Intentional Mayhem (with John Avlon)

January 27, 2026·1 hr 3 min·5 clips

Does the killing of Alex Preddy by Border Patrol signal a Selma-like moment that could change America's direction?

Schumer gets no soft landing here. The conversation starts from the majority leader's chair: how does he handle pressure when shutdown fights are already familiar territory? The answer comes quickly. Leverage stops being leverage once Democrats show they are afraid to use it. Avlon sets the floor. Axe wants to go past the floor and demand concrete reforms. ICE becomes the pressure point. The panel wants rules of engagement, limits, hiring scrutiny, and proof that background checks mean something. Border control does not get brushed aside. The argument is that most Americans want immigration enforcement, but they also want visible guardrails when enforcement starts to look reckless. Minnesota makes the point sharper. Pulling Border Patrol out of Minnesota after the shooting is treated as a start, not the whole answer. Trump is read tactically, as someone looking for a strategic retreat. That leaves Democrats with a choice: keep pressing or blink. The tone stays sharp and insider-y. Nobody lingers on abstract outrage when the practical question is what Schumer should demand, when, and how hard. Then the room slows down. The close turns back to citizenship, responsibility, and getting off the sidelines. After the procedural combat, the episode treats politics as a craft, a duty, and a reason to stay in the arena.

As heard by us

A tactical Hacks on Tap conversation about Schumer, shutdown leverage, and Democratic pressure on immigration enforcement.

Hacks on Tap turns a shutdown fight into a sharper question about Democratic leverage: what can Chuck Schumer demand if he is willing to use the pressure point in front of him?

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Why you'd press play

You want a shutdown argument that sounds like it was settled in a back room.

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