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>> of the. >> first days of trump's second term as president has been every bit as. chaotic and divisive as many of us warned it would be. after being sworn in before a vip section of tech billionaires, trump unleashed a tirade of executive actions targeting immigrants and trans people, as well as the legal protections that preserve our civil rights and the environment. public service workers are being sent packing, while january 6th insurrectionists are set free. settling political scores has taken priority over fixing our economy, and the republican controlled senate has so far acted as a mere rubber stamp for even trump's most controversial cabinet nominees. we will dive into all of it tonight on

politics nation, and i will update you on what i have been doing as head of national action network to help build a movement that represents not only resistance to trump, but the persistence of democratic values in the face of what increasingly looks like four years of darkness. let's start tonight with colorado congressman joe neguse, the democrats assistant leader in the house. thank you for joining us tonight, congressman. let's start with the president's trip to disaster areas in north carolina and california to north carolinians devastated by hurricane helen. helene trump offered assurances they had not been forgotten to californians whose homes have been ravaged by wildfires. he demanded political concessions in exchange for release. along the way, trump suggested he might just eliminate fema and

leave states to fend for themselves as a lawmaker from colorado, you've been a leader in the fight against wildfires at the congressional level. what is your response to all this? >> well, good. >> evening. >> and it's good to be with you, as always. first. >> let me just say at the top. >> i think. >> the words. >> that. >> you use to describe this week and the opening days of the trump presidency were spot on, chaotic, divisive. and i would add, ultimately, the actions that he has taken in just. >> the last. >> few days are deeply destructive to the country. just by way of example, you referenced, of course, his trip yesterday to north carolina and to california. as you noted. >> i represent. >> a state that's been no stranger. >> to natural. >> disasters. >> in particular wildfires. >> and floods. >> it's unconscionable for the federal government to turn a. >> blind eye. >> to a. >> state that's experiencing the. >> impacts and the consequences of a natural disaster like california. >> and yet here. >> you have a president that.

>> is very committed. >> to playing. >> politics and ultimately attempting to condition. aid on a ludicrous political grounds. of course, as we've made. >> clear, that's a nonstarter. >> in the house and certainly not something that we are going. to stand for. i think it's unfortunate. >> i think. >> every american, irrespective. >> of their political beliefs, expects. >> the. >> president of the united states. >> the commander. in chief, to have their back and. >> to. >> be able. >> and willing to help in times of need. and it's unfortunate. >> that this. >> president has. >> unfortunately. >> chosen to play politics right. >> at the outset. >> but not surprising, of course, as you said, for. >> those of us who. >> have warned about this president's. >> approach in particular. >> now, house speaker mike johnson this afternoon invited president trump to deliver a joint address to congress on tuesday, march 4th. he has been in lockstep with president trump in trying to place conditions on california fire aid, possibly by bundling it into their big,

beautiful reconciliation bill, along with a debt ceiling increase. as a member of the democratic leadership in the house, is there any scenario in which you which your party would go along with legislation placing conditions on disaster assistance for california? >> well. >> as i said, rev, the conditioning. of disaster aid for. any community in our country, including the state of california. >> is a nonstarter. >> and i would also. >> just say with respect to the. >> joint address that if. >> it is anything like. >> his inaugural address or of course, the actions. >> that he has taken in just the last few days, then i suspect. >> it will not. >> be well received. >> by. >> either the congress or. >> ultimately by the american people. i think the president would be well served to focus on the promises that he. made to. >> the. >> american people, that, unfortunately, he has already broken. as you remember. well, rev, he talked a lot about lowering costs during the course of the campaign. >> and yet he's.

