taxpayer dollars on an illegitimate impeachment inquiry because donald trump, the puppet master, has directed extreme maga republicans to launch a political hit job against president joe biden. >> that's house minority leader hakeem jeffries calling out republicans in the lower chamber before the vote to authorize an impeachment inquiry into president joe biden. that came after hunter biden defied a subpoena from house republicans challenging them to hold public hearings for his testimony. we'll have much, much more from a bitter and partisan day on capitol hill. plus, the supreme court will hear the first case tied to abortion rights since it overturned roe v. wade. we'll get expert legal analysis on that just ahead. good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this thursday, december 14th. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. we have a busy morning ahead, and we'll start here. the republican controlled house has voted to formally authorize its impeachment inquiry into president joe biden despite failing to provide any evidence of wrongdoing by the commander in chief. the vote was strictly along party lines yesterday with all 221 republicans voting yes and, and all 221 democrats voting no. republicans say the move will grant them the ability to better enforce their subpoenas in courts. gop house oversight chair james comer has accused hunter biden and other biden family members of engaging in, quote, shady business practices and has yet to reveal any evidence of wrongdoing or influence pedaling by the president himself. now, with the presidential election less than a year away several republicans seem to say the quiet part out loud. >> what are you hoping to gain from an impeachment inquiry? >> all i can say is donald j. trump 2024. >> this has been i think the most transparent political -- congressional investigation since i've been in congress. >> just so blatant. several house democrats responded by blasting the gop ahead of the vote. >> the biden impeachment investigation isn't a whodunit. it's a what is it. it's like a novel where the mystery is what's the crime. >> i think if we give him enough time, he's going to prove that hunter biden is joe biden's son. >> we're here todayot because of any wrongdoing by president bin but because donald trump wants revenge. >> president biden also responded to house republicans with this statement. instead of doinhingo help make americans' lives better, they're focused on attacking me with lies. st. ed of doing their job on the urgent work that needs to be done they're choosing to waste their time on this baseless political stunt that even republicans in congress admit is not supported by facts. and just hours before that vote was held, two top house republicans said they'll begin the process of holding hunter biden in contempt of congress for defying their subpoena to testify behind closed doors. it comes after the president's son spoke in a surprise news conference outside the capitol where he explained his decision not to testify in private after offering to appear publicly before the committee. hunter biden said public testimony would ensure the illegitimate investigation of my family does not proceed on distortions, manipulated evidence, and lies. >> there is no decency in what these republicans are doing. they have lied over and over about every aspect of my personal and professional life. so much so that their lies have become the false fagts believed by too many people. they have taken the light of my dad's love, the light of my dad's love for me and presented it as darkness. they have no shame. >> house republicans said they're open to a public hearing eventually but want to hear from hunter biden in private first. they also called the younger behind closed doors, quote, obstruction. and certainly those close to president biden, yes, they worry about the political impact of these -- of this investigation and the potential hunter biden trial heading into an election year, but as i report this morning they're far more worried about the personal toll on the president himself and checks on his son daily and asked friends to check on hunter biden as well who has worry about hunter biden's continuing battle with addiction as the spotlight on him growing ever brighter. meanwhile, the white house and democratic lawmakers are considering whether to provide new powers to the biden administration at the southern border in order to gain republican support for passing foreign aid. that's according to two sources who spoke to nbc news who say the changes may involve migrant expulsion powers and expansion of the migrant detention and deportation system. those sources add that the former framework of the potential deal has yet to be complete. ic senator tom tillis of north caronaaid yesterday negotiatears are still working on specifics, and he called on e senate to stay washington until an agreement is reached. the reported changes havwn comparison to previous policies and have attracted some criticism with one pro-immigration group dubbing the possible framework, quote, title 42 on steroids. joining us now national security reporter for politico our friend alex ward. so, alex, this deal on the border if the president said he's open to it but many democrats are concerned