biggest issues of the day with the msnbc daily newsletter. get the best of msnbc all in one place. sign up for msnbc daily at msnbc.com. >> all right. that's going to do it for me tonight. i will see you again tomorrow. and every night this week at 9 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. in the meantime, you can always find me on blue sky. if you don't have blue sky yet, why don't you try it? it might not make you want to die. i'm on blue sky at msnbc.com. i find it to be a more constructive experience there than on other social media properties. that's just what i think. msnbc.com way too early with ali vitali is next. >> to the extent that the. >> white house. >> said that ukraine started the war, i disagree. i think vladimir putin started the war.

i also believe. through bitter experience that vladimir putin is a gangster. he's a gangster with a black heart. he makes jeffrey dahmer look like mother teresa. he has stalin's taste for blood. and as i've said in another context, i wouldn't. >> i trust this. >> guy like i trust gas stations, sushi. >> the always colorful. republican senator. >> john kennedy of louisiana. >> pushing back there. >> on donald trump blaming ukraine for russia's invasion. the question. >> is, will republican. >> lawmakers continue to support. ukraine financially? >> plus. >> delta is offering a lump sum. >> for the passengers. >> who were on the plane that crashed, landed and flipped in toronto. >> the question is. >> was that offer reasonable? >> and president. >> trump declared himself the king of new. >> york after his administration terminated the federal approval for congestion pricing. the question is, will the courts reinstate that controversial.

tax on drivers? it's way too early. >> for this. >> good morning, and welcome to. >> way too early, the show that never trusts. >> gas station sushi. >> i'm ali vitali. >> on this thursday. february 20th. and we'll start with the news. >> president trump escalated his rhetoric on the ukraine war yesterday, falsely claiming that president volodymyr zelensky of ukraine is a dictator. >> it came in a long. >> post on truth social yesterday morning that included a number of inaccuracies. and then last night, trump essentially repeated the post while speaking publicly at an event in miami. >> a dictator without elections. zelensky. better move fast or he's not going to have a country left. got to move. got to move fast. i love ukraine, but zelensky has done a terrible job. his country is shattered and millions and millions of people have unnecessarily died. and you can't bring a war to an

end if you don't talk to both sides. you got to talk. they haven't been talking for three years. >> we're going. >> to dig into the ripple. effect that comments like that have. but first let's do a fact check on some of the claims that president trump made about zelensky and the war in ukraine. the president said zelensky talked the. u.s. into spending $350 billion. >> that's false. >> america's response to the war has totaled $183 billion. through september 30th of last year. trump claimed the u.s. has spent $200 billion more than europe. but according to the kiel institute, the u.s. has actually spent $18 billion less than european donors. trump said america will, quote, get nothing back from the money it's spent on the war. that's misleading. according to a 2024 report by the american enterprise institute, 70% of ukraine aid has been spent in the united states or on u.s. forces. a lot of that money has gone to domestic weapons manufacturers. trump said zelensky claimed he's missing some of the money sent to him. that comment is also misleading. earlier this month, zelensky told the associated

press he has only received about $75 billion from the u.s. and not the 183 billion that's often cited as what congress appropriated. >> but not. >> all of that appropriated money is supposed to go directly to ukraine. data shows ukraine has, however, received $106 billion in direct aid from the u.s. trump said zelensky refuses to have an election and is low in his country's polls. that's inaccurate. a recent poll shows zelensky has a 57% approval rating among ukrainians. elections in the country have been suspended under the martial law that's been in place since the war started. and finally, trump falsely claimed millions have unnecessarily died as a result of the war. president zelensky shared an update earlier this month that 45,000 ukrainian soldiers and 350,000 russian soldiers had been killed. and the united nations estimates that more than 11,000 civilians have died. while that figure is likely underestimated, it's still far less than the millions that trump claims to have been killed in this conflict. and then over on.

>> capitol hill, some republicans. >> were critical of the overall message that trump's comments send to russia, but stopped short of criticizing the president himself. >> would you call. >> president zelensky a dictator as president trump has? >> well. >> i like i said, the president speaks for himself. >> i do. >> not agree. >> that presents. zelensky is. >> to blame in. >> any way. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> president trump weighed in. excuse me by russian. >> i absolutely. >> would not say. >> that zelensky. >> started the war. it is. >> quite clear. >> who started the war. >> it was. >> absolutely russia at. >> putin's directive. >> i don't. >> think that there should be. >> any. >> confusion with that. >> quite clear who started this war. trump's comments are also facing criticism from two of his former 2024 primary rivals, including his former number two vp, mike pence, who wrote in a

social media post, quote, mr. president, ukraine did not start this war. the road to peace must be built on the truth. and former u.n. ambassador nikki haley said, quote, these are classic russian talking points. exactly what putin wants and exactly the kind of criticism that haley lobbed a lot during her primary challenge. i was out there with her almost every day. joining us now, national political reporter for the wall street journal, ken thomas. ken, let's just start with the republican pushback that we're seeing there on the way that trump is now framing this war as something that ukraine started. we know that's not true. but then also the way that he seems to be villainizing zelensky. now, they've, of course, traded barbs over the way that these talks about talking about peace have started between the u.s. and russia. but do these kinds of criticisms from capitol hill fall on deaf ears within the white house? >> they really do. and for. >> the most. >> part. >> they're fairly muted. >> i mean, we. >> saw, you know, john thune, the majority. >> leader, say. >> that trump needs. >> to have. >> some space. >> lindsey graham. >> who is often, you know, has

been. >> a hawk on this issue for years. >> saying, you know, let trump negotiate. you know, there's. >> a roger. wicker or someone. >> like that who. >> you know, has been very critical of, of putin. but, you know. >> right now, i think, you know, there's just this fear among our allies that this. whole world. >> order that. >> we have established. >> since world. >> war two is changing. and that, you know, the. us is not going to be a reliable partner going forward. >> but then you also have the vice president, jd vance, ratcheting up and really echoing what trump himself is saying. he said in an interview zelenskyy is attacking the only reason. >> that his. >> country exists publicly right now. he says it's going. >> to have. >> the opposite effect. it's disgraceful. what's vance's role in all of this? is he just someone who's going to just amplify what the president is saying about zelenskyy and on the world stage? >> yeah, i. >> think. >> he's going to. >> amplify and. enforce trump. i mean, we saw him in munich, you know, really rattling a lot of our allies with with his comments there. and he's also going to be the person who's

dispatched to capitol. hill to try to keep. >> you know, republicans in line with. >> what trump wants to do. but, you know, right now, i think you're going to see a real concern growing, you know, that, you. >> know, essentially with with. >> zelensky. >> you know. >> meeting with keith kellogg today, he was certainly. >> not at the. table in riyadh for those talks, the direct talks that the us had with russia. so, you know, i think there's just this fear that this idea of. nothing about ukraine without ukraine. >> yeah. >> which was established during the biden administration. >> all of that is. >> just completely off the table. >> yeah, i can imagine that. as a white house reporter, you're having whiplash following the policy because it really is just such a 180 in terms of the way that this white house is orienting itself on the world stage, especially in regards to russia and ukraine. while we're tracking that, i think we're also looking to see at home the continued efforts by d.o.j. you've been tracking them. they've had a series of events in the course of the last two weeks. of course, most of their actions are being held up in court, but then also firings

that shouldn't have actually happened. and then they have to backpedal. do those kinds of mistakes give them any pause about the very bombastic way that they've gone about these cuts? is there any sign that they'll pull back a little bit? >> i mean, i think. they're plowing forward and they will basically need the courts. >> to. >> you know, step in. and even then a lot of the damage. >> has. >> been done. i think they're they're going to continue to move forward with these these proposals. you know, they've been at the social security administration, for example. but, you know, you. are seeing some weariness on capitol hill. we're starting to see some members of congress on the republican side, especially, you know, start to speak more publicly about the role that congress should have in all of this. so maybe there is pushback coming from congress, but right now, they're pretty much free, despite the courts to continue to move ahead. >> also, has the white house given any clarification on who's actually running dodge, since apparently it's not elon musk? >> well, you know, you saw that court filing where, you know, musk. was was, you know, identified as a senior advisor.

i think, you know, for everybody else, though, it's semantics. i mean. >> musk is still the. >> person driving that train, and they still have not picked an administrator. so, you know, i think i just really think that was an issue of semantics. musk is the person here. >> semantics. >> and i asked barbara mcquade this week, is it legal sleight of hand? and she basically said, well, you can't lie when you're submitting something to the court. so it really does present a quandary. but you're right, in practice in the oval office, in all of these other capacities, musk is the guy behind this effort. ken thomas, thank you, as always for joining us. still ahead this morning, the latest. from israel as hamas hands over the bodies. of four hostages, including some of the youngest victims of the october 7th attack. plus, president trump calls. >> himself a. >> king as as his administration moves to end new york city's new congestion pricing plan. what the new york governor is saying about that? those stories and a check on sports and the weather when we come right back.

>> what was it like when trump got elected? what was the 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 >> and for more in-depth reporting, f at harbor freight, we design and test our own tools and sell them directly to you. no middleman. just quality tools you can trust at prices you'll love. whatever you do, do it for less at harbor freight. ♪♪ head & shoulders is launching something huge. ♪♪ the bare minimum. anti-dandruff shampoo made with only nine ingredients. no sulfates, silicones or dyes. and packaged with 45% less plastic.

