Another legal setback for Donald Trump

Transcript

NIALA: Good morning! Welcome to Axios Today!

It’s Friday, December 2nd.

I’m Niala Boodhoo.

Here’s what we’re covering: the UN warns of a global food crisis. Plus, the post-pandemic decline of Six Flags. But first, another legal setback for Donald Trump. Our weekly politics State of Play is today’s One Big Thing.

NIALA: This week in politics saw new leadership in Congress, legislation on same-sex marriage and Senate passage of a bill to prevent a national rail strike. Here to break it down for all of us in our Friday politics State of Play is Axios’ Managing Editor for Politics, Margaret Talev. Hi, Margaret.

MARGARET TALEV: Hi Niala.

NIALA: Margaret first, some breaking news last night on the DOJs criminal investigation into Donald Trump. A ruling that's another roadblock for the former President?

MARGARET: Well, Niala, this is an important ruling. This was an appeals court, not just any appeals court, the 11th circuit, which is a conservative leaning circuit. The appellate court striking down the judge's ruling that had allowed the appointment of a special master to begin with. The judges’ say the law is clear. We cannot write a rule that allows any subject of a search warrant to block government investigations after the execution of that warrant, nor can we write a rule that allows only former presidents to do so. They say that if that were allowed to stand, it would be a radical reordering of case law and would violate separation of powers limits. And so this is clearly a setback for Donald Trump and a victory for the Justice Department.

NIALA: Another big story from this week, the founder of Oath Keepers, Stuart Rhodes and a top deputy Kelly Meggs were both found guilty of seditious conspiracy for their role in planning the January 6th attack. What's the significance of this verdict?

MARGARET: This is very clearly the justice system and the American people saying, there are limits to the First Amendment or to protest and when people act violently outside the scope of the law, to try to, change the political process. This was the American judicial system saying, “no, you're guilty.”

NIALA: Let's turn to Congress. On Wednesday, the House Democratic Caucus elected Hakeem Jeffries from New York to serve as their new minority leader. How does this affect Democrats' political strategy in the House?

MARGARET: Well, it's a generational change of the guard. As you know, Nancy Pelosi, in stepping aside from leadership, also cleared the field and allowed not just Hakeem Jeffries, but his leadership team, Katherine Clark, Pete Aguilar, to ascend. Hakeem Jeffries is a different generational figure than Nancy Pelosi. This allows a new generation to take hold he's been trying to find, his own new space in leadership. It is, I would say, arguably easier to do when you're in the minority, as Democrats will be starting in January and that gives him and his team some time to find their footing. But when you look at how unified Democrats appear to be at this moment compared to across the aisle, it's just a night and day comparison and right now, all Democrats are kind of rallying around that moment recognizing that Democrats' ability to stay unified as Republicans kind of turn against one another could give them a real boost as the minority starting in January.

NIALA: The Respect for Marriage Act passed in the Senate this week. What does this accomplish?

MARGARET: This was congress codifying the federal right to same sex marriage. Which the Supreme Court has made that a right now. That has been a right for years, but with the end of Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that not only should Roe v. Wade be gone, but in that privacy space, other major rulings should be reexamined, including the ruling that paved the way for recognition of same-sex marriage. The real concern, among gay Americans around the country, and among many Democrats was, could the Supreme Court undo the right to gay marriage. By codifying it Congress was passing the Defensive Marriage Act, prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriage. And that cultural sea change has driven the political imperative. You saw a dozen Republicans sign on in the Senate to this effort. It was a wedge issue for Democrats once upon a time, gay marriage. It's now a wedge issue for Republicans.

NIALA: The Senate passed legislation yesterday to prevent a national rail strike. It did not include paid sick leave, which is why many rail workers had rejected the deal to begin with. How come Congress can force rail workers to accept this agreement that they didn't vote for?

MARGARET: It all has to do with interstate commerce, right? There's a railway labor act that's about a century old, gives the president the power to intervene in some interstate commerce issues and Congress per the Supreme Court also has the power to regulate interstate commerce, including rail labor dispute issues if they are determined to impact trade across state lines. But, as long as the Supreme Court continues to say that Congress has the power to regulate these issues, Congress and the President do have the power to step in.

NIALA: Margaret Talev is Axios’ managing Editor for politics. Thanks, Margaret.

MARGARET: Thanks Niala.

The UN warns of a global food crisis

NIALA: As food prices continue to squeeze consumers here in the US, just yesterday the United Nations asked international donors for $51.5 billion to stave off a global food crisis.

That’s all because food and fertilizer shipments have been significantly disrupted by the war in Ukraine, as well as a looming economic crisis, and ongoing climate-related disasters.

SARA MENKER: When you look at a two to two and a half year window of price increases around the world, you're looking at places like Syria who've had 700% plus increases in price of food over the last two and a half years, or Turkey’s 400%, or, you know, Ethiopia is at over 170%.”

NIALA: That’s Sara Menker, the Founder and CEO of Gro Intelligence, a company that uses data and AI to make predictions about climate change and food security. I interviewed her for an Axios event yesterday.

SARA MENKER: It does worry me that while we even start to resolve parts of the inflation problem, issues associated with greater society at large is far from resolved.

NIALA: The UN appeal warns that this is quote “the largest global food crisis in modern history.” End quote. We’ll include a link to the entire conversation I had with Sara in our show notes.

In a moment – why one major regional theme park company is floundering.

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The post-pandemic decline of Six Flags

NIALA: Welcome back to Axios Today! I’m Niala Boodhoo.

Amusement parks took a big hit during the pandemic and as Covid restrictions eased in 2021, attendance numbers began climbing back up.

But…not all parks. Six Flags is having a painful ride this year and Axios’ Michael Mooney is here with the details from Dallas, Texas not far from its Arlington headquarters.

Hey Michael, so how much is this huge regional theme park company struggling?

MICHAEL MOONEY: Their attendance, according to their latest quarterly earnings report is down 33%, from last year. And last year was 2021 right outside of a pandemic. So they are really, really struggling.

NIALA: What's going wrong here?

MICHAEL: It's a combination of things. But to see the hit and the incredibly rapid decline of the company, in Six Flags' case is kind of surprising. Their new CEO is trying to implement a new strategy that would involve raising ticket prices, which would in theory lower the attendance a little bit, and lower wait times and kind of increase the overall enjoyment of every customer. While as a bonus saving money on the employees that you don't have to be there for the smaller crowds, but it does not seem to be working so far as revenue is down drastically. I think it was down 21% over last year.

NIALA: What about competition?

MICHAEL: Yeah, so the biggest competition nationwide is probably Cedar Fair Entertainment. And Cedar Fair is doing really well. Their profits were way up, you know, Disney has rebounded at least a little bit, although they have a new shakeup as well at the top. So it's hard to say if there's a way to right this ship, or if this is just the new normal going forward for Six Flags.

NIALA: If this is the new normal going forward for Six Flags, what does that mean for the North Texas area?

MICHAEL: Six Flags has been a staple of North Texas entertainment for a really long time. The Six Flags of Texas is how that company got its name. And in Arlington the entire entertainment district is built around Six Flags. So if Six Flags goes away, it's gonna be a huge hit for the entertainment industry in general in North Texas.

NIALA: Axios’ Dallas Reporter Michael Mooney. Thanks, Michael.

MICHAEL: Thank you very much.

NIALA: That’s it for us this week. Axios Today is produced by Fonda Mwangi, Amy Pedulla, Robin Linn, and Lydia McMullen-Laird. Our sound engineer is Alex Sugiura and Ben O’Brien. Alexandra Botti is our supervising producer. Sara Kehaulani Goo is Axios’ editor in chief. And special thanks as always to Axios co-founder Mike Allen.

I’m Niala Boodhoo. Stay safe, enjoy your weekend and we’ll see you back here on Monday.