August 29, 2025 • 13 mins
In this Briefing, Jon Decker unpacks the most pressing headlines — from the tragic school shooting in Minneapolis to the reported decline in crime across Washington, D.C. He also examines leadership turmoil at the CDC, escalating tensions tied to Russia’s moves in Ukraine, and the fallout from the controversial firing of Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook. The White House Briefing Room can be heard daily on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Friday, August
the twenty ninth, I'm John Decker. A day after the horrific,
deadly mass shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, killed two children and
injured eighteen others, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt conveyed
condolences to grieving families and also praised first responders.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
We are all eternally grateful to the heroic law enforcement
officers and first responders whose courage and swift response aided
all of those impacted by this horrible tragedy.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Lovitt also, on behalf of the President took a victory
lap of sorts for the declining crime numbers in the
nation's capital.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And just yesterday, Washington, d C. Mayor Muriel Bowser credited
President Trump for surging federal law enforcement personnel and said
neighborhoods quote feel and are much safer.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
And in international news, the first reaction from the White
House to Russia's bombardment of Ukraine with deadly missiles and
drone strikes early on Thursday that killed at least twenty
three people.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
But perhaps both sides of this war are not ready
to end it themselves. The President wants it to end.
But the leaders of these two countries need it to
end and want it to end, must want it to
end as well.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
But we begin this Friday before Labor Day with the
White House taking full credit for the decline in violent
and nonviolent crime in Washington, d C. Now, there is
no doubt about the fact that crime has declined since
the federalization of the Washington d C. Police, The Metropolitan
Police Department, and DC's Mayor Muriel Bowser on Wednesday credited
(01:44):
President Trump's surge of federal law enforcement with lowering crime
in the nation's capital. In fact, what we heard from
Caroline Levitt, the White House Press Secretary, is details about
how much crime has declined in who Washington, d C.
Let's listen to Caroline right here.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Since President Trump's intervention, there have been more than one thousand,
two hundred and eighty three arrests right here in the
District of Columbia. Total crime in DC is down nineteen percent,
and violent crime is down thirty percent. Carjackings in the
district are down sixty seven percent, homicides are down fifty
seven percent, robberies are down forty percent, motor vehicle thefts
(02:27):
are down thirty two percent, and assaults with dangerous weapons
are down twenty three percent, and property crime is down
eighteen percent.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Just a day ago, Bowser expressed her appreciation for the
surge of officers that she says have enhanced what the
Metropolitan Police Department has been doing in the city, and
she told reporters that this partnership that has been in
place for about two weeks between federal law enforcement and
(02:57):
the Metropolitan Police Department is essentially working. The White House
took notice of those remarks, and Caroline Levitt expressed her
appreciation to the Mayor of Washington.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
We thank Mayor Bowser for her cooperation and her willingness
to help us make DC safe and beautiful. This entire
effort has vindicated what President Trump in law and order
advocates have been saying for years. And this is our
message to Americans in Democrat run cities nationwide. Decline is
a choice. You don't have to live in constant fear
of being robbed, raped, or murdered. Your leaders are lying
(03:33):
to you, and they have been failing you for decades now.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
It wasn't all praise coming from Muriel Bowser, Washington d
c's mayor She strongly rebuked the Trump administration's deployment of ICE,
the Immigration and Customs enforcement agents, and National Guard troops
in the city. She said on Wednesday, what we know
is not working is a break in trust between police
(03:58):
and community, especially with new federal partners in our community.
She also said, we know having masked ICE agents in
the community has not worked, and national guards from other
states has not been an efficient use of those resources.
So not all praise coming from Mayor Muriel Bowser, some
(04:20):
criticism leveled at some aspects of what the administration has
been doing. That being said, those federal law enforcement agents
as well as the National Guard, they remain in place,
and that clock is ticking for that thirty day time period,
and the President has indicated that he will ask Congress
when they come back from their August recess for additional
(04:43):
time to bring down crime even further in the nation's capital.
Now as crime has come down in Washington, d C.
It's pretty clear that the President is already focused on
where to focus next, and it seems, based upon what
the White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said on Thursday,
(05:04):
the focus is likely going to be the city of Chicago.
