What A Day - The Limit Does Exist

Episode Date: May 18, 2023

 As the clock ticks closer to the June 1st default deadline, top aides to President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are working toward an agreement by Sunday. Meanwhile, Democrats are already looking into other last-ditch efforts – including a petition to force a debt ceiling vote in Congress, and even urging the president to invoke the 14th Amendment. On Wednesday, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments over the abortion pill mifepristone. The three judges on the historically conservative panel will decide whether to allow the drug to remain on the market, in a case that will likely be appealed back up to the Supreme Court And in headlines: Pennsylvania Democrats will keep their narrow majority in the state House, the Supreme Court refused to block Illinois’ ban on assault weapons, and the publishing giant Penguin Random House has sued a Florida school district for banning books about race and queer identity.Show Notes:CNBC: Tesla CEO Elon Musk: I’ll say what I want to say, and if we lose money, so be it – https://tinyurl.com/jfdc86wuWhat A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastCrooked Coffee is officially here. Our first blend, What A Morning, is available in medium and dark roasts. Wake up with your own bag at crooked.com/coffeeFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday 

It's Thursday, May 18th. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And I'm Juanita Tolliver, and this is What A Day, where now that the finale has aired and Tom and Raquel have officially called it quits, the scandal of all has reached the end of the road. What a moment in pop culture. Truly, bravo to bravo.

That's some of my best work, personally. I mean, we'll always have the memories, not to mention the three-part reunion. So, more to come the three-part reunion. So more to come, y'all. On today's show, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle say they were chased down by the paparazzi in New York City. Plus, a major publisher has sued a Florida school district for banning books about race and queer identity. But first, the week is winding down fast, but apparently everybody has it in their mind that a deal about the debt limit is going to get done by Sunday

as President Biden is in Japan and Kevin McCarthy is still committed to causing global economic calamity all in the name of flexing. We've gone from a stare-down that started in January to now overnight negotiations as senior White House aides and Hill staffers hash out the details for an agreement to avoid default on U.S. debt and spending cuts that Republicans also desperately want. I got to say, everyone seems to be way more optimistic than I am about this,

but that confidence is critical for markets and allies as President Biden is at the G7 summit. Take a listen to what Biden said yesterday before he took off. I'm confident that we'll get the agreement on the budget that America will not default. And every leader in the room understands the consequences if we fail to pay our bills. And it would be catastrophic for the American economy and the American people if we didn't pay our bills. Those are all facts. So here's hoping that we get

it done very soon, because you and I are sitting here a little bit stressed out, a little more stressed than it seems most other people are. But anyways, you mentioned that aides are negotiating the details here. So who exactly is a part of this group? Well, the White House has sent heavy hitters like Louisa Terrell, director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, Shalonda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Steve Ricchetti, senior advisor to the president. It's unclear which aides House Speaker McCarthy has designated, but Representative Garrett Graves of Louisiana is involved, whoever that is. It's also important to note that President Biden said he will be in constant contact with his White House aides while he's at the summit. So something could actually emerge from this. And if you have ever seen Shalonda Young in particular in action, then you know she will

always handle business. With the clock ticking, the goal is for the aides to reach an agreement before Biden returns on Sunday. A few of the explicit details that they're negotiating are the timeframe for agreement, work requirements for aid programs, and spending caps. Naturally, McCarthy is looking to use these negotiations to inflict as much harm as possible on low-income individuals and families who rely on aid programs to access food subsidies and financial support,

while at the same time refusing to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, as if we needed another reminder of who Republicans actually care about. But House Democrats are also working on a few last-ditch alternatives. Okay, so what are these alternatives that Democrats are considering, and are they a good thing? What could happen here? I mean, kind of like the positive vocal inflection with that. Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries is working on creating a safety net option via a discharge petition that House Democrats officially filed yesterday that, if needed, would allow them to bypass regular chamber procedures to act on the debt limit and avoid a default. After the congressional leaders met with President Biden at the White House on Tuesday, Jeffries flagged this option, stating, quote, given the impending June 1 deadline and urgency of the moment, it is important that all legislative options be pursued in the event that no agreement is reached. And considering how catastrophic

default would be, I support this move, even though it's unlikely Democrats will find the five necessary Republicans to sign the petition. And just to be clear, default would mean that your grandparent's social security check, yeah, that's not going to get deposited. It will mean immediate job cuts and a recession. It will mean that members of the military wouldn't get paid. And it will mean that your tax refund would not get deposited into your account. Okay, so everyone will feel this somehow, some way. One additional long-shot effort is a push from Democrats to use the 14th Amendment to bypass Congress altogether and just raise the debt limit. It sounds simple enough, right? But it's not.

While the 14th Amendment does say, quote, the validity of the public debt authorized by law shall not be questioned, you better believe it will lead to a massive legal fight that will leave us right where we started, facing the threat of default on June 1. Now, Democratic senators are circulating a letter supporting this option with Senators Warren, Smith, Markey, Sanders, and Merkley all signed on. But to level set with y'all, this is even less likely to happen successfully than the discharge petition. All right. Thank you so much for filling us in on all of these options. But switching gears a little bit, we have been talking about access to the abortion pill Mifepristone on the show for a while now.

And yesterday, a federal appeals court heard arguments over whether or not to uphold a ruling out of Texas to limit access to the drug. So back in April, as many of you probably remember, a conservative federal judge in Texas ruled that the FDA's decades-long approval of mifepristone was invalid and that restrictions that had previously been on the drug should go back into place. The Biden administration immediately appealed that they are standing behind the FDA's approval and they are fighting against the attempt to roll back access to the drug. And shortly after that, the Supreme Court acted to protect access to Mifepristone while this appeal plays out. But from the get-go here with the Fifth Circuit Court, things are not looking so hot. I mean, these judges aren't

particularly friendly when it comes to abortion, and I hear that they're living up to the hype right now. Tell us more about what's going on here. Yeah, so this is playing out in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is a historically conservative court. All three of the judges on the panel have previously supported other kinds of abortion restrictions. And yesterday, almost immediately, they started interrupting the DOJ lawyers arguments in support of expanded access to Mifepristone with questions. They were using anti-abortion talking points. They appeared to be pretty skeptical that the FDA followed the proper process when it relaxed some regulations around the drug, like allowing it to be prescribed

by medical professionals other than doctors and allowing it to be sent by mail, which is how the majority of people were getting it in the past few years. There were also far fewer questions asked of the anti-abortion groups lawyers. They are claiming that the FDA improperly approved the medication back in 2000. So like kind of old news, but here they are. Their argument is that the FDA approved Mifepristone through a fast track process that is only meant for quote, new drugs for serious or life-threatening illnesses. These people really cannot seem to wrap their heads around the idea that something like pregnancy can be complicated and life-threatening. And not only that, the FDA has a long history of using the words illness,

disease, and condition interchangeably. So like this argument resting on this word is, I don't know how else to tell it to you. It's stupid. It's flimsy at best. It would not hold up under additional legal scrutiny. But what can we expect next here? We can pretty much guess what's going to happen in the Fifth Circuit. It is not looking good. But this will very likely be kicked back up to the Supreme Court anyway.

So do not expect this to be the final word on Mifepristone. This will continue to play out for some time, and Mifepurstone will continue to be available throughout this legal saga. We'll obviously keep you updated on any new developments, but that is the latest for now. Let's wrap up with some headlines.

Headlines. Voters in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Florida headed to the polls Tuesday night to cast their ballots in several key elections. Some results have come in, and we are here to tell you about the good, the bad, and the Florida, which is just a synonym for the ugly at this point.

Starting in Kentucky, State Attorney General Daniel Cameron won the Republican primary for governor and will face Democratic incumbent Andy Beshear in November. Cameron was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and is also a close ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, just two terrible people. Over in Pennsylvania,

Sherelle Parker won the Democratic nomination in Philadelphia's mayoral election. Parker was the only black candidate in the race to represent a city that is more than 40% black. If she wins the general election in November, which is likely, she'd become the first woman to hold the position. Pennsylvania Democrats will also keep their narrow majority

in the statehouse after Heather Boyd defeated incumbent Republican Katie Ford in a special election. And last but not least, in Florida, Democrat Donna Deegan was elected mayor of Jacksonville, beating Republican Daniel Davis, who was endorsed by Governor Ron DeSantis. Deegan's win makes her only the second Democrat to be elected mayor of the city in the past 30 years and the first ever woman mayor in Jacksonville's history. When I tell you that win in particular in Jacksonville has Republicans shook, I'm not exaggerating. And also DeSantis being 0 for 2 in terms of endorsements is my primary takeaway from all of this, because he's a loser.

