Snapshot · The Bulwark Podcast
The most consequential decisions in the Trump administration are made by just six to eight people, leaving senior officials at State, the Pentagon, and CIA out of the loop.
Where this was said
At 20:30 · chapter starts 18:20
Having personally observed Rubio in the White House's Upper Press area, Haberman reports that he is constantly in and out of Caroline Levitt's office and 'looks like he is having the time of his life.' This contrasts sharply with the first term's reluctant adults — John Kelly and Jim Mattis, both of whom considered Trump dangerous and found his worldview detestable. Rubio, by contrast, rarely travels internationally despite being Secretary of State because he believes he needs to be physically near Trump. And the reason for that, Haberman explains, is that the entire government is run by six to eight people depending on the issue. If you're not in the room with Trump, you have no idea what is happening at the State Department, the Pentagon, or the CIA.
Stop looking for a John Kelly or Jim Mattis in this White House. Rubio is constantly in the West Wing, in and out of the press secretary's office, and by Haberman's eyewitness account, loving every minute of it. He's dual-hatted as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor specifically because he wants to be near Trump — not to restrain him.
A total of 8 states have filed lawsuits against social media platforms, including an ongoing case in Tennessee, using product liability and public nuisance theories to seek accountability.
France built 56 nuclear plants in the 1970s and now has the cheapest energy in Europe, making it independent of Russian or Middle Eastern energy geopolitics.
Estonia has a single tax form, a law preventing the government from asking citizens for the same information twice, and a flat rate of tax — enabling competitive taxation.
Portugal's Lisbon, once a city with a major heroin problem, legalised drugs and redirected enforcement spending into rehabilitation and housing, dramatically reducing crime.
The first Boland Amendment banning CIA and Defense Department funds for the Contras passed the House unanimously — yet the Reagan administration ignored it.
Over just two years, Saudi Arabia alone donated $32 million to the Contra rebels, giving loosely affiliated factions millions they had no way to spend on arms.
The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty raised $6.3 million for the Contras but only $3.3 million reached them — a shockingly low 52% program expense rate.
Richard Secord and Albert Hakim marked up their arms shipments to the Contras by as much as 300%, making enormous personal profits from the covert operation.
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, tapped to run the entire covert Contra support operation, had no prior experience in covert operations whatsoever — he was learning as he went.
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