Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi
Appearances
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
And so it is the ultimate corruption where he is essentially getting access to the federal budget and getting to make recommendations or even decisions about what contracts should continue and what contracts should not. Do you think he's going to say, you know what, my contract is a little excessive. It's wasteful. Let's cancel that.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
There's no question they're laying the foundation to defy or ignore court orders. And just to be clear, you know, our rule of law, which is the basic foundation of our democracy and our economy and our criminal justice system. I mean, if you do not have the rule of law in control, you are no longer a democracy. And
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
Our rule of law depends on the respect for judicial orders, dating back to Marbury versus Madison, when our separation of powers was clarified to mean that we're co-equal branches of government and the judiciary determines whether or not the laws are being complied with. It's like, for example, you were playing basketball or in any sport. Why do you have a referee? Why do you have an umpire?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
Right? You want someone who is neutral, experienced, educated, qualified because they've all been confirmed by the Senate to make the determination. Should Elon Musk make the determination as to whether what he is doing is lawful or breaks the law? Of course not. That's why you have referees and umpires to call those balls and strikes. And so it's an absurd allegation that J.D.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
Vance and Elon Musk are starting to set up. But the reason they're doing it is to build the case to defy court orders. And among all of the terrible things that have been going on during the first three weeks, Ben, that would be a true constitutional crisis that we have never faced before.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
Well, there are a number of different things that we are trying to do. Really, all of them are directed at putting pressure on the Republicans. I understand everyone's frustration. Certainly we are incredibly frustrated. That doesn't even begin to describe the emotions that I feel about what's going on.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
And we are out there holding press conferences, gaining attention, amplifying the lawlessness that's going on, the true effort by Elon Musk and Donald Trump to dismantle and overtake our government, undermine Congress and our power at the purse. Ultimately, Donald Trump doesn't have another election. Elon Musk is not an elected official.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
They care far less about public outcry than a Republican senator or a Republican member of Congress who does have an election coming up. And ultimately, a lot of what we're doing in the courts is to stop or at least slow down everything that's going on so that we can figure out what is going on. Part of the reason why all these judges are ruling against the Trump administration
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
is no one has any idea what Musk is doing with his teenage minions behind the scenes. And we get little bits and pieces of, oh, it's only their access to our entire federal government pay system is only access only. But we have no idea whether that's true and what that means. We don't know what the national security implications are here.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
We don't know whether personal information data is going to be used by Musk, you know, for his X to his algorithm through AI to target Americans with specific ways. I mean, there's so many different things that could happen and we don't know.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
But ultimately, it is incumbent upon the congressional Republicans to make a decision as to whether or not they want Congress to continue as a legitimate branch of the federal government. Are they willing to neutralize, to eliminate their own power in fealty to Donald Trump.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
And so a lot of what we are doing is working with all those on the outside, building opposition, making our voices heard, because that will have an impact on Republicans in Congress, even if it doesn't have as much of an impact on Donald Trump. And at some point, these Republicans are going to see the poll numbers going down for Trump, going down for their party, going down for themselves.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
And they're going to have to make a decision. Am I going to continue to be a spineless wimp and just do whatever Donald Trump says to me, even though that's against the authority that I have right now? It undermines that authority. Or do I want to get reelected? And for a lot of my colleagues, reelection is a big motivator. And so that's really where our efforts are geared to make them stand up.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
And Speaker Johnson referenced yesterday that, you know, we have a process, we have a court, there's an appeal process that they can go through, but that we do need to make sure that the rule of law continues and that's by respecting court opinions.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
I think it's important for your viewers to understand that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act targets effectively bribery of international governments by businesses that do business as well in the United States.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
It would lead to complete lawlessness and it would allow the larger corporations to have an advantage economically over smaller businesses, both here and elsewhere in countries around the world. It would completely eviscerate the sort of equality that our economy is founded on, that business is founded on. It is a very, very important statute that levels the playing field, that stops corruption.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
And it should be no surprise to any of us now that Donald Trump is trying to dismantle all forms of accountability against corruption. Taking out the FCPA is one. Firing all the inspectors general is another. He fired yesterday the director of the Office of Government Ethics. He has consistently been he's fired all sorts of prosecutors and FBI agents who have tried to hold him accountable.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
He actually said yesterday that the January 6th defendants were victims of an attack by law enforcement. that they were not the ones who actually assaulted law enforcement. He is literally trying to whitewash history and to convince Americans that what they see with their own eyes is not what they're really seeing. And of course, we all know what that's for, Ben, and why he's doing that.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
As he is installing Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel and Pam Bondi, people who have made already representations and sworn to do his dirty work. He does not want there to be any accountability for their efforts at revenge and retribution to allow him to effectively take full control of the federal government. That is what this process is setting up. And it is very clear that's where he's going.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
Look, I think it's kind of the typical Donald Trump playbook at this point, which is childish insults, all sorts of allegations which are designed to distract from the dismantling of our federal government that Elon Musk is trying to do. It's somewhat laughable for him to refer to all Democrats as corrupt,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
Yeah, there are actual signs of hope. And I don't want everybody to be too discouraged. Your voice matters. Our voices matter. You look at what happened with the freeze of the Office of Management and Budget and all federal funding being frozen.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
There was an uproar from everyday Americans all across the spectrum when their Social Security payments were stopped, when their SNAP food benefits were stopped, when the Medicare and Medicaid portals were not available. when every single nonprofit organization that depends on already promised government funding stopped receiving it. And they rescinded that memo.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
So that is yet another example of how our voices can matter. The courts so far are encouraging, and I hope they hold. And then, you know, we have a budget coming up. We have government funding is expiring March 14th. And traditionally the Republicans have been unable to pass a budget themselves, even though they're in the majority.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
And so if they do come to us to seek our help to fund, you know, to get this budget across, they're going to have to be open to putting some of our priorities in there. And so at that point, we get to have some leverage to take some corrective action against all of these lawless efforts.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
Well, thanks for having me, Ben. It's always great to be with you. And thanks to all your subscribers for being engaged. How we save our democracy is everybody leaning in a little bit more. Don't put your head under the pillow as tempting as it is. We've got to fight back and we've got to fight back hard.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exposing Musk's Corrupt Power Grab with Congressman Dan Goldman
when this is a guy who has taken over control of government contracts when he himself receives billions of dollars of government contracts. But because he's not an official government employee, he can evade the standard conflicts of interest rules that apply to all other government employees.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
Well, my congressional district is in Maryland and it borders Washington, D.C. So we have tens of thousands of people from Maryland who've come down here. So this is the one I did, even though I was in Florida, actually, with Maxwell Frost for the rest of the weekend.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
So this demonstration across the country with more than a thousand different protests is going to further catalyze popular resistance and opposition to this deranged program that they're imposing on the country.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
Wait, I'm sorry, I missed the trigger.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
So what's your message to them? First of all, we are winning in the courts. Like, for example, they fired tens of thousands of probationary employees, which was completely lawless. And so they've been restored theoretically to their jobs, but they're not letting them go back to work. They are giving them pay, but they're not having them do their jobs, which is absurd.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
But we're going to fight for them to get their jobs back. And then we are going to make sure that people who've lost their jobs, who can't get their jobs back, are part of this movement against authoritarianism in the country. Congressman, thank you so much.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fed Up Dems Smack Down Trump for Total Failure
When you stand here right now, we have gone from a Trump slump to a Trump train wreck. We are going into a red recession. Our 401 s are 201 s. Our costs at Walmart and Home Depot and Target, where four out of five of the things we buy are from overseas, are going up. And where is Donald Trump? He's golfing. So to Donald Trump, I say, get your ass off the golf course and face the people.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
Who pays tariffs, Mr. Secretary? No, no, no. Answer the questions I ask, please. I only have five minutes. Who pays tariffs?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
Mr. Secretary, please.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
The question is very simply, who pays tariffs, Mr. Chairman? I'd like him to answer that question. He wants to answer other questions.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
Did you remember the question? I'm not sure you did. Who pays tariffs?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
Reclaiming my time. People pay tariffs, right?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Loses Control on Live TV as Trump Gets Worse
Reclaiming my time, Mr. Secretary. Reclaiming my time. You clearly aren't going to answer. I'm not going to waste my time having you go, uh, uh, uh, uh.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Rep. Himes on Democrats Going on Offense
Terrorist is at his known location, so should be on time. Also, strike drones launch MQ-9s. MQ-9s is a weapon system, correct?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Rep. Himes on Democrats Going on Offense
Okay. I think Applying the executive order as well as the DOD manual to this fact pattern, we clearly have weapon systems that have been identified. That is classified information. Now, the reason why it's important that this information not be disclosed is that we don't want the adversaries to know what's about to happen. Right, sir?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Rep. Himes on Democrats Going on Offense
I understand. In this situation, those are operational details.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Rep. Himes on Democrats Going on Offense
This is classified information. This is classified information. It's a weapon system as well as sequence of strikes as well as details about the operations.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Rep. Janelle Bynum Shares Playbook for Dems Winning in Red States
So that the American public knows what this bill does. One of the little things that it does, would you please read page 901, line 20?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Rep. Janelle Bynum Shares Playbook for Dems Winning in Red States
Oh, he doesn't want to read it. I'll read it.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Rep. Janelle Bynum Shares Playbook for Dems Winning in Red States
It was a question. We would read it. So I'll ask Ranking Member Moore to read the text. This is in their bill. They don't want to read a line from their own bill. Ranking Member.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Rep. Janelle Bynum Shares Playbook for Dems Winning in Red States
Okay, I am, I am, this is amazing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Rep. Janelle Bynum Shares Playbook for Dems Winning in Red States
So they're going to repeal, they're repealing an excise tax. On tanning beds. Okay, so if you have a tanning bed, you get a little bit of a tax break. And if you need a hospital bed in rural America, I'm sorry, you're out of luck. Right? And I don't know where this particular provision came from.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Rep. Janelle Bynum Shares Playbook for Dems Winning in Red States
We do know that there are certain elected officials who appear to have a certain orange hue about them, that maybe they want to make sure that tanning beds get a little bit of special credit. But really, really, we are prioritizing tanning beds over hospital beds in rural America.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
Look, the imperial presidency of Donald Trump is as much a product of congressional capitulation as it is of Donald Trump himself. Historically, Congress has gone too far in passing too many laws that concentrate too much power in the executive. The time has come to return power back where it belongs, in the hands of the people and their elected representatives in Congress. We should repeal
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
the Alien Enemies Act, which enables the president to deport people without due process. We should repeal the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, which enables the president to impose taxes and tariffs that have destabilized the global economy. We have to restore the constitutional balance. The United States Constitution envisions Congress
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
as the Article I branch of government, as the first among equals, and we should return to that constitutional balance.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
Look, we live in an Orwellian universe where the truth no longer matters. Facts no longer matter. We have in the United States a president who's a malignant and pathological narcissist who is willing not only to wrongfully deport an innocent man, but also willing to defy an order, a unanimous order from a right-wing Supreme Court to reverse the wrongful deportation.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
And to see both the President of the United States and the President of El Salvador openly mock the federal courts is an embarrassing spectacle. And so I introduced the Rescue Act, which is an attempt to secure the release of those who have been wrongfully deported. If you're a foreign leader like the President of El Salvador and you refuse to comply with a federal order from a U.S. court,
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
then you should be held accountable. There should be geopolitical consequences, and those consequences should be severe and swift. It should include the suspension of normal diplomatic relations, the suspension of trade relations, determination of foreign assistance. We need an enforceable means of defending due process of all the abuses of the Trump presidency.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
There is no greater threat to individual freedom than his frontal assault, his complete contempt for due process. We live in a country where the Trump administration can wrongfully label anyone a non-citizen gang member, abduct you in the dead of night, and then render you to a foreign prison to be tortured.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
Look, I'm recoiling in horror and shock. I no longer recognize my country. You know, we live in a morally inverted universe where the president is treating our friends as enemies and our enemies as friends. And his mission in life seems to be a strongman, a dictator, in the image of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. And it's just, it's utterly horrifying.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
I think our country is undergoing transformation in real time. But for me, of everything that Donald Trump has done, by far the worst is the frontal assault on due process. You know, there's more language in the Bill of Rights about the rights of the accused, about due process. than there is about any other right. Like the founding fathers recognized that due process is not one right among many.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
It's foundational to everything else. And Donald Trump is striking at the very foundations of our democracy and our constitutional system.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
Look, Donald Trump thinks America's a monarchy, and he's the king, and we're his subjects. And there's been a powerful grassroots movement of Americans from every major city, from every place in this country, sending a powerful message that America's not a monarchy, that Donald Trump is not a king, that we're not his subjects. We are citizens, and we're willing to fight for our democracy.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls out Trump Violations
And so the groundswell of resistance to Donald Trump is reason for hope. And I'm hopeful that come 2027, House Democrats are going to be in charge of the House of Representatives. Hakeem Jeffries is going to be the first African-American speaker in American history. And we're finally going to have checks and balances that will rein in the extremes of a Donald Trump president.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump Witnesses Collapse Under Cross-Exam at Hearing
Hey, I had a town hall. I had a fire captain show up to this town hall. Somebody who worked at Ground Zero. And he is somebody who said he was diagnosed with cancer. He said he's on borrowed time. And he was livid, absolutely livid about what he said, the administration gutting the World Trade Center health program.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump Witnesses Collapse Under Cross-Exam at Hearing
And we've talked through some of these cuts that have happened before, some staff cuts, some maybe brought back on, the administrator cut. I just need to hear from you. I promise as fire captain, I'd ask you about this. What in the world happened? Why was the staff cut for this program? What are we to expect going forward? I restored the staff to the program. Why was it cut to start with?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump Witnesses Collapse Under Cross-Exam at Hearing
Were you unaware or were you aware that the decision to cut NIOSH staff would cut that World Trade Center health program?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump Witnesses Collapse Under Cross-Exam at Hearing
I don't think you were trying to be as careful as you can. I mean, that's the problem that we've seen by rushing these decisions forward. This was, I know, early in your time there.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Trump Witnesses Collapse Under Cross-Exam at Hearing
So where is this going to land now? Can you tell us right now that the World Trade Center health program will go back to where it was before you became secretary?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Republicans Caught Altering Evidence at Major Hearing
Well, you did place on leave an analyst responsible for investigating Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. Is that politicization? Is that retribution?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Republicans Caught Altering Evidence at Major Hearing
With all due respect, this whole argument about these Venezuelan gang members or people who say they aren't in a gang but they've got MS-13 and code on their knuckles. That's a fake photo. Well, whatever it is. You've also sat here and argued against using tattoos to say if someone's a member of MS-13.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Republicans Caught Altering Evidence at Major Hearing
So anyone who has a tie to MS-13 or the government suspects of it, if you tell me that they deserve due process, I'll tell you that I know Lake and Riley's dad and I would go out and kick every one of them off out of this country just because of Lake and Raleigh. So when Frederica Wilson said something like more people are getting rolled up because of Lake and Raleigh, you're damn right they are.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Republicans Caught Altering Evidence at Major Hearing
Because this whole country saw what happened to Lake and Raleigh. And we said, hell no.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Republicans Caught Altering Evidence at Major Hearing
Right here for transparency. Let's go. Did you recently change your social media profile from public to private?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Republicans Caught Altering Evidence at Major Hearing
Okay. Was that before or after you got wind that you might end up being here today?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Republicans Caught Altering Evidence at Major Hearing
Also happened to be right after you found out that you might be here. Correct? Correct.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Republicans Caught Altering Evidence at Major Hearing
Yes, that is April 14th. And he did it after. So I'm going to give you another F, two counts for transparency.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Republicans Caught Altering Evidence at Major Hearing
placed on leave FBI employees responsible for the investigation of January 6th. That sounds political to me.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Republicans Caught Altering Evidence at Major Hearing
So if they were investigating January 6th, you believe they were violating an ethical obligation?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
Well, look, I have to imagine that the reason they're building Trump villas in Qatar and Trump hotels in Dubai is the plans in Gaza have fallen through. Have you heard anything about the Trump hotel in Gaza? Has that fallen through?
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
I live in the past sometimes. I apologize. You know, look, Ben, the American people were told this the first time, okay? And then they were sold a bag of goods by James Comer, you know, that, you know, they were saying that, you know, Joe Biden's being fed Jell-O in the basement, but he's also a criminal mastermind, okay, with his son Hunter, you know? And that didn't work
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
with mainstream America, but it was something they spent tens of millions of dollars on in Congress, pursuing Hunter and his father, with this fake impeachment nonsense. But I gotta be honest, I think the American people know this about the Trump family. Right. Like they know this. They saw it in the first term.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
Now he's not up for reelection, although he says, you know, the third term nonsense, they're selling all sorts of hats and shirts. He's not up for reelection again. And so and he's got immunity that the Supreme Court gave him. So, yes, this is a giant grift. You know what these countries are getting, of course, in exchange for all this. We'll never know. Trump mean coin villas, hotels.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
We'll never know what they're getting in exchange. But clearly they're not doing it out of the goodness of their heart. So, yeah, the Trump family is going to leave this next four years, probably making tens of billions of dollars off of the back of the president of the United States.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
I mean, what do you mean promised? I mean, we're in the golden age, Ben.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
That's why his approval rating is 39%, right? That's why he's got the worst approval rating of any president in modern era in the first 100 days. I mean, I said the other day that, you know, perhaps William Henry Harrison had a worse 100 days than this president. And so, you know, but Trump said something the other day on News Nation in the town hall. He was asked a question by Bill O'Reilly.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
Bill O'Reilly said, you know, if the tariffs aren't solved, Mr. President, if all this stuff in the economy is going well, it's not going to be very good for you in the midterms. And actually what he said was he he answered that by saying, no, I'll go out and tell the American people how great it is. And that is two things, admitting two things.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
One is, you know, that is Trump's kind of superpower. He just doesn't care about reality. And he goes out and tells people what the reality should be. But also it also admits that the American people don't pay so much attention that they are able to buy that. I don't know that it's going to work this time because, you know, you can tell people about numbers they do not see.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
Oh, you know, these are the numbers at the border. These are the numbers here. Those are not numbers that they can confirm. Right. But going out and telling them egg prices are the lowest they've ever been. People go to the grocery store and see that this Easter egg prices were the highest ever. Saying, oh, gas is $1.98. Well, they go to the gas station and see that it's $3.50. Okay, right.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
So he's not going to be able to do that when the people can go out and verify these numbers where people are losing their jobs, they're making less money, they feel uneasy, goods are being more expensive. I mean, you're about to see that, right? The tariff stuff, you know, Trump talked about, oh, we got to get these deals in 90 days. The 90 day thing is because that's really when...
