i want to go back to peter alexander for just a quick final note on this. r, do we have any idea who the administration plans to nominate in his plan? >> reporter: that's a goods question. actually, you know, we haven't had an opportunity to even focus on who's next given all the challenges that puzder had until this point which we had been zeroing in on right now. we'll be focusing on that a moment from now. i think what is notable to share is that if he had been confirmed puzder would have been the first labor secretary without -- without government experience in effect since the reagan era. will be interesting to see whether donald trump sticks to his guns and focuses on folks outside the public service sector and focuses on folks with private business experience or if he continues with what he had tried to do with andy puzder before. >> kasie hunt, one final question to you as well, what role did oprah play in this, how significant was it? >> reporter: an unusual situation here, katy, this interview that puzder's ex-wife did many years ago on "the oprah

on a different topic, let's get to peter alexander. walk us through the president's activities today and this full-court press they'll push now to try to get gorsuch through. >> so in terms of the activities today, one thing just added to the calendar that was communicated to us is the fact the president will dine today with his secretary of state designate rex tillerson at the white house. that's one of the items we'll be watching today. this full-court press begins. it's under way. mitch mcconnell hosting a meeting on the hill. vice president mike pence there with judge neil gorsuch. for all the chaos and the controversy that some have accused the trump administration of having -- >> peter, we have the president now, some tape from moments ago. let's listen in. >> -- >> clearly reracking the tape there from donald trump. coming into us off of our pool camera. we'll get to that asap because we know the president talked about his scotus pick. let's try this again. go. i hope peter alexander is still on the white house north lawn becaus

i want to start with peter alexander who is live at the white house. peter, good morning to you. explain the administration's decision on transgender protections and the effect it actually has. >> reporter: the bottom line here is, the white house has dropped the obama era directive that basically told public schools to allow transgender individuals, transgender children to use the bathroom that matched their gender identity. this is a state's rights issue. there's fierce opposition to this move as well. we heard from the human rights campaign among others who said it was a cruel attack on young children. the white house says the federal law, title ix that bans discrimination on sex does not apply to gender identity. there is a difference between gender identity and sex here. also, today, we are hearing from betsy devos, the new secretary of education that put out a statement saying this is an issue best solved at the state and local levels. schools, communities and families can find and in many cases have found solutions to protect all students. this is the new rollback of the d

i want to bring back peter alexander from the white house. , peter, it was nope, we didn't talk about sanctions, maybe we did. one would guess you would remember if that was in the subject of the call. >> reporter: i think that's exactly right. u.s. officials suggest this is not just inappropriate, but potentially illegal that mike flynn, the national security adviser, before taking office had the conversations with the russian ambassador to the u.s. indicating, potentially, there could be a reprieve on the sanctions that the obama administration put in place against russia for the findings that russia interfered in the u.s. elections. here is how it played out. a u.s. intelligence official is confirming to nbc news, flynn discussed sanctions with the russian ambassador that goes against the denials of flynn himself, sean spicer and others. an administration official told the post that broke this story, based on nine sources mike pence based his comments on speaking to mike flynn. the official said he was told there was no proquo and no findin

peter alexander has all that and more. >> reporter: the president flecking america's muscles on foreign policy, telling reuters he wants to fortify the u.s.'s nuclear arsenal. >> it would be wonderful. a dream would be that though country would have nux. if countries are going to have nux, we're going to be at the top of the pack. >> reporter: president trump who has come under fire for potential ties to russia, now vowing he'll confront vladimir putin over the launch of a missile. that as the trump administration tries to defuse a standoff with mexico. demonstrators torching a fake wall overnight. latest flash point, mr. trump's new deportation policies. >> we're getting gang members, out, drug lords out. getting really bad dudes out of this country. it's a military operation. >> reporter: that comment quickly con stra dikted in mexico. >> there will be no, repeat no mass deportation. no, repeat, no use of military force. in immigration operations. none. >> reporter: the white house later clarifying the meaning of military operation. >> the president was using that as an adjective. it'

