Judge Halts Construction on White House Ballroom

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Beat with Ari Melber (hosted by Jackie Alemany)

Episode: Judge Halts Construction on White House Ballroom

Date: August 10, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode explores a series of mounting crises facing Donald Trump’s administration: economic setbacks, political vulnerability ahead of the midterms, the fallout from a halted White House ballroom project, and controversies over legal, military, and gun policy decisions. Host Jackie Alemany (in for Ari Melber) convenes experts, analysts, and first-hand voices to break down the political, economic, and legal headwinds buffeting the White House—and how these affect everyday Americans.

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Main Segments & Key Insights

1. Economic Turmoil and the “K-Shaped” Recovery

[00:45–05:45]

• Jobs Report Fallout:
  The July jobs report shows a loss of 23,000 jobs, with previous months’ figures also revised downward (collective loss of 103,000 jobs for May and June); broad-based pain spans government, leisure, hospitality, retail, and finance.
• Comparison to Biden Era:
  Over the past 19 months, 542,000 jobs have been added under Trump versus 2.7 million under Biden—“five times as many.”
  • Quote: “If Donald Trump had stepped into office and just sat on his hands…those trends would have persisted. But when you come in and start jamming affordability with tariffs, start a war of choice in Iran…you shift that jobs machine into something close to neutral.” — Jared Bernstein, [03:14]
• Disparity Across the Economy:
  Corporate profits and consumer spending remain strong, but Main Street isn’t benefitting; wage growth lags behind inflation, especially hitting middle-income workers.
  • Quote: “Good news for Wall Street and bad news for Main Street.”—Jared Bernstein, [04:47]

2. Political Analysis: GOP’s Lost Economic Edge

[05:45–08:31]

• Loss of Republican Credibility:
  Polling now finds Democrats more trusted on economic issues, undercutting a long-standing GOP advantage.
• Swing Voter Hardship:
  Small business owners (traditionally swing voters) are experiencing hiring freezes and perceive “massive economic corruption,” further worsening Republicans’ standing.
  • Quote: “They’re the ones who also tend to be swing voters. And they are hurting.”—Jason Johnson, [06:46]
• Communication Failures:
  “You can’t create a message stronger than the head of your party, and that’s why Republicans are failing on the affordability argument, because they can’t be louder than Trump.”—Campaign Manager, [08:03]

3. Messaging, Public Perception, and Policy

[08:31–10:57]

• Future Economic Data:
  Upcoming inflation numbers may have more impact, with the Fed “not really concerned about the job market,” since wage growth is slowing.
• White House Response:
  The Trump administration’s approach is to downplay affordability issues as a “hoax,” a strategy characterized as gaslighting by Bernstein and Johnson.
  • Honesty vs. Spin: “We talked past the American people. That’s true. But we never lied to them.”—Jared Bernstein on Biden-era messaging, [10:23]

4. Legal Setbacks: The White House Ballroom Project

[12:53–14:36]

• Court Halts Construction:
  A federal appeals court blocks Trump’s “prized ballroom,” stating, “each president is a temporary tenant, not the owner of the White House and its executive residence.”
• Vanity Project Criticism:
  Trump criticized—including by Republicans—for focusing on personal projects during a period of war, inflation, and poor polling.
  • Memorable Line: “If you looked at a chart of Trump's mindshare, 70% of it would be on his renovations.”—Maggie Haberman (cited), [12:53]

5. Impacts on the Midterm Elections

[13:21–17:41]

• Polling Plunge:
  Trump and Republicans are trailing in generic ballots (Democrat leads: Reuters +5, CNN +8, Emerson +11, Economist +4), with Trump’s low approval ratings compounding party woes.
• Candidate-Specific Dynamics:
  Local factors (i.e., Texas, Michigan, South Carolina) interact with national trends, but “by the time people start paying attention, their opinions are baked in,” diminishing the effect of campaign spending, candidates’ flaws, or last-minute messaging.

6. Escalating Attacks on Federal Officials

[17:41–19:53]

• Purge Attempt:
  Trump restarts his fight to unseat Fed Governor Lisa Cook, seen as both a distraction and a pattern of hostility toward Black women in power.
  • Quote: “Donald Trump has been particularly hostile towards black women in positions of power…there is a pattern of behavior that we've seen with this particular president.” —Campaign Manager, [19:23]

7. DOJ Controversy: Todd Blanche’s Nomination

[21:50–32:02]

• AG Confirmation Fight:
  Senate moves to confirm Todd Blanche as Attorney General, despite DOJ vet opposition and Epstein survivors’ concerns.
• Survivor Testimony:
  Epstein survivor Liz Stein details lack of responsiveness from Blanche, uncooperative DOJ, and failures in protecting victims’ identities during file releases.
  • Quote: “If you can't redact a victim's name in that sentence, then, you know, what hope do we have?” —Liz Stein, [25:35]
• Political Calculus:
  Senators preparing to exit Congress are questioned for greenlighting controversial nominees.
  • Question: “What are they getting out of it that is worth more than transparency and justice for survivors like Liz?” —Juanita Toliver, [29:26]
• Advocacy Going Forward:
  Survivors will keep pressure on lawmakers regardless of partisan control, vowing, “we have no intention of stopping now.” —Liz Stein, [31:10]

8. The U.S. Navy in Crisis During the War in Iran

[32:02–35:37]

• USS Lincoln Deployment:
  Priya Shriether reports on extended Navy deployments, eroded morale, supply shortages, mental health concerns, and families’ frustration as the Iran war drags on beyond initial timelines.
  • Notable Details: Moldy showers, food shortages, one-to-two hour lines for basic hygiene items, and questions about the purpose and ethics of the war.

9. New Push: Mailing Handguns and Conflict of Interest

[37:08–44:52]

• Controversial Rule Change:
  Trump administration moves to allow handguns to be mailed, despite longstanding bans; nearly two dozen state AGs object, citing public safety and conflicts of interest.

  • Conflict of interest: Donald Trump Jr. stands to profit, owning $700,000 in Grab A Gun stock.

• Legal Outlook:
  Minnesota AG Keith Ellison argues that the executive branch doesn’t have authority to override Congress; the rule is “unlawful” and will increase gun deaths.

  • Quote: “It clearly will make people money who traffic in these instruments of death, but it's still not going to be lawful.”—Keith Ellison, [40:27]

• Public Response & Tariffs:
  AGs are rallying public comments during the rule’s open period.
  On tariffs, Ellison notes repeated (and successful) legal challenges, as Trump’s tariff regime, once temporary, now disrupts the economy and raises consumer prices.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “When you come in and you start jamming affordability with tariffs, right? When you start a war of choice in Iran…you shift that jobs machine into something close to neutral.”
  —Jared Bernstein (Former Chair, Council of Economic Advisers), [03:14]
• “Good news for Wall Street and bad news for Main Street.”
  —Jared Bernstein, [04:47]
• “They’re the ones who also tend to be swing voters. And they are hurting.”
  —Jason Johnson, [06:46]
• “You can’t create a message stronger than the head of your party.”
  —Campaign Manager, [08:03]
• “Each president is a temporary tenant, not the owner of the White House and its executive residence.”
  —Federal appeals court ruling on the White House ballroom, [12:53]
• “If you can't redact a victim's name in that sentence, then, you know, what hope do we have?”
  —Liz Stein (Epstein survivor), [25:35]
• “Donald Trump has been particularly hostile towards black women in positions of power…there is a pattern of behavior that we've seen with this particular president.”
  —Campaign Manager, [19:23]
• “By the time people start paying attention, their opinions are baked in.”
  —Campaign Manager/Panel, [16:07]
• “It clearly will make people money who traffic in these instruments of death, but it's still not going to be lawful.”
  —AG Keith Ellison, [40:27]

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Structured Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment & Topic | |-------------|----------------------------------------------| | 00:45–05:45 | Economic hits, jobs report, Biden-Trump jobs | | 05:45–08:31 | GOP's loss of economic credibility, Main Street pain | | 08:31–10:57 | Economic messaging, Fed policy perspective | | 12:53–14:36 | White House ballroom project halted | | 13:21–17:41 | Midterm polling, implications for GOP | | 17:41–19:53 | Fight over Fed Governor Lisa Cook | | 21:50–32:02 | Todd Blanche AG nomination, Epstein files | | 32:02–35:37 | USS Lincoln, war in Iran, military family concerns | | 37:08–44:52 | Handguns-by-mail controversy, Trump Jr. conflict, legal challenge, tariffs |

Tone & Style

The episode maintains a brisk, critical, and fact-driven tone, balancing policy analysis, personal testimony, and political commentary. There is a persistent undercurrent of urgency as panelists and guests emphasize the disconnect between administration messaging and the lived experience of ordinary Americans, with a focus on accountability and transparency.

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Closing Thought

This episode provides clarity on the intersection of economics, governance, and accountability—capturing a moment where policy failures, legal pushback, and political fatigue converge just before the polls open for the fall midterms. The message is clear: the situation is volatile, the stakes are high, and whether on jobs, legal ethics, or safety, voters and officials alike are being required to look clearly at the facts and consequences of White House decisions.

Transcript

[Campaign Manager]

Hey, I've got the campaign brief ready. Built from last quarter's data and the competitive landscape.

[Team Lead]

Approved. Oh, agents, where would we be without you?

[Campaign Manager]

Somewhere with a lot more tabs open.

[Jackie Alemani]

Create your first Monday agent [e-mail].

[Rachel Maddow]

hey everybody, it's Rachel Maddow here. I wanted to tell you that more than a dozen of us from Ms. Now are going to be in Texas on Saturday, September 26th. I'm going to be there. Lawrence O' Donnell will be there. So will Jen Psaki. A whole bunch of us are all going to be there in Texas. Tickets start at just over 30 bu bucks each and if you buy a ticket, you will get access to our new MSNow membership, free for a year. Tickets for Texas are on sale now. You can learn more @ms. Now together. Hope to see you in Texas.

[Jackie Alemani]

Welcome to the Beat. I'm Jackie Alemani in for Ari Melbourne. We've got a big show tonight as Donald Trump is facing a series of self inflicted crises like a sputtering US Economy, this war of choice in Iran and as late of tariffs and new corruption scandals cropping up nearly every day today, the July jobs report showing the U.S. economy losing 23,000 jobs. Politico reports that the unexpected job stall was felt across a number of sectors as government, leisure and hospitality, retail and finance contracted. And it's not just July. The tallies for May and June were revised downward by collective 103,000. The New York Times explaining that the losses, quote, businesses shed jobs in the face of renewed tariffs and higher costs driven by the war in the Middle East. Even Fox News struggled to put a positive spin on today's numbers.

[Priya Shriether]

Minus 23,000. No rebound for the July jobs report. Negative 23,000.

[Team Lead]

Again, a disappointing jobs report.

