David Pakman (9:22)

You have been a crusader on questioning vaccines.

Brittany Page (9:26)

Are there specific vaccines that you would seek to take off the market?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (9:30)

Oh, I'm not going to. I'm not going to take away anybody's vaccines. I've never been. Any vaccine.

Brittany Page (9:38)

You will not.

David Pakman (9:39)

You will not take any vaccine that.

Brittany Page (9:40)

Is currently on the market.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (9:42)

I'm not. If somebody. If vaccines are working for somebody, I'm not going to take them away. People ought to have choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information. So I'm going to make sure scientific safety studies and efficacies are out there and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them.

Brittany Page (10:04)

I'm not going to take away anybody's vaccines, he said. Brace yourselves for this Unexpected news, guys. RFK Jr. Is a liar. Who knew? You heard his promise six months ago. Now let's hear his announcement today.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (10:21)

Hi, everybody. I'm Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Your HHS secretary, and I'm here today with NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary. I couldn't be more pleased to announce that as of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule. Last year, the Biden administration urged Healthy Children to get yet another Covid shot, despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children.

Brittany Page (10:59)

That ends today. It's common sense and it's good science. There's no evidence Healthy kids need it today, and most countries have stopped recommending it for children.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (11:08)

We're now one step closer to realizing President Trump's promise to make America healthy again.

Brittany Page (11:15)

Produced by the U.S. department of Health and Human Services. All right, so we got strong Ron Burgundy vibes in that video. It's just science. And the thing is, there's no point in inquiring about the science he's citing there, because it does not matter. RFK Jr. Is a lifelong anti vaccine activist. He's made millions of dollars from this work. For all of the pretend concern RFK has over conflicts of interest, this clown made almost $1 million in 2023 from referral fees for a law firm where he refers clients who want to sue the HPV vaccine manufacturer Merck. The same HPV vaccine that RFK says causes cancer, it most definitely does not. It actually prevents cervical cancer and has been a critical tool in decreasing rates of cancer. So someone might say, so what? He's removing vaccines from the recommended schedule. You still have the choice to get it. Well, it depends on what you mean by choice, because with this announcement, with this action, insurance companies may no longer cover the cost of vaccines if they aren't recommended. Much like abortion bans that claim exceptions to save the life of the mother, this may also cause some doctors and nurses to feel uncertain about whether they're allowed to give a vaccine to someone who wants it. When it is no longer recommended. It only serves to create chaos, confusion and restriction on a vaccine that should be freely available to everyone who wants it. And I have to note here this interesting piece of the puzzle I read in Stat News, which is doing fantastic work, highly recommend that you support them with your views, clicks and subscriptions. Quote Rice, a law professor at UC Law San Francisco, noted that in the New England Journal of Medicine article last week announcing a new approach to use of COVID booster shots, Makary and Prasad, who oversees the FDA's center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, listed pregnanc as one of the medical conditions that warrants Covid vaccination. Marty McCary was one of the men standing next to RFK while he made this announcement. The FDA commissioner who we talked about yesterday on the show leading the investigation into the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone. Why is he saying pregnancy is a medical condition that warrants Covid vaccination while then standing next to RFK saying science supports removing it from the recommended schedule? These people are sick. And I have to say, for all of the rage that I feel toward RFK Jr. I also feel that rage for Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who during RFK's confirmation hearing was the deciding vote to move his nomination forward and out of committee. Bill is a doctor and claimed that he struggled with RFK's nomination, going so far as to give a speech defending his vote to advance RFK's nomination back in February. And if you haven't seen that, I want to refresh your memory.

Bill Cassidy (14:40)

So as I looked how to resolve this, I returned to where I began. Would it be possible to have Mr. Kennedy collaborate in helping public health agencies range re earn the trust of the American people? Now, regarding vaccines, Mr. Kennedy has been insistent that he just wants good science and to ensure safety. But on this topic, the science is good. The science is credible. Vaccines save lives. They are safe. They do not cause autism. There are multiple studies that show this. They are a crucial part of our nation's public health response. But as someone who's discussed immunizations with thousands of people, I do recognize that many mothers need reassurance that the vaccine their child is receiving is necessary, effective, and most of all, safe. While I'm aligned with Mr. Kennedy as regards ultra processed food, reforming NIH and taking on chronic disease once more, it leaves vaccines. Now. Mr. Kennedy and the administration reached out to seeking to reassure me regarding their commitment to protecting the public health benefit of vaccination. To this end, Mr. Kennedy and the administration committed that he and I would have an unprecedentedly close collaborative working relationship. If he is confirmed, we will meet or speak multiple times a month. This collaboration will allow us to work more well together and therefore to be more effective.

