postpone a decision to no longer recommend the newborn dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. The vote from all but one of the 12 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices comes as a de-escalation in the mounting tensions over vaccine policy under the leadership of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime skeptic of the status quo on childhood vaccines.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As President Donald Trump begins his takeover of Washington by federalizing the local police and activating the National Guard to combat the crime rate, it appears Mayor Muriel Bowser does not want to test her limits with the administration.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington Examiner foreign affairs reporter Timothy Nerozzi discusses the Alaska Summit of President Trump meeting Russian President Putin. The progression of the peace deal between Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Read the full story here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign-policy/3757957/zelensky-white-house-meeting-land-concessions-russia-ukraine-war/ Check out our website: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After months, the massive GOP tax cuts and spending bill is heading to President Donald Trump’s desk to become law. Republicans pushed the bill through the House in a 218-214 vote on Thursday, a day ahead of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Fourth of July deadline. The megabill, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, makes permanent several existing tax provisions and implements new ones.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The efforts to reopen one of Three Mile Island’s nuclear reactors accelerated by an entire year last week, less than 50 years after the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history happened at the Pennsylvania plant. The Washington Examiner recently got a look inside unit one of the facility, which was not damaged during the 1979 incident and shut down in 2019, and toured its turbine service building, control room, turbine deck, and cooling towers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trump administration‘s sweeping proposals for deporting illegal immigrants and limiting U.S. citizenship would affect a significant number of people, if the actions can survive legal challenges. Similar to much of President Donald Trump’s agenda, his deportation and citizenship efforts have been thwarted by various court challenges. These challenges have complicated who would lose legal status if and when the orders take effect.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A website purporting to be a local news outlet operating out of a Long Island village has been taken over by anonymous actors pushing puff pieces about China, and Google promoted its work to users before removing it from its news platform, the Washington Examiner has learned. The Farmingdale Observer’s website claims that it has been providing local news coverage out of its eponymous New York township since 1963. A glance at the outlet’s webpage, however, reveals no local news coverage and a flood of clickbait content. Nestled among the miscellaneous clickbait are several articles advancing narratives similar to those published by outlets run by the Chinese Communist Party.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The appointment of vaccine skeptics to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s primary vaccine safety board could have a paradoxical effect and make patients across the country more willing to trust public health recommendations and get vaccinated. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to include two well-known vaccine skeptics among eight appointments to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices could enhance the credibility of the board’s vaccine recommendations among people who do not trust the public health establishment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem ordered immigration authorities to crack down on immigrants who have overstayed their visas, a move that comes after an Egyptian national allegedly targeted Jews at a public demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the suspect in that attack, had overstayed his visa, receiving a work permit after he later applied for asylum in 2023 under the Biden administration.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Justice Department Reporter Kaelan Deese joins Natasha Sweate to discuss the question at the center of multiple high-level investigations is this: Was President Joe Biden truly executing the duties of the presidency, or was the federal government being run by unelected aides using his name? Three coordinated but distinct efforts — led by the House, Senate, and now Trump’s Department of Justice — are digging into allegations that Biden’s cognitive decline enabled a covert “shadow presidency,” with mechanical signatures and insider proxies standing in for presidential decision-making.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.