right now on "andrea mitchell reports," the house republicans who rebelled during the speaker battle, they get spots on key committees. while staunch mccarthy allies with radical backgrounds profit from their loyalty. george santos gets committee assignments despite bipartisan calls for his resignation. this hour, the dangers for lawmakers from both parties on capitol hill brought to light by a new police report detailing thousands of threats last year alone. tragedy in ukraine today. a helicopter carrying top officials, including the country's minister of internal affairs, crashing on a preschool and a residential building outside of kyiv. >> they lost loved ones today and many more.

losing daily because of the war. a grieving zelenskyy today. good day here in washington. house republicans responsible for putting kevin mccarthy through 14 failed speaker votes have been rewarded with coveted committee assignments for their efforts. the 21 holdouts who spent days wheeling and dealing with mccarthy and his top lieutenants will play major roles in prominent committees, includes homeland security and oversight. george santos will serve on two committees, small business along with science, space and technology. house republican leadership continues to dismiss calls from within their own party for him to be removeremoved. joining me now ali vitali, yamiche alcindor and susan

delpercio. ali, take us through what's shaking out in the republican -- the rebels getting what they want. george santos getting appointments. marjorie taylor greene getting back on committees. >> it's a new congress now. signments have shaken out.ms republicans getting a late start to it but starting to assemble who is going to make up these committees on the majority side of them. the thing that we are seeing is pretty much what we expected, which is that even though these 20 or so republicans were the hardliners against mccarthy, their negotiations in many ways paid off. they were able to extract concessions from the speaker and also still land themselves on these key committees, the so-called "a" committees everybody wants to be on. coveted slots. look at the judiciary committee. it's stacked with people like matt gaetz, andy biggs, chip

roy. then, of course, looking ahead to people like marjorie taylor greene. they will do a lot of the oversight, literally, of the biden administration. something that the white house counsel's office is taking notice of. in a statement that was issued first to me at nbc news, they are pointing out the background here. i will read to you a piece of what one of the white house spoke spokespeople said. the biden administration stand ready to work in good faith to accommodate congress' legitimate oversight needs. however, he goes on to say, with these members joining the oversight committee, it appears that house republicans may be setting the stage for divorce from reality political stunts instead of engaging in bipartisan work on behalf of the american people. going on to say republicans are handing the keys of oversight to the most extreme maga members of

the conference. that's the white house view. we see them in the early stages of beginning to figure out how and frankly if you read the statement if they are going to move forward in compliance with some of the requests that have been sent from the oversight and other committees. >> you set the stage. yamiche, there are new power centers here. you have got the people -- the extreme people who had been outsiders now in the inner circle. >> certainly. in some ways, it's a telling thing that the 21 people who spent days and days frankly embarrassing kevin mccarthy, that they will be at the center part of the new power centers we are seeing. it underscores the republican party for as much as they look in some ways really not together and not unified, they are unified in this idea they are going to steal back the maga extremists, they will steal back people aligned to former president trump and they are not

going to ostracize members based on what they see as political opinions that they are too extreme. kevin mccarthy saying these are the people i need to stay close to me. let's remember that he agreed to these concessions to allow any one member to call him up and question whether he should remain speaker. even though he has been elected speaker, these are the same people who are holding the keys to him continuing to be in leadership. in some ways, they are extracting -- they extracted a lot of benefits but they will continue to extract benefits because they have the power. it's very interesting to see that. it's interesting to see on white house side, you have the press secretary at the podium. we are starting to hear language that it's extreme political stunts. the white house side you see new characters emerge to really in some ways be the face of pushing back against republicans. especially in a time where president biden, though he is saying he is open with the classified documents and giving as much information as he can,

he is in a vulnerable point in his presidency. seeing obama administration officials saying it's harder not to compare this to donald trump's problems. you are seeing a drip, drip, drip of information related to classified information. >> a lot of vulnerability. susan, how much are we seeing is about the need to appease every house republican? that's symbolized by george santos. he can't move against someone so discredited and disgraced as george santos. he needs every vote. >> that's right. you are right. they need every single vote. mccarthy has proven to be one thing and one thing only, a puppet of those 21 rebels, if you will. and he will do whatever they want. he really isn't the leader anymore. he has abdicated all of that. he is the leader in name only.

as far as it goes with george santos, you have up there the committees -- the small business committee and the science and technology committee, these are -- the science and technology committee, first of all, is -- it works in truth and fact. he is immediately disqualified there. the small business committee presents a unique opportunity for democrats. i would get every chamber of commerce local chamber, not just national, to start a letter writing campaign calling for him to be removed because there's no way he can be a representative of their interests given his deceit and his continued deceit about everything, including his business. >> thank you so much for starting us off. president biden, as we said, avoiding questions because of the controversy, of course, over the documents. this is the fifth straight day about those classified documents found at his private office at

his home. yesterday, i did ask secretary of state blinken about his time, because he was managing director of the penn biden center, one of the locations where documents were found, for at least two years. you were, for two years, the managing director of the penn biden center. just ask if you are aware of any reason why classified documents would have been packed and brought there while you were there and whether you would be available for an interview if the special counsel requests. >> the short answer is, no. as you heard from president biden about a week ago, i was surprised to learn that there were any government records taken to the penn biden center. i had no knowledge of it at the time. the white house, of course, has indicated that the administration is cooperating fully with the review that the justice department has undertaken. i would cooperate fully with that review myself. >> joining me now, kristin

welker. those are questions the president has not answered, but the secretary of state did. he was one of the biden -- former biden officials, obama/biden officials. he was at the state department. he did go over to the penn biden center and had somewhat of a role, not directing it, but he was clearly a managing director. >> you are right, andrea. for five days now the president hasn't answered questions. you heard some of the messaging there with you pressing the secretary of state that we have been hearing more broadly from this administration, namely that the president was surprised and that they are doing everything possible to fully cooperate with the special counsel investigation. it comes as we got this new data point overnight with "the wall street journal" reporting the justice department considered overseeing biden's attorneys searching for material in his delaware home. ultimately, they decided not to,

according to "the wall street journal," citing sources familiar with the matter. they say because they didn't want to complicate the investigation and because those attorneys were cooperating with the investigation. the white house, as you heard yamiche talking about, stepping up its strategy here and trying to use that as a way to draw a contrast between president biden and former president trump's handling of classified material. >> the white house has been saying for days, as you know, because you have been asking those questions, that they can't speak about an ongoing investigation. the justice department, a law enforcement official telling nbc news, that's not true. it's okay with justice if they speak about it. >> that law enforcement official undercutting the argument we have heard from the administration that they don't want to complicate the ongoing special counsel investigation. it's something that's being echoed by legal analysts and allies of the president. they say they should push harder

to be able to say more, to be able to get more answers to reporters. yesterday, again, ian held that on the record phone briefing with reporters where we did ask a number of questions. realistically, the headline was he held the briefing call. there wasn't a lot of new information that came out of it. there was this awareness and implicit acknowledgement that their strategy was not been working, that this drip, drip, drip has undercutting the president. the question moving forward, will we start to get more information out of this administration? another very contentious white house briefing yesterday. there's a 3:00 p.m. briefing slated for today. we will watch that very closely. >> indeed. i know you will be there. thank you, kristin welker. the deadly crash. a top ukrainian official is killed after a helicopter crashed just outside the capital of kyiv, along with more than a dozen others. the latest from the scene next.

you are watching "andrea mitchell reports." this is msnbc.

power e*trade's award-winning trading app makes trading easier. with its customizable options chain, easy-to-use tools, and paper trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. kids are so expensive, dad. now katie needs braces. maybe try switching your car insurance to progressive. you could save hundreds. i don't know, dad. ♪♪ maybe try switching your car insurance to progressive. you could save hundreds. that's a great idea, tv dad. but i said the exact same thing. some day when you're a father, you'll understand. i'm his father. it's not a competition. listen to your tv dad. drivers who switch and save with progressive save nearly $700 on average. [♪♪] drivers who switch and save with progressive if you have diabetes, it's important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. try boost glucose control®. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains high quality protein

to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost® today. it's official, america. xfinity mobile is the fastest mobile service. and gives you unmatched savings with the best price for two lines of unlimited. only $30 a line per month. the fastest mobile service and major savings? can't argue with the facts. no wonder xfinity mobile is one of the fastest growing mobile services, now with over 5 million customers and counting. save hundreds a year over t-mobile, at&t and verizon. talk to our switch squad at your local xfinity store today.

a deadly helicopter crash outside of kyiv killed ukraine's interior minister and at least 14 people, including one child. officials are trying to determine if this was an accident or if the helicopter was deliberately shot down. it plummeted to the ground near a residential building and a preschool. the crash happened just after 8:00 a.m. local time as parents were dropping off their children at school. addressing world leaders today in switzerland, president zelenskyy held a moment of silence for the victims. >> thank you for this minute. only one minute, but it gives the memory about so many people.

>> joining us now from the scene of the crash is nbc's raf sanchez. this is just a horrible, horrible tragedy. what do they know about the cause? >> reporter: well, andrea, the state security service of ukraine is leading the investigation into this crash. they say at this point, they are ruling nothing out. they say it's possible this was pilot error. kyiv was blanketed with heavy fog this morning. they say it's possible it was a technical malfunction on board. they are not ruling out the possibility that this helicopter was deliberately targeted. it was, of course, carrying the interior minister of ukraine, one of the most senior members of president zelenskyy's wartime government. this is a man whose position is equivalent to the u.s. secretary of homeland security. he is in charge of the police. he is in charge of internal security in this country as it tries to fight off that russian invasion. as you said, the helicopter going down around 8:20 a.m.

local time in a suburb of kyiv. we were at that site all day today. it's a very normal town. a city that's living as normal a life as you can during a russian invasion. parents were dropping their kids off at school as the helicopter went down, spraying debris all over the site. at least one child was killed on the ground at that kindergarten. several others injured. they are being treated in hospital now. as you heard president zelenskyy speaking, he is leading the nation in mourning. but he also now has a major hole in his cabinet, because not only was the interior minister killed, but his deputy was on board that helicopter with him along with several of the most senior officials from that government department. we are expecting in the next couple of days president zelenskyy, the cabinet will have to appoint at least a new

temporary interior minister. in the meantime, investigators trying to figure out what exactly happened to that helicopter. i will tell you, there's no indication at this point that the russians shot this chopper down. we have not seen any russian fighter aircraft over the city today. we have not seen any russian missile activity. of course, when an official as senior as the interior missile killed on a government aircraft like this, you can understand why ukrainian investigators are not ruling anything out. >> understandably. raf, it's awful. thank you so much. joining us now is a former advisor to president zelenskyy. i understand that you knew some of these people. they were very important members of the cabinet, obviously. we are so sorry for this tragedy. talk to me about them. >> thank you so much. i knew all of them. the loss of the first deputy

minister hurts the most. i met him closely. he is probably one of the most patriotic and honest people ukrainian governments have ever seen. it's a terrible loss. anyone in ukraine can vouch for the fact that if people express condolences, if people mourn the minister of the interior in a country like ukraine, he was a decent person. one small correction to what raf said. a temporary acting minister has been appointed today. the head of the national police. he will be taking over. a decision will be made in due course on who will be the permanent minister. >> we appreciate that update. are you hearing anything about the cause? about obvious concerns this was not just an accident. you are in the middle of a war zone. the whole country is a war zone. >> that's what president zelenskyy was trying to stress today. he was saying that regardless of the cause of the crash, it was not an accident. because everything is a direct

result of this terrible war. even if that was pilot error, even if there was a technical malfunction, the helicopter was flying because of the threat of intercept and it was a foggy day. at the moment, the cause is unclear. i would ask people not to speculate and let the investigators do their job. >> in terms of the war, which has reached a critical point according to everyone i speak with. we have heard this from president zelenskyy. now we see that great britain has provided the first tanks. the poles want to do the same but are waiting for german approval because they are german made. the u.s. says the u.s. tanks are not compatible and are too complicated. but they are providing other material. they are defensive about how much $25 billion in weapons that has gone, not even counting the other aid. where do you see this going?

the british position -- the british foreign secretary is very clear here. still is today. for ukraine to win, we have to do more what he calls further and faster. that we in the alliance have to provide more weapons and not be as careful and cautious as the u.s. critics say has been with not providing the long-range missiles and not providing jet fighters, apache helicopters to say nothing of the tanks. i guess the point i'm making is, from the british foreign secretary's position, he made clear yesterday was that if it is stalemate, then russia could win. ukraine needs a clear victory. why not give them more now?

>> at the moment, the situation on the front line is not at a stalemate. there are certain areas around soledar where russia has the advantage. there are certain regions where ukraine is slowly moving forward. the front is very dynamic. in terms of the weapons deliveries, look, as a person on the ground here in ukraine, i can tell you what hurts the most is despite we get given everything, it takes so much time for us to receive the weapons and the training. therefore, we are paying for those delays with human lives like we did a few days ago in dnipro. that hurts the most. >> we see now that the nato secretary-general is warning of a new russian offensive to come and that russia is willing to provide more and more troops. certainly, using the wagner group, the mercenaries, who have been so brutal in soledar.

>> the way i see things develop at the moment, as it seems at the moment is that there will be another wave of escalation. russia will be trying to escalate hard and using those newly mobilized soldiers. if that doesn't work out but ukraine doesn't get the critical strategic advantage, we are looking at a war of attrition, then putin's goal is to drag it out to '24 or '25 and hope ukraine will be left alone. >> from your perspective, ukraine -- russia cannot wait ukraine out because ukraine will not give up. >> we're not going to give up. we have nowhere else to go. this is our home. these are our lives. in russia -- they don't expect us to give us. they expect us to die. i do apologize. i sound like a bond villain here. but it's true. the only way to win this war is for russia to lose.

>> again, we are so sorry for the loss, terrible loss to your country and you personally. thank you for being with us today. threat assessment. alarming number of threats against members of congress and other elected officials around the country. the latest example is in new mexico. we go there next. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. ♪♪ the only thing i regret about my life was hiring local talent. if i knew about upwork. i would have hired actually talented people from all over the world. instead of talentless people from all over my house. moderate-to-severe eczema. it doesn't care if you have a date, a day off, or a double shift. make your move and get out in front of eczema with steroid-free cibinqo. not an injection, cibinqo is a once-daily pill for adults who didn't respond to previous treatments. and it's proven to help provide clearer skin

and relieve itch fast. cibinqo continuously treats eczema whether you're flaring or not. cibinqo can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. do not take with medicines that prevent blood clots. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma, lung, skin and other cancers, serious heart-related events, and blood clots can happen. people 50 and older with heart disease risk factors have an increased risk of serious heart-related events or death with jak inhibitors. it's time to get out in front of eczema. ask your doctor about once-daily cibinqo. 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 realtor.com (in a whisper) if we use kevin's college fund, we can afford this house. the house whisperer!

this house says use realtor.com to find options within your budget. good luck young man. realtor.com to each their home.

(cecily) what's up, einstein? (einstein) my network has gone kaput! realtor.com (cecily) oh, you tried to save a buck on it? (einstein) i got what i paid for. not so smart. (cecily) nah, you're still a genius. but, there is a smarter way to save. (einstein) oh?! (cecily) switch to verizon! for a limited time, get welcome unlimited for just $25/line. (einstein) $25?! (cecily) and it's guaranteed for 3 years! (einstein) brilliant!

(cecily) well, you would know. (einstein) i'm switching! (cecily) i think the bike's probably faster. (vo) now is the best time to switch to verizon. for just $25 a line. guaranteed for 3 years. the savings that last. on the network you want. verizon. we have disturbing new details in the shooting spree by a defeated republican. police are accusing him of hiring four men to shoot at the homes of local democrats and participating in one of the shootings himself. new ring video showing the election denying trump supporter going to the former home of one of the officials. >> hi. my name is solomon pena. can i speak with debbie? public record says she owns it. do you know where she lives? >> she will join us shortly. police say pena confronted some

of his democratic targets weeks before the attacks began, angry about his election loss. the victims spoke to nbc news now and msnbc. >> he seemed erratic. he was spreading mistruths about the election. >> walked over into my daughter's room, which is next to mine, and saw more bullet holes that were going through her room. >> my family came here from mexico. a place where politics and journalism can get you killed. the fact that this happened not only in our country but that it happened in our own backyard is terribly disappointing. >> joining me now is vaughn

hillyard. >> pena lost here in new mexico. you mentioned debbie o'malley. she was one of the lawmakers who was tasked with certifying the election results. and pena's election loss. just show us what we are talking about here. in terms of the bullet holes you woke up to that morning. >> you can see one is very near the top of the wall here. there are several here. as a matter of fact, one came close to the porch where the window in the front door is. those are very powerful impacts on the wall. >> reporter: how many bullets? >> just over 12 is my understanding. that's what the police said. >> reporter: a couple more on this side? >> exactly. >> reporter: when you heard that sound, did you realize they were

bullets? >> i did not. it was a loud banging. it sounded like a fist on the door. we were concerned thinking it was family. there was an emergency or something like that. we both sat up. my husband and i. this is in the middle of the night. we sat up. we realized, no, those are gunshots. >> reporter: you met mr. pena before. here at your home. he came to your front gate. what was that like? >> i could see he was agitated. he was upset about losing the election. this was after the general election. this was november 10th. he just said, there's fraud. i believe there's fraud. i hadn't met him before. i said -- he said, i walked -- i knocked on all the doors. it doesn't reflect my vote. well, that doesn't really happen. he said, i want you to take these papers and i want you to respond to me. i took the papers. i didn't think much about it. >> reporter: did he claim there

was evidence of fraud? >> it was a letter asking for a response. then it was several sheets -- it looked like downloaded information from a website about fraud. >> reporter: fast forward. when did you connect these bullet holes and think in your head, maybe that was solomon pena? >> soon after -- the first thing that happened was this individual also went to the other commissioner's home. that was -- >> reporter: you were not the only one? >> he came to her and basically the same thing. maybe there's something here? i didn't know. after the detectives came, i did tell them about that. >> reporter: you served how many years? >> 20 years. i'm a local public official. i interact with my constituency daily. >> reporter: when you look at the election results -- i know you withstood pressure. you had hearings in which folks were angry about the

certification process here in the county. then how do you connect this and what happened here and your own recollection of what led to this moment and the fact that you could have been seriously injured? >> of course, my vulnerability level has gone up. i was very angry about this. could have done serious damage in terms of maybe somebody getting hurt or killed or something like that. most is just clearly it ties into this narrative that's been happening, people feeling cheated, people feeling like they're not being -- the election is rigged. not taking losing with grace. that's the way i was brought up. you don't whine if you lose. you get back up and you congratulate the other person thatwins and you move on. this is craziness to me, really. this whole thing is coming home. >> reporter: a 20-year public

official. a mom and also -- >> a grandmother. >> reporter: show the close-up of the holes again. this was over two months that the dots were connected by investigators here that led to the arrest of mr. pena. this hearing will take place this afternoon. >> it's extraordinary. it reminds you that this is not something new. but it is increasing, according to all of the reports. we saw what happened to gaby giffords in arizona. it's horrific. i want to bring in paul charlton. your reaction to the comments and the evidence they are amassing, which he -- we will see in court today. >> these are people, our

neighbors, our elected officials who are facing such extraordinary threats. i was an assistant u.s. attorney when timothy mcveigh murdered 168 women, children and men. we need to change our political discourse. this is an important prosecution. this prosecution will serve, as do other prosecutions, that arrest, detain and prosecute people who would commit acts of violence against our political body. there's a deterrent there. the only way we are going to change, deter this kind of activity is to make sure the national dialogue we all have, the way in which we discuss our political differences, is toned down. we become much more civil. if we don't, in a country of 330

million people, we may very likely re-visit that terrible tragedy of timothy mcveigh in our future. >> paul, the u.s. capitol police say there were 7,500 threats against sitting members of congress last year. that's down from 2021, which is in the aftermath of january 6th. but it's nearly double the threats in 2017. are we doing enough now to protect members of congress? one of the first acts when the house republicans took over was to take down the metal detectors that would spot weapons going on the house floor. >> if you asked our politicians today, we need to do a great deal more to protect them. it ought not to be a country in which we have to worry about the physical well-being of those men and women who would serve our country by running for office. yes, we certainly need to do more on the law enforcement side. we need to do our best to protect those people who are willing to step forward and

serve our country. but it is we, all of us, all of us citizens who need to make sure as we discuss our political differences, we aren't inviting people to commit acts of violence and to threaten those people who would serve our country well. >> including election volunteers like the two women in georgia whose lives were turned upside down and testified to the january 6th committee. vaughn, thank you and to you, paul. thank you so much. hitting the ceiling. kevin mccarthy wants to sit down with president biden to talk about that debt limit. the two sides are so far apart. what happens if they don't figure it out? this is "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc.

if your moderate to severe crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms are stopping you in your tracks... choose stelara® from the start... and move toward relief after the first dose... with injections every two months. stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. feel unstoppable. ask your doctor how lasting remission can start with stelara®. janssen can help you explore cost support options. type 2 diabetes? discover the ozempic® tri-zone.

in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. ask your health care provider about the ozempic® tri-zone. you may pay as little as $25.

♪♪ we all have a purpose in life - a “why.” maybe it's perfecting that special place that you want to keep in the family... ...or passing down the family business... ...or giving back to the places that inspire you. no matter your purpose, at pnc private bank, we will work with you every step of the way to help you achieve it. so let us focus on the how. just tell us - what's your why? ♪♪ has opened the battle over the debt ceiling, supporting his caucus members who want massive spending cuts to be part of any vote paying for the government's past bills, past obligations.

critics say it was one of the concessions he made to win the speaker's job. the white house says it will not compromise and a showdown looms, most likely coming to a head this summer. joining me now is jason furman, former chairman of president obama's council of economic advisers. let's talk about the debt ceiling, what it is. we know janet yellen last friday sent a letter warning congress this coming thursday, tomorrow, was the limit for the initial hitting the debt limit on government spending where the bills have to be paid but that she could use extraordinary measures, in other words moving money around, reinvesting money, postponing some payments, so that it would really hit sometime in june or even later, possibly. give us your assessment when this crisis hits and why. >> yeah. this week is really just the starting gun of the process.

these are called extraordinary measures. they have been done regularly since the 1980s. they are mildly harmful. i wish we didn't have to do them. they're not really that serious. this is really just a way to remind us that this conversation needs to start. it needs to start really quickly. it basically needs congress to do their job and to raise the debt limit. >> right now, the two sides could not be further apart. the house republicans -- the new house republicans led by kevin mccarthy, but you know certain people are in power because they helped put him in with a very thin margin, they are saying they want massive spending cuts. this is a bill to pay for things that have been obligated, but they want to attach it to this must-pass bill. without the bill passing, at some point this summer, the u.s. government for the first time in history would default. what would be the effects of that? >> yeah.

that would be economically catastrophic. we have had government shutdowns before. that's a small portion of the government stopping. this would be effectively a default. it could raise our borrowing costs for decades to come, which would ironically actually raise our government spending and raise our debt. you said the two sides couldn't be further apart. it's not really two sides here. this is a simple thing that congress needs to do. they have done it over and over again, democrats did it for president trump. so it's the house republicans that need to get their act together, pass this. then they can have a negotiation on spending bills. there will be spending bills. that's just a completely separate process from just doing your job, raising the debt limit. >> they see they have leverage now. you were in the obama administration in a key position the last time the u.s. came close to defaulting. after a face-off with john boehner, do you feel the current

republican leadership would take this further? this costs money. this is real money. interest costs, borrowing costs go up. >> yeah, exactly. this could make the debt worse if the republicans play this. i was involved in 2011. the situation was more auspicious then. both sides were willing to put everything on the table. for a while, there were a good set of discussions before they broke down. ultimately, i think that entire process was counterproductive. i think we have learned a lesson. this is a republican caucus that's going to have a much harder time getting its act together, negotiating with it. i think basically you need kevin mccarthy to allow democrats plus enough republicans to have this pass the house. that's the only real formula that's workable here. the sooner we get to it, the better. >> when we say that it costs money, it costs billions of dollars. it would cost more.

the global economy could crash. >> absolutely. >> thank you very much. we are following breaking news from the justice department at this hour. the arrest of the majority shareholder of a hong kong-based cryptocurrency. laundering proceeds. ken dilanian joins us with more. what do we know? what is the role of a russian person involved in this? >> justice department officials say they arrested him this morning in miami. they did not say how they lured him to miami. he lives in china. they say that he ran this enormous cryptocurrency exchange which was laundering money for all manner of criminal networks from drug dealers to international criminals. they say they struck a blow here against what they call an axis

of crypto-crime. >> we will work in a coordinated and collaborative fashion with partners here in the united states and more broadly all around the globe to root out those who seek to exploit the cryptocurrency markets, those who seek to find safe haven in countries, whether russia, china, whether they are places in europe, and that there's no place that is beyond the reach of u.s. law enforcement and our partners. >> what's so interesting is a lot of people think of cryptocurrency as this anonymous tool that can be used by criminals. actually, the fbi has learned to trace it. they can watch crypto-transactions happening. there's a lot of exchanges out there that don't practice what are know your customer rules. they allow people to register anonymous accounts.

that's what they say this exchange was doing. it was facilitating crime. it was allowing criminals to move money around and was counterparty to a criminal dark net enterprise called hydro, which the doj took down last year. what they are saying is they dealt a major blow -- there were treasury officials at this news conference today. they used some new authorities that congress had implemented to allow certain economic sanctions involving russia. they are portraying this as a big win across treasury and justice department. >> certainly a strong signal that -- to all involved in the debate over regulating cryptocurrency, that they cannot escape the eyes of the u.s. government, no matter where they are in the world. >> that's right. interesting you have this russian national living in china running what doj says is an international criminal enterprise. somehow they lure him to miami. he is charged in new york, because what they are saying he was doing business with people

in new york. almost any time criminals use the financial system, it touches u.s. soil and that's how they have a nexus to u.s. law enforcement. >> ken dilanian, right on the story. thank you very much, ken. a growing number of schools and universities are banning the popular social media app tiktok which is owned by a chinese firm. the move following fears that the chinese government could access users' private data. morgan chesky is at the university of texas in austin and has more. >> reporter: it's official. ut now the latest school to join others in creating this tiktok ban that keeps students off the app when they use campus wi-fi. it works like this. when you walk on campus, your phone would sync to the school wi-fi. now, if it does, tiktok will cease to function. students can use it on their own

cell plan with their own data. some are now concerned the clock could be ticking on tiktok. for more than 100 million americans, it has become the go-to social media app for the latest viral dance, fashion or recipe trends. >> i'm not rich enough to know what to do with this. >> reporter: amid fears user data could find its way into the hands of the chinese government. the university of texas in austin joining a growing list of schools blocking tiktok on campus wi-fi networks, cite the owner, the chinese company. ut explaining the measure is intended to eliminate risks to information contained in the university's network. and to our critical infrastructure. >> as a creator, i'm a little bit annoyed.head.

what are they doing with this data, if they do have it. >> reporter: it's not just colleges. 31 states incluing texas enacted some sort of tiktok ban. mainly on government-owned phones and computers. the u.s. house of representatives even banning the app on any house-issued devices. last month the head of the fbi citing safety concerns for tiktok users, including the potential manipulation of algorithms. >> which are a lot more worrisome in the hands of the chinese communist party than whether or not you're steering somebody as an influencer to one product or another. >> reporter: but tiktok says it

doesn't store u.s. user a data in china or share information with the chinese government, writing, we're disappointed that so in m states are jumping on the political bandwagon to enact policies that will do nothing and are based on falsehoods about tiktok. as whether a larger ban could toll, there's already discussion of bipartisan legislation that would not only potentially ban a company like tiktok, but any social media app or company that is owned by a russia or another country that the federal government deems as a danger, potential danger, tiktok says for the last two years it has negotiated with the federal government on reaching so some sort of mutually beneficial agreement and they are making progress at this time. morgan chesky, nbc news. joining us now is the chief security officer at crowdstrike and former executive assistant director of the fbi.

it's good to see you. tell me what you think about china's influence over tiktok. there's been talk about china setting up an american cane that would run tiktok to try to protect it. what do you see as the solution here? >> it's great to see you. china's top goal in the 21st century is to be the number one superpower in the world. we know that they have been aggressively and actively collecting intelligence against u.s. citizens and corporations for decades and we have only seen that ramp up in the last tu years. tiktok is a chinese company, whether they have an american affiliate or not, they are controlled by a chinese-based company. china-based companies have legislation in place about data that needs to be shared, about chinese party officials that need to be part of the company. their executive team, so there clearly is access there. and we know there's three

concerns about tiktok. one is first the security piece. the university didn't want people using tiktok connecting to the wifi. is there a code on that device or code within the application that could potentially be exploited. that's the first piece. the second piece is the collection of personally identifiable information. and certainly we have all heard about this. china has been doing this by targeting u.s. companies to collect puu so they could use it to potentially build dossiers on americans and use it for some type of espionage. the third piece, and one of the larger concerns, is the misinformation or the influence operations. in other words, can tiktok determine who gets what data, how it's received, when it's received, is it manipulated or thot. they control thing a go rait rhythm. if you control the highways by

which the data runs, you can actually determine what people see and how they see it. that's a major concern of the u.s. government. >> so where do you think they should come down in terms of the need for regulation or how they can control this and protect americans' privacy? >> i think a lot of it comes down to americans themselves. it was interesting to see the student on the piece there talking about, yes, he does have concern about what they have. so i think awareness is the beginning piece. people need to understand that when you are using any type of social media, how is it being used, what type of data is being collected. i think the u.s. government through the process, there was a reference there in that piece, what they are doing to ensure that there's some control, there maybe some regulation. i think the u.s. government has more information about how tic tok may be using the data that's not out in the public forums, so i thus the government and the state agencies are taking

actions to prevent this application from being utilized to collect against americans. i think it starts with the consumer. people need to understand how social media devices can be used against them and can potentially threaten national security and make informed choice cans. >> the other piece of this is that tiktok, we think of it as something young people use. the popularity of it. my understanding it's used by advertisers now. it's a main form of advertising. sdwl there are a the lot of companies because of the reach. there are over 1 billion users around the world this is not just a u.s. issue. it really is a global issue. there are companies that are using it to advertise. if users stop using it or change the way they utilize the application, then advertisers will make those choices as well. they will make changes in their advertising dollars and how they are spent. >> shawn henry, thank you. we really appreciate it.

that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." remember to follow us online on facebook and on twitter. chris jansing is up next, right after these brief messages. ♪♪ ♪ a bunch of dead guys made up work, way back when. ♪ ♪ it's our turn now we'll make it up again. ♪ ♪ we'll build freelance teams with more agility. ♪ ♪ the old way of working is deader than me. ♪ ♪ we'll scale up, and we'll scale down ♪ ♪ before you're six feet underground. ♪ ♪ yes, this is how, this is how we work now. ♪

[ sneezing ] are you okay? ♪ before you're six feet oh, it's just a cold. if you have high blood pressure, a cold is not just a cold. coricidin is the #1 doctor recommended cold and flu brand. specially designed for people with high blood pressure. be there for life's best moments. trust coricidin. next on behind the series... that performance was legendary. they just piled it on. roast beef, ham, oven roasted turkey. all on the subway club. three peat - that's great. three meat - that's epic. the subway series. the greatest menu of all time. my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... the burning, itching. the pain. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks. the majority of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms

or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®... ask your doctor about tremfya® today. as a business owner, a your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving by switching to the mobile service designed for small business: comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network. with no line activation fees or term contracts. saving you up to 60% a year. and it's only available to comcast business internet customers. so boost your bottom line by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities.

good day 37. i'm chris jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. in virginia an