The Briefing With Jen Psaki 5/9/2026 — MSNBC Breaking News Today May 9 2026

[0:00] so I'm going to let you get some shut-eye, see your family. I don't know how you're fitting it [0:04] all in, but I'll let you get to that, and I'll see you tomorrow. Awesome. Have a great show. [0:09] Okay. Did you think this administration couldn't get any crazier? Did you think we'd reach the [0:19] ceiling on the super crazy? If you did, I'd ask you to consider the headlines we've gotten just [0:25] in the last couple of hours today. I mean, Pete Hexeth has just ousted the Secretary of the Navy [0:31] at a time when the U.S. is enforcing a massive naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. [0:36] And then there's this story from the New York Times reporting that the FBI tried to investigate [0:41] a journalist after she wrote about Kash Patel's 20-something-year-old girlfriend receiving [0:47] all sorts of government perks, like, say, a SWAT team security detail that escorted her around, [0:53] including when she was going out at night. We're going to have Senators Cory Booker and [0:57] Senator John Ossoff here tonight to discuss all of that and much more. But first, I just have to [1:03] start with Virginia, because last night, the voters in Virginia did something really big. [1:10] They approved a new congressional map, a map that nets Democrats four more likely seats in the House [1:15] of Representatives. And just to put this in perspective of what it means nationwide, [1:19] as the New York Times put it, going into last night, Republicans had a two-to-three-seat [1:24] edge in the House of Representatives. But Virginia's new map, after redistricting, [1:30] I should say, but Virginia's new map leaves the national redistricting war at roughly a drop. [1:35] So that's a big deal. Now, I should note that a judge has temporarily blocked Virginia's new map, [1:40] but that decision is likely to be appealed, and that appeal seems likely to win. So the bottom line [1:46] is this. Last night, voters in Virginia made clear they are not going to lay down and allow Trump [1:52] to hold on to power in Congress through any means he chooses. They made the midterms a fair fight. [2:00] Now, to be clear-eyed, Trump and his minions are not giving up either. They're going to try to [2:05] gerrymander more Trumpy states. I mean, Florida is their next target. And Trump clearly has plans to [2:10] mess with the elections themselves. We all know that. We'll keep talking about it. But here's what [2:15] we've seen so far in election after election. No matter what dirty tricks are tried, no matter the [2:20] intimidation tactics and the disinformation, over and over again, people in this country are showing [2:26] up and making clear they have had enough of Trump's accountability-free administration and had [2:31] enough of the spineless leaders in Congress who blindly follow him and allow him to do many of the [2:37] things he continues to do. And to be clear, after last night, the Democrats have never been in a [2:44] better position to win back the House of Representatives in November. And yeah, Trump [2:49] would still be in the White House. He would. But control of the legislative branch of government [2:55] means subpoena power. It means investigations. It means people will be in charge who are actually [3:00] going to hold the president and his administration to account. And that matters now more than maybe [3:06] ever before. Let me tell you what I mean. I mean, earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal broke the [3:11] news that the United Arab Emirates is asking the United States to throw them a financial lifeline [3:16] to use something called a currency swap to buoy the UAE's economy. Well, last night, Trump said [3:22] he's considering it. Is there some type of swap possible to currency swap with the UAE to help if [3:31] they need it? And do you think there would be backlash because it's such a wealth or perceived to be [3:35] such a wealthy country? Is that under consideration? It is, but it's been a good country. It's been a good [3:41] ally of ours. Now, the question is, when Trump says that he might use the U.S. Treasury to prop up [3:50] the UAE because, in his words, it has been such a good ally, does he mean such a good ally to the [3:57] United States of America? Or does he mean to Donald Trump personally? Because, I mean, four days before [4:04] Trump was inaugurated last year, an investment firm tied to a member of the UAE's royal family paid [4:09] half a billion dollars for a 49 percent stake in the Trump family cryptocurrency company World [4:14] Liberty Financial. The Wall Street Journal reports that the way that investment was structured steered [4:19] 187 million dollars toward Trump family entities. Another 31 million dollars reportedly went to [4:27] entities