The Briefing With Jen Psaki 6/24/26 — 🅼🆂🅽🅱️🅲 Breaking News Today June 24, 2026

[0:00] you just talked to and Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader who I'm about to talk to. [0:05] I'm going to play him also some of what you talked to Mayor Mamdani about. So we're going to get [0:09] right to it. I can't wait. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Okay. We're going to get to that in [0:16] just a moment, but lots of other things to talk about because being the president of the United [0:20] States is a hard job. We all know that. I mean, all the hard decisions land on your desk. Every [0:25] single president says this and it's true, but there are actually some parts of the job that [0:31] are supposed to be, well, much easier than others. Simple things that the leader of the [0:36] free world does in between all of the difficult stuff, like say throwing a birthday party for [0:42] America. I mean, that's supposed to be one of those very easy things, right? But for Donald [0:49] Trump, even the easiest parts of being president somehow all end up being an unmitigated disaster. [0:59] I mean, take tonight's launch of the big Freedom 250 celebration in Washington. If you've even [1:03] watching any of this, I mean, which kicks off with, it's kicks off with a Trump rally ahead [1:08] of the so-called great American state fair, which begins tomorrow. Now, originally the plan was for [1:13] this whole thing to launch tonight with a big concert on the national mall. That's when Trump's [1:18] team even announced a slate of musicians that would be headlining the event. And they weren't [1:23] exactly current A-listers. I mean, one of the headliners was one half of the infamous European lip [1:30] syncing pop duo Milli Vanilli. Bret Michaels of Poison fame was included. Martina McBride, [1:35] you get the idea. Within a matter of hours, once it became clear to those artists that the concert [1:41] would be associated with Donald Trump, even those artists started dropping out of the concert one by [1:48] one until eventually Trump effectively pulled the plug, calling for that big concert to be canceled. [1:55] But despite all of that, Trump promised that the launch of America 250 would still be super duper [2:01] awesome. We're going to have the biggest rally we've ever had. It's going to be on the national [2:07] wall. It's our music, our playlist. We don't have a lot of people boring you with songs that you don't [2:13] want to hear. We have the hottest people, the hottest everything. They have the hottest people. [2:21] Glenn Greenwood, I'm looking at you. It's a big day for you. The hottest everything. They don't have a [2:26] lot of people boring you with the songs you don't want to hear. So who did Trump manage to book for his [2:32] big event? Who was the big name they managed to lock in? Well, it's Kash Patel's 27-year-old [2:40] girlfriend. Get excited, everybody. The FBI director's 27-year-old girlfriend is a featured [2:47] performer at Trump's big celebration, which I'm sure was thrilling news for all of these 6,000 people [2:53] who are following her budding country music career on Spotify. I'm sure they are absolutely delighted. [2:58] But it turns out well-known musicians are not the only ones dropping out of Trump's big state fair. [3:04] The website for the event says it will feature more than 150 exhibits from all 56 states and [3:09] territories. Sounds good, right? Only it turns out that some of America's states and territories [3:15] are just as reluctant to participate in this thing as Milli Vanilli, or one half of Milli Vanilli, [3:21] to be exact. Because several states have now also announced that they are pulling out of this [3:26] event, too. According to various news outlets, at least 10 states have dropped out and will not [3:31] have exhibits at the event. Trump couldn't even get all 50 states of the United States of America [3:36] to attend the great American state fair. And he can't even deliver on the food he promised for [3:43] this event, it turns out. Because yesterday, Axios reported that a local D.C. sandwich shop that [3:47] appeared on the event's vendor list said they never agreed to participate in the fair at all. [3:53] Again, this is supposed to be the kind of thing that is easy for a president. It's kind of the [4:00] presidential equivalent of a local politician showing up at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. But [4:06] Donald Trump can't even pull this off. And that's sort of par for the course right now. [4:11] I mean, also today, Trump was supposed to hold a signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing bill [4:17] on Capitol Hill. Now, passing any bipartisan legislation that addresses real problems like [4:22] housing is not easy under any president, especially these days. But luckily for Trump, [4:28] Congress did all the heavy lifting on that part. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott worked [4:33] together with a bunch of other senators to shepherd the 21st Century Road to Housing Act through the [4:38] Senate. Representatives Maxine Waters and French Hill did the same in the House. Senator Warren is [4:43] actually going to join me here later this hour to talk about all of this. And those members worked [4:47] four months to build bipartisan support for the bill. All well. And this is the least surprising [4:53] detail of all. Trump was reportedly dismissing their efforts behind the scenes, telling Mike Johnson, [4:59] quote, no one gives a shit about housing, according to four sources who spoke to Punishable. And there's a lot [5:05] of people care about housing, I would just note. But nevertheless, Congress managed to get the bill passed [5:11] with overwhelming bipartisan support, readying it for the president's signature. And this morning, [5:16] the stage was set for him literally to do exactly that. There is the stage on your screen. You can [5:21] see it. There are seats there. There are flags there, everything. They literally built it at the [5:25] Capitol for Trump to just sign the thing. All he had to do was just show up and write down his name [5:32] with his big dump sharpie. That's it. It would have been a very easy victory. Vulnerable Republican [5:38] candidates could have run on a bipartisan accomplishment, something that actually helped address the [5:42] affordability crisis that voters are so pissed off at Trump about. But somehow he managed [5:49] to screw that up, too, because around 1030 a.m. he took to social media and declared that [5:55] he was hereby canceling the signing ceremony and would not sign the housing bill into law [5:59] until Republicans passed his big voter suppression bill. Now, that's an announcement caught everyone [6:05] off guard. I mean, everyone, especially members of Trump's own party. Trump's former top aide, [6:10] who is now in charge of Republicans' midterm strategy, posted on X, this was a signature commitment [6:16] that President Trump laid out in the State of the Union. Just a few months later, it becomes law. [6:21] Now, he was apparently blissfully unaware that the president had refused to sign the bill he was [6:25] referencing in that post. And so were congressional Republicans who were in the middle of a press [6:30] conference praising their bipartisan achievement as Trump was on social media trashing the bill [6:36] and saying he wouldn't sign it. Scott McFarland even captured this footage I'm going to show you. [6:41] It's quite something. A Republican congressman, Virginia Fox, kind of stumbling around, looking [6:48] lost when she showed up to the signing ceremony, only to find out that Trump had called it off. [6:54] Yeah, she looks pretty confused there. Now, Trump could have just handed his party an easy win, [7:00] but instead he blew it all up. After that humiliating debacle, Trump then attended a closed-door [7:06] meeting with Senate Republicans that turned into an absolute circus. MSNOW reports that Trump got [7:13] into a shouting match with Republican Senator Bill Cassidy. Trump called Cassidy a lunatic. At one [7:18] point, Cassidy referred to Trump as brother, to which Trump replied saying he wasn't his brother. [7:22] That is factually true, but there you go. At one point during the meeting, Trump berated Republican [7:28] Senator Dave McCormick for missing the vote on the War Powers resolution for Trump's war in Iran, [7:33] even though Dave McCormick missed that vote because he was literally with Trump at a rally in [7:39] Pennsylvania. And when reporters later asked McCormick if Trump had yelled at him during [7:44] the meeting, he responded by saying, I love this, the food was great. Maybe that local DC sandwich [7:50] shop that wouldn't cater Trump's fare showed up at the Senate Republican lunch. Who knows? And after [7:57] other Republicans had similarly guarded yet uncharitable descriptions of the meeting, a number of them [8:04] did. They were very guarded, but definitely not friendly. And here was Senator John Cornyn. [8:08] The president closed by preaching unity, but he spent the entire hour talking about things which [8:18] were not exactly unified. I mean, I love YOLO John Cornyn, even though he was trying everything he [8:25] could to just get that elevator button to go. The point is, it's clear that Donald Trump was in a [8:29] foul mood today. And I don't think it was just his lame state fair or his failing voter suppression bill [8:35] that set him off. Because right before he decided to cancel the signing of that big bipartisan housing [8:40] bill, he posted another telling missive, this one reacting to last night's election results in [8:45] New York. He wrote, quote, Mayor Mamdani pulled through three solid communists and has received [8:50] loud and universal applause from the fake news media. Congratulations, Mr. Mayor. I won 16-0 last [8:56] night. Helping to elect wonderful American patriots in the media doesn't say a word. Over the last two [9:01] years, my endorsement has netted 259 primary wins and almost no losses with zero media attention. [9:06] Fake news. That is in no way factually true. But this shows you how unhinged he was this morning. [9:13] Trump cares about political power, primarily above almost anything else. And he is clearly feeling [9:19] insecure about the fact that New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani is receiving attention for having [9:23] influenced several high stakes primaries with his endorsement. For Trump, power and influence are the [9:30] most important things a politician can have. And when someone else proves to be more influential than [9:35] he is, Trump throws a fit to try and prove he's the very special boy who deserves all of the [9:39] attention. That's why he spent the day blowing up his party's legislative agenda, getting in fights [9:44] with Republican senators, because he is insecure about his own hold on power. And he knows the [9:50] voters aren't with him. So once again, he has resorted to finding ways to make it harder to [9:54] participate in the process. I mean, just listen to the way he took, when he took, when he was asked, [10:01] what he said when he was asked about why he wouldn't sign the housing bill. This is quite telling. [10:04] It's just every election is important. We're doing very well. They want a lot of communists to come [10:18] in. I'm saying it a little bit differently. But the people that they're pushing are communists. And [10:23] this country is not going to have communists. Thank you very much. [10:29] Why didn't you sign that housing bill that had bipartisan support that probably the American [10:34] people would have maybe even liked? Trump, the people they're electing in New York are communists. [10:38] See, Trump is obsessed with the coverage of last night's elections in New York. And it's such a [10:43] strange thing for him to get upset about that, because that coverage is really not even universally [10:48] positive for Democrats. I mean, plenty of media outlets seized on the opportunity to dust off [10:53] their old Dems in disarray headlines, talking about divisions inside the Democratic Party. [10:58] Don't get me wrong. There are real questions that last night's election raises for the Democratic [11:02] Party. Questions about the power figures like Mayor Mamdani have within the party. He has a lot. [11:07] Questions about the party's position on support for Israel and whether its leaders are out of step [11:12] with their voters. Some may be. Questions about whether the Democratic Party should be rallying [11:16] around incumbents and primaries, especially in places where primary races are the only opportunities [11:21] for voters to get a say in who represent them. And that one feels pretty outdated to me. [11:26] All of those are important issues that I'm about to talk about with Leader Jeffries. [11:30] But before I get to all of that, I think it's important to put all of this in context against [11:34] the chaos that is currently happening inside the party that controls all three branches of our [11:38] government. Because if last night's seismic election results showed us anything, it's that [11:44] there's only one political party left in the country that is ready to have serious debates about the [11:48] future of the country, that has a diversity of voices and a diversity of views. Only one party that [11:54] is capable of doing the hard stuff, while the leader of the other party can't get through the day [11:58] without messing up ribbon cutting and signing his own name. As promised, joining me now is House [12:03] Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. I have so much to ask you about, including, of course, the races in [12:09] New York last night. But before we get to that, you're the Democratic leader. It seemed like one of [12:14] the craziest days on Capitol Hill in some time. And I just have to start by asking you about Trump's [12:20] abrupt refusal to sign this strikingly bipartisan housing legislation and his simultaneous demand that [12:27] Republicans move forward with a voter suppression bill instead. What were you thinking as you watch [12:32] that all happen this morning? Yeah, listen, Donald Trump has once again made clear that Republicans [12:39] would rather make it harder to vote than easier to live in an affordable way. In this particular instance, [12:49] easier to purchase or rent a home that is affordable. And that's consistent with basically what Donald [12:57] Trump has been saying to the American people, that he believes the affordability crisis is a hoax, [13:03] that he loves inflation, and that he doesn't care about the personal financial situation [13:08] of the American people. And today was really powerful exhibit A, that he would detonate a [13:16] bipartisan housing bill. And I'm thankful for the leadership of Congresswoman Maxine Waters, [13:22] Senator Elizabeth Warren. House Democrats stood squarely behind that leadership in the House [13:30] by once and future chairwoman Maxine Waters to get to a good place, take a meaningful step forward [13:36] for the American people as part of our effort to continue to do all that we can to drive down [13:41] the high cost of living. Donald Trump had a chance to try to tout a bipartisan success, [13:47] and he blew it all up in ways that are extraordinary. I think he's a little insecure [13:54] about his own hold on power. That's my calculation there. Let's talk about the primaries in New York [14:00] last night. I know you've spoken about it a little bit. Obviously, there were a diversity of candidates [14:05] who won in different districts across the state of New York and other places in the country. [14:10] But there were three races, and we got to talk about those, where you were on a different side [14:15] than Mayor Mamdani. And he said in the last hour to my colleague, Chris Hayes, that what we saw last [14:20] night was a rejection of status quo politics. What do you say to that? Well, I was involved in two [14:28] of those races, supporting my colleagues, Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat. And of course, [14:34] I'm deeply appreciative for their service to the country and the Congress. Certainly, [14:39] Dan Goldman and the role that he's played in trying to hold Donald Trump accountable. [14:43] and Adriano Espaillat, who's been a champion for immigrant communities, pushing back against [14:49] ICE, fighting to bring resources back to the people of Harlem, Washington Heights, and the Bronx. [14:55] And I was proud to stand in support of them. And if I had to do it all over again, I'd do exactly the [15:03] same thing. But we understand, in the House in particular, that primaries are a way of life. [15:10] You know, the House was intended by the framers to be the institution closest to the American [15:15] people. We're proud of that, to constantly try to reflect the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations, [15:21] the fears, the concerns, the anxieties, the life experiences and the passions of the American [15:27] people. And that's why we stand for election every two years. And the reality of serving in the House [15:33] is that every cycle, there's often just a handful of incumbents who, for one reason or the other, [15:41] fall short of re-election. And last night, of course, that happened twice. [15:47] There's been a lot of speculation out there about your relationship with the mayor. [15:52] And he was just asked about this with Chris Hayes. I wanted to play that for you and talk [15:56] about it with you as well. [16:00] What are you looking for in your conversation with Leader Jeffries tonight? [16:03] You know, I appreciate the relationship that I have with Leader Jeffries. And it's one where [16:09] we're united and looking to deliver for the people of the city. And as you heard from him, [16:13] we have disagreements about endorsements. And I think you mentioned a number of those candidates [16:18] that I was proud to endorse. And Maria Lisa, Avila Chevalier, and Claire Valdez, and Brad Lander. [16:23] And also, at the end of the day, what we're looking to do is to deliver for the working people [16:27] of New York City. And I think last night, we heard from New Yorkers a hunger for exactly that kind [16:32] of work being done here in our city. Chris, you two are going to speak tonight. I don't expect [16:37] to tell me everything you plan to say or talk about. But broadly speaking, [16:41] what's the message going to be? What are you hoping to get out of that phone call? [16:46] Well, I think as the mayor indicated, you know, the congressional delegation, [16:51] I won't speak for them, but certainly we, you know, intend to continue to do all that's necessary [16:57] to work with our partners in state and city government, including the mayor, to make life more [17:04] affordable for the people that we're privileged to represent and to improve their quality of life. [17:09] At the end of the day, that's why we're all in office. And in a moment like this, we really, [17:16] you know, have to move forward together on the governing side in an all-hands-on-deck fashion [17:21] because we're dealing with a level of extremism that Donald Trump and the Republicans are unleashing [17:26] on the American people that is unprecedented. It's one of the reasons why, of course, at the end of [17:32] the day, our focus here in Washington is actually trying to defeat Republicans and to flip back [17:38] control of the House of Representatives so we can end this national nightmare and continue to move [17:43] our country toward a more perfect union. That's not the place that we're in right now. And so, [17:50] you know, I look forward to the conversation that we'll have. I think we've both been clear that [17:55] we've agreed to disagree on some of these endorsements. There were two endorsements where we [18:00] were on the opposite side. I, of course, standing with my colleagues in the New York congressional [18:05] delegation. I'm proud of the fact that several other of my colleagues, of course, decisively won [18:11] reelection, whether that's Grace Meng or Richie Torres, Yvette Clark, just to name a few, for whatever [18:18] the reason, those races didn't catch a lot of attention. I'm also thankful for the fact that we [18:25] finally have some resolution. We had at least two strong candidates in New York 17 congressional [18:31] district currently being rented by Mike Lawler, but Kate Conley emerged. She's a decorated, [18:37] courageous, patriotic combat veteran for whatever the reason that race hasn't gotten a lot of [18:43] attention, even though Mike Lawler right now is shaking in his boots because Kate Conley is going [18:48] to flip that seat in November and help us deliver a majority in the House of Representatives. [18:56] She has a huge, huge shot in that race, and we'll look forward to talking to her, too. It wasn't called [19:01] by the time we had the show last night. Let me ask you about another issue, because elections and the [19:05] outcomes of them, it was a diverse array of candidates, as you just said, who won last night. [19:10] You can reflect on where voters are, and maybe you can learn sometimes from where voters are. And one of [19:15] the other things that Chris and Mayor Mamdani