but nobody'happy tonight on capitol hill. and i think there is some lingering tensions that will go into next year over this. robert: sue, just a quick followup. what is the sticking point, though, for leader mcconnell? what's holding him up? susan: you know, they're really close on a lot of things. a lot of times it's the details that kind of need to come together in the end. one thing that they really got -- sticking point in the end is a bunch of republicans led by pat toey a republican from pennsylvania, are trying to get language into the bill that would essentially tie the hands of the federal reserve. it would end a couple of emergency lending programs that congress approved earlier this year to help boost the economy. toomey says that they should not be re-authorized and not a proper use of the fed and they want to extend them they need separate legislation. the biden administration sees this and many democrats on capitol hill see this as trying to tie the hands of the incoming president and a small point. it sound li

what congress is not doing his taking advantage of that asked factor for anyone that works on capitol hill the marginally increasing pay we keep them happy but not that will keep them there and if you want to increase the average pay for a staffer on the hill but it went up against congresses salary was a member of congress for many years congress sets up a press release for their own salary to automatically pump them up that ended with the great recession 2000 ama never returned to the process. it is a comprehensive plan if they will be any way it doesn't really matter what's really driving it is keeping the senior staffers. >> to raise the ceiling you can address that but congress needs to treat its workers for best practices for any corporation or nonprofit around the country and it doesn't always pay there can be a number of things they code do to fix the sailing to make working in congress something that should be a goal to extend a good chunk of their career that would go a long way to maintain the institutional knowledge. >> so the question talking about cause and effect is at the l

therefore, they weren't going to have to really go through this entire rigmarole on capitol hill. now they have a republican senator who's willing to at least challenge the state of pennsylvania's electoral results. and essentially what that means is that they will have to break up their joint session of congress, where they certify these results, then each chamber, the house and the senate, will have to have a two-hour debate. then they will come back together. they will have a vote on whether or not to accept that objection. we don't expect that that's going to happen. but it puts republicans who are up for re-election in 2022 in a tough position. do they stand with the president or do they stand up for democracy and the results of this election? we also know that the top democrat in the house, speaker nancy pelosi, is essentially saying that, look, at the end of the day, this is a distraction. here's what she said. >> i have no doubt that on next wednesday, a week from today, that joe biden will be confirmed by the acceptance of the vote of the electoral college as the 46th pre

so, right now to get a job on capitol hill, the typical way to get a job on capitol hill is to be young. perhaps just graduated college. and be willing to work in a so-called internship for one or two. after you graduate making very little or no money at all. so probably working part-time somewhere else for its you can break their internet entry level position. which those positions have turnover after three to six months. which tells you it is not a fun job to have. as a press secretary position or something along those lines. at that point, what we see is people really enjoy working on congress for the work that congress does although it might be vilified in the media, is rewarding, and satisfying, and it really is important. that includes the non- sexy kind of legislation, dirty work, oversight of really digging down into budget lines. that really only comes with experience. most staff are going to leave after a few years because they can't really dig their teeth in for only passing one spending bill at the end of the year in order to keep the government open, there's not much room f

from his first day on capitol hill, congressman ford relished the work.the course of 25 years in the house of representatives, the people's house, the man from grand rapids would earn the confidence of five presidents. although ford's easy and persuasive manner made him a valued member of the republican team in 1965 he again took on the establishment, this time defeating veteran g.o.p. leader henceforth,ck, gerald ford was a republican spokesperson with a national audience. each week, he and senate leader -- dirksen took the democrats to task. for eight years ford worked hard to make the republican minority into a force to be reckoned with and to realize his own personal dream. to serve as speaker of a republican house. but events ruled otherwise. in 1973, vice president spiro agnew resigned in disgrace. once more ford's life took an unexpected turn. >> my fellow americans, i proudly present to you the man whose name i'll submit to the congress of the united states for confirmation as the president of the united states, congressman gerald ford of michigan

on this day, all eyes on capitol hill .ollowed by relief for many americans. we have heard many times before. >> i believe i can speak for allicides when i say i hope and expect to have a final agreement nailed down in hours. >> we should have had it done months and months ago. right now, the final text is being resolved, that will go to congressional offices. >> the deal is not done. things can go wrong at any point in the process. in a few moments, i will be speaking with congresswoman dean. while americans wait for help they need, more is arriving by truck and plane. moderna's vaccine is being shipped around the country with inoculations to begin tomorrow. the president's focus, not on the 300,000 plus lives lost, it is fixed on his own grievances. talking

