RFK jr Takes on Fat Governor, USAID Officially Closed, Maher Grills Newsom

 • RFK Jr. tells Governor Morrissey "you look like you ate Governor Morrissey" and proposes monthly weigh-ins to address obesity in America's fattest state
• West Virginia announces ban on certain food dyes and submits waiver to prohibit SNAP participants from purchasing soda with benefits
• State Department officially terminates USAID after court ruling allows Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to continue cost-cutting
• Secretary Rubio states USAID "strayed from its original mission" with State Department absorbing many functions by July 1st
• Bill Maher urges Governor Newsom to "take a chainsaw" to California's regulatory nightmare, suggesting they "DOGE out" bureaucracy
• Newsom admits excessive regulation is "an indictment of liberal governance" but blames Republicans for establishing many regulations 

 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. challenges West Virginia's Governor Morrissey to monthly public weigh-ins in a direct approach to tackle America's obesity epidemic. The Trump administration pulls the plug on USAID following a court victory, while Bill Maher confronts California Governor Gavin Newsom about excessive regulations. 

Source Credits:

 https://nypost.com/2025/03/29/us-news/rfk-jr-dares-governor-of-west-virginia-americas-fattest-state-to-do-regular-public-weigh-ins/ https://nypost.com/2025/03/28/us-news/state-department-shutters-usaid-after-trump-court-victory/ https://nypost.com/2025/03/29/us-news/bill-maher-grills-newsom-over-california-regulations-presses-liberal-gov-to-doge-the-s-out-of-bureaucracy/  

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Chapters

• 0:01 Show Introduction
• 1:32 RFK Jr's Obesity Challenge
• 3:39 USAID Shutdown
• 6:22 Maher vs. California Regulations
• 8:54 Episode Wrap-up

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hello America, joc, here with your Ranting Politics Headline Updates, where we are diving into today's most explosive political stories that you need to know about Coming up. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is on a mission to slim down America's fattest state, and he's starting at the top. Rfk Jr has challenged West Virginia's Governor Morrissey to monthly public weigh-ins. Yeah, you heard that right. The secretary told the governor he looked like he ate. Governor Morrissey, talk about tough love from the administration. Then the State Department is officially pulling the plug on USAID after Team Trump scored a big win in federal court. Secretary Rubio says they're reorienting foreign aid to directly benefit Americans, while Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency continues its budget-slashing mission. And finally, bill Maher went full bulldozer on California's Gavin Newsom, begging the governor to take a chainsaw to the state's regulatory nightmare. Maher even dropped a Doge reference, asking Newsom to doge the suck out of California's bureaucracy. Stick around for all this and more in your daily dose of unfiltered news and common sense commentary. This is Ranting Politics Headline Updates, man. Talk about a public health campaign with some bite.

Speaker 1: 1:35

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr isn't pulling any punches in his mission to tackle America's obesity epidemic. During a joint event in West Virginia on Friday, kennedy put Governor Patrick Morrissey on the spot in what might be the most direct approach to public health we've seen from an administration official. Kennedy didn't mince words when recalling his first meeting with Morrissey during the transition period. He told the audience the first time I saw him I said you look like you ate, governor Morrissey. Time I saw him I said you look like you ate, governor Morrissey. Ouch, talk about cutting right to the point. But Kennedy didn't stop there. He proposed that the governor participate in monthly public weigh-ins, even asking audience members to raise their hands if they wanted to see Morrissey step on the scale. The HHS chief doubled down by vowing to return to West Virginia for a celebration when the governor sheds 30 pounds.

Speaker 1: 2:24

The context matters here. West Virginia currently holds the unfortunate distinction of being America's most obese state. Cdc data shows that 41% of West Virginians are obese, making it one of only three states with an obesity prevalence over 40%. For perspective, the World Obesity Foundation ranks the US as the 19th most obese country globally, with 43% of American adults classified as obese. Beyond the personal challenge, there was actually substantial policy. Announced at the event, kennedy and Morrissey revealed a ban on certain food dyes and the governor announced that West Virginia has submitted a waiver to prohibit SNAP participants from using benefits to purchase soda. Morrissey framed the move as putting nutrition back into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, while Kennedy urged every governor nationwide to follow West Virginia's lead, stating "if there's one thing we can agree on, it should be eliminating taxpayer-funded soda subsidies for lower-income kids". Kennedy also revealed plans to put Morrissey on what he called a rigorous regimen, including a carnivore diet. I guess when you're the nation's top health official, your prescription pad extends to governors' dietary habits too.

