the first fda-cleared ed treatment available without a prescription. eroxon gel is clinically proven to work within ten minutes, so you and your partner can experience the heights of intimacy. new eroxon ed treatment gel. u.s. >> reporting from philadelphia. >> el paso. >> and. >> the. >> palisades, virginia. >> from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. >> what was it like when trump got elected? what was the i mean, what was the reaction, do you think about. ice coming to knock on your front door? >> for president trump's first 100 days? alex wagner travels to the story to talk with people most impacted by the policies. >> were you there on january? >> i was there on january 6th. >> did it surprise you. >> that you were fired, given how resolutely nonpartisan you have been? >> and for more in-depth

reporting, follow her podcast trumpland with alex wagner. >> right now. >> on anna. >> cabrera reports. a ton of news from capitol hill this hour. the final confirmation vote for rfk jr. as head of health and human services. will any republicans come out against the longtime vaccine skeptic? plus, critical steps forward now for two other trump picks kash patel, former fbi director, and linda mcmahon for education secretary. the hurdles they both face this hour and we're following breaking news out of munich. dozens injured after a car plowed into a crowd of pedestrians. what we know about this incident the day before a major security summit there. hello, i'm ana cabrera, reporting from new york. let's begin with that. breaking news out of germany. at least 28 people injured after a vehicle ramming incident in munich. police have detained the suspected driver, a 24 year old afghan man. authorities say he

intentionally drove a white mini into pedestrians, which would make this now the second such attack in germany in less than two months. also, notable world leaders, including vice president vance, were in route to germany for tomorrow's annual munich security conference. let's get you to munich now. and nbc news senior national security correspondent courtney qb, who is there to cover the security conference. also joining us, msnbc national security analyst and former fbi assistant director for counterintelligence, frank figliuzzi. courtney, what do we know about those injured and the suspect and how all this unfolded? >> yeah, so. >> we know a little bit more now, ana. you can see. >> the. >> vehicle right behind me here, this white mini. it plowed into a crowd of people. police saying that they were primarily protesters protesting higher wages. desiring higher wages. now, what's. unclear is exactly why. >> this man. >> did this. the governor of bavaria said it appears to be an intentional act, but the motive. >> is still really.

>> an unknown to us here. now he is. >> known. >> this individual is known to police and has a series of past. >> offenses. >> offenses that they are aware of, including drugs. but that being said, why. >> he chose. >> this protest. >> is really unknown. it's. >> possible that he just saw a. >> target of opportunity, a large group of people. >> but anna, as far as who these people are, we know that there. >> were some children. >> who were here at the time. presumably they were here with their parents who were protesting. >> at this point, we. >> know that of these, at least. 28 people who were injured, there are. >> some who are very seriously, if. >> not. critically injured. but that's. >> all that we. >> know at this point about the. >> condition of those who. >> were struck. anna, of course, the timing of this creates heightened concern. vice president, finance secretary rubio and other world leaders were scheduled to be in munich tomorrow. courtney, will those plans change at all? do we know? is germany boosting security? i have to say, anna, the vice president vance has. >> actually already arrived in. here in germany. >> at this point, there are. no

plans. >> according to officials. to change. >> any of the conference itinerary. >> including vice president. >> vance. >> potentially. >> you know, attending. >> or being. >> a part of that. but i will say i've covered this conference for a number of years. the security is always extremely high. security is. very tight here. the police, they bring in, they block off blocks and blocks around. >> the venue site. >> i do expect that we will see as. >> high. >> as security here as we have over the past years. anna frank, do you think vp vance and other leaders should adjust their movements at all, or even postpone their appearances in munich tomorrow? >> i think the secret service will have it under control. they've already issued a statement that they don't see any protective threat to both vance or to rubio, and state department will cover rubio. secret service will cover vance, and they'll have a coordinated plan with german authorities. i think the larger question here is the continued use of vehicles to attack crowds. and we've seen it, of course, throughout germany just last december, you

remember at a christmas market, 200 people injured, five dead. and of course, closer to home, new orleans new year's day. we've got to get a different police strategy with regard to city centers and large crowds. there was a union demonstration going on there. in germany, which i think became a target, not necessarily because there's some anti-union motive for this attacker, but rather because it presented a vulnerable soft target. and the police need to think, now, are we having a demonstration? is it large? do we need to do more than just protect a perimeter and control the crowd of demonstrators? but rather, do we need to look outward against a potential. threat to that demonstration? that's a rethinking that's required for the police. >> you can't car proof every city block on earth. so how do you prevent these attacks and end this trend? you brought up the couple that we covered here just in. >> the. >> last couple of months. >> yeah.

>> i think we're going. >> to increasingly. see city center. areas closed off to pedestrian traffic. we're we're seeing this increased, you know, kind of a tax to pay to get into an inner city. london does that. now new york city is doing that. it's that's for congestion and traffic. but i think for security purposes it also serves us very well. and then when you've got a known demonstration protest crowd, i think you're going to see, you know, one shot. let's close the pedestrian areas today because of this event. that's got to happen. >> all right, courtney qb, please keep us posted. frank, stay with us. let's come back to washington where we are tracking a very, very busy hour on a very busy day in the senate. in just minutes, the confirmation vote for robert f kennedy jr to become secretary of health and human services. and happening now, president trump's nominee to lead the education department, linda mcmahon, is in the hot seat for her confirmation hearing. plus, senators in the judiciary committee are readying a vote to advance kash patel out of that

committee, which would then bring him one step closer to becoming the fbi director. last hour, the chairman, senator chuck grassley, spent much of his opening railing against the fbi. here's how senator dick durbin, the top democrat on that committee, responded. >> we are. >> inviting a political disaster if we put kash patel into. >> this job. >> i think this is outrageous. if we. >> have. >> respect for. >> these agents, show it. >> we are joined by nbc news chief. capitol hill correspondent ryan nobles and nbc news senior white house correspondent kelly o'donnell. frank figliuzzi is also still with us. so, ryan, a lot of plates spinning for the senate right now. are republicans concerned at all about any hurdles or hiccups today? >> no, ana. >> in fact, these. >> should all be. >> relatively perfunctory. >> each one of these nominees that donald trump has asked for. is likely to be confirmed today. >> and not today. but they're on. >> the path to confirmation. >> one will. >> be confirmed today. and robert f kennedy jr. that vote

is scheduled. >> to start. here in the next 20 minutes or so. but what we're learning. throughout this process, ana, is that donald trump is going. >> to. >> get what donald trump wants from republicans in congress, even though there were a lot. of strong concerns about some of. >> these nominees, many. >> of them were. >> controversial at. >> each stage, even. if their confirmation hearings weren't necessarily. >> as smooth. >> as possible, republicans. >> have found. >> a way to get to yes. >> and. >> that's exactly what we're going. >> to see play out. >> with robert f kennedy jr. here on the senate. >> floor. >> there's maybe only one republican. >> that's in. >> doubt right now. >> and that's the. >> former senate majority. >> leader, mitch mcconnell. it seems as though. >> all. >> the other republicans are poised. >> to vote yes. and then in. >> kash patel's nomination. in the judiciary. >> committee. >> we saw almost. >> no pushback. >> from senate. republicans during his confirmation hearing. and in fact. they seem. >> to be welcoming. >> patel with. >> open arms. >> despite his controversial. >> past, his. >> connections to efforts to overturn the 2020. >> election, and. >> how he openly. >> talked about. >> how. donald trump should seek

retribution were he to win the presidency during that period of time where he was. >> out of the white house. >> this is. >> kind of. >> the narrative that we've seen play. >> out here. >> on capitol hill since donald trump won. >> the election. >> that senate. >> republicans and house republicans. >> for. >> that matter. >> are here to do whatever he needs them to. >> to get. >> ahead of. >> this vote. and after the confirmation hearing for patel. democratic senator dick durbin came out with an explosive accusation about patel perjuring himself during his hearing and that he claimed he orchestrated some of these recent fbi firings behind the scenes. ryan, has that done anything? what's been the outcome of these accusations? >> well, it's made democrats. >> even more upset about patel's. >> nomination, and. ima democran more convinced that they don't believe he. >> should. be the fbi director. >> but from. >> their perspective, they. >> just do not have the. votes to stop his confirmation. >> from happening. >> and republicans largely. >> just shrugged off. >> durbin's concerns. and the evidence that he brought to the

table in this regard. you know. >> democrats in. >> general are just upset about the fbi purge. they feel that. >> it is. >> a reshaping of the. department in donald trump's image, the. >> fact. >> that many of these career fbi agents who are targeted were those that were assigned to these cases that were related to donald trump. it's not necessarily the cases that they sought. >> out that. >> seems to not matter to republicans. they are speeding along with the confirmation. >> of kash patel. >> despite these concerns. >> anna kelly it looks like all of trump's controversial picks are going to make it through the senate. after the matt gaetz debacle, was there a concerted effort by the white house to keep the senate in line? what do we know? >> well, there's been certainly clear messaging that the white house wants republicans to support the views of the president and to accept that their majorities are, in part because of donald trump and his voters, who supported not only the president, but also these senators and members of congress. and certainly when it comes to confirming nominees,

that is the purview of the senate. so even though there have been instances where they have serious concerns on substantive substantive issues about the nominee's views, their level of experience and so forth, they have ultimately resisted the call of advise and consent to split from the president. and typically that is not unusual in the party. people will support a nominee of the president of their own party. what is not typical here is that normally the nominees put forward are an easier yes for senators than they're finding now. i would not be at all surprised if mitch mcconnell votes against robert kennedy jr, because of his own life experience as a polio victim. who believes in the power of vaccines to save lives and to keep people healthy, and has strong views. >> about kennedy's. >> past views on that. so there is pressure brought to bear by outside groups. to bring about primary challenges for some senators. and clearly being on the outs with president trump

has political peril for republicans who want to advance their own issues and their own agenda and their own careers. so falling in line has been the frequent response, even if it takes a while to get there. >> and what we're watching right now there in capitol hill is from the senate judiciary committee. the comment speeches made ahead of their vote on kash patel's nomination, which would then advance him. if it gets out of the committee, it would advance him to a full vote in the senate. so, frank, as we continue to monitor this past trump officials in the first trump administration had raised alarms about patel being unfit for a job of this magnitude. they didn't want him as their, you know, sidekick to their roles. ag bill barr, former director gina haspel, john bolton, others in national security kind of waved red flags. these are people who witnessed patel in action behind the scenes. are you surprised? republican senators seem to be just ignoring those warnings?

>> sadly, it's no longer surprising that we've got the senate gop contingent just falling right into line with everything we know about kash patel his history, his own prior statements. i can tell you that he is the most dangerous nominee to head the fbi in the bureau's history. he has the potential to make j. edgar hoover look like a boy scout in terms of the abuses that may be coming at us. and when you combine attorney general bondi and then kash patel across the street at fbi headquarters, you have the potential for tremendous abuse of power with regard to targeting political enemies, opening and closing cases at the whim of the president, which should not be happening, but is already happening. by the way, the dismissal of cases from eric adams to former governor blagojevich in illinois. we're going to see the targeting of people and the real weaponization of the fbi. >> we already know the doj has

forced the fbi to provide a list of agents who worked on the january 6th cases. the white house also wants the fbi to turn over the names of probationary employees, nearly 4000 people. these are agents who have gone through all of the trainings and the qualifications to be part of the fbi, but they haven't, i guess, made full status yet. there's sort of this waiting period. frank, talk to us about your concerns regarding what's happening with these lists that have to be turned over already have been turned over. >> yeah. this is absolute revenge and retribution against employees, career employees who were simply doing their job, as evidenced by the many convictions and guilty we can ss coming. they have no due process privileges. they can't sue, they can be fired at will. and that appears to be what's going to happen. so the fbi's already understaffed. there's no one in the pipeline coming in to replace anybody, because there's a hiring freeze at the fbi. so

we've got a situation where fewer fbi career people, fewer experts, make us less safe. >> frank figliuzzi, kelly o'donnell. thank you both. ryan, please stay close. we'll keep an eye on kash patel's committee. vote for fbi director. as some of president trump's other controversial picks face more critical tests. we have a confirmation hearing for the next secretary of education, as president trump has vowed to dismantle that agency. i'll speak with the last education secretary who just left that role in january about what's at stake, and rfk jr, facing that final senate vote to become the man in charge of our nation's health. we have new updates from capitol hill on all of this. capitol hill on all of this. stay right there. 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! with fatigue and light-headedness,

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in trump's first administration. she did serve briefly on connecticut's board of education for about a year. mr. secretary, what do you make of this unusual moment and what questions need to be asked? >> well, thank you, first of all, ana. >> for having me on, and it's good to see you again. >> look. >> you know, it's i remember going through the hearing myself and getting those questions and, you. >> know. >> back then, it was about making sure all students have access to higher education, all students have access to success. today, the opposite is true. the agenda is. >> to disrupt. >> and gut public education. i worry about the students who are going to be impacted. ana. everyone hearing my voice, whether you're republican or democrat, will know someone who's going to be impacted, whether that's the 7 million students with disabilities, you know, the 10 million students in rural communities that rely on title one dollars, or the 6 million students that rely on pell grants to go to college, the people whose civil rights are going to be violated. there

is an attack not only on the department of education, but on education in this country. >> let's talk about what we know of that's happening inside your old building. cnbc reports that elon musk's doge team has taken over some of the departments highest officials offices. in fact, they describe it as what's happening in there rearranging furniture, setting up white noise machines to muffle their voices. doge says it's already terminated roughly $900 million worth of contracts, writing on social media that it's terminated 89 contracts, as well as 29 grants associated with dei training. we don't have specifics. mr. secretary, what is linda mcmahon walking into? if she's confirmed? >> well, you know. >> some of the hardest working and most student centered people that i've ever met in my life work in that building. they're public servants. they're career servants that, you know, are giving their best years to make education in this country better. and they're being disrespected. they're being

abandoned. you know, instead of focusing on on the courts and legal battles, focus on students, focus on student outcomes. it is really sad to see what's happening in there. and, you know, when we talk about those cuts, what we're talking about is programing for students or following research that we know improves outcomes for students. i'm all in favor of reviewing what works best, and i'm even in favor of assessing policy whether you agree with it or not. but i'm not in favor of the change that's happening, which is going from democracy to a monarchy. and we're seeing examples of that in every agency. and it's really troubling. i think the american people, regardless of party, should be worried about what's happening. >> i mean, help us understand the cuts that have already been made. the details are murky, but the new york times is reporting that 900 million of the cuts hit the department's research arm, the institute of education sciences. what do americans need to know about the work being done there and the potential impact if it goes away? >> well. >> as i said at the beginning of this call, you know, every student is going to be impacted,

you know, and it's it sounds nice when it's murky, right? but when it starts hitting your classroom, when you start seeing that because of title one changes or moving those programs or because we're reducing the workforce, there's no one there to process your financial aid form. there's no one there to distribute the title. one dollars, meaning reading teachers in your kid's classroom are going to go away because there's no funding for it. that's when it hits home. that's when it gets real. so i think, you know, we really need to be recognizing that these impacts, these sudden impacts without the input of the public servants that have been doing this, their whole career is dangerous for all kids. and it's easy for you to make those decisions when you don't rely on public schools, when you can afford to have your kids go to any school you want. but 90% of the students in this country rely on their local neighborhood public school, and they're going to be impacted. >> yeah, i know i'm a product of public education, have family members who are educators as well in k through 12 schools. president trump, he campaigned on eliminating the department of

education, department of education altogether. so there are americans who want to see this happen. here's what he said yesterday. >> i'd like it to be closed immediately. look, the department of education is a big con job. >> he claims the department of education is failing students and parents. he points toward recent reports showing dips in reading and math scores. what do you say to parents who feel that the education system isn't serving their kids, and they want to see it rebuilt from scratch? >> yeah, well, listen to those parents. and you know, i'm a parent of public school children. i attended public schools. i spent 25 years serving in public schools. there is room for growth. and if you look at the work that we did, we saw some of the greatest gains in underperforming students. in a one year span since 2009, we've seen improvements in chronic absenteeism. you know, there are examples across the country of what works when you support public education. we need to do what works and

improve what doesn't work. gutting the whole thing is going to impact the students who need it the most, the students who are homeless, the students, as i said before, children. >> with. >> autism. >> children that need additional special education support, children with speech needs, they're going to be hurt the most. >> former education secretary miguel cardona, really appreciate you joining us. thanks so much for shining light on what's happening. the department of education. >> thank you. >> we're going to keep an eye on that hearing. we're also following more breaking news from capitol hill this hour. we expect the final test for rfk jr. does he have the votes to be confirmed as the next secretary of health and human services? of health and human services? stay with it ain't my dad's razor, dad. ay watch it! it's from gillettelabs. this green bar releases trapped hairs from my face... gamechanga! ...while the flexdisc contours to it. so the five blades can get virtually every hair in one stroke. for the ultimate gillette shaving experience. the best a man can get is gillettelabs. got an itchy throat from allergies? claritin liquid provides powerful,

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>> we're going to start with breaking news. >> on capitol hill. >> mounting questions. >> over the. >> future of tiktok. >> in. >> the u.s. >> reporting from philadelphia. >> el paso. >> and the palisades, virginia. >> from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. >> we are continuing to follow breaking news on capitol hill with a final confirmation vote happening any minute for one of president trump's most controversial cabinet picks, robert f kennedy jr. now, his nomination to be secretary of health and human services advanced yesterday in the senate along party lines. if confirmed, he'll have power over everything from food guidelines to vaccines to medicare and medicaid. nbc's ryan nobles is back with us from capitol hill. also joining us, michael schnell, congressional reporter for the hill. doctor zeke emanuel, an oncologist and vice provost of global initiatives at the university of pennsylvania. and doctor kavita patel, a physician and former obama white house policy director. ryan, from the beginning, rfk jr. was seen as

one of trump's most controversial picks when he named him back in november as his nominee. but now his confirmation looks pretty likely. where do things stand? >> i think. you're right. >> to characterize. >> it as very likely, and in fact. >> the strongest voices raising concerns about robert f kennedy jr. during the confirmation process from the republican. >> side have. >> basically all stepped aside, saying that they are. now feeling comfortable with the idea of voting. yes for him, the chief among them being bill cassidy, the senator from louisiana who is a. >> physician himself. >> who chairs the health, education, labor and. >> pensions committee, who asked. >> kennedy a number of. pointed questions during two different hearings, one before. >> the finance committee. >> the other before his own. >> committee, and really pressed. >> rfk to clarify his stance on vaccines and in particular, walk. back the long debunked claims that he's peddled about vaccines and their connection to autism. and robert f kennedy jr.

really refused to do that in many respects during the public hearings. but as an example of how many of these confirmation battles have played themselves. >> out. the. >> senators claim that the nominees have come to them and had these private conversations where they've specifically kind. >> of talked. >> out their differences on these issues. >> and then. >> given the senators comfort and assuage their concerns that once they take on these important responsibilities, that they aren't going to be. >> heavy handed. >> with some of their. >> pride in. >> relation to some of their previous policy decisions and policy posions. and that's where cassidy was. he basically felt that those private conversations. with rfk were enough for him to vote yes. and then, furthermore, cassidy feels as though because he is. >> in a. >> position of power as the chair. >> of. >> the. >> health committee, that that will. >> give him a level of oversight as to how rfk jr. runs the department of health and human services. that is what led to them voting yes. but at the end

