joel ruben fourth generation congregant of tree of life synagogue.et me first ask you, give us a feeling or give us the thoughts you have as one that knows this synagogue and explain to the nation what this synagogue means in that community. >> thanks, reverend al, for having me here. that will ha synagogue is at the heart of the community. there are a variety synagogues in crown hill which is one of the bright lights of american jewish life especially urban american jewish life in the country. my family as you mentioned were fourth generation. my grandmother is 96, still lives in pittsburgh, she was born in pittsburgh, proud daughter of immigrants to this country that took care of us and made us part of the fabric of the city. that's really the point here is that the synagogues are part of the fabric you have pittsburgh. pittsburgh has a rich tradition of openness and tolerance and ethic diversity and the synagogue tree of life, beth shalom my great grandparents helped to found. these are really symbols of america for the american jewish community.

. >> joel ruben.at all this change the game when it comes to where this story goes next? >> it is a game changer. it's going to only increase the scrutiny, and it's also important to remember that the saudi american alliance is bigger than individual leaders. it is decades long, but what's happening right now is it appears that the administration is covering for an individual leader rather than worrying about the shape actually of the alliance. so this only opens up more questions that members of congress and the media are going to have about what really took place. >> and do you think those members of congress will get their questions satisfactorily answered? >> not in the near term, no, i don't think so, and i think the administration's going to try to push this back as far as they can in hopes that it will just get lost in the daily news cycle. >> joel ruben, that is a grim assessment, but i appreciate you joining us for your perspective and analysis. i want to thank the folks on set. john, we had

let me bring in former deputy assistant secretary of state joel ruben. you've been on before talking about nikki haley back in the beginning of the administration when it was rumored she could end up in maybe the secretary of state role. remember that? your reaction to her departure? >> my first reaction is that this may be her getting out when the getting is good because, as we know, a lot of these nominees, a lot of these cabinet officials, their time runs out, and eventually it's time for them to get pushed out. she's leaving on a high. >> she's also, we are now getting new notes from the oval office from the reporters in the room, she's saying she's not running in 2020. she's going to campaign for donald trump, which you can imagine is something the president is enjoying hearing? >> he certainly is. to have her as a validator, in particular during the #metoo movement, that's going to be a strong validator. there are some good choices for his agenda, that could get through a divided senate. there are a lot of others who would carry that kind of positi