peter alexander joining us now from the white house. r, president trump is expected to issue some pardons of his own? >> lester, president trump late tonight signing pardons for what he said was roughly 1500 january 6th capitol rioters. it comes as president biden's last actions in office focused on pardoning several high-profile names. from outgoing president biden what amounts to a protective shield for some of president trump's most prominent adversaries, a series of preemptive pardons to avoid trump's promised prosecution. among the recipients, general mark milley, trump's chosen chief chairman who later became a fierce critic, dr. anthony fauci who helped lead the country's covid response, and all of the members of the bipartisan house committee that invested the january 6th capitol attack, including republican liz cheney. biden writing the pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing. president trump texted nbc news it is disgraceful. >> why are we helping some of the people -- w

let's go to chief white house correspondent peter alexander. peter, describe what it's been like today. well, lester, to be clear, this is 457 days that the white house has been working on this since that awful massacre took place, hamas invading southern israel. the president has said throughout that time that he stands with israel and has focused so much of his energy. this really has been alongside the war in ukraine with what has happened in israel and in gaza. the two biggest foreign policy priororities of s presidency. so, as he said, the day of success has arrived. notably, this day comes just days before his departure from the white house and only a matter of hours before his farewell address from the oval office will take place later this later this evening, we did hear from the president saying he is deeply satisfied by this, but i was struck by some of his last comments. he was asked by a reporter before leaving the cross hall there, right here in the white house residence. he was asked whether he or donald trump deserved credit for t

here is peter alexander. >> reporter: president trump in north carolina ravaged by hurricane helene four months ago. the president, along side the first lady again complaining that fema's response has been too slow. >> unfortunately our government failed you. it wasn't the trump government. it was the government run by biden. >> floating a dramatic move, eliminating fema entirely. >> i think frankly fema is not good. fema turned out to be a disaster. i think we are going to recommend fema go away. >> reporter: proposing the white house send relief directly to states and give more control to the governors. the president doesn't have the power to shut down fema and will need congress to give him the power to remake or get rid of any agency. fema makes the argument they support states and has a breath of expertise in how to respond most states do not have. >> i mean if there is one reason we are one nation under god it is to deal with disasters. no. we should not get rid of it. >> reporter: the president landing in l.a. to visit the wildfire zone there. after repeatedly attacking california

peter alexander. thank you. >>> tonight, bird flu surgeing. hitting poultry farms hard. and sending egg prices soaring. just as cuts off communication from the cdc and other federal health agencies. here's maggie vespa. >> reporter: tonight, a communications blackout for america's top public health agencies, with president trump's acting hhs secretary, instructing them to refrain from publicly issuing any document, until it has been reviewed and approveed by a presidential appointee. this as vaccine skeptic robert f. kennedy jr. the pause with hhs saying they'll accept mission critical announcements on a case-by-case basis. but does bird flu qualify? with new cases reported this month in 20 states, including this new york duck farm, where nearly 100,000 birds are set to be euthanized. the virus infecting 67 people in the last year, killing one. public health agencies warn, they can't go silent. >> you fear a brief or temporary pause could have consequences? >> yes, i do. there was just guidance updates a couple of days before the biden administration left office. >> bird

senior white house correspondent peter alexander is joining us now, and peter, just moments ago you had a chance to press the president about those pardons. >> reporter: lester, that's right. president trump is defending those pardons tonight as you note saying he's still a fierce supporter of police officers. but tonight the criticism about the sweeping papardons growing. tonight the president is facingew backlash for pardoning or commuting the sentences of everyone convicted for their actions on january 6th and those still under investigation. >> these hostages, approximately 1500 for a pardon. full pardon. >> reporter: including those found guilty of assaulting police officers. four years ago, president trump condemned the violence. >> to those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. and to those who broke the law, you will pay. >> reporter: the president's move, someththing his own vice president had recently argued against. >> if you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn't be pardoned. >> reporter: former dc police offi

