Transcripts For MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports 20240706

Mitchell reports, House Republican leader Kevin Mccarthy 24 hours from the biggest moment of his political career and still no closer to securing the votes he needs to become the next speaker of the house. Also this hour, i will speak to dr. Zeke emanuel about a tough holiday flu season along with new concerns about a new strain of covid19 in the u. S. And we will have a live report from rome as catholics travel to the vatican to Pope Emeritus Benedict during the three days he will lie in state ahead of thursdays funeral mass. Good day, im andrea in mitchell. Happy new year, everyone. Well, the pressure is on republican leader in this in you year, Kevin Mccarthy has to win over the hard line House Conservatives that he needs to become the next speaker of the house. Tomorrow the new Congress Returns to washington with the speaker vote as the top item on the agenda. But at this hour no one knows how long its going to take for republicans to secure the Majority Vote needed to appoint a leader. Or who that leader will be. Remember, they have a slim majority. Joining me now nbc washington correspondent yamiche alcindor, nbcs senior capitol hill respondent, garrett haake, phil rucker and matthew dowd former chief strategist to george w. Bush. Well, thanks to all of you, Happy New Year. Welcome. Garrett, to you the action is on the hill. Kevin mccarthy is Running Out Of Time to avoid a public political mess tomorrow, real car wreck. Where do things stand at this hour . Reporter andrea, Running Out Of Time and he seems to be running backwards at the moment. If every member shows up tomorrow and votes, mccarthy can afford four republican votes against him for speaker. The problem is right now hes got about 14. Theres that group of five hardliners who have said they are never mccarthy votes. In addition to them we had a letter come out last night from nine additional republicans who are sort of soft nos who say that they want further changes for mccarthy, changes to the rules, changes that would open up the process in the house, make it more small d democratic to give largely back Bench Members like themselves a little bit more say. Mccarthy is good at the Closed Door Wheeling and dealing it might take to seal the deal here, but the math is incredibly complicated for him if he doesnt start to knock back some of those hard nos and some of those soft nos or find a way to do as Speaker Pelosi did, even john boehner in previous congresses get folks to vote present or stay home, somehow try to change the number. Andrea, if he doesnt get it on the first ballot tomorrow, they will have to just keep voting. The house cant do anything else until they elect a speaker. It will be the first time in a century that a speaker wasnt selected on the very first ballot. And, garrett, hes already moved into the speakers suite of offices, so does that mean he would have to move back out if he doesnt get it . Reporter he would. Just another could be a potentially bitter moment for someone who has come to close to the speakership previously, thinks he can do it today, has vowed to go as long as it takes to get there. No nameplate on the door, no longer Speaker Pelosis office, for the moment the office of republican nominee to be speaker, Kevin Mccarthy, not his yet, no name on the door. Yamiche, with no name on the door this is a nail biter. We havent seen this kind of a speaker fight before, not in recent decades really, and hes known to make compromises. Look at the way he compromised and went to maralago after criticizing President Trump right after well, On January 6th and immediately afterward. So how much is he going to have to compromise and give up to the Marjorie Taylor greenes of the world . It seems like hes going to have to give up a lot. I mean, this is in some ways a chaotic start to the new year for this gop House Republican caucus. Think about the enact that Kevin Mccarthy based on his own writing in a Dear Colleague letter as well as theres been reporting on this call that he had with this conference, hes been trying to give all factions of the Republican Party and all underlined what they want in order to give him in order to get the votes that he needs to become House Speaker. Hes making it easier to oppose the speaker, also talking about Stump Committees that would be on the weaponization of the government which might undercut the work of the Judiciary Committee and the oversight committee. So you already have a number of lawmakers really asking and almost getting exactly what they want but you still have as garrett said he cannot lose more than four votes and you already have five republicans who are pretty staunchly saying we are not going to vote with Kevin Mccarthy. It is interesting to me to see, though, that there is this faction of sort of only kevins that are starting to emerge, those are the lawmakers that are saying they only want Kevin Mccarthy, they will stick with him as long as it takes. You have Kevin Mccarthy saying ive moved in, im going to stick here, im going to stay here, doesnt matter how many ballots it takes to get the speakership. Of course, theres already some quiet rumbling on whether or not there needs to be a backup, maybe a Steve Scalise, somebody else to take this. It reminds me this is an echo of how Kevin Mccarthy lost the speakership last time because he had conservatives who didnt allow him to get the speakership last time. You saw he went to former President Trumps maralago, hes tried his best to embrace the former president but even in this case former President Trump backing him isnt able to help him in this situation. So its going to be fascinating and definitely a place to look on the hill for sure. Is it that he cant help him or that he wont, phil rucker . Because you i dont think that he is the one person, especially with this group of opponents to Kevin Mccarthy, he, donald trump, is the one person who could maybe swing them. Well, andrea, its a good point. Trump has been supportive of Kevin Mccarthy, but weve not seen him do or heard about him doing any of this last minute lobbying in recent days to try to secure the speakership for Kevin Mccarthy. And its a really remarkable moment for these two because mccarthy has been sucking up to trump for years, and even after january 6th as noted as seen in this picture here flew to maralago, has been criticized by some fellow republicans [ inaudible ] not having the strength to stand up to trump and then here in his moment of need trump is not exactly baling him out. So we will have to see what happens tomorrow, but this is a very dire potentially dire situation for Kevin Mccarthy and if he were to be elected speaker tomorrow he would probably be one of the least powerful speakers we have seen given all the concessions he has had to give ahead. Matthew dowd, what does it all say about the state of the Republican Party, about what they should be celebrating, theyve taken back the majority, but its such a slim margin and there are so many different factions. Theyre going to be handcuffed in a lot of ways. Well, i think theyre really in between a rock and a hard place, andrea, because, i mean, i dont think theres that many factions anymore in the Republican Party. The center of the Republican Party has moved much closer and is much more aligned with the Lauren Boeberts of the world and the Marjorie Taylor greenes than it is with this small number of moderates that are left in the Republican Party on the hill. The problem for Kevin Mccarthy and any republican that serves here is that because the center of the party has moved there, its actually further away from the votes they need to keep the house. I mean, keep in mind that in this past election they took the house by less than 3,000 votes. If 3,000 votes had shifted the democrats would have had the house and those 3,000 votes came primarily from moderates had put certain members in california and in new york into power that allowed them to take the house. So for a general election the more they move in this direction it becomes more problematic to keep the house, but if they dont appeal to the center of the party, which, as i said, is the Marjorie Taylor greenes, it creates this uproar that we know and weve watched happen over the course of the last three years. Theyre really and Kevin Mccarthy specifically because he is the man of the moment is in an incredibly difficult place because the more they appeal to the Lauren Boeberts the further away they get from being able to win general elections in those key races. Is one of their new colleagues going to be congressmanelect George Santos, garrett . Is there any chance that they might follow retiring congressman bradys republican congressman kevin bradys saying that santos should consider stepping aside, should not be sworn in . Because i havent heard any other republicans, leading republicans, saying that they would not support him being sworn in. Yeah, that decision only santos himself could make. He has said very little since these stories about his, you know, Made Up Back Story have started to come out, but one of the things that he did say, which has proven to be politically prudent, is that he endorsed Kevin Mccarthy for speaker and mccarthy has not said anything about George Santos and seems highly unlikely to at least before that speakers vote tomorrow. The house in general tends to be reticent to get involved in individual members, districts and politics short of there being an indictment. If santos were to be indicted House Republican rules would be that he would lose his committee seats, would be hard for him to get reelected, but short of that it is not illegal to die to your constituents and makes stuff up. For now in this narrow majority it seems like the rest of the republican conference some expressed their concerns about santos but thats as far as theyre going to go. Although there is a federal investigation which potentially could be in the money trail because of the money that he donated and the money he reported, thats to be to be considered later on, of course, by then he will be sworn in as a member of congress. Yamiche, lets talk briefly about Mitch Mcconnell and joe biden teaming up to talk about infrastructure in kentucky this week. Thats an odd couple, right . Its an odd couple and its incredible its happening as Kevin Mccarthy is dealing with his chaos on the house side, but youre seeing biden and surprisingly Senate Minority leader Mitch Mcconnell