Why the Court Is the Last Branch Standing

This week’s episode of The Chuck ToddCast dives into the full spectrum of Donald Trump’s political chaos — from a deadly Venezuela boat strike that jolted Congress awake to an explosive shooting in Washington, D.C., where Trump delivered the most divisive response imaginable. Chuck breaks down how the shooter’s surprising CIA ties, Trump’s immediate “blame game,” and his increasingly politicized rhetoric toward the military risk putting service members in harm’s way. He examines Trump’s contradictory foreign policy moves, including pardoning a cocaine-trafficking former Honduran president and a billionaire fraudster, all while saber-rattling toward Venezuela and relying on Roger Stone as his unofficial “pardon broker.” With Republicans bracing for a wave of resignations and watchdog committees gearing up for investigations, Chuck argues that the founders never intended the pardon power to be used this way — and that a constitutional fix may now be essential.

Then, editor of The Dispatch, Sarah Isgur joins Chuck for a sweeping conversation about the Supreme Court, constitutional design, and the modern dysfunction of Congress. Sarah argues that SCOTUS is the only institution still operating as the founders intended—and with two major cases on the docket, the Court could soon reshape the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches. She and Chuck examine how the activist class has abandoned Congress, why long-term challenges like climate change require legislation rather than court battles, and how a dramatically expanded House—potentially 1,200 members or more—could restore true representation. They dig into how the collapse of traditional parties, the rise of communications-focused lawmakers, and the outsize influence of small states have all warped American governance.

The conversation then widens into history, culture, and political “what-ifs”—from Ken Burns’ Revolutionary War documentary to the chaotic post-Lincoln era, to the tantalizing possibility that a surviving President Garfield might have accelerated civil rights by a century. Chuck and Sarah compare Obama to Chester Arthur, debate whether Democrats learned the wrong lessons from Trump, and revisit the alternate timelines of Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, and the Tea Party. They close with a provocative question: Should the DOJ be structurally separated from the executive branch? And, more fundamentally, should it be far easier to amend the Constitution for a modern nation of 300 million people?

Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to December 7th, 1941 when FDR addressed the nation via radio after Pearl Harbor, and traces the history of media fragmentation throughout the decades. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and gives his college football update. 

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

02:00 We got the full spectrum of Trump this week

02:45 Venezuela boat strike has awoken congress from its slumber

03:15 Pete Hegseth could take the fall for war crime strike

04:00 Resignation of head of SouthCom was a flashing red light

05:45 Two national guardsmen shot in Washington D.C. 

06:45 Trump’s response to shooting was most divisive possible

07:30 Surprising that shooter was Afghan employee of CIA

08:45 It’s likely shooter was mentally unstable & something triggered him

09:30 Trump immediately went into “blame game” mode after shooting

10:15 Trump’s entire political currency is division

11:00 Trump’s politicization of military risks putting target on their back

12:00 Trump blames Biden’s vetting, but administration rarely vets anything

12:45 Trump gave away everything U.S. won in Afghanistan to Taliban

14:30 Every president in the 21st century has screwed up Afghanistan

15:45 Trump tried to weaponize the shooting for political gain

17:30 Pay attention to what Trump does, not what he says

18:15 Trump pardons cocaine trafficking ex president of Honduras

19:00 Trump threatens war with Venezuela over drugs, then gives this pardon??

20:00 Trump threatens voters of Honduras over their election

20:45 Roger Stone has become Trump’s pardon merchant

21:45 Pardon was direct result of Roger Stone’s lobbying

22:15 Trump has normalized pardoning of convicted felons

24:15 Trump pardons executive guilty of 1.6B fraud scheme

25:15 Trump’s pardons are far more corrupt than prior president’s pardons

27:30 We need a constitutional amendment to change the pardon power

28:30 Founder imagined congress would prevent abuse of pardon power

29:15 We’ll likely see 2-4 retirements per week in congress through December

30:45 Senate Armed Services committee will do thorough investigation of strike

32:15 Trump is likely to give an illegal order w/ military action in Venezuela

33:45 Trump’s coalition wanted less military intervention overseas

39:30 Sarah Isgur joins the Chuck ToddCast

41:00 SCOTUS is the only institution functioning as founders intended

41:30 SCOTUS has 2 cases that could rebalance other two branches

42:45 SCOTUS may strengthen executive while empowering congress

45:00 What if SCOTUS gives Trump everything he wants?

