← Andy Beshear Podcast
Andy Beshear Podcast
Episode 7: Attorney General Aaron Ford + FEMA, Forecasts, and Fatherhood
00:50:46
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Andy Beshear
Welcome to the Andy Beshear Podcast. You can download us on all major platforms or subscribe to our YouTube channel @andy Beshear Podcast this episode is a great one. You're going to hear from Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who's going to talk about being first generation college, then becoming a math teacher, then getting a law degree and becoming Nevada's Attorney General. He's going to talk about how he and other AGs and a few of us governors are pushing back on the Trump administration when it violates the rule of law. Then I'm going to talk with the Johns, John Rabinowitz and John McConnell about the issues of the week. We're going to cover a lot of topics. You're going to hear how in my Kentucky accent, we need to preserve the National Weather Service because we keep getting hammered by natural disasters. And then Brittany is going to read the questions for another segment of Ask Andy. As always, we want this episode and this podcast to be real. To make sure we can be real, we're going to follow those cast rules. Number one, be authentic. Number two, talk like a human being. Number three, no debating reality. Number four, tell your why. And number five, have fun. And we're going to have a lot of fun in this episode. So let's get to it. This week's guest on the Andy Beshear Podcast is Aaron Ford. Mr. Ford is the Attorney General of Nevada, where he not only has a day job taking care of people, making sure they're safe, standing up against illegal practices, but he is now on the front lines taking on the Trump administration when they violate the rule of law or the Constitution. So just a few jobs that he's got each and every day. Attorney General, welcome to the podcast.
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Aaron Ford
It's great to see you again.
- [03:00]
Andy Beshear
It is good to see you my friend. You have an incredible story living out the American dream, being first generation college and your your family. Tell tell our listeners a little bit about your background growing up. What brought you to where you are today?
- [03:19]
Aaron Ford
Yeah, you know, honestly, growing up, I never would have envisioned that I would be here. We didn't have a lot, but we had what we needed. We had faith, we had family. And we grew up on the premise that you work hard and you should be able to be successful. And by working hard, that means whatever job you had. I mean, my mom told me my first job was to keep my head in the books. That's a phrase she would always use, keep your head in the books, study. And so we focused heavily on education early on in my upbringing. And that led me through programs like Project Upward Bound, a very important government program that took me out of the bad neighborhoods on the weekends and on the Sundays and set me on the campus of Southern Methodist University where I was taking extra classes so that I could graduate and go into college. And so look, I mean, at the end of the day, again, what my mom has always taught me, what my father taught me, my stepfather taught me about working hard and about staying true to self and focusing on being friendly to everybody has been something that has led us where we are today.
- [04:25]
Andy Beshear
What I love in your answer is the idea that while we love this story of being self made, there's always someone, a mentor, a teacher, a parent, and oftentimes there's some type of program for you, Upward Bound, that have sparked our interest. And I think that just reinforces how important that these programs and supporting these adults who invest in our kids and in our education, how important that is and how we have to protect it.
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Aaron Ford
No, absolutely right. I mean, and I swear by the program, Project Upward Bound, anytime I ever give my story, and I know this isn't going to be all about Upward Bound, but I start with that premise because frankly, people in my neighborhoods were doing some different things. They weren't studying. I had a couple of guys up the street who were selling drugs. I had a friend who was, who lived catacorned to me, who got arrested for stealing a school bus high on crack when he did it at the end of the day. I come from a neighborhood that folks had written off. And this program helped people like me move from the current station we were in life at that time to the next station in life. And I use that to inform the way that I operate in government. Government should help people, not hinder them. And so I look for opportunities and all that I do, whether it's when I was a state senator to currently, now that is Attorney General to represent what I call the entirety of the Nevada family. Again, reflecting back on my faith. Early on, we came up with a model of my office. And that motto is, our job is justice. And that's rooted in faith, because in the Old Testament, it tells you that justice you shall pursue. And I keep that in mind in all that we do. Especially when you move over some of the instructions from the New Testament. That tells me in red, which means Jesus said that, Andy, I know you and I have Christianity in common. And Jesus said that what you do unto the least of these, you do unto me. And some translations, it says, what you do to the least of these, you do to me. And I read that as a directive to treat everybody with humanity and dignity and respect, especially in the job of Attorney General that is supposed to look out for the entirety of the state of Nevada.
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Andy Beshear
In my instance, one of my favorite passages in the Bible is the one that says, stop doing evil and start doing good, and you'll abide in him. For the Lord loves justice.
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Aaron Ford
Amen to that. Exactly. Justice. There we go again. This notion of justice and pursuing it is something that drives us our office every single day.
- [06:54]
Andy Beshear
You didn't go directly from college to law school. You got to go to law school. To be an Attorney General, you've got to be an attorney. You had some jobs along the way. You collected a lot of degrees, too. I think you have a lot more diplomas on the wall than I ever will. But I've got to ask you about one. You were a math teacher. Tell us about that.
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Aaron Ford
I was, I was. So I went to undergrad at Texas A University, again, thanks to Open Bound getting me matriculated into the university. And my degree was interdisciplinary studies education, advanced welfare education. So I was focused on math and I focused on Spanish. Came out, graduated, and my first job was down in Austin, Texas, teaching in inner city Austin, Texas, at a middle school, teaching middle school math, eighth grade math. And then my wife and I got married, moved off to D.C. i taught high school out there teaching algebra one and algebra two. Got teacher of the year, actually, at the school I taught at back in the day, then. And then I went out to the Ohio State University, where I got a few other degrees to your point. And I taught school in Hilliard, Ohio. So it's almost like the Three Bears, where I had one school that had not enough money, I had one school that had too much money, and then I had one school that had just about just the right amount of money. So I've been around and experienced a little bit. And so I knew a Little bit about education, and I am focused on ensuring that we can improve those systems wherever we go as well.
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Andy Beshear
So which one is harder, being a politician slash attorney general, senator, or being a middle school teacher?
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Aaron Ford
Oh, my goodness. You know, some would say that being a teacher of children was good preparation for being a state senator. I'm just.
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Andy Beshear
My first job was mucking horse stalls, and that definitely prepared me for politics.
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Aaron Ford
There you go. Exactly, man. Exactly. It is a contact Sport, 100%. Yeah, but, but, but, you know, in all honesty, it has been very helpful because engaging in conversation, trying to persuade folks to your point, try to, you know, keep their attention, but also being open to the fact that sometimes you're not communicating as well as you think you are. And so being open to receiving feedback on the best ways to get your point across or, or. Or hearing the other side of things has been an important lesson I learned. And that started when school teacher as well.
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Andy Beshear
So when you got into politics, your first race, you ran and lost.
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Aaron Ford
I got smashed, Andy. I lost by, like, 20 points.
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Andy Beshear
If it helps, when I was in high school, if I ran for anything at all, and there were five people in it, I came in seventh. But, but. So you, You. You ran for that race, you lost, but you got yourself up, you ran again, and you won big.
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Aaron Ford
You know, Andy, I'm glad you mentioned that, because it's a good reminder of how I got started in this race. And, you know, I'm going to share with you some things that my campaign manager was trying to convince me to do back then that I just wouldn't do. I was running in a race. It was an uphill battle. I was a Democrat running in a Republican district. It was a close in registration, but the guy was just popular. And toward the end of the race, my campaign manager was saying to me, if you really want to win this race, you need to go negative. You're going to have to talk bad about this guy so that we can, like, close the gap. This only way you're going to be able to win. And I looked at her in the face and I said, look, I tell my kids every single day that you don't have to make somebody else look bad to make yourself look good.
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Morgan and Morgan Representative
Amen.
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Aaron Ford
So I refused to do it. I did not go negative again. I lost miserably. Got smashed. But from all reports, the way I ran that race is what enabled me to run the next time. And, Andy, that time I won by 25 points. So I lost by 20 the first time, but I won by 25 the second time. And it was because people told me that it was because of the way I ran that race, with integrity, focusing on issues and not being what they viewed as the typical politician. And again, that was the beginning of my career. And it's something that I take with me up until this very day. Everybody deserves dignity and respect. Just because they don't agree with you doesn't mean that you need to speak down to them, ostracize them, make them feel less than a person, God forbid, un American. And so it's something that was a good lesson to learn early on and something that my former campaign manager brings up anytime she talks about having worked with me in the past.
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Andy Beshear
That concept of not judging, especially the voters and the constituents that you work with in your purple state, I know is so important in my state, if you want to run as a Democrat is critically important. What do you think it is that maybe national Democrats sometimes get wrong that you and hopefully I have gotten right?
- [11:33]
Aaron Ford
You know, I'm offering you two responses to that, the first of which is, I recognize that not everybody, pardon me, no one has a monopoly on good ideas, nor does anyone have a monopoly on bad ideas. And so recognizing that conversation is important to take place, to ascertain where these good ideas that can move our state forward can come from. And then the second thing I'll say is this. This is a true story. My wife and I were sitting in our backyard one day after we were just sitting in our backyard, catching up with each other. I was sitting across from her, looking her in her eyes. She was looking at my eyes, and I looked up at the sky behind her. It was. The sun was setting. And I said, oh, wow, that's a beautiful yellow sunset. And my wife said, boy, that's red. And I said, no, I know my colors. That's a yellow sunset I'm looking at. She says, no, you don't know your colors. That's red. So we giggled a little bit. And suddenly something told me, Andy, to just turn around for a second and look at it from her perspective. And lo and behold, what she saw was a red sunset. And I had to turn around, look at mine, and mine was yellow. And the point is, perspective matters. And just because I have a perspective doesn't mean that yours is wrong. In fact, I learned then that the sky was big enough for both of us to be right and for both of us to be wrong at the very same time. And so, look, it's a matter of perspective oftentimes. And I think national politicians Forget that. You have to look at it from someone else's perspective. That was a true life example to me. That again, I keep in mind as I interact with, with colleagues on both sides of the aisle all the time.
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Andy Beshear
And that has to be the healthiest conversation example with a spouse that I think I've ever heard somebody be able to provide.
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Aaron Ford
I mean, I was like, you know what? I was going to give up too. You know, I can never win the race, win an argument anyway. But I was like, no, that's yellow. I know yellow when I see yellow.
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Andy Beshear
So you've got what I think is one of the best jobs in the world. I love being Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. You get to wake up and do good for people every single day. But not all the listeners of the Andy Beshear podcast know what being an Attorney General entails. Tell us a little about it.
- [13:38]
Aaron Ford
Yeah, yeah, you're right. And I'm going to answer your question. But let me a quick segue and a quick nod to you, Andy, because I was in the State Senate as the majority leader when I first learned of what, what effect the attorneys general could have. Because I saw people like you in the fight pushing back on unconstitutional actions from the administration, ensuring that we were standing up for everybody. And that made me want to say, I want to get into this fight and help as many people as possible as quickly as possible on as many things as possible without having to go through this rat race of having to convince everybody of my particular position and have conversations around getting it done with other people who could actually go to court and get it done. Appreciated your work. So what I'm doing now, as the top law enforcement officer in the state, is to ensure that people who do bad things in our state on the criminal side are punished for it. Right. But I'm also the top legal advisor in the state. And that means that I am the governor's lawyer. That means that I am the lawyer for all of the administrative agencies out here, whether it's the Department of Education or the Department of Corrections. It also means that, however, I am the person who gets to protect our sovereignty, our sovereignty as a state from federal overreach. That's something that I know Kentuckians believe in as well. Here in Nevada, we were battle born. We are individualistic state that wants to protect individual rights. And so ensuring that the federal government isn't doing things that they shouldn't be doing has enabled me to engage in the litigation that we've had with the federal government this last go around for. I think the last count was about 22 different lawsuits. We've not lost one of those lawsuits, Andy. And I think it's important to note that we've not lost those because we're focusing on the rule of law to ensure that the checks and balances that our Constitution laid out for us are followed and that the President can't overstep. And I did that. Whether it's Mr. Trump, I sued Mr. Biden as well when he overstepped. And so that's part of what I do as Attorney General is to uphold and represent the rule of law and push it back against those who had overstepped.
- [15:47]
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Andy Beshear
O l.com you're listening to the Andy Beshear podcast. We have Nevada's Attorney General Ford on with us. He's just started talking about lawsuits against the Trump administration. And I believe that attorneys general are not getting their due right now when a lot of people are saying we need to stand up and push back. Rags, along with a couple governors, Josh Shapiro and myself have gone to court over and over and over to uphold that rule of law in some really important areas. Tell us first about one of those initial areas was the funding freeze when the Trump administration first came in and tried to stop payments of everything. Really? Even including Medicaid.
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Aaron Ford
Yeah, yeah. It's a big problem. And look, let me back up and make an announcement that I've always made since election day. Mr. President is our president. He won the election. I do not deny that. He's our president. And he has the right to implement the promises and the platform he ran on and his policies and programs. He gets the right to try to implement, but it must do so lawfully. And when he does not do so lawfully, that's when attorneys general are required to step in. We had an oath that we took that says that we're going to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States and of our respective states. And the instance that you're Talking about where Mr. President came in and almost immediately tried to stop trillions of federal funds that had already been allocated by Congress from being able to be distributed and be utilized in a way that they had been designated was unlawful. Look, the president can do certain things, and it's not what he does sometimes, it's how he does it. And what he did in that circumstance was to violate checks and balances and separation of powers. The Congress has the right to allocate funds, and it was a requirement that the president allocate those funds. And they were being used by so many different entities in our state. I happened at that time, Andy, to be taking a rural tour in Nevada. I was headed to cowboy poetry in Elko, Nevada, which is in eastern Nevada Cowboys. And I was driving from Carson's. Yeah, exactly. I was driving from Carson to Elko. And I was on. Along. Along the way, stopping to meet with recipients of grants that my office puts out. Yes, these grants were helping victims of domestic violence survivors, sexual assault. Right. And so they were all almost to an entity concerned about what these funding reasons were going to mean about provisions of services to their clientele. And so at the end of the day, we sued and we prevailed almost immediately, Got a temporary restraining order, which led to a preliminary injunction, which means that money was unfrozen, essentially, and it's being utilized today.
- [19:05]
Andy Beshear
And I see that that money unfrozen that was also going to our child advocacy centers that help children that have sadly been abused. And we both need to start the healing process and seek justice for them as well as so many other areas across the board. And thanks to your work and others, those dollars continue to flow. But as we know, that was just one instance. There were other illegal cuts, one of the most recent ones. We're trying to cut the dollars after Covid that were appropriated by Congress to make sure that we didn't face another pandemic. Again, they were called the COVID funds, but they were all about public health moving forward, making sure that we could do better and then dealing with some of the damage of COVID having more addiction services and funding. And recently you all, and I'm a part of that case, secured another TRO to make sure those dollars kept flowing. Why don't you talk about that and the importance of those dollars?
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Aaron Ford
You know, you're exactly right. And it's another example of Mr. Trump. Look, I'm not judging the policy. He can have the policy that he wants to have. He can do what he wants to do, but he must also lawfully. And in this instance, he again tried to stop the flow of money that had already been allocated. And not only allocated it had been appropriated. We were in our state about to spend this money on certain things from health care. And in fact, there were some educational services that were going to be jeopardized because of Mr. Trump trying to roll back money that had been allocated and essentially spent already. We joined together with probably 20 or so Democratic attorneys general, you as well as Mr. Shapiro, we were able to work with to pursue and go to court and stop this money restoring money to educational institutions, to health care institutions. And incidentally, I had just been in Reno at the time speaking to both health care institutions and educational institutions around the time that this freeze was coming in. And I was hearing in real time what was about to happen from the services that these hospitals are going to be able to provide to the patients, but also the types of educational programs that were being jeopardized because of the monies that were being threatened to be taken away. So I stood up, fought back, along with other attorneys general and you at our side, sir. And we were again able to get a temporary restraining order, which has led to a preliminary injunction. And we will continue to stand up against those unlawful actions because, again, it's our job to represent the rule of law, irrespective of who the President is.
