Place across the country. Tornado breakout in the southeast. 18 people have already died. It was just terrible. Awful. And now that wild weather is moving north. Were going to begin, of course, this morning with President Trump. Getting down to business. His very first monday. At the top of his agenda, plans to renegotiate the multibillion dollar trade agreement, known as nafta, and the big tpp deal in asia. Donald trump wants out of that all together. Remember, it was a signature of president obama. Trump is expected to sign executive orders on both of them today. And at this very hour, starting right now at 9 00 a. M. , hell be bringing together leading executives from at least a dozen major manufacturers, the heads of ford, lockheed martin, u. S. Steel, just some of the ceos on that guest st. And at 4 30, a huge vote where Rex Tillerson could confirm him as secretary of state. And the day is not over then. At 5 00 p. M. , the president brings congressional leaders from both sides for their first meeting and we have the best team in the business covering every angle. I want to start with Kristen Welker, just outside the white house. Kristen, looks like a lot of today will revolve around trade and the economy, almost like donald trump is trying to erase all of the gaffes of the weekend and bring us back to the business of what he got elected on. He being the jobs and economy guy. Reporter hes trying to turn the page. Thats for sure, steph. I am told today is going to focus on trade. As you mapped out, this was a Campaign Promise for then candidate trump, trying to make good on that promise. Heres what were anticipating today. Two executive orders that relate to trade, one announcing his intentions to renegotiate nafta. Thats the trade deal signed under former president bill clinton with mexico and canada. Some republicans not necessarily sold on that idea. Theyre concerned it could ultimately cost jobs. That could be setting up a little bit of fight with members of his own party. The second action were anticipating, hes going to sign an executive order announcing his intention to pull out of tpp. That multinational trade deal that president obama was fighting for during his administration. The thing to know about that, though, steph, is that President Trump is going to task his top economic advisers, his u. S. Trade rep, with negotiating trade deals with the individual companies within tpp. Let me redo a little bit of what we have heard from President Trump on this issue. This is from the white house website, which says if our partners refuse a renegotiation that gives American Workers a fair deal, the president will give notice of the United States intent to withdraw from nafta. This was President Trumps tweet from earlier today. He says, busy week with a heavy focus on jobs and National Security. Top executives coming in at 9 00 a. M. To talk about manufacturing in america. So that is how he is setting the scene here on what is being described as a day of action here at the white house. Jobs, trade, the economy, all at the top of the agenda today, steph. All right. You mentioned a Campaign Promise. I would like to bring up anyone who thinks donald trump thinks no one wants to see his taxes. I would like to remind anyone, there is one person who sure would, President Trump, i would love to see your taxes. Time to bring in my panel. Welcome to you both. So much to cover. Megan, i want to start with you. People are gassed, saying nafta, you cant touch nafta. Why is it a bad idea . Its a 20yearold deal. Why not renegotiate . When you look at what hes taking on nafta, the issue he faces, if were going to withdraw, renegotiate with both canada and mexico, were talking about a multiyear effort. And i think the think thing that trumps team, when we look at manufacturing to mexico, that is cheaper labor down there, of course. It also brings cheaper cars into the u. S. What you would see if we with drew, youre likely to see a loss of american jobs in tms ofhe supply of parts. But most importantly for his promise to t middle and working class, cars are likely to get more expensive. Hundreds of thousands of cars made in mexico. Theyre shipped around the world. For example, you look at audi and the q5. That is based in mexico, produced in mexico and shipped to europe, shipped to america. To really change that and look at companies that have to think about their Investment Decisions in mexico, its likely they wont bring their facilities to the United States. We have companies saying theyre going to put jobs back in america. Whether or not it becomes less cheap for them, less economical, less efficient to put those jobs in mexico, im not so sure theyre bringing those jobs to america. How do we know, frank, thats what donald trump is officially going to execute . He has said over and over, thats what im going to do. Im going to bring jobs back. And there has been arguments whether he really brought jobs back for carrier. Whether were talking ford or gm. Youve got a lot of ceos that are simply afraid of donald trump. They dont want to get in his way. So this morning the first meeting hes got is with ten ceos, ceos that manufacture. This meeting was only called for yesterday. But hes meeting with u. S. Steel, tesla, dow. These are major companies. Sure enough, donald trump is going to sit down with them. Fair to guess hes going to walk out of that meeting and say tough talking, were going to keep jobs here. When do we prove that . When do we know, yes, hes doing that. Donald Trump Supporters will say Everything Else you dont like about donald trump is noise, as long as he puts me back to work. Yeah, well know that, because people will be back to work or not. Youre touching on what is going to be major tension and theme of this presidency, which is theatre versus reality. You mentioned carrier, great photo ops. Donald trump got a lot of headlines that for people who dont dig into the news, see it as theyre driving by, it all looked very good. He is focus on theatre, optics. Thats exactly what this morning will be. Ill use the words of newt gingrich. Newt gingrich has been saying again and again in recent interviews, come 2020, if more people have jobs, if people feel their lives have improved economically, people feel safer, donald trump will be reelected. Thats the real metric, not whether hes sitting down with ceos, not whether he gets headlines. People will feel an improvement in their lives, in their safety and hes ultimately going to live and die by that, not by these short term optics. That meeting actually has just started. Thats not the only thing happening. I want you stick with me. We have the question of ethics. At this very moment, a group called the citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington is filing a federal lawsuit, arguing that President Trump is illegally profiting from foreign governments through his businesses, which is a violation of the constitution. Richard painter is part of that group. He was the chief ethics lawyer for president george w. Bush. Welcome. You say that trumps business ties open up a whole new front for corruption. That is a strong charge, especially when the Trump White House has said over and over with a smile on their face, President Trump cant have conflicts of interest. So how do you back up your argument . Well, of course, he could add conflicts of interest, and he does. And he has been talking throughout this campaign about made in america, and were going to buy american, were going to renegotiate all of these trade agreements and the rest of it. And thats what were hearing this week. And the reality is that the trump Business Empire is receiving payments under the table from foreign governments and companies controlled by foreign governments, including banks controlled by foreign governments. And the founders anticipated this problem. And in the constitution specifically provided no one holding a position of trust within the United States government can receive benefits and payments from foreign governments. And yet thats whats going on. This is a violation of the constitution. And whats the point of having a tea party, throwing king georges tea into the Boston Harbor and putting a president there buying and selling tea with king george. And its the same thing now. When weve had foreign governments trying to influence our elections. This is not a liberal cause or conservative cause. We want a president who is loyal to americans and who has not taken ununder the table while negotiating trade agreements that are supposed to be protecting american jobs. Okay. Take under the table off the table and lets go right on top of it. Donald trumps lawyer a few weeks ago said before inauguration, he would sign papers signing off, distancing himself, separating himself from his companies, but according to pro publica, that didnt happen. Well, he has not divested ownership of the companies. We thought he would. He said he would separate himself from his businesses. And when was in the Bush White House as ethics lawyer, i understood that meant that youre going to sell your businesses. And thats what the office of government ethics understood to be the case. But thats not whats happening in the trump Business Empire. He has not sold the businesses. The businesses are profiting from foreign governments, among others. And he wilnot release the tax returns. Which will demonstrate clearly where the money is coming from, where the financing is coming from. The American People are not going to put up with this. We need a president who is going to adhere to the constitution, and is going to put americans first. That was the message that we have heard consistently from President Trump. And yet his actions are completely different. Okay. Well yesterday Kellyanne Conway said that issue has been litigated. He won, nobody cares. Well, if you look at polls today without a doubt, people care. He now has to govern the nation. But if, for example, richards lawsuit goes through, in terms of discovery, would donald trump have to put his taxes forth in a case like this . This case megan . This case revolves around nuanced legal issue in terms of the emoluments clause. Some think because these payments are going to a trump business as opposed to donald trump himself personally that it falls outside that clause. Now its really a distraction. This goes to the core issue that youre talking about. Has donald trump really gone through with his promise. Not only to not just release his taxes which you and i have been discussing for months and months. But to put forward a credible plan to divest businesses in the way the American People feel confident that foreign governments and leaders are not channelling money through both his businesses not just his hotel in washington but striking partnerships in faroff jurisdictions to curry favor with the trump administration. Thats the question we really should be addressing. Yes, this lawsuit hits at it. But he has so far managed to sidestep, as you just mentioned, keeps dodging the tax return sue. Whether the American People with foe s agenda or whether its left to lawyers and third party people who keep this nuisance hanging on him. Just donating the profits to charity. Is that can you even donate Charity Profits to the treasury . So far it hasnt proven something that has galvanized the kind of attention i would have expected. We have a photo of the meeting taking place that i want to show right now. Can we pull that up . That is the meeting taking place right now. President trump is meeting, Reince Priebus is in the room, katie bush, and about ten ceos with Different Manufacturing Companies who may or may not have been donald Trump Supporters. When the president calls, you show up. In terms of donald trump and his businesses, think about what its like thursday night, when the president elect shows up at his hotel in washington, d. C. , that he now says my son has run, i dont. Shows up surprised visit and kicks up the tab for two diners. Is that not promoting his isnt that amazing promotion . Im a tourist. Maybe the president shows up and picks up my dinner tab. Talking about amazing promotions. He also praised the gorgeousness. I think americans could too easily get confused about things they should not get confused about. He has said he will separate himself from the management of his business. He has not separated himself economically. His wealth is still tied into and affected by what happens with that business. And even if hes not talking to his sons about it, which is hard to believe and who polices that, he can read headlines. Number two, the tax return thing is fascinating. Through the whole campaign, we heard he couldnt release it because it was under audit. And now Kellyanne Conway saying its been litigated, the American People dont care. The rationale has changed entirely. Lets note and keep sight of that. We all know why hes not releasing that tax return. Its likely to show not only a vast array of sophisticated entities around the world and hungs of companies he set up, and likely to show hes worth a lot less and mak a lot less money than he says. And size matters to donald trump. Crowd size and hand size, wealth size. And also, who his lenders are. Remember, the Trump Organization was not an institutional client to major u. S. Bank. Deutsche bank was the only International Bank we can find that is a major lender. So given their vast real estate portfolio, youve got to wonder who does this man and this organization owe money to. Not saying there is a smoking gun in those taxes but would sure help if we could see the president elect President Trump. Thank you so much. I did not elect president. Hes our president and i accept that. Okeydoke. Richard, you have your work cut out for you. Good luck, my friend. And youre here the whole hour. Next, the new press secretary telling falsehoods. This was a mindblower for me. Really took my doors off this weekend on his first very first day. And then Kellyanne Conway calling them alternative facts. Is this a strategy or worse. And communications between the president s newly sworn in National Security adviser and officials. We have those details. And in case you missed it, snl came out of the gates on fire with his first show under President Trump. And they did it without alec baldwin and without a shirtless Vladimir Putin offering advice on providing alternative facts. Today you went to the cia and said 1 Million People came to see you in washington, d. C. If youre going to lie, dont make it so obvious. You know, saying you are friends with lebron james. Not that you are lebron james. S. And now much of that same advanced technology is found in the audi a4. With one notable difference. The highly advanced audi a4, with available traffic jam assist. With a crust made chfrom scratche and mixes crisp vegetables with all white meat chicken, and bakes it to perfection. Because making the perfect dinner isnt easy as pie but finding someone to enjoy it with sure is. Marie callenders. s time to savor. Watry. Duo fusiong heartburn relief . Duo fusion goes to work in seconds and lasts up to 12 hours. Tums only lasts up to 3. For longer lasting relief. In one chewable tablet try duo fusion from the makers of zantac youre saying its a falsehood and they are giving sean spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that. Wait a minute, alternative facts . I mean, even gave kellyanne pause for a second there. Pause, alternative facts. Reaction, obviously, swift and fierce to that revealing exchange on meet the press yesterday. It started when White House Press secretary, sean spicer, said this on saturday. This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period both in person and around the globe. Thats crazy town right there. Joining me now, New York Times media columnist i dont know how to say, its ruetten berg, rutten berg. And guess what, frank murphy and megan murphy still here. You called that exchange, that quote, chilling. Why . Well, im just not used to seeing that from white house from that lectern. I mean, the most watched ever. We have nielsen numbers that dispute that. The subway ridership numbers that mr. Spicer cited did not bear up to scrutiny. This is the learning turn from which america speaks to the world. I was frankly surprised. Then what is the broader thing happening . Is this President Trump and add his administration in their quest to sort of dismantle the media, given how important Investigative Journalism right now, or is this donald trump simply putting out sean spicer, because he doesnt like getting insulted and sean said, yes, sir, may i have another. This is a really serious point and a really, really serious issue when we look at what happened. I mean, the entire way of coughing a president if theyre going to go out and do blatant falsehoods. If youre going to lie, at least lie smart, not when you have verifiable facts to iediately dispute the truth of what s said. The shock is that it was the very First Press Conference from sean spicer, who has a formal role. If this is living in the land of alternative facts and what is a blatant tit for tat, what the media needs to do is forge its own norm. Go out, check facts, always call into question what they say. Always remind not in terms of bringing and telling people what to think, but constantly hitting back at what is being told. The official narrative is probably going to be wrong or only half true. Perhaps more so than has been in previous administrations. And more of the burden for fall to say the media to really question, to push and to move outside of the official statements that are given and find their own to actually find out and get the facts and truth and release that. Its a really hard job, made harder when official spokespeople are telling you stuff that is blatantly not true. You bring up a good point. I think they believe the media is in such disrepute, the public so distrusts us, they will believe an alternative fact. There is a difference between someone saying obamacare is working and citing these statistics, someone saying obamacare isnt and focusing on some other statistics, and talking about something as cut and dry as crowd size. Anybody who has been in d. C. For inaugurations, multiple inaugurations, which i have been, can tell you it was not jammed on friday. And on saturday when the womens march happened, it was chaotic. You can measure and see it with your own eyes. This is a level of we have spin and become way too en youred to spin. This is beyond spin. This is a whole new dangerous terrain. Gabe sherman put out a tweet, saying that donald trump sent sean spicer out to give that statement. And afterwards, a longtime trump adviser said donald trump thought sean spicer did a terrible job. So is that a lie . How many so whats Donald Trumps motives here . How many aides are going to have to put their reputations on the funeral pierre . This is day one. But you dont do your job well if you cant convince the public of a blatant lie . Right. And were going to hear a lot of these undercutting things coming out of the oval office. The bottom line is that it is mr. Trumps administration, and whatever he thought afterwards, will they correct it today. Because its a new day. Mr. Spicer is having a press briefing at 1 30. Who he is going to call on. There is a lot to correct here in 24 hours. People have careers and personal integrity. And this is not its not sustainable Going Forward for a long term for people to be doing things. He has if were going to descend into blatant warfare for the next four years, he knows to sell some of his programs, including on nafta, manufacturing, he needs to have the media at least not in a fullout, full frontal war. Its not going to work. But its not just sean spicer going out there. When donald trump went to the cia on saturday, and it was a good move to make that his first visit, to go and see them on their day off, but to say its the media that created this rift between me and the intelligence agencies. It was Donald Trumps words making that comparison to not proves hes lying right there. How does donald trump make a claim like that . He may continue to make claims like that. What were seeing is, this is how he campaigned. There is a big difference because hes governing now. You hear talk, his base loves it. I need to interrupt. Ive got to bring Kristen Welker in, at the white house. He had a meeting with the ceos, looking right there, speaking hands with the ceo of u. S. Steel, now mark fields from ford. And right there, the women from lockheed martin, the one female ceo. What do we know . Reporter well, a couple headlines to tell you about, steph. First of all, President Trump in the white house told ceos hes going to try to decrease regulations by 75 . Hes going to decrease taxes. And he was very kristen, were going to listen in. Donald trump is speaking now. Have you set everything up so well. And i hear your company is doing well. And i really do appreciate well get to know each other very well. Well have these meetings every whenever you need them, actually. But i would say a reporter perhaps. You could say monthly, but then all of a sudden monthly becomes repetitive. As we know. Sounds good, but then youave to do it, and it gets a lite repetitive. But i would say probably on a quarterly basis. You are great people. Youve done an amazing job. And the biggest in the world. And this is a worldwide meeting. And what we want to do is bring manufacturing back to our country. Vice president pence, good morning, is morning, mr. President. Is very much involved with me on that. One of my most important subjects. Its what the people wanted. Its one of the reasons im sitting here instead of somebody else sitting here. And i think its something im good at. Weve already had a big impact. And i want to thank mark and ford, because youve been great. I think that i think maryland is going to be terrific. Were going to find out soon, right . Its lockheed martin. And we are going to i think were going to have a tremendous amount of if you read todays papers, youll see whats happening with four or five Different Companies that announced they feel much differently. Foxconn is going to spend an tremendous amount of money. So thats what we want. We want people we want to start making our products again. We dont want to bring them in, we want to make them here. And that doesnt mean we dont trade. We do trade. But we want to make our products here. And if you look at some of the original great people that ran this country, you will see that they felt very strongly about that. Making products. And were going to start making our products. And there will be advantages to companies that do indeed make their products here. So we have seen it. Its going to get its going to be a wave. You watch. Its going to be a wave. And ive always said by the time you put them in these massive ships or airplanes, i think its going to be cheaper. What were doing is, we are going to be cutting taxes massively for both the middle class and for companies. And thats massively. Were trying to get it down to anywhere from 15 to 20 . And its now 35 . But its probably more 38 than it is 35. Wouldnt you say . Thats a big thing. A bigger thing, and that surprised me, is the fact that were going to be cutting regulation massively. It will be just as strong and just as good and just as protective of the people as the regulation we have right now. The problem with the regulation we have right now is you cant do anything. You cant i have people that tell me they have more people working on regulations than they have doing product. And its out of control. Its gotten out of control. I mean, very big person when it comes to the environment. Ive received awards on the environment. But some of that stuff makes it impossible to get anything built. It takes years and years you know, you can look at some examples. I read one reasonable where a man trying to build a factory for many, many years, and his vote was going to be fairly soon and he gave up, because he wasnt going to win the vote. Spent millions and millions of dollars. Actually, ruined his life. And we cant have that. So somebody wants to put up a factory, its going to be expedited. And you have to go through the process, but its going to be expedited. And were going to take care of the environment, take care of safety and all of the other things we have to take care. Youre going to get such Great Service and no country is going to be faster, better, more fair, and at the same time, protecting the people of the country. Whether its safety or so many other reasons. We think we can cut regulations by 75 . Maybe more. But by 75 . Have in a certain way better protections. But when you want to expand your plant, or when mark wants to come and build a big massive plant or when dell wants to come in and do something monstrous and special, youre going to have your approva really fast. And the one thing that surprised me that i want to hear what you have to say, but the one thing that surprised me, going around and meeting with a lot of the people at this table, and meeting with a lot of the Small Business owners, if i gave them a choice of this massive tax decrease that were giving for business, for everybody, but for business, or the cutting down of regulation, if i took a vote, i think the regulation wins 100 . Now, in one case, its hard dollars. And the other case, its regulation. You would think that the regulations would have no chance. Its ive never seen anything like it. Virtually everybody is happy with regulation than cutting taxes. So the regulations are going to be cut massively, and the taxes are going to be cut way down. So youre going to have now incentive incentive. The one thing i do have to warn you about. When you have a company here, you have a plant here, its going to be in indiana, or its in ohio, or its in michigan. Or its in North Carolina or pennsylvania. Anywhere in this country. When it decides when you decide, if you decide, to close it, and you no longer will have a real reason because your taxes are going to be lower. And by the way, if you go to another state, thats it. Thats great. If you can go from ohio to indiana or from indiana to ohio, thats fine. You have 50 great, wonderful governors to negotiate with. So its not like were taking away competition. But if you go to another country, and you decide that youre going to close and get rid of 2,000 people or 5,000 people, i tell you, technology was an example we with carrier and i got involved two years after they announced so in all fairness, that was tough. United technologies was terrific. And they brought back many of those jobs. But if that happens, we are going to be imposing a very major border tax on the product when it comes in. Which i think is fair. Which is fair. So a company that wants to fire all of its people in the United States and build some factory someplace else andhen thinks that product is going to just flow across the border into the United States, thats not going to happen. Theyre going to have a tax border tax, substantial border tax. Now, some people would say thats not free trade. But we dont have free trade now. Because were the only one that makes it easy to come into the country. If you look at china, if you look at many other countries, they cant believe what we do. So we take if you want to take a plant or you want to do something, you want to sell something into china and other countries, its very, very hard. In some cases, impossible. They wont even take your product. When they do take your product, they charge a lot of tax. So i dont call that will free trade. What we want is fair trade. And were going to treat countries fairly, but they have to treat us fairly. If theyre going to charge tax to our countries, if we sell a car into japan and they do things to us to make it impossible to sell cars into japan and they sell cars into us and they come in like by the hundreds of thousands on the biggest ships ive ever seen its not fair. I cant believe it took so long. So im talking about no tax. Somebody would say, oh, trump is going to tax. There is no tax. None whatsoever. We have the greatest people. And many other countries have great people. We all have great people, okay . This isnt that kind of a competition. Everybody has great people. But if were going to fire people and build a frod product outside, its not going to happen. So with that, well take some questions. Donald trump is taking questions from the room. Some people,ockheed martin ceo, michael dell, elon musk. Dow chemical, barack obama was somebody who had valley jarrett, sitting on huge Balance Sheets and not send spending it, because of the regulatory overhang. This is a positive for donald trump. A meeting like this. This is definitely his sweet spot. And not only for his Campaign Message that he made. You just heard the states he referenced, ohio, pennsylvania, indiana maryland. Where he wants the manufacturers to go. So what he is saying, look, we think we can produce regulation by 75 . Incredibly popular among corporate america. And well strip back your taxes, make america great. Again, incredibly popular. I can tell you among the corporate elite, they were publicly gushing in their praise. Privately, even more enthusiastic. Heres the problem. What donald trump doesnt say in these meetings with ceos and other manufacturing leaders. How are you going to do it. There has been a reason there has been a decline. Thats a structural change in the American Work force. And that more and more of these traditional manufacturing jobs have been automated, being done by robots. Or have moved for good reason to more competitive, more efficient jurisdictions. You cannot solve that overnight. You are going to get people saying theyre announcing new jobs in america. He is going to bring manufacturing in some sense, because these ceos are frankly scared what he will do if they dont. This is a structural problem, it is about globalization. And just saying, hey, look, im not going to tax you if you move from indiana to wisconsin or michigan isnt going to solve that problem. America faces a longterm crisis, whether for the jobs of the future and not the jobs of the past. Kristen welker, many have said donald trump got off on the wrong foot this weekend. But starting his monday morning like this, hes lacing that shoe up, and walking out on the right foot. Reporter hes clearly trying to turn the page, steph. He has called this a day of action, and hes trying to put that into practice. And we have seen when he was a president elect going through his transition, really taking a hard line with a number of companies for outsourcing jobs, including on twitter, calling them out. Gm, to name one recent example. And so hes making it very clear, this is going to be his strategy, moving forward. As you point out, hes going to interface with the heads of these companies in person. He is going to be engaged in this process, and it does come on the heels of what we anticipate will be two executive orders focused on trade. Announcing his intentions to renegotiate nafta, to pull out of tpp. Hes going to get some resistance on that. But he is really drawing the battle lines early, in his presidency. And trying to put the focus on jobs and trade. And, of course, those were two key issues that he campaigned on, steph. This is part of the reason why he won all of those working class voters throughout the midwest. So what were seeing is, hes trying to put his words into practice. The question is, will it lead to broad job growth. So far, we have seen him try to preserve jobs in various companies, but the Counter Point to that, its not necessarily a shift in policy. Today saying were going to focus on policy, as well, steph. Frank, so many people have said if donald trump puts people back to work, all the noise and things you dont like will go by its wayside. Most ceos yesterday morning, drinking their coffee, watching Kellyanne Conway, probably choking with the alternative truth. But when they walk into the white hoe th morning, when they get to highfive gary cohn of goldman sachs, they have got to feel good sitting at the table, hearing Donald Trumps message. They like what hes saying. He is saying that regulations are going to be cut. And there are a lot of people who think thats the right way to go. There are going to be many more mornings where People Like Us gather and talk about ridiculous things that donald trump has started to talk about. He is talking about substantive things, tax reform, regulatory reform. People did elect him. The people who wanted him in the white house and who voted for them, these are exactly the things they voted for. And, yeah, i think the vos are very happy to hear it. Whether that is going to turn the economy around and bring jobs to the extent he wants it to, big open question. I dont hear him talking as much as they should about innovation. I dont hear him talking about how we produce highskilled labor force in america. That enables us to compete globally in the way we need to compete. Because just tariffs and that sort of thing is not going to do it. That said, hes having a serious discussion right there. Without a doubt. R d is being spent on automation. These ceos are excited to be in the white house with the exception of elon musk, you did not see these types of ceo there was voted over the last eight years. One thing i want to watch, there is an element of protectionism here that is in contrast to everything you have heard from the Republican Party, the chamber of commerce and the donor class of that party for my entire career that, you know, is not you didnt hear a lot about that. But it was mixed into taxation. How will they react to that. That is a fascinating thing politically. To what extent will republicans roll over for him and to what extent in the name of party unity do you end up with a Republican Party that has a completely new orthodoxy. Well, well soon find out. Well take a break. Next, new reporting on President Trumps National Security adviser. Why are intelligence agencies investigating his contacts with russian officials . Im speaking, of course, about mike flynn. Plus, deadly tornadoes. More than 12 people killed. Homes leveled down south. Now the northeast is in for more wild weather. Its red lobsters big festival of shrimp and for just 15. 99 you can pick 2 of 6 new and classic creations on one plate new flavors like sweet bourbonbrown sugar grilled shrimp and bold firecracker red shrimp are too big to last so hurry in. Welcome back. Youre watching msnbc. Im stephanie ruhle. The Senate ForeignRelations Committee is expected to vote for secretary of state later this afternoon. The vote for Rex Tillerson after john mccain and Lindsey Graham announced their official support. Now the big question is, what will senator marco rubio do . You know he had some testy, testy exchanges with tillerson during the confirmation hearing. Is Vladimir Putin a war criminal . I would not use that term. Is military targeted schools would want to have more information before reaching that conclusion. I find it discouraging your inability to cite that which i think is globally accepted. Joining me now is kasie hunt on capitol hill. All eyes are obviously on marco rubio today. Any indication on what hes going to do . Well, steph, i think that what you saw from Lindsey Graham and john mccain over the weekend is a key part of this. They came out and said that they will vote for tillerson when his nomination comes to a vote on the floor of the full senate. And that really ensures that his overall confirmation is all but guaranteed. This, of course, is the Foreign Relations committee. And the question is, just what kind of a fight, if any, does marco rubio want to pick with donald trump . Its been made clear to him privately that there likely be some repercussions if he were to vote against tillerson in this Hearing Committee today, that is the calculus going on behind the scenes. Rubio has demanded these answers to written questions, 100plus written questions from tillerson. They say theyve gotten that back in recent days. But at this point, marco rubio is more on an island than he was before. And that may discourage him from actually voting no here in the committee. What that would mean, if he were to vote no, there is only a difference of one in partisanship on this committee. So if all the democrats hang together and vote no, rubio could make it so that the committee does not send its recommendation that tillerson be approved. No matter what, steph, the reality is, its probably not going to change the fact that tillerson is very likely to be confirmed. Im a rock, im an island, works in music, but not in real life. What is marco rubio going to do . He did something significant, we have to remind people. He asked tillerson to fill out this questionnaire. He also met privately with tillerson. Thats not just about getting more information. Thats about if he does vote yay, being able to say my last contact warrant those questions you saw in public. Ive since spoken with him privately and received some assurances, i feel better now. Asking the questions to be filled out, having a private meeting, thats called giving yourself some cover if you go in the direction that contradicts that tense exchange. Ah. There you have it. All right. Up next, donald trump won a lot of working class voters with his promise to renegotiate trade deals. Now that hes begun that process, what will the removal actually mean for workers . And later, those deadly tornadoes that have killed over a dozen people. Were going to go live to the path of destruction. Liberty mutual stood with me when i was too busy with the kids to get a repair estimate. I just snapped a photo and got an estimate in 24 hours. My Insurance Company definitely doesnt have that. You can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™ Liberty Mutual insurance there will be advantages to companies that do indeed make their products here. So we have seen it. Its going to get its going to be a way of you watch. Its going to be a way. And ive always said, by the time you put them in these massive ships or airplanes and fly them, i think its going to be cheaper. That was President Trump, just moments ago as he began a meeting with Business Leaders at the white house. He wasted no time when it comes to trade. And executive action could come as early as today, regarding nafta. Whats more, the official white house website has been updated announcing President Trumps plans to withdraw from the transpacific tip or tpp, which is the u. S. Has signed. Ali velshi joins me. Donald trump said once you got on the planes and ships it would be cheaper to make it here. Yet in the products donald trump made or his for giggles, theyre doing because at the end of the day they do the math. He talks about taxing and shipping. He conveniently ignores the absolute single biggest determinant in why you make things in different parts of the world and that is wages. Theyre substantially cheaper, a third in mexico, in china, theyre lower. If youre shipping steel, thats a problem because its bigger and heavy. There are a million things people make that are not heavy and its worth them to make it elsewhere. Hes got to start using the full argue moneme argument, not half of it. Nafta, this maybe could use negotiation. Thats kind of what tpp was about. Nafta has been in effect since 1994 but it was devieved from te canada u. S. Free trade agreement. Nafta causes some problems because of mexicos low cages. This was designed in part not just to sell mexico heavy machinery and agriculture, which the u. S. Does, but to try to strengthen mexicos economy back in the days when the people coming across mexicos border were mexicans and theyre not now, theyre central americans. The idea was to wage mexican wages and reduce emigration from mexico to the United States. And that part worked. Extraordinary. And take a quick look at tpp. Tpp isnt necessarily andy business. Obama presented it at nike headquarters. Its 12 questions. Canada, mexico, the u. S. And the rest are asian. Its so that they dont chum up with china. Its much more political than it is trade. But it would be positive for companies. The net effect is these deals are all actually really good for companies. Ha theyre not fantastic for workers, particularly manufacturing workers. Its how Bernie Sanders got his name on the scene. People across the country are going bernie who . Ali velshi, thank you. Next, the deadly tornadoes that ripped across the south killing 18 people. Well go live next. 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So, stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. Tell your doctor your medical history. Taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. The most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. Nows the time for a better moment of proof. Ask your doctor about victoza®. Millions of people are waking up to their lives turned upside down after deadly storms struck several southeastern states. The huge storm system spawned dozens of tornadoes that shredded home in southern georgia and mississippi. 18 people were killed. President trump expressed his condolences. I just spoke with governor nathan diehl of georgia, great state, great people, florida and alabama affected by the tornadoes and just expressed our sincere condolences for the lives taken. That storm system is now headed north with the powerful noreaster that will batter coastal states with high winds and possible flooding from d. C. Up till maine. Mariana atencio joins us. What have you seen . Reporter it was absolutely devastating driving through here, especially as the sun came up and you started to see the extent of the damage. This is holly drive in albany, georgia, three hours south of atlanta. Businesses like the one to my left just completely destroyed after this tornado ripped through this wall of cinder blocks. Many businesses and homes look look this one in in dougherty county, at least three died from these twisters. The total number of fatalities is 14 in georgia alone. Its the deadliest storm in six years. Authorities are focused on evacuating people from the hardest hit areas. Theyre telling people not to go into their homes looking for people because of the danger of power lines. We will be getting an update as to the damage and rescue efforts but were told that the fear is the death toll could rise. Seven counties remain under a state of emergency. Stephanie . Did people have any warning of what was coming . Look at the area around you. Decimated. Reporter they were told this was one of the areas that was going to be hit. Remember, this was a storm system that just started plowing through the south since thursday. There were 47 tornadoes reportedly since thursday and throughout the weekend. So they did get some warning but i just think many did not expect the extent of the devastation to be this big. Were starting to see some people in the neighborhood just in front of me starting to look through whats left of their homes and the look of desperation on their faces shows they were not expecting this. Stephanie . Thanks so much, devastating. That weather is heading north. Im stephanie ruhle. Ill see you tauo tomorrow at 9 coming up, more news with hallie jackson. Hey, everybody. Im hallie jackson. We have so much to get to. In just the last hour, President Trump meeting with Business Leaders for breakfast. Coming up, hes going to be issue executive orders, we think, on two of the countrys biggest trade agreements. He wants to overhaul one and get out of the other one completely. And defendant in chief . President trump and his family are complying with all the ethical rules, everything they need to do to step away from his businesses and be a fulltime president. Thats what the president s team says. But coming up, were talking to one of the lawyers filing that suit against President Trump. Here on capitol hill, the senate expected to vote on critical and controversial cabinet nominees. Lets get to Kristen Welker. What do we know and when are the highlights coming at about 30 minutes from now . According to a white house official, President Trump is going to sign a number of executive orders today but two of them will be focused on trade. One announcing his intention to renegotiate nafta. Thats the trade deal with mexico and canada that was signed with former president bill clinton in 1994. Now, President Trump has called that the worst trade deal ever negotiated. He wants to tear it up, start from scratch, impose tariffs on canada and mexico. It could have unintended consequences. They say it could ultimately kind wind up costing tens of thousands of u. S. Jobs