Stephen Miller Does the Work in the Dark Corners Trump Ignores

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss what the next two years will look like for Trump, his new chief of staff Stephen Miller, and Congress, the ripple effects of Jensen Huang’s resignation from Nvidia on the U.S.-China AI race with guest Matt Sheehan, and how Defense Secretary Hegseth survived an impeachment vote. Listeners: We want your questions! We’re doing an AMA episode this month. Email your burning questions to gabfest@slate.com Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: Congress Has Reined In the Presidency Before. Here’s How to Do It. Michelle Hackman, Josh Dawsey, Alex Leary, and Sadie Gurman for The Wall Street Journal: Trump Signals Combative Next Two Years With Elevation of Stephen Miller Dan Merica for The Washington Post: Democrats won by running on corruption. Now people want them to deliver. Isaac Stanley-Becker for The Atlantic: Can Democrats Hold Trump Accountable? Hayes Brown for MS NOW: Opinion: Stephen Miller will go too far John Dickerson on Substack: Note on interview with Stephen Miller on Face the Nation from 2017 Robbie Whelan, Josh Dawsey, and Amrith Ramkumar for The Wall Street Journal: Jensen Huang Has Been Ousted as Nvidia CEO Robbie Whelan and Amrith Ramkumar for The Wall Street Journal: How Jensen Huang’s Affair Spiraled Into a National Security Nightmare Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, Julian E. Barnes, Ana Swanson, and Tripp Mickle for The New York Times: Despite Denial, Trump Was Told on Trip to China About Spying on Nvidia Leader Dana Nickel for Politico: Nvidia’s spy scandal threatens America’s AI edge Craig Singleton for The Washington Post: Opinion: The Huang honey-trap scandal sends a warning about chip exports Tara Copp, Dan Lamothe, and Noah Robertson for The Washington Post: Hegseth impeachment effort is blocked by House Republicans Joshua Feldstein and Sarah Fortinsky for The Hill: 11 Democrats miss Hegseth impeachment vote Marie-Rose Sheinerman, Madison Hahamy, and Jack Rodriquez-Vars for The Atlantic: Why Pete Hegseth Faces Impeachment Jim Newell for Slate: How Pete Hegseth Escaped The Editorial Board of The Wall Street Journal: Opinion: The Hegseth Impeachment Spectacle Eleanor Skelly, Mosheh Gains, Courtney Kube, and Raquel Coronell Uribe for NBC News: Pete Hegseth and others reprimanded by guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Here are this week’s chatters: Emily: Adam Liptak for The New York Times: Judge Richard A. Posner Has Died. His Influence in Law Was Beyond Compare.; Larissa MacFarquhar for The New Yorker: The Bench Burner John: Henry Larson for NPR: World’s fastest ocean liner is sunk to break another record: largest artificial reef; CNN: A photo tour of the SS United States David: David Plotz on LinkedIn: David is Leaving City Cast Listener chatter from Suley Hussain in Denver, Colorado: Blue Ridge Parkway Association: Experience the Blue Ridge Parkway: “America’s Favorite Drive”; National Park Service: Blue Ridge Parkway; Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation: History & Timeline For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the story of a new charter school in the Bronx that aims to support both students and working parents with expansive operating hours, the potential impacts of this open-weekends model, and what the need for such solutions says about our society. In the latest Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson interviews Angela Duckworth about her new book, Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best. This new book argues that the most successful people don’t just grind harder; they reshape their circumstances to make success feel automatic. Email your chatters, questions, and comments to gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be referenced by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Nina Porzucki Research by Emily Ditto You can find the full Political Gabfest show pages here. Want more Political Gabfest? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Political Gabfest show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or visit slate.com/gabfestplus to get access wherever you listen. Find out more about David Plotz’s monthly tours of Ft. DeRussy, the secret Civil War fort hidden in Rock Creek Park.