andrea mitchell picks up more news right now. ♪♪ good day, everyone. this is "andrea mitchell reports" in washington. president biden is pushing back forcefully against recession fears, despite historic inflation and supply chain backups that are frustrating businesses and consumers. >> we have a record job market, record unemployment of 3.6%. we created 9 million new jobs so far. businesses are investing in america at record rates. the chip bill will put another $72 billion for incentives and tax credits. that doesn't sound like a recession to me. >> nancy pelosi leaves topt for asia, leading a delegation of lawmakers for a chip that includes stops in japan, south korea, malaysia and singapore

with a controversial stop in taiwan, not ruled out, not confirmed. a live report from kentucky where a deadly flood is deaf stath rural areas. >> this is by far the worst flooding disaster, at least of my lifetime, in kentucky. it has wiped out what we believe are hundreds of homes. we have half of some of our counties under water. we will lose double digit lives. in pete we trust. i will be joined by our legendary justice correspondent pete williams as we pay tribute to his remarkable career here to nbc news before he heads off for new adventures. we begin with the economy and the white house. joining me now are kristin welker and cnbc senior economics reporter steve leaseman. the white house trying to control the narrative on this economy. inflation continues to be a

major drag on their messaging. >> reporter: you are right. they are trying to put the focus on the fact that the labor market is strong, that the unemployment rate is low. but it is a complicated argument to make, because you do have an economy that has now shrunk two quarters in a row. because of the soaring inflation that you mentioned. the fact you have americans really feeling the pain all across the country. yesterday we saw president biden come out. he made those comments you played at the top of the show. really touted what he sees as the strengths in this economy. again, this messaging is universal across the administration. we are hearing it from treasury secretary janet yellen who was out a week ago pre-butting the numbers we were anticipating seeing this week. of course, you have republicans saying, this is just spin. this is not accurate. the bottom line is, it's not up to the president or republicans or anyone to say officially once

we enter a recession. this is what the administration is focused on as well as policy in the wake of senator schumer and senator manchin striking that surprise deal. manchin reversing course after halting talks last week, engaging in talks, striking that deal with schumer on a bill that they are touting as being something that will actually tackle inflation. it includes new taxes as well as things that would invest in trying to lower the cost of prescription drugs and, of course, fighting climate change as well. the big question is whether they have enough votes to pass it. yesterday we also heard robust messaging from president biden on this, calling on democrats to get behind this legislation and to pass this and to send it to his desk. we don't know where senator sinema stands on this. yesterday, she didn't answer reporters' questions. her spokesperson basically said that she's reviewing the text. all of washington is watching

and waiting to see what she's determine -- what she will ultimately determine about this bill. it's a bit of a cliffhanger here in washington. >> indeed. thank you. steve, this morning you said you didn't see any relief from the inflation story in the new data that were released. help us understand where you think things stand now. >> well, just that, andrea. the inflation numbers came in hotter than expected. you can really get a feel for how it is sapping the strength of the economy and the consumer by just doing the simple math. i will give it to you right now. disposable personal income, before you take care of inflation, was up 0.7%. take out inflation, it was down 0.3%. same with consumption, consumer spending up 1.1%, take out inflation, it was up 0.1%. on a real or inflation-adjusted basis, consumer spending is weak. their income is weak as well.

>> steve, what do you see as the next moves from the fed? there's a lot of signals from the fed chairman this week. >> yeah. the market heard stuff. i didn't necessarily hear it. the market thought they heard the fed say that things are going to get a little easier. that could be the case. look, it is possible. we have had some reduction in gasoline prices. we have seen some commodity prices going down. it's going to take time for those to filter down to the consumer level and show up in the index. what the fed has said is that they need to see several months in a row, a decided turn towards their inflation goal of 2%. remember, it's 2% here. inflation is 9% right now. there's quite a bit of work to be done there. but they need to see a decided turn in the inflation numbers back down towards 2% before they relent in their rate increases. for sure, they will be hiking again in september, maybe through the end of the year. maybe bring that overnight fed

funds rate towards 3.5%, where it hasn't been in many years. over that period of time, perhaps they will see some progress, some of the supply chain issues start to resolve themselves. we need more people back at work in illegal immigration front and from the u.s. labor supply. we need to see all sorts of things. the supply chain problems resolve to get the inflation problem under control. if that happens, over time there might be some relief coming. we could see some reduction in inflation. then we could be back to sort of a more growth oriented economy. >> steve, thank you so much, from cnbc. and, of course, chris continue -- kristin welker. thank you very much for being with us, larry. >> good to be with you. >> you have been warning about inflation since last spring. you were one of the early hawks, if you will. you were apparently critically involved in persuading senator

manchin to alleviate his concerns that this new reconciliation package is not inflationary, that they are hoping to pass. tell us what points you were making about that package and the future of government spending. >> look, i think we have got a very difficult economic situation. i will come back to that. but i think this bill is an important positive bill. it will reduce the deficit over time, and that reduces demand pressure on the economy. it will stimulate energy supply. that reduces price pressure. it will use government purchasing power more effectively to buy pharmaceuticals, and that, too, reduces prices. so any way you slice it, i think this bill is anti-inflationary. at the same time, it's pro-environmental. it's pro-fairness. it's good on climate change.

so i think it's an important step forward. this plus the chips act i think puts us in a very good situation economically for what is going to be a very difficult period. >> i want to get to that in a moment. what would you say to senator sinema who is still undecided, let's say, or keeping her options open? she's always been concerned about the tax side. what would you say about the carried interest and the tax implications to persuade her? >> i would say that taking excess funds shooting around the economy out is anti-inflationary. i would say it's basic fairness that those most successful in private equity should pay taxes at the same rate as the people who clean the floors of their

offices. i would say that the future of the planet depends on whether the united states steps up and does concrete things about the environment. this is an easy bill to get behind. we've gone from a bill that would have raised demand, increased spending, caused inflation, had price tags in the trillions to a much more appropriate and streamlined bill. and it's time for her to declare victory about a process in which she's been very constructive as part of the discussions and to vote for the bill. and then i think it would be shattering to economic confidence if at this point this

bill did not pass. >> that's a very grave premonition as to what would happen, obviously, if it does not pass. let's talk about the economy, the basic economy. you said it's complicated. it could be a -- >> i think we are getting bad news on inflation. we are getting bad news on economic strength. it's coming in the way of the wage and price increase data. it's coming on terms of the spending data. what that's telling us is, frankly, what i and many others have been saying for a long time, that the fed and to some extent the administration, but much more the fed's confidence in a soft landing is tooth fairy

kind of stuff. and we need, in my view, to prioritize inflation, because if we don't prioritize inflation, we're going to have higher and higher inflation and a more and more stagflationary situation. we need to prioritize inflation. if we do, we're going to very likely have a meaningful economic downturn. i was very surprised by secretary yellen's expression of optimism that we could somehow get through this without the unemployment rate rising above 5%. she's a great economist. that's certainly a possibility. but my best guess would be that 5% unemployment sort of

corresponds to neutral in the current post-covid environment. so to have inflation come way down, we're going to have to see unemployment get above that. so i think we just have to accept what's necessary as part of the investment process for building the very, very strong economy that we can have in the united states. >> you would assume it's more likely than not we're going to have a recession if we're not already there? >> i think the odds are very high, perhaps over three-quarters, that in the next year or two, we will have a recession. i think that's just what happens when you have an economy that is as overheated as our economy was allowed to become. >> of course, there are midterm

implications for that. just a quick question about china. the president and xi had what was described as a marathon call, two hours and 17 minutes. it got very heated in the sense from the chinese perspective. they said that those who fan the flames will perish from the flames or something. i'm paraphrasing. it was a very tough call. the context, of course, of nancy pelosi potentially going, if she does go to taiwan. how important is it to try to get back on to economic competitive terms with china and get away from these military threats? >> look, i think it's more important to talk to your adversaries than to talk to your friends. i was glad to see the call. i was glad to see the possibility of a dialogue between president biden and

premiere xi. i think we've gotta try to get this into a more managed place where we're discussing and working through potential disagreements. i think that's a very, very important thing. i certainly think we need to find a line where china is in the wrong on many, many, many issues. we need to find a way where it's acceptable to suggest that it's counterproductive for the united states to be truculent without being weak towards china. it's the task of diplomacy going forward, to be firm without being truculent vis-a-vis china.

