The Washington Post’s Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann gather for a weekly in-depth conversation about politics and power. From presidential candida...
On this episode, Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin, James Hohmann, and Washington Post DOGE reporter Faiz Siddiqui take a closer look at “special government employee” Elon Musk who continues to upend the federal government, overseeing the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency while joking that he is merely “tech support” during his appearances at the White House.What is the current relationship between President Donald Trump and Musk? Will his “move fast, break things, rebuild” Silicon Valley management mantra ends up disabling key government functions? When does he sleep?
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27:44
Musk’s email fallout
On this episode, Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin, and James Hohmann discuss the fallout from Elon Musk’s email to federal workers that threatened firings if they did not respond to a request to detail their work responsibilities last week.This comes at a time when Republican lawmakers in the House are finalizing language of the so-called “big beautiful bill”, a Trump-endorsed legislative package that would become a federal budget resolution if and when it comes up for a floor vote. With only a three vote majority in the house, House Speaker Mike Johnson will need almost every Republican representative's approval to pass the legislation. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reaffirmed on Tuesday that no Democrats will vote in support of the House GOP budget reconciliation resolution as it stands.
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28:52
King and dictator
On this episode, The Washington Post’s Libby Casey and JM Rieger are joined by metro reporter Emily Davies and White House correspondent Michael Birnbaum to discuss the escalating rhetoric used by President Donald Trump and his administration, calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “a dictator without elections,” while also meeting with Russia delegates for peace talks, notably without Ukrainian involvement.Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service, and The Trump administration also continued to cut federal workforce jobs across the country, targeting probationary employees, and sometimes citing ‘performance’ issues without evidence.Meanwhile, Trump threatened to ‘take over’ governance of Washington D.C., reversing its current home rule status, claiming local leaders are not doing enough on crime, cleaning up graffiti, and removing homeless encampments.
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23:40
Are Elon Musk and DOGE looking at your personal tax data?
On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey and JM Rieger are joined by congressional economic correspondent Jacob Bogage to discuss Elon Musk's DOGE team attempting to access a highly guarded IRS computer system that contains Americans' personal financial information. The crew breaks down what's actually in the files DOGE representatives are seeking, why, and what makes career government officials are so concerned.Then, the Trump administration continues to shrink the size of federal government by laying off employees – and over the weekend, haphazard firings, which included employees at almost every government agency, including at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
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25:32
Gabbard, RFK Jr. confirmed as GOP lines up behind Trump
On this episode, The Washington Post's Rhonda Colvin, James Hohmann and JM Rieger sit down with media reporter Jeremy Barr to break down the Trump administration's recent spats with the media – from barring The Associated Press from Oval Office events, to removing media organizations from workspaces at the Pentagon. Plus, Trump settles with Facebook and Twitter, and demands a $20 billion settlement from CBS.Then, are Republican senators ceding all of their power to Trump and the executive branch? And why was Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) – until recently his caucus' leader – alone in his opposition to several of Trump's cabinet nominees?
The Washington Post’s Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann gather for a weekly in-depth conversation about politics and power. From presidential candidates to members of Congress to the judicial system, Sidebar dives deep on the topics and people at the forefront of the political conversation.
The crew sits down each Thursday (with the occasional breaking news episode) to discuss what has happened that week, and what’s coming up the next week – with guest appearances from Washington Post reporters.
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