Capitol Report Full Broadcast (June 29)

Good evening. Tonight on Capitol Report, President Trump pushing the Save America Act as the Supreme Court upholds mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day. Election integrity and confidence on the line. You vote against voter identification or proof of citizenship, the only people that would vote against that are people that are going to cheat in an election. The Supreme Court expanding President Trump's firing authority over the FTC, what the ruling comes down to and why it impacts a swath of federal agencies. A president, the right to do what the president should have the right to do. The U.S. and Iran set to resume talks after both sides' exchange clashes over the weekend. What the White House is saying and how oil prices are trending. Prices are way down. We hit $69 today. It was higher than that prior to the denuclearization of Iran fight that we have. This is Capitol Report, live from our global headquarters in our nation's capital. Here's Steve Lance. I'm Fiona Ji, in for Steve Lance. The Supreme Court delivers a series of major rulings with broad implications for President Trump, executive power, and election law. NTD's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley gives us more. Well, because of the mail-in ballot ruling, which was a little bit surprising, gives people more time to vote illegally, let's say. The Supreme Court ruling that mail-in ballots can be counted after election day, as long as they're postmarked by election day. The majority said that federal law only requires when voters cast their ballots, not when election officials receive them. 18 states have similar laws. California, for example, can continue accepting ballots for up to seven days after election day and can continue counting them for up to 30 days. Now, Congress has the power to pass a law requiring ballots to be received by election day, and President Trump is criticizing the ruling and calling on Congress to do just that by passing the Save America Act, which would require voter ID, proof of citizenship, and sharply restrict mail-in voting to limited exceptions, like military deployment, disability, or travel. That was a ruling that was, I think it was very detrimental to honest elections. The Supreme Court also issued two major rulings on presidential authority. The justices ruled that President Trump acted within his constitutional authority when he fired Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter. The Slaughter case was the big case today. That was really a big case because it gave strength to presidents and strength to the presidency. The ruling overturns a landmark precedent that limits presidential power to remove officials from independent agencies. The majority says that the FTC exercises executive authority, meaning its commissioners answer to the president and generally may be removed at will. Should we expect more firing as a result of this ruling? I don't think so. It gives me the right, and not me, it gives a president the right to do what the president should have the right to do. But the court reached a different conclusion involving the Federal Reserve. The justices ruled that Fed Governor Lisa Cook wasn't given notice or an opportunity to respond before her removal. Cook's accused of falsifying mortgage documents, allegations she denies. The ruling was procedural. The court did not say that President Trump can never remove a Federal Reserve Governor. Instead, it held that Cook is entitled to due process while the case continues in lower courts. And the Supreme Court also declined to hear President Trump's appeal in the E. Jean Carroll case. The justices offered no explanation, leaving the lower courts judgment in place. A 2023 jury verdict that found the president liable for battery and defamation against the magazine columnist. That means the $5 million civil award to Carroll stands. Trump continues to deny these allegations, calling the case politically motivated and lacking evidence. Carroll's legal team says that the decision effectively ends the appeals process. Jack Bradley, NTD News, Washington. And President Trump saying that peace talks with Iran will resume tomorrow after new clashes over the weekend. He's also responding to new Supreme Court rulings on presidential powers, as well as mail-in ballots. Joining us now live, we've got NTD's White House correspondent Iris Tao. Iris, always great to see you. Good evening. Give us the latest. Good evening to you as well, Fiona. So after the weekend trading of fire in the Shetland Moors, President Trump announcing on Monday that per request from Iran, the U.S. and Iran negotiators will now come to Doha to resume peace talks on Tuesday. The White House confirming and saying that Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner will head there for high-level talks, while technical talks will also be happening on the sideline simultaneously. The president today in the Oval Office saying that the planned talks will be perhaps important, perhaps not. The White House secretary saying that either way, the U.S. wins. Watch. Meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not. We're going to find out. But we're winning militarily. Either way, though, the United States of America wins. If the peace process plays, this MOU continues, gas prices will continue to tumble. We're seeing crude is lower than it was prior to the start in the United States of America has the best and strongest military in the world. The president retains the right to use it. It comes after the two sides resumed launching military strikes after Iran attacked two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz last week. The U.S. responded by hitting a number of military targets in Iran and Tehran, then fired back by launching attacks on U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain. On Sunday, the U.S. said the two sides would stop fighting for now. Oil prices are way down. We hit sixty nine dollars today. It was higher than that prior to the denuclearization of Iran. In other news, President Trump reacting to the latest Supreme Court rulings, hailing a win that grants presidents more power to fire leaders of government agencies and commissions. The president has the right to do this, and that has to do with a lot of agencies all throughout the system. President Trump also again urges Congress to pass a Save America Act. That's as the Supreme Court decides in another case to allow counting of mail-in ballots that arrive late. The ruling that was, I think it was very detrimental to honest elections. How do you vote against Save America? How do you vote against it? How do you vote against voter identification or proof of citizenship? The only people that would vote against that are people that are going to cheat in an election. And as the president criticizes the four Republican senators who are not willing to vote yes on the Save America Act, he's also admitting that ultimately that act might not actually happen due to the ongoing and current opposition. Meanwhile, the president in other news also signing a presidential memorandum today, meaning to really make it easier for Americans repair their own cars at home, saying that it will be now cheaper to get a third-party parts for your auto cars. Back to you. And Iris, still staying here in America, the president is also today again sounding this alarm over communism. Tell us more about that. Sure, Fiona. So the president today again doubling down on his criticism of communism, especially in response to a recent surge of self-proclaimed democratic socialist candidates in the New York primaries. The president today calling it the biggest threat our country has ever faced since its founding. They use the word social Democrat because it sounds so nice, but it's really communism you're talking about. I think it's the biggest threat to our nation. There is maybe since our founding that includes World War One, World War Two, September 11th. It includes the Pearl Harbor attack. I think this is the biggest threat to our nation. In recent weeks, the president has been stepping up his criticism of communism, including in recent weeks telling NTD that while communist candidates promises things like free housing, free food, and free everything, it usually leads to nothing but hunger, squalor, and death 100% of the time, he says. In another news, the president tonight announcing his permanent pick for the labor secretary. That's after he ousted the former labor secretary, and now he says he's now picking Keith E. Sonderling as the permanent labor secretary nominee, citing his service as former acting and deputy labor secretary. Back to you. All right, great update as always. Thank you, Iris. So a bit of a mixed bag here from the Supreme Court today for President Trump. Joining me now to break all of this down is Jim Trustee, former federal prosecutor. Jim, good evening. Thank you for coming on tonight. Let's talk about two sides to this argument. We've got Justice Amy Coney Barrett. She's saying that the federal law only determines when voters need to make a decision, but then not when those ballots actually need to be received. And then on the other hand, we've got Justice Samuel Alito saying that these ballots that arrive late ultimately delay the electorate's choice, which means that the actual decision isn't made on election day. So what exactly are these two stances trying to argue here? Well, they're arguing about really a principle of federalism. Typically, election day, federal election day is a creature of federal law. And so that day of second Tuesday in November is critically important. But the process has always been left to the individual states. And so you have different states having different amounts of, I suppose, tolerance for delay. And we're seeing it writ large in California right now where they're still counting votes in the primary. So Justice Alito, I think, takes an angle that's kind of recognizing the current context, which is a lot of people have very little faith in the electoral process right now when they see the lack of identification being required, where they see very delayed countings, and they see wild swings in the counting of the votes after mail-in ballots come in quite late. And that erodes faith in the fairness and the reliability of the justice system. And so I think Justice Alito has real problems just looking at what's been happening for the last eight to 12 years. And by the way, Fiona, it's not just something that President Trump talks about. When Trump was elected in 2016, you had Hillary Clinton and others announcing it was a rigged election and that Vladimir Putin was mastermind of it. So, you know, whether that was genuine or sincere or not, it's a different question. But all in all, the American public's gotten a little frustrated with delay in a lot of states outside of Florida, at least when it comes to the election side. Justice Connie Barrett takes a very, I think, limited approach to this. She basically says we're not here to opine on whether it's a good idea to have all the votes counted by election day, which suggests she thinks it is a good idea. She just says does federal law force the states to have a system that finishes all the counting by that particular day? And her conclusion and the majority conclusion was it does not. Well, Jim, I think you kind of touched on it already. But how do we interpret these arguments and this ruling in the context of the next few months in the midterms? Well, it certainly seems like it means the midterms are going to be unaffected, that the states will continue to have the exact systems they have in place. And there's kind of, you know, 50 different workshops around the country. There are, I think, 18 that allow pretty delayed votes to come in in the mail as long as they're postmarked early. I think Iris said California has about a seven day window. So that means uncertainty. That means a midterm where people are going to be frustrated with kind of the ebbs and flows of the voting pattern. But I also think it was no surprise that President Trump immediately pivoted to talking about the Save America Act. And so that component of the Save America Act having kind of a one size fits all when it comes to delay, that we have to have the votes counted by election day, that might get a little more traction than it would have in the absence of this ruling. So the ruling is bad short term for those of us that want kind of certainty and speed in our decision making. But it might actually help fuel the Save America Act, getting a little bit more traction because of its requirements to get done quickly. Okay, Jim, I like what you bring up because that's exactly what I was gonna talk about next, President Trump reacting to this. He's saying, quote, it's more important than ever to pass the Save America Act. Here's a clip of that, watch. Everybody should vote for this. This is the Save America