WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 Okay, welcome to The Deep Dive. You've brought 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:06.379 us a really interesting stack of source material 00:00:06.379 --> 00:00:08.839 today. Yeah, it's quite a collection. Lots of 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:12.179 different pieces, articles, notes, covering recent 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:16.379 events. Things across politics, law, society. 00:00:17.450 --> 00:00:19.870 it feels like a lot is happening all at once. 00:00:20.089 --> 00:00:22.809 It certainly does. And some of these threads, 00:00:23.030 --> 00:00:25.350 well, they might seem disconnected at first glance. 00:00:25.629 --> 00:00:28.410 Absolutely. Yeah. But our mission here, like 00:00:28.410 --> 00:00:31.050 always in these deep dives, is to unpack these 00:00:31.050 --> 00:00:33.090 sources together, you know? Right. Pull out the 00:00:33.090 --> 00:00:35.630 key insights. Exactly. Help you get up to speed 00:00:35.630 --> 00:00:38.280 quickly on all these different but... maybe interconnected 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:40.479 topics. And based on these sources, we've got 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:42.399 a lot to cover. We're looking at potential street 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:45.840 conflicts, uh, uses of military power. Controversial 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:47.939 uses, yeah. And then shifting to Washington, 00:00:48.380 --> 00:00:50.560 battles over budgets, regulations. Definitely. 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:53.600 Plus symbolic stuff like base renamings, court 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:56.359 challenges to executive power. And even looking 00:00:56.359 --> 00:00:58.520 internationally, right? Accountability for former 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:00.799 leaders elsewhere. It's quite a mix. It is. Gives 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:02.920 you a real look behind the headlines, I think. 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:05.420 Things are certainly eventful. So let's dig into 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:10.670 this. OK, so starting where it feels most immediate, 00:01:10.750 --> 00:01:15.010 the streets. These sources are saying that L 00:01:15.010 --> 00:01:18.090 .A. was quiet recently, but now protests against 00:01:18.090 --> 00:01:20.430 immigration policies are really spreading. Yeah, 00:01:20.430 --> 00:01:22.170 that's right. We're seeing them pop up in a whole 00:01:22.170 --> 00:01:24.370 bunch of cities now. Atlanta, Austin, Boston, 00:01:24.530 --> 00:01:27.329 Chicago, Dallas, Denver, just to name a few. 00:01:27.549 --> 00:01:37.379 Eugene. different groups organizing them too. 00:01:37.540 --> 00:01:39.099 And what seems to have kicked off this wider 00:01:39.099 --> 00:01:41.079 spread, according to the materials, was that 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:43.900 initial deployment of U .S. Marines down in California. 00:01:44.219 --> 00:01:46.500 And boom, right away, that raises a major legal 00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:48.599 flag mentioned in the readings, Posse Comitatus. 00:01:48.780 --> 00:01:50.959 Exactly, the Posse Comitatus Act. It generally, 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:53.359 you know, bans using the act of military for 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:55.359 domestic law enforcement. So bringing Marines 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:57.459 into this situation, that immediately sparks 00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:00.140 questions. Legal limits, executive power. All 00:02:00.140 --> 00:02:02.620 that. And the sources clarify what those Marines 00:02:02.620 --> 00:02:05.200 were actually doing yesterday in LA, not engaging 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:07.260 protesters yet. Correct. They were apparently 00:02:07.260 --> 00:02:10.759 doing training on their specific powers in this 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:14.520 context. They can detain people, hold them, but 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:17.419 they can't make arrests themselves. They have 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:20.240 to turn anyone they detain over to local police 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:24.500 and fast. ASA, the sources say. Got it. Now, 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:26.960 switching gears slightly, but related to the 00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:29.139 National Guard, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:32.020 Testified in the Senate. Yes. And he apparently 00:02:32.020 --> 00:02:34.800 said that the June 7th executive order, the one 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.500 that federalized the California National Guard, 00:02:38.419 --> 00:02:40.979 well, that's seen as a template. A template for 00:02:40.979 --> 00:02:43.039 other states. That seems to be the idea. Yeah. 00:02:43.219 --> 00:02:46.659 Which leads to this potential for major escalation. 