omfort and softness. which is why we make the best socks and slippers in the history of feet. ♪♪ visit bombas.com and get 20% off your first order. >> to all those. >> who never. >> give a second thought to being the first ones in. >> thank you. >> servpro, proud supporter of our nation's first responders. >> right now on. ana cabrera reports. >> breaking news on. >> capitol hill. a senate committee. >> holding a. >> critical vote this. hour on. >> rfk jr. s bid to be the nation's top.

>> health official. >> could it come. down to a single. >> republican senator? >> plus, china. >> hits back. >> slapping tariffs. >> on. >> everything from. american coal to pickup trucks. >> what the opening blow means for the escalating. >> trade war. >> also ahead. >> the. elon effect, the influence. >> wielded by the world's. >> richest man. >> as. >> he takes a blowtorch to the federal government. >> and new. >> reports that president. >> trump plans to. >> dismantle the department. >> of education. what it. >> means and could he really close it all by himself? >> hello? it's ten eastern. >> 7 a.m. pacific. >> thanks for joining us. >> i'm ana cabrera, reporting. >> from new york. >> and we. >> begin with the breaking news on. >> capitol hill this. morning where. >> controversial trump. >> cabinet pick. >> rfk jr. faces a key vote this. >> hour that. >> could determine whether his confirmation as health. >> and human services. >> secretary will move forward.

and it. remains unclear whether. >> the divisive anti-vaxxer. >> has enough support. >> to make it out. >> of. >> the finance committee. this vote. >> would ultimately. >> come down to a republican. senator and a doctor here, louisiana's. bill cassidy. let's bring in nbc's chief. >> capitol hill. >> correspondent, ryan nobles. also, peter baker, chief. >> white house correspondent for the new. >> york times, and. >> doctor vin gupta, msnbc medical contributor. >> ryan. >> walk us through. what we expect. >> to happen. >> and which senators. >> we should be watching. >> we're monitoring it right now on the senate finance committee, expected to gavel in at any moment. and that's when they'll begin the process of voting out the confirmation of robert f kennedy jr as the secretary of health and human services. the signal that we've gotten from almost every republican on the panel is that they're a yes vote. if every republican votes yes and every democrat votes no, he will move on to the next stage. that is why everyone is keeping such a close eye on senator bill cassidy of louisiana. cassidy raised

serious concerns about robert f kennedy jr. s past statements on vaccines during both hearings. kennedy went through two hearings, one with the finance committee, one with the health, education, labor and pensions committee, of which cassidy is the chairman. and cassidy did not feel very satisfied with the way that kennedy answered some of those questions. cassidy took the weekend to deliberate his decision on this crucial vote. he spoke to robert f kennedy jr multiple times. the question is, is he willing to put himself out there right now as a lone no vote that would effectively kill the rfk jr. nomination. at this stage of the confirmation process? take a listen to just a little of the back and forth with cassidy and kennedy during that hearing, which shows how cassidy is wrestling with this decision. >> a worthy movement. called maha to. >> improve the health of. americans are to undermine it. always asking for more evidence and never accepting the evidence

that is there. does a 70 year old man. 71 year old man who has spent decades criticizing vaccines, and who's financially vested in finding fault with vaccines? can he change his attitudes and approach now that he'll have the most important position influencing vaccine policy in the united states? >> as you mentioned, anna cassidy, himself a physician by trade, this is something that he cares deeply about. cassidy also has a political consideration here. he is up for reelection in 2026. if he were to take this bold move of voting no, there is no question that he would get a republican challenger from the maga wing of the party and a primary. that would be very difficult for him to win in that situation, especially if donald trump chose to back that primary opponent. and keep in mind, cassidy may face someone like that in a primary anyway, because he voted to impeach donald trump during his last term. so there's a lot at stake here, a lot resting on bill cassidy's shoulder. conventional

wisdom tells us that republicans will cave. that's what they have done at each stage of this new version of the trump administration. we'll have to see how this plays out, because even at this 11th hour, cassidy has not signaled how he plans to vote. anna. >> and we're watching the live images from this committee room, seeing people come in a out and these conversations that are happening, looking for any clues about the direction that. this could go. ryan, just to be clear, if kennedy doesn't get out of. this committee, is his nomination dead? >> that's exactly right, anna. if bill cassidy votes no and every democrat votes no, that would effectively end his confirmation process. that isn't necessarily the only scenario, though. that could imperil his confirmation. bill cassidy could say at this stage of the game that he personally is opposed to kennedy as the nominee. or he may say he needs more time to deliberate his nomination and leave open the possibility that he would vote no on the floor, but vote yes today to allow the

confirmation process to go forward. so there's a number of different ways that this could play out here over the next few minutes. >> doctor gupta. >> kennedy has a decades long history of anti-vaccine. and anti-science positions. he wrote in his book. >> quote. >> it's undeniable that african aids. >> is an. >> entirely different disease from western aids, he said in a 2023. >> podcast that. >> quote, no vaccine is safe and effective. >> he went on. >> fox news to say, quote, i do. >> believe that. >> autism does. come from. >> vaccines. >> even though that claim has been debunked. there's no scientific evidence of that. here's just a bit of rfk jr being pressed on vaccines. >> during his confirmation hearings. >> i will. >> do nothing. as hhs. >> secretary that makes it difficult or discourages. >> people from taking it. anybody who. >> believes that ought to look at the measles book you wrote saying parents have been misled into believing. >> that measles. >> is a. deadly disease. that's not true. >> kennedy can kill off access

to. vaccines and make millions. >> of dollars while. >> he does it. kids might die, but robert kennedy can keep cashing in. >> doctor, is it clear to you where. >> he stands on. >> vaccines currently and what he will or won't do if confirmed as hhs secretary? >> you know, anna, i think the most revealing exchange that. >> i saw and, you know, we've. >> been comparing notes across the. >> medical community. >> over the last few weeks. >> and it was. >> this. >> exchange on the covid vaccine. >> with senator sanders. >> and he was asking. senator sanders whether he had seen any data on whether the covid vaccine was effective at reducing hospitalizations. rfk said he didn't know or he hadn't seen any data to that effect, to which senator sanders said he should be an expert in that type of information, since he's vying to be the top health official in the country. so, you know, it is this this theme that even senator cassidy was polling on who, by the way, respected physician, gastroenterologist

led the effort in louisiana to vaccinate 36,000 children against hepatitis b. he is a respected figure in the health community. senator cassidy but but to go back, this notion of constantly asking questions, constantly creating skepticism about these vaccines, the flu vaccine, he did something similar back in 2020, claiming it didn't do anything when it comes to reducing hospitalizations from the flu. so it's these types of statements here which has caused many, many, i'd say the vast majority in the medical community to be opposed to him, number one, but then two, to honor to answer your question, it's, i think, very obvious based on his current and his past statements that he is questioning fundamental science on the effectiveness of why you get vaccinated and also on safety. and i'll just say to all your viewers out there, those of us in white coats that are immunizing your children, that are immunizing you across the country, we are required by law to give a vaccine information

sheet, a 1986 law. that's exactly what we do. there's clear evidence on safety on the cdc and fda websites, where a parts of those websites still exist. so this information on safety and transparency and vaccines that he keeps teasing at and poking at, there's already widespread, transparent information widely available to patients across the country. >> and that is important information for everybody to hear, because he continues to say things. >> like. >> i won't take. away vaccines, but i want people to have more. choices with better information. peter, we've already seen a few of the president's more controversial nominees get through. i'm thinking pete hegseth. but given what we've now seen in the last few days, what else is happening in the new trump administration? all the work dismantling current government agencies and systems without getting congressional approval. could that change the calculus for. republicans on someone like rfk jr? >> well. >> you might. >> have. >> expected it to. >> but it doesn't.

>> seem to have. no. >> i mean. >> what. >> we're told. >> is that, you know, republicans. >> are still. >> falling in line. >> we saw it. just yesterday with senator susan collins. >> on tulsi gabbard. if anybody was. >> going to be a skeptic. >> of tulsi. >> gabbard, you would. >> have thought it might have been senator collins. but she's announced now that she's going to vote. >> for. >> tulsi gabbard for the director of national intelligence. and i think that, you know, you would have thought that kash. >> patel might. >> have. >> had more skepticism. >> among republican. >> senators, given what's happened at. >> the fbi. >> where they. have now. pushed to pushed out and are. >> trying to fire. >> any number of people. >> and requiring up to. >> perhaps thousands. >> of fbi agents to report on what actions they took as part of the. prosecution of january 6th defendants, as. >> if. >> they. >> had done. >> something wrong. >> and needed. >> to be. perhaps. you know, held accountable. these actions do not seem to have changed. >> with the. >> republican votes, even if privately some of them are expressing reservations and misgivings. >> and just a reminder to our viewers, the hhs secretary will

oversee, i think it's like 18 different entities, including the cdc, the nih, the fda. the centers for medicare and medicaid. and doctor gupta. we saw kennedy maybe struggle during his confirmation hearing with some elements of the medicaid and medicare often confusing the two. some republicans have talked about slashing funds for medicaid, which. >> costs about. >> $600 billion a year. do you have any concerns with kennedy in that area? >> you know, it wasn't clear that he understood the difference between medicare and medicaid. medicare advantage i mean, these are complex things. you know, it takes years, decades to really master it. so, yes, there is concerns there. it didn't seem like he understood funding flows, that these aren't just all funded by the federal government, that the states have a stake here as well when it comes to medicare and medicaid. and so that's that's concerning, especially since he is ultimately getting all these things are going to roll up to him. if he gets confirmed, he doesn't know where the budgets

are arising from, what needs to be potentially cut or streamlined versus what doesn't. that's going to really impact patient level policy. this goes back to a broader point, anna. a lot of the people, especially in the medical profession that supposedly are supporting rfk jr, are not practicing physicians. ap was reporting recently that many that signed this letter in support of rfk are actually unlicensed doctors, no clue what they're doing at the bedside. that says something. if you're if you're immune or if you're buffered from the bedside and what's actually happening to patients across the country, you're much more willing to play. and we're seeing this fast and loose with the facts. you're willing to say things and do things that might actually have significant impact to patients, but you don't actually have to feel the effects of it because you have no clue what's happening at the bedside. so that's exactly what we're seeing here. we're seeing an insensitivity to patients. we're seeing a complete unawareness of what happens at the bedside. and we're going to see that reflected in policy. >> doctor gupta, please stand by. everybody stand by. we believe this vote is about to

happen. in just a moment. let's listen in. >> has spent his career fighting to end america's chronic illness epidemic. and has been a leading advocate for health care transparency, both for patients and for taxpayers. mr. kennedy has also clearly responded to our questions during the rigorous due diligence process in his hearing. also, and in the course of answering over 900 questions for the record that were asked by members of this committee in response to members of the committee, mr. kennedy has even amended his ethics agreement, going beyond what is required by the government office of ethics. mr. kennedy has proven his commitment to the role of secretary of the hhs, and i will vote in favor of his nomination. i strongly encourage my colleagues on both. >> sides of. >> the aisle to do the same. and with that, i recognize. >> our ranking. >> member, senator biden, for his remarks. thank you very much, mr. chairman. i'll have a brief statement. and then several of my colleagues on our

side are. >> also going to. >> make brief. statements this morning. we're going to vote on. >> robert kennedy's. >> nomination to. serve as our. >> nation's chief. >> health care officer. before we. >> get to. >> mr. kennedy. and why i believe he is singularly unfit to serve as hhs secretary. i'd like to say this. the last several days, we've witnessed an authoritarian. takeover of our federal government by elon musk and donald trump. they have set their. >> sights on. >> a full purge of anyone in government that doesn't bend the knee and follow their orders. they've taken over the treasury department's payment system and colleagues. that has a direct effect on major programs within our community. committee's jurisdiction. that includes social security, medicare and medicaid. for example, this

committee voted for a major reform of pharmacy benefit manager legislation. we passed it 26 to nothing, but trump and musk killed it. think what they could do with abuse of the payment system. now, in my view, much of this is of dubious, dubious legality and constitutional authority and certainly flies in the face of congressional responsibilities. i'll wrap up on this point by saying, i hope our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will not sit by while musk and trump make a mockery of the power republicans hold in their congressional majority. now, more than ever, the american people need leaders that will stand up to these abuses. that brings me to mr. kennedy. a recent analysis showed that mr.

kennedy has made 114 separate appearances in just the last four years, where he has espoused anti-vaccine views or spread information about the efficacy of vaccines, misinformation, specifically, in 36 of those instances, mr. kennedy directly linked vaccines to autism. last week, mr. kennedy was given ample authority on a bipartisan basis to recant his decades long career peddling anti-vaccine conspiracies. instead, he spent his time with us dodging and weaving and gave no indication that, if confirmed as hhs secretary, he would stand by the long settled science surrounding routine vaccinations. just take the samoa measles outbreak as an example, mr. kennedy told me,

and i quote, we don't know what was killing them. speaking about the 83 measles deaths during an outbreak of the disease in 2019. just yesterday, colleagues, the director general of health from samoa, called this claim a total fabrication. peddling these conspiracy theories as the nation's chief health officer is going to be deadly for kids across the country. on abortion, mr. kennedy's answers once again raise still more questions. he refused to tell us whether he would blindly follow a directive from donald trump to break the law and end access to mifepristone, and he seemed to have no understanding of his role in enforcing existing federal laws that guarantee women the right to life saving abortion care. mr. kennedy also failed on several occasions to show a basic understanding of the medicare and medicaid programs. he would be tasked

with overseeing colleagues. that alone should be disqualifying. mr. kennedy has given us no reason to believe it will be anything other than a rubber stamp for plans to gut medicaid and rip health care away from the american people and be a yes man if ordered by mr. trump to take an illegal action. i close with this, colleagues today. we're going to make a judgment about the future of science in this country. we're going to make decisions that are going to impact the health and well-being of americans for years to come. i agree, and i say this to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, that the health care status quo needs substantial changes so we get better, more affordable care to patients. and that leaves, given my statement, the question in front of us.

now, that's pretty simple. do senators want their legacy to include disregarding basic health science and instead elevate conspiracy theorists making robert kennedy secretary of health and human services? in my view, colleagues would be a grave threat to the health of the american people. and i urge my colleagues this morning to vote no. >> so we have everybody here. >> can i ask. >> that we do the vote now and then. >> do the count? you did it 2. >> or. >> 3 on each. >> and then. we go. >> to the vote. can i go? >> yeah, we're going to do it. so, senator wyden, we have all of our members here. senator wyden and i have agreed that we will have 2 or 3 on each side who wanted to make statements. do so before the vote. so please. everyone hold with us while we have those statements made, and then we will proceed to the vote. i know we've got a lot of folks here pushing on some. >> do you want to vote now? >> let's go.

>> mr. chairman. >> mr. chairman. >> mr. chairman, i've got several colleagues who were under the impression after we talked that we would have 2 or 3, and i'm happy for both sides to make brief remarks, and i'd still like to stay with that. i did make that commitment. and so i could say to. >> my colleagues on. >> my side, i would. appreciate it. >> if you would hold your. >> remarks until. >> after the vote. we will let. >> a couple on your side have their. >> remarks, and. >> then we will proceed to the vote. great. thank you. and who would be next, senator cantwell? senator cantwell? >> mr. >> mr. chairman, thank you. i didn't you know, when you said 2. >> or 3. >> people. >> i didn't know. >> who you. >> had in. >> mind. >> but being next in seniority. i appreciate the. the opportunity today. is very concerning to me because of the future of what i. >> think our nation. >> faces. >> when i. >> think of this issue, i think of my pacific. northwest

leadership. how paul allen, on his own, invested $100 million to. fight ebola. i think. >> of. >> bill gates and the. >> gates foundation. >> not just. trying to eradicate polio and work. >> on these. >> issues. >> but to think. >> of a. regime that helps not just our. nation's health. but global health. so with the u-dub, the university of washington, the. >> cancer research center, all of. >> these entities. >> are a collaboration. of saying we have. >> to. >> go faster in solving. these threats. to our nation as it relates to health. now we can have a big. >> discussion. >> which i think you guys all want to have a big discussion about. >> whether and when what happened in the. >> wuhan province. >> but i can tell you. >> we were the first. >> city we had the first patient. >> we had the. >> first people who died in

nursing homes. >> we had an emergency. >> room at a hospital. >> who basically. >> was just begging for any equipment we could get them. the whole community stood up and. >> moved as fast. >> as we possibly could, and broke down barriers to save lives. >> and that. >> is what we have to continue. >> to do. >> on innovation. we cannot let another. country get ahead of us on some. sort of warfare issue and not have a response when it comes to a vaccine. so the most challenging i. wanted to vote for mr. kennedy in the context of my family's history. my dad stood behind his father the night his father gave the famous speech. i told him in my. >> office. >> in my family, the kennedys stood up. but when he answered senator cassidy's question and he couldn't even give him the answer, that yes, the data is there to support vaccines today. i don't need any more data. all

of a sudden, i saw this world that we got affected by in seattle not being stood up for. i need someone at hhs who is going to say, we are going to be a leader in medical technology, science, vaccines. we are going to fight foreign powers. we are going to be there to provide global health. and i don't want a recalcitrant, i need a leader. and that is. >> why i'm. >> voting no. >> thank you. >> senator wyden and i have agreed that senator warnock will now speak following senator warnock. we will proceed to the vote. and then anyone else who wants. >> to make remarks. >> will be allowed to make remarks. senator warnock. >> thank you so very much. mr. chairman. at a rally a few months ago, donald trump said that he was going to allow mr. robert kennedy to, quote, go wild on health, go wild. of all the things that i can think of

that i'd like to see a secretary of health and human services do go wild is not on the list. mr. robert kennedy is manifestly unqualified for the job he seeks. and in both my live and written questions, for the record, he failed to commit to protecting access to affordable health care, failed to commit to protecting the people who are protecting us. the problem that the cdc has is that every day these noble civil servants and workers protect us from dangers that we don't see. and often you don't get credit for protecting people from things that they don't see. i simply do not trust him to oversee the cdc. he's unqualified, and i dare say everybody here knows it. we need a serious person at the helm of the hhs, an agency responsible

for the about half of the health, the health of about half of all americans. mr. kennedy appears more obsessed in chasing conspiracy theories than chasing solutions to lower health care costs for working families in georgia, and to make sure that we are protected. the last thing we need is a dilettante dabbling in conspiracy theories. at hhs, i cannot vote for a nominee who is not going to lower health care costs for georgians, was going to undermine basic science in public health. who puts his own interests above the health and the well-being of others for the health and well-being of all of our families, the people who count on us to think about them in these rooms of power? i urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to look past politics and think of country, and to find the moral courage to

do what's right. oppose this nomination. >> thank you, senator warnock. we now have not only. >> a. >> quorum, but all members of the committee are present. i move that the committee favorably report the nomination of the honorable robert f kennedy, jr. of california, to be secretary of health and human services. is there a second? second? there is a second. the clerk will call the role. >> mr. grassley. >> aye. >> mr. grassley aye. mr. cornyn. >> mr. >> cornyn i mr. mr. thune i mr. >> scott mr. >> scott i mr. cassidy mr. cassidy i mr. >> lankford mr. lankford i mr. >> daines mr. >> daines i mr. >> young mr. >> young i mr. >> barrasso mr. >> barrasso i mr. >> johnson mr. >> johnson i mr. >> tillis mr. tillis i mrs. blackburn mrs. >> blackburn i mr. marshall mr. >> marshall i mr. >> wyden. no. mr. wyden. no. >> miss cantwell, no. >> miss cantwell, no. mr. bennet, mr. bennet, no. mr. warner, no. mr. warner, no. mr.

whitehouse, mr. whitehouse, no. miss hassan, miss. hassan, no. >> miss cortez masto. >> miss cortez masto. >> no. >> miss warren, no. >> miss warren, no. >> mr. sanders, mr. sanders, no. >> miss smith, no. >> miss smith, no. >> mr. lujan, no. mr. lujan, no. >> mr. warnock, no. >> mr. warnock, no. >> mr. welch, mr. >> welch, no. >> mr. chairman, >> chairman. votes i. >> mr. chairman the final tally. >> is 14 ayes. >> 13 ayes. >> the vote. >> was. would the clerk please restate the vote. >> mr. chairman. >> the final tally was 14 ayes. >> 13 ayes. >> the vote was 1413. the nomination is reported favorably. we will now turn to other senators who would like to make a statement. since i asked my republican colleagues to hold off at the outset, i'll go to the republican side next. first, senator tillis.

>> thank you, mr. chairman. i voted i. >> today. >> and i want. >> to just briefly. >> explain why. >> i believe. >> in my. >> 65 years. >> okay. you just watched 14 ayes, 13 noes, party line vote there to advance robert f kennedy, jr. s nomination to be the next. secretary of the health and human services department there in the government to the full senate. now, that's where the next step will be. i want to join ryan nobles again. who's there on capitol hill as long as as well as peter baker, chief white house correspondent for the new york times and doctor vin gupta and nbc news medical contributor. so cassidy was the one we are watching closely here. ryan seemed uncertain how he would vote. he voted yes. do we have any background on his thinking? >> yeah. so right before the committee vote, he tweeted out a statement on the x platform where he said that he had, quote, a very intense

conversation with bobby and the white house over the weekend. and even this morning he said, i want to thank vp, jd, i that's jd vance specifically for his honest counsel with the serious commitments i've received from the administration and the opportunity to make progress on the issues we agree on, like healthy foods and a pro-american agenda. i will vote yes. and that right there sealed the fate of robert f kennedy jr. he makes it out of the committee by a very tight margin, 14 to 13, completely along party lines. >> ryan, just a moment we're hearing. >> yep. >> we're seeing cassidy speaking. okay, a little confusion there. he just said he's going to speak on the floor in the next hour or so. apologies for the interruption, ryan. please continue. >> no worries. and so, you know, on a for all intents and purposes, this means that robert f kennedy jr will be the next

health and human services secretary. he will still need a full vote on the floor of the house of representatives, or i'm sorry, on the full floor of the senate. and there is the possibility that there could be four republican senators who are still not favorable of his nomination, but that seems very unlikely. you could see, perhaps, senator mitch mcconnell of kentucky, who's been very vocal about his concerns about kennedy's stance on vaccines, particularly the polio vaccine. mcconnell being a polio survivor himself, voting no. but the fact that cassidy was a yes vote and not only a yes vote, but kind of an affirmative yes vote where he said he feels comfortable and that his concerns were quelled by these conversations with the white house and the vice president and kennedy himself. it seems very unlikely that the nomination will be tripped up at any point. and once again, this is an example of the white house and the trump administration, the president himself, asserting his will, his political will over his republican colleagues

in congress. he has made it very clear since winning reelection to a second term that he wanted the cabinet picks that he picked in those positions, and that he did not want any opposition from the senate, particularly because the republicans control the senate. and so this is the manifestation of that. there is a very much an unwillingness by republicans in the senate right now to stand up to trump in any sort of meaningful way, the confirmation process being the most obvious example of that. but we're also seeing it play out in the budget process, in these moves that trump has made with the purging of officials at the fbi, the wide breadth that he's given elon musk to go in and try and find places to cut in the federal government and gain access to these government systems, we're just not seeing any pushback from republicans in the senate. and that's how that played out today in this committee vote, ana. >> and bill cassidy saying he's going to speak on the senate

floor at 1145 this morning. so a little over an hour will, of course, be watching for those comments. i was reminded that cassidy, during his q&a with robert f kennedy jr at the hearing just last week, he he came out and said, quote, if you. come out unequivocally and say vaccines are safe, it does not cause autism. that would have an incredible impact. in just this morning, doctor gupta, we're seeing president trump sending out misleading information about autism as he's trying to boost rfk jr and his nomination. can you just address some of the misinformation that is out there, and also give us your reaction to what we all witnessed in real time, the advancement of the nomination to the full senate? >> yeah, you bet on you know, i first of all, i think all of our lives have gotten harder in healthcare, and this is going to be a challenging four years navigating this. we're going to be having these conversations often. and so let's begin with

your prompt on autism. let's be really clear here. for everybody out there, vaccines do not cause autism. that's critical to state in unequivocal terms. they do not cause autism. here's the reason why we're seeing more diagnosis. because that's what the president was saying earlier today. one, we're just we're diagnosing it more. there's more awareness on it, which is a good thing. there's better medical care, there's better screening tools. so that's number one. there's greater just an ability to get care and to get diagnosed. very good thing. but yes, we have more cases since 1970. the other big thing that the president and others are leaving out is frankly the biggest risk factor. our environmental, their genetic and their maternal age and paternal age. and we know anna, since 1970, the average age of first birth for women was 21. now it's 27. for men, they've gotten older at first paternal age. also air quality. you know, the irony here is that as we roll back environmental protections, we're talking about autism. turns out air quality is

actually a big risk factor for air quality for the development of autism. so the reality here is we in the next four years, we're gonna have to talk about facts. there are reasons why we're seeing an increased incidence of autism. they have nothing to do with vaccines. >> and peter baker rfk jr is just one that we're watching today. there's tulsi gabbard a little bit later. i mean, seeing how this all went down with rfk jr. what are your expectations for other picks like gabbard that have been controversial? will they all get through? >> i think. >> the betting at this point is that trump runs the table now. obviously, anything can happen. we shouldn't make predictions, but he. >> he does not. >> look like he is going to lose any of these nominees as controversial as they might be. and again, it doesn't mean the republicans are necessarily all comfortable with it, but they have fallen in line. they recognize the political reality. the political reality is right now as trump's washington, he's getting his way. if they were to stand up to him, they would pay a price. and very few of them are willing to do that. now, you

know what's most striking about these nominees, particularly the ones we're talking about rfk jr, tulsi gabbard, kash patel, pete hegseth, these are people who are being put in place of agencies and departments specifically that they have, in fact, criticized deeply who's, you know, very foundations. in some ways, they would like to blow up or. or at least, you know, dismantle, revamp, what have you. and so. it's this is going to be the start, not the end of a rather extraordinary experiment, in effect in government, in which we're putting people in place who don't believe in the departments and agencies that they are running, believe that they need to be completely uprooted and transformed. some people think that would be for the best, but a lot of people are worried in washington right now. >> peter baker, ryan nobles, and doctor vin gupta, thank you all for joining us. up next, tit for tat tariffs china retaliating against president trump's economic opening salvo. what the start of a trade war means for start of a trade war means for u.s. shoppers.

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details, visit dental now.com. >> physicians mutual. >> physicians mutual. >> china is striking back this morning after president trump's new tariffs on chinese imports officially went into effect at midnight. the chinese government swiftly announcing a series of tariffs of their own on a number of u.s. products, also saying that it would launch a new investigation into google for alleged antitrust violations. so this trade war is heating up as president trump agreed to delay

new tariffs on canada and mexico for 30 days after leaders from both those countries agreed to new border measures. let's get more now from nbc's white house correspondent aaron gilchrist, nbc's janis mackey frayer in beijing and nbc news senior business correspondent christine romans. janis, you first. china didn't waste any time responding to the president's tariff increases. so walk us through what steps they're implementing and what the reaction has been there. >> well, right. >> when president trump's china tariffs went into effect at midnight. >> beijing returned fire. announcing measures. coming from multiple. >> fronts. >> first, imposing additional tariffs. >> of 10 to 15% on a. range of u.s. >> imports. >> including coal. >> liquefied natural. >> gas, crude oil. >> and farm machinery. >> it's also. targeting some car. >> imports, namely. >> pickup trucks. >> and announced. >> additional export controls on certain critical metals. >> but there. >> is more. >> china also. >> announced an antitrust probe

into google. this is. >> not a first for the company, which doesn't. >> do a lot of. business here in china. >> because its search engine is blocked. but it. >> does pose a disruption for chinese companies. also, two. >> companies. >> american companies pvh group, which has the clothing brands calvin klein and tommy hilfiger. and illumina, which is a gene sequencing startup, are being added to the unreliable entity list here. so they're effectively being blacklisted. >> now, the. >> measures affect. roughly 30%. >> of u.s. >> exports to china. so it's. >> unlikely to make. >> this huge. >> dent in the us economy. >> and most. >> economists say it's symbolic and designed as more of a message from china that it could get worse and that china. >> and. >> xi jinping in particular, wouldn't. >> want. >> to be seen as caving to president trump. >> or to the us. >> but the uncertainty now is whether this is all just negotiating tactics or the beginning of a deeper trade offensive. china says the tariffs. >> would take effect on monday. >> that's nearly. >> a week away, so that does

leave time for talks. and president trump has said that he planned to speak with president xi in the coming days, but it isn't clear when or if that call is happening. but both sides are looking for some leverage here, and. >> both appear. >> to be finding it. anna. >> janis mackey frayer, thank you for that latest reporting. so, christine, what do these new retaliatory tariffs mean for u.s. customers and businesses? >> well, janis. >> is right that the share of. >> stuff that. >> they're retaliating against is a smaller part of what we produce. but what really is interesting is the number of things that will now have a tariff. as of last night, i mean, we're talking about cell phones, we're talking about computers. >> we're talking. >> about sporting equipment, tools, cookware, like all of these billions and billions and billions of dollars of stuff that the us imports from china will now have a tariff. >> on it, a. >> 10% tariff, some of these categories on top of other tariffs in the first trump administration. and this is, i guess, the beginning of a new trump 2.0 trade war with china. tensions are ratcheting up. and

then each party, if. >> we. >> do this like it happened last time. will tit for tat back and forth. and that of course raises prices all. >> along the supply chain. >> and that's the exact opposite of what the president promised on the campaign trail. erin, we've seen some negotiations with canada, with mexico to delay the tariffs. is there any sense that president trump is willing to negotiate with xi? >> well. >> i think there is. >> and you have been talking. >> about it. >> with. >> janice and. >> with christine. >> this idea. >> that president. >> trump told. >> us that he does. plan to have a phone. >> call with. >> president xi. >> he had. >> a handful of calls. >> with the canadians and the mexicans, and that led. >> to a pause. >> in. >> the tariffs that were to be. >> imposed on. >> those countries. and so there's the door seems to be open for this phone call to. potentially lead to some changes in this back and forth with the tariffs. at the same time, we know that in the original executive order that president trump signed, there is a retaliation clause that says if

china retaliates, then the united states would have some room to do the same, the secretary of state, marco rubio, said last night in an interview that he did, that he was paying attention to this and that if the chinese continue to cheat and steal was the phrase that he used, then there could be additional actions taken by the united states. obviously, we know this executive order was tied to the flow of fentanyl and precursor chemicals that come out of china. and so it is yet to be seen exactly what the reaction is going to be from this white house. we did hear the press secretary for president trump say this morning just a few minutes ago outside the white house, that the chinese need to stop the flow of fentanyl. we heard the president's senior trade and manufacturing adviser, peter navarro, on tv this morning saying the same thing, that china, that china has a history of not doing what they say they're going to do. and so, ana, we know this phone call is going to happen in the coming days, possibly before the chinese tariffs would go into effect. and we'll be watching to see what sort of deal president trump is able to strike in that

call. >> erin and christine, thank you both. fight over america's predominant foreign aid agency is also rattling washington secretary of state marco rubio is now overseeing a state department takeover of the u.s. agency for international development. this move comes after president trump tasked elon musk with dismantling the independent agency, firing dozens of senior staffers and locking employees out of their accounts. critics say the moves and musk's involvement in particular, are illegal and unconstitutional. take a look at this today. federal workers are protesting at the office of personnel management with handouts like this, saying musk, quote, bought the country. yesterday we also saw protesters gathered outside the usaid headquarters, joined by key democratic lawmakers. >> elon musk. >> may get. >> to. >> be dictator of. >> tesla. >> but he doesn't. and he may try to. >> play dictator here in washington. >> d.c. >> but he doesn't get.

>> to shut. down the. agency for international development. >> we don't have a fourth branch of government called elon musk, and that's going to become real clear. >> when you got the constitution and you install yourself as the sole power. that is how dictators are made. >> meantime, nbc has now learned elon musk has officially joined the administration as a special government employee. joining us now is former assistant administrator for global health at usaid and new yorker staff writer doctor atul gawande. thanks so much for being here. what do you make of what's happening at your former agency, and do you think it can survive this moment now that it's been folded into the state department? >> i'm seeing it up close. the surgeon who ran. >> it for. >> the. >> last. >> three years. >> ran the global health operations there. it's not. >> a overhaul. it's a

destruction that's going on. >> and it's. >> at the hands of someone who has not a single layer of accountability or. or oversight in the work being done. >> what we're seeing is, first. >> something that started with a, quote, pause in all. >> funding that. >> stopped all activities. it you know. >> as a surgeon, i. >> can tell you, you can't stop an operation halfway through and say, i'll be back in 90 days. >> and that's. >> precisely what's happened to. programs that are. dispensing hiv. medications that keep 20 million people alive around the world, that are stopped surveilling bird flu in 49 countries. >> a. >> disease that has. >> reached our. >> shores and killed an american. >> on home soil. >> all of. >> this has tremendous harm. and it's not. it's clear that it's either ignorance or indifference that's leading musk and his team to take actions, dismantling it

all. we're talking about organizations like catholic relief services and save the children. >> yeah. let's talk more about some of that in a moment. but i do want you to hear what we are hearing from those on the inside right now. these are usaid workers who are just outside headquarters yesterday. listen to what they told us. >> i watched people get put on administrative leave or fired, and it was just sobbing in the hallways. >> people getting. >> fired, people getting furloughed in droves. >> like the entire. development community being brought to its knees. >> and inside the walls. >> nobody feels safe. no one informed. >> me that. >> that was going to happen. no one has. >> informed me about. >> you know, plans for what's happening next. and, you know. every day has just been like, what is going to happen today? >> and then it just hits. and i've never felt so disempowered or disrespected as i have in the past 12 days in the walls of somewhere that. >> i love. so much. >> doctor, the trump administration has suggested mismanagement is to blame for

what's happening, and that taxpayers need to know how their money is being spent. usaid accounted for about 1% of the total federal budget in 2023. why do you think trump and musk have landed on this agency as part of their big show of cost cutting measures? >> it was. >> the one. >> of. >> the easiest places they could instill chaos and fear. understand it was not only then a freeze, but then a decapitation of the top leadership in the global health bureau, for example. in addition, there was half of the staff terminated. and part of the reason that usaid is such a target is because the civil servants who have protection are a minority of the staffing. many have been put on administrative leave but haven't been terminated because they can't without cause. the on the other hand, the others are contract workers, people who work with contractors. and those are our

top experts. we're talking about two thirds of the malaria staff let go, of whom includes one of the top global experts in the world in the field. how does that make us stronger? how does that make us safer? >> so you point out some important examples to highlight. the white house has a list of their own examples of what they're calling waste and abuse at usaid. one program they mentioned is a $2.5 million project for electric vehicles in vietnam. several of these other examples that they cite involve lgbtq initiatives or promoting contraceptives in various countries. they call this waste and abuse, is it? >> well, first of all, there's. >> a. >> debate over programs like that are serving diversity or or advancing climate. you don't stop the entire activities of a multibillion dollar organization because of $1 million policy

dispute. you every every president comes in and puts in new policy initiatives, changes the tenor. we can have those arguments, but this is a constitutional issue. congress appropriated funds and directs what the programs are. the billionaire, the richest man in the world, does not get to dictate, especially when they don't even have any knowledge of the harm that's happening. and then programs that save the children, catholic relief services and others are moving out in the world are that are reaching hundreds of millions of people whose lives are deeply affected, that disaster relief is happening around the world. addressing refugee needs. these programs have ground to a halt, and you see enormous suffering now as a consequence. >> doctor atul gawande, thank you so much for joining us. appreciate the conversation.

next here, ana cabrera reports president trump reportedly looking to gut the department of education. what it could mean for millions of students and teachers nationwide. >> well, you're in the big leagues now. >> how was your vacation, sir? >> well. >> i needed one. >> with your 10%. >> loyalty program discount, that's $225 for. >> the night. >> not bad. >> $155 for the night. hold up. how? >> it's easy when you. >> know. >> where to look. >> trivago compares hotel. prices from. hundreds of. >> sites so you can save up to 40%. 40(tony hawk) >>skating for over 45 yearstic. has taken a toll on my body. i take qunol turmeric because it helps with healthy joints and inflammation support. why qunol? it has superior absorption compared to regular turmeric. qunol. the brand i trust.

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as these might be life threatening. shaking, stiffness, drooling, and trouble with moving or balance may occur. take control by asking your doctor about ingrezza. ♪ ingrezza ♪ entire federal department through executive order. nbc news just confirming what the wall street journal and the washington post first reported that the president is targeting the department of education for possible closure, which would fulfill a frequent campaign promise and align with elon musk's effort to slash the size of the federal government. let's discuss with randi weingarten, the president of the american federation of teachers. so, randi, one of the things that we're learning here is that trump's order would acknowledge that, yes, only congress has the power officially to shut it down the department of education. but before that happens, it would still work to dismantle the

agency from within. according to three people briefed on its concerns that we're talking with the washington post. what's your reaction to this plan? >> so it's not. >> what the american people voted for. meaning? >> yes, i know. >> that donald trump frequently talked about the department of education. you know, that he wanted to eliminate it, but at the same exact time, people all across america, even people who voted for trump, voted against vouchers, voted against cutting education, voted for education. so let me just say to the american people what the money in the department of education does. 26 million kids get money from title one? 7.5 million kids get money from the individuals with disabilities act. 13 million kids get money from pell grants and things like that. 5.5 million kids get money from english language learner funds.

all of these things have been appropriated by congress. all of those things go directly to children. they don't go to bureaucracies. they go to children. and the people at the department of education basically mete it out and make sure that the money is not stolen by somebody else before it gets to kids. the thing i'm really worried about are two things. number one, elon musk and his people now have access. >> to all this private. information that parents. >> have done on. federal student loans, on all the things they do for colleges. why does he have that information? that's not his to have. that's private information that the federal department of education, which is one of the biggest banks in the country, have. and number two, and this i'm going. >> to say. >> to donald trump directly, listen, man. you came in to create opportunity for people. if you symbolically get rid of the department of education, when we need to create broad opportunity for boys and for.

>> others. >> for girls. >> to have. >> the jobs of today and tomorrow, what is that saying to people? we need education in this country, we need to fix bureaucracy, but we need education in this country. don't cut symbolically what requires, what can create education. >> especially if he's talking about best and the brightest and a meritocracy and being prepared. >> exactly. >> you know, being competitive. >> if we want to. >> outcompete china, we need to have some. >> federal ideas. like linda mcmahon and i both agree that high school shouldn't be college, only college prep. >> and by the way, linda mcmahon is supposed to be the next secretary of education. if trump gets his way, he's nominated her to lead the department of education. but just to be clear, randi, for our viewers sake, state and local governments are primarily responsible when it comes to public education in those states for running the schools in their states. but they are supplemented by so much funding from the federal department of education. and you

put out some numbers. we've got a few to just outline as well. you mentioned title one, nearly $20 billion. go to those title one programs providing money to high poverty schools, $15 billion to help schools cover the cost of education for kids with disabilities. and then there's the 1.6 trillion federal student loan program as well. i mean, if the department is dismantled or even significantly gutted, would those funds that congress has already approved still be disbu >> so that's so that's. >> why we. >> have. >> to look at. the eo, because. this congress appropriates the money. directly for. >> these kids. >> where's the money going? >> who's taking it? >> are they trying to take that money that kids get for tax cuts for billionaires? what's going on? that's why we have to see what they're doing. it is illegal to take that money out of children's mouths and give it to billionaires. >> now, are there areas you think that could be improved or

streamlined? >> oh my god, we you know, my members, remember, al shanker actually didn't want a department of education. he wanted it to stay. one of my predecessors. he wanted to stay within health and human services h.e.w because he thought it was more important to have the whole child focused on. so of. >> course. >> there are ways to fix the bureaucracy. of course there are ways to make things better. i mean, elizabeth warren just found millions of dollars of savings that could happen. >> if people. >> work together. but my point is this. and you just said it. states and localities run education. they basically that's where 90% of the funding for education goes. they already want it. they should run it. the federal government should not run it. but if we want to try and make things better, like having different kinds of pathways for kids in terms of career and tech editor, the states and localities have not done this. i was a teacher at an

ap history teacher in a career tech ed school in the 90s. we have to change. we have to make these pathways available. so if someone like linda mcmahon and i happen to agree on something like this, you need federal policy to be able to push this. let's outcompete the world. we need education to do that. we need to have a department of education to do that and lean into that. >> well, randi weingarten, thank you so much for coming in, making the case and helping to educate all of us on what the department of education does and its importance. we appreciate you. that does it for us today. i'll see you back here tomorrow. same time, same place. i'm ana cabrera, reporting from new york. jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. >> good morning. 11 a.m. eastern, 8 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. we have breaking