good morning. i'm at msnbc world headquarters in new york. 7:00 in the east, 4:00 out west. about-face. the president dropping plans to nominate an ally for director of national intelligence. what is behind the sudden change? the xrscramble to survive. who is likely to make the next debate for the democrats and who may never see that stage again. gop stampede of congressional republicans heading for the exit including big names. where this leaves the party now and in the future. sudden and deadly.

a block collapsing at a popular beach. details hohn h details on how it happened and request next. developing this morning, two big political stories. first, president trump now considering a new choice for the director of national intelligence after withdrawing from consideration one of the most vocal supporters in congress. nbc news learned several republicans had conveyed concerns privately to the white house that texas republican congressman john ratcliffe lacks experience to become the top spy chief. here's the president addressing what is now the 35th time he has withdrawn a possible nomination. >> i felt that congressman ratcliffe was being treated very unfairly. i was reading the press. and i think i am a student of the press. i asked him, i said do you want to go through this for two or three months or would you want me to maybe do something else. he thought about it. i said it's going to be s

going. a lot of times you do a very good job. not always. >> there is the large effort public employee labor union. joe biden is fund-raising office democratic rivals criticizing him during the debate over some of the policies of former president obama. biden vowing in a campaign e-mail to "i will fight like hell to protect president obama's legacy and build upon it." a new poll from morning consult taken after this week's debate is finding that former biden's status did not take a hit. he still leading with 32%. the fundraise ago pale he can echoing reaction a day after the debate. >> i don't think is anything he has to apologize for. i think surprised me.

i hope we can talk about how we fix -- our answers to fix the things that trump has broken. not how barack obama made all the mistakes. this is absolutely bizarre. >> the eight presidential candidates have qualified for the next primary debate in september. joining me is chief washington correspondent for bloomberg news and a writer from "vanity fair." good morning. kevin, who doels you thielse do going to make it on the debate stage? there are only eight so far. >> i think two things. i think that what you're hearing from joe biden is essentially telling everybody, take a deep breath. he's the front-runner. he is taking shots from 25 essentially other presidential campaigns, plus or minus a couple others. i think what you saw in -- i was in detroit and in miami.

i think detroit is actually a much stronger showing for the former vice president, particularly that one exchange he had with senator gillibrand. i think other folks that have the potential to continue to have that breakout moment are including gillibrand minus the exchange she had with senator biden. i think you also saw the likes of mario williamson make her points very well. but it's all about senator elizabeth warren and senator bernie sanders. i put this question, this is the second point i'll make quickly, i put this question in detroit to democratic national committee chairman tom perez. i asked him, you know, when is this going to dwindlehe? said the threshold is a bit more difficult for the candidates. that's because the polling threshold increases. i think you could see the lower tier candidates drop out. >> what happens next in terms of who is going to make the cut here? is there someone who really wants to make the cut that could potentially take away from

biden's lead that you think may not make it? >> i think when you look at that field and the people that already qualified, i don't think we're going see too many people get on the stage in september than those who already sort of hit that threshold that kevin is talking about. and in terms of biden and his lead, i don't believe that others who haven't yet qualified for the debate are really going to be a threat to his lead at this point. >> yeah. >> i think it will be interesting to watch all these, you know, sort of top tier candidates on the same stage rather than having to split that we've seen this detroit and miami. >> kevin, a majority of house democrats are also now supporting launching an impeachment inquiry. how significant do you think this latest number is and do you think it's actually going to move the needle for speaker pelosi? >> it's quite significant. the fact that over the past several months the calls for impeachment within the house democratic caucus slowly but surely continued to increase. veation that has to be had. but the second thing, you know, tnk that sometimes we forget

this is not speaker pelosi is against impeachment and the caucus is saying that they're for it. the nuance is she's saying let's follow the path. het let's go one step at a time to see whether or not impeachment is something that has to happen. so she is following a piecemeal approach. you're seeing this may out over how the courts are now taking up, led, of course, by house democratic chairs to see whether or not some of the evidence in the mueller report will be ever made public. they're trying to build their case and we're taking it one step at a time. >> you have a piece on the front line democrats. you want them to -- who are these front line democrats? how much do their voices actually matter here in terms of making a difference? >> they're very critical. to build off kevin's point, when we look at pelosi and her position on this, she's never signalled necessarily that hitting this majority threshold within the caucus in terms of

inquiry is what is going to move her. really what they see is less for pelosi about the number but who is coming out in favor of impeachment. and then we're looking at those front line democrats. so that's who the democratic congressional campaign committee has kind of identified as the most vulnerable members of the caucus. these are individuals who possibly flip to the republican seat or won a republican seat in a district that donald trump won in 2016. and they're kifnd of the criticl members of congress in terms of what pelosi is watching. they're the ones that pelosi wouldn't want to have to go through a vote that might be, you know, politically unpalatable for them back home. so when we talk about people who are in favor, it's really important to kind of pay attention to that smaller group of individuals who are more vulnerable going into 2020. >> kevin, what do you think? >> i think, yeah, she hits the nail on the head. the suburban democrats who flipped red districts in 2018, i

mean, these are the swing votes. these are the suburbs. this is where they go back and forth. and just, you know, bottom li t are going for this. that's where this really starts to get interesting. >> abigail, we also heard that congressman is not seeking reelection and one of six house republicans to announce this in the past ten days. i mean, what does this say about the state of the republican party right now? >> yeah. i mean, i think his retirement and the other that's you touched upon are certainly canaries in the coal mine. we're sort of seeing this trend. for republican leadership, they should be concerned it's too what this portends when we go into 2020, especially a individual like will herd who is one of three texas republicans that is not going to seek

re-election. we're looking at the possibility of texas being a real swing state in the 2020 presidential election. >> kevin, how many more republicans do you think are going to head out the door? >> i don't know. i will say i feel governor ann richards is smiling. just seeing what is happening in terms of the texas delegation. i say this a little bit, you know, cautiously, but maybe just some of the lawmakers on either side, i mean, you know, they're limited in this 24 hour news cycle like the rest of us. you know what? maybe i'll go on vacation instead of running for re-election. >> all right. abigail, i wand to talk about inclusion and diversity. you do have representative herd leaving. and so what does this say about how the republican party can accurately reflect the american electorate? >> it's a huge problem for the party. it's been a problem for the party for a long time. certainly his departure is

critical when we look at representation within the republican ranks. and notably, i think going back, when we saw the recent attacks from the president, will herd is one of few republicans that spoke out against the president. i think that losing his voice is, you know, is going to be detrimental to the republican party for sure. >> kevin, what did the women vote coming up in 2020? >> i think abigail and to your point too, i think abigail made a really interesting point. right now the republicans are unified behind president trump. and this is president trump's party. offerously th obviously that wasn't the case in the 2016 cycle. but you think back to last cycle with former senator jeff flake and the other republicans who have spoken out against president trump and how ultimately they were forced out of the party or decided not to run for re-election.

you saw in contrast senator lindsey graham align himself with president trump. you contrast that with what's going on in democratic party just simply by the nature of having a crowded democratic field and having folks running for president and you're starting -- you're seeing not the divide but the fight for ideas. you're seeing that i think really play out between folks like senator elizabeth warren and bernie sanders who are, i would argue, forcing the conversation of an ideological debate about the democratic party platform on issues like medicare for all, issues like wall street regulatory reform and i think that that's why potentially you're seeing just so many i had logically diverse office not just at the top level at the presidential level but also in the down races. >> abigail, i'll give you the last word. >> i agree with what kevin is saying. when we look at democracy, dissent is important. you're seeing a lot of that on the democratic side right now

with various ideologies and voices. but what we're seeing on the republican side is sort of, you know, an erosion of dissent and fewer and fewer members who seem willing to speak up against the president who is, you know, the head of the part at this stage. >> all right. abigail and kevin, thank you so much. >> thank you. the new economic numbers and whether there are new reasons to worry about the so-called trump economy. to be your own boss. that's the beauty of your smile. crest's three dimensional whitening... ...removes stains,... ...whitens in-between teeth... ...and protects from future stains. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. you wouldn't accept from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase relieves your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. flonase.