[Jared Bernstein]

23,000 jobs lost in July.

[Jackie Alemani]

Looking at Trump's last 19 months, the U.S. economy added 542,000 jobs. Compare that to Biden's last 19 months which added 2.7 million jobs. That's five times as many. And while Biden had some help from a post pandemic recovery, much of the economic uncertainty now comes from Trump's own actions. New polling suggests that Trump has squandered a key Republican advantage, the perception that the GOP is better on the economy. Polling shows Americans think Democrats can handle the economy better than the Republican Party. And when it comes to Trump personally, the numbers get even worse. He's underwater on his handling of the economy, the cost of living and inflation. And that's where we begin today. Americans towering on Trump's economy With less than three months until the November midterms. Joining me now is Jared Bernstein, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers for President Biden, and Jason John, politics professor with Morgan State University and Ms. Now political analyst. Guys, thanks for closing out the week with me. I appreciate it. Jared, I want to start with you. Since we had that direct Biden to Trump comparison of that 19 month record, can you expound on that a little bit? And what a stark contrast those two numbers are.

[Jared Bernstein]

We were generating way more jobs in the Biden administration than we are now, orders of magnitude more. Now, part of that had to do. And it was good that you added this to the bounce back from the pandemic. But by 2024, that bounce back was kind of in the rearview mirror. And at that point, the economy was actually firing on all cylinders. And if Donald Trump had stepped into office and just sat on his hands, on his little hands, those trends would have persisted. That's a very widely accepted finding. But when you come in and you start jamming affordability with tariffs, right? When you start a war of choice in Iran, when you engage in the deportations that we've talked about, when you create the kind of uncertainty that he has meted out on financial markets, you shift that jobs machine into something close to neutral. And that's really what we're seeing in today's report.

[Jackie Alemani]

Some unforced errors here. But I do wanna pressure test the takeaways from today because there were some positive indicators. Corporate profits remaining high, consumer spending holding up, and other things that basically show that companies are not looking to entirely SL their payrolls. There's also this takeaway from the New York Times that the unemployment rate has now been at 4.5% or below for 58 consecutive months. It's the longest streak on record, surpassing 57 consecutive months in the late 1960s into 1970. So is this a weak jobs report or is it steady?

[Jared Bernstein]

Oh, this is a weak jobs report. The underlying job market remains pretty steady and 4.1% is low unemployment. Remember, no one month is going to change the overall trend. But when you talk about corporate profitability, it has been exceptionally strong. The problem is Main street isn't feeling it. And in fact, the stock market did very well today. This is one of those reports. It's good news for Wall street and bad news for Main Street. If you look at earnings of just middle income people, they're actually up less than inflation for the past three months in a row. So people's paychecks actually have less buying power. That's directly related to the inflationary impact of the war in Iran and the tariffs in particular. So you can have a kind of two cycle economy. It's highly unequal, the market's booming. The bottom half owns no equities per se. And so that kind of split is really being felt by a lot of people on Main Street.

[Jackie Alemani]

Well, let's actually take a detour to Main Street, Jason, and listen to what Scott Besant has to say about that K shaped economy and whether or not voters are actually struggling, or at least according to the Trump administration.

[Campaign Manager]

I got sick of hearing about this K shaped economy you can't save.

[Keith Ellison]

Now every dollar you have has to

[Campaign Manager]

go to gas, groceries, bills, rent. I can say here definitively the K shaped economy is over.

[Juanita Toliver]

You know, you can't do anything with

[Jackie Alemani]

gas prices and

[Juanita Toliver]

you just can't.

[Jackie Alemani]

You can't afford to breathe at this point.

[Campaign Manager]

And we're seeing more of a C economy where the lower end of wage earners are finally calling it back just like they did in President Trump's first term.

[Keith Ellison]

Low class might as well, you know,

[Jackie Alemani]

crawl in a hole because they can't afford anything. And I should clarify, those are Trump voters.

[Rachel Maddow]

Yeah.

[Jackie Alemani]

What was your. I saw you cock your head a little, Jason.

[Campaign Manager]

Here's the thing. Whenever I hear these people talk about K shaped economy, and again, that's rich people making more, poor people making less. The K stands for kicking everybody's butt. Right. Because that's what's happening right now. Regular people are suffering. Those 23,000 jobs. I want to talk about where those people are coming from. Right. We've seen the huge tech cuts, we've seen the cuts in the job market. We've seen the cuts in the federal government. That 23,000, those are the small business owners, Those are the small construction people. Those are the car dealerships, those are small medical supply people. They are the ones who also tend to be swing voters. And they are hurting. They can't do their summer hires. They can't bring in their kids at a lower rate that they used to. And what they're seeing is massive economic corruption on the part of this administration. They're seeing, you know, deals being cut for a company that doesn't take care of their lettuce. They're seeing deals being cut for someone screwing up the reflecting pool. They're seeing 43 year contracts with a local sewing company in Pennsylvania that used to make suits for the Blue Angels being snatched away and given to somebody who is a higher bidder. Regular business people the small owner who's got 30 to 40 employees, they are seeing massive corruption on this administration and they can't hire. That's why this economy looks so bad. And that's what Scott Bessett and most of this administration doesn't care about.

[Jackie Alemani]

Is there the potential, though, for Republicans to try to right the ship, at least from a communication standpoint, or is it at least now, too, baked into the reality of people's day to day?

[Campaign Manager]

Oh, yeah. Absolutely not. They're done. They're done. No one's gonna buy this anymore. And you can't, no matter what a local Republican may say. Look, there are lots of Republicans who care about the economy. They care about their constituents. But when the top of the ticket is basically arguing about, hey, I can't get enough gold on my toilet seat, he sounds like some sort of third world dictator in the 80s banana republic. You can't create a message stronger than the head of your party. And that's why Republicans are failing on the affordability argument, because they can't be louder than Trump.

[Jackie Alemani]

Jared, next week we are getting another report, the inflation report, which arguably might be more informative or instructive of what the administration is going to do for the next few months. Some of the punditry today was sort of the takeaway was that it lessened the jobs losses, lessened the urgency to hike interest rates. Is that a takeaway you agree with, and how much of that is dependent on what we see next week?

[Jared Bernstein]

Well, certainly the Federal Reserve's gonna be looking very carefully at the inflation rate, and I agree with your sentiment and that they're weighting inflation more heavily than they are the job market. And it's kind of interesting and links up to what Jason was talking about. The reason the Fed isn't really concerned about the job market is because there's no evidence at all that it's overheating and pushing inflation. To the contrary, wages keep growing more and more slowly. And I'd like to weigh a little bit in on your great question about is there anything the administration can do about it? In fact, there are some things they could do. They won't do them because they think they can get on TV and say, it's not a problem, it's not hurting you, everything's fine. Affordability is a hoax. K shape is a hoax. They think that they can transplant their alternate economic reality into the minds of the American people. And guess what? Just like Jason said, they can't do it. Now, if he ended the war in Iran and took down the, the tariffs and stopped all this business uncertainty. Sure, some of you'd see some improvement. Not only are they not doing that, they're exactly doubling down in the opposite direction. So, yeah, just telling people things are fine isn't working for them because when it comes to prices, people know which way is up.

[Jackie Alemani]

Not to put you on the spot here, and I do very much appreciate you coming in here on a Friday evening, but you were once in a similar sort of position if you had to go back and rejigger some of your own messaging under the Biden administration, is that okay?

[Jared Bernstein]

You got 45 minutes. So look, yes, we talked past the American people. That's true. But we never lied to them. Never once did I go out and say what you see in front of you isn't happening. What I said is what you see in front of you is happening. And we're doing everything we can to try to help. And we didn't reach folks. And oftentimes I think we did talk past them. But I think the honesty piece of it is a distinction with a difference.

[Jackie Alemani]

Certainly we're not using the language, the word choice of hoax correct.

[Jared Bernstein]

Exactly.

[Jackie Alemani]

Jared Bernstein, thank you so much. And Jason Johnson is sticking around because later in the show, how Donald Trump Jr. Could reap a windfall off of a lenient new handgun policy set by his father's administration. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will be here on that and more. We've also got the clash over Trump attorney general nominee Todd Blanche. I'll talk to an Epstein survivor speaking out tonight. Plus, Donald Trump gets dealt a major legal setback on his ballroom vanity project and why GOP midterm fears are growing tonight. We're back in just 90 seconds. It's summertime, but Donald Trump's political and legal problems are snowballing today. A federal appeals court halting above ground construction on Trump's prized ballroom. The judge ruling, quote, each president is a temporary tenant, not the owner of the White House and its executive residence. The president has no and claims no constitutionally assigned authority over that property. Not mincing words there. Trump saying he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. But critics, including many Republicans, question why he's focusing on vanity projects at all given the ongoing war, an affordability crisis and the looming midterms. The New York Times Maggie Haberman, who's been covering Trump for years, said this week, quote, if you looked at a chart of Trump's mindshare, 70% of it would be on his renovations. Trump insider telling Axios, quote, trump concentrates on the hobbies that distract from his terrible polling numbers about which he is in denial. Here are the facts. Trump's approval rating is now at the lowest of his second term, his disapproval also at its highest. According to prominent pollster Nate Silver. Today, despite these facts, Trump claimed that voters are angry at Republicans, but just not him.

[Donald Trump]

And I've had some great polls recently, real polls, but they're great polls. If I don't run, will those people go out and vote? And that's the one thing I can't tell because a lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you, I don't know. I mean, they're angry at Republicans, but they're not angry at me.

[Jared Bernstein]

Why?

[Donald Trump]

They're not angry at me, but they are angry at Republicans.

[Jackie Alemani]

The data suggests that Both Trump and D.C. republicans are in trouble. Four separate polls show Democrats leading Republicans on the generic midterm ballot ran. Reuters has Democrats ahead by 5 points, CNN 8 points, Emerson College 11 points, and the Economist 4 points. As Axios puts it, for Republicans, this is the Trump induced summer of discontent. Joining me now is Juanita Toliver, Ms. Now political analyst, award winning author of A More Perfect Party and host of the archival podcast. Back with me is Jason Johnson. Juanita, thanks for joining us at the table. Let's start with you. I mean, I want to get your take on these two major undertakings by Trump and things that have whether or not that was his initial intention, some of his major priorities, the war and the ballroom, both of which are now stalled by forces that most people could have predicted and in fact, some of his advisors did predict to him before the fact. But he has had the same response to both, which is essentially to lay blame on the messenger or to his own party, but not himself. What do you think voters take away from this quandary should be the same

[Juanita Toliver]

lack of focus on their needs that they've been feeling in their wallets that the same voters who you highlighted in the previous segment informed the world that they feel stuck, they feel trapped. And Donald Trump is yet again putting his attention on things that have nothing to do with them or make their lives more stressful, more expensive, more harmful for them to experience. I also think about that phrase you included from the judgment temporary tenant, something we all know. Donald Trump might not know it. He clearly, as he every time he puts on a 2028 hat, rejects that reality. But the delusion is reaching a point where even courts are interjecting not only reality but also separation of powers by emphasizing that Congress has The rights for approval and appropriations for changes to the White House, not Trump. And so when you talk about these issues and Trump's focus, he's now going to give Republicans in Congress who are fighting for their lives in these midterms and yet another drag on them to try to explain at home if they decide to move forward with trying to give him funding for this ballroom.

