The MeidasTouch Podcast - Rep. Garcia Elected Dem Leader of Oversight Committee

Episode Date: June 24, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on MAGA Mike Johnson getting thrown under the bus by his own party in a public letter that could spell the end of his disastrous budget bill and Meiselas interviews Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia on who was just elected the House Oversight Committee Ranking Member on how he and Democrats are fighting back. Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Oversight Committee, who is ready to start aggressively pursuing investigations into Trump and MAGA crimes. Let me show you what went down earlier today as MAGA Republicans in the House who claim to be moderate, but we know they're not all that moderate, sent a letter to MAGA Mike Johnson. They then leaked the letter publicly where they excoriate MAGA Mike Johnson and the majority leader in the Senate, Majority Leader Thune, a MAGA Republican, for making the disastrous budget bill even a bigger disaster and having this murder bill kill even more people. And we already know the murder bill, which they call a big, beautiful

bill. It's a murder bill. It is deeply, deeply unpopular among the American people. So here's what's being reported. Sixteen House Republicans write a letter rebelling against the Senate bill's Medicaid spending cuts. But this was all part of Mike Johnson's plan. It's all part of his and Donald Trump's fraud. Convince the so-called moderate mega Republicans in the House to support the budget bill, then send it over to the Senate to make it even a worse budget bill, and then call upon Donald Trump to threaten and extort the MAGA House members to support it at the last minute under the threat that they're going to be primaried.

Let's keep reading this. The cuts to Medicaid by the Senate version of the disastrous budget bill are quote, more aggressive than the House bill. And by more aggressive, that means kills more people. Concerns include provider taxes, state payments, harm to hospitals, and quote, cuts to emergency Medicaid funding. Let's take a look at this letter that was sent by these 16 House Republicans to Senate Majority Leader Thune and to MAGA Mike Johnson. They write the following, as members of Congress who help secure a Republican majority, we believe that it is essential that the final reconciliation bill, that's referring to the disastrous budget bill, reflect the priorities of our

constituents, most importantly, the critical need to protect Medicaid and the hospitals that serve our communities. Throughout the budget process, we have consistently affirmed our commitment to ensuring that reductions in federal spending do not come at the expense of our most vulnerable constituents. We write to reiterate that commitment to those we represent here in Washington. Oh, so you want to leak this publicly to pretend that you care about your constituents that you're killing. The letter goes on to say, from these MAGA Republicans to MAGA Mike Johnson and the MAGA Republican leader of the Senate, Thune, it goes on to say, we support the Medicaid reforms in

H.R. 1, that's the. 1, which strengthen the program's ability to serve children, pregnant women, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities. The proposal released by the Senate Finance Committee on June 16 includes provisions that go beyond H.R. 1. The House approach reflects a more pragmatic and compassionate standard, and we urge that it be retained in the final bill. The Senate proposal also undermines the balanced approach taken to craft the Medicaid provisions

in H.R.1, particularly regarding provider taxes and state-directed payments. The Senate version treats expansion and non-expansion states unfairly, fails to preserve existing state programs, and imposes stricter limits that do not give hospitals sufficient time to adjust to new budgetary constraints or identify alternative funding sources. In other words, hospitals lose funding and people die immediately. That's what that word salad meant right there. This letter from the MAGA Republicans to MAGA Mike Johnson and Senate Leader Thune say the following,

We are also concerned about rushed implementation of timelines, penalties for expansion states, changes to the community engagement requirements for adults with dependents, and cuts to emergency Medicaid funding. These changes would place additional burdens on hospitals already stretched thin by legal and moral obligations to provide care. Folks, that's why we call this disastrous budget bill a murder bill, because it kills people. The Senate version does even a worse job than the House budget bill does, with even more

people getting killed. So here's Mike Johnson, though, after getting that letter, and Mike Johnson brazenly lies and he goes, no, we're not cutting Medicaid. The president says the president says that we're not. Yeah, maybe when you start a sentence with the president says and you're referring to Donald Trump, unfortunately, we know it's going to be a lie. The guy is a fraud. The guy is a felon.

The guy is a sexual abuser. The guy is a fraud. The guy is a felon. The guy is a sexual abuser. The guy is a bankruptor. How do you know Donald Trump is lying? He opens up his mouth. All this guy does is fraud and lie and fraud and lie. Here's what Mag and Mike Johnson says they'll play this clip. You've, um, look, you've got a number of provisions. We want to make sure that we hold by our commitment that we are not cutting Medicaid. The president has said that and I've said that. We've all said that we are not cutting Medicaid. The President has said that and I've said that. We've all said that.

