Ruthless Podcast Episode Summary

Episode: Minnesota Fraud Explodes, LA & Australian terror + US Labor Sec Lori Chavez-DeRemer & OPM Director Scott Kupor
Date: December 16, 2025
Hosts: Josh Holmes, Comfortably Smug, Michael Duncan, John Ashbrook
Notable Guests: U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, OPM Director Scott Kupor

Episode Overview

This episode focuses on a wide range of pressing issues: a massive Minnesota fraud scandal, left-wing extremism and terror plots in the U.S. and Australia, and features two major interviews with Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer and OPM Director Scott Kupor. The hosts dissect systemic failures in government oversight, discuss American worker policy, and respond in their signature irreverent, candid style.

1. Key Discussion Points

Minnesota Fraud Scandal Exposed

Timestamps: [00:00]–[12:23]

• Massive Pandemic-era Fraud: Billions destined for aid—especially to feed children—were instead misappropriated or lost to organized fraud, including ties to international criminal networks.
• Lack of Accountability: The state, under Democratic Governor Tim Walz, failed to provide oversight—fraudulent entities billed millions from programs like "Feeding Our Future."
• Comedy in the Absurd: The hosts lampoon the state’s leadership, particularly Tim Walz’s attempts to deflect responsibility (including an oddly self-congratulatory claim about MSP Airport punctuality).

Memorable Quotes:

“The former vice presidential nominee, Tim Walls, he is just. Well, he is what he is. He's dumb, sort of fat...” — Holmes [02:31]

“Turns out that, like, a lot of the tax money that I contributed towards feeding children in need ended up in the hands of Al Shabaab and Somalia. And your response is, well, the planes are running on time because of me. Get out of here, dude.” — Smug [05:07]

• Investigative Journalism: Fox News visited "fraud incubator" buildings—registered as the business address of 22 schemes—to reveal the physical emptiness behind the bureaucratic paper trails.
• Systemic Oversight Failures: The group questions how such massive fraud could go undetected for so long and ridicules political excuses.

Interview: Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer

Timestamps: [13:25]–[41:10]

• Mission and Approach: Chavez-DeRemer outlines a worker-focused Department of Labor (“every decision should be made through the eyes of the American men and women who built the country” [15:05]).

• Minnesota Fraud Response: The DOL is deploying strike teams to audit for further unemployment insurance fraud in Minnesota and other suspect states, after already recovering $1.4 billion nationwide.

• H-1B Fraud: She details Project Firewall, targeting abuse of work visas that undermine American workers.

• Workforce Revitalization:

  • Elevates trade schools and apprenticeships as vital for filling skilled labor gaps—highlighting high earning potential straight out of trade schools.
  • Emphasizes the importance of workforce flexibility, wage growth, and parental influence in educational choices.
  • Clear rejection of Democratic narratives on affordability and economic stewardship.

• AI and the Future of Labor:

  • Advocates for demystifying AI and preparing the workforce for technological change, stressing state-led skills initiatives and AI literacy.
  • “We have to be competitive for national security as well.” — Chavez-DeRemer [32:03]

Notable Quotes:

“No tax on tips, law enforcement, any construction, no tax on overtime… when the Biden administration cut wages by $3,000 a month and the Trump administration is now in the net positive of a thousand, that's a $4,000 delta.” — Chavez-DeRemer [27:00]

“I'm 57 years old… my dad was a teamster. Built things… The pride in doing so, that seemed to have gone away. The narrative was: go to a four year school...and that narrative is hard to change, but it's not impossible.” — Chavez-DeRemer [23:29]

Three Quick Personal Questions:

• Last meal: “Ribeye steak. Salt and pepper. A glass of red wine.” [34:09]
• Dream job if not in politics: “I would have loved to have been a judge. I think I’d have been good at that.” [35:22]
• Motivation: “I am [driven by] the agony of defeat… The recovery and the resilience.” [38:10]

Commentary & Reaction: Minnesota Politics

Timestamps: [41:14]–[43:35]

• The hosts joke about Minnesota’s political class, lampooning Senator Tina Smith and the state’s inability to elect “big personalities.”

Question of the Day

Timestamps: [43:36]–[49:17]

• Prompt to Audience: “What does the American worker need most right now?”
• Listener Comments: Satirical responses to various Democratic “delusions,” with hosts riffing on classic political gaffes and policy failures.

Left-Wing Terror: LA and Australia

Timestamps: [49:17]–[64:29]

• LA Terror Plot Thwarted: FBI arrested would-be bombers associated with the “Turtle Island Liberation Front”—a left-wing, anti-American, pro-Palestinian extremist group.

  • Coordinated New Year’s Eve attacks were being planned.
  • Lists of suspects disclosed, group’s radical agenda analyzed.

• Rise of Left-Wing Extremism: The crew debates the roots: college radicalization, idle privilege, and misplaced blame on America.

• Australia’s Hanukkah Attack: A mass shooting during a Jewish festival, drawing sharp criticism from leaders who claim warnings were ignored.

  • Narrative: Governments prefer to “punish citizens” with more gun control rather than address the roots of radical religious violence.
  • Emphasis on the global trend: antisemitism as a radicalizing force.

Memorable Quotes:

“That is a terrorism opinion. And we can’t be unclear about that.” — Holmes [61:00]

“Pro-Palestinian cause is just another piece of flair for these people… What they are is just anti-Western civilization.” — Duncan [63:18]

• Critique of Democratic leadership (especially Chuck Schumer) for awkward and inadequate responses to anti-Semitic violence.

Interview: OPM Director Scott Kupor

Timestamps: [65:59]–[81:56]

• Launch of US TechForce: Initiative aims to bring 1,000 early-career engineers (“modern software development, AI expertise”) into federal government.
  • Addresses both tech talent shortfalls and the aging federal workforce.
  • Private sector (Apple, Nvidia, OpenAI, etc.) involved in mentoring and placement.
• No Degree Requirement: “If you’ve never gone to college but you are the most killer developer in the world… we’re going to rank you top of the class.” — Kupor [71:06]
• Meritocracy Focus: Hiring and advancement based on skills instead of traditional credentials.

How Listeners Can Apply

• Applications open now at techforce.gov

Variety Segment: UK Water “Rescue” & High School Football

Timestamps: [83:22]–[86:41]

• Comedic Relief: Video of UK firefighters “rescued” a woman from ankle-deep water draws laughter for the over-the-top response.
• High School Football: Dramatic last-second touchdown in Florida state championship provides a moment of celebration.

2. Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• [02:31] Holmes on Minnesota Governor: “He is what he is. He's dumb, sort of fat...and an idiot.”
• [05:07] Smug: “A lot of the tax money… ended up in the hands of Al Shabaab and Somalia. And your response is, well, the planes are running on time because of me. Get out of here, dude.”
• [27:00] Chavez-DeRemer on tax cuts and real wages: “Biden administration cut wages by $3,000 a month… Trump… net positive of a thousand, that's a $4,000 delta.”
• [38:10] Chavez-DeRemer: “I am [driven by] the agony of defeat… The recovery and the resilience.”
• [55:49] Smug: “It's how you end up with like queers for Palestine. It's like anything left, they're like, oh, it's all one thing. And meanwhile they throw you off a roof.”
• [71:06] Kupor: “If you have never gone to college, but you are the most killer developer in the world… we're going to rank you kind of at the top of the class…”

3. Tone & Format

All discourse is in the show’s trademark irreverent, sharp, and conversational style, often using sarcasm and dark humor to highlight absurdities in politics and policy.

4. Essential Takeaways

• State-level corruption can easily balloon without oversight, especially when federal “slush funds” are distributed too quickly with little review.
• Federal agencies are responding with targeted strike forces and audit teams to investigate and recover misallocated taxpayer dollars.
• There is renewed conservative emphasis on labor force revitalization: promoting trade education, apprenticeships, domestic manufacturing, and programmatic hiring based on merit.
• Rising left-wing extremism, antisemitism, and global terror plots highlight the need for moral clarity and seriousness among leaders, not platitudes or deflection.
• New government initiatives are breaking old bureaucratic molds—especially in hiring for tech roles, opening career paths for younger, nontraditional applicants.

5. Timestamps for Key Segments

• Minnesota Fraud Scandal: [00:00]–[12:23]
• Interview: Labor Sec. Lori Chavez-DeRemer: [13:25]–[41:10]
• Reaction/Minnesota Politics: [41:14]–[43:35]
• Listener Question of the Day: [43:36]–[49:17]
• Left-Wing Terror & Australia Attack: [49:17]–[64:29]
• Interview: OPM’s Scott Kupor / TechForce: [65:59]–[81:56]
• Variety Segment & Sports: [83:22]–[86:41]

6. Final Thoughts

The episode is an energetic exposé on both government dysfunction and remedies, with colorful (and often pointed) commentary on contemporary politics, labor, and security. Both major interviews provide actionable insight for concerned citizens and potential jobseekers, while the hosts remind listeners of the importance of policy vigilance and plainspoken accountability.

Key Question for Audience:

“What does the American worker need most right now?”
Responses will be featured in the next episode.