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Tim Miller
Foreign.
Jane Coastin
February 6th. I'm Jane Coastin, and this is what a day. The show that really enjoys the deep empathy and care President Donald Trump showed for religious Americans like House Speaker Mike Johnson at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday.
Mike Johnson
You know, Mike Johnson's a very religious person and he does not hide it. He'll say to me sometimes at lunch, sir, may we pray? Say, excuse me, we're having lunch. You know, the Oval. It's okay with me.
Jane Coastin
Your praying is ruining the whole vibe, Mike, On today's show, is it the weekend yet? We're gearing up for a face off between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60. And the US is gearing up for a face off. I mean, docs with Iran and Oman. But let's start with, well, a lot has happened in the last week, hasn't it? I mean, the Department of Justice released 3 million files related to its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein just one week ago. And since then, we've learned that many of our bestest and brightest spent a lot of time sending Epstein misspelled messages begging to hang out on his island. Then President Trump argued Monday that the United States should, quote, nationalize elections. Then the White House said he was actually referring to the SAVE act, which would require voters to prove they are U.S. citizens in order to cast a ballot. And then on Tuesday, Trump made it clear during an Oval Office press conference that, yeah, he wants to nationalize elections.
Mike Johnson
Look at some of the places that horrible corruption on elections and the federal government should not allow that. The federal government should get involved.
Jane Coastin
Great. And there was more clearly seeing some poll numbers the administration didn't like. Border czar Tom Homan ordered 700 federal immigration agents out of Minnesota on Wednesday, a decision Trump took credit for in an interview with NBC Nightly News that night. But Congress is still fighting about whether or not it's okay for immigration officers to be unidentifiable masked weirdos who smash car windows. So for more on the shitshow that kicked off February 2026, I spoke to Tim Miller. He's writer at large at the Bulwark and host of the Bulwark podcast. Tim, welcome back to what a day. It is.
Tim Miller
Good to be back. What a day. It has been.
Jane Coastin
What a day.
Tim Miller
A lot of days in a row now, actually.
Jane Coastin
Yeah. I mean, to that point, somehow it's been a week since the Department of Justice released more than 3 million Epstein files. What were your biggest takeaways from that drop?
Tim Miller
Hmm. I feel like my biggest takeaway was just Epstein A deep shame about our society. I was going through the emails. I had this craving that there was going to be one person that just said, hey, you pedo piece of shit, I don't want to go to dinner with Larry Summers. I'm not interested. And it doesn't feel like anybody did that, at least in the emails I've seen. And that's very distressing. Just like that. There's just a general lack of any sort of red line when it comes to networking among our elite. And it's not surprising, but it's depressing for it to be so stark. Besides that, look, I feel a little bit unsatisfied because obviously Trump is covering up something, but I don't think that this process is going to yield anything worthwhile unless there are other co conspirators that are brought to justice. And at this point, it's basically Andrew, formerly known as Prince and Ghislaine and Geoffrey. And that's it.
Jane Coastin
Yeah, I mean, at a certain point there's only so many of Andrew's homes he can be removed from. Like they've started kicking him out of places that I think he kind of forgot he had.
Tim Miller
Right. One of the most interesting documents too is that the original indictment of Epstein in Florida that Alex Acosta kind of threw in the trash and kind of returned insanely lighter indictment. And that's almost an understatement to put it like that. But all the counts were everything we've known, we've come to know since. But there are other co conspirators in that original indictment besides him. And there's three others, I assume one of them is Maxwell, who are the other ones. And I think that is an element of this that's still missing. And I think the victims obviously cannot feel anything even close to closure if the end result of this is, you know, pointing and laughing at like a handful of elites that were way too cozy with him in emails.
Jane Coastin
Yeah, I mean, obviously we actually didn't get all of the files. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch said the DOJ held back about half of the Epstein files for various reasons, like protecting victims and withholding content related to child sexual abuse. The problem is they didn't properly redact many of the files they did release. This says to me that this was done because they had to do it, but they don't actually give a shit at all.