Act, voter ID with photo ideally, but voter ID, proof of citizenship, and no mail in ballots, which is, to my way, I think it may be the most important of all because it's so corrupt. But you have exceptions if you're away, exceptions for the military and deployed exceptions, illness, disability, you have exceptions, strong exceptions. But the cheating on the ballots, the mail-in ballots, Jimmy Carter said it a long time ago, he said you can't have mail-in ballots. So, Jim, go into more detail here. How exactly is this SCOTUS decision going to physically impact the Save America Act? Well, I think it's not a direct route, but I do think that when people realize that there's not going to be this bailout by the Supreme Court, again, I think it's a principled decision. I may not like the end result of it, but it's consistent with Justice Roberts not wanting to have Supreme Court fingerprints over the electoral process. I think he is quite sensitive to the criticisms that the court has gotten in recent years. He realizes that there's a plausible reason to not get directly involved in kind of the federalism fight over how elections are monitored, how the rules are set up. But at the same time, we need something. And I think that President Trump actually raises a couple of good points. One that is kind of comical to me, I didn't think I'd ever hear President Trump citing President Carter with favor about mail-in ballots. But it's important that he says, you know, mail-in ballots when you talk about the Save America Act, it's not an absolute prohibition. We all recognize there are going to be circumstances where it makes perfect sense to allow mail-in ballots, military members being, you know, Exhibit A and maybe A through B or C. But then there's going to be other samples or other situations as well, in terms of people with either long-term travel deployments that are not military, people with physical disabilities that makes it hard. The problem is mail-in ballots have gotten so extensive in some places that it looks like abuse. And so that's a great point of criticism that it helps fuel the Save America Act's resurgence. The other thing I have to say, and the President didn't say it in that particular quote, but the idea about an ID requirement, you know, most of the Democratic opposition to that has been phrased in terms of disenfranchisement, that people are going to lose their ability to vote. And I think really that's a very condescending a bit of racism when you think it through. They're suggesting that minorities in this country are incapable of getting photo ID. And that's just an absurd thought and really an insulting one. I think a lot of mainstream Americans, the African-American citizens, they hear that kind of talk and they think, really? I've had a driver's license since I was 15. I've had a picture ID, you know, almost my entire life. And they have to, to function in today's society outside of voting. So the opposition doesn't seem principled from the political sphere. From the court, it's not really opposition. It's simply saying the Supreme Court and federal judicial involvement is not the way to fix this thing. And I think that hopefully with the President beating the drum, there'll still be some movement there and perhaps, perhaps bipartisan movement to get that thing off the ground. Well, it's really interesting, at least I find it interesting to see the discourse that's coming out surrounding this topic. But of course, this isn't the only case that we're seeing recently. We've got the other one where the Supreme Court we're seeing is now allowing the President to fire FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter. We've got Chief Justice John Roberts writing the majority opinion here. And he's saying essentially that the President must be able to fire anyone who acts with this sort of presidential authority. And he actually says, quote, then and only then can they remain accountable to the President and the President to the people. So Jim, how does this decision here fit into the entire way America's democracy is set up? Yeah, it's kind of a surprisingly deep issue. You know, on a superficial level, what we're talking about is essentially separation of powers. If Congress sets up various positions within the federal government, you know, what are they allowing the President to do when it comes to overhauling it? And so, you know, in some ways, we're looking at the job description. What does it mean to be an FTC Commissioner? What did Congress intend in terms of removability? And in that particular case, with the FTC, they basically said the President's the head of the executive branch. And so he has the authority to remove folks with very little process accorded to it. And that's a big kind of a sea change. And I think the bigger, deeper issue here is really about whether we want to return to kind of a spoils system of federal employment where the incoming President has at least the right to remove anybody he wants and replace them or the current system, which we've evolved to because it was much more a spoils system when you go back to the founding fathers and through Abraham Lincoln and through most of our 250 years. But the current system is more like there are a ton of protections in place for federal employees and only the very top of the entities get directly affected by presidential change. That creates an incentive for bureaucrats to stall, to say, well, I'm the subject matter expert. I don't need this President coming in every four years. I'm going to do what I want. And so that's really kind of the deeper battle that's going on in Lisa Cook's case on the Fed Reserve Board, but also this FTC case is does the President have the right to get rid of federal employees? And look, they're never going to be able to get rid of, you know, 100 percent in some foul swoop. I mean, the government has to function. But it's an interesting battle behind the scenes as to executive authority. And I think at least in the FTC commissioner case, they struck a blow for presidential power within the executive branch. So, Jim, let's talk about that other case you mentioned there. We're seeing the Supreme Court also ruling that the President isn't allowed to fire Governor Lisa Cook, Fed Governor Lisa Cook, at least for now, right? So the Supreme Court is saying that the President, he overstepped his authority, that the President failed to accord Cook the procedural protections to which he was entitled by statute. Why exactly this opposing ruling here? Yeah, well, partly because of that last thing you said by statute. If Congress makes a very clear decision about creating kind of a quasi-independent entity within the executive branch, then they're presumably going to have a valid restriction on it being something where you can only fire the person for cause as opposed to at will. Now, at will means whatever reason you want, you're not going to lose in court. For cause is a higher burden. It's a bigger protection for the person in that position. And I think ultimately, though, really this case goes to the simple fact that sometimes bad underlying facts create bad law. You push an issue because you really feel strongly about it. You bend the law in your favor and win at some lower levels, but ultimately you lose because the facts aren't that great. And the facts here that I'm talking about are as you had Bill Palty making a referral, or so to speak, to the President saying, I have evidence that Lisa Cook's involved in loan application fraud. From that same post, before he took over temporarily at the intelligence helm, he had made referrals about Adam Schiff and about Letitia James. And those are not kind of statutory referrals. That's just kind of a friendly heads up that he had dug up files and thought there was something wrong with it. The reaction to getting that information was to basically take to Truth Social, I think it was, at least to the social media airwaves, and to announce that she was being fired based on that as being a forecaused firing. Well, a forecaused firing typically means you have a right to respond, you have an ability to push back in some ways, and there's the availability of judicial review, not necessarily Supreme Court, but a court's review of that forecaused decision. So in this case, I do think the context matters. It didn't come off as a particularly fair sounding process. Even if he was totally right to be distrustful of her skills and her loyalty and her ability to manage the economy, the forecaused announcement sounded more serious than it was because it was basically an at-will firing. And the court spotted that and said, we're not going to allow this under the circumstances of the statutes that set up this independent body called the Fed Reserve Board. Well, it's been an interesting day seeing everything that's been coming out of SCOTUS. Jim, trustee, thank you so much for joining us tonight. And coming up, over 45,000 people are still missing after devastating twin earthquakes hit Venezuela. What's happening on the ground with rescue efforts in the country? And deportations are on track to hit a record high, surpassing 2025. This as DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen enters 100 days in office. More after the break. This is how I keep my joints happy. Omega XL is a powerful natural supplement backed by 40 years of clinical research. 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Our selection of sectionals has never been better. And we've got something designed to fit your lifestyle and your space. You'll have room for everyone. You can even customize with modular designs to get the perfect layout just for you. They're all in stock with fast free delivery. We can't wait to show you what's in store. Give your living room a refresh and shop the summer edit at your furniture superstore, Mathis Home. There's a whirlwind of emotion and activity going on in this painting. And this chaos all around and threat from below. The wolves surrounding her and they're anything but. They're moving all the time and we sense that. But this little girl remains unmoved. She's in quite a perilous situation, but she's completely strong and serene and she's actually meditating. It was very, very well liked because no matter what culture or what sort of walk of life you're from, I think people, they see it and they immediately understand what that energy, what that message is. And they they're drawn to it because everybody kind of needs a little bit of that in their own life of, you know, the steadfast calmness and something to hold on to. It's definitely an inner peace in the midst of something very chaotic and for a lot of people right now, the whole world is very, very chaotic. So I guess that's another reason why so many people are very drawn to this. Welcome back. I'm Fiona G. Tens of thousands of people are still unaccounted for in Venezuela after devastating twin earthquakes hit the country. Rescue teams are assisting, but a new video shows Venezuelan officials appearing to block rescue efforts in one part of the country. NTD's Jason Perry has the latest. Survivors of the devastating twin earthquakes in Venezuela were seen sheltering in makeshift tents on Monday as they deal with the aftermath. According to a Venezuelan website that tracks people missing in the earthquake, around 45,000 people are still unaccounted for. God lifted me up, gave me the strength to get up, to get my family out of there, and to help others who were there as well. But unfortunately, my daughter wasn't with me. She was in Tower 27. As of Monday afternoon, the death toll is over 1,450 people as rescue teams continue searching through damaged and unstable buildings. An aftershock causing these rescue workers to scramble as authorities have reported more than 430 aftershocks. But rescue efforts continue in the dangerous conditions. Also on Monday, a man who had been buried in the rubble since Friday was found alive. Interim Venezuelan President Delce Rodriguez posted on social media that the man had been trapped in the rubble for 106 hours. And Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Carina Machado saying on Monday that she plans to return to the country to be with the Venezuelan people during the difficult time. That will be her first time back since she left secretly last year to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Also on Monday, the U.S. releasing footage of a disaster assistance response team that arrived in Venezuela over the weekend. According to the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, experts on the team will be providing operational leadership and coordinating between U.S. responders and local authorities on the ground. But a video posted on X by Cheo 0607 appears to show Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello Rondon preventing rescue workers from entering a certain area. Rondon has not commented on the video, but social media users