millions of people who are looking for something to do to get out of the house and put the kids in the car and go. so that has to be factored in. that's a significant factor. we also have to do more to get testing in the african-american and latino communities. we talked about health disparities. this state did not have the kinds of disparities we saw in other states but i want to address them. there could be a number ever factors why you could have a higher percentage of positives in the african-american/latino community. there were existing health disparities. there were existing como comorbidities, underlying illnesses, diabetes, et cetera. i also believe you have a greater percentage of the quote/unquote essential workers who are african-american/latino. and like many other people had

the opportunity to lockdown at home as terrible as that was, the essential workers had to get up every morning and go out and drive the bus and drive the train and deliver the food and do all of those essential services that allowed people to stay at home. also, we have more people in the new york city area. more people getting on subways, getting on buses. more people dealing with that density. we know that's where it communicates. but new york city housing authority, we're starting more testing today at new york city housing authority facilities. you talk about public housing. i was a hud secretary. woirked at public housing all across the station. that is some of the densest housing in the united states of america. people crammed into elevators, crammed through small lobbies, overcrowding in their apartment.

so public housing does pose a special issue and should be addressed. i also want to get more testing in african-american and latino communities all through the new york city area including long island after this. i want to work with congressman hakeem jeffries and congressman yvette clark and congress member nadia vazquez to help us work with the communities, the churches who volunteered, many of them, to be testing sites. one of the problems is finding a testing site. but many churches said they would be willing to use their facilities for testing sites, as we ramp up the testing, i want to get it into the african-american/latino community and using the church as a network i think is going to be extraordinarily effective. but this is something that new york should lead the way on

answering this question and addressing this issue. also, i want to speak to a point from our friends in washington. senator mcconnell, who is the head of the senate, you know we've been talking about funding for state and local governments. and it was not in the bill that the house is going to pass today. they said don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, the next bill. as soon as the senate passed it, this current bill, senator mitch mcconnell goes out and he says, maybe the states should declare bankruptcy. this is really one of the dumb ideas of all time. and i said to my colleagues in washington, i would have insists that state and local funding was in this current bill. because i don't believe they want the funds, state and local

governments. and not to fund state and local governments is incredibly shortsighted. they want to fund small business, fund the airlines. i understand that. but state and local government funds police and fire and teachers and schools. how do you know fund police and fire and teacher and schools in the midst of this crisis. yes, airlines are important. yes, small business is important. so police and fire and health care workers who are the frontline workers. when you don't fund the state, the state can't fund the services. it makes no sense to me. it also makes no sense that the entire nation is dependent on what the governors do to reopen. we've established that. it's up to this governor, it's up to this governor, it's up to this governor. but then you're not going to fund the state government? you think i'm going to do it alone? how do you think this is going to work?

and then to suggest we're concerned about the economy. states should declare bankruptcy. that's how you're going to bring this national economy back, by states declaring bankruptcy? you want to see that market small through the cellar. let new york state declare bankruptcy. let illinois declare bankruptcy. let california declare bankruptcy. you will see a collapse of this national economy. so just dumb. vicious is saying when senator mcconnell said this is a blue state bailout. what he's saying is if you look at the states that have coronavirus problems, they tend to be democratic states -- new york, california, michigan, illinois, they are democratic

states. so if you fund states that are suffering from the coronavirus, they're democratic states. don't help new york state because it is a democratic state. how ugly a thought. just think of -- just think of what he is saying. people died. 15,000 people died in new york. but they were predominantly democrats. so why should we help them? i mean, for crying out loud, if there was ever a time you're going to put aside -- for you to put aside your pettiness and your partisanship, and this political lens that you see the world through, democrat and republican and rehelp republicans b -- we

help republicans but we don't help democrats. that's not who we are! that's not who we are as a people. if there was ever a time for humanity and decency, is now is the time. if there was ever a time to stop your political -- obsessive, political bias and anger, which is what it has morphed into, just a political anger, now is the time. and you want to politically divide this nation now with all that's going on? how irresponsible and how reckless? i'm the governor of all new yorkers. democrat, republican, independent, i don't even care. i don't even care what your political party is. i represent you. and we are all there to support each other. this is not the time or the place for the situation to start your divisive politics. it's just not.

it's like our rule has been very simple from day one. there is no red and blue. there should have never been a red and blue when it comes to any important issue. but certainly not now. and that's not what this country is all about. it's not red and blue. it's red, white and blue. when we talk about new york tough, we're all new york tough. democrats and republicans. and we're all smart and all disciplined and all unified and we're all in this together and we understand that. that's how we operate. and we operate with love, and we're strong enough to say love. to say love is not a weakness, it is a strength and new yorkers are that strong. questions? >> governor, we're seeing over 1,100 correction staff or inmates who tested positive for covid. what more can the state do to help people detained on poral violations more quickly and releasing elderly and medically

vulnerable people, making sure they get hand sanitizer? is there any availability of the national guard? >> as of today there's 263 prisoners who have tested positive from covid. from that we're quarantining people. there are 1,397 people in the prison system which have been quarantined. we actually have not seen the kind of outbreaks we feared we would see. we're monitoring it very closely. we've done a number of things including stopping visitation and doing isolation above and beyond, but within humanity, making sure you're not putting people in solitary confinement. so we're monitoring this very closely. we're getting briefed on it every morning. we've already taken a number of steps. technical parole violations. people over 55 p 90 days. as the situation evolves, more will change. >> let me just go back to my self-proclaimed grip reaper senator mcconnell for another second. he represents the state of kentucky, okay. when it comes to fairness, new

york state puts much more money into the federal pot than it takes out. at the end of the year we put in to that federal pot $116 billion more than we take out. his state, the state of kentucky, takes out $148 billion more than they put in. so he's a federal legislator. he is distributing the federal pot of money. new york puts in more money to the federal pot than it takes out. his state takes out more than it puts in. senator mcconnell, who's getting bailed out here?

it's your state that is living on the money that we generate. your state is getting bailed out. not my state. >> i asked about the national guard and didn't get an answer on that. i wonder if the national guard can help with jails or prisons or nursing homes? >> not at this time. go ahead, jesse. >> with the population, do we know if there's an outbreak in prisons or tests not available ther there? >> there are not enough tests anywhere. we need more tests across new york, antibody tests, all nationwide and not just new york. how do we bring it up to scale is the question. >> we are testing in prisons the same way we're testing outside of prison.

people who are demonstrating the symptoms that are associated with it that we know come into direct contact, so they're getting the same standard being applied within prison walls as is to everybody else. >> so they have been tested? >> if they fall under their conditions, yes. >> did you call senator mcconnell? >> no. >> do you intend to? >> no. >> of the 22% of new york city residents that seem to be testing positive vis-a-vis antibody testing, does this change the calculation of vis-a-vis contact tracing? that's 2 million people conceivably that could have been exposed? >> no, it doesn't change the calculus. contact tracing is not the answer. it's not the be all and end all. but it's one of the tools, and in a very small toolbox, right? you don't have that many effective tools to use. so it's a tool in a small

toolbox and you're right, the tone of the question is right, can you ever test -- test and trace every positive? no, no. >> the state department's health is charged with running nursing homes and investigating nursing home neglect and making sure they're applying with regulations. why isn't states have done that already? >> no, they do do it. they do it on an ongoing basis. this is a cry sisz situation for nursing homes. they are under a lot of pressure. we understand that. through no fault of their own, by the way, this happens to be a virus that happens to attack elderly people and nursing homes are the place of elderly people. so they -- this is a very intense situation for nursing homes. we get it. but they still have to perform their job and do their job by the rules and regulations. >> so what went wrong? had the state had a ton of

regulations and guidelines and -- >> nothing went wrong. what went wrong in hospitals? what went wrong in society? nothing. mother nature brought a virus and the virus attacks young people -- i'm sorry, old people. and nothing went wrong. nobody is to blame. but for creation of the situation. but they have to deal with the situation. >> governor -- go ahead. >> governor, the situation for rochester city schools apparently is becoming increasingly critical. the school superintendent there suggested he's going to leave at the end of june and their finances teetering as they were even before all of this have gotten increasingly dire. is there a concern you have there? and is there anything as a state you can do? >> we've been talking about the rochester situation for months.

i don't know if anything happened recently. rob, do you know? >> in the budget we gave them some flexibility and advanced payments. i think the superintendent there had a desire to make reductions and working with the board, we gave them some flexibilities and advanced payments to the tune of close to $30 million in this budget. so they could use those tools. but like every other district, they're going to have problems. but they were actually treated -- and good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. we're continuing our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. here are the facts at this hour -- president trump is again contradicting his own medical advisers who say that categorically, the coronavirus will return in the fall, but could have less impact if people continue to remain sheltered until infection rates trend down. mr. trump is also denying any knowledge of the abrupt removal of the lead scientist in charge of the hunt for a vaccine. dr. richard bright said he was

sidelined for questioning the use of a malaria drug trumpeted by the president and fox news. and unemployment numbers out today during the past week, which makes 26 million claims in the past five weeks. the house is back in washington to approve almost $500 billion for small businesses and hard-hit hospitals. and the president is publicly breaking with a political ally, georgia governor brian kemp, saying he disagrees strongly with governor kemp's decision to reopen nail salons, gyms and hair salons tomorrow in violation of white house guidelines. but the president will not take steps to stop the governor. moments ago new york governor andrew cuomo saying although the number of hospitalizations is down in new york city new york state, they are not seeing the decline in deaths they hoped for. a warning although the virus could slow this summer, a resurgence could also overwhelm the system.

he also had a message for mitch mcconnell. the grim reaper. suggesting no more relief packages would be coming despite promises and states could rely on bankruptcy. the governor saying this was one of the really dumb ideas of all time. more with this are joining me nbc white house correspondent kristen welker r, co-host of "weekend today." yamiche ale sind or, bis kristol, former chief of staff to vice president quayle. kristen, first to you, trump versus the scientists. let's play a little bit of the questioning of dr. redfield of the cdc and then dr. redfield pushing back. >> dr. robert redfield was totally misquoted in the media on a statement about the fall

season and the virus. totally misquoted. >> you were accurately quoted, correct? >> i'm accurately quoted in "the washington post." >> it might not come back at all, jeff. it might not come back at all. it's also possible it will come back at all. >> we will have coronavirus in the fall. i am convinced of that. whether or not it's going to be big or small is going to depend on our response. and that's what i think people sometimes have misunderstanding. nobody could predict what will happen with an outbreak, but you can predict how you're going to respond to it. >> kristen, we are seeing again played out in full view of everyone the president challenging the science and then the scientists doing their best to stay true to their believes to what is best for the american people. >> that's right, andrea. yesterday was really remarkable because you had not just one but in those two instances that you just replayed. now yesterday was certainly not

the first time the president has not been on this same page with his top doctors, but yesterday was one of the moments that i think really stands out. and that prediction about the fall encapsulates the tension for president trump. he's clearly eager to move on from this. we have seen, as has been reported, as has been stated at the podium, instances starting to fall in various states across the country but there are still hot spots, andrea, and there's deep concern about this coming back and what it might look like in the fall and that's what you heard from dr. fauci. politically speaking for president trump, he's concerned about what this might look like, a, if the economy doesn't start to get back on track. b, if there is a real resurgence in the fall. and speaking to aides and allies, they say he's concerned it just doesn't help to give a negative prognosis at this point in time, that is what most important is to lay out these guidelines for reopening and to

help people move forward. i think that's the tension that you saw on full display there yesterday in the briefing room, andrea. >> and yamiche, i want to ask you about dr. rick bright, who was the lead scientist for years in charge of vaccines. according to nbc and others, it was first broke by "the new york times," dr. bright fell pressured to rush access to the chloroquine treatment the president and fox news were pushing until it was discovered in at least a va test -- one test, unpeer reviewed but one test showing there were some deadly incidents outweighing the risks -- rather outweighing the benefits. i wanted to give you a quote from dr. bright's statement. i believe he was transferred out. i believe his transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by congress to address the covid-19 pandemic in safe and

scientifically vetted solutions, not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit. this was an extraordinary conflict which hasn't been resolved yet. >> that's right, andrea. this is a conflict that -- this is an extraordinary -- this is an extraordinary conflict. what you see is really coming together of the president's conflicts with his scientists encapsulated in this. dr. bright is now saying he might actually file a whistle-blower complaint. his lawyer said yesterday his intent is to file a whistle-blower complaint. what you see there is this dr., dr. bright saying, i'm pushing for science to lead the way. i'm pushing for data to be how we deal with this coronavirus outbreak and how we treat people and vaccinate people. he said as a result of that pushing, he was retaliated against and removed from that post and moved to another post that dr. fauci said will be about diagnostics. what we see here is the president's conflict with his scientists coming to a head with dr. bright.

but we've seen yesterday as he plays, the president contradicted his scientist over and over again. he's doing this he said, one, he has a political instinct. he thinks he knows what's best for the country, which is why he was elected. two, the president was eager to get back to normal because he understands his right to the election campaign and political season is under way. in order to remain in the white house, people need to feel a sense of normalcy he thinks as well as the economy tho bounce back. >> and to dr. murphy, former surgeon general, i don't know if you know dr. rick bright. but he's apparently been there for years. he was apparently the lead scientist on the vaccine hunt and koerds nating these various trials. what could be more important right now than safely accelerating the hunt for a vaccine? >> andrea, it's exceedingly important right now that we keep talented scientists and governments, that we allow them to do their work and we listen to them when it comes to decision making. what's concerning to me and i

think to many other scientists, doctors and public health officials is that there seems to be a growing number of instances where you find a discrepancy between what scientists are saying and what political leadership is saying. and that's dangerous because in pandemics like this, it's absolutely essential that you're not only using science to drive decisions but you're on the same page and consistent in your communication. if you're not, the cost is measured in lives lost. those are literally the stakes here. what scientists are clearing saying about incidents yesterday in the briefing room is we have to be prepared for a second spike of coronavirus cases in the fall. we can't just hope for the best and assume that we don't have to prepare anymore. we've got to prepare. we've got to assume it could be bad. the other thing they're saying also is if we want to open up safely, we've got to make sure we have enough testing to do so and we know today, right now, we are only averaging about 150,000 tests a day.

that number needs to be closer to a million tests a day. we've been stuck at this level for two weeks. without testing, we don't have the eyes to see clearly what is going on and we're going to be flying blind. we can't afford to do that again. we've already struggled with testing earlier this year. we can't afford to make the same mistake twice. >> bill kristol, what we all just heard from governor cuomo was a real pushback of what mitch mcconnell, of course, the republican majority leader, had to say right after the senate unanimously voted on this package with the promise, the commitment from the president on twitter there would be another package, which is why pelosi and schumer backed off on their demands to cover states and local governments. you saw mitch mcconnell then say let them declare bankruptcy basically, meaning, of course, to governor cuomo, calling mitch mcconnell the grim reaper and saying it's the dumbest thing he ever heard. as a former white house official and republican administration,

what do you say about mitch mcconnell going back on this before the house has even voted on it today? >> i don't think mcconnell will be able to sustain that, andrea. there are republican senators in states like pennsylvania and wisconsin who are not going to be happy with the notion that their constituents don't get any help when it's been promised and when most people would agree in this extraordinary situation, you don't want the municipal bonds collapsing and whatever possible way to change bankruptcy laws for states down the road. it's ridiculous to say let the states go bankrupt now and really ridiculous to make it blue states versus red states. trump was carrying before his election blue states of wisconsin, michigan and pennsylvania. i don't think they want to let joe biden say throughout september and october that trump and his party said to you, you -- wisconsinites, whatever

they are, and pennsylvanians, drop dead. more broadly, it's a very interesting moment. president trump was all in, we have to reopen, liberate michigan. liberate virginia. that's where he was. we've got to get out of this as fast as possible. he must have gotten polling over the weekend, and we've seen it now in the public polls, that's not as popular as people thought. those demonstrators did not reflect, even conservatives and republicans, let alone the country. the country wants to be cautious and prudent about this. he got that message i think over the weekends. i think he also realizes they're not coming out of this from a public health point of view or in terms of the economy nearly as quickly as he's been saying we would, and as we would all hope he would but there's going to be a much tougher three, six, nine months ahead. he's been floundering. did the immigration thing on monday. fake immigration restriction in which he then backed off on. backed off iranian boats.

backed off from governor kemp of georgia last night. i think trump is flailing, which i think is dangerous. you got a demagogue in public office who gets desperate, who gets cornered, i really worry now about what he will turn to next in his attempts to save himself. >> a fair warning. bis cross tol bill kristol. before we let you go, kristen, with the nfl draft tonight, we saw the eagles' tweets. you have been scouted by the eagles for your strong play in the pocket on this show yesterday. let me remind people of your unflappable performance under fire. >> so it is quite remarkable, it's not exactly clear. it's a little windy out here, andrea. the attorney general was talking about what specifically they would be able to do. >> kristen, please -- >> we're okay. it's okay. they fell in front of me. so it's okay. 0. >> kristen, you did not miss a

beat. universal praise for you, not just from the nfl, but you will always be the best quarterback on any team. we're so glad, obviously you're fine but it was a little scary. and i don't know how you got through it. >> well, you're so sweet, andrea. and you are so sweet to be concerned about me. it was very windy, and that gust i think took all of us by surprise. but i am fine. the crew is fine. and ultimately gave everyone a little bit of a lighthearted reason to smile. andrea, i appreciate you have been looking out for me, as you always do. >> you're just amazing. kristen welker, the all-star. thank you so much. >> right back at you. and thanks to all of you as well, dr. myrrhty, of course, and yamiche alcindor. as several states prepare to reopen nonessential businesses this week.

president trump is now saying he told republican governor brian kemp he strongly disagreed with kemp's plans to reopen the state's gyms and hair salons tomorrow, but he won't stop him. >> i love those people that use all of those things, spas and beauty parlors. they can wait a little bit longer. just a little bit. not much. safety has to predominate. i told the governor very simply i disagree with his decision but he has to do what he thinks is right. >> georgia governor kemp tweeting that he appreciates the president's leadership and insight, but, quote, he's confident business owners will reopen and prioritize the health of employees and customers. meanwhile, a big controversy in las vegas, where the mayor has stirred a storm calling for casinos to open against the governor's wishes in nevada. we have that covered with blayne alexander in georgia and steve patterson in las vegas. what are the business owners in lawrenceville saying about getting back to work tomorrow?

>> andrea, the business owners i have spoken to in georgia are split on this. there are some, like the gym here behind me, say they're ready to go. they're making a number of modifications and provisions to make this a safe space. here in the gym they're spreading out workout equipment, they're adding more cleaning towels, more disinfectant around the gym. they're doing everything they can to bring their clients in safely. there are other businesses who say there's no way they're opening their doors tomorrow. i spoke with the owner of one hair salon and they say even though they've had a number of clients actually calling them trying to see when they can get appointments, they're remaining closed for the for seeable future. governor kemp said these businesses can reopen if they follow what he calls a measurable approach. having temperature checks for employees, wearing masks and gloves and maintaining a six-foot distance. but as that restaurant owner told me, it's possible to maintain that distance when

you're shampooing somebody's hair or giving somebody a haircut. so that's why they're remaining closed. it's important to note the number of mayors of major cities, savannah, atlanta, albany, all of them are against this measure. what's important to note the mayor, the local leaders, do not have the autonomy to tailor restrictions to sirn areas. the governor has promised he will monitor hot spots and intervene as necessary. one thing that's important to point out is the white house laid out a series of guide lines and recommended states see a downward trend for two weeks of covid-19 cases and that's a threshold, andrea, georgia does not meet. back to you. >> thanks to blayne. and steve patterson, las vegas's mayor has created a storm by suggesting casinos reopen. steve?

>> you're right, andrea. one of the major points can you make about the mayor of las vegas is she has absolutely no control over what happens on the vegas strip. that is a four-mile stretch that is owned and operated by clark county and yet she keeps saying she wants everything, casinos, hotels open immediately but has given no safety guidelines how to do that and keep a safe, social distance. meanwhile the governor's condemning the comments saying he will not budge on reopening until there's a marked decline of covid cases over a sustained amount of time. meanwhile the lifeblood of the estate, casinos on that strip, maintain close. we did get access into cesar's. it's extremely eerie to be there. er that open 53 years, 24 hours a days, 7 days a week. it's literally open that amount of time. to see it inside, a place that has up to 50,000 people every single day, was something to see. you get a sense of how in the world is something like this

going to reopen? a casino that relies on human-to-human interaction, touching cards, touching chips. we asked the ceo of that but the first thing he said he absolutely agrees with the guidelines set by the governor and his timeline. listen to this -- >> look, the governor is under enormous pressure but i agree with him 100% we have to put people's live as head of everything else. as i said in the beginning, i think the health and welfare of our customers and our employees and the community is the most critical thing we need to do. >> the ceo suggested things like having sanitations at some of the tables, keeping a distance between the slot machines, maybe thermal imaging so they can read temperatures. nothing is off the table but they have to work in concert with the gaming board. but for everybody in this town, we're in completely unchattered territory here. there's no roadmap or play book for how in the world we do this. that is something they have to

do in concert with state and health officials and the governor, who is dictating really the policy about what happens here, andrea. back to you. >> thank you for clearing that up, that we don't have to listen to the mayor carolyn goodman. extraordinary. thanks to blayne alexander in georgia and steve patterson in las vegas. and you can see a lot more of steve's exclusive reporting tonight on "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. joining us now, dr. jason christie, pulmonology division chief at penn medicine in philadelphia. doctor, thank you very much for joining us. you have been considered about the modeling and about how it is based on people continuing to distance to socially distance, to shelter in place, and if we break out of that state by state around the country, then the models that project fewer infections and deaths are all wrong. >> yes, i think i would like to say social distancing seems to have the biggest effect on the number of admissions. it has the highest influence in

all of the models. a 50% to 70% social distancing effect is the inflection point and that drops icu and hospital admissions by ten-fold. so i would also like to say thanks to the people of the philadelphia region for their sacrifices. we're strained in our icus at penn but we're managing. and that's due to the sacrifices everybody in the region is doing to keep each other safe. >> there's a new op-ed out from bill gates, who's been in the forefront of funding the search for a vaccine and therapies but also warning for years now about the possibility of pandemics and need for testings. "the washington post" just today he's saying it begins with testing. testing essential workers. he writes, but we have to test those who have been in contact with someone, tested positive, do the contact tracing and then, of course, making a vaccine. i assume that is something that

you all at penn are focused on intently as well as in the community for getting more tests out there in the public? >> yes, i think all three of those points, testing, contact, vaccines resonate with us. testing is very complicated because you first have to have a really good test. a test that is both good at showing the patients who are infected but also very good at showing patients who are not infected. you think about who you test and how you test them, it becomes very, very important. so who is actively infected? you also really want to know who's asymptomatic and been infected? that's something we just don't know. that affects estimates and models very low. we don't know how many people in the community has been infected and were asymptomatic. we have to think about the risk ever transmitting to others, essential workers, transportation workers. and something else that's very

important is to realize whether we can develop accurate ways of assessing who has been exposed but is actually immune to the virus? so testing that convalescent community would be really important to getting society up and functioning. i agree a lot with what "the washington post" commentary by mr. gates said. >> one of the big conflicts, of course, in the white house briefing last night was with dr. fauci, dr. redfield from cdc saying this will return. the only question is whether the impact is greater than it otherwise would have been if we abandoned the social distancing and all of the things that we've learned so far as it returns in the fall and the winter and coincides with other preliminary problems, obviously, the flu season. >> so i agree. i think knowing who would be immune is very important. i think having these testing strategies in place including contact tracing would be

important and obviously, we would all be much happier if we had a vaccine. vaccine, safe and effective vaccine, would do the most for allowing people to return to their lives and protecting us in the fall. >> thank you so much, dr. christie. thank you for joining us today. coming up next -- the house is going to vote on a fourth round of stimulus funding since the covid-19 crisis began. does it do enough to help the fight against the virus on the frontlines? still ahead, life well lived. senator elizabeth warren announces her personal loss from covid-19. stay with us. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only here on msnbc.

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the calming scent of lavender by downy infusions calm. laundry isn't done until it's done with downy. this afternoon members of the house of representatives, some wearing masks and gloves, are coming on to the house floor in smaller groups than usual, in a slow rolling vote. it could take hours because of all of the special precautions. they will be passing $500 billion rescue package to help hard-hit small businesses who didn't get the first rescue relief and hospitals as well and put more money into testing. the does not help the states and governments who have been devastated by the virus nor does it include the district of columbia. joining me now, congresswoman

underwood, who is also a nurse. congresswoman underwood, you have all of the knowledge we want and all of the burden of this rescue bill and covering who it is and how it is. first of all, how are you doing? did you have to travel back from illinois just to get here to this vote because of public rejections to proxy voting? >> hi, andrea. i came in yesterday morning and i treat this as an honor to be able to come to the floor to support to extend support to so many entrepreneurs and small businesses. our local farmers will be able to access relief now. then the additional money for hospitals and health providers and testing. this is really important and certainly worth the trip. >> how do you feel about the fact that after promising that there would be yet another vote to help state and local governments, that mitch mcconnell said, never mind, we're not doing that and suggested that states might have to go bankrupt?

>> you know, senator mcconnell has an approach that doesn't really reflect the values i have and certainly we share in northern illinois, which is this. we help our neighbors. state and local governments are providing an incredibly important service during this time of real need. listen, we had a hot spot in northern illinois for a number of weeks. our local communities stepped up big time. our police and firefighters wanted to sacrifice if our states and local governments are forced to run out of money. i talked to mayors who say they will run out of funds by june 1 if we don't step up at the federal level and help them out. so i am really anxious for c.a.r.e.s. 2, the next package we're working on, and eager to bring that to the floor for a vote. >> our nurses are clearly on the frontline. what are you hearing from your fellow professionals and i guess there are two nurses in congress? maybe i don't have that right. correct me if i'm wrong, but registered nurses were gathered in front of the white house just the other day protesting that

they're not getting enough help. >> there are two of us in congress. chairwoman eddie dawson, chair of the science and technology committee is a registered nurse. and 2020 is the year of the nurse and midwife. so this is such an important time to recognize and thank these frontline health professionals who do the work day in and day out. during the coronavirus they're being asked to do it under extremely difficult circumstances. listen, andrea, it is outrageous we're asking doctors and nurses and other essential workers to go to work without the critical personal protective equipment. the $75 billion we will pass today in money for health systems and providers will allow them to purchase these additional ppe items and we want to continue to make sure these individuals have everything that they need not to keep themselves and their families safe but our whole community. they're doing heroic work and we've got to have their back. >> how nervous are you, or should people be, about our

political leaders, members of congress coming despite the precautions being taken, they're all together. you have more than 400 people now back as well as staff on top of that. you've got there's jim mcgovern i see, the rules chairman on the mou house floor. i think that's a patriots' mask he's wearing. how concerned are you? did you get on a plane? >> i got on plain. there were probably seven passengers on this flight, including my colleague robin kelly from chicago. wiped out on my feet, put on my mask and went to sleep promptly. we are taking a lot of precautions like hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes and keeping social distance. i have seen just a handful of colleagues around the hallways as i came to do this interview today. i will be going to the floor of the house in a few minutes and then we will be voting in phases. no more than 20 members, i believe, allowed on the floor of the house at the time. as you said at the start, it

will take a while for all of us to cast our vote today. >> well, lauren underwood, thank you for your service. thanks to all of the nurses, of course, who are such heroes to all of us who benefit from the work of the people on the frontlines. thanks to you. lots of luck. >> thank you, andrea. now to a deeply personal announcement from senator elizabeth warren this morning. so sadly the senator announcing she's lost one of her three brothers to covid-19. tweeting, my oldest brother don reid, died from coronavirus on tuesday evening. he joined the air force at 19. he spent his entire career in the military, including 5 1/2 years of off-and-on in combat. he was a charming, funny and natural leader. we, of course, during the campaign heard so much about her three brothers who all served in the military. nbc correspondent garrett haake joins us from the state of oklahoma, where her brother did

pass away. garrett, there's a lot in play. it's so sad about senator warrern's loss as well as others and the other losses in oklahoma. yet at the same time the governor announced an opening of some nonessential businesses tomorrow. >> that's right, andrea, we will see some opening here in oklahoma. interestingly not in norman where the senator's brother passed away and where the senator was from. that city is trying to keep most of its businesses closed for as long as they can. you mentioned warren often spoke about her brothers on the campaign trail. but today using her twitter feed, this was not about politics but rather her personal remembrances of her older brother. she wrote in part on twitter, what made him extra special was his smile, quick and crooked. it always seemed to generate its own light, one that lit up everyone around him. i'm grateful to the nurses and frontline staff who took care of him but it's hard to know there was no family to hold his hand or to say i love you one more

time. and no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close. i will miss you dearly, my brother. and, andrea, i'm struck by the fact so many people whether you're suffering in illness or suffering from the economic impacts of this, that is perhaps the hallmark of this virus, the fact so many are suffering alone. there you hear it and senator warren's tweet about her brother and how about her own family will be coping with his death. >> it is so sad. it's representative of so many people across this country. you are condolences, of course, to the senator on her loss. thank you, garrett haake. now we do want to take a moment to remember some of the other lives well lived but shortened by the coronavirus. wednesday afternoon new york city extd ms cadets observed a moment of silence for idris bay, the eighth member of the fdny to die from covid-19.

he spent more than a quarter century serving as emergency medical technician, responding in the world trade center attack on 9/11 and leader in training the next generation of recruits. he died at just 60 years old an children. and jacqueline paisano became one of the youngest coronavirus victims in colorado. a high school sophomore, a special olympics athlete. jackie as she was known to her family and friends would have turned 17 next month. she's survived by her parents, her sister and two brothers. and larry hammond was a community leader in new orleans. he died last month at the age of 70 from covid-19. of course, funerals are a big event in the big easy. because of social distancing, only ten people could attend larry's funeral on wednesday. instead, hundreds of cars drove by his home where larry's family said he gave his life for others. and with all of those passing, the struggle for those still alive in the face of this

pandemic is so difficult. unemployment continuing to surge for a fifth week of the covid-19 crisis. another 4.4 million people filed jobless claims last week bringing the five-week total to 26 million people who have filed for unemployment, wiping out all of the job gains since the 2008 recession. joining me is chris lu. he's now a senior fellow at the university of virginia miller center. chris, good to see you, but it's on a bad news day. we always come to you with all of this bad news. the unemployment numbers, what strikes you the most? they were about what you predicted. what's happened to all these job gains, and where do we go from here? >> the number was lower than the peak we've seen a couple of weeks ago but we need to put this in perspective. even the 4.4 million people filing for unemployment is about seven times higher than anything we've seen over the great recession. and we continue to hear reports from states about people being

unable to apply for unemployment. and on top of that, this doesn't count the millions of americans whose hours have been cut because of covid-19. so this -- these numbers are bad and i think they'll continue to stay bad for the next couple of weeks at least. and i think we're going to start to see a wave of furloughs and layoffs coming from state and local government. as you mentioned earlier, this package that congress is about to pass doesn't provide money to cash-strapped states right now. and we have governor cuomo this past weekend saying he's got a $15 billion deficit. and let's get some help. that's going to mean cutting teachers and firefighters and police officers which is not what you want to do in the middle of a pandemic. >> and in terms of projections as to whether the economy, once this does begin to ease, whether it's going to bounce back or slowly crawl back, you would have to imagine that if people continue to social distance and try to keep reinfections down or

continuing efections down, fewer people are going to be rehired or parttime work. you won't have as many people in the casinos or other retail places, small business owners, restaurants will have to have fewer tables. >> and that's exactly right. it's not like flipping on a light switch and the economy just starts back up again. so many of these job losses are occurring in the hardest hit states, places like new york and california. those are the ones that are going to have to take it slower in terms of reopening their economy. and even when you do reopen the economy, as you said, restaurants are not going to be at 100% capacity. the dry cleaner is not going to be doing 100% of its business. and so i think we're going to have to continue to provide an important economic lifeline to those small businesses. and then on top of that, workers to the extent they'll be able to go back to work. if they are going back 50% of the time, that means 50% of the pay. and we haven't even figured out as a society what it means when

schools are now closed. summer camps will likely get closed. if workers don't have affordable and safe child care, what are they going to do with their children? can they go back to work? these are things that all need to be figured out as we reopen the economy. >> and briefly, chris, mitch mcconnell's dismissive notion of the states just considering bankruptcy. what does that mean? governor cuomo says that means police, fire, teachers. how do they go forward by just declaring bankruptcy? >> it's absurd that we're considering bailing out large corporations and won't help state and local governments. governor whitmer is running a $3 billion deficit that she'll likely have to close with the same kinds of cuts that governor cuomo is considering. teachers, firefighters, police officers would all be out on the streets. and that's just not a good recipe. that's not a way to thank the people on the front lines of this crisis. >> chris lu, thank you very

much. we hope there's better news when we next talk to you about the unemployment claims. before we go, we want to bring you this shout-out to new jersey. ♪ down the shore everything's all right ♪ ♪ you and your baby on a saturday night ♪ ♪ nothing matters in this whole wide world ♪ ♪ when you're in love with a jersey girl ♪ >> you got to love it. that bruce springsteen, his wife. we had everybody there bhupathi williams. jon stewart, jon bon jovi and many other stars. new jersey is the second hardest hit state by covid-19 with more than 95,000 cases statewide and

more than 5,000 deaths. and that does it for us. i'm not a jersey girl, but i know a lot of jersey girls around my place here and our producers. follow our show onlin online @mitchellreports. stay safe in your homes. thanks for joining us today. chuck todd picks up our coverage next after this break. so you only pay for what you need! [squawks] only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ so chantix can help you quit slow turkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking,

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good afternoon. i'm chuck todd. here are the facts at this hour. soon the house will begin voting on the latest phase of coronavirus relief stimulus. nearly $500 billion addendum bill which is expected to pass with bipartisan support. it's basically a topper, if you will, to that $2.2 trillion initial rescue bill. new york governor andrew cuomo called senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, quote, incredibly shortsighted today claiming the kentucky republican and senate majority leader opposes future relief funding for new york because it is simply a state that votes for democrats. senator elizabeth warren has confirmed her eldest brother don reed has died of coronavirus. warren says she is, quote, grateful to the nurses and frontline staff who took care of him, but it's hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say "i love you"