Tim Miller
Yeah, well, it's also rushed. It's like it's an unserious process. You know, if they. If this was a real process where they're trying to identify a, co conspirators or B, other people that were involved in illicit behavior towards young women and girls. Then, like, there's a way that they would have gone about this. Right. You know, you go back to the 2007 indictment and then you release this and you have somebody who's an expert inside the FBI or the DOJ and child sex crimes, like, writes a memo at the top and is like, here's the context of these files and here's why we redacted this and that. Right. Like, there would be a way to do that. I think that the administration's excuse, quote unquote, would be that, like, well, they gave us this legislative deadline and so we're just dumping it all out and you guys get to go through it. But they're not acting like people that want justice for anybody. I mean, hell, Trump even said that he's feeling bad for Bill Clinton.
Jane Coastin
Right.
Tim Miller
Like Trump. Trump is demonstrating the only kind of empathy we've ever seen him demonstrate, which is the empathy for, you know, men who have been accused of sex crimes. And like, it seems to me like their main concern here is, like, protecting people from being falsely smeared or whatever. And there is not any serious or judicious effort to, you know, uncover new information that would be valuable. Right.
Jane Coastin
But it's been a really weird week. Earlier this week, President Trump said Republicans should, quote, nationalize the voting. When he was on ex Deputy FBI Director Dan Bonino's podcast, his spiritual home, it was interesting how a bunch of administration figures tried to say this was about the SAVE Act. This was about, like, oh, requiring a passport to vote. And then Trump was like, nope, that's not what I meant at all. This is wild on a ton of levels. But, like, should we be concerned about this actually happening or is this more, like, concerning because he wants this?
Tim Miller
Well, I'd like to bring my old Republican hat on here for a second and say that maybe the pro democracy movement should consider some kind of negotiation with the MAGAs if they want to mandate a passport for voting.
Jane Coastin
Yeah. Because you're well aware of who owns passports in this country.
Tim Miller
I think the passport mandated voting would yield results that I would prefer. I mean, we'd see how that would shake up. It's just something to consider. We shouldn't throw the baby out with mouth water, I guess, on that idea.
Jane Coastin
Yeah.
Tim Miller
As far as the accusations about nationalizing elections, and obviously they can't do that. I was pretty alarmed by the fact that he kept using that number 15. I don't have the exact quote in front of you, but it's something the effect of, we have to take over the voting in, you know, the places where there could be problems. You know, there might be, like, 15 places where we might have to take it over. And then that number 15 came up again in a press conference. And I'm like, well, Trump has the kind of lizard brain where, like, little random facts stick in his head. And to me, as a Trump observer, I watched that, and I was like, I think that there were some people briefing him about how there are 15 areas where they're going to try to monkey with the midterms. I don't think he would have just made up that number. And so I think it's relatively alarming they're taking it seriously. Your friend Steve Bannon was yesterday talking about how they want to be putting ICE agents around voting booths, or not the booths themselves, but voting locations in certain precincts around the country. That's kind of alarming. So there's a little bit of a gang who can't shoot straight element to this. Like, their effort to rig the elections through gerrymandering backfired badly. A lot of times, voter suppression efforts backfire badly because people don't like having their vote suppressed none too much. So I'm not, like, at the far end of alarmism. Like, we're not gonna have elections again in the midterms, but I do think we need to be vigilant.
Jane Coastin
Right? I mean, Trump cares most of all about the 2020 election, which he will tell you over and over again. And we Talked about the DOJ's recent raid of an elections warehouse in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this week with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard present. And there's been this, like, amusing back and forth in the Trump administration about why she was there. In a letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee, she said President Trump asked her to be there. But now Trump is saying Pam Bondi told her to go. It seems kind of weird that no one wants to take responsibility for Tulsi Gabbard being in a place where Tulsi Gabbard doesn't need to be.
Tim Miller
Yeah, I mean, you gotta assume that Trump is lying, because that's just a good, safe baseline bet here. Like, why would Tulsi say that Trump told her to go if he didn't? I don't. She's weird, though. So who knows? And they're all liars. You're doing.
Jane Coastin
That's the thing. Like, this is a real. It's Just, you know, a real Bureau of Liar.
Tim Miller
Yeah. There's not really a credible testimony to be had here. And it's extremely strange that she was there. The only possible rationale you could think of for her being there is that part of her remit is foreign interference in the elections. Now, traditionally, people in her role as Director of National Intelligence would be focused on preventing foreign interference in elections. It's possible that she might kind of see her role as a little bit of an inverse of that and allowing certain types of interference, but none of their explanations are any better.
Jane Coastin
Right.
Tim Miller
By the way, it's like the attorney general demanding that the Director of National Intelligence is at a raid in Georgia. In Georgia of ballots based on conspiracy theories that have been debunked multiple times in court and been debunked by Republican elected officials in the state. I like. It's fakoct any way you look at it.
Jane Coastin
Yeah. I mean, Trump will take responsibility for some things. And I found this interesting. On Wednesday, White House border czar Tom Homan announced the withdrawal of about 700 federal officers from Minnesota, a decision unlike Fulton County President Trump personally took credit for later in an interview with NBC. And that tells me Democrats are winning the perception fight over immigration enforcement. You worked on the campaign for Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush. Immigration reform was a big thing there. What is your view here? Can the US Actually come to a consensus on immigration? Because it seems as if, like, you know, in 2024, Americans voted with regard to immigration on not that. But now you're getting the, oh, not that either. That seems terrible. So where do we go next?
Tim Miller
Well, I think that the Democrats would be wise to focus their messaging for now on the second batch of not. That's to use the way you framed it. Right. I think that trying to put forth some future grand bargain where you bring in, I don't know, Katie Britt and Lisa Murkowski, it's hard to imagine. And I think it would be hard to execute. And I think at this point that the overreach of the Trump administration is so extensive that you had this article yesterday in the New York Times with the aforementioned Katie Britt who's like, trying to act like she really cares about Liam Ramos, that five year old in the beanie who is victimized by ICE and sent to Texas. Right. So if Republicans are going to the failing New York Times to say, hey, I'm one of the good ones, that is a tell.
Jane Coastin
It's always a tell. It's like, I mean, you saw that with Mike Lawler when you wanna go to the New York Times and say like, wow, I'm very worried about what's happening. I'm like, somebody showed you a poll.
Tim Miller
Yeah, that's a tell that they know that. Yeah, they're in trouble politically. So I think the Democrats should run through that door and try to create a lot of rules that will have broad appeal, you know, beginning with taking off their masks and maybe funding for more immigration judges and creating limitations on what children can be detained and how people that don't have arrest records can be dealt with. Right. I like, there are a million ways that you could do this, I think, where you're not getting into the sticky questions of like, do you give citizenship for somebody that's been here for 15 years and instead just try to enshrine some more legal protections for people who are being abused, frankly, and scared by this administration.
Jane Coastin
Tim, as always, thank you so much for joining me.
Tim Miller
Girl. Anytime. We'll see you soon.
Jane Coastin
All right, that was my conversation with Tim Miller, host of the Bulwark Podcast and writer at large for the Bulwark. We'll link to his work in the show. Notes Good news. You've made it this far. Just a little bit of news to come before you're home free for the weekend. If you like the show, make sure to smash that subscribe button, leave a five 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 Aura Frames Aura Frames is the answer to every gifting moment. Seriously. From my family to my friends, Aura Frames have been the perfect way to say I want you to be able to see your memories and happiest moments every single day. With an Aura Frame, you get free unlimited storage so you can add as many photos and videos as you want. You can preload photos before it ships and keep adding from anywhere anytime. You can even personalize your gift and a gift box is included with no price tag. All you need to do is download the free Aura app or text photos straight to your frame. Auraframes the Perfect Gift Every time named one by Wirecutter. You can save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com for a limited time. Listeners can get $35 off their best selling Carver mat frame with code WAUD. That's auraframes.com promo code WAD. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. What a Day is brought to you by Mill. You know the moment you open the trash and get it with the smell. It's mostly food waste, scraps, scary old leftovers, melting lettuce, all just stinking up your house while it waits to head to a landfill. EW Mill is the odorless, effortless, fully automated food recycler. Potato peels, avocado pits, chicken bones, even dairy. Mill takes almost anything. While you sleep. Mill quietly transforms those scraps into nutrient rich shelf, stable grounds. No mess, no smells, no fruit flies. Mill can process up to 10 pounds overnight and it can work for weeks before you even have to think about emptying it. You can use the grounds in your garden, add them to curbside compost, or Mill can even pick them up and get them to a small farm for you. Mill turns a huge climate problem into a simple daily habit you can actually stick with, and you can actually see your impact. The Mill app tracks how much food you're keeping out of landfills and Mill has already helped its customers put over 15 million pounds of food to good use. Mill is sleek, beautiful and looks great in any kitchen. And mill offers a 90 day risk free trial. So if you don't absolutely love it, you can just send it back. We put a mill in our office kitchen and it's made a huge difference and produced pounds of grounds we can use on the plants and flowers outside. Food waste isn't food waste anymore. I feel like I'm taking part in the circle of regeneration. Also, absolutely zero smell. Try Mill risk free for 90 days and get $75 off@mill.com wad and use code wad at checkout. That's $75 off@mill.com waad and use code waad mill.com waad and use code wad.
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Jane Coastin
Else we're following today. Head of Lines.
John Thune
We have one week and one day left to pass the Department of Homeland Security Corporations bill, Senate.
Jane Coastin
Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday. Lawmakers are nowhere near an agreement that would enable them to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Congress is trying to renegotiate the DHS spending bill after it was separated from a larger spending measure, but from the sound of it, it isn't going too well. Thune warned that the DHS could shut down next week if Democrats do not work with Republicans and the White House.
John Thune
I would hope that the Democrats will come to the table. The timeline that they asked for has been granted and I hope that they are finally ready to get this done. It's important for the American people. All these agencies, Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees disasters in this country. We've got a number of weather related disasters in this country that are going to require the able attention of FEMA, a lot of important agencies, Mr. President, that won't go funded if they remain in this posture of resisting anything that doesn't give them all of their demands. But worse yet, Mr. President, not only insisting on all the demands, most of which are, as they know, very unrealistic and unserious.
Jane Coastin
Let's stop him right there. On Wednesday, Democratic minority leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries released an expanded list of 10 detailed guardrails to, quote, rein in ICE and stop the violence. Those demands include better identification of DHS officers, new use of force standards, and a stop to racial profiling. You tell me if that sounds unrealistic. The FBI is organizing a mysterious conference call in late February for local election officials from all 50 states. The plan Discuss the midterm elections with federal law enforcement agencies. This is all according to an email obtained by Whatadays newsletter writer Matt Berg. The exact purpose of the call remains unclear, but it's raising concerns after President Trump called for state elections to be nationalized. When asked for an explanation, an FBI spokesperson wrote to Matt, thank you for reaching out. The FBI has no comment. Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar told what a day. He's never heard of a conference call like this being organized by the FBI between state officials and federal agencies, aguilar said in a phone call. I was just like, what is this? It's the strangest thing in the world that the FBI is reaching out to us and trying to coordinate elections, security. He added, quote, they're just sowing this confusion and chaos to try to intimidate us into compliance. So more of the same.
Mike Johnson
They'Re negotiating now. They don't want to, they don't want us to hit them. You know, we have a big fleet going over to Iran.
