The Briefing with Jen Psaki

The Senate Finance Committee was not gentle with Donald Trump's HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., grilling him on his perspectives on vaccines and often catching him in contradictions. Jen Psaki shares highlights of some of Kennedy's more frustrating lies, and the efforts of senators to call him out.As Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, levels accusations of mortgage fraud against Donald Trump's political enemies, a new report from ProPublica shows that three members of Trump's own Cabinet have the same kind of mortgages that are the basis for Pulte's fraud accusations against Democrats. Jen Psaki explains how the facts contradict Pulte's claims of non-partisanship.States that value science and data and good health are not waiting around for the Trump administration to come to its senses as long as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the Health and Human Services secretary, so they're taking the responsibility on themselves. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey talks with Jen Psaki about how she is securing vaccine access for her state, and why states will have to do more on their own in the absence of federal leadership. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The role of Jeffrey Epstein abuse survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre in demanding accountability for Epstein and his accomplices, and keeping the case in the spotlight even as powerful forces attempted to make the case disappear, cannot be overstated. Sky and Amanda Roberts, brother and sister-in-law of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, talk with Jen Psaki about the challenges Giuffre faced, and her legacy as other survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse are speaking out and demanding the release of the files related to Epstein's criminal investigation.Despite every poll showing support, all but a few Republican members of Congress are resisting releasing the files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Rep. Ayanna Pressley discusses her frustration with Republicans who won't put action to their words of support for Epstein's victims.While Donald Trump's HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismantles the CDC, states are taking it upon themselves to continue to support a robust vaccine regime to keep preventable diseases at bay. Not all states, however. Florida today announced it is ending mandates for all vaccines. Senator Jon Ossoff discusses with Jen Psaki, and for the first time calls for the resignation of Secretary Kennedy. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jen Psaki shares Donald Trump's seemingly self-contradicting answer to a question about internet rumors that he had been out of the public eye for several days because he had died. But Trump has plenty of other reasons to want to hide from the American public.Jen Psaki shows how Donald Trump's unpopular and illegal agenda is suffering one legal loss after another in court challenges, and talks with Norm Eisen, executive chair of the Democracy Defenders Fund, and Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, about the effectiveness of keeping Trump's feet to the legal fire.And Jacob Soboroff delivers a powerful report about an 18-year-old honors student deported to Guatemala where she is threatened by the exact type of gangs that Donald Trump claims to be fighting with his indiscriminate deportation policy.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ian Bassin, co-founder and executive director of Protect Democracy, and former federal prosecutor Kristy Greenberg, talk with Jen Psaki about a federal appeals court finding that Donald Trump's tariffs are illegal, and other legal problems the administration is having with overreach, like Jeanine Pirro humiliating herself with her failure to match an indictment to her tough talk on the sandwich-throwing activist.Donald Trump has made clear his intention to dismantle FEMA and shift responsibility for disaster preparedness and response to states. As he makes progress toward that goal, FEMA staffers are raising the alarm that the plan is flawed and the U.S. is not ready to meet the demands of a major disaster. James Stroud, a FEMA statistician, joined his colleagues in signing a letter to Congress, alerting them to urgency of the situation, and was subsequently suspended by petty Trump for speaking out.The parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine cite responses from ChatGPT among the reasons for his suicide after they discovered messages from the A.I. bot offering advice instead of triggering alerts that are meant to discourage these kinds of ideas. Jay Edelson, attorney for the Raine family, talks with Jen Psaki about the responsibility they believe OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, has for their son's death.Congressional Democrats and some Republican allies are already planning press events and subpoenas to put the Jeffrey Epstein case back into the spotlight when Congress returns from summer recess. Rep. Jared Moskowitz discusses with Jen Psaki.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who resigned in protest from his position as director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, talks with Jen Psaki about the valuable work being done by the people at the CDC, and how the Trump administration, through HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is corrupting the CDC with unscientific attitudes and agendas.Jen's Version: Jen Psaki answers questions posed in today's White House press briefing, without the Trump administration's spin, and doubles down on her criticism of the Trump White House for taking no action to prevent gun violence and instead wasting time on "bad faith back-and-forth."Plus, Philadelphia D.A. Larry Krasner on Donald Trump's use of the military as domestic police, and Graham Platner on challenging Susan Collins for Maine's Senate seat. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jen Psaki addresses the horrific shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis and the shocking gun statistics in the United States that "should make everyone angry." Psaki points to new gun legislation that passed under the Biden administration after a mass shooting at a supermarket, and reminds viewers that anger can turn into activism, activism can turn into pressure, and pressure can change laws.Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey talks with Jen Psaki about the horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic School that has left his community in shock and grief. Frey calls for Americans to recognize the victims of today's shooting not as somebody else's kids, "think about them as your own," and encourages a loving perspective but also real action to address America's gun problem. The Trump administration is attempting to remove CDC Director Susan Monarez from her position after only two weeks in the Trump-appointed, Republican Senate-confirmed job. The conflict over Monarez's resistance to Trump HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-science whims and conspiracy theories has apparently set of a series of other high-profile departures, leaving a vacuum at the top of the CDC and the Trump administration looking foolish. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Senator Elizabeth Warren joins to discuss the Federal Housing Finance Agency and its political maneuvers under Trump's influence. They explore the alarming sycophancy within Trump's cabinet, suggesting it fuels his misguided leadership style. Warren critiques how housing policies are manipulated for political agendas, questioning integrity amidst allegations of mortgage fraud. The conversation also touches on Trump's erratic election strategies and indicates a shift in the political landscape with unexpected Democratic wins, hinting at growing public discontent.

With Texas poised to pass a redistricting bill to help Donald Trump rig the midterm elections in his favor to retain control of Congress, Democrats are taking the fight to Trump. Trump's renewed engagement with Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine has made a new priority of the return of Ukrainian children stolen by Putin. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Despite his deep delusions to the contrary, Donald Trump turning Washington, D.C. into a police state is making life and business in the District worse, thanks in large part to the team of bad faith bunglers Trump has assembled to carry out his will. While Trump's acolytes appear eager to help him weaponize the DOJ and law enforcement against his political enemies, their incompetence mostly yields embarrassment. The best possibility for a consistent ceasefire in Ukraine is if a coalition of outside countries deploy a NATO-like force to enforce it, argues former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor. Texas State Rep. Nicole Collier is essentially imprisoned in the State Capitol because she won't agree to being monitored by police, so they won't unlock the doors to allow her to leave. Oklahoma's MAGA superintendent of public schools is working hard to make his state the most poorly educated in the nation by prioritizing right-wing ideological standards instead of fact-based scholastics. And Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is probably wishing her spokesperson didn't invoke the church when offering a retort about Noem mooching a free apartment from the Coast Guard. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The podcast dives into the lackluster Trump-Putin summit that left many expectations unmet. Listeners get a peek into the ambiguous press conference that followed, revealing little detail. The exclusion of Ukraine's President Zelensky raises critical concerns about the ongoing conflict and civilian casualties. The discussion highlights the U.S. military support for Ukraine as it faces rising tensions. Insights on Putin's resurgence in global politics and the implications for future international relations add depth to the analysis.