Once again, Republicans caved and gave Donald Trump a blank check.

Jen spoke with Sen. Murphy about Republicans failing to carry out their constitutional obligations, the future of the war, the future of NATO, and the absurdity of sending someone like Jared Kushner or Steve Witkoff to negotiate a peace deal with Iran.

Jen also spoke with social-media star and activist Carlos Eduardo Espina [19:15] about the pivotal Senate race in Texas, how Carlos was able to bring in 400,000 new voters in the Democratic primary, and why voters are looking for candidates who can define a new vision for American politics.

The trio discussed Trump’s war in Iran and how Americans are feeling about the ceasefire deal that was signed, the polling around California’s next governor after former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s resignation from Congress, and the likelihood of a blue wave during the Midterms.

Tim Mak is the founder of the wonderful substack The Counteroffensive, which covers life on the ground from regions like Ukraine and Hungary. Jen and Tim talked about the reactions he saw in Budapest and the many questions that still linger: where does Orbán and alt right authoritarianism go from here? Will results like this ripple to the U.S.? And how will Hungary recover from almost two decades of dictatorship?

And, what exactly, is Donald Trump’s problem with The Pope?

Last weekend, reports emerged out of Italy alleging that the Pentagon attempted to bully the Vatican into supporting Trump’s war on Iran.

Catholic scholar Christopher Hale [20:26] and Jen looked at Trump’s latest obsession and why MAGA pretends to act as religious crusaders and why Pope Leo felt compelled to speak up.

Earlier this week, Jen spoke with one of our favorite guests here on The Contrarian Podcast, Neera Tanden. She’s the President at the Center for American Progress and worked in the White House under President Biden. They looked at Trump’s ridiculous claims to have won this war, his ravings on social media, and his recent budget request.

And, on Let’s Do Lunch, economist Jared Bernstein chatted with Shalanda Young, former Budget Director under President Biden. The pair discussed Donald Trump’s recently released budget, which will go nowhere in Congress, but his demand for $1.5 trillion in defense spending is really shocking.

Robert P. Jones is the president of the Public Religion Research Institute, and is one of the premier thinkers about white Christian nationalism. Jen and Robby discussed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s religious rhetoric, the dangers of Trump’s refrigerator-magnet style theology, and more.

And, law professor and former United States Attorney Joyce Vance [19:55] and Jen looked at the consequences of the disastrous war in Iran after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, the small group of Republicans, slowly, but finally, saying enough is enough, and why the upcoming midterms are absolutely critical to stopping Donald Trump.

And, while Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is currently filling Pam Bondi’s former role, it’s not clear who’s going to get the full-time job.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jen discussed the potentially catastrophic disaster in Iran, the current status of the Justice Department, the controversy around FBI Director Kash Patel and the likelihood he might be pushed out the door, and why we are once again learning the harsh lesson about fossil fuel dependence.

While it’s easy to celebrate her ouster, the American justice system isn’t back to normal.

Andrew Weissmann, former lead prosecutor in Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel’s Office and General Counsel for the FBI, and Jen talked about the necessary steps to reinstate public trust in the DOJ, the importance of re-establishing judicial independence and integrity, and why we must confront this administration’s crimes instead of ignoring them.

SCOTUS heard arguments this morning on Trump v. Barbara, the case involving birthright citizenship. At issue is not only the 14th Amendment, but also a century-old settled case that if you’re born here, you’re a citizen, period.

On Coffee with Contrarians, Jen spoke with veteran court reporter Adam Klasfield and Juan Proaño, the head of LULAC, the nation’s oldest Hispanic civil rights organization. Juan shared the story of ‘Barbara’ and many immigrant mothers he works with who risked their own safety to fight back against Trump’s order.

And, Norm Eisen [32:18] joined Jen shortly after leaving the Supreme Court to share his impressions of the argument and of Donald Trump, who sat two rows in front of him at the Court.

They discussed the current status of the war, what Iran still has left, the future of Iran’s nuclear capabilities and why the essence of good statecraft is marrying your objectives and your means:

“That means you think through your objectives and you think about not only your means, but who else has means that you can mobilize to help achieve your objective. When you don’t define a clear objective, it’s not a surprise that you haven’t thought through the means that you need.”

We’ve actually won the war. (No, we’re still negotiating an end to the war.) We’re going to open the Strait of Hormuz. (Actually, we’re not.) Maybe we need allies to join. (Or, maybe we don’t.)

