To start any minute now. Heres a short list for you. This major potential shake up in the cabinets in the works. The bit itch backlash from president s tweets earlier this he can would. The north Korea Nuclear threat involving this new kind of missile. Sexual harassment scandals now Top Democrats are asking for conyers to resign. And republican march toward historic tax reform. That could happen this week as well. So lets set this all up with our man in the Briefing Room, jim acosta, senior correspondent. You all have a lot to ask Sarah Huckabee sanders about but im going to guess she begins with the good news for them touting the economy and the dow just crossed 24,000. Thats right. Brooke. Its unfortunate day today nothing to ask the white house today. No, im kidding. Actually, i got a little laughter in the Briefing Room. I had erred that. Yes, once again probably going to ask Sarah Huckabee sanders about the fate of Rex Tillerson the secretary of state. That is obviously a subject that has come up time and again for the last several weeks since early october since Rex Tillerson was quoted as calling the president a moron. Then the next day president challenged him to iq test. Hes been on thin ice and trying to do his job ever since with the president under mining him as he traveled around the world. Youll recall when he was in asia president was tweeting we dont need to do diplomacy with north korea its not working, so on. So thats obviously going to it be a subject to tackle here at the briefing. My guess is that will be handled right at the top. If not in the statement, Opening Statement from Sarah Huckabee sanders, shthen shortly thereafter. Then of course the situation in britain which has been reeling over the past 24 to 48 hours since the president posted retweets of antd Muslim Videos of far right Group Britain first. As you know the Prime Minister of the u. K. Theresa may has slammed this publicly saying. You dont see this every day, Prime Minister of britain questioning the United States we may Work Together but im not going to reframe the United States calling them wrong. And also questions about the veracity of the videos. Remember Sarah Huckabee sanders didnt hold a briefing. So she talked to report nerves the whi reporters in the white house. That is something reporters will want to ask about here in the Briefing Room for all of the talk of fake news, yesterday the president retweeted some fake news. Retweeted a video that shows a boy in crutches being beat enby somebody who was identified phi in those videos as being a muslim migrant when weve been told by dutch authorities that was not the case. That the an attacker was somebody born and raised in netherlands. So raises the question is it not fake news when the president tweets it. And you might hear some of that in the Briefing Room. You have a long list. I hope you get a question in today. Thank you so much my friend. Lets lead though next with the top note from jim there on Rex Tillerson. This possible shakeup in the cabinet. This is what President Trump said when he was asked about this very issue earlier today. Mr. President , do you have Rex Tillerson on the job . Rex is here. Stay in his job . Thank you very much everybody. Thank you. With me now, cnn Diplomatic Correspondent michelle, so michelle, play this out for me. I mean, if this reporting is correct, and that secretary tillerson is out, tell me about when that departure may be and who might replace him. You heard those words rex is here. Thats in response to the questions. I think if your employer was asked that of you, and thats how they responded, i dont think i would feel so great about that. But lets talk about the sources. Weve been, of course, hearing the buzz that first of all secretary of state is unhappy in washington for sometime. We know that there have been these instances of the president under mining his efforts or the secretary not speaking exactly in alignment with the president for sometime. So thats added to the tensions and to the buzz. But never since then, in the last couple of days, have we heard such definition from sources saying that this is happening. That there is this plan to, first of all, by some means, which are still unclear, have Rex Tillerson leave the state department, whether thats on his own, and thats been agreed, or the white house is planning on forcing that to happen. We just dont know. Replacing him with the current cia director mike pompeo, and then having him be replaced by senator tom cotton, at the cia, and his views are very much in alignment with the president. And thats part of what we are hearing at least one source close to the white house. That there is a feeling that tillerson and the small circle of people hes surrounded himself with are not considered to be straun shall trump supporters. Certainly we have seen that in times. Sometimes its been way more blatant than others, but certainly been a since in and around the white house they would rather have someone else in the state department. Ooif been told by multiple sources this is happening. But with this there is always the caveat with this administration, is anything really definite until that moment you hear it from the president himself. As weve been talking i want to followed in some more sound they were asked about this at the state Department Briefing and now just responded. Lets you and i listen to this together. Okay. So heres way can tell you. You saw the white house statement earlier today. The white house statement confirmed that there will be no personnel changes. It is a fact that secretary tillerson serves at the pleasure of the president as we all do. As does every political appointee and cabinet member. Secretary tillerson enjoys this job. He has a lot of work to do. We started out this morning together and he had a series of meetings in addition to his regularly scheduled meetings with washington officials and germany. We are in the middle of a nuclear stand off with north korea. We have seen pictures of this missile. It flew higher than ever before. And we are hearing from the white house theyll take care of that. So given all of that, there could be a major reshuffling at the state department. Yeah, thats true. I mean, north korea obviously is the threat that is most in our face and potentially the most imminent. But there are threats all over the globe that continue to go on. And the fact that the man at the state department is clearly and rightly unsure of his job as we just heard heather make very, very clear, you got the nuance i thought right on, brooke, he serves at the pleasure of the president. Because he has no idea. He has no idea if hes going to get fired. And by the way this is not the first round of very public discussions about Rex Tillerson. About whether or not he is going to stay in his job. This is, as michelle was saying, feels more real and potentially immeant. But the president didnt give a big boost of approval saying hes here. And thats it, hes here. And, also, this comes on the heels of, really, for months, questions stirring, some of those questions the president himself put into the either about Rex Tillerson. The word rexit was coined all the way back in july. Yeah. He survived until now. So who knows. Admiral john kirby, you stood at the podium where we saw heather. You know the deal and when major stories drop in your lap and suddenly the state department is in the spotlight and you know what you have to say to the press. You also know other things are happening behind the scenes. Right. Lift the curtain. What is going on at the state department . One of the things i noticed when i listened to that clip she said at one point in terms of his propensity to stay, as ive been told hes committed to keep working at the state department. That is what we call in my profession the parachute gives you a little wiggle room if things change, you can jump out of the plane and say this is what i was told that day. So she gave herself a little wiggle room. I have Great Respect for heather. She does a fine job at the state department. Shes in a tough spot. Because it is true that the secretary serves at the pleasure of the president. It is true there is great tension between the white house institutionally not to mention tension between tillerson and trump so she has to walk a fine line. She has to preserve the secretary and to the best of her ability she did is that. Let me bring sam into the conversation. And also fold in former secretary of state Madeline Albright called tillerson out in this powerful opinion piece in the post this morning. Shes writing about the, this is my word, gutting of the state department, a lot of positions hasnt been filled, acting so and so in these jobs who can only do so much in these roles. So shes says, change at the state department isnt necessarily unusual, but she says but there is however a big difference between a transfusion and an open wound. There is nothing normal about the current exodus. President trump is it aware of the situation tan has made clear that he doesnt care. Im the only one that matters he told fox news. Im the only one that matters. Is that according to the former secretary of state a problem . Its definitely part of the problem. And as dana mentioned this latest thread is part of stories of the president and the administration under cutting the state department. The truth is even if this latest story is just a rheumumor, it h National Security implications. Why. It sends a message maybe not empowered and just a matter of time before hes pushed out. This is going to lead foreign counterparts to doubt whether they should waste their time negotiating with him on tough issues like syria or north korea or iran. And could lead them to stay we shouldnt work with the state department anymore and side step them and go directly to the white house. Well, i would go one more, brooke. Yeah. I agree with everything sam said, but i would also say it sends this message that there is no cohesive Foreign Policy agenda out of the United States right now. And that we are more than comfortable retrenching from our traditional role as global leader. I spoke to a couple of former colleagues serving overseas in muslim nations and i asked them about the reaction to britain first retreat. And they both said independently there was no surprise. That was the saddest part of it all local citizens were shrugging it off like this is the United States that we are dealing with now, this is the president we have now, and we cant count on the United States for friendship and partnership Going Forward tan thats the real travesty here. And not to say anyone has ever in the history of president s retweeted something so horrific, right, but the fact that in the wake of Something Like this, that there isnt this sort of diplomatic apparatus there to massage relations. I mean, i just talked to mp last history, people are talking about resending the state invitation, i know thats for the queen, but back and forth between theresa may. I know its hard to talk to anybody of any significance and that is it a real problem. And the other thing you didnt mention this, but interesting to see in the last couple of days is the silence from the arab states about this retweet. And thats being ntdoticed as well. That no arab leaders are coming out condemning what the president had. Hadnt heard that. Dana, what about the fact that all this reporting, multiple News Agencies are doing this and citing administration sources. Im wondering is this a way for the white house and these white house sources to send like smoke singles through the media that to Rex Tillerson this is what president is thinking, that tillersons time is up . Absolutely. It could be. I mean this seems to be the ultimate chil ultimate trial balloon. And sometimes its put out there to see how it plays. This sa trial balloon to see how tillerson responds or maybe if tillerson actually gets it, that its time to go. You know, you never know in this white house. It is so, so, different from every other white house weve covered in a lot of ways, but in this way in particular, because generally there is a very cohesive Strategic Plan to do Something Like this for one of the reasons i just mentioned. Now who knows . It could be faction trying to do it before faction b does it. It could be faction a trying to influence the president s decision. You never know what exactly is behind that. And that makes it difficult not just for us to read, but frankly for somebody for somebody like Rex Tillerson to read the tea leaves. Go ahead. I dont know what more proof he needs. If i was advising him i would say put your letter in now. This is disgrace full the way this has been rolled out publicly and a very specific deliberate way. I dont think he needs to have any nor signals and wants dignity to resign now. I think it should be under scored this isnt runofthemill cabinet position. This is secretary of state. He is the person designated. Here she is, dana, Sarah Huckabee sanders at the white house. Good afternoon. Well let john roberts finish his live shot. You guys wrapped up. Good afternoon. As you all know, the constitution states that the President Shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the state of the union. And recommend their considerations such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient. With that in mind we are pleased to nouns that the president has accepted the state of the union january 30th. As you all know the Holiday Season is in full swing with thanksgiving just passed and christmas on the horizon. Also just survived black friday and cyber monday. But right in the middle of this is another important day. Earlier this week was 6th annual giving tuesday, it was created in 2012 to sell britain support fill philanthropy. As the gospel of luke says from everybody who has given much, much will be demanded. And much entrusted much more will be asked. Americans understand this. Year after year the United States ranks at or near the top of the world giving index which ranks country as according to how charitable their people are. In a statement earlier this week the president encouraged people all over the country to hope up their hearts and pocket books to support causes. I thank those contributing including our houses of worship hand ask that we continue to give and help others in need especially to communities devastated from the natural disasters. We can hope this is shared around the world. The president is leading by example on this. As you are aware he donated his president ial salary. He projects at the national battlefield. In the Second Quarter he donated to the department of education so they could host different camps for children. And today acting secretary har began from hhs to make an announcement regarding what the president will be doing with his Third Quarter salary. So with that id like to bring up the acting secretary. And before i wrap up i just want to say how much we look forward to hosting everybody tomorrow. And ill be back up after the acting secretary makes remarks about what the donation is for to take questions on other topics. So with that, ill turn it over to the acting secretary and be back up. Thank you very much. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thanks, sarah for that. Good afternoon everyone. As sarah said im the acting secretary of h h. S. Hhs is not just home to medicaid but also the National Institutes of health, cdc, food and drug administration, and federal Governmental Health known as sansa, a lot of acronym, sorry about that but i want you to know all that because i was just given a check. His decision to donate his salary is attributed to his compassion to his patriotism and sense of duty to the American People. But its his compassion above all that drives his interest in the issue to which hhs is going to devote his donation, americas devastating Opioid Crisis. Since day one of this administration, President Trump has driven action on it across the federal government. Speaking for hhs in particular, earlier this year, we unveiled a comprehensive strategy that attacks the Opioid Epidemic on five fronts. The five points are, better data on the epidemic. Better research into pain and addiction. Better pain management. Better targeting of overdose reversing drugs. And better prevention treatment and recovery services. This strategy devotes hhs unique resources and expertise to empowering heros on the front lines of this crisis. Because after all, its our local partners in community clinics, churches, law enforcement, schools, and state and local tribal governments who ultimately are going to turn the tide on this epidemic. They are fighting each day facetoface with the drug crisis that is killing more than 175 americans every day. Just think about that for a second. That means well lose 7 of our fellow americans to drug overdoses during this press briefing alone. That kind of urgency is why President Trump delivered a speech back in october calling for hhs to declare an unprecedented nationwide Public Health emergency regarding the crisis. After we did so, we have continued to take aggressive action at our department, including approving state waivers to expand addiction treatment, and clarifying that doctors and hospitals can share information with the patients loved ones in dangerous situations like drug overdoses. Now i got to meet some of the local heros that were working to empower just a few weeks ago when i traveled to connecticut the day after the president s speech. We went to clinics, and saw babies born with these. Im from a small town in illinois, the kind of Rural Community hit hard by this epidemic. Also the kind of community that President Trump has spent time in past couple of years how he has heard about americans suffering. Part of the way we aim to stop this crisis is by raising awareness of how devastating and deadly drug addiction can be. Thats why we are so pleased that President Trump has chosen to donate his salary this quarter to the planning and design of a large scale Public Awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction. And hhs is proud to be working with the white house on this effort. And our team of Public Health experts brings a great deal of experience and expertise to the table regarding how to make these campaigns effective. At hhs our goal is to create healthier lives, stronger communities, and a safer country and dplad to have a president who recognizes Opioid Crisis is a huge threat to all of these goals. The president is personally dedicated to defeating this crisis. Because addiction hits home for so many of us. You heard him share the story in his opioid speech about how he lost his own brother to alcoholism. And speaking personally opioid addiction has been presence in my hometown and my family for years. It was years ago in fact that i lost a close relative to ron stantly struggled with opioids. So this christmas and Holiday Season all of us should consider following the president s example and think about what we can dpo in our own private lives to help fight back against a crisis thats tearing American Families a part. We all know people who are hurting this Holiday Season. And i know that we as americans will rise to their aide. So thanks again for having me here today. And thanks once again to President Trump for his generous donation. Thanks very much. Thank you, acting secretary har begin, i appreciate you begin here today on behalf of the department. Do you have a cold . I actually have strep throat so if you bear with me a little bitty might sneak a sip of water. Thank you for your concern. And i may not stay as long as normal and ill do my best i can. Start with you on questions. Could you talk a little bit about the relationship between the president and the secretary . Does the president have confidence in him . And does the president agree with most or all of the positions that the secretary has taken regarding north korea, the gulf crisis, et cetera . Look, as weve said many times before, as many of you love to write these type of stories, when the president loses confidence in someone they will no longer serve in the capacity that they are in. The president was here today with the secretary of state. They engaged in a foreign leader visit. And are continuing to Work Together to close out what we have seen to be an incredible year. Can we deduce from that that the president has kfd nens the secretary of state . I think i addressed that. Is that a yes . When it comes to questions like this of senior staff and cab net secretaries when the president loses confidence theyll no longer be here. As the president said on the record and several of you were in the room in the oval today, the secretary of state is here, and we are, would going hard to get big things accomplished and close out whats already been a very strong and positive year. Whats the future in the administration . Im sorry . Whats future in the administration. I think future is continuing working hard with the secretary of state. Continue working with the president to carry out his agenda. Question on taxes. The joint committee on taxation says that by 2027 people making between 40,000 and 50,000 a year will pay a combined 5. 3 billion more in taxes under the current bill. While those earning a million or more will pay 5. 8 billion less. And coupled with that, the university of chicago surveyed 38 committeeists only one said the bill would lead to substantial Economic Growth and all 38 said that the cut will increase the debt. Is it the White House Position that these analyses are wrong . I cant speak to that specific report. Because i havent had a chance to look at it and talk to the Economic Team here. What i can tell you is what ive said every single day weve been part of this process. The president laid out his priorities. We feel like the plans as of right now from the house and senate meets those priorities of cutting taxes for the middle class, simplifying the tax code, bringing business back home. Thoels have been the big focus of the administration. And those are going to be the things we continue to fight for as we go through this tax policy. Jct nonpartisan, their analysis seems to say middle class taxes would actually go up in a lot of cases. Several studies that say the opposite. Data that would contradict that . Yeah, and several studies that say this is a big thing for middle class. I saw one yesterday, well send it to you after the briefing concludes, but again well continue fighting for this and making sure the middle class does receive tax cuts that they deserve and frankly they need. And we think that we are making a lot of progress on this front. And we p think that we are going to get it done by the end of the year. Based on Ambassador Haley speech yesterday, the u. N. , and the president s tweet this morning, does this administration now advocate regime change in north korea . And if not, why not . This administration is focused on one big thing when it comes to north korea. And thats denuclear ages of the north korean peninsula. I want to ask the president tweets today. Firstly, does the president feel he has an obligation to ensure that the information he shares on twitter feed is accurate . I think the president feels that bringing up important issues of our time like extreme violence and terrorism are important to do. That was what he was doing in that process. And i think hes going to continue to do that in a number of venues whether its through speeches or twitter or other social media platforms. Does he understand sharing those videos might have violence against muslim . And does he know that i think what hes done is elevate the conversation to talk about a real issue and threat. And thats extreme violence and extreme terrorism. Something ha we know to be very real and something that the president feels strongly talking about and bringing up and making sure is an issue. That we are looking at the best ways to protect americans. Ton that point, sara, did the president when he retweeted that know who she was . No, i dont believe so. But i believe that he knows what the issues are. Tan that is that we have a real threat of extreme violence and terrorism. Not just