Whats at stake in terms of fighting against hate and those efforts to divide us, and i do know that im in a position to do something about it, so i felt a great responsibility. And the incredible power of people, right, who and im not the only leader in this. Were all leaders in this. This is so much bigger than me. Vice president Kamala Harris Last Night talking to oprah about her rise to the top of the democratic ticket for president. Well have much more from that starstudded sitdown just ahead. Also coming up, the trumpbacked republican candidate for governor in North Carolina is vowing to stay in the race despite a damning report on offensive and racist posts he made on a pornographic website some years ago. And well bring you the latest from the Middle East as israel continues its attacks against the Hezbollah Terrorist Group In Lebanon. Good Morning And Welcome to Way Too Early on this friday, september 20th. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for starting your day with us. And we will begin this jampacked show with the gubernatorial race in North Carolina, which is being rocked by a bombshell report. Lieutenant governor Mark Robinson, a republican candidate backed by Donald Trump, says he will stay in the race despite allegedly calling himself a black nazi several years ago. An investigation by cnn found that robinson made dozens of lewd, offensive, and inflammatory posts including support for reinstating slavery on the Message Board of a pornographic website. According to Cnn Robinson made The Post between 2008 and 2012 under a User Name that he uses frequently online. Nbc news has not yet authenticated The Posts. The Cnn Report also says that robinson listed his full name on his profile as well as an Email Address he used on numerous websites across the internet for decades. Robinson was confronted with all that Evidence Yesterday in an interview with cnn, but denied making The Posts and suggested his opponent in the race used a. I. To try to frame him. This is not us. These are not our words, and this is not anything that is characteristic of me nor has it ever been or will ever be. Im not going to get into the minutia of how someone manufactured these tabloid lies. I can tell you this, theres been over 1 Million spent on me by a billionaires son. The things people can do with the internet are incredible. Donald trump who previously called Robinson Martin Luther king on steroids, and he did that multiple times while trump himself has not commented on the reporting. But one of his spokespeople who did say standing by robinson, the North Carolina Republican Party also released a statement Last Night supporting the candidate. Well have more on this later in the show. Elsewhere where, Donald Trump says jewish voters would be to blame if he loses novembers election. At an event Last Night titled Fighting Antisemitism in america, trump leaned heavily on antisemitictropes while bemoaning his low support among jewishamericans. The most popular person, but here it doesnt translate. Its a strange thing. The united States Election is the most important election in the history of israel, actually. If you think about it, how crazy does that sound, but its true. For all ive done for israel i received only 24 of the jewish you think of this, i really havent been treated very well, but thats the story of my life. You have to defeat Kamala Harris. More than any other people on earth, israel, i believe has to defeat. Youre going to still vote for democrats and it doesnt make sense. I say it all the time that any jewish person that votes for her especially now, her of the democratic party should have their head examined. Jewish people, people supposed to love israel in 2020 so remember i got 24, 25 . Now i did all of these things and i got 29 . Think of it. So i wasnt treated right. I literally havent been treated right, so if i dont win this election, in my opinion, the jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss. At that same event Last Night in washington, trump also said that he would reinstitute a muslim Travel Ban if he returns to the White House to prevent migrants from coming from, quote, infested countries and entering the united states. Take a look. We will seal our border and bring back the Travel Ban. Remember the famous Travel Ban . We didnt take people from certain areas of the world because i didnt want people killing people, but were not taking them from infested countries. Remarkably racist. Turning overseas now israels defense forces carried out strikes against hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon yesterday. According to an israeli official who spoke to Nbc News the operation involved Air Strikes and artillery, but Ground Forces did not cross the border. Israels military said the strikes were designed to degrade hezbollahs capabilities and infrastructure. This, of course, follows a stunning series of attacks targeting the militant group that exploded, walkietalkies and pagers earlier this week. At least 37 people were killed and thousands injured according to lebanons health minister. Nbc news spoke to a former senior israeli Security Official who said the explosions were a result of israel having to act while it still could. That official described it as a, quote, Use It or lose it situation. However, that same source added this, were not going to war with lebanon as of now. Joining us now live from lebanon, live from beirut is a Foreign Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, stefan caylon. Youve been reporting all week long about these explosions that have rocked lebanon. Lets start, though, with what We Saw yesterday, these missile strikes, hezbollah lobbing some back in return. Israel hasnt crossed the border just yet, but is there a growing Fear Or Expectation that a wider war may be on our doorstep . Thats been the concern all week these unusual and unprecedented attacks on wireless devices across lebanon sparked fears that an invasion was about to begin. That would have been a logical thing to conclude, that this sort of Hybrid Warfare where electronic devices and disrupting Hezbollahs Ability to communicate would have made sense if there was fog to be a Ground Invasion that happened around the same time. That hasnt materialized. Its been a few days now. The country is still very much on edge. Theyre still trying to investigate internally and reeling from this blow. And amid all of that yesterday there were some very heavy strikes in Southern Lebanon just as the leader of hezbollah began to appear on television. Steven, is there a sense we quoted that israeli official as saying its a Use It or lose it. Is there a Sense Israel feels the operation has been compromised and hezbollah is onto them, they had booby trapped these devices . Or like you suggested this is peppering the ground and preparing for a bigger attack . Theres been a lot of speculation about why this happened now and why such a capability would be deployed at this time. It sort of when things were calming down a bit from the height of tensions over the summer. So theres a lot of speculation there are some israeli officials and former officials as you quoted and speculated this was this capability was about to, you know, lose its potency because israel had discovered there were explosives in these devices and they would get rid of them. Thats possible. Theres also talk this was in preparation for a larger larger Military Sort of kinetic activity. But it could also have been sent as a signal to Heads Bola and an effort to avoid more kinetic activity. Its really hard to tell, and i think the coming days will tell where were going. Certainly psychological Warfare Part of this. Lastly and briefly tell us what should we be looking for the next 42 to 72 hours. I think the leader of hezbollah spoke Last Night saying there would be retaliation but not getting into specifics and saying the only way to end this was end the israelipalestinian conflict. I think we have to look at the border and the escalation from either side that could indicate a Broadner Sort of widening of this conflict. Live for us from beirut, lebanon. Foreign correspondent from Wall Street Journal stephen kalin. Still ahead here well Take A Look where Funding Talks stand on Capitol Hill as Lawmakers Head to a Government Shutdown at The End of the month. House speaker Mike Johnson meet with former president trump. Plus, what were learning about how Vice President ial nominee Tim Walz is preparing for his upcoming debate against senator j. D. Vance. Those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. Weather when we com right back when you host, your bathroom can feel like a revolving door. Keep things fresh with febreze small spaces. Its an Outletfree Air Freshener that fights odors for 45 days. So even after every flush. You know your bathroom smells amazing. Lalalalala pain hits fast. So get relief fast. Only Tylenol Rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. They release Medicine Fast for fast Pain Relief. And now, get Max Strength topical Pain Relief precisely where you need it. With new tylenol precise. Craig here pays too much for verizon wireless. So he sublet half his real Estate Office to a pet shop. Theres a smarter way to save. Comcast business mobile. You could save up to an incredible 70 on your wireless bill. So you dont have to compromise. Powering smarter savings. Powering possibilities. Switch to comcast Busines Internet and mobie and find out how to get te latest 5g Phone on s with a qualifying tradei. Dont wait call, click or visit an xfinity store today. Bipartisan Government Funding talks have begun on The Hill after house republicans killed their own bill back on wednesday. The hill reports that top appropriators have launched bipartisan talks focusing on a clean threemonth funding extension. That means that former president trumps demand to get a controversial Voting Amendment into that package would be off the table. House speaker Mike Johnson, for his part, did meet with trump at some point Last Night while trump was in washington. Its unclear if any plans on Government Funding came out of that meeting. Elsewhere, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is trying to hold onto his Leadership Post by helping out some of his most vulnerable democratic members. According to reporting from axios schumers Super Pac is Spending Hundreds of millions of dollars between now and election day. Axios notes the Senate Majority pac and its affiliates have reserved nearly 255 Million in ads across eight states in order to protect incumbents as well as seats being vacated by democratic lawmakers. Ohio, montana, the biggest Warning Signs for democrats. And theres minnesota governor Tim Walz, and hes now preparing for next months Vice President ial debate against republican senator j. D. Vance. According to the Washington Post, walz has been participating in Policy Sessions and mock debates in both his Home State of minnesota and while hes on the Campaign Trail. Multiple people familiar with the preparations tell The Post that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg doing so in this personal capacity has been enlisted to play vance in debate rehearsals. The debate notes the two men have not yet held a full 90minute mock debate but are expected to do so closer to october 1st, which is when walz and vance will meet for their one debate hosted by cbs news. Elsewhere, a growing number of local Teamsters Unions in key Battleground States are rushing to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president. That move comes after the national Teamsters Union announced earlier this week that it would not be endorsing a president ial candidate for the first time in nearly three decades. Specifically teamsters regional counsels of michigan, wisconsin, nevada, and Western Pennsylvania all declared their support for harris just hours after the National Union failed to endorse anyone. Additionally, the Washington Post points out that local Teamsters Unions in philadelphia, new york city, long beach, california, and miami along with the unions national black caucus and a group of retirees have all endorsed harris. I spoke to a senior democrat Last Night who says these Battleground States, thats where endorsements are going to matter because theregoing to be on the ground resources deployed by these unions. Next up here well turn to sports and highlights from Aaron Rodgers First Start at home for the jets since his season ending injury in Last Nights opener. Plus Shohei Ohtani makes Mlb History and helps the dodgers clench a spot in the playoffs and may have had one of the greatest games any single player has ever had. Well bring you that a check on the Weekend Weather Forecast when Way Too Early returns. E t when Way Too Early returns the secret is the powerful ingredient, apoaequorin, originally discovered in jellyfish and found only in prevagen. In a clinical study, prevagen was shown to improve memory in subgroups of individuals who were cognitively normal or mildly impaired. Stay sharp and improve your memory with prevagen. Prevagen. In stores everywhere without a prescription. Quick throw, good move. Into the End Zone goes allen lazard. That was quarterback Aaron Rodgers scoring his first touchdown at Metlife Stadium as a member of the new york jets. You remember rodgers was making his First Start there since living the Meadowlands Field a year ago with a torn achilles tendon. He played well, finished for 281 yards and two touchdowns as the jets ended an eightgame Home Streak against the patriots with an easy 244 victory. A pretty woeful performance for the patriots. They just simply have no offense. The question now is when do they turn to drake maye, their starting quarterback. This is team playing for a high draft pick. Lets turn now to an absolutely historic night in major league baseball. On a 12, ohtani sends one in the air, the other way, back it goes. Gone One Of A Kind player. One of a kind season. Shohei ohtani starts the 5050 club. The Los Angeles dodgers superstar, the superstar barely covers it. Thats Shohei Ohtani and hes the first player ever to hit 50 Home Runs and steal 50 bases in a season after that performance Last Night in miami. A lot of people standing, sure youre standing up at home, leaning on the edge of your seat. Rubbing hands together, certainly smiling. We all are watching this guy. Oh, my gosh, Shohei Ohtani, the greatest day in baseball history. That might be right. And that was Homerun Number 51 as totauny became the first player ever with two runs and two steals in a single game. Ohtani added a pair of doubles and a single for a career high six hits. He went six for six, three homeruns, 10 rbis, thats a team record. He became the first member of the 5050 club. He led the dodgers to a playoff clench. Meanwhile in cleveland The Guardians the second major League Team to secure a spot in the season. That marks the twins 20th Loss in 30 games and drops minnesota into a tie with the streaking Detroit Tigers for for that final al wild Card Spot with about ten days to go. Time now for the weather and lets bring in Angie Lassman for the weekend forecast. Hows it looking . Hello. Hello. Its looking a little bumpy and quiet skies from the West Coast to the east coast, couple of showers offshore for the new England Area and this line of thunderstorms working through for the Great Lakes. Thats one of the spots well see through the day today. Were not expecting that much in the way of severe weather and we could see a couple of rumbles of thunder. And more ahead as we look ahead to the plains and to watch again some Thunderstorm Chances there. Were also watching an area of potential development across parts of the caribbean where this kind of forms maybe could be a tropical depression and, again, something well keep an eye on as we are far from done with Hurricane Season just yet. Those temperatures out there were headed close to the autumnal equinaz. These temperatures are running way above normal for this time of year, and that continues into tomorrow. Mid80s for detroit. Tulsa hits near 100. Its going to be a warm one across especially the Great Lakes and midwest. Even the North East will be a little warmer than normal this time of year. But by the time we wrap up the Weekend And Head into next week, a little Bit Offing with those afternoon high temperatures. Sunday in philadelphia 73 degrees, we keep that going through early next week. Boston a little cooler with the mid60s and cincinnati upper 80s, and we only cool down to the low 80s by tuesday. So some are holding on in some spots. Next up here Kamala Harris sits down for a starstudded forum with Oprah Winfrey drawing applause, laughter, and even some tears from those in the audience. Well play you some of the Vice President s remarks from last Nights Event in michigan when we come right back. 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So you get high speeds for low prices. Better than getting low speeds for high prices. Right, bruce . Jealous . Yeah, look at that. Honestly. Someone get a helmet on this guy. Xfinity internet customers, ask how to get a free 5g Phone and a second unlimited line free for a year. Switch today welcome back to Way Too Early. It is just before 5 30 a. M. Here on the east coast, 2 30 out west on this friday morning. Im jonathan lemire. Thanks for being with us. Back to politics now, and Vice President Kamala Harris took part in a live streamed event with Oprah Winfrey in michigan Last Night. The unite for America Event brought together over 100 online groups as well as several celebrities including chris rock, ben stiller, and meryl streep. During the 90minute Forum Harris discussed some of the most pressing issues facing most americans. She got a few laughs from the crowd on Donald Trump. She was also questioned about being a gun owner. We have so many entrepreneurs in our country who have great ideas, incredible Work Ethic but not necessarily access to capital because not everyone like my opponent was handed 400 Million on a Silver Plate that he filed bankruptcies six times on. So part of my plan is to give startup Small Businesses a 50,000 Tax Deduction to startup their Small Business. Right now its 5,000. Nobody can start a Small Business with 5,000, so Thats Part of my plan. Thats a teeny tiny business. A teeny tiny business. The concept of a business, right . I think for far too long on the issue of Gun Violence some people have been pushing a really false choice to suggest youre either in favor of the second amendment or you want to take everyones guns away. Im in favor of the second amendment and im in favor of assault weapons bans, universal background checks, Red Flag laws. And these are just common sense. These are just common sense. I remember it was so powerful at the convention when you said you have guns no, at the debate. Im a gun owner, too. I did not know that. I hear that. I hear that. Probably shouldnt have said that, but my staff will deal with that later. One more emotional part to the event was when the mother of Amber Therman spoke out for the first time about her daughters death. According to propublica she could not get access to Abortion Care in her State Of Georgia back in 2022 and medical officials recently deemed her death preventable. And the Vice President has been highlighting this moment and traveled to Georgia Today to talk about it. Initially, i did not want the public to know my pain. I wanted to go through in silence, but i realized that it was selfish. I want yall to know amber was not a statistic. She was loved by a family, a strong family. And we would have done whatever to get my baby our baby, the help that she needed. Ambers mom shared with me that the word over and over again in her mind is preventable. Preventable. That word keeps coming to her. And this story is a story that is sadly not the only story of what has been happening since these bans have taken place. Joining us now Race And Politics reporter for the Hill Chianne daniels. The Vice President as i noted going to georgia to highlight it again. Speak to us about that moment Last Night so emotional and how democrats and the Vice President in particular are going to talk about it in the Stretch Run of this campaign. Yes, absolutely. I think what We Saw Last Night is what the Vice President has been trying to do every time she speaks about abortion. We saw this even on the debate stage, which is to humanize the topic, to say kind of what we just heard Ambers Mother say which is this not an issue of statistics, this is an issue of real lives being affected. These are people who can die. These are mothers trying to get the help, and when they cant they suffer not only drastic Health Consequences but sadly like ambers, it could have been prevented, their death. This is narrative well continue to see from the Vice President particularly as she hits the Campaign Trail and heads more into especially black and brown areas where when we think about things like the maternal mortality crisis, which we know the Vice President has been consistently a huge advocate of addressing, shes able to tie these issues together and able to show especially black and brown americans, black and brown voters what she will do for them to help save their lives when it comes to abortion rights. A quick notice on the setting Last Night, too, the Vice President has taken a lot of criticism for doing unscripted interviews and such. Last night she did really well. Voters should indeed get to know more about her. Lets turn to the story at the top of the show, which is the North Carolina Republican Nominee Mark Robinson including disparaging Martin Luther King jr. Give us a sense of the reaction here from, frankly, all corners including republicans are standing by him. This feels like it could really put North Carolina in play for the democrats not just in the statehouse but for Vice President harris. Yes, absolutely. So we know that Robinson Hasnt Bip polling very well already, so this is definitely not a good look for him. He is trying to distance himself from these comments. As you mentioned, the Republican Party is standing by him. But when it comes to particularly black voters reaction, we did see Martin Luther King iii, the son of Martin Luther King jr. Come Out and call robinsons comments about his father a grotesque characterization. We know that the naacp is calling for robinson to withdraw from the race. You know, they put out a statement Last Night saying that theyre not theyre nonpartisan, but they know what is right and wrong. So we are seeing very powerful black organizations, very powerful black figures coming out and saying this is unacceptable. This individual cannot be running for governor, and it doesnt matter, frankly, theyre saying that if he is black if these are the comments he is saying and if these are the beliefs that he has. Looks like the deadline to remove him from the ballot were to do so, coming up right now. Race and Politics Reporter for the Hill Cheyanne daniels. Next President Biden takes something of a Victory Lap when it comes to the democratic party. With rates falling well Take A Look what hes saying about his administrations achievements, but hes clear more work still needs to be done. Well be right back with that. E well be right back with that. Restaurant Noise Allison Restaurant Noise [announcer] introducing allisons plaque psoriasis. 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If youre frustrated with occasional bloating or gas. Your bodys giving you signs, its time to try align. Align probiotic was specifically designed by gastroenterologists to help relieve your occasional bloating and gas. When you feel the signs, its time to try align. Welcome back. President biden reacted to the federal Reserves Half Point Interest Rate cut this week during a speech he delivered at the economic club of washington, d. C. Yesterday. The president called the feds move an important one for the country and a signal of progress in cutting inflation. Im not here to take a Victory Lap. Im not here to say a job welldone. Im not here to say we dont have a hell of a lot more work to do. We do have more work to do. But what i am here to speak about is how far weve come, how we got here, and most importantly the foundation that i believe built for a more prosperous and economical future in america. When i came to office there was no real plan in place, no plan to deal with the pandemic, no plan to get the economy back on its feet, nothing, virtually nothing. In fact, the nonpartisan congressional Budget Office predicted we wouldnt see a full recovery until well after The End of my first term in office, but i refused to accept that like many of you refused to accept it. To transform the way our economy works over the longterm. The economy for a while now has looked healthy according to most metrics though prices are still high. The president and his team really didnt receive credit from the american people they would have wanted, but now polling suggests Vice President Kamala Harris has a chance to mitigate Donald Trumps advantage on that issue. Meanwhile in a new report the federal Trade Commission warns that popular Social Media Platforms and Video Streaming services pose serious risks to User Privacy especially for children and teens. The agency accuses meta, youtube, tiktok, and several companies of engaging in vast surveillance by collecting and retaining personal information about consumers and then sharing that info with third parties. In a Press Release the chairman of the ftc wrote in part this. While lucrative for the companies, these Surveillance Practices can endanger peoples privacy, threaten their freedoms, and expose them to a host of harms from Identity Theft to stalking. Still ahead there are growing concerns within the biden administration they may not be able to get a Ceasefire Deal in the Middle East done anytime soon. Well dig into that new reporting from the Wall Street Journal that comes amid rising tensions in that region. Way too early will be right back. Nsions in that region. Way too early will be right back help Fuel Today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. So, heres to now. 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First, theres an impasse over the number of Palestinian Prisoners to be exchanged for the hostages held in gaza, which was reportedly a major Sticking Point already before the murders of six hostages earlier this month. The second obstacle now complicating diplomacy has been, as you might imagine, this Weeks Series of Device Explosions In Lebanon and rising tensions there. Joining us now national Security Reporter for the Wall Street Journal, alex ward. Alex, good to see you this morning. This is your reporting that u. S. Officials have at this Point Little Hope for a Ceasefire Deal. We know the president has made this a real priority. We know theyre going to keep trying, but talk to us about the contours of these ongoing negotiations. Is there any hope at all left . I mean, i want to be clear. Theres still hope left in the fact the talks are ongoing. Theyre not completely broken off, and theres still a chance of breakthrough. Whats basically going through the biden administration now and i should say a lot of the top level parts of the biden administration is pessimism this was going to get done by The End of President Bidens term. The Sticking Points it cant be bridged, this war with hezbollah and looks like hamas is uninterested in making a deal and the situation with prime Minister Netanyahu makes it hard to make a deal. There was always, lets say, not a lot of confidence in the biden administration a deal could get done. Its really turned over into a sense this will not happen, and now theres a search for new solutions including a new israeli proposal that would see the leader of hamas Leave Gaza and other hamas militants would lead for a permanent end to all Fighting And Release hostages. Even top levels of netanyahus government are denying thats going to be a deal. So were at an impasse, and theres no real way Forward Base on people ive talked to. Alex, is there any sense that after the u. S. Elections, could that Play A Role here, whether its a Harris Or Trump presidency . Could that impact ceasefire talks, or is there a sense this is just a situation on its own there in the Middle East . Well, certainly, its a situation of its own, but theres also a feeling of if youre hamas or youre even israel, you might as well wait until the election to see what happens. If its Vice President Kamala Harris who wins therell be a continuation of the biden policy and if theres no deal before Inauguration Day shed make some sort of arrangement. And if youre former president Donald Trump who wins, at least you have a Track Record hes been very friendly towards the netanyahu government and maybe theres a settlement more favorable to the israelis. As one official told me theres a wait and see approach at this point until november, and by that point you would have President Biden be a lame duck, and you could imagine, again, based on who wins the warring party will see what they can get with the new administration. Shifting gears you wrote a new book on the biden Foreign Policy, and thats going to be at the forefront the next few days. This weekend hosting members of the quad in wilmington, delaware, his Home State and heads for a summit. Talk to us about the quad meeting. China hovers over all these things. What are some things they hope to accomplish . As much as they like to say this is not about as its not about china, it is. It is in the sense of this is a coordination of countries in order to basically find ways to not only work together but to counter china in multiple ways whether its technology, science, some military and economic issues. Theyre just finding ways to be closer. Of course if youre staying in beijing youre seeing this as a counter strategy, which it is. The symbolism of having them come to wilmington is not only does President Biden get to show them around his High School and all that kind of stuff, what hes really going to do is say at this lets not say alliance but this partnership this partnership is not just important to high level Foreign Policy but the people of the united states, that this is something that could matter to the security of every day ideal and americans everyday life. Of course, it speaks to, as much as what we talk to about whats going on in russia, the Middle East, ukraine, elsewhere, The End of the day, the big bat, in u. S. Foreign policy, for the biden administration is china. Biden in one of his last Foreign Policy acts as president will make it a chinarelated event. The personal connection there, doing wilmington. The White House limiting Press Access to the summit. We at the white House Correspondence Association asked them to reconsider. Alex ward at the Wall Street Journal, thank you, as always. Well talk soon. Up next here, House Democrats are set to hold a hearing next week on project 2025 and the potential impact of the farright policies should they be adopted by the next president. Well go over what to expect. Then coming up on morning joe, well bring you live reporting from raleigh as the Republican Nominee for governor of North Carolina faces significant backlash over a report exposing him for inflammatory comments posted online years ago. What he is now saying about it, and how it could affect the race. Plus, democratic Senators Raphael Warnock of georgia and Chris Coons of delaware will be our guests. Morning joe just a few moments away. whispered vanilla and shea. 24 7 moisturization with vitamin b3. knock on the door are you using all the Old Spice . Oops. Old Spice mnemonic ah, these bills are crazy. She has no idea shes sitting on a goldmine. Well she doesnt know that if she owns a Life Insurance Policy of 100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. Even a Term Policy. Even a Term Policy . Even a Term Policy find out if youre sitting on a goldmine. Call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect. Com. Heres to getting better with age. Heres to beating these two every thursday. Help Fuel Today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. So, heres to now. Now available Boost Max Chalobah trevoh chalobah. House democrats plan to hold a hearing next tuesday focused on project 2025 and how its farright policies would impact americans, were it to be implemented. Itll be led by the House Democrats policy committee, along with members of the Stop Project 2025 Task Force. The hearing will feature americans who can speak personally about the consequences the policies of project 2025 would have on their lives. We heard that at the democratic