are pointing out that Rondon is currently wanted by the United States with a $25 million reward for information leading to his arrest. He's accused of narco terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy and conspiracy to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of a drug crime. Other countries such as Spain and Turkey have also deployed teams to Venezuela to help with disaster response efforts. Venezuela says it has received help from 24 countries which have sent more than 500 tons of supplies and more than 2,700 rescue and support personnel. Jason Perry, NTD News. President Trump says U.S. negotiators are heading to Doha, Qatar for fresh talks on Iran's nuclear program after weekend violence and fresh questions about whether the fragile ceasefire will hold. What can we expect from these latest high-stakes talks? Join Tiffany Meyer and National Security Analyst Andrew Harding from the Heritage Foundation for an analysis. That's next on Tiffany Meyer tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern. And Secretary of Homeland Security Mark Wayne Mullen will hit 100 days in office on Wednesday. He says ICE is on track to surpass last year's deportation numbers by the end of August. NTD correspondent Jason Blair reports. DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen says 2026 deportation numbers are set to hit record highs and surpass last year's in about six to eight weeks. I'd say probably within the next six weeks we'll probably pass what we deported all of 25, what we're going to do in 26, maybe two months. Mullen says there's been an influx of crossing attempts at the northern border, most of which he says are from Iran. But we're arresting three or four a week, which isn't a huge influx, but it's still three or four that we're having to keep from getting in this country. We're working with a minister there, my counterpart in Canada, to really try shoring that up. They don't want this activity in their country either. The secretary says missing immigrant children are still a big priority for the department. He says they're still working on locating 300,000 missing kids. We've located over 147,000 now, and not all of them have been in great condition. We've had some of the most horrific stories you can think of. Lance Schroer was nominated by President Trump over the weekend to be the director of ICE. Schroer has about three decades of law enforcement experience in Oklahoma. Mullen says he's the right person for the job. He's going to bring in professionalism. He's going to bring in structure. He's going to put in our standard operating procedures, and he's also going to be somebody that's going to be able to do it. Schroer's next step is to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before he can officially be appointed. That hearing is not scheduled yet, but is expected to happen towards the end of July. Reporting in Washington, D.C., Jason Blair, NTD News. And you're looking at a live shot of the White House. Mail-in ballots and federal firings at the focus of today's Supreme Court rulings. But the president has only one thing on his mind, and that's the Save America Act. More on the president's next move with our panel after the break. Every day, thousands of kids start vaping, and I can't let this happen to my kid. Of course, it's awkward to talk to kids about the dangers of vaping, eh, bestie? How it's hard to get their attention. Ready? Go. Yes, look at that. Yeah, you can turn yours over. So if you want to talk to your kids about the dangers of vaping, you have to get it trending, right, backpack kid? Let's do it. First, invite your kid to do the vape talk. Let's try this. All right. Why is he here? Yeah, I got to get it trending. No. Come on. Honey, can we talk? Yeah, what's up? I see a lot of your friends vaping. Visit talkaboutvaping.org for tips on when and how to have the vape talk. The first time seeing my son, I feel like my life did a 180. I was already trying to change my perspective of life and really just be a father figure that I never had. Being present is the most important part. I'm still growing every day, becoming a better version of myself to be the better mirror for my son. I mean, he's just growing. He's becoming his own person. Man, first I saw him dance. Bro, he brings the vibes. You know what I'm saying? He brings the party no matter what. He's really a definition of why he loves the body. And I love him to the death of me. We come from a long line of farmers, and there's a sense of pride in being part of these multi-generational businesses. But there's also a significant amount of pressure. My senior year of high school, my dad made the decision that this world no longer needed him in it. I don't know if he was overwhelmed by the bills and checks that weren't going to be coming in because of the strawberries dying off, but it breaks my heart that my dad made a permanent decision for a temporary issue. Don't feel like you have to go through it alone. Farmers have to take care of their physical and their mental health because what's a farm without a farmer? The mornings, that's my time. Watching the sun come up, I can have a cup of coffee and exercise if I want to. It helps me start the day with a sense of gratitude. Every day is a new opportunity. Don't forget to check in on yourself. Love your mind. Welcome back. I'm Fiona Ji. The Supreme Court today ruling on mail-in ballots and the President's ability to fire federal workers. Joining me now to discuss is Democratic speechwriter and attorney Madeline Somerville and Republican strategist Ford O'Connell. Thank you to both of you for being here. It's really great having you on. Let's get into this, right? The President has been wanting to implement more oversight on mail-in ballots. Here's President Trump reacting to that Supreme Court ruling. Watch. Well, because of the mail-in ballot ruling, which was a little bit surprising, gives people more time to vote illegally, let's say. But the SAVE Act is even more important, and that's the right. You have to be a citizen of our country. Okay? You have to show you're a citizen of our All right. So, Madeline, the Supreme Court's ruling here upholds this five-day grace period for receiving mail-in ballots. Do you think this could mean that the slow counts we've been seeing in states like California or even D.C. here will remain for the foreseeable future? I think that's the right question, because the reason why the Supreme Court ruled against the Trump team in this case was nothing political, right? What they said was that the states have a right to decide what that grace period is going to be. We don't have the right to decide that. The end, right? A lot of times, decisions from the Supreme Court, and as an attorney, I know this, are simply ruled on those kinds of procedural grounds. It wasn't a political statement at all, right? So if President Trump tries to say it is, it's not. Secondly, right, in terms of what states are going to do moving forward, because the President has said many times, even in this statement that you just brought here, that it's going to, quote-unquote, force people to vote illegally or give people a chance to vote illegally longer, right, which there's been no evidence of whatsoever. In fact, the Heritage Foundation has said that even in the 1980s, there's only been a little over 1,000 cases of illegal voter fraud ever. So he's literally making it up. But the issue is going to be that you have to fight back against this trope that the President has been pushing. So these states like California that take so much time, they're going to be forced to change their protocol, whether it's working or not, whether it complies with the law or not, because they've had to fight against this complete lie. Ford, I'll give you a chance to respond to Madeleine there. I mean, the President has been very adamant about election security. Do you think election integrity hinges on passing the Save America Act? Absolutely, it hinges on passing the Save America Act, because we honestly don't know who's voting in our elections and whether or not they're actually eligible to vote in those elections. You can cite the Heritage Foundation study where I used to work, but the bottom line is, in the 50 states, we have absolutely no mechanism to talk about ballot security. And frankly, this decision by the Supreme Court was an absolute travesty, because Congress established a uniform federal election day, which is the second, which is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. It's not election week, it's not election month, and that's the problem, because it erodes confidence in our elections, and it allows for what we call ballot stuffing. What do I mean by ballot stuffing? Well, with 24 hours to go, a lot of states actually publish the number of ballots that are in there in really tight elections, because you don't need massive fraud. All you need is 1,000 votes here and there to win statewide to places like Pennsylvania or Georgia. So this is very, very important to bring about, essentially, confidence in our elections. And the reason why I know that I'm right is because if we look across the pond to Europe, essentially, three dozen European countries don't allow any sort of mail-in voting, and there's a reason why France canceled mail-in voting for domestic citizens in 1975, because it was ripe with fraud. And it's not just me saying this, it's also Jimmy Carter in the early 2000s in a commission study that said mail-in voting will lead to fraud and the temptation to lose confidence in our elections. Madeline, I heard you there. You had something to say in regards to Ford's points there. Yes. Thank you, yes. So I think it's important to look at the fact. I don't know why we just take the facts and evidence and throw them straight out the window, right? I think it's important to have election security too. I think it's important that our elections have integrity and that only the people who are supposed to be voting should vote. So then we look at the evidence in 63, all 63 cases where different challenges came against the voting procedures or the ballots that were counted in different states, 63 different cases, every single judge said that there was not enough evidence of voter fraud to move forward. 30-some of those were appointed by Republicans, and some of them were even appointed by Trump. This is a problem that we're trying to solve that doesn't exist. And like I said, I'm fine for security measures. It doesn't matter to me. My issue is that you are constantly eroding the trust that people have in our electoral system. Beyond that, it's like all of our systems, the judiciary in general, we don't trust them, they're too political. We don't trust the CDC, they're too political. We don't trust any of our American institutions. And that's what you want if you are somebody like Trump who wants to come in and take over. So I think it's really important- I gotta push back on that, Madeline. All right, if you actually believed election security, you wouldn't have 13 states that don't have voter ID. Hold on, attorney here. By the way, those 63 cases you cite, okay, were essentially knocked down on procedural grounds, not on the merits because they said that they were filed too close to an election day. So stop the nonsense. We don't think you don't know. That is my entire point, and Democrats in no way, they don't want to have voter ID, they don't want to have proof of censorship. They actually want anyone to be able to vote at any time. All right there. Madeline, one more response to Ford's points there. Sure. I just sincerely wish that there was some evidence that would make a difference, because I know that this is the line that's being pushed by Republicans, and I don't care about whether somebody voted for a Democrat or a Republican. I don't really care for either party. I'm a political analyst. I look down the middle, and I look at what the evidence and the facts say. And if what you're saying is we don't know what we don't know, but you take all the evidence that's in front of you and you throw it out the window, I'm just begging the people at home, please, just consider what the truth is. Just look at what the evidence is that you have in front of you. Don't listen to me or any other talking heads. Just please consider what we know to be objectively true. That's all I'm asking. Then why are Democrats pushing back on voter ID? That's the entire point. Let's just take-. I would love to answer that. More than 80% of Americans, there's 13 states in this country that don't have voter ID whatsoever. Okay, and you only have about five states that actually-. Why would you allow people that are not citizens to vote in your own elections? It makes absolutely no sense, particularly at the federal level. All right, Madeline Ford, I'd love to continue this topic, but unfortunately, we do have a few other points to get to. I wanna pivot to the topic of