Brittany Page (16:11)

So Bill's plan to protect us from RFK was to babysit him? Yeah. How's that working, Bill? He says vaccines are safe, they save lives. They do not cause autism. They're a crucial part of our nation's public health response. The people, they need to be reassured, he says. Is that what RFK has agreed to say and do in your babysitting sessions? This is maddening because even Republicans knew what was at stake here. I don't know what's to come as far as the accessibility of life saving vaccines and I'm frankly fearful. But we need to keep the conversation directly on the cause and source of the damage to come, and that is the Republican Party, Donald Trump, and certainly RFK Jr. We've got a new nonpartisan analysis here that illustrates the damaging consequences of the tax and spending bill passed by House Republicans, a bill that is now with the Senate. And this analysis focuses on food assistance, specifically the fact that 3.2 million people will lose food assistance benefits under the new plan. This comes from the Congressional Budget Office and it's a direct response to a request from two Democrats, both from Minnesota, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Angie Craig. Reading here from this summary by the Wisconsin Examiner. Quote, a provision in the bill to tighten work requirements, including by excluding single parents of children older than six and by raising the age of adults to whom the work requirement apply of the Supplemental Nutrition assistance program, or SNAP or would result in 3.2 million people losing access to the program in an average month. The CPO report said of those, 1.4 million would be people who currently have a state waiver from work requirements that would be disallowed under the bill and 800,000 would be adults who live with children 7 or older, the report said. Remember that SNAP already has work requirements, so they're changing the work requirements that already exist to make them even more strict. And remember that the scientific consensus, the research shows on work requirements that they do not increase labor participation. They're simply a hurdle causing people to lose necessary benefits that ensure they can eat, that maintain their healthcare, as is the case with Medicaid and the work requirements Republicans are trying to force on Medicaid. Despite such potent examples of absolute failures in Medicaid work requirements in programs like Georgia in Arkansas, for example, I've been happy to see a unified front from Democrats in opposition to the Republican bill. And based on this analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, Senator Amy Klobuchar is quoted here, quote, Klobuchar, in a statement after the House passage Thursday, blasted the House bill and indicated she would oppose efforts to cut SNAP benefits. Quote, House Republicans are pulling the rug out from under millions of families by taking away federal assistance to put food on the table, she said. Quote, they're doing that even as President Trump's tariff taxes raise food prices by more than $200 for the average family, all to fund more tax breaks for the wealthy. That's so very wrong, and we will fight against it in the Senate. And again, this is why we need to be pushing our elected officials. This should be something that prompts you to pick up the phone. They should hear from you when they do the right thing so that they can feel rewarded. And they should hear from you when they do the wrong thing so they know what they're doing wrong. It may feel hopeless, especially if you live in a red state, but this is where organizing comes in. And I want to leave you with this visual from the center on Budget and Policy Priorities. They are constantly doing exceptional work, especially with their visual aids, graphs, charts. Look at this one. In their recent summary of the impact of this bill, they write, quote, the harsh cuts in food assistance and Medicaid and marketplace coverage are roughly equal in size to the bill's tax cuts for people with incomes above $500,000. And you can see that laid out there with, with $800 billion in cuts for Medicaid and $300 billion in cuts for SNAP in order to pay for the $1.1 trillion in tax cuts for people who make more than $500,000 a year. Absolutely sickening. A chart that should be front and center everywhere you look. Share it with your friends. Share it with someone who needs to hear the message and let me know what you think of all this in the comments or by heading to my YouTube channel and leaving a comment there. You can find me on YouTube by searching my name, Brittany Page. I would love to see you there.

