drop everything and get some magic of your own during the xfinity black friday sale. xfinity internet customers, our best deals of the year are back! switch to xfinity mobile and get your choice of a free 5g phone, plus your next unlimited line free for a year. get amazing savings and connect to wifi speeds up to a gig on the go with xfinity mobile. fly don't walk to get our best deals of the year. connect to the world of wicked this holiday, only in theaters november 22nd.

over skeptical senate republicans and after word from mar-a-lago that trump was not backing down, he's out. who might be in? and what gaetz said moments ago about that decision. plus, slash and burn. trump's handpicked budget busters, vivek ramaswamy and elon musk, issuing a stark warning to federal employees who work remotely. the bomb cyclone was just the beginning as the pacific northwest assesses damage from the massive and deadly storm, the weather service warns days of rain and life threatening flooding are still to come. how bad could it get? so much to get to, but we start with that stunning announcement, less than an hour ago that matt gaetz is withdrawing his name from consideration to serve as donald trump's attorney general. in a tweet, announcing the decision, gaetz said his confirmation was becoming a distraction to the incoming

administration, saying there is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted washington scuffle. trump's doj must be in place and ready on day one. the move coming just a day after gaetz spent time on capitol hill trying to win over skeptical republican senators and to quell concerns about allegations against him of sexual misconduct. allegations he has denied. the whole episode, though, from the time he was announced to his decision to withdraw just eight days. i want to bring in nbc's justice and intelligence correspondent, ken dilanian, nbc's julie tsirkin en capitol hill, eddie glaude, princeton professor and msnbc analyst, doug jones, former democratic senator from alabama and former u.s. attorney in the justice department. so, julie, what do we know about what happened here? >> reporter: well, senators are just as confused, chris, as we are, shocked by this announcement. democratic senators including senator fetterman coming off the elevator using expletives this time because they didn't see

this coming. gaetz withdrawing his name, just hours after he was stomping around these halls meeting with senators from very early in the morning to late at night last night. you see that video of him returning for his final meetings in the day he met with republicans on the senate judiciary committee. i caught up with many of them including senator john cornyn last night who told me he pressed gaetz about his behavior and ousting kevin mccarthy from the house, joni ernst said gaetz brought up the allegations that we are talking about against him, you can see the substance of these meetings where they are supposed to be talking about gaetz's vision for the future of the department of justice, such an important entity, have divulged into talking about gaetz's dirty laundry, his past, his baggage and that is something that his words he doesn't want to be a distraction. senator lindsey graham, the top republican, chris, on .the judiciary committee, putting out a state saying he respects gaetz's decision to withdraw his name from consideration. no republicans are upset about this news. we reported leading into this

week, chris, that more than half of senate republicans have privately expressed that they do not believe gaetz will be confirmed ultimately as attorney general. now in the words of lindsey graham, they want to move on and he's hoping to work with trump he has a close relationship to see who else they can put up for this position. they are many names and ideas swirling around. >> all right, we'll let you go and do some more reporting on this. thank you for that. we'll talk in a little bit, so, senator, i didn't see it coming, that's the exact quote that we're hearing from john fetterman. there are other folks who spent time with him yesterday, who spoke about it afterwards, who mr. said he deserves a full hearing. should they have seen it coming? what are you making of what we're watching unfold in the last 40 or 50 minutes or so? >> it is hard to say, chris, because i don't think anybody saw it coming just yet. it may have come later on. but the big question is no one knows what is coming out of trump world these days.

you can't see things coming. gaetz's nomination people didn't see coming. the withdrawal you don't see coming. it has something to do with the house report, but at the same time, you know, there are things going on with this nomination. he -- matt gaetz to say he doesn't want to be a distraction is just almost like the spotlights saying i don't want to be bright. he revels in distraction and really just the kind of distancing that he puts between himself and reality is just amazing. so, i don't think people saw it coming, but at the same time, i'm hoping and hoping that this may be a sign that u.s. senators are telling president-elect trump that there is still a u.s. senate to be dealt with. we have our institutions, we respect it and you should respect it as well. we will see whether that's the case or not. >> yeah, that's interesting, so what do you imagine was going on

behind the scenes. i thought one of the most interesting things senator, was, you did not have a bunch of republicans coming out, republican senators now, coming out and saying this is a bad decision, i'm going to vote against it. they were very measured in their comments on this. is this in some way them trying to differentiate themselves from the house? we're going to play by the rules, we're going to let this system -- let it all play out and this is how it played out, but maybe there were some calls made to appropriate people at mar-a-lago saying, it ain't happening. >> yeah, that's what i think you have to assume has happened right now. and that's in a good way you assume that's happened. because here's the public stance that this has been. while those senators were, as we say in the south, keeping their powder dry, you had other senators like tommy tuberville threatening fellow senators saying if you don't vote for these nominees, we're coming after you, you had unnamed sources from trump world saying elon musk is going to finance

primary opponents. we will use recess appointments. we will blow up the u.s. senate. so you got to hope that there were enough u.s. senators behind the scenes saying, do not push us, we can work with you, we want to work with you, but do not push us and blow up the united states senate in this republican majority that you have. let's deal with this and let's put some people in there that at least a modicum of experience and qualifications and importantly character. >> all right. i want to read what we just got a couple of moments ago. a statement on social media from donald trump. i greatly appreciate the recent efforts of matt gaetz in seeking approval to be attorney general. he was doing very well. but at the same time did not want to be a distraction for the administration for which he has much respect. matt has a wonderful future, and i look forward to watching all of the great things he will do. there are so many things in that

statement, i have questions about. but, ken, let me ask you, there is a lot of concern among justice department officials when this was announced. have we gotten any reaction from there? >> i'm getting private reaction, chris, a great expression of relief from current and former doj officials. there were so many problems from their point of view with this nomination. first of all, the fact that they -- the justice department investigated matt gaetz criminally. so there are actually prosecutors working over there at doj that created a file of evidence in a criminal investigation of the man who might have been their future boss and there are people who work on sex trafficking investigations, for example, who are very concerned about the idea of matt gaetz as attorney general. you leave that aside and look at the fact he hadn't practiced law for very long, he has no experience running a large organization, and that the attorney general is not just the chief legal officer of the united states, but a very important national security post with access to very significant intelligence. so, look, people are very

relieved, but the big question now on the table is what kind of nominee comes next? because what is very important and i want people to understand this is that donald trump elevated his defense lawyer todd blanche to be the deputy attorney general. that's a really significant appointment. that's the chief operating officer of the justice department. and todd blanche worked at the justice department. he's a real lawyer. he understands that the wild charges that people like matt gaetz have been making about the justice department being corrupt and the fbi being politicized, that that fundamentally is not true. he may have his criticisms of how the investigations were handled, but he understands the justice department upholds the rule of law. the question is what kind of nominee will we see next to be his boss. another conspiracy theorist, a person who says the place needs to be blown up and sent to jail or someone like todd blanche, someone with experience who may be republican and may want to change priorities, but who fundamentally believes in the

justice department. and that's a big question for not only the justice department, but for the future of the rule of law over the next four years. >> i want to bring in nbc's vaughn hillyard, in west palm beach. and, vaughn, just yesterday, ais you know, gaetz was asked about his prospects as weighs going around on the hill and meeting with senators. i want to play what he said. >> how have your meetings been today, sir? >> well, they have been going great. senators have been giving me a lot of good advice. i'm looking forward to a hearing. folks have been very supportive. >> are you confident you can get confirmed by the senate? do you feel like? >> it was a great day. >> okay. so, it was a great day. he's looking forward to the hearing. and then today, the statement from donald trump, from where you are, vaughn, saying he was doing very well. how did we get from he was doing very well, great, looking forward to the hearing, to withdrawing his name from consideration?

do we know? >> reporter: we have new reporting from our colleague sarah fitzpatrick, who is reporting that we have information that the 17-year-old, who matt gaetz is alleged to have had sex with at a party, had two different encounters, sexual encounters with him at that party. that's developments here within the last minutes as potentially just another piece of evidence or detail that may have compelled matt gaetz to ultimately step aside after these eight days of scrutiny. this is -- from matt gaetz, i think, you know, obviously not exactly how he wanted this process to play out, but even more so, for donald trump and this transition team. what these republican senators have indicated to the trump transition team is they intend to play that advise and consent role. we had known from donald trump for years now that if he were to have won this 2024 election that

he intended to surround himself by loyalists who he was convinced were going to go into the departments and agencies and including the doj and act at his own will and his own discretion. and that is what led to matt gaetz, the selection to be the nominee for the department of justice. but what we now are seeing on capitol hill was clearly a republican senator from lisa murkowski, susan collins, todd young, bill cassidy, it only takes four republican senators to block the confirmation of any of these nominees. and it was going to be an outstanding question of whether the republican party on capitol hill, which donald trump is effectively reshaped greater into his image over the course of these last eight years, whether it would still stand as a barrier to essentially ultimate unilateral executive authority and declaration over governance in washington, d.c. and this is the first pin to drop in which the -- clearly indicated he's not ultimately going to get his way every

single time and even with the threats of recess appointments, there is a clerical ar calculat to why they decided for matt gaetz to ultimately step aside because i think this is a big indication that the republican senators up on capitol hill are not a sure bet to sign off on everything that donald trump sends their way. >> so, is it your sense this had been building? we have this new reporting, i mean, did you get any sense on the ground there that the conversations had grown to include maybe he's not going to make it? >> reporter: no, to answer your question. there was a sense of keen confidence in mar-a-lago this was donald trump's republican party and that while matt gaetz was as much of a surprise to so many in donald trump's inner orbit, when he made this selection eight days ago, that it was like stephen miller on air, the incoming deputy chief

of staff, who said they would be willing to push through recess appointments to ensure that donald trump's selections are ultimately confirmed. and so, is is surprising because we haven't seen matt gaetz ever really step aside or skirt the attention that stemmed from the doj investigation and house ethics committee investigation. he's had plenty of opportunities to step aside from the limelight, but matt gaetz has never taken that opportunity and i think it only also intensifies frustrations over republicans coming just short in several key senate races from wisconsin to michigan to arizona because if they were able to hold off those key senate races, i don't think that we would be having this conversation right now over whether matt gaetz is going to be confirmed or not. >> so, eddie, i want to reiterate what this new reporting is. this comes from a source familiar, the house ethics committee was told that the 17-year-old had two separate

sexual encounters with gaetz at the same party in 2017, which paints a very different picture than matt gaetz's own statement, which called this a needlessly protracted washington scuffle. is that what this was? >> perhaps. i think it is very clear to me at least that matt gaetz is acting in self-interest. i think the particulars of this ethics investigation would have come out, and he would have had to deal with them. he would have had -- and the administration, the incoming administration would have had to deal with it. i think it is a self-interested move. i don't want us to get too far over our skis with regard to republican senators here. i think matt gaetz is an easy case for them to exercise advise and consent in this regard. but i think donald trump will be consistent in his effort to in some ways reel the doj in. he's worried about its independence. donald trump is in so many ways with the appointments trying to

consolidate his view of executive power and so just as ken noted, we need to be concerned about who he is going to nominate in place of gaetz. i think two things, one, gaetz is acting in self-interest. two, let's not get over our skis in terms of checks and balance, let's realize we're in the chaos again and here it is. it is just beginning. >> so, change the face, but not the plan. >> exactly. >> so what do you see coming, eddie? what are you going to be watching for? >> so, my whole idea, i think there are two things running parallel about to converge. donald trump has an expansive sense of executive power. we have been worried and concerned about the imperial presidency up to this point. we're going to see an imperial presidency on steroids. there is a reason why he wants to have a certain kind of appointment in doj. there is a reason for tulsi gabbard and dni, there is a reason for the appointment of dod. i think we need to understand

that for what it is. and then i also think there is also this effort to gum up government. not so much to appoint people who are competent, who demonstrate skill and experience, but who are committed to really deconstructing the administrative state, and so part of what we need to keep track of is how he's going to try to consolidate imperial executive power and, two, how he's going to try to gum up government by way of appointing people who really have no interest in governing. >> so, i also want to bring in former florida democratic congressman carlos curbelo. and, congressman, we have talked about this before. you served with matt gaetz. and we just heard what vaughn had to say, this is not someone who easily backs away from a fight. do you think he's the kind of man who would step away for the good of the country or the administration, do you think there is something else going on here knowing him? >> thank you. that's former republican congressman. and matt gaetz, i think, just

woke up to the reality that he was never going to have the votes. we know that there are a lot of people on the house, on both parties, who wanted to see that ethics report released. it was going to be very painful. who knows, that report might be released anyway, and privately a lot of republican senators were saying that they couldn't see any way that they would get to yes on gaetz. so, what this also does, for those who advance a theory that maybe this was all part of the plan away from matt gaetz to bow out more gracefully than he would have otherwise have that house report been published, this does feed into that theory, because it was really a half hearted effort to get the support needed in the senate. they went up there and walked around for a couple of days. that's really not what a nomination process looks like. and today he simply is withdrawing. maybe this was just a way to give matt gaetz an excuse to resign from the house, and now maybe he will get appointed to a

position that doesn't require senate confirmation or at the very least, he'll be in a good position to lobby this administration if he chooses to do that. >> okay. i want to go back to that thought, but let me go to the hill, because ali vitali has just talked to senator lindsey graham, who has been pretty vocal. i think it is fair to say, ali, if we have her somewhere, that let's not, you know, let's not assume someone is guilty of something for which they were never charged. >> reporter: that was the tone and tenor of what senator graham just said to me here in the hallways and we're very much watching the fallout of this in real time. graham made clear in our brief conversation that he was not going to be a rubber stamp for future nominees. but also clearly tried to echo the fact that he thinks any kinds of sexual misconduct allegations are taken more seriously somehow when they're leveled against republicans rather than democrats. the example that he gave was

when president biden was running for election the first time, he felt that those allegations were taken less credibly and less seriously. i can tell you as the person who did that reporting, as part of the team for nbc news, allegations were taken seriously had they were leveled against now president joe biden. here is how graham was metabolizing this larger moment when it comes to gaetz, the sexual misconduct allegations and what the process could look like going forward. watch some of that conversation. >> senator graham, any comment that you can give us on matt gaetz? >> he withdrew. i respect his decision. appreciate him offering himself for service at that level and now on to somebody else. >> but, sir, we read the statement -- >> reporter: so, what i went on to say there to the senator was we read the statement, and we also wanted to hear if graham had any suggestions of who to put forward. my question also was in his conversations as one of the

senior members on the judiciary committee, did he have conversations with his colleagues there on the republican side who maybe had privately decided they were never going to get to yes on gaetz, thusly making his confirmation at least through traditional avenues impossible. graham said that was not the sense that he had, but as we're watching this again fallout in real time, there are conversations that democrats are saying they had with their colleagues on the judiciary committee from the other side of the aisle, where they said they thought there were several of them who could never get to yes. and so we're waiting to see if those people put their own names on it. i know that i have had conversations, for example, with senator thom tillis yesterday, he also met with gaetz during gaetz's round robin up here on capitol hill. and tillis said to me at one point that he thought gaetz should get a fair confirmation process, but tillis also made sure to point out in that conversation i had with him that he has met with many people, including for supreme court

nominees, that he knew he was going to vote no against, but still met with them anyway. to me it felt like something you would include that sort of might have foretold his inclinations with gaetz, but we don't know until we know and it sounds like now we may never get to know where these folks were because of gaetz pulling his nomination. >> so, i want to go back if i can, eddie, to this idea about what this really tells us as you were talking about with this white house and what carlos just had to say, which is maybe there is a -- a position that does not require senate approval and i go back to the donald trump statement that i read, and i said there were some interesting things in it. one was matt has a wonderful future. do you think that donald trump could appoint him to something else that does not require it to have any jurisdiction outside of an executive appointment?

>> of course. of course, chris. there is no way donald trump will allow the perception that the senate somehow, that republicans in the senate somehow checked him. and so we need to be prepared for matt gaetz to show up again, without us having to in some ways subject him to the kind of critical scrutiny that i think he deserves to be subjected to. and so it follows very clearly. i think we need to understand what donald trump is, we can't forget who is, just because he got elected and the fact that he nominated gaetz in the first place, given all of these questions suggests who he is, let's be prepared to see gaetz show up in another life again in some form in the administration coming -- moving forward. >> well, vaughn, you're there, have you heard -- it is very early, this is only -- going to check my watch -- i think less than an hour or right around an hour that this happened. but what are the other

possibilities? are there ssibilities there for matt gaetz? can you speak about the relationship he has with donald trump because donald trouble, a-wise he as we know, likes to reward loyalty. >> absolutely. there is a governor's race in 2026 that gaetz expressed previously running in to replace ron desantis. we could see him go -- we could see him go into the department of justice, let's be clear. emil bove, another one of donald trump's defense lawyers from the new york hush money payment case, he was selected by donald trump to be the number three at the doj. todd blanche, number two. >> okay, can we just remind people -- i just want to stop you for a second, and not let you lose that train of thought. but, what is the prosecutorial experience that matt gaetz has to hold a position?

we talked about these controversies, surrounding parties and 17-year-old girls, but what is his experiential qualification? to still go into some role -- yeah. >> reporter: right. i think two fronts to that. he does not have a deep experience as a lawyer. but i think that donald trump picking him to be the top prosecutor for the department of justice is indicative of other picks that we have seen. and i don't mean to dismiss your question, but the department of education, selected linda mcmahon to lead and she does not have educational background outside of serving on the board of trustees for a small private university in one year back in 2009 for the connecticut board of school board and then if you look at matt whitaker, one of the individuals whose name was up for attorney general alongside matt gaetz, he was nominated yesterday to be the ambassador to nato, despite having no clear foreign or diplomatic experience, and so i

think so far we have seen from donald trump as well as pete hegseth outside of being a decorated combat veteran, he does not have any experience leading any of the military branches or within the pentagon and he was nominated to lead the defense department. i think that, again, not to dismiss your question, but we have seen donald trump prioritize as he said he would loyalty over actual resume that would typically in previous presidential administrations lead somebody to take these top posts. >> i didn't mean to suggest that a lack of experience would be disqualifying, just to remind people that before some of these other things came up, an initial reaction to matt gaetz was the more traditional qualifications that one might have to serve in this position. we have a little bit more sound, we talked about senator fetterman, but our folks spoke to both him and joe manchin and i want to play what their

reaction is. >> holy [ bleep ]. i didn't see that coming. >> very respectful for him to make that decision, thinking with all the -- we're all thinking about the administration coming in, we want to be positive and supportive in any way we can. >> doug jones, positive, supportive, that they want to be. but i wonder what you think is going on, the conversations being had among folks who you served with, frankly. >> look, i for one, i can't speak for everyone, but i think it is folly to think that matt gaetz, the fighter that he is, this quickly withdrew his nomination from something he was gearing up for a fight. there was some kind of call or something from mar-a-lago saying we're not going to go to the mat, not going to do a recess appointment for you, we're going to move on. he just didn't do this on his own in my view. i think people need to recognize

a lot of that. the way that senators have been threatened by folks, the way that the senate itself has been threatened with recess appointments, that's number one. number two, clearly i agree with eddie, we're going to see matt gaetz in a different role in a different way, still with significant authority somehow, some way. that's how this president is going to do. while we may see todd blanche or someone else moving up into the attorney general spot with more re reden shalls credentials, he hd his lawyers, he's wanted to have the doj as his personal law firm and that is what he's moving toward. and the first time that somebody bucks that, they go the way of jeff sessions, or they get criticized the way that bill barr did until he came back on

board fairly recently. we have not seen the end of the travails and for the department of justice just yet. i think they're just beginning. >> and then to the wider picture, vaughn hillyard, let me ask you about all those different people you just talked about, right. he's not the only controversial nominee. they're controversial for a wide variety of reasons. but there is a lot of conversation early on when the allegations first started coming out with matt gaetz being the one who would be sacrificed and then there could be this feeling, yes, they got rid of the worst of the nominees and it makes it easier for the other ones. is there that feeling within trump world? >> right. and i think that these two individuals, pete hegseth and matt gaetz, had kind of put a cloud over the rest of these nominees. but in a way that i think distracted largely from the scrutiny that was being placed on the others. and especially in the rapid

succession in which these nominees were being announced by donald trump and his transition team over specifically the last week here. i think it is notable compared to covering the transition eight years ago when donald trump was at his trump tower, complex, as well as at bedminster club doing these interviews and he made these announcements over a series of weeks which allowed each individual as they were rolled out to be scrutinized in real time in a way that matt gaetz's elevation to doj nomination just turned all of the attention, all of the lights on matt gaetz and i think that now it is still a question to be seen, though, whether some of these republican senators will stand in the way or increase their scrutiny of the people like tulsi gabbard, for the director of national intelligence or robert f. kennedy jr., a long time democrat, who was at a point in time pro abortion rights, somebody who is -- would make a

lot of republicans queasy historically, whether they will, again, stand up and defend the advise and consent capacity that the senate constitutionally is obligated to hold. i think that is an outstanding question that is now taking place within mar-a-lago because i think at donald trump's frustration is that he would turn to matt gaetz because none of the other individuals he was looking for, they weren't filling that exact portfolio of loyal advocate on his behalf. and donald trump surrounded himself by very small nucleus of people. you're seeing those people, tulsi gabbard, robert f. kennedy jr., matt gaetz be elevated to top positions. he doesn't have that big of a umbrella outside of those most hard core loyalists. it is a question mark over who he will turn to now for some of these other top roles. >> ken dilanian, doug jones,

thank you. and vaughn, eddie, congressman , stay with us. we're going to talk about whether a graphic new police report could derail pete hegseth's bid to become the next secretary of defense. that's next. ecome the next secretary of defense that's next. swiffer. wow. the mother of all cleans. love it or your money back! upset stomach iberogast indigestion iberogast bloating iberogast thanks to a unique combination of herbs, iberogast helps relieve six digestive symptoms to help you feel better. six digestive symptoms. the power of nature. iberogast. (♪♪) if you're on medicare, remember, the annual enrollment period is here. the time to choose your coverage... begins october 15th... and ends december 7th. so call unitedhealthcare and get... coverage you can count on for your whole life ahead, with our broad range of plans... including an aarp medicare advantage plan from unitedhealthcare. it can combine your hospital and doctor coverage...

with part d prescription drug coverage, and more, all in one simple plan... for a low or $0 monthly premium. unitedhealthcare offers reliable plans with benefits built to be used, including... $0 annual physical exams, $0 lab tests and... $0 preventive care like mammograms and colonoscopies. and you'll get more for your medicare dollar... with $0 copays on covered routine dental services... a $0 eye exam and an allowance for eyewear... plus $0 copays on hundreds of prescriptions, at the pharmacy or by mail. now's the time to look at unitedhealthcare's variety of plans. so give us a call to learn more about coverage options in your area... all designed to fit your needs and budget. and to help make your medicare experience simpler, you'll get the all-in-one ucard. only from unitedhealthcare, the ucard is your member id and much more. show your ucard when... you visit your primary care provider,

dentist or eye doctor, or fill a prescription at the pharmacy. and use it to access medicare advantage's largest national network of providers. now, if you have any of these chronic conditions, be sure to ask about unitedhealthcare's chronic special needs plan. enrollment ends december 7th. now's the time to learn more about america's most chosen medicare advantage brand. call or click to connect with unitedhealthcare today about the only medicare advantage plans... with the aarp name... for coverage you can count on for your whole life ahead. (♪♪) your business needs a network it can count on... for coverage you can count on for your whole life ahead. even during the unexpected. power's out! -power's out! comcast business has you covered, with wifi backup to help keep you up and running. wifi's up. let's power on! let's power on! -let's power on! it's from the company with 99.9% network reliability. let's power on! power on with the leader in connectivity. stay connected with comcast business internet and wifi back-up or get started for $49.99 a month.

plus ask how to get up to a $500 prepaid card. call today! so vice president elect jd vance is back on capitol hill, but this time with another controversial trump cabinet pick in tow. his visit with defense secretary

candidate pete hegseth comes right after police publicly released a report with graphic details of a sexual assault allegation against hegseth. here is part of what the report said about a woman identified own as jane doe. hegseth took her phone from her hands, jane doe stated she got up and tried to leave the room, but hegseth blocked the door with his body. jane doe remembered saying, no, a lot. jane doe stated, she did not remember much else. jane doe's next memory was when she was on a bed or a couch and hegseth was over her. the police report also said doe was not sure, but believes that something may have been slipped into her drink as she cannot remember most of the night's events. pete hegseth was asked about that earlier today. >> as far as the media is concerned, very simple, the matter was fully investigated and i was completely cleared and

that's where i'll leave it. >> so, hegseth's lawyer went even further saying police found the allegation to be false, which is why no charges were filed. but we should note that the report by police did not find the allegation to be false. they did not give a reason for not charging him. hegseth's lawyer does confirm that hegseth paid the woman an undisclosed amount of money to protect his career at fox news. and ali vitali is reporting on capitol hill. and rmer congressman carlos curbelo is still with us. maybe it is an obvious question. does this report being publicly released with these kinds of details pose another layer of complexity, let's call it that, for senators? >> reporter: it does. or at least it should. i think what now the open question here on capitol hill becomes is when it was gaetz and hegseth, both of them were dealing with different but

similar allegations of sexual misconduct. gaetz cut a very specific profile up here on capitol hill. he was a lawmaker up here for many years, didn't have many friends because of the actions that he took, especially in the last two years in ousting former speaker kevin mccarthy, so gaetz cut a different profile. but the questions we were asking senators about gaetz, about the sexual misconduct allegations and qualification concerns, those are pretty similar to the questions that we're also asking senators about pete hegseth, though it is for a different confirmation process and for a different position. but listen to how the senators are responding to those questions that we're asking when it comes to hegseth. watch. >> -- assault should be defense secretary? >> i am trying to determine if there is substantial evidence to -- first off, first question. why didn't they prosecute?

>> he said/she said, the case has been drudging up something it reminds me of what happened to brett kavanaugh. >> we have only the press reports. >> reporter: so we're watching those questions get answers in real time. hegseth only met with a handful of senators up here on capitol hill today. certainly more of those senators might have those questions. but i think now with gaetz bowing out, and, again, we're still putting together the reasons for that behind the scenes, because i know many republicans sources up here who thought at the end of the day that trump would be more than willing to try to expend political capital to get someone like gaetz confirmed. now with gaetz out of the spotlight, or not sharing it with hegseth anymore on these controversial things in their

past, the spotlight is now fully on seg hegseth and there are va questions about his candidacy for this key position. that aren't just about his qualifications, that aren't just about these latest sexual misconduct allegations that have only more texture and detail to them now because of the police report, but all of that taken in tandem lends to yet another picture of a trump nominee for a key cabinet position that has a very tough confirmation road ahead of them. >> thank you for that, ali. congressman hegseth had made comments about women in combat, that's gotten a lot of backlash. now mark milley is addressing that. >> don't lecture me about women in combat. women have been if combat and it doesn't matter if that 762 hits you in the chest, no one gives a [ bleep ] if it is a woman or a guy who pulled that trigger, you're still dead. it doesn't matter if you're white, if you're black, if you're a man, if you're a woman,

if you're catholic, protestant, none of those identification things matter. what matters are standards, readiness standards. do you meet the standard or not? if yes, pass go, collect 200 and join the infantry. >> republican joni ernst and democrat tammy duckworth, what are you watching for considering all the things that are swirling around the nomination, not nomination, but the choice of pete hegseth? what are you watching for? >> well, chris, i was thinking exactly of senators like joni ernst, others like lisa murkowski, susan collins, they did not serve in the military, they are women and i think they might be particularly sensitive to these comments. i think in the wake of this gaetz news today, we have to watch very closely the next two, three days, to see which way

some of these republican senators go. on the one hand, they might say, look, the president-elect relented, the gaetz nomination was withdrawn, let's give him greater deference and move forward some of these nominations or at least for now make commitments to supporting them or it could embolden some senators that are more skeptical of the incoming trump administration to say, look, we demonstrated that we weren't willing to just rubber stamp the gaetz nomination. the transition team relented, gaetz withdrew. we may now continue adopting this strategy and trying to force others to withdraw. so i think the next few days are going to be indicative as to which direction some of these senators are going to go, chris. >> former congressman carlos curbelo, great to see you. thank you so much. still ahead, elon musk and vivek ramaswamy, from mass firingings to a crackdown on remote work, we'll take a close

lyric at look at their plans. we'll take lyric at look at their plans. which gives you 72 hour odor protection. from your pits to your... [spray noise] secret whole body deodorant. have you compared your medicare plan recently? with ehealth, you can compare medicare plans side by side for free. so we invited people to give ehealth a try and discover how easy it can be to find your medicare match. this is pretty amazing. i can go on a vacation with this money. i have quite a few prescriptions. that's why people call us. we're going to compare plans, and i'm gonna try to get you as much bang for your buck as possible. that's great. this one here covers all your prescriptions, your doctors as well. oh, wonderful. i have a hard time with this. that's okay, that's what i'm here for. based on our conversation today,

i would highly recommend this plan. you're so helpful. you know, you don't know. i'm excited for you, sir. again, my name is sham. and if you have any other questions, give me a ring. thank you very much. oh, my god, that was super easy. uhhh! see how your medicare plan stacks up with the big changes for 2025. just call this number or get started at ehealth.com. compare plans that cover your doctor's prescriptions, pharmacy and budget, and compare plans from the nation's top insurance companies. they pay us to help you. how much do you think you'll be able to save using ehealth? at least $300 a month. would you say you found your medicare match? yes i did. what sham did she explain to me exactly what i needed to know? well, i have a surprise for you. sham, come on out. oh my goodness. it's a pleasure to meet you today, sir. what does it feel like to be face to face? you helped me out quite a bit. call to meet your advisor. they're paid the same. no matter which medicare advantage plan you choose. ask them about ehealth, live advice or get started on your own at ehealth.com. either way, it's always a free service.

see if you could get more for less with ehealth, like these folks did. the savings are unbelievable. i could see the costs side by side. ehealth is wonderful. $1,200 savings in my pocket. i was really pleasantly surprised with that. (♪♪) (♪♪) ehealth. your medicare matchmaker.

we're seeing the first details of how elon musk and vivek ramaswamy plan to take an axe to government spending. in an op-ed in "the wall street journal," they argue it starts with the end of working from home, writing that requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome.

if federal employees don't want to show up, american taxpayers shouldn't pay them for the covid era privilege of staying home. now, the journal itself points out that won't be easy. unions are gearing up for a fight. and more than half can't work from home because of the nature of their jobs. food safety inspectors say, and healthcare workers. but those cost cutting billionaires predict they will prevail against the onslaught from entrenched interests in washington. nbc's vaughn hillyard is covering the trump transition, eddie glaude is back with us as well. so, vaughn, i think more than a million federal employees could be impacted by this. what more do we know about how musk and ramaswamy plan to execute these plans? >> reporter: right, vivek ramaswamy said if the federal government were to require all of its workforce to come into the office five days a week, they would be able to eliminate 25% of the federal workforce. that was the prediction of vivek

ramaswamy. donald trump installed elon musk and ramaswamy into outside the government consultancy roles to oversee the department of government efficiency to provide what there would be recommendations to downsize the workforce for departments and agencies. now, both of them are making the case that much of this can be done unilaterally by forcing the hand of federal workers to comply with the regulations and decisions by the trump administration and that there will be a natural purging of the federal workforce. but also much of this would come down to the reclassification of part of the federal workforce from civil workers, career workers, into political appointees that could be one way donald trump could sign that executive order to do just that, that would be another way to potentially eliminate tens of thousands of jobs. but then there is also the potential of congressional authorization to enact and give the president-elect trump the

authority to consolidate some departments and agencies and downsize the workforce through congressional authorization under the presidential reorganization act. and this is notable because just this morning, marjorie taylor greene was announced to head up a new subcommittee in the u.s. how to that is an extension of this department of governmental efficiency. so, they clearly have the interests of actually going through and using the executive office to cut back this workforce and reduce it, but also use capitol hill as a means of identifying where they can consolidate and make those cuts. >> so, the federal government is not alone in making decisions about return to work, for sure, right? but i would like to get your take on the tone of this op-ed toward government workers. did you hear an insinuation that they are the problem, along with their promise to cut regulations, which some people

have argued has less to do with saving the government money and more to do with businesses making money. i wonder what you heard when you read this op-ed. >> so, a couple of things, chris. one, it is ironic that you have these oligarchs who are going to implement so-called donald trump's so-called populist vision. it gives you a sense of how ironic that is. but, two, there is this sense when donald trump talks about the enemy within, he's not just talking about democrats, he's talking about the deep state, those bureaucracies, those agencies that gum up his attempt to have the u.s. move at his will. and so this is part of this ongoing effort to address the size of the federal government, these bureaucracies that aren't elected. here in the op-ed they harken back to this wasn't a conception of the government that the founders had. of course not.

the founders were 13 colonies. an agrarian society, agrarian slave holding society. they didn't think about the size of american society today. what i see and hear is the actual execution of not just simply an agenda to promote the small government, but an agenda to break government. and that will have enormous ramifications for their -- the very constituency that put them in office. i keep asking myself, chris, what have these people done. what have they done? >> worked hard. well, they're saying they're going to save money. can we talk about the monetization of government positions? donald trump just unveiled his latest venture with a photo on truth social. he's holding what he calls a limited edition 45 guitar, some personally signed, cost up to $10,000. that's one example. melania trump is selling online

photos of her life, trump's pick for hhs rfk, when that was announced, he's using that for fund-raising. should we be worried about all that? >> hell yes. he's an expert level grifter. what has really got me, representative summer lee said this the other day, a person like me, they complain i'm a dei hire. a person like kamala harris, she was nominated only because she was a black woman. ketanji brown jackson, dei, dei, no merit-based. look at this. are these folks in their position because of merit? of course not. so it is just unadulterated grift with no moral sense at all. and it is a low moment in the history of the country. can you imagine donald trump will be the president of the united states for the -- on the 250th anniversary of the nation. my god, where have we come? >> i'll let that be the last

word. eddie glaude, vaughen n hillyar thank you for sticking around on another monumental day in our country's history, thank you, both. a deadly bomb cyclone tore through parts of the northwest. it ripped out trees, power lines, and another round of storms is still to come. sheets of rain already hit some parts of northern california. like this area, outside of san francisco. but parts of the region are under a flood watch through saturday. trees fell all across western washington, it killed one woman in her home. it blocked the only exit out of the neighborhood. today her neighbors are working together to chop them up and clear them away. >> this is the worst i've seen it on this street. when i got up this morning and was going to go out to the road, i got up to here and looked left and right and thought, nope. we're not going anywhere. >> and nbc's chase cain is reporting from eureka, california. it is already bad.

300,000 customers with the last number i saw of people without electricity. but tell us what's coming. >> reporter: this is the calm between the storms. the first round as you just showed was bad for washington state. it is the second round that is really going to bring the impact to northern california. there is a high risk of flooding that has been issued and that's important because it is those high risk areas and high risk days where we see 40% of all deaths from flooding. there is concern here in northern california as we add six, eight, ten, 12 or more inches of rain to what we have already gotten over the last couple of days. just south of where we are, there is a big tourist area or tourist attraction known as abner the giant, a two-lane road that goes through this scenic grove of beautiful old red wood trees and cal trans had to close that overnight because there is already enough flooding on the road there. and that's the kind of situation that we're expecting to see, really all across the region, from san francisco up north to the oregon border, really once we get later into the day,

today, tonight, into tomorrow morning, there are five different rivers in the area where there are already flood warnings in place. the winds are also going to pick up as we get to sunset and in the evening hours, so, add a soaked ground, several inches of rain, a foot of rain and 30, 40, 50-mile-an-hour winds, we might have trees down, power outages, landslides, rock slides. so really the worst impacts for northern california are expected to come over the next 12 to 24 hours, chris. >> chase cain, thank you so much. be safe out there. still to come, why the international criminal court just issued an arrest warrant for israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. we'll be live in tel aviv with reaction. stay close. more "chris jansing reports" just after this. stay close more "chris jansing reports" just after this. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. our advanced matching helps find talented candidates,

so you can connect with them fast. visit indeed.com/hire at humana, we believe your healthcare should evolve with you, and part of that evolution means choosing the right medicare plan for you. humana can help. hi, my name is sam davis and i'm going to tell you about medicare advantage prescription drug plans that can provide more coverage than original medicare, including prescription drug coverage, all wrapped up into one convenient plan. with original medicare you're covered for hospital stays and doctor office visits, but you have to meet a deductible for each. and then you're still responsible for 20% of the cost. next, let's look at medicare supplement plans. if a service is covered under original medicare, then a medicare supplement plan pays for some or all of your medicare deductibles and the 20% coinsurance. but they may have higher monthly premiums and no prescription drug coverage. humana medicare

advantage prescription drug plans include medical coverage. plus, prescription drug coverage with $0 copays on hundreds of prescriptions. most plans include $0 copays for covered preventive dental services, vision coverage that includes vision exams, and a yearly allowance toward eyewear. even hearing benefits that include routine hearing exams and coverage toward hearing aids. you can get $0 copays for in-network preventive services and $0 copays for routine vaccines. and there's worldwide coverage for emergency and urgent care when you travel. plus, humana also offers medicare advantage plans. plans have $0 or low monthly plan premiums. and there's a cap on your out-of-pocket costs. so, call or go online today to see if there's a humana plan in your area and to get our free decision guide. the medicare annual enrollment period ends on december 7th, so call now.

humana - a more human way to healthcare. that grimy film on your teeth? dr. g? ♪♪ it's actually the buildup of plaque bacteria which can cause cavities. most toothpastes quit working in minutes. but crest pro-health's antibacterial fluoride protects all day. so it stops cavities before they start... crest.

drop everything and get some magic of your own so it stops cavities before they start... during the xfinity black friday sale. xfinity internet customers, our best deals of the year are back! switch to xfinity mobile and get your choice of a free 5g phone, plus your next unlimited line free for a year. get amazing savings and connect to wifi speeds up to a gig on the go with xfinity mobile. fly don't walk to get our best deals of the year. connect to the world of wicked this holiday, only in theaters november 22nd. all aboard! come with me to meet the wizard. why couldn't possibly. this is your moment. i'm coming. if you think that's something to see, wait til you see this. ♪ ♪ you're good. -very good.

>> it is good to be back with you on this second hour of chris jansing reports, at this hour, donald trump's controversial pick to head the department of justice, matt gaetz withdrawing his name from the job a day after he made his case on capitol hill and we know that the president-elect had been working the phones, so what happened and what is next? and doj reaction, how the department that matt gaetz would have headed is responding to his decision to withdraw. warrants out, the international criminal court issuing arrest warrants today for prime minister netanyahu and the top