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the gavel? live on capitol hill with the speaker about two hours away. plus images of the man behind the deadly bourbon street attack. what was found at the attackers houston home. later, the new push to solve one of the biggest mysteries from january 6th. will the fbi finally tracked down the suspect who planted two pipe bombs in d.c. the night before the capital insurrection? thanks for being with us on this friday. it's 10 eastern 7 a.m. pacific. it is a make or break day for house speaker michael johnson a mere two hours away from his chance at re-election as speaker. it is a close fight right now with virtually no margin of error. johnson can only realistically afford to lose one vote from his republican colleagues. that's already been claimed by kentucky congressman thomas massey.

he's not the only republican casting doubt. johnson moments ago says he's not giving into demands of his colleagues on the fence. >> got to make deals with anyone, there's no quid pro quo. i don't do anything in exchange for a vote other than to make the institution work as efficiently as possible. >> let's bring in and be seen as capitol hill correspondent allie vitelli, congressional reporter for the hill, former republican congressman from florida and former democratic congressman from new york. great to have all of you with us. two hours to go now. we know massie is an over johnson. who else are you watching? >> there's a lot we are watching although all of them are leaving the door open hanging out on the fence however you want to say, they are not hard no and that is important when you think about the stakes for mike johnson because you're right to point out there's no margin for error because he's already lost the one vote he can afford to lose. i'll put up on the screen a

list of other names we are looking at closely. the thing most of these people have in common is they are on the more ultraconservative side of this republican conference spectrum. i'm looking at someone like congressman chip roy. he's sort of at the center of this hub of and negotiations because there are some members who seem to say that if he were to be put in charge of the powerful rules committee that they would seemingly get in line behind johnson. that could present some problems because roy has shown a willingness to bug leadership and putting him in charge of the rules committee would give him a say over what gets to the floor and what doesn't in terms of legislation. i caught up with chip roy in the last half hour or so and asked is it enough if you become chair of the rules committee, would that get you behind johnson? he told me that's not what this is about for him. for him it's more about procedure and breaking apart the idea of multiple bills being voted on together, sort

of slowing down the congressional procedure here in congress. you see mike johnson saying he's not going to be negotiating, seemingly learning the lessons of kevin mccarthy who negotiated away before he had it and that leads us to what these members will do when they actually vote for his part. president-elect donald trump is often at the center of these dealings for the house republican conference has really wished johnson good luck today. >> we heard johnson saying he won't be making deals with anybody so what is he doing to try to win over the holdout? >> still having conversations. i don't know where the line is between a conversation and negotiation and making a deal, but wherever the line is is where johnson finds himself. he's doing it on his own because listen to what he said when he was asked if he has trouble making calls for him. >> know. i haven't. i met yesterday at mar-a-lago. it was a great visit. i think this will turn out well

tomorrow. we will stay unified. >> we will see if that's actually the prediction for today now that we are a few hours out from the vote and johnson has trumps a backing, but will it sway any of these members who, in the past, though they have been trump backers in some cases really do march to the beat of their own drum here in congress. >> michael i know you've been tracking what some of the hard- line republicans want in exchange for their votes. walk us through that. >> as allie mentioned what we seem to be emerging as one of the biggest ask in these final hours before the speaker race remember the gavel is at noon, that's when the action begins. is this demand that chip roy be made chairman of the house was committee? i had reporting yesterday and heard from sources that chip roy himself wasn't asking for this. i spoke to a congressman who is one of the undecided lawmakers

and said he spoke to chip roy just last night and chip roy told him this is not personally a demand he's making, but these freedom caucus members, these conservatives in the house they appear to be demanding johnson do this in exchange for their support. as mentioned that would be a very significant move, there's a lot of doubts and questions whether roy would get it because the history of house republican leadership and also the revolt could lead to among moderate republicans. people who are more to the left in the conference are not going to be thrilled of the idea of ceding control of the rules committee to chip roy. that is one of these predicaments johnson finds himself in as he weighs the two different sides. from the rules committee there was reporting yesterday that some of these holdouts are asking johnson to make commitments on a host of different ideas including spending cuts and opening up the process for negotiating big- ticket legislation instead of having staffers and top lawmakers negotiate some of these high steak pieces of legislation they wanted to be

opened up to more rank-and-file members. it's a constant call and request we heard from lawmakers throughout the last congress. what the commitment actually looks like that will get lawmakers on board remains to be seen and as allie mentioned johnson being very clear he does not plan to cut any deals with lawmakers. >> also expressing confidence this morning. do you think realistically johnson can get all of these votes minus the one by thomas massie without making a deal or two? >> i think he can. it's pretty clear he has learned from the kevin mccarthy experience we watched over the course of that week while kevin mccarthy was trying to become speaker how he negotiated over and over again and what did that get him? it got him ousted some eight months later. mike johnson understands that this group of members we are talking about that you just put on screen will always make demands that are unreasonable.

they do not want any kind of compromise with democrats, yet there aren't sufficient votes in the house for the policies they embrace that a lot of republicans toward the center of the congress more toward the swing side of the conference resent these kinds of members and don't want to see them in power. i highly doubt speaker johnson would put someone like chip roy to head the rules committee without control of the rules committee the speaker cannot control the floor of the house. i think mike johnson is playing the hand he's been dealt and he's playing it as best he can at this point. >> is there anyone specific you have your eye on this morning? >> i think any of those members might force a second vote to try to embarrass johnson, try to bring him to the table, try to extract some concessions, but i think outside of just

saying he's going to try to open up the process and to be more inclusive of the membership, i don't think he's going to give them anything else because there's nothing else to give. i think one of the changes he's made that shows where he is is pushing the threshold to nine members for the motion to vacate the chair to prevent what we saw in this past congress where one single member completely destabilize the house. i think mike johnson is taking the right approach to this and i think he's ultimately going to be successful even if it takes two or three rounds. >> congressman crowley, democrats are looking to present a united front this morning. what are you hearing of their strategy? >> i think that's the plan going forward. it really shows a stark difference with how democrats are handling themselves and how dysfunctional republicans have been in terms of their

confidence. we look back on the last conference, probably one of the most dysfunctional in the history and the freedom caucus folks primarily got re-elected. they think what they've done so far has been pretty good. in the end i don't see where they go. mike johnson is a real conservative, there is really no alternative. he has a very clean record background. there's no issues at all. i think at the end of the day he is really feeling a deck of cards that is so much stronger than what kevin mccarthy had and i think -- i don't think you will be negotiating. if he is it will take multiple rounds i think. >> nothing is for certain if not johnson, is there an alternative? >> this is the game that brings me back to a year ago when republicans were left without a speaker after ousting mccarthy. it's hard to replace someone with no one. they managed to do it after weeks of chaos with johnson,

but the two names you hear often and none of these are being entertained in any sort of official capacity because it really is johnson or no one at this point, but the other two names he could see step into the fold are the number two or head of the judiciary committee jim jordan, both of these men have deep member relationships, they've taken a lot of steps in the political off-season, getting on the campaign trail, having money to members in tough races. that's the kind of political currency jobs and leadership trait on and certainly both of those men have put in the work in those spaces, but each of them probably carries account of the trackers at about a dozen to 20 people and we have seen those whip counts come into play before both tried their hand at becoming speaker after mccarthy and wildly failed after one round or multiple rounds in jim jordan's case. you have these names that are out there, but not necessarily in a truly viable fashion.

