10 a.m. eastern. and yes, starting that night, monday night next week, i will be here with you at 9 p.m. that night and all week long, five nights a week. i'll be here five nights a week for the first 100 days of donald trump's presidency. alex wagner will be reporting nationwide and overseas on the first 100 days of trumpland. we're all making an extraordinary effort for what we know is an extraordinary time. these first 100 days, looking very much forward to spending it here with you. way too early with ali. vitali is next. >> here's to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty in many respects. >> so that's something that has to be factored in. i think there should probably be conditions on that aid. that's my personal view. we'll see what the consensus is. i haven't had a chance to socialize that with any of the members over the

weekend, because we've all been very busy, but it'll be part of the discussion for sure. >> that was house speaker mike johnson yesterday, telling reporters he supports conditions being attached to aid for the southern california wildfires. >> the question is, are republicans really going to play politics with desperately needed relief for the los angeles area? plus, jack smith releases his team's report on donald trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. >> the question is, was the special counsel confident the case would have resulted in a conviction? >> and president biden delivers his final foreign policy speech suggesting a ceasefire and hostage deal could be imminent. the question is, can negotiators finally agree to terms that would end the 15 month conflict between israel and hamas? it's way too early for this. >> good morning and welcome to way too early, the show that dives into 170 page legal

reports. >> while most people are hopefully still asleep. i'm ali vitali on this tuesday, january 14th and we'll start with the news. >> strong winds are expected to return to los angeles today, posing a new danger for the wildfires ravaging the area. >> officials say the winds, which could reach up to 70 miles an hour, may lead to explosive fire growth. >> it comes as the fires have burned through nearly 40,000 acres, destroying thousands of homes. >> fortunately, though, the winds are expected to die down by wednesday evening. meanwhile, firefighters say they've made significant progress in battling the two largest wildfires in the area. the eaton fire is now 33% contained, while the palisades fire is at 14%, the hurst fire is 97% contained. meanwhile, donald trump and his team are engaged in active conversations about having the president elect visit los angeles to survey the devastation himself. that's according to two sources familiar with the discussions. >> it comes as trump has repeatedly criticized the state and local officials in

california for their response to the deadly fires. >> california governor gavin newsom stated that he'd invited trump to come to los angeles, but hadn't yet received a response. democratic congresswoman judy chu, who represents altadena, one of the most affected areas, said she also planned to invite trump and house speaker mike johnson to see the area to vote during the campaign. trump made a point of visiting disaster sites before president biden or vice president harris or vice president harris, including the site of a train derailment in east palestine, ohio. joining us now live from pacific palisades is nbc's jay gray. jay, what's the situation where you are right now and how have things changed since we last spoke yesterday? >> yeah, ali, i can tell you that the wind has picked up. it's a sustained wind that has really gained some intensity, though not extreme at this point by any means. we also see stepped up patrols through this area. police checking for looters. though there's not a

lot to steal in a place like this. and then fire teams that are looking for hotspots, making sure that they take care of what they can before these winds start to really intensify and you can see the devastation, it's really overwhelming and stretches for miles. and the big concern right now is that this footprint could expand over the next 48 hours or so. we do have what national weather service los angeles is calling an extreme and particularly dangerous wind event coming up here. here's what the forecast says. they say that as the sun starts to come up, the winds will really start to intensify, that we'll see those winds start to build and be more sustained. and then by mid-morning, they expect the winds to reach their peak. and that includes, as you talked about, gusts of 70 miles an hour or more. and then that's going to continue through tomorrow midday. so there's a

big concern about igniting embers and scattering those embers and new fires starting fanning the flames here, especially in pacific palisades, the biggest fire and the least contained at 14%. so that's why they're concerned that things could start to move, that the situation could change. and this wind, by the way, coming in more from a northerly direction, which is going to hit on areas that haven't been hit to this point. so i wouldn't be surprised if we see some of the evacuation orders expand and that more people are forced to leave their homes over the next couple of days here. investigators continuing to search out where and how these fires started. we know that there was a special team up in topanga national park, which is near the area where they believe this palisades fire started. but when talking with them, they're quick to point out it's likely going to be months, if not a full year, before they have a final determination on

everything with regards to how this started, and they're not ruling out anything at this point, including in this string of fires, arson for some of the blazes. >> yeah, it takes so much time to find answers, but there's so much urgency to get them. nbc's jay gray. we'll check back in with you on morning joe. thank you. >> and here in washington, special counsel jack smith's report on his investigation into donald trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election was released to the public overnight after an 11th hour legal challenge by the president elect failed. >> the report summarizes smith's investigation into trump's efforts to maintain power. >> it states in no uncertain terms that smith's team believed trump criminally attempted to subvert the will of the american people and overturn the 2020 election results for the election he lost. that, of course, culminated in the deadly january 6th attack on the u.s. capitol. the report states that trump spread claims that were, quote, demonstrably and in many cases obviously false, and that trump inspired his supporters to

commit acts of physical violence. smith concludes that if it wasn't for trump's election in november that prevented the prosecution from moving forward, quote, the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial. the report was released as trump says he's preparing to pardon an untold number of january 6th defendants. the report report. the report's release also marks special counsel smith's final official word on his investigation into january 6th. what's more, smith wrote a second volume of his report that one focused on the separate charges brought against trump over his handling of classified documents, but that part of the report was not released because charges against two of trump's co-defendants are still pending. jack smith resigned from the department of justice this past friday ahead of trump's inauguration. trump criticized the report on social media, posting at 1:41 a.m. eastern time in part. jack is a lame brained prosecutor who was unable to get his case tried before the election. let's bring in msnbc legal analyst danny

cevallos. danny, i know you've been reading in on this. >> i wonder if you've slept, but what are some of your early takeaways at this point? >> well, some of the early takeaways. and i'm seeing it called a bombshell report and some headlines. and i can't say that i agree with that assessment, if for no other reason than most of the facts in this report we've all been aware of for a very long time, either because jack smith had to file documents that really explained or fleshed out his his charges. we've had access to the indictment. there's been plenty of evidence that we learned about over the course of this prosecution, and the conclusion that jack smith felt he had enough to secure a conviction. that's no surprise, because the principles of federal prosecution require that he believe he can secure a conviction before you go get an indictment. but for many of us, i mean, reading about trump calling up the georgia secretary of state and asking needing to find 11,000 votes, that will

come as no surprise. that was reported long ago. we've known about it. it's all part of the case that we've known about. what's also interesting is that jack smith did acknowledge that the volume two of the report, the one involving the documents case in florida, can't be released. and i thought it was interesting that jack smith had it was a bit of a personal response, i would say, by jack smith to the allegations by donald trump, something he couldn't do as a prosecutor, but him essentially saying, look, this was not directed by the biden administration. merrick garland didn't control me. i made my own independent prosecutorial decisions. i thought that was a rare moment of looking inside the personality of jack smith, who was devoutly defending those on his team and the justice department. >> yeah. >> what does that tell you? that part struck me as well, danny. the fact that he would go so far as to say it was laughable that anyone would be able to influence his prosecution. it does show that as much as these reports are happening with steadfast prosecutors who are

just looking at the facts, nothing happens in a vacuum. and certainly there's a lot swirling in the political environment that is directly related to this kind of a report. >> yeah, i thought that was interesting for the reasons you said. i mean, federal prosecutors like jack smith play it straight down the middle. you're not going to get a lot of emotional responses. and we didn't from jack smith. he played it as straight as he. there was never any editorial in any of his press conferences. they were lasted 10s never heard any leaks from his team. and i think this was his final word. and i think probably if he's willing to admit it, he felt it was justified to maybe let a little bit of his own something some of the words he wanted to say, which is basically that the biden administration didn't control me. merrick garland did not control me. these were legitimate prosecutions, and i believe they were warranted irrespective of who the defendant was. and in this case, the defendant was the former president, president elect, and then soon to be president in a

few days. i thought that was very interesting, that he sort of it was sort of like it was the last day of school, and he felt emboldened to maybe just say a few things just before he leaves. and that was my sense, my takeaway, especially in the introduction that he penned to merrick garland. >> msnbc legal analyst danny cevallos joining us with short notice. >> we so appreciate you getting up, danny. >> thank you for your analysis. >> and the senate confirmation hearings for president elect donald trump's cabinet begin today with one of his most controversial selections, pete hegseth, trump's pick for defense secretary, will be the first to face lawmakers. yesterday, on the senate floor, minority leader chuck schumer laid out the democrats approach to these hearings. these hearings, in a very real way, are the opening salvo for holding the trump administration accountable to the public. we will use these hearings to show the contrast between donald trump's agenda of helping the special interests, especially the very wealthy, and the

democrats agenda to fight for working americans. >> nominees should expect tough, candid, but fair questioning. >> we're going to see contrast in the process itself, though, because some of trump's picks, like senator marco rubio for secretary of state, are expected to have smooth confirmation paths. but republican senator john cornyn of texas told reporters last week that the whole process could be, quote, a little bit of a train wreck that might be being kind. still, tomorrow, seven of trump's nominees will go before committees. four others will have their hearings on thursday. and coming up still ahead this morning, president biden is touting his foreign policy accomplishments in his final days in office. we'll play for you some of his remarks from the state department. plus, israel and hamas appear to be closer to securing a cease fire deal. what we're learning about the negotiations and the hostages who may be released. those stories and a check on the weather when we come right back.

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trial. >> welcome back. president biden delivered a wide ranging address yesterday at the state department in his final foreign policy speech as president. during his remarks, he touched on the war in ukraine, iran's newfound struggles and the strong hand. his administration is set to turn over. >> today, i can report to the american people. our adversaries are weaker than they were when we came into this job four years ago. just consider russia. when putin invaded ukraine, he thought he'd conquer kyiv in a matter of days. the truth is, since that war began, i'm the only one that stood in the center of kyiv. not him who never had. think about it, new challenges will certainly emerge in the months and years ahead. but even. but even so, it's clear my administration is leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play. and we're leaving them and

america with more friends and stronger alliances whose adversaries are weaker and under pressure, and america that once again is leading, uniting countries, setting the agenda, bringing others together behind our plans and visions. >> and as the administration comes to a close, the white house is pushing for a ceasefire deal between israel and hamas that could be finalized within days, according to u.s. officials. under the proposal, hamas would release the first hostages 48 hours after the ceasefire begins. however, one of those u.s. officials warns the hostages to be released first are in, quote, very bad shape. the remaining hostages, which include americans, would be released later. israeli prime minister netanyahu has invited families of the hostages for a meeting today in conjunction with the deal. the plan also includes israel withdrawing from gaza's populated areas to the border. and still ahead this

morning, the rams are giving los angeles something to cheer about. we'll have the highlights from last night's playoff win over the vikings. plus, the lakers and clippers return home to southern california after nearly a week without games because of the wildfires burning across the region. those stories and a check on the weather forecast when way too early comes right back. but first, we want to know why are you awake? email your reasons to way too early@msnbc.com or tell me on social media at ali vitali using the hashtag way too early. we're going to read our favorite going to read our favorite answers later in the show. 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! sore throat got your tongue? mucinex instasoothe sore throat medicated drops,

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for the touchdown. >> minnesota vikings quarterback sam darnold gets sacked and fumbles the ball, which is then picked up and returned 57 yards the other way for a los angeles rams touchdown in the second quarter. >> the rams crippled the vikings last night in a dominant defensive performance, limiting minnesota to one field goal until just the final minutes while sacking darnold, an nfl playoff record tying nine times in the game. >> they beat the vikings 27 to 9 and secure the final spot in the divisional round. short week for the rams, who will play on the road this sunday against the philadelphia eagles to decide who will play for the nfc championship. meanwhile, in dallas, mike mccarthy will not return next season as head coach of the cowboys. owner jerry jones making the announcement yesterday after a disappointing 710 finish this season. not that disappointing. mccarthy, whose contract expired with the cowboys last week, had a 49 and 35 record in his five seasons as coach, but managed just one playoff victory in that time. he's expected to interview for head coaching jobs with the

chicago bears and the new orleans saints. meanwhile, former cowboys cornerback and current colorado coach deion sanders now is reportedly being considered as a potential candidate to fill that open role in dallas. now to the nba and a return to home arenas in southern california for the los angeles lakers and clippers about to play their first game after a six day layoff due to the wildfires surrounding downtown los angeles. the lakers held a moment of silence prior to tipoff against the san antonio spurs, and dedicated last night's contest to the l.a. community and the first responders, working tirelessly to provide relief from the deadly and destructive blaze. the clippers, meanwhile, returned to host the miami heat about ten miles south in englewood. the team honored first responders and fire victims in a video message there before the game, and gave out white towels featuring the words l.a. strong and a blue image of the state of california. and now for the latest on the california wildfires, let's go to meteorologist angie lassman. angie, a lot of impact from the

winds there on the ground, right? >> yeah. ali, you're exactly right. and those are going to increase here as the morning goes on. so no surprise that we have this red flag warning extending basically from san luis obispo all the way down to the mexican border. these winds are going to ramp up today. and we've got what's called a particularly dangerous situation with that red flag warning. these are fairly rare to be issued by the national weather service. only a handful here in recent years. and we've got these extremely critical fire weather conditions lasting through the day today and potentially into the middle of the workweek. here's what's going on as far as our winds are concerned. >> later this morning, we'll see the strongest of the wind gusts in the next 36 hour period. >> that's 50 to 75 mile per hour winds expected. you can see, especially in those higher elevations. that's where it's going to be more likely as we get into this afternoon and into the evening, really, we'll start to see those wind gusts weaken slightly. >> so we go down to maybe 40 to 55 miles miles per hour. >> we'll still keep the humidity levels low this entire time. and as we get into the overnight period, we'll see those ramp up again. >> and where they peak,

somewhere around 65 to 70mph once more. >> by the time we get into tomorrow, though, this santa ana wind event is going to start to diminish. >> we'll see those wind gusts coming down 25 to 45mph. >> so we've got basically a 24 hour period where there's some fluctuation and no surprise with the really dry vegetation, those dry. that dry air in place and of course, the strong winds that we do have an extreme risk extending from glendora through santa clarita and down through thousand oaks. much of the area, though under a critical risk as well. so we'll keep an eye on that out there. meanwhile, here comes the cold air. we've got temperatures about ten degrees in minneapolis today, topping out into the teens for chicago, 20 for cincinnati and even as far south as nashville, just a high of 46 degrees for us. we'll keep this chilly air in place across much of the east as we go through the next couple of days. >> ali andrew lassman keeping us posted on all of it. >> thank you. >> still ahead this morning, the senate is set to begin its confirmation hearing for pete hegseth. >> in just a few hours, we'll dig into what we can expect to hear as the former fox news host makes the case to be the next

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nine tablets for just $7 is try friday plans.com. everything's gone down 165 seats empty. that doesn't strike you as odd. >> why is there so much secrecy around this? >> your government knew. >> they all knew. >> the truth must be known. >> the show began and continues being the place to have the hard conversations. welcome back to way too early. it's just about 530 on the east coast, 230 out west. i'm ali vitali. in just a few hours, president elect donald trump's pick to head the department of defense, pete hegseth, will appear before the senate armed services committee. the former fox news host and veteran is among the most controversial of trump's picks, with multiple allegations and scandals coming to light since he was announced for the

position late last year. members of the committee huddled for a briefing on the fbi background check into hegseth yesterday. after the briefing, senator jack reed, the committee's ranking member, says he looks forward to hearing directly from hegseth himself. >> well, it raises significant questions, and that's the purpose of our hearing tomorrow to ask thoughtful questions and to give him the opportunity to respond. and we've very well, i hope, prepared to be balanced and objective as possible and to get answers that will bear on his ability to be the secretary of defense. >> but then there's this. nbc news reports that the contents of the report may be lacking. the fbi's security check of hegseth does not include interviews with any of his ex-wives, or the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017. that's according to three sources with direct knowledge of that background check. hegseth has denied any wrongdoing in

that case, and the local district attorney in california declined to file charges in the sexual assault case, saying there was no proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the assault took place. democratic lawmakers, though, are sounding that's been left out of the report. joining us now to break it down, congressional reporter for axios and the coauthor of the axios hill leaders newsletter, steph kite. steph, first let's talk about what may be the gaps in this report. i was hearing about this for weeks. senators trying to ask questions and make sure that as much was in there as possible. but when you hear that they're not talking to his former spouses, which is typical for a background check like this, they're not going into the sexual assault allegation. what does it tell you about the information that senators are working off of, and the information that the trump transition team allowed or didn't allow to be in the background check? >> it's certainly a concern for democratic senators, especially, who want all the information possible as they go into this initial hearing as they weigh.

one of the most controversial trump nominees here. they're particularly interested in many of these allegations of misconduct by hegseth, whether it's his treatment of women in the past, his excessive drinking. right. there are a lot of issues at stake here. and democrats want more information on, on, on all of those scenarios. and they feel like they're not going to be able to get that information. they've also been fighting for more access to see what the fbi files that they do have, even say, of course, only the ranking member and the chairman of the armed services committee were given a briefing on those fbi background checks. >> even schumer said, i haven't seen it. those are the rules, right? >> those are the rules. and, you know, i was on the hill yesterday asking people, you know, is this president. it does seem that committees this has been the president and many committees that really is just the chairman and the ranking member who have access. but there have been exceptions in the past, especially when you're dealing with people who are facing allegations of the sort that hegseth is. it could be more likely that there would be more of a push for people to have more access to those files. and it's interesting that after pushing for more access to the files now, democrats are saying we don't even think that they

did enough to really dig into some of the issues we feel like there are with hegseth. >> i would also be interested to hear from senator susan collins and senator lisa murkowski, two republican senators who told me, i want to see these background checks. absolutely. >> also, joni ernst, who's another one who early on was was not fully on board with pete hegseth. she's a combat veteran herself. and of course, hegseth has made comments in the past saying that women should not serve in combat. so she's another one to watch. who sits on that armed services committee, who i will be very eager to see how how aggressive she is in her questioning of hegseth. >> yeah, she could stand in the way of him even getting out of committee, let alone the fight that he's going to have on the full floor. and then there's hegseth himself. and i know you have some exclusive reporting this morning about the opening remarks that he's going to make to set the tone for this hearing. what's he expected to say? >> yeah, axios did get a handle, a handle on his remarks. we're expecting to hear him say early later this morning. and one through line of his remarks is kind of embracing this idea that he is not a standard issue.

secretary of defense. and he's embracing that. he's saying, you know, we haven't seen past your normal issues, secretary's work. he's kind of embracing that. he's a different kind of person. he, you know, and it's another example of trump really embracing these disruptors. and we see that embrace that and really say that that's actually a feature, not a bug. and addressing those concerns that way. he does not specifically address some of these allegations of sexual misconduct and of other misconduct as well. in his opening remarks. we expect that to come as the questions start rolling in, and he kind of lays out his vision for how he wants to reform the defense department with some of the things that even i've heard from other veterans who are now on the hill, things like changing the way acquisitions work, allowing new contractors to have access to contracts with the government, you know, embracing new technologies. and that's really been his bid and his pitch to senators as he's been sitting down with him over the past few weeks, that he's going to be a change agent, and that's what he's focused on. >> yeah, it's interesting that he's focusing on the managerial

aspects, because even without the sexual assault allegations, even without the mismanagement of funds and the allegations that he abuses alcohol in some of his past roles, even without all of that, which is a lot of baggage to leave to the side, there would be questions about if he has the management skills and experience to lead a department as massive as this one. >> it's going to be a really fascinating hearing. >> congressional reporter for axios steph kight, thank you for joining us. and still ahead, what we're learning about the totally different singers who are set to perform at donald trump's inauguration next week. that's next on way too early. >> the first 100 days. it's a critical time for our country. and rachel maddow is on five nights a week. >> now is the time. so we're going to do it. >> settle in the rachel maddow show five nights a week beginning monday. msnbc premium

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asked to sing at the inauguration and be a small part of this historic event. other performers will include one of trump's favorite musical acts, the village people. their hit ymca has become an absolute staple at trump's rallies, along with macho man. the number of times those have been stuck in my head too many to count. the group is set to perform at one of trump's inaugural balls, and at a rally being held the day before he is sworn in. other acts, like country singer lee greenwood and opera singer christopher macchio are also set to participate in inauguration activities. and in california, stories of hope are rising from the ashes in los angeles county. nbc news correspondent liz kreutz was on hand to witness a joyful reunion for one resident after he lost his home in the fires. >> that was it. i couldn't go. we first met casey coleman amidst the chaos of evacuations. >> my boss is actually calling me, saying, is everything okay in the palisades? >> i said, i'm in the city. >> i don't know. the pacific palisades resident raced back, even renting a bike, trying to

get home to his two dogs inside, but couldn't get past the roadblock. >> i literally rescued him off the street. >> they deserve better than this. >> i'm so sorry. >> i'm so sorry. >> i'm sorry. how do i get to my house? >> a firefighter offered to go for him, knocking down his door, rescuing one of his two dogs, but the other oreo was still missing. >> i got the dog. >> yeah, this is my daughter. but what the. >> the behavioral dog. >> he ran out of the house. >> later that night, the palisades fire reduced casey's home to rubble. but his only concern. oreo. for five days, he was missing. then casey got a call. oreo spotted in the neighboring property. it's your daddy. >> hi, bobo. how's the fire? oh. hi, daddy. oh, honey. oh my god. >> it's the happy ending casey prayed for. oh, honey. >> oh, wow. >> and there's one person he really wanted to thank.

>> this guy saved your life. this guy saved your life. and you look like a ken doll. >> what's up dude? >> cal fire battalion chief brant pasqua. >> if that dog could talk, he. >> he would have a story to tell. >> yeah, he would have a national best seller. >> had he not knocked down that door, both dogs would have been trapped inside. >> casey, where do you want to say to brant? >> when i first met you, i was in the middle of crisis. >> i was in the middle of a firestorm. >> my dogs would have died if not for you. >> absolutely. beautiful story there. and still ahead, we've got more on those devastating wildfires in los angeles. congresswoman sydney kamlager of california will join us with an update on the relief efforts and the republican push to potentially condition federal aid for her state. way too early is coming right back with that. >> my experience with empire was amazing. the price that i got along with the service, the special attention, the one on special attention, the one on one you can't beat that.

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something you can sign and make official. >> start your will at trusted wilcom now and make it count. >> i just hope that republicans take care with what they're inheriting. >> the fallout from meta ceo mark zuckerberg's decision to end fact checking. >> what's your message to concerned voters about where the country may be headed after the biden administration leaves actually behind closed doors? they're still asking what the hell happened? >> house speaker mike johnson is backing placing conditions on federal aid for california amid those devastating wildfires. johnson made the comment to

reporters yesterday, blaming the fires on mismanagement and mistakes of local leaders, while floating the idea that relief could be tied to the debt limit. >> i think we've got to have a serious conversation about that. obviously, there has been water resource mismanagement, forest management mistakes, all sorts of problems, and it does come down to leadership. and it appears to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty in many respects. so that's something that has to be factored in. i think there should probably be conditions on that aid. that's my personal view. we'll see what the consensus is. i haven't had a chance to socialize that with any of the members over the weekend, because we've all been very busy, but it'll be part of the discussion for sure. >> what about the banks? >> what about time? >> that there's some some discussion about that and we'll see where it goes. >> in response, lawmakers are warning johnson that tying relief to the debt limit could set a new precedent as disaster prone states like florida and

louisiana, which also happens to be johnson's home state, could face similar issues if democrats win back the house. joining us now is democratic congresswoman sidney dove of california. we'll get to the politics of this moment in just a second because it's palpable. but i want to hear from you, your experience on the ground over the weekend as you surveyed the damage in your home state. >> so last night, i was on the phone with friends and family members who've lost everything in both the palisades and altadena. i didn't have enough tissue to get me through the night. saturday we toured altadena. entire blocks burned to the ground. sometimes just the chimney. we're standing. i mean, churches, business centers, the school where my young son went to school burned to the ground. it is devastating. >> absolutely devastating. and then you come back to washington and you start hearing this conversation about potentially conditioning the aid, tying it with the debt ceiling, which is as thorny an issue as any on

capitol hill. >> what's your initial reaction when you hear that? it makes me question what kind of christian speaker johnson is. i hope that he would sit down with his republican colleagues from california and listen to their stories as well. and i invite speaker johnson to my district that is suffering now, and to tour the devastation of those sites. and, look, those residents, those californians in the eye and tell them that their rescue is being conditioned because he wants to play partizan politics with california, it is untenable. >> well, even republican senator from north carolina, thom tillis, north carolina, of course, one of those states that just got the disaster relief aid at the end of the year for the damage from the storms that happened in the fall, said we shouldn't be doing this and playing this game with disaster funding. but it speaks to, i think, why we've seen so many members of the california delegation. your colleague, congresswoman chu, the governor himself, saying he wants the president elect to come to the area. he wants the speaker to come to the area. is that because they want them to see it

and then make sure that there's no retribution or party politics in this? >> when you're on the ground and you can feel the pain and you can see the devastation, and you see how much money is going to cost to rebuild. and you also recognize that the character of los angeles could change fundamentally. i think then you realize that they have we have to have the funds that we need and the flexibility to reconstruct. without these kinds of partizan discussions, i will say that california democrats have been working with california republicans on this issue. we are united. so speaker johnson needs to get behind the delegation. >> i was going to ask, what are those conversations like? >> i was on the floor and so many folks came up to give me a hug. let me tell you, there are republican donors who lost their homes, okay? >> everyone is feeling this hit. and we know that climate change does not look at your voter id to see if it's going to come for you or not. so we have to get real about what is needed. >> it's not atypical if a speaker doesn't go into damage like this, they can, but it's

not always the consistent thing. but what does it say if president elect trump, who will then be president trump in a week, ultimately doesn't go? and it is under discussion right now with his team, but it's not for sure. >> my understanding is that he's had conversations with the governor and mayor bass, both of whom have invited him. i was on the call last night on a call last night with the board of supervisors, and they're also interested in having him come. so i hope he does come out. and he has property in california. i think he has a vested interest in making sure that we have what we need to prepare for the world cup and the olympics, and so folks can go back to their homes. >> so i just want to make sure i understood, because when newsom had spoken to nbc over the weekend, he said he hadn't heard back from trump. but your understanding is that since then, my understanding is he is looking at coming out after the inauguration. >> of course, i don't have a crystal ball, but that was information i got last night. >> yeah, that certainly notable. and that's newsy. i wonder if you can zoom out a little bit. and what does it portend for this congress that it's starting

out in its second week talking about conditioning aid to what happens to be a blue state? >> i feel like we are running out of seat belts. that's how bumpy this congress has already, you know, begun to be. and we're not out of january. we have got to put the pitchforks down and start recognizing that we're all americans. the one thing that no leader can control is climate change. we are dealing with unprecedented winds. we are dealing with a drought that we have had and no rain since may. there is no president, governor or mayor who can control all of that. and so what we need to do is make sure that we are preparing for the next disaster so that we can mitigate it and mitigate the enormity of what we are seeing right now in california. >> yeah, and we are watching disasters in california. and then also hurricane damage be worse than ever. congresswoman, thank you for waking up early with us. >> and thank you for these updates from the ground. thank you. >> earlier in the show, for viewers, we asked you, why are you awake? katherine emails. i am on a business trip and i am

staying awake to get my free breakfast. great. go eagles! less great. this one from cheryl. today is my youngest son's birthday, and i had to get helium balloons set up to surprise him for when he wakes up. happy birthday. david. that's good. mom. messages i am a school crossing guard and need to get out early to keep the kids safe. janet, i hope you're somewhere warm, but thank you for the work you're doing. coming up next, gene robinson joins us with his new column for the washington post on what he calls the great schism and the latest war of words between trump's closest allies. and coming up on morning joe, the key takeaways from special counsel jack smith's highly anticipated final report on donald trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. plus, what to expect. hours from now, when pete hegseth, who is donald trump's controversial pick for defense secretary, faces u.s. senators in what could be a combative confirmation hearing on capitol hill. also ahead, award winning talk show host graham norton will be a guest. morning joe is

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and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! already been paid to settle thousands of victims claims, and you may be entitled to financial compensation. >> call legal injury advocates now to see if you qualify for a claim against the manufacturer. you're not alone in this fight, and there are no upfront costs to begin your journey to justice. call 1-800-811-7799. that's 1-800-811-7799. call now. >> new reaction. now, as the results of the presidential election reverberate, president elect trump's return to the white house has shaken nato allies. >> the federal reserve is widely expected to lower interest rates. >> firefighters on both coasts battling dangerous blazes from philadelphia to new hampshire. >> in israel, in el paso, from msnbc world headquarters.