affiliated with the family of Steve Witkoff. Yes, Steve Witkoff, that guy. One of Trump's top [4:33] negotiators in the Middle East whose family co-owns World Liberty Financial. Now, a few months after [4:39] that reportedly happened, an investment firm backed by the UAE provided the Trump and Witkoff families [4:45] with yet another windfall, depositing two billion dollars into, you guessed it, World Liberty Financial. [4:53] Now, both President Trump and Steve Witkoff say they have divested from World Liberty Financial and have [4:57] not been involved with the company or any of its deals since Trump took office. And, of course, [5:01] World Liberty Financial says that deals with the firm do not grant investors any access to government [5:06] decision-making of any kind. But here's the thing. This is the heart of the president's family [5:13] business. His sons, too, these days. This is the heart of it. According to an analysis from Forbes last [5:20] year, crypto now accounts for the majority of Trump's net worth. World Liberty Financial is the Trump [5:26] family's crypto company. And according to the Wall Street Journal, the UAE owns nearly 50 percent of it. [5:32] The UAE deposited two billion dollars in the company, potentially netting the Trump and Witkoff [5:37] families tens of millions of dollars in interest a year, as long as the UAE doesn't withdraw that [5:42] money. And now Trump is considering giving his foreign benefactor a huge, enormous financial [5:50] lifeline on the taxpayer's dime. And his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who could actually facilitate [5:56] that lifeline to the UAE, is pretending, as he does, that Trump has no conflict of interest here. [6:02] Do you dispute the fact that Sheikh Tanun, through his company, invested $500 million [6:13] in World Liberty Financial, just before the president was ignored? [6:20] I'm unaware of that. [6:21] You're not aware of that? [6:22] I'm not aware of that. [6:23] Okay. [6:25] Okay. [6:26] Okay. [6:26] Okay. That was today. [6:28] Bessent claimed, the Secretary of Treasury, he had no clue about any of this. [6:33] Now, the Wall Street Journal, kind of the paper of record for financial nerds like Bessent, [6:38] wrote a piece laying all of this out in January. But Bessent claimed, yeah, he had no idea. [6:43] Forty members of Congress even wrote Bessent himself a letter demanding answers on this [6:48] exact issue two months ago. And yet Bessent sat in front of the U.S. Senate today and still [6:54] played dumb. But as much as Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen held Bessent's feet to the fire [7:00] today, and he did, that's all he could do. Because Democrats are not in the majority. [7:05] But if Democrats can get the majority in the House this November, that changes. Letters [7:12] like this one demanding answers about the UAE's reported stake in the Trump family's [7:15] crypto business, those would no longer just be strongly worded letters. Those could become [7:20] subpoenas. Rather than avoiding questions from Congress, officials from the Trump administration [7:25] would have to answer Congress's questions, often under oath. And there are a lot of questions [7:31] that the American public deserves answers to right now. I mean, today, Senator Chris Van Hollen [7:36] tried to grill Trump's trade secretary about yet another potential corruption scandal. [7:41] Back in January, the Trump administration bought a stake in a rare-earth mineral company, [7:45] giving the company $277 million in direct funding and another $1.3 billion in loans. [7:52] Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was reportedly central to putting together the deal. [7:56] And wouldn't you know it, so was Lutnick's old Wall Street firm, Cantor Fitzgerald. [8:01] It was the lead placement agent for the private investor portion of the deal. [8:05] Now, Lutnick himself is divested from the firm, which is currently run by his [8:09] two adult sons. And the firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, has not commented on the deal. [8:13] An official from the Commerce Department said that the deal was negotiated directly between [8:17] the rare-earth mineral company and the government, with no involvement from Cantor Fitzgerald. [8:21] But again, this is one of the issues where Democrats in Congress have demanded answers, [8:26] and there are still a lot of questions. Democrats wrote a letter to Lutnick about all of this [8:30] two full months ago, along with a detailed list of questions. [8:34] But today in the Senate, Lutnick still didn't have any answers ready for them. [8:41] Can you respond to the letter? Would you respond to the letter by the end of this month [8:45] that we sent that lays out some of these questions? [8:50] I will take another look at the letter and see if we can work together to resolve your issues. [8:54] I would appreciate that, Mr. Secretary. [8:58] Okay, we'll see. Not holding my breath on that one. [9:01] Right now, Democrats in Congress are fighting with their hands tied behind their backs. [9:06] And they are doing a heck of a job trying. [9:08] But without a majority in either House of Congress, all they can really do is ask the [9:11] Trump administration to answer their questions. [9:13] And just asking, clearly, that isn't working. [9:17] I mean, for months now, Democrats have been demanding answers from the Treasury and the [9:20] Justice Department about Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. [9:24] Late last week, Reuters reported that the Justice Department and the IRS are actually in talks [9:29] to settle that lawsuit. So the Justice Department, run by Trump's former personal lawyer, Todd [9:34] Blanche, is negotiating with Trump's IRS, which ultimately answers to Scott Bessent, [9:39] yeah, we already talked about that guy and his evasiveness, and Trump himself, negotiating [9:44] over how many of your tax dollars they should give Trump. Democrats have been demanding answers [9:49] as to what exactly is going on there for months. But today, Todd Blanche was asked about, [9:55] actually yesterday was asked about, and here's what he said. [9:57] You have the president in the White House pressing, obviously, for some personal money, [10:03] and then you have him being your boss. How do you sort of, just broadly speaking, [10:08] how do you sort of handle that sort of issue? [10:10] We handle, the Department of Justice handles complicated decisions involving those type of [10:14] issues every day, all day, and not just this Department of Justice. Every Department of [10:18] Justice handles issues like that. [10:20] Do they now? I worked in two White Houses with many attorney generals, I mean, who were in office, [10:27] who, there you go, no Justice Department has never had to handle something like that. No, never. [10:32] That is not an everyday issue. That is a historic, unprecedented act of corruption. [10:37] And it would be great to be able to show the American people how the sausage is being made [10:40] there, so they can see for themselves just how gross it is. I mean, yesterday, [10:44] the Washington Post published details from the Trump administration's contract governing the [10:48] fundraising they have done to make Trump's new multi-hundred-million-dollar White House ballroom. [10:54] You know the one. Not only has the White House declined to disclose the total amount raised and [10:58] the identities of all the donors, but it has conveniently excluded itself from conflict of [11:03] interest protections. The White House says that this is all just, it's all just standard procedure [11:09] and framed the use of private donations as a, quote, boon for taxpayers. But with no transparency here, [11:16] we have no idea if those private donors are expecting something in return. And judging from the [11:22] record here, I suspect many of them might be. Again, Democrats have been demanding answers [11:27] on this front for months. But a subpoena sure would be handy. What voters did last night in [11:33] Virginia leveling the playing field for the midterms, that gets Democrats closer to that goal. [11:39] But given the sheer volume of scandals here, given the unbelievable amount of potentially corrupt [11:43] actions happening all over the Trump administration right now, and how much work it will take to get [11:48] to the bottom of all of it, I think that Democrats can and should shoot for more than just the House. [11:54] Earlier this month, the Cook Political Report shifted four Senate races toward Democrats, [11:58] the exact amounts of seats Democrats need to gain for a majority. As the New York Times [12:03] Chief Political Analyst Nate Cohn put it earlier this week, a Democratic Senate is now a real possibility. [12:08] It's felt that way more and more over the last couple of weeks. And one of the seats that will be [12:13] pivotal for Democrats to hold on to, to have a shot at that majority, is Georgia Senator John Ossoff's. [12:19] And Senator Ossoff is betting that Georgia's voters care about all of this potential corruption, too. [12:26] Never before have we seen so little effort to hide so much corruption. [12:33] The Mar-a-Lago Mafia has taken American corruption to spectacular new heights. [12:45] But corruption in America runs a lot deeper than Donald Trump. Because how does American politics [13:00] really work? It's coin operated. Money goes in, favors come out. [13:10] Joining me now is Democratic Senator John Ossoff of Georgia. There's always so much to ask you [13:18] about, and especially given the state of corruption in this administration, in this country, I want to [13:23] get to most of