David Pakman (21:21)

So I learned a while ago that I was clenching and grinding my teeth at night. Not on purpose, not because I was necessarily stressed out by something obvious, but grinding and clenching without even knowing it. And when I talked to my dentist about it, about getting a night guard, it was a whole thing. Appointment, mold, waiting, a bill that seemed very high. And ultimately I found Remy. And Remy is our sponsor. Today, Remy sends a kit right to your door to take an impression of your teeth with super clear step by step instructions. You send it back to them and they will custom make your night guard right here in the United States in Las Vegas specifically. No waiting rooms, no overpriced bills. Just a better way to protect your teeth while you sleep. Try Remy Risk free at shop remy.com/pacman and use the code PACMAN to get 50% off your night guard at checkout. That's Shop r e m I.com/pacman Use code PACMAN for 50% off. The link is in the podcast notes if you've ever dealt with nausea occasionally, more frequently, you might want to check out one of our sponsors Relief Band. A wearable wristband designed to relieve and maybe even prevent nausea. Many people use it for nausea related to anxiety or migraines or traveling by car, plane or boat. Sort of motion sickness. Easy to use, works quickly, lasts as long as you need, completely drug free, no side effects. This was originally developed for use in hospital settings and it works through a process called transdermal neuromodulation accustimulation, which is a lot of words to basically say. It sends a pulse to the part of your nervous system involved in regulating nausea. And there's research indicating this can be helpful for nausea from motion sickness, pregnancy, even from certain drug side effects. And there are studies that suggest that combined with medication, it can be very useful for post surgery nausea. Relief Band's new Premier plus model provides advanced nausea relief and includes a digital clock. Uses smart skin sensing technology to preserve battery life. Relief Ban has earned an A plus rating from the Better Business Bureau. It has over 100000 satisfied customers online. If nausea is something you deal with, it might be worth seeing. If Relief Ban can help, visit reliefband.com and use the code PACMAN for 20% off plus free shipping. The info is in the description.

Brittany Page (24:10)

Welcome back to the David Pakman Show. My name is Brittany Page and I am your guest host for today. Thank you to David for having me back. If you've been enjoying my run as guest host here, I would love for you to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I host the Page Perspective. If you're looking to support smaller independent media, I can help you meet that goal. It looks like we have yet another direct example of pay to play from the Trump administration. How many days has it been now with this man in office? It's like they're running a competition to see just how much corruption they can fit into a certain time frame. And based on the daily headlines, it seems they are overachievers in this regard because we talked about the pardon that Trump gave to the former Virginia sheriff on the show yesterday, a sheriff who was a big Trump fan, illustrating how Trump rewards loyalty. But now we have what appears to be a more clear example of pay to play with this. Going beyond simple Trump fandom. Here we have the case of Paul Walzack, a man who back in 2024 pleaded guilty to two of the 13 counts of tax crimes he was charged with the the basic overview here is that he was a nursing home executive who withheld millions of dollars from the paychecks of healthcare professionals on the payroll. He said he was paying employment taxes, using the millions that he was withholding to pay Social Security and federal income tax. But then he didn't. He used that money to travel. He spent money on lavish gifts from brand names that I'm not going to try to pronounce because I can't, and even bought a $2 million yacht. Here we will turn to the New York Times for additional information. Quote, by the time he pleaded guilty to two of the counts and agreed to pay the restitution on November 15, 2024, Mr. Trump had been elected for a second term in the White House. The family had reason to believe the incoming president might look fondly on a pardon application. Ms. Fago, 74, had helped host at least three fundraisers for Mr. Trump's campaigns. She and her son Joey, Mr. Waltz, ACT's half brother, and his wife attended VIP events at Mr. Trump's 2017 and 2025 inaugurations, according to social media posts, including one in which he was shown posing with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump. New York Times calls it Mr. Trump. Ms. Fogo is Paul's mother, Elizabeth Fago, and she's a key player here on Paul's pardon application. They actually don't just cover Paul's situation, they go into his mom's political activism, quote. Ms. Faggo had raised millions of dollars for Mr. Trump's campaigns and those of other Republicans, the application said. It also highlighted her connections to an effort to sabotage Joe Biden Jr's 2020 campaign by publicizing the addiction diary of his daughter, Ashley Biden, an episode that drew law enforcement scrutiny. Mr. Wallace Pardon application argued that his criminal prosecution was motivated more by his mother's efforts for Mr. Trump than by his admitted use of money earmarked for employees taxes to fund an extravagant lifestyle. So this is a common theme among the pardons, unfair political attacks by the Biden administration. But another common theme is that in order to get a pardon, you need to prove your fealty to Trump. And they're certainly making progress. But it wasn't until Elizabeth Fago went to Mar? A Lago after paying $1 million that she got the pardon done, quote. Still weeks went by and no pardon was forthcoming, even as Mr. Trump issued clemency grants to hundreds of other allies. Then Ms. Fago was invited to a 1 million per person fundraising dinner last month that promised face to face access to Mr. Trump at his private Mar? A Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Less than three weeks after she attended the dinner, Mr. Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon. It came just in the nick of time for Paul, sparing him from having to pay nearly $4.4 million in restitution and from reporting to prison for an 18 month sentence that had been handed down just 12 days earlier. A judge had justified the incarceration by declaring there is, quote, not a get out of jail free card for the rich. Right. And what does this sound like to you? More pay to play Endless. It never ends. Every time a Republican goes on TV for an interview on mainstream media, they need to be asked about these specific examples of corruption. They must be pressured to answer for this Donald Trump, he needs to be asked about this. Caroline Levitt, the media, they need to come together, they need to stand together to push against this because the Trump administration has shown that they will do whatever it takes to avoid accountability and to squash attempts to hold them accountable. The signal should not be, as long as you're loyal to me, I will take care of you, regardless of what you do. It's dangerous. Sound off in the comments below or find me on YouTube by searching my name, Brittany Paige, and tell me what you think over there. So this is actually some follow up on a story David talked about last week, because there's been a disturbing development here. David talked about the slashing of the federal workforce at the Centers for Disease Control and how now being under the control of RFK Jr. That's resulting in failures to communicate to the public about the spreading of diseases. That itself is scary. And in recent NPR reporting on this, a CDC worker was quoted as saying, quote, we are functionally unable to operate communications. We feel like our hands are tied behind our backs. Now we're getting a very specific example from a consequence of this, from new reporting in the Washington Post about an E. Coli outbreak that made more than 80 people sick across 15 states and even killed one person, an outbreak that the public was not notified about. After the source of the outbreak was identified, the Trump administration made a direct decision not to publicize the names of the grower and the processor of the tainted lettuce that made everyone sick and killed a person. This is the consequence of the rights attacks on regulation with their obsession with slashing workforces with cutting costs. We have workers in place. We have regulations. We pay for these things so that people don't get sick, so that people don't die, so that we can make sure the food supply is safe. This report begins with the story of a nine year old boy, Colton George. Quote, days later, he lay in a hospital bed fighting for his life. He had eaten tainted salad. According to a lawsuit against the lettuce grower filed by his parents on April 17 in federal court for the Southern District of Indiana. The E. Coli bacteria that ravaged Colton's kidneys was a genetic match to the strain that killed one person and sickened nearly 90 people in 15 states last fall. Federal health agencies investigated the cases and linked them to a farm that grew romaine lettuce. But most people have never heard about this outbreak, which a Feb. 11 internal food and Drug Administration memoir linked to a single lettuce processor and ranch as the source of the contamination. In what many experts said was a break with common practice, officials never issued a public communications after the investigation or identified the grower who produced the lettuce. And as noted in this reporting, the outbreak began last fall and the Biden administration began the investigation. That investigation was completed on February 11. But as NPR notes here, quote, at that time, the decision was made by the Trump administration not to release the names of the grower and the processor because the FDA said no product remained on the market. The administration has also withdrawn a proposed regulation to reduce the presence of salmonella in raw poultry. According to an April USDA alert, it was projected to save more than 13 million annually by preventing more than 3,000 illnesses, according to the proposal. So you might think, well, the product wasn't on the market. Who cares? No, we should care. The grower and processor should be publicly identified for several reasons. I mean, what if, what if these people have done this before? What if they're repeat offenders? Transparency allows for accountability so those responsible can be forced to ensure that they are engaging with proper sanitation practices. People can take legal action if they need to, if they know who to sue. And this is one of the fears that the Trump administration's actions make it more difficult for the people to have the power here. Quote, public health advocates warn companies and growers will face less regulatory oversight and fewer consequences for selling tainted food products as a result of recent FDA actions. This is what happens when political attacks on our public health infrastructure are successful. Given that everything is political, health is political, health policy is political. We cannot separate the CDC and politics. We should at least be able to agree, regardless of where you stand politically, that robust funding for our public health infrastructure is crucial to ensure food safety and the health and well being of all Americans. This is certainly one major area where Trump has set us back significantly.

