March 20, 2026

March Madness (Guest: Lauren Gibbons/Bridge Michigan)

45 minutes

iIt’s not just college basketball Madness – the bracket busters extend into the halls of Congress where two of Donald Trump’s legion of incompetents got busted over the administration’s war on Iran … and on the American people.

Michigan’s two Senators took part in the Homeland Security Committee’s grilling of onetime MMA fighter and plumber Markwayne Mullin who is set to inherit Kristi Noem’s office … presumably minus any romancing with Corey Lewandowski.

Elissa Slotkin tried to get a commitment that ICE agents won’t be showing up at voting precincts in November … with a response that wasn’t exactly reassuring.

Gary Peters reminded Mullin that it’s Republicans who are voting against getting paychecks for TSA employees at airports. Peters re-emphasized what he said on last week’s episode of this podcast about the growing mess at airports.

Also on our poli-radar this week

The Trump grift-and-grab family found another opportunity for personal enrichment. Jared Kushner, the not-a-government-employee who is taking the lead on Middle East negotiations, is simultaneously soliciting $5-billion from Middle East potentates in the form of investments in the Kushner wealth management company.

In Michigan, state House Speaker MAGA Matt Hall is taking a page out of the Donald Trump Ego-Massage Manual, bragging about winning an apparently fictitious award for government transparency. The problem with the organization honoring Hall? It apparently doesn’t exist. State Democrats responded by offering Hall with the equally bogus SAD Award, or Speaker’s Asinine Decision Award.

Oakland County hosted Vice President James Donald Bowman – or is it James David Hamel? Or is he sticking with J.D. Vance? Whatever he calls himself, the self-proclaimed Appalachian Hillbilly checked in to tell Michiganders “don’t believe your eyes and ears: the economy is really just peachy.”

The Jeff Epstein web of debauchery threatens to tarnish Michigan’s famed Interlochen Center for the Arts, with state Democrats calling for an investigation into what they described as disturbing connections between Epstein, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell and the northern Michigan arts institution.

Donald Trump says a former living President privately supported the Middle East War and wishes he had done it, with all four former living Presidents denying that they’ve even talked with Trump about the war. But … we haven’t heard denials yet from President Jeb Bartlet or President Frank Underwood, or the ghost of the late great Abraham Lincoln.

Michigan is a national political center of attention. Governor, U.S. Senator, Secretary of State, Attorney General, the entire congressional delegation and the entire legislature are all on the ballot in November. Covering all of this is Bridge Michigan’s outstanding political reporter Lauren Gibbons. Lauren covers state politics and policy for Bridge Michigan. Prior to joining Bridge’s Capitol team, she worked at MLive, where she led coverage of the state Legislature and the redistricting process, and before that covered the state Senate for MIRS News.

She has covered the ins and outs of Michigan politics for nearly a decade and has won awards both for her political coverage and her work documenting the Larry Nassar sexual abuse case. Lauren grew up in the Lansing area and graduated from Michigan State University, majoring in journalism and history. She lives in Ferndale, and her party tricks include Irish dancing and telling friends what political districts they live in without looking.

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