>> done nothing to fulfill that promise. >> in just the opening week of his presidency. instead, he has spent. >> his time focused. >> on politics, of course. >> issuing the. >> pardons that you referenced. >> to which i believe undermine the rule of law. allowing individuals. >> who violently assaulted police officers. >> at our. nation's capitol on. >> january 6th. >> to now roam free. >> unconstitutional orders with respect. >> to immigration. >> and birthright citizenship and the like, and a number. >> of other executive orders that, frankly, have. flown under the radar but are no. >> less destructive. >> in. >> terms of what they will do to the average working. >> american family. for example. increasing pharmaceutical prescription drug pricing by. >> virtue of. >> one of the executive orders that he. issued just a few short days ago. so we're going to. >> continue to make clear. >> our values. >> as. house democrats, which. >> i believe. >> are shared by the vast majority of the american people, and make the case in the congress to ultimately operationalize those values by way of. passing pragmatic legislation. >> that helps. >> americans across. >> the country. >> now, president trump made a

late night purge of 14 inspector generals at some of the government's largest agencies, including the departments of defense, health and veteran affairs. these are the watchdogs who root out waste, fraud and mismanagement in these agencies, and trump might not have the power to dismiss them without congress. can you talk a little bit about that? >> sure. >> well, as you noted, rev, his actions this late night purge yesterday. >> evening of. over a dozen. >> inspector generals is arguably unlawful. we strengthened the law regarding inspector generals on a. bipartisan basis just a few. >> short years ago. >> and that reform. >> was intended to protect the independence and the integrity of inspector generals. >> again, that legislation was passed by republicans. >> and democrats. >> and meant to ultimately ensure that these individuals who. >> as you said. >> are charged with rooting out fraud. excuse me. rooting out

fraud, waste and abuse within these executive agencies that their roles are protected. the fact that president trump chose to apparently ignore that federal law, as noted by the inspector generals in their response to their termination, and the fact that he has not stated any particular cogent reasons for why they are being dismissed. >> of course. >> begs the question, and we know the answer. clearly, he does not want these inspector generals in their roles because he would like his executive. agencies to. be able to proceed unfettered from. >> any of. >> the basic safeguards and the checks and balances that our system of government has relied on for the better part of the last two centuries. >> so i. >> believe this will ultimately be something that is challenged in the courts, and the courts will ultimately adjudicate and opine on the question. >> now, the trump administration is also purging all government employees who work in dei and

even encouraging people to snitch on their coworkers in these roles. now, i've been very vocal in my support of diversity programs in the public and private sector. but even if you disagree with the policies, what is the message being sent? by treating them almost as if they are criminals that need to be rooted out with extreme measures? >> yeah. rev, look, i share your outrage and i suspect the outrage that's shared by many americans and certainly many folks who are watching your program. look, probably what's most distressing to me is that the principles of equal. >> opportunity. >> the notion that every american has an opportunity to live their dreams and pursue their dreams irrespective of the color of their skin or where they are born, or who their parents are, or, you know, whether they have a where, what zip code they were born in. you know, regardless of those factors, that they are able to

ultimately pursue their dreams. and unfortunately, president trump is now working by virtue of the executive orders that you referenced and the directives and decrees that have gone out to a variety of federal agencies to really dismantle and undermine what was a bipartisan principle really rooted in our shared values. one of the executive orders that president trump issued, as you know, rev ultimately repeals an executive order that was issued in 1965 by lyndon johnson. right. that is an executive order that survived republican and democratic presidents. and the fact that this president has now chosen to. >> make undermining and eliminating equal. >> opportunity within the federal. government and more broadly, in thebout his priorith are very divorced from the. core needs of the american people, which really are all about lowering costs and protecting americans, keeping communities safe. that's what house democrats are focused on and what we'll continue to focus on

in the weeks and months ahead. >> all right. thank you, congressman joe negus, for being with us. joining me now is congressman adriano espaillat, democrat of new york and chair of the congressional hispanic caucus. and i might say, the congressman, where we have headquarters of the national action network. he's our home. congressman. congressman, let's start with the mass deportations, which seem to be well underway. military troops have been deployed to the southern border. military planes are being used for deportations and arrest. operations are ramping up. as ice officials tell nbc news they have made 538 arrests on thursday. that's nearly double the average number of daily arrests under president biden. we've heard about we've heard about the raids of at least three workplaces in newark, new jersey, where a military veteran was among those

detained and questioned without warrants, according to the city's mayor, who will be hearing from on tomorrow's show on this show. what's your reaction to this? well, i felt for some time. >> now, reverend, and thank you for having me on your program, that the. >> infrastructure that is needed to conduct this massive deportation is really not in place. so any time you have this aggressive action from any government department or the government itself, if it doesn't count with the infrastructure, it will be messy, if not inhumane. and what we saw in newark and other places. around the country is that citizens were being detained and interrogated, and that even a veteran was detained. so this is just the beginning. i see in the future, potentially the separation of. >> children from. >> families. there may be even the deportation of the wrongful

deportation of u.s. citizens. and so this is outrageous that this massive deportation process has begun in that fashion. in top of that, he has pledged that there are no sacred places, that sensitive locations like churches, emergency rooms, funeral homes, schools are really places where they can also come in and arrest people. so this is really serious. i think that a misinformation campaign has. >> gone on for some. >> some time now about about not just sensitive locations, but a sanctuary city. a sanctuary city is really, reverend, a city that provides a safety net to a mom that wants to take her daughter or son to school without being turned in by the principal, or women that can go to a local precinct and report a domestic violence incident without being cuffed, arrested or convicted and deported wrongfully or right

wrongfully. all right. let me say let me push you on this thing with that, several sanctuary cities are on high alert as they await immigration raids. chicago at the top of the list. and you had a harrowing incident at an elementary school there yesterday when employees mistook two secret service agents for ice agents and refused to admit them. chicago public schools acknowledged the mistake, but not before the incident set off a wave of panic among residents in the mostly latino community or neighborhood. now, this is happening in part because trump has now authorized ice to conduct raids in places, as you said, like churches and schools that were previously off limits. can you talk about the climate of fear that this is creating? it sends out a chilling effect, not just in immigrant communities. i dare to say that that regular family citizens are

working. families are afraid. we've heard of cases in the agricultural sector where farm workers, which, by the way, 40% of farm workers are undocumented. right. so what's going to happen to the agricultural industry and what impact will that have on prices at the supermarkets, at the cash register, if this continues to go on? but we've heard of cases where farmers are staying home, a farm workers are staying home. yeah. they're not going to work. they're afraid that they're going to be raided, arrested and sent, which affects all of us if they're 40% of the workers. but let me bring this to you. more than two dozen democrat led states and cities have now sued over trump's executive order rescinding birthright citizenship. a federal judge appointed by president reagan this week temporarily blocked the order, calling it blatantly unconstitutional as it denies the 14th amendment. why do you think trump's administration is

pushing this issue now, especially considering it will be likely be tied up in the courts for their entire term? i think that they want to establish an atmosphere of fear and then get on to other executive orders that they feel they could win, because we all know that even legislatively, to amend the constitution is going to take, you know, it's going to take a big lift. two thirds of the house and senate or the states will have to then call for a convention and then ratify that amendment by three fourths of the states. right? highly unlikely, if not impossible, given the ratio or the margin of a majority in congress right now. so he knows that. but i think he's trying to create an atmosphere of fear, intimidation to them, move forward with these other low hanging fruit things that he feels he can get across the finish line. and as you know, the 14th amendment started as a drive after the civil war, after the dred scott decision.

and president trump has admired president andrew jackson, who appointed judge roger chaney to a supreme court who did the dred scott decision, saying blacks had no rights, that anyone had to respect. donald trump has launched what feels like an all out assault on civil rights, attacking one vulnerable group after another, or identity after another through some executive order or policy directive that has frozen the civil rights division of the justice department, shuttered federal dei programs. he's even revoked the equal employment opportunity rule, as you said, signed by president lyndon johnson 60 years ago. what's your reaction to this onslaught on civil rights? well, altogether, i mean, he's going after immigrants. he's going after dei, he's going after civil rights. this is what his maga movement stands for. and so we got to be ready. we got to be

prepared at the ground level. my office started a know your rights effort, a pocket sized car that will tell immigrants exactly what to do, what not to do, what are their rights and what they can do to prevent being harassed or or wrongfully arrested and deported. so these are important things that we must do together to educate the general public, to make sure they know their rights. ultimately, for immigrants, i think there are three classes that must be really protected. they are dreamers. dreamers are people. very high numbers. these are young kids that have been here for decades and are nurses and teachers and homeowners and business owners, farm workers. because of what i said before, they guarantee food at our table and prices coming down and families keeping families together. these are the three, the three pockets that we must protect in the immigration debate. but the we know very well that those companies that are diverse produce far better results than those that are not.

