
The Briefing with Jen Psaki
MSNBC
Jen Psaki tackles the biggest issues of the week and features one-on-one interviews with newsmakers.
Episodes
Musk melts down over budget bill; Republicans in turmoil over their own bill
6/5/2025
Jen Psaki reports on the tantrum Elon Musk is throwing over the Republican budget as his business interests are not well represented, and Republican support for their own bill seems to be splintering as details emerge about what the bill contains.
Duration:00:42:15
Trump's 'best people' are not doing very well; bad time to cut career public servants
6/4/2025
Jen Psaki looks at a startling number of Trump Cabinet members whose lack of fitness for the jobs they serve is glaringly apparent, all while career public servants who make the government work regardless of the competence of the people in charge are struggling to adjust to crippling DOGE cuts and burdensome new red tape.
Duration:00:41:38
Special Preview of “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace”
6/2/2025
Who are The Best People? They’re the people who are the best at what they do and know how to bring out the best in others. On her new podcast, Nicolle Wallace speaks to the people who inspire her. As a mom. As an American. Or sometimes just as a super fan.
In the first episode, she sits down with actor Jason Bateman. His show “Smartless,” which he co-hosts with Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, is the podcast that inspired her to do her own. On this special preview, Bateman shares his journey into podcasting and reflects on the political climate that gives him endless fodder for conversation.
Search “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace” to listen to the full episode and to catch new episodes every Monday. Or sign up for MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts to get early access on Fridays. Signing up for Premium also includes ad-free listening and bonus content.
Duration:00:04:36
Musk tenure ends awkwardly with report of drug use
5/31/2025
After ranting endlessly about Hunter Biden's drug use and addition issues, Donald Trump and his cohort were oddly quiet about a New York Times report on Elon Musk abusing of drugs.
Duration:00:41:08
Trumpworld shocked: Governing is hard!
5/29/2025
Donald Trump and his cast of supporting characters are learning the hard way that actually governing is much more difficult than shooting hot takes from the hip and spinning up conspiracy theories about how the world works. Jen Psaki reviews the struggle Trumpworld is having with real world governing.
Duration:00:41:33
Introducing “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace”
5/29/2025
On her new podcast, “The Best People,” Nicolle Wallace sits down with the smartest, funniest, wisest people she knows. These are the people who are the best at what they do and use their success to help others.
Hear from some of the biggest names in politics, sports, and entertainment; people such as Jason Bateman, Rachel Maddow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Doc Rivers, and Kara Swisher.
New episodes drop on Mondays, beginning June 2nd. And you can sign up for MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts to get early access, ad-free listening, and bonus content.
Duration:00:02:11
Federal trade court blocks Trump's sweeping tariffs; says they exceed his authority
5/28/2025
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Donald Trump lacks the authority to enact his sweeping tariffs under the emergency powers law. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes who co-led the lawsuit against Trump's tariffs discusses the ruling and next steps with Jen Psaki.
Duration:00:41:27
Rogue pardon spree exposes Trump's political games and actual indifference to crimes
5/28/2025
Jen Psaki pairs Donald Trump's political rhetoric about crimes like fraud against his abusive use of the presidency's pardon power to absolve criminals convicted of those very same crimes.
Duration:00:41:16
Trump cashes in on crypto side-hustle as rich-get-richer budget comes into focus
5/23/2025
Jen Psaki reports on how Donald Trump still used the trappings of the presidency during his "personal time" at a dinner for big-money purchasers of his cryptocurrency, and shares dramatic new visuals of how much the new Republican budget bill benefits wealthy Americans over the poor.
Duration:01:22:54
Backlash: Republicans head home to face constituent wrath over rich-get-richer budget bill
5/23/2025
The Republican budget bill still has a lot of time and processing to undergo before it heads to Donald Trump's desk for his signature. And now Republicans face their worst fear and biggest obstacle, their own constituents, who are quickly finding out what their elected representatives have voted for and aren't going to be happy about it. Jen Psaki shows that there is still time for American voters to make themselves heard in the budget process.
