1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,599 Speaker 1: Hey, guys, Saga and Crystal here. 2 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 2: Independent media just played a truly massive role in this election, 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 2: and we are so excited about what that means for 4 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:08,720 Speaker 2: the future of this show. 5 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 3: This is the only place where you can find honest 6 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 3: perspectives from the left and the right that simply does 7 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 3: not exist anywhere else. 8 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,080 Speaker 2: So if that is something that's important to you, please 9 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 2: go to Breakingpoints dot com. Become a member today and 10 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 2: you'll get access to our full shows, unedited, ad free, 11 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,600 Speaker 2: and all put together for you every morning in your inbox. 12 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 3: We need your help to build the future of independent 13 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 3: news media and we hope to see you at Breakingpoints 14 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 3: dot com. 15 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 2: All right, let's go ahead and get to some of 16 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 2: the liberal democratic reaction to Trump's Gaza ethic cleansing plan, so, 17 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 2: you know, a part for the course, rather than saying, 18 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:47,959 Speaker 2: you know, gee, uh, it would have been good if 19 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 2: Democrats could have beat this guy, because this is all 20 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 2: really going terribly and maybe if they hadn't been so 21 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 2: committed to their own genocidal plans with regard to Gaza, 22 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 2: maybe they could have eked down a win. Since it 23 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 2: was really, you know, really quite close. You have a 24 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 2: number of significant liberal accounts who have decided that the 25 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 2: real fault was the people who either stayed home and 26 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 2: didn't vote, or who you know, actively voted for Trump 27 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 2: because they were so horrified by the genocide that was 28 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,839 Speaker 2: being perpetrated by the Biden administration. So let's go ahead 29 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:21,400 Speaker 2: and put the first one up on the screen. Here, 30 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 2: we can do speed run through these. These are Samone Sanders. 31 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 2: I think now it's very proper to reiterate that elections 32 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,399 Speaker 2: have consequences. Obviously that is a job at you know, 33 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 2: people who were worried about the genocide. 34 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 4: We can go up to Harry Sisson. 35 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 2: Next says, I hope all of the losers who said 36 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 2: and posted things like this understand they played a crucial 37 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 2: role in helping Trump get elected. He will now have 38 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 2: hurt millions with that power. This was somebody who said, hey, 39 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 2: Kamala Gaza is speaking now, bitch. Next up we have 40 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 2: Adam Gentilsen, who said, in two thousand, the left said 41 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 2: there was no difference between Gore and Bush, so vote nator. 42 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 2: Then Bush ared a war of choice in Iraq, and 43 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 2: twenty twenty four the left said there was no difference 44 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 2: between Harrison Trump, so vote uncommitted. Now we have Trump 45 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 2: proposing that the US take over Gaza. 46 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: Gentlesen, by the way, you can check FEC records. He's 47 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:09,799 Speaker 1: still a consultant for John Fetterman. He's a former chief 48 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: of staff to Fetterman. People knew that, but like, go 49 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: ahead and look, he's on Fetterman's payroll. 50 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 2: There you go, all right, and next one, last one 51 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 2: we can put up here a genuine question, not aiming 52 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 2: to stunk on et cetera. But for the pro Gaza 53 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,079 Speaker 2: folk who yell gemicide, Jill and killer, Kamala and abstain voted. 54 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 2: Jill's dinary voted for Trump. What's your reaction to Trump 55 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 2: saying US will own Gaza? Same thing in your eyes 56 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 2: as Harris or regret now or question mark. So you 57 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 2: know this is all very very productive. Ryan always did 58 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 2: a genuine question at least, Yeah, all right, genuine question. 59 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: So it's a genuine question, Like here's a genuine answer. 60 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: Can anybody point me to any moment where Kamala Harris 61 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,760 Speaker 1: said that she was going to do anything different than 62 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 1: Joe Biden and was going to ever use US leverage 63 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: to force us these firing Gaza, right, was there any 64 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: moment where Kamala Harris told voters that she would be 65 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: less hawkish or less warlike than Donald Trump. Is a 66 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:16,280 Speaker 1: genuine question. Back to this genuine question, can anybody find 67 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: me an example of either of those? Because I can 68 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 1: find you many, many examples of Harris saying the opposite, 69 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: that she would continue the Biden approach to arming Israel 70 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: no matter what, and also that she would be tougher 71 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 1: when it came to making war than Donald Trump most 72 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: lethal army ever. 73 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 4: You know, like prosecutor transnational gangs. 74 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: Yes, so tell me, like what is the and bringing 75 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: Liz Cheney talking about, So what is the argument for 76 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: to make the case that the war would not still 77 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: be going on now as we speak if Kamala Harris 78 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: were president, like sending us how everything else that Trump 79 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: is doing? Like, what's the case to make that? Right now? 80 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: We'd have a ceasefire in Gaza if Kamala Harris were president, Like, 81 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,279 Speaker 1: how do you in your mind? How do you get 82 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:20,359 Speaker 1: what happened from election day in November to today in 83 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: February that brought about a ceasefire? Because we have a 84 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: ceasefire with Trump's president, what does it hold? Does he 85 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: send troops in there? We don't know, we'll see. Yeah, 86 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: but right now we have a ceasefire. What's the evidence 87 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 1: that Harris would have gotten that done. 88 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, no, that's that's exactly right. And also, you know, 89 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 2: the Uncommitted movement, they really went above and beyond to 90 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 2: give her an opportunity to and a bunch of. 91 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,360 Speaker 1: The uncommitted leaders endorsed Harris. 92 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 4: Endorsed her anyway, that's right. 93 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,840 Speaker 2: And you know they like the ask to have a 94 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 2: Palestinian American make vetted comments endorsing Kamala at the DNC. 95 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 2: That's how low the bar was in terms of her 96 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 2: trying to extend an olive branch. How many times did 97 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,600 Speaker 2: she have the opportunity, you know, at a time when 98 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:09,919 Speaker 2: people were say, hey, you really need to separate yourself 99 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 2: from this guy. Biden is really unpopular. Here on a 100 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:17,280 Speaker 2: platter is an area where he is profoundly unpopular, where 101 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 2: you could easily distance yourself. It would be the right 102 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 2: political thing and the right moral thing. And she would 103 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 2: never ever do it right. 104 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: And putting a Palistinian American on the stage at the 105 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 1: DNC would have meant something materially because people said, all, oh, 106 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: that's nothing, why not do that? It would have pushed 107 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:43,280 Speaker 1: back against her, the donors and the voters who represented 108 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: the pro Israel faction who wanted no pressure applied whatsoever 109 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,479 Speaker 1: to Israel. Yeah, and Harris's willingness even to put a 110 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: vetted two minute speech from Palistinian American on the stage 111 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: that endorses her and endorses her strategy, her willingness to 112 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 1: do that would be a glimmer of a possibility that 113 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:06,279 Speaker 1: she's willing to take some risks on behalf of a ceasefire. 114 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: And so that's why there was some meaning to what 115 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,599 Speaker 1: seems kind of like a meaningful ask, and also is 116 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,200 Speaker 1: why she said no to it, because she was not 117 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 1: willing to take those risks. So if she's not willing 118 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 1: to tick off a tiny sliver of her donors, because 119 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: a lot of those donors be like, okay, fine, some 120 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,680 Speaker 1: Palastin Americans speaks like we had lots of different we 121 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: have a different, vast array of speakers up on stage. 122 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 1: Not that big a deal. We can get over it. 123 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:38,600 Speaker 1: She's not even willing to do that. Why on earth 124 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: would she be willing to pressure in it in Yahoo 125 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: to do something he doesn't want to do. Yeah, And 126 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,159 Speaker 1: some people concluded that she wouldn't be. And the other 127 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: thing that I think this freak out shows is a 128 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:52,040 Speaker 1: recognition that Gaza did actually play a role in the election, 129 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: because otherwise, why like what are you worked up about here? 130 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 5: Yeah? 131 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 2: I mean they love to be like, oh you left ease, 132 00:06:58,000 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 2: you don't matter, we don't care about you. 133 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 4: And then that they lose like it was your vault. 134 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:04,479 Speaker 2: You're so powerful, you know, and it's like all right, well, 135 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:05,279 Speaker 2: which which is it? 136 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 4: Here? 137 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 2: We have a statement from one of the co chairs 138 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 2: of the Uncommitted movement we can put up on the screen. 