Today in Politics | Explainer

In which I try to answer your questions about modern politics.... Topics covered in today’s Politics Chat: Secretary of the Navy John Phelan's firing, Pete Hegseth's consolidation of power within the Pentagon, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer's shift from sworn hearings to roundtables, the Epstein Files Transparency Act and DOJ's partial release, Pam Bondi's contempt proceedings, Todd Blanch in as Acting Attorney General, the Strait of Hormuz closure and stalled Iran negotiations, UAE request for U.S. Treasury backstop, Trump family cryptocurrency dealings, the Southern Poverty Law Center indictment, DOJ settlements with Michael Flynn and Carter Page, Senate votes on ICE funding and FISA Section 702 reauthorization. From Politics Chat, April 23, 2026 The live streamed version is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvVPhRv8qU0 Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ Resources: https://americanpromise.net/ https://redwine.blue/ https://cc4democracy.com/ https://liberalrocks.com/ https://www.commoncause.org/take-action/ https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member © 2026 Heather Cox Richardson. All Rights Reserved. All content in this video is protected by copyright. Reproduction, distribution, or re-uploading, in whole or in part, without prior written consent is prohibited.