i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louse burgdorf. the republicans are out with the plan to replace obamacare. the proposed bill called the american affordable act was released last night. the gop plan would eliminate a requirement for individuals to purchase health care. and it sets a 2020 deadline to restrict the affordable care act, medicaid expansion and being able to use the so-called health savings account. it will provide tax credits to encourage people to provide insurance. that's a change from obamacare where sub sasidies would offset that coverage. and young people can stake on their parent's health insurance plan until the age of 26. president trump marked the release of the bill with a tweet reading, the house just introduced the bill to repeal and replace obamacare. time to end this nightmare. well, joining us now from washington, the co-author of politico's playbook, daniel litman. good morning to you, daniel. what happens next with the replacement plan? >> reporter: they are hoping to get it through the house committee

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf.e are starting with the top stories. >> the government ethics office is criticizing the white houses ref refusal to punish kellyanne conway accusing the administration of undermining the watchdog office. they said it was extraordinary assertion that the white house employees are exempt from some of those regulations. >>> and the state department says secretary rex tillerson has recused himself from any deliberations on the keystonexlx pipeline. >>> and republicans are pushing forward with their obamacare repeal plan despite intense opposition from the party's most conservative members. the legislation aimed to dismantle the affordable care act advanced through two house committe committees. >>> and rolling up his sleeves for a deep dive into that plan, we'll get more from kasie hunt. good morning. >> reporter: alex, good morning. house speaker ryan felt he needed to give a seminar on the health care bill yesterday as they are, republican leaders, are trying to sell something that has r

i'm alex witt alongside ayman hol mohyeldin and alex burgdorf. a probe is confirmed into the ties between the russian government and president trump's campaign. and along with the director of the national security agency, admiral mike rogers rejected the president's allegation that his predecessor illegally wiretapped his phones. the fbi director james comey confirmed a counter intelligence investigation and is examining whether any crimes have been committed. >> i have been authorized by the department of justice to confirm that the fbi as part of our counter intelligence mission is investigating the russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the trump campaign and the russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and russia's efforts. we have taken the extraordinary step in coordination with the department of justice of briefing this congress's leaders including the leaders of this commit

i'm alex witt alongside ayman hol mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. today they will hold the first hearing into the meddling of the presidential election. james comey and admiral mike rogers are likely to face questions on the series of tweets that the president sent on saturday morning a couple weeks ago. and two days ago accusing president obama of ordering a wiretap of his phones at trump tower. comey reportedly requested that the justice department issue a denial shortly after the president made his accusations but has avoided public statements ever since. on friday the department of justice provided the house intelligence committee with any relevant material to the president's wiretapping claim. the chairman of the committee, republican devon nunez and adam schiff say there was no evidence of surveillance at trump tower. joining other hard-ranking republicans and democrats alike who have seen novidence behind president trump's claims. yesterday chairman nunez ruled out wiretaps as the white house suggested. >> was there a physical wiretap of trum

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. president trump is on a collision course with his own party over the massive health care overhaul. the bill comes up today and is set for a vote tomorrow, but for the moment, many members of the party say he simply doesn't have the numbers he needs to pass it. last night at a party fund-raiser the president renewed his pitch. >> that legislative effort begins with thursday's crucial vote and it really is a crucial vote for the republican party and for the people of our country. you'll finally repeal and replace the disaster known as obamacare. that's what it is, a disaster. >> and nbc news head count shows 27 republican "no" votes right now. and senator rand paul suggests the number is actually at 35. in the last few days the bill has been sweetened to pull in more conservative senators and centrist senators. but when that didn't work, the president said, pass it or lose seats. in the meeting that lasted 30 minutes, the president called out the chair of the house freedom caucus. i ask

i'm cal perry alongside stephanie gosk and louis burgdorf.test forecast in a moment, but first a look at the morning's other top stories. the justice department is asking for more time to provide the house intel committee with evidence to prove president trump's wiretapping claims. the committee now wants the information before the march 20th hearing on russia with the spokesman warning they may start issuing subpoenas if questions continue to go unanswered. >>> and today the president's middle east peace envoy travels to the west bank to meet with palestinian president mahmoud abbas. this comes one day after jason greenbrat met with benjamin netanyahu. the settlement issue and the need for the direct palestinian negotiations were discussed. >>> and german chancellor angela merkel's visit to the white house has been postponed due to the huge storm. merkel will have her first meeting with president trump on friday. the pair is also expected to hold a joint news conference. >>> and now to that monster storm, millions of people across the northe

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. next up is "morning joe,". this is a commitment he has to enact health care. this is a process that he's committed to and wants to see through because of the goal that he wants to achieve, which is making a more patient-centric health care system. >> at this point, is there acknowledgment there does need to be a plan b? >> no, plan a. >>

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. >>> michael flynn wants to make a deal. "the wall street journal" reported he is requesting immunity in exchange for his testimony. this while federal probes into alleged lings between the president's soernlts and russian government plays out. in a letter posted to twitter, flynn's lawyer confirmed discussions between them and the congressional committees while citing unfounded allegations, outrageous claims of treason. he added, quote, no reasonable person would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized witch hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution. flynn frequently accused democratic nominee hillary clinton with corruption on the campaign trail, including a chant of, lock her up at the republican convention. when speaking last september about clinton aides who requested immunity for testifying in the clinton e-mail server investigation, flynn said this -- >> i mean, five people around her have been given immunity, to include her former chief of staff.

i'm alex witt alongside ayman h mohyeldin and alex burgdorf. last night the president called for unity for all americans. and inside the house of congress where he spoke -- >> i am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength. and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart. a new national pride is sweeping across our nation. and a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp. everything that is broken in our country can be fixed. every problem can be solved. and every hurting family can find healing and hope. the time for small thinking is over. the time for trivial fights is behind us. we just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts. from now on, america will be empowered by our aspirations, not burdened by our fears. inspired by the future, not bound by failures of the past. and guided by a vision, not blinded by our doubts. i am asking all citizens to embrace this renewal of the american spirit. >> after the speech the president won praise for its tone. rich lowry tweeted, as i'v

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. president trump tries to stave off revolt over his new health care plan. the vice president and congressional leaders presented an optimistic front. >> the american health care act is the framework for reform. we are certainly open to improvements and to recommendations in the legislative process, but this is the bill. >> i think, really, we're going to have something that is much more understood and much more popular than people can even imagine. this will be a plan where you can choose your plan. and you know what the plan is. this is the plan. and we're going to have a tremendous, i think we're going to have tremendous success. it's a complicated process, but actually it's very simple. it's called good health care. >> let's not forget, obamacare is collapsing. obamacare isn't staying. if we did nothing, the law would collapse and leave everybody without affordable health care. we are doing an act of mercy at repealing this law and replacing it with patient health care reforms that

i'm alex witt along with ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. >>> the hawaii judge has extended the president'sorarying restraining order is now a preliminary injunction meaning the president's order will remain on holdntil the lawsuit is resolved. the president called the judge's march 15th ruling against the revised travel ban, quote, unprecedented jushlg overreach. >>> lawmakers in north carolina are expected to vote on a plan today to repeal the state's controversial bathroom bill following announcement last night. the original measure curbed legal protections for members of the lbgtq community. let's go to capitol hill as the gridlock continued in the russian house investigation. a show of bipartisan. richard burr of north carolina and mark warner of virginia discussed the scope of their probe into the shan meddling in the 2016 campaign and their commitment to follow the evidence wherever it leads. >> have you served as adviser on the trump campaign, can you say hand over heart that you can oversee an impartial, serious investigation? >> absolutely. i'll do something i've never done. i'll

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. james comey is the highest ranking official to push back against president trump's allegations of politically motivated surveillance of trump tower in the final stretch of the presidential campaign. a senior u.s. official tells nbc news that comey asked the justice department to publicly refute trump's claims that former president barack obama ordered the tapping of his phones as false and needing correction, reportedly making that request on saturday, insinuating that the fbi broke the law. "the new york times" was first to report the request. no official statement has been made by either comey, the fbi or the justice department. the white house press secretary sean spicer released a statement, quote, reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling. president donald j. trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees exercise their over

louis burgdorf is here as well. they will turn the channel if these aren't two familiar faces for you. he's a familiar place in to everyone. good morning, louis. >> good morning to you. >>> and now to breaking news, the trump administration has until today to provide the house and intelligence committee evidence backing up the president's claim that president obama tapped his phones in the final month of the election. the bipartisan leaders on the committee of intelligence sent a letter asking the intelligence branch to share what it knows by today. this is as some democrats warn to walk away from the republican-led house investigation if they believe it is more interested in protecting the white house than uncovering the truth. yesterday house speaker paul ryan responded to the intelligence committee when asked about the president's wiretapping claims. >> there's been a lot of reporting about this. there's been a lot of reporting. remember, there was an investigation by the intelligence -- >> not on the wiretapping

i'm katie tur alongside cal perry and louis burgdorf. this morning the world is learning more about donald trump's taxes. the president refused to release them throughout his campaign, the transition and his administration. but last night rachel maddow got ahold of some of them. she revealed two pages of the 1040, but no itemized pages. it showed $38 million paid to the federal income tax, $150 million in income and $103 in losses. nothing to show how he made his money were included. these were obtained by someone from dc.org. the filing apparently came in the mail. who sent them? it's a mystery. >> if you haven't solicited something -- by the way, let me point out, it is entirely possible that donald sent this to me. donald trump over the years has leaked all sorts of things. >> the president paid a tax rate of 25% because of the alternative minimum tax. mitt romney by comparison paid 14% and took heavy fire during the 2012 campaign. as maddow prepared to go on the air, the white house acknowledged the documents writing, quote, before b

. ♪ >>> welcome back, everyone i'm alex witt alongside louis burgdorf and amed. >> the pentagon says, probably had a role in the air strike that killed more than 200 civilians in mosul this month. it's unclear if the u.s. is responsible for the casualties. the iraqi military said the explosion happened after they called for backup from the u.s.-led coalition fighting isis. the pentagon denies allegations the rise in the civilian deaths under the trump administration is because of loosened rules. >>> the edited videos portrayed planned parenthood officials trying to sell fetal tissue. david who describes himself as a citizen journalist for the center for medical progress responded to the charges, tweeting, quote, the last time planned parenthood colluded with political cronies to persecute citizen journals both charges and corrupt d.a. thrown out. bring it on. >>> cancelled for the regs of the week by devin nunes as the california republican and the white house denied implications of coordination over postponing the hearing on russia. now the hearing was supposed to take place yesterd

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and luis burgdorf.ur way right now. >> do you feel vindicated coming over here? >> i somewhat do. i must tell you i somewhat do. i pretty much appreciated the fact they found what they do but i somewhat do. >> the committee has still not received the intercepts off on other information that the chairman was referring to and, therefore, it is really impossible for us to evaluate any of the merits of what the chairman has said. but i can say this, the chairman will need to decide whether he is the chairman of an independent investigation into conduct which includes allegations. potential krooncoordination or s a surrogate of the white house because he cannot do both. >> welcome to "morning joe." you are taking a

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. next up is "morning joe,". have a good weekend, everybody. >>> this is a commitment he has to enact health care. this is a process that he's committed to and wants to see through because of the goal that he wants to achieve, which is making a more patient-centric health care system. >> at this point, is there acknowledgment there does need to be a plan b? >> no, plan a. >> welcome to "morning joe." another momentous day on capitol hill. plan a, blown apart. the vote didn't take place last night. and after a couple hours of considering his options, the president gave congress a take-it or leave-it option. so this morning everybody is looking at congress and trying to figure out exactly what they are going to do. willie, the freedom caucus has to decide whether to cave to donald trump or whether they are going to hold firm. and a lot of people believe that there's much riding on this, including the reputation of the trump white house. >> joe, good morning to you. we reached a stage in this process now where donal

h mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. it's back. >>> politics is about conflict and before the intel committee. owe the agenda, russia's flungs influence on the election. >> the false claims by president trump that president obama illegally wiretapped trump tower. >> part of trump's ongoing fight to the death no holds bar battle with the facts and those charges rising to an international incident with the president and sean spicer blaming british intelligence for allegedly spying for president obama. >> our special relationship with the uk strained after the president repeated a claim by a commentator on fox news. trump called a judge a very talented legal mind. >> fox news drew a stark line in the sand from trump quickly, distancing themselves from napolitano's comments. >> fox news cannot confirm judge napolitano's commentator. fox news knows of no evidence that the president of the united states was surveilled in any way full stop. >> full stop. >> all of this as sean spicer says, they don't regret anything. >> why sho

i'm louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >>> maybe i don't "look the par. i'm not svelte. i don't look comfortable oppose camera. >> more coming in from syria, then the thousands and thousands that our president -- quote, president -- has coming in. >> using these lasers, we punch a hole in the protective layer around the world, which we called the ozone layer. >> you accidentally proposed to rachel. >> can i stop you right there a second. when people do this, i don't know what it means. >> the president was clear in his tweet it was wiretapping. >> another perfectly reasonable explanation on well oiled machine on why president trump is accusing president obama of wiretapping trump tower. while the white house withholds what, if any, evidence it has to back up that claim, republicans are working to counter a health care problem, just a little one, 24 million health care problems in fact. that's the number of americans cbo says will lose their health care a decade from now under the gop plan. joining us now this morning vice chair of the intelligence committ

i'm louis burgdorf alongside >> well, today is deadline day for the white house to back up the, by all accounts, fantastic claims by president trump that former president obama tapped trump tower. also on the road again. >> millions and millions of women, cervical cancer, breast cancer are helped by planned parenthood. i'm going to protect and save your social security and your medicare. you can do it through medicaid and some other way, this has nothing to do with -- this has to do with humanity. this has to do with having a heart. >> president-elect trump says he'll soon unveil a plan that will provide insurance for everybody. >> thank you. we will call it donald care. that's good. i haven't thought of that one. >> only this time, president trump is trying to sell a version of health care reform that looks a lot different than the one that he put out on the campaign trail. will his voters embrace a plan that could end up hitting them the hardest? this as everyone april waits the score of the republican's bill by the congressional budget office. we are going to speak this morning with

. >> i'm alex witt, alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >>> i know we're all going to make a deal on health care. that's such as easy one. i think it's going to happen quickly because we've all been promising, democrat, republican, we've all been promising that to the american people. i think a lot of good things are going to happen there. >> it's back, health care reform. >> he said health care is going to be easy again. >> it was left for dead after friday's crushing defeat. but a new report says that steve bannon is leading the way to resuscitate the bill. >> that will work. >> this morning senator bernie sanders is going to be our guesting. my daughter is so excited. she waited in line for three hours at johns hopkins to see him speak. he'll be on at 8:30. welcome to "morning joe." it's march 29. with us veteran columnist and msnbc contributor mike barnicle, former campaign director for ted cruz's campaign, rick tyler, msnbc anchor and political correspondent steve kornacki is with us. "new york times" r

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. it's only tuesday and it's a busy week. we'll start the busy show. >>> i have been authorized by the department of authorized by the department of justice to confirm that the fbi, as part of our counter-intelligence mission, is investigating the russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the trump campaign and the russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and russia's efforts. >> you've announced you have this big investigation, but you've got people involved in our government -- secretary of state, for example. these are important players. the longer this hangs out here, the bigger the cloud is. there's a big, gray cloud you've now put over people who have very important work to do to lead this country. so the faster you can get to the bottom of this, it's going to be better for all americans. >> what a day in washington, the chairman of the house committee. >> w

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >> a war front in washington. number one, republicans trying to steer clear of the president's wild, erratic and disturbing accusations about president obama ordering the wiretapping of trump tower. >>> number two, president trump finally announces the revamped version of his controversial executive order on immigration looking a lot like the hotly first one. >>> and three, house republicans finally unveil their long promised bill to repeal and replace obama ca. democrats, of course, on board. but some republicans also not happy with it. we'll get to that. and some cutting and pasting of press releases. an exxon press release. cut and paste by the white house. it's tuesday march 7th, another day. welcome to "morning joe." joe has the morning off. with us veteran columnist and msnbc contributor mike barnicle. senior political analyst for nbc news and msnbc mark halperin. former communications director for ted cruz's 2016 presidential campaign. and now an

i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and luis burgdorf. "morning joe" coming your way right now. >> do you feel vindicated coming over here? >> i somewhat do. i must tell you i somewhat do. i pretty much appreciated the fact they found what they do but i somewhat do. >> the committee has still not received the intercepts off on other information that the chairman was referring to and, therefore, it is really impossible for us to evaluate any of the merits of what the chairman has said. but i can say this, the chairman will need to decide whether he is the chairman of an independent investigation into conduct which includes allegations. potential krooncoordination or s a surrogate of the white house because he cannot do both. >> welcome to "morning joe." you are taking a look right now at the capitol of the united states which is the center of so much attention. i've got to say in my most quarter of century involved in american politics, i can't remember outside of the beginning of a war or an election or even impeachment. i can't remember

. >> i'm alex witt alongside ayman mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. "morning joe" starts right now. >> mark and i work hand in hand on this. contrary to maybe popular belief, we're partners to see that this is completed and that we've got a product at the end of the day that we can have bipartisanship in supporting. >> any circumstance in which you wouldn't share with mr. warner your sources? >> he usually knows my sources before i do. >> let me assure you, i've also got his cell phone and he hears from me more than he sometimes likes. >> that's a bipartisan oversight committee and how it's supposed to work. it's also the right thing to do. most lrntly, that's what americans want their members of congress ain the house and senae to do. the senate is doing it right now. unfortunately the house intel committee is not. we'll be talking about that and a lot more. the republican and democratic intel committee in the senate in a share of unity today. we're going to be having three senators including angus king, james langford and susan collins. they, too, a