The Republican Takeover. Oof. | Coffee Klatch for January 4, 2025

Friends,Yesterday, Michael Johnson was voted in (barely) as speaker by the new Republican-controlled Congress. This Monday, Kamala Harris will preside over Congress to certify the electoral vote, making Donald Trump the next president. The last time Congress met to certify an electoral vote, it was invaded by Trump supporters who threatened the lives of all members along with the Capitol Police, at Trump’s urging. But instead of being held accountable, Trump is about to become president. The person who is also unaccountable for wielding power — although in a very different way from Trump — is Elon Musk. He’s the richest person in the world; spent a quarter of a billion dollars getting Trump elected; and has the world’s largest megaphone, through which he is amplifying lies in support of right-wing parties and candidates around the world, and by which he blew up a bipartisan compromise on the federal budget that not incidentally barred him from working on Artificial Intelligence with the Chinese. We talk about all this and more on today’s Klatch. Please pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, take our poll, and join in the discussion. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit robertreich.substack.com/subscribe