it had been $5 a share. that is speculative froth. the other story is microsoft. they report after the closing bell today. the stock is moving up as we approach that earnings report. it actually hit 233, a record high earlier today. the results come 4:00 this afternoon. times up for me. neil, it is yours. neil: stuart, thank you very much for that. could explain lower than normal volume in issues. waiting for microsoft. tomorrow, waiting for apple. that could be the first company to report 100 billion-dollar revenue quarter. maybe highest earnings than any company in u.s. history. that is tomorrow. microsoft is today after the closing bell. i want to thank first my friend david asman, who is monitoring the same developments in my absence yesterday. what he is talking about then we are talking about right now. the nasdaq, attention it is getting. it is getting too much attention? read from dick grasso the guy who once headed the new york stock exchange, whether we're

getting too frothy out there. we're following number of other developments including states that are opening things up a little bit. are they responding to political pressure or the fact that quite genuinely covid cases hospitalizations, all that stuff that we monitor are suddenly on an inimproving trend. we'll monitor that. ii want to go to chad pergram following fast moving developments in washington. more executive orders out of the president of the united states. maybe, maybe a plan where republicans democrats can share power kind of in the united states senate. chad, where do things stand? reporter: good afternoon, neil. this is very interesting, it appears that mitch mcconnell, the minority leader, majority leader chuck schumer on precipice of working out power sharing agreement. this will be very important as they try to get a new covid deal. what fox learned this morning is a perpeck prospective timetable. we believe they will put the

deal on the for first week in march. there is term of art you hear a lot about in coming weeks, particularly on. floor of the house and senate, budget reconciliation. this is special process once a year where you can bypass a filibuster. what they will do basically build this vehicle next week in the house and senate and then once they get something worked out on the substance, put that into the budget reconciliation vehicle so they can bypass a filibuster, and move through this the house and senate, late february, first of march. what does that have to do with a power sharing agreement. many democrats want to get rid of the filibuster to pass covid relief and number of other important things important to progressives. they didn't have the vote. part of this power sharing agreement they will maintain the filibuster in the united states senate. here is mitch mcconnell. >> rather than relying on the democratic leader i took the discussion directly to his members. basic arithmetic now ensures

that there are not enough votes to break the rule. reporter: the problem is that democrats lack the votes to end the filibuster. that is why majority leader chuck schumer and mine north leader mitch mcconnell worked out an accord for the 50-50 split. this is why democrats will have to use the reconciliation gambit to approve covid relief. it is not that rare to use budget reconciliation. democrats could not overcome a filibuster in 2009 as they tried to pass obamacare so that is why in 2010 they used budget reconciliation. republicans tried to use budget reconciliation to up do obamacare unsuccessfully. they also used it for tax reform. so in a 50-50 senate, think about the power dynamic here between mitch mcconnell and chuck schumer. mitch mcconnell, he has a lot of the power and none of the responsibility. the converse is true for chuck schumer. he barely has the power but bears all of the responsibility. neil? neil: i just get a sinking

feeling that they could still blow up this filibuster though. it sounds like mitch mcconnell is counting on opposition from key democrats i get that. i had is a handy weapon to use if you feel you're being blocked by republicans, right? reporter: absolutely. this is where the minority always protective of that. if they blow up the filibuster we know because they have the vote to do so. they need 51 votes to get into parliamentary posture. this is where senators in middle louis is a murkowski, joe manchin, mark kelly are in the middle. how do you get the senators are in play every single vote comes down the pike. they would be unwilling to go down that road. keep in mind when they initiated the first "nuclear option," that is what opened the door in this when harry reid was the majority leader, that lowered the threshold to cut off filibusters

for most executive branch nominees. 10 months before they had an agreement they would no go down that path. guess what? they changed it 10 months later. neil: again and again. thank you very much, my friend, chad pergram, our nation's capital see if they broker the piece. stick to that agreement. meantime, in california, new york, in new jersey, they are looking opening things up a tad. a lot could be cited by improving numbers on cases and slowdown not only cases, hospitalizations deaths all of that. or it could political pressure involved for the governors in those states to act and act accordingly or there could be fire at the polls. jackie deangelis has been monitoring all of that. she joins us in new york. reporter: good afternoon, neil. that's right. a string of changes when it comes to covid restrictions across the country. they are easing. it is in blue states. they were some of the strictest remember that. in new york governor cuomo said

restrictions might be lifted later this week. no specifics what exactly we could expect. but the governor tweeted that the positive rate dropped to 5.47% which is still pretty high. urging some to question what exactly has changed here? now in new jersey they made some changes without making a big announcement of it. new guidelines to make it easier for schools to stay open, for parents to return to work. but new daily cases continue to remain high there in that state as well. in chicago they're giving the green light for limited indoor dining. that is on benchmarks of a covid positivity rate below 8% for three consecutive days. there was a time that a 8% rate was considered very high and very dangerous. finally in california, governor newsom lifting the stay at home orders for all parts of the state including southern california. the reasoning there, projections for intensive care units are dropping but of course the state's public health officer still warned that covid-19 is still here and still deadly.

so our work is not over. now this is all coming as we're watching the new strains abroad very closely. in the uk, the new variant seems to be hitting young people and women harder. reporting indicate that the new strain is not only more transmissible, it is making people sicker, neil. neil: all right. jackie, thank you very much. jackie deangelis following all the developments you've been seeing in corner of your screen. we've been in a tight trading range for the dow jones industrials, one of averages, s&p and nasdaq did, they're both a little off today, read on all things markets dick grasso the guy who used to run the new york new york stock exchange. always good to have you. what do you make of the market on interhooks, whether we see stimulus don't know whether it is generous the president wants, how much after factor do you think that is based on trading you see? >> always great to be with you. i think the market is looking at a number of factors.

first and foremost to borrow from my old pal james carville, kind of amend his statement, it is the vaccine, stupid, okay? we have to administer inoculate a large percentage of the population so that the economy can be reopened on a permanent basis. you know, the stop, start, has hurt. i think what the federal government has got to do is get the 50 states in line, get a good program in place, get people inoculated and open this economy permanently. having said that, neil, you know, you and i remember the days of dot-com to do the gone? right now in every market cycle, there will be excesses. right now, you're looking at the spac phenomena. tell you, neil, there will be some spacs that will be very

successful and some spacs that will become tire tracks. so investors have got to be very, very careful. you know, this president has pledged a program of unity and the covid relief package is going to be his first major test after effectively oversees the vaccine distribution program. if we get a program somewhere between zero and 1.9 trillion, that is agreed upon by both sides of the aisle, that will be a first and i think a very major accomplishment for the new president. the other thing in pursuit of unity, this president can do is call the leader of the senate and the speaker of the house and ask them to just simply knock off this nonsense of an impeachment trial. the american people don't want that the american people want

solutions for their economic well being. well being of this nation. that i think, neil, what the markets are waiting to see. we're kind of moving sideways now. you had some very good reports from financials. my sense you will get some good reports protechnology. certainly the second quarter of this year will have very favorable comparisons to last year. so if we have unity, if we have vaccine program, i think this market can cook to the upside. neil: all right. we'll see. dick, i had four more questions to ask butted those four in succession in that opening statement there, touche to you. dick grasso the former nyse chairman and ceo. >> thanks, neil, great to be you. neil: to you as well, my friend, but a majority of americans do support this impeachment effort. go figure. we'll have more.

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♪. neil: all right. blow up the filibuster, don't blow up the filibuster. the concern you get a simple majority of senators to agree on any major lease of legislation, has likes of senator mitt romney and rob portman concerned. a reconciliation route where you need a simple majority to get things through could be a bad signal even though that is the direction they fear this is headed. my own view quoting from senator romney that we would be better going through the normal process, having republicans and democrats working together to approve a piece of legislation to address the most crying need of our country. calls have been made by the white house. there are elements for improvement. it is better when we work together. essentially rob portman you might have heard yesterday the ohio republican senator not running for re-election. he is the third prominent senator to indicate if you add in pat toomey and senator burr, that are not interested running

for re-election. this is a dividing line among republicans and democrats. but democrats hold the keys here. we'll see what happens on that front. keeping a close eye on the markets right now. particularly technology, this is a big, big week, the first sign they're looking for, microsoft numbers after the close. granddaddy apple, expected to report the biggest numbers of any company, especially technology, ever, ever. 100 million-dollar revenue quarter expected. that it made the most money for any company in any single quarter that is the conjecture. keith fitz-gerald whether that adds up. those are boffo estimates to keep up to, what if it doesn't? what if there is a wrinkle in that report? >> that is always possible there will be a wrinkle.

digitization is one of the most single profitable trend in mankind history, five years, 10 years, 20 years down the road. we're talking about stuff that will change the world the next 100 years. that is what the companies are really up to. the values if you look at it in that lens are tremendously cheap where they're trading today, which catch as lot of people by surprise. neil: is it reflected in the price of say an apple, reflected price of microsoft in and out of all-time highs or is it not? in other words we're way off of this. this is happel and almost $2.4 trillion company, was less than a year ago, it became a trillion dollar company. too much too fast, what do you think? >> you know again, there is always the possibility but let's take apple for example. i maintain that the medical opportunity they are following right now may be three times larger than the global iphone sales market worldwide. so you're talking about stuff that has not yet been priced

into the market. you know i came into the apple's last split saying i think the stock will double. we're already 40% of the way there inside of 12 months. how fast, who knows? is it ultimately underpriced? i submit the answer is yes. neil: what do you think of this whole market, keith. people get nervous when a lot of people get a bit giddy, maybe that is reflected in all the froth around gamestop, big short position, and longs beating up the shorts, then you know, everything that has been happening with bitcoin, there is a lot of this craziness if. there might be justifiable craziness, but a lot of market is, this is what happens at a peak. this can go on quite sometime. you reminded me of that? what do you think? >> what is the old saying the markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent? fear is normal. it existed in markets since the

dawn of time. the giddiness is the problem. when you take pleasure in people's misfortune or other people losing the battle. that is worrisome, a lack of civility or a lack of manners, my concern, moving protective stops up absolutely. taking my eye off the ball. i am not playing game for next 10 years, no way, even when the markets do get frothy that inevitably creates a buying opportunity. the question how you handle it, that is what people are unprepared to deal with. neil: keith, we shall see. keith fitz-gerald, fitzgerald group principle. >> thank you. neil: edward lawrence is following a couple of developments and the blitz of executive orders but the latest move to ban new leases on new oil and gas drill on federal lands. what is this about, edward? reporter: lands and waters. the new regulations threaten the energy independence of united states according to independent petroleum association. the sources in the oil and gas

industry that the administration plans to ban new leases on drilling and fracking in federal lands and waters for one year. industry groups say this means permanent job losses. >> loss of jobs that have benefited from this natural gas renaissance which happened in the chemical industry and manufacturing industry. you're talking upon thousands and thousands of johns which we threaten if the biden administration moves forward laying out. reporter: white house source familiar with the new regulations in the past 90 minutes they are in draft form and could be changed based on outreach in the next 24 hours. president joe biden called climate change is an immediate crisis. that is where the regulations are coming from. owe thinks oil and gas jobs will shift to renewable energy. other regulations targeting the auto industry of this administration to be net zero

2050 affecting the auto jobs. new mandatory regulations for covid-19 coming down the pike that adds another layer for medical professionals. treasury secretary janet yellen testified an additional 10% income tax on companies should be imposed importing goods from overseas. that is on top much of raising the corporate tax rate. republicans senators questioned all of it will help? >> with janet yellen's interest raising taxes on anything, she is a climate activist extraordinaire, she wants to embrace taxes on people, middle-class americans, all of these things are bad for our economy and they're certainly bad for energy development in our country. reporter: biden administration believes all these regulations will protect workers without affecting the economic recovery. neil? neil: all right. edward, thank you very, very much. we'll take a quick break here. i want to bring you up to date on news out of the united

kingdom. officially passing 100,000 covid-related deaths for the first time. grim milestone in our country up to 426,000 who have died. seven-day trends and the like are indeed improving in most countries, including the uk, when you hit the big numbers they are jarring and a reminder we're nowhere near yet. stay with us. we're watching fox business. nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: just stop. get a hobby.

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♪. neil: all right, now they're positive. you want to come to united states from abroad you better be covid negative. the latest from jeff flock how they will sort through that. he is at o'hare international airport. hey, jeff. reporter: these regulations were put in place by the trump administration. snowy day perhaps as you see at o'hare, implemented by the biden administration. they took effect today. that is where folks come from

overseas out that arrival store at international terminal, take a look what the regulations are. you must get a covid test if you're coming into the country by air within three days of your travel. you must provide proof of that test in addition, if you can't provide the proof, either written or electronic, you don't get on the aircraft. they won't let you board. that is true not only of people coming to the u.s., but people returning to the u.s., u.s. citizens that is. they're overseas, catch covid, you're stuck over there. now, here's the question. this prove business, if you provided a, a document by written proof, apparently some people are finding ways around that. other countries have required this. those places they found people using photoshop to dummy up a test result. one traveler telling vice.com,

the motivation to chase money. these are expensive, 100 bucks. most airline workers are not looking out for this type of fraud. a way to be more clear about that is the covid passport, if you will. that is an app that gets put on your phone. that is harder to dummy up but of the 66 apps worldwide now in use, one privacy organization found that 82% of them had privacy issues, not keeping data secure. another 66% said that they would share information with law enforcement they obtained about your records, and 40 plus percent of those apps monitor your location. i've a daughter who lives in poland. when she went back to poland after being here for christmas, then made her put an app on her phone and then they tracked whether or not they maintained, the thing off by yourself. what do you call that thing?

quarantine. there you go. getting old is tough. they monitored whether she stayed in quarantine or not. i don't know if that is going to fly in the u.s. or not. nobody is suggesting at this point that will happen, but that is what is happening out there. neil? neil: so it doesn't matter whether you're american or not, i mean anyone coming from abroad then has to you know, adhere to these new rules? >> yeah. exactly. you know, they're doing it to try to stop the new trains from coming in. it is a good idea. neil: sure. reporter: whether or not it works or not we don't know. neil: what is refreshing about that, being your daughter, the daughter of jeff flock, itself a bold-faced name in this country, doesn't matter. stand in line and do what we tell you to do. reporter: just like everybody else. neil: yes. it is. reporter: she has to get used to it. neil: it is, torch she has to bear. jeff flock, following all those

developments. we have charlie gasparino, a lot of questions back and forth on leon black stepping down amid epstein investigations, that his ties to jeffrey epstein. what is all this about, charlie? >> neil, i get into his ties to jeffrey epstein in a minute. interesting came out in this internal probe. this expose ad riff inside of apollo management. this is one of the biggest private equity firms out there. it is an important firm t invest in a lot of companies. trade as lot. invests insurance. there is real rift in management there right now which this whole thing exposed even more. the rift is essentially between lee on black, the main founder, the and josh harris the other cofounder. harris always wanted to be the ceo. he angered black along the way by, you know, if you listen to people close to black they say josh harris planted stories. i have no idea if that is true

or not but that is what they told me because his name kept coming up as the heir apparent. black never wanted him as the heir apparent. all these families are dysfunctional in certain ways. this was real even though the company kept printing money, there was management dysfunction between black and harris. it came to a head over the weekend, neil, i'm told, when the investigation into epstein's ties with leon black and came out. black hired ben epstein as wealth manager. he managed their enormous wealth and did a pretty good job if you listen to lee on black. the amount of money paid to epstein, a convicted pedophile and recently killed himself in his jail cell after facing numerous additional charges of having sex with under age girls, when it came out he got paid 150 million, josh harris i understand wanted him out immediately that did not happen.

in fact what happened was, is black remaining as ceo, his protege mark rowan becomes, black remaining as chairman. protege mark rowan becomes ceo. harris is still there. a lot of people i talked to at the firm say this might cause him to leave at some point. we should point out that apollo had no comment. harris did not return phone calls for comment. but the takeaway from the investigation internally, neil is fascinating. $150 million black had paid epstein over the last several years. much more than people thought. obviously his biggest single client, it helped epstein and you know, basically accumulate that enormous wealth that he had before he died but every penny was apparently accounted for. people know epstein, for all his faults was a decent money manager and i would think lee on

black would say the same. back to you, neil. neil: all right. thank you, might have friend, very, very much. fascinating. charlie gasparino on all of that. we're keeping close eye on right now what joe biden might be planning as he extends this route of executive orders that echips the more recent predecessors combined a lot of attention will be on trying to improve racial equity in this country. part of a daily theme here, that sort of sorts itself out by executive edict. why some republicans are saying you can't work with us if you keep bypassing us. after this. ♪. we made usaa insurance for members like martin.

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♪. >> we must never lose sight of the fact that over half of the workers in america today, the richest country in the history of the world are living paycheck to paycheck. neil: all right. bernie sanders leading a wide effort among progressives to get president bindbiden to mike good on a to lift federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. whether that comes in the $1.9 trillion stimulus package the republicans don't think it should. let's get to alex, "the hill" correspondent. how likely when all said and done will that 15-dollar wage component be? >> that is a great question, neil. definitely gaining in support especially among progressives. this is bernie sanders baby. he has been pushing for the 15-dollar minimum wage for years but there is so much pushback

from the business community between restaurants, to franchise owners, that i think there might have to be some negotiations here, especially you know, joe biden is still a moderate and there is still such tight margins in congress, that they might have to go down from the $15 in order to actually be able to touch the minimum wage at all this year, or do something legislatively on it. neil: what is the early read, while i do have you, alex on all these executive orders on the part of president biden? for all i know, you know, he can try to force a 15-dollar minimum wage using that. that would be next to impossible to pull off but it doesn't surprise me given the sheer number that dwarfed his predecessors, at least the last four of them combined at this stage. what do you think? >> yeah. it seems like the executive orders are coming and very quickly. he was able to touch the minimum wage in terms of how it relates to federal workers.

he is also you know, mandated masks in federal buildings. he is really doing a what he can for overarching powers over federal workers. but what he can do and tell companies that they have to increase hair minimum wage, tell states that the federal minimum wage is going to override theirs, there is not a lot that he can do from the oval office on that front. so again he is going to need congress. he is going to need sanders for this. and i think sanders is going to try to hold him to his promise during the campaign that he would raise the federal minimum wage by 2025. which is almost double it. so i think this will come down to negotiations with pelosi and schumer, what is actually going to make it through congress at this point but again there is not a ton more that president biden can do, you know, on his own without having congress on board with him. neil: all right. alex, really interrupting you to

go to the white house right now. that woman might look familiar to you, susan rice, a former top foreign policy confidante for barack obama. now domestic policy adviser for joe biden. she will take some questions and talk about domestic initiatives on the part of the biden administration. let's listen in for a while. >> i'm the descendent of immigrants from jamaica and enslaved americans. my grandparents and my parents are beneficiaries of the american dream and so am i. my family's story is remarkable one of the march towards greater equality and opportunity but for too many american families, systemic racism and inequality in our economy, laws and institutions still put the american dream far out of reach. today the average black family has just one/10th of the wealth of the average white family. the gap between white and black

in homeownership is now larger than it was in 1960. these long-standing inequities are compounded by the converging crises we face as a nation. americans of color are being infected by and dying from covid-19 at higher rates. one in 10 black americans and one in 11 latino workers are currently unemployed. by some estimates 40% of black-owned businesses have been forced to close for good during the covid crisis. black and latino families with children are twice as likely to be experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic as white families. and black and latino americans are 2.8 times more likely to die of covid-19. and for native communities across the country, the overlapping economic and health crises have devastated tribal

economies and health care systems. these are desperate times for so many americans and all americans need urgent federal action to meet this moment. today president biden will deliver a national address on his plans to advance racial justice and equity, starting with an equitable an inclusive recovery. president biden will renew the federal government's commitment to making the american dream real for families across the nation by taking ambitious steps to redress inequality in our economy and expand opportunity for communities that have been left behind, including communities of color. his economic plans make historic investments in underserved communities and put equity at the heart of our recovery. his ambitious agenda builds on a legacy of americans forging opportunity out of crisis.

these aren't feel-good policies. the evidence is clear. investing in equity is good for economic growth and it creates jobs for all americans. economists have estimated that the u.s. economy has lost a staggering $16 trillion over the last 20 years because of discrimination against families of color. if we closed racial gaps in income and opportunity, these same economists have estimated we could add $5 trillion to the u.s. economy over the next five years. and add over 6 million new jobs for all americans. so building a more equitable economy is essential, if americans are going to compete and thrive in the 21st century. we hit the groundp running on

equity in the administration. on day one the president signed an second tiff order on a whole of government initiative to address racial inequity across programs and institutions that starts with a review of policies and institutions to redress systemic racism where it exists and redress equity we're not doing enough. every agency will place equity at the core of their public engagement, their policy design and program delivery to insure that government resources are reaching americans of color and all marginalized communitiesed, rural, urban, disabled,lgbtq plus, and religious minorities and so many others. he put the inequity the center of the response to the covid-19 and response to the economic crises. his economic orders signed deliver rent relief, student

debt relief and emergency food assistance to families across the country, helping all americans including black and brown families who we know are hit hardest by this crisis. he took steps to make our broken immigration system more human and secure. he restored the integrity of the census so our constitutionally mandated accounting of every person in the united states is fair and inclusive. even before taking office president biden released his american rescue plan that will make historic investments in advancing equity. independent economists estimate his plan will cut child poverty in half. cut child poverty in half for all americans and reduce over all poverty by 30%. black american families this year will face a poverty rate of 20% if congress does not act on the american rescue plan. but if enacted the poverty rate

would fall by over 1/3 and it would fall by 40% for latino families and by 1/5 for asian-americans and pacific islander families. the american rescue plan also provides critical relief to native-american communities and tribes. these investments will lift over 8 million black, latino, asian-americans out of poverty and provide relief across sectors where families of color are most disproportionately impacted by this crisis in food and financial security, health care access and education and child care. today president biden is continuing his commitment to embedding equity at the center of his agenda by signing an additional package of executive actions. president will sign a memorandum directing the department of housing and urban development to mitigate racial bias in housing an affirmatively advance our nation's fair housing laws.

he will also sign an executive order directing the department of justice not to renew any contracts with private prisons. private prisons profiteer off of federal prisoners and are proven to be or found to be by the department of justice inspector general to be less safe for correctional officers and for prisoners. president biden is committed to reducing mass incarceration while making our communities safer. that starts with ending the federal government's reliance on private prisons. the president will also sign an executive order reinvigorating the commitment of all federal agencies to engage in regular, robust and meaningful consultation with tribal governments and the president will sign a memorandum directing all federal agencies to take steps to combat xenophobia, and acts of violence against asian-americans and pacific islanders who have been targeted by political leaders in our

nation's response to covid-19. again, these are continuation of our initial steps to advance racial justice and equity through early executive action. beyond this, the president is committed to working with congress toe advance equity in our economy, our criminal justice systems, our health care systems and in our schools. as i've said many times in my personal capacity and i say again, i believe we all rise or fall together. advancing equity is a critical part of healing and of restoring unity in our nation. the president will have more to say about all of this later this afternoon and i'm happy to take a few of your questions. reporter: director rice, thank you. you speak about communities of color right now that are disproportionately impacted by pandemic. they're less inclined to have

faith in the federal government response in the vaccination process, what specifically, follow up with other the, what specifically is being done right now for community the of color to convince them it is okay to get this vaccine? >> h. peter, i will leave much f this to my colleague jeff zeints who is leading our response. we have established a covid task force on equity. that includes obviously racial equity that will focus on health disparities but also on the reality that there are americans who, particularly americans of color, for very valid historical reasons are skeptical and reluctant and a large part of what our colleagues on the covid task force are doing, this is the second part is reaching out directly through targeted campaigns to get to those very communities where the skepticism is highest. that is vitally important

because as we, as communities of color are suffering disproportionately, may have less access to information about the vaccine, and the ability to easily go online in some instances and get an appointment, we have to take those additional steps to insure that they are aware of its availability, can get appointments and that they understand that the vaccine is safe. reporter: couple things. number one there is day one promises. >> general has the news of the day. reporter: president biden said first day of office send a bill of congress repealing liability for gun manufacturers, closing background check loopholes and waiting period. what happened to that day one promise? >> well i think you've seen we have rolled out an unprecedented number of early executive actions and, as you heard jen say, many of my colleagues say, this is just the beginning. we have 1454 more days left in

president biden's first term. give us a little something to do over next few days. reporter: housekeeping question if i may. a follow-up. can you speak specifically what this does as it relates to immigration and immigrants. does it cover prisons and private prisons housing immigrants, undocumented immigrants, tens of thousands of who facing deportation in privately run prisons right now? >> this order applies to the department of justice run prisons. it is not in this instance applicable to those run by other agencies. reporter: not i.c.e., anything like that. okay. going back to january 6th what we saw a few weeks ago at the capitol, we saw people roaming that building carrying confederate flags, wearing anti-semetic groups, we saw lawmakers, firefighters, military veterans in that group, what are you doing to address

this issue of white nationalism and how concerned are but the threat of, from some of these groups leading into this impeachment trial in two weeks? >> i think, we have seen and it has been plain for all americans on the television sets just how serious a problem we face from national its and white supremacists who have demonstrated willingness to resort to violence in some instances. that is why the president has ordered the intelligence community to compile a comprehensive assessment of the nature of this threat and challenge and its origins and roots. and thus provide policymakers with inputs that will be very important to address this challenge. the national security council has set up a capacity within the

nsc to focus on domestic violent extremism and to insure that we are, within the white house and within the inneragency, coordinating efforts to craft and i amly meant policies that will address this. we're taking quite seriously. reporter: private detention? >> it addresses the department of justice prisons in the first instance. it is not, it is silent on what may or may not transpire with i.c.e. facilities. there was a department of justice inspector general report in 2016 that underscored that private prisons, funded by doj were less safe, less secure, and arguably less humane. this was the, obama-biden administration took steps to end renewing of contracts for private prisons.

trump administration reversed that and we're re-establishing it. reporter: [inaudible] reporter: mario parker, "bloomberg news". director rice, first what will the administration do to address the relationship between communities of color and police particularly as part of the mass incar race component ? second question, republican legislatures have signaled that they're going to look to roll back some of the voting procedures from the last election. we know that center ited in some of those swing states in largely black and brown communities. what will the administration do about that as well? >> with respect to prisons, policing, the entire basket of very important criminal justice reform issues. this is something we're committed to addressing. we'll have more to say on criminal justice in the coming weeks including on matters related to policing. sew please stay tuned for that.

with respect to efforts to roll back the access to the ballot, this is something that i expect the president will address in his remarks today. it is a matter of real concern because we ought to be in the business of encouraging and enabling all americans who are eligible to vote to be able to vote and that's why we will continue to work with congress on its various efforts to advance democratic reforms. there is legislation on the hill that would move us in that direction including restoring and revitalizing the voting rights act. >> susan will come back, i'm sure. >> we'll welcome you back. >> thank you, ambassador. these measures here, executive actions which, of course, could be overturned by a future president, could you talk about what steps could be taken to codify, to make permanent

measures that could not be undone? >> as you know, to codify something and make it lasting in law requires that both houses of congress pass it and the president sign it. and for this, as well as many other things, there will be areas where legislative actions are the best and most durable approach. there'll be some instances where, in advance of legislation or efforts to achieve legislation, it's wise to take executive action. so i don't think we should assume that by doing something by executive action where it may also be appropriate to seek legislation, that we wouldn't do it. we have a very full legislative agenda. the president's first priority is enacting the american rescue plan as well as getting our nominees confirms, and we'll be focused in the next few weeks on that. >> thank you, ambassador rice. >> thank you, jen. thank you, everybody.

>> okay. just a couple more things at the top and then happy to take your questions. the president and his team have been working around the clock over the past six days to make meaningful progress on vaccinating as many people as possible. as we've talked about in this room before, increasing the vaccine supply and building increased cooperation between the federal government and state and local leaders on the ground is key to getting that done. finish the president will speak later today on those efforts and provide an update on his team's work to bolster the vaccine supply available so that we can, in turn, get more shots into americans' arms as quickly as possible. and i'll also add as many of you have reported, there are some calls this afternoon with governors to brief them on these plans and give them an update on how we will continue to work

together even more efficiently. a couple other things. earlier today the first female vice president swore in the first female secretary of the treasury, was that for history, dr. janet yellen. today, of course, is a great historic day. and this afternoon the vice president will make her first visit to a federal agency, the national institutes of health, where she and the second gentleman will receive their second dose of the moderna vaccine. the vice president will thank director collins, dr. fauci and staff of the nih for their work to develop the vaccine and efforts to keep americans safe. she will also make the case that congress needs to immediately pass the american rescue plan which includes $20 billion to invest in local community vaccine distribution centers in the hardest hit areas. her remarks on the vaccination at nih will be live streamed on the white house youtube channel, so you can tune in for all of that. okay, jonathan, kick us off.

>> thank you, jen. first on the response of the pandemic, two matters there. first, could you provide a little more detail as to how much more the vaccine is going to be distributed, how quickly to these states? we've heard governors sound the alarm that they are desperately low in what they need. and could you talk about has cdc considered a measure for testing for all passengers on u.s. domestic flights? >> well, jonathan, on the first part of our effort is, certainly, to insure we are more effectively and efficiently working with governors and local are officials who have expressed some frustration in recent are weeks about the lack of information and the lack of a federal plan. we've only been here six days, but we want to take steps as quickly as possible to address that. and part of that will be what the president updates us all on this afternoon. and i would be a very short-lived press secretary if i got ahead of the president. and we're having so much fun in here, so you don't want that to happen. on the second question on

testing, we're constantly evaluating, of course, our medical experts, steps that need to be taken to keep the american people safe. we announced some travel restrictions, as you know, yesterday. i don't have any additional restrictions to preview or announce for all of you. i will remind you that tomorrow is the first day of our briefings that will be happening approximately three times a week that you can all tune in and learn more from our health experts on our plan. >> on another matter, on impeachment, the president yesterday in an interview said he did not believe that former president trump would be convicted and, therefore, removed from office but said he felt like it had to go, the trial had to go on anyway. could you please explain what he meant by that? >> sure. well, let's put this in the context of last night. so last nights house impeachment managers delivered the articles of impeachment to the senate with the dramatic walk over as you all carried on television, and, you know, the president was referencing the fact that he referenced in his statements of just a couple weeks ago when the house passed the impeachment,

the articles of impeach. themselves which now, of course, it'll move on to the senate. as he also said at the time, he hopes -- and i'll quote him here -- the senate leadership will find a way to deal with their constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of the nation. he still continues to feel that wayment so last night they delivered the articles. the next step is, as you all have reported and people watching at home know, is for the senate to proceed with their trial. he is going to allow them to move forward at the pace and the manner that the leaders in the senate determine, and i can promise you that we will leave the vote counting to leaders in the senate from now on. >> last follow-up and then i'll hand it off. on this, why is the president so reluctant to express his personal opinion as to what happened? we understand he's not in the senate anymore, but he is the leader of the democratic party. why won't he say what he believes should happen? >> the president believes that the senate has the constitutional duty to proceed as they see fit on holding the

former president accountable. he spent 36 years in the senate, he's no longer there. as the president of the united states, he feels his role is to deliver on what he promised for the american people. so that's what he's trying to do every day. go ahead, peter. >> just a little housekeeping as it relates to what's going on in the senate right now. when is the last time that president biden spoke to leader mcconnell? >> he has spoken with leader mcconnell, as he said, a couple of times, but -- >> [inaudible] >> i'm not going to read out specific calls to all of you on the pace or number of their phone calls. >> i guess the question is this is someone who has always said, the president, that his strong suit is his a ability to work with both sides of the aisle, and he criticized the previous prime minister for notlinging -- prime minister for not bringing them into the oval office. >> well, i knew that would make for excellent television and quite a dramatic moment here at the white house, but he is in close -- as our team is, members of our senior team. as you know, brian deese, a

number of senior officials here at the white house speaking with different caucuses in congress, republicans, democrats, people from different wings of different parties about our plans and our commitment to getting the covid package passed. but our view is that a lot of those conversations should happen one-on-one, should happen in small groups, and that's the most productive way to move this bill forward. >> -- there seemed to be a little bit of disagreement in terms of the way both dr. fauci and president biden viewed herd immunity and when we get out of this pandemic right now. we heard the president yesterday say i feel confident that by summer we're going to be well on our way towards herd immunity. dr. fauci said that he thought this would likely occur, getting closer to back to normal, by this fall. just so it's clear for americans what the administration's promising or telling them, when should we expect that takes place? >> the president is certainly pushing his team every day to deliver results as quickly as possible.

so as part of his comments yesterday, he also talked about his desire to insure there's greater availability in the spring and certainly his hope that every american will, that more americans will have access as quickly as possible. but he has also said many times it will take months and months for a broad swath of the population to be vaccinated. and as always, he's guided -- as we all are -- by scientists and medical experts. and, certain lyricsly, dr -- certainly, dr. fauci's guidelines of when we can expect for a broad swath of the -- >> on the vaccine stockpile yesterday, you didn't have a specific number. c dr. director roh -- cdc director didn't as well. where is the stockpile right now? where do we stand at this moment this. >> well, the president is going to have more of an update later this afternoon as i, as i previewed earlier. >> [inaudible] do we now, do we have our hands around that? >> well, certainly. there is -- we monitor on a

daily basis through tiberius and multiple systems of that have available information on vaccine numbers that are distributed to states, what states have received, what they have distributed. we've been connecting all the dots to insure we have our best understanding of where the hold-ups are x. we, of course, have that assessment, but we're continuing to dig in every day. and we're -- what the issues are, why isn't the vaccine getting to states, what is the holdup with vaccinators, why aren't there more sites getting the supply they need. but later this afternoon he'll have more of an update on our additional vaccine supply that we'll make available to states. >> [inaudible] >> thank you, jen. >> pete and repeat, i guess. >> the jokes could go on. go ahead. >> there's a report that fema is planning to reroute up to $10 billion in money that could be used to combat covid-19 right

now to preemptively combat climate change by building seawalls and elevating flood-prone homes. and i'm curious if there has been any thought given to waiting until covid is behind us to do that. >> peter, i had not actually seen that report before we came out here. as you know and i'll just repeat, the president's first priority is getting the pandemic under control and doing everything needed, putting all of the necessary resources behind that. but i'm happy to circle back with our team on that specific report. >> and another question, the president said that he hopes that the senate leadership can continue -- [inaudible] while working on the people's business. what if they can't? >> well, as president, you always have to be hopeful, of course. that's your role as a leader, to push and, push leaders, push democrats and republicans to make more progress. but, you know, i think what the president will continue to do privately in his conversations with members of congress, democrats and republicans, and

publicly is make the case for the cost of inaction. and i think he doesn't feel that democrats and republicans in congress have the space and the time to wait. that there's an urgency that the american people are going to continue to push members who are representing them on, and so i don't think he feels there's an alternative other than to move forward with urgency. >> just one more. riots in portland and the violence in portland recently, there was some discussion earlier about the january 6 ofth rioters being -- 6th rioters being reviewed by the dni as domestic extremists. are the riots in portland being viewed through the same lens? >> you and i talked about this yesterday and conveyed all violence happening around the country will be reviewed as a part of the tasking that was done by that national security team, but cough anything to preview on it. >> on covid relief, we heard republicans come out in opposition in broad brush

strokes at this point, but in terms of the conversation that's that's -- that the prime minister is having, has -- the is having, has anyone come forward to give you an alternative? what are they telling you that they want? to go? to stay? we know they're negotiating, but what alternatives are they giving you? >> well, having the benefit of having covered congress for quite some time, you know none of them are quiet about what they like and don't like, and they often say it publicly. so the president and members of our team are hearing many of the same, you know, expressions of support and sometimes expressions of questions about whether the package needs to be the same size, whether it's targeted, whether it should be targeted in this way. those are the same questions that they are hearing privately. but what they all, what the president is also hearing privately and what members of our team are also hearing privately is that they expect him to be focused on this package. and they will be as well. and they hear and understand the

urgency. and as you know from covering this for quite some time yourself, often times things come together right before there's a vote, right? the president kind of alluded to this yesterday, but we feel democracy's working how it should. he laid out his big package, his big vision of what it should look like, and people are giving their feedback, and he's happy to have those discussions and fully expect it's not going to look exactly the same on the other end. >> on the stockpile assessment, i want to flip the answer that you've been giving saying it's five days, six days, give us some time to catch up with that. i understand that, but on the inverse, it's been six days. why don't we know exactly what is in this stockpile? how -- what have been the hurdles, the biggest hurdles in getting that answer? while you probably heard this yesterday, defended the program operation warp speed saying that the results were exceptional. so what's taking so long? >> i'm not -- [laughter] six days in. well, six days in the president is also giving an update on steps we're going to take to

provide more vaccine supply to states across the country in response to their concern. there has not been a federal plan in place and that they haven't received the coordination, cooperation and information they desire. so, in my view, that's a pretty rapid response to states' concerns. we do have an assessment. as i referenced tiberius, which is quite a name for this web site, i will say. sounds like a magical creature a little bit to me. but it provides vaccine information, publicly-available information on vaccine supply that's gone to states and what's been used. it doesn't mean it's perfect. often times it isn't. but our concerns and our focus is not just on the supply. that's part of the issue. it is also about insuring that states have the number of vaccinators they need. so that means people who are literally taking the shots and qualified to put them in the arms of americans. and some states and some communities don't have people who are able to do that. and vaccine centers and places where people can go and receive

the vaccine. so there's multiple steps in this process, and our focus is insuring on not just the supply is at the rate it needs to be and that states have more advance note -- this is one of the things governors will tell you and have told us. it is very difficult for them when they find out a day before or a couple of days before that they're going to run out or a shipment is coming. they want more time, so that's something we're also working on. those all pieces that are part of this herculean task that our team has undertaken. go ahead. how are you? >> >> [inaudible] said last night he wants president biden to consider climate change a national more than, to give him power similar to what his predecessor did, president trump did, with the wall. is that something that the president is considering? >> well, the president has long said it is one of the four crises that he believes are central to the presidency and central to his time as the

commander in chief and the president of the united states, addressing the threat of climate. so he is not only taking actions, executive orders, taken actions that fall under the purview of the president, but also he has pushed to find ways to work with congress on taking additional steps moving forward too. there'll be more we have to share on our efforts on climate in the days ahead, but i don't think leader schumer has any doubt about the president's commitment to this, and certainly the fact that he has called it a crisis, he's said it is central to the issues he wants to take on in this presidency speaks to his commitment to the issue. go ahead. >> so two more questions to bring it back just to covid response for a second. so, first, one of the questions that's come up is how much money is needed exactly to respond to the more than that we're in. is it $1.9 trillion, is it some other figure. do you have an assessment just of how much money is left from congress' last allocation

towards these issues? how much is left to spend? >> well, as brian deese said last week, the problem with focusing on the $900 billion package is the answer to our current problem now is it is catching up for what had not been done for the prior six months. so what we're really focused on now is what is needed for immediately, now of course, but also in the months ahead. and as i was a alluding to a little bit earlier, the way the president thinks about this is what the cost of inaction is. so if you look ahead, it's critical. and i talked about this a little bit yesterday, that we don't get anywhere near the march cliff which would mean the end of eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, additional u.i. assistance, loan applications for small businesses through ppp. and you all know people need security. and what we're trying to do now is provide that. so this package was designed not with a number in mind, we

weren't trying to get a shock value, sticker value. the president relied on the advice of economists, health experts and others who recommended this is the size and the components that are needed now not just to distribute the vaccine, but to provide certainty and a bridge to the american people to get to the other side. >> [inaudible] number right now for how much, for vaccine distribution alone, how much you have to spend as compared to what you've asked for? >> i'm happy to check with our team on that, but i will say that what we're looking ahead to is or where are we in a couple of weeks and where are we in two months. and no one wants to be having a conversation in may about why our schools aren't open and why millions of people have been kicked off unemployment insurance. participant of our role here is to look ahead, and that's exactly what we're trying to do with this package. >> one other issue. the -- president trump signed an executive order restricting exports of vaccines that are manufactured within the united states.

that order is still in effect. first of all, what is your assessment of exactly whether drug manufacturers are able to send these vaccines overseas, can they do that under current law and, two, will you take any action to reverse that executive order? >> that's a great question, request we've talked about rejoining the world health organization and insuring we are a partner to the global community on this effort only makes us safer and the american people safer, but i'd are to check on the specific export question for you. go ahead. >> jen, the national covid strategy of the administration released just a couple days ago says, quote, the united states will accelerate the pace of vaccinations by encouraging states and localities to move through priority groups more quickly. what is more quickly? how should governors interpret that? and, you know, will you provide more detailed guidance to public health officials on how they should be going through these

priority groups? >> well, the answer is yes. and part of our effort, as i mentioned, there was a call with governors this afternoon to provide an update on vaccine supply and steps we're taking from the federal government to insure they have not just the information they need, but also the access to supply they need. and in terms of the pace, the guidelines will, of course, be publicized by the cdc. they have their first briefing tomorrow. we'll see if they have an update on that. but really what they're trying to -- what we're all trying to endeavor to do is insure the that we have not just more supply, but more vaccinators as i noted, more people in communities who can vaccinate, more centers and locations that can provide these vaccinations. so all of those components will lead to expediting. we're not asking states to do this on their own. in fact, we are asking -- we are trying to reset and be partners in a more effective way than we've seen over the last ten months. >> -- recommending the --

[inaudible] is that something that the white house would like to see? is. >> i've seen some of those reports. i haven't seen that officially come from the cdc, but again, i'd encourage you to ask them that question tomorrow, and i'd refer to them for any new guidance on that front. go ahead. >> hi. regarding -- [inaudible] what is the timeline for ramping up production of supplies, specifically specialized syringes, and has the administration been in talks with any specific companies or manufacturers? >> it's already are been invoked and underway, is so those discussions and efforts to ramp up production are already underway. they started as of, less than 24 hours after the president signed that executive order and made that announcement last week. i don't have any specific companies, i don't think, to kind of preview or read out for you, but i'm sure we can follow up ask and see if there's more specifics to provide on specific companies. >> -- d. of defense -- department of defense considering plans to deploy military, national guard to help with the vaccinations?

be those vaccinators in communities that are underserved? >> well, certainly the government, across the government everyone going to play a role in covid and getting the pandemic under control, but in terms of their specific plans, i would send you to the department of defense. >> [inaudible] >> sure. >> the administration -- can't be in the room. what are the administration's plans for guantanamo and restarting military trials for detainees? one case announced last week. >> i don't have anything new on that. i'm happy to follow up on that for you as well. go ahead. >> i just wanted to circle back to peter's question. dr. fauci on fox today went back to supporting that 100 million doses in 100 days number. did the president misspeak when he said the new goal is 150 million -- [inaudible] or was he operating under some new update? >> the president didn't actually say the new goal is. the president said i hope we can

do even more than that. and that is certainly, of course, it's hope. he is continuing to push our team to get as many americans vaccinated as quickly as possible. that's why we set the bold goal of 100 million shots in the arms of americans in 100 days to begin with. i would just remind everyone this has literally never been done before and what he has asked the team to do is also planning for contingencies. we're at war with the virus, so in a wartime theme here there are a lot of things you plan for including trucks breaking down, freezers breaking, you know, needing to plan for that, you know, not having vaccinators in a location to be able to put the syringes -- >> 100 million would be a more accurate number. >> that's the number we set based on the recommendations of health and medical experts, continue to be our goal. but his -- does he want to beat that goal?

of course he does. again, it is a goal that was set with contingencies we need to plan for in mind, and he is going to continue to push the team to meet that goal and go beyond it. go ahead. >> -- [inaudible] which is in terms of the racial equity polls, does the white house support -- [inaudible] small business administration language that prohibits the -- [inaudible] something that on the hill has -- [inaudible] >> i know i had talked a little bit with our economics team about this issue earlier, but i'll have to circle back with you on it. it's a good question. we'll bring ambassador rice, but we'll circle back with you on this today. in the back. >> okay. a couple questions. david kessler has said most americans would not be vaccinated in the third or fourth quarter of this year. president biden said we could possibly have herd immunity as early as this summer.

i'm wondering if you can reconcile the difference and talk about herd immunity and when most americans will be able to be vaccinated. >> well, sort of similar to what peter asked earlier. the president is, of course, pushing his team to deliver results and his goals to insure there is a greater availability in the spring and that it continues to improve in the summer. everybody won't be, won't be eligible this spring, as you all know, even with -- even as the cdc continues to provide updated guidance. but he would certainly defer to health and medical experts and, obviously, the guidance of dr. fauci on when we may be at the pace of reaching herd immunity. but, you know, we will continue to update as more progress is made what the goals look like. >> following up on that, in terms of data collection, it's my understanding something like 50% of the vaccinations are coming in with operational data. is that accurate, or is there something else there? i'm wondering how you'll measure success in vaccinating people of

color in vulnerable communities if you don't have the -- data on who's getting vaccinated. will we see mobile outlook, mobile outreach to those communities in terms of vaccines? let me just say that. >> yes, absolutely. that will be part of it. but also part of it will be working with pharmacies and working with health centers in communities so that communities across the country, rural communities, communities of color have easier access to know where they can go and get a vaccine. but this is going to be hard, and we are not trying to sugar coat that, and it will be very challenging. this is why everybody who comes and speaks about covid talks about the challenge of vaccine hesitancy and how we're going to overcome that. and it won't be just about having centers, it will also be about overcoming a lot of these contingencies i've mentioned that we have to plan for about more effectively communicating

with people about the safety of the vaccine and really being thoughtful about who we're using to communicate. so it is going to take a multifaceted a approach, and we are open-eyed about the challenge. ing. >> -- part of that question, is it accurate that there's very little -- [inaudible] less than 50% -- [inaudible] on vaccinations? >> i would defer, i would refer you to the cdc, and i know they'll have their first briefing tomorrow, and that sounds like a great question to ask them. >> [inaudible] >> sure. >> the question i was going to ask her which is we've seen after january 6th there is, obviously, this issue of white supremacy and racism coarsing through our cup. what's the biggest challenge when you think of equity in this country, and how do you measure success for manager like that especially when we think of all the different ways that our country is dealing with it? i know -- [inaudible] about how -- criminal justice. can you talk about how you're going to measure success and what the federal government's role is on something so big as

inequality and racism? >> well,, i think what ambassador rice was conveying to you and, obviously, what the president will sign later this afternoon is an executive order that makes racial equity and addressing racial equity a priority across the government. how the president talks about this is far too often we think of racial, issues that are in the racial equity bucket, shall we say, are only related to a couple categories. and that's just not drat. we need to -- accurate. we need to address it in terms of access of lending and loans, address it in terms of biases and discrimination as it relates to housing. and so what this executive order will do will make it a priority and infuse expertise and personnel to insure we are addressing issues that impact communities of color across the country every day and not just every two months when it's an issue that comes up and prompts

questioning. >> go ahead in the back. >> thank you, jen, and thank you for making sure that everybody gets the opportunity to ask questions. really appreciate that. got one on housekeeping real quick, and then i've got a domestic and foreign policy question. so you've got some beautiful screens behind you. your predecessors have rejected multiple requests to bring back the -- [inaudible] to the daily briefings for the benefit of reporters who are trying to stay safe during the pandemic by working remotely. would you consider bringing back the -- [inaudible] seat? >> we would. i will say people don't usually realize this, there's normally about 60 people in this room. i think that's the right number. that's certainly something we would be happy to have in this room, and i think all of you would do because you're asking questions on behalf of your colleagues. but we also, we rely on the advice of our health and medical experts on what's safe not just for us, but for all of you. and having everybody sit seat by seat wouldn't be safe. i know that's not what you're asking, but we'd certainly be

open to taking questions via skype. i took some questions on twitter the other day, we're going to try to take questions from the american people on youtube, is so we'll continue to look for ways to not just bring back the daily briefing, but to take more reporters from questions and people. >> okay. during the campaign, this is a foreign policy question. mr. biden had said he would give benefits to the palestinians, but he didn't specify anything that he was add any concessionings. so the question is, is it the belief of this administration that palestinians don't have to make concessions to get funding or a consulate? >> well, i think i have talked about this particular issue enough in my old days at the state department to know i'm going to defer or to our national security team and the state department and jake sullivan on any more specifics. obviously, the president's view continues to be that a two-state solution is the only path forward and that, you know, that that continues to be the position of his white house.

>> finally just on behalf of a colleague who's not able to be here today due to social distancing, does the president believe he can attain unity with the 74 million trump voters while urging his allies in the senate to hold an impeachment trial after his predecessor has already left office? >> well, the president's belief is that he was elected by 81 million americans in part because they believed that he was somebody who could help bring the country together, unify the country around addressing the crisis that we face. and when he talks every day, nearly, about getting the pandemic under control, putting people back to work, he's not just speaking to people who voted for him. he's speaking to all of the american people including the 74 million who didn't vote for him. and certainly, addressing the pandemic, insuring people don't worry about the health and safety of their grandparents, of their sisters and brothers, getting kids back to school, that's not a partisan position. that's a leadership position and one he's taking because with he wants to make sure he's

delivering for all of the american people. go ahead all the way in the back. >> [inaudible] polish radio. the president spoke with chancellor merkel yesterday, but the readout from the phone call doesn't mention -- [inaudible] the pipeline from russia to germany. have they discussed this particular project, and what's president biden's position on -- [inaudible] he seems determined to use all the tools he has like sanctions to stop the project. >> well, i don't have any more for you on the mar readout, but i can -- particular readout, but we continue to believe, the president continues to believe that in nord stream ii is bad fr europe, related to the pipeline under the national defense authorization act, and we will be reviewing those measures. so he looks forward to continuing to consult with our european partners on this issue,

and if there's more to share on his conversation with chancellor merkel on it, we will certainly circle back with you more directly. let me just get to everybody. go ahead. >> thank you, jen. this is following on from the question earlier on. we had the president yesterday say anyone who wanted to get a spot would be able to get one by spring, we would be well on our way to herd immunity by summer. i'm wondering how he can make those projections when we don't know what the stockpiles is and when we're still having these nor mouse distribution problems in the different states. >> let me first start by saying the president will have more to say on our vaccine supply and also assistance and cooperation that we will be doing with the states later this afternoon. so we'll have an update on that. and we do have a sense there is tiberius -- my favorite word of the day -- a web site that has available information on not just the vaccine that is available in states, but what has been distributed.

so what i was conveying and i think what a number of our medical and health experts have been conveying is we've been here for now six days. at a certain point, i'll stop saying that. less than a week is not that long a period of time. we're assessing every day where the holes are, what the gaps are, it is not just supply. it's beyond that. it's having the vaccinators we need, the track seen distribute sites we -- the vaccine distribute sites we need. those are all challenges to get the vaccine in the arms of the american people. and what the president's goal is, is insuring that there's greater availability in the spring. he will push his team. he pushes his team on covid and updates on it even when it's a meeting about other issues. this is his focus every single day. and, but the fact is every american is not going to be eligible this spring. we're going to continue to increase supply. that's participant of it. and he has said many, many times it's going to take months and months for a broad swath of the population to be vaccinated.

but he would, if he were standing here today -- one, he'd be a lot taller than me, but he would say there are -- he will defer to health and medical experts to give their assessments on when we can reach the point of herd immunity. peter, go ahead. >> there is a report now that the chief financial officer of florida has sent a letter to the international olympic committee that florida would like to host the olympics if japan is uncomfortable because of the pandemic. is a florida olympics in 2021 something you could see the white house support? >> that's a lot of steps that need to take place, and i don't know the entire process, but i would certainly send you to the international olympic committee first on what their assessment of that offer is and certainly, of course, what their assessment is of japan's preparedness for the olympics. go ahead right here. >> jen, on -- [inaudible] if the covid vaccines need to be tweaked or changed because of these merging variants, how is

that going to complicate your rollout effort? >> well, dr. fauci spoke to this a little bit last week, and i expect this will be one of the lines of questioning with our health and medical experts when they have their first briefing tomorrow. and they have spoken to assessments that have been made about the efficacy of the vaccine even with the new variants and how they are evaluating, you know, what the efficacy will be moving forward. this is something they will continue to look at through a medical and health lens, so i don't think i'm going to have a new update or assessment for you from here, but it's something they're looking closely at, and the president will encourage them to be as honest and straightforward with the american people as possible. one unrelated question. one of president trump's last acts was to grant -- [inaudible] to venezuelans in the united states. i believe that stands. can you give us a bit on your position on that? >> sure, let me see.

let's see. well, the overriding goal of the united states is to support a peaceful democratic transition in venezuela through free and fair elections. he has long been clear -- the president, that is -- that his administration's approach to venezuela will focus on addressing the humanitarian situation and diplomacy to pursue for a democratic outcome and pursue individuals involved with that. i don't have anything more for you on the status of temporary protected status, that was a mouthful. i will, of course our national security team is doing a review of all of the positions put in place by the trump administration, and we'll provide an update when we have one. go ahead. >> one more question. ambassador rice outlined all of these disparities when it comes to americans of color being infected and dying from covid at

higher rates. does the white house -- [inaudible] the previous administration for creating those disparities that we're seeing in. >> well, health disparities listed long before the trump administration took office, and i think that's a statement of fact. but what did not happen was actions put in place to insure greater accessibility to communities of color for health care, greater, greater communications, a public campaign about how communities of color could gain access to health care and treatments and, certainly, the actions taken by the priored a managers -- prior administration to, for all intents and purposes, troy the affordable care act didn't end help any american and certainly didn't help communities of color. so the vaccine, as you all know, has only -- we did not have the scientific and medical breakthrough until late last year, and now it's incumbent upon this administration, the

biden/harris administration, to insure that we are taking steps to increase access but also to communicate more effectively with communities of color about the vaccine and the efficacy of it. and that's certainly a primary focus. that's one of the reasons why dr. marcela nunez smith is leading a covid task force and is a pivotal part of the team. i will say from being on the transition, she wasn't a person -- aside from reputation, but she wasn't known by then-president-elect biden previously, but he was is so impressed with her that he felt personally it was important to have her as a pivotal member of the team to address exactly this issuement okay. go ahead. last one, says jonathan. >> thank you very much. if i could have a follow-up, i'd appreciate it. the trump administration granted wafers to arkansas -- waivers to arkansas and other states to require work for some medicaid

recipients. that was challenged in the court, the court struck it down. the trump administration pushed it to the supreme court. it's ending there. does the biden administration support these -- [inaudible] are they going to argue for or against it? what's the position of the administration? >> well, while i would certainly sented you to our department of justice, my colleagues, to speak to anything related to a legal case, i will say that president biden does not believe in the principle. it should be difficult for people to gain access -- the principle that it should be difficult for people to get access, and he's spoken about that publicly too. >> and then if i could follow up. yesterday former president trump endorsed sarah huckabee sanders for above of arkansas in 2022 -- governor of arkansas. where does president biden stand on that particular race, and how high is this on his list of priorities? >> wow, how high is the arkansas republican gubernatorial primary

on the president's risk of priorities? the not high. i can confirm for you i'm not running for governor of connecticut in the future, so i'm here to confirm that for you as well. i don't expect he will get involved in this race. but also politics is not front and center for his mind in general at this point in time. he's focused on getting the pandemic you should -- under control. >> [inaudible] >> who's leading the governor -- >> the president won't be -- >> jeff -- [inaudible] will be one of the health officials or one of the, i should say, policy officials who's on the call today. he's one of the primary -- >> [inaudible] >> i believe so, yes. exactly. okay, last one. i'm breaking jonathan's rule, but -- >> -- president biden has spoken to president putin? can you give us an update on the nature of their call? the what came up? >> well, i -- the call, i can confirm you for you the call was scheduled. the call has come, i believe,

since i came out here. of so we will, of course, be putting a readout out, so since you gave me the opportunity, i will convey that he called president putin this afternoon with the intention of discussing their willingness to extend new s.t.a.r.t. for five years and also to reaffirm our strong support for ukraine's sovereignty in the face of russia's ongoing aggression and also to raise matters of concern including the solarwind hack, reports of russia placing bounties on united states soldiers in afghanistan, interference in the 2020 election, the poisoning of alexei navalny and treatment of peaceful protesters by russian security forces. his intention was also to make clear that the united states will act firmly in defense of our national interest in response to the malign actions by russia. but we'll have a readout for you, i assume, sometime early this afternoon.

thanks, everyone. [inaudible conversations] neil: all right. wrapping up with jen psaki, the white house press secretary, and in the early days of this administration we're doing this because markets move on these developments on the part of an aggressive administration when it comes to executive orders. today a twin theme from the white house, one dealing with racial equity, that was sort of spearheaded by condoleezza rice, and then the other was to talk the a little bit about covid-19 right now with a spike in cases that the administration seemed to acknowledge is going to last a while. we are due to get an update from the president on this when it is mixed in with some of those racial equality initiatives that he is going to be working on today. part of a twin effort to address that and try to keep a lot of his promises here. potentially market-moving event, though could be how the administration views stimulus,

that $1.9 trillion package. again, the administration seemed to hint it would rather work with republicans and come out with a package which they can the both mutually agree. republicans are saying by jamming all these executive orders down their throat, the signal is much different coming from the administration itself. by the way, covid-19 task force briefings will resume at this white house beginning tomorrow. they'll be held a few times a week as we heard from sake on that. -- jen psaki on that. it's allowing them to do the talking and not necessarily the president. a clear barbed reference to what donald trump taking over these, such conferences. they're saying they're going to handle it a little bit differently. but when it came to the push to get one million vaccines out per day in the next hundred days, now the next 95, i guess, they did express optimism that they could be a little bit more aggressive, that we could get up to maybe one and a half million vaccine doses a day as dr. fauci

has outlined. by the way, dr. fauci will lead that covid-19 briefing tomorrow. so we're keeping an eye on all of that. markets barely moving on all of this, but these executive orders continue to pile up right here, and that's been a bone of contention with republicans. the markets, i think they're just happy if we see some effort to get that stimulus through. and i'm wondering, and this is a question i'm going to raise with my market guests, as much as we talk of cooperation with the other party, would the market just be satisfied with the president going it alone on a lot of these initiatives, especially if it means a bigger package when all is said and done? or we go the reconciliation where it only takes a simple majority in the senate to get it through? i'm beginning to wonder that they might prefer that option even if it xs out republicans. some thoughts now from francis newton stacy, we've also got jared he are i have, delancey

strategies president. with the new administration, to get their read at least early on what their initiatives are and where they're pivoting or moving. francis, on this issue of stimulus i'm getting a strong sense that joe biden might talk one way, might executive order another way, you know? he wants to work with republicans not at the expense of dealing with gridlock. i wonder if that goes all the way up to stimulus and to this $1.9 trillion package, and would the markets prefer if it's just gotten by reconciliation, a majority of votes would be democratically done, but it would be as generous a stimulus package as you could get. what do you think? >> well, i think markets have priced in the -- 1.9 trillion package -- $1.9 trillion, so any waver off of that, markets are going to adjust with liquidity. if you have too much gridlock in congress, unfortunately, americans really are suffering, they really do need assistance

despite the fact that we are going to have a massive debt to deal with and massive deaf sits, records. in the interim, there are a lot of americans who have certainly fallen behind. and i do think that joe biden will go forward with executive if he can't get congress first. i mean, it's kind of smart to look to congress first to see if we can get some agreement. there's some sort of -- you know, mitch mcconnell sort of giving up on the filibuster grandstanding and other things, it looks like there might be some possibility for agreement, but we just have to wait and see. neil: you know, jared, let me ask -- i believe i misspoke, it's susan rice who is leading this effort to deal with domestic policyish initiatives. the strongest one today the president will have on dealing with racial equality. you know, executive orders that will rejigger even when it comes to our lending system for everything from mortgages to bank loans, that could be very pricey whatever your views on

the subject separate from stimulus, clearly. where do you think this is going? >> i think that we need to be careful, you know? listen, biden's got a lot of messages he's sent out to the public, right, about him, you know, bringing everybody together, him holding hands across the aisle anding walking us all down a, you know, a yellow brick road to sort of a better place. i think i just want to see more of it. you talked about all these executive orders getting sort of laid upon us. he hasn't appointed one republican into his cabinet, he hasn't really reached across the aisle. everything is still kind of adversarial. and while, listen, i'm multicultural, i guess, in some sense. my background, i'm considered a minority, so, you know, i do think black, brown, different people deserve rights. i do think that there needs to be changes. i think we need to be careful about just shooting out executive orders that feel good,

that seem good from a headline perspective, but at the end of the day they really don't benefit that segment of the populace. in fact, it might end up costing them more as taxes go up, as areas, you know, that sort of just are on the brink of economic strength, they're shut down, right? so you've got to be really careful with that, you know, when you're laying out all these policies. i feel like we're not thinking through, at least the current administration is not thinking through the ramifications. case in point is the stimulus. what's going to look like in two, three, five, ten years both for the country, both for minorities and the country as a whole. so i think that's where we need to take a step back here and just slow down a little bit. neil: all right. final word on that subject. a couple other things, this initiative that the president is going to address, and he will pair it with an address to the american people, is a plan for racial equality today that can be supported fully by the

american government and all economic and political aspects of our society. separately, the president will be outlining and has already committed to another another executive order that will halt new oil and gas leasing on federal territory. this does not apply to existing projects that are allowed to finish up, but any new activity regarding leasing on federal territory. continues a clampdown on fossil fuels, many say it's the death knell for the industry with the closure or at least the biden administration quitting the keystone pipeline. a thousand jobs lost on that. and given this late tack, maybe more to come. stay with us, you're watching fox business. ♪ -- bad boy 'cuz i don't with even miss her. ♪ i'm a bad boy for breaking her heart. ♪ now i'm free, free falling ♪♪

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biden administration had prompted each and every day of those first one hundred days. dr. fauci has talked about getting it close to 1.5 million a day. best selling author, also cornell medicine associate professor, doctor, thank you for taking the time. what is the problem right now in the vaccine rollout as you see it, doctor? >> well, i think there's a problem at several praises in this -- places in this. one is there's a lot of confusionment people text me all the time saying where can i get this vaccine? i don't know? and then there's all sorts of distribution issues and loggerheads, and people don't really know where to go to get the vaccine. but this is going to change soon. next week we should be getting data from johnson & johnson about their one-dose vaccine that can be easily refrigerated. this is totally going to change

the landscape. and, you know, we're about at one million vaccines a day right now, they're talking about getting up to 1.5 million a day, i think we could get up to potentially 2 million a day if the johnson & johnson data shows that it is as effective as the moderna and pfizer vaccines. that's going to be a big if that we're going to figure out very soon, just how good is johnson & johnson, and that get us over the hump where people don't have to be texting their doctors saying where with on earth do i find this vaccine. neil: i'm sure they'll get to the bottom of this distribution snafu, to your point, doctor. but i am encouraged by some of this data, not all of it, the seven-day moving averages show it declining anywhere from 18-21%, hospitalizations that are going down. again, on seven-day averages deaths are going down. what do you look at, and do you find those developments encouraging?

>> i do, i am encouraged, you know? the thing that i always look at is hospitalizations. that's the pressure point. that's the thing that gets people's attention in the hospital that causes things to change. when i see those numbers starting to go down, i'm really encouraged, you know? i think part of this is we saw a bump after the holidays, after christmas and new year's, there was a big surge in january that's starting to fade. the other thing that we're looking at very closely are these new variants. there's one from south africa, one from the united kingdom and one from brazil that have gotten people's attention and i think are letting people be reminded that they've got to keep their guard up. even though the vaccine is being rolled out, we've got these other variants to just keep an eye on to say, you know what? we're not over the hump yet, and we're a long way from immunity. we heard the president say by the summer we're well owl to way -- we're well on our way, and dr. fauci saying the fall. i think it's going to be a

while. be prepared to keep your guard up, wearing a mask and social distancing. neil: real quickly, doctor, you know, for people who have not had the vaccine yet, statistics are getting the virus again or testing positive for it again. how does that happen? >> well, this is all kind of emerging science right now. i'll tell you, i've been vaccinated, i got the moderna vaccine. i haven't changed my behavior because i know that it's possible for me to potentially pick up the virus. the vaccine prevents me from developing symptomatic disease. it is incredibly good at doing that, at protecting me, but i could still potentially carry the virus asymptommatically and sneeze it on someone else. so i've still got to wear a mask. i can't walk down main street and say i've been vaccinated, leave me alone, i can go back to normal life. we are now testing people to see if that's really the case. what we want to know is could

one of these new variants render itself resistant to the vaccine. thankfully, we have not seen that yet. in real life, in the real world, these vaccines are working very, very well. neil that's a good balance of caution and optimism there, doctor. i appreciate both. be well, be healthy. we'll have more after this. >> thank you. ♪

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♪. neil: all right. with everything else impeachment is on in the u.s. senate. marco rubio says this is gigantic waste of time, even if it is happening two weeks, three weeks from now. he is my special guest at 4:00 p.m. eastern time on fox news. can you imagine what he thinks of all these other efforts? we'll ask him. chairman sass sass in for cheryl casone in for my buddy, charles payne. >> good afternoon to all of you. stocks are in the green. including johnson & johnson. the ceo alex gorski will share details of the company's covid-19 vaccine trial early next week. that data will be a market mover if the date that is positive. we'll wrap up all the vaccine news you need to know and get reaction from dr. nicole saphier. more calls across the globe to