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Jan 2025
42m 46s

Trump’s Federal Funding Fiasco

ABC News, 538, FiveThirtyEight, Galen Druke
About this episode
This week, the Trump administration oversaw a federal funding fiasco. The Office of Management and Budget issued a memo attacking DEI programs and putting trillions in government funding at risk. States sued, and the administration backtracked —rescinding the memo but keeping the underlying order intact. As this unfolds, we ask: How much power does Trump’s a ... Show More
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