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
The ships are not leaving. The stuff that was in storage is now on the shelves. And we get to a point where the goods are coming in that are now tariffed, if they're coming in at all. I heard the other day on the radio that the president had a meeting with Christmas vendors, vendors that sell Christmas toys, Christmas ornaments.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
And they said 85% of the stuff that we sell here for Christmas is made in China. And they have about six weeks to start getting that through production. And so as the president, you know, the president promised he'd start no more wars. It turns out he started a war on Christmas after all that. How ironic.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
And borrowing, spending and borrowing.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
Sure, Doge has been a complete and utter failure, okay? First of all, I joined Doge for a couple of reasons in the beginning. One, because, you know, look, the polls were clear, 80 plus percent of Americans believe the government spends too much money and that there's waste there.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
I didn't want Republicans to own the messaging war on that, that somehow Democrats were going to defend the status quo and Republicans were the one only that were interested in waste. I wanted to take some of that away, you know, whether, you know, this was going to have legitimacy or not. The American people voted for this, and so it had legitimacy.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
But I wanted to make sure that we weren't seeding that messaging war. I also wanted to go to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, be in the room, because I represent a district where 120,000 people get Social Security, 90,000 people get Medicaid. And so it was important for me to go protect that. Well, let me tell you how this has gone. So we're now in May.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
The Doge caucus had two meetings. They were both in January. I was at both of them. And they never met again, not once. Elon never included the Doge caucus. We never got any of our ideas. It was completely run out of the executive branch. So the Doge executive committee, something completely different, they're the ones who cut all this stuff. Congress was not involved.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
And also Elon fell 85% short of his goals. And now there is data that shows that they saved, they claim they saved 160 billion, but it actually cost us 135 billion to save the 160. So Doge is a complete and utter failure. They also never did the E part, Ben. They were supposed to make government more efficient, E. They just did dog, I guess.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
They left out the E. There's not a single department that's more efficient. And now that Elon is gone trying to save his company, the secretaries of these agencies are secretly rehiring. You're not hearing a lot about that. They're rehiring because they have departments that don't work. The State Department needs to rehire because they don't have enough people, right? FAA needs to rehire.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
They don't have enough people, okay? You know, so they're trying to rehire these places to make them work. Same thing with the Pentagon. They need to get people in there to make that place working. So Doge was a complete and utter failure, but I wasn't going to let the Republicans own the messaging war because when you're in the minority, the only thing you have is that message.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
And I think actually we handled it well. Democrats, myself included, and others said, look, hey, look, we're willing to talk, you know, waste, fraud and abuse. Absolutely. We should look at that. Seven trillion dollar economy. You know, we should a seven trillion dollar budget. I'm sure there's stuff in there. And look, I didn't commit to the other day.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
I took I found a billion dollars of savings in the judiciary budget. They want to buy new cars. They want to spend one point three billion dollars. on new lawyers, they wanna do 858 million on bonuses. And I cut that to show them we can find a billion dollars worth of savings just in a quick, and they voted against it. Every Republican in the judiciary voted against it. So they're not serious.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
Elon's not serious. Trump's not serious on attacking the debt or deficit. Their tax plan is gonna add three and a half trillion at a minimum to the debt every year. And so Doge, which was supposed to get out our debt is a complete and utter failure.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
And you didn't get one of those white binders with with publicly released information.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
Then they looked at the list of the people that were in the files and they were like, shit, we know half these people.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
Well, look, that's why the numbers are where they are. The truth is, it's not just Democrats and independents that are leaving them. It's some Republicans too, right? Like to get to 39%, you know, yeah, you got your core MAGA base, but they're also losing some Republicans. And look, it's the chaos. It's the uncertainty. It's the distractions. You know, Canada is going to be the 51st state.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
Greenland, we're going to vacation in Gaza, Panama. You know, we're going to deport people to El Salvador. And they announced the other day they're looking at Rwanda and the Sudan. These are all distractions to get Democrats and the media to stop talking about the economy and Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. We shouldn't take the bait, by the way. We should stay focused on those two things.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
We should obviously defend due process and freedom, but stay focused on from a messaging standpoint, the economy, protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. That's the whole ballgame, in my opinion. But, yeah, not a great not a great 100 days. for the president.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
There is something about making a disaster and then trying to clean it up and take credit for the cleanup, but this was all manmade.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
I do like long walks on the beach.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
One of the most destructive things that the Trump administration is doing at the moment, I'm hoping to work with them and reverse course and save it. But if I'm going off of the words of Secretary Noem, I'm deeply concerned. I'm deeply concerned what they're doing with FEMA. I mean, look, I'm from Florida. I'm a former director of emergency management.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
I'm the only director, former director of emergency management in all of Congress. But if they actually do what Kristi Noem wants to do with FEMA, which is get rid of it, which is what she said, chop it up and give it to other agencies, which won't be more efficient. It'll make it worse if she wants to mess with reimbursement. I mean, you could have a state like Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
uh if they get a category four storm and they don't have federal reimbursement if the federal government isn't coming out and organizing resources you know because fema doesn't have a lot of resources it's dod that's got the resources other agencies fema organizes that and brings it if no one's doing that after a katrina for louisiana or a helene uh in north carolina people are gonna die
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
And these places are not going to have a good response, and they're not going to recover. I did Hurricane Michael. That was one of the recoveries I did in the Panhandle. Extremely poor area, all Republican, by the way. Without the money the federal government sent in the first Trump administration, these towns would never recover. They'd be gone.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
And so this is something that, you know, we're not talking about, but we're getting into hurricane season and I'm worried about whether or not FEMA is going to work. There are there are people in the Trump administration, the West Wing, OK, that are from Florida and know this.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
They got to stop the secretary who's never done a disaster cleanup in her entire life, being from being the governor where she was. OK, that that this is needed. That doesn't mean there doesn't need to be reformed. Ben, FEMA does need to reform. They need to get faster, smaller. They need to get out of Homeland. They need to stop doing all of the immigration grants.