00:02:46.819 --> 00:02:49.439 How so? Well, if these protests keep spreading, 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:51.759 the thinking is President Trump might federalize 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:54.990 the Guard in many states. All at once. You'd 00:02:54.990 --> 00:02:56.650 have conflicts potentially breaking out across 00:02:56.650 --> 00:02:58.669 the country simultaneously. That's the scenario 00:02:58.669 --> 00:03:00.650 floated in these sources. And think about the 00:03:00.650 --> 00:03:02.629 command structure, then. Right. Federalized guard 00:03:02.629 --> 00:03:04.590 units wouldn't report to the governors anymore. 00:03:04.810 --> 00:03:07.349 They'd report to Secretary Hegseth, likely against 00:03:07.349 --> 00:03:10.550 the wishes of governors in, say, blue states. 00:03:10.930 --> 00:03:13.870 And the sources mentioned concerns about Hegseth 00:03:13.870 --> 00:03:16.990 himself in that role. They do. He's described 00:03:16.990 --> 00:03:19.770 in one piece as totally unprepared for something 00:03:19.770 --> 00:03:23.409 like this, and it puts it starkly. Any deaths 00:03:23.409 --> 00:03:26.389 would be on Hegseth's plate. Wow. There's also 00:03:26.389 --> 00:03:29.590 this potential weekend scenario mentioned if 00:03:29.590 --> 00:03:32.229 protests continue through Saturday. Yeah, the 00:03:32.229 --> 00:03:34.629 concern is they could merge with these planned 00:03:34.629 --> 00:03:37.530 no -kings demonstrations. While tanks are rolling 00:03:37.530 --> 00:03:41.629 through DC, that sounds intense. One source literally 00:03:41.629 --> 00:03:43.969 calls it a site no one has ever seen in the U 00:03:43.969 --> 00:03:46.330 .S. before. Putting this in historical context, 00:03:47.030 --> 00:03:49.229 governors using the guard isn't new, but it's 00:03:49.229 --> 00:03:51.939 usually localized, right? Exactly. The sources 00:03:51.939 --> 00:03:54.539 bring up Governor Reagan in Berkeley in 1969, 00:03:54.939 --> 00:03:57.460 People's Park protests. He called up, what, 2 00:03:57.460 --> 00:04:00.280 ,700 guard troops? Yeah. And it ended tragically. 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:02.340 One person killed, another permanently blinded. 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:06.979 And that land, 56 years later, still empty. That's 00:04:06.979 --> 00:04:09.340 a sobering reminder. It really is. And it highlights 00:04:09.340 --> 00:04:11.379 the potential stakes. Now, politically, this 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:13.680 puts Democrats in a tough spot, doesn't it? According 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.639 to these sources. Absolutely. There's sympathy, 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:19.420 perhaps, for the protesters' causes, but defending 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:22.680 people seen as lawbreakers. Especially if things 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:25.519 turn violent, like burning cars. That's hard, 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:28.120 politically. But if they stay silent, they risk 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:31.019 looking weak. Especially to younger voters, maybe. 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:34.040 That's the bind described. Hiding looks cowardly, 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:36.779 but speaking out is risky. And Trump's strategy, 00:04:36.839 --> 00:04:39.860 reportedly, is all about the images. Using those 00:04:39.860 --> 00:04:42.959 visuals, burning cars, damaged property, masks, 00:04:43.339 --> 00:04:46.360 foreign flags to shape public opinion? Frame 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:48.420 the narrative. Well, the Democrats' counter, 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:51.160 based on these readings, is more about process. 00:04:51.339 --> 00:04:53.920 Yeah, focusing on, like, the president bypassing 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:56.319 the governor, the legality of the Marine deployment, 00:04:56.519 --> 00:04:58.180 that kind of thing. Which, the sources note, 00:04:58.259 --> 00:05:00.899 some might just see as minor technicalities compared 00:05:00.899 --> 00:05:03.529 to, you know, deporting criminals. Right. It's 00:05:03.529 --> 00:05:05.750 a difficult message to land against those powerful 00:05:05.750 --> 00:05:08.689 images. The risk is Trump overplays his hand. 00:05:09.149 --> 00:05:12.550 But doing nothing is also seen as a weak hand 00:05:12.550 --> 00:05:14.490 for Democrats. And we also need to remember, 00:05:14.569 --> 00:05:16.589 while the president can federalize the Guard, 00:05:16.910 --> 00:05:18.490 governors can still call out their own state 00:05:18.490 --> 00:05:20.389 guard units pretty much whenever they want, right? 