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.

>> good morning. 11 a.m. eastern, 8 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz balart. we begin this busy hour in washington, a major day for some of president trump's top white house picks right now. critical hearings underway for trump's pick to lead the fbi. kash patel, the president's nominee for education secretary, linda mcmahon. meanwhile, right now on the senate floor, the final confirmation of robert f kennedy jr to become the next secretary of the department of health and human services is now underway. kennedy, one of trump's more controversial cabinet picks, is expected to be confirmed along party lines. now, even if every senate democrat votes against him, he can lose up to three republican votes and still be confirmed. kennedy drew scrutiny from democrats in his initial confirmation hearings. for the record that he has of statements skeptical of vaccines. joining us now, nbc's vaughn hillyard. also with us, susan page, washington bureau chief for usa

today. also with us, former republican congressman charlie dent from pennsylvania. so vaughn, another of the president's more controversial picks, appears to be poised to pass through the senate. is there anything or anyone that could stand in his way? >> it doesn't appear so at this time. susan collins just voted yes for robert f kennedy jr. s confirmation. and bill cassidy, the senator from louisiana, who is a physician himself, who was one of the republicans who asked pointed questions of kennedy during his confirmation hearings and openly was skeptical about particularly his vaccine positions. this is for robert f kennedy jr. we're watching this vote continue to unfold here, and there is no indication that there are going to be enough republicans to join democrats to stop him. mitch mcconnell is somebody who we are looking at. he was, we believe, the one undefined republican vote coming into this morning here

uncommitted he for over the course of the winter had spoken openly about the impact of polio and pushing back against kennedy's past questioning of the polio vaccine. we have heard, though, from the likes of utah senator curtis, who indicated overnight that he will be a yes vote here. so as we watch this vote come in once again, another controversial pick for president, trump appears on his way to head to confirmation. all of this is taking place at the same time. i'm looking down the hallway to my left. as republican senators have been making their way back into the judiciary committee hearing as they, after they put their votes in for kennedy, are coming here to push likely the nomination of kash patel for fbi director to the next stage of his confirmation process. and that is out of this judiciary committee hearing room and sending him to the full senate for a vote that likely taking place next week. here. we expect that vote within potentially the next hour. i want to let you listen to democrat dick durbin, who was openly questioning

whether kash patel committed perjury before the before this judiciary committee when he said that he had not urged the fbi to push out agents, including those who investigated january 6th and other senior officials. when current fbi officials ended up going forward with those exact moves. take a listen to dick durbin. >> we are inviting a political disaster if we put kash patel into this job. i know you want to be loyal to your president. i know you want to vote for all of his nominations. i know none of you want to call from elon musk reminding you what he might do to somebody who votes the wrong way. but this really gets down to the heart of the future of an agency that is critical to the security of this nation. >> now, kash patel, jose, his confirmation appears to be headed toward approval as well. but there are some late questions based off of his financial disclosures, as well as these brought up by dick

durbin, that could potentially still hold up his confirmation. we are still waiting for multiple republican senators to commit to approving him. but as you're watching this kennedy confirmation vote unfold here in just 24 hours after the confirmation of tulsi gabbard, outside of matt gaetz, who ended up not going to a confirmation vote altogether, it appears that the cabinet that donald trump wanted is, by and large, going to be the cabinet that he is going to get. >> yeah, and i mean, just just lobbing an accusation of perjury. it seems like that's pretty intense. did the senator back that up? what he specifically stated was perjury. was perjury. >> he said that he has multiple whistleblowers who have come forward to him because he, kash patel, under direct questioning during his judiciary committee hearing, directly said that he had not directed, as a private citizen anybody currently at the

at the fbi to take any official actions. but what dick durbin is alleging is that kash patel had a conversation with deputy chief of staff stephen miller at the white house, who communicated with emil bove at the department of justice, and that 24 hours after kash patel testified here to the judiciary committee, is when the those eight senior fbi officials were placed on administrative leave and other fbi agents who were part of the investigation into january 6th were ordered to. those names are ordered to be delivered here. and so this is going to be senator booker, we're watching this really kind of you're watching senators in real time, going back and forth between the kash patel debate that is taking place ahead of that vote that we expect here in the next hour, and going to the floor to cast their votes for the kennedy confirmation process right now. >> boy, thank you very much for giving us an explanation of all the different, i guess, puzzle

pieces that are going on right now in the senate. it we can we can report that in the judiciary committee of the senate. kash patel's nomination was given the green light to now go to the next process. but charlie, just wondering, with all of these things happening at the same time around the senate, one of the surprises, i guess, yesterday was and we're just hearing about that right now, senator mcconnell and his decision to break, essentially with his party vote against tulsi gabbard for director of national intelligence. it seems as though that may be a question mark for today's vote on rfk jr, but are you watching for any other surprises? >> not really. i mean, i thought maybe this ship has already sailed. i certainly thought that rfk jr and kash patel, as well as pete hegseth, would all have

challenges with their confirmation simply because of their qualifications. and but the white house has been able to get senators to fall in line. and i think it seems like it's a fait accompli right now that these that these nominees will be approved. maybe mitch mcconnell votes against rfk jr or the vaccination issue. but i think many senators are taking a great risk voting for some of these nominees who clearly are not qualified. and should bad things happen in those departments or agencies, they may be held to account for it. but right now, expect everybody to be confirmed. charlie, how do. >> you think that could happen? i mean, once these decisions are in, these votes are taken. it just goes on. what price do you think they could pay? >> well, i certainly think that those those senators who are up in 2026 are certainly most exposed. in the event that you

know that there's a major failure at some of these departments or agencies that many, i suspect voters might, you know, come after the very senators who voted to confirm some of these folks. so that's how it happens. but generally, you know, most senators of the same party of the president typically want to give that president their team. but ordinarily, a president of the united states is going to send over nominees who are at the very least qualified, set aside the politics. you can always object to somebody's politics. but in the case of rfk jr, you know, with the anti-vax positions and frankly, i'm amazed that he is having that he this this confirmation is going as well for him as, as it is because he's got enemies in the a.g. and the food industry, pharmaceuticals, public health, you know, the right to life movement. he has a disparate group of enemies out there, you know, who could not block his nomination. so he's got some power in the white house, basically is enforcing with these senators. they're telling

them that we want our people and they'll be consequences if you don't support them. >> yeah, i mean, those are huge forces against rfk jr. you know, you have pharma and you've got some big ag and you've got so many different forces. and yet, susan, you know, the president picked rfk jr to be a disrupter. in his initial confirmation hearings, kennedy said he would follow science and distance himself in many ways from prior statements he made about vaccines. but once he's confirmed, what are you watching for from rfk jr? >> well, just to go back to why president trump picked rfk jr. for this important job, one reason is because he has a political debt to robert kennedy jr. robert kennedy's endorsement of him brought some critical votes to president trump in the november election. and i think that was more important to trump than either the opposition from big pharma or the support he had from the anti-vaccine community.

you know, the administration has made some promises to these senators about the policies that will be pursued when he's actually in office, including not trying to discourage people from getting the polio vaccine or the measles vaccine. but but we'll see. this is a huge, sprawling department. and he will be in charge of it in, in very short order. and there was a time when his name was first floated for this job that people in washington thought it was not possible that he would get it. but but here we are now. >> yeah. and we're told that senator mcconnell actually voted against rfk jr. just moments ago there at the senate floor. so, charlie, are you surprised, meanwhile, that kash patel isn't really finding massive amounts of resistance? i mean, he is clearly from the democrats, but but very little from the republicans in the senate. >> yeah, i am i am a bit surprised to be perfectly candid. yeah. he again, he's another one of the nominees whose qualifications have been

called into question. he's made numerous public statements about about the fbi that were very disparaging. i think shutting the office down in washington, he made all kinds of strong statements. basically, a person who wants to go to torch the very the apartment he's supposed to lead. so i am really surprised by that one, and especially now that we're hearing of all these stories of fbi agents, you know, being brought back for vetting, you know, certainly all those involved with the january 6th investigations, as well as many fbi agents overseas who are being called back for vetting. so, again, i am really surprised about kash patel having such a relatively easy confirmation glide path here, given so many of his public statements. but again, the white house is essentially making it pretty clear to senators there will be consequences if they don't support him. but there's a lot of risk involved with this

particular nominee, to be sure. >> and susan, meanwhile, as we speak, linda mcmahon is facing questions from lawmakers as part of her confirmation hearing. it comes after the president has pledged to dismantle the department of education, which he called yesterday, a con job. that's kind of an odd dichotomy there. >> yeah, to be nominated for a job that you're supposed to get rid of, that is an unusual situation in washington, but we live in unusual times. she is actually one of the less controversial nominees by president trump for his cabinet. so at the moment, we don't see big trouble for her. and, of course, republicans have wanted to dismantle the department of education basically since it was created. maybe they're now finally in a position to bring that, to bring that about. >> you know, charlie, i'm just wondering politically, it's such a different set of circumstances as far as power and authority,

that this president trump has over the republican party versus the first president trump. >> of course. and in fact, what's i think most disturbing about what i've been watching in washington in the last couple of weeks is that the executive branch is usurping congressional authority, whether it's dismantling an agency like usaid, an agency that was both authorized and funded by congress, to have it dismantled by an executive through dodge, i think is, you know, it's an egregious action. and there have been other actions taken, for example, they're talking about, you know, this, this offering, this retirement or resignation incentive. but the problem is, you know, the government's not funded through september of 2025, how the congress has to authorize and appropriate that money. it hasn't happened. where are they going to get the money

