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Political Commentator
The recklessness no wonder Trump University went broke. These they can't manage a damn thing. If they really wanted this to happen and they really wanted to cut this, there's ways they could have gone about it. This is just buffoonish.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
That's Minnesota Governor Tim Walls laying the smackdown to Donald Trump after Donald Trump issued a federal spending freeze, basically stopping all federal spending to key government programs, sending our country into chaos. Yesterday, civil rights groups had to r into court federal court in Washington, D.C. to block Donald Trump's spending freeze temporarily, which a judge granted. There will be another hearing next Monday. Let's go back to what Minnesota Governor Tim Walls had to say and he was not holding back. Here Governor Tim Walls talks about how Trump threw our country into a crisis while he was out golfing. Play the clip.
Political Commentator
Donald Trump's reckless action cut off funding to law enforcement, farmer school, child care, veterans and health care while golfing. He threw the country into crisis. This is not bold. It's not leadership. It's stupid, buffoonish, childish of exactly what they did. Child care providers across the state, law enforcement, our prisons, things that we count on, individuals on Medicare, things that we know matter to people's lives. I want to be very clear about this. Minnesota is a state that pays far more into the federal government than we get back Those are our dollars that he is stealing unconstitutionally. Congress, as I served as Attorney General Ellison served appropriates the dollars. This is so far beyond the pale to try and pull these dollars back. And the real thing about this was he has no idea. I understand this. Donald Trump has no idea the implications on this here.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
Governor Walz says the following about MAGA Republican Congressmember Tom Emmer and the other MAGA Republican Congress members who are ceding their authority as members of Congress as a co equal branch of government to allow Donald Trump to engage in what's called unlawful impoundment, whereby Donald Trump seizes the power of the purse from Congress, which controls the spending and Donald Trump seizes all of the money for himself. Watch this.
Political Commentator
And I have asked our members of Congress, I've spoken with Senator Klobuchar and Smith, I've spoken with Representatives McCollum and Craig, left messages for our other members to get on this. I have heard nothing other than Representative emmer saying he 100% agrees with this. And this is what the American public voted for. Not a mandate to defund the ymca, to cut funding to hospitals, to cut funding to law enforcement. Never again will the Minnesota press ever write a story about law enforcement funding without adding that Tom Emmer cut funding to police in what he supported in this. It's an outrageous power grab. It undermines Minnesotans. And I want to tell you we are here to do all we can to protect Minnesotans. But I cannot promise you that we can make up the nearly $2 billion a month of our money that is being held illegally by the Trump administration. Dollars that make a difference in the things that we do. I would suggest that Representative Emmer stand up for the Constitution, stand up for the House of Representatives, be more concerned about helping Minnesotans and flying on an Air Force One next to the president and get this work done that needs to be done. We will do everything in our power to make sure we can fill the hole. I continue to say that to folks.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
And here's Minnesota Governor Walz one more time talking about how Donald Trump is the worst manager ever. Let's play the clip.
Political Commentator
The recklessness. No wonder Trump University went broke. These. They can't manage a damn thing. If they really wanted this to happen and they really wanted to cut this, there's ways they could have gone about it. This is just buffoonish. So I want to be clear. We're trying our best because we follow the law and think about what it did to these employees. The commissioner is operating under the assumption that we need to do this at 4pm and we're trying to do that. So it's just, I hope Minnesotans understand, even if you're supportive of all of this, even if you don't care what happens to those kids downstairs, this is like the least effective legal and decent way to go about it.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
There were other powerful statements by governors throughout the country as well. This is Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. This is how it's done. He looks at the camera and he says, donald Trump's administration is lying to you. Here are the facts. Here's what happened here. Play this clip.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker
Despite what the White House press secretary said at the podium earlier, I believe it is my duty to report to you the truth of what actually happened today in Illinois. Donald Trump's administration is lying to you. The White House's attempt to walk back what they did today does not match what we saw on the ground. They assured us that Medicaid would not be affected. That was a lie. Our state agencies were unable to access the Medicaid system until an hour ago, preventing payments for services. And this has been reported from states across the nation. When we reached out to federal agencies, they informed us that they have been directed not to discuss any guidance with states. They have canceled previously scheduled meetings for this week. The White House assured us that Head Start would not be affected. That was a lie. Providers across the state experienced outages and some were unable to make their payroll. They assured us that they were doing nothing to take away individual assistance from the most vulnerable people in our state. But they refused to say that they would restore liheap, the Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program, payments to support the unemployment system and Meals on Wheels. These are programs that hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans depend on. Children, seniors, veterans, working parents. Let's just be clear about what happened over the last 24 hours. At 7:42pm last night, we saw a memo from the White House saying that they were pausing federal funding across the board. This morning, along with all 50 states across the country, we discovered that our ability to access critical federal funding had been cut off. And now the administration would like us to believe that these were just coincidental website outages. Donald Trump and his administration have not earned the benefit of the doubt. They are either lying to us or they are critically incompetent.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
Here's Governor Walz, Governor Pritzker, rather once again slamming the Trump administration for the federal funding crisis. Let's play it.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker
The United States Constitution clearly states that Congress has the power of the purse and sets laws to obligate federal funding for all 50 states. What Donald Trump tried to do in the last 24 hours is illegal. Let's be clear. This is a demonstration of cruelty against people who depend on us working families who rely on federal assistance to pay their rent, people who need help paying their utility bills, parents who need critical programs like Head Start for quality, affordable childcare, and 3.5 million Illinoisans who get their health insurance through Medicaid.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker
We are getting the dirt baits off.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
And folks, it should also be noted that Donald Trump has tasked Dr. Phil. Yes, the washed up television personality Dr. Phil, who nobody likes anymore, apparently, other than Maga, he's doing a TV show about the bloody mass deportations. Now, when Donald Trump's press secretary, Caroline Levitt was asked about what happened, why is everything shut down? She says it's only a temporary pause. She goes, it's not going to be a big deal. We just want to make sure we get rid of that woke stuff. Here, play this clip to the other.