We are strengthening the program for the people who are the most vulnerable populations who really rely upon that. You're talking about the disabled, the elderly, young pregnant women, for example. Those resources won't be available for those people who desperately need it and deserve it if young able-bodied men, for example, are on the program and not working. So we introduced a work requirement on the House side. It's wildly popular with the people because it follows common sense. If you're going to be on the public wagon and you're able,

you should try to help pull it. And all we did was put in there, as you all know, a 20-hour work requirement per week, 20 hours. You guys work 80 hours, I'm sure, right? Give me a break. And they're complaining about that. You either have to be working, you have to be looking for a job and a job training program,

or volunteering in a community. For heaven's sakes, do something constructive. That is something that everybody nods their head in agreement at a town hall and says, yes, do that. Why didn't we do it already, right? So what we've done is strengthen the program. I hope and believe, I pray,

that the Senate will follow that same theme and not do anything that we couldn't pass on the other side of here. And how do you trust a word that Maga Mike Johnson says who's just Donald Trump stooge and Maga Mike Johnson doesn't even believe that the Congress should have any role at all that he believes it should just be a puppet of the regime. That's what they view. Listen to him say right here. Magomaique Johnson is arguing that constitutional experts say that the House of Representatives should have nothing at all to do, and the Congress in general, should have nothing to do with war powers.

It's literally Article 1, Section 8. It's there. It is your authority. But Magna Mike goes, no, no, no. Why should we have any say over the war powers? That's for Dictator Donald. Here, play this clip. It also requires that the president inform Congress within 48 hours of use of military force. Obviously, President Trump did that. Obviously, in the modern era with the 24-hour news cycle and social media, nothing goes by unnoticed. This might have made some sense in 1973, but I'm not even sure it was constitutional,

and I'll tell you about that as well. Many respected constitutional experts argue that the War Powers Act is itself unconstitutional. I'm persuaded by that argument. They think it's a violation of the Article II powers of the Commander-in-Chief. I think that's right. If you look back at the Founder's intent, you read the Federalist Papers, you read the records of the Constitutional Convention, I think that is right. And many more scholars believe the President is correct to use this executive authority

in exactly the manner that he did over the weekend. I am a jealous guardian of Congress's Article 1 authority. We are the defenders of it here, and we take it seriously, and I always will be. But exercising the authority to declare war isn't something we've done since World War II. And everybody in this room knows, since then we've had more than 125 military operations, from Korea and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. They have occurred without a declaration of war by Congress.

Presidents of both parties have exercised that authority frequently. And then after Donald Trump claiming that he obliterated, obliterated all of the nuclear capabilities in Iran, Maga Mike Johnson goes on Fox and says, we're under no illusions that you can just kill all nuclear ambitions overnight. Wasn't that the claim here? Play this clip. After we crash them, can I just tell you that right now, Mr. Speaker, Reuters is reporting, Iran's nuclear chief says we're going to immediately start reconstituting

our nuclear program. I mean, this is- How do you negotiate with them? Are you kidding me? It's madness. I mean, we're under no illusion that you can just kill all their nuclear ambition overnight. But I think reality has set in over there.

We have decimated the upper echelon of their military command, as well as their nuclear scientist. I mean, there's not much left for them to rebuild upon, but the idea that they would put out a statement like that at this fragile moment is very frustrating. And straight off, the post-victory win, the ranking member of the House, the Oversight Committee,

we have Congress member Robert Garcia, Democrat, Congress member Garcia, first off, congratulations on the victory, now the ranking member of the oversight committee for the uh democrats um i was just showing a bunch of clips right there before about maga mike johnson and what he's trying to pull but let's talk more about what the democrats are doing for moving the agenda forward and specifically the Democrats are doing for moving the agenda forward, and specifically what you're going to be doing now as the ranking member of the Oversight Committee. I mean, Democrats still in the minority, but what are you going to do?

Well, look, first, I'm very grateful, of course, to the House Democratic Caucus just winning the election. As you all know, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is at the heart of keeping Congress working for the American public. It's about investigations, it's about taking on corruption, it's about investigating those that are in power that are trying to damage the public and our institutions. At the same time, it's about government reform. How do we make government actually work for the public? How do we actually make it more efficient? How do we actually transform government

to support the workforce? That's what oversight is. And as we know, oversight has always been that committee that is investigating corruption. And so it's been, it was an honor to work with Jerry Connolly. Obviously Jamie Raskin was one of my heroes coming into Congress. And to be able to take on this role

as the lead Democrat in this committee, we are going to hold Donald Trump and his administration accountable. I'm grateful for the support and I'm happy to be here with you. I think a lot of people saw how the MAGA Republicans turned the Oversight Committee, which as you just noted is incredibly important to root out corruption. They used it as the source of corruption and as an enabler of corruption. And we've seen what people like James Comer

and other people have done, how they literally used fake whistleblowers, how they've basically just been a tool of the Trump regime to go after Trump's political enemy. So how do you right now, with the Democrats still not controlling the House, how do you right now with the Democrats still not controlling the House, how do you push back on that at this stage? Well first we've got to call out their lies and their corruption every single day. Remember this is a committee that has Marjorie Taylor Greene and Nancy Mace and James Comer and

Jim Jordan and Lauren Boebert and so many of the mega extremists that are lying to the American public and doing nothing to address the concerns of the American people. And so it's really important for us as a committee to get together, lay out an agenda, and not only at the end of the day, push back on the lies, but also do our own investigative work.

