Pod Save America - “Democracy or the Filibuster.” (with Alyssa Mastromonaco!)

Episode Date: March 18, 2021

Jason Concepcion joins to talk about the Atlanta shooting and anti-Asian racism. Then Jon and Alyssa discuss Joe Biden coming out as filibuster reform-curious, Republicans playing politics with children at the border, and dig into the mailbag to answer some questions.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, please visit crooked.com/podsaveamerica. For a transcript of this episode, please email [e-mail] and include which podcast you would like.

Welcome to Pod Save America. I'm Jon Favreau. I'm Alyssa Mastromonaco. Alyssa is here. Alyssa, why are you filling in for Dan? Because I'm beloved. No, just kidding. Because he's at the hospital. He's at the hospital right now with Howley. We have no news to report, but I am on the notification phone tree. I'm at the very top. So if there's anything to report, I am allowed to report it. So we will see. I didn't get any fucking notice about a phone tree. Okay, because you're not good at that. I'm not good at that. Hopefully I'll get a text from Dan though. Okay, on today's show, Joe Biden announces he's filibuster reform curious. Republicans play politics with immigrant children at the border. And Alyssa and I answer some of your questions. Before we start, two housekeeping notes. Check out the

latest season of Anna Marie Cox's show with friends like these, which is all about forgiveness and reconciliation this season. This week, she'll be speaking to Rebecca Traister about the accusations against Governor Cuomo. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And you must check out America's favorite new sports podcast, Take Line, which is now number one in the Apple Sports charts. Some of you have already heard the first episode, which includes a really powerful and timely interview with Jeremy Lin about his NBA journey and his own experience with the racism against Asian-Americans that has exploded into thousands of violent attacks over the last year. racism against Asian Americans that has exploded into thousands of violent attacks over the last year. To talk more about that interview, as well as the deadly shooting in Atlanta this week, we are joined by one of Take Line's co-hosts, Jason Concepcion. Jason, welcome to the pod and welcome to the Cricket family. We are so happy to have you and your insanely talented

co-host, Renee Montgomery, on the team. Thank you so much. It is a delight to be here. I could not be more thrilled. I could not be more thrilled to be speaking in two mics with Renee Montgomery, two-time WNBA champion and co-owner of the Atlanta Dream. It's been really wonderful. Thank you for having me. Oh, it is great to have you. Your interview with Jeremy Lin just happened to go out the same day as the horrific shootings in Atlanta. Why was it important to you to have that conversation about anti-Asian violence and racism as part of the first episode? Over the last couple years, certainly since the emergence of COVID and the really horrific blaming of China, which is easily conflated with anyone of Asian descent, blaming them for the emergence of this virus using terminology such as Kung Flu, China virus, etc. We've just seen attacks against Asian Americans, Asian people in this country explode by immense numbers, thousands of attacks documented by the AAPI, among others, over the last several years.

So it's just been troubling. And then Jeremy, he spoke out about a week and a half before we had him on just about his own experiences as an Asian American in the league, the things that have been said to him on the court, someone calling him coronavirus, et cetera, and just raising awareness around that, the fact that the words matter, that there's a level of discourse that is tolerated against Asian Americans who traditionally have just kind of been quiet about certain things that they've endured and kind of like gone about their business. But certainly it's important right now when you're seeing these violent attacks happen to just let people know that this is happening and it needs to stop.

I thought one of the most depressingly predictable examples of how pervasive this racism is was the BuzzFeed story about the Georgia sheriff's official who described the man who murdered six Asian women and two others as, quote, having a bad day. And then it turns out, surprise, surprise, that cop had previously posted a picture of a T-shirt with a beer label that read COVID-19 imported virus from China. What was your reaction to the shootings themselves and sort of the aftermath that unfolded yesterday? My reaction was, you know, right before that, the NYPD had like announced that they were going to step up patrols in Chinatown and the various Chinatowns throughout the New York metro area. I think Seattle had also said they were going to do the same things. Some other localities had announced that they would do the same things. I think that what I thought was the response to this cannot simply be more police in more non-white neighborhoods.

You know, that's not a solution. And while I'm sure that residents of those areas drew some amount of comfort for that, the enemy and the problem is white supremacy, as we see here. It's the immediate instinct to empathize with a white terrorist over the victims themselves uh and also like you know it's weird it's tragically humorous also the idea that uh a bad day you know uh the idea that uh uh

these this person is walking around all day using every ounce of his energy and concentration to not carry out racist attacks. And then it's just, you know, some bump in the road happens and that's just and just snap and a murder might occur or several. And the fact that, you know, the authorities are willing to couch it in those terms is just it's horrific. It's really sad. And it's unfortunately not surprising. And I think the reveal that, you know, Deputy Baker is taking part in this really awful anti-Asian discourse shows that policing cannot be the end-all, Leasing cannot be the end-all, be-all solution to this. There are, you know, white supremacist ideology is virulent. We have seen the damage that it can do, most recently at the Capitol.

And we need to dismantle that. That needs to be dismantled piece by piece. Alyssa, what was your reaction to the shootings? I mean, well, it's fucking terrible. It's fucking terrible. But to Jason's point, you know, compounding the catastrophe are these press conferences, which to me, I mean, we've been through crisis comms before, either say, talk about it when you know about it, just fucking hold your fire because saying that they knew that they didn't think it was anti-Asian violence but that they knew he was a sex addict it's like why did anybody think the guy was gonna cop to it being a hate crime when the penalties

are 10 times stiffer like it was just uh it was it was it was a tragedy compounded by a further tragedy. Yeah. Like no one expects you to have the legal motive nailed down at the press conference, even if the assumptions are there. But we do expect you not to just like run your mouth off about random facts that could shade people's perception of the crime before you actually do the investigation. Absolutely. Also, guess what? You can be racist without a conscious awareness of your motivations in any particular area. Like that taking,

essentially taking the murderer's word for it in that moment, less than 24 hours after the attack, was just dumb and irresponsible. Yeah. And then, you know, more understandable when you saw the BuzzFeed story about who that official was. You're like, oh, now I get it. Of course.

Jason, you and Renee talked on the show about how sports are one of the few areas left in an extremely divided country where we can still come together. How does that inform the show you guys are looking to create with Take Line? It informs it in the sense that we're going to lean into these conversations that are on the forefronts of any conversation about sports these days and have always been, but are just harder to ignore. Those are conversations about racial and social justice, economic justice, labor relations, gender relations. All those conversations are part of any sports conversations.