- [21:41]
Andy Beshear
It's important to explain to folks out there that these are all programs that are created by law that Congress passes. Then they appropriate money that says you shall make these programs move forward. Then typically there's a contract between the federal government and the state or the agency, and then oftentimes we pay the money ahead of time. And what we're seeking is reimbursement.
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Aaron Ford
Reimbursement, right.
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Andy Beshear
And so you're not just violating the law, you're violating a contract, your word. And you're potentially leaving a state, an agency and a nonprofit in a really tough position. Why? Because they relied on a contract and a law with the federal government.
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Aaron Ford
You're exactly right. And explaining it the way that you did, Andy, is so important. It's a good reminder to me and a good example to me of how to talk about this, because these are the real impacts of what happens. This isn't just theory about what checks and balances mean between the Congress and the President and the states and this, that, and the other. These are very real issues that are affecting real people, and we have to stand up to protect those individuals in our states.
- [22:51]
Andy Beshear
So you're saying I haven't lost my touch as an agent.
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Aaron Ford
I think you got it, man. I think you got it. Yeah. I want to be like you When I grow up. Andy Basheer.
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Andy Beshear
Well, so you've recently had some news in my role at the Democratic Governor's association at the moment, since there might be a contest, I've got to sit back here. But why don't you share that news with our listeners?
- [23:14]
Aaron Ford
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. You know, I have indeed announced that I intend to run and will be running for governor of Nevada. We are excited about this prospect. Again, I view it as an opportunity to continue serving the entirety of the Nevada family. I view it as an opportunity to move our state forward, doing things that are going to help augment everybody stationed in life, to focus in on the economics that are impacting Nevadans, focus on the educational systems that you and I have talked about a little bit with my background in education, to look at how we can make housing more attainable to individuals in our state and to ensure that our climate out here. Look, I'm looking outside right now. It's a beautiful day. But, you know, we live in a desert and, you know, environmental issues are important to us. And so focusing on clean air and clean water and ensuring that our environment is taken care of, these are some of the things that people in Nevada want us focusing on. They don't want the bickering back and forth. They want someone who's going to move us forward in that regard. And so I'm looking forward to the official launch of the campaign. And I have not quite launched. I am in the middle of a legislative session right now. We end in about two weeks. But soon in July, you will hear the official announcement, the official launching of my Ford for Governor's race. And I'm very much looking forward to getting that moving.
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Andy Beshear
This is the Andy Beshear Podcast, Nevada's Attorney General Ford giving us some great news. We like to end these interviews oftentimes with a few fun questions. Tell us something about yourself that people don't know.
- [24:49]
Aaron Ford
Well, Andy, I can do a mean karaoke.
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Andy Beshear
Oh, yeah?
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Aaron Ford
Yeah. Not that you will ever see it. I mean, I've hung up the microphone and I've dropped the microphone, whatever phrase I need to use. But yeah, I can do a mean karaoke, man.
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Andy Beshear
So what is your, what is your song of choice?
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Aaron Ford
Well, you know, I actually have a wide range. I have a repertoire, if you will. Oh, wow. I can do nothing but ag thing, baby. The clean version, of course. Right? The clean version, of course. But I can also talk about the brick house that the Commodores would sing about, you know, so I have a wide range, man. I have a wide Range.
- [25:27]
Andy Beshear
If you are a public official in Nevada, do you have to be good at poker?
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Aaron Ford
You know, I hope not because I'm not good at it.
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Andy Beshear
Tell us a little bit about what it's like living in a state that has so much of the population turn over every so many years.
- [25:44]
Aaron Ford
Yeah, you know, you're reintroducing yourself to the electorate literally every single time you run, which is appropriate in the first instance. You should never get too comfortable with the folks who you are trying to work for. But it does present a unique challenge. I mean, some estimates say that 25% of the electorate turns over year, so that every two years, half of the electorate is brand new and doesn't know who you are. So, you know, it requires you to get out there to talk to folks, to stay engaged, to have your ear to the ground, to hear what's concerning them and try to be responsive.
- [26:20]
Andy Beshear
What's your favorite meal?
- [26:23]
Aaron Ford
You know, is breakfast. Even though I don't eat it a lot. Believe it or not, this goes back to being raised and, you know, not having a lot of money. My mama used to tell me all the time that if you can't afford anything, bacon and eggs are usually pretty cheap. So you can eat breakfast for dinner is what my mom used to say. Now these days, eggs are kind of expensive and so I can't. I have to disagree with her a little bit in that regard. But bacon and eggs, you know, it's my favorite meal and I can eat. I used to eat it for dinner sometimes.