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
Let ICE and Homeland run their own grants. FEMA shouldn't be running them. Okay, so there are things we can fix, but to get rid of this for the American people would be devastating beyond belief. And I haven't even talked about what they've done at NOAA
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Congressman Jared Moskowitz on Trump’s Latest Scams
about you know getting rid of weather balloons and getting rid of people being able to figure out how we're going to track these hurricanes the hurricane hunters there's questions whether those planes are going to be able to get in the air there's time to still fix this uh on on what doge did to those two departments that's why i asked that question at the end i think sometimes the most important things are the questions that are least asked and i think it's been proven once again congress member thank you for joining us you got it ben thanks
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
You said that you told your staff to slow the testing down to improve the numbers. Did you ask to slow it down?
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
Well, thanks. It's great to be on with you. And we know how estranged Donald Trump is from the truth. And the fact is his administration isn't interested in data. They're not interested in science. They're only interested in power and making life more chaotic for Americans all across our country. And that's what they're doing. I was talking with
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
folks that had contracts with the Department of Education recently. And they were telling me how the Department of Ed has ceased the collection of data. So just putting on a blindfold, not wanting to know what's going on in education across our country, not wanting to know how our kids are doing and where the gaps exist.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
They fired individuals that have been working in this space for decades and decades that have very specialized expertise into how our education systems work. and how best we can approach improving our schools for the future.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
So this is a full out assault, not just on government, but really on our ability as a country and as communities to solve problems, to know where the challenges lie and to know how best to address them collectively moving forward. So it's a deeply chilling moment, I think, for our democracy and the ability of our government to work for everyday Americans
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
And look, government needs to be a stabilizing force that's informed by reality, that's informed by the data in order to be able to fulfill its mission. But Donald Trump, we know, and the folks around him, they don't believe in the mission of government. They only believe in Donald Trump and amassing more power. And they're doing it at the expense of the American people.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
And we've got to continue to find ways to stand up, to be counted, to provide a full accounting of the damage that's being done, and to work to try to put up guardrails wherever possible.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
People are deeply concerned with what they're seeing right now, and it is far reaching in terms of its impacts. It's the delivery of critical programs, including those earned benefits like Social Security.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
People are going to have to wait longer to be able to apply for benefits or to get a question answered because they've moved to fire half the people that work for the Social Security Administration. You think about the VA and the positive steps we've taken over the last few years on a bipartisan basis, mind you, to expand care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances and burn pits.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
But they're moving to fire 80,000 people, including people who provide direct care to veterans and others who answer crisis lines and process claims. That's all having an impact on the ability of our government to deliver on its promise to those who risked everything for our nation and who defended our freedoms. So it's an urgent challenge right now.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
We are working to hear directly from our constituents, from our communities, from local nonprofits, all of whom are really disturbed, angry, and anxious about what's happening in Washington, DC. And we've got to make sure that we're using every tool possible on the inside to address this.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
So we're signing letters, we're sponsoring legislation, we're signing onto court briefs, we're giving remarks on the floor, we're holding press conferences, but we also need the public really to be engaged in this. in helping to bring the fight in Washington back home.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
So whether that's talking about this in terms of jobs and livelihoods, on funding that's being withheld from our communities, on just the ability to deliver critical services, especially to some of our most vulnerable citizens, this attack is far ranging, and we're deeply concerned about where it goes next. We know that the reconciliation package with drastic cuts
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
to Medicaid that could essentially end health care coverage for tens of millions of Americans and jeopardize the care provided by our community health centers and hospitals. All in the name of providing tax breaks to billionaires like Elon Musk, it is the most backward priorities that you could ever come up with in a bill. And people are really incensed about it.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
And we're going to continue to try to fight on the inside as best we can to stop that legislation.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
Well, as you can imagine, New Hampshire, which borders Canada, has deep ties to our Canadian partners and our economy is very much interconnected. And so we benefit from free trade with Canada.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
That's why updating the USMCA under the first Trump administration was an important step forward to protect those trading partnerships and to make sure that we're also protecting domestic industries in America. But what I'm hearing from small businesses is that things are getting more expensive. 88%
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
of small businesses import products in order to sell them to customers or to make something else that they're delivering to customers right here in America. So that's making things more expensive. It's a huge tax, not only on our small businesses, but on the American public. And I've heard that very directly from our small business community. In addition to that,
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
our businesses that export to places like Canada or China are also being hit hard. I had an extensive conversation with businesses in our forest products industry, which is important here in New Hampshire. We're the second most forested state in the country. And they have a huge market in China, which now is being hit with 150% reciprocal tariff. And so that market is going to go away.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
People are going to lose their jobs. And so whether that's in logging, in the sawmills or in the lumber yards, there is tremendous pressure that they're just not going to be able to navigate. I was talking to them about some of the legislative efforts that we hope to undertake and maybe pull some Republicans along with us. And they said, look, we just can't wait. This is urgent.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
This is existential for our business. And if we don't get some relief from the president, we can't just wait a few months for Congress to pass something. So we need to make sure that we are leveraging the voices that we're hearing in our districts from the small business community that are being heard on both sides of the trading relationship. It's really devastating.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
And it comes at a time where we should be taking every step possible to lower costs, to make housing more affordable, to make sure child care is more available, and to lower the cost of energy. This is just hitting people where it hurts at a time where most families and businesses can't afford it.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
Yeah, well, this is an important race. I've served four terms or am serving in my fourth term in the House of Representatives, having represented half of the state of New Hampshire. And this is an open seat. Our Senator Jeanne Shaheen decided to retire at the end of her term, which comes up in 2026. And so I decided to jump in this race.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
I think this is a moment where we all should look to go beyond what we're used to doing to make sure we are raising our voices and standing up for what counts. And I have a track record of being well grounded in terms of the challenges that people face out there. I'm a small business owner, so I know how our economy works.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
And I also know how to take on tough fights and get things done, whether that's lowering the cost of prescription drugs, standing up to the entrenched special interests and corporate power that runs amok in Washington, DC, to get things done for the people of New Hampshire. That's my track record. I also have a track record of winning tough races.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
And I think as we look ahead to 2026, it's imperative that we figure out how to build the kind of coalitions that we need to be able to confront the damage that is being done to our democracy, to our way of life, and to our country, and to win. And I'm absolutely committed to doing that in the coming months. So we're really excited about the energy out there.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
This is a moment where I think everyone wants to be a part of a solution. And as people express anger and anxiety about the future, we wanna give them a way that they can be constructive in terms of how we truly achieve some checks and balances moving forward. And I believe we need to do that by taking back the majorities in the midterm elections.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
Where can people find out more information about you? Well, thanks. People can go to chrispappas.org and find out more about me, about the work that I've been doing, fighting on behalf of the people of New Hampshire, and to pitch in or just leave a comment. We'd love to engage with you all as we go about this race.
