Last Saturday, Bob Kuttner wrote a scoop for the Prospect that Chuck Schumer was much more involved with the allegedly rearguard action by wayward Senate Democrats to end the government shutdown. A day later, that deal was consummated. There’s been uproar about Schumer’s leadership of the Democrats in the Senate, but also a sense that Democrats might be in a decent position politically, raising the salience of health care and affordability at a time when President Trump is essentially unable to do much about it without abandoning his economic program.
This week on our live show, executive editor David Dayen talks to Kuttner about the end of the shutdown, and how the parties are positioned. They talk about Schumer’s leadership vacuum, the possibility for a policy shift on Affordable Care Act subsidies that were elevated to a primary political topic, and the continued lack of pushback on the Trump administration’s lawless seizing of power over federal spending. In addition, they talk about this week’s Epstein revelations, and the presence in them of Larry Summers, who simply cannot do anything to stop himself from falling upward in Democratic circles.
As we cover the regime in Washington and its impact on your life, we’ll be livestreaming every Friday at 12:30 p.m. ET to give you the information you need to understand the week in news. Join us by subscribing to our YouTube channel today!