Jane Coastin
President Trump also casually spoke of war at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday. Maybe I don't really know what the National Prayer Breakfast is, as I assumed it involved prayer and maybe some breakfast. The US And Iran will hold nuclear talks today in Oman. Trump has turned up the heat on Iran recently, moving US Military assets into the Gulf and threatening the possibility of strikes. And earlier this week, a US Warship shot down an Iranian drone that flew too close to a US Aircraft carrier. So it's safe to say that tensions are pretty high right now. According to the Associated Press, the talks will center mainly on Iran's nuclear program. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week that the US Hopes to discuss other issues like the protesters killed in Iran, the country's ballistic missile program, and aiding proxy groups across the region. But Iran has made it clear that it intends only to talk about its nuclear program. The Seattle Seahawks will face the New England Patriots this Sunday in Super Bowl 60. And if you're wondering who to root for, here's a tip from White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt on Thursday.
Caroline Levitt
The president has wisely chosen not to make a prediction in Sunday night's game, but as a native girl from New Hampshire, go Patriots.
Jane Coastin
Got it. Go Seahawks. But the super bowl is more than a game. And no, this isn't the start of a paid Nike ad. It's a look inside how politics are reflected in America's biggest sporting event. For one, Trump is skipping the big game. Last month, he told the New York Post, quote, it's just too far. The game is in California. But according to one report from Zateo, the real reason Trump skipped out is because his advisors warned him, sir, you're probably going to get booed. And what about Immigration and Customs Enforcement? The NFL said earlier this week that it's, quote, confident that ICE won't conduct operations at the Super Bowl. That's contrary to what Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in October that ICE would be, quote, all over the event. To top it all off, Bad Bunny, a vocal critic of Trump, is slated to perform at halftime. Bad Bunny made history at the Grammys last week, becoming the first artist to win Album of the Year for an album sung 100% in Spanish. So we don't know who will win the game, but we do know that Trump has already lost. And that's. Before we go. This week on Hysteria, Erin Ryan and guest host Akilah Hughes connect the dots on the latest Epstein files dump from fertility clinics and finances to 4chan, the FBI and everything in between. Then they break down how the Super Bowl, Olympics and Oscars put athletes and performers in impossible positions, and why those moments still matter. Plus a petty deep dive into Ballerina Farm and the dangers of unlearning things we figured out over 100 years ago. Listen to Hysteria wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe. Leave a review Stand with the audience at the AEW Dynamite Pro Wrestling match in Las Vegas Wednesday and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just about. Like me, what a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe@crooked.com subscribe I'm Jane Coston, and as is always true, there's a lot we can learn from the world of pro wrestling. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producers are Emily Foer and Chris Allport. Our producer is Kaitlyn Plummer. Our video editor is Joseph Tutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We had production help today from Ethan Oberman, Greg Walters and Matt Burke. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison and our senior vice president of news and politics is Adrienne Hill. Our theme 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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Podcast Summary: What A Day – "Trump Passes The Buck To Bondi"
Date: February 6, 2026
Host: Jane Coaston
Guest: Tim Miller (Writer-at-large, The Bulwark)
In this episode, Jane Coaston dives into a chaotic week of US political news, focusing on the aftermath of the DOJ’s release of Jeffrey Epstein investigation files, President Trump’s push to “nationalize” US elections, controversial immigration enforcement actions, and odd maneuvers by senior administration officials regarding election security. With guest Tim Miller, the discussion is sharp, sardonic, and deeply engaged with both the substance and spectacle of current events.
This episode unpacks a chaotic week in American politics marked by government document dumps, election security theater, and shifting immigration strategies. Jane Coaston and Tim Miller offer trenchant analysis and inside-baseball jokes, bringing clarity (and laughs) to a news cycle often defined by confusion, blame-shifting, and institutional inertia.
Key Takeaway: Whether it’s DOJ incompetence, Trump shifting stories, or bipartisan inability to own up to consequences, the episode spotlights a political moment rich in “a real Bureau of Liar” energy—and points to opportunities for smart, concrete policy reform amid the chaos.