Trump Folds Big Time as Courts Force His Hand

0:00This summer, FanDuel is the best place to bet on goals. Including equalizers? Uh-huh. Balls? Yep. Headers? Every goal is worth more on FanDuel. So, let there be goals. New customers get$350 in bonus bets guaranteed when you bet$5 for seven days. 21 plus in present and select states. First online real money wager only. Minimum$5 wager required for seven consecutive days. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets, which expires seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at fanduel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET.

0:31Michael Popok:This episode is brought to you by Fox one. Watch all 104 matches of the FIFA world cup live in 4k for just$19.99 a month with three days free. Build your own multi-view, choose up to three streams and follow player spotlights. Stay on top of every moment with live stats, highlights, and instant replays. The FIFA world cup streaming live on Fox one offers a subject to change. See Fox.com for complete terms and conditions. Choice Hotels gets you more of what you value. Here's a little tune to help you remember. Same drive, different day. Don't you wish you were getting away? Pack your bags and come on through.

1:12Texas, Ohio, Alaska, we're up there too. Comfort Inn, it's calling your name. Save on the stay. Oh, and free waffles are yours to claim. Well, I hope you like my little song. Book direct at choicehotels.com. By the time I hit my 50s, I'd learned a few things, like how family is precious. Work can always wait. And 99 % of people over 50 already have the virus that causes shingles. Not everyone at risk will develop it, but I did. The painful, blistering rash disrupted my life for weeks. Don't learn about your shingles risk the hard way. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist today. The most memorable gifts aren't found, they're made.

2:04Zazzle is a custom marketplace where you pick any product, a mug, a card, a tote, a phone case, and make it personal. A photo, a name, an inside joke. The kind of gift that actually fits the person. That's what 30 million customers have been coming back to Zazzle for over 20 years to find. Right now, save 25 % on your first order at Zazzle.com. That's Zazzle.com. Make it Z-amazing.

2:56Michael Popok:and to go find the money was somehow unconstitutional. They've actually funded. And now states like Pennsylvania are telling SNAP recipients to expect money in their accounts, in their electronic credit cards, if you will. Their electronic cards will be fully funded with the allotment for them on average$350, which makes the difference between going hungry at night and not. It will be funded apparently today, despite the other actions that Donald Trump and his administration have taken of lawlessness to try to defy the judge's order. I'm glad to report after following the story for the last week that now people that have gone for too long without the most disadvantaged in our society, the below the poverty line children and babies and elderly and veterans and the disabled, now money is flowing because Democrats, because Democratic attorney generals, because public interest groups like Democracy Forward ran into court and obtained an order and a series of orders, two separate temporary restraining orders from Judge McConnell.

4:04Michael Popok:I cover it all right here on the Midas Touch Network and for Legal AF on this fast-moving story. They can't even get their story straight at the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice, they just filed a brief late last night, early today, with the First Circuit, sorry, appellate court, and said, this is unprecedented for one federal judge unilaterally to order the executive branch to go find money. It turns out that the federal government was lying to the judge. They had a pot of money to make the$8 billion November SNAP anti-hunger food stamp payments. They had$4.65 billion left in a fund.

4:49Michael Popok:And they said, well, we'll have to make partial payments and that'll take months to go figure out how to pay 56 % instead of 100%. And the judge says, well, then pay 100%. And the government said, we don't know where we will get the money from. And the judge said, there's a child nutrition fund that has$23 million in it. You only need$3 million to fund this month. Go take it out of the$23 million and top up the fund to the full$8 billion and make your payments. then you won't have any administrative hurdles. You won't have any problems with states trying to figure out how to make partial payments.

5:28Michael Popok:You won't have to create any tables and make the payment. So I had Sky Perryman, the founder of Democracy Forward, who brought this case on with me today. And her basic takeaway is that if they don't pay by the end of the day today, even if they filed their motion for a stay, if their stay is not granted by the appellate court, They're in violation. And they flirted with that disaster right until the very end. Here's a clip of me with my interview with Sky Perryman. Yeah. So, I mean, we got here because the president is truly playing politics with people's lives. There's no other way around it.

