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Jane Coaston
It's Friday, May 22nd. I'm Jane Costen and this is what a day. The show deeply inspired by President Donald Trump's total disinterest in Donald Trump Jr's wedding. Here he is on Thursday.
Donald Trump
I said, you know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things. That's one I can't win on. If I do attend, I get killed. If I don't attend, I get killed. By the fake news. Of course I'm talking about. No, but he's got a very person who I've known for a long time and hopefully they're going to have a great marriage.
Jane Coaston
Interesting how the war in Iran is so important that Trump can't go to his son's wedding, but not so important that Trump can't, say, get distracted by ballroom construction or golf. On today's show, Trump's potty mouth is getting worse. And the Democratic National Committee finally released its autopsy with no conclusion, quote provided by the author. But let's start with Congress, specifically Senate Republicans. Republicans had a filibuster proof immigration bill that would contain $70 billion for immigration enforcement and finally fully reopened the Department of Homeland Security. It was going to be awesome. But then Trump got involved. First, he wanted $1 billion for security for his beloved beautiful ballroom. That did not go over well with Republicans, especially after the White House argued that approving that money would be the same as Congress approving of the ballroom itself, which Congress did not do. Here's Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy making some observations to CNN on Wednesday.
Representative Brendan Boyle
There's no architectural plans. There is no environmentals, there's no engineering. There's no sense of when we ask how did it happen to cost exactly a billion.
Jane Coaston
I also have this question. That same day, Senate Republicans removed that budget request from the immigration bill. Problem solved. But then there's that $1.776 billion slush fund for Trump's allies. A slush fund one Republican senator called stupid on stilts. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Senate Republicans to try and make the case for the slush fund on Thursday. The result? Everyone got so mad that Senate Majority Leader John Thune gave up on getting a vote together for the immigration bill and sent everyone home for the holiday. Great work, Republicans. So to talk more about the reconciliation bill, Mass, I spoke to Pennsylvania Democratic Representative Brendan Boyle. He's the ranking member of the House Budget Committee. Representative Boyle, welcome to water day.
Representative Brendan Boyle
Yeah, good to be with you.
Jane Coaston
So the House was supposed to vote today on this long awaited reconciliation bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, among a bunch of other things. And it seemed like things were going great for Republicans, and that didn't happen. Instead, Senate Republicans pushed the vote to June. How did everything go horribly wrong for Republicans?
Representative Brendan Boyle
Boy, I asked myself that question pretty much every week about all sorts of things. So this latest episode, you are correct. I mean, there's no question they had the votes, in all likelihood had the votes for what they nicknamed reconciliation 2.0. Essentially a massive amount of funding for the Department of Homeland Security, specifically CBP and ice. Looked like the votes were there. That's what we were going to vote on. But then suddenly, Donald J. Trump, their dear leader, threw them a curveball. In fact, two curveballs. One, the Billion Dollar Ballroom and insisting that that would be added to the reconciliation bill. And then, number two, this disgraceful $1.8 billion slush fund for thugs. And right now, as we speak, the White House is insisting that both of those things be added to the reconciliation bill. It appears, and there aren't too many times that I've been able to say this, it appears that enough Senate Republicans so far are standing up to the White House that they don't have the votes to move forward. And so the whole thing got pulled down.
Jane Coaston
I have to ask the most striking thing about this anti weaponization slush fund for January Sixers. I'm using air quotes in case you're listening to this. It wasn't even in the reconciliation bill. So what actually was in this bill? Do you even know what you would be voting on when this vote comes back around in June?
Representative Brendan Boyle
Well, the answer to that is no. But it's not because of a lack of work or preparation on my part. It's because they haven't produced what exactly the it is because they're having issues with the Senate parliamentarian. This can get really in the weeds. But basically, as we know, reconciliation is a way in which the majority party in the Senate can get around the filibuster to make it so that you can pass something with a simple majority, 51 votes instead of 60 votes. But there are all of these quirky, kooky rules with reconciliation, what counts, what doesn't count. And they've taken two stabs now at trying to, at the very least, include the $1 billion for Trump's precious Ballroom. And both times, the parliamentarian has said no, that does not comply with the rules of reconciliation. So they're currently trying to work on a draft that both would clear, muster with the parliamentarian and also get the 51 Republican votes they need.
Jane Coaston
As we mentioned back in April, Republicans had a clear shot to pass this bill along party lines. Lindsey Graham was talking about how they don't need Democrats to do this, but Trump basically got greedy and slam dunked his way to complete failure. And what gets me is that you're starting to hear Congressional Republicans, especially in the Senate, talking about how this slush fund is a terrible idea. This slush fund is, you know, it's reckless. And what do you think that means for his relationship with Congressional Republicans right now? Because it seems not great.
Representative Brendan Boyle
Well, they have to be looking at, you know, Donald Trump's approval rating among a general election audience. But, you know, I don't want to overstate this because I have lived through now the first four years of Donald Trump being president and saw how Republicans behave, and I've lived through the last almost year and a half. For five and a half years, the examples of Congressional Republicans standing up to this president have been few and far between. So I'm not going to quite. I mean, it's great that we're at the moment able to celebrate a victory thanks to their own gross incompetence and the President's incredible greed in passing up what would have been, I think, a win for him and going for the Billion Dollar Ballroom and going for the slush fund for his January 6th mob and criminals. That said, though, knowing how strong Trump is in a Republican primary electorate, as he's displayed over the last couple weeks, let's just say I'm not going to bet my future, my mortgage on the strength of the spines of Congressional Republicans.
Jane Coaston
I'm curious, though, to your point about the recent primaries, you now have a host of people in the Senate, a host of Senate Republicans who they have no reason to help Trump do anything. If you're Senator Thom Tillis, if you're Senator Bill Cassidy, you don't have to help Trump with anything, including the ballroom, including the slush fund. Do you think that changes the calculus a little bit here?
Representative Brendan Boyle
Yeah, you could almost call them the YOLO caucus. I mean, if you're Cassidy, you know that you're leaving. Thanks in large part to Donald Trump coming so viciously after him and opposing him for reelection. It does appear as if Cornyn is about to join Cassidy in that club. You have McConnell, who can't stand Trump and is obviously retiring. The same with Tillis. That's four right there. And then when you add to it Murkowski and Collins, that would be six Republican senators that could stand up and Say no, we've already seen since last Saturday night, less than a week ago, Cassidy loses his primary. He has come out and said that he wasn't going to vote for three different Republican priorities. That's more no votes from Senator Cassidy announced this week than the previous six years. So I hope that it continues. Frankly, I don't know why someone like Cassidy and Cornyn would do anything, would lift a finger to help the president who just stuck a knife into their backs.
Jane Coaston
In your view, why was it this, the slush fund, and to a lesser extent, the ballroom, why is it these issues that seem to have been, for now, to your point, the final straw for congressional Republicans?
Representative Brendan Boyle
Well, so first, in terms of why the president's going this direction, Donald Trump is a very easy person to figure out. He's all about the Griffs and the grudges. That's what, that's what he spends most of his time on. It's got to be some sort of grift to get his name on something or be honored in some way or just basically get a big bag of cash. So that's pretty clear where his motivation is in terms of why the Senate Republicans are acting out now, about this wire, some congressional Republicans even saying some negative things about it. I do think that the closer we get to this November election, and it looks like this shellacking is coming for congressional Republicans and the lower President Trump's approval rating gets, I think that actually increases the likelihood that finally Republicans are able to step up and speak out about something. I'll also say this. I mean, you see Donald Trump's low approval ratings of the economy, the lowest of any president since George W. Bush at the height of the Great recession, mind you, 20 years ago, you see the overall increase in the cost of goods, cost of gas, et cetera, to then turn around and have to vote not for anything that would help the American people deal with those increased costs, but instead vote for a billion dollars of taxpayer money for a stupid ballroom. It is just so grotesque and beyond the pale. I think that is also part of the reason why at least a few and enough so far, Republicans are balking and saying no.
Jane Coaston
I mean, let's talk about November. You are the ranking member on the House Budget Committee. Let's say Democrats win the House in the midterms, then you will become chair of the Budget Committee. What do you want to do with that power?
Representative Brendan Boyle
Yeah, well, it's. I'm superstitious enough, or I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little stitious. So I'm not going to get too much ahead of myself with, with grand plans. But as you can imagine, you can't just plan something like that come November. So I already have gone about talking about what would be a few of the priorities. And I think I would look at a sort of like parallel tracks. The first would be doing everything we possibly can and using every piece of leverage over the budget to stop the excesses and the craziness of this administration. We have to use every single piece of leverage we have to stop this president in his tracks. I've seen this before. In many ways, this would be history repeating itself because that's what we did in 2019, 2020, when Democrats took back the House after the first Donald Trump midterm. But then the other track would be, okay, we have a Republican president, a Democratic House. If there's a possibility of some permanent, real, meaningful budget reforms, this would be the sort of calculus and the sort of math that would achieve it. So areas like the debt ceiling, which I continue to worry that we will one day breach, which would plummet the worldwide economy. I mean, it would make the Great Recession look like a field day if we were ever to breach the debt ceiling. Also, the fact that how many government shutdowns have we had over the last decade? More than we can count. I think the number is over 10. We need permanent budget reform so that way we can finally end these shutdowns once and for all that really don't benefit anyone. So I look at it as that way. There's the primary job of keeping this administration in check as much as possible, yet at the same time trying to build a bipartisan consensus to do these big meaningful things. And those two that I just mentioned, I actually think would be in Donald Trump's narrow short term interest where perhaps we could get his agreement.
Jane Coaston
Representative Boyle, thank you so much for taking the time.
Representative Brendan Boyle
Oh, thank you.
Jane Coaston
That was my conversation with Pennsylvania Democratic Representative Brendan Boyle. This podcast does not cost a billion dollars and we will not give nearly 2 billion to mega weirdos. So if you're into that, make sure to subscribe, leave a 5 star review on Spotify and Apple podcasts. Watch us on YouTube and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. What a day is brought to you by Quints. Lately I've been more intentional about what I wear day to day, leading into pieces that feel effortless, comfortable and still put together. It just makes getting dressed simpler. Quince has been my go to the the fabrics feel elevated, the fits are flattering and everything just works without overthinking it. Everything at Quint's is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen. So you're paying for quality and craftsmanship, not brand markup. I'm actually wearing one of my many quince sweaters, which I've gotten so many wears out of and still love. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com wad for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-E.com wad for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com wad wadaday is brought to you by Americans United for Separation of Church and State this hasn't gotten a lot of airtime, but President Trump's Religious Liberty Commission has been meeting regularly. Not to focus on religious liberty for all, but rather how to further a Christian nationalist agenda in the US Religious freedom is meant to protect individuals rights to hold and practice their beliefs without interference so long as they don't harm others, including children. Pretty sure we can all agree on that. Yet that's exactly what has happened when taxpayer funded adoption and foster care agencies deny kids a loving home that treats them with dignity. Religion is also being used as a tool to discriminate and only allow people who are of the right religion to serve as foster parents. That's exactly what's happened to multiple of Americans United's clients. Liz and Gabe Rutan Ram, a Jewish couple in Tennessee, were ready to foster to adopt a child until a state funded agency refused to work with them because they are Jewish. Amy Madonna, a Catholic mother of three, was rejected because she did not agree to an Evangelical Protestant statement of faith. Fatma Marof and Bryn Esplin were turned away because they are a same sex couple. If you believe religious freedom should protect everyone, not be weaponized to turn away qualified families looking to foster and adopt children. We need you to join the fight now. Visit au.org crooked to learn more and become a member today. This fight is far from over and every one of us has a part to play.
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Jane Coaston
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Jane Coaston
Here's what else we're following today. Head of Line the vice president mentioned the other day there will be accommodations. They were willing to make accommodations with the Iranian meal. Could you kind of expand on those possible accommodations?
Donald Trump
Does that include when you say combination of what accommodations?
Jane Coaston
He's talking about combinations and targeting.
Donald Trump
I don't know. I can't tell you right now. We're negotiating and we'll see. But either we're going to get it one way or the other, they're not going to have a nuclear weapon.
Jane Coaston
President Trump on Thursday told reporters something we already knew. He can't tell you what's going on with negotiations with Iran. Iran is reviewing the U.S. s latest peace proposal, according to Iranian state media. But the two countries still seem pretty far away from each other on a number of issues. For one, Iran is reportedly speaking with Oman about setting up a toll system for the Strait of Hormuz. There's also the issue of Iran's highly enriched uranium, which neither side is budging on. On Thursday, Trump said, we'll probably destroy it after we get it, but we're not going to let them have it. The Trump administration is easing restrictions on planet warming super pollutants used in air conditioners and refrigerators. Trump's team is framing the issue as a way to lower grocery prices. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin spoke during the signing session in the Oval Office on Thursday.
Representative Brendan Boyle
Many Americans were expressing a lot of frustration and anger of this rushed, frantic, reckless sprint by the Biden administration to phase out reliable equipment for grocery stores, for restaurants and for homes.
