starting separate families, reconnected years later. they were known for silliness, michael would sing love songs as sylvia teased him. sylvia's daughter says they were an amazing couple with a beautiful love story, died just three days apart. may they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing. erin burnett outfront starts next. up next, trump faces a deadline on impeachment as cnn learns he may add more attorneys. one adviser telling cnn he wants the world to know the election was stolen from him. more breaking news, president biden's first test, they want to cut his covid relief bill by two third. we'll talk to someone that just came out of the meeting. and kevin mccarthy could meet marjorie taylor greene as soon as tomorrow as democrats issue an ultimatum.

let's go outfront. good evening, i am erin burnett. outfront, breaking news on several fronts this hour. at the white house, the president meet whiting on stimu. it is a promise from biden to work across the aisle. we expect to speak to reporters after the meeting, we'll bring you that as soon as it happens. there at the microphone outside the white house. on capitol hill, major deadlines loom in the impeachment trial of former president donald trump. democrats filing, and trump has to give his papers by tomorrow. president trump may add new lawyers to the defense team. if he does, they'll join the brand new team as of last night, two attorneys known for high profile, controversial cases. david schoen and bruce castor.

david said i represent all sorts of reputed mobster figures, alleged head of russian mafia, straels mafia, and a guy the government claimed was the biggest massive ee owes oh in the world. castor is a prosecutor that declined to prosecute bill cosby. cosby was eventually convicted of drugging and sexual assaulting the woman. the new legal team, every one of the five lawyers known to represent him quit this weekend in mass. they wanted to argue it is unconstitutional to convict a former president with impeachment. trump wanted them to say the election was stolen instead. yes, this is the case trump stands by. he wants to stand by that he won by a landslide in the election. the team agree with his strategy. more than 60 courts dismissed it

out of hand, the election was free and fair and a popular vote win for biden. why is trump trying so hard to make those claims the focal point of the senate trial, charging him with inciting insurrection? does he think that the lie would justify a mob of his supporters trampling a woman? does it justify police officers being hit enbeaten with a hocke stick and crutch. does he think brian sicknick working the capitol that died after hit in the head with a fire extinguisher, does he think it justifies the two police officers that responded and have since taken their own lives. people that died that day didn't have to die. they were all there, brought together that day because trump lied about the election and then lied and lied and lied, inspiring and justifying the attackers' choice to be there. has trump watched the video of

one supporter charged by federal prosecutors, wonder in all the media he consumes if he has seen this. this video was one of the first people to breach the barricades outside the complex. the man is accused of attacking the police line, causing at least one officer to suffer a concussion. one thing that every person knows is true about the attack, and that is this, the rioters, some looking for blood, were in washington that day for one reason and that is that they listened to trump's lie. some sent him money in response to 600 fundraising emails and text messages sent between election night and january 6, talking about his landslide win and the rigged and fraud and all that business. we all heard him and all heard them repeat him. want to warn you, some language you're about to hear here is offensive. >> stop the steal. >> stop the steal, stop the steal. >> we'll lose everything.

>> we're going to fucking lose it all. >> that's treason. that's treason. >> we got to get nancy pelosi the hell out of there. >> speaker pelosi, we're coming, bitch. >> mike pence, i will tell you now, i am not hearing good stories. >> and truck wants his lawyers to continue spreading that. manu raju is on capitol hill. you're learning new information about the case the democrats will make against president trump. >> reporter: yeah, we'll see that tomorrow when briefs come out making the case why the democrats believe donald trump should be convicted in the senate impeachment trial, why he never be allowed to run for office ever again. the democrats plan to layout a case. >> manu, i have to interrupt you to listen to susan collins coming out of the meeting.

>> some of the key aides to discuss the next steps on the covid relief package. we outlined for the president the provisions that we have proposed as part of an approximately $600 billion package. he explained in more depth areas that were not flushed out as much in the package, the $1.9 trillion package and it was a very good exchange of views. i wouldn't say that we came together on a package tonight. no one expected that in a two hour meeting, but what we did agree to do is follow up and talk further at the staff level and amongst ourselves and with the president and vice president on how we can continue to work

together on this very important issue. all of us are concerned about struggling families, teetering small businesses, and overwhelmed health care system getting vaccines out and into people's arms and strengthening our economy and addressing the public health crisis that we face. so i think it was an excellent meeting, and we're very appreciative as his first official meeting in the oval office that the president chose to spend so much time with us in a frank and very useful discussion. finally, let me just say that we have demonstrated in the last year that we can come together on a bipartisan package dealing with the covid crisis. in fact, we have done that not

just once or twice, we've done it five times. and i am hopeful that we can once again pass a sixth bipartisan covid relief package. thank you. >> all right, you just saw the republicans there in the meeting. saw susan collins speaking. she was the one that called the meeting. the take away from that much longer than expected meeting, but i wouldn't say we came together. obviously they want to work together, that was the operative headline from senator collins. manu is with me, also phil mattingly. let me ask you, phil, obviously the meeting went longer than anyone anticipated, but it doesn't appear there was a break through. >> which i think, the reality of where they were going into the meeting. to your point, the meeting was

an hour longer than anybody expected going into the meeting. what does that mean? we have to wait and find out. one thing that's important you heard from senator collins, they're going to keep talking and have more staff level discussions. we were at the point, erin, based on white house advisers and congressional officials i talked to in the last 24 to 48 hours, comes to fish or bait moment. while they didn't reach close to a deal, there's no firm agreement and still a huge, huge lift to try to bridge the two proposals. conversations are still ongoing, notable as manu knows, democrats are getting ready to kick the process into gear this week. >> and obviously they're still pretty far apart. republicans are willing to do a package about a third of the size biden wanted. that's where we are tonight, right, phil? >> there's no change in terms of the white house position and what republicans came into it. erin, this is important to note. discussions occurring or good thing, when you look at whether a deal is possible, better than

no talks whatsoever. how far apart the two sides were, it is not a minor thing to come more than two-thirds on the top line. then talk about what's inside the proposals, this is what's more difficult. biden have money for state and local aid, republican proposal has zero for that local aid. you can go in and out of every part of the top lines. there are significant divergences on policy. that has to be married up the next several days to make any progress. so long as the white house makes clear repeatedly as they have from the president on down that they want to act big, go big, bigger is better than smaller, they're in a different place than the ten republican senators were. >> phil mattingly, thank you very much. manu is with me. in terms of where we are on this, how close are we to when

we start to see movement among any republican senators in terms of amounts or anything? >> i think what you're going to see as the negotiations continue to talk, they'll have some discussions between the republican senators and the white house but the democrats are going to continue to move forward on their own plans to fast track legislation that could be passed on their own this month. try to get something through the house sometime later this month, the senate, either first week of march, because unless there's significant movement, particularly on the republican side to go closer to what joe biden is asking for, $1.9 trillion, democrats will move on their own. they believe that's where the support lies. they have narrow majority in the house. 50/50 senate. if they keep the party united, they can get it through and are confident they can, if they keep the price tag close to 1.9 trillion. >> all comes in the context of

maybe bipartisan, talk about impeachment trial for the former president, and all these deadlines are tomorrow. i know democrats have to layout the formal days, the president has to reply, the not guilty equivalent of the senate trial. so where are we and also something significant i believe you're just learning about a step mcconnell has taken to tip his hand here and this is pertaining to liz cheney. >> he said privately that he believes donald trump committed impeachable offenses, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. he also voted last week with republicans to essentially throw out the proceedings, but nevertheless, he in a new statement we obtained is offering support to one of the ten republicans that voted to impeach donald trump, liz cheney, third ranking republican in house gop leadership came under fire from trump defenders trying to ouster her from that leadership position. in a statement, mcconnell says cheney acted on her convictions

and is someone who should be trusted and he said he supports her. that's further than the house republican leader kevin mccarthy has gone. mccarthy offered support for liz cheney, but he has concerns and she has to answer for the concerns in a conference during a meeting wednesday. here, a significant statement from senate republican leader amid the debate how to move on from donald trump. >> thank you very much, manu. i want to go to chief strategist for the bush, cheney campaign and ben ginsburg, was council to the bush cheney campaigns. i know you know each other well. matthew, let me start with you. the president is trying to get lawyers on board, and the whole question is on the teledefense. he wants them to say he won by a landslide as opposed to making it a constitutionality point.

in the context manu just reported, what do you make of it with majority leader mitch mcconnell making it clear he sp supports liz cheney and doing it now. >> i think it is a mistake of the president. as you know, you put these lawyers in a courtroom, they couldn't make the argument, making the arlgt would be lying to the court. i think it is wholly about the president not able to give up and admit he lost. he conveys himself as a great winner. same reason by barry bonds, never admitted performance enhancing runs, can't admit he got the championship without them. donald trump can't admit losing, having to lie and make an argument, why he lost his lawyers. it is his own personal inability to say he lost. >> and ben, on this front many

of these senators, you had a lot of senators that were republicans that made it clear they think what trump did is impeachable, right, that they think it is terrible and wrong, yet they've said but it is not constitutional to do it now. they've given trump's team that out if they want it. he has the votes to prevail if he makes that narrow argument. do you find it incredible he is still trying to push them to say it was stolen from him? >> yeah. it would be a real mistake. he has what would appear to be an obvious win or exoneration as he would call it on just the constitutional arguments. but i think he is very aware in hearing about the way the democrats are going to present their case with vivid video, interspursed with his words, the notion he perpetrated the big lie will be part of this. i think he never got his forum

on january 6 in the electoral college vote to be able to make his case and it is eating at him. he is about to make a terrible mistake for himself if he goes down the road of trying to argue election fraud. >> matthew, republican senator jon cornyn told cnn it would be a disservice for trump's legal team to make the focus on election fraud itself. here's the big test, matthew. if they do that, use that fraud defense in any way, will any of the 45 republicans that said look, you give us the constitutional out, we'll take it, will any turn and vote to convict? >> well, i mean, that's the question. there are two parts of that. first part, i don't think any of the 45 change the vote, no matter what argument donald trump falls into, that his lawyers make, bad mistakes, they're already set in stone on that. i think the question knows he is not likely to get convicted, but i don't think that's the point. if i were the democrats i would

keep pursuing this, even if i knew we weren't getting conviction because here is why. you can't get to reconciliation which is what the republicans want to push the side of unity, don't do the impeachment, it is going to divide the country, there are lessons around the world you have to have truth before you get to reconciliation, but bigger lesson in our country, reconstruction. we are starting at the beginning of black history month, african-american history month. because we didn't handle and do accountability in truth and because abraham lincoln was shot, took 100 years before the vision of abraham lincoln was fulfilled, ultimately in '65 in the voting rights act and civil rights bill. draw a straight line not providing accountability for reconstruction to thousands of lynchings that occurred, death of emet till, death of jimmy lee jackson, of medgar evers, death of the girls at the 16th street baptist church, death of martin luther king.

when you don't confront a problem, this was an insurrection pushed by the president of the united states, we have a history shows this is not going to be solved unless we get to the truth. if i were the democrats, i would wholly be concerned not about the punishment but what's the truth and what actually happened. >> certainly, ben, the president is showing by his actions now his desire to fight on the fraud itself, that that point of view isn't going away, him pushing it isn't going away, belief in it isn't going away, by the very way he is handling this. in that context, what do you make of senator mcconnell who stood up and said the president and people in power responsible for the riot said it publicly, right? then voted to dismiss the proceedings on constitutionality, and now says he supports liz cheney and her vote to impeach. >> i think what he is saying is that he is preserving the right,

sending a signal to members to be able to vote to convict if the evidence is overwhelming from the democrats, and as well if donald trump goes down the fraud line of the case. remember when the seven republicans objected to results, they did it on procedural grounds, didn't do it on voter fraud grounds or that the election was fraudulent. so the theory there is not support for voter fraud for no other reason that the senators were elected there themselves, they would be saying their own election is invalid. if trump goes down the road of arguing there was voter fraud, he does risk republican senators following the setup that mitch mcconnell delivered tonight. >> thank you both very much. i appreciate it. ben, matthew, thank you. next, a race against time.

cases of covid mutations in the united states multiply. our next guest has a sobering view of what will happen and the role of vaccines. and republican leader kevin mccarthy promises to meet with qanon sympathizer marjorie taylor greene. so far, though, no meeting. democrats are now issuing an ultimatum. so you want to make the best burger ever? then make it! that means selling everything. and eating nothing but cheese till you find the perfect slice... even if everyone asks you... another burger truck? don't listen to them! that means cooking day and night until you get... [ ding ] you got paid! that means adding people to the payroll. hi mom. that means... best burger ever. intuit quickbooks helps small businesses be more successful with payments, payroll, banking and live bookkeeping.

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coronavirus. up front, professor welcome hazeltine, author of variants, the shape shifting challenge of covid-19. it comes down to these variants, they're coming up in multiple places, mutating in different ways, that they're more transmissible, and that some of them are certainly also more deadly. how far could the variants set us back? >> these variants could set us back a good deal. if we look at the immediate future, we're going to have relatively good news, rates of infection declining. we have to look forward to what's happening in the fall. at that time, the variants, there are three from abroad, at least two serious variants here home grown in the united states, those can evade partially our vaccines and those people who are already infected, will not

be protected from some of the variants. you can look forward to recurrens. whether it is a category five predicted or whether it is a category two or three, it looks like be serious come fall. >> that's a lot of death in either case. let me ask you about something we saw in "the wall street journal." they were going through sobering timeline from the education minister of singapore and that minister says, quote, it may take four to five years before we finally see the end of the pandemic, and start of a post covid normal. you said this will be a decades long battle, much worse than we see every year with the flu. explain. >> well, if you look at the coronavirus, it is behaving just like those. they come back every year and pretty much in the same form. only difference is they give you a cold, this kills one out of

every 200 it infects. flu virus comes back, one-tenth as lethal as this. 20 to 60,000 americans die every year. multiply by ten, we have a serious problem. i think the vaccines that are being developed now will have blunting effect on that, they won't make it go away. just like flu vaccines don't make flu go away. so we have to prepare ourselves for a long battle. that means obeying public health advice, it means staying home when requested to, and doing everything you can to avoid getting infected. and means the government doing everything it can with its great resources to prepare us with new drugs, new tests, new vaccines. >> and your view is that people are hopeful, even dr. fauci said maybe there will be spectators in the stands this summer, you

think that's when we'll see things shift again? i don't think any of us would say we're in a world that's defined as normal. >> we love with flu, not killing as many of us. what many of us are afraid of, we have seen two periods of hope followed by a terrible disaster, winter disaster. we have seen what happens if you don't eradicate the virus. four countries eradicated it and are in better position than we are. we can't do it. we have to muster popular will to do it. it can't be done only by leadership, has to be done by each citizens. we have to muster the will to do what's needed that four other countries have done, eradicate this so it doesn't come back, damage our economies and life. >> professor, thank you very much. i appreciate your time. >> you're welcome. thank you. next, the cult of trump, up

to 70 officials from the george bush administration quitting the party. one saying the party has become a cult of trump. top white house official on a meeting between president biden and republicans. and kamala harris interview that may have back fired. >> we're going to try to find a bipartisan way forward, but we need to work together. that's not where we are working together. insurance is cool. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ first up is this french onion dip. i'm going to start the bidding at $5. thank you, sir. $6 over there! going once. going twice. sold! don't get mad get e*trade and get more than just trading investing. banking. guidance.

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breaking news. house republican leader kevin mccarthy could meet with controversial republican congresswoman marjorie taylor greene as soon as tomorrow evening, according to sources talking to cnn tonight. comes as house democrats give mccarthy an ultimatum. remove greene from committee assignments or they'll bring it to a vote. she talked about executing democrats and buying into dangerous and completely crazy conspiracy theories. up front, former republican congressman mark sanford. governor, appreciate the time. some of the conspiracy theories for anyone that doesn't know include having supported that

ladi lasers from space may have caused wildfires in california. do you think they should remove congresswoman greene from committees before democrats step in and try to do it themselves? >> well, i think there's both policy and politics question to what you're asking. on the policy side, yes. i think that he should step in. there are certain bridges ought to be too far in the world of politics, we have to tone down the crazy in washington, d.c. ultimately for the republican party to heal itself, become a viable alternative to in terms of national debate that needs to take place in washington, d.c., it has to cleanse from within. this would be a first step measure that makes sense. that's the policy question. but the politics question is different. i don't know the ages of your children, but i know with my four boys, when i back them into a wall, say this is what you're going to do or else, it never

works out that well for me. i think in this case, the democrats are playing a hand by pushing mccarthy like this, i suspect they're going to get not the reaction they're looking for. >> so it is an interesting point, whether it has to come from within. i want to ask you about the republican party on the issue of impeachment, right? in your state of south carolina your republican party voted to formally censure tom rice, right? he is the congressman who voted to impeach trump for inciting the riot for the capitol. then the party in your state has come out, formally censured him for doing so. now you understand this better than anyone, right? you ran a primary campaign against president trump last election on a lot of traditional values like fiscal responsibility. you saw his power in the party. and he's got the power, even though he lost the white house and lost the senate, he is the guy that has the power. do you agree with all of the

former gwb folks calling the party of cult? >> yeah, i thought it is a cult personality. the question four years ago, are you for or against trump, well, i am against them against issues important to people locally, against him on the theme of conservatism. none of it matters. it was are you for or against trump. that's not anything that i've ever heard before. interestingly talking to likes of flake or corker, same kind of conversations taking place in their states at the time that they looked at running again. something weird is in the waters now. it is incredibly dangerous but it is what it is.

yes, a culture personality that exists. >> what do you think mitch mcconnell is trying to accomplish. he stood up and said trump caused a riot and other voigces of power. now tonight he says he supports liz cheney, she's under assault by other republicans for her vote to impeach trump as the third motion powerful republican in the house. what do you think mitch mcconnell is trying to do? >> i think he is an institutionalist. the tra drigs digs and prerogative of the members. the tom rice story you were telling, here's a guy took a lonely vote, one of ten across the country, one of one in south carolina, and you have the state party coming out and sen censur you. this is a vote of conscience. if you take a vote of conscience as a member, you don't work for the south carolina party, you

work for the folks home that elected you. we had things upside down in this culture personality that we're living in now. i think what mitch is doing is saying wait a minute, prerogatives of liz cheney ought to be the prerogatives as she represents people in wyoming and let's not have as much meddling as we have going on. would seem to be conflicting signals. i think his view as institutionalist is consistent. >> governor sanford, appreciate the time. always appreciate talking to you. >> yes, ma'am. thank you. >> i want to bring in john avalon, senior political analyst. you hear governor sanford talk about the party, it is a deep problem from within, right, and then you see 50 people that worked for george w. bush saying we're out, reportedly, because this has become a cult of personality. it is incredible, the cult seems to be getting stronger, i emphasize some, in some ways with a person that lost and lost

the senate. >> yeah. yeah. and that's because of fear. that's because there's enough republicans afraid of partisan primary that they're willing to overlook their conscience, the evidence, the facts for fear of a mean tweet, fear of being on the bad side of a partisan primary which he suffered in the primary race. you have to ask what matters. do facts matter, conscience, does principle matter. the evidence for all of the people knuckling under is no. george will said the four most important words, up to a point. this is definitely time to decide what's too much. even any questions about moral equivalent of liz cheney and marjorie taylor greene. there's no more alley kwif lens

between hate analyze of the party, and people trying to be principled conservatives and vote their conscience. there's no more aal equivalence >> do you think mcconnell is trying to signal anything else? we know how he voted, he voted on trump's side on that, that was as clear telegraphing as it is going to get. do you get the feeling depending if trump pushes this, not going the constitutional route, i want to go it was stolen from me route, he could put it up for debate again among republican senators? >> absolutely. here's why. first of all trump's lawyers who signed up when other folks rejected it bailed on him last time because he was going to go that route. second of all, mcconnell made his real feelings clear in multiple feelings on the house floor, calling out donald trump for a big lie that led to an attack on the u.s. capitol.

here is where mcconnell being institutionalist matters. it is about you attacked my house, that's going to matter. finally, that 45 votes has been overstated. it was in language of debating the constitutionality, not saying the vote itself was unconstitutional. mcconnell is making his views clear. >> what happens to marjorie taylor greene, he has a meeting tomorrow, he put it off, put it off, but he has to have it, now it is the democrats putting the ultimatum, governor sanford is right, nobody wants to be told what to do. how does it play out? >> it is whether mccarthy grows a spine. somebody who has been a denialist, called a high school shooter false flag operation being on the education committee, see democrats get bounced and resigned from al

franken to katie hill, this is someone you'll cod he will? it becomes admission that your party is dependent on the crazy caucus. afraid you can't win to that. admission, fear of attack from extremes will cause you to overwhelm your conscience and principles. i don't think it is tenable for a party or party leader. >> john, thank you. next, republicans and the president are so far apart on covid relief, did the face-to-face meeting accomplish anything for tens and tens of millions americans that need it now. can president biden deliver on a promise of immigration reform? >> we lived four years of trump stringing us along. rt bed. can it help with snoring? i've never heard snoring... exactly. no problem. ...and done. and now, save $1,000 on the sleep number 360 special edition smart bed. plus, free premium delivery when you add a base. ends monday.

breaking news. president biden wrapping up talks with republican senators on dualing coronavirus relief plans and they're dualing, very far apart on the amount of money that can go to individuals and on aid that will matter to individuals to state and local governments. the meeting was called by republican senator susan collins, it lasted for two hours, even though both sides are extremely far apart, biden's plan has a $1.9 trillion plan on the table, the gop has about a third of that. but senator susan collins did sound optimistic as she left the

white house moments ago. >> i think it was an excellent meeting and we're very appreciative that as his first official meeting in the oval office, the president chose to spend so much time with us in a frank and very useful discussion. >> i want to go back to phil mattingly at the white house. i wouldn't say we came together, but they point out they're incredibly far apart on issues that both of their flanks, put it that way, said are no nonnegotiable. >> reporter: they're expected to put out a readout of the meeting in a short while. the earliest thing i heard was from one official that techsed good meeting doesn't equal deal. that's the obvious thing, echoes what susan collins said. there's some effort on the democratic side to tamp down

expectations of what a two hour meeting means. the reason why is this. if you listened to what the white house officials from the president on down said for 10, 15 days in a row, they made clear acting big is what they see as the mandate. acting big is what they see as their pathway forward to address what they view as dual crises. republicans made clear and told me they believe they can come up from $618 billion top line they put on the table. they're not coming close to $1.9 trillion. the biggest question outstanding is yes, talks will continue. yes, republicans are extremely appreciative of the fact they had two hours in the oval office with the president and i would note two hours in the oval office before any democratic lawmakers had two hours in the oval office. >> fair point. >> reporter: with president biden. you could see senator collins hinted that in her public statement as well. also recognition of the dynamics on the policy front. they're just really, really far

apart. manu talked about it earlier, democrats on capitol hill are ready to go, and ready to go and ready to go big. they believe they're aligned with the white house from the president on down, don't think any meeting will change that dramatically. but obviously we'll wait and see what the white house has to say. >> as we have been talking, everyone knows you're the senior white house reporter, but you also were many years covering capitol hill. we have gotten as you were speaking something from mitch mcconnell which is significant. i want to share it with viewers, especially in the context of him defending liz cheney's vote on impeachment moments ago. he has come out with a statement on congresswoman marjorie taylor greene, phil. he has broken his silence. this is a quote from senator mcconnell. looney lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the republican party and our country. somebody that suggested perhaps no airplane hit the pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were prestaged, and that the clintons crashed jfk's

airplane is not living in reality. though this is a pretty incredible statement from anyone in the republican party, but this is from the minority leader. >> minority leader who didn't mention marjorie taylor greene by name, echoing what the white house press secretary has done in the briefing room. it underskocores the last six weeks, mcconnell trying to move the party away from where they were centralized the past four years. he failed when it comes to impeachment. interesting to see if this has effect on house republicans, particularly on leader kevin mccarthy who is supposed to meet with marjorie taylor greene. this is a push from his counter part in the senate. we'll see if he does anything with it the course of the next 24 hours. >> thank you very much. incredible statement. looney and to list them out, making sure he is not leaving anything for interpretation there. thank you very much. that comes ahead of kevin mccarthy's meeting with marjorie taylor greene tomorrow when her committee assignment on the education committee is up for

discussion. tomorrow, president biden signing an executive order on immigration reform, already facing legal challenges on this. ed lavandera is outfront. >> reporter: the immigration debate in america is a political mine field and right out of the gate, president biden is facialing legal challenges. the president issued a pause on is ready to move on other issues. mendez came to laredo, texas with her parents at the age of 2. she's now 33. everyone in her family including her four children are now u.s. citizens, except her. mendez is one of the hundreds of thousands of people known as dreamers, president biden is proposing a pathway to citizen ship for these immigrants who have been able to live in the u.s. because of the obama era program known as daca. >> we've lived four years of

trump vincstringing us along wi fear and anxiety. i'm hopeful something positive will come out of these different legislations, or these executive actions that biden has brought. >> reporter: the trump administration wheeled out four years of controversial programs that critics often described as inhumane but that many conservatives have celebrated. there are still 611 children separated from their parents as part of the trump administration's zero tolerance policy. the biden administration is proposing a task force to reunify those families. >> i will accomplish what i said i would do, much more humane policy based on family unification. >> reporter: there are still about 28,000 migrants sitting in mexican border towns seeking asylum through the controversial remain in mexico policy. advocates have pushed for these migrants to be allowed into the country while their cases are handled in immigration courts. former acting director of immigration and customs

enforcement ronald warns that biden's immigration policies could create another surge of migrants at the southern border. >> learn from the history that we already have. when you roll those back thosthose elements what is in place now, you'll encourage people. >> reporter: there is the issue of the border wall. >> how much do you enjoy this view. >> i will see it through bars. it will be horrible. >> reporter: last year joseph was bracing for construction of the border wall across his ranch on the bank of the rio grande in texas. we returned to see him after president biden halted all construction. >> along the route they built, they put this marker. >> reporter: but now he feels like he's won the border wall fight, at least for four years anyway. >> the way i saw it, it was a hostile takeover of my property and i was being treated like a second class citizen and they were fine and dandy with it. >> reporter: so erin, as i mentioned, right out of the gate president biden proposing issues

that are sure to hit stumbles along the way. the president is calling for a pathway to citizen ship for millions of undocumented immigrants already in the u.s. it's an eight-year plan that requires criminal background checks and proof they are learning e nglish and what to d with the remain in mexico policy highly controversial for both sides of the aisle. bipartisanship seems incredibly difficult. erin. >> thank you very much. next, vicious crackdowns over protests in russia over the poisoning and detention of that putin critic. did they signal just how worried vladimir putin really is right now?

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your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. ♪ otezla. show more of you. tonight the u.s. slamming vladimir putin. could these protests be a real threat to putin? matthew chance is out front. >> reporter: this is what the kremlin does when threatened, it cracks down hard. across russia, mass protests calling for the release of key opposition leader alexey navalny were met with more than 5,000 detentions and of course, brute force. in moscow, this protester was repeatedly shot with an electric baton as he was pulled away in

agony. i can't breathe shouts another as he's held down by riot police in the remote city. the heavy-handed tactics don't seem to be easing the public mood. we're all really fed up says this woman. i've been waiting for the moment when finally revetolt and demonstrations begin she says. this is what's been galvanizing them. not just the horrific poisoning of alexey navalny in siberia last year but his defiant performance since recovering from russia arrests and faces a key court hearing to decide if he'll spend years behind bars or be free. navalny's success online, corruption exposed detailing a billion-dollar palace alleged to

have been build for vladimir putin has been viewed more than 100 million times on youtube. the kremlin denies any connection to the building but there seems to be one bazaar attempt to boost the putin support online. this video posted on prokremlin video showing workers with face masks performing this highly choreographed dance routine to a russian pop song. putin is our president they shout at the end. more seriously, russian riot police are being shown prepped to squash the demonstrations. the country is proud of you they're told by their commander, not the protesters outside. it seems the battle lines have been drawn in this stand off playing out on russia's streets. neither side seems ready to back down. erin, supporters of alexey

navalny are calling on president biden to pressure the kremlin and impose tough sanctions on individuals close to vladimir putin. so far u.s. officials have condemned the treatment of the russian opposition leader and the protesters but it now won't be until after the court hearing tomorrow when it's known if navalny will be freed or kept behind bars and the u.s. and allies will be expected to act. back to you, erin. >> thank you so much, matthew. thanks to all of you. anderson starts now. good evening. mitch mcconnell, the senate minority leader and a man that says nothing casually weighed in on qanon supporter marjorie taylor greene. what he said could matter a lot. we'll tell you in just a few moments. first, we begin tomorrow morning just in time for grand hog day house impeachment managers will file papers laying out their case in the second trial of the 45th president of the united states. and in keeping with the spirit of the day, there is a lot what