saying theyre going to get together, go to this kentucky event. Theyre going to be promoting the bipartisan Infrastructure Law and its going to be just across the way from cincinnati, ohio. This is really in some ways interesting to see republicans and democrats coming together as they look at this big bill that they were able to pass, i think it underscores that President Biden is entering this new phase of divided government with idea at least that he wants to cooperate with the republicans to try to get things done for the american people, but i think its very interesting also because were all waiting to see what the 2024 decision will be for President Biden, whether he will run again and you have Mitch Mcconnell who is clearly openly at this point warring with former President Trump, saying that hes diminished, hes not going to have the Senate Candidates be the ones that are picked by former President Trump. So i think this also shows that Mitch Mcconnell is willing to do what he wants to do in order to sort of promote what he thinks is a good law. So its a very interesting time i think in the Republican Party and the Democratic Party to see these two men sidebyside in kentucky, its going to be definitely be something thats going to be interesting and fascinating in this moment. Exactly. We do expect an announcement very soon, possibly even this month, from joe biden about a second term. Garrett, very briefly, very, very briefly, is this a Secret Ballot . I know its going to be playing out during our shows tomorrow, so we will be on the air when its all happening. Is it a Secret Ballot or is it right reporter no, this is unlike any other vote innings could, theyre going to go down name by name alphabetically and everyone has to stand up and speak their vote out loud for speaker. This will be all shown to the American Public for so long as it takes. We will all be tuning in and sitting here in fact. Thank you so much, garrett haake, yamiche alcindor, phil rucker, matthew dowd. Thanks to all to kick off our new year, 2023. So what former president had no charitable contributions in the last year in office . What weve learned from combing through trumps tax returns. This is Andrea Mitchell reports. Thats next. S. This is Andrea Mitchell reports. Thatsex nt. Hey dad, im almost out. I got you. Any questions, chris . All good, thanks maura healthier is managing all your familys prescriptions in one app. If your moderate to severe Crohns Disease or Ulcerative Colitis symptoms are stopping you in your tracks. Choose stelara® from the start. And move toward relief after the first dose. With injections every two months. Stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flulike symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. Pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. Some serious allergic reactions and Lung Inflammation can occur. Feel unstoppable. 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Head to golo. Com now to join the over 2 Million People who have found the right way to lose weight and get healthier with golo. New revelations from former president Donald Trumps tax returns released by House Democrats after he lost his final Supreme Court appeal, they now show that he maintained numerous Foreign Bank Accounts in china, the United Kingdom and ireland in 2015 and 2016. It also reported millions of dollars in foreign income and Business Expenses in at least 22 countries over six years of returns. He and his wife melania also reported 78 million in foreign income from 16 countries in 2020. His final year in office. Joining us now is New York Times Investigative Reporter david baronthal. Lets drill down on the Foreign Bank Accounts. The filings showed he had Bank Accounts in china, the uk, ireland, weve been reporting on this since we saw them last friday, i guess, friday night. Does this mean he was doing business in these countries . In some cases, yes, in many cases we knew that. Trump has golf courses in scotland, he has a golf course in ireland, he has properties or businesses in the uae and other places around the world. Some was not a surprise to me. The china one was, that was a surprise because trump talked vaguely about doing business in china starting out like a license to hotel there perhaps, he had Shell Companies that had the names of chinese cities, but as far as we knew he never had done anything there. Trump said in a debate in 2020 long ago he had shut down any plans for development in china. We still dont know what the purpose of that chinese bank account was and why it appears to have still been active throughout his presidency. And he responded, we should point out, over the weekend about the release of the taxes. Lets listen. The radical Democrat Congress illegally obtained and leaked my personal tax returns which show only that ive had tremendous success. Its been an amazing period of time. The seizure of these confidential records was completely unconstitutional. There is no legitimate legislative purpose for their action. Its nothing but a deranged political witchhunt which has been going on from the day i came down the escalator in trump tower. David, we dont often play these factually incorrect claims by the former president , but to claim that he had Great Success when these these tax returns show exactly the opposite, he is not a successful businessman, i think the only time he had a profit was when he was posting some of the the money he had inherited from his father. Also no charitable no charitable donations, you know minimal charitable donations and none in the last year. Its really pretty extraordinary. And that his pledge to donate his 400,000 president ial salary was not not kept at all. Thats what stuck out to me. You know, that was something that trump had promised and i have to say looking back at his life this was a very common thing that he did with charity. When he was going to make a lot of money with a project, tv series, in one case a board game, a vodka brand he would say im rich i dont need this money, all the money i make off of this thing im going to give to charity. We found before he was president often he did not follow through with those promises and now this we see his promise to give his president ial salary to charity also fell off. In 2020 after several years of donating following through on that promise in 2020 he stopped donating his president ial salary at the same time his business was tanking. He took the money and didnt give it back. That was something we thought had happened but it was satisfying to see for sure that indeed he had not given the money away. One other thing, he said that there was no no legislative purpose, but there was a purpose in getting the tax returns. Its arguable whether they should have been released but in getting the tax returns because what they discovered was that the irs did not in three out of the five years that he filed while he was still in office, in three out of those five years they did not do the audit that they are supposed to do. The mandatory audit, and so there are a lot of Unanswered Questions as to why the irs someone he had personally appointed did not do what is required of all president s and Vice President s, which is audit them each year and, in fact, they didnt audit they didnt audit him at all until questions were raised by the committee and on that very day they launched the final audit which was released after he left office. David, if you could stand by for a second because Barbara Mcquaid is joining us now, the former prosecutor, Law Professor from Michigan University of michigan. We just want to say were sorry about tcu and we know you are in mourning, but aside from that big playoff game, lets talk about also what Chuck Rosenberg wrote, our colleague and an msnbc contributor wrote in an Opinion Police in politico that the committees decision to publish the returns was unfair to the former president. Where do you stand . You know, i think chuck has a very good point, i think we need to be measured when we think about what were doing, what steps were taking, but i disagree with him on this one. I think that the committee had legitimate purpose in seeking those returns, that is to determine whether the irs was properly conducting audits, concluded in fact it was not properly conducting those audits and i think in light of the highly political debate surrounding this issue it was important to Public Confidence to share those records with the public so that they could see for themselves what was at issue. So i think we should use caution and not have different rules for people we dont like versus people we do like, but i think that when someone is president of the United States they open themselves to scrutiny in a way that should require the exposure of ones taxes. So i disagree with chuck. A healthy disagreement among friends. Barbara mcquaid, thank you so much. Of course, theres always next year. And david, thanks to you as always. The counteroffensive in ukraine, Ukrainian Forces striking back after russia bombarded kyiv on new years eve. This is Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Eve. This is Andrea Mitchell reports omsn nbc. Power e trades easytouse tools make complex trading less complicated custom scans help you find new Trading Opportunities while an Earnings Tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market dog barking we love our pets. Wbut we dont alwaysol helpslove their hair. 