The Next Level

The Secret Podcast is available exclusively to paid subscribers of The Bulwark. You can join on Apple Podcasts, Substack or YouTube!
Last night news broke that President Trump would drop his $10b lawsuit against the IRS if the people who work for him at the Justice Department would create a $1.7b fund out of taxpayer dollars and allow him to appoint five commissioners to run this fund and they would award money to anyone they deemed fit.
Oh, and that the list of people given money would be secret. And Trump could replace the commissioners any time he wanted, for no reason.
The Trump administration is positioning this as a “truth and reconciliation commission.” Which is amazing.
For a decade JVL (and to a lesser extent Sarah) have wanted a truth and reconciliation commission to document accounts of what people did during the Trump era. And now the monkey’s paw has granted their wish.
We get a truth and reconciliation commission designed to help the people who did the Trump era.
As you can imagine, Sarah and JVL have a lot to say about this. Strap in.

JVL, Sarah Longwell, and Tim Miller discuss the Virginia redistricting ruling, what it means for elections this November, and whether Democrats need to start playing as dirty as their opponents. Plus: the Iran war is a strategic catastrophe that most Americans don't understand yet, and what Bob Kagan—the man who cheered on every Middle East intervention—now thinks about where this is all heading. And Marjorie Taylor Greene has moved to Costa Rica. Seriously.
Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to https://Quince.com/thenextlevel for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too.
For a limited time, Wildgrain is offering our listeners $30 off your first box—PLUS free Croissants for life—when you go to https://Wildgrain.com/THENEXTLEVEL to start your subscription today.
JOIN US! We’ll have some chatty friends joining us on stage for Bulwark Live in San Diego on May 20 and Los Angeles on May 21. For details or to grab your seats today head to https://TheBulwark.com/Events.

The full episode is available exclusively to paid members of The Bulwark. You can join on Apple Podcasts, Substack or YouTube.
Sarah and JVL had a big show planned for you. Lots of different subjects. Important news. Funny stories. The whole nine.
And then everything derailed as they went SUPER deep on Graham Platner and the meta-debate about him. If you think Platner has electoral upside, you love Nazis. If you have concerns about Platner’s populism, you’re a closet Republican. The internet has spoken!
It’s a whole thing.
Also: This marks the first time in the history of the show that Sarah read JVL’s piece and JVL . . . didn’t even realize Sarah had written something? The shoe is on the other foot, my pretties!
Read JVL’s Triad newsletter: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/thetriad
Read Sarah’s 'The Man Behind the Tatoo': https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-man-behind-the-tattoo-graham-platner-maine-democrat-focus-group
ON SALE NOW: Bulwark Live is coming to San Diego on May 20 and Los Angeles on May 21. Just announced! We’re adding some chatty friends to the lineups for both shows. Grab your seats now to join Sarah, Tim and Sam for an evening of politics among friends and keep an eye on https://TheBulwark.com/Events for more announcements.

Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller and Sam Stein (filling in for JVL) discuss the Trump administration’s assertion that the effort to protect ships in the Strait of Hormuz is "separate and distinct" from the larger war effort in Iran. Plus, they get into the drama over Ken Martin’s time as DNC chair, the effect the Supreme Court’s recent voting rights ruling might have on the midterms, the wisdom of Senate Republicans allocating $1 billion for the ballroom Trump promised would be completed without public money and how the Senate battleground his shaping up for Democrats this fall. Bonus: Tim coins a new term for presidents hitting historically bad polling numbers.
Visit https://Upwork.com/THENEXTLEVEL right now and post your job for free.
Head to https://Greenchef.com/50nextlevel and use code 50nextlevel to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months.
Read "The YOLO Presidency" by Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/donald-trump-legacy-history/686817/
Tickets for our Bulwark Live shows in San Diego on 5/20 and in LA on 5/21:
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bulwark-events

Full episodes of the Secret Podcast are available to paid members of the Bulwark on Substack, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts.
JVL and Sarah Longwell discuss the signs that voters are starting to regret their Trump vote—and why that doesn’t mean politics is getting any simpler. Gas prices are rising, a gerrymandering arms race is raging and the Supreme Court reshaped the rules. Plus: the Maine race, the rise of populist candidates like Platner, and what The Bulwark actually stands for.