Ezra Klein

have gotten to the end of the process. They were trying. Three of these 56. Out of 56, yes.

have gotten to the end of the process. They were trying. Three of these 56. Out of 56, yes.

Oh, no, of course not. I didn't mean they had built it, John. Sorry, I was so confused you. Oh, dear God. They just got to the point where, in theory, they could get the money to build it.

Oh, no, of course not. I didn't mean they had built it, John. Sorry, I was so confused you. Oh, dear God. They just got to the point where, in theory, they could get the money to build it.

And I will say in the book, we try to get, not on this particular issue, but we get very specific on how these things work.

And I will say in the book, we try to get, not on this particular issue, but we get very specific on how these things work.

I will neither laugh at this nor agree with it. Derek is a beautiful man. It was sometimes distracting for me in the writing of this book. And he is currently perfect in every way.

I will neither laugh at this nor agree with it. Derek is a beautiful man. It was sometimes distracting for me in the writing of this book. And he is currently perfect in every way.

Okay. Okay, the issue – action number one. This is all running through the NTIA, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which I know you're all big fans of. Sure. They've done fabulous work. Yes. So step one is the NTIA must issue NOFO, Notice of Funding Opportunity, within 180 days.

Okay. Okay, the issue – action number one. This is all running through the NTIA, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which I know you're all big fans of. Sure. They've done fabulous work. Yes. So step one is the NTIA must issue NOFO, Notice of Funding Opportunity, within 180 days.

I want to note, by the way, that within 180 days is already kind of something interesting here because you look at, say, the Works Progress Administration. WPA, what is that, the 30s? Yeah, the New Deal, right? And Harold Meyerson has a great piece on this back from the 2010s. And that was employing people by then. I mean, 180 days is, I could do some quick math here, it's about half a year.

I want to note, by the way, that within 180 days is already kind of something interesting here because you look at, say, the Works Progress Administration. WPA, what is that, the 30s? Yeah, the New Deal, right? And Harold Meyerson has a great piece on this back from the 2010s. And that was employing people by then. I mean, 180 days is, I could do some quick math here, it's about half a year.

Yes. Medicare, when we passed Medicare in this country, it gave people Medicare cards one year later. So we're taking half a year here just to tell people that there is going to be an opportunity to apply for grants.

Yes. Medicare, when we passed Medicare in this country, it gave people Medicare cards one year later. So we're taking half a year here just to tell people that there is going to be an opportunity to apply for grants.

This is my shit, man. This is like, I didn't expect we'd go here, but-

This is my shit, man. This is like, I didn't expect we'd go here, but-

And I want to say, this is a big part of the book. We talk a lot about how hard it is to be a civil servant, right? We get incredibly talented people to come into the government. Absolutely. Then we make it incredibly hard for them to do their job. Absolutely.

And I want to say, this is a big part of the book. We talk a lot about how hard it is to be a civil servant, right? We get incredibly talented people to come into the government. Absolutely. Then we make it incredibly hard for them to do their job. Absolutely.

So I'm a huge fan of this book by Jen Polka called Recoding America, which it absolutely shows how the bodies are buried and how frustrating this is. But OK, so what I'm reading off of here is testimony that was offered by Sarah Morris, who was part of the Commerce Department. to Congress on March 4th, 2025. So everything I am telling you is valid post-Biden administration, right? March 4th, 2025.

So I'm a huge fan of this book by Jen Polka called Recoding America, which it absolutely shows how the bodies are buried and how frustrating this is. But OK, so what I'm reading off of here is testimony that was offered by Sarah Morris, who was part of the Commerce Department. to Congress on March 4th, 2025. So everything I am telling you is valid post-Biden administration, right? March 4th, 2025.