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pictures right now of hong kong and some breaking news there. you see thousands of protesters have packed the streets. this is the scene in downtown hong kong. this is an area that obviously is central to the hong kong economy. it's a very busy thorough fair. you see the protests starting to move into more central locations in the city. the ninth week in a row that demonstrators are speaking out against the government. on monday protesters are also calling for a strike. right now things look calm. still relatively situation there and bring you updates as we go through the next hour. so we're the roller coaster ride prompted by the president's tweets. wall street finishing out the worst week in months with the dow and nasdaq and s&p 500 all ending in the red yesterday. it comes after the u.s. trade battle with china intensified. and as jobs reports was pretty

steady which brought numbers down across the board. joining me now, courtney brown. good morning. >> good morning. thank you for having me. >> okay. so we have this jobs report. 164,000 jobs, 3.7% unemployment. you see the rate of job growth is slowing down. i mean, is this a real point of concern here or is this neutral news? >> the labor market has really been the standout of the economic expansion. so the fact that it is faltering a little bit is a little bit scary. rate of job growth slowed significantly since a year ago. we were growing 200,000 jobs a month last year. that slowed to 160,000. that's the average for this year so far. >> right. what do you think this says about the trump economy? do you think it has an impact on the way voters are thinking about how they're going to go into the primary? >> i think the economic expansion is historic.

this is the longest the u.s. has gone without a recession. it's not p. a lot of things that i think maybe democrats put to is the fact that we just are pretty stagnant. we haven't had the type of wage growth that you would typically see, you know, during an economic cycle of this kind. we haven't gotten wage increase for a while. that dynamic democrats might point to. job growth is healthy. gdp is above 2%. that's pretty good. you know, things are healthy considering we have gone this long without a recession. >> what did you think about what happened with tariffs this as well. so how does this impact what happens for someone's paycheck? >> i mean, as i said, the labor market has been the standout of this economic expansion. so is the consumer.

we get the imports from china. that will hit a lot of the things you see on the shelves of walmart. so far the trump administration has largely stay add way fred a taxing goods like. that the things that go into the thing thaendz things that end up on the shelves of walmart. retailers are not able to offset that cost. the margins are already super tight. so they have no choice but to pass on, you know this cost to the consumer. things are going to get more expensive if trump really does go ahead through with this threat. >> do you think consumers are really hyped up for this? we do see them continuing to reflect, you know, a good deal of confidence here. >> yeah. i mean, that goes back to the wage question. so if wages are not rising the way that consumers might expect and things are getting more expensive, i mean, that doesn't

bode well for the consumer. and as i said, companies, they can't continue to eat this cost. that's largely what happened so far. bigger companies that have wider profit margins, they can kind of say okay, we'll eat this cost. we won't pass it on to the consumer. retailers don't have that luxury. >> all right, courtney brown, thank you. >> good to see you. off the job, a judge suspended the nypd officer caught on video choking eric garner. who will make that final decision about whether pantaleo will leave the department for good? will leave the department for good most people think a button is just a button. ♪ that a speaker is just a speaker. ♪ or - that the journey can't be the destination. most people haven't driven a lincoln. discover the lincoln approach to craftsmanship

