2422 - NIH, DEI: The Chaos Is The Point w/ Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Elie Mystal

It's Hump Day! Sam speaks with Jackie Flynn Mogensen, reporter covering science and health at Mother Jones, to discuss her recent reporting on the Trump administration's actions towards the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Then, he speaks with Elie Mystal, justice correspondent at The Nation, to discuss his recent piece on the Trump administration's to dismantle DEIA efforts across the federal government. First, Sam runs through updates on the potential blockage of Trump’s federal funds freeze, Trump’s attempt to push out federal workers, Elon’s interns’ influence at the OPM, the gutting of the Equal Opportunity Commission, a trans care ban for anyone 19 and under, education funding, and Trump’s grotesque immigration regime, before expanding on the enthusiasm from conservative media over Trump taking a sledgehammer to the government’s ability to govern. Jackie Flynn Mogensen then joins, diving right into the devastating impact of Trump’s first wave of federal funding freezes on the US public health regime, unpacking the pause on the NIH’s $40B in funding to outside research – funding that spurs over a 2:1 return in economic activity – alongside the complete cut off of communications between health departments both internally and with the public. After expanding on the importance of broad-scale scientific research, Mogensen walks Sam through the drastic increase in insecurity and precarity among federal workers in these organizations, and why all of this dysfunction is ultimately the point of Trump’s attacks on US public health infrastructure. Elie Mystal and Sam then unpack the utter nihilism of the Trump Administration’s approach to the rule of law, particularly when bolstered by a Supreme Court intent on the destruction of the very same government. Next, Mystal walks through Trump’s ongoing attack on DEI and DEIA policies, exploring their role as the white response to needing to “prove” the enforcement of the Civil Rights and Americans with Disabilities Acts, and what a world where the federal government refuses to act as an equal opportunity employer, nor defend equal opportunity employment, would look like. After touching on the Supreme Court’s role in potentially bolstering Trump’s executive takeover of the federal government – and why even a rebuke of Trump could spell trouble for future Democratic presidents – Elie and Sam wrap up with Democratic Leadership’s failure to address any element of the material devastation Trump has already wrought on the country in less than two weeks.

And in the Fun Half: Sam expands on the devastating impact of the “chaos is the point” ethos of the Trump Administration and the absurdity of blaming those materially affected over their vote, also touching on the utter failure of Democratic leadership to address this destruction, and looking at how a genuinely engaged opposition leader would respond to Trump in the form of JB Pritzker. Next, the MR Crew unpacks Rep. Rich Cormick’s explanation on why taking away meals from kids is fine, actually, gets a window into the world of Harlan Crow from Redford in Dallas, and touches on the Trump Admin’s decision to reverse (and maybe reverse the reversal?) of the recent OMB memo. They also dive deep into the devastating impact of Trump’s first ten days on the agriculture industry, and watch RFK get grilled over his myriad dangerous hypocrisies, plus, your calls and IMs!

Follow Jackie on Twitter here: https://x.com/jackiefmogensen

Check out Jackie's work at Mother Jones here: https://www.motherjones.com/author/jackie-flynn-mogensen/

Follow Elie on Twitter here: https://x.com/ElieNYC

Check out Elie's work at The Nation here: https://www.thenation.com/authors/elie-mystal/

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