It hasn’t even been a month since President Donald Trump was sworn into office, but the sudden and drastic changes he – and Elon Musk – have ordered are being felt at every level of the federal government.  

Thousands of federal workers got notice over the weekend that they were being terminated – in departments ranging from the U.S. Forest Service to the CDC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

The judiciary has slowed some of the biggest Trump moves, like ending birthright citizenship or withholding billions in federal funding. But the President’s nominees have been largely confirmed and Musk personnel mostly continue to have access to critical government systems. 

So what can the Democratic Party do to put guardrails around this administration?

Guest: 
US Representative Rick Larsen (Washington State’s 2nd Congressional District since 2001)

Links: 
Rep. Larsen's website

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

 

It hasn&rsquo;t even been a month since President Donald Trump was sworn into office, but the sudden and drastic changes he &ndash; and Elon Musk &ndash; have ordered are being felt at every level of the federal government.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnation%2F2025%2F02%2F17%2Ftrump-fires-federal-workers-performance%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Csmehling%40kuow.org%7C87b6a384256f4555ca3b08dd507bf6a6%7C3d57c1b8f4ae4639adb13312ae3bc827%7C0%7C0%7C638755215518427745%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=6Qlu67mOvjiDJmaf7vj%2FifamwgYge2vYh0ZbyAyhuW4%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Thousands of federal workers</a> got notice over the weekend that they were being terminated &ndash; in departments ranging from the U.S. Forest Service to the CDC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.&nbsp;
The judiciary has slowed some of the biggest Trump moves, like ending birthright citizenship or&nbsp;<a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fworld%2Fus%2Ftrump-asks-us-court-end-judicial-overreach-allow-funding-freezes-2025-02-11%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Csmehling%40kuow.org%7C87b6a384256f4555ca3b08dd507bf6a6%7C3d57c1b8f4ae4639adb13312ae3bc827%7C0%7C0%7C638755215518454485%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=QYN8Fww0hr6i1lDJVKZ6wLq8rVDdG1Uyt32QQNO8MU8%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">withholding billions in federal funding</a>.&nbsp;But the President&rsquo;s nominees have been largely confirmed and Musk personnel mostly continue to have access to critical government systems.&nbsp;
So what can the Democratic Party do to put guardrails around this administration?
Guest:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>US Representative Rick Larsen (Washington State&rsquo;s 2nd Congressional District since 2001)</li>
</ul>
Links:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://larsen.house.gov/">Rep. Larsen's website</a></li>
</ul>
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.
&nbsp;

Soundside

It hasn’t even been a month since President Donald Trump was sworn into office, but the sudden and drastic changes he – and Elon Musk – have ordered are being felt at every level of the federal government.  

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