nbc's peter alexander has details. >> reporter: tonight an uproar in arkansas. the latest in a series of fiery in-your-face confrontations. for many republican town hall members, outrage over immigration and taxes. the top republican mitch mcconnell dismissing the outcry. >> i always remind people, winners seek policy, losers go home. >> now these people don't have the insurance they need because they're poor. >> reporter: in rural virginia -- >> what are you talking about? you're insane. >> reporter: -- backlash from dave bratt who rode a wave of opposition and now acting it out. democrats rallying outside. >> you got people yelling and jeanne moosing -- jeanne moosing -- screaming at you. >> we need to relieve the anxiety. part of what will relieve the anxiety is when you get the economy growing. >> these protesters dispute that anyone was paid. still the tension is gaining traction. the pressure now mounting on other lawmakers to show up. in california, activists attacking republican paul cook, slapping "missing" stickers on milk cartons. lawmakers running th

peter alexander, nbc news, washington. >>> let's turn to the sudden death of russia's ambassador to the united nations here in new york today. a shocking passing at a very tumultuous time for u.s. relations with russia. nbc's anne thompson has late developments tonight. >> reporter: a moment of silence at the united nations marking the sudden death of russia's ambassador vitaly churkin. russian president vladimir putin said to be deeply upset by churkin's passing. 30 years ago churkin was the first russian diplomat to testify before congress, defending the then-ussr's handling of the chernobyl nuclear accident. >> no harm was done, real harm. >> reporter: most recently russian-backed criticism of russia's role in syria after former u.n. ambassador samantha powers' passionate speech. >> who built her statement as if she was mother theresa. >> reporter: in 2015 churkin privately described putin's administration as a kleptocracy to tom brokaw but publicly defended his policy. his death coming the day before his 65th birthday might ignite suspicion. >> we should think about him and what a g

nbc's peter alexander has details. >> reporter: president trump's pick for labor secretary andy puzder no longer up for the job. in a statement announcing his withdrawal writing he had hoped to put u.s. workers on a path to sustainable prosperity. his abrupt move coming on the eve of the long delayed confirmation hearing. the fast food mogul and trump donor dropping out amid growing resistance, including evaporating support from republicans. >> i believe the hearing tomorrow would have been extremely difficult for him. >> reporter: democrats tonight claiming victory. >> there is some good news today for workers and women and families in america. >> reporter: for puzder, the last draw may have been footage provided to senators by oprah winfrey's company of a 1990 episode obtained by politico where puzder's ex-wife appeared in disguise describing allegations of domestic abuse. >> he vowed revenge. he said, "i will see you in the gutter. this will never be over. you will pay for this." >> reporter: puzder always denied the allegations that came from a heated divorce and his ex-wife has si

that was nbc's peter alexander reporting. we have received two big announcement, the president will hold a news conference at noon today and the chairman of the senate judiciary committee has set march 20th as the day confirmation hearings will begin for supreme court justice nominee judge neil gorsuch. >> a story that has parents concerned about the health of their children. another d.c. elementary school is dealing with bed bugs. this time it's school. the situation is being monitored and miner will stay open. you may remember another d.c. school in southeast shut down for the very same reason. they have been going to another elementary school while their building gets a thorough cleaning for bed bugs and rodents. >> riots in the suburbs of france. this is the 12th day and today we saw rants of violence, accusations being leveled by police. >> and it could be a game changer in the treatment of autism, the new test that could give parents a head start and moreptions. o >>> protesters and police fought in paris overnight. tak

i want to bring peter alexander in. in a moment, peter, or there was a moment in the president's news conference that has gone viral. it stems from this claim by president trump that i want to play. >> the biggest electoral college win since ronald reagan. >> now, i remember while this was going on, peter, you fact checked it live and sent us all the information. let's listen to that. >> you said today that you have the biggest electoral margin since ronald reagan with 304-306 electoral votes. president obama got 365 -- >> i'm talking republican. >> president obama 332 and george h.w. bush 426 when he won as president. why should americans trust you -- >> i was given that information. we have a very, very big margin. >> why should americans trust you when you accuse the information they receive as fake when you are providing information that is not accurate. >> i was given that information. actually, i have seen that information around. >> that wasn't the first time that president trump has made that claim. first of all,

nbc's peter alexander has details. >> reporter: tonight, an uproar in arkansas. the latest in a series of fiery, in your face confrontations. >> obamacare. improve it. >> reporter: for many republican lawmakers, at townhalls nationwide, a hostile homecoming. constituents demanding answers on health care, taxes and immigration. >> it's not all a one-size-fits-all government solution. you ought to know better than that. >> reporter: senate's top republican, mitch mcconnell, dismissing the outcry. >> i always remind people, winners make policy and losers go home. >> before getting an earful of his own. >> these coal jobs are not coming back and now people don't have the insurance they need because they're poor. >> in rural virginia. >> what are you talking about? you're insane! >> reporter: backlash for tea party favorite dave bratt, who rode a wave of anger into office in 2014 and now faces one. >> obamacare has collapsed. >> reporter: overflow crowd of mostly democrats rallying outside. is this a metaphor for america, what we witness in this room? people screaming

