Well, just to bring you a little bit behind the scenes here, alicia. We know, all day yesterday, topwhite house aides were working the phones including the president , himself, for a portion of it. To try to ease some of these tensions and these feathers that were clearly ruffled. Republicans, upset by the president linking these two things together. But clearly, that didnt work. That wasnt enough. So they had to release this very lengthy statement. More than eight paragraphs in the president s own voice with a commitment saying, essentially, to the two parties, i understand, to the gop, why you might be a little bit upset by what i said in that press conference. But to democrats, rest assured, i am still going to pursue the traditional infrastructure bipartisan package. While also wanting reconciliation process, the one that doesnt require republicans, which democrats had already started down the road a couple of weeks ago. So, he is saying, to the two parties, this was not meant as a veto threat. He regrets those words, specifically. He is saying, he is going to let the American People and congress decide how this should go. But now, he is walking back and thats the real, critical crux of this. That he will not, necessarily, say, okay, i wont sign the first one without the second one. And now, we know, alicia, that the president is going to try to go hit the road. And send this message, for himself, to the public. Starting with a Speech On Tuesday in wisconsin. Your sense, monica, of whats next for these two bills . I think we can really expect this to draw out for a long time. This blip that we just saw. Really, this dustup is suggestive of this is not going to be an easy road, ahead. To say the least. This could take all of july, just to really agree on the size and scope of the larger democraticonly plan. Because progressives, still, havent decided what they want to do with that. And they have their own frustrations with the bipartisan framework. And then, we also know, in terms of all the recess that congress usually takes during the summer. This could all not be wrapped up until more like september. And remember, this is something the president is juggling with a lot of other things on his legislative agenda, including Police Reform and a whole host of other things they would like to see done. But the reality is, this is going to take a lot longer than a matter of weeks. More like months. Monica, i appreciate that you are tracking this Breaking News for us. So, there is the possibility that you do not have an answer to this question. But has there been congressional response to the statement that the white house released . I think the timing of this statement is very telling. It comes, on a saturday evening, ahead of the sundaymorning shows, when a lot of republicans are scheduled to be on them. And perhaps, were going to deliver this message of disappointment with the president. So i think thats why they wanted to get out ahead of it tonight. And were going to see more of the actual response, tomorrow, because congress has left town for a break for a couple of weeks. So, i would anticipate, most of the reaction is going to come there. And thats why the white house decided to try to blunt it with this statement, this afternoon. All right. Monica alba live for us at the white house. Monica, thank you. We turn, now, to an aggressive push to protect freeandfair elections by the Justice Department. The first, big, federal pushback to republicanled states working to make it harder to vote. The Justice Department will not stand, idly by, in the face of unlawful attempts to restrict access to the ballot. We believe the civil rights of americans have been violated, we will not hesitate to act. Attorney general Merrick Garland says he is suing georgia over its newelections laws. Saying the measures intentionally target voters of color. Saying, for example, that georgias new limits on Absentee Ballots disproportionately affect black voters. Who, historically, utilize mailin voting more than any, other voting bloc in this country. Remember how georgia banned people from handing out water to voters . Here is Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for civil rights at the doj. Historically, minority voters in georgia have been disproportionatelymore likely to wait in long lines to vote in person, on election day. As we allege in our complaint, this needless ban was passed with unlawful, discriminatory intent. But success in court could take years and severalelection cycles. New analysis from vox writing in part, even setting aside that this case will be heard by a trumpappointed trial judge, and then potentially a Supreme Court dominated by republican appointees. The doj will, also, have to overcome a raft of recent precedents undermining the Voting Rights act. Governor kemp says he will fight the doj making his case in the same lies and trumplike fodder we have heard for months. Theyre coming for you, next. You know, thats been my message to the rest of the country. Theyre coming for your state. Your elections bill. Your ball game. Theyre going to cancel your small business. This is a radical agenda that we are fighting. How is all this news landing in georgia . She ran for Lieutenant Governor in georgia in 2018, alongside stacey abrams. So this doj lawsuit against georgia is the departments firstbig swing to protect Voting Rights. Your big takeaways from this move . The civil rights movement. The birthplace of the Civilrights Movement was right here, in georgia. The late, great congressman, john lewis, was from georgia. This is our home turf. This is the fight that many people in this state have been in for generations. And so, the reason they are coming here first is georgia matters. It was the center of the political universe in the 2020 election cycle. Its the reason democrats have a majority in the United States senate. And its the reason Governor Brian Kemp fears he will not be reelected. He knows whats coming for him. So this has been a play, by republicans, to ensure that black and brown folks in our state have less access to the ballot box because they turned out, in record numbers, last year. Delivering the state for joe biden and Kamala Harris and for jon ossoff and raphael warnock. Well, to that point. Assistant attorney general Kristen Clarke pointed out the georgia law comes, as georgias black population, as you said, continues to grow and organize. The department intends to prove the law is aimed at making it harder for people of color to vote. Take a listen. After a a historic election that saw recordvoter turnout across the state. Particularly, for absentee voting. Which black voters are, now, more likely to use than white voters. Our complaint challenges several provisions of s. B. 202 on the grounds that they were adopted with the intent to deny or abridge black citizens equal access to the political process. Sarah, what does it tell you that, instead of republicans getting together, making a game plan for how they are going to make their case. To black voters, to other communities of color. That they are, instead, focusing on making it harder, nearly impossible, to vote . It tells me that republicans here, in georgia, and across the country, are spending more time trying to suppress votes than they are trying to earn them. Weve seen that time and time, again. Their pitch is weak. Georgia is one of a small handful of states that, still, has not fully expanded medicaid. Even though federal legislation, this year, made that a zerodollar impact for our state. We are lagging behind in vaccination rates. We continue to have a third of children buffering below the the poverty line. This is the result of 20 years of uniparty rule, the georgia gop controlling every chamber in our state legislature. And most of our statewide offices for two decades. We saw that in 2020. They are anticipating it in 2022. And they know that, of all the communities, black and brown communities have delivered those votes for the democrats. Who have, in return, delivered on every promise we made in the 2020 campaign cycle. Sarah, i want to set the stakes clear and be really clear about the timeline. Which is the reality is these types of lawsuits could take years before a final decision is reached. Elections could come and go, with this law on the books. So in the short term, how are you, how are other democrats, organizing to educate and engage voters about these new restrictions in place without tampering tamping down their desire to vote . The arc of justice is long but it bends toward justice. The arc of history. And so, what we have seen on the ground across georgia and what i saw as the democratic nominee in 2018. Traveling through over 150 counties in our state. Is that thousands upon thousands of regular georgians from all Walks Of Life and from every community are fighting this battle, every day. They are asking their neighbors, their colleagues, their Family Members, their friends, to register to vote. They are reminding one another to check that registration. Remember, our secretary of state. Our republican secretary of state, brad raffensperger, recently announced another100,000 georgians will be purged from our voter rolls. They are going door to door and talking about the issues. Creating conversations. We are not going lightly. We have set ourselves up. People have been doing this work for decades. Many people, whose names we will never know, who will never get to be on your show. They are out there doing the work. And as the result, we are fighting to make sure that everyeligible voter has equal access to the ballot box here in georgia and, indeed, across the country. Well, i do want all of them to be on this show. So, you will send us their names. Thank you so much as always for your time. Georgia is the first state the Justice Department is taking on other states, like texas, are on the ags radar, too, as he vows to review not just Voting Rights but partisan gerrymandering. Joining us now to discuss, professor of journalism at columbia university. And hayes brown. Hayes, democrats across the country have begged, literally begged, for federal help to stop gopled states from passing restrictivevoting laws. How effective can this Whack A Mole Strategy be Fighting State Laws individually . I mean, its all we have right now thanks to the Supreme Court. Right. Back in 2013, the Roberts Court overturned part of the Voting Rights act. That left the department of justice, before these laws come into effect, say, no, this will be discriminatory against your minority residents. You cannot put this law into effect. Without that, the doj has no, other option. This is something that attorney general Merrick Garland previewed last week. Ahead of this lawsuit against georgia. That the doj will do everything it can do. And just go back to the way it was, prethis whackamole strategy filing all these lawsuits. Garland promised the section of doj under the Civil Rights Division that handles these lawsuits, he is going to double the number of lawyers. Still, not exactly clear how many lawyers that will be, in the end. But its a good thing that they are putting this effort in. We just need to see how i im very curious to see how many of these lawsuits will have been filed by the end of 2020. Kristen clarke now leads an expanding Civil Rights Division within with a focus on protecting Voting Rights. What message is the bidenJustice Department Department Signaling to voters of color by ramping up resources to fight racially discriminatory laws . And i also wonder, what you made of that language that was not mincing words and being really clear about the fact that what is happening in georgia is specifically aimed at black voters . Sure. I mean, i think thats pretty much an allhandsondeck situation. Because you are looking for relief in these state legislatures. You are seeing just a kind of straight run of legislation that is making it more difficult. And has discriminatory impact. The most egregious, you know, we saw was in georgia but, by no means, is it alone. Now, that language is particular and important because its an open secret. Everyone knows, you know, whats happening here. That georgia instituted these these new laws after having, possibly, the mostcloselyscrutinized election in the history of that state. Finding no malfeasance. Of finding nothing that would have changed the outcome of the election. And so, the only reason that there could be this push to change the the Election Laws is that they didnt like the outcome. And we should, also, bear in mind that that President Biden recognizes this. He served as Vice President for two terms under barack obama, whose elections were only made possible by these extraordinary turnouts among africanamerican voters. He understands, outside of the moral sense, outside of the the historical and political sense. Just as a plain, practical matter of politics, how essential this is to democrats, that africanamericans have open and unfettered access to the ballot. Hayes, theres reporting from new York Magazine on how a pendingarizona case in front of the Supreme Court could impact the Justice Departments legal strategy. One shoe that may soon drop that could affect the administrations plans. The currentSupreme Court is expected to deliver a decision next week on an arizona case that could lead to a restrictive reinterpretation of article two, making suits like the one Just Launched against georgia difficult to design and win. Hayes, what could this looming decision from this majorityconservative Supreme Court, how could it limit how democrats fight back against action on the state level . So like i said, Voting Rights act back in 2013 was restricted. Back before this Roberts Court decision in Shelby County. The way it worked was states had to tell the department of justice what they wanted to do. And then, the department of justice had to approve it. Preclearance is what it was called. Without the formula that allows the doj to decide which states and which counties to apply preclearance to, it all basically fell apart. So now, they are relying on section two. Which flips the burdens. Which basically says that the department of justice, or whoevers filing suit, has to prove that there was a discriminatory intent inside the law. Now, if the Supreme Court narrows and restricts that further, that will make it much harder for the doj. Which is really leaning on section two in the georgia case. To say that to be able to go to court and say that we can show you that this is discriminatory because of x, y, and z. If the Supreme Court narrows that, its going to be tough for the the strategy that garland has laid out to really be effective. If they dont have weapon, they dont really have too much else within their arsenal to go to court. To to directly say that these new voting laws are discriminatory. So thats why you have seen biden, garland, et cetera, pushing for congress to be able to pass a new Voting Rights act. To be able to strengthen up the dojs ability to go into court or even before that to strike down these laws that are clearly based on race. I mean, theres been such a flood of these new laws since 2013. So many of them, that would have been stamped out, if it werent for this decision. And i you mentioned the fact that obama won in 2012 and 2008, thanks to huge africanamerican turnout. Its almost scary to think about what that those elections would have looked like, if the Shelby County had been in place, if these states had been able to change their laws after 2008, going to 2012, to be able to change their laws to limit the amount of black turnout ahead of 2012. Well, we are talking about Voting Rights which is a huge piece of this. But one piece. You also have the Justice Department issuing guidance, laterthis year, when it comes to redistricting. An effort to limit gerrymandering. This will be the first redistricting process since the Supreme Court hollowed out parts of the Voting Rights act. Just how aggressive do you believe republicans are going to be this fall when theyre redrawing those maps . Oh, well, weve already seen this. This has been the game plan. Weve seen this, you know, time and time, again. Look at wisconsin. Look at texas, for that matter. And so, i think that i dont know that people can be much more aggressive than they, already, are being. And especially, now, utilizing software which makes it possible to draw districts with the kind of surgical precision. And so and to create deficits, essentially, for the opposing party. And so, this is, you know, really the ball game. When we talk about democracy being at stake. Its not hyperbole. And one of the things, to hayess point, when we looked at that Shelby Decision in 2013. And what came out of it. The Supreme Court left a loophole. You know, it said that it was possible for congress to create a formula that would not be unconstitutional. A formula for protecting africanamerican Voting Rights and the rights of people who have historically been disenfranchised, that did not violate the constitution. That is, exactly, what is being hashed out in congress, now. And so, it is a kind of rockpaperscissors situation. Wherein, having lost at the Supreme Court, the hope is to win in congress. And we see that not being likely to happen, either. That is terrifying. Hayes, thank you. Jalani is back after the break. Next, it is Derek Chauvins first full day of a more than 20 Year Prison Sentence for murdering george floyd. Is there now new precedent for how we hold Police Accountable . We are also tracking Breaking News in southern florida. Day three of searchandrescue efforts within the rubble of that collapsed building. Were warnings this could happen overlooked . Plus, the Vice President s visit to the border. Making clear, this moment must be met with humanity. And later, prorunner, on their recent decision to come out as transgender and how that decision helps broaden everyones understanding of what olympic potential looks like. We are just Getting Started on american voices. 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