Author: LaMonica McIver, Dan Pfeiffer, Jon Favreau

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What A Day - Will Trump Abandon Ukraine?

The Trump administration is putting pressure on Ukraine to accept a U.S.-backed peace plan with Russia that closely aligns with Moscow's goals in the three-year war. The deal calls for freezing the battle lines that exist today — essentially forcing Ukraine to cede a vast swath of its eastern territory to Russian control. The U.S. also wants Ukraine to recognize the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, as Russian territory, and give up its goal of joining NATO. Vice President J.D. Vance said Wednesday that the U.S. would 'walk away' from negotiations if the two countries refused to accept the administration's terms. Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and a former adviser to Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, breaks down why the Trump administration wants to strong-arm Ukraine over Russia and what it says about President Trump's views on power.

And in headlines: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to ease fears over the administration's trade war with China, Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin announced plans to retire at the end of his term, and more Democratic members of Congress traveled to El Salvador to highlight Trump's threats to due process.

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What A Day - MAGA Baby Bucks

MAGA is in full-on panic mode about the declining birth rate in the U.S., and so the doors of the West Wing are wide open to figuring out how to get more people to have more babies. That's right, Trump administration officials want you to get pregnant and stay pregnant. Nothing creepy about that! Carter Sherman, a reproductive health and justice reporter for The Guardian, explains the right-wing panic around predictions of a coming baby apocalypse.

And in headlines: President Donald Trump now says he has 'no intention' to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the DOJ asked a federal judge to force Google to sell off Chrome, and more migrant children are left to represent themselves in immigration court.

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What A Day - A Week of Big Cases At SCOTUS

It's a busy week at the U.S. Supreme Court. On Monday, the justices heard oral arguments in yet another legal attack on Obamacare, this time over requirements that insurers cover some preventative care services at no cost to patients. Today, they'll weigh a parental rights case over LGBTQ-themed children's books in public schools. And tomorrow, they'll hear a challenge to California's ability to set stricter emission standards for new cars. All the while, the court is facing serious questions over whether it's prepared to stand up to the Trump administration's assault on rule of the law. Leah Litman, co-host of Crooked's legal podcast 'Strict Scrutiny,' tells us what we need to know about this week's big cases and the big-picture debate over the court's ability to protect our rights.

And in headlines: The Catholic Church began the search for a new leader after Pope Francis' death early Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly shared military plans on a second private Signal chat, and U.S. stocks slumped again amid Trump's repeated attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

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Pod Save America - Trump’s Justices Turn On Him

The Supreme Court hits pause on Alien Enemies Act deportations—for now—and some MAGA diehards advocate for Trump to simply ignore the court. Pete Hegseth stars in the Signalgate sequel, reportedly using his personal phone to share top secret information with his wife, brother, and lawyer—with more bombshell reports to come, according to a former Pentagon spokesman. Jon, Lovett, and Tommy discuss the latest on Trump's deportation agenda, whether Hegseth's days as Defense Secretary are numbered, the accidental email that reportedly set off the Trump administration's war with Harvard, and the untimely passing of Pope Francis. Strict Scrutiny's Leah Litman joins Lovett to break down the Supreme Court's emergency order and the administration's efforts to evade the rule of law.

 

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 - Are Trump Administration Officials in Criminal Contempt?

Leah, Melissa and Kate join forces to dig through the Trump administration’s latest affronts to the law and the possibility that its officials could be held in criminal contempt. They also react in real time to the Court’s decision to take up the question of birthright citizenship and cheer Harvard’s stand against the administration. Finally, they take a look at what’s in front of SCOTUS this week, including a new opportunity for the conservative majority to use the EPA as a punching bag and its latest foray into the culture wars.

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What A Day - America At A Tipping Point

President Donald Trump still hasn’t hit the 100-day mark of his second term, but it feels like the country is already hitting some kind of inflection point. On Saturday, we saw a second day of mass protests against the Trump administration’s agenda. Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healy compared this moment to the start of the Revolutionary War, saying, ‘Our freedoms are once again under attack.’ Even New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks wrote about how it’s ‘time for a comprehensive national civic uprising.’ Amid all these proverbial alarm bells, it might seem a little perverse for some Democrats to advocate for a return to a kind of New Deal-era of politics, where more centralized power allowed the government to do big things. But that’s exactly the argument made in the new book 'Abundance.' Co-author Derek Thompson joins us to talk about how America can go back to building and inventing new things, and how Democrats can get people to trust the government again.

And in headlines: The Supreme Court issued an emergency decision blocking more flights of alleged Venezuelan gang members to an El Salvador super prison, Vice President JD Vance got an audience with the Pope, and the Israeli military admitted to several “professional failures” when it killed 14 Gaza rescue workers and a U.N. staffer last month.

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Pod Save America - Sarah McBride’s Challenge to Democrats

Rep. Sarah McBride has found herself the target of GOP attacks since taking office in January. They've barred her from restrooms and misgendered her in Congressional hearings, but the freshman congresswoman has risen above it all. Now she's got a message for her fellow Democrats: politics only works when you win over people who disagree with you. McBride sits down with Jon and Lovett to discuss the literal and figurative dangers of being a main character, Democrats' purity complex, and whether the party has abandoned the only strategy for social change that actually gets results.

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 - How Trump’s Shredding Green Regulations

The Trump administration is running through our constitutional rights like a bull unleashed on the streets of Pamplona. For days now, the high-stakes back-and-forth between the administration, the courts and the Constitution over the wrongful deportation of a Maryland man has dominated headlines. But in the background, the administration is working overtime to dismantle regulations, particularly around the environment. Just since Monday, the administration got the ball rolling on gutting a key part of the Endangered Species Act, stopped construction on a major offshore wind farm, axed a $3 billion program to help farmers adopt climate-friendly practices, and kickstarted a bid to end a Biden-era rule to put conservation on par with things like drilling as a valid public land use. Crooked Climate correspondent Anya Zoledziowski looks at the fallout from an earlier anti-environmental decision from the Trump administration, to drop a Biden-era suit against a petrochemical plant in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.”

And in headlines: President Donald Trump met with Italy’s prime minister to talk trade, the Supreme Court said it would hear arguments over Trump’s bid to limit birthright citizenship, and a federal judge said Google has an illegal monopoly over online advertising technology.

Show Notes:

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Pod Save America - This Is the Fight Democrats Need To Have

Donald Trump insists he has the right to render people to a foreign prison even though the courts say otherwise, and Democrats dig in for a critical fight. From El Salvador, Senator Chris Van Hollen briefs Dan on his effort to get answers about Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Then, Jon and Dan look at the latest targets of Trump's retribution tour, most notably Harvard, his threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and Elon Musk's ultra-creepy project to populate Earth with a "legion" of his own offspring. Then, Tommy sits down with Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, about how he's trying to push back on Trump's defiance of the courts.

 

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 - Dems Go To Bat For Due Process

Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador Wednesday to push for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who the U.S. government wrongfully deported to a Salvadoran super prison last month. While the administration continues to dig in on its allegations the Salvadoran national was a gang member, courts are also showing their willingness to challenge the White House’s claims. On Wednesday, a federal judge found probable cause to find Trump Administration officials in criminal contempt of court over sending Venezuelans to the same maximum security prison in El Salvador where Abrego Garcia is currently being held. New York Congressman Ritchie Torres talks about why it’s important for Democrats to speak up about these cases.

And in headlines: California sued the Trump administration over the president’s heavy tariffs, the Department of Justice sued Maine for allowing trans girls to compete in school sports that align with their gender identity, and Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene laughed off some financial scrutiny.

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