on a wednesday night. and that is our broadcast for this evening. we thank you so very much for being here with us. good night from our nbc news headquarters in new york. this morning, new reporting about a whistle blower complaint by an intelligence officer, claiming president trump said something troubling to a foreign leader. now, congress wants the details. >> plus, former national security adviser john bolton slams president trump's foreign policy at a closed door event in new york city. secretary of state mike pompeo is calling this weekend's attack on the saudi oil facility an act of war as president trump increases sanctions on iran. >> good morning, everyone. it is thursday, september 19th, i'm ayman mohyeldin, alongside yasmin vossoughian. we begin with new information on the secret whistle blower

complaint that the trump administration is refusing to hand over to congress. two former u.s. officials tell the "washington post" that it involves a promise the president made to a foreign leader that was thought to be so troubling it prompted a u.s. intelligence official to file a formal whistle blower complaint with the inspector general. the post says it is unclear which foreign leader the president was speaking with or what he promised but nbc news has learned from a former u.s. intelligence official that it involves a phone conversation. the entire or deal is at the center of the latest battle between the trump administration and congress. after the acting director of national intelligence, joseph mcguir mcguire overruled the inspector general's complaint that it was urgent concern after failing to turn over to congress as require by law. adam schiff accuses the trump administration of illegally refusing to turn over the complaint. and schiff announced last night

that the inspector general has agreed to meet with the committee behind closed doors this morning at 9:00 a.m. we are told mcguire has agreed to testify in open session. one week from today. the white house did not respond to a request for comment. we will get much more on this story, when one of the reporters behind the "washington post," shane harris joins "morning joe" at the top of the next hour. john bolton criticized president trump during a private luncheon in new york city yesterday. a person who attended the event telling nbc news that bolton slammed with the president's willingness to meet with the taliban and the handling of iran and north korea. according to that person, bolton never mentioned trump by name but it was clear he was quote making references to the president and to his policies. at the luncheon, bolton said the president's plan to meet with the taliban at camp david sent a quote terrible signal and was disrespectful to the victims of the september 11th attacks. bolton also argued that the administration's failure to respond militarily to iran

striking an unmanned u.s. drone earlier this year set the stage for iran alleged role in the attack on a saudi arabian oil site over the weekend. the person who attended the luncheon says bolton belittled the president's willingness to meet with the presidents of north korea and iran an any negotiation with those countries are quote doomed to fail. first reported by "politico." here is how president trump responded to bolton's criticism yesterday. >> john was not able to work with anybody and a lot of people disagreed with his ideas. and a lot of people were very critical that i brought him on in the first place because of the fact that he was so in favor of going into the middle east. guys like bolton and others wanted to go into iraq, and that didn't work out too well. that didn't work out too well. that was a horrible idea. and i put him in anyway, and frankly, everybody knows, if you move wrong, he wants to, you know, he doesn't realize that you get stuck, you get stuck. and they got stuck.

and i'm unsticking it. >> so eight days after the abrupt departure of john bolton, president trump named robert c. o'brien at the fourth national security adviser. o'brien currently serves in the state department as special presidential envoy for hostage affair, according to the "washington post," o'brien's appointment solidifies the status of secretary of state mike pompeo as the most influential foreign policy voice in the administration. pompeo has known o'brien for years and backed his ascension to the job after battling with bolton over an array of policies. the post points out that o'brien takes over amid escalating tensions with iran, a high stakes trade war with china and concerns whether he wields enough clout to forge consensus among the competing egos and agencies. >> and amid fierce calls for gun reform on capitol hill the department of justice is shopping around an extended background check to lawmakers. the measure which president trump has yet to endorse is being discussed by attorney general bill barr, and white house director of legislative

