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- [00:01]
A
It seems like shutdowns are now the norm and that we've gone over this cliff where lawmakers are no longer worried about the potential consequences of a shutdown.
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B
Hey, everybody, and welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugian. So today on the show, the House has just ended the longest partial government shutdown in history. Was it worth the wait? Plus, former FBI Director James B. Comey is being charged with threatening the life of President Trump. Why? Legal analysts think the case is thin up. First, though, after 75 days, count them, 75 days, Congress has finally passed a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security. The legislation does not include funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. border Patrol. But the House also passed a resolution approved by the Senate last week that will allow congressional Republicans to fund those agencies without the support of Democrats. So what did it take to get it over the finish line? And did the Democrats accomplish anything by holding out so long for stricter oversight of immigration enforcement? For this, I'm going to bring in Capitol Hill correspondent for NBC News Mel Zanona. Hi, Mel. Hi.
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A
Thanks for having me.
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B
Great to have you. Long time coming. By the way. We've had a lot of iterations of this bill. What exactly is the one that the House passed today?
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A
So what the House ended up passing is actually the one that they tried to pass weeks ago. This bill would fund all of the Department of Homeland Security except for ICE and Border Patrol. If you recall, though, this was the exact same bill that the Senate passed by unanimous consent in the dead of night. Republicans complained about it at the time. They said they weren't going to pass this thing. There's a lot of back and forth. Ultimately, though, that is what they not only agreed to pass today, but also they did it by voice themselves. So taking a page out of the Senate playbook here and how they were going to tackle this funding crisis after
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B
the passage of that Senate bill. The very next day, speaker of the House Mike Johnson came out and railed against his Senate colleagues essentially because of the contents of the very bill that they just passed today.
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A
Yeah, not only that. Yes, but he called it a crap sandwich at the time. But there have been a few things that have changed the dynamic. Number one, the White House just came out this week and said the House really needs to pass this. So there was some additional White House press that just came in at the 11th hour here. Number two, they did pass this party line bill called reconciliation that's gonna tee up this process that will allow them to fund both ICE and Border Patrol using only Republican votes. They're gonna try to do three years worth of funding. So that did make some conservatives more comfortable with the idea of passing a DHS funding bill that did not include funding for ICE in Border Patrol. But ultimately, it was the pressure of not wanting to go on yet another recess. Yaz when the Department of Homeland Security was shut down and it was the wreck, record breaking government shutdown, partial government shutdown, combined with the fact that the White House was signaling it was gonna run out of money to be able to keep moving money around, finding pots of money to try to pay some of these thousands and thousands of federal workers that were still going without a paycheck. So ultimately, that's what we saw happen today. But obviously it was an incredibly messy process that we've seen over the last few weeks.
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B
So now they're starting the process of figuring out funding for ICE and Border Patrol. What is that going to look like, timeline wise?
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A
President Trump wants it on his desk by June 1st. That is a very ambitious timeline, especially when you just look at the calendar for lawmakers. They're actually not in session all that much in the month of May. In fact, they're going on recess, as I mentioned, next week, which is part of the impetus for why they wanted to get this done. But what that process is going to look like now that both the House and Senate has passed what's known as a budget resolution. This instructs the committees to start actually writing the bill. So then they'll each have to write their own package, and then it will still have to pass both chambers. Now they say this is going to be an easier lift than what we saw last year with reconciliation, because this is just a skinny bill. It's just funding for ICE and customers and border protection. But there's still a lot of pressure, at least internally and some from the outside, to try to add other stuff to this package. So far, though, GOP leadership has really tried to resist that temptation.
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B
So one of the reasons why the Democrats did not want to fund ICE and Border Patrol was because they wanted reforms to ICE and Border Patrol, especially after the killings that took place in Minneapolis. Did they get anything that they wanted out of this thing? Is there a win at all here for Democrats when it comes to reforms that have been made to ICE and Border Patrol?
- [04:42]
A
Well, it's an interesting question because technically there were no reforms that were agreed to on paper. Some of the things they were asking for certainly are not gonna be agreed to. Such as requiring that ICE agents don't wear masks, that they have identification. But there were some things that the administration did verbally agree to, including more funding for body worn cameras. And they started giving out more money and encouraging more ICE agents to wear body worn cameras. The other thing I would point out is that since all of that debate began, we saw Kristi Noem ousted from her role as the Secretary of Department of Homeland Security. That was a huge thing that Democrats were asking for. Even some Republicans were not happy with her leadership. So they did get some significant changes in how immigration operations are being enforced. There was a drawdown in Minnesota and I do think because of the Democrats drawing attention to this issue, especially there was a recognition among the White House officials and even some Republicans on Capitol Hill that they had to rein in what they were doing in terms of how they were enforcing immigration operations.
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B
Is there any plans for additional reforms to ICE or Border Patrol ahead of funding them?
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A
There's not gonna be any reforms is my understanding. It's just gonna be a funding bill in this reconciliation process. But, you know, Republicans would say they got the win here because not only are they gonna fund ICE through this party line process, they're gonna do it for three years now. So that means Democrats are not gonna have any input on this funding bill for these agencies for the next three years while Trump is still in office.
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B
So, okay, that's three years. But they're gonna be back here again when it comes to the budget on September 30, I believe, which are we going to literally be in the same position that we were just in up until an hour ago and that we were in in the late fall when we've had two historic government shutdowns.
- [06:36]
A
We could be, it seems like shutdowns are now the norm and that we've gone over this cliff where lawmakers are no worry, no longer worried about the potential consequences of a shutdown that used to be such a red line for so many lawmakers. No one wanted to shut down. We've now been in that position twice, historic record breaking shutdowns that have had these really huge consequences on Americans. That being said though, Yaz, I do think when we approach the September 30 deadline right before the election, what we'll probably see is a short term funding patch. They'll kick the funding till November, December, maybe January. But you never know around here, especially what we've seen over the last few months.
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B
Final last words, you never know around here, considering what we've seen the last few months. I feel like that should be the motto for the government going forward. Melzanona, thank you.
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A
Thanks, Yaz.
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B
All right. We are going to take a very short break. And when we are back, it is round two of the DOJ versus James Comey. Will a new acting attorney general bring a stronger case than the last time? That's coming up. And by the way, okay, so while you're waiting, why not take just a second or so to subscribe to our podcast wherever you are listening. And if you already subscribe, thank you. And do not forget to rate and review us. It really helps us out. We'll be right back.
- [08:00]
C
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D
Press, the war with Iran heads into its third month as gas prices spike. Is there any end in sight? Plus, we'll dig into the former FBI director's second indictment and the fallout over another assassin vaccination attempt this week on Meet THE press. Listen to the full episode now. Wherever you get your podcasts,
- [08:52]
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let's kickstart your wellness journey with the Start Today app.
- [08:55]
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B
And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. Here we go again. You got former FBI Director James Comey, who was back in federal court on Wednesday facing charges that he threatened the life of President Trump by posting an image of seashells spelling out 8647 on social media. It's his second indictment in just seven months time. An attorney for Comey said in a statement that his client, quote, vigorously denies the charges. So this new one was actually brought by acting attorney General Todd Blanche, who just stepped into this job after President Trump fired the former attorney general and Blanche's former boss, Pam Bondi. Bondi's previous case against Comey was, in fact, dismissed. Now, President Trump fired Bondi earlier this month amid friction between the two over how aggressively the DOJ was pursuing the president's priorities. Prior joining the doj, Blanche was Trump's personal attorney. So will this new case against one of Trump's political foes have more legs and give Blanche more staying power to get the actual attorney general job? Joining me now is NBC News legal affairs reporter Gary Grumbach. Hi, Gary.
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G
Hey there. Thanks for having me.
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B
So this is round two of this thing. You have former FBI Director James Comey. He turned himself in on Wednesday after the indictment was released on Tuesday. Explain what he is being charged with here and what happened in court, from what we know.
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G
So there are two counts that he's being charged with. And when he walked into court on Wednesday, he came in just like any other criminal defendant does, right through the back with a U.S. marshal guiding his presence into the defendant's seat. He's being charged with threatening the life of the president and making interstate threats. Of course, those interstate threats were made over the Internet. That's why it's interstate. And it was using Instagram, where we saw those pictures of the seashells. So he went through the process that any other criminal defendant does. He was read his charges. He was read his rights. And then there was some discussion between the attorneys of any other motions that may be brought up in this process in the early stages of this case. One of the biggest ones that could mean the end of the case already is a motion for selective and vindictive prosecution. That is a motion that rarely works, but we've seen it actually work several times in recent months with some of these cases that have been brought by the Trump administration on some of the president's perceived foes. So what they're going to, what they're going to eventually argue here is that this was a selective prosecution because James Comey is who he is. And this kind of crime would not be charged against any Joe Smith on the street. But it's being charged against James Comey because he's the former FBI director.
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B
Comey denied those charges in the first indictment. But where else have we seen that used in recent months?
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G
So we've seen it actually in the Eastern District of Virginia, several different places. One with New York State Attorney General Lisa James, who was being indicted on some bank fraud charges and some Mortgage fraud charges. And we also saw it with James Comey when he was indicted last time for lying to Congress. This was just only a few months ago in September or October of last year. Those charges are now on appeal after being dismissed by a judge for a reason that has nothing to do with the charges themselves. But the appointment of the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, there was an issue there. So that's all on appeal in the fourth Circuit. So there's a chance potentially in the coming months that Comey could be facing charges in two different states, Virginia and North Carolina.
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B
Did we hear from Comey at all yesterday? Did he say anything?
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G
So he did not say anything other than yes, your honor, and thank you, your honor. Beyond that, he did not make it. Any comments? He did on Instagram and on his substack video. On Tuesday night, he put a video saying, well, they're coming at me again. I'm still innocent, I'm still not afraid,
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and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary.
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G
So let's go. He knows he has a solid defense team ready to defend him against these charges that legal experts across the country are calling frivolous.
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B
So let's get into that a little bit more. Right. And especially this, this term, 86 or 86. We've heard from restaurant workers and from legal experts, as you mentioned as well. And these restaurant workers, for instance, say that the phrase 86 is, is everyday lingo. And when something is 86, for instance, it means that the item is unavailable. One hospitality employee told NBC News, quote, it's probably the most overused word in hospitality. We're hearing this type of thing. Also, talking to legal experts, what are they saying about the merits, the strength of this case against the former FBI director?
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G
Well, they're not saying it's very strong. And I've never worked in a restaurant, but I think that's right, that they're the 86ing something off a menu means there's no more of it, they're out of it, or there's there's nothing left. The legal experts that I've been talking to, including one current Justice Department official, saying it's a complete loser, saying it's a waste of resources, they don't think this is going to go very far. They think this will be dismissed well before it hits a jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina and that this will never even make it to that point.
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B
What is the timeline for these proceedings?
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G
So there's going to be a set of hearings that will be set up a Preliminary hearing where the government will put forward any sort of evidence they have that he actually was threatening the life of the President and that he was making these interstate threats. And then this kind of case could go to trial within the next year or so. But this will be full of motions to dismiss before we get to that point, from selective and vindictive prosecution and to the fact that the Department of Justice really hasn't even stated a real claim here of exactly what crime was being committed, what threat was being committed by James Comey in this case.
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B
So, okay, we talk about how you have legal analysts, legal experts, saying this thing doesn't hold any water. There's no merit to this case I mentioned. This is James Comey's second indictment. In the first one, the Trump administration alleged that Comey had lied to Congress five years ago. It was dismissed after the judge ruled that the prosecutor who brought the charges had actually been unlawfully appointed. That was Lindsey Halligan at the time. Now you have the Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, who just stepped into the job after the firing of Pam Bondi. He cannot keep the acting title indefinitely. So is this Todd Blanche's efforts at securing this job? Right. Is this him showing his loyalty and that he's willing to prosecute the President's perceived enemies so he can get that. That top notch?
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G
This has been remarkable to watch over the past two and a half weeks. You have Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, you've got U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro, others really trying to vie for this top position. And they're doing things that will make the President happy, things like working on the Somali fraud investigation in Minnesota, not to mention some of the ongoing investigations into other political foes of the President of the United States as well. So that's the kind of thing that Todd Blanche is doing to prove to the President that, hey, I'm a serious acting Attorney General in your eyes. I can get done what you want me to get done.
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B
But if he wants the ultimate job as Attorney General, he's going to have to get Senate confirmed. So could this actually hurt his Senate confirmation if he is seen as weaponizing the Department of Justice?
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G
Absolutely, he could absolutely hurt that. And, you know, there's an entire weaponization group, part of the Department of Justice, that really is being weaponized in itself, which is almost humorous here to see what is happening with the weaponization group that's trying to root out fraud, waste and abuse from the federal government. Instead, what it is doing is putting people under investigation here, like Letitia James, like James Comey. That perhaps are not legitimate, actual crimes that are being committed.
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B
So we're talking to you from a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. for those folks that are listening and not watching this podcast. And you are there because you have now Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondence association dinner, who was in court today for a detention hearing. What came out of that?
- [17:47]
G
So we expected to go into this detention hearing, and we expected Cole Tomas Allen's federal public defenders to vigorously defend him and to say, this man, as they have said in their filings, is a good, loving, Christian man. He is a teacher. His family loves him. He has a supportive community out in California, and he should not be detained pending trial. We walked in there, and his federal public defender said she had just finished speaking to him in the back room of the courthouse, and he actually wants to concede the whole thing. He wants to be detained pending trial, at least at this point. Of course, he always has the right to have a detention hearing again in the future should he get frankly tired of sitting in the D.C. jail and want to make his case that he deserves to be out on the street. But the government was prepared with a mountain of evidence to ensure that this man never sees the light of day because of the crimes that he allegedly committed on Saturday night at the War Courthouse Correspondent's Dinner and what his motive and intents were, what was on him. And in these kind of cases, judges rarely let people like this out pending trial.
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B
Gary Grumbach, coming to us from a bleak room inside of a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. i would imagine a room like that looking no other way than the way it does.
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G
We love our federal courthouses here in the D.C.
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B
not a single image on the wall. Thanks, Gary.
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G
Thank you.
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B
We're gonna take a very quick break, and when we are back, a crack in the case 20 years in the making. Who really inspired the character of Emily in the Devil Wears Prada? Gird your loins, because that is next.
- [19:29]
H
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- [20:28]
I
hi, it's Kate Snow, NBC News anchor, host of the podcast the Drink. This month I'm grabbing a matcha latte with comedian Taylor Tomlinson. The Drink is always about someone's journey to the top, and Taylor's story is remarkable. She tells us all about her unlikely path from performing in churches all the way to headlining her own Netflix specials like her latest Prodigal Daughter. And she opens up about her religious upbringing, what drew her to stand up and how she feels when she gets on that stage. Hope you'll listen and follow the Drink wherever you get your podcasts.
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J
Hey everyone. I'm Dylan Dreyer, co host of the third hour of TODAY and mom to three wild boys. I've learned a lot in years as a parent, mostly that I don't have it all figured out yet. And I'm not the only one. This is my new podcast, the Parent Chat. Each week I sit down with someone new for honest conversation and real world advice about parenting.
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I am over here just, like, winging it.
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Hey, I'm just trying not to screw
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my own kids up. I'm not giving you advice on how not to screw yours up.
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J
Search the parent chat on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
- [21:37]
B
And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. Let's get to some headlines. President Trump is withdrawing his pick for surgeon general Casey Means, a close ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And nominating Dr. Nicole Safire instead, a breast radiologist who's also served as a medical contributor for Fox News. Means had faced really tough questions at her confirmation hearing about her controversial stances on vaccines, on birth control and on pesticides, all of which she has previously depicted as dangerous for human health. On social media, Trump posted that Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who is also a physician, stood in the way of Means confirmation. The Supreme Court's decision to limit the Voting Rights act yesterday is already having a ripple effect ahead of the midterms. Louisiana is planning to push its primary back so state lawmakers have time to redraw congressional maps there after the court struck down the current map. It has two districts with a majority of black voters. But it's not just Louisiana. Lawmakers in Mississippi are also calling a special session in which they are expected to discuss redistricting. Meanwhile, in Illinois, state lawmakers are pumping the brakes on an amendment that would have protected lawmakers ability to redraw voting maps in the state constitution. The Illinois Senate president said that legal experts need to review the court's decision before they take any action. Maine Governor Janet Mills is suspending her campaign for Senate, saying she doesn't have the money to continue. That clears the way for military veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner in the Democratic primary ahead of a general election against incumbent Republican Susan Collins. Collins is the only Republican senator representing a state that President Trump lost in the 2024 election. And Maine is seen as a must win if Democrats want to take control of the Senate in the upcoming midterms. The British government says antisemitism in the UK Is a, quote, emergency and that it will be spending £25 million, that's $34 million to increase security around Jewish sites. The action comes after a 45 year old man allegedly stabbed two Jewish men in London earlier this week. Police are calling it an act of terrorism and investigating whether the stabbing may be connected to a string of recent arson attack on the Jewish community as well. And finally, so the Devil Wears Prada 2 hits theaters this weekend. I'm gonna go see it 20 years after the original debuted. By this point everybody knows, right, that Lauren Weisberger wrote this book based on her experience working as an assistant to Vogue's legendary editor Anna Wintour, who of course served as the inspiration for Meryl Streep's character, the fearsome Miranda Priestly.
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G
That's all.
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B
But now celebrity stylist Leslie Freemar is claiming that she was the inspiration for Emily Blunt's character, the high strung first assistant Emily.
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A
You work a year for her and
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B
you can get a job at any magazine you want. Million girls would kill for this job. So listen, it does add up because Freemar was Anna Wintour's real assistant at the time. But the moment that she knew, I definitely told her A million girls would
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A
kill for the job.
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B
That was definitely my line because I actually really believed that and I knew that she didn't necessarily want to be there. Okay, if true, you know she has so many stories to tell that is going to do it for us. And here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Desugin. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcast and you can also subscribe to our daily newsletter, the Inside Scoop. It is a deeper dive on the main stories of the day that comes out every weeknight straight to your inbox. You can sign up for the Inside Scoop as part of our paid subscription@nbcnews.com we'll see you tomorrow.
- [25:44]
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I'm Craig Melvin. Cheers. Cheers.
- [25:46]
B
Cheers.
- [25:47]
E
I've always been a glass half full kind of guy, and now I'm talking to some people who look at the world that way, too. Some really fascinating folks who share their defining moments, their triumphs, their challenges. Their stories are funny and quite candid. So I hope you'll join me each week. And who knows, you might just come away with your own glass half full.
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F
Search Glass Half Full with Craig Melvin From Today on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.