peter alexander, i saw a note you sent around. you have a new report on the possible response from the administration? >> reporter: literally moments ago i spoke to a seen senior administration official here, the white house had been discussing a series of different options going forward. amo separately another consideration, another option not suggesting that they couldn't happen simultaneously, is that the white house is reviewing options potentially for a new immigration executive order that could be made public, quote, very soon. this follows our colleague reporting that sources close to the president say the white house is working on redrafting this executive order on this ban, that the president is working on language that he says would be able to clear the federal courts. i asked this senior official if the concern was that the language that presently existed wouldn't be able to clear the federal courts. they pushed back and said they're confident they will win this current case. what's news is this new consideration of pot

we get details from nbc news national correspondent peter alexander. >> reporter: at the jewish community center in birmingham, alabama, today, a phoned-in bomb threat and evacuation. the second scare in a month. police and fire crews responding. last month, staff and parents hurried children to safety. some babies wheeled away in cribs. just today, 11 separate jewish community centers receiving similar threatening calls. since early january, 54 centers targeted across 27 states. so far, no injuries as the threats all appear to have been hoaxes >> it's absolutely outrageous that this is occurring. it's unprecedented in terms of the scale of that. >> reporter: jewish groups say these threats, meant to terrify children and their families, have failed. president trump, questioned about rising anti-semitism, has repeatedly tried to deflect criticism by emphasizing his own beliefs. >> i am the least anti-semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life. >> reporter: but as president he's yet to denounce anti-semitism. >> jewish people, so many friends, a daughter who happens to be here

it needs to be dealt with. >> thanks to peter alexander for that report. >>> officials in louisiana arestill searching for one person listed as missing following an explosion at a phillips 66 pipeline. the local sheriff says a 20-inch pipeline exploded. officials evacuated 60 homes in the region as a precaution. authorities are investigating. >>> the northeast is digging out this morning after a powerful winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow in some areas. plows in the new york area dug out about ten inches of the white stuff. the storm being blamed for at least one death in manhattan. a doorman died when he slipped and fell through a glass window as he was shoving snow. in massachusetts, the massive storm hit blizzard status, burying the bost coast blinding winds caused nearly white out conditions. that didn't stop a few brave souls from taking a dip in the ocean after a planned polar plunging event was canceled. they went in anyway. >>> if you're traveling, you definitely want to double check your flight information. airlines have canceled more than 4300 flights since wednesday

let's start, if we can with peter alexander at 1600 pennsylvania. andrea, stand by for me if you can. peter, let's start what appears to be new reporting on your part about the next steps perhaps for this administration with regards to its immigration executive action. >> reporter: that's exactly right. this morning a senior administration official here at the white house tells me that since even before the ninth circuit court of appeals ruling on this executive immigration order that they had been reviewing options for going forward, this official tells me they still feel strongly that they will be "proven correct" on the merits of the initial executive order, but i'm told that among the options being considered right now is the redrafting, basically the putting together of a new immigration executive order that was described to me would be put out and signed "very soon." that's significant, it follows up on some reporting from joe scarborough here at msnbc, the white house legal team has already initiated that process, so that's one thing that we k

i'm peter alexander. craig melvin up now on msnbc. >> good the sigh peter. thank so much.raig melvin in new york city. lots happening this hour. we are once again waiting for secretary of state rex tillerson and miss mecke can counter-part to start speaking any moment now. this is in mexico, of course. also happening receipt now in national harbor maryland any moment, we are expecting a rare public confab in the world of

instead, i'm going back to peter alexander. i wanted to talk about the new executive action donald trump is expected to sign later today. it's going to roll back some regulations imposed -- or he just signed it, by dodd/frank, is that right? >> reporter: these were just signed in the oval office within the last 30 minutes or so, effectively dismantling dodd/frank, these wall street regulations that came up under president obama's administration. the effort behind them was to basically put restrictions on wall street banks and ultimately on some financial advisers that may be selling expensive financial products to individuals. the intention, the obama administration insists, was to protect consumers. that's the way that the democrats are viewing this change today. they view it as an effort that's now going to hurt consumers. chuck schumer said this a short time ago. he said president trump promised to stand up to the big banks. now he's letting them write the rules of the road. he promised to stand up for the forgotten man and

