so i'm all out of time on this saturday. i'm going to turn things over to my colleague sheinelle jones. >> hello everyone i'm sheinelle jones jones in new york. but what's in it, the tax plan, the president speaking moments ago. >> tremendous for the tax reform. this is going to be one of the great christmas gifts to middle income people. >> yes, it's a tax cut for the middle class, but the giant part really goes to the wealthy. kushner in crisis mode, pr firm from all the attention from the russia investigation. and don't say that is correct the shocking seven words

the white house has banned from the cdc vocabulary. but we start this second to the last saturday of the year with what could be republicans first major legislative victory of 2017. tax reform. it would be the first major reform of the nation's tax code in more than 30 years. two key senators rubio and corker said they are on board with the bill. set egg the stage for vote on tuesday. if it passes it cob on the president's desk by next week at this time. we have the perspectives on this tax plan. let's start at the white house nbc's jeff bennett. jeff, it's been a tough first year for the president. how close is the white house seeing to seeing a big win for the tax reform? >> reporter: sheinelle jones, it's just within reach, it appears the president will get his christmas wish. in time for the whole day break. that's with the gop now securing yes votes from two republican

lawmakers who you mentioned holdouts. on the one side pla senator rubio who insisted on child tax credit for working families in exchange for his vote. and huge reversal from corker from tennessee, he said he would not vote for anything that would add trillions to the deficit but flipped to yes saying it's a one in a lifetime chance to cut taxes and grow jobs. and on that one issue you have bob corker agreeing with president trump, which is notable, because you know bob cork ser a pro live it criticism of the president. now president trump was headed to camp david in the last hour and on the way out talked to reporters and explained why he thinks this tax plan could be the thing to really boost the economy. take a look. >> the economy now has hit 3%. nobody thought it would be anywhere close. i think we can go to 4, 5, and maybe even 6% ultimately. each percentage point is

$2.45 trillion. we are back. we are really going to start to rock. we need this as our final push. and you'll see numbers that are great. >> reporter: so that's the message the president is selling. it appears the american public by and large sheinelle jones isn't buying that. shows tax plan is not that popular and americans believe it will help the wealthy and not the middle class. that said it has not slowed the bill's momentum. house is on skechedule to vote tuesday. one of the reasons for the big return they know it's harder to pass things when doug jones is sworn into the senate. and the party is anxious to show they can find common ground ton this tax plan, this being the big one that has evaded them since the start of the year. >> at the white house, thank you. let's dig in more.

with this bill likely looking it should pass. the conversation should shift to what it means to you. so if you have kids the child tax credit would double from $1,000 to $2,000. if you own a home or plan on buying a home, you'll still be a ibl to deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage, as long as your mortgage is $750,000 or less. if you live in a state with high state taxes, like new york, new jersey who california, you'll only be able to deduct up to $10,000 of property taxes and income or sales taxes combined. and if you don't have health insurance, or don't think you'll need it you'll save some money. eliminates the individual mandate part of affordable care act. those are the fact. so now for some opinions. with me now we have our panel. and conservative commentator kirsten. good afternoon. i'll start with you, kirsten, take a look at this, latest report from the cbo and jct says this tax bill will add almost

$1.5 trillion to the deficit over the next ten years. party has billed itself as fiscally responsibility. they say this has no evidence it will do that. what's your response to that criticism? >> it is interesting to see the party exchange narratives with chuck schumer and others harking on on the debt. that's one of the reasons senator corker was so opposed. but i think the narrative they are trying to present to the american people it will in te effect pay for itself. that's the goal. but republicans feel they absolutely need to pass something because of the great failure not being able to pass some reform of the affordable care act this year. so more about the political game and they want to say they cut taxes and most important things

for the republicans. >> you talked about a narrative. let me ask you, the bill would cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. pra president obama wanted to cut to 28 so this is quite the cut. isn't the logic the same? >> i think the republicans obviously are all about tax cuts and they always have been. ideological mission for them. but this bill cuts rates on corporations and the middle class people. but the middle class tax cuts expire in 2025. so when you remove the individual mandate, and you increase middle class taxes in 2025, people don't have health insurance, and now they are paying more in taxes. >> let me pick up on that. i think that's a good point. so republicans call this a tax cut for the middle class. but she brought up a good point. the individual tax cuts expire in 2025. then the corporate tax cuts are indefinite. so why not make the corporate expire instead? because down the road they

aren't creating the jobs or revenue. >> part of the thing sr the trend is does make us more globally competitive. but of course they want to see those cuts trickle down effectively. >> what if they don't? >> the difference of this economy and why that equation doesn't work so much anymore, and dis pointing to me as young person in the party not to see more forward looking vision, the global economy has changed, and basically no one raised their hand when they asked the question about that. but if wages don't pick up republicans will not be able to sell this as a win but actually face a very angry con stit constituency? 2018. >> take a look at this. they'll say essentially they'll regreat regret it. >> yes, because president trump

when he says 3, 4, 5, 6 that is a lie. both economists say that's around 3% is normal. what they are talking about is pie in the sky numbers. it's a fantasy. so i think republicans certainly they always want tax cuts. but this is laying the ground work for entitlement reform. the reason they don't care it adds 1.4 trillion to the deficit it's an excuse to later on cut social security and medicare tan that's what paul ryan and many conservatives have wanted for decades. >> there is a challenge. you talk about taxes and i'm guilty, eyes glaze over. but when you talk about taxes details matter. so i was looking "washington post" did analysis and they claim that this bill may not create jobs and actually encourage companies to move overseas. so we couldn't go through it item by item but picked out a few points. they said the more equipment

companies have in other countries more taxes, which gives percethem to shift a broa. another one, foreign profit will payless in taxes on that profit than it would earn in the u.s. so the argument is tax structured companies will still have the incentive to keep jobs overseas. >> that's part of the criticism. and comes from conservative economists this is really to please the donor class and not middle class. and says let's buildup the economy, and in addition to the additional mandate being repealed, that's going to hit people's pocket books first in 2018 t so goes into effect for 2018 and 2019. so they won't know how the tax bill effects them but will have higher premiums in 2018 tan that

will be a problem. >> let me do this one. politico says this. they say democrats struggled to break through media environment crowded with intensifying russia investigation, a wave of sexual harassment scandals, and a fight over young undocumented immigrants. is this a case of too much going on? >> i think it is. it's kind of thing where you don't know where to aim your energy at and how to protest. but i do think that the resistance and democrats at large are pushing back against this tax bill. you see senators arriving back to protests in the airport. so i think we'll see more of that. certainly this is on track to pass, but i this i in the short term republicans will probably celebrate and later down the road they'll be hit hard at the polls because voters are going to respond to the policy in impacting their life in a negative way. >> good discussion. you can tell you are regulars as we say in the business. thank you. we should say we'll have much

more of them coming up later in the show. all right. tainted in tatters, the president blasts the fbi in its role in the russia investigation. and find out what he had to say about pardoning michael flynn next. ok like most people. but on the inside, i feel chronic, widespread pain. fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, but my pain is real. fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i'm glad my doctor prescribed lyrica. for some, lyrica delivers effective relief for moderate to even severe fibromyalgia pain. and improves function. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery

until you know how lyrica affects you. those who've had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can do more with my family. talk to your doctor today. see if lyrica can help. just serve classy snacks and bew a gracious host,iday party. no matter who shows up. do you like nuts?

would you consider a pardon from michael flynn? >> i don't want to talk about pardons for michael flynn yet. we'll see what happens.

let's see. >> president trump says he's not ruling out a pardon for michael flynn his former adviser. after criticism of handling the investigation. and bias in special counsel mueller's team. cot removal spell trouble for the russia investigation. joining me now to discuss this is former assistants deputy general. thank you for joining me ton ths afternoon. >> let's talk about possible pardon for michael flynn. how appropriate would it be in your opinion working with the fbi on this investigation? >> i don't see any basis, at least right now, based on what we know for a pardon for michael flynn. i think the president in his way was really being noncommittal. he loves answering we'll see when people ask if he plans to do something. he's a guy who likes to keep his options open. so the way i understood the

president's remarks is he simply hasn't focused on it. not ruling anything in or out. and at least what the white house lawyers are telling us no active discussion about possible pardon for flynn at this point. >> are all the attacks on the justice department casting doubt on the future of the russia probe? >> i think they are raising concerns. any time you have an investigation of this nature, you want to be 100% sure people carrying out the investigation are nonpartisan, people of integrity. and when you see these sorts of texts and emails behind the scenes, you know, rightly or wrongly, it at least creates the appearance there cob some sort of partisan taint, at least as to some of the people involved in the investigation. i think bob mueller is a man of integrity. i think bob mueller did the right thing when this came to his attention of sa questions tearing people and getting them off the of the people and preserve the independence of his investigation. but certainly are fair questions

being raised right now. >> speaking of questions tweeted out his questions about a shut down of the congressional investigations into russia meddling saying there are dozens of outstanding witnesses republicans refuse to contact. is this cause of concern for you? >> it's tricky whenever you have parallel investigations going on, special counsel investigation and congressional investigations. there is inevitably, regardless of which party is running it, there is in evidently going to be conflict. because congressional hearings are often public. number two, even when people come in to talk or testify in congressional vet o congressional investigations in a closed session it leaks. so i think it's fair to say we don't know if we need these people's testimony or hear them in a closed session. at the same time, i think it's fair for congressman schiff to push the envelope a bit.

wait a minute. let's not drop the ball on our responsibility of carrying out our own investigation, at least to the extent we can do so without impinging in the special counsel turf. >> so many angles. yesterday there were reports jared kushner legal team is looking to hire a public relations firm? >> at the same time i think most lawyers, myself included would say when you have a high profile dispute or investigation of this nature, that often makes a lot of sense to bring in a media specialist, a pr consultant. because look your primary object it i have is insulating your client, you can't turn a blind eye. so having someone at the table, wait a minute, saying let's see how it plays out, and to field the millions of media calls that come in on a daily could make a

lot of good sense. >> let's turn now to the controversy over president trump judicial nominee. testimony during the hearing raising eyebrows. let's take a listen. >> have you ever tried a jury trial? >> i have not. >> civil? >> no. >> criminal? no. >> bench? >> no. >> state or federal court? >> i have not. >> as a trial judge you obviously are going to have witnesses. >> yes. >> can you tell me what the dough bedoe bear is? >> senator kennedy i don't have that readily at my disposal, but i would be happy to take a closer look at that. >> okay. >> that is not something that i've had to contend with. >> just for the record, do you know what a motion in limini is? >> i would not be able to give you a good definition at the table. >> as you can imagine, there are people around the country shaking their heads. what's your reaction to this?

>> look, i don't think anyone will hold that exchange up as a model how you want to see a confirmation hearing unfold. we all know jushl nominees come from diversity of backgrounds, in this case an individual who didn't have experience as a trial lawyer. does that make him automatically unqualified to serve as federal judge? no it doesn't. >> what about the ins and outs in the courtroom? >> you would think he would prepare for these sorts of questions. all judges if they haven't served as previous job, but they all learn on the job, and you want to see someone come to the confirmation hearing prepared to ens a those questions. those were not phd level questions. >> we'll have to seal what happens ahead. thank you for your time on saturday. >> thank you. >> good conversation. started with the loss in alabama and ends with enough gop support to land him first legislative win.

next the highs and lows of president trump's week.

president trump is blowing off holiday team after start of a bad week.

senator roy moore lost in alabama. and denies collusion with russia. all this ahead after tax vote for next week. >> i think he should. he tried. i want to support, i want to support always the person running. we need the z i didn't make a phone call to russia. i have nothing to do with russia. everybody knows it. that was a democrat hoax. it was an excuse for losing the election. and it should have never been this way, where they spent all these millions of dollars. >> what about michael flynn, would you consider a pardon for michael flynn? >> i don't want to talk about pardons for michael flynn yet. let's see. i can say this, when you've look at what's gone on with the fbi and justice department, people are very, very angry. >> you see, there is the fake news back there. look.

fake news. new york city no, actually, some are fine people. let's see who is back there. yeah, perhaps 30%. >> perhaps his bad week started with alabama roy moore losing the senate race. he'll show you why tuesday race may have national implications when it comes to the makeup of the senate in 2018. constipated? only fleet enemas feature the lubricated gentle glide tip for comfortable relief in minutes. not hours.

and an ez-squeeze bottle for gentle, simple, fast relief. fleet enemas. the start of fast relief. i'm in the kitchen. i need my blood sugar to stay in control. i need to shave my a1c i'm always on call. an insulin that fits my schedule is key. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ (announcer) tresiba® is used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, swtiting, confusion, and headache. check your blood sugar. low blood sugar can be serious and may be life-threatening. injection site reactions may occur. tell your prescriber about all medicines you take and all your medical conditions. taking tzds with insulins like tresiba® may cause serious side effects like heart failure. your insulin dose shouldn't be changed without asking your prescriber. get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, extreme drowsiness, swelling of your face, tongue, orhrhroat,

dizziness, or confusion. ask your health care provider if you're tresiba® ready. covered by most insurance and medicare plans. ♪ tresiba® ready ♪ essential for vinyl, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr. a once daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests

and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. needles. a must for vinyl. but for you, one pill a day may provide symptom relief. ask your doctor about xeljanz xr. an "unjection™".

l. welcome back. i'm sheinelle jones. after much haggling the tax bill is expected to put to vote this week, possibly as early as tuesday. republicans claim it's a win for the middle class. >> i think it's going to provide the kind of middle class tax relief desperately needed right now. people are looking at flat wages and this will help. in ohio the average will be about 1400 bucks for medium family. people living paycheck to paycheck is important. >> look at this, some of the bill's other key points, lowers the corporate tax rate to 21% for top income earners to 37%. doubles the amounted wealthy taxpayers can pass ton to heirs. possible holdouts may include

utah mike lee, arizona jeff flake, and maine susan collins. joining us now is finalist columns, at the "washington post" and vanity fair correspondent cohen, also the author of yl wall street matters. good afternoon to you. we were talking about senator fallouts. will the bill get past congress? >> i would say 95% likely. they need all the senators to show up including the ones getting medical care, cochran and mccain, but unless there is some last minute thing, there will be a bill passed through congress soon. >> let me bring you in, republican backed bill, no democrat support. there is a statement by democrat leader nancy pelosi. she says the gop tax scams theft from middle class families. she says the american people will hold republicans accountable for the votes they

cast next week. so clearly this lacks bipartisan support. but what's our take on nancy pelosi's statement or your take about really the division and the fact this wasn't a bipartisan effort? >> reporter: with we goin where are we going? >> there is enormous chasm through the parties. it's easy to pass this bill doing special process only requires 50 votes in the senate. but going forward they can only use that kind of process one time per year. so that means going forward, they probably will need some democrat cooperation for any major piece of legislation because it will require democrat votes. but republicans has narrowed because of doug jones winning in alabama. >> it seems obviously you have one side and another and nothing in the middle? >> i don't know what incentive democrats would have right now to actually collaborate with republicans unless republicans

really show they are acting in better faith than they have thus far. but who knows. democrats do want to get infrastructure through. maybe they'll be some hand holding on that measure. i'm not optimistic. >> let's take a listen to president trump yesterday on the tax bill and then we'll chat. take a listen. >> have you seen the final tax bill? >> i have. i have seen it. i think it's going to do very, very well. these are great people. and they want to see it done. and they want to see it done properly. the democrats have done nothing in terms of children, in terms of child tax credits. we are putting in a tremendous child tax credit. and it is increasing on a daily basis. >> well, how do you see this yetting to the president's desk, the tax plan? >> obviously as soon as possible because he wants a christmas present for everyone. i think it's going to turn out to be a lump of coal to be honest. >> you do? >> yeah, because the drop in

benefit for people in ohio, that may be the case. but when you reduce the top tax rate from 39 to 37, when you increase the exclusion for the estate tax to $22 million, when you cut corporate taxes down to 21%, and you didn't mention the pass through benefit, the limited partnership pass through benefit, that benefits rich people like donald trump and his friends. so maybe the people that rob portman was talking about get a small $1400 tax benefit. but the rich get hundreds of thousands, if not mlillions. >> not only that the rich get disproportionate share of the benefits, but all of this looks like cutting the safety net. we have seen rubio, trump, brady lots of republican leaders suggest that after they get tax cuts through, the next item on the agenda will be cutting entitlements, will be cutting other safety net services like food stamps and all of those

kinds of programs benefit middle class people, lower income people. >> it is worth pointing out that reputable third party does show most people will get a tax cut from this lasagna lags, but it's not going to add up to much. so people in the middle income bracket their paycheck might go up by 10 or $20. and when you look at wind false at the top of the scale, that's one of the reasons there is so much skepticism about this, number one, people don't believe they will see a tax cut. and number two, they are right, if i do it's not going to be that much. >> and so tt other he can expectation here it will trickle down if you cut fax rates from 37 to 31, trickle down to more employees hired, that is a fallacy. what it's going to trickle down to to people who own stock, which are the wealthy people in the country. >> americans. >> dividends and stock will get

buyback driving up the price of stock. so, again, this is a guy by the way, president trump, who ran on cutting the national debt. when it was 20 trillion. this is going to add 1.5 trillion over ten years. that is not cutting the national debt. and unless kathryn is correct and oh, it's so high we have to cut some of these entitlement programs which don't benefit the poor. >> marco rubio said this on tv. >> if you are right, that's the cynical part of this that people are factoring in. >> let me squeeze in another piece, you talked about the fact trump was running also on obamacare. one of the final provisions is ending the individual mandate. what does this mean for obamacare and is it another attempt by republicans to repeal and replace the health care law? >> yes, that's what it is. this is a sleeper issue because all facing on immediate tax cuts, numbers who is going to win or lose. this will change the dynamic for the entire affordable care act.

and this will be another thing playing out over months and years. it will change who enrolls in the program. it gives people healthy a way out. they won't be penalized. and i think this doesn't go into effect 2019 rather than 2018. so there will ab delay. but when you take the healthy people out of the pool, costs go up for everybody else. cost rs covered for the people who qualify for the subsidies under aca. and one group who gets the shaft, people make too much money to get subsidy but don't get insurance through employer. and their premiums obscene what they pay. two people, 50 years old are paying 25 or $30,000 a year. premium. that's a couple million americans, but no one is doing anything for them. >> we'll have to talk about that. good discussion. we have you guys. thank you for coming in on your saturday. turning noul to tuesday dramatic victory for doug jones

over roy moore for open alabama senate seat. roy moore who has refused to concede the race. he said he is looking into a fund to look into it. show the divide in the gop may open up more opportunities open wide heading into 2018 senate elections. this saying president trump while not on the ballot in 2018 is planning a campaign to throw his support behind republican candidates running. joining us now to break it down is national controversy steve core naqi. >> so this week brought a monumental political upset in of all places the state of alabama. it had been a generation since democrat won a senate race and since competed for a senate race. but look at this. a pick up for the democrats in alabama in a special election. that is shocking in and of itself. but especially important because it changes the math in the

battle for control of the senate in 2018. let me show you what i mean. this was the balance of power heading into the alabama election. now, remember democrats are going to need to get to 51 seats because that tie in the senate right now, the vp, mike pence would break the tie. they would need 51. alabama was not going to it be on any radar. now they won it. 49 seats gok into next year's elections instead of 48. their magic went from 3 to 2. that's especially important because the democrats, when you look at the map for 2018, they do not have a lot of targets. so 2 versus 3 is a big difference. let me show you what i mean by this. check this out. these are the competitive states right now in the 2018 election. if it's blue it means the democrats are defending it. these are democratic seats. if it's red, republicans defending it. now keep in mind you can see a lot more blue than red. it's just the way the battleground is shaping up. why are these seats potentially

in jeopardy for democrats? because ten of them, every state on here except for minnesota, ten of them were won by donald trump in 2016. so you have democrats in blue states defending trump. minnesota not a trump state but almost a trump state. hillary clinton only one by 1.5 points. plus you have al franken resigning, special election, so democrats have to worry about minnesota. now you add this up, democrats have 11 seats that they have to worry about next year. remember they have to get a net gain of 2. they have to play defense in 11. but what they are thinking, and they are saying alabama makes it more confident in this, is 2018 saying it's going to be a good year. trump's approval rating is low. people go against the prart wes when it's low. but huge if. if they could defend the 11 seats, then you have 3 options here, arizona you have jeff

flake, you have an opportunity for democrats to pick that seat up. remember hillary clinton only lost by 3 points. nevada this was a clinton state in 2016. dean heller the republican could be in trouble in general election in the republican primary. so two prime pick up opportunities. in tennessee, suddenly come into the mix here. bob corker the republican in combat not running, democrats have the can dit thdidate. they think he could have a chance in a year like 2018. so democrats if they could control the 11, you need two of these 3, and they would be at that magic number. that's what alabama really did. it changed the math. and made something that was supposed to be impossible in 2018, a democrat take over of the senate, it is possible now. that's what alabama did. back to you. >> you know your stuff. steve, thank you. still ahead what do the words vulnerable, transgender have in

common, we'll discuss a controversial new ban ordered by the white house. and omarosa out. the drama continues over her exit from the white house, next. at planters we know how to throw a remarkable holiday party. just serve classy snacks and be a gracious host, no matter who shows up. do you like nuts? thank you so much. thank you! so we're a go? yes! we got a yes! what does that mean for purchasing? purchase. let's do this. got it.

book the flights! hai! si! si! ya! ya! ya! what does that mean for us? we can get stuff. what's it mean for shipping? ship the goods. you're a go! you got the green light. that means go! oh, yeah. start saying yes to your company's best ideas. we're gonna hit our launch date! (scream) thank you! goodbye! let us help with money and know-how, so you can get business done. american express open. 40 million americans are waking up to a gillette shave. so you can get business done. and at our factory in boston, 1,200 workers are starting their day

building on over a hundred years of heritage, craftsmanship and innovation. today we're bringing you america's number one shave at lower prices every day. putting money back in the pockets of millions of americans. as one of those workers, i'm proud to bring you gillette quality for less, because nobody can beat the men and women of gillette. gillette - the best a man can get. more people shop online for the holidays than ever before. and the united states postal service delivers more of those purchases to homes

than anyone else in the country. because we know, even the smallest things are sometimes the biggest. what's going on? oh hey!s ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ welcome back.

the nation's top public health agency cdc can no longer use words according to the budget according to "the washington post." a mid the phrases vulnerable, entitlement, transgender, fetus, evidence based and science based. the department of health and human services hitting back in a statement today, quote, the assertion that hhs has banned words is a complete miss characteristic of discussions regarding the budget formulation process. hhs will continue to use the best scientific evidence available to improve the health of all americans. hhs also strongly encourages the use of outcome and evidence data in program evaluations and budget decisions. so let's talk about this again. with me is programming director. and former adviser to the clinton campaign. and kirsten hag lan, miss america in 2008. good afternoon to both of you guys. >> hello. >> let me start by getting your

initial reactions. >> the top agency should be using reporting in details of public health crisis. for example, not being able to use the word fetus when putting out a report when you put out a report like zika, that seems crazy to me. but i think this is ideological thing for this administration, there is a reason they don't want to use diversity and transgender, because they are rolling back a lot of the protections that the obama administration put in place all across the federal government. so these words really are ideal logical fight for them. not really about policy. >> what do you think? >> if you talk to people at the state department t a similar thing happens where they understand incoming administration has very different views on, say, climate change. so they understand and they start to twist the wording a

little bit, something about energy independence. and they said that the content of the policy remains the same. they will as people who work in the government aren't shifting with the ideological bent of each administration. and the policy and the content stays the same, it's some of the language. >> but is it stirring the pot unnecessarily? >> absolutely. and some of this is responding to certain core base, which rejects a lot of these things. the idea of entitlement. the idea of any diversity training or referring to a life as a fetus. so he's responding to those more cultural issues to show, hey, i'm doing this and pushing back. i'm cleaning out the swamp, so to speak. but i think we can rest assured that the contempt will remain there. >> let's take a look at the statement from planned parenthood, quote, if are yyou talk about zika if you can't use

fetus. do you worry about the real life this could have at all? >> it bothers me that people are ignoring things that are real, right. because just because a lot of social conservatives, and i have many social conservative views, ignore the reality of things. you can't wish the world to be different just by removing words. so it's not actually taking care of people. so that concerns me. also for the long-term health and viability of the republican party needs to look to young people and see the issues they are facing which the transgender community, the growth of lbgt, people coming out, and obviously women's rights and an abortion issues, that's front and center, you can't ignore that thing. >> it's interesting you mention lbgt services page. could this be yet another effort? you just talked about this. to target trump's base. campaign season is over but again we have these issues constantly coming to the

surface. >> he's already planning for 2018 to roll out ha campaign. this a campaign. this is major ppr. the people on the frontline will take care of the individuals no matter what the cdc says. >> so you are telling viewers they'll be okay. >> yes. >> thank you, guys, both for coming in this afternoon. good discussion. omarosa is out of the white house. in an interview last night acknowledged the quote lack of diversity in the white house and challenges she faced being the only african-american woman in a senior staff position. >> i worked with 30 assistants to the president and i would look to my left and to my right, and the only people who were there were folks that didn't look like you and i. there was a lack of diversity that i'll acknowledge.

and at times it was very lonely. >> omarosa tenure has been rocky as many black activists and leaders questioned her role in the white house as she conspired with so many people. long time white house and some journalists. omarosa now joins the list. look at this. of over half a dozen of other white house personnel to leave the white house during trump's first year in office. let's bring in white house reporter for nbc news. good afternoon to both of you. >> hi, how are you. >> i shus ould also mention youe author of black ethics. let me start with you, you've seen the administration come together. is her departure a headache for the white house? >> look, when you ask sarah huckabee sanders about this, it shows a glaring gap that has trouble putting diversity at the

top of the white house. we looked at in the course of thursday after omarosa firing or resignation, we looked at for instance the top 22 earners in this white house according to a list the white house put out in june. some of those advisers in there only black female on that list, and that says something when you are looking at senior staff in the president's ear pa. >> they reacted saying will is no lack of diversity. take a listen to this. >> simply say that, we are focused on everybody. and, you know, in my department, at hud, i don't think you'll find any lack of diversity. and we just have to stay focused on what the issues are. and right now the issues are there are a lot of people in our society who are hurting. and we want to actually get them in a position where they become

self sufficient. >> does the white house have a diversity problem t christina? >> yes, they do. and they also have a talent problem. first of all he is not qualified to be in hud. frustrating thing about omarosa, because she is sort of a descendant of donald trump in tt sense she feeds off this television reality nonsense, we aren't talking about the cdc or jared kushner or donald trump junior going to congress and having to talk about their miss doings. not talking about the 19 women who have accused the president of sexual assault. she is a distraction. we know the president harbors racist in the white house. so the fact that ben carson and omarosa are saying, well, we are trying to do better. and omarosa is saying it's very

lonely. she snu whknew what this was. she has been with donald trump for 14 years. he's also been sued with his father in new york city. for her to pull out what is quote the black card is it a little too late. and she's had no credibility quite honestly in much of the african-american community for many years since we only know her through her identification with donald trump. >> ally, this certainly isn't the first time the white house has had to deal with the issue of diversity. this summer the white house, you remember this, look at this picture, received backlash for lack of diversity, showing majority all white class. i would ask you bad optics. i think the challenge is people don't care, these are bad optics, but it's almost like a line in the sand. >> well, look, i think this is obviously an issue. but there is a silver lining here, right. when you look at that picture, obviously there is it a question of lack of minorities in that photo.

and that's clearly one issue here. butten 0 the other side you've seen women make some gains in this administration. i wrote earlier this year about it's the first time you've had both the female press secretary and director serving at the same time. and sarah huckabee sanders and hope hicks respectfully. so that's obviously a positive thing when you talk about gender diversity. but in terms of racial diversity this is clearly ha issue in administration that has struggled to bridge the gap on a lot of racial issues plagued this country. you think specifically charlottesville, that omarosa has taken issue with. and any truth to this tell-all that will surely be in there. so i think when you see how the administration has handled this, throughout the time he's been in office, it really does beg the quell why isn't there more of a concerted push to more people of color in the administration surrounding the president in high level poe positions. >> we have to be careful that

many people of color don't want to be anywhere near a man who talks about that, i this i we have to be careful, donald trump has women in high level positions, but there is substantive representation. these are women that uphold pths as donald trump uses them as props to say i'm not sexist. these 19 women are liars. sarah huckabee sanders is the one who said the woman women were liars. so i think we have to be careful in propping up people in these positions. >> it's a good discussion and i'm out of time. thank you for your time. it's a win for trump and corporations but what about the middle class, highlights from the final tax bill, next. (chris) the very first time

i met bruce i saw on his lapel he's got a purple heart. (bruce) we started talking about the service. i outrank him. (chris) [laughs] yeah. meals on wheels reaches so many people. it's impactful beyond anything i've ever done in my life. (bruce) the meals and his friendship really mean, means a lot to me. (vo) through the subaru share the love event, we've helped deliver over one-point- seven million meals to those in need. get zero percent financing for 63 months on select models, plus we'll donate two hundred and fifty dollars to charity.

i'm sheinelle jones. news continues with gigi stone woods. this is my baton. highlighter. passing it to you. >> thank you. i'll take it. hello everyone i'm gigi stone woods at msnbc headquarters in new york headed for a vote, the massive tax bill. could a christmas present for the president be a lump of coal for middle