. >>> let's bring in nbc news national political reporter sahil kapur and nbc reporter carol lee. sahil, what are you hearing in the senate, among democrats, among republicans, about what happens now? >> it's pretty simple, katy. earlier today senator sinema took to the floor of the senate and smashed democrats' hopes of passing these two major voting and election bills, the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting rights advancement act. she made clear she supports the two bills on the merits, if it came to an up or down vote, she would vote yes. but she opposes changing senate rules to allow for an up or down vote which means they have no path to get through the senate. democrats need every one of their 50 senators to change the rules of the filibuster to overcome what is overwhelming republican opposition. i want to play some of what senator sinema had to say on the floor. >> while i continue to support these bills, i will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country. the debate over the senate's 60-vote threshold shines

know why i mess that intro "on capitol hill," sahil -- and eugene daniels. i need to change the way i lead in to you. sahil, when the democrats don't have enough votes to pass a bill, they don't usually bring it to the floor because they want to avoid embarrassment. what's the strategy in going to the floor with these two bills even though the votes aren't there? >> that's exactly right, katy. there is not a legislative strategy to succeed at this point. there is a political strategy to get caught trying. this cause is simply too important to the white house, to the democratic party, to the base, to the civil rights community, to progressive advocates, that they don't believe they can pull the plug right now. senate democratic leaders believe that they must call a vote on this. they're going to put these two bills on the floor of the senate for a vote. the john lewis voting rights advancement exact and the act and the freedom to vote act. they have no way around the 60-vote threshold. senator chuck schumer, the majority leader, plans to call some form of a v

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sahil can talk more about that. just before i came up to talk with you, i had a chance to speak with doug jones, former senator from the state of alabama. he represented a very red state in the senate, very recently, and he said yes, he knows the odds are long in the senate, but he thinks what the president is doing here today is so critical. jones also saying he hasn't given up on senator joe manchin. that's what voting rights advocates and what the white house is hoping for. >> we're going to take that and talk about sahil in a second. but tia, let be go to you first. one thing that mike touched on is there are voting rights groups who are upset. they say this is more talking. there's enough talking. we need more action. stacey abrams, we know, who is running for governor, is not going to be there. the president was downplaying it as he left the white house, oh, a function of schedules, our relationship is fine. everything is fine. is everything really fine? >> no, everything is not fine in georgia because you hav

so sahil, what's next? >> craig, it is looking like a do or die week here in the united states senate for the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting rights advancement act. the two bills have a majority support to pass. they have the support of all 50 democrats. and the john lewis bill has the support of one republican. but they have no path around the 60 vote threshold which is guaranteed on the back end to end debate. republicans will block it, and for all the pressure, for all the pressure that activists have put on senators, joe manchin and kyrsten sinema have been rock solid in support of the filibuster. they're refusing to bung budge on it. chuck schumer still plans to call a vote on some form of a rules change, i'm told, but that is not likely to succeed, because he has 48 democratic votes. at l pat to 48 wo are open to it or strongly in favor of it. why are democrats put this out there? they see this as a historic moment. they don't see it as an ordinary bill, and one senior democratic aide i

sahil, let's talk about this electoral count act.rm look like? >> reporter: chris, there does seem to be a real effort and this bipartisan group is hitting the gas after democrats' two major voting rights bills went down, this is a more narrow effort that deals less with voting rights and more with election subversion. they are looking at a few things based on conversations we had with senators. they are looking at changes of the 1887 electoral count act to clarify the role of the vice president and congress. they are looking at reforms at the federal level to protection local election officials from the threats and intimidation we have seen more and more of lately. they are looking at changes that would clarify how votes are counted and certified even at the state level. this is a significant effort to try to prevent election subversion. joe manchin, one of the democrats in the group, told me yesterday that they will be on zooms all week to try to figure this out. another democrat involved is jeanne shaheen of new hampshire, the rep

sahil, let me start with you. again, this hearing wrapped up a few moments ago. but in the last hour we heard the chief talk about all the ways the force has heeded the committee's advice in a report they put out back in june. the report concluding the capitol police intelligence were not adequately prepared to respond on january 6th. what else have we heard? >> that's right. thom manger telling the committee the capitol police is in the process of implementing more than 90 of the recommendations. he admitted there were critical failures on the part of the department in terms of planning, gathering intelligence j, staffing and equipment. he said they're trying to put in place processes to better act on intelligence. he admitted there was plenty of information, evidence out there that violence was going to occur on january 6th and they didn't act which led to a lot of finger pointing. he said the biggest challenge is keeping up with the volume of threats. he talked about a challenge many americans across the country are facing. the supply chain. let's play what he

they might pick up a few sahil kapur covers congress. the challenge really might be workable this time, no >> that's right, shep. democrats are planning to hit the gas in the senate on this confirmation process they have a razor-thin 50/50 which gives them control of the senate floor which leaves majority leader chuck schumer with the decision on when and how to process a vote on this final nominee on the floor of the senate democratic leaders are using words like speed, expeditiously, moving quickly let's listen to what schumer had to say about this. >> in the senate, we want to be deliberate we want to move quickly. we want to get this done as quickly as possible. >> the rule was ap bol lished in 201. there are republican senate torts who are likely to be in play who have supported judges and justices supported by democratic justices in the past, that includes susan collins and lisa murkowski, as well as lipid see graham of south carolina who supported president barack obama's two nominees, pointed out that elections have consequences

sahil, we are seeing this debate on the floor right now. democrats are urging other democrats to change their mind on the filibuster. republicans are saying this is not needed. there is a lot of debate. what should we expect to happen in the next day or two? >> well, katy, the debate is officially underway and we are already seeing the predictable battle lines emerge with senator chuck schumer, the majority leader, kicking it off, pleading with his colleagues to move forward to allow these bills to come to a vote and to ultimately vote for them. the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting rights advancement act are up for debate. senator patrick leahy, a vermont democrat, the longest serving member of the chamber, talked about not hiding behind procedure and an indication that he might be able to carve out the filibuster to move forward, and mitch mcconnell took to the floor to blast democrats for pushing forward with this bill, describing it as an attempt to consolidate power on a partisan basis. as for the timeline, the vote on endi

so joining me now is nbc news political reporter sahil kapur on capitol hill and white house bureau chiefesident is going to be arguing in atlanta. jon, why tomorrow and why in atlanta? >> georgia has been sort of the ground zero for the movement to protect voting rights because of restrictions put in place there by the state legislature, the republican-led state legislature earlier this year. we know of course that the margin in georgia in 2020 was very slim. biden won narrowly and so did two democratic senators, giving them control of the senate. the republicans moved to enact some rather restrictive measures. now after protests and corporate boycotts and major league baseball moving their all-star game, they eased some of them. but there was still a tightening there. georgia is seen as a hotbed for 2022 and 2024. democrats are putting a lot of energy there. it's time, white house aides have told me, to make this push. we've had the january 6th anniversary, mlk day is a few days away. civil rights groups have made it clear they want to see real progress on this issue, they're disappoint

joining me now, sahil kapour with the latest on what to expect in the senate, and mike memoli near the house as the president marks martin luther king day. so, mike, the white house put out this video today commemorating martin luther king junior day. the president says we must continue to commit to mlk's work. it seems like so many of biden's priorities are unfinished. where does he go from here? >> it's a great question. i think you see some of the strategy in the president's comments today. i want to highlight two. the first seem to be a rebuttal of sorts to what has been the favorite republican talking point of late talk act the fact as we heard from mitt romney talking yesterday and others, mitch mcconnell throughout the past few weeks in some ways it's harder to vote in new york or delaware than georgia where some of the voting laws that democrats have harshly criticized are taking place. you heard the president in his vid yes talking about the pernicious aspect of the voting law changes around the country. the changes to election boards. the changes to the process of counting th

i want to bring in sahil kapur and blayne alexander. i'm glad to have both of you on.rce that some of them want dedicated to what they are calling election fraud although every time we say it i feel like there's important to note that there is no evidence that that widespread election fraud actually exists. >> reporter: and, hallie, i don't think that we can say that enough and that's certainly important, especially when we are talking about these proposals. currently being proposed by lawmakers or rather politicians in three states, florida, georgia and arizona, i made that distinction because the one that perhaps has the most teeth is the one in florida, it's being proposed by republican governor ron desantis down in florida and he has already asked the state legislature for several million dollars to make this happen. in arizona it's being proposed by a state lawmaker. here in the state of georgia it's being proposed by former start david perdue. he is a candidate, the one who is the trump-enforced candidate working to unseat the current republican governor here in

sahil, i understand now that they're going to start talking about this tomorrow but not voting on t is have it. >> reporter: that's exactly right, chris. the senate is expected to start debating this tomorrow, it's unlikely they will have a vote but they may be able to bring this up and at least begin the conversation on the senate floor about voting rights. now, the crucial thing here is democrats can debate this under a brochure they've done in conjunction with the house with a simple majority. they do have a majority of the senate on board for the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting rights advancement act but they will need 60 votes on the back end to break a republican filibuster. they do not have a path of getting there. why are democrats putting this up if they know they're going to fail? i asked that question to a senior democratic aide and the answer is this is what the caucus wants. the reality is chuck schumer is caught between two conflicting objectives, does he pull this vote which is what they actually do when they don't have the votes or does he feel the weight

as promised, nbc's sahil kapur now. these enhanced penalties just one of the measures congress is considering. >> that's right, shep, that is merely the tip of the iceberg. congress is considering a wide variety of recommendations, most notably changes to the electoral count act. it's a little known law dating all the way back to 1887 that governs the process by which congress counts electoral votes for the presidency lawmakers are considering changes that includes clarifying the vice president's role, making clear that he or she cannot simply reject electoral votes on a unilateral basis. there is also a desire to clarify the role of congress to make clear that its job is simply to count the votes and not to adjudicate disputes, not to play investigator or fact finder there's some desire as well to raise the threshold for my challenges to electoral votes to at least more than one representative in the house and one senator, which is what it is currently now. these recommendations emanated from members of the january 6th

nbc's sahil kippur now who in this group are we talking about and what kind of remaining election reforms are they looking at >> the group includes moderate senate republicans such as susan collins of maine and mitt romney of utah. it also includes mod rilt democrats like manchin and jeanne shaheen they're talking about things like clarifying the 1998 electoral count act to make clear what the vice president's role is and congress's role is in counting electoral votes and looking at new laws to protect local officials from threats and intimidation and harassment that we've seen the kind of in recent months there's guarded optimism they can pull this off because there's a real bipartisan consensus amount that narrow and limited issue of preventing future candidates of trying to steal the election republicans and democrats are quite troubled by former president trump's such attempt after the 2020 election. you see the names on the screen there, these are the type of individuals who have supported bipartisan deals in the past and one template for success here is the bipartisan infrastructure

that said, the next step for the january 6th committee could be a subpoena nbc's sahil kapur now. are subpoenas on the table at all from this committee, and if so, are they ready to consider criminal attempt referrals if those subpoenas are rejected >> reporter: well, the second question here is key because if they issue subpoenas, they'd better be prepared to enforce them chairman thompson has said subpoenas are under discussion when he was asked about kevin mccarthy he said he's disappointed for not cooperating. and the committee has been reluctant to issue subpoenas of members of congress, which includes requests for information not only from kevin mccarthy, but also scott perry and jim jordan, who have signaled that they won't cooperate with the committee the committee has been reluctant to subpoena them because there is no modern precedent for subpoenaing members of congress to testify at an oversight hearing. that could set a precedent that could be abused by future congresses and lead to some pretty dark places if they start to ask the justice department to prosecute their

>> sahil said something accurate.said there are two immovable objects in the senate inside the democratic party, but there are 50 immovable people, right, on the republican side, and that is what you heard be the focus today in many ways from president biden and vice president harris, really focusing on the fact that, no, it's not just two, it's actually 52 right now who oppose this. >> that's right, hallie. the president will mark his first year in office. maybe they don't want to mark an anniversary when the battle seems like one they're going to lose. but the frustration in the white house is this larger battle they're in about voting rights and why i hear from administration officials when they feel like democrats months ago picked the wrong fight. by making this all about the rules change, you're focused on the democratic divisions, which is what the president and vice president have tried to do which is do what needs to be done to protect the democracy. we know the president earlier this week had that one on two

nbc's sahil kippur now sahil, this week marks one year since the riots.xt steps in the committee's investigation. >> and huge year coming up ahead for the january 6th committee. they say they've spoken to more than 300 witnesses, collected more than 35,000 documents now, what are the next steps they have to complete their fact-finding mission that means figuring out what to do about reluctant witnesses like roger stone and jeffrey clark, will there be subpoenas for them will there be subpoenas for members of congress they're investigating in connection with that january 6th insurrection, such as scott perry and jim jordan and, of course, donald trump himself. what is the committee going to do, recommend potential criminal charges for the justice department for what liz cheney right there called a dereliction of duty. over the next few weeks and months, the committee could begin public hearings to roll out their findings, according to adam schiff, a member of the committee and democrat from california and perhaps most importantly, legislative recommendatio

critical in its investigation into the events before, during, and after the january 6th attack nbc's sahil kapur with late news from capitol hill. these were must-get documents for the committee. this is a major development. >> it certainly is, shep these were important documents to the committee, which is now able to get its hands on hundreds of pages of records from the trump white house from the national archives, this lopsided 8-1 ruling from the supreme court rejecting former president trump's request to block them the committee has asked for these documents as part of its investigation into january 6th they include communications between the white house and the justice department, why is that important? because they know that some officials in the justice department tried to involve the department in a plot to stop president biden's victory from being declared what does the committee want to know they want to know what communications the white house had with the justice department, if individuals at the white house were involved, and if former president trump was aware. and the exten

and sahill, capitol police trying to get out in front of this. here are the security improvements, what we've done to make things better's what have you seen in action on the ground? >> reporter: hallie, one of the things we've seen, more aggressive about use of a fence to rope off the place when they receive threats. not the case january 6th and made it easier for rioters to come in and attack the building. that fence was up months after janu september. no violence did occur at that place. a lot of changes made are not visible to people like me walking the happens. one of the words the new capitol police chief used again and again and again was intelligent. beefed up protocols and processes for gathering and analyzing and sharing intelligence. said they've enlisted a secret service expert to come up with ways to deal with large events, a blueprint he called it, to deal with large events. enhanced protection for members. congress, video footage shows very much in danger, close to being reached by those who breached the capitol on that day. so tho

. >> we heard from sahill about officer goodman, but he me dispatch with the headlines i would like to talk about including alex jones. we talked about in the segment he apparently showed up in front of your committee, pleaded the fifth more than a hundred times. has the committee made asisment whether the invocations were legitimate? >> well, the thing that mr. jones and all of the defendants and all of the witnesses are forgetting is that the fifth amendment is meant to be used selectively if you think that you might be incriminating yourself by answering a question. it's not a magic wand you wave over the whole proceeding and you don't have to answer anything. it's only to be used if you think that answer you're about to give will provide evidence to the government that could be used against you in prosecution for a crime. if it relates to other people, relates to general events, if it doesn't lead to your own incrimination you can't use it like that. what we're seeing is this extravagant new deployment of the fifth amendment as a kind of, you know, get out of a subpoena card. >> do