Speaker 1: 3:39

Big news out of Washington today, as the State Department has officially pulled the plug on the US Agency for International Development, commonly known as USAID. Development, commonly known as USAID. This comes after a significant court victory for the Trump administration that essentially greenlights Elon Musk's cost-cutting crusade through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOJ. Secretary of State Marco Rubio didn't hold back in his statement, saying Foreign assistance, done right, can advance our national interests, protect our borders and strengthen our partnerships with key allies. Unfortunately, usaid strayed from its original mission long ago. As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high. The closure follows a federal appeals court decision where a three-judge panel rejected a request to halt Musk's termination of employees and contracts. The case was brought by 26 current and former USAID employees who claim Musk was unconstitutionally acting as the Doge administrator and circumventing Congress. But here's the kicker the Department of Justice successfully argued that Musk was simply serving as a senior advisor to Trump, not as the Doge administrator, and that the Secretary of State was actually USAID's leader who approved the budget-trimming moves. According to internal memos reported by the New York Post, the State Department intends to assume responsibility for many of USAID's functions and programs, with the transition expected to be completed by July 1st. The memo also mentions that all non-statutory positions at USAID will be eliminated.

Speaker 1: 5:11

This is no small change we're talking about. Usaid had an annual budget of roughly $40 billion and was responsible for funding critical health care and foreign aid programs worldwide, but it had also faced years of criticism from Republican lawmakers for allegedly funding left-wing initiatives. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast of criticism from Republican lawmakers for allegedly funding left-wing initiatives. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast had previously called out several USAID grants, including $2.5 million for electric vehicles in Vietnam, $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia and $32,000 for a Peruvian transgender comic book Rubio emphasized that under President Trump, this misguided and fiscally irresponsible era is now over, adding that foreign assistance programs are being reoriented to align directly with what is best for the United States and our citizens. This massive shift in how America handles foreign aid is almost certainly headed for further legal challenges, but for now, the Trump administration and Doge are claiming a significant victory in their quest to trim the federal budget.

Speaker 1: 6:22

Hbo's real-time host, bill Maher, didn't hold back when he confronted California Governor Gavin Newsom about the state's regulatory nightmare. During a fiery exchange on his show last Friday, maher, speaking from personal experience, complained to Newsom about having to pay for two inspections for simple roof upgrades following wildfires in Pacific Palisades. It's my roof, maher exclaimed with clear frustration. If it falls on my head, that's my problem. The liberal host reminded Newsom of his previous appearance on the show, where the governor had promised a completely new day regarding California's notorious regulatory burden. When Newsom acknowledged eliminating bureaucratic hurdles was our job, maher immediately fired back with how's that going, though? The governor tried to highlight how his administration responds well during emergencies, citing the rapid repair of Interstate 10 after fires and expedited debris removal.

Speaker 1: 7:17

Newsom went on to make a surprising admission, calling needless regulation an indictment of liberal governance and leadership and taking ownership of the years-long delays plaguing California's high-speed rail and housing developments. But Maher wasn't letting him off the hook that easily. When the governor gave a long-winded response that didn't address Maher's specific complaint about the high-speed rail route, the comedian called him out on his political pivoting, saying it's why you'd be a good candidate. You play this game well. In perhaps the most pointed moment of the exchange, maher listed the extensive bureaucracy involved in California governance, from regulators and administrators to zoning officers, consultants and lobbyists. Then he delivered the money line Can't you take a chainsaw? Can't we doge out of these people? The doge reference was particularly biting, alluding to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency that's making waves in the federal government, as we just covered with the USAID closure. While Newsom claimed his administration is moving in that direction very aggressively, he quickly pivoted to blaming Republicans for establishing many of the regulations in the first place. Just a week earlier, maher had warned Democrats that their party might meet the same fate as the Whigs if they don't embrace deregulation a clear signal that even liberal voices are growing frustrated with the bureaucratic excesses of blue states like California. According to Axios, this regulatory battle represents a growing fault line, not just between parties but within the Democratic coalition itself. And that's a wrap for today's Ranting Politics headline updates.

Speaker 1: 8:54

Let's quickly revisit our top stories. Hhs Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is on a mission to make America healthy again, starting with West Virginia, america's fattest state. In a bold move, kennedy challenged Governor Morrissey to monthly public weigh-ins and promised to return for a celebration when the governor drops 30 pounds. And promised to return for a celebration when the governor drops 30 pounds. Meanwhile, kennedy and Morrissey are working to put the nutrition back in snap by prohibiting soda purchases with benefits. The Trump administration scored a major victory as the State Department officially announced the closure of USAID, with Secretary Rubio declaring an end to what he called a misguided and fiscally irresponsible era. This follows a federal court ruling that rejected challenges to Elon Musk's Doge cost-cutting initiatives, with many USA defunctions set to be absorbed by the State Department by July 1st.

Speaker 1: 9:44

And Bill Maher gave California Governor Gavin Newsom an earful about the state's regulatory nightmare, suggesting they doge the S out of bureaucracy, despite Newsom acknowledging that excessive regulation is an indictment of liberal governance. Maher clearly wasn't buying the governor's promises of reform. Remember to follow us on X at Ranting RP and find us on YouTube, spotify, iheartradio, apple Podcasts and at RantingPoliticscom. This is JOC signing off and thank you, our loyal listeners, for choosing Ranting Politics Headline Updates. We'll be back soon with the updates you need to navigate these interesting times. Until then, stay tuned, stay informed and, as always, stay free.