sit out the last election or maybe voted third party or wrote someone in because they were upset about the administration, the biden administration's policy towards how they were handling the war between israel and hamas, and the effect it had on the palestinian people. and i and i think that those are very valid reasons. but my point is, elections have consequences all around the board for candidates what they did and didn't do on the campaign trail, what they did and didn't say for voters whether they voted or they didn't vote. there are consequences to everything. and i think the best thing to do is learn from this last election cycle to go forward. but the. reality is, you can't say you didn't know what donald trump was going to do. >> yeah, absolutely. very clearly, it's a good point, simone, however upset people are about it. symone sanders townsend, thank you. and of course we will be watching, as always, saturday and sunday, your show, the weekend starting at 8 a.m. eastern. and that was way too early for this friday morning. morning joe kicks off right now. >> because here in america, we are once again a nation that believes in ourselves. we believe in our destiny and

trusts in the providence of almighty god. and i can tell you the opposite side, the opposing side. and they oppose religion. they oppose god. they've lost their confidence. they've lost their confidence as a different group of people than i remember. as the bible says, blessed are the peacemakers. and in that end, i hope my greatest legacy, when it's all finished, will be known as a peacemaker and a unifier. i hope that's going to be true. >> all right. president trump there with his unique style as unifier in chief yesterday at the national. >> prayer breakfast in washington. >> it comes. >> as his administration continues. >> to create. >> chaos within the. >> federal government. >> we're going to go through the. >> plans to make massive cuts to the usaid workforce. and how the layoffs. could impact lifesaving aid to people around the world, as well. >> as our own. >> foreign policy. plus. >> we'll have. >> an update on the major legal

fights over his executive. >> orders. >> as well as the legally. >> murky federal. >> buyout offer. >> to federal employees. >> we'll also. have a preview of. >> the big. >> game in the. >> big easy super. >> bowl 59. good morning. >> and welcome. >> to morning joe. >> anybody glad it's friday. >> you're here. >> not even noticing. >> it's just. like any. >> other day february 7th. >> with us. we have the co-host. >> of the fourth hour. >> jonathan lemire. >> he's a contributing. >> writer at the atlantic. covering the. >> white house and. >> national politics. >> nbc news national. >> affairs analyst and partner. >> and chief. >> political columnist at puck, john heilemann, who. >> i. >> welcomed so gracefully this morning. graciously. >> generously. >> yes. >> as sweetly as ever. >> it was so nice. >> to. >> see you approach. >> the set. >> not so great. >> yeah, not. >> so great. >> former senior. >> spokesperson and adviser. >> for. >> the harris campaign. >> adrienne elrod, is here, the host of way too early ali. >> vitali. >> probably the happiest that it's friday. >> and staff. >> writer at. >> the atlantic. frank ford.

>> is with us. >> so joe. >> we got a. >> lot to get. >> to this morning after a pretty jam. >> packed week. >> here. >> on morning joe. >> well. >> let me just say i'm sad that it's friday. wish it were monday and we could do this all over. again because there's. >> just never enough. >> time with our friends that. >> watch. >> never enough time to tell all the stories. >> so i'm going to. >> be sad. but i'm. >> going to. cling to the. >> realization that, you know, this all starts again on monday. four hours a day, five days a week. i will have. >> my stopwatch. >> and i just as you know, i stare at it all weekend. >> and it's. >> like a. >> countdown until the monday show. i will say. >> it is always fascinating. >> to. >> be here. >> to see. >> we are. >> it is. >> always fascinating to see donald trump at these prayer breakfasts, because you. >> never know. >> it's like a box of chocolate. you never know exactly. >> what you're going. >> to get. yeah. and so.

>> you have these. >> calls for unity. and you also had these these suggestions that democrats. >> were godless. >> heathens that. >> had lost their way. and of course, the suggestion that now suddenly over the past couple of. >> weeks, america. >> has become a great country again. as i said all along, america is a great country. we are. >> we are, we are wonderful country. we have been a. >> wonderful country and. >> we will remain. >> a wonderful country despite. >> a lot of. >> the nonsense. >> that goes on in washington, dc. but it is. >> interesting and. >> it does need to be brought up that nancy pelosi, even when donald trump was deriding her personally. attacking her personally, even when he mocked and ridiculed nancy pelosi's husband, being brutalized within inches of his desk, she still talked about. praying for donald

trump, and it was a concept he didn't understand. it's a concept that actually jesus talks about in the sermon on the mount. i am i'm only bringing this up. it's not it's not preaching. this is just reporting on if you're going to the prayer breakfast and you're saying democrats are godless heathen and you don't even understand that jesus is one of the first things that we learn in matthew on the sermon on the mount is that you pray for your enemies. you pray for those who want to persecute you. blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. when you're asked to forgive, you're asked to forgive 70 times seven. that's that's like the perfect number. so that lies at the heart of jesus's ministry. and so i just remember when nancy pelosi talked about when nancy

pelosi talked about praying for donald trump. he said, oh, that's that's nobody nobody believes that. how could you how could you ever do that? he is also a man who has said that he's never had to ask god for forgiveness either. so again, what one does at the prayer conference when prayer breakfast, when one is president of the united states, obviously is up to them. i would say, though, just a recommendation. if you're trying to bring the country together, you can pass on the whole democrats or godless marxists because, yeah, maybe, maybe the most intense of the base believe it. but it's kind of hard to spread that message. at the same time, you're destroying pepfar, at the same time, you're destroying all these other aid efforts that were actually inspired by religious organizations and presidents belief in jesus

christ and the need that we needed to help the poorest among us. and so interesting time to be delivering that message. let's hope again, a page is turned. hope springs eternal. let us hope that that the two sides can figure out how to get along. and that starts by one side, not calling the other side godless heathens. just a suggestion. just a suggestion that may not be the best way forward. >> yeah, and speaking of helping the poorest among us. >> our top story this. >> morning. >> the trump administration plans to cut the. >> number of. >> usaid workers from more than 10,000 to just 292, sources. >> with the. >> plans say, familiar with. >> the plans. >> the remaining. >> staff includes. >> employees who specialize in. >> health and humanitarian assistance. >> the agency. >> is pushing the state. >> department for. >> less severe. >> cuts, and.

>> have submitted. >> a much. >> longer list of. >> staff that they deem essential. >> but reports. >> say most. >> of the. >> contractors have. >> already been. >> fired or. >> furloughed, and. >> that the 290. >> that will. >> remain are among the more than. >> 5000 foreign service. >> officers, civil. >> servants and. >> contractors still. >> employed under. >> the plan. >> just 12. people would be dedicated. to serve. >> the continent. >> of africa. and eight people for all. >> of asia, and 600 employees dedicated. >> to europe will. >> be. >> cut to just ten people. >> secretary of. state marco. >> rubio said yesterday the actions were not meant to be disruptive, but were, quote, the only. way we've been able to. >> get cooperation. >> from usaid, okay. meanwhile, unions. representing foreign service officers and federal employees. >> at usaid. >> are suing. >> the trump administration. >> in an. >> effort to stop. >> the dismantling. >> of the agency. the suit is.

>> filed against president. >> trump. >> secretary of state marco. >> rubio. >> secretary of. >> the. >> treasury scott. >> bessent, usaid, the state department, and. >> the department of. >> treasury, and seeks an injunctive relief to stop the effort to close the agency down and restore its system. it goes on. >> to allege the group. >> is. >> responsible for. >> causing a. global humanitarian. crisis and costing. thousands of american. >> jobs, and. >> argues only. >> congress can. >> dissolve the agency. >> so, joe, let's stop. >> right there, because there's a lot going on, including. elon musk's. >> involvement and. >> this process. that the secretary of state, marco rubio, said there was. >> no. >> other way to do. >> it seems. >> to me. >> there are. >> lawful ways to do this. >> as opposed to how it's happening. >> and that's a question, and it's a question for all of the doge projects, because i think,

let me just say at the outset, as a small government conservative, as somebody who actually helped lead the fight with about a dozen of my classmates, we balance the budget four years in a row, and we did that. it's the only time it's happened in a hundred years. it's the only time it's happened in a century. we did it four years in a row. there's nothing easy about it. there's government waste out there involved. but we did it constitutionally. we did it legally. it's hard. it's just a very difficult thing to do. and so the question is not whether they're going to find waste, fraud and abuse in the government. of course they're going to find waste, fraud and abuse in the government. and this is something they should do, but they need to do it legally, and they need to do it transparently. there's no transparency here that i can that that i can see. i mean, we i think there are people inside the white house that i've spoken to that are still sort of

guessing and curious exactly about what's happening. and the speed. but these changes are taking place with really no organization, with with no game plan. it's extraordinarily dangerous. these these governmental systems opened up and opened up in a way that will allow china, allow russia, allow iran, allow our foreign adversaries to possibly gain access to these systems. i think after layer after layer after layer of security could just be gutted. that's one thing i want to say. another thing though, and i find it a curious john heilemann. i find it a curious argument that some democrats are making, which is, let's not fight about this. you know, it's foreign aid. foreign aid is not popular. let's let's talk about eggs or let's talk about, no, i this this is this is a fight

that i don't care what polls say right now. if it's a 5050 split, i still have confidence in the american people that they don't want children to die in sudan. they don't want them to starve to death in sudan, and they don't want malaria spreading all over africa. they don't want these diseases spreading all over the world. they don't want george w bush's pepfar project, which has saved 25 million lives so far across the world. they don't want those stopped. at the end of the day, if democrats will actually explain that to them. and this whole idea that, oh, we don't have the money to provide grain to young children who were starving, and africa are across the world in sudan or across the world. i mean, one fighter jet here buys a hell of a lot of life saving aid and a

lot of prevention for diseases that would spread across the globe. and on top of that, as far as a bang for your buck goes, if you look at not only the goodwill that the united states gets out of these programs, but the intel that we gain, let's just be cynical about this. if nobody gives a damn about the morality, the intel that we gain about al qaeda's actions in africa, isis actions in africa, what china is doing to try to elbow us out for minerals and precious resources in africa. if we look at what russia's constantly trying to do to undermine our position, what iran is trying to do, man, this is just a great value. it is a great value that we saw after world war two. we see time and time again, hearts and minds are changed and the united states power grows exponentially. what

is right actually leads to might. in many, many ways. this is a strategically smart thing to do moving forward with this program. cut the waste, fraud, and abuse. but god, don't gut it. and if you're a democrat, why not defend it? well, i think, joe, i, i have. >> heard some of the consultants. >> who've made this. >> argument that, you know, four days. >> of political loser. i think. >> it's fair to say ■that i you. >> were to. >> look at polling. >> over the course of the past. >> not a few years. >> but a few. >> decades. >> that they're not wrong, that. >> that that foreign. >> aid is not. >> is traditionally thought of as a as a liberal. humanitarian concern. it's not framed. >> the way you. >> described it. >> it's not been defended. >> in. >> the way. >> you defend it. >> and usaid. >> in particular. has not been. put in. >> those in that context. >> that's an. >> argument worth. >> making, maybe. >> but i understand. >> the kind. >> of reflexive desire. of some

consultants to say, you know. this is a. >> this is a loser. donald trump's going to enjoy this fight. we need to move. >> on to a bigger fight. i am with you on the substance of it. i i'm also with you on the. >> politics of it. >> if it's recast. >> in a different way. i think. if you're. >> going to try. >> to fight this fight program by program. >> making the. >> arguments for is. >> this spending or that. >> department or. >> this level. >> of cuts. >> that is. >> also, in a lot of cases, you know, the things that elon musk. >> and. his team are focusing. >> on are things that. >> traditionally have. >> been hard to defend and that have not been not been. >> obvious winners. >> for democrats. >> i think. >> the notion of making. >> an argument. >> about an unelected. plutocrat and his group. of toadies. and henchmen. >> with their zip drives, a staging a. >> digital coup in a lot of. >> cases. >> rolling into agencies. >> with no authorization. >> no one. >> you talked about transparency before. >> i say, with no

accountability. >> yeah, that the. >> doj is. >> acting in a. lawless way. >> to go. >> to target. >> given programs of. >> all kinds and kind of. >> in the dead of night over weekends, access to computer systems and. >> making determinations. >> that the. >> congress hasn't. >> voted on, that. >> no one has. >> authorized, that no. >> one has debated. >> beforehand that all. >> of these that that argument that democrats are now starting to. glom onto, which is. this is. >> this is. >> a usurpation. >> of the democratic process. this is breaking the government. >> this is a coup. >> in all. >> but. >> without without the kalashnikovs. >> that those. >> kinds of. >> arguments to fold usaid under. >> that blanket. >> under that larger argument and sort of. >> say, wait, wait, stop. >> what's going on here? >> who gave you elon musk the right to. >> shut down anything? >> you are. unelected and you. >> are you are unconfirmed. you are unvetted. >> what is where does your. >> authority derive? >> i think. >> democrats are starting to.

>> see that as a powerful political argument. >> and rather than fighting program. >> by program, you need to. >> fight. this larger fight. >> and you need to. fight it. >> right now. >> frank is writing more about the d.o.j. part. >> of this. >> and i think the bigger thing. >> politically, adrienne. >> elrod, is that. >> there's something in. >> this. >> catastrophe for everybody. >> i don't. think you. need to. >> focus on just one aspect. >> of it. >> because. >> listen. >> donald trump. >> taps into this america first attitude. >> and i've even. >> heard republicans and. >> those representing. >> the white house. >> saying. >> you know, there. >> are people. >> suffering from. >> the fires. there are people suffering in north carolina from, you. >> know, the catastrophes there. why should that be. >> money be spent abroad. >> when we are suffering? >> americans want. >> what they can get. and there is a. very me. >> first attitude out. >> there that. >> trump taps into it. >> so i. >> do. >> think it's important to. >> mention the. >> part and to focus on the. >> fact that we're handing.

>> off vital resources. >> that. >> we're handing off vital. >> secrets and. making a void. >> where russia. >> and china can. >> step in, making. >> our country. >> less safer. because i do think also, republicans and followers of donald trump. >> are very. much into. >> national security. >> and this is not. >> good for. >> our national security. >> that's exactly right. i mean, look, first of all, it should come as no surprise to me that usaid is one of the first programs that or the first agencies that trump. >> went after. >> for the very reasons. >> that you just. >> laid out, that. >> a lot of americans are seeing this as you know, you're taking my taxpayer dollars, you're taking my hard earned money, and you're focusing on foreign aid as opposed to my own, you. >> know, the. >> needs of my own necessarily. >> you know? >> exactly. true. >> but that's. >> that that's the equation. >> which is. >> exactly why democrats and anybody, by the way, who opposes dismantling usaid, has got to do we've got to do a better job of telling the story. to your point, talking about how soft diplomacy, talking about how giving foreign aid to foreign

countries is going to actually keep america safer, it's something that we democrats. >> just we got to. >> do a better job of doing that. so, you know, going out there instead of some of these members of congress going out and. >> yelling, we will. >> win at a press conference. we actually need these members to go out to their social media channels. we need real, everyday people going out to their communities and talking about how these programs actually help keep america safe, how they help american families. that is just the bottom line, because again, if you're. >> the average. >> american, you're looking at this and saying. i wanted. >> the system. >> to be shaken up. i wanted government bloat to go down the first place i'm going to go to or that trump should go to is usaid. >> so we just got to. >> do a better job at telling the story. >> you're referring. >> of course, to. >> chuck schumer's news. >> conference earlier this week. a few real world implications here, cutting usaid that are collected here, anti-trafficking work. and latin america has already taken a hit. clinical trials funded by usaid. medical experiments have been stopped. the new york times has a great story and a terrible story on

this today. midstream people, some people have medical devices still in their bodies because the trials were abruptly stopped. we have damaged the funding. usaid helped fund ukraine's energy system. that's obviously a boon to vladimir putin if that goes away, as well as billions of dollars here for the u.s. economy. the washington post reports on how some american farmers would have contracts with usaid that's now gone away, that's hurting the american pocketbook here at home. and we should also note, of course, that elon musk, who's in charge of all this, is the leader in spreading misinformation, disinformation outright, lying on his x account. and that for about, let's say, the condoms in gaza, for instance. and that's been amplified by right wing media. so, frank, your latest piece for the atlantic delves into all of this, particularly focusing on musk. it's got this headline, the dictatorship of the engineer. you write in part this given american conservatives recent rhetoric, their surrender to musk's vision of utopia is discordant, to say the least.

ever since the pandemic, the maga movement has decried the tyranny of a cabal of self-serving experts who wield their technical knowledge unaccountably. but even as the right purports to loathe technocracy, it has empowered to engineer a radically to radically remake the american state in the name of efficiency. you go on to write. he has casually paused global aid programs that alleviate suffering. he has moved to destroy bureaucrats careers without concern for the rippling personal consequences to a brain as rational as musk's democracy is waste and inefficiency, the best system is the one bursting forth from his mind. and frankly, tell us more about this. to the point earlier, no. no one voted for elon musk. elon musk has not appeared before a senate hearing. he has not been confirmed. he it's his background. he's been white house officials say he has received some sort of security

clearance, but very vague as to what or what sort of background check went into that. and yet he is right now arguably just as powerful as donald trump in terms of reshaping and slashing the federal bureaucracy. yeah. >> perhaps doing more. >> than any single individual. >> elected or unelected. >> to transform. >> the american state. >> in a. >> short period of time. >> and the thing about usaid. is that it is. >> just a beachhead. >> it is. >> just the. >> landing crew. and so. >> what's happening at usaid is, of course. being replicated. >> across the. >> entirety of the federal government. >> and i think for. >> people who style themselves. as conservatives to see the way in which. >> a true conservative. >> see the way in which change. is rippling through systems, institutions are being shattered. >> no. >> matter what the value those. institutions bring. and it's just the radicalism and the arrogance and the way in which these guys who know nothing about government, these are people. and this is the musk

method. as an engineer, he believes that because. >> he is such. >> a genius. he can descend on any system, and because of his great mind, he can find a way to remake that system so that it works better. he doesn't actually understand the system. he understands the process. so he steps in and his. approach is always this caricature of the. >> silicon. valley approach of. >> moving fast and breaking things. and part of that is about lawlessness. and so he he's always. >> just. >> pushed beyond whatever the regulations are, whatever the laws are. and of course, in this instance, he's in a context where he knows that whatever he does and breaks the law in the course of causing a constitutional crisis. he'll get a pardon at the end of the day, because that's the way the trump world works. >> yeah. you know, before the election, i quoted edmund burke, who, of course, is the founder of conservatism time and again. and burke wrote in reflecting on

the revolution in france that institutions on which countries were established, protected and sustained, institutions that had been built over centuries by compromise and consensus, could be torn down in a day by radicals. and i just ali, i know in washington there is just a fear right now that not not that government waste will be be found out. i think that's that's a winner on both sides. but you have somebody running through the federal government basically being given a free rein to go into whatever computer systems he wants to go into that doesn't understand the basics of

american government consensus madisonian democracy that that it's just that, again, as frank said, that all of that consensus, all of that compromise, all of those things that sustained us for 240 years, well, that just gets in the way of what he wants to do today. >> but frank makes the great point that we've made here and you've made here, joe, this idea that elon musk is being given carte blanche to rip things out of the government root and stem. and yes, these institutions are unpopular. if you want to bring it back to polling in the way that democrats are thinking about how to mount a defense of what's happening here, the institutions might be unpopular. but the more that you remind the american public what these institutions actually do, they are not faceless entities. they are not just big stone buildings. they are people who are employed by the government to help, whether it's within usaid or within any of these

other government agencies that musk is infiltrating and then trying to tear up from the inside, those reminders are crucial. and so it's right that adrian says democrats have the incumbency upon them to point out to their constituents on a 1 to 1 level what the impact is going to be, but then also to amplify the way that those constituents could be losing services that they rely on because they are just blanket slashing pieces of federal aid across all of these different agencies. i do think there's also a point, though, when it comes to musk. there was some reporting moved yesterday that internal polling within one of the house democratic campaign arm shows musk himself is actually very unpopular across battleground districts. and so i know that there's a desire to play the long game and focus on the midterms and turning the house back to being democratic controlled. yeah, that's a long goal. but in the short term, there is a political upside to focusing on musk because he himself is not a popular figure.

i think this internal polling had him at 51% across battleground states, that that poll was even done before. a lot of the actions that he's taken and rightly been given credit for as he's come into these federal agencies. so there is a focus there on musk. i've heard, as we all have, have heard, the, the, the, the consternation around making usaid a focus. but i think democrats have an opportunity to assume the national security mantle and remind people why these institutions are in place in the first place. >> coming up on morning. >> joe, pam. >> bondi was just sworn in. >> as attorney general on wednesday, and already. >> she's moving quickly to shift the nation's law enforcement resources. >> to other priorities. >> will detail the major. changes that she is laying. >> out for the justice department. >> also ahead. >> since president trump. >> took office, there. >> has been news of mass. >> immigration arrests. across the country. >> but have. >> they been. >> as sweeping as.

>> the administration. >> claims will have a fact check? >> ahead on. >> morning joe, we're back in 90s. >> i told you, i don't need these anymore. i have sling. >> okay. morning. >> i only left sling. deliver the news. i need to stay informed. thank you very much. >> nice one. nope. >> sling gives us all the news we want in a quick and reliable manner. >> and at a wonderful price. >> this critical time calls for the critical news coverage that sling provides. >> okay. >> see you tomorrow. >> the most important news at the best price. sling lets you do that. >> you'll be back. emus can't help people customize and save with liberty mutual. >> and doug. >> well i'll be. >> well i'll be. >> only pay for do your dry eyes still feel gritty, rough,

or tired? with miebo, eyes can feel ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ miebo is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye: too much tear evaporation. for relief that's ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ remove contact lenses before using miebo. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. what does treating dry eye differently feel like? ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ for relief that feels ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ ask your eye doctor about prescription miebo. the hour. >> time now for a look at. >> some of the other stories making. >> headlines this morning. >> a possible. >> meeting between. >> president trump. >> and vladimir. >> putin is. >> at an advanced. >> stage of planning. that's

according. >> to. >> a. >> russian lawmaker who serves as the chairman of russia's foreign. >> relations committee. >> russia's war on. >> ukraine will. >> hit the three. >> year mark on february 24th, and would. >> be the. >> focus of any potential meeting. >> real quick. >> jonathan lemire a. >> totally different. >> approach than president biden, of course, who wouldn't even speak to putin once the war started. there's some thought that a middle east country might be the venue for this summit, but it's still not settled yet. but we should expect that at some point this year. >> we'll be. >> watching that. >> former vice. >> president kamala harris toured fire. damage in southern california yesterday. >> she met with local. >> officials in pacific palisades. >> and visited a. >> recreation center that served as. >> an. >> emergency shelter. >> harris. >> who has. >> kept a low profile. >> since leaving office, was asked about. >> a. >> potential run. >> for governor. >> and she. >> didn't. >> rule. >> it out. >> i have. >> been home. >> for two weeks and three days. my plans are to be in touch with my community, to be in touch with the leaders and figure out what i can do to support them,

and most importantly, to lift up the folks who are surviving this extraordinary crisis and do what i can do to offer any assistance, even if it is a kind word along the. >> way. >> we'll follow that. >> and australia has passed tough new crime laws. >> that includes mandatory minimum. sentences for displaying. >> hate symbols. >> it's an. >> effort. >> to. >> crack down. >> on a recent surge in anti-semitism. the laws will impose jail sentences for giving a nazi salute in public. >> and for. >> threatening force or violence against people based on. >> race. >> religion. >> nationality. >> political opinion or. >> identity, among. >> other things. >> back to politics. >> now here in the u.s, newly sworn in attorney. >> general pam bondi. >> is moving quickly to redirect. >> the nation's. >> law enforcement resources. as the washington post reports, from reinstating the federal death penalty to. ordering investigations of. sanctuary cities and those who prosecuted

prosecuted. >> donald trump. >> bondi spent her. >> first few hours. >> in office. issuing marching orders for justice department staff that marked a significant. >> shift in priorities. >> among other. >> things, she disbanded teams focused on investigating foreign influence campaigns, foreign lobbying. and national security. threats posed. >> by corporate malfeasance. >> bondi also. >> instructed a. >> unit tasked with investigating cases involving. bribery of foreign officials. >> to. >> refocus its efforts on investigations involving bribes to facilitate. >> human smuggling and the trafficking of narcotics and firearms. >> similarly. she ordered a. scaling back. >> of foreign lobbying. >> investigations to instances of alleged. >> conduct similar. to more. traditional espionage by foreign governments. >> lemme break. >> that all down. >> yeah, i mean, it's a dramatic shifting of priorities here. we

know that in her first hours in the post, she is authorizing these investigations of the investigators, the january 6th probes and the like, including. >> she say. >> she was not going to be. >> she she in her confirmation hearing, made a point of trying to be above that, that she would not do it. and she has, at least in these early days, signaled that she indeed will go the opposite direction. we're also waiting, of course, for fbi director kash patel to receive his hearing and votes, but that could be another week or two. democrats have managed to delay that process some, but it's raised real alarm bells here, including on counterterrorism operations. at a time when we know how dangerous the world has been. there is some speculation. we talked about it on this show, that even president trump's musing about taking over gaza. and then if i know they've walked that back some. but even putting it out there has real consequences and could incite violence and terrorism just at the same time, when the fbi says, well, we're going to be less focused on that. >> all right. >> the kash patel hearing is next. >> thursday, i believe. so we'll be watching for that. for a

second day in a row. a federal judge has blocked president trump's. >> executive order. >> attempting to limit birthright citizenship. a u.s. judge issued a nationwide injunction on the order yesterday after calling it blatantly. >> unconstitutional during a. >> preliminary hearing a couple of weeks ago. >> the judge. >> slammed trump. >> in court. >> yesterday. >> saying in part, quote, it. >> has become ever more apparent. >> that to. our president, the rule of law is but an impediment. >> to his policy goals. >> the rule of law. >> is, according to him, something to navigate. around or simply. >> ignore, whether that be for. >> political or. personal gain. >> this latest injunction. >> comes after. >> a federal judge in maryland issued a. >> nationwide hold. >> on the order on wednesday. >> the executive order. >> faces even. more legal. >> challenges. >> with the hearing. >> set for. >> later today in. massachusetts and another hearing. >> on monday in new hampshire. >> in a challenge. brought by

the aclu. i mean, john. heilemann tried to stay like, right where the story is. >> but a lot of folks. >> when they first heard this thought, never going to happen. >> so that. the trump. >> team would, that this would happen. >> that the birthright citizenship. >> and would get rejected. >> yes, yes. >> i think. >> well, i. >> mean, the. >> there's an. >> awful lot of stuff going on. >> in the trump administration. >> that. >> is. >> if you talk. >> to lawyers who are not particularly ideological, just looking black letter lawyers, look at things like these are not. >> going to be hard cases. >> in the sense. >> on the merits that that they're in this case, the plain language of the constitution is pretty clear. >> about birthright citizenship. >> that you have to be pretty extreme to try to find a way to interpret the constitution to, to, to, to along the way that the trump administration has. there's a lot. >> of. >> instances like this. >> and where. >> these are. >> what lawyers think of as easy cases. and that has given some people a lot of hope. >> that in the end, the courts will be the. >> guardrail that keeps a lot of

the worst excesses of the second trump term from coming to pass. we've seen this on other fronts, too. we've seen the courts have now intervened to stop the to get in the way of this potential spending freeze. >> there's issue. >> after issue where courts. >> are ruling. >> against trump already. >> and we're not. >> even three weeks in. you know, the question it raises for me is, well, as these cases and many of them progressed to the and progressed to the supreme court. >> is. >> at what point does a case occur. >> in which. >> the trump. administration loses on something that they really care about. >> and they. >> decide to test the court's. >> ability to enforce its decision, which is to. >> say the supreme court has. >> ruled. >> against us. all the. >> lower courts have. >> ruled. >> against us. the supreme court has ruled against us. john roberts, you and what army are going to enforce it? we're not we're. going to do what we want anyway, right? and that is the place where i think a lot of people who are looking down the line of. >> where. >> does the. constitutional crisis really come? >> it comes in. >> the moment when the executive branch decides to defy the highest order of the judicial branch. branch. >> everyone in. >> law, in the constitutional

law arena right. now is. trying to figure out when that. >> clash is going to come. most people assume it is going to. >> come at some point. the question is going to be when? >> and joe, i don't see. >> anything that he's. >> doing here that he didn't campaign on. i mean, the comments on gaza seemed. >> kind. >> of. >> to be a surprise. and yet. >> no. >> protests across the country. i'm where i'm looking for him, but. >> i. don't see them. >> you mean the campus protests? >> sorry. >> oddly quiet. it's oddly quiet. the. yeah. i'm not. i'm not hearing people running around screaming genocide joe. >> or holding up. >> schools, protests. and dearborn, michigan, which is so deeply offended by joe biden's policy in the middle east. and yet silence. just silence. isn't it something? yeah, we'll we'll we'll let we'll let others try to figure that out. frank. for we'll see if that constitutional

crisis comes. i will say, if that constitutional crisis does come. and he says to john roberts, you and what army? that would be a constitutional crisis of the first order. so we won't presume that that's going to happen though, though it could. let's let's instead though, get back to where we are right now. i've heard from a lot of people inside of washington attorneys. i've heard from people on the hill. their feeling is that that right now donald trump is just flooding the zone and you know, yeah, we'll throw out birthright citizenship. we'll do, you know, we'll defund agencies that congress is authorized for. we're going to throw everything at the wall and just try to overwhelm our opponents, just try to overwhelm the courts, and just, again, test the boundaries

of executive power, which is, as mika said, exactly what donald trump said he was going to do on the presidential campaign, along with people like ron desantis, who also said they were going to try to expand the article two powers as much as he could, right? >> i mean, i'm just thinking synthesizing everything that's been said in the last minute or two, that we have an oligarchy within. the white, within the white house, essentially this musk clique that's reshaping government in order to wake the world, in part safer for more oligarchy by peeling back all of these laws that enforce foreign agent registration and try to curb russian oligarchs and the like. like, meanwhile, as you just pointed out, civil society is largely quiescent or quiet in the face of all of this, that the protesters who shut down cities and campuses because of a war that was happening on the

other side of the world, haven't been able to muster the energy to come out in the streets in order to prevent all of these steps that. are on the road to wrecking our institutions and our system. and in the beginning. >> frank. frank, let let's again, let's be clear here. yeah, they were calling joe biden genocide. joe. they shut down bridges. they shut down college campuses. they made jewish students fear going to school because joe biden couldn't get benjamin netanyahu to agree to a cease fire. you now have a president who says, we're going to clear all palestinians out of gaza and even silence. >> even weirder to me is that he's he's. mounted this war on dei that i think will directly

affect the life paths of a lot of the people who protested last year. and that, to me is the strangest thing that that the decisions that are being made right now within this government, within this white house, are creating cultural contexts that will ripple through the lives of college students, ripple through the lives of people within civil society who have the capacity to go out and protest. and in part, maybe because there is this atmosphere of fear not, you know, in the country at large. i mean, you especially see it all the time here in washington. you see it in the attacks that he's mounting on politico. i mean, these are these are things that are done not just to foment conspiracy theories that that will titillate the base. they're done in order to intimidate people. and maybe we have to say, in the end, the intimidation is at least in part, working. and people just

don't seem to grasp the magnitude of what's occurring. and it's strange. >> no. >> i it is strange. >> since they. >> grasped it so. >> much during the. >> biden administration. >> adrian. >> i'm just curious. >> that there's. >> this national movement called the uncommitted national movement. their spokesperson. shared a statement in response to trump's comments about gaza. feel sad and angry? >> scared for our communities. for months. >> we warned about the dangers of trump at. >> home and abroad, but our calls went largely unheard. kamala harris. >> left a vacuum. >> by not visiting. >> michigan families impacted by u.s. supplied bombs to. >> help create a. >> permission structure for their trust. while trump visited dearborn. >> trump's legal calls for. >> ethnic cleansing are horrific. >> but as on so many other issues. >> democrats had a chance to persuade. voters they were the better alternative and they blew it. i don't know. yeah. i mean, you. >> need the. >> voter to actually be

interested. and i, i don't understand what's going on here because people have eyes, they have ears, they can see what's happening. >> and i'm not sure. >> they didn't. >> make a stand. >> by the way, on a choice. >> that's correct. absolutely. and look, when you look at, as joe mentioned, dearborn, michigan, which i believe went 8020. >> for. >> biden in. >> 20 and went 2080. >> for harrison. >> in 24. >> i mean, look. >> she spent a. >> lot of time in michigan. she spent a lot of time talking to these very voters. we had surrogates going in there, talking to these voters. so it's not like there was not an attempt to go have these conversations. >> they could take. >> a look. >> at what. >> she says versus what. >> he has, and they. >> could have made a stand. >> they could. >> have made a stand. >> so i don't. >> have a lot of sympathy. frankly. i think a lot of us don't have a lot of sympathy. and also when it comes to the college campuses, i mean, that was something that was. >> a. >> persistent issue that a lot of us saw and a lot of his experience and a lot of students, jewish students had to endure. and the fact that we

don't see. the protesters silence, silence when trump is literally saying the u.s. is going to take over gaza. and where are the protests? where are the voices? it's a concern. >> former senior spokesperson for the and adviser for the harris campaign, adrian elrod. always good. >> to see you. thank you very. >> much for coming on. staff writer. at the atlantic, frank foer. thank you as well. his latest piece is available. >> to read online. >> right now. >> and coming. >> up, we are counting down to. >> super bowl sunday. >> pablo torre joins. >> us for a preview. >> of the big game. >> morning joe will. >> be right back. >> safelite repair. >> perfecting your swing is hard. >> nice shot. dad.

>> oh, like me. >> but replacing your windshield doesn't have to be. go to safelite. com and. >> we can. come to you. sick. >> our highly trained techs can replace your windshield where you are. even if that's right in your driveway. have a good day. >> i love you. >> safelite makes it easy. go to safelite.com and schedule a replacement today. replacement today. >> like tap into etsy for original and affordable home and style pieces like like lighting under 150 dollars to brighten your vibe. for under 100 dollars, put your best look forward with vintage jackets. or pick up custom shelving for under 50 to make space without emptying your pockets. and get cozy with linen robes for 75 or less. for affordable home and style finds to help you welcome whatever's next, etsy has it.

three academy award nominations, including best picture. best international film. >> thank you. thank goodness. >> and fernando torres for best actress. >> comunidad internationale necessary. necessary. >> i'm still here. business. it's not a nine-to-five proposition. it's all day and into the night. it's all the things that keep this world turning. it's the go-tos that keep us going. the places we cheer. trust. hang out. and check in. they all choose the advanced network solutions and round the clock partnership from comcast business. powering more businesses than anyone. powering possibilities. i told myself i was ok with my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms... ...with my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. but just ok isn't ok. and i was done settling.

if you still have symptoms after trying a tnf blocker like humira or enbrel, rinvoq works differently. rinvoq is a once-daily pill that can rapidly relieve joint pain, stiffness, and swelling as fast as 2 weeks for some. and even at the 3-year mark, many people felt this relief. rinvoq can stop joint damage. and in psa, can leave skin clear or almost clear. rinvoq can lower ability to fight infections. before treatment, test for tb and do bloodwork. serious infections, blood clots, some fatal; ...cancers, including lymphoma and skin; serious allergic reactions; gi tears; death; heart attack; and stroke occurred. cv event risk increases in age 50 plus with a heart disease risk factor. tell your doctor if you've had these events, infection, hep b or c, smoked, are pregnant or planning. don't take if allergic or have an infection. done settling? ask your rheumatologist for rinvoq. and take back what's yours. (♪♪)

long, long time. i mean, i remember back when the cowboys was good. i remember back when the chiefs was bad, and i remember what was it bill. belichick's girlfriend wasn't even born yet. >> oh my gosh. >> okay. that was snoop dogg and his opening monologue the nfl honors last night joking about the 48 year age gap between

eight time super bowl winning coach bill belichick and his 24 year old girlfriend, jordan hudson. let's bring right now the host of pablo torre finds out on meadowlark media, who tells anyone who will listen that his girlfriend has yet to be born yet. we speak, of course, of msnbc contributor pablo torre, also msnbc contributor mike barnicle. that's like happily married with allowance. and he is well, and with us right now, pablo. of course, that's not right. yes. so of course. >> i know that my wife is awake. >> background. >> pablo, where. >> are you? let me just say pablo. pablo. of course, this is super bowl weekend. everybody's asking, where's pablo? it's in new orleans. this is where super bowls have always like i think. i think the first super bowl may have been in new orleans. so where else would pablo tory be except for. that's right. miami, florida. yeah. so i hope you're

enjoying miami. but. but from miami. what what is the view? what what is the view from. okay, pablo. so two. >> two views from south beach. number one, i'm here reporting, of course, on pat riley, who happens to own the copyright on the term. >> three peat. >> which leads. >> me to my second view, which is that the chiefs are on the road to fulfilling a prediction. >> i made. >> for you on this program. what feels like a million years ago. but the view here is that the. kansas city. >> chiefs. >> i could i could give you the poetry. i can give you the argument that the philadelphia eagles, of course, are the toughest team mahomes has faced in his run. that's true. they have a rushing attack led by saquon barkley. that is unbelievable. barkley might have the best season for a running back of all time that he just accomplished. and yet i say to you are our memories really that short? the three peat to me feels. >> inevitable. >> and i just want all of us to

brace for a world in which we will have a quarterback in mahomes who will have done something that no one has ever done in the sport. that's the view from here. >> yeah. you know, last year i thought it was i thought it was an incredible matchup between the 40 niners who had an extraordinary team against patrick mahomes. and i kept going back and forth trying to figure it out. jack and i were talking about it finally just said, you got to bet on mahomes because that guy always wins in the crunch. i heard a stat a couple of weeks ago just absolutely unbelievable. they took the quarterbacks who had been in the most, most pressurized situations with like two minutes left to go in a playoff game where they had to either get a field goal or a touchdown to win. and, you know, they had all the greats. brady was like, what, four for eight? and i don't know who else. elway was three for six whatever. and they all all were about 50% which was incredible patrick

mahomes got the ball in his hands with seven minutes with seven times. with two minutes left in a playoff situation, his efficiency and winning the game for the chiefs in those situations. seven for seven. there has never been a quarterback. and this hurts me to say because i love joe montana so much, but there has never been a quarterback that wins the big game like mahomes, because he's just never lost. >> yeah, well, this is the thing. it's funny. you surround us today with mike barnicle, jon lemire, guys who know the counterargument to that argument, because tom brady is out there, he's look i it's well, but when it comes to who has actually failed yet, mahomes is off to a start that we've never seen in terms of his career. he only makes afc title games in super bowls. he's won two in a row. and the even crazier stat from this season alone is that they have won the

chiefs 15 straight one score games. so i'm just saying, like i expect this to be close because the eagles are good. and if it's close, there is a body of evidence that suggests it just happens to suggest that maybe tom brady, when all is said and done, will not be the most clutch quarterback in the history. that's right. i heard that groan, but it's correct. >> well, it's just it's just in the numbers. and you know what's so fascinating about it? jonathan lemire over the past couple of years, the chiefs haven't had great seasons. of course, they had a great record this year. but that win by blocking a field goal in the last second, then win one way after another, you know, whatever they did, they, they they just figured out a way to win. and last year they had an even more mediocre season. the first half of the season, they just didn't look impressive at all. and yet they always figured out a way to win. i think the niners were a better team top to bottom last year than the chiefs. still thought the chiefs were going to win this year. i

think the eagles you take the running game, you take, you take their defense. you take their offensive line. you put everything together. i think the eagles are a better team than the chiefs. but who's going to bet against patrick mahomes in a close game. >> yeah it's a difficult proposition i mean the chiefs mixture of magic luck and skill. and also they're just so battle tested. they have been there so many times. they have a stunning record i believe it's 15 straight wins in one score games. that's unheard of. and yes, it's mahomes. it's andy reid who we shouldn't overlook here who always schemes up a great game. it's also a terrific defense. that's the real thing for the chiefs this last year or two is how good their defense in some ways better than their offense and you know, has kept them in these games. but pablo let's make the case for the eagles. if you were going to do that. and i'm hoping that they win i'm out there on record with that. i agree with joe. they're more talented than the chiefs. their defensive line is terrific. their secondary very good. jalen hurts had a kind of up and down year but has come on strong. they've got two good

receivers. they've got saquon. but maybe the biggest key is they have the best offensive line in football. and i think that if the eagles are going to win that's how they do it by either first keeping creating big holes for barkley so he can break some runs. but secondly. keeping hurts upright if they can. the chiefs have such a good pass rush if they can protect hurts and keep him out of sacks and therefore out of second and long, third and long, which would prevent the eagles from running. i think that's how philly will win this game. >> yeah. look, i think the real detailed case for the eagles is the footage we were just seeing is what they did last week. if they could do against the chiefs what they did to the commanders. to be clear, they're winning the super bowl. the issue is just that the eagles last week against the commanders or two weeks ago now, what they did was simply not just the greatest performance of their season, the best offense that we've seen out of that team, out of that city in years. it's also the fact that that was one of the greatest rushing games, if not the greatest rushing attack in playoff history. and so there's an outlier dynamic here, john, where, yes, that team can do it.

but when it comes to the super bowl, i am just going to bet on the consistency of the team that has been there and has met the moment in a way that makes the eagles performance last week or two weeks ago now my brain is fried. i'm in south florida. of course, that that feels like that feels like the exception that proves the rule is my feeling. on how those eagles looked. >> yeah. you know, mike barnicle, one of the more exhausting arguments that i hear there really is. no, i don't think there's a correct answer because i think it's both is asking, did the patriots win all those games because of bill belichick or because of tom brady? it was because of both of them. i mean, it was an extraordinary partnership. you say the same thing with the chiefs. we always lead with mahomes. but my god andy reid what what what what an offensive system he has put together that that matches mahomes perfectly. and their defensive coordinator steve spagnuolo. it just they have extraordinary coaches that that just complete the picture and make the chiefs that much

harder to beat. >> call anyone up. >> in. >> buffalo and they will tell. >> you despite. >> their rabid. fandom for. >> the. >> buffalo bills. >> which is well deserved. >> they will tell you that they watched. >> repeatedly. >> not just. >> this year. andy reid outcoached, the buffalo bills. >> head coach. each time. >> they played. andy reid is responsible. >> for. >> most of what happens on the field with the kansas city chiefs. >> patrick mahomes. >> obviously one of the greatest players of all time in the national football league. >> my head tells me. >> on sunday that. andy reid. patrick mahomes. >> steve spagnuolo. >> will combine and the chiefs will probably win. >> my heart tells. >> me that this is going to be a. >> unique super bowl. >> on sunday that. >> the. >> philadelphia eagles, as. >> jonathan just. >> pointed out. >> with a great. running game and a big. >> tough defense and. >> a. >> fine offensive. >> line, will eke out. >> a. >> three point win. >> whoa whoa whoa. >> that's our show. >> okay, well, we've. >> actually made. >> our predictions. >> for the.

>> outcome of super bowl 59. >> joe and. >> i have the chiefs. while everyone else thinks. >> the. >> eagles will win. >> on sunday. >> wow, look. >> at that. oh, wait. >> heilemann, i didn't get yours. >> oh, i'm. >> i'm with. i never go. >> against against. pablo tory. >> on anything. >> okay. i'm i'm i'm i'm. >> a i'm a tory on the chiefs. >> i just got to. >> say as i sit here. >> looking at mike barnicle. yeah, i know what matters more to him. >> yeah. >> how many? it's four days. >> february 12th. >> four days. four days. >> for the dodgers. >> five days for the red sox. >> before we go. >> okay. >> joe and amir, i just have to ask because i want the eagles to win. i want jalen to win. but i see you picked the eagles. i just think the chiefs are going to win for all the reasons we've been talking about today. i'm just curious do you really think the eagles are going to win or was just was that just a hate pick. an anti mahomes pick classic. >> i was curious. >> i mean joe i would say arguably my best quality is sports hate. and as you well

know whether it's the yankees or the lakers we heard that earlier this week. and these days the chiefs i respect them but i'm rooting against them. i think it's a hard pick. >> all these. >> eagles people are really. >> saying. who they. >> want to win. >> at the top. >> of the hour. >> those of us saying. >> the chiefs are who we say we will. >> host, pablo torre. >> finds out on. meadowlark media msnbc. >> contributor pablo. >> torre, thank. >> you very much. >> for being, of course. >> on this morning. >> still ahead, president. >> trump in miami. >> okay, federal. hiring freeze is. >> now impacting firefighters. >> nbc's jacob soboroff. >> will join us with his new reporting on how. >> the executive action. >> could lead to a shortfall of first responders. >> ahead of california's next. >> fire season. >> fire season. >> we're back in i brought in ensure max protein with 30 grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! —uh. —here i'll take that. [cheering] ensure max protein, 30 grams protein, 1 gram sugar and a protein blend to feed muscles up to 7 hours. ♪♪ dave's been very excited about saving big with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. to feed muscles up to 7 hours.

five years? -five years. and he's not alone. -high five. it's five years of reliable gig speed internet. five years of advanced securit. five years of a great rate that won't change. it's back. but only for a limited time. high five. five years? -nope. comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities. comcast business. money. you're custom ink helps us motivate our students with custom gear.

we love how custom ink takes care of everything we need so we can focus on the kids. we make it easy to wow all your groups with high quality custom apparel, accessories, and promo products, all backed by our guarantee at customink.com. with stamps.com you can print stamps and shipping labels. (♪♪) whenever, wherever. (♪♪) get the flexibility you need to run your business. start your risk-free trial today at stamps.com. friday, february 7th. jonathan lemire, john heilemann, mike barnicle, still with us. and joining the conversation, we have. msnbc political analyst elise jordan. she's former aide to. >> the george w. bush white. >> house and state department. >> and pulitzer prize winning. >> columnist and associate editor of the washington post. eugene robinson. >> joins us. >> this hour. good to have you

all on board. >> let's start with our. >> top story this hour, the immigration and customs enforcement. >> agency has reportedly been updating. >> the time stamps on old press. >> releases in order to game google. >> search results to create the appearance of a wave of mass deportations. the guardian reports that four day operation in colorado. >> it happened in 2010. the 123. people targeted in new orleans. >> that was. >> february of last year. >> wisconsin. >> september 2018. there are thousands. of examples of this throughout all 50 states. >> icu press releases. >> that have. >> reached the first page of google. >> search results, making it seem like enforcement. actions just. >> happened. when in actuality. they occurred. >> months or years ago. all of. >> the archived ice press releases. soaring to the top. >> of google search. >> results were marked with the same time stamp and read updated

january 24th. 2025 ice did not respond. >> to the paper's request for comment. however, the guardian notes that since reaching out, some of. >> the press. >> releases have. >> reverted back. >> to their original dates on google search. >> according to the department of homeland security, in the first. >> two. >> weeks of president. trump's second term, nearly 5700 illegal immigrants had been. >> deported. newsweek reports that if the administration. >> continues deportations at that pace. they would be on track. >> to deport. >> half the number removed. during biden's. last full fiscal. year in 2024. this validating everything. >> that you have. >> been saying. >> joe, to me. >> well, yeah, i mean, i've been saying it just because, first of all, the number of people deported by barack obama exceptionally high, he was attacked as a deporter in chief. but as rahm emanuel says, it was

actually it certainly did not hurt him in the polls at all. but, jonathan lemire, we also find ourselves at a far different time right now where and we've talked about this before. first of all, deporting illegal immigrants, extraordinarily expensive. it's an expensive process. so you've got the expenses of it with a $36 trillion debt, with big spending plans ahead, big tax cuts ahead. so you've got that problem and the pressure that's going to eventually come from bonds traders, because our debt and our deficits are going to be too high. number two, it's inflationary. you talk to donald trump supporters on wall street. you talk to, you know, factories across wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, wherever you go. you talk to small businesses. you talk to family owned restaurants. they will tell you

that that mass deportation will make things far more inflationary, make the cost of everything go up because the cost of workers will go up. i'm not saying this is good. i'm not saying this is bad. what i'm doing is explaining to, to our viewers why it's not as easy to wave a magic wand and do this. that's that's the second part of it. and the third part is again, it's just the numbers are are like barack obama's numbers are going to be extraordinarily difficult for anybody to reach for all of these, for all of these reasons. inflation, because your business community doesn't want him doing mass deportations. and again, because it's so expensive to carry out the process in 2025. >> yeah. and let's also remind viewers, of course, that those border crossings were already

plummeting in the last year of president biden's term. yes, they had certainly gone up. and the white house. in retrospect, the biden white house recognized that that was a mistake on a couple of levels, including politically. but they really did bring come down in those last few months. and, of course, there was also the bipartisan immigration bill that there was republican support until there wasn't, because donald trump wanted to preserve it as a campaign issue. but you're right. and if this is what trump is doing, the numbers here, first of all, would be so massive and it would be so expensive and logistically difficult. we're also seeing some local jurisdictions really try to push back, saying they won't cooperate with all of this. we are seeing the there would be the trickle down effect for the economy. business leaders are already warning the white house for now. privately, later, those warnings may go public, suggesting that this could really impact the nation's economy. elise. but this is a signature campaign promise. this is the number one thing donald trump said he was going to do. to this point. it's mostly been limited to pretty showy raids,

but if it ends up getting bigger, the numbers do grow and those who are deported are not just those here illegally who also have committed violent offenses, but rather large numbers of just people whose only crime is that they did cross the border illegally. we're entering a new area there where there could be a lot of pushback. >> well, no, i mean. >> if you if he starts deporting hardworking men. >> and women. >> who separating them from their. >> american born. >> children, if you see this, really have. >> an. >> effect on the economy that starts to upset the business community. >> yes. he's going to get significant pushback. i think we're a ways from. >> that, though. >> i think. >> right now he's having the shock and awe version. showy displays of trying to look. >> like he's doing. >> something. and that. >> could be enough to. >> placate his base. >> you know, to joe's point. and it's a critical point. if he put 100 illegals on a c-5a and fly them from. >> wherever in this country to venezuela, that tab is going to be at a minimum, 5 to $7 million.

>> what do. >> you think, joe? >> well, you know exactly. and again, that's the real challenge for the administration. it's important, john heilemann, to remember, though, this this was what donald trump ran on. it also is an extremely popular position and has been for not only a large swath of republicans, but a lot of democrats as well, a lot of independents who saw those images of the first two, two and a half years of the biden administration and were horrified by what they were seeing, just absolute chaos at the southern border. and for people that are going, oh, well, wait a second, now, this is just this is just right wing propaganda. no, no. look, over the last two elections, what has happened with, with with voters, these border districts that have gone from almost being straight blue to overwhelmingly red, and that shows you that people even on the border, hispanics on the

border, have said enough is enough. so you do have that political pull for him to look like he is doing something on this in a significant way, because he talked about mass deportations, but at the same time, it's a very heavy lift. >> it's a very heavy lift. >> and if you do. >> it. >> at the scale that trump has talked about. >> in his. >> most florid moments. it would be would create all kinds of potentially politically. >> devastating images. >> that would. >> prompt the kind of backlash that we saw during the family separation. crisis in the. first term. i in the period after. the election, i kept hearing from people who were misinformation and disinformation specialists. >> who would. >> say. >> pay attention. >> to what is going. >> to happen. >> here, not trying. >> to diminish the. potential humanitarian. harms that could happen. >> in a in a big wave of deportation. >> but look. >> out for. >> the. >> ways in. >> which this administration.

>> will try to game. >> social media and. other media. platforms to. >> make it look like they are doing more than they are doing. they predicted this months ago and said, there's a one problem is that they go too far. another problem. >> is that. >> they >> the. >> country about what they're actually. >> doing happening. >> and this is this is a first sign of it, this. >> this working the. >> google system to make it. >> look like there's. more going on than is really. >> going on. i wish i could say that it was my prediction. >> it was not. >> but some of these very smart misinformation. people have predicted this. >> and. >> pointed at the fact. >> that. >> it's another. place in which elon musk and his influence over that platform. >> can be complicit in messing. >> with reality. >> in a way that benefits donald trump politically, where he gets the win of, hey, it looks like. >> we're being tough. >> but they're really not. actually causing that much. >> damage or spending as much. >> money as they might have. >> to. >> to really fulfill the promises. >> great point. >> we're going to keep moving because there's. >> so much going on. a federal judge. >> has temporarily blocked a trump. >> administration plan to offer

mass buyouts to nearly 2 million federal employees. the deadline. >> to accept. >> the resignation offer. was last night. >> and a senior administration official said earlier in the day that 60,000 people. >> had taken the deal. >> under the plan, federal. >> employees would resign. >> but still. >> get pay and. benefits through september. federal labor unions filed a lawsuit to stop the buyouts, claiming the trump administration does not have the legal authority to make that kind of offer. a hearing has been scheduled for monday afternoon. now, in response to the delay, white house press secretary caroline leavitt thanked the judge for extending the deadline for. the administration's offer. meanwhile, the trump administration's federal hiring freeze could create a potential shortfall of firefighters. >> ahead of the. >> next fire season. the president's executive order. has stopped the onboarding of

thousands of seasonal federal firefighters, including those who worked for agencies called on to. help battle the devastating los angeles area fires. even though the order. >> does not apply to positions related. >> to public safety, federal firefighters are not exempt. >> according to a person who. >> works in hiring at the. bureau of land management. let's go right to nbc news correspondent jacob soboroff. who is the reporter on this story. and he joins us now with more. jacob, what can you tell us? >> hey, mika. good morning. >> so, yeah. >> you know, one of the things i think. >> that was a. >> massive relief to people here in. >> los angeles as. >> we went through both the palisades and the eaton. >> fire, was. >> the sight. >> of those green. >> fire trucks. >> pulling up from the. >> u.s. forest. >> service. >> and what. was really a massive mutual aid effort. >> there was federal. >> there was state. >> and there were local. jurisdictions from all over california and all. >> over the country. >> that. >> came to assist in battling what. governor gavin newsom told

me was potentially. >> the most. >> costly natural disaster in the history of the united states of america. there are around 15 to 20,000. federal firefighters that work for the united states government. most of them. are temporary, either career or temporary, but all are seasonal. and so every year there is a massive onboarding. process for many. >> of. >> these positions. and because it's the federal government, there are lengthy. >> background checks that. >> are associated with these firefighters. >> coming on in order. >> to work. >> for the federal government. and this. >> hiring freeze, despite president. >> trump's executive. >> order on january 20th, saying it was going to exempt people, that deal. >> in public. safety has effectively. >> stalled the hiring. >> of these. >> federal firefighters. >> all throughout. >> the federal system. at the bureau. >> of land management. >> within the department. >> of interior. >> at the national. >> park service. >> which has. >> its own. >> firefighters. and at the u.s. forest service, which has the most firefighters. >> of this. >> whole operation. >> so there. >> is a lot of concern here on the ground, not just in los

angeles, where these firefighters came and really helped in the mutual aid effort. >> but all across. >> the american west, where obviously the fire seasons are getting. >> longer, the fires. >> are getting bigger, the fires are getting more dangerous. and we did we talked to actually a tip came through our friends at the rachel maddow show. we talked to an employee who works in hiring at the bureau. >> of land management. >> and they said, hold all offers related. >> to. >> fire positions. was the directive that at least this employee. >> and. this division got the level of. >> stupidity and. >> negligence here, this person told. >> me, is enraging. >> what if there's nobody to show up? >> how many people died with garden hoses. >> in. their hands? >> obviously, speaking of the recent fires. so there's a lot of concern. the governor's office here in. >> california is. concerned about this. >> i talked to them yesterday. >> the ramifications are potentially. >> quite significant. >> jacob. >> let's talk about another way the trump administration may be impacting the ability to fight fires there and other parts of the california economy and day to day life. and that's as these reservoirs that were in the northern part of the state that the trump administration federal officials ordered opened up. let's remind viewers this is

water not heading to southern california, and instead water that farmers may now not have when they need it during the dry season later in the year. talk to us more about that you know so well about the ramifications and just sort of the anger about this trump decision, which seemed to be simply about public relations. >> the simplest. >> way that i can put it, jonathan, is when i drove to the bureau here in los angeles this morning, thank. >> god it's. >> finally pouring rain. >> in los angeles. we are in the middle of the winter season. >> we do not need billions of. >> gallons of water. >> released up into the central valley, which doesn't make its way down. >> to southern california. here in the. los angeles area. >> anybody that's seen the movie chinatown. >> knows how water. >> makes its. >> way to los angeles. >> we have a series. >> of aqueducts and. >> reservoirs and systems that come both from the sierra nevada, from. >> the. >> colorado river. i've done stories here on msnbc about where. >> our water comes from. >> and even in the.

>> face of water shortages, how places like. los angeles have enough water to do. things like. >> sustain itself day to day. >> and so. >> when president trump has ordered this federal release of billions of gallons of water that goes up to the central valley in the middle of the winter, i don't think it's. >> very hard. >> to wrap your head around. >> how in the summertime, when that water is needed and necessary. >> it obviously is not going to be there to help us here, not only in southern california, but even for those farmers in the central valley that he that he says he's doing this to protect. >> nbc's jacob soboroff, thank you very much for your reporting. >> we appreciate it. >> so the trump administration. plans to cut the number. of usaid workers from more than. 10,000 to just 292. >> sources. familiar with. >> the plans tell. nbc news. the small remaining staff. includes employees who specialize. in health and human. >> assistance. >> humanitarian assistance. however, reports. say most of the contractors have already been fired or furloughed. under the plan, just 12 people. would

be dedicated to serve the continent of africa and. eight people. >> for all of asia. >> the 600 employees. >> dedicated to europe. >> will be cut to. >> just ten. >> the agency distributes. >> billions of dollars. worldwide to help. >> alleviate poverty, treat. disease and respond to famine and natural disasters. trump has said. usaid is run by lunatic radicals, while billionaire elon musk, who trump appointed as his efficiency expert, has called it a criminal organization that needs to die. joining us now, former usaid administrator under president george. >> w bush. >> from 2001 to 2006, andrew natsios. thank you, sir, for coming on the show this morning. where to begin? the impact, i guess, on calling usaid a criminal organization and also taking these numbers down to 12.

>> ten. >> 16 from several thousand. what's the initial impact? >> well, i don't think people realize where the money goes. the money goes to dozens and dozens of evangelical, roman catholic, international orthodox christian charities, the ngo of my church, the orthodox church gets millions of dollars of aid funding. so world relief is the ngo of the national association of evangelicals. they got $123 million a few years ago from from aid to do work in the congo, in haiti, in refugees and displaced camps. and i might add, these are highly skilled technical people in these ngos, christian ngos, roman catholic, in evangelical ngos. and all of that is being shut down. the camps are being collapsed in many areas, and people who've had their houses burned down, their children raped, who are

traumatized, were getting food aid from us. the whole operation is going to be shut down. now. marco rubio, who i've always had great respect for, is being blamed for this. this is being orchestrated by musk, not not marco rubio and by the director of omb. they don't care what happens to the people of the world because they don't vote in the united states. they don't care that hundreds of millions of people are going to have going to be at the edge of starvation if these programs aren't restored immediately. now, let me let me say the notion that you're going to spend $38 billion with 292 people is ridiculous. i am one a conservative republican. i served in the massachusetts house for 12 years as a republican. i am a lieutenant colonel in the reserves, i am retired, i served in the first gulf war. i am not a liberal. i am not on the left. many, many

church based organizations get large amounts of money from aid to do humanitarian work. there will be no one to process the grants. there will be no one to ship the food aid, because all those people have been fired than laid off. i'm a professor at the bush school at texas a and m, and before that i taught at georgetown university, a roman catholic university, and i trained students, many of them roman catholic and evangelical, in texas, to work at aid. all of them have been laid off. all of them. they were not lunatics. they were not communists. and it's outrageous for the president to make those claims because it's complete nonsense. >> well, you know, gene robinson, we talked about this yesterday and had people on the show talking about the fact that, you know, elon musk is saying they're marxists, they're evil, they're this they're that. it's just lies. you know, this

is there are there i'm sure there's some programs that may be run. there may be the idea of people who are center left, the programs that have caught most attention right now have been programs that have been inspired by religious faith. and i speak primarily of what george w bush did with pepfar. we talked about it yesterday. nick kristof said. and again, this is an area nick is obsessed with, that pepfar in saving 25 million lives, inspired by george w bush's faith in jesus christ. save 25 million lives in the continent of africa because of his faith. that is not some left wing operation. and evangelicals who and conservative catholics and actually liberal catholics and

other church based organizations, as we're talking about right now, they have a really big footprint inside of u.s. aid, in part because that's what jesus tells them to do in matthew 25. so the fact that you've got a president supported by evangelicals, you've got elon musk who's not elected or anything but going around calling people that are working on these christian inspired or operations like pepfar, evil marxists. it's just preposterous. it's not even worth being angry about. it's just a lie, and it's preposterous. and it is undermining the work they're doing based on their faith in jesus christ, not karl marx. >> yeah, joe. and i think we have to. there's so much to be

angry about. but but this is something we need to be angry about because, look, just take pepfar. pepfar is one of the best things the united states has ever done, really. and i am, and everybody knows i am no great fan of president george w bush's record, except for this. this was an extraordinary an extraordinary program that has saved tens of millions of lives. and the idea that you would you would demonize this and, you know, i it looks to me as if, as if musk has chosen aid as kind of a demonstration project, just to see how he can destroy an agency and demoralize the rest of the federal workforce. my question for andrew is let's assume that that that you are right, that marco rubio just inherently is not insane, that he understands the good that

that aid was doing and that within the state department, he wants to recreate some of this, maybe quietly, but but he knows that we need to have it. but how long will would it take? how difficult would it be, even if he wanted to sort of put it back together, now that it's been utterly smashed? isn't that a long term project? it is. you destroy an institution, you don't rebuild it overnight. and i might add, the state department is i mean, i have great respect for the state department. they're the best diplomats in the world. i was a diplomat for a while as president bush's envoy to sudan. but they are not operational. they cannot deploy disaster assistance response teams, which aid sends all over the world. they are they hire generalists in the foreign service. aid hires specialists. you have to have an advanced degree to work

in the foreign service. in aid, you can't get hired, which means phds and medical doctors, agricultural economists, agricultural scientists. we have the logisticians. how do you think food aid gets moved? it doesn't just appear it magically. you have to have people, experts in logistics, 294 people to spend to spend $38 billion. what are they, idiots? and they're not going to the hiring systems in the state department, i have to say, are very slow. aid has slowed down in recent years, but when i was there, we could hire someone in a couple of months. and i do think changes need to be made. but the problem is not in aid. the problem is, and the federal system is ground to a halt. and this is going to have horrendous consequences around the world. i don't think they have any idea the consequences of what they're

doing. they're just they have a wrecking ball. they go into an agency, destroy it, and they're on to somewhere else. they're going after the fbi. now at cia, the same thing. we are in a conflict around the world with china and russia. some people, the president said, were bordering on world war three. we're destroying all our foreign the apparatus of our international affairs apparatus in the us government just before we were in conflict. i mean, it's madness to do this. so they're not going to they think they're going to rebuild this overnight. they're crazy. >> former usaid administrator andrew. >> natsios. >> thank you so much for coming on the show this morning. i'm sure we'll be hearing from you again soon. at least i know you have some thoughts on this, so stand by for that. still ahead on morning joe, we are awaiting the january jobs report. we'll bring you the new numbers and what they could mean for the state of the u.s. economy. but first, 61 years ago today,

america. experienced an invasion. a british invasion, that is. the beatles landed in america for the very first time and ultimately launched a cultural revolution. we'll take a look back at that iconic moment next on morning joe. moment next on morning joe. we're back in here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! critical time calls for the critical news coverage that sling provides. >> okay. >> okay. >> see you i always wanted to know why i am the way i am. my curiosity led me to ancestry. it was amazing to see all the traits that i've gotten from my mother in my dna. it's a family thing. it's a family thing.

tap into etsy for home and style staples to help you set any vibe. from custom lighting under 150 dollars to vintage jackets under 100. for affordable pieces to help you make a fresh start,

>> oh yeah, i tell you something. i think you understand when. >> that was. the beatles during their first appearance on the ed sullivan show almost 61 years ago, to the day the group's first appearance on american broadcast television garnered a staggering 73 million viewers, meaning more than 45% of all american households with a television at the time were

watching the fab four live. let's bring in the writer of the american times. >> substack. >> tim barnicle. i think i know him. he's the baby. yeah. ann's favorite. his latest piece is entitled i'll tell you something, and. it's about the beatles appearance on the ed sullivan show. and, joe, i know you are our resident beatles expert, and that is the god's honest truth. ask him anything. he'll know the answer. so i'll let you take it to little timmy. >> i will say big tim. we'll call him big tim. here. thank you. i will say big tim. i do know a lot about the beatles, and certainly there have been so much, so many things written about the connection between john f kennedy's assassination and the need for a country to be distracted and have something to be happy about and cheer about. and the beatles fill that void. but there are so many uncanny

parallels. i had no idea. on the day that jfk was assassinated in in dallas. the beatles had released their huge breakout album and it was a trust but verify moment for me. i did check it out when with the beatles came out. and sure enough, november 22nd, 1963, the same exact day which started a chain of events that led to something that, well, they shaped popular culture for the past 60 years. >> no. >> that's right. i mean, and thank. >> you for having me on. >> it's one of these things where. >> 77. >> days after jfk. >> was assassinated, the beatles arrive in. >> america. >> right here in new york. >> on pan am, 101 and 3000 people are screaming waiting for them. >> but it's an america. >> that not only is going through. >> an assassination and all. >> that comes with. >> it and. >> and mourning. >> there. it's still in.

>> america, where bob. >> dylan is. >> acoustic. >> where america. >> in the south is still segregated. >> and with jfk's assassination right before thanksgiving. >> comes winter. >> and just. >> this day, 61 years ago. >> the beatles bring the hope. >> of spring. >> in many. >> ways to america. >> well, you also talked, tim about how how it sort of started slowly. there were a couple of radio stations that that that played i want to hold your hand and a couple of other songs, and it just didn't take off until there is a cbs news piece which was supposed to run the night kennedy got assassinated, but it was obviously bumped until december. and when that five minute piece ran on cbs evening news, everything changed. tell us about it. >> yeah. that's right. so there was this five minute piece. i mean, the beatles are this band. i mean, john lennon and ringo.

>> are. >> 23 years old. >> paul mccartney is 21. >> years old. >> george harrison is 20. >> years old. as this happening. and by the way, they have played more gigs and more hours than any band maybe you've ever. >> met in their lifetimes. >> up to that point already. i mean, they've. >> been in hamburg playing. seven days a week. >> eight hours a night. >> i mean, just in an absolutely incredible workload that they put themselves under. and they had tried. >> and tried again. >> to make it and make it and failed even at. >> their extreme young age. but they get. >> this little piece on. >> cbs. >> which is supposed to run on. cronkite the evening of. november 22nd, 1963. obviously. breaking news coverage cuts that off. it runs again in december. and this girl named marsha albert, who's. 15 years old in silver spring. >> maryland, sees the piece. >> calls her local dj. this is. >> how things work back then. >> obviously, i wasn't. >> alive to. >> say the least, but she calls her local dj and says, literally, why can't we get music like this in.

>> america? >> a 45 comes on a british airways. >> flight in the. >> check in bag, or the carry on bag of a. flight attendant within. >> a few days. >> it's on air. a few days after. >> that, it's in new york, and within ten days, i mean. >> in a real sense, overnight. the beatles have a number one hit in america in in that song. so it's one of these things. where it's just, it's unbelievable in something that cannot happen today and something that could, in a real way, only happen in. that moment. >> so i would love to read from the piece where you recount the beatles set list that night on the ed sullivan show, and you write in part this, tim, after all my loving the band played till there was you, and then she loves you. as the screams of the girls in the audience began to drown out even the television microphones across america, boys and girls, young and old, were jumping around their living rooms, amazed by the bowl cut

and black suited foreigners that had changed their lives in an instant. if president kennedy had brought their black and white world into living color, the beatles now provided the soundtrack. after an ad break, the beatles were back. first. i saw her standing there as the crowd teetered on pandemonium as each beatle never dropped his smile, always seeming to know where the camera was angled. then the finale, that opening riff, the harmony vocals, the bouncing bass, the drive of the drums. i want to hold your hand for a moment. the center of the universe was inside the ed sullivan theater in new york city. for a nation rocked by grief and uncertainty, here they were as unlikely a group as ever. four kids from liverpool making a promise that millions wanted to hear. and i'm thinking, joe, he's almost writing as good as his dad. but

the difference here, at least dan would say, is that he actually gets it done and gets it published. so very good. >> mike. mike, you know, you know, john, john, john lennon had an album called unfinished art. mike could have an unfinished could have a book called unfinished columns. he gets about 80, 80, 80% of the way through. and he goes, i'm done, i'm done. what an idea. mike. mike, you were there. you were there at that time to talk about just this extraordinary transformation. there was the world actually, before november 22nd, 1963, and the world after november 22nd, 1963. you could also say the same thing about a world of popular culture before february the 7th of 64, when the beatles landed, and the day after they landed on on on the

seventh so many fridays ago. >> you know, joe. >> we see things obviously more. >> clearly in the rear view mirror, especially cultural things. >> and there. >> was. >> such an. >> incredible cultural shift in america with the arrival of the beatles, the popularity of their music. and it was the beginning of, i think, a decade or so, maybe even longer, where the culture moved the politics in a way that politics. had never been moved before by culture and by culture moving the politics. i mean, of course, you know, the beatles had an impact on the way young people think and the way young people got involved in things. but 1964, this day, 61 years ago, when the beatles arrived in new york, was about ten months away from a group of marines. >> landing on. >> red beach in da nang, south vietnam, sort of a peacekeeping mission. and that was another shift in the culture that i think, and i would submit, we

are still living through today. >> timmy, the question i have. >> for you. >> is, as someone. >> who like when i was your age, i was born in 1966, right? so i effectively missed the beatles too. >> right? but. >> you. >> know. >> it was relatively. >> in the rear view. >> mirror, but. and the. >> beatles were over by. >> the time i was listening to rock music. right. >> but that was. >> not that long ago. why you and the beatles? it's like. >> in these days now, when i meet 25 year olds, they. they don't. they barely know who r.e.m. >> is, let alone know. >> about the beatles. and here you are. >> you know, writing in this. >> very informed, historically. >> grounded and. >> emotional way about. >> a band. >> that, you. >> know, not. >> only took place before. >> you were. >> born, but is now more than half a century ago. >> right. well, it's one of these things where. >> if you. >> look at today in terms of streams on spotify and of course, taylor swift is the top. >> streamed artist right. >> now, and there's only a few that get over. >> single year, over. >> a billion streams. the beatles are still one of those. bands in a real way. they're still one of the biggest bands.

>> in america. >> in the world. but the. >> beatles stay with us. >> i mean. >> you know, they've been. disneyfied in. >> a real way in terms. >> of, you know, star wars. >> ified. >> where there's a documentary about them seemingly. >> every year. >> the one. >> beatles 64. >> which is about this moment, just came. >> out a few years ago. but. >> you. >> know. on the substack. >> i try to do this every week in terms of not a beatles story, not. >> a music. >> story, but a story from american history that seemingly has been forgotten or isn't told enough. but again, in this moment, so much is happening. just a month before the beatles come, bob dylan releases, the times are changing. that summer before was the march on washington with martin luther king, so it's so much more than just jfk and so much more than just the beatles. i mean, it's a cultural phenomenon more than it is. >> even. >> a music phenomenon. >> gene robinson, jump in. >> well, tim, i remember that moment. i remember that moment sitting in my living room with the whole family, because we always watched the ed sullivan

show, and i remember the beatles coming out and i was like, you know, i was what, like ten years old. and i was like, whoa, what is this? and my grandmother is, like, shaking her head at the long hair. she just she, you know, and tut tutting. she doesn't approve. but there was definitely a sense that this was this was a moment. this was the start of something. and it was because it started the invasion. there was the dave clark five, there were the rolling stones, there were the, the animals and all these groups came. yet none of them seemed. none of them was the beatles. i mean, the stones lasted, certainly, but none of them was quite the beatles. what was it about the beatles other than being first? >> well, i think part of it is that one, they were talented and they were on time. john lennon has said they didn't captain the ship. they were in the crow's nest in terms of land. ho, they saw ahead, but in a real way.

they had the music. they didn't just write their own songs. they played the isley brothers, they played smokey robinson. they combined americana in a real way and put it in this package of beatle boots and bowl cut hair that looked good, sounded good, and just resonated. sometimes timing and luck can be everything, along with obviously the clear, vast talent they had. and you know, and the big thing is they were funny, you see, in those press conferences where they said, you know, when they landed jfk, which has been renamed just a couple of months before that, after the assassination. and they said, you know, what is the difference between you and everybody else? and paul mccartney leans in and says, press agents. they knew that, that it was funny. they knew that it was weird what was happening. and they knew it was a phenomenon that was occurring around them in real time. >> all right. the new piece is online now at the american times

substack. tim barnicle, thank you very much. it's great to have you on the show. thank you. you did pretty well, mike. >> what do you do for. >> a living? >> yeah. well, this. >> yeah. does it pay rent? yeah. all that stuff. okay. >> coming up. >> they were on time. >> that was like. that was. >> talented on time. got it written. i mean, all the things. all right. coming up, one of those two things, we'll take a closer look at elon musk's growing influence in the trump administration. we'll read from gene's new piece and the new yorker susan glasser will join us for that conversation as well. morning joe will be right well. morning joe will be right back. ♪ i have type 2 diabetes, but i manage it well. ♪ ♪ it's a little pill with a big story to tell. ♪ ♪ i take once-daily jardiance... ♪ ♪ ...at each day's start. ♪ ♪ as time went on, it was easy to see. ♪ ♪ i'm lowering my a1c! ♪

and for adults with type 2 diabetes... ...and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. serious side effects include increased ketones in blood or urine, which can be fatal. stop jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, trouble breathing, or increased ketones. jardiance may cause dehydration that can suddenly worsen kidney function and make you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or weak upon standing. genital yeast infections in men and women, urinary tract infections, low blood sugar, or a rare, life threatening bacterial infection between and around the anus and genitals can occur. call your doctor right away if you have fever or feel weak or tired and pain, tenderness, swelling or redness in the genital area. don't use if allergic to jardiance. stop use if you have a serious allergic reaction. call your doctor if you have rash, swelling, difficulty breathing, or swallowing. you may have increased risk for lower limb loss. call your doctor right away if you have new pain or tenderness, sores, ulcers or infection in your legs or feet. ♪ jardiance is really swell... ♪ ♪ ...the little pill with a big story to tell. ♪

hydration. now there's blink nutri tears. it works differently than drops. blink nutri tears is a once daily supplement clinically proven to hydrate from within, helping your eyes produce more of their own tears to promote lasting, continuous relief. you'll feel day after day. try blink neutral day after day. try blink neutral tears a different way (♪♪) some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. like you know to check first that you bought seats in the right section. kansas fans, get on your feet! boo! boo! yeah, checking first is smart. so check allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. oh, yeah. we'll see! oh, yeah! help yourself. wow! you're in good hands with allstate.

>> see, at mint. >> mobile, we're always. >> looking for innovative ways to save. >> our money. >> so we can save you money. >> so instead of. >> paying for a new commercial. >> we're reusing this. >> old one. >> and that means we can afford to. >> keep offering. >> you premium wireless for just. just. >> $15 a month. top line? this is a quality, comprehensive exam. come again? you asked me to topline it for you. okay. bottom line? well, the bottom line is this is an amazing value. what? get two pairs of progressives and an eye exam starting at just $159.95 at america's best. never give a second thought to being the first. >> ones in. >> thank you, servpro. >> thank you, servpro. >> a. proud at bombas we make the most comfortable sock

in the history of feet so comfortable you'll wish you had more vist bombas.com and get 20% off your first order here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! check in time is 3:00 it's 2:55. i know. is this what he's doing now? as your host, i have some rules. first, no showers longer than 5 minutes. this isn't a spa. no games. no fun. yes, coach. (♪♪) meanwhile, at a vrbo... when other vacation rentals make you share your turf with a host, try one you have all to yourself.

>> welcome back 47 past the hour. time now for a look at the must read opinion pages. we'll start with susan glasser's new piece in the new yorker entitled elon musk's revolutionary terror, and she writes in part this if cutting the federal government is what this is all about, then trump and musk would not be bothering with tiny usaid, whose estimated budget of some $40 billion is less than 1% of the federal government's. the point is not a policy fight. it's an execution. they are killing one agency to terrify a thousand others. congress should be one of the main aggrieved parties here, given that it

passed the laws authorizing usaid and other departments under attack and appropriating them, the funding for them. but this is the republican controlled congress in the age of trump. the message here is loud and clear the revolution will not be stopped on capitol hill. and susan joins us now. can you talk more about why? because a lot of the policies here were a lot of what usaid does was created by republicans. >> yeah, absolutely. >> of course. >> usaid is one of. >> the main instruments. >> of american foreign policy around the world. >> not only is it. >> one of the world's largest. >> development agencies, but it's a key. >> instrument of national power. >> and republicans. >> and. >> democrats alike have supported it over the years, including, very notably, the man who is now its. >> acting administrator. >> the incoming secretary of state, marco rubio. for years as a senator, not. >> only was he promoting. >> the work. >> of usaid. he was criticizing

the biden. >> administration at. >> points for not using it more in. >> the ways. >> that he wanted. >> and you. >> know. >> what's extraordinary. >> about this is that, you. >> know, donald. >> trump did not campaign on. unleashing elon musk in a revolution, by the way, that's what elon musk. >> called it. >> the other day, a revolution. and he. >> certainly never mentioned. >> that he was going to outright eliminate usaid. >> the question is that. >> it's now. >> become not. just a discussion about what. kind of foreign aid to have in the world. it's become. a discussion about what appear to be extraconstitutional, lawless methods by the administration. >> and we're wondering. >> you know, is. congress going to stand up for its own constitutional. >> prerogatives or not? >> that's how quickly we've. >> leapt into the realm of a constitutional. >> conflict, i think. >> yeah, i think those are the key issues here. and also the voids being created around the world that other countries can now fill. and this move, for whatever the reason, creating

those problems. elise, at the same time, two things can be true. you can go into any government agency and you can find ways. i mean, there there are going to be things that they discover along the way that were unnecessary or were funds that were misappropriated. i guess the bigger question is, is this the way to do it? absolutely. >> the execution here is terrible. i have been thinking that this reminds me a lot of the biden administration's afghanistan withdrawal. it needed to. >> be done. >> it was. >> done terribly in in a way. >> that could have been. >> much, much better. what we're seeing here is. >> a long overdue. >> correction, though. >> i worked. >> on a usaid project in afghanistan, so i admit i'm pretty biased. afghanistan was one of the worst places for. >> return on. >> investment. >> for usaid spending. >> there was more of. >> an emphasis overall in places like afghanistan and iraq. >> to spend. >> the money. rather than to actually have results. and that's how they measure

accountability, essentially. >> so something has. >> to be done here. >> but we don't need to erase. >> programs like pepfar. >> a long term program, health care, it has strategic. >> purpose. >> but we need to have the whole. >> farm policy. >> apparatus when it comes to. >> aid. >> to be well as well. >> thought out as a. >> program like. >> pepfar and have. >> a purpose. >> the issue with these cuts is they don't seem well thought out at all. they're just indiscriminate. >> i think. >> they're slashing. >> they're very. >> well thought out. >> they're very. >> well thought. >> out in. >> the. >> sense of. >> like, again, i keep. >> going back to this. the goal is to tear the state, is to tear the administration down to the administrative state, down. >> to the studs. they're not there. >> the indiscriminate. >> is. >> what they want. it's by it's not intentional. it's not like they think they're being thoughtful but not being thoughtful, or they're being indiscriminate when they should be more discriminate there. their goal is to is to eliminate. >> i think you made the point earlier. >> the usaid thing is a test run for elon musk. >> to go. >> to agency, to agency and try to tear. these agencies down and see what happens. >> there's no that's true. i'm just saying that the

consequences i agree, i agree. >> with you. i'm just saying. >> but this. >> is the plan. this is this is not this is not a mistake. >> this is what they're trying to do. >> yeah. and i think there'll be other agencies that follow. to your point. yes. let's turn to your news story. now. your new piece of the washington post has this headline, these republicans should be ashamed of themselves. you write in part this as president donald trump tramples the constitution, vandalizes the federal government, and trashes our vital international alliances. the reaction from leading republicans is see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. they should be ashamed of themselves because they know better. ultimately, we will all pay the price for their cowardice. with trump's blessing, the unelected and unaccountable elon musk is trying to decimate and ultimately destroy the nonpartisan civil service without a peep of protest from republicans. i'm confident that if the top republicans in congress were meeting with trump and the president accidentally spilled diet coke on his red

necktie, they would all promptly spill diet coke on their red neckties to remember the moment of mike pence when he was vice president, putting his water bottle exactly on the table, just like donald trump did. mimic his movements every so often, but that elicited a smile. this right here, though, eugene, to your point is, is potentially devastating consequences. >> yeah, absolutely. i mean, it's so much that's happening that it's that things just whizz past. right? so i went like all the way back to, oh, a few days ago, a week or so ago. and look at that, look at the confirmations in the, in the senate. so they've the senate has confirmed pete hegseth. it's about to confirm rfk jr and tulsi gabbard and the senators, the republicans who are who are voting for these people know. they know absolutely without a doubt that these people are unqualified and unfit, unsuited

to have these jobs. they just are are wrong and should never be confirmed in these jobs. these are important roles to play in the country and ultimately in the world. and these are the wrong people. and yet it's going through because that's what donald trump demands. if you're a republican senator, and especially if you're up for reelection in in 26, you you know that if, if you if you're the vote that sends one of trump's nominees south, then you are going to get a primary challenge and it's going to be really well funded because elon musk is there to write as big a check as anybody needs. and your political career is likely over. and it's that sort

of heavy handed but effective power that's being exercised over the us senate. say nothing of the, of the, of the house, which is dysfunctional, as well as toady ish. and there you have it. so congress is not saving us from from what's going on. >> so susan glasser, final thought to you is, are the courts the last line of defense? >> well, the courts are going to be busy. >> donald trump is a full. >> employment act for lawyers and. >> for judges. >> it seems. >> to. >> me. >> in his second. >> term, even far more. than his first. you know, the volume. >> and number and range of complaints is. >> extraordinary. >> but. >> also the. >> fact. >> that they go right. >> to the core of our constitutional issues. you know, it used to be being wanting to be a constitutional lawyer was not. >> exactly like. >> a full time employment. there weren't that. many cases involving it. now, you know, this is really the core of washington. dc in the trump era is a lawsuit.

>> the new yorker, susan glasser and the washington post, eugene robinson, thank you both very much for being on this morning. we appreciate it. and still ahead on morning joe, we have an update on the severe weather that swept across the southeast last night. plus, a surprising name is emerging as a possible candidate to run for the governor of florida when ron desantis term ends in two years. desantis term ends in two years. we'll tell you who it is it all started with a small business idea. it's a pillow with a speaker in it! that's right craig. pulling in the perfect team to get the job done. i'm just here for the internets. at&t, it's super-fast! you locked us out?! and when thrown a curveball... arrggghh! ahhhh! [crashing sounds] we had everything we needed. is the internet out? don't worry, we have at&t internet back-up. the next level network for small business. ♪♪ i sold a pillow! the itch and rash of moderate to severe eczema disrupts my skin, night and day.

despite treatment, it's still not under control. but now, i have rinvoq. rinvoq is a once-daily pill... that reduces the itch... and helps clear the rash of eczema— ...fast. some taking rinvoq felt significant itch relief as early as 2 days. and some achieved dramatic skin clearance... as early as 2 weeks. many saw clear or almost-clear skin. rinvoq can lower ability to fight infections. before treatment, test for tb and do bloodwork. serious infections, blood clots, some fatal... cancers, including lymphoma and skin; serious allergic reactions; gi tears; death; heart attack; and stroke occurred. cv event risk increases in age 50 plus with a heart disease risk factor. tell your doctor if you've had these events, infection, hep b or c, smoked, are pregnant or planning. don't take if allergic or have an infection. ♪♪ disrupt the itch & rash of eczema. talk to your dermatologist about rinvoq. learn how abbvie can help you save.

>> why are you screaming? >> because you're screaming. >> are you hiding from used car shopping? >> yeah, what. >> if i overpay? >> i get it, nearly half of all used cars have been. >> in an accident. >> but. >> that's nothing. >> to be afraid of. >> show me carfax. >> knowing how a car's accident history impacts. >> price means. >> you don't have to overpay. >> way better. popcorn? (vo 1) about 1 in 5 people with fatty liver disease have nash which can lead to cirrhosis. (man) i thought i had fatty liver disease but it's actually nash and it's scarring my liver. ♪ rezdiffra ♪ (vo 1) rezdiffra is the first and only treatment for nash with moderate to advanced liver scarring without cirrhosis. it works directly in the liver to help reduce scarring and reduce nash. (vo 2) before taking, tell your doctor about liver or gallbladder problems or if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to be. serious side effects include liver injury, gallstones, gallbladder/pancreas inflammation.

stop taking and call your doctor about tiredness, nausea, vomiting, fever, rash, jaundice, stomach pain. tell your doctor if taking gemfibrozil, cyclosporine, clopidogrel, or statins. side effects include diarrhea, itching, dizziness, constipation. (man) i have a way forward. (vo 1) ask your liver specialist to test for scarring and ask about rezdiffra. ♪ rezdiffra ♪ (sigh) (snoring) if you struggle with cpap... you should check out inspire. honey? inspire. sleep apnea innovation. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com for all those making it big out there...

learn more and view important safety information ...shouldn't your mobile service be able to keep up with you? get wifi speeds up to a gig at home and on the go. introducing powerboost, only from xfinity mobile. now that's big. xfinity internet customers, cut your mobile bill in half vs. t-mobile, verizon, and at&t for your first year. plus, ask how to get the new samsung galaxy s25+ on us.

ourselves. we believe in our destiny and trusts in the providence of almighty god. and i can tell you the opposite side, the opposing side. and they oppose religion. they oppose god. they've lost their confidence. they've lost their confidence as a different group of people than i remember. as the. >> bible says. >> blessed are the peacemakers. and in that end, i hope my greatest legacy, when it's all finished, will be known as a peacemaker and a unifier. i hope that's going. >> to be true. >> all right. president trump there with his unique style as unifier in chief yesterday at the national prayer breakfast in washington. it comes as his administration continues to create chaos within the federal government. we're going to go through the plans to make massive cuts to the usaid workforce and how the layoffs could impact lifesaving aid to

people around the world, as well as our own foreign policy. plus, we'll have an update on the major legal fights over his executive orders, as well as the legally murky federal buyout offer to federal employees. we'll also have a preview of the big game in the big easy super bowl 59. good morning, and welcome to morning joe. anybody glad it's friday? you're here not even noticing. it's just like any other day february 7th. with us. we have the co-host of the fourth hour, jonathan lemire. he's a contributing writer at the atlantic covering the white house and national politics, nbc news national affairs analyst and partner and chief political columnist at puck, john heilemann, who i welcomed so gracefully this morning. graciously. >> generously, yes, as sweetly as ever. >> it was so nice to see you approach the set. >> not so great. >> yeah, not so great. former senior spokesperson and adviser for the harris campaign, adrienne elrod, is here, the

host of way too early, ali vitali, probably the happiest that it's friday and staff writer at the atlantic frank ford is with us. so joe, we got a lot to get to this morning. after a pretty jam packed week here on morning joe. >> well, let me just say i'm sad that it's friday. wish it were monday and we could do this all over again because there's just never enough time with our friends that watch. never enough story, time to tell all the stories. so i'm going to be sad, but i'm going to cling to the realization that, you know, this all starts again on monday. four hours a day, five days a week. i will have my stopwatch. and i just as you know, i stare at it all weekend and it's like a countdown until the monday show. i will say, well, it's. >> always fascinating. >> to be. >> here to see we are. it's always fascinating to see donald trump at these prayer

breakfasts, because you never know. it's like a box of chocolate. you never know exactly what you're going to get. yeah. and so you have these calls for unity. and you also had these these suggestions that democrats were godless heathens that had lost their way. and of course, the suggestion that now suddenly over the past couple of weeks, america has become a great country again. as i said all along, america is a great country. we are, we are, we are a wonderful country. we have been a wonderful country, and we will remain a wonderful country despite a lot of the nonsense that goes on in washington, d.c. but it is interesting and it does need to be brought up that nancy pelosi, even when donald trump was deriding her, personally, attacking her personally, even when he mocked and ridiculed nancy pelosi's husband being brutalized within

inches of his death, she still talked about praying for donald trump. and it was a concept he didn't understand. it's a concept that actually jesus talks about in the sermon on the mount. i am i'm only bringing this up. it's not he's not preaching. this is just reporting on if you're going to the prayer breakfast and you're saying democrats are godless heathen and you don't even understand that jesus is one of the first things that we learn in matthew on the sermon on the mount is that you pray for your enemies. you pray for those who want to persecute you. blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. when you're asked to forgive, you're asked to forgive 70 times seven. that's that's like the perfect number. so that lies at the heart of jesus's ministry. and

so i just remember when nancy pelosi talked about nancy pelosi, talked about praying for donald trump. he said, oh, yes, that's nobody. nobody believes that. how could you how could you ever do that? he's also a man who has said that he's never had to ask god for forgiveness either. so again, what one does at the prayer conference when prayer breakfast, when one is president of the united states, obviously is up to them. i would say, though, just a recommendation. if you're trying to bring the country together, you can pass on the whole democrats or godless marxists because, yeah, maybe, maybe the most intense of the base believe it. but it's kind of hard to spread that message. at the same time, you're destroying pepfar, at the same time, you're destroying all these other aid

efforts that were actually inspired by religious organizations and presidents belief in jesus christ and the need that we needed to help the poorest among us. and so interesting time to be delivering that message. let's hope again, a page is turned. hope springs eternal. let us hope that that the two sides can figure out how to get along. and that starts by one side, not calling the other side godless heathens. just a suggestion. just a suggestion that may not be the best way forward. >> yeah, and speaking of helping the poorest among us, our top story this morning, the trump administration plans to cut the number of usaid workers from more than 10,000 to just 292, sources with the plans say, familiar with the plans. the remaining staff includes employees who specialize in

health and humanitarian assistance. the agency is pushing the state department for less severe cuts, and have submitted a much longer list of staff that they deem essential, but reports say most of the contractors have already been fired or furloughed, and that the 290 that will remain are among the more than 5000 foreign service officers, civil servants and contractors still employed under the plan, just 12 people would be dedicated to serve the continent of africa and eight people for all of asia, and 600 employees dedicated to europe will be cut to just ten people. secretary of state marco rubio said yesterday the actions were not meant to be disruptive, but were, quote, the only way we've been able to get cooperation from usaid, okay. meanwhile, unions representing foreign service officers and federal

employees at usaid are suing the trump administration in an effort to stop the dismantling of the agency. the suit is filed against president trump, secretary of state marco rubio, secretary of the treasury scott bessent, usaid, the state department and the department of treasury, and seeks an injunctive relief to stop the effort to close the agency down and restore its system. it goes on to allege the group is responsible for causing a global humanitarian crisis and costing thousands of american jobs, and argues only congress can dissolve the agency. so, joe, let's stop right there, because there's a lot going on, including elon musk's involvement and this process that the secretary of state, marco rubio, said there was no other way to do. it seems to me there are lawful ways to do this

as opposed to how it's happening. >> and that's a question, and it's a question for all. all of the doge projects, because i think, let me just say at the outset, as a small government conservative and somebody who actually helped lead the fight with about a dozen of my classmates, we balance the budget four years in a row, and we did that. it's the only time it's happened in 100 years. it's the only time it's happened in a century. we did it four years in a row. there's nothing easy about it. there's government waste out there involved. but we did it constitutionally. we did it legally. it's hard. it's just a very difficult thing to do. and so the question is not whether they're going to find waste, fraud and abuse in the government. of course they're going to find waste, fraud and abuse in the government. and this is something they should do, but they need to do it legally and they need to do it transparently. there's no

transparency here that i can that that i can see. i mean, we i think there are people inside the white house that i've spoken to that are still sort of guessing and curious exactly about what's happening and the speed. but these changes are taking place with really no organization, with with no game plan. it's extraordinarily dangerous. these these governmental systems opened up and opened up in a way that will allow china, allow russia, allow iran, allow our foreign adversaries to possibly gain access to these systems. i think after layer after layer after layer of security could just be gutted. that's one thing i want to say. another thing though, and i find it a curious john heilemann. i find it a curious argument that some democrats are making, which is, let's not fight about this. you know, it's foreign aid. foreign aid is not

popular. let's let's talk about eggs or let's talk about. no, i this this is this is a fight that i don't care what polls say right now. if it's a 5050 split, i still have confidence in the american people that they don't want children to die in sudan. they don't want them to starve to death in sudan, and they don't want malaria spreading all over africa. they don't want these diseases spreading all over the world. they don't want george w bush's pepfar project, which has saved 25 million lives so far across the world. they don't want those stopped. at the end of the day, if democrats will actually explain that to them. and this whole idea that, oh, we don't have the money to provide grain to young children who were starving in africa or across the world, in sudan or across the world, i mean, one

fighter jet here buys a hell of a lot of life saving aid and a lot of prevention for diseases that would spread across the globe. and on top of that, as far as a bang for your buck goes, if you look at not only the goodwill that the united states gets out of these programs, but the intel that we gain. let's just be cynical about this. if nobody gives a damn about the morality, the intel that we gain about al qaeda's actions in africa, isis actions in africa, what china is doing to try to elbow us out for minerals and precious resources in africa. if we look at what russia's constantly trying to do to undermine our position, what iran is trying to do, man, this is just a great value. it is a great value that we saw after world war two. we see time and

time again, hearts and minds are changed and the united states power grows exponentially. what is right actually leads to might. in many, many ways. this is a strategically smart thing to do moving forward with this program. cut the waste, fraud, and abuse. but god, don't gut it. and if you're a democrat, why not defend it? >> well. >> i think, joe, i. >> i have heard some of the consultants who've made this argument that. you know. >> four days of political loser. i think it's fair to say. >> that if you were to look at. >> polling over the course of. >> the past, not a few years. >> but few decades, that they're not wrong, that that that foreign. >> aid. is not. >> is traditionally thought of as a as a liberal humanitarian concern. it's not framed the way you described it. it's not been defended in the way you defend it. and usaid in particular has

not been put in those in that context. that's an argument worth making, maybe, but i understand the kind of reflexive desire. >> of some consultants. >> to say, you know, this is. >> a. >> this is a loser. donald trump's going to enjoy this fight. we need to. >> move on. to a. >> bigger fight. i am with you on. >> the substance. >> of it. i'm also. >> with you on. >> the politics of it. if it's recast in a different way. i think if you're going to try to fight this fight program. >> by. >> program, making the arguments. for is this spending or that department or this level of cuts, that is also, in a lot of cases, you know, the things that elon musk and his team are focusing on are things that traditionally have been hard to defend and that have not been not been obvious winners for democrats. i think the notion of making an argument about. an unelected. plutocrat and. >> his group of. >> toadies and henchmen. >> with their zip. >> drives, >> a staging a digital coup in a

lot of cases, rolling into agencies with no authorization, no one. you talked about transparency before, i say, with no accountability. yeah, that the doj's acting in a lawless way to go to target given programs of all kinds and kind of in the dead of night over weekends, access and computer systems and making determinations that the congress hasn't voted on, that no one has authorized, that no one has debated beforehand that all of these that that argument that democrats are now starting to glom onto, which is this is this is a usurpation of the democratic process. this is breaking the government. this is a coup in all but without without the kalashnikovs, that those kinds of arguments to fold usaid under that blanket, under that larger argument and sort of say, wait, wait, stop. what's going on here? >> who gave. >> you elon. musk the right to shut down anything? you are

unelected and you are you are unconfirmed. you are unvetted what is where does your authority derive? i think democrats are starting to see that as a powerful political argument. and rather than fighting program by program, you need to fight this larger fight and you need to fight it. right now. >> frank is writing more about the d.o.j. part of this. and i think the bigger thing politically, adrienne elrod, is that there's something in this catastrophe for everybody. i don't think you need to focus on just one aspect of it, because, listen, donald trump taps into this america first attitude. and i've even heard republicans and those representing the white house saying, you know, there are people suffering from the fires. there are people suffering in north carolina from, you know, the catastrophes there. why should that be money be spent abroad when we are suffering? americans want what they can get. and there is a very me first attitude out there

that trump taps into it. so i do think it's important to mention the part and to focus on the fact that we're handing off vital resources, that we're handing off vital secrets and making a void where russia and china can step in, making our country less safer. because i do think also, republicans and followers of donald trump are very much into national security. and this is not good for our national security. >> that's exactly right. i mean, look, first of all, it should come as no surprise to me that usaid is one of the first programs that are the first agencies that trump went after for the very reasons that you just laid. >> out. >> that a lot of americans are seeing this as you know, you're taking my taxpayer dollars, you're taking my hard earned money, and you're focusing on foreign aid as opposed to my own, you know, the. >> needs. >> of my own necessarily, you know? exactly. true. but that's that's that's the equation, which. >> is exactly why democrats and anybody, by the way, who opposes

dismantling usaid, has got to do we've got to do a better job of telling the story. to your point, talking about how soft diplomacy, talking about how giving foreign aid to foreign countries is going to actually keep america safer, it's something that we democrats just we got to do a better job of doing that. so, you know, going out there instead of some of these members of congress going out and yelling, we will win at a press conference. we actually need these members to go out to their social media channels. we need real, everyday people going out to their communities and talking about how these programs actually help keep america safe, how they help american families. that is just the bottom line, because again, if you're the average american, you're looking at this and saying, i wanted the system to be shaken up. i wanted government bloat to go down the first place i'm going to go to or that trump should go to is usaid. so we just got to do a better job at telling the story. >> you're referring, of course, to chuck schumer's news conference earlier this week. a few real world implications here, cutting usaid that are collected here. anti-trafficking work in latin america has already taken a hit. clinical

trials funded by usaid. medical experiments have been stopped. the new york times has a great story and a terrible story on this today. midstream people, some people have medical devices still in their bodies because the trials were abruptly stopped. we have damaged the funding. usaid helped fund ukraine's energy system. that's obviously a boon to vladimir putin if that goes away, as well as billions of dollars here for the u.s. economy. the washington post reports on how some american farmers would have contracts with usaid that's now gone away, that's hurting the american pocketbook here at home. and we should also note, of course, that elon musk, who's in charge of all this, is the leader in spreading misinformation and disinformation outright, lying on his account. and that for about, let's say, the condoms in gaza, for instance. and that's been amplified by right wing media. so, frank, your latest piece for the atlantic delves into all of this, particularly focusing on musk. it's got this headline, the dictatorship of the engineer. you write in part

this given american conservatives recent rhetoric, their surrender to musk's vision of utopia is discordant, to say the least. ever since the pandemic, the maga movement has decried the tyranny of a cabal of self-serving experts who wield their technical knowledge unaccountably. but even as the right purports to loathe technocracy, it has empowered to engineer a radically to radically remake the american state in the name of efficiency. you go on to write. he has casually paused global aid programs that alleviate suffering. he has moved to destroy bureaucrats careers without concern for the rippling personal consequences to a brain as rational as musk's democracy is waste and inefficiency, the best system is the one bursting forth from his mind. and frankly, tell us more about this. to the point earlier, no, no one voted for elon musk. elon musk has not appeared before a

senate hearing. he has not been confirmed. he it's his background. he's been white house officials say he has received some sort of security clearance, but very vague as to what or what sort of background check went into that. and yet he is right now arguably just as powerful as donald trump in terms of reshaping and slashing the federal bureaucracy. >> yet perhaps doing more than any single individual, elected or unelected, to transform the american state in a. short period of time. and the thing about usaid is that it is just. >> a beachhead. it is just. >> the landing crew. >> and so what's happening at usaid is, of course. being replicated across. >> the entirety of the federal government. >> and i think for. >> people who. >> style themselves as conservatives to see the way in which. >> a true conservative. >> see the. >> way in. >> which change is rippling through systems. institutions are being shattered no matter what the value those. institutions bring. and it's

just the radicalism and the arrogance and the way in which these guys who. know nothing about government, these are people. and this is the. musk method. as an engineer, he. believes that because. >> he is. >> such a genius. >> he can. >> descend on. >> any system. >> and because. of his great mind, he can find a. >> way to remake that system so that it works better. >> he doesn't actually. >> understand the system. >> he understands the process. >> so he. >> steps in. >> and his approach. >> is always. the this a caricature. >> of the silicon valley approach of. >> moving fast. >> and. >> breaking things. >> and part of that is about lawlessness. >> and so. >> he he's always. >> just pushed. >> beyond whatever the regulations are, whatever. >> the laws are. >> and of course. >> in this. >> instance. >> he's in a context. where he. >> knows that whatever he does and. >> breaks the law in the course of causing a constitutional. >> crisis, he'll get a. >> pardon at the end of. >> the. >> day. >> because that's the. >> way the. >> trump world works. >> and we'll talk more about frank's piece on elon musk after a quick 92nd break. also ahead,

former vice president kamala harris appears to be keeping her options open. what she said yesterday about a possible run for california governor. that's for california governor. that's next on morning ♪♪ some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. like you know to check the game is actually over, - we won. - [cheering] before you storm the court. ♪♪ ♪okay, okay, okay♪ [owww] yeah, checking first is smart. it's overtime. so check allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. ♪♪ you're in good hands with allstate. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max!

subscription. >> when i want and. >> have hundreds of free channels. >> sling lets. >> you do that. >> choose and customize your channel lineup or watch for free. sling lets you do that. >> my eyes, they're dry, uncomfortable. looking for extra hydration. now there's blink nutri tears. it works differently than drops. blink nutri tears is a once daily supplement clinically proven to hydrate from within, helping your eyes produce more of their own tears. to promote lasting, continuous relief. you'll feel day after day. try blink neutral tears a different way to support dry eyes. >> blink dry tears. >> you know, before the election, i quoted edmund burke, who of course is the founder of conservatism time and again, and burke wrote in reflecting on the

revolution in france that institutions on which countries were established protected. and sustained, institutions that had been built over centuries by compromise and consensus could be torn down in a day by radicals. and i just ali, i know in washington there is just a fear right now that not not the government waste will be be found out. i think that's that's a winner on both sides. but you have somebody running through the federal government basically being given a free rein to go into whatever computer systems he wants to go into that doesn't understand the basics of american government consensus.

madisonian democracy that that it's just that, again, as frank said, that all of that consensus, all of that compromise, all of those things that sustained us for 240 years, well, that just gets in the way of what he wants to do today. >> but frank makes the great point that we've made here and you've made here, joe, this idea that elon musk is being given carte blanche to rip things out of the government root and stem. and yes, these institutions are unpopular. if you want to bring it back to polling and the way that democrats are thinking about how to mount a defense of what's happening here, the institutions might be unpopular. but the more that you remind the american public what these institutions actually do, they are not faceless entities. they are not just big stone buildings. they are people who are employed by the government to help, whether it's within usaid or within any of these other government agencies that musk is infiltrating and then

trying to tear up from the inside, those reminders are crucial. and so it's right that adrian says democrats have the incumbency upon them to point out to their constituents on a 1 to 1 level what the impact is going to be, but then also to amplify the way that those constituents could be losing services that they rely on because they are just blanket slashing pieces of federal aid across all of these different agencies. i do think there's also a point, though, when it comes to musk. there was some reporting moved yesterday that internal polling within one of the house democratic campaign arm shows musk himself is actually very unpopular across battleground districts. and so i know that there's a desire to play the long game and focus on the midterms and turning the house back to being democratic controlled. yeah, that's a long goal. but in the short term, there is a political upside to focusing on musk because he himself is not a popular figure. i think this internal polling had him at 51% across

battleground states. that that poll was even done before. a lot of the actions that he's taken and rightly been given credit for as he's come into these federal agencies. so there is a focus there on musk. i've heard, as we all have heard, the, the, the, the consternation around making usaid a focus. but i think democrats have an opportunity to assume the national security mantle and remind people why these institutions are in place in the first place. >> coming up, what we're hearing about a possible meeting in the coming weeks between president trump and russian president vladimir putin, jonathan lemire weighs in with the very latest on that straight ahead on on that straight ahead on morning joe. it all started with a small business idea. it's a pillow with a speaker in it! that's right craig. pulling in the perfect team to get the job done. i'm just here for the internets. at&t, it's super-fast! you locked us out?! and when thrown a curveball... arrggghh! ahhhh! [crashing sounds] we had everything we needed.

is the internet out? don't worry, we have at&t internet back-up. the next level network for small business. ♪♪ i sold a pillow! the itch and rash of moderate to severe eczema disrupts my skin, night and day. despite treatment, it's still not under control. but now, i have rinvoq. rinvoq is a once-daily pill... that reduces the itch... and helps clear the rash of eczema— ...fast. some taking rinvoq felt significant itch relief as early as 2 days. and some achieved dramatic skin clearance... as early as 2 weeks. many saw clear or almost-clear skin. rinvoq can lower ability to fight infections. before treatment, test for tb and do bloodwork. serious infections, blood clots, some fatal... cancers, including lymphoma and skin; serious allergic reactions; gi tears; death; heart attack; and stroke occurred. cv event risk increases in age 50 plus with a heart disease risk factor. tell your doctor if you've had these events, infection, hep b or c, smoked, are pregnant or planning. don't take if allergic or have an infection.

♪♪ disrupt the itch & rash of eczema. talk to your dermatologist about rinvoq. learn how abbvie can help you save. a chewy order is on the way for radar, who hears everything. and that sound means chewy is en route. ear wipes. kibble. squeaky lamb. [mom]: it's almost chewy time! [parrot]: chewy! and that's echo — [parrot]: chewy! whose favorite seed is also on the way. at prices mom loves. because two pets means twice the savings. [parrot barks] for low prices and fast shipping. for life with pets, there's chewy. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! a little over a year ago, during a routine mammogram and ultrasound, i was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer.

luckily, my cancer was found early and hadn't spread. i finished my treatment and now, i'm cancer free. if i had waited a few months longer, things could have been way worse. caught early, many cancers have survival rates well over 90%; however, most people don't prioritize their recommended screenings. take it from pam and her pam pams, michael was right, get 'em checked, ladies. consider this your kick in the butt to get your recommended screenings... no matter how busy things are at work. and if you're an employer, you have the power to save lives. the screening time off program encourages employees to take time to step out for screenings. be the world's best boss. join screening time off. your employees will love you for it! well, maybe not love, but like a lot! learn more and sign up at workingwithcancerpledge.com. power surprise you? do you

not need a. katrina level type of response that is rebuilding to make. >> sure. >> it. >> won't happen again? you've obviously. >> made a decision to resign. are there any lessons. >> that can be learned. >> as you're talking to members of your congregation, what do. >> you. tell them. >> about how to stand up. >> for their own. >> moral beliefs, but still find grace. >> in this moment? >> lock in the whole year. peacock for only 29.99. experience the joy of staying in and watch all this for less than $3 a month. don't miss your chance to lock in a whole year of peacock for only 2999 limited time offer terms apply. >> time now for a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning. a possible meeting between president trump and vladimir putin is at an advanced stage of planning. that's according to a russian lawmaker who serves as

the chairman of russia's foreign relations committee. russia's war on ukraine will hit the three year mark on february 24th, and would be the focus of any potential meeting. real quick. jonathan lemire. >> a. >> totally different approach than president biden, of course, who wouldn't even speak to putin once the war started. there's some thought that a middle east country might be the venue for the summit, but it's still not settled yet. but we should expect that at some point this year. >> we'll be watching that. former vice president kamala harris toured fire damage in southern california yesterday. she met with local officials in pacific palisades and visited a recreation center that served as an emergency shelter. harris, who has kept a low profile since leaving office, was asked about a potential run for governor and she didn't rule it out. i have been home for. >> two weeks and three days. my plans are to be in touch with my community, to be in touch with the leaders and figure out what i can do to support them, and most importantly, to lift up the folks who are surviving this

extraordinary crisis and do what i can do to offer any assistance, even if it is a kind word. >> along the way, we'll follow that. and australia has passed tough new crime laws. that includes mandatory minimum sentences for displaying hate symbols. it's an effort to crack down on a recent surge in anti-semitism. the laws will impose jail sentences for giving a nazi salute in public, and for threatening force or violence against people based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or identity, among other things. coming up, a preview of super bowl sunday, pablo torre joins us with key storylines behind the big game and much more straight ahead on morning more straight ahead on morning joe.

if you have heart failure or chronic kidney disease, farxiga can help you keep living life, because there are places you'd like to be. (♪♪) serious side effects include increased ketones in blood or urine and bacterial infection between the anus and genitals, both which may be fatal, severe allergic reactions, dehydration, urinary tract or genital yeast infections, and low blood sugar. stop taking and tell your doctor right away if you have nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, tiredness, rash, swelling, trouble breathing or swallowing. tell your doctor about lightheadedness, weakness, fever, pain, tenderness, redness or swelling between the anus and genitals. ask your doctor about farxiga today. ♪ far-xi-ga ♪ (♪♪) >> a big part of who. >> i am. >> and i.

>> love the way it. makes me feel. >> but there was a time. >> not long. >> ago when i felt i had to accept the idea of hanging up this old yoga mat. you see, i have symptomatic obstructive hcm which left me so short of breath i just couldn't. >> get out here making me. >> feel like a bystander. >> in my own life. so i talked to. >> my cardiologist. >> and he told me about cam icu's. he said cam icu's works by targeting what's causing my obstructive hcm. so he prescribed it and i'm so. >> thankful he did. >> cam's icu's is used to treat adults with symptomatic obstructive hcm. cam icu's may improve your symptoms and your ability to be active. cam icu's may cause serious side effects including heart failure that can lead to death, a risk that's increased if you develop a serious. infection or irregular heartbeat, or when taking certain other medicines. so do not stop, start or change medicines or the dose without telling your health care provider. >> you must have echocardiograms. >> before and during treatment. seek help if you experience new or worsening symptoms of heart failure. because of this risk, cam icu's is only available through a restricted program. before taking cam's, tell your doctor about all of your medical

conditions, including current or planned pregnancy. with cam icu's reducing my symptoms, i've gone from sitting on the sidelines to being. >> back in the game. >> my name is stephanie. >> and this is. >> my cam. >> icu's moment. >> call your cardiologist. >> call your cardiologist. >> today and see if a cam baby: liberty! mom: liberty mutual is all she talks about since we saved hundreds by bundling our home and auto insurance. biberty: it's pronounced "biberty." baby: liberty! biberty: biberty! baby: liberty! biberty: nice try, kid. only pay for what you need ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ baby: liberty.

resources. as the washington post reports, from reinstating the federal death penalty to ordering investigations of sanctuary cities and those who prosecuted prosecuted donald trump. bondi spent her first few hours in office issuing marching orders for justice department staff that marked a significant shift in priorities. among other things, she disbanded teams focused on investigating foreign influence campaigns, foreign lobbying, and national security threats posed by corporate malfeasance. bondi also instructed a unit tasked with investigating cases involving bribery of foreign officials to refocus its efforts on investigations involving bribes

to facilitate human smuggling and the trafficking of narcotics and firearms. similarly, she ordered a scaling back of foreign lobbying investigations to instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign governments. lamar, break that all down. >> yeah, i mean, it's a dramatic shifting of priorities here. we know that in our first hours covered in the post, she is authorizing these investigations of the investigators, the january 6th probes and the like, including. >> she say she was not going to be. >> she she in her confirmation hearing, made a point of trying to be above that, that she would not do it. and she has, at least in these early days, signaled that she indeed will go the opposite direction. we're also waiting, of course, for fbi director kash patel to receive his hearing and votes, but that could be another week or two. democrats have managed to delay that process some, but it's raised real alarm bells here, including on counterterrorism operations. at a time when we know how dangerous the world has been. there is some speculation

we talked about on this show that even president trump's musing about taking over gaza. and then i know they've walked that back some, but even putting it out there has real consequences and could incite violence and terrorism just at the same time, when the fbi says, well, we'll be less focused on that. >> all right. the kash patel hearing is next thursday, i believe. so we'll be watching for that for a second day in a row. a federal judge has blocked president trump's executive order attempting to limit birthright citizenship. a u.s. judge issued a nationwide injunction on the order yesterday after calling it blatantly unconstitutional during a preliminary hearing a couple of weeks ago. the judge slammed trump in court yesterday, saying in part, quote, it has become ever more apparent that to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals. the rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore. whether that be for political or

personal gain. this latest injunction comes after a federal judge in maryland issued a nationwide hold on the order on wednesday. the executive order faces even more legal challenges, with the hearing set for later today in massachusetts and another hearing on monday in new hampshire. in a challenge brought by the aclu. i mean, john heilemann tried to stay like, right where the story is. but a lot of folks, when they first heard this thought never going to happen. >> so that the trump team would. >> this would. >> happen. >> that the birthright citizenship and. >> would get rejected. >> yes. >> yes, i think well, i mean, the there's an awful lot of stuff going on in the. >> trump administration. >> that is, if you talk to lawyers who are not particularly ideological, just looking blackletter lawyers, look at things like these are not hard going to be hard cases in the sense on the merits that that they're in this case, the plain language of the constitution is pretty clear about birthright

citizenship, that you have to be pretty extreme to try to find a way to interpret the constitution to, to, to along the way that the trump administration has. there's a lot of instances like this and where these are what lawyers think of as easy cases. and that has given some people a lot of hope that in the end, the courts will be the guardrail that keeps a lot of the worst excesses of the trump second trump term from coming past. we've seen this on other fronts, too. we've seen the courts have now intervened to stop the to get in the way of this potential spending freeze. there's issue after issue where courts are ruling against trump already, and we're not even three weeks in. you know, the question it raises for me is, as these cases, many of them progressed to the and progressed to the supreme court. is at what point does a case occur in which the trump administration loses on something that they really care about, and they decide to test the court's ability to enforce its decision, which is to say the supreme court has ruled against us. all the lower

courts have ruled against us. the supreme court has ruled against us. john roberts, you and what army are going to enforce it? we're not. we're going to do what we want anyway, right? and that is the place where i think a lot of people who are looking down the line of where does the constitutional crisis really come? >> it comes. >> in the moment when the executive branch decides to defy the highest order of the judicial branch. branch. everyone in law, in the constitutional law arena right now is trying to figure out when that clash is going to come. most people assume it is going to come at some point. the question is going to be when. >> coming up, a look at the oscar nominated film nickel boy. that's on one top ten list after another. we'll talk to the film's director and one of its film's director and one of its costars straight ahead on ( ♪♪) you never want to lose your edge. and the lexus rx completely understands that. (♪♪) some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first.

like you know to check your outfit first before meeting your girlfriend's family. that's a tough one to recover from steve. so check allstate first yeah. for a quote that could save you hundreds. an alternative to pills, voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel, which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine directly at the source. voltaren, the joy of movement. men tell us when they use just for men® to eliminate gray, there's a great “before and after”. then, there's the 'after the after' — that boost you get when you look and feel your best. and that's why more men choose just for men®. planning to move? join the 6 million families who discovered a smarter, more flexible way to move, with pods. save up to 20% now for a limited time. whether you're moving across town or across the country. save up to 20% at pods dot com today. ♪♪ wait. noom has glp-1 meds now?

noom, the psychology based weight loss company? yes, noom combines medication and behavior change so you can lose the weight and keep it off. and it starts at just $149. noom. the smart way to lose weight. tap into etsy noom. for home and style finds like custom shelving for less than 50 dollars to make more space. or linen robes under 75 to get you cozy. for affordable pieces to help you welcome big changes, etsy has it. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! hey guys. there's a change in the air. - two changes. - two changes. ♪♪ the three-row luxury tx. because everyone should feel like the center of the universe. ♪♪

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 weekends, saturday. >> and. >> sunday mornings. >> at. >> 8:00 on msnbc. >> it is an honor to be hosting this because i've been a football fan for a long, long time. i mean, i remember back when the cowboys was good. i remember back when the chiefs was bad, and i remember. what

was it bill belichick's girlfriend wasn't even born yet. >> oh my gosh. >> okay, that was snoop dogg in his opening monologue. the nfl honors last night, joking about the 48 year age gap between eight time super bowl winning coach bill belichick and his 24 year old girlfriend, jordan hudson. let's bring right now the host of pablo torre finds out on meadowlark media, who tells anyone who will listen that his girlfriend has yet to be born yet. we speak, of course, of msnbc contributor pablo torre. also, msnbc contributor mike barnicle. that's like happily married with allowance. and he is well, and with us right now. pablo. of course, that's not right. >> yes. >> so. >> of. >> course i know that my wife is awake. >> background.

>> pablo, where. >> are you? >> let me just say. pablo. pablo. of course. this is super bowl weekend. everybody is asking, where's pablo? it's in new orleans. this is where super bowls have always like, i think. i think the first super bowl may have been in new orleans. so where else would pablo tory be except for. >> that's right. >> miami, florida. yeah. so i hope you're enjoying miami. but. but from miami. what? what is the view? what? what is the view from south beach? pablo. >> so two two. >> views from south beach. number one, i'm here reporting, of course, on pat riley, who happens to own the copyright on the term threepeat. which leads me to my second view, which is that the chiefs are on the road to fulfilling a prediction i made for you on this program, what feels like a million years ago. but the view here is that the kansas city chiefs. i could i could give you the poetry. i can give you the argument that the philadelphia eagles, of course, are the toughest team mahomes has faced in his run.

that's true. they have a rushing attack led by saquon barkley. that is unbelievable. barkley might have the best season for a running back of all time that he just accomplished. and yet i say to you are our memories really that short? the three peat to me feels inevitable, and i just want all of us to brace for a world in which we will have a quarterback in mahomes who will have done something that no one has ever done in the sport. that's the view from here. >> yeah. you know, last year i thought it was i thought it was an incredible matchup between the 40 niners who had an extraordinary team against patrick mahomes. and i kept going back and forth trying to figure it out. jack and i were talking about it finally just said, you got to bet on mahomes because that guy always wins in the crunch. i heard a stat a couple of weeks ago just absolutely unbelievable. they took the quarterbacks who had been in the most, most pressurized situations with like two minutes left to go in a

playoff game where they had to either get a field goal or a touchdown to win. and, you know, they had all the greats. brady was like, what, four for eight? and i don't know who else. elway was three for six whatever. and they all were about 50% which was incredible. patrick mahomes got the ball in his hands with seven minutes with seven times. with two minutes left in a playoff situation, his efficiency and winning the game for the chiefs in those situations. seven for seven. there has never been a quarterback. and this hurts me to say because i love joe montana so much, but there has never been a quarterback that wins the big game like mahomes, because he's just never lost. >> yeah, well, this is the thing. it's funny. you surround us today with mike barnicle, jon lemire, guys who know the

counterargument to that argument, because tom brady is out there, he's look i it's well, but when it comes to who has actually failed yet, mahomes is off to a start that we've never seen in terms of his career. he only makes afc title games in super bowls. he's won two in a row. and the even crazier stat from this season alone is that they have won the chiefs 15 straight one score games. so i'm just saying, like, i expect this to be close because the eagles are good. and if it's close, there is a body of evidence that it just happens to suggest that maybe tom brady, when all is said and done, will not be the most clutch quarterback in the history. that's right. i heard that groan, but it's correct. >> coming up, a full breakdown of the brand new jobs report. cnbc's andrew ross sorkin joins us with business before the bell. morning joe is back in a bell. morning joe is back in a moa chewy pharmacy order is en route for summit

who loves the outdoors. so her parents use chewy to save 20% on their first order of flea and tick meds. delivered fast, so summit never misses a dose. or an adventure. for quality meds. for life with pets, there's chewy. (fisher investments) at fisher investments we may look like other money managers, but we're different. (other money manager) you can't be that different. (fisher investments) we are. we have a team of specialists not only in investing, but also in financial and estate planning and more. (other money manager) your clients rely on you for all that? (fisher investments) yes. and as a fiduciary, we always put their interests first. (other money manager) but you still sell commission- based products, right? (fisher investments) no. we have a simple management fee structured so we do better when our clients do better. (other money manager) huh, we're more different than i thought! (fisher investments) at fisher investments, we're clearly different. the itch and rash of moderate to severe eczema

disrupts my skin, night and day. despite treatment, it's still not under control. but now, i have rinvoq. rinvoq is a once-daily pill... that reduces the itch... and helps clear the rash of eczema— ...fast. some taking rinvoq felt significant itch relief as early as 2 days. and some achieved dramatic skin clearance... as early as 2 weeks. many saw clear or almost-clear skin. rinvoq can lower ability to fight infections. before treatment, test for tb and do bloodwork. serious infections, blood clots, some fatal... cancers, including lymphoma and skin; serious allergic reactions; gi tears; death; heart attack; and stroke occurred. cv event risk increases in age 50 plus with a heart disease risk factor. tell your doctor if you've had these events, infection, hep b or c, smoked, are pregnant or planning. don't take if allergic or have an infection. ♪♪ disrupt the itch & rash of eczema. talk to your dermatologist about rinvoq. learn how abbvie can help you save. some people just know they could save hundreds

on car insurance by checking allstate first. like you know to check first that you bought seats in the right section. kansas fans, get on your feet! so check allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. krista, it's time to fess up.. abooooouttttt? you're over 45 and still haven't screened for colon cancer! we all knew. this is like the third year she's turned 44... mmmmok. i wasn't ready! drink all that prep?! cancel brunch plans?! ask for cologuard®. it's a one-of-a-kind way to screen for colon cancer that's effective and non-invasive. no prep and you use it at home. false positive and negative results may occur. those at high risk should use colonoscopy. skip the drama. ask your provider or request cologuard online. and said i was an ambassador. do i get a discount? >> the owner. >> called me and said,

roman. do the romans even use these numerals anymore? >> why are we? it's time. >> to give the numerals a rest. this is super bowl 59. who is reading this and not thinking? it says super bowl lix. >> this year the matchup is the kansas city. >> chiefs, who are hoping. >> to win. >> a third. >> straight title versus the philadelphia. >> eagles. >> who yeah, baby. >> who are. >> hoping their mascot doesn't die of bird flu. taylor swift will also be in attendance. >> to support. >> her boyfriend. >> the chiefs. superstar tight end. >> taylor swift's boyfriend. >> between the game and the commercials. >> it's. >> going. >> to be four straight hours. >> of patrick mahomes on tv. >> oh. >> for all. >> the players. >> and coaches, it's a dream come true to play. >> in the super bowl. >> and for all the referees. >> it's a dream come true to see patrick. >> mahomes in person. >> oh my god.

>> i saw. >> that this this year's super. bowl will. >> be watched in 180 countries, 179. >> if we take. >> over canada by saturday. >> welcome to the fourth hour of morning joe. it's 6 a.m. on the west coast, 9 a.m. in the east. jonathan lamir. come on. do you really think the eagles are going to win? i'm pulling for the eagles. i'm pulling for jalen. i'm i'm pulling for barkley. i want them to win the game. but do you really think that that patrick mahomes is going to be denied his three peat. >> of course not. they always win. they always find a way to win. but i am. so look i have my issues with the philadelphia eagles as well. but i'm rooting for them this sunday. and i admit it, as i said earlier in the show, that's my official pick. i picked the eagles out of sports, hate and heart more than anything else, but how can you bet against the chiefs? they find a way to do it each and every game. yes, luck is involved. they also create their

own luck and they're so battle tested. they're so cool at the end of games. it's a testament to andy reid. it's a testament to patrick mahomes. you know, it will take the eagles to play a nearly perfect game to beat them. or we'll have the first three peat in nfl history. >> okay okay. well you know you know it's like mika always says all the time. you know quoting coach saban. she says you know what? there are people that know how to block. blocking is a skill. there are people that know how to tackle. tackling is a skill, and there are people who know how to win. knowing how to win is a real skill. i have we talked i think we talked briefly, actually, jonathan, about josh allen, a guy that we all love who doesn't love josh allen. we all love josh allen. right? >> i knew who he was. >> i mean. >> yeah josh allen don't say that. you didn't say that. but but we all know we all know as much as we love josh allen lamar

jackson was the mvp this past season. it's kind of crazy that again i hate to take anything away from josh. i love josh was really cheering for him this year. but man, how do you not give lamar jackson the mvp this year. >> yeah and lamar had stat better stats across the board and beat them in their regular season matchup. this is of course just a regular season award. so therefore it doesn't count that the bills beat the ravens in the playoffs. but joe these awards they're narrative awards. i think there was a sense that this was you know, josh allen's year. the bills seem to have some magic. and they did go into the postseason as a lot of people's sentimental favorite. but of course they ran into the juggernaut that is the kansas city chiefs in the playoffs. i guess the other thing is simply, i do think these these writers voters are human. and fatigue sets in. and lamar jackson's already got two mvp's and josh allen didn't have any. and i think there was a sense of, oh, let's reward someone new. even if lamar stats were better, let's hope that some same concept of rewarding

someone new leads to the eagles winning sunday and not the chiefs yet again. >> but how does this happen? this is what. >> i want to. >> know okay. >> oh i yeah eli manning we're see here. yeah. new york giants quarterback. >> two. >> rings two two rings i've heard i forget who they beat but they yeah i will say he's an interesting test case because he did win. he's got two championships. his stats actually aren't great. he was a sort of mediocre quarterback. but he's a borderline hall of famer. and the sense was was the rings was the fact that he played in new york enough to get him in? well, it wasn't the first time around, although i suspect he eventually will end up in canton. okay. >> i think so. you win. you win two super bowls for your team and especially the way that they just absolutely humiliated the patriots. i mean, that's got to put you in there right. >> something i think my audio. >> is off. you lost your audio. >> well joe said something. >> in our morning joe. bet i put in the chiefs because i'm always wrong. so i want the eagles to win. >> mika, i'm with you. >> see what i'm saying? i like

it. okay, okay. we're going to get to our top story now a federal judge temporarily paused a trump administration plan to offer mass buyouts to nearly 2 million federal employees. nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexander has the latest. >> this morning, president trump facing legal hurdles in his effort to reshape the government plans to shrink the federal workforce, give elon musk's team access to treasury systems and scale back u.s. foreign aid all facing challenges. but the president is still plowing ahead. >> we got rid of work over the last two weeks. >> a federal judge paused the white house's implementation of its buyout offer to all federal workers hours before the deadline, now delayed until monday after employee unions filed suit, arguing it violates federal law. still, the white house is urging workers to take the buyouts, a senior administration official tells nbc news. more than 65,000 workers, or nearly 3% of the federal. >> civilian workforce.

>> have already accepted the deal. the administration. is warning workers they could lose their jobs if they don't accept. >> the administration. >> is also facing a lawsuit from employee unions over usaid. but moving forward rapidly to dismantle the agency that provides billions of dollars in humanitarian aid around the world. >> we're catching them left and right. we're catching them. >> according to two people familiar with the plans, president trump is expected to slash the agency's ranks from more than 5000 to fewer than 300 workers. democrats say pulling back aid from struggling countries makes america less safe. >> china benefits. >> russia benefits. >> those that. >> don't mean us well, benefits. secretary of state marco rubio is defending it. >> the goal of our endeavor has always been to identify programs that work. >> and the president's praising billionaire elon musk in the department of government efficiency team for its efforts. >> elon musk is helping us on

it, and he's pretty good. >> one other flashpoint. >> doj's access to the treasury department's massive payment system that includes personal data. a doj's employee approved by a federal judge to access the system has resigned after the wall street. >> journal asked. >> about his links to a deleted social media account that advocated for racism and eugenics. other lawsuits. against doj's involvement with the system are still pending. >> that's nbc's peter alexander with that report. let's bring in right now the president of the national action network and host of msnbc's politics nation, reverend al sharpton. also, nbc news senior business analyst and host of the 11th hour, stephanie ruhle. it's great having you all with us. stephanie, let so let's break this down a little bit if we can, okay? because there are a lot of different layers here. let's first of all talk about what i think most americans are just hearing generally that don't follow the news like day in and day out. god bless them.

they're hearing about a president that's going after waste, fraud and abuse they like that's always popular. they're going after employees, federal employees. they're saying they want to trim the workforce. i think most people would like that. they're they're also they're talking about instituting basically best practices, right? getting the biggest bang for the taxpayer buck. they like that as well. so we have all that over here. so people are going, how in the world could he be doing this and why? well, it's because these are generally it's kind of like, you know, controlling the border from having fentanyl and illegal immigrants coming across. popular popular idea in theory. the problem here, though, is there's so much stuff coming at us so quickly. and there are two things that are lacking. one is transparency. it's scary to me

at least, and it's a word i haven't used a whole lot lately, but it's scary as hell having an unelected billionaire with 20 somethings running through, trying to get into our computer systems, and i think eventually making it easier for our enemies to hack into a computer system. that's number one. number two, most of this stuff just i don't think it's legal. and i think at some point you have the administration throwing so much against the wall, and they just want to kind of check and see what. >> sticks. >> what doesn't stick. but right now, so much of this stuff is being enjoined from moving forward and will likely be seen as being illegal or unconstitutional because what they're doing usually is guided by congress. >> joe, that's the whole thing. what you're seeing is a flurry of executive orders from the president. the reason he's doing

it is because he can't get congress to. right. republicans have such a thin margin. if he wanted to get a lot of this done, they would be the ones to do it a couple of months from now. but he can't. you said it with regard to elon musk. whether or not he's wealthy or not, you can put aside. but what he is an unelected, unvetted business person who is filled with conflicts of interest. this man has billions and billions of dollars of government contracts with the united states government and governments abroad. so when you talk about actions where we're where we're trimming our federal workforce, where we're where we're limiting our agencies, and what that does is open an opportunity for foreign countries, foreign countries that elon musk may have government contracts with. and this just goes back to transparency. so yes, what you said at the top. yeah. the american people, they want to get rid of waste. they don't feel good about our bloated government, but they need a better understanding of what elon musk is doing. and my last point would be running a business. right. we want the government to run more

efficiently, but a business has a completely different goal from the government, right. if you take when the dao was founded, none of those companies even exist anymore. the united states does. and it's our government's responsibility not to be profitable, but to ensure that we're physically safe and financially secure and socially free. and when i say financially secure and people say, oh, you're talking about government handouts. no. financially secure, and that it's the government's responsibility to make sure that our banks are regulated. so when you put money in the bank, it's there when you go to take it out, the social security system that you pay into year after year, when it comes time to receive social security, you'll get it. and so it's like it's like people hate to pay for insurance because they don't touch it. what the government puts in place are policies and regulations to make sure we can live free. and sure, it's easy for elon musk to come in and say, tear this up. we don't need that because he can get on his rocket ship and head to mars and leave rubble behind us. but this is a country of 330 million people that need to be cared for, and it's fair for

people to have reservations about what this private citizen is doing, right? yes, he's coming in to solve problems. the question is, solve them. for whom? >> correct. >> well, and the thing is, also, i mean, it's one thing to go through your own companies, whether it's twitter slash x, whether it's space x, whether it's tesla and say, i'm going to just go through, i'm going to wipe all of this stuff out, i'm going to fire these people. i'm going to i'm going to consolidate. i'm going to make it more efficient. this is how i'm going to do it. everybody that is in my way, i'm going to fire them. but but john lamar, we have read throughout our history that james madison created a constitution and a form of government that intentionally was meant to frustrate people like elon musk, intentionally meant to frustrate people that thought they're going to go in and turn the ship on the dime, right. it doesn't

work that way. i always remember david stockman, the beginning of his the triumph of politics in the opening, when talking about the reagan revolution, he said, revolution, i found out, is not possible in washington. and i learned later it shouldn't be, but evolution is. but we don't have that right now. but madison gave us a system of checks and balances. and so you have congress very frustrated, but you have congress that takes to their subcommittee, then a committee, then it goes to the floor, then they vote, then the house of lords do it. they go through there, then the senate takes it. they decide all vote on what they've agreed to on the compromise. then it goes to the white house. then they may veto it and have to start it again. that's what happened with welfare reform three times under bill clinton. it's a frustrating process. and that frustrating process is not a bug of

america's constitutional republic. it is a feature. we are a nation of laws and not of men. and so again, just sending an unelected billionaire on the loose to do the work of congress, which is cutting in partnership with the president, cutting programs that don't make sense. that has to be done the way james madison, the way the constitution said it needed to be done, not the way it's being done right now. >> as we keep saying on this show. article one empowers the congress. and not only is donald trump ignoring the congress, but congress, the republican controlled congress, doesn't seem all that interested in sticking up for their own powers. they themselves are willing to sort of look the other way and let trump and therefore musk, do whatever they want. and those founding fathers may not have anticipated political parties. they did try to have these checks and balances to rein in someone from

getting too powerful. but reverend al sharpton, at least right now, that's not happening. and it is interesting. we've had a sort of ongoing conversation this week about the response. and as noted, republicans not doing much of anything. democrats have tried. there certainly were a little bit off balance to start. they have seemingly, they've found their voice this week with some of the protests. you know, there's different opinions on the tactics they're using, but it seems like they are now at least rising up and saying, okay, this is unacceptable. but isn't it interesting that they're focusing far more on musk than trump? >> they are far more focused on musk, because musk seems to be the one that has the knife that's trying. >> to. >> cut everything. and i think he's also unelected. unvetted the matter of him being unelected is only compounded by the fact he's never been confirmed or examined by anybody other than donald trump. and i think that a part. >> of the thing. >> that really gives energy to a lot of the confusion is the mixed signals, just like they're just. >> throwing everything.

>> out there. i was in altadena, california yesterday where they had had the wildfires and felt that that part. of the victims. >> had not been. >> given the exposure. and a guy. >> stopped me on the plane last. >> night who said, i voted for trump. he's out on the stand. >> on one. >> hand, we're going to cut some aid. on the other hand, we're going to take over gaza. so who's going to go into gaza? i mean, in the. >> in two days. >> you're going to cut the aid to other countries, but you're going to take over gaza, take. over gaza. well, who's going to go in there? and how much is that going to cost? it's too much. and between musk and trump throwing different signals every day, that undermines what the constitution says. even though the republicans have gotten laryngitis at large, i think that the public. >> is. >> saying it's just. >> too much. >> for me to understand. >> yeah, but yeah, he won. and they've got the levers and a complicit congress. let's turn now to the breaking economic news. the january jobs report

was released just moments ago, and it shows the u.s. economy added 143,000 jobs to start the year, lower than economists expected. the unemployment rate also fell to 4%. joe. >> let's bring in the co-anchor of cnbc's squawk box and new york times columnist andrew ross sorkin. andrew, this is one of these wonderful days where the news is worse than expected, and the unemployment rate drops only in america. i love that. terrible news, terrible news. unemployment rate drops. our great news, great news. unemployment rate goes up. it happens time and again. it's crazy how it works. what are you seeing, though in these numbers? i mean, it's 143. it's not a terrible number. a little below expectations. i would not, but i would not, not not a not a bad number. that's exactly right. i would not look at this and ring any alarm bells one way or the other. it's a little bit lighter than had been anticipated. but the other thing that happened,

which i think people are less focused on, is the numbers were revised back in december and november much higher. so we were talking about numbers probably on this very show back in real time then, and the numbers were lower. so those numbers have all been revised higher, which also, by the way, may make this number a little bit worse. but nonetheless, i think what this is effectively suggesting is we are still in a relatively strong environment right now. and to some degree, you could argue this is a little bit of a goldilocks situation. it's not going to change how the federal reserve is going to act. there's very little to do here. i don't want to say it's nothing burger, but for the most part, i think this is still the same path that we were on yesterday. that will be on tomorrow. well, but steph, if that number let's say surprised everybody and it was like $343,000, everybody would be freaking out at the fed. they'd be going like, all right, we're not going to be able to lower interest rates sometime. so actually, that more modest

number for certainly the secretary of treasury, he's talking about lowering long term interest rates. and donald trump, who desperately wants interest rates lowered 143,000, is actually better than, let's say, 343,000, because that would mean the economy is way too hot to lower interest rates anytime soon. >> you're 100% right. things are a-okay. and what it really shows is the end of the biden administration. you kind of can wrap the economy up with a bow. you know, it's got some issues here and there. but joe biden ended with a strong economy. the question looking ahead is if we face tariffs, if we face mass deportations, think about the knock on effect from all of these layoffs that could be happening in the federal government. and outside of that, could could other businesses, could private contracts be canceled? what does that do to employment going forward? of course, donald trump wants rates lower. he wants borrowing costs lower because he wants it to boom for business. but take a close look. business is doing well in this country. >> yeah business is doing well. obviously those higher interest

rates very tough on younger americans and all americans trying to get into a home with, with interest rates higher than usual. let me ask you, andrew, as we talk about interest rates, the treasury secretary had an interesting theory on how they may lower interest rates over the long term without the fed. talk about that. well, look, i mean, this is what the federal reserve has been asking for forever, which is to say scott bessent came out yesterday and said, we're going to try to put our fiscal house in order. this is about bringing down costs in the united states and trying to effectively make the united states a better credit to others, so that if the fiscal house was in order, if people believed more in our ability basically to pay people back and had more confidence in that, they would accept effectively a lower rate, that unto itself would bring rates down. that has nothing to do with what the fed wants to do or doesn't want to

do. his argument is the rate would naturally get lower because people would say, we're going to be good for the money. if they had questions before, they'd have less questions tomorrow. whether that all plays out in practice, i think is still an open question, but that's the idea that scott is at least talking about right now. >> and cnbc's andrew ross sorkin, thank you very much. nbc news senior business analyst stephanie ruhle, thank you. we'll be watching the 11th hour weeknights at 11 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. thank you steph. and coming up, we'll take a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning, including one state lawmaker who wants theaters to post the real time movies are supposed to start when. we'll explain that one just ahead. the house of representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill that would lead to harsher sentences for fentanyl traffickers. two of the republicans supporting the measure. house gop conference chairwoman lisa mcclain and

congressman bob bresnahan join us next. you're watching morning joe. >> gary used car. >> shopping can't. >> hurt you. but what if i overpaid? >> come out. >> and i'll show. >> you a better way. >> well. >> show me car for. >> knowing how a car's. >> accident history impacts. >> accident history impacts. >> (man 1)eans you don't have we're standing up for our right to be lazy. (woman 1) by sitting down. (man 2) and reclining back. (woman 2) we work full-time and parent full-time. (man 3) we will be reclined until further notice. (woman 3) it's our right to let the dishes soak overnight. (man 4) and to mow the lawn... tomorrow-ish. (man 5) we proudly declare that yes, we are still watching that. (woman 4) and no, we won't be cooking tonight. (man 6) we, the lazy, are taking back lazy... (woman 5) ...by getting comfy on our la-z-boy furniture. (vo) la-z-boy. long live the lazy. it all started with a small business idea. it's a pillow with a speaker in it! that's right craig. pulling in the perfect team to get the job done. i'm just here for the internets. at&t, it's super-fast!

you locked us out?! and when thrown a curveball... arrggghh! ahhhh! [crashing sounds] we had everything we needed. is the internet out? don't worry, we have at&t internet back-up. the next level network for small business. ♪♪ i sold a pillow! for more than a decade farxiga has been trusted again and again, and again. ♪far-xi-ga♪ ♪far-xi-ga♪ ask your doctor about farxiga. when the temperature drops you've got two choices. ♪far-xi-ga♪ close your eyes and think warm thoughts. or open your eyes and get out here. there's only one vehicle lineup that embraces everything the cold has to offer. the official vehicles of winte. jeep. there's only one. during the jeep presidents' day sales event, get $7,500 total bonus cash allowance on 2024 jeep grand cherokee overland

and summit models. see your local jeep brand dealer today. emus can't help people. customize and save hundreds. >> on car. >> insurance with. >> liberty mutual. you're just a flightless bird. >> no. >> he's a dreamer, frank. >> and doug. >> well. i'll be. >> that bird really. >> did it.

craig here pays too much for business wireless. so he sublet half his real estate office... to a pet shop. there's a smarter way to save. comcast business mobile. you could save up to an incredible 70% on your wireless bill. so you don't have to compromise. powering smarter savings. powering possibilities. switch to comcast business internet and mobile and find out how to get the new samsung galaxy s25+ on us with a qualifying trade in. don't wait, call, click or visit an xfinity store today.

month. call 1-833-735-4495 or visit homeserve. com. >> welcome back. a group of top house republicans met with the president at the white house yesterday to discuss plans for passing trump's sweeping legislative agenda. that meeting comes as the party appears divided over how to get a budget resolution across the finish line. house republicans have indicated a preference for passing a single bill that would include trump's priorities on taxes, immigration and energy. but senate republicans appear to favor splitting up the issues into two bills. house speaker mike johnson had this to say to senators yesterday. >> our message. >> to our friends and colleagues in the senate is allow the house to do its work. we are. moving this as quickly and as. >> expeditiously as possible. >> very positive developments today. we're really grateful. >> to the. >> president for. >> leaning in and.

>> and doing. >> what he does best. >> and that is put a steady hand on the wheel. >> and get. >> everybody working. >> meanwhile, the republican led house passed the halt fentanyl act yesterday with bipartisan support, now classifying the opioid as a schedule one controlled substance. the bill would lead to harsher punishments for using or selling the drug. it passed with a 312 to 108 vote, with 98 democrats voting in favor, an increase from the votes received for a similar act that was brought up during the last congress. joe. >> let's bring in now republican congressman rob bresnahan of pennsylvania and house republican conference chairwoman congresswoman lisa mclean of michigan. we're going to get to the halt act in a minute. but first, chairwoman mcclain, you were at the white house yesterday for a meeting on president trump's agenda, which you said was, quote, spirited at times, i've been in a few

spirited meetings regarding legislation. what can you tell us about it? >> what i can tell. >> you. >> about is we spent about five. >> hours in the white. >> house, and it. >> is so refreshing to. >> have a. >> leader in the white. >> house that. is engaging, that. is crystal. clear on. his priorities and making sure that we as republicans deliver. >> on those promises that he. >> made, whether it was the budget resolution, whether. it was securing. >> the. >> border, getting the economy back on track. it was spirited, no doubt, but that's. >> what we're. >> supposed to do, right? we're disagreement is not disloyalty. and when we have conversations, we do a better job. this piece of legislation, the reconciliation, is absolutely. >> or could be absolutely. >> transformational when we get it right. so we have to pause just a minute to make sure that we are getting it right. but i was honored. >> to be there. >> it was spirited and my

goodness gracious, i've never met. >> a president like. >> president trump that has so much energy. >> few people have ever met a president like president trump. i think even democrats would say that. congresswoman, tell me what what is the what's the strategy that the house wants to pass the reconciliation bill and 111 piece of legislation and the senators are the house of lords, as we always call them, want to divide it into two? what what is the difference in logic? what's the difference in strategy? why do you think the house has it right? >> well. >> i think the house has it right, because we want to make some pretty significant cuts. listen. we're $36 trillion in debt. we have a spending problem. we have to get our spending mechanism under control. and reconciliation gives us a vehicle to do just

that. so we have we want payfors. so the tax some of the tax policies are going to cost some money. we have to make sure that we can pay for them, right. border security to clean up the mess that president biden left us at the border is going to take some money to do. so if we put it in one big, beautiful bill, so to speak, we will have more money to get everything that we need done, done for the american people. >> so, congressman, obviously the border, illegal border crossings have dropped precipitously. they've gotten much lower over the past year or two. same with fentanyl crossing the border. that said, fentanyl is still such a huge problem in the united states. talk to any parent. i'm a parent and so many parents are so scared of that. this fentanyl bill that was passed, i got to say, i'm surprised. i had no idea it was a schedule two drug. despite the

just the hell that it has visited on on americans and american families. but this bill that passed with a bipartisan vote yesterday makes it a schedule one drug. correct. and if so, what? how does that help law enforcement? >> well. >> i think first, i appreciate you recognizing the crisis that we have relating to fentanyl. and like you had mentioned. fentanyl doesn't discriminate between any socioeconomic background, family dynamics. i actually lost a 16 year old cousin. due to a fentanyl related overdose. and it was totally tragic. and what i feel is preventable. >> i mean, just two. >> milligrams is. enough to kill a human, which is. >> like the size of an ant. so when you start. >> to talk. >> about 43. >> pounds being apprehended at. >> the northern. >> border, that's enough fentanyl. >> to kill the population. >> of the state of. >> ohio. >> almost 12 million people. so we have to get. >> serious about this crisis. >> and we have to buckle down

and protect the american people. >> this was a bipartisan piece of legislation. democrats jumped on board. congressman, are there what other opportunities are there? because i know, i know, you guys hear it when you're back in your districts. and congressman, i know you you're in a swing district and you've heard it too. americans do want both sides working together. what are some more opportunities for that to happen this session of congress? >> i think everybody. >> wants fiscal responsibility. >> we hate seeing waste, fraud and abuse. and you know, what's really frustrating is when, like the congresswoman said here, that when you have $36 trillion in debt and just the interest on that debt payment alone is more than our national defense budget, it certainly adds to some concern. i mean, we're financing our. great grandchildren's futures at this point. everybody wants jobs. everybody wants an economy that works, they want secure borders, and they want safe communities. and i think our vote yesterday on fentanyl was a first step in that right direction.

>> congresswoman, let me ask you about that, about the $36 trillion debt. i'm an old man. when i was there, we were worried about a $4 trillion debt. we did balance the budget four years in a row, but that required really tough choices. i'm so glad to hear you talking about the need. if there tax cuts, you know there have to be pay fours. if there are other spending bills, there have to be payfors. i guess cbo came out with a projection that the national debt is going to jump another $20 trillion in ten years. we can't afford that as a nation, can we? >> amen to that. we can't. and that's why in reconciliation y, while we have this opportunity, we must make some tough decisions. and my hope is that it is bipartisan that like my colleague said that we care about our grandkids and our great grandkids. we have to make

some tough decisions, but there are some non tough decisions that we can make to let's just take a look at the waste, the fraud and the abuse that we can uncover. i am hard pressed to think that the government runs so efficiently that we can't find any efficiencies in savings in in taking a look at auditing some of these programs that we have, some of these programs haven't been audited in decades. right. the american people earn their money and they pay taxes. hard working americans. i think it's high time and it's going to take some unconventional ideas and wisdom and thought process to get us out of this situation. we have got to begin to examine where those hard working american taxpayer dollars are going and what they're being spent. right on. >> yeah. you know, we when we were fighting to balance the

budget, we understood we couldn't get the senate to go along with us. we couldn't get the white house to go along with us unless we use the power of the purse. that's the one thing we had. all spending bills, as you all know, start with you start in the house of representatives. i'm as as an article one champion. i'm concerned by what i'm seeing with elon musk going around and, and going from bureaucracy to bureaucracy. and he's seeming to do like sort of line item vetoes saying, well, we don't want this. we don't want that. i'm wondering, are you all concerned at all about this infringing upon your article one powers? because you all, as you know, you authorize it and then you appropriate it, and then it moves forward for the president and the executive branch to spend it. are you concerned now or is there a moment? is there a red line elon musk could cross that would cause you real

constitutional concerns? >> listen, i think what president trump is doing by appointing elon musk is absolutely brilliant. and i say that from from this perspective, we have a spending problem, $36 trillion in debt. we have a spending problem. it is going to take some unconventional thought process, some unconventional wisdom to get us out of the mess that we're in right now. so what elon musk is doing and what president trump has, is allowing him to do to audit the books, i think is brilliant. and listen, look at what we're talking about right now. we're talking for the first time in a long time about inappropriate or mismanaged funds. we're actually talking about the issues. we're that is that is the start. you can't fix a problem until you first admit there a problem. it's a problem. and president trump is doing an

amazing job by actually telling us, hey, we have a problem. and look, look at what we're uncovering. so i'm happy we're having the discussion. >> well, and i'm happy we're having the discussion too, about waste, fraud and abuse, about using best practices. congressman, though i this is usually though what subcommittees do. this is what committees do in congress. this is what the appropriations committee does. i mean, and that's constitutionally where it's supposed to be taken care of at some point. do you have concerns that they may go too far and may be stepping into your article one powers? >> well, what's encouraging is that you balance the budget, what you said four separate times. so there is hope for us here. and i'll tell you, the process has been exceptionally member driven. i serve on transportation, infrastructure, agriculture and small business, and every single day we are meeting with inside of our various subcommittees, really putting in the work, getting to the bottom and looking at various different elements. i

mean, the reconciliation process is involving 11 different committees, and i'm a new guy on the job here, and the federal government is a very big place. but we do have the power of the purse. that's a big reason why i decided to run for congress. and i ran on having an economy that works and fiscal accountability. so obviously we are working very hard on the reconciliation process, as well as solidifying a five year farm bill. but it's certainly within our wheelhouse, and we're going to continue to work for it. >> all right. republican congressman rob bresnahan and republican conference chair congresswoman lisa mclean. thank you all both for being with us. hope we can continue the conversation. >> absolutely. thank you. >> all right. all right, mika. >> time now for a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning. republican donors at a gathering last week in palm beach county, florida, openly discussed the prospect of casey desantis running for governor in 2026. and for the first time, florida's first lady is

seriously considering the idea. while there has long been speculation about whether she would one day run for office, those plans seem to be coming closer to reality. five people directly familiar with the donor event, and casey desantis thought process told nbc news her husband, governor ron desantis, faces term limits and cannot seek reelection. jonathan. >> yeah, for some years now, people have talked about her political talents elsewhere. a federal judge sentenced the former interpreter convicted of defrauding los angeles dodgers superstar shohei ohtani to five years in prison yesterday. prosecutors requested and were granted a 57 month sentence, followed by three years of supervised release and restitution of nearly $17 million. the dodgers fired the interpreter last march after an espn investigation revealed that he had sent millions in wire transfers from ohtani's account

to bookmaker joe. >> yeah. >> and jonathan. jonathan. come on. so you think he did this on his own? you think he had access. >> to a side hustle? >> i mean, come on, i'm just. i just i'm not accusing anybody of anything, but his interpreter is making bets. $17 million worth of bets, and ohtani doesn't know about it. >> well, what you're saying here is what the reaction from many were when the story first broke a year or so ago. how could ohtani not know? but it has been investigated. and just a few weeks ago, some audio recordings were released of the interpreter impersonating ohtani talking to banks. so at least to this point, there's been nothing that indicates ohtani knew about this. yes. it defies you know, i agree some credulity credibility here, but it's been pretty thoroughly investigated. and at this point, you know, ohtani has

maintained he had nothing to do with it. >> all right. >> well. >> you know, mika, i do the same thing with lamar. i get on, i get on the bankers calls and i imitate jonathan lemire to try to get into it. won't get. >> you very far, joe. >> that won't. >> get you. >> very far. >> moving on now, a connecticut state legislator is proposing a bill that would require movie theaters to post the actual start time of a movie. yes, democratic state senator martin looney of new haven has proposed a measure that would require movie theaters to advertise both the scheduled start time for the movie trailers and the start time of the movie itself. looney told the rochester citizen, the way theaters currently post movie times seems to be an abuse of people's time. i would completely agree with that. 20 minutes of other movies. >> could be. >> ads previews. it does add up. >> yeah, it does add up. all right. coming up, the film nickel boys has been nominated for two oscars, including best

picture. we'll be joined by the movie's director and one of the movie's director and one of the film's stars straight ahead on here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! footwork. >> so i went. >> hands free. >> with wide fit skechers slip ins. >> just step in and go. >> just step in and go. >> without bending. dry eyes still feel gritty, rough, or tired? with miebo, eyes can feel ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ miebo is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye: too much tear evaporation. for relief that's ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ remove contact lenses before using miebo. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in.

eye redness and blurred vision may occur. ♪ miebo ♪ ♪ ohh yeah ♪ ask your eye doctor about prescription miebo. [coughing] copd is an ugly reality. do you have his medical history? i watch as his world just keeps getting smaller. but then, trelegy helped us see things a little differently. with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. once-daily trelegy also improves lung function, so he can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪♪ ♪what a wonderful world♪ ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd

because breathing should be beautiful, all day and night. eggs make all our family moments better. especially when they're eggland's best. taste so fresh and amazing. deliciously superior nutrition, too. for us, it's eggs any style. as long as they're the best. eggland's best. gives you the opportunity to win groceries for life? imagine never paying for groceries again. well, what if i can't decide? avocados or tomatoes? why choose? at grocery outlet, you can afford both. and not just the basics. with grocery outlet, you'll find all your favorite brands included. including gluten free pasta and my favorite cookies? um, huh, everything's included. so burgers and steaks for life?! you gotta win first. still worth it. now that's bargain bliss. ♪ grocery outlet bargain market

>> staying up. >> half the night reading. >> executive orders. >> for this defining time in the second trump presidency. stay with msnbc. >> where do people find the strength to speak truth to power? right now? you've got an administration. you've got a president ready, willing and able to take legal action against people doing their jobs. >> i think in 2025. >> politically engaged people can. find the strength to make their voices heard and try to

help create a climate of opinion that enables these institutions, these people who run these institutions, to do the right thing. >> well, jon meacham, you are certainly my light tonight. >> wow. that's it. you're doing great. >> what happened to that one kid. >> i used. >> to hang with all the time? >> you don't remember? >> remember what? >> you really. >> don't remember? i don't know what. >> more you want me to remember. >> about. >> what are. >> you going to do? >> it's now or never. >> that was a look at the critically acclaimed film entitled nickel boys, based on the pulitzer prize winning novel

by author colson whitehead. nickel boys has been nominated for two academy awards this year in the categories of best picture and best adapted screenplay. the movie follows teenagers elwood and turner, who bond together to survive the notoriously dangerous nickel academy, a reform school in the jim crow south. and in a move that has drawn rave reviews, the majority of the film is shot from the perspective of its two main characters. joining us now, one of the stars of nickel boys, emmy, golden globe and oscar nominated actress aunjanue ellis taylor and the film's director and co-writer ramell ross, who was nominated at this year's academy awards for best adapted screenplay. it's great to have you both on. congratulations for these nominations and for the critical acclaim. ramell. i'll start with you on what drew you

to this novel and screenplay. >> yeah, thanks for having us. i think it was the. >> the power. >> of the story and how well known it is, and the ability for my co-writer and i to populate what is what is fairly known about what happens when. you're a young black boy in the. >> jim crow south, with the type of. >> poetry that that adds to the, the, the. >> wonder. >> of life during the time. >> aunjanue, as this film comes out and your acting, which everyone applauds in the broader social context where we're arguing and debating about dei and banning black history and other history. this puts a human face on what people actually live through. whatever your political views. >> talk about. >> how you would hope people that view this would walk away knowing. >> that we're not just talking about politics. >> these are real human experiences that people really

had to live through and had nothing to do with the political or social climate of the times. they had to deal with the. hand they were dealt. >> yeah. >> well, first of all, i can't believe. >> i'm talking to. >> reverend al sharpton this morning. so i'm going. >> to put that on, put that in my diary. >> real nice. >> yes. you know. yeah, i think. >> you. >> i think you really said it. reverend sharpton. >> that it. >> is, it is. these are. >> these are people, you know, it's not. >> a these are the. >> they're human beings. >> and what. >> rommel does beautifully is that he captures the inner life of these young black boys. a life that, you know, was tried, you. >> know. >> a system and a school. >> tried to literally. >> snuff away from them. >> and what. >> he does. >> is so beautifully. >> is he recaptures. >> that. >> he reclaims that and really puts us as. viewers in their. >> in. >> their eyes. >> so we feel.

>> what they feel. >> so i'd love to show a clip where ingenue's character, hattie goes to visit her grandson, elwood, at nickel academy. take a look. >> elwood, look at me, son. he said, what we. >> have here. >> is a classic miscarriage of justice. that's what he said. and i know we hope to have you home by now. l and i think. >> it's okay. you know. it's okay. >> i let. you down. >> i'm okay now. >> l i let you down? >> no, no. i'm okay. i'm hanging

in there. >> such a. >> powerful scene and tremendous acting. romola. also, it's. she would know. that's such a powerful example of the choice you made to have the first person perspective that this movie filmed through that point of view of those two main characters. talk to us about why you decided to do that. was it did it take any buy in to say, get the studio to agree to it? and why do you think it makes sense for this movie? yeah. >> it was fortunate for the. >> studio to really. >> never question the idea. and i think when you give point of view to a person. >> you allow. >> for the audience, especially in the case of this film. >> in which it's. >> it's more about the. >> touch of. >> vision, it's. >> more about. >> that exchange and, and that patience of looking into someone's eyes and them exchanging sort of their spirit and their essence with you via eye contact. i think that you're

you're giving life to the characters in a way that is responsible. >> to the dozier school for boys. >> which is a school. >> that. >> closed in in florida. >> in 2011 and bodies. >> began to be exhumed in 2013. colson whitehead's story the nickel boys kind of mythologizes that true story and making the camera an organ in this case, and giving it to the boys. >> to have. >> life in our film and to be, i guess, elevated to cinema history is a. >> gesture for black subjectivity. >> yeah, yeah. aunjanue, a final word to you. how did you connect? what connected you with your character, hattie? >> well, you know, at. >> the time, to be quite honest, i was just really excited about working with mel ross. >> i had seen hale county this morning. >> this evening, which everyone should see. it's his documentary film. >> it's one of the most extraordinary pieces of work

i've ever seen. so i was just ready to go for a ride with him. and you know, you do your work because you got to do your work. you just got to produce on the day. but now that i'm having to have these eloquent conversations now, i realize that what i was doing was tapping into my the dna of my memory, which is my grandmother. so i was whether i was aware of it or not, she was speaking and had through hattie. >> nickel boys is in theaters nationwide right now. oscar nominated director and writer ramell ross and actress aunjanue ellis taylor. thank you both very much and congratulations. thanks for being on this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you for having me so much. >> and we're back in 90s with >> and we're back in 90s with another look a ever feel like a spectator in your own life with chronic migraine? 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting 4 hours or more. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine.

in a survey, 91% of users wish they'd started sooner. so why wait? talk to your doctor. botox® effects may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away as trouble swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. those with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. side effects may include allergic reactions like rash, breathing problems, dizziness, neck and injection site pain, and headache. don't receive botox® if there's a skin infection. tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions like als, myasthenia gravis, or lambert-eaton syndrome and medicines like botulinum toxins, which may increase the risk of serious side effects. chronic migraine may still keep you from being there. ask your doctor about botox® today. learn how abbvie can help you save.

yeah, it is weird that we still call these things phones. ask your doctor about botox® today. well, yeah. they're more like mini computers. precisely, next slide. xfinity mobile customers are connected to wifi 90% of the time. that's why our network has powerboost with wifi speeds up to a gig where you need it most. so, this whole meeting could have been remote? oh, that is my ex-husband who i don't speak to. hey! no, i'm good to talk! xfinity internet customers, cut your mobile bill in half for your first year with xfinity mobile. plus, ask how to get the new samsung galaxy s25+ on us. >> 15% with code. >> lumen tv.

>> super bowl 59 is this sunday in new orleans. the kansas city chiefs and philadelphia eagles are set to square off in a rematch of the big game two years ago, won by the chiefs, who now seek their third consecutive title. and if last year is any indication, an important and growing demographic in the male dominated sport will be women. a record 58.8 million women tuned in for last year's game. that's almost half the total audience and a 9% increase in women's viewership from the year before. this, as we say, a slow but steady increase in opportunities for women in nfl front offices. i like this here to explain forbes women editor maggie mcgrath and msnbc contributor huma abedin. she's also vice chair of the forbes and know your value 3050 summit, which is weeks away. so we'll get to that in a moment. maggie, you've been looking closely at this dynamic. tell me about it. women in football. >> we see more women in the nfl

front office. that was at 42% stat. >> we just saw on screen. >> we see. >> more women coaching. >> there were 15. >> women working as full time coaches this past season. that is a remarkable increase, considering that it was 2015 when the nfl hired its first female coach, and she was just an intern at the time. and then you. >> look at. >> team ownership. >> of the. >> 32 teams in the league. ten this past season had women. >> as. >> the primary owner. and here i do want to note, we saw the passing of chicago bears owner virginia halas mccaskey just last night. she died at the age of 102. had a tremendous impact on the bears organization, but also was called the first lady of the nfl. and i think if you look at why are women getting involved in football in particular, it is thanks to the model of women like virginia who show women what is possible. >> so the nfl obviously still has work to do with women lagging in equal representation in the league office. what are the biggest barriers at this

point to achieving parity? >> it seems like. >> it's seeing is believing and. >> good male allies. >> catherine raiche. >> who is the assistant general manager of the. cleveland browns. >> tells the story of. >> six years ago when she. >> was. >> a scout. >> for the. >> philadelphia eagles. >> that she would call. >> up prospective. >> schools and. >> say she was looking. >> for. >> players and they would no. >> believe that she. >> had that job. >> and she had to send a picture of her business card so they would believe it. and so six years later, she's. >> the highest. >> ranking female. >> executive in. >> nfl history. so change is happening. it's happening fast. and today you. >> have 223. >> women who work. >> in. >> the executive office or in coaching. >> that's 141%. >> increase since 2020. >> so 42.5. >> is not is not. >> parity. >> but it is. >> progress, right? >> i want to jump to the 3050 summit and need you to add on at the end if you can. we're going to be hearing from someone at our summit in just a few weeks who has dedicated her life to

elevating the visibility of women and fostering inclusion in sports. tell us about her. >> we are. >> proud to announce that thayer lavielle is going to be. joining us. she is the executive president, vice president at the collective. and what they do is research to. >> convince brands. >> to invest. >> in. >> women's sports. >> and so. >> it's. >> all of. >> this cycle. convincing them it's about the economy. >> that. >> you. >> can make money. >> it's about eyeballs. it's about advertising. >> it's about. >> more attendance. >> and more merchandise. and it's all a virtuous cycle. she herself has a great story. >> she's a. >> former ice. >> hockey player. >> she sued as. >> a freshman at colgate. >> university and. >> and won just to get. >> better. >> better ice. >> time and equipment. >> i love it. >> so she really has advocated on behalf of athletes as an athlete herself. but that virtuous cycle that huma just mentioned, i really want to drill down on that, because we've been talking about the growth of women's sports in these segments over the last few years, and you need the advertising dollars so that networks pick up the games so that people watch so that people attend the games, buy merch, and

it just makes everything more profitable. >> all right. and we're still not allowed to announce certain guests, but you will come back and do so. huma abedin and megan mcgrath, thank you very much. by the way. we would love for you to join us at the 350 summit. you can get all the details at know your value.com and forbes.com, and be sure to check out this week's episode of morning mika, which just dropped at youtube, and peacock and maggie preview what we have in store for this year's 350 summit and explain why it will be our most impactful event yet. i'm excited. so excited. >> it's it is the super bowl of. >> it's. >> actually the international. >> women's events. it's international women's day. it is the big event. mika, i just want to make one quick note. while over 50 million women watched the super bowl last year, you were not one of them. okay, are you going to be watching this year? >> i guess i will, okay, i will, i don't know