talked about was Israel and the issue of support [19:19] for Israel. And this was a real issue in these three races, where Mayor Mamdani endorsed candidates [19:25] who did win. As you said, you were involved in two of those races. As you look to the outcome of those [19:31] races and you look to the people who are going to be coming and representing those districts, [19:34] I mean, one of the things he said is that I think that Israel played a major role. He was asked about [19:39] the Leander Goldman race, because New Yorkers have had to watch as tens of billions of our attack [19:43] dollars have been spent on bombs that not only shred international law, but the lives [19:47] of civilians. How have you reflected on the message voters have sent on that particular issue coming [19:54] out of last night? Yeah, no, you know, that's a very interesting question. And New York City, [20:00] like many other places, has a variety of different folks who have different views on a whole host of [20:06] issues, both domestic, of course, which I think the affordability crisis continues to be the highest [20:11] priority for the American people. And our focus will continue to be drive down the high cost of [20:17] living, make life more affordable, fix our broken healthcare system, and of course, clean up corruption [20:22] wherever it may be found here in Washington, D.C., particularly as it relates to the Supreme Court [20:28] and the Trump administration. Now, in terms of, you know, the issues related to Israel and the Middle East, [20:37] I think at least I can speak to my perspective, which is that, you know, I support Israel's right [20:44] to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. I support the aspirations of the Palestinian people [20:50] to achieve the dignity, respect, autonomy, and self-determination that they appropriately [20:58] desire. And we need to find a just and lasting peace between Israelis and the Palestinian people, [21:06] which for me means a real authentic commitment to a two-state solution, a safe and secure Israel [21:14] living side by side with a prosperous Palestinian state designed to achieve dignity and self-determination [21:23] for the Palestinian people. Now, in terms of the races in New York, what's interesting is that [21:29] it certainly was the case that in some of those districts, which tended to be, you know, higher [21:36] income, you know, districts in many parts of New York City, there was an outsized focus on issues [21:43] connected to the Middle East. In other districts, for instance, in the South Bronx, Richie Torres was [21:51] running against somebody who was heavily critical of Richie Torres' position on Israel, and he won by 50 [21:59] points. And so, listen, I think at the end of the day, you know, individual congressional districts, [22:06] the beauty of it all are made up by a diverse group of people who have a diverse set of perspectives [22:12] on a wide variety of issues. I think for us as House Democrats, we're just hopeful that everybody [22:20] recognizes once we get through this primary season that the enemy is Donald Trump and MAGA extremism [22:26] in terms of trying to bring about the type of America that we all desire, where when you work [22:33] hard and play by the rules, working class folks can live in a comfortable life, an affordable life, [22:39] and a good life. That shouldn't be too much to ask for in the United States of America, [22:45] the wealthiest country in the history of the world. [22:49] Leader Hakeem Jeffries, it is a big, diverse coalition. I also think you learn a lot from [22:54] elections, too, sometimes. I really appreciate you joining me. Thank you again. [22:59] Thank you. [23:00] Coming up as we watch this sad Trump rally here in Washington tonight, I've been thinking about [23:04] something my next guest said recently. He said he's doing these things now because no one will [23:09] honor him when he's gone. Senator John Ossock is here, and we have a lot to talk about tonight. [23:14] We'll be right back. [23:16] If you watched any of Trump's great American state fair tonight, I mean, I'm sorry for you, I guess, [23:24] but you might have thought you were just watching a Trump rally. Well, the 16-day event bills itself [23:30] as a free, nonpartisan celebration of America's 250th birthday with no ulterior motives, nobody [23:35] supposed to be benefiting aside from the American people. That's clearly not the case. I mean, [23:40] just to put a fine point on it, tonight's festivities were produced at least in part [23:44] by the production company behind Trump's rally at the Ellipse on January 6th, a company that the New [23:50] York Times reports has received millions of dollars worth of no-bid contracts since Trump [23:55] retook office. And it is just one of the now multiple companies. The Times reports has [24:00] received no-bid contracts from the Trump administration related to the country's 250th birthday. [24:06] Now, for anyone out there thinking, well, doesn't it make sense for the government to celebrate [24:09] the country's 250th birthday? Yeah, of course it does. The country should be celebrating. [24:14] That is why a decade ago, Congress created a nonpartisan nonprofit called America 250 to help [24:20] plan and produce a celebration. But this isn't that group. You