He's a loser. Trump's a loser. His endorsements suck. Like, I'm sorry. It's just your two front runners here are losers. Like, I don't know why my brain is trying to say, is this your king? But like, is this your king? his endorsements suck like i'm sorry it's just your two front runners here are losers like i don't know why my brain is trying to say is this your king but like is this your king like what bless i fully sign off on it i sign off that's what's playing in my brain

the supreme court has once again opted not to wade into any big second amendment decisions at least for now the The justices yesterday refused to grant an emergency request by a guns rights group and an Illinois gun store to block the state's assault weapons ban. The decision, which came without comment, leaves the ban in place while the legal challenges over it play out in the lower courts. The case challenges two separate ordinances, both of which were enacted after last year's Fourth of July parade shooting in a Chicago suburb, which left seven people dead and 48 others wounded. The shooter was armed with an AR-15-style rifle.

The Supreme Court's decision comes amid a wave of mass shootings this year alone, and as other states across the country have passed similar laws to address gun violence. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle say that they were involved in a, quote, near-catastrophic car chase with a group of paparazzi on Tuesday night. According to a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the photographers started following the couple after they left a charity event in Manhattan, and they continued to follow them for over two hours. The royal couple, along with Meghan's mother, who was in the car with them, managed to reach a police station to get help

and left shortly afterwards in a different car without being followed. But there are some inconsistencies in their account. Police later said that the chase itself was relatively short and no one was hurt. And the cab driver who took them to the station had this to say to the Associated Press. Did it feel like the paparazzi were being aggressive? No, no, no, no. They were behind us. I mean, they stayed on top of us. That was pretty much it. had this to say to the Associated Press. Did it feel like the paparazzi were being aggressive? No, no, no, no. They were behind us.

I mean, they stayed on top of us. That was pretty much it. It was nothing more, you know. They kept their distance. It was just like journalists, just like everybody else trying to get pictures, make a quick buck. I don't really know what to make of that.

I feel like I'm not quite sure I'm buying that that's like nothing because like they were on top of us. Right, he literally contradicted himself. They were on top of us. Right. He literally contradicted himself. They were on top of us. They kept their distance. Like, sir. Unclear. Anybody following me for two hours is harassment.

Yeah. But still, the whole thing does raise very real concerns about their personal safety, especially because Prince Harry's mother, Princess Diana, very famously was killed in a car crash after being chased by a mob of paparazzi in 1997. Like very reminiscent of that to bring up this. In their statement about the incident, Harry and Meghan said, quote, While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone's safety. The publishing giant Penguin Random House is pushing back against the Florida school district for banning books about race and LGBTQ issues from its libraries.

In a lawsuit filed alongside the literary organization PEN America and a group of authors, parents, and students, the company claims that the book bans violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments for prescribing a, quote, orthodoxy of opinion and for explicitly targeting queer folks and people of color. Most of the books removed from the Escambia County School District were written by black, brown, and queer authors or explore the issue of racism and queer themes. District officials, for their part, characterized the books in question as pornographic, indoctrinating, and race-baiting. You know, the favorite catchphrases of the right. Last September, a teacher in the district challenged over 100 books, which ultimately

led to some getting removed outright, while others can't be checked out without parental approval. The banned books include All Boys Aren't Blue by friend of WOD, George M. Johnson, and even classic like Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. As we all know, the one way to make sure a kid doesn't do something is to tell them that they aren't allowed to do it. Another foolproof plan from Florida. Yeah, I hope that this leads to a bunch of kids reading books that they otherwise would not have thought to put down the iPad for. So congratulations, Florida. You played yourself. We have nothing good to say about you. Nothing at all. The one positive thing that does come out of this stupidity is like massive

library systems like out of New York that is offering free public library services online to students across the country. That's a positive. So kids, you can access this one way or another. Take advantage. And those are the headlines we'll be back after some ads to hear elon musk eloquently explain why he's one of the worst people on the internet great can't wait it's thursday wild spot and today we are doing a segment that we like to call No Context, Bad Vibes. No Context, Bad Vibes. That is hilarious. I told you it was good. I told you it was good.

