Skip to main content

tv   Andrea Mitchell Reports  MSNBC  November 30, 2022 9:00am-10:00am PST

9:00 am
right now on "andrea mitchell reports," fast track. the lame duck session of the 117th congress kicks into
9:01 am
overdrive with the senate passing a bill to codify same-sex marriage and a vote today in the house to avert a costly rail strike. more denunciations of donald trump's decision making by members of his own party. i will -- the interview with secretary of state blinken on the war in ukraine, the drama surrounding the u.s./iran soccer match and the protests we have seen in iran and china in recent weeks. >> any country where you see people trying to protest peacefully, to make known their frustration, whatever the issue is, in any country where we see that happening and we see the government take massive repressive action to stop it,
9:02 am
that's not a sign of strength, that's a sign of weakness. good day. i'm garrett haake in washington. we will bring you andrea's full interview throughout the hour. we begin today with breaking news on capitol hill. the house of representatives is about to vote on legislation to avert a national rail strike that could cost the country billions of dollars a day. this white house priority will also have to get through the senate to make sure the holiday season doesn't get upended by a transportation nightmare. also on the hill, house democrats officially electing new york congressman hakeem jeffries as their next leader. joining me, ryan nobles, kristin welker, brendan buck, former senior advisor to john boehner and paul ryan and eugene daniels. ryan, i will start with you. there's a lot of urgency over
9:03 am
legislative priorities right now. the current house democratic leadership has clearly gotten the message from the white house that avoiding this rail strike is the top priority. >> it's not an easy decision. so many of the democratic members are tightly aligned with the very unions that are opposed to taking this step. but the biden white house has really impressed upon democratic leaders here that forcing this deal to be enacted is much more important to the global economy than this dispute between the union leaders and the rail companies. democrats are trying to find a way to do both. what they're going to do on the house side is pass two separate pieces of legislation. one that will enact that deal and then another piece of legislation, a separate piece of legislation, that would also allow for seven days of paid sick leave for rail workers. what will happen is it will go to the senate where a similar vote will take place. that will prevent them having to bring it back to the house should it pass so that it can go
9:04 am
directly to president biden and be signed into law. this comes with a degree of risk for democrats that are closely associated with the unions. i talked to alexandria ocasio-cortez from new york. she said she's confident bernie sanders will guide it through to make sure the paid sick leave gets in. this is by no means a done deal. there's a lot of work that needs to be done over the next couple of days. >> kristin welker, how about president biden? he is invested in making sure a bill gets to his desk. what are you hearing at the white house? is he working behind the scenes to dampen the pushback about this plan of action? >> look, i think that he and his top officials certainly are. this effort really started to ramp up in ernest yesterday when he met with the top four congressional leaders and reiterated what he has said publically, which is that he
9:05 am
wants to see congress act on this to avert a strike, because he is making the argument, the white house is making the argument the impact would be catastrophic, particularly coming just before the holidays. it could potentially add to the nation's already soaring inflation. garrett, you raise an interesting point. this is a labor president. go back to 1992 and as a senator, he voted against this type of action. here he is with this aboutface. it comes because of the concern by this president, by the white house of the economic circumstances would be so dire. there's a political backdrop to this. this is a president mulling the possibility of his re-election. more bad news for the economy would not be good for him. >> the president sending some top advisers, buttigieg, walshe to the hill to talk to democrats about this later today. ryan, the other big story on capitol hill is the passing of
9:06 am
the torch within the house democratic caucus. we mentioned at the top of the show, hakeem jeffries, pete aguilar. we have not seen new faces there in decades. what do they bring to the table? what challenges are they goes to face right off the bat? >> first, we should point out this is a historic vote. the first time that an african american has been a leader. hakeem jeffries making history. the biggest difference is the generational shift. these three new top leaders are all 30 years younger than the group that they will replace. jim clyburn is still expected to hang on in that fourth leadership position. make no mistake, this is now a leadership of this caucus that comes from a very different perspective than the ones that they are replacing. they will have a big job ahead of them. they are going to be in the minority, but perhaps by only four or five seats, which means they will have to keep their caucus together if it means
9:07 am
helping the biden administration in some respects and pushing back on something -- on things the republicans may do. this is a big job for them. they are still going to have nancy pelosi and steny hoyer in the background. they are holding on to their congressional seats. they will be there to offer guidance. right now, the democratic party seems unified as all three of the leaders were elected unanimously to the posts. >> eugene, hakeem jeffries will have nancy pelosi to provide guidance if he needs it. that makes it challenging for him to assert his own leadership potentially. speaking of generational shifts, he has to build a relationship with president biden kind of on the fly as well here. talk about the challenges he faces in that arena. >> exactly. it's hard to do your job when the person who had your job is still sitting behind you whispering in your ear. speaker pelosi -- current
9:08 am
speaker pelosi is not going to be a back bencher in any way. she and her team have alluded to the fact she's going to allow representative jeffries and his team to deal with everything and keep the caucus together. but it is going to be really difficult to do that. no one has played with the thin majority that house democrats have better than nancy pelosi. hakeem jeffries can learn a lot. it takes trust building within the caucus and then as you said his relationship with president biden. nancy pelosi and biden have been friends and colleagues and co-workers for a very, very long time. rebuilding that kind of from scratch, especially when jeffries and biden see things different. we talked about the generational differences in age. he is the same age as nancy pelosi and the outgoing folks.
9:09 am
that's one thing he will have to deal with. i think this white house and the house democrats feel like they have to stick together, because they know they will be battling house republicans. i see them kind of working quickly to create that relationship. >> in some ways it's easier to stick together in the minority, when you are not responsible for pulling together the votes on some of the big things. brendan, the house democrats, whatever challenges hakeem jeffries might face, this looks harmonious compared to the top of the republican party. we have seen more fallout from former president trump's dinner with nick fuentes. mitch mcconnell weighed in. >> there is no room in the republican party for anti-semitism or white supremacy. and anyone meeting with people
9:10 am
advocating that point of view, in my judgment, are highly unlikely to ever be elected president of the united states. >> trump then went back at mcconnell in an interview. do you see this as anything different from the back and forth disdain we have seen from these two men going back for years? is this a crack that might be meaningful in the changing direction of the republican party? >> certainly, mitch mcconnell is ready to turn page from donald trump. he made that clear for a really long time. i think mitch mcconnell wanted to get that off his chest because he blames donald trump for not being the majority leader going into the next congress. mitch mcconnell is saying this is not surprising. i was surprised that kevin mccarthy actually made some faint criticism of the dinner himself. mitch mcconnell is secure in his position. he only needs a majority of his own members to stay the leader. he just had that election. kevin mccarthy on the other hand
9:11 am
needs just about every house republican. the one thing -- i think he will get there. but the one directed his critict mcconnell and not mccarthy. >> can you expand on that? if we talk about hakeem jeffries having pelosi over his shoulder, kevin mccarthy will have donald trump over his shoulder for potentially throughout his speakership. republicans, as i don't have to tell you, are good at taking down their own speakers. talk more about the tightrope he has to walk over at least the next couple of weeks, if he wants to take the gavel. >> yeah. obviously, in the next few weeks if -- the one wild card is if donald trump were to turn on him. that would be bad news for
9:12 am
mccarthy. i'm not expecting that. to your point, going forward, governing is going to be extremely difficult. they will have to do ugly bipartisan deals with democrats at some point to fund the government, to increase the debt limit. we did that when donald trump was in office. but he had a little skin in the game at that point. we were able to reluctantly go along with him, get him to go along with us on some of the things. he didn't want a debt default on his watch. he didn't want a government shutdown. maybe sometimes he did. it's hard to imagine donald trump trashing a deal that kevin mccarthy cuts with democrats and make it really hard to pass those things. it's another wild card on their ability to govern next year. >> it's going to be interesting. thank you all for getting this started. right now, president biden and vice president harris are actually at the department of interior in washington, d.c. to speak at a white house tribal nation summit. we are learning to these
9:13 am
comments here. we will bring you any news the president may make. on the world stage, andrea's interview with secretary of state tony blinken. what he told her about the u.s./iran world cup match, russia's war in ukraine and the protests in china and iran. that's coming up. the "andrea mitchell reports" sitdown with the secretary of state, only here on msnbc. ♪ ♪ enough was enough. i talked to an asthma specialist and found out my severe asthma is driven by eosinophils, a type of asthma nucala can help control. now, fewer asthma attacks and less oral steroids that's my nunormal with nucala. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing.
9:14 am
infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. talk to your asthma specialist to see if once-monthly nucala may be right for you. and learn about savings at nucala.com there's more to your life than asthma. find your nunormal with nucala. (snorting) if you struggle with cpap... (groan) (growling) (chuckle) ...you should check out inspire. no mask. no hose. just sleep. (beeping) learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com. it's nice to unwind after a long week of telling people how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need! (limu squawks) he's a natural. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.♪
9:15 am
suffering from sinus congestion, especially at night? only try vicks sinexu need. for instant relief that lasts up to 12 hours. vicks sinex targets congestion at the source, relieving nasal congestion and sinus pressure by reducing swelling in the sinuses. try vicks sinex. these days, our households depend on the internet more and more. families grow, houses get smarter, and our demands on the internet increase. that's why we just boosted speeds for over 20 million xfinity customers, on us. so you get more of the speed you need for day and night streaming. more speed you need when you're work from homeing. and more speed you need as your family keeps growing. check in on your current speed through the xfinity app today. so... i know you and george were struggling with the possibility of having to move. how's that going? we found a way to make bathing safer with a kohler walk-in bath.
9:16 am
a kohler walk-in bath provides a secure, spa-like bathing experience in the comfort of your own home. a kohler walk-in bath has one of the lowest step-ins of any walk-in bath for easy entry and exit. it features textured surfaces, convenient handrails for more stability, and a wide door for easier mobility. kohler® walk-in baths include two hydrotherapies— whirlpool jets and our patented bubblemassage™ to help soothe sore muscles in your feet, legs, and back. a kohler-certified installer will install everything quickly and conveniently in as little as a day. they made us feel completely comfortable in our home. and, yes, it's affordable. i wish we would have looked into it sooner. think i might look into one myself. stay in the home and life you've built for years to come. call... to receive 50% off installation of your kohler walk-in bath. and take advantage of our special low monthly payment financing.
9:17 am
now to andrea's interview with tony blinken in romania during a nato meeting on the war in ukraine. andrea? >> hi there, garrett. here in romania, the secretary of state condemned vladimir putin's attacks against ukraine's energy supplies and told me that the u.s. is committed to defending the replacement equipment that the u.s. is now sending ukraine. he also talked about iran's crackdown on the protesters
9:18 am
against the regime and, of course, that great soccer match, the u.s. victory over iran. you have said soccer is not geopolitical. but at this world cup, it certainly was. the iranian state media was challenging u.s. policies publically at a news conference. it was certainly part of the text. and there was global outrage over what's happened to women. hundreds arrested, many killed, many others injured. outrage around the world. so isn't there inevitably some significance, some impact of the u.s. victory over iran? >> first, let me just say how proud i am, like so many americans are, of team usa. how well they performed in the world cup, including last night in the game against iran. by the way, i thought the iranian players performed with
9:19 am
incredible valor and heart throughout this tournament. it was great to see these athletes doing what they do. yes, i also believe strongly, because i see it every place i go, that football, as it's called in most parts of the world, soccer as we call it, really is a universal language spoken pretty much everywhere. it has a powerful way of bringing people together. people not only play soccer, they watch it. they argue about it. they get passionate about teams, whether it's a national team or whether it's a club team. that's a powerful thing. of course, when you have countries that are playing against each other that are in a totally different area in a rivalry or competition or have a fraught relationship, that can spill over. i think the american players were incredibly dignified off the field just as they were successful on the field. our focus was on the game last night. but our focus every day and the
9:20 am
world's focus is what's happening in the streets of iran. the extraordinary courage of women in particular who have been standing up, speaking up, speaking out for their basic rights. we have seen that since the killing of amini. we have been working to the best of our ability. we have been sanctioning them. we have been trying to make sure that iranians have the ability to be able to communicate with one another and stay connected to the outside world, including through the provision of technology. we are focused on that. sometimes these things blend together. for the most part, we are trying to do whatever we can do to make clear that we support what iranians are asking for,
9:21 am
demanding in the streets, which is to be heard, to be able to make their views known peacefully and not to have this terrible repression that we are seeing. >> mr. secretary, with so many women arrested, some killed, is there anything -- anything the u.s. government can do besides sanctions and helping them with internet access? >> andrea, first, it's really important to make clear that this is about iranians. this is about the women, the young people who are protesting, trying to make a voice heard. it's not about us. it's not about any other country. one of the profound mistakes the regime makes is in accusing the united states or any other country of somehow being responsible for, instigating what's happening. that's not at all the case. to misunderstand their own people is at the heart of the problem that they are facing. the most important thing that we can do is, first, to speak out very clearly ourselves in
9:22 am
support of the people's right to protest peacefully, to make their views known. and as i said, to take what steps we can take to go after those who are actually repressing those rights, including through sanctions and to help the iranian people remain connected to each other and the world. >> the women tell me they think change is inevitable, there's no turning back. do you agree? >> it's very hard for us to judge. first, we don't have diplomatic relations. our visibility into iran is limited. again, it's fundamentally about the iranian people, their own aspirations, their own desires, their own needs, for their futures for their country. that's what will determine what happens and where this goes. >> they are just below the level of weapons grade, there's no
9:23 am
diplomacy going on from their side. they are not serious about it. is the military option now the only option to stop them from having a nuclear weapon? >> look, we continue to believe diplomacy is the most effective way. >> it's not happening. >> that's why we engaged in it over these past couple of years. when there was an agreement, the so-called jcpoa, the decision to pull out of that allowed the program to get out of the box. now we are seeing i ran continuing to take steps to make that program ever more dangerous. it is something that we are very concerned about, not just us, but many allies and partners around the world, starting with our european partners. we made clear to iran in a variety of ways that if they continue to take steps to advance the program, we will have to take steps to oppose that and to deal with that. >> let me ask you about ukraine. the secretary-general said
9:24 am
vladimir putin is weaponizing winter. people are starving. they are freezing. they don't have water. putin is carpet bombing them at this point. is there any way to make sure that as we spend millions repairing these substations that he is not just going to take them out? it's playing whack-a-mole. >> we're doing two things. what putin is not able to do on the battlefield he is actually now taking to civilians across the country by trying to deny them heat, deny them electricity, deny them water, to freeze them, to brutalize them in ways that we haven't seen in europe in decades. that's playing out across the entire country. it's not just the front lines and eastern and southern ukraine. it's literally every part of the country. two things are necessary and what we are focused on. one is, yes, making sure to the best of our ability, we are getting to ukraine what it needs to repair, to replace, to make
9:25 am
more resilient its energy and electricity infrastructure. at the same time, you are right, we also need to make sure, again, to the best of our ability, that ukrainians can defend that infrastructure. otherwise, you get into a cycle where stuff is destroyed, we help them replace it, it gets destroyed again and that gets repeated. throughout this russian aggression, we have been working to make sure that ukraine had in its hands the military equipment and weapons it needed to defend itself, to deter the russian aggression, to push back. the neet needs for ukraine have evolved depending on what russia is doing. >> they have asked for bigger, longer, stronger weapons earlier. was it a mistake not to give them more air defenses, patriots sooner? >> we have been doing it all along. even before day one. when we saw the russian aggression mounting, when we warned the world it was likely to come, we didn't just say that, we didn't just warn
9:26 am
people, going back more than a year ago we started to provide the ukrainians with air defense systems, with stinger missiles, javelins to deal with tanks. >> what about the patriots now? >> throughout as we have seen the nature of the threat from russia change, move to different parts of the country, use different tools, we have helped the ukrainians adapt by making sure the weapon systems that we were giving them and many others are giving them are actually fit for the threat that they are facing. it's not just getting them the weapon systems. it's making sure they are trained, they can maintain them. there's a process that goes into that. lloyd austin has convened a group of countries over many months to make sure we are doing that in a coordinated way. we have done the same thing on the energy side with g7 countries as well as coordination with the european union, making sure as we do on the defense side, on the energy and electricity side, we are organize and coordinated. we are bringing all of that together to help ukraine get through the winter. >> in china, they are cracking down on the protesters. in some ways, does that give us
9:27 am
more ref ladies and gentlemen? has president xi become weakened by this? >> i can't speak to what this says about his standing. what i can say is this. first, the zero covid policy that we have seen in china is not something that we would do. we have been focused on making sure people have safe and effective vaccines, we have testing, we have treatment. and that has proven effective. china has to figure out a way forward on dealing with covid, a way forward that answers the health needs but also answers the needs of people. we can't address that for them. i think any country where you see people trying to speak out, trying to speak up, to protest peacefully, to make known their frustrations, whatever the issue is, in any country where we see that happening and we see the
9:28 am
government take massive repressive action to stop it, it's a sign of weakness. >> the secretary of state talked about brittney griner and paul whelan in russia. the whelan family's concerns about his condition, his whereabouts. we talked about the rise of anti-semitism in america and around the world. more coming up later in the program. back to you. >> thank you, andrea. we will have more of her interview with secretary of state tony blinken ahead. first, an update from the world cup and team usa. christian pulisic who scored the game winning goal suffered a pelvic injury when he collided with the goalie. later, he isn't a message on social media ahead of team usa's next matchup saying, i will be back saturday, don't worry. in fact, he was able to greet list teammates later during their victory lap at the hotel. we will watch for him on saturday against the
9:29 am
netherlands. coming up, the latest on what the top u.s. diplomat has to say about two americans jailed in russia, brittney griner and paul whelan, plus how the rise in anti-semitism in america is making an impact around the globe. more of andrea's interview with secretary of state antony blinken next. the vote to avert the railroad strike is underway now. we will keep a close eye on it and bring you the latest here on "andrea mitchell reports." a busy day, only on msnbc.
9:30 am
(scrooge) bah humbug! my signal is totally ghosting me! (cecily) you need a better network. 'tis the season to switch to verizon. they'll give you the new iphone 14 pro. (scrooge) amazing phone! (vo) this holiday season verizon gives you the new iphone 14 pro. plus an apple gift, like apple watch se, ipad and beats fit pro. all on us. that's a value of up to $1900. (scrooge) wow! (vo) and there are unlimited plans for everyone starting at just $35 a line. it's our best deal of the year. get the network you deserve and the savings you want. only on verizon. vicks vapostick. strong soothing... vapors. help comfort your loved ones. for chest, neck, and back. it goes on clear. no mess. just soothing comfort. try vicks vapostick. dude, what're you doing? i'm protecting my car. that's too much work. weathertech is so much easier... laser-measured floorliners up here, seat protector and cargoliner back there... nice! out here, side window deflectors... and mud flaps...
9:31 am
and the bumpstep, to keep the bumper dent-free. cool! it's the best protection for your vehicle, new or pre-owned. great. but where do i---? order. weathertech.com. sfx: bubblewrap bubble popped sound. hi, i'm jason and i've lost 202 pounds on golo. being a veteran, the transition from the military into civilian life causes a lot of stress. i ate a lot for stress. golo and release has helped me with managing that stress and allowing me to focus on losing weight.
9:32 am
for anyone struggling with weight and stress-related weight gain, i recommend golo to you. this is a real thing. this is not a hoax. you follow the plan, you'll lose weight. ben isn't worried about retirement. his personalized plan is backed by the team at fidelity. his ira is professionally managed, and he gets one-on-one coaching when he needs it. so ben is feeling pretty zen. that's the planning effect from fidelity
9:33 am
i love what downy does for my sheets and towels. but did you know downy provides 7 benefits for your clothes, like making them softer and fresher. plus, downy fights fading and stretching. make your laundry softer, fresher, and look newer longer. we are back now with more of andrea's interview with tony blinken in bucharest this morning and what the state department is doing for the two americans detained in russia. >> i asked secretary of state tony blinken about paul whelan and brittney griner. paul whelan's family is so worried about his health, his condition. they haven't heard from him. he missed his thanksgiving call. the embassy has had no contact. what can you tell us about what's happened to paul whelan?
9:34 am
>> first, one of my number one concerns anywhere in the world is for americans who are being arbitrarily detained. that goes for paul whelan, brittney griner and others in russia. it goes for americans in a number of other countries who are being imprisoned for political reasons, used as pawns. we have been very focused with russia on trying to get paul whelan home, trying to get brittney griner home. part of that goes to making sure we have the ability to have access to them, to have contact with them, which is a requirement under basic international law, basic diplomatic convention. >> do we know how he is? >> the last time our own team has had an opportunity to see paul was, i believe, november 16th when we had a visit with him. we spoke on the phone with him, i think around the same time. we have not had contact since then. we have asked for it. >> we don't know where or how he
9:35 am
is? could he be hospitalized? >> i can't speak to his situation now. we are working every day to make sure that we have contact with him, that we understand what the exact situation is, even as we work to bring him home, to bring brittney griner home. this is what we see russia doing in terms of abusing the very basic understandings that countries have had when it comes to having access to our citizens who are being detained. >> i want to ask you, given your family background, your stepfather's survival from the holocaust, what you know about world history, are you concerned, we have had these oath keepers convicted, some for seditious conspiracy, but there's a rise in white nationalism and anti-semitism all over the country. is it becoming normalized, even with the former president hosting an anti-semite?
9:36 am
do you have concerns about what this says about america? >> my focus is on anti-semitism around the world. >> what about here at home? >> one of the things that i stay out of is our own politics. that's not my job. it's not my brief. my brief is to make sure that our values and interests are advanced around the world. one of my concerns is the rise of anti-semitism around the world. whenever we see it rise, usually -- >> how can we preach to the rest of the world when we see it so rampant in our political life at home? it's not politics. it's american values. >> in a variety of ways, we, of course, have to deal with our own challenges. one of the hallmarks of the united states, that sets us apart, is that we do deal with them openly, transparently. we confront them. we don't sweep them under the rug. we talk about them. we don't pretend they don't exist. even when we have problems that are painful, that are difficult to deal with, that create
9:37 am
conflict in our society, we engage them. one of the things i'm able to say when i go around the world, whether on anti-semitism or any other issue, is, yes, even if we have problems at home, we're dealing with them. we are confronting them. we're not pretending they don't exist. we would urge you to do the same thing. >> mr. secretary, thank you very much. >> thanks. >> that was andrea mitchell with tony blinken at the nato foreign secretaries meeting in bucharest, romania. we will talk about what the oath keepers verdict means ahead. first, we will go back to capitol hill where calls for new blood in democratic leadership were answered this morning when new york congressman hakeem jeffries was elected to lead democrats beginning in january. he will succeed nancy pelosi and become the first black party leader in either party in congress. the new guard also includes congresswoman katherine clark of massachusetts and pete aguilar of california. joining me now is congressman
9:38 am
khana. you said they have spent years building trust. talk about what the new big three will bring to the table as democrats turn the page. >> i'm excited. they have the trust of many people in the caucus. they are consensus builders. they are bringing a new generation of perspective and are going to elevate a lot of new voices in the caucus. there's a sense of unity in the caucus, a sense of excitement. of course, a historic moment with hakeem jeffries becoming the first black leader of the democratic party in the house. >> these three were elected by acclamation. we understand there's a little drama where whip clyburn was going to run. now david cicilline is challenging him. what do you make of that challenge?
9:39 am
should clyburn stay in the core leadership team? >> i'm a strong supporter of jim clyburn. he is a conscience of the congress. here is someone who has gone to jail for civil rights. he has an extraordinary relationship with president biden. he helps house democrats navigate that. he has been a strong voice on voting rights. i expect him to win. he certainly will have my strong support. >> fair enough. we talked to the connection with biden is one thing that leader jeffries will have to work on. he talked about working with republicans whenever possible. now you have kevin mccarthy dangling impeachments before even locking in the votes to be speaker. what does that tell you about the relationships across the aisle in this next congress? >> it would be a terrible mistake for the republicans to do that. they should look at how impeachment turned out whether -- when they tried it against
9:40 am
clinton. what the american people want is for us to address gas prices, food prices, the slowing down of the economy to bring back manufacturing jobs. we stand ready to work with republicans. i worked with republicans on the chips act to bring intel to ohio. it's really their choice. do they want to partner with us on the economy or do they just want to have two years of investigations? i will tell you, the smart thing is to work on issues they campaigned on, the economy. >> i want to show this family photo from yesterday's meeting here at the white house of the new leadership getting together for the first time. kevin mccarthy, getting a sense of the room and the big job he will step into. he talked about inviting president biden to the border with him. do you think the president should go on that trip as a way to maybe work on something across the aisle with the new incoming, perhaps, speaker? >> the president of the united states can determine for himself when it's appropriate for him to
9:41 am
go to the border. i think it should be the president convening a bipartisan group. look, the reality is, speaker mccarthy took a group of republicans to the border. if he was serious, he would have taken a bipartisan group. i stand ready to work with whoever the new speaker is on a bipartisan basis if it's in good faith. no one is going to participate in exercises that are just to score political points. >> we will strike from the record you giving him the speaker's title, which he has to get on the floor. the house is voting today on this rail workers' deal, including a paid sick leave provision which wasn't part of the deal. speaker pelosi slammed the railroad company profits. i want to play a bit of that for you. >> rather than reinvesting profits into the workers, over the past decade they have given $150 billion in handouts to their corporate executives and wealthiest investors.
9:42 am
what we need is paid sick leave for railroad workers and every american. >> i imagine you share a good bit of that concern. the house is going to vote on that separately. talk to me about your concerns about that provision in the senate. bernie sanders, with whom you are close, will try to fight for that on the senate side. what are you watching as that provision moves forward? >> bernie sanders deserves enormous credit. they were going to first have us pass an agreement, the railroad agreement which would have given workers one sick day. you go to a job, you are sick, you have the flu, your child is sick, and you have to get only one day off? that's inhumane. all the workers are asking for is seven, eight days of sick pay. almost any job should have that in america. bernie sanders insisted on that. some of us in the house said we were not going to vote for something without sick days.
9:43 am
now we have -- i fully expect the house to pass something with seven paid sick days. the remarkable thing -- i give credit to senator rubio and some of the republicans who are -- it looks like they are willing to vote for bernie sanders' sick day provision. i'm cautiously optimistic. >> if the covid protocols are you should stay home, even with a mild case for five days, and you only get one day off with paid leave, that math just doesn't work. congressman, do you take the senators on the republican side, like rubio or cruz, at their word they are serious about there issue of paid sick leave? they weren't interested in it when that was a provision being discussed as part of the reconciliation package last year. >> i take senator rubio at his word. we have our disagreements but we have been trying to bring manufacturing back to the country. senator rubio has been thought about the child tax credit.
9:44 am
he seems sincere on paid family leave. i have strong disagreements with him, but in my interactions with senator rubio, he is straightforward. i have had a working relationship with him. >> we will take sincere interest in bipartisanship any time on this show. thank you for coming on. >> thank you. coming up, guilty. what the convictions of stewart rhodes and four others mean for the other pending january 6 cases and for the department of justice. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. bc
9:45 am
9:46 am
9:47 am
there's a different way to treat hiv. it's every-other-month, injectable cabenuva. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by my healthcare provider, every other month. it's one less thing to think about while traveling. hiv pills aren't on my mind. a quick change in my plans is no big deal. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away.
9:48 am
tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection-site reactions, fever, and tiredness. if you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. every other month, and i'm good to go. ask your doctor about every-other-month cabenuva. welcome back. as we come back, we are waiting to hear from the gentleman from new york, hakeem jeffries, the minority leader in the next congress. you see the podium. we will bring you his comments live when they occur. we have to go back to this landmark victory for the justice department, when a federal judge found oath keepers' founder stewart rhodes and one other member guilty of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the capitol attacks. three other defendants were acquitted. all five were found guilty of some other lesser charges.
9:49 am
to put this in perspective, the last conviction was three decades. here with me now is ryan reilly, former u.s. attorney joyce vance and "the washington post" deputy national political editor, phil rucker. ryan, the highest profile january 6 trial yet. there are other facing these charges, notably four other oath keepers, proud boys. >> for the proud boys, that's a troubling thing. there's more evidence of pre-planning in the proud boys case than in the oath keepers case. that was one of the hurdlhurdle the case. there wasn't a lot of evidence that they said, we're going to storm the capitol on january 6. it seemed like it was more of a spur of the moment thing. there was a lot of planning in
9:50 am
terms of opposing the peaceful transfer of power. that was more along the lines of using force in way they could to oppose the peaceful transfer of power from donald trump to president biden. i think it was an interesting verdict. that mixed verdict gives a lot of credibility. we have seen attacks over the 900 cases, we see filings from defense attorneys saying, d.c. jurors are too biased, too liberal, they can't handle these cases. what we saw is they didn't take everything that doj put up. they came back with a mixed verdict, evaluated the evidence and law and came out with what they thought was the right conclusion here and took their jobs jobs very seriously. >> i want to bring you in on that. what do you make of the idea of the split verdict? does it give the jury more credibility? >> sure, ryan is exactly right here. so when you're in a lawyer dealing with complaints from
9:51 am
defendants on appeal, that's where this gets raised about the jury going beyond the evidence. in etc.ceps, convicted where the evidence didn't support the conviction. something that it's very helpful to have is this sort of deliberation by the jury when they work through the fd and reach decisions about defendants that aren't made as a group, but rather show the jury was considering the evidence independently. that will be important here, but to ryan's point about preplanning and evidence this that regard, the essence of the conspiracy charge is that there's an agreement among the people that are charged to accomplish this illegal goal. when you're charging a conspiracy as a prosecutor, you don't have to show that the defendant succeeded. only that they entered into this agreement. so the evidence here will certainly substantiate that on appeal for the two defendants who were convicted of conspiracy. perhaps as important is that all of the defendants were convicted
9:52 am
on this additional conspiracy charge of conspireing to interfere with the government. it was a very solid showing on a very important topic for doj. >> joyce, we have just learned that the attorney general is going to be briefing on this topic on that verdict later today. i'm curious what you expect him to say here. what is this verdict do for the department of justice beyond probably a huge moral boost? >> i would never underestimate the value of a good moral boost. because something that you have to evaluate as a prosecutor is whether juries are willing to look at crimes and convict based on the evidence that you have. and that calculation is pretty straight forward when you're charging a bank robbery or an assault. in a case can like this, this this particular moment in american history, prosecutors are engaging in a very fine line analysis of their evidence and whether it supports the charges.
9:53 am
we see that in the oath keepers verdict. the evidence didn't support a seditious conspiracy charge as to all defendants. so knowing that jurors are still able to listen to evidence, listen to facts and reach intelligent conclusions is a moral boost, but it also suggests to prosecutors that they have additional work here and that they should do that work. merrick garland is a big support etc. of his troops. he dropped in on their celebration after these verdicts came in. he will be here to support his folks. the prosecutors, the agents, the support people who made this verdict possible, this is a difficult case to. the evidence is demanding. the work that it takes under federal rules that require a lot of engagement with the defense and turnover of evidence are exacting and time staking. we'll hear him commit to toll the evidence wherever it leads no matter who it implicates. that's what he's told us all
9:54 am
along. that's what we're now seeing in this investigation. >> and phil, i imagine this verdict might put some wind in the sales of the special counsel, who is looking into donald trump's role in january 6th. he has made election denial such a big part of his third campaign already in the first couple weeks. i wonder what you make of the dove tailing of this story with the launch of his campaign, the problems he's had with his fellow republicans. what do you think we're going to hear from the former president about these combined stories? >> i'm not sure what the former president will have to say about the ongoing investigation into the proud boys and other oath keepers, but this is all part of a broader january 6th investigation that does include scrutiny of donald trump's conduct in actions. that's what the special counsel has been looking at.
9:55 am
trump has been outspoken geps the special counsel, who is just getting started. apart from the main justice department, but clearly this is a boost for the justice department. merrick garland vowed when he first came in as attorney general to hold everybody accountable for january 6th. >> phil, i apologize. we're going to jump in and listen to hakeem jeffrey, his first press conference after winning the election to become minority lead perp. >> on january 3rd and to be joined by my two good friends, amazing colleagues and partners, the house whip katherine clark and the caucus chair pete aguilar. let me first begin by just expressing my heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the family of
9:56 am
don mcceacham. he was an important part of that family he will be deeply, deeply missed. i also want to convey my thanks to speaker nancy pelosi. an extraordinary speaker for the ages. who has delivered so much for so many over such a significant period of time. our caucus is better, our country is better, the world is better because of speaker nancy pelosi's incredible leadership. i also want to thank our current house majority leader and our current house majority whip jim clyburn for their incredible friendship, mentorship and
9:57 am
support for all of us along this journey from the very beginning of our arrival in the congress. we stand on their collective, broad shoulders building upon the work they have done, excited about the opportunities to advance the ball for everyday americans as we move forward into our future. i was born at brooklyn hospital, raised in crown heights by my two parents, who were public employees, a caseworker and a social worker in the middle class, working class neighborhood in the mudst of the crack cocaine epidemic in the '80s into the early '90s. i'm thankful for them, thankful for their love, support and
9:58 am
prayers throughout the years into adulthood and my journey as a public servant. growing up in that crown heights neighborhood, first member of congress i was ever aware of was the honorable shirley chism. and i was elected to represent many neighborhoods in brooklyn that she formerly represented. so it's with particular reverence for her it was communicated early to me earlier today that this actually is her birthday. 98 years ago. stand on the shoulders of people like shirley and so many others as with work to advance the ball for everyday americans and get stuff done.
9:59 am
because that's what democrats do. that's what our record says. each and every day house democrats committed to fighting hard for working families, middle-class folks, those aspire to be part of the middle class, young people, senors veterans, the poor, the success, the least, the lost and the left behind, house democrats fight for the people. that's our story. that's our legacy. that's our values. that's our commitment as we move forward. get stuff done. make life better for everyday americans we look forward to finding opportunities to partner with the other side of the aisle and work with them whenever possible, but but we will also push back against extremism
10:00 am
whenever necessary. we love this country. we love our democracy. we love the congress and the house of representatives, the institution designed to be the closest to the people. we're going to fight hard each and every day we have this honor to serve in congress to deliver. i now yield to my good friend and amazing colleague, the incoming house democratic whip from the commonwealth of the great state of massachusetts, catherine clark. >> good afternoon. >> good day. chris jansing in new york city. promising that the kras will fight for the least, the lost and the left behind, you just heard hakeem jeffreys making history.