The House finally did its job. By a 215-208 vote on the War Powers Act and a 218-204 vote authorizing $8 billion in military financing for Ukraine, Congress this week told Trump no on Iran and yes on Kyiv. It's shamefully overdue, it's mostly symbolic on Iran, and it took a handful of Republicans with actual integrity — Fitzpatrick, Massie, Barrett, Davidson, and Don Bacon among them — to make it happen. But on day 1559 of Russia's full-scale invasion, with more than 700 Ukrainian children dead and an American sergeant just killed in a training accident in Iraq that almost nobody noticed, this is the closest thing to good news Washington has produced in months.
In this solo briefing, Paul walks through the votes, the cost, and the rot underneath them: a convicted January 6th rioter now assigned to the Pentagon's irregular warfare and counterterrorism section, the firing of Scott Pelley and the slow death of 60 Minutes, the disappearance of Tulsi Gabbard, the UFC turning into a political circus, and the Maine Senate race where Graham Platner's Totenkopf tattoo and a damning New York Times report have Democrats doing their best Biden 2.0 impression. He closes with Karen Lee Matthews' honorable independent run in California's 23rd, a reminder of where TAPS and the 988 crisis line fit in, and why the Knicks winning Game One actually matters for a country that desperately needs something to root for together.
In this episode
- Why the House War Powers vote on Iran (215-208) is historic even if it's mostly symbolic
- The four Republicans who voted yes — Fitzpatrick, Massie, Barrett, Davidson — and why Don Bacon called it a Churchill moment
- $8 billion in military financing for Ukraine, the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative extension, and what it costs in American lives (zero)
- Day 1559, 700+ Ukrainian children killed, and why Rubio is suddenly admitting Ukraine is winning
- Sergeant Devin A. Seibel, 26, from Texas — killed in Iraq in a training accident that nobody covered
- A convicted January 6th rioter quietly hired into the Pentagon's irregular warfare and counterterrorism office
- Scott Pelley out, 60 Minutes gutted, and Trump's war on the free press scoring another major win
- The Graham Platner problem: the Totenkopf tattoo, the New York Times report, and Schumer and Sanders doing Biden 2.0
- Karen Lee Matthews' fourth-place finish in California's 23rd and what it tells us about the independent lane
- Why the Knicks beating the Spurs in Game One actually matters for a fractured country
