you're a go! you got the green light. that means go! oh, yeah. start saying yes to your company's best ideas. we're gonna hit our launch date! (scream) thank you! goodbye! let us help with money and know-how, so you can get business done. american express open. morning glory. i'm hugh hewitt. a victory over isis in raqqa, the self-pro claimed capital of the self is-proclaimed caliphate. joining me to recap the week and a look ahead, james hol mapp of the "washington post", sun minute kim of politico, courtney and any lynn skeu of "the boston

globe". let's have you lead off. what is the biggest story of a big week of news? >> the biggest story for me was being able to pass the budget. usu not too much ink pour odd that accomplishment. republican leaders long wanted to do since the beginning of the year. after the collapse of the health care repeal efforts, it's really a major must-do for trump, republican leaders in congress and the senate and house leaders actually reached a budget deal late last night that actually would save a couple of weeks in processing the budget and getting it signed by the president to do even more work on tax reform. >> i want to come back to the schedule in a moment. let's see what james is working

on as the biggest story of the week. >> i within the to richmond, virginia for barack obama's first campaign appearance. he stopped for more than half an hour. it was striking how many echoes between what obama said about president trump and what george bush said about the problems in our civic culture. after bush was sort of under the radar, out of the fray for nine years, obama out for nine months, this week we saw the last two presidents, the guys who have been in the oval office the past 16 years really coming out and saying publicly about donald trump what they thought privately for a while. and i think that's a big moment. >> you know, we're going to have to come back and figure out whether they meant that at trump directly or everyone. annie, i'm in your newspaper's town this morning, boston. what does "the boston globe" reporter think is the biggest story of the week? >> i'm going to agree with politico, actually. the biggest story of the week is

absolutely the budget afghanistan. i can take a st passing. i spent time at the st. regis hotel which costs i would say $2,700 a night to stay there. and the message from those the donors was 100% we need to see the senate make progress on this piece of legislation. i mean, they could not have been more clear. certainly an issue where they are putting their differences aside with the trump administration and really putting pressure on many of the members of the senate and the republican members to say this has to get done. so you all of a sudden saw senators talking about maybe we should be working longer weeks and offering a path which tpweufs them more time to get tax reform done. it is something that is a critical do or die. that's what they heard from the wealthiest people in america.

>> two for the best of my knowledge et, one for bush and obama. what say you, courtney? what's your number one story this week from the perch at the pentagon? >> i always feel like i'm the out liar. it is niger and the continuing investigation into what happened a little over two weeks in niger. when about a dozen u.s. military soldiers came under ambush from militants, we think from this new isis affiliate, isis gs. there has been a lot of confusion both in the immediate aftermath of the attack and then in the ensuing days over what exactly happened. and it's become just a cringeworthy political debate this week that has taken an emotional toll on a lot of people who have been watching it. we saw it in the briefing room at the white house when general john kelly came out and gave this very personal, emotional

recounting of what happened when his son was killed in afghanistan in 2010. i know it's the story that has occupied my time, attention, and emotions this week, hugh. >> courtney, were you surprised, as i was, when the general asked the assembled press corp how many of you know gold star families, and i think one or two people raised their hands. he was stunned by that. he was stunned by the controversy. i was surprised so many people know so few gold star families. i'm sure you do at the pentagon. what was your reaction to that? >> i know people who i knew and worked with in the military who were killed. and i think of one megan mcclung. i got to know her father who passed away a few years ago as well. you know, it's a different press

corp. covering the wars, we get to know these people. we're over there. we're living with them. you know, at times. the one thing i was really, really surprised to hear general kelly come on out and talk about his son in this way. it was something that he really shied away from in uniform. he never wanted to make it sound like his sacrifice was more important or different in any way than the other thousands of gold star families who have suffered through this hideous loss. so i was really surprised to hear him personalize it in that way yesterday. and also -- >> it was moving. >> absolutely. >> he talked about going to arlington and walking for an hour and a half. it struck me as in congress james hohmann, presidents bush and obama talked about the poisonous atmosphere in the cup. some say he did not mean that,

president bush for trump. you clearly think it did. do you think either would have given the same speech had this heard general kelly's remarks before they did so? >> these are concerns that i know that both president bush and obama share privately. this is -- george bush didn't srot for donald trump last november. he feels very strongly that he doesn't have the temperament to be president or the with us dom i think. i don't want to speculate about what george w. bush thinks privately. but i do know yesterday to this point about general can kelly, it was absolutely moving. was that obama went off script and made an aside about how he had repeatedly gone to walter reed and consoled wounded warriors and started talking about wounded warriors. that was not in the script. both obama and bush, and i know this from reporting and talking to people close to them, were

