Unhinged: A Return to Washington

Sep 5, 2025

Join Jessica Washington, a keen politics reporter at The Intercept, and Matt Sledge, who dives into Congressional affairs, as they dissect the urgent political landscape facing Congress. They tackle the looming government shutdown and the turmoil around the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, highlighting its potential to overshadow critical legislation. The discussion also touches on military involvement in urban areas and the Democrats' struggles against Trump’s tough-on-crime agenda. Buckle up for a whirlwind tour of DC's chaotic environment!

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Mask Is Off: Threats Become Policy

Akela Lacy frames the moment as unusually destabilized with presidential threats becoming policy rather than rhetoric.
She warns that escalation of executive actions raises the question of who can check presidential power.

INSIGHT

Shutdown Looms Over A Crowded Hill

Matt Sledge says the looming government shutdown dominates lawmakers' agenda as they return to Capitol Hill.
He highlights the shutdown risk layered on a crowded legislative calendar including defense and other fights.

ANECDOTE

Discharge Petition Targets Epstein Files

Reporters describe the bipartisan push to force release of DOJ Epstein files via a discharge petition.
Ro Khanna believes Democrats plus some Republicans could reach 218 signatures to force a vote.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein. Another government shutdown. The U.S. military shooting down a boat. The Centers for Disease Control is in turmoil just ahead of flu season. And where in the world will the National Guard go next?

This is the world Congress returned to this week. If your head is spinning, you’re not the only one. This week on The Intercept Briefing, we break it all down with host Akela Lacy and politics reporters Jessica Washington and Matt Sledge.

“The biggest thing hanging over everybody is this looming shutdown,” says Sledge. Congress needs to negotiate a budget extension before a potential October 1 shutdown. And, as Sledge notes, there are a handful of expected fights this session that could hamstring Congress. “There are a million other things happening on Capitol Hill. There's a big defense bill working its way through the House and Senate. And then there’s this whole Epstein situation,” he says, “which threatens to derail everything else.”

On Wednesday morning, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-KY, and Ro Khanna, D-CA, held a press conference with Epstein’s victims, where they announced a bill to force a vote to release the full Department of Justice investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein.

“Democrats are saying, well, this is something we should do regardless, it is very clearly also a political issue in the sense that Trump has a real weakness with his base,” says Washington. “Democrats perhaps were slow to understand how much of a political liability this was for Trump. But they’re waking up, and this does very clearly seem to be an issue that is, if not partisan — obviously we're seeing Republicans join in as well — deeply political in nature.”

Listen to the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

You can support our work at theintercept.com/join. Your donation, no matter the amount, makes a real difference.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.