What A Day

It’s been just three weeks since the election, and President-elect Donald Trump has already named most of his cabinet picks, including all of the big ones to head executive departments. They are, in a word, eclectic. A mix of traditional Republican establishment types, MAGA diehard and… former Democrats? It’s an open question whether Trump’s picks will find common cause beyond just wanting a seat at Trump’s table. Burgess Everett, Congressional bureau chief for Semafor, talks about how Trump Administration 2.0 could work. And in headlines: Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped both of his criminal cases against Trump, California says it found bird flu in raw milk that’s available in stores, and Drake uses the courts to get petty. Show Notes: * Check out Burgess reporting – www.semafor.com/author/burgess-everett [http://www.semafor.com/author/burgess-everett] * Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 [https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8] * What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast] * Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ [https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/] * For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday [http://crooked.com/whataday]

President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to declare a national emergency – and maybe even use the military – to deport around 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. The consequences could be dire: millions of families separated, livelihoods upended, an even bigger backlog of immigration court cases, and a bill that could top $350 billion. Dara Lind, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, helps us separate facts from fears when it comes to Trump’s plan. And in headlines: Trump announces a flurry of final cabinet picks, Israel’s Defense Forces traded more fire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and the annual U.N. climate summit wraps up with a controversial $300 billion deal. Show Notes: * Check out Dara's column – https://tinyurl.com/769bxjxc [https://tinyurl.com/769bxjxc] * Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 [https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8] * What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast] * Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ [https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/] * For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday [http://crooked.com/whataday]

If there’s something that many of Trump’s cabinet nominees have in common, it is being credibly accused of sexual assault. Why is Trump—and MAGA world more widely—so enthusiastic about not just tolerating but elevating men with sordid, even criminal, pasts? There’s Matt Gaetz, Trump’s pick for US Attorney General, who withdraw from consideration on Thursday after yet another allegation of sex trafficking Then there’s Pete Hegseth, Trump’s slimy nominee for Secretary of Defense—not to mention Trump himself! Kavanaugh, RFK Jr., Herbster…the list goes on. This week on How We Got Here, Erin and Max interrogate why MAGA is appealing to sexually abusive men, and to what extent voters pulled the lever for Trump despite his rampant misogyny, versus because of it.

In news that was somehow both genuinely surprising and 100 percent predictable, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration to be the next U.S. Attorney General on Thursday. If President-elect Donald Trump was upset about the whole thing, he didn’t show it. Within hours, he had a new pick for the job: Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, another longtime MAGA devotee. Still, it’s also not like Gaetz was Trump’s only problematic nominee, and it’s not clear how many of the others will actually make it through the Senate confirmation process. Tim Miller, host of The Bulwark podcast and a former Republican strategist, explains what Gaetz’s withdrawal means for the rest of Trump’s nominees.  And headlines: The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, CNN released old tape of RFK Jr. comparing Trump to Hitler, and the Justice Department wants Google to sell off Chrome. Show Notes: * Check out Tim's pod – https://www.thebulwark.com/ [https://www.thebulwark.com/] * Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 [https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8] * What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast] * Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ [https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/] * For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday [http://crooked.com/whataday]

The reality show that is President-elect Donald Trump’s White House appointments keeps on rolling. In the last few days, Trump has picked World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder Linda McMahon to be his Secretary of Education, former acting Attorney General and toilet scammer Matthew Whitaker for U.S. ambassador to NATO, and billionaire former finance executive Howard Lutnick for Secretary of Commerce. Can any of these people win confirmation from the Senate? TBD! But Trump’s team says it doesn’t really matter because they want to force the president-elect’s unqualified picks through with recess appointments. Casey Burgat, director of the Legislative Affairs program at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management, explains how that would work. And in headlines: Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders forced a Senate vote to stop the U.S. from selling weapons to Israel, more details emerge about the sexual misconduct allegations against former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Texas has offered up thousands of acres of land to the Trump administration to construct deportation facilities. Show Notes: * Check out Casey's pod – https://tinyurl.com/mphevfxb [https://tinyurl.com/mphevfxb] * Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8 [https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8] * What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast] * Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ [https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/] * For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday [http://crooked.com/whataday]