♪♪ good afternoon, i'm lindsey reiser in for yasmin. georgia's governor going on the offensive. short time ago, brian kemp did his best to call out major league baseball and other companies for their criticism of their new restrictive voting law. but we'll explain the reality facing millions of americans who will potentially lose access to the ballot box. right now on capitol hill, flags flying half staff in honor of a capitol police officer who lost his life defending the heart of america's democracy. the new details we're learning

today. and did security procedures hold up after scrutiny in the aftermath of the january 6th riots? it's my question to retired lieutenant general russell honore, who led the security review. also, we'll show you the text messages that could end a congressman's career. matt gaetz is known for his devoted fan base, but at the moment, he has few friends in washington. i'll ask the investigative journalist who has those texts what light they shed on the allegations. plus, a highway deemed racist by the president himself. i'll talk to the woman who single-handedly brought this eyesore to the national spotlight and. and how the $2 trillion infrastructure bill could help rebuild that community and others like it. we begin with that breaking news from georgia where a short time ago, governor brian kemp says he will not bow to pressure from major league baseball or anyone else when it comes to the new voter restriction law in thinks state. >> cancel culture and partisan

activists are coming for your business. they're coming for your game or event in your hometown. and they're coming to cancel everything from sports to how you make a living. and they will stop at nothing to silence all of us. >> with me right now is nbc's deepa shivaram in atlanta. what else did governor kemp have to say in his attempts to defend this law? >> reporter: that's right, lindsey, governor kemp there saying that he feels like he's being silenced as he stands in front of a podium right over there speaking about how he is doubling down on his position, defending this bill that he signed just a little over a week ago. republican talking points are that this bill expands voting measures, but what we know is that there are a number of aspects of this bill that make it really difficult for people to cast a ballot and particularly black voters, voters of color, people in poorer communities.

i'll give you just one example. especially during this pandemic, we saw a lot of folks wanting to cast their ballot and put it in a ballot box, right, drop it off in one of those drop boxes. they didn't want to have to stand in line, show up in-person, trying to social distance and keep healthy and safe. now those ballot boxes are limited significantly. there's only one in every county, which means that it's just really a lot more difficult for voters to be able to cast their ballot in future elections. what you're hearing from republicans, though, is that they feel like emotions from mlb -- i'm sorry, delta, coca-cola speaking out and saying that they are condemning this move and of course we saw mlb just yesterday pull away that all-star game from atlanta. they're basically saying it's part of cancel culture, like you heard brian kemp there, and they're not going to back down from what they have passed just a little over a week ago. lindsey in >> and it's important to note as you talk about the pandemic and the fact that it changed the way people voted.

i mean, and that crowd behind the governor, including the governor himself, there were very few masks in sight and the pandemic is not over. but deepa, back to the item at hand here. what implications could this bill have on the midterm elections for both sides? >> reporter: right, lindsey, and i wanted to also add, as we're hearing republicans double down on this bill, you're also hearing from democratic leaders already coming out and saying, you know, almost like a congratulations, right, they're applauding mlb for taking a stand on this, applauding some of these businesses for taking a stand. we got a statement from barack obama through his twitter account earlier today saying it was a very good way to honor hank aaron, who was going to be honored at that all-star game. he passed away earlier this year, someone who really fought against racism in baseball itself. but as all these statements are coming out, the reality is that democrats are really going to have to fight hard to make sure that voters come out, turn up in this next election, particularly 2022. we know that senator raphael warnock will be up again, fighting to keep his seat in the

senate that was a pretty close race just in that runoff that we saw a couple of months ago, and democratic organizers that i have spoken to who are working in the state have worked in the state before, are saying it's definitely going to be somewhat of an uphill battle. it will be a tough fight. but look, stacey abrams has built an organization here centered on educating voters, teaching them how to vote, teaching them how to work around all these kind of restrictions so it's definitely not the first time that there have been voting restrictions in this state. so, what that does in the 2022 race is something we're going to have to keep an eye on. >> we know you will. deepa shivaram in atlanta, thank you. a quick programming note. later today, georgia state representative park cannon will join reverend al sharpton following her arrest. remember that video of her knocking on kemp's door? he will talk to her about that. also, martin luther king iii will be on to honor his father one day before the 53rd anniversary of his death. don't miss "politics nation." it airs today at 5:00 p.m. eastern only on msnbc.

