WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.560 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Our mission today, 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:05.620 as always, is to synthesize a whole stack of 00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:08.279 frankly high -stakes sources for you. We're looking 00:00:08.279 --> 00:00:10.439 at the institutional crises really shaking things 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:12.359 up in Washington right now, and we're diving 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:15.599 in at a Pretty chaotic moment. A major line was 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:17.820 crossed. The government officially shut down 00:00:17.820 --> 00:00:22.300 just after midnight, 12 -0 -0 -0 -1 a .m. But 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:24.920 this dive goes way beyond just the budget fight. 00:00:25.140 --> 00:00:28.019 We've got reporting covering, well, blistering 00:00:28.019 --> 00:00:30.859 judicial opinions, some unprecedented military 00:00:30.859 --> 00:00:33.259 tensions, and even procedural games in Congress. 00:00:33.549 --> 00:00:35.409 That's exactly right. And for you, the listener, 00:00:35.850 --> 00:00:37.429 what we're trying to do is connect these dots 00:00:37.429 --> 00:00:39.270 across the different branches. We're not just 00:00:39.270 --> 00:00:41.450 looking at why the government stalled, but specifically 00:00:41.450 --> 00:00:43.649 how these institutional pressures, you know, 00:00:43.670 --> 00:00:46.710 from the top military brass to long serving federal 00:00:46.710 --> 00:00:48.850 judges, even congressional leadership, how they're 00:00:48.850 --> 00:00:51.310 all reacting to what these sources describe as 00:00:51.310 --> 00:00:53.729 some really extreme political rhetoric and actions 00:00:53.729 --> 00:00:55.609 coming from the executive branch. So it's a full 00:00:55.609 --> 00:00:58.409 picture of checks and balances under, well, extraordinary 00:00:58.409 --> 00:01:01.210 stress. OK, let's start with the shutdown itself, 00:01:01.649 --> 00:01:04.500 the immediate fallout. When we say the government 00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:06.620 is closed down, you almost have to use air quotes, 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:09.780 right? And our sources explain why. Yeah, it's 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:12.540 counterintuitive. Most federal employees actually 00:01:12.540 --> 00:01:15.579 still have to report to work today. Usually without 00:01:15.579 --> 00:01:18.379 pay, mind you. Just to manage an orderly shutdown. 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:21.980 Precisely. And that without pay part, that causes 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:25.239 real hardship. Now, Congress has historically 00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:27.739 provided back pay once things are resolved. But 00:01:27.739 --> 00:01:29.819 it's not guaranteed. No, it's not automatic. 00:01:30.219 --> 00:01:31.959 And what's fascinating is just how much of the 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:34.659 government does keep running. A lot of operations 00:01:34.659 --> 00:01:36.819 are funded differently, maybe multi -year budgets, 00:01:36.859 --> 00:01:40.659 or they're deemed absolutely essential. OK, so 00:01:40.659 --> 00:01:43.019 what is on that essential list? Because it feels 00:01:43.019 --> 00:01:44.819 like it might be longer than the list of what's 00:01:44.819 --> 00:01:46.379 actually close. That's pretty extensive, yeah. 00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:48.480 You've got the core staff at the White House, 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:51.299 Congress obviously, the entire military. Right. 00:01:51.819 --> 00:01:54.670 The Postal Service keeps delivering mail. Critical 00:01:54.670 --> 00:01:56.590 things like Social Security, Medicare payments, 00:01:56.689 --> 00:01:59.650 those continue. Travel. Yep. TSA is working. 