immigration here, because we're also seeing that Mississippi is enacting that new law that would create this list of illegal immigrants within that state. And here's the state auditor of Mississippi explaining the reason behind this crackdown. Watch. We found that the state spends about $100 million each year on illegal immigration here in Mississippi. And so that money really needs to be going to teacher salaries, cop salaries, tax cuts, roads and bridges, the stuff that makes our lives better. All right, so Madeline, the auditor here, he makes an interesting point. Do you think this law is going to help provide less strain on the state of Mississippi? I think it was an interesting framing. So to be clear, there are 28,000 people whom they seem to be referring here, 28,000 people who are accused of being illegal immigrants. And let's be clear, illegal and undocumented are two different things. There are 1.2 million people who are in the United States right now who have just had their legal status revoked. So that doesn't mean that they're illegal. That means they're undocumented. They're waiting for their court hearing where they could say, please let me stay. I deserve to stay. I don't think it's funny. I think it's their life, right? So I think that right now- There's no such thing as undocumented. Stop right there, Madeline. There's no such thing. It's a legal fiction. There's a legal alien and legal alien. And the bottom line is you guys are creating this undocumented word just to actually mislead the American public. And what is the author of State of Mississippi saying? He's saying we need to know the scope of the problem. You said it's 28,000. We have no idea how many illegal aliens there actually are in the state of Mississippi. For that matter, we don't even know how many illegal aliens there are in the United States of America. The Democrats never wanna know the scope of the problem. They keep saying it's somewhere between 10 and 15 million. They've been touting out that number for honestly three decades. And after what Joe Biden did in the last four years, you can't even tell me we know who's in this country. I'm not defending him. I'm not here to defend him. Listen, if I may. Go ahead, Madeline. Yeah, thanks. So here's the thing, right? Undocumented and illegal are two different things. And the reason why this is an important thing to talk about is because the Democrats messed this up. They were trying to be politically correct by saying that people are undocumented versus illegal. There are times when you are here in the United States illegally, right? And that puts you in a certain category. But you can be here legally, right? You're legally allowed to be here and also be undocumented. And that is one in 10 of the people who are currently in ICE detention now. That applies to them. So they haven't done anything wrong. They're literally here legally. They're just waiting on their court hearing. And it's because Democrats confused those categories that the Republicans under Trump are getting away with this. And actually, I think that if Republicans knew the truth about this, one in 10 are here legally and just don't have their documents yet. Because they had, many of them, like I said, came here legally. They came here under temporary protected status. They got jobs. They're all working. Trump took their status away. They're begging for the opportunity to stay. They're waiting on their court hearing. And ICE is telling them, it's on video. They're telling them, actually, we have the right to detain you until then. Because we just changed the policy. There is no such thing as undocumented. You created a lie again. The status means that it is temporary. And it is up to the executive who's sitting in the White House to determine, actually, the DHS secretary, whether or not you can pull that. And then you're in this country illegally. It is that simple. There is no such thing as undocumented. And what's even worse is we haven't even discussed is you guys scamming the asylum process by just screaming asylum at a port of entry and then somehow saying that you're in this country legally. That is nonsense. Everything the Democrats want to do is essentially to allow everyone in the entire world to be able to come into the United States, the insurance circuit, the welfare system, basically claim we need to amnesty everybody because their policies are so wacko that the entire world then goes, OK, we're now amnestied everybody. I mean, that's where the Democrats have been. Ronald Reagan made this mistake in the 1980s. And the Democrats have now found a way to do this because it goes to the number of congressional seats. It goes to the number of electoral votes. There's a reason why the 13 states that don't have I.D. also have the largest hordes of illegal aliens outside of Florida and Texas. It's absolutely astounding. The Democrats don't own up to the political benefits of illegal immigration for their party. All right, Madeleine Somerville, Ford O'Connell, I'm loving the energy of this conversation. Unfortunately, we are out of time for tonight. Thank you so much for being on with us and sharing your insights. Good evening. And from preschool to college, China is making A.I. a mandatory class. Why top American CEOs are now ringing the alarm bells for U.S. schools. Find out more tonight on China In Focus with Tiffany Meyer at 930 p.m. Eastern time. And you are now looking at a live shot of the National Mall. The Supreme Court today upholding a Mississippi law that allows late arriving mail-in ballots to be counted. We'll hear from everyday Americans on the integrity of our election when we come back. Looking for a healthy and smooth tasting brew? Drop by Day's Coffee Roasters today and explore our wide selection of specialty grade small batch roasted coffee. Home to North America's first enzyme fermented coffee. We source a wide selection of specialty grade coffee beans from around the world and our baristas are ready to craft your customized brew. Visit Day's Coffee at 28 North Street, Middletown, New York. 