i do think the way this could ultimately play out for the members skeptical on the screen there's also a question of maybe one of them votes present, maybe one isn't on the floor and finds himself not part of the vote count, that would end up changing the magic number which would mean johnson is no longer looking at 218. you can't go below 215 because of democrats but that's the numbers game. >> good to walk us all through and set our expectations accordingly and how this could go about because there's a number of different scenarios. we know it took kevin mccarthy two years ago 15 ballots to ultimately win the speakership, that was over the course of four days. know monday is when the y we election certification is supposed to happen, so what happens then if there's no speaker? >> theoretically if there's no speaker you can't do anything in the house. they can't vote on certified

election. that's the main argument we hear from a lot of speaker johnson's allies are folks who say we don't want the chaos right now, we don't want a protracted speaker's race. it's rally around johnson so we can be able to certify the election on time on monday. it'll be a real question of if that argument is viable and strong enough today and through the weekend to see if we have a speaker. >> i can imagine president- elect trump would be happy if his wing isn't certified in time. here he was earlier this week. >> i think they will support speaker johnson. he's the one that can win right now. almost everybody likes him. they have 30 or 40 people that don't like him. it's pretty tough. >> do you expect donald trump to get more involved here and is there a risk if he does? >> i don't think so. i think donald trump has been pretty clear that while he supports mike johnson he is going to require mike johnson to stand on his own two feet

and garner the support he needs inside. it's up to mike johnson to close the deal today. >> if johnson wins this vote today he still has a razor thin margin. he has the slightest majority and it's going to be even tighter as we head into the next couple of weeks as people who are going to be serving in trump's administration resigned their seats in congress. as every single vote than a fight in this congress, what are your expectations? >> i think hakeem jeffries will be practical and has to keep his troops together in a line. i think if it's something that needs to be done for the benefit of the american people hakeem jeffries and the caucus will be there. i do also think they will hold republicans to the line. they then produce votes on things they want to have passed. the republicans want something, they have to come to the table and negotiate with them and i

think hakeem is up to the cast. >> ali vitali , carlos curbelo, mychael schneel and joseph crowley, thank you very much for joining us. we will bring updates throughout the hour from capitol hill as we get them. first, new video from inside the bourbon street attackers houston home. new details we learn from investigators and his family. what we learn about the man believed to be responsible for the cyber truck explosion in las vegas. the urgent push to find a motive there. the fbi renewing its efforts to track down this suspect who planted two pipe bombs in d.c. on the eve of the january 6th attack of the capital. releasing this new video, why now? back in 90 seconds. under. or, hitting that win with your crew. ohhh! yes, see defense! or way up here with a same game parlay. yaw!

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yesterday. >> we have an angel that will always be with us and the first thing i told my family whenever the news was around the states but not only seeing him a couple times a year, now not to be with us in every moment until the end of time. you have to be able to forgive. that's what god says is the most important thing. i want to tell everybody out there family disputes, if you have them, you know your people around you that you love, give them a hug and kiss them. life is so precious and it can be gone so quick. i think my family right now is truly realizing what that means. like i said, my brother was all of our iends. >> nbc news correspondent george solis is there on the scene in new orleans also with

us, former fbi assistant director for counterintelligence and former superintendent of the new orleans police department. thank you all. george, this attack has changed families forever. what are you learning about the victims and what are we hearing from their families and from survivors? >> reporter: good morning. they are sons, daughters, mothers and fathers. they are heartbroken, inconsolable. bourbon street has reopened but you can bet these families have not moved on. yesterday i spoke with an iraq war veteran that was eyewitness to the carnage saying he tried to help out. by the time he got to some of the people injured here or hurt it was too little too late. my colleague actually went to the hospital yesterday and spoke with one of the survivors who got out of this area with broken legs. here's a bit of their conversation. >> can you believe what happened? >> i mean, it's the worst thing. walking through seeing all those people.

it actually through my mind i thought it could happen is really weird. just because there's so many people. when i first hit the ground i heard gunfire and i remember in my mind i was thinking i'm hoping i'm low enough on the ground. i thought that's why was on the ground. somebody came. he came over and told me that there had been a lot of people that didn't make it and they were dead and i was lucky to be alive. >> reporter: absolutely heartbreaking to hear. these are some stories we are hearing on bourbon street. a number of vigils and memorials are starting to grow for the victims. >> such bravery and courage, such strength we are hearing and all of these interviews. george, where do things stand right now on the investigation? what's the focus? >> reporter: the investigation is ongoing, still trying to find a motive why the suspect

chose bourbon street specifically, another thing that comes up is where these were. these archer barriers on the attack. you heard from the superintendent of police saying she didn't actually know if they had these. these had been deployed before, they are 700 pounds, they are reusable and intended to stop any vehicles from being able to get on the sidewalk. they are deployed here now but they were not there on the night of the attack. >> shorts elise reporting in new orleans, thank you. in addition to nbc's reporting and implementing the barriers the new york times is reporting new orleans officials were warned way back in 2019 about the faulty bollards which were under repair when this attack happened. what's your view of this barricade issue and why there wasn't a better contingency plan in place? >> it seemed clear the city hasn't answered the question either. these reports indicate this is a four or five year problem in development having spent 25 years and my career in new

orleans and walking the beam on bourbon street the police department can only operate with the equipment given. i think the city of new orleans has some questions to answer. >> why weren't those big, hard barriers up? >> it's hard to know because nobody seems to be saying right now. the first press conference was difficult to understand some of the messaging going on. i think the continued questions of where were these, how are they paid for, when do they not work, when do they work and why were they being used, the super bowl is a different level of response from the federal government. the sugar bowl is not quite as high as a response nonetheless the public expects to be safe. >> regarding the attackers route during this specific attack you know it started when he drove around a police car onto the sidewalk to enter bourbon street, are there procedures in place to respond immediately and a scenario like this and

does it look like those procedures were implemented? >> it's hard to tell right now. there needs to be a comprehensive independent investigation, whether that's from state authorities or whether they hire a reputable private firm to do the after action the people of the state need to re-establish their belief in the credibility of the department. right now, i don't think that's there. you can have protocols to do rapid response, there may be rapid response teams right there and likely were. the question is whether they implement the protocol, having them in place and executing on the protocol are two different things. i think some of the current superintendence responses to we are not about fixing blame and i didn't know we had these l- shaped archer barriers, that's not good. people need some answers. with all of this kind of

analysis i think it's important to point out the officers on the street, on the scene that ran toward the gunshots, ran toward the problem and then neutralized the suspect need to be awarded. that should not be lost. their heroism should not be lost as we discuss and critique what happened. >> that's a good point. there were a lot of heroes that day, it could've been worse. let's talk about the suspect and this attack or i should say. where learning more about his background. nbc news paints a picture of someone who went from a model soldier to isis supporter. we know he had mare troubles, financial troubles. investigators in the intel community, how important is it to determine the source of his radicalization and how will that be used? >> we've got a homegrown violent extremism problem in the united states so every one of these helps the intelligence and law enforcement community understand what's happening out there. there's some commonalities with him and then

there are some things different. many think once they hear 100% driven by isis motivation they kind of say that is the end of the story, but the reality is there is a lot more to every story of radicalization. it's not just becoming a true believer in a cause. if you're willing to martyr yourself or something there is a whole lot of other things going on in your life and you mentioned some of them. pretty severe financial problems, two divorces, a restraining order, even if you study the 9/11 hijackers you see they were true believers but why did they decide to really give up their lives? you find bleak prospects in the future, no jobs in the future, economic issues, that is all a factor that helps the community understand how we might mitigate or prevent this moving forward. >> cares what the younger brother of the attacker told our affiliate kprc. >> to how i know him, you know?

how i remember him. i know him as being kind, loving, caring, compassionate, charismatic, funny, smart. i understand people want answers. we are just as puzzled as the rest of the world. >> someone who on the surface appears to be your usual upstanding citizen and described as kind, loving, caring but then behind the scenes become radicalized, how- tos law enforcement even pick up that sent, can you keep someone like this from falling through the cracks? >> we see this happen in so many different types of crimes. this one is highlighted around the issue of isis. when people make these decisions to harm others there may be clues. we learn of a term where people start messaging to friends, family or others they may be contemplating a danger to themselves or others.

much of that is done at a level not in front of local law enforcement. when you think about the individual business of the dark web and social media local law enforcement and i was also state police chief at one time, we have some resources and centers that came after 911, but a lot of this internet diving to understand the difference between protected free speech and speech that someone is going to hurt themselves or another is what makes the difference for law enforcement at either federal, state or local level to engage this person and there's a lot of opportunity to engage him when they say or leak something that would indicate on any form that they intend to hurt themselves or others. >> ronal serpas, i'm appreciative of your time. thanks for joining us. frank i know you're sticking around. up next, the fbi releasing new video of a suspect placing a pipe bomb near the dnc. this was the day before the january 6th insurrection. here we are almost four years later, why no arrest yet?

new clues they hope will help solve the case. plus new development out of las vegas. authorities work to turn the motive behind a cyber truck explosion outside a trump hotel on the vegas strip. new info on the suspect and why this investigation is now stretching around the globe. aveeno introduces new daily moisturizing cream. it's clinically proven to moisturize dry skin for 48 hours. and instantly strengthen skin's barrier. for softer, smoother skin. aveeno. the power of oat for sensitive skin.

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welcome back. it's one of the biggest

unsolved mysteries around the january 6th capital attack. who left two pipe bombs near the headquarters of the rnc and dnc the night before the right? here wearly four years later, the fbi now releasing this new video that shows the suspect sitting on a bench near the dnc headquarters before placing the first bomb there. the fbi also is releasing these images of the type of nike sneakers worn by the suspect. the reward of up to $500,000 is being offered for information leading to the individual's arrest and conviction. ken delaney and has been digging into this. how have they not caught this person? do they have any leads on a potential suspect? >> they followed a number of leads. they revealed 39,000 pieces of video and have gotten 600 tips from the public but nothing that would help them identify that masked and hooded subject you are seeing in the video. 5'7", but really what they are

appealing to his help from the public here with that half $1 million award. i interviewed the lead investigator, take a listen to what he had to say. >> i'm sure there are people who know who the suspect is and we ask them to call us. just because they didn't go off doesn't mean they weren't intended to go off. that could've seriously injured or killed someone. >> they are hoping someone might recognize those nike speed turf black ring yellow shoes, they are distinctive but still 25,000 of those i'm told were sold. it doesn't really narrow it down that much. >> that is distinctive to have everybody highlight there. four years already, why this renewed push for information right now? >> they decided to do this around the anniversary of the january 6th attack to remind the public. they feel people have lost sight and they want to solve

this. these could've killed people. kamala harris came within feet of the one at the dnc. this was a serious crime. they are hoping for years later allegiances have changed, maybe people who know something are more willing to call the fbi and tell them what they know because they want to catch that person. >> ken dilanian, thanks for joining us. back with us now is frank figliuzzi. i have to get your reaction. four years later, are you surprised there's no arrest yet? >> i am. it's frustrating if you've ever been in this position as an investigator. this use of an anniversary date which of course is coming up for years to jog people's minds, get them back in the game in terms of several speakers got it, half $1 million award and as the agent said somebody out there has seen something, know something, they've heard something and they are hoping that have a million-dollar reward will get

them to act out and provide information. i remind them about the unabomber investigation. it took nearly 20 years to catch up with the unabomber. it was family members that ultimately did the trick and recognized his writing. when this goes this long you have to understand that sometimes -- the suspect is imprisoned, deceased, is living off the grid , has fled the country. all of that has been checked and they've gone over all of the logical things to do. in the unabomber case there was a supercomputer used defeated all the credit card usage in the area, all the surveillance, who booked the flight ticket, who ran to the car, who got a speeding ticket? all of that gets overlaid and they are still coming up with nothing. >> fascinating. thanks for offering your expertise and insight there frank figliuzzi, appreciate you.

turning now to a courtroom in new york and in case we are following closely involving rudy giuliani. right now he's before a judge deciding whether to hold giuliani in contempt for failing to turn over his assets to georgia election workers. giuliani was ordered to pay $146 million in defamation damages to the two women. their attorneys are saying among the assets he has failed to turn over our the lease and co-op shares of his estimated $6 million manhattan apartment, cash in his bank account, paperwork for a mercedes-benz he belatedly surrendered, jewelry and luxury watches along with some yankees memorabilia. giuliani is expected to testify at this hearing. he says he's already given everything he can give. we will be watching that. new details about the man who died when that cyber truck burst into flames outside trumps las vegas hotel on wednesday. officials believe the man found at the scene was a decorated

u.s. army soldier who was on approved leave from his post in germany. they are still trying to figure out why he set off an improvised explosive. investigators now say there's no definitive link between that blast and the new orleans terror attack hours earlier. morgan chesky joins us from las vegas with more. what more are we learning about this driver and what kinds of questions are investigators still trying to answer? >> reporter: for as much as we have learned over the last 48 hours here in this very wide- ranging investigation there are still many questions here but that gentleman you mentioned that has been identified as 37- year-old matthew levels berger. he was a decorated special forces soldier that was on leave from germany and that only raises more questions as to a potential motive here. authorities are stopping short of saying he was definitely the one inside the tesla cyber

truck when it exploded behind me on new year's day because they are waiting dna conversation because there was so little left behind that has in turn caused a global investigation. authorities are working to fully i.d. the driver of the cyber truck that exploded on new year's day. outside of trump hotel on the vegas strip. >> you feel we have this identified and at this time there's no information about additional subjects the fbi is tracking on. >> mounting evidence points to 37-year-old master sergeant matthew livelsberger as the primary suspect. investigators found his passport, several credit cards and military i.d. inside the charred vehicle. authorities adding they are still waiting on dna test to positively identify the burned body that was recovered behind the wheel. >> looking into exactly what the motivation is remains our number one priority. >> the driver died from a self- inflicted gunshot wound to the head before the explosion.

leaving more questions than answers. >> he might not of been looking to create casualties but to deliver a message and a symbolic event. >> inside the truck investigators found fuel canisters and firework mortars. +2 semi automatic handguns they say livelsberger bought legally on monday . using tesla charging stations they traced his route from denver where the truck was rented through new mexico and arizona to las vegas. officials say he was on active duty and served as a green beret, assigned to army special events command. he was based in germany but on approved leave according to army officials. he was also deployed multiple times and was a recipient of the bronze star with valor. in colorado springs and neighbor said livelsberger and his partner had a new baby at home and seemed normal enough. >> we would come out at the same time with our dogs and say

hi to each other. >> the investigation now stretching across the country and even abroad with his possible motive still unknown. >> what was his frustration that motivated him to go from being in honorably serving special forces sergeant to carrying out an act of political violence? >> regarding a potential motive investigators say despite this tesla cyber truck exploding in front of a hotel bearing the name of the president-elect they say no evidence at least as of now suggests this was politically motivated. >> morgan chesky, thank you. we still have our eyes on capitol hill this morning where we are seeing the first bit of movement now with the speaker vote just over an hour away. we are also heading overseas this morning where the situation is dire and desperate for palestinians. show here is new video scrambling for cooked meals at a charity kitchen. more on their situation as temperatures drop when we come back.

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just heartbreaking images coming out of gaza highlighting how that conditions there have become. this is a soup kitchen where palestinians will line up in the early morning for food and water and one of the palestinian women told reuters she waited in line since 5:00 in the morning, quote it has become a famine. people are lost, where should people go? what shall they do? there is nothing, nothing.

nbc's aaron mclachlan joining us now from tel aviv. it's tough to see some images. international groups say famine is highly likely and parts of the gaza strip. what do we know about the situation today? >> the situation inside gaza remains desperate. more than 180 palestinians have been killed due to violence in the last 48 hours, that's according to palestinian health officials adding to the overall death toll from the war. 45,000+. in addition to that you have those reports from aid organizations that palestinians are starving, reporting extreme food insecurity due to a lack of nutritious food in the enclave and compounding that picture, you have winter temperatures now dipping below 45 degrees in the overnight hours there in gaza and that is particularly deadly for palestinian children. our team on the ground in gaza

interviewed the father of twin boys born a month premature, they were forced to leave the hospital because the health system in gaza is simply too strained due to the war. he brought the boys home to a tent that was freezing, no electricity, no heat. as a result, one of the twins died. the other is in intensive care in the hospital. dr. say they do not expect him to survive. according to palestinian health officials, five palestinian children have died due to hypothermia in the last week so far. our team on the ground there spoke to an american doctor volunteering in gaza and she painted this bleak picture for palestinian children. take a listen. >> unfortunately the future of kids in gaza is very bleak. without education, clean water, nutritious food it is very difficult to imagine a future that is healthy for children.

if this doesn't stop there will be no future for children here in gaza. >> and israeli military spokesperson was asked in a briefing with international reporters about the reports of palestinian children dying due to hypothermia. he said the israeli military was an able to verify those reports although noting the israeli military is working to get additional winter supplies into gaza. >> erin mclaughlin, thank you for your reporting. such a tough and awful situation. back at home now we are still keeping our eyes on capitol hill where the pressure is on for speaker mike johnson to keep his gavel and not far been there at 1600 pennsylvania avenue, an unprecedented decision and extraordinary use of executive power from president biden. take a eft here please. driver: but there's a... carl's way is the best way. client: is it? at schwab, how i choose to invest is up to me. driver: exactly! i can invest and trade on my own...

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the multibillion-dollar stale of an iconic american brand. in a statement this morning president biden announced he will block the sale of u.s. steel the japanese owned nippon steel for nearly $15 billion arguing foreign ownership would pose a threat to national security. u.s. steel and nippon condemned this decision. kelly o'donnell, thanks for being here with us. what more are you learning about how president biden came to this decision and what happens next? >> this has been a long time coming and president biden has been clear about his concern that something as important to infrastructure as u.s. steel having those kinds of resources run by american companies, it is his view that it is in the national security interest and that is the basis by which he is making this decision. there is a committee of cabinet officials led by the treasury secretary known as, they have reviewed this pledge to

purchase from the japanese nippon steel of u.s. steel and the ultimately did not provide a recommendation which then put the ball in his court and he issued the statement today. nippon is saying it is dismayed by this decision and will use all of its proper channels of recourse to try to push forward. the intention they say was that this would have infused u.s. steel with resources that would strengthen the company. president biden believes and has stated this was important to try to maintain u.s. steel in pennsylvania, that's part of it. nippon says this was a political decision while no secret there are politics involved here bring the campaign president biden talked about this and president-elect trump has also said he opposes this deal. this is something where it's got big ramifications potentially for foreign investment and certainly some

political ramifications as well. >> kelly o'donnell, thanks for bringing us that reporting. coming up we had down the street from the white house to capitol hill and the high- stakes speakership showdown happening in just over an hour from now. i'll speak with house minority about the state of play. we are back after a quick break, don't go anywhere. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! how did i ever miss this? before you were preventing migraine with qulipta? you'll never truly forget migraine, but qulipta reduces attacks, making zero-migraine days possible. it's approved to prevent migraine to help

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it is 11:00 eastern, 8:00

a.m. pacific. thank you for staying with me. i am ana cabrera and we have a packed hour in washington. the future of the house taking shape with the republican party taking a major test. the 119th congress will kickoff with a high-stakes about as mike johnson is fighting to hold onto the gavel as speaker of the house. president-elect trump has endorsed johnson and has wished him luck in a social media post this morning writing in part a win for mike johnson will be a big win for the republican party but johnson haa tough fight ahead of him with a razor thin majority in the house. johnson can only afford to lose one gop vote to keep his bed alive if all democrats do not vote for him. nonetheless he projected optimism in comments to reporters just this morning. >> the mandate was given by the american people, the electorate.

