truly the jonathan lemire of hockey, wayne gretzky.me. >>> in major league baseball, hurricane damage has pushed the tampa bay rays out of the tropicana field for next season. the team is set to play, sed, home games at nearby steinbrenner field, the new york yankees spring training park that seats about 11,000 and the largest of the spring training sites in florida. unclear if the rays can fill that one out. sorry. a little dig. home of the rays since 1998, the tropicana field in t. petersburg was hit hard on november 9th from hurricane milton. a city assessment of the repairs a cost over 55 million! basically, the team's budget. if it is to be ready for the start of the 2026 season. the work would have to be approved by the city council which earlier this year voted for a new 1.3 billion dollar, 30,000-seat stadium to replace the trop beginning in 28. >>> lindsey vonn is returning to compete for the olympics in 2026. she was the oldest to win a medal. she tells "the new york times" her return was not planned and that she reconsidered

i'm jonathan lemire.for starting your day with us. we have a lot to get to this morning. we begin in washington. >>> j.d. vans will return to capitol hill to convince senate republicans to nominate matt gaetz for attorney general. senator kennedy confirmed that he will be meeting with vance and the former florida congressman. kennedy is a member of the judiciary committee. he says he has not received a call from president-elect trump about the gaetz pick but several other senators have, including kevin kramer of north dakota. some lawmakers say gaetz perm reached out to them. js this comes as a trump with his team says the team knew getting the senate to approve gaetz would be an uphill battle saying, quote, trump told gaetz it was one he wanted to fight. trump announced gaetz as his a.g. pick nearly a week ago but the former florida congressman is facing allegations of sexual misconduct. gaetz denies the allegation and the justice department never filed charges against him. meanwhile, the house ethics co

i'm jonathan lemire.r starting your day with us. >>> a lot to get to this morning and we will begin with new reporting on president-elect donald trump making phone calls to senators pressing them to support his controversial pick for attorney general. axio spoke to republican senator kreven kevin kramer of north dakota who said he believes matt aetz who will have the fearlessness and ferociousness to do what needs to be doing at the department of judge. kramer said one thing about donald trump, people should never confuse his support for one of his nominees as a tactical or a strategic tool for somebody else. adding that he's a pretty persuasive guy. another senator also confirmed to axios that trump reached out calling on them to support gaetz. the house ethics committee is set to meet tomorrow to talk about the former congressman. the top democrat on that panel, congresswoman susan wile of pennsylvania said the report should be released to the senate and to the public. an attorney for two women who said

jonathan lemire, let me come to you.hing -- mike johnson and every other member of the house can say whatever they want to say. but you look at republican senators and what they have been saying, they are not going to vote on him it appears until they read that report. and what is in that report, according to the woman who was 17 years old and a high school junior when she testified under oath that she had sex with the nominee, that is going to come out. again, there is no way -- there is no way that is going to survive in the united states senate. so i'm curious. you know, you're hearing over the weekend people in background saying, oh, he is going to fight to the very end on this. i will tell you this is one thing we can report directly from it. he expressed surprise about the ethics report, expressed surprise about the testimony, and so i just -- i just don't know how this nomination goes forward in a way that doesn't hurt the administration. and, also, that doesn't make matters even worse for the a.g. nominee. >> yea

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. ♪♪ >> holy [ bleep ]!idn't see that coml!ing! >> very respectful. we are all thinking about the administration coming in. we want to be positive and supportive. >> did you get the sense that he this were already going to be a no on him? >> no. >> is that why he resigned? >> no. i got the sense the process was going to be challenging. you need to ask him! but here is what i would say. the president nominated somebody and they chose not to go forward and now he'll nominate somebody else. >> a number of state senators and one john fetterman reacting to matt gaetz withdrawal to be the next attorney general. we will have nor about that decision and donald trump's new pick to potentially lead the department of justice. >>> meanwhile, the president-elect's other controversial select pete hegseth was on capitol hill yesterday meeting with lawmakers just as the police report detailing an alleged sexual assault was released. we will bring the details of that report. >>> we will get expert analysis on a major escalat

