robert costa is stay with us for opening your phone lines. we have a line set aside for those who live in alabama that number is 2027488922 and democrats number to call his (202)748-8920 and for republicans 202-74-8291. we will get to your phonecalls in just a moment. the "associated press" declaring doug jones the democrat the victor in a special election and robert costa this is a term that will continue at least until january 2021 so for the remainder of the first term of the trump presidency. >> that is correct. this is to fill the seat vacated by attorney general jeff sessions filled by senator luther strange of moderate republicans trot ally. >> host: what can you tell us about the jones background of what he will bring to the u.s. senate? >> doug jones was appointed u.s. attorney by president bill clinton in the 1990s and he was an unknown attorney at the time but well respected in the birmingham legal community a low-key man. talking to us for the comes across not a big personality. he is known for prosecuting members of the ku klux k

i'm robert costa. politics and choices amid sexual misconduct. tonight on "washington week." >> in the coming weeks, i will be resigning as member of the united states senate. robert: minnesota senator al franken was one of three lawmakers who resigned this week amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations. he was investigated starting in november after a radio anchor alleged he groped and forcibly kissed her. normal kratz -- democrats called for his resignation. >> we should be held to a higher standard. robert: and democratic congressman john conyers announced he would retire after facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment and pressure from party leaders. across the aisle, arizona congressman trent franks announced he is leaving immediately. plus, the countdown to tuesday's special election in alabama. will voters look past the accusations against roy moore? we discuss it with philip rucker of the "washington post," yamiche alcindor of "the new york times." peter peter of "the new york times" and andrea mitchell of the nbc news. >> fundin

i'm robert costa. the victory by democrat doug jones upends both parties on the hill. and ahead of the midterms. tonight, on "washington week." president trump: we want to give you, the american people, a giant tax cut for christmas. robert: president trump says republicans are on the verge of passing a sweeping tax cut bill, one he says will boost the middle class. critics say the tax overhaul would provide generous cuts for corporations and the wealthy and would add more than $1 trillion to the national debt. >> robbing the future, ripping off the middle class, and why? to reward their friends, corporate america. robert: the massive package would double standard deductions but cap other popular tax breaks, including deductions for mortgage interest and state and local taxes. it would also eliminate the individual mandate under the affordable care act. >> this tax cut will mean less of a paycheck going to washington and more to the hardworking person who earned it. robert: but democrats are calling to

i'm robert costa. from the russia probe to immigration, the president and party leaders prepare for next year, tonight on "washington week." president trump: we are transferring power from washington, d.c., and giving it back to you, the people. from this day forward, it's going to be only america first. robert: in the months since donald trump was sworn in, he has signed into law sweeping tax cuts, appointed a new justice to the supreme court, rolled back regulations and up-ended global order. as commander-in-chief, he's overseen gains against isis in iraq and syria but with each passing month, trump faces a possible nuclear confrontation with north korea. president trump: rocket man is on a suicide mission. robert: protests have tested the white house and the nation. trump called out athletes who took a knee. president trump: fired! robert: and outraged many americans with his response to white supremacist marchers in charlottesville. president trump: i think there's blame on both sides. robert: the

robert costa, national political reporter for "the washington post."oderator of "washington week" on pbs and an msnbc political analyst. in short, a very busy man. matthew us in bam, white house reporter for politico. and nick ackerman is here with us, watergate special prosecutor. welcome to you all. i think, robert, i'd like to begin with rhona. underscore what we've already established, what you already heard about her importance in all things donald trump. >> she's a crucial person, brian. i've known rhona graff for years, as a reporter going up to trump tower. she was and has been for decades the gatekeeper for donald trump. on that 26th floor. she sits right outside of his office. she's so close with him personally as a friend. not so much an adviser politically, but as a confidant and totally trusted by the president and then candidate and businessman trump. >> the flip side of that is if you're an aggressive prosecutor and you're looking to hear who overheard what, were you on air force one, were you -- obviously she wasn't, but she could have

the ground that we've lost here could be incalcable for the rnc and the gop next year. >> robert costa, what is reaction inside the white house? do they realize just how bad this defeat was, that no matter what they do on taxes, they'll have a real midterm problem? is there a big blame game going on as to who dragged the president back into this with the robocalls and the speech in pensacola last friday night? >> they're well aware of the steaks stakes in alabama and there are two fronts they're talking about. they say one, a 69-49, it makes it more difficult to pass legislation in 2018. it's going to be harder to jig up interest. and the other issue is a party that's bringing up issues of sexual harrassment and the allegations against president trump. he was able to win elections last year, in spite of those allegations against them, but now those allegations are again at the fore of our national conversation, and they're grappling with that challenge. >> thanks so much, robert costa, michael steele. stay with us. we'll be right back. more on the big breaking news that there is an agr