00:05:20.449 --> 00:05:23.230 That's what the sources say. Which brings us 00:05:23.230 --> 00:05:26.370 to Texas. Governor Greg Abbott. He's deployed 00:05:26.370 --> 00:05:29.490 the Guard there, too. He has. Responding to protests 00:05:29.490 --> 00:05:32.649 in Texas. And the motivation? Some sources suggest 00:05:32.649 --> 00:05:34.769 he doesn't want to be upstaged by California. 00:05:34.810 --> 00:05:37.350 That's part of the analysis. Yeah Plus it fits 00:05:37.350 --> 00:05:40.389 his track record on immigration like busing migrants 00:05:40.389 --> 00:05:42.889 to blue cities Which the sources questioned the 00:05:42.889 --> 00:05:45.009 benefit of for Texans spending a hundred and 00:05:45.009 --> 00:05:47.329 forty eight million dollars on that exactly So 00:05:47.329 --> 00:05:50.149 in Texas you had peaceful protests in San Antonio 00:05:50.149 --> 00:05:52.889 Abbott wanted to suppress apparently and in Austin 00:05:52.889 --> 00:05:56.220 at the Capitol More confrontational there. Reports 00:05:56.220 --> 00:05:59.480 of police using pepper spray, flash bangs, arrests 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:01.720 made. And the Democratic response in Texas? Two 00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:04.300 congressmen denounced Abbott, basically saying 00:06:04.300 --> 00:06:07.100 he's escalating things, not promoting calm. OK, 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:10.259 so summing up this first part, we're seeing executive 00:06:10.259 --> 00:06:13.240 power flexed at federal and state levels against 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:16.139 protests, raising big legal questions and political 00:06:16.139 --> 00:06:18.480 headaches. Which naturally leads us to look closer 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:21.300 at one of the key figures in that federal response, 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:24.990 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Right. And his 00:06:24.990 --> 00:06:29.589 recent Senate testimony. The sources say it didn't 00:06:29.589 --> 00:06:32.610 go smoothly. That's putting it mildly. Reports 00:06:32.610 --> 00:06:35.790 say pretty poorly. Senators had lots of questions. 00:06:35.850 --> 00:06:38.589 He had, well, few answers. He seemed in over 00:06:38.589 --> 00:06:41.949 his head. Clearly not up to the job. That's pretty 00:06:41.949 --> 00:06:44.709 blunt. The descriptions are quite direct, yeah. 00:06:44.990 --> 00:06:46.569 And the questioning sounds like it was tough 00:06:46.569 --> 00:06:49.089 from both sides of the aisle. Give us some examples 00:06:49.089 --> 00:06:51.050 from the material. What kinds of questions was 00:06:51.050 --> 00:06:54.050 he getting? Well, one Republican senator apparently 00:06:54.050 --> 00:06:57.129 asked him point blank who he wanted to win the 00:06:57.129 --> 00:07:01.050 war in Ukraine. Hegseth refused to answer directly, 00:07:01.310 --> 00:07:03.569 according to the reports, which led the senator 00:07:03.569 --> 00:07:06.310 to make a statement right then and there about 00:07:06.310 --> 00:07:09.899 America's reputation. Wow, okay. Another Republican 00:07:09.899 --> 00:07:12.300 senator apparently took him to task for the defense 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:14.620 budget being slow and pointed out that adjusted 00:07:14.620 --> 00:07:16.839 for inflation, it was actually a cut in spending 00:07:16.839 --> 00:07:19.879 power. And Hegsit's response? No real answer, 00:07:20.060 --> 00:07:21.720 according to the sources. They're not just Democrats 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:25.399 grilling him. No. There were also questions about 00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:28.990 Greenland, about... cutting military medical 00:07:28.990 --> 00:07:32.250 research funding while reportedly spending millions 00:07:32.250 --> 00:07:34.970 on a Trump birthday parade. Forty five million, 00:07:35.129 --> 00:07:37.230 the sources mentioned. Yeah. And a Democratic 00:07:37.230 --> 00:07:39.209 senator raised concerns that sending Marines 00:07:39.209 --> 00:07:42.170 to L .A. actually hurts military readiness overall. 00:07:42.370 --> 00:07:43.709 And then there was that whole thing about the 00:07:43.709 --> 00:07:46.620 Qatari jet. refurbishing it for Air Force One. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:49.060 Right. A Democratic senator asked how much that 00:07:49.060 --> 00:07:51.939 cost, Hegseth reportedly wouldn't say. But this 00:07:51.939 --> 00:07:54.180 was the appropriations committee asking. Right. 