[0:00]Will the release of grand jury testimony on Jeffrey Epstein be enough? Well, we asked Congressman Tim Burchett, co-sponsor of the Epstein Files
[0:09]Transparency Act. Better oorc nearly beat Republican Ted Cruz for the US Senate in 2018. Democrats have gotten smoked in Texas since OORC joins us to
[0:21]examine why. On the surface, the White House and Israel appear tightly aligned, but are cracks forming over the war in Gaza and Israel's moves in Syria.
[0:32][Music] Hello everyone, I'm Major Garrett in
[0:42]Washington. Welcome to the Takeout. This daily version of the Takeout is still young, not even two months old. It is for you and me a work in progress, a journalistic hybrid, a streaming
[0:54]television show with all of its timing constraints and a podcast with longer form interviews that dig a bit deeper. Loyal viewers of this show know I usually begin with a central theme. Not
[1:05]tonight. Instead, I'm going to give you our road map because today's news, quite honestly, cannot be distilled into one story arc that stands above all others. I will always try to be candid with you
[1:16]on this point. So tonight we have a newsmaker on the push for more transparency in the Jeffrey Epstein matter, whether that's entirely possible and what risks to the victims might be
[1:27]involved. We will delve into the running legal battle between the Trump administration and Harvard. Also, there will be a conversation with a top US senator about how to improve weather forecasting in the face of extreme
[1:38]weather events. Part of that conversation will play here, the rest on our longer form venues. Also, Betto Oorc, once a can't miss darling of Democratic politics, will join me to
[1:49]outline his political fl plans in the very near future, whatever they may be, and the recent woes and possible future opportunities of Democrats in Texas. We
[1:59]will also assess Israel and the Trump White House, the death toll in Gaza, and the political calculations in that conflict, and the future of the Middle East for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
[2:09]Netanyahu and also President Trump. All of that ahead tonight. We begin with Ed O'Keefee at the White House. Ed, great to see you. Catch us up on the latest in
[2:20]regards to the Epstein files, White House maneuvers, and a lawsuit with a very important media company. >> That's right. Well, uh, president has
[2:31]essentially told, uh, the attorney general, of course, you can release or or seek the release of everything that was given to the grand jury back in the day. And so, the Justice Department's working on that. questions were asked here today about whether he wants
[2:42]everything released and and uh the White House said look the president has told the Justice Department and the FBI if they believe that everything needs to be released then they can seek the release of it all but punted that down the
[2:53]street to the Justice Department and the FBI which is notable because after more than a week of this it seems they're finally trying to push it off uh to other places. You did mention that lawsuit. He filed suit against the Wall
[3:04]Street Journal for a story that broke late last week regarding an alleged drawing that he made for Jeffrey Epstein as part of an album of letters that were given to him at the turn of the 21st
[3:15]century. President disputing that that was real and filed suit pretty quickly thereafter. The Wall Street Journal vowing to fight that suit. We'll see how far that one goes. Word also came today
[3:26]that the Wall Street Journal will not be part of the traveling press corps when the president heads to Scotland later this week to inspect his golf courses uh and to meet with the British prime
[3:35]minister. Uh a sign that they are facing some consequences for the reporting of their colleagues, not unlike what happened to the Associated Press uh and other news outlets, but we'll see how
[3:46]much farther it goes beyond that. Ed, as you know, there is a garish tendency in Washington to obsess over the politics and in the Epstein matter, that has been true. But I don't want to lose the
[3:56]victims in all this. The victims matter. They're trying to get some transparency and maybe some application of justice. But nevertheless, the political component of the story still lives on.
[4:06]And the question persists, how is the Epstein story affected loyalty within the MAGA base? Do we have an assessment of that today that is slightly different than we might have had midweek last week?
[4:18]>> Well, we see a little bit of a split according to the new CBS News poll. While the MAGA base is standing with the president, the broader Republican party has some concerns. The GOP splits 50 to
[4:28]49% on the question of whether it's satisfied with how the president is handling the Epstein case. When you dive into those figures, you find 60% of so-called MAGA Republicans, his most
[4:39]diehard supporters, are satisfied with how he's handling it. But 41% of those non-MAGA Republicans are satisfied. And also notable, while 36% of all
[4:50]respondents thinks the Epstein case matters a lot, just 11% of Republicans think so, 54% don't think it matters at all. But part of the reason, I think
[5:00]this is important, it keeps coming up. It's not because we're reporting on it necessarily, but because the president himself is the one that keeps bringing it up, whether in social media posts, whether in calling on the attorney
[5:11]general to seek the release of all that information given to the grand jury. It's the president that's been driving this as a as a conversation starter uh and as an issue that needs to be covered
[5:21]further. Which is why it was interesting today to see the White House push off those questions about details to the Justice Department, the FBI. perhaps a shift and a realization they've got to get on to other issues if they want this
[5:32]issue to at least fall into the background. >> Comprehensive as always, Ed O'Keefe on the north of the White House. Thank you so very much. Tennessee Republican Congressman Tim Burchett joins me now. Congressman, it's good to see you.