we know that, in fact, we must continue in that direction to ensure that that not just television, but that the private sector and government reflects the composition of the people in america. he has an all out assault on all of that. and that's what his maga movement stands for. yeah, and we would need to fight for diversity if they had not intentionally not had diversity in some places. chair of the hispanic caucus. congressman espaillat, thank you. thank you, sir. thank you for being with us here in studio. coming up, more on the shock and awe of the first week of trump's second term in office. we'll talk to new jersey's attorney general about the immigration raids in newark and his challenge to trump's assault on birthright assault on birthright citizenship. that's next. despite being on an antidepressant, i was still masking my depression symptoms. my doctor said it could be because my antidepressant alone wasn't enough. so she recommended an add-on treatment.

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of executive orders in hisirst week back in office has prompted a legal backlash, with nearly two dozen state attorney generals mobilizing against his edict to end birthright citizenship. one of them joins me now, new jersey attorney general matthew platkin, a democrat. so 24 democrat led states and cities have sued the trump administration over the president's executive order to rescind birthright citizenship. new jersey is leading 18 of those states, the district of columbia, and san francisco is legally challenging the order, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge who called it unconstitutional. in addition to overturning the 14th amendment and harming thousands of children in the process. tell us, attorney general, how this

order will hurt states like new jersey economically? >> well. >> rev, it's great to be with you. >> and the. >> federal judge got. >> it right. >> the birthright citizenship has been part of the fabric of this nation for centuries. >> it's been. >> in the. constitution for 157 years. >> and the president, on monday. >> night, for the first time ever, tried to rewrite the constitution with a stroke of a pen. and so, as you note, we've stepped. >> up and we. >> have challenged that order. we've we've sought to uphold the rule of law and also to protect states, because, as you. >> mentioned. >> states will. >> be left picking. >> up the slack here. >> because if you don't provide. >> citizenship to. >> these children. >> children born. >> on. >> american soil again for. >> the first time since. >> the. >> civil war, you put them in some subclass of citizenship. >> or. >> residency. >> unclear. >> based on the order. >> they're not entitled to. >> the same federal benefits that other children will be. >> whether that be education or health care. and so states will have to step up. and that.

>> would both harm the individuals. >> and the. >> kids that are. >> born here, but also states like new jersey. so i'm confident. >> that we're going to. >> win this case. >> the federal. >> judge in washington. >> was spot on. >> this is. >> a blatantly. >> unconstitutional act. >> and we're not going. >> to stand for it. >> and that judge, by the way, was a reagan appointee. this is no democrat or radical. what woke or whatever president trump would want to call him. but we'll hear from the mayor of newark, new jersey, rob barraco, tomorrow on the show about the ice raids conducted against migrants in his city, one of them at a seafood wholesaler, resulted in the detainment of a us military veteran. according to the mayor. ice has declined to comment on his investigations in newark. but you've criticized these workplace raids and trump's mass deportation plan as going beyond his professed priority to remove dangerous criminals. so what's this really

all about, in your view? >> well, first. >> of. >> all, i'm. >> sitting in the. >> city of newark right. >> now, and. >> this is an incredibly rich. >> and diverse community. >> that i love and that so many people. >> love. >> and we should be proud of the diversity. i say that as a state that's one of the most diverse. states in america. >> but i've said since. >> november 5th, president trump, if he wants to deport violent. >> criminals. >> no one is standing in the way of that. we've been doing that for a long time. >> but to get. >> to the numbers. >> of deportations. >> that he and. >> his. administration are saying they're going to. >> reach, you. >> by definition. >> have to reach people. >> who are not violent, who are not doing anything wrong. >> who. >> have not. >> committed crimes here, who are running businesses here, who are paying taxes here. who in many cases are. >> raising american. kids here. so now. >> look. >> i know in newark there were no state and local law enforcement involved in that raid, but. >> people have. >> constitutional rights in this country. and those rights did not change from november 5th to