right now to get a job on capitol hill the typical way to get a job on capitol hill is to be young perhapsst graduated college and be willing to work in a so-called internship for one or two. making very little or no money at all. probably working part-time somewhere else. until you can break through into entry-level position which those positions have turnover somewhere between three months to six months it's not a fun job to have. and until you land in a mid-level policy position or press secretary position along those lines that at that point what we see is people really enjoy working on congress, the work that congress does, even though it might be vilified in the media is rewarding, satisfying, and really is important. that includes the non-sexy kinds of legislation and dirty work and oversight and really digging down into budget lines. that really only comes with experience. typically what's going to happen is most staff will leave after a few years because they can't really dig their teeth into doing too many things because not much is happening. if you're only passing one spending

sunland is on capitol hill for us.bill it's critical, something that the president has threatened to veto, but it's expected to get through. >> reporter: yes, most likely in the house tomorrow and the senate shortly thereafter. the key is not if it passes but how much it passes by. will they have enough support in the bill to get a veto proof majority because you have the presidential veto threat. he has threatened to veto it because it does not include a repeal of protections for social media companies, an unrelated matter to this funding bill. of course, when they post their numbers, the key number is do they have two-thirds majority? will they be able to break the presidential veto when it gets through capitol hill, that's the big thing to watch. and that would be a huge rebuke from the outgoing president. and early indications on capitol hill they may be moving towards that direction given kaindicatis we've seen how republicans feel on the bill. >> how about the shutdown and the stimulus bill? >> reporter: a lot go

how far does that go with leaders up on capitol hill? >> well, i think it's helpful and it's important but i think what is pushing them along are events here. this jobs report today was kind of a disaster just 245,000 new jobs that slowed down every month in recent months. that big recovery that we first saw from the pandemic recession has stalled out. and, you know, the thing about this report was that it included the fact that hundreds and hundreds of thousands of americans have quit looking for jobs because they can't find them and they have been discouraged. this virus is wreaking havoc on the economy and it may improve later but not good news for people now. you hear larry kudlow sounds like maria antoinette there talking about how things really aren't that bad. if you own a small business that has to shut down and you lose it, it's bad. if you can't find a job and you don't have a paycheck, it's bad. i think both sides understand that now. mitch mcconnell is now talking to nancy pelosi and they have got a must-pass bill, spending b

eastern on cspan3 or listen on the free radio app. >>> joining us from capitol hill is congressman john rose, who represents the sixth district of tennessee in central tennessee. good morning, congressman rose. >> good morning. thank you for having me on today. >> absolutely. we started the program talking about the election, president trump's comments on facebook. i wanted to get your thoughts on the president's efforts to contest the election in several states across the country and his efforts last night, comments last night. >> sure. first i say elections have to accomplish two purposes, first of all they have to decide the outcome, a winner, in this case the presidency. but secondly they have to do that in a manner that satisfies the loser and the loser's supporters that the outcome is just. i think that's where this election probably has fallen short. so i think it's understandable that the president and many of his supporters, including me, have many questions about this election. frankly we saw an unprecedented number of changes to the election procedures across the country. man

that meeting is underway now we're told on capitol hill.essional leadership and what chad pergram covers capitol hill for us the most significant meeting on covid relief since back in the sumner july. they're meeting right now. nancy pelosi, mitch mcconnell, kevin mccarthy, chuck schumer, steve mnuchin the treasury secretary as blake talked about earlier calling in by phone. chad joins us later in the hour. details as we get bit it but the meeting starting. >>> covid restrictions slamming new york. we talk about all the time. willie daigle is expanding his business but doing so in the state of georgia where there are fewer restrictions and lower taxes. willie is the owner of uncle jack's. he joins us on the show. we talked a lot about your two businesses in the state and georgia. tell us about expanding to georgia and your business there. >> i got back from being in georgia 11 straight days working on finishing up a store being built at peachtree corners at the peachtree town city center. i opened up another location five weeks ago in rossw

manu raju is on capitol hill. jeremy diamond is at the white house.he big question, how much money are they going to get under this deal? walk us through what is about to be approved. >> this is a significant prop e propos proposal. one of the biggest relief packages in american history is expected to be approved, potentially as soon as tomorrow. this $900 billion relief plan includes more than $300 billion in small business loans, including funds that were dried up from the ppp program. small businesses can once again get money that way. people can get money if they make less than $75,000 a year. individuals will get up to $600 in a one-time direct payment. each person in their family also would get $600. a family of four could get $2,400. the bill is expected to have about $300 a week in jobless benefits, enhanced j ed jobless benefits that are about to expire for so many americans in days. the benefits will be -- people will be eligible december 27th, assuming this becomes law. also, this plan has billions for vaccine distribution, providing to sta

>>> taking a live look at capitol hill. congress finally reaching a coronavirus relief bill. when americans will start receiving the $600 stimulus check. >>> thank you for joining us. it is monday, december 21, the winter solstice. >>> good morning to you. hope you had a wonderful weekend. it is a cold and foggy start to monday. >>> we will start off with a dense fog advisory for the inland valleys of the east bay. everywhere in gray on here, this is from concord south to the 680. it is plenty foggy from concord over toward brentwood. it is not only here but it is also foggy in the northbay. santa rosa, petaluma, sonoma, napa, you guys are looking at a foggy start. it is a bit hazy over the city but it is not foggy. we only have to be in the two locations. that is what it looks like in the tri-valley. livermore, 33. 35 in santa rosa. got san jose. it is 50 in san jose. daytime highs today should make it up to 60 with plenty of sunshine for most locations once the fog burns off. how does the fog look? >>> we have a traffic advisory. let's start off at 580 eastbound right at 35

they're not negotiating quite so openly on capitol hill. the treasury is different. the former treasury official said the treasure is going to move 10 times faster than the fed and the white house moves faster than the treasury. what she is in for now is more of a political role then she had at the fed. when people said janet yellen doesn't know how to do politics, i'm not sure that is right. if you look at how she got the job, joe biden picked her because she was somebody who was seen as acceptable to the progressive wing of the democratic party and somebody who knows financial markets, wall street's, the moderates, and even a lot of republicans can be comfortable with her as treasury secretary even though they may not like all of her policy. host: what is her relationship with the current fed chair, jay powell, who i assume will continue on. guest: his term runs through january of 2022. he will be there at least for the's first year of joe biden's administration -- he will be there for at least the first year of joe biden's administration. then he will have to pick

nbc's garrett haake is on capitol hill for us.hour there was some movement there, perhaps, as you said, some hope. your reporting that house speaker nancy pelosi and treasury secretary steve mnuchin finally set to talk for the first time since october. >> reporter: there's a lot of movement on the hill on coronavirus relief. it's probably too soon to say whether any of it represents progress. the speaker and secretary mnuchin will talk this afternoon, largely about government funding, and i think we should start thinking about those two issues as linked together. we're coming close to the end of the year, the government funding big is a must-pass. it's increasingly likely that any covid relief may be attached to that bill. what we heard today, also, was this bipartisan group of senators sounding pretty optimistic that they may have unlocked something here. here is a little bit from their press conference this morning. >> covid has created a crisis, and in a crisis the people expect congress to act. and this group has come together

right now we're watching capitol hill. any minute we expect house speaker nancy pelosi to speak at this critical moment for millions of americans. nearly 14 million people may lose benefits the day after christmas if congress doesn't act on a new relief bill. it comes as we just got a very difficult jobs report. employment growth has slowed down sharply. just $245,000 were added this month. the unemployment rate edged down to 6.7%. in a matter of hours president-elect joe biden will address the jobs report and the economic toll of this pandemic. biden added a familiar name to a big new job in his future administration, dr. anthony fau fauci. >> he asked you to serve as his chief medical adviser. will you do that? did you say yes? >> absolutely, i said yes right on the spot. >> fauci there my colleague savannah guthrie, this as we just broke a single day record for covid-19 deaths again. we lost more than 2800 americans to this virus on thursday. and a new cdc projection says we can see up to nearly 20,000 covid-19 deaths i

cnn's lauren fox is live from capitol hill. and we're hearing very little from mcconnell on how he's going to proceed when it comes to bumping up the stimulus from $600 to $2,000. what are you hearing from republican leadership? >> well, essentially right now, jake, it looks like mcconnell is just trying to run out the clock when it comes to those $2,000 stimulus checks. interestingly, before he closed the senate for the day, he did give himself a little bit of an option for further down the road if he has to bring something to the floor. essentially what it would do, it would be the $2,000 stimulus checks plus a repeal of section 230. now, of course, that is a poison pill, something democrats likely wouldn't vote for, but it is interesting. it's not a guarantee, of course, that mcconnell would bring this up, it is just something that he has at his disposal if he gets into a situation where something has to come to the floor. now, taking a step back, we have been talking to other republicans today on capitol hill, in fact, my c