[5:43]Thanks for joining us here on the takeout. You are a co-sponsor of legislation called the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Based on what's happened so far, has the administration
[5:53]met the the demands, the desires of that transparency act? >> Well, I think it's a good start. I don't think you're ever going to get to the bottom of this thing. Just like this,
[6:04]this town never gives up its secrets very very quick or or if they do it all. Like case in point, the Kennedy assassination. Lee Harvey Oswald was supposed to have made a shot that entered the front and the back of
[6:16]President Kennedy's body. And then they find this basically unscathed bullet on a gurnie in Texas and we're still studying that and nobody's willing to come forward with that. So I mean, you
[6:26]know, and of course and and I get the Democrats. They went four years and didn't do anything about it. Dick Durban made a big deal about basically um talking down to my senator, Senator
[6:36]Blackburn, when she was trying to get flight logs and things like that released and now he's claiming that he was trying to do it all along or something. I can't quite figure that out. And the only thing I can really figure out is that we need to quit
[6:48]pointing fingers. I realize the Democrat party is is uh is not doing so well. I mean, the biggest candidate they got in the country is, you know, people are saying he's a communist. And you say, "No, wait a minute. I'm not a communist.
[6:59]I'm a socialist." As if that's a selling point. And so, everybody's just looking for cover. And the truth is, we need to just get to the bottom of it. And my biggest concern in this whole thing
[7:09]because I'm one that I'm heavily in invested in this issue when I was in the state legislature I sponsored many bills castrating uh uh uh child molesters
[7:20]going after child born distributors um the first IAC laws I think maybe in the country some of them internet crimes against children things like that um and distribution going after those people
[7:31]and so I've held the hand of people that have been molested and they they carry a life sentence and and it's not right. And we need to send those people a message that we stand by them. And we need to send the dirt bags in this world
[7:42]that we need to be sending to hell like Epstein, who I'm sure that's where he is right now. This activity is not okay and we're not going to okay it. But I would warn people, they want to get a hold of
[7:52]these flight logs. And I get that. But the truth is a lot of people on those flight logs are going to be innocent. They're not I mean, you know, just because they didn't have to go to the island if they flew from Florida to New
[8:03]York or somewhere in between on that plane, you know, that that doesn't mean they're a pedophile. And I and you know, who knew Epstein was involved with this until the news broke on him. So, there's
[8:14]a lot of questions that need to be answered. And I hope that we move forward in a judicious manner. And I think the president's move with the um attorney general Bondi is the correct move. And I think it's a move in the
[8:26]right direction. Were you insulted when the president said that those expressing opinions like you just did had fallen for the Democratic hoax and need to move
[8:35]on? >> Not really. Look, my skin's about that thick. I've been in Congress for a long time. I've got I got an 18-year-old daughter, dude. I think I can handle a
[8:46]little criticism. Um, so I but no, you know, I it's the game you play up here. And honestly, the one thing Trump does is dad gum, he wins. You can't you can say what you want to about him, but you
[8:58]know where Iran's nuclear situation, he drops a bomb, huge operation. No Americans lose their lose their lives. Uh the big beautiful bill, he wants to
[9:08]get it signed by on the 4th of July. No way that's going to happen. Boom. Trump gets involved. It's there. The cryptocurrency bill, my own Senator Hagert's involvement there. That deal was not going to happen. The president
[9:19]wanted it on his desk by last Friday. I'm sitting in a room with a a group of very conservative Republicans, myself, um Whip Emer, Speaker um Speaker Johnson, and lo and behold, the
[9:30]president calls and starts answering everybody's dad gum question and guess what? They ended up passing that bill and guess what? The president signed it on Friday. So, he definitely has a
[9:40]strategy in this and it's winning and he does a very good job at it. Critics aside, he keeps winning and America responds to that. And I I think we're moving in the right direction. But do I think we'll ever get all the answers?
[9:52]No. Because in my mind, I'm thinking the Biden administration had this thing for four years. And if they had anywhere near Donald Trump, you know, you know, they would have released that stuff, but
[10:02]they didn't. And now we don't know if what files we've got have been tampered with. And you know, this town is crooked as a dog's leg, brother. and we need to realize that and just and figure out what we can do with it.
[10:14]>> You spoke eloquently a moment ago about your long involvement on this issue of those who have been victims of either sex trafficking or molestation by adults. >> When the Trump administration in its
[10:26]two-part memo, two-page memo said there were more than a thousand victims. That surprised people who were very, very familiar with this Epstein matter. And that led them to wonder if there are not
[10:37]avenues of prosecution for accompllices of Jeffrey Epstein and Galain Maxwell and that the evidence that the Trump administration has yet to release might
[10:48]lead to successful prosecution of accompllices. I'm trying to focus on the victims here. The politics are the politics. They will run their course.
[11:00]But if these files are not released and prosecutions aren't commenced, are victims being mishandled
[11:09]by the justice system? I think quite a lot. I think they're they get abused a second time. Maybe not as bad as the first time. But again, I
[11:18]think we need to be very cautious in these files that we do not release because these were children at the time. Now, of course, they're adults, maybe 30s, 40s, but they still carry those
[11:28]scars, mostly internal. And I would I would dare say that I I think we should air on the side of caution. And but and two, you're going to find out a lot of these people do not want to come forward
[11:39]and they will not come forward for fear of just not just retribution, but but shame. And that's just a disgrace to our country and where we are as a nation now. We ought to embrace these people
[11:50]and love them because they are innocent in this thing because some dirt bag took advantage of them. And uh I can talk about the mind issues and all that and the and the scars these people carry.
[12:01]I've studied it for years. Hey, look, when I I live in a very conservative area, West Knoxville and East Tennessee. And you know, Dad G, when I proposed some of this legislation, I got calls
[12:11]from people in my neighborhood that I knew that had been abused. I got I was on several different media outlets where people that were interviewing me literally after the cameras stopped
[12:23]rolling and then we walked away, they confided me in the fact that that they'd been abused. This is an epidemic across our country. And part of it is is the stigma we attach to it. And every time
[12:34]we try to brush something like this away or blame the victim or anything, it to me it just sends this thing further and further down a hole. And I again, I'm not being over boisterous and being a
[12:46]redneck, but I think we need to arrange a meeting with these people and the devil as soon as possible because they are on a straight path to hell as far as I'm concerned. And I look, I I'm going
[12:55]to meet my maker one day. Jesus had a saying about how you treat the least amongst you. And surely these little people are the least amongst us. And uh I honestly don't want to meet my maker one day. And he said, "What did you do
[13:07]for my for the least amongst us?" cuz I want to say, "Well, well, dad gum it, I kept my word and I went after the people that went after them." And I I would hope I could do that with a clear conscience.
[13:17]>> Not being overzealous or anything. Yes. >> Even if that gets you crossways with the Trump Justice Department, >> I'll answer ultimately answer to the
[13:27]Lord, sir. And that's I I dare say that's that is going to be that that would weigh on my conscience a lot more than than making political points. And I get it. Look, this game it's tough to
[13:39]raise money. It's even tougher for somebody like me because when I take on the machine, but I got I'm not crosswise with Trump at anything on this. I think he's going about it the right way. I think these files need to be released
[13:50]the one that he's talking about. And I think that is a great start and a great sign to this country because the Biden administration had four years and didn't do anything. >> Congressman Tim Burchett, Tennessee, I appreciate it, sir. Thanks very much for
[14:01]your time. >> Thank you, brother. It's been a pleasure and good luck on your show. I'm I'm begging it. >> Thank you. Harvard argued in federal court today that the First Amendment is on the line
[14:13]as it fights the Trump administration in its efforts to cut $2.6 billion in federal funding. The government counter that acts of anti-semitism on campus violated federal law. In a social media
[14:23]post, President Trump preemptively denounced the presiding judge, vowing an appeal if the administration loses. CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levenson joins me now. Jessica, always good to
[14:34]have you with us. for my audience's benefit because they probably weren't following it as closely as you are and can't describe it as accurately and as cogently as you can. What happened in
[14:44]court today and what do you make of the president preemptively denouncing the judge and what might come? >> Well, I'll maybe I'll take the second
[14:53]part first, which is to say what what happened in court today is that I think it was a good day for Harvard. They're making an argument here that the Trump administration has violated the
[15:04]Constitution. the First Amendment by freezing their funding and that the Trump administration has violated a statute, the Administrative Procedures Act, by the way went about freezing
[15:15]their funding. So Harvard is saying basically you're you're violating individual rights, the First Amendment. You're targeting us based on what we're saying or what we refuse to say and you
[15:26]haven't gone through the proper process to try and cut off this more than $2 billion in funding. And I think the judge in her questioning today uh was
[15:36]sympathetic to Harvard's case here. So that brings us to the second part which is what is the president doing kind of preemptively criticizing the judge. I think the president saw what the rest of
[15:47]us saw which is that this is a judge who was pretty dubious of the Trump administration's position. Very briefly, their position is that they have the power to cut this federal funding
[15:58]because this is just a simple contracts issue and the Trump admin and the Harvard, excuse me, no longer has policies that are consistent with the Trump administration. So, I think this
