On the one hand, Late Night with Seth Meyers and other comedy shows covering Donald Trump are almost never able to keep up with the White House’s seemingly endless stream of fecal matter. On the other hand, popular recurring segments like the “A Closer Look” deep dives, or the slightly shorter “The Check In,” can do more than simply provide viewers all the details they might have missed with a comic lens. They can also remind audiences about everything else that came before, especially if the Trump administration would rather it be forgotten.
Meyers did just that with Tuesday’s “The Check In,” which focused on the possible and actual negative effects of Trump’s inauguration day hiring freeze. The first of many employed and planned executive orders meant to curb President Obama’s legacy, the order prevents all federal agencies from hiring new employees while the White House and the Republican-controlled Congress reassess the nation’s fiscal situation. Unfortunately, the freeze is already proving disastrous for one of Trump’s most lauded groups — veterans.
“Throughout his campaign Trump constantly brought attention to problems at the [Department of Veterans Affairs], specifically how poorly it is run. And he’s right about that,” said Meyers. “One of the main problems at the VA, is that many departments — including VA hospitals — are chronically understaffed. But one of Trump’s first moves as president was to put a freeze on federal hiring.”
Yet as Melissa McCarthy impersonator Sean Spicer explained the issue in one of his first White House press briefings, however, hiring more employees at the VA wouldn’t solve the department’s problems. Or as Meyers rephrased it, “Hiring more people is not the answer unless the question is, ‘Where the f*ck are all the people? Does anyone work here?'”