let's get to more breaking news, this time from capitol hill on yesterday's deadly attack. we now know the officer who died, williamevans, was hit by that car, driven by the man who slammed into that barricade. investigators say the suspect's social media posts are now central into finding out how this whole crime scene unfolded. and to honor officer evans' life, flags are not only at half staff on capitol hill and the white house, when you see on your screen, but also in the states of virginia and kentucky. nbc's lee ann caldwell was at the capitol yesterday giving us minute by minute reports. she joins us now on the hill where the investigation stands at this hour. what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, capitol police are still reeling from what happened yesterday as well as the capitol community, but we're learning a little bit more about the suspect today. his name, of course, is noah green, 25 years old from indiana, who is living in virginia for a while. according to some of his social media posts, he was a follower

of the nation of islam, and something that the southern poverty law center has deemed a hate group. it's obviously different from the religion of islam, and it is, you know, we don't know if this is connected. there's motives are still unclear. these investigations are ongoing, and the fbi is lending resources into these investigations as well. as far as the officer who died, billy evans, what we know about him is that he was extremely well liked and friendly up here on capitol hill. greeting reporters, staff, senators, as they entered the capitol on a daily basis. we know that he has two children as well, and capitol police who are already suffering from very low morale after january 6th have now have to deal with this. but moving forward, lawmakers have a lot of decisions to make, a lot of decisions about what security is going to look like

in the aftermath of this, not only after january 6th but what happened yesterday on april 2nd. there's a new statement out just moments ago from senate majority leader, chuck schumer, who addresses this, and i'm going to read, in part. it says, to address security at the capitol in a comprehensive way following the insurrectionist attack on january 6th, senate committees were already conducting bipartisan and extensive reviews to ensure the capitol is as secure as possible while also remaining accessible to the public. we are fully committed to ensuring the capitol is safe for visitors and all who work here. and that is the balance that lawmakers, law enforcement have to make, because this is usually an open building so they want to preserve that while also ensuring that what is here

remains secure. >> leigh ann, we are happy that you are safe. you had quite the vantage point yesterday. thank you. today, it a chance to speak with retired lieutenant general russell honore, who led the military task force after hurricane katrina, and house speaker nancy pelosi has also tapped him to lead the security review in the wake of the january 6th riots. he urged congress to add more capitol police officers as well as a rapid response unit to quickly deal with crises, and today, he reiterated that the u.s. capitol is a target 24/7. here's some of our conversation. >> are you satisfied yesterday with the length of time between incident and response? >> absolutely. they apparently used the incident command systems which they were trained to use. they did that a lot better yesterday. the interagency coordination with the capitol, with the park

service and their assets, the information going to the d.c. police, it was collaborative. this is the way it's supposed to work and that's the way the machine's supposed to work and it worked. they used all the tools. unfortunately we lost an officer but you can see that the -- this police force is serious about protecting the capitol. many lessons were learned on 1/6 and i think they are committed to making sure that does not happen again. and my hat's off to them. my compliments to them. >> and he added right now the capitol police force is short. they have the budget to recruit some 200 more officers but he says it's a challenge to recruit that many in a year. he wants the national guard to remain there in the meantime. turning now to the white house and president biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan, which he calls a once in a generation investment. the sweeping proposal comes as the economy appears to be getting back on track. here are the latest job numbers.

that latest report shows the country added more than 900,000 jobs last month, the most since august, in fact, and the unemployment rate fell to 6%. nbc's monica alba is at the white house with more. monica, with this optimism here that the economy is starting to recover a little bit, the president is touting this infrastructure plan as a way to add to that. >> reporter: exactly, lindsey, and the president is really betting big here. this is a giant price tag in this proposal, $2.25 trillion, which the president says if passed would be spending over the next 8 years to improve what we would call your traditional infrastructure, things like roads and bridges and highways, but also investing in what the white house is calling human infrastructure and infrastructure at home, and what does that mean? basically, everything from expanding access to broadband internet to fixing clean water supplies, building more affordable housing, they're really saying that all of these things that touch a number of federal agencies have been

broken in our country for so long, and it will take a giant package and legislation like this one in order to try to fix what is ailing america at this time. the president focused his first few months on getting covid relief passed. that was his priority in the relief and rescue category and that's why he's now pivoting to the recovery aspect but this does face quite a steep uphill battle on capitol hill and that's why the president is going to start his outreach to republicans as soon as next week and that's why he's inviting them to the white house as well, which he spoke about in his comments yesterday on the jobs numbers. take a listen. >> when congress comes back, after this easter break, i'm going to begin meeting with democrats, republicans about this plan. i've spoken to republicans on the phone. i'm looking forward to meeting with them. compromise is inevitable. changes in my plan are certain. but inaction is not an option.

congress should debate my plan. change it, offer alternatives if they think that's what they have to do. by congress should act. >> reporter: on the time frame aspect of this, lindsey, the president and the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, said they're hopeful something could potentially get passed by the 4th of july, but that's not a ton of legislative runway that he has there to really hammer out these negotiations. but the president is also betting that this is something that is popular in the country among voters of both parties, and that's why he's hopeful some of those gop lawmakers who have already said they're pretty opposed, may come to the table and he's eager to hear their ideas as well in terms of how to pay for it, lindsey. >> all right, nbc's monica alba, thank you. we are going to continue the conversation at 4:00 p.m. i'll be joined by california congressman john garamendi, who sits on the transportation and infrastructure committee, to talk more about president biden's bill and the likelihood of it making its way through congress. the murder trial is set to continue on monday for former

minneapolis police officer derek chauvin. following an emotional first week for the family and supporters of george floyd. let's bring in nbc's meagan fitzgerald. meagan, what were some key takeaways that you saw this week, and what can we expect in week two? >> reporter: lindsey, as you said, it was a very emotional week of testimony. jurors heard from bystanders who watched as george floyd took his last breath, many of them saying they felt helpless, they still feel guilty and the jury watched as many of these men and women broke down in tears on the witness stand. but at the end of the week, they heard from two senior high-ranking members of the minneapolis police department that testified that derek chauvin took things too far. i want you to hear the exchange between the prosecution and these two officers. >> when mr. floyd was no longer offering up any resistance to the officers, they could have ended their restraint. >> and that was after he was handcuffed and on the ground and no longer resistant?

>> correct. >> what is your, you know, your view of that use of force during that time period? >> totally unnecessary. >> reporter: now, next week, prosecutors will continue to call witnesses. we are expecting to hear from the chief of the minneapolis police department. lindsey in >> we keep hearing that from multiple witnesses here, that after there was no more resistance, the force should not have been used anymore. we saw that in the dash cam, too, one of the officers saying, let's put him on his side and that did not happen. nbc's meagan fitzgerald in minneapolis, thank you. coming up in our next hour, we're going to get analysis on this last week of testimony and also look ahead to next week with a panel of criminal justice and legal experts. that's coming up at 4:30 eastern. but up next, the latest in the investigation of florida congressman matt gaetz, accused of paying for sex, which he denies. his communications director resigning in the wake of the allegations. we're going to show you the

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breaking news, in north carolina, where a manhunt is under way for a gunman who killed three people and injured four others. it happened at a house party overnight in wilmington. no other information has been released, but police say this is one of the worst shootings in two decades in this small coastal community. we're working to find out how the four survivors are doing, but they are getting treatment at a local hospital. the biden administration continues to reverse trump-era policies, this time at the pentagon. transgender troops will again be able to serve openly in the military, reversing trump's ban that went into effect in 2019. the new policy not only allows troops to serve openly under their self-identified gender but will also cover medical treatment for gender transition. defense secretary lloyd austin has ordered a review to find out how many troops were discharged

or denied the chance to reenlist while the ban was still in place. we're learning some explosive new details surrounding the justice department's investigation into florida gop congressman matt gaetz. at the center of it all, allegations of a pay-for-sex arrangement between multiple women and gaetz as well as an indicted florida politician, according to "the new york times." the report details multiple text messages and receipts of payment that the two women claim were for sex. nbc news has not reviewed those text messages or receipts. gaetz has denied ever exchanging money for sex and he's also denying allegations that he had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl. so far, no charges have been brought against the congressman. but joining me now to discuss his own findings is jose, political investigations reporter for the "daily beast." jose, good to see you. take me through some of these text messages that you got your hands on that connects the feds to joel greenberg, that florida businessman, and congressman gaetz. >> so, let's take a look at a

name that frankly most people would never hear of, joel greenberg, elected to be the tact tax collector in seminole county and when he started, he ticked a lot of people off. he started accepting bitcoin for his kind of energy, started taking all kinds of freedoms, wearing a badge, pulling someone over, acting like a cop, and eventually he fell under the watch of the feds. now, we know that when the u.s. secret service started approaching former employees of his, they presented him with text messages that joel greenberg had explaining why in the world he was visiting one of his offices late at night on a weekend, april, 2018, with congressman matt gaetz. now, this is really important, because in the text messages that we got ahold of, joel greenberg is explaining that he happens to be there with gaetz, they're hanging out on the weekend in this office. but we now know that greenberg will later be indicted for apparently dealing in fake

i.d.s. he's creating fake i.d.s, that's what he's accused of, and so why in the world is this congressman at this office late at night with this tax collector? there's a second set of interesting text messages on the screen now where joel greenberg is asking one of his employees to do a favor for him on a sunday afternoon. apparently, congressman gaetz lost his i.d. and he needs a new duplicate right away without explanation. these are going to raise a ton of questions, because we know that these are the text messages delivered to federal investigators that suddenly made them go, matt gaetz? how is he involved in this? and so it's worth paying attention to this case out of central florida because this is the one that could ensnare this congressman. >> interesting. all right, so, after the allegations surfaced, before we read any of your -- the text messages that you got your mands on in the "daily beast," gaetz was really going full court press on this, he was on tv, on twitter, declaring his innocence, but one former federal prosecutor called these appearances a tremendous gift to

investigators. what do you think? i mean, this interview on fox news with tucker carlson that we're showing here was bizarre. >> it really was. this was the interview where he said, hey, look, tucker, you know, you were at dinner with me with a young woman, don't you remember? and tucker carlson immediately starts distancing himself from that, intelligently so, and what we're seeing is a congressman who's trying to take the offensive, right? trying to take the offensive and through all -- anything he can against the wall to try to get us to write about it and cover it, but he's taking something out of the playbook of a politician that he's been following now for years, which is ex-president trump. now, he was trump's lap dog for years. this was one of his most ardent supporters in congress. and what we're seeing now that my leagues at the "daily beast" have already reported now is that the president is not willing to speak publicly about this yet because his advisors are saying, keep quiet, don't say a thing. you don't want to touch this. >> i think your colleague broke

that. i want to go back to the text messages and we're probably going to show the video again. one of them says, you know, i was there over the weekend, why, did i leave something on? the other one says, hey, can you do me a favor and gaetz lost his i.d., exactly what you were alluding to. how do these texts relate right now to the allegations against gaetz other than the fact that it might be what sparked investigators' interest? i mean, could these at all be related to the very, very serious allegations that he is facing? >> well, this is the thing that starts them down that path, right? because joel greenberg is accused of -- i mean, there's a 33-count indictment against this guy with everything ranging from sex trafficking, which is the thing that we're now talking about with gaetz, to creating fake i.d.s, and what we already know is that we've got a u.s. congressman hanging out with this guy on a weekend, late at night, in an office, he really is not supposed to be in, and later asking for an i.d. so, these two share a ton of interests including their interests in cryptocurrency, bitcoin, and this is another

thing this local tax collector has been indicted for, which is apparently accused of trying to create bitcoin using government computers. >> and one of the reporters who broke the story in the "times," said the two were friends, they socialized often together. we have the picture of the two of them at the white house together even. jose, fascinating, your article is a very good read. i encourage everybody to look it up. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. coming up, a new milestone. four million vaccine doses in a single day. dr. kavita patel joins us to discuss the significance of that number in the race to vaccinate america. and it can't come soon enough. plus. >> reporter: and from a little bit of hope in the pandemic to some concerning headlines as the u.s. prepares to enter a possible fourth wave here of cases. michigan has come forth as one of the leading states with more cases. we'll explain why it's so bad here and the historic measures the state is taking to curb the spread. urb the spread my name is austin james.

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you're going to be hearing a lot about michigan. they're seeing the worst covid spike of all states in the country, and the state now has the highest number of coronavirus cases per capita. leaders are very concerned that spring break will only make it worse. nbc's cori coffin is following it all from royal oak, michigan, just outside detroit. so, cori, what are you hearing there? >> reporter: yeah, lindsey, unfortunately the state breaking all of the wrong records here at this time. an epidemiologist in this state believe if they can't get this spike under control, we see how vertical that is and we don't know where the top is, that the problem is the infection rate is going to get higher than the vaccination rate and they say it will be a very different story in michigan as far as what that timeline looks like for getting everything under control from late summer, early fall to then possibly the end of the year. one of the biggest problems in this state is people who do remain resistant to mask-wearing

and social distancing, not in all of the state but in parts of it. we're going to show you a heat map now of the different counties and you can see the purple part centered around the thumb, well, that is areas that have been traditionally more resistant to putting those measures be in place, and you can see that is where the biggest spike is right now. now, i spoke with a doctor out here at this hospital, beaumont hospital in royal oak, and they have seen just a massive increase. this doctor has worked day in and day out since the beginning of the pandemic, more than a year. listen to what he says about the current situation. >> for some, the pandemic might be over, and you don't see it, and you think, well, there's a vaccine, that's it, we're done with it. but you know, we still see that every day, and it's right in front of our faces,so if there's one sincere wish that i could have, it's that people just continue to take it seriously. again, we're so close to the end. we're so very close to the end. >> reporter: a desperate plea from that doctor this morning, and lindsey, it isn't just folks who are resistant to some of these measures and it isn't just the spring break travel.

those are two major factors. but the doctor also told me that it was also the uk variant. here in this state, it amounts for about 40% of cases detected and it is so fast-spreading that what they're fearing is that people are able to spread that variant in particular faster than they can get people vaccinated here in this state. so, governor whitmer is trying to ramp up the vaccination program. she has asked the white house for more vaccines, a historic number, the white house has approved that. they're going to send 60,000 more so now they're going to get more than 500,000 here this next coming week. >> we will talk about those variants with the doctor in just a little bit. msnbc's cori coffin, thank you. the spike, meanwhile, is happening in the northeast too. i visited old greenwich, connecticut, yesterday, where a church erected a memorial. small white flags to honor all of the lives lost in the state for holy week. the yale new haven health system is reporting an alarming rise in cases among young people, in

particular, including a 40% increase among patients between the ages of 35 and 44. and i asked connecticut senator richard blumenthal at the memorial whether these new numbers alarmed him. >> my message is, we have no cause for complacency. the numbers are rising again, and the physical impact of this scene should lead us to be all the more responsible. in what we do. we cannot, in any way, be complacent or satisfied with what we've done so far. everybody has to be vaccinated. people should continue to wear masks. and we should be sure that we care for each other. >> cases are also climbing in nearby new jersey, impacting the

ability for some districts to return to the classroom. as promised, let's bring in dr. kavita patel, msnbc medical contributor and physician and fellow at the brookings institution. dr. patel, let's get to some good news first before we get your take on the uptick we're seeing and the white house covid data director tweeted, a big milestone, 4.8 million doses reported administered over the total yesterday. it's a first day with four million or more. also, the first time averaging more than 3 million a day over the past week. so what does this milestone tell you about where we are in this race to end this pandemic? >> yeah, lindsey, it is good news because let's put it this way, in perspective. that's over 1% of the population of the entire country being vaccinated in 24 hours. >> wow. >> and imagine if we can keep up that pace over the next several weeks, lindsey, we are looking at a much brighter summer, and i mean, having people get together, being able to do that safely and now that we have

growing data that getting vaccinated pretty much prevents you from giving the virus, not zero, but it's pretty close to give that virus to someone else, lindsey, it's incredible. so, the senator, your reporting has been excellent. we just need to hold on, not that much longer. we're talking weeks to see the impact. >> i mean, everybody used to hear that, weeks, it's just a little bit more here. we are all so impatient but what are your concerns right now in seeing these spikes in connecticut, in new jersey, in michigan right now? >> yeah, couple of things. as you covered eloquently, it's younger people. i'm seeing much younger people coming in, no symptoms, symptoms, and we are seeing younger people being hospitalized. they're not dramatic increases of hospitalizations, let's be clear. but we're basically, because we've done such a good job, 75% of adults over the age of 65 have been fully vaccinated so we're not seeing older people as we did a year ago. so lindsey, we've got a mixed picture. we have a fourth wave but the wave is being driven by younger

people. they are younger people with chronic conditions, so i'm urging anybody, get tested and even if you're asymptomatic, but have had high risk travel, exposures, get tested, get access to monoclonal antibodies. they can prevent death. and get vaccinated if it's appropriate. so, those are the things that scare me, lindsey. these are preventable cases, deaths, and hospitalizations. and because of those variants, there's a higher chance of getting infected. our standard of 15 minutes of close contact, lindsey, might be outdated, because it could just be five minutes of close contact. >> oh my gosh. >> so we just don't know. so, hold on for several weeks, get tested, get help if you're positive. >> so, doctor, we've been talking about these variants for months, ever since they were first discovered. we knew this was going to happen. we knew the variance were more highly transmissible. this one in the uk running rampant across the country. talk to us about the efficacy right now that we're seeing from the vaccines against these variants. >> great question.

so, we are seeing across the three authorized vaccines in the united states, as well as the ones that are on deck to likely be off in the near future, lindsey, we are seeing effectiveness against all of the variants. it's not a classic trial for all of them. in some cases, we're looking at the vaccines and trying to look at antibodies and people who have been vaccinated develop in a lab, but we see that everybody who has been vaccinated develops some immune response to combat these variants. that's good news. the bad news, i think, is that they're not as effective as they are against the variants we had about a year ago, which leads to the trillion dollar question of boosters. we are likely going to need to have some sort of boosters to cover some of these variants as well as the ones we don't know in the near future, but that's -- the good news is the current vaccines do give us coverage, providing memory cells for these coverage as well, months from now, which is all very good news. >> all the more reason to make an appointment. dr. kavita patel, thank you.

still ahead, president biden's diverse first slate of judicial nominees shows a stark difference with his predecessor. biden's list includes three black women and the first muslim-american on a district court, if confirmed. how this could shape the federal court system next. how this could shape the federal court system next. hey, i'm alicia menendez, ahead on "american voices" i speak with bishop reginald jackson about why he's pushing big business in the interest of restoring voting rights in georgia and beyond. plus, as the president lays out his infrastructure plan, a reminder that america's bridges, roads, and tunnels are not the only things in need of repair. all that and and more starting 6:00 p.m. eastern, "american voices" right here on msnbc e. en voices" right here on msnbc e. that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i think most adults will start realizing that they don't recall things as quickly as they used to or they don't remember things as vividly as they once did.

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after four years of republicans shaping the u.s. courts, president biden has released his first wave of judicial nominees, which includes a diverse pool of 11 candidates for the federal

bench. you're seeing pictures of them right now, and among them, judge brown jackson who sits on the u.s. court of appeals for the district of columbia and has been eyed as a potential future supreme court pick. joining me right now to discuss is legal affairs correspondent at npr. you know, i want to get your thoughts on this first slate here. we'll show them again. we've got nine women here, majority people of color. why is it important to represent -- to have a bench that's representative of the country? >> well, the argument is that if you are hispanic or black or asian-american or some other -- or female, and there's nobody on the bench who looks like you, and there are actually courts in this country, appellate courts and district courts where there have never been anybody who's african-american, for example, or at least not recently. and so, it's important and joe

biden campaigned on a pledge to appoint a diverse bunch of nominees, and he delivered in this first bunch, and they're not just diverse in their racial make-up and ethnic make-up. they're also diverse in their backgrounds. i mean, the classic, easy way to get a federal judgeship is by being a prosecutor or a corporate lawyer. and if you look at the federal bench, there are very few people who came up as public defenders representing indigent defenders, and several of these nominees did just that. i think more than several, including ketanji brown jackson who's nominated for the u.s. court of appeals for the district of columbia and is sort of a hot ticket as a potential supreme court nominee, among other things, she was on president obama's short list in 2016 and president biden, again, has promised that should he get a supreme court nomination, he

will appoint a black woman. so, of course, everybody looks to the black women who are appointed to the lower courts. >> she would be filling merrick garland's seat there. this election in part is motivated by a desire to offset president trump's picks which were mostly white male judicial confirmations but let's talk about right now the average age of biden's picks. 48 years old, so they could potentially serve for decades here, and obviously, these people were picked on their merit, but is there some strategy there too? >> well, yes, but i have to tell you that that is probably considerably older than the trump nominees, many of whom were in their 30s and even their early 30s. so, i would say that republicans have, for decades, actually, thought that appointing younger people to the bench was important so they would be there for decades, and democrats certainly have taken note, but for example, ketanji brown

jackson is 50, and you know, that is a, pardon the expression, a perfect age for somebody who might get nominated to the supreme court. president trump's nominees, except for justice gorsuch, justice gorsuch, i think, was 49 when he was appointed, and justice kavanaugh was in his -- is in his mid 50s now and was in his mid 50s when he was appointed. so, you know, these nominees, if you want them long time and presidents increasingly do want them to serve a long time, there was a time when, for example, when you're talking about the supreme court, people would serve for a few years and sometimes leave to run for governor, for example. that doesn't happen nowadays. >> well, you wrote a piece that focuses right now on how much opportunity biden has to change the courts after the blitz from trump and mcconnell's conservative judges. how do you see the next four years playing out for the federal courts now that the

democrats have the majority? >> well, they have the majority for two years or pretty close to two years, anyway, when you're talking about judicial nominations. >> right. >> then you don't know what's going to happen two years from now. will republicans take control of the senate? there is certainly that serious possibility. and we know from history that mitch mcconnell knows how to slow walk a nomination. he did that to barack obama, and as a result of both obama's slowness in getting sort of moving off the dime early when he did have a majority and mcconnell's ability to slow walk nominees, if you look at the numbers for the courts of appeal, for example, in two terms, barack obama nominated and got confirmed 55 federal court of appeals judges. that's two terms. trump got 54, one less, in one term. >> interesting numbers. nina, you always teach us

something. thank you so much. >> thank you. coming up, fixing historic inequities through president biden's infrastructure plan. >> this plan is important. not only for what and how it builds but also important to where we build. it includes everyone, regardless of your race or your zip code. >> one target is an expressway that has plagued a predominantly black new orleans neighborhood for decades. while one of its residents joins me next to talk about what the plan can do to help. body wash? definitely moisturizer! antibacterial can i have both? new dove care & protect body wash eliminates 99% of bacteria and moisturizes for hours two for one! can i keep it? new dove care & protect, zero compromise! new projects means new project managers. can i keep it? you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home.

