The Briefing with Jen Psaki

The Trump administration's visit to Gaza this week calls to mind David Miliband's remarks to Jen Psaki about the disadvantages of distribution centers versus "going to the people."

"Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in history. Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in Texas history, and the two of them are working together on the most corrupt scheme I've ever seen." @repcasar.bsky.social is rallying Democrats against Texas redistricting.

Jen Psaki on DOJ rules for redactions: "Last I checked, Trump was not a child, nor was he a victim, or a cooperating defendant in the Epstein case."

Donald Trump's attack on the Bureau of Labor Statistics is only the latest in his broader war on data. Jen Psaki shares just a sample of what he's done in the past six months.

Donald Trump has fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, accusing her of partisanship. What Republican gatekeepers could have allowed such a thing to happen!?

NEWS: Rep. Robert Garcia tells Jen Psaki that the Oversight Committee's subpoena of the Epstein files is expected to be sent "in the next couple of days." "...early next week is our hope."

The FBI Redacted Trump’s Name in the Epstein Files The bureau’s FOIA team tasked with conducting a final review of the records blacked out the names before higher-ups said last month that releasing the documents ‘would not be appropriate or warranted....

NEW FOIA Files SCOOP: The FBI redacted Trump’s name—and the names of other prominent public figures—from the Epstein files under two privacy exemptions before DOJ & FBI concluded “no further disclosure” of the files “would be appropriate or warranted.”
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

I'm mostly trying to tune out the outside world. (I gave birth a week ago.) But between Trump firing BLS commissioner & suddenly finding an opening on the Fed board, today seems like a dark turning point for the US economy.
I fear we've just met 2 horsemen of the turning-into-Venezuela-pocalypse

Appeals court judges are right to be skeptical about Donald Trump’s tariff claims because his arguments for why he has the power to impose tariffs have never made any sense.

It's a tough time to be a Republican returning to your home district.

There is a weird twist in the story of Donald Trump's false anecdote about his uncle and the Unabomber. It involves the possibility that Trump confused his own relative with his close friend, Jeffrey Epstein.

Earlier today, Neal Katyal argued against the government before the U.S. Court of Appeals challenging Donald Trump's tariff power. He compares the government's arguments to a "shell game."

Wisconsin Rep. Gwen Moore was in Rep. Brian Steil's district holding a town hall just yesterday. What are the people there most concerned about? Medicaid cuts.

Rep. Mark Pocan held his 5th town hall in Rep. Derrick Van Orden's district: "If their member of Congress isn't going to tout a bill that he says is so good, it doesn't pass the smell test ... I'm going to his district making sure that people are heard. And I can tell you they're not happy."

As attention turns to the upcoming elections, Republicans are finding new reasons to panic.

Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American history museum A temporary placard, on display since 2021, described the president's historic impeachments. Officials said the exhibit was restored to an earlier version following a review of legacy content.

"The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in July removed references to President Donald Trump’s two impeachments from an exhibit display."
www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

Sen. Gary Peters explains the obscure law being used to request the Epstein files from the Department of Justice. Peters, along with every other Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, signed a letter to AG Pam Bondi demanding the DOJ release all documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.

A rare moment of bipartisanship: @warren.senate.gov shares every Senator on the committee who helped write the ROAD Act had at least one idea that made it into the final bill.

"Come on, everybody, we can do this!" Bill Nye the Science Guy encourages people who appreciate America's leadership in the world to also embrace the United States as a leader on climate change. "The longest journey begins with a single step. Let's go!"

Scientists Say New Government Climate Report Twists Their Work A new Department of Energy report “fundamentally misrepresents” climate research and leaves out key context, multiple scientists cited in the report tell WIRED.

"But nine scientists across several different disciplines told WIRED that the report mishandled citations of their work by cherry-picking data, misrepresenting findings, drawing erroneous conclusions, or leaving out relevant context."
www.wired.com/story/scient...

Psaki: "No amount of fealty will ever be enough for Trump. At some point it is in the Republicans' best interest to just ignore him and listen to their voters."

Senate Confirms Conspiracy Theorist To Lead National Counterterrorism Center

Hey no big deal and all but... Senate Republicans just confirmed Joe Kent, a conspiracy theorist with alarming ties to white nationalists and far-right groups, to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...

Watch Jen Psaki's full interview with Andrew Weissmann here: youtu.be/tQk9mhdB510

"There is zero reason, if you are defense counsel for a defendant who's now been charged, not to bring a challenge saying that this is not a duly authorized U.S. attorney and that this is legally questionable." @weissmann.substack.com explains the mess Trump is making with loophole appointments.

David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, explains why airdrops are not a good way to get aid into Gaza.

"You open the gates." President and CEO of the IRC David Miliband says the resolution to the lack of aid in Gaza can be changed by opening the gates at border crossings so that "trucks assessed to make sure they're secure so that food and medical aid can get through."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse references a scene from the movie 'The Godfather' to describe how he envisions the Trump administration's meetings with Ghislaine Maxwell.

"This is a nail in the coffin." Fmr. FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissman describes what Emil Bove's confirmation to the Third Circuit says about the United States' system of checks and balances. "The amount of proof as to why he is unfit is sort of overwhelming."

Navy Set to Unplug Critical Hurricane Satellites this Week Abrupt termination of satellite data by U.S. Department of Defense sends forecasters scrambling for a fix on the brink of the busiest stretch of the hurricane season

If you think I've forgotten about the hurricane satellites, think again. The Navy is permanently unplugging them this week, on the brink of the busiest stretch of the season. There's so much more to this story, and I have the latest scoop. ⬇️

it seems to be a combination of just general effort to spend money on nothing but fascist thugs, and a hatred of scientists because they tend to vote D and don't embrace the right conspiracy theories.