Podcast Host
Question that you asked about those specific programs. Again, I would say this is not a ban. This is a temporary pause and a freeze to ensure that all of the money going out from Washington D.C. is in aligned with the President's agenda. And as the Office of Management and Budget has updates on what will be kickstarted once again, I will provide those to you.
News Anchor
Clarify for a second.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
And again, it should be noted that what transpired is blatantly illegal. Impoundment. Trump impounding, stealing. He knows a lot about stealing. Donald Trump stealing funds for himself and seizing it. Entirely unlawful. It is dictatorial. And the fact that MAGA Republicans in Congress are okay with it tells you all you need to know about how weak and pathetic they are. I'll show you this one more clip right here of Caroline Levitt. Here she is when she was asked, so, uh, what about Medicaid? Because the Medicaid portals in all of these states were shut down right after the Office of Management and Budget controlled by Trump issued the edict to shut it down. So what, what's going on with that Caroline Levitt? Here's what she had. She goes, I don't, I don't really know. I don't really know. Here, play this clip.
News Anchor
Clarify for a sec what you were saying before on Medicaid. It wasn't clear to me whether you were saying that no Medicaid would be cut off, obviously a lot of this goes to states before it goes to individuals and so forth. So are you guaranteeing here that no individual now on Medicaid would see a cutoff because of the policy?
Podcast Host
I'll check back on that and get back to you, John.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
By the way, you have Democratic senators speaking up as well. Here's Senator Patty Murray. Here's what she has to say from the great state of Washington. Play this clip.
Senator Patty Murray
In a brazen and illegal move, the Trump administration is working to freeze huge amounts of federal funding passed into law by Republicans and Democrats alike. The scope of this illegal action is unprecedented and could have devastating consequences across the country. For real people, we could see a screeching halt to resources for child care, cancer research, housing, police officers, opioid addiction treatment, rebuilding roads and bridges, and even disaster relief efforts. He was just in California to witness the devastation and now he is holding back that aid. Trump's actions would wreak havoc in red and blue communities everywhere. This is funding that communities are expecting. And this memo is creating chaos and confusion about whether these resources will be available to them. Entire budgets and payrolls across the country are carefully hinging on these resources. We are talking about our small towns, our cities, our school districts, our universities, and a lot more. This illegal move is a massive, massive overreach by the Trump administration. The American people did not vote for this kind of senseless chaos.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
And by the way, these cuts affect all of the departments and agencies, whether it's the Department of Education, whether it's the Department of Agriculture, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, the epa, Department of Veterans affairs, for example, the suicide Crisis Line Shutdown, Department of Commerce, Department of Interior, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, Small Business Administration, National Endowment for the Arts, Department of Health and Human Services. All of these programs just think of like are shut down. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, for example, HIV AIDS Program, Maternal and child health Care Services, Lunches for kids in school, Defense Education Outreach, National Guard and Reserve Equipment Grants, Creative Writing and Arts Education Grants, Indian Housing Block Grants, Education and Human Resource Directorate Grants, Veteran Housing Assistance, Public Works, Environmental Justice Small Grants Program, Superfund Remedial Programs, Fire Prevention and Safety, Port Security, Victims of Crime Act, Juvenile justice and Delinquency Prevention Grants, Energy Efficiency and Converse Conservation Block Grants, Low Income Energy Assistant Grants shut down because of the federal spending freeze by Donald Trump. Who wants to torture the people like let's just call it what it is. He wants people to feel pain to help the billionaires. That's it. That's the game. We don't have to overcomplicate what this is. He hates Americans. Unless you're a billionaire, tell me what you think. Hit subscribe let's get to 4 million subscribers. Thanks for watching. Can't get enough Midas? Check out the Midas plus substack for ad Free articles, reports, podcasts, daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski and more. Sign up for free now@midasplus.com.
Political Commentator
If you.
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The MeidasTouch Podcast Summary
Episode: Gov Walz PUTS THE SCREWS in Trump for GOV FREEZE
Release Date: January 29, 2025
In this episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast, hosts Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas delve into the contentious political landscape shaped by former President Donald Trump's recent actions to freeze federal spending. The episode is a robust analysis of the implications of this freeze, featuring critical insights from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, and Senator Patty Murray. The discussion highlights the severe impact on various government programs and the broader threat to democratic principles.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz opens the conversation by vehemently criticizing Donald Trump's decision to impose a federal spending freeze. He underscores the chaos this has caused across essential government services.
