Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With Stephanie Ruhle 20171220

We probably have to go on food stamps just to pay so we can pay for our medical bills. We begin with a huge day for republicans, tax reform on the brink of passage again. Congress should have been done with this yesterday except for a couple of socalled glitches that will force the house vote a second time on what essentially is the same bill. We have a lot to talk about and i have a great team to break it down. Before i get to the team, i want to show you a little of what happened over the last 18 hours or so. As it turns out, the house vote was just the beginning of a very interesting day on capitol hill. Watch. The yeas are 227 and the nays are 203. The conference report is adopted. Without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. Were following breaking news from the house of representatives where theyre being forced into a redo on their tax bill. This is a functional equivalent of them scoring, dancing in the end zone, and then having a fiveyard penalty called and having to do it all over again. Will this pass tonight . Absolutely. There are a couple of little glitches but theyre very minor adjustmen adjustments. Save our health care. This fellow has a very interesting way of trying to get his point of view across. Down the hall, down the hall 100 feet is senator mcconnells office. The stream of lobbyists in and out of senator mcconnells office from americas largest, richest corporations. A year from now republicans will be running away from this bill in shame for voting yes this evening. The ayes are 51, the nays are 48. The tax cuts and jobs act is passed. If we cant sell this to the American People, we ought to go into another line of work. Weve got a lot to cover. Lets start with msnbcs Garrett Haake who we saw in that piece. All right, garrett, Mitch Mcconnell called these minor issues. What exactly are they and is this thing getting through today . Reporter hes right. These are parliamentary issues, things that were added late in the game that the pau parliamentarian decided have to come out. They are not major features of this tax bill. One of the items is a plan that ted cruz had inserted to allow people to use 529 savings accounts to save money for home school expenses. And the other deals with the tax treatment of small universities and how their endowments are taxed. None of the big ticket items. So those came out of the bill last night. You saw the senate pass this, send it back over to the house. This will get through the house again today, stephanie. While this was sort of embarrassing for republicans to have to do this all over again today, i can tell you paul ryan would probably be happy to vote on this bill every single day for the rest of the year if he could, and theres a lot of House Republicans who feel the same way. This is, for them, an enormous achievement. They want to see it done. If it takes them 12 more hours to do it than they thought, so be it. So be it. Well, they want to vote on this day in and day out. Its a huge, huge win for them. I want to bring in Kristen Welker now live at the white house. Kristen, passing tax reform, this is President Trumps first major legislative win, and it wins with the rich people, with big business. And while they werent President Trumps base, he certainly wants to celebrate this christmas at maralago with the richest of the rich and they have got a lot to party about. Reporter well, look, this is a huge achievement for President Trump. He hasnt had a major legislative victory yet, so theyre really preparing to celebrate here at the white house. Theres no doubt about that. Remember, he failed to repeal and replace obamacare, so this is what hes been focused on. He wanted to deliver a big tax cut for the American People by christmas. Now he can say he has done that. The president tweeting overnight the United States Senate Just Passed the biggest in history tax cut and reform bill. Terrible individual mandate obamacare repealed. Goes to the house today. He said tomorrow morning for final vote. If approved, there will be a News Conference at the white house at approximately 1 00 p. M. Now, were just learning that event will get pushed to 3 00 p. M. Hes going to have senate and House Republicans join him. To your broader point, though, steph, the fact that if you look at the numbers of this it will benefit wealthy americans, President Trump stands to benefit from this as well, despite the fact that he says its going to cause him to pay big. Of course we cant drill down on that because he hasnt released his tax returns yet. The white house saying hes still under audit. Bottom line youll hear the president tout this as a major tax cut for the middle class. The challenge for the president and republicans, this bill is still pretty unpopular. Our latest poll showing 41 of americans say its a bad idea, so they have their work cut out for them. Steph. They have their work cut out for them. This bill is based on trickledown economics, so if it works, thats a win for them. While we havent seen the president s taxes, we know both President Trump and his daughter, ivanka trump, have Lifestyle Brands where they sell clothing. Ivanka just opened up a store here in new york city. This is an opportunity for both of them and we will have the chance to monitor whether or not they move manufacturing state side. Joining me now, new york congressman chris collins, one of the 227 republicans who voted yes on this bill. Congressman, congratulations. This is a huge win for republicans. For you, youre actually in the minority in the state of new york. Five of your republican colleagues voted no on this legislation. What are they missing here . Well, stephanie, its a big win for america. Its a big win for our children and grandchildren to finally get this economy moving so they can participate in a growing economy and live the American Dream. But its also for 98 of my constituents in new york, 27 western new york and buffalo, theyll get anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 more in takehome pay next year because of the significant changes, doubling of the Child Tax Credit to 2,000. Almost a double in the standard family deduction from 12,700 to 24,000. Theyll see 100 to 150 a month more in their takehome pay. You know what, theyre going to spending it. Theyre going to spending it on main street, theyre going to go to dinner, theyre going to do what they do. Its going to multiply in the economy. Then you throw on top of that our 21 Corporate Tax rate which finally makes us competitive around the world. Well, they will until 2025 when the individual cuts expire. Why did five republicans in your state not agree with you . That pitch you just made is a good one. Well, first of all, the sunset is that was a parliamentarian rule in the senate. While technically the individual cuts would expire in 2025, im confident a future congress will be pushing them forward, so you have to stay tuned on that. Were good for eight years, the corporate rates are locked in. Im a little confused frankly about my fellow new yorkers because like i said, 98 of my constituents are going to get a tax cut. I believe the same is true certainly outside of the city. And while there may be some millionaires and billionaires in long island that are losing significant state and local tax deductions, this tax bill was not about the folks making 2 million a year living in a 5 million a house. That was not what this was about. There are millionaires and billionaires right here in new york getting truly hooked up because carried interest is still in this bill. Steve schwartzman, a close ally of the president , clocked i want to say 400 million this year. President trump, steve mnuchin, gary cohn on the campaign trail and since in office said carried interest will without a doubt be taken out. Its one of the things that hurt mitt romney when he was running because he came from the private equity industry. Carried interest is still in there. We did change the holding period. You changed it for hedge Fund Managers, not for private equity, the guys who truly benefit for it. And they always have a longer than threeyear holding period. They buy Companies Just like real estate firms do. So theyre being taxed at a higher rate like its Investment Income than new york city firefighters and police officers. Just this morning with axios, gary cohn said the white house tried 25 times to get carried interest taken out and the hill fought it. By the hill fighting it, that means that there are special Interest Groups pushing the buttons. Who supports, make the argument for me, why carried interest should be in there because the white house just said we wanted it out. Congress wants it in. Oh, i cant make that argument. I advocated strongly to remove the carried interest. Then who wanted it in . You voted yes. Well, it came through our ways and means committee. Thats where our tax bill was debated and changed. All i can say is we can agree to disagree on things and i disagreed with keeping that in there. It did stay, but this is a great bill so if its you cant ever let perfect be the enemy of good. Its 99 good. I wish the individual rates were permanent. I wish carried interest was gone. But that doesnt change the fact that the Business Community is going to rock and roll. 95 , 98 of my constituents will have an extra 100 to 150 every single month to spend and they will spend it and thats going to trickle through the economy. Well, you yourself, youre a Small Businessman. Are you going to raise wages for your employees when you get your tax cut . We just gave significant raises in one of the companies im involved in two weeks ago because, frankly, whats happening with a strong economy, theres more demand for workers. As theres more demand, youre going to have to increase wages to keep your significant workers. My biotechnology company, yes, we had substantial raises across the board for all 114 employees two weeks ago. But without the border adjustment tax, the fact that we have a global workforce, were still going to be able to have cheap labor overseas, so theres not really a reason to bring those jobs back and Corporate America isnt being forced to. You didnt do anything to the payroll tax here. Just because corporations are going to have more money, mike bloomberg, probably new yorks most successful businessman, says its absolute fantasy to believe that companies are going to start paying their employees more money. Well, i agree with you on the b. A. T. Im a big supporter of the border adjustment tax. I was disappointed when that didnt get in. That would have put a 20 effective tariff on goods being made overseas. I thought that was a brilliant move, it didnt make it in. Its now going to be up to our Commerce Department to negotiate trade deals or put tariffs in place against china and mexico, not europe. Europe, canada, and the like, they pay similar wages. But the only way were going to get our manufacturing jobs back from mexico and china is to put significant tariffs against products made in those countries. We have to put America First. Whether its 20 , which is what a b. A. T. Would have been or even 30 , people are right, if youre paying 4 an hour in mexico, youre not going to pay 30 an hour in the u. S. Weve got to level the Playing Field with china and mexico with significant tariffs to encourage these companies to bring the jobs back. We should point out that the trade deficit between the United States and china has only increased in the last ten months. I do want to ask, this bill is supposed to spike the economy. The economy that is slowly but steadily growing. If it doesnt pay for itself, because in paying for itself, theres the assumption that theres going to be welfare reform, theres going to be infrastructure spending. If it doesnt pay for itself and there have to be cuts, are there going to be changes to entitlements . Well, right now the biggest change that were looking at in the entitlement world is for ablebodied adults who dont have minor children at home to get out and get a job. Theres plenty of jobs right now. Theres more jobs than there are people willing to fill it. So when youre looking at some of the benefits ablebodied adults are getting without minor children at home, thats going to be a big focus we have. And i think 98 of americans would agree those people should not be sitting on the steps, they should be out working. They may not love the john, they may not love the hours, they may not love the pay, but they need to get out and get a job. So does that mean we should expect cuts to medicaid and medicare, Social Security . No. We are looking then how do you do it . Well, a growing economy at 3 to 3. 5 , will double our economy in 20 years to 40 trillion. Its been growing at 1 , 1. 5 for eight years under barack obama, which is the whole reason we ended up with 10 trillion of extra debt. Sir, it was at 3 at four different points during that period. Well, i guess, again, we can agree to disagree. But we ended up adding 10 trillion to our nations debt over those eight years. And what do you think is going to happen to our nations debt with this tax bill . You dont think were going to add to our debt . Well, lets say for right now it added 1 trillion over ten years. Thats less than obama did every year of his presidency. You do remember that president obama was elected at the height of the financial crisis when we were in a housing disaster in this country. Right. And we had the worst economic recovery following a major recession in the history of economics. Which was a steady climb for eight years. Well, i dont know that it does any of us any good to relitigate the deplorable eight years of barack obama. Sir, you just brought it up. Only time will tell what happens to the economy. Youre already seeing the stock market reacting in a positive way. And in new york state where we have to have by constitution a fully funded state pension plan, this could reduce the pension burn that all of our cities, towns, villages and counties in new york, potentially even eliminating the need for those municipalities to make pension payments in the near future because the soaring stock market will make sure that the pension fund in new york is fully funded. Thats a consequence i certainly havent heard our governor talk about, but that would be another major benefit of our tax plan. That is a great point. We have to remember pensions, 401 k s, they are affected in a very positive way by the stock market. Quick, before we go, how about value of homes. Are you concerned at all in new york state about home values, because some are concerned that with mortgage deductions changing, it could impact house values. Thats cry baby governor cuomo, who is bringing up some of the issues that mostly are related to his tax and spend policies in albany. No, i am not concerned. People are buying houses because they want to buy a house, live in a certain neighborhood, have their kids go to a Certain School district. We do need to reduce our tax burden in new york, which is double that of florida per person. Theres no reason we shouldnt be and the governor and the assembly and senate should be looking at ways to reduce the tax burden, especially on homeowners in new york. But, stephanie, im not worried that somehow theres going to be a major reduction in home values when thats just not, i believe, going to happen. All right, thanks so much for joining me and congratulations, huge win. Thank you very much. All right. I want to bring in brendan greeley, a contributor to the Economist Free Exchange blog and megan murphy, editor of business week. Which you have to see this week. And christine quinn, vice chairman of the new york state democratic party. Megan, you first. When you talk to Business Leaders about this tax plan which is going to become law later today, what are they telling you . Business leaders are certainly excited about this tax bill. It takes the rate down, as we know when we talk about the transfer to the wealthy under this bill, thats a large part of this transfer and the permanent part of that transfer depose to corporation. One other part talking about carried interest, also remember the passthrough rate is coming down which is how so many Small Businesses distribute income in this country and thats a huge benefit there. What they dont say is that they are going to increase wages, dramatically expand jobs or bring manufacturing back to the United States. Theres something really important that just came through in that discussion and i want to not let it go. The reason jobs and manufacturing have relocated to places like mexico and china is not just cheap wages. Of course thats a factor. But its that we have a truly globalized economy. You can say America First all you want. And thats not changing. That is not changing. And what the issue is, are we equipping American Workers to really face the challenges of a next generation economy, a more automated economy, an economy where robots are doing a larger share of the work, a truly disrupted economy where more people are phased into lower wage jobs that are only parttime jobs. And also please stop talking about the stock market and 401 k s. For the majority of families on working class incomes who are fighting to participate in this recovery, which is it true is stop and start, that doesnt affect them. They dont have the money, the luxury of benefitting from a roaring stock market or increase in their 401 k . Please stop saying that to those voters. What they are going to get, yes, eight out of ten families are going to get a tax cut from this bill. That may be good news over time for republicans. But lets make no mistake about it. Every single study of this bill shows that it is dramatically redistributed towards the wealthiest part of this society. The top 5 of income earners in this country are going to receive over 60 of the benefits of this bill in ten years time. Next year are going to receive double the share of benefits from this bill as working class families. And just own that. Exactly. If youre making the argument that by cutting taxes here its going to impact the rest of the economy, take it, buy it. Im okay with it. But calling this something that its not is disingenuous. Christine, speak to us about the impact of programs that will get cut. So once they have to do their dirty work i shouldnt call it dirty work, the hard stuff, the impact that increasing deficit, what that is going to do to the overall economy and this countrys poorest, what will the impact be . As those cuts are having to happen, we need to remember that in less than a decade over half of americans will see their taxes rise. So youll see more need probably out there. Look, the republicans, and you saw that in your conversation with representative collins, theyre acting like the easy part is whats to come. They have raised the deficit. They are taking money out of the coffers of government to support americans in need. So he said no cuts to medicaid, medicare and Social Security. Thats simply not possible, particularly when he says this, you know, fictitious, which is what well hear over and over about abundance of ablebodied, readytowork americans who the way he describes it are just sitting around on their porch enjoying the sunshine are going to be pushed even harder to get back to work. There are not jobs out there for those americans that are going to allow them to pay their renting arent and pay their bills. This tax bill wont increase any of those jobs. So the choices, the result of a bill that helps the 1 almost exclusively, the result is going to be cutting back on programs that help the women i work with, homeless women and children, over half of whom those mothers are working. Were going to see cuts right at them. Men who are homeless who may be struggling with mental illness, Senior Citizens who have banked their whole life on the american payback and the American Dream that there will be Social Security waiting for them. Its really worse than just a tax cut to the ultra rich because its their tax cut coming out of the very few dollars in poor americans pockets. Mr. Greeley, i want to share what paul ryan said to our colleague, savannah guthrie, on the today show this morning. In addition to getting the economy growing faster and getting people in higher paying jobs is we have to control our spending. We have more work to do. We clearly have to go after spending control. But you also have to have economic growth. Those are the twin things to get the debt down. Grow the economy, cut spending. This will help grow the economy. Then we have to get back at cutting spending. What do you think about this argument . Its important to notice the semantic distinction that hes making between spending in the tax code and spending outside of the tax code. Tax economists dont make this distinction at all. If you give someone a tax break, the tax economist believes thats spending. The Treasury Department counts that as spending. Paul ryan dont say thats spending. They only say its spending when we write a check to somebody, right . So what he failed to do and what hes been promising to do for five years now is get rid of all the tax spending in the tax code, all of these special deductions, and then use that to lower the rate. That is precisely what we did not do with this bill. So when he talks about spending, remember, hes very closely defining the word spending. But let me go back to something that megan murphy said about 401 k s. I want to add to that. In addition to the fact that very few in america, about half of americans even have access to some sort of pension or 401 k , all Fund Managers talking about the kinds of funds that 401 k s are generally invested in, talk about returns in the future of 3 or 4 , not getting higher than 5 . Thats a real problem. Theres a huge distinction between what these funds are earning in the 401 k and what the stock market looks like. Theres a huge distinction between those two things. Pension funds are actually getting out of the stock market and trying to get into private equity because the returns are greater there. So if were really worried about Retirement Savings, this was not a Retirement Savings bill. If we want to talk about people can save more pretax so theyre set up for retirement, from your lips to gods ears, lets do that. Thats not what this bill does. Brandon, before we go, whats the accountability for corporations in 2018 to actually raise wages . Because theres no law that says they have to do it. So lets fast forward. Its next june. Does anyone from the government knock on the doors of every Small Business and Large Corporation around the country and ask, so, what are you doing about those wages . Depends on whether you think the head of the Federal Reserve is from the government. I mean they have been really lucky. I think the republicans caught a break on this one. I think well see wage increases. I dont think theyll be from this tax bill, it will be from the fact we have a very tight labor market. Weve been seeing slow growth and theres indications theres going to be more growth in wages coming up soon. So well see a correlation that i dont believe is causation but i think well get wage growth over the next year because its a tight labor market. This happens at the end of the cycle. We are at the end of the business cycle. So i think they caught a break on this one. Oh, brendan greeley, thank you. Coming up, a fascinating look at President Trumps quest to permanently alter the courts. Were learning new details about the president s three main criteria for a judge. Plus in his mad dash to pass tax cuts, the Republicancontrolled Congress has neglected to renew funding for a crucial program. Ive talked about this again, i am turning the volume up on it today. Providing health care for nine million children in the country. Do you know how cold it is out . Do you know how much kids need basic health care . Time is running out. Were going to share one familys story straight ahead. Please Pay Attention to this. First, nbc news wall street journal poll shows only about a third of americans say will definitely or probably vote for President Trump if he runs for reelection in 2020. Half the voters say they will definitely or probably support whoever the democratic challenger is. Democrats shouldnt get so confident on that. They need to get their house in order. When you have a cold, pain from chest congestion can make this. Feel like this. Allinone cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the 1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. Tylenol®. The morning walk until. It. Wasnt. Dont let type 2 diabetes get between you and your heart. Even if you reach your a1c goal you are still at risk for heart attack or stroke. Talk to your Health Care Provider today about diabetic heart disease. And find out more at heartoftype2. Com. Your heart and type 2 diabetes. Make the connection. Welcome back. Im stephanie ruhle. Time now for your morning primer, everything you need to know to get your day started. We begin with a democrat in virginia. Shelly simmons edging out a republican for a Virginia House seat. Ready for this . Only one vote. This ends 17 years of gop control of the state house. Democrats and republicans will have a powersharing agreement. It doesnt matter who won, remember, every vote counts. And the vatican Officials Say Cardinal Bernard law has died at the age of 76. The disgraced exarchbishop resigned after failing to protect children from pedophile priests. U. N. Ambassador nikki haley is putting countries on notice, saying the u. S. Will remember who voted for a resolution criticizing President Trumps decision to recognize jerusalem as israels capital. The General Assembly is set to hold an emergency session tomorrow for the vote. Jerusalem also sparked a conversation between President Trump and britains prime minister, theresa may. It was their first conversations since may criticized trump for retweeting antimuslim videos. Mays rare condemnation was met with twitter backlash from the president. And in mexico, 12 people were killed and nearly 20 others injured after a bus carrying Cruise Ship Passengers flipped on a narrow highway. Seven americans are among those hurt. On the cusp of that major legislative win, the Trump Administration is touting another one of the president s biggest accomplishments, his mark on the federal bench. In his first year in office, the president is naming judges in record numbers. Already filling 19 federal judgeship vacancies, that includes Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, 12 Circuit Court judges and Six District Court judges. Heres a question. How does the white house pick these people . According to a New Washington post piece, the president asks his advisers one overarching question when going over potential nominees. Hes not weak, is he . The he, thats the part that sticks out to me. I want to bring in Ashley Parker who wrote this great story, along with my panel, megan murphy and christine quinn. Ashley, take us behind the scenes because more than 50 of graduates from law school are women, yet an overwhelming number of these picks are white guys. How do they keep getting picked . Thats right. The people he has nominated so far are not a particularly diverse group. But the president and his team are operating with three main criteria theyre looking for. They want judges who are young, so can serve on the bench for a very long time. They want people to be conservative and they want them to be strict constitutionalists. In terms of the age thing, this is a really important and specific criteria. I was told by someone that what they really want are people under 40, in their 30s and their 40s. They will sort of talk to you if youre between 40 and 50, and they dont want anything to do with you if youre over 50. Now, someone in the white house said thats a bit of a hyperb e hyperbole, but it is a good shorthand in the way theyre thinking of these appointments and how theyre trying to stack the federal bench. Megan, three nominees withdrew their names last week, in some part because questions over their qualifications. We know the American Bar Association at least with at least one candidate had said not acceptable. What do you think about this vetting process . What is it telling you . Stephanie, im a former lawyer. Youre always a lawyer. Im always a lawyer. So for some of these nominees, i mean to not know what a motion in limine is, the lack of qualifications is stunning. The ratings some of them have gotten about being not qualified to serve. But lets be very clear about this. This is very meaningful, very lasting change that will be a mark on the courts and the court system of this country for long after the Trump Administration. This is one of the really key policy wins that they are having that is flying a little bit under the radar and its really going to reshape the courts. Lets bring up something ashley said about strict constitutionalism or what we used to all strict constructionism. They are appointing judges that dont see the constitution as a living, breathe document, a document that can ebb and flow with the times with the changing moral compass and social norms and that affects everything with respect to womens rights and where roe v. Wade was founded on an expansion of privacy under the constitution, lgbt rights and transgender and how we are on gay marriage. Gun laws. Of course the constitution doesnt say anything about samesex marriage. Of course the constitution doesnt say anything about affirmative action policies because it wasnt written at a time when these policies are in place. But in looking for strict constructionism and strict constitutionalist judges, theyre looking for people who will interpret it very much the way Antonin Scalia did. That their judgment the time the constitution was written is the way we should frame our laws today. If you take that reality, couple it with this wanting younger people on the bench, no concern about experience, right, just a commitment to those core values that you just described and is he