[Jackie Alemani]

The thing I also keep thinking about, especially this week on the Tales of Michigan, is that a lot of voters are still not even paying attention. And these are the numbers that, that we're seeing. I did talk to a senior Trump campaign strategist this week who made the argument that Republicans also haven't started spending as much as they're planning on, especially.

[Juanita Toliver]

But what are they going to say

[Jackie Alemani]

when they start spending in Michigan, in Tex. That's a very good question. But do you mean. Do you buy that argument, Jason?

[Campaign Manager]

No, no, that's not gonna make a difference. First off, like you said, most people aren't paying attention until Labor Day, right? They're paying attention when football season starts and they start paying attention to the act. And by then, your feelings about the economy are already baked in, your feelings about the war already baked in. None of that stuff is gonna magically change. And it doesn't make it any easier. There is some accidental truth which Trump occasionally stumbles upon. Right. People don't like how he's doing his job, but Republicans still, by and large, like him.

[Jackie Alemani]

Yeah, right.

[Campaign Manager]

The Republicans actually like him. They just don't like anybody else. And it's this classic situation where, you know, Trump gets the sniffles and the Republicans in general get pneumonia. Right. And he can stand up there and do the shaggy defense. It wasn't me for any other thing that he wants to talk about. Right. And they're the ones who have to face the voters. He doesn't. So his sort of protection from his own bad behavior and his own bad policies allow him to say things like that, even if the consequences are going to be felt in other places.

[Jackie Alemani]

What about, though, the. One of the counters that I got that is also goes along the lines of the flaws with some of these Republican candidates are already baked in, too, such as Ken Paxton.

[Campaign Manager]

Right. But here's the thing. Ken Paxton is running in Texas and he's running against James Talarico, who has had the opposite effect. And I've said this before, the opposite of what you have in Michigan. They're still kind of arguing, and there's still bad feelings about that primary down there. There's lots of different Republicans in different states that have flaws, that have people who have issues with them one way or another. But if we're talking about a red state, as opposed to, say, what's happening in Michigan as opposed to what might be up in the air in South Carolina, there are lots of different local factors that are going to come into play that at the end of the day, Trump is not going to have an effect on and it'll matter if Democrats can rally themselves those individual states.

[Jackie Alemani]

And Juanita, I want to ask you about some of the news that broke today, which is the president deciding to restart his battle to fire the sitting Fed Governor Lisa Cook. This has been an ongoing saga, as you know. He you know, it's Sisyphean task to try to get in his head and understand where this is coming from. But I wouldn't D and he signaled as much that as soon as the Supreme Court made their decision to allow her to stay in her seat, that he was going to challenge this again. He said it on Truth Social, I believe, at the time. But I'm wondering when, if he was potentially looking at the headlines today, if this was just another thing that he decided to sort of throw into the swirl, to try to distract his own photos and also maybe to try to manipulate what the Fed is going to do in September when they have the opportunity yet again to try to lower interest rates, which is what the president wants, despite lots of opposition that he's getting from other sitting board members on the Fed.

[Juanita Toliver]

I think, yeah, there might be a level there to, to what you're saying about distraction tactic. But I 1 don't think Donald Trump is that smart. I do think he gets fixated the same way he got fixated with birthright citizenship and has now put forth two new executive orders. I don't think this is going to mean anything to regular people who are turning out to vote, though. I do think that this is something that is, as Jason mentioned, people already know how they feel when they sit down to pay their bills on the first of the month, every month. People already know how they feel when they're standing at those gas pumps. And while Donald Trump is trying to say this has nothing to do with me, what does have to do with him is any Republican voters who stay at home, who drive down enthusiasm, who are not going to turn out for anyone on the ballot, even if he shows up and endorses candidates.

[Campaign Manager]

And let's call a thing a thing. Donald Trump has been particularly hostile towards black women in positions of power that mean that's just a fact. Whether you're talking about Tish James, you're talking about Kamala Harris, you're talking about Lisa Cook, you're talking about 350,000 African American women who lost their jobs under Doge. This is a particular thing that his administration, whether it's him or Stephen Miller or Pete Hegseth, have focused on. So I'm not surprised by this at all. There doesn't have to be a strategy behind it, but there is a pattern of behavior that we've seen with this particular president and particularly black women in positions.

[Juanita Toliver]

And his fixation on black women.

[Jackie Alemani]

Yes, perfectly said. Jason, thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciate it. Jason Johnson and Juanita, you are sticking with us. Stuck right here. And still ahead, how Donald Trump Jr. Could benefit financially from lenient new rules set by his father's administration on handguns and how Democrats are trying to stop it from happening. But first, the blowback to a Republican senator caving on Trump Attorney general nominee Todd Blanche. We talked to a nephew survivor going public tonight.

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[Priya Shriether]

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[Campaign Manager]

Hey, before your Q3 call, I've got the campaign brief ready built from last quarter's data and the competitive landscape.

[Priya Shriether]

Great.

[Jackie Alemani]

Did you include the differentiation angle the CMO asked for?

[Campaign Manager]

Already in there. Three angles. No competitors using right now. Just need your approval.

[Team Lead]

Approved.

[Jackie Alemani]

Thanks. Oh, agents, where would we be without you?

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[Jackie Alemani]

Create your first Monday agent in [e-mail] the Senate appears poised to confirm Todd Blanche, President Trump's highly controversial Attorney general pick after retiring GOP Senator Bill Cassidy announced today he would vote to confirm Blanche, giving him just enough votes to make it over the finish line. That is despite opposition from Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins. The full Senate vote could come as soon as this evening. Blanche, the current acting ag, has faced serious resistance from a number of important groups. DOJ vets, former judges, and Epstein survivors, all asking senators to vote no on Blanche. If he does become Attorney General, he will still be plagued by issues from his time as acting AG, like this new lawsuit, NM suing Blanche and the Justice Department, alleging that they stonewalled from the state's own probe into Epstein. Also saying the DOJ's actions, quote, actively harms victims and undermines the public interest. Something Epstein survivors have been saying for months. Take a listen to Liz Stein, a survivor who spoke out on Capitol Hill opposing Blanche's nomination.

[Team Lead]

My opposition to Mr. Blanche's confirmation is not based on politics because this is not a political issue for us. It is based on the Department of Justice's failure to faithfully implement the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Instead of acknowledging the severity of Epstein's crimes and imposing the rule of law, Blanche treated the fallout as a reputational problem for the current administration to manage.

[Jackie Alemani]

Joining me now is Liz Stein, the Epstein survivor who we just heard from in that clip. And Juanita Tolliver is back with me. Liz, thank you so much for joining us tonight and for all of your work and advocacy these past few weeks and years. Really, I want to ask you if you had the opportunity to talk to any of the Republican lawmakers during your time on Capitol Hill this past month.

[Team Lead]

Well, we certainly have attempted to talk to Republican lawmakers because as I said in that clip, this is not about politics for us. This is a case about sex trafficking. It's about the crime of sex trafficking. And there's been so much political emotion infused to something that, you know, really doesn't have much of anything to do with politics.

[Jackie Alemani]

Were you present or did you participate in that meeting with Todd Blanche, and what were your takeaways from meeting him?

[Team Lead]

Yeah, I was in that meeting with Todd Blanche, and I will say that it was very disheartening. It was very demoralizing. We had been asking to meet with the Department of Justice for months on end, and we were, you know, we were met with silence. And it was only when Senator Tillis made it a condition of Todd Blanche's promotion that he met with Us. And so we were given approximately four hours to show up at this meeting and be prepared. And we did show up prepared. We had an agenda with questions that we wanted answered. And we really went to that meeting in earnest to try and work with Todd Blanche. But we didn't get any cooperation from him. We got exactly the opposite.

[Jackie Alemani]

What are the most important questions that you still want answered by Todd Blanche?

[Team Lead]

Well, I think that we are very concerned about the fact that Ghislaine Maxwell has been moved to a low security facility. This is something that's unprecedented for anyone who has a conviction that she has. And we haven't ever gotten real answers about what transpired there. It feels to us like it was a reward for her saying what Todd Blanche wanted her to say publicly. But that's a really big concern for us. We were also very concerned about the way that the files were released and the way that redactions were handled. Again, we're victims of a crime, yet our personal identifying information was released over and over and over. My, the name of my school was released, part of my address was released. My name was released in a, in a sentence that said Stein was a victim of Epstein and Maxwell. And if you can't redact a victim's name in that sentence, then, you know, what hope do we have? And so we see women who had never told anyone that they had been involved with Epstein, who didn't feel ready to talk about this publicly, who were exposed over and over and over again. And now their friends are reading them most intimate details of their exploitation. The parents at their kids schools can get all of this information about them. And so, you know, that is particularly concerning to us because we are victims of this crime. And we also saw over and over again where potential perpetrators names and information was redacted. So that's really hugely concerning to us.

[Jackie Alemani]

Well, you raise a really good point there, Liz and I, I want to ask you about the, the New Mexico suit that's ongoing right now that Todd Blanche is also accused of stonewalling. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torres said in an interview with NBC when he was asked whether there was another woman who might have facilitated the sexual assaults in a similar way to Maxwell. And he responded that at this point, we don't know. At this point, I'm wondering if you have an answer to that.

[Team Lead]

Well, I will say that it seems to me that anytime someone wants to investigate this crime, they're met with incredible hurdles that they shouldn't be met with. And we're seeing that again in this New Mexican, New Mexico case. They're just trying to get to the bottom of what happened and yet the Department of Justice refuses to cooperate with them. It's maddening, to be honest with you.

[Jackie Alemani]

And Juanita, I want to ask you about the Cassidy of it all because it was counterintuitive news, quite frankly. I think everyone expected Cassidy to be part of this, quote, YOLO caucus. Not a phrase that I used or a pattern that I saw being employed by Republican senators who had been ousted from their seats, who had lost the primary. And Cassidy has not really bucked the party since his lost in the Louisiana primary. But today he had the opportunity to do so and again passed on it. What is your take on why he ultimately decided not to? Was this something was it self preservation to try to ensure that he secures some corporate board seats going forward once he leaves office? Was he trying to provide cover to Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins by letting them say vote no, but the vote still making it through. What's your read of these tea leaves?