[01:57] Governor Tim Walz: "Donald Trump's reckless action cut off funding to law enforcement, farmer school, child care, veterans and health care while golfing. He threw the country into crisis. This is not bold. It's not leadership. It's stupid, buffoonish, childish of exactly what they did."
Governor Walz elaborates on the negative repercussions, emphasizing the unlawful nature of Trump's actions and the detrimental effects on Minnesota, a state that contributes significantly more to the federal government than it receives in return.
[02:46] Governor Tim Walz: "Minnesota is a state that pays far more into the federal government than we get back. Those are our dollars that he is stealing unconstitutionally."
He calls out MAGA Republicans, particularly Congressman Tom Emmer, for supporting Trump's overreach, which undermines the constitutional balance of power.
[03:17] Governor Tim Walz: "Representative Emmer saying he 100% agrees with this. And this is what the American public voted for. Not a mandate to defund the YMCA, to cut funding to hospitals, to cut funding to law enforcement."
Governor Walz stresses the extensive list of affected services, from child care to veterans' affairs, highlighting the broad-spectrum impact of the funding freeze.
[04:34] Governor Tim Walz: "These are programs that hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans depend on. Children, seniors, veterans, working parents."
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker adds to the discourse by exposing the Trump administration's deceit regarding the federal funding freeze. He refutes the White House’s claims that critical programs like Medicaid would remain unaffected.
[05:31] Governor JB Pritzker: "Donald Trump's administration is lying to you. The White House's attempt to walk back what they did today does not match what we saw on the ground."
Governor Pritzker outlines the tangible impacts, including outages in Medicaid systems, delayed payments for services, and interruptions to programs vital for vulnerable populations.
[08:00] Governor JB Pritzker: "The United States Constitution clearly states that Congress has the power of the purse and sets laws to obligate federal funding for all 50 states. What Donald Trump tried to do in the last 24 hours is illegal."
He vehemently opposes Trump's actions as an overreach of executive power, emphasizing the legal and ethical breaches involved.
From Washington, Senator Patty Murray voices strong opposition to the spending freeze, labeling it an illegal and unprecedented move with dire consequences nationwide.
[13:36] Senator Patty Murray: "In a brazen and illegal move, the Trump administration is working to freeze huge amounts of federal funding passed into law by Republicans and Democrats alike. The scope of this illegal action is unprecedented and could have devastating consequences across the country."
Senator Murray enumerates the critical areas affected, including child care, cancer research, housing, and opioid addiction treatment, painting a bleak picture of the potential fallout.
[15:00] Governor Tim Walz: "Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, for example, HIV AIDS Program, Maternal and child health Care Services..."
The episode meticulously details the extensive range of departments and agencies disrupted by the spending freeze. Governor Walz provides an exhaustive list, illustrating the breadth of the impact:
This comprehensive list underscores the far-reaching consequences of the federal spending freeze, affecting nearly every facet of governmental operation and public service.
A central theme of the discussion is the unconstitutional nature of Trump's spending freeze. The governors and senator argue that by seizing the power of the purse from Congress, Trump is overstepping executive authority, which is a fundamental breach of the checks and balances designed to preserve democracy.
[08:42] Governor Tim Walz: "Donald Trump stealing funds for himself and seizing it. Entirely unlawful. It is dictatorial."
The hosts and featured political figures express grave concerns that such actions set dangerous precedents, potentially paving the way for further executive overreach and erosion of democratic institutions.
The episode culminates with a resolute call to action against the undermining of democratic principles. Governor Walz emphasizes the importance of standing up for constitutional rights and ensuring that federal funds are used appropriately to benefit all Americans, not just the interests of the wealthy elite.
[15:00] Governor Tim Walz: "That's the game. He hates Americans. Unless you're a billionaire, tell me what you think."
The hosts reinforce this message, encouraging listeners to stay informed, support democratic institutions, and hold elected officials accountable to prevent such abuses of power in the future.
The MeidasTouch Podcast delivers a powerful and incisive analysis of the Trump administration's federal spending freeze, highlighting its illegal nature and the widespread negative impacts on essential government services. Through compelling quotes and expert commentary, the episode underscores the urgent need to protect democratic processes and ensure that government funding continues to serve the public good.
Notable Quotes:
Governor Tim Walz [01:57]: "Donald Trump's reckless action cut off funding to law enforcement, farmer school, child care, veterans and health care while golfing."
Governor JB Pritzker [05:31]: "Donald Trump's administration is lying to you."
Senator Patty Murray [13:36]: "In a brazen and illegal move, the Trump administration is working to freeze huge amounts of federal funding..."
Governor Tim Walz [08:42]: "Donald Trump stealing funds for himself and seizing it. Entirely unlawful. It is dictatorial."
This comprehensive summary captures the essence of the podcast episode, providing listeners with a clear understanding of the critical issues discussed and the perspectives shared by key political figures.