The Moment Pete Hegseth’s Story Fell Apart

PDS Published 04/29/2026

• Hegseth Melts Down in First Questioning from Congress Since Iran War

  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth just faced public questioning from lawmakers for the first time since the war against Iran began. he cannot tell you how or when this war will end. but you should definitely take his word that it's just going great. even as Trump just rejected Iran's latest offer. There's no sign that negotiations are moving forward, and the economic fallout only continues to grow.

  but starting with headset you had of appearing alongside chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Kaine and Pentagon Controller Jay Hurst before the House Armed Services Committee to discuss the administration's 2027 military budget proposal. a proposal that would boost defense spending to a record $1.5 trillion.

  and in connection to that, you had members of Congress grilling Hegseth on topics including the massive cost of the war against Iran, the military's dwindling stockpiles of key munitions, and its alleged bombing of a girls school in Iran that resulted in the deaths of more than 100 children. and so we'll start with the first one. How much has this war cost the American taxpayer so far?

  we had Harris finally giving an answer, which was the first time that the Pentagon has publicly provided a cost estimate for the war. So approximately this day, we're spending about $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury. you also had Kaine revealing that 14 U.S. service members have died during the war, which is very notable because the Pentagon's own official tally shows only 13 deaths as of recording.

  really a lot of the attention was on Hexa, who came out swinging in his opening statements. The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans.

  you also said taking aim at defense companies for not making various munitions fast enough that we ignored the fact that under his leadership, the military's use record numbers of these munitions over the past eight weeks. and then also it wasn't long before you had him taking on Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the highest ranking Democrat on the committee, over the administration's logic for starting this war.

  Well, their nuclear facilities have been obliterated underground. They're buried and we're watching over 24 seven. So we know where any nuclear material. Reclaiming my time. We're watching in here. We had to start this war. You just said 60 days ago because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. Now you're saying that it was completely obliterate had not given up their nuclear ambitions, and they had a conventional shield of thousands of Operation Midnight. The weaker moment. Nothing of substance. Let me see you in the same place we were before.

  actually, on that note, you had Democrat John Garamendi accusing her of misleading the public and describing the administration's strategy as an outstanding example of incompetence, saying. you have been lying to the American public about this war from day one, and so has the president.

  with all this, you had Hegseth claiming that the American people support the war despite all the evidence to the contrary. and then as you've seen him do before, he has criticism of the war is just anti-American. and he took particular issue with Garamendi, his characterization of the war as a quagmire.

  The way you stain the troops when you tell them two months in, two months in Congress, and you should know better. Shame on you calling this a quagmire. Two months in the effort, what they've undertaken, what they've succeeded, the success on the battlefield, the concrete strategic opportunities, the courage of a president confront a nuclear Iran. And you call it a quagmire handing propaganda to our enemies. Shame on you for that statement. It undermines the mission. Your your your hatred for President Trump. Blinds. Blinds you to the truth of the success of this mission.

  but then with all that, he ultimately refused to answer how many more months he thinks the war is going to continue. I will say notably, it's going to reach the official 60 day mark this week, which is technically the legal deadline for the president to begin to withdraw troops or get congressional authorization to keep engaging in hostilities.

  and actually with that, he also deflected when answering other questions about ways of this war could violate the law. Or Congressman Seth Moulton, for example, asked about headset's past comments calling for no quarter and No mercy. In order for no quarter or no survivors. Is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. You understand? That's murder. Do you stand by that statement?

  The Department of War fights to win, and we ensure that our warfighters have the rules of engagement necessary to be as effective. So, just to be clear, as you call Democratic members of Congress to be tried for sedition, for reminding our troops to follow the law. But when you tell them to commit a war crime, you stand by yourself.

  and then on the subject of war crimes, you had broken on asking about that strike on the girl's school, which is widely believed to have been the fault of the US, despite the lack of an official admission.