Duration:00:41:19
Failed idea features prominently in Republican bill despite red state regret
5/22/2025
Georgia and Arkansas have both tried to implement work requirements for Medicaid, with both producing disastrous results. Now Republicans in Congress want to impose those work requirements on a national level and seem oblivious to the idea's previous failure and the regret expressed by fellow Republicans for their role in it.
Duration:00:40:55
'I did not waver': Rep. McIver speaks out on federal charges after ICE center confrontation
5/21/2025
Rep. LaMonica McIver talks with Jen Psaki about what really happened at the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey, where she and other members of Congress arrived for an inspection and were met with a confrontation that resulted in federal charges against McIver and a corresponding false narrative being spun up by the Trump administration.
Duration:00:41:21
'Big, brutal setback': How GOP infighting sent Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' off the rails
5/17/2025
The budget bill Donald Trump was hoping to come home to following his trip to the Middle East has not come to fruition and the longer it takes the work out, the more skittish Republicans will be about attaching their name to a bill that is so full of unpopular policies with an election on the horizon.
Duration:00:32:39
Trump's power grab scheme exposed; Supreme Court birthright citizenship case focuses on court powers
5/15/2025
The focus on nationwide injunctions in the birthright citizenship case before the Supreme Court shows that what is at stake is less about whether people born in the U.S. are citizens and more about whether a circuit court can put a hold on a new rule for the entire country, or whether Donald Trump can assert his will in different regions of the U.S. if he finds friendly judges willing to indulge him, even if he is blocked in other parts of the country. Jen Psaki reports.
Duration:00:41:39
Polls show Americans aren't buying Trump team's ignorance ploy
5/14/2025
Jen Psaki shares examples of Republicans, from Donald Trump to House Speaker Mike Johnson to members of Trump's Cabinet avoiding questions and claiming not to be familiar with major national news stories and other data directly related to their areas of responsibility. And while the ignorance tactic may help them avoid answering questions, new polls show Americans already understand what's really going on.
Duration:00:42:04
Real purpose of Trump's Mideast trip comes into focus as his explanations fall apart under scrutiny
5/14/2025
Jen Psaki takes a closer look at Donald Trump's specious explanations and dubious promises as he heads on a trip through the Middle East where his personal business interests seem more relevant than the business of the United States.
Duration:00:41:55
'They obviously targeted me': Newark mayor describes chaotic arrest in confrontation at ICE facility
5/9/2025
Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka talks with Jen Psaki following his release from being held in a Homeland Security cell after being arrested and charged with federal trespassing in a chaotic confrontation that included members of Congress outside an ICE facility. "This is disturbing what they think they have the ability to do."
Duration:00:45:45
As Trump's parade of failure marches on, his distraction trick loses potency
5/9/2025
Jen Psaki reports on the failure of yet another Donald Trump nominee, Ed Martin, Trump's nominee to be D.C. U.S. attorney, and looks at the broader pattern of Trump trying to make publicity stunt distractions when he's on a losing streak.
Duration:00:41:57
Trump scoffs at rising prices for families while his inner circle cashes in on foreign deals
5/8/2025
Jen Psaki takes a closer look at how Elon Musk is benefitting from the understanding that doing business with Musk's companies is a way to curry favor with the United States government. And while Trump's trade was make basic necessities more expensive for new American families, Trump's own family (and business associates) are cashing in on their proximity to the president of the United States as they make deals abroad.
Duration:00:41:49
Psaki: The Trump administration fails the 3 a.m. phone call test
5/6/2025
Jen Psaki looks at how concerns about inexperienced and unqualified members of Donald Trump's cabinet are coming to fruition as crises develop in national air traffic as well as national security and Trump's secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, are struggling to meet the demands of their positions.
Duration:00:42:24