weak, it really sends a message that President Trump and his advisers are committed to having a Lasting Legacy of conservative, even ultra conservative decisions on the bench. And if these appointees go through with that strength on being conservative, strength on having one view and young, we will see this affect way, way into our Senior Citizen years. Ashley, to these points, does that make this year a massive win for conservative christians . Because all year long weve talked about President Trumps behavior, weve talked about moral rep hence iblt and how does this square for the family values. For those conservative christians whose family values are extremely traditional, can they put President Trumps behavior and the twitter noise aside because these appointments are massive wins for them . Yes. So far they can. And thats one of the things you hear is that they dont like his twitter use, they dont like his treatment of women, they dont like the things he says necessarily or often the way he acts, but they do like what hes doing with judges. Of course the most major one is getting neil gorsuch onto the Supreme Court. And until tax reform just passed, that was really his only major achievement. But that was something a number of conservative christians and just conservatives in general frank lly held onto, that was t preeminent achievement. Nothing else mattered but they were willing to overlook a number of things because they understood, as you were just talking about, how important a Supreme Court appointment is and how quietly important these other judges are on district and Circuit Courts. Well, they said listen to what he does, not what he says, so they make the argument a tweet can be deleted. These appointments are for a lifetime. All right, ashley, great piece. Thank you so much. You guys stick around. Woe ne now have to give you update on that deadly amtrak crash. Investigators still trying to piece together the cause for the derailment that killed three people and injured dozens more. Tom costello covers the ntsb and is in washington, tom, are we any closer to getting answers on how the heck this happened . The focus is very much on the engineer. Why was it that he was traveling 80 Miles Per Hour in a 30 zone, slowing to 30 as they went into the curve, but he maintained a speed of 80. We now know that there was in fact somebody else in the cab with the engineer, a conductor who was a conductor in training trying to get a better feel for the tracks. So the question the ntsb is going to be asking, did that second person in the cab distract the engineer from focusing on the tracks and slowing down when he was supposed to. They will also be looking at cell phone use. Did anybody in the cab, were they distracted by looking at their phones. They will look very closely at cell phone records. They do have cameras outwardly looking cameras and inwardly looking cameras, so they will get a sense of what that conductor was doing and what the engineer was doing in the minutes before the crash because they will see it on that inward camera. The question is, is that recording good. We know that the camera itself was damaged in the crash, but the chances are that the actual recording should be pretty good. They still havent interviewed the crew. All crew members were in the hospital and the engineer is said to have suffered a head injury and his eyes were swollen shut, so they need to talk to him once hes cleared from the hospital and once he has worked this out with his union. Typically that also involves some reference with legal experts. But ultimately they need to talk to him and get a sense of what he says happened. But at the moment, keep in mind the ntsb is in the business of gathering facts right now. At the moment what they are focused on is excessive speed, failure to slow down, two people in the cab instead of one and the possibility that either that second person or some piece of electronics distracted the engineer, he failed to hit the brakes. Back to you. All right. This is a story we certainly need answers to. Thanks so much, tom. Were going to take a break. Coming up, money, power, politics. Jared kushners Family Business boasting billions of dollars in Real Estate Acquisitions over the last decade but just how accurate are those figures . A look inside the Kushner Family firm. Id like to know why i didnt get a kushner bath robe this year. It was their christmas gift. Mika got one. Im ginny and i quit smoking with chantix. I had tried to quit before, i had tried the patch. I tried to go cold turkey; it didnt work for me. I didnt think i could quit until i used chantix. Along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. Chantix reduced my urge to smoke. When you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Some people had changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, or suicidal thoughts or actions with chantix. Serious side effects may include seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking or allergic and skin reactions which can be lifethreatening. Stop chantix and get help right away if you have any of these. Tell your Healthcare Provider if youve had depression or other Mental Health problems. Decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. Use caution when driving or operating machinery. The most common side effect is nausea. After 25 years, i walked away from cigarettes. Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. Many insurance plans cover chantix for a low or 0 copay. Welcome back. It is time for money, power, politics. A new bloomberg report says Jared Kushners real estate empire touts a bigger game than its actually playing. The report says the companys new york City Holdings are mostly minority stakes with outside backers footing the heftiest bills. The problem, according to the report, is pressure on kushner to turn profit for investors who are taking on more of the risk both inside and outside the u. S. Here with me, one of the coauthors of that article, Bloomberg Financial investigations reporter, kayla melbe and megan murray is saying. Lets talk about kushner and his properties. We got a statement saying of course they have investment partners, almost everyone does, no one owns things solely. Talk to us about the share of what kushner owns versus their investors. The reason that matters to us is that Jared Kushner is in the white house. Hes the guy who trump has charged with peace in the middle east, relations with china, innovation in technology, so if hes got a real estate business that is struggling to turn profits and he needs to please those investors, there could be a conflict of interest because hes got a lot of say in the government right now. Absolutely. And, yeah, they have about 60 buildings across new york. Sometimes some of the big ones like the watchtower building they have stakes as small as 5 and these are widely understood to be kushner buildings. It is true that a lot of Real Estate Investors do have these outside investors coming in but that isnt how kushner cos has advertised itself throughout the years. Would you compare the advertising to trump advertising . This is a trump building, which sometimes trump is just responsible for the marquee on the door and nothing else. When jared was coming of age and he was making a name for himself and buying all these buildings, they were very happy to have their names associated with these buildings and a lot more investors who are a bit more private and didnt want headlines were more than happy to let him take it. So jared could make the argument hes divested a lot of his holdings and isnt conflicted. But doesnt he have his sister and her husband managing it . And it was his sister who was in china months ago hanging jareds picture on a wall saying my brother is in the white house, who wants to spend some money with us . Yeah, and also his father, yeah. Those divestments were back to family members, theyre fairly close. Its a Family Business. The ceo chair in the company that jared used to hold is still empty. You know, you get the sense that theres some paper shuffling going on. Were not quite sure how those divestments happened, but at the end of the day, familys family. Without a doubt. We know how close the Kushner Family is, theyre very similar to the trumps. Megan, whats your take on all of this . At first glance, one could say, oh, youre just arguing that they dont have as much money as they claim. Thats not what its about. This is about conflict of interest. Its about conflict of interest and its about transparency. Were so grateful to caleb who throughout the year has focused on the kushner empire and really blingi bringing it home to people. Its about conflicts and about transparency. Were at the end of december 2017 and still know very little about the extent of these conflicts, we still havent seen the president s tax returns, we dont know where the tentacles extend, what he dont know what quid pro quos. We do know theres constant rumors about Jared Kushners wings being clipped, about a desire to come back to new york and widespread rumors about where bob muellers investigation is in particular looking at Jared Kushner in particular. Those are all the issues that were going to be facing going into 2018, so we may be talking about a big win this morning for the republican party. A lot of challenges ahead on the family front as well as on the political front. Just this morning Chris Christie, who has a bad track record with the Kushner Family, a la he was the prosecutor who went up against jareds father saying mueller, he might need to question Jared Kushner. Interesting for Chris Christie to say that. Before we go, caleb, i do want to share the statement from the Kushner Company where they said Kushner Companies has a proven track record that continually attracts Institutional Investors who want to align with us in our investments. Do you have a sense of who those investors are, who theyre currently reaching out to . Because that building 666 fifth avenue, they need money. It is underwater. Sure. 666 fifth avenue is a very interesting one because 666, the irony. They traveled all over the globe looking for somebody to help them knock it down, build another one twice as tall in its place and they havent been able to do that. In these other buildings we report on today, you get some Institutional Investors here in the u. S. But also get a lot of investors from israel, including some companies associated with the Diamond Trading steinmetz family, some of the richest people in israel. So somewhere between mundane on one end and very interesting on the other. Well, its a good thing youll keep covering it. Caleb, great piece. Megan, thank you. Coming up, time running out. Please Pay Attention to this. Nine million kids are at risk of losing their Health Care Coverage as soon as next month. Youre going to meet one family depending on that help. Hes a nascar champion whos faced thousands of drivers. Shes a worldclass swimmer whos stared down the best in her sport. But for both of them, the most challenging opponent was. Pe blood clots in my lung. It was really scary. A dvt in my leg. I had to learn all i could to help protect myself. My doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®. To help keep me protected. Xarelto® is a latestgeneration blood thinner. Thats proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. In clinical studies, almost 98 of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. Heres how xarelto works. Xarelto® works differently. Warfarin interferes with at least six bloodclotting factors. Xarelto® is selective. Targeting just one critical factor, interacting with less of your bodys natural bloodclotting function. Dont stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor as this may increase risk of blood clots. While taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. It may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. Xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. Get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. If youve