logo
episode-header-image
May 2025
19m 7s

Swamp Notes: Do Republicans still care a...

Financial Times
About this episode

Republicans are often known as the party of fiscal responsibility. This week, Swamp Notes unravels the US House of Representatives’ “big, beautiful” bill and its uncertain path forward in the Senate. Edward Luce, US national editor and columnist, and James Politi, Washington bureau chief, explain what made congressional Republicans go all in on big spending, tax cuts and more debt. 


Subscribe to the new Swamp Notes feed here


Mentioned in this podcast:

Read Edward Luce’s column on the new ‘moron premium’ for Treasuries

US House passes Donald Trump’s showpiece tax bill

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here


Swamp Notes is produced by Lauren Fedor, Katya Kumkova and Henry Larson. Topher Forhecz is the acting co-head of audio. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson.




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
Quantitative easing is under the microscope
Donald Trump has said Israel and Hamas have agreed the first step in his plan for a Gaza ceasefire, and Washington wants its companies exempt from EU climate rules. Plus, Chinese customs agents are going after a wide range of US semiconductor tech, and central bankers around the ... Show More
10m 46s
Yesterday
Carmakers are falling back in love with petrol
A UBS fund has 30 per cent of its portfolio tied to the failed First Brands Group, and carmakers across much of the world are scaling back on electric vehicle plans. Plus, international investors are returning to China’s start-up scene, in addition to assets across emerging marke ... Show More
11m 25s
Oct 7
OpenAI’s circular deals
EU governments have agreed to limit the travel of Russian diplomats, analysts are worried about a flurry of circular AI deals, and France lost another prime minister after less than a month in office. Plus, why the weaker dollar is helping big US exporters, while domestic-focused ... Show More
10m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2025
Roundup: Congress Works On Budget; Cabinet Meets; Good TV
Congress is trying to come up with a new budget, while also attempting to extend tax cuts put in place during President Trump's first term. But with a very small majority in both houses, Republicans have little margin for error. Then, we look at the first cabinet meeting of the T ... Show More
21 m
Feb 2025
Congressional Republicans OK With Shifting Power Dynamics
Congress is supposed to hold the power of the purse. So what do Republicans in Congress think about what appears to be President Trump and Elon Musk's "cut first, ask later" approach? This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political correspondent Susan Davis, and c ... Show More
14m 48s
Feb 2025
Where Are the Democrats?
How is the Democratic Party navigating the dominance of President Trump — and reckoning with the reality that more and more voters have been souring on its message?The Times journalists Michael Barbaro, Shane Goldmacher, Reid J. Epstein and Annie Karni discuss the state of the De ... Show More
32m 7s
Feb 2025
Dems Face Pressure To Fight Trump
Democrats lost the Senate and the White House in November's elections. Now as a minority party, their representatives — and their voters — are trying to figure out what to do next, and how to provide a roadblock to President Trump's ambitions. This episode: political corresponden ... Show More
12m 33s
Sep 19
Federal Reserve Lowers Rates, But Less Than Trump Wants
The Federal Reserve voted this week to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point. We discuss the factors behind the agency’s decision, as well as President Trump’s legal fight to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.This episode: political correspondent Ashley Lopez, financial corr ... Show More
18m 43s
Sep 9
Trump's Epstein Doodle Grosser than Expected
House Democrats get ahold of the infamous birthday letter Trump sent to Jeffrey Epstein and release it to the public. Turns out it's more disturbing than we imagined. Jon, Lovett, and Tommy react to the doodle and talk through the week's latest, including the administration renam ... Show More
1h 49m
Jan 2025
White House Walks Back Federal Funding Memo
On Monday, the White House budget office ordered a freeze on all federal funding. Yesterday, the White House walked that memo back after days of chaos and confusion. This episode: White House correspondents Deepa Shivaram and Tamara Keith and senior political editor and correspon ... Show More
13m 5s
Aug 22
How Openly Partisan Gerrymandering Is Becoming Normalized
President Trump called on Texas Republicans to redraw their state's congressional maps to favor Republican candidates. In response, California voters will get a chance to approve a plan to redraw their state's maps to favor Democratic candidates. We look at how partisan gerrymand ... Show More
21m 2s
Jan 2025
Trump 2.0: A Whiplash on Federal Spending
Ryan Knutson and Molly Ball round up the week’s news including nomination hearings, inspectors general firings and the airplane crash in D.C. Plus, they speak to WSJ’s Washington coverage chief Damian Paletta about the administration's freeze on potentially trillions of dollars i ... Show More
25m 22s
Oct 1
Why This Government Shutdown Is Different
Government funding lapsed early Wednesday morning after the White House and lawmakers failed to reach a spending deal, triggering a shutdown that is expected to halt some federal services and put hundreds of thousands of federal workers on furlough.​​ WSJ’s Natalie Andrews takes ... Show More
20m 5s