the chairman of the joint chiefs, general joe dunford, called his south korean counterpart to discussion military options. and just now the president has released a statement saying the united states will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the american homeland and protect our allies in the region. lester? >> andrea mitchell with that late-breaking information, thank you. >>> now the defeat for senate republicans and their last ditch effort to repeal parts of obamacare. as the marathon session stretched into the night, senator john mccain shocked his colleagues by casting a decided no vote. provoking gasps in the chamber. nbc capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt was up all night watching it and explains how it all went down. >> reporter: after seven years of fighting, the republican promise to repeal obamacare is broken. senator john mccain stunned his president and his party overnight, stepping up and voting no. to gasps in the senate chamber. the so-called skinny repeal bill failed 49-51. two other republicans also voting no. >> this is, you know, clearly a disappointi

in a memo to all commanders general joe dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs, says there will be no modifications to the current policy until the president's directive is made formal. "for now," he says, "we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect." that spells uncertainty for transgender service members like mia mason after five tours in iraq and afghanistan. >> very costly for me. i lose my healthcare. i lose my pension, and those are things that i've earned for the 18 years i've served. >> reporter: as for the civil rights law, most federal courts have ruled that it does not ban job discrimination against gays and lesbians, but this latest filing is a clear break from what the obama administration said the law should be. lester? >> pete williams, thank you. >>> it's expected to be a very long night in the u.s. senate where republicans are in a marathon session leading up to an expected vote on a so-called skinny repeal that would do away with some but not all of obamacare. we get the latest from nbc news capitol hill correspondent kasie hunt. >> we all know this

today, in an internal memo, marine general joe dunford said that, pending actual direction, "we will continue to treat all our personnel with respect." the army's chief of staff, general mark milley, echoed that in a washington appearance. >> we grow up and learn to obey the chain of command and my chain of command is the secretary of the army and the secretary of defense and the president so we will work through the implementation guidance when we get it and then we'll move from there. >> woodruff: defense secretary jim mattis has been on vacation, and has made no public comment on re-instating the ban. the u.s. house has approved $1.6 billion for president trump's proposed wall on the mexican border. that's the amount he formally asked for in may. the vote today attached the money to a much larger bill that includes a major increase in defense spending. it now goes to the senate. a top senate republican had sharp words for the president today, over attorney general jeff sessions. mr. trump has repeatedly attacked sessions for recusing himself in the russia investigation. but senato

kelly comes from a live of combatant commanders that includes james mattis and joe dunford. i remember in the iraq war of 2003, dunford relieved the commander of the unit that was traveling with right in the heat of battle. so this is a group of combatant commanders that when they see a problem, they deal with it swiftly and quickly. what is really interested about this, neil, is the fact that the president had wanted scaramucci in that job. he had given him that direct line of communication. he had given him seniority over sean spicer and ten days later in comes john kelly and scaramucci is out. so just goes to show that the president is willing to take some pretty drastic steps to get the team in that he wants, neil. >> neil: you mentioned -- here we are. >> don't worry, john roberts. you have plenty of time. >> waiting for you. good afternoon, everyone. before we get started, i'd like to bring up general h.r. mcmaster and treasury secretary steve mnuchin to discussion the administration's response, to the maduro regimed anti-democratic actions in venezuela. they will make

the president chairman joe dunford knocked on his door and general kelly saw him in uniform, he knew his son was dead. before leaving at the head of u.s. southern command, bret, general kelly spoke to reporters at the pentagon and to give an indication of how he thinks how u.s. advisors -- take a listen to what he said. >> this more stuff is hard. it's not for the untrained. the mentorship, the advising is what makes -- the equipment is important but it doesn't come close to having people that are just with them over time. >> born and raised in boston, before the age of 16, general kelly hitchhiked across the united states. he will bring his decades of experience to this job can be a part of any military decisions. >> bret: lucas tomlinson at the pentagon. let's check in with mike emanuel on capitol hill for some reaction there. >> a number of top republicans on capitol hill are praising the selection of tom kelly, noting that he brings unparalleled leadership skills to the job as a retired marine corps general. they know him here on capitol hill from his time on homeland security. a

and just a few days ago, publicly the chairman of the joint chiefs, general joe dunford, told an audience where he was appearing that he would be ready to take those options to the president, wolf. >> dramatic developments indeed. barbara starr, will ripley, alexandra field, all working the story. stand by. i want to bring in democratic senator mazy has rune e i hharu. thanks for joining us. >> hello, wolf. >> alaska and hawaii, closest potential targets to north korea. on a scale of one to ten, senator, how concerned are you about this latest ballistic missile launch? >> we continue to be concerned, because we know that kim jong-un will continue to do these missile launches and that's why north korea and what they're doing is a matter of great concern to us, and we did just pass in the senate a sanctions bill relating to russia and north korea and iran. but i know that there are more sanctions that we could place on north korea and that is an avenue pursued by the chair of our foreign relations committee, bob corker and our ranking member cordon. so there are more things we can do at the

matter of fact, he's cut from the same cloth as some other great corps leaders i know, general joe dunfordnd others who have been more than willing to speak their mind. this is the thing. i think he'll lay out, mr. president, this is the inevitable consequences of this action, and you go four steps down. i think this is where again hi experience as a general understanding the environment -- and reince priebus never had this deem ability to think over the horizon like general kelly does, at the same time understanding the political consequences and those things which will come out of it, thinking in second and third order effects. he'll excel where others have not. he won't change the president's mind but he'll say, mr. president, these are things you'll have to manage, the key, to manage the consequences you know are coming. that's where this white house has failed. even if they knew it was coming, i don't think they knew how to deal with it. >> we're going to be getting this tape back any second now. apparently the pool was not aloud or does not have to play back the swearing in of genera

until that happens, joint chiefs chairman joe dunford promised to treat all personnel with to deal with transgender problems. >> yeah, we've had to deal with it. >> press secretary sarah huckabee sanders promised the white house would follow the right protocol. >> the white house will work with the department of defense and all of the relevant parties to make sure we fully implement this policy moving forward and do so in a lawful manner. >> reporter: for transgender army general jennifer peace -- >> right now we're lacking that. >> reporter: serving openly for a year has been a relief, peace said, but now there's concern. >> there's anxiety and con certain on what comes next but all i can do is go into work and do my best and do my job. >> reporter: the service chief said they can expect more. how near depends on how long i takes the white house and the pentagon to get on the same page. >> really important point. jan, thank you so much. >>> the make over the ride that broke apart and killed one has ordered o'festivals to stop using it. an entire section of the fire ball crashed to the

until that happens, joint chiefs chairman joe dunford promised to treat all personnel with respect. milley acknowledged his branch has struggled with transgender soldiers. >> we've had to deal with problems, we deal it with respectively and quietly in honor of the institution. >> press secretary sarah huckabee sanders promised the white house would follow the right protocol. >> the white house will work with the department of defense and all of the relevant parties to make sure we fully implement this policy moving forward and do so in a lawful manner. >> reporter: for transgender army captain jennifer peace, the current situation is confusing. >> the military operates on regulatory guidance and right now we are lacking that. >> reporter: serving openly for a year has been a relief, peace said, but now her future is uncertain. >> there's anxiety and concern what's to come next, but all i can do is go into work and do my best and do my job. >> reporter: a spokesperson for the defense secretary said the service chiefs can expect more detailed guidance in the near future. exactly how n

just three days ago general joe dunford, the chairman of the joint chiefs, said that war on the korean peninsula quote would be horrific. a loss of life unlike any we have experienced in our lifetimes. and i mean anyone who has been alive since world war ii. this echoed comments by secretary of defense jim mattis earlier this year. it is clear that there is no military solution to this problem. and pressure without direct diplomatic engagement will bring only continued drift. we need a bold new approach. i believe that only direct diplomatic engagement backed by unprecedented economic pressure will bring a peaceful solution to the north korea problem. that is why i've joined with chairman gardner in leading the north korean enablers accountability act. we believe that the united states needs to make it crystal clear that our country will impose unprecedented economic pressure on north korea and its enablers. we need to give the administration potent diplomatic tools, with which to bring that north korean regime to the table for serious direct negotiations. but no matter how many sancti