capitol hill for something to be done.g no response is not appropriate. reporting and durbin on what they are saying. >> there has to be sanctions, a pushback and punishment. there has to be consequences. >> the united states cannot be a victim over and over again without speaking out and more. molly: there seems to be a strong call for lawmakers for something to be done. we may not know what that is what would satisfy these lawmakers for them to be able to say this is elective, we all need to see a response to this. >> the people on the intelligence committees in congress will know and have access to these information the public doesn't know about and there are some things congress can do from the legislative branch included in the upcoming defense authorization bill, money to re-create sort of a cybersecurity expert, that has gone by the wayside by the trump administration. really what i think you will see under a biden administration and congress coming up, more focus on trying to stop this from happening must be a from

greta: who have been your closest pals on capitol hill? representative engel: when i was elected in 1988, the district to the north of me was nita lowey. she and i got elected at the same time and now we are both retiring. we will have served the exact same time in congress. she is chairman of the appropriations committee and i am chairman of the foreign affairs committee, and we are good personal friends. it is amazing, how we stayed, and both of us started at the same time and are leaving at the same time. there have been a number of friends i have had. jerry nadler is someone i knew from albany at the state legislature. we were personal friends before we were elected to anything, and there were others as well. was elected i had small children, so it was a bit difficult, but we have had the children here for a number of years, they are now back in new york, but they lived here. i am just always amazed at the amazing people, colleagues who run for office, who do well. if i don't agree with them on some issues, they are not my enemies. we

public service motivation intrinsic who works for capitol hill. generally, increasing pay, how people happy but i don't know what would keep them safe. if you want to increase average pay for staffers on the hill, the problem there is that senior staff will run up against numbers of congress salary. ask a member of congress if there willing to raise, it is a lose lose approach. congress that up increase of their own for many years on salary that automatically bumped them up so they wouldn't have to deal with that problem all the time. in 2008 and never returned. i think it would be a comprehensive plan to first deal with numbers today. it doesn't matter, what's really driving it, it's keeping staffers from staying. if you raise the ceiling a little bit, you can address that but in addition to that, congress needs to treat its workers using this practices from any corporation or nonprofit around the country, a number of them doing that. there are a number of things congress could do to fix the ceiling and entry to make working in congress something,

garrett haake is on capitol hill. jake sherman, politico's senior writer, he's the co-author of "politico's playbook." garrett, as of about 8:30 this morning, we still didn't have the actual text of the bill. are they going to vote on this thing without actually seeing the fine print? >> the fine print? they are barely going to be able to see the regular print, stephanie. you said this isn't done until it's done. that bill still isn't done. speaker pelosi is on the floor predicting the bill text will be released some time this morning. the house will vote some time this afternoon or evening on what will be thousands of pages likely of legislation. one of the biggest spending bills ever when these two pieces are combined. the spending bill and covid bill. no one will have had a chance to read the whole thing, although we know the top line numbers. what's in this final agreement, that includes stimulus checks of about $600 a person going out. there's expanded unemployment benefits are back, although not back dated so yo

greta: who are your mentors here on capitol hill?ator alexander: certain light -- representative engel: certainly nancy pelosi. congress, i think, six months before i did. and i have never seen anybody in my life work harder than she does and is as smart as she is. if you go on a trip with her, you start early in the morning and you finished late at night and it is 1:00 in the morning and she keeps going and you are ready to fall over, everyone is looking at each other. she is amazing. youa: what has she said to over the years that has motivated you to keep working? representative engel: that we can make a difference in people's lives. at that is what we are doing. and if you are not they are in the rooms, then your ideas don't get forwarded. that it is important to be there. that it is important to speak your mind and it is important to stand your ground. she is somebody i have admired. aroundoyer, who has been for a long time, he is almost the dean of the delegation of the democrats. i think he has served longer than anybody else.

what has changed on capitol hill? what is changing legislators mind and has the trump administration made any executive orders or regulatory changes to federal rulations on marijuana? >> guest: the trump administration does significant things, actual changes on the ground. jeff sessions, the paul memo ich was an obama era justice department memo that said states created, regulated cannis systems the justice department is not going to go after them. defitions repealed that, we've not seen the justice department go after any states thatave legalized marijuana. on capitol hill specifically, one of the biggest differences this year with how democrats especially talking about marijuana reform as, justice issue and i was in a hearing yesterday and the tone was quite different from hearings on this issue where criminal justice reform was part of the equation and the economic benefi of marijna legalization, creating jobs and the medical benefitfor kids and it is very focused on criminal justice reform and that has created mor

