. >> i want to bring in vaughn hillyard. vaughn. it seems as though pretty much tulsi gabbard's acceptance is a fait accompli, right? i mean, there are what, no substantial number of republicans standing in the way? >> no. lisa murkowski and susan collins, who have really been on the front lines of being critics and questioning whether donald trump's nominee should be confirmed. they both said that they intend to vote here this morning to confirm her. chuck schumer, the senate minority leader who you're looking at right now, just took the microphone and he told those senators assembled that he was making one last plea to republicans. let's be clear, this was a democratic party that's very familiar with tulsi gabbard. in 2019, i was in some small cafe type locations with tulsi gabbard when she was running for president, united states herself, and she was taking on the more than 20 other democrats running for president at the time. and even then, there was a lot of skepticism, not just among democrats, but the republicans, including t

vaughn hillyard joins us now. so vaughn, what's going about here and how is elon musk involved?right, hallie. this amounts to a gutting of this key agency. nbc news has learned from several sources that in the past week, more than a thousand senior civil workers and contractors were fired, furloughed, or placed on leave. usaid's website has been offline for more than 24 hours now, and i'm also told this weekend a director and deputy director of the agency's security office were put on leave after refusing access to secure files to elon musk's dosage office. in the last hours musk calling the agency criminal and saying it's time for the agency to die. usaid is the backbone of the u.s. humanitarian assistance around the world. and the trump administration has frozen billions of dollars of foreign aid that runs through it. several dramatic lawmakers tonight are saying the cripple of usaid undercuts america's national security. >> vaughn hillyard, thank you very much. >>> still ahead, secretary of state marco rubio touring the panama canal today as president trump argues the u.s. sh

joining us now, nbc's vaughn hillyard. also with us, susan page, washington bureau chief for usa today. also with us, former republican congressman charlie dent from pennsylvania. so vaughn, another of the president's more controversial picks, appears to be poised to pass through the senate. is there anything or anyone that could stand in his way? >> it doesn't appear so at this time. susan collins just voted yes for robert f kennedy jr. s confirmation. and bill cassidy, the senator from louisiana, who is a physician himself, who was one of the republicans who asked pointed questions of kennedy during his confirmation hearings and openly was skeptical about particularly his vaccine positions. this is for robert f kennedy jr. we're watching this vote continue to unfold here, and there is no indication that there are going to be enough republicans to join democrats to stop him. mitch mcconnell is somebody who we are looking at. he was, we believe, the one undefined republican vote coming into this morning here uncommitted he

here in washington, vaughn hillyard, nbc news. all right. thank you very much. still ahead, we continue our celebration of black heritage. we'll introduce you to a bay area fashion designer who is working toward breathing life back into san francisco's union square. and love is definitely in the air on this valentine's day. and what better time than today to get married? of course, we're going to show you the people taking the plunge next. beautiful. they're beautiful outside right now. sunny skies. and 55 in napa. we've got some cold 40s on the way. we'll get you all the way through this weekend. and that next chance history here at nbc bay area. and as part of that celebration, we're highlighting some of the people who contribute to our rich cultural fabric. nbc bay area's joe rosado jr. has the story of a bay area woman weaving that fabric into something special. we've seen the well-publicized exodus of businesses from san francisco's urban core. for lease signs filling store windows where mannequins once modeled clothes. okay, cool. but amid those doom loop

vaughn hillyard, nbc news. thank you.est point is disbanding all cultural clubs following the president's order to eliminate dei programs. the deputy commandant released that order today. the clubs being removed include the japanese forum club, latin cultural club, society of women engineers club. academy leaders are also asking to review other sanctioned clubs to make sure they align with the president's executive order. this is part of a larger movement with the defense department. last week, defense secretary pete hegseth announced the creation of a task force that would end all dei protocol in the department. still ahead ai continuing to reshape the job market in the bay area. some companies laying off people only to hire others that have ai expertise. we'll explain what that means for you. and believe it or not, we are just about a year away from the winter olympics. we'll take you to italy for a look at the preparations underway, and it will be clear and cold tonight. temperatures in the 40s. tomorrow rain returns,

nbc's vaughn hillyard has details from washington. concerning facing mounting criticism from across the country and in the courts. president trump pushing back against judges stepping in on his new policies. maybe we have to look at the judges because that's a very serious i think it's a very serious violation. an inviting advisor and billionaire, elon musk, the architect of shrinking the government to the oval office. he says his ideas are not radical. it's not draconian or radical. i think it's really just saying, let's look at each each of these expenditures and say, is this actually in the best interest of the people? but democrats say the changes are unethical and illegal. donald trump is not free to bulldoze his way through the rule of law. the movement growing against the trump administration's rapid fire push to o reshape the fedel government. they want us to step back. we're here to push back. yeah. all this is president trump greeting jordan's king abdullah to the white house. the visit coming at a crucial time as the israel

nbc's vaughn hillyard is on capitol hill. another way of saying we're doing a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum. president trump today making good on his threat. we were being pummeled by both friend and foe alike, also adding he intends to tax almost every country that taxes u.s. exports except the ones he says treat the u.s. fairly. canada is the biggest exporter of steel and aluminum to the u.s, and in the short term, these tariffs could raise prices. but experts say they see investment in the long term. today, china tariffs on u.s. goods set in, meaning american companies could soon feel the pinch. meanwhile, democrats figuring out how they'll respond more effectively to musk and trump's torrent moves to overhaul the government. 21 days we have seen elon musk conducting illegal raids on federal agencies with his doge crew. today, senate minority leader chuck schumer laying out strategies to fight back with oversight, litigation, legislation and communication and mobilization. and in a boston courtroom, a judge hearing argu

here's nbc's vaughn hillyard. hours before a 25% tariff was scheduled to go into effect on mexican imports, president trump announced a pause. they've agreed to put in 10,000 soldiers permanently. like forever, 10,000 soldiers at their side of the border and stop fentanyl. mexico president sheinbaum confirming soldiers will patrol the border. canada is very tough. p president trump made a similar deal with canadian prime minister trudeau this afternoon, but the tariffs on china still scheduled to go into effect tonight. if we can't make a deal with china, then the tariffs will be very, very substantial. if the tariffs are imposed, costs could rise for food to gas to automobiles. the u.s. imports 4.2 million barrels of crude oil a day from canada. most of that goes to midwest states, turning to electronics with much made in china. the consumer tech association says if the full tariff is passed on to consumers, prices could go up more than $200 on smartphones, more than $350 for laptops. while tariff talks take plac

nbc's vaughn hillyard is following this for us. so, vaughn, let's start there with elon musk, because so much controversy has been created about some of the moves that he has made, particularly involving usaid. give us some context and tell us what you thought was important about what we heard from the president about mr. musk. >> right. chris. >> you. >> just ticked. >> through a lot of headlines that just came from that. but the headline for me, based off of conversations with government workers, particularly usaid officials, over the last several days. >> and in just. >> the last. >> hours, is. >> that donald trump. >> the president. >> of. >> the united. >> states, from the. >> oval office, just. >> effectively endorsed. the efforts of elon musk. across these government agencies. we have watched elon musk, whose exact position in the federal government and the executive office of the president is still not entirely clear, has gone in with a small team of young tech individuals and. gone in in the case of usaid, effectively. >> c

nbc news correspondent vaughn hillyard joins me from capitol hill. and lawmakers about the president's comments the other day on gaza? >> reporter: right. prime minister benjamin netanyahu meeting with multiple republican senators, but some democrats as well. this comes after an early morning post from president trump on his truth social acaccount which he was quite explicit in saying that after the fighting, in his words, at that point in time israel would then turn over gaza to the united states. he has been very unclear and specific as to what exactly that would look like. of course, that would lead to the displacement of more than a million palestinians. but i want to let you listen to john cornyn, republican senator out of texas, one of many lawmakers i asked about this, whether this something that is feasible. take a listen. >> palestinians who live there,is uninhabitable. so this is something that's going to require creative thinking and presidident trum certainly is capable of doing that. but i think he started an important conversation. so w

joining us now, nbc's vaughn hillyard from capitol hill. r democratic congresswoman stephanie murphy in florida and former republican congressman charlie dent from pennsylvania. so, vaughn, just as of well, i guess last night the cia became the latest agency that could be scaled back with buyouts being offered to its workforce. what is behind all of this? >> right. this just goes to show just how far elon musk, doge, and the trump administration are seeking to go to push federal workers out of the workforce. this was a stated goal to deconstruct the so-called administrative state. and clearly the cia under john ratcliffe is now included in that. now, this was part of what is essentially the deferred resignation program that the administration launched and were offering to federal workers across the country, more than 2 million of them. and the deadline for that is tomorrow night, thursday night at midnight. and there was a new message that went out not only to the cia workers, but others across the federal workforce, effectively warning them

and my friend and colleague, nbc news white house correspondent vaughn hillyard.just remind everyone. >> is that this is all terrible. >> we all accept that. but just to keep in mind some perspective, if this is a marathon, we're barely. >> at the first mile mark. >> and i'm not saying that to be dramatic. it's just that they they said what they were. going to do in advance and they will document it. i mean, ross vote isn't even. >> in omb yet, officially. >> and before he got there, he was very clear that they have 350 documents already prepared to roll out that include all. >> of these sorts of plans. >> and then when you overlay what's. >> happening right. >> now, this is sort of like starting the. >> process. >> greasing the. >> wheels of the machinery that this larger. >> plan is. >> designed to. >> then implement. you got. >> to get things going. you got to get things started. and so what. musk is doing. >> is through a. combination of practice and experience. >> and force of will and obviously ties with with the administration. he is just going. >> in. >> t

nbc's vaughn hillyard is on capitol hill. vaughn mcconnell didn't mince words.k about what we heard from him and others. >> right. mitch mcconnell is no longer the senate majority leader. he's now just among the other republican senators. and clearly with lesser sway than he once had in his 20 years atop the republican conference here on the senate side. but if you look at his statement here, he was the sole republican, no vote on tulsi gabbard to be the director of national intelligence. and in his statement, he says in part, quote, the nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the president receives are tainted by a director of national intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment here. of course, he also voted against the nomination of pete hegseth to head the pentagon. and now there's a question of whether could mitch mcconnell be a no vote on the nomination of robert f kennedy jr. slated to take place in the 7 a.m. eastern hour tomorrow morning, there is, for mitch mcconnell, a reality here that several days ago he had

nbc news white house correspondent vaughn hillyard is with us from the capitol this morning. you. so how are senate democrats planning to take on the trump administration? >> right. >> actually, jose, in just the last few minutes, senate minority leader chuck schumer just sent a dear colleagues message to all of his senate colleagues in which they laid out the ways in which they intend to take on the republican majorities here in the senate, in the house, but also the president trump's administration. and what they say is a reach and a failure to comply with past budgets and to appropriate previously approved funds from the last congress. and that is where, in this letter, chuck schumer suggested that they intend to file briefs, along with litigants and litigation that is filed against maneuvers by the trump administration. but they also suggested in this letter here that they are going to try through their own hearings. they may not be formal hearings, but try to put government workers own stories on the forefront and urges them to be whistleblowers against what they say is

nbc's vaughn hillyard is on capitol hill for us, matt bradley has the latest from the middle east, andf state for legislative affairs. vaughn, what are you hearing from lawmakers about netanyahu's visit and trump's plan for gaza? >> right. benjamin netanyahu is still here up on capitol hill, actually waiting for speaker mike johnson to return from his meeting with other house republican leaders at the white house, where they're talking about the budget. the federal funding deadline, and, of course, the debt ceiling that is all coming up here this spring. but in the meanwhile, for prime minister netanyahu here, this visit comes at a moment in time in which republican lawmakers, by and large, are not outwardly denouncing the suggestion by president trump. with the backing of prime minister netanyahu this morning for american occupation, it was benjamin netanyahu earlier today that suggested that there could be a pathway forward on this front. now, it was suggested that u.s. military troops would not be used in this. but i want to let you just listen to a few of the lawmakers we spoke to

