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TRANSCRIPT

Jane Coaston: It’s Thursday, October 23rd. I’m Jane Coaston, and this is What a Day, the show that does not want to be made into an AI clone of itself in case it dies. That’s reportedly what Alan Hamel, the widower of actress Suzanne Somers, did after her passing in 2023. Hamel told People Magazine that the Suzanne Somers AI clone was trained on her books and interviews and added, quote, “When you look at the finished one next to the real Suzanne, you can’t tell the difference.” No, see, I think that one could tell the difference, because one is a person who has died and the other is an AI clone. [music break] On today’s show, the Pentagon introduces us to the quote, “next generation of Pentagon Press Corps” after legacy media companies reject their new press policy. And President Donald Trump plans to slap sanctions on, am I getting this right, Russia? But let’s start with Congress and Jeffrey Epstein. The government shutdown is now in its third week. The House of Representatives is out, and votes aren’t getting scheduled. Particularly the vote to force the Department of Justice to release files centered on financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Let me introduce you to someone who could change that. Back in September, Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva won a special election to the House, but she hasn’t been seated because House Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to swear her in. Now Johnson says his hands are tied by the government shutdown, but that’s not true. As the New York Times detailed earlier this month, representatives can be sworn into office even if the House is out of session, and Johnson did so for two Florida Republican House members earlier this year. But Democrats think the real motivation for Johnson’s stonewalling is the Epstein discharge petition. If Representative elect Grijalva is sworn in, she will be the final signature on a petition forcing the Epstein files legislation to the House floor for a vote. Arizona Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly confronted Johnson about the situation two weeks ago. 

[clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson] So I’m anxious to administer the oath to her. 

[clip of Senator Ruben Gallego] How much is this actually– [unintelligible banter]

[clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson] As soon as you guys vote to open the government.

[clip of Senator Ruben Gallego] You just don’t want her to be on the Epstein you don’t want her to be on the Epstein discharge. How much is could you–

[clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson] Totally absurd. You guys are experts in red herrings and distractions. 

[clip of Senator Ruben Gallego] –[?] moving them on.

[clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson] No I’m not. This has nothing to do with Epstein. 

[clip of Senator Ruben Gallego] This has everything to do with Epstein. 

[clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson] The House Oversight Committee, the House Oversight Committee is working on the Epstein files right now, releasing thirty-four thousand pages and more on the way. 

[clip of Senator Ruben Gallego] You know she’s key to [?]–

[clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson] Let me finish. Let me finish. The House Oversight Committee–

[clip of Senator Ruben Gallego] You just keep coming up with excuses. This is an excuse so she doesn’t sign on to that.

Jane Coaston: But on Tuesday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit against Johnson, demanding that he either swear in Representative Adelita Grijalva or permit her to be sworn in by someone else. In response, Speaker Johnson said:. 

[clip of House Speaker Mike Johnson] Bring it, sister. 

Jane Coaston: You know, like a normal person. California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna is a co sponsor on the Epstein Discharge Petition. We talked about Epstein, the shutdown, and his willingness to cross the aisle to work with Republicans. Representative Khanna, welcome back to What a Day. 

Ro Khanna: Thank you for having me back on. 

Jane Coaston: So speaking at the Capitol on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that this is now the second longest government shutdown in US history and said, quote, “Democrats keep making history, but they’re doing it for all the wrong reasons.” What’s your response to Speaker Johnson continuing to blame the shutdown on Democrats? 

Ro Khanna: There are two different shutdowns. One is the overall government shutdown, where the Republicans have given these tax breaks to billionaires and are unwilling to give tax credits to working families on health care. And November 1st, healthcare premiums double for 22 million Americans who are on the exchanges. And we’re saying we need to help these Americans and not allow premiums to double. That’s the fight on the bigger shutdown. But then there’s a second specific shutdown that is totally, totally avoidable. And that is that Johnson has unilaterally shut down the House of Representatives. Usually, when there’s a government shutdown, you have votes to be able to pay the troops, to be able to pay essential workers like air traffic controllers and people who can take care of our parks and who approve drugs. Johnson isn’t doing that. And the only reason he isn’t doing that is he doesn’t want to swear in Adelita Grijalva, who will be the 218th vote, which will allow for a vote on the release of the Epstein files. And the reason he doesn’t want to allow that vote is he knows 50 to 60 Republicans will likely defect. It’s the largest defection on any issue since Trump walked down the escalator, and it will be the first sign of Trump being a lame duck. 

Jane Coaston: Yeah, I I wanna talk about that a little bit. You co-sponsored with Republican Thomas Massie the legislation that would require the Justice Department to release the full unclassified Epstein files. But Johnson has criticized you and your Democratic colleagues this week, saying you’re only pushing for the full release in the hopes that it will damage President Trump, which I think is a little bit rich given that it was like the Trump campaign that really pushed the whole Epstein thing until he said, no, no, no, you’re not allowed to ask about that anymore, or else you hate America. But what’s your response to Johnson’s remarks there? 

Ro Khanna: I don’t think Marjorie Taylor Greene is doing this to damage Donald Trump. I don’t think Lauren Boebert is doing it to damage Donald Trump. I don’t think Nancy Mace is doing it to damage Donald Trump. And when Thomas Massie and I first did it, we thought it was bipartisan and Trump would embrace it. He’s the one who ran on releasing the Epstein files. He’s the one who’s chosen to make this political. He has chosen, and Pam Bondi has chosen not to release the files. And that’s because they are rich and powerful people who would be embarrassed. Uh. Speaker Johnson himself has said there are a thousand victims. You know, if there are a thousand victims, one person doesn’t abuse a thousand victims. That means there are other rich and powerful people who are participating in this. Uh. And there’s a cover-up on who these people are. 

Jane Coaston: Something that was interesting to me, and I’m curious how you feel about this debate, especially the position we’re in now. You’ve said that you support eliminating the filibuster entirely, and you’ve also supported a more narrow filibuster exception that would require just 51 votes to keep the government open. Now we’re starting to hear from Republicans and from folks like Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman that they support blowing up the filibuster. Now, I was alive like a couple of years ago, where I recall that getting rid of the filibuster was something Democrats supported, but Republicans said was like the worst idea in the history of the world. Do you have any concerns over how that would impact the leverage that Democrats have to advocate for health care in situations like this one, like what you were just talking about? 

Ro Khanna: Well, first of all, the tool of the filibuster was used to prevent civil rights and voting rights of this country. So it’s not a surprise to me that when President Biden was trying to get voting rights through with Vice President Harris’s leadership, that that’s when the defense of the filibuster became most vocal. And now that we’re not talking about voting rights, that there’s some flexibility on the filibuster. But I just think it is a horrible, horrible remnant of a racist past, and it needs to be removed. And it is pro– it has stopped progress on voting rights, its stopped progress on increasing the wage, and it leads to things like this government shutdown. So yes, of course it will decrease short term our our leverage, but it’ll also bring clarity to who’s actually has power right now and long term it’ll allow the Democrats when we’re back in power to actually make changes for the good. 

Jane Coaston: You mentioned the health care costs that could potentially soar once the Affordable Care Act subsidies expire. What’s your message to Americans who are likely going to see those letters come in the mail telling them that their premiums are increasing forty to fifty percent? 

Ro Khanna: Share your stories on social media, on the Hill. If you can come to the Capitol, be vocal. I saw how we saved President Obama’s achievement of the Affordable Care Act in the first Trump administration. Yes, it was John McCain’s courage and a few others, but it was swarms of people who came to the Capitol to talk about what this meant to them uh from rural parts of America, from parts of all parts of America, urban centers, Black, white, Latino, Asian. Uh. Your voice ultimately does matter. And the worst thing we could have is complacency. So I’m hoping ask, it one thing I’m asking even because my own constituents is share your story. If you get a letter in the mail telling me that your premiums going up, send them to us. You can send them to me, you can send them to your congressperson, you could post it online. We need to get real faces behind this abstract debate in Washington. 

Jane Coaston: This week, Republican politicians in North Carolina voted to approve a new congressional map that’s likely to shift an additional seat to the GOP. What do you make of the Republican gerrymandering in states like North Carolina and Texas, especially given that Californians are going to be voting on Prop 50 this election, which would authorize a new congressional map that’s more favorable to Democrats? 

