>> bipartisanship, but on shaky ground. >> we have a deal. >> a bipartisan agreement on infrastructure. but can the president unify his party from a second bill with more democratic priorities? >> what this is really is an effort for the federal government to take over the way we conduct elections. >> senate republicans block debate on voting rights. democrats fume over the filibuster. the white house focuses on gun violence and surging crime. lawmakers reach a deal on police reform. former police officer derek shelving is sentenced for the murder of george floyd. ♪ >> this is "washington week."

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president biden has been in office for 165 days. thursday, he made a rare appearance on the white house driveway with a bipartisan group of senators. they announced a $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal. >> i think it is important. we all agreed none of us got what we all wanted. i clearly did not get all i wanted. they gave more than maybe they were inclined to give in the first place. yamiche: he and other democrats insist they will only pass the bipartisan package if a separate second bill is passed. the second infrastructure bill would include democratic priorities aimed at families, children, and communities. mitch mcconnell is already criticizing democrats and president biden for their plan. >> less than two hours after publicly commending our colleagues and actually endorsing the bipartisan agreement, the president took

the extraordinary step of threatening to veto it. >> democrats remain divided and what to put in the reconciliation package. with washington so divided, is this deal even possible? what comes next for the president's agenda? tonight, we are happy for the first time in more than a year. we have four reporters at the table to discuss this. zolan kanno-youngs, white house correspondent for the new york times. eva mckend, congressional correspondent for spectrum news. mike memoli, white house correspondent for nbc news. jake sherman, founder of punch bowl news. jake, i have to start with you. i was waiting to talk with you all day. bipartisanship is rare in d.c. what is the latest? it seems things are shaky. jake: i am happy to be back in the studio. things are shaky. e biden said -- he said he was going to link the packages, the infrastructure package and the

so-called human infrastructure package, the care economy, things of that nature. but he never said both have to pass for him to sign the hard infrastructure package, the bipartisan package. republicans feel like they are being used. the white house says they are being sensitive, just finding an excuse to -- maybe so, but if joe biden wants this bipartisanship, he is going to have to find a way to get the republicans back in line. as we sit here now, they are not in line. i think this deal is threatening to come apart. yamiche: i want to stick with you, democrats are not on the same page. i'm thinking of getting manchin and bernie sanders. what is the likelihood democrats will agree and come up with something? jake: this entire episode shows the coalition is fragile oboth sides. you are trying to keep together a democratic party and a

republican party, which does not want the piece bernie sanders is passing. neither does joe mention, people think. so it is a coalition that is fragile. i think we are entering the most frenzied and frantic legislative period in the last decade. the next three months will be absolutely wild. yamiche: talk about what you 're reporting -- your porting tells us where lindsey graham stands. -- what are you hearing? eva: mitch mcconnell immediately pushed back against this. he does not like the dual track. he feels republicans are getting worked. he has the power to make or break this. republicans have historically fallen in li when mcconnell speaks. we will have to see how it goes. lots of political calculations. we know mcconnell h spent the last several months talking

about the filibuster and maintaining it. what better way to preserve that senate rule and not put more pressure on moderate democrats than to show the senate can work together in a bipartisan fashion? so he has to ultimately decide what he wants to do. if he does blow up this infrastructure deal, more pressure will be on moderate democrats to eliminate the filibuster. yamiche: mike, we call you the den whisper. president biden, where does he stand this? how is the white house going to try and massage all of thiand get this done? mike: let's think about the last two weeks for president biden. this is everything he has wanted to do as president for his career. conducting diplomacy at all levels overseas, and dealmaking like he used to in the senate. the white house clearly wanted to ride the wave longer, touting

this deal that he brokered. but now we saw the reality. the president went out to the sticks, outside of the west wing. we never see that area that was about supporting the republicans showing good faith in this process, especially the moderates. in t east room, where we were standing next to each other, he was speaking to democrats to say trust the process. he said "my party is rational." that was a little bit of optimism. in this process, the front end, all of the leverage was on the side of the moderates. but the longer the bipartisan effort dragged through into june, the progressives started to flex their agenda and get concerned they were going to lose out on the opportunity to do big things. the president would not have made this commitment if the progressives'leverage was not sufficient enough. the operator on the hill has been trying to keep the

moderates in line. ron clean has been the voice. he has to work the outside groups and keep the progressives on board to keep it through september, which is ho long it will take. yache: you are nodding your head. president biden, he talked about the idea democracy needs to work for us, compete with china. we zoom out and look at what is on the line. his legacy, his agenda. what does your reporting tell you? >> let's look at his statements and what happened when he came into office. he said he would focus on rebuilding roads around america, be responsible for improving infrastructure. also responsible for implementing the measures on climate change we have seen. on that topic, climate change being left out of this latest deal. we have heard these comparisons to fdr. we know the president cares

about those comparisons. there is a risk when you have this track, is he going to be able to implement your traditional infrastructure, and also some of the policies he has touted when it comes to climate change, human infrastructure, investing in health workers? he made a lot of promises early on in his first couple of weeks. there is a risk if he is going to accomplish that. yamiche: how will the president lean in on this personal style of politics? how is he regarded on capitol hill? jake: the president's aides have done a good job so far. three of his top aides. i think the president tends to overstate his relationships on capitol hill. congress has changed a lot since 2008 and 2009 when he was in the senate, before he went to the white house. i think he has relationships, but remember, the progressive

wing of the party was always skeptical of him and a little bit worried he would do what he is doing now, cutting this big deal with republicans. now we see him do that. so i think he needs to say the right thing to everybody and say nothing publicly. that is what he needs to do to get this done. it sounds crude and unrealistic, but that is what he needs to get it done. yamiche: wle there was bipartisanship on infrastructure, on voting rights, partisanship lives on. tuesday, republicans blocked an effort to open debate on the for the people act. a bill democrats say was aed at protecting and expanding vong rights. here's with both party leaders -- here is what both party leaders had to say as it failed. >> the biggest ally being told in american politics -- the biggest lie being told in american politics is being told they are involved in a systematic effort to suppress the vote. >> once again, senate

republicans have signed their names on the ledger of history, alongside donald trump, the big lie and voter suppression, to their enduring disgrace. yamiche: the justice department took action on voting rights. it filed a lawsuit against georgia for its new restrictive voting laws. you are at the doj presser, tell me about what this first major action means, and how active we think the doj will be? i have been talking to activists who wanted to see this happen. what is going on? mike: the take away you should have is if we will not see action in congress, action from the democrats, when it comes to trying to prevent or defend against what we see the republicans do in places like georgia, the white house -- the administration will step up and have the justice department take on that role. you should take the lawsuit today that was filed by the

justice department as a first step. that is basically what the indication should be. we do have localities through the country where republicans are passing legislation that will restrict the ability for, specifically minority communities, to vote. we have seen that. we have the white house saying "if we are not going to have action in congress, the justice department will go forward." i thought it was interesting at the white house briefing today, jen saki was asked if the white house communicated with the justice department on this. it will have to defend against some of those questions. especially as they argue on plenty of other topics this justice department is completely independent, unlike the trump administration. yamiche: when we talk about voting rights, we are talking about the filibuster. why are those things linked, and why are moderate democrats feeling even more pressure as the days and months go on? eva: the for the people act and

john lewis voting bill will be dead in the senate as long as the filibuster remains. . they don't have the 60 votes to advance the bill. democrats tried to show a good face and say they will fight on, but there is no path forward for these bills legislatively. the next step comes with the rules committee. senator clover shark will ta it on the road and have the hearings in georgia about voting rights. progressives just yesterday outside of the senate building, there was a for the people act block party. that is how they continue turning up the pressure on the issue. but i don't see a path forward as long as the filibuster remains in place. zolan: i agree. here is the dichotomy. chuck schumer -- he said a couple of weeks ago there is no bipartisan solution for is. that means you need to blow up

the filibuster. if you cannot get a bipartisan compromise to get 60 votes and you want to pass it, you cannot snap your fingers and make it law. you have to pass it, blow up the filibuster. but there are the votes to blow up the filibuster. so we are in a holding pattern on what has been a top priority, not only for biden, but democratic candidates across the country. it is not an unpopular view. there are basical two democrats who are holding this priority up. this is something everyone ran on. yamiche: both of new hampshire's senators indicating they don't really have the appetite to blow up the filibuster. so there are a lot -- chuck schumer has a lot more problems in the senate besides them. eva: when you talk behind the scenes, they say democrats have more problems, which makes me want to talk to mike.

in the east room, i questioned the president about voting it and what the deal would mean for his agenda or other items. he made news and said he would be traveling around the country doing vong rights. talk about how he will deal with this. mi: thank you for asking that yesterday. those were the most extensive comments we have heard from this president in a long time. there was a lot of pressure ahead of the vote in the senate. why isn't the white house doing more to build up pressure? joe biden's policy for legislating, everyone remember him during the campaign talking about finding consensus and working in a bipartisan fashion. people forget the second part of what the president said in the campaign, if you can't do that, you go out and beat. he revealed the go out and beat them part of his philosophy yesterday. it is a voting issue, voting itself in the 2020 midterm elections. when they announce vice president harris' role in voting

rights, remember how they structured her role. it was outside pressure. then advocacy groups. then it was capitol hill itself. so they see this as changing hearts and minds, there are consequences for republicans for what they are doing. the president will be hitting the road to talk about this. that's why it is important. yamiche: i want to turn to minneapolis. derek chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for george floyd's murder. here's george floyd's cousin reacting. >> we got justice, but not enough justice. think about george being murdered, in cold blood with a knee on his neck, execution style in broad daylight, 22.5 years is not enough. yamiche: this comes as lawmakers reach an agreement on the framework for police reform more than a year after floyd's murder. it comes as president biden is working to deal with the rise in gun violence and homicide rates. he laid out his plan for

community policing and gun control. >> iteans more police ficers, nurses, counselors, social workers, community violence interrupters, to resolve the issues before they escalate into crimes. yamiche: i want to come to you about the chauvin sentencing. it was a long sentence. there were people, the family included, who were disappointed. what does it mean for the justice system what we saw today? zolan: if you go out into communities, if you talk to criminal justice advocates, go into communities of color, it is very easy to understand why one conviction, one sentence, would not provide the satisfaction -- i haven't met anyone who expected any satisfaction from this. it is hard to believe you would find it. we heard it from folks after the sentencing, as well. there was another activist who also said "until we stop seeing

so many of these incidents, these killings, in the news, how can we really tout any sort of progress?" that is a good way to segue. another thing brought up are the efforts being made in terms of police reform. you saw quickly after this sentence an effort to galvanize support and turn it into a way to push congress to pass legislation on police reform. i find it interesting it comes around the same time the president has rolled out an anti-crime strategy. that is a reflection of some shifting dynamics we see in the democratic party. there were a lot of talks about defunding the police, which is still very relevant if you talk to certain individuals and certain members of the democratic party. with t recent mayoral race in new york city -- you have aric adams, former officer who appealed to folks

and said there is rising crime. just to put it in context, 20 years ago, there was about 2626 murders in new york, i believe there were 400 last year. it does matter. including communities of color. but it is not too hard to understandhy, when you see a police officer sworn to protect you shooting you, that you would also find it to bquite relevant. yamiche: that is why we brought you to the table. you bro down so much. i think people need to understand the crime rates in context. the floyd family wanting to see police reform. there was a press release on the police framework. what could get done? eva: it has been delayed they have set up several deadlines for the past several weeks and kept having to push past those deadlines. it feels like a flight you know will be canceled and you keep getting the delay after delay.

that is what this debate over police reform looks like. they are all serious people debating the bill. congresswoman karen bass, senator booker, senator scott. they don't just want to do this for show. they genuinely want a deal. but it seems the sticking points remain the same, qualified immunity, how much legal protection officers should be entitled to. they seem the same. ultimately, there is not goi to be much wiggle room. it will be what progressives agree to. will they allow for a police registry? will they allow other reforms to move forward without qualified immunity? some members of the squad have said absolutely not. qualified immunity or nothing. we will have to see. >> to put it in context, this is the most sweeping reform of

police laws in our lifetime. it will be a tough pill to swallow. even if there is qualified immuty, a lot of people will find it hard to oppose, just because these are the most serious people in the room. putting forth something that is sweeping. yamiche: what does the biden administration say about the spike in crime? what do they think is going into this? how are they balancing this as they think about the president's past and history on crime? mike: the white house contributed a lot of the spike in violence -- which they carefully pointed out, was in the last 18 months, which extends beyond his time in office. that is why one of the things he did was free up covid relief money to allow police departments, states, and local governments to fund police, to provide more training, other resources for local law enforcement. if you look at the constituencies who have been the bedrock of joe biden's political

support since he ran for office in 1970, it is african voters and suburban voters. get the geography of delaware, suburban and wilmington county made him the nominee and president. tracing his trajectory on crime issues, over time, very closely traces the mainstream of the democratic party on this. that is why the 1994 crime bill was more regressive in today's views, but that washe view at the time. the policy he rolled out was a message to the party against defunding the police, but including resources for african-americans. >> vice president kamala harris was at the u.s.-mexico border in el paso, texas. republicans criticize h for not going sooner. several republicans, including donald trump, planned to visit the border next week. we all know that you are very much plugged into national security and the border. why is she going, what is the

visit going to do? >> the vice president, if she had her choice, the reporting would show "would rather be talking about anticorruption in central america," the investments the u.s. is making into women's businesses in guatemala and mexico city. but because she had to stumble when asked whether or not she would visit the border during that trip, that dominates the entire news cycle. it derailed the work they set out to do at that point. it is hard to ignore the fact that former president trump is visiting the border next week, alongside texas governor aott, as well, who has pledged to continue building a border wall that ce to symbolize an immigration agenda that still exist over this administration. when they were caught offguard earlier this year by aurge of unaccompanied minors and did not have a facility to support that,

or you go to now the administration is still implementing a trump era pandemic emergency rule that has ended asylum for many families the vice president spoke about at the border today. if you want a take away of the visit, it shows president trump might be out of office, h administtion's immigration agenda is still having an impact on this administration and on the ground at the border. yamiche: the politics of immigration are not going away. zolan just hit on it. what is the play? jake: everyone knows what an immigration deal would look like on capitol hill. everyone knows how to fix the problem, no one has the political courage to do it. it is the mostlear-cut set of solutions no one has the political courage to solve. eva: even though she did go to the border, leader mccarthy criticizing her still.

it is not like she got any points from republicans. yamiche: that is all the time we have tonight. thank you to zolan, eva, mike, jake for joining me in person. we are praying for the families impacted by the tragic building collapse in the south florida town of surfside as an intense search and rescue effort continues. dozens remain missing. my heart breaks for them. thank you for joining us. make surto watch the washingtonweek extra at 8:30 eastern on youtube, facebook, and our website. i'm yamiche alcindor, good night from washington. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> corporate funding for washingtonweek is provided by. >> consumer cellular. kaiser permanente. additional funding provided by the estate of arnold adams. coo and patricia ewins with the ewin foundation, with bridging differences in our communities. and sandra and carl magnuson. the corporation for public broadcasting. and contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >>

-the committee will please come to order. ♪♪ -during the years of the red scare, the halls of congress resonated with this question. -are you a member of the communist party, or have you ever been a member of the communist party? -the interrogations played out before a national audience. but far from the klieg lights and the newsreel cameras, another question was being asked. -two civil service investigators came in. and they said, "we have information which leads us to believe you are homosexual. do you have any comment?" -in a country gripped by fear and paranoia, the federal government declared gay men and lesbians were a threat to national security. -and homosexuals were drummed out of jobs everywhere -- not only out of the federal government, not only out of security positions, but out of jobs everywhere.