23 Comments
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AW's avatar

Where is the money going? E.g., where are the tariff payments going? Also, where is the money going that has been paid by entities sued by Trump, like CBS, Columbia University, Facebook/Meta etc? How else is Trump extracting money from organizations and people and where is that money going?

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Richard Paige's avatar

Has there ever been a time in U.S. history, non-World War or Great Depression perhaps, where Congress seemed so subservient to a President's wishes with little to no pushback?

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Tyler Ogden's avatar

How much has past Republican gerrymandering contributed to their current or previous majorities? For example, Desantis enacted a gerrymandered map in Florida that was in place for the 2022 midterms. My memory was that this gave Republicans he same number of seats they held the House majority by.

Moreover, SCOTUS washed their hands of deciding any gerrymandering cases. There is some talk of Democrats enacting laws that codify previously respected norms if they regain Congress and the Presidency. However, gerrymandering and campaign finance remain big threats that need constitutional cures. What is the current roadmap/discussion for passing constitutional amendments to bar these practices?

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Paul Kim's avatar

I have heard that there are collateral effects from the OBBB on Medicare re: an automatic cut triggered by the increased deficit. That seems relevant to your explainers about the OBBB. Can you perhaps explore that topic, as well as any other significant collateral effects & when/how they will be felt? Thanks for all that you do!

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Terrigal's avatar

I am so disheartened by the dishonesty of the republican leadership. I don't really understand how a whole group of people can sleep at night promulgating lies about Epstein, the impact of the Big Bill on health care, so many other areas. How do they justify such unethical behavior?

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Susan Frankie's avatar

As a concerned baby boomer Homo sapien and mom living in this country, my question is, how are you doing Gabe Fleischer? And THANK YOU for the critical work you do.

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Kristi Goetsch's avatar

All is confusion!

Who has authority over who visits these facilities where immigrants are detained?

Refusing entry to members of Congress! How much of this is just overreach by ICE?

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Gail Smith's avatar

Gabe, why does no one castigate Trump for changing the tariff deadlines incessantly? He appears (as he is) arrogant and unstable.

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Peter Williams's avatar

Here is my $64 million question (or is it $64 billion these days?) What is the future of Social Security funding? I am recently retired and would normally wait until 70 to maximize my monthly income. However, I’m not convinced the Social Security fund will be solvent much longer beyond that. Thank you!

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Annie Bickley's avatar

Any chance the tariff money is reducing the deficit?

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Arthur Leonard's avatar

Is it possible that Trump can unilaterally build a new ballroom in place of the east wing of the White House without Congressional approval, just because he is raising money from donors and paying for some of it himself? The White House is federal property, after all

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Michael Becker's avatar

I want to ask a question about the EPA moving to officially roll back a longstanding finding that climate change is a threat to public health. News coverage of the decision has said reversing this finding will leave them with no authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. But I thought the Inflation Reduction Act included provisions giving the EPA the express authority to regulate greenhouse gases by specifically designating them as pollutants under a section of the Clean Air Act (in reaction to a Supreme Court ruling, West Virginia v. EPA). Is the “public health” authority distinct from this authority in some way? Is it more extensive in what sectors or activities the EPA is allowed to regulate? Are only certain pollutants allowed to be regulated, even if they’re included in the Clean Air Act? Maybe most immediately relevant, if the Trump administration starts to rescind regulations on the grounds that they had no real legal authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, could the Inflation Reduction Act be cited as evidence that Congress intends for them to regulate it in legal challenges?

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William (Bill) Beighley's avatar

As someone who, at 60 years old, has spent a lot of time and energy helping those around me in any way I can. Someone who has done their duty to vote in my early years for the person I thought most qualified and in more recent years strictly democratic to help fight what I see as a war of major differences, why would I want to see Kamala Harris re-enter the presidential election? Don't get me wrong, I would love to see a woman of color get the position. Any woman would go a long way to helping us shift back to 21st century thinking! I would love to see a gay man like Pete Buttigieg get the position. Not only is he a minority in that regard but an a.azingly smart strategist and forward thinker too. I think either of them could do this country a world of good! But I don't think we are there yet. I heard too many people say that they didn't vote for Kamala for a variety of reasons. My answer was always the same. If you didn't vote for Kamala you might as well have voted for Trump. We need someone, this round, who is going to get votes from people on the fence and those in the Republican party that are tired of it all. I personally don't think it is one of them this time. Newsome comes to my mind.

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Andrea Lise's avatar

Exactly! I believe that Pete Buttigieg is smart and could be a good leader, but I wonder how the fact that he’s gay would play into the equation…

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DerekF's avatar

There have been numerous hand-wringing stories about Democrats still trying to get their act together. How much time did the Republicans spend doing the same exercise in 2008?

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DocOnTheRange's avatar

Who determines when the house or Senate are in session?

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Marianne Ludwig's avatar

Who can say yes or no to major changes to the White House? Can just anybody just start tearing down historic walls and no one can stop them?

ML

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