This is a medium of force in our society that has always kind of been the main driver of integration of new people into mainstream American society. And, you know, as American society becomes more fractured as we retreat into our echo chambers, as we are divided by economic lines, racial lines, etc. And increasingly, these kind of like big tents like sports or, you know, big pop cultural events like, you know, Marvel movies, the comic book movies, Harry Potter, etc. These big metaphorical buckets are fascinating because these are increasingly at the forefront of these kind of like culture war conversations about how we relate to one another. And that is, those are conversations that Renee and I are very interested in, and that we want to explore as a top line priority while talking about sports in the way that other podcasts talk about sports, talking about the games, talking about player movement, etc. But we want to really steer into these kinds of conversations. Yeah. You know, and people on the right will say like, why do you have to politicize sports too?

But I thought you guys made a great point on the first episode that's like, you would love nothing more than to just enjoy sports, have fun with sports, talk about sports. But like, sometimes there's fucking, you know, announcers saying racist shit on hot mics. Like what are we supposed to do with that? You know, you got to talk about that shit. Leg hot mics like what are we supposed to do with that you know you got to talk about that shit legitimately what are we supposed to do and the other thing is and i say this all the time but it but it just drives me crazy like this idea of like keep politics out of sports uh yeah sure let's keep politics out of sports meanwhile you know before every nfl game they unfurl a 200 foot American flag and they fly fighter jets over the stadium and every member of, you know, representative representatives of every member of the military

come out like there is a very specific political lens that is accepted as absolutely fine and baseline within sports commentary. And that is expanding and that is expanding with some opposition from other people. That's right. Jason Concepcion, thanks for stopping by the pod and thanks for joining the cricket family. Everyone go subscribe to Take Line right away. It is fantastic. Thanks for stopping by, man. Thanks for having me. All right. Let's get to the news. Alyssa, I want to go through a timeline here. You tell me if anything jumps out at you. OK. 2020 Democratic primary. Most of the presidential candidates come out in favor of eliminating the filibuster. Joe Biden says,

no, let's keep it. Summer 2020. Barack Obama says the filibuster is a Jim Crow relic. Joe Biden still supports the filibuster. 2021. Bunch of Democratic senators come out in favor of killing the filibuster. Joe Manchin, filibuster's fiercest defender, says maybe it's time for a talking filibuster. White House says no change from Biden just yet. This week, one of Politico's nightly newsletters leads with a big story about Crooked Media's brand new Abolish the Filibuster t-shirt. That very night, we get this clip. Aren't you going to have to choose between preserving the filibuster and advancingshirt. That very night, we get this clip. Aren't you going to have to choose between

preserving the filibuster and advancing your agenda? Yes, but here's the choice. I don't think you have to eliminate the filibuster. You have to do it what it used to be when I first got to the Senate, and that is that a filibuster, you had to stand up and command the floor. Once you stopped talking, you lost that, and someone could move in and say I moved the question of So you got to work for the filibuster. So you're for that reform you're for bringing back the talking filibuster. I am That's what it was supposed to be. Just put a hold on it. That's it Yeah, it almost is getting to the point where democracy is having a hard time functioning I'm not saying this is going to be easy George, but I do believe there's enough Republicans over time.

They haven't had that epiphany you said you were going to see in the campaign. No, no. I've only been here six weeks, pal. OK, give me a break. Been here six weeks. I think the epiphany is going to come between now and 2022. Do we get results or do we get results? OK, fab.

Crooked merch changes hearts and minds. That is no malarkey. So that was something. How significant do you think what Biden said to Stephanopoulos about the filibuster is? I mean, look, it is Joe Biden is nothing if not true to his principles. Right. And I think that he has finally seen that Republicans may not be on the level, don't want to find common ground, and we're not going to get anything done unless you blow up the filibuster. talking filibuster but his very direct yes to george when george said are you gonna have to choose between your agenda and the filibuster which shows me that like what you just said he finally gets it that like there is fever fever's not breaking fever's not breaking remember brock

obama in 2012 used to tell us the fever is going to break if he won the 2012 election we were like yeah sure i guess no did not break did not break. Did not break. And now 10 years later, almost 10 years later, it still has not broken. It was interesting to me the White House this morning went even further than Biden in that Stephanopoulos interview. Kate Bedingfeld said to NBC's Hallie Jackson, the White House won't allow progress and benefits to the American people to get held hostage. There are going to be conversations on process and they are open to discussion. So you've got to wonder,

is this really a further iteration? Is this a shot across the bow that's like, if you don't, Republicans, find God soon, I'm actually going to do this. You know I don't want to do it. I've made it clear to all of America

I don't want to have to do this. But, you know, we might just have to do this because you're hurting the American people just because you're assholes. I know. I think it's a shot across the bow Republicans. I also think it's I wonder I wonder what the conversations are like between the White House and Manchin and Sinema and some of and it's not just the two of them. We bring them up all the time because they're the most public.

There's a couple other Democratic senators who are on the fence about this. I wonder what kind of conversations the White House is having with these senators. And I also wonder and I've wondered up to this point whether the White House thinks it is more productive to push these senators publicly and to be out in front on this filibuster debate or if they sort of want to hang back because they think that them pressuring these senators publicly will actually hurt their cause. Well, and now you've got someone like Dick Durbin, who has been full throated in his support of change, who is part of this new gang of 20, which is like half the Senate at this point, of senators, bipartisan, who want to talk about the filibuster. So, you know, as we know, this all happens in the Senate and, you know, they have to the senators have to be the ones to take the action. But I mean, Favs, it's time. It's time. So there are time. There are a few different versions of the

talking filibuster. And we are not sure which kind Manchin or Biden would support when Manchin speaks. You have to be a you have to be a Manchinologist and really sort of just like detect every word and sort of unpack it all. Because some versions of the talking filibuster are nothing. Well, that's so let's go. Let's go through them. Right. There's one version where senators who want a filibuster have to make sure at least one senator is on the floor speaking at all times. You could tag out with that senator, take turns, do a little tag teaming. But as long as just one senator is talking at all times, they could sustain the filibuster. So that seems fairly easy to sustain.