president trump.77 million votes in the house, 75 million, a record number. they are expecting us to get to work and we don't have time for drama so my message to colleagues is we are open to improvements at all times but there is no quid pro quo here. i do not do anything in exchange for a vote except to commit to making this work as effectively and as efficiently as possible. >> let's get right to capitol hill with nbc's garrett haake. we know lawmakers are arriving at the top of the hour when the new congress is sworn in. where do things stand for johnson? will he have the votes? >> reporter: it is like the first day of school vibes here. after the swearing ins, for the new lawmakers, they want to celebrate today and celebrate the mandate johnson was just

describing. he was using the fact congress needs to get to work on certifying the election victory next monday as a backstop to this speakers vote today without which nothing else can proceed. he and his team have been confident all morning suggesting they know they will lose one vote but they don't think they will lose any more than that. here is steve scalise talking about how he sees things a short time ago. >> president trump is coming back on january 20th and there are a lot of things we want to get started and t up for him. we will do that. >> speaker johnson is unable to get it, would you reconsider? >> i think mike will get there. he has been working really hard and talking to all members during the break. >> reporter: that leads us into the next topic, and perhaps the next thing johnson has going for him. it's not clear there is any

credible alternative to him as speaker. if not johnson, who? steve scalise could not get there in 2023. he's got enemies in the republican conference. he likely has them still and that dynamic might keep johnson, even those who think he's not especially effective, say they like him. that dynamic might help push them across the finish line, ana. >> walk us through what we could witness and how this could play out. there could be drama if johnson loses in the first round of voting. what happens next? >> reporter: you will remember folks are called on one by one in alphabetical order and will stand up and vote by name. we know thomas massie will vote for someone other than johnson if there is a second. we will know at that time johnson does not have the votes to become speaker. what happens next is up to him.

the house by rule can continue to have these votes until a speaker is elected or they can do what kevin mccarthy chose two years ago and adjourn the house, fallback to small groups or as a conference to see if johnson can find a way he says not by making deals but by appeasing his critics and get them back in line. he has absolutely no margin to spare here and we have all learned over the last two years that dynamic has made for very uncomfortable governing for the house majority. >> the stakes are high not just for johnson personally, but his political future, and the country. the house has to certify the election results by january 6th. if in the event there is no speaker, what happens? >> reporter: this is a situation we have never come up against but i thought it was interesting that johnson said there is no time for drama but there is a little time for

drama. we could potentially see a scenario even through this weekend. he's right, there is no way to certify the election results for donald trump on january 6th until you have a speaker. anything going beyond that, ana, you cannot have the inauguration without a speaker so there is this republican washington the american people voted for that cannot begin until this question is solved. the best thing johnson has going for him is the desire for those among the republican majority in the first days or weeks back in washington fighting over who will hold the gavel. >> you will be trying to talk with some of your republicans there on the hill that you have been trying to gather and get reaction from as they are coming and going. the action we are showing in the house rapping a business from the 118th congress. just ended and the gavel is out so there is a recess so we will

let you get going to track down republicans and democrats alike. thank you for joining us. joining us now is katherine clark, house minority whip. first, congresswoman, thank you for being here. let's talk expectations from the speaker vote starting with democrats. are all democrats going to be there, number one? and will all be voting for hakeem jeffries? >> yes to both. happy new year to you. democrats will be at full strength at 2:50 and committed to voting for hakeem jeffries for speaker because he has shown time and time again he's committed to bringing the concerns the american people have to congress and returning solutions to them. we have heard loudly and clearly from the american people they are concerned with the cost of living, whether that is housing or childcare, making

sure that we have affordable groceries. they want good public schools to send their children to and make sure we are continuing to have clean air and clean water in this country. those are the issues we need to get to work on, the issues hakeem jeffries has been a leader on and that is why we will have 100% democratic support today. >> in order to get to those issues you must have a speaker of the house. is it your belief speaker johnson has the votes to hang onto the gavel? >> as you just heard that is up to the gop and what we have seen is a gop in chaos, in fighting, in their own civil war. the problem with all of that is that it leaves the american people outside looking in at

congress, at the house republican majority saying how do we fit in? you are supposed to go to congress and work for us and with all of their infighting, it delays the work we are sent here to do. so i hope we resolve the issue of the speakership quickly today. but we stand ready to vote for hakeem jeffries. we stand ready to work across the aisle on issues that work for working families. >> one of the frustrations for johnson from republicans as they think he works too much with democrats. do you worry if it's not johnson, someone else could become speaker who may be harder to work with? >> you know, listen, here is how we view it. those who say there has been too much working with democrats are working -- missing the point of government. this is what we are supposed to

do, come from different parts of the country, different ideologies, different experiences, bring that to make a better product. what we have seen from the last session of congress and continuing into the 119th, is that republicans are consumed with fighting among themselves. and so, where does that leave us as a country? nevermind as a house of representatives. and the only voices they appear to be listening to are those of the billionaire class and this whole thing is a set up for more relief of the very highest, richest, most powerful people in this country and we have seen this play out time and time again, that democrats six times in the last congress had to be the ones to supply the votes to the majority, coming together to compromise to prevent a shutdown, to prevent

when they took our economy hostage over the debt ceiling crisis that they manufactured. so democrats are going to continue to be that voice for the american people. for making sure that we come back to solutions they are asking for and they deserve. we will work with anyone across the aisle who is going to do that, but if they want to continue to the economy against hard-working americans, we will stand in opposition of that. >> congresswoman katherine clark, thank you . heading into the 119th congress in today's vote for speaker. we appreciate it. stay with us as we track developments on the speaker vote expected to begin sometime in the next hour. can the president-elect's endorsement save the speakership? plus, new details about the las vegas cybertruck explosion.

and we're learning as we are getting more information about the terror attack in new orleans as the victims' families speak about the pain. one woman tells us the last time she spoke to her sister was midnight on new year's eve just hours before the senseless tragedy. >> i didn't know that was going to be her last experience. her . , easy-to-use tools and paper trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. e*trade from morgan stanley. power e*trade's easy-to-use tools make complex trading less complicated. custom scans can help you find new trading opportunities, while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. e*trade from morgan stanley. ♪♪ here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need,

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biden announced he and first lady jill biden will travel to new orleans on monday. this comes as we are getting multiple new developments about the terror attack on bourbon street that claimed the lives of 14 and innocent -- injured dozens more. nbc's tom llamas has the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: overnight crowds slowly returning to bourbon street, now reopened for the first time since the tragic new year's day attack. this comes as we are learning more about the army veteran that killed 14 and injured dozens more driving a truck at high speed through the iconic french quarter. >> this was a loan actor. therefore we are confident we can open bourbon street. >> reporter: according to two senior law enforcement officials the fbi recovered a significant amount of bomb

making materials and chemicals at the texas home of the suspect, shamsud-din jabbar. new video showing the inside of his home obtained by our houston affiliates. authorities now have a timeline leading up to the horrific incident. investigators say jabbar rented a pickup truck in houston on december 30th, drove to new orleans on new year's eve posting online along the way proclaiming support for the terrorist group isis. >> jabbar explained he initially planned to harm his family and friends but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the, quote, war between the believers and disbelievers. >> reporter: authorities releasing these images showing jabbar placing homemade explosive devices on bourbon street. the coolers packed with pipe bombs that luckily did not go off. for the first time we are hearing from jabbar's brother who told our affiliate the

family is shocked. >> this is in no way a direct representation of who he was as a person and as a human being. >> reporter: he said jabbar grew up muslim but is not aware of any ties to isis. surveillance video shows the moment the truck came to the street at high speed. the chief medical officer where some of the injured are being treated -- >> have you ever seen anything like this? >> not to this extent. this is probably the largest influx of patients at one time. >> reporter: jeremy is one of the survivors. >> the pieces were all over the place. >> reporter: this picture shows the aftermath of the wreckage where you can see what's left of this wheelchair. president biden saying federal law enforcement agents are investigating whether there is a connection between the attacks in new orleans and las vegas but right now they have not found a definitive link.

>> i have directed them to keep looking. >> reporter: overnight, bourbon street still without barriers. the city adding these to sidewalks, which it had on hand before the attack but was not using. >> actually we have them. i did not know that we have them. we have been able now to put them out. >> our thanks to tom llamas for that reporting. let's get out live to bourbon street in new orleans. jesse kirsch, i know you have been out there for a while. what does security look like? >> reporter: yes, ana. we've got music playing and people walking about. if you turn around, you can see trucks, delivery trucks amongst all of the people walking out here as well. it's our understanding this is

normal to see traffic because you've got deliveries and those kinds of things going on with the road open over here. as we make a full turnaround in this intersection, i don't see any uniformed police officers, a sharp contrast from what we have seen last night. of course the number of people out here right now is a fraction compared to what i saw last night but i think it's worth noting we are couple of days after this attack, there is a memorial at the end of bourbon street, people coming to pay respects over there, people doing tourism over here, businesses over here. with the city under a microscope, i do not see a police officer out here. there has been a patrol car making lapse in the area at least a couple of times but it is such a difference from what i saw last night. i want to show you video from last night, ana, and i believe you will put it up on video while i keep talking here.

music was blasting. people were in the bars. i saw police, military police and camouflage. there was a lot of law enforcement in the area. there were clear vulnerabilities down side streets including the intersection where i am right now in that direction on the other side of where our camera is. i will come over to the curb as i keep talking, ana . i saw nothing more than these kinds of barricades. i can move this with my hand. it is a bike rack style barricade. these were up at two intersections we examined and there were cars going by so presumably if someone wanted to carry out a similar ramming attacks, this would be the only thing stopping them. police were parallel parked along the side of the road, not blocking these side streets. let's come over here a bit. this was one of the side streets we looked at yesterday. traffic was over there for a

full block. this is an access point to bourbon street. they had these barricades along the side walks. as you can see, there is no barrier permanently affixed to the ground so anything over here would have to be temporary. they have these now, these barriers along bourbon street. our team has learned according to the manufacture of these, the city of new orleans has had these since 2017. had bought some in 2017, but the city said they were not out on new year's eve and the police superintendent yesterday said she didn't even know the city owned these until these events have unfolded, so there are a lot of outstanding questions about what went into security preparation, why you did not know you had these for a major event like new year's eve and the bowl game the next day. tens of thousands in town for the football game. a lot of

questions and we are about a month away from the super bowl in this city, ana. >> jesse kirsch, thank you. for more on the security questions that are remaining i want to bring in the former new orleans police superintendent. also joining us, retired fbi agent and criminal profiler, with the a forensic science program at george mason university. michael, you know bourbon street well and you were there not long ago. i know you exited in 2019. first, your reaction from the reporting from jesse and tom. >> first of all, thank you for having me. my heart goes out to the victims and the to those who immediately confronted and neutralized the threat with great courage and bravery. you know, this is unacceptable. the chief bought those.

the mayor made the investment. bourbon street. we fortify to prevent large gatherings of people who congregate and fortify all of these entrances to bourbon street. we've got it up on the screen right now. we wanted to protect the people on bourbon street from that type of incident. we have learned as we saw yesterday when i was there is a large city vehicle, a truck, a fire engine was blocking the entrance to bourbon street now and when i was there yesterday at noon, there were only three or four feet along each side

allowing a car to pass. why are the side streets not fortified now? it is a residential area as well, so people come and go. deliveries have to be made because there is no delivery access on the side streets or behind the businesses and restaurants, so deliveries have to be made. >> right. >> why are there metal barricades not there with officers to support the flow of traffic and navigate the flow of traffic? those are questions that have to be asked because they have to fortify bourbon street for tonight, a popular night. and every night leading up to the super bowl. >> right. it is heading into the weekend tonight and last night was the sugar bowl in the afternoon so there is a dynamic situation on the ground all the way to the super bowl.

in the meantime we just got reporting from tom winter several law enforcement agencies have released an analysis, documents related to this isis inspired terror attack that happened in new orleans and they contain several themes including the attack has been celebrated by isis supporters online, the vehicle ramming attacks remain highly viable option for terrorists, and there is the possibility for copycats. what concerned you the most? >> well, two things that are very concerning. the first, the copycat elements because we know after events like this, mass shootings, school shootings, we know there are people out there at home somewhere or in their garages considering doing this so when they see how much attention this gets, how important in their own minds they can become, infamy can become compelling.

they will be motivated to buy isis or their own ideology so copycats are certainly a major concern and law enforcement knows that. the whole issue is to put as much information out there as possible so people that are close to these individuals will see some of the warning signs and learn the warning signs like we saw in the new orleans case. unfortunately what is documented thus far is the leakage of the videotapes that were uploaded between the time he drove from houston into new orleans where in the videos he talked about his ideology and motivation but those are exactly the kinds of behaviors we look for so there can be some kind of intervention. >> i want to ask you more about that radicalization that apparently happened because this attacker went -- underwent a pretty stark transformation. he was described as a good

student, model soldier, a loving brother, son, father. his military commander had spoken out publicly since this awful event expressing shock. it looked like you went through a recent divorce. he had some financial trouble. does this seem like someone vulnerable to radicalization? >> at this point we don't have all the information about him. in the recent past he was vulnerable, susceptible to this ideology and that probably has to do with his personal life combined with some failures in his professional life. if someone doesn't have the vulnerabilities, they are not going to be susceptible or as susceptible to the isis ideology. that commitment to that ideology is very powerful and requires a full 100% commitment. looking at his personal life and the failures or his perceptions of his failures

become important, but it is not an overnight commitment to the ideology. it has to be an ongoing commitment that could take weeks or months where not only does he change his behavior -- and this is really important -- he has to not only do that but yes the changes thinking about life and people in life and how he feels about the human race. for example, we know in his videos at least from what has been reported that he talked about considering killing his own family after calling them together for a celebration. that is extremely cold-blooded behavior and 99.9% of people going through contentious divorce is don't even consider something like that. already that connection with the radical ideology -- that, again, he was mentally ready to do that, so they will go back months to see how he was almost

cultivated from an emotional and from a critical thinking perspective to take on this crime and carry it out in 100% full commitment. >> there is so much to learn in order to prevent something like this from happening again and there are obviously multi- facets to this investigation. michael, i want to come back to the location of this attack. the new york times is reporting there was an assessment five years ago warning the bollards designed to block vehicles from entering bourbon street did not appear to work and this security firm recommended fixing the barriers immediately. they even said the two modes of terror attack likely to be used are vehicular ramming and active shooting. it was mentioned during your time as police superintendent wrapped up in 2019, but did you know anything during that

assessment? >> i learned about that, but that was out of our concern. the city put bollards up. not the bollards working in the street to stop vehicles from turning into the street. this went alongside the sidewalk, so we have to consider how we prevent that and take what we have learned. we were double fortifying bourbon street by adding large utility vehicles to block bourbon street. an incident that do not have bollards on the street, we had to fortify with something really, really sturdy to prevent that. we put the bollards in to prevent that. but this person was -bent on committing this mass carnage and this mass amount of killing. he had bombs he could have detonated. he would have completed his

mission in a different way even if he could not get his vehicle onto bourbon street and that is important for people to hear. he was prepared to die and prepare to kill a lot of people . had he not been able to get on bourbon street with his car, he would have taken a gun or detonated the devices in a different way. the city must consider how to fortify the street, fortify sidewalks, and allow people in vehicles to not be able to do this but we have to think about bombs and other forms of attack as well. >> we heard yesterday at the press conference someone asked a question about could bomb sniffing dogs been useful ahead of time? could they have been useful? what are your thoughts on that, michael? >> well, canine dogs can detect explosives and are typically deployed along bourbon street, at the superdome, at major

events, and those dogs are used pretty frequently. it is unknown if the dog could have found the pipe bombs but where people congregate in large numbers on a frequent basis, they are protected however this person was hell- bent on hurting a lot of people and causing a lot of harm. he would have done it in a different way, which is an important note to make. >> and not just new orleans but cities across the country and jurisdictions all over the place are taking a second look at security. thank you, michael harrison and mary ellen o'toole. appreciate you joining us. up next, what the driver in the las vegas cybertruck explosion did just before.

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now back for a limited time. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities™. this morning we are learning new details about the cybertruck explosion in front of the trump hotel in las vegas on new year's day. officials say there is mounting evidence pointing to master sergeant in the special forces unit as a person of interest but they are waiting on dna tests to positively identify his body. >> his body is burned beyond recognition and i do not have confirmation 100% that is the individual that was inside our vehicle. further complicating the identification of this individual, we also discovered through the coroner's office the individual had sustained a gunshot wound to the head prior

to the detonation of the vehicle. >> joining us now, nbc's tom winter. tom, what more are we learning about the person believed to be the driver? >> reporter: he has been identified by the las vegas metropolitan police department. look, when you look at this, i think this is someone who had a deep personal crisis. how that specifically happened, was in a relationship he was in? was it a relationship with his wife? was there an injury that perhaps was suffered while he was in the military? you are looking at his service record right there. there is no doubt because everything that was purchased or used here was purchased or used recently including the semi automatic handgun he used for the self-inflicted gunshot wound. he died by suicide prior to the explosion we are looking at

here. i caution you have been using the word bomb this is more of an incendiary device. he has the basic technical training being in the unit he was in in the army to know this is not a bomb that would cause any more damage than the damage we are seeing here. look at the glass of the chandeliers, the glass of the hotel. it's not even broken. that's the front entrance of the trump hotel. this was not something designed to cause mass casualties or mass damage here. this is someone who looked like they hit a point in crisis and it is fortunate no one else was killed in this, although several were injured. >> anything on motive? given this was at the trump hotel with a tesla cybertruck. was this politically motivated? >> reporter: that's a good question and at this point we are at a place in the investigation they are thinking that is less and less the case.

does this have to do with donald trump or elon musk or tesla? pick a reason but this appears to be a personal reason. there is more work needs to be done on that and they are conducting interviews. the fbi is conducting interviews and multiple states with individuals that knew him, interviews abroad, since he was unauthorized leave from service there but this is trending more towards nothing to do with politics even though the location bears the president- elect's name. >> thank you for bringing us that update. appreciate it. now to capitol hill. the congress will convene in the next hour. the nameplate was changed for the first time in 18 years from mitch mcconnell to john thune and on the house side the new congress will begin with speaker mike johnson. still not clear if he has the votes needed to hold onto the speaker's gap oh.

thomas massie of kentucky has already said he will vote against johnson. here is what massie said yesterday. >> you can pull all of my fingernails out and shove bamboo up into them. you can start cutting off my fingers. i'm not voting for mike johnson tomorrow and you can take that to the bank. >> definitely a no for johnson. let's get to capitol hill. julie tsirkin is with us. also with us, the former press secretary for paul ryan and our msnbc political analyst. julie, what is the very latest? will massie vote no? >> reporter: what makes you think he is such a hard no, ana? in all seriousness, he's the only no that johnson knows that will not get them into the s column, but there are 12 holdouts that you can see on your screen. they are keeping their cards

close to their vest and we will not know how they vote until they are going through the process on the floor. this will be alphabetical which is good for us. we could see names like lauren boebert in the b category. we will see how this will go for johnson if he ends up winning or losing in the first round just because of that. i mentioned some of those 12 holdouts. johnson has been working the phones in and out of his office trying to get them in his corner because if he loses any more votes, he will lose the gavel. just one vote because of this razor thin majority. just two voting for someone else other than johnson, johnson loses the gavel. we will have to watch in the next hour and a half, ana. >> any sense of what the sticking points are within his own party? >> reporter: in all honesty the biggest sticking point for johnson is the razor thin majority.

mccarthy had a similar problem. if he tells some of the hardliners and gives in to their demands, like a chip roy, there are others who want him to commit to fiscal spending cuts, some of which you cannot say yes to because he will lose moderate members in the middle. what's different for johnson and mccarthy, we saw 15 rounds of voting two years ago and it took five days for mccarthy to get the gavel. of course, trump is in his corner. the biggest endorsement coming out this morning saying in multiple posts he has spent time with johnson over the new year holiday. trump knows that without johnson in the speaker chair or anyone else that can get to 218, all business halts. that means his election cannot be certified on january 6th. his legislative agenda items can't get settled either. trump knows that. he is still in his corner. that does not mean though the

12 will listen to him. >> kevin mccarthy held out on deals to secure his election as speaker in 2023 eventually after he had to go through 15 ballots to get there. just this morning johnson is saying he will not make any details with anyone and there is no quid pro quo. what you think of johnson's position? >> reporter: that was kevin mccarthy's position for a long time as well. at some point something has to change if you don't get to 218 or whatever the number ends up being. the problem is some of the things these folks want are things he can't promise. he can't promise a certain spending cut will be able to get through the senate and that is ultimately what this comes down to. there are now and have been for several congresses to be fair house members unwilling to accept some of the realities

that come with government. you have to be able to get things through the senate and that's a tough concept for people to swallow. you have to do things in a bipartisan way sometimes. that's what thought kevin mccarthy kicked out in the first place. he passed the short-term spending bill that only funded the government for a few weeks and that was enough to have him removed from office. when you have a small number of people and that is their view that these small compromises are worthy of kicking someone out, it makes the job and possible so i think mike johnson will eventually get there but all of this is a preview for the grief he will catch time and time again for everything he has to do as a leader governing this body. he can make promises. it's just there is a certain reality he will not be able to meet some of them. >> again, it took days and multiple rounds. what could that mean for the

republicans' ability to govern and get things done? >> reporter: i think we saw this in the last congress. after mccarthy's failed speaker vote and time and time again when republicans wanted to do something they were unable to put up their own votes to pass things. if you have the majority, you can do basically anything you want but if you don't have the majority, you can't do anything and time and time again they were unable to pull together a majority of republicans to fund the government or increase the debt limit, basic things they wanted to do. first kevin mccarthy and then mike johnson made a deals and ironically moved legislation to the left, not to the right as a result of what the hardliners are asking for. i imagine we will see that play out time and time again here. what concerns me for johnson, again, i don't think this is mike johnson's fault. you could name chip roy speaker

of the house and it would be the same reality. there is no way of avoiding what i've just described, going to hakeem jeffries, the democrats and asking for their votes on things to do throughout the year and what do the people do to him at that point? i worry he will find himself in the same situation kevin mccarthy found himself in. he could be facing threats before long as well. >> we will see. brendan buck, julie tsirkin, thank you both. how far will trump go to make sure johnson is reelected as speaker? more on what is at stake, next. lakesha: childhood cancer is-- it's a long road. it's hard. but st. jude has gotten us through it. st. jude is hope that you have a chance at life.

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continuing to follow the breaking news on capitol hill as the house will be meeting very soon to vote for its next speaker and mike johnson is facing an uphill battle. he can only afford to lose one gop vote to maintain the gavel if all democrats do not vote for him. today's vote marks an early test for president-elect trump in whether his endorsement will be enough to help johnson win reelection as speaker. nbc's gabe gutierrez joins us from west palm beach, florida. speaker johnson as we know went to mar-a-lago this week to meet with the president-elect. what are you learning about the impact trump support might be having on republicans? has trump been able to convince the holdouts to vote for johnson? >> reporter: hi there, ana.

good morning. this will be a massive test of party unity and, yes, earlier today president-elect trump posted on his truth social platform once again reiterating his endorsement for speaker mike johnson. the president-elect knows this is a key test as a set of party unity and his influence over his agenda in the coming months as well with regards to mike johnson. look, the relationship between the speaker and president-elect trump has been rocky at times but especially over the last few months, he has gotten very close to the speaker in many respects. there was a bump in the road several weeks ago with regard to the debt ceiling and avoiding a government shutdown but president-elect trump has been practical. he knows he needs mike johnson in order to advance his agenda in the first days of his administration, though he is throwing his full support behind him.

as you were speaking to julie moments ago, thomas massie is the only holdout we know of but we should find out in the next hour or so whether or not president-elect trump endorsement, whether it indeed will keep all of the republican house members in line, ana. >> i'm curious about the relationship between trump and johnson and how it may have evolved recently. the president-elect went from not supporting johnson for a few weeks ago, at least not committing to supporting johnson, to giving his total endorsement and sing a win for johnson is a win for the party. how close is their relationship and what they have shifted for trump this week? >> reporter: look, the practicality of it all, ana. the president-elect knows he needs mike johnson at this point so putting aside any personal feelings for him, look, i was at mar-a-lago for the new year's eve party and he was asked about mike johnson.

he said he believes he has the votes. of course, that could be wishful thinking but the president-elect is betting on this. he is betting that what he views as a mandate this upcoming election, he will be able to get these house members in line. on new year's eve, he was asked if he had placed any direct calls to some of these house members and he said he had not at that point but he would if necessary. reporting suggests he has made those calls in the past several days. we know president-elect trump's motorcade arrived at the golf club in palm beach county a short while ago. >> gabe gutierrez, thank you. keep us posted. a brand-new congress on capitol hill. the house is electing a new speaker. you already know that. why we could see another as mike johnson tries to hold onto

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♪♪ keeping a close eye on capitol hill. speak are johnson just gavelled in there on the house chamber and this is the 119th congress about to convene in just a few minutes. there will be a call to order, prayer, pledge of allegiance and the first order of business to elect a new house speaker. it's not clear how long that could take. mike johnson may not have the votes needed for the first ballot. melanie, you and your team at punchbowl have new reporting about where key lawmakers stand this morning on johnson. what are you learning? >> it looks like mike johnson is locking down some critical votes over these last few hours. he is in a stronger position heading into the vote than even a couple of hours ago. i am told that the house freedom caucus huddled this morning, had

a long debate about how they are feeling. i am told that several previous people who were either on the fence or uncommitted now say that they are going to back nigeria-mike johnson and the reason is because they are viewing it as a vote for donald trump's agenda. i caught up with one of those previous hold-outs, eli crane from arizona, he voted against kevin mccarthy in the previous battles and he told me he is probably going to vote for mike johnson here coming up. so that is a huge positive development for mike johnson. it comes after he has been making calls and having meetings, after donald trump is making calls on his behalf, lobbying people like congressman chip roy. that being said, that doesn't mean he has the votes necessarily on the first round. he is working with incredibly tight margins. he has one hard no, thomas massie from kentucky. so based on our math, he can likely afford to lose only one other republican in order to keep this speakers gavel. several other republicans are still uncommitted at this point.

including andy bigs, the chip roy, another member i mentioned and victoria sparks, a wild card for the leadership team the past few years. there is growing confidence in mike johnson's orbit that he will land this plane if not on the first ballot, maybe the second or third. but again there is zero room for error here. >> that's right. it's it could get dicey. thank you so much for being here with us. that's it for us today. i will be back monday at ten eastern. andrea mitchell is in the seat and picks up our coverage right now. ♪♪ good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. a big day on capitol hill. just blocks from here at the u.s. capitol the 119th congress is getting underway. in the senate it will be business as usual. vice president harris president of the senate will swear in 32 new and re-