- [26:51]
Andy Beshear
And last, Nevada, specifically Las Vegas, is now getting all of these major sports franchises. And I admit I'm a little bit jealous. If you could go back in time and you had the talent to play one professional sport, which one would it be?
- [27:07]
Aaron Ford
No, I would have stuck with track. I actually ran track. I was pretty good at it. But we moved around a lot when I was a kid and I was moved to a different school and different coach and didn't stick with it. But track, I would have loved to have stuck with track. I ran a 400. I was pretty good at that. And I was on the mile relay because I ran the 400 and it was pretty good. So I would have stuck with track.
- [27:30]
Andy Beshear
Man, I still remember my baseball coach in high school coming to me and saying, andy, I think you should focus on academics. And I looked back at him and I said, coach, I've got the highest GPA on the team. And he said, I know, son, I know. So I think exactly right. I think if I went back that would be my choice, maybe just to prove him wrong. But like my mama said though, keep.
- [27:54]
Aaron Ford
Your head in the books, Andy. You kept your head in the books, buddy. That's what you did.
- [27:58]
Andy Beshear
Well, this has been Aaron Ford, Nevada's Attorney General, on the Andy Beshear podcast. Thanks so much for being on.
- [28:06]
Aaron Ford
Thanks for having me, Andy. Great to see you, buddy.
- [28:13]
Andy Beshear
You're listening to the Andy Beshear podcast. This next segment is the one we do every week where we talk through the issues of the last week and the issues in the coming weeks with my two friends, John Rabinowitz and John McConnell, known as the Johns. We're going to do this round robin style, starting with John McConnell. Alright?
- [28:34]
John Rabinowitz
Hopping in real quick. News of the week. Every time you turn on the TV right now, you see Walmart and you see the word prices. So Andy, what's your take on this?
- [28:44]
Andy Beshear
This is Walmart announcing that they're going to have to raise prices across the board because of tariff tariffs. It's very similar to when Amazon said the same and in fact was going to put the exact amount on their website so consumers could see exactly how much Donald Trump's tariff policy was costing them. What we've seen is the administration pushed back very hard on both. But you can't disguise the fact that tariffs raise prices. And this is an attempt by these companies to be transparent. And I certainly think Walmart isn't simply going to eat the increased costs like the administration's asking them to.
- [29:25]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
It's tough to see how a publicly traded company would ever eat costs. It's tough to see that there's any way but that these costs are going to be at least partially pushed down to the consumer.
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John Rabinowitz
Even the Treasury Secretary acknowledged that Walmart may pass some of these on. So there's an acknowledgement there that there is an increase in what they're having to pay for goods.
- [29:47]
Andy Beshear
And all this is important to American families. But it's also important politically because Donald Trump got that last group of voters by convincing them that he would decrease prices, make life a little bit easier, while he convinced them that the Vice President was distracted on a whole lot of other issues. And now you're hearing the administration asking companies not to tell people how much their prices are going to go up and then saying that your kids have too many toys. That doesn't sound like a winning message. And certainly it leaves a lane wide open for Democrats and others to be the party or the representatives of the working people that need a little help.
- [30:34]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
We're really going to have to watch over the next month to see what happens at Walmart, what happens at grocery stores and how they do affect consumers. But speaking of expenses, I would love to take John and Andy on this proposed gift to the Air force of a 500 million maybe more dollar jet. Does that set precedent for governors to accept $500 million jets if accepted?
- [31:04]
Andy Beshear
Are you hoping?
- [31:05]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Well, listen, if I can get on it at least once, then I'm good with it.
- [31:07]
John Rabinowitz
Everybody should get a ride. And also too, they call it the palace in the sky.
- [31:13]
Andy Beshear
This is a airplane, a multi hundred million dollar airplane that a foreign country wants to gift. We could call it the United States. It might be gifted. President Donald Trump suggesting that there's not anything expected back, which I think is just silly when you're talking about something that's $500 million. But with all that, you know how we played that, that game in the last episode, Big Deal or no Deal.
- [31:40]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Yep.
- [31:40]
Andy Beshear
I think this is a distraction. I don't think that it will actually happen. And I think it takes our eye off the ball right now that that ball is higher prices which hits the American people every day. A new jet is not going to impact them the same way. It's also potential cuts to Medicaid which would devastate rural health care. And so while a lot of people are talking about this as potential corruption, it take several years to actually bring it up to Air Force.
- [32:08]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
It's retrofitted. Right.
- [32:09]
Andy Beshear
And I don't think in the end it'll happen, but it has us talking about things other than what hits the American people.
- [32:17]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
And what just hit us last night was a bill. The what? Big, big beautiful bill. The big beautiful bill that got through committee and I guess goes to Rules Committee today. And what's your take on that?
- [32:29]
Andy Beshear
Big concerns. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 8.5 million Americans will lose their health care coverage through Medicaid. That's almost twice the population of our state, that is everyone we know and then one more person for each of them losing their health care coverage. And that's kids and parents. It's intentionally increasing the amount of paperwork. So if you don't check a box right, you lose your coverage for six months. And think about what could happen. Oftentimes the folks covered by Medicaid have significant and severe medical issues that need help. There are kids with half of Kentucky's kids covered by Medicare. There are parents with 70% of our long term care costs covered. You don't check a box and suddenly what are you going to do with Parents on long term care. How are you going to get through that? And what type of care are they going to get? And then potential cuts to snap. I mean, that hits me right in my faith, the miracle, the fishes and the loaves is about having enough to make sure that no one goes hungry. So, so, so very concerned.
- [33:41]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Do you think it passes, John?
- [33:42]
John Rabinowitz
Well, I mean, it got out of committee because I believe three or four voted present. So it was going to die in committee again. And to have it on a Sunday vote to bring it up to get it through, I think kind of talks about the concerns that everyone has.
- [33:55]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
So the president's probably going to have to get engaged and involved for it to get through this other committee.
- [34:01]
Andy Beshear
I think he is. And it's going to be another test of whether this is a separate branch of government that is doing the will of the people. Because many of these, especially Republicans, are in rural districts that a major Medicaid hit 8.8 million people. That's revenue going into hospital systems and clinics. And without it, rural health care will suffer. A lot of those hospitals will close and they're in those districts where people might be voting present or even. Yes, yes. I've always viewed politics about serving people, always putting your people before being a Democrat or a Republican. And I hope members of Congress will step up and do that too.
- [34:41]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Sure.
- [34:42]
Andy Beshear
So we had a tough piece of news come out about former President Biden. A very significant diagnosis of prostate cancer, a 9 out of 10 on the scale they use. It's metastasized to his bones. Apparently it is responding or might respond to certain treatment. But for me, this is very personal because my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer 30 years ago when I was 17 years old. And that was very early on, before a lot of the treatment, before you could have the surgery with a robot doing it. And I still remember that we didn't know when he went into surgery whether it was localized and he was going to be okay or I was going to lose my dad before I graduated, potentially from even college. So. So pretty concerning for the Biden family.
- [35:33]
John Rabinowitz
And cancer is one of those touches everyone. It touches everyone. I mean, Heather had cancer, my wife in her 20s. So, you know, it touches every family around you. You're going to have someone in your family, a friend or someone adjacent who has had.
- [35:48]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
And it sounds like it's a pretty aggressive form. I think we were talking about it this morning and that it may have metastasized into his bones. So obviously, like our prayers are with he and his Family. And I know that you had met with him a few times, and I know John Morgan considers him a friend. So we just hate to hear it and wish them the best.
- [36:05]
Andy Beshear
He's a nice human being. He's been very good to my kids. But I think this is also a message to everyone out there to get your screenings. Get your screenings. When you reach the age at the physical, get your psa, which is what they. What they do on a blood test. Without that test, my dad still wouldn't be here because that's what. What found it. And for colon cancer, too. Make sure that when it's your time and it's. No. Not comfortable that you get those screenings because getting them and going through all of it is a lot better than the alternative.
- [36:38]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Amen. And speaking of getting old.
- [36:41]
John Rabinowitz
That's it.
- [36:41]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
You and I have a big week this week with our kids graduating. You know, excited for Caroline's future journey, but in somewhat dis. My daughter. I'm sorry. But also in disbelief because I never thought it would be here. I don't know about you, John.
- [37:02]
John Rabinowitz
Well, it just. It happens. They grow and they become adults. I mean, Andy, you remember Cora back at your house when. And she could barely even see above the island in the kitchen. So now all of a sudden, she's an adult and going to be going like John's daughter to UK.
- [37:17]
Andy Beshear
Both 18 years old.
- [37:19]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Yes.
- [37:19]
Andy Beshear
Graduating. Very proud of your daughters and the people they've become. It's got to be surreal, though, watching these graduation ceremonies and festivities and thinking, how'd this happen?
- [37:33]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Yeah, I mean, we talked about gray hairs. It's actually shocking. Reality kind of hit me last week. Caroline and I drove around UK's campus and she showed me where her dorm is. And I said, well, you're still only like 30 minutes away from the house. I said, so you're going to come by like, what, once a week or see? She goes, maybe once a month.
- [37:56]
Brittany Beshear
Maybe.
- [37:57]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Maybe. And so it is surreal. It still hasn't hit me, but I'm so proud of her and proud of your daughter. And this Saturday will be tough.
- [38:06]
John Rabinowitz
It's gonna be tough. And speaking of gray hair, I mean, mine just fell out. If I had gray hair, I would be happy with any color.
- [38:12]
Andy Beshear
So you don't have any to lose over this graduation.
- [38:15]
John Rabinowitz
There's not that much left. Whatever's there is already gone.
- [38:17]
Andy Beshear
Well, a big congratulations to all the parents out there and all the graduates from whichever school you're in. It's a really exciting season, and I know we've got a great generation and generations that are stepping up and are going to do great things.
- [38:32]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
No doubt.
- [38:33]
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- [39:14]
Andy Beshear
You'Re listening to the Andy Beshear Podcast. Now is the time for my Kentucky axa where I talk about things that are going on that just aren't right or in my accent that just ain't right. This week are the cuts to the National Weather Service and potential cuts to fema where I live, just got hammered again by another round of storms that took far too many lives. And this is happening all over the United States. The most basic function of government is to keep people safe and then to be there for them in the very worst of moments. The idea that we would cut the National Weather Service means we're less likely to know when devastating tornadoes or flooding are coming for our people in the United States. We should want to make sure those resources are the very first to fund and the very last to cut because lives are on the line. And then when the worst of the worst happens, which is happening more and more often, when a devastating event takes everything from a family, takes a house completely away, ruins everything that people have spent decades trying to build, that's where government needs to be. Listen, I get government doesn't need to be in every part of our lives. But at that moment, when you're staring at what used to be your house, having FEMA there to help is really important. Our basic humanity should come down to us caring about our neighbors and making sure we have that structure in place to help them when they really need it. That's in my Kentucky accent. This is the Andy Beshear Podcast, available on all major platforms and on YouTube @BESHEAR podcast, we're now on to the most fun segment we typically have. You've seen my kids, you've seen Brittany, you've seen Ask Andy in previous episodes. Now we've got a mix of a couple of them. We're going to do our second Ask Andy, but here to help us out is my wife Brittany, who's going to interrogate me on my own podcast. And we've got John Rabinowitz and John McConnell who are likely to pile on. Are you ready, Brittany?
- [41:39]
Brittany Beshear
I think the better question is, are you ready?
- [41:41]
Andy Beshear
Oh, no, not at all.
- [41:42]
Brittany Beshear
Well, I think the first we'll start with the easy ones and we'll work our way up. Somebody wanted to know what your most favorite place in the bluegrass is.
- [41:53]
Andy Beshear
Ooh. Well, when you're governor of a state, you've gotta like all of your state. But what's exciting about where we live is you can go from hiking in the mountains to a weekend at the lake. And as long as I'm with my family, I think I'm good. Yeah.
- [42:13]
Brittany Beshear
Yeah. If you had to find, like a real quiet place, I'm thinking Mammoth Cave, way deep down in there. But, you know, we've had some really fun family vacations actually with John and his family at Kentucky Lake. And yeah, we've done some great hikes. We've gone zip lining in Red River. Gorgeous. The Louisville Zoo is a. I mean, thank you, Louisville Zoo, for giving us sanity when our kids were little, because we probably went there three or four days a week.
- [42:41]
Andy Beshear
Sometimes you need a good place to go to keep your kids stimulated and excited and to keep you sane.
- [42:47]
Brittany Beshear
That's right.
- [42:48]
John Rabinowitz
I'll toss it out there. John. So we talked about Kentucky Lake. So what do you think the odds are he stood up on a surfboard on Kentucky Lake?
- [42:55]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Zero chance.
- [42:56]
Andy Beshear
Hundred percent.
- [42:58]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Wait, are we talking wakeboarding?
- [42:59]
Andy Beshear
No, we're talking that surfboard.
- [43:01]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Oh, well, this is there video.
- [43:04]
Brittany Beshear
Yes.
- [43:05]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Well, that should be run with this clip.
- [43:08]
Andy Beshear
Cue the video and the meme.
- [43:10]
John Rabinowitz
Yes, exactly.
- [43:11]
Brittany Beshear
Awesome. Okay, the next question I have, it's actually kind of a both of us question is, how did we meet?
- [43:19]
Andy Beshear
So our love story started at a Mexican restaurant. I was in Washington D.C. working at a law firm that had nothing to do with politics. Brittany was working at a design firm.
- [43:32]
Brittany Beshear
Yeah.
- [43:32]
Andy Beshear
And we met at a birthday party. I remember it was a restaurant called Cantina Marina, because a 19 year marriage, of course, is gonna start at Cantina Marina.
- [43:43]
Brittany Beshear
And it was the Washington D.C. marina.
- [43:46]
Andy Beshear
Yes.
- [43:47]
Brittany Beshear
Yeah, I don't think the restaurant's there anymore.
- [43:49]
Andy Beshear
Washington Harbor.
- [43:50]
Brittany Beshear
Washington harbor. That's right. Yeah. And yeah, Andy came down the little gangway down. Yeah.
- [43:56]
Andy Beshear
You had to walk. Walk a gangplank.
- [43:58]
Brittany Beshear
Gangplank. Yeah. Oh, he. I saw him scouting me out.
- [44:01]
Andy Beshear
Oh, she's looking at me too.
- [44:02]
Brittany Beshear
No, I was like, who's this guy staring at me?
- [44:05]
Andy Beshear
Oh, I very slowly walked around talking to people, knowing exactly where I was going. But she knew I was Coming there too.
- [44:11]
Brittany Beshear
Yep. And I think I was standing with a group of people and I think you came over and five minutes later everybody was gone. And we have not stopped talking since.
- [44:18]
Andy Beshear
That's right, yeah.
- [44:19]
John Rabinowitz
So you knew he was going to be there or were you just like.
- [44:22]
Brittany Beshear
No, I had no idea.
- [44:23]
John Rabinowitz
Okay, okay, okay. No, it wasn't a setup. That's what I said.
- [44:26]
Brittany Beshear
No, it definitely was not a setup. Actually, what's really funny, Andy lived in a house with, I think you had four other roommates, and one of them had a bunch of girlfriends who all thought Andy was really cute. So I think she was trying to save him for all of her friends. I was. I don't know.
- [44:48]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
You look so proud.
- [44:50]
Andy Beshear
This is the best part of the podcast he went through we've ever recorded.
- [44:53]
Brittany Beshear
You know, he went from an alien belt buckle to being the catch of the house.
- [45:00]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Did he have the cowboy hat?
- [45:02]
Brittany Beshear
No, he was coming from work.
- [45:03]
Andy Beshear
But only. Only in Washington, D.C. could you be working for a large law firm and have to have four roommates?
- [45:11]
Brittany Beshear
Go. The third and final question I have is, what is your favorite song or what is your favorite music genre? And I've got the answer in my head. I'm just curious to see if you'll pull it out.
- [45:24]
Andy Beshear
Oh, I think, you know, it's right now. My favorite song's gotta be Universal sound from Tyler Childers.
- [45:30]
Brittany Beshear
Yeah. Yes. Yes. But that was not the one like your all time longest.
- [45:38]
Andy Beshear
Oh, there's a lot of them. A little insane in membrane. In bad 90s rap. I am still blaring at any and every time that I can. I like some of the latest late 70s, early 80s rock.
- [45:53]
Brittany Beshear
Yeah, yeah.
- [45:55]
Andy Beshear
So there's. There's more than a few songs out there that, you know, once they come on, bring you back to exactly where you were at that time.
- [46:03]
Brittany Beshear
Yeah.
- [46:04]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
I think I was gonna say, I seem to remember a reference in a song recently by Jack Harlow that you may have been in.
- [46:12]
John Rabinowitz
That's a thing.
- [46:13]
Andy Beshear
He is so talented and chose that he wanted to stay in Kentucky as his home. Pretty exciting. We've got so many musicians that come from here, but then also, you know, so many around the United States that have answered the call and in tough times to help us out. But it's been a neat time in this job to get to know some of the people making some really great art.
- [46:38]
Brittany Beshear
I agree. Yeah. Kentucky is full of really talented, unique individuals. It's really fun that they are really being showcased and acknowledged around the country.
- [46:50]
Andy Beshear
But I would like to say that the 90s rap that I like to blare is much cleaner than what I hear from John McConnell at various times.
- [47:00]
Brittany Beshear
You mean like John McConnell just on a daily basis or the music, John McConnell.
- [47:05]
Andy Beshear
Let's go with the music. The insurance, John McConnell a little less so.
- [47:12]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Well, John, What? On that note, did you go to any of these 90s concerts?
- [47:18]
John Rabinowitz
Me? Not a huge concert guy. Growing up, I'd say I did hit a few, 311 concerts in my life.
- [47:24]
Brittany Beshear
But that's good. How about you, John?
- [47:27]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Listen, this is kind of funny, but true. The first concert I ever went to in Orlando was MC Hammer. I still have a vivid memory of it, and it was awesome. Yeah, listen, I think I was fifth grade. Sixth grade.
- [47:38]
Brittany Beshear
Oh, did you wear the pants? Did you have pants?
- [47:40]
John Rabinowitz
Did you have pants?
- [47:41]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
I wish I had had the pants. If I did, I would play the video.
- [47:43]
Andy Beshear
What about the gold sequin vest with nothing underneath?
- [47:47]
Brittany Beshear
No, no, I wish.
- [47:49]
Andy Beshear
Will you do it for Halloween?
- [47:51]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Listen, you guys are tough to compete against. I'm not sure I would. I'm not sure Kelly would allow me out of the house.
- [47:57]
Brittany Beshear
I knew. I always liked Kelly. I know she makes good choices.
- [48:01]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Yes.
- [48:02]
Andy Beshear
There you have it, MC Hammer. This has been another great episode of the Andy Beshear Podcast. Remember, you can download the Andy Beshear Podcast on all major platforms, but please also subscribe to our YouTube channel @andy Beshear Podcast. This episode, we heard from Nevada's Attorney General on how he's preserving the rule of law and making sure that no one is above the law. We got to talk about major issues, from prices to the former president's recent cancer diagnosis. We got to hear my Kentucky accent, and Brittany got to ask a lot of questions. Normally, I get a little nervous when Brittany is asking that many questions. But, guys, what was your favorite part of this episode?
- [48:50]
John Rabinowitz
Oh, I'm going to toss it in. There is the fact that I had just assumed that when you first met Brittany, it was kind of set up like she had an idea that you were going to be coming. But instead, I mean, you actually worked the room and landed Brittany.
- [49:03]
Andy Beshear
So nobody works.
- [49:05]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
I mean, listen, that's his favorite segment in the history of the Andy Beshear Podcast.
- [49:09]
Andy Beshear
Nobody works at Mexican restaurant to find his future wife better than I do.
- [49:13]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
I'll tell you what, that General Ford segment was really interesting. His discussion on perspective and his journey. I thought that was a really cool thing to listen.
- [49:24]
Andy Beshear
I also thought it was important in how he kept saying that he's not opposing actions from this administration. Because he's a Democrat, but his goal is to preserve the rule of law and it's his job.
- [49:37]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
Yep, he understood that. He said it just has to be handled lawfully and I thought that was really interesting.
- [49:44]
Andy Beshear
So another great episode and we'll see you back here on the Andy Beshear Podcast, where we'll bring you another great guest, some good discussion, and one of my family members making fun of me. Thanks for tuning in. Be sure to subscribe at Andy Beshear Podcast on all major social media platforms.
- [50:04]
Aaron Ford
Cool.
- [50:04]
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- [50:37]
Morgan and Morgan Representative
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