vaughn hillyard is on. >> capitol hill. >> for us. our yasmin vossoughian in tel aviv. and joel rubin, former deputy. assistant secretary of state, joining us as well. gabe, the president, appeared to be reading from a script at times. we have reported. >> these comments. >> were not off the cuff. so what do we. >> know about how. >> this came about? >> hi there. good morning. yes, these. >> comments were. >> not off the. >> cuff from sources. familiar with the process. we understand. >> that he. >> did. >> speak with prime minister. >> benjamin netanyahu about. >> these comments beforehand. >> and we just. >> heard from. >> national security adviser mike wallace that. >> the president had been. thinking about this. >> for quite some. >> time, that he'd. >> be that he. >> had been. >> receiving briefings from his. national security. >> staff, as well. >> as. his middle east envoy. >> steve witkoff. >> and he does think that this would be a plausible idea. >> and let's. >> listen to a little bit more about what he had to say. >> about it last night. >> i envision a world

nbc's vaughn hillyard, thank you very much. excellent reporting. before they were blocked from entering usaid headquarters today, congressional democrats blasted the trump administration and elon's elon musk's illegal maneuver. >> we don't have a. >> fourth branch. >> of government. >> called elon musk. >> we are witnessing a. constitutional crisis. this is what the beginning of dictatorship looks like. >> you cannot wave away an agency that you don't like, or that you disagree with by executive order. >> or by literally. >> storming into the building and taking over the servers. >> let's not. >> pull. >> any punches. >> about why. >> this is happening. >> elon musk. >> makes billions. >> of dollars based off of his business with china, and china is cheering. >> at this action today. >> one of those democrats, congresswoman ilhan omar of minnesota, joins me now. congresswoman, i want to start with this question of members of congress, people who are who work for the american people, including yourself. how is it possible that you all were not allow

. >> gabe gutierrez at the white house and vaughn hillyard. so, gabe, what other steps did the president announce this morning related to this issue? >> i thought it. >> was a good morning. well, the president saying that he wants. >> the federal government to. >> bring god back. into our lives, he said. and he. >> said his. >> position on. >> religion, it really. >> changed after. >> the two assassination. >> attempts last year. >> however, he. >> also made a false claim, suggesting. >> that. >> president biden. >> had not attended the. >> national prayer. breakfast over the last few. >> years he had. but he also. >> made a. point to single out his new. >> attorney. >> general. >> pam bondi. >> for what he expects her. >> to. do in this administration. let's listen. >> today, i'm signing an executive order to make our attorney general, who's a great person. she's going to be a great attorney general, pam bondi. the head of a task force brand new to eradicate anti-christian bias. the mission of this task force will be to immediately halt all f

nbc's vaughn hillyard is on capitol hill. tim miller is back with us in studio with me.r executive director of the new york state democratic party and an msnbc political analyst. john, let's just sort of set the stage here how large a chunk is that billion dollars for the university of alabama, birmingham. and what could be the impact if it does go away? >> yeah. >> it's huge. >> they're talking about $100 million a year essentially, which is. a lot of money. in a, as you said, a deep red state, a very trump. >> state right here in the bible. >> belt that does a really terrible job of taking care of its sick people, with the exception of. >> the. >> uab. >> perhaps. >> but it. powers the entire. economy of the largest metro. >> in. >> the state. >> and. >> there's been, quite frankly, a lot of silence about it. >> well, both u.s. senators from alabama, katie britt and tommy tuberville, i don't have to tell you, are republicans. so they haven't had anything to say about these nih cuts. >> katie britt has hinted that the cuts should be considered carefully, which is, i. >>

nbc's vaughn hillyard is covering this story for us. so what happens? there are thousands of american workers who would fit into that category, who are posted overseas, and how big of a job will it be just to get them home? >> extraordinary. and the millions of dollars it will take is difficult to exactly add up here. chris. the order overnight from usaid for all usaid officials and staff overseas to return to washington, d.c. is a stunning development. at this point in time, there is more than 80 missions across the globe. i was talking with somebody familiar with the ukraine mission just a bit ago who said, this is not just a matter of, you know, humanitarian aid and assistance. this is basic about national security. in the case of ukraine, for example, there are more than 200 american usaid personnel that are on the ground that are helping with the energy grid here in the dead of winter, that help with the agricultural industry. if i was talking with another individual who is familiar with the missions in africa, who says that when it comes to the hu

