Trump Extorts DOJ for $230M While Gov’t Workers Scramble to Make Ends Meet | Ryan Holiday
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This is The Daily Show with your host, Michael Kosta.
Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Michael Kosta. We've got so much to talk about tonight. Trump cuts himself a bonus check. Louis Black gets jacked. And we'll tell you why your DoorDash order just got rerouted to Newark. But first, let's kick things off with our ongoing coverage of Shutdown Showdown 2025 down. Locked up, locked down, and closed for business. The shutdown has lasted for over three weeks now, which you may not have ever noticed because they keep forcing federal employees to come back into work without pay. People like TSA screeners, veterans doctors, and most importantly, the brave guards who keep the Epstein files from being released. Thank you, heroes. But other federal workers have been furloughed, which means they don't go to work at all.
These jobs are less essential. And we probably won't even notice they're gone. And remind me, which kind of jobs are furloughed? Roughly 1,400 employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration, which safeguards the country's nuclear stockpile, now on unpaid leave. Only 400 workers remain on the job. Great. America's nuclear weapons are now unguarded. That may sound dangerous, but don't be nervous. The nukes have air tags on them. Also, just to be safe, they put up a sign outside the nuclear stockpile so no one's going to go in there.
And for those folks who do have to work without pay, well, they have to get creative to pay the bills. The shutdown is also putting a strain on the people who make sure we get to our destination safely. Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since October 1st.
Some TSA officers and air traffic controllers are even taking Uber and DoorDash jobs just to make ends meet.
Okay, that's not ideal. On one hand, you don't want air traffic controllers staying up all night working a second job, but on the other hand, the sky is, like, really big, you know? And the planes probably won't bump into each other. What's the worst that could happen? A lost plane crashes into our unguarded nuclear weapons? I mean, it's not that bad. But look, I hate that this is happening. I don't want to get into an Uber and feel bad when my driver tells me he's an out-of-work air traffic controller. I want to get in an Uber and feel bad when my driver tells me he was an oncologist in Armenia. But if seeing all these hardworking people getting screwed over is hurting your little feelings, don't worry.
There is one federal employee who do be getting that money.
This morning, sources tell ABC News that President Trump is pushing for a personal $230 million payout from the Justice Department as compensation for the federal investigations he's faced.
He is demanding $230 million because he faced special counsel investigations over his campaign's contacts with Russia and his removal of classified documents from the White House to his home in Mar-a-Lago. $230 million. Look, I know it's not exactly what black people wanted, but the American government is finally paying reparations. Well, it is to an old white billionaire president, but that's why you need to be more specific when you're manifesting. Of course, a lawsuit isn't anything new. Trump sues people more often than Barron gets hit by a seagull. That kid is huge. So I don't mean to sound like your nephew at the Seder, but why is this lawsuit different from the other lawsuits?
The Justice Department officials who would likely sign off on the payment were once President Trump's own personal lawyers, Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche.
Now, now, I'm sure Todd Blanche will take his time and very carefully consider what color pen he will use to sign the check over to his president boss. Let me spell this out for you. Trump's own former lawyers are the ones who get to decide if Trump gets this giant payout from the government that Trump is in charge of. So if you can't believe how good Trump's luck is, he also can't seem to believe it.
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