upset is and offended when trump said monday they didn't console family, they didn't call gold star families for bush who feels just such a weight of responsibility for taking us into both afghanistan and iraq. i think that was offensive and clearly it irked obama because he brought it up. >> very quickly before we go to break, did this kelly speech, remarks, have is any impact on the discussions in the senate on thursday night? >> to be honest, we saw what the chief of staff had said. i think people in the senate were distracted working on the budget, putting together all the amendments to try to get that done. it really did strike a chord. especially senate republicans really regard general kelly as this calming, soothing force in the white house.

you heard what senator bob corker said about how he and secretary mattis and secretary tillerson were keeping the country calm. so i think what general kelly said earlier this week really shows again to a lot of senate republicans and a lot of senate democrats why he is trusted in the west wing. >> annie lynn skeu? >> you had a day yesterday that was stunning. three men with a great deal of stature and credibility came out and addressed the american people in their own way. they sort of all three of them provided a reminder what it is is like to hear a leader speak. and it's just something that has been a little absent in our political discourse which has so quickly gone, you know, so low. and each of these men are coming from a different perspective but each are wildly respected and should be respected in the

country. and i think, you know, you saw -- i thought it was a really fascinating day. and i think kelly certainly his remarks hit a chord in the senate and among all americans. >> and i just want to say for me the biggest story of the week was that raqqa fell. it is the capital of isis. he came in vow to go destroy them. he said he was going to -- the united states military was going to annihilate isis. we won that part war and it's not being covered. stay with us. up next, i'll ask my panel who is the most important person in the country this week not named trump. stay tuned. stay with us. with advanced safety.

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anyone who calls it a hobby doesn't understand. we know that a person's passion is what drives them. [ clapping ] and that's why every memorial we create is a true reflection of the individual. only a dignity memorial professional can celebrate a life like no other. find out how at sanfranciscodignity.com. welcome back. i'm hugh hewitt. you hear me monday through friday on the salem radio network. but saturday mornings i'm here on msnbc. each week i ask my panelives of

young journalists who is the most important person in the news not named trump. annie linskey, you're first. who is it? >> i would say steve ban were nonis the most important person not named trump. the reason is because of the efforts he is making to locate primary candidates for republican senators. the reason i picked bannon is i was so struck during president trump's press conference this week. he was asked about primary. he said, well, i'm going to talk to bannon and see if we can talk him out of a few of those. that comment to me, it stuck with me all week. it resonates about the power that bannon has. it is is hard to imagine barack obama saying, oh, hey, i'm going to try to talk axelrod out of something. it would be pretty obvious he would be able to do it. and talking to some of the

bannon to them, they said it's a signal to them that the president is not saying he doesn't want to see his primaries. >> it is not a surprise to me after that comment with leader mcconnell that the senate has gone 24/7 on on a bunch of things. they have to hunker down and get going. >> seung min? >> chuck grassley from iowa. i came to this realization ask i'm trying to ask all of these questions on capitol hill. he is an iowa republican. veteran senator. he is in the middle of everything on capitol hill these days. he is leading one of the main russia investigations. but he has a role in other major topics such as working other republicans on a potential daca deal. and confirming justices, which i know is important to you, hugh.

>> you bet. >> he and a bipartisan group of senators ruled out a sweeping criminal justice reform measure earlier this month and with a powerful ally in the white house of jared kushner, the senior is adviser and the president's son-in-law, maybe it could happen sometime in this congress. >> seung min, i want him to burn the blue slips. mcmitch connell wants him to burn the blue slips. has senator grassley confided in what his policy will be? >> he has not ready to burn the blue slips just yet. there are democratic senators still, at least four who are holding up circuit court nominees. clearly grassley has the support of the conference should he decide to go ahead and schedule these hearings and process these nominees but it is a decision he hasn't come to just yet.