peter alexander is at the white house. >> reporter: they're the haunting images of the armed assault on the capitol four years ago that resulted in more than 1,100 convictions. tonight one of the most prominent, enrique tarrio, head of the far right proud boys, who was found guilty of seditious conspiracy, seen at miami airport after his release under president trump's sweeping pardons. tarrio earlier with this ominous warning. >> i'm happy that the president's focusing not on retribution and focusing on success. but i will tell you that i'm not going to play by those rules. the people who did this, they need to feel the heat. >> reporter: republican lisa murkowski tonight rebuking the decision to pardon violent offenders. >> you just blanket pardon all of them without consequence? i think that that sounds -- sends a horrible message to our law enforcement officers. >> reporter: spotted inside the capitol today, stewart rhodes, head of the far right extremist group the oath keepers, who was just released after serving less than two years of an 18-year sentence for directing his membe

here's peter alexander. >> reporter: after more than 50 years in public life, president biden speakingirectly to the american people one last time. an oval office address punctuating days of final events. >> after eight months of nonstop negotiation my administration -- by my administration, a cease-fire and a hostage deal has been reached by israel and hamas. >> reporter: the president insisting americans are better off than they were four years ago. >> in the past four years our democracy's held strong, and every day i've kept my commitment to be president for all americans. through one of the toughest periods in our nation's history. we need to amend the constitution and make clear that no president, no president is immune from crimes that he or she commits while in office. >> reporter: his focus tonight defining his legacy ahead of donald trump's inauguration next week. with trump already vowing to roll back many of biden's signature initiatives. >> i've been disappointed to see the biden administration's attempt to block the reforms of the american people and that they voted for.

we begin today with nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexander, new york times chief white house correspondent peter baker and former u.s. attorney joyce vance. so peter alexander set the stage here. let's start with the funding freeze. we don't know exactly how big it is, but this omb memo, a memo that nbc got exclusively shows that it could be $3 trillion. >> andrew. >> that's exactly right. i was speaking to. a former senior administration official. >> who said that this memo is. very vague, poorly written, was. their language. >> so it's. >> hard to know exactly. >> what it's referring to. >> but clearly the memo. >> does say that the. >> budget office, through. >> the. >> president's executive actions. >> will be halting, effective today at. >> 5 p.m. >> grants, loans and other. >> federal financial assistance. >> among the. >> questions right. >> now, what exactly does. >> that mean? does that impact medicaid? does it impact snap effectively food stamps for. >> so many millions. >> of americans? whhic women's, the nutrition. >> program. >> for women and infants and. >

. >> caroline leavitt, was pressed by my colleague peter alexander about some of the. >> things that. >> will or won't be part of this pause. here's what she said. >> president trump. >> of course, ran. >> one of the key policy items. >> was. >> that he was going to lower prices. >> lower the cost of everything. >> from groceries, as. >> he often said. but in many of. >> the. >> cases, it would. seem that. some of these moves. >> could. >> raise prices for real americans. >> on everything. >> from low income heating. >> that program, child care programs will nothing that the president. >> is doing here in. >> terms of the freeze in these programs. raise prices. >> on ordinary americans. >> what particular actions are you referring to that would. >> leap right now? that's the low income heating program. for example, we can talk about. there's no clarity. so i. >> could refer. >> to a lot of them. we don't know what they are specifically. can you tell us that the liheap is not one of those affected. >> so you're asking a hypothetical based on programs that you can't even identify. what

and, you know, having served yourself, i want to play for you, peter alexander, nbc's peter alexander calling trump out on the idea that diversity and inclusivity caused this crash. we don't have it. okay. well, peter alexander asked him that you that he had cited an faa guidance, but the implications that the policy is new or that it stemmed from efforts that began under president biden or the transportation secretary, pete buttigieg, he says it's demonstrably false. and he asks, and donald trump says, no, it's not false. and he claims that he changed the guidance that was on the faa website that existed when president obama established it in 2013. but we actually our producer here pulled the screenshot of what that guidance was during trump's entire first administration. and it said the following. a key focus for the faa's office of civil rights is to identify specific opportunities for people with targeted disabilities, empowering them to and facilitate their entry into a more diverse and inclusive workforce. and as indicated, this is a screen grab showing that he didn't change any

>> peter alexander at the white house. rrested in 2022 in afghanistan has confirmed his release. in a statement, the family thanked both former president biden and president trump. taliban officials say a second american has also been freed, but his identity has not yet been released. the trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. >>> more than 200 million americans are waking up today to brutal cold temperatures from the rockies all the way to the northeast. but the worst of it may be down south where a blizzard warning is now in effect for parts of texas and louisiana. states of emergency are also being declared in arkansas, mississippi. schools and businesses are closed throughout the region. in fact, in houston, all of the major airports have been shut down, so, we'll check back in with al to find out how long all this is going to last. >> the next 24 to 48 hours, guys, houston snowing right now. currently lake charles, the national weather service, the first time they issued a blizzard w

briefly to peter alexander. describe the room, the oval office and this speech. >> reporter: to pull back the curtain, we are told by those in the room, there were a half dozen senior officials who were there with him, including his chief of staff, the first lady who he glanced over at at the end of his remarks, joined by the vice president and second gentleman there in the oval office, describing them he did like family just before the camera clicked on, jill biden said, you look good, joe. >> peter, thanks very much. that concludes this nbc news special report. more ahead in our streaming network nbc news now and online at nbcnews.com. tomorrow morning on "today." wednesday, everyone. the special edition of the 5:00 news starts right now. thanks so much for joining me. i'm janelle wang. as you just saw, president biden spoke to the american public one last time. the president just delivered his farewell address. it's his fifth oval office address since taking office in 2021. the president reflected on his time

let's go right to peter alexander. this just broke tone minutes ago, peter. what do you know? >> president biden even yesterday was seriously considering using this extraordinary presidential power to preemptively pardon some individuals. he has decided to do that to guard against any potential revenge by the incoming president trump. president biden just announcing, as you know, that he is pardoning dr. anthony fauci, retired general mark millie and members of the house committee including liz cheney, adam schiff, adam kinsinger. he writes, they are the life blood of our democracy. yet alarmingly, he adds, public servants have been subjected to i don't know going threats for faithfully discharging their duties. notably, his last comments in this statement adds these pardons should not be mistaken that acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance by them be considered an admission of guilt for any offense. he says our nation owes them a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country. incoming president trump, as you know,

that was nbc's peter alexander with that report. sweeping pardons to january 6th rioters. marc caputo with axios reports that trump vacillated during an internal debate over targeted clemency versus a blanket decision, according to two insiders. but as trump's team wrestled with the issue and planned a shock and awe batch of executive orders day one, trump just said, f it, release them all. an adviser familiar with the discussions said. meanwhile, former proud boys leader enrique tarrio, who was released from prison yesterday after being sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy, sentenced for seditious conspiracy, was interviewed by alex jones on infowars last night. tarrio told jones, quote, we went through hell and i'm going to tell you it was worth it, because what we stood for, what we've been fighting for and what we saw yesterday on the inauguration stage, we need people like pam bondi, kash patel and the rest of trump's cabinet to right all these wrongs. the people who did this, they need to feel the heat. they need to

. >> joining me for insight and analysis are nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexanderna nawaz, co anchor of news hour. former white house trump communications director and former white house jen psaki. if it's sunday it's "meet the press". >> the longest running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with kristen welker. >> good sunday morning. tomorrow, a new chapter in our nation's history gets under way. donald trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the united states making him the second president ever to serve non-consecutive terms. president-elect trump telling me in an exclusive phone interview on saturday he is ready for that moment including his decision to move the inauguration indoors. he said while it was a hard decision it was the right one, adding i think it would have been dangerous for a lot of people. he will take the oath of office and deliver his inaugural address from the capital rotunda which last happened for ronald reagan's second inauguration in 1985. >> we stand again at the steps of this symbol of our democracy or we wou

but our peter alexander pressed her on other programs. will nothing. >> that the president. >> is doing here. >> in terms of the freeze in these programs. raise prices. >> on ordinary americans. >> what particular actions are you referring to that. >> i'm referring. >> to leap right now. >> that's the low income heating program. >> for example. >> we can talk about. there's no clarity. so i. >> could refer. >> to a lot of them. we don't know what they are specifically. can you tell us that the liheap is. >> not. >> one of. >> those affected? >> so you're asking a hypothetical based on programs that you can't even identify? what i can tell you. >> just just to. be clear. >> since you guys haven't identified. >> let's. >> do it together. >> just for americans at. >> home, medicaid. is that affected? >> i gave you a list of examples. social security, medicare, welfare benefits, medicaid, food stamps that will not be impacted by this federal pause. i can get you the full list after this briefing from the office of management and budget. >> i

i want to bring in peter alexander, nbc chief white house correspondent. he is on the ground. peter, thank you for being there at this late hour. what can you tell us? >> yeah. >> so, steph, let's give you a sense. >> of where. >> we're standing. we are about, i'd say, three quarters of a mile south of reagan national airport. dca, as it's commonly known, right along the potomac river. it is clearly pitch black here at this hour if we can. this is going to be a challenge. stephanie, bear with us for a moment though. we see one helicopter in the distance in the sky right now, just above what is known as joint base anacostia-bolling. it's a place where a lot of helicopters do take off from military helicopters, though we can't say declarative where with declarative where this blackhawk was traveling from. but this helicopter we're watching right now has multiple spotlights on that have been sort of searching across the water here. as we come back lower, you can see just a stream of lights throughout this area. literally. it's probably two miles wide. it is separated different par

nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexander has the latest for us. s history. and for more than 60 years, there have been unanswered questions. >> about them. >> just take jfk's assassination. >> did lee harvey oswald act alone? was there another shooter on that grassy knoll? >> now. >> with the swipe of a pen, president trump is ordering everything the government knows be made public. >> they are among the most sensational american murders of the 20th century. the assassinations of president john f kennedy, his younger brother robert f kennedy, and the civil rights leader, doctor. martin luther king jr. now, president trump is ordering. >> the full public. release of. >> classified files related to their killings, saying it will end the mysteries surrounding them. >> that's a big one. a lot of people are waiting for this for so long. for years. >> on jfk's 1963. >> death, the warren commission report concluded lee harvey oswald. >> acted alone, but questions and conspiracy theories have lingered for decades, fueling an industry of books and films lik

peter alexander leading us off. thank you, peter. >>> we will stay in washington right now because this morning robert f. kennedy jr. is on a spot in capitol hill. the president's pick facing senators for the first time. from the moment his nomination was revealed, kennedy encountered questions about his positions, his qualifications. in a scathing letter to lawmakers, his own cousin, caroline, outlining why she believes he's unfit for the job. nbc's chief capitol hill correspondent ryan nobles literally in the room where it will happen. ryan, good morning. >> reporter: hey, craig. good morning. he is the son of a former attorney general, the nephew of john f. kennedy. robert f. kennedy jr. hails from one of the most famous political families in america. he advocates for a wide range of controversial health positions. this morning members of one of america's most famous families speaking out facing questions. >> i've known bobby my whole life. it is no surprise he keeps birds of prey himself because bobby himself is

. >> nbc's peter alexander is following the growing fallout from these pardons. >> reporter: they're the haunting images of the armed assault on the capitol four than 1100 convictions.d in more one of the most prominent, enrique tarrio, one of the proud boys found guilty of seditious conspiracy seen at the miami airport, with this ominous warning. >> i'm happy that the president's focussing not on retribution and focussing on success, but i will tell you that i, i, i'm not going to play by those rules. the people who did this, they need to feel the heat. >> reporter: republican murkowski. >> you blanket pardon them without consequence? that sends a horrible message t years of a 18-year sentence for directing his members during the riot. the federal judge at his sentencing warning, the moment you are released whenever that may be, you'll be ready to take up arms against your government. >> reporter: this retired officer was one of the officers injured, telling nbc news it's a betrayal. they were lf. that's the only reason he pardoned them. president trump telling us he strongly backs

