believe he will also be a partner in working for this end. if mr. kennedy is confirmed, i will use my chairman to rebuff any removal of lifesaving vaccines without ironclad scientific evidence that can be accepted and defended before the mainstream scientific community and before congress. i will watch carefully for any effort to wrongly sow public fear about vaccines between confusing references of coincidence and anecdote. my support is built on insurances that this will not have to be a concern and that he and i can work together to build an agenda to make america healthy again many we need a -- again. we need a letter at hhs who will

guide president trump's agenda to make america healthy again. based on mr. kennedy's assurance on vaccines and his platform to positively influence america's health, it is my consideration that he will get this done. as i've said, it's been a long and tense process. but i've assessed as i would assess a patient as a physician. ultimately restoring trust in our public health institution is too important and i think mr. kennedy help get that done. as chairman of the senate committee with oversight authority of his position, i will do my best to make sure that is what we accomplish. i want mr. kennedy to succeed in making america healthy again. his success will be tied to the health of our nation. he has the opportunity to address the most pertinent issues affecting americans'

health. we also need to reform institutions like fda and nih and those as have already been indicated are my priorities as chairman of the help committee. i look forward to his support in accomplishing it. if confirmed, i look forward to working together with mr. kennedy to achieve president trump's mission of improving the help of all americans. and with that, i yield. >> has finally. >> decided after he said. >> much deliberation. >> to support robert f. kennedy jr. s nomination to run hhs. >> to the senate. for final approval. that approval, despite. >> fierce objections from senate. >> democrats on the. >> finance committee, the. >> republican led committee. >> advanced kennedy's nomination. >> to the floor today on.

>> a party. >> line vote. >> democrats on the committee all voting against him, citing their concerns. about rfk. >> jr's vaccine. >> skepticism, skepticism, his activism against. >> it, his complaints, continuing complaints about autism. >> completely disavowed despite all of the scientific. >> evidence, and also. >> that he has no management. >> experience to run the second biggest agency in government. >> second only to the pentagon. republican louisiana. >> senator cassidy, a medical doctor, as you say, at first, said. >> he was struggling with the vote. >> he fell into. line and. >> voted yes. meeting with kennedy. several times, he said. multiple times. >> including again this morning. >> and now to another. >> big controversy. >> elon musk. the rapid transformation by musk. >> of the. >> federal government. it's coming into sharper focus today. also facing its first. legal challenges, the white house says musk is officially part of the federal government. working as a special. government employee. >> the unelected billionaire, the richest man. >> in the world, has top secret

security clearance, which. he probably already had because of his defense contracts. but he now also has access to sensitive government systems in the department of the treasury. president trump insisting there are guardrails on musk's mounting power. >> elon can't do and won't do anything without our approval, and we'll give him the approval where appropriate. we're not appropriate. we won't. but he reports in. he does have a good natural instinct. he's got a team of very talented people, and we're trying to shrink government now. >> two sources familiar. >> tell nbc. >> news. that the white house is also. >> preparing an executive order to eliminate the department of education. >> and 1100. epa employees. >> could soon be cut. >> there's also a new. >> lawsuit challenging doge already getting. >> access to the treasury department's. classified payment system this week, including personal and financial information on millions of americans and at the white house. president trump saying he expects to speak with china's president xi. by the end of the

day. about the spiraling trade war, america's 10% additional tariff on chinese goods started at midnight, beijing quickly retaliating, threatening its own tariffs plus export controls and an antitrust investigation into google all set to take effect monday. >> if a. >> deal before then is not reached. we begin with nbc news senior white house correspondent garrett hake and nbc. news senior business correspondent christine romans. so garrett and christine, i'm sure that people feel that, you know, this is like drinking from a fire hose, all of the decisions being. made and the changes so quickly. >> by doge. >> moving in right away and basically taking over key agencies, u.s. aid, as well as getting that treasury system access to the treasury system. now we're seeing other agencies. let's start with doge, though. it's not a government agency. it hasn't been created by congress, but they have moved really quickly with a smallish team

using ai. and we don't know what is it, musk's ai, what do we know about the special government employee designation? how is that measured? >> well. >> andrea, on. >> paper, a. >> special government employee has 130 days to work for the government. typically, these are folks who are brought in from the outside who have particular expertise about an issue that the federal government needs help in. in the moment, you can think of it almost like an attorney with billable hours. you know, if you work a couple hours one day, a couple hours the next day, you build just those hours. it's not a 130 day calendar that runs straight through. although musk has bragged about working essentially around the clock at doge to try to transform the federal government. so if anyone is keeping track of those hours, and i don't know that we can assume that anyone is, he's chewing through them, chewing through those days pretty quickly here. now, we know musk and his team are working out of the executive office building, just across the alley here from the white house, and the oversight that is being conducted over him seems to be conducted only by the president

