Author: LaMonica McIver, Dan Pfeiffer, Jon Favreau

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What A Day - Can Trump Just Pause Federal Funds?

A federal judge late Tuesday paused a sweeping order from the Trump administration to temporarily freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans. It was welcome news amid a day of total chaos that left everyone from lawmakers to hospital administrators to preschool teachers scrambling to figure out what the hell the administration’s Monday night directive meant for them. White House officials spent the day insisting the funding pause was legal, even as they were forced to clarify its scope throughout the day. Casey Burgat, director of the Legislative Affairs program at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management, explains why the administration faces an uphill legal battle defending it's order.

And in headlines: Newly confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem wants everyone to know she’s a ‘Hot Mama,’ the Trump administration offers deferred resignation to government employees, and President Donald Trump signed another executive order targeting trans people.

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What A Day - Public Health Scrambles To Figure Out Trump’s Health Orders

The Trump administration late Sunday ordered federal health officials to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately. It followed President Donald Trump’s executive order last week to pull the U.S. out of the WHO entirely. The administration has also ordered health agencies to pause almost all external communications – from updating websites to issuing scientific reports — amid increasing fears over bird flu. Dr. Abdul el-Sayed, health officer for Wayne County, Mich., and host of the podcast “America Dissected,’ explains how Trump’s executive orders are rippling through the public health workforce. 

Later in the show, Bloomberg senior story editor Stacey Vanek Smith explains what’s happening with Chinese A.I. app DeepSeek.

And in headlines: Trump won’t stop announcing terrible new executive orders, the Department of Justice fires more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on criminal investigations into Trump, and Florida Republicans defy Gov. Ron DeSantis.

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Pod Save America - Has Anyone Seen the Democrats?

Apparently, there's an opposition party in this country—but they've been awfully quiet lately. Meanwhile, Trump's immigration crackdown nearly sparks a trade war with Colombia, and back at home, he's doing battle with his own  federal government—from loyalty tests to gutting diversity programs to pausing cancer research. Jon, Lovett, and Tommy break down which of the moves are the most dangerous, which are just for show, and why Democrats don’t seem to know what to say about it all. Then, they make their pick for who should be the next DNC chair. Later, Tommy sits down with Dara Lind, Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council, to break down what's going on with deportations and immigration policy—and why it's more important than ever to pay attention.

 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

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Strict Scrutiny - Trump’s Onslaught of Executive Orders

Post-inauguration, the Trump administration is wasting no time issuing a flurry of heinous executive orders. Melissa, Kate, and Leah walk through them and then take a look at last week’s SCOTUS arguments. Finally, they answer some listener questions about the Court’s TikTok decision and share some rare but real good Supreme Court news. 

Here’s the DEI explainer from the Meltzer Center on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU Law. 

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What A Day - Trump Targets DEI in Public and Private Sectors

President Donald Trump fired up his social media account Sunday to say the U.S. would immediately slap a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Colombia, among other penalties. It was a response to Colombian President Petro Gustavo’s move to block two U.S. military planes carrying migrants from landing in the country. Trump also continued his push to dismantle Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — or DEI — programs, extending threats of punishment beyond the federal government to the private sector. Farah Stockman, a member of the New York Times editorial board, talks about the potential downsides of Trump’s anti-DEI orders.

And in headlines: President Trump said Jordan and Egypt should take Palestinian refugees from Gaza, Vice President Vance broke a Senate tie to confirm Pete Hegseth as the next Secretary of Defense, and Trump fires a bunch of inspectors general in an apparent violation of federal law.

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Pod Save America - Rachel Maddow on Surviving Trump 2.0

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow joins Jon to talk about Trump's breathtaking first week in office, how she decides what to cover—and what to ignore—in an an ultra-chaotic news environment, and the power of embarrassment as a political tool. Then, Maddow shares her strategies for staying sane in crazy-making times. Hint: it involves ice fishing.

 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

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What A Day - Trump Gangs Up On The Cartels

President Donald Trump was dealt his first major legal blow since returning to the White House when a federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked his executive order to end birthright citizenship for the future children of some immigrants. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Reagan appointee, called the order "blatantly unconstitutional." In all of the nonsense this week, one executive order that's received less attention is the administration's move to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Keegan Hamilton, senior editor for legal affairs and criminal justice at the Los Angeles Times, explains the real-world implications of Trump's cartel order.

And in headlines: Trump signed an executive order to declassify documents related to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., John F Kennedy, and Robert F Kennedy; the Department of Justice put a hold on all new civil rights cases until further notice, and the Senate advanced Pete Hegseth's nomination to be the next defense secretary despite allegations of sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse.

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Pod Save America - Trump’s Indefensible Pardons

Donald Trump makes good on his promise to free the January 6 rioters—including those convicted of savage violence against police officers—calling the attacks "very minor incidents" in a primetime interview with Sean Hannity, and saying it would be too "cumbersome" to review individual defendants' records. Jon and Dan react to the pardons, the expansive list of executive orders that Trump signed this week, the prospects for his cabinet picks, and how Democrats are doing in their efforts to push back. Then, Dan talks to progressive strategist Faiz Shakir about his bid for DNC Chair and where he wants to steer the party.

 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

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What A Day - Trump’s Jan 6 Pardons Re-Energize Far-Right Groups

It’s been a couple of days since President Donald Trump granted clemency to all of his nearly 1,600 supporters who faced charges for storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Most of them received full, complete and unconditional pardons for their actions that day. The 14 people who didn’t get pardons were all members of far-right extremist groups, and instead had their sentences commuted. Tess Owen, a freelance reporter covering extremism and politics, explains what Trump’s clemency actions mean for right-wing extremist groups and the threat of political violence in America. 

Later in the show, David Hogg, who’s running for vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, talks about how Democrats can better speak to the needs of young voters.

And in headlines: House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled plans to create a new House committee to counter the ‘false narratives’ around Jan. 6th, the State Department suspended the U.S. refugee admissions program, and the Trump administration barred federal health agencies from using external communications through the end of the month.

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What A Day - Trump Targets Immigrants

In one of his first acts back in the White House, President Donald Trump signed a bunch of executive orders Monday to severely restrict immigration in the United States. He signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship, a move that's already prompted multiple lawsuits. He also declared a national emergency at the southern border, shut down a Biden-era mobile app to streamline the asylum process for migrants, brought back his 'Remain in Mexico' policy, and paused refugee resettlement, among other terrible things. Emily Green, a freelance reporter covering Latin America based in Mexico, explains the real-world effects of Trump's immigration orders.

And in headlines: Trump granted clemency to all of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik got her chance to flood Senators with vague platitudes during her confirmation hearing, and the Trump administration wastes no time firing people.

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