{"id":198945,"date":"2026-02-02T09:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T09:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/meet-the-press-february-1-2026-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T09:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T09:45:13","slug":"meet-the-press-february-1-2026-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/meet-the-press-february-1-2026-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Press – February 1, 2026 – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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KRISTEN WELKER:
This Sunday: Backlash. President Trump\u2019s border czar takes charge in Minneapolis.
TOM HOMAN:
I\u2019m not here because the federal government has carried it\u2019s mission out perfectly.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
We\u2019ll do whatever we can to keep our country safe.
KRISTEN WELKER:
As tensions rise after two Americans are killed by federal agents, igniting a fight in Congress and a partial government shutdown.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER:
America does not support ICE terrorizing our communities.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES:
We intend to proceed with impeachment proceedings if Kristi Noem is not fired.
KRISTEN WELKER:
What\u2019s next for immigration enforcement? I\u2019ll talk to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. Plus: full release? The Justice Department discloses millions of new documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files.
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
I can assure that we complied with the statute, we complied with the Act, and we did not protect President Trump.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Did the Justice Department follow the law? I\u2019ll talk to Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California, who led the bipartisan effort to release the files. And: the Ken Burns effect. Our \u201cMeet the Moment\u201d conversation with the award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns on what the battles of the nation\u2019s past reveal about America today.
KEN BURNS:
It takes a good story to remind people of the thing that we share in common.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Joining me for insight and analysis are: Jonathan Martin of Politico; Adrienne Elrod, former senior adviser to the Harris campaign; and Lanhee Chen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution. Welcome to Sunday, it\u2019s Meet the Press.
ANNOUNCER:
From NBC News in Washington, the longest-running show in television history, this is Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Good Sunday morning. The United States government is in the midst of a partial shutdown, with congressional Democrats threatening to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security until they can secure what they see as major and necessary reforms to ICE.
[BEGIN TAPE]
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES:
Absent a path toward accomplishing dramatic change and making sure that ICE and DHS are conducting themselves like every other law enforcement agency in the country, then Republicans are going to cause another government shutdown.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
While the Senate passed legislation on Friday to fund several agencies through the end of the year, it only funds DHS for two weeks so reforms can continue to be negotiated. The House will take up the Senate-passed bill on Monday, ensuring the partial shutdown lasts at least until then. The killings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have ignited a firestorm, with protests across the country growing. Responding to public outcry, this week President Trump pulling Border Commander Greg Bovino out of Minneapolis and sending in Border Czar Tom Homan.
[BEGIN TAPE]
TOM HOMAN:
No agency organization is perfect. President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
Meanwhile, on Friday, the Department of Justice released what it says are the remaining Epstein files that are required to be released under the law, more than 3 million pages. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche telling reporters the DOJ did not protect President Trump or anybody else.
[BEGIN TAPE]
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE:
Yes, I can assure that we complied with the statute, we complied with the act, and there is no \u2014 we did not protect President Trump. We didn\u2019t protect or not protect anybody. I mean, I think that we \u2014 that there\u2019s a hunger or a thirst for information that I do not think will be satisfied by the review of these documents, and there\u2019s not \u2014 there\u2019s nothing I can do about that.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
And joining me now is Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana. Speaker Johnson, welcome back to Meet the Press.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Always great to be with you, thanks.
KRISTEN WELKER:
It is great to have you. And as we sit here today, we are in the midst of a partial government shutdown. So I want to start right there. The latest reports are that you\u2019ve spoken to Leader Hakeem Jeffries, that he has made it clear that you don\u2019t have Democrat support to reopen the government. So let me put this bottom-line question to you: Are you confident that the government will reopen on Monday with Republican votes? Do you have enough Republican support?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Well, let\u2019s say I\u2019m confident that we\u2019ll do it at least by Tuesday. We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town and because of the conversation I had with Hakeem Jeffries, I know that we\u2019ve got to pass a rule and probably do this mostly on our own. I think that\u2019s very unfortunate. Here\u2019s what\u2019s happened. You know, the House and Senate appropriators worked very well together bicameral, bipartisan, committee-led process. Especially after the 43-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history last fall. No one wanted to put that pain on the American people again \u2014 the Democrats forced it. We were insistent that we would not allow that to happen. But, you know, I tip my hat to everybody, appropriators in both parties, who got this together. After the Senate acted over the weekend, we will now have 11 of 12 separate appropriations bills approved by both chambers. Because they modified our package, they sent it over a little differently, which means we\u2019ve got to address the bills again. So they\u2019re going to separate the Department of Homeland Security bill. Our intention is by Tuesday to fund all agencies of the federal government except for that one. And then we\u2019ll have two weeks of good-faith negotiations to figure it out.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And just bottom line, you think you have enough Republican votes to reopen the government by Tuesday?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Yeah, because Republicans are going to do the responsible thing and fund the government. They\u2019re playing \u2013
KRISTEN WELKER:
But you have a razor-thin margin. That\u2019s what I\u2019m getting at.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
I have a one-vote margin, yes, for the rest of 2026. But we\u2019re going to demonstrate once again that this is the party that takes governing seriously. The Democrats play games with this. And I think it\u2019s very unfortunate because what they\u2019re doing is they\u2019re jeopardizing services to the American people. When you\u2019re talking about the Department of Homeland Security, remember what\u2019s included in that. You have TSA agents for the airports. You have the Coast Guard. You have FEMA. We\u2019re in the middle of a winter storm disaster on the East Coast. We can\u2019t play games with this.
KRISTEN WELKER:
So let\u2019s talk about what Democrats are demanding as a part of this. They want to see changes to DHS, to ICE, in the wake of the deaths of those two Americans in Minneapolis. The changes they\u2019re asking for include an end to roaming patrols, no more face masks, mandatory body cameras and judicial warrant requirements. Given what has been happening on the ground in Minneapolis, Mr. Speaker, do you support any or all of those changes?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Listen, there\u2019s been tragedies in Minnesota and in Minneapolis in particular, brought about in large measure by the circumstances on the ground. You have the governor and local officials there, in some cases, inciting violence. They\u2019re encouraging citizens to disrupt the operations of law enforcement. And it sets up a dangerous situation. So \u2013
KRISTEN WELKER:
But they\u2019re calling for peaceful protests.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Well, they are, but they\u2019re also saying to resist. They\u2019re also saying to \u2014 they\u2019re doxing the agents of ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And so when you\u2019re talking about masking, the reason that ICE agents wear masks is to protect their own identities and protect their own families. And in some circumstances, they\u2019ve had a price put on their heads effectively by local officials. And that\u2019s what\u2019s created the dangerous conditions.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But these state and local officials, respectfully, didn\u2019t pull the triggers that left these two Americans dead. President Trump has even acknowledged that ICE has made mistakes. Do you think within that context any changes need to be made to ICE and the way it\u2019s operating on the ground.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Yes. And look, I think President Trump was right to acknowledge that. I think he\u2019s operating in good faith. He said he wanted to turn the temperature down. He put Tom Homan in charge there. He was right to deputize him over that situation. He has 40 years of experience in border patrol and these issues. So I think that this is going to happen. But we need good faith on both sides. Some of these conditions and requests that they\u2019ve made are obviously reasonable and should happen. But others are going to require a lot more negotiation.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And you\u2019ll support some of those that you say are reasonable?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Yes, in fact, I was in the Oval Office with the president a few days ago when he was on the phone with Leader Schumer. And they agreed \u2014 and Tom Homan was on the other line. And they agreed to most of those conditions. But the masks, for example, the additional judicial requirement for a warrant would be a whole other layer of effectively bureaucracy. Remember, the immigration judges have already issued warrants. And that\u2019s with that ICE officials are acting upon. So there\u2019s a lot of details in this, we could get deep in the weeds, but we will do that over the next two weeks. And I hope that Democrats will be in good faith, as Republicans are, to try to bring some order to all this.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Are there any proposed changes you wouldn\u2019t agree with? They\u2019re demanding also roving patrols end, body cameras be worn by ICE officials.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
I think even Tom Homan has acknowledged both of those things are acceptable and what he was intending to do already. So I think we\u2019re on the path to get agreement. And I really hope that everybody will come to the table in good faith. That\u2019s what\u2019s going to be required here.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Let me zoom out and ask you about Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, as you know, there\u2019s been a lot of focus on her. Hours after Alex Pretti was killed, Secretary Noem accused him of being a, quote, \u201cdomestic terrorist,\u201d before the investigation had been done. She said he had brandished a gun at agents, which videos and DHS itself later contradicted. Do you think the Department of Homeland Security needs new leadership, Mr. Speaker?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Look, I think Kristi Noem has been called to do a very difficult job. Remember that the agency was effectively eviscerated for four years under the Biden administration, wide open borders. So nearly 20 million illegal aliens came across that border and many of them are dangerous, hardened criminals and even terrorists. So she\u2019s taken over a crushing assignment. I mean, anyone who\u2019s in that position would have a difficult time with it. I think it\u2019s important for all of us, at any level, not to prejudge circumstances until we get all the facts. And I think that that\u2019s been a good reminder to everyone. We\u2019ve seen now in the last couple of days that Mr. Pretti, that passed, was a tragic situation, that he was involved in at least in the week before that tragic event, in inciting law enforcement, and you know, everybody\u2019s seen the video now of him kicking the taillights out of an ICE vehicle. If local law enforcement had been involved, we have to ask ourselves this question. Would he still be alive right now? Because if they had apprehended him, and he was in jail safely, he would not have been on the streets to have been involved in that circumstance.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But you don\u2019t think kicking a taillight amounts to something that\u2019s punishable by death though. I mean–
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Well, no. Of course not. No. And that was a separate circumstance. But the point is, it is unlawful to impede the operations of law enforcement. And it sets up a dangerous situation when people do that.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But do you have 100% confidence in Kristi Noem, Mr. Speaker?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
I do have confidence in Kristi Noem. I think that–
KRISTEN WELKER:
Full confidence?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Yes. Yes. Look, she has a difficult job. I have a lot of sympathy for her job. I\u2019ve got a difficult job too. Look, I think that there will be a recalibration in some measure. This is President Trump saying that they\u2019re going to look at the way operations are conducted. The intent is to rid our communities of dangerous, illegal aliens, hardened criminals, who are here, causing great havoc across the country. And they need to continue that work. And that is fully supported by the American people.
KRISTEN WELKER:
All right, let me ask you about another major story. On Friday, the Justice Department released what it said were the rest of the Epstein files, a group of Epstein survivors responded with a statement saying it\u2019s not enough, saying, quote, \u201cEpstein\u2019s enablers continue to benefit from secrecy. The Justice Department cannot claim it is finished releasing files until every legally-required document is released and every abuser and enabler is fully exposed.\u201d As long as the survivors say that not enough is being done, has DOJ finished its work, in your opinion?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
We all want every abuser and enabler to be fully exposed, we want justice to be done. It\u2019s long overdue. But I do think the Department of Justice is complying with the law, that we have now 3.5 million documents, you have over 2,000 videos and I think 180,000 images out there. And as soon as they finish the final release, they give us the full report to Congress, which is required under the law, and then they issue, I think in the Federal Register, they have to publish why they\u2019ve made any redactions, the DOJ will have fully complied with the law and done their job. But think of the mass, the volume of documents that they\u2019ve had to go through. Remember, they have to go through and make sure that they\u2019re protecting the innocent. So some of these young women who were victimized, we do not want them to endure further harm. And so that\u2019s been the intention, is to make sure that their names are taken out of there.
KRISTEN WELKER:
President Trump\u2019s name appears throughout the Epstein files, including in many of the new documents released this week. Now we want to stress, appearing in the Epstein files does not amount to or imply criminal wrongdoing, but do you have any outstanding questions given that, about the relationship between President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
I do not. I mean, I\u2019ve spoken to the president about this privately and personally many times. And he\u2019s spoken very candidly and openly to the public. He says the same things privately that he does publicly. He\u2019s never had any concern about that. Remember, President Trump was one of the first people that called Epstein out. He kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago, off the property, because he heard of some of the nefarious things he was engaged in. He\u2019s never had any concern about that at all.
KRISTEN WELKER:
He did at one point call these files a \u201cDemocratic hoax.\u201d But let me ask you about something that–
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Well, what he said specifically was the hoax of the Democrats trying to turn this into a political issue and use it against him. That was wrong.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Let me ask you about something that Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, of course, who\u2019s now resigned from Congress last month, in part over this fight to release the Epstein files, this is something she said about you in an interview with The New York Times. I want to give you an opportunity to respond. She says, quote, \u201cI want you to know that Johnson is not our speaker. He is not our leader. And in the legislative branch, a totally separate body of government, he is literally 100% under the direct orders of the White House.\u201d Mr. Speaker, how do you respond? Are you 100% under the direct orders of the White House?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
It\u2019s comical. If Marjorie had ever intended conference meetings and been involved as a member, as she should, she would know that that is simply not true. I vigorously defend Article I of the Constitution. That\u2019s the legislative branch. I was a constitutional law attorney before I became speaker. The president and I work closely together because we have unified government. That\u2019s what the American people voted for last fall. They gave the Republican Party control of the White House, the Senate and the House. And the intention there is that you work efficiently and effectively together. So the president and I have conversations, sometimes multiple times a day, about policy, procedures. We have a lot of our discussions and sometimes debates together behind the curtain because you don\u2019t want to do that when you\u2019re in the same party out in public. That has made a very effective and efficient government. And I will say this. The first year of the Trump administration, that we just got through, was probably one of the most productive in all the history of Congress. And you can go back, that\u2019s what history is going to show. Very productive, very efficient, effective government. We had to reverse all the madness of the four years of the Biden administration. And we got so much of it done already and still more yet to do.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Is there any area where you do disagree with President Trump? Is there one place that you can point to?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Yes. But as I just said we do this privately and not in public. I\u2019m going to support my president. Our party is leading, we are governing, we have closed the border, we\u2019ve gotten the economy going again, we\u2019re fulfilling our promises. And that\u2019s why we\u2019re going to win the midterm election, by the way, and keep this going.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Okay, you take me to my next question in fact.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
I did that intentionally).
KRISTEN WELKER:
I want to talk to you about the midterms. And I want to play you something. This was in focus this week. President Trump said this last week at Davos, this is about the 2020 elections. Take a look.
[BEGIN TAPE]
PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
It was a rigged election. Everybody now knows that. They found out. People will soon be prosecuted for what they did. It\u2019s probably breaking news, but it should be. It was a rigged election. Can\u2019t have rigged elections.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
Is it healthy for this country\u2019s democracy \u2014 for the sitting president \u2014 to be questioning the 2020 election, five years ago, something, claims that have been deemed to be false, again now, that he lost?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
What\u2019s healthy for our country and our democracy is for everyone to be laser focused on election integrity. You don\u2019t have free and fair election–
KRISTEN WELKER:
But that\u2019s not election integrity Mr. Speaker.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Well, yes. Wait a minute. Yes it is.
KRISTEN WELKER:
This was asked and answered and litigated and relitigated, the page has been turned. He\u2019s still talking about an election that he lost, allegations which have been deemed, claimed, false.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
The president is keeping the focus on election integrity. It must be in the forefront of everyone\u2019s minds. Because if you don\u2019t have a free and fair election, you cannot maintain a constitutional republic. He\u2019s bothered by what happened in 2020, and we all know there was a lot of irregularity and problem in that.
And we\u2019re not going to relitigate it. That\u2019s not the point. What we have to do is go forward and ensure that we don\u2019t have these problems in the future. That\u2019s why the House has passed the SAVE Act twice already. We have further election integrity measures that we\u2019re working on now. And everybody, in both parties, should applaud that. They should support it.
KRISTEN WELKER:
You\u2019re saying there were irregularities. State and federal election officials called 2020 the most secure election in history. But let me ask you about what\u2019s happening in Georgia this week. FBI agents executed a warrant at an election hub in Fulton County, seizing ballots and records tied to the 2020 election. I want you to listen to what Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia had to say about this search. Take a look.
[BEGIN TAPE]
SEN. JON OSSOFF:
And here\u2019s the thing. This is a shot across the bow at the midterm elections. He tried to steal power when he lost it in 2020. We have to be prepared for all kinds of schemes and shenanigans. We have to be prepared for him to try to deprive people of their voting rights in Georgia.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
What do you say to that allegation that President Trump is going to meddle in the 2026 midterm elections? That that\u2019s what he\u2019s doing in Georgia?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
I find it comical that one of the senators from Georgia is talking about schemes in elections. Remember, Georgia was example A of that in the 2020 election.
KRISTEN WELKER:
There were two statewide recounts in Georgia, Mr. Speaker.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
They sent mail-out ballots to everyone, everyone knows all of the problems that occurred in Georgia. It was very controversial and remains so to this day because of all the things that happened there. Again, we\u2019re not going to relitigate that. But what we have to focus on is going forward to ensure that there are not questions about the elections. And that\u2019s why Republicans are working at the federal and the state levels to clean those things up, to clean up voter rolls, to make sure illegals are not voting, for example. That\u2019s what the SAVE Act is about. And we have to continue that and the president is keeping a proper focus on it. This investigation is to ensure that all the questions about the elections in Fulton County are investigated properly so that people have confidence in the system again. That\u2019s very important.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But there are really no questions about election integrity from 2020 that have not been asked and answered, even the Republican-led–
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
That\u2019s your opinion.
KRISTEN WELKER:
No.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
That\u2019s your opinion.
KRISTEN WELKER:
No. The Republican-led governor has pointed out it\u2019s been years and no one has ever come forward under oath with evidence of fraud in Georgia. But let me ask you, was it appropriate for the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, she was on the ground there, she is prohibited, by law, from taking part in domestic law enforcement. Was it appropriate for her to be a part of the raid on the election center in Georgia?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
I don\u2019t know. I do believe the DNI has some involvement and some role to play in ensuring election integrity. But I don\u2019t know the details of that. And we have to reserve judgment. And I will.
KRISTEN WELKER:
The National Security Act of 1947 bars U.S. intelligence agencies from exercising law enforcement powers.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
But we don\u2019t know that that\u2019s what happened there. I don\u2019t know that she was part of a law enforcement function there.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Okay. Let me ask you, bottom line. Do you have confidence in the results of the 2026 midterm elections, that they will be free and fair?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
I do, because of all these efforts and the legislation that we\u2019ve been working on and the efforts and the attention that we\u2019re keeping on this subject. I think it\u2019s very important. And again, it\u2019s not a partisan thing. Every American should applaud that and will continue.
KRISTEN WELKER:
All right. House Speaker Mike Johnson, thank you so much for being here.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON:
Always great. Thank you.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Good to see you. When we come back, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California joins me next.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Welcome back. And joining me now is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. Congressman Khanna, welcome back to Meet the Press.
REP. RO KHANNA:
Good morning, Kristen.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Thank you so much for being here. I do want to dive right in and start with this trove of Epstein files that were released. Of course, you and Congressman Massie were behind the push to have these files released. The DOJ says it\u2019s withholding large portions to protect survivors, to protect security. Has the Justice Department fully complied with the law, Congressman?
REP. RO KHANNA:
No, they haven\u2019t. They\u2019ve released at best half the documents. But even those shock the conscience of this country. I mean, you have some of the most wealthy individuals, tech leaders, finance leaders, politicians, all implicated in some way, having emailed him, wanting to go to Epstein\u2019s island knowing that Epstein was a pedophile. It\u2019s frankly one of the largest scandals in my view in our country\u2019s history. And there is a demand for elite accountability. But the survivors\u2019 lawyers that I\u2019ve talked to have said that the survivors are still upset. They\u2019re upset that many of their names accidentally came out without redactions. And they want to make sure the rest of the files come out.
KRISTEN WELKER:
You\u2019re talking about some of those big names being implicated. Are you suggesting that there should be more charges filed? Because at this point in time, no new charges have been filed against anyone.
REP. RO KHANNA:
I do think the prosecution needs to look at seriously bringing charges. But there are two different issues here, Kristen. There\u2019s some people who committed crimes, and that needs to be looked at. And we need to understand who were some of the associates of Jeffrey Epstein. Those names haven\u2019t come out. In fact they were covered up. We need to understand who may have abused or raped under-age girls. But then there\u2019s a broader issue. And that is that there are rich and powerful people who may not have committed a crime, but who are emailing Jeffrey Epstein well after he\u2019s a pedophile talking about going to his island, talking about wanting to participate in wild parties. And the American people are asking, \u201cHow are our rich and powerful people living in this country? What moral code are they living by?\u201d Some of those revelations are deeply disturbing.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Well, let me ask you about what comes next from your perspective. You\u2019ve threatened contempt charges and even impeachment for Attorney General Pam Bondi. And I wonder, are you at a point where you are prepared to move forward with contempt and impeachment charges against the attorney general?
REP. RO KHANNA:
Well, as you know, Kristen, Thomas Massie and I brought this up in middle of December. We still have not moved on it because we are trying to give the Justice Department some benefit of the doubt. They did do a release that was significant. I mean, this is the most documents that we have seen released so far in history. But it is not good enough. And so Thomas Massie and I have requested a meeting with the deputy attorney general. He said he\u2019s open to meeting with members of Congress. He said he\u2019s open to explaining why the redactions were done. So I hope that we will have a meeting. If we don\u2019t get the remaining files, if we do not get the remaining 302 forms, the remaining prosecution memo from 2019, and if the survivors are not happy, then Thomas Massie and I are prepared to move on impeachment or contempt.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Okay. Well, let me ask you about another aspect of this. Former President Bill Clinton, who is named in the Epstein files, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have refused to comply with the House subpoenas in the Epstein investigation. We should note nearly half of your Democratic colleagues in the oversight committee voted to hold the former president in contempt as a result. You voted no, Congressman. I do want to set aside whether you think the subpoenas are fair. Do you think anyone has the right to ignore a congressional subpoena?
REP. RO KHANNA:
No, I do not. And that\u2019s why I voted for civil contempt. And I\u2019ve also said that President Clinton should come before the committee. But he should come after all the files have been released. And he should come in conjunction with Donald Trump. But it\u2019s premature in my view to hold him in criminal contempt.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Alright, let\u2019s turn to the partial government shutdown that, of course, started this weekend. Democrats did not get the DHS reforms that you all were asking for. You got two weeks to negotiate. There will be, it\u2019s expected, a House vote on Monday to reopen the government. Where do you stand right now, Congressman? Will you be voting yes to reopen the government?
REP. RO KHANNA:
I\u2019m not just a no, I\u2019m a firm no. And I\u2019m going to advocate with colleagues that they vote no. Look, Bernie Sanders introduced an amendment. And he said, \u201cLet\u2019s repeal the additional $75 billion that ICE has.\u201d That\u2019s triple the budget. And that amendment, every single Democrat voted for it. It was not included in the package. I just don\u2019t see how in good conscience Democrats can vote for continuing ICE funding when they\u2019re killing American citizens, when there\u2019s no provision to repeal the tripling of the budget. I hope my colleagues will say no.
KRISTEN WELKER:
But you\u2019re prepared to shut down the government for an extended period of time after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history over this, Congressman?
REP. RO KHANNA:
Well, we can \u2014 we can bracket the ICE funding. We can open the remaining parts of government. There are a lot of other parts of government that we can fund. The ICE issue should be separated. And certainly I don\u2019t think we can be giving an additional dollar to an agency that is patrolling the streets of not just immigrants, American citizens. I was in Minneapolis. People, third and fourth generation Minnesotans were talking about tyranny. They were talking about ICE agents going to book stores. They were talking about ICE agents following them to church. What is going on in our country is a violation of the First, Second, and Fourth Amendments. I just in good conscience cannot vote to give more money to ICE agents as they\u2019re violating our Constitutional rights.
KRISTEN WELKER:
All right. You have joined more than 80% of House Democrats in calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over her handling of Minneapolis if she doesn\u2019t resign first. Some of your colleagues, including Senator Gary Peters, saying that impeaching Noem actually won\u2019t address the root of the problem. So let me put that question to you. How does impeaching Secretary Noem address the real root causes here?
REP. RO KHANNA:
Because it goes after elite impunity. I\u2019m tired of the country where the powerful don\u2019t have to take consequences. I mean, Secretary Noem not just turned a blind eye as Alex Pretti was killed. They didn\u2019t talk about the facts after it. They insulted Alex Pretti\u2019s death to the point that \u2014 read the parents\u2019 statements, as many of your viewers have. They\u2019re outraged that their 37-year-old nurse is killed. And then their son is killed. And then the government is insulting their son. There has to be accountability. Do I think impeaching Kristi Noem is going to solve the issue of ICE? No. But it\u2019s going to send a signal that you can\u2019t wield power without a check in this country. And that\u2019s what we have with ICE agents, smashing windows, following people to churches.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Congressman, just finally the Trump administration requested voter rolls from 24 states and the District of Columbia, and this week, as you know, sent FBI agents to execute a search warrant at an election center in Georgia. Do you have confidence that the 2026 midterm elections will be free and fair?
REP. RO KHANNA:
I have confidence we will have an election. I believe they will use every tool in their toolbox to try to interfere with it. But I believe that the American people will overcome it, will overcome it by having a battalion of lawyers at the polls like we did when we passed Proposition 50 in my state in California, like we did in New Jersey and Virginia when Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger won. We will overcome it by having governors make sure the law is followed and by just having a huge turnout. But we should be under no illusion. They will use every tool to try to make it hard because they know they\u2019re losing the public support.
KRISTEN WELKER:
All right. Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
REP. RO KHANNA:
Thank you, Kristen.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And when we come back, how will President Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown impact the midterms? The panel is next.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Welcome back, the panel is here. Jonathan Martin, politics bureau chief and senior political columnist for Politico; Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod; and Lanhee Chen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution. Welcome. Thank you all for being here. J-Mart, let me start with you. All eyes still really on Minneapolis. A lot of developments this week. We learned that five-year-old boy who\u2019d been detained now ordered to be released. You have former CNN journalist Don Lemon, now an independent journalist, arrested. Add to that all of the protests, all against the backdrop of the midterms. How do you think this plays moving forward in this election cycle?
JONATHAN MARTIN:
Well, look, I think the events of the last two weeks illustrate a president humbled. And you don\u2019t say the word \u201chumble\u201d with Donald Trump very often. But just look at his actions, okay? He backed off the tariffs going into Davos against the Europeans when it comes to Greenland. Said he would not use force against Greenland. Then the following week he backs off what had been the signature element of his presidency, which is mass deportations, by basically sending Kristi Noem home, replacing her with Tom Homan, and then effectively saying, \u201cWe\u2019re going to draw down in Minneapolis.\u201d He understands the politics of both are difficult for him. And I think that\u2019s why he\u2019s taking those steps. The question going forward is can he make any progress on what is still the central issue for most Americans, which is the cost of living. And I think that\u2019s going to be the challenge for him. He has a motivated Democratic base. He\u2019s losing the center, who are horrified by what they\u2019re seeing in places like Minneapolis, and they\u2019re looking for answers on the cost of living. And on that he hasn\u2019t delivered yet.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Lanhee, that\u2019s the key question. What say you?
LANHEE CHEN:
Well, look, the setup here is not great for Republicans as we look ahead to the midterm elections. If you think about it historically, President Obama in 2010, President Clinton in \u201894, they had approval ratings higher than where President Trump is now. They lost 50 and 60 seats respectively. So the challenge we\u2019re seeing now is that the focus on the immigration issue, which had been an advantage for Republicans, is kind of turning in the other direction. And you also have floating around the affordability question, which that is going to be top of mind for voters. So immigration was a huge advantage for the president, a huge advantage in the election in 2024. Instead of talking about border security, the sort of domestic stuff that we\u2019ve seen in Minnesota and elsewhere, I think has caused people to really change their minds and change their opinions about the handling of immigration. And it\u2019s turned a positive, unfortunately, into a potential negative.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Well, and another positive for Democrats overnight, Adrienne, we saw a state Senate race in Texas. The Democrat won. This is a district that President Trump won by 17 points in 2024.
ADRIENNE ELROD:
Yeah. Kristen, 30-point swing over just a short amount of time, slightly over a year. I mean, look, the bottom line is this: Democrats have overperformed in every special election up and down the ballot, including, of course, the two governors races in Virginia and New Jersey last year. A lot of state Senate races, a lot of legislative races as well. Because Donald Trump is not doing what he said he was going to do on affordability and he\u2019s taken an issue, as Lanhee mentioned, that was a very compelling issue for Republicans, immigration, and he\u2019s flipped it on its head and it\u2019s now a huge weakness for the MAGA wing of the party and Republicans writ large. So the question becomes can he solve this issue on immigration, and can he deal with the situation with ICE. Can these reforms be had, and can he actually try to turn that back into a positive by the midterms? I think it\u2019s going to be very difficult.
KRISTEN WELKER:
J-Mart, he\u2019s been very clear he\u2019s worried about the midterms, and we have this action in Fulton County, the FBI there conducting that raid. Tulsi Gabbard on the scene. Even House Leader Mike Johnson saying, \u201cI\u2019m not sure what she was doing there.\u201d It\u2019s fueling concerns about what it means for the midterms.
JONATHAN MARTIN:
Well, I think it\u2019s about two words: job security for Tulsi Gabbard. Look, I think the common thread here, whether it\u2019s Tulsi Gabbard going to Fulton County to go sniff around ballots from the election of five-plus years ago, or whether it\u2019s Pam Bondi at DOJ who cannot get an indictment on Adam Schiff, Tish James, and James Comey, who Trump wants indictments on. Therefore, trying to go out every day, every week and find some new target to buy herself time to keep Trump placated. It\u2019s the common thread. He has folks in his administration who are trying to do his bidding to protect their own job security. \u201cKristi Noem, I thought you wanted a hard line on immigration. That\u2019s what I gave you.\u201d It turns out that was too hard of a line in Minneapolis. She\u2019s now in some danger, I think, politically. So that\u2019s the common thread here. It\u2019s folks who are trying to keep the president happy. It\u2019s an audience of one. But it leads them to absurd ends. The head of the DNI at the Fulton County admin headquarters.
ADRIENNE ELROD:
There\u2019s no reason for that. Yeah, there\u2019s no preface for her being there, except to placate to an audience of one.
LANHEE CHEN:
The president\u2019s strategy has been to flood the zone, right? And he believes that all news is good news. The reality is that this election in November is going to come down to a very narrow set of issues. And unless the administration and Republicans can focus on these questions around affordability, there is going to be an electoral price to be paid. And the potential price of, whether it\u2019s what Gabbard is doing, all of the different stuff, at some point something will not stick to the wall. Something has to stick to the wall, and that something has to be an affordability message if Republicans are to be successful in November.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Adrienne, do you get the sense that Democrats are watching what\u2019s happening in Fulton County very closely?
ADRIENNE ELROD:
Oh, of course. Absolutely. And look, Republicans know that they don\u2019t have the votes because Democrats are outperforming, like I mentioned, in all these special elections. We are overperforming in multiple districts. The issues are not winning for the Republicans. So what are they going to do? They\u2019re going to resort back to the same tactics they\u2019ve used time and time again, which is to try to subvert the elections and intimidate voters.
KRISTEN WELKER:
All right, guys. Great conversation. Thank you so much for being here.
JONATHAN MARTIN:
Thank you.
ADRIENNE ELROD:
Thank you.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Appreciate it. When we come back, what\u2019s it like to win gold at the Olympics? Our Meet the Press Minute is next.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Welcome back. The Winter Olympics kick off on NBC this week, with Team USA sending its largest ever winter U.S. delegation to Milan. New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd wore the red, white, and blue at the 2000 Summer Games, helping lead Team USA to an undefeated run and the gold medal. And as the Olympics return to American soil in 2002, Kidd joined Meet the Press to reflect on what that moment meant.
[BEGIN TAPE]
TIM RUSSERT:
The Winter Olympics are going on in Salt Lake City. Go back to 2000 Summer Olympics. You win the gold medal. What is it like as an American athlete standing on the riser, having a gold medal put around your neck, and listening to the National Anthem?
JASON KIDD:
It\u2019s the greatest thing. I haven\u2019t been able to win a world championship, so to be able to represent your country I think is the biggest thing that an athlete can do, because you\u2019re going against the best in the world. And to be able to hear the National Anthem, you\u2019re sitting there on top, and you can reflect because you\u2019re representing not just New Jersey or Philly. You\u2019re representing the United States. And that\u2019s the greatest feeling for any athlete.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
When we come back, our Meet the Moment conversation with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.
ANNOUNCER:
Meet the Moment is sponsored by Vanguard.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Welcome back. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns has been capturing the past for nearly 50 years and chronicling some of the most significant events in American history, from the Civil War to the origins of baseball. He\u2019s been hailed as one of the most influential documentary filmmakers of all time, picking up multiple Emmys, Grammys and Oscar nominations. As America approaches its 250th birthday, Burns turned his attention toward the American Revolution in his latest series, telling the stories of the men and women who built America through sacrifice and struggle.
[BEGIN TAPE]
MALE SPEAKER 1: America is predicated on an idea that tells us who we are, where we came from, and what our forebears were willing to die for.
MALE SPEAKER 2: Colonists said \u201cno taxation without representation.\u201d The fear was if we give in to this precedent, what will they do in the future?
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
I sat down with Burns for a \u201cMeet the Moment\u201d conversation about what history can teach us about overcoming our differences today.
[BEGIN TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
Why was now the right moment to retell the story of the American Revolution?
KEN BURNS:
It\u2019s such a wonderful and fortuitous accident. The \u201cnow\u201d started ten years ago, more than ten years ago, when we were finishing up our series on the Vietnam War. And I was looking at a map of the central highlands, and I thought, \u201cMaybe this could be the British moving west on Long Island towards Brooklyn. Maybe we can do \u2014 despite the absence of photographs and newsreels \u2014 maybe we can do the Revolution.\u201d So I spoke up, and I said, \u201cWe\u2019re doing the Revolution next.\u201d No idea that it would come falling close to 250, come at a place where Americans are so anxious about the future. Will there be another 250 or another ten years, you know? And I think that that kind of existential, fraught moment gives us an opportunity to allow the story of the American Revolution, the complicated story of the American Revolution, to help us understand. I mean, history is our best teacher, and it can be a helpful guide for everybody, no matter your disposition, political orientation, age, whatever it is. History can be an incredibly important way to digest the present and then figure out what your response is and \u2014 and to imagine a future together.
KRISTEN WELKER:
One of the aspects of the American Revolution that you capture so powerfully, that you\u2019re referencing in this documentary, is the fact that a lot of people think of the American Revolution in glossy terms.
KEN BURNS:
Yes.
KRISTEN WELKER:
The Founding Fathers in Philadelphia crafting the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution. But this documentary makes the point that this was a bloody, years-long battle that claimed so many lives and that, frankly, impacted every single person on this territory.
KEN BURNS:
It\u2019s so pervasive. And I think we have sanitized the war. And I \u2014 I think it\u2019s out of an understandable fear that if somehow we reveal how dark and bloody it is, that it will somehow diminish those big ideas in Philadelphia in \u201876 and then 11 years later in \u201887, when they do the Constitution. It doesn\u2019t. They\u2019re made \u2014 those ideas are made even more impressive because of the improbability of the struggle, the odds against success, the time it took to do it the \u2014 all of the problems, the winters at Valley Forge and Morristown in which people are dying of disease. The \u2014 this coincides with a continent-wide pandemic or pandemics. And one of the big arguments of the time is whether you inoculate the troops. There\u2019s a failed invasion of Canada, our desire to make it the 14th state. I mean, the rhymes to this moment are so particularly helpful, because I think we can, as we Chicken Little, say the sky is falling, you know, everything is bad, we\u2019re so divided. We are really divided, but we were way more divided then, way more divided during the Civil War, way more divided during the Vietnam period. And so I see that division as sort of a mile wide but an inch thick, and it \u2014 it takes good story to remind people of the thing that we share in common.
KRISTEN WELKER:
And in watching this documentary, I kept thinking to myself that one of the takeaways, one of the points that you make is the power of this country\u2019s democracy and its fragility \u2013
KEN BURNS:
Yeah.
KRISTEN WELKER:
\u2013 at the same time.
KEN BURNS:
It\u2019s really true. And I\u2019ve found that in film, after film, after film. You know, we made a film a few years ago called \u201cThe U.S. and the Holocaust.\u201d And you \u2014 you realize that if you wanted to be in the most cosmopolitan place on Earth, where everything, and architecture, and cinema, and painting, and music, and thinking was going on, Berlin in 1932 would be the best place.
KRISTEN WELKER:
Mmm.
KEN BURNS:
And the next January, not so much. And so you \u2014 you see how quickly the veneer of civilization can \u2014 can \u2014 can be pierced. And the founders understood that. They were really trying to reverse engineer all sorts of things. You know, they put as Article I not the executive. That\u2019s Article II. The executive\u2019s the manager who carries out the wishes of the Congress. So I think if the founders came here, they would not be surprised at all that somebody was seeking more authoritarian power. They would be abjectly disappointed that Article I, the legislative branch, had abdicated so much of the power, because that\u2019s what they thought would be the bulwark against the inevitable thing. Remember, on July 4, 1776, most people had been, through time, subjects. And we were creating a new thing called \u201ccitizen,\u201d and it had a lot of responsibilities entailed with it.
KRISTEN WELKER:
I want to talk to you a little bit about you personally, how you became Ken Burns. You talk about the fact that the passing of your mother \u2013
KEN BURNS:
Yeah.
KRISTEN WELKER:
\u2013 was deeply devastating to you and that it was deeply impactful. Talk a little bit about your mom, losing her, and how that created who you are today?
KEN BURNS:
My mom got cancer when she was \u2014 when I was three or four. And there was never a moment growing up where we didn\u2019t have this horrific, impending tragedy about to happen. And I was even told when I was in second grade, seven years old, that she was going to die in six months. But she lived almost to my 12th birthday, just a few months shy. I got through the sixth grade or just almost through the sixth grade and she died. And my father would have this strict curfew. But he would let me stay up at night and watch movies with him. And I saw him cry for the first time at a movie. And he hadn\u2019t cried when my mom was sick or when she died. And I had noticed it. And friends had noticed it. And then, here was this emotional safe-haven. So I know in 1965, I was now 12, I wanted to be a filmmaker. And that meant, Alfred Hitchcock, or John Ford, or whatever. And I went to Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, which was brand new and experimenting. I came the second year. And all the teachers were social documentary still photographers and filmmakers, reminding me that there is as much drama in what is and what was as anything that the human imagination dreams up. And by the time I was working on my final project there in \u201874 and \u201875, I was doing a history film. And I\u2019ve done it ever since. Later on, in a crisis, my late father-in-law, who was a psychologist, I told him I seemed to be keeping my mother alive. And he said, \u201cI bet you blew out your candles wishing she\u2019d come back.\u201d And I said, \u201cHow did you know that?\u201d And said, \u201cLook what you do for a living. You wake the dead. You make Abraham Lincoln come alive. Who do you think you\u2019re really trying to wake up?\u201d
KRISTEN WELKER:
Wow.
KEN BURNS:
And so you realize that grief is this incredibly devastating force in our lives. But it also is a propellant. And sometimes as much as we want to order our lives, and have the metaphorical gated community against everything, and try to solve for any kind of free electron, we\u2019re really actually made often by the tragedies that we suffer. I am. I wouldn\u2019t be talking to you if my mother hadn\u2019t died. And that\u2019s part of the tragedy and loss of it. And it\u2019s also part of what makes us as human beings able to overcome these things and to say, not in a conscious way, but I have, in retrospect, been able to put the grief into the service of communicating to myself, my colleagues, and most importantly to my fellow citizens the glories of our story and all their complications.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER:
So powerful to hear from him about that. My huge thanks to Ken Burns for a truly incredible conversation, and you can watch my full interview with him at MeetThePress.com. That is all for today, thanks for watching. Make sure to tune into the Winter Olympics on NBC starting Friday, February 6th, and for the next three Sundays. We\u2019ll be back after the Olympics on March 1st, because if it\u2019s Sunday, it\u2019s Meet the Press.
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news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeKRISTEN WELKER:This Sunday: Backlash. President Trump\u2019s border czar takes charge in Minneapolis.TOM HOMAN:I\u2019m not here because the federal government has carried it\u2019s mission out perfectly.PRES. DONALD TRUMP: We\u2019ll do whatever we can to keep our country safe.KRISTEN WELKER:As tensions rise after two Americans are killed by federal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":198946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-198945","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}