peter alexander is standing by. now that we may have some sense from the president himself that he may answer a few questions let's talk about what is royaling out there. although as we have seen in a break from tradition there often are peep who are called on who doesn't ask the questions that may be the vast majority of people otherwise in that room might ask. but let's talk about lineup of things that people want to get answers to. >> there are a lot of questions that folks are going to want to answer today. i'm told by officials here it's not entirely clear the president will be allowing for questions on this occasion. that's still to be decide as they indicate. their intention is to focus on the selection for the new labor secretary pick that nbc news is reporting basketball alexander acosta. some of the unique points of difference for him. he would be the first hispanic member this cabinet. the president has been criticized for a lack of diversity in his cabinet selections to this point so far. also unlike any

peter alexander. >> if i can interrupt, i know you were talking national security adviser. other names general keith alexander, david petraeus and general jim jones. they may be the other names the president was referring to. >> some jaws just dropped. jim jones. >> general jones was barack obama's first national security adviser. was basically forced out after a brief tenure. >> exhibited management abilities people were worried about with general flynn. i would be shocked if that happened. >> would you be shocked if general petraeus happened? >> i wouldn't be. i can see why he would want to do it and why trump would want him. anybody who takes the job has to demand the ability to hire, fire and reshape the staff and work with the other departments. this is a real dangerous thing right now. this job must be filled and by somebody qualified. >>> russia's close connection to president trump could be cooling as the kremlin told state media to dial back the flattering coverage of mr. trump. the decision stems from fading hopes of senior leadership relations with the u.s. will

now our peter alexander at the white house tells us that's not going to happen for now at all. remember, this case is still going through the appeals courts one more time. last night was just on this preliminary temporary ruling. shall we keep it on hold while we duke it out in court about whether it's legal or constitutional. you've got the alexandria decision coming, the hearing in seattle. those decisions, once through the appeals court and could go through the supreme court. unle unless, unless the administration rewrites the executive order, which there is some indication now they may do. because what the court said is the problem with the executive order is that it applies to people here in the u.s. who got visas and came here. if it were narrowed to apply just to people in those seven countries who have never been to the united states and are trying to come here for the first time, then it might have an easier time in court. that's another option. >> stay tuned. >> indeed. more to come. >>> that controversial immigration order and the recent appointment of betsy devos, h

now peter alexander on the phone, our national correspondent who has been covering the white house and has the latest on this. peter? >> we are getting new details on exactly what is happening here. but here's theest about of our understanding having spoken to people very familiar with the relationship between the united states and russia. they say based on what was just published on the treasury's website, this is the treasury department saying that it's going to allow companies to do some transactions with russia's security service, fsb, as you said, which is important because that is the successor to the kgb, the most coercive agency in the russian state as it was described to me by this expert moments ago excite the sanctions that had been put in place by former president obama. u.s. intelligence agencies accused the fsb of being involved in the hacking the interfering in the 2016 presidential election here as well. they specifically say they are going to allow some companies to do some transactions with the fsb. we are trying to get the language more specifically but this is break

peter alexander reports. >> the audience chanting her name before it's showed late wednesday and many waiting to catch a glimpse as she left with bill clinton taking selfies with fans. aside from the inauguration, she intended to be her own, we've seen very little of clinton since h for weeks these have been our only glimpses of her, snapping a photo during a hike in the woods. those chance encounters even inspiring their own snl can sketch. >> a search for the most elusive of all, hillary rodham clinton. >> a new book inspired by her favorite quotes all touching on her stunning defeat. clinton writing these quotes have helped me celebrate the good times, laugh at the absurd times and per severe during the hard times and deepen my appreciation of all life has to offer. her reemerge ens will include a series of speeches on women's rights and gay rights beginning this spring. another that will bring her full circle. nearly 50 years after the 1969 commencement speech that cat putted her to national fame. >> we don't have time for it you, not. >> slated to address the alma mater a speaker

nbc's peter alexander has the latest. >> reporter: president trump got his man, the nomination is confirmed the senate late wednesday confirming attorney general jeff sessions who helped shape the president's policies including on immigration. sessions opponents teeing off overnight. >> when jeff sessions was passed it turped my stomach. he doesn't belong there. i think a lot of republicans know it. >> reporter: the fierce debate over sessions putting democrat elizabeth warren in the spotlight after republicans formally silenced her for speaking negativively about her fellow senator. >> she was warned, nevertheless, she persisted. >> reporter:ha cry, already on t-shirts and hillary clinton tweeting she persisted so must we all. but president trump's latest critic, his own supreme court pick, judge neil gorsuch. democratic senator richard blumenthal revealing he spoke to him about the criticism of fellow judges. >> he certainly expressed to me that he is disheartened by the demoralizing and comments made by president trump about the judiciary. >> comments confirmed by a gorsuch aide, all of

. >> peter alexander lays out the new evidence that the president's team was in touch with russian intelligence during his campaign. >> reporter: this morning new scrutiny over contacts between members of donald trump's 2016 campaign and russia. "the new york times" reporting overnight citing current and former u.s. officials that trump campaign aides and senior russian intelligence officials had repeated contacts during the campaign. something the trump administration has previously denied. the times reports those communications were intercepted around the time u.s. officials were uncovering evidence of russia's meddling in the u.s. election by hacking the dnc. meanwhile the shock waves are still reverberating after the president asked mike flynn to resign. >> there needs to be an independent and transparent investigation. >> i don't think we need to go through setting up a special committee, but we are going to look at russian involvement in the u.s. election. >> reporter: the white house is acknowledging new details about the timeline. it was back on january 26th when president trump and his

. >> that was exchange with peter alexander pointing out an item the president made was wrong. the president took an opportunity to air his grievances in general about the press. >> much of the media doesn't get it but they don't write it. much of the media along with new york and los angeles speaks not for the people but for the special interests. the best has become dishon oes -- dishonest we doesn't talk about it. the press is out of control. the level of dishonesty is out of control. i see tone, you know the word tone. the tone is hatred. tomorrow they will say, donald trump rants and raves at the press. i'm not ranting and raving. i'm telling you you are dishonest people. >> we touched on this earlier. there's a new normal at work here where reporters are being called upon to in realtime correct the record, times correcting the president of the united states. >> and might i add there were a number of other factual inconsistencies we didn't correct. it shows how effective the president can be to bully the inconsistency and when the media tries to call pim him on it, the rep

>> peter alexander for us at 1600 pennsylvania. peter, thanks as always. >>> democratic senator sheldon whitehouse of rhode island is joining me now. he sits on the judiciary committee. you heard what president trump said there. what happens if mitch mcconnell does in fact go nuclear on judge gorsuch? >> well, we'll have to see how many of his colleagues will stay with him on that. you will remember the expressions of outrage when we opened up the nuclear option for the executive appointees and there was an understanding at the time that the supreme court would be different and it's going to take a lot of republicans having to eat a lot of crow and reversing a lot of statements to go along with mitch mcconnell jamming a supreme court appointee through on the nuclear option. >> you'll be involved in the confirmation hearings on the supreme court. do you believe that the judge deserves an up or down vote or do you support the idea of a filibuster being used? >> i think the 60-vote rule, i'm sure that the majority leader will go to and

. >> peter alexander has more details. >> i love this. i'm having a good time doing it. >> reporter: president donald trump unfiltered. >> the headlines are going to be donald trump rants and raves. i'm not ranting and raving. >> reporter: the president not holding back, defending his performance. >> i inherited a mess. >> reporter: repeatedly accusing the media of distorting his record. >> i see stories of chaos. yet it is the exact opposite. this administration is running like a fine tuned machine. >> reporter: announcing he'll sign a new executive order on immigration next week while blaming federal judges for blocking the implementation of his original travel ban. >> we had a very smooth rollout of the travel ban, but we had a bad court. got a bad decision. >> reporter: facing mounting questions about his administration's alleged ties to russia -- >> i have nothing to do with russia. i have told you. i have no deals there. >> reporter: the president insisted he had no contacts with russia during the campaign, but deflected questions a

. >> peter alexander is over at the white house investigating the new news. what is happening on the west wing and what's happening on the ground? >> reporter: broadly speaking, a senior administration official here tells us stephen feinberg is president trump's pick to lead what would be a wide review over the nation's spy agencies. this official tells me that the mandate would be much bigger than the intelligence, that that focus would take place later on. right now it's not entirely clear what his immediate focus would be. in terms of feinberg and his ability to join this white house in some form, worth noting he's a friend of jared kushner and steve bannon here, but beyond that, there are some challenges in terms of the process of getting him vetted right now. it needs to still be cleared by this senior administration official, by the office of government ethics, he has a company worth $40 billion of assets he manages right now and there's concern having an individual who to the best of our knowledge doesn't have any experience overseeing this broad revie

peter alexander down at the white house and kasie hunt at capitol hill. kasie, the senate showdown going on for president trump's pick for education secretary. you can see this talk-a-thon continuing. >> reporter: good morning. high drama here on capitol hill as we head into that vote on betsy devos for education secretary. it's set to happen at 12 noon. right now it looks like it's still split 50/50. and that vice president mike pence is going to have to come up here to capitol hill and cast what would be an historic tie-breaking vote. this is happening because two republicans have already said that they're going to vote no on devos, senators lisa murkowski of alaska and suesan collins of maine. is there a third one that would vote no and particularly sink this nomination? a lot of it had to do with how she performed at the confirmation hearing she had. it raised a lot of questions in people's minds. phone calls, e-mails, mail, officers have been deluged with all of this. looks like she's holding steady. there could be a last-minute x factor. that would

and so when he was pressed later by peter alexander over at nbc, mr. president, how can the public trust you when you're giving the public bad, wrong, erroneous information, how would you answer that, kayleigh? >> look, i think it was good he did not follow in that incorrect line of i guess information. i think sometimes he hears information, he did have a historic pennsylvania, michigan, states not won since reagan that's an accurate fact but i think sometimes he hears that and gets it wrong and messes up on the nuance. >> he admitted he was given that information and that's what he read. >> i think he didn't continue down that line of information was a good thing. >> anna navarro what say you? >> i can we just saw brilliance in action. the guy gave us a one hour 15 performance to distract us. and he did. in fact. he knew he was doing it to a level he even told us i'm going to go watch tv and there's going to be people saying i was ranting and i was raving and unhinged. he was performing. we're talking about the electoral college vote again. you know

. >> our man, peter alexander, at 1600 pennsylvania avenue where he spends so much of his days and so much of his night, who was also front row of the news conference. let's start more on the nsa pick. what more can you tell us? >> we know that acting national security adviser lieutenant general keith kellogg is certainly high on that list. it's notable that keith kellogg is traveling aboard air force i with president obama. donald trump referred to three other individuals. i can't confirm that these are the three other individuals to whom he is speaking specifically, but a white house aide tells me three other individuals that he has been considering as they describe it are general keith alexander, the former cia director david petraeus and ne live general jimones who served as president obama national security adviser for a brief time. this is a position that this white house has obviously wanted to fill for while now since michael flynn's forced resignation. i spoke to a senior administration official here a short time ago. one of the concerns, one of the potential hold-ups would b

peter alexander has more on this. >> reporter: ayman, good morning to you. kellyanne conway is here at the white house after criticism was sparked by congress. jason chaffetz called conway's comments wrong and out of bounds. it was not just a high-profile plug for ivanka trump's clothing line, but it violated a ethics law. it bars public employees for using private office from endorsing any product. here's what conway told fox news on thursday. >> i do find it ironic you have some executives all over the internet bragging about what they have done to her and her line, and yet they are using the most prominent woman in donald trump's -- most prominent -- his daughter, and they are using her, who has been a champion for women in power and women in the workplace to get to him. go buy ivanka's stuff is what i would say. i hate shopping, i'm going to get some myself today. it's a wonderful line, i own some of it. i will give a free commercial here, go buy it today, everybody. go buy it online. >> for ethics experts, it raised red flags especially after 24 hours d

peter alexander down at the white house and kasie hunt at capitol hill.on for president trump's pick for education secretary. you can see this talk-a-thon continuing. >> reporter: good morning. high drama here on capitol hill as we head into that vote on betsy devos for education secretary. it's set to happen at 12 noon. right now it looks like it's still split 50/50. and that vice president mike pence is going to have to come

