Washington Editor for the National Journal
Ben Pershing is Washington editor of National Journal, overseeing White House and congressional coverage. Before joining National Journal in 2014, he was a reporter at the Washington Post for six years, covering Congress as well as campaigns in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Prior to that, Pershing was at Roll Call for 10 years as a reporter and editor. He is a Los Angeles native and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
Congressional Action Elsewhere The immigration debate has eclipsed the fact that some important legislation DID pass this week. Things like Veterans Affairs reform and a new highway transportation bill managed to make it out of the House. So is it unfair to call this Congress a “do-nothing” Congress?
Accusations of lying fly between James Comey and White House During his testimony Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump and other White House officials of lying when they said the FBI was in disarray and its staff had lost confidence in him. President Trump’s lawyer said Comey was wrong -- that the president never asked for his loyalty, and never asked him to back off the investigation into former NSA director Michael Flynn.
Kenya Barris: Black-ish Black-ish creator Kenya Barris joins Elvis Mitchell to discuss utilizing his show as a conversation starter.
Industry insights and lessons learned from memorable guests We have interesting guests on The Business, and sometimes our conversations are too long to fit into one show. This week we give you stories that were too good to leave on the cutting room floor, including some sharp insights on making it in the industry from David Mandel, David Simon, Shawn Levy and Matt Reeves.
Why is Trump so behind on filling staff jobs, establishing concrete policies? Yesterday Donald Trump signed a “decision memo” to revamp the air traffic control system. But there was little legislative detail in the plan. There’s not much to other splashy announcements from the White House, including tax cuts and the arms deal with Saudi Arabia. And hundreds of positions are unfilled in federal agencies.