of the day, ana, the biggest takeaway from this process. is that donald trump is going to get what donald trump wants from republican senators. and every time one of these controversial nominees has come forward, we see concerns. we see those concerns raised publicly. we see. >> these tough questions. >> in the confirmation hearings. but ultimately, the republicans come around and say, yes, i'm going to support your nominees. mr. president. >> we are seeing senator crapo there. he's the chairman of the senate finance committee speaking. and that was the committee that had to advance the nomination of rfk jr. michael, the washington post is reporting that leaders inside the department of health and human services are already planning meetings with rfk jr. telling the post it's being treated as a done deal. is that what you're hearing, too? >> like ryan said, it looks like. >> rfk jr. >> s nomination. >> is headed. >> for confirmation. >> as he. >> mentioned, a number of those. >> key republican. >> critics had then come around. >> had meetings. >> with the nominee, spoke. >> about different areas. >> that they. >> had concerns with. >> and ultimately put out. statements of support. i don't

think it will be a unanimous vote among republicans. the expectation is that mitch mcconnell. >> of course, the former senate republican. >> leader. >> is seen as. >> somebody who could vote against. >> rfk jr. s nomination. >> we did. >> see mcconnell. vote to advance it yesterday. >> but as we've seen. >> with previous nominees. >> for example. >> pete hegseth, mitch mcconnell has voted to advance the nomination. >> but then voted against. >> it on. >> that final vote. >> mitch mcconnell. a polio survivor. >> himself. >> had had put out a statement a. >> few weeks ago. >> really lambasting rfk jr. s vaccine. >> skepticism. >> without naming. >> rfk jr. >> himself saying. >> that. >> folks who. >> deal in these matters. >> involving vaccine. skepticism would. >> be smart to steer clear of those conversations. so while while rfk jr. >> does look like he. >> is headed for confirmation because again, with all democrats. expected to vote no. it would require at least four republicans to vote against him, which is a very high number, especially when you're. talking about the senate republican

conference. >> which has. >> grown very. >> trumpy over the years. >> he looks like he's headed for confirmation. it may not be the full group, but it's going to be quite enough. >> so, doctor emanuel, much of the focus in kennedy's confirmation hearing was on his long record of vaccine skepticism, one of the senators seen as a key swing vote. bill cassidy, who's a doctor, says kennedy has reassured him that he will stick to the immunization schedules recommended by the cdc and will keep statements on the cdc website assuring the public that vaccines don't cause autism. what do you make of those comments? >> well, there. >> are. >> promises, and this isn't. >> an administration. >> that in the past has kept its promises. >> we've seen, for example, with the supreme court. >> lots of promises. that were not kept. and i. >> expect that we will. >> see some backsliding. the important fact is even his nomination has changed the atmosphere around the country in

terms. >> of school. >> districts and states requiring vaccination, in terms. >> of. >> the number of parents who think that they can now opt out for their kids. we have a. >> record number. >> of measles outbreaks in the country, 14. >> already this year. >> because of this. west texas near the new mexico border, rhode island and other states were having outbreaks. we are also in the midst of. a very big. flu season. >> 24 million. >> americans infected 13,000 deaths already from. >> flu. >> and monitoring that and monitoring h5n1. very important. all of. >> these things are really important issues. that people will die if we don't do the right policies. >> doctor patel, besides vaccines, the hhs secretary is in charge of more than a dozen agencies with 80,000 employees, including the cdc, the fda, national institutes of health, and more. given what you saw in rfk jr's confirmation hearing,

how do you think he'll approach this huge job? >> yeah, i think we. >> know that he doesn't. >> actually know a lot of the details of the. >> policies around many of. >> those agencies, one of the. largest ones, which is. >> medicare and medicaid. >> he kind. >> of often. >> fumbled during the hearings. confusing the two or not necessarily. >> even knowing the details. so i think that's one clue. >> right there, is that. >> a lot. >> of people. >> are making. >> kind of. >> a big deal, as they should. >> about rfk jr. >> but be on. >> a close look. >> for who's. >> coming in to. >> lead. >> these agencies. we know mehmet. >> oz is. >> nominated for cms, medicare and medicaid. >> for example, but. >> look at who's in charge and nominated. >> for the cdc. and then. meanwhile look. >> at what's. >> happening under. rfk's kind of watch, so to speak. >> in the background. you've got. >> literally almost. >> even half of the cdc personnel that. >> are being kind of purged or asked. >> to. >> resign or kind of put. >> on. >> a. watch list. >> because of. >> die kind. >> of watchdog initiatives. >> so this is. >> also a workforce. >> that's getting slowly. but surely, actually not. >> slowly. >> very swiftly and surely

decimated. >> so that. >> involves then. >> to have. >> somebody who can come. >> in and. >> strategically assess. >> what do these agencies need? how are these agencies going to. >> operate and. >> conduct work for americans? >> that's what they do. >> and he clearly. >> lacks those skills. he spoke i actually looked at the magnitude of his time. >> talking in. >> the hearings. >> about vaccines, which is obviously. >> going to be very. >> critical, was. >> far excessive. >> of the work of hhs. >> and he had very little. time to much of the work of the other agencies, as you mentioned. >> that he will oversee. >> everyone. stay with us. we're going to be back to the senate floor in just a moment. but i want to pop back into this other hearing. we're monitoring secretary of education nominee linda mcmahon's hearing. she's facing questions now from senators. i believe it's senator sanders questioning her currently. let's listen. >> towards school choice. >> but you will agree. i don't mean to interrupt you, but you will agree that you can't just look at education. >> the truth is that middle class, upper middle. class public schools in. >> america generally do pretty well. >> but if. >> you are. >> homeless, if you were a homeless person and you had

kids, the odds of your kids doing pretty well. and i could. >> i'm just asking. >> you. >> what do you think. >> about the. >> massive level. >> of income and wealth inequality? >> the fact. >> that we have the highest rate. >> of childhood poverty. is that something you think you. >> might want to pay attention to? >> well. >> certainly, senator, i do believe that we. >> want to make sure. >> that every child in our country. >> has the opportunity to have. equal access to a. >> quality education, and the. >> department of education. >> really is not setting economic. policy in the country. we should focus on. >> educating our children. >> and we should focus on it at the local level. >> let me ask you this. you mentioned correctly that we have many great teachers in america, right? >> yes. >> if you as a businesswoman, wanted to attract the best and the. >> brightest. >> would you be starting them off after they leave school? maybe 50, $60,000 in debt with salaries of 35 to 40,000? or would you say we respect you talked about teaching being the

noblest profession. i agree with you. would you agree with me? support my legislation that says no teacher in america should earn at least $60,000 a year? >> well, certainly the pay to teachers is. up to the states. >> where those teachers reside. >> i do believe we should pay our teachers fairly. they spend so much time with our students, and they should. >> be well compensated. >> for. >> paying them fairly. nobody in the world would disagree with you. i mean, the question is, if teaching is a noble profession, if teaching is an important profession, you know, should we be paying them salaries commensurate with the value that they of the work that they are doing? so i'm asking you a simple question. would you recommend. >> to states. >> as the leader of education in america that it teaches at least make $60,000 a year? >> i would certainly. >> recommend to. states that. teachers be. >> paid what is commensurate with the. >> kinds of jobs that. >> are part of their states. not

all states have the same living costs. >> not all states. >> have the same ability to. >> pay teachers, but. >> to attract really good teachers and to keep them, we should definitely pay them commensurate with the job performance that they that they are undertaking. >> millions of young people, low income people, are finding it very difficult to afford to go to college and they're leaving school 50, 100, $200,000 in debt. pell grant program provides assistance to over 7 million low income young people in this country. can you guarantee to us if you are made secretary of education, that no student in america will lose their pell grant as one? as the department is dismantled? >> surely the defunding is not the goal here, the continuation of pell grants. i'd actually even like to see an expansion of pell grants. i'd like to see short term certificates for pell

grants for students who aren't going on to four year universities, who. could have the opportunity to use pell grants for skill based learning. >> so what i'm hearing you say is pell grant program will continue under your administration. >> yes. >> okay. you, mr. carson, senator cassidy asked you an important question, and that is, do you agree? let me just once again get your your feelings on this, that if there is a movement to abolish the department of education, it has to go through the united states congress? >> yes. the it is set up by the united states congress. and we work with congress. it clearly cannot be shut down without it. >> okay. let's pull away from this for a moment. we will keep monitoring. but i want to take you back mrs. fischer. mr. gallego. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham.

once this vote wraps up, he will be confirmed. >> the way this process. >> works is the vote remains open for a. certain window of time. senators will then trickle onto the house floor. the clerk will acknowledge them and they will either vote aye or nay. >> sometimes they can do. >> it with a thumbs up. sometimes they do it with a thumbs down, depending on. how they plan to. message that to the clerk. so we'll our team. >> is keeping a close. >> eye on this vote as it progresses. it could take some time. they they'll go through the roster. >> if an. individual senator. >> happens to be in the room, they'll acknowledge and. >> vote, but. >> they may go through the entire roster and then start back up at the beginning. if a senator. >> does not happen. >> to be in the room at that time, there are hearings happening in other spots in the capitol right now, so it may take them some time to get into the room. so this could. be a 20 or 25 minute process, depending. >> on. >> how long it takes for each one of these senators to get in

the room. >> obviously. >> we believe that this is a foregone conclusion that robert f kennedy jr will be confirmed, but it will be interesting to see how one person in particular votes. and that's mitch. >> mcconnell. >> the former senate majority leader from kentucky. he is someone who has very strong feelings about vaccines. as we talked about. >> earlier. >> he's someone that. >> issued an. open letter. >> on vaccines, in particular the. >> polio vaccine. >> after reports came out about robert f kennedy jr. s efforts with some of his former allies to question. the certification of the polio vaccine. that's something that he obviously opposes a great deal. and we've seen. a process here by mitch mcconnell, where he remains relatively quiet. >> throughout this process. >> doesn't answer any questions. >> in the. >> halls about his feelings about these nominees, doesn't ask questions in hearings to these nominees. and then we'll just come out and vote one way or the. >> other. >> even allowing the process to move through the procedural

stage. he voted. >> to allow. >> this vote to get to this stage of the confirmation process. >> but then. >> could potentially vote no. >> we saw them he do that. >> we saw him do that with tulsi gabbard. so we'll be watching his vote. but his vote won't really matter at the end of the day, as we've talked about, it would require four republicans to vote no to kill this nomination. and we. >> do not have. >> four republicans. >> right now. >> who have said that they are going to vote no. so we'll see how this process plays itself out. but probably here in less than a half. >> an. >> hour, robert f kennedy jr will be the next secretary of health and human services. >> just a quick follow up for you, ryan. you talk about mitch mcconnell, his role today and what we've seen him do with other nominees, most recently tulsi gabbard being the only republican to vote no on her nomination and confirmation. but this one for him is personal, right? he's a polio survivor, and he was the leader of republicans in the senate for 18 years. do we know if he's had conversations behind the scenes

with his other republican counterparts, specifically on rfk jr, and whether he's, you know, tried to sway them at all? >> yeah. >> so it's a very. >> important question on him. and what we've. seen from. mitch mcconnell is a willingness. to individually buck donald trump. that means. just mitch mcconnell, when he was the senate majority leader, he had the power to sway big blocks of votes, most times enough votes to either support or. kill a piece of legislation. now, what he would tell us is. >> that this. >> wasn't him directing. >> his caucus. >> to go in. one direction or another. he was listening to the caucus and then leading them to that point. >> that's not the mitch. >> mcconnell that we're dealing with anymore. he appears to be operating almost as a solo practitioner here, someone that's going to make up these decisions on his own. he is not attempting to influence anyone else. and by the same token. >> he is not. >> looking to be influenced by anyone else. so the power that

he wields. at this stage of his career is pretty minimal, especially. >> given the fact that. >> it requires at least four republicans to join him in blocking something from the trump administration. and there is no sense behind the scenes that he is going to his other senators and saying to them, join me in this effort to block this. i feel very strongly about this. it seems very clear that he is just doing this on his own. and as a result, in many ways, it's almost as if he's shouting into the void. he can be opposed to these nominees all he wants. he can be opposed to future trump administration agenda items. for instance, one of the big issues that's going to become a very real possibility and a real debate point, is whether or not the united states should continue to fund the war with ukraine. that's something that mitch mcconnell feels very passionate about. >> and he. >> also serves as the chair of the defense appropriations subcommittee.

>> so he has some. >> sway there. will he do more than just stand alone vote no or yes on an issue like that? we're not seeing him do that during this confirmation process. so he's just joining another group of democrats to vote no. >> but ultimately. >> these nominees will be confirmed. so mitch mcconnell's role. >> now. while it's powerful. >> just from an optics standpoint, it's not really having a big impact on the ultimate. >> outcome of these confirmation battles. >> we're witnessing. >> what happened exactly as you described in terms of people coming in, giving a thumbs up, casting their vote, maybe leaving as they head back to other hearing rooms where they're grilling other nominees. doctor emanuel, when trump nominated rfk jr, you said you were worried about someone at the top of hhs who will bend to trump's every whim. what could the impact of that be? at the head of hhs? >> well, it's a $1.8 trillion a year agency. it's got a lot of. >> resources. >> we saw just the threat of

reducing nih indirects to 15%, creating havoc, really, in the biomedical. research community. and lots. >> of worry. >> about the preeminence of. >> the. >> united states. >> in biomedical research. >> and that constitutes. >> a few. >> ten. >> $20 billion at most. >> there are lots of other places that. we're worried. >> you know, there's talk. >> of cutting nearly $900. >> billion. >> from medicaid over the next ten years. that's an enormous amount of money they want to cut to make way for tax relief. let me remind you, 82 million americans. rely on medicaid for coverage, many of them in. red states and. >> rural areas. >> we know that. every red state that has. considered expanding. >> medicaid under the affordable. >> care act. when it's put to the. >> voters, they.

>> overwhelmingly endorse. >> expanding medicaid. that's been true in idaho, oklahoma. >> utah, missouri. >> and other states. >> and now we're talking about. >> very. >> very substantial cuts to medicaid, which. will reduce the number of people who get coverage, reduce the amount of. coverage of services that are covered. these are very important questions. and how. >> rfk jr actually responds, i think, is. >> going to be critical. >> the one positive hope i have, and i. >> think it's really. >> important. >> is he has. said that he. >> is very interested. >> in addressing. chronic illness in america. >> $0.85 of. >> every dollar that the. >> united states spends. >> on health care goes for chronic. >> illnesses. and i hope. >> he's serious about. >> that, because that is our. >> big health threat. >> and in my. >> opinion, the number. one chronic illness that. >> really needs to be addressed is hypertension. more americans have hypertension than any. >> other chronic. >> disease, 120.

>> million. >> and it contributes to 700,000 deaths. we really need to get our arms around this, and it's a disease for which we have over 100 drugs. >> that are. >> effective against hypertension. so i think if he focuses on hypertension and other. >> chronic illnesses, there could be a lot of. >> health upside. i worry that we get bogged down in cutting the. >> nih in direct vaccine approval, vaccine. recommendations for reimbursement and other. issues instead of areas where. there's really widespread agreement. >> that we need to advance this. agenda in. the country. >> doctor patel, just looking at what priorities rfk jr might have, given what he has said previously when he was campaigning, for example, he talked a lot about banning ultra processed foods or curtailing them, banning chemicals and certain pesticides. these are ideas that actually have support of some democrats as well. are

those issues that need to be addressed? >> they are ana. >> they've been issues long standing. >> so i think. to say that there are, you know, zero. >> ideas coming out of rfk. >> jr that could be helpful to society. >> is incorrect. >> i think it's the balance. >> right. so i. >> think that a lot of what he's talking about will kind of get exercised by whomever gets. >> confirmed to lead. >> the food and drug administration. >> i think. >> that then you'll have to have. >> the fda commissioner. >> really spend a lot of time on the fda. and the fda, the food part. and then remember, some of these things are done in. >> conjunction with other. >> departments. >> you know. >> with the agriculture department. >> epa. >> and again, across all of these departments, we're seeing this trend. >> from d.o.j. >> of just minimizing. >> the staff. >> so you can have incredible priorities. but to. actually get things done, you really do depend on the kind of literally a fleet of career staff who honestly do not care who the president is. >> they don't care. >> whose pictures are hanging in the buildings. they're just there to do their jobs and they do them well. and i think that's

going to. >> be. >> the critical question here is how do you advance some of these priorities, which i would agree are. very important chronic disease, food. >> safety. >> environmental effects and its potential kind of problems related to cancer or other diseases. but how do you get this work done if you've got kind of a ban on information or if you're slowing down kind of clinical guidance? i mean, i like the ideas, but to execute them, it actually does take like a large group of people, including stakeholders on the outside, people like me who have to receive the information, believe and trust it on. the erosion of trust in the government. >> is probably. >> the most. concerning thing. and that's way above rfk s nomination. but he will only kind. >> of make. >> it worse. >> yeah, the erosion of trust in the government, erosion of trust in science, erosion of trust in media and passing information along facts versus fiction. doctor manuel, thank you, ryan and doctor patel, please stay with us. we are going to stay very close to this confirmation vote for robert f kennedy jr. a quick break in the meantime, quick break in the meantime, we'll be right back.

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capitol hill. our ryan nobles is helping to stay on top of all of these and back with us, as well as doctor kavita patel. ryan, let's just stay focused right now on what's happening with rfk jr. since we know this is the vote that could ultimately land him as the hhs secretary. we've been seeing the people coming in and going the senators with their thumbs up. have there been any the clerk: mr. lankford, aye. mr. sheehy, aye. but we've had a. couple of senators come forward and vote in a fashion that kind of affirms our assumption about the direction of this confirmation vote in that rfk jr. will likely be easily confirmed. bill cassidy, who we talked about before. the senator from louisiana who expressed some

skepticism about his nomination, just voted yes. and also john curtis, the new senator from utah, who is often thought of as a potential swing vote. he voted yes for rfk as well. >> so that. >> are two votes in the affirmative for kennedy that demonstrate that he will. likely be confirmed. >> in terms. >> of the effort that the white house used to make sure that these nominees got over the finish line, they. first established exactly where they, you know, were going. >> to be. >> when it came to these nominees during the pete hegseth nomination process, where you saw serious reservations from republican senators, you saw new revelations about hegseth and his background, much of which was broken here by nbc news and my colleague julie sirkin and others. and despite that, the white house made it clear to republican senators that they were sticking with hegseth and that if you vote no, there will be consequences. and so that a bit basically established a baseline that republican

senators need needed to recognize and appreciate that the white house essentially was not going to back down. but then they also work behind the scenes as well. and the primary point person for them was the vice president, jd vance, a former senator himself, someone who developed relationships with many of these senators that were on the fence, who personally went to many of these senators to try and. talk through their concerns, explain to them. how the trump administration. would put guardrails around some of these nominees to make sure that it was the trump agenda that was going to be executed by these cabinet nominees, not their own personal agenda. i think that was very important with robert f kennedy as well. and that's turned. >> out to be effective. >> and that's part of the reason why we see these nominees gliding to confirmation. we have about a. >> minute left, doctor patel, but we know that this confirmation is coming amid the big doge cuts at the department of health and human services, including the cuts to nih grants for research, which i think is on pause currently. but doge staffers have also been on site

at several hhs agencies accessing systems used for distributing medicare medicaid payments. just your reaction to these people who don't have any expertise in healthcare, doing what we're seeing at hhs, along with all these other agencies? >> yeah, it represents an incredible not just cybersecurity. >> threat, but it just begs to kind of question. >> to what next? >> right. >> so this is just the staff looking at this. and then i've even been in washington. >> d.c. >> where. >> i've overheard conversations, something you would. never see in other settings. where. >> i've heard those staff. >> who had go far beyond this administration. >> ryan. doctor patel, thank you both so much. and we'll keep an eye on that senate vote. that does it for me today. i'm going to hand it off to my colleague jose diaz-balart, picking up our breaking news coverage right now.