dunford. we have a war cabinet right now of general kelly, jim mattis, joe dufford, mike pompeo, tom cotton isresident's favorite senator. there's a huge story in the background and a very competent team, but the deadwood shooting has to stop. >> i think some people worry it's not deadwood, it's quentin tarantino. anyway, before we go to break. this evening on "sunday night with megyn kelly" kate snow is doing a report on whether talc may increase the risk of ovarian cancer. an important study worth watching tonight. that of course is tonight at 7:00/6:00 central on nbc. >>> we're back in 45 seconds with end game and something we never thought we'd hear. >>> coming up, end game brought to you by boeing. continuing our mission to connect, protect, explore and inspire. to you by boeing. continuing our mission to jack be nimble, jack be quick, jack knocked over a candlestick onto the shag carpeting... ...and his pants ignited into flames, causing him to stop, drop and roll. luckily jack recently had geico help him with renters insurance. because all his belongings went up in flames. jack got full

dunford. we have a war cabinet right now of general kelly, jim mattis, joe dufford, mike pompeo, tom cotton is the president's favorite senator. there's a huge story in the background and a very competent team, but the deadwood shooting has to stop. >> i think some people worry it's not deadwood, it's quentin tarantino. in "reservoir dogs." anyway, before we go to break. this evening on "sunday night with megyn kelly" kate snow is doing a report on whether talc the main ingredient in baby powder, may increase the risk of ovarian cancer. an important study worth watching tonight. that of course is tonight at 7:00/6:00 central on nbc. >>> we're back in 45 seconds with end game and something we never thought we'd hear. >>> coming up, end game brought to you by boeing. continuing our mission to connect, protect, explore and inspire. nmanaged depression, don't get too comfortable. we're talking to you, cost inefficiencies and data without insights. and fragmented care- stop getting in the way of patient recovery and pay attention. every single one of you is on our list. for those who won't rest unt

dunford. we have a war cabinet right now of general kelly, jim mattis, joe dufford, mike pompeo, tom cotton isresident's favorite senator. there's a huge story in the background and a very competent team, but the deadwood shooting has to stop. >> i think some people worry it's not deadwood, it's quentin tarantino. anyway, before we go to break. this evening on "sunday night with megyn kelly" kate snow is doing a report on whether talc may increase the risk of ovarian cancer. an important study worth watching tonight. that of course is tonight at 7:00/6:00 central on nbc. >>> we're back in 45 seconds with end game and something we never thought we'd hear. >>> coming up, end game brought to you by boeing. continuing our mission to i got a mortgage offer from the bank today. whuuuuuat? you never just get one offer. go to lendingtree.com and shop multiple loan offers for free! free? yeah. could save thousands. you should probably buy me dinner. . go to lendingtree.com for a new home loan or refinance. receive up to five free offers and choose the loan that's right for you. our average customer cou

dunford. we have a war cabinet right now of general kelly, jim mattis, joe dufford, mike cotton is the president'sthere's a huge story in the background and a very competent team, but the deadwood shooting has to stop. >> i think some people worry it's not deadwood, it's quentin tarantino. anyway, before we go to break. this evening on "sunday night with megyn kelly" kate snow is doing a report on whether talc may increase the risk of ovarian cancer. an important study worth watching tonight. that of course is tonight at 7:00/6:00 central on nbc. >>> we're back in 45 seconds with end game and something we never thought we'd hear. >>> coming up, end game brought to you by boeing. continuing our mission to connect, protect, - i'm a father. - puerto rican. - african-american. - i am bicultural. - we're all equal, no matter our differences. - and strong because of them. - celebrate diversity. >> announcer: end game brought to you by boeing. continuing our mission to connect, protect, explore and inspire. >>> back now with "end game." i bet are you going to talk about the boy scouts, about this speech