pills. connect with the medical provider at. >> welcome back to the weekend. we start this hour with an alarming statement from donald trump. in a post online, trump said yesterday, quote, he who saves his country does not

violate any law. now that's a line folks of, you know, that's often attributed to napoleon bonaparte, the french general who staged a military coup before declaring himself emperor. more than 200 years later, trump isn't using the military but the legal system to bend america to his will. as the brennan center describes it, he's trying to turn the justice department into his own private law enforcement agency. joining us now is founder of democracy docket and partner at elias law group, marc elias. >> marc elias, we were debating this morning whether that quote from trump had come from the old testament or the new testament or the book of donald. now we know it came from napoleon bonaparte. that kind of tells you all you need to know, right? >> that's exactly right. >> i mean, i'm. >> sure donald trump doesn't. >> know where it came. >> from. but but yes, that's exactly right. it is the statement. of a dictator.

>> being uttered, or. >> in this. >> case, written. >> on social. >> media by a wannabe dictator. we have known that he wants to be a dictator because he has told. us that. he said he wanted to be a dictator on day one. well, he took. >> a number of. actions that were. >> consistent with that. >> we know that he said that you don't. >> have to. worry about elections. >> in the future. >> well, i. >> think we're going to. >> see. >> unfortunately. >> more of him. >> attacking free. >> and fair elections. >> as, as. >> we move through. >> the year. >> but he. >> is. >> acting as. >> if. >> somehow. number one, he is saving. >> the country. >> rather than destroying it. >> but number. >> two, that he is. >> above the law. >> and in this country, no man is above the law. >> even donald trump is not above. >> the law. he may. >> have immunity. >> from criminal. >> prosecution, but. >> that. >> doesn't mean he doesn't. >> have to. comply with court orders. >> and he is. >> losing in case after case. >> after case. and i suspect that. >> frustration is. >> showing up in. >> in some of his. posts on social media. >> and that frustration mark is showing up in other areas as well. to your to your point about the fact that he's losing

these cases, you now have a reporting from axios that republicans, you remember them, right? they're now moving to impeach judges who blocked trump, quote, yesterday. i mean, excuse me, house republicans are planning to introduce longshot articles of impeachment against at least two of the federal judges who have blocked president trump's efforts to upend the federal government. the measures are part of a growing public conflict between republicans and the federal judiciary. as trump bristles at obstacles to his government efficiency agenda. mark, this is i mean, you've got the agreement by members of our united states congress sitting in office having sworn an oath because they don't like the rulings of a judge. they're now going to impeach those want to impeach those judges. in fact, representative andrew clyde, his

office confirmed he's working on articles of impeachment against judge john mcconnell. mcconnell junior, who ordered the administration lift its federal spending freeze. you have eli crane of arizona planning to. introduce impeachment articles against judge paul engelmayer, who blocked doj's from accessing treasury records. doj's doesn't have any rights to those treasury records. republicans know that. and yet and still, they want to go after the judges who are trying to uphold the rule of law. >> yeah. >> i mean, the greatest. >> scandal going on in america today. >> is actually. >> not, believe it. >> or not, what donald trump is. >> doing. >> it is. >> what republicans. >> in. >> congress have. >> done. >> which is to completely. >> give up their. >> role in the constitutional system. >> as any. >> sort of. >> check on. >> the executive branch. >> you know. >> people ask whether we're in a. >> constitutional crisis. >> if we are close to. >> a constitutional. >> crisis or approaching a constitutional crisis. that is as much on speaker johnson and.

>> john thune as it is on anyone else. because our. >> constitution assumes. >> that members. >> of congress. will jealously. >> guard their prerogatives. if you are the speaker of the house, you care more about your power as speaker. than you do anything else. if you are the majority leader. >> of the. >> senate. >> you. >> care more about. >> senatorial prerogatives than anything else. and rather than doing that, rather than standing up for their institutions, they. >> they just. >> ask how further they can. >> go. >> how much further their knee can bend, how much more. >> they can. >> debase themselves. >> how much more supplicant. >> they can be to donald trump. and that is a tragedy for democracy. and so their attacks on. >> the federal. >> judiciary here. are not founded. >> in. >> some genuine. >> belief on their part. >> of institutional. prerogative to impeach. it is founded. >> on a. >> effort to. simply do whatever donald. >> trump wants. >> them to do. >> and our system of government. >> doesn't allow. >> for that to. happen and. >> to remain healthy.

>> well, mark, isn't it also rooted in this idea that if you attack and de-legitimize the judiciary under the guise of what do they use the term lawfare, or that these are activist judges, right? it makes it more believable for people to say, well, yeah, then donald trump should be going along with these rulings. it makes it it makes it easier for you to then ignore the law and do more unlawful things and ignore rulings from judges. if you have delegitimized the courts just like what they do with the election process. they they tricked all these people into believing that the 2020 election was rigged, even to the point where now, to this day, people still think it was rigged. so if they did that to the elections, why wouldn't we believe they'd be able to do that to our judicial system? >> oh, i think they are. >> doing that. >> to the judicial system. >> and i think you're entirely right. that is their motivation, right? >> the republicans. >> are attacking. >> these judges. because they want to remove the last checks on. >> donald trump's power. i mean,

congress is not checking donald trump's power. >> the only people checking. >> donald trump's power. >> right now. >> are federal judges. and so. >> you now. >> see an all. >> out attack. >> by every aspect. >> of the. >> republican party, from. >> both the. >> white. house to the outside. >> punditry and social media. to republican members of congress who are attacking federal judges because they stand in the way of donald trump being a complete authoritarian. and mark my words, you know, you mentioned elections. >> mark my words. >> you know, we are going to see an attack on free and fair elections like we have not seen. >> before. >> because that is another check on donald. >> trump, right? >> the check. >> on donald. >> trump is that that republicans get defeated. >> and democrats. >> take control. >> of congress. so stay tuned and watch out. >> for that. >> well, and as all of that is. happening just last night. >> we're learning. >> that the justice department. >> fired multiple immigration. >> judges from. >> that reporting. the department of justice fired multiple immigration. >> judges on. >> friday, according to two sources familiar with the

decision and a statement from one of the judges on linkedin. the move threatens to throw sand in the gears of an already strained immigration system, as the trump administration. moves to rapidly reshape the federal workforce. >> so you. >> have them, mark, screaming their heads. >> off about how. >> our immigration system is broken. i agree it is broken. one of the things that is broken. >> is that you have a backlog. >> because you actually do not. have enough immigration judges. >> to process asylum. >> seekers. >> etcetera, that. >> are showing. >> up at the. >> us mexico border. >> so they. >> are making. >> a problem. >> that they. >> already believe is bad. >> worse. >> if i. >> follow your logic. >> and that is in the name of their allowing, replacing those judges potentially with judges that are willing to let donald trump. >> do whatever. >> it is that he wants, then one can only anticipate the violation. >> of civil. >> liberties that is about to ensue. >> absolutely. so, you know, i wrote about this on democracy docket. we need. >> to. >> be clear about distinguishing the two strains going.

>> on within. >> trumpism right now. one embodied by. >> elon musk is to. >> empty out the. >> federal government. >> it is to fire. >> people. >> make government. >> less, less efficient, interestingly, to break government right, to have there be fewer people doing the public business. that is not the only strain. >> though. >> within the trump world. the other. >> strain is to refill the government. >> with people who are trump loyalists, with people who are trump sycophants. we have seen that playing out now in the. >> department of justice. >> we are going to see that playing out in the fbi. and you are entirely right. we are seeing that play out with these administrative judicial positions, these administrative judges, people like immigration. >> judges. >> where they. >> want not to remove the total number of these. >> people, which may be, like i. >> said, part of. >> the musk. >> plan. >> the trump plan. is to put in his sycophants, his. >> loyalists. >> who will simply do his bidding. it's why he. >> put kash patel at. >> the fbi. >> it's why pam bondi. >> is at the department. >> of justice. it's why kristi noem is at hhs. it is why pete hegseth is at the.

>> department of. >> defense, because these are the positions. >> that donald. >> trump wants to. >> control with people who will execute his. orders without question. >> and then, of course, along the way, mark, he wants to pick up a little loose friends like loose change in his pocket and having someone like eric adams in his pocket is profoundly important in this process as well, because as we're seeing more and more prosecutors out of doj being pressured to sign off on this reprieve, if you will, of mayor adams, you have hagan scotten resigning in protest, noting any assistant u.s. attorney would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way, if no lawyer within earshot of the president is willing to

give him that advice, then i expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool or enough of a coward to file your motion, but it was never going to be me. so they found their fool and their coward to do just that. speak to us what this says in light of everything else that we've already talked about, that's happening. you now have, you know, this situation with the mayor avoiding prosecution because he's apparently, through his lawyers, offered up a quid pro quo deal where he will allow the president's immigration team to run amok in new york. for what what what what does he get out of it? oh that's right. they're not going to prosecute him. >> yeah. look, i think that when

the history of this time is written, you know, oftentimes we think about history being written about big events, you know, elections or protests or. >> wars. >> but history is also embodied. >> oftentimes in what. >> is in writing, in letters. you know, george washington's first address was not. >> actually. >> i'm sorry, george washington's farewell address was not. actually something he delivered orally. >> it was a. >> letter that he wrote to the american people. albert einstein. >> wrote a famous letter. >> to fdr. >> warning that. >> that germany. was building. >> a bomb. and that led to the manhattan project. of course, probably one of the most famous letters in american history. >> letter from a. >> birmingham jail transformed and changed. america's view of the civil rights movement. and the letters that we saw out of these prosecutors. >> in new. >> york are doing incredible work in the cause of democracy. you know, whether the language you just read showed a moral clarity by a conservative federalist society individual

who is. >> a was a. >> federal prosecutor who simply refused to do the bidding of donald trump. >> and. >> and the department of justice. and he didn't just resign. he didn't just refuse to sign. he did it loudly. he did it standing up proudly in the town square. and how many times have we talked about the importance of that, the importance of people not going quietly, but people being willing to risk themselves by standing up in public and saying, donald trump, you are not a dictator. >> donald trump. >> what you. >> are doing is not legal, it is. >> not lawful, and i'm not going to abide. >> by it. and those of you who have been appointed by him to carry out his, his, his wishes, shame on you. go find another coward. go find another fool. >> there you go. mark wants to stick around because we want to talk about a pair of legal challenges targeting elon musk specifically. you're watching specifically. you're watching the weekend. (man) got one more antoine. (vo) with usps ground advantage, it's like you're with us every step of the way.

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>> a new pair of. >> lawsuits are not just targeting. the authority. >> of elon musk's doge, but also the authority of elon musk himself. the constitution designates certain high ranking government employees. >> those who, in the supreme. >> court's words, exercised significant authority pursuant. >> to the laws. >> of the united states as. >> quote. >> officers of the united states. these lawsuits allege that elon musk is wielding the powers of such an officer without being properly appointed. >> to that role. in short. >> they allege. >> he is. violating the constitution. marc elias is back with us. >> now, mark. >> elon musk is a special government employee, the epitome of the kind of government employee everybody wants to be, frankly, because you can get a nice appointment and not have to show your money, don't really have to sign anything. you can literally come in there with all the bells and whistles and accouterments of the outside world. not have to give anything up yet. you get all the pleasures that other people who actually had to fill out that

fsa 86. what is that? 86 gee, was that the form mark that people have had to fill out? so i guess, do you think this is a sound legal theory? >> i do, and. >> here's why. >> the constitution. >> actually requires. that officers. >> of the. >> united states, what. >> the supreme court calls. >> principal officers. >> these are. >> people with great authority over the federal government. these are people like cabinet officials. and at that level that they have to be appointed by the president. and confirmed. >> by the senate. >> and there's a good. >> reason for. >> that, because they are acting as, you know, as de facto leaders of the executive branch. i mean, they are in the standing in the stead of the president in making policy for. >> for the for the entire. united states federal government. so the constitution requires. >> that they be appointed. >> by the president. as i. mentioned in. with respect to principal officers, they have. to be confirmed by the senate.

>> as well. >> and that's because the founders didn't want. you to have a system where the. president can circumvent. >> the senate's authority. >> now, we may laugh that today. >> the senate doesn't. see the republicans in the senate don't seem to. >> want to exercise their authority. but nevertheless, in order to exercise the level of authority. >> that someone like elon musk. has is apparently. >> exercising, they need to be. they need to be. >> have been appointed as an officer. >> what do you make of the efforts to go at elon musk directly, not just the doge piece which you just described, but to sort of bring him in to more directly, more personally into the into this judicial process. >> yeah. so first of all, as a pure legal matter, it's necessary because it is he who is. the one who is not was not nominated and. >> or confirmed.

>> but i think more broadly than. >> that. >> michael, i think you're you're pointing out something that has become apparent, which is that doge. >> has been a. >> bit of a. shift to a shift, a shape shifter. >> there you go. >> it's a family program, but. you're not. >> lying, right? >> and you're right. it it has it has. sort of morphed from one thing to another. so i think that one of the. >> things that has. >> been problematic. >> about going after. >> doge and. >> just doge. >> is that it kind of like. >> puts on one. >> hat and takes. >> off. >> another hat. >> you know, one day it's. not part. >> of the. >> government than it is part. >> of the government. >> then it's part of an agency. >> that was renamed. and so i think that that this strategy makes a lot of sense from a legal standpoint. >> okay. well. >> but we've seen. >> this strategy. >> play out in a variety of ways, right? i mean. >> just. >> last weekend we had congressman raskin on, he's exploring sort of novel legal theory that you could actually. >> have a class action suit. >> against elon musk on. >> the. >> part of americans. >> whose data. >> has been accessed and their

privacy has thus been violated. you've had the theory floated that if musk were to go after. >> cfpb. >> given that he has business before cfpb, that he then potentially runs up against criminal conflict of interest charges. as we talked about yesterday, though, it would fall to the department of justice, donald trump's department of justice to bring those charges. so you sort of see the legal community trying to come at this from every which way. i wonder which you think is ultimately the most effective. and if we're being honest. given the timeline, they are moving on the most expedient. >> yeah. so, look, i mean, the one thing is the courts are moving pretty quick. i mean, you know, they are the judges i think are getting a little frustrated at how many cases are coming their way as fast as they are. but i think to answer your question directly, i think i think we need to keep our eye on sort of three broad buckets. the first is. >> what are the. >> lawsuits that are going to prevent the gutting.

>> of the. >> federal workforce and the replacement of that federal workforce with trump loyalists. that is, i think, in some ways, the single most important. bucket of lawsuits, the one that right now is leading the way in terms of timing, is. one that involves the special counsel, not the prosecutor kind of special counsel, but an internal watchdog position held by someone named hampton dellinger. >> who donald trump tried. >> to fire that was blocked by a court. the d.c. circuit just upheld the blocking of that or the dismissal of the challenge, i should say, by the department. of justice to that, to that action. and that may go to the supreme court relatively quickly. but there are a number of these cases, including, by the way, the one you mentioned earlier about immigration judges. so i think there's a bucket of cases that involve personnel that we need to keep our eye on. the other big bucket is the spending of money and the efforts to impound funds, essentially to donald trump to say, well, that's great, congress. you told me to spend the money on this. i'm not going

to spend on that. i'm going to spend it. >> on. >> something totally different. and i think that is the second big bucket. and then the third is, and i'm glad you mentioned it is, you know, the department of justice is not going to prosecute anyone that. >> donald trump. >> doesn't want. >> prosecuted. >> and he's not going to prosecute anyone that donald trump, he's not going to not prosecute anyone that donald. >> trump does. >> want prosecute. in other words, he's they're not going to act as an independent check on this, on on the government. but i do think we have to watch the places in which there are conflicts of interest, in which there are violations of government contracting rules, in which there are, you know, the inappropriate control of funds that benefit individuals. donald trump or individuals around him, whoever they are. and i do think that that is probably the least well developed right now of the legal theories and cases. but that is a very important bucket that needs to get added. >> all right. just real quick on on some of what you were just saying there. you know, you've got right now nbc news tracking about 50 lawsuits that have been

filed. judges have paused, halted or reversed at least nine trump policies or actions. i want to get to the other side of this, because you triggered in my head, what does this look like when we're on the other side of all of this? let's say these lawsuits are is a mixed bag of success, ultimately. and we are rounding the corner getting ready for the 26th cycle or the 28th cycle. a lot of this crap is now in the bloodstream of our american political and judicial and democratic system. how do you get the crap out of the system? what does it look like to resolve ourselves on the other side of this, after we have decimated the federal government and there's a wasteland of little stephen miller policies out there, from

immigration to die to, you know, that impact families and communities. how do we recover? >> yeah. so two things. first is, i think everyone needs to be realistic about what the courts are going to do. they may buy time for democracy, but they're not going to save democracy. in other words, they may make the worst things not happen or make them happen slower, but they're not going to restore the government to the way it was. as you say, there will be little stephen miller pockets throughout the government, even under the best of circumstances, that will be the case only we are going to restore democracy. and you know, i came on your show in november, shortly after the election and talked about the need for a new opposition movement. that resistance was not the right word, because resistance suggests that if we just hold it back, it will all snap back. and that's not happening. that's just not going to happen. we need a new

opposition movement that plans for the day after plans for what it looks. like when democrats can retake control of congress, or what it looks like after 2028. if, you know, we are able to purge, you know, donald trump from not seeking a third term or getting somehow maintaining power. we need to be building today that powerful movement, because it's not going to be built in a day. it's not going to be just the courts. it's not going to be, you know, there's no one riding to the rescue. we're all going to have to do that today. and that is why, you know, the work that you guys do on this show every weekend is so important because you give voice to that. and i'm thrilled to be here because i get a chance to add my piece of that. >> well, mike elias. we appreciate. >> you and. >> your. >> voice and all the work that you do. we you must come back because we need to talk about the coup that's currently trying to happen in north carolina, in the courts. okay? because the people need to be vigilant on the local level as well. we appreciate. >> you, mark. >> absolutely. >> folks, stay with us. because

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and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! republicans officially caved to donald trump. i know what you're thinking. didn't it already happen? well, this week they shrunk their duty to advise and consent on a president's cabinet nominees. senate republicans confirmed vaccine skeptic robert f kennedy jr as secretary of health and human services, and they confirmed tulsi gabbard as director of national intelligence. only one republican joined all democrats in voting against both nominees. and you'll never believe it. it was kentucky senator mitch mcconnell. now, mitch mcconnell could have spared us all of this by, you know, bringing, you know, bringing the because he was impeached in the house back in the day, donald trump was convicted in the senate. we

would have been spared by all of this. but you know what people are like. mitch mcconnell gets no from me. you know what? i'm glad mitch mcconnell is voting no. okay. i am glad he's voting no. i wish that there were four more senators with, you know, his chutzpah because it shouldn't take much. the man is not only a vaccine skeptic, he don't believe in antidepressants. he doesn't believe it. just like he don't believe in medicine. and then tulsi gabbard, i know tulsi gabbard. okay. >> all right. >> i've traveled with tulsi gabbard. she's not the one y'all want. >> i think we just leave that right there because that says it all. well, look, none of them are the ones we want, but they are the ones donald trump wants. and he's now got them. and the republicans abdicated their advise and consent role because they figured capitulation was safer than actually doing the constitutionally mandated. >> safer to themselves. >> safer to themselves, because that's at the endgame, because they don't want the heat from

donald trump. you know, the heat from the american people, the heat the constitution puts on the pressure the constitution puts on them to do the right thing. you know, i got some folks who, you know, blew back on me yesterday when i said, the hell with republicans. and i said it for a reason. and this is an example of the reason, because when you abdicate the things that the party once stood for and held up as a standard to all others and held them to that standard that they then now tear up, because one man with orange skin and fake hair is sitting down down downtown telling them what to do, how high to jump, what hoops to jump through. they value that more than the words written on parchment 248 years ago. >> you know, it's so crazy because i think people hear michael steele and they're like, well, of course he's with the democrats now. but i want you all to know, because i, i listen to michael steele every week and he is a real republican. >> here we go. >> he is a real republican. and

frankly, he's still a republican. alicia. he's just not a trumper. okay? but he's a republican. okay. who understands. >> the i look at. >> a black man in america, but very much so a republican. very much so. so you stand for the. those things, conservative. >> values and the things i would love for us to sit around this table and for you guys to come after me on big policy differences that we may have in the approach to solving problems. >> we have. >> so quaint because. right. >> so cute. >> exactly. i can't wait for that day. but that's not the discussion we are engaged in right now. and this is where everyone has to recognize that the labels don't mean jack. they're using the labels against your your interest, your self interest in the country. and they're making you feel that if you're part of their tribe, that's better than being with the country, than being with the democracy and the constitution that they're trying to tear up, because donald trump wants it rewritten and he's rewriting it live every day through the

actions of this fake agency called doge, through the implementations of that by one man known as elon musk, whose son just go back and listen to what his son had to say about donald trump, not about him, but to him. and that should tell you. oh, and the fact next time you're in the oval office, elon musk, take your damn hat off. show some respect. >> it's been sitting. >> on that one since yesterday. >> and. >> it's quite tasteless. >> congressman joe neguse is here to discuss democrats brand new task force to take. >> the fight. >> to donald trump. >> to donald trump. >> this is the weekend. ♪♪ sonya earlene and marcia are among the thousands of real women living with metastatic breast cancer; doing what they love. and taking ibrance. ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor is for adults with hr+/her2- metastatic breast cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole significantly delayed

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your hair looks great! had a little help. make every wash count. house democrats ramping up their efforts to respond to donald trump's sweeping overhaul of the federal government by creating a task force that could lead to lawsuits against the administration. the new rapid response task force and litigation working group is part of what leader hakeem jeffries describes as a, quote, multifaceted struggle to protect and defend everyday americans from the harm being inflicted by this administration. and the task force will be chaired by congressman joe neguse and assistant minority leader. congressman joe neguse of colorado joins us now. welcome. good to see you, sir. >> greetings, sir. okay, congressman, this task force has inspired lots of conversation

online. people wanted to highlight, if you will, that there are members of the task force, you know, who didn't necessarily scream rapid response. but you are, in fact, the chair of this task force. can you just this opportunity to talk directly to the american people? what do you say to the folks that are like, i don't think house democrats have found their footing yet. >> look, i. >> think that they're wrong. >> symone. >> first. >> and. >> foremost, it's good. >> to be with you. >> and thanks for having. >> me on. michael. >> i. >> think outlined in articulated. >> well. >> the. >> context by which this task force was created. it's a. >> perilous moment. >> for our republic. given the unlawful and unconstitutional executive. >> orders that have been issued. >> by this. >> administration. >> the agency actions that you all have described in great detail that are harming everyday americans. and the leader, leader jeffries of our caucus has made clear. >> to members that it's. >> an all hands. >> on deck. moment that requires a. >> decisive and comprehensive. response on. >> the part. >> of house democrats. >> particularly given.

>> republicans obstinance. >> and, as. >> michael said, their complete capitulation to. >> donald trump. so this task force, in effect. >> is a. >> clearinghouse for developing legal and legislative responses, substantive responses to. >> the trump administration's. >> lawlessness. >> and doing everything. >> that we. can to. >> try to. >> reverse any unlawful actions that are harming the american people. >> there are different components. >> of that. >> as you mentioned, it's a diverse task force that reflects the. >> diversity of our caucus. >> and, you know. >> we're. >> working to leverage the. >> skills and. >> the talents. >> of a. lot of really incredible. >> public servants in the. >> house democratic. >> caucus, including. >> by the way, a number of exceptional. >> litigators. >> former prosecutors. >> whom you've had on your program, people like. >> dan goldman. jasmine crockett. >> who are. >> members of the task force. we met about 48 hours ago. >> in washington. >> or a. >> little more than. >> 40 hours ago. >> will. >> be meeting. >> again soon. >> and we'll have more to share with the country as. >> developments change on the ground and what is a.

>> very fast evolving. >> legal landscape. as you all know. >> there's a. >> legal piece of this. >> there's also, as. you said, the legislative maneuvering. >> there was a headline monday in the hill that i want to talk to you about, a schumer warning of trump shutdown, laying out a four pronged plan for democrats. democrats in the senate and house are looking more seriously. the looming funding deadline as an important point of leverage to slow or stop president trump's and elon musk's freezing of federal payments, lock out federal workers, and plans to slash government spending by trillions of dollars. can you give us a sense. >> of. >> what that might look like? >> yeah. >> i would say. >> two things. first, any. >> strategy with respect to how we're going to approach the march. >> 14th. funding deadline. >> would ultimately be made by. >> leader jeffries, in consultation. >> with the house democratic caucus and internal. >> conversations that we'll have in the coming weeks on that front. however, i would say, and i think. >> that you the. >> article you just referenced. >> as well as a. >> number of others in the last few days, speak to this. >> republicans have a majority. >> in the house of representatives. >> a majority in the u.s. senate. >> and, of course, a republican

president. >> at 1600. >> pennsylvania avenue. any shutdown of the federal government would be caused by republicans. >> and their inability to get their act together, and instead to focus. >> on. >> priorities that are. >> deeply out of step. >> with the american people. that that fault lies with them and them alone. and just to give you an example, alicia. >> as to what i'm referring to, just. >> last week. republicans passed out of a budget committee. >> a $4.5. >> trillion plan that would gut medicaid, cut $800 billion from medicaid and health. >> care services for. americans across. the country for tax cuts for billionaires. so instead of. >> spending their time on efforts like. >> that one that. >> i. >> believe are. extreme and as i said, not broadly supported. >> by the american. >> people, they ought to be working to fund the government. >> but if past. >> is prolog. >> it is very clear that. >> they don't intend to do that. >> so, congressman. >> here's where here's where i have a small problem. and i need your help to understand it and

figure it out. so you've got this rapid response task force and litigation working group. you have described just now what republicans passed out of committee that that that guts the very thing that strikes at the heart of poor people in, in the country, medicaid, for example. and then you have what senator warner said in politico about the brand issue for democrats. i think the democrats brand is really bad. and i think this was an election based on culture. the virginia democrat said at a political public event on the sidelines of the munich security conference. now, and the democrats kind of failure to connect on a cultural basis with a wide swath of americans is hugely problematic. so at once you're standing up this this litigation working group, in this task force around things that we see happening to federal

employees. but on the other hand, you you also have this narrative around actual stuff that's impacting americans culturally. financially. how do you square that? and does this task force fit into it, or is it just strictly a litigation thing? you guys aren't going to worry about branding because i think the brand the priority should be branding. and the litigation and all of that gets caught up and brought up into the branding. and that's one more tool that you use to brand an argument or narrative. you help me understand how democrats fit all these pieces together in the face of this onslaught by maga. >> that's a great. >> question, michael. >> i think it's a thoughtful question. >> it's one. >> that. >> you know, we're. >> going to continue to grapple with and that we're ultimately going to need to resolve in advance of the 2026 election. i would say, with respect to the litigation working group, you

know. >> the goal, the purpose behind. >> that. >> particular task force is. >> very clear. >> it's addressing the crisis. >> that's in front of us. and the five alarm fire that we are dealing with with respect to the unconstitutional and. >> unlawful orders. >> that the administration has issued. however, i certainly concur with your broader point about the need for us to offer an optimistic and hopeful vision for the future of our country and what democrats ultimately care about in terms of improving the quality of. >> life and the daily. >> life of. americans writ large. those are not mutually exclusive of each other. we're going to have to do both on a parallel path, and our caucus is certainly working on addressing both. i would just say more broadly, it is clear to me. this administration has. no intention of pursuing any policies that. >> will make the. >> lives better. >> for everyday. >> americans or coloradans. >> that i represent in my state. >> point. >> i mean, pure and simple, that none of what they're pursuing thus far would make lives better for americans, and or nothing that they're doing would. >> decrease the cost. >> of living, or. >> address the fundamental

challenges that most families are grappling with. house democrats have. >> a series of. solutions that i think ultimately speak to that. but you're certainly right that we're going to have to amplify that and perhaps turn the volume up a bit on the latter. >> congressman, these are certainly precarious times. and i think that the news, it just seems like all we are reporting is bad news. but we do have a little good news we want to talk about. you posted this on friday on valentine's day on threads. and i saw this and we thought it was just so heartwarming. your wife rang the bell. she marked the end of her battle with breast cancer. it says for the past 14 months, she's been battling this terrible disease. we just wanted to say congratulations to you, your family and your story, unfortunately, is not unique. there are many families across the country who have had to deal with what you, your wife, and your children have dealt with and we're just happy she's on the gratulations.

congratulations and appreciate your time today, sir. >> thank you. thanks, michael, for having me. i'm sure she's watching right now with my our two year old son and our six year old daughter. so she'll be thrilled to get that shout out. but we're we're blessed and we're incredibly lucky and grateful. and the work continues to make sure that every family in this country receives the same type of healthcare that we've been so lucky and fortunate to have received. >> now you know why. it's not why it's important not to cut research funds at nih. >> come on now. >> congressman joe neguse of colorado, thank you. much more ahead, folks. after this, you are watching the weekend. >> with 48% of americans don't get enough magnesium, which is vital for bone, nerve and muscle health. i recommend qanon magnesium glycinate. >> it's formulated. >> for high. >> for high. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love.

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♪ put a sheet on it with bounce. ♪ five nights a week. >> now is the time. so we're going to do it. settle in. >> the rachel maddow show weeknights at nine on msnbc. celebrating 50. >> years of. >> music live featuring arcade fire, 52, backstreet boys, bad bunny, bonnie raitt, brandi carlile, chris martin, dave grohl, david byrne, devo, eddie vedder, jack white, jelly roll, lady gaga, miley cyrus, mumford and sons, post malone, the roots, only on peacock. >> so we've got it. we made someone we made. so we've got some more votes coming up this week. i understand like kash patel. ooh, i wonder how that vote is going to go. i'm just really curious, because there seems to be a lot of tension on whether or not he's actually

going to get through. i'm just wondering if that's going to happen. >> oh. >> i look forward. >> to the one person in the. >> audience. >> who doesn't understand your dry humor. >> exactly. >> i think we count on mitch mcconnell to be a no, which is. >> mcconnell will be a no. >> i'm sorry. i'm i'm going to call balls and strikes. i don't with mitch mcconnell. mitch mcconnell on this. you know what? i'm glad he's voting no on the things and people. look, the democrats out here. >> and collins. i mean, i thought that would i thought at least there would be a3a3. no on on those votes. simone. simone sums up the. >> i'm, i agree it's crazy there. it takes it takes a little in my opinion, little effort in the republican caucus, in the senate when you know you are not going to tank the nominee to stand on principle, like the least that they could do is cast their votes in a way so that we can believe what they are saying, but instead, what not just lisa murkowski and

susan collins. but i would also argue thom tillis. right. like and thom tillis, who apparently went to thune and said, we can take head to head. we have the votes to just like. >> let us let. >> us take one, not. >> the other. >> let us take one, not the other. and he was like, well, you have to take that up. the president, you have to talk to the white house yourself. what kind of leadership exists in the senate republican conference? >> but no, it. >> turns out that it's actually lori's. lori chavez-deremer given. her some of. >> the more. >> pro-union, bona. >> fide bona fides that is going to apparently. >> crack the. >> republican party open. >> right now. >> they vote no on lori. >> there are, what, 30 votes or whatever the number is. >> if they take her and get kash patel get through. >> i will tell you everything you need to know about how this plays out for the party writ large. you know, there there's i have these conversations with a lot of folks about what this party looks like. you know, on the other side of this, you

know, have you seen tumble tumbleweeds in the desert? have you seen, you know, dry dirt? >> it's a lack of credibility at this point. >> there's no credibility there. and it just sort of wandering, being pushed along by the wind of donald trump. i just want to see members of my party who have elected leadership, who profess something that is reminiscent of reagan and, and bush and eisenhower, teddy roosevelt. guys, you remember him? he you know, he was a you know, he was the guy who said, oh, let's let's save the spaces. where are those republicans? they're currently not serving. >> i don't see tumbleweeds. >> i see a. >> stampede away from the hyenas. they are moving. >> moving? >> they are. >> moving fast. >> there's more of the weekend after this. and coming up on. >> velshi. >> ali is joined by canada's former deputy prime minister, current candidate for prime minister. chrystia freeland. they're going. to talk about america's deteriorating relationship with canada over trump's tariffs. >> that is 10. >> a.m. >> a.m. >> eastern right here on msnbc. ♪

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here next. saturday at 8 a.m. eastern. be sure to follow us on social media at the weekend. msnbc. velshi continues our coverage now. good morning. >> good morning, and nice to see you all. having a conversation with the former canadian deputy prime minister, as you mentioned, chrystia freeland, whom you probably have all known and met over the years because she was a journalist based here in the us. there's