Jillian Michaels says 'of course' Americans want to 'drain the swamp' after cases of government waste
DOGE under Elon Musk has claimed it's uncovering billions of dollars in government "waste, fraud and abuse," and is seeking to continue federal audits and firings.
"If I were to play devil's advocate, the argument would be, 'Hey, slow down. You know, make sure you don't break something. Be very precise with this,'" Michaels said Wednesday on "Jesse Watters Primetime," explaining how she has tried to listen to the counterargument and "maintain neutrality" for Musk's strategy.
The fitness star reiterated that despite her efforts, she has been "horrified" by the excessive government waste DOGE has been discovering.
"I can only imagine that the average American who lives paycheck to paycheck — that when they see their tax dollars funding stuff like this, of course they're outraged," Michaels said, adding that it is no wonder Americans "want to drain the swamp."
Michaels said she believes a lot is going on in the government that the average person, including herself, cannot understand.
"What I can tell you is that it's clear some of this funding is like a CIA slush fund," she said.
The fitness legend likened the removal of government bloat to a "brain tumor," and how removing it would require precision and a "methodical" process.
"Be methodical, be careful — but at the end of the day, this is just insane," Michaels said.
The Office of Personnel Management recently emailed federal employees asking them to write five accomplishments they met at work the prior week. While the emails stirred up controversy, Musk described them not as a performance review, but a "pulse check."
"I think that email was perhaps interpreted as a performance review, but actually it was a pulse check review. Do you have a pulse?" Musk said during a Cabinet meeting.
Michaels said the criticism Musk's emails drew was "absurd" and that no business would be able to run effectively without accountability.
"The fact that we can't ask people to take 30 seconds to answer an email without appearing Draconian is absurd," she said.
Since taking office, President Trump, Elon Musk and the DOGE agenda have faced mounting scrutiny from several Democrats and media outlets. The latest wave of criticism facing the Tesla founder concerned his South African heritage.
Michaels noted how she initially felt bad for employees who were cut, saying they're "innocent people."
"You know, they probably have kids and they have bills to pay. You can't just rip the rug out from under that," she said before doing some digging on the severance packages government workers were receiving.
"I thought, well, wait a minute, that sounds like kind of a good deal," she said. "You've got eight months with benefits to find another gig, and we know that there are, like, 7 million job openings in the country right now."
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Chicago Tribune
24 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Why dozens of Democrats left Texas and how Republicans want to punish them
AUSTIN, Texas — Dozens of Democratic state lawmakers in Texas have scattered to points across the country in a last-ditch effort to prevent Republicans from adopting U.S. House maps that President Donald Trump wants in place before the 2026 midterm elections. The Republican-controlled state House scheduled a vote on a district map for Monday afternoon. By leaving the state, Democrats are beyond the reach of Texas law enforcement, and they can effectively shut down the vote by ensuring the 150-member House does not have the quorum required to do business. Gov. Greg Abbott and fellow Republicans are threatening to try to remove the Democrats from office, levy daily fines and even have the lawmakers arrested if they don't return to the Capitol. The Democratic response? 'Come and take it.' Here are some things to know about the scene unfolding in Texas. Trump wants to redraw the Texas congressional map in hopes of adding five more GOP seats in Texas in the midterm elections to boost his party's chance of preserving its slim U.S. House majority. Republicans currently hold 25 of the state's 38 seats. As the minority party in the state House and Senate, Democrats simply do not have the votes to stop the plan under normal legislative procedures. The maps were passed by a committee last week and swiftly scheduled for a floor vote. Sizing up their limited power and options, Democrats chose to deny the quorum as their only chance to put the brakes on Trump's plan and to rally national support. Many went to Illinois and New York. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker welcomed a group of Democrats who landed Sunday in Chicago. Prizker, a potential 2028 presidential contender who has been one of Trump's most outspoken critics during Trump's second term, had been in quiet talks with Texas Democrats for weeks about offering support if they chose to leave the state. Last week, the governor hosted several Texas Democrats in Illinois to publicly oppose the redistricting effort. California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a similar event in his own state. While hosting Texas Democrats who left the state in Albany, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the fight over congressional lines in Texas has implications nationally. 'I have a news flash for Republicans in Texas: This is no longer the Wild West,' Hochul said. 