[16:08]is the president laying the groundwork for what he thinks will be a loss in federal court. >> There is this aura around this case that both sides would prefer to settle. But
[16:19]settlements don't just fall out of the sky. they arrive by some determination by one of the litigants. Do you see any path toward that? >> Well, you know, there's nothing that
[16:30]motivates parties to settle like the eve of trial, which is essentially what happened today. This was a motion for summary judgement, meaning Harvard is saying and the Trump administration is
[16:40]saying, "We don't need a jury. We don't need factfinders here. we can let the judge decide because the legal standard is there's no genuine dispute about the material facts. Now, because there
[16:52]wasn't a settlement thus far, um it means, I think, that both sides potentially could wait until the judge rules. Harvard has said we need to hear from you by September 3rd, or else the
[17:03]Trump administration will argue that essentially we can't claw back this federal funding. Um but I don't know what happens next. Neither do I, but Jessica, you always
[17:14]illuminate and I appreciate it very much. >> Thank you. >> Still to come, Betto Oor. Will he run for the Senate again? As Republicans
[17:25]prepare to redraw district lines in Texas, OORC tells fellow Democrats, "Be ruthless." The president says he won on immigration
[17:35]and leans on that issue regularly. And yet, new CBS News polling shows declining support for the administration's aggressive deportation policies.
[17:46]Are there genuine divisions between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? United on Iran for sure, but there may be new strains over Syria and Gaza. We will explore that all
[17:58]ahead here on the Takeout. [Music] Welcome back. Although political
[18:08]forecasters see the Republican party as the favorite to win next year's Texas Senate race, a new analysis has shifted the contest ever so slightly in the Democrat's favor. Could this inspire
[18:19]former Texas Congressman and presidential candidate Betto Oor to announce a second Senate bid? We discussed that and much more just a bit earlier today. Let's talk about your
[18:30]future. Are you going to run for the Senate next year? >> I don't know. Um the the question I'm trying to answer is how can I be as useful and helpful as I possibly can at
[18:42]this moment. Country clearly has never been through anything like this. the center of the trouble that we face in America. We really find in Texas where as you know um today the governor has
[18:53]commenced a special session where they are planning to redraw up to five congressional districts to help the president maintain his purchase on power in the House of Representatives. I'm holding town hall meetings. I'm
[19:04]registering people to vote. I'm traveling outside of Texas to preach the gospel of Texas and try to build support and reserves for the fight that we have back home. And if that resolves in a
[19:16]candidacy, if it means that I continue to work as a private citizen and a volunteer, um if it's something else, it really doesn't matter to me. But for me, like so many Americans, my kids, they're
[19:27]my conscience. And they're going to ask me at some point, hey, when all this was breaking down in America, what did you do? And I want to be able to say, I did everything I possibly could. And so that's my north star right now. And it
[19:38]it has brought me here to you today. With all respect, that does sound in certain ways to be a cautiously political answer to a direct question. >> Yeah.
[19:49]>> How are you weighing whether or not to do this? Because it's not just a decision for you. It's a decision that has implications for those who've already announced for this race >> and for those who are trying to figure
[20:00]out whether they should wait for you. >> So, can you can you offer me some clarity? >> Sure, I I will. And I think >> maybe a timeline or somehow how are you going to weigh this?
[20:10]>> Yeah. So, so the answer is honest. I don't know. The criteria that I'm I'm thinking through um are a result of my experience running for statewide office. You know, in 2018, we got within 2 and a
[20:21]half% of Ted Cruz. It was transformational for the state of Texas. It was amazing. But at the end of the day, we didn't win. And I'm convinced that if I had been joined with other powerful, strong candidates for
[20:33]governor, attorney general, lieutenant governor, one of us, maybe all of us would have punched through in in 2018 and we would be living in a different America now. So, you know, could I win the Democratic primary for Senate in
[20:44]Texas? I think I could. Um, is that the right thing to do if I don't also have a team of powerful candidates who can complement one another, be mutually supportive, and make sure that we
[20:55]actually win? because this is not going to be graded on effort. This will really decide the balance of power in America. So, for all the reasons you just gave, I'm I'm really making sure that I make
[21:05]this about the people of Texas and the people of this country, not about what I feel or want to do or what might be good for my political career, but what's really going to help. So, traveling and
[21:15]listening to people is is always the best way for me to think through an issue. you can get lost in your own head. But if you're out in Abalene or Fort Worth or Tyler, Texas, and you're
[21:26]with the people that you actually want to serve, they'll they'll tell you what's most important to them, and they'll tell you what they're looking for in a leader, and then I can reflect on that and think about what it's going to take to actually bring it to pass,
[21:37]either again as a candidate or someone who's supporting candidates. >> Better, what happened to you in 2018? Was that a false positive for Texas Democrats? meaning he was closer. It looked closer than it actually was
[21:48]because your subsequent statewide efforts did not come close to what happened in 2018. The 2024 election was a much bigger blowout than 2020 or 2016. There is a
[21:59]narrative that Democrats keep white whaling themselves into believing they're going to get something out of Texas that ain't going to be got. It was actually closer than it looked. And I I'll explain. You know, not only did I
[22:10]win more Democratic votes than than any predecessor, the first Democrats in ' 64 with LBJ to win the five major urban areas and their surrounding counties.
[22:20]Below ballot, 12 insurgent Democrats defeated 12 incumbent Republicans for the state house. Colin Allred defeated Pete Sessions. Entrenched incumbent member of Congress. We saw Lizzie Panel Fletcher do it in the South. And then in
[22:31]Houston, Texas, 17 black women won election to judicial positions. Major, it was so transformative that when the legislature met in 2019 and then again in 2021, they changed the voting laws to
[22:42]make Texas bar none the toughest state in the nation in which to register to vote and in which to cast a ballot. And those voter restrictions are targeted at those who are most likely to vote for Democrats. It doesn't explain
[22:54]everything. And so I don't want to tell you that that's the only reason that Democrats have not been winning in the state of Texas, but it is a big part of the answer. And it's why I'm so focused and have been for the last six years on
[23:06]registering the Texans that we need to win and then helping those newly registered Texans navigate the most byzantine set of election laws anywhere in America certainly since uh you know
[23:16]Jim Crow and and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. So Texas is very much there. um the the extremism that you see, the abortion ban, uh leading the nation in gun violence, you know, 3 years after
[23:28]UVA, nothing's changed to make it less likely that any other child meet the same fate as those 19 kids. That's not what most of us in the state want. But when you have more than 9 million registered Texans not casting a ballot
[23:40]in the gubanatorial election, so many millions sitting it out in 2024, I think that reflects not so much that we're a red state, but a non-voting state. The task for me and anybody working on this
[23:51]is how do we get people to vote? >> You said recently that Texas Democrats need to be ruthless or maybe Democrats nationwide need to be ruthless on this question of redistricting. What did you mean by that?
[24:02]>> You know, I think far too often Democrats are more interested in being right than they are in being in power. And what I've seen of today's modern Republicans under Donald Trump is they care more about being in power than
[24:13]anything else, including being right or ethical or moral or working within the law. Uh, I'm not encouraging Democrats to break the law, but redistricting as an example. Let's match fire with fire.
[24:25]In California, Governor Muome arguably has the power to help redraw districts in that state to Democratic advantage. Now, I know no one likes members of Congress choosing their their own
[24:35]voters, uh, myself included. But we don't have a chance to change that until we actually win power. And if we're coloring in the lines while the Republicans are tearing up the coloring book right in front of us, we're going
[24:46]to continue to lose power and be less relevant to the Americans that we want to support and help. And look, um this may sound hyperbolic to to some of your viewers and and listeners and maybe even
[24:56]to you, but Trump has promised that he is going to pursue a third term. He told us before he was elected he would be a dictator on day one. He joked, or maybe he didn't joke, that you vote in this
[25:06]election in 2024, you'll never have to vote again. If we do not win a majority in the House of Representatives, we will have lost our best check on tyranny, on
[25:18]fascism, and authoritarianism in the United States of America. That that is my core belief. And we will have some answering to do if if we fail at this moment of truth. Our kids, our grandkids
[25:28]are going to be wondering, why didn't you step up and save this country when you had the chance? So, not everything is going to appeal to everyone, but we must do everything we can with what we have right now or we're going to lose the republic.
[25:39]>> Is America a tyrannical country now? >> It it is descending into it uh as as quickly as anyone has seen anyone in living memory. Uh we've never seen a crisis of constitution, rule of law, or
[25:51]government of the people, by the people, for the people since perhaps the the attacks that that preceded the Civil War and the loss of more than 300,000
[26:01]Union dead, to preserve this country as a a free nation, and to end slavery, and defeat the Confederacy. I sure as hell hope that this does not descend into
[26:12]further violence and armed conflict. I want us to resolve this democratically, peacefully and nonviolently, but within those parameters, let us do everything that we can because if we fail to do
[26:24]that, the other side is going to consolidate this power and it might very well spend the spell the end of this noble experiment. You can watch my full interview. It runs
[26:35]40 minutes or so with better or on our takeout YouTube page. You can also listen to it on our podcast feed. Moving on. Their former names and logos were
[26:45]considered racist, but now President Trump wants the Washington football and Cleveland baseball teams to change them back. What's behind this suggestion from the White House? Next, right here on the
[26:56]Takeout. [Music] Welcome back to the Takeout. Thanks for
[27:07]hanging out with us. Here is a look at what else we and now you are watching this evening. President Trump's media company has purchased $2 billion in Bitcoin, cementing the transition of
[27:19]Trump Media and Technology Group from a social media entity to basically a crypto and financial services one. Bitcoin, which has reached an all-time high in crypto valuations, now comprise
[27:30]2thirds of Trump Media's liquid assets. Trump has also gained from other holdings in crypto in end endeavors. among them, World Liberty Financial and the Trump meme memecoin. All of which
[27:42]administration regulatory actions of course influence. Now to the flooding tragedy in Texas where officials in hard hit Kerr County lowered, it's important
[27:52]lowered the number of pie people believed to still be missing. Lowering that number from 100 now to three. Most people now have been found safe that
[28:02]were once categorized as missing. Even so, 135 lives have been lost. In the wake of that flooding, there is now a push here in Washington, a bipartisan
[28:12]one, to address severe weather warnings. Senator Maria Canwell, top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, and Republican Ted Cruz of Texas are calling on the
[28:22]Trump administration to invest in weather and early warning networks. I sat down with Senator Catwell to talk about this earlier today. The point is, we're having more extreme
[28:32]weather events, so we need to upgrade our technology. We need a more sophisticated forecast system so we can help get people out of the way and make better plans to do uh have those storms
[28:43]have less damage. >> And to do that, you need equipment that's in the air. You need equipment that's on the ground, that's AI, that's
[28:53]different communications mechanisms. Walk my audience through all those things we need. Well, I think of it kind of like a software upgrade. Our system
[29:01]is kind of a 1.0 and we need like a 4.0. >> You can watch my full interview with Senator Canwell on our YouTube page and of course you can hear it on our podcast feed. I want to bring in our reporter
[29:13]panel, Congress reporter for Semaphore, Elanor Mueller, and White House reporter for Politico, Sophia Kite. It's great to have you both here. Eleanor, I'm so glad you're here because you have new reporting on Trump administration
[29:23]policies and the cost of housing in America. Housing is an issue we have not delved into enough to my satisfaction, but I guarantee we'll do more of that. Help us do some of that right now.
[29:34]>> So, housing affordability is at, you know, near historic lows. And on top of that, we are seeing construction really slow, which is contributing to the problem. There's fewer homes being built than there have for the last couple of
[29:45]years. And so, there's obviously less supply and prices are going up. And so, that's what this analysis we covered this morning found. It was that the Trump administration's policies are contributing to bring these prices up.
[29:55]It's a combination of three things. One is his tariff policies which are putting the Fed on the back foot as far as cutting interest rates which is making building more expensive. It's
[30:06]>> the discord between the president and Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Fed. Yes, >> absolutely. Yeah. >> And the other two >> and then it is cutting administration funding to uh affordable housing
[30:17]initiatives. And then these discussions of what to do with Fanny May and Freddy Mack, the governmentbacked um mortgage uh processors that process a bunch of our country's mortgages. You know,
[30:29]there's talks of taking them out from the government's control, and that's something that would, I think people across the ideological spectrum agree, raise mortgage prices. So all of those things are creating possibly an
[30:39]unintended sense of freezing up availability both of houses being built and mortgages being accessed. >> Yeah. >> And affordable prices. >> Absolutely. Yeah. We're talking about
[30:50]rent. We're talking about the price to build. We're talking about the price to buy. All of these things are affected by um higher interest rates and slower construction. >> And that is one of the metrics upon
[31:01]which most Americans decide how affordable their lives are, what they pay for housing. Sophia, I'm so glad you're here because you have analysis and reporting on this lawsuit filed late last week by the president against Dow
[31:13]Jones, Wall Street Journal, and the like. You argue it's not your garden variety. Trump hates the media quote unquote clash. It's different.
[31:24]>> Yeah, it's it's a little bit different because this is like, you know, it's one thing to have a fight with your friend, it's another to have a fight with your family, >> right? And I think for you know for a
[31:36]long time the journal was first of all the Trump White House has a lot of you know personal connections with journal reporters and then of course >> Rubbert Murdoch.
[31:47]>> Rubbert Murdoch of course. Yeah. >> And Trump personally got involved is part of that. >> Exactly. So so this entire entity Trump tried to get involved personally calling
[31:58]the editor-inchief of the journal. They went out with this story anyways. and remind my audience quickly what the story is basically that there's a letter from Trump and a doodle drawing to Jeffrey Epsteino on his 50th birthday.
[32:09]>> Yeah. And and they have, you know, the journalist says that it's verified the authenticity of the letter and they've described the letter and the drawing in pretty vivid detail. And of course that
[32:19]angered Trump. So the war is on. And what we have now is sort of this two-pronged effort from Trump and the White House to sort of get back at the journal. One, you've got the lawsuit,
[32:29]right? The the second piece of this is kicking out the journals reporter from the Scotland trip which is >> which I know mentioned at the top of our program. >> Yeah. Yeah. And and that's big because I
[32:40]think you know in the age of Trump one thing that's really important to news outlets is access whether you like it or not access is important just the the ability to have access to the
[32:50]information um you know to to live being able to see the president in the Oval Office. And so I think something to watch out for now, even beyond the
[33:00]Scotland trip, is whether Trump will go beyond that to pull the journal from being in the in town pool. So because the journal is a part of the Dow Jones
[33:10]newswire, they're there every day that the in town pool is there. And so if that is is revoked, that would be an even greater level of retaliation against the journal. Eller, you also
[33:20]have some reporting on House Republicans urging the Commerce Department to create a fixed policy on AI chips. >> Yeah, the Commerce Department repealed the Biden administration's rule on
[33:31]artificial intelligence and they have not yet replaced key parts, including parts related to chip manufacturing. And so we saw House Republicans send a letter to Secretary Lutnik saying, you
[33:42]know, it's really important for us to stay competitive with China to do this as quickly as possible. Uh the White House it looks like is going to release a series of AI related executive orders this week and so maybe one of them will
[33:54]be the one that they were talking about. But either way, you know, speaks to the continued focus on this. I think I've said before scooped earlier today that OpenAI is going to be opening a DC office. So something that I think we can see Congress turn to now that they've
[34:05]done this spending package and this recision recisions package >> and crypto. Exactly. >> And crypto. >> It might als it might be this week or next week or some week not too distant future. Artificial intelligence week in
[34:16]Washington. Basically, it is every week whether we name it so or not. Mueller, Sophia Kai, thank you so much for coming in. I really appreciate it. New CBS News polling finds support for one of President Trump's key issues, immigration/deportations.
[34:28]Well, those numbers are falling. We've got them next right here. [Music] Welcome back. A new CBS News poll finds
[34:43]support for President Trump's mass deportation program is in a word eroding. In February, 59% of Americans we surveyed backed it. That number has declined by 10 points. This will not
[34:54]surprise you. Support among Trump's MAGA base, however, remains very strong. CBS News executive director of elections and surveys, your friend in mind, Anthony Salvanto, joins me now. Anthony, walk us through what do we know.
[35:06]>> How you doing, Major? Look, let me put some of that partial not won't surprise you stuff underneath what you just said because yeah, you do want to show this
[35:15]nine and 10 Republicans who support the program and continue to the movement that you described there at the top. It's come more from independents. And
[35:25]here's the why part of it. Number one is take a look at this. people saying now a slight majority saying that they think the administration is trying to deport more people than they had expected it
[35:36]to. That's number one. And then let me show you this. It's the who they think the administration is prioritizing for deportation. Increasingly they think the
[35:47]administration is not prioritizing people who are dangerous criminals. Those two things together are part of explaining that decline even why even
[35:57]while as you say that base remains solid. Major our surveys try to capture an evolving conversation in America about a hot topic and immigration is undisputably a hot topic. How is the
[36:08]American conversation evolving or shifting in any way when it comes to detention facilities and how those in them are being treated by the Trump administration? >> So two things on that. One is we also
[36:19]see strong Republican support, but we see a lot of opposition from independents, certainly from Democrats on the way the Trump administration is
[36:29]using detention facilities. Right? So that's number one. Now that nets out to a net negative, and that's part and parcel of that decline that we mentioned earlier. The other part of this though I
[36:40]want to show you is we asked if Hispanic Americans were being subject to more fewer searches than everyone else. You
[36:50]see big numbers say that they're subject to more. The part of that that explains this is overwhelmingly then people think that's unfair. And we've seen some declines. We've seen declines in support
[37:02]for the president among Hispanic Americans. You may recall he made gains with Hispanics during the election. So that difference there, not just part of the decline, but also a political one
[37:14]that we're going to have to watch. Major >> with the data and analysis, cogent as always, Anthony Salvanto, my thanks to you, sir. >> Thanks, man. >> BB acted like a madman. That's a quote.