6:08For days and weeks, he and administration officials claimed that they could not fund SNAP. We've actually never not had SNAP funded, even in government shutdowns. And the judge yesterday made that clear. They claimed that they just their hands were tied. They couldn't do it. We had to take them to court. The court was clear last Friday that not only did the Trump administration have the legal authority to pay SNAP benefits, but that they had an obligation under the law to do so and that they're dragging their feet was unlawful. That's what happened last Friday. On Monday, the Trump administration showed up to court and said it wanted to pay partial benefits, not full benefits.

6:46And as a result of that decision, it submitted its own documents that suggested that people in this country would have to wait weeks and in some cases months for their SNAP benefits. So just to make sure that we understand what that means, it means that a mom that needs to go to the grocery store to put food in the cabinet for her kids can't do so for a period of days and weeks. There's truly just no way of tolerating that. The court was clear in its first order that the administration needed to expeditiously resolve any issues so that people could get their SNAP benefits. They did not do so. And so yesterday we had fireworks in the court.

7:26We had a great team at Democracy Forward and our co-counsel with the Lawyers Committee in Rhode Island were on the Zoom hearing yesterday. And the court just had a lot of questions for the government, said that the government had done nothing to comply with the order from the prior week and enforced that order so that people will get their SNAP benefits and then made some further findings to require that the government pay full benefits.

7:52Michael Popok:We should not have to sue the president of the United States to care about the most disadvantaged in our society. Let me show you now a clip of one governor, Governor Josh Shapiro, who's going to be my guest with a new interview next week at a press conference talking about the snap payments and the win here for democracy. Our neighbors who were hungry, one out of every eight of our neighbors relies on this funding and it was taken away. And we went to work here in the Commonwealth to look out for our fellow neighbors. The first thing we did was we sued the Trump administration to get those SNAP benefits flowing again.

8:32The second thing I did, utilizing my authority as governor, was to sign an emergency declaration here in the Commonwealth, which I announced with Lori at Phil Abundance the other day. That allowed us to be able to free up an initial$5 million to be able to send to places like Cher, because we knew that more people were going to come banging on their doors seeking help. As a result of that emergency declaration, Share Alone received about$740 ,000 in additional funding that allowed them to purchase more food already and get that food out to the people who are in need in our communities. In addition to that, I appeal to the better angels here in Pennsylvania and appeal to the goodness of our fellow Pennsylvanians and ask people to step up and make contributions to the Pennsylvania Emergency Snap Fund.

9:24And I have to just take a moment and thank so many generous Pennsylvanians who have already donated more than $2 million. And every single cent of that$2 million has made its way to Feeding Pennsylvania. And Feeding Pennsylvania has sent those dollars directly to places like Cher and Phil Abundance and Weinberg and all of the other food pantries across Pennsylvania. So we are doing what we can, but we know that we can't possibly make up for all of the money the federal government has stopped. Why? Because SNAP each and every month totals$366 million. It's$366 million that ends up on people's SNAP cards that they can use when they go to the grocery store or what have you.

10:10So So while we're so grateful to Cher for stepping up and trying to fill that gap, we know that the only answer here is for the federal government to do the right thing and simply fund SNAP. That's why I sued them. And after I sued them, we won. And just yesterday, a court ruled that the federal government was required to pay out the full amount of benefits to SNAP. This happened yesterday afternoon. Now, the Trump administration, after getting that ruling, couldn't get their act together quick enough. But you know who did get their act together real quick? Secretary Arkush and the team at the Department of Human Services.

10:49What did they do? They immediately processed the batches of Pennsylvanians who were owed money on SNAP through our vendor that sends those federal dollars out and started to get that money flowing again.