Just one person talking, then you switch them out when they get tired. Biden seemed to be suggesting to George a version where the senators can't take turns filibustering and that the filibuster ends when one senator just gets tired of talking because when that happens, another senator from the other side can say point of order, whatever, some procedure, and then that stops them. And then Senator Jeff Merkley has another proposal where all 41 senators in the minority have to be on the floor at all times in order to sustain the filibuster. So instead of 60 votes to break the filibuster, you need 41 votes to keep it going. That would mean everyone who's against that piece of legislation, like if the Republicans decided to filibuster H.R. 1, 41 Republican senators would have to be on the floor at all times. Now, Alyssa, as someone who

has worked with and scheduled these little Senate monsters, which version or versions, if any, do you think could actually weaken the filibuster? So the one I think that would weaken the filibuster is the one that Biden, well, there are two, I think. The one where it can just be the one senator on the floor, which I think is, and Biden is speaking from experience, because I think that this is the filibuster that existed in 1973 when he came to the Senate, which is, if you're so pissed off, go down and keep talking. And when you're done talking, you can, I think it's called move to the question. And that's that. The version with the 40 members of the minority or whatever

it is who have to remain on the floor is also kind of a delicious and interesting option. But I think that mostly because you know how bad they all want to go home on the weekend. Well, that's what I'm saying. Can you imagine trying to keep, can you imagine if you were like Mitch McConnell's office, right? And you're trying to figure out how to get 41 members of your caucus on the floor like in perpetuity until I guess the Democrats get tired. It's basically a game of chicken. I think that's pretty hard to do. That's pretty hard to sustain.

Yeah, I agree. I agree. I think either of those being able to tag in and out is just hot trash. Yeah, that's I think that's not going to work. There's another one, too, that's called three fifths present in voting. So that would mean that if all 50 Democrats showed up to call for the end of debate to move to a simple majority vote to end a filibuster, Republicans would need 34 to show up and stop them. So basically, you need three fifths of the number of senators in the chamber present and voting, which is sort

of like the 41 on the floor thing. I think one of those versions would be good. The question is, does Manchin support one of those versions? He has said to reporters so far, I want to get to 60. I want 60. I want 60. You can make an argument that you're still getting to 60 if you do the flip side and say, OK, 41 have to be on the floor. So I think Manchin's still playing fast and loose there and he's still amenable to these. But we'll see. I also think that Manchin like here's the thing. Do I want to believe that he is opening his heart and mind to the idea of this? I do. I also think that he doesn't want to be ratioed on social media or have his phone lines blow up. So let's just say the proof shall be in the pudding.

Also, there's a good argument to be made that Joe Manchin is more powerful in a Senate where there is no filibuster, because look how powerful Joe Manchin was on the American Rescue Plan where he needed to be the 50th vote. And so he could basically tell the White House whatever he wanted in that package. Right. If we're going to require 60 votes, there's going to be one more reconciliation bill that gets done and nothing else. So suddenly Joe Manchin isn't that powerful anymore. So he actually gets more power by reforming the filibuster.

I hope he's listening. Joe Manchin listens to every pod, undoubtedly. So this is all going to come to a head soon. Chuck Schumer said this week that he's putting H.R. 1, the For the People Act, on the Senate floor for a debate, hopefully a vote. Joe Manchin said he will not accept a car vote for voting rights legislation like H.R. 1. So he's still for the 60 vote threshold there. That's what he's saying. But Mitch McConnell must not believe Joe Manchin because that guy had a complete meltdown on the Senate floor this week.

He threatened to retaliate against the Democrats if they get rid of the filibuster by grinding the Senate to a halt. And then he threatened to pass a slew of right wing policy priorities if Republicans win Congress and the presidency again. Here's a clip. chamber can even begin can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched earth Senate would look like everything that Democrat Senate's did to President Bush and Trump everything the Republican Senate did to President Obama would be child's play compared to the disaster that Democrats would create for their own priorities if, if they break the Senate. As soon as Republicans wound up back in the saddle, we wouldn't just erase every liberal

change that hurt the country, we'd strengthen America with all kinds of conservative policies with zero input from the other side. How about this? Nationwide right to work for working Americans. Defunding Planned Parenthood and sanctuary cities on day one. He sounds like a fun guy to grab a beer with. Jesus Christ. You have a drink with Mitch McConnell. You have a drink with Mitch McConnell.

So I thought Talking Points Memo had a great headline about this, you have a drink with mitch mcconnell you have a drink with mitch mcconnell so i thought talking points memo had a great headline about this which was mcconnell threatens to grind senate to halt if democrats don't let him keep the power to grind senate to a halt right i mean also you've been in charge for four years the fuck did you do mean, like he he he has gone scorched earth already. So I'm not real scared of his threats. Well, there's there's that, of course. Also, like it is an empty threat. And I think he understands that because at one point in the speech, he said, oh, and if I grind the Senate to the halt, I suppose the Democrats could just change the rules again.

He said, oh, and if I grind the Senate to the halt, I suppose the Democrats could just change the rules again. What Mitch McConnell realizes as someone who understands the Senate very well is that when you are in the majority, you have the power and you can change the rules. If Democrats are willing to blow up the filibuster and then Mitch McConnell does a whole bunch of procedural moves to grind the Senate to the halt, Democrats will change those rules too and continue to pass it, which, by the way, is why, you know, back in the day when people were like, oh, Democrats should try to grind the Senate to the halt when we don't like something Republicans are doing. When we're in the minority, we really don't have that power. There's only so much power you can have in the minority. You don't really have power to grind the Senate to a halt. You do. But the majority could just pass a rule that overrules whatever stunt that you're pulling. That's whoever has the majority has the power is where it comes down to. It's very true. And he really just reveals himself as the bitch baby he is. He is a bitch baby. How worried are you about his threat to pass a bunch of right wing policies

with simple majorities if Republicans gain power again? I noticed he talked about defunding Planned Parenthood. He talked about abortion restrictions. I have heard from Democratic senators, staff on the Hill. One of the reasons that a lot of sort of longtime Democratic senators who may be more liberal and more progressive are nervous about this is that they believe that for so long the filibuster has protected precisely things like funding for Planned Parenthood and abortion restrictions. So you can't help but not be a little concerned, at least, right? On the one hand, Planned Parenthood is popular. Roe v. Wade is popular uh a lot of these uh don't forget you know this would ultimately have to involve the house at some point and a lot of a lot of gop members are

going to be loathed to vote against uh planned parenthood because it provides the health care to a lot of fucking people in their districts um you know they like to paint in mcconnell's rhetoric he loves to blow up this like planned parenth Parenthood equals abortion. People who live in places know that Planned Parenthood equals fucking health care. So I think that he would have a hard fight in a debate about well woman exams, cancer screenings, control health care etc um also the thing that's kind of funny not to be a basic bitch but he didn't really pass that much legislation when he was in power like he he he did pass two trillion in tax cuts and then he just ramrodded judges and so both of which both of which he could do without with a 50 vote margin. That's right. Mitch Republican priorities are tax cuts, gutting spending, confirming judges, all things that you can do with just 51 votes and not 60.