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It was very very well liked because no matter what culture or what sort of walk of life you're from I think people they see it and they immediately understand what that energy what that message is and they they're drawn to it because everybody kind of needs a little bit of that in their own life of you know the steadfast calmness and something to hold on to. It's definitely an inner peace in the midst of something very chaotic and for a lot of people right now the whole world is very very chaotic so I guess that's another reason why so many people are very drawn to this. My graduation was something I will never forget. People like you and me sometimes may have doubts in ourselves but I feel that everything's possible. Find free adult education classes near you at finishyourdiploma.org. Welcome back. I'm Fiona Gee. Congress returns to Washington this week as Republicans seize on new questions about the Democratic Party's left flank while facing their own internal standoff over President Trump's Save America Act. NTD's Chris Bobb reports. I'm getting sick and tired of these Democrats getting by with claiming they're moderates and they're disgusted that these communist folks are being elected to Congress and the Democratic Party. Now they're claiming all this all this out false outrage about these leftists. They're going to move to the left. Their leadership will move to the left because they care more about being in leadership than they do about our country. Last week's Democratic primary victories in New York are fueling a new debate over the party's direction with Republicans arguing socialist candidates are gaining influence inside the Democratic Party. The Democratic Socialists of America are now hoping to build on those victories in Colorado where Democratic Socialist Milad Quiroz is challenging three-decade incumbent Representative Diana DeGette in Tuesday's Democratic primary. These issues are popular with the voters of Denver, right? In fact, socialism is more popular than capitalism for voters of this city. What we're fighting for is to extend that kind of guarantee and that security into our Political analysts say the race reflects broader dissatisfaction among some Democratic voters with the party establishment. I think that shift is a part of generally anti-establishment. The traditional Democratic Party and stances and positions haven't really met the needs and desires of the core Democratic constituency. So they're looking for something else. But supporters of DeGette say experience still matters. We need somebody who has the experience and knows how to deal with Congress now. And we can't wait for somebody else to learn. The renewed focus on the party's left flank comes after CNN reported newly elected Democratic congressional nominee Daryliza Avila Chevalier had operated a now-deleted social media account containing favorable references to communism, Marxism, Vladimir Lenin, and other communist figures, along with earlier posts calling to abolish police, prisons, and borders. Chevalier has previously said she has grown since writing the posts and is focused on serving her community. Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman reacted on social media, writing, quote, Will Democrats continue to defend Chevalier or pretend, oh, I wasn't really paying attention? Meanwhile, House Republicans return to Washington, facing another showdown of their own. Leadership does not currently expect to allow Representative Ana Paulina Luna's amendments, adding the Save America Act to this year's National Defense Authorization Act. Luna has warned she'll vote against the procedural rule if her amendment isn't made in order, threatening another week of legislative gridlock. At the same time, President Trump now has the bipartisan housing bill on his desk, after previously warning he would not sign legislation until Republicans advance the Save America Act. If he neither signs nor vetoes the bill, it would automatically become law in about 10 days. Chris Bobb, NTD News. Earlier in the show, we covered the Supreme Court ruling that allows mail-in ballots to arrive after Election Day, but what do everyday Americans think about this issue? NTD's Sam Wong was out on the National Mall in D.C. to hear from the people. How much confidence do you have in the I think it all depends on which state you live in. In California, being a Democratic state, we seem to get a lot of mail-in ballots and everything after the election is closed that definitely lean blue, and it's a little frustrating sometimes. Personally, I felt that there have been issues in the past that could better be solved with a little more stringent requirements that are streamlined and applicable to all the states. Either side are like overplaying it, and it's somewhere in the middle, but I do think always strengthening our election integrity is a great thing, and I don't think anybody can really be against that. We were just at the primary elections and the recent election, and there are very few turnouts. People don't turn out for primaries, obviously. They don't turn out for general elections, and a lot of times I think it's because they don't have faith in the outcome. My vote doesn't count. That attitude. Should votes that come in after Election Day still be counted? After Election Day, absolutely not. I think they should have a cutoff of Election Day at X time, and that's it. It's kind of funny how that always works for one side more than the other. Counting should be done within a week at most. If you're waiting a month like California does, it screams something fishy for me, and the way California designs their envelopes, there's so many things that you could talk about in California specifically that are somewhat concerning. I think we should have an Election Day, and that should be the day. I don't think we need early voting for a month and a half, and then let mail-in ballots come in when they come in with the questionable signatures. One final question. What do you make of the State of America Act? I would be supportive of it just because of the voter ID requirements. I think that is a way to safeguard that the people who are there voting are who they say they are. When humans are involved and computers are involved, I think there's too much, too many hands in the pot, but I certainly think that it will aid in being a more accurate, true result of what the people want. I think it's a good first start. It's a high priority, and the Senate and the House need to get on with it. I know the President is in favor of it. Full speed ahead on the Save America Act. And that's all we have for you tonight on The Capitol Report. Stay connected to the stories that matter. Visit us at ntd.com slash live or download our NTD app. From the nation's capital, I'm Fiona Gee. Have a nice evening, and we'll see you back here tomorrow.