welcome to thursday, it is "meet the press daily," i'm chuck todd, moments ago, literally within a couple minutes, republican congresswoman marjorie taylor greene went to the house floor in an attempt to explain and defend her past comments that promoted dangerous and unhinged conspiracy theories. here's some of what she said. >> here's the problem. throughout 2018, because i was upset about things, and didn't trust the government really, because the people here weren't doing the things that i thought they should be doing for us, the

things that i just told you i cared about, and i want you to know, a lot of americans don't trust our government and that's sad. the problem with that is, though, is i was allowed to believe things that weren't true and i would ask questions about them and talk about them and that is absolutely what i regret. >> regret. it's about the closest you're going to hear for anything that even comes close to an apology. there was no apology. we have a lot to unpack from those remarks. as you can see there, congresswoman greene basically tried to portray herself more as a victim, not as a perpetrator of all this nonsense and she tried to distance herself from past support of qanon conspiracy theories, drawing a line around the year 2018 and compartmentalizing things there and saying that was a different person. the house is debating ahead of that vote this afternoon to strip congresswoman greene of her two committee assignments. a vote putting every member on

the record about where they stand on greene, the previous support of any number of inhinged and dangerous theories, she even had the gal to compare qanon to the media. that was in her contrite moment there on the house floor. not doing much to win sympathy, if that was her goal. we shall see and leigh ann caldwell is watching this all very closely for us. we had heard from quite a few republican members of congress last night who said i hope she'll say publicly what she said privately behind closed doors, if that is what she said behind closed doors i'm trying to figure out how she got a standing ovation. >> reporter: well, chuck, my sources tell me that that is actually what she said behind closed doors yesterday, the only difference that i'm told is that last night behind closed doors she did not compare the media to qanon.

that was new in her speech today but it practically mimicked what she's told her republican colleagues yesterday according to my sources and they said that the discussion was about cheney and she got up to go and speak at the mics when people were talking about cheney, and this is what she said. she also did, you know, we're getting mixed signals on if it was a standing ovation or not last night. we are also told that people were clapping, some stood up, but that she was, in fact, well received. but make no doubt about it, chuck, the fact is that house republican leader kevin mccarthy last night, he chose to keep marjorie taylor greene in the party, trying to say that it's the exact same party as someone like liz cheney. he told the conference last night that the bus is big enough for everyone and he's going to try to make these forces work. and what greene was trying to do is trying to save her committee

assignment seats. but democrats have a majority and we do expect some republicans to vote with democrats on this. >> leigh ann, kevin mccarthy, will he explain it all, why he felt liz cheney had to be put up for a vote but marge -- marjorie taylor greene was not put up for a vote, did they fear both outcomes? that why he prevented his conference from expressing any view on the record on marge rooe taylor green until today? >> i asked kevin mccarthy that last night. i said why are you punting on marjorie taylor greene and he got quite defensive and said i wasn't punting at all. what they're doing is trying to equivocate what she said as a member of congress and what she did before she was elected.

they're making that the threshold, saying she has not said these things while she's serving as a member. looking at her twitter feed she's not necessarily backing down, just two hours ago, she's like many republicans who come under fire, are talking about cancel culture, saying they are trying to cancel her and trying to cancel republicans. but, you know, mccarthy has proven that he is going to give in and needs that wing of the republican party, at least for the time being. >> right. leigh ann, i want to switch gears to nancy pelosi now. we know speaker pelosi addressed the press. i want to play her response first about fear of setting this precedent, where the majority can essentially strip the other party's members of a committee assignment. it would be something we haven't seen before. now here's her reaction to that and i want to ask you something else on the other side about

her. >> are you worried at all about the precedent it would set? >> not at all. if any of our members threaten the safety of other members we'd be the first ones to take them off of committee. that's it. >> leigh ann, look this has been a debate and i've talked to some republicans who say, you know, democrats are going to regret this because as one republican strategist admitted to me off the record, we will show no mercy when we have the chance to do this in ways the democrats have not conceived of yet. but she also decided to identify kevin mccarthy as "q" california. it was something that you might expect from a rank and file member, or something on twitter. it was surprising to hear it from the speaker of the house. how's that going over? >> yeah, democrats are really laying in to the -- putting republicans as the face of qanon. one house democrat texted me yesterday, unsolicited, saying

republican-qanon. people are calling kevin mccarthy, kevin with a "q" instead of a "k." democrats think this is going to be a winning issue politically. they're fund raising off of it. they are sending out campaign ads regarding it as well and while they're simultaneously trying to strip marjorie taylor greene from her committee assignment they also are secretly giddy and thrilled at the fact that kevin mccarthy didn't do anything to punish her because now it plays into their dynamic that they are, in fact, the party of extremists. >> well, and that is a question. have they become the stereo type that democrats are trying to create? leigh ann caldwell on capitol hill for us this morning. thank you for getting us started. and former pennsylvania

congressman ryan costello. has kevin mccarthy allowed the republican party to be painted as the stereotype that democrats are trying to create? >> i don't see it that way. every member has the right to speak their voice. i don't agree with a great deal of what representative greene has said. but at the same point in time i think the democrats are trying to capitalize on this. i don't think it's going to work. i don't think many members of the republican party really know even what qanon is, other than some wild conspiracy theory that changes, you know, every other week with what they think in the past and i think democrats are trying to latch onto that. i worry institutionally about removing someone from a committee as a majority party, from a minority party. this is not going to be good long term for the united states congress. it simply is not. i think it's the wrong move by

democrats. and i am not defending representative greene whatsoever when i say that. >> here's something, though, that looks like a pattern, ryan, which is this, right, which is instead of whenever dealing with donald trump, right, the argument on trump in the impeachment a year ago was there's an election coming up, the argument on trump now is he's out of office. the argument on marjorie taylor greene is we've never done this. careful of this precedent. she did this before. see what i'm saying, there's a pattern of ducking the responsibility of confronting this crazy and hiding behind a process argument that keeps everybody united. that's the media out to get us or that's big tech. it's -- it looks like a pattern. when you see it over and over and over again as sort of the way out of these things. >> so, good point on your part in terms of oftentimes politicians or political parties will hide behind a process

argument. two points here. number one, if nancy pelosi's standard is you can't say anything that would be threatening to the other party, then i think that the chair of the financial services committee stood outside somewhere while in congress and said get up in their face, make them uncomfortable, harass them. so -- and that was while they're in congress. so if we're going to start policing language ultimately this is going to result in the majority party kicking minority party members off of committees, which by the way if the majority party all the sudden has the ability to take minority party members off of committees why don't they just put them on committees? this is a slippery slope that doesn't -- this doesn't evolve, it only regresses further. so i just don't -- and by the way, i'm not defending her at all, but some things in the past are facebook posts she's liked

prior to being in congress. to kevin mccarthy's point, he just said this, we're going to go back and look at every member what they did their entire life on social media and say, you know what, they can't serve on committee in congress. the other thing i would say, chuck, and you know this, serving on committee means you go into a committee room, you have the opportunity to ask five minutes worth of questions of witnesses, and you vote on bills in committee. that's what serving on committee is. you still go -- she's still going to the house floor, speaking on the house floor, still going to vote. she's either able to serve in congress or she's not. if the democrats think she shouldn't be in congress, then try and expel her, but this notion that we're going to go into either political party and say you're not allowed to serve on committee because we don't like what you did before you were in congress, that's nonsense and it's going to come back to bite them. when the republicans take back the house, whenever that is, maybe as early as two years from now, you're going to go back and you're going to look at what

democratic members have said in the past, or said while they're in congress, one member of the democratic party called republicans the terrorist party the other day, we can look at the anti semitic statements that have been made. it's just going to unravel. that's why you have two political parties -- in committee. >> let me ask you this, though, you have the steve king standard. from two years ago. >> right. >> take the democrats out of the situation here, how is it that the republicans decided to strip steve king for being anti-semite and white supremacy that he seemed to wink at and not do anything about marjorie taylor greene just two years later? >> one, steve king said that while he was in congress, and he was removed from committee. two, i don't think kevin mccarthy has said nothing is going to happen. i think he hasn't done anything

yet. but i would also say, i watched her on the floor just a minute ago on your station, i'm not defending anything that she said but that struck me as a woman who was radicalized by social media, and if she continues in her conduct, that's one thing. at the same point in time we live in a society where a lot of false information gets propagated on social media, and we have a lot of this country believing conspiracies, hating people, it's extremely unhealthy to civil society and our democracy. and, again, i'm not defending anything she said or did with her statements. at the same point in time, i don't know how you can go back, prior to someone serving in congress, and saying now that you're here, based upon things you said prior to being in congress, we're going to strip you of your committee assignment. that's up to the republican party whether she serves on committee or not, and to this moment in time, kevin mccarthy's standard has been, steve king was removed from committee for

things that he said that were wildly offensive and discriminatory while as a sitting member of congress. he may yet extend that if he had the authority to what representative greene prior to serving in congress. he just hasn't done it yet. >> i understand the distinction. and i think a lot of washingtonians understand the distinction. i think a lot of americans don't. they think, okay, so they -- running for congress, being in congress. it is, for a lot of people, it's going to be a difference without a distinction. but ryan costello, i really appreciate you coming on and sharing your perspective with us. it's a perspective that a lot of viewers need to hear as well. as always, sir, thank you. >> thank you. some breaking news moments ago the house impeachment managers announced they have requested former president trump to testify under oath as part of next week's trial. this is a copy of the letter they sent to trump. they have given him a deadline of tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. to respond. joining me now is colorado democratic congressman jason crow, a former impeachment

manager and while i want to talk to him about what's happening on the floor of congress right now, let me ask you about requesting the former president to testify. obviously getting him to be under oath has been a challenge for robert mueller, for the impeachment managers, yourself. is that just something that democrats assume he will decline the opportunity to do that? >> hi chuck. you know, that question actually works in really well with your past guest and some of the comments he made. i think if we've learned anything about, you know, leadership in america, in what's required right now, it's that words matter. what the president says matters. what marjorie taylor greene says matters because, you know, as a leader you're judged by your words and your conduct because they have an impact on people. so, you know, this request by the president to come and testify, he's going to come up and tell his story.

i don't think that there's any other kind of subterfuge or intent to making that request, other than letting him come up and tell his story and have the discussion and have the debate about what that meant. >> i think there are a lot of people who have seen one copy of one deposition he's once done under oath. i would be shocked if he agrees to that but we will set that aside. i want to talk to you about what's happening right now. i'm sure you heard ryan costello's, i think, attempt to defend the process of what's going on. i want to ask you about the part of this which is the idea of, quote, the other party having to punish somebody because the party she belongs to has chosen not to. are you worried about this precedent, that they're just going to come back for retribution, whether you've heard maxine waters name dropped a couple of times, are we headed down that road, whether we like

it or not? >> well, i am concerned about precedent, but here's the precedent that i'm concerned with. i'm concerned about the precedent that we're setting, in the united states of america, that's okay for a member of congress or a leader to sit up and threaten violence to sowing conspiracy theories, to deal in misinformation and to have us turn our backs on it and not say anything about it and say that it's okay. because let's not forget that leaders have an affirmative obligation to stand up and push back on misinformation, on lies, on violence and incitement of insurrection. we have an affirmative obligation. we just can't say, well, that person's going to be crazy and do whatever they want to do. that's on them. that's not how leadership works. so we have to step up and we have to lead. we gave the gop caucus an opportunity to lead and to deal with this on their own. they decided not to. to turn their backs on it. we're not going to do that

because what this country needs right now is it needs proof and it needs leadership. >> do you think you can work across the aisle right now? or do you have to cherry pick who you're willing to work across the aisle with? >> well, i think i have to work across the aisle. i mean, we have very slim majorities. we have a 50/50 senate and we have a very small majority in the house. i've come to congress, not to get into partisan fights and to bicker, i've come to congress to actually get things done and move us forward. here's the -- not only do we have an obligation to do that, but the antidote to extremism, the antidote to our tribalism and our divisions, the antidote to trumpism is actually to get things done. let's not forget that donald trump's thesis, his operating theory here is that government should have no role and it doesn't work, you can't make people's lives better, so let's just put it aside. the response to that is to show

that we can actually step up and lead and get us past the pandemic, rebuild america's infrastructure, you know, help public education and actually address some of our biggest challenges. that's actually the antidote to the challenges and the tribalism that we're seeing and that's what we have to do. that is our leadership challenge. the answer is yes. i'm going to find people to work with, there are actually plenty of good people on both sides of the aisle that have become friends and people that i look forward to working with in the months and years ahead. >> are you worried that what we're watching now -- i mean, i was admittedly surprised when a press release from speaker pelosi's office referred to kevin mccarthy as "q" california and, you know, it was one of those things like if i had seen that from other members of congress i wouldn't have flinched on social media you wouldn't have flinched, it's sort of -- it's the world we live in. i was surprised to hear it from the speaker. are you worried that's going to send the wrong tone?

>> well, i think what people are trying to say is, you know, kevin mccarthy is the leader of the gop caucus. he can't put his head in the sand and pretend that he doesn't know what qanon is? that's what he said yesterday. but he knows darn well what qanon is because a not insubstantial member of his caucus believes in it, a not insubstantial number of the republican base has bought into this theory and it's actually very dangerous. it has resulted in violence. there are domestic terror threats based on that theory. we have a home grown terrorist movement we're going to have to deal with as a nation. this is not funny. this is not something that we can laugh off. this is a very, very dangerous stuff. and we have to have leadership that is willing to address it. >> we're holding this vote today. on marjorie taylor greene. right after the insurrection in the couple of days after there

was a lot of talk and concern about the actions of people like mo brooks and paul gosar in particular. mo brooks spoke at obviously one of the rallies in january that took place before the insurrection. there was some thought of censuring him. is that still on the table? >> i think it should still be on the table. i mean, there are a handful of gop members whose rhetoric undoubtedly helped light the flames and promoted the incitement of this insurrection. you know, the folks like matt gaetz and mo brooks and marjorie taylor greene and others, we can't put up with this because this is actually -- my light's going off in my office. this is actually a problem -- turn our back on any of this stuff, then we're saying it's okay and we can't say that it's okay. so we have to make sure that we're looking at the remedies. we also have to do the investigation. i think it's really important

that we need rule of law. we need to follow due process. there are investigations that are going on that will look at people's role. let's get those facts. let's follow that process. let's get the facts. and then we will apply those facts to the available remedies. >> i think you have a very good motion sensor there in your office and you clearly were very disciplined in not moving while talking to me. i think that's probably why we lost your lighting there, anyway. >> carbon footprint. >> well, exactly. no, no, kudos to you for having the motion sensors, that's the upside there. congressman jason crow, democrat from colorado, thank you for coming on and sharing your perspective. we're going to have much more on the issue of this domestic violent extremism that the fbi is having to deal with. but first president biden is set to address state department employees shortly. outlining a foreign policy vision to restore america's

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we're expecting prescribed to arrive at the state department any minute now. he and vice president harris will meet with staff before the president delivers his first major foreign policy address. the speech will focus on simply restoring america's place in the world. essentially echoes from how joe biden talked about foreign policy on the campaign trail for much of 2020. this comes two days after the administration demanded russian release opposition leader alexei navalny, sentenced to three years in prison, and two days after the takeover in myanmar

stated as a coup. and american democracy unfolded on live tv less than a month ago. how to navigate the issues now. i'm joined by an nbc international affairs analyst. michael, focus on the russia situation here, first, it is one of those -- i saw a phrase today called sanctions fatigue. and it was sort of like this has been what we've done with russia and they've learned to essentially navigate around it. now we know that navalny is hoping that we will do even more sanctions. what do we do other than sanctions if we do have sanctions fatigue? >> well, a couple things, chuck, and i think this applies to russia and other countries around the world, autocracies where we're trying to contain and engage at the same time.

first, you've got to tell the truth. i give the biden administration credit they've been telling the truth about alexei navalny. they're exploring sanctions as a response. i support that, yes, there's sanctions fatigue but navalny put a challenge to them. before he got on the plane to go home from germany his organization released names, not low level fsbs, colonels that you and i have never heard of. maybe i have heard of them but you haven't. that's easy. they said no you have to sanction people that subsidize and support putin. they put the ball in the biden court to do something different but then third you've got to have a grand strategy. you're right, you can't just sanctions is the easy un, we sanction here, sanction there, you have to have, i think, a multidimensional strategy that involves sanctioning, number one, shoring up our alliances,

number two. getting in the ideological structure with countries like russia. we thought the cold war ended and we didn't have to defend ideas of democracy. we have not been investing, like the chinese have or the russians have, that's got to be part of the strategy as well. go back to grand strategy as opposed to just reacting to what happens in other countries. >> i want to talk about your knowledge of opposition movements and there's multiple opposition movements and what's interesting about navalny is that it appears that he has done what i guess you could argue boris yeltsen was able to do was unite the various anti-putin groups into one, let's sort of, focus on we don't agree how to do this but we all agree putin is terrorizing us. that would be a game changer. can that momentum be sustained with navalny in prison?

>> well, number one, it is a game changer and, you're right to underscore that, right, mr. navalny has some controversial political positions that people are divided on that, but after they tried to kill him with -- he called one of his killers and talked to him, it's an incredible video. it has english subtitles. >> it was. >> he then published this incredible video, now 100 million people have seen it, exposing putin's palace, the corruption over this palace. and then after all of that he got on the plane and went back to russia, knowing full well he was going to jail. and that kind of courage has elevated him as the leader of the democratic opposition. putting him on par with other incredibly, you know, brave leaders around the world that have fought for democracy. that said i'm not going to predict that that means the putin regime is going to fall overnight or in the weeks or months to come. i don't know that to be the

case. it's a setback that he's arrested. watch for his wife -- >> about to ask you about her. >> she's an amazing woman, principled, smart, tough, watch for her to become, i think, the de facto leader while he's in jail. and they also have a bench here. it's not just a one person show. he's first among equals, of course, but there's a lot of young charismatic people that i think will carry this on forward. when and if they have success, i'm not brave enough to predict that. >> one other thing i'm wondering about, we know that authoritarian regimes usually crumble when they've also run out of money. the oil and gas halting, if you will, around the world thanks to the pandemic and when it comes back the demand for oil and gas and going to continue to crater, i think, certainly with car companies in this country,

vowing to be all electric in 15 years, how bad is the financial situation and could that be what actually brings putin down? >> it's definitely the key variable, if you look at russian and soviet history, trace the price of oil and gas and that's when regime change happens. that's partly why the soviet union collapsed, by the way. it's a serious problem for putin moving forward, you're absolutely right. remember, chuck, he's been in power 21 years now. okay? and people are getting exhausted with him. you know, i worked, as you know, for barack obama, love the guy, admire the guy, but if he had been in power for 21 years i think i might even get tired of president obama. that is happening in that country, and there is economic malaise now and that's part of the reason, while more and more people are saying enough, and one other thing, remember this, it's a police state. they crack down. they've arrested 5,000 people.

it takes a lot of bravery to go out and get beat up and jailed. >> yes, it does. >> that means there are hundreds of thousands of other russians that have the same view of putin but aren't ready to go onto the streets today but in a moment of crisis that could change really, really rapidly and we've seen that in other countries. >> we have and it always usually is the last -- it's usually the last thing to fall but what ends up making it all crumble. michael mcfaul, thank you. with me now is stephen hadley, the former national security adviser to president george w. bush, chair of the united states institute of peace. i don't think there is a better organization to say you work for than the institute of peace, no matter what, that sounds like a great moniker there, mr. hadley. steven, i want to start with this larger challenge that biden has, which the one thing that both russia and navalny and myanmar and the coup there frankly china, turkey, i could

go down the line, all of it is dealing with countries that are trying to either destabilize democracy in their own country or destabilize it elsewhere. and right now we're a democracy that doesn't look so stable. so how do you confront this, and what would be your advice to the biden team? >> well, you have to start, i think, with some sense of humility. you have to point out that democracy is not a destination, it's a journey. and that our own efforts, our democracy is still imperfect. we're working on aspects of our democracy which have not been fully realized. so i think first of all being humble about where we are. and secondly, being fairly smart about how you advocate freedom and democracy abroad. in a way that doesn't expose the

adherence within countries of freedom of democracy. recognizing that we have to sometimes trade it off against other interests that we have in dealing with countries. and sometimes you do it publicly, sometimes you make your case privately. but i think the other thing is, we have to recognize, that this is -- this period we've been through the last two months has in a way been a success of democracy. we had a presidential election during a pandemic, pursuant to new procedures, the american people figured it out. they turned out in greater percentage numbers than in a hundred years. it was a free and fair election, legal challenges were brought, they were rejected in court by republican and democrat, and trump appointed judges and pressure on our democracy culminating on january 6th was turned aside and the congress reconvened and finished its

constitutional responsibilities and joe biden was president-elect. and if we can now show that we can work together across the aisle to solve problems. >> yeah. >> and advance an agenda, i think we can argue that our democracy was challenged but has come through stronger and then we can have it as a platform for making our case abroad. >> i will now share a secret. you and i talked about this in private a few weeks ago, and i will say i loved your optimistic view and i do agree that in maybe 20 years this will -- these two months will be seen as a success story in our guardrails in our democracy. let me ask you directly about china. on one hand we have gotten tough on china. we have every time they've done something in hong kong, we've responded, we've done some things to deal with how they

treated the juigers and yet it seems as if none of it's working. if anything, it has made them more aggressive on locking down hong kong, more aggressive at deterring us. is that a sanctions fatigue issue, a case where sanctions aren't working or we haven't figured out how to make china pay a price for some of its behavior? >> i think that's a little too narrow focused, chuck, it's a very good question. we've been through a period, we've had a wakeup call about china. a change of policy by xi jinping to be much more aggressive diplomatically, economically and militarily. we've had strategic shock. we've recognized we're in a coetgy that's what the new administration needs to do. in some areas, as

blinken said they've behaved as adversaries, in some places we're competitors. in some places we want to cooperate. the challenge of the administration is how to fuse all of those things, how to be strong on human rights, how to compete and win where we have to, yet at the same time be able to cooperate with china on pandemics and issues like the climate. and those three strands are going to be intentioned within this administration and they're going to have to work it out into a coherent policy. that's what we haven't had and that's what this new administration is going to have to come up with. >> very quickly, do you think we should use the olympics in 2022 as some leverage there and potentially boycott it or not? >> i don't think so. you know, i haven't -- the bush administration had that issue in 2008. we decided not to do so. i think that was the right decision. it will depend a little bit on the context at the time. but i don't think those kinds of

symbolic things really make much difference. >> yeah. >> we've got to strengthen ourselves at home, put ourselves in a position to compete effectively. bring our allies along and start to bring pressure to try to change chinese behavior but it takes two. and my worry is that xi jinping has decided this is china's moment, that china is in ascendency and america is in decline and he's not going to pay much attention to what we do. >> it is that last comment you made there that has me concerned as well, that he doesn't worry about us, or care about what we're doing. stephen hadley, former national security adviser and chair of the institute of peace, thank you, sir. we're going to take you right to the state department where we're about to hear from president biden. the timing just now there, our little timing every once in a while we get it just right and you will see there president biden, secretary blinken will be introducing him, and vice president harris. let's bring you this live.

>> good afternoon. it is my great pleasure to welcome to the state department for the very first time president joe biden, and vice president kamala harris. this is a particularly proud day for me. i know it's a proud day for everyone here at state. it's especially meaningful to have with us our newest class of foreign service officers joining us via video. it's great to see you all. thank you. thank you for being here with us today. these women and men represent the extraordinary talent and diversity of america. they're the future of this department. we're thrilled that they've joined our team. our president and vice president know how vital the state department is to america's security and prosperity. and they know how committed the people of the foreign service and civil service are to serving

our nation to the best of their ability every single day. mr. president, madam vice president, we are grateful to both of you for visiting us so early in the administration, despite the remnants of snow outside. we know that you want to make the state department as strong as it possibly can be for our country. and we know you're counting on us to deliver excellence for the american people. on behalf of everyone at state, i promise you we will not let you down. now, a quick word about vice president harris. she's dedicated her career to the security of the american people. as a district attorney, california attorney general, united states senator, and now as vice president of the united states. and she fully shares the president's commitment to crafting a foreign policy that

puts diplomacy first and that keeps our nation safe and delivers real results for the american people. and so it's my great pleasure to introduce to you the vice president of the united states. thank you, secretary blinken. it was my great honor to swear you in last wednesday. and thank you for the warm welcome, everyone, for me and the president. her here as one of our highest

priorities to thank you for your dedication to our country and the work you have tirelessly been doing. and, you know, when i swore in the secretary you may know that he placed his hand on a copy of the very document that we all swore to protect and defend. and that, of course, is the united states constitution. and it was a simple, and it is a sacred oath. one many of you, the dedicated staff of the state department have taken and we know that we cannot take those words for granted to support and defend. every day we have to breathe new life into them. that is our duty. as difficult as these past years have been you have remained committed to democracy, to human rights and the rule of law.

on behalf of our nation we thank you for your service and for your sacrifice. today we are here in person to tell you that we are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, accountability, inclusivity and diplomacy. on the global stage as a partner and a leader, this is the foundation on which we stand. we build on that foundation both by what we do abroad, restoring our alliances and supporting international institutions and also by what we do within our own shores. our foreign and domestic imperatives are intrinsically linked. every partnership you forge makes a difference in the lives

of everyday americans. at the same time our strength in the world depends on your strength and our strength here at home. and that is why we are working to reenforce our democracy, to rescue our nation from this pandemic, to rebuild our economy, to confront racial injustice, and to combat climate change. the world is counting on us. and we, as a nation, must show both our allies and our adversaries that america will deliver. it's time to deliver. again, thank you all for your service. and secretary blinken, thank you for your leadership. [ applause ]

thank you so much, madam vice president. and now just a brief word about president biden. no one has ever brought as much foreign policy expertise and experience to the presidency as joe biden. for the two decades or so that i've worked for him i've just been trying to keep up. from baghdad to bagram, from paris to pratoria to so many points in between it's been one of the great privileges and pleasures in my life to watch president biden in action across the globe. and i know from seeing him in action that he believes

profoundly in leading with diplomacy. mobilizing our friends and allies to work together in common cause. as important, he welcomes new ideas, dissenting views, rigorous debate. he wants to ensure that our foreign policy stays innovative and creative so it doesn't just respond to global events, it actually helps to shape them. those are the instructions that i have from him, that is what we are going to try to do here at the state department. and president biden and vice president harris have made it clear that in everything we do the first question we have to ask ourselves is this, how is it going to benefit our fellow americans? how will this policy, how will this initiative, how will this outreach answer their needs, their values? how will it make their lives just a little bit better?

that's the first question we have to ask. and we're going to hold ourselves to that standard every step of the way. we're lucky to have this president and this vice president at the helm during such a pivotal time for our nation and for the world and so it's very much my honor today to introduce to you the president of the united states. [ applause ] thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. thank you, mr. secretary. thank you for welcoming the vice president and me back to the state department. it's true the secretary and i have worked together a long

time. and i know -- i know that he has the background, the capacity needed to, quite frankly, lead the state department at a critical moment. this has been a difficult few years. i've been hanging around as -- on the foreign relations committee as chairman and then as vice president, and now as president for a long time. dealing with state. those of you who work here, including the new class of diplomats that are on the screen behind me, you're among the brightest, most involved, best educated group of people america has to offer. but i come today to talk to everyone at state watching remotely and those who will not be able to see this but will hear about it. you know, an incredible group of diplomats that i've had a chance

to work with, and what we never talk about is you not only have great intellectual capacity, you have great personal courage. i've been with some of you when we've been shot at. i've been with some of you when we've been in can passty but also courage. a foreign service that they never told you that was going to happen. but you're an incredible group of individuals and i said many times over the years those of you that are stationed overseas and you have been stationed overseas you're america's face. you're the face of america. it matters and it matters a great deal how you comport yourself and how you deal with the folks that you're dealing with in that particular country. i find it many of you among the most incredible -- and by the

way, i think what we don't do enough is thank your families. we don't thank your families for the sacrifices they make. they make real sacrifices. i don't know how many times i have moved to see to it that your spouses, they give up their careers many times to follow you. sometimes their as consequential or more consequential as yours but they do it for the country they're do to be thanked. whether or not you're part of the newest class of foreign service officers, whether or not you worked for decades in the service, you're locally employed, you're vital, it depends in no small part on you.

america is back. america is back. diplomacy is back. you are the center of all that i intend to do. you are the heart of it. we're going to rebuild our alliances. we're going to reengage the world and take on the enormous challenges that we face. and democracy and human rights around the world. again as i said you're the face of america abroad. in our administration you're going to be trusted and empowered. trusted and empowered to do your job. i ask each of you to abide by a few core tenants. integrity in all you do. integrity in all you do.

transparency and accountability to rebuild trust in america around the world. working in the service of the american people, not self interests, and promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility across the board because our diplomats at all levels that reflect a full diversity of this great country. i know how much we ask of you and your families and i mean that. i do know. it's a long time i have been dealing with this building and all of your predecessors. the sacrifices you make are real and not recognized much by the country as a whole. they don't know all that you do. i believe in you. i believe in you. we need you badly i trust you.

i'm going to have your back and that i promise you just like you will have the backs of the american people. what i always point out to people, in the years when i was chairman of the foreign relaces committee, i would make sure that my foreign relaces committee staff came to my home staff and worked in constituent services. which many thought was beneath them. but it is all about who you work for. who i work for who we work for and the foreign policies about the interests of the people of the united states. a new set of principals to treat everyone with decency. i promise you i'm going to have

your back. i expect you to have the back of the american people. i have a lot of work to do. a lot of catching up to do. a lot of rebuilding to do. and i can't think of any group of people better and more capable to do it than all of you. so thank you, thank you, thank you. i look forward to working with you. i look forward to seeing you, and i look forward to coming back when the auditorium is stilled and no one has to wipe down the podium. i hope that you are all safe while you're abroad. thank you. what you heard there was president biden. this was an address specifically to state department employees,

particularly the foreign service that felt under siege. whatever your point of view about the last administration the rang and file of the state department felt beat up quite a bit by the people serving the secretary of state and it is just into two parts. that was designed to be like a pep talk, if you will, for the career foreign service department. in about an hour you will hear the bigger vision that we expect to haesh from president biden that america is back and what he says in it. we'll be back tomorrow with more "meet the press daily." we will continue with katy tur after this quick break.

good morning, joe biden is at the state department. he was reintroducing himself to the staff there. he is going to speak more about his foreign policy vision later this hour. some big changes were previewed by the national security advisor. we'll have his remarks live. also breaking news on multiple fronts as we come on