hour that there is a front-runner for attorney general. loretta lynch is the next attorney general and would be the first african-american woman to hold the post if she is nominated and confirmed. leah strong. stay with us for the friday feel good. the story behind the big cheers behind this little girl. >> over 1 hadn't $3 million. >> good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington. a face-to-face meeting with president obama that could set the tone for his final two years in the oval office. the decisionas to whether

republicans can show that they can govern, breaking the gridlock. capitol hill's kelly o'donnell and white house correspondent from the "huffington post," but live at the white house. first to you. what are you hearing in terms of the white house mood. the president did not seem chasened going into the meetings going into his first news conference, but the republicans on the hill seemed more combative than you might have expected after having talked about compromise on election night. >> they are feeling each other out and the lunch will give us the realm of the possible. what you are hearing is a non-sexy item with corporate tax reform and things like that. maybe criminal justice reform, but the big ticket item which is immigration continues to go down the tracks which is the

president who said he is not going to back off his plans for executive action for deferred action by the end of the year. if he does, it will poison the well for everything else. i wonder if they will find middle grund. >> the president can do some things without setting off a firestorm on the hill. >> members of congress have a strong feel being their power to write the laws. when it comes to something like immigration, i asked speaker boehner if the president took action, couldn't that be a catalyst for legislators to assess that and write laws either changing it or move it in a different direction. he said no and used that description of playing with matches and setting one's self on fire. things that we didn't expect in terms of the tone. at the same time if you look at

breath of what they said, they talked about areas to find common ground as hard as they might be. some of the things that don't get as many headlines. topic areas where they could get work done potentially. this meeting is really i think about a sense of the mood of the room. how committed to doing something are all of these parties who haven't had many of these friendly lunches. with republicans getting the upper hand on the congressional side. it will be important to see the relationship developing. both connell and boehner said they have a cordial relationship with the president. some are not on the best of terms with the u.s. they want to stress they have a decent relationship, but it will be a complicated one in getting things done. this meeting is a good start to

at least see where everyone is feeling and what their first priorities are. andrea. >> the white house certainly by implication of what the president said at his news conference the other afternoon, they seem to feel they can get things done with mitch mcconnell. >> they said mcconnell never backed away from a promise that implied that. they do look at him as more of a dealer who could get something done. what happened the past two years, they bottled up by the senate or they tried to negotiate and never found a good steady negotiating partner. now the white house is in a position where they let congress produce what they can on the items we talked about. they will guide the process. that doesn't mean they will

introduce their own bills, but let the preferences be known for what's in and out of bounds. it has to go through a 60-vote threshold and they will have to make a determination of whether to use the veto pin or not. they will veto more legislation, but they are a little bit bullish about the possibility of getting a few things done. >> sam stein, kelly o'donnell, setting the stage for the power lurch. joining me now to discuss the meeting and the future for house democrats. steve israel. thank you very much for joining us. there is no question about this. huh the unpleasant task of running the campaign for the house democrats. what lessons learned from the house side as to how to deal with the republicans and is there a chance of getting anything done? >> first of all, we have better

nights and also worse nights. this was a wave election. in 2006, the republicans lot of 30 seats and we lot of about 15. there still recounts. in 2016, the democrats lot of 63 and we lot of 15. we need to do better in 2016, but it could have been far worse. >> it's a high water mark in terms of republican advantage that goes all the way back decades and decades. >> they said the same thing when the democrats won the seats we won. that's history. what counts is the future and what we need to do. people need to not go to the corners, but come to the middle. there specific thing thas believe that democrats and republicans can embrace that i hope are being discussed at the bipartisan leadership meeting today. democrats want infrastructure to create good paying jobs and sustainable paychecks and rebuild america.

republicans want corporate tax reform. put the two together and do infrastructure. there shouldn't be paralysis on this. 68 senators from harry reid to marco rubio agreed to pass a bill. when you can get harry reid and rubio to agree on passing the bill, pass it in the house. that can show a signal that we can work together. one third chose a democrat or republican. the others want to get things done. should there be a change in the house or the senate? one of the things i'm proud of

are the things we recreted. they are about solutions and not about left or right. they are about moving forward. they are entrepreneurs and they are restless. it's important to have fresh new faces. is it time for either of the leaders or both to step aside or step down. the fresh new faces and voices that we have. >> on the senate side, the fresh new faces are lot of. a fresh new face of democratic hopefuls. breaking news that at least a leading candidate from your neck of the woods, from brooklyn.

>> i know of her, i don't know her well. someone who is fair and you in dishes and nonpartisan in new york. they couldn't have a better and more suitable candidate. we are proud of her as new yorkers. >> thank you, steve israel. pete williams will be joining me now from the newsroom. what do we know about loretta lynch and is she at the top of the list? >> let's engage in a little transparency. she has been the leading contender, but has not always been. when eric holder first announced he would step down, the leading contender at the time was the former white house council. for various reasons she has taken herself out of the running

and it's been true for the past ten days to two weeks that the white house was leading towards loretta lynch and the other reason we are talking about it, some started to say it looks like you are going to get it. what do we know about it? she has been the u.s. attorney twice under president obama and bill clirpt on. she is a harvard graduate and 55 years old. she would be the first african-american woman. janet reno was the first woman. the chances of confirmation are pretty good. will they try to get this through the lame duck? the thinking was initially let's try to do it and now they may not be able to wait until january. i think at this point while the decision has not been made, it

would be surprising. >> she has been obviously confirmed as a u.s. attorney. there is a track record there. let me ask you about the other major story, the big story, the federal appeals court striking down the gay marriage in four states that does set up a path to the stream court to decide this. >> it would be surprising if loretta lynch is not chosen to succeed eric holder and they do not decide to take up the issue. just a month ago they took a pass because all the lower courts were in agreement. they have disagreement and that's the number one reason they would take a case. you could still be on this terms calendar. if the lawyers are that quickly, they have shown they can.

they would bypass the full court and go right to the supreme court and could get before the justices by mid-january and that would be time to grant it. if they would, it would be in late april and could be decided by late june. it's possible to get it this term. what the out come will be, nobody knows. the advocates seem to think they have five votes and want to get this before the supreme court. you had a mixed reaction to yesterday's ruling. advocates disappointed for the 16 who challenged the bans. this is the ultimate goal to get it before the supreme court. >> pete williams on all things legal. thank you very much. reality checks. coming up, we will keep our eyes on the white house and the west executive entrance and expect to see leaders of congress arriving for lunch with the president. >> my attitude has been and continue to be that good ideas

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house budget chair and former running mate paul ryan may have a presidential campaign in his future. he said i will not be in congress ten years from now. i could be definitive. i have been there 16 years and don't want to be a career guy. this as hillary clinton's team prepares for her likely run. how is the field shaping up? joining me for the daily fix, chris alyssa and managing editor and gene cummings for bloomberg news. jean, let's talk about paul ryan letting people know he doesn't

want to make a career. this is not the way to stay and work fors being speaker. he is thinking about a presidential run. >> either that or a cap net position. there many things he can do. he can go ahead and spent time as ways and means chairman and a job he wanted for a long time and try to lay down accomplishments there. that could be a spring board for career moves. he has not made the moves that others have. rand paul, marco rubio and others have made that are obviously aimed at 2016. paul ryan has not done as many of those things. i don't think he looks good for 2016 right now. >> of course chris alyssa, there is another republican having survived the gubernatorial race who might want to be in contention. what do we know about the rest of the field and we will talk

about hillary. >> woo know rand paul will run and ted cruz is very, very likely to run for president. marco rubio, scott walker. john casic depend a little bit on what jeb bush does. rubio is the most obvious there. he is sort of the mentee of jeb bush. i can't imagine him running if jeb bush runs. he occupies a lot of ta establishment and especially in terms of donors. they are in almost assuresly. whether he announces he is running or not or gives indications. i think he for a lot of the more establishment-type guys and women.

it's the big domino to fall. >> speaking of women on wednesday, he was asked about hillary clinton and foreign policy. >> very beautiful. i do. i believe she is a house of cards. you can focus in the next two years on unifying and bringing people into the fold, into the tent and winning instead of focusing on shooting at each other. i believe we can become a majority movement in this country. >> they are all campaigning against hillary clinton. >> they absolutely are. they view her as the so does every political watcher out there. paul ryan makes a good point that she is going to face a rough race if she gets in. we can see that she has to build

a coalition that obama's coalition didn't show up. she has to build a big coalition. the warren wing of the democratic party is feeling like they should have been listened to more. she has a lot of work to do. they are right to presume. >> chris alyssa, there were natural allies and the people she campaigned for didn't win. >> that's right. i will say in the clintons's defense, almost no democrats won. anyone campaigning on the democratic side outside of jean shaheen basically lot of. hillary clinton is trying to get to a place, but she is not in her bones where the democratic party base is right now. she is not a listing in any way, shape, or form. it may not wind up mattering.

if they don't run, it may not matter. do you think it's worth noting that where she is is not at the center and the heart of the democratic party. >> is there a thought that the democratic defeats, especially big electoral states would change her mind having been through a tough campaign and lot of. would there be rethinking about whether or not this is a nomination worth having? >> i don't think so. she makes a decision based on in her gut, does she want it or will she fight hard enough to get it? that's up to her. they will see it being a mid-term turn out and it will be a different composition of voters. this is a gut call not based on the mid-term results. >> any disagreement there?

>> one-word answer, no. i don't think she wears. she cares as a democrat, but it doesn't influence her decision one way about 2016. >> thank you both so much. coming up, a big cheer for a brave little girl. we will have more, coming up next. put your hands together for new nestlé© toll house delightfulls morsels. in honor of our 75th anniversary, we're bringing you nestlé© toll house chocolate filled with caramel, peanut butter, cherry and mint. so peanut butter up some blondies and brownies. caramel-ify those chocolate chip cookies. and give that thing a hint-y of something cherry or minty! it's time to bake the world a better place with new nestlé© toll house delightfulls.

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jerusalem with the latest. hamas claimed responsibility, but there has been tension and grieve licensances on both sides. >> you described it as a tinder box and it has been a tense city. all eyes were on where i am in the old city. it's friday. there were friday prayers at the mosque, one of the most sacred sites of islam and clashes after friday prayers between palestinians and the police. in fact it was very calm. there was tension, but everyone disbursed after friday prayers without any calm before the storm. what he manies by the storm and fears in the city. it's the beginning of the third palestinian up rising. the first you will remember is the 1980s.

thousands of dead-on palestinian and israeli sides. it's too early to say that, but there is evidence after four months of low level trouble. the trouble is building. as you said on wednesday, a palestinian used a car as a weapon and first knocking down a group of border policemen, killing one u and plowing into a group of civilians, injuring many of them. in fact one died this morning in a hospital. that's the second such attack in two weeks where a vehicle was used as a weapon and the fundamentals have not changed. near the mosque, that's the most sacred site in judaism. you have activists trying to break a decades old understanding agreement that they should not pray up there. they are trying to get up there

and break that agreement and pray. there will be no change, but the activists are keen to change the status quo. palestinians are furious about that. about a lot of things about a crack down on crime and new homes and new settlements here for residents. there is a sense atmosphere. what you said is a tinder box is absolutely true. where there is a storm coming, there is tension here even though friday prayers passed off without trouble. >> thanks for being there in east jerusalem where obviously a lot of tensions are rising. we have a very hard situation between the president of the united states and prime minister of israel as well. this is not a good time for these conflicts to be getting

tougher. thanks, bill. now to a story to lift all of our spirits. at last night's bengals games were for a brave little girl, leah still. the first time since diagnosed with stage 4 cancer that she was strong enough to watch her dad play in person. partake a look at this. leah and her dad sharing a wave. an inspiration she has been not only to her dad, but to all of the country. >> her enormous courage documented boy her dad on social media inspired many. just before leah's surgery to remove a large tumor from her abdomen. >> i'm going to ask you again. i'm ready for today. are you ready for today? ready to get this cancer about you? let's do it? fist pump. >> still fighting her cancer,

she was a special guest to deliver a $1.3 million check to cincinnati children's hospital raised from the sale of her dad's jersey, number 75. >> $1.3 million to cincinnati children's hospital in honor of leah. she recently had surgery to remove a tumor from her abdomen. [coughing] dave, i'm sorry to interrupt... i gotta take a sick day tomorrow. dads don't take sick days, dads take nyquil. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing,

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i'm sorry daisy, but i'm a loner. and a loner gotta be alone. heee yawww! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. jesse? >> republicans are the leaders at the white house for lunch. will they offer any compromises? joining me now is maryland congressman elijah cummings. government reform committee. what are democrats going to offer? good to see you and thank you for being with us. >> good being with you. >> it was not a good election for you guys. it was a tough one. a lot of lessons to be learned and i think we are going to have to put the mirror to our own face and make sure we do

corrective action. clearly the republicans nationalized this election and tried to make government look incompetent and basically took president obama and tried to say he was not going to get a job. we got cut up in the nation and got cut up in distraction. >> what do you think the democrats should do. changes in the white house staff? >> i trust the president with regard to the staff, i would never tell anyone how to deal with their staff. he will have and has that what he feels comfortable with who will do the job for him. the party itself, we have to make sure that we get our message out much more clearly. clearly when you are talking about things like increasing the

minimum wage and addressing the issue of income and men and women and equal pay for equal work. issues such as making sure that young people are not burdened with high college debt. we have to communicate that and what the president has. not run away from the record. i didn't in my election. didn't run away. we have to run away for what we believe in. >> i feel comfortable with our leadership. we have to address messaging. it's one thing to expand and we need to do that, but we have to get our messaging rights so that people when they vote for democrats, they know that they

are getting for that. they are not the word on tomorrow or the next day, but the next generation. we have to give them something to vote for. >> the liberal and conservative wings have been strengthened and the middle has been diminished. what if the president goes around and works with republicans to try to build a legacy for himself? >> i don't think that the president will do that. he may. keep in mind he basically drew a line with regard to the affordable care act and said he was not going to let them do anything. that's a big issue for us and knows that social security and medicare are important to us. i expect there will be consultation with us. he realizes he doesn't have to

run again and we do. he wants the best for the variety and wants the best for the next president who i believe will be a democrat. i think he will work with us to try to address issues that have to be addressed. keep in mind, what the american people said to us in this last election is that republicans, we want you to share the responsibility of government with the democrats. things that affect them every day. we have to show we can do that. we have to get away from the blame games and get to work to address the issues of the american people. >> what about the president saying that he is going to do by executive order immigration reform or john boehner saying that.

boehner said me lighting a fire or waving a red flag in front of a bull. shouldn't congress legislate? >> congress should legislate, but congress hasn't been legislating. to be frank, i think i'm satisfied with the senate bill. they will pass and move on. i don't think they want to. they talk a good game, but they don't do anything. he said i have two years and i'm going to get something done. you have a bill and you have a decent bill. let's get to pass and move on. >> thanks for being with us. 25 years ago, the berlin wall came down and nbc's tom bra caw was the only anchor broadcasting live for the historic moment that marked the end of the cold

war. he once returned to the city where the lessons are still very fresh. >> it is difficult to believe the berlin of today was once ground zero for the war and history is everywhere if you know where to look. it can erase all the traces of epic struggle for freedom by ordinary people who found their own extraordinary bravery. this wall has been converted from a symbol of oppression to a monument to liberty and freedom and good times. the leaders want everyone, the new generation especially to know the lessons of the imprisonment of their country men behind that stark wall. while the tormented past is a backdrop for selfies, the lessons of history are as real

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charmin ultra strong is 4 times stronger. and you can use up to 4x less. charmin ultra strong. it's immoral and shameful and we are playing footsie with the iranians and hope that they will somehow have an effect on isis and the talks of course i believe on nuclear issues, we have already given away the store by allowing them to enrich and not putting in check both the development of warheads and the means to deliver them. it's a misguided effort to somehow accommodate and get better relations with a country that is spreading disorder and unrest throughout the region. >> senator john mccain talking to me yesterday on the show. speaking about the current state of u.s. relations with iran and only moments after that interview, the "wall street

journal" reported exclusively that president obama had written a letter to iran's ayatollah komeny about fightings isis and the nuclear talks. it's at least the fourth letter that president obama sent to him since taking office in 2009. carol lee coauthored the article and joins me now. another exclusive. let's talk about the implications of the letter. it's already setting off a storm from critics of the policy from the hill. it's two weeks away from a deadline for a nuclear deal from iran is fueling what was already bubbling up and starting to be

and concerns among allies from the region. they pushed back and said this makes the president look a little weak and goes into the talks. people are concerned about whether or not the white house is going to use these nuclear negotiations to spring board into iran and other issues. that's something the white house said from the start of the talks that it would do, but we would see that happening. the white house is having to explain why the president decided to do this. >> the fact that the white house is reportedly -- your reports and others are reaching out to iran to counteract isis. at the same time as john mccain pointed out that iran and hezbollah funded and supported by iran are helping to support the assad regime.

>> it's a dilemma for the white house and it just feels the criticism of the president's strategy with the islamic state and syria which in some ways are at odds with each other and getting involved in the conflicts. it creates all kinds of different odd bed fellows and alliances. the u.s. and iran are aligned and they are at odds in a lot of other ways. senator mccain in your interview was pointing to that. that raises a lot of alarm bells for folks, particularly on the hill who are looking at perhaps adopting additional sanctions that this white house doesn't want. you have been talking about they are now dealing with an emboldened congress. it's just a very complicated thing for the president to have to navigate. >> at this point as you are pointing out with the new

republican majority in both houses, what do they do if they come up with an ex-pension or iran deal that congress wants to veto? >> that's the big question. the white house is trying and it's interesting that the secretary said they had secret briefings with the hill on their negotiations. they are trying behind the scenes to engage the hill and try to minimize any of the fallout. in particular, something like sanctions against iran is not something the president needs to worry about. it has broad democratic support and now that he no longer has harry reid as senate majority leader who stopped sanctions from coming to the floor. that creates an even bigger problem and requires the white house to put more pressure on these lawmakers to not take the move which they think would unravel any deal they could get.

another issue is whether or not the president is facing something like a veto-proof majority of support in congress. for something like iran sanctions. it's a very tenuous time and you are seeing the white house try to work behind the scenes with the allies in the region and capitol hill to get to the ultimate goal to get a nuclear deal with iran. according to the president's letter, that signalled that there may be opportunity for other areas of cooperation in the future. >> carol lee from the "wall street journal," again thank you very much for all of your reporting. >> turks ahank you, andre a. >> could it help one journalist. a tehran correspond ept has been in jail in iran since july. his family is pleading for his release. >> i speak with those with the power to release my son, jason.

enough is enough. every day that you continue to hold him in prison is a dark day for his family and for iran. >> jason's brother joins me from new york. are you hopeful? there is talk he might be pardoned for whatever the alleged offenses are. pardoned within the month? >> yes. they have spoken about that and he is the head of human rights in iran. it's enough for jason to be pardonened and changes may be dropped. we know that he hasn't done anything wrong and we are hopeful that that's the tactic they take. as you mentioned, we know his health has been deteriorating over the last month. he has been in solitary confinement for 108 days and it's taking a toll on him physically and mentally. >> sorry he in the prison? >> that's my understanding.

>> a notorious prison. i was in a meeting in new york in september and he was asked repeatedly by a number of journalists about the release of jason. he said this will work out and there is a separation of powers, but he was very forward leaning. there is clearly a power struggle within tehran and the judiciary has their own slow course. you have the revolutionary guard. >> that's what they have been saying public low for the last two weeks. we are happy about that. jason had access to a doctor for the first time. just very recently. we are happy about that. there is not a lot of information that tells us when he will get out. the fact that his health has been deteriorating. mentally it's tough on him. he is very depressed because it has been such a long time. every day counts at this point.

>> we wish your family well and obviously you are all looking forward to the release of jason and it would be incomprehensible for there to be a deal on the nuclear issues or anything else a journalist for "the washington post" still being held in prison. hoping that this is the right timing for a lot of reasons. thank you. all the best. coming up, leaders who lunch. what can we expect. we'll be right back. 24/7 it's just i'm a little reluctant to try new things. what's wrong with trying new things? feel that in your muscles? yeah... i do... try a new way to bank, where no branches equals great rates. as the company that's all about printing. but did you know we also support hospitals using electronic health records for more than 30 million patients? or that our software helps over 20 million smartphone users remotely configure e-mail every month? or how about processing nearly $5 billion in electronic toll payments a year?

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we have breaking news from justice correspondent pete williams with breaking news out of the supreme court. >> they agreed to take up a new challenge to obamacare. this is the question about whether people who buy their insurance on the federal exchanges, healthcare.gov, qualify for the subsidy that makes health insurance much less

expensive. there is no question that people who buy it on the state exchanges qualify for that, but opponents of the law say it's ambiguousuous about whether the federal exchanges qualify for that too. the supreme court decided it will hear this case. we have been talking about whether the supreme court takes cases with no split on the circuits. there is only one decision left. there were two. one has gone away. they agreed to hear this and it will be argued this term. this is a significant attack on the health care law if the opponents are successful. it would seriously under cut this law and make it applicable to far fewer people and make health insurance much more expensive and the stakes are very high. >> wow, indeed. it takes 5 votes? >> four votes to grant and five to win when the case is argued. >> thank you so much, pete williams. that does it for this busy edition of "andrea mitchell

reports" and follow the show online, facebook and twitter@mitchell reports. jay leno returns to the tonight show and ronan farrow is here next. ♪ ♪ "here i am. rock you like a hurricane." ♪ fiber one now makes cookies. find them in the cookie aisle.

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about democratic and republican caucuses this afternoon. they have to chance to share what i think we should be interested in listening in terms of areas where we think it's possible to work together. >> at 12 time 40 it started and it's expected to last up to two hours. we will keep an eye on it. the stake out on the north lawn driveway once it's over, one thing for sure, they have big shoes to fill if they want to not get done as much as the last one. >> another big development, reports that u.s. attorney loretta lynch. the next attorney general. nothing has been confirmed by nbc news or the white house, but it shows and confirmed to be