Less than two weeks before Election Day, President Trump issued an executive order which will strip job protections from civil service employees that prevent them from being fired at will, undermining the procedures supporting a merit-based civil service. Scott Anderson delves into the complex legal background and history of these civil service protections and—depending on the outcome of the election—whether a lame-duck Trump administration would be still able to implement such sweeping changes before an incoming Biden administration. Full show notes: https://brook.gs/35QRsmU  Subscribe to Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

What will Trump’s executive order mean for the future of the civil service?

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Cities and states have a variety of policy options to help combat high housing costs. Brookings Metro Senior Fellow Jenny Schuetz and Gary Geiler, assistant director of San Diego’s Development Services Department, discuss how accessory dwelling units (ADUs) can be part of cities' toolkits for adding affordable housing. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/cities-need-more-housing-adus-can-help The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Find this and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Cities need more housing. ADUs can help.

Brookings scholar Constanze Stelzenmüller, director of the Center on the United States in Europe and a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings, talks about whether foreign policy issues matter to U.S. voters, and also what's at stake for the world in the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Show notes and transcript The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Find this and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Do US voters care about America's role in the world?

The U.S. House of Representatives passed four bi-partisan bills in a $95 billion foreign aid package with monies going to aid Ukraine, to the Indo-Pacific region to counter China, to offensive and defensive weapons to Israel, and to humanitarian aid for Gaza and elsewhere. Molly Reynolds, senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, joins The Current to talk about how these bills were passed in a deeply divided House of Representatives and the potential risk to Rep. Mike Johnson's speakership. Show notes and transcript Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.  

How a divided House passed critical foreign aid bills

The recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore after being struck by a container ship is both a human tragedy and an economic disaster. Six construction workers doing repair work on the bridge lost their lives when it plunged into the cold Patapsco River. The wreckage of the bridge now sits in the channel that connects Baltimore Harbor to the Chesapeake Bay, effectively closing the Port of Baltimore. Joe Kane, a fellow in Brookings Metro, talks about the economic impacts of the disaster and prospects for rebuilding the bridge.

Economic impact of the Baltimore bridge collapse

The U.S. has recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic's economic disruption with a strong economy, but a strong economy alone doesn't address all the challenges Americans face. As part of the Brookings Election '24 initiative, Wendy Edelberg talks about where the economy is doing better - increasing wages, decreasing inflation - and other areas where social policies can step in to fill the gaps on housing, child poverty, and more. Show notes and transcript:  https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-a-strong-economy-can-and-cant-fix  Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

What will Trump’s executive order mean for the future of the civil service?

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