had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or musclerelated signs or symptoms. Do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. Tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures and before starting xarelto® about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. Youve got to learn all you can. To help protect yourself from dvt and pe blood clots. Talk to your doctor about xarelto®. Theres more to know. Welcome back. In the next hour, House Democratic leader nancy pelosi will call for immediate bipartisan action to reauthorize Childrens Health Insurance Program. More states are quickly running out of money for the in additit that so many families desperately needs for their kids. We spoke with a family corredir affected if lawmakers dont come up with a solution. Reporter the reynolds run a tight ship with ten kids in the house, the family tries to plan ahead for everything. Especially their health expenses. We plan about 20,000 every two months. About 120,000 a year for their treatments. And then there is all the other stuff. Reporter so that is not including pills, doctors visits . Yeah. Reporter that is because two of their children, jason and kelsey, have on crohns disease, and kids need their prapeutic treatments. Matts Health Insurance could into the guarantee coverage in utah where the family lives, but their income make them eligible for coverage through the Childrens Health Insurance Program known as c. H. I. P. If you didnt have c. H. I. P. , what would paying all this mean for the family . Probably have to go on food stamps. Just to pay for life so we can pay our medical briills. Reporter and they arent the only ones feeling the stress. They are telling us like it is not our problem, but i worry about it anyways because like it is kind of my fault in a way. But it always just like no, its not your problem to worry about. Reporter the Childrens Health Insurance Program is funded through a mix of state and federal money. But federal funding lapsed in september and congress has yet to agree on a way to pay for it on a long term basis. Leaving the program and the reynolds in limbo. It has opened up a pandoras box emotionally to be able to not know what is going to be handing in the next sinkxt 60si a year. Reporter and they are not alone. 9 million nationwide stand to lose coverage if c. H. I. P. Funding runs out. I dont know what could be more disgusting than putting a tax cut ahead of the lives of children. Why hasnt c. H. I. P. Been funded . Reporter am mid mounting pressure, senators like oren hatch say a solution remains a top priority, but families say time is running out. C. H. I. P. Isnt if little sally happens to break her armor get sick and it is nice to have coverage for little accidents. For us, it is to keep them alive. Reporter msnbc, pleasant grove, utah. Well, today is the day. Lets hope the c. H. I. P. Program gets its funding extended. That just kills me. Coming up, the republican tax plan cutting more than just taxes. It could cost millions of americans their Health Insurance. And if they cannot afford to pay for it, who is on the hook for all their Health Care Bills . Well break that down next. So thats the idea. What do you think . Hate to play devils advocate but. I kind of feel like its a game changer. I wouldnt go that far. Are you there . Hes probably on mute. Yeah. Gary wont like it. Why . Because hes gary. phone ringing what . Keep going yeah. laughs voice on phone its not millennial enough. There are a lot of ways to say no. Thank you so much. Thank you so were doing it. Yes we got a yes start saying yes to your companys best ideas. 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And non24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442142424. Amounts gold to brighten up your holidays. Why . Because there is always good news somewhere and we have to share it. Salvation army bell ringer in idaho got a huge surprise on monday when someone dropped a solid gold bar into her kettle worth when 1200. And someone is thn detroit drop more than 6,000 in a kettle outside a walmarwalmart. And in minneapolis, it wont be cold in one kettle. Someone dropped a check for 200,000 in a settle outside a grocery store. And in all of these cases, the donors were anonymous, so we will just have to say thank you whoever you are. There is a little bit of good news for you to take on the rest of the day. That wraps us up. Im step hanie ruhle. Ill see you again at 11 00. Coming up now, more news with hallie jackson. And we are live here at the white house for what is looks like a pretty historic day, a landmark overhaul of the tax code just hours away from making its way here to the president s desk. But not without some last minute d. C. Drama. A tax day doover on capitol hill, that last minute snag means lawmakers will vote again probably in the next two hours. Republicans expect to give the final green light to the bill. And the mood here, triumphant. And then there is gary cohn. Why is this bill so unpopular . You know, i dont know abouk. This hour were talking to the man in charge of passing the president s administratived agen agenda, marc short will join us live. And were hoping to talk with the president. We know Congressional Republicans are headed here as the president has promised and afternoon News Conference if this tax bill passes. A victory lap for sure, but taxes arent the only thing on folks minds. What he will say is anybodys guess. Big day and that is why we are here. Kasie hunt is over on capitol hill though. Nuts and bolts here. Tell us about the vote redo and the timing and expectations are nothing will change, right . The tax bill will still pass probably by midday. Reporter thats right. This is more of an embarrassing and you cembarras embarrassing awkward hiccup. They knew that this could happen. It got sent to the senate and they said there are a handful of provisions that dont meet Senate Budget rules. And those are important because republicans only had they did not have 60 votes to pass this, so they were using rules that required