[Juanita Toliver]

I mean, Jackie, that's the number one thing I'm asking. What does he get out of it? And not just Cassidy, but also people like Tillis and Cornyn who are also leaving the body in a few months. I just truly need to know what they're getting out of it that is worth more than transparency and justice for survivors like Liz who have been risking so much in stepping forward and speaking out. I also look at this entire situation of these senators who are leaving and ask what type of legacy do they expect that they're leaving behind that's not wrapped in this stench surrounding the Epstein files and handling by Blanche? So to your first point, Jackie, what are they getting by voting for this nomination?

[Jackie Alemani]

And Liz, before we are out of time, I do want to ask you about what comes next. I mean, I have heard from some people who are involved in the congressional investigations world that they're concerned that once Democrats, if they do win back the majority in November, take back subpoena power and come January, release and commence a handful of investigations that are not related to the Epstein files, investigations into Trump and various other issues that have cropped up over the last two years, that the Epstein files are, are not, are no longer going to be a priority for and the bipartisan agreement around it, at least in the House, is going to dissipate. What have what do you think is going to come next and how are you going to keep up the pressure on lawmakers to get to the bottom of everything?

[Team Lead]

So I don't think that the American public feels that this case is over, despite what the Department of Justice is telling us. And I think that that's really important to remember. I said a week or so ago that we the people have the power and that's really important for us to that our elected officials are in office because we put them there. And when we let them know how we feel about the Epstein case, it's hard for them to ignore that. I think it's difficult to predict what's going to happen in the future. I wish that I could. But I will tell you this. For the past year, survivors have met every challenge that has been put in front of us and we have no intention of stopping now. We know what the truth is and we are not going to stop until we see justice in whatever form that comes. And so, you know, the only thing that I can tell you for certain about the future is that we're not going away.

[Jackie Alemani]

Liz Stein, thank you so much for your time and for your courage. And Juanita Toliver, thank you as well. We appreciate you. Turning to exclusive new MSNow reporting on conditions facing sailors aboard the USS Lincoln deployed in Donald Trump's war against Iran. Military families confronting the acting Navy secretary in a quote, fiery face to face meeting in San Diego last night. During the combative meeting, the families brought up their concerns over the sailors quote, mental health safety on deck, a lack of supplies, food shortages, water contamination and disruptions in the mail system. Joining me now is Ms. Now Pentagon correspondent Priya Shriether who broke this story. Priya, please talk to us about this incredible reporting that you've been all over this week.

[Priya Shriether]

Thanks, Jackie. Well, yeah, emotions were running high and tensions were definitely boiling over at these two back to back town halls. We had one town hall that occurred in person on Naval Air Station north island in San Diego with the acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Kao. And then immediately following that, there was another virtual town hall with another 200 or so family members from around the country. And really their number one question for Navy leadership is when are our loved ones coming home? These men and women on the USS Abraham Lincoln, it's about a 5,000 person crew have been on a record setting deployment. This was supposed to be a seven month deployment. It appears as though it has now been extended for a second time and it just hit a modern day record in the Navy for the most number of continuous days and at sea. And that's really important here because that raised a number of concerns from the family members at this meeting about the low morale that they believe is occurring on the ship and also the exhaustion that they believe could result in accidents that could potentially be extremely dangerous. So the one thing the acting Navy secretary said is that what they're hoping to do is bring the theater Roosevelt, a different aircraft carrier that just got back to San Diego from a military exercise in Hawaii into theater to relieve Abraham Lincoln. But he's not quite sure when exactly that's going to happen. And he cannot give them any sort of definitive timeline about when these men and women will come home. And then we also heard a lot about the conditions on the ship that I have been reporting about all week. Things like moldy showers, a lack of hot water in the showers, a shortage of food. There are sailors and their Marines standing in one to two hour lines to get into the show ship store only to find that there was a lack of basic hygienic items like toothpaste, deodorant and soap. And the Navy leaders acknowledged that this has been a problem. And that was a result of the fact that Navy's fifth Fleet, which is where their logistics headquarters are, was getting bombed by the Iranians. And then most interestingly, Jackie, the policy angle of all of this also came up in both of these town halls. We had one woman stand up and essentially say that that her husband has expressed to her that he doesn't feel proud of what he's doing, that he believes that a lot of the actions that are occurring as a result of this war in Iran are killing innocent civilians. And she said, how am I supposed to feel proud of his service? And that comment was actually met with a round of applause. So there was just a lot of questions about what is the mission going on with the war in Iran, when is it going to end? Because that's going to be the answer for them as to when their loved ones are actually going to come home.

[Jackie Alemani]

Those are shocking details that you uncovered and we're so grateful for your reporting. And it's I just want to emphasize how important it is in adding to the overall picture of the US Military under pressure and strain due to this war of choice. Thank you so much, Priya Shriether. Up Next, more than 20 state attorneys general are suing the Trump administration over a new push to allow handguns to be sent in the mail. One of them joins me live