november the 6th. and we're going to make sure that those rights are protected. now. again, if he. >> cares about. >> public safety. >> and wants. >> to focus on violent criminals, we have and will continue to partner with. >> but i can't help but think about the irony of he wants to protect us from violent criminals, while he just pardoned hundreds of them that were violent january 6th. but you know, trump has halted the work of the justice department's civil rights division as well, which is charged with upholding anti-discrimination laws that you refer to. as a result, many court cases and police reform agreements are in limbo. you and i have worked together with my capacity as national action network. reverend steffie bartley, the new jersey chair, on a lot of these cases in your state, what will be the impact of this in your view of him freezing the civil rights

division in the justice department? >> well, it will be significant not just for. >> new jersey, but for every. >> resident across. >> the country. remember this. the department of. >> justice was. >> created in 1870 specifically to. >> protect the. >> civil rights of all. >> americans, in particular. >> black americans emerging from the civil war during the reconstruction era. >> that was. >> the mission of the department, and it has served that mission in partnership with states like new jersey for 150 plus years. and so if the department of justice, for the first time ever, explicitly is getting out of the civil rights protection business, then we're going to experience and a lot of our residents are going to experience a significant harms. i can speak personally on this because two years ago, almost to the day that of today, my temple in bloomfield, new jersey, was firebombed and i helped prosecute that case with our federal partners in the department of justice, ultimately was charged federally. so what president trump is essentially saying to millions of americans, if your temple, if your church, if your

mosque is firebombed, we're not going to care. we're going to pardon, as you know, january 6th, attackers, people who killed a cop who was a born and bred resident of new jersey, officer sicknick. but we're not going to care if you're attacked simply because of who you are. if your church is attacked simply because of what it represents, and that is alarming and should alarm all americans. >> now, lastly, the attorney general, such as yourself, forced to react to this, to the dizzying amount of edicts coming from the trump administration right now. i wonder if you're concerned about the stress being placed on the legal system. some amount of disagreement between the states and the federal is normal. but are you concerned this president seems overly focused on picking fights, especially against states he views as dominated by democrats.

>> well, we're ready. we were successful 80% of the time that states sued the administration in the first trump administration. that's a historically unprecedented rate. and that's because they violated the law at a historically unprecedented rate. and you saw with the birthright case, we filed that case less than 24 hours after the order was signed. and all we're doing here, rev, is we are standing up for the rule of law. i've said many times the president is duly elected. he's entitled to put forth a policy agenda that he sees fit for the nation. even if i don't personally agree with it. what he is not entitled to do is violate the constitution of this nation, violate our laws. i took an oath as our state's attorney, as the chief law enforcement officer of 9.5 million residents of new jersey, to uphold the constitution of this nation, my colleagues across the country took the same oath. in fact, the president himself took that oath. so all we're doing is saying that he is not a king. he has to live and abide by the rules and laws of this nation, by the constitution of this nation. and when he

doesn't, we'll be prepared to step in. >> all right. thank you for being with us. new jersey attorney general matthew platkin. and be sure to watch politics nation tomorrow. one of our guests is ross baraka, the mayor of newark, new jersey. to tell us more about the raids by ice on his city earlier this week. but first, why, while i was at costco today standing up for diversity, president trump was dismantling die for federal employees. the backlash may be more than trump bargained for. my political panel will be next, are you looking for a walk-in tub, my political panel will be next, and we'll explain. for you, or someone you love? well, look no further. january is bath safety month. and for a limited time, when you purchase your brand-new safe step walk-in tub you'll receive a free safety package. and if you call today, you'll also receive $1,500 off your entire order!

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republican strategist susan del percio, democratic strategist juanita tolliver. both are msnbc political analysts. thank you both for being here tonight. susan, let's start with trump's cabinet this afternoon. kristi noem was confirmed as homeland security secretary with bipartisan support. however, last night, pete hedge, head chef, barely squeaked by. vice president jd vance had to cast the tie breaking 51st vote after republican senators mitch mcconnell, susan collins and lisa murkowski all voted against him. is this the new axis of resistance within the republican party to trump's most controversial appointments? or do you think others in the party might eventually join in, actually, to stop any of president trump's nominees? >> i think you.

