House passes GOP debt limit plan, Disney sues Ron DeSantis: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: House passes GOP debt limit plan

The House has passed a debt limit plan, but it's not expected to have a chance in the Senate. Plus, USA TODAY National Political Correspondent David Jackson has the latest after E. Jean Carroll testified in her civil rape lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden will increase military demonstrations in the Indo-Pacific after meeting with South Korea's president, Sarasota Herald-Tribune Political Editor Zac Anderson talks through Disney's lawsuit of Ron DeSantis, and Immigrants are driving growth in the U.S. labor force.

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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Thursday, the 27th of April 2023. Today, the House passes a debt ceiling plan, plus E. Jean Carroll testifies that she was raped by former President Donald Trump, and Disney sues Ron DeSantis.

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The House yesterday passed a Republican debt ceiling plan. It includes $4.5 trillion in cuts and raises the debt ceiling until May of 2024. But it's not expected to pass the Senate where Democrats hold a majority. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said after the vote that the House GOP needs to act immediately to avoid default. Republicans have said they will not raise the debt limit without getting spending cuts in return. President Joe Biden wants them to raise the debt limit and negotiate federal spending separately. Lawmakers face crunch time to avoid default. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress that the US could default on its debt as soon as June 5th. A default would potentially lead to recession, a rise in unemployment, or a stock market crash.

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E. Jean Carroll detailed her rape allegations against former President Donald Trump with testimony in civil court yesterday. That's something Trump continues to deny. I spoke with USA TODAY National Political Correspondent David Jackson for the latest. David, thanks for hopping on the podcast.

David Jackson:

Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

What did E. Jean Carroll say in her testimony during this defamation lawsuit?

David Jackson:

She bluntly said that Donald Trump raped her in a department store dressing room back in 1996. Now, it's important to point out this isn't a rape trial of Donald Trump. It's a civil lawsuit alleging defamation. Carroll is saying that Trump defamed her when he denied the sexual assault and also mocked her over her claims. But the crux of the case is the basic allegation that Trump engaged in a sexual assault against Carroll.

Taylor Wilson:

Has Trump spoken out after her testimony?

David Jackson:

He spoke out before her testimony as he has over the past several years, just flatly denying that anything took place. Said he had absolutely nothing to do with Jean Carroll. At times, he's actually insulted her by saying he couldn't have possibly raped her because she "wasn't his type."

Taylor Wilson:

David, can you talk about the new law that this suit was born out of?

David Jackson:

It's a very difficult and complex thing. Basically, she is filing the lawsuit 25 years later under a new New York state law that basically says it doesn't matter if the statute of limitations of the crime has run out. The victims of sexual assault have a one-year window in which to sue their accusers. So Carroll has basically taken advantage of that to file this lawsuit against Trump. She did so back in November, and the trial opened up this week.

Taylor Wilson:

What's next for the trial?

David Jackson:

Her lawyers are expected to call others with whom she discussed the attack back in 1996 trying to buttress her case. At some point, the defense will get their turn. We don't know if Trump himself is going to testify, but the indications are that he won't. I'm sure the defense will try to do something to try to dispute Carroll's credibility. We're expecting the trial to wrap up not this week, but probably sometime middle of next week.

Taylor Wilson:

David, what consequences could potentially come out of this for Trump?

David Jackson:

This isn't a criminal trial, so he won't be convicted of anything. But what could happen is the jury could find him liable for defaming Jean Carroll over this rape allegation, and that could lead to a judgment of millions of dollars.

Taylor Wilson:

How do you see this impacting his push to the White House?

David Jackson:

It's not going to help, I wouldn't think, but he's defying gravity again. He was indicted in New York on a criminal case just last month, but it didn't seem to affect his numbers at all. In fact, that it may have increased them among Republicans. People, I think, have just assumed what kind of person Donald Trump is, and they had factored that out. So far, at least, these allegations don't seem to have had much of an effect on his political standing.

Taylor Wilson:

All right, David Jackson, thanks so much.

David Jackson:

Thanks for having me.

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Taylor Wilson:

President Joe Biden announced yesterday that he's increasing military demonstrations in the Indo-Pacific and expanding collaboration with South Korea in hopes of deterring an attack from North Korea. In exchange, South Korea and President Yoon Suk Yeol reaffirmed his nation's commitment not to develop its own nuclear weapons. Biden and Yoon delivered the statement together after a meeting at the White House. Yoon is visiting the US as part of the 70th anniversary of the alliance between the two countries.

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Disney is saying in a new lawsuit that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis led a campaign of government retaliation against the company. That's after months of tensions between the two entities. I spoke with Sarasota Herald-Tribune Political Editor Zac Anderson to learn more. Zac, thanks for hopping on 5 Things.

Zac Anderson:

Oh, happy to be here.

Taylor Wilson:

Before we get to the lawsuit itself, I'm wondering if you can just outline for us what the tensions have been, especially in recent months, between Disney and DeSantis.

Zac Anderson:

This has really been a remarkable feud between the governor, who has presidential ambitions, and the state's most iconic company. Disney is really synonymous with Florida tourism. The company took a position against a bill that DeSantis pushed last year. It was criticized as the Don't Say Gay bill. It outlawed the teaching of sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels, and now they're expanding it this year to all grade levels. So Disney came out against that bill. DeSantis said, "You shouldn't have any input on this. What are you doing? You're a woke California corporation," and he pushed to strip the company of its self-governing status here in Florida. It had its own government, basically, that it had controlled, that governed Disney World and the company's properties in central Florida. Then since then, there's been a back and forth between DeSantis and Disney.

Taylor Wilson:

What is Disney claiming specifically here in this lawsuit against DeSantis?

Zac Anderson:

This lawsuit, it's really the company's most forceful effort yet to push back against DeSantis. They had sort of laid low, not made a whole lot of public statements until recently. I think they were trying to work things out behind the scenes. But in getting rid of Disney's self-government, he basically created a new government agency that controlled Disney's properties. He appointed a board, and they moved to sort of nullify some agreements that Disney had made with the previous governing body to sidestep some of this state oversight. Basically, Disney is saying that that board and DeSantis have violated its constitutional rights and violated constitutional protections to property and contract law and all these different things and free speech rights. They're making a couple of First Amendment claims and basically saying that they're being punished for speaking up against this bill and that this is having a chilling effect on their free speech.

Taylor Wilson:

Zac, we know that DeSantis has become a major political figure even nationally beyond Florida. What might this lawsuit mean for him politically?

Zac Anderson:

Well, his battle with Disney was really central to his culture war persona, going after this "woke" company on LGBTQ issues that really animated his base. But lately, he's kind of been on the defensive. He's been on the back foot. He devoted a whole chapter of his memoir to this battle with Disney, so it really was something that he planned to tout on the campaign trail as he runs for president. Now, Disney is really fighting back here. They've taken some maneuvers to sort of nullify his oversight of the company, and this lawsuit really being the most aggressive one. It puts him on the defensive. It makes it look like maybe some of his efforts against this company weren't as well thought out as maybe he would've liked, and it undercuts his argument that he's gotten the best of this company, of this "woke" corporation.

Taylor Wilson:

All right, Zac Anderson, great info for us. Thanks so much.

Zac Anderson:

Hey, thank you. Have a great day.

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Taylor Wilson:

Immigrants are driving growth in the US labor force, in turn, easing longstanding worker shortages and a historic inflation spike. According to data from Moody's Analytics and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than two million foreign-born workers have streamed into the labor force since February of 2020. That's compared with just over 400,000 US-born people, and it means immigrants make up 83% of growth in the country's labor force.

The NFL draft is tonight as the best players from college football find their new professional football homes. You can tune in on ESPN or NFL Network and follow along with USA TODAY Sports. Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us every day of the week right here wherever you get your podcasts. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Carroll testifies in Trump lawsuit, Disney sues DeSantis: 5 Things podcast