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00:00Thanks to you at home for joining us this hour, really, really, really happy to have you here.
00:03Man, there is so much to get to today.
00:07It has been such an incredible news day.
00:09There's so much to get to, and a lot of it is really terrible.
00:13To buoy ourselves for that, to get ourselves ready for that,
00:16you want to start with something funny?
00:18Let's just do it.
00:19Let's start with something funny.
00:20Okay.
00:21I know there's a lot of terrible things to talk about.
00:23I want to start with something funny from the 80s.
00:25So it's 1987, a real estate developer in New York City named Donald Trump
00:30takes his first trip to Moscow in what is then the Soviet Union.
00:34By all accounts, he kind of falls in love with the place.
00:36He decides he wants to build a hotel there or something.
00:40Who knows?
00:41Following year, 1988, Donald Trump is back in New York,
00:45and the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, is going to come to New York.
00:49He's coming to New York to participate in the United Nations General Assembly.
00:54And on the occasion of that visit, Mikhail Gorbachev coming to New York City,
00:57Donald Trump decides to invite him over because he's going to be in town.
01:02You know, even though Mikhail Gorbachev is the leader of the Soviet Union
01:06and Donald Trump is a real estate guy in New York City,
01:09Donald Trump apparently convinces himself
01:12that Mikhail Gorbachev is going to do this.
01:15They're going to hang out.
01:17That, yes, Gorbachev has to go to the United Nations to do head of state things,
01:23but also, sure, since he's around, he'll drop by Donald Trump's apartment.
01:28Donald Trump is so convinced of this
01:31that when a Mikhail Gorbachev impersonator
01:35comes to Trump Tower to make fun of the whole situation,
01:39Donald Trump himself comes out of Trump Tower onto the sidewalk
01:44and greets the Mikhail Gorbachev impersonator
01:48as if he is the real Gorbachev,
01:50the real Gorbachev who's really there to come see him,
01:53the real leader of the Soviet Union,
01:55because, sure, yeah, that guy would just pull up outside your apartment
01:59and beep, beep, come say hi.
02:03...of cash, the home of hyperbole and mansion to the master himself,
02:08Donald Trump, who made a special effort
02:11to whiz down from his penthouse office and greet our guest.
02:15Mr. Trump is coming now.
02:21Mr. Gorbachev, we've just come down very briefly.
02:34We were on our way.
02:35You wanted a couple of minutes.
02:36I like your tie.
02:38I hope we didn't disturb your schedule.
02:43No, it was beautiful, and I heard,
02:45and I couldn't have been happier.
02:46Very good.
02:47I couldn't have been happier.
02:48Good luck with everything.
02:49Thank you very much.
02:52I'm very glad.
02:54Thank you very much.
02:54I'm sorry to disturb you.
02:56I just wanted to pop in.
02:56Dasvidaniya!
02:57Okay, thank you.
03:02Dasvidaniya!
03:04Hey!
03:05Hey!
03:07I like your tie.
03:08Oh, you like my tie?
03:09Spasibo!
03:10Spasibo!
03:11Hey!
03:12Hey!
03:15So there you have it.
03:16That is a thing that happened.
03:18Lest anyone tell you that we should trust
03:20Donald Trump on dealing with the Russians.
03:23Not getting played by the Kremlin.
03:25Him definitely having lots of savvy
03:27when it comes to dealing with Russia.
03:29Lest you hear that argument.
03:30You can just think of that beautiful moment
03:32of Donald Trump enthusiastically pumping
03:34the hand of the Gorbachev impersonator.
03:37I like your tie.
03:38Oh, you like my tie?
03:41Donald Trump later said he totally
03:42didn't fall for it at all.
03:44He definitely knew that was an impersonator.
03:47Sure.
03:48Sure he did.
03:49Judge for yourself.
03:53So there's that.
03:55We'll come back to that in a moment.
03:58But the news today really has just been astonishing.
04:02After yesterday's massive trillion-dollar dive
04:06in U.S. stock markets because of Trump's tariff chaos,
04:10today he was not at all chastised
04:12by yesterday's market reaction.
04:14His pronouncements and mumblings
04:16on tariffs got even more chaotic and incoherent.
04:19And the Dow dropped yet another 500 points today.
04:23And then at the end of the day today,
04:25after two days of that,
04:26Republicans in Congress did something truly amazing.
04:30Republicans are facing this political situation now, right?
04:32Where the markets are tanking.
04:34Economists are forecasting a Trump recession.
04:37Literally, he inherited an economy
04:39that was the envy of the world.
04:42And in less than two months,
04:44Wall Street's in a tailspin
04:45and economists are upping their predictions
04:47of a U.S. recession by double digits per day.
04:51So Republicans are facing a political situation
04:54in which their party appears to be doing this, right?
04:57The U.S. economy looks like it's being destroyed for fun
05:01by Donald Trump because someone once told this guy
05:03a thing he didn't understand about tariffs.
05:06And so now he's doing this
05:07and real people are feeling the pain.
05:11But here's the thing.
05:14The way Trump is able to put these tariffs
05:16on, off, on, off, up, down, postponed,
05:18exceptions, no exceptions, on, off, on, off.
05:21The reason he's able to change these ruinous policies
05:25as quickly as he can pronounce them
05:28is because he declared an economic emergency
05:32that gives him the power
05:34to unilaterally declare these tariffs.
05:38That kind of emergency though,
05:40it also has kind of an eject button.
05:46When you declare that kind of emergency,
05:48Congress also gets the power to call the emergency off
05:52to stop the president from doing this.
