White House Plays Musical Chairs – “The Sunday Political Brunch” May 4, 2025

White House Plays Musical Chairs – “The Sunday Political Brunch” May 4, 2025

It’s been a tough week at the Trump White House. While Team Trump celebrated what it says were highlights in its first 100 days of the second term, there were some downsides and a changing of the guard, to some extent. Republicans are also facing some internal conflicts, while Democrats continue adrift. Let's "brunch" on all that and the other political nuggets of the week.

 

"Trump White House Staff Beats Chest" – His team cited all kinds of perceived accomplishments before, during, and after the president's 100th day in office. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R), Georgia, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, "President Trump is doing a great job." She added, "We've got inflation coming down 2.4%. Energy costs are coming down 20%. Eggs are down 59%." On the controversial issue of immigration, the White House press secretary says 139,000 unauthorized people have already been expelled from the country, with more on the way. And after a few weeks of jitters, the financial markets reacted positively this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average made solid gains Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, then surged over 560 points Friday. The tech-laden Nasdaq index was up sharply, and the S&P 500 broke a 20-year record streak. For now, anyway, maybe the tariff fears have abated.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

 

"Trump Ratings Down" – A recent Pew Research Poll indicates Trump has the approval of 40 percent of respondents, but 59 percent disapprove. His tariff increase proposals have only 39 percent approval, with 59 percent disapproval. The cuts to federal agencies and programs have 44 percent approval, with 55 percent disapproving. To no surprise, Democrats aren't fans. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) New York said, "Donald Trump's first 100 days as president have been 100 days from hell for the American people." This week, there was negative quarterly economic growth for the first time in three years. If negative growth continues for a second straight quarter, we'll be in a recession. Some who used to be in his party believe Trump will hurt his fellow Republicans. "He'll lose the midterms. He'll lose both houses of Congress. And he'll be impeached again," said my fellow political analyst Danny Jones, who served more than 20 years in public office in West Virginia, mostly as a Republican, then as an independent.

 

“More Trump Losses” – President Trump suffered another legal defeat in the courtroom. A federal judge in Texas, whom Trump appointed, ruled the administration can no longer deport suspected criminal migrants under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, saying the suspects are not an organized, armed group invading this country. However, the judge said the Trump White House can continue its deportations, but only under the auspices of the Immigration and Nationality Act. In an unrelated matter, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz was forced to step down, after taking the blame for allowing a news reporter access to a Signal chat discussing sensitive military operations involving attacks on the Houthis in Yemen. Other subordinate staffers were fired, too.

 

“Last Fired, First Hired!” – In what many consider a stunning about-face, within hours of dismissing his National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Trump nominated Waltz to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. That job came open after Trump convinced his previous nominee, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) New York, to stay in her Congressional seat and run for reelection. Republicans need to hold that seat to stay in control of the House. Trump also appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to be the interim National Security Advisor. Rubio can hold both jobs at once, since one is an “interim” role, and does not need Senate confirmation. Waltz, on the other hand, will have to go through a Senate confirmation hearing to be approved for the UN job. There will be lots of questions about the Signal chat scandal. As a military parent, I found the whole event appalling, with the public leak of the timing and weaponry of a military operation.

 

“The Funding Fight” – President Trump’s biggest enemies this week may not be Democrats, but rather a key group of Republicans. With all the DOGE cuts to federal agencies, many in Congress are upset they are not being kept in the loop on financial matters. Constitutionally speaking, Congress does have “the power of the purse.” To that end, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget was supposed to meet with key Republicans, but the meeting was suddenly cancelled. The Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Tom Cole (R) Oklahoma was furious, saying, “Look, no president - and administrations - don’t get to dictate what’s going to happen here.” Cole added, “Congress is not the Army. And the president is the president, but not the commander in chief of Congress.” The White House simply called stories about the rift, “Fake news.”

 

“The Executive Orders Race" – One of the most visible signs of the second term is the sheer number of executive orders he has issued. At the 100-day mark, Trump had signed 152 orders. I looked at how many orders each two-term president had signed in the last 45 years, and it's pretty telling. President Ronald Reagan signed 168 orders in his entire second term; President Bill Clinton 164; President George W. Bush 118; and President Barack Obama 199. Again, Trump still has nearly 3 and three-quarters years to go in his second term! It reflects his efforts to expand the scope and depth of executive power. His opponents have filed 176 federal lawsuits to block or overturn much of this attempted expansion.

 

"Sue Me, Sue You Blues!" – The late Beatle George Harrison wrote a song that poked fun at excessive litigation called "Sue Me, Sue You Blues." With 176 lawsuits filed against Trump so far, I wondered how his recent fellow presidents compared. Barack Obama had 12 injunctions filed against his orders. According to the Grok search engine on X.com, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton each had fewer than 12 lawsuits filed against them. Ronald Reagan's executive orders only faced legal challenges five times. These four presidents had a far less expansive view of executive power than Trump and were more in agreement with the Constitution's provisions for separation of powers.

 

"Location, Location, Location" -- That old real estate bromide also applies to politics. "Where" you do something is almost as important as "what" you do! So, to mark his first 100 days of this term, Trump traveled to Michigan and the suburbs of Detroit. Trump carried Michigan in 2016 and 2024 and was elected president both times. However, Biden carried the Wolverine State in 2020 and beat Trump for the White House. It's now the key battleground state. Holding the 100-day event here is crucial as Sen. Gary Peters (D) Michigan is not running for reelection in 2026, and the GOP has a chance to gain a purple-state Senate seat. Then, in 2028, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) Michigan is a potential Democrat nominee for president. Trump may be trying to clear the path for Vice President JD Vance to beat Whitmer here. This was very strategic! Even if she doesn’t run for president, Whitmer would have to be on the short list of any nominee’s choice for vice president. Democrats need to take back Michigan’s Electoral College votes, or they won’t win the White House.