>> a new opinion piece in the washington post is highlighting the growing rift among maga supporters now descending into an all out schism, specifically the escalating battle between the world's richest man, elon musk, and trump's one time chief strategist, steve bannon. the post's eugene robinson writes in part, quote, is bannon's rage simply over the fact that musk has replaced him at the mar-a-lago dinner table? i wouldn't discount jealousy as a motive, but there's also a substantive a substantive issue involved. bannon, whose credentials as a maga warrior are genuine. he served four months in federal prison for defying a subpoena from the january 6th committee. has long been a hardliner against immigration. musk is an equally fierce defender of the h-1b visa program that allows tech firms to bring skilled foreign workers into the country. joining us now, the author of that piece, pulitzer prize winning columnist and associate editor of the washington post, eugene robinson. he's also, of course, an msnbc political analyst. so, eugene, you talk about how this is both personal and also

policy. walk us through both sides of that equation. >> well, first, the policy. >> you know, bannon is a hardliner against immigration, has been for a long time. elon musk, as he has made clear on his platform x is a you know i'll die on this hill supporter of the h-1b visa program through which he was able to come into the country from south africa and many others who work for him and for who work for other tech firms. >> and so they have, of course, been on x and in other forums saying extremely rude things about each other that i cannot repeat on a family morning news show, even this early. even this early. right. it's way, way, way too early for that. >> and so that's the policy dimension. and it's a serious one because there, you know,

there's a big chunk of the maga base that agrees with steve bannon. and, and this new part of the maga base, the tech part, yeah, is equally dug in on the other side on the pro h-1b side. >> but it feels a little bit almost like the tech bro hoodie side versus the blue collar side of maga populism. >> absolutely. >> this was always going to end up this way. >> it was it was i mean, these these these this is kind of oil and water, you know, this is you know, and that's what political coalitions are. i guess this is a particularly disparate couple of couple of groups. they got together behind donald trump. and now he's about to be in office. and they're going to have to make policy. and so that's the substantive issue. there's also the personal right. this is high school. i mean, it seems like high school and two and two are not, you know, that sort of thing. it's just it's

playground stuff, but with serious ramifications. and it could get uglier. >> and the personal is actually really important in trump world, because it often happens that whoever he speaks to most frequently or last, is the person that wins the policy battle. and on this one, musk won. >> musk won. and musk is the one who's there at his side, who's there at mar-a-lago and won't move out, who's everywhere, who's apparently aiming to be in the white house complex as he runs his non-official department of government efficiency. and steve bannon, i'm sure, is not happy about that at all. >> yeah. well, and bannon is someone who, of course, has been steadfast, spent time on himself in the white house. >> so i could imagine elon musk, the new steve bannon. and that's you know, and that doesn't sit well with the old steve bannon i can imagine, especially when the old steve bannon is very much still here, very much still here, and very much has a constituency. >> this podcast is very popular. and so he's going to make trouble for the tech side of the

trump coalition. >> yeah, absolutely. >> so while that schism is happening, we're also watching the administration start to form in its early phases up on capitol hill. confirmation hearing week kicking off with pete hegseth in the spotlight, i wonder your early thoughts about what we are likely to see today. it's going to be explosive. >> yeah, it's going to be explosive. first, there are the allegations against hegseth of sexual impropriety. there are questions about his experience, obviously, and whether he is remotely capable of running the defense department, one of the biggest bureaucracies in the world. and then there's the even bigger question. you know, there are a lot of challenges for the defense department now. and a lot of people think, you know, our military is, is lagging in, in its necessary effort to keep up with china, to be ready if necessary. perish the thought to fight a big war. a lot of people

think we're not. the new defense secretary has a big agenda, and it's for somebody with a big brain. >> and so is that guy. >> and those are some of the questions i'm really going to be listening to. >> i imagine senators are going to be asking exactly that. you and i will have our ears glued to that hearing this morning. eugene robinson, thank you for joining us on way too early. we're both sticking around for some morning joe, but that was way too early for this tuesday morning. and morning joe starts right now. >> these hearings, in a very real way, are the opening salvo for holding the trump administration accountable to the public. we will use these hearings to show the contrast between donald trump's agenda of helping the special interests, especially the very wealthy, and the democrats agenda to fight for working americans. nominees should expect tough, candid, but fair questioning. >> senate minority leader chuck

schumer laying out