Rational Radio Daily With Steele And Ungar

Mark Preston, a CNN senior political analyst and executive editor of CNN Politics, has a new radio show on SiriusXM POTUS! It's called "Full Stop", and its goal is to give you a break from the 24-hour news marathon and try to flesh out a full story for you. It has more background, more substance and more context to help make you more informed. Mark joins Michael Steele and Rick Ungar to preview the show and his interview with Secretary George Shultz, former Secretary of Labor, Treasury and State. Jordan Fabian, White House correspondent for The Hill, also joined the show to discuss the ongoing feud between President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

TV news networks stoked fears in the aftermath of a Washington Post report that North Korea had achieved a significant new level of nuclear capability. Statements from President Trump, Defense Secretary Mattis and the North Korean regime have all fanned the flames. Career counterintelligence officer Malcolm Nance debunks some of the media hysterics and tells Rick Ungar what should really concern us about a nuclear North Korea. Mark Green, founder of the Shadow Cabinet, discusses the group's choose-your-own-adventure twitter campaign, "The Impeachment Papers".

Earlier today, a report from the Washington Post revealed that North Korea successfully miniaturized and attached a nuclear warhead to the tip of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Shorty after the report was published, President Trump said that if the threats continue, North Korea will feel "...fire and fury like the world has never seen". The North responded by threatening to launch a preemptive strike against Guam. In the middle of all that, Dr. Bruce Bechtol, president of the International Council on Korean Studies, shares his thoughts on how the U.S. should respond to this latest nuclear escalation. David Hawkins, director of the National Resource Defense Council's Climate and Clear Air program, talks to Michael Steele and Rick Ungar about a new federal report that details the increasing dangers of climate change.

"Let's treat taxpayers with respect," Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio 04) said to Rick Ungar and guest host Rick Tyler. "Let's better help our overall federal deficit and debt issue, and let's help those people in our welfare system to get to a better position." Congressman Jordan, the co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, uses these principles to explain what kind of spending cuts and structural changes his caucus wants to see in exchange for agreeing to raise the debt ceiling. Adam Mount, senior fellow for nuclear and defense policy at the Center for American Progress, discusses the U.N.'s harsh new sanctions against North Korea and China's recent efforts to delay a potential trade war with the U.S.

After the latest GOP attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed in the Senate last month, President Trump told a group of reporters that letting Obamacare fail would force Congress to come together to find a fix. Reps. Tom Reed (R-N.Y. 23) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J. 5) say that doesn't have to be the case. The co-chairs of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan congressional bloc, wrote a New York Times op-ed detailing the work the caucus is doing to incrementally fix the major problems in our health care system. Congressman Reed joins Rick Ungar and guest host Rick Tyler to discuss some of the bill's main points and the initial reception it received in the Senate. Dr. Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies talks about the Trump administration's struggles to formulate a new military strategy on Afghanistan.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Special Counselor Robert Mueller impaneled a grand jury in Washington, D.C. for his work on the Russia investigation. A number of high-profile attorneys have also joined Mueller's team in recent months, fueling speculation on what the Special Counsel has already uncovered. As the investigation heats up, Rick Ungar and guest host Rick Tyler bring a cool, rational perspective on this latest development in the Russia probe. Theresa Cardinal Brown, director of immigration policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, weighs in on the RAISE Act introduced by Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.)

Over the span of 11 days, President Trump lost three of his top officials. The departures of Sean Spicer, Reince Priebus and Anthony Scaramucci marked a huge shakeup within the administration. With this embarrassingly high turnover, has the Trump White House hit rock bottom? Joe Concha, media reporter and columnist for The Hill, joins Rick Ungar and Rick Tyler to discuss the media's reaction to the chaos consuming the West Wing. Amidst all of this, Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has been rallying for a return to true, conservative values in the Republican Party in the wake of Trump's takeover. Is President Trump corrupting the GOP?

"Right now, people feel like their vote doesn't matter," says political activist Steven Olikara. "We need to fix the political system before we get back involved." Steven's organization, Millennial Action Project, seeks to get more millennials involved in politics to overcome partisan gridlock. Steven joins us to discuss issues important to millennial voters and how his organization is trying to get them involved in the political process. Robert Davi, the award-winning actor and singer, shares his thoughts on the latest news out of the Trump administration.

There are rumors floating up and down Pennsylvania Avenue that President Trump intends to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replace him with a recess appointment. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) summed up the feeling of many on Capitol Hill when he told a group of reporters,"If Jeff Sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay." Kevin Williamson, roving correspondent for National Review, weighs in on the constant reality show drama, like the above, coming out of the West Wing. Touré, a writer, TV host and podcaster, joins the guys to preview some of the provocative panels and debates at Politicon this weekend and discuss the news of the day.

"There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train, and deploy to leave the military—regardless of gender identity," Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) said today in a statement. Sen. McCain was responding to President Trump's decision to ban transgender individuals from serving in the military. Leo Shane III, the Capitol Hill bureau chief for the Military Times, joins Michael Steele and Rick Ungar to address how Capitol Hill and the Pentagon are reacting to the announcement. Dan Munro of Forbes also shares his vision for a single-pricing health care system.

"Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton," President Trump wrote in a tweet Tuesday morning. This is just one example of several verbal and tweet-based attacks that the president launched against Sessions in recent weeks. Michael and Rick wonder if Sessions is close to hearing Trump's signature one-liner, "You're fired!" The guys also discuss Senator John McCain's calls for more open, compassionate legislating during his triumphant return to the Senate.

Jared Kushner testified in a closed-door session in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee today amid questions of collusion and cries to strip him of his security clearance. Tomorrow, he'll testify in another closed-door session with the House Intelligence Committee. Democratic congressman and Chief Deputy Whip Joaquin Castro (D-Texas 20), a member of the House Intel Committee, previews that conversation with Mr. Kushner. Robert Costa of the Washington Post discusses tribalism in the GOP and his recent story: "Republicans are in full control of government — but losing control of their party".

Investigating the investigators! Michael and Rick talk with Tom Hamburger, who covers the intersection of money and politics for the Washington Post, about President Trump's legal team investigating Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigative team. The guys also discussed a Pew poll that said nearly half of liberals can't stand being around Trump supporters. Why can't we all just get along?

Dr. Seva Gunitsky, a professor of politics at the University of Toronto, says that in order to understand the roots of the collusion between Trump and Russia, we need to set Putin aside and follow the money.

Do we get the politics we deserve? If our decisions are based on impressions from watching too many episodes of 'The West Wing' or 'House of Cards', do we get a messy political system and a television president? Ben Shapiro, editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com, joins us to discuss this thought-provoking idea. We also talk to Amber Phillips of the Washington Post about the emerging and widening divide between President Trump and Senate Republicans over the attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The House Budget Committee recently unveiled its proposed budget for 2018. The GOP plan, dubbed the 'Building a Better America' proposal, already faces sharp criticism from both Republican moderates and conservatives on the far-right. Representative Jack Bergman (R-MI 1) shares his thoughts on the new budget proposal. Abbas Milani, Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University, joins the guys to address the Trump administration's contradicting policies towards Iran.

The newest Washington Post/ABC News poll shows President Trump's approval rating at 36%, the lowest rating for a president in 70 years. However, the poll also shows that 52% of people think the only message coming from the Democratic Party is that they are anti-Trump. Michael Steele and Rick Ungar discuss these numbers and how they could shape the 2018 midterms. The guys also talk to Democratic strategist Don Calloway about what we might see when Congress takes up the contentious issue of tax reform.

In February, White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon went before throngs of cheering Republicans at CPAC and proclaimed that reclaiming our "national and economic sovereignty" and "dismantling the administrative state" would be key goals of the Trump administration. Tonight, we take a look at how that policy directive has played out in the arena of foreign policy. Former Ambassador to the U.N. and two-term Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson talks about how the U.S. is abdicating leadership in Asia and China is filling that void. Charles Hill, a career minister in the U.S. foreign service, breaks down why a diminished, understaffed and underfunded State Department would be a huge mistake.

Russia's meddling in the 2016 election was a huge escalation in cyber warfare. Morgan Wright, an expert on cybersecurity strategy and cyberterrorism, talks about the increasing threat of cyber warfare and the importance of cybersecurity. Tracy Sefl, a Democratic communications strategist, compares her experiences conducting opposition research to what happened in the Donald Trump Jr. story.

Jamie McIntyre, author of the Washington Examiner's 'Daily on Defense' newsletter, discusses the cost of victory in Mosul and where the fight against ISIS will go next. Real estate expert Jennifer Hammond, host of "The Jennifer Hammond Show" on SiriusXM's Urban View, talks about her new book "101+ Resources for Veterans: The Ultimate Resource Guide".