05:55So Congress could just vote
05:58and declare this so-called emergency to be over
06:01and then Trump would no longer have the power
06:02to single-handedly destroy the U.S. economy
06:05in the way that he has been.
06:07So because of that,
06:08because Congress has the power
06:09to call off the emergency,
06:10taking away Trump's tariff power,
06:13Democrats in Congress planned
06:15to make Congress vote on that exact thing.
06:17They plan to force a vote.
06:19So Republicans, who mostly say they don't like tariffs,
06:22Republicans would be forced
06:23to either go along with the tariffs anyway
06:26because Trump is doing them
06:27or they'd cast their vote
06:29to stop Trump from doing these tariffs.
06:33What would Republicans do confronted
06:35with the need to make up their mind
06:38on a vote like that, right?
06:39How would they deal with not just the prospect
06:40of opposing Trump,
06:42which inherently makes them cry
06:43and hide immediately,
06:45but then on the other side of it,
06:46the other side of that vote
06:48is this very real pain and loss of money.
06:51And, you know, they and their constituents
06:53and the businesses in their district
06:55are all feeling and facing it's real.
06:58So Republicans in Congress have the power
07:00to stop Trump from doing what he's doing on tariffs.
07:02What will they do with that power?
07:05The Democrats are going to force them
07:06to take a vote on this.
07:07What are they going to do with that power?
07:11Headline.
07:13Republicans quietly cede power
07:16to cancel Trump's tariffs,
07:17comma, avoiding a tough vote.
07:20Cede power.
07:22They literally had the power
07:24to stop Trump from doing something
07:26that is hurting the country materially
07:28every single day.
07:29They have the power
07:31to stop him from what he's doing.
07:34And so what did they decide
07:35to do with that power?
07:36They decided to give that power away
07:38so they no longer have that power,
07:40so they don't have to decide
07:41what to do with it.
07:43Quote, House Democrats had planned
07:45to force a vote on resolutions
07:47to end the tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
07:49A move allowed under
07:50the National Emergencies Act,
07:51which provides a mechanism
07:53for Congress to terminate an emergency
07:55like the one Trump declared
07:56when he imposed the tariffs
07:57on February 1st.
07:59That would have forced Republicans,
08:01many of whom are opposed to tariffs
08:02as a matter of principle,
08:04to go on the record on the issue.
08:05At the time when Trump's commitment
08:07to tariffs has spooked
08:09the financial markets
08:10and spiked concerns
08:11of reigniting inflation.
08:14But Republican leaders today, on Tuesday,
08:17slipped language into a procedural measure
08:19that would prevent any such resolution
08:21to end the tariffs
08:22from receiving any vote this year.
08:27They're literally ceding their power,
08:30giving it up.
08:31We don't want that power.
08:33And it gets better.
08:35In order to give up their power,
08:37in order to save themselves
08:38from the terrible dilemma
08:39of whether or not to cast
08:41a recorded vote
08:44on whether or not Trump should be allowed
08:46to keep hurting the country on purpose.
08:49In order to avoid having
08:50to cast a vote on that,
08:52Republicans had to figure out
08:56some way out of this trap.
08:56They had to come up with
08:58some way out of the provisions
09:01of this national emergency law.
09:03I mean, the national emergency law
09:04says Congress can end the emergency.
09:06He declared a national emergency
09:08in order to give himself
09:09the ability to proclaim these tariffs.
09:11The national emergency law says
09:12if a resolution to end the emergency
09:15is introduced in Congress,
09:17Congress must consider that.
09:19They have to start the process
09:21of voting on it within 15 days.
09:23So now we know Democrats
09:24are introducing that resolution.
09:26That starts the clock ticking.
09:27That means Congress
09:28is going to have to vote on this
09:3015 days, tick tock.
09:33In order to get around
09:34that binding requirement in the law,
09:36what did Republicans do?
09:40They proclaimed that between now
09:42and the end of this Congress,
09:45that is just one long day.
09:49That's just one day.
09:51The whole rest of the Congress.
09:52I am not kidding.
09:54Quote, each day for the remainder
09:56of the 119th Congress
09:58shall not constitute a calendar day
10:01for the purposes
10:02of this emergency declaration.
10:04The New York Times tonight
10:06called it a quote,
10:06particularly unusual contortion.
10:10Republicans in Congress, quote,
10:11essentially declared
10:12the rest of the year one long day.
10:16So that 15 days will never elapse
10:20and they will never have to vote.
10:22And that is how the Republican led
10:23Congress voted to give away
10:25its own power to Donald Trump.
10:28So hopefully no one would know
10:30that they were actually
10:31responsible for not stopping him
10:33when they could have.
10:36Think it's going to work?
10:37Think nobody's going to notice
10:38what they did?
10:41I mean, with what Trump
10:43is doing right now,
10:43whatever happens to the markets
10:45and to your retirement account
10:46and to prices in the stores
10:49and the weakening of the dollar
10:51and failing small businesses
10:53where you live
10:54and failing large businesses,
10:56the longer this goes on.
10:58I mean, just remember,
11:00Republican members of Congress
11:02had the power very simply
11:04to stop him from doing this.
11:06And they explicitly gave
11:07that power away
11:09so they wouldn't have to do it.
11:12Courage.
11:16One of the places where Trump
11:18is getting stopped every day
11:19and now with increasing frequency
11:21is in the courts.
11:23You might remember
11:24one of the very first
11:25court challenges to Trump
11:26that we covered here
11:27on this show in recent weeks,
11:29one of the very first people
11:30who Trump tried to fire
11:32and she challenged it in court
11:33saying, you don't have
11:34the legal right to fire me.
