The Bulwark Daily
The Bulwark Daily

Bill Kristol: Republicans Are a Mess

August 10, 2026

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5 min read

Bill Kristol: Republicans Are a Mess

The U.S. Senate passed a government funding bill on Friday by a vote of 90 to 6, pushing the next shutdown fight past the midterm elections into December. Only five Democrats voted against it, along with Rand Paul. Tim Miller and Bill Kristol were both frustrated. "We take a position, it loses 90 to 6 in the United States Senate, and we're still thinking, hey, we're right," Kristol said. The continuing resolution funds the status quo — ICE operations, the Iran war, and other programs the two hosts consider destructive — through the fall. Miller noted that the House still has to vote on the Senate's version, leaving a narrow window for Democrats to pick a fight if they wanted one. But they didn't. Kristol saw one silver lining: the CR effectively stalls the Republican reconciliation bill, which would have poured another $60 billion into defense and other appropriations. Still, both men worried the Democratic strategy of avoiding confrontation was premature. "This is like teams going into prevent defense much too early," Kristol said. Miller pointed out that Democrats had won the previous two shutdown fights politically — first in fall 2023, which coincided with Trump's polling decline and strong Democratic results in Virginia and New Jersey, and then after Minneapolis, when they successfully stripped ICE funding from the broader budget. "T

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:12) **Intro & Government Funding Fight** - Tim Miller and Bill Kristol kick off the Monday episode, lamenting the "doldrums of August" and the state of play on Capitol Hill.
  • 2 (08:31) **Max Miller Scandal & Ohio Politics** - The hosts examine the GOP’s refusal to push out credibly accused domestic abuser and House candidate Max Miller, and the ripple effects in Ohio races.
  • 3 (14:12) **Tucker Carlson & America First Third Party** - A discussion on a reported meeting between Joe Kent, MTG, Tucker Carlson, and Thomas Massie to discuss a potential America First Party for 2028.
  • 4 (21:10) **Trump’s Iran Rant & War Dysfunction** - Tim reads a rambling, off-teleprompter quote from Trump in Nevada about Iran, nuclear weapons, and negotiations, exposing his incoherence on the issue.
  • 5 (27:10) **Defense Department Dysfunction & Hegseth** - The conversation pivots to the state of the Pentagon, Lockheed/Raytheon blocking Ukrainian missile production, and Pete Hegseth’s role.
  • 6 (34:41) **Todd Blanche Confirmation & GOP Capitulation** - A post-mortem on the Senate’s 50-52 vote to confirm Todd Blanche as Deputy AG, focusing on the pathetic capitulation of Senators like Cassidy and Cornyn.
  • 7 (38:15) **Haiti, ICE, & The Border Wall Folly** - A look at the administration’s cruel and counterproductive immigration policies, from targeting Haitians to building a useless wall through a national park.

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Guests on this episode

Bill Kristol Tim Miller

Show Notes

The party is sticking with Max Miller despite the very credible domestic abuse allegations. Not only is this a gift to his Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, in that red district in Ohio, it’s also likely to impact the Senate and governor's races there as well. Meanwhile, Tucker and MTG are talking about creating a third party for 2028. And Trump is losing to Iran so badly he can’t even make a coherent argument about the war for his biggest fans. Plus: the ankle monitoring of Haitian immigrants is very Soviet-era Eastern Bloc, defense contractors don’t want Ukraine making Patriot missiles because they can do it for less money, Trump is literally giving Mexico territory so he can build his corrupt border wall through Big Bend National Park, and Tim keeps his promise and shares some history on bananas.

Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.
show notes:

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