peter alexander pressed him on this.s, well, it was only 304 -- >> why should americans trust you when you accuse the information they receive as being fake when you're providing information that is fa. >> actually, i've seen that information around. >> totally false anderhaps a bit concerning, passing the buck and saying, listen, i was just given the information so i'm not really held responsible for it. >> one of the things that the president said got him elected was the jobs and the economy. that's also something that we've heard is about the stock market. >> the stock market has hit record numbers, as you know. >> true, false? >> this one's true. the stock market is killing it. listen, we don't know exactly why, but part of what could be going on here is the regulations, he signed an k an executive order that for every one regulation that's new, two are out. >> and something else he likes talking about, his poll numbers. >> a new rasmussen poll came out and did has our approval rating at 55% and going up. >> does ras

i want to go now to the trump administration, or at least the white house, where peter alexander is with us. we're going to talk about foreign policy in a minute. i want to get to a little bit of new developments coming off of this national prayer breakfast. we heard president trump talking about not just issues of faith but also matters of ratings, if you will, when it comes to arnold schwarzenegger and now a response from arnold schwarzenegger? >> you heard donald trump saying about the bad ratings for "the apprentice," the producer introducing him, donald trump basically said we should pray for arnold schwarzenegger. it was not met by a lot of applause or laughter in the room. schwarzenegger just tweeted out a video he just posted saying why don't we switch jobs. more notably, a more significant policy matters is the basis of this conversation with the australian leader, prime minister trumball and we spoke to a white house official who said he thinks the way this is being framed is, quote, overblown, the president himself, donald trump, addressed it a short time ago at that breakfast

peter alexander has more on both of those. >> reporter: hey, ayman, good morning to you.president trump doubling down on his desire to beef up the nuclear punch saying he wants to expand america's arsenal to make clear the u.s. is top of the pack. meantime, the secretary of homeland security was on a mission to mexico with the secretary of state where he walked back something the president said raising eyebrows about deportations. the president flexing america's muscles on foreign policy telling reuters he wants to fortify the u.s.'s nuclear arsenal. >> it would be wonderful, a dream would be that no country would have nukes, but if countries are going to have nukes, we're going to be at the top of the pack. >> reporter: president trump whose come under fire for potential ties to russia now vowing he'll confront russian president vladimir putin over the country's recent release of the latest missile. this comes as donald trump tries to diffuse a standoff with mexico. demonstrators torching a fake wall highlighting real tensions. the latest flash point, mr. trump's new dep

nbc's peter alexander has more. >> reporter: overnight fire works on the senate floor. democrat elizabeth warren protesting the nomination of fellow senator jeff sessions. president trump's pick for attorney general. >> mr. sessions has used the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens. >> reporter: those words from a 1986 letter from the late coretta scott king, doctor mar lin luther king's widow, opposing federal judge ship. the senate's top republican interrupted. >> senators impugn the motive and conduct from our colleague from alabama many >> reporter: accused of breaking a rule by attacking a sitting senator. >> i ask leave of the senate to continue my remarks. >> is there objection? >> i object. >> reporter: warren tweeting senate majority leader silenced mrs. king's voice on the senate floor before speaking out on msnbc. >> i'm out of the game on the senate floor. i don't get to speak at all. >> reporter: sworn in hours earlier, education secretary betsy devos after an unprecedented tie breaking vote by mike pence. >>

. >> and national correspondent, peter alexander is in the east room. >> they are almost home alone. talk about jared and his unique role here. >> donald trump himself said, on the first day of his presidency, in one of the inaugural balls, he said, if anyone can find peace in the middle east, create peace in the middle east, it is my son in law. that is something they will be discussing. david freeman, the ambassador to israel, have had strong positions in support of the development, further development of settlements, president trump changed the tables, saying he no longer supported the view of expansion, he thought they could be an obstacle for advancement. as you noted, nobody yet from the american delegation, as they have a small window to meet behind closed doors privately, before they mark their remarks publicly to the world. the noticeable absence of mike flynn today. one reason it is significant. flynn was one of the biggest advocates, one of the voices closest to president trump in support of a hardline position toward iran. one of benjamin netanyahu's biggest assets in thi

that moment when peter alexander; it was hilarious.it's not a huge deal that he was wrong about this -- >> but it was that emoji where it's like hey, what the he can. >> he just didn't care. someone gave it to me, i don't care. the last thing here, i wonder if you agree with me on this, i've watched the way conservatives and republicans are processing this trump administration. one of the things is he does feel like there's a desire to replace hillary clinton with the media. hillary clinton was not particularly trusted. he won a forced choice between him and her. she went away, the democrats are a minority power in both houses of congress. there's an active choice to make the media the new hillary clinton. >> you have to have an enemy. this is something all politicians know. this is why in the 2010 election when democrats had all of congress they tried to make it be the chamber of commerce or charles koch or something like that and they're tuning in on the media. the danger is that we are very incapable of judging how that's playg. we

trump got some in-person fact-checking from nbc's peter alexander about the claim over the size of his electoral victory. >> you said today you had the biggest electoral margin since ronald reagan. in fact, president obama fwots 365. >> i'm talking about republicans. >> george h.w. bush, 426 when he won as president. so why should americans trust you. >> i was given that information. i don't know. i was just given. >> i guess my question is why should americans trust you when you accuse the information they received as being fake when you're providing information that is -- >> i don't know. i was given that information. actually i had seen that information around. >> mr. trump claimed 30 electoral vote bus two republican election tors in texas went rogue, so he ended up with 304. three states put mr. trump over the top. the margin combined was more than 77,000 of over 129 million that were cast. >>> ahead, jeff pegues looks into leaks. >>> today world leaders are getting their up close and personal look at the trump administration. mike pence is leading the u.s. dell gaegs to the munic

back to you. >> peter alexander live at the white house for us. be sure to check out peter's full report coming up next on the " and here's a closer look at neil gorsuch's background. he's a 49-year-old from denver and gorsuch has local ties as well. he attended georgetown prep while his mother led the environmental protection agency under president reagan and she was the first woman to hold that job. he is a graduate from harvard law school. one of his classmates former president barack obama. but he has ties to the current supreme court. he was a clerk for justice kennedy before going to oxford for a philosophy degree. if confirmed he would not change the makeup of the court since he would be replacing justice scalia who was also a conservative. >>> there could be another major vote today on a senate nominee. they'll try to take up a vote on senator jeff sessions. he's the pick for attorney general. it was originally scheduled for yesterday, but the chairman adjourned the hearing when it ran out of time. rex tillerson is closer to becoming the n

peter alexander pointed out that president bush in 1988 had more.e was in essence, in a line and we were able to see the president react to the fact that he was being fact checked in the front row. he took it in stride, but it speaks to the fact that this remains a president, now into the second month of his presidency, who remains really, deeply concerned about being taken seriously, and is still, for whatever reason, eager to settle scores from a year ago. he is in charge, he is making change in policies, but he still spends time talking about hillary clinton and whether she was handed information about what would be asked at those debates about her work as secretary of state and the fact he believes, wrongly, that he had won one of the largest electoral vote count in the election. alison: he has a rally this weekend, what is it? ed: a rally being paid for by his reelection campaign. he is headed to florida to get back in touch with the regular people, the folks who supported him, into a corner of florida where he enjoyed broad support. look he is

let's go over to peter alexander in the white house and was in that news conference. peter, correct me if i'm wrong, we did hear donald trump say there is going to be some sort of new security measure in place by next week. do we have any idea whatsoever what he could be talking about? >> we don't know exactly what that is. i think his word was that it will be put into place "rapidly." here's what we do know. we do know following the ninth circuit court of appeals decision, this ruling basically keeping the stay in place right now on his executive immigration order that senior officials at the white house tell me before and after that ruling they have been having conversations about their path forward that include continuing to pursue this case further. they tell me they believe they will be proven correct on the merits of the order itself but separately they say that they are working on potentially signing another immigration executive order going forward in their words so it can be put into place "very soon." that's one thing we'll watch right now. president trump to

my colleague peter alexander is down there for us. peter, the big story today, those iran sanctions. what is the white house saying at this hour? >> reporter: you can say friend. we'll go friend and colleague for the sake of this conversation. here's the latest on the iran sanctions. within the last few minutes we've received a statement from the national security adviser, mike flynn. let's put that up on your screen. speaking specifically about these sanctions that will affect about 25 different individuals and entities associated with the revolutionary guard, the kuds force in iran. he wrote in part, the international community has been too tolerant of iran's bad behavior. the ritual of convening a united nations security council in an emergency meeting and issuing a strong statement is not enough. the trump administration, will no longer tolerate iran's provocations that threaten our interests. he goes on, the days of turning a blind eye to iran's hostile and ba lidge rant actions towards the united states and the world community ar