139 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 2: This is from Leila ellabed Is Layla is She wasn't 140 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 2: one of them related to Rashida Tile said. 141 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: Oh maybe, yeah, well certainly one of the one of 142 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: the Uncommitted organizers was. 143 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 2: Well okay in any case, she says, I feel sad, angry, 144 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 2: and scared for our communities. For months, we warned about 145 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 2: the dangers of Trump at home and abroad, but our 146 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 2: calls largely went unheard. Hairs left a vacuum by not 147 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 2: visiting Michigan. Families impacted by US supplied bombs to help 148 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 2: create a permission structure for their trust. While Trump visited 149 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 2: Dearborn and filled a community in despair with lies. Trump's 150 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 2: illegal calls for ethnic cleansing are horrific, But as on 151 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 2: so many other issues, Democrats had a chance to persuade 152 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 2: voters they were the better. 153 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 4: Alternative, and they blew it. 154 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 2: I think that is all very accurate in spite of 155 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 2: the former Kamala Harris aid, responding, deeply unseerious. People who 156 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 2: want to shirk their responsibility clowns, because again it's always 157 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 2: the voter's fault, never the fault of the people in 158 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 2: power who had many opportunities responsibilities something different. 159 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, responsibility is such an interesting word there, like who 160 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: has the responsibility? 161 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 6: There? Right? 162 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 4: Yes, exactly right? 163 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 2: And then lastly can put this up on the screen. 164 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 2: So the group that was called Arab Americans for Trump 165 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 2: has now changed their name after the president's Gaza Rivera comments. 166 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 2: They say that the chairman of the group formerly known 167 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 2: as Arab Americans for Trump said during a phone interview 168 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 2: the group is now going to be called Arab Americans 169 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,200 Speaker 2: for Peace. Name change came after Trump held that Tuesday 170 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 2: press conference alongside bb net Yahoo and proposed the US 171 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,840 Speaker 2: take ownership in re developing the area into the revier 172 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:47,439 Speaker 2: of the Middle East. The talk about what the president 173 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 2: wants to do with Gaza. Obviously, we're completely opposed idea 174 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:53,359 Speaker 2: of the transfer of Palestinians from anywhere in historic Palestine, 175 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 2: and so we did not want to be behind the 176 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 2: curve in terms of pushing for peace, because that has 177 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 2: been our objective from the very beginning. I mean, I 178 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 2: will say, I don't know how you could look at 179 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 2: Trump's first term in office and think that he was 180 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 2: going to be like Propalas. I mean, he gave Israel 181 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 2: everything they wanted, and he had Mary Madison giving him 182 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 2: one hundred million dollars in being like. 183 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:13,560 Speaker 4: We're going to take over the West Bank. 184 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 2: You know, this was all out there publicly, so no 185 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 2: one should be surprised by the approach that Trump is 186 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 2: taking at this point. 187 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 4: But you know, one thing, Ryan, I one reason. 188 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 2: In particular why this discourse has kind of annoyed me 189 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,080 Speaker 2: in particular because I mean, this is the kind of shit. 190 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:32,959 Speaker 4: That liberals do all the time. 191 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:37,560 Speaker 2: But post November, post Trump winning again, there actually has 192 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:43,080 Speaker 2: been some liberal lefty alliance and community building because it's 193 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 2: so clear that the liberal establishment approach was a failure. 194 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:49,719 Speaker 4: Right, they had this. 195 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:52,680 Speaker 2: Theory of oh, we have an anti Trump coalition and 196 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 2: we need to focus on the suburban moderates. We're going 197 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 2: to use this channey to do that. You know, that's 198 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 2: how we're going to approach this. We're going to focus 199 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 2: on rather than addressing people's material concerns, which is what 200 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 2: contributed to the rise of this I would say, fascist movement, 201 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 2: Rather than dealing with that, we're just going to you know, 202 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 2: talk about democracy, talk about fascism in the abstract and 203 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 2: not fully delivered for people. And you know, all of 204 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,840 Speaker 2: those theories were really wrong. Not to mention that they 205 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 2: spent so much time destroying the Bernie Sanders movement both 206 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:22,400 Speaker 2: in twenty sixteen and then again vanquishing him in twenty 207 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:24,439 Speaker 2: twenty that I would say was their primary goal over 208 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 2: ultimately defeating Trump, and all of that edifice has been 209 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 2: has humbled. You know, in some of the favored media personalities, 210 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 2: the Joe and Meeka's of the world, have you know, 211 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 2: capitulated to Trump after making lots of money being these 212 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:42,439 Speaker 2: big resistance figures, and so you know, when he actually 213 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 2: gets in there and they want to continue to have 214 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:48,560 Speaker 2: access to power, they immediately bend the knee. So there 215 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 2: has been a real a real opening, and I think 216 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:53,960 Speaker 2: a real radicalizing of a lot of liberals who have 217 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 2: fled MSNBC who are going to more like lefty YouTube 218 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,079 Speaker 2: channels like my husband's Kyle's, but a lot of others 219 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 2: do David dol MIKE'SO have seen huge growth. So, you know, 220 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 2: the other thing that irritates me about the you know, 221 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 2: the liberal discourse here around Gaza is that I think 222 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,720 Speaker 2: it undercuts that new movement and sort of community building 223 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:16,960 Speaker 2: within the Democratic base and radicalizing in a lot of 224 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:18,079 Speaker 2: ways of the Democratic base. 225 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: Elon Musk's DOJ Committee hasn't been able to turn up 226 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,960 Speaker 1: any serious evidence of fraud, waste, or abuse yet, but 227 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 1: did manage to get a win out of White House 228 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 1: Press Secretary Caroline Levitt. Let's roll this clip talking about 229 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:36,320 Speaker 1: a Politico scandal. 230 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 5: I can confirm that the more than eight million taxpayer 231 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 5: dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico, 232 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 5: the American taxpayer's dying, will no longer be happening. The 233 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 5: DOGE team is working on canceling those payments. 234 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 6: Now. 235 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 5: Again, this is a whole of government effort to ensure 236 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:56,559 Speaker 5: that we are going line by line when it comes 237 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 5: to the Federal of government's books, and this president in 238 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,719 Speaker 5: his team are are making decisions across the board on 239 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 5: do these receipts serve the interests of the American people. 240 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,840 Speaker 5: Is this a good use of the American taxpayers money. 241 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 5: If it is not, that funding will no longer be 242 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,199 Speaker 5: sent abroad and American taxpayers will see significant savings because 243 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:17,840 Speaker 5: of that effort. 244 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 1: Oh boy, this was a wild one yesterday. Normally it 245 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:24,960 Speaker 1: wouldn't be the kind of thing we're talking about, Crystal, 246 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: but it rose to the level of the White House 247 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: Press Secretary claiming that they're going to come in and 248 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,839 Speaker 1: cut off these payments. So to bring people up to 249 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 1: speed what happened here, USA spending dot gov is a website. 250 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:39,319 Speaker 1: It turns out to be very dangerous if you don't 251 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 1: know how to use it. Okay, So people went in 252 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: and searched somehow Politico and it came up with this 253 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:55,319 Speaker 1: idea that Politico is funded by USAID and that then 254 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: was connected to the fact that Politico had recently had 255 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: a glie in their payroll and so some political reporters 256 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: didn't get paid, and was then also connected to the 257 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,920 Speaker 1: fact that Politico had been one of the many news 258 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: outlets that had reported on the letter from fifty former 259 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 1: intelligence officials said that infamous letter, infous letter. So they said, Aha, 260 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:29,400 Speaker 1: So USAID, the State Department basically CIA funded, the Deep 261 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:34,679 Speaker 1: State funded Politico. Politico then laundered this letter from these 262 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:38,960 Speaker 1: intelligence officials to benefit Biden and then gets all of 263 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 1: this money from USAID and then Musk finds out about it, 264 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: cancels the money, and now all of a sudden, Politico 265 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: can't make payroll, Like, wow, we've got them, incredible. So 266 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: in fact, what to me, Actually, these guys did actually 267 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 1: stumble on a scandal, which is the way that a 268 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,840 Speaker 1: lot of our Beltway media is funded, which is a 269 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: political pro Bloomberg. 270 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 2: Whole, some of the newsletters, all of these trades. So 271 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,520 Speaker 2: like insider trade publications, it. 272 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: Goes back many decades to the advent of this trade 273 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: what's called a trade publication. So if you are either 274 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,640 Speaker 1: a government official at the Department of Transportation, you own 275 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 1: a trucking company, you own a shipping company, like your 276 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 1: own lobbyists, or more particularly exactly you're a lobbyist for 277 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:33,760 Speaker 1: those people, you really want to know what everybody, every 278 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 1: lawmaker on the subcommittee that oversees your industry is thinking 279 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: up to the minute, and you want to know what 280 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 1: the commissioners and the senior staff at the agency that 281 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 1: regulates you are up to at the moment. And you're 282 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:50,040 Speaker 1: not going to find that in the New York Times 283 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 1: or drop site or here on breaking points like we're 284 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: not getting into the weeds like that. 285 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 2: Very specialized, like yeah, down to the subcommittee kind of knowledge. 286 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,280 Speaker 1: The fact that it's lobbying intelligence is an entire thing 287 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 1: like lobbyists whose job is not to actually lobby to 288 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:07,680 Speaker 1: pressure members of Congress to do a thing, it's just 289 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: to find out information and then deliver it privately to 290 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 1: different corporations that pay for it. This is the same thing, 291 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: really political problem work, all these others that do this, 292 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 1: and so they charge through the roof for this. 293 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 2: Thousands of dollars because they know that, first of all, 294 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:25,280 Speaker 2: it's not coming out of any individual's pocket. It's coming 295 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 2: out of either the government or the lobby shop or 296 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 2: the corporation or whatever. So for them to spend a 297 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 2: few thousand dollars on this information, that's going to prove 298 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 2: valuable to you know, if you're a corporation, your bottom line, eh, 299 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 2: that's nothing. 300 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:41,000 Speaker 1: Right, and so I think it's a reasonable question, like 301 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 1: does a government agency need this? 302 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 2: But we're talking about people here who are raising these questions, 303 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 2: who are capitalists who would presumably just appreciate. 304 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:51,520 Speaker 1: The hustle here, right, And this is over more than 305 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:54,080 Speaker 1: a decade, by the way, yes, this amount of money. Well, 306 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:55,920 Speaker 1: the other thing is not all of it is politico. 307 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:57,360 Speaker 1: Not all of it is, and not of all is 308 00:15:57,440 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 1: USA I did. 309 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 2: Like there's a even the number is wrong, so like 310 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 2: eight million dollars. They make it sound like, oh, they 311 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:05,800 Speaker 2: got eight million dollars from USA i D in a year, 312 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 2: even that's not true. Is eight million dollars over a decade, 313 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 2: from all from all government agencies combined. Now again I 314 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:16,280 Speaker 2: still think like the business model is sort of preposterous whatever, 315 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 2: but it's wildly different than how it was presented. And 316 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 2: then the other thing that's funny to me, Ryan, especially 317 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,360 Speaker 2: talking to you, is that you guys have actually done 318 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 2: reporting about some news agencies that USA i D does. 319 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 4: Is actually funded. 320 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 2: And I don't think any of these people cared anything 321 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 2: about it. 322 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: Right now now they're now they're there, now they're starting 323 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 1: to notice it. Michael Schellenberger actually did a piece based 324 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 1: on or advancing some of our Reason reporters. So now 325 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 1: they're starting to see. But yes, USA I D does 326 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 1: fund foreign does fund journalism that's done in foreign countries, 327 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:54,640 Speaker 1: and that that journalism is often geared towards US US interests. Yeah, 328 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:57,600 Speaker 1: that that is a thing, and that should be you know, 329 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:01,280 Speaker 1: probed and should be scrutinized. They're not. They're not funding. 330 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:04,399 Speaker 1: Now I had sent this, I don't know, maybe we 331 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 1: can add this in post. It's gotten it's gotten even 332 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 1: more upsurred. We can go back to political in a second. 333 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:13,680 Speaker 1: But the New York Times got lumped into this scandal. Uh, 334 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:18,399 Speaker 1: somebody went through and typed in New York into USA 335 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: spending knockov and pulled up a number of like twenty 336 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:26,439 Speaker 1: nine million dollars or something like that, saying that the 337 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 1: US government is funding the New York Times. The tune 338 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: of twenty tine million dollars turns out brouh and so 339 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: it's Ian Miles Chong. It's like completely unreliable online figure 340 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 1: is then and then Hooberman, who has a massive following, 341 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:44,159 Speaker 1: shares it and he's like, I have to speak out now. 342 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 1: This is outrageous. This money could have been spent doing 343 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:51,679 Speaker 1: you know, anih research. It's like, as Lefong points out, 344 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: they searched New York, not even New York Times. So 345 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 1: New York University gets a lot of money for research 346 00:17:57,720 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 1: et such, anything with the word New York get it 347 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 1: showed up in here. And this should this in the 348 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,880 Speaker 1: old days, so to speak, this wouldn't matter. This would 349 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: be like kind of funny that like people got this 350 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: kind of thing wrong because Twitter x has now taken 351 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:19,560 Speaker 1: on this like central place in the MAGA ecosystem. What 352 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,920 Speaker 1: goes viral there becomes just quote unquote true and then 353 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 1: gets sent to the press secretary, and then the press 354 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:32,280 Speaker 1: secretary responds to it even though it's just fundamentally wrong. 355 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 1: And you know, the inability of the community notes to 356 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: respond to this stuff is also very telling, Like this 357 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:41,280 Speaker 1: is just wrong, but it's not getting noted for the 358 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 1: most part. 359 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:44,199 Speaker 2: Yeah, and even if it was, I don't know that 360 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 2: it would really matter. I mean, Elon Musk himself is 361 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 2: what the most community noted person on Twitter. Yeah, and 362 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:52,919 Speaker 2: it hasn't stopped anyone, well it has, I mean some 363 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,240 Speaker 2: people don't believe his nonsense, but plenty of people do, 364 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:57,600 Speaker 2: regardless of the fact that he will just you know, 365 00:18:57,680 --> 00:18:59,360 Speaker 2: take a claim like this and spread it like it's 366 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 2: nothing without thinking twice about it. 367 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,479 Speaker 4: So, yeah, it's a total destruction. 368 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:06,600 Speaker 1: I don't know if we put that up already. 369 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:10,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a very like, yeah, it's a very post truth, 370 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:12,960 Speaker 2: postmodernist kind of a reality. 371 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:13,439 Speaker 4: And you're right. 372 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:17,520 Speaker 2: But now the you know, used to the Biden people 373 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:21,040 Speaker 2: back in twenty twenty were able to win with this 374 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 2: bedrock assumption that like, what happens online isn't real life, 375 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:29,159 Speaker 2: and that's just not true anymore. Now what happens on 376 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:32,439 Speaker 2: Twitter as preposterous as it is, like they have filled 377 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,480 Speaker 2: this administration in part with people who are good posters. 378 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:37,679 Speaker 2: I mean, that's basically how Jamie Vance ends up as 379 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 2: Vice president of the United States. 380 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 1: Right. 381 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 2: And Elon Musk has you know, I mean, obviously he 382 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:44,680 Speaker 2: has a number of power sources, but one of them 383 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,239 Speaker 2: is the fact that he runs this platform to his 384 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 2: own benefit, including something else that you've talked about, Ryan, 385 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:55,679 Speaker 2: including silencing critics from within MAGA. So you know, Elon 386 00:19:56,080 --> 00:20:00,879 Speaker 2: is a Hobber Malay fan, an anarcho capital list, you know, 387 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:05,399 Speaker 2: a fan of this like tech, feudalist, nonsense, crazy, and 388 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 2: it is directly at odds with the Steve Bannon populist 389 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 2: right ideology. I mean, Steve Bannon will tell you that 390 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 2: in quite existential terms. Go read his interview with the 391 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,439 Speaker 2: New York Times, and so the kind of original Maga 392 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,280 Speaker 2: type people like the Laura Lumbers of the world, who 393 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,240 Speaker 2: were going out and trying to you know, trying to 394 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,720 Speaker 2: push back against this direction which is an existential threat 395 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 2: to the you know, populist right. Steve Bannon ask view 396 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,320 Speaker 2: of what Trump should be and what he should be doing. 397 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 2: It truly is Elon Musk is a existential threat to them. 398 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 2: They have been vanished on Twitter and suppressed and you 399 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 2: no longer like really see them bubbling up. So you know, 400 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,880 Speaker 2: it's it has become this incredibly influential platform that has 401 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 2: a direct pipeline into what is coming out of the 402 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 2: Press Secretary's mouth, which is why we have to pay 403 00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:59,479 Speaker 2: attention to stupidities like making up these numbers about Politico 404 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 2: in New York Times. 405 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: And then what you what you will then see is 406 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:06,240 Speaker 1: that the most absurd and incorrect claims will end up 407 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:09,879 Speaker 1: getting noted, and then that gives credence to ones that 408 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:14,080 Speaker 1: aren't noted. And so for instance, now finally this ian 409 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: Miles Chong one does have a community note, and so 410 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:20,600 Speaker 1: they'd be like, hey, this guy is saying that it's 411 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: New York Times. Actually it's New York This guy's saying 412 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:24,720 Speaker 1: it's the last five years. It's not the last. He 413 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:26,239 Speaker 1: didn't run it for the last five years. Because if 414 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:28,360 Speaker 1: you don't put in, if you don't put the time 415 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:32,919 Speaker 1: in right in USA spending, it gives you like And 416 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:37,000 Speaker 1: then what they're noting here is that the actual total 417 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 1: to the New York Times over five years would be 418 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: one point six million, but most of that is from 419 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 1: the Apartment of Defense, the Pentagon. These are Pentagon. These 420 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: are people in the Pentagon or service members who subscribe 421 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: to The New York Times and expense it to the government. 422 00:21:53,400 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: So instead of uncovering some scandal they just discovered, would 423 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:02,479 Speaker 1: like people read the New York Times. 424 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:05,360 Speaker 4: For better or worse? Maybe to them that is quite 425 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 4: a scandal, Like yess still do? 426 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 2: All right, We've got David dan standing by to break 427 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 2: down some of the legal challenges and legal movement push 428 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 2: back against DOGE, pushback against the Trump administration. Some new 429 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 2: court decisions have come down, so let's get to that. 430 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 2: So for a look at the legal pushback against Elon 431 00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 2: Musk DOJE and also the Trump administration more broadly, we 432 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,439 Speaker 2: are glad to have David dan here, of course, is 433 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,920 Speaker 2: the editor of The American Prospect and great friend of 434 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:34,160 Speaker 2: the show. 435 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,119 Speaker 7: Great to see you, dude, Good to see you. 436 00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:39,119 Speaker 2: Yeah, of course, So give people a broad contour, and 437 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:40,639 Speaker 2: then I'll get into some of the elements. We have 438 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 2: some of the specifics of some of the legal most 439 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:46,719 Speaker 2: significant legal pushback against the moves too, I don't know, 440 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 2: seize the Treasury and make Congress irrelevant and fire a 441 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:53,919 Speaker 2: bunch of people who and get rid of an agency, 442 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:55,399 Speaker 2: and all of these sorts of things. 443 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 8: Well, really every single one of those has some sort 444 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:05,400 Speaker 8: of corresponding legal action that we're seeing. There was hearing 445 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:11,080 Speaker 8: today on maybe the biggest threat, which is the accessing 446 00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 8: of the Treasury Department's payment system at the Bureau of 447 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 8: the Fiscal Service. The Justice Department agreed to restrict access 448 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 8: to just two people, Tom Krause, who's kind of leading 449 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:27,680 Speaker 8: this DOGE team at Treasury, and this twenty five year 450 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:31,120 Speaker 8: old Marco Iliz, and to make sure that their access 451 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:35,160 Speaker 8: was read only, and apparently that has happened to a degree. 452 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 7: There's been some limitations, particularly. 453 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:42,680 Speaker 8: On Marco, So that was an example of an early success. 454 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:44,440 Speaker 7: That's a temporary restraining order. 455 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:49,040 Speaker 8: Of course, there was also two temporary restraining orders on 456 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:53,720 Speaker 8: the payment freeze that was put together by the Office 457 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 8: of Management Budget and what that led to was a 458 00:23:55,800 --> 00:24:01,720 Speaker 8: rescinding of the order to pause all rants and loans. 459 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:07,159 Speaker 8: The federal government nicks that hasn't fully kind of taken hold. 460 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:09,600 Speaker 8: I think what we're learning is once you turn off 461 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:11,679 Speaker 8: some of that stuff, it's hard to turn it back on. 462 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:16,080 Speaker 8: So there's projects all over the country like head Start 463 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,640 Speaker 8: that aren't getting the money that they were supposed to 464 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:25,000 Speaker 8: be able to get. There are other lawsuits, particularly around 465 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:29,399 Speaker 8: the firings. There's a lawsuit as we know today is 466 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,360 Speaker 8: the end of this buyout offer, this kind of fake 467 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 8: buyout offer. Unions have sued saying that that isn't authorized 468 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:43,400 Speaker 8: by law anywhere. And then another big one is Gwynn Wilcox, 469 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,720 Speaker 8: who was a member of the National Labor Relations Board 470 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:52,440 Speaker 8: who was fired in violation of the nlrp's own statute, 471 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:56,920 Speaker 8: which says you can't fire a board member unless there's 472 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 8: malfeasance in office, dude, to try to block that firing. 473 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:08,640 Speaker 8: There are other lawsuits about illegal firings. For example, the 474 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:13,359 Speaker 8: USDA's inspector General who came to work saying this is 475 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:16,480 Speaker 8: an illegal firing when you fired me and was escorted 476 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:18,040 Speaker 8: out of the building by security. 477 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 7: She has also sued to get her job back. 478 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:24,919 Speaker 8: So, you know, a really broad section of these across 479 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 8: the federal government, across some of the things have been done. 480 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:32,000 Speaker 1: Let's talk about the buyouts for a moment. There's been 481 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:34,640 Speaker 1: it's been reported that roughly twenty thousand people maybe it's 482 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,920 Speaker 1: a few thousand more since then, have taken these buyouts. 483 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:41,680 Speaker 1: You guys pointed out over the prospect that that's actually 484 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:46,120 Speaker 1: under the kind of expected turnover. So, in other words, 485 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:50,400 Speaker 1: the people that have accepted this quote unquote buyout are 486 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,680 Speaker 1: people who were ready to retire anyway, and they're like, oh. 487 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:57,479 Speaker 8: Likely the case, yeah, most, I mean it's quite a 488 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:02,680 Speaker 8: bit under. I mean, the average will turnover within the 489 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 8: federal civil service is something between five and ten percent. 490 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:11,240 Speaker 8: Twenty thousand employees would represent one percent of the federal 491 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:15,280 Speaker 8: government's workforce. There are new numbers out today that say 492 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 8: that's up to about forty thousand, but that's still quite 493 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 8: a bit less. 494 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:20,440 Speaker 7: So these are people who were going to. 495 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:26,320 Speaker 8: Retire who figure, Okay, maybe i'll get several months of 496 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:31,479 Speaker 8: severance as a result. Now whether they will get is 497 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:36,040 Speaker 8: really very much in question. We know from the experience 498 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:40,960 Speaker 8: of Twitter that many many people sued after they were 499 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,960 Speaker 8: given a buyout offer because they didn't get the money 500 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:48,120 Speaker 8: that they claimed they were going to get. And there's 501 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:52,879 Speaker 8: a little clause at the end of the resignation offer 502 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 8: that has been made by the government that essentially says 503 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:56,960 Speaker 8: that you're not. 504 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:00,639 Speaker 7: Allowed to sue the government over reason. 505 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,520 Speaker 8: So clearly they're setting up for a situation where they 506 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:08,720 Speaker 8: kind of pull the rug out from these people who 507 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:10,040 Speaker 8: have accepted the buyout offer. 508 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:12,679 Speaker 2: My understanding is there's also a question about whether this 509 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:16,040 Speaker 2: offer itself is legal because it would again require some 510 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,879 Speaker 2: expenditure of funds, and you know, there's what a budget 511 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,480 Speaker 2: deadline coming up in March, and there's nothing that can 512 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 2: really be authorized beyond that, et cetera. So isn't there 513 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:28,720 Speaker 2: also just a question over whether the courts may say, hey, 514 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:30,680 Speaker 2: you can't even go forward with this. So all you 515 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:32,640 Speaker 2: people who took this deal like you're kind of high 516 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,919 Speaker 2: and dry, because this was an illegal offer to begin with. 517 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:39,920 Speaker 8: Yeah, and that's part of the lawsuit to enjoin this 518 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:45,880 Speaker 8: offer because, as you say, on March fourteenth, federal government 519 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,879 Speaker 8: appropriations run out. So you can't make a promise to 520 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:52,479 Speaker 8: the federal workforce that we're going to keep paying you 521 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 8: until September thirtieth if they only have authorization to pay 522 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 8: anybody in the federal government until March fourteenth. So, yes, 523 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:06,159 Speaker 8: that is a major part of the lawsuit that was 524 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:10,400 Speaker 8: put together by two federal employee unions, the American Federation 525 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 8: Government Employees, and I believe Sciu And. 526 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,000 Speaker 1: Can you talk a little bit about the NLRB unpack 527 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,679 Speaker 1: not just this illegal firing that's being challenged, but the 528 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 1: broader effort to actually deem the NLRB to be not 529 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:30,600 Speaker 1: an agency, to be effectively unconstitutional. Where is that fight? 530 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,160 Speaker 8: Yeah, there are two things on, like parallel tracks going on. 531 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:39,480 Speaker 8: So first, by firing the head of the artmor one 532 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 8: of the board members of the NLRB, Trump has put 533 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:47,720 Speaker 8: this agency down to two board members. And here's why 534 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 8: that's important. Normally it's a five member panel. Two members 535 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 8: means that the NLRB does not currently have a quorum, 536 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:59,680 Speaker 8: and under Supreme Court precedent, that means that it cannot 537 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:05,400 Speaker 8: it cannot actually adjudicate any case right now. And the 538 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 8: NLRB sort of operates as an appeals court on federal 539 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:10,240 Speaker 8: labor law. 540 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:11,280 Speaker 7: So there are. 541 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:16,719 Speaker 8: Regional NLRB offices that make decisions. They are administrative law 542 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 8: juzes that make decisions, but if anything is appealed, it 543 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 8: has to be answered by the NLRB. So it's like 544 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 8: having an appeals court or having no appeals court, but 545 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,160 Speaker 8: people can still appeal. So if a company has a 546 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:35,680 Speaker 8: union election and the union wins, and the company decides 547 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,959 Speaker 8: we're going to sue because we're going to challenge this election, 548 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:43,480 Speaker 8: it goes up to the MLRB, where it effectively stays there. 549 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:46,120 Speaker 8: At this point, it can't there nothing else can be 550 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:49,240 Speaker 8: done on the case. So this kind of stalls out 551 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:54,280 Speaker 8: US labor law. Whether it's union elections or illegal firings 552 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:59,160 Speaker 8: or other grievances, anything that gets elevated to the NLRB 553 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,640 Speaker 8: level can't be done right now. And so that's the 554 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:07,520 Speaker 8: benefit that Trump gets from this firing, which has been 555 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 8: challenged in court. 556 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:11,720 Speaker 7: Separately, there's a process. 557 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 8: By companies like SpaceX and Amazon, familiar names the richest 558 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,760 Speaker 8: people in the world who are trying to make the 559 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:25,080 Speaker 8: NLRB unconstitutional. That's what they're arguing in court. They've been 560 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:29,760 Speaker 8: doing this since the Biden administration. But these cases are 561 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:32,600 Speaker 8: starting to wind their way up through the courts. They're 562 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:35,640 Speaker 8: at the appeals court level right now, and they may 563 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,160 Speaker 8: get to the Supreme Court where they would have to 564 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:42,840 Speaker 8: decide whether or not the NLRB is unconstitutional. It's a 565 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:47,680 Speaker 8: really kind of operatic argument, but you never know with 566 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,479 Speaker 8: this court, and so at that point you would end 567 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:54,479 Speaker 8: up having no labor law in fact rather than just 568 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:56,400 Speaker 8: in practice as we have right now. 569 00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:00,000 Speaker 2: David, one question, one big question I have right now 570 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:02,959 Speaker 2: is whether they're going to follow these court orders. So 571 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:05,520 Speaker 2: they've already suffered a few losses. You mentioned one at 572 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:09,080 Speaker 2: the top, there's an injunction against the freezing of all 573 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:12,560 Speaker 2: the payments. We can actually put E four up on 574 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,880 Speaker 2: the screen you were referencing some of this. The Trump 575 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:19,840 Speaker 2: administration is still freezing many climate and infrastructure grants in 576 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:22,320 Speaker 2: spite of the fact that two different federal courts have 577 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:25,760 Speaker 2: now barred it from doing so, and maybe that's a misunderstanding, 578 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,760 Speaker 2: or maybe they just maybe they just aren't listening to 579 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:33,840 Speaker 2: the court orders. There also was an injunction against the 580 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:39,640 Speaker 2: Birthright Citizenship Executive Order, which is just like briazenly preposterously unconstitutional. 581 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:45,400 Speaker 2: There's an injunction against transferring transgender women into men's prisons 582 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 2: as well. 583 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:49,640 Speaker 4: So you know, what indications. 584 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 2: Do we have about how much they're going to actually 585 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:56,479 Speaker 2: listen or care about these various court injunctions and rulings 586 00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:58,600 Speaker 2: that ultimately go against them, Because you do have people 587 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:01,400 Speaker 2: like JD. Vansu previously when he was just doing podcasts, 588 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 2: was like, yeah, we're going to be like Andrew Jackson 589 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:06,040 Speaker 2: and say, okay, well go and force this ruling with 590 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:06,520 Speaker 2: your army. 591 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:12,040 Speaker 8: Yeah, it's obviously one of the bigger concerns that we 592 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:15,560 Speaker 8: can possibly have, and we're not going to really know 593 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 8: the outcome of that until you get sort of a 594 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:22,760 Speaker 8: final ruling. Right until we get a Supreme Court adjudication 595 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:26,400 Speaker 8: of some of these cases is adverse to what Trump wants. 596 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,640 Speaker 8: That's when we're going to find out if the river 597 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:32,840 Speaker 8: meets the road here. What we do know right now 598 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:38,160 Speaker 8: is that the let's start a bit with the one 599 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:43,960 Speaker 8: that started today with the payment system. Apparently, according to 600 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:48,560 Speaker 8: reporting from Nathan Tankas, the Treasury Department has started to 601 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,720 Speaker 8: limit the access of at least one the twenty five 602 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:53,960 Speaker 8: year old kid, Marco Aliz. 603 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:57,600 Speaker 7: They've limited his access to the payment system. 604 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:02,160 Speaker 8: It's more closer to read only at this point, which 605 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 8: complies with that order. The O NB memo was rescinded. 606 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:12,040 Speaker 8: But as you say, there are several or other what 607 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:15,000 Speaker 8: seemed to be illegal impoundments going on. Some of that 608 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:20,200 Speaker 8: is because the authority or the alleged authority for some 609 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:23,600 Speaker 8: of those impowments, like the stuff at EPA, is derived 610 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:27,120 Speaker 8: from different sources. So there was an executive order that 611 00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:30,040 Speaker 8: said we're going to terminate the Green New Deal is 612 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 8: the way that it was put in the EO, and 613 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:41,240 Speaker 8: that tries to pause all disbursements of you know, climate 614 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:47,800 Speaker 8: related investments that were made under the Inflation Reduction Act 615 00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:52,440 Speaker 8: and under the Investment Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act. And so 616 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:57,760 Speaker 8: even though the pause on all grants and loans has 617 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:03,760 Speaker 8: been blocked by two federal courts, there are these other 618 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:05,400 Speaker 8: authorities that say. 619 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:07,760 Speaker 7: We're allowed to block foreign aid or pause foreign aid. 620 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,560 Speaker 8: We're allowed to pause these EPA grants and things like that, 621 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:15,960 Speaker 8: and those haven't really been challenged to the same degree 622 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:19,520 Speaker 8: saying your authority in the executive order to do this 623 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:23,720 Speaker 8: is bogus and it would represent, you know, basically stealing 624 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:26,759 Speaker 8: the power of the purse away from Congress and deciding 625 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:28,840 Speaker 8: that you don't have to spend money on things you 626 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:29,360 Speaker 8: don't like. 627 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:34,440 Speaker 7: So that battle sort of remains to be seen. 628 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:40,000 Speaker 8: They haven't really pushed that yet, so that's I think 629 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:43,680 Speaker 8: that's been lost a little bit. People think, oh, the 630 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:46,600 Speaker 8: O and B memo was rescinded, and so now federal 631 00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:49,640 Speaker 8: money is flowing again, and it's not true. I mean, 632 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:54,480 Speaker 8: there are still these illegal impoundments happening in violation of 633 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:59,040 Speaker 8: the Constitution and violation of federal law, the Empownment Control Act, 634 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:03,040 Speaker 8: which sets very strict limits on when a president can 635 00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:06,400 Speaker 8: delay funds that have been duly appropriated by Congress, and 636 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:10,239 Speaker 8: it violates Supreme Court precedent as well. And eventually we're 637 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:12,880 Speaker 8: going to get to a reckoning on that, because that's 638 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:16,480 Speaker 8: what the Trump administration wants. They want to pick a 639 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:20,000 Speaker 8: fight over impoundment to try to get this power for 640 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:24,320 Speaker 8: themselves to unilaterally cancel certain. 641 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:25,280 Speaker 7: Types of spending. 642 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:28,520 Speaker 8: And so we're going to see that fight happen at 643 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:34,560 Speaker 8: the court. But you know the really dangerous question that 644 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:38,919 Speaker 8: you ask Crystal, whether after the end of that fight, 645 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:42,400 Speaker 8: we're still going to see an administration adhere to whatever 646 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:42,680 Speaker 8: it is. 647 00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:45,240 Speaker 7: The Supreme Court says that's still in question. 648 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:48,719 Speaker 2: Well, David, thank you so much for your expertise and 649 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:50,840 Speaker 2: laying all of this out. We're always really grateful for 650 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,000 Speaker 2: your time, and it's great to see you. 651 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:53,879 Speaker 7: You got it. Thanks a lot. 652 00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:59,080 Speaker 2: Excited to be joined this morning by Commerce and Rocana, 653 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:02,000 Speaker 2: who found himself and bit of a Twitter dispute with 654 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:04,600 Speaker 2: our new god King Elon Musk. 655 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:06,160 Speaker 4: So great to have you, Congressman. 656 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:07,439 Speaker 6: Great to be back on Yeah. 657 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:09,120 Speaker 4: So okay, let me I'll. 658 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:10,319 Speaker 2: Give people a little bit of the backstory and then 659 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:14,120 Speaker 2: you can explain the full backstory. So political reporter put 660 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:18,399 Speaker 2: out that you had abstained from a vote that would 661 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:20,879 Speaker 2: have subpoenaed Elon Musk to come and test to buy 662 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:24,120 Speaker 2: about whatever he and Doage are up to at this point. 663 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:26,240 Speaker 4: That was not entirely accurate. 664 00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:28,600 Speaker 2: So you clarified on Twitter, and that leads to the 665 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,160 Speaker 2: exchange with Elon Musk. Just give us a little bit 666 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:33,160 Speaker 2: like what exactly happens here. 667 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:35,279 Speaker 9: So first, let me just get to the bottom line, 668 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:39,840 Speaker 9: which is I want Elon Musk to testify, to be transparent, 669 00:36:40,239 --> 00:36:44,880 Speaker 9: to be subpoena that what he's doing is blatantly unconstitutional. 670 00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:48,319 Speaker 9: If I was scared about that, I would not have 671 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:52,319 Speaker 9: had on Twitter. Knowing that he follows every one of 672 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:54,239 Speaker 9: my tweets, made that very very clear. 673 00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:55,759 Speaker 4: And we can put that up on the screen. By 674 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:57,360 Speaker 4: the way, what you can continue. 