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According to moscows defense industry. Ukraine has not taken responsibility for that attack. Overnight kyiv came under attack from iranianmade drones damaging Infrastructure Facilities according to kyivs mayor. This as Russian Forces were pummeling cities across the country throughout the Holiday Weekend, launching missiles and drone attacks, especially against the capital. One drones even scrawled with Happy New Year according to kyiv police. Joining us now is the former u. S. Ambassador william taylor. Happy new year to you. Thanks for joining us. It is anything but a Happy New Year in ukraine except for the incredible spirit and resilience of this country. Andrea, youre exactly right. Ive been in touch with several of my friends over the new year holiday. Theyre more determined than ever. Even their children, i was asking one woman about her kids and she says you wouldnt believe how determined, how patriotic, our children are. So all of these attacks on civilian targets that the russians are undertaking has only gone to make the ukrainians more determined to win. So the Russian Defense Ministry Today said dozens of russian servicemen died after four himars struck what they are calling a provisional base. Does that indicate that the equipment that the u. S. Is providing to ukraine is making a difference . This was not within the borders of russia, it was in a russian held part of eastern ukraine. Correct, andrea, and the answer is yes. These weapons are making a big difference. Theyve been making a difference since last summer when they first arrived. These weapons, these himars and others have allowed the ukrainians to go on the offensive and to push the russians back, way back, toward the borders. Theyre pushing the russians out of their country. Thats what the goal for the ukrainians is, to push the russians out. Himars are attacking targets, military targets. Thats the difference, andrea, between the russians and the ukrainians. Ukrainians are attacking military targets. This was clearly a military target. It was a big ammo dump that the russians mistakenly put their troops right next to. So that was a blunder. Another blunder by the ukrainians. The russians on the other hand attack civilians targets, unarmed civilian targets, my friend that i was talking to last night, she could hear in the middle of the night weapons exploding, ammunition exploding, bombs exploding near her home in the middle of last night. So the thats what thats what the russians are attacking, theyre attacking unarmed civilian targets. Vladimir putin said in a very he had a very tough new years message to his people, but last week he said that he was willing to negotiate. How does one read Vladimir Putin . Is this all bluster . It is bluster. He says that hes willing to negotiate if the ukrainians will cede him the territory that the russians now illegally occupy. So he wants the he wants the ukrainians to give up, to surrender, to give in to his pressure, to take over 20 of the ukrainian territory. So the ukrainians are not interested in that kind of a negotiation. The ukrainians have said they will negotiate once the russians are out of their country. And do you see an end end game anyway . There has to be a diplomatic solution at some point, but ukraine is certainly not going to concede anything right now, theyre winning on the ground and Vladimir Putin doesnt seem to be an honest broker at all in talk about diplomacy. No doubt. No doubt. And exactly as you say, the ukrainians have the momentum. They are pushing the russians out. Theyre not interested in a ceasefire that would freeze the russians in their own country. No. Theyre interested in pushing the russians out and when that happens then youre right, there could be some discussion, some negotiations. There are items to be resolved about return of prisoners of war, return of all of the civilians and the children that have been taken into russia. There are lots a lot of things to be discussed in a negotiation after the russians are out of the country. Ambassador william taylor, thank you so much. Happy new year. Lets hope for a better a better 2023 for ukraine. Hopefully victorious. Thank you. And in our hemisphere one of the most dangerous spies in u. S. History is set to be released from federal prison tomorrow after decades behind bars. Youve probably never heard of her. Anna montez was a superstar cuba analyst for the u. S. Government over at the pentagon. All the while moonlighting as a spy for fidel castro, undetected by her Pentagon Colleagues and even close Family Members who were working for the fbi. Now a new book details just how much damage she caused to national security. The most damaging female spy in american history, anna montez, a top cuba analyst for the u. S. , betrayed her country, secretly working for fidel castro. Her story profiled in the book code name blue wrenn. How did she become such a Security Threat to the United States . She worked for almost 17 years for the defense incompetent yens agency. The entire time she was a recruited spy for havana, probably the greatest cuba ever recruited. Bee fending another american student mimi colon. What was anna montez like. She was fun. Spain was a hot bed of left wing protests. She obtained a top secret clearance, recruited by cuban intelligence, she visited cuba in 1985 after telling mimi colon about her trip montez abruptly ended their friendship. We used to write to each other all the time and her letters suddenly stopped. I was like what happened . Montezs career skyrocketed. By day she memorized a wealth of classified material, by night at home she typed that information into her laptop, saving it on discs for her cuban handlers according to investigators. All this while four of her Family Members were working for the fbi. Including her sister lucy, assigned to a unit targeting cuban spies, but none knew about her double life. In 1996 cuban migs shot down two small planes piloted by cuban ex aisles from miami. Montez reported to work and investigators say took a call, became agitated and left early. A colleague got suspicious and told investigators Scott Carmichael who questioned montez. I developed some concerns that she was Holding Ba Blng on me. It took four years to connect the dots. After the fbi realized there had been a mole visiting the u. S. Naval base at guantanamo bay. I knew she was the spy they were looking for. A shortwave radio, a laptop with messages too and from her handlers, details about a top secret Defense Program and the true identity of a u. S. Spy in cuba who montez had outed. She was arrested after 9 11. She had been an easy target for cuban recruiters. They got to her re right time and that is so sad. After shes released from prison sometime this week she will remain on probation for five years. She has expressed no remorse according to the book writing a letter saying she owes no allegiance to the u. S. , or to cuba or to the castro brothers or even to god. Just a fascinating fascinating spy story. And coming home, Holiday Travel appearing to be back on track finally today after a Southwest Meltdown last week. What travelers need to know before heading home next. This is Andrea Mitchell reports. Youre watching msnbc. Reports youre watching msnbc. So its decided, well park even deeper into Parking Spaces so people think theyre open. Surprise. [ laughs ] [ horn honks, Muffled Talking ] cant hear you, jerry. Sorry. Uh, yeah, can we get a system where when someones bike is in the shop, then we could borrow someone elses . No no or you can get a quote with americas numberone Motorcycle Insurer and maybe save some money while youre at it. All in favor of that. [ horn honking ] theres a lot of buttons and knobs in here. cecily whats up, einstein . einstein favor of that. My network has gone kaput cecily oh, you tried to save a buck on it . einstein i got what i paid for. Not so smart. cecily nah, youre still a genius. But, there is a smarter way to save. einstein oh . cecily switch to verizon for a limited time, get welcome unlimited for just 25 line. einstein 25 . cecily and its guaranteed for 3 years einstein brilliant cecily well, you would know. einstein im switching cecily i think the bikes probably faster. vo now is the best time to switch to verizon. For just 25 a line. Guaranteed for 3 years. The savings that last. On the network you want. Verizon. Joe today marks the final day of a chaotic Holiday Travel season. Southwest flights are largely back on track today, were told, after a major meltdown leaving thousands of passengers stranded at Airport Terminals across the country last week. But the fallout isnt over yet. Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg says he is committed to holding the Airline Accountable for last weeks chaos. Joining us now is nbc news correspondent Blayne Alexander live from the Busiest Airport in the country, hartsfieldjackson in atlanta. So, blayne, Happy New Year to you, its great to see you. Today marking another busy travel day now that the new year has come to a close. Are you seeing an improvement . Reporter andrea, so good to see you, too, the good news, yes, it certainly is a vast improvement. I spent much of the last week in this same spot and what we see today compared to last week, Night And Day difference. So lets start with today. Yes, one of the busiest travel days of the year, kind of the book end, the end of a very busy Holiday Travel season. Air travel over this period is up about 14 this year compared to last holiday season. Certainly when we talk about people coming to airports or going to see crowds but when we look at that mess, that unprecedented Travel Nightmare we saw last week with southwest, experts tell me that even though the airline is back up to its normal schedule today operating as usual, were talking about days of back of cancellations so its going to take some time to really make things up. As it stands right now southwest has about 133 cancellations or so, so thats certainly a big improvement over last week, but there are many people who still need to get rebooked on different flights, who are still trying to make up from what we saw last week. Experts say a lot of southwest flights are going out full, no empty seats because theyre trying to make up from what we saw with those unprecedented cancellations. I would want tips for people going to the airport if theyre watching this maybe on their way to the airport, a couple days to make sure that your travel stays on track. One, if you can at all get this early, thats something we hear across the board, get to the airport as early as you can, dont check will you go annual and if you do put a geotag on your bag so you can see the location of your bag if it goes missing. Finally and this is a good one, andrea, take a picture of the inside of why you are bag if you do have to check it, that way you have it for insurance purposes in case that bag goes missing. Blayne alexander, thank you so much, from atlanta, the Busiest Airport in the country. And fears of a postholiday covid surge are growing. The cdc is warning that a new Omicron Subvariant xbb 1. 