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:56.860 The ones who approve the spending. Exactly. The 00:07:56.860 --> 00:07:59.000 senator's quote was something like, why can't 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:01.339 it be revealed? We appropriate the money that 00:08:01.339 --> 00:08:04.639 you will spend. It suggests a real lack of transparency 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:07.779 or maybe preparedness. So this testimony definitely 00:08:07.779 --> 00:08:10.360 paints a picture of the person who might be overseeing 00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:13.040 federalized guard units nationwide. It provides 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:15.360 important context, yes. Now, there's another 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:17.759 piece about Hegseth in these sources described 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:20.500 as a scoop from an intern, actually. OK, about 00:08:20.500 --> 00:08:23.459 what? His personal finances, specifically stock 00:08:23.459 --> 00:08:27.500 sales. Ah, what did he sell? Reports say 29 blocks 00:08:27.500 --> 00:08:32.320 of stock, Amazon, Apple, Walmart, big names on 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:34.639 March 24th. And the significance of that date. 00:08:34.679 --> 00:08:36.899 It was nine days before President Trump announced 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:39.440 new tariffs on April 2nd. Tariffs which caused 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:42.179 stocks to nose dive, according to the sources. 00:08:42.220 --> 00:08:44.539 So that the timing looks suspicious. Did he trade 00:08:44.539 --> 00:08:46.720 on inside information? That's the question hanging 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:49.080 in the air. The sources mention insider trading, 00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:53.179 calling it an SEC little no -no. Did they offer 00:08:53.179 --> 00:08:56.000 any other explanations? Sort of cheekily, yeah, 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:59.259 like maybe. stalk a fairy, clairvoyance, or just 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:02.440 a lucky gut feeling. Point being, no official 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:04.740 explanation was given for the timing. And there's 00:09:04.740 --> 00:09:07.419 a quote from an ethics director. Yes, emphasizing 00:09:07.419 --> 00:09:10.220 that even the appearance of wrongdoing is damaging 00:09:10.220 --> 00:09:13.000 because public trust is crucial. And the sources 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:14.940 point out he could have avoided this appearance 00:09:14.940 --> 00:09:18.240 issue. Easily, by putting his stocks in a blind 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.419 trust when he was confirmed, which he reportedly 00:09:20.419 --> 00:09:22.860 didn't do. Prompting one source to ask. Wonder 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:26.340 why. OK, so. Beyond the policy and competence 00:09:26.340 --> 00:09:29.159 questions from the hearing, now we have potential 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:31.480 ethical questions swirling around his finances, 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:34.919 too. All right. Let's shift from the executive 00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:39.240 branch and streets to Capitol Hill. Inside Washington, 00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:42.460 the legislative battles, specifically budget 00:09:42.460 --> 00:09:45.950 reconciliation in the Senate. OK. So. The key 00:09:45.950 --> 00:09:48.190 thing to get here, based on the materials, is 00:09:48.190 --> 00:09:51.730 the rule. To avoid a filibuster, a reconciliation 00:09:51.730 --> 00:09:53.929 bill can't add to the deficit over 10 years, 00:09:54.289 --> 00:09:56.809 measured against a baseline. Right. And the complication, 00:09:56.970 --> 00:10:00.250 the rub, as the sources call it, those big 2017 00:10:00.250 --> 00:10:03.250 tax cuts are set to expire next year. Which means 00:10:03.250 --> 00:10:05.889 if they just expire naturally, taxes go up. And 00:10:05.889 --> 00:10:07.990 that helps the deficit picture. Revenue increases. 00:10:08.570 --> 00:10:10.929 But Senate Republicans, the reports say, want 00:10:10.929 --> 00:10:13.149 to extend those cuts or pass new ones. And they're 00:10:13.149 --> 00:10:16.389 looking at using magic accounting. Yeah, that's 00:10:16.389 --> 00:10:18.590 the term used. Methods that might bend the usual 00:10:18.590 --> 00:10:20.809 budget scoring rules to make the tax cuts fit 00:10:20.809 --> 00:10:22.590 into reconciliation without looking like they 00:10:22.590 --> 00:10:24.610 increase the deficit over that 10 -year window. 