Jane Coaston
No, they weren't. And fun. Trump signed a law in his first term that aimed to reduce these harmful planet warming super pollutants. The DNC finally released its autopsy into what went wrong in the 2024 election. It's riddled with errors, missing entire sections and raising new questions about Chair Ken Martin's leadership. For those of you who aren't political sickos, here's a refresher. Martin initially promised to release the report before suddenly changing his mind. But the public pressure became too much after Martin sparked backlash by defending his reversal on Pod Save America. In a blog post on Thursday, Martin wrote that he isn't proud of the report and that's why he didn't release it. Been there, buddy but I was in high school at the time. The report dodges major controversies of the 2024 election, including the Biden administration's handling of Israel's war in Gaza. The words Gaza and Israel also don't appear in the report, despite the DNC reportedly finding that former Vice President Kamala Harris lost votes because of the issue. As activist David Hogg told me on Thursday, the report was much less an autopsy and more than anything, a eulogy. You can watch the full interview on our YouTube channel. Colorado Democratic Governor Jared Polis was censured by the state's Democratic Party after the governor freed a 2020 election denier was serving a prison sentence for tampering with voting machines. Former County Clerk Tina Peters was serving a nine year sentence for breaching a voting system in 2021 to, quote, prove that the 2020 election had been stolen from Donald Trump. Trump, naturally, was a big champion of Peters, reportedly even moving U.S. space Command from Colorado to Alabama in protest of her sentence. Polis commuted Peter's sentence last week. On Wednesday, the Colorado State Democratic Party passed a motion to censure polis with nearly 90% support. In his first press conference since freeing Peters, Polis did not answer any questions about his decision, but he did eat a carrot. Trump's use of profanity in speeches has become increasingly profane, according to a Washington Post analysis. The Post looked at the first year and a half of both of his terms. According to the analysis, Trump cursed or used vulgar and insulting language at least once 40% of the time in Trump term one. This time around, however, his colorful language has appeared in 93% of speeches. Hear that parents? Block your kids ears anytime you see this guy on television, if you haven't been doing that already. And that's the news. Before we go. If you're looking for a smart, funny, slightly rage induced breakdown of the week's most overlooked headlines, hysteria has you covered this week. Aaron Ryan and Alyssa Master Monaco get into a rare piece of good news on abortion, medication, Trump's deeply unserious Garden of Heroes proposal, and what is going on in California politics. Then Rushma Sunjani joins the show to talk about the culture war targeting moms and her new documentary, no country for Mothers. Listen to hysteria wherever you get your podcasts. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, Leave a review. Take some time to relax this weekend and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading, I'm not just about how this week has been a lot. We've had primaries and slush funds and lots of Trump talking next to various aircraft. So this Memorial Day, spend some time outside doing something nice. Like me. Wedded Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe@crooked.com subscribe I'm Jane Coaston and Happy Memorial Day. Water Day is a production of Crooked Media. Our show is produced by Caitlin Plummer, Emily Foer, Erica Morrison and Adrienne Hill. Our team includes Haley Jones, Greg Walters, Matt Berg, Joseph Dutra, Johanna Case and Desmond Taylor. Our music is by Kyle Murdoch and Jordan Kanter. We had help today from the Associated Press. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.
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Representative Brendan Boyle
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Podcast: What A Day
Host: Jane Coaston
Date: May 22, 2026
Guest: Representative Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Ranking Member, House Budget Committee
Main theme: How former President Donald Trump’s personal demands caused Senate Republicans to scuttle a filibuster-proof immigration bill, unraveling their legislative strategy and exacerbating GOP internal tensions.
Jane Coaston discusses the dramatic collapse of Senate Republicans’ much-anticipated reconciliation bill aimed at funding immigration enforcement and reopening the Department of Homeland Security. The episode zeroes in on Donald Trump’s last-minute interventions—particularly requests for public funding for a “billion dollar ballroom” and a controversial slush fund for January 6th allies—and the resulting backlash from Republican senators. Jane is joined by Rep. Brendan Boyle, who dissects the process, the political implications, and what this episode signals for Trump’s relationship with Congress and the run-up to November’s midterms.
Senate Republicans prepared an immigration bill with $70 billion for enforcement and full DHS reopening.
Trump intervened with two demands:
Reaction: Bipartisan skepticism, with Republican senators calling the slush fund "stupid on stilts."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune abandoned efforts for a pre-holiday vote, highlighting disarray.
"First, he wanted $1 billion for security for his beloved beautiful ballroom. That did not go over well with Republicans, especially after the White House argued that approving that money would be the same as Congress approving of the ballroom itself."
— Jane Coaston (00:38)
"There’s no architectural plans. There is no environmentals, there’s no engineering. There’s no sense of when we ask how did it happen to cost exactly a billion."
