To prioritize cybersecurity across the board. Ill consult with experts to plan for the steps that my administration will take in order to secure our systems, improve our cyber defenses, and to better withstand future attacks that we know will come and to impose costs on those who conduct them. I fully expect bipartisan support from this based on what weve heard so far. Our adversaries are highly capable. Cyber threats are among the greatest threats to our Global Security in the 21st century. I believe we have to treat them with the same seriousness and purpose that we treated threats of other unconventional weapons. We have to work with our allies to establish Clear International rules and mechanisms, enforce them, and consequences for those countries that violate them. I want to close with this. As i look at the first of what will be millions of vaccinations going into the arms of americans, after hundreds, thousands, of lives lost, Congress Finally passing an Economic Relief package after months and months of delay, and a new urgency for bipartisan approach to cybersecurity, after years of a president who refused to stand up to our adversaries and hold them accountable. Im reminded of a quote this season from a jesuit priest. He wrote, advent is a time for rousing. Delt believed first were shaken to our depths then were ready for a season of hope. As a nation, weve certainly been shaken to our depths this year. Now its time to awaken, to get moving. Time for hope. Weve gotten through tough times before in this nation. Well get through these difficult times as well. Well do it by coming together, by working with one another, by being you heard me say many times when we are at our best, the United States of america. There are certain things that rise way above partisan differences that threaten the United States. There are National Security interests that require us to cooperate, and im confident, im confident, well be able to do that. After a year of pain and loss, its time to unite, to heal, to rebuild. For all those who are suffering right now, whove had enormous loss, lie awake at night wondering what tomorrows going to bring, i say god bless you all, and i promise you were going to continue to push as hard as we can to finish the job. May god bless you all, may god protect our troops. Merry christmas and happy holidays to you all. Now, ill be a happy to take some questions. Meagan, ill let you tell me whos thank you, mr. President elect. President obama once referred to this emerging cyber battlefield as the wild west. President trump in commenting on this most recent breach said the situation was well under control. Given what you just said about this, that it represents a grave risk, do you believe it also represents an act of war and will you respond in kind, if so . The answer is, first of all, it is a grave risk and it continues. I see no evidence that its under control. I see none. Defense department wont even brief us on many things. So i know of nothing that suggests its under control. This president hasnt even identified whos responsible yet. Number two, the question of the damage done remains to be determined. We have to look at very closely the nature of the breaches, how extensive they are, and what damage has been done. Thirdly, theres going to be a necessity, as president obama and i in our administration talked about, we need International SocietyInternational Rules of the road on cybersecurity. We have to bring along our allies and our friends. So we hold everyone accountable who breaches any of these basic fundamental rules. And lastly, i believe that when i learn the extent of the damage, and, in fact, who was formally responsible, they can be assured that we will respond and probably respond in kind. Theres many options, which i will not discuss now. Why not lay out those kind of options publicly, though . Isnt part of the issue here deterrence and the fact that russia felt some immunity if it is, indeed, russia, to do what theyve done here . We have not done that in any other areas where we have faced international crises. We dont sit here and say that were going to strike you with a nuclear weapon. We dont sit and were going to say, and so on. Let us determine what the extent of the damage is. I promise you there will be a response. On another issue, sir, as you know the runoff elections in georgia could well determine whether theres a Democratic Senate in january or a Republican Senate in january. Is the are you waiting for the outcome of those two races to make some of the final selections for your cabinet including the attorney general, the most significant outstanding cabinet secretary you have to pick . No, not based on the attorney general. Its just a matter of getting to it and through it and being able too to announce them. Theyll all be announced either just before or just after. Were going to make tan announcement tomorrow and may have another announcement between then, christmas and new years. Were just working through all of the efforts to do due diligence. Lastly, has the issue of the investigation of your son come up in discussions with your team and with potential candidates about no. The attorney general . No. I guarantee you im going to do what i said. The attorney general of the United States of america is not the president s lawyer. I will appoint someone who i expect to enforce the law as the laws written. Not guide it by me. Thank you, sir. Thank you, mr. President elect. There is growing concern today about that new variant of covid19 sweeping across the uk. Should the United States right now impose a travel ban on flights coming in from the uk . As you know, there already is one, unrelated to that finding, that new strain, number one. And the question is whether or not at the very least it only allows americans coming home to be able to come back to the states. Citizens. One of the things im waiting to get a response from my covid team is whether or not we should require testing before they get on an aircraft to fly home. Number one. And number two, when they get home, should they quarantine. Thats my instinct, but im waiting to hear from my experts right now. You talked about how you want to propose a new covid relief plan when you do take office. Yes. It took more than six months for congress to reach that new deal. Americans are suffering at this moment. How can you assure americans that relief will come and come soon . You all ask the most interesting questions. Have you ever known anyone in the history of the United States of america that could be president and assure exactly what the congress is going to do . I cant assure anything, but i can tell you what i can expect. I fully expect on those Critical Issues that were facing, number one, being able to get all the work we need done and all the funding to be able to get that vaccine in everyones arm, and thats 300 Million People. Well get that done because youre going to see that the responsibility has already been recognized by the republicans and democrats in the congress because the constituency is going to demand it. Number one. Number two, all those people are out there hurting and lost jobs to no fault of their own. Theyve extended unemployment for ten weeks. Simply not sufficient. Necessary to get it done, to get through the holidays, but i predict to you well get cooperation and get that done. Ive been arguing from the very beginning, told how i love it, it makes me sound so much younger, high naive i am, about how the congress works. I think ive been proven right across the board. The things that are left to deal with from unemployment, to people needing unemployment insurance, to the ability to have access to health care, ability to get the treatment for free, et cetera, all of that is something that the public is not going to stand for us not doing, and i think with donald trump not in the way, that will also enhance the prospect of things getting done. Will your plan include a new round of stimulus checks to the American People . And if so yes. For how much . Look, thats a negotiating issue but it will, yes, it willing and i think by the way, i think we owe Bernie Sanders and his republican colleagues the thanks for getting not all the stimulus we looked for, 1,200, but getting 600 done. I think youll see in that there is a clear understanding that these issues go beyond any ideology. People are desperately hurting. And the republicans are hurting as badly as democrats. There are a few people, im not saying theyre responsible for any of this, a few people are doing extremely well in that kshaped recovery and theyre doing fine, but they still need access to the vaccines. They still need access to making sure that we are able to handle crises in the hospitals, et cetera. So i think on the things relating to a, vaccine distribution, which is going to cost billions more dollars, its simply going to cost billions more dollars. We need national standards, layout to help governors discern how theyre going to get that vaccine throughout their communities. Number one. Number two, were going to need to take care of those people who through no fault of their own are unemployed. Theyve worked like hell, but they have no job because of the covid crisis. And thirdly, were going to have to begin to rebuild the country. We cant wait. We cant wait to rebuild the economy. Were going to have to start doing that now on infrastructure programs and a whole range of other things. I think the sort of the dawn has broken on the vast majority of people. There are still people who dont want to help. There are still people who are insisting my way or the highway. But the vast majority of the members of congress, i believe, will be able to work out those those specific issues that are of national consequence. Thank you, mr. President elect. Thank you. Mr. President elect, thank you. Thank you. Im still not sure if i heard you say specifically, though, sir, what is your ask of the congress in just one months time, what is your ask of the congress after you have watched over these many months when people in your party as well did not necessarily act as quickly as some americans would have liked. What is your ask, sir . My ask will be laid out there in detail, but it relates to four things. Number one, making sure we have all the money we need to get the vaccine to 300 million americans at a minimum over the next year. The next calendar year. Number one. Number two, making sure that all those people who are unemployed through no fault of their own because of the covid crisis, Small Businesses and big businesses, et cetera, are shutting down, that they continue to be able to live day to day. They dont engage in food shortages, theyre not in a position where they get thrown out of their homes. I would also be asking for a moratorium on being evicted from your homes for failure to pay rent. Moratoriums on relating to the issue of whether or not your mortgage are being paid. Thirdly, i think its critically important we provide all of the ppe as well as the direct payments to Small Businesses and others to be able to stay open. To be able to keep their people employed. That is something thats going to increase as time moves. And lastly, were going to need to make sure that were in a position that we can provide for the opportunity for people to begin to go back to work and get new jobs. Developing infrastructure. Given the narrow majorities in the house and senate, youve watched many administrations come and go, do you believe that you will have a honeymoon to get things accomplished . I dont think its a honeymoon at all. I think its a nightmare that everybodys going through and all say its got to end. Its not a honeymoon. Theyre not doing me a favor. Ill ask you a rhetorical question, i dont expect you to answer, and that is, do you think that republicans who are losing their businesses, do you think republican constituents out there who cant pay their mortgage, do you think theyre not letting their republican representatives know they got a problem. Do you think the person who just lost some a Family Member and is worried about losing another one who happens to be a republican, a staunch republican, isnt telling his or her republican senator, state representative, youve got to help, youve got to get something done . Do you think all those people who are making judgments of whether or not i am my child will be able to go to school and i have to stay home and i cant go to work, therefore, i have no income, are all democrats . I think theres been a dawning here and, look, you have a Different Team in town. You have a Different Team in town. Im not going to villainize the opposition, but im going to stand and say this is what we got to do because they know it. They know it. Its not like im saying what we want to do is we want to make sure that we are going to sign a new trade agreement with a, b, or c. This is life and death. Thats why i believe well get it done. Sir, if i can ask a followup to the attorney general decision. You and president obama selected eric holder on december 1st. Every recent president has selected their attorney general by this point. What is taking you so long to make this critical decision, and do you believe that this is a time in the posttrump era where you need someone who is not steeped in politics, who may have a lifes work above or beyond politics . The answer is, first of all, weve gone fast on everybody in the total cabinet. So we not president obama and yourself, sir. The whole cabinet . The whole cabinet. Whole cabinet . There were a few missteps on commerce, as you remember, but i do. Im sure. I didnt want to raise them, though. But, look, this is were looking for a team and we will instill the greatest confidence in the professionals at doj to know once again that there is no politics, theres no politics. As you know, theres been a great debate about in every single appointment whether or not people, there are enough africanamericans, enough hispanics, enough asianpacific americans, enough people who have are new and young. So were just working through it. Its not by design. Theres not an obvious choice in my mind. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Merry christmas. Merry christmas. President elect. Hey. You just spoke about your confidence that it will be possible to get things done once President Trump has left office. Not excuse me, not just because hes left office, because its all becoming obvious exactly whats at stake. Right. But even so, are you concerned about the effects, long term, that his presidency and now in the transition, his refusal to concede, his challenges to the election, will have on american politics, will have on the Republican Party, especially if he does take the step of filing for reelection next months or to run in 2024. You know, are you concerned about him lingering around . I know, i see you smiling, but i still have to ask it and kind of a corollary to that, would you consider filing for reelection early next year to show that youre not going to be a lame duck . Im not going to be a lame duck. Just watch me. Just watch me. Ive been saying this from the very beginning. Look, lets just get the work from this point on for the next several years, there is one objective. Its not my political future. Its bettering the circumstances for the average american. Thats what its all about. And i want to communicate to the American People what i hope they already understand about me. Its about them. Its not about me. Its not about me. Still, do you think that the climate will be different after President Trump than it was before him . Well see. I dont know. I mean, im not a fortuneteller, but i can tell you that the calls ive gotten from city republicans in powerful positions, they know me. They know i level with them. They know i never mislead. They know i tell them the truth. And they know i dont go out of my way to try to embarrass. In terms of the transition, are there areas where the trump team has not been cooperative that have not been made public . Weve heard a bit about the issues at the pentagon last week. Are there other areas that you think the public should be aware of . There are other areas, im not sure its relevant whether the public should be aware of. Look, what im trying to do is pull together Political Parties that are in the congress that know that were facing four serious crises, and we have to address all of them. None of us will get all we want, but we can make real progress. And so my focus is on uniting, not emphasizing the divisions. Thank you. Last question. Thank you, mr. President elect. Russia, as you said, is suspected of carrying out this massive cyber hack. You said it happened under president Donald Trumps watch, but, of course, in january 21, it will then, of course, land on your doorstep. My question is all right. Lets get something straight, land on my doorstep, his failure will land on my doorstep. Yes. Okay. What are the Practical Implications of overseeing a government where experts say it could take years to know where the hackers went and years to remove them. How can you ensure the systems will be safe given what experts are saying . I cant ensure it but i can deman based on the experts both here and among our allies what is needed to find that out. It may cost literally billions of dollars to secure our cyberspace. It may take a great deal to get it done. First and foremost, it takes people who are knowledgeable and vigilant about what is happening and how its happening. And so im just going to do all that need be done. All that need be done to determine, a, the extent of the damage, b, the nature of how it occurred, c, what i should be doing internally in terms of my administration to protect against it in the future, and number four, getting together with our allies to try to set up an International System that constitutes appropriate behavior in cyberspace and get us all to get to the point where we hold, all hold, any other country liable for the breaking out of those basic rules. Just to be cleerar at the to of that, did you say you couldnt ensure the systems would be safe when you came into office then . Of course, i cant. I dont know what the state of them is. Theyre clearly not safe right now. And between now and january 20th the likelihood of my being able to garner all the information, the extent and depth of the violations, exactly how the codes or how we were breached, what was breached, what was done, is not within my power to do that. But it will be an overwhelming focus for my administration. And my other question is on immigration. Yes. I was just reading about the fact that officials in your transition, jake sullivan, susan rice, they say you wont be immediately rolling back trump immigration policies, and i stress immediately. There are some immigration advocates who say why not roll back the remain in mexico policy, why not roll back the asylum restrictions. What is your timeline for rolling back some of the specific Trump Administration immigration policies . We already started discussing these issues with the president of mexico and our friends in latin america. And the timeline is to do it so that we, in fact, make it better, not worse. The last thing we need is to say were going to stop immediately the, you know, the access to asylum the way its being run now and end up with 2 Million People on our border. Its a matter of setting up the guardrail so we can move the direction. I will accomplish what i said i would do. Much more humane policy based on family unification, but it requires getting a lot in place. It requires getting the funding to get it in place, including just asylum judges, for example. So its a matter of it will get done, and it will get done quickly, but its not going to be able to be done on day one, lift every restriction that exists and find out that and go back to what it was 20 years ago and all of a sudden find out we have a crisis on our hand that complicates what were trying to do. What could you say to immigration advocates then who say maybe youre possibly dragging your feet, it might take too long. It sounds like youre saying i say trust me, look at me, ive never told them anything i havent done. Im working with them now. Were dealing with some of those very organizations as we speak. And i will do what i said. Its going to take not day one, its going to take probably the next six months to put that in place. Thank you so much. Thank you. Merry christmas, everybody. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Im Ayman Mohyeldin here at msnbc World Headquarters in new york. You were just listening to president elect joe biden delivering his holiday address to the nation. This as the United States hits 18 million confirmed cases of covid19. Joe biden warning that things, as he said, will get worse before they get better. He said the darkest days are still ahead of us, not behind us, urging americans to remain vigila vigilant, wear masks, to practice social distancing. Biden also promising to put forward a new stimulus bill when he takes office. He called the new relief package a step in the right direction but also conceded that more needs to be done for working families across the country. I want to bring in nbcs Heidi Przybyla who has new details on how the new Incoming Biden Administration is planning to tackle the covid crisis and specifically an option hes being urged to consider. Also with us, dr. Celine gounder, member of president elect bidens covid19 advisory board. In relationship to the vaccine, the distribution of it, and where we stand for it. First, let me begin with you, heidi, and share with us some of the new reporting you have. You heard the president elect there setting expectations, ayman, about dark days ahead. Well, part of that is because he knows that the supply for the vaccine is not yet there. Theres a lot of plates up in the air including this second contract thats being negotiated with pfizer. Including these Clinical Trials from Johnson Johnson, astrazeneca, which, by the way, coincide almost perfectly with when the president elect takes office in january and it is then that he may be forced to make some pretty significant decisions, if we really want to scale up production of the vaccine, im told by senior biden advisers, ayman, that theyre looking at the defense production act. That is a wartime production act that allows the government to command manufacturers to make things that are in the national interest. So right now, theyre engaged in discussions with scientists, with supply chain experts, about how they could employ this. One brig concern, ayman, is that they not favor one Pharmaceutical Company over the other. That they want to do this in a, quote, equitable way. Theyre not being specific yet about how they would do it, but thats because theyre waiting for all of this data to come in when the president takes office, expected in early july, then they have a lot of different potential ways they could go with this as it relates to the vaccine as well as to some of the accompanying supplies like syringes, needles, things that might come up in short supply, ayman. Dr. Gounder, theres a few things i wanted to ask you about including some of the questions that were posed to Vice President excuse me, president elect joe biden there about the travel from the uk, but i do want to just pick up on what heidi was reporting there, having to deal with the issue of vaccination. We heard president elect talk about billions of dollars needed to get the distribution of the vaccines up and running. From your Vantage Point in terms of where you sit in advising him so far, can you share with us what your understanding of the distribution of the vaccine looks like going into january 2021 . Ayman, we got off to a rocky start with vaccination. We have not been vaccinating at nearly the rate that we need to be. The president elect has promised that we would be vaccinating, administering, 100 million doses in the first hundred days. So that means 1 million doses per day. We havent yet reached that many in a week. A million doses in a week yet. So we really do need to pick up the pace in terms of vaccination. One major roadblock is that we need Health Care Providers to administer those vaccines and right now hospitals are full. Icus are full. We need all of our Health Care Workers taking care of sick people and we dont really have a lot of slack available to help administer those vaccines. How do you scale that up, dr. Gounder . What is your recommendation for the Incoming Administration, if the capacity at these hospitals is simply not there because were inundated with these numbers and overwhelmed with these numbers. How do you physically scale that the up to the number that you want to get to, which is a million vaccinations a day . Well, in terms of staffing, Health Care Workers, you cant defense production act your way out of that one. You know, so youre really having to look at either promoting medical students in intern year, trying to bring back Health Care Workers who may have retired, retired nurses and doctors, trying to recruit emts and other paramedical kind of t. We even discussed having lay volunteers go through Training Programs to deliver vaccinations. Its going to require a lot of out of the box thinking. Let any ask you one other question also posed to president elect biden, that had to deal with the issue of a travel ban. It seems, just to clarify, he said theres a travel ban in place. Its still not clear as to whether or not this travel ban in what he said meant that anyone coming from the uk or just american citizens would be required to take the test. Can you shed some light on what you think and what you would advise the Incoming Administration to be the best practice given what were seeing happen in the United Kingdom with this mutation, if you will, of covid19. What should the Incoming Administration do when it comes to trying and prevent that mutation from arriving to the u. S. , if it hasnt already . Yeah, theres a lot we dont know about this new variant of coronavirus. Weve seen it arise independently in both the United Kingdom as well as south africa. We think it may be more transmissible, but were not sure about that. We do not think it causes more severe disease, but most of the initial cases have been among younger people who tend to have milder cases of covid, anyway. So its hard to know if thats really for sure, and we still dont know what this means for vaccines that are being developed. We dont think its gong to be an issue for those vaccines, but we, again, dont have confirmation on that yet. And so we do have to take this very seriously. In terms of travel bans, there are currently restrictions on travel from the United Kingdom to the United States, but american citizens, permanent residents and the like, are able to travel still and so thats a pretty big loophole. We have discussed whether pretravel testing and quarantine on arrival in the United States would make sense. The challenge, though, is you need then to staff up local and state Health Departments to support that quarantine. You need hotel rooms to send people to. You need people delivering food to people in quarantine. So this is not an easy thing to carry out. Heidi, let me just go back to you on your reporting really quickly. Has there been any, from your sources youve been speaking to, any pushback as we just heard there from dr. Gounder, you cant really defense, you know, production authorize your way into building that capacity. Sure, you can increase the vaccinations, but at the same time, have you seen any other have you seen any reporting to suggest from your sources that theres a pushback on that issue . Well, thats exactly right. When it comes to the vaccine, itself, i was told by biden advisers that, look, its already too late for us to stand up entirely new manufacturing facilities. What were looking at here is enhancing what weve already got. So theyre looking at different facilities around the country that might have these very specialized components to see if they can use what we already have. They could look at standing up new manufacturing but thats for production that would be several months out. So for right now, theyre going to have to make a decision, for instance, in january when they get the information, could, for instance, and this is just a hypothetical that was thrown out there to me, could, for instance, if Johnson Johnson has a successful oneshot dosage, a vaccine, that comes to market, could they say, merck, we need your help, were going to use some of your components, some of your machinery, to help scale this up. So are there Little Things that they can do to try and scale things up . Because, again, they emphasized it really is too late at this stage of the game to stand up whole new manufacturing facilities to get this herd immunity effect by spring or summer. I think both of you just laid out why the president elect there in his comments said our darkest days are behind us sorry, our darkest days are ahead of us, not behind us, given the picture you painted there. Heidi przybyla, dr. Celine gounder, thanks for your time this afternoon. I appreciate it. Still ahead, President Trumps last stand, longshot strategy spearheaded by republican members of congress to overstern the 2020 election results. First, the incoming chairman of the House Foreign Affairs ch committee joins me, congressman Gregory Meeks on his push to strengthen u. S. Cyber defenses following the massive hack of our federal systems. Stay with us. Open. Remember having that feeling for the first time . The first day you opened. The first day you had a customer, the first day you taught a class, had a client, a patient, a session. Open. Remember the night before you opened . Who could ever sleep . Open. But theres a different question we are being asked now. Are you going to remain open . Even when your doors are closed . Open. Thats how we show who we are. And theres another way to be open, to pull together or push, depending on the door. And we are making it work and we will continue to make it work together. Because open we stand. For bathroom odors that linger try febreze small spaces. Just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. For 45 days. But the Trump Administration needs to make an official attributi attribution. This assault happened on Donald Trumps watch. When he wasnt watching. Rest assured, even if he does not take it seriously, i will. All right. That was president elect joe biden voicing harsh actions for the unprecedented cyber attack linked to russia. It comes as were learning the Treasury Department is now the latest in a growing list of federal agencies that have been hit with so many agencies breached and the extent still very unclear. The incoming chairman of the House Foreign Affairs committee is vowing to help to hold hearings in the wake of the attack. To help answer some of those questionsi questions, incoming chairman, new york congressman, Gregory Meeks joins me. Mr. Chairman, good to have you back on the program. Youre vocal about this hack on twitter, you wrote, trump may have lowered our guard on russian aggression, but our sibler vsibl cyber vulnerabilities go beyond. Moscow is doing do as moscow does. Other adversaries will probe as well. We need to be better prepared. We cant afford to be behind the curve. From where you sit, what needs too be done to strengthen the u. S. cybersecurity . Well, i think that president elect biden laid it out. At least part of what we will be doing on the Foreign Affairs committee and that is we got to set some standards worldwide so that when theyre violated, there are serious consequences that we do in a collective manner because, you know, weve got our own, of course, National Security interests in the United States but if russia is doing it here, if theyre doing it elsewheels elseplace, elsewhere, so we got to have a universal international standard, and i think that we want to have hearings very soon when we get back, face with and deal with cybersecurity and this incursion thats made by russia, but talking to our allies through hearings as well as through diplomatic channels so that we can make sure that we put an end to this once and for all and there will be serious repercussions for anybody that violates it and it wont be just done unilaterally but done multilaterally by countries around the world who we are working collectively with. Let me ask you about something the president elect just talked about in regards to this particular cyber aggression or cyber attack, if you will. He said his administration sorry, his Incoming Administration had not yet been briefed by the department of defense about the severity of attack or really on the scope of it from the department of defense. Are you surprised, are you alarmed, disturbed by the fact so far his Incoming Administration has not been briefed by the department of defense . You know, i wish i could say that im surprised, but im not surprised at anything. You know, right now, the House Foreign Affairs committee is waiting to hear back from the state department where we have requested to get briefings also. And so that request is it. Whatever reason, the state department is delaying or have not replied back to us as of yet. Were going to continue to pursue it. So i wish that i could say i was surprised. And i wish that this would not be happening, but after four years of this current administration, i dont think anything should surprise us any more because clearly especially when it deals with russia because weve seen where he has been trying to protect and cover them at all costs each and every time but so am i surprised . No, im not. And in essence, i would be surprised if it was the other way around because hes never been transparent about anything, particularly when it comes to russia. You mentioned russia. I want to get your thoughts about where we are in terms of our relationship with that country because as you know, a lot of people describe and consider russia as a bad actor. Alexei navalny, russian operation leader, a phone call that he alleges shows a Russian Security official confirming the plot to assassinate him. What are your biggest concerns about russia, between that poisoning and this hack, do you see us on a collision course with russia . Are they escalating . Well, you know, i see us where we have to confront those that are utilizing nondemocratic tools, those who are violating human rights, those who are holding its citizens down in a fascist way. We are at a point where we got to call it out and got to make sure that were loudly and clear about it and we work with our allies and thats why its important to have allies in a collective bases so where we see the incursions occurring that we can surely make sure that we have results that will prevent those actions from taking place. So russia would like to do things with other countries, but if we are in lockstep with our policies in that regards because i would say to you what theyre trying to do here, theyre also trying to do with many of the European Union countries. The eu countries. They are playing in their elections. Theyre trying to hold some of them hostage. Look what theyre doing in, you know, maybe engaging with other countries who are adversaries of ours. So weve got to make sure that we align with our allies, put the pressure on russia, and make sure that they know that theyre not going to be able to get away and get around what we know, what we set as international norms. So do you have a recommendation for the Incoming Administration, what that might look like . I mean, the president used the word, you know, cyber attack. Do you see it as an attack or is it an act of espionage, and if so, what is a proportionate response . Is it hacking their systems . Is it sanctions . Is it something more severe than that . Well, i tell you that what is and what we do is not going to be publicized, you know, right up front. We will im sure the administration will have conversations among themselves, i would hope, i would definitely give whatever intelligence and help that we can from a House Foreign Affairs committee perspective, working with my colleagues in intelligence and all services, homeland security. I think that youll see that, you know, my viewpoint is the House Foreign Affairs committee will work in conjunction with the others so we can make sure some diplomacy is also taking place and talking with or diplomatic corps so we can make sure we dont get into a war, anything of that nature, but we have the remedies ready to go to someone that has made incursions into us and we can do so in a collective manner. Think thats tremendously important. So, theres going to be further conversations. The president elect said hes going to be talking to a number of his advisers and people hes going to have on his team. They will come up with something. Clearly, im going to do similarly. Weve got some great individuals on our committee. Many of whom were in the state department or in the Defense Department previously, now se e serving our committee. Im going to consult with them then talk to the new administration individuals that may be in the state department, some of our diplomats, and then well make a collective decision on the best way to move forward. All right. Congressman Gregory Meeks. Appreciate your time and insights this afternoon, sir. Thank you so much. Thank you, good to be with you. Thank you. In a threehour closeddoor meeting President Trump met with about a dozen gop lawmakers who wanted to help him overturn the november election. As more of the president s legal claims fail in court, he is turning to hardright representatives like alabamas mo brooks to try to block electors chosen by swing states, an effort all but guaranteed to fail. Joining me now, nbc news contributor and Washington Post national reporter, carol lenny. Carol, great to talk to you again. So give us an update on what you and your colleagues have learned about how far the president s latest strategy involving his house colleagues goes because this, you know, hes tried everything, yet hes now grasping at the straws here. Its great to see you, ayman. I have to say, youre right. The latest and greatest effort, it is kind of endless. I remember in november, november 6th, november 7th, conversations with federal bureaucrats who were in charge of deciding who was the president elect and they said, you know, this should be resolved in a few days, maybe, maybe, at the outside it the president will conclude that with the Electoral College decision, this will all be moot in middecember. Here we are january 6th, 2 months roughly sorry, headed to january 6th, roughly 2 months from the election, the president is looking at january 6th as maybe another chance to block the decision that he is not the future president , the decision that was made by voters in america. In his meeting on monday, he was basically talking to the hardest right folks who support his idea that this election may have been a fraud and that he is not the loser, that the electors have decided multiple times, and it is a bit of a last gasp, ayman, because you may remember that 86 different judges, and i think that numbers risen since the last time weve talked about it, 86 judges have turned down the notion that the Trump Campaign offered that there was fraud in the election. This morning, mark meadows tweeted that the forgive me, last night tweeted that the president was meeting with republicans because they were looking at mounting evidence of election fraud. This really once looked at by 86 judges who concluded that doesnt exist. So its fascinating because no one really believes that the president thinks hes going to stay in office on january 20th and hes going to serve a second term. And yet, were all sort of watching this group of folks tell the emperor that his clothes look great. And he is not a loser and the election was rigged as the president tweeted about four hours ago. Yeah, and there are some powerful republicans who have now completely distanced or begun to distance themselves from the president. Republican senator john thune, the senates second most powerful republican, said this of the scheme to block electors. In the senate, it would go down like a shot dog. I just dont think that it makes a lot of sense to put everybody through this when you know what the ultimate outcome is gonna be. So i want to ask you from your reporting, the Division Within the Republican Party, how big is it that you have members of the house who are these close allies of the president who are going to these meetings, who are considering this, and then you have people like Mitch Mcconnell and john thune who are saying its not going to work and im curious to get your thoughts on the reporting here. What is what is the reporting telling us about the future of the Republican Party on this issue . Its such a great question because what we have watched happen over the last several weeks is that republicans, including some who signed on to that letter, arguing that the Supreme Court should take up this case right. Im sorry, the texas case, many republicans who signed on to that are folks who were described by their own colleagues as petrified of the anger of donald trump. If donald trump comes out against them, will they survive electorally . Will they keep their job . And what i feel we are seeing now, at least what a lot of republicans are saying to us, the Washington Post, is the more confident a republican is in his future, and his ability to withstand any anger from donald trump, the more likely hes starting to break or she is starting to break. The more likely theyre worried about their longterm legacy and its greater to them than their fear of trump coming after them, they are saying this is a failed fight. This is not going anywhere and why are we doing it. Other than to please Donald Trumps vision of himself. Im pretty sure that is not the unified Republican Party that Mitch Mcconnell wants to see ahead of the georgia runoffs. Carol up next, as cases of coronavirus surge across europe, lockdowns are expanding across the continent. A report from london, next. Ss the continent. A report from london, next some things are good to know. Like where to find the cheapest gas in town and which supermarket gives you the most bang for your buck. 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For bathroom odors that linger try febreze small spaces. Just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. For 45 days. Lockdowns are expanding in europe today. Infections are growing and fears are intensifying that my strain of the virus first detected in the uk may already be circulating around the region. Joining me now is sarah harman live in london. Good to talk to you. Tell us more about some of the measures being imposed across europe. Well, about 40 countries are now banning all arrivals from the uk trying to stop the spread of this mutant covid strain. Earlier today though, there was a bit of good news from the ceo of biontech, maker of the pfizer vaccine. He said that he was confident that his vaccine will work against this new you strain. Take a listen. We dont know at the moment if our vaccine is also able to provide protection against this new variant. But scientifically, it is highly likely that the immune response by this vaccine also can deal with the new virus variants. And he also added that if necessary, they would be able to tweak the vaccine to be used against the new variant in about six weeks. So relatively quickly. That is news that is really music to a lot of peoples ears especially here in the uk. Im sure that you have seen these image as of Truck Drivers who are going to be spending the third night in a row inside their trucks after france schulshut down the border. There has been a bit of a break through in the last couple hours and were expecting france to start letting some people through again tomorrow morning. But it is unclear whether the trucks will still be going through. And that is important because inside those trucks, food that lot of people here in the uk will be hoping to eat over the holiday season. Yeah, and what is happening in europe is raising questions about what the u. S. Should be doing and anticipating here. Sarah harman, thank you. That wraps up our hour. Deadline white house starts after the quick break. Deadline white house starts after the quick break. In fact, tremfya® was proven superior to humira® in providing significantly clearer skin. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. Tremfya®. Uncover clearer skin that can last. Janssen can help you explore cost support options. Subut when we realized she wasn hebattling sensitive skin, tremfya®. Uncover clearer skin that can last. We switched to tide plus downy free. Its gentle on her skin, and out cleans our old bargain detergent. Tide pods plus downy free. Safe for sensitive skin with eczema and psoriasis. Your daily dashboard from fidelity a visual snapshot of your investments, key portfolio events, all in one place. Because when its decision time, you need decision tech. Only from fidelity. Hi there. It is 4 00 in the east. There are still 29 days before joe biden goes from president elect biden to president biden. But in many ways he is already stepping into that role. Today addressing a nation in crisis on multiple fronts, with more than a million covid cases in just four days, as well as a cyberattack believed to have been carried out by russia. That appears to have pen traitsed the highest levels of the u. S. Government. Biden offered the strongest con denial nation yet for that cyberattack, blasting trumps handling of it. And making clear that the attack will not go unanswered. Initial indications including from secretary pompeo and attorney general william barr suggests that russia is responsible for this breach. Certainly fits russias long history of reckless cyber activities, but the Trump Administration needs to make an official attribution. This assault happened on donald