WTF Just Happened Today?

Day 944: Absurd.


Listen Later

1/ The Trump administration will terminate the 20-day cap for detaining migrant children and allow the government to indefinitely detain migrant families who cross the border illegally. The new regulation, announced by acting Department of Homeland Security chief Kevin McAleenan, requires approval from a federal judge before it can go into effect and could be in defiance of the 2015 Flores agreement, which limited the time families could be detained to 20 days. Trump and Republicans have repeatedly blamed the 20-day rule for encouraging migrants to arrive at the border with their children expecting to be released. Administration officials claim the new rule will serve as a deterrent against migrant families. The Trump administration proposed a similar rule in September 2018 that would have allowed the government to detain migrant children for longer periods of time, so long as they were treated with “dignity, respect and special concern for their particular vulnerability as minors.� (ABC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / New York Times)

2/ The Trump administration is considering a plan to allow states and cities the ability to deny entry to refugees approved for resettlement in the United States. According to the draft order, “the federal government will resettle refugees only where both the relevant state and local governments have consented to participate� in the program. If a jurisdiction does not agree, the federal government will find another location. Trump, meanwhile, is debating whether to decrease refugee admissions starting on Oct. 1. In fiscal year 2016, the limit was 85,000 refugees; in fiscal year 2019, the number was 30,000. (NBC News)

3/ Trump accused Jewish Democrats of “show[ing] either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty,� repeating an anti-Semitic trope that Jews have a “dual loyalty� and are more devoted to Israel than they are to their own countries. Trump’s comments came in response to a question about Rep. Ilhan Omar’s suggestion that the U.S. should reconsider how much foreign aid it pays to Israel. Trump also tweet-quoted a conservative radio host and known conspiracy theorist, who praised Trump as “the greatest President for Jews,� that Israelis “love him like he is the second coming of God,� and that Trump is “the King of Israel.� (NBC News / New York Times / Associated Press / Washington Post / The Guardian)

4/ The federal budget deficit is gro...

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

WTF Just Happened Today?By Matt Kiser

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

448 ratings


More shows like WTF Just Happened Today?

View all
The Rachel Maddow Show by Rachel Maddow, MS NOW

The Rachel Maddow Show

37,344 Listeners

Political Gabfest by Slate Podcasts

Political Gabfest

8,487 Listeners

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts by Slate Podcasts

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts

3,523 Listeners

Pod Save America by Crooked Media

Pod Save America

87,134 Listeners

Stay Tuned with Preet by Preet Bharara

Stay Tuned with Preet

32,328 Listeners

Talking Feds by Harry Litman

Talking Feds

4,651 Listeners

The Al Franken Podcast by The Al Franken Podcast

The Al Franken Podcast

8,569 Listeners

Strict Scrutiny by Crooked Media

Strict Scrutiny

5,802 Listeners

The MeidasTouch Podcast by MeidasTouch Network

The MeidasTouch Podcast

50,206 Listeners

#SistersInLaw by Politicon

#SistersInLaw

10,492 Listeners

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart by Comedy Central

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

10,715 Listeners

Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast by iHeartPodcasts

Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast

2,284 Listeners

Main Justice by MS NOW, Andrew Weissmann, Mary McCord

Main Justice

7,086 Listeners

Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson

Letters from an American

5,904 Listeners

Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams by Crooked Media

Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

1,723 Listeners