David Pakman (35:12)

I don't have a cat myself, but many friends and family do, and lately they have all been talking about Smalls. So when, when Smalls came on as a sponsor, I wanted to learn more. Smalls is a fresh take on cat food because their recipes are protein packed, made with ingredients you would actually recognize from your own fridge. No preservatives, nothing artificial. Real food made for cats. That's why cats.com and Forbes both named it best overall cat food. Friend of mine recently mentioned their cat seems excited when the Smalls boxes show up. They tried putting it side by side with the old food. The cat went straight for Smalls, which is a pretty good sign. If you've got a cat, give Smalls a try. Smalls is offering my audience 35% off, plus an extra 50% off your first order with free shipping. Just go to smalls.com use the code PACMAN. The link is in the description.

Brittany Page (36:09)

Welcome back to the David Pakman Show. My name is Brittany Page from the page perspective right here on YouTube and I am still your guest host for today. While David is out, it looks like conservatives are very upset about a graduation commencement speech that is suddenly going viral. The speech was given a few days ago, but it's suddenly blowing up, so we definitely need to talk about it. 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley gave a speech during commencement at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. And while he doesn't mention Trump's name, it is clear what he's talking about when he's speaking to the graduates. We're going to play a bit of his speech here and then we will get into some specific complaints from triggered conservatives. Here is Scott Pelly at Wake Forest University.

Scott Pelley (37:02)

I'm a reporter, so I won't bury the lead. Your country needs you. The country that has given you so much is calling you the class of 2025. Your country needs you, and it needs you. Today, as a reporter, I've learned to respect opinions reasonable people differ about the life of our country. And America works well when we listen to to those that we disagree with, where we listen to those and we disagree with and have common ground and compromise. And one thing, we can all agree on one thing at least. America is at her best when everyone is included to move forward. We debate bait, not demonize.

Brittany Page (38:12)

Have you heard anything offensive yet triggering? Your country needs you. We need to listen to people that we disagree with. We're better when everyone's included. I mean, I guess I can see how that would send certain people over the edge given they don't want everyone to be included and in fact, they want to restrict freedoms and rights for people they hate. But I don't know, maybe we should see where else this goes. Maybe he calls Trump scum or something like Trump called the people he hates on Memorial Day. Didn't see widespread upset at that one from conservatives. Let's see where this goes to move forward.

Scott Pelley (38:51)

We debate not demonize. We discuss not destroy. But in this moment, this moment this morning, our sacred rule of law is under attack. Journalism is under attack. Universities are under attack. Freedom of speech is under attack. And insidious fear is reaching through our schools, our businesses, our homes and into our private thoughts. The fear to speak in America.

Brittany Page (39:43)

All right, well, there it is. All of that still completely uncontroversial. But Trump lackeys don't appreciate when you speak the truth. Is the rule of law not under attack? Are universities not under attack? Did we not talk about Trump's attacks on Harvard yesterday on this show? Yes, we did. Have there been additional developments there in the form of Trump seeking to cancel about $100 million in contracts with Harvard? What about this development? Let me read this briefly from CNN. Quote, the U.S. state Department has instructed U.S. embassies and consulates around the world to pause new student visa appointments as it develops guidance to expand social media screening and vetting to all applicants for student visas. According to a diplomatic cable seen by cnn. Social media screening and vetting to ensure that you have the correct opinions. If you've publicly expressed admiration for Trump, you're good to go. If you've written an op ed he disagrees with no dice. An attack on speech. Yes. Have we not spent today's episode and yesterday's, yesterday's episode talking about the endless self dealing, corruption and pay to play happening daily with this administration? I mean, anyone who is outraged by these basic facts as described by Scott Pelley is simply not paying attention. And maybe we should get to a few of those people. Now, let's look at this Trump supporter Scott Adams and what he posted on Twitter. Quote, liberals who once controlled speech and the power to censor are now upset that a majority of Americans now reject their lies and deception. 60 Minutes is Scott Pelly raged at Trump in an angry, unhinged commencement address at Wake Forest as he speaks openly and freely in America. You know, reading something like that makes me think that Scott Adams is, number one, a liar and or two, has very little, like, experience with conflict, I guess. Because in what world, in what world was Scott Pelley angry and unhinged in his speech? He sounded passionate. Sure. Angry and unhinged. No, no. Scott did not grow up in the Page household, I'll tell you that. He'd be able to clock angry and unhinged before someone even opened their mouth if he did, let me tell you. Let's hear from one more concerned conservative. Well, too Megyn Kelly and Maureen Callahan, who reacted to part of Scott Pelley's speech. In fact, I'm gonna leave part of his speech that they are reacting to in this clip.