We've got to investigate the corruption of the government, take on and push back on Doge, but also do our own investigative work. We've got to investigate the corruption of the government. Take on and push back on Doge. Ensure that Elon Musk has held accountable for everything that he did to try to harm the American public and the government. And the large corporations that are trying to rip off the American taxpayer and do nothing to lower the cost of goods, that also has to be addressed.

And while we do all that, we're gonna work with our partners and people across this country to look at our agencies to actually see how we can make them work better for the American people. And so I'm really excited about this opportunity, and I'm grateful. Look, as you know, I'm in my third year in Congress. And to be elected to be a ranking member this early in being in Congress, I know is unique typically in Congress, but I'm just grateful that they were able to see that we had not just the experience,

particularly serving as mayor of a big city, but that we're able to expand the tent, bring some more folks in, bring newer voices, new generation of Democrats to be a part of the solution, be a part of winning the house back. And we're gonna do everything we can to take on Donald Trump. But I'm really excited about it.

You know, that's what I'm hearing from all of our viewers here at the Midas Touch Network. They were so happy to hear that you won because it also represents, you know, I think a shift right now as well to younger generation, you know, of people rolling up their sleeves, you know, fighting fire with fire, and really kind of pushing back.

I think people are just done of seeing Donald Trump and the Magna machine just throw everything against the wall and kind of sees what sticks while Democrats are playing polite. Oh, maybe we try to do, maybe we try to do that. Let's listen to that. And so how do we fight right now? I mean, how do we looking forward, what are gonna be some of the biggest priorities? How do we fight and push back?

Well, look, I try to be fearless in the work. We know that this is a moment where our country is in danger, our democracy is under attack, and we've got to fight like hell. Our constituents, the country is not only demanding it, it's necessary to fight like hell. Our constituents, the country, is not only demanding it, it's necessary to protect our democracy. You all know that we've pushed back. In fact, I had Donald Trump, as you know,

try to investigate me for criticizing Elon Musk just a few months ago. We've taken on Marjorie Taylor Greene and Nancy Mace and their lies in this committee. And we've a talented group of House Democrats that are on the Oversight Committee. This is a committee of course, that Alexandria Castro Cortez and Katie Porter

and so many others are used to take on corruption. And I think that I look at the new members that are on this committee, the freshmen, the senior members that have so much wisdom and mentorship to get to the rest of us. And we've got an all-star team. And this is the team that is going to ensure that we hold the administration accountable. This is the team that's going to ensure that we make government work better for the American

people. And so I'm, you know, we're going to be going across not just in the, in the committee room, but we're going to go across the country. We're going to have field hearings. We're going to do all sorts of ways to reach out to the public and remind folks that we've got a country worth fighting for and that Donald Trump is the worst person to ever serve as president.

And we're gonna remind the American public of that. You feel reason for hope right now. We saw the big no Kings protests, it seems. I mean, and you and I have been speaking since you got into Congress, but we've had our highs, we've had our lows. And there was that moment after Trump was elected where I think a lot of people

were down, we weren't sure how it was gonna go, you and others kept on fighting, we tried to do our part here. How do you feel right now, June 24th, 2025? I do feel hopeful. I mean, look, let's be clear, I mean, this is a very difficult time for the country and the world.

A lot of horrible things are happening, but there is, I think, a fire burning within the American public. They're pushing back against Donald Trump. They're pushing back against Elon Musk. They're organizing, they're peacefully protesting, they're out on the streets demanding a better country and better actions from our government.

And when I see those recent rallies and the No Kings marches and activities all across the country, it does give you hope. And I think we're going to continue to see that happening in the weeks and months ahead. And the American public have to sustain that energy because as we know, Donald Trump is right now working on enriching himself and his family. He's accepting $400 million planes.

He's creating mean coins so he can essentially funnel foreign money into his family's pockets. He's opening up hotels across the world in countries where we should be doing diplomacy. These are not just illegal, they're against the Constitution. And so we've got to make sure that we hold him and his family accountable for the crimes that they are committing and remind the American public what they're actually doing. That's going to be our job on the Oversight Committee and your viewers, the American public, can rest assured that we're going to work every single day to hold these folks accountable and to make their lives better. Congressman Robert Garcia, we're grateful for you picking

independent media and the Midas Touch Network as the first place to make your first basic address to the people after being named the ranking member of the Oversight and Accountability Committee. Thank you so much and congratulations. Thank you for all you guys do. Everybody hit subscribe. Let's get to six million subscribers. The truth is more important than ever. Check out our new truth over lies collection at store.mitustouch.com. All 100% USA union made.