♪♪ good morning. welcome to "morning joe." it is wednesday, december 1st. we've got lots of questions this morning and the very right people to answer them. is the new strain of covid already inside the united states? we'll talk to the u.s. surgeon general about that. what is new york city's plan to fight back against the virus? the outgoing mayor joins the conversation. is donald trump's former chief of staff ready to flip? we'll talk to the chair of the intel committee who is investigating the insurrection. and can congress find common ground on anything? we are joined by two u.s. senators, one democrat, one republican, who are taking a stab at it. with us, former aide of the george w. bush white house and state departments, elise jordan. the host of "way too early" and