Inside Washington’s Shutdown Games

What happens when political gamesmanship leaves 42 million Americans without essential food assistance amid an endless government shutdown?

On this fiery episode of the Tara Palmeri Show, independent journalist Tara Palmeri steps into the eye of the storm on Abby Phillip’s CNN panel as the shutdown clock ticks down on food stamps for 42 million Americans, stepping in as an independent journalist and impartial arbiter amid a screaming cross-partisan clash with Ana Kasparian and Neera Tanden, where we dissect Trump's third-term musings, Gavin Newsom's podcast pandering, the surging populist crowds behind AOC and Zohran Mamdani's socialist push, and the White House's evasion on the president's mysterious MRI, all while exposing the raw human costs of brinkmanship—from SNAP cliffs and ACA subsidy battles to affordability crises eroding trust in both parties' high-stakes tactics.

Who really holds the leverage in a shutdown that both sides claim to despise yet refuse to end without concessions?

Tara's latest piece on the government shutdown:

https://www.tarapalmeri.com/p/behind-closed-doors-why-democrats

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Tara Palmeri is one of the most feared and fearless reporters covering power and politics. She has 15 years of experience covering national politics and foreign affairs. She was formerly a White House Correspondent for ABC News where she covered the first Trump administration. She was the chief National Correspondent for POLITICO during the Biden administration. She has been a political analyst for CNBC, CBS and CNN. She started her career as a columnist for the Washington Examiner and then went on to report for the New York Post. She was a foreign correspondent for POLITICO Europe, where she covered international affairs, including Brexit. She hosted the Ringer's political podcast "Somebody's Gotta Win" and wrote a column for Puck. Tara also hosted two acclaimed podcasts on Jeffrey Epstein, "Broken: Jeffrey Epstein" and "Power: The Maxwells." Tara currently hosts the Tara Palmeri Show.

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