'We're not going to tolerate our democracy being stolen in a modern-day stagecoach heist by bunch of law-breaking cowboys.' Abbott, a Republican, quickly warned Democrats that he will seek to remove them from office if they don't return by Monday afternoon. He cited a nonbinding 2021 legal opinion issued by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. It suggested a court could determine that legislators had forfeited their offices in a quorum break. Abbott also suggested the lawmakers may have committed felonies by raising money to help pay for fines. A lawmaker refusing to show up is a civil violation of legislative rules, and they can be fined $500 for every day they aren't at the Capitol. In 2021, the Texas Supreme Court held that House leaders had the authority to 'physically compel the attendance' of missing members, but no Democrats were forcibly brought back to the state after warrants were served that year in a similar quorum break. Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows has promised that 'all options will be on the table.' Texas Democrats have fled the state before in attempts to thwart the Republican majority. They twice denied the GOP a quorum in 2003 to stop Republican efforts to redraw voting maps, at one point leaving for Oklahoma and later for New Mexico. In 2021, Democrats left the state in the final days of the session over an elections bill and new voting restrictions. They stayed away for 38 days. Both efforts only delayed the Republican-led measures that were ultimately passed once Democrats eventually returned to Austin. And while the current special session ends Aug. 20, Abbott has the authority to keep calling lawmakers back to the Capitol for 30-day special sessions to pass the redistricting bill and any other item he believes should be addressed. The current special session agenda includes help for communities devastated by the the July 4 floods that killed at least 136 people. As part of their walkout, Texas Democrats have accused Republicans of prioritizing the politics of redistricting over flood victims. Abbott defended the redistricting plan as an effort to redraw lines to better reflect voters who supported Trump in the 2024 election, when he easily won Texas. 'Gerrymandering can be done, or drawing lines, can be done on the basis of political makeup, as in Republicans versus Democrats. And there's nothing illegal about that,' Abbott said Monday in an interview with Fox News. 'All of these districts that are being added are districts that were won by Trump.'
The Hill
24 minutes ago
- The Hill
‘We are at war': Redistricting fights explode across US
THE REDISTRICTING arms race is on. Texas Democrats fled the state over the weekend to delay a vote on the state GOP's redrawn maps, which are meant to give Republicans an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections. The Lone Star State has become ground zero in the redistricting wars, but Democratic lawmakers from California to New York are promising to retaliate with their own gerrymanders, firing the starting pistol on a race that could determine which party controls Congress for the remainder of President Trump 's second term. In Texas, the legal threats are flying, as state Republicans prepare to vote on a redrawn map that could help them win an additional five House seats in next year's elections. Texas Democratic lawmakers fled to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts — all states run by Democratic governors — as they seek to deprive the Texas legislature of the quorum needed to vote on the new maps before the end of the 30-day special session. The Texas legislature is scheduled to reconvene Monday at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET), but they will be short of a quorum by more than 50 Democrats. Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) says he'll attempt to have the missing Democrats removed from office, citing a legal opinion by his Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who is running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. 'This truancy ends now,' Abbott declared in a letter to the Democrats. Abbott and Paxton are also threatening the missing lawmakers with felony charges if they raise money to cover the $500 daily fines they'll incur for missing the special legislative session. 'Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately,' Paxton posted on X. 'We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law.' Texas Democrats are digging in. 'Come and take it,' Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu said on CNN, calling Abbott's threats 'all bluster.' 'Sound and fury, signifying nothing,' Wu said. Some Democrats are holed up in Illinois, which the Princeton Gerrymandering project gave a grade of 'F' for having one of the worst gerrymanders in the country. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), a potential 2028 presidential contender, is assisting the Texas Democrats. 'We're going to do everything we can to protect every single one of them,' Pritzker said. 'It's Ken Paxton who doesn't follow the law. It's the leaders of Texas who are attempting not to follow the law,' Pritzker added. ' They're the ones that need to be held accountable.' In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) held a press conference with some of the Texas Democrats who traveled to her state. 'This is a war. We are at war,' Hochul said. 'And that's why the gloves are off and I say, bring it on.' DEMS SEARCH FOR EMERGENCY MEASURES Democratic leaders are promising to redraw their own maps, although their hands are tied in some cases. The Hill's Jared Gans reports that Democrats are hamstrung by their own recent push to use independent redistricting commissions, taking the issue out of the hands of state lawmakers. 'The movement to set up nonpartisan commissions for redistricting caught steam over the last decade, with Democrats at the forefront of the movement. Many in the party argued the commissions were essential to ensuring fair elections at a time when gerrymandering has led to fewer and fewer competitive contests on the federal level.' New York uses an independent commission to draw its maps. If Hochul hopes to amend the state constitution to change that, it would have to be passed in two consecutive sessions, which would miss the 2026 election cycle. 