11:05Michael Popok:Now, two separate groups brought their lawsuits to the federal court. The Democracy Forward group representing church groups and other public interest groups ran to Chief Judge McConnell, a group of 23 Democratic attorneys general, sort of a pincher move to place the Trump administration between a rock and a hard place. They filed theirs in Massachusetts with Judge Telwani. McConnell had the stronger of the temporary restraining orders. When that got violated, Democracy Forward and Sky Perryman ran back into court with her legion of lawyers and obtained an emergency order yesterday at three o 'clock and a written order that we have up on Legal AF Substack in which the judge, Judge McConnell said, you are playing with people's lives.

11:53Michael Popok:There are 16 million children who will go hungry because you're not properly funding and you are pointing to administrative red tape of your own creation. Solve the problem. Take the money from what we call Section 32 funds, which are created from customs receipts. Take it from the Children Nutrition Fund, which is overfunded, and make the November SNAP anti-hunger payments and do it now. Now, we were worried when I interviewed Sky earlier today. We were worried that they were going to let Friday come and go and let people go hungry. I mean, this is people that have opened their refrigerator. There's nothing inside.

12:28Michael Popok:They spent their October allotment. This is about November. Can you imagine if you only had$350 for a family of four to shop for the month? Not the week, the month. And you have to make that last. And now we're past almost the first week in November. You still haven't gotten it? That's the sound of crying babies and hungry seniors, courtesy of Donald Trump, who trolled them on Election Day by saying he wasn't going to make the SNAP payments, even if ordered to do so, because the Democrats needed to reopen the government. The Democrats are fighting for the same groups of underprivileged people to make sure they have health care.

13:06Michael Popok:That's the fight for the shutdown. And again, Donald Trump throwing not only sand in the gears, but salt in the eyes of Americans. While he parties in Miami at some business conference today, where he's trying to raise money for Trump Incorporated. And had all sorts of people up on a stage bragging about this amazing economy that's crushing the hopes and dreams of normal Americans that aren't billionaires. While he parties at Mar-a-Lago during a Great Gatsby themed event at Halloween, as he builds a golden ballroom. as he flies on a plane we can't afford, as he spends hundreds of millions of dollars on golf trips of taxpayer dollars, as he makes a marble bathroom for Abraham Lincoln, our poorest president, while people can't eat and are suffering in America.

14:07Michael Popok:Is there any wonder why on election night it was a complete wipeout for the Republicans? with flipping of people that had once voted for Donald Trump flipping back to blue. I'm glad you're here. Fast moving story. I wanted you to hear the update from me here on the Midas Touch Network. Join us on tomorrow for the Legal AF podcast on Saturday. And of course, Legal AF YouTube channel, which is going to hit a million subscribers in about a year because of you. And go find out if you're subscribed right now. Hit the button. And then Legal AF Substack, of course, where that's what keeps us on the air.

14:46Michael Popok:That's what pays for our reporting and our fair commentary. Become a Legal AF Substack member and try to swing a paid membership for$6.77 a month. We appreciate you and for all that you do for us. So until my next report, I'm Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal AF? Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF sub stack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the sub stack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do call, wait for it, Morning AF. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well.

15:23Michael Popok:We got some new reporting. We got interviews. We got ad-free versions of the podcast and hot takes. Where? Legal AF on sub stack. Come over now to free subscribe.

16:04works independently of Gemini apps. Check responses for accuracy. Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for$15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three month plan equivalent to$15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com.

16:38Spotify, it's Jay Shetty. Are you one of those media strategy people? Scrolling through spreadsheets, searching for an audience that pays twice as much attention to your ads than they do on social? Let me introduce you to fans. And they're here with me on Spotify. Trust me, I know fans. They don't skip, they stay for hours. They don't move on, they manifest. They're not a demographic group. They're fans. Spotify Advertising. You're among fans. The grill is shot. The chairs are held together by optimism. And what happened to the rug? Sounds like your outdoor setup is not ready for patio season.

17:17Fix it all with Wayfair. Shop Wayfair for grills, rugs, furniture, and more. With 20 million five-star reviews, room of choice delivery, and experts set up on qualifying orders, it's never been easier to do more for less. Get 10 % off your first eligible purchase. Hurry to Wayfair.com or download the app now. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website, to marketing, to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them.

17:58With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer.