Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Colludes With Regime - The Tuesday AM Quickie 8/25/26
Congratulations to journalist Karen Attiah, who the Washington Post must reinstate immediately and pay back wages and lost benefits after an independent arbitrator ruled that company officials violated the union contract by firing her over social media posts about dead bigot Charlie Kirk. That all from me, Corey is back tomorrow. -Whitney
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ON THE SHOW TODAY
8/25: Emma is hosting solo today. Her guests are KeShaun Pearson, executive director of Memphis Community Against Pollution, on to discuss the data center fight and the power outages in Memphis, TN; and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on to talk about suing Texas Governor Greg Abbott to compel the extradition of ICE agent Christian Castro.
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Today you’ll read about the State Department’s plan to revoke a record number asylum visas, the Supreme Court helping Trump steal the midterms, and just how trustworthy people find tech oligarchs (not very).
THE BIG NEWS
Hakeem Jeffries Colludes With Regime Ahead of Elections
Trump is plotting to steal the midterms and/or refuse to leave office, a reasonable analysis given all his little maneuvers, his captured court system, the fact that he is building a bunker, and his deployment of the National Guard to DC through January 2028, which is the month he is supposed to depart. But minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) decided to set all that aside and meet privately with Trump’s corrupt land-grabbing son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to discuss “potential areas of common ground,” the NYT reported.
According to the analysis offered by the NYT’s secret sources, the meeting “underscored that those around Mr. Trump were well aware of the likelihood of a Democratic-led House, and trying to foster as much of a working relationship as possible before any change.” Under my analysis, Jeffreys’ decision to “collaborate” sucks. If Democrats win the majority, Jeffries is “favored” to become the House speaker, as NBC News put it in soothing passive voice. He and committee leaders said they would provide “aggressive oversight” of Trump once back in power, “including ICE tactics, Trump’s Qatari-donated jet, his family business dealings and the White House ballroom.” But “oversight” wasn’t enough back when they said it, and it rings even more hollow now that we know Jeffries is planning to do what corporate Democrats always do, which is reach across the aisle to shake hands with criminals they should do everything they can to drive from the halls of power.
Other Democrats responded to the meeting with mostly mild and non-committal comments, though the Guardian characterized them as being "incredulous." Senator Chris van Hollen (D-MD), for example, said, “I’m in favor of people meeting with whoever they want to discuss ideas. But it’s one thing to have a meeting. It’s another thing to see something real come out of that.” Jeffries, meanwhile, has been “noncommittal about any plans to pursue a third impeachment of the president,” the NYT reported. While he did say he thought the incompetent Secretary of Defense Peter Brian Hegseth “should be next on the list” of cabinet members to dump, he has not explained what his “aggressive oversight” would entail.