a very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. welcome, everybody, to weekends with alex witt. we have this breaking news. president biden expected to speak any moment now on his $1.9 trillion covid relief bill. of course, one major step closer to becoming reality at this hour after a marathon 25-hour

20-minute session, senators passing that legislation straight down party lines, 50-49, the final tally met with cheers on the senate floor. >> the yeas are 50. the nays are 49. the bill as amended is passed. [ cheers and applause ] >> and after that applause, senate majority leader chuck schumer wasted no time taking a victory lap, praising his caucus for coming together and getting it done. >> people have new differences all the time but you know what's the overwhelming point here? everyone in our caucus realizes we have to pull together and get it done and we're a team. and sometimes it takes some discussion, and sometimes it takes some work. but we don't let our differences stop us from achieving success. unity, unity, unity. that's how we got this done. and the bill now goes to the house for a final vote on those new amendments and then on to

the president's desk for a signature. the final version of the package includes a third round of stimulus checks, $1,400 to those who qualify, $300 a week in jobless benefits until september, and billions of dollars in funding to state and local governments. helping us to bring you the most important details of today's historic senate action, we have nbc's ali vitali on capitol hill and monica alba. straight to capitol hill with you, ali. what's next for the relief bill now that has passed the senate, again, along party lines, and how are lawmakers overall reacting to this today? >> well, you heard schumer there saying, unity, unity, unity. that was the case by the end of the vote, but in the 25 hours that it took for democrats to finally pass this covid relief bill, it did not always look like it was a unified front. i would say when you talk about what comes next for this, you laid it out. it goes next to the house. they're going to pick this up on tuesday. it's expected to pass. i imagine that this is something

that we're going to hear from president biden in the next little bit, but the bill that the house is going to be voting on looks a little bit different than the one that they initially passed a few weeks ago. some of the notable changes here really just illustrate the balancing act the democrats have had to do to keep all of the members of their party on board. i want to pull up some of the keynotable changes here, including narrower income eligibility for those $1,400 stimulus checks. that means that some americans who got the checks last time around will not be getting them this time. another huge change, unemployment benefits have been reduced to $300 per week. this was a big sticking point with some moderate democrats, including senator joe manchin. they are now going to be going, those jobless benefits, until early september and there is a tax fix in there that basically the first $10,200 in unemployment benefits are not taxable if you make less than $150,000 a year. and then, this was the big one. minimum wage.

it's been stripped out of this bill, both because the senate parliamentarian said it didn't meet the reconciliation but when bernie sanders reintroduced it, this is when the process got mucked up on capitol hill. eight democrats joined with republicans to vote down this amendment that senator bernie sanders put in place so we're not going to be seeing any minimum wage hike in this bill either. that's something that most democrats expected at the same time you're still seeing them try to get it through here. this is probably not the last we're going to hear of the minimum wage. at the same time, though, you saw the vote break down along party lines. we're seeing the reaction break down similarly. i want to play a piece of your conversation with one of the congresswomen that you had on last hour. listen to how congresswoman lee is phrasing this. >> i don't know how they're going to go home and say they voted against, for example, providing a $1,400 direct assistance payment. how they're going to go home and say that they did not support additional funding for vaccines.

their constituents are hungry also. their constituents need a lot of help. their constituents are unemployed. i hope people understand it was democrats, mind you, and the vote shows that. it was democrats that fought for them, regardless of their party affiliation. >> reporter: what we've heard recently, alex, too -- >> ali i'm going to cut you off only because we have the president taking the podium in the white house. here he is, everybody, president biden speaking about the successful passage of the american rescue plan. >> i promised the american people help was on the way. today, i can say we've taken one more giant step forward in delivering on that promise that help is on the way. i want to thank -- start out by thanking the vice president. but i want to thank all of the senators who worked so hard to reach a compromise to do the right thing for the american people during this crisis and voted to pass the american rescue plan. it obviously wasn't easy. it wasn't always pretty.

but it was so desperately needed, urgently needed. also -- i also need to say a few words about the majority leader, chuck schumer, who i spoke with many times in this and again, this morning. i served in the senate, as you all know, for many years. i've never seen anyone work as skillfully, as ably, as patiently with determination to deliver such a consequential piece of legislation that was so urgently needed as the american rescue plan, chuck schumer, senator chuck schumer, when the country needed you most, you led, chuck. and you delivered. neither i nor the country will ever forget that. and it's not a moment too soon. i've been talking about the urgency of this need. for over a year, the american people were told they were on their own. they were seen -- we've seen how hard that has been on so many americans. as of last night, 519,064 lives

lost to the virus. that many empty chairs this morning, the breakfast table, gone. more than 400 small businesses closed unnecessarily. millions of people out of work through no fault of their own. i want to emphasize that. through no fault of their own. food bank lines stretching for miles. did any of you ever think you'd see that in america? and cities all across this country? families facing the threat of eviction. this nation has suffered too much for much too long, and everything in this package is designed to relieve the suffering and to meet the most urgent needs of the nation and put us in a better position to prevail. starting with beating this virus and vaccinating the country. the resources in this plan will

be used to expand and speed up manufacturing and distribution of vaccines so we can get every single american vaccinated sooner than later. i believe by -- we'll have enough by the end of -- by the middle of may to vaccinate -- it's going to take longer to get in their arms but that's how much vaccine we'll have. because of all the funding, we'll be able to hire more vaccinators, set up more vaccination sites to get the country in a place to get back to normal. this plan will get checks out the door starting this month to the american people who so desperately need the help. many of whom are lying in bed at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering, will i lose my job if i haven't already? will i lose my insurance? will i lose my home? over 85% of american households will get direct payments of $1,400 per person. for a typical middle class family of four, husband and wife working, making $100,000 a year total, with three kids, they'll

get $5,600. with two kids, $5,600. and it will be on the way soon. that means the mortgage can get paid. that means the child can stay in community college. that means maintaining health insurance you have. it's going to make a big difference in so many lives in this country. unemployment benefits will be extended for 11 million americans who have lost their jobs, who last night, again, were lying in bed thinking, my lord, i'm going to lose my unemployment insurance in a week or so. it was about to expire. schools are going to have the resources they need to open safely. states and local governments that have lost tens of thousands of essential workers will have the resources they need available to them. to those laid off police officers, firefighters, teachers and nurses they can rehire. these are essential personnel. look, the american rescue plan lowers healthcare premiums.

food nutrition assistance. it's hard to believe that 24 million adults and 11 million children, as i speak, in the united states suffer from food insecurity. that means simply they don't have enough food to eat. did you ever imagine in the united states of america you'd see lines, literally miles long, folks in their automobiles waiting for a box of food to be put in their trunk. i stood in line handing out food. the people coming up never, ever, ever thought they'd be in that position. this will help families who are behind on their rent and mortgage payments so they aren't thrown out of their homes. look, the bottom line is this. this plan puts us on a path to beating the virus. this plan gives those families who are struggling the most the help and the breathing room they need to get through this moment.

this plan gives small businesses in this country a fighting chance to survive. and one more thing. this plan is historic. taken all together, this plan is going to make it possible to cut child poverty in half. let me say it again. it's significant, historic, will cut child poverty in half. there's much more to this bill, but for now, let me make one final point. when i was elected, i said we were going to get the government out of the business of battling on twitter and back in the business of delivering for the american people, of making a difference in their lives, giving everyone a chance, a fighting chance of showing the american people that their government can work for them and passing the american rescue plan will do that.

and you know, it may sound strange, but a lot of senators and congressmen i want to thank, but i really want to thank the american people for making all this possible. say, well, how did they make it possible? well, quite frankly, without the overwhelming bipartisan support of the american people, this would not have happened. your elected officials heard you. overwhelming public support. every public opinion poll shows overwhelming support for this plan and for the last weeks it's shown that. every public opinion poll shows the people want this. they believe it's needed. and they believe it's urgent. now this bill returns to the house of representatives, which have done a great job from the beginning, where i hope it will find quick passage so it can be sent to my desk to be signed into law. by passing the american rescue plan, we'll have heeded the voice of the american people, not ignored their voices.

by passing this plan, we will have delivered real, tangible results for the american people and their families, and they'll be able to see and know and feel the change in their own lives. and by passing this plan, we'll have proved that this government, this democracy can still work. what has to be done, it will improve people's lives. one more thing. the vast majority of economists, left, right, and center, from wall street to the private economic polling initiatives, the economists, as i said, left, right, and center say in addition to the needs that the people have, we need this to grow the economy. that if we haven't spent this money and recreated the kind of

incentive for people to be able to make a good living, that we'd be in real trouble. this will create millions of new jobs. it's estimated over 6 million new jobs by itself. increase the gross domestic product by a trillion dollars. put our nation in a position to outcompete the rest of the world because the rest of the world is moving, particularly china. and to know that as tough as this moment is, there are brighter days ahead. there really are. as i said before, it's never a good bet to bet against america. it's never been a good bet to bet against the american people. we are america. we're going to get there. we're going to remain the leading economy in the world and going to be the most successful economy in the world. because of you, the american people. thank you, and god bless you all. may god protect our troops. thank you.

>> why didn't you get a single republican vote and what does the drama of the last 24 hours, including what senator manchin tell you about the next four years? >> they're going to be good. i'm going to succeed. we're going to succeed moving forward. look, the american people strongly support what we're doing. that's the key here. and that's going to continue to seep down through the public, including from our republican friends. there's a lot of republicans that came very close and got a lot of pressure on them. i still haven't given up on getting their support. thank you. >> pardon? >> we're not frustrated. bernie sanders said this is the most -- bill he's ever seen

passed since he's been here, and we're all compromising. going from $300 to $400 in unemployment but got to extended through september. the end result is essentially about the same. and so i don't think any compromises have in any way fundamentally altered the essence of what i put in the bill. thank you. >> okay, everyone. president biden there delivering a very positive and reassuring assessment in his typically avuncular tone with regard to the passage along party lines, 50-49, of the american rescue plan. he outlined a lot of details within. a couple that struck me was that in total 35 million americans are living in food insecurity. this will help bring them the food and nourishment that they need. and also, in fact, that one half

of those children who are living in poverty right now in this country will be lifted out of that deplorable state for any american to be living in. i've got senator ben cardin who will be joining me in just a moment but let's quickly go to monica alba, of course, our white house correspondent, standing by for us and see, monica, if you heard anything that jumped out at you that was either unexpected or just really the tone of the president. he's pleased. he didn't seem to dwell on the fact that this was a very, very close call. >> reporter: you're right, alex, and tonally and substance-wise, i think this is what we expected to hear from president biden, but there were a couple of top lines. two things that stood out to me. first, so many questions from americans about when these checks would go out if indeed this passed the senate as it did today. president biden saying those would start to go out in the next couple of weeks, this month in march, and then something else that really is striking, it seems that the president here is indicating he's moving up the timeline of when he promises there will be enough vaccine

supply for any american adult who wants the shot to get it by the middle of may. this is a promise the white house had stressed they would like to have enough by the end of may. that was an announcement they made just last week, but now, he is saying that with the money in the american rescue plan, the amount of vaccination sites that can be added and the amount of people who can become vaccinators that likely now we're talking about just two months from now, everybody in this country who wants to get a shot who's an adult will be able to do that. that's a really big vow from this president and the white house and really something they wanted to get done in the first 100 days. of course, those 100 days are in the april time frame with may just after that, so they're hoping to really get this on track. the pace of vaccinations suggests that they will be able to do that, but with some of the other things we've seen delays and derailments for the unexpected, so this is now a white house and a president really projecting a ton of optimism and confidence on thata

president who talked a little bit about his predecessor without naming him. he said that when he campaigned, he was going to get america back to doing business, not on twitter, essentially making -- alluding to donald trump there with how he operated during most of his four years. obviously, that's not something that the current president is doing. i thought that was notable. but the main message here from president biden is help is on the way. and this is something he will expect to sign later in the week and then he's also going to take this message on the road. he's going to be traveling and talking specifically about what's in the bill, how it works, and educating people more on the relief that he helped get across the finish line as opposed to it just being a victory tour. but the other major outstanding question here, this wasn't a bipartisan support from any republican senators, none voted for it, but the white house is going to try to make the point that there were republican mayors and governors and other local officials who did really suggest to their constituents that in that portant piece of

respect, and because of the overwhelming popular support of the public, that it was a bipartisan bill. look to them to make that kind of a sell even though we know there weren't any senators from the gop side who voted for it. another major question now will be as he moves on from his top priority and legislative agenda of covid relief to something like infrastructure, immigration, will he be able to get any republicans on board for that? that's the next major hurdle, alex. >> it is indeed. okay, monica alba from the white house, thank you so much. as promised, joining me now, maryland senator ben cardin, a democratic member of the finance and foreign relations committees and chairman of the small business and entrepreneurship committee. senator, it's always good to see you. this is a big deal today. let me ask you, first of all, and then i'm going to ask you to interpret president biden's comments. how are you feeling after that marathon vote-a-rama. i'm curious what it means to you and your constituents having gotten this bill passed.

>> alex, it's good to be with you. i'm so proud to be part of the senate that passed this bold package to deal with covid and to rescue the american economy, the american people, and to get this covid-19 virus behind us. president biden deserves a lot of credit. he's been in office only a few short weeks and we're able to pay us this major bill for covid relief. senator schumer kept us all together, the democrats. this bill is clearly a bill for the american people. it's going to help all sectors of our economy. it's going to help american families. it's going to help get the vaccine into arms a lot faster. it's going to open schools safely. it's going to provide the direct payments to the american family, expand ui, unemployment insurance, help small businesses so i'm very proud we were able to get this done and i think this will make a major difference for america. >> how big a deal is this? how big a victory is it for the president? >> well, this is really a big

program. it's going to reduce poverty in america, cut child poverty by 50%. this is a consequential bill. it's going to help really restore america's economic strength. it's going to help american families. this is a big deal, and we got it done and we showed unity among the democrats and the united states senate. that's not easy for senators to be able to come together and i'm sorry no republicans joined us, but make no mistake about it, as the president said, this bill enjoys strong bipartisan support among the american people. >> but what does it say to you, that last point, that it enjoys strong bipartisan support among the american people and the fact that none of your republican colleagues voted for it? will there be hell to pay, sir, at some point for those republican lawmakers who didn't support this when you've got to think that many of their constituents said, we need this

help? >> well, we think this package is going to make a major difference for this country. there's going to be other stunts. i hope the republicans will join us. we need to deal with the budget coming up this year. so we're going to have other opportunities to work together. i think they missed an opportunity on this bill. this bill to me was extremely important. i think the american people really wanted this to get done and here, we said we were going to get things done and we got it done quickly so i think it was a missed opportunity for the republicans in the senate. >> what about this relief bill, as you know, faced a few changes there in the senate from that which had been sent over by the house. you have the eligibility for the stimulus checks that was narrowed, unemployment lowered to $300 a week from $400. the $15 minimum wage increase completely stripped out of the bill. was it necessary, in your mind, to put these changes in place in order to get the end result when it came to a vote?

>> well, make no mistake about it, alex, this bill is a major bill and what it includes is really incredibly important to deal with the challenges of covid-19 to get schools open safely, to get money to the american people, to help small businesses, so we're very proud of what's in this bill. there are changes made. that's how the legislative process worked. some of it was done because of senate rules. some of it was done because of input from members of congress. that's how the legislative process works. but at the end of the day, we have a bill we can be very proud of that's going to make a major difference in our country. >> let me ask you, though, on a personal level, put yourself in the shoes of senator joe manchin, because he had a big hand in these changes. he pushed for narrowing eligibility on the checks and for lowering unemployment, strongly, in fact, opposed the $15 federal minimum wage. do you get a sense that these issues are an electoral decision or are they a decision of conscience? >> well, i have a great deal of respect for joe manchin.

i think he has very strong views. but he was able to compromise his views so that we could come together and be able to pay us a major bill. the changes in the unemployment insurance, we extended it beyond what was in the house bill to the first week in september. we were able to make some of the payments not subject to taxation so i think we improved the unemployment insurance aspects of it, not including a minimum wage was a major disappointment, but we're going to come back to that. we're not going to give up on the minimum wage. we're going to be able to get that done at a later point. and the eligibility for the direct payments, the eligibility is the same. it's the phaseout that's done a little bit quicker, but those americans, 75,000 individual, $150,000 a couple are going to get the full benefits. >> let me ask you something, your democratic colleague, kyrsten sinema flashed a thumbs down and there are quite a number of people on social media that called that gesture

coldhearted. what do you think about gestures like that? do they mean something? should they mean something? >> i think all of us recognize that we have to deal with the minimum wage. there was some disagreement among democrats as to how you handle the tip issues for those workers. i strongly supported what senator sanders brought forward. i think we're going to find a path forward to deal with the minimum wage. i hope we can do it with republican support. republicans have expressed that they want to increase the minimum wage, so let's work together, let's get it done. let's find another vehicle to get that done, but it doesn't really ruin at all the accomplishment we were able to get done today in the united states senate. this was a major bill. make no mistake about it, one of the most consequential bills i have ever voted for in the united states senate. so, this was a great day for the senate, a great day for america, and i'm proud that we had unity in order to pass it. >> that is saying something, given your decades-long tenure in the senate so certainly worth

the applause that was heard, pretty loud applause there, i imagine a lot of people were quite joyful at its passing so we have this one that gets passed but you have policing and election reform bills, they were just passed by the house. they could have a tougher time getting republican votes, given the circumstance. do you support ending the filibuster to get legislation passed the democrats ran on and have promised to the american people? >> well, i'm working with democrats and republicans to try to change the way the senate considers legislation. we need to be able to debate bills on the floor of the united states and vote on amendments as we did on this covid relief package. we need to get on legislation. we have to allow amendments to be offered. we have to vote on those amendments. we should vote on those amendments by simple majority if they are relevant amendments to the subject that's before the senate so i hope that we'll find support among democrats and republicans so that the senate can take up these critical issues and vote on them. >> all right, senator ben

cardin, awfully good to see you on this very busy day. i'd like to say go home and get some rest. i think you deserve it. thank you so much. >> thanks, alex. much ado about marjorie taylor greene. turns out she's already got a challenger for 2020 and you're going to meet her next. challenger for 2020 and you're going to meet her next

now to the coronavirus pandemic and a new warning from the cdc, data shows easing mask mandates and loosening restaurant restrictions leads to an increase in cases and deaths. this report comes as states like texas, mississippi are moving to end mask mandates and fully reopen dining. in oregon, schools must begin reopening by the end of the month, starting with elementary schools. governor brown's orders require middle and high school classes to resume by april 19th. virtual learning will still be an option but districts must default to in-person or hybrid instruction. and in california, theme parks, sports stadiums, they're all going to reopen by april 1st. visitors can only be from

instate and capacity limits will begin at 15%. so no crowds yet at disneyland, that's for sure. let's bring in nbc's scott cohen who's joining us from san francisco. scott, let's talk about the reopening strategy here in california. i said, you know, there won't be crowds at disneyland if you're only looking at 15% capacity. but what are the overall rules and regulations for reopening? >> reporter: yeah, you know, there's a lot that's happening really fast here, alex, and it's a long time coming for california. remember that it was here in california and here in the san francisco bay area in particular that was the home of the first stay-at-home order back on march 16th of last year. and not a whole lot of things have reopened since then. so, as you said, we will see on april 1st reopenings of theme parks and sports stadiums and it does come with a lot of limits, all tied to the state's tier system. most of the state is still in what's known as the purple tier, the most restrictive tier, and you can see that the -- that, you know, for a sports stadium,

you'll have 100 people if the city is still or the region is still in the purple tier. that tends to go up as the tiers go down. but it won't be exactly the same. and there are other things that are going on as well. california, this week, passing new incentives to get schools open as soon as this month and also something that we have not seen since last fall, indoor dining returning to many parts of the state, including here in san francisco which has now moved into that red tier where it is allowed. san francisco's mayor saying this week that that alone is a major milestone. >> so, going down, our numbers are going down, we're in an amazing place. we're not completely where we want to be, but we're better than we have been. since october of last year. so, i'm excited. this is the beginning of a great time in san francisco.

>> reporter: but this pandemic is hardly over yet. the state is still logging as many as 5,000 new cases per day, 400 more deaths yesterday alone. and only about 7% of the population in california has been fully vaccinated. so, there's some worries here that they're going a little bit too fast, but as i said, alex, this has been a long, long time coming. >> it has indeed. just wear your masks,s everyone, if you're going to go dine indoors. just keep it safe as you can. all right, thank you so much, scott cohn from san francisco. well, new today, congresswoman marjorie taylor greene causing yet another stir on capitol hill, this time within her own caucus. "the hill" is reporting as greene has more free time on her hands, the georgia congresswoman is taking efforts to delay congressional business, forcing futile procedural votes to adjourn the house each day and disrupting committee hearings and it is ticking off a growing chorus of republican colleagues.

greene has faced certainly a mountain of controversy, just two months into her first term in the house, and my next guest is already mounting a challenge against the congresswoman in georgia's 14th district, so joining me now, holly mccormick, she has recently announced a campaign to unseat congresswoman marjorie taylor greene and we welcome you to the broadcast. it's very good to speak with you. let's take a look at what's going on in washington because we hear so much about the uproar surrounding congresswoman greene. what about your constituents saying, you know, we have nbc news reporters there and you'll get really sort of a 50/50 sense of how they feel about her. what about you? are people becoming increasingly frustrated over her cartoonish actions at times? >> yes. i believe so. thank you, alex, for having me on to speak with you today. that was a good phrase. that was a good description. i believe that people are seeing through her antics. i think they are probably sick

of northwest georgia being in the news, and it's not in a good light. so, we are good people here. we take care of each other, and she does not represent us. she does not represent the people that i know here, that i have known my whole life because i grew up here. >> so, what are the central issues in georgia's 14th district, and do you think that congresswoman greene represents the believes and ideals of people there? i mean, she did get elected. >> yes, ma'am, and i -- alex, i want to first say she ran unopposed. she hasn't had a real opponent yet. when it came time for election day, she was unopposed, so i believe that the people of georgia deserve an option, and i look forward -- the first thing we're going to do, starting in a few weeks, is our listening tour. that's where we're starting things out, because in northwest

georgia, we have been overlooked for an -- for a long time. and so the first thing i want to do is, yes, i know how it is to live here. my kids are enrolled in schools. i work from home here. but i want to hear from them. i want to hear what issues they have that have been ignored. they're looking -- there's a void in leadership, and they're looking for somebody that will stand up and do their job. instead of, like you just said, trying to adjourn every day because she's got too much free time. >> you know, and i just want to clarify, because she did have an opponent, so you were saying she effectively ran unopposed, she beat her democratic opponent with 75% to 25% so certainly backs up the way you described it. >> i will say -- >> go ahead. >> i'm sorry. she -- kevin had to leave the state because of the way that she ran and it was just -- i don't know the exact day, but it was too late to put in another

opponent, too close to the election, and so because of the way that she ran her race and she -- intimidation and to his family and his business and everything else, he had to leave the state. he didn't want to drop out. so he got 25% of that vote without being here. he was still on the ballot, but -- and i marked him. i marked him. he was no longer running. >> so, do you think you can realistically flip this 14th congressional district? i mean, typically, it has been republican. >> yes, ma'am. it has been. i know we can win. i know we can win. and here's why. like i said before, we have had an absolute void in leadership, and what we are seeing from marjorie taylor greene is the opposite of how people -- how i was raised, how everyone else here was raised. and that is -- that's not who we are. so, i know that it will

transcend party lines and be able to do the good work that stacey abrams has been doing. she wasn't surprised when georgia flipped, right? she has been doing this work for years, and so we were able to elect ossoff and warnock and flip. we have the stimulus that you were just talking about because of georgia. so this is -- we're looking forward to bringing this good work all the way up to northwest georgia, and it can be done, but we need your help. so, anybody that wants to join the team, join the cause and the mission, hollyforcongress.org is where you go to join up. it's going to take everybody outside of georgia too. >> well, listen, holly mccormick, you have an open invitation to come on back and we will help you get your message out as well so i thank you for your time this time. thank you, holly. best of luck. >> thank you. meantime, transfer of power turmoil, six weeks later, how much americans like their new president?

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community. in the mirror. it's significant, historic, will cut child poverty in half. there's much more to this bill, but for now, let me make one final point. when i was elected, i said we were going to get the government out of the business of battling on twitter and back in the business of delivering for the american people, of making a difference in their lives. >> president joe biden there speaking just a few minutes ago about the senate's narrow approval today of a $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill. the president said 85% of american households will get direct payments of $1,400 a person and unemployment benefits will be extended for millions of americans. so, just how satisfied are most

americans with the job president biden is doing? well, there's a new poll and it shows 60% approve of his job performance right there. some of his support, in fact, crossing party lines. 70% back the democratic president's handling of the virus response. that includes 44% of republicans. approval of his handling of the economy, that stands at 55%. well, joining me now is jonathan allen, senior political reporter for nbc news digital, and amy parn, senior political correspondent for "the hill" but they're together because they're also the authors of the new book, "lucky: how joe biden barely won the presidency." that's an intriguing title, guys. good for you. you get this stuff done so fast. i don't know how you crank these books out, but anyway, jonathan, i'm going to go to you first here. before we get to the book, what is your reaction to president biden's approval numbers and this big win today? >> well, alex, it should be surprising in the context that there is no bipartisanship in

the united states in terms of voting anymore, and it shouldn't be surprising because what president biden has done is push to get through that extra relief for the american public, and what that means is not only individuals with the extension of unemployment insurance but also relief for small businesses. i mean, basically, everybody in the united states has a stake in this bill, and it got done in a pretty short period of time. i mean, if you had told people that a reconciliation bill was going to become law sometime in early march, back in december or january, they would have told you that there was little chance of that happening. so, i think as the president said, he folk focused on getting something done for the public and something coming out for the public, it's not surprising that people approve of that. >> you know, amy, jonathan's point there that he says most americans have a stake in this bill, this poll shows bipartisan approval over the handling of the pandemic.

his covid bill today received zero republican support in the senate. how do you reconcile that? >> well, i think that he's going to have to come a long way in terms of winning over some republicans, but the fact of the matter is, he's moving the ball in the right direction. and i think that that is a winning idea to a lot of people. he promised community in the campaign. that's sort of the backbone of his campaign. it was one of the messages he campaigned on. he also made covid a priority. it was the priority. it is the only priority. and i think people see that he is sort of moving the ball in the right direction and if he can get shots in the arms of americans by may as promised, that would be another big win for him. >> okay. let's get to the book. i'm curious, jonathan, why in the title you decide to go with the word "lucky" and does that mean that you've concluded that luck alone is how biden won the presidency? i mean, what's behind luck? >> no, absolutely not.

that's not the conclusion, alex. what we look at is a couple of things. number one, this election was a lot closer than most people think. the president -- former president was talking about, you know, ridiculous assertions of election fraud and things like that, which made people not pay attention. president biden had a reason to depict his victory as a landslide. it was about the same as trump's in terms of electoral college but in order to get those electoral college votes, if trump had won 43,000 more votes in arizona, wisconsin, and georgia, he would have won a second term. and that's a smaller distance -- difference than the distance hillary clinton would have had to winning in 2016 when i think we all thought it was so close. so it was a very close election. there were a lot of times where it looked like biden was essentially knocked out or on the verge of being knocked out, and there was some good fortune that went his way. so, we think that biden was, you know, caught a lot of breaks. we think the democratic party caught a break in him actually

becoming their nominee, despite those struggles he had in the primary, and we think that the american republic is lucky, all of us are lucky that the republic held under extreme duress from intimidation of secretaries of state by the former president trump, you know, these court filings that he made that were essentially rejected one by one. i think 160 of them or something like that. and of course the storming of the capitol. so, lucky is a lot broader and more comprehensive, and you know, i don't think of lucky as a bad thing. >> yeah. >> anybody that plays the lottery or watches sports or really, you know, anybody who's alive today after this plague over the last year should probably consider themselves lucky. >> yeah, you mentioned the primaries and in fact, it was a rocky start for joe biden until south carolina came on -- along so that was a good thing. what about your thoughts, amy, on some of the lucky breaks that you think helped biden on the campaign trail? >> well, there are a few, alex. i mean, one of them is when -- it's not even just things that

involve him, but it was when you look at the debate, the primary debate in nevada, how elizabeth warren came in and completely took out michael bloomberg. in that moment, he was scoring endorsement, he was getting financial backing, he was taking everything away from joe biden. that was like a very lucky break for him. that wasn't a sure thing. we can see behind the scenes of that endorsement and how it came to be and how clyburn really wants a supreme court justice to be on the court, on the bench, and that was one of the concessions. we think he sort of -- everyone knows that joe biden had a tough time in getting out of the primary but we can see behind the scenes of just how close it was and how he was running out of money and considered refinancing his house, it was that dire. all of this -- >> really? >> -- is in our book. yeah. you really find out some insight on what was going on behind the scenes.

>> that, oh, i can't wait to read this, i got to tell you, i wish i'd gotten an advance copy, you guys. but i'm going to definitely read it. so, in terms of luck, jonathan, do you think the anti-trump sentiment among democrats meant that any democrat could have ultimately won, had a good chance at least of beating donald trump? or was it all about joe biden? was he the one that had to do it? >> hindsight being 20/20, alex, i think it's impossible to make an argument that any of the other democrats would have beaten donald trump, would have any sureness about that. so when we talked about the democratic party being lucky, you know, there were two dozen candidates, and several of them had rises and fell and it took a while for the democratic party to decide where it wanted to go and if it was certain about joe biden and ultimately it did go in that direction, and i think that many of the other candidates who would have been nominated would have had a tougher time than biden.

he was not in line with a lot of the orthodoxy of the party activist base, and i actually think that helped him. i believe amie believes this as well. helped him win. i mean, you see during the protests over, you know, for racial justice, in the wake of the george floyd killings, he had senior advisors coming to him, pushing him, telling him that he should say, defund the police, telling him that he should apologize for the 1994 crime bill and he resisted those entreaties which were very loud and very forceful from within his own campaign, and you know, that was something that republicans had a lot of success in using as a cudgel against democrats in congressional races and state legislative races. biden was never able to be depicted as someone who was for defunding the police because he wouldn't say it and in fact went out there and said the opposite. >> yeah. >> so, i think when you look at all that, and by the way, i should just note, alex, all of these things come from our

reporting. we -- somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 sources and all these campaigns. the idea of luck is not something that came from me and amie. >> no, i would never think that. you guys have been remarkable reporters on this. i'm running out of time. really quickly, amie, though, interesting the barack obama point here that you make about the -- in the book where he had a meeting with the campaign before signing on publicly because here's the quote. he wanted to make sure that joe's long-term reputation wasn't going to be endangered. he certainly wasn't confident that joe was going to win. no one was. so, how did that meeting shape the campaign? real quick. >> i think it really did because he kind of had concerns about the -- about his former partner running and we kind of take you inside that meeting and what was going on inside the former president's thinking from that point going forward. >> okay. that was quick and i thank you for that. jonathan allen and amie parnes, authors of "lucky," going to have some great behind the

scenes stuff. breaking news. i.c.e. will longer be able to detain families for longer than 72 hours. this comes after a landmark new ruling out of california last night put an end to the seven-year policy, it was created in the obama era. joining me now is nbc's julia ainsley. so, julia, when does this go into effect and what does it mean for families that are currently detained by i.c.e.? >> all those who are currently detained will be released tomorrow, so it's going to affect immediately. and in fact, we just learned this late last night in a court filing. this is part of a decades-long lawsuit to represent children and families who have been in i.c.e. detention, and it really became a forefront under the obama administration when they started detaining families and then the trump administration wanted to hold them for even longer than 20 days, which was what the court allowed. under the biden administration, they are going to bring this down to under 72 hours. so only three detention facilities left.

one will be closed to families. the other two that are both in texas will be very quickly these people will come, they'll be processed for covid-19, and then released. and i should say that those who expect to be released tomorrow, the only reason they would stay longer is if they do test positive for covid-19, they would need to stay just for a quarantine period. but really, this is the end of family detention as we know it. i can't underscore what a big change this is. >> it's huge. >> to immigration policy that's really dictated the last seven years. >> let me ask you, though, about what the administration is dealing with right now, a surge of migrants along the border, many of them unaccompanied minors, how does this affect the biden administration's ability to deal with this influx? >> this will affect how they detain families and right now the influx is unaccompanied migrant children. oftentimes they're coming to meet a guardian in the united states but what happens is they're sent from customs and

border protection to the custody of health and human services. that detention or what they would call shelter is growing. we also learned yesterday that health and human services is eyeing a military base in fort lee, virginia, as a place where they may have to build another one of those shelters for those unaccompanied children. so while these families are being released, the children, the places we're seeing them sheltered, that's actually growing, and large part because the government needs some place where children can be held while they vet sponsors. that's to make sure they actually go to good homes. there was a period under the obama administration where some children were too quickly released and did end up in the hands of some people who could cause them some harm. so, it's a tough predicament when it comes to the unaccompanied children. >> got to get them in the right kind of hands, that is for sure. let's go now to alabama, everyone. that's where a group of democratic lawmakers is supporting amazon workers. they are voting on whether or not to join a union, and that

would be a first for the company. let's go to my colleague, msnbc's gary joining us from outside the facility in bessamer, alabama. what are employees telling you they want out of a union? is this a david versus goliath scenario? >> reporter: i really love that analogy, alex, it is really david vs. goliath and 5,800 davids in this facility. on the for union side, they're saying, they really want to feel like human beings. they say, and i've heard this time and time again over the past few days, that they're really feeling they're treated as machines and as widgets and they're not feeling they're given the bathroom breaks they need and the time off they need. they're also asking for a higher wage. amazon's minimum wage is $15.30, double the national minimum wage, but jeff bezos, they say, makes thousands of dollars every hour, so they shouldn't be the ones having to decide between paying a mortgage payment and paying a light bill each month. the folks on the other side of the aisle, the folks that don't

want a union, say they don't feel like they need to be told what to do. they can make decisions for themselves. here's what some folks told me over the past couple days. >> it would change my life for the better because now i understand that i have security. i have someone with a louder voice to amplify my voice. i understand that i have a voice, but sometimes our voices are not heard. with a union, i know that i have job security. where the company can't fire me for just a mundane thing. >> i'm not here to pass judgment on anybody. what somebody else has gone through that i don't know about, i'm not here to say they didn't go through it. i'm not here to say they're lying. far from it. they might have experienced something. the only thing i would say to them is what avenues have you exhausted through amazon that lead you to feel that this is the only way to go?

>> reporter: so, where do things stand right now? the vote to unionize is happening by mail all month. at the end of the month, the national labor relations board will come out with the results and if the union does pass here, they go on to the next step, which is contract negotiations. >> that's going to be interesting to follow. thank you for doing us, gary from alabama. that's a wrap for me everyone, this hour. i'm alex witt. yasmin is up next. she's going to talk to a texas judge who's outraged at that governor's decision to lift the mask mandate. see you tomorrow at noon. to lif mask mandate see you tomorrow at noon childrn may still face hunger. so, subaru and our retailers are doing it again, donating an additional 100 million meals to help those in need. love. it's never been needed more than right now.

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from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home. good afternoon, everybody, i'm yasmin vossoughian. we got a lot to get through in the next two hours. starting with the passage of the massive $1.9 trillion covid relief bill narrowly passing by

a vote of 50-49 without a single republican voting yes. and then just a short time ago, the president spoke about this historic bill. >> we took office 45 days ago, i promised the american people help was on the way. today, i can say we've taken one more giant step forward in the delivering on that promise. >> the senate pulled an all-nighter, shall we say, to get this past the goal line, and there are compromises that are going to affect you, by the way, so how has this bill actually changed from the original house version? and then, really, the question is, what is next? i'm going to give you a hint here. it's not going to the president's desk directly. our reporters in washington have the very latest on that. but i first want to hear more of what the president actually had to say after the passage of this bill in the senate. >> good day today. you know, when we took office 45 days ago, i promised t