← The Daily Beans
The Daily Beans
A Problem Like Maria (feat. Brent Hennrich)
00:55:34
Wednesday, February 4th, 2026 Today, the House has canceled their contempt vote for the Clintons as they agree to testify before the House Oversight Committee; a judge lifts the order requiring the government to preserve evidence in the murder of Alex Pretti; eight additional federal prosecutors are resigning from the Minnesota US Attorney's Office; New York Attorney General Letitia James will deploy legal observers to federal immigration operations; a federal judge says ICE facilities must allow lawmakers to make unannounced visits to detention camps; Chief Justice John Roberts is making Supreme Court employees sign non-disclosure agreements; a judge blocks the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.
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- [00:00]
Alison Gill
History is messy. It's weird, wild, and anything but boring. Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is a history podcast about unhinged stories that make you stop and ask, wait, is this real life?
- [00:11]
Dana Goldberg
From crazy disasters and tasty scandals to.
- [00:15]
Alison Gill
Enlightening and surprising heartwarming tales, we explore the moments where people behave badly and sometimes beautifully. We've got naughty politicians, cultural chaos, and a deep love for the Pacific Northwest, including Bigfoot. It's thoughtful, irreverent, occasionally serious, and always entertaining.
- [00:33]
Dana Goldberg
Let's fall down the rabbit hole.
- [00:35]
Alison Gill
MSW Media. Msw media.
- [00:59]
Brent Henrich
Daily beans.
- [01:02]
Dana Goldberg
Daily beans.
- [01:03]
Brent Henrich
Daily beans.
- [01:08]
Alison Gill
Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Wednesday, February 4, 2026. Today, the House has canceled their contempt vote for the Clintons as they agree to testify before the House Oversight Committee. A judge has lifted the order requiring the government to preserve evidence in the murder of Alex Preddy. Eight additional federal prosecutors are resigning from the Minnesota U.S. attorney's office. New York Attorney General Letitia James is deploy legal observers to federal immigration operations. A federal judge says ICE facilities must allow lawmakers to make unannounced visits to detention camps. Chief Justice John Roberts is making Supreme Court employees sign non disclosure agreements. And a judge blocks the Trump administration from ending temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians. I'm Alison Gill.
- [01:51]
Dana Goldberg
And I'm Tana Goldberg.
- [01:56]
Alison Gill
Oh, it's Wednesday. We made it to the taint of the week.
- [02:00]
Dana Goldberg
We did indeed. And hopefully we only go up from here because you don't want to go the other way.
- [02:05]
Alison Gill
It all depends on the news, right?
- [02:08]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, I guess. Also what you're into, no judgment. Safe zone.
- [02:11]
Alison Gill
And you know, for the new folks, welcome, by the way. Welcome to the Daily Beans. But yeah, we call Wednesday instead of hump day, we call it the taint of the week because you're right in the middle and we don't know where it's going to go from here. But today we do have Brent Henrich on. He's running for Congress against Glusenkamp Perez in Washington's third district. So we're gonna talk to him. And for Black History Month, this comes from Aaron Reed at Erin in the Morning, who today is spotlighting Pauli Murray. And I just wanted to.
- [02:41]
Dana Goldberg
I love this person in history. They're incredible.
- [02:44]
Alison Gill
They really are. And I just want to talk about this for a minute. Perhaps the most underappreciated black TGNC icon is Pauli Murray. Like many queer people who have lived in an earlier era, poly did not, as far as the public records show, use the word transgender to describe themselves. Many modern day institutions still reference the civil rights leader using she her pronouns. While Pauli did indeed use she her pronouns in public writings, in private, they expressed themselves more nebulously. Polly, who grew up in North Carolina, wrote that they believed themselves to be a girl who should have been a boy. They sought out testosterone for hormone replacement therapy and even begged doctors to perform exploratory surgeries with the belief they would find undescended testes.
- [03:29]
Dana Goldberg
Now, they were also known to wear a seahorse brooch on their lapel and indeed were obsessed with seahorses due to their genderless nature. It was a symbol, Murray felt, of their own gender ambiguity. Regardless of what word Polly would have used today, they were passionate about the crux of gender liberation and racial justice. They were known as the first African American woman. And I have that in quotes. Ordained as an Episcopal priest and the first black person to graduate with a GSD from Yale Law alongside Betty Frieden, Polly was also co founder of the National Organization of Women. But Polly's most significant contribution to American life might be their role in ending segregation. They initially pioneered the legal theory that we used to civil rights lawyers and Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed racial segregation in American public schools. And if you go to my Instagram account, which is DGComedy, last June, I did a whole series called Gay of the Day. And it was only because I had to call it that because there were LGBTQ heroes that I wanted to highlight during Pride Month. Paulie has their own video. So if you want to learn even a little bit more, because Thurgood Marshall actually credits Pauli Murray for the youth, that's what he based so much of his legal expert on during this time. It's. They're an extraordinary human being.
- [04:48]
Alison Gill
Absolutely. All right, thank you for that again. Follow DG comedy on Instagram. You can find that video about Pauli Murray. Thank you so much. To Aaron.
- [04:56]
Dana Goldberg
You have to scroll just a little bit. Absolutely. And Aaron's incredible.
- [05:00]
Alison Gill
Mm. Aaron Reid and all. Subscribe to Aaron in the Morning. Please do yourself that favor. All right, we have news to get to. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. First up from the Times. House Republicans on Tuesday canceled a planned vote to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to testify in the Epstein investigation after the Clintons agreed to be deposed on camera this month and requested that they be allowed to do so at public hearings. The agreement marked a tense resolution to a bitter months long feud between Representatives James Comer. Jamie. They call him of Kentucky, the Republican Chairman of the Oversight Committee, him. I guess he's the only one that was part of this bitter feud on that side. And the Clintons, who had resisted testifying and accused the GOP of targeting them as part of a political vendetta. But in agreeing to all of Comer's demands, the former President and former Secretary of State also made one of their own, requesting that the entire proceedings be made public. Mr. Comer did not acknowledge that request in his response. Mrs. Clinton is now scheduled to appear February 26, and Mr. Clinton is scheduled to appear on February 27 for all day depositions.
- [06:11]
Dana Goldberg
I mean, listen, this is just me being hopeful. Wouldn't it be incredible, even if he incriminates himself, if he burns all this thing down, like if, if all these people are protected because of the co conspirator, no deal that they got in Florida. And there's not going to be, at least in the public opinion. I mean, I know it's, I know it's not going to happen, but it would be fucking amazing if Bill was like, you know what? I made some mistakes in my life. I'm going to take responsibility for being out there. And here's what I saw and here's what he did. I mean, it would just be incredible if he.
- [06:43]
Alison Gill
If he saw anything.
- [06:44]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, if he did. If he did. We don't. I mean, listen, he's going to testify.
- [06:48]
Alison Gill
He's calling for a release of the files, so.
- [06:50]
Dana Goldberg
Exactly. All right, this one's from the times. In November 2024, two weeks after voters returned Trump to office. I'm not sure if that actually happened, but. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. Summoned employees of the U.S. supreme Court for an unusual announcement. Facing them in a grand conference room beneath ornate chandeliers, he requested that they each sign a non disclosure agreement promising to keep the Court's inner workings secret. What the fuck? The Chief justice acted after a series of unusual leaks of internal court documents. Most notably, of course, that decision to overturn the right to abortion. Roe v. Wade. And the news reports about ethical lapses by the Justices, now trust in the institution was languishing as a historical low. Debate was intensifying over whether the black box institution should be more transparent. Yeah.
- [07:40]
Alison Gill
Should we? Nah.
- [07:41]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. Nah. Instead, they went the other way. The Chief justice tightened the Court's hold on information. Its employees have long been expected to stay silent about what they witnessed behind the scenes. Starting that autumn, in a move that has not been previously reported, the Chief justice converted what was once a norm into a Formal contract, according to five people familiar with the shift.
- [08:04]
Alison Gill
Bless those five people for talking about the non disclosure agreements they had to sign. I know, Seriously, God, you know, demanding transparency and then saying, okay, in response to that demand, we're going to have everybody sign non disclosure agreements. Fan now. All right, from ABC, eight more assistant U.S. attorneys are in the process of leaving the U.S. attorney's office in Minnesota. That's a call. According to multiple officials who spoke to ABC on Tuesday. The departures come as frustrations are mounting inside the office about the handling of the fatal shootings of Renee Goode and Alex Preddy. That's according to sources. A Justice Department spokesperson referred ABC news to a February 2025 memo from the attorney general which said, quote, when Department of Justice attorneys, for example, refuse to advance good faith arguments by declining to appear in court or sign briefs, it undermines the constitutional order and deprives the president of, of the benefit of his lawyers. His. His lawyers.
- [09:03]
Dana Goldberg
Okay.
- [09:04]
Alison Gill
The move comes in addition to six US Attorneys, including Joe Thompson, the lead prosecutor in the founding Our Futures fraud case, who departed the office last month. According to Minnesota Governor Tim Walls. Speaking of the murder of Alex Preddy, by the way, a report shows the official manner of death has been ruled a homicide by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.
- [09:24]
Dana Goldberg
Well, good. At least they didn't try and say he took his own life because, you know, even with all the videos, it's possible they would have. This one's from Politico, everyone. A federal judge ruled Monday that the Department of Homeland Security likely broke the law when it barred members of Congress from visiting immigration detention facilities without a week's notice. Now, U.S. district Judge Gia Cobb found that in crafting and enforcing the one week notice policy, the department relied on funds that Congress specifically forbade from being used to deny lawmakers access to those facilities. Okay. The ruling applies to 13 Democratic members of Congress who have joined a lawsuit filed last year challenging limits on their ability to visit locations where Immigration and Customs Enforcement detains people facing deportation proceedings. The judge's action comes several weeks after three Democratic lawmakers were blocked from visiting the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis to survey conditions amid the Trump administration's mass deportation surge in the Twin Cities in December. Cobb blocked an earlier version of the DHS policy, concluding that it ran afoul of a long standing appropriations rider dubbed Section 527 that effectively requires DHS to give lawmakers unimpeded access to detention facilities. She emphasized that the policy was intended to ensure that lawmakers could make timely visits to facilities whose populations often spike and decline with very little notice. However, Homeland Security Secretary I like to shoot puppies. Kristi Noem issued a directive last month reimposing the advance notice policy and claiming that it would be enforced solely with funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill act passed in July, which lacks the same requirements for unfettered access. However, Rep. Joe Negus and the Democrat from Colorado and a dozen House Democratic colleagues argued that it would be virtually impossible for DHS to segregate funds that way and that, in fact, DHS officials had not done a proper accounting to show that it could be done. Cobb agreed. And this is a quote the court notes that it finds compelling plaintiff's argument, one not presently disputed by defendants, that at least some of these resources that either have been or will be used to promulgate and enforce the notice policy have already been funded and paid for with section 527 restricted annual appropriations funds, including pursuant to contracts or agreements that predate the Big Beautiful Bill law. That's what Cobb wrote. And Cobb is a Biden appointee.
- [11:58]
Alison Gill
Yeah. So basically, puppy killer Kristi Noem was like, oh no, we're paying to block you using the Big Beautiful Bill, not regular appropriations. And Judge Jacob is like, go fuck yourself. All that that you just said, that's. That's legalese for go fuck yourself. Yeah.
- [12:17]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [12:17]
Alison Gill
All right. Also from Politico, federal agents in Minnesota appear to have mishandled the firearm they grabbed from Alex Preddy's waistband during last month's fatal struggle. That's what a judge said on Monday. But this judge, U.S. district Judge Eric Tostred, found that the that error about the gun, as well as inflammatory statements by the White House and the Trump administration was not enough to justify his continued supervision of the handling of evidence from the scene of Preddy's murder in Minneapolis on January 24th. So this is the Trump judge that issued the restraining order for them to preserve evidence. Now he's lifting it in an 18 page ruling to said Monday he would lift a restraining order he granted last week after state and local officials raised alarm bells that the Department of Homeland Security may have failed to safeguard crucial evidence at the crime scene. Quote, though the record is not one sided, the greater weight of the evidence shows the defendants are not likely to destroy or improperly alter evidence related to Mr. Preddy shooting during the life of this case and other relevant considerations do not balance favor for continuing preservation order. That's what he wrote. Now, while the judge agreed to allow federal officials to continue their investigation without restriction from the court. He coupled his conclusion with sharp criticism of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary puppet killer Kristi Noem over their public comments painting Preddy as someone with the intention of killing federal law enforcement agents. Quote, these statements are troubling. They reflect not a genuine interest in learning the truth, but snap judgments performed by speculation and motivated by political partisanship. So he put the restraining order on and now he's taken it off. So there's currently nothing preventing the Department of Homeland Security besides the honor system destroying evidence in the murder of Alex Preddy.
- [14:10]
Dana Goldberg
Gross all right, Allison, this one's from the Times. President Trump called in a new interview for the Republican Party to nationalize voting in the United States, an aggressive rhetorical step that was likely to raise new worries about the administration's efforts to involve itself in election matters as he and his allies continue to make false claims about 2020 defeat. During an extended monologue about immigration on podcasts released on Monday by Dan Bongino, his former deputy FBI director, Donald called for the Republican officials to take over voting procedures in 15 states. He said at least 15 places, though he did not name them. Under the Constitution, American elections are governed primarily by state law, leading to a decentralized process in which voting is administered by county and municipal officials in thousands of precincts across the country. Yep. Donald, however, has long been fixated on the false claims that US Elections are rife with fraud because, God, how could he possibly have lost? And that Democrats are perpetrating a vast conspiracy to have undocumented immigrants vote and lift the party's turnout. Mr. Trump's remarkable call for a political party to seize the mechanisms of voting follows a string of moves from his administration to try to exert more control over American elections. Last week, as we know, FBI agents seized ballots and other voting records from the 2020 election from an election center in Fulton County, Georgia, where his allies have for years pursued false claims of election fraud. The New York Times reported on Monday that Donald had spoken on the phone to FBI agents involved in the Fulton county raid, despite what his fucking lawyer said, praising and thanking them. Yes, the Department of Justice, which has been newly politicized under Donald, as we know, is demanding that numerous states, including Minnesota, turn over full voter rolls as the Trump administration tries to build a national voter file. In March, Donald signed an executive order that tried to make significant changes to the electoral process, including requir documentary proof of citizenship and demanding that all mail ballots be received by the time polls close on Election Day. But that effort has largely been rebuffed by the courts, at least for now. On social media, Donald has pushed for even more drastic changes. In fact, in August, he wrote that he wanted to end the use of mail in ballots and potential use of voting machines. So we knew this was going to happen. Everybody keep your eye on them.
- [16:36]
Alison Gill
Yeah, Ron Johnson started delivering that message today, as a matter of fact, on Fox News. We want to get rid of voting machines. Interestingly, one of these cases, some of these cases, many of these cases are going to get their, make their way up to the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court's going to have to decide how much of a role, if any, the executive plays in election oversight. I don't know what they're going to do, given their statement saying, you know, we have to give due regard and deference to the president when it comes to foreign affairs. And that's why he had Tulsi Gabbard there. So he can say it's foreign, it's foreign election interference. And so I got to see his voting machines can't do mail in ballots because the Italian satellites are sending the Jewish space lasers to change votes or whatever the hell he's going to come up with. Whether, I don't know.
- [17:20]
Dana Goldberg
We'll see.
- [17:21]
Alison Gill
All right, some good news from Ms. Now. New York Attorney General Letitia James is going to deploy legal observers to monitor ICE and they're going to document federal immigration enforcement activity. That's what her office announced on Tuesday. This move marks a significant escalation in tensions between states and the federal government over immigration policy, she said. As Attorney General, I'm proud to protect New Yorkers constitutional rights to speak freely, protest peacefully and go about their lives without fear of unlawful federal action. We have seen in Minnesota how quickly and tragically federal operations can escalate in the absence of transparency and accountability. Dubbed the Legal Observation Project, the initiative is meant to help determine whether federal actions comply with the law. The project will see teams of state trained legal observers acting as independent witnesses, travel to reported locations of immigration enforcement activity and record interactions between federal officers and New Yorkers. The state's observers will wear purple safety vests. James will deploy legal observers in the coming weeks to oversee federal agent actions where they occur. For the moment, the Department of Homeland Security has not announced any major enforcement surge in New York. But border czar Tom Homan said in November that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would increase its presence in New York City due to its status as a sanctuary city. James office stressed that observers will not interfere with immigration operations, but rather document federal conduct. This is amazing. They're going to be state sanctioned ICE observers.
- [18:55]
Dana Goldberg
Fantastic.
- [18:56]
Alison Gill
Given vests told how to record properly, how to document evidence properly, evidence that could be used in a crime, they're going to get the legal training on that because there is a chain of custody thing that you have to worry about. This is amazing to have the protection of your state. Every state should be doing this.
- [19:11]
Dana Goldberg
Absolutely. I hope they take a page. I hope they take a page. This one's from pbs. The federal judge on Monday blocked the end of protections that have allowed roughly 300 to live in the US dealing Donald Trump's immigration agenda. Another legal, though perhaps temporary setback. U.S. district Judge Ana Reyes in Washington grants it a request to pause the termination of temporary protected status for Haitians while a lawsuit challenged it proceeds. The termination, which was set for Tuesday, shall be null, void and of no legal effect. That's what she wrote. Reyes said in an 83 page opinion that plaintiffs were likely to prevail on the merits of this case and that she found it substantially likely that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem preordained her termination decision because of the hostility to non white immigrants. The judge, an appointee of Joe Biden, said Noem did not have unbounded discretion and was required to consult with other agencies on conditions in Haiti. The ruling cited Noem's own words three days after announcing an end to Haitian protections, calling for a travel ban from Haiti and I quote, every damn country that has been flooding our nation with killers, leeches and entitlement junkies. Go fuck yourself. Christine Ohm Earlier Monday, two dozen faith leaders and hundreds of congregants in Springfield sang and prayed together in support of Haitian migrants who feared their protected status could end this week. They were hopeful that the federal judge might intervene. Uncertainty over TPS has deepened worries for the city's already embattled Haitian community. Trump denigrated the community of about 15,000 Haitians while campaigning in 2024 for his second term. Of course, all the famousness of falsely accusing its members of eating their neighbors cats and dogs as he pitched voters on his plans for an immigration crackdown. Since then, Haitians in Springfield have lived in constant fear that has only been exacerbated by the federal immigration crackdowns happening in Minneapolis and other cities. This is from Biles. I apologize if I mispronounce this, but Dorsenville, a leader of Springfield's Haitian Community Help and Support center, please send a correction if anyone knows how to say that name correctly, many of the Haitian children in Springfield. They are US Citizens who happen to have parents in the country illegally. Some families are too afraid to send their kids to school. Dorvensville said that that was the quote. And if they are detained, he said some parents have signed caregiver affidavits that designate a legal guardian in hopes of keeping their kids out. Foster care volunteers from nearby towns have offered to deliver food to those afraid to leave their home. Others have been stockpiling groceries in case immigration officers flood the area. Lynn Tremont, an executive director of the Ohio Immigrant alliance, said the court's 11th hour reprieve is of course, welcome. But people can't live their lives like this. Pegging their family's futures to a court.
- [22:08]
Alison Gill
Case, I can't imagine. I just can't.
- [22:11]
Dana Goldberg
I can't either.
- [22:12]
Alison Gill
But you know, I was very afraid. I know everyone was bracing for a massive ICE surge into Springfield.
- [22:19]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [22:20]
Alison Gill
When this temporary protected status expired. So I'm very glad that this went into effect before that could happen. Doesn't mean it won't happen. But they still have temporary protected status for now. So we'll keep an eye on that case. All right, everybody, we'll be right back with a candidate, Democratic candidate for Congress in Washington's 3rd district running against Glusenkamp Perez. His name is Brent Henrich. Stick around.
- [22:44]
Dana Goldberg
We'll be right back after these messages.
- [22:47]
Alison Gill
We'll be right back. Hey everybody. I love the idea of cooking more in the new year. I just don't love the logistics of it. Grocery lists, wasted ingredients, too many trips, things go bad because I'm single. The what's for dinner spiral can take a hike. Home Chef has helped me keep it simple with fresh ingredients delivered in the right portions. With recipes that feel achievable on busy weeknights, it's the easiest way I've found to feel organized, fed and less stressed out about it. Home Chef is rated number one by users of other meal kits for quality, convenience, value, taste and recipe ease. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering you 50% off and free shipping on your first box, plus free dessert for life. Just go to homechef.com dailybeans. I recently needed something quick and tasty, so I had their feta butter, pork chop and pesto green beans. The pork chop was succulent and juicy. The green beans were the perfect complement. Nice al dente. I loved it. It was exactly what I needed and what I wanted for a rushed lunch hour. So home chef isn't one size fits all either. They have over 30 meal options every week. So it's easy to match your different diets, cravings and schedules without repeating the same thing. And because everything comes pre portioned with straightforward instructions, you spend less time planning and more time eating. And now that their menu options are being co created alongside celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay, it's better than ever. So for a limited time, Home Chef is offering you 50% off and free shipping on your first box, plus free dessert for life. Just go to homechef.com dailybeans that's homechef.com dailybeans for 50% off your first box and free dessert for life. Must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert. Hi, I'm Frances Collier.
- [24:22]
Dana Goldberg
And I'm Angela V. Shelton.
- [24:24]
Alison Gill
And we're Frangela. You know what you need in your life? The Final Word podcast. Yes, you do.
- [24:30]
Dana Goldberg
That's right.
- [24:31]
Brent Henrich
It is the final word on all.
- [24:32]
Alison Gill
Things political and pop culture cultural, where we make real news, real funny, where we inspire you so you can hashtag resist, subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's the news we think you need to hear.
- [24:46]
Dana Goldberg
That's right. We think you need to hear it. Okay.
- [24:49]
Alison Gill
Yeah. It's what we say. So.
- [24:50]
Dana Goldberg
That's right.
- [24:51]
Brent Henrich
And because all we do is give.
- [24:52]
Alison Gill
Every Thursday, you can listen to our hysterical podcast, idiot of the week. We round up the stupid. Because you know what? Somebody has to.
- [25:00]
Dana Goldberg
Okay.
- [25:01]
Alison Gill
All we do is give. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. I'm excited to be joined today by a candidate running against Marie Gluzenkamp Perez in Washington's 3rd congressional district. His mother was a public health nurse, father was a pilot aviation mechanic. And we're gonna talk about why he's a much better choice for the constituents of Washington's 3rd district than Marie Gluson Camp Perez. Please welcome Brent Henrich. Hi, Brent. How are you?
- [25:29]
Brent Henrich
I'm doing wonderful. How are you today?
- [25:31]
Alison Gill
I'm good, all things considered. One of the problems that I have right now with some certain folks that want to continue to hold their seats in Congress is that they voted to fund ice, they voted to fund dhs. There were seven Democrats. One of them is your opponent. Your Democratic opponent. She tends to vote a lot to fund this regime and fund this government. This wasn't the only. Time and again, that's Gleason Camp Perez. People will recognize her name. So let's talk a little bit about why you think you are better suited to run for this seat in Washington's third district.
- [26:10]
Brent Henrich
Well, I can give the listeners one thing that they can do. If they pause the podcast, they can just simply Google Marie Gluzing Camp Perez and holds Trump accountable and they will get zero results. You know, Marie has voted to fund ice, has voted against. The ACLU sent a memo out saying that there was a bill coming up. She voted in favor to strip search minors. She's voted in committee for the DHS funding bills that tripled ice's budget. She voted for the Lake and Riley Act. She voted for every step of the way that's led us to where Trump is now as a personal gestapo out attacking Americans.
- [27:02]
Alison Gill
Yeah. A question for you, because first of all, I mean, that's unacceptable. But to take it a step further, if you're elected to represent the people of Washington's third, will you also promise to hold this regime accountable, not just refuse to fund it, but take it a step further and hold them accountable in committee, in, you know, by getting the subpoena power, by bringing people in to answer questions and hold folks accountable?
- [27:28]
Brent Henrich
Yes. And I want to hold government accountable just as a whole. Right now, we just have the Trump administration that is acting in the first time in our history, literally saying, when courts say no, saying, what are you going to do to stop us?
- [27:48]
Alison Gill
Right.
- [27:48]
Brent Henrich
We need accountability and we need Congress to step up and be a co. Equal branch. And I want to be a part of that solution.
- [27:58]
Alison Gill
Is that part of why you're running? Do you feel frustrated by Congress failing to impeach Kristi Noem, failing to file articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, failure to hold these folks accountable? Now, I know it's hard to do when you're in the minority party. Right. But at least to make calls for it, will you take on that kind of leadership role?
- [28:15]
Brent Henrich
Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, right now, mainly it's the Blue Dogs, which Marie seems to be the leader of, that are advocating everything to just what the Republicans want and not wanting to make waves by standing up to the administration or to any part of, you know, what's going on in health, what's going on at dhs, what's going on in all aspects and financial crimes that are happening by the Trump administration. We need to be looking at all of that, and I don't care, you know, Epstein files, I don't care who's in the files. Hold them all accountable. These are things that we need out of leaders, and we need leaders that aren't beholden to any of these people so that we can hold them accountable.
- [29:15]
Alison Gill
Yeah. And then beyond that, the big three, if accountability is one. Number two is affordability. And you know, right now we have our tax dollars going to fund ICE at $75 billion slush fund for ICE and the big ugly bill. We've got a, that $63 billion slush fund for the Customs and Border Protection in the big ugly bill. Do you see yourself clawing back that funding and putting it back in the taxpayer coffers to pay for other things as opposed to tax cuts for billionaires and the secret police?
- [29:47]
Brent Henrich
Absolutely. But I think a big majority of those funds I want to see redirected to immigration courts to get people out of limbo status, get these, these cases processed and get people onto a path to citizenship. We need to be building roads, not barriers. We need to be going forward with these people that are a part of our society, in an integral part of our society, not demonizing them and doing the work to make sure that we can get them processed. That is right now the administration is chasing people that are at their immigration court date, they're chasing people that are waiting on a court date. We need to fund these courts to get these people processed.
- [30:42]
Alison Gill
And what about other aspects of affordability, including healthcare, childcare, stuff like that?
- [30:49]
Brent Henrich
All of them? Yeah, it's right now, people in my district, as I'm making calls, are telling you about 85% increases, 150% increases, and some is over 200% increases. I believe that right now we need to be taking the steps to get to a universal single payer healthcare system. We need to be making sure that we are extending the subsidies that, that are expiring. We need to be working on reforms to the Affordable Care act that take us forward. We need to be increasing the income threshold for Medicaid, reducing the aid for Medicare so we can get more people covered and continue taking steps. The path to universal single payer healthcare is long, that we do it in steps as mistakes will be made, that we're able to reset, fix the mistake and go forward. We have to be honest with the people that we're talking to and say, hey, we're talking about the largest single shift in American government process in our history. So we have to do this methodically. But if we're adding 400,000, 300,000 people at a time to getting health care and we're not hurting other people around us, we're making progress. So let's keep chipping away. We got to get, you know, what, 350 million people, you know, to, to that point. And so we gotta start taking Steps. We have to admit as Democrats that the ACA was a starting point and that then we threw our hands up in victory and did not get back to doing the work to make sure that we're getting more people covered. We did the same. We used Roe as a fighting point until the Republicans got enough ground to hurt us and to take it away. I am a 100% pro choice person. My family has experienced it directly. I've been involved in the decision that is a decision between any pregnant person and their provider. End of discussion. And when it involves more people is when that pregnant person brings them into the discussion. And I feel that way about any medical service. I don't care if you're a man seeking ED pills, you don't want me in office, in there with you, with your doctor. Doctors take an oath to not do harm. So let's let the doctors provide the care that the patient needs. We need to get the insurance companies out of it. We need to get AI out of trying to make decisions and how to deny care. Let the doctors provide the care for their patient that's in that room privately for them. Right.
- [34:13]
Alison Gill
Based on what's best for them medically and for mental health issues. Let's talk briefly about, you know, this kind of goes along the affordability healthcare. Obviously ACA should have been a step and I believe is a step on the way to single payer healthcare system, a public option. But let's talk a little bit about affordability in that. Glsen Camp Perez actually only votes with working people on key workers issues about 70, 71% of the time. Average Democrat votes with working people 98% of the time. First of all, I mean if you look at her voting record, you can kind of see the way that she, I don't know, just votes against the best interests of working families. And this is from a score from the AFL CIO right from 2024. So talk a little bit about how you are different from her in that aspect of supporting working families, labor unions and American workers.
- [35:15]
Brent Henrich
Well, I've been fortunate. My life and my career and my wife's career. And right now I'm a stay at home father while running for office. And we're able to do that and we're comfortable, but we are paycheck to paycheck family. We are looking at our bills every month. We are looking at our grocery costs, you know, over the last three years going from $250 a week to $300 a week to 320. You know, we're seeing every day where we're having to make cuts to hit our monthly bill. And you know, Marie is, is not seeing those things for some reason or is citing against the people. And I want to make sure that people have a living wage, that we are working to increase the minimum wage across this country and that we're getting rid of the tipped exemption. I live in a state that does not have a tipped exemption. My wife served tables. I worked behind a bar for a period of time. We lived on tips. We know that we still got our paycheck at the end of the week. Too many people in this country don't have that. Whatever they take home at the end of the night is what they have to put in their cigar box and that is their budget. I've lived a privileged life and I realize that. But I want to make sure other people are able to live that same privilege of being able to experience the American dream of buying a home and raising a family. And that comes with supporting labor. There is nothing in my life that I have gotten as far as a wage, a day off, a vacation day that wasn't provided because labor came through first and did the work to make that the industry standard. So I 100% support labor. And I don't understand why Marie, who owns an auto shop with non union mechanics, why she chooses to vote the way she does.
- [37:39]
Dana Goldberg
Right.
- [37:40]
Alison Gill
And flout the unions, flout the labor unions. Final thing, voting rights are under attack. They have been ever since Donald Trump came on the scene. We've got Tulsi Gabbard down there with the FBI raiding our election offices, threatening to seize voting machines, seizing voting tabulator tapes and things like that. And it's going to be a big issue in 2026, 2028. But Gluzenkamperes voted for the SAVE Act. I think she was one of the very few Democrats that did. So talk about what you would do to help protect voting rights for the people of Washington's third.
- [38:12]
Brent Henrich
Well, I just want to clarify on that. She's voted for the SAVE act three times. Not just the one time it managed to pass. And with that I saw last night and I haven't been able to fully verify what the current state of the Senate discussions on on ICE funding that went over to the House today where she voted again to fund the government and leave ICE fully funded for the next 10 days. But I saw a report that said the, that the SAVE act is going to get a vote in the Senate. And this was something that she came back to the district and said, I voted for the SAVE Act. I believe in the SAVE act we have to make sure illegal citizens or illegal people that are present in our country are not voting. But don't worry, it's quote a dumpster fire and it will not pass the Senate and will not ever get a vote in the Senate. So you have nothing to worry about.
- [39:17]
Alison Gill
She's one of those people who votes for stuff because she thinks it won't pass the Senate. Like that's just, that is like not like having no backbone to take a position on anything. Do you know?
- [39:29]
Brent Henrich
Yeah. And so 80 million women right now are gonna find out, is it gonna get a vote in the Senate, is it gonna pass? Because we know that Trump will happily sign it. You know, I'm worried about that. I believe we need to enact the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. There is good legislation sitting on the table that I'm ready to get there, get behind, be a yay vote for and make sure that we're going forward. But I think we all have to know we need to convince some of our, the Republicans, if there are any real Republicans left, we need a super majority, we need a veto proof majority so that we can make sure that Americans are able to vote.
- [40:20]
Alison Gill
And you need somebody in that veto proof majority that won't waffle, that won't sit on the fence. That's not a fence sitter. All right, so pro choice, universal healthcare, affordability, accountability and supporting unions and the working class. That is your candidate. That's the candidate you will find in Brent Henrich, running for Washington's third to replace Marie Glusonkamp Perez. Tell everyone where they can find more information about your candidacy and your campaign.
- [40:47]
Brent Henrich
Since spelling my last name, let alone pronouncing it, is difficult, we've made a short website. It's just the letter B. H the number 4C so it stands for Brent Edrich for Congress, bh4c.com and you'll find where I stand on issues social links. Please reach out to me in a DM if you have any questions. You're going to get me to respond, so. Might not be instant, but we're active on all social platforms and we really hope to hear from you.
- [41:25]
Alison Gill
All right, well I hope you have a wonderful campaign. Knock those doors, find out what the voters want, tell em what your plans are. It's BH the number 4C dot com. That's where you can find all the information. I appreciate you joining me today and we'll catch up. When is your primary we are August 4th. August 4th. We've got a ways to go. Sure. We'll speak again between now and then. I appreciate you coming on the Daily Beans. Thanks so much. Thank you for your time everybody. Stick around. We'll be right back with the good news.
- [41:55]
Martin Sheen
You can always count on Sunday to be the best day of the week. You can sleep in, go off your diet, spend the day in your pajamas and go on, have that second croissant. You know what else you can count on every Sunday? The Martin Sheen Podcast. Join me, your host, Martin Sheen, for beautifully crafted 20 minute programs filled with never before heard stories of my life along with personal reflections and poets poetry that inspires. And season two begins Sunday, February 1st. The Martin Sheen Podcast is the perfect Sunday relaxing companion. A chance to put your feet up, take a deep breath and enjoy some stress free listening time from the comfort of your favorite easy chair and that second croissant that stays between us. There's no judgment here. So make my podcast your weekly moment of calm as we explore faith, hope, love and what it means to be human. And rest assured, this journey is ever unfolding as I invite you to see what's next with me, Martin Sheen. So let's keep Sunday the best day of the week together and thank you for listening, everybody.
- [43:12]
Alison Gill
Welcome back. It's time for the good news everyone.
- [43:16]
Brent Henrich
Then good news everyone.
- [43:32]
Alison Gill
And if you have any good news or good trouble suggestions, maybe something you'd like us to spotlight for Black History Month? We would love to hear from you about that. If you have, you know, your good news stories can be small. They can be big, they can be recent, they could be in the distant past. They could be something wonderful you're looking forward to in the future. You can also send shout outs to loved ones or small businesses, nonprofits, self shout outs, government programs that have helped you or a loved one. Send it all to us@dailybeanspod.com and click on Contact. And then all you gotta do to get your submission read on the air is submit your POD pet tariff. And that really just means submit a photo of anything that will bring a smile to our face. It can be your pet, it can be an adoptable pet in your area, it can be a random animal on the Internet. We love goats right now, but we also love pandas, red and black and white capybaras, secretary birds, axolotls, whatever it is you want to send to us. If you don't have any animal photos or you don't wanna, you can send family pictures, baby pictures, your Baby pictures. Whatever it is, send it to us dailybeanspot.com and click on contact. First up is your good trouble. And your good trouble today comes from anonymous listener pronoun. She and her hello Laguna ladies. Thank you for all you do and for working tirelessly to keep us informed. Your show has been a godsend in helping me to channel my anxiety and anger. I want to submit to the Leguminati some good trouble I hope and pray we can make happen. There's a petition on5calls.org, it's the number 5c a l l s.org to contact your representatives to demand the resignation of Stephen Miller. He is an unelected, unconfirmed ghoul and just a plain a hole who should never have been granted power. This won't fix all our problems, not all the problems we currently have, but it will help to remove one of the most bloodthirsty and evil people in this administration. It would be a huge step in the right direction. He's already despised by many around the world and within the administration. So if we can get the American people behind the petition, we may be able to get him pushed out altogether. That's five calls.org issues Stephen Miller resignation. We'll have a link in the show. Notes for my tariff, I give you baby goats in a sweater and in a tutu. Nothing makes me happier than fat babies and animals in clothes. Lol. Hope this makes you smile. Oh, my God, it does.
- [45:51]
Dana Goldberg
Thank you. That's fantastic. All right. This is from Meredith T. Pronoun. She and her hi, AG and dg. I was up to some good trouble last Thursday, and I'm going to try this one. Send me a correction. Avedio, Florida. Let me try this again. Oviedo, Oviedo, Florida. MAGA Congressman Cory Mills has a disastrous town hall. A wonderful woman stood up and confronted him about the fact that he voted to continue funding ice. She said she's an immigrant, and he actually responded. Ice. Ice, baby. The room erupted in booze and chants of fuck you and shame. Even though they were told not to take pictures or videos, many of us did both, and I'm really happy I got that on tape. One of my signs read, why does Florida keep electing losers? And there's a photo attached. I could stand to sit there only about 10 minutes. Mills is extremely unpopular here, and I knew I had to leave because I can't control my mouth. I didn't want to get kicked out for filming, but I couldn't just sit there and not record as much as I wanted to. So I got up and as I walked toward the doors, I kept saying very loudly the words on my sign. And then I looked directly at Mills, flipped in the bird and said fuck you to his face. It was great. Then I went outside to protest with a bunch of awesome people. I'm sending a screenshot of my proud moment as it was on the local news. Oh, my God, this is awesome. It would be incredible if you could have his Democratic opponent, Marie Alana Kinter, on a Flip It Blues segment. She's a Navy veteran and all around fantastic candidate for Congress. Thank you for everything you do. Meredith T. Meredith T. You fucking rock.
- [47:24]
Alison Gill
Look at this. That's the best bird watching photo in a while.
- [47:29]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, it is. Well done.
- [47:31]
Alison Gill
Hmm. Made it on the local news. Congratulations. Very, very good. Trouble. I'm glad he got booed. Ice, ice baby. What a piece of shit.
- [47:41]
Dana Goldberg
Seriously. What a douchebag.
- [47:43]
Alison Gill
All right, next up from Dan. I want to give a quick shout out to my wife, NH Name withheld for government purposes. She works as a resource navigator for unhoused people, and although she hates working around the current political environment in the building, she's trying to change the department culture from within. She is the change we want to see in people. For my tax enclosed is a blank. Silently on the hunt for food. So we've got a redacted dog breed under there and it's just a nose poking up over a table edge. So I'm going to say golden retriever.
- [48:16]
Dana Goldberg
What do you say? That sounds. I say that. Let's go with golden.
- [48:21]
Alison Gill
Nope, it's a German shepherd nose. I was unable to recognize the nose, but what a sweet, sweet baby.
- [48:28]
Dana Goldberg
Let's see.
- [48:30]
Alison Gill
Silently on the hunt for food. Dan, awesome. Great shout out to your wife, NH thanks for your service. Thanks for what you're doing.
- [48:36]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. This is from Meggie. Pronouns she and her. And this is a walk for peace update. Hello, Beans Queens. I started listening to your podcast just about a year ago. I have often thought of writing a submission, but this is the first time. First, I'd like to offer my heartfelt thanks for everything you do to keep us sane. As every day feels more and more crazy. Your podcast is a light in the dark that allows me to stay informed without sinking into a pit of sadness and hopelessness. Thank you for that. I wanted to let people know about something that has brought me joy over the last two weeks. I recently found out about a walk for peace that is being undertaken by a group of Buddhist monks. A group of Buddhist monks, some local, some for other countries. They began last year with the goal of walking from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington D.C. today marks day 101. They're currently in Richmond, Virginia. They're scheduled to reach Washington D.C. on February 11th. This awe inspiring, quiet act of peace has been a balm for my soul, given all the hatred and divisiveness that has been rampant since the Orange Plague returned to office. I'm planning to observe their arrival in Washington D.C. with my husband and son next week. The other bright spot, their rescue dog, Aloka, who has been given the nickname the Peace Dog. He was a stray that began walking with the monks during a peace walk in India in 2022. Eventually, the monks decided to adopt him. My son and I have relished the adorable videos and updates on Aloka. Yes, he has a Facebook page for anyone interested in learning more about the peace walk. I've included a link below for my podpet tariff. I've included a picture of Aloka below peacefully walking with the monks. I've also included a picture of our sweet pup Shadow. He crossed the rainbow bridge last year that he was the best boy and ring bearer at our wedding.
- [50:17]
Alison Gill
I love these updates on the peace walk.
- [50:19]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, me too.
- [50:21]
Alison Gill
Amazing. Thank you so much, Maggie. All right, next up from let's see. Tahira. I hope I'm pronouncing that properly. Pronouns she and her. I was diagnosed in November with stage 4 metastatic rectal cancer. A real pain in the ass. LOL. I'm so overwhelmed and grateful for the outpouring of support I've gotten from so many. One girlfriend whom I've known since we were around 12, and I'll be 54 next week, just gave me the most extraordinary gift. She's flying me first class. Never done that before. To spend five nights with her in a beautiful beach house in Long Beach.
- [50:57]
Dana Goldberg
Amazing.
- [50:58]
Alison Gill
I'm currently halfway done with chemo and we're going two days after I finished my chemo to celebrate. She's the best friend imaginable, so this is a big shout out to Sarah T. In Big Sky, Montana.
- [51:10]
Dana Goldberg
This is an awesome submission.
- [51:12]
Alison Gill
You're gonna love Long beach, by the way.
- [51:15]
Dana Goldberg
It's gorgeous.
- [51:16]
Alison Gill
Look at the kitty and puppy as puppy. So sweet.
- [51:20]
Dana Goldberg
Thank you for this.
- [51:21]
Alison Gill
All the strength to you. All the strength to you, Tahira and sending all the love.
- [51:25]
Dana Goldberg
Have an amazing trip. Truly have an amazing trip. Michael J. Pronounce he him. Greetings ladies of the lagoon. During the pandemic, Danny Elfman put out his first rock album since his band Oingo Boingo broke up in 1995. It was not good. The first single off the album was a song titled Happy, which was very confusing for us die hard Boingo fans because Boingo recorded a theme song for a movie in 1987 starring Mark Harmon and Kirstie Alley. The song was titled Happy and even though it was the band, it was released under his name. The song is brilliant, but the two song one name thing is a frickin mess.
- [52:06]
Alison Gill
I know the song and I know what this is going. I know where this is going. I know the movie and. Okay, keep going.
- [52:14]
Dana Goldberg
Which brings me to your quote. Everybody knows Murray from Murray's Liquor. The brilliant song Happy is theme song to the movie. What is it, Allison?
- [52:23]
Alison Gill
It's called Summer School.
- [52:25]
Dana Goldberg
There you go, Murray.
- [52:27]
Alison Gill
Everybody knows Murray.
- [52:30]
Dana Goldberg
Long live Wonder Mutt. May he and Bob be reunited across the Rainbow Bridge. Never let them kill your kindness. Michael J.
- [52:41]
Alison Gill
Thank you for that. That's really cool. So I put an Easter egg in yesterday's show where I said, everybody knows Murray. You know Murray from Murray's Liquor. And I said, Guess that 80s movie. It just. It was really quick. It flew right by to have this enveloped into the Happy song and the theme. And then you get to the point that it's the movie with Kirstie Alley and Mark Harmon and. And then you answered the question and there is the movie poster of Wonder Mutt. Okay, that put a really huge smile on my face. Thank you so much for that.
- [53:14]
Dana Goldberg
By the way.
- [53:15]
Alison Gill
The Cure won their first Grammy ever.
- [53:17]
Dana Goldberg
Yes. Which is wild. When I saw that, I was like, what the fuck are you talking about? Apparently it's true.
- [53:22]
Alison Gill
My favorite band ever has won their first Grammy. Their latest album was truly amazing. Unlike Danny Elfman's, I guess. All right, next up from Ann Pronoun. She and her. Greetings, lovely beans queens. I listen to you every day and I'm really enjoying beans talk. It's great to actually see you. I'm the one who wrote in and told you about taking flute lessons last spring. Oh yeah. Which I'm still doing. And I'm busy playing in groups all over the place. You have recently been talking about how you love goats. Here's a picture of me doing goat yoga a few years ago. I'll be 63 in a few weeks and still do tons of yoga. And the bridge that you see. Oh, amazing. Keep up the good work. Your amazing work. You are a role model to all of us. You are role models to us all. Look at this. This is you at 62.
- [54:06]
Dana Goldberg
Incredible.
- [54:07]
Alison Gill
In a bridge with a goat, standing right on your dummy.
- [54:12]
Dana Goldberg
Unbelievable.
- [54:14]
Alison Gill
Damn. Damn.
- [54:15]
Dana Goldberg
I know.
- [54:15]
Alison Gill
And that's impressive. Thank you for that.
- [54:18]
Dana Goldberg
All right, next up from anonymous pronoun she and her. Hello, my name is Sarah. I'm a new listener. Welcome, Sarah. And this message is sent with joy and gratitude for you both. I wanted to give a shout out to my da. My da.
- [54:30]
Alison Gill
Da.
- [54:31]
Dana Goldberg
Da. What do you think? Da.
- [54:32]
Alison Gill
I'd say da.
- [54:33]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. Who's been a dedicated listener for a few years now. My da is a lifelong active union tradesman and is hands down the hardest worker I know. He recently retired, but has taken to filling his time with staying informed, calling his representatives, participating in boycotts, making an epic protest songs playlist, and planning his upcoming protest signs. I'm so inspired by him. I could not be more proud of the person who raised me. For my pot pet tariff. I'm sending a picture of my sweet. Looks like a tabby. I don't know cats well, but is that right?
- [55:05]
Alison Gill
It looks like a tabby.
- [55:06]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. Boba Fett. He has taken to helping my unwind sanity saver activity of puzzling by making himself comfortable in the empty upturned box lid. I hope everyone is able to find peace and rest like Boba Fett.
- [55:21]
Alison Gill
God, sometimes I watch my cat sleep and I'm like, I wish. I just wish. Yeah, let's see. It just says orange. Okay, producers, behind the redaction bars is the word orange. That's not a breed to hide from us. That's just a.
- [55:38]
Brent Henrich
Oh, my God.
- [55:39]
Dana Goldberg
That's very funny. He's a sweet orange boy. He's our sweet orange boy.
- [55:46]
Alison Gill
Boba Fett. He's amazing. All right, next up and nope, I think we got two more, but the last one's pretty quick. This is anonymous. They them you mentioned a bike ride for Alex Preddy. And I wanted to Highlight My friend's YouTube video of the unity bike rides around the country. He's based in Akron, Ohio, where he rode with over 70 people from Dirt River Bicycle, works in 14 degree weather and received videos of unity rides from Hawaii, Alaska and so many states from coast to coast of people riding for Alex Preddy. Watch the video of Tim Fitzwater's YouTube channel. He states, quote, bicycles are political, bicycles are community. And I say, fuck ice. We'll have a link to this video in the show notes. Attached is a video of a dog I walk for a side hustle. She's the sweetest, but is terrible on the leash. Look at this, but she's very cute. Oh, she's so cute. Anonymous I was born in Akron. That's very cool. Thank you so much for that and the wonderful dog photo. And I'll just round us out here, a listener from Melbourne, Australia in the spirit of misheard lyrics, poorly transcribed YouTube closed captioning never fails to amuse me when YouTube closed captioning tries to deal with sycophants. Let's see, sycophants from our interview with Asha Rangappa. And now with Sick Offense, the motley crue of Sick Offense and Sicko Pants.
- [57:10]
Dana Goldberg
From that Seems Right. That one seems very accurate.
- [57:15]
Alison Gill
It's a grifty house of cards and he's surrounded by bootlicking sicko pants. Very fantastic, everyone. Thank you so much for sending in your good news today. I really needed it. I really did.
- [57:26]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [57:27]
Alison Gill
Appreciate you. And you never know who's out there, who's listening, who just really needs that boost. So send all your good news to us dailybeanspod.com click on Contact. Do you have any final thoughts today, my dear, dear friend?
- [57:37]
Dana Goldberg
No final thoughts for today.
- [57:39]
Alison Gill
All right, we'll be back in your ears tomorrow. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, and take care of your family. I've been ag, I've been DG and them's the Beans. The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Alison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information please visit mswmedia.com commsw media.