it goes too far it's linked. litz linked this might be the path to get foreign aid to israel and ukraine. it comes after, of course, president zelenskyy was here in washington this week pitching for more aid. and today in belgium eu leaders are expected to vote on those membership talks that may allow ukraine to join their alliance. so this is striking to the economy here where it seems like at least for the moment european allies are extending a hand to ukraine while here in washington. >> and there's a weird moment for zelenskyy because he comes to washington seeking more aid and more help. and in the eu he thinks he's got momentum to join the union, but a lot of these things are out of his hands. here you've got the border dispute and in europe he's got victor orban. he says even starting talks to get ukraine into the eu is bridge too far. so all of these things at this point -- >> tell viewers just if he says no there's no way he can get in? >> that's right. you have to have every member of the eu agree to concessions. you've had turkey block and sweden, and same deal happening with the eu. orban close to russian president vladimir putin but still in the eu, an odd position to be in, he is still supporting ukraine, still willing to provide a bit of assistance when it comes to kyiv but not willing to have it join the eu because that would certainly be a bridge too far for moscow. >> there's concern here you and have reported on from national security officials in washington if the aid dries up in the united states, other european allies will as well. tell us a bit about where things stand in the battle with russia. at what point does this become a crisis for ukraine if this aid stops flowing? >> we actually had vladimir putin today, this morning talking about how he thinks the western support is going to dry up, how he thinks that he can still achieve his goals. he's still pushing in that way and now you have here in the u.s. and in europe signs there isn't as much support for kyiv as there used to be. i think we should note still for viewers that there is a majority of votes oddly enough in congress to get that aid package biden wants through, but the deal is in the way. and the in eu so they're nearly there but not all the way, and of course that's enough of a wedge. >> and there's not a sense the senate will stay in town to get this deal ton. administration officials believe they will at some point but not sure when. you have brand new reporting about how donald trump were he to be elected again will handle north korea, and we know famously that trump and north korea's dictator, kim jong-un, have exchanged in trump's words love letters. tell us about the reporting and the response you got from the former president. sure, president trump and if he were to be again president trump is interested in basically freezing north korea's nuclear program in pchange for economic aid and sanctions relief. now, that's a thing we've tried before leading the united states and allies. the reason it's different, though, is trump at this point mulling not asking for denuclearization of north korea. in other words, the program stays in place, north korea stays in power and there won't be a push to dismantle the arsenal. trump could change his mind and there's time between now and the inauguration day and what could happen in north korea, but as of now it's a thing he's considering. what's interesting is trump denies the report in theory in a truth social post calling it disinformation. i would note he did not specifically deny the freeze for aid part, and he did confirm if anything he has a friendly relationship with kim jong-un. and if you're friendly for kim jong-un you might not ask him to get rid of his prized. >> national security reporter for politico one of the best on the beat, alex ward, thank you for joining us this morning. still ahead here on "way too early," we'll take a look at some of the morning's other top stories including a deadly day for israeli soldiers in the war with hamas. it comes as the country's prime minister continues to reject calls from global leaders for any sort of cease-fire. plus we'll hear from the family members of hostages who met yesterday with president biden at the white house. those stories and a check on weather and sports when we come right back. weather and sports when we come right back hey, you should try new robitussin honey medi-soothers for long-lasting cough and sore throat relief. try new robitussin lozenges with real medicine and find your voice. you know? 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(vo) it's your last chance to turn any iphone in any condition into a new iphone 15 pro with titanium and ipad and apple watch se - all on us. only on verizon. a few years ago, i came to saona, they told me there's no electricity on the island. we always thought that whatever we did here would be an emblem of what small communities can achieve. trying to give a better life to people that don't have the means to do it. si mi papá estuviera vivo, sé que él tuviera orgulloso también de vivir de esta viviendo una vida como la que estamos viviendo ahora. es electricidad aquí es salud. first time i connected with kim, she told me that her husband had passed. and that he took care of all of the internet connected devices in the home. i told her, “i'm here to take care of you.” connecting with kim... made me reconnect with my mom. it's very important to keep loved ones close. we know that creating memories with loved ones brings so much joy to your life. a family trip to the team usa training facility. i don't know how to thank you. i'm here to thank you. welcome back. we turn to the middle east now, and the israeli military suffered one of its highest single-day death counts since it began its ground invasion of gaza in late october. ten soldiers were killed tuesday including a battalion commander and a lieutenant colonel commander. the idf says nine of them died in an ambush attack where soldiers were in an advanced stage of clearing an area. the tenth soldier died in a separate battle up in northern gaza. meanwhile, in southern gaza the israeli milary has ramped up s attacks. according to repor from "the washington post," 20% of the buildings in the area's largest city have been damaged in israeli air strikes. president biden you'll recall criticized israel's military campaign earlier this week in a fund-raiser saying the country is losing international support because of its, quote, indiscriminate bombings. the white house is now doubling down on that statement saying the president's comments refle the reality of global opinion, adding that while iael has made some efforts to reduce civilian casualties, the biden administration simply wants to see more results. meanwhile, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is vowing to keep fighting, rejecting calls for a cease-fire amid growing international pressure. theresident is also reaffirming hommitment to securing the release of the remaining hostages being held i gaza. it's believed that at least americans are still in captive by hamas yesterday the president met with their families in person for the first time since the war began. those who attendeded the two-hour meeting at the white house say biden reassured them that he's doing all that he can to reunite them with their loved ones. >> i think we all came away feeling that as families of hostages of american israeli hostages, which are 8 out of a total of 138 hostages, we felt that -- and we felt before and only reinforce and seeing believing that we could have no better friend in washington or in the white house than presid biden himself and his ration. >> hamas took about 240 people captive on october 7th. since then more than 100 people have been freed including four americans. it's believed that more than 130 people are still being held hostage the majority of whom are men. their whereabouts not fully known. still ahead we'll turn to sports and we'll tell you which city the nfl has named as the host of super bowl 61. plus what made two time nba mvp janis so angry in milwaukee? we'll have that story swels other nba highlights and a look at the weather forecast when we come right back. he weather fore come right back. day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season. there's something going around the gordon home. good thing gertrude found delsym. now what's going around is 12-hour cough relief. and the giggles. the family that takes delsym together, feels better together. he took it away. giannis. history. >> there he is giannis broke the milwaukee bucks franchise record last night scoring a career high 65 points in a 140-126 win over the indiana pacers avenging their defeat in the in-season tournament. but the historic outing was marred by a bu bizarre post game altercation that occurred outside the indiana locker room over which which team was entitled to the game ball. giannis and pacers coach rick carlyle later discussed the strange incident. >> it doesn't feel like the game ball to me. it feels like a brand new ball. but it's just unfortunate. i've never seen this before. i'm not even going to comment on that. i don't think i have the game ball to be honest with you. >> what happened at the -- after the game was -- was unfortunate. there was -- there was a misunderstanding about the game ball. first official nba point so we always get the game ball. we were not thinking about giannis' franchise record, so we grab the ball and a couple minutes later several other players ended up in our hallway, and there was a big -- a big -- i don't know what to call it a fracus, a melee. my yenival manager got elbowed in the ribs by one of their players. >> let's all agree to move on. in san antonio victor wembanyama's efforts was not enough too much am spurs fall extending their franchise record losing streak to 18 games. ouch. and in detroit embiid notched a 41-point triple-double for philadelphia, and the sixers handed the pistons their franchise tying 21st consecutive loss. struggles for those two teams. that game final there 121-111. meanwhile golden state warriors draymond green has been suspended indefinitely by the nba for hitting the phoenix suns center in the face tuesday night. he received a fo foul and rejected for the third time already this season. the league said the indefinitely suspension, quote, takes into account green's repeated history of unsportsman-like acts and that he'll be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play. you can see it there just a wild punch. this is green's second suspension this year. on wunlders what's next for him. to the nfl now. the super bowl is already heading back to los angeles. nfl owners voted yesterday to award the city's super bowl 61 -- i won't try to do that in roman numerals that will be held in 2027 for second time in five years.e big game will be p sofi stadium. and week 15 of the regular season kicks off tonight in las vegas. the raiders will host the afore mentioned chargers on thursday night football. angie, how you doing and how is it looking? >> good morning. i'm doing well, jonathan. thanks for asking. and let's start with the good news plenty of sunshine across the southeast, mild conditions across the midwest and out west. looking at plenty of sunshine. it's this storm right here we're going to track the next cup of days and unsettled weather across the state of florida and eventually the southeast and mid-atlantic get in on in the weekend. the flood alerts from homestead, miami, fort lauderdale, west palm beach all included in those. and this is because we have a stationary front hanging around today. through sunday we're going to pick up ample aamounts of rain as we get through the next couple of days. we've got significant tape fall where we could see 6, 7 inches of rain on already saturated ground. over 100 inches of rain for this year to date already. that's more than 50 inches over average. now, there's that stationary front i mentioned but here's the system we're going to watch into the weekend. on saturday all that moisture pushes in for folks across florida and the southeast and mid-atlantic get get in on the action. as i mentioned it'll be soggy and windy for some across the region. >> angie lassman, thank you as always. still ahead here on "way too early," why the judge in donald trump's federal election interference case hit pause on the proceedings. former u.s. attorney barbara mcquade will join us to explain. plus, we've got new polling today on the impeachment inquiry into president biden. we'll dive into those numbers and more all coming up on "way too early". all coming up on "wy too early" from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season. 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(vo) it's your last chance to turn any iphone in any condition into a new iphone 15 pro with titanium and ipad and apple watch se - all on us. only on verizon. known for following your dreams. known for keeping with tradition. known for discovering new places. no one wants to be known for cancer, but a treatment can be. keytruda is known to treat cancer. fda-approved for 16 types of cancer, including certain early-stage and advanced cancers. one of those cancers is early-stage non—small cell lung cancer. keytruda may be used with certain chemotherapies before surgery when you have early-stage lung cancer, which can be removed by surgery, and then continued alone after surgery to help prevent your lung cancer from coming back. keytruda can cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body during or after treatment. this may be severe and lead to death. see your doctor right away if you have cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, severe nausea or vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme tiredness, constipation, dizziness or fainting, changes in appetite, thirst, or urine, confusion, memory problems, muscle pain or weakness, fever, rash, itching, or flushing. there may be other side effects. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including immune system problems, if you've had or plan to have an organ or stem cell transplant, received chest radiation or have a nervous system problem. keytruda is an immunotherapy and is also being studied in hundreds of clinical trials exploring ways to treat even more types of cancer. it's tru. keytruda from merck. see all the types of cancer keytruda is known for at keytruda.com and ask your doctor if keytruda could be right you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? did we peak your interest? you can get two unlimited lines for just $30 each a month. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible, it's happening. welcome back to "way too early." it is just before 5:30 a.m. on the east coast, 2:30 out west on this thursday morning. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. donald trump's federal election interference case is on hold this morning. judge tanya chutkan granted the former president's request to halt proceedings while awaiting the results of his presidential immunity appeal. trump's lawyers appealed the judge's earlier ruling that presidential immunity did not shield him from charges that he attempted to overturn th 2020 election. trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts. in a court filing yesterday judge chutkan said the nature of trump'sppeal makes it impossible to continue the trial. quote, it makes no sense for a trial to go forward while the court of appeals cogitates on whether there should be one. the former president's lawyers celebrating the statement writing this, this is a big win for president trump and our rule of law as it derails, deranged jack smith's rush to judgment strategy of interfering in the 2024 presidential election in support of joe biden's campaign. okay. in a bid to move the appeal on quicker special counsel smith has asked both the u.s. court of appeals and the supreme court to expedite their decisions. joining us now former u.s. attorney and an msnbc contribute, our friend barbara mcquade. barbara, thanks so much for being with us this morning. so talk us through this, please. how big of a deal is it? do you agree with the judge's decision? and what do you think happens next with the potential role of the supreme court? >> well, it's a big deal for the moment because it does at least pose the possibility of delaying that march 4th trial date not forever but because of the busy litigation calendar it could cause a delay even after the election. i think that the decision is a fair one, and that is what the judge ruled is because of what he argued in the lawsuit he is free from the burdens of litigation until there is a decision on this case. jack smith tried to have half a loaf here. what he said is, of course, we agree that the trial can't go forward. but in the meantime we can do all of the things that we need to do to get ready for a trial. we can do pretrial proceedings, we can file motions and get things red so we can stay on track. but the judge said the whole purpose of immunity is to make sure that the person who's been charged with a crime doesn't have to be burdened with any of this stuff. so, no, by the nature of this request, i have to stop, i've been divested of jurisdiction, and nothing more can happen until we hear from the court of appeals. but now the fast track which is very interesting. we get a couple of orders recently. one is that the supreme court set an expedited schedule to hear from donald trump about whether they should do an expedited review and leapfrog the court of appeals. so that could happen and make things move fairly quickly. and the other of course is the d.c. court of appeals has also agreed to hear the case quickly. >> that of course, barbara, you hit the nail on the head there. this is the trial most expected to happen and conclude before the election. voters would know its outcome before going to the ballot boxes. this is one of the four set to be that way. we'll now see if the delays change at all. another showdown over abortion is making its way now to the supreme court. after justices agreed to hear the biden administration's appeal of a ruling that would limit access to mifepristone, the pill used in more than half of abortions across the u.s. the decision will determine whether patients can continue to use the drug by mail or will have to instead make three in-person visits with a doctor. this marks the first dispute involving abortion to reach the highest court in the land after it overturned roe v. wade last year. so barbara, talk to us about what you see as being at stake in this case, and what would be your perception as to which way the court might link? >> this is good news for people who might want to see more responsibility from mifepristone. we saw the court of appeals curtail the rights to use it, saying when the fda approved its use by mail and without the presence of a doctor, that it had gone too far. this was the request of the drug maker and the biden administration to take on this review, so we could see a reversal of that opinion although on the other hand we could see an affirmation of that opinion, which would mean now that rule applies not just in those states in the fifth circuit in the south but all over the countrych so there's some risk there. the other issue they agreed to take up is one i find inkreeg treeging which is the doctors in this case ever had standing at all. and after this case came out there's a good argument they did not, and the standing requires they suffered some injury so that the case is a true case or controversy. and the doctors who brought this brought it on the theory that they oppose abortion and possibly someday if some person ever used mifepristone and if it somehow failed, and if they somehow ended up in their hospital and they ended up on duty, they might have to perform an abortion in violation of their religious rights. and so that standing has always been a little shaky. and it's possible the supreme court will hold they never had standing at all. >> all right, we will follow this as developments occur. former u.s. attorney barbara mcquade, thank you as always. we'll speak to you again soon. still ahead here on "way too early," the dow hit an all-time high yesterday as the fed signaled interest rates may be going down next we'll get a check on the latest business headlines as we take a look at the beautiful rockefeller center christmas tree. we'll be right back. christmas tree we'll be right back. why are we the only birds heading this way? [ screams ] we're trying to get to jamaica. stay close and... everything will be all right. i'm ok. i'm ok. - bye, bye cough. - later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing? hashtag still not coughing?! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season. nexium 24hr prevents heartburn acid for twice as long as pepcid. get all-day and all-night heartburn acid prevention with just one pill a day. choose acid prevention. choose nexium. welcome back. the federal reserve is holding its key interest rate steady for the third consecutive time. this as u.s. economic growth slows as investors look toward the beginning of rate cuts some time next year. the fed raised rates 11 times since march of 2022 to combat inflation, which has slowed after hitting a four-decade high last summer. still, the central bank has not crossed the finish line just yet. speaking at a news conference yesterday jerome powell signaled additional rate hikes could remain on the table, but also there's real telegraphing there could be three cuts over next year, which would be significant as we head into an election year. joining us to talk about that is reporter for "the washington post" rachel siegel. give us your take what we heard yesterday and this possibility of cutting rates not once, not twice but maybe even three times. what could that do for an economy? >> well, it would certainly be a lift especially after the aggressive sprint the federal reserve has been in almost over two years to slow the economy and all of these estimates come with the caveats we don't know exactly when the rate hikes will come out and whether there'll be three. the economy will not only continue growing but could even benefit from then taking the foot off the brake and letting the economy continue to roar. >> it does seem like the possibility of recession seems to have really faded. >> i asked jerome powell about it yesterday and he said there's no way to look around right now and see there's a recession happening imminently. and in order to call a recession consumers have to stop spending, the job market has to stop growing, and not only is that not what's happening now, but the fed is confident that's nut where we're head asked the opens the door for cuts. >> the timing couldn't be better for a president running for re-election, but americans haven't been feeling and, and polls suggest that this might change that next year for sure. administration officials put on a subtle victory lap about it. let's also talk about today investors looking foerward to a busy day of economic data, weekly jobs claims, november's retail sales, and the dow hit new heights yesterday. talk about it. >> the dow was so happy yesterday, and we saw that kick off after the fed's announcement, after chair powell's remarks. so far futures flat this morning and ever so slightly in the green, but really just focused on cuts, cuts and cuts, and anymore signal they get to keep on their celebratory streak. through the holidays people are spending, people are happy. and the fed says keep it up and we'll be able to cut next year. >> we appreciate the analysis and reporting, rachel siegel. great to see you again. we'll talk to you again soon. still ahead on "way too early," the senate did pass a defense spending bill that would give american troops their biggest pay raise in more than 20 years. but will it get through the house? we'll take a look at what's included and what was left out when we come right back. and wht when we come right back. a few years ago, i came to saona, they told me there's no electricity on the island. we always thought that whatever we did here would be an emblem of what small communities can achieve. trying to give a better life to people that don't have the means to do it. si mi papá estuviera vivo, sé que él tuviera orgulloso también de vivir de esta viviendo una vida como la que estamos viviendo ahora. es electricidad aquí es salud. [group laughing] admit it. you use my old spice body wash. i'm not letting hotel soap. near my skin. it's the lavender and mint for me. let me get that, savannah, if you don't get your moisturized hands off my body wash. ♪ ♪ if you don't get your moistu♪ ♪ed hands off ♪ ♪ welcome back. the senate voted yesterday to pass the national defense authorization act or the ndaa which includes the biggestay raise for american troops in more than two decades. the tally was 82-13. lawmakers had been negotti for months after both chambers passed separate much different versions of the bill over the summer. the version that passed yesterday in the senate dropped some of the proposed changes to the military that republicans had been fighting for. the bill, for instance, does not include language blocking t pentagon's abortion travel policy or restricting gender affirming health care for service members and independents, but the bill does freeze hiring for dei training and the military until congress receives a cost assessment for that program. the bill authorized $886 billion for national defense programs in the 2024 fiscal year, which is about a 3% increase from the fiscal year 2023. joining to talk about this and more democratic congressman of california. he is the ranking member on the house armed services subcommittee on readiness as well as a ukraine caucus member. we're going to hit all of that. so let's start with the defense authorization act, passeded the senate. where do you think it goes in your chamber? >> it will pass. however, the maga republicaned will not vote for it. they wanted to put in all kinds of restrictions which you discussed and few others. those were fortunately taken out because they're not going to help the military, they're actually going to be a serious problem for the military. so it's going to pass and it must. the changes in that bill about how the military is going to operate including