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so now they can focus on doing what they do best for the next five years. that's a lot of bread. you got this. the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. switch today for a limited tim. good morning. it is saturday, july 20, and you are watching "velshi" on msnbc. i am charles coleman junior, filling in for my friend this morning. we come on the air with sad news that brooke overnight, democratic congresswoman sheila jackson lee has died after a battle with cancer. she was 74 years old. in june, she had announced that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatment. jackson lee, who was born in texas, serve the public for more than 20 years, beginning in cindy council and in house

of representatives since 1995. throughout her tenure, she served on several committees, including judiciary, homeland security, and budget. she was also a fierce and outspoken advocate for the interests of black americans. for more on this, i am joined by congressional correspondence julie circuit. good morning, thank you for being with us. sheila jackson lee was a fixture in the halls of congress. what more do we know about how lawmakers are reacting this morning? >> i can tell you that lawmakers on both sides of the aisles, having served with sheila jackson lee are remembering her as someone who often worked across the aisle on very key issues from taking care of veterans, to civil rights, to justice, to gun control, violence prevention against women. this is somebody who has been a fixture here, not just for the democratic party, also for the congressional community as a whole, certainly for the houston community she represented. since 1994, she was also a

lawyer. she earned her law degree from the university of virginia. as you said, she is a queens native. today, her colleagues, including democratic leader hakeem jeffries, are remembering her as somebody who has had a historic, trailblazing career. he also went on to say, he is grateful for her fierce advocacy,'s determination, formidable service and legacy of leadership. the congressional black caucus, something she has been a part of in her three decades here in congress also releasing a statement saying that jackson- lee was a patriot and fighter to the very end. words cannot express the sense of loss our caucus feels for our beloved friend. she will be deeply lost-- remembered by those who loved her. i have to tell you, in personal experience with her, she has always been kind, always coming to ups with a lot to say of course in the moments that matter. turning out to politics,

where we have got a lot to talk about. it has already been an eventful and historic summer in american politics. that is just putting it mildly. now that the republican national convention is over, it feels like we are entering this new phase in the election cycle. we are just three and half months away from election day, and the gravity of this moment, as well as the high state of this year's election, they are already settling in for so many americans. there are serious conversations continuing within the democratic party, as many members remain anxious and at odds about joe biden's chance of defeating donald trump in november. as of this morning, more than 30 congressional democrats have publicly called for the president to end his reelection campaign, including top lawmakers like representative adam schiff, and as of yesterday, senator sharad brown. meanwhile, the republican party is newly energized after the events of this past week.

the assassination attempts on the former president's life just one week ago has hardened many republican's support for donald trump. as well as his newly minted running mate, j.d. vance, the senator from ohio. all week at the rnc, so many people were insisting that donald trump is a new man after last saturday's tragic event. it is almost like they believe after a near-death experience, he has been transformed. they insist that peace and unity has been the message of the rnc and his campaign going forward. while trump took on a more somber tone during the first 30 minutes of his speech thursday night, it was not very long before he pivoted back to his old stop speech we've all heard, repeating much of the divisive rhetoric we have heard over and over from him before. trump, once again depicted an america that is in dire condition, just like he has done all campaign season. he called the situation at the

southern border an invasion and doubled down on his vow to initiate the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants if he wins in november. so much for the transformation into a kinder, more gentler donald trump. the former president went on in a more familiar tone, repeating lies about the results of the 2020 election. he referred to the former democratic house speaker as, crazy nancy pelosi. so much for unity. it was fun for the 15 minutes it lasted, i guess. this evening, all eyes will be back on trump and vance as they had like a rally in grand rapids, michigan. this will be the first time the pair will hit the campaign trail together as the gop's official presidential ticket. it will also be donald trump's first rally since he was injured just last saturday. joining me now are rena shaw, a republican political strategist and senior advisor to the seneca project. she has also previously served as an are in c rnc delegate in 2016, and as well joining us is michael sure, a longtime political journalist covering congress and the white house. he was covering the rnc this

