medical jobs at the v.a. which is an extremely large be number. the v.a. was one of his top priorities, so. >> right. it is a freeze. part of the of it is to ensure -- hold on. part of it is to get our v.a. secretary in there and find out how we can best -- hiring people when office system that's not working and going out and hiring additional people doesn't seem to be the most efficient way of solving the problem. what we need to do, whether it's the v.a. or any other agency is make sure that we are hiring smartly and effectively and efficie efficiently. and i think the v.a. in particular if you look at the problems that have plagued people, hiring more people isn't the answer. it's hiring the right people putting procedures in place that ensure our veterans, health care or mortgages or other service has the v.a. provides to those who severed our nation get the services they have earned. right now the system is broken. so the freeze is meant to pause, allow there to be an analysis of what can make this better. it's not just the v.a. although that's high on the president's

list but it's making sure that all of the services of government are done in a way that a respects the taxpayer but gives the american people the service or benefit that they truly deserve. >> a follow up on cecilia. if 3 to 5 million people voted illegally that is a scandal of astronomical proportions. doesn't he want to restore paper' faith in their ballot system? wouldn't he want an investigation? this is a huge scandal? >> as i noted several times he believed this for a ng lo time. i think he won fairly overwhelmingly. >> why not investite something that is the biggest scandal in american? >> we will. >> the biggest scandal in american electoral history 3 to 5 million people voting illegally? >> we'll see where we go from here. right now the focus that the president has is on putting americans back to work. it was a comment he made on a long standing belief. yes. >> during mr. trump's campaign he talked a lot about banning muslims from coming into the

country and extreme vetting, what can we expect him to take action on this? >> i think that's going to be one of the things that he looks at -- his department of state, when rex tillerson gets confirmed and some of the other departments, homeland security, trying to put together a place that enacts this extreme vetting. but i think the interesting thing about the question that you are asking is that we are sitting here today with two confirmed -- with three cabinet with mike pompeo last night. but we are sitting here asking whether the president's agenda is moving forward at time when the democrats are holding up a massive amount of his cabinet. >> do you think they are using it purposefully? >> no question about it. look. let's balk back a statement. chuck schumer put out a statement saying they had an issue with eight or nine of them. that leaves 12 or 13 that they didn't have a problem with. they were consensus candidates. every one of the people that the president has nominated is

unbelievably qualified even the democrats admitted 12 or 13 of them were consensus candidates and they wouldn'tess oppose them. yet here we are. >> do you have a message for the democrats? >> what. >> do you have a message for the democrats. >> let's get it done. our country's safety is at stake. we have a continuity of government that needs to be in place to continue to protect and get this country moving forward. i think every minute that we stall is a moment that the democrats should have to answer for. yeah? >> he is calling on you. >> i'm anthony harper, the christian newspaper association. israel leaders that i'm wear of are concerned about the misuse of u.s. tax dollars going to u.n. schools that are inciting students into violence against

the jews. i recently had interviews with leaders and their concerns are very serious. they would want to know what president trump or how he would respond to the misuse of these dollars? >> back to what i said a minute ago to john. he has tremendous respect for how tax dollars are spent. i would mention again we need a u.n. ambassador. we need a secretary of state. there is a lot of these things that can start to happen under the direction of the new leadersh that'being held up right now. thank you. tara? >> is the president open to the idea of choosing a mainstream candidate like some of the democratic congressional lead remembers urging him to do today? >> for what? >> sorry, for supreme court nominee. >> i think that defines -- i think he has been very clear about his priorities. he put out a list during the campaign of individuals that he would consider. but i mean i think it's pretty mainstream to support the constitution, pretty mainstream to respect -- to follow the law

and not to create laws from the bench. that's what i think the majority of americans would agree. i think when it come to the candidates he has put up for his cabinet again look at the quality and caliber of these individuals. that's what he is going to continue to look for. people of high quality. of high caliber you know that fit the philosophy that he campaign on. april. >> sean, i want to ask you a couple of questions, one starting off with sessions, this ta in a vote. primarily because of concerns about issues of civil rights with sessions as well as voting rights. yesterday you talked about issues of race dealing with congressman john lewis and his statements and there is bust. what do you say when people are once again bringing up the issue of race and voter fraud when it comes to jeff sessions, this man that president trump has so much faith in to lead the justice department? >> i think senator session's record on voting and civil rights is exemplary. he fought hard as an attorney

general in alabama as a u.s. attorney, and then as a senator for voting rights, for civil rights, on areas of minority rights. he has pushed forward. and so when you look at his entire record, the people he prosecuted as both a u.s. attorney and an alabama attorney general he has been very forceful when it comes to making sure that voting rights and civil rights are enforced and protected. not just that but advanced. when the voting rights act came up for renewal he was a huge champion of it. so it's not just his record as an attorney. but as a united states senator he has been a very forceful advocate of the continuation of the voting rights act. yes, sir. >> i want to ask you a coupl of questions. >> i'm sorry. >> yes. okay. i know we're new to this together. on the issue of race, going back, because you made a -- you talked for a long time yesterday on the issue of race. and i wanted to ask you a couple things. and i talked to former -- excuse

me -- the current head of the naacp who is accusing this administration of something called stereotyping by omission saying that the president has met with athletes and entertainers, but yet has not met with civil rights leaders. and during his inauguration speech, he talked about inner cities, urban areas, being riddled with gangs, violence and drugs. what is the agenda? what are you planning when it comes to -- >> april, i mean just the other day he sat down with mart mart j.r. i would call him a civil rights leader. >> his dad. >> i think he has done a lot for that. there is a lot of the pastors he met w. he met with a lot of individuals on that issue throughout the campaign that come up and down the tower. he brought them in and out during the campaign and during the transition. they have been -- avada king the other day during the prayer service. there is ton of individuals that he has met with to talk about this issue. and i don't think it's something

that he takes lightly. he has talked about it tremendously because it's important to him both in terms of where this country moves forward and some of the issues that face some of the minority communities in terms of not just education but jobs and hiring and health care and access to small business lending. those are all areas he has been very concerned about and where he has talked about the need to address. >> roll out of a plan. >> we are on day two. guys, i no you are all anxious. appreciate it. >> first 1-days, he made this statement during the inauguration. >> i understand it and we are on day two and look what he is doing. i think when you look at the jobs programs, the dakota pipeline, the keystone pipeline, the things that are going to bring jobs back, good paying jobs with benefits. those benefit every american regardless of the color of your skin. he talked to the labor leaders about apprenticeship and how we can grow the economy and bring back training centers. those benefit every american. those are the kinds things he is committed to. how do we look at the

educational piece to ensure as people transfer out of one job to another as technology evolves that we prepare people who might have had a blue collar job to transfer into a technology base. there is a lot of things we can do in terms of training, retraining, voe tech that we can. that's the kind of stuff that i think will help move -- yes, sir. >> there was a report this morning that said if the current spending levels stay as they are the government is going to spend about another -- put the country in another $10 trillion of deb over the next ten years. does that reinforce for the president the need to cut spending? >> absolutely. >> if so, i mean where in the government committee cut spending enough to make a den on that? >> look, i think -- the american people elected the right guy at the right time. this is somebody who understands how to cut a good deal, how to negotiate a good deal, and how to watch -- how to manage a budget. look at how he managed himself

and his projects. underbudget and either on time or ahead of time. that's the kind of philosophy he is bringing into this government and into this white house is making sure that not only do we respect tax payers and figure out whether or not we are talking about the hiring freeze or how we do business or how much money we send in aided that we make sure that the money we send is being used well, the programs that we are implementing are done in a way that are -- are done in the most efficient and effective ways. it is a whole of government process. it's trying to make sure -- look what he did with boeing and lockheed on planes. it's going in and saying we can lower that price more, we can negotiate further. it's why when steve asked about the two pipelines that he wanted to make sure he insert pieces to say we can negotiate further. if we can get a better deal out of the american taxpayer, if someone getting use of our lands or waterways they are building something they can go to profit from can we ensure a way the u.s. taxpayer benefits.

that goes to the treasury. there is a lot of ways he is going to look at whether the money coming in or going out how do we get a handle on it. i think we have the right guy at the helm of the country when it comes to tax dollars being spent well. one last piece, energy exploration. it is a not just about energy. it's not finding new ways of bringing energy into this k. it's looking at new ways to bring economic growth, can bring money into the treasury to either reduce the deficit, create jobs. there is a lot of new way, new thinking that's going on the that he empowered his team and his cabinet to look at to create jobs to grow the economy and bring the deficit down. yes, sir. >> two questions. both -- i know you love us. but if there are protests again, if this pipeline goes through -- last time during the protests there were infinity journalists that were arrested and detained.

same thing i asked the obama administration. would this administration at least support the journalists in terms of getting the facts? >> you know i love you. >> got that on the record. a new congressman said he will sponsor legislation for a national shield law. the vice president supports a national shield law for reporters. will this administration support a national shield law for reporters? >> i have not asked. that's a great question. glad to follow up with you on that. >> thank you very much. on keystone, the official process took up to ten years. how fast does the president want this? >> quick as possible. that's why this was done the day it was done. he wants to make sure the process gets back on track and gets it moving. it's too important for the jobs and the economy of our country. >> when he talked with prime

minister trudeau did they talk about keystone? >> they talked about nafta. i'm sure that will come up with their meeting. the call she had was more congratulatory seth up the meeting i'm sure when they meet it will be on the agenda. >> last question, promise. there is a transition, first trip outside the country for a new president is mexico and canada. will this tradition be maintained. >> i'll follow up. we have set up a meeting with the prime minister of canada and the president of mexico. we have got theresa may coming, netanyahu is coming. we will have an update on the president's first foreign trips and we'll let you know. i'm sorry. >> a couple follow-ups to yesterday. first you said that the phone call between the leaders of russia and u.s. is not scheduled yet. has it been scheduled? >> not in a i'm aware of. >> secondly, you also were asked about the meal to meal

characterization in syria and -- you said there was no such -- >> that's right. >> is there any new guidance? >> no, i believe the pentagon has total low read that out and stood by it. >> one more. >> come on, that was two. >> my real question is -- [ laughter ] my real question is a basic one. we know that. >> i just watt an easy one. >> those were easy. the president has been what i can only describe as viciously, viciously attacked for his attitude to russia by his opponents here. he has withstood those attacks. so but i'm from russia. >> no? i can tell. >> please explain to us why. what's his logic? why is he doing this? why is he standing foreign minister on wanting to improve -- we are happy that he stands firm on that. but please explain to my

audience his reasoning for believing that we can do it together. >> because i think he's a great deal maker. and he's going to do what he can to fight on what have of this country. if deal can be found, whether it's fighting for american taxpayers or working with another country to protect our national security interests or economic interests he is going to make a deal that's in the best interest of this country. thank you. yeah, jeff. >> you said the president believes there was voter ut fraud. i wonder if you believe that you were at the republican national committee time and chief of staff reince priebus was the chairman at the time. do you believe there was widespread voter fraud. and how can he be comfortable with his win. >> he is very comfortable with his win. it is an electoral based system. 306 electoral votes. 33 of 50 states voted for him. jeff, i south korean this question twice. he believes what he believes based on the information he was provided. >> what does that mean for a democracy. what does that mean for a

democracy if he believes that? >> it means that i have answered your question. >> have you? >> okay. >> the president is meeting with business leaders. are there plans to target multinationals? >> i think a lot of these countries that you saw yesterday and even our automotive industry has a lot of presence overseas if that's what you mean. i mean the company -- the first priority he has is on u.s.-based companies that are trying to bring more jobs back and grow here. most of these countries, johnson & johnson, a multinational company, dow, you go down the list of individuals he met with yesterday, then the auto industry that was here today, ford, chrysler, gm, they all have massive overseas investments. i think part of the problem that he was talking to them about is greater market access for them, the ability to get into markets that they may have trouble with. yeah. >> follow-up are there any plans to still -- -- issued an

invitation to the president of ireland to come here for the traditional st. patrick's day celebrations? >> no but i'm going to get on that right away. thank you for bringing that up. hold on, blake. >> pigging backing off that. >> more irish. >> yesterday the president met with ceos, broad based, met with union leaders, broad based. today though he specifically met with auto leaders. >> right. >> why was that his choice as the first industry to meet with? taking i broader what is the criteria or the policy that the president or administration has or might develop that my determine which lead remembers brought here to the white house to meet with the president. >> i appreciate the question. i keep saying we are on day two. we can only have so many meetings in day. when you look, just stop and remember what you just said for a second. yesterday union leaders, business leaders, by camera, executive order action.

i mean his day one is pretty darn robust. i'm not going -- i've gotten out of the quantifying game. but i think when you compare that to the past, i bet you that -- we probable blew put that up there the amount of action that he took and number folks that is what you are going to see more of. today he wanted to sit down with the auto industry in particular because he thinks that's vital to our manufacturing base. but he's going to have a lot of meetings and he is going to mooet with lot of folks from a lot of backgrounds who he thinks have an interest in working with him to enact an agenda that grows jobs and the economy. to your point on the criteria, that's what it is. >> does the president have any plans to change u.s. policy towards cuba? there were a lot of changes that took place in the last administration. any executive orders as it ults relates to u.s./cuba relations? >> i would have to follow up. we have nothing at this point. >> one more? >> since aim he doing two. >> picking up on what april

said, from there plans in the near future for the president to meet with the kong black caucus or the congressional hispanic caucus? >> as i ntione mighhave been ail that asked this yesterday, the president started with the leadership as he should. you start with them. today the group he is meeting with is part of the advice and consent role in the constitution with respect to appointing a supreme court justice. et cetera going through the motions of that. but he is z r -- you are going to see a lot of meetings with a lot of individuals. he welcomes the input and ideas and advice these people are coming in about how to move his agenda forward. this is something he really enjoyed not just during the transition but in the last few days of his administration of hearing the feedback. one of the thing that's interesting about the meeting with the exception of the pool fray that opens them up. the president has largely sat and listened. asked questions, tried to elicit their ideas about what barriers

they are facing to hire more people. what the regulatory or tax impact issan their ability to create more jobs or keep manufacturing here in the united states. you are going to see a lot more of that i think what he wants to do is further expand whether it's governors or members of different groups within the house and the senate to come done here and get their advice and ideas on how to work together to move an agenda. yeah. >> "associated press." you mentioned that the president is commissioning review of the islamic state strategy. can you tell us who exactly is involved in the review? how long is it going to take? what are some options being considered? >> i don't know to get to much in detail. there is a lot of key individuals. not to get back on my high horse but a lot of the individuals that are going to be involved in that process a secretary of state act cia director, a u.n. ambassador, there is a lot of folks that you know have not been consulted yet because they haven't been confirmed. they have in private but i think

they need to get together get confirmed, get in their respective departments agencies and get with their staff and provide feedback. halle jackson. >> thanks saen. two questions. >> yeah. >> first one, not the belabor a point here but you said that the president believese, his belief there is widespread voter fraud. only four days ago did he get the power of the presidency to do something it. why not say he will investigate if he believes and the administration's position is there was massive voter fraud? >> he said 3 to 5 million people could have votedingly based on the studies he has seen but he is clear he won the election based on the 306 electoral votes at hgot. we are here on day two. i think let's n prejudge what we may or may not do in the future. >> if he lost, would he be upset? >> of course. who wouldn't be upset if they lost. no, no, the election is held

within our country with electoral votes. he won the most of any republican since reagan. he is comfortable with the breadth he got are the american people and the nine of 13 battleground states, the 2600 counties. he is have very pleased with that. yes? >> one more piece on a second topic. quickly on the pipelines. if you don't mind, sean. >> i know you get two. >> on keystone when you look at the dakota pipeline as well given the president's former business ties his last financial disclosure showed he had sam stake in oil partners. can you reassure -- >> thousands dollars from a guy who is a multibillionaire. >> to those concerned about potential conflicts. >> he has no conflict. by law i can't have conflicts. i think t president has gone above and beyond as was outlined at the press conference a couple

of weeks ago. his focus is entirely on the american people and bringing back jobs and growing this economy. yes. >> does he share the view of matthews who said yesterday washington has a quote unshakeable commitment to the alliance of nato. >> as it's structured now in terms term of the of the output of nato he doesn't feel it's doing what its mission was set up to do or that it's being effective. i think secretary mattis and others have ideas how to make nato more effective and benefit the amount of money the united states is putting into whether it's nato or the u.n. or other organizations like that. but i think he is not pleased with what he sees in terms of the u.s. contribution and output it's getting. yes. >> thank you. senators colin and cassidy, would obamacare allow states that with a.to opt in to

continue to have it, with the president support that type of legislation? if he did, would that go back on his promise to have a full repeal? >> i think first and foremost let's get back to his goal. we are working with congress. some of those conversations started a last night. staff has been working on a plan to repeal and replace. his goal first and foremost is to make sure we give the american people a health care system that's affordable, more accessible, more doctors, more plans. that's his goal. how a state chooses to implement that -- i think right now the idea we have had these mandates requiring people to get things it has driven out competition and driven up cost is not a health care system he is pleased with and wants to support the repeal of. kristen. >> sean, thank you. i want to be clear about this investigation because it seems like you potentially opened the door for one? >> which investigation are you referring to. >> possibly equity having this voter fraud? >> i did not, no, i did not. >> you said it's possible.

>> anything's possible. no, i -- i think at some point -- look i was asked a question. there is no investigation. it's -- i said it was possible. anything is possible. it was hypothetical question. my point to you is that to ask us on day two he made a comment last night on something he believed and said for long long time and the question that was asked to me is whether or not -- it has been asked and answered. i'm not -- >> foreign policy, does he support israel sending -- >> he asked his team to get together. he will meet with -- israel continues to be a huge ally of the united states. he wants to grow closer with israel to make sure that it gets the full rcht that it deserves in the middle east. what he is he's going to do is as i mentioned yesterday, we are going to have a meting with prime minister netanyahu we will continue to discuss that. >> does he support the expansion of settlements? >> we will have a frgs conversation with the prime minister. >> from the hill jordan fabian. during the campaign president

trump said he wanted to fill up the guantanamo bay prison with bad dudes. i'm wondering if the white house is formulating a plan to do that. has the president directed armed forces to start arresting terrorists overseas and bring them to the prison. i'm not -- we have nothing on that right now. >> i have two questions related to the supreme court and today's meeting with the senate leadership. what is the goal of the meeting? it sounds like he is closing in on a decision. will he be sharing a short list of his final choices? >> look. one quick correction. i mentioned two individuals. the only attendees are senator mcconnell, schumer, grassley and fine steen. i falsely mentioned the whips and they are not going to be attending. that being said, look the idea is to hear their idea on what they want. how far he wants to extend himself on the thought process. i think he wants to hear what

ideas they have. >> when they changed the filibuster rules they exempted the supreme court nominations from that. >> i think he is going appoint a quality social justice that hopefully will achieve overwhelming support. i think his goal is that he's going to choose someone who hopefully i think everyone recognizes is a jurist who is going to legislate from the constitution and not legislate from the bench. and we should get bipartisan support. >> is that something he would recommend to republicans that they consider? >> i think we are early in the process. he is going the hear from them tonight. i thank you all. i'll see you all tomorrow. have good one. right there, shawn spicer brump's white house press secretary leaving the briefing room after today his second briefing. spent a lot of time talking about the claim donald trump made yesterday in a closed door

meeting, meet and greet with senate leadership abhow he believes how he believes 2 to 3 illegal immigrants voted illegally in this election we wanted to do fact checking. the white house is referring to the same number the campaign referred to and the transition administration referred to. one was debumpinged. the other was a study from 2008 which said that 24 million, one in every eight people are on voter registrations in the united states that are no longer valid and they are signature conditionally inaccurate. listing people who had died in the past. obviously. on the voter roles. it doesn't mention anything when it comes to undocumented immigrants. their basis of evidence here isn't quite correct at all. we want to go to ari medical ber, our chief legal correspondent here at msnbc to break this down more. we were talking while the

briefing was going on. it seems like if you are going to question voting and say that 2 to 3 million people voted illegally, that is a major major story. that is something that calls for an immediate investigation. that is the foundation of our democracy. if we're not voting legally, if we are not voting -- you can't trust our voting practices, how can you trust that anything we do is democratic? >> that's right. shawn spicer, as you mention, made several claims and suggestions that have been repeatedly and widely debunked. we show the government. we show the government's claims as we just did. now we will have to debunk them because what he said was false. there is no widespread evidence of massive voter fraud in california or elsewhere. indeed, all of this is carefully regulated by state and federal authorities and secretary of states, more of them has been to be republican than democrats. none of these secretary of

stat states. 50 different election sfims plus the justice department's oversight. on top of that the factual suggestions he did make were widely known to be false because the trump campaign tried this before and shawn spicer before this position was of course rnc spokesman. he knows from that time when jason miller and others misstated the study. they were rebutted. the author of the pugh report said in october and november that he was being miscited. he said that again and today used soerm to emphasize that. when you have an obligation to get your facts right and you state them it is more than just a misunderstanding. it looks like based on what we know, a mischaracterization on the part of shawn spicer what we just saw and from brump a direct lie good afternoon how repeatedly and clearly he has mischaracterized this. the other point about shawn spicer is not just factual or

journalistic, it's illegal and criminal. he is not just brp's spokesman. he is the spokesman of the united states, of the white house. and he is speaking of an allegation of wide president is crimes to pack the outcome of a election, a widespread multiple person criminal conspiracy. yet as several reporters rightly pressed him he couldn't explain why if there were millions of crimes why around they being investigated. this is the difference between running a campaign which has elements of exaggeration or pop began de and running a got. shawn spicer -- you asked me about the voter fraud claim. i think what he just did was made a bad problem much worse. he is creating flicks for the justice department and the other factual and criminal investigative parts of the federal government which are not answerable to the president's personal grievances but are answerable to the laws equally enforced for all americans.

this was a problematic press conference. >> peter alexander is outside of the white house right now. peter, shawn spicer said donald trump saw research that he says supports his belief. the transition, the campaign, did not provide that research other than the pugh study, which does not say that those people who are on those voter rolls actually voted. do you expect to get any of that information from the white house now that they have won? >> reporter: i think it's pretty clear we are not going to get that evidence any time soon but this raise as series of other questions about comments or believes that donald trump has communicated over the course of the past year and a half during his campaign. one, does donald trump still believe that the murder rate is the highest it has been in 45 years. does he still believe that crime quote through the roof because of what he described as illegal immigrants, undocumented immigrants in this country? does he still believe that hillary clinton is still the one behind that obama certificate thing as he described it in the

past. these are all sorts of questions that shawn spicer could be peppered with right now. it's not sufficient to say that's his belief. it's his belief and it has been debunked widely, the responsibility of him is to cite the facts not just the beliefs that are out there. this is not too different than the birtherism movement where trump piped for years that president obama wasn't born in the united states and then during the campaign was able to slough it off saying i think he is actually a u.s. citizen. let's bring in mark. mark, how do we believe anything this white house says? >> that's the question going forward. this was the issue when we were debating crowd sizes and you had the claim that donald trump's crowd size was the biggest or witness all the way to the washington monument, there were 1.5 million people there all claims by donald trump and his spokespeople that were not

correct. that was the really small stuff. what happens when you actually get toers ma of war, national intelligence, really disputed things. and of course being president of the united states is sometime having to wade through very difficult information and having to make tough decisions. and yet somehow you have the belief well the president believes what he believes and we are supposed to move on, i think that throws everything into question. as peter was talking about, this isn't the first conspiracy theory we had. whether it was birg birtherism, president obama, you had donald trump make claims that somehow vaccines were responsible for autism, which has been debunked by every scientist who looked into it. the list goes on and on when it comes to conspiracy theories. this was an issue you covered during the campaign. but the campaign is much different. particularly when you have the white house seal behind you, when the podium ends up having the presidential seal, things are so much different in the oval office and the white house than they are on the campaign. >> just one quick question here, mark, who are they speaking to

when they come out and when shawn spicer takes that podium? are they speaking to the more than 50% of the country that did not vote for donald trump. are they speaking to reporters who deal in facts or are they speaking to those that want to believe in donald trump no matter what and don't believe in anything that politicians that are not donald trump or reporters tell them is the truth? >> right, or are they speaking to their principal boss who is also watching and want to make sure they are pleasing him. ari was making a good point. that is that shawn spicer and everyone who ends up working in the he had if ral government are not just working for the president of the united states. they are working for the united states of america. and you have a credibility issue from that podium or from the oval office, that also is just to the a personal credibility. it's a credibility that hits the entire united states. and so going from the campaign to the white house, you know, we are all focused on this, yes we are focused on these things during the campaign. but i would even argue that the

gravity is so much bigger now than it was when it was on the campaign trail. >> one last question to you ari. when they say this now what does that mean in 2020 when they are running for re-election? >> i think the way shawn spicer is conducting himself in that press conference today cast out on this administration's ability to oversee a free and fair election. that's in a context where everyone has accepted the legitimacy of their victory. donald trump spoke very dramatically and sort of jokingly in the debates about i'll accept it if i win. this is the context of how they deal with a win. this is problematic for those reasons. it and goes back to the justice department which ultimately determines whether crimes occurred. you have the president and now the spokesman for the united states, alleging that 3 million-plus crimes have occurred but also trying to explain away why they are not investigating or prosecuting those crimes. it makes no sense because it's not supposed to make spins sense because it is a conspiracy theory. but this is reality you no. this is not alternative facts.

so i think it's incumbent on the bureaucracy itself, which i say not in the negative sense that that word is used but in the sense of personal professional, dig knit and honor of people who take an oath to uphold the constitution. the attorney general i think has to clean up the mess that shawn spicer made today. >> if he does get confirmed. joining me now from capitol hill is california congresswoman maxine waters ranking member of the house financial services committee. congresswoman thank you for joining us? >> welcome. >> let's listen to shawn spicer a moment ago talking to reporter and addressing this claim that donald trump has made that millions of people voted illegally. >> does the president believe that millions voted illegally in this election? and what evidence do you have of widespread voter fraud in this election if that's the case? >> the president does believe that. he stated that before. i think he stated his concerns of voter fraud and people voting illegally during the campaign. and he continues to maintain

that belief based on studies and evidence that people presented to him. >> you said that the president believes -- his belief for a while that there is widespread voter fraud. only four days ago did he get the power of the presidency to do about it. why not say he will investigate if he believes and the administration's position is there was massive voter fraud. >> the comment he said he said 3 to 5 million people could have voted illegally based on the studies he has seen. he is clear he won the election based on the 306 electoral votes that he dot. we are here on day two. i think let's not judge what we may or may not do in the future. >> congresswoman have you seen any of the studies donald trump says he has seen to prove millions of people may have voted illegally? >> well, donald trump continues to come up what is actually lying. he does not have any information, any documentation that 3 to 5 million people voted

illegally. it's absurd. he continues to do and say these kind of things. as a matter of fact, he has gone from saying there were millions who was at his inauguration ceremony when there were no millions there for him. and now he's saying that 3 to 5 million people voted illegally. it's ridiculous. it's absurd. but it's going to catch up with him. i know that he thinks he can do anything he wants to do and get away with it. but i want to tell you, it's a thousand knicks and he is going to absolutely undermine his total credibility if he keeps up with these lies. >> congresswoman halle jackson asked steve king of iowa about this. i know he is getting blowback on both sides, certainly from lindsey graham and others on the democratic side boo steve king of iowa, a republican and

somebody who supported donald trump defended him. listen to what he said -- held on, we don't have the sound. he basically said there is data out there. do you think congressman king has seen this information that donald trump claims he has seen? if so, if 2 to 3 million people voted illegally in this country, isn't it imperative for the president of the united states to share that information, share that evidence with the american public? >> absolutely. and he doesn't have any evidence. he doesn't have any information that would show that 3 to 5 million people votedingly. and i don't care who is supporting him and defending him. if other republicans are defending him, they are lying. they don't have the information. and, again, thee lies are going to catch up with him. it is absolutely absurd for the president of the united states to continue this outrageous lying. and he can't get around it. once is he pinned down, he's

simply going to try and back out of it. or you have these talking heads coming on trying to clean up behind him and they can't doit. it was shown that when miss kelly tried to clean up behind him when he talked about how many people showed up for his inauguration. and she came up with this ridiculous thought about alternative facts. i moean, it's crazy. it doesn't make good sense. they can keep going down this road but it's doing to backfire on them. >> congresswoman, this issing in new. they did this during the campaign. donald trump talked about birtherism during his campaign. he was at the forefront of the birtherism argument. he talked about crime stats that were not true and oftentimes at his rallies he would massively exaggerate the number of people that were there even when they were very large crowds. what does it say about this country that a man who often

didn't say true things, often said falsehoods if you want to be plight about it was elected in the electoral college? >> let me say this. i think i got away with a lie during the campaign and frankly i don't think the press drilled down hard enough. >> i'm not going to let you say that on my air. we drilled down really hard on him. that is not true, congresswoman. >> let me say this, when it happened on sunday, when chuck todd really took him on, that was the first time i had seen chuck todd take him on. and i want to tell you, after he refused to show his tax returns, he could show up, time and time again -- and the question was not asked. it should have been asked every time he showed up. >> that question was asked frequently. that question was asked all the time at news conferences. reporters did their job, did their job in extraordinary circumstances. i don't think you can blame the press for not going after donald trump on the facts. >> listen. i'm not slightly blaming the

press. i'm just saying we all should do a better job of challenging him, pushing back on him, and showing that he's a liar. and any time he shows you anywhere, whether it is in a crowd where he is doing speaking engage men, et cetera, we should press him on all these lies that he is telling. i think that what i'm seeing now, based on what i saw on sunday, it's beginning to happen the way it should happen. and he doesn't have sense enough or he's not saying enough to know that he has stepped way over the line and that he's going to start to lose his so-called believers. let him keep it up, because it's going to backfire on him. >> congresswoman maxine waters thank you for being here. also thank you very much for allowing me to defend my colleagues and fellow journalist out there, i do appreciate it. >> that's oechlt i understand. but let's get him. >> i'm going to leave that to you. next, trump's executive orders

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...stop clicking around...travel sites to find a better price... the lowest prices on our hotels are always at hilton.com. so pay less and get more only at hilton.com. if they'd like, we'll see if we can get the pipeline built. a lot of jobs. 28,000 jobs. >> that right there, the president earlier today as he signed executive orders to advance the construction of the controversial keystone xl and dakota access oil pipelines. the dakota pipeline prompted weeks of protests in north dakota last fall. among the opponents the standing rock sioux who tell nbc news they will file an immediate challenge. joining me, a board member of our revolution, she opposed the

dakota pointline construction and was arrested in last year's protests at standing rock. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> tell me, what do you do now that donald trump is essentially making way for this pipeline to start construction once again? >> we mobilize. you know i was on the ground at standing rock starting from september of last year and we all of these protest. we saw people being shot with rubber bullets. i was arrested. hundreds were arrested. people being sprayed with water cannons in subzero temperatures trying to protect our earth and indigenous sovereignty and rights. what we can do now as a population as a society is to hold our corporations and banks accountable. because there are a lot of banks that are invested in this pipeline. and you know, regardless of any executive order or what our politicians want to do, if there is no money invested in the pipelines then they can't be built. i think it's about spreading education and really honoring

the fact that -- you know, one of the biggest things about this particular pipeline is protecting indigenous rights, some be that overlooked in our country far too long. >> bring our viewers up to speed on this. give them a reminder if they weren't watching over the december holiday break. in addition to the indigenous rights what else was you and your group protesting? what are the dangers you believe are being posed with this pipeline? >> it would be built underneath the missouri river. as we know it's not a matter of if pipelines leak. it's when pipelines leak. and when this one were to leak it would affect the drinking water of 18 million people. not only standing rock sioux tribe in north and south dakotaa but millions of people downriver as well. drinking water is not a lucksy, not limited to privilege. it is a human right. it's something we must start standing for and recognize recognizing. doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank whether you ever a conservetive or

progressive you require drinking water the survive. that's what we are protecting. >> donald trump kpapd on creating jobs. jobs would be created with this pipeline, a few thousand of them. not quite as many permanent jobs, a few dozen permanent jobs but there are people out there that cy say this condition needs to get back to work. are there any conditions under which you and your group would say it's okay to build this pipeline? >> i agree that it's time to bring more jobs to this country. that's why i think we need to start investing in renewable energy. that is not a temporary job situation. it is something that would be permanent. it would require -- implement energy independence in our country. there are rhetoric out there that oil in this country, these pipelines are going to encourage energy independence. that's not true. we know the oil is going to be exported. false narratives, a lot of lice, and if we are talking about creating jobs, renewable energy

is the way to go. it is an untapped territory and would create millions of jobs. >> you go thank you for joining us i appreciate your time. >> thank you so much. in today's microsoft pulse question we have been asking can environmentalists to block the dakota access and keystone pipeline. so far 71% of you say yes i believe they can. 29% of you say no that cannot happen. while trump begins governing his cabinet picks are going through hearings. nick mull veiny and tom price the would be secretary of health and human services today are facing tough questions from democrats. look at that back and forth between ron wyden from price from earlier. >> you purchased stock in an australian company through private offering at discounts not available to the public. >> if i may, they were available to every single individual that was an investor at the time. >> well, that is not what we

learn from company filings. trading in stocks while you sat on two committees introducing legislation that directly impacts the value of the stocks? >> what legislation would that be? everything that i did wassette i gocal, above board, legal, and transparent. >> on top of that,v vp mike pence is meeting with republicans on the hill. we are getting a glimpse of what is happening behind closed doors in the white house since donald trump became president. a article in the "washington post" describes the president as fewer rouse at times with the media. joining me now, phil rucker, one of the journalists who worked on the article. your timing is impeccable. you wrote in your article today about shawn spicer and how donald trump reacted to shawn spicer on saturday. you said but in trump's mind

spicer ace tack on the news media was not forceful you have in. the president was also bothered the spokesman red at times haltingly from a printed statement. obviously, his performance if you will has improved since that saturday news conference where he came out and basically yelled at the press for a few minutes. talk to he moo. what's going on behind the scenes in the trump white house? are we expecting to see shakeups potentially soon? >> you know, i don't know there will be actual shakeups. but what you have is a president who is settling into the white house is obsessively paying attention to how he is being covered in the media, on television, in newspapers, o soeshld media, even, on fwirt. this was how he was on the campaign. how he has been at trump tower for years. before he was in politics. you no he is president of the united states he has big issues on his plate big issues every day. but he is still paying attention to the details.

what bothered him about shawn spicer's performance over the weekend was not that he was too stern. he said he wasn't tough enough, wasn't firm enough. the president apparently was pleased with ii spicer at the podium yesterday. i'm sure he was happy today because shawn spicer defended what the president had to say with another falsehood about the millions of people he thinks voted illegally. illegal immigrants. >> you have covered white houses in the past. you have been covering politics for a long time usually when you enter into a white house when you are a staffer you are entering to uphold american values, american democracy, you belief this the man or woman that you have gotten elected but there are limits. if you are asked to lie usual loo you don't get up on podium and lie. if you are asked to state a falsehood usually you don't get up on the podium and repeat that

falsehood. and if you don't necessarily -- if you don't have the proof, isn't your duty to maybe push back and say listen we don't have the proof for this, we go to out and tell the american public one thing that we don't have evidence for? >> you know a lot of previous press sections who served presidents have said just that they would be uncomfortablent wering false information or intentionally trying mislead the media. press secretaries, by definition their job is to spin the media. they are trying to make a persuasive argument and use the facts to the advantage of the president agenda. >> fill rucker. read his stories in the "washington post" every day. thank you for joining me. a programming note. senator john mccain will joan joe and mika on morning geotomorrow at 6:00:a.m. paul ryan will join for the

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go long. regarding mr. trump's delusional statement that 3 to 5 million people voted illegally in the last election -- that is a total nonsensical statement. but what i fear about that statement and what is something we should all worry about is when trump talks about 3 to 5 million people voting illegally, he is sending a message to every republican governor in this country to go forward with voter suppression. >> that's bernie sanders a short time ago reagenting to a claim made by president trump that 3 to 5 million people illegally cast votes in the presidential election. we have gotten a statement from the california secretary of state alex padilla. he says by repeating false and

unsubstantiated voter fraud allegations president trump is dangerously attacking the legitimacy of free and fair elections and the foundation of our democracy. these are all alternative facts. they are corrosive, lies, without any evidence. padilla will join msnbc for an interview in the 4:00 p.m. hour. be sure to tune in for that. that does it for me this hour of msnbc live. i'm katy tur in new york. follow me on line on twitter and on facebook. right now with' got kate snow. how are you doing? >> i'm doing well. a busy day. top three stories we are following receipt now. the one we were just talking about, katie was just talking about, white house press secretary shawn spicer wrapping up his second daily briefing a short time ago and the big headline the assertion that president trump's belief that is that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016. we'll bring you much more about that