to pay these people? i mean, these are just basic questions that i have, and i suspect many people close to this process have. how does this work? i mean, the executive is just doing things that it does not appear to have the authority to do. and, you know, congress needs to push back as article one, you know, power of the purse authority. they should be pushing back very hard on many of these decisions, just simply to protect their institutional interests and prerogatives. >> and, vaughn, let's go right back to you, where it looks as though senator mcconnell is up to now, the only republican has voted against rfk jr, right? >> lisa murkowski, who, of course, along with susan collins, had joined mitch mcconnell in voting no against pete hegseth, just cast her vote and she is a yes vote. and so that, along with susan collins and bill cassidy, clearly indicates that kennedy is on his way to being confirmed here by the senate. we watched several of the senators here leave the judiciary committee to run just down the down the halls over to

cast their votes, including josh hawley. so we expect them to come back before they finish up their business here as it relates to kash patel. but as we're watching this vote here unfold, i just think it's important that we note the extent to which for president trump here he is. you know, he said this from the outset that during the transition process that he wanted to ensure that he had individuals who he had the utmost faith in, that they would be loyal to carrying out his agenda. and those ultimately were the types of names that he selected. and now the republican majority that they were able to secure during these ms. slotkin, no. ms. klobuchar, no. mr. whitehouse, no. >> and it looks as though right now the vote is 54. rfk jr you

know, susan, i'm just struck by the historic uniqueness of that. we're very probably going to be seeing in 2025 a kennedy in the cabinet of the united states, and that kennedy is robert f kennedy jr. his father was a cabinet member under jfk2 rfk s in cabinet, far different political parties and persuasions. >> yeah. different parties. i mean rfk jr opposed by most of the members of his own family. we saw caroline kennedy schlossberg come out with quite a fierce statement opposing opposing his confirmation here. so divided family still a powerful name. you know, kennedy is still a name that resonates in american politics. but this is this is quite the turn. you

know, ron talked about how this is or maybe it was charlie, how how we're seeing trump have so much more power in the republican party than and in the republican congress. and he did the first time around. we're also seeing him. here's another difference. we're seeing him pursue bigger ambitions in a more concerted way. so in some ways, we are way past caring. the first trump administration with the second one, the second one is more organized and more determined and has fewer foes in its own ranks. those who are not loyalists need not apply for these top jobs, and a compliant congress. so far, that is raising no objections to what the president wants to do. >> yeah, and i mean, susan, not only that, but it's made up of such a different, you know, let's repeat the words makeup as it was trump one. i mean, you have you have the rfk junior wing, you have the tulsi gabbard wing. i mean, these are totally

in a way different groups and, and, and organizations that than in trump one. >> yeah. and they, they bring very distinct agendas and histories and views of things like the role of the intelligence agencies. tulsi gabbard has a very different view of that than the people we've seen before. lead. the intelligence agencies are, on the whole question of vaccines and medical research, even if even if our kennedy junior follows his commitments that he made to senators to, for instance, follow the science, he brings his own views to these issues, and i assume we're going to see them put into practice to at least some degree when he takes over there this afternoon. >> you know, i'm just thinking of i know you spoke with rfk jr some time ago, and you asked him about some of the controversial, i guess, views or statements that he had made in the past. what are you thinking when you see how rfk jr has described and

defined how he feels about issues in these different committees and processes that he has gone through? >> he is i think it's important here. there's a confirmation process that is a part of this. and clearly there is an acknowledgment that despite decades of work in which he actively sought to block the approval of vaccines, sought to take vaccines off the market, and even at the height of covid, actively was seeking for the fda to stop its emergency authorization of covid vaccines. and then, even after they were available on the market, he and his nonprofit petitioned the federal government to remove covid vaccines from the market. and yet, what we have heard from him in those months, including the day after the election in november, when i talked to him down at mar a lago, when he openly suggested that he was open to serving in this administration, i was very explicit with him. would he seek

to remove any vaccines already on the market from being available? and he said no, that americans should have the right to get a vaccine if they so desire. at the same time, there are a lot of layers to that. and overseeing these 13 health agencies, there are serious questions that particularly democrats, but some republicans that they openly brought up about the ways in which he could seek to use the levers of these agencies to block and ultimately, as he said, the science will prove the extent to which vaccines are safe. and he kept coming back to that in a way that i think that it turned a lot of heads. and even among bill cassidy suggested that there was a potential that he could get in the way through hhs over the next four years in terms of the availability, especially in the case of another pandemic, that there could be major repercussions. and yet, what we saw him do time and again over the course of these last three months was commit to ensuring that americans have access to the

vaccines. >> vaughn hillyard, if you would stay with us, but susan page and charlie dent, i thank you both so much for being with us this morning. we're, of course, keeping an eye on the senate floor. we're going to bring you the very latest results as soon as they come in. but up next, we're following breaking news from munich. a suspected attack when a car plows into a crowd, injuring dozens. just hours before vice president vance landed there for a major security conference. plus, president trump calls it, quote, the big one. what we know about his announcement on reciprocal tariffs just two hours from now. and later, what hamas just said about the hostage release scheduled for saturday. you're watching jose diaz-balart nice to meet ya. watching jose diaz-balart reports on msnbc. my name is david. i've been a pharmacist for 44 years and i'm from flowery branch, georgia. when i have customers come in, i recommend prevagen. number one, because it's effective. does not require a prescription. and i've been taking it quite a while myself

and i know it works. and i love it when the customers come back in and tell me, "david, that really works so good for me." makes my day. prevagen. for your brain. ♪ who knows what tomorrow will bring ♪ (dog whines) ♪ but as for me ♪ (knock at door) ♪ i'll wait and see ♪ ♪ and maybe it'll bring my love to me ♪ ♪ who knows ♪ ♪ who knows ♪ when you live with diabetes, progress is... having your coffee like you like it without an audience. ♪♪ [silence] the freestyle libre 3 plus sensor tracks your glucose in real time so everyone else doesn't have to, and over time it can help lower your a1c confident choices for more control of your life. this is progress. learn more and try for free at freestylelibre.us ♪♪ zyrtec allergy relief works

fast and lasts a full 24 hours so dave can be the... deliverer of dance. ok, dave! let's be more than our allergies. zeize the day with zyrtec. when you really need to sleep. you reach for the really good stuff. zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. its non-habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. tap into etsy for home and style finds like custom shelving for less than 50 dollars to make more space. or linen robes under 75 to get you cozy. for affordable pieces to help you welcome big changes, etsy has it. 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. is facing this

political moment and where it's headed next. the blueprint with

jen psaki. listen now. >> celebrating 50 years of music live featuring arcade fire 352 backstreet boys, bad bunny, bonnie raitt, brandi carlile, chris martin, dave grohl, david byrne, devo, eddie vedder, jack white, jelly roll. lady gaga, miley cyrus, mumford and sons, post malone, the roots. only on peacock. >> 26 past the hour. breaking this morning out of germany. at least 28 people are injured after a car plowed through a crowd in munich. in what officials say appears to be an intentional attack. police have arrested the suspected driver. you can see them searching the car in the aftermath. the street littered with debris. the attack comes as world leaders, including vice president j.d. vance, are gathering in munich for a security conference. joining us now, nbc's courtney kube in munich. courtney, what more are we learning? >> yeah, jose, i don't know if you can see behind me, but a vehicle has just arrived to tow away that white mini cooper. it's been here on scene all day since it crashed into a group of

people who were gathered here at this intersection. as you mentioned, all of the personal items were also strewn about the street all day. authorities now picking some of those up, in fact, bagging some of them as potential evidence. but this white mini cooper, it plowed into a group of people today. they were protesting here at this intersection, calling for higher wages. it's not clear, though, at this point, if this individual who crashed into these these pedestrians did so because they were protesting or if they simply presented a target of opportunity, a large group of people who were all gathered together in a small space. what we know so far about this suspect, jose. he is a 24 year old afghan man. he applied for asylum here in germany but was denied asylum. local authorities were aware of him because of his history of some offensive, some criminal offenses, including drugs. but again, at this point, the big question. why did he do this?

and did he target these people who were protesting here this morning? jose. >> and so, courtney, they do have him in custody. >> that's right. is he after the crash, police took him into custody. we don't know anything. if he was injured or anything. i can tell you, if you look at the vehicle, the front windshield is smashed in completely. presumably where he struck people as he was driving through the crowd. but at this point, we don't even know the individual's name. all we know is, again, he he was known to local authorities because of some criminal activity in the past. and he's a 24 year old man from afghanistan. >> jose courtney, qb in munich. thank you so very much. we're keeping, of course, an eye on the senate floor where the vote on whether to confirm rfk jr. as secretary of health and human services is underway. we'll bring you the results as soon as they come in. up next, the israel-hamas ceasefire has been on shaky ground. why? that might be about to change. plus, what defense secretary pete hegseth

said just moments ago about president trump's talks with vladimir putin about the war in ukraine. you're watching jose ukraine. you're watching jose diaz-balart reports on power e*trade's easy-to-use tools make complex trading less complicated. custom scans help you find new trading opportunities, while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. e*trade from morgan stanley. when emergency strikes, first responders rely on the latest technology. that's why t-mobile created t-priority built for the 5g era. only t-priority dynamically dedicates more capacity for first responders.

pack today. just call 888434. stay dry. >> let's go right to vaughn hillyard. vaughn. the senate has decided. >> by a 5248 vote. robert f kennedy jr has been confirmed as the next secretary of health and human services for the trump administration. the sole no vote from the republican conference was mitch mcconnell, the former senate majority leader, whose no votes now on pete hegseth, as well as tulsi gabbard and robert f kennedy jr. clearly having little sway or influence over the other colleagues that he once served as senate majority leader, really taking the upper hand on votes like this. but what we have seen him do now on three particular votes is vote no. at the same time, he was unable to get any other republican senators, from bill

cassidy to lisa murkowski to susan collins to vote no as well. and so robert f kennedy jr, who is not a trained health expert, who is going to be ahead of these 13 health agencies, really in a remarkable fashion, from democratic presidential candidate to independent presidential candidate, to endorser of donald trump, somebody who says that he intends to make america healthy again has been a long time vaccine skeptic who has sought to use his organizations to remove vaccines from the market, yet also has called attention to issues of obesity, obesity and the various ingredients that are american food and drink products. he is somebody who has galvanized a coalition and a following across the country of individuals that may consider themselves liberals, others, conservatives, and was able to put together a in the senate, a republican conference that ultimately backed his confirmation. no democrats voting to confirm him. but this is for robert f kennedy jr. a

major win for him and his movement, one that he made very tactfully when he endorsed donald trump. and there were some that questioned the move and the extent to which trump would actually reward him with a cabinet position. but the now president did just that, nominating him for this position. and the republicans outside of one vote stood in his defense and voted to confirm him to serve in this capacity. >> vaughn hillyard, thank you very much. i want to bring in talk about these and a whole lot of other developments. richard haass, president emeritus of the council of foreign relations. and, richard, i really appreciate you being with me. there is so much to talk about, but i want to focus first on the issue between hamas and israel. there was the president of the united states said just a couple of days ago that if all the hostages weren't released by this next saturday, all hell would break loose. how do you see that tactic? and it seems as though hamas may be saying,

well, we're going to be releasing some of the hostages on saturday after they had expressed doubts. >> they probably will. the israelis were having special meetings, prepared to resume military action as soon as the weekend. my guess is the first phase of this agreement will continue to happen. by the way, a lot of prisoners will be released. the numbers are far in that direction. and then the question is what happens next? phase two gets more complicated because you need complete israeli military withdrawal. you would have to have an open ended ceasefire. i think that's more skeptical, more skeptical of that. and i think hamas may decide they're not going to be the problem. maybe let israel be the problem because they're still real issues of difference between prime minister netanyahu and his government. >> and then you have the whole issue of gaza and what happens in gaza going forward. the president of the united states also throwing out this idea, just it seemed, out of the blue for many of the united states, having the united states authority take the gaza strip

and redevelop it and move up to 2 million palestinians from their. how does that play? >> well, the short answer is that's not going to happen. but what's interesting is that the other possible explanation for hamas showing a little bit of flexibility in the hostage exchange is the jordanians, the egyptians, the saudis and others are talking about how to respond to this trump proposal that none of them, like none of them, wants. none of them likes. and it's quite possible, they told hamas. let's keep the focus on this, and let's keep the focus on what happens and come up with an alternative, if you will, to mass deportation. let's come up with a governance and security and political proposal for gaza. and my guess is that's where hamas and the rest of the arabs are going to be going. >> why has. >> this not been considered or talked about before. >> this being. >> the pan arab? oh, well, talks have been going on. but but this specific issue is something that

nobody talked about before. >> well, there's been a little bit of talk. obviously the saudis had said, if you want us to normalize with israel, we need a day after plan. we need something about a palestinian state. i think what happened is the trump proposal. they'll scramble the eggs completely. you saw the discomfort of jordanian king when he was in the oval office the other day. he said he wants to talk to his egyptian counterpart. so i think that's what's happening, is that the trump introduction of this outside idea has changed the political dynamics. and i think the arabs basically have come to the point of view. you can't beat something with nothing. so i think now they want to come up, come up with something in a hurry. >> richard, the importance and the significance of saudi arabia in all of this. there was clearly discussions, talks underway before october 7th between saudi arabia, israel, certainly the united states, the biden administration was involved in that. all these things changed afterwards. but but the importance of saudi and also the historic importance of egypt, which if you look at it, really doesn't seem to play any

geopolitical importance, but its history certainly gives it. and then the king of jordan as well. >> look, egypt was the first arab country to establish peace, peace with israel. it's about a quarter of the arab world in terms of demography. right. it's lost a lot of its political weight to the saudis and others who have the economic power. so it is also have the holy places of islam. and they're in some ways, they've taken over leadership to the extent that it exists in the arab world. the uae also has a big role. jordan is important simply because it's next to israel. it's probably, what, 60% palestinian now. it was the second arab country to establish peace with israel. and i don't think the israelis want to destabilize either jordan or egypt. so in some ways, they're a little bit uneasy with some of these threats of deportation because of what it might do in the in the neighborhood. so, again, i think what's so interesting about the trump proposal is not that it's going to happen is what it might set in motion in response to it. >> do you see any reason to be optimistic in this? >> words like optimism in middle east rarely get uttered in the

same sentence or paragraph. look, i think, though, there are some reasons to be optimistic, the military situation in the region has so shifted given the weakening of hamas, the weakening of hezbollah, the disappearance of the syrian regime. >> iran being so effective, iran. >> so i think there's real diplomatic openings with iran to maybe get a new nuclear deal. president trump has talked about that on more than one occasion, what he calls a verifiable nuclear agreement. and second of all, there ought to be possibilities on the israeli-palestinian front, again, for the reasons we're talking about. if people don't like the trump proposal, and i think for good reason, hamas is weakened militarily, iran is weakened. there's an opening here. and the real question, i think, is whether israelis are willing to seize it and whether you can find palestinians enough of them who are willing to offer to stand up and offer an alternative to the violence and terror of hamas. so there is a, you know, optimism may be too strong a word. possibilities. absolutely. >> richard haass, it's great seeing you. thank you very much for being with us this morning. today, president trump praised

his talks with russian leader vladimir putin as he pushed for a deal to end the war in ukraine this morning. trump wrote on truth social, quote, great talks with russia and ukraine yesterday. good possibility of ending that horrible, very bloody war. this comes as defense secretary pete hegseth said it's, quote, unrealistic and objective for ukraine to restore what its borders were before russia's invasion. just earlier this morning, the secretary addressed what concessions the u.s. might be willing to make as part of the talks. >> these negotiations are led. >> by president trump. everything is on the table. in his conversations with vladimir putin and zelensky, what he decides to allow or not allow is at the purview of the leader of the free world of president trump. so i'm not going to stand at this podium and declare what president trump will do or won't do, what will be in or what will be out, what concessions will be made or what concessions are not made. >> joining us now is nbc's keir simmons. keir. what more do we know about the conversations

between president trump and putin to deal with the issue of ukraine? >> well, just a quick note. fascinating listening. you listening to you talk to richard haass there and talk about saudi arabia. and then a note, saudi arabia was involved in these negotiations that led to this phone call between president trump and president putin. so while the crown prince of saudi arabia was dealing with all of that, that you were talking about just a moment ago, he was also in negotiations with the trump administration and with the kremlin. that tells you something about how incredibly complex, dynamic and developing the world is right now. and that's true, too, for this ukraine situation. i think one of the things you heard from the secretary of defense there talking about saying, well, it's going to it's up in the end to president trump is that there are many of these pieces that they don't know. but what we did have today was the secretary of defense, and he's talking right now again, reiterating some of

the basic tenets that he put laid out yesterday. that won't were not easy listening for the europeans and certainly not for the ukrainians. everything from no admission to nato for ukraine, 5% defense spending for europe. he did say, i think it's important to point out he did double down on the trump administration, america's commitment to nato and article five all defend each other. if you want to just quickly summarize it that way. so, you know, it's not in a sense, you can say it's not as bad as some things president trump has suggested in the past. he could do. however, there is deep concern about the implications for ukrainian sovereignty in that. president trump called there was a phone call between president trump and president putin first, before the conversation with president zelenskyy. a big question about whether ukraine will be at the table, the secretary of defense saying today that ukraine will play, of course, a part in this.

the spokesperson for the kremlin, dmitri peskov, saying, yes, of course ukraine will be involved. but the question is how will ukraine be involved or will this be to a greater or smaller extent at the us and russia kind of deciding together and then involving ukraine later as, as seemed to happen in the past 24 hours? there's lots of other aspects to it. the secretary defense today suggesting that funding for ukraine from the us could still be a possibility. so this kind of potential economic aspect, with the idea that there might be some sort of deal with ukraine's rare earth minerals, that that's another piece of the puzzle, too. again, things are moving very quickly and bruisingly for president zelensky and many european leaders right now. >> keir simmons, thank you so very much. really appreciate it. plus, coming up, several u.s. attorneys across the country have been told they are being terminated. what they all have in common. watching jose

diaz-balart reports on msnbc. >> consumer cellular. ranked number one in network coverage and customer satisfaction. >> hi. my friend linda has you guys and gets way better coverage than i do. >> sounds like linda has you beat. beat. >> only for more than a decade farxiga has been trusted again and again, and again. ♪far-xi-ga♪ ♪far-xi-ga♪ ask your doctor about farxiga. if you're looking for a medicare supplement insurance plan that's smart now... i'm 65. and really smart later i'm 70-ish. consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan from unitedhealthcare. with this type of plan, you'll know upfront about how much your care costs. which makes planning your financial future easier. so call unitedhealthcare today to learn more about the only plans of their kind with the aarp name. and set yourself and your future self up with an aarp medicare supplement plan

from unitedhealthcare. a natural vegetable laxative ingredient. gentle, between molly leaving and mom's osteoporosis, i thought life was gonna slow down. boy, was i wrong. if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and are at high risk for fracture, evenity® can help you rapidly build new bone in just 12 months. evenity® is the only bone builder that also helps slow bone loss. and it's proven to significantly reduce spine fracture risk. she said the evenity® she's taking builds new bone. builds new bone! (squeak) so...yeah...we still bike, babysit, and brunch with the ladies. evenity® can increase risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from a heart problem. tell your doctor if you have had a heart attack or stroke. do not take evenity® if you have low blood calcium or are allergic to it, as serious events have occurred with evenity®. signs include rash, hives, swelling of the face or throat,

which may cause difficulty in swallowing or breathing, muscle spasms or cramps, numbness, or tingling. tell your doctor about severe jaw bone problems, as they have been reported with evenity®. report hip, groin, or thigh pain. unusual thigh bone fractures have occurred with evenity®. ask your doctor about building new bone with evenity®. at bombas, we make absurdly comfortable socks, slippers you'll float in, and underwear and tees that feel like clouds... no, bunnies. visit bombas.com and get 20% off your first order. announce new reciprocal tariffs on us trading partners this afternoon. this comes as we're getting a new look at where things stand on inflation. and with us now ron insana, cnbc senior analyst and commentator. ron, it's always a pleasure to see you, my friend. so what exactly are reciprocal tariffs and what do they mean for consumers.

>> well, so anyone who. >> in fact charges tariffs or other taxes on u.s. goods that are imported to their countries will face a reciprocal tariff here at home. so in other words, we'll be taxing any goods that come from the likes of the european union and other countries at the same rate. and that could, of course, push up inflation for consumers, because it's another way of taxing imported goods. whether or not it stands remains to be seen. my colleague eamon javers at cnbc is reporting that while the president is announcing them today, they may not be implemented until april 1st. so there could be some room for negotiation here between now and then. >> so, ron, there are a ton of countries that have different tariffs on us products but have no tax implications for their products into our country. >> in some cases that's true. or that the taxes are tariffs that we impose are in the neighborhood of 2 to 3% versus 10 to 15% overseas. so what would happen was our tariffs would rise to meet the level of their tariffs reciprocal as it's

defined. and so that would ultimately raise the cost of those goods coming in. there will be some negotiation potentially over this. india's prime minister is here today talking about that directly with the president. they do tax us goods. i believe it's something like 14% in some instances coming into their country. so there's going to be a lot of room, hopefully a lot of time for negotiation. this doesn't go into effect right away and raise consumer prices immediately. it would be something that would defeat one of the president's stated goals of lowering inflation upon taking over the white house. that has yet to happen. >> ron, great to see you. i thank you very much. appreciate it. thanks. new changes coming to the justice department. a number of the nation's 93 u.s. attorneys were informed they were being terminated, according to two sources. one of the sources said one of the fired attorneys received a letter that read the move came at the direction of the president. joining us now, nbc's ryan riley. also with us, barrett burger, a former federal prosecutor. ryan, how are officials inside the justice department reacting to this news

and how widespread is it? >> we're still trying. >> to determine that, jose. honestly. so i think five is the number that we've been able to confirm thus far. but the thing about this is that it's not coming from within the justice department. and that's the major departure here. this is coming directly from the white house. in fact, a white house official sent this message to some of these terminated u.s. attorneys saying that they had been terminated. and that's not how this has been done in the past. even in trump's first term. that was an action that came from then attorney general jeff sessions asking people for their resignations. there weren't these immediate termination notices. and so this is definitely a departure, and it comes amid this enormous moment of upheaval at the justice department and the fbi. when you had a criminal defendant who someone who's a criminal defendant just a few months ago now at the reins of the white house. and, you know, obviously targeting doj, which he has a lot of deep grievances with. >> and so, barrett, is it unusual for an incoming administration to remove some of the previous administration's

representatives in the legal system? >> it's not unusual for an incoming administration to want to put in their own u.s. attorneys. that happens in almost every new administration. i think what is unusual here is exactly as ryan was saying, usually that directive would come from within the justice department, not necessarily from the white house. i think the other difference is in how it's being executed. what we've seen in the past is saying, you know, we'd like your resignation. we'd like a period of time. i believe it was either in the obama or the biden administration, where they gave up to like three weeks for them to have really an orderly transfer to make sure that nothing fell through the cracks. and i think that's what we're hearing is not necessarily happening here. so the fact that it's coming straight from the white house makes it seem even more political. but having new u.s. attorneys happens with every administration. >> and so, barrett, i mean, a legal victory for the trump administration, a judge ruling that the president's buyout program for federal workers can proceed. it comes after the office of personnel management says about 75,000 employees out of the i guess what 2 million that were offered are taking

that offer. what's the significance of that? >> so it is a legal victory, but. >> with an asterisk. so the court didn't actually rule on the legality of the program itself. it didn't say whether this program is enforceable or legal or not. what judge o'toole's opinion said is that these particular plaintiffs, and that was unions that represented federal employees, that these particular plaintiffs didn't have standing. so the judge said that because they didn't have a likelihood to prevail in the suit, because they didn't have standing, and because that court didn't have what's called subject matter jurisdiction, it couldn't proceed. what that means is that potentially future lawsuits could proceed if there was a different plaintiff, for example, an individual that was actually impacted by this as opposed to just a union, if it was an individual that brought this suit and they went through the proper administrative processes first, perhaps that lawsuit could proceed. this doesn't give a lot of comfort for people that either accepted the buyout program or rejected

it, or people who are just concerned about the legality of it, but it doesn't necessarily shut the door to future lawsuits. >> so is there a concern for the people that took this buyout that that will be, in fact, carried out? >> i think there's a lot of uncertainty for people who took the buyout program at this point as to whether that's actually going to be enforceable, as to whether the president actually has the authority to promise them money in the future when that hasn't been, you know, okayed by congress, who really traditionally has the power of the purse and the power to make these kind of decisions. i think there's a lot of uncertainty. while this ruling from judge o'toole was something that i think the white house can point to as a victory ish, it's not a total and complete victory, right. >> riley and barrett, thank you so very much. really appreciate it. a look now at the senate floor where just a short time ago, senators voted to confirm rfk jr. as secretary of health and human services, we'll talk about that and more with california senator alex padilla next. you're watching jose next. you're watching jose diaz-balart reports on ms

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. the best moments deserve the best eggs. especially when they're eggland's best. taste so deliciously fresh. with better nutrition, too. we love our eggs any style. as long as they're the best. eggland's best. 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!

odors. made with unique ingredients, it's 100% ingredients, it's 100% satisfaction ♪♪ huh, noom has glp-1 meds now? yes, noom combines medications with healthy habits so you can lose the weight and keep it off. yeah, glp-1s starting at $149. that's noom smart. noom. the smart way to lose weight.

craig here pays too much for business wireless. so he sublet half his real estate office... to a pet shop. there's a smarter way to save. comcast business mobile. you could save up to an incredible 70% on your wireless bill. so you don't have to compromise. powering smarter savings. powering possibilities. switch to comcast business internet and mobile and find out how to get the new samsung galaxy s25+ on us with a qualifying trade in. don't wait, call, click or visit an xfinity store today. my hand. darling. >> 54 past the hour. back to our breaking news from washington. just moments ago, the senate voted to confirm robert f kennedy jr to be health and human services secretary. and the senate judiciary committee has just voted to send kash patel's nomination to be fbi director to the senate floor. with us now is california democratic senator alex padilla, who sits on the judiciary committee and has been moving back and forth at breakneck

speeds throughout the day. i really appreciate you coming right in and speaking with us, senator, with us, senator, i appreciate that. i know you just voted against kash patel. why. >> of course i'll say happy to go from committee to the floor and to come here to you. w did i vote against kash patel? i mean, he is completely unfit for this role. you've been talking earlier about the. no. the lack of independence now of the department of justice. overall, the fbi especially, it cannot be under the white house's thumb. that's not how we achieve justice in the united states of america. but if you look at president trump's pick from attorney general bondi, his selections for deputy attorney general, fbi director patel, these are people who are going to be far from independent. they claim to want to depoliticize the fbi when their history, their track record, shows that they're going to be doing the exact opposite. and they already are, from rounding up the names

of people involved in january 6th investigations, the investigations into president trump, the classified document handling case, or anything else. the u.s. attorneys that are being dismissed, and more. it is a worrisome days at the fbi. and kash patel does the opposite of give us confidence that he's ready for the job. >> and so i know that you also voted against robert f kennedy jr to be health and human services secretary. you also called him unfit and unprepared. what are, senator, the factors that you consider when you decide whether a nominee is fit and prepared? >> look, it's especially for health and human services, right? we've been through a health pandemic where we have a the bird flu that's just recently been transmitted now to humans. we need somebody at the helm of hhs that is not a conspiracy theorist. that's what rfk jr. has become when someone who is not going to peddle in misinformation and try to profit on fear and misinformation,

that's what rfk has done. when he's someone who supports science and data, the safety of vaccines. and by the way, as we're entering this budget season, someone who's going to stand up to defend medicare and medicaid, rfk junior in the confirmation hearing made it abundantly clear he doesn't understand either. so it is worrisome. but i'm not just calling on the president to try to see the errors of his ways. i'm calling on senate republicans to stand up and do what's right. protect your own constituents. if it means standing up to trump. >> and, senator, that seems that other than mitch mcconnell, because i'm just thinking of these issues. for example, the rfk junior vote, mitch mcconnell was the only senator in this case to vote against him. tulsi gabbard, he's the only one that voted against her. and so it seems as though and mitch mcconnell doesn't have a reelection issue, right? i mean,

he's pretty much not he's his career in the senate is done after this term. how do you describe the political atmosphere that you and your colleagues are living under? >> yeah. look, it's i'm not going to lie and say that it's not frustrating because it is. we've seen the threats. we've seen the dangers. we've seen the attacks coming out in these early days of this session of congress and the second trump administration. but for those of us involved in public service, and we know the job is important, and it's especially important in times like these to continue to fight back and to push back in any way possible. so given the rules of the senate, we will legislate when and how we can use our leverage points to keep the worst things from happening. but we know we're in the minority. and so at the same time, we are going to work with outside partners to litigate and try to push back on what's unlawful, what's

unconstitutional. it's not a surprise. there's been so many temporary restraining orders issued by judges, democrat appointed and republican appointed in response to so many of the executive orders in trump's early days. but at the same time, we need to continue to educate and make the public aware of what's going on, what it really means. so community by community, we continue to organize and advocate and frankly, start getting ready for the midterm elections that are going to be just around the corner. >> senator alex padilla, it's always a pleasure to see you. i thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. you can always reach me on social media at balart. and you can watch clips from this show at youtube, at msnbc.com. thank you for the privilege of your time. up next, ali vitale talks to kevin hassett, director of the national economic council, about the president's coming announcement on reciprocal tariffs. ali picks up with more news