peter alexander asking the white house. >> reporter: is violent offenders no longer the predicate for being deported? >> if you are an illegal entering the united states of america illegally, you are by definition a criminal. >> reporter: the cost can be staggering. deporting one migrant costs around $10,500. in new york it costs an average of $352 per night to house asylum seekers. katherine from venezuela says she and her daughters stayed at this hotel for six months. that could be a price tag to taxpayers of more than $63,000. and sources familiar with the plan say large scale arrests will happen in three u.s. cities per week. >> a troubling health alert. a tuberculosis outbreak that has been going on in kansas with almost 150 people infected. we get more tonight from anne thompson. >> reporter: a modern day outbreak of an ancient disease, tuberculosis. a bacterial infection that affects the lungs now in the kansas city, kansas area. state offificials report 67 acte cases and 79 latent cases where people are infected but not sick and can't spread it to others. two deaths associated

immigrants arrested sunday had no prior criminal record buy sides being in the country illegally, peter alexander asking the white house. >> so is violent offenders no longer the predicate for these people to be deported. >> reporter: the cost can be staggering. deporting one migrant runs around $10,500. here in new york, city officials estimate a cost of $352 per night to house asylum seekers. are you scared? kathryn from venezuela says she and her daughters have stayed at this hotel for migrants for six months. that could be a price tag for taxpayers of more than $63,000. and, three sources familiar with the planning now tell nbc news that large-scale arrests will now happen in three u.s. cities per week. back to you. >> gabe, thank you. >>> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is set to visit the white house next week. he will be the first foreign leader to meet with president trump during his second term. a white house official confirmed it was trump who extended the invite and netanyahu accepted. in a letter to the prime minister, trump wrote, i look forward to discussing how we can bri

i want to bring in nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexander, also with us, sky news pauldavos. so what did we hear from the president? peter? >> well. >> chris. >> as you sort of noted, this is president. >> trump's first virtual. >> trip around the. >> world since becoming. president. again here in the united states. >> one of. >> his key messages has been focus on. the american economy and bringing. >> money back home. the construction. >> the. >> production of products here. and he. >> said, in. >> part, that he would be calling for tariffs if products are not. >> made here in the u.s. here's part. >> of what he said. >> my message to every business in the world is very simple. come make your product in america and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on earth. we're bringing them down very substantially, even from the original trump tax cuts. but if you don't make your product in america, which is your prerogative, then very simply you will have to pay a tariff, differing amounts, but a tariff which will direct hundreds of billions of dollars and even

peter. >> alexander repeatedly. >> pressed the president on exactly. >> that issue. >> you would. agree that it's never. >> acceptable to assault a police officer? >> sure. so then, if. >> i can. >> among those you pardoned jay rodriguez. he drove. >> a stun gun into. >> the neck of the d.c. police. >> officer who was. >> abducted by the mob that day. he later confessed on video. >> to the fbi and pleaded. >> guilty for. >> his crimes. >> why does. >> he deserve. >> a pardon? >> well, i don't know. is it a pardon? because we're looking at commutes and we're looking at pardons. >> okay. >> well, we'll take a look at everything, but. >> i can say this. >> murderers today are not even charged. you have murderers that aren't charged. >> all over. >> you take a look at what's going on in philadelphia, take a look at what's going on in la, where people murder people and they don't get charged. these people have already. >> served years in prison. >> and they've served them viciously. it's a disgusting prison. it's been horrible. it's inhumane. it's been. >> a. >> terrible, terrible thin

thank you so much, peter alexander, for bringing us the very latest from washington. joel, when a major deal like this is struck and it's involving an active battlefield, what is the hardest part about this very last stage, when it could all fall apart based on just one miscommunication, one mistake? >> well, you know, ana, there can be disruptions from any different corner. >> and that's clearly what we're seeing right now in the israeli political process. but of course, hamas also and some of the affiliated groups are allied groups of hamas, like the palestinian islamic jihad, could decide they don't want to want to play either and then potentially be spoilers as well. one thing that's very important to think about, though, and this is really an internal dialog, is that this now exposes the ongoing tensions that prime minister netanyahu has within his coalition, where his far right members have really opposed any agreement at all whatsoever. and it's a moment. it's a test for the prime minister. will he stand with the broader israeli public, the hostage families, bo

