Category: 3-DailySometimeCommentary

Tulsi Gabbard’s political career is truly singular: once a young progressive Democrat on the rise, then a gadfly taking surprise meetings with Bashar al-Assad, now she’s Donald Trump’s nominee to head up National Intelligence. Along the way, Gabbard has given almost everyone a reason not to vote for her.

Guest: Elaine Godfrey, staff writer covering national politics for The Atlantic.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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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.

Show Notes:

• Check out Casey's podcast Mastering The Room – https://tinyurl.com/34rsv7xy
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Trump’s Office of Management and Budget sent a memo directing federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to … disbursement of all Federal financial assistance,” which threw everything from Meals on Wheels to the rebuilding of a Rhode Island bridge into a state of confusion. 

What seems clear is that Congress has already stipulated how this money should be spent—and the president doesn’t have the power to change that.

For more on the legal mess that’ll follow this news, head over to the Amicus feed. Dahlia Lithwick just dropped an emergency episode.

Guest: Karen Tumulty, political columnist for The Washington Post.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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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.

Show Notes:

• Check out America Dissected – https://tinyurl.com/m64mnb8u
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The Trump administration’s fight against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs is underway, and it’s proving to be even broader and further-reaching than anticipated. What’s at stake for these programs—and why are so many Americans glad to see them go?

Guest: Farah Stockman, member of the New York Times Editorial Board, author of American Made: What Happens to People When Work Disappears

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.

Show Notes:

• Check out Farah's DEI coverage – www.nytimes.com/by/farah-stockman
• Support victims of the fire – votesaveamerica.com/relief
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Between Trump’s broad pardon for January 6 rioters and Facebook loosening restrictions on its platforms, it’s looking much easier for militia groups like the Oathkeepers and Proud Boys to recruit members, organize, and carry out violence.

Guest: Josh Kaplan, reporter for ProPublica.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices