of the paintings. i'm sure you have seen them. he established a new style of art. he died this morning at 91. that wraps up the hour for me. see you tomorrow night. you can always reach me on social media. you can watch highlights from today's show online. thank you for the privilege of your time. andrea mitchell picks up with more news right now. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," an historic auto workers strike against detroit's big three could cause major disruptions in the economy and to consumers. it could become a big political problem for the most pro-union president in american history as he describes himself. weighing in on the white house ahead of an election year, the indictment of president biden's son hunter on federal gun charges with an anticipated indictment on tax charges also likely to come. more on kristin

interview with former president trump, including his desire to testify in one of the major criminal cases he is facing. ♪♪ good day, everyone, i'm andrea mitchell in washington. president biden is confronting a big political headache. a huge gap between the union demands and the industry's bottom line. almost 13,000 uaw members walking out in missouri, ohio and the detroit suburbs. uaw's president arriving to cheers as he joined the picket lines after contract negotiations broke down. with no more talks scheduled until tomorrow at the very earliest.

jesse kersch pressed. >> reporter: you have competitors paying a lot less in some cases for labor than these companies. how can you expect to get everything you ask for? >> shame on the competitors. the companies are trying to drive a race to the bottom. america is better than that. >> it could have an impact on the economy, including job losses, and on consumers. it could cost gm and ford $5 billion a week. ford's ceo speaking. >> what they offered to us is untenable. we can't sustain our company. we would go bankrupt in a matter of years. that's why we are pleading with the uaw. this could mean the plants and employees may not receive strike funds or even unemployment. it's chaos. >> joining me from michigan,

peter alexander and brian chung. recap for us what the demands of the uaw are. how far apart are they from the car companies? >> reporter: the last we have officially from the uaw is that they are demanding 40% pay raise or 46% when it's compounded over four years. the latest offers we have from the big three automakers, are around half of that. there's clearly still quite a ravine between those two groupings. there are more demands from the uaw, including restoration of pensions, traditional pensions, and retiree health benefits. this is something we have been asking executives about, including the ceo of ford and gm this morning. these are obviously not the kind

of thing you hear about workers getting as much right now. the uaw is sticking to demanding for those things. put this into context of the economic situation. the big three automakers, because they rely on union labor, in part because they rely on union labor, are paying significantly more for their u.s. labor than some other automakers, including tesla and some foreign competitors, in the united states. that's going on as the industry is trying to move toward an electric future.pressures. they are dealing with competitors who pay less for labor. they are being asked to shell out more by the union. there's been posturing from both sides as to who has been dragging their feet on the negotiations. the general motors ceo this morning telling me that the first substantive counteroffer from uaw came in last night. i asked her what it was like to

get something that late. here is part of what she shared. >> every situation in labor negotiations is a little different. i don't think that's -- the most important thing is we gotta get back to the table and problem solve. we have put forth strong offers. the one on the table right now is historic from gm in our 115-year history. >> reporter: the ceo saying her team is ready to keep negotiating. uaw has suspended negotiations for today, because the leadership team is taking part in the striking action. there's the politics of this. i asked the uaw president last night what he talked about with the president yesterday. he said he did not want to get into the politics of this. we couldn't get clarity about what was going on in the conversation. we know this is a political football for the president. i asked him if he thinks they are close to a deal with the big three. he said he doesn't think they are rolereally close at this po.

>> thank you so much. peter, at the white house, you have the president about to speak on this. we believe at any moment. the so-called press pool is in there in the roosevelt room. you are right there at the white house. how does he navigate this? it's a critical state, michigan. the economy is at stake if this were to drag on. it's an historic strike. he is the self-described most pro-union president in american history, but he has to also try to go down the middle. what do you expect -- what will the tone be? >> reporter: i think you are right. this is a real time test of bidenomics, of president biden's economic agenda, with so many of those forces colliding right now. that doesn't even mention the president's pro-climate policies. specifically, his desire to transition the economy, the automotive industry toward electric vehicles going forward.

there's a lot at stake for this president. i have been speaking to top advisers to the president who say, of course, this is a president who strongly supports collective bargaining. he is pushing for a win/win situation as he said publically and as i anticipate we will hear from him. i'm checking my phone to see when we will hear from him. they want the automakers to make a wage they can live on. he wants to allow for the companies, the automakers to be competitive on the global stage and continue with this transition to that electric -- more electric vehicles. this is a real challenge right now. to underscore, it happens in a state he must win in 2024. the state of michigan. it's certainly a delicate balance for this president. we know yesterday he spoke again to the uaw president as well as the heads of the big three automakers. he hosted the uaw president back in july and spoke to those

leaders a matter of weeks ago on labor day as well. >> brian, let's talk about the backdrop here. the workers gave up a huge amount in salary, pension benefits back when there was the government bailout. the auto industry was going bankrupt. the white house stepped in. they ended up with a federal bailout. now they are making money. they are transitioning to electric vehicles. they see their jobs disappearing with robotics. they want a 40% increase, which sounds huge. but they say this is catchup. at the same time, you have huge profits and salaries for the ceos. >> yeah. the other thing is inflation. we have gone through an extraordinary amount of inflation. the workers are saying, yeah, the average wage has gone up. they negotiated their current

wages in 2019 prior to the inflation we saw after the pandemic. their argument is, look at the data and see that wages in the automotive industry as measured by the government for union and non-union work have gone up by 14%, 15% since the last contract negotiations. but prices have gone up by 18%. they are saying their wages haven't kept up with changes. because the contracts only get negotiated every four years, they want to make sure that they can extract as much now, given the fact we're not past high inflation. you hear a lot of workers that we have spoken to over the many days that we have been covering the story saying, it's hard for us to put food on the table even despite the fact that we have negotiated these wages in 2019, because of high inflation. they want to make sure they can notch a win now so they will be covered in the next few years. >> there's outsourcing. i saw a chart the other day showing how much is now being

produced in mexico and non-union plants in the u.s. south. >> yeah. when it comes to the u.s. south, we have to remember that a lot of the automakers going into that region of the country are foreign. you look at bmw and hyundai, they are not only choosing those areas because of tax breaks they are getting from the state, but because they are able to employ non-union labor, which as jesse mentioned, in many cases cheaper than what the auto unions that are present in michigan and ohio and indiana are having to pay. it's going to depend on what type of work or worker you are looking at. that's been a big trend. that's taken a lot of the concentration of the auto workers. that's a big story and a part of the ev threat we are following as well. >> thanks so much to you.

peter, we will talk again in a few. joining us now is democratic senator gary peters of michigan who joined the picket line at the ford plant this morning. senator, thank you very much for taking the time to be with us. why was it so important for you to be there with the workers? >> i wanted to stand in solidarity with the workers who are embarking on this strike. a critical time for them to make sure that they are able to have fair wages, benefits, secure retirement. these are workers -- i've been around a while. these are workers that sacrificed a great deal to make sure that these companies stayed in business. i was around in 2008 and 2009, the union made substantial, really, accommodations for the companies. sacrificed. the companies emerged from that. now they look at the companies doing extremely well. they have been doing well for a while.

this year, combined, over $20 billion in profits. the ceos and senior executives have gotten very large pay increases and are making hundreds of times what the average worker makes. they are saying, we want to be treated fairly. we were there when the company needed us. we are there now every day. the success of the company is a result of the hard work that we are putting forward. we should be fairly compensated. i hope the parties are able to come together. clearly, no one wants to have a strike. no one wants a long strike. a lot is at stake. i think it's not just for the uaw but for workers across the country who have been squeezed, particularly middle class workers get squeezed while they see folks at the top having huge financial rewards. >> not a small thing also for the white house is there's an election in 2024. a long-term strike, a lengthy strike would have a huge impact on the economy and on public

attitudes. the president is underwater in the polls. what role should the president be playing? he will speak at any moment from the roosevelt room. we know that it's difficult for him. he is a very pro-labor president. michigan is a critical state. you know better than i. how does he play this down the middle? >> you have to let the process move forward in collective bargaining. collective bargaining is about making sure both parties have a chance to come to the bargaining table and negotiate and come to an agreement that works for both sides. that has to continue to play out. it's not about the government getting involved in negotiating these contracts. that's what the unions are for. they are the ones that need to continue to drive that process. you talk about some of the politics associated with it. we have to remember that right now, unions have a moment. if you look at public opinion polls and the favorability of

unions, it's very high. in fact, it's the highest it has been since the 1960s. folks look at labor unions and how important they are in order to bring wages up for middle class workers. when i think about 1960, the last time the favorability ratings were so high, the average ceo made 30 times what the average worker makes in this country. that was at the peak of the union movement. unfortunately, membership is down. right now, you have ceos that make several hundred times what the average worker makes. that's why young people in particular are very encouraged by unions, are looking to form unions. the country is looking at this and looking at the uaw and they say, we hope you are able to get a fair share. >> i'm going to interrupt you because the leader of your party, the president, has just walked in. >> i would like to say a few

words about the contract negotiations. i have been touch in both parties. auto companies have seen record profits, including the last few years, because of the extraordinary skill and sacrifices the uaw workers make. those record profits have not been shared fairly, in my view, with those workers. just as the treasury department has released a report pointing out that the -- the most comprehensive work that unions are important. they increase retirement savings, increase access to benefits like sick leave and childcare and reduce inequality. it strengthens our economy. that's because unions raise standards across the workplace and industries.

pushing up wages and strengthening benefits for everyone. that's why strong unions are critical to a growing economy and growing from the middle out, bottom up, not the top down. that's especially true as we transition to a clean energy future, which we're in the process of doing. i believe that transition should be fair and a win/win for auto workers and auto companies. i also believe a contract agreement must lead to a vibrant made in america future that promotes good, strong middle class jobs that workers can raise a family on. the uaw is at the heart of our economy. where the big three companies continue to lead in innovation, excellence, quality and leadership. last night, after negotiations broke down, the uaw announced a targeted strike at a few plants. let's be clear. no one wants to strike. i respect their right to use their option under the collective bargaining system.

i understand their frustration. over generations, auto workers sacrifices so much to keep the industry alive and strong, especially through the pandemic. workers deserve a fair share of the benefits they help create for an enterprise. i appreciate that the parties have been working around the clock. when i first called them at the first day of the negotiations, i said, please stay at the table as long as you can to try to work this out. they have been around the clock. companies have made some significant offers. but i believe this should go further to ensure record corporate profits mean record contracts for the uaw. record profits, which they have, should be shared by record contracts for the uaw. just as we are building an economy of the future, we need labor agreements for the future. it's my hope that the parties can return to the table.

i'm deploying two members of my team to detroit. they will offer their full support for the parties in reaching a contract. the bottom line is, auto workers help create america's middle class. they deserve a contract that sustains them. thank you very much. that's all i'm going to say. >> president biden with a very brief statement. not taking any questions. although, you can imagine there were a lot today. the president saying that the record profits of the auto industry in recent years has not been shared equally with workers in his view. increased benefits, homeownership and wages helps the overall economy. peter alexander is still with us. chief white house correspondent. peter, he is walking a very careful balancing act here, but

clearly putting his thumb on the scale in the interests of labor. that's what he believes. >> reporter: you are right. as the president said, he will send two top coordinators on this, the labor secretary and his economic advisor to detroit to directly engage in these conversations. they have been involved remotely from here in washington throughout the process. he has been briefed continuously as well. as we predicted, the president did indicate he is looking for a win/win situation. he did put pressure on the automakers saying that while he wants them to be competitive, they need to share some of the corporate record profits with these auto workers, with the uaw workers right now to make sure they see record wages, wage growth for themselves as well. what's striking to me right now about this balance as it comes at an interesting time as we head into the 2024 campaign season. i'm told by some of the president's advisors that he has been advised by some of the

allies and others that he has to find some nuance in the way he talks about issues like this. it doesn't seem like he is off-putting to the business community. that's the community where a lot of the donors are in terms of the money he needs to raise up to $1 billion for the next campaign cycle. also to help support the workers as the most pro-labor president as he described himself in history. it's this fine line he is walking right here with serious implications, as you have this collision of his pro-labor position, his climate efforts as it relates to electric vehicles, all of this taking place in michigan right now, and his desire to sell what he calls bidenomics, his economic agenda. it's quite a moment that he is trying to maneuver. >> of course, behind all of this is the election. michigan is critically important. it is also indiana, ohio, the

other states where the auto workers are as well as is southern states. they are more the red states. peter, the hundredor biden indictment now. president biden is -- did not take a question. we understand there was a shouted question. we couldn't hear it. he was asked in the roosevelt room whether there would be a pardon for his son, which is well ahead of any trial. the younger biden is facing three criminal counts, tied to lying about his drug use when purchasing a firearm. lawyers for hunter biden say the prosecution is not fair. it comes after a plea deal fell apart. he owned the gun for 11 days, he never loaded it. a judge rejected that plea agreement that the defense thought was going to clear hunter biden of all charges. the president's son is facing a separate possible tax charge. that would be within the next few weeks, when the statute of

limits is running out. we are joined now by catherine christian and glenn kirschner. what else are you hearing from the white house about how they will handle the fact that this trial, this perspective trial, unless something happens in pre-trial motions, one or two trials will happen at the same time as he is running for re-election? >> reporter: this is a critical intersection between a political headache for the president, certainly, and the distraction it poses. concern about his son hunter right now. but also a personal heartache for this president. this is a president who has one son after the passing of his other to brain cancer. he battled with drug and alcohol addiction for years right now. those close to the president worry about the potential

distraction this could be to president biden. on the terms of this situation right now, the white house has long maintained the president has not been involved in any way with any of this. the president himself has said that he has not had any contact with the department of justice about this matter in any form. they note he kept in place -- has kept in place this trump-appointed prosecutor there in delaware, the u.s. attorney who brought these charges recently appointed to be a special prosecutor by merrick garland here. this is another challenging moment for the president. just to underscore the point you make, it does set the table for a possible criminal trial for the president's son as he is ramping up his 2024 campaign. it will come with it in spite of any findings by the judge, by that court, a lot of attacks from republicans that keep this story alive and in the

conversation. >> catherine, how soon could we see this indictment on the tax-related charges? there's a statute that's running out in a matter of weeks. would you expect the venue on that to be california or washington, d.c.? it's clearly not delaware. >> it has to be either california or washington, d.c. one of the counts is -- just three months ago, he was going to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax accounts. one for failure to pay in 2018 and one in 2019. if they intend to charge him for what he owed, $100,000 in 2018, which he paid back, they will have to do that within the next few weeks. that statute of limitations is coming up quickly. >> glenn, talk to me about the gun charge. there are a number of lawyers, contributors who have appeared on our program, saying that this is not a charge that would likely have been made against

him if he were less of a high-profile -- not the son of a president. for one reason, at least one of the gun issues is currently being litigated and going up to the supreme court. >> yeah. i was with the department of justice for decades. i also reached out to some of my friends and former colleagues who spent their careers at doj. nobody can recall this kind of a charge ever being brought as a stand-alone charge. for somebody who lies or makes a misrepresentation on the paperwork that they file in order to purchase a firearm. we did often bring what we call 922g charges. a different subsection when there was a convicted felon found in possession of a firearm. that's a more serious offense. a charge like this brought as a

stand-alone charge is something that i can never recall seeing. i do think it's a fair observation that if his last name was not biden, i don't think he would be facing this prosecution for this kind of an offense. >> i want to play what one of the whistle-blowers -- the so-called whistle-blowers, an irs whistle-blower said to tom winter, our colleague, yesterday about the investigation itself and his concerns about it. >> i'm a 38-year-old gay man. my politics are simple. i am a democrat. there were multiple witnesses that we wanted go interview. we were shot down. >> reporter: should the american people have confidence in the outcome of this case? >> there were leads that we didn't follow. there was evidence that we didn't follow. there were things that we didn't do in those five years that were essentially halted from the

prosecutors. >> glenn, what kind of defense do you expect the hunter biden legal team to present? >> i think the first thing they're going to do is try to renegotiate a guilty plea. it would surprise me if this case doesn't get resolved somehow. when i hear these whistle-blowers, first of all, i think we have to take their allegations very seriously and perhaps look into them. but here is what i can tell people so they have some important context. do you know how many times i would sit down with fbi agents or agents from other federal or local law enforcement agencies and they would urge the prosecutors to bring charges that the prosecutors ultimately declined to bring? we didn't believe we had enough evidence or we didn't believe there was a sufficient federal interest to bring those charges. sometimes it could get quite heated. often, federal agents urge prosecutors to investigate things or bring charges, and the

prosecutors decline to, not because of politics or appearances, but it's because we have different roles to play. the criminal investigators versus the prosecutors. i'm not at all surprised that we see some so-called whistle-blower saying, we wanted to go harder, we wanted to charge more, and the federal prosecutors were disinclined to do it. that's something that i encountered almost every day or at least weekly. >> catherine, this case is so murky, because the plea deal fell apart. they had the plea agreement and when it was announced, the prosecutor -- then he was a u.s. attorney, not a special counsel. the prosecutor said the investigation was continuing, which was kind of a red flag. then the judge, when she asked simple questions, is this the end of it, and he said, no, it's not, and the defense said, but we thought this was the end of it, and that he would they have

be charged, so isn't it messed up? you hate to think it's political pressure on him. but he did seem to make a turn right after that. >> and no competent defense attorney would allow their client to plead guilty with the prosecution saying, we're still investigating him. you do not plead guilty with that black cloud over your client's head. there clearly was a misunderstanding. mr. biden -- hunter biden's attorneys would say there's a reneging. i think they are going to fight about the gun charge. there was three months ago an alternative to prosecution agreement, known as a pre-trial diversion agreement. this is three months's we are saying that this case -- we are not going to prosecute it. this is, as you said, messy. >> peter alexander, catherine christian and glenn kirschner,

thanks for a complicated case and your context that's so important. an nbc news exclusive. kristin welker, the new moderator of "meet the press" sitting down with former president trump. she joins us with that next right here on "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. but we help you shape your financial story. ♪♪ we're not an airline, but our network connects global businesses across nearly 160 markets. ♪♪ we're not a startup, but our innovation labs use new technologies to help keep your information secure. ♪♪ we're not architects, but we help build stronger communities. ♪♪ we're not just any bank. we are citi. ♪♪

nbc's kristin welker making

her debut as the new moderator of "meet the press" this sunday. her first interview is an exclusive with former president donald trump. he is facing four criminal probes in the middle of a presidential election. in one. change, mr. trump was asked by kristin about the uaw auto strike. >> let's talk about the economy. i want to start by talking about this big standoff between the auto workers and the big three auto manufacturers. my question for you, mr. president, whose side are you on in this? >> i'm on the side of making our country great. the auto workers are not going to have any jobs when you come right down to it, because if you look at what they are doing with electric cars, electric cars are going to be made in china. auto workers are not going to have -- i tell you what. the auto workers are being sold down the river by their leadership. their leadership should endorse trump. the reason is, you gotta have choice, like in school.

i want school choice. i want choice for cars. if somebody wants gasoline, if somebody wants all electric, they can do whatever they want. they are destroying the consumer. they are destroying the auto workers. the auto workers will not have any jobs, because all of these cars are going to be made in china. the electric cars, automatically, are going to be made in china. >> let's talk about uaw's leadership. the president has withheld his endorsement of president biden. this is what he had to say about you. another donald trump presidency would be a disaster. how would you win that endorsement? >> if that's the case, i probably won't win his -- i don't know the gentleman. i know his name. i think he is not doing a good job in representing his union. he is not going to have a union in three years from now. those jobs are all going to be gone. all of those electric cars are going to be made in china. >> nbc news has extended an invitation to president biden for a sitdown with kristin.

she joins me now. new moderator of "meet the press." >> surreal to hear that. >> just off of this extraordinary interview. what was your impression from that exchange? >> i think that you heard former president trump, who is fired up about a lot of these issues and trying to draw sharp contrast with president biden. we should say manufacturing has gone up in recent years. i thought it was notable. he would like to win the endorsement of the auto workers. i read back that statement from the president of the union underscoring how hard that will be. the union hasn't endorsed president biden. taking a step back, it speaks to the importance of unions in this upcoming election and of this state. this is a state, michigan, that former president trump won in 2016, lost in 2020. it is always quite close. he is clearly making a very strong play for it as well.

of course, leaning into his deal making status, which he talks about, of course, a lot. >> a lot of the workers live in a certain county in an area that voted for ronald reagan. could be -- they were open to trump in 2016. >> it's an important point. even if he were to not get the endorsement of the union, you can see him saying, i'm going to make a play for a lot of the workers. i think that is going to be where the focus is, particularly as we watch this battle play out over this standoff. the broader potential impacts for the economy, andrea, are just staggering when you think about it. of course, the economic numbers show that there's improvement. it doesn't look like we are heading into a recession based on a lot of assessments by

economists. the impact could be significant. >> i want to play another exchange where you asked him about the allegation from jack smith that he ordered the erasing of the security tapes from mar-a-lago where the classified documents were, and that's in the supplementary indictment. let's play it. >> i want to ask you about the case related to mar-a-lago. a new charge suggests you asked a staffer to delete security camera footage. >> that's false. let me tell you -- >> would you testify to that under oath? you would testify to that under oath? >> it's a fake charge by this deranged lunatic prosecutor who lost in the supreme court 9-0 and tried to destroy lots of lives. he is a lunatic. it's a fake charge. more importantly, the tapes weren't deleted. there was nothing done to them. they were my tapes.

i could have fought them. i didn't have to give them the tapes. i would have won in court. when they asked for the tape, i said, sure. they are my tapes. i could have fought them. i didn't have to give them. we didn't delete anything. nothing was deleted. >> that's false, the people who testified to -- >> the statement is false. more importantly, when the tapes -- everybody says this. they weren't deleted. we gave them 100%. >> very defiant. very aggressive on those legal questions. >> yes. of course, he didn't turn over those documents that were under subpoena. that's the crux of this. that's the crux of so much of the obstruction charges as well as that allegation that he directed a staffer to delete the surveillance video that shows boxes being moved around. he says he will testify under oath. he can say that to me. that's really ultimately a decision that will need to be made by him and his attorneys. quite defiant when i pressed him on these legal questions. >> i don't think we have seen a

lawyer who recommended he take a stand. >> we haven't. he is leaning into this idea he will testify under oath. i asked the president when he goes to sleep at night, what do you think about these four indictments? do you worry about going to jail? he says he doesn't. he says, quote, i'm wired differently. that's another part of a wide conversation. >> can't wait to see all of it on sunday. this is a milestone, as i wrote in the "washington post" column the other day, particularly for women and a woman of color, a black woman, being a moderator of "meet the press." >> thank you. >> you are inheriting this 75-year tradition. first television program in history was "meet the press" in 1948. you are inheriting -- this great tradition of your predecessors, tim and chuck.

>> thank you. i wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. i stand on the shoulders of you and others. you have been so wonderful to me. my vision is to approach this as a reporter. that's who i am. that's who i have always been. i have covered three administrations. you were one of the first people i spoke to. you helped me work sources. i'm going to travel across this country. i'm going to talk to the candidates, elected officials, the voters, making sure that i am representing and asking the top questions on their minds. >> you already are. you showed that in your interview with the former president. we will watch sunday. >> thank you. >> best of luck. >> thank you so much, andandrea. i appreciate it. thanks for having me. thank you for that beautiful op-ed. >> it's a big deal. it's a milestone. kristin welker making her debut as the new moderator of "meet

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weekend. when they return monday, they have nine working days, nine days to prevent a possible government shutdown. efforts to find a solution failed completely with the defense bill being pulled in the house, the house of an impeachment inquiry and kevin mccarthy swearing at his own party members. joining me now is garrett haake and eugene daniels. welcome both. garrett, this seems to be a new level of gop dysfunction. we have seen it in both parties, but this is pretty extreme. >> reporter: that's right. you saw the frustration at the closed-door conference meeting yesterday. i think it's going to get worse before it gets better. when the house comes back next week, the speaker said he is not sending them home until they have a deal. this may be a situation that it takes extraordinary deadline pressure or even touching the

hot stove and having a short shutdown before some of the far right members decide that this isn't worth it or this isn't the fight that they're going to be able to win. right now, both sides within that republican conference are very dug in. i know it doesn't sound like a lot of time, but if we are looking at a short-term government funding extension, everybody knows that's the break glass option here, i think you will see a lot more gamesmanship and just squaring off with one another before they start to get serious about what the actual path out of this mess is going to be. >> even the threat of a short-term extension when the debt ceiling increase was being negotiated was enough to get one -- that was resolved without the shutdown. that was enough to get one of the three big rating agencies to downgrade the credit rating of the united states and cost taxpayers a lot of money with a b in terms of the government.

eugene, there are two options. appease the right wingers, propose a short-term cr, including immigration legislation and a spending cut, which won't get through the senate, or call a vote on the defense bill and dare the far right to oppose it. which door is going to be opened? >> that's a good question. both are risky for different reasons. you have right wingers who have -- led by matt gaetz, at least in him being out front the most on this, saying they will do a motion to negate. so it seems like for the country to move forward and a deal getting done, that latter decision is probably the one that makes the most sense. whether or not that's one that

kevin mccarthy is going to do when there's a specter of him losing his job and has wanted this job for a long time and that means you have to depend on democrats more. that's something that kevin mccarthy has been hoping not to do. that puts him in danger with his conference. when you talk to the white house on this, they are kind of at this point hands off. this is congress' issue. democrats are saying this is a mess. this is their issue they have to figure out as to whether democrats will rush to help republicans on this spending bill moving forward, they are -- they are liking the drama that's -- the folks i'm talking to that is playing out on the republican side. >> garrett, with nine days left, it occurs to me, why did the speaker let them go home for the

weekend? >> reporter: that will be the last time. the nine days could change. the reality is, there's not a lot of point in keeping house members here if you don't have a solution to offer them to vote on. this might be a situation where members need to go back to their districts, hear about it from constituents and the speaker anr districts, hear about it from their constituents and the speaker and his leadership team need time to think this through. i will say the speaker's hand got a little bit stronger yesterday after he sent his members home because the senate, which up until now had been working on a bipartisan fashion that would have strengthened the hand of the white house and everybody except sort of the most maga wing of the republican party tripped up yesterday as they were starting to review some of their funding bills with a couple of far right senators really riding some cover to house republicans and holding up their bill. that would potentially strengthen house republicans' hands if they can say look, senate democrats and republicans aren't getting anything done either. so again, i think there is more

dysfunction to come before we move anywhere close to a solution to this. >> dysfunction junction, i guess it's true. garrett haake, eugene daniels, thanks very much. have a good weekend. a sister's plea, the family of paul whelan coming to washington, speaking president biden's help in getting paul whelan released from that russian prison. the businessman jailed in russia for four years on a mission to press the administration to do more to bring her brother home. she joining us here next. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. choose the online shopping category and earn 3% cash back. ♪ i gotta good feeling about this, yeah ♪

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evan gershkovich and paul whelan still languish on baseless charges. mark my words, the united states will not rest until evan and paul and all wrongfully detained americans are home safe and sound. >> of course linda thomas-greenfield with evan gershkovich's family, washington continues to demand the release of the americans from russian prisons. u.s. ambassador to russia, lynn tracy visited with both high profile detainees this week, paul on wednesday, evan just this morning, but more than four years into his imprisonment in russia, the family of former u.s. marine and businessman paul whelan is now calling him a

hostage. the state department uses the term wrongfully detained, which the family says feeds russian propaganda. paul's sister elizabeth whelan is here in washington to keep pressure on the biden administration and congress to secure paul's release. and elizabeth whelan joins me here right now, and it is so good. we've talked on the phone. i've talked to your other brother, david. but it's so good to see you and to find out what you know about paul's condition. >> well, i think that he is -- i would say he's hanging in there as best as he possibly can. we finally saw him a few weeks ago in a russian propaganda video that was placed, and we were really surprised to see how good he looked considering, and he sent the message back through my parents for me to tell basically the american public that it's thanks to them helping with his go fund me that he is actually doing well. that money goes via the u.s. embassy in moscow to paul for

good food and vitamins and that sort of thing to keep him going. but he shouldn't be in that prison in the first place. it's been almost five years. >> and you've met with members of congress, you met at the white house and at the state department. you asked for a meeting with the president. what were you told? >> well, i had met with him a year ago on the 16th, and so i thought that was a very good point to come back and say, hey, it has been this long and paul is still being held. my concern is that we have -- there's obviously a lot of commitment and passion, people trying to do what they can to help get him home. we're not there yet, and i want to see my brother back in michigan, not just a lot of effort, but getting to 100%. if that takes presidential involvement, then that's what i want to ask for. >> you say you saw him in that russian propaganda footage really because he's in prison. we have that, and this is from russian state television, so we want to show it so that we all know what this is, and i think it's very clear -- >> you understand when i say --

you understand when i say that i can't do an interview, which means i can't answer any questions. >> that is your brother standing up and not participating as they clearly wanted him to. >> exactly. >> in answering questions that they could have distorted and making it very clear. >> right, right. >> even though he is imprisoned and they could punish him in any which way. i remember in the past there were days when there was a thursday call that your parents expected, it didn't happen. turned out he was in the hospital, and then we got third that he wasn't hospitalized for any illness. he was hospitalized because he said to your parents that they were taking prisoners for the wagner group for ukraine to fight, cannon fodder really, they were on the front lines, so they didn't want an american witness to see any of that. what is your frustration? because trevor reed has gotten out. brittney griner has gotten out, obviously very high profile. they traded viktor bout who was

the most prized russian prisoner. so there's a feeling among a lot of advocates for you and perhaps for you that paul whelan has been left behind. what is the fear that he might be left behind again if they were to get evan gershkovich out? >> of course it is a fear because this is all the russians fault that paul is there. they're playing these games in terms of who gets out when. you know, who they'll trade for. upfront they did ask for both yaroshenko and bout for paul, but the u.s. did not act on that at the time in 2019, and then eventually when reid and then griner were arrested the trades were done for them, and at that point russia had said, hey, we think paul has more value and we want something different. i don't know what that happens to be, but it's interesting to show that the longer an american is held by one of these hostile foreign nation, the harder it is to get them home, and this is one of the reasons i'm trying put pressure on the u.s.

government to do something quickly because it has been so long. and what's going to happen next? once the russian authorities try to negotiate for evan, things are going to get very complicated. >> our hearts are with you, and please stay in touch with us. we really are doing everything we can to make sure the american people know what's going on. >> thank you so much, we really appreciate it. paul appreciates it. >> thank you, elizabeth whelan, and that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." "chris jansing reports" starts right now. good day, i'm chris jansing live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. today new pressure from president biden calling on automakers and union workers to cut a deal and dispatching white house officials to try to make it happen. the first of its kind coordinated strike is now j