in this country but across the globe, particularly in europe, and that was the point he was making. And i dont really have much to add beyond that. Yesterday the president said nbc should terminate Joe Scarborough because of the unsolved mystery that took place in florida years ago. When did President Trump think it was appropriate to reference this in 2001 . And does he think scarborough is responsible for the death of his former aide . I dont have anything to add beyond the tweet. A couple of things. What was the Tipping Point between President Trump and tillerson . Like i said i dont think believe there was a Tipping Point considering they were sitting in ha meeting today working hard to carry out the president s agenda. I think the Tipping Point is trying to do the best they can to make sure that they are making our world a better place, making america safer, and working together to get that done. Is the president listening to tillerson as it relates to north korea as north korea is escalating . The president is listening to the secretary of state as well als secretary of defense. The National Security adviser. His chief of staff. The chairman of the joint chief of staff and a number of other individuals, including World Leaders that hes spoken to several times this week. Specifically about north korea. And hes going to continue to do that. And continue to talk to all of the relevant stakeholders. Sorry, im going to keep moving. What about john conyers in the hospital and call for him to resign. What does the president have to say . Thats a decision for john conyers to make. Back to tillerson, what does the administration think the stories are macoming from, is i difficult in your view for mr. Tillerson to carry out his job as secretary of state with all these questions surrounding whether or not hes going to be in the administration maybe through january of next year . Look, i dont know where those stories are coming from. I dont try to spend most of my day figuring that utah 0. Id rather focus on the points that i know. And the points that we are driving through the administration. And the secretary of state is a pretty tough guy i think hell be okay carrying this job out. We often see the president talk about the stock market. We havent yet heard from him on a separate but similar issue which is crypto currency. Has the president been following this at all bitcoin specifically, the major run up in it, does he have an opinion on it . Does he feel or does the administration feel that this is now something that needs to be regulated by the government . I know this is something that is being monitored by our team here in terms of specific briefings and announcements on it. I dont have anything that i can share with you right now but will be happy to follow back up with you. What kind of monitoring . Look this is an issue, i know tom bosser with the Homeland Security team and adviser to the president has brought this up in a meeting earlier this week. I know its something that hes keeping an ion. Well keep you posted when we have anything further on it. Im sorry to hear you are not feeling well. I hope you freely better. I have a question about the president s health. Mr. Trump president cess sore as far back as Ronald Reagan every year get checked by the best doctors in the military and report on their health and the vitals to the american public. We have a month left in the year. Does trump intend to get a physical at walter reid . Id have so ask. Do you know if he intends to share that . I do know i spent 12 days in asia despite the fact that hes a little older than me, he had twice the energy i do, and im the one sick now and hes still going. So i think hes in pretty good health but ill be happy to share information. Thank you. You read the first earlier about those, linking it to the tax policy, the president said this tax bill will cost him a fortune. They say thats not true. His family could save a lot. Could you tell us specifically in the bill that is going to cause the president to pay more in taxes than hes paying now . Well see what the final piece of legislation looks like. But a lot of the deductions that he would probably normally receive may not be part of the package that would effect his actual what he pays in taxes. But, again, until there is a final piece of legislation i cant go into much more detail. But i know some versions of it take out a lot of those deductions that currently benefit the president and his family. Take one last question. Response to the im sorry im going to go right here. President was pretty definitive when he said he would pay moran his wealthy friends would pay more. What was he referring to . I believe his reference was to a lot of deductions that may no longer exist which are in the current policy. Again, well have to see what the final policy looks like. Our focus has been on middle class tax cuts. Thats why the president doesnt care if he gets a tax cut or not but focus on making sure the middle class and middle clasz families get the tax cuts and that we simplify the process and bring Companies Back home. Ill take one more question. You said tillerson to close out a successful year. Are you saying that he will close out the year . Will he serve beyond that . And when you are talking about elevating the conversation, does the president normally watch these kind of antiMuslim Videos that have been posted by this group . Im not sure every single video the president has viewed in terms of the secretary of state, i think ive spoken about that pretty extensively and answered that question. Yu we are all closing out the year. You are closing out the year in your news network. We dont set the calendar. Thats something that happened a few centuries ago. The year will end we will all close it out and do the best job for the American People in that process. I dont mean anything by it more than that. Im closing out the year. You guys are. I know most of you are doing end of the year stories because thats how the calendar year the year ends. And we are going to end on a