that does it for us on this extraordinarily busy monday. i'll turn it over to my colleague ali velshi. >> i will pick up where you left off and see you later this afternoon. thank you. as haley mentioned a few minutes ago, we are waiting for the historic ceremony to begin in the rose garden. neil gorsuch is about to be sworn in as the nation's 113th supreme court justice. the judicial oath will be administered by justice anthony kennedy, for whom gorsuch worked as a young clerk in 1993 and 9

1994. gorsuch will be the first justice to serve on the court alongside a former boss. his public swearing in happening in the rose garden following an official private ceremony you're looking at on the right side of the screen that took place two hours ago with chief justice john roberts administering the oath prescrid by the constitution. now, we have this morning's historic news covered with nbc news correspondents and experts. we begin with nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker standing by as the ceremony is about to begin. kristen? >> reporter: hi, ali, good morning. we know judge gorsuch arrived at the white house with his family for this historic event. this marks a major victory for the president for this administration, really his first big domestic victory. gettingconfirmed. this comes after a bruising battle for his confirmation when

republicans went nuclear, meaning they changed the rules of the senate in order to get him confirmed. of course, that had more to do with politics likely than judge gorsuch's qualification. democrats are fuming after the republicans didn't give president obama's supreme court nominee merrick garland a hearing. and they also argue he's too far to the right. but he was ultimately confirmed. and when you look at it, he doesn't exactly change the balance of power on the supreme court because he replaces another conservative justice, of course, the late justice antonin scalia. it is a momentous moment at the white house because, again, ali, this is their first domestic achievement, particularly significant after health care failed, after the president's travel ban was blocked. and it is worth noting if the travel ban does go to the supreme court, which it looks like it might, judge gorsuch will have to make a determination abt it.

al snirks. >> we just saw a number of the supreme court justices walking in. i saw elena kagan, justice ginsberg, justice thomas, everybody just stood up and that means to me that we are expecting the president to come out. interesting that that has -- let me just go over to kasie hunt at the capitol. the first swearing in was there this morning, the oath of office, as it was. >> reporter: chief justice john roberts swearing in with the proper ceremony with the justices at the supreme court this morning, ali. so this is the more formal public version of the swearing in. there you can see the president and the judge walking out. ali? >> reporter: okay, let's listen in to them now, the president of the united states at the swearing in of neil gorsuch. >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much.

friends and distinguished guests, welcome to the white house. we are gathered here today for a truly momentous occasion in our democracy. the swearing in of a united states supreme court justice. in particular, i'm greatly honored to welcome tohese grounds every sitting justice of thunited states supreme court. welcome. [ applause ] thank you. mr. chief justice and fellow justices, it is a privilege to have you here and to join in this historic moment on this very beautiful spring day in the rose garden. spring is really the perfect backdrop for this joyful gathering of friends because together we are in a process of

reviewing and renewing. and also rebuilding our country. a new optimism is sweeping across our land, and a new faith in america is filling our hearts and lifting our sights. i'd also like to recognize senator cory gardner, where is cory? mike lee, where is mike? he's around here someplace. thank you. and mike crapell. good, hi, mike. thank you very much for all your work. thank you. [ applause ] and although he could not be here today, i especially want to express our gratitude to senator mitch mcconnell for all that he did to make this achievement possible. so thank you, mitch. [ applause ]

i would also like to give my appreciation to chairman grassley for conducting such a fair and professional confirmation. senator grassley. where is senator grassley? [ applause ] thank you. thank you. thank you, senator. finally, a profound thank you to louise gorsuch and to all of the gorsuch family. thank you. [ applause ] and louise, i've heard it firsthand, i know what a total inspiration you are to your husband and to your entire family. so thank you very much. fantastic. thank you very much. [ applause ] we are here to celebrate history, the taking of the judicial oath by the newest

member of the united states supreme court, neil gorsuch. justice gorsuch, i just want to congratulate you and your entire family. it's something so special. in fact, i've always heard that the most important thing that a president of the united states does is appoint people, hopefully great people like this appointment, to the united states supreme court. and i can say, this is a great honor. [ applause ] and i got it done in the first 100 days. that's even ni. you think that's easy? this ceremony has special meaning as justice gorsuch is filling the seat of one of the greatest supreme court judges in american history. and that is antonin scalia who

was a terrific, who was a terrific judge and a terrific person. justice scalia was a patriot who revered our constitution. he was beloved by many, very many, who are here today. and he is deeply missed by all of us. i want to, at this time, recognize his incredible wife, maureen, who i got to know very well over the last short period of time. and maureen, please stand up. thank you very much. [ applause ] thank you and your family. thank you, maureen. americans are blessed to have, in neil gorsuch, a man who will likewise be a devoted servant of the law. over the past two months, the american people have gotten to know, respect and truly admire our newest member of the united states supreme court.

in justice gorsuch, they see a man of great and unquestioned integrity. they see a man of unmatched qualifications. and most of all, and most importantly, they see a man who is deeply faithful to the constitution of the united states. he will decide cases based not on his personal preferences but based on a fair and objective reading of the law. today we he all three branches of government represented a this event. it is a very special thing and a very special happening. and it's worth taking just a minute to remember what it all means. in our founders' incredible wisdom, they gave each branch of government a different role in our great republic. we have a congress to write the

laws on behalf of the people. we have a president to enforce those laws and defend our nation. and we have a supreme court to apply and interpret the law in a fair and impartial manner when disagreements arise. the founders separated power because they knew it was the best way to protect our citizens and keep our constitution secure. justice gorsuch, you are now entrusted with the sacred duty of defending our constitution. our country is counting on you to be wise, impartial and fair, to serve under our laws, not over them, and to safeguard the right of the people to govern their own affairs.

i have no doubt you will rise to the occasion and that the decisions you'll make will not only protect our constitution day, but for many generations of americans to come. in just a moment, justice gorsuch will be sworn in by justice kennedy. a great man of outstanding accomplishment. throughout his nearly 30 years on the supreme court, justice kennedy has been praised by all for his dedicated and dignified service. what he owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. and i am honored that he is with us today. [ applause ] this is a very, very special moment. because many years ago, a young neil gorsuch started his legal

career as a law clerk to justice kennedy. you remember that, right? it is a fitting testament to justice kennedy's impact that upon giving the oath to justice gorsuch, he will become the first ever supreme court justice to serve with one of his former law clerks. that's sort of a big deal, isn't it? i sort of like that. that's sort of good. [ applause ] it has never happened before. that's pretty good. it also shows that you have a lot of respect for this man. that's very good. we're thrilled to sre this historic moment with jtice kennedy, with all of you here today, and with all americans watching us at home. justice gorsuch, i, again, congratulate you and your entire

family, and i wish god's blessings on your amazing journey ahead. i have no doubt you will go down as one of the truly great justices in the history of the united states supreme court. i now invite justice kennedy to say a few words. thank you very much. [ applause ] thank you, mr. president. mr. chief justice, justice gorsuch, and my fellow adherents to the idea and the reality of the rule of law, as many of you know, there are two oaths that a member of the federal judiciary must take. the first is the constitutional oath, that so many of you are familiar with, that applies to

all three branches of the government. the second oath is one that applies just to federal judges, both of the oaths date from the founding of the republic. the judicial oath dates from 1789. and both of these oaths remind us that we as a people are bound together. we as a people find our self-definition, our respect, our heritage and our destiny in the constitution. and so, justice gorsuch, there is one oath remaining for you to take, the judicial oath. before you may receive and accept your commission from the president of the united states. are you ready, justice gorsuch, to take the oath?

are you ready to take the oath, justice gorsuch? please raid your right hand and repeat after me -- i do neil m. gorsuch do solemnly swear -- >> i neil m. sore gugorsuch do y swear -- >> and do equal right to the poor and to the rich. >> and do equal right to the poor and to the rich. -- >> and that i will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform. >> and that i will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform. >> all the duties incumbent upon me. >> all the duties incumbent upon me. >> as associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. >> as associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. >> under the constitution and laws of the united states. >> under the constitution and laws of the united states. >> so help me god.

>> so help me god. >> congratulations. [ applause ] [ applause ] i see before me so many to whom i owe so much. i know i would not be here today without your friendship and

support. thank you, all, from the bottom of my heart. i want to thank the president for nominating me. and for the great confidence and trust he's imposed in me. i want to thank the vice president for his constant encouragement and friendship throughout this process. it's not possible to mention here everyone i should mention, but i would be remiss if i didn't thank the president's counsel don mcgann and the vice president's counsel and every single person in the white house counsel's office for their tireless and tremendous support. i want to thank kelly ayotte and my day-to-day team for their humor, for their sage advice, for their faith, as we spent months and so many miles trooping together through the senate complex.

i want to thank every single person, and there are so many, in the white house and in the department of justice, who worked tough so many late nights and long weeks on my behalf. i want to thank two senator mcconnell and senator grassley and their excellent teams for their support and leadership. and i must thank my former law clerks and my dear friends who gave so much of themselves so selflessly through the last three months. you are dear to me. this is truly your doing. and this is your day. i wish i could mention each of you by name, but you know who you are. and you know your names are etched in my heart forever. this process has reminded me just how outrageously blessed i am in my law clerks, in my

family and my friends. and i hope i continue to rely on each of you as i face this new challenge. to my former colleagues and the wonderful staff of the 10th circuit, i thank fyou for your faithful service for so many years. to my new colleagues and the staff of the supreme court, thank you for the very warm welcome. i look forward to many happy years together. and i cannot tell you how honored i am to have here today my mentor, justice kennedy, administer the judicial oath, a beautiful oath, as he did for me 11 years ago when i became a circuit judge. to the scalia family, i won't ever forget that the seat i inherit today is of a very, very great man. to my wife, louise, and my daughters, emma and bindy, thank you for your perseverance and your patience, your courage and

your love. i simply could not have attempted this without you. and to the american people, i am humbled by the trust placed in me today. i will never forget that to whom much is given, much will be expected. and i promise you that i will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the constitution and laws of this great nation. thank you. [ applause ] >> and that is the newest associate justice of the supreme court, neil gorsuch, sworn in at 11:15 a.m. eastern time. gorsuch replacing the late justice antonin scalia, who is a member of the courts in a conservative way for three decades before he died unexpectedly in february of

2016. president obama, then president obama, nominated merrick garland as his nominee. merrick dollar lagarland was ne a vote. the democrats filibustered the nomination of judge gorsuch but that did not succeed him. he is now sworn in. and kristen welker is there at the white house. there's a business of swearing people in for the second time at the white house is a fairly recent development. sonya sotomayor was sworn in at the supreme court. why do you think the white house? >> reporter: i think you saw the symbolism here. president trump wanting to tout that this is a victory within the first 100 days. and also wanting to showcase the fact that he becomes the first justice to serve with someone for whom he clerked with. justice kennedy swore him into office. it is worth noting, ali, this is not the first time this has happened prior to president obama. there have been other justices

sworn in at the white house before. but certainly, this president wants to tout this as a victory, as a domestic victory, particularly after he has suffered some defeats legislatively. and also in terms of his travel ban, as we were discussing as the ceremony got underway. this is a moment for the white house to really flex its muscles. after a rocky couple of week, frankly, and after last week launching air strikes against syria. so the administration really flexing its muscles on the foreign stage and domestically this afternoon. this does come amid some rumblings about in-fighting at the white house between steve bannon, his chief strategist, and his son-in-law jared kushner over the weekend, as the white house made an effort to tamp down the divisions, holding a meeting with all the war infractions. and then everyone emerging saying they are coming out on the same page. ali, it underscores the fact

that the president wants to finish the first 100 days on a strong footing. and this ceremony is a big part of that. this is a move conservatives cheer on today. this is a campaign promise kept on the campaign trail. president trump talked about the fact he would nominate a conservative supreme court justice to the bench, if, in fact, he won the presidency. and that is what happened here today. so this is something that is going to play well with his base undoubtedly. it royaled democrats, but the reality is that he replaced antonin scalia, someone who is also conservative. and you heard him really pay tribute to former justice scalia and talk about the very, very big role that he is filling. >> and the fact that in his 11 years on the federal appeals court, he sort of stuck to a you dishl philosophy that was very much like antonin scalia's originalist approach. we'll talk a little bit more about that in a moment. we want to go down pennsylvania

avenue to kasie hunt the capitol. kasie, kristen just spoke about the fact that there was no success with the travel ban, there was no success with health care. lots of legislative problems. here is something the president gets to show off as a success, familiarly in wake of the fact that he ordered the air strikes on syria. he gets to call this a success. >> reporter: that's right, ali. and it is an area where donald trump, president trump is in lock-step with the other governing members of his party. this is something that, frankly, when you heard republicans talk through the campaign about, many of them could not believe the idea that trump was their nominee or he might win the presidency. most believed he wouldn't win the presidency, but the supreme court nominations are the one area where everybody who you talked to would say, okay, this is a reason why we should all be on board with the trump candidacy, why we should push forward with this, because he's going to pick justices that line

up with our values. and that is, at the end of the day, going to last much longer than the four or eight years that president trump might serve in the white house. so i think you have seen that play out, you saw the importance of it in mitch mcconnell's action in the senate in making a major rules change here in a partisan way, frankly, that some other republicans, among them, john mccain, said would do lasting damage to the senate. but you saw mcconnell make the calculation that it was worth it, to put judge gorsuch on the supreme court. so i think the question going forward, clearly, there are questions about what esident trump is going to be able to accomplish in other areas, obviously, he's had some legislative setbacks, the health care law did not go through. their approach to that clearly was not successful. i think you can argue about whether it was the president of the white house's approach or how congressional leaders handled writing the bill and

attempting to push it forward that ultimately resulted in its demise. but i do think that this is a unique situation in that all republicans in washington from the white house down here to the hill were united about judge gorsuch. the importance of doing that, whereas in many other areas, there's a lot of divisions within the party. ali? >> that's a good point you bring up there, kasie. kasie hunt at the capitol. we'll go to our justice correspondent pete williams for his take on what we have just witnessed. pete? >> reporter: well, first of all, the obvious history here, the first time a justice is swearing in one of his former clerks to serve alongside him. that's quite extraordinary. remember, neil gorsuch was a clerk for byron white, who just retired when he got here. so, in essence, he clerked for both of them. the retired justices still have a lot of work to do, but he will get to work alongside justice kennedy. he'll get right to work, ali, the first order of business will

be the justices closed door conference on friday to decide which cases to hear. now it takes four votes to grant a case. and he could provide the fourth vote in some of those cases that have been pending here for a long time. there's a challenge here to the question of whether businesses can refuse to provide their services for same sex weddings if they have religious objections. the court case has been bouncing around for several weeks now, there's a couple others pending, the question of what are the second amendment rights outside the home. it was in 2008 when the supreme court very momentously said the second amendment does provide the individual right to have a gun in the home for self-defense. the lower courts have been chewing over this question of what about outside the home? and there's a couple of cases here pending on that. and then the court will come back into session to hear the final 13 cases of the oral argument. and he'll participate in those. and one of the biggest cases,

one of the biggest cases of the term, is the religious freedom case. it's a challenge to laws and about half the states say state money cannot go indirectly or directly to support churches. now, the issue here comes from a church, a lutheran church in missouri, that applied for state money to get rubber surface put over the playground of its preschool. the state said, you qualify in every other way, but the challengers say this is religious driliscrimination. he can't vote on the cases in this term, but he'll vote on the final cases of 2013. you must be present to win. it's like a raffle here at the supreme court. that's right. he can't vote on any cases that were argued before he bim a justice. because they were submitted to this court. it's been 14 months since

justice antonin scalia died of a heart attack, february 2016. >> in the cases that were tied, while there were only eight justices, meant they would go back to the previous ruling. in that case now, cases heard by the supreme court, won't be tied. >> reporter: right. however, here's more to the point of your question, if there are tie votes that haven't been announced yet from cases that were argued before he got here, the supreme court has an option. rather than just say what they usually do, which is the lower court decision is affirmed by an equally divided court, that's the announcement made when there's a tie. you're right, the normal rule is if the court is tied 4-4, whoever prevailed in the lower court wins, it's as if the case never came here. but they could be holding cases with a 4-4 tie and argue for them to be re-argued now that there are nine justices. they could be re-argued next term.

if it's a big deal, they could re-argue it later this term. but he could be the decisive vote if there are any of the 4-4 ties we have not heard about it. >> pete, thanks, as always, for bringing us up to speed on what it all means. joining us now is george washington university law school professor jeffrey rossen. and he's the pastor of the national constitution center, it was established by congress in 1988 to share information about the united states constitution on a non-partisan basis. jeff, you were with me when the vote happened where neil gorsuch was confirmed by the u.s. senate on friday. now you're with me as he gets sworn in. let me ask you this, for a lot of americans, they cast their ballot on one important issue, a nominee to the supreme court with many democrats saying they wanted a nominee who would confirm and continue row v. wade. and many are saying the second amendment is another big issue.

as it relates to roe v. wade, does justice gorsuch have work in front of him to influence either of those two? >> reporter: not immediate work because the balance of the court as you have been discussing remains the me. but if justice kennedy were to retire, or if another liberal justice were to retire, then all of that would be up for grabs. roe v. wade could be overturned and justice gorsuch could play a crucial role in that. we heard there are a lot of cases coming up. interestingly, those are not lower cases but they have upheld the individual right. but there is a huge question, ali, i'm speaking to the american people. he has a real premium on showing people that he's not going to be part of a 5-4 majority of republicans versus democrats, and that he'll represent the non-partisan rule of law. you quoted the national constitution center's beautiful

non-partisan mandate. the court is going to be under scrutiny because of the confirmation process. justice gorsuch is going to have to prove to the american people that he really embodies something more than a 5-4 majority. >> when we were talking together on friday and were talking about some democrats in their opposition, one of their complaints was big business. and where justice gorsuch, judge gorsuch will fall in terms of big business. you wrote in "the atlantic" a few weeks ago about his alleged pro-business views, but he may have a more nuanced view of them on the court? >> reporter:es, justice gorsuch is more pro-business. so he could be more liberal than justice scalia. >> jeff rossen is the president's ceo of the national constitution center and a professor at the george washington university law school. all right. we're just passed the bottom of

the hour here on msnbc. also happening now, the trump administration is being put to the test on the world stage as tensions rise on two fronts, syria and north korea. this hour, secretary of state rex tillerson is meeting with the u.s. allies at the g-7 sup mitt in italy. the diplomats are trying to clarify u.s. strategy in syria after president trump's top ambassadors delivered mixed messages this weekend. >> no way do we see peace in that area with assad as the head of the syrian government. >> calling bashar al assad to cease the use of the weapons, other than that, there's no change to our military posture. >> well, tillerson's next stop is moscow, the crucial visit comes as russia and iran who are both allies of bashar al assad, vow retaliation if the united states strikes syria again. meanwhile, north korea, another ally of russia, is also coming into play. the u.s. military ordering an

aircraft carrier group to move closer to the korean peninsula after recent ballistic missile tests by north korea. north korea is promising to boost its defenses. claudia is in lucia, italy, where the summit is taking place this morning. claudia? >> reporter: yes, hi. there are a lot of messages sent out to syria because syria is really on top of the agenda at the summit. i don't know if you can hear the summit, but it is well underway with helicopters hovering overhead. this is a small, quiet meeting in town. and it is taken over by the summit. the first message was sent out by secretary tillerson this morning. he attended at the site of tun one of the worst atrocities in germany during the second word war where more than 500 people in the battalion, among them women and children, were killed brutally. and he said when he was there, it was inspiration to ensure

that those who commit crimes against the innocent anywhere in the world should be held accountable. and that you can read that as a veiled message. another message was sent out by the g-7 members themselves. they invited to the table tomorrow to talk about syria, specifically, five middle eastern countries. now i'll name them to you, turkey, saudi arabia, united arab emirates, jordan and qatar. and that will tell you how strongly syria will feature in the two days. we'll see what comes out of it tomorrow. and he will move on to moscow where he'll meet lavrov, the foreign minister of russia, in a much anticipated meeting. back to you. >> claudia, thank you for that in from italy. and we'll bring in robert ford, ambassador, thank you for being here. let me get clarify from you on

this. we have nikki haley, the united states ambassador to the united nations. a voice that americans don't normally hear from as much as they do the secretary of state. we have a secretary of state who doesn't talk to the media all that much. and this weekend they have said what seemed to be messages at odds with each other about whether or not bashar al assad gets to remain as the boss in syria. do you think, this is by design, or are they not on the same page? >> i think the administration is still new and is still working out how to best coordinate their talking points. that's not so strange in a new administration. but number one, their priority remains fighting the islamic state. number with, i think they would like to see bashar al assad go but are not planning on sending in military forces. i think those two things are clear from the statements, both nikki hailey and secretary

tillerson and national security adviser mcmasters, they are all pretty certain on that. >> how should we be thinking about bashar al assad. he's about as bad as it gets when it comes to a leader in the way he treats his own people. but as far as the u.n. is concerned, this remains a civil war, which makes it very difficult, although misguided in some cases, for the united nations to get involved in this. and the united states has a particularly bad record at regime change we sort of never seem to get it right on the other side of it. so what is the average american supposed to think about how we should be looking at this terrible guy, bashar al assad, who does these bad things to his own people? >> bashar al assad has won his part of the civil war. and they are still fighting little by little the syrian government continues to advance. the syrian opposition forces that have been trying to overthrow him have failed. russia and iranians have ensured

that al assad is going to survive but he's going to stay for a long time. >> we look at the fight against, i cys isis, we have not done as much as they probably could be doing for it, but iran is quite determined to have this fight against isis. russia has shown some stomach for it. how do we square that circle? we don't want isis in syria, we don't really like assad all that much, what are we supposed to be thinking about in terms of which is the bigger priority? >> well, i don't think it is true that arab gulf states necessarily view fighting the islamic state as a priority. i think they are more concerned about iran. i don't think iran cares at all about fighting the islamic state. i've seen no evidence to suggest that over the last several years and the russians aren't very interested in it either. the only country that is really interested in it is the united states.

and therefore tillerson's job of trying to get all the other countries to help us is a real uphill struggle and probably not one any secretary of ste could accomplish. the administration actually has a different chlenge,hich is they are doing okay against the islamic state with the allies they have, but after they recapture places from the islamic state in syria like raqqah, then what? and that they don't have an answer for. >> then what is the motto of our dealings with syria from the last six years. ambassador, good to to see you. thank you for being with us, the former ambassador to syria. egypt is under a three-month-long deadly insur insurgence after a bombing went off while a choir was performing. then a suicide bomber detonated himself outside a cathedral in

alexandria. egypt's ministry of health is saying 45 are dead and more than 100 injured in both attacks. a group affiliated with isis has claimed responsibility, but nbc news has not been able to authenticate that claim. coming up next, the wild west wing. president trump calms for an intervention-style meeting with top aides, steve bannon and jared kushner. can the rival bury the hatchet? and which one of them has more power? we'll talk about that when i come back. we're not professional athletes. but that doesn't mean we're giving up. i'm in this for me.

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this morning the trump administration is looking to present a united front after a power struggle made headlines and put a spotlight on an apparent deep divide in the west wing. at odds, chief strategist steve bannon, on the left, senior adviser jared kushner, and president trump's son-in-law on the right. they held an intervention-style meeting between the two causing a possible staff shake-up in the west wing. joining me is jonathan swan. good to have you here. we had andy card on ali's show an hour ago, and he was saying, it's the chief of staff's job to

keep desperate forces in the white house in check. there should be desperate forces in the white house, they shouldn't agree because that would be bad for the white house, can reince do this job? >> with the way donald trump works, he's the ultimate decider and likes to have a fairly flat power structure underneath him. so people have speculated, some of the people who donald trump sounded out about potentially being a chief of staff over the last weeks and months, they have one that they can privately do the job. >> he's kind of the chief of staff. >> would anyone have the authority to -- also, the chief of staff is playing a debagate keeper roll. he likes to talk to people. it's like the informal polling. the notion that reince priebus, even if he was the most talented gate keeper, i would contest that. >> we'll talk about the meeting where apparently reince priebus told them, he had an

intervention, president trump said you have to work it out. this is a problem because steve bannon is the eintellectual keeper of this stuff, jared kushner is his son-in-law. >> yes. this is like the godfather. look, thursday, donald trump said to steve bannon and jared kushner, knock it off. you have to work together. friday afternoon, late afternoon, jared kushner, ivanka, steve bannon, reince priebus, they had a meeting about the president's agenda. but the sub text was they need to work together. they can't be at each other in the media, through proxies or directly. and frankly, i think there is a sort of cease-fire at the moment that is holding. >> okay. well, what is your thought or what can i tell you about how it plays out if it doesn't hold? >> i think anyone who has decorations of certainty about

this fraud, like you cannot have any kind of certainty about this situation. the facts we know is that donald trump has sounded people out about th chief of staff role. so has jared kushner. we know that. those are two facts. is it imminent he's going to get his head chopped off? i don't know, i don't think so. there's been a bit of a -- we'll see how it goes the next couple of weeks. >> we'll be watching. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. we're going to take a quick break. when we come back, we're not going to take a break, that was entirely me freelansing and looking for a midmorning snack. forget what i just said. the report in "the washington post" is taking a closer look at steve bannon and his, quote, multi-media machine and how it paid him millions of dollars. joining me is shane bodberg, thank you for being with us. most people know about breitbart, but, in fact, steve bannon's been in the world of

media and profit-making media for some time. tell me about this machine and how it all works? >> reporter: yeah, we took a look at how steve bannon moved from hollywood and wall street into the arena of politics. and really leveraged the infrastructure that he set up on the west coast, combined with conservative-leaning nonprofit. and leveraged the machinery to deliver a message to galvanize public opinion leading up to the general election. breitbart was the perfect platform for him to promote movies that he had produced for right-leaning nonprofits. and i think all the forces came together and bannon proved a master at using these various mediums to deliver his message. >> all right. so in an instance like this that i was just discussing with jonathan, where there's some kind of a civil war or battle

between jared kushner and steve bannon, jared kushner had the inside track by virtue of the fact he's family, he's married to donald trump's daughter. steve bannon has a lot of levers to pull. >> reporter: he does. the key difference here is that steve bannon was extremely effective in a campaign setting. as the totem of breitbart. as the person who was the spokesman for the anti-establishment movement. now he's part of a different type of machine. he's in the white house. and there are a lot of different forces going on. so in some ways the machinery he set up to get trump into the white house, he's not at the helm of that, he's sort of on his own. so, you know, i think the dynamics are a little different. >> however, one of the complaints from the kushner camp reportedly is that one of the ways in which bannon takes swipes at jared kushner is through breitbart. breitbart has been remarkably

uncomplimentary of jared kushner and the role he's playing in the white house. >> yeah, look, throughout history, leaks from the white house and, you know, factional bannon is closely affiliated and had a financial relationship with a very popular website on the far right that could be an effective way to deliver his message. been i think what's also unique here is that this white house, there seems to be a lot of friction. there's a lift in donald trump's nagement sty where he sort of encourages this friction and it's spilling out into public view and certainly, you know, breitbart is a tool that steve bannon could use if he wants to get news out. heim sure the other factions within the white house have relationships that they'll try to leverage to get their word out, as well. >> in fairness real quick, friction itself isn't the problem. it's the spilling out of the friction? >> right, and ultimately, i

think the trump white house will have to decide whether that becomes an impediment to get their agenda moving forward. as i mentioned, donald trump has embraced tension and friction in business does that translate well into the political world? does it become a distraction? does it prevent him from getting his agenda rolling? those are questions that he's going to have to answer. >> shawn, thank you so much for being with us. shawn bow berg a reporter from "the washington post." political scandals unfolding in alabama. govern robert bentley accuses of abusing power to cover up an alleged affair. write right now the governor is reportedly trying to negotiate an exit. we'll have a live report with the racy messages that broke this story open wide when we come back. e power to turn this enemy into an ally? microsoft and its partners are using smart traps to capture mosquitoes and sequence their

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you can actually remember, instantly. add that premium channel, and watch the show everyone's talking about, tonight. and the bill you need to pay? do it in seconds. because we should fit into your life, not the other way around. go to xfinity.com/myaccount a backlog of flights this morning ter major disruptions tops our stories arod the news nation this morning. sunday marked a fifth day of canceled flights after a severe storm or a week of severe storms hit delta's major hub in atlanta. more than 3500 flights were canceled leaving travelers frustrated and angry. delta offered passengers refunds and waivers to rebook their flights. it expects operations to be relatively normal today. wells fargo says it will claw back millions of dollars from from two former executives

after an investigation found their leadership led to the scandal involving millions of unauthorized accounts. the bank took an additional $28 million from former ceo john stump who agreed to give up $41 million in compensation when he resigned in october. the former head of the community bank unit carrie tolstedt lost an additional $47 million in stock options on top of the $19 million she gave up last june. and in wisconsin, a manhunt is intensifying for a 32-year-old fugitive considered armed and highly dangerous. joseph jacob bow ski is accused of zealing more than a dozen rifles and handguns from a gun store and mailing an antigovernment manifesto to president trump. police increased their presence at several local churches in if response to anti-religious views in the manifesto. the fbi is offering a $10,000

reward for information leading to his arrest. happening now in alabama, historic impeachment hearings under waainst governor robert bentley involving a scandal that could end his political career. the 74-year-old is accused of abusing his power to try to cover up an alleged affair with an aide. bentley and his top adviser rebecca mason deny the fair. meanwhile, negotiations are reportedly under way to set terms for his possible exit. kerry sanders joins me now from montgomery, alabama. could the governor side step the hearings? >> reporter: he could if he resigns. there's a lot of back channel talk he may indeed resign today or in the coming days. but it would not allow him to clear criminal charges which are very different from the impeachment proceedings which have already started now. what it means is that he has a lot on his table to decide and now it's finally come after there long involved very i guess

salacious detailed scandal that has unfolded in the state. it's all now coming to a head today. and in the next couple of days. of course, all of those details have rock this had state. >> we'll watch that closely. kerry, this has been going on for some time. the interesting part is there seems to be lots of evidence as you said, salacious details about the texts. but the governor and the woman with whom he was having the alleged affair have both denied it. that hasn't changed. >> that has not changed. rebecca mason who was his political aide and the governor here, he's 74, she's about pretty close to nearly half his age, sayhat o the governor says there was an inapproiate relationship but it was not a physical relationship. but the texts seem to suggest otherwise. certain words used about putting heads on pillows and touching in certain areas, all of this

suggesting there was something more than just words being exchanges. of course, all of where we are right now comes from a moment where the governor fired one of the chief law enforcement officers from the alabama law enforcement agency, alea. firing that person sort of set of this cascade of information about this alleged inappropriate relationship. and i say alleged because they say it was not a physical relationship, but both have admitted there was an inappropriate relationship. >> it's been going on, kerry, this has been going on for a long time. the governor held steadfast. what's his political support like? >> reporter: it's waning. he did have some support but consider this fall from grace. when is he was elected to his second term which he's in right now, he got 63.5% of the vote in this state. that is the highest that a republican in this state has ever received in terms of support. so he has gone from that to now even the republicans here in the

state house are calling for him to resign and walk away. >> kerry sanders, we'll watch it closely. thanks so much. and that brings our hour of msnbc live to an end. you can find me on all the normal socialmmediate places, twitter, facebook -- instagram, i'm @ali velshi at chat. >> right now, mixed signals. with escalating tensions over syria, secretary of state rex tillerson today heading to the first high stakes meetings tomorrow in the kremlin. but can trump's top diplomats get on the same page about the syrian president's future? >> in no way do we see peace in that area with as sad as the head of the syrian government. >> we can navigate a political outcome in which the syrian people in fact will determine assad's fate and his legitimacy. >> meanwhile, one top republican