SUMMARY

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join William Brangham to discuss the week in politics, including Democrats helping Speaker Johnson get a foreign aid package through the House as he faces backlash from far-right members of his caucus.

Timecode: Start of video to 5 mins (Israel and Iran discussion follow; this lesson focuses on Speaker Johnson)

View the transcript of the story.

News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

1. Who is Rep. Mike Johnson?
2. What was the vote that Johnson pushed through the House of Representatives about? (see this article)
3. When did the House of Representatives vote on it? When will the Senate vote on it?
4. How can Johnson be removed as Speaker of the House?
5. Why did some fellow members of Johnson's Republican party not support the foreign aid package?

FOCUS QUESTIONS

1. David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart come from different sides of the ideological spectrum, conservative and liberal, respectively. What were their perspectives on sending aid to these countries?
2. Do you think the U.S. should send aid to Israel and the Ukraine? What about U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region?

Media literacy: The discussion focused on party politics in Washington D.C., surrounding the speaker. How important do you think it is to understand the political nature of how Washington D.C. works? Do you think the American public cares about this "inside baseball" aspect of politics? Explain.

Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?

FOR MORE

What students can do: Learn more about what's in the $95 billion foreign aid package, most of which goes to Ukraine and Israel. For Ukraine, that includes over 20 billion to replenish U.S. stockpiles and $14 billion for weapons. About $9 billion is loans, which could be forgiven. For Israel, the $26.4 billion is a large increase over the original Senate bill and contains no additional conditions, a contentious issue for many progressives.

Link: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/a-breakdown-of-whats-in-the-95-billion-foreign-aid-package-passed-by-the-house

Learn more about the Israeli attacks in Rafah over the weekend:

Link: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/more-israeli-air-raids-in-rafah-kill-22-people-mostly-children-as-u-s-advances-aid-package

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