Let's listen to Caroline Levitt right here.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
For thirteen consecutive years, Chicago has had the most murders
of any US city.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
This is JB.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Prisker's legacy. By the way, for seven consecutive years, Chicago
has had the highest murder rate among US cities with
more than one million people. Now.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
In other news on Thursday, more focus on personnel moves
in the Trump administration, specifically the firing of CDC Director
Susan Monarez. Her removal has thrown that agency, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, based in Atlanta, into turmoil.
(05:48):
The turmoil relates to the abrupt firing of Susan Monarez,
as well as the abrupt resignations of four members of
the CDC leadership, and as a result, there are some
Republicans who are questioning where this agency is going right now,
(06:08):
one of them being Senator Bill Cassidy. He's a Republican
from Louisiana and his vote was key to Secretary Robert
Kennedy Junior's confirmation as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile,
a replacement for the CDC head has already been named.
(06:29):
The White House selected Deputy Secretary of the Department of
Health and Human Services Jim O'Neill to serve as acting
CDC director. Now Monarez had only served in her position
for about a month. She was confirmed in July by
a vote of fifty one to forty seven that was
along party lines, and at the time, Secretary Kennedy praised her,
(06:53):
calling her a public health expert with unimpeachable scientific credentials.
Interestingly enough, members of the Democratic Caucus who opposed her
in that vote have now rallied behind her. Senator Bernie
Sanders is one example of that. He has called for
an investigation of her firing and said that Kennedy is
pushing out scientific leaders who refused to act as a
(07:17):
rubber stamp for what he called his dangerous conspiracy theories
and manipulate science. Caroline Levitt at the White House briefing
on Thursday, was asked about the firing of the CDC director.
Let's listen to what Caroline had to say.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Look, what I will say about this individual is that
her lawyer's statement made it abundantly clear themselves that she
was not aligned with the President's mission to make America
healthy again, and the Secretary asked her to resign. She
said she would, and then she said she wouldn't, So
the President fired her, which he has every right to do.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Levitt is right. It is within the prerogative of the
President to fire the CDC director. All of those individuals
that serve in those capacities agency heads, for instance, they
serve at the pleasure of the President, and if the
President a month into her tenure didn't like the job
for whatever reason she was doing, he has every right
(08:11):
to fire her. But clearly a lot of questions remain
regarding her firing, And as it relates to Secretary Kennedy,
he is scheduled to testify on September fourth before the
Senate Finance Committee. That's a hearing that had actually been
set before the firing of the head of the CDC.
(08:32):
Also on Thursday, reaction coming from the White House to
a Russian missile and drone onslaught across all of Ukraine
early on Thursday, which included the second biggest bombardment of
the capital city of Ukraine since the war began. I
had an opportunity to ask Caroline Levitt about this bombardment,
(08:56):
what it means for peace going forward. Let's listen to
my question to the White House Press Secretary and the
answer that she gave me. First of all, the drone
and missile strikes that took place overnight in Ukraine. General
Keith Kellogg, the President's Special envoy, has described these attacks
(09:16):
as egregious. Do you agree with that description and do
you view President Putin as an impediment to getting peace
between these two countries.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Well, it's not about if I agree, It's about what
the President thinks. And I know what the President thinks
because I talked to him about this. He was not
happy about this news, but he was also not surprised.
These are two countries that have been at war for
a very long time. Russia launched this attack on Kiev,
and likewise, Ukraine recently dealt a blow to Russia's oil refineries.
They have taken out, as a matter of fact, twenty
(09:47):
percent of Russia's oil refinery capacity over the course of
their attacks throughout the month of August. So the President
is continuing to watch this intently. In This killing unfortunately,
will continue as long as the work continues, which is
why the President wants.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
It to add Following that question, I also asked White
House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt about Lisa Cook, the Federal
Reserve Board governor that President Trump said he is firing
because of allegations that she committed mortgage fraud. Now, Cook
has not been charged, much less convicted of any crime,
including mortgage fraud, and that was something that I wanted
(10:25):
to ask the White House Press Secretary about, given the
fact that there was no due process as it relates
to looking into these allegations. Instead, an allegation was made,
and the President, based upon those allegations, simply moved to
remove her from her position. Let's listen to my question
(10:46):
and the answer that Caroline Levitt gave me.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
I just had one more if I made. It has
to do with the President's intention to remove Lisa Cook
as a member of the Federal Reserve Board. He is
going or acting upon allegations that have been made by
Trump administration official Bill Pulti. These are just allegations. She
hasn't been convicted yet of any crime. Is the administration
(11:10):
opposed to allowing Ms Cook to have due process to
challenge what has been alleged against her.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I believe she is challenging it. I believe she just
filed a lawsuit today. And mister Poulty has deferred those
allegations over to the Department of Justice to investigate them.
What I will say is that you had these mortgage
receipts very clearly shown to the president, and he has
the cause that he needs to fire this individual. He
laid it out in the letter that he provided to
(11:39):
her into the public as well, and so we'll continue
to fight this battle now.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
In fact, as Caroline mentioned in that answer, Lisa Cook
has sued to challenge her removal by President Trump, and
federal judge has set a hearing for Friday morning on
her request to block the president from firing her. That
hearing was scheduled hours after Cook filed that lawsuit against
(12:03):
the President, challenging his attempt to remove her from the
Central Bank's Board of Governors. Cook's attorney has called the
justification for firing Lisa Cook nakedly pretextual, and he argues
that it would not constitute sufficient cause to remove her
(12:24):
even if those allegations are true, which they claim in
their court filing they're not. Now, Cook is asking the
judge presiding over this case to declare the president's firing
order unlawful and void and affirm that she remains a
board member. So we'll have to wait and see how
(12:45):
this hearing works its way out, and you can certainly
bet that whoever loses at the federal district court level
will appeal that ruling, and this particular decision will like
be appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court.
As for Friday, there are no public events on the
(13:07):
schedule for President Trump, no briefing on the schedule. As
it relates to what Caroline Levitt did on Thursday, I
think it's just getting ready for the holiday weekend more
than anything else. The President earlier in the week had
planned to spend his weekend at his golf resort in
New Jersey. He has changed those plans. He's spending the
(13:28):
weekend in Washington, DC. So that's the White House briefing
room for Friday, August twenty ninth. Have a great holiday weekend.
I'm taking Labor Day off, so i'll talk to you
on Tuesday. Have a good one.
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Friday, August
the twenty ninth, I'm John Decker. A day after the horrific,
deadly mass shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, killed two children and
injured eighteen others, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt conveyed
condolences to grieving families and also praised first responders.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
We are all eternally grateful to the heroic law enforcement
officers and first responders whose courage and swift response aided
all of those impacted by this horrible tragedy.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Lovitt also, on behalf of the President took a victory
lap of sorts for the declining crime numbers in the
nation's capital.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
And just yesterday, Washington, d C. Mayor Muriel Bowser credited
President Trump for surging federal law enforcement personnel and said
neighborhoods quote feel and are much safer.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
And in international news, the first reaction from the White
House to Russia's bombardment of Ukraine with deadly missiles and
drone strikes early on Thursday that killed at least twenty
three people.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
But perhaps both sides of this war are not ready
to end it themselves. The President wants it to end.
But the leaders of these two countries need it to
end and want it to end, must want it to
end as well.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
But we begin this Friday before Labor Day with the
White House taking full credit for the decline in violent
and nonviolent crime in Washington, d C. Now, there is
no doubt about the fact that crime has declined since
the federalization of the Washington d C. Police, The Metropolitan
Police Department, and DC's Mayor Muriel Bowser on Wednesday credited
(01:44):
President Trump's surge of federal law enforcement with lowering crime
in the nation's capital. In fact, what we heard from
Caroline Levitt, the White House Press Secretary, is details about
how much crime has declined in who Washington, d C.
Let's listen to Caroline right here.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Since President Trump's intervention, there have been more than one thousand,
two hundred and eighty three arrests right here in the
District of Columbia. Total crime in DC is down nineteen percent,
and violent crime is down thirty percent. Carjackings in the
district are down sixty seven percent, homicides are down fifty
seven percent, robberies are down forty percent, motor vehicle thefts
(02:27):
are down thirty two percent, and assaults with dangerous weapons
are down twenty three percent, and property crime is down
eighteen percent.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Just a day ago, Bowser expressed her appreciation for the
surge of officers that she says have enhanced what the
Metropolitan Police Department has been doing in the city, and
she told reporters that this partnership that has been in
place for about two weeks between federal law enforcement and
(02:57):
the Metropolitan Police Department is essentially working. The White House
took notice of those remarks, and Caroline Levitt expressed her
appreciation to the Mayor of Washington.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
We thank Mayor Bowser for her cooperation and her willingness
to help us make DC safe and beautiful. This entire
effort has vindicated what President Trump in law and order
advocates have been saying for years. And this is our
message to Americans in Democrat run cities nationwide. Decline is
a choice. You don't have to live in constant fear
of being robbed, raped, or murdered. Your leaders are lying
(03:33):
to you, and they have been failing you for decades now.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
It wasn't all praise coming from Muriel Bowser, Washington d
c's mayor She strongly rebuked the Trump administration's deployment of ICE,
the Immigration and Customs enforcement agents, and National Guard troops
in the city. She said on Wednesday, what we know
is not working is a break in trust between police
(03:58):
and community, especially with new federal partners in our community.
She also said, we know having masked ICE agents in
the community has not worked, and national guards from other
states has not been an efficient use of those resources.
So not all praise coming from Mayor Muriel Bowser, some
(04:20):
criticism leveled at some aspects of what the administration has
been doing. That being said, those federal law enforcement agents
as well as the National Guard, they remain in place,
and that clock is ticking for that thirty day time period,
and the President has indicated that he will ask Congress
when they come back from their August recess for additional
(04:43):
time to bring down crime even further in the nation's capital.
Now as crime has come down in Washington, d C.
It's pretty clear that the President is already focused on
where to focus next, and it seems, based upon what
the White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said on Thursday,
(05:04):
the focus is likely going to be the city of Chicago.
Let's listen to Caroline Levitt right here.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
For thirteen consecutive years, Chicago has had the most murders
of any US city.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
This is JB.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Prisker's legacy. By the way, for seven consecutive years, Chicago
has had the highest murder rate among US cities with
more than one million people. Now.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
In other news on Thursday, more focus on personnel moves
in the Trump administration, specifically the firing of CDC Director
Susan Monarez. Her removal has thrown that agency, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, based in Atlanta, into turmoil.
(05:48):
The turmoil relates to the abrupt firing of Susan Monarez,
as well as the abrupt resignations of four members of
the CDC leadership, and as a result, there are some
Republicans who are questioning where this agency is going right now,
(06:08):
one of them being Senator Bill Cassidy. He's a Republican
from Louisiana and his vote was key to Secretary Robert
Kennedy Junior's confirmation as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile,
a replacement for the CDC head has already been named.
(06:29):
The White House selected Deputy Secretary of the Department of
Health and Human Services Jim O'Neill to serve as acting
CDC director. Now Monarez had only served in her position
for about a month. She was confirmed in July by
a vote of fifty one to forty seven that was
along party lines, and at the time, Secretary Kennedy praised her,
(06:53):
calling her a public health expert with unimpeachable scientific credentials.
Interestingly enough, members of the Democratic Caucus who opposed her
in that vote have now rallied behind her. Senator Bernie
Sanders is one example of that. He has called for
an investigation of her firing and said that Kennedy is
pushing out scientific leaders who refused to act as a
(07:17):
rubber stamp for what he called his dangerous conspiracy theories
and manipulate science. Caroline Levitt at the White House briefing
on Thursday, was asked about the firing of the CDC director.
Let's listen to what Caroline had to say.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Look, what I will say about this individual is that
her lawyer's statement made it abundantly clear themselves that she
was not aligned with the President's mission to make America
healthy again, and the Secretary asked her to resign. She
said she would, and then she said she wouldn't, So
the President fired her, which he has every right to do.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Levitt is right. It is within the prerogative of the
President to fire the CDC director. All of those individuals
that serve in those capacities agency heads, for instance, they
serve at the pleasure of the President, and if the
President a month into her tenure didn't like the job
for whatever reason she was doing, he has every right
(08:11):
to fire her. But clearly a lot of questions remain
regarding her firing, And as it relates to Secretary Kennedy,
he is scheduled to testify on September fourth before the
Senate Finance Committee. That's a hearing that had actually been
set before the firing of the head of the CDC.