strong note. And i think well end the briefing on a strong note and im going to get some water and a few cough drops. Our team will be around the rest of the afternoon to answer any other questions you guys have. Well look forward to seeing you again. Feel better. So Sarah Huckabee sanders wrapping up. Well get into a big discussion of some of the headlines but did mention we saw the h f acting hhs director, he came up and thanking the president for donating Third Quarter salary for Opioid Epidemic. Then all the questions flew. All the antimuslim retweets. Talking about this tax plan. And of course on the big buzz today on the current secretary of state Rex Tillerson. So dana bash, samantha, and a admiral kirby are back with me. Lets start with where we were before the press conference. Dana bash, when she was asked about Rex Tillerson, her response was when the president loses confidence theyll no longer serve. Rex tillerson was here today. So is that her attempt to say nothing to see her, all is hung can i dorie, or what did you make of her response . That it was her attempt to answer the question without answering the question. Thank you. And she, you know, has had to do this kind of thing with Rex Tillerson and others so many times that this is just kind of a new variation of the same kind of thing, which is side stepping the answer. Not really answering it. But certainly not giving a glowing endorsement of Rex Tillerson at all. I should say, though, as we were talking, she was talking, you mentioned showed a clip of heather over at the state department, another thing that we are seeing in our email, that heather said is that the white house chief of staff, john kelly called the state Department Today to insist that the stories about tillerson getting fired soon are not true. So thats another kind of wrinkle that came out as this press briefing was going on. All right. Sam, so general kelly says the rumors arent true. How do you take that . I still take it that this doesnt empower secretary tillerson on the world stage. Think about the range of issues that he should be negotiating right now. Syria, we have seen russia hold their own parallel set of negotiations. North korea. President trump has under cut tillerson and the chances for diplomacy on that issue. This was not a sound we support tillerson we support him for the long fall. This is what we call ambiguity and she wielded it very well. We heard about parachutes and talking about heather and some of the phrases she used in talking about the fate of her boss over at the state department. What did you make, admiral of Sarah Huckabee sanders response, her nonresponse, response . Yeah, trusting confidence behind the scenes is like boiling a frog. Unless the person commits a crime, dui, kind of slowly erodes over time. So it can be true at any moment that the president is losing trust and confidence but you dont want to say that from the podium. Until the ink has been put on the paper that says you are gone, you technically still have the trust and confidence of the principal. Thats the way we do as spokesperson. Nothing she said was in pack rate but protected to protect the process. The questions came on the retweets from this far right group and this one woman in particular who Sarah Huckabee sanders acknowledged the president didnt even know who she was. So there is that. That the president retweeting a woman who he doesnt even know who she is, with these really disturbing videos of a young muslim boy, or young boy being beaten, and turns out as weve been doing some of our own reporting on this, one of the tweets by the way showing this muslim migrant was in fact a dutch citizen. So retweeting fake news as it comes out, dana, but to hear sara say that, obviously defending the president and saying that the tweets or the retweets were aimed to elevate the conversation. How is that elevating anything . I mean, the word elevate was quite frankly a very odd one to use in any context with regard to the situation. It doesnt. I mean, i think it objectively doesnt elevate anything. It excites. It exaacerbates. But excites means to lift up. What are we lifting up except maybe bigotry. It was an odd word. As we talked about yesterday she is struggling to defend the in defensible and admitted, and important to underscore, that she admitted the president did not know who the source was, which is a big problem. Didnt know who the source was. What does that tell you, that the president of the United States, sam, is retweeting an account that hes not even how many twitter followers does he have . I think 5 million. And aside from the fact that this content is disgusting, there are real important things here, extremists exploit. These retweets do exactly the same thing. Making us less safe. At the same time the leader of bahrain. Sitting in the white house. Sitting in the white house today. And you have to wonder how is President Trump reconciling these retweets with anything hes telling the leader of bahrain about the Close Partnership between the United States and the muslim world. They dont reconcile. Admiral kirby to you on north korea, a question was asked based upon what Ambassador Haley had said yesterday at the u. N. Saying if there were to be war, i think the phrase was north korea would be utterly destroyed. So the question was does that indicate a change, let me look precisely what i had written down, does that indicate a regime change in north korea, and her succinct answer was the focus is denuclearization of the korean peninsula. Its another nonanswer. They dont want to talk about regime change and for good reason. Because its what kim jongun fears the most. He believes United States is the threat to his life and life of his country and country man. Thats why he continues to advance his program. Least not going to be in any mood to talk until he can come to a table having that capability to hit the United States with accuracy. So i this i she answered it the best way she could. And frankly, look, i agree that denuclearization needs to be the policy goal. It