who is next in line for a covid shot on capitol hill? what will happen in a couple more months. i can't. it's frustrating. >>> help is on the way. temporary relief set to roll out for restaurants and small businesses across the state struggling to stay afloat. >>> plus, in crisis mode. a look inside southern california hospitals that are already dealing with an overflow of covid-19 patients. the solution doctors are trying to find to make demands meet. >>> and a live report on the vaccine, the mistake stanford medicine made that's raising eyebrows this morning. "today in the bay" continues right now. >>> a very good wednesday morning to you. thanks so much for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >>> and i'm marcus washington. first, we want to start out with your forecast today. vianey in for kari this morning. vianey, you say it's going to be a nice one today. it will be and the rain moving in. san jose a beautiful start there. temperatures are pretty cold in the 30s up in the north bay. then we have rain on the way. timing on that. first let

all eyes on capitol hill where there's late news of a possible wrench in the agreement of a covid relief bill that is long past due. a midnight sunday deadline looms in an i temattempt to get congro actually pass something. >> the american people cannot feed their families or pay their bills with congress' good-faith discussions. they need us to act. we need to conclude our talks, draft legislation, and land this plan. >> you can use whatever football analogy you want, we're on the 5 yard line or the 1 yard line or whatever. the truth is simple -- we're close to an agreement but we need to finalize it. >> what is absent from covid relief negotiations, the covid crisis and so much more, a president willing to lead rather than focus on baseless election fraud claims. today president trump did finally weigh in on a massive cyberattack on the u.s. government, but it wasn't to confront the country believed responsible. the president instead down playing the severity of the attack and questioning the involvement of russia, a fact that even his own secretary of state admits. >> this was a very

all of this is happening as at least one republican lawmaker on capitol hill thinks it is high time the hunter biden situation also gets a bit of special attention. >> i'm absolutely calling a special counsel to look at all things hunter biden to see if he presents a conflict of the biden administration regarding his business dealings with ukraine which is overrun with russian agents and any activity with the chinese government. >> senate judiciary chairman lindsey graham, convinced hunter biden's business dealings warrant a closer look today called for a special counsel to look into his affairs. >> if you believe a special counsel is need to look at the trump world regarding russia how can you say there is no need for special counsel regarding hunter biden. >> a is reviewed biden's financial affairs the graham is needed because of his possible connection for the chinese communist party, fox news obtained a 2017 a male in which hunter biden extended best wishes from the biden family to the principle of the chinese energy concern called cef theater urged the chairman to quickly send a $1

. >> from his first day on capitol hill, congressman represented the people's house, he would earn thenfidence of five presidents. always his easy and persuasive manner made him a valuable member of the republican team. in 1965 he again took on the establishment. this time defeating veteran g.o.p. leader charlie howell. jerry ford was a spokesperson with a national audience. they took the democrats to task. he could realize his own personal dream. so serve as speaker of the republican house. once more ford's life took an unexpected turn. >> i proudly present to you a man whose name i will submit to the congress of the united states. his integrity aided candidates and a beleaguered president, but each day brought questions of wrong doing. the water gate scandal was coming to a climax. >> it was a time of anxiety for the american people. >> he didn't know if the president would dig in and fight or resign. on august 9th, 1974, it was settled. on the south lawn of the white house, a painful ceremony unfolded. nixon reassured his wife we can do it and soon he would reassure the nation. for

we appreciate it. >>> can we go back to capitol hill. we told you they gavelled into session. as you know, nancy pelosi had basically said to the president, look, great, if you want $2,000 increase in direct payments, let's do it by unanimous consent. that has not happened. that has failed as expected. we're going to get you up to date on what's happening on capitol hill. >>> also this morning, a record number of americans waking up in hospitals battling covid. and at the same time, a record number of travelers are going through airports. then later, outrage in ohio after an officer kills an unarmed black man. the disturbing new details this morning. [ thunder rumbles ] [ engine rumbling ] ♪ [ beeping ] [ engine revs ] ♪ uh, you know there's a 30-minute limit, right? tell that to the rain. [ beeping ] for those who were born to ride, there's progressive. (combative yelling) he used to have bad breath. now, he uses a capful of therabreath fresh breath oral rinse to keep his breath smelling great, all day long. (combative yelling) therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. at walmart