5 is driving an estimated 40 of new infections nationwide. The cdc says it is still not clear where this version of the Omicron Variant came from. Beginning thursday travelers from china are going to be required to show proof of a negative covid test to enter the u. S. This as chinese Emergency Rooms are grappling with a wave of new patients and president xi is acknowledging the toll of the virus and lifting restrictions. Joining us now is dr. Ezekiel emanuel. Zeke, its great to see you. Happy new year to you. Happy 2023, incredibly. So lets talk about this new strain. I can barely pronounce it or read it. How effective are our vaccines, the boosters, in preventing serious or severe illness. So xbb 175 its spreading very rapidly which means it can evade and outcompete the other subvariants. It seems to avoid the antibodies but also bind more tightly to cells and that gives it the competitive advantage it needs and unfortunately the antibodies that we have from infection or vaccines dont seem to work and the Monoclonal Antibody shield we have that a lot of immunocompromised patients dont use doesnt seem to be working that well. So it is a great concern and the fact that its spreading at this moment when people have been traveling and, therefore, were going to see another surge Going Forward, we can be pretty confident of that. So is this typical, you know, that the variants keep coming and as infections spread this virus finds new ways to conquer our best efforts . Yes. We do see when the virus spreads to lots more people that you get more variants because the more it reproduces the higher the chance of a mutation or a recombination event and thats actually whats really concerning about china. They will have a lot of deaths, unfortunately, because of the low immunity they have in the population, but also that with hundreds of millions of people getting infected, likely over the next few weeks, theyre going to have a lot more variants and we dont have a good line of sight into those variants and the genome and that is whats worrisome to other countries about the china situation. What measures do you think we should be taking against china . Travel ban . A negative test result . What is an effective way . Travel ban isnt going to and the negative test results are just going to theyre delaying tactics. Theyre trying to get us information. Theyre not going to help. Individually for your viewers, andrea, the best thing they can do at the moment, and i know a lot of them are resistant is masks. N95 really high quality masks. You cant control whats out there in the airports or whats on a train or whats going to be in a shopping mall, but you can protect yourself with these very high quality masks and thats what i recommend. This new variant xbb 1. 5 is very infectious and people should do what they can do. Regarding china i think this is more a moment for collaboration. Weve got to get xi to immune niez the population, to slow things down there and to monitor carefully and share the data on the genome mix with the world instead of constantly deny everything is under control, there arent a lot of cases, because that doesnt seem to be the facts. Is president xi using the chinese vaccine, which is not even considered to be terribly reliable, or is he permitting the use of the more modern versions of the vaccine and the booster . No, you know, theyve had over the last year or so a lot of negotiations about buying foreign, especially moderna vaccines, and they wanted the Intellectual Property that moderna had and moderna refused to share it with them. They keep claiming that theyve got their own mrna vaccines. Thats been the claims for about six months and we havent seen anything. Theyre really hard to make. Its not easy. They have 200 different separate components that have to go into them. He should be buying the moderna and the Pfizer Vaccine and using it, especially for the older population in china, but there doesnt seem to be an indication that hes going to do that. It seems to be national pride, trumping public health, and that is the wrong place to be every time its the ego over the facts. It doesnt work out well. The facts seem to win and in this case the virus is winning. And is are moderna and pfizer working on a new booster perhaps that would be effective against the xbb 1. 5 . Well, i dont know exactly what theyre working on. I have to believe that theyre taking it very seriously, especially if its evading their vaccine and evading prior infections with omicron. The problem is even under the best circumstances its a severalmonth process and its not going to be ready in time probably because, you know, these surges are about eight weeks long and by the time everything gets revved up for production, distribution, you know, it just its not going to be enough time. What we really need is a universal Coronavirus Vaccine and theyre certainly working on these things. Dr. Zeke emanuel, the word of the day is to mask. Thank you very much. Thank you, andrea. Happy new year again. Thanks. Same to you. And lying in state, Tens Of Thousands of mourners paying their tributes to Pope Emeritus Benedict xvi at the vatican. The latest on plans for his funeral coming up next on Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. P next on Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Ghter and her kids moved in with us. Our Bargain Detergent couldnt keep up. Turns out its mostly water. So, we switched back to tide. One wash, stains are gone. [daughter] slurping dont pay for water. Pay for clean. Its got to be tide. People remember ads with a catchy song. So to help you remember that Liberty Mutual customizes your home insurance, heres a little number youll never forget. Customize and save only pay for what you need. Liberty Liberty Liberty liberty pain hits fast. So get relief fast. Only Tylenol Rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. They release Medicine Fast for fast pain relief. And now get relief without a pill with tylenol dissolve packs. Relief without the water. Preparations are under way for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict xvi. The vatican expects 30,000 mourners a day to pay their respects at st. Peters basilica, where the retired pope is lying in state ahead of his funeral on thursday. Joining me now from rome is nbc news Foreign Correspondent moll molly hunt ere. Tell me about the funeral preparations for this former pope, retired pope. Weve never seen this, going Back Hundreds and hundreds of years. Reporter right. To have a current pope, andrea, preside over a funeral of a retired pope is something we havent seen in 600 years. Were coming on the air, and im looking behind me as the final visitors of day one go into st. Peters basilica to pay their respects, to say their final goodbyes to the body of Pope Benedict xvi. Hell be lying in state until 7 00 p. M. In 2005, people were able to go in and say goodbyes 24 hours a day. There was that much demand to say goodbye to Pope John Paul ii. You said 30,000. We got new numbers from the holy see press office. 2 00 p. M. Local, about five hour ago, theyd seen already how,000 40,000 people going in. Theyd estimated 30,000 every day until the funeral. Its been interesting. Weve been talking to people in like about why they showed up, about his legacy and, of course, the fact he was a strict conservative, intellectual, theologian is mentioned constantly. What we got from almost everyone up at the front of the line this morning was the deeply personal connections they felt. People talked about needing him. We asked one young man why he showed up. He said, this is what sons do when their father dies. Andrea, the funeral will be thursday, 9 30 a. M. We will see pope francis preside over that. Expectation for crowds, this fits 100,000. Roman officials are saying 70,000 to 80,000. Well have to see. Molly hunter, thank you so much. Growing tributes to Barbara Walters today. Her Career Beginning on nbc in 1961, where she blazed a trail for generations of Women Journalists, including myself. Of course, breaking down doors closed to women as the first female reporter and producer on the today show. Eventually becoming the shows first woman cohost. In 1974, barbara jumped to abc as the first woman coanchor of the evening news. Despite hostility and enduring hostility from her coanchor, for more five decades, barbara hosted annual oscar specials, scored incredible exclusives. 20 years ago, she created and appeared on the daytime womens talk show the view. Nbcs Stephanie Gosk has a look back on Barbara Walters groundbreaking life and legacy. Reporter trailblazing, pioneering, legendary. Those are just some of the words being used to describe Barbara Walters, who spent half a century Breaking News and breaking barriers in media. Im Barbara Walters in the nbc news center. Reporter walters began her iconic career at today in 1961. First as the shows only female writer and producer. There had been the feeling of women couldnt do the news. Nobody would take them seriously. Reporter in 1974, she was promoted to coage torre. The first woman in the shows history to hold that job. I went to china for the today show. I did interviews with president ial candidates. I went to the conventions. So, little by little, people could see, here is a woman doing the same thing the men are doing. And its okay. Reporter two years walters breaking another barrier, when abc made her the first woman to anchor an evening anchor with an unprecedented contract. Nobody thought it was possible. Reporter walters coanchored 20 20 for 25 years. Famous Barbara Walters specials. She later created and stars in the view. I always wanted to do a show with women who have very different views. Reporter leaving the program in 2014 after 17 years. We all proudly stand on your shoulders, Barbara Walters. Reporter at the time, more than two dozen Women Journalists honored walters for paving the way. This is my legacy. These are my legacy. I thank you, all of you. Reporter over the weekend, savannah writing, thank you, barbara. You showed the way. You made it possible for the rest of us. Hoda noting, she was the first. She blazed the trail. She kicked the door so we could walk through. A fact that Barbara Walters was proud of. Every woman on the today show is now a cohost. Thats my legacy. Perhaps barbaras most Famous Exclusive was not Richard Nixon acknowledging to her he should have burned the tapes, or fidel castro taking her on a boat ride across the bay of pigs, but her intimate conversation with monica lewinsky. An interview every network had been chasing more than a year. Abc producers tell how after securing the commitment to sit down with her, barbara spent months researching the lewinsky scandal, Writing Hundreds of questions, changing the order on the notecards, assembly them on notecards, and then the preparation she did for big interviews. That kind of preparation was barbaras trademark. Relentless pursuit of big gets, intensive homework, and always her focused listening. Her ability to throw out her notes and pursue a whole new line of inquiry after a revealing answer. Less known is what a great friend she was, especially to women peers, to younger women trying to break into the business. Certainly, that was true in my case. Her legacy will never be equalled. Thank you, barbara. And coming up in our next hour, the latest on the charges after the Stabbing Attack on nypd officers on new years eve, not far from times square. In the middle of the new years eve festivities. Well be right back with new details after this quick break. She had a lot of questions when she came in. I watched my mother go through being a single mom. At the end of the day, my mom raised three children, including myself. And so once the client knew that she was heard. We were able to help her move forward. Your client wont care how much you know until they know how much you care. [ ] if you have diabetes,e how much you know its important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. Try boost glucose control®. 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This is how we work now just look around. This digital age were living in, its pretty unbelievable. Problem is, not everyones fully living in it. Nobody should have to take a class or fill out a medical form on public wifi with a screen the size of your hand. Home internet shouldnt be a luxury. More people can. Have ita lot so lets go. The digital age is waiting. Thanks for staying with us. Welcome back. Here are the top stories we are following this hour. The fbi and nypd are learning new details about the suspect linked to the terrifying new years eve Machete Attack against Police Officers near time square. Including apparent support for Terrorist Groups and extremist believes. Also, a live report from idaho as the suspect arrested in connection to the gruesome murders of four College Students is expected to waive extradition in a hearing in coming days after being apprehended by pennsylvania police. And ill speak to a top adviser to the last two Republican House speakers, as Kevin Mccarthy tries to lock in the final votes that he needs to become the next speaker during tomorrows key vote for speaker. During these hours, in fact. We begin with breaking we begin with Breaking News out of new york city, where authorities have just brought charges against the suspect behind the attack that left three nypd officers injured during time squares new years eve celebration saturday night. The Police Commissioner revealing 19yearold Trevor Bickford has been charged with two counts of Attempted Murder and two counts of attempted assault. Police say the suspect struck two officers in the head just outside the designated high Security Zone in Midtown Manhattan around 10 00 p. M. One of those officers had just graduated from the Police Academy the day before. The suspect was shot in the shoulder before being taken into custody. Joining us with the latest is nbc news correspondent kathy park. This was just incredible. This is the kind of alleged Terror Attack they have feared for years on new years eve. Nothing like this has ever happened before. What can you tell us . Reporter andrea, good afternoon. Yeah, it is pretty extraordinary. Obviously, the investigation is still kind of in the early stages. As you mentioned, the Breaking News, Trevor Bickford, the 19yearold suspect in the Machete Attack, has been formally charged with two counts of Attempted Murder and two counts of attempted assault. As you mentioned, this happened during a time when the streets of new york city, especially here in times square, were packed. There were Tens Of Thousands of people when this all unfolded. In the last 24 hours, we learned a little bit more about this suspect. We know that he is from wells, maine. He was actually known to Law Enforcement. In fact, a relative of his alerted authorities couple weeks ago, so he was on their radar for several weeks now. Meanwhile, he also shared projihadist views while he was on his hospital bed. Officials were also able to get ahold of personal items of his, including a backpack. In the backpack was terrorist propaganda and some cash and a pocketknife. They also found a diary of his. In that diary, he talked about being prepared to die in this attack. Even talked about where he wanted to be buried and who he wanted his belongings to go to. Still, a lot of questions about this individual. It is unclear what motivated him to do this. Officials are saying that he acted alone. Right now, there is no longer a threat, andrea. Kathy, didnt they have prior contact with him . His mother had expressed some concerns. Reporter yeah. You know, a relative, apparently, reached out to Law Enforcement, federal authorities a couple weeks ago, and he was interviewed. So he was in a federal database. He was certainly on their radar, but, andrea, we should point out that he didnt have a criminal history. He was never arrested. But they have been tracking his social media postings. A lot of digging they need to do to figure out what motivated him to do this and whether he came here to new york city to target these officers. We do know he traveled here and to the area on thursday via amtrak. Kathy park in new york city, thank you. For the first time, we are hearing from the family of the suspect that police say is behind the murder of four students from the university of idaho. The family of 28yearold Bryan Kohberger says that they are working with authorities to, quote, promote his presumption of innocence. Kohberger was taken into custody on friday. The probable cause affidavit is still sealed. He will face four counts of first degree murder and burglary. Joining me now is correspondent dana griffin. Also with us is charles coleman, A Civil Rights Attorney and former prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst. Dana, first to you. Tell us the latest on the investigation. How much closer are the police to figuring out a motive for this horror . Reporter well, andrea, if they have a motive, they are not telling us, at least not yet. Tomorrow is the Extradition Hearing in monroe county, pennsylvania. We know that investigators have to establish a probable cause, so were hoping to learn some new details. But how much is unclear. Weve heard from his public defender that kohberger plans to waive his extradition so he can get back to idaho as quickly as possible, possibly as early as tuesday night. Weve tried to confirm with police how soon they could get him here. Theyre not releasing that information. Andrea. Thanks very much. Charles, as we mentioned, the probable cause affidavit is still sealed. What are you going to be looking for when we eventually see it . When that affidavit is eventually unsealed, andrea, it is going to contain enough details so the public will understand how it is investigators were led to the arrest of this individual. It is going to give us enough information around the investigation, although not all the information. Basically, enough to establish that more likely than not, a crime was committed, and the individual who is being arrested is responsible for that actual crime. So there will be some details that have emerged. Some of them we may have heard before around the presence of his vehicle in this vicinity of where the crime took place and other details that have come out through investigative reporting in the press, but i think there will be some more meat thats put on the bones around how Law Enforcement and police were actually led to identify this individual as the person responsible. Charles, when we think about this, it took so long to track him down, across the country. They knew the car. That car had been, you know, one of the things that was suspected from the beginning because it was there, Something Like 3 00 or 4 00 in the morning, seen in the area outside of their residence. Is there any explanation as to how they finally located him and how they came up with the evidence to find him in pennsylvania . The thing that we are learning is that a lot of what has happened has been through the course of a network of tips, as well as investigative tools employed by Law Enforcement at the state and federal level. And so it is sort of a tapestry of different pieces of information that have been put together to allow Law Enforcement to identify who this individual was. They knew he was going to pennsylvania, and so thats how they were able to essentially track him and locate where he would be and make the arrest. Once the affidavit of probable cause isunsealed, itll come out. Because it is an ongoing investigation, i imagine the details, specifically around how Law Enforcement was led directly to him will somewhat remain an enigma to the public. It is something Law Enforcement doesnt do with an active and ongoing investigation. And, dana, what do we know about his activities that night . Reporter so, andrea, weve heard from people who have had interactions with him, including a Brewery Owner back in pennsylvania, who says that he even had to include notes in his bar system so when kohberger scanned his id, it would alert the staff to keep an eye on him. The bar owner says that he made very creepy and uncomfortable comments toward some of the women, not only the staff but the customers there. He says even after a few drinks, he got a little too familiar. Andrea. Dana griffin and charles coleman, thank you, both, so much. Fascinating case. A horror, of course, for the families of those poor victims on that campus. And the floor fight. Will Kevin Mccarthy have to scramble for votes to become the next House Speaker . He already is. Can he lock up the support he needs before tomorrows vote or during the vote . Well have a lot to watch tomorrow. Thats coming up next. Youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports. This is msnbc. Hi, im katie, ive lost 110 pounds on golo in just over a year. Golo is different than other programs i had been on because i was specifically looking for something that helped with insulin resistance. I had had conversations with my physician indicating that that was probably an issue that i was facing and making it more difficult for me to sustain weight loss. Golo has been more sustainable. I can fit it into family life, i can make meals that the whole family will enjoy. It just works in everyday life as a mom. House republican leader Kevin Mccarthy is Running Out Of Time in his effort to win over hard line conservatives not willing to waiver