see, the Trump administration [24:25] decided to make their own group. Instead of America 250, this group is confusingly called [24:30] Freedom 250. And it is Freedom 250 that just so happened to hire the firm from Trump's January 6th [24:36] Ellipse rally. It is Freedom 250 that decided the academic institution it should partner with for [24:42] this celebration of American history was the unaccredited right-wing evangelical group. [24:47] It is Freedom 250 that is holding tonight's rally on the National Mall, headlined by Trump himself. [24:53] And all of these pro-Trump, pro-MAGA festivities are costing quite a lot of money. Some of that [24:58] money is coming from private donors. As the New York Times reports, Freedom 250 got some of its fund [25:03] by offering perks to private sponsors. Of course they did. For half a million bucks, sponsors could get [25:09] their logo featured at Freedom 250 events. For a million bucks, sponsors got access to Trump himself. [25:14] But of course, a lot of these festivities are being paid for with your tax dollars. [25:19] The nonprofit watchdog groups, the Revolving Door Project and Public Citizen have tracked nearly [25:24] $103 million worth of public contracts and grants from the Trump administration to what the groups [25:30] describe as, quote, a network of politicized entities under the control of Trump administration [25:36] officials and political allies. There we go. All under the guise of America's 250th birthday. [25:43] Joining me now is Democratic Senator from Georgia, John Ossoff. Good to see you. [25:48] Great to be back. Thanks for having me. [25:50] Of course. So tonight was technically the kickoff of America 250. And I think a lot of people feel [25:56] two realities right now. One, pride in being an American, pride in being in this great country. [26:01] And the other reality is watching the president of the United States essentially make money from [26:08] this celebration, make it about himself, help benefit people who owe him favors. How do you [26:14] square, not square, but how do you think about these two realities? [26:18] Well, I think it's a call to action for patriotic Americans to recognize that at the 250th anniversary [26:24] of our country's founding in rejection of kingdom and monarchy, we have these events being hijacked [26:32] by the narcissism of the president who styles himself most like a king. And it wouldn't be a [26:38] Trump event without no bid contracts and the sale of access. Corruption is par for the course at this [26:44] point. I think the Trump show has jumped the shark. I don't think many people are tuning in [26:48] because he's lost it. But more importantly, what we're seeing is how destabilized he is [26:57] by his global humiliation in the Middle East, which he cannot deny or lie away. His approval rating sits [27:05] at 34 percent while Americans pay more than ever for groceries and health care and rent. And he's out [27:11] here building a monument to himself and adorning his office in gold trim while because of his actions, [27:18] cancer patients face the loss of their health insurance. He has cemented his place in history [27:24] in disgrace. And now our job as patriotic Americans inspired by the legacy of our founding is to [27:32] marshal all of our passion and resources and energy to restoring checks and balances this fall because [27:38] we won't get another chance at this. And this race in Georgia will be decisive. I am the only incumbent [27:44] Democratic senator running free election in a state that Donald Trump won. They will spend hundreds [27:49] of millions of dollars to try to unseat me. And I'm asking folks to visit electjohn.com to support [27:55] my effort. One of the things you've worked very hard on is this housing bill that I started the show [28:00] talking about. And this morning, this all happened in the same day. Sometimes you can't make it up in [28:04] Washington. Trump just decided not to sign this bill. And instead, he demanded that your Republican [28:10] colleagues move forward and essentially pushing a voter suppression bill forward. I have my own [28:17] thoughts. I mentioned some of them. What do you think he pulled this all today? Let's be very clear [28:22] about what the president is saying to the American people. The president is saying that he will not sign [28:28] a bill whose purpose is to make housing affordable unless his allies in Congress pass a voter suppression [28:37] bill to rig the election. He is saying, I won't even sign a bill that will give economic relief to [28:43] Americans unless the rules of this election are changed so that he, Donald Trump, cannot be held [28:50] accountable for all of his misdeeds. Because that's what he really fears most of all, is that when there [28:57] is a change in the balance of power and when we restore checks and balances, he knows that there will be [29:02] subpoenas flying, that officials from his administration will be testifying under oath [29:08] about the full range of misconduct and corruption that we already know has been happening since the [29:14] moment he was sworn in. He also today had a lunch with the Republican caucus. You mentioned a number [29:20] of the things a number of them are pissed off at him about, including him trying to jam an 88 billion [29:26] dollar ask for