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pacific. i am jose diaz-balart and president biden commemorates the historic gun safety law , the first of its kind in years. members of congress who voted for the bill and people who have been impacted by gun violence will be attending the ceremony. there are bipartisan measures for states to implement their own red flag laws and enhance background checks and mental health and cracking down on purchases. joining us with the latest, what is the message from the white house this morning? >> there was urgency with this important bipartisan legislation and that led to the president signing it into law without the ceremony we will see here today. there was the

effort on the part of the white house to mark this moment as the most significant piece of gun safety legislation to be passed since president biden was senator. he wanted to mark this moment to celebrate with members of congress for getting this over the finish line but also families whose lives are impacted by this as well. we are expecting to hear from the president and the vice president who has been outspoken recently more and more on the part of democrats to take more action and be stronger on this issue. we also hear from a family member from you faulty mac taxes and also representing the community of buffalo, new york where there was a mass shooting. you will hear several points and one is what is in the new legislation. so-called closing the boyfriend loophole.

you will also hear the president talk about the actions his administration has taken with executive authority. the justice department with use of strike forces and ghost guns and then you will hear the president do something he has done in other contexts which will be on the abortion law. if there is enough public pressure on lawmakers, not necessarily in the official setting up the white house, but make it clear this fall as well. you will hear hail to the chief which means the president is about to come. another important point is that this is the most significant crowd i have seen on the south lawn of the white house for any event since biden has been in the white house. the other thing that approached it was the bipartisan infrastructure that the president did last

november. this is in need of a celebration. you look at the new york times poll with the president's poll ratings in the low 30s. and also someone could be a potential nominee in 2024. they want to showcase the president delivering on a promise that he made in the 2020 campaign with the possibility of more to come. >> mike, as you said, we see the president and vice president as well as family members directly impacted by gun violence in our country and in you faulty mac taxes. clearly there is the unusual nature of the fact that this is a bipartisan bill that 30 years in the making. >> reporter: absolutely. this is what biden promised that he would do was to bring

lawmakers together on things like gun safety measures. it took the events and you faulty you faulty mac taxes. and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell was among those republicans who openly embraced this legislation and got it across the finish line as well. >> let's listen and. >> it is the first gun legislation in 30 years. [ applause ]. it has been 40 days since the massacre and the makeshift memorial and downtown you faulty mac. with children's pictures and colorful ribbons taken down. the white roses in the sunbleached teddy bears have been taken away and stored.

what remains is a hollow feeling and our guide as we drive through our sleepy downtown. it quickly turns to pain and anger as we approach the grounds of robb elementary school, a place no one likes to visit. i am using this pain to speak to you today as someone from uvalde and representing the parents and the victims who seek the truth and transparency and ultimately accountability. [ applause ]. these parents seek a safe and secure environment for their children. it has been tough to be a pediatrician in a community where children do not want to return to school and parents don't want to send them them there with fear of another attack. i spent half my days convincing kids that no one is coming for them and that they

are safe, but how do i say that knowing the very weapons used in the attack are still freely available? let this only be the start of the movement for the banning of assault weapons. as i have said before, adults are stubborn and we are resistant to change even when the change will make things better for ourselves. especially when we think we are immune to the fallout. as we have seen, no community is immune to the fallout. rather the fallout is lending in our backyards on a weekly basis. i commend the bipartisan legislators who passed the bill. i think president biden and vice president harris for standing with the community if you faulty mac and allowing our voices to be heard. i invite everyone to move

forward from the start of the change that will allow all of our children to make it to the end of our fight wishes a world where safety in schools is never doubted and weapons of war are not allowed in our communities. [ applause ]. the you body community thanks you for your love and support and i am honored to introduce our great champion, the vice president of the united states, kamala harris. >> good morning. thank you dr. for the introduction and for your courage and your compassion. you have been such a source of strength to the families of you faulty mac and i know it is not without personal sacrifice, thank you for your youth leadership. to our president, joe biden, members of congress,

members of our administration, friends and fellow americans, today is indeed a historic day. for 30 years, our nation has failed to pass meaningful gun violence legislation. again and again the american people have called for common sense action to protect our communities. last month, the call was finally answered when president joe biden signed the safer communities act. [ applause ]. because of the president's leadership and because of so many of you, we have passed a law that will make communities around our nation safer. for my whole

career, addressing gun violence has been one of my top priorities. first is a courtroom prosecutor and then as district attorney of san francisco where we created a gun specialist unit to go after violent offenders. then, of course, as attorney general where we work closely with the california bureau of firearms to investigate and seized firearms from those who unlawfully possess them. as a u.s. senator, together with colleagues in the senate, we supported legislation to address this crisis. so, i knew and i know now, as many of you do, that we are overdue in getting this work done. i know it will save lives. together we gather with many of the leaders who made this law a reality. to the friends and family members of the victims of gun violence and in the face of so

much pain, you have shown incredible strength. it is a profound honor to stand with you today. to the members of congress who are here with us in the face of so much pessimism . you passed a bipartisan law. you worked across the aisle and the product of that work will make our communities safer. that deserves applause. [ applause ]. >> about as all of us know gathered here today, we would not be here were it not for the vision, the courage and the unwavering determination of one particular individual, joe biden.

[ applause ]. our president, joe biden, has fought for decades to end the terror of gun violence. he has taken on the gun lobby and won. as a senator, joe helped pass. i don't call him joe now, i call him mr. president, the brady handgun violence protection act. [ applause ]. >> which, as we know, is a background check system which is prevented more than 3 million firearms from falling into dangerous hands. and he passed a 10 year ban on assault weapons and high- capacity magazines. [ applause

]. >> as vp, joe biden led efforts to reduce gun violence. president joe biden knows the tremendous pain of gun violence . he has seen it up close. he has held hands with parents who lost children and with children who lost parents. president biden knows the urgency of this fight and he will continue to do all in his power to protect the people of our nation. and now, it is my honor to welcome for now woodfield jr. who has spent time mourning the loss with his family.

[ applause ]. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> i'm at the wrong place. madame vice president, thank you for your kind introduction and more importantly, on behalf of my sibling robin and our father and our entire family, many of whom are here today. on behalf of especially my mom, we are eternally grateful and covered her by you and the second gentleman's compassion is you attended our memorial service. as we shared with you then, she was a big supporter and i'm sure she is a dancing in heaven just knowing you were there. i

would like to begin my remarks by saying the names of the victims of the buffalo massacre. andre mcneil, hayward patterson , catherine massey, margaret morrison. geraldine talley, pearl young and ruth woodfield, are 86-year-old mother, all of whom went to the only supermarket in their community on may 14th to pick up groceries . believing they were safe, but they were not. the devastating reality is that and individual armed with a weapon of war walked in with cameras rolling and massacred them in the name of a hateful ideology. my family, our

families and our community are devastated. the attempt to divide us and promulgate further violence within our community has failed miserably. we have been chosen love over hate and to speak out rather than to stay silent. to stand with those courageous enough to leave us to the signing of the most impactful gun legislation in over 30 years. we are grateful for this day, but we know this is only the first step. this law will not only help us in some cases prevent future tragedies. we must address white supremacy. plus. it is a leading threat to our homeland and our way of life and so we must continue.

because we are led by a president who understands and is characterized this fight as one for the soul of our nation. a president who through his own trauma and best experiences understands and empathizes with all of us. i am not just saying that to be singing it. because in the midst of our pain, he and the first lady showed up and they put their arms around us and promised to not only see that our immediate needs were met, but to work every day to mitigate the gun violence and the racism plaguing our nation. so, we believe we are well prepared, but it is just the beginning of the journey. ladies and gentlemen, it's my distinct honor to introduce the person that we, the people, and more importantly, god, has chosen to bleed us at a time such as this,

president biden. >> how are you doing? [ applause ]. >> good morning everyone. dr., thank you. your heroism and treated wounded children and you faulty mac. many you have known their whole lives and you have treated them through normal child problems as their pediatrician. this is something i will never forget. and it is good to see you again , i know how tough it is. a lot of people here have been

victims of gun violence and they have lost sons, daughters, husbands and wives and i understand your pain. every time you stand up to talk about it, even for a good cause, it brings it back, like happened yesterday. thank you for your courage. jill and i will never forget the time we spent with you and your families. i would like to thank vp harris and the second gentleman and members of the cabinet here today. as well as elected officials from across the country. i want to thank the governor of illinois and the mayor of highland park for being here. i mean that sincerely. we had a number of conversations immediately after the attack at highland park and i have been impressed with the way they handled things. it has been extraordinary.