the pay raise extraordinarily important. also new equipment, new ways of dealing with issues, the taiwan issue. obviously there's some ukraine authorization in it. that's important, but it's not what ukraine really needs. >> so let's talk about ukraine. the -- there's this deal that's been negotiated to try to link funding to ukraine and israel with some measures -- border security measures. what's your assessment of what you've heard so far? do you think -- because i know there's some concern from the party the border stuff might be going too far. what do you think? >> well, total dereliction of duty and responsibility. we have to support ukraine. it's absolutely essential. ukraine is supporting us. if ukraine were not fighting, if russia were to take over ukraine, then the burden would be on nato and american troops and nato troops. but right now ukraine is doing the heavy lifting. we have to support them. unfortunately, the republicans decided they're going to hold ukraine hostage in exchange for what they call good border policy. if anybody were to read hr 2 which is what they want, 80% of it is absolute foolishness, it doesn't deal with the problems at all. and the president has proposed $3 billion to hire new border patrol people. that is in the supplemental bill that the republicans are holding up. i'm going, come on, we can negotiate this, we have to support ukraine. putin is having a very, very good week. >> putin spoke and he said he feels momentum is on their side in this conflict. while congress was not doing that yesterday, the house of representatives was holding a vote to authorize an impeachment inquiry into president biden. of course it was done on party lines. what is your reaction to that? >> again, utter dereliction. we have critical things we need to do. ukraine is but one. the appropriation bills are not moving out of the house of representatives. the worst -- the second worst production of legislation in the history of america is this congress' first year. 22 bills of which about three quarters, a third of them are just throw away stuff, of no particular value. just critically missing the important things. we've got economic issues we've got to deal with. we have all these military issues. we have a need to deal with the economy, taking the infrastructure bill, all of that is awaiting legislation. so here we are. what are we going to do? well, looks like we're going to go home, have a wonderful holiday, and ukraine and other things that need to be done are simply going to have to wait until we get back. that is terrible leadership. the house of representatives -- where's the speaker? is he negotiating? no, he's not. >> all right, well, democratic congressman of california, some strong words. we appreciate you being with us this morning. we'll talk to you again soon. up next here on "way too early," we're going to break down some new polling that shows what voters think of president biden's job performance as well as some other hot button issues. and then republican-led hou just discussed, authorized the impeachment inquiry into the president, despite failing to produce evidence of anything. so how will this play out? house minority leader hakeem jeffries, who calls the investigation into the president illegitimate and a political hit job, he'll join the conversation. plus, you're a mean one, jack smith? why donald trump's lawyers are now accusing the special counsel of being grinch and trying to sabotage their christmas. also ahead, where are all the anti-trump republicans? we'll ask jonathan martin of "politico" about his latest piece, and why a majority are still keeping quiet. "morning joe" just a few moments away. and the giggles. the family that takes delsym together, feels better together. there's something going around the gordon home. good thing gertrude found delsym. now what's going around is 12-hour cough relief. and the giggles. the family that takes delsym together, feels better together. welcome back to "way too early." the latest polling from npr, pbs, it shows americans are divided over the impeachment inquiry into president joe biden. 48% approve of the inquiry by house republicans while 49% disapprove. in a separate question, 42% expressed a favorable opinion of biden compared to 52% who view him unfavorably. while those numbers are underwater and down for the president from previous marist polls, his numbers are higher than donald trump, who is at 38%. in a hypothetical 2024 matchup, the poll shows biden leading trump by a single point, 49% to 48%. that's, of course, within the margin of error and doesn't include a possible third-party candidate. the only thing we know about this race is it's going to be really close. joining us now, nbc news senior national politics reporter, jonathan allen. good to see you, my friend. let's start with some of the poll numbers and the impeachment inquiry into president biden. the americans clearly divide here. there has been a sense among some democrats that this is a huge overreach by republicans, and it's blatantly partisan. while no president wants to deal with an impeachment inquiry, they think this could be a political gift. voters will have a backlash against this. the poll numbers suggest maybe not. >> not only do the poll numbers suggest that, but we've