Meet the Press NOW — June 2

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You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the app. Download today. become a politically tenuous moment for the White House amid bipartisan blowback over a major cabinet shakeup, with a fierce Trump loyalist getting elevated to the country's top intelligence position despite having no prior intelligence experience. This morning, President Trump posting on social media that he's appointing a top housing official, Bill Pulte, to serve as acting director of national intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard, who announced last month she's stepping down to care for her husband as he battles cancer. Bill Pulte currently serves as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and in that role, has targeted many of the President's perceived

political enemies, making criminal referrals against New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Senator Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, and then Congressman Eric Eric Swalwell, all of them Democrats, or in Lisa Cook's case, someone who was appointed by a Democrat. Bill Pulte's promotion was met with swift condemnation by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle due to concerns about his lack of qualifications. You see no evidence of any qualifications for that job. Are you qualified to be DNI? I don't know if any national security experience he has. Mr. Bill Pulte has absolutely no intelligence background.

He has no national security background. the law was written to prevent this kind of appointment. I think it is stunning that President Trump has chosen someone with literally zero national security or intelligence experience to be the director of national intelligence and someone who has shown not just a willingness but an enthusiasm to use inappropriately gotten mortgage information to go after President Trump's opponents. That is a really chilling sign. It comes to a new pushback on Capitol Hill to the president's so-called anti-weaponization fund.

And right now, the president's acting attorney general Todd Blanche is getting set to testify before lawmakers. A day after the Department of Justice said it would abide by a court ruling that temporarily blocked the fund. The president was already facing fierce bipartisan backlash over the idea, with some Republicans still not convinced the DOJ will completely abandon the $1.8 billion. fund. The way that statements worded, I think it's clear they're not proceeding with the fund, but obviously whether or not that's sufficient to satisfy a number of our members is something we're still sorting through.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also trying to defend its negotiating strategy when it comes to the war with Iran. The president posting on social media today that reports the talks with Iran have stalled are, quote, false and erroneum. despite Iranian negotiators previously saying they were suspended. During a hearing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he defended the administration strategy on Iran as Democrats slammed it. There is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow,

it could happen next week, that for the first time, certainly in my memory, they have agreed to negotiate aspects of their nuclear program that just a month ago or just a year ago, they were refusing to even mention, much less into discussions about. The president told us 91 days ago that we had, quote, won the war in Iran. Last year, he told the country, Iran's key enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Was that false? Let's face it, Mr. Secretary, the Trump foreign policy has become a dumpster fire. And joining me now is NBC News White House correspondent Monica Alba. MEC News Capitol Hill correspondent, Melanie Zanona, and MECN News Senior National Security correspondent, Courtney KV.

Monica, I want to start with you. Let's start with a polity appointment. What is behind the president's thinking here? No, this was a surprise, Gabe. This was not something that the administration had really telegraphed, but it does fit a bit of a pattern that we have seen from the president where when a top official leaves, instead of looking to potentially get somebody else from the outside or from a different department, in the lower ranks, he's sort of pulling from the head of something else to fill in the gaps and giving somebody dual duties, right? As you see, as we had with Marco Rubio for sure,

who's wearing multiple hats. But Bill Pulte is remaining in his role, but now going to be the acting director of national intelligence. And we should just stress that he has absolutely no national security or intelligence background to speak of, which is what is prompting all of these valid questions about his qualifications. But the White House really isn't sharing whether this is going to be a potentially permanent pick or whether he is just going to stay in this role in the acting capacity for the next 200 or 10 days or so, which is something, again, that we've seen with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as well. And the White House really has just continued to point to the fact that these are people who are close allies of the president, who the

president enjoys working with, and wants to continue working closely with. Gabe. And I want to turn out to Courtney QV. Courtney, what's been the reaction in the national security community? And what would his appointment mean from a national security perspective? Yeah, I think there's a couple of concerns here. So, and we heard some of them from some of the senators in the beginning of this segment. One is the potential for someone who has really no national security experience, as Monica just pointed out, to potentially impact how the intelligence is reported and conveyed to the president. So he would be responsible for providing the presidential daily briefing to the president.

the concern is that he could politicize some of the information that is making its way to the president and that that could have a direct impact on some of the decisions that the president is making every single day. And I think that it's not just the potential for the information getting to President Trump, but how could that then be implemented? We have already seen in the first year plus of President Trump information in the intelligence community being steered in one way or another with somebody who has no experience in intelligence. that's a real concern, even more so than we've seen already in the last year. So, Mel, I want to turn to you on Capitol Hill. We don't often see bipartisan pushback to the

president's actions, but we do seem to be seeing more of it recently. What is the mood like on Capitol Hill to this latest development? Yeah, there has been a steady and rare stream of Republican pushback to Trump's agenda from the ballroom funding to around war powers, so now this weaponization fund. Some of that is driven by the fact that we are shifting from primary season to general election season. So Republicans are more willing to push back. They're looking out for their own political survival, their own self-interest. But it's also driven by the fact that Trump has now moved to end the careers of multiple Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill, which just has really soured the mood among Republicans. I asked GOP leaders John Thune about this very dynamic earlier today.

Here's what he had to say. Obviously, we've got some tough issues in front of us, and this week is no exception in trying to find that sweet spot that enables us to get a lot of the same. get 50 votes or in some cases we need to with Democrat 60 volts to get legislation across the finish line is never an easy process. And we're also seeing Republicans push back against the selection of Bill Pulte as an acting DNI. Luckily for Trump, though, he has some time before he needs to make that position permanent with a formal confirmation process.

And Mel, you mentioned the anti-weaponization fund. Right now, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is on the Hill, as we mentioned. We expect he will get questions about that fund. what will you be watching for? Well, Republicans are certainly looking for more clarity from the acting attorney general. I will be looking out for that as well because that will be key to solving the impasse over immigration funding. Senate GOP leader John Thune did say he spoke to Todd Blanche a few hours ago, that his expectation is that Todd Blanche is walking away from the fund, that he's going to make that more clear in this hearing.

But that still remains to be seen. And until Republicans get that clarity, until they get that more ironclad commitment from the Trump and that they're actually walking away from this fund, that they are not going to change their minds, that they're not going to resurrect it. That means that this immigration bill, which is completely unrelated, is going to remain in limbo. So there is a lot riding on Todd Blanche's testimony today. And Monica, as we just heard Bell mentioned there, Republicans that make clear they want more answers on whether or not the fund is dead. And we were just looking at those live pictures of opening statements in that hearing or waiting for Todd Blanche to testify. Is the White House providing any more

clarity here. No, they're really referring us to the Department of Justice and likely these comments that we expect from the acting attorney general. The White House has not said for its part whether this is completely going away altogether. The president sort of left it a little bit open, but did defer to the court process saying what can you do when the courts have a ruling like we saw on Friday with that federal judge. But I think what is interesting, Gabe, is that this is a bit of a rare reversal, as we've been pointing out, where the president is being force to kind of back down and step away from something that was a priority for the president just in the last couple of weeks or so where he was really touting this, where they had a pretty

large rollout for it, only to now have to potentially shelve it altogether. And Monica, a lot to watch on the hill today. Marco Rubio was also, they're facing questions about the president's Iran strategy. What more do we know about where things stand on that issue? Yeah, and there's been a little bit of confusion here as well, because for days the administration has tried to project optimism like we have seen over the course of the last many weeks that there could be some progress toward a diplomatic breakthrough, only for that to really still be an open question. It's unclear exactly where the status of the tentative agreement,

this thing that basically if the Iranian senior leadership and the president ultimately sign off on could lead to the actual intensive negotiations on some of the stickiest issues that remain at large. But the president is saying that the U.S. can wait Iran out on this front. We know he had a pretty testy call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the larger, also Lebanon aspect to this conflict. That is certainly complicating things. But just a week ago when we thought there could be some kind of major significant breakthrough here, it does not appear to be the case quite yet. And Monica, I want to turn now to Courtney and picking up on that point, that test the exchange between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump yesterday.

I understand you have new reporting on that. What exactly happened there? And could that, would that call be enough to de-escalate things between Israel and Hezbollah? It doesn't seem like it. It doesn't seem like it at this point. So we know there were actually two calls between them on Monday. And one of them, as you said, was pretty testy. It got very tense, according to a number of different officials who we spoke to about it, including specifically on the issue of Beirut and how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been saying

that he's going to continue to push into southern Lebanon and that ultimately, as long as Hezbollah is inside Beirut and operating out of there. And as long as they continue to target Israel, that he will continue to send the Israeli defense forces in to go after Hezbollah, including into Beirut. What's not really clear here is how this will ultimately factor into this potential for some sort of a peace deal with Iran. Because Iran has made it very clear that they will not sign any kind of a peace agreement or enter into even a temporary agreement with longer term, you know, discussions.

And in the meantime, now we have the U.S. military and the Iranian military operating in close proximity to one another right now. And there are these repeated clashes back and forth. there is really no ceasefire unless you're specifically talking about major combat operations inside Iran. What Marco Rubio may have been signaling there is what seems pretty apparent that President Trump is not interested right now in restarting those major combat operations, but there is still absolutely clashes between the U.S. and Iran right now. Courtney QB, our senior national security correspondent and Monica Alba at the White House, Mel Zanona on Capitol Hill. Thank you for a robust panel to start to show. We really appreciate it. And as we noted earlier, it is primary day in six states, with millions of voters from New Jersey to Iowa to California casting their ballots today.

Some of the most closely watched contests are in the Golden State. The crowded field of candidates running to succeed Gavin Newsom as governor. The top two candidates, regardless of party, will move on to November's general election. That race was roiled by sexual assault allegations against one of the frontrunners, former Congress. Eric Swalwell, who dropped out of the race in April. In Iowa, meanwhile, Democrats will decide between moderate Josh Turrick and progressive Zach Walls as they try to flip retiring Senator Joni Ertz's seat. On the Republican side, President Trump has endorsed Congresswoman Ashley Hinson,

who is facing former state senator Jim Carlin. So for more on how to watch tonight's results in California and elsewhere, I'm joined now by NBC News Chief Data Analyst, Steve Kornacki, at the Big Board. Well, where he'll be spending much of tonight, Steve, thank you so much for joining us here. Let's start in New Jersey, where a congressman who's been out of sight for months will be on the ballot tonight. Why don't you to walk us through what to expect tonight? Yeah, this is the 7th district here in New Jersey and on the Republican side here. You mentioned it is Tom Kane, Jr., unopposed for the Republican nomination here.

but of course, Cain has not been seen now in some time publicly. Questions about as health. He has promised to have some disclosure here in the near future. We'll see what awaits after this primary. But meanwhile, the Democratic side, this is the race in that district. Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot. Actually, a biography there on the surface, similar a bit to Mikie Sherrill, the governor of New Jersey now, who previously was a congresswoman from the nearby 11th district.

You see the opponents here for Bennett. The polling has put Bennett. in the lead right here. The county organizations in this district, the Democratic organizations in New Jersey, they've been weakened in recent years. They used to have a ton of clout in these primaries. They still have some clout, and most of them have endorsed Bennett here. So Bennett, I think, goes into tonight as the favorite. If she does emerge or whoever emerges, this obviously a very closely watched race in November. This is a district. Take a look at this. Donald Trump carried the district by a single point in 2024. And in that governor's race, last November,

Mikie Sherrill running as the Democratic candidate. She won this district. She won it narrowly, only by two points. So Trump won it by one. Cheryl won it by two. Kane, there's the question surrounding him as the Republican candidate. It's going to be very closely watched after tonight, certainly tonight and after tonight all the way to November. Well, Steve, there's a lot to watch really across the country. Let's turn out of California. Several key races will be following there. Everybody seems to be looking at what's happening out west. Yeah, start there with the governor's race here. So a couple, I think, two main questions tonight as we wait the results here in California, 11 o'clock, Eastern polls close. These are the three candidates. Tom Steyer, a Democrat,

Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, and Steve Hilton, a Republican, who tend to be one, two, three in the polling here. Excuse me, I sorry for that, a little bit of water here. They tend to be one, two, three. But the question is, what order, if they do finish one, two, three, will it be? Because remember, California, top two primary. So the top two advance to the general election, Xavier Becerra Tom Steyer, If they go one, two, Republicans would be locked out here. And the second piece of suspense here, Gabe, pardon me with this race, is, again, I apologize here. Second piece of suspense with this race is, will we even know tonight? Because California's can be a slow vote counting state.

The initial vote, the first half will come in very quickly. But after that, if this is not to resolve tonight, could be days, could be even up to a week. Somebody get that man some water. Steve Kornacki, it's going to be a busy night for you. If you got enough juice in you, we can turn to Iowa, but if you need us to let you go to grab a drink of water, all good. Happy to do Iowa. The cough just helped. So here in Iowa, look, if Democrats, the backdrop for this is if Democrats are going to get control of the Senate, it's a very uphill fight, but they're going to have to do it, among other things, winning at least two states that Trump carried by double digits. Iowa is one of those states that Democrats would like to put in play, but it's a tall order. Trump carried it, as you can see here, by 13 points in 2024, nearly 10 back in 2020 as he lost nationally.

Here's the dynamic. Josh Turrick, he's a state legislator from the western part of the state, Potawatomi County out by Council Bluffs. His district that he represents actually voted for Trump. National Democrats, Chuck Schumer, for instance, want Turich as their candidate here. They feel he gives them a chance in a very pro-Trump state. Zach Wals is his opponent, is running against Chuck Schumer. It seems sometimes as much as Turek, saying he doesn't want Chuck Schumer to, continue as the Senate leader. Now, he represents, he is a state senator who represents part of

Johnson County. It's where the University of Iowa is. It's actually literally the most liberal, most democratic state Senate district in Iowa. So quite a contrast there in terms of the districts these candidates come from. Again, national Democrats, they think a candidate like Turk puts it more in play, but Walls has been pitching his message at that Democratic base. If he wins, the question after tonight would be, can he win a statewide? And it kind of, you know, He has not won in a district like that. We'll put it that way. Oh, Steve Kornacki, thank you for breaking it all down for us.

And for that long night tonight with those West Coast results, please hydrate, Sarah. Thank you. And Steve is just getting started. Tune in at 8 p.m. Eastern for the latest edition of the Kornacki Camp, tracking tonight's election results as they come in, followed by even more special midterm coverage at 10 p.m. Eastern right here on NBC News Now. Don't miss it. And coming out, we'll dive deeper into one of the market.

key races in tonight's primaries is the battle for California governor. Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is standing by fresh off the president re-upping his endorsement, heading into primary night. That interview is next. We're watching Meet the Press Now.

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And welcome back. As we noted, it's a big night for midterm primaries, including some marquee races, California, we mentioned, like the Battle for Governor. Join me right now is Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate endorsed by President Trump in that contest. Mr. Hilton, thank you so much for joining us. You're billing yourself as a change candidate. You've been endorsed by the current president, as we mentioned. How will Donald Trump support help you in a state he lost by more than 20 percentage points in 2024? Well, Gabe, it's great to be with you. And I just have to say, you've really made my day, perhaps my year, with the fact that Steve there, the great Steve

Kornaki actually talked about my race. I've been a fan for many, many years. So it's wonderful to be with you. Look, I understand that people will look at the endorsement of the president and look at the politics in California and say, well, that doesn't really help. Let me try and lay out how I see it. First of all, it is a primary. And of course, a big part of the primary is to get a big turnout among Republican voters. It's a top two primary. So it's not just Republican voters that we've been speaking to. We speak to everyone in this campaign. And my entire campaign, is built in a pretty non-partisan way. It's just common sense, pragmatic things to cut people's costs, help businesses fix our schools. But the second thing I think is really important about the president's endorsement. And this will really come to the fall in the general election,

which I plan to be one of the two participants in, is that I think it's helpful for Californians to have a candidate and then a governor who actually has a constructive relationship with the president, who can then work together. As the president said in his, posed today to deliver good things for Californians.

There are so many things we can do. For example, opening up energy production in California so we can lower gas prices, and fighting fraud in our budgets so we can return money to taxpayers, managing our forests so we can reduce the risk of massive wildfires. On all these things, you've actually got a governor today, Gavin Newsom, who's fighting the president and his team when they're trying to do common sense things to help California. I'll be very different. And Mr. Hilton, you mentioned energy. That's a huge issue, of course, in California.

You've actually focused a lot of your campaign on cost of living issues. So on that point, do you support the president's handling of the war in Iran, given the impact it has had on energy prices and inflation? Well, my focus is on what we do in California on energy prices. And even with the war, of course, the war has increased oil prices across the board. But even on top of that increase, you've got a $2. elevated gas price in California today, over and above what's going on in the rest of the country. In fact, the gas prices you're seeing in the rest of the country that are causing an outcry in terms of how high they are, that would actually be low for California prior to the war,

because it's the policies of the Democrats in California that have given us the highest gas prices in the country, even though we have abundant oil reserves, one of the most incoherent parts of their policy is the fact that actually we are now importing nearly 80% of the oil that we're using California, even though we have abundant reserves here, that actually increases carbon emissions. So it's not even helping the environmental agenda that is all being done in the name of. So I think we just need some common sense here. While we're using oil and gas, let's use California oil and gas.

That'll help us bring the costs down. And Mr. Hilton, here's what the president posted on social media about you this morning. He said, California vote today for Steve Hilton for governor. He'll work with me in the federal government. The money will flow because I have confidence in him. Do you read that as the president threatening to withhold federal funding from California unless you are elected? No, I see it as a positive statement of how we can work constructively together. I think that the main point is actually that what we need to do in California is fix the problems that we've created.

here. Most of the things that are driving Californians crazy, the fact that we have the highest housing costs in the country, we don't build enough houses, the fact that we've got homelessness that really hasn't been, had a dent put in it, despite billions of dollars being spent over the years, the fact that our school results are among the worst in the country, even though we spend among the highest $28,000 per student per year, all of these things are the result of things that we control in California. And I really think we need to, as Californians, understand that we have our destiny in our hands. It's what we do here in California that affects the daily lives of Californians more than anything else. And we've now got 56% of

Californians in the latest poll saying that the state's going in the wrong direction and needs change. That's why I'm confident that if I get into the general election, as I plan to do, in November, despite what people may think, we will vote for change in California because people just can't take it anymore. So California redrew its congressional map earlier this year. You opposed that effort. So do you also oppose redistricting efforts taken by Republican-controlled states in other parts of the country?

Yeah, these redistricting wars, I don't think were what we should need to have been focused on for the past year or so, because I think the way to, in elections is to persuade people you've got the best ideas and the best plans to execute. And that's certainly what I'm doing in California. Of course, it's important to remember that even before the redistricting that Gavin Newsom initiated this year in response he claims to what was going on elsewhere in the country, California was already heavily gerrymandered. In terms of the House seats, Republicans regularly get 40% of the vote in California and statewide

elections, yet we only had 17% of the congressional seats. seats. Now it's down to six. So it's gone even more extreme. But generally speaking, I think we want to focus on our plans to make people's lives better. Steve Hilton, running for Governor of California. And we thank you so much for your time. Thank you and good luck tonight. Great to be with you, Gabe. Thank you. And up next, and we're spotlighting the contentious Democratic primary tonight to replace longtime Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. The candidate, back by the Speaker Emerita, joins us next Right here on Meet the Press Now.

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And welcome back. As we mentioned, voters in California today are choosing which two candidates will head to the general election in November, including who will face off to replace retiring Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi as she steps down after nearly four decades in Congress. Polling currently indicates a heated race among three Democrats in the 11th congressional district, with Nancy Pelosi giving San Francisco supervisor Connie Chan her endorsement. In the final weeks of this race, after originally saying she would not back a candidate. She's a mom who knows her power and knows her why. I am confident Connie is ready to bring clarity and purpose to the work ahead for the children.

And joining me now is Connie Chan. Thank you so much for joining us. Nancy Pelosi endorsed you two weeks ago. What has her endorsement meant to your campaign? Well, happy election day, Gabe. Her endorsement is absolutely an honor and definitely is also changing tide for us in San Francisco. She has been representing San Francisco very well for the last almost four decades. And we have elected her time and again.

So it is time for her to say that San Franciscoans get ready to vote for the next phase for San Francisco's future. Now, you've said that you want to build on Nancy Pelosi's legacy. But is there anything you do differently from her if you were elected to Congress? Well, look, she has done tremendous for the nation, really passing the Affordable Care Act, making sure that people even with pre-existing medical condition can have health care. But it is time for us to move forward to make sure that we not only reverse Trump cuts to health care, we'll expand those care. We've got to lower the medication prices.

We have to break the insurance monopoly. And we have to make sure that every American can actually afford health care. And you're running on a progressive platform, Medicare for All, defunding ICE, taxing billionaires, what would your day one priority be if elected? Absolutely is health care to expand Medicare for all, and really also making sure that every family have affordable child care, fully funded K-throught our classroom, and what we have in San Francisco, a free city college that we should meet that nationwide.

We want to see a meaningful pathway to citizenship, and those will be our priority day one. And San Francisco is known as a bastion of progressive politics, but a recent poll showed that Democrats nationwide are wanting the party to move toward the center rather than the left. The candidate leading in your primary, Scott Weiner, has boasted at his, quote, left rather than lefter agenda. Now, what do you say to Democrats who would like to see the party take a more moderate approach to politics?

I think what it actually really means is not just the politics. What it actually means is people want to see Democratic Party delivering for the working people to say that this is a moment that we see Trump is putting $1.5 trillion in our war. It is time to actually put that oversight power on the Trump administration and making sure that money actually goes back to the American people. That is what I believe is what American people and working families would like to see the Democratic Party to move towards. So we did speak with one of your opponents yesterday.

Troy Cut Chakar Bhardi, who's your neck and neck with in the polls here for the second place in his primary. He says that the Democratic Party is in deep need of reform and that Democrats need to root out corruption within the party. Do you think that the Democratic Party needs to be fixed? Well, I have to say, I much rather be in a party where there's diverse school of thoughts and spectrum of blues than looking at the Republican Party. Let's not give them a pass right now. This is a party that is a one-man party with one direction. I would say that while we definitely have room for improvements, we should not give the Democrat,

to give the Republican Party a pass. But do you think the Democratic Party needs to be fixed? Oh, I mean, we definitely need to do better because what Americans people want to see is that we can actually deliver for them when the gas prices is high, when Trump actually pushed forward with these unreasonable tariffs and the illegal war in Iran, what people want to see is that that Democratic Party actually has the backbone to be able to ring into Trump administration and deliver for them.

And so that is what they want to see. And absolutely, we've got to move toward that direction. And that is what this primary is about. That is what this midterm is about. We've got to take back the House. Now, speaking of the House, your opponent says that Democrats need new, leadership in the House and then he would not back Hakeem Jeffries as leader, would you support Hakeem Jeffries to continue leading House Democrats, especially if Democrats win back the majority?

Well, I have to say, you know, for San Francisco and for San Franciscans, what we deserve is a leader that will actually understand who we are and are about our values and be able to help us to deliver for San Francisco. And no one should really be able to just have an own that an entitled leadership role. Everybody needs to be able to earn that vote. And I think that Congressman Hakeem Jeffries is no exception. But I absolutely am open to have that conversation with him and look forward to seeing what that would look like even when we land in Congress. So in your mind, Hakeem Jeffries has not earned that role yet, even though he was a handpick successor of Nancy Pelosi.

Well, in my mind that, like, I think that he has been leading the party and he has been leading that fight. He absolutely have, it's in the position to earn that role and earn that leadership. And I'm absolutely open to that conversation. And final question. California Congressman Ro Khanna is continuing to back Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner holding a rally with him later this week. This, of course, comes amid a slew of controversy in that race.

Graham Platner sending sexually explicit text messages to questions over that Nazi tattoo that he once had that he said he didn't realize was a Nazi tattoo or resembled it. Do you think Graham Platner should remain in the race in Maine? I mean, he is now by default that he is in that race. And I would say this again for Democrats across the nation is that we have to identify candidates that actually deliver for the working people. and that this is absolutely the decisions by Democrats that within Maine and within the district, and I really will support any Democrats in Maine should this be their candidate.

It's what they want to push. And it seems like that is the direction. And so as part of the party, we have to make sure we get and take back the House this fall and at the same time and understand that we have to be inclusive and there's a spectrum of blues. across a nation. And so this is a direction we're going. Connie Chan, running for Nancy Pelosi's seat in Congress. Thank you so much. And after the break, you're looking at live pictures from Capitol Hill. We're acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is in the hot seat. We'll turn back to that hearing and bring you the biggest takeaway so far. Stay with us. You're watching. Meet the Press Now.

And welcome back. As we mentioned, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is testifying before the House Appropriations Committee at this hour. You're looking at live pictures right there. It's all comes as the Justice Department and the Trump administration face continued blowback over their so-called anti-weaponization fund. Yesterday, the DOJ saying it will comply with a court order that temporarily blocked the fund. But some Senate Republicans are not sold, signaling they will continue to. to hold up legislation to fund ICE and Border Patrol unless they get assurances from the White House that the anti-weaponization fund is dead for good. The only thing that's going to solve this problem to get immigration funded and law enforced is for the president to do away the weaponization fund.

We shouldn't play games here. If the administration has changed its position on the weaponization fund, it should say so definitively. It doesn't pass the smell test. Until it passes a smell test, I can't support it. Was this a miscalculation of the president? Yes, I guess I'd call it that. And moments ago, Todd Blanche telling the House Appropriations Committee, quote,

we're not moving forward with the fund, period. Well, joining me now, senior justice reporter Ryan Riley. And Ryan, what else have we heard from the acting age? at this hour? Yeah, I mean, that I think is the headline is that he says that they are not moving it away from the fund period. I think that the question is going to be how they're going to respond to this actually in a court of law. They have this pending deadline on Friday where they have to respond to this motion that basically has temporarily paused this fund from being distributed. And it's supposed to be their opposition to this motion to put a pause on all this spending.

And so I think what they put before the court is going to be really the really important to watch here. And there is a hearing scheduled for the Friday after this Friday on the 12th for the judge to examine all this all together. It has been a sort of extraordinary sequence of events because normally, as you well know, we have the administration forcefully push back against anything that comes out of the courts if they disagree with. But in this instance, you sort of have had Trump say, you know, okay, we're going to concede to this. Well, what can you do? The courts have ruled. And that's really not the end of the line here for this case, because the courts haven't definitively ruled on this.

There are now five separate cases pending on this, but this was just a temporary measure to sort of hold up and say, put a pause on it until they could look at the facts and the law. Yeah, Ryan, and there are the legal questions about this, but also the political ones. Democrats have been backing this legislation to officially ban this fund. No, it's, you know, breaking news. We're just getting these comments from the acting AG, but any idea whether the Democrats in Congress will still move forward with their push to try and officially ban this through legislation? Well, obviously he just said that, but I think, you know, given what we've seen from Democrats in the past, they've been skeptical of what's coming out of the Justice Department.

You know, yesterday it was really tough to nail down exactly get them to say anything beyond what was in that statement from DOJ, which just basically said, we'll comply with the law. You know, I and you and our colleagues all pressed to sort of get more definitive answers on that, and that they weren't extremely forthcoming with exactly what the plan was here. So now we do have the acting attorney general on the record before Congress. saying, you know, that they are not moving forward to fund, but there are other ways to potentially give money out to January 6th riders that wouldn't require a separate fund here. And so I think that that's sort of the broader question that you might see members of Congress pushing on and trying to make sure that there's some sort of backstop against in legislation. Because also it's just such a great political issue for Democrats and one that is going to, I think,

backfire on Republicans generally if Democrats are allowed to roll all these ads of, you know, cops getting bashed over the head and then say, your taxpayer dollars could be going out to them after these individuals were pardoned by the president. I mean, that's a really effective political ad. So I think that that's going to be in the back of lawmakers' heads and minds as they move forward on this. And Ryan, you also have new reporting about former DOJ prosecutors suing over this fund. What more do we know? That's right.

So these two additional DOJ prosecutors, one of whom was fired allegedly because of his work on January 6 cases and another one who was demoted, both filed this lawsuit. The lawsuit that ended up putting a pause on this for now was in the Eastern District of Virginia. That was also filed by a January 6 prosecutor. And then you actually had two other officers who were assaulted or who protected the Capitol

in one instance during January 6th actually filed another lawsuit. So five lawsuits altogether, two in three different jurisdictions, all challenging this on various constitutional and legal means. And so there's going to be a lot if this does play out. If they don't actually say, we're done here, we're no longer moving forward with this fund at all. There's going to be a lot of these challenges on the horizon. So I think a lot of questions remain about whether or not there will ultimately be any money going to January 6th defendants. Ryan Riley, our senior justice reporter,

Ryan, thank you. And we'll dig deeper into today's testimony, the political fallout and the fate of President Trump's agenda made growing pushback on capital. Hill heading into the midterms. The panel's next right here on Meet the Press Now.

And welcome back. Joining me now is our panel. Carrie Dan, managing editor of the Cook Political Report and a familiar face here at NBC News. John McCarthy, former senior advisor to President Biden and Daniel Pletka, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Thank you all so much for joining us here on the panel. Carrie, I want to start with you, and I want to play a soundbite that we just got a few moments ago from Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, what he just told lawmakers about that so-called anti-weaponization fund. Let's listen. We are not moving forward with the fund, period. The reasons for the fund is something that President Trump talked about for a long time, which is the fact that there were a lot of people in this country who had their

government weaponized against them. The reasons for the fund, think it remained as important as they were before, but we are not moving forward with the fund. So, Carrie, do you think that that will be enough to soothe skeptical Republicans? Well, that was what you were hearing being telegraphed by Republican leaders yesterday and today is, well, look, Todd Blanche is going to talk about this and going to put a very fine point on it. It sounds like he certainly did. What I do wonder, though, is politically how much damage has already been done just by this being floated out there and being yet another story that voters are hearing about five months before

a midterm, a huge price tag on something that is related solely to Donald Trump and his agenda, not to what voters are looking for in terms of the economy, in terms of the Iran war, this, a ballroom, the beautification of Washington, D.C. I think those taken as a whole and the way that the president has addressed Republican leaders and sort of dismissed their concerns about all of those issues. You wonder how much political damage was already done before today. Yeah, and talking about political damage, Danny. You know, the narrative used to be that President Trump got everything you wanted out of Congress. Does this put a little dent in that?

And as John Cornyn said in our introduction, did the president make a miscalculation here? Well, so I think what Kerry said is right, that, you know, that I felt it was a turning point last week in Congress, right, where the president decided not to endorse a senior member of the Republican leadership in Texas and put that. seat at risk, although I guess I'll hear from you how much it's at risk. But second of all, this weaponization fund, I think they're just sick and tired of the fact that the president really doesn't care about the fate of the Republicans in the midterms. And John, you know, how do Democrats leverage this? Does can they use now these Republicans, the, the Yolo caucus, as it's been called?

Do they now have more leverage with these Republicans, or does it show how little leverage the Democrats had to begin with that they needed these disaffected Republicans? You know, I'm all for the Yolo Caucus. I think, you know, some of these senators feeling comfortable to say publicly what they've been saying privately for years is going to be very helpful for the country. I actually don't think that this is a big tell for Democrats at the moment. To me, it's really an important shift for Republicans. And I think it's because all of these Republicans are now starting to realize, you know, gas prices are going. up, Trump's numbers are going down, and they need to think about their party's future after Trump. So, I mean, I think I'd like to believe that it's because they found religion and suddenly, you know, want to do the right thing. But really, this is about politicians looking for self-preservation. They know that, you know, Donald Trump and his policy proposals are losers, and they're going to

kill them on the ballots in the fall. So this is their chance to break away. Okay. But isn't there, isn't there more than that? Isn't this maybe, she said, hopefully, about Congress also waking up? The D's covered for Joe Biden and it hurt them in the House. and in the Senate. The Republicans are covering for Donald Trump and it's going to hurt them in the House and probably in the Senate. Isn't now the time that Congress decides, hey, we're a branch of government too? Well, speaking of that decision, something else they might have to decide on, you know, this Republican opposition, we're starting to see Kerry to Bill Pulte as acting DNI. Now, he was, he's in an acting capacity, so he may not need, you know, confirmation here,