as the three of us have discussed, we have more to do. i also want to thank the bipartisan group of senators who worked hard to get this done. especially senators murphy and sender cinnamon and telis. i hope i didn't get you in trouble mentioning your name. and all of the members of congress who worked with us during this time and 80 are in attendance today. and i am sorry some senators cannot be here because they are working from home and overcoming mild cases of covid. i know how hard it was to write the first gun list insulation and how hard it was to get this done. at least in my career, it was past 30 years ago, that's how long ago it was. as i look

around the crowd, i see advocates and families. many who have had lives shattered by gun violence and they have made it their purpose to save lives. i've spent time with so many of you over the years that we have actually become personal friends . i cannot thank you enough for your willingness to continue to fight for other families. not that you can bring back your loved ones, but you did it to make sure other families do not experience the same loss and pain you have experienced. you have felt and you feel the price of inaction. this is taken too long and there has been too much carnage. i know it seems distant from everyday lives, because of your work and your advocacy and your courage, lives will be saved today and tomorrow because of this.

[ applause ]. >> what we are doing here today is real, vivid, relevant. we will make the nation the kind of nation we should be. it's about the most fundamental of things, the lives of our children and our loved ones. we face literally a moral choice in this country. a moral choice with real-world implications. where we take wise steps to protect the innocent and while keeping faith with constitutional rights . will we match thoughts and prayers with action? i say yes, and that's what we are doing here today. today is many things. despite the naysayers, we can make meaningful progress on dealing with gun violence. make no mistake, sit down and what i have to say.

you. >> let me finish my comments. >> let them talk. make no mistake about it, this legislation is progress but more has to be done. the provision of this new legislation is going to save lives. it is proof that with today's politics we can come together on a bipartisan basis and get things done, even on issues as toughest guns. one more thing, it's a call to action to all of us to do more. to take away from the legislation, it is not what we can do. the take up way is that now we are opening to get more done. senator murphy has said when

you look at the biggest social issues that america has faced throughout history, success begets success. that's when you quote finally move that mountain and you can ignite a movement when you do that, for more progress to follow. we have finally moved to the mountain of opposition to stop every effort and gun safety for 30 years in the history of this nation. now it is time to galvanize this movement. that's our duty to the people of this nation. that's what we owe the families of buffalo where grocery store became a killing field. that's what we owe families and you faulty mac were in elementary school became a killing field. and in highland park, on july 4th the parade became a killing field. we have people representing families today and

representing schools and places of worship and workplaces and schools and nightclubs and so many other places that have turned to killing fields. that's what we owe families across this nation. where every day there are tragic killings that do not make the headlines. they are little more than mentioned in passing in the local news. neighborhoods and streets turn in the killing fields as well. today's legislation is unimportant start. here are the key things it does. it provides $750 million in crisis intervention and red flag laws so parents and the teacher and a counselor can flag if a student is exhibiting violent tendencies and threatening classmates and experiencing suicidal thoughts that makes them a danger to themselves and others. importer, texas in 2009, 13 dead

and more injured. >> marjory stoneman douglas high school with 17 dead. in both places, they were suffering with invisible wounds and in both places red flag laws could've stopped both of those shooters. you know, this new law requires young people under 21 to undergo and enhance background check before purchasing a gun. how many more shootings do we need to see where a shooter 17 or 18 years old can get his hands on a weapon and go on a killing spree? you know, it closes the so- called boyfriend loophole. if you are convicted of assault against your girlfriend, you cannot buy a gun. according to a recent study, with mass shootings, the shooter shot a family member or partner. if we keep guns out of the hands of

domestic abusers, we can save the lives of their partners and also stop more mass shootings. this is the first afro federal law that makes gun trafficking and explicit federal crime. [ applause ]. it clarifies who needs to register is a federal licensed gun dealer and run background checks before selling a single weapon. it invests in anti-violence programs that works with communities on gun crimes. and, this law provides funding vital for addressing the youth mental health crisis in this country, including the trauma experienced by the survivors of gun violence. it will not save every live from the epidemic of gun violence, but if this law had been in place years ago, even this last year, lives would have been saved. it matters, it matters. it's not enough and we all know

that. in preparation for today's signing, i asked people to send me their stories about their experience with gun violence. i received over 2500 responses in 24 hours. i did not get to read them all, but i was able to read son. one high school senior set a school shooting shattered any sense of normalcy that i ever felt. years later i still have nightmares. >> and growing up in the seemingly endless era of gun violence. and a 40-year-old wrote about friends shot and killed by former partners. and a six-year-old child sitting near his father's kaufman is asking, why is daddy and that scary box, wake up daddy, wake up daddy. his father had been gunned down. i read these stories and so many others, so many others. you

know, i see the statistics. over 40,000 people died from gunshot wounds last year in the united states. 25 thousand by suicide. i think, can this really be the united states of america? why has it come to this? we know the reasons with the gun lobby and gun manufacturers and special interest lobby where you don't debate issues on the merits, we would rather turn on each other from our corners and attack the other side. regardless, we are living in a country awash in weapons of war . weapons designed to hunt are not being used as they are designed, they are used as weapons of war to take on anatomy. what is the rationale for these weapons outside of war zones? some people claim

it's for sport or to hunt. let's look at the facts. the most common rounds fired from and ar-15 which is twice as fast as that from a handgun. a couple of smaller and lighter bullets, these weapons maximize the damage done coupled with those bullets. human flesh and bone is just torn apart. as difficult as it is to say, that's why so many people, and some in this audience, and i apologize for having to say it, they need to provide dna samples to identify the remains of their children. think of that. it's why trauma surgeons train for years for these moments. that a high-powered assault weapon will make it long enough to get to the hospital. it's why scenes of destruction resembling nothing like a weekend hunting trip for deer or elk.

yet we continue to let the weapons be sold to people with no training or expertise. a case in point, america has the finest fighting force in the world. we provide the service with the most lethal weapons on earth to protect the people. they are also given significant training before being allowed to use the weapons. we require significant background checks and mental health assessments on them. they are required to learn to lock the weapons and store them sensibly. we require the military to do these commonsense requirements but we don't require it of a stranger walking into a gun store to purchase and ar-15 or something like that. it makes no sense. assault weapons need to be banned. i led the fight in 1994 and then under the pressure of the gun manufacturers, the ban was lifted in 2004. in the 10 years

that it was law, mass shootings went down. the law expired in 2004 in the weapons were allowed to be sold again in the shootings tripled. there are the facts. i am determined to ban these weapons again with high-capacity magazines that allows mass shooters to fire hundreds of bullets in a matter of minutes. i'm not going to stop until we do it. and there is another thing we should do, we should have safe storage laws requiring personal liability for not locking up your gun. [ applause ]. >> the shooter at sandy hook came from a home full of guns and assault weapons that were too easy to access. weapons that he used to kill his mother and murdered 26 people including 20 innocent first-graders. if you own a weapon, you have a responsibility to secure it and keep it under lock and key.

[ applause ]. >> responsible gun owners are great. no one else should have access to it. lock it up and have trigger locks. if you don't and something bad happens, you should be held responsible. [ applause ]. >> i have four shotguns. two are mine into our my deceased son's. they are locked up under lock and key. every responsible gun owner that i know does that. we should expand background checks to keep the guns out of the hands of those under domestic violence restraining orders. and that is in something that the majority of gun owners agree on. my fellow americans, none of what i'm talking about infringes on anyone's second

amendment rights. i support the second amendment. but when guns are the number one killer archer of children in the united states. let me say it again, guns are the number one killer of children in the united states. more than car accidents and more than cancer. over the last two decades, more high school children have died of gun shots then all active duty police officers and military combined. think of that. we cannot stand by and let it happen any longer . with rights come responsibilities. yes, there is a right to bear arms. we also have a right to live freely without fear for our lives in a grocery store or in a classroom or on the playground or at a house of worship. in a store or a nightclub or at a festival or in our neighborhoods or on our streets. the right to bear guns isn't the right to dominate others. to be neighbors and fellow

citizens is that we obey the laws and customs to ensure what the framers called domestic tranquility. that's what civilization is and that is what we have been at our best and what america must always be. a place where we preserve the rights and fulfill our responsibilities. i know there can be no greater responsibility than to do all we can to ensure the safety of our families, our children, and our fellow americans. when i spoke to the nation after the you faulty mac, i shared how her grandmother who had lost her granddaughter gave me and she'll a handwritten letter. we spent four or five hours. it reads, quote, erase the invisible line dividing our nation. come up with a solution

and fix what is broken. make the changes to prevent this from happening again. that is why we are here, that's why we are here. i would like to thank those in congress, democrat and republican, who erase the invisible line and moved us forward on gun safety, and important step. now we must move forward with so much more work to do. i might add that the $75 million are there for mental health reasons. the variety of things that i won't go into today, but it's important. may god bless all of us with the strength we need to finish the work begun. on behalf of the lives lost in the lives we can save, may god bless you all and may god protect our troops. thank you. plus. [ ♪♪ ].

>> president biden wrapping up his comments on this day where a unusual bipartisan law 30 years in the making. you can see him meeting with senators that were behind the process of getting together and hammering out the first gun safety law that emerges from the congress and more than 30 years. our nbc news correspondent is back with us this morning. mike, there was a moment there in the ceremony with and interruption. >> he is the father of one of the victims of the school shooting in park lend, in florida. we couldn't quite hear

what he was saying specifically to the president from the audience, but this should not has been, in his view a celebration. it's important to keep the momentum for gun safety legislation and by celebrating, it makes it harder for republicans, in particular to support the stronger measures the president is calling for. when the president signed this bill into law, one of the major questions was, does this represent the start of the process? is this a new beginning and a new momentum for gun safety legislation that poll after poll shows the country supports, or does it represent this divided congress? with the stronger gun laws, does that represent the total in this environment.

>> we've heard that from all the speakers, certainly the president vice president. and we've heard that from those who have suffered recently from mass shootings and you faulty mac in buffalo, new york. the president will not whet rest until there is a new assault weapons ban like the one he championed as a senator that was signed into law in 1990 four and expired. part of what the speakers wanted to convey is there is momentum for it, in their view, and should be moving forward if the pressure continues to be on the lawmakers opposed to it. it was notable to hear from darnell whitfield who lost his mother to the shooting. she was the oldest victim at 86-year- old in buffalo. he said his life has been changed and he advocates for stronger gun laws moving forward. that is

something i've heard the president say so often. as he has met others with similar loss, his advice is to have the tragedy give them purpose in life. whether it is garnell whitfied or fred guttenberg who you have spoken to, with the pain of the tragic shootings, they become outspoken advocates and convincing advocates for gun safety reform. that is part of what the president wants to galvanize moving forward. it is notable as well that he get thanks to senator chris murphy at the forefront for of working toward the legislation, but also republicans. he singled out john cornyn of texas and thom tillis of north carolina. he said at one point, i hope i'm not getting you in trouble

by acknowledging you and thanking you for your work. if there is to be further meaningful legislation on gun safety, there will have to be a change in the congress this november or a change in attitude, particularly among republicans. i think tucson effort on the part of the white house from their perspective that this is not the end but the beginning of further work. >> thank you so much, let's take a quick break. you are watching jose diaz-balart on msnbc and we will be right back. will be right back.

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what if i told you... you'll leave here different? are you ready?! - hell no. - no. >> 45 minutes past the hour and now to capitol hill preparing for the next panel. tomorrow's hearing will focus on how the mob that attacked the capital came together and how extremist groups like the proud boys and oath keepers played a role. one

of the witnesses will be the former spokesperson for the oath keepers. this comes as donald trump's chief strategist, steve bennett offers to testify after failure to comply with panelists citing executive privilege. and there are motions related to the original refusal. let's go to our capitol hill correspondent na special agent with the fbi. now a senior lecturer at the yale law school. what we know about the expected plans tomorrow? >> tomorrow is a hearing that's going to be led in part by congressman jamie raskin and the rest by congresswoman jamie murphy. they will connect the

dots with how the mob came to the capital on january 6th. they will focus on the right wing extremist groups like the proud boys in the oath keepers. our sources are telling us a former spokesperson for the oath keepers group will testify live. he will speak to the inner workings of the group. as always, the job of the committee is to connect the dots back to the former president and his inner orbit. the lawmakers it said on the sunday shows. >> be there or be wild was the call to these folks. >> donald trump was the central figure who set everything into motion. >> again calling the tweet and inspiring call. making note of

the fact that trump himself laid out the date of january 6th. that is something that others in his orbit did as well like john eastman and others on radio shows. that's why they want to talk to steve bannon who is seemingly open to testify . tomorrow is not about him it is about the former president's orbit the galvanize to make january 6th the day that it was . >> talk about who the proud boys and oath keepers are. >> the proud boys and oath keepers are two militia groups. both have members charged with the dishes conspiracy. seditious conspiracy is the agreement between two or more people to overthrow the government of the united states . what is interesting about their indictments is that it reveals they are aware their role is to occupy congress and

to put pressure on lawmakers and the vice president to basically go through with this scheme to throw out the electors and give it back to the states, or throw the election to trump. also there waiting for orders from trump. i think the key is to follow this trail. how did they know this part of the plan ? this is not something that happened on the fly. it is something that they understood they were part of a bigger plan. who is communicating this to them? if we follow the steps back, does it need to president trump himself? >> it is something that clearly you hope to see the committee talk about in some detail tomorrow. but the communications aspect of it and the improvisation it seems carried on outside the capital by these groups.