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Congressman Chris Pappas Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Term
This is a state that is very purple, was decided by less than three percentage points in the last presidential election, and our Senate race in 2016 was decided by 1,017 votes. We know close races here in New Hampshire. We're taking nothing for granted. We're going to get out there and earn this and we'd love people's help.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
What do you make of all this mess? I got to tell you, our constituents are livid at this point. We're getting tremendous outreach. The main reason being that I'm talking about even people in the middle, people who might have voted for Trump. We're hearing from, for instance, small businesses. We're one of the biggest kind of concentrations of light manufacturing anywhere in the Midwest.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
and Illinois's biggest trading partner is Canada. And so we have tremendous number of exports and imports coming across the border. And these businesses are just seeing their prices skyrocket for their inputs. And now that they're having to pay a lot more to build whatever they're building, they can't sell what they're trying to sell either at the prices that they were expecting.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
And meanwhile, our farmers met with me on Thursday, farmers from central and southern Illinois and complained about retaliation in the form of tariffs, counter tariffs on their goods. And so they are very upset. And then you have just residents, everyday people who are paying 27% more for eggs at the grocery store, a lot more for groceries in general.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
I had the president of the local 881 of United Food and Commercial Workers as my guest for the State of the Union. He reported that for his 35,000 workers, many of them cannot afford the groceries that they are stocking on the shelves of their grocery stores. And so this is just a complete mess. And it's why, as you saw, Trump's unfavorability is skyrocketing.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
Well, I should tell you that my district is also home to one of the biggest concentrations of Ukrainian Americans, and for that matter, Eastern European Americans of any congressional district. These people are beside themselves because they see that we are basically taking the side of a dictator. communist dictator, basically, in the form of Vladimir Putin.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
They're not technically a communist country, but they just act like it. And we are disfavoring a freedom-loving democracy in the form of Ukraine. And they are beside themselves about that. And then they see that
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
What we're doing with Canada, what we're doing with our friends and partners and allies elsewhere means that whether it's Poland or whether it's any other NATO country or for that matter, whether it's South Korea or Japan or anyone else with whom we have treaty alliances can't rely on us. And that drives them insane.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
And so we are kind of in this situation where they feel less safe and they're paying higher prices and they're having a harder time doing business and they're worried about their children because we just heard two nights ago that Trump is going to lay off half of the workforce of the Department of Education. Are you kidding me? This is craziness.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
And this is the kind of nonsense that they're very, very upset about. And did I mention Doge and Elon Musk? When people found out about Doge and Elon Musk having access to their private computers, identifiable information at first at the Treasury Department, we got like a thousand phone calls in 24 hours.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
And, you know, that's just that's just the level of, you know, alarm on the part of people at this point.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
well or the greater good do your constituents want pain and suffering and infliction of of harm absolutely not and you know one of the worst things that i heard the other day apparently there's a report that maybe it was howard lutnik or it was scott bessen one of those billionaire cabinet secretaries actually said that we should go into a recession can you believe that
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
that somehow going into a recession would be a good thing for America. And I was saying to my friends, like we need to, We need to get back to basics here. We need to do whatever we can. We need to have a coalition to prevent recession. I call it CPR.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
We need CPR for this economy to prevent us from going into recession and preventing all the collateral damage that's about to happen in the form of unemployment and everything else.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
Yeah, so I think it means a few things. First of all, I'm doing a lot of town hall meetings. A lot of them are even pop-up town hall meetings where we find out about an executive order in the morning. And then we say, look, we got to talk about this with our constituents either today or the next day.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
And believe it or not, we had like 1,600 people just show up for one of these pop-up town hall meetings because of the level of concern and fear and anger and all of the above. In terms of how do we fight, I think there are a few ways that we have to fight. One, we absolutely have to lift up our voices at this point.
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
I've mentioned this before, but that means the average person lifting up their voices and connecting with their member of Congress on both sides of the aisle. It means us in Congress using our tools on committees to bring about accountability and transparency. We came within one vote
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
of successfully subpoenaing uh elon musk and we have to keep doing that we have to get him to testify under oath about what the hell he's doing uh at doge secondly we have to continue with the litigation both inside and outside congress third we have to use our votes and that's very important as you know we do have some leverage we need to use it accordingly and then last
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
We have to go to our Republican colleagues and we have to say, look, you have choices. You can either harm your constituents by gutting Medicaid, for instance, or you can do the right thing and oppose those moves. If you decide to do the wrong thing, we're going to hold you accountable. And that's going to be at the next elections. It could be in your primaries, whatever. But the point is that
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Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
We need to do everything. We need to fight in the court of public opinion. We need to fight in the legal system. And of course, we need to fight in the halls of Congress. We will never surrender. We cannot surrender.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
I got to tell you, our constituents are livid at this point. We're getting tremendous outreach. The main reason being that I'm talking about even people in the middle, people who might have voted for Trump. We're hearing from, for instance, small businesses. We're one of the biggest kind of concentrations of light manufacturing anywhere in the Midwest.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
Illinois's biggest trading partner is Canada. We have a tremendous number of exports and imports coming across the border. These businesses are just seeing their prices skyrocket for their inputs. Now that they're having to pay a lot more to build whatever they're building, They can't sell what they're trying to sell either at the prices that they were expecting.
