i see chuck. >> you can run but you can't hide. the house intelligence chairman won't explain what he was doing at the white house. >> can you tell us who signed you in at the white house. >> we're not going to ever talk about any of that. >> adding insult to injury, the daily theater of that white house briefing after the press secretary tried to silence a veteran correspondent april ryan. >> how is the administration trying to revamp their image two months in. you have russia, you have wiretapping, you have -- >> no, we don't have that. you don't get it, i said it from the day i got here to whatever, there is no connection. you have russia. if the president puts russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, that's a russian connection. i appreciate your agenda here,

but the reality is, no no, hold on, at some point report the facts. the facts are that every person that has been briefed on this subject has come away to the same conclusion. republican, democrat, i'm sorry that disgusting you. you're shaking your head, i appreciate it, but understand this, at some point the facts are what they are. >> that is an exchange that went viral and we'll talk about that in a moment. >> good day, everyone. let's get to the big stories driving the day here in washington. we're also waiting for a photo-op with the president. kristin welker is standing by in that briefing room. a lot of talk, hillary clinton

weighing in, april being silenced by sean spicer. >> it was certainly a heated exchange, but the white house saying look, there are heated exchanges every day. it comes against the backdrop of tensions between the white house and what they feel has been unfair treatment by the press. so we have seen some heated exchanges in briefings. we saw it again yesterday. as you say, hillary clinton did weigh in and said that she was treated that way because she was a woman. that it was playing into what was what she called a condescending tone by sean spicer. he might be pressed about that today, andrea. as a postof other issues also on the table here at the white house. the president and sean spicer are currently right now launching a new initiative to tack tackle opioid addiction.

governor chris christie being put in charge of that commission. as we await sean spicer coming to the podium in the next half o hour or so. >> the president suggesting that health care could be revived. i was just at a meeting, a background session with a leading member of congress, a republican member, saying there is no way that will be revived. most likely nothing would come to the senate that would be acceptable there. they're looking for tax reform to be the next initiative. what is the realistic prognosis? >> realistically tax reform is the next legislative goal. i'm told there are some more talks coming again today about health care between the white house, lawmakers on capitol hill. to your point, andrea, how rauls

tick are these ta -- realistic are these talks. there is frustration in the ranks for what they see as a botched opportunity. more moderate republicans, the tuesday group, trying to talk about what went wrong and real estatically what are w-- realis easy to move forward. we'll ask sean spicier he think it's is easy. at this point in time there is no real strategy, no realtime line or joust reach to democrats yet. president trump says to get something done on health care he will have to reach across the aisle and talk to democrats. so it is health care moving forward? not necessarily. are there any indications it is getting done this year? not at this point. tax reform seems to be the far more likely realistic goal they will pursue right now, andrea. >> and overshadowing all of it is, of course, russia and the

intelligence investigations and the russian connections and the fact that the white house is dribbling out investigation or stonewalling if you will, and not adding any kind of insights into what is going on. we now know that jared kushner met with a very suspect putin banker that went to kgb school in the past and part of that whole inner circle of former or current intelligence officials around vladimir putin. in this last hour, bipartisan on the hill, richard burr and mark warner, they will have a press conference later, but the house committee, completely discre discredited it. >> right, mounting calling for the chairman, the republican chairman, devin nunez to step down after he was briefed here at the white house about the information that he says raises

questions about whether or not some trump transition officials may have been scooped up in surveillance. we have been pressing sean spicer on this for days. specifically we wanted to know what signed him into the white house and who briefed him. we have not gotten an answer on either of the counts but we will try again today. we know the white house, i'm told, working on getting us an answer to some of the thorny questions that could raise real ethical rconcerns. but what we do now, mounting calls for devin nunez to recuse himself from the investigation. >> and the republicans on that committee are now rallying around devin nunez, so there is no rebellion on the house republican side. it is republicans in the senate and certainly democrats that are criticizing him.

>> he was asked if devin nunez should rescues himself. and ultimately this investigation should be allowed to move forward, and they have faith in what has been a bipartisan investigation, but pressure is mounting. >> kristin welker, right in the front seat ready to go when spicer comes in. meanwhile tim kaine, the former vice president candidate, thank you for joining me. >> good to be with you, i think 18 democrats went to the white house last night. 52 or 53 republicans, maybe a tad fewer on the republican side. >> i had another previously scheduled event that i had already moved once to last

night, and i didn't want to scrap it again, so that's why i wasn't there. >> there was a shoutout to chuck schumer and the call to start working with democrats, senator, i apologize. we have to go to the white house now. >> story of my life, andrea. >> no, the story of my life. we hope to talk to you on the other side. >> look forward to it, thanks. this morning the president just wrapped up, or is continuing to, the president is hoping an opioid and drug abuse meeting. talking about the recovery awareness advocates and others that have been affected by the opioid christ. in 2015 more than 52,000 americans, 144 people a day, die

from a drug overdose from something including an opioid. they're now the leading cause of accidental death in our country. we won't be able to address this epidemic with a single solution. first we must get struggling americans the help they need. we must also focus on prevention and enforcement. cheap heroin is flooding into our country and it is causing a spread of addiction from person to person and family to family. president trump is strengthening law enforcement and dismantling cartels. they will discuss how they are helping the american communities. stopping this ep depositionic

regardless of your political background can and must get behind. leaders from the lost. the white house took a big first step this morning in our bat toll combat opioid addiction. homeland security secretary kelly, and others were in attendance, a full list of participants has been provided. i will say i know the pool was just in there. some of the stories from some of the individual that's have been involved with this are unbelievably compelling. they're desire to see and to work with the administration to get it addressed is one that is pla plaguing communities. and i know the president places

it at the highest priority. there was a mention of the acting administrator of the dea that they have a program where twice a year they gather unwanted drugs. last year they got over a million pounds of unwanted drugs. 5,000 sites where people across american can drop off stuff in their medicine cabinet that is no longer used to get it out. the next drop off is on april 29th, but when you see some of the action taking flas this pla truly a call to arms. this afternoon the president will drop by the women's empowerment panel that the white house is hosting, lead by florida attorney general pam bondi. education secretary betsy de vos. small business administrator linda mcman. ambassador to the united nations nikki hailey.

they will speak about the challenges that women and young girls face today. vice president pence and the first lady will also be in attendance. he is happy that he has to many incredible women in his administration. women's history month is coming to an end but the trump administration is committed to empowering women in the worse place. the work we started this month will not end, but it will continue throughout the month. speaking out on affordable childcare, paid family leave, investing in women's help, and the barriers faced by female entrepreneurs and business owners. he and prime minister trudeau.

his daughter held a round table with wrim business owners with spa administrator mcmahn. and tom shannon is presented the international women of courage award at the stateth department. the president believes that whereever women are diminished, women are diminished with them. where they are empowered, they are empowered and together we're all made stronger. the trump administration will continue to work to ensure that the american economy is a place where women can work and thrive. later this evening the vice president will participate in the swearing in of david freeman, the next ambassador to israel. he is glad that ambassador friedman will be on board. his strong relationships in iz kwlal be a tremendous asset to

the president in further iing h relationship. yesterday, mitch mcconnell said next friday the senate will vote to confirm neil gorsuch to the supreme court. senate democrats standarded justifying their opposition by creating a 60 vote standard for his appointment. you don't have to look further than the voices of many of the same democrats to see why in 2013 senator tom uhdahl said some of us may disagree with justice scalia on judicial philosophy, but he was a qualified candidate. many on the other side may have disagreed with her views, but there was no filibuster.

she was confirmed by a vote of 96-3. a minority in the senate should not be able to block qualified nominees. we could not agree more with senator uhdahl. now he has a new party line of obstructing a fair up and down vote. it is sad and unfortunate and we encourage all senators from both parties to evalwas his qualifications and grant him an up or down vote. april? >> thank you, sean. >> how are you today? >> i'm fine, how are you? >> fantastic. >> referee: well, se >> well, sean, going back, nunez is in the midst of all of the back and forth, what does the white house say about that? >> well, april, the white house, as i think i mentioned this yesterday, he is conducting an

investigation. he is the elected or appointed -- appointed and confirmed or however by his colleagues in the house and the speaker. he is the chairman, he is conducting an investigation, it is up to the speaker and the members of the house republican conference. there is nothing that i see that is problematic in him conducting an investigation. >> what conversations is the president having with paul ryan about this to include dems and republicans, and talking about what looks like impropriety in the handling of this so far? particularly as -- >> well, i would take issue with the -- i think you're right there may a appear to be certain things. if you look at what chairman

nunez has done. they met to review classified investigation. that's how it is supposed to work. i understand that when things are leaked out in the media, that is a standard that is acceptable. they discuss classified information, that somehow that is wrong because it is not being leaked. he is conducting a review that we are supporting on both sides of the chambers. i think to start to prejudge where this thing is going, we have been as supportive as you know. and i think that let's let that process bear itself out. i have seen reports in the media that the nsa has documents they are supposedly trying to get to the house intelligence committee that have been requested. we think that is a great thing. but again, i think part of this

all gets back to that there is a process. and i get that sometimes it is frustrating to us. we believe we want this over as much as, i think, some of you. we recognize there is a process that must take place. i know that senator burr and senator warner are talking about the process. some of these things take time. so the extent they are gathering the appropriate documents and looking at those things, that is part of the process and the review that is taking place. >> tax reform and infrastructure, you are saying you will do it together, and the aca, obama care, going into trump care at that time, tax reform and infrastructure were said to be some of the reasons why it did not come up in the budget with eliminating the debt. do you have cost estimates as it relates to tax reform and infrastructures? >> no, i think you need to have

plans laid out first, and i think this is the beginning fazes of both of those. so, to have a score on either one of them, or a cost. when we don't have the formalized yet, and i think we're in the beginning fazes of having those discussions with the stakeholders, the members of congress on both sides, and internally, the formulation of those plans is continuing. until that happens, i don't see us having a formal cost or score. >> do you trust the ceo now? >> it's not a matter of trust. i want to be clear, when it comes to cost and budget issues, what cbo is charged to do, they're the congressional budget office, while i think they're off on that sometimes, that is what they're charged with doing. where i think -- it's not a question of trust, it's a question of accuracy, and the question that we previously brought up is when they scored people in coverage which is not necessarily their wheelhouse.

they have been way off. i don't think it is a question of us trusting or not. it is literally a question of saying they believe that 26 million people would be on barack obama care. i think that is not a question of whether or not we trust them, but those are the facts, and they bear out they were off by more than 50% when they came to counting people. it's not a question of whether or not we trust them, but is that really what they're supposed to be doing? >> a couple things we talked about on monday. you said to us that you would look into how chairman nunez was cleared here and which whom he met. we tried to ask you that yesterday as you walked out. do you have any obligation to live up to the commitment you made here, that is not totally appropriate? >> i don't have anything for

that at this time. i asked preliminary questions b i don't have answers yet. i don't have anything further on that, but i would argue, it is interesting, and i brought it up that there seems to be a fascination with the process. how did he get here? as opposed to what is the sub fans of what we're finding. not from you, but i get calls that we have an unnamed intell source that says the following occurred. do you admit it or deny it? in this case, the fascination is with what door did he come in, how did he get waves in, as opposed today what i think it should be. what it is saying the white house blocked sally yates.

i think we're trying to argue there should be a process. the chairman of the house intelligence committee. as much as i understand that everyone wants to jump to how did they get in, they're undergoing an investigation. >> i'm asking about something you told us. >> i said i will look into it. >> you will live up to that obligation. >> i will, i said i will look into it and i will continue to do that. >> you said yesterday about sally yates show what you know. he has not told his own committee members what he knows, how he learned about it, and what the substantive importance of that is. so we are also curious about that. among the things that might be shedding light on that is how he got here, what he met with, and what he learned. >> i think those are questions for him. but i think major there is a

slippery slope that we're talking about here. if we start looking into certain things, the accusation the next day will be "you looked into this, can you look into that, why did you ask this person or not, a couple weeks ago, on one hand you want certain answers, on the other hand you want to talk about being involved. we asked for an investigation. at the same time we try to allow that review to go on. we can't cherry pick every time you decide a piece of investigation is relevant vant to what you want. i think it is under taking a review. >> they don't know -- >> fair enough, that is -- >> how is the process going forward. what i'm saying is that the answer to that question is that is a question for chairman new

ne -- nunez. that is a question that -- >> you can find out who let him into the building and how he -- >> those are issues for him and the committee and the house of represents, not us. >> we know the group up on the hi hill. how real does the white house think this possibility of resurrecting health care is? >> i think the president from the early days of his campaign talked about repealing and replacing. it's a commitment that he made that i think he would like to get done. i want to be completely consistent with two things. it achieves those goals of

lowering costs. we're not going to create a deal for the sake of creating a deal that is not in the best interest of the american people. you have to know when to walk away. you have to have members willing to come talk to him. you have to figure out what it would take and what ideas will be there to grow that vote. we will have a majority of the house, the senate, we will engage in that. we have seen members of both sides of the aisle engage with the white house on ways that are ways to get there. it is a conversation, we're not trying to jam that down anyone's vote right now. >> does the president share frustrations that this was

botched? >> i think the president's comments on this speak for themselves. >> one more, the same thing. the president and members of the white house suggested that maybe we could get democrats on board, health care reform, but the fact that no democrat, not one dc supported the last attempt, and given the desires of the freedom caucus, versus what the democrats were doing, is it reasonable to think that only one democrat would want to come on board with this? >> no. i think it is not unreasonable -- >> is it reasonable. >> it depends on how they want to get there. it is picking up enough to get to 216. it is possible, sure. there is more to have the conversation. >> isn't that a boehner tactic.

they say we're going to go to the democrats. >> it is a math tactic. how do you get to 216 in this case, the course of 17 months, obama care failed and started multiple times. >> they jammed it through and did it so quick. but i get. so we're 20 days, 21 days into this process, 22, so we'll see, but i think the idea that the president put out there is that if people want to float ideas and suggestions on how to how to get 216 on the vehicle code. >> i have not seen anything

about it, but what sort of time line will that commission have in terms of presenting findings, what is the goal of this thing? >> there is, i think it is easier to start with the goal. i know we'll have a readout of this afterwards. i think governor christie has been a leader of this in new jersey. it plagues countless communities, more and more. and so, you know, whether or not it is north carolina or other places in the midwest, it is sitting there to figure out best practices. how can we get it down and provide the treatment. i think they were noting that we have gotten really good at law enforcement, right? how do we focus on treatment and protection. deterring young people in particular. to how do we help families cope

with this. i think today is the first temperature of springibringing the stake holders together. i appreciate that everyone wants the answers, but this is a whole of government and a whole of person. how do we look at people to help them get recovery, stay clean, not start in the first place, help them get into treatment centers, help them get a job afterwards. there is a lot of whole of person, but there is a lot of whole of government. you have families, parents, individual that's have been personally affected. you have governor christie, pam bondi. secretary kelly, the dea, then you also have secretary de vos from an education and prevention

side. and it is a big, big issue that is plaguing our country and families. i wish i could give you an answer to say this is how we will solve the problem. i think the first step is understanding the problem and the magnitude of it and how we approach it. >> the time line for them coming back with findings, and then the president, when he was campaigning seemed to induce the stop act that would prevent sentinal from being imported from countries like china. would he use his bully pulpit to push for that that has not really gotten off of the ground yet. >> that was not the specific piece of legislation, but there was a lot of talk about it and the rise of phentynol today. as i mention, you have the attorney general there, law

enforcement, education, part of this is to really look and if i recall out wh-- see if you can l it from the southern border, and the prevention and treatment issues. i wish i had an easy answer. a silver bullet. how do we solve it. >> yesterday, teresa may signed the letter that began the process for brexit. a week ago on friday, jean claude junker used strong language about the president saying his comments encouraging other brexits would leave to war among the countries.

he was quoted assaying the president does not know a lot about europe. what is the president's response to that. >> his response to what? >> to the comments about brexit? >> i think the president is well steeped in world affairs. with respect to that, we respect the will of the british elector rate and taking steps, and departing the european union. whatever the eu relationship looks like, we want them to be a strong leader in europe and globally. i think on the eu, whether or not -- >> i have two questions or topics, what is the white house reaction to the shooting today in the capital? >> it sounds like a very troubled individual.

i will let law enforcement read that out, but i don't want to get ahead of -- from what i understand and have seen, it seems troubling, but it looks like -- i appreciate the efforts that capital place and others took. you watch people put their lives in harms way today to protect tourists and other citizens, so i want to commend the work of the exam police acapital police enforcement to continue to protect us at this time when washington is in our glory with the cherry blossoms out, and so many people coming to visit. walking around washington dc, it's reassuring to know so many brave men and women wiare willi to put their lyes on the line. >> the president spent the weekend here, it that in response to some of the pushback he received about the cost

associated with those trips and because of that, does he plan to be here again this weekend? >> so no, yes. he -- the president wanted to be here last weekend. he wants to be here this weekend, he will be here, and i will have updates on where he is going -- >> is he concerned about that pushback? >> no, he feels great. >> president trump is expected to sign legislation that would allow internet service providers to monitor internet activity and sell the information without permission. who does it benefit apart from isps. >> the house and the senate just passed that, we'll have further updates on that. i know, i believe we have a statement of administration policy out on that bill, when we have more informationly let you know. >> isn't it major risks for

people that could use it for nefarious purposes. is that concerning to the white house? >> i think, as i mentioned, we have a statement of administration policy on that bill. we will have further updates and when we do, we have have further updates why. >> earlier today, and testified that the u.s. government believes that russia is supplying -- i wondered if the white house has any response to that. >> who was testifying? >> it is a constructive effort on russia in that region. >> there are several entities looking into this, and i will say that d.o.d.'s response speaks for itself. we understand the intelligence on this. the president has been berearie on it, so i'm not really sure

what you're -- >> i think the commander's testimony speaks for itself on that. >> another topic for you, about a month from now, the government will run out of money -- the president talked a lot about it on the campaign, funding for a border wall. is that a detail breaker if for the president in any sort of government funding measure. >> on april 29th the cr expires, the continuing resolution. we're working on congress with that, on the fc 2018 budget. i know if you saw the budget they put out, the fy 17 for the beginning of that, and there is 2.5 or -- >> >> i think that is our

request. we will continue to work with congress on how to move forward with the rest of the fiscal year's budget. the president last night said i know they're all going to make a deal on health care that is such an easy one i have no doubt it will happen very quickly. what is the renewed sense of t optimi optimism. >> i think there is sound that needs to go with that. i think he was having fun wf some prevent comments made. i think there is a renewed sense. i think the comments and the calls that the president got, the president and other members of the senior team that came in and said we believe there is a bath forwa path forward. i have seen some of the reports put out regarding some of the individual members, and i think there is a lot of people who

have new ideas about how to move forward. and we're entertaining those. but i think the interesting thing is that despite the set back that we got last friday, i think there is a willingness for members that made commitments to the american people and their voters they want to see it done and they understand that not getting it done means, as i said, and the president echoed, there will be a consequence for this. people need to be taken at their word. there is a lot of members that made a commitment to their voters, their constituents, that they would get something done on this. they will repeal and replace the health care situation. i think that is a concern for them. >> you say you embrace the house intelligence committee review of all of this, john mccain said earlier today that because of the potential ski srchism there

should be -- >> i'm not going to get into house and senate matters, but i believe that how they conduct themselves internally is up to them. but i think the question that i think is outstanding is what happened as a review was called for, part of it was already ongoing, and the chairman of the committee has gone and sought that information and individuals who believed that information to further the review. i'm not sure how that is something i different than from what you're supposed to do. >> you mentioned senator uhdahl. he was here last night, did the president try to work the room with him and other democrats about the nomination last night? >> i know he, the fist lrst lad and others were speaking to

several senators. i didn't keep tabs on who, but i don't know about senator uhdahl himself. >> was the president disappointed with who didn't attend. >> i think we're excited to see the one-third that did. there was a lot of folks, and i hope, i'm sure the president will cannot to do things like this. it was great to have a moment free of politics and have moment that's were collegiate with each other. the marine corps bands played amazing music. he said there used to be a time you could sit down and share a meal together, and i think he is

just trying to bring groups back in for that conversation. i think it was a good start. >> the president has in his indi inbox a letter from senate democrats, they say they're willing and ready to work with him on something for obama care. he has to abandon the efforts to completely repeal the law, signed by the vast majority of democrats, what does the present say? >> we' willing to engage with people. think ey understand his principals. we need to repeal the law and replace it with something better. i have seen parts of the letter. i think what we need to do is figure out who wants to engage in a constructive conversation. i understand what they want, but it's not a one-way street.

the president made clear what he wants to do. we have a 52 seat majority in the senate. if there are individuals that want a constructive conversation, we can do it, but i think they also need to understand his red lines. >> they say it is a first step to repeal the executive order. >> i think the president is committed to continue to go down the path that he is, and if they want to join them, they can. i think there is areas he may want to. they are right to draw their line in the sand, but so is the president, he wants to great to 216 in the house, he continues to have conversations with the senate, and i think as obamacare continues to struggle, the premiums continue to go up and up, i think the question is will the 40 people understand they are the wruones who will be

responsible for making so many americans struggle. >> was he joking he he said making a deal on health care will be an easy one. >> if you watch the tape, it was a light hearted moment. he was having a if your honor time with the senators there. >> the other thing he said is that our soldiers are fighting like never before in iraq, but u.s. troops there are in a support, advise, and assist role. what does the president mean? >> no no, i think, i appreciate -- i think that there has been some progress, particularly in mosul the way they he taken back that city. for a long time there was a lot of concern about iran moving in

and dominating parts of iraq. i think there has been tremendous progress in moving iraq forward to an area of civility and continuing to see the troops there in iraq stand on their own, and i think he is very pleased with the actions they're taking to do that. >> you couple that with the comment on health care, it just sounds like, you probably heard, that it makes him sound detached from reality. >> it was a light hearted moment. he was poking fun and making a joex. there was comments before about how he didn't get it, but it was a light hearted moment.

people are trying to make it look like he was being so serious at the time, that is a stretch. >> just so we're clear, he was very proud of the work that our soldiers and sailors -- >> i think the progress made in iraq, the fight against isis is going well, and he is proud of it. >> do you personally know who the source of the information is? >>. >> no. >> does the president want to start a new health care bill, or tweak the one that did not go through last week. >> i think we're starting with where we are and trying to move that forward. >> the president did not mention

the paris agreement yesterday. can you update us on his current thinking about that? does he want the united states to stay in, and if he does, how does he expect them -- >> i can try to look into it, i don't have one at this time. >> early voting has gun, so are billing this has an early referend referendum, what does the white house think of that? >> that is good, honestly, i have not even thought about it. i think that if needed, the president has been very clear that he wants to support the team. i have not tried to really focus -- i tried shed that previous life a little.

i'm sure the rnc or the rcc could speak on the state ofhat race. thank you, we'll see you tomorrow. i owe you tomorrow, i'm sorry. >> sean spicer wrapping up today's briefing, opening it with the first question to april ryan. it seemed to be an apology. let's bring in panel, jonathan cape capeheart. would it will really be easy to get health care like sean spicer suggested. being light hearted talking about how reflecting on what was

previously said, let's play a bit of it. we're gooing to make a deal on health care, that's such an easy one. i think it will have be. tf didn't look like a joke. maybe there is a fuller context. that seemed pretty straightforward. a lot of pushback from republicans. there are no signs that health care is going to happen, much less and it will be easy to do. >> i want talking with reportering from aeading member of congress suggesting that with the president may have been talking about in reaching out to dsms is he knows the

reality that if he gets his tax reform threw he has 45d it even he will reach out to kms. >> fine if that is what he is going to do. he is good at making declarative statements. we saw it was as five something to happened, like the health care thing was not a steaming pile of rubble. and the idea that he will work with democrats to do health care reform, that he will proceed unimpeded on tax reform is just fantasy. or the of like spicer's explanation for what he said last night. >> speaking about fantasy, in the briefing room is our colleague kristin welker. it goes from the mad hatters tea party at times, but your take away because everyone on the

hill is telling us the president realizes there is no future with health care. and if he is going to reach out it has to be on a tax deal. >> andrea, he proved that point exactly. he was pressed on whether he would even consider democrats' demand that he give up the effort to repeal and replace. whether he would work with them on targeted fixes to obamacare. you heard sean spicer say over and over, the president has been very clear, he wants to see a full repeal and replace. and that i where any effort at bipartisanship simply gets stuck. the fact that, at this point in time, the president's not prepared to give up efforts to repeal and replace. with his own republican conference it's difficult because the house freedom caucus won't be satisfied with anything less. that's why they didn't support that bill, because they said it didn't do enough to fully repeal

obamacare. so nothing sean spicer said changed the equation at all. what we learned is what we knew. there has been some talks and some venting of frustration about the fact, in the words of one source, republicans failed to follow through with his campaign promise. but no indication there's a timeline or strategy moving forward. >> and the president and chris christie delegated on his behalf or tackling the opoid abuse problems. one of the things that comes to mind is the health care bill that they supported eliminated benefits for substance and mental health care for substance abuse. >> that's right. and that was, of course, one of the moves that infuriated moderates, that made it impossible for them to get more moderates on board and caused them to lose some moderates. what is interesting about the opoid event today, what we're

see thing present dos acknowledge that he didn't get the big thi done he wanted to get done on health care. so you're seeing him focus on these more targeted executive orders that he can pass within his authority, putting chris christie in charge of this, the white house arguing this is a significant issue. we heard about this on the campaign trail. it affect s many americans. as many as 78 people a day lose their life to opoid abuse. and this white house willing to give in when it comes to things like covering drug abuse and mental health care. >> and chris christie was a very compelling speaker on the campaign trail in new hampshire before he dropped out oh of the presidential race on this very subject race. susan, while we were watching this briefing, there's also been a sentencing of bill baroni, one of the bridge gate figures that

worked with chris christie in new jersey, two years in jail. >> and a reminder how these scandals persist, especially when you get investigations. i wonder, this has been a stain on chris christie's governorship. it's cost him a lot in terms of his popularity in the state. although he himself was not indicted in it. i wonder if it's in any way a reminder of what happened with the white house, that this investigation could go on for years. that's one of the chilling things about an investigation when you're in the white house. and this afternoon, we'll hear from richard burr and mark warner, who are still credibly and in a bipartisan way doing the senate investigation. and there are good reasons to not want to go to an outside investigation. you have to have legislation, the president would have to sign it. you have to staff it up. you have to find people who are not partisans and can be acceptable. the model would be the 9/11

commission, jonathan. but that's no indication that this could happen very quickly. >> right. if my understanding is right, isn't it the president who helps decide who goes on that commission. we should take it as a terrific sign that at least the senate committee and the republican and democrat leaders of that committee are still doing what they need to do to investigate this, because as we have seen over the last couple of weeks, certainly the last 48, 72 hours, that congressman david nunes is just not credible anymore. this is a very serious investigation that has to answer some very serious questions about the election, about our sovereignty and about the intentions and goals of russia. we know bits and pieces, but we need to know the complete story, and we're not going to get that from david nunes. >> hillary clinton reemerging in san francisco and commenting on april ryan and the way she was treated at the press conference.

we may still have that bit of sound. let's play that. >> april ryan, a respected journalistith unrivaled integrity, was doing her job just this afternoon in the white house press room. when she was patronized and cut off trying to ask a question. too many women, especially women of color, have had a looftiifetf practice taking precisely these indignities in stride. >> we haven't seen that kind of behavior between the press secretary and a correspondent in my recollection it goes back a pretty far way. >> there have been times when press secretaries have treated the press corps disrespectfully. but this is remarkable. sean spicer went to the podium and immediately called on april ryan. i must say new for a press secretary, new for hillary clinton to be out there making this kind of commentary.

i guess probably a sign that we're going to be seeing more of her. >> she's expected at tina brown's big women of the world event next week in new york city. and we're seeing jonathan again, a little bit more of hillary clinton. even as on the hill and elsewhere, we're seeing signs of a number of senators and governors beginning to show interest. and joe biden this week saying how much he regretted that he's not currently the president of the united states. >> what you see are a lot of democrats seeing that there is a lot of energy out there and a lot of interest in hearing democratic leaders take it to the president and take it to republicans, who, at a minimum, disrespect other people. >> jonathan, susan, thanks for sticking with me. our apologies again to senator tim kaine. we regret that very much. and more ahd on "andrea mitchell reports." we'll be rht back. s partners are using smart traps to capture

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d that does it. katie is here next on msnbc. >> good amfternoon, everyone. another busy day in the nation's capitol where calls are growing for devin nunes to recuse himself. but he's attacking the democrats on his committee who are unanimously calling for him to step aside.