nbc's vaughn hillyard is on capitol hill for us. carlos curbelo is a former republican congressman from florida and an msnbc political analyst. lisa rubin is an msnbc legal correspondent. so, gabe, i mean, this is all part of the plan as it was all along, right? move fast and break things. >> yeah, that's the point, chris, isn't it? and the white house. >> will say that this is what they believe the. american people voted for. they want to cut what they say waste. from the federal government. and this is what they say, that they're moving very quickly to do it. of course, there are plenty of legal questions here and whether they can do this, but they do plan to move quickly. and as there are so many questions about elon musk's role in all of this now, white house officials say we wouldn't be paying so. much attention to this if it wasn't. >> elon musk. >> for. >> example, even though he's. >> a billionaire with billions of dollars in federal. >> contracts. >> they see it as more. >> of. >> a. process story. and what they're. >> tryi

vaughn hillyard, thank you.e trump administration's programoffer bouts to millions of federal workers. that same judge had temporarily halted president trump's offer of deferred resignations after labor unions representing federal workers filed a lawsuit challenging the buyouts. the white house says now about 75,000 federal employees accepted the offer of resignation, though nbc news has no way to independently confirm that number. joining me now, nbc news senior white house correspondent kelly o'donnell and the host of talking feds podcast, former u.s. attorney harry litman. thanks to both of you for joining us. kelly, what happens now? what can federal workers expect between now and september? >> well, there are. >> a lot. >> of questions here, because the white house is believing that this is one of the rare victories they've had thus far from the courts, and they're running with it, so they want to move forward. the window for federal workers to sign up for this deferred resignation program has now closed. a

i thank you, vaughn hillyard, rula jebreal, alex wagner is going to stick with us. thank you both.hank you all for helping us to digest that. okay. well, coming up, believe it or not. besides that, there's a lot of other news today in washington, and that news involves elon musk. that news involves elon musk. that's type 2 diabetes? discover the ozempic® tri-zone. i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. and adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for type 1 diabetes or children. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take if you or your family had mtc, men 2, or if allergic to it. stop taking and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or any of these allergic reactions. tell your provider if you plan to have surgery o

mark leibovich, vaughn hillyard, thank you very much.ing up, an nbc news exclusive report, what the trump administration is doing with the immigrants that the president himself campaigned on deporting first. we are live in virginia as recovery crews are removing the wreckage from last week's plane crash over the potomac. what the ntsb is hoping to recover from the helicopter to recover from the helicopter today. tons of sweet dentists on zocdoc. dr. stafford's a real beauty. and people say he's passionate about dentistry! dr. taylor's on thirty-third street... we could practically skate there! booked it! sweet! you've got options. book now. ♪♪ all the places that can expose your info. lifelock monitors millions of data points for millions of data points for identity here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! go to safelite. >> com and. >> schedule a fix. >> in mi

nbc's vaughn hillyard is on capitol hill for us. and vaughn, republicans can't afford to lose what, more than two votes on this committee. and i'm wondering if that could be a problem. >> right. and especially once it were, to get to the entire house floor with just a 218 to 215 majority, they could only stand to lose one republican house member support here. and on this committee, you have several freedom caucus members, the hard line conservatives who, after the release of this initial house budget, text from from the budget committee chair that outlines up to $2 trillion in spending cuts, but up to 4.5 trillion in tax cuts. this is a moment where you have heard over the last 24 hours demands from those hard line conservatives that in order to avoid greater additions to the deficit, that they need to ensure that there is an ability, through this budgeting process to add to greater spending cuts, and that in the scenario, house republicans are unable to hit that $2 trillion reduction mark, then that there should be some give on the

joining me now is from capitol hill is nbc news white house correspondent vaughn hillyard. i don't even know where to begin, but let me start where i ended. vaughn, we now have this barely out of teenager or teenage staffer having access to potentially classified data. we know that donald trump surreptitiously took home classified data, took it and put it in his bathroom. is there any way of finding out, or is there any reporting or any way of understanding what these teenagers and young people may have taken? >> right. and to that point, joy, i'm also told that there's another young man in his early 20s who just one week ago sent a agency wide email to usaid informing all of the more than 10,000 employees that usaid headquarters in d.c. would be shut down. his name is gavin kliger, and i'm told that he is also a part of this state department team with the young man who goes by big balls. this is a moment here in which, almost three weeks into this administration, there has been a lack of transparency about the efforts taken on by these young men, but also the lawyers inside

nbc news white house correspondent vaughn hillyard is here. focus is on billionaires and their impact on the world. also joining us is former obama deputy national security advisor ben rhodes. ben rhodes, to many people. let me just speak for myself. i needed a reminder and a refresher of how important usaid is. will you give us that real quick? >> yeah. >> and it's. >> not just the things. >> that you. >> read off, nicole, which. >> you. >> know. >> most americans. might think of as. worthy humanitarian objectives. there's very significant national security objectives tied to usaid. >> it's not just. >> textbooks for ukrainian children. >> it was. >> the. >> kind of sustainment. >> of the ukrainian government when it. >> was in its most dire circumstances that u.s. usaid carried. out in areas where we have. significant counterterrorism. >> challenges, places. >> like somalia. >> where you have al. >> shabab, it's. >> usaid money that tries to. >> build up a. >> local. >> capacity that can. >> deal with long term security challenges. obviously

nbc news white house correspondent vaughn hillyard. also with us is columbia law school professor of legislation richard briffault. all right, vaughn, let's begin with what exactly trump is in the loop on here. he says that elon musk answers to him that he can't do anything without donald trump's authority. but how in the loop is donald trump on the nitty gritty of what elon musk is attempting? >> right. and i think that that's what we're trying to report out, because the white house has been so far from transparent about elon musk that, i mean, you could say that you're looking through the cloudiest of windows here. this for elon musk. >> for the. >> first two weeks of this administration, it was not clear whether he was a. government worker. it wasn't confirmed by the white house that he was serving in this special government employee role until just yesterday afternoon. and as you noted, they're still not able to wholly say the extent to which he has. security clearances, let alone those that are working for his d.o.j. entity inside

joining us now, nbc news correspondent vaughn hillyard and doctor paul offit, director of vaccine educationildren's hospital of philadelphia. vaughn, first to you, that senator cassidy was one of the uncertain votes here, but he is the chair of the health committee, and he just spoke on the floor. so we all heard him saying that he's overcome his objections. he thinks they can work collaboratively, despite the fact that, you know, robert f kennedy jr was not just a vaccine skeptic, he was a vaccine opponent. >> i was surprised. >> i mean, you have senator. >> kennedy gave an. >> impassioned talk about. >> a patient he had taken care. >> of who had a. >> hepatitis b. associated liver. >> cancer. >> the kind of liver. >> cancer that's fatal. >> and rfk jr. >> has said. >> he doesn't think. >> the. >> hepatitis b vaccine works. >> and yet he's. >> willing to move. >> forward with him. >> i mean, rfk jr is what he says. he is what he says he's been for the last 20. >> years. >> which he is a passionate anti-vaccine advocate. >> and if you expect. >> him to be somebody. >> different. >> you're w

. >> nbc's vaughn hillyard is on capitol hill. jake sherman is co-founder of punchbowl news and an msnbc political contributor. mark mckinnon is back with me as well. vaughn, how realistic is this idea of using the threat of a government shutdown to force the administration, i don't know, into some kind of negotiation. how does this fit into democrats overall plan? >> right. okay. march 14th is when government funding expires. that is just about one month away here. and for democrats, i'm sure they're in the minority in the house and the senate. but look, house republicans can only afford to lose one vote on any legislation moving forward, including on whether it be a continuing resolution, a budget or debt ceiling extension. but when you're looking at the senate, they've got to get 60 votes. they're going to need democrats here. and that is where you saw senator schumer in a letter to colleagues just a few moments ago, stating that, in fact, that they are going to seek on an array of fronts to not only support government workers w

