New BLS Head, Trump v Higher Ed, Reclassifying Marijuana

Mike and Joey open this midweek supporters’ episode with a discussion of President Trump nominating  E.J. Antoni to run the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mike argues that Antoni is too inexperienced for the position, while Joey counters that it’s Antoni’s lack of time in the establishment that may make him a more effective change agent at BLS. They both agree that there are significant issues with BLS’s data collection methodology that need to be addressed. Next is a look at President Trump’s continuing battle against elite universities. Mike allows that the administration has a civil rights case to make, but that using the stick of removing unrelated federal funding is both inappropriate and potentially unconstitutional. Joey argues that federal dollars are the people’s money, Trump was elected by the people, and so using the threat of ending federal funding is an entirely appropriate way to force change in elite higher ed. They close by considering whether President Trump will continue Biden-era efforts to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III in federal drug classification. Mike argues that this could actually bolster the case for the anti-marijuana side, an argument Joey finds compelling. Joey points out the legitimacy issues that arise when there is widespread defiance of the law, making a case for clear federal supremacy when the federal government is acting within proper constitutional constraints.  The Politics Guys on Facebook | X Mike’s Substack: What Fresh Hell is This? Check out the excellent Sustainable Planet podcast. Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible. You can support us or change your level of support at patreon.com/politicsguys or politicsguys.com/support. On Venmo, we’re @PoliticsGuys. The Politics Guys is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices