President Trump will hold an event in the Rose Garden about the border at 10 a.m. Friday, the White House said. He will announce around $8 billion for a border wall under executive actions, part of which will be the emergency declaration. That figure includes $1.375 billion in the spending bill for fencing in Texas; $600 million from the Treasury Department’s drug forfeiture fund; $2.5 billion from a Defense Department drug interdiction program; and $3.5 billion from a military construction budget under an emergency declaration by the president. Chris Hayes and various MSNBC correspondents reported for a special All In broadcast about the border, where no security crisis was evident. As Hayes commented at the end of his show: “It’s not about the border, and it never has been. The wall is not the issue. The border... is not the issue. The issue is what the country as a whole looks like, and who gets to call it theirs.” The Senate voted to approve William Barr as the next attorney general and successor to Jeff Sessions, who stepped down in November. Big questions remain about how the new AG will handle special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. It’s very early, but a programming note: MSNBC, NBC News and Telemundo will host the first 2020 presidential primary debate in June, the Democratic National Committee announced Thursday. The debate could be held over two consecutive nights in prime time, given the anticipated size of the field. The debate location and exact dates are yet to be announced. Stay tuned for details. |