20 MAY 2026 · The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.
Brad is first joined by Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
The two discuss black Americans being stripped of their political power following the recent Louisiana v. Callais Supreme Court ruling.
President Weingarten also previews a ten-point speech she'll be giving on how to properly educate our children in the age of AI. She describes how teachers are seeing the 'muscle of learning' atrophying, and how we need to respond by changing education so that we're building active learning.
She also shares how instead of leading this charge, Trump's Department of Education is instead busy undermining civil rights.
Finally, she and Brad discuss a huge issue on the minds of the American people as they head to November's midterm elections, affordability. She shares what could be done to change the U.S. tax code to help with this issue.
Then, Brad is joined by CNN Military Analyst Col. Cedric Leighton (USAF-Ret.).
The pair talks about President Trump's recent trip to China, and his refusal to commit to defending Taiwan if China attacked them.
Next, they shift the conversation to the Iran war. Col. Leighton highlights how President Trump failed to articulate why he was sending our nation to war with Iran. The President also never sought the authorization to use military force from Congress, or even notified the 'gang of eight' before launching military strikes with Israel against Iran.
Finally, Col. Leighton updates the audience on Ukraine's recent success in penetrating Russia's missile defense system in a way that hadn't yet been done in the war.
Randi Weingarten is president of the 1.8 million-member AFT, which represents teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal government employees; and early childhood educators. The AFT is dedicated to the belief that every person in America deserves the freedom to thrive, fueled by opportunity, justice and a voice in our democracy.
Their website is http://www.AFT.org and their handle on BlueSky is @aftunion.bsky.social. Randi's handle is @rweingarten.bsky.social.
Col. Cedric Leighton is the Founder and President of Cedric Leighton Associates, a strategic risk and leadership consultancy serving global companies and organizations. He founded the company in 2010, after serving in the US Air Force for 27 years as an Intelligence Officer and attaining the rank of Colonel. His website is http://www.CedricLeighton.com and his handle on BlueSky is @CedricLeighton.bsky.social.
Brad is on the National Journal's panel of political insiders, is an American political analyst for The Times of India TV, and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles. Brad also writes a political column every Sunday for 'The Hill.'
You can read his columns at http://www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon.
His handle on BlueSky is @bradbannon.bsky.social.