00:10:24.789 --> 00:10:27.909 But there's pushback from within the GOP. Big 00:10:27.909 --> 00:10:31.009 time, particularly from House hardliners. They're 00:10:31.009 --> 00:10:32.690 reportedly warning the Senate leader telling 00:10:32.690 --> 00:10:36.740 him not to play games. budget gimmicks or shady 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:39.779 accounting rules. Exactly. They're quoted demanding 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:42.220 that any offsets, you know, ways to pay for the 00:10:42.220 --> 00:10:44.899 cuts, must come from permanent reforms that make 00:10:44.899 --> 00:10:47.379 the budget more sustainable, not timing shifts 00:10:47.379 --> 00:10:49.899 or other budget gimmicks. Which is hard to do, 00:10:49.980 --> 00:10:52.080 right? The sources say making it truly revenue 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:54.860 neutral would mean tough choices. Really tough, 00:10:55.100 --> 00:10:57.460 like maybe cutting Trump's priorities, no tax 00:10:57.460 --> 00:11:00.720 on tips or overtime, for instance, or deeper 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:05.039 cuts to programs like Medicaid or SNAP. SMP feeds 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:08.559 over 40 million people. Those cuts would be politically 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:11.440 painful. Extremely. More painful than some senators 00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:13.259 want to stomach. So the House hardliners are 00:11:13.259 --> 00:11:15.820 threatening to just vote no on the Senate bill 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:18.100 if the accounting looks fishy. That's the threat 00:11:18.100 --> 00:11:20.580 reported, which could set up a real clash between 00:11:20.580 --> 00:11:23.120 the House and Senate. One source uses the old 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:25.980 saying, the sausage is being made, not pretty. 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:28.840 OK. Now, still within this reconciliation fight, 00:11:29.139 --> 00:11:32.639 there's another battle brewing over. The CFPB. 00:11:32.990 --> 00:11:36.230 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Yeah. 00:11:36.809 --> 00:11:39.230 Banks and many Republicans, according to these 00:11:39.230 --> 00:11:42.450 sources, really dislike the CFPB. Why is that? 00:11:42.789 --> 00:11:46.149 Because it polices banks, it makes regulations, 00:11:46.529 --> 00:11:49.850 enforces consumer laws. It basically makes it, 00:11:49.850 --> 00:11:52.289 as one source puts it, harder for them to fleece 00:11:52.289 --> 00:11:55.230 customers. And the CFPB has this unique funding 00:11:55.230 --> 00:11:57.740 structure, right? That's key here. Very key. 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:00.539 It doesn't rely on Congress for annual funding. 00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:03.620 It draws money directly from the Federal Reserve 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:06.779 up to 12 % of the Fed's operating budget. Which 00:12:06.779 --> 00:12:09.019 was designed specifically to protect it from 00:12:09.019 --> 00:12:11.350 political attacks like Congress just defunding 00:12:11.350 --> 00:12:14.049 it. Exactly. But now, Senate Republicans on the 00:12:14.049 --> 00:12:16.629 banking committee have a plan to use reconciliation 00:12:16.629 --> 00:12:18.990 to get around that. It's surprisingly simple, 00:12:19.110 --> 00:12:20.809 technically. In the law that sets the funding, 00:12:20.950 --> 00:12:23.750 they want to change the number 12 for 12 percent 00:12:23.750 --> 00:12:25.990 to zero. Zero percent. Which would just kill 00:12:25.990 --> 00:12:28.269 its funding and effectively kill the agency. 00:12:28.389 --> 00:12:30.860 That's the goal. The sources note the House version 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:32.960 only cut it to five percent. So the Senate plan 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:34.679 is much more aggressive. Wait, can they even 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:36.799 do that in reconciliation? You said it has to 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:39.720 affect spending or revenue. The CFPB is funded 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:42.679 outside the normal budget. That's the potential 00:12:42.679 --> 00:12:45.879 hurdle. It's a procedural question. Does changing 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:48.580 that percentage count as impacting spending or 00:12:48.580 --> 00:12:51.019 revenue under the strict rules of reconciliation? 00:12:51.340 --> 00:12:53.399 And Senator Elizabeth Warren, who came up with 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:57.220 the CFPB idea, she has a plan. Reports say if 00:12:57.220 --> 00:12:59.779 that zero percent provision makes it into the 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:02.759 final Senate bill, she'll challenge it. Ask the 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:04.820 Senate parliamentarian to rule on whether it's 00:13:04.820 --> 00:13:07.139 allowed under the rules. The parliamentarian. 