peter alexander at the white house for us. so, erin, you just heard john kirby say he is confident that this deal will indeed be in place, that things will start moving on sunday. are you confident? >> i am, i think that it's an extraordinary accomplishment whether you actually get to phase two and in the war in gaza and see all the hostages returned according to this schedule. the 4242 weeks, 342 week periods is unclear right now. but the picture you showed chris of this little boy literally clawing his way out of the rubble on one hand, and the fate, the dire fate of hostages. and remember, for the israelis, this will be a time not just of celebration for those hostage families who will be getting live hostages back, but there will be hostages, the bodies of hostages who are no longer alive return. it will be a time of mourning as well, but it really does. the boy in gaza, the hostage situation reflects the essential human human aspect of this conflict. and there's a long way to go. but i and i'm usually not terribly upbeat

riley, peter alexander, guys, thank you so much. now, among those freed guy reffitt, he's a militia member from texas who was the first of the january 6th defendants to be convicted. take a look. you see him in the black jacket, wearing body armor and a helmet in a standoff with officers on the steps of the capitol. reffitt was carrying a loaded handgun, and he told people he wanted to physically drag nancy pelosi from the building. when he went home, he threatened his own children not to turn him in. but his son jackson did anyway. and now he faces the reality that his father is free. jackson reffitt joins me now. jackson, thank you so much for being here. i know this is not easy for you, and i know you previously said that trump pardoning your dad terrified you. so i wonder what the last day and a half has been like for you. >> well, it's. >> gotten worse. i mean. >> he's physically out. >> now. >> and that is. >> a reality. >> that i haven't really faced yet. i thought i had time. >> to work. >> with it and understand it and work

at the white house tuesday, chief white house correspondent peter alexander asking the president about one of those defendants, d.o.j. rodriguez, who pleaded guilty to violently assaulting d.c. police officer michael fanone with a stun gun. >> why does he deserve a pardon? >> well, i don't know. was it a pardon? because we're looking at commutes and we're looking at pardons. okay, well, we'll take a look at everything. these people have already served a long period of time, and i made a decision to give a pardon. >> rodriguez had served about 18 months of a 12.5 year sentence. fanone is now seeking protective orders against the five people who assaulted him. today on morning joe, he described the threats that he, his family, even his mother have faced for the past four years. >> i didn't even make it through my. >> testimony before i received. >> the first threatening phone call. my mother. >> has been the. >> victim of swatting incidents. she has had bricks thrown at her home in the middle of the night, and recently, while she was raking the leaves in her front yard, she had an indivi

susan wild so, peter alexander, a busy day for all of our white house teams, all of our teams here in washington. talk about the packed agenda today. >> well, andrea, i think a lot of the president's allies said that there would be shock and awe in the first days. >> perhaps day one of the trump administration. >> and i think to a lot of his critics, certainly they did feel shocked to witness as much as they saw yesterday, recognizing, though, that so many of the things he did yesterday, frankly, were things he committed to doing throughout the course of the campaign, not the least of which was those pardons to the nearly 1600 individuals, many of whom were convicted, some pleading guilty for their crimes on that day, january 6th. let's walk you through what we expect to see from the president today. still attending that faith service at the national cathedral. a little bit later this afternoon at 2:00, he will be hosting a meeting with the top republicans in both the house and senate. of course, john thune, now the leading republican, the majority leader there, mike johnson, the hous

nbc's peter alexander has the details. >> reporter they are among the most sensational american murdersntury. the assassinations of president john f kennedy, his younger brother robert f kennedy, and the civil rights leader. >> martin luther. >> king jr. now, president trump is. >> ordering the full public. release of. >> classified files related to their killings, saying it will end the mysteries surrounding them. >> that's a big one. a lot of people are waiting for this for a long. for years. >> on jfk's 1963. >> death, the. warren commission report. concluded lee harvey oswald. >> acted alone, but questions and conspiracy theories have lingered for decades, fueling an industry of books and films like oliver stone's 1991 hit movie jfk. >> people got. >> to know why. >> he. >> was killed. >> kennedy's nephew, robert f kennedy jr, trump's nominee to lead the health and human services department, has long insisted the cia played a role in his uncle's murder, an allegation the cia has denied. president trump mentioning kennedy when he signed the order. >> give that to rfk jr. >> rfk jr, p

