>> thanks for watching the katie phang show. i'll be back tomorrow morning at 7 am eastern, live. velshi starts right now. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> good morning. it's saturday, november 19th. i'm mary yet to see kumar, filling in for my good friend ali velshi. we begin this morning with a

nature developing story. get this. attorney general merrick garland made a surprise announcement yesterday when he called for a news conference and appointed to special counsel to continue the justice department's criminal investigation of donald trump. jack smith, a longtime federal prosecutor who has been working at the hague in recent years, will takeover the probe of trump's role informant think that january six insurrection, at his possible mishandling of highly classified government documents. the attorney general says it comes less than 72 hours after trump announced his 2024 presidential run. it is the earliest that anyone has ever announced a campaign for president. and it's also the first time a special counsel has been appointed to investigate a presidential candidate. and bc's josh lederman has more. take a listen. >> this morning, to sprawling criminal investigations into former president trump are in the hands of an independent special counsel. career prosecutor jack smith once ran the justice department

unit that prosecutes political corruption. now, he's task with recommending whether mr. trump should be charged with federal crimes. attorney general merrick garden citing the extraordinary circumstances involved in investigating a former and possibly future presidents. >> such an appointment underscores the departments commitments to both independents and accountability, and particularly sensitive matters. >> mr. trump responded from mar-a-lago, claiming without evidence, that smith is part of the super radical left. >> this horrendous abuse of power is the latest of a long series of witch hunts. >> garland is hoping to shield the justice department claims the investigations are politically motivated, especially after mr. trump this week announced he is running for president again. on the heels of unexpected republican losses in the midterms. but some democrats fear a special counsel could drag the process out. >> i am confident this appointment will not flow the completion of these investigations.

with an essentially unlimited budget, the special counsel will oversee the probes into mr. trump's role in the january 6th attack on the capital and into classified documents he kept at mar-a-lago. the attorney general must still sign off before mr. trump could be indicted. in an exclusive interview from meet the press, the former president mike pence arguing americans want to move past the trump investigations. >> no one is above the law. but i would hope the justice department would give careful consideration before they take any additional steps. >> you just heard from josh let herman reporting. joining me now is andrew weizmann. a former fbi general counsel who previously served as a lead prosecutor in robert murrell there's a special counsel investigation. he's at the english senior fellow and where you lost school and the author of where law ends, inside the mueller investigation. thank you so much for joining me today. >> glad to be here. >> so, i want to ask you, on november 14th, you tweeted,

quote, times up, doj. the rule of law requires trump to be held to account, as others have been for like crimes. it's been over 14 weeks since the mar-a-lago search and many months since the doj investigation began. timely action is needed. now, i ask you today, is this the action you were hoping for? >> well, i think the issue of whether a special counsel should be appointed is one that's a lot of people disagreed. i actually thought that if it was going to happen, it should have happened sooner, but it's certainly something i don't disagree with on principle, somebody saying you know what, there are extraordinary circumstances here. there's potential or perceived conflict of interest, because you do have, now, essentially an attorney general appointed by one party and one president and somebody who is running against that presidents under investigation. so, you can understand why the

attorney general did what he did. i think the selection of jack smith is really telling, though, on the issue of speed, because they are picking somebody who has been a career doj prosecutor and is known for being very fast, very quick. one of his traits, i've known him for years, is really cutting to the chase and not getting distracted. i think that actually will lead to this investigation proceeding faster than if he were not supported. >> i'm going to ask you, let's talk about the timing of the announcement. donald trump and his allies are already attacking the ag, basically saying it's a political prosecution. do you think this will hurt us just apartments reputation, or, as you're saying, because it's a special counsel, it actually takes away from the oversight of merrick garland? >> i think the appointment of special counsel has zero effect on that. donald trump, i think, was going to attack merrick garland

and the special counsel in the same way he attacked robert mueller when he was appointed. this was a time honored tactic of donald trump. it's very typical of people who end up getting indicted, that they attack the prosecutor. so, i don't think anything merrick garland is doing is going to lessen what donald trump doesn't terms of the media. so, i think they are just keeping their head down, sticking to the facts and the law, and that's their best salvation in dealing with that. if i have to give one piece of advice on this, i would say, it's really important to remember there is an educational public aspect to what they're doing. they need to take the opportunities that they have one they charge, when they make announcements, to explain to the public what they're doing. without crossing the line, and that is denigrating somebody and hurting their chances of their day in court. >> and i've often said that the

silver lining in trump's presidency is he has been active civic education in our government throughout on all our institutions. i have to agree with you. i have to ask you this follow-up question. there is a strong belief trump announced his candidacy as a way to evade prosecution. does this presidential run make it more complicated for the doj to pursue this investigation? do you actually think that was his thinking? he does want to evade prosecution? >> i think anybody wants to evade prosecution. but [laughter] >> that's fair. you know what i mean. >> absolutely. >> it's just another tactic? another arrow in his quiver, trying to basically change it so people are talking about his presidency and not the fact that he has potentially made real serious crimes? >> look, i think by announcing early, it helps them with the public messaging that this is a political prosecution, but just remember, this investigation started way before he started

to run for president again. this really isn't a reaction to that. the only thing in reaction is appointing a special counsel, and that is not going to change the substance of the investigation. the same people who are investigating the case before are still going to be working, but now under the direct supervision of jack smith. there's probably another reason he announced as early as he did, because in light of the midterms, and i am not a political -- i'm a lawyer, but i do think it helps some sort of crowding out field. so, there may have been a dual purpose in his announcement. it certainly is the case, as you pointed, that he is going to use it as further evidence that he will say is that department of justice acting for political purposes, which is complete hogwash. >> i will quote you on that. thank you so much for joining us this morning. hogwash.

big changes are coming to congress with a new term starts in january. democrats have retains control of the senate, but republicans have won a very slim majority in the house. so much for that red wave. that sets up a divided congress for the next two years of president biden's presidency. meanwhile, democratic leadership in the house will see a major shake up. the top three house democrats, speaker nancy pelosi, house majority leader -- claire, and majority whip jim clyburn are all stepping down from the world's, but they're not leaving. speaker nancy pelosi explain her decision on the house floor. take a listen. >> when i came to the congress in 1987, there were 12 democratic women. now, there are over 90, and we want more. and with great confidence in our caucus, i will not seek reelection to democratic leadership in the next congress. for me, the hours come for a new generation to lead the democratic caucus, that i so

deeply respect, and i'm grateful that they are willing to shoulder this awesome responsibility. >> what a public servant. now, new york congressman hakeem jeffries is seeking to be the new house democratic leader. if he succeeds, he will be the first black person ever to lead a party in congress. massachusetts member catherine clark is running for a new spot of the democratic whip. and representative pete aguilar of california is looking to replace jeffries as house democratic chair. -- current house democratic win, senator james clyburn of south carolina. as he stepping down as house whip, he has announced his attention to remain in a leadership role at the assisted democratic leader. congressman, thank you for joining me. i wanted to ask you. in the statement, you said you hope representative hakeem jeffries, catherine clark, and pete aguilar will succeed the

three of you. you called them, quote, our new generation of democratic leaders. congressman jeffries has a long history as the first black person to ever lead a congressional caucus. what do you hope they will bring to the table? what advice have you offered them in their roles? >> well, thank you very much for having me. you know, i hope they will continue this forward movement over the last several years. jeffrey suspend not remarkable leader. he has demonstrated time and time again how to rise above the fray. and really, look long and firm to the future of the states -- and i hope that this trio of leaders will do the same. i really enjoyed working alongside nancy pelosi, and it's been a hard year, but we are all in our 80s. we want the future for our children and grandchildren that we believe can be provided, and

by this new generation of leadership, and i'm going to be a part of getting them to succeed. >> congressman, for a very long time, when you're going into the elections and throughout donald trump's presidency, quite frankly, you were sounding the alarm we were very much trying to protect a safeguard democracy. that's what was on the ballot. i think the fact that so much of the election was so close in the congress, i want to talk to you about that. it will be a divided congress when the new term starts in the new year. republicans are taking over the house, and it sounds like they have a vendetta. they are already talking about launching investigations and impeachment proceedings. what does this mean for the biden agenda? at the same time, it said that what the majority of voters voted against? they were tired of this pendulum of basically two parties fighting, and wanted policy? what do you say to this? >> that's exactly what the voters were saying in the last

election. i was being stopped everywhere i went, in airports, in churches, on campuses, even down summer, but people telling me, we need to protect this democracy. it's amazing. when you look at the imperfection that we've had in this country, we have always had people who really feel that we should continue this track towards a more perfect union. recognizing that we are not perfect, but we are the best there is on earth. and what we saw were people, time and time again, other cutting its democracy, doing the same things that violated that pursuit. and when people are -- in airports saying, you will protect this great country, we appreciate what you are doing,

i didn't need posters to tell me. i'll be opponents are saying we were wrong for pursuing that, and joe biden was wrong for that speech he gave. i said to the president at the time, he did exactly what needed to be done. i've been saying it since. equal -- people responded to his agenda as well as his approach. i do believe that if they continue this vendetta, the vendetta they are undertaking, they are going to pay handsomely in the next election. >> congressman, i think that's absolutely right. we don't have too much time, but i do want to ask you. we are right now entering the lame duck session. yesterday, everybody, so many american families were so excited because we saw the passage of the marriage equality act on the house side. do you think there's going to be an opportunity for the dream act to actually be taken also as seriously during this lame duck session? >> there's an opportunity.

exactly how far we go for that, we have to rely on the senate to give us the signature we need. i want to see that time. i also want to see the -- rights amendment act, and it has not -- both these things would around that what i consider to be one of the most consequential -- legislation in the last 60 years. >> well, i have to congratulate you. the people who are succeeding you have incredible coattails, but the most important part is you have identified the democratic base in this new leadership. democratic congressman jim clyburn, you speak the truth, and i actually agree that the posters, that the americans are the ones who broke the fever of the american maga party. thank you for much for joining me this morning. >> thank you very much for having me. >> later in the show, i will talk to a number member of the house democrats, former

impeachment manager representative stacey plaskett of the u.s. virgin islands. she is here to discuss the decision to appoint a special counsel to oversee mar-a-lago and the january six investigations. plus, mike pence says he will quote, keep us posted on his potential plans to make a play for the presidency. his former senior adviser, olivia troye, weighs in next. all that and more, coming up on velshi. velshi ond... and leon... the first of them all. three generations, who all bank differently with chase. leon's saving up for his first set of wheels... nice try. really? this leon's paying for his paint job on the spot... and this leon, as a chase private client, he's in the south of france, taking out cash with no atm fees. that's because this family of leons has chase. actually, it's león. ooh la la! one bank for now. for later. for life. chase. make more of what's yours. (vo) with verizon, you can now get a private 5g network. onso you can do more thaner. connect your business, you can make it even smarter. now ports can know where every piece of cargo is.

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close before for four years, do you think there is a danger and donald trump being president again? >> always be proud of the record of the trump pence administration. and for four and a half years, president trump was not only my president, but he was my friends. obviously, it didn't and well. while the president and i parted amicably, i believe, as we look to the future, it will have better choices. >> i don't know about you, but i probably would not call -- out the party of my friends and it's angry mob after me. let's just say, if you were expecting mike pence's book tour to be a candid reckoning of life as donald trump number two, you are expecting a little too much. if you listen closely, you will hear some really choice nuggets of passive aggression, like an interview we just played from

cbs news. and when asked if another trump presidency would be dangerous, given that trump was impeached for inciting an insurrection to overthrow the government, pence says he hopes, quote, we will have better choices in 2024. well that is a very low bar, it also feels like he is hinting at this. during his press tour promoting his new book, so help me god, pence was playing quite when asked about whether he plans to run for president in 2024. on wednesday, on cnn, he told the audience quote, i'll keep you posted. on monday, he told abc news he and his family were giving that decision, quote, pray full consideration. who are those better choices for 2024, mister pence? i'm joined now by olivia troye, a former senior adviser to then vice president mike pence. we advise him on matters of homeland security and counter-terrorism. olivia, i want to ask you. you worked closely with mike pence. is he making herself, when he's

talking about himself, when he says he wants better options, in 2024? >> i certainly think so. you might as well to say, i'm running. i'm gonna run. i think he needs to start to distinguish himself from whatever the candidate platform is going to look like, and right, now it's trump. >> olivia, something i've always found fascinating about mike pence's he never is forthcoming with what he's thinking. i remember that picture of him in the corner with his eyes closed, with speaker pelosi on one side and donald trump on the other, and nervously saying, i'm really not here. so, it's kind of figuring out, how is he going to have that breakthrough moment, in your opinion? >> yeah, imagine what it was like in the room for him! [laughter] i feel the frustration, they probably felt that every single day, especially during the pandemic with the press conferences when he would roll his eyes right before he was going to go on stage, after trump had been speaking. this is the reality of the

dynamic between these two men. i think he needs to find his voice. >> -- >> if you are planning to run for president, and he wanted to be in that oval office, start fighting for yourself! whether you're going to actually take a stand for yourself and actually start to make a difference here, so, far i'm not seeing that. it's embarrassing. i think it's completely humiliating to him to continue to pander, especially this week, what i've been seeing is someone who has basically become a trump apologist. i think that is completely humiliating for someone who was almost killed by the man! it's infuriating to watch, to be honest. and that somebody who worked for him. >> the title of the book as, so help me god. a new survey published found that 47% of republicans would prefer if florida governor ron desantis took the nomination. 39% are still with trump. what do you make of that? >> i think that's interesting. i don't actually differentiate much between desantis and his demeanor and his policies.

i've been in meetings with desantis, and i certainly -- his personality is not one i would actually have respect for, to be honest. i've been in meetings with mike pence. he's a gentleman in meetings. he's respectful towards people. i've seen him go out of his way to greet people, to be kind to them, but i will say this. the thing is, desantis, i, think has the personality that trump has that brought people, that brought the attention to trump. he is sort of that person where he will engage in the culture wars. hell engaging the mudslinging. so, i think trump will meet his match, possibly. he's also not as engaging as trump, so that will be interesting to ask. i -- mike pence, when you look at those people in comparison to, him there's a town hall this week that i thought was completely boring, just not realistic of him. i think you've got a problem here. i also think -- don't think mike pence is doing much to distinguish himself from front. he's not talking about policy.

instead, it's sort of constant pandering to the man he once worked for. you could tell the policies for the trump administration and say, yeah i'm proud of the jobs report, or things like that, but also separate yourself and not go after department of justice, for example, like the rest of the republicans are. it's my understanding that pence did that last night. he called it politicized. how are you different,? then how are you different than trump or any of these other people? >> it's really interesting that you called pence a trump apologist, because earlier this week, pence told cbs news he would not be participating in the january six committee hearings. take a look at this. >> i never stood in the way of senior members of my team cooperating with the committee and testifying. but congress has no right to my testimony. we have a separation of powers under the constitution of the united states. i believe it would establish a terrible precedent for the congress to summon a vice president of the united states

to speak about deliberations that took place at the white house. >> your closing the door on that entirely? >> i'm closing the door on that. >> olivia, first of, all he is no longer the vice president of the united states. there is no longer separation of powers he speaks. of we have speaker pelosi calling him on film, saying, are you okay? make sure your safe, do not move. what more does he need? why is he not presenting himself to the committee? talk to me a little about that. >> i think he's trying to cover for the trump base of the party, unfortunately. i think he's trying to court those voters, still, which is a losing proposition, because those voters were the ones who showed up at the capitol to kill you, by the way. let's not forget that in the background. but i think, you know, i actually think that was disappointing. i think he should want to talk to the american people. he should not to testify, just like cassidy hutchinson did, just like rusty bowers did. like so many others who sat

there and told the truth under oath. why wouldn't you want to willingly come forward and just set the record straight and say this is what happens? it was dangerous, and it was awful, and it should never happen again, and by the way, they came 40 feet from almost killing me and my family, and i think everyone saw that the united states. but basically, he's busy basically running for president now and courting that voting bloc that's never been back for him. it's just humiliating to watch. i think it's just bad for the country, too. it could make a difference. he could've made a difference two years ago. he could've made a difference on january 7th, right afterwards, and go in a different direction to the gop, this is awful for a country, let's do something different. >> what's so interesting is the voters broke the fever. i think it's because we were able to see so much transparency through the january six. i don't think anybody imagined how completely entrenched in -- the administration itself was involved in this, and the fact he doesn't want to testify.

i think you're. right it's not sounding the alarm on how dangerous the maga republican wing of the party really is. olivia troye, thank you so much for joining the. the situation for american basketball star brittney griner being detained in russia has taken a turn for the worst. and update on the efforts, next, on velshi. stay tuned. stay tuned coverage is here to make medicare easy... even easier than those dances your grandkids love doing with you. ok, i got it. (laughs) start medicare shopping today with walgreens find rx coverage. ♪♪ plus, find low-cost copays. when you need to talk medicare. walgreens, is here. ♪♪ ♪♪ walgreens.

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of griner for a notorious russian arms dealer, victor bout. in a statement, the state department says russia is not negotiating in good faith or taking negotiations seriously. joining me now is retired lieutenant colonel, alexander vindman. he is the former director for european affairs for the national security counter and a senior advisor to both that's, and the author of the book, here, right matters, and american story. thank you for joining me today. for months, there will be reporting that a potential prisoner swap focuses on joiner and viktor bout, and that work that griner has been moved towards one of russia's most notorious penal colony. so what do you think this means for the chances of getting her home? >> just the move itself doesn't necessarily mean that much. i think the fact, this the russians are wrapping up the stakes, putting some additional pressure. the conditions of the penal colony are going to be significantly worse, but she will still be segregated and watched over carefully, because she is a bargaining chip. she's a hostage. russians are looking to extract

as much as i can from this prisoner exchange. before this war, the idea of transferring victor booked for anybody was going to be a no-brainer. the russians are pressing hard to repatriate this criminal. now, they want more. they think there is a pressure on the biden administration to give up more and again, she's not a person there. she's a bargaining chip, unfortunately, and the russians are going to extract as much as they can and make this as costly as possible. these are not decisions being taken at any level below that top tier leadership. putin and his inner circle. this is not the justice system operating with a free hand it's moving folks around for long term sentences. this is putin and his thugs playing their version of diplomacy. >> and this comes here in the

states. the republicans are set to control the house of representatives session. one of the potential next speakers, kevin mccarthy, has that the republicans will not be quote, a free blank check for ukraine. and here, several house republicans have said in recent days, take a listen. >> but days of and less cash and military material to ukraine our number! i will not vote for one more dollars to ukraine. i will not vote for one more piece of material to ukraine. >> with the money we've sent to ukraine, we could've already secured our border, but we're not doing that. i think the american people and the taxpayers of this country deserve to know why the biden administration and this congress is so interested in funding the protection of ukraine's border and not the protection of our border. >> i can tell you right now, my district, georgia 14, it's not interested in continuing to fund a war in ukraine, and defending ukraine's border while our border has been

invaded every single day. >> we want to audit ukraine. >> lieutenant colonel, there's so much to unpack there on why the republicans don't understand but geopolitical importance of safeguarding ukraine, and we will talk about this idea that putin is invading a democratic country and sovereignty, and what it would mean if ukraine or to fall. those are two very extreme voices. it does tell you about the future of american support for ukraine under the gop rule and the u.s. congress. could you talk a bit about this shift, and what council he would have, in private, to kevin mccarthy if you could? >> sure, so, let's start with the premise that they do understand the importance of supporting ukraine, but they don't care. they don't care about u.s. national security in this case, because they could score political points. that's a political point are not even necessarily the base. those political points are with trump. trump has a deep -- against ukraine. they are trying to curry favor

with trump, and if it means jeopardizing u.s. national security, it is not below these people to do so. so, i think in many cases, marjorie taylor greene, maybe not. i think matt gates has got an iq points higher or so. i think many of these folks do understand the importance of ukraine, but there's a deeper buy into this notion that russia as an authoritarian, her heretical regime, it's not the bag. democracy is the bad guy. freedom, loving ukrainians though of a lot in common with the u.s. and frankly, the way our country emerged, those are the enemies now for a republican administration that tyranny courting. so, what i would offer to mccarthy as the incoming majority leader is that there are bigger things in play then frankly, scoring points with a

doomed reelection campaign and donald trump. there is something to be said about doing what you're sworn to do, which is supporting the constitution of the united states. i would offer in this window that there is a lame duck congress that he should not object to the passage of another appropriation,. i think the white house is looking to pass about 37 billion dollars, and that you should quietly -- he should quietly let that pass without much of a hiccup, and not make a big think about it. i don't think he's going to do that. i think it's going to look to score points. it would be great for him to not have to take ownership of another appropriation, which is likely to come anyway. i think he might pass another appropriation for ukraine, just because the margins are so thin. but he should let this pass under the length that session so he doesn't have to worry about it and doesn't have to take the heat from his fringe far-right republicans. >> i think that is why, is council. retired lieutenant colonel

vindman, thank you, i thank you for your patriotism. you are the first to sound the alarm and testify in front of congress about the dangers of donald trump. thank you for sounding that alarm. only one race remains to be called in the senate. the latest on the georgia runoff ahead, on velshi. head, on veli.sh arthrican slow me down. now, skyrizi helps me get going. along with clearer skin, skyrizi helps with less joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and fatigue in just four doses a year after two starter doses. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms had a vaccine, or plan to. ask your doctor about skyrizi to treat your skin and joint symptoms - so you can get going. learn how abbvie could help you save. 'twas a wintry day, and at ihop quite soon hot cinnamon apples would be coaxed with a spoon on the fluffiest french toast with red currants on top we wish you a happy holiday, only at ihop. new gingersnap apple french toast, part of our new holiday menu.

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exploring with viking brings you closer to the world, to the history, the culture, the flavors, a serene river voyage on an elegant viking longship. learn more at viking.com >> the election is still not over. the campaign for the u.s. senate scene is set in georgia. the runoff race incumbent raphael warnock and challenger herschel walker it's two weeks away. it now, the struggle happening inside the party is spilling over into that race. shocking. if you pay attention to these kind of things, and turned to us, you do. you probably noticed that donald trump's announcement this week that he will run a third campaign for presidents

it's not met with the kind of enthusiasm you are hoping for from the republican establishment. i have to tell you, it's no different in georgia. one top conservative had this to say about the prospect of the twice impeached ex presidential candidate coming down to georgia to campaign for republican herschel walker ahead of next month's runoff. quote, this is great, i hope president trump has a great time at mar-a-lago, and i believe he will stay there. i believe that he should stay there. don't call us, we'll call you. my goodness. joining me now is biking a politics, reporter for the u.s. time to focus on the south. maya, that quote came from a report you were reporting on. so, let's start there. why don't georgia republicans wanted donald trump to campaign for herschel walker? >> you know, donald trump endorsed a number of candidates in georgia during the primaries, and a lot of them actually didn't make it out of their primaries. his track record in the state

is a pretty mixed bag. on top of that, two of the people he endorsed, candidates to challenge, brett raffensperger and brian kemp, to folks who were really parts of his, on his enemies list, are now two of the more popular republicans in the state. by and large, republicans have calculated in georgia that given the state's changing demographics, that's more heavily favored democrats, the larger number now of swing voters and the fact that the more popular republicans in the state are people who really have not gotten along with the president or gotten on his wrong side, all of this points to the fact that believe they should keep the high-profile republicans sort of in the state. brian kemp will be campaigning with herschel walker in the metro atlanta later on this morning. that's exactly who the campaign would like to see on the trail with him. >> now, it's interesting you mentioned governor kemp, because he actually didn't need the former presidents

endorsement and did quite well. there's always a thing with this joke, this running joke among people behind closed doors, saying if donald trump didn't want rhonda santas, he should've just endorsed him. so, i want to talk to you about what the race looks like in regards to runoff. what is the turnout going to be? one of the things we find really fascinating ways the work that we do around these different demographics is that in the last runoff, 30% of latinos who voted for warnock, 30%, we're under the age of 29. is that what you're talking about, demographic shift? all these multi cultural young voters coming up enthusiastically in the midterm? >> well, it's younger voters, folks who have moved from different areas, larger cities to the south, more people of color, and the electorate has expanded, just given national trends. we saw larger concentrations, as you point, out of younger voters in the electorate during the general election. we saw a larger concentration of women as a result of the

dobbs decision in the electorate as well. this helps democrats tremendously, and is part of what got raphael warnock into the runoff and really was a pretty tough environment for democrats statewide during this election. i think the answer, to answer your question on turnout, we really won't know until the early voting period starts, and then, of course, on election day. the big challenge that both democrats and republicans are facing in this runoff period is the fact that it's cut in half. under georgia's new election law, the runoff period was once nine weeks, where we would be looking at a runoff that went through thanksgiving, through christmas, and the new year. now, the election will be decided for the united states senate in georgia shortly after thanksgiving. it's just a four-week period now. so, that gives campaigns not a lot of time to mobilize voters and hire new staffers. that, of course, for organizations that are in charge of mobilizing these sort of hard to reach populations that really make the difference

in a runoff election that is so close. the time is just really running out. there's only about two and a half weeks left of this runoff period. there's a lot of work to do and a lot of money still to be pumped into georgia, this remaining widow. >> now my, i'm glad you talk about that before you mention and -- during this whole renovation of modernizing elections after, that you actually cut that time to less than four weeks. as a result they didn't allow for that window of registering new voters. and alas election, there was 50,000 young people that were eligible to register because they have come of age in that short six-week period. but because now they have a new georgia law, it's as if you have to register before 30 days out. they purposely did it because they recognize that they didn't want young voter participation. so maya, king thank you for your incredible reporting and giving me that insight. before the end of the year, a major piece of bipartisan

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celebrating this week after the democratic-controlled senate announced a major legislation on wednesday, that would secure legal protections for same-sex couples, and interracial cup bowls. it's 2022. democrats were joined by a dozen republicans, a rare alliance that marks the significant shift by the gop on same-sex marriage. there is now enough bipartisan support to pass the respect for marriage act, when congress reconvenes after thanksgiving. the bill is expected to become a law by the end of this year, once the house approved the senate's version. democrats rushed to short legal protection just days after the midterms, while they still have control of both chambers.

the strong push to advance of the bill amid concerns that the same-sex marriage could be the supreme court's next marriage after it overtones the constitutional right to abortion this summer. democratic senator, tammy baldwin, the chief sponsor of the bill underscored these concern on her remarks on the floor this past wednesday. take a listen. >> this legislation unites americans. what the respect for marriage act, we can ease the fear that millions of same-sex, and interracial couples have that their freedoms, and their rights could be stripped away. by passing this bill, we are guaranteeing same-sex, and interracial couples regardless of where they live, that their marriage is legal. that they will continue toenjoyd responsibilities that all other marriages are afforded. this will give millions of

loving couples, the certainty and dignity and respect that they need, and that they deserve. >> the midterm swarms does a reminder that the majority of americans, do not favor rigid abortion bans, or other extreme policies. so what does that mean for the republican party built on culture wars? that's a great question. joining me now is jennifer oregon, an opinion writer for the washington post. an embassy msnbc political analyst. she's the author of resistance, how women save democracy from donald trump. and thank goodness they did. this week she published a op-ed in the washington post titled, the senate's victory on same-sex marriage should terrified the gop. jennifer, thank you so much for joining me this morning. i really want to take your take because i think there's going to be such a strong push forward with the republican party after voters broke their maga fever. you point out that the huge conundrum that the gop now faces its this. republicans face a number of

quandaries these days that force them to choose between loyalty to the magra colts and general election viability but no question looms larger than how they intend to win office while maintaining the supports of christian nationalists, whose views are anti ethical to the majority of americans -- and this goes beyond same-sex marriage. this is what happens when a national political party becomes almost entirely dependent on a group whose views are far out of the american mainstream. jessica, has the gop get out of this hole that it has made for itself. -- >> i don't think they get out of. it i think they're going to lose some elections, because there is some core base which is crucial to them, which is the christian nationalists, right, who has really made their careers, made their livelihood, made their political mark on the source of issues.

there's nothing that's going to prevent them from primary in some of these characters in two years, or four years, or six years, and likewise on abortion. we've seen that they are driven by their -- not only bans on individual states, but a national ban. in fact, they're gonna be presidential candidates running on that. there is nothing more likely to once more stir up the american populist then a position that would ban coast to coast abortion access for all women. we saw what that happened, what they did to them in the midterm elections. democrats, for once, leaned into the cultural issues, which are really freedom issues, their choice issues. there anti government tyranny issues. the republicans paid a price and they seem completely oblivious, or simply trapped by them, and i think the way they get out of this is though

either have someone who will successfully stand up to the far-right, and which i don't see anyone with a level of courage right now, or they will suffer some more defeats, and then they'll have to abandon it. it should be remarked upon that even within the christian evangelical community, these issues are becoming losing issues. on same-sex marriage, there's a big difference between older evangelical christians, and younger evangelical christians. even within their own communities, i think this is an issue of diminishing returns for them. >> this is one of the things that i found really fascinating about this is that it also in protects interracial marriage. again, we're in 2022, where almost a third of americans are in an type of interracial couples. i am married to an international individual. so my children are interracial, absolutely. should we be praising the republicans who voted to advance legislation, or should

be focused on people who voted against? it >> i think it's the latter. i think voting for this is the bare minimum abusing a human -- decent human being in america in 2022, as you pointed out. but the bass move majority of republicans voted against. it there were only 12 that went along. that's 38 republicans who did not want to protect a same-sex marriage, or interracial marriage. by the way, i think the reason why they included interracial marriage is specifically because when justin's comments and listed all of the things that he was going to come after, including the same sex marriage, including other substances due process rights, he some how neglected to mention interracial marriage. that was a peculiar omission. obviously, he isn't an interracial marriage, you can make a legal argument that that it is a protection cause issue, but i think that's just indicative of the fact that the

supreme court is now simply legislating their own videos on these burning social issues. they don't have a strong constitutional basis. i think it's entirely appropriate for congress to step in and say no we have come to appreciate, come to approve that there are certain rights that our national, that are not dependent on where you live in the united states. >> jennifer, when -- came out talking about the interracial bit, my husband and i were joking that those different ways to file for divorce than on the bench. thank you jennifer for joining me today. still to come on velshi, former impeachment manager representative, stacey positive, the u.s. virgin islands is here to discuss the future of the democratic party. -- it latest in the trump investigations. another hour of velshi starts right after the break, don't go away. 't g away it was time for a nunormal with nucala. nucala is a once-monthly add-on treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma that can mean less oral steroids.

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