  How much did it cost American taxpayers in terms of the strike to the Iranian school where kids were killed? Do you have that number in terms of the missiles we used, as I've said, that, unfortunate situation remains under investigation. You don't know how many. But I wouldn't tie a cost to that.

  then also had her accept dismissing questions from Qana and other Democrats on the rise in gas and food prices as gotcha questions asking. What would you pay to ensure Iran doesn't get a nuclear bomb.

  then, of course, there are a lot of other issues that were brought up over the hours long hearing from Seth is doing away with the military's annual flu shot requirement for his firing. A top generals.

  but also is you know, all this was going on time wasn't standing still. the war remain technically on pause, but the U.S. and Iran's dueling blockades remained in effect. The consequences of this, it continues to be felt all around the world.

  and as we've talked about the US recently got an offer from Iran to Pebble countries immediately lift their blockades while postponing talks regarding Iran's nuclear program. well, today you had Trump telling Axios that he's rejecting the offer and keeping the US blockade in place.

  without coming after you also had him threatening Iran in a post on social media today, writing Iran can't get their act together. They don't know how to sign a non-nuclear deal. They better get smart soon. that post being accompanied by an AI generated image of a Trump holding a gun with explosions in the background in the words no more Mr. Nice Guy.

  but also, at least based on the available reporting, it looks like Trump's not actually all that enthusiastic about going back to fighting. Right. With Reuters reporting that American intelligence agencies have actually been studying how Iran would respond if Trump just declared victory and walked away.

  with that I would stress that is just one option being looked at. And there are various military options reportedly remaining on the table. but also, you know, some sources telling the outlet that escalation, including a ground invasion of the Iranian mainland that appears to be less likely than it did a few weeks ago.

  then also, you had sources telling Axios that U.S. Central Command is prepared to plan for a short and powerful wave of strikes and targets in Iran, including infrastructure targets, in the hope that it would bring the country back to the negotiating table on the administration's terms.

  then also at the same time, Trump reportedly sees economic pressure as his primary source of leverage. with that, you with the Wall Street Journal reporting that he's instructed aides to prepare for the blockade to last a while, them reportedly concluding after meetings this week with top national security and military officials at this option carry less risk than either resuming bombing or walking away from the conflict.

  that said, though really no options without risk. Right. At this point, it's just trying to limit or mitigate the downside because Trump put his finger in the finger trap. Right.

  Trump's blockade in combination with Iran's restrictions on the Strait. It's already led to the number of ships transiting the waterway to fall to the lowest level since the war began. it's continuation. It makes it even more likely the gas prices are going to continue to rise as we get closer and closer to the midterms.

  all while Trump's approval ratings now sunk in to the lowest level of his current term, According to a new Reuters Ipsos poll, it showed only 34% of Americans approved of his performance in the white House.

  again, Trump believes that the economic pressure is going to break. Iran has the potential problem there is that Iran believes the same about the United States.

  With an expert at the Brookings Institution explaining Iran is calculating that its ability to withstand and circumvent the blockade outstrips the U.S. interest and preventing a wider energy crisis and potentially a global recession. saying a regime that slaughtered its own citizens to silence protests in January is fully prepared to impose economic hardships on them.

  Now, then, of course, with that, it's not just Iran. in so many parts of the world are now facing economic hardship because of this war. the closure of the strait, along with extreme weather. It's now led to crop prices reaching the highest point since 2023. it's also a trend that might continue with one analyst telling Bloomberg, the conflict persists, it could add several percentage points to food inflation over the next 6 to 18 months.

  that's also is this could have major political implications in countries all around the world, especially in the hardest hit regions, the Philippines, for example, America's closest ally in Southeast Asia and Indonesia, they recently agreed to a major defense partnership with the U.S., both countries have faced massive demonstrations over corruption and the rising cost of living last year. And it's believed that rising food prices could breathe new life back into the protests.

  had one analyst telling the Wall Street Journal possibility of parts of the population slipping back into poverty will only further raise the risk of mounting domestic unrest.

  then, of course, with all of this, one of the most obvious things is that people are going to go hungry. and in fact, as we've talked about, the world food programs estimated that 45 million more people might go hungry because of this war. on top of the 318 million people already considered food insecure before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February.

  today, you actually had the agency reporting that more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon are expected to face acute hunger this year due to what they call conflict, displacement and economic pressures.

  of course, while those are projections, it's also clear that these effects are already being experienced not only in Lebanon but everywhere. You've had the International Rescue Committee, a major humanitarian organization, for example, claiming that shipping disruptions have prevented them from accessing $130,000 of supplies stuck in Dubai that are needed by 20,000 people in Sudan.

  you also have Save the Children, estimating that every $5 increase in the price of oil leads to them spending an extra $340,000 a month on shipping, fuel, food and medical supplies. meaning this war could cost the charity an extra $27 million by the end of this year.

  as you now have these and other aid organizations calling for a humanitarian corridor to be opened through the Strait of Hormuz so that supplies can be delivered to millions of people in desperate need of them. at least for now, it's not clear that there's any real momentum behind that proposal.

• Senate Won’t Prevent Trump from Launching Surprise Attack on Cuba

  Trump he's been quietly telling cameras that Cuba's next and yesterday the Senate voted 51 to 47 to make sure that he doesn't need anyone's permission before he goes.

  Because Democrats forced a war powers resolution that would have required congressional signoff before any U.S. military action against Cuba. then it died, with John Fetterman crossing over to vote with Republicans, while Susan Collins and Rand Paul cross the other way to vote with Democrats.

  and so this is now the sixth War Powers resolution that Democrats have forced this month, the first five being on Iran. All those failed. And actually, there's another Iran vote incoming.

  but that then brings us to the question of, well, why does Cuba need its own War Powers resolution all of a sudden? and. Well, there's two reasons, though.

  The first is that the president of the United States keeps saying the quiet part out loud, with him saying last month. I built this great military. I said, you'll never have to use it, but sometimes you have to use it. And Cuba is next, by the way. But pretend I didn't say that. Please pretend I did. Please, please, please, media, please disregard that statement. Thank you very much. I Cuba's next. and he has said similar things multiple times now.

  And so Democrats argue that by the time that Trump actually launches a surprise invasion, it's going to be too late to stop is the time to require congressional signoff? It's right now.

  and then the second reason is the one that most Americans really haven't heard about, because for several months now, the US has imposed a near-total blockade on energy imports to Cuba. Right. The island's almost entirely dependent on imports for fuel, so the consequences have been devastating.

  Power cuts run 12 to 20 hours, sometimes stretching past 72. all the nearly 100,000 surgeries went uncompleted between January and March. More than a third of Cubans don't have reliable access to clean water, trash. It's just piling up in the streets because there's no fuel for garbage trucks.

  Food prices, they're up more than 13%, and short cycle crop yields are projected to drop 40%. all of which is why would Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, pointing out that under any other framing, this would be considered war?

  but then as far as the Republicans, they killed this mostly on procedural grounds. they argued that it's unnecessary because the US is not currently engaged in active hostilities with Cuba.

  then also Florida Senator Rick Scott went further, accusing Democrats of being soft on the Cuban regime. then even taking a specific shot at streamer Hassan Piker, who recently traveled to Cuba with some progressive groups to deliver aid and document conditions on the ground.

  Many Democrats, some in this chamber embracing socialism and even embracing a violent socialist leader, Hassan Piker, that wants me murdered. Some Democrats have even gone to Cuba. The piker attempting to whitewash the atrocities of the illegitimate communist regime. Now, Democrats say they're the party of democracy. So where is their concern for the anti-democratic dictator operating 90 miles from the shore of Florida.

  then with all this, you had Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen countering. Of course, we want democracy and fundamental freedoms for the people of Cuba. But we've seen over decades that economic strangulation does not work. And we have learned the hard way in Afghanistan and now Iran, that bombs don't turn dictatorships into democracies.

  and so, look, even though there's not a whole lot that Democrats can do to actually stop any of this in a Republican controlled Senate, this is a fight that you should know is happening. Right. Because the blockade is real. The humanitarian suffering is real. And the president has now said that Cuba is next enough times that you have to take him at face value.

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• DOJ Indicts James Comey Over “86 47” Post

  then diving right back into the news. James Comey has once again been indicted by Trump's DOJ, and this time over a picture of seashells on a beach from a year ago.

  Because Comey posted this photo on Instagram back in May that read 8647. then he added the caption, cool shell formation on my beach walk.

  now 86. That's kind of slang typically meant to get rid of something or toss something out. I worked in a few restaurants myself when I was younger. If you've worked it, you've heard 86 that. some even use 86. Like, as a way to say refuse service to someone. then, you know, 47 appears to reference the 47 President Trump. so the message was interpreted by many to mean get rid of Trump.

  those specifically the immediate response from many of Trump's loyalists was that it was a call to violence. so within a day, the bows went down with Comey saying that he stumbled upon the seashells and assumed that it was a political message, writing in a follow up post, I didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence, and I oppose violence of any kind. So I took the post down.

  that didn't stop the accusations from rolling in. in fact, Trump administration officials like former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem accused him of calling for Trump's assassination. And Comey was quickly interviewed by the Secret Service.

  even Trump himself leaned into it, saying on Fox News. He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you're the FBI director and you don't know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear.

  many people were also quick to say that Republicans were overreaching and that the Republican outrage was hypocritical, as far as why hypocritical. Because you have big names in the MAGA space sharing 8646 in reference to Biden. even Donald Trump himself shared a video of a truck with a decals showing Biden tied up and gagged on the tailgate. I posted, by the way, is just still up. yeah, today we're talking about seashells. Dangerous, dangerous seashells.

  well, this whole thing, you know, it kicked off an investigation that kind of faded into the background as more insane shit just kept happening over and over. that is until now. I mean, well, insane shit is still happening.

  but we also got an update here because you had a new interim attorney general trying to prove that he'll be a good lapdog for Trump. are you what, acting AG Todd Blank announcing the indictment in a press conference yesterday.

  first count is that on or about May 15th of last year, he knowingly and willfully making a threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm upon the president of the United States.

  while this case is unique and this indictment stands out because of the name of the defendant, his alleged conduct is the same kind of conduct that we will never tolerate and that we will always investigate and prosecute.

  now, despite Blanchard's assurance that this is totally normal, it's totally routine. There's absolutely no doubt that this case is a longshot at best, where you got a wide variety of experts saying this is just dead in the water, pointing out that this is clearly free speech, protected by the First Amendment, and noting that it's going to be nearly impossible to prove that Comey intended the seashells as a threat.

  still, you have Trump trying to use the DOJ to handle his personal beef with Comey. And that's not new. in fact, it was a serious issue that he had with Pam Bondi while she was attorney general. we're saying she wasn't being aggressive enough against him and Trump's other perceived enemies.

  there were also like, if you don't remember, Trump's DOJ had their first indictment against Comey thrown out by a federal judge who concluded that the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia had been improperly appointed.

  and then there's the fact that Trump fired Comey, his daughter, from her position as a high profile New York federal prosecutor. and so there's a chance that Comey's defense looks to get this case thrown out on selective and vindictive prosecution.

  arguing that the Trump administration that is trying to make something, anything stick against him to appease their boss. that is now also fueling the Republicans concerns that Trump's focus, it's less on things that got him elected and more on him just settling years old beef.

  or with for example, a GOP strategist in Arizona, Barrett Morrison, saying there is no doubt that the vast majority of non MAGA voters want Trump to focus on anything but his personal animus toward a wide variety of people.

  something that was echoed by another Republican strategist and Trump critic who said, that's exactly the opposite of what most Americans would like to see. The president in the Department of Justice focused They're worried about inflation and the economy, and many of them are worried about how the war in Iran will end.

  Spending time relitigating old disputes is exactly the opposite of what most Americans want.

  then as far as Comey's take taking all this, he didn't really seem too concerned. And his response video on Substack. Well. They're back. This time about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago. And this won't be the end of it. But nothing has changed with me. I'm still innocent. I'm still not afraid. And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So let's go.

  So definitely something we're gonna have to keep eyes on. But also definitely not the only high profile case we have to talk about today.

• SCOTUS Strikes Down Map with Majority-Black District in Louisiana

  Because the Supreme Court just effectively gutted what was left of the Voting Rights Act, while also potentially giving Republicans nearly 20 more seats in the House for all future elections.

  Because this morning, the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 along ideological lines to strike down Louisiana's congressional map, arguing that it amounted to an illegal racial gerrymander.

  notably, this case was started back in 2022, when black voters and civil rights group sued Louisiana over a post 2020 census voting map that had only outlined one Majority-black district. Despite the fact that one third of the state's population is black.

  any of these groups arguing that the map violated section two of the Historic Voting Rights Act, which bans gerrymandering that undermines the power of minority voters?

  you know, there are two ways that racial gerrymandering is done, either by one concentrating targeted voters or that they compose the majority in just one district, when it really should maybe be two, or dividing up large groups of minority voters among multiple districts to prevent them from really ever having a majority of the vote in any single boundary.

  this also requires states to be very careful when drawing maps, right? They need to consider race to a certain degree in order to ensure that minority voters have a say in electing the candidates of their choosing.

  but maps that are drawn to explicitly along racial lines violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the 15th Amendment's ban on racial discrimination and voting.

  and at least until today, courts have used section two to strike down district maps that weaken minority voting power, even without proof that maps were intentionally designed to discriminate against minority groups. That's been the standard for, for decades.

  And so under that logic, a federal court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Louisiana and ordered the state legislature to draw a new map that added a second majority black congressional district.

  so as a result, lawmakers created a map that allowed voters to elect Representative Cleo Fields, a black Democrat, to flip the new district.

  then at the same time, the Republican controlled legislature drew the district lines in a very janky way, they did it in part so it could create the majority black district while it's still protecting the seats of key Republicans, including House speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

  and so as a result, a group of self-described non-black voters backed by powerful conservative groups filed a lawsuit claiming that the new map was itself a racial gerrymander because lawmakers had relied too much on race when they drew with lawyers for the plaintiffs arguing in court that the wonky shape was clear evidence that race had been the main factor in drawing the district.

  then its decision today, the Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana's map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. this ruling. It goes way beyond just Louisiana.

  Because of the court was considering section two more broadly, decision effectively undercuts decades of precedent aimed at ensuring minority voters have an equal opportunity to participate in elections.

  because like I noted earlier, for the last 40 years, district maps could be struck down if they diluted minority voting power, regardless of intent.

  in the majority opinion you had Justice Samuel Alito writing the challengers must show that a state intentionally drew district lines to discriminate against minority voters.

  then also with this, you had Justice Kagan hitting back in her dissent, wrote, which she actually read from the bench in a rare move to show just how much she disagreed with the majority.

  then it you had Kagan arguing that in practice, the decision makes it nearly impossible to consider race at all when drawing up voting maps and claiming that the court's decision will set back the foundational right Congress granted of racial equality and electoral opportunity.

  now, all that said, very notably, the court did not strike down section two entirely, which was a very real concern for many advocates. but still, you have experts saying it. This ruling effectively guts the VRA and makes it entirely toothless.

  and you've had many kind of expecting this since for the last decade, the Supreme Court's been chipping away at key parts of the law them slowly weakening it bit by bit.

  and in their dissent, you with the liberal justices arguing that today's decision removes the last remaining pillar that gave real power to historic law that has dramatically helped increase minority representation in both state and federal offices.

  but right now, the big question on everyone's mind is what will this mean for elections? and what we do know for a fact that this is going to be incredibly consequential.

  One of the big unknowns is how long it's going to take before we actually see the impacts.

  Because many majority minority districts across the country have been redrawn over the last four decades to comply with section two of the VRA, though most are currently concentrated in the South.

  but now states can challenge those maps based on the new Supreme Court ruling. so as a result we can see new maps with fewer districts where minority voters form a majority.

  because those districts are more likely to elect Democrats. Splitting them up could shift those seats towards Republicans.

  we're not talking about a few districts here or there. I mean, one analysis found that by gutting section two, the Supreme Court could effectively give Republicans as many as 19 more seats in the House.

  and you can bet your ass that Republicans have already been contingency planning for this outcome for a while now.

  one of the questions is whether they could pull this off before the midterms.

  and while many states they can't swing changes to their maps right now because the primaries have already happened, there are still plenty of others that could take action.

  I mean, for one, Louisiana's likely going to have to redraw maps before the midterms because of this ruling. though notably, the state attorney general said she would defer to the legislature, which she believes is enough time to act before November.

  but then beyond that, yeah. The New York Times reporting that there are several other states that still have time to redraw their maps, including Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee and Florida.

  all of those states, with the exception of Maryland, are controlled by Republican legislatures.

  we are now literally already seeing movement on this front. Just hours after the Supreme Court decision was released, both chambers of the Florida Legislature approved a new map that could give Republicans as many as four new seats.

  right. A huge victory for Ron DeSantis, who's led the redistricting campaign and used the likely dismantling of section two as the main justification for his effort.

  also the governor of Mississippi, he's vowed to call lawmakers or a special session to redraw the state's map after the Supreme Court made its decision.

  and in a statement today, with Alabama's attorney general promising the state would act quickly to ensure that our congressional maps reflect the will of the people, not a racial quota system. The Constitution forbids.

  that it's just to start all over the country. We are seeing Republican leaders calling for Bible states to act before the midterms.

  right, but also, even if some states they can't get together new maps before November, It's really just a matter of time. Very likely. They'll have them ready by 2028.

  so the implications here for future elections. It's very scary for anyone that was kind of hoping to have a representative democracy. very likely we're just going to see states gerrymandering like crazy for power.

  Because as we've seen with other things, if some states do it, then others have to respond. And it's just it just keeps going.

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• White House Fires All Members of National Science Board

  but then diving right back into the news. We should talk about how the white House just fired all 22 members of the National Science Board. every single one of them. Effective immediately.

  and this is a board that's existed since 1950. Right. Its job is to oversee the National Science Foundation, which funds research and science, math, engineering and other fields at colleges, universities and research institutions across the country.

  board members are appointed by the president and staggered six year terms by design, so that no single administration can clear out the entire board at once. But the Trump administration just did it anyway.

  this is a board that exists because Harry Truman, when he created it, said our ability to survive and grow as a nation depends to a very large degree upon our scientific progress.

  the idea was actually a pretty simple one. America's health, the economy, national security and global standing all depend on staying at the front of scientific research.

  so this board, it was built to be insulated from political pressure again. You had bipartisan appointments, staggered terms. Right. The whole structure, though, it just got blown up.

  the way it went down is that the 22 members just got an email with one paragraph saying, on behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I'm writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service.

  was it. No explanation, no advance notice and no transition plan. No interview. Just thank you for your service. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

  though the Trump White House has since tried to explain itself to the press, citing a 2021 Supreme Court decision that, in their words, raised constitutional questions about whether non Senate confirmed appointees can exercise the authority of Congress, gave the National Science Board.

  the spokesperson adding, we look forward to working with the Hill to update the statute and ensure the NSB can perform its duties as Congress intended. National Science Foundation's work, continues uninterrupted.

  now that legal argument, it might have some merit, depending on how you read the case, but the way you handle a constitutional question about an entire scientific oversight body is usually not by emailing 22 people and just saying, hey, you fired.

  are supposed to be processes for this hearings, reviews, coordination with Congress. I know they don't do anything right now, but that's what's supposed to happen. none of it appears to have happened.

  so, one of the things that we're seeing is the people who got fired, they're not being quiet.

  you would one former board member saying at a moment when the United States faces intensifying global competition in science and technology, when other nations are investing aggressively in the research and the Stem workforce that will underpin innovation for the next century, are systematically undermining the institutions and the people dedicated to keeping our country at the leading edge.

  you had another former member saying it's not difficult to understand why the administration would want to remove any layers of governance that might get in the way, saying the administration wants to exert control in ways that don't necessarily align with congressional intent.

  and then on the congressional side, you had Representatives Joe Lofgren, for example, who sits on the House Committee on Science and Technology, saying, the president filled the board with MAGA loyalists who won't stand up to him as he hands over our leadership in science to our adversaries. A real Bozo the Clown move.

  one of the biggest concerns from former members and lawmakers is that this board, which is supposed to be independent, all of a sudden it becomes Partizan right, that, instead of overseeing scientific research based on the merit or the reality, it becomes another body that just takes orders from the white House.

  and really, that's exactly what these firings open the door to.

  and while shocking, it's also not shocking because, you know, this isn't an isolated move. it's a part of Trump's ongoing assault on science across the federal government.

  or this administration fired staff and made major budget cuts at the EPA, the FDA, the CDC, plus, a long list of additional research and regulatory agencies.

  why even seeing these now former members telling reporters are not surprised. They've been expecting this for a while. also just it not being surprising doesn't make it okay.

  especially because the overarching effect of all this is it puts America in a worse position. dismantling America scientific research infrastructure. Meanwhile China, they're pouring billions into theirs.

  Well, of course, it's always important to look toward the next election. This isn't a situation that you recover from in months. top people and researchers leave funding, pipelines collapse. Promising scientists go to other countries that are invest in universities, lose grant capacity. The damage compounds.

  unfortunately with things like this, by the time that anyone truly realizes how bad it's gotten, you have 75 years of progress just gone.

  that right there, my friends, you beautiful bastards is the end of your Wednesday Philip DeFranco show.

  though some final again. I'm going on tour. I would love to see you can get tickets at crashing out toward.com 12 dates 12. City is going to be fantastic.

  but then also in the meantime, you can watch today's brand new episode of Crashing Out. A new episode went out today, like always on Wednesday. a great time, a cathartic time. I'd love to have you there.

  can click or tap. I got links in the description. But of course, as always, thank you for watching. I love yo faces. And I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

  Alex. It happened again. Someone tried to kill the president of the United States. Out of how many presidents we've had. None of them else have ever had to look directly into the camera and say, I'm not a pedophile.

  Hash Patel's girlfriend was hiding in a room with another man who is holding her hand. He looked like he was waiting for an Uber. Louise. Lucas. Everything. Is her going for a haymaker. She posted a picture that just said I fill my bong with Republican tears. How the fuck do you cheat on Megan Thee Stallion?

  We just do a PowerPoint presentation about why we hate Klay Thompson thrashing out new episodes every Wednesday.