00:13:07.500 --> 00:13:10.409 The Senate's rules referee, basically. And their 00:13:10.409 --> 00:13:12.870 ruling matters. Hugely. If the parliamentarian 00:13:12.870 --> 00:13:14.970 says it's not allowed that it violates the rules, 00:13:15.070 --> 00:13:17.289 it has to be stripped out of the bill. And the 00:13:17.289 --> 00:13:19.350 Senate leader wouldn't try to overrule the parliamentarian? 00:13:19.669 --> 00:13:21.769 Apparently not. According to the sources, he 00:13:21.769 --> 00:13:24.549 said he wouldn't hold a vote to do that. So the 00:13:24.549 --> 00:13:26.789 fate of the CFPB could come down to this one 00:13:26.789 --> 00:13:29.480 procedural ruling. Wow. It really highlights 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:31.860 how these intricate legislative battles work, 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:34.940 dealing with fiscal policy regulations and pure 00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:37.220 procedural tactics. OK, let's pivot now to look 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:40.539 at symbolic actions and also how executive power 00:13:40.539 --> 00:13:44.559 is being checked, starting with those military 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:47.600 base names again. Right. So the background is 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:50.820 President Biden decided to rename bases originally 00:13:50.820 --> 00:13:53.720 named after Confederate generals. You know, people 00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:55.580 who fought against the United States. Like Fort 00:13:55.580 --> 00:13:57.779 Bickett becoming Fort Barfoot. The source made 00:13:57.779 --> 00:14:00.519 the point. No Fort Hitler, no Fort Yamamoto. 00:14:01.080 --> 00:14:03.600 Makes sense. Exactly. Now, President Trump, according 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.019 to the analysis here, seems motivated mainly 00:14:06.019 --> 00:14:09.460 by wanting to undo what Biden did. Just despite 00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:12.159 Biden, as one source puts it. And the way he's 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:15.259 doing it is... Kind of roundabout. Yeah, restoring 00:14:15.259 --> 00:14:17.419 the old names like Fort Gordon, Fort Hill, et 00:14:17.419 --> 00:14:19.659 cetera. But claiming they're now named after 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:21.559 different soldiers who just happen to have the 00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:23.899 same last name. The source is called this the 00:14:23.899 --> 00:14:27.820 the Weasley way out avoids directly saying we're 00:14:27.820 --> 00:14:30.679 honoring Confederates again, but achieves the 00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:32.500 name change. Let's run through a few examples 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:34.720 because the details are interesting. Fort Gordon 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:38.480 was Confederate General John Brown Gordon. Biden 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:41.629 made it Fort Eisenhower. Trump changes it back 00:14:41.629 --> 00:14:44.470 to Fort Gordon, but says it's for master scorer 00:14:44.470 --> 00:14:47.649 Gary Gordon, a Mogadishu hero. Fort A - Confederate 00:14:47.649 --> 00:14:51.389 A .P. Hill. Biden renamed it Fort Walker for 00:14:51.389 --> 00:14:54.250 Dr. Mary Walker, a female Civil War surgeon. 00:14:55.049 --> 00:14:57.330 Trump changes it back to Fort Hill, but for LT 00:14:57.330 --> 00:14:59.629 Colonel Edward Hill, another Civil War feel. 00:15:00.169 --> 00:15:02.570 Technically not the exact original name, Fort 00:15:02.570 --> 00:15:05.210 A .P. Hill. Fort Hood, named for John Bell Hood. 00:15:05.389 --> 00:15:07.990 called impetuous and ineffective here. Biden 00:15:07.990 --> 00:15:10.429 made it Fort Cavazos for the Army's first four 00:15:10.429 --> 00:15:12.990 -star Latino general. Trump goes back to Fort 00:15:12.990 --> 00:15:15.090 Hood, but says it's for Curl Robert Hood from 00:15:15.090 --> 00:15:18.470 WWI. Fort Lee, Robert E. Lee's name. Biden renamed 00:15:18.470 --> 00:15:21.330 it Fort Greg Adams, honoring two black logistics 00:15:21.330 --> 00:15:24.490 pioneers. Trump makes it Fort Lee again, but 00:15:24.490 --> 00:15:27.370 for PVT Fitzley, a black Spanish -American war 00:15:27.370 --> 00:15:29.149 medal of honor winner. And the sources noted 00:15:29.149 --> 00:15:31.350 that detail that Fitzley was black and wondered 00:15:31.350 --> 00:15:34.200 if Trump Hegseth even knew, calling it Pretty 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:36.580 DEI in a way. Yeah, interesting little twist 00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:38.960 there. Then there's Fort Polk. Confederate Leonidas 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:41.779 Polk. Biden made it Fort Johnson for a black 00:15:41.779 --> 00:15:44.480 WWI hero. Trump makes it Fort Polk again, but 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:47.759 for General James Polk from WWII. And Fort Rucker. 