— Sen. Bill Cassidy, via CNN (01:46)
Republicans had the votes for “reconciliation 2.0” but Trump’s last-minute asks doomed the bill.
The House vote was first delayed, then the Senate rejected the demands due to internal uproar.
Boyle emphasizes dysfunction caused by Trump’s “greed” and inability for Republicans to stay coordinated.
"[Trump threw] a curveball. In fact, two curveballs. One, the Billion Dollar Ballroom... Two, this disgraceful $1.8 billion slush fund for thugs."
— Rep. Brendan Boyle (03:11)
Boyle admits no one actually knows the bill’s final details due to Senate rules and parliamentarian objections against the “ballroom” line item.
Points out the complexity and confusion inherent in the reconciliation process, especially when used to smuggle unrelated priorities.
"The answer to that is no. But it's not because of a lack of work or preparation on my part. It's because they haven't produced what exactly the 'it' is..."
— Rep. Brendan Boyle (04:47)
Congressional Republicans increasingly criticize Trump’s demands—“reckless,” “terrible idea.”
Specific senators (Cassidy, Cornyn, Tillis, McConnell, Murkowski, Collins) are increasingly independent, especially as some are retiring or have lost primaries.
Boyle dubs this unofficial group the “YOLO caucus”—senators with little reason to toe Trump’s line.
Still, Boyle is reluctant to overstate the depth of the Republican rebellion.
"You could almost call them the YOLO caucus... It does appear as if Cornyn is about to join Cassidy in that club. You have McConnell, who can't stand Trump and is obviously retiring."
— Rep. Brendan Boyle (07:59)
Trump’s motivations seen as “about the Grifts and the grudges.”
As the chaos and pettiness of these demands became impossible to defend, especially with low Trump approval and imminent elections, a bloc of Republicans balked.
Boyle links the revolt to broader political trends, including economic woes and perceived legislative overreach.
“To then turn around and have to vote not for anything that would help the American people deal with those increased costs, but instead vote for a billion dollars of taxpayer money for a stupid ballroom. It is just so grotesque and beyond the pale.”
— Rep. Brendan Boyle (10:34)
Boyle outlines two main priorities:
Recognizes the need to plan carefully while seizing the chance for overdue reform if power shifts.
“We need permanent budget reform so that way we can finally end these shutdowns once and for all that really don't benefit anyone.”
— Rep. Brendan Boyle (12:35)
On Trump’s Priorities:
"Interesting how the war in Iran is so important that Trump can't go to his son's wedding, but not so important that Trump can't, say, get distracted by ballroom construction or golf."
— Jane Coaston (00:38)
On Congressional Dysfunction:
“It’s great that we’re at the moment able to celebrate a victory thanks to their own gross incompetence and the President’s incredible greed in passing up what would have been, I think, a win for him...”
— Rep. Brendan Boyle (06:24)
On Republican backbone:
“Let's just say I'm not going to bet my future, my mortgage on the strength of the spines of Congressional Republicans.”
— Rep. Brendan Boyle (06:53)
On slush fund and the ballroom:
“Donald Trump is a very easy person to figure out. He’s all about the Grifts and the grudges.”
— Rep. Brendan Boyle (09:17)
Iran negotiations: Trump provides few details, but asserts Iran will not obtain a nuclear weapon.
Environmental reversal: Trump administration rolls back restrictions on super-pollutants to allegedly help grocery prices.
DNC autopsy: Delayed, error-filled report about 2024 election performance dodges hot-button issues.
Colorado’s Governor censured: Gov. Polis sanctioned for commuting the sentence of a 2020 election denier.
Trump’s profanity ratio: Soars in his second term, with curse words in 93% of speeches (up from 40%).
“Trump cursed or used vulgar and insulting language at least once 40% of the time in Trump term one. This time around, however, his colorful language has appeared in 93% of speeches.”
— Jane Coaston (19:10)
The show maintains a witty, irreverent, and substantive tone throughout, balancing informative analysis with cutting asides and occasional sarcasm—particularly in describing Trump’s antics, the struggles of House/Senate Republicans, and the apparent pettiness and dysfunction running through current events.
This episode of "What a Day" delivers a compact, sharply analyzed look at the Republican legislative meltdown triggered by Trump’s personal priorities. Through Jane Coaston's probing questions and Rep. Brendan Boyle’s seasoned observations, listeners gain a nuanced understanding of Senate dynamics, reconciliation hurdles, and the larger implications for both the GOP and American governance heading into a heated electoral season.
Note: Timestamps refer to the original podcast file. Ads, sponsor messages, and non-content segments have been omitted for clarity.