increasingly deadly toll with now 19,000 deaths from the flu overall this season and 18 pediatric deaths reported just last week. while test positivity rates fell slightly, the vast majority of states reporting high or very high flu levels. >> definitely the most intense flu season in my career. >> at chicago's rush university medical center, doctor nicholas cozzi says kids infected with the flu are getting secondary pneumonia infections, a combo typically reserved for older patients. >> kids are coming in with difficulty breathing. they're not able to drink. they're not able to eat. it's making their heart rate elevated. >> 12 year old taylor mcginnis flew from new york to arizona for a soccer tournament, only to get sick for a week. >> it felt like i just like, was very tired and like, couldn't really move very much. >> meanwhile, chaos rocking federal health agencies with the cdc wild to mild campaign promoting flu vaccines appearing to have been wiped from the agency's site. it comes roughly

a week after longtime vaccine skeptic rfk jr was sworn in as health and human services secretary. hhs not responding to nbc's request for comment on the campaign. >> we have health care workers. >> out here. >> that agency, facing heated protests earlier this week outside its d.c. headquarters after the trump administration terminated hundreds of cdc employees, according to two sources at the agency. hhs, saying in response to nbc news questions about the firings. they're following the administration's guidance and taking action to support the president's broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government. and amid all of this, federal agencies also tracking a measles outbreak in the southwest. new state data shows texas now has 90 confirmed cases, that number nearly doubling in the last week and coming on top of an additional nine confirmed cases just across the state border in new mexico. back to you. >> all right, maggie vespa, thanks for that. the anger heard around the country in moments,

who's getting most of the blame for the trump administration's mass firings of federal employees? good day, everyone from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. welcome to alex witt reports. new today, president trump dismissing joint chiefs of staff chairman c-q brown jr. the country's highest ranking military officer and the second black general to serve in that role. trump announced the nomination of air force lieutenant general dan kaine to replace brown, but his firing comes after secretary of defense pete hegseth criticized brown for allegedly implementing diversity policies, and questioned whether brown had been named chair because he's black. >> the dumbest phrase on planet earth in the military is our diversity is our strength. you've got to fire, you know, you've got to fire the chairman of the joint chiefs, and you've got to fire the i mean, obviously, you bring in a new

secretary of defense, but any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever that was involved in any of the die woke, he's got to go. >> the purge at the pentagon, also including other top military leaders, as well as plans to fire 5400 civilian workers. that starts next week. democrats today accusing trump of the firings because they don't agree with his politics. >> there's never been a president in history who has tried to politicize the military like this. and, of course, the great irony is that he says he's not politicizing the military. he says he's politicizing the military. that's what hegseth wrote about in his book. ali, this is the definition of politicizing our military. and that's dangerous not only for our national security, but for the fundamental tenets of our democracy. >> also new a federal judge blocked trump's executive order ending federal grants and contracts related to dei initiatives. the judge writing the term equity related programs is too vague to be enforced.

meanwhile, democrats are sounding the alarm on republicans sweeping budget proposals that could make steep cuts to critical services. >> where i. >> represent in san diego, 1 in 6 people. >> rely. >> on medicaid for their health care. >> and. >> you know, one of. >> the things i heard from folks yesterday was, while they can find. substitutes for other programs, like. >> if they need to go to a. >> food bank or something, there is no other substitute for getting medical treatment that if they don't have medicaid, they just will not get the medical treatment that they need. >> and newly sworn in fbi director kash patel is planning to send 1000 agents from washington to field offices across the country. no shortage of topics today. we've got several reporters and analysts ready to discuss all of them with us. we're going to begin with nbc's vaughn hillyard, who's in national harbor, maryland. and that is where president trump will take the stage very soon at the conservative political action conference, cpac. so, vaughn, based on what you've been hearing from other cpac

speakers, what can we expect to hear from donald trump today. >> leaving the united states? >> right. i think that this is going to be one month into this administration now, almost, in a way, a trumpeting of what president trump will claim as successes and an execution on exactly what they promised to do on the campaign trail. and that was to reduce the federal government in personnel and spending cuts. as we have watched doge and elon musk systematically work through the departments and agencies to do. we, of course, have watched a litany of lawsuits face the administration. at the same time, in the case of usaid workers, a federal judge ruling just yesterday that the termination or the placed on administrative leave of thousands of those employees may move forward. and we saw in a social media post just a short time ago, the president urging elon musk to, quote, be more aggressive with his cuts. and i want to let you listen, because it's not just president trump from his administration who is here this weekend at cpac, but also the likes of other close

allies, including, of course, tom homan, who has been overseeing the mass deportation program here in this first month. take a listen. >> right now, we're getting a question. well, you said you're going to concentrate on public safety threats and national security threats, but you're arrested on criminals. yeah, damn right we did, because we're in the country illegally, which happens to be a violation of our law. entering this country illegally is a crime. and we're not going to forgive it. >> for the people. >> and for the focus on the domestic policy here at home and the restructuring of the federal government. the mass deportation programs. there is also a foreign international relations component to this weekend here as we speak. i believe at any moment, president duda of poland is actually here in maryland to meet backstage with president trump. i just saw him a few moments ago, a down one of the hallways here, and i attempted to ask him what his message was going to be to president trump.

of course, president duda of poland is been a staunch defender and ally of his neighboring ukraine. and president zelensky at the same time has really struck up a relationship, an amicable one, with then candidate trump appearing at trump tower with him just before election day. but also here in now outside of washington, d.c, to deliver what we would expect to be a message in deference and defense of president zelensky and ukraine as negotiations over a potential peace deal move forward. but we should note that actually, over my shoulder right now, you're hearing giorgia meloni, the prime minister of italy, addressing this cpac crowd of thousands here by video satellite. of course, she is the right wing leader of italy here. and we have watched sort of a coalescing of some right wing leaders overseas. come around. president trump, president of argentina is here as well. this for president trump has been a message, as one speaker suggested, the election of president trump opened the door for others to rally around

internationally, around this modern day conservatism that we're seeing play out here domestically in the united states. alex. >> okay. well, then, based on what your reporting was last hour, we do then expect president trump to take to that stage pretty soon after that videotaped message ends. keep an eye on it for us, as i know you will. we'll see you again. von, let's right now bring in shelby talcott, white house correspondent at semafor. shelby, welcome to you. so elon musk has been the apparent star of this year's cpac. we've seen the images of him holding that chainsaw that's gone viral. but as you write, there is some confusion whether musk is actually in charge, in charge rather of doge, that, of course, the department of government efficiency. so take a listen to how national economic council director kevin hassett described musk earlier this week. >> we're cutting. >> spending with. >> the advice. >> of our. >> it consultant, elon musk. and then. >> we're also. >> looking into. >> supply side. >> things like. >> restoring trump's. >> tax cuts.

>> so when did you learn or what did you learn rather about your question with clarification about musk's role. what what did they tell you? >> well, there really has been no core clarification, aside from the fact that in court filings earlier this week, we learned that elon musk was not actually the official administrator. >> of doge. now. >> the white house. has repeatedly sort. >> of touted. >> him as. >> the head of doge. >> but in these court filings, they make clear that he's not officially in charge. >> of doge. >> he is essentially an assistant to the president. and that's a distinction that's important. >> and what i've also learned is, remember, doge took over something called the united states digital services. so they basically revamped it into doge at the beginning of president trump's administration. and the administrator of the united states post, the united states digital service, actually stepped aside when donald trump took office. and i'm told that no one has filled that role,

which would suggest that there is no administrator of doge at the moment. >> so can you expand on the doge employees, who they are, the ones that are going to the federal agencies and assessing where to cut the budget. i'm curious who has vetted them, who's hired them? who's paying them? is it the taxpayers? >> we don't know a lot about that either. there's a small group of doge employees, and from my understanding, each agency is essentially working with a doge employee, you know, for the social security administration, for, for example, somebody will be onboarded and they will essentially work under the social security administration, but also be a part of doge. so it's kind of unclear. and that's the problem here. that's prompting a lot of questions and a lot of uncertainty into who's hiring these people. where are the background checks? and we don't know a ton about the employees. we know a number of them are young individuals who came over from elon musk's other

