Background Briefing

An examination of Trump’s push to oust Venezuela’s Maduro without war — and why dismantling the country’s entrenched corruption won’t be simple. Then, a call for Democrats to go on the offensive with real policy solutions to counter Project 2025, followed by a look at whether the Supreme Court will sacrifice its legitimacy by siding with Trump on tariffs.

Trump Wants to Take Out Maduro Without a War But Replacing Venezuela’s Corrupt and Criminal Hierarchy Will Not Be So Easy

We begin with the increasing likelihood that the Trump administration will attempt to take out Venezuela’s Maduro and try to avoid a war with the country’s armed forces that have Russian missiles which could threaten American ships resulting in a catastrophe in what would be the 21st century’s equivalent of the 1898 sinking of the USS Maine. Joining us to discuss how, while it may be easy to get rid of Maduro, it will be much harder to undo the patronage system at the top of businessmen-generals and corrupt judges along with “colectivos” of government-armed vigilantes who suppress opposition activity. Joining us is Javier Corrales, a professor of Political Science at Amherst College who serves on the editorial board of Latin American Politics and Society and Americas Quarterly and has also been a consultant to the United Nations, the Center for Global Development, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Chavez and the Political Economy of Revolution in Venezuela, and his latest book, Autocracy Rising: How Venezuela Transitioned to Authoritarianism. We will discuss his article at The New York Times, “How Maduro Future-Proofed His Dictatorship.”

Trump Has Project 2025 But the Democrats Have No Plan and They Need to Go On the Offensive With One

Then we examine a set of policy prescriptions the Democrats could use to go on the offensive and take back the House and Senate in the midterms to stop Trump’s systematic and comprehensive destruction of the United States. Joining us is Paul Glastris, the editor in chief of The Washington Monthly who spent ten years as a correspondent and editor at U.S. News & World Report’. He was a special assistant and senior speechwriter to President Bill Clinton writing over 200 speeches for the president, on subjects ranging from education to health care to the budget. His latest article at The Washington Monthly is, “How the Democrats Can Play Offense” and The Washington Monthly will be launching further policy ideas in future editions.

Will SCOTUS Shred Its Last Vestige of Legitimacy and Side With Trump on Tariffs?

Then finally, with Trump deciding not to attend Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing on the legality of his tariffs, we assess whether SCOTUS is poised to shred its last vestige of legitimacy by siding with Trump in what would be a naked partisan political move and speak with Daniel Harawa, a Professor of Law and Director of the Federal Appellate Clinic at New York University. His work focuses on race and the criminal legal system and his scholarship has appeared in the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal Forum, California Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal, Washington University Law Review, and Minnesota Law Review, among other journals. We will discuss his article at Scotusblog, “Just the Facts?”

 

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