in their opposition to his bid to be speaker of the house. That sets up a dramafilled first day for the new congress tomorrow. Brandon duck ser buck served as adviser to paul ryan. He has a piece in the New York Times, a failed speaker call for Kevin Mccarthy would be a historic event. I want to read an interpret from your Opinion Piece that you write about what could play out tomorrow. You say, you write, in the event of a stalemate, mr. Mccarthy could face an important strategic question, keep members on the floor voting while he seeks to cut a deal, or invite an even more unpredictable closeddoor meeting of his conference. He may find that the best way out is through, by continuing to vote in a test of wills with people who are defying the choice of their conference. So, do you think thats the strategy hed employ if it becomes stalemated . I do think it is the choice hes going to go with. Look, i think the most important thing to appreciate right now is we would be walking into a situation that no one in the house has ever seen before. The last time we failed on the first vote for a speaker was 100 years ago. Its only happened once since the civil war. The options procedurally are not very many. This is the first thing the house does when it comes in. It cannot do anything else until the speaker question is resolved. The next order of business could simply be to vote again and vote again. The option is, of course, to take a break. They could adjourn, go into a conference meeting. If im Kevin Mccarthy, i dont know what im walking into at that point. These people, at that point, have done what they said they were going to do. They backed up their vote. I think he just needs Peer Pressured. There is a lot of pressure on the floor. When youre voting live, it might be best to keep them there and build up the pressure in real time. But theres no guarantee that is going to work. I cant tell you with any confidence right now who the next speaker of the house is going to be. It is so extraordinary. There are, you know, additional republican members who said that theyre not dead set against him, but they want more from him. So is he going to have to concede so much that hes handcuffing himself Going Forward . There are a lot of demands some members have made. Some members, frankly, dont even care. They just dont like Kevin Mccarthy. Gates and goodman have personal vendettas. I dont know theyre in play. Others are asking for changes in the rules, how the house operates. How many amendments can they make and order . Will there be representation on certain committees . The motion to vacate is a way to kick the speaker out. What they are asking for is to go to a way where just a Single Member at any time could trigger a vote to remove the speaker. This is something that hung over the head of john boehner, over the head of paul ryan. Nancy pelosi changed the rule where it is harder to use. These members want to go back. They think it provides them strength. They say they hope to hold the speaker accountable. They say, do what we want, or youll be kicked out. Its a terrible way to live as a leader. This exercise is about weakening the speaker. These members believe that they are stronger if the speaker is weaker. I dont think that that is actually true. I think it just hurts the conference in general. It hurts the house. It makes him have a harder job in negotiating with democrats. But they seem to believe that weakening the speaker, whether Kevin Mccarthy or the next person, is more important. They seem to be successful so far. You know, i covered the ouster of speaker jim wright. Of course, a democrat from texas. But it was the caucus rejected him. It was not a case where there were so many different factions within the Democratic Party at the time. Yeah. Its important to remember, this is a really small number of people who are objecting to him. You have five people who are publicly against him. There are rumblings there may be as many as a dozen. But he is the overwhelming choice of the conference. The problem is, these people just dont care. Theyre the type of people who have never really concerned themselves with whether they are ruining other peoples plans. So it makes it really tough to negotiate with people who, frankly, arent acting in good faith. Its hard to nail them down on certain things. He has been making concessions. He put out a Rules Package that would lower the threshold, not as far as they wanted, but lower on the motion to vacate. Doesnt seem to have gotten him anything because they dont want to come to the table. Their goal is to go to the floor and defeat him and then negotiate. We may be entering, again, an unprecedented in modern times situation on the floor. Are you surprised that there hasnt been more public support from donald trump after mccarthy spent years pledging his loyalty to trump, including that embarrassing visit to maralago just days after the insurrection hed criticized . He made clear he supported mccarthy. Its been reported that he has been making phone calls. Maybe more surprising that hasnt gotten the job done. Kevin mccarthy was almost speaker seven years ago. Mccarthy stepped down right before he was about to succeed john boehner. Thats how paul ryan ended up becoming speaker. I think everything he has done in those seven years has been to avoid this situation. He has made inroads with the Freedom Caucus. Made jim jordan the Freedom Caucus leader, one of his closest allies. He, of course, has gotten very close to donald trump. Rehabilitated donald trump. I think all of these things were in an effort to be able to, when the moment came, to tell these people, you can trust me. Im a conservative. Im on your side. Im with the team. Its really probably frustrating for him to get to this moment and have all those things that he did, all that stuff he took a lot of grief for from a lot of people, having it not pay off. He may still get there. I cant tell you who is going to be speaker at this point, but the fact that we are a day away and its not wrapped up has got to be extremely frustrating. Do you see a consensus candidate, perhaps Steve Scalise, the whip, emerging . I see it being very difficult for anybody to really emerge, if you will, until or unless Kevin Mccarthy throws in the towel. I think if Steve Scalise were to say after a failed vote, declare he was challenging him, thatd cause all kinds of turmoil. Lets remember, if it is not Kevin Mccarthy, and it still may be, but if its not, that person also needs 218 votes. If this person is seen as being part of taking Kevin Mccarthy out, youre probably going to have a lot of upset members on the other end. Is Kevin Mccarthy going to vote for Steve Scalise if scalise tries to take him out . You may have to see votes before anybody can emerge. Hes the number two if it is not Kevin Mccarthy. Hell be at the top of the list. I would be really patient on any credible candidate really emerging until Kevin Mccarthy comes to some conclusion that its not going to turn out for him. Again, im not predicting that thats whats going to happen, but i think we could be could have a long process ahead of us. Of course, youve witnessed the experience that Speakers Boehner and ryan had with fighting the tea party and the Freedom Caucus. But as youve been pointing out, this is even a more disparate group of rebels, if you will, who all have different interests. Thats right. It makes it really hard to negotiate with them. Because there is not one clear thing theyre all asking for. A lot of them, again, want some type of accommodation on the motion to vacate or other Rules Packages. Bob good from virginia, for example, apparently feels slighted that Kevin Mccarthy tried to prevent him from taking out one of their incumbents. Bob good defeated a standing republican. As the republican leader, Kevin Mccarthy tried to stop them. When good was successful, he didnt care for that and held a grudge for a few years. Matt gates apparently has a grudge about the Comments Mccarthy made privately that were leaked after january 6th. They all have their own things, and some may never come around. There are a few that are really asking for some rules changes. If theyre just asking for something, there potentially may be a way to get there. It does feel like a lot of these things are going to have to be given into to get there. It probably has to be the motion to vacate in the old way. Otherwise, theres probably not much of a path. That may have been the reality all along, and we had to get there. The vote is not now. The vote is not for another day. There is still time to avoid a messy floor fight. Frankly, you know, you probably dont want to come to an agreement earlier than right now. People arent going to show their cards until the last minute. Theres still hope for him, but there needs to be more accommodations made before now is and then. Just now, off the floor, he was expressing some confidence to reporters. Let me read you the transcript. We can show you pictures because they just encountered him walking through the halls there. He was asked, do you have the votes locked in . He replied, and take away all the excitement . Joking. So do you have the votes locked in was the next question. I think we will have a good day tomorrow, he said. Leader mccarthy, are you prepared to make more concessions in exchange for votes, was the question. He sighed and said, hope you all have had a very nice new years. So kind of walking through the halls and giving an air of confidence at least, brendan. Yeah, he needs to project optimism. He is the overwhelming choice of that conference. What hes going to need to be relying on is Peer Pressure from his colleagues. Theres a lot of people very conservative who are backing Kevin Mccarthy. He has to hope that Peer Pressure can build on them. But there is no real way to know. When you get to the floor, thats when pressure builds. Its one thing to say youre going to vote against the leader of your own party. Its another thing to do it on the floor, stand up and say someone elses name. I think he is going to be hoping that that pressure puts enough people back in his corner. I think its clear from there, this is still a work in progress. Brendan buck, the chaos in the Republican Caucus tomorrow. Please be back with us tomorrow. We need the play by play. All your great insights, thank you. Ill be here, thanks. And the Capitol Police chief who led the january 6th Insurrection Forester is revealing what happened in his book. Excerpts reported by the washington post. He was echoing similar things that we heard in the last two years. He was never warned by the fbi, department of Homeland Security or his own unit that protesters could descend on the capitol. Not a failure of intelligence but communications. The author of the story joins us now. Carol, thank you so much. Walk us through the highlights in this book, including the anger as he wasnt getting the reinforcements he needed as shots were being fired at the capitol. Thats right, andrea. You zone in on the most newsworthy part. Steven sun, who ran the Capitol Police and one in the command center january 6th, watching his Department Esshl essentially be beat senseless was begging generals in the army to send National Guard reinforcement. Hed gotten the reaction that he found shocking, almost sort of to the point that his blood was running cold. The reaction he got from Lieutenant General piatt was, he did not like the optics of the National Guard coming that day. Keep inmind, andrea, this was a call made, a Conference Call between the Mayors Office in d. C. , the pentagon, and the chief of the Capitol Police and the chief of the metropolitan police department, 20 minutes after rioters had broken inside the capitol. The Lieutenant General charles flynn, brother of michael flynn, also said it would not be his Military Advice to send these National Guards folks to the capitol without a clear plan for how they would be used. This was, again, stunning to steve sund and stunning to others on the call. One of the things i found the most striking in this new book, you know, i had written a lot about january 6th, and specifically interviewed steve sund for this account in the past. But one thing i learned that was brandnew was that while he was begging the National Guard to come and save his officers lives on the capitol grounds, the military had beefed up security, he says he learned, for various senior Military Brass personal homes. Now, those homes werent under attack in the d. C. Area, but that is where some of the security went, to sort of pardon the line around top brass individual homes. Now, sund was also controversial among some of the witnesses who testified. I think the year before last, actually, to that Senate Committee led by Senators Klobuchar and blunt. He says he regrets resigning the day after the riot, after Speaker Pelosi called for him to step down. Can you expand on his thinking about that now . You know, he the book relays this in great detail, and ill be concise. He learns from one of his Staff Members that Speaker Pelosis other staff member has relayed she will call for his resignation in a few moments in a News Conference thats about to happen. Chief sund at that time is flag flabbergasted. Hes still in recovery mode the day after, making sure injured officers are being treated, filing an afteraction report. Now he is learning, basically, there is almost no chance he is not going to be asked to resign. He wonders, will he survive such a request . He decides, in a great deal of, i think, feeling of responsibility for whats happened, that he is going to step down and offer his resignation rather than fight it. But, unfortunately, at that moment, what he doesnt know is how little has been shared with him. All of the things that came into his intelligence unit, all of the chatter of domestic extremists planning exactly this attack, andrea, and how much of it was known weeks before january 6th by the fbi, by the department of Homeland Security, and, yet, none of it was flagged to his attention. That includes intel that individual Extremist Organizations were sharing maps of the underground tunnels at the capitol and proposing ways to seize those tunnels. Number two, that they were planning and urging each other to come armed and to be quote, unquote, prepared to drawdown on cops. Then, finally, that they were proposing harming and targeting individual leaders, such as Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority leader mcconnell. None of this was relayed to him or the senior people in his department that could have done something about it. So he felt sort of a little bit depressed about having resigned when he didnt know how much he didnt know. Wow. Everyone has their own versions of the reality here, and its going to take, i think, time and more work by great reporters like yourself to really put all the puzzle together. Carol leonnig, thank you very much. Thank you. And a maga reinvention. How congresswoman elise stefanik, once considered a rising star of the Republican Partys moderate wing, became one of former President Trumps biggest champions on the hill. This is Andrea Mitchell reports only on msnbc. Tide pods childguard pack helps keep your laundry pacs in a safe place and your child safer. To close, twist until it clicks. Tide pods childguard packaging. 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Love that for me essentials . Check ooh, we have enough to splurge on catnip toys we did it, i feel so accomplished. Pet me, please okay thats enough. Now back to me time. Luv you great prices. Happy pets. Chewy. As republicans prepare to take control of the house tomorrow, there is new focus on a new generation of republicans who have gained support by supporting the policies of former President Trump. Including new york republican congresswoman elise stefanik, who as the New York Times reports, has undergone a massive transformation since her election to the house in 2014. She once called former President Trump a whack job in a message obtained by the New York Times. Now, quote, with breathtaking speed, says the times, she remade herself into a fervent trump apologist, adopted his style on twitter and embraced the Conspiracy Theories that animate his base. Joining me now is New York Times political and Investigative Reporter, nick nick, who wrote this piece on stefanik. She did a complete makeover. Went to harvard. She was a moderate from upstate new york. You write she crafted her brand as a model moderate millennial, but now, quote, she speaks Maga Fluently with a touch of a foreign accent. Why did she abandon her old political ideas . Is this opportunism . This is about the price of power, andrea. What people are willing to do in order to rise and stay on the course they set for themselves. At one point in her life, she was embraced by the bush and paul ryan part of the party. They groomed her as a future leader. She liked it, and they respected her. She wanted her brand to be a problem solver, a moderate, a bipartisan. Then she found in the trump years that that simply had no value in washington. She was squeezed between the right and the left, that her friends wanted her to take a tougher line on trump and fox. Plus, she is a squish. As we all saw in the impeachment hearings, she very deliberately made a big turn and found if she supported trump completely, if she adopted his language, his causes, his twitter style, she could raise a ton of money without being a Committee Chair and ensconce herself in leadership in the house, which she has done. The question now, i think, is what do you do with that power once you have it . What good is it if you become part of a party that cant kind of govern itself or the country . She ended up, of course, rising in the leadership rankings, replacing liz cheney, in fact, as conference chair. Thats right. Two previous leadership elections, stefanik stood up and nominated liz cheney, said she was great in the job. What liz cheney did in 2020 2021 in voting for the second impeachment of donald trump, in saying that party should pull back from him, she embarrassed a great many republicans who wanted to just avoid the questions. Stop talking about it and move on. Not be embarrassed by their own unwillingness to stand up to trumps election lies, the big lie. She got that job with trumps blessing by saying, look, we can all move on. Im not going to embarrass you. Im not going to hold your feet to the fire. Im going to keep the fire on democrats. Of course, she promised to be a trump person. That has carried her pretty far. Talk to me about a friend of hers who ended up working on the Pete Buttigieg president ial campaign. I thought it was a real chameleon nature and the ability to look at any avenue for advancement. In the middle of the first Impeachment Battle In It Fall of 2019, as you recall, she was taking on an active role. She was defending the president in public. She was going headtohead with adam schiff on the hill. She was actually talking to a friend working on the Buttigieg Campaign to see if mayor pete might consider her for a cabinet job if he defied the odds and won the presidency. The friend she was talking to was so incredulous, they couldnt believe she was saying it, and maybe she didnt understand at the time how add it might have been. In her mind, it was a normal thing. She and mayor pete were friends from college. I think it kind of goes to a Bigger Picture with elise stefanik. Theres a kind of guilelessness about the choices shes made, an unwillingness, in my experience, to recognize and say, look, i have changed. Shes always said, i havent changed. Im the same person ive always been. Maybe it is true. If your main Guiding Light has always been selfadvancement, to figure out what to say, what to embrace, then maybe there is no change. Nick, it is a fascinating political profile in not courage. Thank you. Thank you very much. Programming note, incoming House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries will join the beat tonight before being sworn in tomorrow as democratic leader. That is tonight at 6 00 eastern here on msnbc. A new year bombardment. The new round of strikes in ukraine as citizens try to celebrate the new year. Were live from kyiv with the latest. Youre watching Andrea Mitchell reports on msnbc. Youve done the hard part. You quit smoking. Now do the easy part and get scanned for lung cancer. If you smoked, you may still be at risk, but Early Detection could save your life. Talk to your doctor and learn more at savedbythescan. Org a bunch of dead guys made up work, way back when. Its our turn now well make it up again. Well build freelance teams with more agility. The old way of working is deader than me. Well scale up, and well scale down before youre six feet underground. Yes, this is how, this is how we work now. vo if you have Thyroid Eye Disease and things are a no go because you keep seeing double, before youre six feet underground. Or. Your bloodshot eyes have you seeing red, it might be time to discover another treatment option for Thyroid Eye Disease, also known as ted. To learn more, visit treatted. 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Hahaha which means your smart home isnt so smart. Sprinkler on. And now im sending mixed signals to your garage. And, if you havent bundled your home and auto coverage, trying to unpack this isnt going to be too much fun. Hey, check the router so, get allstate and be better protected from mayhem while saving up to 25 when you bundle home and auto. Ukraine rang in the new year under Russian Missile attacks, fierce attacks and drone strikes. Overnight, kyiv came under attack from iranianmade drones that damaged the capital citys infrastructure. According to kyivs mayor. This as ukraine killed 63 russian servicemen using u. S. Supplied warheads in the occupied part of the country. According to russias defense ministry, that is. Ukraine has not taken responsibility for that attack. Joining me now is nbcs matt bradley in kyiv. Former u. S. Ambassador to nay torre, nato, president on the council of foreign affairs. Happy new year to both of you. As weve been reporting today, not a Happy New Year in kyiv, matt, where you are. Attacks, te the Holiday Weekend was spent by people there. Reporter its not a happy Holiday Weekend, but people were still celebrating. We saw it everywhere in the city. There were videos of people shouting, Glory To Ukraine as the airraid sirens were going off and as the bombs and drones were falling. You know, i spoke with the spokesperson for the air force here in ukraine. He told me he actually credited the american and german antiair systems for swatting down a lot of these drones in the past couple of days. Andrea, it is important that we note here, this has been going on for months, since the full, fall, targeting the infrastructure. One of the reasons this city has been cloaked in darkness with rolling blackouts. With all of these attacks, even when you shoot down one of these drones or one of these missiles, that saves a lot of lives. But its still very dangerous because the falling debris. Weve seen it around the city, wrecking houses, destroying hitting childrens playgrounds, things like that. It is not out of danger once the drones and once the missiles are struck down by antiair systems. Andrea. What do we know, matt, about the attack where the russian servicemen were reportedly killed, according to the russian officials . Reporter well, according to ukrainian officials, they said it was 400 soldiers killed. The russians said it was much, much lower than that, dozens who were killed. But the point is, something that seems like a minor distinction but is an important one, these were newly mobilized soldiers. This is important because Vladimir Putin has mobilized what he said back in september, about 300,000 new recruits. Those forces he already mentioned about half of them are already on the front lines in places that have seen a fierce battle. Its one of the longest enduring battles, and the russians and ukrainians are pouring tons of material into this battle. Putin might believe the newly mobilized troops could turn the war in russias favor. When you talk to ukrainians here, they dont necessarily think that. They think Vladimir Putin and the russians are just throwing kind of more guys at the problem. The real issue with the Russian Military is lack of ability to fight, lack of morale, and lack of strong equipment that could actually take on all of this u. S. And westernprovided gear thats been flowing across the Ukrainian Border since the beginning of the war. Andrea. Ambassador, we saw these Weekend Attacks against kyiv. One of those drones actually said, you know, Happy New Year on it, in a really offensive message to the people of kyiv. Is there any kind of diplomatic end game here when the hostilities are so violent . Its really hard to see how youre going to turn to diplomacy after the kinds of things that we have been seeing over the last, not only the last few days and weeks, but really the last few months, from the beginning of this war. The brutality with which the russians have executed this war whenever theyve occupied territories. Theyve killed, murdered and raped untold civilians. The attacks weve seen since the beginning of october of the large Missile Volleys against civilian infrastructure, against the way wars are supposed to be fought, in violation of International Rules and laws of war, make it very hard for the ukrainians to start engaging in the kind of negotiations that one needs. At the same time, theres no indication that Vladimir Putin is at all interested in negotiations. So i think what we are going to see is just more of what we have been seeing to date. The one thing i think is important to underscore is that youre not going to get the ukrainians to come to the table by terrorizing them in this way. We know from the history of Strategic Bombing campaigns, whether its world war ii or other places, that bombing in this way only strengthens the determination of the ukrainians to fight and ultimately to win. I think when matt talks about people singing and being out in the streets, even as these attacks were happening, it shows the determination of the people of ukraine to not only persevere but ultimately make sure their country is whole, free, independent and no Russian Troops are on their territory. Its just extraordinary. The leadership of zelenskyy, as well, is so critical to all of that. Staying in the country and leading the Morale Building in his daily messages. Matt bradley, ambassador, thank you, both, so much. Our thoughts this afternoon are indeed with tennis great navratilova, diagnosed with throat and Breast Cancer. She noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck in november. A biopsy revealing cancer. Doctors discovered the Breast Cancer in tests, which was a recurrence. She is a Breast Cancer survivor. She says the doublewhammy is serious but fixable. She will fight with all shes got. And we know martina is a fighter, and she has proved over decades she knows how to win. Wishing her the very best. Breaking barriers. Supreme court justice. A house party leader. And the mayor of los angeles. Up next, our own trymaine lee has a look at people of color who made history in 2022, and what to expect from them in the year to come. This is Andrea Mitchell reports. Youre watching msnbc. In 2022, some people made headlines while others made history. And a series of firsts. Nbcs trymaine lee has a look back at people of color who broke all barriers in 2022. The group of barrier breakers, politicians, political upstates, not only making history, but making change. Rafael warnock began 2023 as the first black person ever elected to the senate of georgia. The people have spoken [ cheering ]. House democrats ring in the new year with new leadership. Representative Hakeem Jeffries elected to lead House Democrats in the 118th congress in january. Replacing nancy pelosi. Standing on the shoulder of people like Shirley Chisholm and so many others. The first African American to lead a Political Party in either the house or senate. More firsts in 2023, as the demographics on capitol hill continue to evolve. There will be a Record Number of hispanic and latino members. 21 Asian American and pacific islanders. More women. More openly lbgtq members and congress is getting younger. 25yearold maxwell frost, a democrat from florida, with afro cuban roots is the first genz member of congress. Diversity in congress is about skin color, its about experience, its about where you come from, it is about the way you act, who you are. Joining summer league, a pennsylvania democrat. She is the first black woman sent to congress from her state. Democrat mary peltola was the first indigenous person elected to a seat in congress. One of five. Another democrat, Robert Garcia from california was the first lbgtq immigrant ever elected to congress. And increasingly diverse Republican Caucus is heading to washington as well. We need black excellence everywhere. After winning a newlyredrawn district, wesley hunt will be one of four black republican member was 118th congress, the most since 1887. Among 177 black republicans who ran in 2022. And first for historic maryland, Army Combat Vet wes moore will be sporn in and not only the states first black governor but the third black governor in u. S. History. The nations firstever south asian lieutenant governor. Rounding out the ticket. Voters flexed on the local level. In los angeles, the democrat karen bass will be the next mayor. It took 241 years for the nations second largest city to elect a female mayor. I am truly grateful. I have a seat at the table now. The Supreme Court kicked off a new term in 2022 with a historymaking new associate justice, Ketanji Brown jackson. The first black woman appointed to the big bench. 2022 showed us the power of representation, as a way of moving forward. Like arianna devos, the first latiana for the acting oscar for west side story and the first openly queer woman of color to have the award. Anna may wong, the first Asian American to be featured on u. S. Currency. Part of this world. And rising above it all, one of new hollywoods youngest shining stars, hallie bailey, starring in the live action remake of Little Mermaid due in theaters in may. But not everyone was excited. Forbes reporting the trailer has 1. 5 million dislikes, and racist comments from angry, quote, unquote, fans. Drowning out the backlash, pure joy. Shes black. From pushing the social and political barriers, to the most coveted barriers, 2022 was a year that introduced us to those causing the power to change tomorrow. Our thanks to nbcs trymaine lee for that wonderful collection of historic firsts. That does it for the First Edition of Andrea Mitchell reports and follow the show online at facebook and on twitter mitchell reports, and back with another expanded edition of Andrea Mitchell reports tomorrow, Lindsey Reiser picks up the coverage after this. Reiser picks up the coverage after this get allday and al t heartburn acid prevention with just one pill a day. Choose acid prevention. Choose nexium. The first time you made a sale online was also the first time you heard of a town named. Dinosaur . We just got an order from a dinosaur, colorado. Start an easy to build, powerful website for free with a partner that always puts you first. Godaddy. Tools and support for every Small Business first. Go dy. Youve done the hard part. 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