46:30 Activist class has given up or ignored congressional authority

47:30 You need legislation to address long term problems like climate change

49:00 The house needs to be expanded to make it more representative

51:15 The house should have 1200+ members

52:45 We replaced political parties with high dollar special interests

53:30 Members aren’t attending town halls, they’re posting on social media

56:00 The two leaders of each chamber run congress, not committee chairs

56:45 Legislators are frustrated with the broken nature of congress

58:00 Members aren’t hiring legislating staff, they hire comms staff

59:30 Boebert, AOC, MTG would be backbenchers without comms

1:01:00 Small states are getting far too much influence electorally

1:04:00 The constitution is a good ballast if we follow it and regularly amend it

1:05:00 Ken Burns was gutsy to make a doc on the American revolution

1:06:30 If you want 300 million people to follow a law, it should take time to pass

1:08:30 Death By Lightning was too short to tell the whole story

1:10:30 “Manhunt” really painted a picture of Andrew Johnson

1:11:30 Lincoln assassination was meant to upend Lincoln's administration

1:12:15 Holiday reading list

1:13:30 End of 19th century was a weird time for the U.S. presidency

1:15:30 Rehnquist’s book comments on Bush v Gore through 19th century lens

1:17:15 Thomas Jefferson impeached justices in order to get a SCOTUS rubber stamp

1:18:00 Chuck’s project to create a scripted TV show about Garfield & reconstruction

1:19:15 George Washington wanted D.C. to be the biggest port city on east coast

1:22:00 1860-1865 was a fascinating time for the city of Washington DC

1:23:30 If Garfield lived we might have gotten the Civil Rights Act 100 years sooner

1:25:00 Parallels between Obama and Chester A. Arthur presidencies

1:26:00 Democrats learning from Trump that action matters over process

1:27:00 Dems gutted their bench during Obama years

1:28:00 Obama endorsing Clinton was a massive mistake for the Democratic Party

1:30:30 GOP voters realized the “nice” candidate like Romney couldn’t win

1:32:00 Without “bridgegate”, Chris Christie may be president instead of Trump

1:33:30 Chris Christie is a wildly talented politician, but mismanaged era with his shot

1:35:00 The Tea Party energy in GOP could have derailed Christie’s ambitions

1:36:15 Christie derailed Carly Fiorina’s campaign in 2016

1:37:30 Should DOJ be detached from the executive branch?

1:40:00 Founders never specified how many justices should be on SCOTUS

1:42:45 Ford pardon was a huge mistake, created protected political class

1:44:15 Where to find Sarah’s work

1:45:30 It should be easier to pass constitutional amendments

1:49:00 Chuck’s thoughts on interview with Sarah Isgur

1:49:45 ToddCast Time Machine - December 7th, 1941

1:50:30 The shock of Pearl Harbor is almost gone from living memory

1:51:00 Pearl Harbor showed the power of shared media experience

1:52:00 Radio was the height of communal media

1:52:15 December 1945, FCC gave massive expansion of FM radio

1:53:00 FM created the first fragmentation of media

1:54:00 Summer of 1980, Walkman introduced personalization in media

1:55:30 The Walkman was the beginning of mass media fragmentation

1:57:30 By 1990, 40% of minutes listened in the car weren’t radio

1:58:15 Radio never recovered from the Walkman

1:58:45 Streaming and social are diminishing TV & cable

1:59:30 For Americans under 60, almost all media consumption is on smartphones

2:02:00 Ask Chuck

2:02:15 Love for “The Barn” and the book recommendations

2:05:30 Is there any hope for a return to respectful bipartisan discourse?

2:11:15 Should we consider distributing presidential roles & diluting power?

2:16:00 What benefits do members of congress receive after leaving?

2:21:00 College football update

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