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IrelandJohnston's post-midterm prescription: higher tipped wages, less ICE funding
His conversation with Mark Thompson moves from election celebrations to concrete proposals for spending cuts, worker pay and an expanded Supreme Court.
The Mark Thompson Show
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 94,319 views a day, 6.4 times a normal first day on this channel (14,758).
David Cay Johnston Reacts to Trump's HISTORIC Midterm Defeat
Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 1:00Johnston argues that Republican officials should fear their constituents more than Trump.
- 4:20The discussion turns to congressional oversight, with Johnston predicting investigations by experienced Democratic lawmakers.
- 6:17Johnston advocates higher minimum pay for tipped workers and cuts to ICE funding.
- 10:30They examine presidential war powers and whether military leaders would obey unconstitutional orders.
- 21:10Johnston proposes expanding the Supreme Court to 15 justices and argues that federal courts face overwhelming caseloads.
- 21:49He argues that targeted budget cuts and spending conditions can constrain Trump's administration.
"The person you need to be afraid of going forward isn't Donald Trump, it's your constituents," David Cay Johnston says, addressing Republican politicians after the midterm results.
That shift in political leverage drives his conversation on The Mark Thompson Show. Between clips of James Talarico's Texas acceptance speech and Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan victory speech, Johnston sets out what he thinks Democrats should do with their new congressional power.
Investigations are part of his answer, but not the whole of it. He advocates raising the minimum wage for tipped workers and sharply reducing funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His broader argument is that Congress can constrain the administration through specific conditions on spending, rather than relying only on hearings or impeachment proceedings.
The interview drew about 90,000 views before its first day was over, more than six times the channel's usual first-day audience for a regular video. Johnston is already a familiar guest in the show's most-watched interviews, including its conversation about Trump's appearance at the UN Assembly.
Here, the discussion also reaches presidential war powers, military obedience to unconstitutional orders and the prospects for judicial nominations before the next Congress takes office. These are Johnston's assessments and proposals, not announcements of an agreed Democratic program.
His institutional ambitions go beyond checking Trump: near the end, Johnston advocates expanding the Supreme Court to 15 justices and argues that overburdened federal courts need more capacity.
A Democratic politician and US senator-elect from Texas. He has served in the Texas House of Representatives since 2018.
More on Wikipedia ›An epidemiology professor, public health administrator and politician who is the US senator-elect from Michigan.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
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- Channel
- The Mark Thompson Show
- Subscribers
- 196,000 ▲ 1,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 537,608
- Channel views, pace per day
- 41,984 (on a normal day: 85,447)
- Video published
- November 5, 2026
- Video views so far
- 90,312 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 94,319
The numbers
The Johnston interview drew a much larger early audience than the show's usual regular upload. Comments also exceeded the usual first-day total several times over.
💡 Test your knowledge
How many Supreme Court justices does Johnston advocate in this conversation?
Near the end of the interview, Johnston explicitly supports expanding the court to 15 justices.