was the goal for president obama and bush. And i think we need to start looking for confidence Building Measures showing the north that we are trying to find a diplomatic path forward because Everything Else hasnt worked. Can i say one thing . Please. Close this out. Lt question that was asked of Sarah Huckabee sanders about whether the president is going to get a physical. I think we need to make sure this doesnt get lost. So this is another tradition of president s, democrat president s, republican president s, they go and get a physical. Its made public how their health is. They are the president of the United States. And she didnt say no, but she didnt say yes. And the physical health of the president , back to the campaign, has been, you know, a question mark of exactly what it is, because he got a doctor to write a very short and nondetailed letter about how hes the healthiest person who ever walked the planet. Thats right. I remember that. Lack of transparency, well see if he goes and shares his health with the rest of us. Dana and admiral and sam thank you so much. Coming up next here news out of capitol hill senator conyers hospitalized and among Sexual Harassment you have the Top Democrats, the likes of nancy pelosi joining the chore host of people calling on him to resign. Hear from his lawyer and one of his accusers who spoke out today for the very first time. Get ready these 5 pairings are gonna floor ya. Like our new feast with lobsterwrapped scallops and a juicy sirloin, plus a savory lobsterandshrimp smashed potato. And our new lobster and seafoodtopped filet . Every bite is better than the last. The classic is here too. Come indulge in surf turf like youve never had it before its too late. And weekdays, create your own seafood lovers lunch for just 9. 99. On a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. Your Insurance Company raises your rates. Maybe you shouldve done more research on them. 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Tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures and before starting xarelto® about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. Youve got to learn all you can. To help protect yourself from dvt and pe blood clots. Talk to your doctor about xarelto®. Theres more to know. Two powerful men accused of Sexual Harassment. Both with two different outcomes. First the today show star matt lauer is facing two aegss of Sexual Misconduct. This as he is now breaking his silence after being fired by nbc. He released a statement that reads in part, quote, to the people i have hurt, i am truly sorry. Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed or ashamed. I regret that my shame is now shared by the people i cherish dearly. Thats matt lauer. What about congressman john conyers . Not apologizing to his accusers. Today that top House Democrat called for him to resign, however, congressman conyers attorney says, he isnt going anywhere. It is not up to nancy pelosi, nancy pelosi did not elect the congressman, and she sure as hell wont be the one to tell the congressman to leave. That decision will be completely up to the congressman. Also joining leader nancy pelosi in calling for conyers resignation according to a source is the thirdranking democrat in the house, jim clyburn. Paul ryan says it is time for congressman conyers to go. Great to have you on. April, let me begin with you since i just i think i heard that question that you shouted out to Sarah Sanders a couple minutes ago precisely on this, on congressman conyers and your question was would the president like to weigh in . And she said no, no, this is up to congressman conyers. Right. What do you make it seems that the chorus for him to go is getting louder. Yet, he and his attorney, are saying, no, were staying put. What do you make of this . What i make of it, conyers is one of the longest serving reps on the hill. And hes got his dignity, you know, according to some, but at issue hes in the hospital today, and im hering that hes reassessing. The question is what will be said when he leaves the hospital or what will be said by leaders as he leaves the hospital. Of course, growing and its greating stronger. People are saying sources i talked to just before i walked into that white house Briefing Room, they were saying hes got to go. People who stood by him, theyre saying hes got to go. And hes hearing that. Hes hearing the chorus. So the question is what happens when he leaves the hospital today or tomorrow . The questions are being asked, when you look at Corporate America or hollywood, journalism versus politics, there seem to be consequences in one realm and a lack of consequences in the other. And so the attorney for the congressman actually addressed this very question, heres what else he said. People are saying, right, that matt lauer was fired immediately. Other individuals have been fired immediately. Why wasnt the congressman forced to resign immediately . Youre dealing with two different entities. In Corporate America, there is no due process, john conyers situation is completely different. John conyers works for congress, a judicial, a legal, a legislative branch of government. It is apples and oranges. So i need to clear that narrative up for america. Congress works differently. You just cannot fire somebody without going through the proper channels. But the counter to that, harassment is harassment is harassment. Why is it apples and oranges, do you think . There is a difference, and one of the reasons is that Politicians Face one election day every few years. Thats one time they have to answer for their jobs and potentially lose their jobs unless they resign or somehow forced out which is a really hard process to go through. Whereas in Corporate America, in media, in these business organizations, they answer to their audience every single day with ratings and with sales. And so thats where you see the difference. Where Corporate America is a little bit more worried that people might turn off the channel if they know that there is an alleged harasser onair or