>> will see a. couple of different senators. >> it may not always. >> be. >> those three. >> but you. >> may get a group of 3 to 5 that actually on. >> certain cabinet. choices or. >> other issues that come. >> up, that. it won't. >> be. >> a slam. >> dunk, that the president has. >> all 53. >> republicans in his back. >> pocket that he can. >> count on. >> but i think. >> we also see. >> that there's a lot of fear that the president. >> instills in these senators, which is unfortunate. >> we saw it with joni ernst, a senator who has fought for who served in combat. >> in our military, who was. >> supposed to be a strong. >> advocate for. >> women in our military. >> and she. >> folded the. >> minute the threat. >> of a primary. >> was there. >> i also. >> think it should. >> be noted that, look. >> where president trump made his first. >> stop when it came to fema relief and just. >> government relief for. >> north carolina. >> a state. >> where thom tillis. >> is from. >> who really a lot of people believed. >> he could have been a. >> deciding factor. >> but he's trying to get

relief. >> aid. >> for his state. so trump has a hard hammer. >> that he. >> can use. >> on these folks. it's just a. >> matter of when people. >> feel like standing. >> up and fighting. >> juanita. this week we also saw trump launch an all out assault on die in the government, in all government workforces. at the same time, we are now seeing companies like target, meta, walmart and mcdonald's all say they are ending their diversity initiatives as well. this week, as head of national action network, i joined 100 other nan members in shopping at costco, one of the several major companies standing strong in favor of equity and inclusiveness. i've also said we as a community, need to start boycotting companies that don't align with our values on this issue. in the name of doctor king, we're going to do what doctor king did. he led boycotts. do you think ending dei programs will turn off some

americans, or are they tuned out on this issue? >> i think it. >> will turn off some. >> americans. >> especially as we see it being implemented in. >> the federal. >> government. where we see project 2025 in action, because these are regular people who are being impacted. these are regular. >> people who are set. >> to be laid off from their jobs. these are. >> civil servants who probably. >> held those positions for years and potentially across administrations. >> and so. >> i think that similar to other executive orders, there will be lawsuits in that regard. but it's something that is capturing national attention because it doesn't just stop with removing those positions. it continues on to deleting concepts of inclusion from websites, from trainings, from operations, from federal rules and regulations as well. and so that's where i think the impact is going to come into play, paired with the reality that those inclusion programs also extended beyond race to include people in the lgbtq and people who are lgbtq,

people. >> who. >> are living with disabilities, veterans as well. and so that's where i. >> think disability veteran people, women. >> exactly. >> it wouldn't have been in existence if it wasn't necessary because they were not practicing diversity. >> and that's what's going to get people's attention. that's what's going to hold their attention. i do think when it comes to boycotting stores and corporations, though, it's going to take coordination. and planning. i'm glad to hear that. that's something that you're working on at national action network, because remember, the boycott in montgomery lasted 350 plus days because of a coordinated. >> it's got to be strategic and coordinated. otherwise you'll do more harm than good. we're being very careful. and but let me go to this, susan. president trump toured disaster zones as you brought up, both in north carolina as well as california yesterday. he had very different behavior in north carolina, a state that he won in the election than he did in

california. trump still seems to be looking at states based on their electoral value. however, there are more than double of the number of registered republicans in california as there are in north carolina, according to government data. do you think this will backfire on trump as he tries to build support for his presidency? >> i don't. >> think donald trump is looking to build support. >> for his presidency. >> read. i think that's the. >> fundamental issue. he's like, i got elected. he uses the word mandate. it wasn't a mandate. it was. >> you know, with. >> 1.5%, give or take in. >> several swing states. >> but he. >> he looks at it that he he is. >> in charge. >> he was elected. he will do things his way. >> he does not want. >> to make friends. >> he doesn't. >> care about that. now, there are some folks from california, though, that do have his ear. granted, they're more from the

north of the state, but they are still people who matter to trump. they tend to be the wealthy, for example. but so trump will do certain things. >> because he. >> has to. but make no mistake about it, he's not trying to unify the country. he's not trying to bring people together. he doesn't look at this as a united states of america. he looks at it as the states that voted for me of america, and the rest can go drop dead. and that's it. and that's how the next four years will be. >> well, anita, i want to play some of what california congressman brad sherman said about disaster relief to president trump last night. >> i know. >> you've talked. >> about policies. >> of. >> california that you're not a fan of, but. >> i've been in congress for 28 years. >> i really disagree with louisiana. >> on. >> their. >> abortion policy. >> i disagree. >> with them on their campaign. >> finance policy. >> i disagree. >> with. >> north dakota. >> on their.

>> gun policy, and. >> i would never turn. >> to. >> somebody from. >> louisiana and. >> say. you keep. >> living on. your your cousin's couch because. >> we're not going. >> to help you. >> rebuild until louisiana agrees with me on a woman's right to choose. >> now, congressman sherman will be joining me on this show tomorrow night. but do you think this is how democrats should be dealing with trump right now, challenging him like this? we're out of time. but i had to ask you this, juanita. >> 100%. absolutely. and the message to democrats in congress is hold the line. when whatever bill comes forward. i think that also extends across the republican or the california congressional delegation, where republicans from the state are saying the same thing do not condition this aid. it's a harmful precedent that will harm other people down the line. >> susan del percio and juanita tolliver, thank you both for being with us. coming up, president trump ran on a platform of creating jobs for

americans. but during his first days back in office, he's launched an all out assault on government workers. the president of the union for president of the union for federal employees is joining me have you always had trouble with your weight? same. discover the power of wegovy®. with wegovy®, i lost 35 pounds. and some lost over 46 pounds. and i'm keeping the weight off. i'm reducing my risk. wegovy® is the only weight-management medicine proven to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack, or stroke in adults with known heart disease and obesity. don't use wegovy® with semaglutide or glp-1 medicines, or in children under 12. don't take if you or your family had mtc, men 2, or if allergic to it. tell your provider if you plan to have surgery or a procedure, are breastfeeding, pregnant, or plan to be. stop taking and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or any of these allergic reactions.

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>> i'm loving life. i'm loving my body. i'm loving all my loose fitting clothes. >> my waist. >> is contoured. my belly is flat. >> there's no pooch anymore. >> schedule your free. >> no obligation consultation call now or go to sono bello com. >> welcome back to politics nation. among president trump's slew of executive orders this week were a series of pronouncements aimed at radically transforming the federal workforce, eliminating all diversity, equity and inclusion programs, forcing all employees to return to the office, and instituting an across the board hiring freeze. joining me now to talk about it is everett kelly, president of the american federation of government employees. and mr. kelly, let's start with you and i work together. the your union and many union support national action network and our events,

but also on certain issues. but but let's start here in in a memo released on friday, the acting head of the us office of personnel management said that agencies have 60 days to terminate all dei positions, to quote the maximum extent allowed by law, unquote. federal employees also received emails asking them to rat out coworkers who might be hiding their dei credentials or face adverse consequences. what do you think is behind this aggression and these orders, and the cruelty of swiftly taking people's jobs away? well, reverend, first of all, thank you for having me here. now, the thing is, you know, during the presidential election, this president told us this was exactly what he. >> was. >> going to do. he talked. he tried to distance himself away from. >> project 125. >> but that's exactly what you see coming into being. now when you think of d e i. okay, now we

have and i just spoke to three members of my union in the last hour. >> and some of these. >> members have been. >> in their. >> employment for 16 or 17 years and just got an. email on yesterday. >> saying that, you know. >> from at this point, you go home and you sit there until we decide what we're going to do with you. now, that's not right. some of these people are. one in particular was a disabled veteran that talked to me. these people are hurting because. >> for no apparent reason. >> whatsoever except for politics, you. >> know, do we. >> have this issue? but this is exactly. >> what he said. >> he was going and disabled a part of the dei programs. the trump administration has tried to portray the dei as a tool of racial discrimination against whites. but we're talking about women. we're talking about gays. all of that is in dei. but federal dei programs also focus on government more accessible to the disabled and providing disabled people with jobs. can you elaborate on the impact this

will have on workers who are disabled? well, this is a drastic impact. i mean, and it's hurtful. you know, to me, as a veteran myself, it's hurtful to know that 2.2 million federal employees in the. federal system. >> of that. >> 642,000 are veterans. and they are going to be. vastly affected by this, because i see this as an attack against veterans, if you ask me, because when you start looking. >> at the. >> fact that these. >> are the people. >> that support. >> veterans and. >> support their needs when they. have disabilities. >> that they can't perform. >> the full function. >> of. >> their job unless there is. >> a slight accommodation. >> you know, that's not going to be anymore. and that's. >> not fair. >> to the american. veterans that have fought for. >> this country. and now they can't even hold a job. because there. >> is no accommodations. now, trump's executive order also puts an end to remote work for federal employees, again, with the idea that employees who don't come to the office aren't productive. can you talk a

little bit about the role of remote work in in the government, and what the impact will be to eliminate them? well, you know, the thing is, and, you know, it's i think that the president and, you know, his administration should have a conversation with the workforce, right, to understand exactly what the workforce does, because they don't really realize. >> that these are the people. that take care of the veterans. these are. >> the people that take. >> care of. >> our elders. >> these are the people. >> that make. >> sure that we fly safely through the sky. these are the people that take care of our border. these are the people that protect us. the bureau of prisons, those type of people, social security, these are the people that he's talking about. and when you. start talking about and look at the data, what they're saying is so far from the truth, because the data shows that when we are. working remotely, then the production goes up. matter of fact, it went up by 6%. so the data is screwed. it is not correct, you know, and if they really want to look at efficiency, talk to the federal workers that are

actually doing these jobs. >> now, according to the partnership for public service, black workers make up nearly 19% of the federal workforce, which is roughly double of what black workers in the private sectors do you believe there are racial undertones in the rhetoric trump and his allies have been spreading regarding federal employees. if you just listen to them talk about the i. >> you can readily. >> see that, okay, it's. >> no secret. i mean, people that will open up their eyes will see exactly that. because, you know, as. >> far as. >> myself. >> you. >> know, if. >> it wasn't. >> for the fact that i could get a government job, i might not even be where i am today. it's through that government that we were able to get jobs based on merits, based on principles, based on qualifications, and that's about to go away. >> and you are a veteran saying that very briefly. i'm out of time. but i had to ask you this. the democratic party is voting for a new chairman one week from today. most unions have already announced an endorsement. mr. kelly, who is the afge planning

to endorse? well, reverend al, you know, at this. >> point, afge is not. going to endorse because we think there is three good candidates out there. being is good. you know, ken is good. you know, they've done extraordinary work for labor. and so has governor o'malley, who has worked directly with my union, has done an awesome job. so we're not going to endorse we're going to allow the dnc to make that choice, and we'll work with whomever, if as long as they are making sure that across this country, they're looking at the landscape and providing resources so that we can get the candidate, we need to bring america to where it needs to be. >> all right. thank you. the president of the american federation of government employees, everett kelly, thank you for being with us. up next, you for being with us. up next, my final thoughts. s patients who have sensitive teeth but also want whiter teeth they have to make a choice one versus the other. sensodyne clinical white provides two shades whiter teeth as well as providing 24/7 sensitivity protection. patients are going to love to see sensodyne on the shelf.

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members to costco and shopped to make sure that we support those companies that say we're not going to be intimidated into stopping dei program. dei came about because people were not being included. and in the wake of the george floyd movement and the result of his killing and what it brought out from people all over the world, corporations said, we're going to do dei, we're going to do more to heal. but what changed in a few years? it is not something they were not doing. clearly, the inclusion gap has not closed. now the right wing is going to say, oh, they're going to they're going to boycott and it's a shakedown. no, it's a shake up. you can't keep going back and forward on making america work. we're going to shape shake up america. we're going to be strategic, methodical and work with all groups that are being excluded. before we announce in 90 days which companies we are

targeting, we feel targeted. those of us that were left out and needed diversity, equity and inclusion to get in. you can't just slam the door because you want to do something that this president has promised his supporters he would do well, that does it for me. thanks for watching. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 5 p.m. eastern for another live hour of politics nation. the saturday show with jonathan capehart starts right now. >> the purge. >> president trump. >> fires at least a dozen. inspectors general. >> of. >> federal agencies, the. >> ones responsible for investigating fraud, waste and abuse. >> why this. >> stunning move that has support from some republicans is a blow against government accountability? >> confirmed hours. >> after defense. >> secretary pete. >> hegseth is sworn in after his skin of the teeth confirm