. >> woodruff: here >> woodruff: here now to talk about all this is robert costa, reporter for the "washingtont" and host of pbs's "washington week." he was in alabama reporting this week. so, robert, this back and forth between these women who have made these accusations and the moore campaign is getting so much attention here in washington and nationally, but how much talk is there about it in alabama? >> on the ground in alabama, judy, it's a bit of a different scene in the sense that alabama voters i spoke to on the ground over the last four days say this race is not about the latest development in a year book or what an accuser of roy moore has said today or yesterday, it's about identity, about the identity of the state, alabama's past versus alabama's future as much as it is democrat versus republican, and this is one of the tightest races i've seen, even in the deep south. >> woodruff: well, what does it look like to you? you're not saying these women's allegations have no effect on the campaign, are you? >> oh, no. these are credible allegations from nine women that rocked alabama pol

i'm robert costa. a legal storm and the politics of taxing, tonight on "washington week." michael flinl becomes the first trump administration official to plead guilty to lying to the fick. the retired army general, who also worked on the trump campaign -- >> the next president of the united states -- robert: has promptsed his full cooperation with the fuller investigation. plus -- >> what's in it is tax relief. robert: senate republicans hoping far legislative win fall in line and get close to passing a long-promised tax overhaul but who would benefit and who would pay more? >> there is going to cost me a fortune this thing. believe me. this is nod -- not good for me. robert: democrats disagree. they say corporations win and the middle class loses. >> our economy is already stacked against working men and women. robert: plus, as the clock ticks down to a government shutdown, can crisis be averted? we discuss it all with michael crowder of politico, shawna thomas of vice news. alexis simendinger of the

i'm robert costa. how the tax bill could affect your paycheck. plus, tensions over the russia probe, tonight on "washington week." president trump: we are making america great again. you haven't heard that, have you? robert: jubilation at the white house as president trump cheers the passage of the republican party's biggest priority -- overhauling the american tax system. >> this has been a year of extraordinary accomplishment for the trump administration. robert: the vote, along party lines, marks the president's first major legislative victory of the year. the massive package doesn't just cut taxes. it eliminates the insurance mandate under obamacare, lifts a ban on drilling in alaska, and adds more than a trillion dollars to the deficit over a decade. democrats say the bill fails the middle class. >> the g.o.p. tax scam is about bleeding the middle class dry to pad the pockets of corporate america and the wealthiest 1%. robert: plus, is the president on a collision course with robert mueller's russia probe, as more republicans accuse the speci

once again, from washington, moderator, robert costa. robert:good evening. president trump did not hold an end-of-the-year news conference and that's been a presidential tradition. but he did sit this week for a revealing, an impromptu interview with the "new york times," which ended up becoming that sort of reflective and combative moment, all while sitting in the bustling grill room of the trump international golf club in florida. speaking with reporter michael schmidt, and without any aides present, president trump criticized attorney general jeff sessions for recusing himself from the russia probe and fired back at critics of the massive tax bill he signed last week. he also defended his decision to endorse roy moore in the alabama special election and during that 30-minute interview, he repeated 16 times that there has been no collusion discovered by robert mueller's investigation, even though the investigation, of course, is ongoing, and mueller has resisted making any public statements on that or other matters. what a conversation, what a year. phil,

robert costa with us tonight from tuscaloosa, alabama.thank you so much. >>> and coming up for us this evening, just what was in that tax bill the senate was racing to pass when last we spoke here on friday night? and what needs to happen before any of it gets the president's signature and becomes law? that and more with two experts when we continue. >>> we're now one huge step closer to delivering to the american people the historic tax relief as a giant present for christmas. remember, i said we're bringing christmas back? christmas is back bigger and better than ever before. we're bringing christmas back. >> christmas is coming back. when we last spoke, and by the time we got off the air friday night, there was no vote yet on the tax bill in the u.s. senate. though it was clear that's where they were headed and they were going to go all night if need be. then just before 2:00 a.m. came the party line vote and a lot of folks spent the weekend trying to figure out just what was in the bill. about 500 pages thick, some of it handwritten,

let me turn to you, robert costa and ask you, just two questions, one, the gorsuch nomination is the big kahuna, it's all he's got with the part of the republican base that was skeptical of him and remains a little wary of sort of the depths of his conservativism. i'll give you the two part because i want you to weigh in on the significance politically on the vote today of the tax bill and the best political asset that republicans have now is a bill with a 33% approval rating. >> when you think about the gorsuch situation, one of my sources joked to me today that every cabinet member is now making sure they write a handwritten christmas letter to president trump. but the stalking of the judiciary and all these conservative judicial figures is really one of the. >> you really see a president at the beginning of the year. but he ends the year in a much more traditional. with a much more traditional role. this telling us thats as much as he has tried to change washington, it's really the main republican party that controls the power in washington that brings the president along in that

