imprint. dot com for imprint. >> for certain.

>> good day. i'm chris jansing, live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. what happened to lowering prices on day one? president trump, pointing fingers after a new report shows inflation heading in the wrong direction, including a 15% jump in egg prices. we're tracking the market's response. plus, tempers flare at a house hearing on doge and elon musk, with democrats tearing into the billionaire as a lawbreaker and a liar as republicans try to shut them down. >> so let me. >> tell you something. >> the gentlelady's time. >> has expired. >> it's time for the gentlelady's time has expired. >> rein in. >> this rogue actor. >> no gentlelady's time has expired. >> the democratic ranking member challenging musk to show up and testify under oath. but can they force him to do it? and just about an hour ago, president trump revealing he spoke to vladimir putin on the phone. the promise, he says, the two men made to each other. so much to

get to today. but we begin with that. worse than expected inflation report. bad enough that it poses an early challenge to president trump's economic agenda. with prices still rising from gasoline to groceries. trump quickly blamed joe biden, posting to truth social. biden's inflation up. it's the problem. trump has frequently acknowledged he was elected to fix his key campaign promise was not just to lower costs, but to do it. the day he got back into the white house. >> so when i win, i. >> will immediately bring prices down starting on day one. bacon is through the roof. they're all through the roof, the milk, everything is bad and we're going to straighten it out. we're going to bring prices way down and we're going to get it done fast. a vote for trump means your groceries will be cheaper. >> and i went on groceries. it's a very simple word. groceries, like almost. you know who uses the word? i started using the word the groceries, and i won an

election. based on that, we're going to bring those prices way down. >> joining me now, wall street journal chief economics reporter reporter nick timiraos, msnbc political analyst and former republican congressman from florida, carlos curbelo, here in studio with me, nbc news senior business correspondent christine romans. welcome to all. so, christine, what exactly does this report tell us and what might it mean for our wallets? >> it means this last mile of the inflation fight is bumpy. and you've got inflation back here at 3%. that's not the 2% target the fed would like to see. it kind of handcuffs the federal reserve to lower interest rates anytime soon. and it means we're paying more for things like auto insurance, airfares, fuel oil. i mean look at the progress, chris, from the 9% inflation. right. so we've made a lot of progress. but look, the very far right of that chart shows inflation ticking up again. so still still hotter than the fed would like to see and families would like to see. >> so how are the markets taking it. >> so wobbling in the stock market. and look what's

happening in the markets is they're trying to figure out when if the fed will be able to cut interest rates anytime this year, because when you have inflation that's too hot, you don't want to be cutting interest rates and potentially making it worse. so watching kind of the stock market wobble a little bit. but listen, there's a lot of uncertainty. there's a lot of uncertainty about what the president's policies are going to mean for inflation. when i talk to companies and when you listen to earnings calls, what they talk about is how much more it will cost to make their product or to do their business, not how much less, because of the policies on the table right now. >> nick, it caught my eye yesterday when you wrote that not every monthly inflation report is created equal. so talk about why this one matters so much. >> well chris, if you think. >> about. >> how businesses operate. >> a lot of times. >> if they had higher. >> costs in the. >> past year, they changed their prices. >> not every month they might do it at the. >> end of the year. so as we turn into. >> a new. >> year. >> we've seen. >> the past several years. >> january tends to have more inflation. >> and the hope. >> had been. >> that. we were. finally past.

>> all of that. and so as you changed into new calendar year, you didn't have these big. >> price resets. >> happening this january that you did in 24, that you did in 2023. >> and the news this morning was just not good. it shows that there are. >> still inflationary pressures in the system, and. >> so that just. >> is going. >> to make it harder to get on top of this. >> christine touched on this. nick. but what does this all signal to the federal reserve? >> well, she's right. it's going to keep the fed on hold here. >> and donald trump may. >> not be happy about that. >> he tweeted this morning that he. >> wanted to see interest. >> rates come down. >> i think this. >> is a. >> reminder of how different. >> the economy. >> that he inherited. >> this time. >> is from. >> the economy he inherited. >> eight years. >> ago, when inflation was. >> very. >> low and it made it. >> easier to push for. >> lower interest rates. it made. >> it easier. >> to do things like imposing. >> tariffs that push. >> up the price of imported goods. this time around, you know. we're talking about more tariffs. >> we're talking about larger.

>> tariff hikes. and you're doing it in an economy that has higher inflation. >> and where. >> businesses have the experience of being able. >> to push. >> along price increases to their customers that they did not have eight years ago. >> i want to go back to tariffs in a in a minute. but congressman, let's remember how easy donald trump said it would be for him. but prices rose a lot for eggs 15.2% from december to january. that's the largest increase since june of 2015. our nbc local team in la is reporting that some californians are actually turning to local farms to get eggs. look at this long line of cars in chino. they're snaking around the block just to try to find some eggs. i guess the key political question here is how long are people willing to wait for something that they were promised would happen on day one, which was 23 days ago? >> that's right, chris. and of course, the egg situation. >> is. >> exacerbated by the bird flu and all the chickens that have. >> had to. >> bid have been killed.

>> but at. >> the end of the day. >> people don't. >> care about those explanations. >> and we certainly. >> saw that during the biden. >> administration, president. >> biden and his. >> team continuously. >> explained to the american people that inflation was better in the united states than the rest of the world, that our economy was stronger. >> than the economies of the rest of the world. >> that his. >> administration had passed the chips act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill. at the end of the day, people were frustrated by high prices. >> and that's. >> something that now donald trump and republicans are going to have to contend with. when people go to the polls in the fall of next year, this is the biggest question that's going to be on their minds. did trump and republicans actually make inflation better? did they make life more affordable in the united states? right now? they're seeing how difficult that is. and these inflationary pressures aren't allowing interest rates to come down. and of course, that has a big effect on the rest of the economy and on businesses plans for investment, for job creation. so

this is the one issue. there's a lot out there, especially in this early going of the trump administration, a lot to cover. but this is the one issue that politically will matter most. >> that brings us back to tariffs. nick, when donald trump said that this was going to be easy, this is a very complicated situation. but talk specifically about tariffs and how that could impact inflation. >> well, tariffs could. >> send. >> prices up if they don't. >> you know the. >> trump administration argues. >> that they won't send consumer prices up. they could send the dollar up. and what that would mean. >> is that u.s. manufacturers. >> companies that export it becomes more expensive for them to do that. it puts them at a little bit of a disadvantage. and, you know, trump's treasury secretary last year warned that tariffs were inflationary. he wrote this in a letter to his investors before he was really in the picture to become the treasury secretary. so there is some awareness, i think, inside the trump administration that

they've got different levers to pull here. they will argue that bringing down energy prices, that cutting government spending might help in the other direction, but it's just a more complicated situation right now than when we had tariffs in 2018 and 19. >> and it's so interesting, i think, carlos, that we're seeing pushback on the tariffs from republicans. senator mitch mcconnell, he even penned an op ed writing for his local paper, quote, kentuckians can't afford the high cost of trump's tariffs. he even calls tariffs bad policy. he warned that it could cost the average kentuckian $1,200 a year. i wonder if you think the combination of the inflation report, the concern that a lot of republicans are expressing over tariffs might serve as a warning to donald trump. >> well, not only that, chris, but in the cbs news poll that's been covered this week, most americans responded that they oppose tariffs against canada and mexico. more tolerance for

terrorists against china. i think people understand that there's a competition issue there, and that the chinese really don't allow our companies to compete on a level playing field. but when it comes to our neighbors, people don't want those tariffs and people are making the connection between tariffs and higher prices and inflation. so yes, i think the trump administration is going to have to rethink the tariff strategy, especially if inflation remains persistent. >> christine romans, nick timiraos, thank you both. congressman, you're staying with me. in the meantime, we're following some breaking news out of the white house announcing that an american citizen and two other detainees have been released by belarus. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in washington now. we're waiting for the white house press briefing to start. but in the meantime, what do we know about this? gabe. >> hi there. chris. >> good. >> well, we're just hearing from president trump's. envoy for hostages. just a short time ago. saying that three. detainees have been released. >> one of them being an.

>> american citizen. >> they were. >> released from belarus. and as we understand. >> it, they are currently at the american embassy in lithuania. again. >> that's breaking news. >> just a few. >> moments ago. that official just. >> spoke with. >> reporters at the white house north lawn. >> let's take a listen. the smartest countries are unilaterally stepping forward, and we don't even ask or we say, this would be interesting and they come up with it. and so some of these things i know, you know, everybody thinks about deals here. the smartest thing you can do to curry favor with the president of the united states is bring americans home. he's been clear about that. again, the white house. >> stressing that this is another hostage release. of course, this comes after. marc fogel was released from russia. late yesterday, arrived at the white. >> house overnight. >> and the. white house. >> is. >> again stressing. that it has brought home many. hostages over the last several weeks, at least ten so far. now, chris. >> belarus, of. >> course, a strong ally.

>> of russia. >> and this comes after president trump a short time ago, also revealed that he had just spoken with russian president vladimir putin by phone today, and that he plans to begin talks to potentially end the war in ukraine. so a lot of developments on this front. but again, the breaking news after hearing about marc fogel's release yesterday. now we're hearing that three detainees, including one american citizen, have been released by. >> belarus. >> russia's neighbor. chris. >> thank you so much, gabe gutierrez. if you're looking at your screen on the left, you see our kelly o'donnell, who's checking that door that leads into what's called lower press, waiting to see when the press secretary might come out, might happen any minute now. and of course, we will be following it and make sure that we have all the latest news for you. but coming up in 90s, the surprise republican no vote for tulsi republican no vote for tulsi gabbard as the next dni. when emergency strikes, first responders are the first ones in... but on outdated networks,

the crucial technology they depend on, is limited. that's why t-mobile created t-priority... ...the only solution built for the 5g era, that can dynamically dedicate up to 10 times the capacity for first responders. t-priority. built for tomorrow's emergencies. ready today. (♪♪) upset stomach iberogast indigestion iberogast bloating iberogast thanks to a unique combination of herbs, iberogast helps relieve six digestive symptoms to help you feel better. six digestive symptoms. the power of nature. iberogast. when i started walton goggins goggle glasses, i had no idea what i was doing. but godaddy airo does. using ai to build a logo, website and social content. so i can let the world know, if your goggles ain't goggins, they don't belong on your noggins! patients who have sensitive teeth but also want whiter teeth they have to make a choice one versus the other.

sensodyne clinical white provides two shades whiter teeth as well as providing 24/7 sensitivity protection. patients are going to love to see sensodyne on the shelf. (man 1) we're standing up for our right to be lazy. as well as providing 24/7 sensitivity protection. (woman 1) by sitting down. (man 2) and reclining back. (man 3) 'cause we work hard and want to relax harder. (man 4) we, the lazy, are taking back lazy... (woman 2) ...on our la-z-boy furniture. (vo) la-z-boy. long live the lazy. tulsi gabbard as the next director of national intelligence. the final vote was 52 to 48, with former senate majority leader mitch mcconnell the only republican joining democrats to vote against her nomination. nbc's vaughn hillyard is on capitol hill. vaughn mcconnell didn't mince words. talk about what we heard from him and others. >> right. mitch mcconnell is no longer the senate majority leader. he's now just among the other republican senators. and

clearly with lesser sway than he once had in his 20 years atop the republican conference here on the senate side. but if you look at his statement here, he was the sole republican, no vote on tulsi gabbard to be the director of national intelligence. and in his statement, he says in part, quote, the nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the president receives are tainted by a director of national intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment here. of course, he also voted against the nomination of pete hegseth to head the pentagon. and now there's a question of whether could mitch mcconnell be a no vote on the nomination of robert f kennedy jr. slated to take place in the 7 a.m. eastern hour tomorrow morning, there is, for mitch mcconnell, a reality here that several days ago he had several falls and he has been in a wheelchair here, clearly in a more fragile state. but at the same time, you are looking at the longtime kentucky senator much more forceful in

his statements, in speaking out, in a willingness to take on a president trump and his administration, and clearly in his statement there, saying that it is the role of the senate to advise and consent, and that he said that tulsi gabbard, in his opinion, was not fit to head the u.s. intelligence agencies. of course, though, he was the sole no vote. and by a 52 to 48 margin. tulsi gabbard has been confirmed to be the next director of national intelligence. >> chris vaughn hillyard, thank you for that. and today, the first ever meeting of the house doge subcommittee, focusing on what it calls the war on waste in our federal government. while the committee agreed that there is waste to be cleaned up, they disagreed about almost everything else, including how to tackle it and who should do it. >> while we're sitting here, donald trump and elon musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling. >> the federal government. >> this will not be a subcommittee dedicated to making government efficient for everyday people. it's about helping elon musk and donald

trump be as efficient as possible and robbing our government. >> i'm trying to figure out exactly what it is that the republicans believe our job is, because right now, they have relinquished their constitutional duties over to an unelected bureaucrat. >> joining me now, nbc's ryan nobles, who's on capitol hill for us, and congressman carlos curbelo is back. okay. ryan, chairwoman marjorie taylor greene says this hearing is i'm quoting the first battle in the war against bureaucracy. but tell us what happened here. >> yeah. i mean, chris, i think you played a pretty good microcosm of what's going on in this hearing today. we don't expect this to be a very cooperative committee, a very bipartisan committee. clearly, republicans have and democrats have very different views as to how this department and government efficiency is going to operate. democrats feel as though the donald trump is empowered, elon musk in a way that no other government employee of the executive branch has ever been empowered, while

republicans view him as somebody that's coming in and shaking things up and taking a look at these budgets and these processes in a way that no one has before, and that is needed because there's too much money being spent and it's not being spent in the right places. i think where you're going to see democrats hone in their message, particularly in hearings like these, is to say that we're not opposed to finding ways to make government work better. but elon musk can't just go in and unilaterally decide that he's going to shut these things down. if he finds examples of waste, fraud and abuse, bring them to congress and will zero out those budgets or will change them through the constitutional process. where democrats have a real problem right now is that he's just unilaterally going in without much authority, i guess tacit approval from donald trump and saying, let's get rid of this in particular. you look at the program of usaid or the consumer financial protection program, and so that, you know, democrats don't have a lot of power to stop this right now, chris. but what they can do is use forums like the one that we

see this morning, this hearing where they can voice those concerns and bring them out to the rest of the american public. >> so, congressman, he wasn't there. but elon musk again, did dominate the conversation. and while republicans defended his role in the administration, you saw a little bit of it. democrats were in attack mode. >> we are the oversight committee. >> we are the people's. house for the united states of america. we represent the american people. and so, mr. elon musk, if you would like to appear in front of the oversight committee, you have been duly invited. please come tell us what you're doing. come testify in front of the american people. and please come hold yourself to account. >> i mean, democrats could subpoena, right? i mean, but they can't really force musk to come answer questions, can they? how do you see that playing out? >> yeah. >> chris, this is a complicated situation for democrats because they are attacking the process. they are attacking the how. not so much the what because the what is fairly popular. i think

the average american probably thinks that the government can be reformed, can be made more efficient. and the idea of someone from the private sector going in and cleaning things up, so to speak, is fairly popular. so democrats really have to be precise in their opposition here. they have to make arguments about transparency, maybe about elon musk having too much power. and i think the strategy of inviting him to testify is pretty smart. although, to be fair, elon musk did take questions from the press for almost an hour yesterday and answered most of the questions that were asked of him. so this is a difficult situation. >> i think people would argue there are answers and there are responsive answers, right? so. and no indication he would, even if he went before a committee, answer them any differently. that's part of the problem as well. but look, we talk about how divided this congress is. we've been talking about it for a while, to be honest. but today there was something maybe we

haven't seen so much. let me play another moment from that hearing. >> now, i. >> find it ironic, of course, that our chairwoman, congresswoman greene, is in charge of running this committee. now, in the last congress, chairwoman greene literally showed a dick pic. >> in our. >> oversight congressional hearing. so i thought i'd bring one. >> as well. now, this, of course, we know is. >> president elon musk. >> he's also. >> the world's richest man. >> you served in congress. what are voters to make of this? >> look, this is the kind of episode that really just frustrates people, that makes people just disillusioned with politics. it's the reason that we see all of these drastic swings in the electorate, chris, with every election being a rejection of the party in power because people actually want to see republicans and democrats

find common ground and treat each other with decency and respect and try to do things collaboratively for the american people. so, you know, that's how this congress is going to go. i think come november of next year, there will probably be a very aggressive response by the electorate, and we will continue seeing the pendulum swing back and forth. >> in the meantime. it was just four years ago, carlos, that congresswoman marjorie taylor green was stripped of all her committee assignments. now she's chairing this subcommittee, greene told punchbowl news. i wouldn't say that i've changed. i would say it's the house that's changed. and they figured out i am a person who takes this seriously because people do, and so does president trump. but but i wonder, as you watch this, is the fact that she is now in a leadership position, kind of a microcosm of how much donald trump has reordered, reinvented washington and congress. >> it says a lot about where the republican party has been and where it has landed. here in

2025. it also reminds us that speaker johnson has 2 or 3 votes that he can afford to lose. so he really has to give everyone kind of what they want and not marginalize anyone. we did see previous speakers like john boehner and others marginalize certain members, punish them for misconduct. that's really difficult to do when you don't have very many votes to spare. but yes, it is also an indication of how populist the republican party has come, a great departure from the republican party of reagan and the bushes. >> carlos curbelo. ryan nobles, gentlemen, thank you so much. and coming up, new details about the prisoner swap that led to the release of american schoolteacher mark fogel, who the u.s. is now handing over to the u.s. is now handing over to russia in prilosec knows, for a fire... one fire extinguisher beats 10 buckets of water, and for zero heartburn 1 prilosec a day...

beats taking up to 10 antacids a day. it's that simple, for 24 hour heartburn relief... one beats ten. prilosec otc. want a next level clean? swish with the whoa of listerine. it kills 99.9% of bad breath germs for five times more cleaning power than brushing and flossing alone. get a next level clean... ahhhhh with listerine. feel the whoa! 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. >> only pay. >> for what you need. >> liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. >> this is the emirates premium

>> this is the emirates premium economy seat. economy. so sick. are you okay? i'm incredible! so many in-network docs on zocdoc. this one never rushes appointments. and that one makes patients feel heard. booked! sick! you've got options. book now. dexcom g7 sends your glucose numbers to your phone and watch, so you can always see where you're heading without fingersticks. dexcom g7 is the most accurate cgm, so you can manage your diabetes with confidence. ♪♪ nt a next level clean? swish with the whoa of listerine. it kills 99.9% of bad breath germs for five times more cleaning power than brushing and flossing alone. get a next level clean... ahhhhh with listerine. feel the whoa! -what've you got there, larry? -time machine. you gonna go back and see how the pyramids were built or something? nope. ellen and i want to go on vacation, so i'm going to go back to last week

and buy a winning lottery ticket. -can i come? -only room for one. how am i getting home? sittin' on my lap like last time, ronald. fine, but i'm bringing this. [ whirring ] alright. or...you could try one of these savings options. the right money moves aren't as far-fetched as you think. there it is. see? told you it was going to all work out. thanks, future me. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. our friend sold their policy to help pay their medical bills, and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned we could sell all of our policy, or keep part of it with no future payments. who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and

enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. matters for imprint is your home for promo gear to wow clients and inspire your team, check out for imprint comm for. >> imprint for certain. >> how'd you do that? >> looks complicated. >> it's easy. >> pick more or less on at least two players into your lineup. >> and lock in. >> for the game. download the. >> prize picks. >> app today. enter $5. >> and get $50 instantly with code tv. i could have told you that. i could have told you that. >> the first 100 days. it's a critical time for our country.

and rachel maddow is on five nights a week. >> now is the time. so we're going to do it. >> settle in the rachel maddow show weeknights at 9:00 on msnbc. msnbc presents a new original podcast hosted by jen psaki. each week, she and her guests explore how the democratic party is facing this political moment and where it's headed next. the blueprint with jen psaki. listen now. >> we're keeping very close to the white house press briefing and press secretary caroline leavitt, because we're waiting to hear if she has anything to say about this newly discovered call. president trump having this lengthy and highly productive phone call, he says, with vladimir putin, their first reported direct conversation since trump came back into office. in a social media post, the president said the two leaders agreed to visit each other's countries and that they would have their respective teams begin negotiations to end the war in ukraine immediately.

in fact, we're just learning that could happen as soon as this week. just moments ago, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy confirmed he also had a meaningful conversation with trump today and earlier. nbc news learned that the russian national. the us will release as part of the deal that freed american teacher mark vogel, who that is, it's convicted money launderer alexander vinik. vinik was facing 20 years in prison for scheming to launder billions of dollars through a cryptocurrency exchange. vogel praised the president during a trip to the white house just hours after getting back to the us. >> i feel like the luckiest man on earth right now and. i want you to know that i am not a hero in this at all. and president trump is a hero. >> joining us now, nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell,

and our senior white house correspondent, gabe gutierrez. gabe, what more do we know about the president's calls with putin and zelenskyy and what comes next? >> hi there chris. >> well, as you. >> said. >> we were watching that white house press briefing with caroline leavitt. she made some brief remarks off the top about the president's calls with vladimir putin and with vladimir zelensky. she's just starting to take questions, though. so as we monitor that, i can tell you that the white house press secretary is calling the release of mark fogel a, quote, good faith effort by russia. she also just said that several top administration officials, including vice president j.d. vance and secretary of state marco rubio, are now set to meet with zelenskyy this friday at the munich security conference. now this all comes, chris, as you said, mark fogel released yesterday, we learned that the u.s. had exchanged that russian cyber criminal alexander vinnik. and we're also learning just within the past hour or so, that

three detainees have now also now been released from belarus, including an american citizen. so certainly a lot of fast moving developments here, as the white house tries to make the case that president trump is furthering the cause for peace here. now, the president also saying in that social media post that he called it a productive talk with vladimir putin and saying that he is beginning to start renegotiations for this war to end. so certainly a significant movement here with regards to the war in ukraine. of course, president trump had said that he would end the war within 24 hours or so of taking office. that has not happened. but now we are seeing these fast moving developments today that seem to suggest at least some movement that we hadn't heard about for quite some time. chris. >> thank you so much for that. i do want to tell you that we have live pictures right now, as i understand it, of jd vance ahead

of this meeting. that's going to be coming up a little bit later this week. walking through notre dame, the newly opened, newly refurbished cathedral there seems to be there with his his family. he's got his kids with him. andrea, let's talk a little bit about what we saw last night and how it relates to everything that we're seeing unfold. the president greeted marc fogel at the white house, suggesting that this prisoner exchange could be an important element toward ending the war in ukraine. so talk about what we're seeing in this relationship between the trump administration and the kremlin right now. >> well, it's really. >> remarkable because there's clearly a direct connection. >> we heard that. >> last night when. >> they. >> came back. >> and now we're seeing. >> it play out. the fact that they're. >> acknowledging reporting. >> this call with vladimir putin, there were reports of possible prior calls, hints of it. but this is the first acknowledged conversation since president trump was elected and took office. and the fact is that the president said on truth

social, and it was repeated in a readout that we've received, that not only did he say he would go to moscow, but that he invited vladimir putin to the united states. this is could be a throwback to what we covered in helsinki back, you know, in 2017, when there was the remarkable summit in helsinki between the two. and really, president trump, who broke a lot of china, if you will, to mix metaphors because he sided with president putin over his own intelligence officials on whether or not there had been russian interference in the election, and that eventually, months later, did result in the firing of his national security director. interesting. on a day when we've got tulsi gabbard just confirmed as the new national security, national intelligence director, so it was dan coats who ended up out of office because he pushed back

and said that the intelligence was solid in real time. just after that, that past summit. but in this case, you've got a war of this hot war going into his third anniversary coming up, i'll be going to munich to cover that meeting on friday and a lot of other things as world leaders gather there. and zelenskyy, of course, is such a major player. but the fact that president trump has talked to zelenskyy today, that there are, you know, negotiations about to begin, we believe in the coming days that a summit by both countries which moscow and dmitry peskov statement today as acknowledging that president trump has been invited to moscow. didn't didn't say that vladimir putin would be coming to the u.s. but all of this indicates that there is a real possibility of negotiations. and the big question now is how much pressure is going to be placed on zelenskyy, because it's very clear that president trump wants a deal and he is less supportive

of ukraine, clearly, than his, you know, it was president biden. and before that, you know, other democrats on the hill. what about the republican congress? yeah. >> what about the different kinds of pressure? i mean, there's there is the obvious pressure that may be coming from the united states, but there's also internal pressure, right? i mean, i think for both sides, this war has gone on much longer than they thought it would. the cost in terms not just of dollars, but obviously in lives have been extraordinarily high. so give us a little preview of what you'll be looking for out of this meeting. that will include the secretary of state and the vice president on friday. >> well, i think zelenskyy and ukraine, you know, they have a weaker position in terms of the damage that has been wreaked on them, excuse me, by this war, because president putin, despite all of the deaths and destruction that they have experienced and the manpower

loss has been extraordinary as i try to regain my voice here. they have unlimited manpower from north korea, from prisoners who've been enlisted. so zelenskyy has had to lower the age of the draft. it's been controversial. the people are worn out, and the brunt of the war has really been borne by ukraine. but russia is also hurting economically from this. but he's been propped up by china and other leaders and getting, you know, drones from iran. so he's got a lot of leverage and he doesn't have to worry about public opinion. certainly the way, you know, president zelensky does, and he doesn't have to worry about the spigot from the united states being turned off. if donald trump carries out what he has said in the past about being less supportive, and nato and europe are going to have to bear the burden, the burden going forward, certainly according to what defense secretary hegseth said, the defense ministers meeting on ukraine just earlier today. >> andrea mitchell with some, i hope soon, hot tea and honey.

and gabe gutierrez, appreciate you both. well, as trump hints at peace. a barrage of russian missiles rained down on the ukrainian capital just this morning. one person was killed in the attack, which started several fires in the city. that's according to ukrainian officials. a nine year old child was among the four people who were injured in the aftermath. president zelenskyy said this russian terror against ukraine will not stop on its own. putin is not preparing for peace. he continues to kill ukrainians and destroy cities. plus, the man who defended donald trump during three criminal cases faces questions over how independent he can be if he's confirmed as the next deputy attorney general. todd blank's testimony and the critical role he could play as trump tries to overhaul play as trump tries to overhaul the justice with fatigue and light-headedness, i knew something was wrong. then i saw my doctor and found out i have afib, and that means there's about a 5 times greater risk of stroke.

symptoms like irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or light-headedness, can come and go. but if you have afib, the risk of stroke is always there. if you have one or more symptoms, get checked out. making that appointment can help you get ahead of stroke risk. this is no time to wait. >> like replacing. >> 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. it's payback time. all these years, you've worked hard. replacement today. >> say floppy you fixed it. you looked after it. maybe it's time for your home to start taking care of you?

we've invested in our home, we've worked on it, we had a whole lot of equity just sitting there. you paid down the mortgage, invested in your home. i guess, you could say, your home owes you. unlock a portion of your home equity with a reverse mortgage loan. get tax-free cash, and stay in the home you love. you'll rest easy knowing you'll continue to own your home just like any other mortgage. and your heirs will never owe more than the home's value. look, finance of america can show you how a reverse mortgage loan can use your built-up home equity to give you tax-free cash for almost anything you might need. just eliminating the mortgage payment freed up a lot of cash for us. i get to do what i want when i want. finance of america customers talked about the counseling they got along the way, so they know how a reverse mortgage works... and how their home could help pay them back when they need it the most.

i have no worries anymore. the fact that we're still in this home, means so much. it's done everything for us that we hope it would do for us. a reverse mortgage loan could put more money in your pocket by eliminating your mortgage payments. you can use it to pay for home improvements, pay off higher-interest credit cards, even plan for unexpected expenses. the worry every single month to make that payment was gone our customers' homes are taking care of them. maybe, your home could do the same for you. finance of america is a lender you can trust. the bbb awarded us an a+ rating, and 95% of our customers would recommend finance of america to a friend. call for your free info kit.

call 1-833-735-4495 or visit homeserve. com. >> former trump defense attorney and nominee for deputy attorney general todd blanche, grilled today about his independence from the president amid fears of purges at both the doj and fbi. his senate confirmation hearings included questions over the justice department's efforts to get information on those fbi agents who worked on january 6th cases. >> according to the memo. the memos that i've read that have now. >> become public. >> it's to better. >> understand what. >> went wrong. >> because in president. >> trump's view. something went

wrong in that investigation. >> something went wrong in the capitol, too. >> it's not a purge. it's not firing agents. it's collecting information so that what. >> happened doesn't happen again. >> joining us, nbc's sahil kapur from capitol hill. kristi greenberg is former s.d.n.y. criminal division deputy chief, former federal prosecutor and an msnbc legal analyst. sahil, how else did the trump administration's current efforts kind of intersect with the questions that face todd blanche today? >> hey, chris. >> well, it certainly. >> is a. factor that mr. blanche. >> is best known. >> for being president. >> trump's personal criminal defense attorney against the. >> charges that. >> he's faced in recent years. republicans, for the most part, weren't bothered. >> by this. >> they defended him, including the chairman of this committee, chuck grassley, said he's no partizan, that he's a serious lawyer who's worked at prestigious law firms. democrats were more skeptical. that was one of several themes that piqued their interest. this personal and professional relationship. i spoke to senator sheldon whitehouse, a senior

democrat, on this committee. he said there's a genuine risk that that relationship will color blanche's responsibilities to the department if he's confirmed as deputy attorney general. he did say that blanche talked a good game about how politics will play no role, about his reverence for the department's traditions. but he said he worries that when trump's sensitive questions come up, no one at the fbi or the doj, in the senator's view, will have the backbone to say no to these political demands. now, what's behind this? democrats vividly remember the way donald trump turned against former ag jeff sessions when he recused himself from the russia probe and appointed bob mueller the way he turned against bill barr for refusing to endorse his false claims about a stolen election in late 2020. there was also this exchange between senator adam schiff, a new member of this committee, and blanche. let's play it. >> will you recuse yourself. >> from overseeing the january 6th case, the mar-a-lago case and the alvin bragg case? will you recuse yourself from the working group's supervision of

those investigations? >> i will follow the rules. >> as told to me by the. >> experts. >> career prosecutors. >> in the department when it comes to every recusal. >> i've heard that. i've heard that. >> but it's true that. >> well. >> it may be true in the abstract. >> no. >> it's not abstract. >> it's true. >> and beyond that, chris, mr. blanche refused to defend the assault of law enforcement officers on that day. on january 6th. he said it should never be tolerated. that, of course, is a departure from president trump, who did pardon those people, chris. >> all right. so, christie, you know, todd blanche. and he was asked point blank if the deputy ag is the president's lawyer. and he said no, but how might that be put to the test if he's confirmed? >> well, it was already. >> put to the test today. because i agree with. >> senator schiff. that todd blanche sounded. >> a whole lot. >> more like donald trump's lawyer than he did. >> the people's lawyer. >> and in his statement to

senator grassley, he identified. >> four areas. >> where he believed that. >> the doj. >> had previously engaged in misconduct, that. >> he. >> said was a travesty of justice. and all four of the. >> items that he mentioned. >> were all arguments that he. >> made as donald. >> trump's defense attorney. none of which, by the way, were actual misconduct and all of which were incredibly misleading. for example, he said that the special counsel's office wouldn't let donald trump review evidence in the mar-a-lago case. totally misleading. not true. initially, there was an argument about whether classified information could be reviewed. at no point did the prosecutor say that he couldn't review the evidence in his own case. that's a preposterous statement. you know, he they argued as an example of misconduct that the special counsel proposed a trial date five days after the. indictment in the d.c. case. obviously not misconduct. i mean, if this is what the

weaponization working group is going to be looking at, it's laughable. and it was notable to me that he would not say in response to questions from senator schiff, that he would not have any role with respect to cases where he was donald trump's personal lawyer. this is pretty black and white. you don't need an ethics expert to tell you that if you represented the president personally in cases that now the department of justice is going to take a look at, you had a role in those cases. you need to recuse yourself. that's pretty basic. don't need an ethics expert. he refused to say the words. so there's every reason from his statements at this hearing to be very concerned and to believe that really, he is just there to execute donald trump's orders. >> this hearing does come a day after we heard president trump openly attack judges who have ruled against his policies, against his orders. let me play that. >> it seems hard to believe that judges want to try and stop us from looking for corruption,

especially when we found hundreds of millions of dollars worth much more than that in just a short period of time. we want to weed out the corruption, and it seems hard to believe that a judge could say, we don't want you to do that. so maybe we have to look at the judges, because that's a very serious i think it's a very serious violation. >> we are still waiting for any evidence at all to prove any of the corruption that both president trump and elon musk have suggested, but when he says so, maybe we have to look at the judges. what could that mean in real world terms? >> i mean, it's really hard to say. i don't know what you would look at. you would look at their orders in the case and whether or not there was any legal basis for the orders that they gave. i would say, at least with respect to one of those orders, with respect to the doge case, that's a case that that's an order that came down from an sdny judge

that i've appearebe many times, district court judge paul engelmayer. you're not going to find a smarter or harder working judge. so i'm not sure what investigation that. elon musk has proposed to do into judge engelmayer, but have at it. he's a straight arrow. i mean, these are judges who are just doing their jobs. so it seems almost more designed to intimidate judges and potentially put them at risk. when you make statements and you put judges names out there, we know judges get threats. we know judges have issues with respect to their own safety. and so you really wonder, yeah. what would an investigation really look like if there is a legally sound order? and is this really meant to, you know, fan the flames around these judges? and that's something even justice roberts has said there is no place for attacks and threats against judges safety and that unfortunately, i think is what we're going to see with this kind of rhetoric. >> sahil kapoor and kristy greenberg, thank you both. still

ahead, some good news for two astronauts who have been stuck in space for months when they in space for months when they could finally be coming experience advanced technology in the buick envision. (♪♪) equipped with the largest-in-class ultrawide 30-inch diagonal display and google built-in compatibility, innovation is at your fingertips. buick. exceptional by design. if you're living with diabetes, i'll tell you the same thing i tell my patients. getting on dexcom g7 is one of the easiest ways to take better control of your diabetes and help protect yourself from the long-term health problems it can cause. this small wearable... replaces fingersticks, lowers a1c, and it's covered by medicare. not managing your diabetes really affects... your health for the future. the older you get, the more complications you're gonna see. i knew i couldn't ignore my diabetes anymore because it was causing my eyesight to go bad. before the dexcom g7,

doctor's appointments were not something i looked forward to. for my patients, getting on dexcom g7 is the biggest eye opener they've ever had. when i got dexcom g7, i couldn't believe how easy it was. this small wearable sends my glucose numbers right to my phone or my receiver. with just a glance i can see if i'm going high, low, or steady. so, i can quickly get my glucose under control and better protect myself from complications. my a1c is down to 5.8. call now to get started on the most accurate and most recommended cgm brand! you'll also get a free discussion guide for your next doctor's visit. dexcom g7 has changed my life for the better. now, i'm a superstar. my a1c is 5.7. my a1c has never been lower. i go swimming, i ride my exercise bike, and i play with my grandkids. i finally have my life back. my wife used to worry about me

having diabetes before my dexcom g7. but now, she doesn't worry as much, because she knows. it gives me a lot of peace of mind. i want him to be around forever. ♪♪ no other cgm system is more affordable for medicare patients. don't miss out you may be entitled to this valuable benefit. call the number on your screen now to talk to a real person. asthma. does it have you missing out on what you love with who you love? it's time to get back out there with fasenra. fasenra is an add-on treatment for eosinophilic asthma that is taken once every 8 weeks and can also be taken conveniently at home. fasenra helps prevent asthma attacks. most patients did not have an attack in the first year. fasenra is proven to help you breathe better so you can get back to doing day-to-day activities. fasenra is not for sudden breathing problems. serious allergic reactions may occur. get help for swelling of your face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing.

don't stop asthma treatments without talking with your doctor. tell your doctor if your asthma worsens or you have a parasitic infection. headache and sore throat may occur. get back to better breathing. get back to what you've missed. ask your doctor about fasenra, the only asthma treatment taken once every 8 weeks. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. (♪♪) when we started feeding bogie the farmer's dog, he lost so much weight. pre-portioned packs makes it really easy to keep him lean and healthy. in the morning, he flies up the stairs and hops up on my bed. in the past, he would not have been able to do any of those things. >> first base. that's what grandpa used to play. >> when our hearing wouldn't allow us to use a regular phone. it made us feel isolated. >> it became. >> difficult to communicate.

>> with. >> our friends and family. >> clear captions was an easy solution for us. >> clear captions provides captions. on a phone. like captioning. >> on your. tv so you can see what the caller is saying. live as they. >> say it. >> making it easy to understand and respond immediately. >> there is no insurance or. >> medicare required. clear caption service is provided at no cost to you through a federally funded program. we deliver, install and train you on how to use your phone, all at no cost to you. >> give your loved ones the independence and connection they deserve. >> call now to see if you qualify to. get a clear caption. phone at no cost to you, call 1-800-714-2088. that's one (800) 714-2088. >> so there is now a new and faster target date to bring home two nasa astronauts whose ten day mission became an eight month long odyssey. butch wilmore and suni williams were already scheduled to return in late march, with musk's company,

spacex. nbc's tom costello is following this story for us. so what happens now? tom? >> bottom line here is that they. >> are. >> going to come back in march. >> but maybe about a. >> week or two. >> earlier than. >> originally thought. president trump has been pushing elon musk to. >> try to. >> bring them back. >> even sooner. >> than originally planned. >> and so now spacex is. >> swapping out a newer. >> rocket for. >> an older rocket. they're going to go up to the space station as originally planned, and they're going to go into a crew rotation. chris. >> you know, nothing. >> is simple when it comes to nasa and spacex. >> here's what's happening. they have been up on the space station. >> as you know. >> since september. right. >> because their. >> boeing starliner ship. >> nasa didn't feel comfortable. >> in bringing them back. >> on starliner. so they sent. up crew. >> nine on a. spacex rocket. >> in september for their six month rotation on the space station. butch and sunny joined crew nine. they had to stay on the station because crew nine had an. assignment on the space

station, right? they've got science experiments and. >> whatnot, so. >> they've stayed with crew nine that whole time. they will come back with crew nine. but only after crew ten launches to the space. station to take over the rotation, because you cannot leave the station. without american astronauts. >> on board. >> crew ten has got to go up. then crew nine can come down. >> but guess what? >> crew ten has been delayed. >> because of some problems. >> with spacex. bottom line. crew ten now going up on march. >> 12th, which then once they. >> dock. >> that allows. >> crew nine. with butch and sunny to come back. >> so we're thinking probably a. >> week after that they'll be back on the ground. it will have been nine months. can you imagine? you go up for ten days, you're there for nine months. and i asked, you know, mike massimino. >> the former. >> astronaut who's been in touch, by the way, with sunny williams. i said, so are they going to. >> feel kind of a little bit wobbly when they. >> get back on the ground? quite a few astronauts feel a little.

sick when they get back on terra firma. and he said, you know, they may have some trouble with the inner ear and giving them some balance problems at first. sometimes astronauts feel nauseated when they get back to. >> earth. >> but they've been exercising. they've been working out. they've been eating well. so he suspects that they'll be okay once they get back on the ground, and they insist that they love it up there, but they're. also anxious to see their families on the ground. >> i think it's i think it's wild how positive they've been, but we hope that they do get home to those families very soon. tom. thank you. and still ahead, deportation frustration. why two high ranking ice officials just got demoted. stay close. more chris jansing reports after this. >> 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. >> hey, sam. >> what's going on? >> hey, joe. we're getting. our new. >> replacement windows installed. we went with renewal by andersen. they're replacement windows are among the. best in the industry. >> good morning. hi, don. >> this is my neighbor, joe. >> nice to meet you. >> hey, don. >> providing our homeowners expert installation. >> is our top priority. >> we never. rush details like perfectly matching your window trim style. >> matter to us. >> we always clean up thoroughly afterwards. >> then when. >> the job is. >> done. >> we walk you through a product demonstration and answer any questions you might have. and the one thing we always like to remind our homeowners is that when you go with renewal by andersen. installation is always

included. >> installation is included. >> heck, i paid a pretty penny. >> for installation, and that was on top of the price of the windows themselves. >> you can count on renewal by andersen. do the job right on time, on budget. it's what you should expect from an industry leader. >> well. >> i've been watching your team install your windows. >> and. >> i have to say, they really know their stuff. >> that's because our certified master installers are highly trained when it comes to installing your windows. >> impressive. >> and they stand. >> behind their product, too. right, don? >> because we. >> sell, manufacture and install your acclaimed windows, we absolutely stand behind both our product and our installation. our industry leading warranty is one of the best in the nation. >> hey, look at that window up there was putting. great. they did an awesome job. the house looks amazing. thank you so much for being professional on time cleaning up. well, you guys are the best. >> by one window, patio door or entry door and get the next 140% off. get an extra $200 off your

entire purchase with no money down, no monthly payments, and no interest for 12 months. call before february 28th one 800 460 before february 28th one 800 460 7700. that's baby: liberty! mom: liberty mutual is all she talks about since we saved hundreds by bundling our home and auto insurance. baby: liberty! biberty: hey kid, it's pronounced "biberty." baby: liberty! biberty: biberty! baby: liberty! biberty: biberty! baby: liberty! biberty: bi-be-rty! baby: biberty! biberty: and now she's mocking me. very mature. mom: hey, that's enough you two! biberty: hey, i'm not the one acting like a total baby. mom: she's two. only pay for what you need ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ baby: liberty.