675 00:36:56,960 --> 00:37:00,839 Speaker 9: Talking and within minutes of me put that tweet up, 676 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,839 Speaker 9: he tweets back, don't be a dick. We get into 677 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:07,640 Speaker 9: it because I said to Ilin, I said this, I've 678 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:10,279 Speaker 9: said this privately to him, I've said it publicly. If 679 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:14,440 Speaker 9: you want to have an exposure of waste in the government, 680 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:16,160 Speaker 9: then the best way to do it is to have 681 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:19,360 Speaker 9: sunlight come, do your have your findings, show him to 682 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:21,799 Speaker 9: the Congress, and force us to cast up up and 683 00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:24,480 Speaker 9: down votes. I was I got hammered from my party 684 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:27,719 Speaker 9: in the beginning when Musk was adulgient. I said, Okay, 685 00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:30,240 Speaker 9: if he is wasteful spending on the Department of Defense, 686 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:34,520 Speaker 9: I'm willing to hear him ount but the yeah, yeah, no, 687 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:37,319 Speaker 9: But so it's not like, so I got hammered, but 688 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 9: I said, when you're doing something that's fundamentally unconstitutional, you 689 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,520 Speaker 9: you can't be the decider of what is wasteful spending. 690 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:48,160 Speaker 9: And that is just a blatant violation Article one. 691 00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:49,120 Speaker 6: Uh. 692 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:52,520 Speaker 9: And so you know I've I will stand up to 693 00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:54,920 Speaker 9: him if and have very very clearly. 694 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:55,640 Speaker 6: Uh. 695 00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:58,880 Speaker 9: And what got noticed actually, ironically was my tweet, not 696 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:02,640 Speaker 9: any of the committees efforts, because people know that I 697 00:38:02,719 --> 00:38:06,040 Speaker 9: have had a relationship with him for fifteen years and 698 00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:08,800 Speaker 9: I'm willing to call balls and strikes where he's wrong. 699 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:11,719 Speaker 9: I will be the loudest is standing up for the Constitution. 700 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:14,160 Speaker 1: How did you meet him? Do you remember your first 701 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:17,600 Speaker 1: interaction with him. I didn't represent Silicon Valley for people 702 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:17,920 Speaker 1: he is. 703 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:20,760 Speaker 9: You know, he's never supported me in terms of politically 704 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:23,960 Speaker 9: because he actually wasn't very very political. But I met him. 705 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,040 Speaker 9: He blured my first book when I wrote a book 706 00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:31,880 Speaker 9: about manufacturing in the United States, and you know, someone 707 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:36,360 Speaker 9: at Estra Wajiski who's known in the valley, introduced me 708 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:36,719 Speaker 9: to him. 709 00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:37,799 Speaker 6: He blames the book. 710 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:41,279 Speaker 9: And then we got into it on Tesla because he 711 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:44,319 Speaker 9: was begging in a essue who's a neighboring Member of 712 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:47,719 Speaker 9: Congress from Silicon Valley for a Tesla loan from the 713 00:38:47,719 --> 00:38:50,680 Speaker 9: Obama administration. I was in the Obama administration. 714 00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:52,120 Speaker 1: Your Commerce Department, in Commerce. 715 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:55,440 Speaker 9: Department, and there are those of us saying, well, okay, 716 00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:59,520 Speaker 9: but you need labor neutrality, and we don't get labor 717 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,400 Speaker 9: neutrality out of it. But I'm active on the record 718 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:06,840 Speaker 9: in Fremont saying that Tesla should unionize, and so he knew. 719 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:09,480 Speaker 9: We've known each other for years, but I've said Tesla 720 00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:12,360 Speaker 9: is obviously was a great company in terms of electric vehicles, 721 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:13,279 Speaker 9: but should you noton ize it. 722 00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:15,040 Speaker 6: So I've known him for many, many years. 723 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:16,680 Speaker 4: What do you think he wants? 724 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:22,680 Speaker 9: You know, he's he's maniacal about when he believes in something. 725 00:39:22,719 --> 00:39:24,880 Speaker 9: I mean, this is I Those people are saying, Okay, 726 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:27,160 Speaker 9: he's just in it for financial reasons. 727 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:29,520 Speaker 6: That's not my read on him, though. 728 00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:32,200 Speaker 9: I think he should have financial disclosures like I do, 729 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:35,000 Speaker 9: and there should be conflict of interest and he shouldn't 730 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:35,760 Speaker 9: be the one deeciding. 731 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:38,200 Speaker 6: But I think what he believes that he's out. 732 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,880 Speaker 9: There in a mission to save the American people for 733 00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:43,920 Speaker 9: thirty six million dollars of deficit and it's actually a 734 00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:49,000 Speaker 9: bigger problem because when you have an ideological drive like that, 735 00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:51,319 Speaker 9: and when you're Elon Musk and you believe that you've 736 00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:54,120 Speaker 9: been right time and time again in the private sector 737 00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:57,080 Speaker 9: when other people have been wrong, he's basically thinking, okay, 738 00:39:57,120 --> 00:39:59,320 Speaker 9: kind of standing in my way, I'm doing great service 739 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:02,200 Speaker 9: for humanity and go. You know, anyone is in my 740 00:40:02,239 --> 00:40:04,319 Speaker 9: way is going to be roadkill. And that's why it's 741 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:07,400 Speaker 9: so important to stand up to him, and to stand 742 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:09,960 Speaker 9: up very very clearly and say this is unconstitutional. 743 00:40:10,719 --> 00:40:14,200 Speaker 1: Having the richest man on the planet also be one 744 00:40:14,239 --> 00:40:17,319 Speaker 1: of the most powerful people in the federal government is 745 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:22,080 Speaker 1: itself a unique situation. But he also controls ex Twitter, 746 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:28,320 Speaker 1: which is still, despite his best efforts, is a central 747 00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:33,160 Speaker 1: organizing platform for how we understand public sentiments. And so 748 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:37,279 Speaker 1: I'm curious if your colleagues or you think about his 749 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:43,080 Speaker 1: power over that platform, as your colleagues think about how 750 00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:46,480 Speaker 1: hard to go after him, because he could you know, 751 00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:48,000 Speaker 1: with the flick of a switch. 752 00:40:51,239 --> 00:40:56,200 Speaker 10: I knew he would right to send you or all 753 00:40:56,200 --> 00:41:00,640 Speaker 10: of a sudden, you're getting like Q likes and one. 754 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:02,560 Speaker 2: Follower count starts to go down, and you know, people 755 00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:04,680 Speaker 2: aren't really seeing your tweets anymore. I mean this has 756 00:41:04,719 --> 00:41:07,879 Speaker 2: happened to many people who have come after him on Twitter, right. 757 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:10,720 Speaker 9: No, I mean, look, he in my case, my reply 758 00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:12,920 Speaker 9: to him saying don't be a dick got more views 759 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:16,279 Speaker 9: than his actual tweets. So I mean, in my case, 760 00:41:16,680 --> 00:41:20,360 Speaker 9: so far at least, he hasn't done that type of censorship. 761 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:22,759 Speaker 9: But I do think it's a problem more generally, which 762 00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:25,719 Speaker 9: is why we need many more platforms, which is one 763 00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:29,200 Speaker 9: of the reasons I was defending TikTok and saying that 764 00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:32,719 Speaker 9: we shouldn't ban TikTok and we shouldn't have Musk or 765 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:36,919 Speaker 9: Meta acquire TikTok because you need alternative social media platforms. 766 00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:41,040 Speaker 9: And I think TikTok actually is a place where we've 767 00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:43,880 Speaker 9: gotten the most response frankly on standing up to Musk. 768 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:48,120 Speaker 9: And we need more social media platform so we can 769 00:41:48,239 --> 00:41:51,960 Speaker 9: push back on Musk, etc. That's going to be important, 770 00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:55,200 Speaker 9: but on the platform. But what we really need is, 771 00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:59,120 Speaker 9: and I cruss enforcement and more platforms coming up that 772 00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:01,200 Speaker 9: we're less is can have a voice. 773 00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:03,400 Speaker 2: One of the things Ryan and I were talking about 774 00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:06,800 Speaker 2: is like Elon describes what he's doing as a revolution, 775 00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:10,399 Speaker 2: and I think that's accurate. I mean, you don't go 776 00:42:10,640 --> 00:42:14,040 Speaker 2: into the Treasury Department. And now we have new reporting 777 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:16,600 Speaker 2: that they are changing the code that they The New 778 00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:19,200 Speaker 2: York Times says that there were emails flying around saying, 779 00:42:19,239 --> 00:42:22,480 Speaker 2: we want to use our access to the Treasury payment 780 00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:26,400 Speaker 2: system to freeze funding to USAI D. I don't have 781 00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:29,239 Speaker 2: to tell you that USAID is authorized by Congress as 782 00:42:29,239 --> 00:42:32,080 Speaker 2: an independent agency, Elon Muskin, no one else. Donald Trump 783 00:42:32,239 --> 00:42:34,360 Speaker 2: can't just single handedly say we don't like this agency, 784 00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:36,400 Speaker 2: We're getting rid of it, or we're subsuming it understate 785 00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:39,280 Speaker 2: et cetera, et cetera. They're doing that. They've gone into 786 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:45,799 Speaker 2: the etc. For Medicare, Medicaid into NOAH GSA. You know, 787 00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:48,960 Speaker 2: the list goes on and on, and none of this 788 00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:53,200 Speaker 2: congressionally authorized. It's obviously a constitutional crisis. They have a 789 00:42:53,239 --> 00:42:56,720 Speaker 2: broader plan to, you know, have this go to the courts. 790 00:42:57,040 --> 00:42:59,920 Speaker 2: Whether they even abide by court decisions is an open question, 791 00:43:00,160 --> 00:43:03,080 Speaker 2: I think as well, there's already indications that some of 792 00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:07,319 Speaker 2: the court injunctions are already being ignored. So while he's 793 00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:10,279 Speaker 2: doing what he describes as a revolution. You know, we 794 00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:12,560 Speaker 2: were earlier talking about like, oh, they're trying to keep 795 00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:14,799 Speaker 2: themselves free from foya. I mean, it just feels so 796 00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:19,719 Speaker 2: small ball, right, compared to the grand plan that they 797 00:43:19,719 --> 00:43:21,200 Speaker 2: are executing. 798 00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:21,640 Speaker 4: Before our eyes. 799 00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:25,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, So how are you groppling with that as a 800 00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:27,640 Speaker 2: member of Congress And what are the conversations like among 801 00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:31,759 Speaker 2: your colleagues about how to about the gravity of this threat, right, 802 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:35,040 Speaker 2: and how to truly push back against it in a 803 00:43:35,040 --> 00:43:36,759 Speaker 2: way that's not just going to be sort of like 804 00:43:37,080 --> 00:43:39,480 Speaker 2: impotent or pointing to like you weren't confirmed by the 805 00:43:39,520 --> 00:43:41,040 Speaker 2: Senate and where's my foyer required? 806 00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:41,399 Speaker 6: Right? 807 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:44,000 Speaker 9: Well, you're asking what people in my district around the 808 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:46,080 Speaker 9: country are asking, which is what the hell's the plan 809 00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:48,080 Speaker 9: and why don't we have a clear plan for the 810 00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:50,120 Speaker 9: Democratic Party to meet the moment? Because I think you 811 00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:54,600 Speaker 9: actually understand Elon really well, he've used this as revolutionary, 812 00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:57,919 Speaker 9: He've used this as there's a thirty six trillion dollar 813 00:43:58,040 --> 00:44:00,920 Speaker 9: debt and Congress has been part of the problem, and 814 00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:03,520 Speaker 9: that he's not just going to be some bureaucrat who 815 00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:05,720 Speaker 9: gives a report to Congress, because that's what he When 816 00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:07,680 Speaker 9: you say, well, why don't you just get the transparency 817 00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:10,080 Speaker 9: in the sunlight, He's like, I'm not just going to 818 00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:12,920 Speaker 9: just give some report to Congress that they're going to disregard. 