The Phrase that Could End Trump's National Guard Power Grab

Talking Feds

Harry Litman

News, Politics, Government

4.8 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Harry talks to Marty Lederman, the former Deputy Assistant Attorney General who authored an amicus brief with a legal discovery that has shaken the Administration's attempt to deploy the National Guard to Chicago and other Democrat-led cities. Marty and Harry explain the critical oversight in the administration's reasoning, and they think through what a bruising legal defeat would mean for the effort to put boots on the ground in American cities. It's a possible game changer in a case Harry has called a "moment of truth for the High Court." Mentioned in this episode: Harry's Substack about the stakes of this case: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/moment-of-truth-for-the-high-court The Supreme Court's request for briefs on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/102925zr_hgci.pdf Marty Lederman's expanded brief on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25A443/384148/20251110232925983_25A443.Lederman.Supplemental.Amicus.Brief.1110.pdf Illinois and Chicago's expanded brief on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25A443/384145/20251110210604383_Illinois%20Supplemental%20Letter%20Brief%20Master%20Final%20To%20File%20PDFA.pdf The administration's expanded brief on the phrase "the regular forces": https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25A443/384115/20251110170907870_25a443%20Trump%20v.%20Illinois%20-%20Supp.%20Letter%20Br.pdf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey Anna, I've got a new secret weapon for print.
0:02.2	Print?
0:02.9	Vista print, right?
0:04.0	That's not a secret. Print everything for your business with Vistaprint. Business cards, stickers, t-shirt, signage, even photo books from your last holiday. If you need it, we print it at vistoprint.co.uk. Between school runs, after school clubs and endless errands, the dinner time juggle is real. But thanks to Deliveroo, you can tick
0:22.4	one thing off the list with Family Dinneroo. Enjoy a range of family-sized meals for 25 pounds or less
0:29.0	from favourites like Wagamama, Pizza Express, Bills and more. Available Monday to Thursday,
0:34.3	430 to 6.30pm. Order now. Selected restaurants subject to availability,
0:40.1	geographical restrictions and terms of prior prices exclude fees, see delivery.com.uk for details.
0:49.3	Welcome to Talking Fed's one-on-one, deep-dive discussions with national figures about the most fascinating and consequential issues, defining our culture, and shaping our lives.
1:04.9	I'm your host, Harry Littman.
1:07.5	Followers of this YouTube channel know that I think of the Trump v. Illinois case, currently
1:13.3	at the Supreme Court on the administration's emergency motion to be potentially a vehicle for
1:20.1	the court to green light extreme deference to Trump in assertion of emergency powers,
1:26.5	which in turn could have manifold repercussions.
1:31.0	So I and others immediately stood up and took notice when the court told the parties to submit
1:37.9	supplemental briefs on the meaning of a phrase at the heart of one of Trump's theories. It was an unusual move that suggested
1:47.2	the resolution of the motion could turn on the proper interpretation of that phrase.
1:54.2	It was even more unusual because the parties apparently hadn't thought of it. The argument
1:58.9	emerged in an amicus brief authored by a Georgetown constitutional
2:03.5	law professor and former DOJ official well known at the court and in Washington circles and an old
2:10.8	friend. So it's great to welcome him today, especially because he is sleep deprived from submitting
2:16.8	his own new brief late last night in response to
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Harry Litman, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Harry Litman and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.