money for the Iran war down their throats, pushing for this voter suppression bill, [29:31] which there are not the votes for. He hasn't endorsed some sitting members of the Senate. [29:36] I just played a little bit of YOLO John Cornyn, as I like to call him. What's going on with that? And [29:42] do you think there are more opportunities to work with Republicans on some of the things that might [29:46] be priorities to you and some of your colleagues? Look, I've got good working relationships with a [29:50] lot of Republican colleagues. That's how I've gotten so much done for Georgia, from passing landmark [29:55] prison reform legislation to legislation that forces big tech companies to report online predators. [30:01] And I know because I talked to him that many of them are furious, that many of them feel that the [30:06] president has lost control and lost the plot. And yet we cannot hold out hope for a sudden outbreak [30:14] of courage and integrity on the part of this president's allies in Congress, because he's [30:20] already blown through so many red lines and they stand with him because they're afraid of him. [30:26] It is only by winning decisively this fall and demonstrating to his allies that they put their [30:33] seats and their political careers at risk by continuing to do his bidding that we will change [30:39] their behavior. We have to take a very quick break. You know how this goes. But I do want to ask you [30:43] more about the Republican vote on America. I mean, Republican war on America's vote, as you just said, [30:49] and the impact on Georgia when we come back. I mean, there was a big win in Georgia yesterday. [30:53] We were quite familiar with as the legislature adjourned without taking up Trump's plan for [30:59] redistricting to redraw congressional districts so that they could come back to it next year, [31:02] I would just note. But today we also we still heard Republicans like Senator Tommy Tuberville from [31:07] next door to you in Alabama pushing hard to strip voting rights as in this is ongoing. It's not done. [31:12] I want to play that. We'll talk about it after the break. [31:14] If we don't do something with the filibuster and we don't get things passed, it'll be the last time [31:22] we'll have a Republican president or Republican Senate or a House. That's how fast this country is [31:27] going down to communism. And we need to stop it. We're back with Democratic Senator John Ossoff [31:38] of Georgia. Before the break, I played this clip of Tommy Tuberville. He obviously is not your opponent, [31:43] but what he was saying reflects what Donald Trump is saying, which is was essentially a reaction to the [31:49] New York primaries last night. But he basically is saying that Republicans need to pass their voting [31:54] bill and prevent, quote, communism. This is language I think we're going to hear over and over again, [31:59] maybe from your opponent and certainly from Republicans across the country. This is happening [32:03] too. Well, the postmaster general testified to some of your colleagues today that the Postal Service [32:07] would consider not mailing in ballots if states don't turn over their voting rolls. You know very well [32:13] what the impacts of all of this is in Georgia. As you look to the stakes here and what your opponent [32:18] could support, what should people understand about what could happen if Democrats aren't able to [32:23] win your seat and win back more seats this year? Well, Tuberville reminds me in some ways of my [32:29] opponent in Georgia, Congressman Mike Collins. And Congressman Collins is known even among Georgia [32:38] Republicans for his low integrity and his poor character. There's a reason that Governor Brian Kemp [32:45] worked so hard to try to deny Mike Collins the nomination. He's a bigot and an anti-Semite who [32:52] is under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars. His chief of staff was revealed to [33:00] be working with white nationalists to try to get a Holocaust denier freed from prison. His campaign was [33:06] recently mocking a rape victim online. And he is an election denier. He is one of those who defended the [33:15] violent mob that sacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. And to your point, we're going to have to mount [33:22] the most intense defense of voting rights in Georgia history this year because they're making their [33:29] intentions very clear. And it all started in Georgia. Their obsession with Fulton County, Tulsi Gabbard's [33:34] ballot raid in Fulton County. And we're going to have to mount the most powerful and determined get out [33:42] the vote and turnout effort in Georgia history to overcome whatever obstacles are put in people's way [33:48] as they go to the polls or whatever dirty tricks the administration tries to launch from the Oval Office. [33:54] And again, the best way people can help us defend voting rights in Georgia is by going to [33:58] electjohn.com and supporting this campaign. Senator John Ossoff, thank you again for being here and [34:04] making time for us. Thank you for having me. Okay, my next guest is the architect of the bipartisan [34:08] bill. Donald Trump refused to sign today. And in response, she accurately described him as a [34:14] petulant child. Senator Elizabeth Warren joins me next.