Friday Roundup: More Hearings And Trump's First Two Weeks In Office

Summary

The NPR Politics Podcast: Friday Roundup Summary

Release Date: January 31, 2025

Hosts:

• Deepa Shivaram – White House Correspondent
• Susan Davis – Political Reporter
• Carrie Johnson – Justice Department Correspondent
• Domenico Montanaro – Senior Political Editor and Correspondent

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1. Capitol Hill Cabinet Hearings

Kash Patel for FBI Director

The episode delves into the contentious nomination of Kash Patel for the position of FBI Director. Carrie Johnson provides an overview of Patel's background, highlighting his 16 years in government service, which includes roles as a public defender, prosecutor, and national security aide. However, she notes that unlike his predecessors, Patel lacks extensive management experience within the Department of Justice.

Key Points:

• Controversial Past: Patel is known for promoting conspiracy theories and expressing a desire to dismantle parts of federal law enforcement, including the FBI.
• Senate Reception: Susan Davis describes the hearing atmosphere as tense, mentioning an exchange where Senator Amy Klobuchar remarked, "I wish I had more hours to talk to you," to which Patel retorted, "You have two minutes" (04:18). This interaction underscores Patel's combative stance.
• Party Support: Despite controversies, Republican senators, including Thom Tillis, have shown strong support for Patel, suggesting a likely party-line confirmation vote.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan Davis: "He is seen as a very polarizing political figure... not someone who is going before the Senate with a charm offensive." (04:18)
• Carrie Johnson: "Patel has talked about wanting to blow up the FBI headquarters and reinstitute it as a museum for the deep state." (05:18)

Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence

The nomination of Tulsi Gabbard presents a different set of challenges. Susan Davis outlines Gabbard's political journey from a Democratic congresswoman to a Republican-endorsed nominee, highlighting her limited connections within the intelligence community.

Key Points:

• Political Transition: Gabbard's shift from Democrat to Republican may hinder her confirmation due to a lack of deep-rooted support in her new party.
• Questioning on Background: Senators probed Gabbard on her 2017 visit to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her stance on surveillance programs like Section 702. Her evasive responses raised concerns about her suitability for the role.
• Mixed Support: While some Republicans, such as Richard Burr and Tom Cotton, support her, key figures like Todd Young remain undecided, complicating her confirmation prospects.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan Davis: "She doesn't have the background experience to do the job. She has no significant experience within the intelligence network." (08:35)
• Carrie Johnson: "Gabbard was unwilling to say that Snowden was a traitor to the United States." (10:05)

2. President Trump's First Two Weeks in Office

Domenico Montanaro and the hosts discuss the tumultuous initial period of Trump's second term, emphasizing the administration's aggressive policy implementations and communication strategies.

Key Points:

• Policy Initiatives: Trump has focused on reshaping federal agencies, with actions like removing cultural and administrative elements from departments (e.g., USAID's wall decorations) to assert his administration’s identity.
• OMB Memo Controversy: An initial Office of Management Budget memo proposing a freeze on grant and loan programs led to confusion when the White House press secretary claimed to rescind the memo without reversing the underlying actions. This move has been criticized as chaotic and indicative of the administration's approach to governance (14:18).
• Judicial Challenges: Susan Davis points out that many of Trump's actions are likely designed to be contested in courts, gradually expanding executive power through legal battles (15:01).
• Cultural Politics: The administration has emphasized cultural issues, with Trump blaming diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for incidents like the Potomac River plane crash, despite lacking evidence (19:04). This rhetoric appeals to his base but risks alienating independent and swing voters who support some racial equity measures (20:46).

Notable Quotes:

• Domenico Montanaro: "Trump said he would have strong opinions and he was going to state them and he did." (12:38)
• Susan Davis: "Trump wants a loyalist at the FBI and Cash Patel has made very clear he's going to be a loyalist at the FBI." (07:42)
• Domenico Montanaro: "Trump's number one priority is culture and reshaping the culture of the country." (17:21)

3. Friday Roundup: Can't Let It Go

The lighter segment of the podcast, "Can't Let It Go," covers memorable moments from the week that linger in the hosts' minds.

Naomi Girma's Record in Women's Soccer

Deepa Shivaram shares excitement over Naomi Girma's historic $1.1 million transfer to Chelsea Women, marking the largest deal for a female soccer player. While celebrating this milestone, the hosts acknowledge the ongoing disparity in athlete compensation.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan Davis: "Hearing the highest figure ever, $1.1 million for female soccer is like, whoa." (21:44)

Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl Run and Mayor's Spelling Mistake

The hosts recount a humorous incident where Philadelphia's mayor misspelled "Eagles" as "ELGSES" during a chant. Despite the faux pas, the team's subsequent victories turned the mistake into a beloved joke within the city.

Notable Quotes:

• Susan Davis: "If they win the super bowl, that's how we spell it." (24:14)

Houston's Drug-Addicted Rats

Domenico Montanaro highlights a bizarre story from Houston, where drug-addicted rats are destroying evidence in storage lockers. This unusual issue underscores challenges in maintaining federal evidence integrity.

Notable Quotes:

• Domenico Montanaro: "There are rats that are ruining evidence in their evidence lockers... they're drug addicted rats." (25:19)

4. Conclusion

The episode provides a comprehensive overview of the intense political maneuvering surrounding key cabinet nominations and the early actions of the Trump administration. It also balances serious political discourse with engaging and relatable lighter segments, offering listeners a well-rounded perspective on the week's events.

Final Remarks:

• Deepa Shivaram: "Thank you for listening to the NPR Politics podcast." (26:35)

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This detailed summary encapsulates the critical discussions and insights from the episode, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps to guide listeners through the key moments of the podcast.

Transcript

[Deepa Shivaram]

Okay.

[Susan Davis]

So does this sound like you you love NPR's podcasts, you wish you could get more of all your favorite shows, and you want to support NPR's mission to create a more informed public. If all that sounds appealing, then it is time to sign up for the NPR Bundle. Learn more at plus.NPR.org hi, this is Austin Storm from Norman, Oklahoma. I'm currently hand placing 42,000 rhinestones onto an evening gown for my step down as national Snow Queen 2024. As I make my way to Hickory, North Carolina, and prepare to place the crown on the head of our next snow queen, I'll be listening to NPR Politics Podcast the whole time.

[Deepa Shivaram]

This podcast was recorded at 11:35am on Friday, January 31, 2025.

[Susan Davis]

Things may have changed by the time you hear this, but I'll probably still be hand placing all of these rhinestones to make sure that I shine like the snow queen I am. All right. Here's the show. 42,000.

[Deepa Shivaram]

That is an iconic timestamp. Also, is he driving to North Carolina with this gown? Because that is maybe every episode of the Politics podcast that has ever been created that he's listening to.

[Susan Davis]

I also think a dress that has 42,000 rhinestones on it has got away £10. That just feels like a heavy, heavy garment.

[Deepa Shivaram]

That's a checked bag if you're flying. Hey there. It's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Deepa Shivram. I cover the White House.

[Susan Davis]

I'm Susan Davis. I cover politics.

[Carrie Johnson]

And I'm Carrie Johnson. I cover the Justice Department.

[Deepa Shivaram]

So there were several controversial Cabinet hearings this week on Capitol Hill. And today on the show, we're going to chat about two of those. Kash Patel for FBI and Tulsi Gabbard for director of National Intelligence. And Kerry, I'm going to kick it off with you. Let's start with Kash Patel. This hearing happened yesterday. Start at the beginning, though. Like, what is his background?

[Carrie Johnson]

He spent about 16 years in government service as a public defender, a prosecutor, national security aide. He worked on Capitol Hill for former Republican Congressman Devin Nunes. But he may be best known for peddling conspiracy theories and making extreme remarks about wanting to dismantle certain elements of federal law enforcement, including the FBI, where he's been nominated to run the police, the lead.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Okay, so not exactly a background in law enforcement. Like, he is not someone who has that experience himself.

[Carrie Johnson]

Well, he has worked as a public defender and as prosecutor, but most of the previous eight FBI directors have had really, really big management experience running the Justice Department running huge units of the doj. And Patel doesn't have that kind of management experience at all. Remember that former Attorney General Bill Barr at the end of the Trump administration said that Patel would get a big job at the FBI over his dead body.

[Susan Davis]

Kerry. One of the reasons I think, think Patel is often described as a controversial figure is because he is someone nominated to run an agency that he has been hugely critical of. So I'm curious what he told senators yesterday on the record about what exactly he wants to do at the agency now that he may well have the power to do it.

[Carrie Johnson]

Yeah, he says he wants to fight terrorism from Iran, counter espionage efforts from China, that he wants to prevent any attacks on the homeland and also to kind of stop the flow of illegal drugs and fentanyl. He talked about, talked a lot about the overdose crisis in the US Basically, he says he wants to give good cops the leeway to do their jobs, and that's all normal and mainstream. The challenge is that Kash Patel has a record on podcasts and books and writings of talking about his efforts to go after people who investigated Donald Trump when Trump was out of the White House and when he was in the White House the last time around. And during this hearing yesterday, Patel had to run away from all of those remarks.

[Deepa Shivaram]

It's so interesting because I feel like there is this split screen, right. Of like what these nominees have said before they sit in the, in the hearing room and then what they're willing to say to get confirmed to serve the president. And sue, you know, we talked about a little bit this with RFK on Wednesday with his confirmation hearing. I'm curious, though, for this with Cash Patel, you know, what was the vibe like among senators who were questioning him?

[Susan Davis]

I mean, I certainly think that this is going to be a party line vote in the Senate for his confirmation. He is just someone who is seen as a very polarizing political figure. And I think he was very sort of. He was that in his hearing. He was kind of pugnacious in a fighter. I think he had one kind of tense exchange with Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, in which she said something to the effect of like, I wish I had more hours to talk to you. And he said, you have two minutes, Senator. And she just went, wow, like, this is not someone who is going before the Senate with a charm offensive. Right? Yeah. But I also think, and maybe I'm very curious for Kerry's thoughts too, on this, but the sense I got from Republican senators on this committee is that they support him, that they're going to vote for him. And even in the beginning, votes to watch people like Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who's up for reelection in 2026, seen as more of a moderate, centrist Republican. He seemed to embrace him. And that sort of tells me if the Thom Tillises of the world are okay with Cash Patel, then most of the rest of the senators probably are too.

[Carrie Johnson]

Yeah, he got a warm embrace from Tillis and many other Republican senators who basically said, when you're in that office running the FBI, don't blow up the place, try to lift up the people who work there. Patel actually said yesterday that he believes the large majority of FBI agents are courageous and apolitical figures. But in the past, he's talked about wanting to basically blow up the FBI headquarters and reinstitute it as a museum for the deep state. You know, there's already some evidence that some senior officials, career officials at the FBI are being asked to leave their jobs. Patel denied any knowledge of that kind of planning yesterday. But he also didn't state explicitly that he would not prosecute people like James Comey and Chris Wray, his predecessor at the FBI, or people like Merrick Garland, the outgoing Attorney general. So he left a lot of room for himself to maneuver if he wins confirmation.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Yeah. So definitely like at this point expecting him to get confirmed based on everything you've seen.

[Susan Davis]

Yeah. I mean, the thing you have to understand about Patel in this orbit of nominees is he is just, I think, a unique figure. He is almost a mythological figure. He is credited as sort of exposing the, quote, Russia hoax, in the words of the president. He has been a fighter for Donald Trump from the beginning. I mean, he just has a lot of conservative grassroots support. And what you're hearing politically from within the party is like, look, if any of you vote against this guy, we're coming for you. So I don't think the Thom Tillises of the world, especially those senators up for reelection in two years, have a lot of political room to vote against someone who is, look, ultimately qualified to do the job. He has a resume that fits the role and incredibly politically popular with the base. I don't see what a no vote gets any Republican senator in this moment.

[Carrie Johnson]

I defer to sue on the politics, but I just have to say that with regard to the so called Russia hoax, special counsel Robert Mueller found that Russia did try to affect the election in the balance of Donald Trump and that many people pleaded guilty to crimes in connection with that election interference effort and other associated activities in that era. And, you know, while Donald Trump continues to reject the findings of Bob Mueller and his team, the DOJ watchdog found that investigation was largely legitimate.

[Susan Davis]

And I don't think we should be coy about Patel here in any way. Like Donald Trump has said he wants a loyalist at the FBI and Cash Patel has made very clear he's going to be a loyalist at the FBI. I don't think there's, I don't think any credulous person can say that he's going to be a fully independent operator. But what exactly that means I don't think we precisely know yet.

[Deepa Shivaram]

All right, I want to switch gears and talk about Tulsi Gabbard, who seems to be like a shakier candidate than Kash Patel.

[Susan Davis]

She has a trickier path ahead, but I would not say that it's a foregone conclusion that she doesn't get confirmed. I just think it's more complex for a couple of reasons. The first I'd say is that in contrast to someone like Patel who has a lot of credibility within the party, Tulsi Gabbard was a Democrat until not too long ago. She's a former Democratic congresswoman. She ran for president in the Democratic primary in 2020. She ultimately slowly and then quickly became disillusioned with her party. She became an independent. Now she, I believe she's a registered Republican and she endorsed Trump in 2024 presidential election. But her lifetime legacy of political connections doesn't run as deep within the Republican Party. And Trump, of course, loves the converted. He has welcomed her into the tent, but I don't think she carries with her that same kind of grassroots support. I'd also say in contrast to someone like Kennedy who we spoke about on the podcast this week, Kennedy also has sort of cross party cultural appeal. He's got a little bit of or a lot of bit of celebrity name id. And he's also got a ton of money behind him. His former running mate Nicole Shanahan, who's a billionaire, is out there threatening primary anybody who votes against him to fund campaigns against his opponents. So I don't think Gabbert either has that deep pocketed donor power coming from the top down or the grassroots confirm her power coming from the bottom up. The thing I don't have a sense of is how hard the president wants to fight for her to be his nominee. I think Donald Trump would go to the mat for Cash Patel. I don't get the sense that, that it's certainly not the same vibe on Capitol Hill that the Trump universe is going to fight as hard for her. She absolutely has support. She was introduced by Richard Burr, a former chairman of that committee and a former senator from North Carolina, saying she was capable of doing the job. Tom Cotton, a Republican member of the committee, said he pored over her background checks and that she's, quote, clean as a whistle. So there is clearly an element of the party that is ready and willing to support her. And this is one area of the government in which the president, in particular, thinks is in need of disruption.

[Carrie Johnson]

You know, what really struck me yesterday was how many senators, both Republicans and Democrats, asked Gabbard about Edward Snowden as somebody who spent many months, if not years, on the DOJ investigation of Edward Snowden, who, by the way, now lives in Russia. As far as we understand, Gabbard was unwilling to say that he was a traitor to the United States.

[Susan Davis]

And she was given multiple opportunities by Republicans on the committee who I think were trying to get her to the right answer.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Yeah, yeah.