Exactly. So, you know, his threat sounds great in newsletters and on television, but I will not be bullied by Mitch McConnell. Good. And to your first point about just stuff not being popular, like, let's also remember what he tried to do with 51 votes and not 60, which was to destroy the Affordable Care Act. And the reason he couldn't do it is because it was too popular. He couldn't get enough Republican votes. Exactly. And I think like, so, you know, if you want to defund Planned Parenthood, you've got to count on Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski and a bunch of other Republican senators who have voted consistently in favor of funding Planned Parenthood. So I think it's exactly. And that's a hard vote. It's a hard vote. Look, there is we've said this before. That's a hard vote. It's a hard vote.

Look, there is, we've said this before, there's risks, obviously, to getting rid of the filibuster. But I think when you weigh the risks of, okay, what would happen if Republicans had the presidency, the Senate and the House, what would they do with no filibuster? If you weigh that risk with, okay, well, if we have the filibuster in place, like, we're never getting to 60 Democratic senators, probably for the next decade at least. So there is no world where we get 60 Democratic senators and just pass whatever we want. So then we're basically thinking that the Republican Party is going to completely change and there's going to be a bunch of moderate Republican senators who work with us. I don't think that's fucking happening either.

So there's no other choice. There's either like gridlock and obstruction for as long as we're alive or we do something about the fucking filibuster. I mean, that's where I come down. It's time. I'm with you. All right. You're with us.

Let's do this. Should we? We got to send the White House the abolish the filibuster T-shirts just to get. I will not be happy until we see George Stephanopoulos and Joe Biden doing a, you know, a catch up interview, both wearing their merch on the South Lawn. Yes, that's what we're fighting for here. Let's talk about the situation on the Southwest border. I'm calling a situation and not a crisis just to piss off Republicans and White House reporters.

Here is what's going on. Every spring for many years, thousands of migrant families from Central America arrive at our border. Some apply for asylum. Some just cross over and get apprehended. Many are children 17 or under who are traveling by themselves. who are traveling by themselves. And this year, the Biden administration says they expect more families and children to arrive at our border than at any time in two decades

because of the dangerous and often deadly conditions in their home countries. Alyssa, I believe that you were still deputy chief of staff at the White House during the 2014 surge of unaccompanied minors. Can you talk about the challenge facing the Biden administration based on sort of your own experience with this? You know, because some people might hear this and

say, what's the problem? Just grant these kids asylum and send them on their way. Right. So, I mean, this is it's the toughest of the tough, right? Because first of all, let's just level set for a sec that kids who arrive at the border unaccompanied are not doing so because it was fucking easy. Because I mean, these are people who face the most sort of catastrophic challenges in their home where they come from. So but once they get there, what do you do with them? They need to be housed, they need to be cared for, they need to be hopefully united with someone in the country, you know, who can accept them and take charge of them. They need to be housed. They need to be cared for. They need to be hopefully united with someone in the country, you know, who can accept them and take charge of them. And so

it's really hard. I mean, like, there's nothing else to say. It's just it's really fucking hard. There are laws, first of all, right? Legally, you can't just let let children go. Right. So let's talk about what the Trump administration was doing. The Trump administration was turning everyone away, right? So they were using and they were using this sort of pandemic regulation to turn away adults and children,

all of them, everyone who got to the border. The Biden administration is still using that pandemic regulation to and that policy to turn a lot of the adults away. But the children,

they're saying we're not going to turn children away like the Trump administration did. OK, so they're not going to turn the children away. So what do you do? Legally, you cannot just turn the children loose in the country, even if there was no law. Imagine just like an eight-year-old

showing up at the border, checks in with the border guard, and he says, okay, see you later. Have a good time. That's horrific, right? So then what do you do? You have to hold the children somewhere. They are being held at the at the Border Patrol facilities, which are horrific and not a place to hold children or anyone really for a long, long time.

The reason they're being held there is because the facilities run by Health and Human Services are completely full, partly because of pandemic restrictions, partly just because there's a surge of migrants. And so there's just, they're overrun. So, and the reason they're all being held is because you have to call to, so a lot of these kids show up with a phone number of someone, a relative who is in the United States somewhere. You have to call that relative if you're the government, and then you have to vet that relative to make sure it is a safe home for the children. Because one thing that was happening before that was a requirement is sometimes we were placing children, and this was like years and years and years ago before Obama even, we were placing children with relatives

who were horrible people or people who said they were relatives and they were actually smugglers. So like you can't, you have to be, it's the government making sure that the kids are in good conditions. So that's taking time. So there are not enough. There's not enough room at the facilities. The facilities are getting overcrowded. There's not enough staff to just literally call the relatives and find good placement for the children. So it's a fucking mess. Right. But it's also like a mess. It's a mess. But also it's like the Biden administration has been here six weeks. The Trump administration completely dismantled the entire asylum system. They left them a fucking disaster at the border. So literally, it's just about the Biden administration

building facilities as fast as they can, improving the conditions as fast as they can, hiring people to both place the children and to look at the asylum applications and process the asylum applications because there's a backlog a mile long. Well, and that's the thing is that, that's what's so, as usual, disingenuous about how it's being covered is that we are where we are now because the Trump administration did

everything they could to tear apart every ounce of infrastructure there was to deal with the problem. Something that has really been a fucking bee in my bonnet for a long time was a very important piece of this puzzle is the office of refugee resettlement and during the trump administration do you know who ran the office of refugee resettlement uh he's a fuck that guy named scott lloyd whose qualification for the job was having worked at the Knights of Columbus before he got it and use this position where you should be resettling refugees, so many of whom are children, to enforce his like anti-abortion. He like had a journal of tracking women's periods.

It's a fucking lunatic. Terrible. So here we are now, even that organization that's meant to deal with this problem was literally raised. It was burned to the ground. And so now Joe Biden has put in Cindy Huang, who is a, she came from Refugees International, right? So like the thing that everybody has to understand is that, yes, it's bad.

And the images on television are terrible, but they are moving as fast as humanly possible to try to. I mean, they have FEMA down there now. They have HHS employees down at the border helping to register people faster to help with intake. You know, and FEMA is literally treating this like a crisis. Mind you, FEMA, the money Donald Trump robbed from FEMA to buy his wall. And now FEMA is here solving the problem. So. Yeah. And look, none of this is to like excuse the Biden administration or excuse the Obama administration when it was us to like. It's just that like I think because Trump was so

such a fucking monster on immigration, it obscured the fact that even if he wasn't a monster, he would have had to deal with some pretty intractable challenges at the border that would have been hard for any president, even of good intentions to deal with. Exactly. And that is actually exactly what we're seeing right now. A president of who has good intentions and administration has good intentions, still having a real hard time because we have a fucking broken immigration system that's like messed up. That's like messed up. So like, you know, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, you're, we want to let a lot of these young people know who are coming here or families, if you want to apply for asylum in America, that's great. Don't make the dangerous trek through Mexico to America. Apply for asylum in your home country.

That again is a big process. Takes a lot of work to send that message, to make sure they get that message, that they have access to doing that. But that, you know, that takes a long. Speeding up processing. So asylum claimants aren't left just like roaming around the country and kids could get transferred to guardians faster. So you just need more staff, just something very basic. You need more staff.

And then you need to have more humane and bigger facilities to temporarily house children while they're waiting to get placed either with a relative or in foster care. So that's the path out of this. But all of that takes time. And the other big challenge for Biden and why they don't have time is because there's a political challenge here. Here's House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy at an event on the border with a bunch of his Republican goons. We asked him, which countries are people coming from yemen iran sri lanka that's what's coming across and they're finding they even talked about chinese as well oh oh they wow oh they even talked about chinese as well also sri lanka that nice nice is that that the fuck is that the name of the country

asshole um so so this is what we're going to hear for the next two years joe biden is letting covid positive terrorist immigrants into the country so they can pick up their mail-in ballots and their stimulus checks and and their vaccines right out of the arms of the elderly that right like this is the this is the perfect storm of demagoguery for Republicans. How do you think Democrats should handle this and how does it sort of affect the overall politics of immigration reform? I mean, look, Kevin McCarthy is so fucking gross, you know, I mean, he's been around for the last four years because he also aside from saying that all immigrants were terrorists, he was also like, this is so heartbreaking.

OK, like, well, which is it, Kevin? Like and the thing is, like the people who want to believe him are like, yeah, it is heartbreaking. And yet they are also terrorists. Right. So, I mean, I think you just can't like we just have to put him in a box. I mean, like like I know that my answer is always like, just don't listen to him. But, you know, we need immigration reform in a big way. And, you know, he says it's a problem, but you only solve the problem with reform. And they don't want that either. I mean, I think your point about how he's both very harsh on immigrants and also saying it's heartbreaking sort of gets to a larger point about

public opinion on immigration that he's trying to exploit, which is like public opinion on immigration in this country is fairly complicated. Like you have huge majorities of the public in support of protecting dreamers. You have a majority in favor of a pathway to citizenship. You have huge majorities in favor of like never separating families. Right. So like that's where people are on the side of immigrants. You also have majorities that want more border security. You have a majority that like doesn't want to decriminalize border crossings. You have a majority that does think we should deport, you know, some of the more dangerous undocumented people that we shouldn't just have open borders.

Right. Like so that public opinion on this is is mixed. And I think that Republicans are just going to look at this and say, oh, well, what people watching from home think is that it's a fucking mess. And the mess is going to redound to the person in charge. And that's Joe Biden. And so all we have to do is just talk about the mess. We don't have to be ideological. Immigrants are bad. We're sad for the children.

Whatever it is, we're just going to prey on that and exploit people's emotions over this. Exactly. I mean, they saw the, over the past four years, they saw what Donald Trump did. They saw the race baiting, the build the wall, all of this stuff. And he got people all hopped up about it. And they were like, here's the thing, we're very intellectually lazy. And so we're just going to ride that wave for as long as we can. Because, I mean, if they wanted to, there is a lot of common ground here, and they just don't want to find it. No, Well, look, I think the instinct of some Democrats is to shy away from this fight and this topic and sort of hope it goes away because they know that the politics of immigration can

be fraught. But my advice on that would be like, it's not going to go away. First of all, it's not the right thing to do to avoid it because it's an incredibly important problem and we should want to solve it. And we have a good immigration reform proposal and we should fight for it. But even if you think the politics are bad, it's not going away. The Republicans are going to make this the issue. Fox News is going to make it an issue. The media is going to make it an issue. And so, you know, Cecilia Munoz always talked about this. She was at the White House and sort of

ran immigration for us for a very long time, has been an activist for a long time. She said that, you know, Democrats should position themselves as the people who can fix a broken system. Right. Like, yeah, that's what people and I think that's what the Biden administration is, too. Like, we don't have time for the politics that the Republicans are going to play on this. They're going to exploit fear.

They're going to exploit division. We just want an orderly, safe, humane immigration system in this country. And we're going to try to do it. That's right, Fabs. Yes, we are. All right. Let's take some of the questions we received from all of you. We got so many questions. This was hard to sift through. I'm going to try to just like cruise through these, Look, I was like, which ones do we do? Well, you should throw some out if I have missed some that you particularly enjoy.

Great. Great. All right. Megan via Twitter asks, should Biden team take small bites on tax and immigration instead of a full swing, fixed carried interest, capital gains, corporate tax rate, fixed dreamers, and some immigration aspects instead of doing like sort of big, big reforms. What do you think? I don't know. I'm torn on this one. On the one hand, you know me. I'm a bull in a china shop. I like to go big. However, however, when I think back, well, I mean, I don't know, Favs. I'm a little torn. I mean, I think that when we go back

to when we were in the White House, you know, sometimes forcing the Republicans to go on record for all of the smaller issues, there is merit to that, you know? I mean, the DREAM Act did not pass the first time. It did pass the second time after Republicans went home and got kind of killed because they were like, the fuck, you don't want to take care of the kids who have been here? Like, what's wrong with you? But I don't know. I'm very torn on this one. What do you think? I think you go big and then you take what you can get. And, you know, like, I mean, look, I am surprised that we ended up with a one point nine trillion dollar package because when Biden proposed one point nine trillion, I thought when Biden proposed $1.9 trillion,

I thought that was the starting point. I even thought, I'm like, oh, Manchin's going to try to take him down to some smaller amount than this. And he went big and he got it. So like if people in the White House had thought, instead of going out with $1.9, and let's go out with what we think we can get, which is $1.3, $1.4.

Good point, super good point. We would have lost a couple hundred billion dollars. So you don't know until you try. You know, we lost on the minimum wage. But, you know, now that we lost on 15, could you put a group of people together to get 11 to get 12, something like that? 13? Yeah, I like that's not good enough, but I take that over nothing. So I agree with you. Okay. So Alaskavery asks, I'm confused about the tax credit for kids. How have they changed it? Is it the same money just split up through the year? Okay. Go for it.

Do you know? Do you know? I do. I know some of 17, right? That's the old. Here's the new. The new is now $3,000 per child under 17, $3,600 per child under six, and you can get half of it in advance from the IRS between June and December. Which is pretty cool. Which is pretty cool. Which is pretty cool. Did I get it right?

You did get it right. And yeah, because it's fully refundable now. So there used to be a minimum earning. So you had to earn at least so much money to qualify for the tax credit, which left out a lot of really poor families who probably need it the most. So there's no minimum now. So everyone qualifies. Because the thing used to be, oh, if you don't pay taxes, who probably need it the most. So there's no minimum now. So everyone qualifies because the thing used to be, oh, if you don't pay taxes, you don't get the credit.