and he had been confirmed for his previous post. But what are you hearing from your sources on the reaction on the Hill with regards to, you know, this election. I think there's a lot of skepticism, and you can see that from some senior Republicans saying things like, oh, I wasn't aware that he had an intelligence background. He does not have an intelligence background. So you're certainly seeing, I think, some seriousness here. And intelligence and foreign policy is something where maybe there's a lot of partisanship on Capitol Hill for a lot of different reasons. But this is an area where they're very serious people who are very concerned about the future of the country saying, shouldn't we have somebody in this role who,

one is exclusively doing this role and not keeping his old job as the mortgage per guy. And secondly, should we have somebody who has, you know, intense understanding of security clearances and all of the dynamics here? Instead of somebody whose primary qualification for this job appears to be, you know, being an ally of the president who has been willing to go after his political enemies by using a federal agency to do so. And you're seeing senior Republicans talking about this in a very, you know, barbed way in some cases, saying, Don't, is there anybody better for this job?

Isn't that kind of the point, Danny, from Trump's perspective? Doesn't he like, you know, testing the party in this way? I mean, I think he enjoys being a provocateur, for sure. But this isn't being a provocateur. This is putting somebody who is manifestly not suited to a job into a job, replacing somebody who, frankly, was manifestly not suited to the job as well. You know, the right thing for Congress to do is not to make a fuss about Bill Pulte. The right thing for Congress to do is to get,

of the DNI position entirely because no one likes it. Well, John, Senator Warner, the vice chair of the Intel Committee, warns that Bill Pulte is going to continue to use his position to go after the president's enemies. Do Democrats have any recourse if he does? Well, I mean, I would start with the fact that, you know, there's already a massive trust deficit between Democrats and Republicans broadly. The issues that go before the Director of National Intelligence are ones that life or death is on the line very often. And I think that, you know, if you're trying to get surveillance legislation through the Congress right now, I think that with this appointment, you know, they're not looking over and seeing someone that they can trust as a serious professional in a serious role. So I think you're going to see the Democratic Party try and stall a lot of the things that will be going before this position, just because, you know, I don't think that there's a way that they think they could seriously work with someone whose sole qualification is loyalty to Trump.

And John, I want to switch gears a bit and talk about Maine and the continued fallout to Graham Platner's latest controversy. Democrats on the Hill are still largely sticking by him. Let's listen to some of their comments. Maybe as a nation we focus on issues more important than the Graham Platner marriage. Do you wish that you would have known a little bit more about this earlier on? I'm confident we are going to flip the Senate, including Maine. I met with Graham Platner today. We're going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.

Are you a decision? So you're saying that Dan Mills is your preferred candidate, There's been rattling that she should get back in. You're standing behind Graham Platner, that's later here? We're going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate. Yes. The Democratic is the perfect credibility in attacking Ken Paxton? We're going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.

Any other subject you got? So, John, we're going to take back the Senate. We're going to take back the Senate and beat Susan Collins. It's officially the party line. Clearly. What do you make of this Dublin? down and should the party be concerned that there could be more controversy ahead? I mean, I am certainly glad I am not a main primary voter.

I would probably vote for Governor Mills if she's still on the ballot. Look, I mean, this has been problematic from the get-go. I mean, his race has been plagued with this from the very beginning. So, you know, he would not be my cup of tea as a candidate. I think there's two things for Democrats here that we need to pay attention to. The first of which is I still think how you win matters. We can't become the thing that we have been criticizing for all this time. so I think the Democrats really need to be brave and not just become the thing that we've been advocating against.

But secondarily, our voters are so fed up with how things are going, both Trump and our own party, that they're willing to look past someone who is eminently qualified and well known in their state for this candidate instead. So I think the people who are really going to be paying close attention to this are the 20-28ers who are looking for, what is the mood of the Democratic primary voter. I think, Gary, as Chuck Schumer said, Plentner's on the Hill today meeting with Democrats. What is the goal here for the Planner campaign? Well, I think Chuck Schumer has no choice but to double down here because there is no, there's virtually very little path for Democrats to win the Senate without Maine. There's, you know, maybe some scenarios, but things really have to go right for them.

But this is a must, must win race. So there's really no other choice. So for Graham Platner, I think, to address these things head on and assure them that there is nothing else that is going to come, I think is one of those things. I think also the Democratic Party, as to your point, John, is learning, is there a part of Trumpism that is transferable, right? If you are expressing the anger that I'm feeling as a disaffected voter in a way that speaks to me, am I willing to overlook personal things about you that I otherwise wouldn't like? Right. Well, we'll have to leave it there.

We were running out of time. Danny was going to ask you if this was more pressure on Texas or pressure on Susan Collins to hold onto the seat do the Texas campaign. But we'll continue that conversation after this. Thank you all for watching. I'm Gabe Gutierrez, and we're back tomorrow with more meat to press now. There is more ahead right here on NBC News. No.

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