agencies. but aside from that, we don't really know too many specifics, quite frankly. >> all right. let's talk about some numbers in terms of the polls showing trump's approval rating dropping since he took office, and this one, according to the washington post and ipsos, that it stands at about 45% for his presidency over this first month. but you remember, at the start in january, some polls showed trump with a positive approval rating. in fact, for the first time in either term. why the drop in support? i mean, isn't he just making good on campaign promises? >> he is. and now support for him is still a few points higher than it was at this point during his first term in office. but there are some warning signs for the president, namely that there is concern from a number of americans that he is using the power of the presidency too much this time around, essentially. and there's also concern that he's not fulfilling his campaign promise to address the high cost of goods on day one, which was something we heard a lot about

the campaign on the campaign trail. so those are the two main things that americans are kind of concerned about. in all of these polls. we saw a slew of polls come out this week with all with pretty similar results. >> what about trump, elon musk, doge? i mean, they've got the thousands of federal jobs so far, and they've said these firings are ultimately going to help the government save money. however, a lot of these workers are going to end up on unemployment. so what could be the economic impact of that? and has the trump administration acknowledged this? >> i don't think we really know yet. and now the trump administration is maintaining that this is what they were elected to do. they were elected. they made clear that they were going to reduce the size of the government. they were going to reduce the size of the federal workforce. and so americans voted based on that knowledge. so donald trump and his his white house is standing by standing behind these decisions, and they're maintaining that, no, this is going to reduce how much taxpayer money is spent every year in the federal government.

but again, we're only a month into this, and doge is technically supposed to go through 2026. so there are still a lot of questions to be to be answered. there's a lot of lawsuits to be to be figured out. and so there's a lot we really don't know, quite frankly, at this point, including how much some of this unemployment, etc. is going to cost taxpayers at the end of the day. >> well, let me tell you, we do know there's some unhappy americans because these doge cuts are creating an uproar all over the country. let's take a listen to the reaction that gop lawmakers got when they hosted some town halls in their home districts this week. listen up. >> i understand. >> trying to do more with less. that's reasonable. what's not reasonable is taking this chainsaw approach. why is this being jammed down the pipe so rushed and sloppily? the people. >> would like to know who the congressmen and your fellow congressmen are going to do to rein in the megalomaniac in the white house. who? >> so how are republicans

responding to this anger and the frustration we're hearing right there from constituents? >> we talked about this a little last week, and there has been growing concern among constituents. and that is prompting some republicans to quietly say, okay, hold on. maybe we need to take a step back. maybe we need to see what what doge is cutting. we need to vote on it. for example, rand paul has said that congress will eventually need to vote on these doge cuts. but by and large, a lot of republicans are kind of shrugging it off. they're saying they're standing by the president. they're standing by these decisions. now, again, is that going to be the case in a month or two from now? who knows? but at the same time, on the flip side, you're seeing democrats kind of coalesce around the frustration that some americans are feeling when it comes to these doge cuts. and that's important to note, because, of course, democrats don't really have a key leader. they have struggled to coalesce around one strategy and one message. and the criticisms of doge is sort of allowing them to do that and kind of get back

together. >> yeah. shelby talcott with sound four. thank you so much. i hope we see you again next weekend as well. joining me right now, we have a misha cross, democratic strategist and former adviser to the obama campaign, and brendan buck, msnbc political analyst and former press secretary to house speaker john boehner. let me get a quick reaction from both of you to what republican lawmakers are saying back in their home districts. misha, you first. i mean, is this something that they're going back to the white house and saying, hey, guys, we have a problem. i mean, did they not see this coming? >> i think that they assumed. >> that it was going to roll off their backs like ducks, that it was going to attack doge, but somehow not stick to congress, because functionally, congress has not made these cuts. we're watching doge do it, but the american people are smarter than they gave them credit for. they are attacking this based on the fact that much of this was already outlined in project 2025. this is something that donald trump supports. he talks about it and touts it on truth, social and fox news interviews and everywhere else. and there is a concerted effort from the president of united states to

ensure that these cuts happen, irrespective of who they actually affect. we're not just talking about federal workers in d.c. losing their jobs. we're talking about federal workers who work in the state. we're talking about the explicit language around cuts to medicaid. we're talking about the explicit language around cuts to food stamps. we're talking about watching what they've done to the department of education, watching what they've done to usaid up to and including some of our medical breakthroughs and marvels when it comes to fighting certain infectious diseases, diseases. meanwhile, watching measles spread in certain communities across this country, i think that the everything is coming to a head very quickly in a way that we are seeing resonate within the general public and a way that we're seeing resonate in donald trump's polling. but it also makes republicans themselves in congress. it puts them on front street because these individuals are hosting forums in their community. they're going to district offices. they're making the calls. they aren't waiting for the democratic party to make moves in terms of stalling what's happening with doge and putting putting the congress in

line. they're actually doing this work themselves. this is a bottom up movement, because the people who are being the most affected are seeing it in their daily lives right now. >> and look, brendan, i mean, privately, you have some congressional republicans. they're kind of panicking about these cuts. they're trying to back channel the white house. politico reports. they're very concerned about the firings of military veterans and employees that are handling the bird flu outbreak. so is the white house going to cave to pressure from elected republicans? i mean, at what point will republicans have to band together and then publicly call out the white house if for no other reason than to save their jobs? >> well, i'll say we're probably. >> a long way from there, but certainly it's much easier for republican members of congress. >> to. >> in theory, like what elon musk is up to. but then once he starts touching things that they care about, maybe the committee they sit on in congress has jurisdiction over those things. and they say, oh, wait a minute, hold on. i didn't know we were

doing that kind of stuff. so i think this is going to be a pretty slow bleed. but fun fact, rich mccormick, the town hall congressman with the town hall that we just showed, that's actually my home rep from my home town and beyond. just sort of that trivia. i think what's what's notable about that is that is an area of georgia that ten years ago was ruby red, and it is one of those suburbs of atlanta that really flipped and was part of that early signs in 2017 that politics had changed quite a bit in a lot of the suburbs. it's now more of a purple district. but it reminds me back to 2017 when trump first came in, you saw these things bubbling up, people who traditionally have been very happy to go along with conservatism, starting to question things. and so keep an eye on areas like that and members like that where they say, hold on like i should be safe in my district, but hold on, if people here are getting fired up in dangerous ways, maybe we need to have a reset on all of this.

>> okay. thank you guys. thanks for the fun fact too about you there brendan on for both of you. do stay with me because we're going to talk about the one part of the budget plan that is raising some concerns for republican house members. so we'll get to that shortly. meantime, who will get hurt the most after the president's comments about ukraine this comments about ukraine this week, we're back in 90s. (man) got one more antoine. (vo) with usps ground advantage, it's like you're with us every step of the way. ♪ (man) cooool. ♪ (man) right on time! (vo) stay in the know. from your dock... to their door. experience advanced technology in the buick envision. (♪♪) equipped with the largest-in-class ultrawide 30-inch diagonal display and google built-in compatibility, innovation is at your fingertips.

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gaza. this in exchange for 600 palestinian prisoners. it was the seventh and final hostage exchange of the cease fire. deal's first phase. on friday, hamas also released the remains of cheri bibas after delivering what it claimed were her remains on thursday until forensic testing in israel discovered it was not her. joining me now is former pentagon deputy press secretary sabrina singh. it's always good to see you, sabrina. so now that the first phase of the cease fire is nearing its end, how might that dispute i just outlined over sherri davis remains and president trump's plans to take over gaza. how could that complicate negotiations for a permanent ceasefire? >> well. >> you know, i think that remains to be seen. i think that's. >> something that both. >> sides are going to have to come to the table. >> and continue. >> the negotiation and path forward to have. >> a lasting. >> and. long ceasefire be put. >> into, be put into place beyond this initial phase one. >> i don't. >> know that we have all the parameters of what a phase two

could look like. so again, that's something that, you know, both sides are going to, you know, probably be meeting with their teams, coming to the table to negotiate in terms of what, you know, this administration has planned. i think you've seen pretty brazen language from the administration, from developing gaza into, you know, expelling palestinians from that territory. again, i you know, i think what we need to see is both sides coming to the table again to figure out how we can make this ceasefire last, and continuing that return of hostages to their families. >> okay. let's move to your reaction to the administration's firing of joint chiefs of staff chairman cq brown jr, as well as the plans to lay off thousands of pentagon civilian employees. is there any justification for these moves? >> look, i mean, i think the purging of top qualified senior military general and flag officers who have served 30 to 40 years in uniform under republican and democratic

administrations. i mean, there was no call for that. and these are some of the very best that our military have in very senior roles, of course, in the most senior being the chairman and chairman. brown. look, this is someone that is battle tested. these are battle tested leaders. and i think aside from their firings, you also had the three jag officers for the army, navy and air force also fired. and those are the people that keep the checks and balances on the system as well. so i think all of this is very concerning. and what you saw was a massive purge. and i think it's important to remember that an apolitical military is the pillar of our democracy. when you start to politicize our military, and that's exactly what you're seeing now, that is going to weaken our military, and that is a threat to our national security. >> so president trump earlier this week blamed ukraine for starting the war with russia. he finally reversed course on those comments yesterday took four days to do it, and the white house refused to co-sponsor a un resolution backing ukraine's

territorial integrity, instead offering a what less specific text defining ukrainian sovereign land while insisting ukraine sign over half of its mineral wealth to the us. given the favorable terms, administration appears to be offering russia and president vladimir putin. how likely is a peace deal to be reached that does not weaken both ukraine and europe's security? well. >> unfortunately, i mean, the rhetoric coming out of this administration is not setting up ukraine to be successful in any types of negotiations. i mean, taking member membership to nato off the table and essentially saying that russia gets to keep all of the territory that it has under its control, that, you know, has been taken from ukraine. i mean, you're just giving chips away to russia and further weakening ukraine's stance at the table. so i'm not sure who we're negotiating on behalf of, but it does seem like every time this administration

speaks on ukraine, you're hearing the parroting of kremlin talking points. and this is exactly what putin wants. and unfortunately, the administration, the president is playing right in to putin's hands. and i think european allies and ukraine are rightfully very scared about that and concerned. >> let me elaborate on that with the new york times, which reports trump is in the middle of executing one of the most jaw dropping pivots in american foreign policy in generations. and former national security adviser john bolton said the president's proposed deal to end the war in ukraine comes pretty close to surrender to putin's objectives. i mean, how do you overall interpret trump's pretty shocking approach to the war? >> i mean, it's hard to interpret. i mean, what we are seeing in real time is an undoing of american foreign policy towards russia for the last 80 years. so to try and understand and get in the mindset of why we are letting russia, who invaded its

sovereign neighbor, have the upper hand at the negotiating table, i think is stunning to everyone and very concerning. and that's why you're seeing, you know, people like john bolton and others, including in congress, speak out against this. >> okay. sabrina singh, thank you so much. little shorter than i anticipated because we do have more breaking news to get to. and this is relative to what moments ago the vatican did, which was confirmed. pope francis condition everybody is critical. announcing he had a respiratory crisis this morning. crowds are gathering today at a hospital in rome. they are praying for the 88 year old pontiff. let's go to nbc international correspondent claudio lavanga, who's going to join me now from rome with the very latest. claudio, i got a readout of it. but tell me what you know about the pope's condition. >> hey, alex. >> well, the vatican. >> is saying that. the pope's condition continues. to be critical, that today his situation has worsened, that. >> he had. >> to receive a blood transfusion because of anemia.

and also, he had to receive oxygen for longer than previous days because of an asthmatic crisis there. now, last night, the doctors treating him in the hospital here in rome said that his condition continues to be critical, but he is not out of danger. they said exactly. these are the words. but they also said that he is not in a life threatening situation, at least up to last night. and then today, the vatican said that his situation has worsened. perhaps the only piece of good news here is that the vatican said that despite this worsening situation, the pope managed to sit in an arm chair in his hospital room like he's done in the previous days, where he was just reading newspapers and he was doing some work, even though the vatican said he was in more pain than the previous days. now, this is, as the doctors explained last night, this is an 88 year old man with a bilateral

pneumonia with a microbial infection, inflammation of the lungs, and therefore it is a critical situation. it has been a critical situation for a few days, but the vatican now say that today it has worsened somehow. >> okay, people are going to keep on praying there and you'll keep reporting for us and we'll keep a close eye. claudio lavanga, thank you so much. we of course, wish the pope a speedy recovery. lawmakers are getting an earful, though, from constituents at town halls across this country. are they being taken seriously? >> all we ask is for you to stand. >> up because we are all >> up because we are all freaking where ya headed? susan: where am i headed? am i just gonna take what the markets gives me? no. i can do some research. ya know, that's backed by j.p. morgan's leading strategists like us. when you want to invest with more confidence... the answer is j.p. morgan wealth management

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new york now he's abusing, in my opinion, the american plants on purpose because he wants to be king. that's right. thanks. >> i don't. >> think that's necessarily true, but obviously. >> president. >> why is this being jammed down the pipe so rushed and sloppily? >> so use a scalpel. i understand is when you say you have this many employees that you have to cut, that organization decides who they're going to cut. now, they may make. >> no covid. >> joining me now, our friend, democratic congressman from california, sidney dove. she is a member of the house judiciary and foreign affairs committees. it's good to see you. the word sloppily, i think let's let's build on that because mass layoffs are expanding across

government agencies. after that, federal judge ruled this week, it's not up to him to temporarily block the move. how are these layoffs and these broader government cuts? how are they impacting your constituents? and do you think americans are getting what they voted for? >> so always good to be. >> with you, alex. >> and i will. >> have. >> to say, all last. >> term republicans were crying. >> about executive. >> overreach. >> and they. >> were reminding the administration about their congressional authority. and now this term. >> they are silent, they are running into the shadows, and they are running away from the truth. but the truth is what the american people are demanding. in my district and in districts across this country, they are republicans, they are democrats, they are independents. they are saying all of these sloppy, illegal, unconstitutional maneuvers are upending our economy. they are costing us more. they are not producing savings, and we do not have a king in office. we have a

president. >> there you go. there's the reaction. so what about the new polling from washington post ipsos? and that finds 57% of americans think donald trump has exceeded his authority since taking office. and you've suggested the u.s. is in a constitutional crisis. i've heard it from others, too, by the way. so with the flood of developments upending the government, where are you focusing your attention? >> well, we know that right now it's litigation instead of legislation, and we are working with the courts. there are over 75 lawsuits now in different courts demanding this administration put a pause on some of these constitutionally questionable actions. what we also know from that poll is that the american people want donald trump to focus on lowering the price of eggs and stopping these planes from falling out of the sky, and they also want him to follow the law. so if the courts rule that he is doing something illegal, they want him to stop

and they want him to remember that we have checks and balances in this country, which include the legislative and the executive branch. he and elon musk don't seem to want to abide by that. >> well, to that end, let's talk about elon musk, because in that washington post ipsos poll, just 34% of those respondents approved the way elon musk is handling his job, 49% disapprove. what job? you might ask? well, national economic council director kevin hassett referred to elon musk as, quote, our it consultant during a press briefing. i mean, why the downgrade of musk's visibly powerful role in this administration? is he maybe concerned that americans are turning on musk? or maybe this is an effort at some sort of a legal cover? >> well, i think it was curious when they had that the reporters in the white house and it was elon musk towering over donald trump who didn't know what to say. and elon's child was essentially telling the president to shut up. people do not want someone who is not been vetted, who has not been hired with proper security clearance,

who they did not elect to be running the show. and now here, this man is doing a slash and burn with government agencies and workers across the country. republican and democrat workers are getting fired and he is taking our social security numbers. he is taking our financial data, and he is giving himself millions of dollars in contracts. i mean, none of that squares. >> well, let me talk about something hitting a little closer to home, potentially because musk's dodge team is now inside fema, and that's preparing for deeper cuts after 200 probationary employees were fired a week ago. and politico reports fema was directed to make a list of anyone who worked on climate or equity for potential firing. so let's consider la's palisades and eaton fires, which erupted just last month. what kind of impact would cuts to fema or complete elimination, as the president has suggested, he wants mean for people impacted by those fires? >> so, alex, first, let me tell you that i've been hearing from constituents who work for the

federal government who are saying they're getting questionnaires, asking them where they fall on the maga spectrum, and if they're not saying they're compliant and complicit with maga, then they're getting terminated without cause. that is a huge problem. i am outside an event right now in my district. there are over 2000 families that are lining up to get resources and support. they are victims of both the palisades and the eaton fires. and they are saying, i need more government. i want fema here. many of them have gotten their applications, you know, approved by fema, and they don't want those workers who are helping them to be fired and to go away. >> can you imagine? because just the red tape and trying to start over with somebody else. okay. congresswoman, then you've got places to go and people to see there in that area behind you. so thank you so much, my friend. it's good to see you. appreciate you every time. meantime, why there is pushback from house republicans over the new budget plan. and it involves high plan. and it involves high profile longtime key (♪♪)

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>> be wise. all take xyzal. >> at night. >> one part of the house republicans budget plan is raising some serious concerns for some gop members. so the budget calls for steep cuts to medicare and food assistance programs. but many gop lawmakers in competitive districts have large numbers of constituents who rely on these services. new york republican congresswoman nicole malliotakis said there is frustration over house leadership not working with those lawmakers and quote, therefore, we are undecided on how we're going to be voting. misha cross and brendan buck are back with me. amisha. speaker mike johnson. he's got no margin for error with his tiny majority. so can he both satisfy president trump's demands and get the votes to pass the bill? and by the way, johnson represents one of the top ten gop districts with the highest shares of medicaid and snap recipients. >> the short answer is no. he would have to lie to somebody, and i don't think that he's

willing to lie to the president. so it's one of those things where he finds himself in a very, very tough spot because on the ground, there are majority republican districts where the overwhelming population that is either underserved, low income or on the fringes, there could be the working poor, are reliant on many of the very programs that the current republican party that the current presidential administration wants to have cut. so on the one hand, he's either going to have to go to his own constituents and lie, or he's going to have to say one thing to the president and do something else to work his caucus. i don't think that he is willing to do that with the president at his sails. this is somebody who has shown himself to be spineless when it comes to facing donald trump. but this is also someone who understands that if he does the wrong thing, that elon musk will use the power of the purse to essentially primary him and anybody else that stands against this, the real pushback is going to come from the individuals in the districts who are willing to show these people the other side when it comes to the midterms, and there are going to be

several republicans who are going to face that, should a budget come that strips them of their health care access. >> so, brandon, if voters see not only chaotic mass firings and cuts to government services, but also reduced medicare and medicaid and consumer costs staying high, how hard might it be for some house republicans to get reelected in the midterms next year? >> well, let me say i don't think they're going to cut medicare. i think they're smart enough to know that that is that is bad politics. mike johnson is i don't think it's appreciated enough how difficult to spot mike johnson is at the moment. and they may figure it out because they frankly have to figure it out. but donald trump is out there calling for balancing the budget. at the same time he said, doesn't want to touch medicare, doesn't want to touch those security. he wants to increase funding for defense. and he's actually said he doesn't want to cut medicaid. well, the house budget calls for $880 billion in cuts to medicaid. none of this adds up. the math does not work. mike johnson is hearing from a lot of

his members already, who are at least publicly saying they have concerns about the budget. those are the moderates who usually keep their opinions to themselves. the fact that you have 8 or 10 moderates who are already out there saying, hold on, this is this is problematic for me, is not normal. and i think that speaks to how significantly they are trying to balance the budget on medicaid alone. you can't just attach work requirements to medicaid and get the kind of numbers they're talking about. and if they don't have moderates on board with this, and they have to dramatically scale back their medicaid cuts, guess what? conservatives aren't going to vote for it. so we got a long way to go. i think this process is not going to go quickly, because if i know anything about the house republican conference, they like to fight with each other. and i imagine we're going to get a lot of that coming soon. and certainly that doesn't lead to good politics either. >> yeah for sure. amisha, let's look at trump's approval rating. it has dipped down to. well, one has 47% in the poll. that's cnn, 45% in the washington post. and that poll found only 34% of

respondents approve of elon musk's role in the government. i mean, it's only been one pretty intense month, but what does this tell you? >> it says that america is waking up, and this is just the beginning. to your point, he's only been there one month. i shudder to think what will happen with those 100 days and what could happen in this budget process and reconciliation. but beyond that, i think that it shows that the american public is showing weariness to the main thing that donald trump ran on the economy. their price of eggs are still high as hell. they have not been able to reel in rent and housing costs. the cost of living is still pretty astronomical for people across this country. but in addition to that, and something we just previously touched on, it's also healthcare costs. many of the healthcare necessities that the biden administration worked to reduce. we're talking about the price of insulin when we're talking about the price of prescription drugs overall. a lot of that has been reversed course. so you have people who are paying maybe $60 for a patient just last year who are now paying hundreds more for that same medication. they are

seeing that what donald trump promised in terms of them making these huge economic gains, gains and savings is not happening in their daily lives. and many of those same folks are watching their communities fall apart as individuals are losing jobs on a daily basis because of the federal government cuts. and again, many federal workers do not just exist in the dmv. they are also in the states. these individuals do not have employment at the current time. >> let's take a look at cpac underway. republican andy ogles has introduced a constitutional amendment allowing donald trump to seek a third term. and there's also this group. it's called the third term project there at cpac right now supporting that proposal. brendan, how legitimate and serious is this effort? >> not legitimate, but i fear quite serious. i am actually heartened that the congressman recognizes that you would need a constitutional amendment to have trump run for a third term. look, steve bannon is out there. the president's outside advisor

consistently saying that they need to get donald trump to stay in office past 2028. of course, on its face, that is ridiculous. you can only serve two terms very basic and very clear in the constitution. but i promise you, this issue is not going away. we may not need to worry about it too much for a couple of years. but donald trump and his allies have done so many things over the years that seemed absolutely incredible. there's no chance that could ever happen, but they will it into some type of reality. i'm not predicting donald trump is going to stick around. but i'm telling you, there's going to be a loud chorus of people who are going to try to make the case that because he wasn't in office two consecutive terms, that he should be allowed to have a third. >> okay. amicia and brendan, you guys, thanks so much. thanks for the chat. we'll see you again next weekend. luigi mangione back in court. why? and what back in court. why? and what happens next t i'm thinking of updating my kitchen... —yeah? —yes! ...this year, we are finally updating our kitchen... ...doing subway tile in an ivory,

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murder. one charges in new. york state. >> court in december. >> mangione pleaded. >> not guilty to. murdering father of two. >> brian thompson. >> the ceo of united health care. >> he also faces federal. >> murder charges. one count could carry the death penalty. >> we the people. what? will we be free? >> today. >> demonstrators gathered outside the courthouse. >> to support. >> the. accused killer. others to protest the health care system. >> this is. >> going to be a murder trial. >> is that. >> the. >> right venue. >> to make a larger. point about. >> health care? >> you know, i'm. >> i'm very reasonable. >> but i. >> think the american people have. been pushed. >> really, really far. >> the brazen murder in. >> midtown manhattan left new york city stunned. this was a senseless act. >> of violence. >> it was a cold and calculated crime. >> after a. >> five day manhunt. mangione was arrested in a pennsylvania mcdonald's. prosecutors say he. >> was found with. >> a ghost. >> gun that matched. bullet casings. >> found at the. >> crime scene, along with.

>> writings critical of. >> the health insurance industry. >> public frustration. >> with the health care system, in some cases. turning to. support for mangione. a defense fund. has raised more than half $1 million. in a statement posted by his defense team, mangione writes, i am overwhelmed by and grateful for everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support. >> the legal process. >> will. >> likely take years. >> mangione faces. >> federal and state murder charges. >> in new york, as well as gun. >> charges in pennsylvania. >> the scheduled. >> appearances in courtrooms are only. just beginning. all right. well, that was nbc's stephanie gosk reporting. thank you. stephanie. it is one of the most read articles in the washington post right now. what we know about president trump's new pick for the joint chiefs of staff and what's behind this major shakeup at the pentagon. >> this is michelin quality. olive oil starting at $16 grasa single origin olive oil so you can sizzle like a chef and

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