Congress, the Potency Problem, and How To!
Published: February 18, 2026
Duration: 47:37
Trump sought $163 billion in cuts, including slashing the EPA by 54 percent, HUD by 44 percent, and the CDC by 41 percent, but even his most loyal House allies let the effort stall under the cover of the budget process. A separate bipartisan attempt to shore up Obamacare subsidies for 24 million Americans also fizzled, with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick warning that letting them lapse would be bad policy and worse politics. The throughline is inertia: Congress will not enact maximalist right-wing cuts, but it will not pass incremental fixes either. Plus, a handoff to the debut of How To!: "How to Be a...