We’re back to the usual podcast weekend double play, with both a 3WHH and Ricochet episode to pass along.
On the 3WHH, we reflect that we’re only 19 days into Trump’s term, but it seems like 19 months have passed already since January 20. When Alexander Hamilton wrote of “energy in the executive,” he had no idea that a real estate tycoon would become the greatest example of this understanding of the presidency.
This week’s episode reviews five of Trump’s biggest fights that are interrelated in ways that could rebalance out constitutional order in ways conservatives have hoped beyond hope for decades might be possible. Trump’s challenge to birthright citizenship is forcing a long overdue debate on the issue along with a challenge to district judges issuing nationwide injunctions; his freezing of spending revives the issue of presidential power to impound funds Congress has appropriated; and his firing of civil servants and termed appointees to federal boards and commissions will force a reconsideration of the old Humphrey’s Executor case that a wide spectrum of scholar believe was wrongly decided.
Along the way we get in some pop culture references to Star Trek and The Sporanos; the required defense of the McRib from all comers, and some additional closing observations on the “vibe shift” Trump has set in motion on DEI and related culture war issues.
As usual, listen here, or wherever you source your podcasts:
And I was back with James Lileks and Charles C.W. Cooke on the Ricochet Podcast, where we discuss tariffs and other matters with Daniel McCarthy, editor of Modern Age and frequent columnist the NY Post and elsewhere. Plus, we discuss the meltdown over USAID cuts; the dismal national report card; and the “Orwellian nightmare” facing… federal bureaucrats.
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