king abdullah at the white house. i'll be reporting out at facebook, instagram, twitter. different snnames for different platforms. >> it is beautiful but never a day you can just leave the show and wander around and have a nice, long lunch. >> too much to do. >> we'll see you on tv later. have a great afternoon. >> you, too. >> the blame game. an alleged gas attack on civilians in syria. president trump pointing a finger with former president obama with no mention of russia's role in the country's six-year civil war. this as trump is set to meet jordan's king abdullah any minute with syria front and center in the conversation. and the u.n. holding an emergency meeting, happening now. power plays overnight. north korea test fires the third missile in two weeks. the state department gives a cryptic response. tensions are rising a day before president trump is set to meet

the president of china, which is north korea's greatest ally. and being complicit. ivanka trump claims she's a force for good inside the white house. how she says she confronts her father, and what issues she says she's fighting for. we'll have more from her rare one on one interview. good morning, everybody. i'm in washington where the trump administration is facing two potential foreign crises this morning. north korea firing another ballistic missile, a day before president trump is set to hold a summit at mar-a-lago in florida with the leader of china, which is north korea's closest ally. also this morning, the president and other world leaders are condemning a suspected chemical weapons attack in syria that reportedly killed dozens of people, including children. we're warning you, the images are disturbing. the president and other world leaders blaming president bashar al assad, while the syrian government and its ally, russia,

deny responsibility. later this hour, predent trump will welcome jordan's leader, king abdullah, whose country borders syria. jordan has been taking the greatest number of refugees from syria, as well. right now, the united nations, you're looking at it now, the security council holding an emergency meeting to discuss the attack on a rebel-held town in northern syria, and any possible u.n. action. that meeting is being chaired by u.s. ambassador nikki haley with syria's ambassador to the united nations called in to participate. as events unfold this morning, we have it all covered with our nbc correspondents and experts. we begin with peter alexander at the white house. peter, while president trump is condemning the attack, calling it reprehensible, blaming syrian president assad, strangely, he took that first tweet as an opportunity to blame president obama. >> i think you're exactly right

here. we're told that in a meeting privately with members of his national security team, the president was in the words of a senior administration official, disturbed. they also said very is seeing an syria. before the president was a politician, he was heavily critical, suggesting the u.s. should not go into syria. basically saying that would be the wrong move right now. we wait to see what he believes the right move is at this moment. the white house has, as you noted, put out a statement, as we'll put up, saying these heinous actions by the bashar al assad regime are a consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution. president obama said in 2012 he would establish a red line against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing. again, that sets up, sets the table for what we anticipate will be some announcement in some form, we're getting indications from the folks at the white house, about what, if any, plan of action they have going forward in regards to syria right now. for the moment, that's what all

the anticipation is. certainly will be among the first questions presented to president trump during the news conference taking place with the king of jordan a short time from now. >> north korea has been on the agenda all week. the meeting with the chinese pea mere is -- premier is on the agenda. last night, north korea launched another missile. what was the white house's response? >> the missile launch, the test launch took place an hour after we heard on background from a white house official saying the clock has run out and all options are on the table. nonetheless, in a show of defian defiance, north korea fired off the test missile launch just yesterday. another one of the indications, another one of the locations in this world right now where the president is being tested. what will he do? these meetings tomorrow to take place at his mar-a-lago property with president xi will give him an opportunity to speak to him privately. he has said china needs to do

more on the situation. what is the u.s. willing to do independently remains an open question. >> two big issues t s at the wh house. and king abdullah showing up at any moment. nbc's chief correspondent richard engel is live in london. you've had increedabdible repor. what is the latest out of syria on the suspected chemical attack? >> in this same area today, activists say there have been five more air strikes carried out either by russian aircraft or by syrian regime aircraft. doctors without borders say that some of the victims of this attack that have been treated in its partner facilities appear to show the symptoms that are, they say, consistent with those who have been impacted by a toxic nerve agent, a chemical weapon. the russians, however, the backers of president bashar al assad, have a different version of events. they say that no chemical weapon was, in fact, deployed.

certainly not by the syrian government or by russia. they say what happened is the assad regime attacked, quote, a terrorist weapons depot in this area, and because of that explosion, toxins were released that were being stored there, causing these casualties. however, a u.s. intelligence official has told nbc news it appears to be -- may have been a deliberate chemical weapons attack. >> reporter: the images are horrific and hard to watch. they show the telltale signs of a chemical weapons attack. no blood, only the dead and injured on the ground after quickly sum co quickly k quickly suck coming to poisoned gas. this boy using all his strength to breathe. the victims' clothed ripped off to wash off the toxin. >> the gas attacks are

continuing every day, and no one is doing anything to sp these attacks. >> reporter: they claim president bashar al assad's syrian army fired the banned chemical nerve agent sarin. other victims of tuesday's attack were taken to a makeshift clinic built in a cave to protect it. a father there kissed his daughter good-bye. in a nearby room, this activist was recording what he was sigh i -- seeing, saying war planes were overhead. then -- hospitals are often targeted. a war that respects no conventions. amazingly, the activist survived. >> we've been speaking to witnesses in the area today, trying to find out more victims, more information about the victim victims, following up with them. the death toll is still unclear. at least 70. some reports say it is higher than that. >> richard engel for us in london. i want to keep you posted on the discussions going on at the

united nations security council on syria. we are listening to the representative from ethiopia speaking right now. after that, we'll hear from ukraine, senegal, russia and then nikki haley. she'll speak last. she is presiding over this meeting. we'll go to her comments when she comes up. i want to bring in the spokesperson in the obama administrati administration, also served as the national security council adviser for lebanon, coordinating the u.s. policy there. good to e you. president trump blaming your former boss, president obama, suggesting that this latest suspected chemical weapons attack might not have happened. siting, quote, the past administration's weakness and irresolution. end quote. it goes on to say, president obama said in 2012 he would establish a red line against the

use of chemical weapons and then did nothing. what do you say to that? >> the first thing that's very obvious to me is that president trump is attempting a very weak effort at deflection by blaming president obama. i'm not trying to excuse the policy under president obama. i think there were a lot of failed opportunities, a lot of missed efforts, missed opportunities to prevent this type of activity and to ensure that the chaos that's happening now wouldn't have been as bad. that being said, this is not a coincidence that president assad inflicts one of the worst attacks using chemical weapons on his people at a time when president trump and his secretary of state have indicated very clearly that removing assad is not a priority. they are clearly leaving this effort into russia's hands. for assad, it is a carte blanche to do whatever he wants, and i think he'll continue if not told otherwise. >> under the obama administration, a so-called red

line was drawn and then something didn't happen. in this case, you have tweets from the past, where then-donald trump, not a president, was saying, this isn't our problem. we shouldn't be involved. now saying that, well, we're going to have less to do with syria. he is going to meet with the king of jordan very shortly at the white house. jordan is bearing the brunt of much of this because they're getting most of the refugees. obviously, king abdullah is going to put pressure on donald trump and say, you have to do something. what is it donald trump should do? is it for donald trump to do it? is it for the congress to do? is it for the united nations to do? >> all of them, frankly. listen, this fell into president trump's lap. that's very clear. this was not a problem he created. that being said, that doesn't mean that the national security council and he and his administration shouldn't recognize that handling syria, addressing this situation needs

to happen immediately, before it gets even worse. because this conflict affects us. it affects our national security interests. it affects our allies that circle syria. and it affects us through the mass migration of refugees and migrants. it's a global problem. it is his problem. it is also the united nations problem, for sure. multi-lateral action would be the most effective. i have to be honest with you, i have very little hope that the u.n. security council will do anything. especially given russians. the resolution being tabled is weak and not really a proper response to an attack like this. >> the security council isn't going to get there. russia is on the council and can veto what happens. the bottom line is the united nations has never seen fit to take action against syria. largely on the idea that this is a civil war. i think the rest of the world sees this a little differently. when you see the images we're showing on tv, of children writhing and suffering before they die, at some point, what

has to happen? with the benefit of hindsight, does the u.s. declare it is going to actually use force rather than just having some troops in there? what happens? >> i think the united states needs to need and encourage nato and the arab league to make a safe zone where there is an area where syrian sunnis and other syrians who are being attacked can live and prosper. on the flip side, they need to work to remove assad immediately. there is no way this individual can remain in power. if he needs to remain in power, then it needs to be over a very small area of syria that is isolated from the rest of the world. president trump has an opportunity to do this. he's just not interested. he wants to leave this to the russians to handle it. like i said, i understand that there were missed opportunities under the obama administration completely. there was the time during the red line. you know, we could have done more in 2011 whe this started. but that being said, he's been handed this. he needs to handle it before it gets worse.

these are war atrocities. this is a mounting genocide and we have a responsibility. >> it seems a little weird in the face of these pictures to be talking about whether or not you agreed with what president obama did or didn't do while we are seeing pictures of people dying. i will say this, just to clarify this for the viewers. for the criticism of president obama not dealing with the red line, in 2013, president obama did ask congress for authorization for use of force in syria. that was not granted. >> that's correct. that's correct. and, yes, absolutely, congress has a role to play, as well. i think they're concerned that the american public may not want to enter into a conflict like this. i can respect that completely. i don't think we need to send our troops on the ground to remove assad by hand and then take over. i think we're all still writhing from the invasion of iraq. that being said, there is a lot we can do with regional partners and nato to try to affect some change and have a less bad

scenario. if we think that this is the worst that it's gotten, i think it can get much worse. assad has shown -- the only language assad understands is the language of military force. he is like that. his father was like that. both the obama administration and the trump administration have made it very clear they have no intention to use military action. so for assad, that means he feels he can do whatever he wants, and he will until he controls a large chunk of syria that is majority his people. >> good to talk to you. >> thank you for having me. good to see you. now more on north korea's missile test, the other story we're following. it is the fourth such test this year. nbc news pentagon correspondent hans nichols has been following this for us. when we talked about this yesterday, we didn't have the extra test that happened overnight. what do we know about the new test? from the trump administration, pentagon, what is everything

saying we're going to do about this? >> on the test itself, pentagon officials are saying it was an unsuccessful test. they're confident of the assessment. initially, they thought there were reports this was a more sophisticated missile they attempted to test. it wasn't sophisticated. the kn-15, it wasn't that. it was a scud. that can put you more in the realm of this being a prov provocitation. as we know, this comes on the heels or right ahead of this meeting in mar-a-lago between president obama and president xi. white house officials seem to be escalating the rhetoric. we heard about an hour before the launch that all options are on the table. that's really what i'm listening for today from president trump at the joint news conference. does he issue that threat? does he make that strong hint

that military action could potentially be right around the corner? >> hans, thanks for your coverage of this. we'll stick in close touch with you on any developments when it comes to north korea. coming up next, we're going to capitol hill where republicans appear determined to reach a deal on repeal and replace obamacare. what they're trying now and why the gop is still stuck on pre-existing conditions. and in fighting in the house intel committee. democrats want to focus on alleged ties between russia and the white house. republicans now taking aim at former national security adviser susan rice. coming up next, i'll speak with illinois democratic congressman, a member of the committee.

marie knows that a dutch apple pie can make any occasion feel more special. so she makes her pie crust from scratch. and sprinkles on brown sugar streusel. so that you can spend more time making special moments with your family. marie callender's it's time to savor

republicans will be meeting again today in their efforts to revive their health care plan. this is the third meeting in as many days. last night, vice president pence met with white house officials but came out with nothing new. a sticking point appears to be preexisting conditions. one proposal allowing states to opt out of obamacare's community rating provision. strange term that means insurers -- basically prevents insurers from charging higher premiums to people who are sick. nbc's kasie hunt is live on capitol hill. i want to rewind this whole thing a lot. that first attempt to repeal and replace obamacare was an absolute botch. there were all sorts of people in the republican party who have

entirely different views about what health care should be. i'm not understanding how in the last two weeks anybody fixed that. >> they haven't is the short answer, ali. there's a lot of talk and meetings about this. members were here late into the night last night. i think what that should tell you is the white house very much wants to figure out how to be able to declare they've won on this, on repealing obamacare. this is not something though where the dynamics have changed dramatically on capitol hill. the reality is, the moderates in the republican caucus are in a very different place than a lot of the conservatives. the reality is, everybody is basically hearing what they want to hear from the white house and then going back, thinking about it and realizing that there's no way that it's essentially what they've been promised or told can happen. so there's a lot of miscues and miscommunication going on in this regard. if you do things like change that community rating, potentially affect coverage for

people with pre-existing conditions in some places, that naturally is going to cause a lot of issues for the moderates, even if it helps bring a few conservatives along. again, it is all about the math of getting to 216. right now, there's zero indication that they are closer to it than they were. >> let's talk about the other big story right now. around the clock debate in the senate floor over judge neil gorsuch's nomination, led by senator jeff merkley. what was he, 15, 16 hours, how long was he talking? is he still there? >> he was not still there, ali. i was just looking to see the final tally there. he was finally forced off the floor at 10:15 this morning. that was a little later than he was supposed to be. we thought the senate was going to come back in at 9:30 this morning. there you see something from him of last night. so this, all part of democrats last ditch attempt to try to stop the gorsuch nomination. it seems at this point like it is on an inevitable roll towards

the nuclear option. senator mitch mcconnell, the republican leader promised that's what's going to happen. the other little piece of news today, politico writing about what they say are some examples of judge gorsuch potentially plagiarizing some of his earlier works. the white house pushing back pretty hard against this. arguing that this is just a last ditch effort to stop the gorsuch nomination. at this point, we expect there will be a vote to cut off debate on thursday morning. shortly after that, we think that nuclear option, eliminating judicial filibusters for supreme court nominees, is likely to go in effect. >> the boss e-mailed while you were talking. your request to be off on thursday is denied. >> i didn't make the request. >> likely not. we are keeping an eye on the u.n. security council. russia talking now. right after russia finishes, the president of the security

council, nikki haley, u.s. ambassador, will be talking next. we'll dip in and hear what she's got to say. republicans elsewhere are zeroing in on former national security adviser susan rice after she publicly denied reports, right here on msnbc, that she sought to unmask the names of trump campaign officials accidentally caught in surveillance. >> absolutely not for any political purposes, to spy, expose anything. i leaked nothing to nobody. and never have and never would. >> i should say, incidentally collected. not accidentally. incidentally is when you're surveilling someone and an american citizen comes up in the conversation or is part of the conversation. the denial susan rice made yesterday to andrea mitchell didn't placate republicans, who want an investigation into rice and the obama administration. >> right now, to me, there's more credible accusations, if you will, on the side of susan

rice than on president trump n when it comes to russia. >> they'll be part of the review. >> any of the suggestions will be handled by the committee. we look forward to receiving the report about what happened. >> a lot of gop response to that. i want to get a response to the gop response. i've got democratic congressman mike quigley of illinois, a member of the house intelligence committee. good to see you, congressman. >> thank you. >> there is guilt by some sort of association here with a lot of republicans saying, particularly those who think -- talk a lot about benghazi, associating susan rice with that and saying susan rice can't be trusted. the bottom line here is susan rice as national security adviser had the right to ask for names to be unmasked. she's not actually the one who grants that right. the intelligence agency would. nothing illegal has been alleged. >> no. it is interesting.

chairman nunes, when this all began, said what he saw, there was nothing illegal, nothing about russia. it was all incidental. this is the latest in what i have to describe as a three-prong attack. deflect, delay, distrasetract. first, president trump saying president obama wiretapped the trump tower. then the first public hearing was dis rowastrous for the whit house. i don't think they think the american public will learn what unmasking is. we do this to keep you safe. >> why add fuel to the fire? she has not done anything that anybody alleged is illegal. why bring her in to testify? >> look, the republicans have

their witness list. we have our witness list. for me now to say, you can't have this person on there is inappropriate. all i'm saying is, look, if you think you want her there, fine. she swoub thehould be there. i think it is a waste of time and a distraction, desperate effort given that the white house is, in my mind, fighting for their political lives over russia. they can't get past this issue. it is what the american public wants to know about. the russians successfully attacked our democratic system. the public has a right to know. >> all right. so there are three issues. the russian involvement with the trump campaign. the leaking of that information to the press, which would be a federal crime. and the unmasking that we're talking about, in some cases with susan rice. the unmasking is not illegal to the people entitled to do it. it is par for the course. when it comes to the leaking, how concerned are you about that? if it is not susan rice, who do

you think it is? >> look, leaking is a serious problem. i think anybody that leaks information of a top secret nature should be pun liished according to the law. no exceptions to that. but what's happened here is the republicans have become more obsessed with the leaking than the actual problem. it is one of four prongs that we're after in this investigation. we're also after, was there cooperation? when i hear the white house suggest that they're just as concerned about whether there was cooperation between russians and the trump campaign, i'll know then that we have a bipartisan effort at this research. >> congressman quigley, good to talk to you. thank you for being with us. representative quigley of illinois. breaking news, f-16 air national guard plane crashed this morning nearby. near joint base andrews. the pilot ejected safely and is suffering from non-life threatening injuries. he was on a training mission

near washington, d.c. developing now, 54 million people in the southeast united states face a new round of severe weather. tornadoes, high winds, damaging hail are expected to hit alabama, georgia and south carolina. this morning, people in the city of goodman, missouri, are cleaning up after a possible tornado ripped through the city and destroyed the firehouse. we're keeping an eye on the u.n. security council where we're expecting nikki haley to address the council after this gentleman who represents the russian fedcation. as kasie hunt said, jeff merkley just got off the senate floor after a marathon session having to do with the nomination of neil gorsuch to the supreme court. democratic senator coons of delaware joins me now. he sits on the jiciary and foreign relations committee. sir, welcome. thank you for being with us. i want to start by talking about what's going on in syria.

we've heard the criticisms from the trump administration that the obama administration got us here. it is almost debe sibeside the because we're seeing people gassed and dying on video. what is your advice as to what we do now? >> well, ali, this is yet another tragic humanitarian crisis caused by the murderous regime of bashar al assad. i don't think it is constructive for the trump administration to abandon efforts to try to hold assad to account. i hope secretary of state tillerson, when he goes to meet with putin, won't be inclined to cut some sort of deal where we provide any legitimacy or support for russia's efforts in syria to back assad. i do think that we need to be more engaged. i was one of many here in the senate on the foreign relations committee who voted to support taking military action against assad when he first used poison gas against civilians in his country back when former president barack obama drew that

red line. >> that didn't succeed back in 2013, i believe it was. >> that's right. >> when the resolution came forward. there is an understandable fatigue, both in congress and amongst the american people, about getting into wars where we don't have an exit strategy. regime change where we don't have an answer, particularly in confusing places like syria. but what does it look like? what does a road forward look like, that the united states commits some military might to dealing with a massive humanitarian crisis in the middle east? >> ali, it is a mess. syria and iraq have been profoundly reshaped by isis and by the long going, grinding civil war within syria, which is really a war of assad against his own people. we have made real progress with our coalition partners in pushing isis out of mosul. we are poised for success in taking raqqah back from isis. i'm gravely concerned we don't have the investment in diplomacy

and investment resources to secure the piece after isis is driven out of the two main cities. the president proposed dramatic cuts to our diplomatic and development spending. i think that is the wrong direction to go. in our previous experience in iraq, it showed that. we can be successful militarily. if we don't invest in stabilizing the countries and providing a positive alternative to extremism, poverty and terrorism, inevitably, we'll be back there again five or ten years from now. >> you'd imagine that's going to be some of the conversation that president trump has with the king of jordan? probably going to happen within the hour behind me. they'll say, look, we have to stabilize the whole area. this is not just a terrible matter of bashar al assad possibly, you know, gassing his own people, but it is a matter of regional stability in the entire area. the united states does need to have a fairly fulsome strategy, right? it can't just be a one thing at a time strategy.

>> that's right. senator bob corker, the cahairmn of the foreign relations committee, we're working in a bipartisan way to develop and craft and focus the strategy for the middle east. the situation is somewhat chaotic and unstable. i think it is important that the senate engage with this administration to make it clear, who are our vital allies we will stand shoulder to shoulder with, such as israel and jordan, and who are we willing to work with in order to secure some more progress towards peace here? who are we working with in iraq? who are we working with in turkey? what are we doing with the kurds? there's a lot of unanswered questions about what our strategy needs to be going forward. we've had several hearings. we've had direct meetings and conversations with nikki haley, secretary tillerson, and i am optimistic about the senate playing a stronger role in this congress and helping shape strategy with regards to syria. >> senator, you were the hottest ticket in town a couple days ago when we were waiting for you to

say what you were going to do when it came to neil gorsuch. you were the 41st senator to oppose gorsuch, guaranteeing the filibuster would occur. the filibuster is likely going to push the gop to invoke the nuclear option. tomorrow it is likely to happen. is this -- i want to hear your justification as to whether fighting neil gorsuch, who is ultimately going to make it as a justice on the supreme court, associate justice, is it worth changing the senate rules forever? >> let's be clear, that effort to change the senate rules will be taken up by republicans. when i announced in the judiciary committee monday that i would join my fellow democrats in voting against gorsuch, the rest of the sentence was, unless working together, republicans and democrats, we can find an agreement to get past this moment. i felt, as did all of my colleagues, that merrick garland was the subject of a seven-month long partisan filibuster. that denying judge garland,

nominated by president obama, even a hearing on the committee, let alone a vote, was the equivalent of a partisan filibuster. i reached out to many of my republican and democratic colleagues. i've had a much of meetings and conversations in recent days, trying to see if there was some agreement we could reach to trust each other to move ahead with closure on judge gorsuch and have the next supreme court nominee be a consensus candidate, where democrats could have input on who would be nominated. ultimately, the efforts have been unsuccessful. this is not a good week for the senate. i am not optimistic here around the long-term path forward. but i have no regrets about opposing judge gorsuch. having dug into his record, having met with him and interviewed him over four days of judiciary committee hearings. >> senator, you have a busy schedule. you're on the judiciary and foreign relations committees, both of which have a lot ahead of you. thanks for joining us.

democratic senator from delaware. >> thank you, ali. breaking news. the united nations security council holding an emergency meeting over alleged chemical attacks in syria. u.s. ambassador nikki haley is about to speak. you're watching the russian federation speaking now. nikki haley is next and we'll bring it to you live. it's never been easier. except when it comes to your retirement plan. but at fidelity, we're making retirement planning clearer. and it all starts with getting your fidelity retirement score. in 60 seconds, you'll know where you stand. and together, we'll help you make decisions for your plan... to keep you on track. ♪ time to think of your future it's your retirement. know where you stand. ♪ time to think of your future why pause a spontaneous moment? cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure.

do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis. nitrites or artificial ham has preservatives.tes, now it's good for us all. like those who like. sweet those who prefer heat. sfx - a breath of air and those who just love meat. oscar mayer deli fresh. sweet! chooarmy versus army.ion. nation versus nation. the battle has begun. evony: the king's return. download now.

that goes beyond assuming beingredients are safe...ood to knowing they are. going beyond expectations... because our pets deserve it. beyond. natural pet food. come close, come close. i like that. [ all sounds come to a crashing halt ] ah. when your pain reliever stops working, your whole day stops. awww. try this. for minor arthritis pain, only aleve is fda approved to work for up to 12 straight hours with just one pill. thank you. come on everybody. aleve. live whole. not part. we have some news just in. you're looking at a picture of steve bannon. steve bannon has been removed from the national security

council. kristen welker is going to be joining us in a few minutes with more on what this news is. he has been removed. it's being described as a shak shakeup to the national security council. steve bannon has been removed. the homeland security adviser has been downgraded. h.r. mcmaster, the adviser, has been given responsibility for setting the agenda for the homeland security houn sicounci. the negotiations were going on about mcmaster becoming the adviser after the resignation of michael flynn. this was thought to be a condition of mcmaster. he is not going to take the job unlus ess he has the authority run the thing. the questions a lot of people had, were how will he do that with bannon in the room. having a presidential adviser in the room is unprecedented.

it felt like the presidential eye in the national security council. this is a big piece of news. i'm joined by an opinion writer with the "washington post" to shed some light on this. bannon being on the nsc was always the issue. >> it was. this would be highly political. someone with no foreign policy experience. he was in the navy years ago. his views are extreme on the part of republicans, as well as democrats. was he going to politicize the foreign policy process? this is a big moment for mcmaster. it shows he is taking control. it shows that the president trusts him enough to staff it as he wants to. and the timing is good. we have some serious national security problems right now. >> right. >> just today -- >> we have syria. we have russia. we have north korea. >> right. he is going to have a meeting with the chinese president later this week with the president. >> moments from now, we're going to see the king of jordan pull up here, and he is going to have a lot to say about what's going on in syria, as well.

it is a lot of stuff. let's go to the white house now. kristen welker has confirmed this news for us. kristen, characterize this for us. what are we seeing here? >> well, steve bannon has been one of president trump's closest advisers from the time of the campaign, through the transition, a he was put on the national security council, according to one source, to really oversee work in concert with michael flynn. now, of course, he has since been removed. there is a new national security adviser. so this is sort of a part of that natural process of transition. but certainly, this is a significant shift inside this white house at a critical moment when the president is facing his biggest foreign policy tests yet. when it comes to north korea and those recent provocations, as well as syria and that chemical weapons attack that the president is now going to have to contend with.

steve bannon continues to be, i am told, one of the closest advisers, but it does take him off of the list of those people who will now be huddling to deal with these national security issues in that capacity. so it certainly is significant. no word on whether there will be any replacement or whether that needs to happen. but, again, this is a shift within this white house, ali. >> right. it may not need to happen because that was never really a job. >> correct. >> it was never something that somebody was supposed to have. this may not be fair to ask you, but critics of bannon will say he's been demoted. you and i remember when mcmaster was chosen for the job, there was a lot of talk that mcmaster, widely regarded by all sorts of people in the military, had said, i've got to be in charge of this thing. if i'm not in charge of it, this isn't going to work. so there are a lot of people who are going to say, this isn't bannon being demoted as much as mcmaster saying he is getting what he wanted when he took the

job. >> mcmaster was clear from the ginning. remember, very clear wh the president during the process that he was being interviewed that he would want to bring in his own team. that was at process. remember, we spent a lot of time talking about that. would the person who served in the capacity be able to reorganize if he or she felt necessary? that is likely what we are seeing, ali. we continue to sort of dig into the details because this is all just evolving. but not a surprise given everything you just laid out. you're absolutely right. he was very clear from the beginning that he would want to put his own team together, ali. >> so, jennifer, as much as bannon critics, and there are many, want to take a vicketory lap, the fact is, i remember speaking to military sources, none of whom had a bad thing to say about mcmaster. one of whom said, he would quit before he got fired. i want to interrupt you again. nikki haley is now talking at

the united nations security council about syria. let's listen in. >> we cannot close our eyes to those pictures. we cannot close our minds of the responsibility to act. we don't yet know everything about yesterday's attack, but there are many things we do know. we know that yesterday's attack bares all the hallmarks of the assad regime's use of chemical weapons. we know that assad had used these weapons against the syrian people before. that was confirmed by this council's own independent team of investigatorinvestigators. we know that yesterday's attack was a new low, even for the barbaric assad regime. evidence reported from the scene indicates that assad is now using even more lethal chemical agents than he did before.

the gas that fell out of the sky yesterday was more deadly, leaving men, women, the elderly, and children gasping for their very last breath. and as first responders, doctors and nurses rushed to help the victims, a second round of bombs rained down. they died in the same, slow, horrendous manner as the civilians they were trying to save. we all also know this. just a few weeks ago, this council attempted to hold assad accountable for suffocating his own people to death with toxic chemicals. russia stood in the way of this accountability. they made an unconsciousable choice and denied the conscious

of the world. russia cannot escape responsibility for this. in fact, if russia had been fulfilling its responsibility, there would not even be any chemical weapons left for the syrian regime to use. there is one more thing we know. we know that if nothing is done, these attacks will continue. assad has no incentive to stop using chemical weapons as long as russia continues to protect his regime from consequences. i implore my colleagues to take a hard look at their words in this council. we regularly repeat tired talking points in support of a peace process that is regularly undermined by the assad regime. time and time again, russia uses the same false narrative to deflect attention from their allies in damascus.

time and time again, without any fact waual basis, russia attemp to place blame on others. there is an obvious truth here that must be spoken. the truth is, that assad, russia and iran have no interest in peace. the illegitimate syrian government, led by a man with no conscious, has committed untold atrocities against his people for more than six years. >> that is u.s. ambassador to the united nations, speaking last at the u.n. security council. they're going to then vote on a proposal put forward. it is a very, very milquetoast, watered down proposal. even the russians might not veto it. the resolution might pass. it will do nothing except call for an iestigation into what is going on in syria. some tough words there by nikki

haley. of course, president trump did accuse president obama of not doing the right thing. we're looking at the white house where we are expecting the king of jordan, king abdullah, to pull up shortly. i'm looking over my shoulder at the white house. no action yet. the motorcade hasn't arrived yet but it'll happen. kristen welker is at the white house following yet another story. that is that trump adviser steven bannon has been removed from his role on the principal's committee of the national security council. something unusual from the beginning. it's never been done, even in very political white houses. even with very political advisers to white houses. i'm joined on the set by jennifer ruben, an opinion writer for the "washington post." your take? >> several things. first of all, it is right and positive that steve bannon is leaving the national security council. i've been as critical as anyone regarding this administration. this is the first sign in a long

time of grownup sentiment taking hold. we are at a critical point in our history, and we need to treat it seriously. point number two, you are seeing the pretense of getting along with russia and all of along with russia. all of the outreach, all of the nice words from the president of the united states evaporate, if you will, in the gas of syria. they're not our friends or allies. they're a reason we don't get along with them. and the president needs to realize this, and he needs to take action. >> third point,e have no policy, we didn't have a syria policy under president obama, and we don't have one now. and this president has to figure out what are our priorities, who are our friends, what can we do to make a difference. stalin had an expression, a million people is a statistic, one person is a tragedy. we had millions of people homeless. hundreds of thousands of people

brutally killed, but americans in the west in general, when they see those pictures, it could stimulate action that is badly overdue. >> back to bannon then, because hr mcmaster will play a role in developing a policy. this is a guy that, we were interrupted, but someone in the military told me that mcmaster will quit before he is fired. if he cannot advise the president properly, pick his staff, do what he needs to do, he will leave. it seems like he may have asserted some authority and the president decided that mcmaster needs to stay around. >> we're going to see what those from the outside hoped would. a circle of adults there. nikki hailey, rex tillerson, who has not really had a voice yet, but seems to be slowly --

>> nikki hailey seems to be doing most of the talking. >> yeah, and there is a tremendous amount of criticism because he has been so radicent, so can they come up with a policy and present it to the president. sometimes you have state taking a position, defense taking another, and defense taking a third. the president does not have the background, the experience to be able to choose options. it is important therefore the advisors reach consensus and say this is collectively our recommendation. >> with bannon out of the way, he won't interfere in that process. we have no indication he is losing any influence with the president, he is just out of this one place it seemed unusual in the first place. >> and it was maybe a blessing for him. foreign policy is hard. he probably doesn't want to be associated with that. with proximity comes

responsibility. leave it to the professionals, do not try this at home, it's not for amateurs. let him go back to what he is doing. >> you said something very interesting the russians have a very clear strategy been they have a port, a naval base, the only naval base on the medtarian, this is an expansionist russia that wants to go in other places. as a result they have a strategy and they need mo make sense of that. >> vladimir putin is doing the most with a rotten hand. he is exercising leverage like no one's business. they are reintroducing themselves into the middle east. this was essentially banishes in the cold war years. they have secured their rips with assad and iran. so we have to kind of get to the bottom of this. >> let me get to kristen welker

on the white house. >> this is all still evolving, but i spoke to a source close to steve bannon, and his reaction is that this is another job done nap is in relation to the narrative that he was put in place to oversee the operations by mike flynn, the then national security advisor that has since been removed and he is still the person in the war room checking off boxes for the president of the united states. this underscores the point that you were just making, ali, that he is still very close to the president, still one of his closest advisors, still in many of the top level meetings that the president will have. but again this does remove him from the national security council and fm those meetings, just as they face some of the key foreign policy tests over north korea and syria, and that you have the new national

security advisor bringing in and redefining his own team. >> let's bring in michael crowley, he has been following this. this is an interesting discussion. it doesn't mean he is any less influential here, he is just not where many people thought he should not be anyway. >> it is a extremely tlufl position. regardless, ali, i think the chair you may have heard rising from the streets of washington was the foreign fols -- ban non's approval was seen as disturbing, very unusual and odd, he is basically a political

advisor. talking about the details of american military action. many people thought it was inappropriate and unprecedented it also appears they have wording for a demotion. they make them regular attendees. before it was somewhat optional. it was a downgrade of their role. so i see mcmaster asserting himself and creating a much more traditional national security council structure that is hugely reassuring to foreign policy professionals in washington and in other countries. >> kristen welker, i'm just watching from my vantage point, the vehicles are coming in for king abdullah of jordan. the first police vehicles are starting to move in. you should be seeing, you have

the honor guard behind you. i want today ask you something you got on steve bannon saying this was another job done for him, what do you think that means? have we lost kristen? >> i'm sorry, will you repeat that question. the king of jordan about to arrive here, there is a lot of noise. >> we're seeing the vehicles behind me coming in. king abdullah of jordan. the issue of what just happened in syria, the single greatest number of refugees in syria going to jordan. jordan finding it very difficult to house all of those refugees. more than half of jordan is made up of palestinian refugees. so they have many more refugees than jordanian born people. kristen, a source said to you that steve bannon leaving the

national security council principals committee is a job done for the president, what does that mean? >> reporter: that means according to multiple sources here at the white house, he was put in place initially to make sure that mike flynn was carrying out the vision of the president. that raises a host of questions about the thinking here inside of the white house about mike flynn. did they have concerns about that from the beginning? i'm told that now that mike flynn is no longer here, steve bannon no longer needed in that role. we're also just learning according to two different source that's this is also a part of the reorganization by hr mcmaster. we have been talking about this. we were speculating that was at the root of this, but now we have confirmation this was the doing and the thinking of the new national security advisor that wants to reorganize and put in place his own team to execute his national security vision.

you talked about some of what will be at the forefront today, when president trump immediates with king abdullah of jordan, and at the top of that list will be the crisis in syria. jordan has been impacted perhaps more than any other country, and what to do about the latest chemical attack. should bashir al assad go? this is someone that as a candidate seemed very hesitant about engaging in syria militarily. he said russia is already there, fighting isis, working with bashir al assad to do that. what will we see from this president, he will be pressed all on all of this. >> let's listen in to president trump greeting king abdullah of jordan.

you see the president and the first lady greeting king abdullah, there he is, the two of them together now walking. a quick pose from some forecasts. the queen there and the fist lady of the united states. the four of them posing for a photograph on their way into the white house. into the oval office for what will be a crucial, crucial set of discussions. that is it for me for this hour of msnbc live. andrea mitchell takes it from here. thanks, right now on "andrea mitchell reports" live pictures from the white house. king abdullah of jordan, the queen, and first lady melania at the white house. steve bannon