[Susan Davis]

And she danced around it. One of the Republicans on the committee, James Lankford, said later he was surprised by that. Although Lankford has also publicly committed to supporting her nomination. You know, what does that get you? She was also asked a lot about her 2017 visit as a congresswoman to visit then Syrian President Bashar al Assad, kind of as an independent operator, did it without the consent of the US Government. That's always been a weird blip in her resume. And also in the past, she's been a critic of surveillance programs and specifically what we refer to as Section 702, which is what people in the intelligence community will tell you is one of their most powerful tools to conduct surveillance overseas. Critics say it opens the back door to allow people to surveil US Citizens, which questions the constitutionality of it. She's been very sympathetic to those arguments in the past. She has since said since getting this nomination that she is a stronger supporter of those laws. And again, she doesn't have where I said, like, Patel has the background experience to do the job. She has no significant experience within the intelligence network. She's never had a precise job within the intelligence community, although she has served in the military and obviously served in Congress. So she's a little bit more of a shurmy pig.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Like, a little bit. Yeah, yeah.

[Susan Davis]

It's just harder to say. And I think, like, one of the senators to watch is someone like Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana. He's a former Marine intelligence officer. He's on the intelligence Committee. I can't read too much into their questioning, but he's not someone that I would bank as a yes vote just yet. And he's the kind of Republican you really need to be on board for her to be confirmed.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Kerry, thanks so much for joining us.

[Carrie Johnson]

Oh, happy to be here.

[Deepa Shivaram]

All right, we're going to take a quick break and we'll be back in a moment. And we're back. And we're now joined by Domenico Montanaro. Hey, Domenico.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Hey.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Okay, so President Trump took office just under two weeks ago. And Domenico, I just wanted to point out, like you came to the studio yesterday when we taped the pod with like pages of essentially a timeline of what has happened in the last, you know, week and a half. Plus how many pages was that printed out?

[Domenico Montanaro]

It was like 10 point font, single spaced was four pages. And that's just 11 days worth of stuff. It might be a little longer now, to be honest with you, given the press conference yesterday. So, yeah, it's, it's a lot. It's one of the techniques I have in life with things I can't control that I have to somewhat pay attention to. I document.

[Susan Davis]

You journal, you journal.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Well, I don't know, it's not really my feelings. It's sort of a dispassionate recounting of the events.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Well, okay, let's start there then. Four pages. I don't want you to have to read the whole thing front to back.

[Susan Davis]

But like it's not going to happen.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Top of mind. Yeah, we need like 90 hours for that podcast. But like wrapping up this week, I mean, what are some of the top line things that you think have really, really stood out to you? The ones that are maybe say, in bold print.

[Domenico Montanaro]

I mean, obviously what stood out to me, you know, was that press conference yesterday from President Trump talking about the site of the crash. And you know, most people, and we said this yesterday, you go out there and say, you know, here's what we know, not what I think I know because I don't want to speculate, don't want to get too far ahead of things, don't want to, to give people the wrong impression. Trump said he would, he had lots of strong opinions and he was going to state them and he did. So, you know, we can get into some of that and is how long he's going to blame diversity, but that's what he's tried to do. You know, the OMB memo obviously was the thing that started us off this week and really kind of the confusion around that really led to what was the first misstep in the Trump communications strategy and policymaking. Because going bold is not always the best step in trying to run a government efficiently, especially when the government does do so many things.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Many of these things are things that Trump promised in his campaign. Like, these are not out of the blue, right?

[Susan Davis]

No, I think that's right. And to Domenico's point that he's had to start writing down everything that's happened, I really think people need to keep in mind that this is the strategy, this is the point. I think Trump coming into office the second time better prepared, better staffed, and with a clear eyed agenda of what he wants to do. None of this is by accident. And I think when you talk to people, people on the Hill and people close to the campaign like, this is the Strategy, they want 2025 to be like a full velocity year to do as much as you possibly can, knowing that there could be potentially be a check on his power in the 2026 midterms. And there's a sense that you got to leave it all on the field this year.

[Deepa Shivaram]

I wonder, maybe from you guys perspective, like, what are some of the things that you think have happened just in the last week, week and a half, that haven't really gotten much attention but are very significant?

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah, I think that there are little things, I think too, that that kind of symbolize how Trump is running the federal government. For example, things like taking the pictures off the walls at USAID when the workers go in and, you know, would normally look at, you know, pictures of villages and people farming. You know, the idea that they were telling federal workers that if they, you know, want to resign, they should respond in an email with a subject line that says resign, and then they'll get paid through September 30th, or at least they could telework till September 30th. They actually do. Or not. You know, taking a photo of Mark Esper, for example, the former Defense Secretary, off the wall at the Defense Department. This is really sort of them going in like bulls in China shop, especially to remake the federal government and say, you know, this is the Trump administration. These are the policies we want to implement. And if you're not on board, get off the train.

[Susan Davis]

Yeah, look, I think one of the biggest things from the week, from my viewpoint, in terms of potential impact, was that initial memo from the Office of Management Budget saying, hey, we're gonna do this freeze of all grant and loan programs across the federal government. And then the White House press secretary said they rescinded the memo, but not the action. Like, I don't exactly know how that's possible. And then having a federal judge basically accuse the White House of trying to get around a federal freeze order on it, I mean, that is the kind of just chaos that I think is just going to be definitive of this administration. I think that also there is a part of this that recognizes that a lot of what Trump is going to do is going to be challenged in the courts. And I think that's by design, that they do actually want to take a lot of actions that they know will be fought out in the courts, because, look, you'll probably lose some, but you might win some, too. And that is how you can sort of, over time, expand executive power. And I think that is part of the broader goal of the Trump administration is to centralize more power within the Oval Office. Right.

[Deepa Shivaram]

That framing is so interesting, too, of, like, the memo might be rescinded, but, like, the agenda kind of still stands. Because to me, I read that as, like, we win no matter what. Right? It doesn't matter if the courts challenge us. It doesn't matter if, like, we are still winning, winning, winning. And that mentality, I wonder, like, if that is kind of what carries over to the folks who support President Trump, who voted for him, who see this as a success, really, no matter what happens.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah, totally. And I think that that gets to the point of what Trump's number one priority is, which is culture and reshaping the culture of the country, despite the fact that he's saying that the left was trying to socially engineer the country. Well, he's trying to socially engineer the country and being able to take out some of the things that he finds to be objective and to really push immigration and mass deportations. I mean, look at what we haven't talked about here, is him ramping up, up mass deportations and getting people out of the country, and really smartly, frankly, from a political relations standpoint, having televised, targeted raids of people who are the most egregious criminals in the country to be able to say who would be against somebody who did something so horrible, who would be against that? Only the left. Well, it's not gonna be that clean cut for the entirety of the four years of Trump. And he said he wants the largest mass deportation in the history of the United States. And I think that one story that he continues to tell is really kind of showing his hand and the game when he has said now twice in the past 11 days since he was sworn in, that he Thinks that immigration was always the number one issue on the campaign trail. It's the number one issue for him. I made it my number one issue. They all said inflation was the number one issue.

[Susan Davis]

I said I disagree.

[Domenico Montanaro]

I think people coming into our country from prisons and from mental institutions is a bigger issue for the people that I know. And I made it my number one.

[Susan Davis]

I talked about inflation, too.

[Domenico Montanaro]

But, you know, how many times can.

[Susan Davis]

You say that an apple has doubled in cost?

[Domenico Montanaro]

And I think that that shows he knows that as a president, you don't have that much control over things like prices. Despite the rhetoric of the campaign and the fact that all of those crossover voters who voted for him was about this nostalgia for a Trump economy.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Right. And while all of that is happening and all of these policies that he's implementing, executive orders that he's implementing are unfolding, you know, he's appearing in the White House press room this week and creating an entirely new news cycle, which is the plane crash that happened in the Potomac river in D.C. this week. That that might have been a result of DEI hiring practices of, you know, putting people in the government who are from diverse backgrounds. To be clear, though, I should say, you know, authorities are still investigating how that crash happened, and Trump made those claims without citing any kind of evidence. But, you know, to your point earlier, this is kind of a through line that I think you can expect, and we can expect that Trump keeps using for the next four years.