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neighborhood is celebrating part of president biden's infrastructure plan as a step toward racial equity. it's thanks to the new orleans neighborhood's champion and her ten-year campaign to get a highway removed. neighbors basically told amy she was nuts if she thought the government would just remove a major thoroughfare, but to her surprise, this week, president biden labeled the claiborne expressway an example of historic inequity and said it needs to go. i'm joined now by the woman who has made the highway's removal her passion. amy, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you for having me. i'm honored. >> the honor is all ours. claiborne avenue was once the heart of new orleans' tremain neighborhood, that is, until this major expressway was completed in 1968. you can actually see a highway

ramp from your porch, so how has this thoroughfare impacted the quality of life for you and your neighbors? >> actually, it's had a terrible impact on the quality of life for everybody who lives near it, and this is true for all urban highways. there are health threats that come with living near an urban highway. we breathe in pollution and particulate matter every day, and it is black. you can see evidence of it on our houses. anything you put outside is going to get coated with a layer of soot, and you can really see it on the columns of the expressway, because i-10 over claiborne and through the seventh ward has not been maintained since 1968. >> wow. and you just mentioned there the health impacts. communities of color are disproportionately impacted by highway pollution where you live and elsewhere as well. and in 2019, the congress of new urbanism labeled ten highways,

in fact, as racist. how did this happen in the first place? was a beloved neighborhood like yours essentially deemed expendable in the name of progress? >> yes, it was. so, a century ago, the city of new orleans declared the tremain neighborhood slum, which gave them carte blanche. they came in with eminent domain and began destroying homes and displaces people to create an entertainment district but the designation of a neighborhood as a slum opened the door for things like urban highways to be rammed through and really harm people and displace people. so, that declaration was really a black mark against the neighborhood, and the march began, you know, long before people realized what was going on. >> so, what's going to happen here? i mean, the biden presidency says it's got to go. what are the logistics here of removing a highway? and what would you like to see replace it?

>> well, actually, i'd like to see the boulevard restored, but the logistics would include engineering studies. new orleans is fortunate. we've already done some feasibility studies, so we're far along and we've done traffic studies that show that the removal of the highway will not in any way impede traffic. but how to get it down is going to be our next thing from just a managing the physical environment standpoint. but then there are other things we certainly have to begin thinking about equity and there is a lot in president biden's plan that speaks to building equity when things like urban highways are removed. >> well, amy stelly, we'll have to leave it there for today but we hope you'll come back and see us and talk to us about the progress of this. it was really good to talk to you about this. >> i'd be happy to return. thank you for having me. >> wonderful. and coming up in our next hour, we'll continue our conversation on president

biden's infrastructure plan. california congressman john garamendi joins me after the break to discuss the difficulties ahead for getting the proposal through congress. stay with us. ti the proposal through congress. stay with us water? why?! ahhhh! incoming! ahhhahh! i'm saved! water tastes like, water. so we fixed it. mio. new pronamel mineral boost helps protect teeth against everyday acids. water tastes like, water. pronamel boosts enamel's natural absorption of calcium and phosphate - helping keep teeth strong, white and protected from sensitivity. new pronamel mineral boost ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. thank you! hey, hey, no, no limu, no limu! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ guy fieri! ya know, if you wanna make that sandwich the real deal, ya gotta focus on the bread layers.

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investigation into allegations of underage sex. they're all challenges facing congress, and representative john garamendi will help us get a better understanding of them. i'll also ask him whether the house infrastructure committee, which he's a member of, will allow funding to go beyond roads, bridges, and railways, to things like green energy. plus. >> it's just not right. this is jim crow on steroids, what they're doing in georgia and 40 other states. this is all about keeping working folks and ordinary folks that i grew up with from being able to vote. >> first it was georgia passing a voter restriction law and now texas is on the verge, and 45 other states are looking at actions of their own. the new political fight pitting state leaders against their own citizens and job-creating corporations. reality on the ground, more than 170,000 people tried to cross america's southern border last month. who's being turned away, and what are conditions like now for