. >> robert costa? >> she was a frequent guest during the course of her campaign. she has pushed back very hard against the notion she was in collusion with russia. she calls her critics mccartyites, harkening back to joe mccarthy about the 1950s. senator burr, who is running the committee in the senate for the intelligence committee, he's saying the r.t. connections even as a desk, maybe a dinner, these are all things that come under their purview and scrutiny. >> just when you think this story is pretty much weird enough, it gets even weirder on a monday this close to christmas. gentlemen, thank you. ken delanian, robert costa, thank you for being here tonight. >> and coming up, steve schmidt is here to weigh in on russia developments and then some. we're back right after this. >>> we are back for a conversation we always like forward to with our friend steve schmidt, an msnbc political analyst. steve, a lot of folks in the -- what i define as the political and geographic center of this country and it is still there are rattled by what they see as a public campai

. >> robert costa, donald trump isn't the only one with everything on the line. it seems like this is an important moment for steve bannon. this has been his -- this was sean hannity's pick over luther strange, too. those two men have a lot riding on tomorrow. where -- are they lacking a moral compass? are they -- is it agenda? i want to ask this in -- the trump agenda at any cost? what is their rationale as the highest profile national champions of a credibly accused child molester? >> when you listen to bannon's words in alabama and he's supposedly heading back there today, he said he does not believe the reporting of my newspaper, "the washington post." and he echoes roy moore and doubting the reporting but these are credible accusations that have been reported by "the washington post." bannon is also fighting a larger proxy war against mitch mcconnell. a battle for control of the republican party. he is not particularly close to roy moore but politically, they are locked together because they are part of this effort to usurp the republican leadership and take

political reporter for "the washington post," robert costa. >> robert, it looks like, based on your reportingeller is pot going to neatly -- >> tie this up. >> -- tie this up with a bow by the holidays. >> not at all. in fact, there are many trump campaign associates who are only now being contacted by the special counsel's office to come in for an interview. people who have been asked to provide documents, are still working on that process to submit those documents. just on that fundamental level that the special counsel at this moment doesn't have all the documents it wants to review, that's a clear sign that this entire probe is not wrapping up any time soon. >> david ignatius in washington has a question. david? >> bob, i'm just curious where you think this very meticuallows prosecutor is going next. he has got presumably mike flynn's cooperation. he's reached out, as you say, to so many people. do you have a sense of what the next shoe to drop in this regulation is? we have now had four indictments or plea bargains. what's next? >> rather than think about what's the next shoe to drop, yo

and robert costa, national political reporter for the washington post, moderator of washington week on pbs. robert is just back from an extended trip to alabama. all three of our start-off guests are msnbc political analysts. and, robert, you having just come back from your travels get to go first. i know a lot of folks are asking you various forms of this question. how close is this? there's three major polls, some of them with better methodology than others. in short, there is a poll to match your opinion of this race, whoever you think is ahead or tied. and walk us through the prospect of a moore win and a jones win if you would. >> brian, polls only tell so much of the story in a complicated race like this because when you're on the ground in alabama talking, especially to suburban republican voters, business minded republicans, you see how close so many of them are willing to come up right to the line to vote for the democrat doug jones. some of them at this 11th hour, down in alabama, they are deliberating still. can they vote for someone who supports abortion rights? or is that

robert costas is going to join us on that in just a moment. first we figured we'd get a status report on the big board from steve korn aki. hi, steve. >> a week from tomorrow alabama voters will go to the polls. that's the story now. trump complete endorsement now of roy moore, signals of a changing posture from mitch mcconnell. the rnc, why are we seeing these signals a week out? look at what's happening. two weeks ago this is what the lay of the land looked like politically in alabama in this race. you see two weeks ago, if you average the polls together back then, doug jones, the democrat, had the lead. the significance obviously that was the first time in more than two decades a democrat was leading in polling in a u.s. senate race in alabama. so republicans are saying you have all these stories coming out about roy moore. he has now fallen behind. maybe the bottom is going to fall out. maybe the floor is going to fall out for roy moore and he's just going to collapse. they weren't sure, they were keeping their distance. he didn't have mit