Scott Pelley (42:44)

The Wake forest class of 1861. They did not choose their time of calling. The class of 1941 did not choose the class of 1968, did not choose. History chose them. And now history is calling you the class of 2025.

Brittany Page (43:10)

So that's the Civil War, World War II and civil rights movement. That's what, that's the same moment we're in now as free speech is under attack and universities are under attack and somebody's private thoughts are filled with fear. I believe he speaks of himself and that's his inspirational message to the Class of 2025 at Wake Forest University. He seems like a fun time, doesn't he? Good job. That's exactly what I want to hear as I'm going out into the world and about to embark on my life.

David Pakman (43:38)

And it should be the most optimistic, hopeful time.

Brittany Page (43:40)

And those are like, I'll say this, like my, my commencement speech speaker, you may be surprised. So, actually, I don't. I don't care. I decided, and I can't take much more of that. So sorry. Every one of you are, like, looking forward to her answer. You could go find it. But I do think it's funny. The main criticism appears to be, hey, quit bumming us out, man. Like, he should be standing up there holding a keg and, like, setting up beer pong. Do people still play beer pong and, like, telling everyone, relax, enjoy your lives, nothing matters? No, actually, I think it's great that young people are being reminded that they are the future, that they have a purpose, that they have something to contribute, especially in what feels like for many of us, a lot of the time, a hopeless situation. To be reminded of one's agency and ability to contribute to change and to what the future is going to look like. That, that is really powerful. And it says a lot that, you know, I recorded an hour show for David yesterday, and I'm doing an hour today, and I feel like I'm talking about stuff that matters and compare that to what you just heard from them. Scott is bumming us out versus the endless corruption and human rights violations from the Trump administration. What have people done to sell their souls to power? And while people may be afraid to speak against this administration, and I know David has talked about the concerns about threats to our platforms here, I don't think we have a choice. And that's why we're still out here talking about the threat that is Donald Trump. I'd love to know what you think about this in the comments below. The Trump administration is filled with many cartoonish villains. One of the most prominent and the one that you probably think of first. Actually, before I say it, I do wonder who you're thinking of. So tell me in the comments. But the one I am assuming most people think of first is Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of staff, who is a particularly vile little man, mostly due in part to his white nationalism, but also his ability to, like, lie without any concern or feeling bad about it. It's scary every time I see him during an interview or on tv. It's just bad vibes all around. I think another one at the top for cartoonish villain is Tom Homan. The borders are for Donald Trump. I won't ever forget his interview with 60 Minutes back in. I think it was October, when he was asked whether there was a way to carry out Donald Trump's mass deportation plan without separating families and without missing a beat. He says, of course, of course there is. Families can be deported together. And we've certainly seen the reckless disregard for human life, for human rights continuously play out since Donald Trump took the Oval Office again. Now, Tom Holman, who told us exactly who he is in that 60 Minutes interview, has certainly followed through, but we're learning now that he may be benefiting financially from his immigration crackdown. New reporting from the Washington Post says, quote, a leader of the Trump administration's effort to detain and deport millions of immigrants recently earned consulting fees from a detention center company that is expected to benefit financially from the crackdown, according to a federal ethics filing. Before he joined the administration, border czar Tom Homan earned an undisclosed amount in fees consulting for a division of the GEO Group, one of the two companies that operates the vast majority of the nation's immigration detention facilities, according to the disclosure, which was released last week. The filing, which has not been previously reported, did not specify what work Homan performed. The document said GEO paid him more than $5,000 during the two years preceding his government appointment in January. Ethics rules do not require any more specific disclosure, and the amount Homan received could be far higher. Okay, well, we have a problem right there with the ethics rules not requiring a more specific disclosure because it's, it's going to take a lot to get more information. Thankfully, Senator Dick Durbin is quoted in this article. He's the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he's maintaining that this is too big of an issue to ignore. Hopefully, that means Democrats are prepared to get to the bottom of this. And how many of these Trump appointees have these conflicts of interest? I mean, I just talked about RFK and his kickbacks for referrals for clients to vaccine lawsuits. I mean, it's exhausting with these people, quote, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement that Homan abides by the highest ethical standards and that he gave up a, quote, successful private career. Oh, to work as a high ranking government official. She cited a statement Homan issued in response to reports about his consulting work in December when he said he would recuse himself, quote, from any involvement, discussion, input or decision of any future government contracts that may be awarded. Nonetheless, Homan's recent income from GEO raises questions about whether his private sector work is influencing the Trump push to roundup and deport immigrants, an effort that relies heavily on private detention facility operators that contract with U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a government ethics expert as well as opponents of Trump's immigration agenda. I really try to balance the show when I guest host. So we aren't just fighting through the slop, but some stories are too important and we have to fight through the slop a little bit. Just a little bit. And this is one of them because get ready for this next part. They talk about Tom Homan's aggressive push to expand the capacity for immigration detention and the revenue this will generate for geo. Quote Much of the increased capacity is expected to come through new contracts with GEO and its main competitor Corecivic, which together own at least 16 idle facilities that they have said they hope to reopen as immigration detention centers, according to transcripts of analyst calls, investor filings and contract applications. Already this year, the government has awarded GEO contracts to reopen facilities in New Jersey and Michigan in deals the company says will generate a combined annual revenue of $130 million. GEO chief executive David Donahue told investors this month that the contracts are just the beginning of what he expects to be an unprecedented opportunity to expand the business, which in addition to detention centers, operates an air carrier for deportation flights and the nation's largest program for surveilling non detained immigrants. The Boca Raton, Florida based company's stock has surged 90% since election night. The profiting off of human misery is something to behold. While he's out here deporting people, including US citizens, including US Citizen children with cancer, the profits surge. The depths of depravity in this administration knows no bounds. And of course this is another area where the administration is fighting accountability, not just in their personal profiting and self dealing, but when elected officials. When Democrats attempt to conduct oversight visits of ICE facilities like what we saw in New Jersey, they are abused and prevented from doing so and then arrested and charged. It's criminal, it's unjust and I can only hope that elected Democratic leaders are staying on top of this and I can only hope that we continue to push them to do so. My name is Brittany Page and I host the page perspective on YouTube and I am grateful to be here guest hosting today.