11:35I don't work for you.
11:36I'm taking you to court.
11:37One of those first early cases
11:40you might remember from the show
11:41was Gwynne Wilcox.
11:42She's a member
11:43of the National Labor Relations Board.
11:45And Trump announced right away
11:46as soon as he was sworn in
11:47that he was firing her
11:49from the National Labor Relations Board.
11:50And she said,
11:51oh, no, you aren't.
11:52You do not have that right.
11:54She immediately took him to court.
11:57Came to us here on the show
11:58to talk about it
11:58when she filed that case against him.
12:00Well, that case just a few days ago
12:02became one of the many court cases
12:04that Donald Trump has lost
12:06and that the people
12:07challenging him have won.
12:09And in the case of Gwynne Wilcox,
12:11that led to Gwynne Wilcox
12:13going back to work yesterday
12:14in Washington at the headquarters
12:16of the National Labor Relations Board,
12:18where she has been reinstated
12:20because she fought him and she won.
12:22And when she got reinstated
12:23and she went back to work yesterday,
12:25the whole dang office
12:26came out to cheer for her
12:27and clap and celebrate
12:28that she beat Trump
12:29and she's therefore back at work.
12:31And that agency is therefore back at work.
12:40I feel wonderful.
12:42This is where I belong.
12:44I belong here at the NLRB.
12:46I am so happy to be here.
12:58Thank you for your support.
13:01National Labor Relations Board
13:03member Gwynne Wilcox
13:06reinstated at her job
13:08at the National Labor Relations Board
13:09after she sued Donald Trump
13:12and won to challenge her firing
13:14and get reinstated.
13:17Today was another day
13:19of just loss after loss
13:20after loss for Donald Trump in court.
13:23Today, one federal judge
13:24ruled that Doge,
13:25the austerity and government
13:28demolition force
13:28run by the president's
13:29top campaign donor,
13:31Doge must disclose its records.
13:34They had structured Doge
13:35in such a way that they thought
13:36they'd be able to keep everything
13:38they're doing secret from the public,
13:40that no records would have to be shown
13:41to the public about their work.
13:42A judge today said that
13:43they must hand over
13:44all records of their work
13:46and right away.
13:48The judge said it was because
13:49of the, quote, unprecedented power
13:51and, quote, unusual secrecy
13:53of the group thus far.
13:54Also today, a federal appeals court
13:56again cited against Trump
13:58on his effort to defy
14:00and thereby change
14:01the part of the U.S. Constitution
14:03that says if you're born here,
14:04you're an American.
14:06Federal judges, one after another,
14:07have ruled against him on this.
14:09Today, it was a U.S. appeals court,
14:11just one level below
14:12the U.S. Supreme Court.
14:14Also today, a federal judge
14:15blocked Trump's cuts
14:17to hundreds of millions of dollars
14:19for teacher training.
14:20That ruling came in response
14:22to a lawsuit that was
14:23brought by eight attorneys general,
14:26who are Democrats
14:27from Democrat-run states.
14:29Yesterday, a federal judge
14:31blocked Trump from deporting
14:33a young man who is a lawful,
14:34permanent resident of this country.
14:35He has a green card.
14:37Trump sent immigration agents
14:38to arrest him,
14:39and they said they were
14:40taking away his green card,
14:42revoking his legal status
14:43in this country,
14:44because he has been
14:45an outspoken critic
14:46of the war in Gaza.
14:47A federal judge will hear
14:48his case tomorrow,
14:49and in the meantime,
14:50has ordered Trump
14:51to not deport this young man.
14:54Yesterday, in the USAID case
14:57that had gone all the way up
14:58to the Supreme Court,
14:59where Trump lost in the Supreme Court,
15:00and then it came back down,
15:02in that lower court
15:03that it came back to last night,
15:06Trump lost again.
15:07That federal court judge
15:08in that case ruling
15:09that Trump is not allowed
15:11to just unilaterally undo things
15:14that Congress has done by law.
15:15It's an important
15:16constitutional ruling.
15:17This is the case that's about
15:19funding for foreign aid programs,
15:21funding for services
15:23that have already been provided.
15:25In the form of foreign aid,
15:27the judge now says
15:28the Trump administration
15:29has to start paying
15:30those outstanding invoices
15:32at a rate of at least
15:33300 invoices per day.
15:36They must do it.
15:38The National Endowment
15:39for Democracy has now announced
15:41that its funding
15:42has started up again,
15:43thanks to that court order
15:44that stopped the Trump administration
15:46from blocking those funds.
15:48So, I mean,
15:49that's not even all of that.
15:50It's just like a slice.
15:51There's a zillion
15:52ongoing court cases
15:53trying to stop
15:54the most blatantly illegal things
15:57that Trump is doing.
15:59And every day,
16:00what we're seeing
16:00is that those proceedings
16:02are mostly cutting against him.
16:05And yeah, we don't know
16:06how all of these cases
16:07are going to work out in the end.
16:09But for now,
16:11he's being stopped in court
16:12one way or the other
16:13every single day of the week
16:15and sometimes twice on Saturdays.
16:19The American people
16:20continue to show up
16:21and say no to what he's doing
16:23in significant numbers.
16:24Yesterday,
16:25we saw a bunch of protests
16:26at VA medical centers
16:28all over the country,
16:28people protesting against Trump's
16:30huge cuts to the VA already
16:32and the larger cuts
16:33that he has planned.
16:34That includes this protest
16:36in Eugene, Oregon,
16:37at the VA medical center there.
16:39Also, there was a protest yesterday
16:40at the VA in Parma, Ohio,
16:42in Northeast Ohio.
16:44We're expecting
16:45a relatively big protest,
16:46a big march for veterans
16:48and by veterans
16:49in Washington, D.C.
16:51this Friday, March 14th.
16:54Today, federal workers
16:55who Trump has fired
16:56were at the Senate office
16:57building in Washington,
16:58protesting against what Trump
16:59and his top campaign donor,
17:01Elon Musk, are doing
17:02to the government.
17:04A number of Democratic senators
17:05supported them today
17:06in this protest on the Hill.
17:09Today in New Jersey,
17:10people protested against
17:11Trump's immigration policies
17:13and against a proposed site
17:14for a new prison,
17:16a new detention center
17:17for immigrants
17:17that they want to put in
17:19at Delaney Hall
17:20in Newark, New Jersey.
17:21Big crowd of people
17:22turned out today
17:23to protest against that.
17:24Today, there was
17:25a very large protest
17:26in Tennessee
17:27at the Tennessee State Capitol.
17:29A lot of young people
17:30turning out there
17:31to protest against legislation
17:33in Tennessee
17:34that would block kids from schools
17:37based on their immigration status.
17:40We continue to see
17:41ongoing protests
17:43in Republican congressional districts
17:45like this one
17:45in Salisbury Township
17:46in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania,
17:48where constituents
17:49of Republican Congressman
17:50Ryan McKenzie
17:51are demanding,
17:53in this case,
17:53protesting outside his office,
17:54demanding that
17:55Congressman McKenzie
17:57meet with his constituents,
17:58that he come back to his district
17:59and hold a town hall with them.
18:01So far, he is refusing to do so.
18:04And that dynamic
18:05is getting really interesting now,
18:06as Democratic members of Congress
18:09and even Democratic candidates
18:11are starting to hold town halls
18:15in Republican districts
18:17because Republicans themselves
18:18are too scared to meet
18:19with their own constituents.
18:21And so Democrats
18:21are filling the gap.
18:22Democrats are holding
18:24constituent meetings
18:26for Republican districts,
18:28people who are represented
18:30by Republicans,
18:31but can't get their
18:32Republican representatives
18:33to meet with them.
18:35And that dynamic,
18:36we've got more on that story
18:37coming up in just a moment.
18:38That's getting really interesting
18:40in terms of Democratic
18:40versus Republican politics.
18:43This was the scene today
18:44outside the headquarters
18:45of the U.S. Department of Education.
18:47As people protested
18:48against Trump's effort to dismantle
18:50and ultimately abolish
18:52the Department of Education,
18:53this protest today was this morning.
18:57You know, I think Republicans
18:58have convinced themselves
18:59that this is a winning issue,
19:01closing the Department of Education,
19:02even though poll after poll
19:04shows that big majorities
19:05of the American public
19:06don't want the Department of Education
19:08to be abolished.
19:09Nevertheless, they apparently
19:10are going through with it.
19:11This protest in Washington,
19:13again, was this morning.
19:15This afternoon,
19:16the Education Department
19:17told its employees
19:18that they should not come
19:19to work tomorrow.
19:22And then thereafter,
19:23they publicly announced
19:23that they're going to try to fire
19:25basically half the people
19:26who work at the Education Department
19:28tomorrow, more than 1,300 people
19:30they're going to try to fire
19:32out of their jobs
19:32at the Department of Education tomorrow.
19:34We're going to have more
19:35on that story in a moment.
19:36We'll be speaking with
19:37a civil rights lawyer
19:38at the Department of Education.
19:39She's also the president
19:39of the local union
19:41that represents people
19:42who work at the Education Department.
19:43With the attempted shuttering
19:46of the Education Department tomorrow,
19:47which, again, is a wildly unpopular idea
19:50with the American people.
19:52With Trump now going back again
19:54to the National Nuclear
19:56Security Administration
19:57for more cuts to that agency,
20:00more cuts to the people
20:01who keep our nuclear weapons
20:02from accidentally blowing up.
20:06With the shambolic,
20:08now just disastrous,
20:09mishandling of this big measles epidemic
20:12in Texas by the vaccine
20:14conspiracy theorist
20:16who Trump put in as health secretary,
20:17as that measles epidemic
20:18now is over 250 cases
20:20and two deaths.
20:24With the increasingly bizarre news
20:26of the cuts that they're making
20:28to food safety of all things,
20:30under the leadership
20:31of Donald Trump Jr.'s hunting buddy,
20:34who Donald Trump thought
20:35was the best person to put in charge
20:36of food safety in this country.
20:37With all of these wildly
20:39unpopular things that they are doing
20:41every single day,
20:43even before you get to the president
20:44turning the South Lawn of the White House
20:46into a used car lot today
20:48to try to sell cars
20:49for his top campaign donor.
20:51With all of these just vile
20:54and unpopular and embarrassing things
20:58that they are doing.
21:00I think it's safe to say
21:02that more protesting against Donald Trump
21:04is probably to be expected.
21:08But, you know, I think even
21:09if the opposition to Trump
21:11keeps growing and spreading
21:13and deepening the way it has been,
21:16I'm not sure we're going to see
21:16a crowd like this anytime soon.
21:19This was the crowd that turned,
21:21look at this.
21:22This was the crowd
21:23that turned out in Mexico City,
21:26day before yesterday,
21:28on Sunday, to cheer
21:30for the president of Mexico,
21:33who is experiencing a huge upsurge
21:36in popularity in her own country
21:38since Trump started
21:40attacking Mexico
21:41with this tariff stuff,
21:42and she started standing up to him.
21:44It is making her
21:46way more politically powerful
21:47than anybody thought
21:48she could be at this moment,
21:50as her country absolutely rallies
21:52in her patriotic defense.
21:55Similarly, the president of Ukraine
21:57is going through a huge boost
21:59in his own domestic popularity.
22:01His own popularity in Ukraine
22:03absolutely spiking
22:05as the people of Ukraine
22:06consolidate him,
22:07consolidate their support for him.
22:10In the wake of Donald Trump
22:11and J.D. Vance embarrassing themselves
22:13by haranguing President Zelensky
22:15in the Oval Office.
22:19Today, there was a monumental,
22:21hugely important,
22:22just historic meeting
22:24of the military chiefs
22:26of what are now
22:27the most important countries
22:28in the West.
22:28It was a meeting, basically,
22:30of the army chiefs
22:31of the whole free world today.
22:35We naturally were not invited.
22:38This is the lead from Reuters
22:40about that meeting today.
22:40Quote, more than 30 army chiefs
22:43among Washington's closest allies
22:45met in Paris today
22:46without their U.S. counterparts,
22:48seeking to take on more responsibility
22:50over the Ukraine war,
22:52given President Donald Trump's
22:54unpredictability
22:55and rapprochement with Moscow.
22:57The closed-door gathering
22:58of 34 army chiefs,
23:00including NATO alliance
23:01and EU members,
23:02as well as Japan and Australia,
23:04was a rare and possibly
23:06unprecedented convening
23:08without the United States.
23:12The free world is still
23:14standing up for Ukraine.
23:15They are just doing it now
23:16without us.
23:20Today in Saudi Arabia,
23:22the Trump administration
23:23announced a plan for a ceasefire
23:25in Russia's war in Ukraine.
23:27Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
23:29meeting for some reason
23:30in Saudi Arabia.
23:31I don't know.
23:32Secretary of State Marco Rubio
23:34said this plan
23:35is all good to go
23:36as far as he's concerned.
23:38He just has to go run it
23:39by Russia now.
23:42You know, sit tight here
23:42for a second.
23:43I got to go check with my manager.
23:44I'm sure it'll all be fine.
23:48Apparently, the way
23:48the Trump administration
23:49is running their deal
23:51by the big guy,
23:52running the deal by the boss,
23:54is that they're sending
23:56Donald Trump's real estate friend,
23:57Steve Whitkoff,
23:58to go meet personally in Russia
24:01with Vladimir Putin
24:02to get his OK,
24:04to run the whole end the war plan
24:06by Putin.
24:07Steve's going to do it.
24:08Steve's great.
24:08You know, I mean,
24:09Steve's a real estate guy.
24:11So I'm sure it's going to go great.
24:12I mean, if there's anybody
24:13who has consistently
24:14proven themselves
24:15to be really savvy,
24:16really on top of things,
24:17really unfoolable
24:21when it comes to the Russians,
24:24it's these New York
24:25real estate guys.
24:26Right?
24:27Am I right?
24:28They're so savvy.
24:30They never get fooled.
24:32So I'm sure I'm sure
24:33this will all be fine.
24:34They never get played.
24:36They're so savvy.
24:38Those Russians will never know
24:39what hit them.
24:40Nice tie.
24:41You like my tie.
24:42Dasvidanya.
24:46I've got lots of news
24:46to get to tonight.
24:47Congressman Mark Pocan is here.
24:48We've got the latest on the news
24:50that they're going to try
24:52to close the Department
24:53of Education tomorrow.
24:54We've got lots to come.
24:56Stay with us.
24:58Nice tie.
24:59In politics,
25:00a long line of people
25:01usually means a long line
25:02of voters waiting
25:03to cast a ballot.
25:04But this long line,
25:06this is constituents
25:09who are actually waiting
25:09their turn to speak
25:11to one person.
25:13They're waiting their line,
25:14waiting in line to try to speak
25:16to their member of Congress,
25:17who is Republican Kevin Kiley.
25:20They are waiting in line
25:22in Congressman Kiley's office
25:23in Nevada City, California,
25:25so they can vote for him.
25:26And they're waiting in line
25:28so they can each,
25:29one by one,
25:30ask him to please hold
25:32a town hall with them.
25:35We haven't seen him in person.
25:37We have so many things,
25:38so many issues.
25:39Of course, the economy,
25:40Social Security,
25:42the environment,
25:43veterans concerns,
25:46education,
25:46the Department of Education,
25:50the tariffs.
25:51ABC 10 asked Kiley
25:53if he plans to have
25:53a town hall anytime soon.
25:55He says because his district
25:56is so large,
25:57teletown halls have been
25:58more convenient for him
25:59and his constituents,
26:00and that one is in the works.
26:02So I think we have our next one
26:03scheduled pretty soon
26:04within the next week or two,
26:05something like that.
26:06We'll do them once a month
26:07or something like that
26:08through the rest of this year.
26:09But Kiley's congressional website
26:11shows there are no scheduled
26:12upcoming teletown halls
26:13or in-person meetings.
26:14ABC 10 reached out to his office
26:16to get a comment
26:17regarding town hall meetings
26:18and a response to the criticism,
26:20but his spokesperson
26:20did not provide an update.
26:24I'm sure we've got one scheduled.
26:25I'm sure it's...
26:26Don't look at my website.
26:27Can we schedule something?
26:28Don't schedule something.
26:31With no official town hall
26:32on the schedule,
26:34the local Indivisible chapter
26:36plans to hold their own town hall
26:38for Congressman Kiley's constituents.
26:41They're going to do that
26:41on March 20th.
26:42Perhaps Congressman Kiley
26:43will teleport in or something.
26:45Meanwhile, check out
26:46what's happening in New Jersey.
26:47For several weeks now,
26:48people in the congressional district
26:51represented by Republican Congressman
26:53Tom Kaine
26:55have been asking him
26:56to hold a town hall as well.
26:57So far, no joy,
26:58but somebody's going
26:59to fill that vacuum.
27:01Now that the Democratic
27:03former congressman
27:04who used to hold that seat,
27:05who lost that seat to Tom Kaine
27:07in 2022,
27:09he says he's ready to go
27:10and he'll do it.
27:11Former Democratic Congressman
27:12Tom Malinowski
27:13has now announced
27:14that he will hold
27:15an in-person town hall
27:17in his very competitive
27:20former district
27:21on Thursday night this week
27:23because the Republican
27:24who represents that district now
27:25is apparently too afraid to do it.
27:28Consider also
27:29what's going on in Wisconsin.
27:31Republican Congressman
27:32Derek Van Orden
27:33has been refusing
27:34to hold a town hall
27:35with his constituents as well.
27:37This weekend,
27:38Democratic Congressman
27:40Mark Pocan,
27:40who represents a neighboring district,
27:42he stepped in to hold one
27:44this weekend to simply,
27:46essentially to take in the slack.
27:49Congressman Pocan
27:50arranged to hold
27:51the town hall
27:52that he had this weekend
27:53over in the corner
27:54of his district,
27:55about as close as he could get
27:56to the neighboring
27:57Republican district
27:58that's represented
27:59by Derek Van Orden.
28:01He invited Congressman
28:02Van Orden to show up.
28:04The congressman did not,
28:06but his constituents did.
28:08Karen and Mark Essex
28:10live in Van Orden's district
28:11and say that they're upset
28:13at the representative
28:14for not being transparent with them.
28:15He doesn't do any town halls
28:17and very disappointed in that.
28:18He's not listening to us.
28:19He's not representing us.
28:21He didn't show up
28:23and he's unwilling
28:24to talk about
28:26the basic issues that we have.
28:29A local news station,
28:30WKOW,
28:31wrote at the event like this,
28:32quote,
28:33In a town with just
28:34over 1,000 residents,
28:36hundreds of people
28:37packed the Village of Belmont's
28:38community building Saturday.
28:40The building was filled
28:41to capacity with people
28:42even waiting outside
28:43and peeking through the windows
28:44to hear Congressman Mark Pocan.
28:47Congressman Pocan
28:47may have inspired
28:50more than a huge turnout
28:51in that corner of his district.
28:54Today,
28:55the Democrat who narrowly lost
28:57to Republican Congressman
28:58Derek Van Orden,
29:00today she announced
29:00that she's going to go up
29:01against him again this November.
29:04Rebecca Cook is her name.
29:07As Congressman Mark Pocan
29:08put it this morning, quote,
29:09I think Derek Van Orden's morning
29:11just got bad.
29:14Joining us now is Congressman
29:15Mark Pocan,
29:15a Democrat of Wisconsin.
29:16Sir, it's nice to see you.
29:17Thanks for making time to be here.
29:19Well, thanks for the invite, Rachel.
29:21Tell me about the decision process
29:23that you went through
29:24about holding this
29:25somewhat unusual town hall
29:28in a corner of your district
29:29that's definitely
29:29a more Republican leaning county,
29:32very close to the Republican
29:34represented district
29:35that's held by Congressman Van Orden.
29:38You know, the bare minimum
29:39you should do as a member of Congress
29:40is listen to your constituents.
29:42And Derek Van Orden,
29:43to best of my knowledge,
29:44has never done an open public town hall
29:47in the over two years
29:48he's been in office.
29:49So I just thought people should hear
29:52from a member of Congress,
29:53especially if you're about to cut
29:54their Medicaid and their food assistance
29:56and education funding
29:58and parts of the Affordable Care Act.
30:00So we organized one
30:02at the edge of my district,
30:03knowing that across
30:04about seven minutes away
30:05was a city of 10,000 people
30:07in his district.
30:08But Rachel, people from two hours away
30:10drove down from La Crosse
30:12and Tomah and Potosi and Platteville.
30:14People wanted to hear
30:16from a member of Congress.
30:17And if Derek Van Orden
30:18is not going to listen
30:19to his constituents,
30:20I felt at least I could lend an ear
30:22and make sure we're talking
30:23about what Derek's voting on.
30:25He's voting to cut Medicaid.
30:27That's one out of three kids in Wisconsin.
30:29Fifty five percent of seniors
30:30in nursing homes.
30:31It's some really bad stuff.
30:33I read some local press accounts
30:35of what was discussed
30:37at the town hall that you held
30:38and what kinds of issues
30:40people were raising with you.
30:41A lot of people were focusing
30:43on fears about those
30:45potential Medicaid cuts,
30:46given how many people in Wisconsin
30:48use Medicaid as their health insurance.
30:50And that's kids.
30:51That's old people.
30:52That's everybody in between.
30:54What would you say emerged
30:55as the sort of themes
30:56that people were most concerned about
30:58and that that would have talked
30:59to the Republican congressman
31:00about had he shown up?
31:03Cuts for Medicaid was huge, right?
31:04That's health care,
31:05long term care for people in Wisconsin,
31:07especially in rural parts of Wisconsin,
31:09like the third congressional district
31:10that Derek Van Orden
31:11supposedly represents is.
31:14Also, I think people are really concerned
31:15about veterans affairs,
31:17in the VA hospital people,
31:19because so many people have been fired
31:20who are on probationary employment
31:22that when you call,
31:23you can't always get
31:23an appointment right now.
31:24And that's starting to affect
31:25the service of health care.
31:27But one issue that wasn't even part
31:29of that Republican budget bill
31:30that really rose to the surface
31:31was Social Security, Rachel.
31:33The reason it did is you got Elon Musk
31:36calling it a Ponzi scheme.
31:37You've got them cutting employees
31:39at Social Security,
31:40making it harder to get your benefits.
31:42But during the State of the Union,
31:44an awful lot of real estate
31:46was used by Donald Trump
31:47to repeat lies over and over
31:48and over again about people,
31:50you know, over 110 years old,
31:52up to 360 years old,
31:54supposedly getting Social Security
31:56when, you know, even by law,
31:57they don't write a check
31:58to anyone over 115.
31:59And it's been disproven
32:00by two different inspector generals.
32:02Everything he said.
32:03Well, that tells a lot of people
32:05what they're really after
32:06is Social Security.
32:07And I think the biggest set of questions
32:09we had on Saturday was about that.
32:12Yeah, people are smart.
32:13They can say,
32:14oh, we're not going to touch it at all.
32:15We're only going to deal
32:16with the fraud.
32:17We're only going to.
32:18But people are smart.
32:19And when they realize
32:20that all the supposed fraud evidence
32:22is all lies,
32:24it just it means they're
32:27skirt is showing a little bit here.
32:29Democratic Congressman Mark Pocan
32:31of Wisconsin.
32:32Thanks for talking to us about this.
32:33And I'd love to stay in touch with you.
32:35I imagine this is going to be unsettling
32:37for your neighbor
32:38in that Republican district.
32:39I'd love to hear how things proceed there.
32:41Yeah, I might stop back
32:42and visit next week with him.
32:44Indeed, let us know.
32:46Let us know.
32:46All right.
32:46We got more news ahead tonight.
32:48Stay with us.
32:55Started with a sort of mysterious notice
32:58this afternoon,
32:58a reference to security concerns
33:01that went out to all employees
33:03at the U.S. Department of Education.
33:04Quote, beginning today at 6 p.m.,
33:06all education department offices
33:07will be closed for security reasons.
33:10Employees must vacate the building
33:12by that time.
33:14This notice also said
33:16all education department offices
33:17would be closed tomorrow
33:18and no employees would be allowed in.
33:20Now, this notice had no details
33:21about what these security reasons were.
33:25But it was pretty clear what was coming.
33:27After all, we've been through this
33:28a couple of times already now.
33:29It was just over a month ago
33:30when people who work at USAID
33:32got an email saying their office
33:33would be closed the next day
33:34and they shouldn't come to work.
33:36That was right before Trump
33:37set about completely dismantling
33:39that whole agency.
33:42Employees at the Consumer
33:43Financial Protection Bureau,
33:44same thing,
33:45sent a very similar note
33:46saying their office would be shut
33:47for the following week,
33:49just as the White House ordered
33:50the entire agency
33:51to stop all of its work.
33:54And sure enough, tonight,
33:55just after the 6 p.m. deadline
33:57for education department workers
33:58to vacate their offices
34:00because of some security concern,
34:03Trump education secretary,
34:05the billionaire pro-wrestling executive,
34:07Linda McMahon,
34:08announced that her department
34:09is cutting its workforce in half.
34:12They will begin firing
34:13more than 1,300 people
34:15from the education department tonight.
34:18And then, of course,
34:18she went straight to Fox News.
34:23That was the president's mandate,
34:25his directive to me,
34:27clearly, is to shut down
34:28the Department of Education,
34:29which we know we'll have to work
34:31with Congress, you know,
34:31to get that accomplished.
34:33But what we did today
34:34was to take the first step
34:37of eliminating what I think
34:38is bureaucratic bloat.
34:40And that's not to say
34:41that a lot of the folks,
34:42you know, it's a humanitarian thing
34:44to a lot of the folks that are there.
34:46You know, they're out of a job.
34:47But we wanted to make sure
34:49that we kept all of the right people,
34:52the good people.
34:56You know, if you find yourself
34:57starting to feel a little tug
34:58on your heartstrings
34:58for those 1,300 people
35:01who are out of a job tonight
35:02at the education department,
35:03don't worry.
35:03We kept all the good people.
35:07We kept all the good people.
35:08The 1,300 people
35:10who are getting fired tonight,
35:11they just aren't—they're not good.
35:13They're not good.
35:15Who is this for?
35:18The vast majority
35:19of the American people
35:20do not want this.
35:21A poll earlier this month,
35:22Reuters-Ipsos,
35:24earlier this month found
35:25that fully 66 percent of Americans
35:27oppose abolishing
35:28the education department.
35:29Nearly half of Americans
35:31strongly oppose it,
35:32while only 16 percent
35:35are strongly in favor of it.
35:37This is not something Americans want.
35:39But Donald Trump
35:40is trying to do it anyway,
35:42apparently starting with firing
35:43fully half the people
35:44who work at that agency tonight.
35:47One of those people fired tonight,
35:48a union leader
35:49at the education department,
35:50joins us live here next.
35:51Stay with us.
35:54This is from NPR
35:55on the Trump administration's
35:56announcement tonight
35:57that they're firing 1,300 people
36:00from the U.S. Department of Education.
36:02Quote,
36:03AFGE, American Federation
36:04of Government Employees,
36:05Local 252,
36:07a union that represents
36:08education department employees,
36:10released a statement
36:11in which its president,
36:12Sharia Smith,
36:13said,
36:13we will fight these draconian cuts.