and perhaps the chief of staff, as best i'm able to tell from my reporting, musk is functioning as an arm of the executive in these agencies, making the changes that he can make and reporting back on the changes that he can't. on that end, the white house is quick to acknowledge that he has only what they call read, only access to this information that he's getting out of the treasury department, that it ultimately will be the administration. and to your point, andrea, will have to be congress in the end to make the cuts that elon musk and his team are able to identify. and i think that's where we might see some friction here in the future with congress having to make decisions around the dollars and cents that musk and his team are identifying. although, again, if these early weeks are any indication, there's been almost no perceptible resistance from republicans to anything that musk has put forward. indeed, many of them ran on the same kind of cuts he's trying to put in place around the federal bureaucracy. >> and, garrett, before we get to tariffs and the big economic issues here, let's just talk

about some of these freezes and cuts. >> and. >> freezes that were unfrozen. and a judge said others. >> had to be unfrozen. >> but the bottom line is that i'm told that there are about 15,000 agency for international development employees who have foreign service and civil service protections. legally, they can sue. they can try to get back on the job. they've been locked out, locked out of their computers. the website is down, but the work is done in the field, mostly by contractors. those contractors are not getting paid. there's food that is sitting that can't be distributed. food, half the food of the world health organization that goes into gaza, or half of the budget of the world health organization, run by cindy mccain and supported bipartisanly. this is not getting into gaza, which is a key part of the hostage talks. so, you know, that's one of the big issues. let me get to christine romans on the tariffs, because that's, as you know,

garrett and christine, this seems to be the way donald trump negotiates by saying that he's going to first slap tariffs, starting, you know, last night, midnight last night against mexico and canada, our closest allies, two of our three biggest trading partners. and then back down essentially after talking to the president of mexico and after the prime minister in canada, christine. >> yeah, actually backing. >> down. >> or doing a u-turn after being offered what some sources say had been offered for some days, even before, you know, getting to the brink there. so pushing, pushing the deadline now another 30 days for our closest allies and neighbors, canada and mexico. but those tariffs on china went into effect at midnight. we're talking everything from smartphones to computers to electrical and industrial equipment. those are the biggest categories. and then china turned around right away and made its own counter-tariffs. you know, tit

for tat. we've seen this before, andrea, with 15% tariffs on on coal and liquefied natural gas and 10% on crude oil farm equipment and select vehicles like trucks and some larger vehicles. so many people telling me this morning that that's largely symbolic. >> but showing. >> showing the white house that. >> china still. >> has leverage and there are more things it could do. also, announcing an antitrust probe into google, also saying that it was going to have export controls over five very critical rare earth minerals. and as you know, those rare earth minerals are really important for both the military and for tech development in the us. so watch this space. this is a we've stepped back from the brink. >> the united. >> states has stepped back from the brink with mexico and canada, but has stepped over the brink with china here. so this is the beginning of what? of what could be difficult. and consumers consumers may start feeling the impact of this and all of those things that come in from china in a in a matter of days, those higher prices, those import taxes will have to be passed on to someone.

>> and china in negotiating with china is vy different from negotiating with mexico and canada. it's arduous. it takes weeks, if not months, to get back to ground zero with china unless they see it in their in their self-interest. but christine, they don't want to be seen backing down to the us and just getting access for our military to reestablish the hotline after that balloon incident. you know, that happened another year ago. that took six months. >> i mean, you remember strategic economic dialogs, remember in prior administrations how arduous every single, every single meeting was with with the chinese and trying to make inches of progress on certain on certain, you know, certain items. but this is what donald trump thinks. he thinks that he is a different kind of politician, a different kind of diplomat, and that he is going to be able to do what no prior administration has been able to do with china. >> it's really consequential

times. christine romans and garrett hake, thank you both. and congrats. as we know, blasting elon musk and the trump administration for beginning to shut down usaid on monday. the world's richest man explaining why he is targeting the international aid agency. >> as we. >> dug into usaid. >> usaid, it became. apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, but we have actually. >> just. >> a ball of worms. >> a bowl of worms. joining me now, democratic virginia senator tim kaine, who serves on the budget and foreign relations committees, a senator. bipartisan majorities have supported foreign aid. it's half of 1% of the federal budget. usually, no matter whether it's a democratic president or a republican president. in my experience, congress adds to it. and on top of which, i'm told that 95% of the usaid budget is earmarked. we've gotten rid of earmarks on a lot of domestic programs, but not on foreign

aid. so this is these are items, whether it's health or food or energy, that are specifically put in by members of congress from both parties. >> andrea, you're right, usaid and more broadly, our foreign assistance budget, it's a small. >> part of the foreign. >> assistance budget. >> let me quote somebody. >> who actually knows something about the u.s. government, unlike elon. >> musk, general. >> jim mattis, when he was. >> before us to. >> be confirmed as. >> donald trump's. >> first secretary. >> of defense, and. >> he was asked. >> about the foreign assistance budget. >> he said, if you cut that. >> you're going to have to give me more money for. bullets because the foreign. >> assistance budget. >> is what's it's what builds. >> the network. >> of alliances that. >> we have that helps. >> keep us safe. >> we had a hearing earlier this morning. >> with general, with. >> admiral paparo, who. >> is the head of. >> the indo-pacific command. >> and he talked about the. >> need for us to. expand our alliances in the. indo-pacific and acknowledge that one way you

do that is not. >> only through. >> military sales, which donald. >> trump has. >> stopped, except to. >> egypt and israel. >> but also through humanitarian. >> aid. foreign aid. >> commerce. >> trade, all of these things. >> that are. >> now being. >> questioned. and the shutting down of usaid. >> it's illegal. >> to do that because. >> it's contrary to a congressional. >> appropriation and a statute creating the agency. but more importantly, it's hurting us. >> abroad because. >> it creates a. >> huge vacuum. >> china and russia just. >> rub their hands when. >> something like. >> this happens, because. they then go in and fill the vacuum left by the us not being present. >> well, in fact, on december 11th, i had the final interview with samantha power. her farewell to the agency that she had led, and her lead item was a warning that russian and chinese propaganda were beginning to try to criticize our foreign aid and work their way in. obviously, this is post-election. they

could see what was coming and that russian propaganda is already just going viral. in just the last couple of days. she wasn't you know, we're not yet aware of what china is doing, but that russian propaganda is now. >> well. >> just absolutely going off the charts. >> oh. and andrew, i'm. >> aware of what china. >> is doing. >> i've been at this a while. >> when the us. >> steps back in an obvious way. these adversaries lean forward to elon. musk's claim that usaid is. >> a ball. >> of worms. there's a there's an ngo that's based in richmond in my hometown, called the child fund. it used to be called the christian children's fund. they do programing. >> for low income. >> kids all over. >> the world. >> they've been doing it for a century. they do work. >> with usaid. >> mercy corps, church world. >> service's world vision, bread for the world. >> these are really powerful groups. >> that have direct. >> connection with folks on the ground, and. >> the. >> work they do there. creates

enormous goodwill for the united states. so how this kind of billionaire, you know, offshore bitcoin guy. you know, would come in and look at these hard working, often church based ngos. >> and just with a broad. >> brush trash them. >> all shut. >> employees out of the workforce. >> he could care less. >> about the needs. >> of these. struggling people who are getting. >> food aid or health care assistance. >> or vaccines. he doesn't. >> care about them at all. and the. the fact that donald trump has let. >> this guy. >> just run roughshod because he, you know, spent. $240 million on the campaign. it's shocking virginia didn't. vote for donald trump, but. 47% of virginians did. they weren't voting. i can assure you this. they weren't voting for donald trump to let elon musk run roughshod over federal programs and countermand congressionally appropriated budgets. >> let me just play something that elon musk, excuse me, that secretary of state marco rubio

has just said. he's in costa rica today continuing his latin american tour. and he was asked at a news briefing about usaid. >> i have. >> long. >> supported foreign aid. >> i continue. >> to. >> support foreign aid. >> but foreign aid is. >> not charity. >> if it saves lives, if it's. emergency life saving aid, food, medicine. >> whatever. >> they have a waiver. >> i don't. >> know how much clearer we can. >> be. >> so that is going to be a key issue because as you know, the secretary has supported foreign aid. he's voted for it. and it's half the budget of the world food program, the food going into gaza. yeah. usaid is also supporting grain in ukraine after the russians closed the black sea. so they got them back on their feet, exporting grain to the world, which. would cause famines in egypt and elsewhere. >> yeah. >> and we had. >> met we had medicine that couldn't be distributed. >> in. >> the sudan. >> and we. >> did get the secretary to grant a waiver. but here's the

problem. if you freeze everything and then. well. >> but, you know. >> i'll consider a waiver. we don't exactly. >> know. >> the standard that they're using to determine what is a waiver. we have some reason to believe that the way the secretary is, is defining humanitarian aid is much narrower than i think a layperson would understand humanitarian. >> aid to be. >> so freezing everything. but then ask me on a case by case basis and i'll decide, you know, if i'm going to let you do this program or not. that's just a recipe of death by a thousand cuts, gridlock, paperwork. delay everybody until they get worn out and they want to do something else. we need to have clarity. and that is one of my largest complaints. >> in the first two weeks. >> of this administration. andrea, the administration is not telling congress, here's what we're going to do. we learn about it when constituents reach out. it was last monday when. constituents told me, i'm a veteran, i can't get. >> on the. >> va portal and set up an appointment. my community health

centers that are funded and normally get paid. >> at the end of the month, the safety net. they didn't get their month end payment at the end of january. we didn't know that because the administration told us we knew that because the health centers started to reach out and raise questions about whether they could keep serving patients. so whether it's foreign assistance abroad or health care right here at home or service to veterans, everything is up in the air. no one really knows what the answer is because the administration isn't being transparent. >> you assume that rfk jr is going to get confirmed now that senator cassidy, the chair of the health committee and a medical doctor, has said he's overcome his objections and he's going to vote for him? >> well. i know that's what he said. i have a. >> i know. >> senator cassidy and. i have grave doubt whether his objections have been overcome. he has said that he's going to vote for him. and that would suggest, yes, the vegas odds would be that robert f kennedy jr, who is not just an anti-vax advocate, he's a nine over 11

conspiracy theorist. i asked him about that at his confirmation hearing before the health, education, labor pension, the fact that republicans would vote for somebody who says he won't take sides about nine over 11. this is not the republican party that i've been familiar with during my entire life. >> senator tim kaine, thank you so much, sir. >> absolutely. >> and next, we'll talk about rfk jr's nomination to lead all of the nation's health agencies, the nation's top agency nominee passed his first hurdle. can democrats find any republican allies when it comes up for the final vote on the senate floor? but first, another amateur moment, as we're reviewing 17 years here, i do want to say we have some breaking news. the white house has announced on twitter that vladimir putin is coming to the white house in the fall. >> say that again. >> you.

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of louisiana now says he is supporting robert f kennedy jr. s nomination to run hhs. the nomination now goes to the senate floor for final approval. joining us now, nbc news correspondent vaughn hillyard and doctor paul offit, director of vaccine education center at the children's hospital of philadelphia. vaughn, first to you, that senator cassidy was one of the uncertain votes here, but he is the chair of the health committee, and he just spoke on the floor. so we all heard him saying that he's overcome his objections. he thinks they can work collaboratively, despite the fact that, you know, robert f kennedy jr was not just a vaccine skeptic, he was a vaccine opponent. >> i was surprised. >> i mean, you have senator. >> kennedy gave an. >> impassioned talk about. >> a patient he had taken care. >> of who had a. >> hepatitis b. associated liver. >> cancer.

>> the kind of liver. >> cancer that's fatal. >> and rfk jr. >> has said. >> he doesn't think. >> the. >> hepatitis b vaccine works. >> and yet he's. >> willing to move. >> forward with him. >> i mean, rfk jr is what he says. he is what he says he's been for the last 20. >> years. >> which he is a passionate anti-vaccine advocate. >> and if you expect. >> him to be somebody. >> different. >> you're wrong. and i guess i was disappointed by senator. >> cassidy's vote. >> and surprised. >> and there's also the fact that the cdc stopped putting out its weekly guidances, including one that was supposed to come out last week on bird flu or the week before. it's been two weeks now. so communications are down, websites are being shut down. this government takeover is happening in, in, you know, rapid fire by elon musk, the doge team and others. >> right. >> the cdc is the. country's biggest. epidemiological agency. so they tell. >> us what's going on. they tell us where there's outbreaks of. >> measles or dengue. >> they tell us whether or not.

>> bird flu. >> has converted to the fact that it can now be transmitted from one person to the next, and could be a pandemic. we need that information and now we don't have it. >> it's like silence. >> radio silence for information that. >> is critical. >> to how we. handle the health of people in this. >> country, it's. >> hard to watch. i really. >> fear for. >> what's for. >> the public health in this country right now. >> ron, what do we expect from when the full senate is going to vote on the nomination? >> at this point in time. it's tough to see how. >> robert f kennedy jr is. >> rejected unless there. >> is a. >> republican who has not been on the record at this point in time that comes in cast. >> a no vote for him when he goes before the full senate. >> when you look at this committee, the finance committee, they just voted him out. >> it's 14. >> republicans, 13 democrats. and that's why kennedy could. not afford to lose. >> a single. >> republican vote. and cassidy is the one who is a. practicing physician. let's be clear. kennedy would be an individual,

a place atop hhs who is not a trained. >> health expert. >> and cassidy, during those confirmation hearings, openly was skeptical of not only his vaccine position, but also about his understanding of how medicaid works and the basic functioning of these more than dozen health agencies. and when you look. >> at this. >> full senate, you. could see. >> murkowski. >> you could see collins voting no. and mitch mcconnell, you'll recall, wrote an op ed denouncing robert f kennedy jr's skepticism of the polio vaccine. and so you could have potentially mcconnell voting no. but moving forward from there, cassidy would have if there had been three votes, was that one that democrats were hoping would be a fourth vote? and to note, most democrats at this point in time now, andrea, have said that they intend to vote no. but cory booker has still just a few moments ago, our colleague brennan just caught him in the hall. and he still is not a firm no on kennedy at this point in time, but this is a pathway in

which the trump administration feels very good about his trajectory to ultimately being placed and confirmed. >> and doctor offit, just earlier, president trump posted to his social media site truth social. 20 years ago, autism in children was 1 in 10,000. now it's 1 in 34. wow. something's really wrong. we need bobby. so obviously diagnosis is changed. according to the cdc, 25 years ago, 1 in 150 children were identified with autism. in 2020, it was 1 in 36. that's due, in part, that doctors have improved their ability to identify and diagnose autism in early stages. it's not a link to vaccines and vaccines. childhood vaccines have been applied. you know, when i was a kid. >> you're right. >> we've expanded. >> the diagnosis. >> we recognize it more. i can. >> tell you. >> there was a. >> child who was in my elementary school class who would. >> have. >> been diagnosed as being on the. >> spectrum. but it. >> wasn't something that that we. >> heard about. >> that even though autism was

originally described by leo kanner in the 1940s, it really didn't become recognized until recently. so that's what's going on. we do know. >> a lot about autism. >> we do know a lot about the genetics of autism. we do know there are certain factors that contribute to autism. >> like paternal age. >> as distinct. >> from maternal age. >> like there are certain in utero events that can occur that increase the risk. >> of. >> autism, like a rubella infection. for example, a german. >> measles infection. >> but to make it sound like, you know, it's something must be going on and that must be vaccines, i can safely. say that the one thing you know that it's not is, you know, it's not vaccines, because that's the best studied environmental factor to date. >> and it's more common among boys than than girls. correct. >> right. and that's always. >> been true. >> okay. doctor offit, thank you as always. we appreciate it. and bon of course on capitol hill today and next. more on elon musk growing power within the federal government. you're watching andrea mitchell watching andrea mitchell reports. this is dexcom g7 sends your glucose numbers to your phone and watch, so you can always see where you're heading

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>> before our very eyes, an unelected. >> shadow government is conducting. >> a hostile takeover of the federal government. d.o.j. is spreading across the federal government like a virus. and the american people, it's american people who will pay the price. >> senate democrats crying foul about elon musk's doge dismantling. cabinet departments and agencies authorized by congress. joining us now, tyler page, who starts next week at the new york times as the white house correspondent and former republican governor of ohio, john kasich. so, tyler, a lot of mystery surrounding doge. you know who's involved. wire was first to report that the youngest engineer is only 19 years old. so who is doge? what is doge? where is it? what is their accountability? and if they're using ai, which we all expect they are having, you know, gotten into those treasury personnel files, whose ai is it? >> yeah. >> these are all the questions. >> that are being. >> asked, not.

>> just in washington. >> but around the country and frankly. >> around. >> the world. >> today as we. >> continue to try to piece together. >> exactly what's. >> happening inside. >> the. >> federal government. >> we do know, obviously, that. >> the president has given elon musk. >> vast power. >> to try. >> to, as he says. >> cut. >> costs throughout the. >> tremendous u.s. bureaucracy. >> but exactly. >> how they're going. >> about their business. >> and what. >> they're doing. remains unclear. >> to many, even those within the agencies that are subject. >> to. >> their review. we know that elon musk has. >> put. >> together a team and. >> has dispatched. >> many of these people to agencies across the government. >> usaid, the. >> education department and other parts of the u.s. bureaucracy. >> as they say. >> they're trying to go on fact finding. >> missions to. >> cut costs. >> but the way in which they're doing that are quite dramatic. they are locking people. >> out of their email. >> accounts. demanding access to. >> sensitive information systems, the white house press. >> secretary, caroline leavitt, has. >> told reporters that elon musk. >> is a special. government employee. >> and that they have not

accessed. >> any personal. they have read. >> only access. >> they're not editing. >> these. >> files or. >> obtaining access, but there is. >> not any. >> oversight of. >> this or. >> you know, entity. >> it is. >> a rebrand of the u.s. >> digital service. >> which was a. white house office in charge of. >> modernizing the. >> u.s. bureaucracy. >> so it has been a dramatic overhaul and. overreach of. >> what that. >> agency was initially set up to do. and there's a lot. >> of questions. >> about exactly. >> what they're doing and little oversight of it to this point. >> and, governor, welcome. of course, donald trump can say, i, i ran on this. i promise to do this. and he made a lot of promises. some he's kept, some he hasn't. but i don't think anyone expected them to move so quickly with no notice to congress and just freezing, you know, taking down websites and stopping programs. and right now, even though there's one court order, it's as far as we

know from the field, they're still stopped. >> well. >> andrea, first of all, if democrats think that they can argue for the. >> status quo, they. >> certainly didn't get any lesson from the election where they just lost, okay. and didn't win the house. like people were expecting. look, i as you know, i was chairman of the budget committee. i wrote most of the plan that balanced the budget in. >> the late. >> 90s and gave us four years of surpluses and paid. >> down the largest. >> amount of the. publicly held debt. i did. >> the same thing. >> as. as the governor. >> of ohio. >> but what i did. >> it. >> in a different way. >> i had a cabinet. >> group of people. i said, this is our goal. >> and i. >> need you to meet. >> these targets. >> i have, and. >> you can. >> do it. and if you can't do it, i'll find somebody inside that will do it for me. the idea that you come in from the outside and create a chaotic situation is not the way to do this, but. >> anybody who. >> thinks that that federal government is not bloated and. >> out of. >> control, and we're running a

$36 trillion national debt that could put us. in a position of where ultimately we got to run printing presses. >> to. >> pay for our bills. we need a change. i just don't think this is exactly the way. >> to do it. >> but look, it's still. >> early in this. >> the chaos is not good. frightening employees is not good, but demanding that people inside this bureaucracy begin to bring about change. i was just talking to somebody. >> yesterday who's been. >> fighting poverty most of their adult life. they're trying to fix it. we have a thing called a cliff, a benefit cliff. if a family that's poor wants to make more money, they get punished by losing their benefits. it's. and then they have to get a grant to try to supplement them. it's what you call bass. >> ackwards. >> there's so much in the federal government. look at the department of defense. they can't buy off the shelf. they can't do so many things that they ought to be doing. it's across the board. >> well. >> and our education system, you know, so what i'm saying is we need change. >> i'm not going to argue with

that at all. i don't think any, you know, voting citizen. >> well. >> i don't know. >> i'm just saying what i. >> hear. >> from the democrats. yeah, but i'm just saying, do you start with something that's one half of 1% of the budget, where you've got food now piled up in a warehouse that can't be trucked into gaza, part of a critical peace deal? i mean, why shut something down and stop the contractors before you examine what they're actually doing? >> i. >> i. >> i would agree with that. that's why i'm. saying it needs to be done from the inside out. and by the way, i'm the person that partnered up with bono, the rock star, to try to provide debt relief to the african countries. i believe in foreign aid, but i also know there's a lot of waste across the board. so what i would be. doing and i'm not there, but what i would. >> be doing is. >> i would instructing the people that i have in positions of. authority to work with. those who are there to make sure that we get the reform we need. and you don't want to hurt people. you don't want to stop trucks going into gaza. that's

that's just crazy. but is the answer to have somebody that has never been involved in the government, who might be 19 years old, to go in there and try to reconstruct it? i mean, come on, andrea, we have to use the best and the brightest that we have inside the government, have people on the outside work with them, get the change we need, and begin to fix this. but if all you're going to hear honestly, if you're going to hear out of the opposition is this is all horrible. and i like what we're doing. no, that is a bad prescription. and i had hoped that the democrats would have learned more about the election results. >> yeah, i'm not saying that this is all that the democrats are saying, because we're just showing a little bit of it today. but they had their they had their speeches yesterday and we can go through that. but i'm just saying that the people who are in charge, who have experienced the experience, nonpolitical people, they've been locked out of the office, they've lost access to emails. they cannot be consulted. >> it's a. >> it's a terrible mistake to do it that way. you're creating

chaos. the opposite of what business people say. they say they want a stable environment. what they're doing now, what musk is doing is creating an unstable environment, scaring people, hurting some people, and hurting some of the purposes we have for helping people. so i want to be clear about that. i just think they're going about it the wrong way, and what they need to be doing is working inside out, rather than having people come in from the outside and just pummeling people on the inside. it's not the way to do this. >> we're going to leave it there. thank you very much. governor kasich. it's always great to talk to you. and on this, i don't think we i don't think we disagree at all. and we have terrible news from sweden. swedish officials say approximately ten people are dead, including the gunman, after a mass shooting earlier today at an adult education center in a town about two hours west of stockholm. investigators are still processing the scene, but police believe the shooter acted alone. several adult victims are being treated in local hospitals, but no word yet on their conditions or a possible motive for the attack.

next, firings of those fbi agents continuing as the trump team retaliates for anyone connected to january 6th prosecutions, critical support from one republican senator could smooth the way for tulsi gabbard, now to become head of national intelligence. 18 agencies you're watching andrea agencies you're watching andrea mitchellet's get started. bill, where's your mask? i really tried sleeping with it, everybody. but i'm done struggling. now i sleep with inspire. inspire? inspire is a sleep apnea treatment that works inside my body with just the click of this button. a button? no mask? no hose? just sleep. yeah but you need the hose, you need the air, you need the whoooooosh... inspire. sleep apnea innovation. learn more, and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com do i smell okay? [sniff] mhm. why are you shimmying? oh! unstopables has odor blocker so i'll feel fresh all day, even after a red eye. we all use unstopables.

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com or just stop by granger for the ones who get it done. >> we'll get the first read on whether president trump's controversial choice of tulsi gabbard to head the nation's 18 intelligence agencies is going to sail through when the senate intelligence committee holds a closed door meeting to vote this afternoon. at least three republicans who were noncommittal about this nomination say that they will now support gabbard. during her contentious confirmation hearing, she faced some tough questions about her past comments and actions supporting vladimir putin and his explanation for the war in ukraine, as well as syria's bashar al assad, and refusal to say whether she believes edward snowden, who leaked massive amounts of classified documents

to russia and others, is a traitor. joining us now is former cia director john brennan. so your reaction to what we've seen so far from the senate with rfk jr. today, opponents sort of dropping by the wayside. now we have a critical vote in favor of her from another person that we thought might have been against her. what do you think about chelsea gabbard becoming the next dni? >> well, first of all. >> andrea, it's wonderful to. be with you. and i just want. >> to say. >> thank you for your many years of hard work. >> helping to. >> shed light on an increasingly complicated and dangerous world. you have done a terrific job. >> well, clearly. >> over the. >> past. >> several weeks. >> tulsi gabbard. >> has been. >> subjected to a number of questions from during her confirmation hearing, as well as just scrutiny about her past record and statements. and i think those were all very legitimate lines of inquiry. and so now it's a question of whether or not the senate is going to fulfill its obligations under the advice and consent

responsibilities that it has. and so my interest is whoever is confirmed as director of national intelligence is going to fulfill that job with the integrity that the job requires, because our country's national security really depends heavily on the person, the director of national intelligence, whose responsibility it is to lead the 18 intelligence agencies and the men and women around the globe 24 over seven who dedicate their lives to keeping this country safe. >> the agency, the fbi that is now so much under fire, contrary to what kash patel and pam bondi said at their confirmation hearings. but you've got potentially thousands of fbi agents who had even minimal contact with january 6th prosecutions may be serving a subpoena. they are now actually trying to go to court. they filed suit against the department, trying to block the release of the names of people who handled these cases, to try to protect them from retaliation

and from danger. what does this say about the rule of law right now? >> well, i think. >> it's had a traumatic effect on the fbi in terms of trying to find out who might have been working on any of these cases. and as we have we know fbi agents don't get to choose and select which cases they want to work on. they get selected and assigned to these cases. and, you know, they have done such heroic work trying to ensure that this country stays strong, goes after various terrorist organizations, foreign adversaries and others, and to politicize this process. and this bureau, i think really is quite disturbing. and i know a lot of these individuals, yes, they're concerned about their own personal situation and whether or not they're going to be fired. and what does it mean for their personal lives. but they also are very worried about the rule of law and the cases that they've been working on, and the disruption that this is going to cause to these cases.

so we are in a very precarious moment here, i think, in our history. and i think the bureau, the fbi, which is one of the real pillars that has been able to keep this country safe and strong over the years, i think, is being subjected to unprecedented challenges right now. >> and talking also about gabbard, she's going to be, if she's confirmed, dni, the cia has the man and woman power have the troops to operate in the field. they've got the analysts. the dni coordinates, but does handle the final edit on the presidential daily brief that is produced by cia. and the briefer gets appointed. so she's a lot to say about what information actually gets to the president of the united states. what are the risks there? >> i think there are. >> significant risks because this. president's daily brief, the pdb, which goes. >> to the white. >> house and goes to 2 or 3 dozen senior officials, it provides the insights, the intelligence, the analysis that is necessary to understand

exactly what is happening around the globe. and if you don't ensure that there's the pdb is going to contain the best information, the most accurate, the most honest information, irrespective of what the policy druthers might be of the white house, you're really doing a disservice to the american people. so again, i know that the men and women throughout the intelligence community and cia, i just want to make sure that they're able to do their jobs again, with the integrity that i think has been the hallmark of their profession over the last, you know, 75 years. >> john brennan, former cia director, former homeland director at the white house, thank you so much. we'll see you on the other side. >> thank you andrew. >> appreciate it. and at the white house today, a former israeli ambassador to the u.s. is going to be talking about that. previewing the meeting when netanyahu comes to the white house, the first time he's been there in many years because he never got a white house visit with former president biden.

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iberogast indigestion iberogast bloating iberogast thanks to a unique combination of herbs, iberogast helps relieve six digestive symptoms to help you feel better. six digestive symptoms. the power of nature. iberogast. implemented. alex will be in the field reporting from the. >> front lines. >> what issue matters to you the most? >> and rachel will be hosting five. >> nights a week. >> important stories are going to be told through field work and frontline reporting about the consequences of government action. >> alex wagner. >> reporting from. >> across the country and the. >> rachel maddow show weeknights. >> at 9:00 on msnbc. >> the republican white house has a new warning. >> for republican senators. get behind all of trump's cabinet picks or face political consequences. >> we have republicans now advocating for the elimination

of health care for the poor. >> just hours after swearing to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the united states, donald trump issued an executive order to defy one of its most consequential amendments. we are all. >> watching and. >> waiting to see who is. >> going to. hold the line. >> don't miss the weekend. >> saturday and sunday mornings at. >> 8:00 on msnbc. >> this afternoon, israel's prime minister netanyahu will finally get the white house meeting he never had with president biden for four years. he'll be meeting with president trump today. it's mr. trump's first foreign head of state to visit in this term. and so they're rolling out the red carpet. they're expected to discuss the next phase of the gaza ceasefire, which will include the release of the remaining american hostages, as well as right wing pressure on netanyahu to take over palestinian territory on the west bank, something that president trump and his new ambassador to israel have supported. on sunday, netanyahu called it an important meeting. >> the decisions we made in the

war have already changed the face of the middle east. our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have redrawn the map. but i believe that working closely with president trump, we can redraw it even further and for the better. >> and joining me now i'm pleased to see is michael oren, the former israeli ambassador to the united states. great to see you. thank you very much. let's talk about this visit, because it's going to really set the table for what comes next at a pivotal time. you know this better than i when he talks about expanding the map. he's talking about saudi recognition. he's talking about the ambition that donald trump first laid out on the abraham accords, to really have the arab world at peace with israel. but that won't happen if he yields to his right wing ministers and takes palestinian lands from the west bank, takes them all over something that they want and which the saudis would never agree to. am i right?

>> well. >> well. >> first. >> of all. >> it's a great. >> pleasure and always a tremendous. >> honor to be with. >> you, andrea. thank you. thank you for hosting me. this is an historic meeting. >> first of. >> all, it's the first meeting with a foreign leader. >> in the white house of the trump presidency. >> and there's a significance in that. there's a message in that to the middle east, to the world. and it's a very important message. beyond that, a very full deck, a very full. >> table of issues that. >> begin with. >> gaza, the. >> second phase of the cease fire. >> which is a very. >> difficult phase for this prime minister and his government, because basically it means that hamas survives. hamas will continue to control large parts of gaza, parts that are not being controlled by the israeli military. hopefully, hopefully, israel will get the hostages back. we can't assume that hamas is going to get all the hostages. it may save a few. you know, i don't mean this cynically, but for a rainy day, hamas to say, hey, we don't know where. >> they are. >> and then beyond that, as you mentioned before, the saudi

israel peace deal, which is on the table, there. >> may be a price. >> to pay for that in terms of. discussing in some way what the saudis call a pathway to a palestinian state. which is a good term pathway. >> it's the p word. it doesn't really mean. >> you actually discussing a. >> palestinian state. >> you're discussing. >> that pathway. >> but still, that's a very heavy lift. >> for many. >> members of. >> the prime minister's coalition. prime minister could come back to them and say. >> what. >> can i do? you know, the president is demanding this. and if. >> we do. >> agree to. discuss that pathway, we. >> can get peace with saudi arabia. >> which. >> means peace. >> with the entire. >> sunni world. it means peace with indonesia. >> malaysia. >> potentially even pakistan. >> but, andrew. >> i think. >> the big issue along the line will be iran that we cannot talk about eliminating the threat of hamas, eliminating the threat of hezbollah in the north. >> without dealing with. >> what they call in the middle. >> east. >> the. >> head of the snake or. >> the head of the octopus. >> that has. >> to. >> be resolved. and i. >> think that reaching. >> an understanding with this white house. >> with israel would be a truly

game. >> changing outcome for this meeting. >> and in fact, there's new reporting today, the new york times reporting that something that i've been told u.s. officials have long suspected that iran, we knew they were a week, days away from having enough nuclear material, nuclear fuel for a weapon, but not the weapon itself. they hadn't done the miniaturization. they hadn't gotten the delivery system, but that they are now looking at a shortcut, technically, to be able to have the weapon itself in less than a year, less than the lead time. so does that give more impetus to the argument that netanyahu can make? he does go after iran, and importantly, they've eliminated most of iran's air defenses in that strike. the retaliation israeli strike. so they are in much better position now militarily to do it. >> well, i would. >> go as far as to say. >> yes. >> it's a very significant development. >> i noticed. and certainly. raises the whole question of whether action is necessary on the part of israel or together.

>> with the united states. >> to prevent iran from. >> breaking out and creating a. >> nuclear weapon. i think that the iranians and i'm going out on a limb a bit here, bear with me that they are also transactional in the. >> way that the. >> president is transactional, and that this move is meant to indicate to the white house that they're opening to negotiations. >> that that. >> and i think that they that this president would prefer to negotiate and. not to engage in a kinetic action. >> against. >> against iran. but he wants to engage in negotiations in. >> a. way that is. >> fundamentally different than the path that both the biden and obama administrations was, which was to incentivize the iranians to come to the negotiating table. i think that this president. >> would like to. >> see the iranians come to the table begging for a deal. and so right now, i think this move is part of a message. >> to the white. house that we in. >> tehran are willing to ratchet up. the pressure on you to negotiate. we see what happens. >> we have to. >> there's always the. the law of unintended consequences. when you get very, very close to. a

weapon that would threaten not just israel. >> and the entire middle. >> east, but the world and the. united states, people may take action. >> michael oren, ambassador, thank you very much. thank you. and that does it for this edition of andrea mitchell reports. chris jansing report starts after a short break. >> a lot of people. >> need to replace. >> their windows or. patio doors, but. >> they. >> put it off. because they think. >> it. >> will be too expensive. >> hi, i'm. >> ann rohmer. i'm here with michael smith from renewal by andersen. you really work. >> with the customers. >> to find affordable solutions. >> we do. and we're the. >> replacement window division of andersen, one of the largest window. >> manufacturers in north america. so we can usually offer our customers larger discounts and better financing than smaller companies or contractors. >> other window companies don't offer your same window and door installation method. >> our installers. >> have installed. >> thousands of windows. windows are manufactured. >> to precisely fit. >> your specific window

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>> good day. i'm chris jansing, live at