David Pakman (52:20)

People in my audience know I am a bit of a pastry connoisseur. Our sponsor Wild Grain is the first bake from frozen subscription box for artisanal breads, pastries and pastas. Wild Grains boxes are customizable depending on what you like and prefer. They've got their classic variety box, they've launched the new gluten free box. They have a plant based box that's 100% vegan and it just takes the hassle out of baking because all items bake from frozen in 25 minutes or less. Nothing to clean up. My experience has been awesome. I love the croissants. I was having people over last week, half an hour before preheat and throw them in the oven and people love it. Definitely. The croissants are my favorite. The quality and the freshness of the items is extraordinary and it is just so convenient. Go to wildgrain.com/pacman to start your subscription and get $30 off your first box. Plus free croissants in every box every month. That's wild grain.com/pacman the link is in the podcast notes.

Brittany Page (53:39)

Welcome back to the David Pakman Show. I am your guest host today. Brittany Paige and I host the page perspective on YouTube. As I prepare to wrap up my time with you today, I would ask that you please subscribe to my channel. If you have enjoyed my run as guest host and if you're interested in supporting smaller independent media channels, I would love to see you over there. While Congress is out of session this week, we're still seeing some electeds make the rounds and give interviews. Given the upcoming battle in the Senate over the tax and spending bill. One of those is Republican Senator Dave McCormick, who stopped by CNBC to lie about Republican efforts to gut Medicaid. With some of the classics you've heard before, let's hear the lies and then talk about them on the other side. We want to ensure that the vulnerable people for whom this program was designed are protected and those benefits are protected. But for able bodied working men without dependents or for illegal immigrants, we want to eliminate that expense. That's not what the program was designed for. And there's areas across our government where that's the case. But that's the most promising 1. The GAO. You know this, Andrew. The Government Accountability Office nonpartisan estimates $500 billion of waste, fraud, abuse. There's probably more we can do there. So we've already covered that the efforts to put work requirements on Medicaid are simply an effort to slash the program. And we've already talked about this graph which we will show again showing that the $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid and the $300 billion in cuts to SNAP are there to pay for the $1.1 trillion in tax cuts for those making more than $500,000 a year. Okay, so we've covered that, but we haven't covered the fact that it is a lie that undocumented immigrants get Medicaid. It's false. It's a Lie. It's not true. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid or chip. In fact, while undocumented people pay millions in taxes into our system of government, they cannot benefit from from it in the form of Medicaid or chip. In fact, reading from the Tax Policy center quote, an estimated 11 million immigrants live in the US without authorization. Contrary to some claims, they pay a considerable amount in taxes. Some estimates suggest undocumented immigrants paid nearly 100 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022. And you know, at this point I'm just going to do a deep dive on work requirements for my channel because I'm so sick of hearing about them as a solution. I'm so sick of how Republicans try to sound reasonable when selling them to the public. They do not increase participation in the labor force and they only serve to restrict access to those programs. And there is really no better example of this than what happened in Georgia with Pathways to Coverage. They implemented this new program where you had to have work requirements to get Medicaid and after just one year, less than 2% of people who were eligible for the program had enrolled. This even after paying Deloitte millions of dollars to help get people enrolled and to create the platform to gatekeep coverage. I want to read from ProPublica's reporting on this quote. Deloitte has made at least $51 million as of December 31st to manage Pathways, including creating and maintaining its property problematic software platform as the Current and ProPublica previously reported. It is also earning at least 3 million more to oversee the state's relationship with federal regulators. When Deloitte's publicity campaign ended in February, enrollment in Pathways remained less than 3% of the approximately 250,000 Georgians who were potentially eligible. They have spent they've paid $51 million to an organization that was supposed to roll out and manage the program for work requirements for Medicaid instead of just paying to finance people's healthcare. I mean, what are we doing here? Work requirements are based on a stereotype of people who need public assistance, that they're lazy, that they do not want to work. But we must reject this as progressives and follow the evidence. And the evidence tells us that Senator Dave McCormick and his fellow Republicans are very wrong. So I saved this one for the end because I wanted to come, after everything that we've discussed today, to give a stark juxtaposition of of what the media could be focusing on and what it is actually focusing on. And in this case, what Fox News is focusing on. Although it isn't just Fox News because this is about Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's new book. They're making the rounds promoting it. It's about Joe Biden's cognitive decline. They're all over CNN's various shows. And now they're going to Pierce Morgan, where Jake Tapper recently made a very bold claim. But I'm gonna let Fox News intro that clip for you so you can get a. A full taste of what your Uncle Gary is hearing over there. A series of newly published books are detailing the links to which former President Biden's inner circle allegedly went to shield u haul the American people from his decline. And now Jake Tapper, who wrote one of those books, says he believes the apparent cover up of Biden's mental decline may go down as bigger than. Wait for it, Watergate. It is a scandal. Yes, it is a. It is without question. And maybe even worse than Watergate in some ways. Right, right. Because Richard Nixon was in control of his faculties when he wasn't drinking. And, you know, so the idea that, yeah, we don't mean to exonerate. We just. The only reason that we have the Watergate thing is there because we quote Archibald Cox, who was a Watergate investigator, talking about how powerful the presidency is and how presidents get surrounded by people who have a vested interest in keeping that president propped up. All right, so it's worse than Watergate in some ways. He says Nixon was in control of his faculties when he wasn't drinking. Okay, genuinely, what is being accomplished with this appearance on Piers Morgan, other than money in Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's pockets? Giving a news cycle to conservative media to run with this again, against the backdrop of everything we've talked about today and everything you're hearing daily from David, this. This is the priority. I'm shocked. I think it's disgusting. And I hope that we can move forward from this. I'd love to hear what you think in the comments. This is where we say goodbye. It is always an honor to be asked to guest host for David and I am so grateful. Grateful as always to him and his wonderful team. I would love for you to follow me over on my YouTube channel where you can subscribe for free. You can find me by searching my name, Brittany Paige, or you can check the links in the description below. Follow me on social media. I'm on blue sky Instagram, TikTok, the less bad ones, the decidedly less Nazi ones. I guess you could say you could find me there at Brittany Page. Thanks for joining me today, and I will see you on the bonus show.