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1-800-403-7539. that's one 804 037539. >> hamas says it's handed over the bodies of four israeli hostages in gaza this morning, including a mother and her two children who were kidnaped during the october 7th attacks, as well as an elderly man. the times of israel reports the identification process is expected to take several hours. in another staged handover, hamas loaded their coffins into red cross vehicles in the southern gaza city of khan younis. the coffins themselves were labeled with a picture of each hostage and a propaganda message, while a large poster in the background blamed israel for their deaths. delta airlines is now offering passengers who were on the toronto flight that crashed and flipped upside down $30,000. it wasn't immediately clear how passengers can claim their money, but if all 76 passengers take up the offer, delta would have to pay out nearly 2.3 million in total. the airlines also telling them that the offer has no strings attached and does not affect rights. so far, all but one of

the injured passengers have thankfully been released from the hospital. right now, the cause of the crash remains under investigation and back up in new york, the judge overseeing the federal case against the new york city mayor, eric adams, is delaying a decision on whether to grant the department of justice's request to dismiss the case against him. at a hearing yesterday, the judge questioned the acting deputy attorney general who originally ordered the charges be dropped. he said he believes the case would hinder national security and immigration efforts by the trump administration. mayor adams lost his security clearance as a result of the last of last year's federal indictment. he pointed out the judge also questioned mayor adams directly, confirming that he understood the charges against him could be refiled by the doj in the future. the judge indicated he would have a final decision soon, saying it's not in anyone's interest here for this to drag on. key story there. and then president trump, also keeping it in new york, declared himself a king as he celebrated his administration's bid to end

federal approval of new york's congestion pricing. he wrote on truth social this congestion pricing is dead. manhattan and all of new york is saved. long live the king! the congestion pricing program was approved under the biden administration after years of challenges, and it was implemented last month to raise money for the region's aging mass transit system. in a letter to new york governor kathy hochul, transportation secretary sean duffy called congestion pricing a slap in the face to working class americans and small business owners. in response, hochul vowed to fight the trump administration in court, saying new york is not ruled by a king. >> i'm here to say york hasn't labored under a king in over 250 years, and we are not. we sure as hell are not going to start now. i don't care if you love congestion pricing or hate it. this is an attack on our sovereign identity, our independence from washington.

and this is. we are a nation. we are a nation of states. this is what we fought for. this is why people like alexander hamilton and others fought for to set up a system where we are not subservient to a king or anyone else out of washington. >> tough talk from hochul there. and then the mta also pushed back and announced they would continue to collect the tolls until a federal judge tells it to stop. still ahead this morning, we're going to turn to sports. and king james had two chances to send the lakers game into overtime. we'll show you if lebron got it done. plus, major league baseball is back. sort of. we'll preview that matchup and get a check on the weather forecast when we come right back. but first we want to know why are you awake. email your reasons to. way too early@msnbc.com. or tell me on social media at ali vitali using the hashtag way too early. we'll read our favorite answers later in the show.

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number one in network coverage satisfaction. visit consumer cellular com today. >> doncic. lakers are down by three. here's lebron going to get a good look at it straight away right there. still with an opportunity to tie the game. and charlotte holds on and wins on the road. >> can't hit. >> them all. but lebron james misses. >> two. >> potential game tying three. pointers in the final seconds of the lakers loss to the charlotte hornets. los angeles made just 15. >> of 51 shots. >> from beyond the arc last night, blew a double digit lead in the third quarter. >> and. >> lost 100. >> to 97. >> a man was ejected from the dubai tennis championships this week following a visceral reaction to his presence by former u.s. open champion and former u.s. open champion emma raducanu. the 22 year old player broke down in tears at the start of her second round match on tuesday, after apparently

spotting the man among spectators. she then approached the umpire, appearing to explain the situation, and hid behind the umpire's chair. the women's tennis association released a statement explaining raducanu was approached in a public area on monday by a man who exhibited fixated behavior, and that this same individual was identified in the first few rows during emma's match on tuesday and subsequently ejected. the association said he will be banned from all wta events pending a threat assessment. so sorry she had to go through that. today, then, marks the first day of major league baseball preseason, the world series champion los angeles dodgers and chicago cubs will take the field at camelback ranch in arizona this afternoon in the first spring training game of the year. the dodgers and cubs get a one day head start on the rest of the league to make up for travel plans next month to japan, where they'll compete in the regular season opening tokyo series. and tonight, boston's td garden will be the battleground for canada and the united states in what the new york post calls the most

hyped game on american soil since the miracle on ice. in what will be a rematch of saturday's melee in montreal, the puck drops in hockey's four nations face off final at 8 p.m. eastern. and time now for a check on the weather. let's go to meteorologist angie lastman for the forecast. angie, what do you got? >> hi there. >> ali. >> good morning. >> to you. we've got. >> no surprise. >> more wintry weather. >> we're going to start to see the snow winding. >> down. >> but not. >> before. >> we get a. >> little more through the day. >> today, 36. >> million. >> people. across parts. >> of the appalachians, the mid-atlantic. >> included in. >> this the snow. not all that impressive. but as the day goes on. >> we'll see. >> what was that system that we dealt with yesterday? >> get farther off the coast. but these cold winds. they take shape and leave us with some. >> of. >> those snow. >> showers. specifically across parts. >> of the great. >> lakes and of course. >> the appalachians. >> now. >> as. >> we get through. >> the day. >> today. >> that will start to wind down and. >> we'll see improvements. >> with our sky conditions and such. >> what we don't see improve. >> is the cold weather that really. >> got our. >> attention over the past. >> couple of days, and we

continue. >> to see these cold weather alerts. >> for more. >> than 90 million people. >> temperatures right now zero. >> degrees in minneapolis. >> but feeling like 14 below. we've got. >> three in tulsa. >> feeling like -13. >> even dallas. >> you're waking up to. >> a wind chill temperature of. >> zero degrees. >> bundling up. >> is the only. >> option today. >> even into the. >> afternoon hours. >> these. >> temperatures still. >> single digits for places. >> like des. >> moines, indianapolis. >> into the. >> 20s. >> we. >> see daytime. temperatures in new york, high 20s dallas. you just get. 30 degrees for your high today. >> even tomorrow morning. >> temperatures into the. >> single digits for wichita. >> midsection of the country is really. >> the chilliest. >> but this. extends all the way out to the southeast. >> even into tomorrow afternoon. >> 30 for the middle of the. >> country and 20. >> for some spots. we'll see some improvements eventually. this really starts to happen as the weekend. >> wraps up. >> so between now and. then we've got. >> temperatures into. >> the 30s. >> for chicago. we're back to. >> the 40s though by monday. >> cleveland. >> similar story. >> for you. you get. >> into those 40s. >> on monday as well. >> cincinnati and. >> saint louis. you're back to the. >> 50s, even new. york city. >> you end up. >> into. >> those mid 40s. >> that's going. >> to feel. >> balmy when you consider where we've been. >> over. the past couple. >> of days. >> ali. >> so we'll finally start to see.

>> temperatures get. >> back to normal. >> still fairly typical. for this time of year. >> but we'll. >> take what we can get. >> at this point. >> yeah, i'm going to i'm going to take 40 at this point. you make it sound good my friend. thank you. of course. still ahead this morning we'll get the latest from capitol hill as senate republicans move ahead with a budget plan. despite president trump endorsing the work from house lawmakers on the other side of the building way too early. comes back with that too early. comes back with that in head & shoulders bare. clinically proven dandruff protection with just nine essential ingredients. no sulfates, no silicones, no dyes. ♪♪ dandruff protection, minimal ingredients. job done. 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! 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

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1-800-403-7539. that's 1-800-403-7539. >> donald trump is. >> defending the mass firings of federal watchdogs. >> our federal. >> government now can discriminate against the citizens of the country. >> we are. >> all watching and waiting to see who is going to hold the line. don't miss the weekends, saturday and sunday mornings. >> at 8:00. >> on msnbc. >> this show. >> began and. >> continues being the. >> place to have. >> the hard conversations. >> welcome back to way too early. it's almost 530 on the east coast. 230 out west. i'm ali vitali. the senate is

pushing ahead with kash patel's nomination for fbi director, despite being one of president trump's more controversial picks. senators are expected to hold a final confirmation vote later this morning. patel is expected to be confirmed today unless more than three senate republicans vote against him, which at this point appears unlikely. senate republicans are also planning to move ahead with a vote on their budget plan, despite president trump endorsing the house's version. trump posted on social media yesterday, quote, the house resolution implements my full america first agenda everything, not just parts of it. we need both chambers to pass the house budget. now, trump is referring to the house's plan of incorporating most of his 2025 agenda. that's immigration tax cuts, energy production and more into one single bill. this is the whole idea of one big, beautiful bill that we often hear lawmakers talk about. the senate's version, however, would split trump's priorities into two different pieces of legislation. in response to the president's comments, senate majority leader john thune said trump has made it clear for a long time that he would prefer one big, beautiful bill. and we're fine with that, too. but

we believe that the president also likes optionality. joining us now, congressional reporter for semaphore, eleanor mueller. eleanor. does he like optionality? i mean, the vice president was on capitol hill yesterday. it seemed like it was going to be for a finger wagging at this two pronged approach that the senate is doing, but they're going ahead with it anyway. explain what happened. >> you know, senate. >> republicans came out of. >> that room saying that vance. >> had. >> basically implied to them. >> that they may as. >> well move forward with. >> their budget. >> resolution, if. >> that's the. >> approach that they think. >> is fit. but, i. >> mean, everyone's. >> seen it at this. >> point as a. >> backup to the house bill. >> which obviously. >> has. >> the weight of the. >> president behind it. >> it has the weight of the president behind it. but senators don't always love. at least typically being told what to do that directly by the white house. yet in this case, they seem to be kind of going along with it. >> yeah. i mean, i think they think that he has a huge popular mandate by the. american public. and at the end of the day, it's him they're trying to please with so many of these proposals. and so, you know, may as well fall in line while at the same time, you know, not losing face

by being able to go forward with your own proposal that you've drafted. >> because right now, what the senate budget committee has is a bill that really targets immigration first. and that's one of the key differences with how the senate is going about it compared to the house. they're putting more money into immigration enforcement. graham has been one of the drivers behind this. do you think that this is ultimately the bill? if you had to put money on it that ends up going through, or do they actually do the house big beautiful bill option? >> my guess would be they move. >> forward with. >> the house option. that's certainly where momentum seems to be right now. you know, the house would do not only. >> these border. >> defense and energy proposals, but then also all of the tax cuts that trump is looking to both extend and then create. and that's going to be much easier for johnson, even. though he's still working on getting all of his members in line. you know, he can really only afford, some people say to do this one time. and so that one bill is going to make it much easier for him versus having to move half of it now, half of it later. >> and that's always been the strategic break point between

the way the senate views this and the way that the house views. this senate view is like, let's do the easy part that we all agree on first. the house is like, no, no, let's get it all done together because we can only afford to do this once. so there's what the senate is doing. they'll move forward. they'll do something called a vote a rama, which could be politically problematic. but where is the house on this? because the budget passed out of committee. but what next? so there's. >> still i mean, johnson is using this week to. >> bring over. >> all of those, you know, republicans who have expressed skepticism of the bill. some of them are from more moderate districts, and they're concerned particularly about cuts. to medicaid and other, you know, social safety nets that primarily benefit lower income people. trump last night said that he might entertain the idea of medicare and medicaid cuts. then he later walked that back, said just medicare. so it seems for now, medicaid is safe. but regardless whether or not johnson can walk that line to bring people on board, i think remains to be seen. well. >> it's. >> especially because. >> the way that that budget is written right now, it tasks

people to take what people expect would be i think it's like $800 billion out of medicaid funding. i mean the president now is he aware of that? i mean, it also includes cuts to snap other other pieces that are going to be kind of hard to defend for republicans, especially if all of this is just a preamble to we want to cut taxes for the wealthiest. >> i think that was part of the concern with the senate passing this bill. now, was that so many moderates on the house side who had their concerns about these heavy cuts would look at that and say, you know, we'll wait until that version gets to us and then vote against johnson's much more aggressive version. and so part of what we're seeing from senate republicans now is urging the house to basically come up a little bit on the spending level, give a little more room to do more tax cuts, to do fewer cuts. so we'll see where they end up meeting in the middle. >> we'll see where they end up. and then finally in the last few seconds we have. do you expect any surprises on this kash patel confirmation? >> i think everyone i've spoken with expects him to be confirmed. you know we are. it is worth noting that we're in a much different environment now

than we were with the first 18 of trump's 22 nominees. you know, with all of the layoffs and the buyouts happening at the federal agencies, i think democrats now are much more skeptical than they were when folks like even rfk jr. were up for a vote. so we'll see how heavily that factors. >> yeah. regrets. they have a few, especially those who cross party lines, to vote in good faith on some of these nominees. they're now seeing that maybe they wish they hadn't done that. certainly some of them have said as much. eleanor mueller, thank you for joining us. still ahead this morning, we're going to go live to cnbc for an early look at what's driving the day on wall street. after the s&p 500 closed at a record high. plus, the federal reserve might not cut interest rates again. we'll dig into that. and the concerns officials have about the impact on the economy. we will be right back. >> there's a lot going on. there's a lot going on every day. you are the only person who

has the power to effectively fire mayor eric adams and remove him from this position. are you feeling differently about that responsibility? what are you expecting from the trump administration on ukraine? what do you make of this existential question about whether or not court rulings are going to be treated as optional? why do you think the u.s. government is sending immigrants to guantanamo? watch what's happening in the country and watch what effect it's happening on politics, because politics is how this will turn around. >> consumer cellular. >> ranked number one in. >> network coverage. >> and customer satisfaction. hi. my friend linda has you guys. it gets. >> way better coverage than i do. >> sounds like linda. >> has you beat. >> only in coverage. >> and plans. >> and plans. >> start at some people have minor joint pain plus certain stomach problems. they may not be able to take just anything for pain. that's why doctors recommend tylenol. it won't irritate your stomach the way aleve, advil or motrin can. for trusted relief, trust tylenol. power e*trade's easy-to-use tools, like dynamic charting and risk-reward analysis, help make trading feel effortless. and its customizable scans with social sentiment

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julianna tatelbaum live from london. julianna. the s&p 500 has posted its second consecutive winning session after hitting another all time high. so what should we expect today? >> wasn't just the s&p yesterday. ali. it was also the dow and the nasdaq that eked out gains. >> so investors. >> looking through. >> all of this. >> uncertainty from a policy perspective and. >> putting some. >> more. >> money back. >> into the stock market. >> in terms. >> of focus today. >> we've got weekly. initial jobs data to look out for. >> at. >> weekly initial jobless. >> claims. >> i. >> should say. >> consumer confidence for the. >> month. of january. get a sense. >> of how consumers. >> are feeling. >> we're also. >> going to hear from some. >> key fed. >> speakers and also walmart earnings. >> but then investors speaking of, the fed are digesting newly released minutes from the federal reserve's january meeting. what's the latest on the fight against inflation there? >> well. >> that's. >> exactly why these comments. >> today from various fed speakers. will be in focus. >> because yesterday. >> the meeting minutes from the last fed meeting, suggested that. the fed is happy.

>> to remain. >> in wait and see mode. >> when it. >> comes to the. >> policy path. from here. they are. >> keenly watching inflation. >> policymakers expressed. >> concern that. >> tariff and immigration. >> policy from the trump administration does present an. >> upside risk. >> to inflation. they added that their current policy level allows the central bank. >> time to assess the. >> evolving outlook. >> so they don't think there's. >> a. big risk in waiting at. >> this stage. >> despite the fact that the president is urging them to keep dropping rates. that's a tension point. but then there's also this from president trump. the idea of distributing a portion of d.o.j. savings to americans. we don't even know how much doge has actually saved because of the lack of transparency. but how realistic would something like that even be? >> well, it's. >> a. great point that i think we have to take all of this with a grain of salt, because we don't know what those savings will look like yet. we don't know how much doge will be able to continue doing. but it sounds. >> like this idea came. >> through on the x platform. elon musk having an exchange on

the platform that gave him the idea to float. >> to. >> president trump to distribute 20% of the doge savings to american citizens. that would amount to a. >> $5,000 dividend check. >> that's how he posed it. again. >> we don't know. >> we don't have any clarity on whether these numbers actually hold. but we. did hear president trump yesterday. in miami speaking to a fii summit that there is under consideration a new concept where we give 20% of the doge savings to american citizens and 20% to paying. down debt. this is very much an evolving story. nothing concrete here, but something to watch. >> yeah, something to watch. but really, the big question is 20% of what? we still don't know what the number is that they're actually pulling from here. cnbc's julianna tatelbaum live from london. thank you, my friend. discussion about reproductive health care in america. as lawmakers in one state propose creating a registry of women who are, in their words, at risk of getting their words, at risk of getting an abortion, that's next. [♪♪]

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1-800-403-7539. that's 1-800-403-7539. >> we're going to start with breaking news on capitol hill. >> mounting questions over the future of tiktok in the us. >> reporting from philadelphia. >> el paso. >> and the palisades, virginia. >> from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. >> donald trump is. >> defending the mass firings of federal watchdogs. >> our federal government now can discriminate. against the citizens of the country. >> we are all watching and waiting to see who is going to hold the line. don't miss the

weekends, saturday, and sunday mornings at. >> 8:00. >> on msnbc. >> welcome back. state lawmakers in missouri are weighing a controversial new bill that would establish a registry of pregnant women who are, quote, at risk of seeking an abortion. the so-called save missouri babies act does not actually explain how the state would determine if a woman is at risk of seeking an abortion. the bill sponsor, a republican, says his goal is to streamline adoptions and lower costs. according to the state department states department of health and senior services, there were just over 3000 abortions in the state in 2022. that's a 62% decrease from 1999, which saw more than 8000. joining us now, president and ceo for the nonprofit organization reproductive freedom for all. mini timmaraju many missouri, of course, one of the states that is the most restrictive on abortion and has been over the course of the last few years. but talk about the consequences that this kind of a bill would pass, and the way that it could be a blueprint for

other states. well, i'll add for context that missouri is one of the states where we won a statewide ballot measure to protect abortion access, and yet you have. a republican. controlled legislature that is doing everything they can to undermine what the people have said they want. is this is another example of where attacks on democratic processes and reproductive freedom intersect. but what's really scary about this legislation, and it's similar legislation that we've seen in other places, is that it would really create. a database for the state to monitor and control and. >> track women in. >> their state and their. >> pregnancies. >> and. >> it opens the door for so-called fake. >> pregnancy centers. >> crisis pregnancy centers. to be the ones running this platform, running that data, and therefore really getting into coercive and problematic. >> tactics to. >> persuade pregnant women that they. should place their children under adoption. one of the. >> champions of the bill.

>> called it a, quote. >> eharmony for babies. >> which is just outrageous. and everyone should be paying close attention. because this is how anti-abortion and anti-family, let's call it what it is. you know, they're. >> for actively. >> separating children from families. >> this is how. >> they get around. >> what the people of their state. >> have asked for, which is abortion access for everyone. >> and i also. >> think that for people who wonder, well, the dobbs act came, the dobbs decision came out of nowhere. this stuff starts at the state level. it is done in a way that it's meant to be challenged up the court systems for the possibility of setting new precedents. obviously, in 2022, we saw that in real time. but then i also want to turn to something that the white house did just yesterday, putting out an order to say, let's explore what it would look like to cover more on ivf. you've warned people to be careful of what they read into that. why? >> so we. >> have a strong we're strongly skeptical of this trump

administration. you know, in. >> 2025. >> no matter how. >> much distance he tried to create between him and project 2025. >> we now have russell vought. >> the architect. >> of it, running. >> omb. >> in project 2025. they already introduced the concept of. fetal personhood. life begins at conception. >> it is. >> the belief system that has made the majority. >> of the. >> evangelical and conservative. republican base. >> against ivf, right. they believe that ivf is against, you know, god's will. >> so how do you. >> reconcile the. >> fact that you have a trump administration, a candidate. >> now, president. >> trump. >> who. >> spent. >> the entire. >> election trying to distance himself from his base, but just a few weeks ago, and i know you covered this. >> they put out a trans an executive. order targeting trans people. >> in this country that actually had. >> personhood language. >> in. >> it, that had a line in it about. >> life begins. >> at conception. so i guess. >> my warning pulling. >> out from all. >> of this is.

>> we got to watch really carefully what they're doing. an executive order like. >> this has. >> no power. >> has no impact. >> it's just a soft, soft ball to try to persuade a certain population of americans that donald trump is keeping his promises. right. and we covered the ivf executive order yesterday where it basically says, hey, in 90 days, give me some language and ideas on how you could better expand coverage or access to ivf. but i agree with you. the central contention here has always been that for those who believe that life begins at conception, ivf created embryos are directly in contrast with that. and i have not yet heard republicans grappling with that issue. in fact. just i think last week. >> in the senate. >> budget committee, patty murray introduced an. amendment on ivf that not one. >> single republican. >> voted for. so we're. >> going into budget reconciliation. >> this week. >> i believe you're going. >> to. >> see similar action on the floor. >> tammy duckworth had. >> a bill. not one. >> republican supported it. >> so i think that tells you everything. >> you need to.

>> know about where the republicans are on ivf. and then very briefly, we also might see this come up in budget conversations with republicans as they question whether or not they can defund planned parenthood through that. >> yeah. >> i think. >> we're going to have to watch out for that. i mean, we're seeing a lot of aggressive. campaigning and lobbying by anti-abortion extremists. >> on that issue. planned parenthood. >> is the most. >> well. >> beloved brand of reproductive health care in this country, and we've got to fight to protect it. and it's not just abortion care. this is where people go for basic health care. >> and actually. >> this. >> quote. >> defunding is actually about whether patients can choose planned parenthood for birth control and cancer screenings and other. >> really important. >> health care. yeah. we're also going to see a similarly related case at the supreme court in the spring. i know that this was an issue we talked about a lot during the campaign. it seems to have faded now, but i think it's really important for people to understand the landscape still very much active. mini timmaraju, thank you for joining us. and earlier in the show, we asked you, why are you awake this morning? one viewer tells us their one and two year old

minions woke them up this morning. i'm sure the minions are cute though. wendy is up to go to the community center gym and work out with the people who are like a big family. that must make getting up early to work out a little bit easier. you were saying mini, you want to be an early morning workout inspired? yeah, inspiring. >> whitney and tracy. >> is catching a flight to visit her grandchildren have so much fun. grandparents are truly the best. i grew up with mine in my house. coming up next, conservatives will gather in maryland today to kick off the annual cpac conference. we'll go over what to expect and who is set to speak in just a few hours from now. and coming up on morning joe, the latest from the middle east, as hamas has released the bodies of four israeli hostages, including two young children, all as part of that ceasefire deal. israeli president isaac herzog will be a guest to discuss that, and what comes next in his country's efforts to end the war. plus, democratic governor jared polis of colorado and republican governor kevin stitt of oklahoma will preview the agenda for this

week's bipartisan gathering of the nation's governors. also ahead this morning, a conversation with award winning actress daisy ridley about her new film cleaner. morning joe is just moments away. >> consumer cellular is lowering the price for those 50 and up. get two unlimited lines for $30 each. that's just $60 a month. so switch to the carrier ranked number one in network coverage satisfaction. visit consumer cellular com today. this one goes better with the walls. >> this is so much easier than the home. >> improvement store. >> so which. >> would you recommend? >> do you like brown? >> yeah. >> some things are. >> just better at home. >> with empire's. >> home floor advantage. >> you can compare samples in your own space. >> plus, i'll be here to help you with every step of the process. >> do you remember. >> trying to figure. >> out pricing and installation? there's the measurement fee, delivery fee, restocking fee. convenience fee. >> we have. >> clear all inclusive pricing. >> no surprises. and installation is on your

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continues. being the place to have the hard conversations. >> welcome back, nbc news has learned defense secretary pete hegseth is considering firing a number of military generals and flag officers as early as this week. that's according to two defense officials and three congressional officials. those sources reveal most of the military officials have either been closely associated with biden's former defense secretary, lloyd austin, have worked on dei initiatives, or have voiced opinions that were viewed as politically out of line with president trump and his agenda. the generals and flag officers are expected to be replaced with nominees who are closer to hegseth and more aligned with trump. the pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on the story, but this seems akin to what we're seeing also at the department of homeland security. julia ainsley reported on that for us just a few days ago. and then polling shows president trump's approval rating has slipped in his first month since taking back the white house. that's according to a new reuters ipsos poll that says 44% say they approve of the

job trump is doing as president. but that's down from 47% in a poll taken just hours after he returned to the oval office last month. the number of americans who disapprove of his presidency has risen more substantially to 51%, compared to 41%. the poll indicates the majority of americans are concerned about the economy and trump's handling of it. later this morning, vice president jd vance is scheduled to kick off the annual conservative political action gathering political action conference, also known as cpac. it's happening in maryland. conservatives will gather for a celebration of the political right. following president trump's reelection victory last november. the four day gathering will also give trump's allies the opportunity to tout the president's achievements. achievements. just one month into his new administration. joining us now contributing columnist for the hill, matt lewis. matt, you've got a few thoughts about this year's cpac. tell us what you're expecting to see here. >> well, look, cpac is sort of like the right wing woodstock, except, you know, instead of

free love, the currency. >> is grievance. >> and instead of hendrix. >> you're. >> going to get. >> donald trump. a couple. years ago. >> in one of trump's. >> loyalists dubbed it tpac. not the concert, not cpac tpac for trump. and i really think that's apropos. i think. >> that's probably. >> going to be the. >> big theme. >> is how awesome. >> donald. >> trump is. and look. >> you. >> know, he is a. >> he is the president. some of that's to be expected. but the difference is i think. a trump's been around now for 12 years, not just eight, like a two term like a normal two term president. right. and then the other thing, of course, is just the level of sycophancy that is directed at donald trump, you know. >> exceeds what you might. >> have seen in the reagan or bush era, as, for. >> example. >> i mean. i've been going to see pax for eight years now, ten years now, and i think i was at the one that you talked about where they dubbed it cpac. but i actually thought it was so emblematic of the shift that

cpac itself has undergone. it's sort of indicative of the larger republican party movement, because you used to go to cpac and at least hear some divergence of views on what it meant to be conservative or libertarian. now, and this tracks with your new opinion piece out for the hill. you say conservatism used to mean something. now it's just whatever trump says, it's true at cpac. it's true for the party writ large. >> that's right. cpac used to be partly about training activists, right. >> but it. >> was also about debating what we. believe and discussing. >> and debating. >> and you would literally there was a debate, you know, you would. have sam donaldson debating, you know, i can't remember the name of the famed journalist now, bob novak. how could i forget bob novak? >> come on. >> would actually have a debate. and there's no debating that's going to be taking place. but but not only will it be, you know, sort of everybody. singing off the. >> trump. >> you know, song sheet or choir sheet, but what constitutes

conservatism is vastly different, right? so, so back in the day, you know, conservatism was about family values, moral clarity, fiscal responsibility. you know, i have to imagine the gipper is looking down, going. well, at least they still have tax cuts. >> i mean. >> what is it today? and i'll tell you what it is. it's whatever donald trump says it is. >> that's a great partial impersonation that you're doing there. but i guess the larger question here is if this is the current state of the gop, then what do you see for the future of the republican party, especially when being republican really means right now being maga or being shunned? i've always thought about this as it's sort of a cult of personality around trump, who can replicate that going forward. is it vance? is it hegseth? is it someone else? or is cpac even not entertaining that right now? >> i mean, it's going to be a game of thrones at some point. we probably have a couple of years. i'd love to see the cpac in 2 or 3 years, actually.

>> yeah. >> but jd vance is speaking today, i think, and he has an opportunity to become maybe not the heir apparent, but like the conservative movement choice. and there will be a fight, i think, for who succeeds donald trump, will it be donald trump junior? will it be kid rock? jd vance would be kind of. if you're a smart, intellectual right winger, he might be your choice. we're not going back to mitt romney. we're not going back to john mccain. but maybe it will be jd vance. and i'm excited, actually, for the first time in a while, i'm going to see how he does today. it probably won't be my reagan version of conservatism, but there will be i he can talk about ideas. he can talk about philosophy. that's a step in the right direction. >> and certainly that's what we've seen from vance, as he's made his initial forays onto the world stage, sort of bringing his own take on what it means to be america first in the way that

trump deems his party to be now. so certainly watching vance, watching others who might be on that schedule, and also just talking to the more grassroots folks who are there about what they think about this administration, i imagine it's going to be all praise, but it could be indicative of what the next year or two years. and then, of course, the next iteration of the republican party might look like. matt lewis, thank you for joining us with our with your thoughts as always. and that was way too early for this thursday morning. morning joe starts right now. >> trump is also. >> crippling other countries out there, starting with ukraine. this week he sent marco rubio to saudi arabia for russia, ukraine peace talks. >> but ukraine. wasn't invited. that makes it. >> that makes. >> it. kind of hard to. >> find peace, honey. >> oh my gosh, that was the most. >> amazing couple's. therapy today. >> you should. >> have been there. >> doctor. >> brad and. >> i agree everything is your fault. >> oh, and. >> i forgot. i'm leaving you. there you go. but