Ryan Knutson

It seems like from the hearing so far that most Democrats are most likely to oppose these nominees. But what Republicans do you think might present the biggest hurdles? We saw a few of them flip on Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, who barely cleared his nomination, needing a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance.

It seems like from the hearing so far that most Democrats are most likely to oppose these nominees. But what Republicans do you think might present the biggest hurdles? We saw a few of them flip on Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, who barely cleared his nomination, needing a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance.

All right. Well, we'll keep our eyes on that. Meanwhile, late last Friday night, Trump fired 17 inspectors general. And if you are not a governmental nerd like Molly and I, inspectors general are the internal government watchdogs who are supposed to make sure federal agencies comply with the law and don't misuse their authority or taxpayer money. So, Molly, why do you think Trump did this?

All right. Well, we'll keep our eyes on that. Meanwhile, late last Friday night, Trump fired 17 inspectors general. And if you are not a governmental nerd like Molly and I, inspectors general are the internal government watchdogs who are supposed to make sure federal agencies comply with the law and don't misuse their authority or taxpayer money. So, Molly, why do you think Trump did this?

All right. Well, we'll keep our eyes on that. Meanwhile, late last Friday night, Trump fired 17 inspectors general. And if you are not a governmental nerd like Molly and I, inspectors general are the internal government watchdogs who are supposed to make sure federal agencies comply with the law and don't misuse their authority or taxpayer money. So, Molly, why do you think Trump did this?

Is there any indication that these inspectors general will be replaced quickly, or are these jobs just going to be vacant now for the foreseeable future?

Is there any indication that these inspectors general will be replaced quickly, or are these jobs just going to be vacant now for the foreseeable future?

Is there any indication that these inspectors general will be replaced quickly, or are these jobs just going to be vacant now for the foreseeable future?

All right. So I also want to talk to you about this deadly plane crash that happened late Wednesday night in D.C. More than 60 people are presumed dead. This is the first tragedy in Trump's second term. And it's actually not something that I would expect that we would be talking about on this podcast.

All right. So I also want to talk to you about this deadly plane crash that happened late Wednesday night in D.C. More than 60 people are presumed dead. This is the first tragedy in Trump's second term. And it's actually not something that I would expect that we would be talking about on this podcast.

All right. So I also want to talk to you about this deadly plane crash that happened late Wednesday night in D.C. More than 60 people are presumed dead. This is the first tragedy in Trump's second term. And it's actually not something that I would expect that we would be talking about on this podcast.

But President Trump weighed in on it in a press conference on Thursday morning in a way that has drawn a lot of attention. Fake news.

But President Trump weighed in on it in a press conference on Thursday morning in a way that has drawn a lot of attention. Fake news.

But President Trump weighed in on it in a press conference on Thursday morning in a way that has drawn a lot of attention. Fake news.

— What did you make of what the president had to say about this?

— What did you make of what the president had to say about this?

— What did you make of what the president had to say about this?

All right. So one of the big stories of the week was the Trump administration's effort to temporarily freeze a big chunk of federal spending. And we are going to talk about that right after this break. So on Monday, the Trump administration issued a memo that said it was going to pause a big chunk of federal spending, the ballpark of $3 trillion worth of federal grants and loans.

All right. So one of the big stories of the week was the Trump administration's effort to temporarily freeze a big chunk of federal spending. And we are going to talk about that right after this break. So on Monday, the Trump administration issued a memo that said it was going to pause a big chunk of federal spending, the ballpark of $3 trillion worth of federal grants and loans.

All right. So one of the big stories of the week was the Trump administration's effort to temporarily freeze a big chunk of federal spending. And we are going to talk about that right after this break. So on Monday, the Trump administration issued a memo that said it was going to pause a big chunk of federal spending, the ballpark of $3 trillion worth of federal grants and loans.