affairs, with the republican senators this week, among other ideas. according to a copy of talking points, obtained by nbc news, the proposal would apply to quote all commercial sales, including sales at gun shows. and create a system for sellers who are not licensed dealers to complete the background check process. the proposal is similar to the failed bipartisan manchin toomey bill. >> news of the leaked bill has drawn opposition from those who believe it is a nonstarter. president trump has distanced himself from the proposal claiming it is not a white house document. the "washington post" reports that the measure surprised key white house officials including acting chief of staff mick mulvaney traveling and not involved in writing the memo according to the senior administration officials. someone who has reportedly been vocal about lobbying for expanded background checks is senior advise ivanka trump. it has prompted fears in the white house that the president

would support such legislation because his daughter is pushing for it. so, as children set nool the, settle into their classrooms this school year, the anti-gun violence by sandy hook has a chilling perform sa depicting how young children could use back to school ordinary items to ward off a shooter. a warning that aspects of this video could be difficult for some to watch. >> my nom gmom got me the perfe backpack for back to cool. >> these folders help me stay organized. >> these headphones are just what i need for studying. >> sneakers are just what i need for the new year. >> this jacket is a real must-have. >> the skateboard i wanted. it is pretty cool.

>> i watched that yesterday, and i just had chills because i watched the whole thing, and it just, as you said, it is very chilling, very poignant, very powerful and this is what our country has got ton. >> so incredibly heart breaking to imagine that children have fear like that at school. there is a part of the video that we didn't show and if you haven't seen it, go and watch it, at sandy hook, at the part of the video that we didn't show at the end, a girl waiting in the corner of the bath room and hears footsteps of the shooter. >> texting her mom saying i love you. >> joining us now a reporter for the "washington post," eugene scott. good to have you with us. so as we talking there with the debate with the gun reform with sandy hook psa, this continues across capitol hill and the country really. are we likely to see any

movement as we see more americans weigh in on this? >> certainly that's the hope. the white house said that they could release more proposals this week, about what the president wants to do specifically in response to gun violence and the mass shootings that swept the country this summer. there's been a lot of back and forth and a lack of clarity about what the president would get behind specifically, but we do know that mitch mcconnell has made very clear that he wants to come to the white house, with a bill that he's confident that trump would sign, before being very public about what congress wants to move forward with. >> i want to turn back for a moment to the president's pick for national security adviser as well, while we have you, robert o'brien. what is this choice, what does this choice say about the administration's evolving national security policy? >> well we know o'brien has a

hostage negotiation background and that's something that the president's team made him attractive for this position. but what we know more than anything is that o'brien has a track record of just constantly praising and supporting the president, and very much moreso likely to be a bit of a yes man for trump. which was obviously a problem for his predecessor. and so trump is trying to get a team that will support his ideas regarding security as he moves into re-election, so that he can communicate perhaps some wins to his base, that he hopes will be fruitful when it comes to election time. >> live in washington, d.c., gene scott, always a pleasure. we will talk to you again in a little bit. still ahead president trump kicks off a legal battle after banning california from setting its own auto emissions standards. now defending the decision. >> canadian prime minister justin peru doe is looking at new backlash after a yearbook photo shows him wearing brownface makeup. those stories and more of a check of the weather when we come back. eck of the weatherhe e

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welcome back. president trump is defending his plan to revoke california's authority to set its own tailpipe pollution regulations. yesterday, on twitter, trump wrote this. there will be very little difference in emissions between the california standard and the new u.s. standard, but the cars will be far safer and much less expensive. many more cars will be produced under the new and uniform standard, meaning significantly more jobs, jobs, jobs. automakers should seize this opportunity because without this alternative to california, you will be out of business. the head of the epa and the secretary of transportation are expected to make the formal announcement today. >> the rollback would be a huge blow to climate regulation in california, the nation's largest auto market and has set pollution standards in the past that has influenced national and international policy. california has vowed to take the fight all the way to the supreme court and the attorney general

of california, javier becera reinforced the golden state's position saying quote, our message to those who claim to support states rights is don't trample on ours. we cannot afford to back slide in our battle against climate change. >> danny cevallos joins us on the set. and it is interesting to see that republicans forget the point the attorney general of california made. and let's head to the legal state of california, and how does this play out? what is the legal argument they're making? what is the legal basis that president trump is positioning his policy on? >> the federal government legislates in limited areas, but where it legislates generally, it has the benefit of what's called pre-emption. so there is certain areas that the states just can't legislate in. for example, they couldn't pass legislation about u.s. currency or waging war, or anything to do with the navy, or the army. those are areas that are pre-empted and exclusively the area of federal law. here is where it gets confusing.

many years ago, the federal government, or the congress, passed a law requiring uniform emissions standards nationwide. but, now, that part, might be considered part of their pre-emption. this is the federal government's prerogative, so therefore, they can legislate and the states cannot. but they created a unique carve-out. at the time, california had a lot of smog problems and unique problems to that state, in terms of pollution. so they had this carve-out. and california was allowed to legislate and create a higher standard, which is not that unusual. and there's more. states that adopted california's exact standards were allowed to adopt those. so you created a kind of patch work quilt. >> inconsistent. >> of emissions standards. so now that's what the administration is saying they are going back to that, and saying that california's regulation dis -- >>. no more carve-outs. >> right. california's regulations violate the idea of pre-emption, and they create this unequal standard nationwide, and they're looking to essentially

re-examine something that appears to have been settled law for decades. >> what if auto giants basically refuse to comply with this president's mandate? >> here's the interesting thing. the trump administration appears to be opening an anti-trust investigation against these companies. possibly arguing that these companies grouping together and creating different standards and working with the california government, is something a violation of anti-trust law. when companies collude, believe it or not, collusion appears in the anti-trust law, when these companies collude to create some advantage for the companies. now, one of the interesting things is, these companies don't even need to agree with the government, or the with the state government, they could just raise their standards. and then it would be zero anti-trust problems. they could say you know what, we're not going to -- >> they don't have to comply. >> they don't have to comply. if they're entering into an unwholly arrange with each other and the states, maybe there is an anti-trust issue, but if they

just back off of that and say you know what, as an auto manufacturer, we want to make better cars with better emissions standards just for our goodness and the benefit of the country. forget the federal standards. we want to do better. >> a sad irony that this is happening in the same week that everyone is trying to put the spotlight on the climate change debate in this country and saying greenhouse gases and gas emissions and co2 emissions are front and center and need to be reduced across the world. danny, thanks for that. appreciate it. with, that let's switch gears and get a check on the weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> horrible news from the beaumont area, texas, remember, it was a weak tropical storm, we watched it yesterday, we were worried about flash flooding. it has developed significantly overnight. i want you to watch this radar. this is over the last six hours, here is winnie right here, and if i just leave my finger there, all of the bright reds are thunderstorms. six straight hours of torrential rains over the same spot. one rain gauge has reported, try to imagine this, 17 inches of

rain, in six hours. i mean imagine getting that much snow in six hours. let alone rainfall. so we have flash flood emergencies for this area. we have first responders that are out, there and boats trying to rescue people, from this area from beaumont to winnie hit the hardest. houston by the way hasn't rained at all. not that far away, very localized and very concentrated in this one little small area and this area of maroon here shows you where we have the flash flood emergencies this morning. now houston to shreveport in the flash flood watch, and in case it shifts a little bit but again, this area in southeast texas has been hit extremely hard. due need a huge hurricane to have, you know a devastating event and we have heard, there is water in homes. so additional rainfall is still possible, and one location, i just saw, has up to 27 inches of rain, for this entire event. so that is going through yesterday and today, and i need to update this, we were thinking 20 to 25 inches possible. we probably now have to go up to 25 to 30. and some of these are the same

areas that were hit hard by harvey a couple of years ago. so just devastation on top of devastation and additional five to seven inches possible. and we just got the new update in on tropical storm jerry and after dealing with this storm and what we did with dorian, the least thing we need is more problems from this one and it may brush the northern leeward islands but looks to take that hook, bermuda may have to deal with another storm by the time we get to the middle of next week and stay off the east coast in a way from the bahamas. but all thoughts, when we get the pictures in this morning and show you what is going on in the beaumont port arthur area, it is not a pretty scene. >> i think you may have addressed but how long will it last throughout the course of the day? >> pouring hard through the first half and lightening through through the day and then tonight, another heavy band. >> thanks, bill. still ahead president trump visits the southern border and boasts about the wall but it is not actually new wall, it's just a replacement. we're back with a fact check on that, coming up. whoops. sorry.

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welcome back, canadian prime minister trudeau is facing criticism after a photo of him wearing brownface surfaced last night, taken at an arabian knights gala at west point gray academy when trudeau was a teacher in 2001. time obtained a copy of a 2000-2001 yearbook which shows the 29-year-old trudeau dressed

as a character from aladdin. this is not the first time trudeau has worn racially insensitive costumes. while speaking to reporters last night, trudeau added he has been more enthusiastic and costumes more than appropriate and also makeup in high school for a folk song. >> and i should have not have done that and i should have known better and i did it and i'm sorry and when asked if it is racist, he says yes, it was, i didn't consider it racist at the time but now we know better. the president paid a visit to the border in southern california and there he spoke at length about his planned border wall. watch this. >> you have the re-bar, the outer crust and the inside is concrete and it is hard concrete, very powerful concrete and the concrete is poured after it's up, they power it through a funnels, a lot of technological advances have been made with concrete. so you think you're going to cut it with a blowtorch, that

doesn't work because you hit concrete and fellas how about a less expensive version. and it is a rolls royce version. and it is an ant climb device if you look at the device on top. we have built prototypes and we have had i guess you could say world class mountain climbers. this wall can't be climbed. we had 20 mountain climbers, that's all they do, is climb mountains they can do it, me, i don't want to climb mountains, it absorbs heat, it is extremely hot, you can fry an egg on the wall, and if you want to climb it, you have to bring hoses and water, water, and where is the water out here, nobody is going over the wall. it is virtually impossible. i guess a pole vaulter could get over the low one but very painful when they land, right?

>> president trump has replaced 66 miles of fencing, including nine miles of renovated fencing. but the administration has yet to extend the border waill. there are 654 miles of border wall in the united states as well, according to customs and border protection. it is the same number of miles that existed at the very start of president trump's term. not a single mile more than previous. and when asked by a reporter about his 2016 campaign promise, that mexico, you may remember that, mexico would pay for his wall, trump claimed mexico was paying with its decision to police the border with soldiers. >> well, they're paying for 27,000 soldiers, as you know, and i am so, we are all thrilled, you know, mexico has never done anything to impede people from pouring into our country. if i took 5%, 5% tariff, for six months, that pays for the entire wall. >> so let's fact check that

quickly. mexico has deployed 15,000 soldiers to the u.s./mexican border, not 27,000 as the president claimed and the pentagon says it would use $3.6 billion in military construction funding to build the wall. there you have it. >> pole vaults can or cannot get over it. >> he can but he would have a hard time landing on the other side the president suggested. the latest in the growing tensions as victim of -- f -- >> president trump's scotland resorts, since he's been in office and lawmakers want answer. back in a moment. answer back in a moment nt. usaa took care of her car rental, and getting her car towed. all i had to take care of was making sure that my daughter was ok. if i met another veteran, and they were with another insurance company, i would tell them, you need to join usaa because they have better rates,

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welcome back, everybody. i'm yasmin vossoughian, alongside ayman mohyeldin. let's start with the top stories. secretary of state mike pompeo offering a blunt assessment on the attack of saudi arabia oil feels as he works to build a coalition to deter similar strikes. watch this. >> americans and saudis who reside in saudi arabia too were at risk. they were, we're blessed there were no americans killed in this attack. any time you have an act of war of this nature, there is always a risk that this could happen. >> this was an iranian attack. it is not the case that you can subcontract out the devastation of 5% of the world's global energy supply and think that you can absolve yourself from

responsibility. so i tell you that from the beginning. were it the case that the houthis' fraudulent claim was accurate, were that true, it's not, but were that true, it doesn't change the fingerprints of the ayatollah, as having put at risk the global energy supply. >> so pompeo made those remarks while traveling to saudi arabia yesterday. marking one of the strongest condemnations so far by any u.s. official about the attack. the secretary met with crown prince mohamed bin sal man as he called for the coalition of european and arab partners to deter iran from any future attack. pompeo is taking that message to the uae next, as he prepares to meet with leaders there this morning. >> and amid the fallout over the strikes on the saudi oil facilities, tensions between the united states and iran continue to ratchet up. in fact, president trump took to twitter yesterday, to announce that he had ordered a substantial increase in sanctions against tehran over

those strikes. the president offered few details when pressed about the sanctions before boarding air force one in california yesterday. >> we'll be adding some very significant sanctions on to iran. >> and what will they include, sir? >> we will be announcing it over the next 48 hours. >> according to the iranian news agencies leaders there warn the u.s. would t-would retaliate for any attacks vowing a crushing response. back at home, president trump is finding himself at odds with one of the most vocal defenders. senator lindsey graham and it is about the same with iran. >> in the past, they hadn't been. time will tell. but i'm looking for a response that will be unequivocal. if they don't pay a price for bombing a neighbor's oil fields, then all hell will break out in the middle east. >> the president fired back earlier in the week that the president's approach was too weak and the president had a different view of his approach

when asked about graham's critical remarks yesterday. >> senator graham said that the failure to strike iran this summer was a sign of weakness. >> no i actually think it is a sign of strength. we have the strongest military in the world. now. and i think it is a great sign of strength. it's very easy to attack. but if you ask lindsey, ask him how is it going into the middle east, how did that work out? and how did going into iraq work out. >> president trump appears to be distancing himself from benjamin netanyahu as the israeli leader battles for his political survival after a tight election. speaking to reporters in california yesterday, trump said he had not spoke within netanyahu since the election. he also offered this message about where america's allegiance lies, playing down netanyahu's importance in the alliance. >> everybody knew it was going to be very close. we will see what happens. and look, our relationship is

with israel. we'll see what happens. >> and netanyahu made his close relationship with trump a main focus in his re-election campaign, with billboards across the country, featuring prurgs of t , featuring pictures of the two leaders. the prime minister canceled his trip to new york with the upheaval back home. >> antitax activists and freedom works president are calling on congress to allocate more funds to update election equipment and mandates that paper ballots be used, to be used for independent audits. he told cnn he backs a version of the secure elections act introduced by members of the senate intel commission last session. that bill has yet to be reintroduced this year. and it is considered to be less strict than any other election security bills. the measure would motivate states to replace all digital voting machines by appropriating funds for replacements only if the money would go towards equipment that relies on paper

ballots. mcconnell's office did not respond to cnn's request for comment. the pentagon has just released documents to congress that reveal the u.s. military spent almost $200,000 in taxpayer funds at president trump's turnberry resort between 2017 and 2019. in letters to the house yoefrp sight committee which is investigating military spending, the pentagon acknowledged it had spent just over $184,000 at the president's scottish resort and lodging and unidentified additional expenses. lawmakers are calling the pentagon's disclosure woefully inadequate noting they failed to provide any records at the resort off the local airport. according to the "washington post," trump's resort lost around $4.5 million back in 2017. but "politico" later reported revenue increased by about $3 million the following year. the oversight committee set a new deadline of september 27 for

the pentagon to produce all invoices, contracts, agreement, and internal and external communications involving the arrangement. president trump yesterday continued his criticism of california's homeless population, threatening action by the environmental protection agency against the city of san francisco for being in quote serious violation of environmental ruling. speaking to reporters aboard air force one last night, trump according to the "new york times" saying tremendous pollution was flowing into the ocean because of waste in storm sewers and he specifically cited, it and trump added quote, we have to clean it up and can't have our cities going to hell. >> eugene scott joining us from the "washington post." let's talk about the piece that amin just laid out with san francisco, and the epa. the president here basically threatening the epa action over california's homelessness problem. what do you make of it? >> this is a continuation of a couple of things we've seen from this white house. one, we know the president

regularly likes to attack cities, because these are areas that quite frankly don't usually back him in elections and so he puts forward the idea that they are very unhealthy, unsafe places. and a two for one here. the president consistently puts his back on most things coming out of california. so he is looking at an opportunity to communicate to conservative voters in the state, he was just there for a fundraiser, that his ideas for the city and for the state as a whole are better than the democrats leading the space right now. >> let me ask you, with both conservatives and democrats kind of looking to take mitch mcconnell over the issue of election security, could the push actually get the senate majority leader to back legislation before the 2020 election? i mean what is the argument, why mitch mcconnell makes at least either publicly or privately, why he constantly blocks these specific bills. >> well, he doesn't get pressure from his voters who believe that election security is a significant issue. because we see this benefiting

people in his party, in certain states, right now, but to the point of norquist, if this continues to be an issue, inevitably, conservatives are going to be victims of fraud as well. based on the lack of security in elections. so this bill hopefully two people on both sides of the aisle could prevent that in the future. >> eugene scott, live in washington, d.c., thanks, eugene, always a pleasure. >> thank you. still ahead the latest in the 2020 race, and the new poll with some concerning numbers for former vice president joe biden's campaign. >> plus, bill karins is back, tracking several storms as a busy hurricane season intensifies. your first look at "morning joe" is back in a moment. s. your first look at "morning joe" is back in a moment. that is amazing. you wanna see something amazing? go to hilton instead of a travel site and you'll experience a whole new range of emotions like... the relaxing feeling of knowing you're getting the best price. these'll work. the utter delight of free wi-fi... . oh man this is the best part. isn't that you? yeah. and the magic power of unlocking your room with your phone.

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breakfast with supporters in boston according to people with close ties to the family. the race will most likely be the country's most high profile senate primary. in fact, the two democrats may be different in age, with kennedy 38 years old, and markey, 76. but the two share similar progressive views on a range of issues and are both well respected. the kennedy family name will have definitely a play in the race, and the great grandson of an ambassador, grand nephew of a president, the son of a congressman. and markey says he will continue to fights for the issues that matter most, like climate change and women's rights and health care inequality. >> and bernie sanders saw a boost after last week's debate. the former vice president sits at 29%. down two points from the last month. despite the lowest level since may. and warren fell four points

since august. 16%. putting her in third place. meanwhile, in a 2020 matchup, against president trump, biden, sanders, warren, are all ahead. biden has the largest advantage over trump at 14 points if the election were held today. >> with that, let's switch gears bringing in nbc meteorologist bill karins with an update on the weather. bill, intensification in the hurricanes? >> yes, would he have six storms out there. i will show you that map in a second. the first thing to deal with is the one that is over us and that is still tregs imelda. when we have the names, tropical storm and hurricane and major hurricane, that only tells you about the wind. that's it. and that's not the whole story with these storms. because the thing that kills the most people is the water. and that is the issue we're dealing with with imelda because it is drifting over southeast texas and hasn't moved much overnight and the torrential rain over the same areas. i mean picture a summer-time thunderstorm sitting over your house for 12 straight hours. eventually, the water just continues to rise. it can't filter down into the sewage system or run into the

rivers. the rivers just get overflowed. and this is the case to beaumont. when we get the pictures at day break, it is an ugly scene. it hasn't stopped. and the flash flood emergency, since about midnight. and this is the doppler radar estimate, and you can see houston, hardly anything, maybe an inch or two, and this area of pink in here is an estimated 20 inches of rain and we have had come dation of one rain gauge with 28 inches of rain in the last two days. 28 inches of rain. it is like, you know, almost a year's worth in a lot of locations. in the northeast. or even actually about half of a year in the northeast. so here is the map that amy was referencing. right now, we have six systems, three in the atlantic, we have imelda we just talked about, humberto went by bermuda yesterday with 100 mile-an-hour wind gusts and still has 125 mile-an-hour wind, it is the strongest hurricane this far north in the atlantic, in about 19 years. so warmer water does give extra

fuel to these storms. and tropical storm jerry is about to become a hurricane. of course jerry, the next little area to watch, for our friends in the caribbean island and those are sometimes the storms that head to the u.s. we think, pretty much all in agreement, with all of our computer models, we're going to go just north of the leeward islands and puerto rico and stall it out and do that bend. maybe a problem for bermuda again but it doesn't look like it will head to the southeast coastal areas. six storms. the peak of the season. it's the most that they've ever tracked at the hurricane center in miami. talk about being busy but none of them, except the one hitting the area right now, will be hitting the u.s. zbr the >> the there is a there is a lot of fuel in the oceans. facing pressure from president trump, federal reserve chairman jerome powell announced

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welcome back. facebook ceo mark zuckerberg will head to washington, d.c. today to speak with lawmakers about future internet regulation. this will be the first time zuckerberg is back in washington since he testified before congress last year over facebook's privacy practices. zuckerberg is scheduled to meet with senator josh holly, who has

been a huge advocate for big tech regulation and nbc news is reporting he is going to meet with huff intelligence chair adam, house intelligence share adam schiff. it comes two days after facebook calls for an independent supreme court where users can review decisions about what facebook takes down or leaves up online. >> the federal reserve changes from rates amid global economic slowdown that many contribute to the u.s.-china trade war. we have more from london. what do you make of the decision by the fed? and i'm curious to get your thoughts on, we talked about the u.s.-china trade war being a factor, how much of it also includes the president's nonstop bashing of the feds and the chair? >> well, a lot to unpack there. >> you have 30 seconds. >> i know, right? you have given me some time here. this is not a surprise, the rate cut, right? there was not a huge market reaction to it, though. and i think, based on what i've

been reading over the last 24 hours, the major reason for that is because the rate committee at the fed was quite divided and there are those who would like to see more cut, more aggressive cuts sooner and there are cut a. and that's because right now although there are concerns about the u.s. economy because of things like the trade war, we're not actually seeing data proving that there's a slowdown in the u.s. right now. there is low unemployment, high consumer spending, so there are people who have divided opinions about this. and that's potentially why we didn't see a huge market reaction from the decision yesterday. >> the president, as you well know, had some choice words about this decision to make rate cuts. do you think or do you anticipate more cuts in the future? >> that's a good question. it's really one for jay powell. and he sort of talked about the idea that history has taught us in the past that being proactive when it comes to policy making is the better course of action.

president trump using language not that unexpected, talk about no guts, no gition, he said, quote, jay powell and the fed fail again. he said that the fed would continue to act and make its decisions, quote, without regard to political considerations. so he's going to be data dependent, something that the fed said it always will be. and that's the key thing for investigate tor investors from yesterday. coming up, axios's one big thing and coming up on "morning joe," more on the explosive "washington post" report on president trump's interaction with a foreign leader that resulted in one u.s. intel official filing a complaint. "the washington post's" shane harris will lay out his reporting. plus jim himes will discuss the

panel arizo panel's decision on "morning joe" just moments away. n "mornig joe" just moments away

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all right. joining us now from washington, d.c., alexis. great to have you with us. what is the one big thing? >> as of about 20 minutes ago now beto o'rourke has released a plan to legalize marijuana and sort of end the war on drugs. and that matters because he's joining a host of other 2020 democrats in the field who have released policy proposals to do something similar. and legalizing marijuana, especially with a focus on social justice, is something that really unites the democratic base and the democrats running for president at a time when we see the ways their divided. >> so obviously legalizing marijuana has been a state issue now for some time. but it seems as if o'rourke is wanting to make this a federal mandate. talk us through some of this plan.