i want to bring in nbc's vaughn hillyard on capitol hill. brendan buck was an aide to republican house speaker paul ryan and john boehner. he is also an msnbc political analyst. paul butler is a former federal prosecutor, georgetown law professor and msnbc legal analyst. so while the president has been talking about closing the department of education down, how much and how does that match up with what linda mcmahon is saying? >> exactly? he has suggested that he would seek even an executive order to dismantle the department of education. let's be clear, this department has been a longtime target of republicans. long before donald trump entered republican gop apparatus. right. this for donald trump, though, is a potential to claim a major victory in the effort to consolidate departments, agencies and cut back not only the federal workforce, but at a time in which republicans on capitol hill are looking at these next year's budget here. this is an opportunity for them to question the funding that goes directly to the department of education.

this is leader hakeem jeffries from thursday, when our own vaughn hillyard was pressing him on this, on the question of whether democrats would withhold votes in order to get what? get what they want. watch this. >> are democrats ready to withhold. >> votes on the. government spending bill or the. >> debt ceiling. >> over the doge and elon efforts? >> we are working hard to achieve a bipartisan spending agreement in advance of march 14th. >> so are you guys ready to withhold. >> votes on doge and elon if. >> they're. >> not transparent about their activity? >> we're very hopeful that. >> we can reach a. bipartisan spending agreement with our republican. >> colleagues by. >> march 14th. >> so at this point in time, you're not willing to say democrats will withhold. >> votes. >> over this issue? >> same answer. >> so, so, congresswoman, the leader, the leader is very hopeful. are you very hopeful that a deal can be reached that would allow you to vote for a deal that would keep the government open after march 14th? >> well, jonathan, i am a glass half full kind of gal. i always have ho

. >> vaughn hillyard and rick stengel. rick, thank you very much. great seeing you both, i appreciate it. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your time. ali vitali picks up with more news right now. >> good day. i'm ali vitali in washington, and we. >> begin with. >> breaking news from the white house. >> president trump. >> saying he's spoken. >> with russian president vladimir putin this morning. >> trump says he agreed to. >> visit russia. >> and putin is. >> coming here. >> to the u.s. it's. >> a major. >> development, as the senate just confirmed former congresswoman tulsi gabbard as the next director of national intelligence. a win for the trump administration, but not without its drama. gabbard was one of president trump's most controversial cabinet picks. even some republicans questioned her lack of experience in the intelligence community, her past embrace of russian propaganda. we'll get to that in just a moment. and how she's questioned u.s. intelligence assessments, as well as that secret h

let's now bring in nbc news white house correspondent vaughn hillyard, who is reporting this morning out gaza. also, though this this seemingly republican compliance both to controversial cabinet picks, but also the trump mosque assault on the federal government itself. >> right, jonathan? our colleague frank thorpe up here on capitol hill was for here on late into the night for pam bondi's confirmation as attorney general and tracked down some senators when the news out of the white house, about three miles away was coming, that donald trump was suggesting that the u.s. should take over the gaza strip. and some of that sound that you heard from the likes of lindsey graham and chris was the immediate reaction in real time. we've also heard from josh hawley, though we've heard from rand paul, suggesting that that is antithetical to the idea of america first. not only did donald trump campaign on ensuring that the us was not involved in the middle east, in making sure that us troops were not on the ground. this is also really just a, i think, an extension of what we have seen from the l

joining us now, nbc news white house correspondent vaughn hillyard on capitol hill. plus, msnbc legal analyst and nyu law professor melissa murray is here, and former republican congressman and msnbc political analyst david jolly. welcome to all three of you. thank you for being with us. vaughn, let's start with you. this is moving. it's moving fast and furious through the courts. but there's not as much going on in congress. there are senators and representatives trying to do things about this, but we're not hearing a ton from republicans to say, first of all, elon musk and his team need to get out of government systems. and second of all, you can't do things that are constitutionally given to congress to do right. >> republicans have struggled to respond to this over the last two weeks. when i have asked a litany of them about the efforts to stop already previously congressionally appropriated funds from making their way to the places that congress set in its budgets through the appropriations process, whether they took issue with the executive branch's efforts to