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Power Check
Each week, two hosts break down how government authority actually works, where it's expanding, and who (if anyone) is pushing back.
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Episodes
The archive
20 episodes, newest first.
- Pocket Rescissions: Spending Canceled Without a VoteGrant and Maya break down how the White House budget office can cancel congressionally approved money without a single vote, and what GAO, the courts, and a stopgap bill to December 4 can actually do about it.
- How Missouri Ran Out the Clock on RedistrictingGrant and Maya revisit Louisiana v. Callais to score which states actually won the mid-decade redistricting race, then dig into how Missouri's Secretary of State used an eight-month signature count to neutralize a 300,000-person referendum before a single court could rule.
- Birthright Citizenship Survives, But Agencies Just Lost Their ShieldGrant and Maya break down Trump v. Barbara, the 6-3 ruling that struck down Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship, and ask why the same Court that just gutted Humphrey's Executor drew a hard line here.
- Can the President Fire the Fed?On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court handed down two rulings within the same hour: a 6-3 decision obliterating Humphrey's Executor and a separate 5-4 ruling blocking Trump from firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Grant and Maya break down what just changed, why the Fed got its own carve-out, and whether that protection will hold.
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- Can the President Fire Anyone He Wants?The Supreme Court is days away from ruling in Trump v. Slaughter, a case that could erase 90 years of limits on presidential power over independent agencies. Grant and Maya break down what Humphrey's Executor actually did, how the conservative supermajority already tipped its hand, and what happens to the FTC, NLRB, EEOC, and possibly the Federal Reserve if the ruling goes the way most legal observers expect.
- SCOTUS Just Handed Republicans a Map RewriteOn April 29, the Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and touched off a redistricting frenzy across Republican-led states. Grant and Maya break down exactly what the Court did, how it connects to an earlier 2019 ruling that blocked partisan gerrymandering challenges, and why Florida, Tennessee, and at least four other states are now racing to redraw congressional maps before November.
- Who Controls Your Ballot? The USPS Power Grab Heading Into 2026Trump's second elections executive order commandeers the postal service to gatekeep mail ballots before the 2026 midterms. Grant and Maya break down what the order actually does, why the president likely has no constitutional authority to do it, and whether five active lawsuits are enough to stop it in time.
- SCOTUS Took a Tariff Away. The President Got a New One.On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Learning Resources v. Trump killed the president's IEEPA tariff authority. Grant and Maya break down how a 1977 emergency law got stretched into a trillion-dollar trade weapon, why six justices said no, and what it means that the White House had a replacement statute ready before the ruling was even cold.
- When Congress Issues a Subpoena and Nobody Shows UpThe Bondi contempt showdown exposes a structural problem that goes far beyond one deposition: Congress has three ways to enforce a subpoena, and the executive branch has learned how to outlast all of them. Grant and Maya walk through the legal mechanics, the clock-running strategy, and what it actually means when oversight teeth start to dull.
- Who Controls Your State? The Federalism Fight Washington StartedGrant and Maya trace how the Trump administration is rewriting the federal-state boundary in real time, from federalized National Guard troops deployed over governors' objections to a draft executive order that would hand Washington control over the 2026 midterm elections.
Talent
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Each one has a profile of their own.
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What the show is
Power Check tracks the real mechanics behind executive orders, agency rulemaking, congressional oversight, and court decisions that redraw the boundaries of state power. Built for policy-aware citizens, government watchers, and anyone who wants to understand how institutional power shapes daily life without the partisan shouting match.
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