>> so beto o'rourke's plan would grant clemency to folks who are serving sentences in jail or prison for marijuana possession. that's obviously one part of that social justice aspect that i was just talking about that's really important to democrats right now. but it would also look at the ways in which the marijuana industry at large in place where's it has already been legalized has already been imposed with a federal tax. and he wants to make sure that folks who are disproportionately affected by the war on drugs have access to profiting off of marijuana. people in communities of color who face these large prison sentences for minor drug possessions who don't have access to this marijuana industry that is helping communities thrive throughout the country. he wants to take a war on the war on drugs. >> let me get your thoughts on another 2020 candidate kamala harris and kind of revisiting the investigation into justice brett kavanaugh. it's something she's been calling for. what is she looking to accomplish and do you get a sense that she's alone on this or that she has some support

with others that want to see this somehow rely the gaitigate. >> we've seen at least six calling for his impeachment after they've reviewed some of the statements on the sexual assault. but earlier this week i got a copy of this letter first from kamala harris that she's sending to chairman nadler of the house judiciary committee asking him to form an outside task force to investigate brett kavanaugh's sexual assault allegations and whether or not he lied to congress during his confirmation hearing. and that's important because chairman nadler and others on the committee have sort of poured cold water on this idea that they would impeach and investigate brett kavanaugh because they say they're instead focusing on impeaching the president. but she points to a 2008 case in which the house granted the judiciary committee the power to form an outside task force which was led by an outside counsel to

then es investigate and impeach a u.s. district judge. she's using this historical press don't say to chairman nadler i know you're busy investigating president trump, but we need to focus on brett kavanaugh too and here's one way we could did it. >> what is the likelihood here that nadler will take up this request? >> i think that really depends on a couple of things, but one is of course how many democrats continue to call for brett kavanaugh's investigation or impeachment. but the interesting thing about kamala harris's proposal to use an outside task force is that it sort of gives democrats an off-ramp do both of those things. so investigate and impeach president trump and move forward with that and to investigate brett kavanaugh. it would allow nadler and others to do the job that they say they're prioritizing while putting off the task of investigating brett kavanaugh to someone else. so i think it really depends on those two things, whether or not nadler takes this up. >> we've been talking a little bit in the program, alexis, about the state of the u.s. economy. i know that axios has been

locking at t looking at the mood in corporate america. what are you hearing? >> they're saying that their optimism has sort of decreased dramatically since president trump took office. they're look at things like his trade war and seeing the ways in which prices increasing. although consumers aren't necessarily kneeling right now, top executives in the corporate industry are saying that this is a problem for them. and it's prompting them to not spend and hire at the levels that would propel economic growth. >> do they feel as if, some of these people, do they file as if the outlook could be changed by the president? that it's on him? >> and the trade war with china. >> the 15, 17-month outlook what happens with the economy that it could actually be changed by the president? >> that's certainly the sense that we're getting, right? especially when they cite things like his trade war and the tariffs that he's imposing. they say this is directly related to their decreasing

optimism. so it's sort of in president trump's hand to turn things around, not just through the trade war and tariffs, but the way he's diplomatic sizing the other agencies like the federal reserve. i think they really are looking for him to change course, but obviously we know president trump will do whatever he sees fit. >> all right. live in washington, d.c., always a pleasure. thank you very much and of course we'll be reading axios am in a bit. you can go to sign-up.axios.com. >> "morning joe" starts right now. one thing we haven't mentioned it technology. they're wired so that we will know if somebody's trying to break through. you may want to discuss that. >> sir, there could be some error in not discussing that. >> okay, i like that. that was a great answer. >> that is president trump saying way too much about border security and speaking of loose lips, according to the