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:50.820 Confederate Edmund Rucker. Biden made it Fort 00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:54.440 Novosel, a Vietnam pilot, MOH recipient. Trump 00:15:54.440 --> 00:15:56.879 goes back to Fort Rucker, but for Captain Edward 00:15:56.879 --> 00:16:00.059 Rucker, a WWI pilot. So the question raised is, 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:03.059 will the next president just rename them all 00:16:03.059 --> 00:16:05.620 again? The source doubts it'll become a constant 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:08.500 back and forth, acknowledges Trump's picks were 00:16:08.500 --> 00:16:10.720 worthy soldiers, but argues the motivation was 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:13.539 just erasing Biden's legacy. Like a squirrel 00:16:13.539 --> 00:16:16.559 marking territory, is the analogy used. OK, moving 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:19.320 from symbols to a direct check on power. Right. 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:22.799 This court ruling about Mahmoud Khalil, the pro 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:25.220 -Palestinian activist. Right. The Trump administration 00:16:25.220 --> 00:16:28.080 arrested and jailed him. The justification was 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:30.360 that he was compromising U .S. foreign policy. 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:33.460 What a judge disagreed. Strongly. Very strongly. 00:16:33.899 --> 00:16:36.139 U .S. District Judge Michael Farber has ruled 00:16:36.139 --> 00:16:38.360 Khalil is not a threat to foreign policy and 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:40.620 ordered him released. And this fits a pattern, 00:16:40.779 --> 00:16:42.679 according to one source. Yeah. Described as yet 00:16:42.679 --> 00:16:44.659 another case where judges are pushing back against 00:16:44.659 --> 00:16:47.340 what they see as arbitrary and capricious actions 00:16:47.340 --> 00:16:49.360 by the administration. The release order takes 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:51.419 effect Friday, giving the government time to 00:16:51.419 --> 00:16:53.519 appeal. Correct. Though the sources note the 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:56.200 government has another potential angle, claiming 00:16:56.200 --> 00:16:58.460 Khalil filled out his green card application 00:16:58.460 --> 00:17:01.080 incorrectly, which the judge didn't rule on here. 00:17:01.259 --> 00:17:03.000 And the first amendment context is important 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:05.180 too, right? He was protesting peacefully. At 00:17:05.180 --> 00:17:07.700 Columbia University, yeah. Protected speech. 00:17:07.819 --> 00:17:10.079 So the government needed another reason to arrest 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:12.839 him, landing on this threatening foreign policy 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:15.940 claim. Which the judge just didn't buy. And even 00:17:15.940 --> 00:17:18.279 suggested the law itself might be unconstitutional. 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:20.839 He did raise that possibility, yeah. So what's 00:17:20.839 --> 00:17:23.839 the big picture significance if this ruling holds 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:27.269 up? It's potentially a major win for activists 00:17:27.269 --> 00:17:30.069 who are green card holders. It means the government 00:17:30.069 --> 00:17:33.150 can't just arrest them for protesting using what 00:17:33.150 --> 00:17:35.890 the sources call bogus charges like interfering 00:17:35.890 --> 00:17:39.150 with foreign policy. Calling that charge so broad 00:17:39.150 --> 00:17:41.630 as to be completely meaningless. Pretty much. 00:17:41.769 --> 00:17:44.150 So this section really shows symbolic fights 00:17:44.150 --> 00:17:46.890 have weight, executive actions face court checks, 00:17:47.329 --> 00:17:49.609 and legal details matter for individual rights. 00:17:50.700 --> 00:17:53.559 OK, one last piece to connect, drawing from the 00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:55.660 sources. It's an example from outside the US 00:17:55.660 --> 00:17:58.019 looking at accountability for former leaders. 00:17:58.279 --> 00:18:00.539 All right, where are we looking? Argentina. And 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:02.640 the figure is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. 