I'm Brian Lerer. This is my daily politics podcast from WNYC Studios. It's Monday, October 18th.

So who heard Mara Lyssen on NPR over the weekend reporting on Donald Trump, happy to indulge what might seem like

crazy talk to most people. If the Republicans take back the House in the midterm elections

next year, they might elect him, not a member of Congress, as Speaker of the House. Who knew

you could even do that? But apparently you can. That kind of talk is one reason that Congressman

Adam Schiff wrote his new book, Midnight in Washington, how he almost lost our democracy and still could.

Of course, you know, Adam Schiff is one of the main impeachment managers when Trump was trying to get Ukraine

to announce a phony investigation of Joe Biden

before the phony claim that Biden's election was rigged and riling up the crowd for insurrection

on January 6th, shouting that he would never concede. But Donald Trump, private citizen

as Speaker of the House, with me now is Congressman Adam Schiff, Democrat from

the Southern California District that includes Pasadena, West Hollywood, and elsewhere around

there. We'll also touch on his party's high-stakes negotiations still ongoing, of course,

over the physical and human infrastructure bills and how crucial those might be to keeping

the House majority in Democratic hands next year, the surest path to not having Speaker

Trump. Congressman Schiff, thanks for coming on with us. Welcome to WNYC. Thank you. It's great

to be with you. Can you explain to many listeners who might be baffled right now, hearing this for the first time and asking themselves, can they really do that appoint a non-member of Congress as Speaker of the House?

They can do that. It is not a requirement that the Speaker actually be a member of the House. And while I don't think that's likely to happen, who knows,

but the practical matter is if Kevin McCarthy were to become Speaker, there's nothing that Kevin

McCarthy wouldn't do if Trump told him to. And so functionally, Donald Trump would be the

speaker. And that is a terrifying prospect. We cannot allow someone of that

lack of ethics, that lack of decency, to ever regain power in this country. But yes,

...