Refried Beans | A Coup By Any Other Name (feat. Steve Vladeck) | 1/29/2025

Summary

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The Daily Beans: "Refried Beans | A Coup By Any Other Name" (Feat. Steve Vladeck)

Date: February 1, 2026 (original episode from January 29, 2025)
Host: Allison Gill (AG), with Dana Goldberg
Special Guest: Steve Vladeck (Professor of Law, Georgetown University)
Theme: Dissecting the Trump administration’s unprecedented seizure of Congressional power, mass federal worker resignations, anti-DEI campaigns, and rollback of key federal and social programs; legal and constitutional implications of an attempted executive overreach.

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Episode Overview

This episode features rapid-fire coverage of a whirlwind week in U.S. politics following major executive actions by Donald Trump. The hosts break down attempts to seize Congressional appropriations power, mass disruptions for federal workers, attacks on DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) programs, controversial personnel moves, and legal pushback on a range of fronts. Special guest Steve Vladeck provides an in-depth, accessible explanation of the legal stakes in what the hosts describe as a coup attempt. Throughout, the episode blends gallows humor, deep-dive analysis, moments of inspiration, and good news from the community.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Trump’s Attempted Appropriations Coup & Federal Aid Freeze

• Event Summary:
  Late Monday night, Trump moved to halt all Congressional appropriations, effectively seizing Congress’s power of the purse. Federal agencies received memos to pause spending, which would impact a vast range of programs. A Biden-appointed judge blocked the freeze hours later, but not before major disruptions began.

  • "He just tried to take it away, steal it in the middle of the night." — Allison Gill [03:10]

• Immediate Effects:

  • Medicare and benefit portals went down.
  • Federal employees received threatening emails—demanding “voluntary” resignations, pressuring loyalty standards, and instituting a week-long deadline for decision.
  • Confusion regarding SNAP, Medicaid, and other direct payments, with conflicting statements and widespread system outages.

• Legal and Institutional Impact:

  • Direct challenge to the constitutional balance between branches.
  • Host analogy: “Like when he withheld aid to Ukraine—this is like that times a million. It’s bonkers.” — Allison Gill [06:33]
  • Multiple lawsuits rapidly filed by states, advocacy groups, and federal employees.

2. Federal Workforce Chaos: Mass Resignations and Schedule F

• Trump’s Email to Fed Workers:
  A mass email via a newly devised [e-mail] address threatened mass restructuring:

  • Mandated return to office (ending remote work)
  • Reclassification to 'at-will' (Schedule F), easier firing, and severe loyalty standards
  • Offer of "deferred resignation" with 8 months' pay, but legal/benefit ambiguities
  • "If you want to stay and we don't like you, we'll fire you." — Allison Gill [15:57]

• Federal Workers’ Lawsuit:
  Allegations that the new email system itself violates federal privacy and security laws, exposing all employee data to risk.

  • "Plugging in a new email server... is an invitation to be hacked." — Cale McClanahan, Nat. Security Counselors (quoted by Dana) [19:36]

3. DEI Programs and Right-Wing Pressure Campaigns

• Republican Attorneys General vs. Costco:
  19 Republican state AGs demand Costco end its DEI policies, threatening legal action. Texas and Iowa officials lead the charge.

  • “Because free speech and we’re a private company and fuck off.” — Allison Gill, parodying Costco’s desired response [09:47]

• Target & Twin Cities Pride:
  Target withdrew from DEI commitments; as a consequence, the Twin Cities Pride Parade disinvited Target. The community filled the $50,000 fundraising gap within 24 hours.

  • "In less than 24 hours, Twin Cities Pride raised more than $50,000... That is awesome." — Dana Goldberg [49:20]

4. Attacks on Federal Oversight Agencies

• Trump’s Moves:

  • Fired Democratic members and general counsel of EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) and NLRB (National Labor Relations Board).
    • “An extraordinary break... to hand Republicans control.” — Dana Goldberg [12:13]

• Implications:

  • Weakening of worker and labor rights, especially LGBTQ and pregnant employees.

5. International & Domestic Programs Under Threat

• Halting Collaboration with WHO:
  U.S. public health officials instructed to sever ties with the World Health Organization and halt PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief).

  • “Stopping communications and meetings with WHO is a big problem.” — Dr. Jeffrey Klausner (quoted by Allison) [11:00]

• USAID Firings:
  Over 50 career officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development placed on administrative leave.

6. Legal Pushback: Steve Vladeck Interview

[Main Segment Begins at 34:33]

Key Points:

• Constitutional Stakes:

  • Direct and unprecedented assault on the separation of powers: the President cannot simply “freeze” or “impound” Congressionally enacted appropriations.
    • “If Trump or any president were allowed to cancel congressional appropriations solely because he doesn't like them, you're completely rewriting the structure of government...rendering the legislature completely impotent.” — Steve Vladeck [39:21]

• Historical & Legal Context:

  • No real ‘impoundment’ power exists — prior presidents have lost every showdown.
  • The Impoundment Control Act allows only limited, Congress-approved impoundment, not wholesale cancellation.
    • “Every time it’s been challenged, they’ve lost. Even the Office of Legal Counsel... wrote that there’s just no significant argument in favor of a constitutional impoundment power.” — Steve Vladeck [36:18]

• Supreme Court Prospects:

  • Even the current conservative-majority SCOTUS is likely to block such a naked executive overreach.
    • “Just last term, in the CFPB funding case... a 7:2 majority... slapped down the Fifth Circuit for endorsing a crazy right wing attack.” [38:25]
    • “If this is not a red line, at least for the courts, then there won’t be one.” [40:42]

• Outlook:

  • Expect speedy legal blocks and a Supreme Court decision reaffirming Congressional power.
  • Anecdote: even Nixon defenders (Judge Bork) couldn’t justify such impoundments in court. [42:50]

7. Transgender Military Ban Returns: Lawsuit Filed

• Order:
  New Trump executive order bans all transgender troops (current and future), citing “discipline and readiness”—a claim dismissed as baseless by guests and hosts.

• Lawsuit:
  Six active/trans veterans, with Lambda Legal & Human Rights Campaign, file suit on equal protection grounds.

  • “There's nothing about being transgender that makes me better or worse than any other soldier I serve alongside.” — Army Captain Gordon Herrero (read by Dana Goldberg) [27:15]
  • “General Mattis... did multiple white papers on morale—not impacted at all by the presence of transgender service members.” — Allison Gill [27:10]

• Data:
  Estimated 15,000+ current transgender military members.

  • "The training that went into these military personnel is in the billions." — Dana Goldberg [29:20]

8. Community Good News & Grassroots Action

• Good Trouble (Get Involved):

  • Focus on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race: volunteer for liberal Judge Susan Crawford against MAGA candidate Schimmel.
  • Link: crawford4wi.com, also on MobilizeUs for phonebanking.

• Listener Stories:

  • Medicaid covers hearing aids & surgeries for students; importance of safety net programs.
  • Target’s DEI pullback replaced by a flood of grassroots donations.
  • Listeners finding actionable steps via the podcast (Good Trouble segment), e.g., phonebanking and direct help.

• Showcase:
  Listeners submit: corrections/reports on international news bias, pet photos, DIY superhero art (“Super beans!”), and gratitude for community support through tough times.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [08:46] Jim Acosta's Farewell:
  “Don't give in to lies. Don't give in to the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope, even if you have to get out your phone, record that message: 'I will not give in to the lies. I will not give in to the fear.'” — Jim Acosta

• [15:35] Allison on the Mass Federal Resignations Email:
  “If you want to stay and we don’t like you, we’ll fire you.”