Now, if you don't pay income taxes, you don't get the credit. Now, if you don't pay income taxes, you still get the credit. You know, Chris Hayes described this better than anyone I thought, which was just this is Social Security for kids. These are Social Security checks. That's a great way to look at it. I thought it was great. See, so Alaska Avery, it's a complicated issue. There you go. Jack Versteeg asks, how can Midwest Democrats in states like South Dakota, Wyoming, North Dakota, et cetera, get back to making some headway?

Having a D next to a candidate seems to be a guaranteed L in these states lately. Don't you think? OK, so there are like a lot of answers to this question. I think here's mine. I think that Democrats need to start super, super local, because I think that there is so much more common ground at the local level than when you start talking just like national politics. National politics can be so polarizing. But so I think in those states, they have to make sure that they're running as many Democrats as they can at the local level. This is how you bring communities sort of like into the process. And yeah, that's like I just noticed like up here in upstate New York, it's very purpley ready where I live. And our assembly person is a is a Democrat. And she says that it's just like when you talk about funding libraries and schools and stuff,

it's just much less polarizing and people start to believe, you know, she now has Republicans who come up to her and say like, you're not that bad. And so I think that local, I love local. That's the only way to do it.

It's to play in all 50 states. It's to play in small towns. And, you know, like, look, this is easier said than done. Like, you have to find Democrats in these areas who are willing to do that, who are willing to both organize, talk to their neighbors. And if you're one of the Democrats asking the questions in one of those states, it can be you, right? Like, you can be the person who organizes a committee meeting. You can be the person that runs for a small local office to start, right?

Like you can build up the Democratic Party in your area with your own neighbors, but it's got to start somewhere. I also think that, you know, South Dakota, Wyoming, North Dakota, those are tough states to flip. Those are going to be some primed as Georgia to flip because of, and Arizona, because of sort of demographic changes and migration patterns and stuff like that. But there are other states where there are sort of urban areas in red states that are growing, that if more people move there, they kept growing. And we know that Democrats win in urban areas. Like you could start seeing those states get competitive, like Alaska, right? Alaska is like people are moving to Anchorage, right? And the more people move in Anchorage, the more blue it gets. Montana, right? Like there's a reason we

still have John Tester in the Senate from a red state. Like more people moving to Bozeman, right? Because they like the outdoors. And you're getting a lot of this from like big congested cities on the coast people are deciding to start moving into the interior of the country so you know maybe a little maybe a little strategy and where uh all the young libs move would be uh all the young urban professionals would be helpful i'd like to say that aaron and i forecasted this the political witches that we are at the beginning of covid that people were going to start moving and places might get a little more purple, a little more purple where people start moving. That'd be so sweet.

Rio Fernandez asks, this is for you, Alyssa. Why are so many Democrats still so spooked about advocating for legalizing marijuana? It polls around 65% in favor. Seems like an easy and popular issue to jump on. Are people still spooked? I guess people are. I couldn't fucking agree more. No, here's what I think, actually.

This is very controversial, what I'm about to say. I think more Democrats who are in charge of legislation need to actually try weed. Oh, that's. I think that one, I think that they have never done it. I think they don't understand it. I think they should all take trips to grow facilities. I think they should all talk to like very ill people who have used it and who have made it, who have, who have, you know, really been helped in cancer and other things, which is granted medical marijuana is legal in many other places, but there are so many conditions that aren't covered under medical that are also so benefit

from it. And also fundamentally, it's taxes, people. Do you know how much the money that states make? It is insane the taxes that you can get from legalizing weed. You can reform major systems. We're talking billions of dollars in California and Colorado. I think weed is like the fourth biggest cash crop in the world. So mostly I think they're scared. I think they all smoked a joint in college and they were freaked out and they're like, this is terrible. I also think, you know, there was a lot of damage done during, you know, dare to get kids off drugs and the war on drugs back in the 80s, which has stuck with people, right? But I just think that if you really fundamentally look at legalizing weed holistically, not

just making it legal to buy, but getting people out of jail who sold it, making sure that those folks have ways back in society, making the weed industry equitable, making there be equity and equality, actually, so that the fucking weed industry doesn't look like Silicon Valley. No offense, white dudes. But, you know, I just think that I think they're all just a little scared. I think it really just comes down to that, that they're a little worried to go out and be like, I support weed. It's like, let me tell you, if you don't, eventually the ghost of Jerry Garcia will find you. I think it's a great idea to have them all try it. I do think we should start them off smoking a little weed. Low, micro dose. Micro dose. We should not have them do like the Maureen Dowd, I'm going to have a whole chocolate bar edible and then write a column.

That's ding dong. She did real damage. Who fucking does that? Don't. Follow me on Instagram. I'll tell you how to do it. Don't eat the whole chocolate bar, members of Congress, as you're contemplating marijuana legalization.

That is our advice to you. There you go. Stacy Kitchen asks, love that you two are doing the pod together. What's your favorite memory while traveling? I feel like those are the best stories. Okay, this is top of mind for me. Do you have one top of mind? No, I was counting on you because my memory is so horrible and all the foreign trips blend together.

But you start talking and then maybe it'll jog something for me. Okay. So I have one that is just my favorite because you and I, despite the fact that I'm like seven years older than you, I think, we were always treated like the kids. Yes. Right? Like always treated like the kids. And so you and I were in Singapore at the Shangri-La Hotel. This is one of the ones I thought about actually.

Okay, good. I'm glad you – Okay. And so we're at the Shangri-La Hotel. And as we love to do – Beautiful hotel. Beautiful hotel in Singapore. Beautiful.

I think we have Harvey Wallbangers. He wasn't giving any speeches. He was like doing a bunch of bilats. So like I had nothing to do. I was just – Like Ben Rhodes was the important person with Bapotus and I was just chilling. This is and the thing that was just very funny about Singapore, I think we were there for a conference, right?

So some of us had less to do than others. So you and I text, do you want to meet down for breakfast? So we go downstairs to meet for breakfast. And who is there? But Pete Rouse, our boss since the beginning of Obama land, and Valerie Jarrett were eating breakfast. And they're like, come eat with us. So you and I sit down and look. Pete and Valerie were like mostly professionally dressed for work. You and I were, I think, in sweatpants. And we sit down with them. Pete and Vijay already had a little bit

of breakfast. I'm like, let's go take a tour. And you and I find there is a chocolate fountain in the middle of the breakfast buffet. And we're like, whoa, this is crazy. There's a chocolate fountain. I definitely got something in the chocolate fountain. Me too. And we go back to the table and we sit down and Hillary Clinton comes over. She's got her hair in a ponytail and a scrunchie. She says good morning to us. You and I start feasting on our on our plates. And Pete Rouse, without missing a beat, looks at us and he's like, if you two don't want people treating you like fucking kids, you might want to skip the chocolate fountain at the buffet. I forgot Pete said that. And you and I were just like, probably probably but we finished our chocolate dip pineapple

like it was very fair i and do you know what had happened the night before to me and that was that no vaguely vaguely i went out because we had the the hotel where the president was staying and like all the staff there and then the press stays at a different hotel like usually across town but like all the press staff was with the press. And that's like, you know, Nick Shapiro was there and Tommy and all my friends. I was like, I'm going to go out with them tonight to bars in Singapore. So went out with them. I remember leaving Nick Shapiro at a bar because I was like, I got to go home.

I got to go to sleep. I get in the car to go home. I did not have you were supposed to have a lanyard with a badge for the Asian conference that we were at, right? The Asian countries conference that we were at. ASEAN. ASEAN. That's what it was called. ASEAN. So we were at the ASEAN conference and I didn't have my badge. So I get there and there's a

perimeter around the hotel, a security perimeter. And the cab drops me off there and I go up to the security perimeter and I just proudly have my secret service pin because I thought that's all I needed. And they said, no, no, you need the badge. I'm like, I don't have the badge. 10 guys surround me with guns. And they say, please give us your passport immediately. And so I give them my passport.

They walk off down the road to the hotel, which is like half a mile away with my passport i'm like fuck now i'm sitting here in singapore with guys having guns trained on me and i don't have my passport so it's like and it's like two in the morning so now the only thing i can think of is to email the white house people at the white house thinking they would be up because the time difference in dc and ferial um someone at the White House got in touch with Ferial, who was the president's personal assistant at the time. And she told the guys who I was and came out and got me because someone from the White

House got in touch with her. That is so fast. It was dicey. It was dicey. The reason I remember that story is because I was very clear with everybody before we got off Air Force One that this was not a joke, that we were being given credentials, that we had to have our credentials, and was everybody listening to me. And everyone was like, I'm listening to you. So the best was you didn't tell me what happened. Rhodes was like, AM, did you hear what happened

with Favs last night? Of course. Tatt that was oh god i mean i missed i'm i miss porn trips i know me too me too well someone someone asked uh amy asked i want to know if alissa looks at the biden administration and misses being in an administration what do you think i mean of course i mean of course a little bit, here's the thing. This is my, I'm stating it for the record. What I'd like to do at some point in my life, but it only works if it's like a group thing. If you and me and Rhodes and Pfeiffer and Tommy all do it together, I'd like to go back as like a czar for six months for something I really give a shit about. Like, I want to go back. You know what? I want to go back as the weed czar for like six months. I want to get that shit

passed. I want weed to be federally legal. And I want to take like, I think the one thing that we could all look back on is say that because it is so high pressure, it's so, it's such a hard job. Every single job is a hard job when you're at the White House that I'd like to go back and just kind of live it up a little bit. I know. Like, do all the shit we didn't do. Did you ever go bowling? No, I never, I never did. I never went bowling. I never went bowling. No, I want us to ride the golf carts at Camp David. I want us to just get hammered at a state dinner and like really live it really live it up for a little i know i do want to do that i do want to do the fun things um i think there is zero percent chance that any of us will be confirmed by any kind of senate at this point ever which is why i just need a czar i need to fast track if a couple tweets did it for nira and her if her tweets did it

my tweets certainly aren't surviving anything um so that's it but no i i i don't feel i never feel jealous when i see like if i watch poor jensaki at the briefing for like 10 minutes who's doing an incredible job as white house press secretary and i listen to some of the fucking questions she gets and i was like i know i i can't do this anymore i definitely couldn't be in that role no but because like you just can't hold your tongue but i have talked to people who thought about going into the white have talked to people who've thought about going into the White House, this White House, who've never been in a White House before and just asking me job advice. And I'm like, look, for as hard as it is, and there are days when it's

a real slog and your life is not your own and you could be called in to work at any moment of the day, there are things that you will do in the White House that will never be matched by anything you do in your professional career. And go into the White House that will never be matched by anything you do in your professional career. Totally. Totally. And go into the White House, even just for those things. Go to some events in the East Room. Go on a foreign trip. Go on Air Force One.

Yeah. There are things that make it absolutely worth it, even though it's really, really hard. So yeah, I'm mixed on that too. Okay, Alyssa, what jam recipe are you most proud of? There are a lot of questions about this. The jam recipe that I'm most proud of, I think I am most proud of these series of marmalades that I've done. Nice.

Specifically, because they're very hard. It is a lot of work, and there are many competing. There are like French methods and British methods. Anyway, I've loved it, but the recipe I am most proud of is my, I made Seville orange spearmint weed marmalade. And it is really good. And I was throwing around words like decarbioxalating my weed. But the one thing I love about Twitter, this is like the upside of Twitter, is that when I posted a picture of what I had done, someone's like, wait, do you know that there's a way better way to decarbioxalate your weed? I was like, I did not.

So people are just like, people want my jams to be successful. So they're just pushing me across the finish line. I don't even know what that word means and I don't think I could repeat it. So it basically means that you take the weed and you put it in the oven and you cook it. So it basically means that you take the weed and you put it in the oven and you cook it. And the way that you make – to get all the turbines like getting going. And the truth is the tip someone gave me because my husband endured our house smelling like a dead show when I was decarboxylating it. They're like, no, put a damp towel down on a cookie sheet and then put the weed inside a mason jar.

And like, anyway, it was a great tip. Nice. Okay. I'm going to have to try some of that. So Daniel Riesco asks, hey guys, would love to hear if you guys have experienced any post-COVID quarantine anxiety now that people are getting vaccinated

and the country is starting to open up. What's the first thing you will both do once you're fully vaccinated? I have to say, I've seen some of these stories. It's going to be so socially awkward when I get back into public and I have anxiety. I understand that people have those anxieties. I understand that to each their own,

people go through different things. I have none of that. I am getting back out there. I'm going to be running through the streets, hugging people. I am getting back to her fucking office. All of these stories like maybe we'll work remotely forever. Again, might work for some people. Again, you know, we're trying to figure out remote working from home policies too for Crooked.

I will have my ass in that office all the time. I am so excited to see people again. So I felt this question in my core. I've had a little anxiety. Mostly, though, I think for me, well, the first thing I am doing when I am not just fully vaccinated, but when everything is sort of a little bit more open and people are feeling good is that I am coming out to visit you. I can't believe how long it has been. I need to squeeze that baby's cheeks. I know.

And then I might just I can drive the PCH up to San Francisco and bomb the Pfeiffer family while I'm there. Well, that that is the that's the toughest part of this. And for it has been for so many people. Right. Like you you see your own. Hopefully you can see a lot of your immediate family or anyone who's living in your city. Right. And you can see them socially distance or whatever. And I've seen people like, you know, I see Tommy lives down the street and I've seen people like that.

My parents finally are vaccinated. And so, you know, they would be hanging out with them. Parents finally are vaccinated. And so, you know, they've been hanging out with them. But there's a whole bunch of people who you're close with who in the normal course of a year, if you don't live in the same city, you would see and you would hang out with. And it is like it is bizarre to me that I have not seen you in a year that you have not met, Charlie. Like that is so weird. And that happens for millions of people.

I mean, it's so I and I think where my anxiety comes from is like, let's all be honest. There are people we haven't seen in a year and it's fine. And so I think it's like, how do you deal with those people maybe? Like when they come a calling, it's like, it's that it's stressful is that you've gotten used to functioning in your household essentially. Right. And so I think more than anything, it maybe feels a little bit overwhelming in that way,

but I cannot wait. I like, it is, I mean, Favs, like we have never, ever gone this long without seeing each other ever. I know. And it is, I also think that just like the topics of conversation will change. Right.

Because right now, like the times in COVID where I've like had a backyard socially distant hang, you're like sitting in a couple of chairs with people and like, what are you talking about? Like, so this pandemic, huh? And you just like talk about the fucking pandemic news and you don't ask things like, what have you been up to? What's new with you? Because nothing's new. Nothing's new. what have you been up to what's new with you because nothing's new nothing's new so the conversations become sort of like stilted after a while and there is an anxiety there and so like i think yeah see that's the thing once it's all lifted and everyone's back to normal you start talking to people about their lives again right exactly i mean because honestly there's not much

happening to me beyond what you've seen on Instagram. Same, same, same, same. Oh, wait, I have one. Okay, go, go, go, go, go. Because there are no, no, no, just one. Because Derek Peff, who is both a crooked, he's a big crooked fan all around. Yeah. He says, what is the top grateful dead jam of all time? And was it ever used at a campaign rally? Absolutely never used at a campaign rally. But this is important because it is Phil Lesha's 81st birthday. And there are tons of deadheads who are fans. So I just want to shout out two things. One, the Cornell shows in May of 77 are great. And I have always been a huge fan. However, if we're going for a real jam here, I've got to go with Deal into Franklin's Tower because that's an unusual combo from Winterland, June 77. And I just also want to say hi to Jeffrey Norman, who is the sound mixer for the dead and a fan of the show.

That's cool. Yes. That's really cool. Okay. Jim says, can Alyssa retell the story of Tommy and John's casual Friday choices that led to policy change? Oh, yes. Let's talk about this for a hot minute, okay? Because Barack Obama, Senator Obama, he was very generous in how he would let us dress on casual Friday in the United States Senate.

And we all definitely pushed the limits a little bit. I had some very odd skirts, but you know, always normal shoes. I didn't wear my Berks to the office. However, you two numbnuts on a Friday showed up in the summer with jeans that had holes, not small holes, not ironic holes, like actual pieces of your pants were missing

and you had straight up flip-flops on. And Pete Rouse, again, it's a big Pete Rouse episode. I hope he listens. Pete Rouse came back and was like, I hope you two know you've ruined it for everybody in the office. People can't see that I run an office with people who have no respect for any dress code whatsoever. So after that, we couldn't wear jeans because of you. I'm pretty sure that the reason we were dressed like that is because we came. were hung over we came right from the airport because we had been in vegas i think we had a trip that we were coming i think it was like a monday it was it was like a monday morning

no wasn't it a friday i thought it was friday no it was it was during the summer which meant that all the week was casual remember there was casual fridays but then like in the summer got a little loose in the summer a little loose yeah so week was casual remember there was casual fridays but then like in the summer you're right you're right you're right got a little loose in the summer a little loose yeah so that was that was unfortunate all right last question what were john and alissa's first impression of each other when they first met i was so so you came as a package with amy brundage to the uh john kerry townhouse like two days after you had graduated from Holy Cross. Correct. And you were so you were like not uptight.

You were super fun. And I was like, I never had a brother before. I'm going to make him mine. That's so funny because I was going to say the same thing about you. I remember going into the scheduling office and Amy worked in the scheduling office and we went to college together. So that was by like one friend in the campaign and it was you and amy and karen who ran scheduling and karen uh was extremely good at her job and also like a little scary because she was

like had shit locked down and you were just so approachable and kind and fun and i have to say like as we got started getting to know each other i I was like, I had never, like, I went to college an hour from home. So I never had really left home before. And D.C. was my first, like, leaving home. And I felt to my end. So I was, like, a little nervous about just, like, living in a new city by myself. And when I met you and started hanging out with you, I was like, this is going to be like the sister I never had. And she's going to take care of me.

And if something goes wrong, like Alyssa is going to take care of me. Everything's going to be okay. And you have for the last 15, 17 years. We were tweeting yesterday or the other day about when we actually left each other to go our separate ways before the Iowa caucuses. And the funny thing is I talked about how we went to dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, but the actual reason we went to dinner is because I took you to Filene's to get sheets. Remember? So that you could take them to Iowa with you. I was like, you can't go without sheets. You have to bring sheets. Yeah. I showed up to Iowa with like a bag of sheets and

Tommy's like, well, there's an air mattress on the floor if you want. And you're like, yeah, now I have sheets, motherfucker. But the thing, but the thing too, that I always remember that to me is like just burned in my head is that the day that you left the white house, I actually don't even know if I can tell the story without crying a little bit, but the day that you left the white house, I was so sad because it was like the first time we'd ever be separated. And I didn't want to talk at your going away party because I was afraid I'd cry and I did anyway and I cried and Barack Obama got emotional watching me. Everyone was like, whoa, okay.

We just thought you guys got drunk together. We didn't know you were like related. That was emotional. It was emotional. Well, that's it. That's all the questions we have for today on that very uh warm and touching note we can end everybody needs it uh much love to dan and holly and we cannot wait for news for

the phone tree to get activated so we can all find out um good luck and uh we love you guys and we're very excited for new baby pfeiffer to come bye Bye, guys. Pod Save America is a Crooked Media production. The executive producer is Michael Martinez. Our associate producer is Jordan Waller. It's mixed and edited by Andrew Chadwick. Kyle Seglin is our sound engineer. Thanks to Tanya Somenator, Katie Long, Roman Papadimitriou, Caroline Rustin,

and Justine Howe for production support. And to our digital team, Elijah Cohn, Narmal Konian, Yale Freed, and Milo Kim, who film and upload these episodes as videos every week.