00:01:59.989 --> 00:02:02.209 Air traffic controllers are on the job. Border 00:02:02.209 --> 00:02:05.170 enforcement, embassies abroad. Even the National 00:02:05.170 --> 00:02:08.270 Weather Service is considered essential. It really 00:02:08.270 --> 00:02:11.030 shows you this massive government machine only 00:02:11.030 --> 00:02:14.590 partially grinds to a halt. But the parts that 00:02:14.590 --> 00:02:17.509 are hit, they create huge downstream effects. 00:02:18.250 --> 00:02:20.729 So which services are kind of running on fumes, 00:02:21.229 --> 00:02:23.669 using cash reserves until, well, they run out. 00:02:23.889 --> 00:02:25.830 Right. That list includes the federal court system, 00:02:26.650 --> 00:02:30.449 the IRS, FEMA's ability to start up new disaster 00:02:30.449 --> 00:02:33.490 relief efforts. Oh, that's critical. Very. SNAP 00:02:33.490 --> 00:02:36.590 benefits, so food assistance, and cultural places 00:02:36.590 --> 00:02:39.129 like the Smithsonian museums. They'll keep going 00:02:39.129 --> 00:02:41.560 for a bit. Maybe days, maybe a few weeks, it 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:43.479 depends. And you mentioned something about national 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:45.300 parks. Yeah, this is a really critical point, 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:47.560 especially if you live near one or plan to visit. 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:50.360 Reports say the parks will likely be open, but 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:52.219 basically unstaffed. And we saw what happened 00:02:52.219 --> 00:02:54.680 last time with that. Exactly. Widespread littering, 00:02:54.780 --> 00:02:58.060 sanitation issues, even vandalism. It got so 00:02:58.060 --> 00:03:00.900 bad that former park directors actually asked 00:03:00.900 --> 00:03:03.139 for the parks to be fully closed this time rather 00:03:03.139 --> 00:03:06.879 than just left vulnerable. Wow. That detail really 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:09.509 drives home the stakes. And the sources point 00:03:09.509 --> 00:03:11.710 out, if Congress doesn't figure something out 00:03:11.710 --> 00:03:15.069 by Monday, well, the hope for a short, relatively 00:03:15.069 --> 00:03:18.150 painless shutdown is gone. Yeah, once you get 00:03:18.150 --> 00:03:20.930 past about five days, you're looking at the historical 00:03:20.930 --> 00:03:24.270 precedents. And those aren't pretty. 16 days 00:03:24.270 --> 00:03:27.409 under Obama, then 21 days, and that marathon 00:03:27.409 --> 00:03:30.289 35 -day shutdown under Trump. So if we pass Monday, 00:03:30.469 --> 00:03:32.900 we could be in for a long haul. It looks that 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:35.219 way. A serious, painful ride, potentially. And 00:03:35.219 --> 00:03:37.939 that pain, it immediately fuels the political 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:40.219 blame game, doesn't it? Oh, absolutely. And the 00:03:40.219 --> 00:03:43.199 early polling data we're seeing from NPR, PBS, 00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:45.580 Marist, Morning Consult, the New York Times, 00:03:45.740 --> 00:03:49.340 Sienna Poll, it suggests Democrats might be starting 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:51.460 in a slightly better position, perception -wise. 00:03:51.620 --> 00:03:53.759 What jumps out from that data, for me, anyway, 00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:55.879 is the independent voters, the swing voters. 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:57.979 They seem to be blaming Republicans almost twice 00:03:57.979 --> 00:03:59.800 as much as Democrats right now. That's the key 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:02.020 finding, yeah. If those crucial swing voters 00:04:02.020 --> 00:04:04.099 are leaning that way, it tells you something 00:04:04.099 --> 00:04:06.199 about the narrative taking hold. Is it about 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:08.360 specific policies, do you think, or something 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:11.479 broader? Reporting suggests it's less about specific 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:15.699 policy demands and more about a perception of 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:19.740 governing competence or maybe incompetence. The 00:04:19.740 --> 00:04:21.879 feeling among these swing voters, according to 