00:18:02.900 --> 00:18:04.839 Former president, still a major political player 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:07.119 there, right? Leader of the opposition. Exactly. 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:10.799 And she was convicted back in 2022 for corruption, 00:18:11.660 --> 00:18:14.220 fraud specifically, directing public money to 00:18:14.220 --> 00:18:16.400 a friend's company. Faces other charges too. 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:19.829 And the news now. Argentina's top court just 00:18:19.829 --> 00:18:23.410 upheld that conviction, finalized it. Is she 00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:26.009 going to prison? Well, there's a detail mentioned. 00:18:26.190 --> 00:18:29.450 She's 72. Argentinian law might let her serve 00:18:29.450 --> 00:18:31.710 the sentence under house arrest due to her age. 00:18:32.089 --> 00:18:35.109 OK. She's described as a leftist, a peronist, 00:18:35.369 --> 00:18:38.630 still popular. Right. But the key point the sources 00:18:38.630 --> 00:18:40.950 draw here is when this happened. She was tried, 00:18:41.109 --> 00:18:43.369 convicted, lost her appeals after leaving office. 00:18:43.490 --> 00:18:46.410 In a democracy in our hemisphere. And the conviction 00:18:46.410 --> 00:18:49.410 upheld now. during Trump's current term. Yes. 00:18:49.829 --> 00:18:52.970 And one source explicitly frames this as a potential 00:18:52.970 --> 00:18:56.069 omen or warning. A warning for whom? The idea 00:18:56.069 --> 00:18:58.990 presented is this. If a Democrat wins in 2028, 00:18:59.430 --> 00:19:00.990 their attorney general could look at Trump's 00:19:00.990 --> 00:19:03.029 record for crimes not covered by immunity and 00:19:03.029 --> 00:19:06.569 maybe indict him. And the argument that countries 00:19:06.569 --> 00:19:09.069 don't prosecute former presidents. Becomes much 00:19:09.069 --> 00:19:11.670 harder to make, the source argues, if Fernandez 00:19:11.670 --> 00:19:14.049 de Kirchner actually serves time, even house 00:19:14.049 --> 00:19:16.910 arrest, especially when you consider the long, 00:19:16.930 --> 00:19:20.309 long list, as they put it, of other former world 00:19:20.309 --> 00:19:22.789 leaders who have faced prosecution. Interesting. 00:19:23.150 --> 00:19:26.069 So this Argentinian case offers a global lens 00:19:26.069 --> 00:19:29.049 on post -presidency accountability, which feels 00:19:29.049 --> 00:19:31.450 relevant given everything else going on. Wow. 00:19:31.650 --> 00:19:34.029 OK, that was a lot to unpack. We really covered 00:19:34.029 --> 00:19:36.630 some ground in this deep dive. We did, from potential 00:19:36.630 --> 00:19:39.670 widespread unrest and the military guard role. 00:19:39.730 --> 00:19:41.910 To serious questions about the defense secretary's 00:19:41.910 --> 00:19:44.089 performance and finances. Then deep into those 00:19:44.089 --> 00:19:47.289 Washington budget fights, the CFPB's fate hanging 00:19:47.289 --> 00:19:50.150 by a thread. The symbolic battle over base names 00:19:50.150 --> 00:19:52.410 and courts pushing back on executive actions 00:19:52.410 --> 00:19:54.549 like the Khalil case. And wrapping up with that 00:19:54.549 --> 00:19:57.099 look at Argentina. and accountability for former 00:19:57.099 --> 00:19:59.160 leaders. Hopefully digging into all these sources 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:01.079 has helped you connect some dots, see how these 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:03.039 seemingly separate events might be linked. Yeah, 00:20:03.180 --> 00:20:05.980 you see how street protests connect to DC decisions, 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:09.539 how obscure Senate rules can stop huge policy 00:20:09.539 --> 00:20:11.759 shifts. And how leaders' actions face scrutiny 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:15.099 from courts, history. even international comparisons. 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:17.759 It's definitely a complex moment. We talked about 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:20.500 historical echoes like Berkeley's 69, modern 00:20:20.500 --> 00:20:23.000 parallels like Argentina. And considering the 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:25.220 sources describe potential events this weekend 00:20:25.220 --> 00:20:28.119 as maybe a site no one has ever seen in the US 00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:31.019 before, with really high stakes. Yeah. What does 00:20:31.019 --> 00:20:33.759 all this tell us? This mix of history, unprecedented 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.339 potential, different kinds of accountability. 00:20:36.619 --> 00:20:38.940 What does it suggest about right now? What stands 00:20:38.940 --> 00:20:40.960 out most to you from all of this? Something to 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:41.359 think about.