Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
Politics has never been more chaotic, and most podcasts just add to the noise. Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes cuts through it.
Grant is an AP Award-winning journalist with over a decade of on-the-ground reporting on the biggest political stories, scandals, and elections in America. Twice a week, he takes the stories dominating the headlines and breaks them down in plain English — no jargon, no spin, no shouting.
If you care about what’s happening in this country but you’re exhausted by how it’s being covered, this is the show for you. Real reporting. Clear explanations. Actual context.
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Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes
You've Paid $1,341 in Tariffs And Congress Just Left for Summer
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The House of Representatives left for summer recess today. In their final 48 hours they passed three bills and sent them to the Senate.
The continuing resolution: the government stays funded at current levels until December 4th, kicking the budget fight to just before the holidays, again. The stock trading ban: it bans members of Congress from buying stocks but not selling them, which is where the money is made, and Republicans slipped a federal voter ID mandate into the bill specifically to make Democrats vote against it. Thomas Massie said so publicly on Twitter. The war powers resolution: the House voted again to force Trump to get Congressional approval for the Iran war, with four Republicans crossing the aisle. The Senate version failed by three votes.
On tariffs: the temporary tariffs expire at midnight Friday. Since Trump placed his original tariffs last March, Americans have paid more than $468 billion total, or $1,341 per person, through May alone. That number has grown since then and does not include the tens of billions in refunds the government has been forced to pay back to companies.
The new round coming this weekend will hit 60 countries with tariffs of 10 to 12.5% on goods the US says were made using forced labor. Trump originally said the Canada tariffs were because of the wildfires. Then he changed the reason. Grant explains what the actual reason is, and why it involves a bridge in Detroit called the Gordie Howe Bridge.
A new Fox News poll finds Democrats lead Republicans by 7 points on a generic ballot, lead on every major issue including immigration and the economy, and have an 11-point enthusiasm gap. The poll is from Fox News.
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CHAPTERS
0:00 The House leaves for summer. Here's what they did in the last 48 hours.
2:00 The continuing resolution: government funded until December 4th, shutdown fight delayed until holidays
3:30 The stock trading ban that isn't: you can sell but not buy, and Republicans hid a voter ID mandate inside it
5:30 Thomas Massie admits it publicly: the bill was designed to make Democrats vote against a stock trading ban
7:00 The House war powers vote: four Republicans cross the aisle again, Senate version fails by three votes
8:30 The new Fox News poll: Democrats lead by 7 points, lead on every issue, 11-point enthusiasm gap
10:00 Mike Johnson breaks with the White House on Iran: what he said and why it matters
11:30 SaySo News App
13:00 Tariffs expire at midnight Friday: what the temporary tariffs were and why they're ending
14:30 $468 billion paid in tariffs since March: $1,341 per American man, woman, and child through May alone
16:00 The Canada tariffs: Trump said it was the wildfires, then changed the reason on camera
17:30 The real reason: the Gordie Howe Bridge in Detroit, and what Trump wants from Canada
19:00 The new round: 60 countries, 10 to 12.5% tariffs, forced labor justification, Supreme Court workaround
20:30 What this means for prices: the Fed says tariffs are driving inflation and there is no end in sight
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