00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:24.279 the sources, seems to be that one side is driving 00:04:24.279 --> 00:04:27.240 the bus into chaos and it's not the side currently 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:29.430 holding the White House. That gives the White 00:04:29.430 --> 00:04:31.730 House leverage, then, changes the whole negotiating 00:04:31.730 --> 00:04:34.129 dynamic on Capitol Hill. Definitely. So let's 00:04:34.129 --> 00:04:35.850 look at what they're actually fighting over in 00:04:35.850 --> 00:04:39.089 Congress. Democrats, officially, their line is 00:04:39.089 --> 00:04:41.769 protecting health care subsidies. Pretty straightforward. 00:04:42.009 --> 00:04:44.589 Right. But there's this inside baseball issue, 00:04:44.670 --> 00:04:47.069 the thing members are reportedly just as worried 00:04:47.069 --> 00:04:50.449 about, maybe more. It's much wonkier. You mean 00:04:50.449 --> 00:04:53.290 the fear of rescission. Exactly. Explain that 00:04:53.290 --> 00:04:55.610 for us. It sounds technical, but it seems crucial 00:04:55.610 --> 00:04:58.180 to understanding the power struggle. It is technical, 00:04:58.180 --> 00:05:00.360 but yeah, it's absolutely crucial. Basically, 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.100 rescission is the potential power of the White 00:05:03.100 --> 00:05:07.120 House to unilaterally undo funding deals after 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:09.220 Congress has already passed them into law. So 00:05:09.220 --> 00:05:11.600 Congress has spent $100 million on this program. 00:05:11.819 --> 00:05:14.860 The president signs it. Right. And then potentially 00:05:14.860 --> 00:05:17.680 under this idea of rescission, the president 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.199 could effectively go back to the relevant agency 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:23.930 and say, actually. Only spend $80 million. Hold 00:05:23.930 --> 00:05:26.110 back the other $20 million. It's like a line 00:05:26.110 --> 00:05:28.129 item veto after the fact. That's a good way to 00:05:28.129 --> 00:05:30.670 put it. An effective line item veto by the executive 00:05:30.670 --> 00:05:32.850 after the law is passed. Yeah. And Democrats 00:05:32.850 --> 00:05:36.629 worry it basically makes their power of the purse, 00:05:36.829 --> 00:05:39.430 their whole legislative process, almost meaningless. 00:05:39.649 --> 00:05:41.670 Which explains why it's such a high stakes fight, 00:05:41.810 --> 00:05:43.490 even if they don't talk about it much publicly. 00:05:43.709 --> 00:05:45.649 Exactly. It's a fundamental institutional power 00:05:45.649 --> 00:05:48.189 struggle. Meanwhile, the administration's response, 00:05:48.290 --> 00:05:51.560 the counter messaging, has been... Intense. Intense 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:54.199 is one word for it. Accounts describe this massive 00:05:54.199 --> 00:05:56.980 counter -narrative push. Mass emails going out 00:05:56.980 --> 00:05:59.620 to federal workers blaming Democrats. Departmental 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:02.259 websites featuring messaging that some sources 00:06:02.259 --> 00:06:06.000 literally compare to old WWII propaganda posters. 00:06:06.180 --> 00:06:08.800 Really? Yeah. And spinning poll headlines really 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:11.300 aggressively. Things like, poll, most Americans 00:06:11.300 --> 00:06:14.620 say, N -O, as radical left drives Democrat shutdown. 00:06:14.889 --> 00:06:17.350 What does the sheer intensity of that spin tell 00:06:17.350 --> 00:06:20.389 you? Does it signal confidence? Actually, the 00:06:20.389 --> 00:06:22.990 sources suggest maybe the opposite. The sheer 00:06:22.990 --> 00:06:26.029 volume and, frankly, the hyperbolic nature of 00:06:26.029 --> 00:06:29.410 it might indicate some internal anxiety. A lack 00:06:29.410 --> 00:06:32.230 of confidence, perhaps. How so? Why does heavy 00:06:32.230 --> 00:06:35.170 spin suggest anxiety? Well, think about it. When 00:06:35.170 --> 00:06:38.009 an administration feels really solid in its position, 00:06:38.649 --> 00:06:41.750 the message is usually pretty calm, focused, 00:06:42.470 --> 00:06:45.250 singular. When you see this kind of rapid -fire, 00:06:45.610 --> 00:06:48.009 sometimes conflicting, over -the -top messaging. 00:06:48.209 --> 00:06:50.509 Like calling the opposition the radical left. 00:06:50.790 --> 00:06:53.470 Right. It often suggests they're scrambling internally, 00:06:53.889 --> 00:06:55.689 trying to control the narrative because maybe 00:06:55.689 --> 00:06:57.649 the underlying political position isn't that 00:06:57.649 --> 00:06:59.649 strong. It's like they're trying to compensate 00:06:59.649 --> 00:07:01.610 with sheer volume. Doesn't sound like a group 00:07:01.610 --> 00:07:03.790 ready to compromise anytime soon. It certainly 00:07:03.790 --> 00:07:06.170 doesn't project that image, no. Okay, let's shift 00:07:06.170 --> 00:07:08.829 gears now. From the sort of bureaucratic chaos 00:07:08.829 --> 00:07:11.370 of the shutdown to something different but related 00:07:11.370 --> 00:07:14.189 in terms of institutional pressure, this event 00:07:14.189 --> 00:07:17.490 at Quantico, a mandatory meeting with military 00:07:17.490 --> 00:07:20.050 leadership. Yeah, this was highly anticipated. 00:07:20.529 --> 00:07:22.750 And according to the reporting, the purpose was 00:07:22.750 --> 00:07:25.649 pretty clear. Communicate the administration's 00:07:25.649 --> 00:07:28.930 plans and essentially demand the brass get on 00:07:28.930 --> 00:07:31.310 board. And Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth 00:07:31.310 --> 00:07:34.410 kicked things off. He did. He laid out his specific 00:07:34.410 --> 00:07:38.170 reforms, things like prohibiting beards. He apparently 00:07:38.170 --> 00:07:41.430 used Ulysses S. Grant as a kind of a contrasting 00:07:41.430 --> 00:07:43.649 example. He also talked about imposing really 00:07:43.649 --> 00:07:46.269 strict physical fitness standards, specifically 00:07:46.269 --> 00:07:49.670 targeting what he called fat generals. OK. But 00:07:49.670 --> 00:07:52.069 the policies that really raised eyebrows or concerns 00:07:52.069 --> 00:07:54.970 were about combat standards and gender. Absolutely. 00:07:55.370 --> 00:07:57.310 That was the core of it. Heges has announced 00:07:57.310 --> 00:07:59.290 that the highest male standards would now apply 00:07:59.290 --> 00:08:02.370 across the board for combat troops. And he acknowledged 00:08:02.370 --> 00:08:04.970 what that meant. He did, according to the sources. 00:08:05.329 --> 00:08:07.670 He conceded it would significantly reduce, maybe 00:08:07.670 --> 00:08:10.350 even eliminate, women from certain combat roles. 00:08:10.870 --> 00:08:13.009 His argument reportedly was about restoring standards 00:08:13.009 --> 00:08:15.069 from a different century. Then President Trump 00:08:15.069 --> 00:08:18.269 spoke, and the accounts describe it as... Well, 00:08:18.389 --> 00:08:20.990 less of a policy speech. Yeah, more of a rambling 00:08:20.990 --> 00:08:23.389 monologue. Reports say it focused heavily on 00:08:23.389 --> 00:08:25.990 his personal accomplishments, his perceived enemies, 00:08:25.990 --> 00:08:28.709 and he even brought up wanting a Nobel Prize 00:08:28.709 --> 00:08:31.050 again. There were some particularly odd details 00:08:31.050 --> 00:08:34.549 mentioned in the sources. Yes, specific kind 00:08:34.549 --> 00:08:37.309 of bizarre anecdotes, bragging about the quality 00:08:37.309 --> 00:08:40.450 of the paper used for generals commissions, complaining 00:08:40.450 --> 00:08:43.230 about Joe Biden using an auto pin for signatures. 00:08:43.409 --> 00:08:46.929 And that comment about the N -word. Right. Lamenting 00:08:46.929 --> 00:08:48.929 that you couldn't really use either N -word anymore, 00:08:49.149 --> 00:08:52.289 clarifying he meant nuclear and, well, the racial 00:08:52.289 --> 00:08:55.909 slur. Just stunning. But out of all that, what 00:08:55.909 --> 00:08:58.049 did the sources say had the biggest institutional 00:08:58.049 --> 00:09:00.230 impact on the generals and admirals in the room? 00:09:00.570 --> 00:09:02.870 By far the most consequential part. The part 00:09:02.870 --> 00:09:05.049 that really landed heavily was when Trump told 00:09:05.049 --> 00:09:07.049 them they needed to be ready to fight an enemy 00:09:07.049 --> 00:09:09.929 from within. An enemy within. Yes. And that they 00:09:09.929 --> 00:09:12.210 should prepare to use America's own cities as 00:09:12.210 --> 00:09:15.950 