819 00:44:13,239 --> 00:44:15,239 Speaker 9: And I'm going to try to stop this. 820 00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:17,719 Speaker 2: I'm going to be CEO of the country, right and 821 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:24,239 Speaker 2: rule it in the same dictatorial way that he rules Tesla, Twitter, SpaceX, etc. 822 00:44:24,680 --> 00:44:28,239 Speaker 9: And one is a company. I mean find maybe a 823 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:30,520 Speaker 9: great company, but a company is not even a few 824 00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:33,000 Speaker 9: pages in the American story, right. This is a much 825 00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:35,319 Speaker 9: much bigger thing. This is a country that won the 826 00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:37,799 Speaker 9: Revolutionary War, that wins the Civil War, that wins World 827 00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:41,640 Speaker 9: War two, wins the Cold War. It's the greatest enterprise ever. 828 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:43,719 Speaker 9: So you can't have one individual do it. But I 829 00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:48,920 Speaker 9: say that so we understand his psychology, and it means 830 00:44:49,040 --> 00:44:53,520 Speaker 9: a equally tough response. What is that response here? It 831 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:56,279 Speaker 9: needs to come down first to the debt ceiling. We 832 00:44:56,400 --> 00:45:00,279 Speaker 9: need to have every House Democrat and Senate dem crat 833 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:04,080 Speaker 9: say we will not give a single vote to the 834 00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:09,120 Speaker 9: debt ceiling increase unless Donald Trump in the beginning commits 835 00:45:09,239 --> 00:45:12,720 Speaker 9: in ironclad writing that he will spend every single dollar 836 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:16,560 Speaker 9: that is appropriated and authorized by Congress and honor Congress 837 00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:19,600 Speaker 9: on every agency. And you know what Donald Trump's going 838 00:45:19,640 --> 00:45:21,439 Speaker 9: to fold. You know why He's going to fold because 839 00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:24,400 Speaker 9: when the stock market went down five hundred points, he's 840 00:45:24,640 --> 00:45:28,000 Speaker 9: folded to a Prime Minister Trudeau, and he folded to 841 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:32,320 Speaker 9: President Shane Baum. And the reality is that the Democrats 842 00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:35,080 Speaker 9: need to be strong. Who's asserting the will of Congress? 843 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:37,160 Speaker 9: Like it's not we're going to go for your request. 844 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:40,760 Speaker 9: It's like you want to crash the economy then defy 845 00:45:40,800 --> 00:45:41,600 Speaker 9: the will of Congress. 846 00:45:41,640 --> 00:45:43,399 Speaker 2: Well, let me let me ask you a question about that, 847 00:45:43,600 --> 00:45:47,400 Speaker 2: because again, they have control of the treasury payment system. 848 00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:52,440 Speaker 2: So what is the response if they say, Okay, that's fine, 849 00:45:52,600 --> 00:45:55,359 Speaker 2: we just are going to ignore the debt ceiling and 850 00:45:55,480 --> 00:45:57,799 Speaker 2: we're going to just pay the bill. We're just going 851 00:45:57,880 --> 00:46:00,080 Speaker 2: to pay the bills that we want to pet. We 852 00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:01,680 Speaker 2: just want to pay the bills that we want to pay. 853 00:46:02,040 --> 00:46:04,000 Speaker 2: And you know, I mean, I think the debt dealing 854 00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:07,200 Speaker 2: is a ridiculous, you know, absurdity that we even have 855 00:46:07,360 --> 00:46:10,520 Speaker 2: it right, And so you could easily say Trump saying 856 00:46:10,680 --> 00:46:13,000 Speaker 2: we're just not doing that anymore, and we're going to 857 00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:15,719 Speaker 2: add treasury like pick and choose what funds go out, 858 00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:18,600 Speaker 2: as they already say they are doing and want to do. 859 00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:21,600 Speaker 9: Well, I think if they actually do that, they're going 860 00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:23,719 Speaker 9: to lose the chip Roys. I mean where chip roy 861 00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:26,919 Speaker 9: and others would come in and say impeachment or other things. 862 00:46:27,160 --> 00:46:28,200 Speaker 6: I genuinely think. 863 00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:29,760 Speaker 4: There are thirty for me to believe. 864 00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:35,160 Speaker 9: Congressman, well, I'm not talking about the average Republican, but 865 00:46:35,200 --> 00:46:38,040 Speaker 9: there are thirty people in the Republican Caucus, the Freedom 866 00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:40,120 Speaker 9: Caucus who have stood up to them. They stood up 867 00:46:40,120 --> 00:46:44,560 Speaker 9: to Elon Musk before Trump was inaugurated, and they said, 868 00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:48,480 Speaker 9: Elon said, let's blow up this deal. And they stood 869 00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:49,920 Speaker 9: up to him on that. 870 00:46:50,080 --> 00:46:52,719 Speaker 2: And I can I tell you what I'm looking at. 871 00:46:52,840 --> 00:46:56,840 Speaker 2: You know, Pete Hegseth was his confirmation was in big trouble, 872 00:46:57,120 --> 00:46:59,479 Speaker 2: and Jony Ernst in particular, who is herself a sexual 873 00:46:59,480 --> 00:47:02,759 Speaker 2: assault and was deeply concerned about his comments saying women 874 00:47:02,800 --> 00:47:04,200 Speaker 2: can't serve in the military, et cetera. 875 00:47:04,320 --> 00:47:05,560 Speaker 4: She seemed like she was a no. 876 00:47:06,360 --> 00:47:09,480 Speaker 2: And then Elon comes out and says, I will drop 877 00:47:09,560 --> 00:47:12,280 Speaker 2: an infinite amount of money on the head of anyone 878 00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:16,440 Speaker 2: who poses any of the confirmations, and lo and behold, 879 00:47:16,840 --> 00:47:19,160 Speaker 2: Pete hag Seth, looks like all of them are going 880 00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:20,200 Speaker 2: to ultimately get through. 881 00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:22,240 Speaker 4: So I just don't see. 882 00:47:22,280 --> 00:47:24,360 Speaker 2: I mean, even with the you know, the spending flap 883 00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:27,360 Speaker 2: that happened in December. Yeah, I mean Elon drove that 884 00:47:27,400 --> 00:47:31,239 Speaker 2: whole train and again threatened to use his billions and 885 00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:33,799 Speaker 2: billions on you know, soon to be probably trillions of 886 00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:37,399 Speaker 2: dollars to primary anyone who didn't give him the bill 887 00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:40,799 Speaker 2: that he wanted. And it worked, Chip Roy and all 888 00:47:40,800 --> 00:47:44,359 Speaker 2: the rest folded like a you know, like a deca card. 889 00:47:44,480 --> 00:47:47,040 Speaker 9: They didn't fold on increasing the debt ceiling and Elon 890 00:47:47,120 --> 00:47:49,360 Speaker 9: didn't get a dollar actually saved. 891 00:47:49,680 --> 00:47:54,120 Speaker 2: Now he got his the restriction on investment in China. 892 00:47:54,200 --> 00:47:54,399 Speaker 1: Yeah. 893 00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:57,279 Speaker 9: Yeah, and that that you know that he may very 894 00:47:57,280 --> 00:47:59,600 Speaker 9: well have. I'm not saying that he doesn't have influence, 895 00:47:59,600 --> 00:48:01,600 Speaker 9: but I think if you have a group of House 896 00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:04,920 Speaker 9: members twenty to thirty in relatively safe districts and you 897 00:48:04,960 --> 00:48:07,840 Speaker 9: see Elon's numbers have been declining, I mean he's the 898 00:48:08,080 --> 00:48:10,239 Speaker 9: big question for Trump is how long is he going 899 00:48:10,280 --> 00:48:14,360 Speaker 9: to have someone who's as unpopular as Elon is becoming. 900 00:48:14,640 --> 00:48:15,359 Speaker 6: I do think the. 901 00:48:15,320 --> 00:48:18,120 Speaker 9: House can assert back, and at the very least, the 902 00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:20,520 Speaker 9: House we need to have a plan of what we're 903 00:48:20,560 --> 00:48:22,479 Speaker 9: going to do to take the fight to Trump. Now 904 00:48:22,680 --> 00:48:24,600 Speaker 9: maybe you're saying, okay, we take this fight and then 905 00:48:24,640 --> 00:48:27,000 Speaker 9: Trump makes a counter move. Right now, I think why 906 00:48:27,040 --> 00:48:29,600 Speaker 9: people are so upset is they don't see us having 907 00:48:29,920 --> 00:48:33,320 Speaker 9: a real plan. I mean, at least Schatz, Senator Shatz 908 00:48:33,360 --> 00:48:34,759 Speaker 9: had a plan. He said, Okay, we're gonna put a 909 00:48:34,760 --> 00:48:38,600 Speaker 9: hold on every nominee to the State Department, including Stefanic. 910 00:48:38,719 --> 00:48:41,440 Speaker 6: But what we need from our leaders. 911 00:48:41,320 --> 00:48:43,759 Speaker 9: Is three or four things that says we are going 912 00:48:43,840 --> 00:48:46,440 Speaker 9: to assert the power of Congress. We're going to punch 913 00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:49,799 Speaker 9: back in terms of our power, and then we're going 914 00:48:49,880 --> 00:48:51,600 Speaker 9: to wait for Trump to make the next move. The 915 00:48:51,680 --> 00:48:54,359 Speaker 9: only people who winning against Trump for President Shane Baum 916 00:48:54,440 --> 00:48:55,280 Speaker 9: and Trudeau. 917 00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:57,520 Speaker 6: They're the only ones who've gotten to fold on anything. 918 00:48:57,760 --> 00:49:02,080 Speaker 1: Is there any regret among Democrats? So the other day, 919 00:49:02,120 --> 00:49:04,920 Speaker 1: while Oversight was doing whatever it was doing, AOC was 920 00:49:04,920 --> 00:49:06,880 Speaker 1: having like an Instagram live that had like tens of 921 00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:10,319 Speaker 1: thousands of people tuning in, Like she's clearly still one 922 00:49:10,360 --> 00:49:12,440 Speaker 1: of the parties like leading messengers. 923 00:49:12,480 --> 00:49:15,280 Speaker 6: That's one of the best communicators. Yeah and authentic. 924 00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:19,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you watch these some of these rallies, no offense, 925 00:49:19,160 --> 00:49:22,000 Speaker 1: just deeply cringe stuff coming out of Democrats. 926 00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:24,800 Speaker 4: Humor was not made for this moment. 927 00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:29,520 Speaker 1: Val Green was shaking his cane. Any regret from your 928 00:49:29,560 --> 00:49:33,480 Speaker 1: colleagues telling AOC, you know, get in the back of 929 00:49:33,480 --> 00:49:37,399 Speaker 1: the line, like, because it's not as if Democrats aren't 930 00:49:37,440 --> 00:49:39,319 Speaker 1: doing things, like there are a million lawsuits that have 931 00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:42,920 Speaker 1: been filed, like lots of things are happening and people 932 00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:45,800 Speaker 1: are active, but there's no national voice. 933 00:49:46,200 --> 00:49:49,160 Speaker 9: Now, well, let me let's take an example this oversight hearing. 934 00:49:49,560 --> 00:49:53,240 Speaker 9: The fact is everyone is yawning about the subpoena until 935 00:49:53,280 --> 00:49:57,400 Speaker 9: I tweet out that Musk should be subpoena because of 936 00:49:57,440 --> 00:49:59,880 Speaker 9: the missed vote, and then Musk replies, imagine if AOC 937 00:50:00,680 --> 00:50:03,239 Speaker 9: was the ranking member leading that, it would have been 938 00:50:03,320 --> 00:50:04,400 Speaker 9: a very different case. 939 00:50:04,440 --> 00:50:06,080 Speaker 6: That would have been national needs. 940 00:50:05,760 --> 00:50:09,040 Speaker 9: And because he's fighting, he loves to fight with her, 941 00:50:09,160 --> 00:50:11,520 Speaker 9: he would have she would have said something, he would 942 00:50:11,520 --> 00:50:12,239 Speaker 9: have responded. 943 00:50:12,520 --> 00:50:15,680 Speaker 6: That would have been national news. It wouldn't make something right. 944 00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:18,200 Speaker 9: It wouldn't have taken my missed vote to provoke that. 945 00:50:18,280 --> 00:50:20,359 Speaker 9: So I think it was such. 946 00:50:20,200 --> 00:50:23,719 Speaker 6: A blunder not to put her there. 947 00:50:23,719 --> 00:50:26,080 Speaker 9: What I said to moderate Democrats when I because I 948 00:50:26,160 --> 00:50:28,000 Speaker 9: was one of the first out of the gate to 949 00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:32,080 Speaker 9: endorse her, support her, rally support for her, and I said, okay, 950 00:50:32,120 --> 00:50:34,880 Speaker 9: you disagree, I get it. You disagree with AOC in 951 00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:39,640 Speaker 9: her position on Gaza, you disagree on immigration. But she 952 00:50:39,920 --> 00:50:42,520 Speaker 9: is not running to be ranking member of the Foreign 953 00:50:42,520 --> 00:50:44,839 Speaker 9: Affairs Committee. She is not running to be ranking member 954 00:50:44,880 --> 00:50:48,120 Speaker 9: the Judiciary Committee. She's running to be ranking member of 955 00:50:48,120 --> 00:50:49,840 Speaker 9: the committee that punches Donald Trump. 956 00:50:50,120 --> 00:50:54,200 Speaker 6: Like, isn't isn't this the role where she would be 957 00:50:54,200 --> 00:50:55,560 Speaker 6: the best in our caucus? 958 00:50:55,920 --> 00:50:59,800 Speaker 9: And I mean, this is where the Democrats need to 959 00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:01,760 Speaker 9: get the next generation out there. 960 00:51:02,440 --> 00:51:04,640 Speaker 6: The optics of some of the stuff at the rallies 961 00:51:04,680 --> 00:51:06,000 Speaker 6: has just been cringe. 962 00:51:06,120 --> 00:51:10,680 Speaker 9: I mean because it looks ineffectual, it's non an actual plan, 963 00:51:11,480 --> 00:51:14,760 Speaker 9: and it doesn't look like we're flexing our power like Congress. 964 00:51:15,200 --> 00:51:16,919 Speaker 6: You know, it's not like JD. 965 00:51:17,080 --> 00:51:21,759 Speaker 9: Vance and Donald Trump are out there protesting Congress. 