Foxconn’s proposed technology plant is getting closer to becoming a reality, but concerns about the company’s track record remain. Our guest shares his observations from visiting other Foxconn plants and how he thinks the Wisconsin facility would shape up. We also look into what the rollback of Title IX protections could mean for sexual assault investigations on college campuses. Plus, we discuss new signs of bipartisanship between President Trump and congressional Democrats, from DACA to the debt ceiling.
Featured in this Show
-
President Trump's Cooperation With Democrats Garners Mixed Support As 'Deal Maker'
President Donald Trump has made a living branding himself as a deal maker.
And yet, Congressional Republicans were shocked last week when Trump endorsed a Democratic Party-backed deal to temporarily raise the nation’s debt ceiling and provide hurricane relief money for parts of the southern U.S.
Then, just days later, Democratic leaders U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi announced they were working on another deal with the president. This time, protections for young immigrants in the wake of his repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program earlier this month.
The bipartisan deals were unexpected after years of partisan gridlock. But will they work? Some are skeptical.
“His first attempt at bipartisanship was done basically on the spur of the moment and surprised Pelosi and Schumer as much as it surprised his own (Republican) colleagues (Senate Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell and (House Speaker Paul) Ryan,” said political analyst and author Elaine Kamarck “And that is the problem here. The problem is not bipartisanship which everybody kind of likes and could get behind. The problem is that you never know what this president is going to do. So we don’t know how long this little love affair with the Democrats will last.”
Kamarck is a senior fellow in governance studies program at the Brookings Institution and the author of “Why Presidents Fail and How They Can Succeed Again.” She said she’s glad that Trump might help save DACA, but she worries the deals could be seen as abandoning his base, a Republican Party that she says is already full of internal strife and might not want such a drastic policy shift.
“There is no problem with making deals. Except that he’s so far out on so many issues that he’s in a sort of lose-lose situation,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of people who voted for him who are going to have a different opinion and they’re in the House, at least. They’re not going to vote for a deal.”
Some conservative Trump-backers were vocally unhappy about the deal, including conservative website Breitbart and cable-news commentator Ann Coulter. They accused him of softening his immigration stance.
Publicly, Congressional Republicans were warmer to the idea. McConnell and Ryan supported Trump’s bipartisan deal for emergency relief spending.
But Ryan dismissed the DACA talks as “preliminary,” according to the Washington Post.
“The president understands he has to work with the congressional majorities to get any kind of legislative solution,” he said at a Capitol Hill news conference, according to the Post.
Some Democrats worry that Trump’s deal could come with changes in border security, which Trump said would be necessary for his approval.
In a Thursday statement, Pelosi and Schumer said the president had agreed to support congressional action on DACA, but that the details were still up in the air.
-
What Is The Future Of Campus Sexual Assault Policies?
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos recently signaled that significant changes are being considered when it comes to how schools handle sexual assault allegations to ensure the process is fair to accused students. We talk with an author of a recent book about campus sexual assault about her reaction to the rollback of Obama-era policies. We’ll also discuss the prevalence of sexual assault and the role of colleges and universities in addressing it.
-
What to Expect From the FoxConn Deal
A reporter visits FoxConn sites in Indiana and Japan to gather information about how the FoxConn deal could play out here in Wisconsin.
-
Bipartisanship In The Era Of Trump
After a week of high-profile meetings with Democratic leaders, President Trump seems to be embracing bipartisanship. Last week he sided with House and Senate Minority Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer on a three-month deal to raise the debt ceiling. Republican leaders objected to the three-month extension. Wednesday night the president met with Pelosi and Schumer again to work on the broad strokes of legislation that would give legal status to “Dreamers,” who are undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. CNN reports that Trump has invited more Democrats to the White House than Republicans in the past week. We look at bipartisanship in the era of President Donald Trump.
Episode Credits
- Rob Ferrett Host
- Veronica Rueckert Host
- Amanda Magnus Producer
- Veronica Rueckert Producer
- Elaine Kamarck Guest
- Lawrence Tabak Guest
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2024, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