Ro Khanna: Well, I’m so proud of Speaker Pelosi. She led this effort, and we’re gonna pass it overwhelmingly. I I think it’s gonna be a big win in California. And that’s gonna help offset some of the gerrymandering in Texas and other places. But what’s most disheartening to me is what they’re doing in trying to gut the Voting Rights Act. Look, for a hundred years, we did not have someone who was Black elected in places like South Carolina. I was shocked when I got to Congress to realize that Jim Clyburn was the first Black Congressperson from South Carolina since 1895. He was elected when Bill Clinton was elected. That was not that long ago. And the reason he was elected is because of the Voting Rights Act amendments of eighteen 1982 that said you couldn’t dilute the Black vote. The old tick technique is to be they just used to dilute the Black vote and spread it out. And so someone who was African American didn’t have a voting base to be able to get uh elected. And that’s what they want to go back to. They want to go back to a pre-1965 America. And yes, President Obama won and Warnock won. But when you look at the vast majority of white majority districts in the South, particularly, they are not represented by people of color. And the Voting Rights Act, as it’s enforced, has given people the opportunity to have representation. They’re trying to take that away. 

Jane Coaston: On Wednesday, you and Nebraska Republican Congressman Don Bacon wrote a letter to President Trump requesting an exemption for coffee imports in the president’s reciprocal tariffs. Why did you want to advocate for lower coffee prices in particular? And I mean, everyone listening to this is likely a caffeine addict. So like we get it, but why this particular issue? 

Ro Khanna: Well, my coffee is personal for me. I I have three to four cups every day. But it was so it’s the absurdity of the coffee tariff that I think is symbolic of the broader tariffs. We don’t make coffee in the United States. 99% of the coffee we drink is grown outside the United States. One percent of coffee is made in the United States in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. And most of that, by the way, is exported. So putting a tariff on coffee, of course, has increased price for those who buy Maxwell or Folgers and roast coffee at home. It’s increased the coffee price for those on the on the factory floor, uh and for those who work behind a a computer desk or a a laptop. But it’s also putting small businesses, coffee shops at risk of being out of business. And it just shows that Trump’s done nothing to lower prices. Frankly, we should repeal all food tariffs on day one in in this country. But this is getting traction on Fox News. It’s gained traction in a bipartisan way. We fought a revolution in this country over the tax on tea. So I think we may have an economic revolt on the tax on coffee. 

Jane Coaston: Representative Khanna, thank you so much for joining me. 

Ro Khanna: Thank you for having me. 

Jane Coaston: That was my conversation with California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna. We’ll get to more of the news in a moment, but if you like the show, make sure to subscribe, leave a five star review on Apple podcasts, watch us on YouTube, and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. [music break]

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Jane Coaston: Here’s what else we’re following today. 

[sung] Headlines. 

[clip of unnamed news reporter] Let’s follow up on her question to you. Because the New York Times is reporting that your legal team is seeking two hundred and thirty million dollars from your own Justice Department now in response to the investigations into you. 

[clip of President Donald Trump] It could be. 

[clip of unnamed news reporter] Is is that something you want your legal team to be doing? 

[clip of President Donald Trump] I don’t know what the numbers are. I don’t even talk to them about it. All I know is that they would owe me a lot of money, but I don’t I’m not looking for money, I’d give it to charity or something. I–

Jane Coaston: Or something. Convicted felon Donald Trump said the federal government owes him a lot of money for prior Justice Department investigations into his actions. The President’s comments to journalists at the White House came in response to questions about a story published by the New York Times this week. The Times reported that Trump filed administrative claims before his reelection seeking roughly $230 million in damages related to the FBI’s 2022 search of his Mar-a Lago property for classified documents. And for a separate investigation into potential ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign. Of course, the Justice Department has a protocol for reviewing such claims, but– 

[clip of President Donald Trump] It’s interesting because I’m the one that makes the decision, right? And uh you know, that decision would have to go across my desk. And it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself. 

Jane Coaston: Trump said he could donate any taxpayer money or use it to help pay for a ballroom he’s building at the White House, because those are the same thing. This obviously brings up a slew of ethical concerns, especially considering the DOJ, which would typically need to approve these kinds of claims, is chock full of Trump loyalists and former Trump lawyers. The New York Times says the situation, quote, “has no parallel in American history.” And speaking of said ballroom: 

[clip of President Donald Trump] It’ll be built over on the east side and it will be beautiful. It’ll be views of the Washington Monument. It won’t interfere with the current building. It won’t be it’ll be near it but not touching it. 

Jane Coaston: That was Trump in July talking about his plan to construct a new ballroom at the White House. Notice how he said it wouldn’t interfere with the current building? Well, it’s October and crews have started tearing down part of the East Wing to make room for the ninety thousand square foot project. Trump says the project will cost about three hundred million dollars to complete and appeared nonplussed when talking about the demolition with reporters at the White House Wednesday. 

[clip of President Donald Trump] Well certain areas are being yeah. Certain certain areas are being left. We determined that after really a tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world, we determined that really knocking it down, trying to use a little section, you know, the East Wing was not much. There was not much left from the original that–

Jane Coaston: A senior administration official who spoke with the New York Times on condition of anonymity, said the White House figured it was cheaper and more structurally sound to demolish the East Wing rather than build an addition. The East Wing was built in 1902 and has been renovated over the years with a second story added in the 1940s. It houses, or housed several offices, including those of the First Lady. According to the Times, the teardown is expected to be finished by this weekend. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced the quote, “next generation of the Pentagon Press Corps” on Wednesday. And by that he means Americans will now get news about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the U.S. Military from the My Pillow guy. Several conservative news outlets said Wednesday they had agreed to a new press policy rejected by virtually all legacy media organizations and will take their seats to cover the Pentagon. Last week, dozens of Pentagon reporters chose to turn in their access badges rather than sign a new press policy that adds restrictions like where press can go in the building without supervision. News outlets were nearly unanimous in rejecting the rules. Even Fox News, Hegseth’s former employer, refused to sign. So who will we be turning to for day-to-day coverage of the Pentagon now? According to the Washington Post, Lindell TV and websites you might know for being wrong all the time, like the Gateway Pundit, the Postmillennial, and the National Pulse agreed to the new rules. Other signatories included Turning Point USA’s media brand Frontlines, as well as influencer and beanie enthusiast Tim Pool’s Timcast. 

[clip of Scott Bessent] We are going to be announcing a substantial increase in Russia’s sanctions. I I’m not gonna give you the exact sanctions, but I I can tell you that this will be one of the largest sanctions that we have done against the Russian Federation. 

Jane Coaston: That’s US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Fox Business, confirming new sanctions on Russia. The US will sanction Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil companies, as the Trump administration increases pressure on the Kremlin to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine. On Tuesday, the White House reversed itself and said that President Trump no longer planned to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in quote, “the immediate future,” after the Kremlin made clear they had no intention of making a deal to end the war in Ukraine. But after this spat, Trump started texting Zelensky back. Curiously, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration lifted a key restriction on Ukraine’s use of some long-range missiles provided by Western allies, enabling Kyiv to step up attacks on targets inside Russia. But Trump refuted those claims on Truth Social, saying it’s quote, “fake news,” adding, the US has nothing to do with those missiles, wherever they may come from or what Ukraine does with them. Which, knowing Trump, sounds a lot like the US has everything to do with those missiles, where they came from, and what Ukraine does with them. And that’s the news. [music break]

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Jane Coaston: That’s all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, don’t tackle people wearing penis costumes, and tell your friends to listen. And if you’re into reading and not just about how a 61-year-old woman wearing a penis costume and holding a sign reading No Dick-tator at a No Kings protest in Fair Hope, Alabama was aggressively tackled by police for her quote, “obscene costume,” and then charged with disorderly conduct, like me. What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com/subscribe. I’m Jane Coaston and actually the Supreme Court has ruled that it’s entirely legal to use obscenity in a peaceful protest. And hey, that also means that police don’t need to tackle a 61 year old woman wearing a penis costume.  [music break] What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It’s recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producers are Emily Fohr and Chris Allport. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra. Our video producer is Johanna Case. We had production help today from Greg Walters, Matt Berg, Caitlin Plummer, Tyler Hill, and Ethan Oberman. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison, and our senior vice president of News and Politics is Adriene Hill. We had help today from the Associated Press. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East. [music break]

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