966 00:51:21,920 --> 00:51:24,279 Speaker 6: They're saying, we have power. Well, we need to act 967 00:51:24,320 --> 00:51:25,680 Speaker 6: like we have power. We do. 968 00:51:25,880 --> 00:51:27,719 Speaker 9: We have the power of the purse, and we have 969 00:51:27,800 --> 00:51:29,960 Speaker 9: the power of votes in confirmation, and we need to 970 00:51:30,000 --> 00:51:30,600 Speaker 9: stand together. 971 00:51:31,160 --> 00:51:33,960 Speaker 2: What are you hearing most from your constituents, Like what 972 00:51:34,080 --> 00:51:36,080 Speaker 2: kind of First of all, are you getting like a 973 00:51:36,080 --> 00:51:38,360 Speaker 2: flood of calls? Is there a lot of energy? What 974 00:51:38,440 --> 00:51:40,400 Speaker 2: are you hearing from them? What are their concerns? 975 00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:42,200 Speaker 4: What are they? You know, what is that vibe like? 976 00:51:42,680 --> 00:51:46,600 Speaker 9: So for two months after the loss to Trump, it 977 00:51:46,760 --> 00:51:51,880 Speaker 9: was pretty muted. But as soon as Trump became president 978 00:51:52,280 --> 00:51:55,920 Speaker 9: and Musk stopped those payments, I think a light bulb 979 00:51:55,960 --> 00:51:58,800 Speaker 9: went off. And in my last town hall this weekend, 980 00:51:59,160 --> 00:52:02,760 Speaker 9: over six hundred people showed up, people holding up signs 981 00:52:02,800 --> 00:52:03,680 Speaker 9: stopped the coup. 982 00:52:04,040 --> 00:52:05,839 Speaker 6: Stop the Musk coup. 983 00:52:06,239 --> 00:52:10,200 Speaker 9: In a sense bluntly that the Democratic leadership has not 984 00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:13,400 Speaker 9: been tough enough that we are a response has not 985 00:52:13,520 --> 00:52:18,480 Speaker 9: been clear enough. I do think Hakim has an opportunity 986 00:52:18,520 --> 00:52:20,279 Speaker 9: to be the voice because it's not coming out of 987 00:52:20,320 --> 00:52:22,879 Speaker 9: the Senate. I think this fight in the House debt 988 00:52:22,920 --> 00:52:26,400 Speaker 9: ceiling is that opportunity and one of the things we 989 00:52:26,440 --> 00:52:28,680 Speaker 9: got to do. Yes, take on Musk, but we also 990 00:52:28,760 --> 00:52:31,399 Speaker 9: need to take on Vance and Trump. I mean they're 991 00:52:31,440 --> 00:52:34,719 Speaker 9: the ones who are ultimately responsible, and not give them 992 00:52:34,800 --> 00:52:39,520 Speaker 9: a free pass on taking away funding for kids in 993 00:52:39,600 --> 00:52:42,879 Speaker 9: working class neighborhoods for their schools, I mean taking away 994 00:52:42,920 --> 00:52:45,839 Speaker 9: money for kids with special needs then, And we've got 995 00:52:45,880 --> 00:52:47,200 Speaker 9: to just be tougher as a party. 996 00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:50,480 Speaker 1: And you've been going at Vance a little bit. What's 997 00:52:50,480 --> 00:52:52,600 Speaker 1: your sense of his position here? 998 00:52:53,440 --> 00:52:55,680 Speaker 9: Well, I think he wants to be the nice guy. 999 00:52:55,760 --> 00:52:57,839 Speaker 9: He's kind of wants to be I'm the reasonable guy. 1000 00:52:57,960 --> 00:52:59,880 Speaker 9: I think Tim Waltz made a huge mistake in that 1001 00:53:00,080 --> 00:53:03,640 Speaker 9: debate by not going after Vance. They were coached to say, 1002 00:53:03,680 --> 00:53:06,839 Speaker 9: just go after Trump, and Vance comes up as this like, oh, 1003 00:53:06,880 --> 00:53:09,640 Speaker 9: I'm reasonable, giving Trump the sense of that, oh he's 1004 00:53:09,680 --> 00:53:12,719 Speaker 9: appointing reasonable people, and what the what the reality is 1005 00:53:12,840 --> 00:53:18,040 Speaker 9: Vance is driving the nominations of heg Seth and Gabbert. 1006 00:53:18,200 --> 00:53:21,080 Speaker 9: Behind the scenes, he's the one pressuring the senators. Vance 1007 00:53:21,120 --> 00:53:24,759 Speaker 9: hasn't raised his voice once to question why we're going 1008 00:53:24,800 --> 00:53:26,960 Speaker 9: to get rid of all of these programs for working 1009 00:53:27,000 --> 00:53:31,040 Speaker 9: class kids. In the Department of Education, pell grants Title 1010 00:53:31,120 --> 00:53:35,160 Speaker 9: one funding for decent schools. He's he's basically quiet, and 1011 00:53:35,200 --> 00:53:39,520 Speaker 9: the Democrats have an opportunity to define him for the 1012 00:53:39,560 --> 00:53:42,840 Speaker 9: extremist he is and not let him just kind of 1013 00:53:42,840 --> 00:53:44,839 Speaker 9: be this reasonable person. I mean, look at what the 1014 00:53:44,880 --> 00:53:47,040 Speaker 9: Republicans did to Vice President Harris. 1015 00:53:47,280 --> 00:53:52,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, and to Walls as well. You said that constituents 1016 00:53:52,640 --> 00:53:55,000 Speaker 2: showed up with science that said, you know, stop the muscoup, 1017 00:53:55,239 --> 00:53:57,080 Speaker 2: Like do you think that that language is car Do 1018 00:53:57,160 --> 00:53:57,879 Speaker 2: you think it is a coup? 1019 00:53:58,560 --> 00:54:00,560 Speaker 9: I think it's a constitutional crisis. I mean, I think 1020 00:54:00,560 --> 00:54:02,279 Speaker 9: the coup would be if he succeeds. But I don't 1021 00:54:02,280 --> 00:54:05,919 Speaker 9: think he's going to succeed. I think we've we will 1022 00:54:05,920 --> 00:54:06,719 Speaker 9: push back. 1023 00:54:07,560 --> 00:54:10,680 Speaker 2: With attempted coups. 1024 00:54:10,840 --> 00:54:13,799 Speaker 6: It's it's it's certainly a violation of the constitution. Cool. 1025 00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:16,360 Speaker 6: You know, these turns get thrown around. 1026 00:54:16,360 --> 00:54:19,319 Speaker 9: And I'm not saying that it couldn't come to that 1027 00:54:19,400 --> 00:54:23,560 Speaker 9: if we if we're complacent, but if we pushed back, uh, 1028 00:54:23,600 --> 00:54:26,000 Speaker 9: and we make sure that we stand up for our 1029 00:54:26,239 --> 00:54:28,680 Speaker 9: construcial prerogatives. I think we have we had them on 1030 00:54:28,719 --> 00:54:31,839 Speaker 9: the defensive. I actually think they have really overreached. I 1031 00:54:31,920 --> 00:54:35,520 Speaker 9: was in Johnstown, Pennsylvania this past weekend. I met Tracy. 1032 00:54:35,840 --> 00:54:39,440 Speaker 9: She's at a barbecue place. She's a part owner. She said, 1033 00:54:39,560 --> 00:54:42,680 Speaker 9: you know, I voted for Donald Trump. I said that 1034 00:54:42,680 --> 00:54:44,600 Speaker 9: that doesn't surprise me. Why But she said, I have 1035 00:54:44,640 --> 00:54:45,360 Speaker 9: some concerns. 1036 00:54:45,640 --> 00:54:46,200 Speaker 6: I said why. 1037 00:54:46,440 --> 00:54:48,000 Speaker 9: She said, well, I voted for him because he was 1038 00:54:48,040 --> 00:54:49,759 Speaker 9: going to make sure that there were no taxes on 1039 00:54:49,800 --> 00:54:52,040 Speaker 9: overtime pay I want. I voted for him because he 1040 00:54:52,080 --> 00:54:53,799 Speaker 9: wasn't going to text tips. I was like, Wow, these 1041 00:54:53,800 --> 00:54:57,280 Speaker 9: messages are really getting through. I said, what about Kamala Harris. 1042 00:54:57,280 --> 00:54:59,879 Speaker 9: She said, you know, candidly, I considered her, I really 1043 00:55:00,400 --> 00:55:02,960 Speaker 9: but I felt she was a phony. And I said, well, 1044 00:55:03,000 --> 00:55:05,280 Speaker 9: what do you think now? Well, I'm concerned my mom 1045 00:55:05,560 --> 00:55:10,400 Speaker 9: is in the hospital and Medicaid is maybe cut. So 1046 00:55:10,520 --> 00:55:13,320 Speaker 9: there is a chance to be talking to people like Tracy. 1047 00:55:13,360 --> 00:55:17,000 Speaker 9: We've got to go on the offensive and be willing 1048 00:55:17,040 --> 00:55:18,120 Speaker 9: to assert our power. 1049 00:55:18,600 --> 00:55:21,600 Speaker 1: Last question for me, are you are you are you 1050 00:55:21,680 --> 00:55:27,360 Speaker 1: sensing any institutional prerogative from Congress? Like if this continues, 1051 00:55:27,400 --> 00:55:30,520 Speaker 1: this idea that Elon Musk can and Donald Trump can 1052 00:55:30,560 --> 00:55:34,280 Speaker 1: like pick and choose where they spend money, Congress doesn't 1053 00:55:34,280 --> 00:55:38,719 Speaker 1: really have a role in this liket. Yeah, Congress can 1054 00:55:38,880 --> 00:55:39,920 Speaker 1: I guess Congress could. 1055 00:55:39,840 --> 00:55:41,280 Speaker 6: Like settle the ceilings. 1056 00:55:41,400 --> 00:55:43,799 Speaker 1: Yeah, and then if you need more money than that, 1057 00:55:43,840 --> 00:55:46,000 Speaker 1: you have to go figure it out some other way. 1058 00:55:46,280 --> 00:55:48,080 Speaker 1: But that but that becomes it. And if all you're 1059 00:55:48,080 --> 00:55:51,360 Speaker 1: doing is setting a ceiling, you don't need you certainly 1060 00:55:51,400 --> 00:55:53,600 Speaker 1: don't need five hundred and thirty five members of Congress 1061 00:55:53,600 --> 00:55:58,160 Speaker 1: to do that. That's just two people and basically just 1062 00:55:58,200 --> 00:55:59,920 Speaker 1: Trump telling them what to do. So is there any 1063 00:56:00,080 --> 00:56:04,120 Speaker 1: sense from Republicans that like, okay, we are ideologically and 1064 00:56:04,160 --> 00:56:07,680 Speaker 1: politically Republicans first, but secondly, we're we serve in this 1065 00:56:07,760 --> 00:56:13,560 Speaker 1: institution that is potentially being wiped out as a force 1066 00:56:13,560 --> 00:56:15,759 Speaker 1: in American politics, and we should do something about that. 1067 00:56:15,880 --> 00:56:17,839 Speaker 1: Is there any sense of that or is it more 1068 00:56:18,480 --> 00:56:21,319 Speaker 1: we're so partisan now that that's okay as long as 1069 00:56:21,600 --> 00:56:24,360 Speaker 1: the Republicans come out on top in the new system. 1070 00:56:25,120 --> 00:56:27,480 Speaker 9: So we need to make the argument he made more 1071 00:56:27,640 --> 00:56:31,000 Speaker 9: because where are the three Republicans that are going to 1072 00:56:31,040 --> 00:56:35,920 Speaker 9: stand for the institutional prerogative of Congress? And there may 1073 00:56:35,960 --> 00:56:38,080 Speaker 9: be if this fight happens with the dead ceiling. I mean, 1074 00:56:38,120 --> 00:56:40,279 Speaker 9: that's something like a chip roy or something. But the 1075 00:56:40,320 --> 00:56:43,319 Speaker 9: reality is there's fear, and the fear is that the 1076 00:56:43,360 --> 00:56:45,640 Speaker 9: people who have taken on Donald Trump and the Republican 1077 00:56:45,680 --> 00:56:49,279 Speaker 9: Party are gone. You know, they're Adam Kissinger there, Liz 1078 00:56:49,400 --> 00:56:53,000 Speaker 9: Cheney's a whole list of people who are not even 1079 00:56:53,040 --> 00:56:56,040 Speaker 9: as famous. And the ones who have stood with Donald 1080 00:56:56,040 --> 00:57:00,120 Speaker 9: Trump are National Security advisor and in the cabinet and 1081 00:57:00,320 --> 00:57:02,439 Speaker 9: are going to be you an ambassador. So if you're 1082 00:57:02,480 --> 00:57:05,680 Speaker 9: a politician on the Republican side, the lesson is pretty 1083 00:57:05,680 --> 00:57:09,440 Speaker 9: clear that you stand with Donald Trump if you care 1084 00:57:09,440 --> 00:57:13,399 Speaker 9: about your career and people rationalize it saying, well, he'll 1085 00:57:13,400 --> 00:57:16,000 Speaker 9: be there for four years and then something else will happen. 1086 00:57:16,080 --> 00:57:21,840 Speaker 9: And so it's a palpable fear that's not irrational about 1087 00:57:21,920 --> 00:57:25,040 Speaker 9: losing their jobs. And that's that's I think why they 1088 00:57:25,040 --> 00:57:25,840 Speaker 9: haven't spoken out. 1089 00:57:26,080 --> 00:57:26,320 Speaker 4: Yeah. 1090 00:57:26,360 --> 00:57:28,080 Speaker 2: Well, and like I said before, now you have the 1091 00:57:28,120 --> 00:57:32,160 Speaker 2: additional enforcement mechanism of Elon Musk being willing to spend 1092 00:57:32,400 --> 00:57:34,400 Speaker 2: you know, which would what would be a trivial amount 1093 00:57:34,880 --> 00:57:38,480 Speaker 2: of his net worth in order to primary and take 1094 00:57:38,520 --> 00:57:41,080 Speaker 2: on anyone who doesn't inline right. 1095 00:57:41,080 --> 00:57:45,720 Speaker 1: That graveyard was filled before Trump had access to Musks. 1096 00:57:45,400 --> 00:57:48,760 Speaker 4: To unlimited, virtually unlimited money. 1097 00:57:48,640 --> 00:57:50,680 Speaker 6: And he would spend it. He will if he's not 1098 00:57:50,720 --> 00:57:52,440 Speaker 6: an idle threat. It's not an idle threat. 1099 00:57:52,480 --> 00:57:55,000 Speaker 9: And it's a and for a house race that could 1100 00:57:55,040 --> 00:57:57,440 Speaker 9: you know, ten million dollars twenty million dollars, even if 1101 00:57:57,440 --> 00:57:59,960 Speaker 9: you don't beat an incumbent. You know, people, this is 1102 00:58:00,120 --> 00:58:04,640 Speaker 9: is instill an enormous amount of amount of fear. Yeah, 1103 00:58:04,680 --> 00:58:07,480 Speaker 9: so you know, we're in a situation where this is 1104 00:58:07,480 --> 00:58:11,480 Speaker 9: a real, real fight for constitutional democracy. And I think 1105 00:58:11,600 --> 00:58:16,120 Speaker 9: the they what people are frustrated that watch probably breaking 1106 00:58:16,160 --> 00:58:18,240 Speaker 9: points or come to my town halls is they don't 1107 00:58:18,320 --> 00:58:21,720 Speaker 9: see the Democratic Party right now, rising to the moment, 1108 00:58:22,120 --> 00:58:25,680 Speaker 9: understanding the stakes, taking on the fight, having a clear 1109 00:58:25,800 --> 00:58:29,040 Speaker 9: plan uh and and saying okay, we're going to push back. 1110 00:58:29,240 --> 00:58:31,959 Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, I mean they're really on the on the 1111 00:58:31,960 --> 00:58:33,080 Speaker 2: Elon Mustoje side there. 1112 00:58:33,240 --> 00:58:34,880 Speaker 4: As Ryan said to me, they're really going for it. 1113 00:58:35,000 --> 00:58:36,400 Speaker 1: I think it's pronounced doggie. 1114 00:58:36,720 --> 00:58:40,520 Speaker 4: I prefer that pronounce doe is the other way. They're 1115 00:58:40,560 --> 00:58:41,280 Speaker 4: really going for it. 1116 00:58:41,600 --> 00:58:44,120 Speaker 2: You know, they're now, they're no guarantees they'll succeed, but 1117 00:58:44,200 --> 00:58:47,040 Speaker 2: they are mounting a revolution, and so people want to 1118 00:58:47,080 --> 00:58:51,120 Speaker 2: see a response that is commeaserate with that, with that 1119 00:58:51,120 --> 00:58:53,680 Speaker 2: true threat. So current, and we always appreciate your time. 1120 00:58:53,760 --> 00:58:55,040 Speaker 6: Thank you, thank you for having me. 1121 00:58:55,080 --> 00:58:56,400 Speaker 2: I guess it worked out for you to miss that 1122 00:58:56,480 --> 00:58:57,720 Speaker 2: vote since the drew tension of the. 1123 00:58:57,680 --> 00:59:03,600 Speaker 6: Whole generation area of confidence Elon. Thank you guys, Thank you. 1124 00:59:03,680 --> 00:59:06,400 Speaker 1: All Right, that's it for today. Tomorrow, Emily and I 1125 00:59:06,480 --> 00:59:09,160 Speaker 1: have our interview with Natalie Winters. That'll be up for 1126 00:59:09,320 --> 00:59:13,680 Speaker 1: premium subscribers later today for everybody else, the freeloaders. Tomorrow. 1127 00:59:14,280 --> 00:59:16,440 Speaker 1: She is the war Room, Steve Bannon's war Room with 1128 00:59:16,520 --> 00:59:19,880 Speaker 1: White House correspondent. It was a fascinating wide ranging conversation 1129 00:59:19,920 --> 00:59:20,400 Speaker 1: should get. 1130 00:59:20,360 --> 00:59:22,200 Speaker 4: Us an interview with Steve Bannon, because I would kind 1131 00:59:22,200 --> 00:59:22,520 Speaker 4: of like that. 1132 00:59:22,600 --> 00:59:24,000 Speaker 1: I'll ask her sure, that'd be fun. 1133 00:59:24,080 --> 00:59:26,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, make that both of them for us, so that 1134 00:59:26,040 --> 00:59:28,560 Speaker 2: would be very interesting. So in any case, Ryan, thank 1135 00:59:28,560 --> 00:59:31,240 Speaker 2: you so much for filling in, and stay tuned for 1136 00:59:31,240 --> 00:59:35,560 Speaker 2: that tomorrow and we will see you guys next week