[Susan Davis]

Look, I think the Republican Party right now is riding a high out of this election in which, across the board, they believe the rejection of dei, which I think is just sort of shorthand for cultural politics of the left, helped them win this election. And I think that the president blaming a plane crash on DEI without evidence, Trump has long been willing to sort of press on these cultural nerves to suggest that racial or gender politics played a role when there's no evidence that it did. I do think that there is a cultural pendulum, swing, swing back against a lot of that cultural progressivism that has occurred in the past few years. But I also think it comes with an inherent risk, like, if you push down too hard on this stuff. A lot of the country also rejects that, because, look, like, frankly, if you look at polling, most Americans actually say they do support some element of racial equity and racial equity programs. They're not as opposed broadly nationally as they are within the Republican Party and the Trump administration. And pushing too hard on this stuff often has a revulsion, especially from independent and swing voters in this country.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Yeah, very curious. To see how that unfolds. All right, we're gonna take one more break, and we will be back with Can't Let It Go. And we're back, and it's time for everyone's favorite Friday segment, Can't Let It Go. That's the part of the show where we talk about the things from the week. We can't stop thinking about politics or otherwise. I'm gonna start us off. My Can't Let It Go is something that my friend actually told me about earlier this week. But my thing that I can't let go of is that Naomi Girma, who was a player for the San Diego Wave, just broke a record, like, biggest deal and payment that a woman soccer player has ever gotten. Ooh, $1.1 million. Yeah, I know, right? She's transferring to the Chelsea Women, which is really exciting. And you look at the 1.1 million, you're like, that's really a low number as far as athletes go. Unfortunately, we are still at a point where that is a really, really big deal for women's soccer. So we are both, like, mourning that, but also really celebrating that she has a really cool story and sad to see her go across the pond, but it is just kind of a really big deal for women's soccer overall.

[Susan Davis]

That is both wonderful and kind of horrifying when you think about it. Like, Tom Brady lights his fires with million dollar bills. I just think the disparity in sports, which is for many reasons, I'm not saying it's not, but to hear Highest figure ever, 1.1 million for female soccer is like, whoa.

[Deepa Shivaram]

No, the first person to, like, hit $1 million. And like, the hope, obviously, is that it just keeps going up from here. But, yeah, for sure, we are still at a point where we look at that and we're like, whoa.

[Susan Davis]

Really?

[Deepa Shivaram]

Like, we're happy, but also kind of like that weird slanted smiley face emoji.

[Domenico Montanaro]

I'd like to see that million dollar bill. Sue. The. Do they have Brady's face on it? The. Which hairstyle, you know, But I do think what's interesting about this is from a sports perspective, you know, her going from, you know, a US, you know, professional league team to the Premier League, literally is what it's called, being able to do that. That's not something you usually see where the prices ramp up. Up to bring in somebody. Normally, you know, it'd be somebody, like, at the twilight of their career, like Lionel Messi, who will come over and then the, you know, Miami team is paying him A lot of money as a sort of showcase person to bring fans in. So the fact that this is now happening in the other direction, I think is a sign that the American soccer leagues are actually starting to do fairly well. Both women's and men's.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I feel like everyone played soccer as a kid, but I do feel like the watching of professional soccer, particularly women's soccer, has just blown up in ways that are very fun.

[Susan Davis]

Can I tell you, I have increasingly enjoyed watching soccer games, and I like it because the games are shorter. You can do more in a day. If you're going to watch a soccer game where, like, baseball can be hours, football can be hours. Like, soccer is just like, if you just need a little sport but you don't want it to take up your whole night, soccer is the way to go.

[Deepa Shivaram]

A little sprinkle of athleticism. Yes, I agree with that, Sue. What can you not let go of this week?

[Susan Davis]

I also have a sports related click. So look at us. As you both should know by now, the Philadelphia Eagles are going to the Super Bowl.

[Domenico Montanaro]

The Eagles.

[Susan Davis]

The Eagles. Go Birds. But what I can't let go of is a couple weeks ago, the mayor of Philadelphia, Mayor Parker, had a really big faux pas right before a big Eagles game.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Well, listen, we've got to do this.

[Susan Davis]

Let me hear you all say E L, G, S, E, S. Eagles. What? She, of course, obviously glaringly misspelled Eagles doing the chant.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah, I don't know what she was.

[Susan Davis]

Spelling there before the Eagles went on to beat the Rams, and then they went on to beat the Commanders, and now they're going the Super Bowl. But what has been a faux pas has kind of been embraced by the city of Philadelphia, especially because they went on to win the next two games. So what I can't let go is that, like, my brother sent me a sweatshirt that says Eagles, but it's spelled E, L, G S E S. Amazing. And I was talking to a friend this morning joking, where I'm like, look, if they win the super bowl, that's how we spell it.

[Deepa Shivaram]

I was gonna say, I was like, the dictionary needs to change. Obviously, Philadelphia will make that happen.

[Susan Davis]

And I think it kind of worked out for her because, look, like, politicians screaming sports stuff can go real wrong. But I think that, like, it's become kind of a lovable joke in a weird way that has worked to her advantage.

[Domenico Montanaro]

So, elgss, sue has been very nice to me about my Mets fandom and the fact that I'm a New York fan. And we all know that New York fans and Philly fans are sort of oil and water. So I'll just. Because you've been so nice to me, I will just let go what my thoughts would probably have been otherwise.

[Susan Davis]

I appreciate that, sir.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Domenico, what about you?

[Domenico Montanaro]

I cannot let go of drug addicted rats.

[Susan Davis]

What?

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah, I love that. Isn't that great?

[Deepa Shivaram]

I don't even know how to respond to that.

[Domenico Montanaro]

The. Since the start of the Trump administration, there have been a lot of things that have happened as we recounted and talked about. But one thing ran under the radar, and this was in Houston, where officials said that there are rats that are ruining evidence in their evidence lockers. For example, the mayor of Houston said, We got £400,000 of marijuana in storage that the rats are the only ones in enjoying. So much evidence is kept and stored that is no longer needed. And that has no impact on the resolution of that charge, that conviction or even that innocence is that they're edible, they're tasty, they're all kinds of things. You can't store large quantities of drugs without expecting some of these things to happen. It's a kind of amazing thing.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Oh, my God.

[Susan Davis]

Rats always come out on top.

[Domenico Montanaro]

They've been around for millions of years. Like, I mean, they're like they're riding.

[Susan Davis]

The subway in New York getting pizza.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Pizza. Yeah.

[Domenico Montanaro]

And especially as the, you know, the Houston officials also said they're drug addicted rats. They're tough to deal with.

[Deepa Shivaram]

That doesn't sound fun. Don't envy those people. Maybe I envy the rats, though. Like, that's, that's an interesting concept.

[Susan Davis]

Living their best lives.

[Domenico Montanaro]

One way to get through the day.

[Deepa Shivaram]

All right, that's it for today's episode. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Our editor is Casey Morel. Our producers are Bria Sarah Thugs and Kelly Wessinger. Special thanks to Krishna Dev Kalamer. I'm Deepa Shivaram. I cover the White House.

[Susan Davis]

I'm Susan Davis. I cover politics.

[Domenico Montanaro]

And I'm Domenico Montanaro, senior political editor and correspondent.

[Deepa Shivaram]

And thank you for listening to the NPR Politics podcast.