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[Jackie Alemani]

to the Rachel Maddow Show, Morning Joe, the briefing with Jen Psaki and more voices you know and trust. Ms. Now is your source for news, opinion, union and the world. Learn more at Ms. Now we're following a troubling and potentially illegal push by the Trump administration to allow companies to sell handguns in the mail. Trump's DOJ issuing a memo claiming that a nearly 100-year-old law banning the practice is unconstitutional. There are also troubling questions about how this could benefit the Trump family. Donald Trump Jr. Sits on the board and holds shares in a company he helped go public, known as the, quote, Amazon of guns. According to Reuters. The change could benefit Trump Jr. Who has $700,000 worth of shares in Grab A Gun. Donald Trump Jr. Says he had no role in the decision, but there's real pushback from a group that has stopped Trump before. Nearly two dozen Democratic attorneys general are calling the proposal, quote, illegal. This latest move spotlights a strange dichotomy. The Trump administration thinking it's okay to send handguns in the mail, but it's not okay to send ballots in the mail. Trump asking the Supreme Court to sign off on his executive order limiting the use of mail ballots even though he voted by mail himself earlier this year. Trump has claimed that voting by mail is cheating. Except apparently when he does it,

[Donald Trump]

mail in voting means mail in cheating. I call it mail in cheating and we gotta do something about it all. And because of the fact that I'm president of the United States, I did a mail in ballot for elections that took place in Florida because I felt I should be here instead of being in the beautiful sunshine. And I decided that I was going to vote by mail in ballot because I couldn't be there because I had a lot of different things.

[Jackie Alemani]

As we mentioned, Democratic state attorneys general are vowing to fight the push to send handguns in the mail as they have with other Trump policies like tariffs. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joins me next to talk all about it. Joining me now is Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, one of the ags calling out the Trump administration over their proposal to allow Americans to mail handguns. Attorney General, happy Friday. Thanks for joining us. I want to ask you about this letter of opposition to the Trump administration to withdraw the proposed rule that they have made the states in. In this letter that you signed on to therefore urge USPS to withdraw the proposed rule and at a minimum, to clarify the terms mailable firearms and non mailable firearms to ensure that the rule does not create a mechanism for individuals to obtain firearms that are unlawful to possess in their respective states. I'm wondering if you can explain a little bit further about why if the administration ultimately decides not to withdraw this rule, which is, I think, what many of us would be expecting, why the clarification of mailable versus non mailable might prevent this from going into effect.

[Keith Ellison]

Well, at the end of the day, these terms are valuable and can be interpreted in different ways. Definition is important here. But I think the main thing is the executive branch just doesn't have the authority to unilaterally override a federal statute passed by Congress. There's a 1927 ban which remains active law and has never been struck down by a court. And they really don't have the authority to do it. It clearly will make people money who traffic in these instruments of death, but it's still not going to be lawful. So I think we have to stand for public safety, stand for communities being able to protect themselves against being shot. And that's really what's motivating us. At the end of the day, the administration's action allowing guns, handguns to be sold through the mail will increase the number of handgun deaths and but looks like it might, you know, enhance the wealth of at least one member of the Trump family, which is something that we have to draw out as well.

[Jackie Alemani]

Yeah, we actually should go into a little bit more detail on how Don Jr. Is going to be benefiting from this. The change could benefit him. This is according to Reuters, More who whose more than 300,000 shares in Grab A Gun are worth more than $700,000. But getting back to the rulemaking here, how much time is left in the public comment period? Because I remember a time when there was a rulemaking process where if there was enough actual public outcry or pressure on an administration, they would ultimately drop a proposed rule. So how much time is left and right. What does. What are you all doing in that? With that remaining time, we are writing

[Keith Ellison]

letters as thank you for highlighting the letter we wrote. We're asking the public to raise their voices. Let me just tell you, there are people in your community, no matter where you might be sitting watching this broadcast, who have lost loved ones to gun violence, school shootings, community shootings, domestic violence. There are all types of tragic situations. I can never get over the shooting at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis where somebody shot down children at prayer in school. Or my dear friend Melissa Hortman was the speaker of the Minnesota House. There are stories to be told, and I hope that Americans all over this country write to the Trump administration and say, you should not be selling handguns through the mail. It will make things more dangerous. It'll put guns in the hands of people who should not have them. It is a terrible idea.

[Jackie Alemani]

And Attorney General, before we're out of time, I want to pivot to tariffs. There is a theory amongst some economists that at this point, the third time around, of people in vigorous opposition to Donald Trump's tariffs, that the biggest obstacle to actually undoing them is financial and not legal. Just because of the way something that was supposed to be a temporary regiment is now getting baked into the US Economy did that is has. Have you taken the financial implications at all into your calculus when coming out against this latest round of tariffs?

[Keith Ellison]

These tariffs are the things that are causing economic chaos. We're on round three. Remember, round one went all the way up to the US Supreme Court. When we sued Trump over the first round of tariffs and the Supreme Court, this Supreme Court found that the Trump administration had violated the law. They had collected quite a bit of money, literally billions, and now they have to refund it. Some of the companies who are getting refunds are not remitting, passing those on to the consumers, even though consumers paid it. Then we opposed the second round, and now we're here we are on the third one where we're suing them again. Look, there's nothing inherently wrong with considering limited tariff, but this is brought across the board, it's illegal, it's unallowed, and we have to uphold the rule of law. He's violating the rule of law and we have to uphold it, which is why we sued him. And I'm confident we're going to win three times on these tariffs.

[Jackie Alemani]

I'm not sure the bond market is in complete agreement with you, but consumers who are paying higher prices certainly are. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Walter.

[Keith Ellison]

Well, let me just say, does it make sense to let him break the law simply because there are some benefits somewhere else to somebody else? It's illegal. So thank you for allowing me to be heard.

[Jackie Alemani]

That does it for me.

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Ever since I was young, I've watched people working hard, chasing opportunity, making sacrifices,

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The stakes have never been higher. It's all on the line.

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On the Line with Alicia Menendez, weekdays at 12pm Eastern on Ms. Now.