It's back. It was on hiatus for a while. It was replaced with bad sound. Fuck that. We're back. We're back, baby. No Context, Bad Vibes. Take a listen to today's clip.

Do your tweets hurt the company? Are there Tesla owners who say, I don't agree with his political position because, and I know it because he shares so much of it. Or are there advertisers on Twitter that Linda Yaccarina will come and say, you got to stop, man. I can't get these ads because of some of the things you tweet. Sweet. You know, I'm reminded of... There's a scene in The Princess Bride. Great movie. Great movie. Where he confronts the person who killed his father. And he says...

Offer me money. Girl, what? Offer me power. I don't care. See, you just don't care. So you just don't care? You want to share what you have to say? I'll say what I want to say. And if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it.

Okay, one, that is not what Indigo Montoya said. And two, it's giving, who was that girl from South Carolina who was like, where for art? Thou, yes, like in the Miss America pageant. And she just couldn't say, like, that is Elon Musk. I hope you all are happy with this on that dying bird app. Oh, my God. I don't even know what to make of that. Okay, that was, of course, business mastermind Elon Musk explaining why he continues to jeopardize Twitter's business interests with his absolutely terrible posting in an interview with David

Faber, which aired this week on CNBC. Like, Priyanka, my favorite reaction from you was, girl, what? Like, I'm flabbergasted. I don't have words. Yeah, it was horrible. When you said, this is your king, like that would fit this moment. For all of the Elon Musk stans,

this is your king. Yikes. Big yikes. I was trying to muffle my screams and laughter because what the fuck was that? And then to fuck up the princess bride lines, like Indigo Montoya has nothing to do with this moment. Leave him out of it.

There's so much. And like, I can't even get to, like, what was said. I have to focus on, like, the fact that the chairs. Nothing was said. Nothing was said, but I can't even get to, like, the audio of the clip because it's too much. Like, I have to focus on the forehead, the way that the chairs are positioned. I know this is a podcast. You can't see any of this.

They were, like, facing each other with, like, truly 18 inches between them. It was so weird this whole thing bizarre and totally bad but i just gotta shout out that interviewer because david you kept your cool you kept a straight face while this man was over there floundering so shout out to david yeah uh neither of us would have done that. Nuh-uh. Nope. Not possible. Nope. And that was No Context, Bad Vibes. No Context, Bad Vibes. I really love that segment so much. Okay.

Me too. Oh. One more thing before we go. What happens when a mysterious stranger comes to your town with a wild idea that weed can solve all of the city's problems? That's the question that kicks off Dreamtown, the story of Adelanto, Crooked's newest limited series podcast and an official selection for this year's Tribeca Festival. Listen to the trailer now and subscribe to hear the first episodes drop on June 7th, wherever you get your podcasts. And for early ad-free access to episodes, join Friends of the Pod, Crooked's new subscription community at crooked.com slash friends.

That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, pour one out for the scandal of all and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just every title on the banned books list in Florida, like me, what a day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Juanita Tolliver. I'm Priyanka Arabindi.

And stay losing, Rhonda Santis. We love to see it. The only reason he endorsed that shit craft out of Kentucky is because she's related to some Republican mega donors who he is no doubt recruiting for his 2024 run. So he did the bare minimum the night before the election with a bootleg robocall, but okay. You always have a good tea.

Thank you. Thank you for that. Hyper hot. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance. Our show's producer

is Itzy Quintanilla, and Raven Yamamoto is our associate producer. We had production assistance this week from Fiona Pestana. Jossie Kaufman is our head writer, and our senior producer

is Lita Martinez. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.