On today’s show: Sahil Kapur of NBC News discusses how Republicans face a high-stakes clash over Trump’s legislative agenda. The ACLU took on Trump in his first term. Laura Kusisto of the Wall Street Journal examines how it will be tougher this time. Should awards season be canceled? Jada Yuan of the Washington Post reports on the quiet debate that happened amid the L.A. fires. Plus, a winter storm slams the Gulf Coast, players and the media clash at the Australian Open, and a symbol of hope among the ashes of the L.A. fires. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
Chapter 1: What are the key challenges Republicans face with Trump's agenda?
So there's still a dispute and honestly a growing clash within the Republican Party that's been going on for about a month and a half now. And there's no path to a resolution here.
That's Sahil Kapoor, senior national political reporter at NBC News. He told us that Trump will need buy-in from Congress to make things like his orders on immigration and border security a reality, namely funding.
He's going to need a lot of resources from Congress to be able to implement even existing law, let alone, you know, additional laws.
The House did pass a bill yesterday that would allow ICE to detain undocumented migrants accused of theft-related crimes. Immigrant rights groups and some Democrats say this would effectively take away the right to due process for undocumented immigrants accused of a crime. Others support the bill, with 46 Democrats joining Republicans in passing it.
But what comes next on the agenda is an open question at the moment. Republicans in Congress want to do a whole host of things, including approving more border security funding, repealing some Biden-era clean energy grants and extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts. But Kapoor explained that for now, at least, there's no real consensus on how to proceed.
Speaker Mike Johnson disagrees with Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Johnson wants to do it all in one bill in the next few months.
John Thune thinks that's not going to happen, that they're going to need more time for complicated things like taxes, and they should split it up into two bills, do border security and maybe throw in some energy stuff on the front end, the low-hanging fruit, essentially, and take their time with taxes and do a second bill later in the year for that.
Timing is a big part of the challenge. Republicans are keenly aware that there is a narrow window for action before the next midterm elections, when they could potentially lose both majorities. And presidents often have a brief honeymoon period when they first take office to use political capital before public approval can change.
For now, Kapoor says that Trump is really only worried about what he wants to happen, not how it'll get done.
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Chapter 2: How is the ACLU preparing for Trump's second term?
Chapter 3: What political dynamics are affecting Congress's response to Trump's policies?
Timing is a big part of the challenge. Republicans are keenly aware that there is a narrow window for action before the next midterm elections, when they could potentially lose both majorities. And presidents often have a brief honeymoon period when they first take office to use political capital before public approval can change.
For now, Kapoor says that Trump is really only worried about what he wants to happen, not how it'll get done.
The reality here is that Trump has never really concerned himself with the nuances of legislative machinations. He is just telling the Republicans to do it, and it turns out it's not quite that simple.
Thank you.
Back in 2017, a week into President Trump's first term in office, he issued an executive order barring people from a number of Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. People stepping off international flights in the United States were detained and sent back home, visas were canceled, protests broke out.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the first lawsuit against the ban and successfully blocked it. The organization's membership numbers skyrocketed and money came pouring in. In the lead up to Trump's second term in office, Laura Casisto, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, found a very different kind of political reality.
We haven't seen a lot of sort of civil uprising thus far, at least. Groups on the left are not seeing an uptick in fundraising the way that they did the last time. And there's just a kind of sense of exhaustion and acceptance. And also Trump has grown in popularity. This time Trump won the popular vote.
He gained in a number of regions where you would think the ACL would be strong, places like New York.
What's more is that the judicial landscape has changed. And Cassisto said there is an expectation that lawyers involved in drafting and defending executive orders this time around won't make as many mistakes. None of this is to say that the ACLU intends to back down. In fact, they've already filed a suit challenging Trump's executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship.
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Chapter 4: How has public perception of the ACLU changed under Trump's administration?
Chapter 5: What strategies is the ACLU employing to respond to immigration issues?
Chapter 6: What internal conflicts exist within the Republican Party regarding legislation?
But what comes next on the agenda is an open question at the moment. Republicans in Congress want to do a whole host of things, including approving more border security funding, repealing some Biden-era clean energy grants and extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts. But Kapoor explained that for now, at least, there's no real consensus on how to proceed.
Speaker Mike Johnson disagrees with Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Johnson wants to do it all in one bill in the next few months.
John Thune thinks that's not going to happen, that they're going to need more time for complicated things like taxes, and they should split it up into two bills, do border security and maybe throw in some energy stuff on the front end, the low-hanging fruit, essentially, and take their time with taxes and do a second bill later in the year for that.
Timing is a big part of the challenge. Republicans are keenly aware that there is a narrow window for action before the next midterm elections, when they could potentially lose both majorities. And presidents often have a brief honeymoon period when they first take office to use political capital before public approval can change.
For now, Kapoor says that Trump is really only worried about what he wants to happen, not how it'll get done.
The reality here is that Trump has never really concerned himself with the nuances of legislative machinations. He is just telling the Republicans to do it, and it turns out it's not quite that simple.
Thank you.
Back in 2017, a week into President Trump's first term in office, he issued an executive order barring people from a number of Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. People stepping off international flights in the United States were detained and sent back home, visas were canceled, protests broke out.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the first lawsuit against the ban and successfully blocked it. The organization's membership numbers skyrocketed and money came pouring in. In the lead up to Trump's second term in office, Laura Casisto, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, found a very different kind of political reality.
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