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
And meanwhile, our farmers met with me on Thursday, farmers from central and southern Illinois, and complained about retaliation in the form of tariffs, counter tariffs on their goods. And so they are very upset. And then you have just residents, everyday people who are paying 27% more for eggs at the grocery store, a lot more for groceries in general. I had the president of the local
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Uh Oh! Dems Torch the GOP in Their Own Turf
881 of United Food and Commercial Workers as my guest for the State of the Union. He reported that for his 35,000 workers, many of them cannot afford the groceries that they are stocking on the shelves of their grocery stores. And so this is just a complete mess. And it's why, as you saw, Trump's unfavorability is skyrocketing.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
Well, it pisses me off. It actually makes me extremely angry because his economic plan, if he wants to call it, has just been creating chaos. One We always knew taking on having a trade war would be difficult, especially when you're picking a war with every single country on the globe, including your own allies. That's insane. He always said, oh, these are going to be easy to win, easy to win.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
Not when the opposition starts firing back. And that's what exactly started happening. And he just created a tailspin in the marketplace where you saw the stocks going down, down and down. You also saw the the consumer confidence crashing. You saw banks started saying, hey, there's going to be a recession, recession, recession. And it just was a complete chaos.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
And what happens is you're starting to see it hurt really working men and women, people that need to look at their receipt when they go to the grocery store or restaurant. They really need to buckle down. And here's the thing, those tariffs, He lifted the big ones, but not all the tariffs. So what you're going to see is you're going to see the inflation still go up. People still hurt.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
And once that happens, people start tightening their belts. They stop spending. Their revenues decline. And all of a sudden, when revenues decline, the small business owner starts cutting back on hours and then laying off people. So we're in a downward spiral. It hasn't stopped just because he paused it for 90 days. The bond...
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
market super bad, like to the extent if you're if people are not scared, they should be because we were on the verge of having a financial economic meltdown. And this guy, the only reason he changed was because people were saying, hey, this is going to bring down the entire economy. So this guy is costing people their livelihoods or 401ks.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
And I think that that's finally breaking through to the people that voted for him. But this guy has no idea what he's doing. He listens to an economic advisor named Pete Navarro, who made up an expert called Ron Vera to justify his positions. That's insane.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
So the Dad's Caucus, we started off, we only had six members. Now we're up to 45 members. And it really is talking about the issues that men and families care about. One, how do you survive? How do you actually earn enough? How do you make sure things are not going up and up? How do you kind of provide? And in a way, really kind of acknowledges people where they're at.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
You know, you're a dad, you're a mom, you're struggling, but we want to figure out how to make life easier for you. And one of the things that we've known is that when we talk to dads about raising a kid, saving for a house, losing a job, mental health, we had people talk about mental health. We had them talk about gun violence.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
When you talk about issues that impact them, they're more likely to listen to your other policies, right? But when you sit there and you kind of like don't have that conversation, don't treat them as a, a valued part of your coalition, well, then all of a sudden they start moving away from you.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
And this appeals, the Dad's Caucus, we have everybody who is from a Blue Dog to New Dem to progressive members. It's ideologically diverse, racially diverse, and geographically diverse. It's one of the few caucuses that actually can do that because we start where people's priorities are, themselves and their families.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
The Republican plan is really defund, defraud, and lie to the American public. And here's the defund. They're trying to cut Medicaid. They're trying to cut Social Security by making it so hard for people to get their checks. They're trying to cut the Department of Education. They're just trying to cut, cut, cut without giving a damn of who it's going to hurt. So that's the defund.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
And then they want to take that savings and use it to defraud the American people by giving tax breaks to the top one percent, the billionaires, the ultra wealthy, and making sure that the corporations get a lower tax rate as well. That's how they're going to defraud the American people. And then they're lying about it. Here's the thing. He said, oh, that's not what we're doing.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
Their own budget instructions to the Energy and Commerce Committee says you have to cut $880,000. billion out of federal spending. Well, they have jurisdiction over Medicaid, Medicare, and some other spending. Well, the other spending is you cut everything to the bone, you get rid of it, you only cut $200 billion. So where do you get the other $680 billion in savings that they need? Medicaid.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
Yeah, they can do some tightening up work requirements, which is shameful in itself because it's going to hurt working people. But that only saves you about $100 and $120 billion. So they're straight up lying. That's why I actually went to Valadao's, Representative Valadao's in Bakersfield's district, held a town hall. He has 67% of his district on Medicaid, and he doesn't care.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
And it's like, that's because either you're lying about the math, lying that you're going to cut the deficit, or you're just lying about your entire plan. So there are defund, defraud, and lie strategy. We got to just expose it and make people know what really is going on.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
You know, I was just made aware of the superintendent, what happened to L.A. USD. It's extremely scary because this basically says that the Trump administration knows no bounds and has no dignity when it comes to dealing with even young children. And as a dad, you know, that is something that worries me.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
And I'm glad that the superintendent and also the guardians of these individuals stepped up, because even if you're undocumented, you have certain rights in this country. And I've been holding Know Your Rights workshops. I've been going door to door handing out that information so people are not fooled by ICE agents saying that they have a warrant when they don't.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
And that's the best way to protect right now, protect our communities, is to make sure they have that information. And here's the thing, when they're pulling people off the streets, sending them to El Salvador, that is just one step of pulling American citizens themselves off of the streets. He's even looking into that.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
If you basically, his press secretary said, oh, we're looking into it to see if it's legal. We don't know if it's legal. This administration, you know, doesn't care about the law. They don't care about the custom and practices. They're going to try to push their agenda. and what people have to decide for themselves, that one of these court cases won't reach the Supreme Court.
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Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
And the Supreme Court, if they rule against them and Trump ignores it, what are they willing to do? Because we're not a country of kings, we're a democracy. And people are gonna have to decide, are we gonna stand up or we're gonna let Trump actually trample on our constitution? This is getting real serious and real dangerous.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Congressman Gomez responds to Trump Economic Turmoil
January 6th, right after that. So congratulations on all your success.
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Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
Of course, violence is dangerous and wrong, and those who commit it should be held accountable. And there are millions of Americans right now speaking out against their health care being taken away, speaking out against money being taken away from their taxpayer pockets and being handed out in federal contracts.
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Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
We should be having the conversation about how is it that Elon Musk, who makes $8 million a day from federal contracts, as you just said, why is he looking for even more contracts? It was just reported he's trying to land a contract with the FAA so that he can get billions of dollars for Starlink out of that.
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Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
He was trying to land a huge contract with the State Department until he got caught by the press. We should agree, whether you're a Democratic or a Republican president, you shouldn't be allowed to appoint a billionaire to the government and then for him to look for billions of dollars in contracts for himself.
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Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
That's corruption at its finest, and we need a Republican party and a Democratic party that's willing to speak out against that kind of corruption.
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Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
Well, I mean, he brought hundreds of millions of dollars to his campaign.
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Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
Thanks so much, and I appreciate your viewers for listening.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
Elon Musk makes $8 million a day from the federal government. Why are they looking at cutting Medicaid, which serves single moms, people with disabilities, or Social Security, instead of looking at the billions of dollars from the corporate class? It's because those corporations fund those Republican campaigns.
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Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
I think that what's important for folks to know at home, again, even if you may disagree with me on this social issue or that one, is that every Republican member of Congress right now is looking to cut Medicaid.
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Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
Over 70% of Republican voters are opposed to Medicaid cuts, but the senator from North Dakota you just had on is talking about passing a bill next week to slash Medicaid by over $800 million. I mean, how is that right? How is that representing the working class person in rural America? I don't get it.
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Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
Look, I'm the chairman of the Progressive Caucus in Congress. I recognize some of the viewers at home disagree with me on a variety of social issues, but I think we can agree that Republican members of Congress have no business going along with Elon Musk slashing Social Security, destroying Medicaid and Medicare, firing veterans, all to give out tax breaks to billionaires.
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Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
That's the message that Bernie Sanders has been consistent about, and I believe that should be the new message of the Democratic Party, which I think could bring some conservatives back into the Democratic Party if we agree
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
that these programs we all pay for since literally World War II, Social Security, should be expanded and protected, not ransacked by billionaires that want more money for themselves. You should work to be able to keep your money, not to make Elon Musk richer. You should be paying taxes to improve your life, not to make some billionaire buy their 10th jet.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
You should be paying taxes to improve your life, not to make some billionaire buy their 10th jet.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
Your colleague wrote... But to be fair, though, but to be fair, President Trump and Elon Musk just announced that they are closing Social Security offices and... going to ask seniors and people with disabilities to go check in in person at social security offices that they've closed. And in rural areas or really suburban areas, that may be really hard to do.
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Fox News Implodes on Air as Guests Backfire
And then they'll call those social security recipients, quote, fraudsters. and cut off their benefits. That's what they've announced. And Commerce Secretary, who's a billionaire himself, just said on television, oh, if my grandma misses a Social Security check, I think he said my mother-in-law misses a Social Security check, she won't complain. Well, because he's the Commerce Secretary.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
They are. You know, I think that you might have seen it, but as polls or poll numbers are dipping now, as people are paying attention to what's happening here, you know, some people talk about DEI. I also talk about it, you know, Doge, Elon and incompetence. And it is out of control, my friend. And we're seeing it kind of lay down. wreckage across the government landscape.
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Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
My constituents made almost 1,000 phone calls into our office the day that they learned that Elon Musk had access to private information on the Federal Payment Service. They don't want any part of that. And these are Republicans, Democrats, and independents who are calling in. They aren't just Democrats. They aren't just liberals. They are people across the political spectrum.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
The more they learn, I think there is buyer's remorse taking hold as well.
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Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
Yeah, I do. And I think that these town halls are an indication that, you know, constituents are restless. They don't like what they're seeing. They don't like the fact that, you know, the Republicans are proposing upwards of two point three trillion dollars in cuts to Medicaid. Think about that. That's almost a third of Medicaid. That would mean tens of millions of Americans losing jobs.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
access to their sole source of health care. And so, Ben, you know this. This is a program, numerous programs like this touch Democrats, Republicans, Independents in blue states and red states. And I think that people are suddenly kind of becoming aware of just the consequences of what's about to happen. And why do they want these cuts? That's the other question that people are asking.
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Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
Well, it turns out the answer is to fund tax cuts, tax cuts for billionaires, oligarchs, broligarchs, special interests, you name it. And that just causes the smoke to come out of people's ears as well.
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Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
It is. We were one vote short of having him testify before the Oversight Committee when we tried to subpoena him. But can I say one other thing that is wigging people out, really getting people upset, which is avian flu. This avian flu thing is out of control. It's causing the price of eggs and other groceries to skyrocket. For that matter, you might have seen this, but
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
Prices have gone up since Donald Trump became president. They've gone up. Not only that, but the stock market gains have disappeared since Donald Trump became president. And so people are starting to notice that their 401ks are down. Prices of groceries are up. Sickness increases. is up through avian flu, but also there's outbreaks of salmonella, outbreaks of listeria.
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Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
And what is this guy focused on? He actually has an executive order banning paper straws. And I'm not making that up. I actually, I hope that your viewers go and look at this. He has an executive order on paper straws. So that's kind of the types of priorities that Donald Trump has right now.
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Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
Because he'd have to tell the truth, Ben. He'd be under oath. You'd have to put your hand up and actually swear to tell the truth under penalty of perjury. And that is why he's not appearing. Who's protecting him, though? Who's protecting him? our Republican colleagues. They don't want him to come up there and have to testify.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
And oh, by the way, he's constantly threatening these Republicans if they don't do things that he wants. You may be getting to this, but one of the reasons why the Republicans in the Senate rubber-stamped Such controversial figures as Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel and RFK Jr.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
is because Elon Musk threatened each of the wavering senators with primary battles that he would fund with his PAC. And so he's threatening people and they're doing his bidding. And one of them is not bringing him to testify before the House.
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Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
Well, what I tell them is that please hold us accountable in Washington. I'm talking about Republicans and Democrats. We have to get this better. We have to do something about this. This is unacceptable. And that starts with, I think, three things. One, we have to lift up.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
and speak up and speak out about these stories that are repeatedly popping up about people getting hurt by these moves with executive orders. And we have to rally public opinion around reversing these executive orders and these decisions by the Trump administration.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
Secondly, there is a litigation strategy, both inside of Congress from the committees, but also outside of Congress from the state attorneys generals and not-for-profits Third, we have our votes and we're going to be required to vote on a budget. We're going to be required to vote on a debt ceiling in the next month.
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Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
And I personally think that those votes, you know, obviously, if there's a shutdown or if we can't get a debt ceiling increase, that lies at the feet of the Republicans because they have a majority. They have a trifecta. However, if they're going to come to us to rescue them, there are going to be conditions. And then fourth, we have to hold them accountable.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
Exclusive Interview with Congressman Krishnamoorthi on Trump Disasters
We have to make sure that everyone knows exactly how our Republican colleagues are voting, especially in those marginal districts, because just as there is a Project 2025, there needs to be a Project 2026 taking back the House and then Project 2028 taking back the White House. That is what we need to be focused on right now. All four of those things.
The MeidasTouch Podcast
MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 2/6/25
You will see a menu of options that will come out in March and it will be littered with a collection of ideas, some of which Americans are going to really not be for. But hey, if we don't sacrifice, if we don't understand that this is going to be a painful process, nothing's going to change.