WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - The Lazy Susan: Trade Concerns and FBI Enforcement

Episode Date: April 17, 2025

The cabinet encounters upheaval over trade, and the FBI ramps up enforcement. Lewis and Paden recap.

You're listening to Radio Free Hillstick, 101.7 FM. And this is The Lazy Susan. I'm Lewis Thune. And I'm Payton Hughes. On The Lazy Susan, we highlight happenings in the cabinet on a weekly basis. So let's dive in. What's happening in the cabinet, Lewis? President Trump hosts his latest cabinet meeting this week amidst escalating American tariffs on imports from around the globe.

Among cabinet members once again is Department of Government Efficiency head, Elon Musk, fresh off his latest round of staff and budget cuts at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of the Interior. Elsewhere, the Department of Justice is making waves with the newfangled Title IX Special Investigations team, aiming to prosecute universities for allowing men in women's sports pursuant to two of President Trump's Day 1 executive orders. What's catching your eye this week, Peyton? Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cash Patel is cracking down on drug cartels. He's working in collaboration with Attorney-Chartel.

General Pam Bondi, as well as the United States Coast Guard and the Drug Enforcement Administration all across America. And already results are evident. On Wednesday, the Tampa, Florida FBI office announced a drug bust where they seized more than $500 million worth of narcotics, weighing more than 45,000 pounds. Patel is involving himself directly in the administration's commitment to crack down on the illicit drug trade. What else is going on, Lewis? In the midst of the current trade upheaval, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Besant and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik appear to have different understandings of the Trump administration strategy. Lutnik's April 6th appearance on the morning shows did little to calm the markets, as he announced

that, despite rumors of a temporary moratorium, the Trump tariffs were staying in the long term. Only three days later, Secretary Bacent made the rounds announcing that the new 90-day suspension on almost all new Trump tariffs was the administration strategy all along. Despite the image, Megan Maserley and Ari Hawkins of Politico report this might have been intentional, saying that sources close to the matter tell them that the PR incongruency is intended to serve as a negotiating technique, percent at the helm with the Sterner-Lutnik playing the role of Bad Cop. We'll monitor developments closely. Also of note as we approach a new week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is traveling to Panama in the early stages of fulfilling the Trump campaign promise

to reestablish United States control over the Panama Canal. and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also fresh off departmental cuts, has now announced his long-promised search to uncover the cause of the seeming epidemic of autism, particularly in young children. And that's where we'll leave off for this episode of The Lazy Susan. I'm Louis Thune. And I'm Peyton Hughes. We'll see you next time.