. >>> talks are happening as we speak up on capitol hill.he senate majority leader mitchell mitch mcconnell saying, i'm quoting him now, i think we are going to get there. the senate minority leader chuck schumer says, i'm quoting, the finish line is in sight. we will talk about in a few moments with senator bernie sanders who has very strong views on what is going on right now. >>> meanwhile, the u.s. coronavirus death toll has now surpassed 306,000 people and more than 16.8 million confirmed cases here in the u.s. as the unprecedented rollout of the pfizer vaccine gains steam, dr. anthony fauci now says the moderna vaccine could get emergency use authorization from the fda as early as as tomorrow. >>> we begin our coverage with our chief white house correspondent is on the scene jim acosta. >> reporter: president trump is not alone in pushing baseless claims of election fraud. top republican lawmakers, including the chairman of the homeland security security committee were spreading disinformation about the 2020 election at a hearing earli

nbc news capitol hill correspondent leigh ann caldwell. nbc news presidential historian michael beschloss. leigh ann, let me begin with you. what are the democrats and republicans planning on doing next? >> reporter: well, ayman, there does seem to be some sort of showdown in the senate over the stimulus checks right now. senate democratic leader chuck schumer tried to pass additional $2,000 stimulus bill that passed the house last night on the senate floor, but it was blocked by senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. mitch mcconnell said in statements on the floor that he hinted at, perhaps, he might bring up a $2,000 stimulus check bill, but he would, perhaps, tie it with the president's other priorities of some changes to section 230 that deals with social media companies and something that deals with alleged voter fraud as well, but he kept his intentions extremely vague. so where things go now from here, it's all up to mcconnell, but he is seeing a little bit more pressure from members of his own party. his two senators from georgia

back to capitol hill the coronavirus relief bill has enough votes to pass the senate. this has the funding to keep the government going. chad program joins us for an update. >> reporter: this vote is still open on the senate for right now. it is passing, the vote is 90-6 oh have enough votes to pass into the government will not shut down tonight and they will align with the house of representatives on this covid-19 package earlier in the evening, the house of representatives passed the bill, the vote was 359-53. the day votes came from republicans, there was one independent, just in amasher voted no in two democrats in the house of representatives, tulsi gabbard of hawaii and a member of the squad, rashida tlaib. this bill is going to go to the president, technically he has to sign it before midnight eastern time to avoid a government shutdown for what they usually do is put in a little bit of fiscal grout to make sure if it bleeds past the midnight hour the government will not shut down so the house and senate will be in alignment very soon. it is 92-6. vice president

host: does it make it hard to work on capitol hill? you referenced that contentious moment in the senate of homeland security -- homeland security and government affairs meeting yesterday. do governors enjoy each other anymore? are there friends between folks on different sides of the aisle? how much do they actually hang out with each other outside of when the cameras are on at these committees? caller: i think they get along -- guest: i think they get along far better than people in television land see, or what you see in the media, but part of this is capable -- catering to the party basis. about 75% of the members are primary voters so that is where they view their time and attention, their speeches, voting records. on a personal basis, i don't think it is that divided. morewe saw yesterday was contentious than we ordinarily see outfront. the no labels group and house and senate, it is a bipartisan group of equal numbers of democrats and republicans, a bicameral group and they get along very well. they are very close friends and no

king,so representative after 20 years on capitol hill, why are you calling it quits? i loved every minute of it down here. it was a dream of a lifetime. you get to a certain stage, i will be 77 years old in a few months. i'm in good health, my wife is in good health. my wife moved to north carolina with her children and her husband. i am healthy. i'm staying active and in new york. have -- i have several different job opportunities. a radio show, who knows? i'll be competing with c-span. host: will you be involved in politics? rep. king: i'm not going to run again. but i have been part of the upstate party. i'm definitely going to stay active in new york, rhode island, new york city, new york state. try to stay relevant after you are out of office. host: what is [indiscernible] like? rep. king: it's been a great place to live. i moved there in 1967. it's a great opportunity. it's mainly middle-income families. it's safe, schools are good. they voted for me all these times. it's a good opportunity. mostly single-family homes. 6500 plots. thear as i know, probably first

we begin with nbc news correspondent leigh ann caldwell on capitol hill. leigh ann, this was very touch-and-go, just about until you came on air. what do we know about this deal? >> reporter: hey, alicia. so, it has been about 270 days since congress last acted regarding covid relief. that's when the cares act was passed. now we're five days before christmas, on a sunday night, and congressional leaders have announced finally that they have reached an agreement on about a $900 billion new version, new covid relief bill. so what sort of relief are americans going to get? so unemployment is going to be extended. and the jobless will also receive an additional $300 a week in a federal unemployment benefit. small businesses, there's going to be about $300 billion in small business loans. there's money for vaccine distribution, as well. and of course, there's direct payments for those who are eligible at around $600 a person and for children, as well. now, many lawmakers say that this is not enough. there are many on the right -- or on the left, and even some o

>>still ahead discussions around a covid-19 relief bill hit another how many >>makers on capitol hill in the end game is a reach for the finish line on that covid relief bill, however, a few recent demands in discussions could mean a few more days to try to reach a conclusion. our washington correspondent basil john reports. the discussion around the latest covid relief bill has hit a hurdle just as congress was close to a deal in terms of the is. >>in terms of unemployment housing. those issues small businesses with the ppp all those issues is an immediacy pennsylvania, democratic congressman dwight evans says despite the possible hold up. he is prepared to get relief out to americans. we should stand years malls, we have to do we get just a pennsylvania republican congressman lloyd smucker says he supports the framework to bring relief to americans but has not seen the bill yet some of pieces are in there but until we see the final language of just not sure exactly what those look like yet democrats are blaming a recent a man from pennsylvania republican senator pat toomey. >>to dec

what's the future of the hunter biden probe on capitol hill? will there be hearings in the next congress? >> it depends on what's uncovered. it's now in the hands of the justice department. i hope this is a legitimate and real and rigorous investigation. the only reason i say that, i have no suspicions one way or the other other than we did the investigation to the scandal, that was an investigation to hillary clinton's e-mail scandal. that was not an investigation designed to uncover the truth leading to conviction, it was an investigation to cover up the truth and exonerate hillary clinton. hope it's not the same for hunter biden. >> how difficult will it be with this hanging over the whole process. >> it's a question of whoever the attorney general nominee is. if he appoints eric holder who's a con cig lair for president obama, that's not going to go over too well. >> many in washington and across the country are alarmed by hacks against u.s. government systems. do you have a sense at this point how pad the damage is? >> i really don't. but

still ahead on "today in the bay," who is next in line for the covid shot on capitol hill? >>> plus, when is it safe to do so. the four seasons has a new perk. you're watching "today in the bay." hi, i'm mike. jack hired me to tell you about his bagel breakfast sandwiches with bacon or sausage. jack i thought you hired me to be the spokesperson! why choose one when you can have two? my 2 for $5 bagel breakfast sandwiches. begins with ingredients from the earthn... why choose one when you can have two? to create fragrances infused with natural essential oils. air wick scented oils. connect to nature. less oral steroids. taking my treatment at home. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatig

cnn's manu raju has more from capitol hill. >> reporter: good morning, boris and laura. despite optimism that the bipartisan deal that a covid relief package has been stalled, a $900 billion outline came out, there is now pessimism again on capitol hill as leaders traded blame and barbs yesterday about the stalemate in the discussion and about a disagreement about how to move forward. it's raising questions about whether a deal can be reached as so many americans around the country need relief from washington and uncertain if it's going to happen. the big sticking points are two issues on this docket. how to deal with liability issues open during the pandemic, something that mitch mcconnell has been pushing for and aid to state and local governments. what mitch mcconnell proposed is getting rid of the two sticking points and focusing on the issues that they can disagree. jobless benefits and other issues that the two sides have more or less coalesced around. democrats pushed back. said they can still get a deal on those other issues. they say state and local money is so

solvers congress -- caucus, responsible for the covid relief bill that has gotten some momentum on capitol hill. will it have enough momentum to get through a nancy pelosi control house and a mitch mcconnell controlled senate and signed by the president? will get somewhere close to it. for a long time, speaker pelosi demanded that there be 2.2 trillion or something thereabouts. speaker mcconnell had it, then they went down to about $500 billion. i think that this plan is close enough to leader mcconnell that we can get him on board. joe biden said he supported the proposal and speaker pelosi retreated. i think we are very close. i think it's very needed. farl businesses, so

in seattle, there was the capitol hill autonomous zone followed by the capitol hill occupied protest zone followed by the defund police movement. so there was a lot happening, a lot of social reckoning not only locally but across the nation. i saw that as a real opportunity but i also know that we've been here before. you know, with the watch riots, with rodney king, with ferguson. there has been moments in history where people came together and tried to have solidarity around and unity around finding racial justice with police and police brutality and my biggest fear to be honest when you asked what's changed. there is a lot of focus on it, a lot of discussion, a lot of policy parts of that really haven't taken effect yet and my biggest fear is that we're going to end the year, you know, really tied to a lot of slogans and mantras but the real meaningful change when we act we might fall short if we don't keep laser focus attention how to move things forward. >> so many people started paying attention to police reform this year, chief. people who may not have had this issue on the ra

and on capitol hill, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says a final deal on the covid-19 reliefl has been reached. good evening, i'm jon scott, and this is "the fox report." ♪ ♪ jon: thanks to the white house's operation warp speed initiative, the first shipments of moderna's vaccine began heading to hospitals across the country this morning. at the same time, congress is on the brink of passing a $900 billion relief package even as government funding is set to expire tonight at midnight. we have fox team coverage. mark meredith is live at the white house, but first, chad pergram with the latest from capitol hill. >> reporter: we certainly do have the latest, you're right. they have formally reached that agreement here which they've been pursuing practically for weeks here. mitch mcconnell just announced this on the senate floor just a bit ago. the other thing that we've learned in just the past couple of moments before we came on the air, steny hoyer, house majority leader, on a conference call indicated to his members there will not be a vote tonight on the covid bill. they ne

host: does it make it hard to work on capitol hill? referenced that contentious moment in the senate of homeland security -- homeland security and government affairs meeting yesterday. do governors enjoy each other anymore? are there friends between folks on different sides of the aisle? how much do they actually hang out with each other outside of when the cameras are on at these committees? caller: i think they get along -- guest: i think they get along far better than people in television land see, or what you see in the media, but part of this is capable -- catering to the party basis. about 75% of the members are primary voters so that is where they view their time and attention, their speeches, voting records. on a personal basis, i don't think it is that divided. morewe saw yesterday was contentious than we ordinarily see outfront. the no labels group and house and senate, it is a bipartisan group of equal numbers of democrats and republicans, a bicameral group and they get along very well. they are very close friends and not ju

interesting is just getting the reaction, phil, from sources not only in the white house but on capitol hill, of course, it was the president's treasury secretary, steve mnuchin, who was on the hill negotiating this, making this proposal on the numbers. what has the reaction been on capitol hill to this and what is next for this bill? >> yeah, not only the lead negotiator for the administration who regularly briefed the president or at least somewhat briefed the president, the $600 level for the direct payments that has upset the president so much was the treasury secretary's idea. that was his number that he entered into the negotiations here. in terms of what's next, i think john hits t this is a really big day. everybody is in wait and see mode right now, i think everybody on capitol hill over the course of the last three or four years has gotten used to moments like this, chaos, sometimes the president backs down, sometimes he cools off, sometimes people are able to maybe perhaps get to the president and brief him on the importance of why they think this should be passed, allies of his.

let's get more on the brazeakin news from capitol hill. mcconnell killing the $2,000 checks? >> yeah, i think that you have seen him creep toward this position and the reason why, we've paid a lot of attention to the fact that there were 44 republicans in the house that voted for it . and mcconnell closed the door to any possibility of 2 thoid ch$2s happening. but the most interests element of this, that prurd has made clear that this something that he wants. afd bernie sanders was on the floor with a poster board of president trump's tweets . and mcconnell hats made ths mad that the skurl twochedule won't this bill. and at least two items complete nonstarters for democrats. and so that leaves us at square one which is the $600 checks in the pilbill. and probably nothing more than that. >> and we want to bring in mj lee and also david gergen. david, it sounds as though president trump htweeting for te $2,000 stimulus checks. but mitch mcconnell has slammed the door on this seeming to be saying no covid relief but we'll give i the crazy election talk next week. >> what a miser

but those who work on capitol hill. that makes people happy and if you want to increase average pay for a staffer on the hill the problem is senior staff salaries will run up against a member of congress salary. they vote to raise their own salary it is a lose lose and for many years they set up a cost-of-living increase on their salary that automatically pump them up slidell have to deal with that problem all the time that into the great recession 2008 and they never return to the process. to first deal with members of a but the most senior staffers that congress needs to treat its workers to do a number of good things so there could be a number of things that congress can do to fix the ceiling and the entry point that can spend the good chunk that would go a long way to maintain that institutional knowledge. >> let me bring and audience questions going into a few categories i will try to tie some things to gather. is that the lack of capacity has congress to avoid the choices or then to evade personal responsibility a

the senate races in georgia are closely watched on capitol hill where the outcome will decide the balance of power. both runoffs expected to be close. steve harrigan is live for us in atlanta now. steve? >> early voting for the two senate comic runoff races, and it ends tomorrow. you can see some of those early vote ballots being sorted behind me and then they will be opened and scanned. already 2.3 million people have voted early and we have also learned that president-elect biden come to atlanta on monday to campaign for the two democrats, vice president-elect harris will come to savannah on sunday. at least two races have drawn national attention and national money. at more than $800 million in all, really tv ads blanketing the airways not just here in georgia but in tennessee, alabama and florida as well. of course georgia has been reliably republican for the past