convention, too. The Task Force also launched a Tip Line to gather information on what they describe as an undisclosed playbook on early executive actions. Project 2025, of course, is a 900plus Page Policy Road Map put together by the heritage foundation, a conservative thinktank. It includes farright proposals like abolishing the department of education, severely cutting medicaid, and expanding president ial powers. Joining us now, congressional Investigations Reporter for the Washington Post, jackie alemany. Good to see you this morning. We know Donald Trump has tried to publicly distance himself from this, but we know he blessed it before and so many trump allies were working on it all along. Democrats have made clear to attach himself to project 2025. Talk about what we might hear from the hearing, and talk about how politically this issue is. This is going to be the first hearing of several House Democrats are actually going to put on via their Policy And Steering committee, which allows the party in minority to host a hearing, which is sort of unusual when youre not in the majority, to be able to put on a presentation like this. But what ive been told is its going to be held in the style of the January 6th hearings. Theres actually been several staffers who have been brought on by House Democrats to consult for tuesdays hearing, which is going to feature, as you noted, reallife americans who have stories about already being impacted by some of the provisions that are outlined in project 2025, and also laying out how, sort of hypothetically, their lives could be affected by some of the proposals in this 900page Policy Screed that Donald Trump has tried to distance himself from. But we also should expect some, again, multimedia elements, some Film Parts of this, the way We Saw in the January 6th hearings that really riveted and brought in audiences, along with lawmakers who have been assigned various chapters of the proposal to bring to life and to try to explain to american people some of the more complicated elements of what Donald Trump is proposing. House democrats are really on to something. The new york times poll found last month that there are three sorts of likely voters who are now familiar with project 2025 and 63 of those likely voters are opposed to it. Yeah. Democrats have done a really good job breaking through the noise with this project 2025 issue. Jackie, lets move on to another issue there on Capitol Hill. Thats Government Funding. Deadline approaching. How close are we to a shutdown . You know, its really hard to say. As of several lawmakers said yesterday, you know, we are obviously very close to a Government Shutdown. Were only a week away. Government funding is going to end september 30th. A shutdown would take place to stop federal funding october 1st. But as chuck told one of our colleagues yesterday, we know were going to eventually get there. But how republicans are going to get there right now with a really brittle majority and entrenched divisions and idealogical factions that have extremely different views of how Government Funding should be allocated are going to ultimately come together. Its still unclear. But what Mike Johnson did set himself up for is a failed vote this week regarding a sixmonth extension of federal fundings that attach this bill that Donald Trump has been pushing, which would force voters voting in federal elections to provide some sort of proof of the citizenship. That failed in the house, allowing johnson to now be able to pivot to negotiating with senate democratled majority. We know that, in the senate, there is, and actually amongst some republicans, as well, there is a proclivity toward supporting a threemonth continuing resolution. That would be basically maintaining federal funding at the current levels it is, but in a clean way, with no added provisions as the Citizenship Bill is deeply opposed by democrats and would be vetoed by the White House. Once these negotiations start up, well have a better sense, i think, of what might be able to ultimately get pushed through the senate and maybe through the house. Jackie, in our last 45 seconds here or so, talk to us about the impact this could have on Down Ballot races. I mean, the margin of the House Razor thin. Are republicans nervous theyd be blamed if the government shuts down . Absolutely. Theres no one in the house right now who wants or in the upper chamber in the senate who wants a Government Shutdown, other than Donald Trump who has been pushing a Government Shutdown over the Citizenship Bill for nearly a month now. You had, you know, top leaders like Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell and others saying a Government Shutdown would be politically detrimental for both democrats and republicans. I think house republicans, in particular, who are fighting Tooth And Nail to keep their very narrow majority. Itd also cut into time that lawmakers could spend campaigning during recess. Theyre supposed to leave The End of next week once they complete their tasks, but, obviously, it could be thwarted if there are issues with getting this done on time. I believe mcconnells issues were, beyond stupid, if the government were to shut down. Jackie alemany of the Washington Post, thank you. Have a good weekend. Thanks to all of you for getting up Way Too Early with us on this friday and all week long. Morning joe starts right now. On a 12, ohtani sends one in the air. The other way back it goes gone