peter alexander. >> reporter: after more than 50 years in public life, president biden speaking directlythe american people one last time. an oval office address punctuating days of final events. [ cheers and applause ] receiving this extended ovation yesterday from allies and staff. his goodbye begins with a letter to the country, insisting americans were better off than four years ago in the grichz a pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the great depression, writing we emerged more secure and calling on americans to build on the progress he said he made. history is in your hands, the power is in your hands, the idea of america lies in your hands. his focus is defining his legacy ahead of trump's inauguration, with trump vowing to roll back many of biden's signature initiatives. >> been disappointed to see the biden administration's attempts to block the reforms the americans voted for in a landslide election. >> reporter: still president biden is not leaving the way he wanted. his last primetime address six months ago announcing amid pressure from his party he was dropping out

peter alexander asked president trump about his decision to pardon more than 400 people who assaulted police officers. >> they've served years in jail, and murderers don't even go to jail in this country. and we had 1500, we have 16 under review, as you know. we commuted about 16 of them. because it looks like they could have done things that were not acceptable for a full pardon. >> reporter: senator lisa murkowski is among the republicans criticizing the pardons. she says she fears what message this is sending to the men and women who protected the lawmakers. form d.c. police officer, michael fanone went to court yesterday to seek protective orders against five men who pleaded guilty to assaulting him. he says he feels betrayed by his country. >>> president trump continuing his broad actions on immigration. the department of homeland security announcing the end to the policy that restricted i.c.e. agents' ability to arrest undocumented immigrants at sensitive locations like schools, hospitals and houses of worship. but backlash to his sweeping proposal is growing. the episcopal bish

here's peter alexander. >> eporter: the president's facing new backlash for pardoning or commuting the sentences of everyone convicted for their actions on january 6th and those still under investigation. >> these are the hostages. approximately 1500 for a pardon. full pardon. >> reporter: including those found guilty of assaulting police officers. four years ago, president trump condemned the violence. >> to those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. and, to those who broke the law, you will pay. >> reporter: the president's move something his own vice president had recently argued against. >> if you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn't be pardoned. >> reporter: former d.c. police officer, michael fanone was assaulted during the riot and today sought protective orders against those who attacked him. >> the american people elected donald trump knowing f full we that he would pardon my attackers. and soso it the ultimate betrayal. >> reporter: we pressed the president. you would agree that it's never acceptable to ass

but our peter alexander pressed her on other programs.

nbc's peter alexander alexander asking the white house.lent offenders no longer the predicate for these people to be deported? if you are an individual, a foreign national who illegally enters the united states of america, you are by definition a criminal. but students today loud and clear in san jose saying their loved ones are not crimils. the mayor tonight also emphasizing that if you are in need of help and call 911, officers will not ask you for your status. in san jose. jocelyn moran, nbc, bay area news. san francisco is reaffirming its position as a sanctuary city in the face of hundreds of those ice arrests across the country and agents spotted in downtown san francisco this week, city leaders vowed to protect migrants as the daughter of a father who was from el salvador, who i didn't get to be raised with, in part because he was not a citizen here, i fully know what it feels like to have your family separated. we recognize your contributions to our city, and we stand with you. you belong here. recent white house orders have also i

nbc's peter alexander pressed the president today about the vice president, j.d. vance. he said, if this is a week ago, he said, ifou committed violence on january 6th, obviously you should not be pardoned. why is your vice president wrong? well, only for one reason. they served years in jail. political analyst larry gerston saying this is something of a payback to the president's supporters. what's remarkable is that the president, the day after january 6th, 2021, said, these are terrible people. they should be punished for what they did. those those were his words. and four years later, like a lot of things with donald trump, right. all you know is what you see that day. four years later, it's another story. audrey asistio nbc, bay area news. audrey. thank you. we want to get back to some breaking news now in southern california. a new fire in riverside county has prompted evacuation warnings. cal fire says this broke out around 5 p.m. near the santa ana river, about three miles from the riverside municipal airport. it's burned so far, about 40 acres, and is currently

and good job by peter, our colleague peter alexander. good work there by the washington post. >> it is worth. >> reiterating this is again a. >> first policies. the diversity initiatives. >> were put in place by president obama. >> trump, while. >> he was president, left them there and then it was his. own faa when he was in charge that. promoted programs. about hiring those with disabilities to join that agency, and that yesterday he, of course, tried to blame them in a wedge issue, speaking, you know, in moments after a crisis, our nation reeling from it, choosing once again division also lying about his record very reminiscent, i will say, of during the presidential campaign when he gained much traction from then vice president harris and the idea of transgender surgery provided for inmates in prisons. well, we fact checked it at the time and found that that program also existed under the trump administration. he, of course, when he in his bureau of prisons promoted it, he, of course, did not change it while he was in office. but bigg

now it looks like peter alexander from nbc is also reporting it. all of this folds into the fed, because all these dramatic announcements from the trump administration in just the past 24 hours, when it comes to federal workers and federal spending, they've underscored this decision that looks to be coming from the fed to pause and wait for greater clarity before considering any additional rate cuts. the fed already had to weigh the potential effects of tariffs, tax cuts, deregulation and deportations. now it has to put into the mix this idea of a potential decline in government spending, though now that looks perhaps to have been rescinded, and some portion of 2 million federal workers could be out there looking for a job. so the keys to the fed outlook today will be whether it affirms that the direction of rates is still downward, that it has confidence that inflation is still headed towards the 2% target. and of course, this fiscal policy dance that fed chair jay powell will do with reporters at the press conference where we ask questions about

here is peter alexander. >> reporter: president trump in north carolina ravaged by hurricane helene fourmonths ago. the president, along side the first lady again complaining that fema's response has been too slow. >> unfortunately our government failed you. it wasn't the trump government. it was the government run by biden. >> floating a dramatic move, eliminating fema entirely. >> i think frankly fema is not good. fema turned out to be a disaster. i think we are going to recommend fema go away. >> reporter: proposing the white house send relief directly to states and give more control to the governors. the president doesn't have the power to shut down fema and will need congress to give him the power

peter alexander at the white house, one of the most memorable moments today was the hearse, the motorcadet between the viewing stands where jimmy carter had served for four years. peter? >> reporter: that's exactly right. jimmy carter was a bit of an outsider during his years in washington, d.c. he spent so much of his time absent at the georgia governor's manchin and the white house . as we watch the procession out of the national cathedral, that will be his next stop. his remains alongside his loved ones and family members will head to joint base andrews and plains, georgia appeared the ceremony taking place there at the baptist church. more to come. he was such a man of faith, taught sunday school as you know for several decades. i was reading some of the notes shared -- let's listen. >> peter, let's pause for a moment and listen to the chief. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ all. >> and as we >> and as we see the casket placed into the hearse for jimmy carter's final departure from washington, d.c., joining us now, washington post columnist who has written about carter's life and lega

the president asked by nbc's peter alexander about one defendant dj rodriguez who pled guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. >> why does he deserve a pardon? >> well, i don't know. was it a pardon? we're looking at commutes and pardons. >> pardons. >> we'll look at everything. >> reporter: on "morning joe," fanone running through a list of those guilty of attacking him as he seeks protective orders. >> daniel rodriguez, sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after he pled guilty and admitted to using a taser device, applying it to the base of my skull. >> reporter: as republicans on capitol hill were questioned about the move. >> the president's own decision. >> reporter: some expressing hesitation on the inclusion of violent offenders. >> to me, i just can't agree. it was surprising to me it was a blanket pardon. >> reporter: the bureau of prisons releasing 211 individuals in approximately 12 hours. among those pardoned, oath keepers leader stewart rhodes, and former proud boys head, tarrio, both were serving lengthy sentences for seditious conspiracy. joe biden preempti