Week in Politics: Trump's face on the coin; reshaping the capital; the midterms

NPR | By Scott Simon,

Ron Elving

Published September 5, 2026 at 7:43 AM EDT

President Trump is the first living president to have his face on a coin. He's also reshaping Washington in his image, and working to influence midterm elections.

Scott Simon

Scott Simon is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First.

See stories by Scott Simon

Ron Elving

Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News, where he is frequently heard as a news analyst and writes regularly for NPR.org.

See stories by Ron Elving

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