>> yes, they had a lot of communication among them. they had a cache of weapons ready to last them for 30 days once they took over the capital. it was a plan and vacuum. we know, for example, members of these militia groups were in contact with roger stone, a part of trump's inner circle and there was a plan to get them riled up and get them to the capitol to get them to believe that vice president pence was going to somehow go through with this scheme to overthrow the election. and i think the communication piece is really important, because we need to know who they were in communication with within trump's inner circle and what they were discussing. >> meanwhile, if bannon were to testify before the committee, clearly they wouldn't do it in a public, non-controlled way.

>> yeah. but that's what he wants. his demand here is that bannon would like through this lawyer to do this live and in public. the committee, multiple members have said that's not what's going to happen. instead they said he can do what everyone else has done, which is come in, sit for a taped deposition, be there for as long as it takes and then they can use relevant portions of this deposition in the hearings. the pat cipallone deposition happened on friday, more than eight hours of testimony from the former top white house lawyer. that's something the committee is now working in realtime to put into their hearings they've already had set and continuously trying to stay up to date with the latest information. it's always been the challenge of this committee, still actively fact finding and laying out the facts they have found. it's only going to continue this

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55 past the hour.

this comes as president biden is preparing for his first trip to the middle east as president. the president leaves tomorrow, tuesday night, for a trip that will take him to israel, the west bank and saudi arabia. the visit to saudi arabia has sparked some controversy as the president vowed to make the oil producing nation a pariah for the 2018 killing of journalist jamal kashoggi. the president defending the trip in an op-ed in the "washington post" on sunday, writing, quote, my views on human rights are clear and longstanding and fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when i travel abroad. with us to talk about this is david rode. great seeing you. the president wrote in his op-ed that there are several different reasons for him to go to saudi arabia. but is this trip about gas, oil or other things? >> it's about gas and oil.

gas and oil in terms of countering vladimir putin and ukraine and countering authoritarianism in general. there's a contradiction there. obviously the crown prince of saudi arabia is an authoritarian leader. i believe he's responsible for the murder of jamal kashoggi, a dissident saudi journalist brutally killed in turkey. but i think the president is playing a long game here. he hopes to sort of restore the u.s. relationship with saudi arabia, maybe in the long-term reduce gas prices by getting saudi arabia to pump more oil. but it's sort of a faustian bargain. it's a risk for the president, but i think it's the right thing that he's trying to do this. in essence, deal with an autocrat in the short-term, but weaken autocracy in the long term by bringing down oil and gas prices.

>> i want to remind our viewers what the president said about saudi arabia during the campaign. >> i would make it very clear we were not going to, in fact, sell more weapons to them. we were going to, in fact, make them pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are. there's very little social redeeming value in the present government in saudi arabia. >> very little social redeeming value in a country and a government where he is going to now that hasn't changed. >> it's try. look, mohammed bin salman has repressed dissidents in saudi arabia. there's limited freedoms. he plays up some reforms that he's made, but he's an autocrat. there's no question. the invasion of ukraine has changed -- forget gas prices, there's also a food crisis. there's many, many people in

developing countries who face starvation as this blockade on ukraine's ports continues by vladimir putin. it's an awkward situation. it's not a great thing to be dealing with mohammed bin salman again. but i think there's a long-term strategy here of trying to get at least the saudis to distance themselves from russia. they can do that by producing more oil, which would bring down prices, which would help biden politically. look in the end at what biden needs in the u.s. is also political support. his poll numbers are very low. so this is in essence making a deal with a figure that biden has correctly criticized in the past, but it could, again, help biden in the long term, help ukraine and help the long-term battle against authoritarian governments by the u.s. >> making a deal with a country

that, quite frankly, has been over the decades on the side of being in alliance with the united states more than against the united states. it's now just, i guess, repairing those relations. thank you so very much for being with us. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz balart. follow the show online at jd balart msnbc. andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. ♪♪ good day, everyone. this is "andrea mitchell reports" in washington, where the january 6th committee could be delivering more bombshell hearings after former trump white house counsel pat cipallone testified last week at a closed session in response to a subpoena. now the committee is weighing opening up their public hearings to a last-minute offer