he respects the process, respects tradition of the senate. >> yeah. if he doesn't do it, say good-bye to the senate majority. it will be a disaster. james hohmann, most important person not named trump? >> john mccain. gave a big speech in philadelphia monday warning against trumpism in a similar way i think george bush did. he late in the week was threatening to subpoena the administration and hold hearings from the senate armed services committee related to niger. he is irate that the administration didn't brief him or hreubd seu graham that we had special operations in niger as they are legally supposed to do special operations in niger as they are legally supposed to do. they have such a small margin for error on tax cuts. after the speech on monday,

president trump said john mccain better be careful because he doesn't want me to start attacking him. i'm not sure how far you can go than by saying this man whos has terminal cancer and a war hero, how far he can go. he will never be on the ballot again and he has nothing else to lose. he is someone who can be unpredictable historically and now has every incentive tractor trailer world to thwart donald trump at the right moments. >> i don't think he will take it off the tax table. let me go to you, courtney. who is the most important person not named trump? >> i would agree that john mccain. but john kelly. he came out and gave his personal account. one thing that i found really

interesting -- two things that i found really interesting from his appearance in the briefing room yesterday he talked not only about his son robert who was killed in afghanistan but he spoke about his other son and said he is serving in iraq right now. i found that very surprising. that's another thing that has been sack row sapbgt. i was with general petraeus when his son was there. we always shied away from talking about it so we didn't make them a target. so that was very surprising. and him telling his guidance to president trump, telling president trump not to milwaukee the call to the widow to sergeant johnson's widow and then telling him what happened when general dunford informed him of his son's death. i thought that was a very interesting insight into his relationship with president trump. something that we've talked about the influence he must have with the president. but that right there really demonstrated it. >> i played the whole speech

twice on my radio show friday so people could hear the details of returning the fallen to america. it was really profoundly moving. mine is another general, the head of the quds force. where was he this week? in kirkuk. what is happening that we don't notice? a civil war in iraq. when we come back, we will talk about what we are all reading. great. so what are we gonna watch? oh! show me fall tv. only xfinity x1 brings you the best hand selected picks this fall.

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every journalist ought to be reading. so each week i ask my panel of rising superstar young journalists what's on their desk, kindle or ipad. what are you reading? >> "high noon" by glenn frankel. he wrote a great book about the searchers, making of john wayne's best movies with gary

cooper. it is a metaphor in a lot of ways for the cold war. everyone involved was kind of pulled into the blacklist, the communist witch hunts of the early 1950s. we have new congressional investigations on russia and espionage and everything. it's fun to go back. the book really takes you there. it establishes all of these characters who were producing the movie, writing the movie, starring in the movie. and the congressman here in washington. >> great recommendation. courtney, what are you reading? >> i am reading "that it's like to go to war" by can't recall marlantes. a young officer leading a platoon of 40 marines. he gives this difficult at times is and very compelling look what it is is like to be to kill the enemy and see your friends die. and to come back from that how the next four decades of his life he learned to deal with the

emotional toll that his time in combat had on him. >> wow. >> it's a really important story for anyone who is trying to understand what it's like to number a war. and i think it's really telling right now when we're looking at potential conflict it seems all over the globe. >> so relevant to so many hundreds of thousands of americans. seung min kim, what are you r d reading? "jabsville an american story" by amy goldstein. when the general motors factory shuts down in the middle of the recession in 2008. it is is beautifully reported, very well done. it is also interesting to see the congressman from janesville is the current speaker paul ryan. back then it is fascinating to see him shuttle back and forth to try to rescue this community that he has grown up in, generations of his family are from there. it is a very compelling read.

>> i hadn't heard of that. i will pick that up. how about you, annie linskey? >> i'm reading "hamilton" right now. i loved the music al. i'm halfway through it. one of the things for me as a writer that is quite fun to read about it is to read how hamilton took on the task of writing the federalist papers and this notion of a guy who is writing way too long. he was never supposed to write as many as he did. he was constantly pushing up against deadlines. a little bit of sympathy and empathy with him. >> commonality. cher now has moved on to grant. i would recommend to everyone general mattis co-authored with kori schake "warriors&citizens" american views of our military. given general kelly's remarks this week, it has become very important. thank you for watching today.

keep the conversation going on msnbc.com. thanks to my panel. see you next week, saturday morning, right here on msnbc. ♪ ♪ the uncertainties of hep c. wondering, what if?

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hey there. good morning. >>. i'm alex witt here at msnbc at world headquarters in new york. here's what's happening for you. funeral services will be held for army sergeant la david johnson, one of four green berets killed in niger. the ambush attack by militants stemmed in part from a massive intelligence failure. in other news, republican las