robert costa, "washington post." takes a lot of interpretation the president tweets she came into his office, all alone, says i'll do anything for money. it was pretty clear it was a slut-shaming to use the phrase of elizabeth warren. >> this is a continuance of behavior, of wording, of just his view of women. it is so comfortable for him to give these type of comments. and for him, he's been teflon. nothing has stuck.ywsÑ >> it has stuck, we all know this stuff about him and he actually never denies it, he gets away with it. >> we have called for an investigation saying this president, if we're holding other members of congress accountable, it doesn't stop in the house, it should go to the white house. he admitted he said those things in the recording, then they goes back and said, well, it's just shop talk, locker room talk. now here we have it again. look at how he tweeted other anchor women, and it's continuous. this is a president has no respect for women. and even in this moore situation, he takes a national pl

i'm robert costa. how the tax bill could affect your paycheck. washington week." president trump: we are making america great again. you haven't heard that, have you? robert: jubilation at the white house as president trump cheers the passage of the republican party's biggest priority -- overhauling the american tax system. >> this has been a year of extraordinary accomplishment for the trump administration. robert: the vote, along party lines, marks the president's first major legislative victory of the year. the massive package doesn't just cut taxes. it eliminates the insurance mandate under obamacare, lifts a

i'm robert costa.sident and party leaders prepare for next year, tonight on "washington week." president trump: we are transferring power from washington, d.c., and giving it back to you, the people. from this day forward, it's going to be only america first. robert: in the months since donald trump was sworn in, he has signed into law sweeping tax cuts, appointed a new justice to the supreme court, rolled back regulations and up-ended global order. as commander-in-chief, he's overseen gains against isis in iraq and syria but with each passing

. >> i'm so glad robert costa is here, political reporter for "the washington post."'m going to guess right now you are tearing up the script for tonight's washington week. because things just got very different. i remember the night it was announced mike flynn was leaving. that afternoon, kellyanne conway went on tv. then suddenly he wasn't. president trump has never really said anything bad against mike flynn. he blamed mike flynn leaving on a whole thing from the media. >> one tell when something's really big news is when your phone lights up with text messages that are unsolicited. in the last ten minutes, that's exactly what happened as i waited to chat with you. >> why don't you read those texts for us, bob? >> some of them are off the record. however, to summarize the feeling around the republican party and around this white house, they are troubled, to say least, about this development, because they know general flynn was so close to president trump as a confident during the campaign and inside the white house. >> who do we think is troubled? don jr. is troubl

i'm robert costa.sident and party leaders prepare for next year, tonight on "washington week." president trump: we are transferring power from washington, d.c., and giving it back to you, the people. from this day forward, it's going to be only america first. robert: in the months since donald trump was sworn in, he has signed into law sweeping tax cuts, appointed a new justice to the supreme court, rolled back regulations and up-ended global order. as commander-in-chief, he's overseen gains against isis in iraq and syria but with each passing month, trump faces a possible nuclear confrontation with north korea. president trump: rocket man is on a suicide mission. robert: protests have tested the white house and the nation. trump called out athletes who took a knee. president trump: fired! robert: and outraged many americans with his response to white supremacist marchers in charlottesville. president trump: i think there's blame on both sides. robert: the national reckoning over sexual assault and har

i'm robert costa. the victory by democrat doug jones upends both parties on the hill.nd ahead of the midterms. tonight, on "washington week." president trump: we want to give you, the american people, a giant tax cut for christmas. robert: president trump says republicans are on the verge of passing a sweeping tax cut bill, one he says will boost the middle class. critics say the tax overhaul would provide generous cuts for corporations and the wealthy and would add more than $1 trillion to the national debt. >> robbing the future, ripping off the middle class, and why? to reward their friends, corporate america. robert: the massive package ul

i'm robert costa. politics and choices amid sexual misconduct. night on "washington week." >> in the coming weeks, i will be resigning as member of the united states senate. robert: minnesota senator al franken was one of three lawmakers who resigned this week amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations. he was investigated starting in november after a radio anchor alleged he groped and forcibly kissed her. normal kratz -- democrats called for his resignation. >> we should be held to a higher

i'm robert costa. a legal storm and the politics of taxing, tonight on "washington week."hael flinl becomes the first trump administration official to plead guilty to lying to the fick. the retired army general, who also worked on the trump campaign -- >> the next president of the united states -- robert: has promptsed his full cooperation with the fuller investigation. plus -- >> what's in it is tax relief. robert: senate republicans