• [36:02] Steve Vladeck on Precedent: “Presidents have at various points claimed... impoundment power... But every time it’s been challenged, they’ve lost.”

• [39:21] Vladeck on the Core Issue:
  “If Trump or any president were allowed to cancel congressional appropriations solely because he doesn't like them, you're completely rewriting the structure of government...rendering the legislature completely impotent.”

• [28:22] Listener Email:
  “Medicaid in my state covers the full cost of hearing aids and upgrades every three years...this makes a huge difference in the lives of my students and their families.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Trump’s Appropriations Freeze, General Rundown: 01:30–04:24
• Mass Federal Worker Resignations, DEI/Costco, Jim Acosta Farewell: 04:24–10:22
• Halting WHO, Firing Labor Commission Members: 10:58–13:05
• Federal Workforce Email, Schedule F, Privacy Lawsuit: 13:37–23:14
• Legal Challenge to Appropriations Coup: 23:14–26:08
• Trans Military Ban Lawsuit: 26:08–31:04
• Wisconsin Supreme Court Race—Grassroots Action: 31:28–33:32
• Steve Vladeck Interview (Deep Legal Analysis): 34:33–44:06
• Listener Good News & Pet Photos: 45:03–61:02

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Tone & Style

The hallmark "Daily Beans" blend: fierce, snarky, empathetic, and unwaveringly pro-democracy. Hosts AG and Dana balance sharp legal-political critique with insightful interviews, moments of comic relief, and communal support. Their respect for expertise (Steve Vladeck), irreverent humor ("All we do is give"), and focus on action (“Good Trouble”) make the urgent news digestible for listeners—highlighting not just outrage, but resilience and practical ways forward.

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Summary: Takeaways for Listeners

• The Trump administration’s attempt to seize control of federal appropriations is both unprecedented in scope and likely unconstitutional, with swift legal pushback expected.
• Federal employees face an atmosphere of intimidation and chaos, with privacy violations and loss of worker protections at center stage.
• The right-wing assault on DEI programs and LGBTQ rights continues at both federal and state levels, but is meeting resistance—from courtrooms to corporate boardrooms to grassroots organizing.
• Supreme Court intervention to stop the executive overreach is highly likely, and even a conservative-majority is expected to act to preserve core constitutional structure.
• Listeners are encouraged to participate in state and local races (like the Wisconsin Supreme Court), support social programs, spread truth, and keep resisting—bolstered by the strong Daily Beans community.

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"If this is not a red line, at least for the courts, then there won’t be one."
— Steve Vladeck [40:42]

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[For more, including listener-contributed good news, pet photos, and actionable items, visit dailybeanspod.com]

Transcript

[Frances Collier]

Hi, I'm Frances Collier. And I'm Angela V. Shelton. And we're Frangela. You know what you mean in your life. The Final Word podcast. Yes, you do.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's right.

[Frances Collier]

It is the final word on all things political and pop cultural, where we make real news, real funny, where we inspire you so you can resist. Subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's the news we think you need to hear.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's right. We think you need to hear it.

[Allison Gill]

Okay. Yeah.

[Frances Collier]

It's what we say.

[Dana Goldberg]

So. That's right.

[Frances Collier]

And because all we do is give. 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.

[Allison Gill]

Okay? All we do is give. MSW Media. Hey, everybody, it's Ag. And welcome to Refried Beans, where we play an episode of the Daily Beans podcast from the same week either one, two or three years ago, so we can see how far we've come. So please enjoy this episode from days gone by and note the date in the intro. Refried beans. I like refried beans. That's why I want to try fried beans, because maybe they're just as good.

[Dana Goldberg]

And we're wasting time.

[Allison Gill]

Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Wednesday, January 29, 2025. Today, in the middle of the night, Monday night, Trump tried to seize the power of Congress by halting all appropriations and a Biden appointed judge has blocked it. Just hours later, Trump has asked 2 million federal workers to voluntarily resign. The CDC has been ordered to stop working with the World Health Organization. Top USAID staff have been put on administrative leave. Federal employees have filed a lawsuit over the HR PM government wide email for privacy concerns. Republican state attorneys general are pressuring Costco to drop their DEI programs. Jim Acosta has announced he's going to leave cnn. Trump has moved to fire Democratic members of the EEOC and nlrb. And six transgender service members are suing Trump and Pete Hegseth over the ban on trans people serving in the military.

[Dana Goldberg]

Alison.

[Allison Gill]

I'm Allison Gill.

[Dana Goldberg]

And I'm Dana Goldberg.

[Allison Gill]

Quite a Wednesday so far, my friend.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, it sure is. And we talked about this just before we hit record. And we're now at the point again where we're waking up every day going, what's next? What is next?

[Allison Gill]

Like, before I even wipe the sleep out of my eyes, as the monkeys say, the band, not the animal, I'm getting emails from federal workers and updates and news blasts about the stuff that's going on in the Federal government, things that are being canceled. It's just, it's, it was like I could barely keep my head above water with the news today. And again, that's by design, right?

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah. They want that to want to wear us down. You got to make sure this doesn't happen.

[Allison Gill]

Yep. That's why we're here, so we can break it all down for you very simply so you can stay apprised of what's happening. Later in the show, Steve Vladek is going to join me, law professor at Georgetown and author of the One First Substack, which you definitely should subscribe to if you haven't already. He explains things in such a wonderful way. We're going to talk about that middle of the night Trump coup to unconstitutionally seize power from Congress. The power of the purse, appropriations, you know, one of Congress's biggest jobs. He just tried to take it away, steal it in the middle of the night. And keep in mind, we recorded our interview about an hour before a judge blocked the Trump administration's aid freeze. Federal aid freeze, which is interesting, and we'll talk about that in a second. But you can hear me and Steve say, yeah, I bet this judge is going to block it. And for a few days while they mull over a longer restraining order to stop it from going into effect. The problem is, is like these, it's already gone into effect. A lot of these Medicare sites, the payment, the federal payment, you know, portal, it's all down. And so now, you know, with this block, this restraint, well, temporary restraining order from this judge, we'll see if, if Trump listens to the courts. Right. That's the big question. Is he gonna, you know, keep the money flowing?

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, all of this is going to be, we're going to find out in how some of this is going to shake down. At first they were like, oh, no, no, no, no, no. This federal freeze doesn't affect things like, you know, food stamps and Medicaid and all of that. And then all of a sudden there was confusion where no one could get into these programs. And they're like, all right, maybe it does affect all this. Right now, the confusion is overwhelming, is intentional. It's meant to dizzy us while other things are going down. But we're going to get it all straightened out. A lot of lawsuits are already happening, including one I'm sure that we'll talk about later in the show. The Human Rights Campaign and the Lambda Legal Organization are suing the Trump administration over the trans ban. So in the military. And we'll give you a little bit of that story with the six plaintiffs, the six transgender service people that are suing. Hey, let's start off with a little fun news. And, you know, obviously he's already done the damage, but there's a guy named Jason Riddle, and he is an out man who stormed the Capitol, admittedly stormed the Capitol, got in trouble for it, got. Got arrested for it, and I believe got convicted for it. And he told multiple outlet he deeply actually regrets his role in the events, and he no longer supports Trump. And this is a guy that had a pardon offered, and he said, I don't need to obsess over a narcissistic bully to feel better about myself. That's what he told ABC News. And then he ended with Trump can shove his pardon up his ass. There's a few people that are like, no, I don't want the pardon, lady. Maga Granny? Is that what they're calling her?

[Allison Gill]

Maga Granny? She was like, F you, Mr. Poop Head. And she's like, now she's trying.

[Dana Goldberg]

She's trying to deprogram these, you know, the cult. As many people as she can. There's some people that have really learned, oh, my God, I had the wool pulled over my eyes. I'm a better person than this. And there's some redemption coming. So I don't know. I just. I just love that not everyone is like, oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. Whatever you need from me, you got it.

[Allison Gill]

So there's that. We've got birthright citizenship. Trying to repeal that blocked by the courts. This absolute. Which. It's a coup as far as I'm concerned. You remember how batshit it was that he stopped aid to Ukraine.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yep.

[Allison Gill]

And we impeached him over that. This is like, this is like $3 trillion. This is like that times a million. It's bonkers. But that's blocked again. We'll see if Trump complies with that block. And, you know, just like he turned on the faucet in California, I hope he turns the federal aid faucet back on because, oh, my God, him to.

[Dana Goldberg]

I that people are actually calling out this lie because the United States military just. It did not enter the state of California and just turn on a fucking faucet. The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they had been offline for maintenance for three days.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, for three days. State water supplies in Southern California are plentiful. Everyone, do not get gaslit by this bullshit.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Gavin Newsom, the water people, they were like, no, this did not happen because basically Trump said, I sent in the military and they turned on the faucet. Congratulations, California, you have water like that. He honestly, I swear to God, he put that out there like it was real.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

So that's good. And then something else.

[Dana Goldberg]

Good.

[Allison Gill]

Hats off to Jim Acosta.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

CNN threatened to move him to the middle of the night, and he said, nope. And we have a clip of a little bit about what he said on his show today. Let's listen.

[Jim Acosta]

I am grateful to CNN for the nearly 18 years I've spent here doing the news. And people often ask me if the highlight of my career at CNN was at the White House covering Donald Trump. Actually, no. That moment came here when I covered former President Barack Obama's trip to Cuba in 2016 and had the chance to question the dictator there, Raul Castro, about the island's political prisoners. As the son of a Cuban refugee, I took home this. It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant. I have always believed it's the job of the press to hold power to account. I've always tried to do that here at cnn, and I plan on going doing all of that in the future. One final message. Don't give in to the lies. Don't give in to the fear. Hold on to the truth and to hope, even if you have to get out your phone, record that message. I will not give in to the lies. I will not give in to the fear.

[Allison Gill]

Just fantastic. Hats off to Jim Acosta. He's got a sub stack now. Everybody head over there. I've reached out to him and congratulated him on, on this move, which I think is the right one for him especially. So did you see the clip of Jennings and, and, and the woman was like, he was like, oh, this, you know, Nazi salute, truth or ism or whatever. He was defending Elon Musk and the Lady Rampel was like, why don't you do it right now on tv? Yeah, if it was fine, you do it right now. And he just, it was great to see him called out like that. Fuck that network. All right. Anyway, thank you, Jim Acosta. Hats off. We have a lot of news to get to. Let's start with some quick hits. And to make a long story short. All right, first up, from Kate Gibson at CBS. Republican attorneys general from 19 states want Costco to ditch its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, making the calls days after the retailer successfully defended its DEI policies as good for business to shareholders in a letter Monday to Costco CEO Ron Vacris. I hope I'M saying that, right. The ags accused the retailer of clinging to DEI policies that courts and businesses have rejected as illegal and called on it to account for the legal risks of its actions. Sounds like a threat. Of course. This group of a holes is led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Byrd. The Republican officials instructed Costco to let them know within 30 days whether it's going to get rid DEI policies or explain why not. You know, why the fuck not? Because free speech and we're a private company and fuck off.

[Dana Goldberg]

I think that's exactly what they should say. End quote. Period. This next one's from NBC. More than 50 civil career servants and foreign service officers at the U.S. agency for International Development. They were placed on administrative leave Monday afternoon, effective immediately. This is two former USAID officials, a current agency official, and a source directly familiar with the decision. They all told this to NBC News. USAID works to coordinate foreign aid and humanitarian development. Though it is an independent federal agency, it collaborates and receives policy guidance from who, the Secretary of State.

[Allison Gill]

Ah, Marco Rubio.

[Dana Goldberg]

Little, little Marco.

[Allison Gill]

Well, Marco. All right, next up from the Associated Press, U. S. Public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization effective immediately. Quote, stopping communications and meetings with WHO is a big problem. That's Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a University of Southern California public health expert WHO collaborates with the WHO on work against sexually transmitted infections. The collaboration halt isn't the only global health effect of Trump's executive orders, by the way. Last week, the president froze spending on another critical program, pepfar, or the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief. This anti HIV program is credited with saving 25 million lives, including those of 5.5 million children. Since it was started by George W. Bush. And I know the guy who worked on it actually is a friend of mine. It was included in a Trump administration freeze on foreign aid spending slated to last at least three months.

[Dana Goldberg]

So. Oh, I. You said so, so I thought you were going to say something else.

[Allison Gill]

Just so.

[Dana Goldberg]

Okay. That's a great transition. Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

All right.

[Dana Goldberg]

Well, sometimes they're not all smooth people. Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

And speaking of, I don't have a segue here.

[Dana Goldberg]

President Trump has moved to fire Democratic members of two independent federal commissions, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board. An extraordinary break. Obviously, we know this from decades of legal precedent that promises to hand Republicans control over boards that oversee swaths of U.S. workers, employers and labor unions. In addition, Trump acted to dismiss the EEOC's general counsel who oversees the agency's existing civil actions against employers on a range of issues, including discrimination claims from the LGBTQ employees and pregnant workers. And he terminated Jennifer Abruzzo. She is the NLRB's general counsel. So they're doing everything they can. I mean, really, they're coming out swinging. And in ways that are unconstitutional and illegal in many instances. Some are not. They're just fucking cruel.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. And not surprisingly, Elon Musk is in a little bit of trouble for multiple companies of his with both of those agencies. So this is all in Project 2025. Everyone listening, like, knows about all this, but it's. It's happening, and it's happening fast. All right, we have more news to get to, but we need to take a quick break. So everybody stick around. We'll be right back.

[Dana Goldberg]

We'll be right back.

[Allison Gill]

Everybody. Welcome back. It's time for Hot Notes. Hot notes. All right, first up, full disclosure. As you know, I am a former federal employee that was pushed out during the first Trump term. So this is very personal to me. And this is from Garrett Hake at NBC. President Donald Trump's administration is set to offer every single federal worker the chance to take a deferred resignation with what NBC is calling a severance package of roughly 8 months of pay and benefits. But I would caution against using the word severance package. A senior administration official said they expect 5 to 10% of the workforce to just quit, which they estimate could lead to roughly $100 billion in savings. As you know, I've been in contact with hundreds and hundreds of federal workers. I have a copy of the email. I got it pretty quickly, and it's really threatening. It says we have four pillars here at the federal government. So if you want to stay with us, here's the four pillars. Number one, return to office. The substantial majority of federal employees who've been working remotely since COVID will be required to return to their physical offices five days a week. Going forward, we also expect our physical offices to undergo meaningful consolidation and divestitures, potentially resulting in physical office relocations for a number of federal workers. Number two, performance culture. The federal workforce should be comprised of the best America has to offer. We will insist on excellence at every level. Our performance standards will be updated to reward and promote those that exceed expectations and address in a fair and open way those who do not meet the high standards which the taxpayers in this country have a right to demand. Number three, more streamlined and flexible workforce. While a few agencies and even branches of the military are likely to see increases in the Size of their workforce. The majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructuring, realignments and reductions in force. These actions are likely to include the use of furloughs and the reclassification to at will status. That's schedule F for a substantial number.

[Dana Goldberg]

Of you not to. Yeah, not to interrupt, but I'm going to interrupt. How the fuck do they think the military is going to get larger when they're about to ban close to 15,000 trans military from serving? Like, yeah, none of this makes sense.

[Allison Gill]

And then possibly women.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

And they're going to put a rapist in charge.

[Dana Goldberg]

Okay, I'm sorry. Please continue with your number four pillar.

[Allison Gill]

Yes, number four. And this is fucked up. Enhanced standards of conduct. The federal workforce should be comprised of employees who are reliable, loyal, trustworthy and loyal and who strive for excellence in their daily work. Employees will be subject to enhanced standards of suitability and conduct as we move forward. Employees who engage in unlawful behavior or other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline, including termination. So if you want to stay and we don't like you, we'll fire you. So the offer went out using that government wide hropm.gov email that I've been looking into. In the email will be a draft resignation letter for them to review. If a person wishes to resign, all they need to do is reply with the word resign. And that draft resignation letter. But that says that. That it says if you choose not to continue in your current role, federal workforce, we thank you for your service to your country. You'll be provided with a dignified, fair departure from the government utilizing the deferred resignation program. And that's why I caution against the word severance package. This is a deferred resignation. This program begins effective January 28th. That's yesterday, as you're listening to this and is available to all Federal employees until February 6th. So you have a week or so to decide the rest of your life. And if you resign under this program, you will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in person work requirements until September 30, 2025. Says nothing about many at home work requirements. It has a template for the resignation letter, you know, and there's a lot of wording in there. You can check out what I wrote@ militiaroad.com as soon as I got the email, I put the whole email up there and I don't know what to say. I don't know if this is legal and he's only giving everyone till February 6th. Federal workers feel free to email me at Fed oathm as in protonmailm me and let me know what you're gonna do. Or if you wanna just vent. I always here to listen. But read that resignation letter carefully because it says that you can be reassigned, your tasks can be reassigned and you're a federal agency could reduce your workload, which means that you could still be working for them.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thanks so much Alison. I love this name. This is from Tierney Sneed. It's just a good name at cnn.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, it feels like she belongs at NPR with that name though. Totally.

[Dana Goldberg]

A lawsuit brought by two federal employees alleges that the Trump administration has set up an email distribution system for the entire federal workforce that raises security concerns for workers private data. The lawsuit accuses the US Office of Personnel Management, which handles many personal operations for the federal government, of failing to do an assessment required by federal law to understand and mitigate any privacy risks in how the alleged new email system is collecting data of federal employees. The new legal challenges they come as Trump administration has launched a multi front effort to overhaul how the federal workforce operates, including initiatives to weaken federal workforce protections and to eliminate, as we know, diversity, equity and inclusion programs, among many other actions. According to the new lawsuit, federal employees in recent days received emails from the email address hr opm.gov that purported to be running tests for a new, quote, distribution and response list, quote the goal of these tests is to confirm that an email can be sent and replied to by all government employees. That's what one of the emails said, according to the lawsuit. While asking the employees to respond to the emails to confirm receipt, CNN has reached out to OPM for comment on the lawsuit. The complaint goes on to cite concerns allegedly raised by an anonymous OPM employee that were posted on the online forum Reddit Monday about how the email distribution system was set up. The federal employees bringing the lawsuit filed the case under pseudonyms. They're seeking to file the case as a class action lawsuit. They're being represented by Cale McClanahan, the executive director of National Security Counselors, and that's a law firm that represents federal employees and that also brought a legal challenge last week to the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. Otherwise dodgy, as we like to call it here on the beans. In a statement to CNN, McClanahan noted that OPM has already been hacked in recent years, including a hack that targeted a security clearance system that would have presumably been quote, very well protected, quote, plugging in a new Email server for the sole purpose of sending messages directly to every federal employee is an invitation to be hacked. And every employee out there, they need to know how much of their data is at risk. This is McClanahan adding that the system should be shut down until OPM treats the data with the security it warrants.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. And this is going to be a really interesting lawsuit to watch because it seems to me now that you, you know, we're looking at this, that that Trump set up that email address so he could send out these resignation notices, you know.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

And I did some digging. I got a bunch of data I spent today parsing this data of hundreds and hundreds of data points that there are roughly 19 of these HR inboxes that people replied to. They all have different numbers. It doesn't coordinate, doesn't seem to have any pattern. Doesn't seem to be like, you know, one through four for the DOD and five through, like, it doesn't seem to coordinate with agencies or job titles or SES versus GS. And I know that I'm throwing a lot of acronyms out at you, but federal, federal employees will know what I'm talking about. But there just seems no, like, it seemed random, like no rhyme or reason to it. But this OPM employee did say on Reddit that they just waltzed in and plugged in a whole email server and started testing this out. And this, there are rules and laws in place that you have to do privacy assessments before you do like that. And so if this whole thing gets halted and employees can't reply about their resignations, it's going to get really chaotic and weird. So, anyway, thank you for that update and we'll keep you posted on all of this. Next up from Daniel Barnes at NBC. A federal district judge on Tuesday granted an administrative stay in a case challenging the Trump administration's planned freeze on federal aid, pausing the plan for a week and setting a hearing for further arguments for Monday morning. So this is what I was talking about earlier with this coup, right? This overnight taking over the purse strings for Congress, huge separation of powers problem here. Highly illegal and unconstitutional. And you'll hear me talk with Steve Vladek about this and what he thinks higher courts will do, including the Supreme Court. The order applies to the pause of disbursements in open grants. So the judge, Lauren Ali Khan, and I hope I'm pronouncing that right, said that the order applies to the pause of disbursements in open grants. And it doesn't get into the legality of the freeze. Instead it just gives the court more time for the briefings as temporary stay. The freeze was scheduled to begin Tuesday at 5pm but that's not going to happen now. And as Jane, as you and I said, a lot of this stuff was already frozen.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

The planned freeze is part of a sweeping effort by Trump and his advisors to eliminate government spending that's not in line with his agenda. The move was announced in a Monday night memo from the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. That's omb. That's different from opm, which said that agencies had to temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by executive orders, including but not limited to financial assistance of foreign aid, non governmental organizations. DEI woke gender ideology and the Green New Deal, which, by the way, doesn't exist. If you're talking about the Inflation Reduction act, call it that. The freeze immediately sparked confusion about exactly what types of federal spending would be affected. Dana, you said you talked about this. And Tuesday, the court order was just the first step in what's expected to be a major legal battle over the issue that could quickly end up before the Supreme Court. And Kyle Cheney at Politico says Democratic attorneys general are suing too. The Democratic attorneys general are preparing to urgently resist President Trump's freeze on federal aid, describing his bid to halt a large swath of spending programs as a violation of the Constitution and the law. Quote, it is astonishing that President Trump, through an agency most Americans have never heard of, would take an action so clearly unlawful that would impact so many Americans in so many ways. That's Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Narona, and I hope I'm saying that right. At a press conference alongside counterparts from New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, the Trump administration on Tuesday defended their order. In her first press briefing, press Secretary Caroline Leavitt called the freeze a very responsible measure. She also promised never to lie. So, oops. The attorney general said they were confident that the Supreme Court would side with them if the fight progresses. To the justices saying Trump was attempting to sideline Congress's central role in federal spending. Quote, this president has exceeded his authority. That's New York Attorney General Tish James. He has violated the Constitution and he has trampled on a co equal branch of government. The nonprofit and public health groups, including the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health association and the Main street alliance, say the order appears to violate the law on numerous fronts. Quote, halting the funding would lead to pauses of important community programs, food and safety assistance, life saving research, among others. Even a short pause could be devastating, decimating organizations, costing lives, leaving neighbors without services they need. That's what the group said in the lawsuit. Appended to the lawsuit are affidavits from leaders of several organizations that rely on federal aid who say they'll be forced to curb or shutter operations if the freeze is implemented, jeopardizing services to vulnerable communities and putting jobs at risk. Quote, entire programs will simply disappear, they said. And like I said, I'll speak with Steve Vladic about this in a moment.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thanks so much, Allison. And from Terra Cop at the Associated Press, six transgender active duty service members and two former service members who seek re enlistment. On Tuesday, they filed the first lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's executive order that calls for revising policy on transgender troops and probably sets the stage for banning them in the armed forces. Trump's order signed Monday, claims sexual identity of transgender service members and I quote, conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined, disciplined lifestyle. Go yourself, Donald Trump. And is harmful to military readiness. It requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to issue a revised policy.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, and let me just, let me promise you, I worked with General Mattis on this, who did multiple white papers on morale not impacted at all by the presence of transgender service members. And in fact, when Trump issued a tweet banning transgender service members during his first term, General Mattis says fuck him. I don't take orders from Twitter.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah. So thank you, Alison. Army Captain Gordon Herrero, he's one of the six active duty plaintiffs, said in a statement accompanying the lawsuit, quote, there's nothing about being transgender that makes me better or worse than any other soldier I serve alongside. We all here because we are committed to our country. We are passionate, willing and able to serve effectively. The six plaintiffs include a sailor of the year honoree, a Bronze Star recipient, and several who were awarded meritorious service medals. Quote, I've spent more than half my life in the army, including a combat in Afghanistan. This is Army Sergeant First Class Kate Cole. Quote, removing qualified transgender soldiers like me means an exodus of experienced personnel. The lawsuits being filed by the same legal team that spent years during Trump's first administration fighting the Republicans ban on transgender troops. With the Supreme Court allowed to take effect even as the legal fight against it continued in the courts. The Joe Biden scrapped the ban when he took office. That was the right thing to do. The lawsuit challenges the executive order on the basis of equal protection and argues that it reveals animus against a specific group also. And I don't know if it says this in the story, so I'll get to it later. It's a bullshit reason. That's absolutely nonsense. So I quote, the law is very clear that the government can't base policies on disproval particular groups of people. This is from Shannon Minter. She's a legal director for the center of Lesbian Rights. That's animus. The animus based laws are presumed to be invalid and unconstitutional. NCLR and glad, not the Double D but GLAD law. They filed the challenge to the executive order in the U.S. district Court of the District of Columbia. Sasha Boucher, I hope I'm saying that correctly. That's The Council for Lambda Legal, an organization I work closely with, said that her group alongside the Human Rights Campaign also planned to file a legal challenge. The Pentagon said it does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation that quote. But they will fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the executive orders issued by the president, ensuring that they are carried out with utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives. There's no official data on the number of transgender personnel in the military, but the number is probably in the thousands. And I know through data through the Human Rights campaign, Lambda Legal, it's close to 15,000.

[Allison Gill]

Yep, yep.

[Dana Goldberg]

Unlike Trump's initial ban in 2017, the new executive order not only bans all transgender people from serving in the future, but also would target those currently serving. Now, in this story, I can also tell you that one of the reasons they gave in this executive order is that when transgender soldiers, military personnel, have any sort of a surgery, they're saying they're out and cannot actually do their job for almost a year because they're on high pain medications like morphine. That's all bullshit. The other part of this is they're now giving people who were discharged during COVID an opportunity to reenlist. But what's funny is our friend at under the Desk News V is saying that of those 8,000 or so people that were discharged under Covid, only 43 of them even want their jobs back. A lot of people during COVID in the military used Covid to get an honorable discharge to leave the military because they didn't want to be there anymore. These transgender people, the training that went into these military personnel is in the billions. Charlotte Clymer, our dear friend, will tell you, and Charlotte's a veteran. It's in the billions that they are throwing away that they have already trained highly, highly effective transgender military. It's just a stupid thing to do. I hope that they win in the courts. I hope we win in the courts. And I'm just so sorry. I'm so sorry that you all have to go through this fucking bullshit again. I'm so sorry.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, same here. We see you. And as you can imagine, I know quite a few transgender people in the military. So thank you for that reporting. And I do hope we're also successful in the courts on this. And. All right, everybody, we're gonna do before we get to Steve Vladic and before we get to the good news, we do have a little good trouble. What are you guys doing?

[Dana Goldberg]

All right, everyone, today, today's mission, should you choose to accept it, my friend and the co host on Cleanup on aisle 45 is in Wisconsin today campaigning for Judge Susan Crawford for Supreme Court. She's running against Brad Schimmel and Harry. Our Harry Dunn said Schimmel could clearly denounce President Donald Trump's pardoning of about 1500 people convicted of their roles in the Capitol riot.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. So far, this guy has not right.

[Dana Goldberg]

And he could and he should is what I'm saying.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah.

[Dana Goldberg]

This is a quote. You can't support an individual that believes it's okay to pardon people who attack police officers. This is, this is Harry Dunn. He said that at a news conference in Wisconsin's Capitol. He said you can't support that and also say you claim to back the blue.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. And this guy, this Schimmel guy, is like a super maga. Stop the steel. January 6th supporting WAD. Harry Dunn's appearance speaks to the national attention the race is getting in an early test of the electorate's mood in the battleground state won by Trump. The 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court race broke the record for total spending on a court race in the US and this year's contest is expected to go even higher. Dana. So the winner will determine whether Wisconsin's highest court remains controlled by liberals, as it has since 2023, when Janet Protosiewicz won her race, or if it flips to conservatives who had the majority for 15 years before that. So everybody, you can volunteer for Judge Crawford's campaign. Judge Crawford is running against this shimmel guy. And you can get [e-mail] or you can go to Mobilize Us and do some phone banking for Judge Crawford so that we can hold the liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. We'll have links in the show. Notes, thank you very much for good trouble. All right, everybody, we'll be right back Back with Steve Vladek. He's a professor of law at Georgetown. Very smart, and he writes the one first substack that you definitely have to subscribe to. So stick around. We'll be right back.

[Frances Collier]

Hi, I'm Francis Collier. And I'm Angela V. Shelton. And we're Frantela. You know what you mean in your life the Final Word podcast. Yes, you do.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's right.

[Frances Collier]

It is the final word on all things political and pop 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.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's right. We think you need to hear it.

[Allison Gill]

Okay.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Frances Collier]

It's what we say.

[Dana Goldberg]

So. That's right.

[Frances Collier]

And because all we do is give. 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.

[Dana Goldberg]

Okay.

[Allison Gill]

All we do is give. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. I'm happy to be joined today by my friend, author of One first, which is a really, really important substack that you need to subscribe to, if you haven't already. Also a law professor at Georgetown University, please welcome Steve Vladek. Hi, Steve.

[Steve Vladek]

Hey, G. Good to be back with you.

[Allison Gill]

I am so glad you're here to break this down for us, because late in the night we got a memo from the Office of Personnel Management, and it basically freezes all government grants and spending except for payments to individuals. It's kind of unclear because it also includes SNAP and some Medicaid programs. Can you talk a little bit about. First of all, this seems really against the law.

[Dana Goldberg]

So.

[Steve Vladek]

Yeah, I mean, the Office of Management and Budget. Right. Is the part of the White House that basically runs fiscal policy for the executive branch. And this memo, which was put out under the signature of the acting director of omb, is a directive to basically every federal agency not to stop spending everything Congress has appropriated, but to stop spending most of what Congress has appropriated, while OMB conducts basically a whole scale review of how we're spending money. And when you pitch it that way, it's like, oh, we're just sort of hitting the pause button while we do an audit. Small problem. That's not how anything works.

[Dana Goldberg]

Right.

[Allison Gill]

Because I was going to ask, sometimes during transitions from administration to administration, you pause stuff to take a look and see what you're going to change. But I feel like we've been here. When he withheld aid to Ukraine, violating the Empowerment Control Act. This feels like that, but way bigger.

[Steve Vladek]

It's way bigger. I mean, so, you know, there's a lot going on here. So the first thing to say is that, you know, presidents have at various points claimed, like, a modest amount of what we might call impoundment power, which is the power to not spend money Congress has appropriated. But every time it's been challenged, they've lost. Right. Even the Office of Legal Counsel, which is in the Justice Department, which tends to be very, very pro executive Power, in 1988, wrote that, like, there's just no significant argument in favor of a constitutional impoundment power. And so the reason why you hear folks talking about this statute, the Impoundment Control act, is because that's actually really the only source of power the President has. That even as the statute creates a procedure by which the President is supposed to ask Congress to approve of impoundments, it really occupies the field. So what is striking about this is just how unnuanced it is, how categorical it is. They tried in the original memo on Monday to say that this wouldn't affect any money that went directly to individuals. They've now had to clarify that that includes things like Medicaid and snap, even though, as we're recording, apparently access to the Medicaid portal is down in every state. So it's sort of like, it's like a typical Trump cluster. You know what? Right. It's like a terrible policy idea implemented in an absolutely clumsy and chaotic way that is also, oh, by the way, completely not just unlawful, but unconstitutional. And it's like day eight.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

And it feels like a power grab. I mean, a couple have one point last week he hinted that he would just cancel. FEMALE and I'll just have all the funds come to me and then I'll disperse them, which again, it's like a separation of powers. We're supposed to have three co. Equal branches of government. And now he's trying to strip away the Congress having the power of the purse strings with this sweeping stuff. I think there's already lawsuits out there. But tell us what you think about even this Supreme Court being like. Yeah, no, I mean, so I think.

[Steve Vladek]

It'S worth stressing that, like, this is not an executive power fight. The way that, like, the Trump immunity case was an executive power fight. You know, the Trump immunity case, as badly as it went, was in some respects a sort of coherent, if not correct, extension of the idea of the unitary executive. Right. And sort of the broad power the President has inherently under the Constitution. What is different about this case is that. But there's just no question that the real constitutional power here is Congress's Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1. The very first regulatory power Congress has is the spending power. And the reason why I think we should not be so cynical about even this Supreme Court is, look, just at last term, last May in the CFPB funding case, you know, a 7:2 majority in an opinion by noted liberal squish Clarence Thomas, you know, just slapped down the 5th Circuit for endorsing a crazy right wing attack on how Congress appropriates money for the cfpb. I think you'd see at least that here because. And it's worth stressing why, like, it's not just like, this is sort of big and chaotic. Right. It's that if Trump, if Trump or any president were allowed to cancel congressional appropriations solely because he doesn't like them, then you are completely rewriting the structure of government in this country and you are, you know, forever basically rendering the legislature completely impotent to the President's will.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. And if we talk about, oh, well, then what's the executive check on Congress, it's the veto. Right. I mean, I'm no law student, but, you know, it feels like to, to come out and explain to me how the. How, because I am imagining Trump will try to say I have this power through the Impoundment Control act, but he doesn't. Right. Because that law specifies you still have to go to Congress. Right.

[Steve Vladek]

So you have to go to Congress. The Impoundment Control act specifically does not allow for even the attempted impoundment of entire categories of appropriations, so called mandatory appropriations. But I mean, I think that the real argument Trump is making is that, you know, the entire sovereign power of the United States resides in the executive branch. And that's just, you know, when we think about why this country was founded, which was entirely to get away from a model of government where the entire sovereign authority was in the executive branch. I mean, it's just, I think it's, you know, it's easy with all of the flood of bad, ugly, mean stuff coming out of the White House, to think this is just another one of those. This is actually different in both degree and kind. And, you know, if this, if this is not a red line, at least for the courts, then there won't be one. I say that because I have no hope in Congress. I mean, you know, I don't know if you saw this quote, but earlier today, Tom Cole, who is, you know, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, the most Important appropriator in Congress.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Steve Vladek]

Said to Manu Raju of cnn, oh, well, appropriations aren't laws anyway.

[Allison Gill]

All right, so there's been lawsuit filed, lawsuits probably coming. I imagine this will kind of go the way of the birthright citizenship repeal attempt where a judge will probably institute a temporary block on this, unfreezing the spending while they consider a more a longer term restraining order for the pendency of the litigation. What do you see happening here?

[Steve Vladek]

So it's hard. Things are happening quickly. And so by the time someone's listened to this, a lot might have already changed. I mean, OMB has already put out a clarifying memo this afternoon that says no, Medicaid and SNAP are obviously not covered. I think unless this policy gets clarified into almost nothingness, then these lawsuits are going to go forward and they're going to go forward very quickly and they're going to produce, as in the birthright citizenship case, adverse court orders. And, you know, we might see very quick moves by the Trump administration to seek, you know, AGR favorite thing, emergency relief to go up to the appeals courts and then the Supreme Court to try to put the policy back into effect. And I just don't see that happening.

[Allison Gill]

But John Sauer is so good at making cogent arguments. Steve. Okay, if you couldn't hear me dripping with sarcasm there, I'm not sure what.

[Steve Vladek]

It'S not even about. I mean, you know, so there's a funny story about my uncle was telling me, my uncle, who litigated some of this stuff in the 1980s, was telling me the story this morning about a case where there was a challenge to a Reagan impoundment. And a lawyer got up there and was arguing before Judge Bork when he was on the D.C. circuit. And Bork had been Nixon's SG when Nixon was trying to defend some of his impoundments. And apparently Judge Bork says to the lawyer, if I wasn't able to win this argument, what makes you think you can?

[Allison Gill]

Wow.

[Steve Vladek]

And that, and I think that's where, I mean, that's where we are. Like, you know, I understand why folks are like, nervous about the courts and skeptical about the courts and cynical about the courts. I'm often, as you know, sort of dying on the Hill that, like, we still haven't, we should not totally give up on the courts. And I think this is the kind of case that's gonna, you know, unless it goes away because the administration comes to its senses. I think this is the kind of case that's going to illustrate why.

[Allison Gill]

All right, Well, I appreciate you coming on and explaining this to us in layman's terms. It really helps us out and everybody. All of this kind of explanation can be found from a Georgetown law professor at one first, it's a substack I rely on to try to explain things to people. So thank you so much, professor, for your time today.

[Steve Vladek]

Thanks for having me. I'm Brian Caram and I've spent decades covering politics. Now I'm taking you behind the scenes, one interview at a time. Join us as each week Brian confronts the issues that matter, posing the questions you wish you could ask. No filter, no agenda, just the truth. We're not here for sound bites. We're here for substance. Join me, Brian Caram every week as we cut through the noise and get straight to it. This is just ask the Question where curiosity will lead us to the facts. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform and remember, when you want answers, all you have to do is just ask the question.

[Allison Gill]

Everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news, everyone.

[Steve Vladek]

Then, good news, everyone.

[Allison Gill]

And if you have any good news or confessions or corrections, send it all to us. We need all the good news we can get. Or if you have a shout out to a government program that's helped you or a loved one, definitely send that to us. Medicare, Medicaid, Section 8, SNAP, WIC. Some of these that are endangered by what Trump did in the middle of the night on Monday night, Tuesday morning, like Medicare for example, or Meals on Wheels. Send those to us. Student debt relief stories are always great. And then of course, all got to do to get that in. Oh, by the way, you can shout out people in your lives too. Like if it's your spouse or a sib or parents or your kids or yourself, please send those shout outs to us as well. And all you got to do to get good news in is attach a photo of your pet. We call it POD pet tax. If you don't have a pet, send an adoptable pet in your area and we'll see if we can find him a home. Don't have that. Any animal photo, really. Just grab one off the Internet. We'll never know. It's fine. Tell us, hey, this is my pet capybara. I'll be like, I'm fucking jealous, I want a capybara. And then we can have that discussion. And then of course, bird watching photos of actual birds or you and loved ones flipping off Trump properties. And if all else fails, baby photos are always accepted and actually kind of preferred in some instances. So send those baby photos because I know, I know Dana loves a baby photo.

[Dana Goldberg]

I do.

[Allison Gill]

I do as well. Don't get me wrong, I love baby photos too. Anyway, I was like, oh no, I did. Those are for Dana. No baby photos for me. Thanks. I'm sorry, everybody. My mind is just a mess today and it's just been so much news trying to sort it all out and simplify it for you. So I appreciate you hanging in there with me. Let's, let's start. Oh, by the way, DailyBeansPod.com is where you send your good news. Click on Contact. First up from Anonymous Pronouns she and her Colombian standoff Correction hi ladies. I listen from Mexico City every day and every week to the two other shows and enjoyed them all thoroughly. I enjoyed enjoy them all thoroughly. I just heard the news about Colombia. I understand you report the news from the United States media primarily, and that's why you might have gotten it wrong. Colombia didn't cave. President Petro said he would not receive military planes with his citizens shackled and handcuffed. He offered to send Colombian planes to guarantee the deportees civil rights. Trump threatened tariffs. Petro one upped him. Trump caved on tariffs and accepted the Colombian planes to take the deportees. Oh, that's really interesting and very up that. Yeah, that it was reported to us the way that it was.

[Dana Goldberg]

Even we didn't have the right story. This is a wonderful correction because I.

[Allison Gill]

Check that like I go NBC does say. Does Associated Press say it? Does CBS say it? Does ABC say it is there? You know, I corroborate these things and if you're a patron, I send out all of my sites that I all the sources that I cite for like every piece of news that we deliver and that wasn't anywhere in there. So thank you for setting the record straight, Anonymous. And Anonymous closes with thanks for all the work and fun you provide. My very best. Thank you for this.

[Dana Goldberg]

Absolutely. All right. This is from Julie. No pronouns given. As a Minnesotan who has always taken pride in the fact that Target is a Minnesota based company and that Target is a major sponsor and participant in civic celebrations, I am deeply disappointed in their decision to conclude its DEI program, the Twin Cities Pride Parade. Disinvited. I love this, by the way. Disinvited Target from their event in June, losing $50,000 in support. Don't love that, by the way. But the good news is this from the Minnesota Star Tribune. In less than 24 hours, Twin Cities Pride raised more than $50,000 to fill a gap in fundraising after booting Target from the list of festival sponsors. That is awesome. Wonderful. The Minnesota retailer sparked an outcry from the public following an announcement that they would retreat from the diversity goals amid pressure and from conservative activists. The announcement came after President Donald Trump's promises to end DEI programs. Target was a longtime sponsor of Twin Cities Pride, supporting the local festival and parade for at least 18 years. But after their announcement, which organizers said came during a challenging week, the LGBTQ community Pride decided to uninvite Target from participating this year. That decision could have impacted this year's festivities set for June 28th and 29th in Loring park in Minneapolis. On Sunday, the festival announced a fundraising effort to, quote, fill the gap with a goal of $50,000 in just 24 hours. Community members met the goal as of noon. By the way, Tuesday, they've raised more than 66 funds are going to support programming like the Rainbow Wardrobe, Artist in Residence and the Rainbow Feast, the festival said in an Instagram post Monday, thanking the public for the generosity. Every dollar donated goes directly back into helping us create inclusive spaces, support local artists and provide resources that make a difference year round. That's what the festival wrote. And my POD pet Tax is our dog Bruno and some of his friends.

[Allison Gill]

Look at Bruno and Bruno's friends.

[Dana Goldberg]

So good.

[Allison Gill]

That's adorable. Good job Minneapolis.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah. Thank you.

[Allison Gill]

Thank you Julie for that. Next up from Kim Dear AG and Dana, thank you for being a balm against MAGA chaos and cruelty and for keeping on after the election while listeners like me checked out. I'm taking employer mandated harassment training and learned that a manager proclaiming only two genders is tantamount to gender sexual harassment and a violation of law. For good trouble, gender fluid persons should join a class action against fotus, who I believe is the felon of the United States. United States. So that's interesting. A manager proclaiming only two genders is tantamount to gender sexual harassment and violation of law. Excellent. As it should be. Thank you Kim. And I'll do the next one too. That was a little short. Anonymous pronoun she and her in light of the orders to shut down federal grants and funding, I want to share one of many government programs that I've seen change lives. I work at a school district where a lot of my students rely on Medicaid for their medical care. Did you know that Medicaid in my state at least will cover the full cost of hearing aids and other hearing hearing devices? They will also do this every three years so students will be able to get the latest technology updates every three years. This makes a huge difference in the lives of my students and their families, and it's a big part of why I'm such a staunch supporter of Medicaid and other social services. This is not even to mention the medical interventions these families can receive, like surgeries to repair cleft palate and just general medical care they couldn't afford otherwise. These programs and these families deserve to be fought for. For. In lieu of pet pics, I'm submitting a photo of my sweet kitty at a local shelter that desperately needs help. Autumn has an intestinal blockage that required immediate surgery, and her family couldn't afford it. The shelter has taken her in and seems to be proceeding with the surgery. Oh, Autumn is@famous phytorescue.org look at this beautiful baby. Thank you for that. Yeah. Medicaid is so important.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, my goodness. Thank you indeed. All right, this one's from Anonymous. Pronouns. He, him. Greetings. I found your podcast when I switched to Blue Sky. By the way, Alison, I got a text from a friend of mine. We've known each other for 15 years. And she was like, congratulations. And I was like, what are you talking about? And she's like, the daily beans. And I was like, I've been doing it for five years.

[Steve Vladek]

And she goes, what?

[Dana Goldberg]

I said, how did this even come across? And she goes, blue Sky? I said, yeah, because Twitter was blocking our.

[Allison Gill]

Links. Yeah. Anyway, every time I. Every time I posted, I was like, why is nobody else joining the fun? Like, forever? We were going up and listenership. And then as soon as Elon bought it, plateau. And now we're on the upswing again. I already.

[Dana Goldberg]

And I know part of it is because of the podcast. I already have more followers on Blue sky than I ever had on the other site already. All right, back to Anonymous. I found your podcast when I switched to Blue Sky. I've been listening daily for weeks now, and I decided I should show my appreciation for the work you do on a daily basis. After the election, I felt like I didn't do enough to help. I was looking for ways to fix that and try to get more involved moving forward. I reached out to my local Democratic Party. No answer. And then the Good Trouble segment started. I know they are sometimes little things, but I feel like I'm doing something to help slow down this administration and the terrible ideas they hold. Thank you for giving us a common sense podcast and using your platform to guide those of us who want to help. I did attach My tags A picture of my dog Bentley all dressed up for his parents wedding day. Okay.

[Allison Gill]

He looks like Tom Hanks in big.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh my God. Anonymous. Bentley's adorable. And congratulations. Wedding day.

[Allison Gill]

He's got the light blue tuxedo.

[Steve Vladek]

Totally.

[Dana Goldberg]

And he's like eating corn and he's.

[Allison Gill]

A. Yeah, the tiny corns. Like, but he's eating them like corn in the car.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

And then he spits out the caviar. Can I get a milkshake or something? Oh my God, this dog is adorable. What do you think this? What kind of dog is this? Do you think?

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh my gosh. Maloo.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, maybe. Maybe a little old English sheepdog. Hard to tell. Don't know how big this dog is. Could be a tiny dog, could be a giant dog.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, that's cute though.

[Allison Gill]

Excellent tuxedo. All right, next up from L pronouns she and they. Hey, brilliant Gilliant people. Everybody needs all the good news they can get these days. And this weekend I watched a promo video my son in law created for the Stew Pot in Dallas as it was showing at their fundraiser the next day and he wanted an audience to check for any audio or visual glitches. I'm always happy to do this as he makes such incredible videos, mostly for nonprofits. Here's a link for his company, Shiny Box Pictures in case anyone wants to see his work. There'll be a link in the show. Notes shinyboxpictures.com Long story prolonged. What I did not necessarily expect was the Stew Pot. Wow. They started 50 years ago with the simple goal of providing one meal a day to homeless people in Dallas. Now not only do they provide three meals a day every day of the year, but they find housing, teach ESL and literacy classes, and endless other services to get homeless people off the street. And importantly, to catch families before they fall into homelessness business. They expanded many years ago and in 2025 the Stew Pot is moving into a new complex on Malcolm X Boulevard. Got to appreciate that spark of synchronicity in the midst of this bullshit going on in DC these days. Haha. Check them out at this website, thestupot.org Their momentum is incredible. It's inspiring to see hundreds of people from the varied backgrounds coming together to rev up good trouble. Attached is a silly pic of one of my cats, Pearly when she was about five months old. She's now eight months. Oh he. Sorry, he. Excuse me, he is a Snow links Bengal and is as completely ridiculous as the image of him as super dream puss implies. I thought you might like the laugh. Also a pic with his 10 year old brother, Bam Bam. A Savannah who is Pearly's hero. You have a Savannah cat, Elle, you keep making good trouble. You get this 65 year old woman fired up and ready to take on the world every time I listen to you.

[Dana Goldberg]

I love that. I'm sorry, I'm giggling like a teenage boy right now at Super Dream Puss because I have a feeling that's not the first time that name's been used.

[Allison Gill]

Oh my God. That is.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh my God. It's fantastic. All right, here we go. This one's from Karen. A good Karen I already know pronoun. She and her hello beans queens. I was listening to today's POD and decided finally to submit a shout out. Recently, I've been discussing feeling, or rather trying how not to feel overwhelmed by everything and then guilty for not doing enough with some friends of mine. And how we can use those micro doses of joy to sustain us through the clusterfuck. Anyway, one of the ways that I was able to bring joy to the others through the first round of Groundhog Day from Hell was to use my art. I decided one night to create an alter identity for myself to visualize when I needed a boost of let's kick some ass energy, I shared it with some people. And then I started doing more drawings of friends who might need a boost based on their different strengths, etc. It brought me lots of joy to see their faces when they saw how I might see them as superheroes. My shout out is to both of you for just being the kick ass women that you are. And also a thank you for being in this fight with all of us who didn't vote for this. You both keep. You both keep me going on days I need it for my pot pet tax. I'm submitting a drawing for you and Dana as superheroes, hopefully to bring a little joy to your day. To just say I'm glad you're here. Also sneaking in a photo of my floof, who I rescued three years ago and is equal parts pure love and pain in the ass. And now I have to scroll. Allison. Look at us.

[Allison Gill]

Oh, my God.

[Dana Goldberg]

Okay, first of all, I love. I love that you have my salt and pepper hair in my superhero picture. That is awesome.

[Allison Gill]

This is incredible. I really like my thighs, by the way. Thank you.

[Dana Goldberg]

And the F bombs. Fuck yeah.

[Allison Gill]

And the bird. Flipping the bird.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, my God, this is so cool.

[Allison Gill]

How do I get that? I need to. Oh my God.

[Dana Goldberg]

I know. I'm like, Karen, can I pay you to, like. Not that I don't love you, Allison, but can. Can we pay you to, like, make separate. Like, can we have these separately so we can, like, have them and post them on things? Oh, my God. Super beans.

[Allison Gill]

You just put a block. You should block me out with a.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, I mean, you need one of these, too. For you, I'm sure. Although this is awes. Karen, I don't want to do this without your permission. Will you write into the podcast and let us know if we can post this on any of our social media channels? Because it's really, really cool and I think we both like to do it. So just write in. Where does she write in? What does Karen do?

[Allison Gill]

Oh, yeah, actually, you can just send me an email to a separate email box. Helloullershirote.com and include this and say, yes, you may post it. No, you may not. And also, if you want to be tagged.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, how we credit you, because this is really cool.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, let us know how to credit you. We can actually just put your name or a website or we can tag you. Keep in mind, I've got, like, 600,000 followers that are gonna see it. So if you don't want to get, like, inundated with stuff, I totally understand.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's fair.

[Allison Gill]

I have friends who are like, yeah, no, that's. I. I'm like, oh, I want to share that. They're like, please don't share that.

[Dana Goldberg]

I also want to take this to my, like, hair person and be like, these are the layers I want. Because they're perfectly done. My God, this is so cool. This made my night.

[Allison Gill]

Me too. Thank you so much. And by the way, thanks to bringing joy, like, now that I know what joy you've brought me, Karen, by depicting me as a superhero. I can't imagine your friends and. And their reactions to this and how good this must make people feel. So, like, you should start a little business, like, anyway. All right. I'm, like, planning out all this stuff now. We'll get a website going.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, we've got a. We've got a whole career for you. Another career. It's happening. Feeling down.

[Allison Gill]

Karen will draw you a superhero.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

10 bucks. I don't know. Oh, that's amazing. It's the. I would pay a million dollars for this. I so love it. Thank you, Karen. And your floof is very cute as well. And thank you.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, sorry.

[Allison Gill]

What?

[Dana Goldberg]

No, I was just being dirty. I gotta throw it in. Everyone expects it from me anyway. And I get emails and people are like, dana Louise, that's what they call me on the Stephanie Miller show when I say something inappropriate. Not my middle name, by the way.

[Allison Gill]

People, but I was about to put money on the fact that that was not your middle.

[Dana Goldberg]

My mother did not name me Dana Louise.

[Allison Gill]

That's a good one, though, for a stern talking to.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, Dana Louise. Anyone's. And if you're mad at anyone, use Louis Louise as their middle name and they sound like they're in trouble. Alison Louise, get in here.

[Allison Gill]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's good. That's good. Anyway, thank you so much, everybody, for the good news. This really lifted my spirits. I needed this today. Hopefully my brain clears up a little bit. It's kind of far. Doggy standing in front of this fire hose and taking in all this news every, every day. And if there's any, you know, now that I think about, we have so many new listeners. If you have any suggestions for this show, aside from corrections, anything you want us to talk about or anything, you know, maybe that's happening locally that isn't getting a lot of coverage, like, especially this correction we got from Mexico City about the Colombian standoff. So important. Send it to us dailybeanspod.com and click on Contact along with your good news. Do you have any final thoughts today, my friend? Friend?

[Dana Goldberg]

I do not.

[Allison Gill]

All right, everybody, listen to the new episode of cleanup on L45 with me and Harry Dunn and Dana and I will 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 and I've been dg. And them's the beans. Refried beans. I like refried beans.