In this episode, you’ll hear what actually happened in Congress during October 2025, a month dominated by a record-breaking shutdown. While the House was on vacation, the Senate enacted mass confirmations of over 100 Trump-aligned nominees—many with extreme views, conflicts of interest, or industry ties—as well as the surprising bipartisan pushback against Trump’s global tariff abuses. We also examine the Senate’s failed attempt to stop Trump’s unauthorized overseas boat strikes.
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Background Sources
Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes
CD289: The Not A TikTok Ban Bill
CD176: Target Venezuela: Regime Change in Progress
Confirmations
Hung Cao — Under Secretary of the Navy
“Senate confirms Hung Cao as Navy undersecretary.” Svetlana Shkolnikova. October 1, 2025. Stars and Stripes.
“Trump is pointing to new numbers on migrants with criminal pasts. Here’s what they show.” Rebecca Santana. September 30, 2024. AP News.
Jennifer Mascott — US Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit (Delaware)
Jennifer Mascott Retrieved on November 17, 2025. LinkedIn.
“Jennifer Mascott.” Retrieved on November 17, 2025. Alliance for Justice.
“Senate Democrats grill Third Circuit nominee Mascott on qualifications.” Benjamin S. Weiss. September 3, 2025. Courthouse News Service.
William Mercer — District Judge for Montana
“William ‘Bill’ Mercer.” Alliance for Justice.
“DOJ Official’s Nomination Withdrawn Days Before Confirmation Hearing.” June 22, 2007. ABC News.
Todd Wilcox — Under Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security
“Patriot Defense Group Expands In Orlando.” February 18, 2018. Orlando Economic Partnership.
“Waterboarding works, US Senate candidate (and former CIA officer) Todd Wilcox says.” Joshua Gillin. May 24, 2016. PolitiFact.
“Meet sniper, CIA officer, Green Beret, millionaire Todd Wilcox, a candidate for U.S. Senate.” Adam C. Smith. April 22, 2016. Miami Herald.
Jacob Helberg — Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment
“Tech leaders were on the outside looking in. Now they own Washington.” Elizabeth Dwoskin and Andrea Jiménez. March 6, 2025. The Washington Post.
“Jacob Helberg: wokeness ‘driving generational realignment.’” Mike Wagenheim. July 23, 2024. Jewish News Syndicate.
“The tech billionaires who helped ban TikTok want to write AI rules for Trump.” Elizabeth Dwoskin et al. May 1, 2024. The Washington Post.
Ken Howery — Ambassador to Denmark
“Trump’s ambassador tasked with getting control of Greenland confirmed.” Elías Thorsson. October 8, 2025. Arctic Today.
Ben Black — CEO of the International Development Finance
Corporation (DFC)
“Leon Black’s Son Brings Wall Street Vibe to US Foreign Investment Agency.” Loukia Gyftopoulou et al. May 22, 2025. Bloomberg.
“How to DOGE US Foreign Aid.” Joe Lonsdale and Ben Black. January 10, 2025. Joe Lonsdale on Substack.
“Leon Black’s Son Reveals $219 Million of Assets in Ethics Filing.” Bill Allison and Loukia Gyftopoulou. June 2, 2025. Bloomberg.
Stanley Woodward — Associate Attorney General
“Trump taps go-to lawyer for his MAGA allies to fill out Justice Department’s upper ranks.” Kyle Cheney. April 2, 2025. Politico.
David Keeling — Head of OSHA
“Trump’s OSHA Nominee Has a History With Heat and UPS Drivers.” Hiroko Tabuchi. June 25, 2025. The New York Times.
Andrew Rogers — Wage and Hour Administrator, Department of Labor
“Littler Labeled as a Union Busting Firm.” April 27, 2007. Littler.
“Not Your Father’s Anti-Union Movement: Ten Key Facts About Starbucks’ Union Avoidance Law Firm, Littler Mendelson.” John Logan. March 7, 2022. LAWCHA.