might not go see a movie if it was produced by somebody who is an alleged harasser. And thats where you see the difference and thats also why you see Corporate America responding so much faster, perhaps, than washington, d. C. April, i want to ask you about this, youre standing at the white house. And there was a tweet from anna novaro earlier this week, and this is what she says. Matt lauer lost his job, charlie rose lost his job, mark halprin lost his job, Harvey Weinstein lost his job, but in politics, conyers still in congress, moore is still running, and trump is still president. Trump is still president. What do you think . You know, what i think is what i see. From this strange perch, brooke, that we have a president who couple weeks ago was weighing in on ray moore. He wanted ray moore, regardless because he is desperate for a win, legislative win, one legislative win, and he was throwing all caution to the wind and going for this. Now, you know, with all of this coming up, we have a president who is the moral leader, who is faced with 12plus allegations, 12plus women who are concerned about Sexual Misconduct with then civilian donald trump. He cannot escape this. And as the chorus grows of names, it puts a spotlight back here on this president. He may not or sarah may not want to talk about the new allegations, but its still there. And thats something hes going to have to address because the chorus is growing and grows. The spotlight seems like back on him when we talk about the other cases, whether its a journalist or a member of congress and still not getting much from Sarah Sanders there at the white house. Thank you so much, both of you. But, lets get to some breaking news now. Republican senators, they are feeling confident, were told, about their upcoming tax votes. Supporters received a major boost from none other than arizona senator john mccain, senator mccain saying that he will vote in favor of this bill, even though he called it far from perfect. The white house says it is optimistic, given senator mccains decision, Phil Matingly is our cnn Congressional Correspondent who is live now for us on capitol hill with the update here. You just got some new numbers on what this bill will cost. What is that . Reporter yeah, thats exactly right, brooke, when you talk to republicans, theyve made clear, they dont to want talk about static score of this which is essentially how much it would cost not including growth, revenue over the course of ten years, they want to talk about dynamic growth. Basically what the effects of this tax policy would create on a revenue side. That is two different things. Well, now we have those numbers. From the joint committee on taxation, its something weve been waiting weeks for right now and the news is not good for republicans. This plan, the republican plan would cost 1. 4 trillion over ten years. The revenue effects, based on the tax policy, would only add 458 billion to that. So in other words, brooke, this plan, even accounting for Economic Growth would still cost a trillion dollars. Now, why does that matter . Well, weve been talking about it repeatedly over the last couple of days. Republican senators, jeff flake, james langford, bob corker, their issue is they dont want this plan to add to the deficit in the long run. Republican senators have been clear, itll pay for itself, all of these types of things youve heard. According to to the joint committee on taxation, it will not. Brooke, the interesting element here is you put it perfectly, this train is leaving the station right now. Republicans are on the path to pass this at some point in the next day or two. The big question now is, this is falling short of what several of the members want. Obviously theyre working on a america nich ne mechanism, this is not a number republicans are looking for and it certainly goes the opposite direction of the number of republicans said they would get growth wise in this bill, brooke. Ive got to you for another minute, phil, whats the actual timeline . I mean, what happens today, tomorrow, and might there actually be the vote happening friday . Reporter yeah, i think thats extremely possible. Look, right now everybodys in a Holding Pattern and walking you through behind the scenes right now. There are a couple of issues. I was talking about that deficit trigger. Bob corker, jeff flake has been huddling multiple times behind closed doors trying to figure out how to structure it. Look, its a complex idea, do you raise taxes on the individual side . How does it actually work . How do you adjust to the fact that theres a recession or Something Like that . Its complicated. Theyre working on that. They also need to make sure that the bill on a whole does not run afoul. As this is all going on. The debate on the floor is still happening. Theyve got 20 hours of debate, theyve been working on that. As you noted, there where be a voterrama, when you factor all of that in, the fact that we havent gotten out of the negotiation stage investigation and working behind closed doors, its clearly going to take a little while longer. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell said it was possible to get this done today. Every minute, hour that passes by looks like its going to push into friday, brooke. Okay, friday it is then. Potentially Phil Matingly, thank you so much. Well continue this tax conversation for the next couple of days, couple of weeks. Im brooke baldwin. The lead with jake tapper starts now. Thanks, brooke. The white house doing everything accept pointing to secretary of state to the exit and handing him a gold watch. The lead starts right now. President trump has said when it comes to this state department, im the only one that matters. And now, even with this huge Nuclear Threat heating up, cnn has learned they have a plan to get rid of americas top diplomat. Meanwhile the state departments now warning that the president s antimuslim retweets yesterday might be putting americans in danger. Could lives actually be at risk because the president cant stop tweeting and