36:16Minutes later,
36:16AFGE Local 252 told NPR
36:19that Sharia Smith was laid off,
36:21along with all five of the chapter's
36:23other union officers.
36:25Joining us now is Sharia Smith.
36:26She's president of the union,
36:27representing 2,800 employees
36:30at the education department.
36:31She served our country
36:32as an attorney
36:33for the education department's
36:35Office for Civil Rights
36:37until this evening.
36:38Ms. Smith,
36:39thank you so much for being here
36:40on tonight of all nights.
36:41I am sorry for what you're going through.
36:42Thank you so much, Rachel.
36:44My co-workers and I
36:46from all over the country
36:47really appreciate the platform
36:48you're giving us to talk about this.
36:51Is it the case that your whole office
36:53is being closed and your colleagues,
36:55all of your colleagues at your office
36:57are being fired as well,
36:58the whole thing?
36:58You know, that's so interesting
37:00that you asked the question
37:01about our whole office.
37:02So we've reviewed the list of people
37:05who are set to be laid off.
37:07And I also listened to
37:09Secretary McMahon's statement
37:11about how they're keeping the good people.
37:13The people that they seem to be keeping
37:16are white men who happen
37:17to have graduated
37:19from very conservative schools.
37:23Not to say that they're not good.
37:24I think all of my co-workers are excellent.
37:27Many of them are members.
37:29But the co-workers
37:29that are being laid off as well
37:31are also good.
37:33What is curious
37:34in the U.S. Department of Education
37:36is that the layoffs,
37:38the mass terminations,
37:40the administrative leaves
37:42are seeming to affect
37:44and impact disproportionately
37:47women and people of color.
37:50And the Department of Education
37:51should be a model employer.
37:53And I want American people
37:55to think about,
37:56do they want their employer
37:58to follow this model
37:59where the only people that they are
38:01that are deemed good
38:03enough to keep their jobs
38:04and their ability
38:05to support their families
38:07are people who are from a certain race
38:10and are of a certain gender?
38:14I know that this has all just happened
38:15in the last few hours,
38:17but with what they've been telegraphing
38:19about their plans
38:20for the Education Department,
38:21I know that you
38:22and your union colleagues
38:24and your colleagues
38:24at work more broadly
38:26have to have been expecting the worst.
38:28Do you believe that your union
38:31or that the employees more broadly
38:33have recourse to fight these firings
38:34and have recourse to fight
38:36their efforts to abolish the department?
38:40Well, absolutely,
38:40because their efforts are illegal.
38:43Again, since the new administration
38:46came into office,
38:47we have experienced
38:49mass terminations
38:51and unchecked unprofessionalism.
38:55And people just not going by the rules,
38:58even this layoff
39:00is not something
39:01that should have occurred.
39:02The layoff was not
39:03because of a budget shortfall.
39:06The president can't just lay people off
39:08because he does not agree with them
39:10or he does not like the color of their skin
39:12or their gender.
39:14So certainly we are availing ourselves
39:16for, you know, of all recourse
39:19to challenge this
39:20and talking with attorneys.
39:22And we have been since
39:24the first round of layoffs
39:27on January 21st.
39:29And so, you know, we'll be fighting
39:31and we hope the American people
39:32will fight with us.
39:35You know, Linda McMahon,
39:36in explaining what she's doing here,
39:38has also said that the American people
39:40should expect that there will be
39:41no interruption to any of the programs
39:43that the Education Department administers.
39:45I have to ask you if that is possible
39:48with what they're,
39:49even just what they're planning tonight,
39:51with half the workforce gone overnight.
39:53Absolutely not possible.
39:55Since January 21st,
39:57our entire agency has been interrupted.
39:59We've been told not to work.
40:01We've had people
40:01who have been forced from working,
40:04even though there have been high performers.
40:06There's no way—
40:07we were already understaffed.
40:09There is no way we can continue operations
40:12at the levels that we had been
40:14when you have half the workforce
40:16and you have fired great people.
40:19You have fired high performers.
40:21There's no way.
40:22If you believe that,
40:23I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.
40:26Sherea Smith is the president
40:28of the AFGE union
40:29that represents
40:30Education Department employees.
40:31She's an attorney for
40:32the Education Department's
40:33Office for Civil Rights.
40:35She was fired this evening,
40:36but as she says,
40:37she believes that she and her colleagues
40:38have absolute recourse
40:41to fight back against these firings
40:43as illegal.
40:44Ms. Smith, again,
40:45I am sorry for what you
40:46and your colleagues
40:46are going through tonight.
40:47Thank you for taking the time
40:48to talk us through it.
40:49And please stay in touch with us
40:51as this proceeds.
40:52I know this won't be the last
40:52we'll be hearing from you.
40:54Thank you, Rachel.
40:56All right.
40:57Good luck to you.
43:00So,
43:00next, I'm going to
43:01make a bouquet of flowers.
43:04First, I'm going to make
43:05a pink bouquet of flowers.
43:22So, I'm going to make
43:23a bouquet of flowers.
43:24Next, I'm going to make
43:25a bouquet of flowers.
43:26And I'm going to make
43:27a pink bouquet of flowers.
43:28And I'm going to make
43:29a pink bouquet of flowers.
43:30Next, I'm going to make
43:31a pink bouquet of flowers.
43:32And I'm going to make
43:46a pink bouquet of flowers.
43:58So,
44:28I'm going to make
44:45a pink bouquet of flowers.
44:58So,
45:28I'm going to make
45:49a pink bouquet of flowers.
45:52And I'm going to make
45:57a pink bouquet of flowers.