[37:24]And that's what President Trump is reportedly saying, at least behind the scenes about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. why they may be growing frustrated, possibly increasingly so, with the Israeli prime
[37:35]minister. That's next here on the Takeout. [Music] Welcome back. White House officials are reportedly, and that's an important
[37:47]word, reportedly upset with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his air strikes on Syria. One of them told Axios he, meaning Netanyahu, quote, "acted like a madman." And there's also
[37:58]concern in the West Wing about an Israeli strike hitting the only Catholic church in Gaza. That incident prompted President Trump to call Netanyahu seeking an explanation. Steph writer for
[38:09]the New York Times magazine, Ronin Bergman, joins me now. Renin, you know as well as I do, one blind quote in one outlet in Washington DC does not a
[38:18]full-blown dispute make. However, is there something going on between the Trump White House and Benjamin Netanyahu that merits closer scrutiny and that
[38:28]could be on the verge of a break? I would be hesitant to declare what was declared many many times as the coming
[38:40]on the brink of very close to an explosion of the usually good relations between them. Uh, President Trump, as we
[38:50]uh, reported a few weeks ago, has turned from one side of opposing an Israeli or an Israeli American strike in Iran to agree to an Israeli one and then join
[39:02]join him. However, there seems to be a growing, I would say, unhappiness with the White House uh when Prime Minister Netanyahu is not
[39:14]following the strong recommendations, the ongoing strong recommendations from uh President Trump and his aids to
[39:22]finish the war. Now there is an ongoing discussion on an intermediate deal for hostages um that will be released in exchange of
[39:34]60 days ceasefire in exchange of Palestinian prisoners released. The problem is not about that um sort of um
[39:44]intermediate deal because most of the sides including Netanyah will take this. The problem is that Hamas is demanding
[39:53]US commitment not just for that, not just for 60 days ceasefire, but that this will evolve into and will not be
[40:04]the ceasefire will evolve into and will not be uh stopped for war and will result in a total sessation of hostilities, withdrawal of the Israeli
[40:14]army from Gaza, release of all the hostages and the end of this horrifying um unbelievably long and and and and
[40:24]cruel war and this is and and Israel for the time being is not agreeing to make such a commitment. Basically Netanyahu, Prime Minister Netanyahu has not agreed
[40:35]to end the war in Gaza. And because of that, because of um Hamas not believing that only US commitment are enough, we
[40:46]are not just we are not seeing the end deal, but we are also not seeing a small deal because it's dependent on US commitment and how much Hamas believe a
[40:57]US commitment that the US will be able to enforce a final agreement total sessation of hostility on Netanyahu.
[41:08]Ronin, how much have the recent civilian casualties, and I know and you know better than I do, rampant civilian casualties throughout this conflict, but
[41:18]casualties of starving or nearly starving Palestinians being shot by Israelis trying to obtain food. We mentioned the strike on the Catholic Church there. How much has that, if at
[41:28]all, created to this friction in this relationship? Well, you know, you should be a much much better interpreter of American
[41:38]politics and President Trump. Uh but I heard that President Trump is thriving to have the Nobel Prize er the the the the for peace
[41:50]as long as such a an ongoing war with so many casualties on both sides is going on. I think President Trump is seeing
[42:01]his vision or his dream to get the Nobel Prize just getting further and further away. With respect to the fact that it was Prime Minister Netanyahu who just
[42:11]recommended him to get the prize, I'm not sure that um if President Trump wants to get the Nobel Prize, uh he would choose Prime Minister Netanyahu as
[42:22]the first uh person to to uh to recommend. But I think that it it seems that the that the the Trump
[42:32]administration are trying to get this conflict done and over. And as uh we reported the New York Times magazine with my great colleagues
[42:43]Patrick Kingsley and Natan Odenheimimer Benjamin Netanyahu throughout the last almost two years under or during the Biden administration and under or during
[42:54]the Trump administration was repeatedly present on the timeline again and again and again and again in what can be seen
[43:04]as a Tjunction. If turning left, he could end the war, end the hostilities, bring back the hostages, and also have something very fruitful for him, which
[43:14]is a reconciliation with Saudi Arabia, the most important Arab country in the region. And he decided to turn right,
[43:23]not just turning right, but also to take the ultraright position of his government because he was afraid that this will cost him the coalition. He was more concerned of the integrity of his
[43:34]coalition than to end and be a page turner to another in the Middle East. >> The politics as opposed to diplomacy and an end to the conflict. Ronen Bergman of the New York Times magazine. Thank you
[43:45]very very much. I appreciate it. That does it for the takeout today. Stick around. The daily report coming up next right here on you know it CBS News 247.