AirTalk

Shutdown-gate-palooza-fest, White House exodus continues with Mattis resignation, troops withdrawal from Afghanistan

By AirTalk Staff

Published Dec 21, 2018 9:35 AM

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 25: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Defense Secretary James Mattis arrive for an event commemorating the 35th anniversary of attack on the Beirut Barracks in the East Room of the White House October 25, 2018 in Washington, DC. On October 23, 1983 two truck bombs struck the buildings housing Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) peacekeepers, killing 241 U.S. and 58 French peacekeepers and 6 civilians. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Listen 1:36:09

Facing a midnight deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown, President Donald Trump said Friday a closure could drag on "for a very long time." We also discuss one of the most significant moves by President Trump to reshape the immigration system; review this weekend’s new movie releases; and more.

Shutdown-gate-palooza-fest, White House exodus continues with Mattis resignation, troops withdrawal from Afghanistan

Listen 29:35

Shutdown-gate-palooza-fest, White House exodus continues with Mattis resignation, troops withdrawal from Afghanistan

Facing a midnight deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown, President Donald Trump said Friday a closure could drag on "for a very long time" and he tried to lay blame on congressional Democrats if there's no deal over his demand for U.S.-Mexico border wall money.

In other DC news, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis resigned yesterday, apparently over President Trump’s decision to order troops withdrawal from Syria earlier this week. Hours after the Mattis’s announcement to depart, the White House said that it’ll pull 7,000 troops from Afghanistan.

With files from the Associated Press.

Guests:

Sahil Kapur, national politics reporter for Bloomberg News who has been following the story; he tweets at

Tweets by sahilkapur

Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush

Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies. He is also a former senior Obama advisor in 2008; he tweets

Tweets by RodStrategies

Trump admin says those seeking asylum will have to wait in Mexico until cases decided

Listen 12:45

Trump admin says those seeking asylum will have to wait in Mexico until cases decided

People seeking asylum at the U.S. border with Mexico will no longer be released in the United States and will instead be forced to wait in Mexico under a policy announced Thursday that marks one of the most significant moves by President Donald Trump to reshape the immigration system.

The measure is an aggressive response to a large and growing number of Central American asylum seekers, many of them families, who are typically released in the United States while their cases slowly wind through clogged immigration courts. It does not apply to children traveling alone or to Mexican asylum seekers.

Critics, including some legal experts, said migrants would be unsafe in some Mexican border towns and said the U.S. was illegally abandoning its humanitarian role, hinting at a legal challenge against a backdrop of previous courtroom setbacks for Trump on immigration.

We dive into the legality of the move, as well as its repercussions.

With files from the Associated Press.

Guests:

Jan C. Ting, professor of law at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; he was the assistant commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the US DOJ from 1990-1993

Kennji Kizuka, senior researcher and policy analyst whose focuses include refugee issues at Human Rights First, a human rights organization based in Los Angeles, New York and DC

FilmWeek: ‘Vice,’ ‘Aquaman,’ ‘On the Basis of Sex,’ and more

Listen 47:49

FilmWeek: ‘Vice,’ ‘Aquaman,’ ‘On the Basis of Sex,’ and more

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Amy Nicholson, Lael Loewenstein and Tim Cogshell review this weekend’s new movie releases.

"Vice" in wide release (releases on Tuesday December 25)
- John Horn interviewed Vice's director Adam McKay earlier this week on The Frame, which you can listen to here
"Aquaman" in wide release
"On the Basis of Sex" at the ArcLight Hollywood & the Landmark Theatre (releases on Tuesday December 25)
- The Frame host John Horn interviewed Mimi Leder, the director of "On the Basis of Sex", earlier this week. You can listen to that interview here
"Bumblebee" in wide release
"Cold War" at Laemmle's Royal Theatre
"Destroyer" at the ArcLight Hollywood (releases on Monday December 24)
"Welcome to Marwen" in wide release
- Steve Carell, the star of "Welcome to Marwen" was interviewed by John Horn earlier this week about his role in the film. You can listen to that interview here
"All is True" at Laemmle's Monica Film Center
"Holmes and Watson" in wide release (releases on Tuesday December 25)
"Second Act" in wide release
"Swing Kids" at CGV Cinemas La & CGV Cinemas Buena Park
"Between Worlds" at Arena Cinelounge Sunset
"American Renegades" at Arena Cinelounge Sunset
"Fiddler On the Roof" in select theaters (check local listings) (releases Monday December 24)