week from milwaukee. michael, let's get started this morning. a lot of people at the convention suggested all week that we were going to see a new donald trump, and that the man was going to deliver a message of unity. that is not exactly what happened. you were there on the ground. talk to me about what your takeaways were from the convention. >> yeah, charles. good morning to you. i think there are two different kinds of unity. there is sort of about the unity within the republican party, absolutely that existed. whether or not conventions are a place where you can extend an olive branch to the other side, i don't know. that speech lasted far longer than 15 minutes, far longer than any speech ever given at a republican national convention. it did begin with the story that happened last saturday in butler, pennsylvania. as it went on one i think you

saw another version of donald trump. i am not so sure it came from humility, because you don't see that a lot from him. a lot of it came from what was going on on the other side with democrats. the fact that joe biden will likely not be the nominee at least that is how it felt thursday night, made it so he could not pivoted toward joe biden. he had to go toward some of the old favorites, such as different judges, and as you mentioned, charles, nancy pelosi. he could not invoke biden, as a matter fact, made it a point to say, i'm only going to say his name once. there was unity at the convention? to be frank, i have covered many, many conventions. i've never seen one without-- maybe the democrats between hillary and bernie, but even that was an exaggeration of how unified they were. i saw a lot of action from republicans, or donald trump. i also spoke with a couple of representatives who were there and said, this is all fun for us now, because it looks like

we are in the driver seat, but what happens on the other side will really matter most. >> two different types of unity, that is a new one. i am going to have to borrow that at some point. rena, i want to talk to you about this stage. that stage had a lot of interesting speakers, a lot of interesting performers. a lot of folks. we had tucker carlson, kid rock, franklin graham, we had texas governor greg abbott, we had amber rose, we had hulk hogan. i mean, this was a very interesting mix of folks. but at the end of the day, it still felt very much so like the rnc was clear in that it wanted to appeal to a white, male audience . is that fair, or do you think that this was a sincere attempt at creating and displaying diversity by the republican party? >> charles, the reports this past week had me confused. i think a lot of people out there,

journalists and pundits included, were watching a different condition that i was. the first few days felt very carnivalesque. it was bizarre shows of strength, to peer adoration for what felt like a king, aching trump, who he really wants to be, let's be frank about it. going away, the final night, the fourth night, truly felt a bit like a funeral. he got summer at some point, maybe before trump's speech. watching his children come out, it is very obvious this is a family obsessed with power. there were numerous falsities, barely any fact checking that i saw that could have happened even internally. with what the democrats put out. this was again more of the same. it was just talk, talk, talk that led to nothing. and i don't know what american woman in particularly out there was watching that convention and felt like she was being spoken to.

american women are going to determine the outcome of this election, just 100 something days away. and gosh, the republicans missed an opportunity to talk directly to us. he does not matter if you are a woman of color or a white woman living over flyover country, the republicans needed to grab the ball here and say, we've got you american women. there was no way they could have done that because abortion was not even talked about from the states. it was a missed opportunity. four days, again, with carnivallike programming with no outcomes or solutions that make america want to turn out for this kind of party. >> rena, i want to follow up with you. you talked a lot about the carnivallike atmosphere, one of the things i thought was really bizarre to watch, with someone like nikki haley take the stage and ultimately sort of do a 180 entirely on everything she has talked about with respect to donald trump and why he should not move forward as their candidate during the primaries,

and not to give this blowing endorsement of him. if you are the trump campaign, do you feel really good about those types of endorsements, or is it just more or less a matter of sheer force the fact that this is the nominee and you have to get in line? >> putting my strategist had one for a moment, that was a real win for the trump campaign. they have taken great glee almost, if you will, over the years of turning their enemies into friends. that is exactly what nikki haley did with her own naked ambition on display. it is obvious, she wants to mend spaces with m.a.g.a. because she has political ambitions. there is no other reason she would try to live this many political lives if she did not want to live another. she has shown somebody faces to this party and now she is trying to be something to them, because she really wants a future. she can't have it without kissing the ring of trump and promoting trumpism. that is what i heard from the stage, it was a real misstep on her part to me because now they

have her way they want her. they saw how she performed in the primaries. they saw that she was on the trail at a time when donald trump was rife with legal problems and could not take to the trail. what better to make up for the lost time and grab those moderate votes, if you will, and have nikki haley, kiss the ring? true win for republicans on that one and really sad for anyone who has principles. >> michael, normally after a convention, a party sees a huge jump in the polling, their candidate surging ahead. you would have thought that the assassination attempt on donald trump, that happened just days before this carnival that rina just described, would have also done that to me but it really has not seemed to register among voters. the numbers are still the same. he is leading joe biden by a very small margin. what do you make of that, and do you see a surge in the polls after this convention in the coming weeks? >> you know, it is a really unusual situation, charles. i was one of the people who were skeptical as to whether or not the numbers would go up.

where are the numbers coming from? yes, there is a great deal of sympathy, a great deal of sadness over what happened in pennsylvania last saturday. at the same time, how does that translate into polling? are people all of a sudden going to like donald trump more politically because of that? it was hard to predict. as you have said, the polls thus far have shown that is not the case. when you look at the other side of it, these bumps usually come in comparison. the american voter, the american police has no idea who the nominee is going to be on the democratic side. yes, biden has won the lion share of the delegates, but at the same time, if you don't know who your you are comparing to, it is hard to know where the boat is coming from and who will be registered. democrats are beginning to get more excited about their ticket, no matter what. that is the type of polling, no matter what, the polling will matter a little bit more than it made just now. >> rina, michael, thank you both for getting us started on

this saturday morning. coming up on "velshi", a mid-controversial rulings, president biden is reportedly ready to endorse sweeping reforms to the supreme court. i will discuss his plans with senior member of the house judiciary committee and chair of the now task force democrat hank johnson. nbc news has learned new details about what the shooter was doing in the immediate hours leading up to last weekend's assassination attempt on donald trump. that is coming up next on "velshi." stay tuned. > stay tuned. and shortness of breath, i thought that's what getting older felt like. thank goodness... i called my cardiologist. i have attr-cm, a rare but serious disease... ...and getting diagnosed early... made a difference. if you have any of these warning signs, don't wait, ask your cardiologist about attr-cm today. here's to getting better with age.

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welcome back. we are learning more and more about the assassination attempt of former president donald trump , both about the security failures that led to the shooting, and about the gunmen himself. nbc news now reports, according to a source familiar with the incident, thomas malcolm

crookes drew a killer drone over the valley view in butler, pennsylvania just hours before donald trump was set to speak. that allowed him to get an overhead view, and possibly help plan his attack. this is the latest piece of information that speaks to the drastic security lapses that took place on that day. other outstanding questions, how was the rooftop where thomas crooks shot outside the security perimeter that set up by secret service? and why was trump allowed to take the stage if the shooter had been flagged by law enforcement as a suspicious person and photographed just an hour before the rally began? well, u.s. secret service director kimberly cheeto cheatle will have to answer all of those questions and more when she appears before the house oversight committee on monday. meanwhile, federal investigators are continuing to pour through the gunmen's online phone history. in the month leading up to the assassination attempt, it was

revealed that crooks search for information on depressive disorder, explosive materials, and chemical compounds. join me now from butler, pennsylvania is nbc news correspondent, joyce elyse. thank you for being with us. what more have investigators learned about the gunmen and security lapses at last saturday's rally? >> reporter: good morning, charles. it has been a week. authorities are apparently no closer to the motive. we are getting a clear picture of who matthew crooks was . about 14,000 links on his phone, according to the fbi. keep in mind, they took his phone to quantico. they have been analyzing it, they had a pretty easy time getting access to that phone. as you mentioned, depressive disorder. he looked up information on the shooter in michigan, ethan crumbly. actually had photos of the rally site and was looking up information on the dnc as well. keep in mind, speaking to classmates and teachers of thomas matthew crooks, we

heard he was maybe a little of an outcast, an ounce fighter, he was overall a good student man. and had information about him registering as a republican and his $15 donation to a democratic pack, obviously leading confusion about his political ideology. you mentioned the drone at the top. one of the things we should note about the drone and how authorities are sort of using that, drones can sometimes leave a trace of their flight path, that is what authorities are focusing on now. you mentioned, they found some of that material in his car with the explosive, semi explosive devices taken to quantico for further analysis. all of this is unfolding as this community is trying to get back to a sense of normalcy. yesterday was the funeral for corey comperatore. the firefighter. this is obviously still a week out, questions remain about the

shooter's motives. >> that was nbc's george solis in pennsylvania. thank you. after the break, president biden is at his home in delaware this weekend as he recovers from covid. nbc news has no insight as to how his family is feeling about the future of his campaign and his legacy. i am charles coleman junior. you are watching "velshi" on msnbc. msnbc. r-o-l-a-i-d-s rolaids' dual-active formula begins to neutralize acid on contact. r-o-l-a-i-d-s spells relief. i got this $1,000 camera for only $41 on dealdash. dealdash.com, online auctions since 2009. this playstation 5 sold for only 50 cents. this ipad pro sold for less than $34. and this nintendo switch, sold for less than $20. i got this kitchenaid stand mixer for only $56. i got this bbq smoker for 26 bucks. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save.

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♪♪ you've got some winning genes. ♪♪ and for a limited time, ancestrydna can show you how your genes stack up against world-class athletes. ♪♪ find out which athletic traits you inherited. but hurry, the clock is ticking. the pressure is mounting on president biden as even more prominent democratic lawmakers continue to urge him to step aside from the 2024 race. yesterday, senator sharon brown of ohio and congresswoman joe greene of california joined the call for biden to exit the ticket. more than 30 democratic lawmakers have called for biden to drop out. the biden campaign is holding firm for now, saying that the

president is staying in the race. >> you have heard from the president directly time and time again, he is in this race to win, he is our nominee and he will be our president for a second term. >> despite the strong front from the campaign, members of president biden's family have discussed what an exit from the race might look like, according to two people familiar with the discussions. according to nbc news, biden's family members have this basically specifically discussed how he wants to end his election bid on his own retirement and with a calculated plan in place. while those discussions unfold in the white house, nbc news also reports that a group of allies has started to map out what a presidential campaign apparatus could look like for vice president kamala harris. harris is not involved in these efforts, as she is continually to so publicly support biden in the race. biden is currently isolated due

to a covid diagnosis, but he has vowed to be back on the campaign trail next week. joining me to talk about all of this is basil michael, an nbc political analyst, former executive director of the new york state credit hardy and a professor of practice, and the director of the nasa program and nonprofit management at the columbia university school of professional studies. that is a mouthful. >> it is all on my business card. >> brother, you have a lot going on, jesus! good morning. this is a lot. in your estimation, what i really want to know is, as someone who has led the democratic party on the state level, what is your message, if you view for example jamie harrison right now, externally, what is your external facing message to give some level of calm to voters who are very concerned about the turmoil that is going on? >> i have known jamie for a number of years and he has echoed, you can trust the ticket

. millions of voters have already cast their ballot for the biden-harris ticket. that is the ticket running, you can trust that ticket. what i have said and what others have said is, whatever the concerns are about joe biden, why does it seem to be an intentionality around publicly embarrassing the man, especially given the fact that we have talked about his record, we have lauded his record, we have held up his record, we have put money behind his record in trying to talk to independent voters about that versus what donald trump made bring, but there seems to be this movement to try to embarrass him to publicly leave. the message would be and has continued to be support the ticket. the voters have already spoken, let's go. now, there are two threads coming out of these last-- and

mind you, this debate took place june 27th. we are now in our fourth week of having this conversation publicly. and there are two running threads, the first is that it is the leaks in the party that are pulling away from the grassroots and have already made their decision. those elites are basically saying, the only thing wrong with joe biden's age is that his vice president is black. that sort of running thread is what is really damaging, not just for this particular election, but really the future of the party and how it engages the base of the party. >> isn't that the worst kept secret of this whole mess? at the end of the day, there is a legitimate concern that democrats are going to fumble the bag by somehow taking joe biden off the ticket, and potentially inviting an open convention that sets up kamala harris not being the nominee, thereby sort of ensuring the votes of literally millions of black voters and others who

feel as though if it is not joe biden, it needs to be kamala harris. isn't that the undercurrent of everything we are talking about? >> it absolutely is. i have said from day one, if for some reason joe biden decides this is not-- he does not want to do this, the first and last name out of your mouth better be kamala harris. how would you undermine, like cut the sitting vice president of the united states? when has that ever happened? it will the only ever happened, and this is what voters will think, because she is black. if you are trying to engage the base of the party, get them to come out, get them to support. 100 million people did not vote that could have in the last election. you want to continue to erode that turnout by undermining a sitting vice president, a black woman? i don't understand how that is a winning strategy. let

me say this, with respect to sort of what needs to happen next, there does need to be, if indeed she becomes the top of the ticket, there needs to be an infrastructure around her to sort of push her out. you cannot get to a convention and think you are going to have an open casting call for who is next, and expect us as democrats to come out of that process unscathed. it does not happen that way. it is messy. it is problematic. it does not maintain the narrative of democrats being good on governance, anti-chaotic, which is what we could point to on the other side. >> i have got very little time, so i have to ask a very direct question for people who trust you and know you, does he stay in, yes or no? >> right now, i think he does because he said he will. he has got 3894 delegates and he has said, come and get them. they have pledged to him. the only way, unless you create a cool at the convention, the

only way they get released is if he releases them. he says it, i will take him at his word and i would encourage everyone listening to say, this is the biden-harris ticket. we voted for the ticket, you support the ticket and if he decides he wants to do something different, let him do it on his own terms, because he has earned it. my friend, colonia columbia professor, not to be confused, even though they look like. [ laughter ] next, during his very, very long rnc speech, donald trump praised eileen cannon for dismissing his classified documents case just days earlier. what he did not mention are the broad implications to the american judicial system and i will talk about that coming up next on "velshi." we will be right back. bac. get back to better breathing with fasenra, an add-on treatment for eosinophilic asthma

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if you have been paying attention, and i may even just a little bit of attention, to the classified documents case in mar-a-lago against donald trump, the decision appointed district judge eileen cannon's to dismiss this case was just surprisingly shocking. i know that may seem like a contradiction, but surprisingly should not given everything we have seen from judge cannon throughout the proceedings. many have accused her of deliberately slowing the case down and displaying open hostility to special counsel jack smith. the case against truck for obtaining classified materials and obstructing justice was basically considered the strongest of the multiple cases against him. by slow walking the proceedings, cannon has all but ensured that this case will never see the light of day in front of a jury before elections happen in november. smith has since appealed cannon's dismissal, which was

based on a widely this credible theory. i want to make this plane for everyone watching, because what aileen cannon it was as important as how she did it. so, here comes the lawyer talk, donald trump's team files a motion to dismiss the indictment based on this walkie. that involves a clause of the constitution. then, judge cannon holds a hearing that allows the parties to make oral arguments in support of their briefs. no big deal there. now, during the hearing, judge cannon indicates that there is no god is to accept or consider some of the points that trump's team has raised, that is until, wait for it, supreme court justice clarence thomas steps in and takes it upon himself to write a separate open it as a part of the presidential immunity decision. this opinion dealt with an issue that had not even been put squarely before the court, but somehow, it addressed the clause matter that had come up in florida. that was all judge cannon

needed. so here we are. cannon is likely aware an appeal is likely a lost cause because he is expected to terminate the pending cases against him. in her decision, cannon ruled that attorney general merrick garland lacked the authority to appoint smith in the first place. legal experts say, the conservative justice was signaling to cannon. the. she seized the moment, basically ignoring nearly a century of precedents repeatedly endorsed by congress, as well as the supreme court. these same legal experts, i am me, i am the legal expert, have grandly rejected cannon's reason, calling it deeply flawed . the controversial ruling poses a broader danger to the americans and places it right in line with project 2025's plan to concentrate power in the hands of the president. the washington post editorial

board highlights this broader danger to democracy writing quote, the institution, for all its faults, is necessary to remove partisan intent from extraordinary investigation, particularly those that pose potential conflicts for justice potentials. congress aligned with many conservatives' shared vision for the justice department, one that possesses no independence from the person in the oval office. for more on this, i am joined by super lawyer and msnbc analyst, former deputy chief in the southern district of new york, crystal greenberg. thank you so much for being here. i take the glasses off because i am talking to a lawyer. it has been a while, so glad to have you. i think this was unsurprisingly shocking. what is your renewed initial reaction when you heard earlier this week that the case had been dismissed and essentially for now gone? >> as you said, unsurprising. once we got justice thomas's current cooccurrence where he was essentially telling her, go

ahead, cut and paste. this issue is not before justice thomas. that is notable. this is such a bad argument that trump's lawyers did not even raise it in the d.c. case, when justice thomas's own oral argument asked, did you raise this appeal, no, we raised it in florida. if this was such a slamdunk, do you think they would have said, and let's not deal with what is an official at an unofficial act. if he is not supposed to be there, nice and easy, let's raise it. they didn't. it was such a bad argument. there is supreme court precedent, the statute, and 140 years of history, as justice cavanaugh said, a deeply rooted tradition of having special counsel's. this is so wrong. to me, what was i think may be more surprising than it should have been, was the timing of it . this is a judge who has slow walked everything. everything has been delay, delay , until-- this was two weeks ago we got justice thomas's cooccurrence. now, right before

the republican national convention, we get this opinion that the case is dismissed, and sure enough, it shows up in donald trump's speech. >> i will ask the million- dollar question a lot of people have asked me, and it is circulating in the minds of some lawyers and nonlawyers alike, would you think pending an appeal and potential reversal of this decision, which will not be the first time aileen cannon has been reversed on this case, just this case, what you think is the future of judge cannon's staying on this case at all? >> i think first, judge jack smith has to get this reversed. at that point, he has got more than one decision where she has been reversed on issues again that are very straightforward, legal issues, where she has been a complete outlier. again, in each of those circumstances, an outlier in favor of donald

trump. what is the standard of the 11th circuit to have her removed? is there appearance advised? not necessarily finding what she is, is there appearance bias? when you go always in donald trump's favor, that appearance is certainly in that favor, i think to us. they have to make that argument to the 11th circuit she be removed. segment as lawyers, one of the things we are told to do and we have to do is look at the bigger picture of implications of how one decision impacts the overall landscape. as you look at the way the judiciary is shaping up, particularly in line with certain aspects of project 2025, how concerned about the future are you, and what does that concern look like when you are talking about the way the judiciary seems to be restructuring, and reshaping the different powers of different branches of government? >> there is little reason to be concerned. we set that new york trial and saw in 2016 how donald trump used the media to use tablets

to catch and kill these negative stories from women so they would not hurt him. now, he is doing it with judiciary. the judges, his judges are catching and killing his criminal cases so that they go away and do not hurt him for the election. that is part of what project 2025 will continue. these judges, donald trump's judges will do his bidding. his own lawyer said, this is going to the supreme court, judge cavanaugh. these are our guys, things will be just fine. the only time i will say that she was right. >> i have to agree with you. i saw her on the stage at the rnc, and did not say then, but now that you bring it up, that might be the quote of the week. that was kristi greenberg, thank you so much for some lawyer talk on a saturday morning. coming up, president biden is reportedly repairing to endorse major reforms to the supreme court we were just talking about. to get it done,

you will need the approval of congress. after the break, we will talk to senior member on the house judiciary committee hocking hank johnson. he will tell us about why right now we are at a quote, unquote crisis point for the supreme court. there is more "velshi" on the other side of the break . stay tuned. stay tuned.

president biden appears to

be purporting endorsing significant cases in the supreme court. sources close to nbc news notified members of congress that he will establish term limits for justices and a updated code of ethics that would be binding and enforceable. now, this is a really big deal. term limits and a code of ethics would require congressional approval. that would require 60 votes in a republican-led senate, which would be very difficult to achieve. biden did stop short on the most significant kind of court reform, which is court expansion. last year, in an interview with msnbc deadline white house, you spoke against expanding the court saying, such a move would be quote, a mistake . "the washington post" is also reporting that biden may be considering a constitutional amendment to limit community for presidents and other

officials. wonder how that happened. the timing here could not be more critical, given the court's decision last month that presidents should be immune from prosecution for quote, unquote, official acts. constitutional amendment would be even more of a longshot, because biden would need two thirds of both chambers of congress. the supreme court is the least trusted in our history, according to a number of polls. the court's conservative super majority continues to deliver opinions out of step with the american public. some of those conservative justices continue to find themselves embroiled in ethics scandals. so, before term limits and code of ethics could have significant impact in restoring public confidence in one of the better rocks of american democracy. joining me now is democratic congressman hank johnson of georgia. he is a senior member of the house judiciary committee, and the top democrat on the subcommittee overseeing our federal court and a man of omega psi phi fraternity

incorporated. that is important to know. also, back in may, johnson helped launch a task force that looks into possible reforms on a high court. good morning, big brother, sir. when you found this task force you said, we are at a crisis for the supreme court, the nation's highest court, and refused to and bind itself to an enforceable code of conduct after decades of ethical misconduct by certain justices who considered the constantly rule in favor of putting them on the bench. to restore public trust and confidence, congress must pass reforms and attitudes to the supreme court, required term limits for justices, and which required the court to impose upon it self binding and code of conduct. talk to me about this crisis point as you see it. one of the reform options you talked about is the expansion of the court or adding seats to it. the president does not seem interested in expanding the court, though. how do you intend to move that

forward? >> well, you know, this time last year, the thinking was that any tinkering with the supreme court was just a radical idea. but over the last year, policymakers, including president biden, have come to the conclusion that what we are dealing with here is an out of control united states supreme court that has upset the delicate system of checks and balances upon which our democracy rests. and therefore, our democracy is broken. so, one of the things we need to do in order to fix our broken democracy, is to fix the united states supreme court, which is used cases to take power, to grab power for it self, to redistribute legislative power to the executive branch, and also give corporations and wealthy individuals a lot of

power, taking it away from the legislative branch. legislative branch article one of our government is charged with ensuring that the other two branches of government function adequately, but we are not there to be a stepping stone for those two branches. this is a coequal branch, or this is a coequal system of checks and balances, the legislative branch being article one. so, we have got to restore balance. we have got to get this out of control of the united states print supreme court under control. they are feeling like they are unaccountable and they can do what the legislators, what the republican legislators who got them appointed can't do legislatively. so, they are doing legislative business in a judicial format, judicial activism legislation from the bench. that is not the way it

is supposed to work. >> representative johnson, a lot of critics are saying that president biden's recent attention around scotus, moving things forward in terms of reform, is trying to appeal to a segment of progressive voters that are not fully sold on his candidacy. given everything that we see, how tumultuous things are, what do you believe is the commitments of say a vice president kamala harris to reforming the scotus and scotus reform? what do you think will happen to these measures if joe biden steps out of the race and vice president kamala harris moves forward? >> president joe biden has been a very effective president over the last three and half years. prior to that, he served as eight years in the oval office as vice president. he is well aware of the immense power of the executive branch, the immense responsibility that it

takes for an executive, or a president to govern democratically. so, i think president biden understands the need. it is not just a political ploy to sure up his progressive credentials. i think he really understands the trouble that our democracy is in with a court that would grant absolute immunity to a president . he understands what that means to the governance of our system . he understands what it means if donald trump should get his hands back in the white house, and on the levers of executive authority. so, i believe we are well off with president biden and his commitment to ensuring that our democracy survives. that is why

i am behind joe biden 100%. >> before we go, congressman, i have to ask you, today is a sad day for members of congress, a sad day for members of the cbc, having lost one of its representatives in sheila jackson lee. can you just in your own words talk about the sentiments of your colleagues as you reflect on the life and legacy of one of the most historic members of that body? >> our hearts are broken this morning. our condolences, our deepest condolences go out to the family, to the husband, and daughters, and grandchildren of congresswoman sheila jackson lee . she was a strong, advocate for those who need help. voting rights, women's rights, criminal justice reform, she

reauthorized the balance begin against women's act. she was the opponents of the juneteenth holiday celebration, which she has been introducing in congress for almost a decade . finally, made it happen in 2021. her presence is going to be deeply missed. she was an authoritative figure. everyone listened to what she had to say. and what she had to say had very great meaning. so, we are going to miss her. you can always tell a que, but you can't always tell them much. that is true for the democratic senator from georgia. thank you very much, brother. we appreciate your time. we have entered a new praise phase in the presidential race, while democrats are questioning biden's meeting donald trump in november, republicans are energized after a big week in

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good morning i am charles coleman jeering filling in for my friend and colleague ali velshi. we have a lot to talk about.