i'm representing my broadcast we had julie ainsley talking about her exclusive, peter baker and robert costa>> republicans are enthused because president trump is in the corner of roy moore trying to rev up that base in the state. the stakes are enormous. at this point it's a jump ball. >> more often than not, that resembles our first segment. we throw stuff out the window that we can't handle in our hour. there's so much news now. this network is all about covering it. >> i mean, they are competitive, i'm sure. but there is a camaraderie to covering not just donald trump and the unconventional ways that he has turned the presidency on its head, but covering this moment. you think of all of the people sort of bringing us these stories day after day after day. it's an embarrassment of riches. >> we know this christmas season, meryl streep and tom hanks -- >> i have heard of them. >> in this movie called "the post." >> they 7,000 pages detailing how the white house has been lying about the vietnam war for 30 years. >> the first thing i'm going to do on my first day off of christmas break. have

julia ainsley of nbc news talking about her exclusive, peter baker of "the new york times" and robert costahe washington post." >> republicans are enthused at this late moment because president is in the corner of roy moore, trying to rev up his base in that state. the stakes are enormous and at this point it's a jump ball. >> more often than not that resembles our first segment. we throw out stuff that we can't handle in our hour. there's so much news now, this network is all about covering it. >> they're competitive, i'm sure. but there's camaraderie to covering not just donald trump and the unconventional ways that he has turned the presidency on its head, but covering this moment. you just think of all of the people sort of bringing us these stories day after day after day. it's an embarrassment of riches. >> we also sit here knowing that this christmas season, meryl streep and tom hanks. >> i've heard of them. >> in this movie called "the post." >> 7,000 pages detailing how the white house has been lying about the vietnam war for 30 years. >> the first thing i'm going to do on my first

thank you very much coming up next, mike allen of axios and robert costa on whether the trump team is for the 2018 mid-terms. also, congressman scott perry of pennsylvania, one of 16 house republicans to vote no on the continuing resolution to keep the government opened through the new year. >> that and a lot more coming up next on "morning joe." welcome back. everybody. president trump is expected to return to the white house at some point on new year's day mitch mcconnell is said to hold his end of the year press conference. it comes on the heels of passing a funding bill to keep the federal government opened and the republican tax reform bill the week. >> that does it for us on this friday morning, merry christmas. morning joe starts right now. >> christmas is only two days away, which means it's time to watch the classic holiday movies. can you tell trump likes theming he has been practicing lines from his favorite holiday movie. >> can you iton the down a bit in. >> can you doan tone it down a little bit? >> we're all if this towing. >> we're all in this towing. >> as dead had a

in birmingham, robert costa. so, robert, in a year of political weirdness, add this bannon tirade.s bannon being bannon and we'll even put aside the fact he's criticizing mitt romney when he has supported a president who had multiple deferments for bone spurs, so not sure where that comes from. but what does he think he's going to accomplish and could i be a good strategy? >> in terms of bannon's aims, you have to think about the broader civil war happening within the republican party. steve bannon is battling mitch mcconnell ahead of 2018 midterm election, trying to control more of the party's power, it's direction and he's looking to the u ut senate race next year, where hatch, the veteran senator, is looking to run for re-election and he knows romney is thinking about running for that seat hymn, so his comments about alabama are about a larger proxy war in the party. >> what was it like in that room? what's the reaction there in alabama? >> i think we should be clear in talking to voters over that donald trump's endorsement has sueded them to vote next tuesday. it should also be

i'm joined by jason johnson and robert costa. let me tell you, robert, this guy, you want him to sell your house some day or your old car because he's one hell of a salesman. but today i saw a lot of republican guys, mostly guys in the congress and senate with white shirts on, all dressed up for the occasion. do you think celebration is the right message for a tax cut that goes mostly to the top? >> they're going to have to rely on the president to be their salesman ahead of the mid term elections. that's at stake in the 2018 elections. democrats believe by bringing that corporate rate down from 35 to 21, they excel on the left as something that's against the working class, that's for the corporations. but they're going to rely on trump because he has the connection with the working class voters to make those stark shirt republicans on the hill seem a little more popular. >> it's a late night. my favorite notion of politics, late night, had a couple of beers. sitting along a bar route 40 or somewhere out in the country or somewher

robert costa is preparing for "washington week," which airs later tonight. ss how donald trump has been rewriting the rules of the presidency, the setbacks and successes of his first year in office, plus a look ahead to 2018. later tonight on "washington week," hari. >> sreenivasan: thanks. on monday, a new year and new laws. a review of regulations taking effect across the country. i'm hari sreenivasan. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs st