Chuck Todd breaks down the ongoing government shutdown and the deep dysfunction gripping Washington. With the shutdown dragging into late October, Trump is reportedly tapping private donors to pay the military, while Speaker Mike Johnson keeps the House out of session — a move Chuck calls a major political blunder. As Trump consolidates control over both the presidency and Congress, Republicans appear more focused on shielding him than exercising oversight. Meanwhile, the Oversight Committee under James Comer has devolved into partisan theater, investigating the Bidens while ignoring blatant corruption in Trump’s orbit. Chuck argues that without real congressional checks, America risks drifting toward the kind of pre-revolutionary rot the Founders warned about — where power, privilege, and impunity rule unchecked.
Finally, he hops in the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the publication of the Federalist Papers and why their lessons are extremely pertinent in the Trump era, answers questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and gives his college football recap.
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Timeline:
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00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
02:00 The government shutdown continues into the end of October
02:45 Trump tapping private donor to pay the military
03:45 Democrats have earned the leverage to reopen the government
04:15 Mike Johnson making a huge mistake by keeping House out of session
06:00 Voters want Congress to serve as a check on an unpopular president
07:45 House Republicans look like they're out to lunch & on vacation
08:45 Trump says he's both the speaker and the president
11:30 Sen. Lankford admits R's would be furious if Biden was doing what Trump is
12:30 Everything now is viewed or ignored through a partisan lens
14:45 Without congressional oversight, we lose our founding framework
15:30 Qatari jet gift was the type of bribe our founders warned about
16:30 Republicans in charge of oversight ignoring plane bribe
17:30 Trump using coin scheme to build international bribery racket, R's ignore it
19:00 The oversight committee under Comer has become a partisan weapon
19:45 Trump is ordering the DOJ to compensate his own business
21:15 Trump is using his power to direct money to his companies
22:00 The double standard from Republicans is insulting to the American people
24:45 Trump's orbit is giving pre-revolutionary France vibes
25:30 Oversight is still investigating the Biden family
26:15 Democrats aren't on moral high ground after Biden's family pardons
27:15 If the Bidens were doing anything Trump was doing, R's would impeach
28:00 Oversight has become partisan entertainment
28:45 Democrats weren't interested in Epstein until it entangled Trump
29:30 Trump's desperation to hold the house is to avoid oversight
30:15 Trump could stonewall oversight, but private companies can't
31:00 Private companies can't go to law enforcement when extorted
31:45 Mike Johnson is the weakest speaker in the modern era
34:00 ToddCast Time Machine
34:45 This week, in 1787 was the initial publication of the Federalist Papers
35:30 The papers were America's first political blog
36:30 Hamilton began by debating whether reason or rage would win out
37:45 Federalist #51 argued ambition must be made to counteract ambition
39:00 America's biggest problem now is an extraordinarily weak congress
39:45 Hamilton warned of political parties & can't limit it to one or two
40:45 Federalist #70 warned against an overly powerful executive
41:45 Federalist #65 worried that impeachment would become a partisan exercise
43:45 Federalist #78 argued that judges should never be elected
45:00 Madison argued in favor of slow deliberation
46:30 Founders warned that too few representatives breeds corruption
48:00 Hamilton argued that rights are only guaranteed by people enforcing them
50:00 Ask Chuck
50:15 Should Democrats flip the script and use "America First" messaging?
52:45 Should Democrats reign in ActBlue for advertising?
56:45 Why are there no consequences for cabinet members lying to congress?
58:45 Will Trump governing only for supporters backfire in the midterms?
1:02:15 College football update
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