Post Reports Shutdown cracks, Jay Jones’s texts, Trump’s Gaza deal
10 snips
Oct 10, 2025 
In this discussion, Liz Goodwin, a seasoned national politics reporter at The Washington Post, and Dan Merica, co-anchor of The Early Brief, delve into the complexities of the government shutdown, highlighting shifting blame among parties. They explore the contentious nature of Pam Bondi's recent Senate hearing and its implications for the Trump administration. The conversation also touches on the fallout from violent text messages in Virginia's political landscape and Trump's pivotal role in a controversial Gaza peace deal, questioning the evolution of political norms.
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Public Opinion Shifts Leverage Democrats
- Polling and messaging shifted early blame toward Republicans, changing their shutdown strategy.
- Democrats used health-care framing to rally attention and force GOP to double down rather than quickly crack.
Threats As Political Leverage
- The White House used threats about furloughs and back pay as leverage to pressure Democrats.
- Dan Merica says the tactic aims to inflict pain to force Democratic concessions, though threats lose credibility if not followed through.
Fight-as-Strategy For Democrats
- Democrats now willingly accept some pain to signal resistance after feeling burned previously.
- The party values the fight itself as a way to show they are standing up to administration policies.