military training grounds. He explicitly said 00:09:15.950 --> 00:09:19.169 America is under invasion from within and that 00:09:19.169 --> 00:09:22.090 the inner cities are, quote, a big part of war 00:09:22.090 --> 00:09:24.950 now. The sources drew a pretty stark historical 00:09:24.950 --> 00:09:27.370 parallel for that kind of rhetoric. They did. 00:09:28.009 --> 00:09:30.429 The source material explicitly said that kind 00:09:30.429 --> 00:09:32.669 of talk is straight out of main camp. That's 00:09:32.669 --> 00:09:35.070 how serious they viewed it. So how did the audience 00:09:35.070 --> 00:09:38.509 react? This group, trained to be apolitical, 00:09:38.710 --> 00:09:41.730 whose oath is to the Constitution, how did they 00:09:41.730 --> 00:09:44.470 respond to being told to view fellow citizens 00:09:44.470 --> 00:09:47.490 as an enemy? The reporting is consistent on this. 00:09:48.029 --> 00:09:50.950 Stony silence. Witnesses describe the tension 00:09:50.950 --> 00:09:53.590 in the room as just palpable, a kind of quiet 00:09:53.590 --> 00:09:56.690 collective shock, a recognition that a fundamental 00:09:56.690 --> 00:09:59.529 line had been crossed. That silence feels incredibly 00:09:59.529 --> 00:10:02.009 significant. What does it mean institutionally? 00:10:02.370 --> 00:10:04.429 Well, that silence, that shared experience, it 00:10:04.429 --> 00:10:06.129 might actually lay the groundwork for future 00:10:06.129 --> 00:10:08.909 resistance if needed. The sources suggest this 00:10:08.909 --> 00:10:10.529 meeting could have backfired, could have weakened 00:10:10.529 --> 00:10:13.129 the administration's grip. How so? Because now 00:10:13.129 --> 00:10:16.509 every single person in that room knows they face 00:10:16.509 --> 00:10:19.190 what the sources called a career and nation -threatening 00:10:19.190 --> 00:10:21.190 problem. And they know the person sitting next 00:10:21.190 --> 00:10:23.429 to them heard the exact same alarming things. 00:10:23.570 --> 00:10:27.129 They'll talk, quietly, maybe. But that shared 00:10:27.129 --> 00:10:30.190 understanding builds internal cohesion. Cohesion 00:10:30.190 --> 00:10:32.750 among officers who might one day have to decide 00:10:32.750 --> 00:10:34.870 if an order is legal, if it's constitutional. 00:10:35.110 --> 00:10:37.850 Precisely. It potentially strengthens their resolve 00:10:37.850 --> 00:10:40.409 to adhere to their oath to the Constitution above 00:10:40.409 --> 00:10:43.129 any political figure if that moment comes. Okay, 00:10:43.210 --> 00:10:45.970 from the military's silent resistance, let's 00:10:45.970 --> 00:10:49.179 turn to the judiciary. Which wasn't silent at 00:10:49.179 --> 00:10:52.580 all. A very loud check on executive power came 00:10:52.580 --> 00:10:55.539 yesterday. Yes, a major challenge delivered by 00:10:55.539 --> 00:10:58.320 U .S. District Court Judge Bill Young. And it's 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:01.000 worth noting this is a Ronald Reagan appointee, 00:11:01.220 --> 00:11:03.600 someone with 40 years on the bench, known for 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:06.559 being serious, methodical, and ruling itself, 00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:10.759 a blistering 161 page opinion. Just scathing. 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:12.820 Judge Young found that the administration he 00:11:12.820 --> 00:11:15.200 named the president, secretaries Rubio and Noam 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:18.139 specifically violated the First Amendment by 00:11:18.139 --> 00:11:21.000 arresting legal non -citizens simply for protesting 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:23.320 the treatment of people in Gaza. His ruling was 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:26.019 crystal clear. Lawfully present non -citizens 00:11:26.019 --> 00:11:28.360 have the exact same First Amendment free speech 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:30.500 rights as U .S. citizens. And there were some 00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:32.919 really dramatic personal elements in how he presented 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:35.700 this opinion. Absolutely. It was quite extraordinary. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:38.519 He actually started the opinion by including 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:41.299 a scanned copy of an anonymous handwritten postcard 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:43.460 he'd received in his chambers. What did it say? 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:47.370 It read, Trump has pardons and tanks. What do 00:11:47.370 --> 00:11:50.690 you have? Wow. And how did the judge respond? 00:11:50.950 --> 00:11:53.149 Right there, on the caption page of the official 00:11:53.149 --> 00:11:56.029 court document, he printed his reply, Alone, 00:11:56.450 --> 00:11:59.330 I have nothing but my sense of duty. Together, 00:11:59.610 --> 00:12:02.330 we the people have our magnificent Constitution. 00:12:02.570 --> 00:12:05.230 That's powerful. Incredibly powerful. He went 00:12:05.230 --> 00:12:07.509 on to say the President's palpable misunderstanding 00:12:07.509 --> 00:12:09.929 that the government can't retaliate against speech 00:12:09.929 --> 00:12:12.370 he dislikes poses a great threat to Americans' 00:12:12.570 --> 00:12:15.509 freedom of speech. Coming from a Reagan appointee, 00:12:15.789 --> 00:12:18.350 those words carry immense weight. And Judge Young 00:12:18.350 --> 00:12:20.970 didn't stop there, did he? He had a whole section 00:12:20.970 --> 00:12:23.389 critiquing other institutions. Justice in the 00:12:23.389 --> 00:12:26.460 Trump era, it was called. Yes, Section V. And 00:12:26.460 --> 00:12:28.860 he was utterly unsparing. He argued the president 00:12:28.860 --> 00:12:31.100 simply ignores it all, the Constitution, laws, 00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:33.100 norms, customs. But what was really shocking 00:12:33.100 --> 00:12:35.960 was him calling out other institutions for basically 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:38.860 cowering. Which ones? He specifically named large 00:12:38.860 --> 00:12:42.179 law firms, leaders in higher education, and even 00:12:42.179 --> 00:12:45.080 media outlets, accusing them of putting profit 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:47.980 or their bottom line ahead of constitutional 00:12:47.980 --> 00:12:50.500 principles and ethical duties. He even criticized 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:53.120 the courts themselves, right, for being too slow. 00:12:53.299 --> 00:12:55.500 He did. He acknowledged that the courts, by design, 00:12:55.340 --> 00:12:58.720 are deliberate, but that this makes them ponderously 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:02.460 slow and crushingly expensive. And he argued 00:13:02.460 --> 00:13:04.679 this slowness actually helps the administration's 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:07.259 strategy, which he characterized as harassing 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:10.120 individual opponents into just giving up because 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:12.539 they run out of time or money. And one more really 00:13:12.539 --> 00:13:15.120 striking part of that opinion is rebuke of ICEE 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:17.799 tactics, specifically wearing masks. Yeah, that 00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:20.340 was stunning. He called out ICEE agents for posing 00:13:20.340 --> 00:13:22.779 as local police and wearing masks during arrests. 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:26.100 He wrote that they wear masks, quote, to terrorize 00:13:26.100 --> 00:13:28.679 Americans into quiescence. And he drew another 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:31.120 historical parallel there. A very pointed one. 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:34.940 He explicitly associated masks in that context 00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:38.440 with cowardly desperadoes and the despised Ku 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:41.419 Klux Klan. And then he quoted Abraham Lincoln. 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:44.460 In all our history, we have never tolerated an 00:13:44.460 --> 00:13:47.840 armed masked secret police. For a sitting federal 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:50.960 judge to write that in an official opinion, it's 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:53.360 extraordinary. Truly remarkable. OK, let's wrap 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:56.500 up with two quick final examples of political 00:13:56.500 --> 00:13:58.860 maneuvering and institutional friction playing 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:01.700 out right now. One in nominations, one in Congress. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.899 OK, first, a small maybe positive institutional 00:14:04.899 --> 00:14:07.720 development. the withdrawn nomination of E .J. 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:09.759 Antony to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:12.080 This was controversial from the start. Highly. 00:14:12.360 --> 00:14:14.259 His liabilities were pretty significant according 00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:17.500 to reports. A very recent Ph .D. from let's say 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:20.460 a non -elite university, a deeply partisan track 00:14:20.460 --> 00:14:22.830 record which is really problematic for the head 00:14:22.830 --> 00:14:25.509 of the nonpartisan BLS. And there are other allegations. 00:14:25.769 --> 00:14:28.190 Yes, alleged connections to the January 6 events 00:14:28.190 --> 00:14:30.490 and even reports about an alleged fondness for 00:14:30.490 --> 00:14:33.009 Nazi artifacts. Just a whole host of red flags. 00:14:33.070 --> 00:14:35.149 But why was he withdrawn? Did Republicans signal 00:14:35.149 --> 00:14:37.590 they wouldn't vote for him? That's one possibility 00:14:37.590 --> 00:14:40.389 suggested by the reporting not enough GOP votes 00:14:40.389 --> 00:14:44.289 in the Senate. The other is that maybe some quote 00:14:44.289 --> 00:14:47.350 grown -ups within the administration itself finally 00:14:47.350 --> 00:14:50.279 stepped in. realizing how damaging his confirmation 00:14:50.279 --> 00:14:52.620 would be to the credibility of the BLS. Okay. 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:55.419 And the second quick example. Speaker Johnson 00:14:55.419 --> 00:14:58.360 and a newly elected representative. Right. Representative 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:01.700 -elect Adelaide Grigiova, a Democrat. She won 00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:04.100 her election in a landslide. The official paperwork 00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:06.059 from the state, the certificate of ascertainment, 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:08.340 the document that says, yes, she won, it's done, 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:10.899 it's filed. But Speaker Johnson isn't swearing 00:15:10.899 --> 00:15:14.019 her in yet. No. He's delaying it, insisting that 00:15:14.019 --> 00:15:15.919 the House has to be in regular session, which 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:18.100 he says won't be until October 7th. But the sources 00:15:18.100 --> 00:15:20.460 say that's questionable. They describe it as 00:15:20.460 --> 00:15:23.200 making crap up out of thin air. The key point 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.000 being, Johnson himself swore in two Republicans 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:28.360 during what's called a pro forma session, basically 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:31.139 a brief placeholder session back in April. So 00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:34.080 why delay seating Grigialva now? What's the tactical 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:36.440 reason? It seems pretty clear. It's about preventing 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:39.360 her from being the crucial 218th signature on 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:41.769 a potential discharge petition. Okay, break that 00:15:41.769 --> 00:15:44.750 down. 218 is the magic number for a majority 00:15:44.750 --> 00:15:47.090 in the House, right? What does a discharge petition 00:15:47.090 --> 00:15:50.769 do? Exactly. 