The Politics Guys

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Mike and Jay open with a look at the latest in the “Will he or won’t he?” saga of President Trump’s tariffs, They agree that this sort of uncertainty is bad for markets, and Mike points out that tariffs are not just a tax, but a regressive tax. Jay observes that the US used to derive nearly all of its income through tariffs, but that was a very different time. They also look at the legal justification for the tariffs, which they both agree is at least somewhat shaky.

Next is a discussion of the big Trump rally that was his address to a joint session of Congress. There wasn’t much substance, but plenty of lies and people behaving badly.

They close by considering a UK listener’s view that under President Trump, the United States is no longer either strong or right, but that American under Trump is weak and venal.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

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Trey and Ken open the episode with the breaking chaos between President Zelenskyy, President Trump, and Vice-President Vance. Trey opened the segment by stating that his assumption of a foreign policy difference between Putin and President Trump was flawed. The hosts agreed that the moment was a turning point in the break between the U.S. and Europe.

Next, they moved to the House’s budget bill. Ken was surprised that only Representative Massie defected. Trey believes Democrats will end up taking the blame if they shut the government down. Ken agrees historically but believes some specifics make Democrats’ strategy different in this budget cycle.

They close with a look at DOGE and Musk’s demand that all federal employees report the five things they did in the last week. Ken takes a deep legal look at worker protection, and Trey argues that it gives true efforts to reign in government a bad name.

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Mike’s Substack: What Fresh Hell is This?

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castbox | PocketCasts | Overcast

Mike and Jay open with a discussion of the Trump administration’s attempt to fire Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger. So far, the courts have sided with Dellinger against the administration, but Jay thinks there’s a reasonable chance that the Supreme Court might end up giving the administration what it wants, and further advancing the “Unitary Executive” view of the presidency. Mike agrees that Jay may be right as a matter of law, but feels that the Trump administration continues to push executive power to dangerous levels.

Next they take a look at DOGE. While it sure seems like Elon Musk is in charge of it, the White House says Musk isn’t even a DOGE employee. What’s going on here, and can Musk legally do what he’s doing without Senate confirmation? Mike thinks not, while Jay believes that Musk is simply a presidential advisor, not someone in a top policy position who would require Senate confirmation.

They close with a look back at the first 10 years of The Politics Guys.

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Mike’s Substack: What Fresh Hell is This?

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castbox | PocketCasts | Overcast

Mike and Jay open this 10th Anniversary episode of The Politics Guys with a discussion of the Trump administration’s seeming turn toward Russia and away from Ukraine. They discuss Trump’s many lies about the war, including that Ukraine started it (which Trump later walked back), that Zelensky is a dictator with a four percent approval rating, the amount of money the US has given to Ukraine, and more. They also consider the larger foreign policy and global order implications of the deals Trump is hoping to make with Ukraine and with Russia. In the end, both Mike and Jay are horribly disappointed by this turn of events.

Then they turn to the domestic scene – a Trump executive order intended to give the president more control over so-called independent agencies. Mike is no fan, but Jay argues that as the president, Donald Trump has the right to do more or less what he wants with executive branch agencies, including firing “independent” agency heads because they disagree with him on policy.

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Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castbox | PocketCasts | Overcast

Mike and Jay open with a look at the various efforts by the Trump administration to pull back on political prosecutions or political figures, including the very controversial decision to not pursue charges (for now) against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Neither Mike nor Jay agree with the Adams decision, but Jay is more willing to consider a political motive by the Biden DOJ for bringing the charges in the first place. They also discuss the wider implications of Trump’s actions. Mike’s main concern is that it will result in more public corruption, though he agrees with Jay that there’s something to be said for not unduly constraining American businesses in international competition.

Then they turn to the issue of constitutional crises – what the term means, if we’re in (or near) one, and the last time we’ve seen an unquestionable constitutional crisis.

They close with a discussion of the latest Trump cabinet confirmations: Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, and RFK Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Mike’s New (free) Substack: What Fresh Hell is This?

The Politics Guys on Facebook | X

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Trey and Ken begin with a detailed look at DOGE, specifically focusing on what it is and its connection to Treasury Department Data. That leads to an extended debate between the hosts on Presidential power. Trey argues that scholars have long pointed to the danger of each President taking new and unique powers via unprecedented unilateral action. In this view, the long-term health of our Republic is reigned in primarily not by separation of powers, but by norms Presidents are not willing to violate. All it takes is for President Trump to ignore those norms to jeopardize the system. Ken disagrees and argues the American system is fine; the problem is solely a president who takes his orders from Putin (about which Trey also disagrees).

After that, they turned to an extended discussion on tariffs. Trey puts tariffs in historic and political-economic terms. Ken turns to the legality- or illegality- of the proposed tariff scheme. They finish the show with a brief conversation on Trump’s comments, both in person and online, concerning Gaza.

Mike’s New (free) Substack: What Fresh Hell is This?

The Politics Guys on Facebook | X 

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castbox | PocketCasts | Overcast

Mike and Justin open with a discussion of the wild pace of events since Donald Trump’s inauguration. They give Trump credit for shaking things up (for better or worse) but think that “move fast and break things” might not get even Trump supporters the results they ultimately want. Justin thinks Trump did a poor job as “national comforter” following the worst US air disaster in over 20 years by choosing to use the moment to make unsubstituted claims about DEI policies and to attack previous administrations.

Following that they turn to the confirmation hearings for Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr., and Kash Patel. Mike is sticking with his prediction that every Trump nominee coming before the Senate will be confirmed, but he’s at least somewhat optimistic that at least four GOP Senators will reject the nominations of Gabbard and RFK Jr. Justin points out that RFK Jr. is a walking red flag, with issues involving his judgment, competence, experience, and personal life.

Next they discuss the short-lived (for now) federal funding freeze, considering its legality as well as whether the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which would seem to disallow the freeze, is itself unconstitutional.

They close with a listener question concerning racism, fascism, and the Republican Party.

Mike’s New (free) Substack: What Fresh Hell is This?

The Politics Guys on Facebook | X

Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo we’re @PoliticsGuys.

The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.