Welker at the white house. Two miles between the white house and the capital, but feels a lot more distance between the president and his party. Listen. There are going to be times when i disagree with him and when i da, i usually state that very as well. Its populism, but its not a governing philosophy. Were here trying to do our duty. I am going to do what i think is right and sometimes that means im going to be agreeing with the president and sometimes it means that im not. Kase, the president not exactly instilling fear in some of these republican lawmakers over on capitol hill. What is going on and what does this mean for his legislative priori priorities . Well, hallie, i would frame it more as the demands that the president is making of Senate Republicans right now. They are simply not doing. They are not, for example, going to end the filibuster on legislation as the president has repeatedly demanded. Theyre not going to vote right now to repeal the Affordable Care act. Instead, theyre going to have hearings on bipartisan legislation. And they are not going to go g along with his threats or cave to his threats around these callsharing payments to help lowincome americans pay their out of pocket health care costs, we call them csrs in washington speak. Those payments have been widely defended by republicans here in congress over the course of the last couple days. I talked to john thune the number three republican in the senate about it yesterday. I hope the president continues to make those payments. Some legislation over in the house that is also bipartisan to try to continue that. So, i think that reflects the deep frustration that republicans here on capitol hill have with the president right now. Now, i will say there is a wide willingness in how aggressively theyre willing to go out and be that person on camera that the president might happen to catch on cable news attacking him. Jeff flake did it very aggressively in that oped and in his book. But when i caught up with a lot of members to ask about that, is the Republican Party in denial, most of them were not willing to engage. Instead said, look, the president was elected and were here to try to help him. But i think in this case, actions speak louder than words. Hallie . Kasie hunt, before you go, what do we expect lawmakers to get done before they leave for recess in august. Mostly nominations . They are trying to move a package of nominations through the senate. I have to tell you the mood here and i think everybody is a little tired of each other. Everybody needs a break and that sometimes can help get stuff done when they head out and go out to the respective corners of the country and then they come back with more of a willingness to spend time together and try to work out differences. So, i think you could see the senate try to move towards getting out of town here. They have a lot to do before september 30th. Raise the debt ceiling and fund the government and a lot of big battles ahead. September is real busy for sure. Kasie, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Kristen, walk us through the white house reaction of this strategy from lawmakers here as kasie says kind of ignoring the president s demands. It doesnt mean the president is stopping making those demands, right . Oh, it certainly doesnt, hallie. We saw that yesterday from Sarah Huckabee sanders at the podium. The press secretary who was very firm. She said, look, this is undercutting the legislative agenda that republicans need to be supporting the president s policy goals. And take what eric trump said on a talk show. He said that frankly he wants republicans to do a better job of defending and supporting his father. So, theyre trying to turn up the heat in that way for his part, of course, President Trump has taken to twitter, not yesterday, we should point out, hallie. His new chief of staff was installed first time this week and over the weekend he was very firm that, look, republicans should try to pass something on health care with a simple majority or try to let obamacare fail. I think its striking and cant be overstated. A point that kasie mentioned. That you have these bipartisan hearings that are set to take place to stabilize the obamacare markets. I think thats really striking. I take you back to what leader mcconnell said several weeks ago. Look, if we cant get something done, were going to have to work with democrats. So, you really have two different visions, two different ways forward. I do want to make one point, hallie, which is on tax reform. The administration wants to get something bold and robust done on tax reform. A little bit further along than they are letting on and the hope is that that is an area where they can actually get something done. Of course, the big questionmark surrounding that has to do with the map. They didnt get rid of obamacare taxes. Are they looking at a series of tax cuts or looking to overhaul the tax code . That remains an unanswered question, hallie. Thank you. With me herald ford jr. And our panel joining us for the hour White House Reporter for the Associated Press jill colvin and author of power wars charlie salvage. Talking about tax reform and there seems to be perhaps a hard Lesson Learned by this white house. That what didnt work with health care was bringing in some of these outside groups trying to get some momentum behind the plan before rolling it out. It seems as though theyre taking a very different tack on tax reform having learned those lessons. Will it work . I know they hope so. I think there are a number of democrats who would love to see some serious changes to the tax policy. I think in addition to bringing in some of the outside groups, i think this new strategy that kristen talked about that may be emerging around health care and mr. Mcconnell and other leaders in the party are reaching out to democrats to do something in a small way to shore up the changes. That approach has to be taken with taxes. Im more optimistic than some are about how a tax deal can get done, largely, because if you look at the Gorsuch Coalition that mr. Trump was able to assemble with democrats supporting that. That is the same coalition that could probably assemble around something meaningful around tax reform that could help Small Businesses and lower rates for middle class families. Even maintain rates for the wealthiest. You could easily see or i should say its easy to see a coalition assembling around that set of ideas. You talk about a coalition. We talk about republicans and democrats kind of working together. Thats been a push that weve seen on this program over the last 48 hours or so and weve seen it on the hill and rob portman and Clare Mccaskill are out this morning doing this kind of concerted joint effort. Making this joint show of force, you should say. Heres what they had to say this morning on morning joe. Instatus quo is failing the people i represent in ohio and it deserves to be fixed and we continue to work on this even while were doing other things. Theres lots of problems with obamacare, but theyre fixable. They really are fixable. Maybe it means we go and acknowledge some of the things we did were not the right way to look at this. Are we at the point, herald, where a bipartisan push could actually happen . Is looking more realistic now . The answer is yes. From the outset, this should have been the approach. I cant understand for the life of me why the team assembled much like assembled governors who, frankly, had implemented parts of obamacare, whether they wanted to or not. Have seen some success. John kasich and hicken looper the most outspoken and let them explain whats working and not working with regard to the exchanges in medicaid and what the government can do to be more helpful to make things more affordable. Sounds like clare and portman are off to a good start. I heard thim say the congress should defend the president more. The congress doesnt know what to defend the president on. He has not laid out specifically his ideas on health care and taxes and instead they see turmoil coming out of the white house with staff changes and perhaps the president saying things and the next day learning then. What he said may not have been true. You put congress in a weird spot. One of the great ironies of the first 200 days or so is that he might have actually urged the kind of bipartisanship, he being the president , urged the kind of bipartisanship that he probably didnt think he would be urging earlier on. Interesting point because weve been talking this week about the Washington Post reporting that the president dictated that statement on the plane regarding donald trump jr. And makes the point that that could be having a Chilling Effect on his legislative priorities on the hill. One thing were seeing are the republicans as weve been noting putting some distance and looking past the president. But that wasnt always the case. What has changed . Why do people like the jeff flakes of the world who has always been outspoken against the president. Why are you seeing more of these senators as you saw at the top of the show being able to say, yeah, well, were not always on board with the president. I think what youve seen is the Health Care Legislation fail. The program that that was pushing. Clearly, you saw clear demonstration of the fact that they were not able to get their ducks in order and make this happen. If you cant look to the white house for any type of guidance on this, you need to get something done on your own. One of the interesting dynamics is the Trump White House and no, we have to repeal obamacare and let it die and crash. I think theres an interesting parallel to president obama, actually. This is an odd analogy but stick with me in the attempt to close guantanamo. A Campaign Promise and then it was overtaken by events. The political wind shifts. Primarily not just because politics is hard, but no viable alternative that made sense to people of either party on the hill. And, so, at some point, democrats on the hill moved on. President obama kept saying, no, no, were going to close guantanamo, thats my policy. All the way to the end. He knew at some point it wasnt going to happen, but he needed to be seen to his audience, in that case, foreign allies and liberals, he was still trying. Better to be seen to be trying and not succeeding than acknowledge defeat. Thats what trump looks like hes heading to on obamacare. Over taken by events when it comes to some of his legislative priori priorities. On taxes and other issues he might be able to get this thing back on track. A unique way of looking a it. I think charlie is spot on. Look, events have taken over because these markets are now working with obamacare and this intersection of work and play between whos getting insured, whos not insured, where the costs have gone up. Thats where Clare Mccaskill and rob partman were this morning. We cant deny tens of millions of people without health insurance. Some of this is not working and some of it is. Lets fix the things that is not working. Thank you for joining us on this program. Jill and charlie, hang out for a minute. We want to talk about Something Else that is making big news today. The dow hitting 22,000 this morning for the first time ever. You can see it there. A live look at the big board happened a couple minutes after open really because of a huge Earnings Report from apple. I want to bring in now cnbc expert domrert dominik over at headquarters there. Put this into perspective, this is a big deal. This is a big deal because it makes all of us richer in terms of american investors. If you look at your 401 k and your ira plans and your retirement accounts, everybody is a little bit better off if youve been invested in this market. The question becomes whether or not this kind of level, record highs, by the way, for the stock market are attributable for the Trump Campaign and the administration or whether there are other factors at play. Its fair to say right now that if you look that market on balance, there is a little bit of optimism about future policy. It may not be health care reform, but it could pbe tax reform, and also this idea if things dont work out and there is gridlock, markets can function effectively and thats why you see markets hovering nearby the recordhigh levels. How high do you think well see these huge numbers last, dom . Give me a guess. As we talk about the future. A number of things that can derail things. All the geopolitical developments like with the unrest in the middle east and north korea. None of those things have been affecting the markets. What could be affecting markets, investors tell us. Things like the Federal Reserve and Interest Rates later on this fall. It could also be whether or not the debt ceiling issue gets resolved satisfactorily. Thats a huge key. Whether the budget items can derail things. As the thats what a lot of investors have their eyes on right now. Thank you for that expert perspective. We appreciate it. Talk more about the geopolitical issues happen around the world with this warning shot from the u. S. Military. Look at that video. In the form of a test launch. Comes not long after north korea fired off their own missile. Will the president really be taking these tough new moves against china for not doing more to curve its neighbor . More on that, next. For your heart. Your joints. Or your digestion. So why wouldnt you take something for the most important part of you. Your brain. With an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is now the number one selling brain Health Supplement in drug stores nationwide. Prevagen. The name to remember. Casper makes one perfect supportive and comfortable. Premium foam layers. Breathable for airflow. Perfect rebound, plus perfect lift. Pick your size, you get 100 nights to test it out. Test the layers, be a layer, casper. Atmore than one flavor, oruch texture, or color. Ing. A good clean salad is so much more than green. And with panera catering, more for your event. Panera. Food as it should be. So, take a look at the video were getting in from the air force sending a message to north korea. This is an unarmed minute man 3. An intercontinental ballistic missile. It comes less than a week after north koreas most recent icbm test. Secretary Rex Tillerson had his own direct message to kim jongun. It was, lets talk. Were trying to constri the north koreans, we are not your enemy. We are not your threat. You are presenting a threat to us and we have to respond. Im joined now, fortunately for us, by nbc news chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell host of Andrea Mitchell reports. Jill and New York Times jeffrey. We talked about the idea of carrots and sticks when it comes to north korea. How do you see it playing out . He was saying to the regime, were not interested in regime change. And hes also talking directly to beijing. Dont worry. Were not about to try to get rid of kim jongun because china has clearly not used its economic pressure on north korea. Chinese policy is basically to be more afraid of a reunited peninsula of american gemny, American Military power because of the influence with our allies in south korea and, of course, japan. Rather than having a Nuclear Armed kim jongun next door. Theyre concerned about had regime collapsing and refugees coming across the border and also really wanting to resist the u. S. Having such a Strong Military role. And this is a balancing act that theyve been playing for years. Refusing to do the pressure to really increase pressure. Also, understated by this administration is the fact that russia, according to some accounts, has increased its economic aid to north korea 73 . Now, a fairly low base to start with. 73 since february. Since donald trump took office. So, russia is also a big power player blocking any action at the u. N. Most recently when nikki haly tried to have a u. N. Resolution against north ckorea for its first missile launch. North korea had to deal with russia, could be the Biggest Challenges or are the Biggest Challenges facing the secretary of state. How much, how much is this going to be crucial for him in his sort of career moving forward inside this administration. How he handles these tests. Its a big test for him and also, frankly a big test for the pentagon. Its a test for the president. Because ultimately the president is being pressured by critics on all sides republican as democratic and on the hill as well as former secretaries of state to get together the white house with all of the National Security advisories, with the pentagon, with the state department and come up with a plan. Come up with a policy. Other than having things as sort of off the message as mike pompeo suggesting regime change about ten days ago at the aspen security conference in an interview. That, i think, is part of the reason why Rex Tillerson was also trying to reassure china and reassure kim jongun that they do want to talk. First time that they emphasized the option of direct talks. That was really interesting. I want to bring jill and charlie in here. This is a test for the president. And a test of something he talked a lot of on the campaign trail. Jill, i know you covered him on the campaign, too. He talked again and again and again what he wanted to do with china. Listen. We dont want china continuing to rip us off. I mean, theyre ripping us like nobody has ever ripped us before. We cant continue to allow china to we have tremendous power over china. Economic power. Tremendous. We dont do anything. That was donald trump on the campaign trail. We saw President Trump bringing xi to maralago for a lovely weekend visit and now shifting back to mr. Tough guy after mr. Nice guy. What is your sense . I wonder if this is fly by the seat of his pants or a strategy behind this. The old adage on how you conduct Foreign Policy in diplomatic situations you speak softly and carry a big stick. Shooting the icbm and Rex Tillerson extandz a hand to north korea. I dont see that dynamic in this connection to china. All about speaking loudly with no obvious stick behind it. Do we see the president taking tough new action reported out there that he may take some aggressive moves against china as a punishment for not doing more to north korea. Realistic . The jekyll and hyde and twitter thing that were seeing from different members of the administration. You have seen using trade measures to try to punish china and using that more and more as a bargaining chip. There was a report yesterday saying that the administration is currently considering tougher new measures to crack down on beijing when it comes to property theft. This is an area theyre moving in. Well see them talking more publicly about measures they could actually try to put in place. Andrea, before i let you go. You were in the room yesterday for secretary tillersons first oneonone press prebriefing wi the media. We know this is something he has not been a fan of this administration so far. As we look at whats happening in the west wing in the white house with john kelly coming in, seems like secretary tillerson is trying to reset a little bit, too. Can you walk us through what the mood is like and what you see happening with that relationship . First of all, not announced in advance. Was a surprise visit to the Briefing Room and this is the secretary of state in modern times not to bring a traveling press corps with him, as well. So, he has been averse to doing press briefings. A welcome sight he was in there. John kelly someone he worked closely with on border issues and south america, north america, mexico. This was after he had taken over. Obvio obviously, tillerson cannot be happy about all the leaks out of the white house blaming him for state department vacancies and a real conflict with the Personnel Office and back and forth with them. Clearly didnt get along with Reince Priebus and i think theres a sense that he and secretary mattis are such close allies and with john kelly that maybe i also think they are saber rattling about taking unilateral trade actions and contrary to recent administrations going back to the 1980s and the socalled 301 unilateral trade actions against china rather than working through the World Trade Organization in geneva, which would be a very trumpian move. Andrea mitchell celebrating 39 years and one day at nbc news. Thank you, love you, appreciate it. Thank you so much. Next up, the Justice Department is launching a new investigation that targets colleges and affirmative action. But is this a legal move or a political one . The reporter breaking this story is here with us. Were talking about it, next. music plays throughout horseheadswivellychair. Com it could be the next big thing i should totally get that domain name. Get your great idea online too. Get your domain today, and get. A free trial of gocentral from godaddy what comes to mind when you think about healthcare . Understanding your options . Or, if youre getting the care you need . At aarpadvantages. Com, you can find helpful information about healthcare options. Leaving you more time to think about more important things. Like not having to think about healthcare at all. Surround yourself with healthy advantages at aarpadvantages. Com health. Her long day as anne. Hair stylist starts with shoulder pain when. Hey joanne, want to trade the all day relief of 2 aleve with 6 tylenol . Give up my 2 aleve for 6 tylenol . No thanks. For me. Its aleve. We are back now with some breaking m ing news coming out white house about russia sanctions. Not just against russia but north korea and iran after Congress Overwhelmingly passed the proposal. The president will sign that sanctions bill today. Nbc Kristen Welker is at the white house. Walk us through what you know and a little bit of the back story. Thats right, hallie. The source familiar with the thinking inside the white house the president is expected to sign that russians sanctions bill and slap a new round of sanctions on iran and north korea. The reason this was so significant. This was a controversial piece of legislation. You have lawmakers effectively trying to tie the president s hand because the law says, under this new piece of legislation, which president is expected to sign that the president cant reverse these sanctions without congress signoff. This underscores, i think, some of the tension surrounding the russia investigation, certainly. Some of the president s past comments when it comes to russia, concerns on capitol hill that he has been too lenient when it comes to dealing with russia and this is a piece of legislation that passed overwhelmingly and, so, that is why to some extent the white house is saying we are not sure he wants to sign the bill. We saw it become very difficult for the president to say, thats right. Its also important to point out, look, the white house does feel as though they did get some concessions here. There were concerns that this legislation would hurt businesses. The white house wanted some of the language to be changed around that. So, theyre saying, hey, look, we did get something out of this legislation. This is significant. This is effectively a way of punishing russia for meddling in the u. S. Election and, again, the president expected to sign it again at some point today. No word on a specific time. Kristen, the timeline here. This was steeent to the white he yesterday. There is some sort of review under way and the president would be signing this. Clearly, apparently, that review has been wrapped up, which is why were seeing this happen. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was pressed on whether the president was efebtively dragging his feet on signing this piece of legislation. She said every piece of legislation needs to be reviewed before the president gives his final signature. This is a complicated piece of legislation. But, again, it all sort of underscores the backdrop. The fact that this comes as there are investigations on capitol hill, as well as special counsel looking into russias meddling into u. S. Election. And, again, this a very firm and strong message that congress is sending to russia, that that type of behavior wont be tolerated. Hal hallie . Kristen, ill see you over in the office in just a bit. Also watch new developments coming out of the Justice Department today. One of the folks joining us on set charlie is breaking news that the department is putting a new initiative into motion. Targeting affirmative action in College Admissions. So, when asked about this report a doj spokesperson tells nbc news they do not confirm or deny any Ongoing Investigation and that the internal announcement cited by the times is not a new policy or program announcement. Tom dupree joins the panel to discuss. Charlie is back with us along with jill. Charlie, we have to go to you first. Your scoop, your story. Walk us through the nuts and bolts of what this means and what this does. Sure. Whats happening here is that the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division is asking current attorneys who already worked there on other projects whether they would be interested in working on a new project thats going to be run by the political appointees out of the front office. Trump Administration Political appointees. That would involve affirmative action and reviewing policies and College Admissions that may be deemed to discriminate on the basis of race. Usually, an antidiscrimination effort in targeting a university or a school would be run out of a special section. The education opportunity section which is run by career Civil Servants who stay on and one thing that is unusual about this is it is run out of the front office. It appears to be a new initiative and theyre trying to redirect some people who are already working on other things to go after affirmative action policies that, in their view, at least, go too far and cross the blurry line the Supreme Court has drawn between efforts to help maintain diversity on campuses that are acceptable, that have to be sort of holistic and not mechanical and put too much on the thumb that might score. Tom, you have been in the Justice Department. What does it say to you when you look at charlies reporting that this is run out of the civil rights front office and not the other office he is talking about. It tells me a new sheriff in town. It should not surprise anyone that the Civil Rights Division both were seeing under President Trump has been one of the areas of the Justice Department that for better or for worse has been politicized and what were seeing in some sense understandable and you have a new president and republican president or Republican Attorney general and theyre shifting the enforcement lens a bit. Typical cases that were brought under the Obama Administration are not an enforcement priority for trump and putting a spotlight in a different area. Bottom line, is this a legal move or a political one . Its a legal move. One that is informed by political judgments. Its both. Part of it goes to the fact that the Supreme Court has not spoken clearly in this area about what universities can and cannot do in this area. I think that gives a fair amount of discretion to look at programs and say, in our view, this might cross the line. Charlie, what is the reaction to the doj on this based on your sources . The bure ocacy and the civil servi service who have been there throughout and choose to work in the Civil Rights Division and theyre largely liberal saw this initiative coming and were aghast. This is not what the civil right division is here to do. Voting rights weve seen this movie before. I absolutely agree this agency, in particular, is a place that is frequently the subject of culture war battles when a Republican Administration replaces a democratic one and then when a democratic one replaces a republican one. So, you know, one of the points ive been making is in the last 150 days we have been focused on bizarre things that are happening because donald trump and the sort of menagerie of people around him are doing odd things. This is not, i think, necessarily one of those things. This is something that we might have seen under any republican president and certainly under george w. Bush and also battles of this type between the sort of liberal bureaucracy and the political appointees. I would be remiss if i didnt bring up the fact a new fbi director confirmed over in the senate. First, jill, to you, an interesting vote here. You only saw two Senators Elizabeth Warren and jill jill brnd the only fbi director to have senators oppose his nomination. What do you make of how the party lines were drawn on this one . This is a charged issue. A president who fired his fbi director, apparently, because he was concerned of russian meddling in the election and anybody who is in that position is getting such scrutiny. I have five seconds, tom. Last thoughts . Raised a terrific nominee and integrity of the department. Its a good sign. Tom, thank you very much. Appreciate you coming up on set. Well head over to an epic, epic job fare happening today from interestingly, amazon. Looking to fill 50,000 jobs. Check out those lines. One of the locations for a live report and why this matters to how the industry could be changing, next. vo gentlemen, beggin skinny strips or beggin black label . Theres two . what a delicious dilemma beggin strips premium edition. Twwwoooooo . . with real meat as ingredient one. Everything to your liking . Mmm mmmmm. Beggin strips premium. Becaussssseeee beggin saved money on motorcycle insurance with geico. Goin up the country. Later, gary i have a motorcycle wonderful. Im goin up the country, baby dont you wanna go . Im goin up the country, baby dont you wanna go . Geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. We are now back with breaking news. A couple minutes ago we told you the president is expected to sign the sanctions bill into law. That has happened. One source inside saying he has, in fact, signed that bill. Tougher sanctions against not just russia but north korea and iran, as well. This was sent to the president s desk friday afternoon. And it is now the law of the land. Were going to be following that story today and were also following a story what is happening on wall street. The dow surging up into this unchartered territory and now above the 22,000 mark. Its just a tick under that at the moment. As it all happens, by the way, as we talk about the economy, you have amazon starting this huge surge in hiring. Job fares around the country and some traditional retailers have closed their doors altogether in part of that Amazon Online powerhouse. We want tago to one of these job fares where we find jolene kent. This is really interesting because it seems like it could be indicating this shift into where retail jobs are going and how this is happening around the country. Yeah, hallie, that is absolutely right. There is a huge line here in robinsville, new jersey. They want to hire 1,500 workers here in new jersey specifically. Amazon wants to hire 50,000 workers today. This is one of job sites going on right now across the country, but, you should know, this is not the only major retailer staffing up right now. The amazon empire is expanding, yet again. But instead of striking another retail deal, today Ceo Jeff Bezos is hiring 50,000 new workers. Some on the spot. Some are calling it the first ever amazon jobs a days rolling out interviews at 12 locations across the country. Amazon is beefing up staff in order to keep up with growing customer orders from its Warehouse Distribution centers improving labor market, amazon is offering what it is calling competitive pay and premium benefit packages including health insurance, Company Stock and tuition assistance. We believe that we should give the same type of benefits to people across the company. Whether youre in seattle or a fulfillment center. Amazon is one of several major retailers already staffing up for the Holiday Season and beyond. This week, walmart, the countrys biggest private employer would also hold hiring events. Macys plans to hire 80,000 workers later this year. And target is adding 2,600 jobs ahead of new store openings this fall. Amazon is proving, once again, to be a fierce competitor. In jacksonville, florida, last month, so many turned out to an amazon job fare the company canceled the second day because their openings have been filled. Amazon just continues to grow and it is hard to predict on what it means for the future of retail. Small businesses, even Large Businesses are having a very hard time competing and keeping up with amazon. Reporter delivering another threat to traditional retail from the inside out. This is what is going on here. We have tons of people lined up including lorraine. Why are you here at amazon looking for a job . I am looking for opportunity and growth and employment. What kind of benefits, so many benefits here today that theyre trying to offer you. What jumps out at you as something you actually want . Promotion from within and just being good to your employers or employees. Yeah, absolutely. We can see here the line is super long. We can take a look this way. And see it stretches all the way around the fulfillment center. And so its an interesting question, hallie. You have all of these people looking for work and a rising market. What does it all mean . Jolene kent live for us in new jersey. Thank you very much. Much appreciated. Next up, talking about transgender men and women in the military. The pentagon has yet to move on the president s tweet ordering a total ban. Now, 56 retired generals and admirals are warning that will affect how ready the military really is. How . Well, thats what were asking. One of the folks that signed that statement live, next. Rch. Or, you can take advantage of our best offer ever on an xt5. Dont wait. Our 2017 models will be moving fast. You can drive a car. Or you can drive a cadillac. Come in now before the end of our made to move 2017 clearance event and leave with the perfect cadillac xt5 for your next adventure. Choose a low mileage lease on this xt5 for around 339 per month. [kids cheering] [kids screaming] call the clown parents arent perfect but then they make us Kraft Mac Cheese and everythings good again. Whyoure not thinking clearly, so they called the Fire Department for us. 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Those 56 generals and admirals write this proposal ban if implemented would cause significant disruptions and deprive the mission of talent and compromise the integrity of transgender troops forced to live a lie. Thank you very much for being with us here. That is quite a statement. So, what compelled you to sign it . Because its totally wrong. The First Military were a Critical Thinking organization and wae spente spent a lot of t developing people. You just dont walk in off the whether youre enlisted or an officer and you grow into different positions and responsibility. Thats not easily replaced. So suddenly saying were going to take some of you and throw you away, thats very disruptive. To military readiness. To military readiness and functioning of the unit. Despite the president saying he believes this move will help military readiness . Despite his thoughts on that. Because we do as i said critical analysis, we call it the three ups and downs, what are the three advantages to each option and disadvantages . Then theres lots of debate and negotiation about okay, what nuances are we missing . These are men and women who have volunteered to serve. They are serving honorably and doing great jobs and been commended by leaders. What do you is a say to the critics sean a thats a political statement . Its not a political statement. We took oaths to support and defend the constitution of the United States and really be the defense arm of our country. And thats not something we take lightly and people that are willing to step up and do that and few will, theres very few in the country who are willing to serve, were the ones that are willing to say, you know, this could cost me my life. Were willing to do things that the average citizen wont even consider. And we deserve support, respect. This is emotional for you, i can tell. It is. I was a woman and nurse inside a male physician run portion of the army. I understand what discrimination is. I understand wondering whether or not im would i really get to the table to contribute my best. And i always wondering, gee, would somebody with an Old Fashioned view out of date with reality out of date with what women and nurses have demonstrated all over the country they could do would people try to oppose me . I understand being discriminated against. Because people dont know a transgender human being, they want to decide they are all terrible and cant participate . It doesnt make sense. These americans must not be deprived medicalally Necessary Health care. What is your message to some members of congress, they believe the tax dollars should not go to for example gender reassignment surgery . In reality, not everyone who selects to transition selects to have body alterring surgery. Most of the time its hormones, which are incredibly inexpensive. And we provide hormones for both men and women for a multitude for Health Issues across the military. When you look at the dollars that were talking about, if everybody wanted to do a transition, that was identified as transgender, were looking at. 100 of one percent. Thats practically pennies. More people are injured in sporting events because we all do sports. We have accidents in sports that cost way more money than that. I want to bring jill and charlie in here. The letter has been put out now but the decision president has made the decision very clear. He may not fight back from people like even that of own joint chiefs of staff. What are the options moving forward . How does emit gate this if he decides to move forward . There have been including his navy chief have come out there and said to the transgender people working under me, i support you here. And i think the situation we have here, reminds me of the muslim ban when trump made this outrageous statement without much consultation, were going to do this thing, a lot of attention and then youve seen implementation. The slow walk back. And scale back. Im very curious to see how when they eventually present the policy paper what it actually looks like. If they in fact present it. The military says we want official orders, not tweets and if those official orders are not forthcoming maybe this will be another sort of nothing burger out of the white house. I would add something to what the general was saying about how the military thinks through these things. It may not be legally possible for the president to drive this policy through the military even if he decides he wants to go forward with it. Thats because the military went through a great deal of study ahead of implementing the new guidelines and regulations and further year to studly when theres been morale disruption and excessive costs, and theres going to be a constitutional challenge to this. Can this is strict scrutiny. Can you discriminate on the basis of gender stereo types and people came out of the closet in reliance of the old policy. I dont think they can say never mind youre messed up because you relied on what we said. What have you been hearing from active members of the military . They want to serve. They want to serve. They whats fascinating to me, its not the young men and women that are joining the military that are afraid of the transgender community. Theyve met them because people have been willing to be out in our society and high schools and colleges so they are like, okay, well, its not the same as i am but thats okay. The older people who have never met a transgender person and want to condemn everyone when they know nothing about the community. Retired Major General gail pollack, i appreciate it. I appreciate it. Pleasure to have you both here with us today. Well come back with todays big picture after the break. Thank you so much. Thank you so were a go . Yes we got a yes what does that mean for purchasing . Purchase. Lets do this. Got it. Book the flights hai si si ya ya ya what does that mean for us . We can get stuff. Whats it mean for shipping . Ship the goods. Youre a go you got the green light. That means go oh, yeah. Start saying yes to your companys best ideas. Were gonna hit our launch date scream thank you goodbye let us help with money and knowhow, so you can get business done. American express open. Lets take a look at some numbers so you can get business done. 4 out of 5 people who have a stroke, their first symptom. Is a stroke. 80 percent of all strokes and Heart Disease . 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The fighting is coming after Indian Government troops killed. For decades they have laid claim to the territory of kashmir. This is just a snapshot of years of violence that claimed 70,000 lives. The photographer for the ap. Youll find todays big picture and comments about it on my facebook and twitter and snapchat pages. I would love to hear your thoughts. That does it for us, ill toss it to ali velshi and Stephanie Ruhle in new york. Have a great rest of your morning. Probably see you this afternoon. Im aly velshi. Im Stephanie Ruhle, it is wednesday, august 2nd. Lets get started. [ bell ringing ] dow 22 k for the first time ever. Its fair to say a lot of the economy already in place before he came to office. Now that its at 22,000 people will sta