Elon Musk and his team at DOGE have moved at a remarkable pace over the last two weeks, bringing slash and burn tactics to the federal government. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has signed more than fifty executive orders, the most in a president’s first hundred days in more than forty years. With Republicans holding power in both chambers of congress, there are seemingly few checks on the administration’s actions – even as questions remain about how lawful they are.“The one venue that remains is the courts,” says Naftali Bendavid, senior national political correspondent for the Washington Post. He points out that we have already seen Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship put on hold, and Thursday afternoon a federal judge postponed the deadline for federal workers to take the administration’s “buyout” offer. Naftali Bendavid joins Diane on this week’s episode of On My Mind to talk about this week’s news and the resistance that is taking shape to counter the powers of the president. 

It has been ten days since Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term as president. Since then, he has signed a flurry of executive orders, pardoned every January 6th defendant, pushed through controversial cabinet picks, and made moves to completely reshape the federal workforce. And by most accounts, the Democratic response has been ... tepid.“Donald Trump is charting new ground for a president,” says Susan Glasser, staff writer at The New Yorker. “He is daring opponents: 'Come and get me!'"So far, Glasser adds, nobody has taken him up on the dare. But this week’s federal funding debacle might have changed the equation and given Democrats an opening.Glasser is also co-author of a book about Trump’s first four years in the White House titled The Divider, and says he seems poised to take advantage of this opportunity for a do-over. She joins Diane to talk about what we’ve seen from the new administration so far and what, if anything, Democrats can do to put a check on his power. 

Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde delivered a sermon at the National Cathedral on Tuesday in honor of Donald Trump’s inauguration. She ended with a direct address to the president.“Let me make one final plea, ” she said. “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”She went on to mention gay, lesbian and transgender children “in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families, some who fear for their lives.” She talked about families in the country without documentation who are terrified of being torn apart. In response, the president demanded an apology, claiming Budde brought politics into the church. But Bishop Budde says she stands by her words, and that reminding the country of our shared humanity is part of her duty as a member of the clergy.Bishop Budde is Diane’s faith leader, and she joins her today to explain why she felt she had to speak up and why she feels no need to apologize.

What’s behind Donald Trump’s obsession with Greenland? Most of the island is covered in ice, less than sixty thousand people live there and, until recently, it was best known for snowy photos of polar bears. But climate change has changed the equation and thrust the island into the middle of global politics. Donald Trump has repeatedly said he’d like to buy the territory, and last week at a news conference he said that taking military action to acquire it was not off the table. Sherri Goodman is secretary general of the International Military Council on Climate and Security. She is also a senior fellow at the Wilson Center and author of a new book, “Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security.” 

For the last year The Wall Street Journal has been investigating the Medicare Advantage program. It was originally created to make healthcare for seniors and the disabled more efficient. The idea was to outsource insurance to private companies to save taxpayer dollars -- and avoid providers gaming the system as they had in the traditional Medicare program.“Some of those good intentions did not foresee how companies would respond to the financial incentives that had been created,” says Christopher Weaver, one of the Journal reporters who looked at the issue. He says companies have bilked the system for billions of dollars using tactics like over diagnosing patients. Christopher Weaver joins Diane on this episode of On My Mind to share the results of his investigation – and discuss the future of the Medicare Advantage program.For more on The Wall Street Journal's series on the Medicare Advantage program: https://www.wsj.com/news/author/christopher-weaver

A note from Diane: Over the years I had the chance to interview President Jimmy Carter more than 10 times. We talked about his faith, his rural childhood, his triumphs and challenges as president, and his work as a global humanitarian after his years in the White House.He was always kind, warm, gracious and thoughtful. But what made him such an interesting person to talk to was that he never stopped learning, never stopped evolving. You could see this in how he approached the issues he cared about: housing and homelessness, the peace process in the Middle East, and international health, to name a few.Now, as we look back on his legacy, I wanted to share excerpts of our conversations with you.You can find many of Diane's conversations with President Carter in their entirety here: https://wamu.org/series/diane-rehm-in-conversation-with-president-carter-through-the-years/

Susan Page, Washington bureau chief at USA Today, brings her political expertise to discuss Joe Biden’s presidency as it nears its end. She highlights his role in overcoming the Covid crisis and achieving significant legislative successes amidst a backdrop of partisan conflict. The conversation reveals the complexities of his decision to run for a second term, which some see as a gamble that could define his legacy. Page argues that Biden's transformative potential may echo for decades, painting a nuanced picture of his impact amid public perception and challenges.

Thousands of years ago humans learned to control the power of water – and civilization was born. Now, in a new book, Jeremy Rifkin argues climate change has shifted that equation, and water is once again controlling us – with floods, droughts, hurricanes and typhoons. “The waters are rebelling,” he says. “They are literally taking down the infrastructure of our civilization in real time.”Rifkin is the author of more than 20 books about the influence of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, and the environment. He has advised governments around the globe on how to adapt economies and infrastructure to a changing world. He joins Diane to talk about his new book, “Planet Aqua,” a plea to radically rethink our relationship to water and its impact on our future.

Ann Patchett, a celebrated novelist and Parnassus Books owner, joins Eddie Glaude Jr., a prominent Princeton professor specializing in African American studies, and Maureen Corrigan, a renowned book critic from NPR. They passionately discuss their top book picks for 2024, highlighting the art of literary annotation and the emotional journeys in books like 'Sipsworth.' The trio explores themes of loss, identity, and the unique storytelling in debut novels while sharing insights on the profound connections literature fosters. A must-listen for book lovers!

Donald Trump has tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.They say they will cut one third of the federal budget, slash regulations, reduce the federal workforce ... and that it “will be easy!”David Fahrenthold is an investigative reporter at The New York Times and has covered government spending for years. He says there are certainly places where government can run more efficiently, and where waste and fraud can be eliminated. However, he adds, “It’s really hard to find places where you can cut a trillion or 2 trillion dollars and not drastically cut back the services people expect from the government. Fahrenthold joins Diane to talk about what the leaders of DOGE have in mind andwhat it will take to accomplish their goals.