that. But first, I have to ask you about some news that just broke today, which is [13:28] that the Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, was ousted, it seems, by Pete Hegseth. And this, of course, [13:35] is coming at a time when the U.S. is right in the middle of a war with Iran, when we're learning [13:40] about how long it's going to take to reopen the state of Hormuz, even if that's resolved. And this [13:45] is a long list of firings. What's your reaction to that ouster? Yeah, thank you again for having me, [13:51] Jen. And I met with Mr. Phelan when he was trying to get confirmed by the Senate. He was [13:56] not an impressive man or an impressive nominee for that role. And it appears he's not done a good [14:02] job in that role. In addition to what's happening overseas, they were trying to resuscitate ship [14:08] building in the United States with very limited success. But what's happening right now in the [14:13] Strait of Hormuz is a geostrategic and economic calamity and a huge self-inflicted wound. It appears [14:21] that the president has gotten himself stuck and is desperately trying to extricate himself from his [14:27] own mistake. It is worth remembering that now 13 Americans have been killed in action, [14:34] hundreds wounded, thousands of civilians killed, munitions, it will take years to replace, [14:42] grave damage to our standing and position in the world. And yet, the regime in Tehran is still [14:50] intact, as are their ballistic missile and drone forces, as is their ability to choke off global [14:56] energy supplies, as is their stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which they only built [15:01] after President Trump shredded President Obama's Iran deal. [15:05] So you are on the long list of things that Secretary Hegseth has done and the people he's ousted. It [15:11] doesn't sound like this is the top of your list of concerns. [15:13] Look, he has been lying to the American public about this war from day one, as has the president. [15:24] And they have misled the public about why we're at war. They've misled the public about the progress of [15:30] the war. And they've executed this operation with astonishing incompetence, doing immense economic [15:38] damage and undermining our national security. No question about everything you just said. [15:43] And it is all tied, especially given who their negotiators are, to, as I referenced, this [15:48] unbelievable level of corruption. You gave a banger of a speech this weekend where you talked about a [15:54] lot of this. We just played a clip of that. But I want to ask you about a piece of news that [15:57] really just broke yesterday, which is that the Trump administration seems to be considering [16:03] a form of a financial lifeline, I guess you could call it, to the UAE, especially, I mean, [16:10] there's questions about that alone, but especially given the massive financial entanglements of the [16:15] Trump administration, the Trump family. What do you make of that? Well, let's call it what it would [16:19] be, which is a bailout for the United Arab Emirates. The financial entanglement, the way that UAE [16:28] money, Emirati money from Emirati royals has compromised this White House is astonishing. [16:34] It may be one of the most significant scandals in American history. Who are the president's [16:40] two chief negotiators in the Middle East? Jared Kushner and Steve Whitcoff. Whitcoff and his family [16:49] are partners. His son, Zach Whitcoff, is the key partner in the Trump family crypto business, [16:55] which has received vast sums of money from Emirati royalty. The spy chief, the national security [17:04] advisor in the United Arab Emirates acquired a 49% stake in that business before the United States [17:14] agreed to grant the UAE access to our most sensitive AI chips. Then you have Jared Kushner, [17:19] his private equity firm, Affinity Partners, which in addition to receiving billions of dollars [17:23] from Saudi Arabia, has received a lot of Emirati money. The people doing our diplomacy are at the [17:31] same time doing personal business across the region that's enriching the first family. And meanwhile, [17:37] my constituents in Georgia are paying $4 for gas, paying more for groceries, rent, power, and a meal [17:45] out at a restaurant than ever before in American history. At the same time, the first family is [17:50] breaking in billions of dollars. And my message for everybody out there watching at home is that if [17:54] you are fed up with the brazen, disgraceful level of corruption and the abuse of power happening in [18:01] this administration, I need your help in this U.S. Senate race, the most competitive Senate race in [18:06] the country, where I'm the only Democrat running for re-election in a state that Donald Trump won. [18:10] Please contribute what you can at electjohn.com, electjohn.com. [18:16] One of the messages, as you've been out there speaking publicly, you know, to constituents and [18:21] giving speeches, it is about the impact of the Trump administration's corruption on people like [18:27] the ones that you represent in Georgia right now and the impact of that on their everyday lives. [18:31] It's not just international. That is eye-popping, disgusting, insane, what you just outlined. [18:37] It's also domestic. I mean, the corruption, I mean, Trump is currently in talks to settle a $10 [18:42] billion lawsuit against the IRS regarding the leak of his tax returns. And today, [18:47] the attorney general was asked about it. And he basically said, we do all sorts of deals like [18:52] this all the time. This is normal course of business. And I bring that up because as you [18:58] talk about quite frequently, it's not a one-off. It's not just the UAE bailout. It's across the board. [19:03] What do you make of all of the minions in the administration also and the impact of that? [19:08] The president shaking down the U.S. government, suing the United States and having people that [19:17] he put in power decide what to do about that. But here's the thing. When you throw people off [19:24] their health insurance and drive up their insurance premiums and gut the Medicaid program [19:31] in order to cut taxes for the wealthiest people in the country, that's also corruption. That's the [19:38] corruption that's endemic in our political system. That's the corruption beneath all of this that [19:44] predates Donald Trump. And indeed, in my view, gave rise to Donald Trump. I just learned today [19:51] that more of an half a million of my constituents have lost their health insurance this year alone [19:58] because the administration, instead of wanting to help people afford insurance, [20:03] wanted to give yet another tax break to the wealthiest people in the country and corporate [20:09] America. We have a hospital in Georgia that's closing its labor and delivery unit because of [20:13] the Medicaid cuts. Instead, those funds are going to a tax cut overwhelmingly for the rich. [20:19] That's corruption. And that corruption is so corrosive to people's quality of life, [20:24] their standard of living, and also to their confidence in the political system. [20:27] One of the reasons, and I just talked about this, why elections like your race in Georgia and [20:33] others are so important is because right now there's no accountability for what we're seeing [20:38] out of this administration because Congress and senators like yourself can speak out. You can send [20:44] strongly worded letters. You can cry to band together with Republicans, but you don't have subpoena [20:49] power right now. Senate Democrats don't. Neither does the House. When you think about what can be done [20:56] if you're in a Senate majority, you win your seat, other senators, other challengers win their seats. [21:02] What does that look like in terms of cracking down on this corruption that we're seeing that's [21:07] rampant, as you talked about, and holding people to account? Who comes first that you want to [21:11] question? And what would you want to do first to really change the course of this? Look, first of all, [21:17] just checking the unconstrained abuse of executive power is essential and only possible with a [21:24] decisive victory in these midterm elections. And then, yes, there's the necessary accountability. [21:31] The level of misconduct, the scope of misconduct is literally unprecedented in American history, [21:38] and not out of any sense of vengeance, not for punitive partisan reasons, but for the sake of governing [21:47] the United States, well, it has to be investigated, and there has to be accountability. I spent much of [21:53] the first four years of my term in the Senate investigating wrongdoing in the federal government. [21:59] I issued a subpoena to compel the testimony of the head of the Bureau of Prisons to look into [22:03] corruption and civil rights abuses in America's prisons. I had executives at a contractor that ran [22:10] housing on American military bases, testify under oath about how they were mistreating American [22:15] military families. And it is going to be necessary for the folks who are doing wrong right now and [22:21] lining their own pockets while they do it to come and testify under oath and to be held accountable. [22:27] Is there one person at the top of your list? [22:29] I think there are so many priorities for investigation and oversight. But as I mentioned in my speech on [22:37] Saturday, the incredible conflicts of interest in the midst of this diplomacy, like imagine if a sitting [22:45] ambassador conducting diplomacy for the United States was at the same time asking the Saudi crown [22:51] prince for hundreds of millions of dollars. It is obscene, and there has to be transparency, [22:58] there has to be investigation, there has to be accountability. [23:01] We have to take a very quick break. But first, I wanted to show you something unhinged, I guess, [23:06] but predictable that the president posted online today. Because one of the things I think everybody [23:11] needs to be clear-eyed about, and we've seen this over and over again, is the more he loses, [23:16] the more he grows unhinged and thinks about what he wants to do leading up to the election. [23:20] And he wrote, quote, a rigged election took place last night in the great commonwealth of Virginia. [23:27] It's pathetic and desperate, a sign of things to come, but I'll ask you about that next. [23:30] We are back with Democratic Senator John Ossoff of Georgia. Before the break, I read you this post [23:48] from Trump, not surprising. He obviously lost in the vote. Virginia voters went to the polls and [23:54] made clear that they want to hold him to account and level the playing fields. But when you think [23:59] about, and you must think about this, especially given what's happening in Georgia and you're on the [24:02] ballot, what he could get up to leading up to November and what people need to be clear-eyed about, [24:08] where does your mind go in terms of what we should be prepared for? Well, of course, Georgia and Fulton [24:14] County, Georgia, have been at the heart of the president's conspiracy theories and his efforts to [24:20] overturn the 2020 election from the very beginning. And we saw him send Tulsi Gabbard, the nation's [24:25] senior most intelligence officer, to oversee that ballot rate in Fulton County. But they made such a [24:32] mistake launching that attack on voting rights. In the state of Georgia, the cradle of the civil [24:39] rights movement, where so much was given, so much was sacrificed to secure the right to vote. [24:48] And the people's answer will be overwhelming. The defiant determination to exercise voting rights [24:58] in Georgia that's being awakened by their attacks on the franchise. But I say again, folks need to be [25:06] paying attention to this Senate race in Georgia. You know, a year ago, maybe I was worried folks were [25:10] despairing a little too much. Right now, to be honest with you, I worry about complacency. I worry [25:16] that folks don't know that the national Republican Party has vastly more resources right now than the [25:22] national Democratic Party. And yes, we have momentum and yes, we have the wind in our sails. [25:27] But my campaign has to put resources aside to prepare to fight off all these attacks on voting [25:33] rights. And so I will mention again and forgive the repetition, but if you've not yet supported me in the [25:39] Senate race out there across the country, it's electjohn.com. Help us defend voting rights in [25:44] Georgia. Politics 101 has always run scary, even as voters and activists. Before I let you go, [25:50] I mean, when you give speeches like the one you gave this weekend, there is a lot of chatter out there [25:55] about you putting your hat in the ring for president, you running for president. Has that chatter reached [26:01] your inbox yet? I've heard some of that. I have zero interest in running for president in [26:07] 2028. I love serving the state of Georgia. I've got two young daughters. And to be honest with you, [26:13] I think that the 2028 fantasy football risks distracting us from the urgent task at hand. [26:21] If we do not restore checks and balances in these midterm elections, I don't know that we have a free [26:28] and fair presidential election in 2028. So let's keep our eyes on the ball, folks. We need to win [26:35] decisively in Georgia, in every battleground state, and in every competitive U.S. House [26:40] district this fall. And folks out there, ask yourselves whether you are doing what you need [26:45] to be doing right now. It's a collective effort. All of us need to be taking action in defense of [26:49] our republic. Senator John Ossoff, up for re-election. One of the most targeted, if not [26:55] the most targeted, Democratic senator in the country right now. Did I mention it's electjohn.com? [27:00] You mentioned it a few times, but there you go. Three times a charm. Thank you for being here. [27:05] Thank you. [27:05] It has been quite a night for the crack team in Donald Trump's cabinet. The New York Times is [27:12] reporting that Kash Patel's FBI began investigating a Times reporter after she wrote about Patel's [27:18] girlfriend. Not normal at all. And Pete Hegseth just ousted the Navy secretary during a naval blockade [27:24] in the Middle East. Not normal at all either. Senator Cory Booker is standing by with his reaction [27:29] to all of this insanity. And he joins me next.