Michael Boren — Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment
“A billionaire’s ascent to power on America’s public lands.” Grace Kuhn. October 16, 2025. Western Watersheds Project.
“Trump USDA nominee tussles with Forest Service over land use.” Marc Heller. May 28, 2025. E&E News.
Audrey Robertson — Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
“Audrey Robertson.” Retrieved November 18, 2025. LinkedIn.
“Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors.” Retrieved November 18, 2025. Private Equity Climate Risks.
“How an oil exec got picked to lead the DOE renewables office.” Brian Dabbs. March 17, 2025. E&E News.
Neil Jacobs — NOAA Administrator
“Senate Confirms ‘Sharpiegate’ Meteorologist to Lead NOAA.” Scott Dance. October 7, 2025.
Lanny Erdos — Director, Office of Surface Mining
“Lanny Erdos.” Retrieved November 18, 2025. LinkedIn.
“President Trump’s Plan to Put a Coal Executive in Charge of Coal Regulations.” July 25, 2025. Earthjustice Action.
Brazil Tariffs
Roll Call Vote on S.J. Res. 81. October 28, 2025. U.S. Senate.
“Trump hits Brazil with tariffs, sanctions but key sectors excluded.” Luciana Novaes Magalhaes and Lisandra Paraguassu. July 31, 2025. Reuters.
“Trump sets 50% tariff rate for Brazil, blasting treatment of former far-right president.” Danielle Kurtzleben. July 9, 2025. OPB.
Canada Tariffs
Roll Call Vote on S.J. Res. 77. October 29, 2025. U.S. Senate.
Global Tariffs
Roll Call Vote on S.J. Res. 88. October 30, 2025. U.S. Senate.
Venezuela
“Trump likely to face long military commitment and chaos if he ousts Maduro in Venezuela, experts say.” Kylie Atwood. November 16, 2025. CNN.
“Trump officials hold meetings on Venezuela as military tensions rise.” Phil Stewart el al. November 14, 2025. Reuters.
Pentagon’s largest warship enters Latin American waters as US tensions with Venezuela rise.” Tiago Rogero. November 11, 2025. The Guardian.
“Classified Justice Department opinion authorizes strikes on secret list of cartels, sources say.” Natasha Bertrand and Zachary Cohen. October 7, 2025. CNN.
Boat Strikes
“What does Trump want with boat strike campaign?” Bernd Debusmann J and Joshua Cheetham. November 17, 2025. BBC.
“UK stops some intelligence sharing with US over boat strikes in Caribbean.” November 12, 2025. Sky News.
“Which Countries Have Stopped Sharing Intelligence With U.S. Over Boat Strikes in Caribbean?” Callum Sutherland. November 12, 2025. Time.
“Trump has accused boat crews of being narco-terrorists. The truth, AP found, is more nuanced.” Regina Garcia Cano. November 7, 2025. AP News.
“US boat strikes are crimes against humanity, says former ICC prosecutor.” Tom Bateman. November 6, 2025. BBC.
War Powers Resolution Failure
“Senate GOP shuts down war powers resolution aimed at blocking Venezuela strikes.” Caitlin Yilek. November 6, 2025. CBS News.
“Senate votes down war powers resolution aimed at blocking Trump’s strikes on alleged drug boats.” Caitlin Yilek. October 8, 2025. CBS News.
Roll Call Vote — Motion to Discharge S. J. Res. 83 from the Committee on Foreign Relations. October 8, 2025. U.S. Senate.
Senate Floor
October 30, 2025
Clips
1:42:05 Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA):
I hope this passes as the two previous resolutions did. And if it does, it will be up to the House to take this up. The House has done something that should really shock people in the public and in this body. This matter is privileged in the House, as it is in the Senate. If it passes, House statutes and rules suggest that it should be taken up for a vote on the floor of the House. The rule in the House was that it would need to be within the committee for 15 days and then be reported and then pending for 3 days on the floor. Action would be taken on these matters with- in 18 days in the House. Guess what. The House is so afraid to vote on tariffs, they are so afraid of the effects these tariffs are having on their constituents, but equally afraid of crossing Donald Trump, that they passed a rule that said: For purposes of this and this only—this and this only— the day to day extends through the remainder of Congress. So with the 15 days plus 3 days, it ripens in 18 days. Action must be taken in 18 days. They have defined today as a day that lasts until the end of Congress. So the matter will never ripen and be privileged in the House.
1:46:20 Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID):
S.J. Res. 88 is counter-productive to the progress already made by the President and the new gains he can still achieve in the ongoing trade negotiations.
Senate Floor
October 29, 2025
Clips
6:25:05 Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN):
My colleagues and I have filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court. That case is going to be heard next week. But it is not the only answer. The answer should be that Congress asserts its power, even though I believe that the use of the statute is clearly illegal and I believe, as the underlying court—which was made up of the initial trade court: a Trump judge, an Obama judge, and a Reagan judge—yes, they still exist. They unanimously, the three of them, said that this was an illegal use of the statute.
Senate Session
October 28, 2025
Clips
2:23:00 Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA):
What he cites is a statute called IEEPA dealing with international economic emergencies. And that is a statute that was passed by Congress, signed into law decades ago, allowing the President, under some circumstances, to take actions following the declaration of an international emergency. What is an international emergency? The IEEPA statute 50 U.S.C. section 1701 says that the emergency that a President must declare is ‘‘any unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States’’—the threat being to the ‘‘national security foreign policy or economy of the United States, if the President declares a national emergency with respect to such threat.’’
2:25:40 Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA):
We have a trade surplus with Brazil of nearly $7 billion in goods and nearly $23 billion in services annually. Last year, the trade surplus we had with Brazil was $30 billion. They buy 30 billion more of our stuff than we buy of their stuff.
2:27:25 Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA):
President Trump is unhappy that Brazil is prosecuting a friend of his. The former President of Brazil, on his way out the door, inspired a lot of people to try to protest and even overturn the peaceful transfer of power when he lost an election. So Brazil is prosecuting him under Brazilian laws. When the President heard that former President Bolsonaro was being prosecuted, he threatened 50-percent tariffs if you don’t stop the Bolsonaro ‘‘witch hunt’’ trial. How is that trial an emergency for the United States? How is that trial a threat to American national security or our economy?
2:30:05 Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA):
I would assert, if we allow President Trump to declare this prosecution an emergency, we will have given any President a completely blank check to invent an emergency and do whatever they want and bypass Congress for doing so. This is not an emergency, and that is why I have filed, with other Senators, a resolution to terminate President Trump’s emergency.
2:57:05 Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY): Revenue is not only a question for Congress, but the Constitution commands that taxation legislation originate in the House of Representatives. This is the only issue that specifically has to originate not only in Congress but in one specific House. Our Founders thought that the House of Representatives, elected every 2 years, was closer to the people, and the things they feared the most were big taxes and big government. They said taxes must originate in the House. Yet these taxes are originating with the White House.
2:58:50 Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY): The idea that one person can raise taxes is contrary to our founding principles. The Constitution forbids it.
Senate Floor
October 8, 2025
Clips
6:10:15 Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY):
Somewhere off the coast of Venezuela a speed boat with 11 people on board is blown to smithereens. Vice President Vance announces that ‘‘killing cartel members that poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.’’ When challenged that killing citizens without due process is a war crime, the Vice President’s response was that he ‘‘didn’t give a shit.’’ Sometimes, in fits of anger, loud voices will say they don’t care about the niceties such as due process. They just want to kill bad guys. For a brief moment, all of us share that anger and may even embrace revenge or retribution. But over 20,000 people are murdered each year in the United States, and somehow we find a way to a dispassionate dispensation of justice that includes legal representation and a trial. Why? Because sometimes the accused is actually not guilty. Even with the best of care, even with the best of justice, sometimes we find out it is the wrong person. As passions subside, a civilized people should ask questions. To be clear, the people bombed to smithereens were guilty, right? If anyone gave a you-know-what about justice, perhaps those in charge of deciding whom to kill might let us know their names, present proof of their guilt, show evidence of their crimes. The administration has maintained that the people that they blew to smithereens were members of a gang, members of Tren de Aragua, and therefore narcoterrorists. Why? Because we say so. But certainly, then, if they know that they belong to a particular gang, then someone must surely know their names before they were blown to smithereens. Is it too much to ask to know the names of those we kill before we kill them, to know what evidence exists of their guilt? At the very least, the government should explain how the gang came to be labeled as ‘‘terrorists.’’ How did the people who you say are in a gang, how did they come to be labeled as a ‘‘terrorist’’? U.S. law defines a terrorist as someone who uses premeditated, politically motivated violence against noncombatants. Show us evidence of that. Show us evidence of their guilt. Show us evidence that they are terrorists, perhaps before we blow people to smithereens.
6:14:10 Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY):
Which, of course, raises the question: Who labeled them as ‘‘terrorists’’? And what is the evidence of these specific people who had names before they were blown to smithereens? What is the evidence against them individually? What are their names? What, specifically, shows their membership and guilt? Were they armed at the time they were blown to smithereens? The blow-them-to-smithereens crowd also conveniently ignores the fact that death is, generally, not the penalty for drug smuggling.
6:20:35 Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY):
If the Trump administration wants to use military power, they should seek authorization from Congress. There is a difference between war and peace. There is a difference in the rules of engagement. There has to be. Our police don’t shoot people on sight. We have a process. Even off of the coast, we have a process. We have longstanding maritime laws that we obey as well as every other civilized nation in the world obeys. We board ships after announcing who we are and that we are going to board the ship. There is an escalation if there are weapons fired, if there is a reason where the Coast Guard can escalate, but we don’t just blow ships to smithereens. The vote before us today offers every Member of this body an opportunity to reverse the decades-long abdication of this critical responsibility, of leaving this to the executive branch. Our Founding Fathers said Congress shall authorize war. The Executive is not authorized to do this. I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution.
8:38:30 Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR):
The President’s strikes were lawfully sound and extremely limited. Because they have been going on for less than 60 days, they don’t even fall within the War Powers Resolution threshold. I would also note that Presidential action like this is hardly unheard of or unique. For context, as of the mid-20th century, scholars identified more than 100 military deployments or actions that lacked express prior congressional authorization. I could go back to the beginning of the Republic, with the Barbary pirates off the coast of North Africa, but there is another example much closer in time and, for that matter, on the border. That would be President George H. W. Bush’s decision to invade and topple the Government of Panama in 1989. Without prior congressional approval, he ordered 12,000 American troops into that country. We toppled Panama’s illegitimate regime. We apprehended the country’s dictator, and he spent the rest of his life in foreign custody. Let’s compare these two cases. In both cases, you had the leader of a country who is indicted by the U.S. courts for drug trafficking. In both cases, that leader is not recognized by the U.S. Government as the legitimate leader of his country. I would say the comparison ends there because the case is much stronger here than it was in 1989. Maduro also has I think a $50 million reward on his head from our government. Maduro is associated with a designated foreign terrorist organization. Noriega didn’t have a reward. Noriega wasn’t associated with a designated foreign terrorist organization. Maduro is in league with China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba. Noriega was not. Yet George Bush invaded Panama and overthrew its government. I don’t hear many Democrats, in retrospect, saying that this was an unwise action or it made our country less safe. And somehow Donald Trump is doing those things merely by striking a few boats of drug traffickers in international waters?
8:49:35 Sen. James Risch (R-ID):
My colleague just referred to the fact that the President can—if there is an imminent attack on our country, that they can strike. This wasn’t an imminent attack; this was an actual attack. It was in progress. It was going on. People were attacking our country by bringing in poisonous substances to deposit into our country that would have killed Americans all over America, including your constituents.
Music
Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito
