i'm andrea mitchell in washington. on this dr. martin luther king jr. day, as president trump spends his final days in office huddled with a small group of advisers considering a wave of pardons, possibly himself and adult children, before leaving the white house for mar-a-lago wednesday morning, president-elect biden is planning a stripping of executive actions during his first ten days in office to roll back trump policies on climate, immigration and coronavirus, with shortages already of the two approved vaccines he's been trying to gear up to accomplish his ambitious goals of vaccinating 100 million americans in his first 100 days.

the pandemic is now responsible for the deaths of nearly 400,000 americans, as cases continue to skyrocket across the country. the other task for the president-elect, crafting an inaugural message of unity for the nation after the deadly riot at the capitol january 6th. as tens of thousands of national guard troops stand ready throughout a locked down washington, all of them being vetted by the fbi to prevent potential insider attacks. although there's no alarms on that front. military officials though say there's currently no evidence of any such plans. joining me now, nbc chief white house correspondent and weekend "today" co-host peter alexander, nbc political reporter ali vitali in wilmington, former maryland congresswoman donna edwards, "the washington post" contributing columnist, and lon kwlin, fellow at the hoover institution, fellow policy adviser to mitt romney. so vice president-elect kamala harris just now officially resigned her senate seat. as a letter to the governor of california as the incoming biden

administration, as we reported, is preparing to get right to work on day one with a series of executive actions and incoming legislations. let's talk about their priorities first. >> andrea, it's a laundry list of priorities. we heard about the promises on the campaign trail. now the biden administration in waiting putting out their plan to turn them into policy. there are things biden can do by executive action and things he will have to push through congress. among those things he has to push through congress, the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill to tackle covid and vaccine dissemination. we know that's a top priority but he's also planning to tackle over the first ten days a series of issues through executive actions, things like reversing the muslim ban, putting america back in the paris climate agreement, as well as extending the moratorium on student loan debt payments and eviction notices to americans. all of these things are steps to deal with the four crises that we have talked about all along, coronavirus, the economic

recession, climate change and racial injustice. the messaging has been consistent. you read this memo out just over the weekend from incoming white house chief of staff ron klain, it basically could have been written at the beginning of the transition because the priorities really haven't changed that much. in terms of how they're going to get this policy agenda through congress, kamala harris is going to be key there because, you're right, minutes ago she resigned her senate seat but she's also going to be someone who plays the role of tiebreaker there. in conversations in recent days with her aides and also reading an op-ed that paris put out this morning, she said she takes the role of tiebreaker seriously but at the same time she hopes she doesn't have to use it because she wants to see bipartisanship and compromise built on capitol hill. that's the theme we're going to see from biden in his inaugural remarks, carrying the message we heard through the entire transition, now is time for america to heal and come together. andrea? >> and peter, let's talk about the pardons. because what the president is

doing, we don't really know what he's doing other than your reporting because we have not seen him. he's inside the white house, a small, very diminished group of advisers, and they're talking about pardons. what's the latest on that? >> no, you're exactly right. i'm told yesterday there was a meeting here at the white house, jared and ivanka and other present behind closed doors having conversations about possible pardons. i'm told there will be dozens between now and wednesday announced by the president. i just hung up with an aide to president trump a matter of moments ago, asked if that's what he was doing behind closed doors today. they would not tell us any details about his schedule. there's nothing on his public schedule. and moments ago the white house announced what we call a travel photo lid, which means we will not see the president at any point today publicly. the last time he was seen publicly was last tuesday. notably, of course, this is martin luther king jr. day and also a national day of service. the president will stay behind

closed doors effectively in seclusion, while you saw president-elect biden and his wife dr. jill biden together in philadelphia participating with the hunger relief organization there. so that's what we know about pardons. on the topic of impeachment, we know the president has always been heavily strategizing his path forward on that. no indication of exactly who will represent the president in terms of attorneys rudy giuliani over the weekend told abc he would be participating, suggesting he was prepared to argue the president could not have incited those riots at the capitol because he was speaking about the widely debunked claims of voter fraud that giuliani insists are true. now giuliani later told abc he's not going to participate in the president's defense team because he said he's unable to do so because he spoke at that riot -- not at the riot, at the rally before the riot. he said to the crowd, trial by combat, let's try trial by

combat. inflammatory words from him. so he's out as well. and more color, andrea, it's a holiday but this place is basically abandoned as best you can tell. limited number of staff we've seen entering the west wing. just outside on pennsylvania avenue, just adjacent to where i'm standing, where the media will be for the traditional parade by the incoming president, they were having rehearsals, all sorts of pomp and ceremony with big signs that say, "biden/harris inauguration." andrea? >> indeed, the transition really coming just 48 hours from now. exactly 48 hours from now. alainy chen, republicans in the senate are about to become jurors in the latest trump impeachment trial. do we know when it will start? we're still waiting to hear that nancy pelosi delivered the bill of indictment from the impeachment document itself. and are there 17 republicans that you think would be ready to

convict? >> well, i think there's a variety, andrea, of organizational things the new congress will have to do, the new congress under the leadership, of course, of soon to be majority leader chuck schumer. i think it's going to be a closely divided congress so there will have to be agreements, for example, on who will chair the various committees of jurisdiction and questions about how this impeachment trial is going to go forward. in terms of where republicans are, at this point i still think it's highly unlikely you see 17 republicans come together to vote to convict the president. that having been said, i think senator mcconnell left open the possibility republicans can go their own way on this and that certainly gives them a lot more freedom and latitude they had, for example, than they had during the last impeachment trial of president trump. i just want to make one observation, too, about the white house and where they are. it's staggering. i served at the very end of george w. bush's administration and president obama sent this signal every single day to his appointees that we had to sprint through that finish line, we had to do everything we could to

ensure not only that the administration's priorities were effectuated until the last day but that we ensured a smooth transition of power. to see the difference between the end of the bush administration and end of this republican administration, andrea, it's really staggering to see the difference in attitude, tone and tenor between that administration and this one. >> in fact, i have been talking to outgoing bush officials and the obama people who were coming in and that was such an extraordinary transition, where as obama tried to imitate that for the incoming trump people, he said, i want to do everything the way george w. bush did it for us. no matter what you think, let's do this transition right and the cooperation was there at both ends. and according to everybody that i have interviewed, the former chiefs of staff in particular, lanhee is absolutely right.

a $2 trillion relief package getting pushed back from some republicans, so there's a big issue of compromise. but more urgently, he's got a caravan coming from honduras. thousands of immigrants already on their way anticipating that, okay, you know donald trump's leaving, joe biden's coming in. over the weekend the message was from jake sullivan, the national security adviser designated, that no, this cannot be changed right away. there's already a backup at the border, they won't be able to be processed at the border. don't come. but day one, according to that ron klain memo, he's going to propose sweeping immigration legislation with a path to citizenship. this has been a hot-button issue for decades and he's going to take it on on inauguration day, donna. >> well, i think it's actually a really important step. i think one of the reasons is that this question around immigration and our immigration policy really needs to be put to bed, both so that we can have the kind of control and access

that we need along our southern border, but also to make sure that we're really honoring particularly immigrants who are already here in the country. i think joe biden has decided that he's going to make this a signature of his first 100 days. he's going to depend on democrats and bringing along republicans to do that. it's a heavy lift but i think it's one that is really necessary. if you look at what the president-elect has laid out for the first even few days in office, these are, you know, in terms of dealing with the coronavirus, this is a must-do item from day one, both from the executive orders and executive action but also in terms of legislation, getting the economy back. that's why you see such a folsom package that's been introduced by or will be introduced by the new president, because it has to

cover both the vaccinations, all of the sort of dealing with the agencies and making sure that they can handle production, making certain that from day one, he's really getting control of this so we can get the economy back. i have been listening to historians. i'm not one. and they do say this is probably the heaviest list that any incoming president has had in generations. so he's got to be ready to go as soon as noon hits on january 20th. >> indeed. and peter, when the president leaves, president trump leaves, be he's planning -- first of all, he won't be at the inauguration. he's going to leave on marine one and then air force one to go to florida early in the morning, early enough so he can fly on air force one and land before it transfers to -- back to a special number rather than air force one, which will be joe

biden's destination. but what about his plans for a kickoff farewell? he wants a big kickoff farewell at andrews air force base? >> yes, i had a conversation about some close advisers to the president how he wants a big farewell close to departure and they've been advising one another, perhaps not him directly, that isn't a good idea. it is getting to him as well. nbc news contained a copy of the information sent to entertainment officials and others for the president to join this farewell ceremony to take place at joint base andrews this wednesday inauguration day, about 8:00 in the morning, just four hours before joe biden is to be sworn in as president. as you note, this is important to just remind our audience, this is the first living president who will miss his successors swearing-in ceremony. hasn't happened in 150 years since that last took place.

so it is a dramatic break from a president who has certainly broken all of the norms here but this is the president's plan for wednesday to fly aboard air force one down to florida with the expectation that when joe biden is sworn in, that the president, then former president donald trump, will be at his mar-a-lago property. andrea? >> peter, there's also not going to be the traditional coffee with the incoming president-elect and first lady-elect or first lady designate or whatever you want to call them, they usually are getting together. in the past, always in recent past, there's been the first lady inviting the wife of the president-elect to come to the white house for a tour of the residence. that has not and will not take place. >> you're exactly right. just to punctuate that thought, the president and his aides said he at the end of the day is supporting this orderly and peaceful transfer of power. obviously washington, d.c. is in lockdown right now but in terms of a traditional transfer of

power like we've seen before, this president and the first lady are really not participating in any form. there will be no greeting, no side-by-side photo of them exchanging gifts or handshakes or whatever else, none of that is going to happen this go around. >> peter alexander, ali vitali, donna edwards, lee hani chen, thank you all very much. and the capitol on high alert as new reports the fbi is screening national guard troops for possible insider threats. none have been reported. and the latest arrest of rioters that took part in the capitol siege as new video emerges from "the new yorker" in the attack. the attack you downloaded the td ameritrade mobile app so you can quickly check the markets? yeah, actually i'm taking one last look at my dashboard before we board. excellent. and you have thinkorswim mobile- -so i can finish analyzing the risk on this position. you two are all set. have a great flight. thanks. we'll see ya.

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lockdown today with the national guard forming a perimeter around the city in advance of wednesday's ceremonies, while the manhunt for the suspects of the capitol hill rye olt continues. we're getting a frightening new look at the siege on the capitol. a reporter at "the new yorker" captured this video of rioters forcing their way into the capitol. you can see them making their way -- in fact there you go -- into the senate chamber. >> where are they? where are they?

>> we might as well set up a government. >> they're on a mission to hunt down vice president pence and nancy pelosi, speaker of the house. >> where is [ bleep ], [ bleep ] nancy pelosi? >> they opened desks, rifled through documents, taking photos, working as though they were on a recon mission. many appearing to have military training. including the man you see in a helmet was later arrested in texas and identified as retired lieutenant colonel larry rendell brock jr. from texas telling rioters on the podium to get off the podium because being up there would look bad. >> this is an idle war, we can't lose an idle war. >> we're better than that! >> get the information! >> that did not stop jake, also known as qanon shaman, who sat in vice president's chair

leaving a note. >> it's only a matter of time. justice is coming. >> joining me now nbc news justice correspondent pete williams and frank figliuzzi, former assistant director of the fbi's counterintelligence division. his new book is "the fbi way: inside the bureau's code of excellence." pete, first to you, we're getting new information about one of the rioters from pennsylvania, accused rioter, who wanted to send nancy pelosi's computer to russia. tell me about that. >> it yes, either a computer or computer hard drive. the fbi says a witness told him that she stole it from the office, wanted to give it to a friend in russia who was going to in turn sell it to the russian intelligence services but apparently that fell through. but she's been charged now with breaking into the capitol. you're right about the vetting of the guard. now, this is something that's been done in past inaugurals. what's different this year is they're vetting the entire deployment. obviously, all of these guard members were vetted before they came into the guard so this is a recheck of some of the information, comparing it

against terror databases. let me show you a map i prepared, andrea, if you can come back to me. i want to show you how much bigger the security ghosn is zone is. takes a while to focus in on. here's the lincoln memorial and core area downtown. this inner red line is the zone from last year where cars could not travel through. look this year how it's gone much further north of the white house, it picks up clear down past the reflecting pool in the lincoln memorial and picks up additional area south of the capitol and also in the green line is the restricted zone that you have to be checked to go through, it goes clear across the river. these bridges are shut down. it goes way north of the white house, goes down behind the capitol. so you can just see it's a much bigger area, and this is the area where the guard is patrolling. this is the area that's now locked down through the international. much more territory this year

compared to the past inaugurals. >> and what's the latest on the investigation? you've been tracking the numbers? >> right. so we've got now 122 arrests. these are mostly -- these are more than half federal arrests, about 40 d.c. arrests for curfew violations. more than 300, i think now around 315 open cases and this extraordinary number, this is not just telephone tips. these are tips that people send in pictures and videos that the fbi has been able to go through. not just the video like the one we just saw, and the fbi has been looking at that, but all of these other pictures people saying here's a picture that i think is somebody i know, and one of the most extraordinary things we've been told here is among the tipsters are friends and family members of people who were in the capitol. >> and, frank, what about those reports that the national guard is being vetted to prevent insider attacks? we know this is precautionary and customary, but for them to

all be vetted at this point, is that a reaction to the fact so many military people, former military people, were involved in the event on january 6th? >> it is indeed. as more and more evidence develops, andrea, that there were active and former military police within that insurrections crowd, i think this is a very valid precautionary measure. but i want to also caution this not be some false sense of security. well, everyone has been checked out by the fbi. let's understand something -- and we learned it painfully during the insurrection, the signs of radicalization are really not that someone has a criminal record or that someone is on a terrorist watch list but rather that they have online postings that indicate radicalization and intention for violence. the fbi doesn't have those kinds of resources, nor do they have the time frame in this race against the clock to check out 25,000 people's social media postings. nor may they even have the legal authority to do so.

that's my concern. >> and the video from inside "the new yorker" took from inside the senate chamber showing them opening desks, taking photos, the military procedures they seemed to be following, what did that tell you from what you saw? >> you know, there's increasing signs and evidence of planning and organization and coordination, and it refers back to what we just discussed, people with technical intelligence or police background. and the other thing that jumps out at me from "the new yorker" video is just the radicalization element here. more trump flags than american flags. comments like senator cruz would find it okay that we're here. we're doing this for trump, an allegiance for personality over country. >> finally, i want to ask you about michael ellis, he's a former agent, and now appointed the last 24 hours by the acting defense secretary as general

counsel of the national security agency, against the wishes, we understand, of the head of that agency, access to the most sensitive intelligence, last-minute civil service appointment. it will be difficult for joe biden to remove him. it's very unusual. it's called burrowing but in this case putting somebody in a very sensitive post who has a very, very aggressive stance against joe biden from all of his past behavior. >> i can't emphasize enough how sensitive the position of general counsel nsa is and the kind of access that role has. and the concern that this is a burrowing, kind of deep state posture where a person would be privy to all kinds of sensitive intersents and would use them for nefarious purposes. this person has to go regardless of whether he's a civil servant or not. let's have the lawsuit about it later. joe biden needs to remove him on day one. >> pete williams, thanks so

much, and frank figliuzzi, thank you to both of you. and a grim milestone today, coronavirus deaths in the united states now expected to surpass 400,000 lives lost. more on the crisis and breakdown of the vaccine rollout coming up. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. msnbc. woman: i have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs, or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything ♪ woman: now is the time to ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. your grooming business is booming.

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. the death toll from the virus is nearing 400,000 and demand for the vaccines is far exceeding supplies. overnight california hitting another grim milestone, becoming the first state with more than 3 million cases. and los angeles is now reporting one person is dyeing every six minutes from covid. joining us now, nbc news correspondent jacob soboroff in l.a. and dr. kavita patel, physician and former policy health director for president obama. welcome both. jake of course, the virus has been relentless in california and now we hear the moderna vaccine is being paused there because they had a high number of allergic reactions. they have not been paused anywhere else in the world that we know of. what's going on in california? >> it sounds very troubling, andrea, i want to be specific about it. it's a particular lot of the

vaccine where one department said there were advance reactions. the state health department but a stop on that lot, which is 300 doses, it sounds like a lot. there are a lot of other lots still being used but it underscores the fact it's a finite supply. when it comes to los angeles itself, there could not be a place that could use those vaccines more at this point for the future of these cases. when you look at it, you said 3 million cases in california, los angeles is 1 million of those cases. it crossed that number over the weekend. that's one in every ten people in the county of los angeles, most populous county in the whole nation. >> it let me just be clear, did you say that that one lot has 300,000 doses, the lot that they think is -- >> around 300,000 according to reports, that's right. at this point they have to sit and investigate this in order to start the use of that. while there's a finite supply, people say they want to get

going, this particular lot for the moment is paused. >> dr. patel, that is a huge amount out of the allotments for that area. so with such short supplies, you're on the frontlines. you're trying to get enough dosage to the people in your community, your clinic. what are the implications of this particularly for the vice president, president-elect, i should say, plan to get 100 million people vaccinated in the first 100 days? >> yeah, andrea, good to be with you, but, obviously, it's upsetting news. i just want to kind of put a little context though, the process that led to potentially -- and we don't know the exact final kind of what happened to these lots, but the process leading to it goes towards a number of controls and checks. so the process is working once you see an increased number of the side effects are adverse reactions. that is what puts people to kind of put that lot on pause. it is frustrating because,

andrea, our spots in the district of columbia, we have 1,400 spots opened up at 9:00 a.m. this morning. . they went in under 30 minutes. people want this vaccine and they should. it's an incredibly effective vaccine but it's frustrating when you hear stories that could be related to something very simple on the manufacturing line or something in the process and the handling. but it's frustrating when you have so many lives that would like to have it. people are throwing away vaccines. it's a little chaos. for the biden election campaign, this enforces his messaging consistency. we heard from his incoming cdc director how she will handle this in a transparent manner. i fully expect they will come in eyes wide open this will be a hard job but they have the right personnel with the right background to deal with it. it won't happen overnight, andrea, and i do feel like we're going to have a number of these stumbles that we talk about, but that should not vary the

overlying sentiment that we have an incredibly effective vaccine while we're also dealing with these mutations that could pose a threat if we didn't have a vaccine. so i'm trying to kind of keep the optimistic tone because that's where we're at. >> indeed. and on top of which, just now governor cuomo has been challenging health and human services secretary azar saying that there were reserves held back, claiming that in fact there were not reserves held back, they had all been distributed already. and now cuomo wants to griektly buy directly from pfizer. is that going to be possible, for a governor to buy directly from the manufacturer? >> several governors have asked that. pfizer has gone on record, as they should, they're not going to make different arrangements. i think what you're hearing governor cuomo, governor whitmer, governor kate brown, a number of governors are frustrated with the lack of transparency. so i really do believe wednesday at 12:01 p.m., we'll have more

data, we'll have more readiness and communication, and i don't think that governors will have to go outside the federal process. >> and one part of the problem, of course, has been there was a reluctance in the transition to get the information to the incoming biden team. and i want to ask you something about the economic fallout from all of this because covid is creating another crisis, unprecedented number of evictions in l.a. county when the moratorium expires. you saw this firsthand. although help is on the way. the president-elect is promising to extend that moratorium on evictions and foreclosures on inauguration day, according to a memo from his chief of staff. >> andrea, i thought it was a typo when i first saw it, 490,000 households, not people, are at risk of evictions if those moratoriums are not extended in los angeles alone, including ucla. we went out to see what mass eviction hes look like because there have been evictions during

covid, and they are under way. i want you to take a look at this quick. you got a second to tell us the scoop? >> yeah. apparently initially were told the male had covid. he took the test two weeks ago. so that time expired. so that can't stop it. >> the man living here is going to get his pits, looks like, in the backyard. >> we watched as occupants loaded off their pets to a neighbor and loaded other possessions into a car. >> andrea, it's inequality, economic inequality, that, of course, is fueling all of this and it's not just the federal moratoriums. activists on the ground are looking to state and local leaders also to step up here and really fill in the gaps where covid has put people in this untenable position because this will be around long after covid goes away, andrea. >> twin crises, the economic caused by the pandemic and they're completely related. jacob soboroff, thank you and dr. kavita patel, as always, thank you very much.

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that means adding people to the payroll. hi mom. that means... best burger ever. intuit quickbooks helps small businesses be more successful with payments, payroll, banking and live bookkeeping. president trump's term ends in just two days. his post-presidency is going to be unprecedented as he faces an impeachment trial and challenges of legal and financial trouble. "the new york times" is already calling mr. trump the pariah post-presidency, warning the president, quote, has been snubbed by foreign allies and banned from social media. some members of his cabinet fled and some in his own party have to deal the final blow of the second impeachment. "the times" adding the president departs isolated and diminished, leaving behind a capitol transformed into a war zone. joining me white house reporter for associated press jonathan lazeer and historian michael

beschloss. the president is making sure if he leaves aboard air force one, this will be a presidential exit unlike any other. what are you hearing about? >> first, andrea, the president has largely been out of sight for weeks now and in a period of hibernation more or less since the election, which he continues to contest privately. even though last week he finally acknowledged publicly a new administration would be taking power. he, of course, has largely advocated his day job. the coronavirus is surging throughout this nation and the white house has done very little to stop it. he hasn't been out there taking the vaccine or outside of a few taped videos done much of anything to tamp down the tension that filled this nation in particular here in the nation's capitol. the white house has already called a lid today, so we will not be seeing the president. and he will also deliver no commemoration to zr martin luther king jr. on the holiday

that bears his name. we don't know what we will see tomorrow but we know wednesday, his final day in office, he will indeed leave with fanfare. early morning departure from the white house. there is no -- at this moment, no expected meeting with joe biden, his successor, no traditional tea or coffee. and we know that president trump won't be traveling to joe biden's inauguration later that day. instead he will be leaving the white house and heading via marine one to joint st. andrews. there will be a send-off ceremony there. and for the final time as president get on arab force one. and he has to landed before noon or that time won't be air force one anymore. at that time we expect him to be ensconced at his mar lag yo retreat before noon as he will probably watch on television as joe biden is sworn in as his successor. >> and past presidents skipped inaugurations of their successors. andrew johnson did in 1869. he was also impeached. so why will this post presidency be so unusual, even more

remarkable than andrew johnson's? >> you know just well andrew johnson without the charm and public respect andrew johnson had, which wasn't very much, you have got a guy going back to mar-a-lago, where he may not even be allowed to live since apparently there was some assurance he would not live there full time, he's going to be beleaguered by financial problems. he's going to be beleaguered by probable legal and criminal problems. he's going to be absorbed by all of this at the same time as he's dealing with an impeachment trial in the senate. also we're learning more and more just as you were talking about that "new yorker" video of the attack on january 6th, we're going to be learning more and more about what ties there were between donald trump and that domestic terrorist attack on the congress that threatened our free election, and also threatened our democracy. so anyone who thinks this is going to be this great, giant political figure going back to

palm beach, i don't think so. >> and we've just learned also speaker pelosi is now calling on something we reported earlier, that the acting secretary of defense, chris miller had installed a very controversial man, michael ellis, as general counsel of the national security agency. jonathan, we now hear the speaker of the house is calling on the defense -- acting defense secretary to stop that appointment. >> that's right, andrea. certainly this is an effort by the president, his administration to leave his imprint on the bureaucracy and certainly no more vital agency than the department of defense, even after president trump has left office. to pick up michael's point, this is going to be indeed an unprecedented post-presidency. president trump is still aiming to be a viable political figure. he's not going to adhere to that presidential tradition of kind of going quietly once he leaves office. he's still talking about 2024, which is why whether he runs

himself or at least keeps that option open to maintain his relevancy and ability to raise money, which is why he's so keenly focused on the senate impeachment trial. because if convicted, and we don't know if he will be, but if convicted there's a real possibility the senate will approve language, vote on maze a measure to prevent president trump from ever holding office again. if he's not able to do so, that obviously diminishes the clout and the hold he would have on the republican party. let me just say that i'll take today as a lesson to always try to be a little more charming than andrew johnson. i know that's a bargain we all have to try to make. >> and very briefly i. there's also advice from former top officials, sue gordon for one, not to let him have the traditional intelligence briefing that's former presidents have for fear of what he might disclose and how he might use it to enrich himself. let me just add that. >> the automaticability of the next president to get classified

information about our place in the world and domestically, do you, ever listening to us right now and watching us, do you really want to pay for donald trump's post-presidency with him getting classified information about our relationships with other countries and pay for his staff and office allowance if used spending that time plotting against the democracy of the united states? we have never seen an ex-president like this before eve that i think we have to think very carefully about that question. >> jonathan lemire, michael beschloss, thank you very much. in just two days kamala harris will break a lot of barriers as she becomes vice president. stay with us. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." g "andrea mitchell reports. lot less oral pain medicines. and improved quality of life. that's why we recommend salonpas. it's good medicine. if you have risk factors like heart disease,

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some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start with stelara®. if you've been financially impacted by covid-19, janssen may be able to help. this morning on martin luther king junior day kamala harris resigned from her senate seat at noon. joining me now is sherlinn. let's talk about the significance of kamala harris and the history she's making today, this week. >> well, she will be the first black woman vice president. the first vice president of south asian descent. this is incredibly historic and

really important. at the same time she makes the move leaving the united states senate once again without any black women serving in the united states senate. even as history is being made, we are returning in the united states senate to, you know, a very grim look at representation in that body. there's tremendous work still to be done but nevertheless, incredibly exciting that kamala harris is making this move. she's fully prepared and equipped and it's a important and historic day in one of the most challenging periods in our history. >> just looking at the contrast, the extraordinary contrast today. it's dr. martin luther king day. the federal holiday opposed and hard fought when covering congress. now that you have this recognized holiday, which is a day of service, you have joe biden and kamala harris and their spouses, their families

going and doing service and you have the current president of the united states huddling in the white house not out of view discussing pardons. >> yes, there's no reason for this president to be any different than he's been over the last four years or his entire life. it would be a mockery if he were to to engage in service today. obviously, the president-elect biden and vice president-elect harris are done what they have done in the past if honoring dr. martin luther king junior. many people that would participate in day of service are not doing so because of the covid-19 pandemic. this will be one of first and most important things for the president-elect and vice president-elect to confront for those in the black community facing vulnerability to covid 19 illness and death and who still are not getting vaccines at the level we need to have it happen.

there's a will the of work ahead. this is not one day of service. this is the beginning of some very intense service that the president-elect and vice president-elect will have to undertake. >> i want to point out that rafael warnock in georgia set to make history as the first black democratic elected from the south. he served for years as the senior pastor of dr. king's church and delivered a sermon this weekend ahead of the holiday. >> there is a sense in which the world is in flux and when that happens, there are always those demagogues who are trying to scapegoat those other people and stirring up the worst types of stereotypes and creating all kinds of division. age old racial and religious resentiments, divisions that blur our vision. >> apart from the violence, seemingly confederate flag in

the rotunda, seeing those t-shirts and the other marks of anti-semitism. the white supremacist theme that just ran right through those rioters was just so appalling. >> andrea, i remember sitting with you and having this conversation after charlottesville and expressing, both of us, the same kind of who at what weseeing. what has been unleashed in this country has only grown more emboldened. it lived beneath the surface. it was not created by donald trump. it was perpetuated in the highest level of government. it's been unleashed by the outgoing president. it will not magically go back in

the bottle because there's a new president. we have to face we're living in this new normal and have to be prepared to confront it. that means to be honest about it. holding those who brought us to this moment and continue to stir the pot and then charting another way and building something fresh and new that fully explores who we are as americans and that doesn't put blinders on. we have to be honest about what exists in this country. and today martin luther king day is an honest day to be honest. we celebrate this day. today is a good day for us to reckon with the fight that we have ahead. >> i'm so glad you're with us today. we will post information because you have news about a new scholarship program that the legal defense fund is launching. we'll put that online as well. as always, thank you. peace to you. that does it for this

edition of andrea mitch which he will reports. thanks for being with us. chuck todd is up next only on msnbc. todd is up next only on msnbc.

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