Targeting Law Firms, Mass Firings, Justice Barrett, Dem Nominees

Mike and Ken open this preview of the midweek supporters’ episode with a discussion of the administration’s actions against DC law firms that have opposed President Trump. They both find this to be deeply disturbing, especially as legal action is about the only resource Democrats have until they’re able to win enough seats to control the House or Senate. Then they look at the budgetary effects of mass firings. Mike wonders what will happen to the money freed up from the firings, and predicts that much of it will end up going back to the Treasury at the end of the fiscal year. Ken argues that many of the firings will be successfully challenged in court, meaning that there won’t be much (if any) money to go back. They also discuss whether or not President Trump will try to throw Elon Musk under the bus if DOGE continues to grow in unpopularity. Next is a conversation about Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Mike sees Barrett as a big disappointment to MAGA, as she’s not a perfectly reliable pro-Trump vote. Ken agrees, suggesting that Barrett was influenced by Justice Antonin Scalia to develop a judicial philosophy that, while flawed (to Ken’s way of looking at it, at least) gives her a certain commendable integrity. They close by considering what sort of a presidential nominee Gavin Newsome might be and consider the alternatives, including Gretchen Whitmer, Josh Shapiro, Pete Buttigieg, Andy Beshear, John Fetterman, and Mark Cuban. The Politics Guys on Facebook | X 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. T 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesThe Politics Guys on Facebook | XListener 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.