218 is a simple majority. A discharge 00:15:50.769 --> 00:15:53.850 petition is a rarely used, but powerful tool. 00:15:54.389 --> 00:15:57.009 It lets a majority of House members essentially 00:15:57.009 --> 00:15:59.850 yank a bill out of a committee where maybe leadership 00:15:59.850 --> 00:16:02.830 has bottled it up and force a vote on it directly 00:16:02.830 --> 00:16:05.289 on the House floor. So it bypasses the Speaker's 00:16:05.289 --> 00:16:07.710 control? Completely bypasses the Speaker and 00:16:07.710 --> 00:16:10.669 the normal committee process. By keeping Grijalva 00:16:10.669 --> 00:16:13.240 out, Even for a short time, Johnson might be 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:15.559 trying to keep the opposition just shy of that 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:18.980 218 threshold, preventing them from forcing a 00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:20.620 vote the leadership really doesn't want. But 00:16:20.620 --> 00:16:23.440 the cost of doing that, it sends a pretty clear 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:25.460 message, doesn't it? Oh yeah. It basically screams, 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:27.480 we have something to hide. It creates enormous 00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:29.759 bad blood. And sets a precedent. A dangerous 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:32.440 one. You can bet Democrats will remember this 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:34.720 and potentially use the same tactic against Republicans 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:37.440 down the road if it suits them. It just escalates 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:39.940 the procedural warfare. Okay, so let's try to 00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:42.659 synthesize all this. Looking across these different 00:16:42.659 --> 00:16:46.259 sources, the shutdown, Quantico, Judge Young's 00:16:46.259 --> 00:16:49.139 ruling, these congressional maneuvers, what's 00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:51.519 the big picture? The big picture, connecting 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:54.159 all these dots, seems to be a pattern. You have 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:56.360 an administration, according to these accounts, 00:16:56.840 --> 00:16:58.980 consistently pushing the boundaries of executive 00:16:58.980 --> 00:17:02.029 power. whether it's leveraging a shutdown, demanding 00:17:02.029 --> 00:17:04.369 personal loyalty from the military, or targeting 00:17:04.369 --> 00:17:06.490 speech it dislikes. And on the other side? On 00:17:06.490 --> 00:17:08.509 the other side, you see these different institutional 00:17:08.509 --> 00:17:11.390 checks pushing back, sometimes loudly, like Judge 00:17:11.390 --> 00:17:14.490 Young's 161 -page opinion, sometimes quietly, 00:17:14.809 --> 00:17:17.630 like the military brass's stony silence. And 00:17:17.630 --> 00:17:19.470 sometimes through procedural means, like the 00:17:19.470 --> 00:17:21.490 opposition trying to use a discharge petition 00:17:21.490 --> 00:17:24.109 or leadership trying to block it. It's this constant 00:17:24.109 --> 00:17:27.029 friction. that friction really does seem to define 00:17:27.029 --> 00:17:29.470 this moment. So given everything we've just discussed, 00:17:29.750 --> 00:17:31.890 the sheer volume of extreme rhetoric and actions 00:17:31.890 --> 00:17:34.690 described in these sources, here's a final provocative 00:17:34.690 --> 00:17:37.630 thought for you listener to consider. Which of 00:17:37.630 --> 00:17:39.630 these institutional countermeasures do you think 00:17:39.630 --> 00:17:41.869 ultimately proves to be the most effective break 00:17:41.869 --> 00:17:44.309 on executive power in the long run? Is it the 00:17:44.309 --> 00:17:46.710 loud, public, legally binding opinion from a 00:17:46.710 --> 00:17:49.950 respected judge? Is it the quiet, internal, potentially 00:17:49.950 --> 00:17:52.589 cohesive resistance signaled by that stony silence 00:17:52.589 --> 00:17:55.630 from the military? Or is it the tactical, procedural 00:17:55.630 --> 00:17:58.069 blocking and tackling, like delaying a single 00:17:58.069 --> 00:18:00.349 vote in Congress? Something to chew on. We'll 00:18:00.349 --> 00:18:01.589 leave you with that thought. We'll see you next 00:18:01.589 --> 00:18:02.730 time for the next Deep Dive.