(08:32):
Also on Thursday, reaction coming from the White House to
a Russian missile and drone onslaught across all of Ukraine
early on Thursday, which included the second biggest bombardment of
the capital city of Ukraine since the war began. I
had an opportunity to ask Caroline Levitt about this bombardment,
(08:56):
what it means for peace going forward. Let's listen to
my question to the White House Press Secretary and the
answer that she gave me. First of all, the drone
and missile strikes that took place overnight in Ukraine. General
Keith Kellogg, the President's Special envoy, has described these attacks
(09:16):
as egregious. Do you agree with that description and do
you view President Putin as an impediment to getting peace
between these two countries.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Well, it's not about if I agree, It's about what
the President thinks. And I know what the President thinks
because I talked to him about this. He was not
happy about this news, but he was also not surprised.
These are two countries that have been at war for
a very long time. Russia launched this attack on Kiev,
and likewise, Ukraine recently dealt a blow to Russia's oil refineries.
They have taken out, as a matter of fact, twenty
(09:47):
percent of Russia's oil refinery capacity over the course of
their attacks throughout the month of August. So the President
is continuing to watch this intently. In This killing unfortunately,
will continue as long as the work continues, which is
why the President wants.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
It to add Following that question, I also asked White
House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt about Lisa Cook, the Federal
Reserve Board governor that President Trump said he is firing
because of allegations that she committed mortgage fraud. Now, Cook
has not been charged, much less convicted of any crime,
including mortgage fraud, and that was something that I wanted
(10:25):
to ask the White House Press Secretary about, given the
fact that there was no due process as it relates
to looking into these allegations. Instead, an allegation was made,
and the President, based upon those allegations, simply moved to
remove her from her position. Let's listen to my question
(10:46):
and the answer that Caroline Levitt gave me.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
I just had one more if I made. It has
to do with the President's intention to remove Lisa Cook
as a member of the Federal Reserve Board. He is
going or acting upon allegations that have been made by
Trump administration official Bill Pulti. These are just allegations. She
hasn't been convicted yet of any crime. Is the administration
(11:10):
opposed to allowing Ms Cook to have due process to
challenge what has been alleged against her.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I believe she is challenging it. I believe she just
filed a lawsuit today. And mister Poulty has deferred those
allegations over to the Department of Justice to investigate them.
What I will say is that you had these mortgage
receipts very clearly shown to the president, and he has
the cause that he needs to fire this individual. He
laid it out in the letter that he provided to
(11:39):
her into the public as well, and so we'll continue
to fight this battle now.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
In fact, as Caroline mentioned in that answer, Lisa Cook
has sued to challenge her removal by President Trump, and
federal judge has set a hearing for Friday morning on
her request to block the president from firing her. That
hearing was scheduled hours after Cook filed that lawsuit against
(12:03):
the President, challenging his attempt to remove her from the
Central Bank's Board of Governors. Cook's attorney has called the
justification for firing Lisa Cook nakedly pretextual, and he argues
that it would not constitute sufficient cause to remove her
(12:24):
even if those allegations are true, which they claim in
their court filing they're not. Now, Cook is asking the
judge presiding over this case to declare the president's firing
order unlawful and void and affirm that she remains a
board member. So we'll have to wait and see how
(12:45):
this hearing works its way out, and you can certainly
bet that whoever loses at the federal district court level
will appeal that ruling, and this particular decision will like
be appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court.
As for Friday, there are no public events on the
(13:07):
schedule for President Trump, no briefing on the schedule. As
it relates to what Caroline Levitt did on Thursday, I
think it's just getting ready for the holiday weekend more
than anything else. The President earlier in the week had
planned to spend his weekend at his golf resort in
New Jersey. He has changed those plans. He's spending the
(13:28):
weekend in Washington, DC. So that's the White House briefing
room for Friday, August twenty ninth. Have a great holiday weekend.
I'm taking Labor Day off, so i'll talk to you
on Tuesday. Have a good one.
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