I spent 37 years of my life as a small business owner. I had a great conversation with Richard Trent, Executive Director of Main Street Alliance, a group of 30,000 small business owners who’ve organized to reclaim economic and political power for small businesses across the country.

https://armscontrolcenter.org/

USAID’s funding was only about 0.5% of our total budget, yet its impact has been felt around the world. It provides health and education to some of the most impoverished people on the planet, saving millions of lives every year.

But in early 2025, Trump took a sledgehammer to USAID, crushing our humanitarian efforts & diplomatic influence on the world stage.

I had a great discussion with Allison McManus with the Center for American Progress on the importance of USAID and what comes next.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett is a progressive titan in Congress. I had a great discussion with him about closing tax loopholes for the ultra-wealthy, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and more!

The Pentagon is reportedly planning to ask Congress for an additional $200 billion for their war of choice with Iran, after spending more than $1 billion a day already. Why should we continue to give more money to the Pentagon year after year, despite the fact that they are unable to pass an audit? Now is the perfect time to answer those questions and more with Savannah Wooten from Public Citizen on my podcast, With Liberty and Justice for Some.

Whenever I speak with small business owners, they tell me how Trump’s illegal tariffs are still impacting them in major ways.

As a former small business owner of more than three decades, I know firsthand how important small businesses are to our community. For this week’s episode of my podcast, I spoke with three local small business owners to hear their experience.

https://x.com/atrupar?lang=en

https://internationalpolicy.org/