seen this movie before. back before the 2016 election, the house republicans opened up a benghazi investigation into, you know, effectively into hillary clinton, which mean yielded all the questions about hillary clinton's emails which hung over her campaign for basically the entirety of the campaign. you know, the very end, you had jim comey coming out a couple days before the election to say there was nothing new on anthony weiner's laptop, that they'd already seen those emails when they said they were going to prosecute her in the summer. republicans have reason to believe they can have a damaging effect on a president or presidential candidate with an investigation, even if it goes absolutely nowhere. everyone knew who was responsible for the deaths of benghazi, the people who attacked the compound, not hillary clinton. they've seen this before. they've done this before. maybe this will be a different outcome, but it's not new. >> the republicans, as we noted earlier, are saying the quiet part out loud, saying, "yes, we hope this damages president biden politically." let's talk about the president's son, hunter biden. hunter biden is not a candidate for office. he has never worked in the white house. again, many democrats feel that is also trumped up charges. what's your analysis, though, as you talked about those in and out of the race in either party? do they think the hunter biden matter is going to impact voters next year? >> i think they're worried it may, and it certainly is something that is a distraction to the white house. there is an entire -- effectively, an entire white house unit devoted to dealing with investigations, so that includes the impeachment inquiry, hunter biden. i think that's why you're seeing -- at least part of the reason you're seeing hunter biden fight back. he's tired of being the prey and will act more like the name hunter. he slams the house republicans. the president himself can't do that as much. >> yeah. >> it makes him look partisan. the republicans understand this. if you were forcing biden to attack people who aren't on the ballot at the presidential level, meaning the house republicans over something that sounds bad for biden, that's not helpful to him. >> yeah, and the white house has been clear that biden won't address doj matters or matters with congress like this. as i reported this morning, not only is president biden really worried about his son, but a lot of people close to the president are worried about the toll this whole thing will take on him, particularly as he ramps up for a re-election campaign. let's shift to the republicans. iowa caucuses on the way if you can believe it. the polls are what the polls are, donald trump is way ahead. we're seeing a lot of members on the field descend on the hawkeye state. what are you looking for before the holidays? >> i think the big thing is who is dumping a ton of money in there? when you dump money, that tells where your priorities are. if you see nikki haley suddenly dumping a ton of money there, maybe she thinks she's be able to beat ron desantis out for second. i don't think there's any illusion on the part of any of these candidates they'll beat trump. desantis has been for a long time playing down the importance of iowa, even as he's essentially lived in the state. >> right. >> i'll look for that. of course, you always look for sort of the momentum on the ground when you talk to voters at events, when you go talk to county party chairs. are they sensing any sort of difference in the report they get back from reporters? >> there had been some sense some months ago, there was reporting here and other places that there was a little bit of worry among trump team about their effort in iowa. that's a state he didn't do all that well in in 2016. has that gone away? how confident are they? >> extraordinarily confident. i think there's a fine line between worry and just doing your due diligence. they got caught somewhere in between that. they were doing enough to make it look like they were worried, but they would characterize it as due diligence. again, the polls haven't changed in terms of, you know, his standing in the state, which is basically nearly half the iowa voters prefer him. >> briefly, on that race for second, haley versus desantis, give us a snapshot on where things stand, and what does desantis need to do in iowa to, frankly, make it to new hampshire, where we know haley will be stronger? >> it's a good question. he has been keeping the donors going for a while here on this idea he can get to a one-on-one with donald trump, but i think iowa is affected at some level by new hampshire. not every voter but i mean the discussion around it certainly is. haley is so far ahead of him in new hampshire that it's something he's got to sort of make iowans not pay attention to and say, "hey, i'm your guy. i'm your trump alternative. stick with me." it seems to be working. haley peaked at a tie with desantis and has receded a few points. we'll have to see. they're close enough that it is likely that it'll come out as a split decision as to the trump alternative, which, of course, benefits only donald trump. >> only donald j. trump. busy month ahead. senior nbc news national politics reporter jonathan allen, thanks so much. and thanks to you for