it does seem to me that we need to recognize that in a world that's changing, we're not going to get everything we want in our relationship with china. but we need to think about what our highest priority issues are. we need to think about a limited number of red lines. and we need to do more of what the united states is always very bad at, which i call strategic empathy, which is even if we don't like it, even if we think it's badly wrong, even if we think it's offensive, we need to understand how the world looks to our negotiating partners, not simply repeat how it looks to us. i think there's been a bit too much repetition of our wish lists and a bit too little effort to really understand how the world looks from china's

perspective. >> very, very interesting. larry summers, thank you so much on all issues. as always, thanks. >> good to be with you, andrea. >> you, too. . now to the devastation in kentucky. an unknown number of people now missing after massive floods have killed at least 16 people in kentucky. the latest from the ground coming up next. this is "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. [whistling] when you have technology that's easier to control... that can scale across all your clouds... we got that right? yeah, we got that. it's easier to be an innovator. so you can do more incredible things. [whistling]

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president biden has issued a disaster declaration for the flooding in kentucky that has taken the lives of at least 16 americans with the death toll expected to climb. rescuers have been working around the clock as the storms continue producing heavy rainfall overnight and massive power outages, even sweeping family homes away. the governor calling it one of the worst floods in the state's

history, giving these details about the lives lost. >> one in perry county, 81-year-old female. 11 of them are in knot county, including a 63-year-old man, 65-year-old female and two children. a 79-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman and two in clay county, a 76-year-old woman. >> joining us from jackson, kentucky, is nbc's jesse kirsch. it looks devastating. has the rain stopped, i guess? is the water abating? is it still rising? >> reporter: well, it looks like the water has dropped where we are. i want to put in context the devastation what i'm seeing right now. to the side here, we are looking at upwards of 50 yards across the water flowing. there's a current out there. we saw a tire going by a short time ago.

this is not supposed to be the river. this is supposed to be dry land. over here are a series of homes. people live here. we spoke with the man who lives in this home. he says this is supposed to be about 20 feet up on an embankment. we are looking at, according to that man, about 20 feet of water that has come up here and is now coursing through this area. we are there's a park and a ball field. this area is devastated. the other thing that stood out about my conversation is he said he didn't feel the threat here until last night, until yesterday evening. it was wednesday evening into yesterday morning when this rainstorm came through eastern kentucky and started to cause this devastation. to think yesterday midday with the governor of kentucky talking about the potential for double digit deaths, expecting devastation here, and to think hours later is when the damage finally got to the point here that a man felt it was time to evacuate, gives you a sense how

this has been a domino affect in eastern kentucky. we have heard from other communities. here is what the mayor in hindman, kentucky, said. >> i lived here 56 years. this is the largest water i have ever seen in the city of hindman. it destroyed everything, residence, roadways, bridges. i have people that are not able to leave their the residence at this time. we are in the process of working trying to get them to where they can get in and out to their homes. >> back here in jackson, kentucky, there's another concern. there's a dam a quarter mile where i am that officials are worried about potentially breaching. they have asked more than 100 homes as well as a church and school and businesses to be evacuated as well. this is an ongoing problem. the rescues continue here in kentucky. >> it's heartbreaking. thank you so much.

the monkeypox outbreak is growing across the country. the cdc reporting nearly 5,000 confirmed cases. yesterday, san francisco became the first city to declare the virus a public health emergency. in new york, where a majority of the country's monkeypox cases have been confirmed, the health department is calling it an imminent threat. the white house is weighing whether to declare a national public health emergency but it boosting the country's vaccine supply to try to fight off the virus. the biden administration is planning to offer updated covid booster shots in september. they will be reformulated to take on the dominant and contagious omicron are driving cases. right now, only people overimmu eligible. willing to listen. russia signaling that a prisoner

swap to bring two americans home could be closer to actually happening. this is "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. ♪ you ain't seen nothin' yet ♪ ♪ b-b-baby, you just ain't seen n-n-nothin' yet ♪ ♪ here's something, ♪ ♪ here's something you're never gonna fff-forget, baby ♪ get a dozen shrimp for only one dollar with any steak entrée. only at applebee's.

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russian foreign minister sergei lavrov is ready to listen to tony blinken's proposals on the exchange of prisoners as well as getting grain out. lavrov said the time for the phone conversation with secretary blinken is being negotiated. moscow is asking washington to clarify the topics they want to discuss. this comes as a rare prisoner swap appears to be in the works to try to free brittney griner and paul whelan from russia. the deal, according to two sources familiar with it, involves the u.s. trading russian arms dealer viktor bout for griner and whelan. joining us is peter baker. he and his wife spent four years at the moscow bureau chief for "the washington post." you have a lot of moscow experience. peter, you write about this proposed swap for griner and whelan for the notorious arms dealer and the challenges this

faces. you wrote, dangerous criminals for civilians whose real crime is being caught up in the wrong place, wrong time, international intrigue. that's the way you have to frame it. the president is agreeing to give up someone that law enforcement went to thailand to try to capture and bring back. a 25-year sentence. it's most likely the only way to get griner and whelan home. >> it's an imbalance that certainly is uncomfortable in any of these swaps we have seen in the past. are they equivalent or made to see equivalent? an arms dealer who traded to al qaeda andtreists over the years hardly qualifies as equivalent. that leaves everybody feeling awkward. the truth of the matter is at this point, american government tends to put a higher priority on its own citizens than it does

on foreign criminals. bout has been in custody for more than a dozen years. at this point, has very little to offer american intelligence. while there are qualms about this at the justice department, president biden decided it was a trade that was worth making. remember it would include paul whelan, the former marine, locked up for three or four years in russia on what people believe are trumped up espionage charges. obviously, in any of the calculations, it's hard to draw a direct parallel. it's a tradeoff that the president decided is worth making. >> peter, i spoke with former secretary of state henry kissinger at a virtual event last night related to his book. about these hostage negotiations from his experience. this is what he had to say. >> it should not be done in

principal. one should say we do not engage in hostage negotiations. but i don't know any administration that did not do it at some point. >> this was typically, it's been done over and over again. of course, ronald reagan memorably with the iran hostage deal. ronald reagan, as you may recall, every day asked his national security team before his intelligence briefing, what is happening with the american hostages in lebanon and in iran. >> i think it weighs on presidents. i heard that from other aides of other presidents. the responsibility for american citizens caught up overseas in what appear to be unjust or wrongful detentions for political reasons, that's something that haunts them. they want to do what they can to bring them home. led the reagan team go further than they should have,

obviously, they themselves would say today. out of the desire to bring americans home. we have seen this again and again. there's a difference between a normal spy swap and a prisoner exchange. what makes it complicated when you have people you believe are basically innocent, if not completely innocent, maybe a drug charge that might or might not be valid. but that's minor compared to what we are talking about, everybody in washington believed brittney griner being held as a political hostage, a bargaining chip by the russians. when do you put aside that stand that we don't negotiate with bad guys to get -- bring good guys home to deal with the humanity of a family that's sitting here waiting for their loved ones at the be sprung from a russian prison? which not a nice place to spend a lot of time. >> no, not at all. peter baker, thank you so much. deal or no deal? chuck schumer and joe manchin striking an agreement on climate and health care. can they get all the democrats on board to pass it?

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because you are. democrats are looking for a big win ahead of the midterms legislatively, despite a string of negative economic news this week. senator chuck schumer pleading with democrats to stick together to pass a bill lowering prescription drug prices and making the largest investment in fighting climate change in u.s. history. he persuaded senator manchin, but senator sinema has yet to say if she's on board. >> i have not spoken to her about this. i would hope she would be receptive. >> joining us now, ali vitali, former top economic advisor to president obama david goolsby and david jolly. you spoke to senator schumer and

you were in with nancy pelosi. this is a senate issue. she's about to go to asia with plans to go to taiwan or not, depending on what they end up deciding. let's talk about this senate bill. what are we hearing from sinema? larry summers was on here while you were in there with pelosi saying that he would say to her, this is an anti-inflation bill and it's a tax fairness bill. it's not increasing taxes on everyone that carried interest issue and it's good for the economy. >> reporter: that's exactly what senator manchin said when i spoke with him over zoom yesterday. it's the argument he continues to make. when i asked senator manchin if he would potentially be willing to lose the carried interest loophole provision, he said he wouldn't. that's one of the things that now goes into this balancing act. sinema previously drawn a line around that not being something she could support. manchin is now saying that he is

not willing to lose it. it does bring us to an impasse. at the same time, we haven't gotten an update on sinema's position. there's the story of the frustration around some of this. it's a frustration that schumer spoke to yesterday in regards to manchin. it's something they have agreed, things have gotten heated over the course of the negotiations. listen. were you frustrated during this process? >> i've been frustrated for a long time, because i think we have so much we need to get done. my dad passed away six months ago. he taught me something. if you are doing the right thing and you persist, keep at it, god will make sure you succeed. so we kept at it. >> reporter: schumer noting the persistence he had in these meetings between himself and joe manchin. again, i think it's important to point out here that it was just these two men in the room. schumer even said to me yesterday, manchin wanted to keep it so close, not even extending the president into these negotiations. schumer told me the white house generally knew what was going

on, but at the same time, this was a senate negotiated deal between these two key democratic senators. >> what about the economic implications? earlier larry summers was telling me he thinks this is a good bill it will bring down inflation and at the same time he says there's a 75% chance, three-quarters chance there will be a recession in the next year or two and the jobless rate will go above 5%. he thought treasure secretary yellen was being too optimistic in her projections. >> there's two different issues there. one is, is there a danger of recession in the near future? definitely and obviously there is. the fed is raising interest rates as fast as it raised them in decades. the fed raising interest rates is the most common cause of recessions in the last 70 years, if you look at the data. there's definitely a high risk of recession to come. on the issue of what this bill

would do, i think modestly it will reduce inflation, specifically in a few key areas like prescription drugs, by raising taxes and closing these loopholes on hedge fund managers, cracking down on tax deadbeats, you will cool the economy a little. i wouldn't sell the benefits of that bill primary on the impact on inflation. however, it's directionally goes that way. it's not that large of a bill. what happens at the fed is clearly going to be much more impactful on inflation. >> david, i want to talk to you about the families of the 9/11 victims who are furious with donald trump for hosting that saudi-backed golf tournament at his new jersey club, 50 miles from ground zero. listen to former president's

defense in response. >> debbie: -- and a response from a woman who lost her husband in the attacks and is leading the 9/11 families. >> nobody has gotten to the bottom of 9/11. they should have. >> when you heard that, what went through your head. >> well, he sounds like a fool. it's just unbelievable that they could be so callous. >> david, here is the president who chose to go to saudi arabia for his very first overseas trip and was aligned with bin salman, kept the cia's report on khashoggi death and the responsible for it, his ultimate responsibility, kept that secret. now he is participating in this liv golf tournament which has divided the golf world, pga, and now the 9/11 families. >> yeah, andrea, the united states got introduced to a politician in donald trump that shattered all norms and

conventions from traditional politics. it went further than that in denying truth and denying reality and trying to set his own narrative. what is clear that has come through, which is what we have known about donald trump throughout his business career and his political career, is profit comes first above all else. if there's a business opportunity for the trump enterprises, he will seek it. that is at the core of so many ethical questions of his time and his administration, including his foreign policy dealings, his foreign holdings, the opportunities we have seen for jared kushner to be -- to profit post presidency from relationships that you could question why now donald trump and his administration made decisions during those four years. what we are seeing is a continuation of that. it's insensitive to the families of 9/11 to do so just in the shadows of new york city and where the skyscrapers stood that day is a reflection on the man

we got introduced to six years ago. someone who is tone deaf and cares little about the feelings of the american people when it comes to the ability of donaldn profit. >> thanks to all of you. in pete we trust. today we take a moment to celebrate a treasure of a colleague and friend. that's coming up next. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. ♪♪ it's the all-new subway series menu.

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my friend pete williams is an institution in washington. universally admired for his honest, accurate reporting of the justice department and supreme court for decades. he is usually first but always right. able to speed read complex opinions from a divided court and get to the heart of the ruling every time. breaking major stories but never betraying his feelings, except perhaps if you listen closely, you can hear a catch in his throat when ruth bader ginsburg's casket was arriving for a memorial service at the court. his life from wyoming to stanford to washington and then nbc news has captured so much

history. today, we celebrate him as a truly great american story. a beloved colleague and friend. >> it was a long journey for a justice who came to the court as a law and order conservative. the biggest period of turnover on the supreme court in more than a decade. at least half a century. >> i love and adore all my colleagues. pete though has brought a special something to this network for so long. >> what does it do to morale when some of the toughest criticism comes from the president himself? >> what can i say? pete williams is absolutely the gold standard. we all look up to him. when pete is covering a story, we all hang on his every word. >> historic ruling here, for the first time the supreme court says there is a constitutional right -- excuse me, to same-sex marriage. you can hear the cheer in the crowd. a dramatic moment here. >> he has been handed some of the most difficult assignments. 9/11, terrorist attacks, mass shootings.

>> pete williams has been following this investigation. >> 8,000 federal agents and support personnel working on this investigation tonight. >> pete williams for us at the supreme court. thanks. >> pete is the most meticulous, most intelligent journalist on any beat. >> mob could explain it better, earlier and faster. >> steven g. breyer will step down. we want to go to justice correspondent pete williams who's breaking this news for us. >> his intention is to retire at the end of this term. >> when pete speaks, it is fully vetted, you know that it is accurate. you know that it's fair. >> let's go back to pete williams who is continuing to read ahead of us, and we need a breath for a second. when you're anchoring breaking news, the moment they would tell me in my ear that pete is ready to go, it was like we're going to be okay. >> reporter: lester, in this historic decision, the supreme court has now overturned roe v. wade. >> and also the incredible speed reader. give him two minutes and he'll explain the whole thing. >> i think someone needs to give

pete an honorary law degree. it should be pete williams esquire. >> obamacare. president obama thought he had lost that case. they were against him. >> ruled unconstitutional. >> a dramatic blow to the policy and to the president. >> and he came out and was the only one who said that president obama had won the case. >> reporter: the bottom line here is the supreme court has upheld the health care case. >> it was only nbc who got it right. >> gore versus bush, the recount. >> we're trying to figure out what did it mean. he seemed to be the only one that understood it. >> reporter: little doubt that there's no room for a recount. >> there have been times when i have a big interview coming up, and i can call pete. he shares his knowledge. >> if he's got a scoop, he doesn't have to be the face of the scoop. >> he's warm, he's welcoming. >> he's a good, wonderful human being. >> the three loves of ruth bader ginsburg's life, her family, the law -- excuse me -- and opera.

kind of a tough day here. >> i'll never forget when tim russert died. the network gave pete the impossible job of writing the story. >> tim russert was most of all a family man. >> he could do the hardest story, but he could also do a story that broke his heart. and he could do it in the most loving way possible. >> reporter: pete williams, nbc news, washington. >> he's so special. he's unique. we love him. >> for me he's always been my consigliere. if i could have somebody to be a consigliere, it would be luis pete williams. >> he's the heart and soul. we will truly miss him. to me pete is irreplaceable. >> our thanks to the "today" show for that brilliant summary. pete, it's my honor to say one last time, joining us now is nbc

justice correspondent -- pete williams. >> well, thank you, andrea. >> i'm sorry. >> it's obvious that andrea and i have a mutual admiration society. i remember you from the very first day i came in here in 1993, when i walked through the doors on nebraska avenue. i was across the hall from you, and i got a chance to see how hard you work, how hard you worked your sources, how hard you work yourself, and of course i just watched over the years and marveled at your talent. so it's just been sistine chapel -- been such a privilege to walk the hallways with you, my dear friend. >> pete, you know, watching you work a story, most recently when you broke the story of justice breyer retiring, watching you circling your sources and, you know, making sure you had it absolutely right. obviously a very big story. and then, you know, calling and

reconfirming and just watching you in that process because we're right next to each other in our little corner of the newsroom, and it's a master class. and you know, i know you have so many things you want to do, your wonderful music, you know, all of your friends, your partner, travel in wyoming, mountain climbing, but i urge you to find a way to also teach journalism because people just watching you as we've had the honor to do close up have learned so much from you. >> well, you're very kind. i've always thought that, you know, it helps me that i was able to cover a beat where there were also two sides to every argument. you know, there's a winner and a loser who come to the supreme court. and so you get to cover both sides. you're sort of forced to do that, and i think i was very lucky to have a beat like that and very lucky to be at nbc news which gave me a pretty good unobstructed view to watch what

was going on at the supreme court and the justice department. but anybody looking for a master class in journalism, andrea mitchell, all you have to do is look in the mirror. >> well, let's talk about the court and the unique things you've covered. i mean, the court cases, obviously bush v. gore, and some of those enormous decisions. the roe recently, same-sex marriage. how do you see this transition in the court? >> well, the court's clearly entering a new era. it really started the day that sandra day o'connor retired and was replaced by samuel alito. the court has moved to the right. it goes through periodic shifts. during the time when earl warren was the chief justice, it moved one direction. it was in the middle ground when william rehnquist was the chief justice. now with these three recent appointees from president trump it's the most conservative court

we've had in probably a century. they are feeling their oats. and you know, they are eager to take charge and move things in the direction that they think are best in the country. and the coming term will be a very big deal with affirmative action, with -- two really important election cases. so it's -- next term is going to be a blockbuster, too. >> well, we will be -- obviously you're part of our lives, and we'll always be here as the heart and soul, as savannah said, of nbc. but thank you, pete, for all your wonderful service. >> thank you, andrea. thank you for your friendship. >> and that's today's edition of "andrea mitchell reports." chris jansing starts after these messages. fter these messages association walk to end alzheimer's is full of them. because flowers find a way to break through. just like we will.

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