A number of prominent political figures made news at the inaugural Hill Nation Summit on Wednesday, weighing in on the Federal Reserve, Democratic primaries, legislation moving through Congress, foreign policy and more.
Lawmakers, Trump administration officials and advocates spoke with journalists from The Hill and NewsNation over the course of a day.
Here are seven memorable moments.
Navarro calls Powell ‘the worst Fed chair in history’
Peter Navarro, White House Senior Counselor for Trade & Manufacturing, is interviewed by NewsNation Chief Washington Correspondent Blake Burman during The Hill and NewsNation’s inaugural Hill Nation Summit at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro called Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell the “worst Fed chair in history.”
President Trump for months has expressed increasing frustration with Powell, and the White House has appeared increasingly interested in ousting the Fed chair.
At the Hill Nation Summit, Navarro said that the Fed, a historically independent body, had become politicized.
“The problem with the Fed now is that it’s too politicized, because a lot of folks on the board are Democrats who hate Trump,” Navarro said.
Noem teases liquid size changes for TSA
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is interviewed NewsNation chief Washington correspondent Blake Burman during The Hill and NewsNation’s inaugural Hill Nation Summit at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., July 16, 2025.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem suggested that changes could be coming to the size of liquid containers allowed through airport security.
“That may be the next big announcement, is what size your liquids need to be,” Noem said.
Her comments come about a week after DHS, which oversees the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), said that domestic travelers would be allowed to keep their shoes on through security.
Noem said she was hopeful that airport security could be streamlined in the future.
“Hopefully the future of an airport, where I’m looking to go, is that you walk in the door with your carry-on suitcase, you walk through a scanner and go right to your flight,” the DHS chief said.
Donalds on potential Powell firing: ‘I’m not there yet’
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) is interviewed by The Hill’s Congressional Reporter Mychael Schnell during The Hill and NewsNation’s inaugural Hill Nation Summit at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
As calls from Republicans mount for Trump to fire Powell, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) said he wasn’t quite ready to support the move.
“I’m not there yet, but I’ll tell you that the president doesn’t rule anything out,” Donalds told The Hill’s Mychael Schnell.
“It’s pretty clear the president is frustrated about where short-term interest rates are,” Donalds added, and he said that he also supported a cut to rates alongside reductions to spending led by Congress.
“I think the greater issue is Congress being smart with the people’s money,” Donalds, who is running for governor in Florida, said.
Other Republicans, however, were vocal in their desire for Powell to go.
“Today’s a great day to fire Jerome Powell,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) wrote Wednesday morning on the social platform X.
Klobuchar says lawmakers need more security after Minnesota shootings
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is interviewed by The Hill’s Senate reporter Alex Bolton during The Hill and NewsNation’s inaugural Hill Nation Summit at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., on July 16, 2025.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said that lawmakers at multiple levels of government need more security and that politicians should “decrease the rhetoric” in response to the shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses in June.
“I’ve been a longtime advocate for this and more police, and worked really well with them in the Capitol, but we have to do more in the local areas,” the Minnesota senator said.
Klobuchar was friends with former Minnesota state House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and dined with her hours before Hortman and her husband were killed by a gunman at their home.
“She was a mom. She taught Sunday school. She was a Girl Scout leader. She balanced all that and rose up in the House of Representatives,” Klobuchar said.
“Some people need to look in the mirror if they’re making this worse,” the senator added. “It is on all of us as leaders to bring down that rhetoric whenever we can.”
Klobuchar was among the senators to condemn posts from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that appeared to make jokes about the shootings.
McCarthy goes after Matt Gaetz
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is interviewed by The Hill’s Congressional Reporter Emily Brooks during The Hill and NewsNation’s inaugural Hill Nation Summit at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) opened his remarks by saying that postcongressional life was “fabulous. We don’t have Matt Gaetz anymore.”
The remark from McCarthy, who has had a long-running feud with former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), drew laughter from the audience. The Florida firebrand was among the key figures behind McCarthy’s ouster from the Speakership.
Hogg calls ouster from DNC a ‘double standard’
David Hogg is interviewed by The Hill’s national political reporter Julia Manchester during The Hill and NewsNation’s inaugural Hill Nation Summit at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., on July 16, 2025.
Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg characterized his ouster from the party committee as a “double standard,” although he expressed openness to working with the DNC in the future.
“There’s obviously disagreements that we have at the end of the day, but I think that we all still have good relationships. I still have, you know, enormous respect for all my fellow vice chairs, the other officers of the DNC,” Hogg told The Hill’s Julia Manchester at the Hill Nation Summit on Wednesday.
The progressive activist, who has called for primary challenges against Democratic Party incumbents, left the DNC last month after his election was vacated over a procedural rule regarding gender diversity.
Hogg described it Wednesday as a “double standard that was selectively enforced.”
“I would argue that what I’m doing is not that different from someone having a leadership PAC that gives against an incumbent,” Hogg said.
Himes praises Trump on foreign policy
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) is interviewed by NewsNation Political Editor Chris Stirewalt during The Hill and NewsNation’s inaugural Hill Nation Summit at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, offered some praise for President Trump’s foreign policy, particularly on the Middle East.
“I mean, the opening to Syria, I did not anticipate that. That’s pretty amazing. You know, he’s taken a practical approach in the Middle East that I think is, again, will the Iranian question, will play out over the next year or so,” Himes said.
Trump signed an executive order in January to end sanctions against Syria after the unexpected collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime in December.
Updated at 5:21 p.m. EDT