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glad i could help. at xfinity, we're here to make life simple. easy. awesome. so come ask, shop, discover at your xfinity store today. breaking overnight, new details in the deadly coastal bluff collapse along a popular beach north of san diego. three people were killed and at least one other was injured when a sand stonewall gave way on to beach goers friday. emergency crews roped off the area of the collapse and inspectors checked on the safety of the area including homes on top of that bluff. >> currently, i will is still an

active rescue mode. we do have city public works and engineering here as well to evaluate stability of this. >> now bluff gave way four to eight times a year to the natural i had eroding coastline. breaking overnight, a medical examiner's office finding the gunman who killed three people at a california food festival died from a self inflicted gunshot. police originally believed the 19-year-old was brought down by officers at the scene after he opened fire on a crowd on sunday. investigators still don't have a motive for the attack. and puerto rico is one step closer to getting a new governor. pedro pe pedro peierluisi was signed n h needs senate approval to become governor. that vote expected early next week.

rossello resigned after a series of leaked chats. the other headline, president trump selecting a new director of intel sequence. nbc's hans nichols is following the president in berkeley heights, new jersey. hans, what's the latest on who will be nominated next? >> well, that's the challenge for the president. trying to wid will down the list of three candidates to be the next chief spy chief. the president talked about what he was doing before he left. he was going down to the three. that is after he band ond congressman john ratcliffe to head his dni. >> reporter: in a shocking reversal, president donald trump ditching his pick to replace dan coats as director of national intelligence, citing negative media coverage. >> i felt that congressman ratcliffe was being treated very unfairly. >> reporter: days ago, he praised congressman john ratcliffe who came to the president's defense during the

mueller hearing. >> he damn sure shouldn't be below the law. >> reporter: lawmakers pounced on the texas congressman's credibility. nbc news was first to report that ratcliffe falsely claimed he put terrorists in prison. and friday "the washington post" reported he did not arrest 300 illegal immigrants in a single day as he had chamd. claimed. >> reporter: ratcliffe joins a growing number of picks that ht fire on the launch pad including the united nations and veterans affairs and some two dozen subcabinet positions. the president yesterday insisted that pulling a candidate after publicly announcing one is all part of the process. >> give a name. i give it out to the press. and you vet for me. >> he said his home was burglarized last saturday. really bad news. the baltimore house of elijah cummings was robbed too.

bad. former u.n. ambassador nikki haley taking aim at her old boss tweeting this is so unnecessary. adding her own dose of sarcasm with an eye roll emoji. the concern about cummings coming days after attacks even calling him a racist. trump said he was misunderstood. >> that was really not meant as a wise guy tweet. i mean his house was robbed and it came over the news. so here's what the move looks like. the president said when he announced dan coats' departure august 15th is when he would leave. you need to have an acting in place. now the deputy dni is respected intelligence officials by name of sue gordon. by law she would be elevate philadelphia they don't have anyone in place. the issue is they have an acting director. that person needs to be senate confirm. now there is some indication that the president won't go with sue gordon, at least that's what

a lot of lawmakers think. but the president himself said he's a big fan of sue's. he has two decisions to make. who will be interim and who will go through the process to be senate confirmed. >> hans nichols with the president, thank you so much. now to new york and new developments this morning in the choking gej choking death of eric garner. the new york police department has suspended the officer daniel pantaleo following a recommendation from the department's judge that he should be fired. the final word belongs to the city's police commissioner. kathy park is here with us with the latest. what can you tell us? >> good morning to you. the recommendation is another big turning point in the case that captured the attention from five years now. and in just weeks, we may find out whether officer daniel pant lay yoe ge taleo gets to keep his job. >> fire pant lay yoe, that's all we're asking. >> a judge recommended friday that officer daniel pantaleo be

fired for his role in the death eric garner. that drew negative reaction. >> found him guilty on recklessness because the community called and we responded and someone resisted? that's reckless? that's asinine. >> pant laleo was seen putting s hand around his neck. he was being wrestled to the ground, garner gasped for air. >> i can't breathe. >> the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide and the family was awarded nearly $6 million in a settlement with the city. >> i can't breathe! i can't breathe! >> protests and unrest would follow during the five year investigation. putting the national spotlight on policing and use of force against unarmed black men.

the garner family expressed outrage when the department of justice and a grand jury declined charges against pantaleo. >> this is a long battle. five years too long and finally somebody has said that there is some information that this cop has done something wrong. >> we saw a process that was actually fair and impartial. >> reporter: pantaleo's attorney says his client was doing his job. >> he acted the way he was taught to act. >> and per department policy, officer pantaleo has been suspended for 30 days without pay following friday's recommendation. both sides of the case have two weeks to review the decision before the police commissioner makes a final ruling and that commissioner doesn't plan on saying anything until that time takes place. >> thanks so much. turning to yet another horrific loss for the kennedy family. robert f. kennedy's 22-year-old granddaughter was found dead at

the family's historic compound. police are investigating the cause as "the new york times" reports she may have died of an apparent overdose. ann thompson joining us live outside the kennedy compound in hyannis port, massachusetts. good morning you to. what is the latest this case? >> good morning. well, we are awaiting the toxicology report that will determine the exact cause of death here. but throughout hyannisport and particularly at kennedy compound, you see the flag behind me, it is at half-staff. that is true throughout this little town. as people pay tribute to 22-year-old kenne life that ended much too soon, a life that appeared to have so much promise. >> this morning a few more clues about sirsha kennedy hill's shocking death. an autopsy revealed no signs of trauma on the it 22-year-old found unresponsive thursday at her grandmother's home in the kennedy compound. the reports say that an overdose is suspected.

the official cause is waiting on the toxicology report. the shattered family said nothing returning from a sail friday afternoon. gathering one more time to mourn a family member gone too soon. sharing pictures and happy stories of sirsha on social media. her uncle robert remembering a fearless adventurer whose greatest gift is find humor in everything and give ulaughter. aunt kerr carrie kennedy postin pictures of the boston college senior and maria shriver, another aunt saying she left a gaping hole in the lives of all those who loved her dearly. and advocate for women and mental health, kennedy-hill did not hide her struggle with depression f her high school newspaper, she described her bad times writing, "too often it feels as if i'm drowning in my own thoughts while everyone else seems to be breathing comfortably." her cousin former congressman

patrick kennedy praised her candor. >> she opened the door for her peers to also come out and not feel shamed by this illness. and she's a real hero in my family. she broke the silence. >> reporter: her death the latest tragic episode in this family's history. great uncle president john kennedy and grandfather senator robert kennedy assassinated. uncles david, michael, and j.f.k. jr. all died young. david from a drug overdose, michael in a skiing accident, and j.f.k. jr. in a plane crash. and now sirsha kennedy-hill. now as i mentioned, sirsha kennedy-hill went to boston college. she would be a rising senior, a member of the class of 2020. and given the kennedy's political leanings, it will be no surprise to you she was a member of the college democrats at bc. and today they are remembering sirsha as a bright and beautiful

soul. >> ann thompson, thank you. we're getting started here. but there is much more ahead. this morning on msnbc, at the top of the hour, up with david gura and david is now joining us with a preview. good morning, david. >> thank you. 118 that, is the number of house democrats calling for an impeachment inquiry, a majority of house democrats. we'll help understand how that changes the count for party leadership and how instrumental robert mueller's testimony nab growing that number. and we have a brand new profile of camilla harris from rolling stone magazine. you remember that moment when they went after senator harris' record as a prosecutor, said the senator should apologize. we'll help you understand how camilla hair srris is framing h past. >> we'll see you in a little bit. setting the stage and sounding an alert, up next i'll speak with michigan lawmaker about his debate night speech that drew high praise and loud

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this week's democratic debate proud a surprise breakout star. garland gillchrist got a huge applause. he pointed out the crucial role

michigan can play in the 2020 election. >> so to all of the political pundits who said that michigan was a red state. we -- we prove them wrong in 2018. and we're going to prove them wrong again in 2020. >> in michigan, less than 11,000 votes made the difference between this country moving forward and moving backward. so let this be our generation's call to action. in michigan and across the united states. >> joining me now is lieutenant governor gilchrist from native detroit. good morning. >> good morning. happy to be here with you. >> thanks for coming on this morning, lieutenant governor. you delivered a pretty fiery few minutes there. do you think that michigan can actually deliver for the democrats in 2020? >> chutely. governor and i ran on a campaign that focused on the core issues of fixing problems.

you know, we have the worst roads in the country in michigan. that's why we ran on fixing infrastructure. you have the lowest educational outcomes. that's why we ran on education. it's a state that donald trump won by 10,000 votes. >> who do you think is delivers the most relevant message from the candidates on stage at the democratic debate to michigan residents? >> you know, i think all of the candidates are still ramping up on what they need to do and say in michigan. we're looking forward to welcoming them back to michigan. the person that wins michigan has to show up. when they do that, when they speak to people's core issues and speaking about job creation, because with very so many people who are ready and hungry for the today and tomorrow. we're speaking about skill trades, then they can win in the state. >> do you think that is former vice president joe biden? can he beat trump in michigan?

>> i think the truth is any democrat can beat trump in michigan. the question is though is how are our party going to put in the work snt michigan democratic party are ready to step up and the candidates need to come and meet the people where they are. >> he also worked on former president obama's 2008 social media campaign on that team. what do you think of his legacy coming under attack from some democrats? >> well, i think that president obama is popular in michigan because he did things important to the fundmentals. if we build on the momentum of giving more people health care, more people access to education, more people access to jobs, that's an agenda that will win regardless of the democrat who is carrying it. >> were you surprised that under -- that president obama came under attack here? >> well, i mean, debates are about drawing contrasts. every candidate is trying to find their lane. i'm not too concerned about that. but what i want people to focus

on is the fact that this are core issues that you need to talk about in michigan. if you talk about infrastructure, education, closing the skills gap, clean water like we did in 2018, that is your path to victory in 2020. >> you're a former software engineer. you worked at microsoft. i want to know what you think of elizabeth warren's call to break up tech companies. this is something that is starting to gain steam in washington as well. >> i think that the call for accountability whether it's corporate accountability or responsibility with how people are protecting the environment, we always need to have a conversation about that. and the great lakes state we know that more than anything else. we have 21% of the world's fresh water and that's why governor witmer introduced a great lakes agenda for every candidate to take a look at. that kind of accountability matters. >> i guess i was asking about technology companies and the call to break up big tech. and having worked in the field

that you worked in, you know, what do you think about that? >> i think that there is a conversation about what is happening in these markets. the companies have so much power. when you have a conversation about how they kofgovern themselves, we have a bigger conversation that we have to have in michigan and across the country about the bltabiliaccouy of people. >> do you think that we should break up big tech? >> i think that we need to have a conversation about accountability, what that looks like i don't know yet. >> all right. the new york times also has a report out from president trump's approach of people of color. to win over a handful of black voters and, two, to make black voters think about turning out for democrats or trying to change a system some believe is stacked against them. which way do you see this going, lieutenant governor? >> president trump's agenda has been dangerous and destructive not just to black people but

people of color, to immigrants, to latinos, to people in this diverse state of michigan. the muslim ban was particularly dangerous n cities like deer born, michigan, we have a large muslim community. it shows how you feels about race and coming together in the state of michigan, it's one reason that the governor and i went across the state. the governor won every county in the democratic primary. we met people where they are. we have the most diverse cabinet. we have the most progressive agenda in the history of the state of michigan and that what led us to winning by ten points in the state that donald trump won by 10,000 and our agenda is responsive to everyone in the state of michigan. >> all right, michigan lieutenant governor, thank you so much. >> thank you. the impeachment calls and how it could play out on capitol hill. that's next. hill that's next. i used to book my hotel room on those travel sites but there was always a catch. like somehow you wind up getting less. but now that i book at hilton.com, and i get all these great perks.

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strategist stacy kerr, former aide to nancy pelosi and joe watkins, former aide to george h.w. bush. good morning. >> good morning. >> stacy, i'll start with you. why do you think there is a surge. what is missing is that -- what we need to remember is that we need a majority in the house. >> right. >> so we need to look at the math here. and 100 votes short of what we need to do in the house. there are 31 districts that are held by a democrat that president trump won. house. only oneimpeachment.

so if you do -- if you do the math, we're still very short of the number of votes needed to pass this in the house. >> joe, what do you think? what do you think about this development? this surge that we're seeing. do they see this has an opportunity to rally their base. nancy pelosi wants to avoid that with the 2020 election coming up. she doesn't want on the president to build the support for himself. i think she is hesitant given the numbers to move forward and try to pursue impeachment proceedings against the president. >> we have a statement here defending her approach as the

calls for impeachment continue to grow. in parts to protect our democracy and our constitution, democrats in the congress continue to legislate, investigate and litigate. in america nobody is above the law and the president will be held accountable. she appears to be sticking to her guns here, but is she getting a little bit closer to impeachment? >> you know, i think speaker pelosi watches the math. the math i talked about is not there. however this is not an all or nothing proposition. democrats have been working, as you read in that statement, they lation to strengthen our leslation. in the courts they are issuing subpoenas. the president and the administration are blocking the subpoenas. this is not just about pelosi and it is not just about whether or not we are going to do impeachment proceedings, but democrats are making the case.

they are making the case that voters will take the ultimate vote on it for the president and that is in november of 2020. >> we are also looking at the clock, right. you have that ticking down. the committee's fight for mueller's material. that is expected to go on until october at the earliest. does the window then start to close for democrats realistically? >> i think it does. that is why speaker pelosi is very thoughtful about this. she understands what mueller's report says. she knows about the ten possible instances of obstruction of justice and she realizes the math is not there and does not work. the timeline is not in her favor. she is more focused, i think, on the bigger task at hand. trying to make sure that she retains control of the house and does not do anything to obstruct the democratic efforts in the

presidential election for 2020. >> i want to talk about the surge in republicans leaving the house. we have six house republicans announcing they not seek re-election in about 10 days to two weeks. we would expect the minority party to have some announcements. but what do you think this is about? >> i think we are seeing that it is very hard to be a republican in this republican party. they are being asked to make a choice. they criticize the president. they are punished by the party. they are silent on the acts of this administration and president and they will be criticized by the voters. a lot of them are choosing not to make the choice at all and they are choosing to retire. i think not just bad for the republican party but bad for the congress. it is bad for the american

people. we see women leaving the congress. the only african-american leaving congress. >> that is something i wanted to ask as well here. what does it mean when you lose another woman who is leaving the party. what does that say about the party? >> it is not helpful to the party of course to lose women or african-americans. the only republican african-american member of the party. also to lose women. i think like 18 women who are republicans. >> 13. >> 13. >> 13. that is a big loss when women decide not to run for re-election. but it is hard. the case of will hurd who is in a swing district that is becoming more and more democrat, hard for him to support the president and hang on to his district. he has been openly critical of the president. hard for an african-american to

be a republican and not say something critical about some of the tweets that came out in the last few weeks. it would be difficult for him to stay in congress and win a seat again. fl plus in texas there is a december deadline for nominating people. he is giving the party time to find someone else to run. >> i think that politico told us yesterday that there are more people in congress named joe than republican women running for election. >> jim. jim. absolutely. thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thanks. thanks so much. >> today at 5:00 eastern time reverend al sharpton talking to bernie sanders and cory booker about the issues important to their voters and of course, president trump. a closer look at kamala harris in her days as california's attorney general.

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any time all right. we are at the top of the hour. "up"