i'm jonathan lemire. thank you for being with us.our days left until to election, early data shows early voting has surged. more than 62 million votes have been cast nationally. 41% of those voters have been registered democrats while 40% have been registered republicans. when it comes to age, more than half all early voters have been 50 and older, just 8% of all 18 to 29-year-olds have so far cast a ballot. the data also shows more than half of early voters have been women, coming in at 54%, while 44% of early votes have been cast by men. joining us now democratic strategist and former senior advisor to president biden's 2020 campaign, alencia johnson. she's also consulting and advisor vice president harris' campaign. good to see you this morning, alencia. so let's just start here with your broad take-aways about this early voter data. what can we learn from that about which candidate may have an advantage? >> listen, i think of the early voting data as some of the conversation we've been having this entire cycle about the divide am

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us., a cease-fire between israel and hezbollah has taken effect this morning, bringing an end to more than a year of fighting. nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has the latest. >> reporter: just hours after new israeli strikes against hezbollah targets in beirut, the iranian-backed militia the u.s. designates as a terror group. >> i have good news to report from the middle east. >> reporter: president biden announcing both sides agreed to a cease-fire. >> let's be clear. israel did not launch this war. the lebanese people did not seek that war either. >> reporter: the latest conflict started a day after the october 7th hamas attacks, when hezbollah began firing rockets from lebanon into israel. with the deal some 80,000 israelis who evacuated from the north can now go home, while lebanese officials say more than 3,000 of its citizens have been killed, more than 1 million displaced by the israeli strikes. israel's prime minister backing the cease-fire saying it i

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us.to wait longer for its first woman as president, there were some historic gains one for women in this election cycle. for the first time in united states history two black women will serve as senators at the same time. senators let lisa blunt rochester of delaware and angela brooks of maryland made history this week. their victories doubles the number of black women to serve in the senate. in another historic first, sarah mcbride of delaware has been elected america's first openly transgender person in congress. joining us now the president of emilie's list. jessica, good to see you this morning. thank you for joining us. obviously tuesday was a disappointing night for the organization supporting vice president harris. there were some bright spots for fill female candidates. jackie rosen in nevada appears poised to do the same although that one's not called yet. there are these bright spots. how do we square the success with donald trump's win, his second win over a female presidential

jonathan lemire, what a week.epare for the return of donald trump to the white house. a donald trump who got away with so much and comes back in with the wind at his back, a mandate and a supreme court that will let him do basically whatever he wants. >> that does it for us this morning. we will see you monday. ana cabrera picks up the coverage after a quick final break. the virus that causes shingles is sleeping... in 99% of people over 50. it's lying dormant, waiting... and could reactivate. shingles strikes as a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks. and it could wake at any time. think you're not at risk for shingles? it's time to wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention. jorge has always put the ones he loves first. but when it comes to caring for his teeth he's let his own maintenance take a back seat. well maybe it's time to shift gears on that. aspen dental has complete, affordable care all under one roof. plus

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. we'll begin with the latest on the possible members of donald trump's upcoming administration. he's expected to nominate marco rubio of florida for secretary of state. arguably the most important position in the cabinet. that's according to three sources familiar with the selection process. but those sources said that trump could still change his mind on who would fill the role of the country's top diplomat. trump yesterday did select former congressman lee zeldin of new york to oversee the environmental protection agency. the epa. zeldin's nomination was criticized by environmental groups because of his lack of experience. that post requires senate confirmation but republicans will have the majority in the upper chamber when the new congress is sworn in. also trump has asked gop congressman mike waltz of florida to be his national security advisor. that role does not require senate confirmation. meanwhile there are concerns on capitol hill about trump taking more republican members o

jonathan lemire and mike barnicle are still with us. n is jonathan martin of politico. good to have you. >> mike barnicle. >> i want to get to the news here. >> i want to get to "the news." >> yeah, but barnicle? >> i read something suggesting that the red sox were serious about getting soto. >> yeah. >> here we go! >> the hope that kills you. you want to break my heart now or do you think they will make a serious run for him? >> i think they will make a serious run for him and break your heart in about three weeks. but i think they are going out there to see him and they will have money in the satchel, real money and something they haven't displayed in three or four years. >> the past three or four years, they have had monopoly money and players have opened it up and they are like, what? >> all right. thank you, mike. >> real money. let's hope. >> yeah. all right. >> he would look great at fenway like you always say, mika. >>> one week after the 2024 election, democrats continue to assess the party's path forward. long time democratic s

. >> we have "way too early"'s jonathan lemire. the president of the national action network and host of "politics nation," reverend al sharpton, and zanny minton beddoes joins us of "the economist." >> jonathan, we have to start with the patriots. they win. jets lose, just like old times. the lions, a comeback for the ages. >> unexpected, the new england patriots are referenced at 6:02 a.m. on a monday morning, but they won. drake may was pretty good. they have the quarterback of the future. meanwhile, the jets got crushed in arizona. we should put an end to -- >> what's going on there with aaron rodgers especially? i mean, is he going to quit halfway through the season? i can't imagine he's having a good time out there. >> there are moments where he looks like he quit on the field, frankly. he doesn't want to be hit. he's a 40-year-old quarterback. we were spoiled seeing tom brady excel into his 40s. rodgers not doing to, coming off a major injury. the team has given him everything he wants in terms of weapons. hand-picked his ros

i'm jonathan lemire.starting your day and week with us. >>> with just two months left in office, president joe biden has now authorized ukraine to use u.s.-provided long-range missiles within russia. u.s. officials have been against the move for months but the change in policy comes as north korea has deployed thousands of troops to support russian fighters in ukraine. officials tell "the new york times" that they don't expect this policy shift to fundamentally alter the course of the war but one goal is to send a message to the north koreans that their forces are vulnerable and that should not send more. the pentagon and the white house both officially declined to comment but even some republicans are voicing support for the move. in a statement senator roger wicker, the ranking member of the armed services committee, said that he is encouraged by the decision. and congressman mike turner, the chairman of the intel committee, called the move long overdue. we will have much more on this decision from pres

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting you're day with us.have a lot to get to this morning. >>> we begin with the most controversial cabinet pick so far by president-elect donald trump. trump has selected republican congressman of florida matt gaetz to be the attorney general. in late 2020, the fbi started investigating allegations that gaetz was involved in the trafficking of a 17-year-old girl. at the core of the case, there was testimony from a former gaetz associate who is now serving an 11-year prison sentence for several federal crimes, including sex trafficking. but the investigation in to gaetz ended in february of 2023 with no charges filed. gaetz abruptly announced he was resigning from congress yesterday after trump posted the a.g. nomination on social media. "the washington post," punch bowl, other outlets reports the house ethics committee was set to release a report about gaetz. the congressman under investigation by the bipartisan committee for allegations he may have engaged in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use and accep

i am jonathan lemire. thanks for starting daughter with us. we have a lot to get to and we will begin with president-elect donald trump's truly surprising pick for secretary of defense. trump chosen fox news host pete hegseth as the next leader of the pentagon. now, hegseth is a military veteran who serve with the army and national guard. but, recent years, he's been on cable and in statement trump described him as tough, smart and a true believer in america first. during an interview on a podcast last week, hegseth criticized what he called woke policies in the military, and said that women should not be allowed to serve in combat. >> there's a chance to course correct it, but it would take the new trump administration going after it really hard. >> how would they correct it? >> well first of all, you have to fire you know you got to fire the chairman of joint chiefs and you bring in new secretary of defense, but any general that was involved general admiral that was involved in any of the dei woke has to go. and either you're in for war figh

i'm jonathan lemire. thank you so much for joining us on this monday morning. national poll also finds the presidential race is neck and neck. the poll has harris and trump tied at 49% among registered voters nationwide. the results are essentially unchanged from october when the two were deadlocked at 48% each. one defining feature of the poll is the enormous gender gap between the two candidates with women supporting harris by 16-point margin and men backing trump by 18 points. joining us now is cheyenne. we are seeing a historic gender gap playing out in the polls. let's get your take about where this stands, particularly with women. we heard from donald trump a number of times the last week saying he is going to be protecting women, whether they want it or not. the harris campaign has seized on those remarks. the harris campaign is growing more and more confident that there is a quiet women vote out there, maybe even republican women, not telling their husbands they are going to vote for harris. >> yes. i think it's really interesting one thing about this g

i'm jonathan lemire. we really appreciate you starting your day with us this morning in this historic week for america. we'll begin today with vice president kamala harris conceding the presidential election in an emotional speech yesterday in washington. she delivered the remarks at her alma mater, howard university. despite her loss, the vice president has tried to strike an optimistic tone, encouraging her supporters to not give up the fight for democracy. >> my heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve. the outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear me when i say -- hear me when i say the light of america's promise will always burn bright. as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting. now i know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. i get it. but we must accept the results of this election. a fundamental principle of

along with joe, willie, and me, we have jonathan lemire. u.s. special correspondent for bbc, katty kay. and co-founder and ceo of accessious, jim -- >> look at them. this is gehrig and ruth and the one who played well for the yankees. let's get into this arizona race. >> yeah. >> because it's pretty remarkable thing about arizona right now. >> yeah. and also reveals that this election election, it's multilayered. >> nbc news can project democratic congressman ruben gallego will take the seat of retiring independent senator krysten sinema. he will be the latest to represent arizona in the u.s. senate. at this hour, one race still to be called. republicans control the senate 52 seats for 47. it's worth noting that senate democratic candidates prevailed in four key battle grounds. to your point, joe, michigan, nevada, and now arizona. all states that trump won. speaking to reporters after his victory speech, gallego explained how he was able to win in a tough cycle for the democrats. >> you have to earn every vote and this is a swing state and ther

jonathan lemire, reverend al sharpton, chard haass still with us.yan, she's an msnbc political analyst. >> good to have you all. we want to pick up on a conversation we started on friday, the incredible conversation about the path forward for democrats in the wake of this month's election. among antonio delgado, who implored that his party refocus on the working class. and joe weighed in as well. take a listen. >> 60% of folks right now in this country living paycheck to paycheck. 60%. the top 1% own more wealth than the bottom 90%. first time in this country's history, the top 1% own more wealth than the entire middle class. you talk about why democrats are losing communities, it is because economic inequality is growing at an accelerated rate that is swallowing up the very essence of our democracy. that is the real threat, by the way. >> we now have a capitalist system that has fewer and fewer guardrails and the richest of the rich are making hundreds of millions of dollars in the market. >> and let me just say, people at home going, okay, you're

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us.esident comes to a close, kamala harris is telling close allies and aides she is keeping her political options open as she weighs her next move. good new reporting in politico, harris has been saying she plans to stay in the fight, and may consider a possible 2028 presidential run or a 2026 run for governor of california. according to a handful of those in her inner circle, harris is exploring those and other possible plans over the holiday season and is working to define how she will remain a critical voice against trump and his incoming administration. meanwhile, the congressional black caucus says it plans to fight any and all legislation from a new congress that aligns with the conservative project 2025. in a memo released yesterday, the cbc promised to confront the, quote, extreme agenda that may be put forth from republicans. the memo reads in part, in the streets, the courtroom and congress, the cbc will coalitions with americans of goodwill to fight for a fair economy and defen

i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. to rejoin congress. gaetz made that comment on friday, during an interview with conservative commentator charlie kirk. it came just one day after gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general. now, recall he had resigned from congress earlier this month, following president-elect trump's nomination for the cabinet position. there had been some thought if he could still serve in the next session of congress, because he won re-election, but he has now ruled that out. he talked about that decision as well as the uphill battle he surely faced for confirmation in the senate. >> look, there were senators that had not gotten to yes. the more i got to talk to senators, the more they started to understand that these priorities of mine would bring the country together, they would get the justice department back on track. it was more a matter of pace than anything. and the pace was just going to be too long for me and with someone like pam, that we can put right there in that s

i'm jonathan lemire. thank you for starting your day and week with us.sident biden will meet with president-elect donald trump at the white house this week. after extending an invitational during a congratulatory phone call after last week's election. the meeting will take place wednesday morning in the oval office as part of biden's commitment to a peaceful transfer of power. it's worth noting that trump did not extend the same courtesy to biden following the 2020 election. trump was a guest then of president obama back in 2016. >>> now the dust has settled on the presidential election, the trump transition team has started the process of choosing members of the administration. over the weekend, we heard directly from former president trump that two former cabinet members would not be rejoining him at the white house. in a post on his troop social platform, trump said he would not invite former ambassador to the u.n. nikki haley or former secretary of state mike pompeo to join his administration. both are fallen out of favor with trump but had endorsed

donald trump gave him one in 2016. >> it's been quite a change, jonathan lemire, hasn't it? of so many republicans with donald trump. in 2016, there were moments where he stood up to him. now, he has, other than a few moments on foreign policy, he's kowtowed to him each and every time. was trying to be secretary of state this time around. now has debased himself, criticizing the jury system. here on election eve, attacking maya rudolph and "saturday night live." >> the harshest words, elise jordan, that you will ever hear anyone speak of donald trump, the harshest words you can get from the mouth of ted cruz before he capitulated, lindsey graham before he capitulated, marco rubio before he capitulated, and, of course, the guy who called him america's hitler, his current vice presidential nominee. again, go back and just find the words these republicans said about donald trump in the past, and the words those who worked for him are still saying. it's remarkably bleak. >> donald trump can recover really quickly as long as they bend the knee. it is amazing. i wonder how much, t

so many, jonathan lemire, would fall. there's another preparation going on here, and that's preparation for a big lie in case he doesn't win. >> yeah, first of all, you're right. we're already seeing billionaires and corporations, at minimum, hedge their bets right now. but there's a lot happening here. there is a growing theory of the case that part of why the trump campaign has been so over the top confident about their victory next week is they want, and we're seeing it from elon musk every day, from trump himself, other top allies, that they're trying to prime their supporters to expect to win. suggesting the only way they could lose would be if it was stolen, if things were rigged, if the election wasn't fair. it's going to preview not just court cases, were trump to lose next week, but potentially many chances of violence. >> but, jonathan. >> yes, joe? >> you have people like charlie kirk freaking out now, telling the truth. saying the numbers are looking terrible in pennsylvania. that right now, trump is on his wa

. >> jonathan lemire, comment? >> no. >> okay. >> no comment. >> terrible tragedy and baldwin walks ed away from it. >> i'm surprised. such a horrible tragedy. >> i think her family is ukrainian. it is interesting. we'll see. >> let's turn to ukraine. several developments out of that country this morning. right now the u.s. embassy and the capital of kyiv is shut down as it warns of a potentially significant aerial attack. in a post on social media, the state department is warning american citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced. this comes a day after ukraine fired long range atacms, missiles, into russia for first time. that's according to two u.s. officials who spoke to nbc news. russia's defense ministry confirms five of six missiles were shot down over a region that borders northern ukraine. the sixth was struck in midair and frag s ments landed on a military facility causing a fire. biden authorized the provision of antipersonal land mines to ukraine, that for the fi

so, jonathan lemire, help me out here.er than anybody had expected as far as that big of a rout. was praised by, of course, republicans. got grudging respect from political pros on what he did. certainly a lot of respect and adulation from wall street and business leaders, something that he certainly likes to hear. laid out a -- his first two, three picks that were met with, you know, met with, i think, a good enough reception. and so everything seemed to be breaking his way. again, if you had a president who wanted to be a 50% plus president, he certainly had started off the first week very well in that direction. i'm curious though, yesterday one shockwave after another. obviously, with matt gaetz, somebody who is not qualified to do the job and someone he knew would cause the reaction that he caused from republicans and democrats. same thing with tulsi gabbard. i'm curious your best reporting on why that sharp turn when everything seemed the first week to be going to smoothly. >> the people i talked to around trump show

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is up next. >>> his latest comment is just the most recent in aies of examples that we have seen from

"way too early" can jonathan lemire is coming up next. ♪♪ i would suggest that they

with us is jonathan lemire and elise jordan, a former aide to the george w.s gone into effect. president biden announced the deal after the israel security cabinet approved the green light -- agreement yesterday. they are expected to retreat from the israeli border and israeli ground forces withdraw from lebanese territory. if the cease-fire holds, it will end the fighting. let's bring in nbc news chief "nightly news" correspondent keir simmons live this morning in dubai. we were talking yesterday morning about the potential for this deal. here it is. what more can you tell us about the outlines? >> reporter: yeah. yeah. it's happened. it's a deal between israel and lebanon. it's a cease-fire between israel and hezbollah. it happened at 4:00 a.m. there were gunshots, but celebratory gunshots and dancing in the streets and lines of vehicles some with mattresses strapped on top heading to the south of lebanon. families getting back to their homes there, despite a warning from the israeli army not to go there yet. those families just too desperate to get back an

i'm jonathan lemire. in this hour for joe, mika and willie. to the headlines.al election as well as his mishandling of classified documents. nbc news senior legal correspondent lara jarrett has all the details. >> reporter: first the political victory and this morning a legal one. the top prosecutor overseeing the federal charges against president-elect trump formally asking to drop them. special counsel jack smith writing the justice department's longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting president should apply to the president-elect as well. notwithstanding the gravity of the crimes charged and the strength of the government's proof. a on the move, which was expected, bringing the final conclusion to an h case accusing mr. trump of a criminal plot to reverse the 2020 election results as he ran for re-election. >> my office will seek a speedy trial so our can be tested in court. >> reporter: never got off the ground, marred in delays and cut down by the supreme court's decision finding some of mr. trump's conduct monsoon from any prosecution at all. whi

jonathan lemire and mike barnicle with us as well.ennsylvania. >> i am downtown near your favorite hote the rittenhouse. i have to tell you that the campaign run by harris has ended the way they wanted to, the way mika has been talking, you have been talking on the abortion rights issue, right out there, running -- the interview i did with trump over and over again here, over and over again in this battleground state, and clearly they are asking people to defend their rights. they are asking people, use your vote to defend your democracy. and thereby, defend your rights. i have always said the connection between your rights and your voting are very close. if you vote, you can protect your rights. if you don't vote, you are not there. you are not working. you are not defending yourself. so i think a lot of people in bucks county, montgomery county especially, delaware and chester will be out there voting for harris. i think that's probably going to make the made for her. a close state. a lot of red hot counties, 50 some counties out th

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. >>> i know for some people it's a time for victory state the obvious. for others, a tim

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> another one who is another great mind

i am jonathan lemire. thank you for being with us.aker to be his pick for ambassador to n.a.t.o. . whitaker has no experience in foreign and military affairs. he did briefly service acting attorney general in transfers presidential term before trump replaced jeff sessions with bill barr. at one point he held an advisory board position at a florida packing company order to be shut down by the f.t.c. after the commission determined the company was a scam. donald trump wrote in his statement announcing the pick that matt will strengthen relationships with our n.a.t.o. allies , and stand firm in the threats of peace and stability. he will put america verse. his appointment will need to be confirmed by the senate. there have been a lot of questions about the qualifications of trump's choices and this next one is no different. one of his key election promises during the campaign was to dismantle the department of education as we currently know it. >> i'm going to take the department of education, close it in washington and that the states w

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. "way t lemire is coming up next

"way too early" with jonathan lemire is up next ♪ ♪ ♪

i'm jonathan lemire. thank you so much for being with us. it is our honor and privilege to get you started today on such an important day for our nation and its future. we begin now with a few polling locations across the east coast that are just beginning to open the doors to voters, and many more will open up just an hour from now. in an election day tradition residents in dixville notch, new hampshire, cast their ballots for president shortly after midnight. this year it wasn't even split with 3 votes going to vice president kamala harris and 3 going to former president donald trump. vice president kamala harris spent the last full day of her campaign in battleground pennsylvania. harris traveled all the way across the commonwealth making stops in scranton, reading, allentown and pittsburgh. she visited local businesses and even, as you see here, knocked on some doors. the vice president then ended her day with a star-studded rally in philadelphia, standing on the city's famous "rocky" steps of the art museum there. harris leaned into her

jonathan lemire is still with us.ng calls to senators pressing them to support his pick for attorney general. nbc news senior washington correspondent hallie jackson has the latest. >> reporter: this morning new scrutiny for matt gaetz, president-elect trump's embattled pick for attorney general. mr. trump has been reaching out reportedly to senators to ask them to back gaetz's nomination. the now former florida congressman resigned his seat last week ending a house ethics committee investigation into allegations he has denied including illicit drug use and sex with a then 17-year-old girl at a florida party in 2017. attorney joel leppard represents a woman who says she was there. what did your client witness at this party? >> she was walking outside to the pool, and she observed to her right a friend, who was 17 at the time, of having sex with representative gaetz. they were leaned up to what she described as a game table of some type. >> reporter: did your client believe gaetz at the time knew that her friend was un

but, jonathan lemire, there was some reluctance to go there, to talk about the things that were concerning americans, that really mattered this year. illegal immigration, the mass border crossings. yes, they put a bill out there, and, yes, that was good, but there wasn't anything more definitive on it than that. that was something that concerned hispanic voters. it's something that concerned black voters. that is something that concerned all voters. we will talk again, and we have been talking about the transgerd ad we were talking about on this show, kept talking about it, saying, this is going to be a problem in the three states you need. there is a financial times article. they don't understand my life. this is "the financial times." the trump campaign spent millions of dollars on ads focusing on transgender issues in the final stretch of the race. kamala is for they/them, one said. trump is for you. quote, the ads on transgender stuff were unsettling to the people, said the chair of the democratic party in wisconsin's republican stronghold in the milwaukee suburbs that broke for trump.

jonathan lemire, again, the scope and scale of this victory is sweeping. we can focus, by the way, we can focus on donald trump. if we'd like, but this goes far beyond donald trump. make no mistake, his victory again, historic, but you look at republicans across the nation, you look at how handily they're winning states, you look at illinois. four-point margin, illinois. a five-point margin, new jersey? this is democratic party that has been just wiped out this morning. >> yes, republicans steamrolled. they've captured the senate. the house is up for grabs. donald trump a unified republican washington, d.c., when he takes office. this is stunning. it was over late last night, early this morning with the official call. the iowa poll that so many democrats hung so much hope on in recent days, harris up three points, right now the margin in iowa is 14 points. 16 or 17-point miss there. there was not this surge of voters making late to harris and for donald trump it must be said, a president impeached twice, botched the handling of the pandemic, he faced four

i'm jonathan lemire in for joe, mika and willie. with kaus, a great group.re we have nbc news national affairs analyst and a partner at and chief political columnist john heilemann. associate lueditor of "the washington post" eugene robinson, president emeritus of the council on foreign relations richard haas, who is also the author of the weekly newsletter home and away available on substack. managing editor at the bulwark, sam stein, saw him host "way too early" and washington bureau chief susan page. thank you all for being here this morning. we have a lot to get to.to let's dive right in. both democratic and republican senators are calling for the release of a house ethics committee report on matt gaetz before his confirmation hearing process begins for attorney general. the bipartisan panel has been investigating gaetz off and on since back in 2021. most recently it has been focusing on alleged sexual misconduct, elicit drug use, improper use of campaign funds and accepting improper gifts. is that all? gaetz officially resigned