The MeidasTouch Podcast: "Rep. Stevens Responds to Trump’s Disastrous Government Shutdown"

Date: October 12, 2025
Host: Ben Meiselas (w/ Brothers Brett and Jordy Meiselas)
Guest: Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-MI), U.S. Senate Candidate

Episode Overview

This episode centers on the fallout from the latest government shutdown—engineered by Trump-aligned Republicans—and its real-world impacts on everyday Americans. The Meiselas brothers dissect the bizarre, shifting rhetoric coming from Speaker Mike Johnson and the MAGA wing while interviewing Congresswoman Haley Stevens. Stevens discusses the harmful financial consequences for working families, her own policy responses, and her bid for the U.S. Senate from Michigan.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. MAGA Messaging Meltdown & Policy Confusion

• Mike Johnson’s Unhinged Comments
  Ben highlights the disarray in Speaker Johnson’s talking points, from invoking “rabble rousers” (03:00–03:52) to parroting Trump’s extreme language and suggesting Democratic leaders be arrested (04:52–05:27).

  • Quote (Ben): “He’s like just literally playing mad libs or like cosplaying Donald Trump... What the hell are they talking about?” (03:52)

• Republican Attacks on Emergency Healthcare Protections
  The hosts scrutinize GOP attacks on emergency medical care for immigrants, specifically EMTALA law, which requires hospitals to treat all patients in emergencies (05:27–07:03).

  • Quote (Johnson): “Emergency care is provided without question to anyone who comes in...That’s something we all support. That’s a very good law. We’re in favor of it.” (06:45)

• Nuclear Option and Filibuster Hypocrisy
  Republicans threaten to use the “nuclear option” in the Senate but express concern if Democrats hold power (07:28–08:14).

  • Quote (Johnson): “Do I want them to have no safeguards...in the way of turning us into a communist country? I don’t think that’s a great idea. That’s me.” (07:54)

2. Congresswoman Haley Stevens Responds

Standing Up for Everyday Americans and Against GOP Gamesmanship

• Stevens brings the conversation back to “kitchen table” issues and highlights the direct, dire financial impact of health care instability on families in Michigan and nationwide (08:51–10:55).
  • Quote (Stevens): “I was at the dentist office...she was talking about the actual bill that she has from giving birth, the $16,000 that it cost her to just have a baby and how she was going to pay that bill and how she probably wasn’t going to. And so why aren’t we having a more realistic conversation about what is happening to the pocketbooks of everyday Michiganders?” (08:56)
• Emphasizes Republicans’ obsession with tax cuts for billionaires versus real cost-of-living relief (09:52–10:55).
  • Quote (Stevens): “We are in an affordability crisis... Coffee is up 20%. Beef is up 16%. Bacon is up over 10%. Give me a break. And now we're going to see the health care costs skyrocket.” (10:58)

Data-Driven Breakdown of the Crisis

• Provides real numbers: health care costs about to spike ($7,700/yr increase for a family of four) if ACA is dismantled (10:55–12:56).
  • Quote (Stevens): "A family of four at $125,000 a year, they're going to see their health care costs go up about $7,700 a year. That is not chump change." (11:20)
• Frames the issue as a looming, avoidable human disaster—urges negotiation and common sense, not chaos.

3. Government Dysfunction: A Feature, Not a Bug, Under Trump-Era Republicans

• Ben and Stevens discuss how government shutdown brinkmanship, lack of compromise, and policy chaos uniquely characterize the current GOP under Trump’s leadership (12:56–14:02).
  • Quote (Ben): "In our system...the parties speak to each other and they compromise. Unless...you require compromise, you speak." (12:56)
  • Quote (Stevens): “I would say that this seems to only happen under Donald Trump’s leadership. Chaos, confusion. It is no surprise that this is the way government works. They’re bragging that they’ve got this mandate, this stronghold, then why can’t they open the government?” (14:03)

Stevens’ Legislative Solutions

• Introduced "No Tariffs on Groceries Act" to counteract Trump’s rising consumer costs via tariffs (14:02–15:00).
  • Quote (Stevens): “This is also why I have introduced legislation called no tariffs on Groceries Act. Because 55 tariff announcements in the first hundred days and still going are contributing to those rising costs...” (14:16)

4. Haley Stevens’ Senate Bid (Michigan)

• Explains her motivation to run for Senate: direct challenge to Trump’s handpicked candidate, put working families first, leverage her crisis management experience from the Obama auto rescue era, and restore “real results for Michigan” (15:20–17:18).
  • Quote (Stevens): "This is the most courageous thing I could think to do in this moment, which is push back on Trump's selected Senate candidate...I served as chief of staff on President Obama's U.S. auto rescue...Now it is eerily similar to that Great Recession." (15:20)
• Lists legislative achievements—removing grocery tariffs, protecting Americans from executive abuse of the military, leading the effort to impeach RFK, Jr.—and emphasizes her “Michigan heart” and ability to unite independents (16:30–17:22).
  • Quote (Stevens): "I'm running with a whole lot of Michigan heart and dedication to the people who deserve the best champion in the United States Senate." (17:20)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:00 – Ben opens with Speaker Johnson’s erratic shutdown commentary
• 03:24 – Johnson lambasts “rabble rousers” and Democratic-led cities
• 04:52 – Johnson dodges Trump’s call to arrest Democratic governors
• 06:35 – Johnson on EMTALA and emergency healthcare for non-citizens
• 07:28 – Johnson on nuclear option and Senate rules
• 08:51 – Rep. Haley Stevens begins responding on working families’ realities
• 10:55 – Stevens breaks down the coming health care cost spike in practical terms
• 12:56 – Discussion of political compromise and the breakdown of effective governance
• 14:02 – Trump-era chaos, rising consumer costs, and “No Tariffs on Groceries” Act
• 15:20 – Stevens outlines her U.S. Senate campaign themes and background
• 17:22 – Stevens directs listeners to her campaign website

Notable Quotes

• Ben Meiselas (Host):
  • “He’s like just literally playing mad libs or like cosplaying Donald Trump... What the hell are they talking about?” (03:52)
  • “I mean, it seems that for Trump and, and MAGA, the enemy is the liberal and their friend is Vladimir Putin.” (12:56)
• Rep. Haley Stevens:
  • “We are in an affordability crisis... Coffee is up 20%. Beef is up 16%. Bacon is up over 10%... Give me a break. And now we’re going to see the health care costs skyrocket.” (10:58)
  • "I've been hearing this for months. I mean, we are at a boiling point...employers had had to let employees know what was going to be covered, what wasn't, what costs were going to go up." (12:10)
  • “This seems to only happen under Donald Trump’s leadership. Chaos, confusion. It is no surprise that this is the way government works.” (14:03)
  • “This is the most courageous thing I could think to do in this moment, which is push back on Trump's selected Senate candidate... Now it is eerily similar to that Great Recession.” (15:20)
  • "I'm running with a whole lot of Michigan heart and dedication to the people who deserve the best champion in the United States Senate." (17:20)

Tone & Takeaways

The MeidasTouch team's signature blend of humor, exasperation, and directness is on display, contrasting sharply with Stevens' pragmatic, data-informed, and advocacy-centered responses. The episode is a clarion call against government-by-chaos and for policy that tangibly serves ordinary Americans. It offers context, numbers, and clear political stakes for listeners invested in the future of health care, government function, and representation in the Senate.

Learn More

• Haley Stevens for Senate: haley4ami.com (17:22)
• Podcast: Listen to new episodes every Tuesday and Friday on all platforms.