If you can’t trust our president, how are Americans supposed to understand what is at stake and whether they should support funding this war?

Jen chatted with Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, about how the war has progressed, what Donald Trump’s possible endgame in the Middle East could be, and why repairing America’s reputation won’t be easy.

And, Leah Greenberg [21:03] joins Jen and Norm to discuss the upcoming No Kings Day 3. Leah is the co-founder and co-head of Indivisible, the grassroots organization that has been fighting to defend democracy ever since Donald Trump appeared on the scene. They also discussed the use of ICE at airports, and what you can gain when you go out and find your fellow Americans at a mass protest.

Jen caught up with Janai Nelson, the President and Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund, and one of the country’s premier civil rights attorneys.

They discussed how MAGA plans to install voter ID laws, why Janai calls the SAVE Act the ‘Stop All Voters Everywhere Act’, and a very weird argument from Justice Roberts at the Supreme Court about a voting conspiracy theory.

Juan is the CEO of League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the oldest and largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States. Norm often litigates alongside LULAC, including on the birthright citizenship case.

They discussed the war on Iran, what the war costs Americans, and the future of immigration. Juan also shared some personal thoughts about civil rights icon Dolores Huerta.

We’re now in a quagmire — oil prices are going sky-high, and our Gulf allies are under assault.

Senator Chris Coons from Delaware has been in multiple classified briefings regarding Iran and he talked with Jen about what Trump doesn’t know, how we got to where we are, how we get out of it, and what this means for the American economy and our national security.

And on Coffee with the Contrarians, we caught up with Katie Phang [20:29] to talk about Iran, Pam Bondi’s sham hearing, and the latest in the Epstein Files.

There was also lots and lots of interest from dark money groups.

Jen and Norm had a chance to talk about all of that with pollster and political analyst Simon Rosenberg on Coffee with the Contrarians. Simon shared his thoughts on what individual races could mean for the Midterms, alongside the continued influence of dark money, the impact of the war, and the SAVE Act.

They talked about Trump’s disastrous war in the Middle East, AIPAC’s meddling in Democratic primaries with dark money, and the ‘SAVE Act,’ a voter suppression bill that should be more aptly titled the Jim Crow Act.

Now, Wahls is running for U.S. Senate in Iowa.

Jen talked with Zach about the most important issues of his campaign: tackling the Trump Administration’s corruption, how government can support Iowa farmers, and the importance of ending a useless war in Iran.

Last November, ProPublica exposed a $220 million DHS advertisement contract that handed money to Kristi Noem’s own friends. Last week, Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) publicly questioned Noem about the funds at a Judiciary Committee hearing. The next day, Noem was fired as Homeland Security Secretary.

Rep. Neguse and Jen [26:06] looked at Noem’s involvement in the scandal and why Americans still deserve complete transparency and accountability around the $220 million contract, which might just be the tip of the iceberg of misappropriated funds in the Trump Administration.

As you can imagine, Jared and Neale got a ton of questions about the economic impact of Trump’s war with Iran, the effects on the cost of oil, the disruption in trade, and lots more.

Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, prolific author, State Department veteran, and former diplomat joined Jen to try to answer some of the most pressing questions when it comes to Trump’s war:

What was Bibi Netanyahu’s motivation?

Why did previous presidents not go to war?

What’s the outcome for the United States and the future for the Middle East?

He also wants more money to pay for it. Even with over $900 billion for the Defense Department, he wants more.

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Jen Rubin talked about this reckless and unnecessary war, and why we shouldn’t give another dime to the Trump administration to pay for it.

And on Coffee with the Contrarians, political data analyst and pollster G. Elliot Morris [20:48] swung by to explain why Democrats prevailed in Texas, why turnout was so high, and the coalitions Democrats will need to construct in order to be victorious in the upcoming Midterms.

Simon Rosenberg, election guru, author, and creator of Hopium Chronicles, talked with Jen about the Democrats’ huge night, not only in Texas, but across the Senate landscape.

We also looked at how the Right’s constant kowtowing to Trump and failed gambles at redistricting could change the outcome of pivotal Congressional races in the Midterms.

And on the Tea with April Ryan, April chatted with election strategist Terrance Woodbury [27:33]. They looked at the voting power of the Black community in the South and why Black men are the new swing voters.