'We're going to also look at litigation strategies,' Hochul said. 'We're in close conversations about options there, and so I would say this — we're considering all options right now.' California also uses an independent commission, although Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) says he's looking for a workaround that could bring a new map straight to voters to approve in a special election. (Newsom is scheduled to speak at 4 p.m. EDT. Watch live here.) Other states are joining the redistricting frenzy. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is considering a mid-decade redistricting push. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) told CNN his state must act to blunt the impact of Texas's redrawn maps. 'We need to win in the midterm…if they're doing something to add their congressional seats, we need to look at our ways of doing that,' Booker said. Redistricting typically happens at the end of the decade along with the new census report. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) said he plans to introduce legislation that would ban all mid-decade redistricting efforts nationwide and nullify any new maps approved before the 2030 census. 'Congress has the ability to protect California voters using its authority under the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution,' Kiley said. 'This will also stop a damaging redistricting war from breaking out across the country.' MEANWHILE… The 2026 midterm elections are taking shape, with Republicans taking on historical headwinds as they seek to hold on to their majorities in the House and Senate. There are interesting intra-party debates on the left and right amid the broader political realignment that's defined Trump's nonconsecutive terms in office. A new Associated Press-NORC survey found that many Democrats see their party as 'weak' and 'ineffective.' Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) described her party's struggles, as polls show the Democratic brand has never been more unpopular. 'I think voters feel like Democrats have sort of been a‑‑holes to them,' McBride told Politico. Republicans are also dealing with internal divisions over everything from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation to U.S. support for Israel. 'I don't know if the Republican Party is leaving me, or if I'm kind of not relating to Republican Party as much anymore,' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told the Daily Mail. 'I don't know which one it is.' 'I think the Republican Party has turned its back on America First and the workers and just regular Americans,' said Greene, who has emerged as one of the few voices on the right calling for the U.S. to cut Israel loose over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 💡 Perspectives: • American Greatness: Trump's unknown frontiers. • New Republic: The media's urge to be 'fair' to Trump is killing the republic. • USA Today: Democrats have devolved into a clown show. • The Liberal Patriot: How to rebuild the Democratic coalition. • Politico: Dems are hoping for a blue wave that might not happen. • 5 things to know on Texas's political showdown. • Musk donates $5M to Trump super PAC. • Nancy Mace launches South Carolina governor bid. • Ex-football coach Derek Dooley challenges Jon Ossoff in Georgia. • Redistricting battle heats up amid Texas showdown CATCH UP QUICK President Trump weighed in on the controversial ad campaign with actor Sydney Sweeney for American Eagle, arguing the success of it is a sign that being 'woke is for losers.' Shares of American Eagle rose sharply on Monday. U.S. n uclear submarines 'are in the region' near Russia following 'highly provocative statements' from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, according to President Trump. Thousands of workers at three Boeing manufacturing plants went on strike overnight less than a year after the company boosted wages to end a separate, 53-day strike by 33,000 aircraft workers. Migrants from some countries would be required to post a bond as high as $15,000 to secure a visa for business or personal travel in a new pilot program being launched by the State Department. NEWS THIS AFTERNOON Trump to name new BLS chief, Fed governor President Trump says he plans to announce a new commissioner for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) this week after he fired the previous BLS head following a weak jobs report. Trump told reporters he'd announce the new BLS chief 'over the next three, four days.' The president will also be announcing a nominee to replace Federal Reserve board of governors member Adriana Kugler, who announced Friday she will resign on Aug. 8. Trump's firing of Erika McEntarfer on Friday after the dismal jobs report rocked Washington. McEntarfer was appointed by former President Biden and she was confirmed with a strong bipartisan majority in the Senate in 2024. Democrats are accusing Trump of shooting the messenger and refusing to acknowledge the impact his tariffs are having on the economy. They say Trump is politicizing government data and that they won't be able to trust future reports from his hand-picked BLS nominee. Over the weekend, Trump and his senior officials hit the airwaves to defend the firing, with the president arguing McEntarfer 'had the biggest miscalculation in over 50 years' after significant downward revisions to previous jobs reports. Trump also baselessly claimed that McEntarfer rigged data ahead of the election to make the jobs numbers look better while Biden was in office. 'I then won the Election, anyway, and she readjusted the numbers downward, calling it a mistake, of almost one million jobs,' Trump posted on social media. 'A SCAM!' Revisions to jobs reports are common, although Friday's downward revisions were startling for their severity, leading to a stock market sell-off and fresh concerns about an economic downturn. 'The data always suffers big revisions when the economy is at an inflection point, like a recession,' Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi posted on X. 'It's thus not at all surprising that we are seeing big downward revisions to the payroll employment numbers.' GOP strategist Karl Rove warned Trump is making the same mistake as Biden on the economy. 'What's ironic is, is that the Trump administration is making the same mistake that the Biden administration made, which was to basically, remember we had Bidenomics is working, well, now we have the golden age of American prosperity is returned, and Americans are not feeling that,' Rove said on Fox News. 'Better to say we're working hard to put America on the right road, rather than declaring premature victory. And I think that's a big mistake for the White House and is likely to come back and bite them in the midterm election.' The stock indices bounced back Monday. MEANWHILE … Trump on Monday opened new frontiers in his trade war. The president announced that he'd raise tariffs further on India for continuing to buy Russian oil. 'They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.' Trump had previously announced a 25 percent tariff on India, which is set to go into effect Thursday, along with the new tariff rates for dozens of countries. Canada faces a 35 percent tariff, although Canadian trade official Dominic LeBlanc expressed optimism about a new trade deal with the U.S. 'We were obviously, obviously disappointed by that [tariff rate] decision,' LeBlanc said. 'We believe there's a great deal of common ground between the United States and Canada in terms of building two strong economies that work well together.' 💡 Perspectives: • The Atlantic: Trump gets rid of those pesky statistics. • Fox News: The Fed's foolish interest rate policy is harming the economy. • The American Prospect: Trump's tariffs are kleptocracy in action. • The Wall Street Journal: The bureau of labor denial. • Dark clouds emerge for Trump on economy. • 5 questions Trump faces after dismal jobs report. IN OTHER NEWS Congress to face fiscal, nominations dramas after recess The Senate finally gaveled out for summer break after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a deal to confirm a backlog of President Trump 's nominees. Instead, Congress will face dramatic fights over the nominees and the looming fiscal cliff when members return in early September. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) traded offers on moving the nominees over the weekend. Schumer pushed for billions of funding to be restored to various agencies in exchange for allowing a group of noncontroversial nominees to be approved, but Trump refused. The Hill's Al Weaver reports: 'Instead, Senate Republicans are expected to go 'nuclear' on nominees once they reconvene in September by moving to change the rules with 51 votes needed.' There's also the matter of funding the government, which will run out of money on Sept. 30, as none of the funding bills for 2026 have been passed into law. Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) sent a letter to Republican leaders Monday demanding a 'Big Four' leadership meeting this week to begin discussions on funding the government. The letter from the Democratic leaders, sent to Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), says they have 'the responsibility to govern for all Americans and work on a bipartisan basis to avert a painful, unnecessary shutdown at the end of September.' 'Yet it is clear that the Trump Administration and many within your party are preparing to 'go it alone' and continue to legislate on a solely Republican basis,' Schumer and Jeffries wrote. The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports: 'Democrats want a pledge from Republicans that if they agree to pass government funding legislation, they would not work with the Trump administration to pass another rescissions package, such as the measure passed last month that clawed back $9 billion in previously appropriated funding and defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.' 💡 Perspectives: • Foreign Affairs: After Xi. • American Mind: A strategy to beat China in the tech race. • The Hill: If Trump and the GOP keep this up, AOC is going to be president. • The Hill: Trump's numbers are down, but Republicans are far from out.
Axios
24 minutes ago
- Axios
Most U.S. adults stressed by grocery costs: poll
More than half of Americans are stressed about buying groceries — significantly more than the financial pressure they feel about credit card debt, child care or student debt, an AP-NORC poll out Monday found. The big picture: President Trump campaigned on a promise to bring down grocery prices, but the data shows Americans are still stressed out about affording these basic necessities. 53% of Americans said the cost of groceries was a major source of stress right now, while 33% said it was a minor source of stress. Just 14% said the price of groceries was not a source of stress. The next-highest sources of major stress were the costs of housing (47%), the amount of money saved or earned (43%) and the cost of health care (42%). The intrigue: 14% of adults in the poll also reported using Buy Now, Pay Later services on groceries, so they could make the immediate purchases and pay for them in installments. 11% said they had used such services, like Afterpay or Klarna, to purchase restaurant meals or meal delivery. 17% said they had used BNPL services for medical or dental care, while 14% had used it for entertainment costs. Between the lines: Food banks have braced for a surge in need triggered by federal food assistance changes signed into law by Trump, with leaders in the hunger relief network warning the gap may be impossible to fill. Context: In June, food prices were up 3% compared to the prior year, according to a Consumer Price Index report released last month.
