Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With Stephanie Ruhle 20180213

Cant predict how much longer this intense flu season will last. We want to make sure we do everything we can. We begin today with americas top spies gathered on capitol hill to talk about the dangers facing america but there will also be a big focus on russia and the president. After all, trump has never believed u. S. Intelligence when it comes to russia and hes been taking shots at those agencies since he was on the campaign trail. Ive got a great team. I want to start with nbcs msnbcs Garrett Haake on capitol hill. Garrett, start with setting the stage for us on capitol hill. Whats happening today and why. Sure, ali. This hearing today is about worldwide threats. We can expect to hear topics everything from iran to north korea, china and yes of course russia. The nations Top National Security and intelligence figures will all be on the hill today. The director of National Intelligence, the cia director and the man who i think will be the man of the hour today, christopher wray, director of the fbi. Remember, wray was confirmed last year overwhelmingly. Donald trumps own pick to lead the fbi. Hes been seldom heard from in public since. And today i think he will face a lot of questions on everything from the nunes memo from a few weeks ago to the background check process at the white house and yes to the russia investigation and to his relationship with rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney general, who has been so much in the spotlight over the last couple of weeks. Again, a widerange iing [ inaudible ] im going to have to interrent you and let ou viewers know not to adjust your television set, its not you, its us. Weve got some audio problems. I think you may be too deep into the burrows of capitol hill. Well come back once we get the audio worked out on that. Our guest specializes in u. S. Defense and intelligence, he was also staff director for the house intelligence director for several years back when it did what it was supposed to do. Malcolm nance is the executive director of the terror asa metrics project and a 30year veteran of u. S. Intelligence. None of the men expected to testify today have been willing to reveal the extent to which the president may have tried to get them to intervene in the russia investigation. I would imagine thats going to be a line of questioning. Do you expect anything to change in their testimony . There are so many lines of testimony, i suspect the senators must have had to coordinate so they can cover all topics. Certainly one of them is what happened the first few months of the trump presidency. Did the president call, for example, the nsa director and ask him to weigh in on his behalf in order to say, hey, listen, theres nothing to this trump investigation. We need to clear him. So thats going to be a big topic. The nunes memo will be a topic. And also the clearance process, as you mentioned. There is no shortage of topics even before you get to russia and china and the worldwide threats. Theyre supposed to talk about. Malcolm, the democrats, and this is with the House Intel Committee. Were listening to the senate today. Have not been able to get permission to release their memo that they say provides the necessary context for the republican memo written by nunes and his staff defending the fbis actions. This of course is a strange world were in. Where democrats on the House Intel Committee are defending intelligence actions from the fbi. Do you expect chris wray to use todays opportunity, todays hearing as an opportunity to defend the bureau . Well, i think he will. Hell certainly defend the bureau if hes given pointed questions that call into account the integrity of the fbi. And hes going to defend that stridently. I think what youre going to see today is youre going to see these foreign intelligence chiefs really try to avoid getting into politics. They want to deliver an assessment on Global Security threats of which cyber is the largest. And youll probably hear each and every one of them say that is the number one threat in the United States. But i think unless asked a specific question, they will shy away from the russia investigation as much as possible. All right, michael, let me ask you about rachel brand, the justice departments number three, behind rosen steen, announcing her retirement from the agency last week. Nbc has heard she was worried she could end up overseeing the russia investigation if rosenstein was fired. You know, most people leave because they dont think theyre going to get the higher job if their boss disappears. You know her. What can you tell us about this . Sure. Ive talked to rachel brand, who was one of my colleagues in the bush white house, and what she told me is she has the job of a lifetime, which is to be a direct probably the top lawyer. The russia investigation had nothing to do with her calculus. A lot of people have frustrations there are not enough confirmed officials across the government and especially in the department of justice. But i think she legitimately had a wonderful job opportunity and it was only available now and so she took it and shes moving to arkansas. I dont think it has anything to do shes got the mettle and the spine to deal with anything so i know shes not running away from it. According to the hill, budget requests for the Defense Department say, quote, major power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary concern in u. S. National security. Longterm strategic competitions with china and russia are the principal priorities for the department. Does that reflect this is an interesting topic because you and i talked about both of these things about these threats. Does this reflect the global threat scene as you see it . I believe it does. Youre also going to see a short disconnect between what the department of defense feels are the global threats. The white house agrees that china itself is probably our largest strategic adversary. I think underground you certainly see this reflected in some of the commentary you hear from the National Security staff. That russia is a secondary threat. Certainly when the president is directing that the National Security apparatus ignore the russia hacking attack that occurred in 2016. Youre going to have that disconnect. But the Russian Armed forces are increasing in quality. There are areas of operation certainly in the middle east. And china is making Great Strides in essentially becoming the power in the asia pacific region. So i think the increase of navy ships from 286 to 300 i believe its 326, is going to be one of those points of where the Defense Department is increasing its capacity. Also with the f35 fighter. All right. Malcolm, thanks very much. Michael, thanks to you as well. The white house is fighting back against criticism of the president s failure to publicly acknowledge the women accusing multiple members of his staff of domestic abuse. The president and the entire administration take Domestic Violence very seriously and believe all allegations need to be investigated thoroughly. Peter alexander joins me at the white house. The president s former speechwriter David Sorensen is the latest white house official to step down after allegations of domestic abuse. Now his exwife is speaking out. What is she saying . First it was rob porter, then it was sorensen. Both men deny these allegations. But this wife, the former wife, jessica corbett, to sorensen, is telling nbc news exclusively that last fall she was approached at her home by an fbi agent who arrived there as part of the background check into her former husband and she says that she told that agent the truth about the relationship. That he was abusive largely verbally but at times physically as well. This is part of what she told us. Take a listen. He yelled at me nearly every day we were married. The recording that was heard by the fbi was just one of so many. He has thrown me into a wall. He has put a cigarette out on my hand. He has left me stranded in countless airports. Cut off my credit cards in the middle of the night. Drained by bank account. Told me i cant come home or that i would be homeless. As you just heard, she said going home was not an option for me. She said shes coming forward not because she wants to do any arm to her former husband. In fact, she said that he would not have been a risk had he been granted security clearances. Thats what she told the fbi agent. She also notably responding to President Trump, who over the weekend appeared to be pretty critical of the women in these situations. Basically saying, you know, everybodys entitled to due process, saying some mere allegations exist out there, some men have been falsely accused. Specifically about the comment regarding due process. She said, i got no due process. He got due process because i was interviewed and told the truth. Ali. All right, peter, thanks very much. I want to bring in a. B. Stoddard, and mike p leleska. A. B. , let me start with you, this is just weird, the way the white house is handling it. Its strange on a couple of levels. You have the president who just refuses to acknowledge the potential alleged abuse victims. Sarah Huckabee Sanders came out with some very strange word holdings that we condemn this but there needs to be due process. Then john kelly, who i think it is the fourth or fifth time hes sort of put his foot in his mouth, where hes not actually representing what happened. Again, it sets them back from being able to get ahead of the story. They bungled the story incredibly. Obviously they sent Kellyanne Conway out to the sunday shows to say that women should herald the great Economic News and all the job growth for women under President Trump. And that President Trump has come to the aid of women privately. And then they had sarah Huckabee Sanders, another woman, at the podium saying over and over again yesterday that they take, you know, all Domestic Violence seriously, but also adding over and over again that there needs to be due process. To explain away the president s tweet, which has inspired these women to write and come out and talk more openly since saturday. They also have completely bungled the time line because she couldnt answer the discrepancy over 40 minutes versus 24 hours yesterday. And until they get a handle on this and talk about what really happened, and also she sort of tried to blame the fbi for their process. Theyre going to have a firestorm on their hands that wont end, particularly as he continues to tweet about any subject except for this. Right, and mike, the time line seems unusual. Axios has new reporting out this morning that rob porter himself met with a few reporters set up by the white house. So its not particularly clear whats going on. The due process stuff that the president talks about, its sort of necessary for him to talk about that because if he doesnt stand by due process, hes in hot water himself because of the accusations he faces from women. Right, and lets just point out that as a matter of fact and philosophy, a person isnt guilty when 12 of his peers say hes guilty. A person is guilty the moment he puts out a cigarette on someones hands. You may not adjudicate that as guilty or not guilty but people who hire and people who decide who youre going to work with and people who know these fact because the fbi reports them, would know at this point this man, were talking about would different people, but this man beat women. You dont need due process when the fbi tells you this person beat women. Today the threat index, to use a term, is kind of crazy. It goes back to one thing that he said, that rachel brand left her job because walmart is the opportunity of a lifetime. Her job now at justice might be driving her crazy and i understand there might be emotional or even physical costs to it. But if you stand in the breach of possibly the destruction of our democracy, i think you have a responsibility. And an excuse cant be if she wants to say, i cant take this, i understand that. But i have this great opportunity at walmart . Right, the response i just have to note that. Thats a good point which speaks to the idea that im doing this because i have a great opportunity isnt the full story here. The idea shes understaffed and undersupported. As you go higher and higher at the justice department, you get into the cross hairs of the president of the United States which in itself might be unbearable. Thats what he wants. Thats his strategy. Right, she knows that sooner or later it will come to her and she knows rosensteins job is in peril and has been for months. We have known since may when mueller became the special counsel that Rob Rosenstein is you cant fire mueller, that he overseas the mueller investigation, that the best thing for President Trump would be to have someone overseeing mueller who wanted to impair or injure the investigation. So she has known this for a very long time. They say the walmart job has been in the works for a very long time. Its clear that theres no one else home. It would fall to her. And if she wanted to take that on, there are plenty of people who have been begging her to stay and take it on and be t the my boss goes around and says hes not got confidence in me, anywhere, any employee in this country would take this as a sign youre not secure. So shes below rosenstein who is not getting the support of the president. It speaks to the turnover were seeing in this administration. Some of it is because this president just doesnt seem like a good boss. As a personnel matter, i understand wanting to get out of there. As someone whos committed to america and democracy and your job, i dont even know what rachel what leaving says that she would do if the decision came to her. But it seems to me to be a responsibility and she seems to be side stepping it for a big payday. It does seem that maybe decisions arent theirs to make and i think thats the implication. If you make the decision the president doesnt want you to make, its not really yours to do. Thanks to both of you. I appreciate having you here. We are standing by for testimony which will go on for most of the morning. The room is just starting to populate. The photographers in front of where the senators will be sitting facing the table where the people will be testifying. Fbi director chris wray will be there. Dni dan coate, cia director mike pompeo, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Robert Ashley and National Geospacial intelligence director mike robios will be there. Well explore the record turnover in the Trump Administration i was just talking about. First, dont try this at home. One holding on with just one arm, look at the guy on left of your screen. Yes, thats what hes doing. The athlete included this caption, after 20 years, i still couldnt figure out how these things work. Am i doing it right . No, sir, youre not. They were tt team in the world. We were about to pull off the greatest upset in American Sports history. But we were more than american. 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We dont use them. As quickly as he has hired the best, they seem to be exiting as fast. The turnover rate is 34 . That is the highest in modern history. A deputy chief of staff nominated for a new position, a speechwriter resigned, the associate attorney general stepped aside. I want to bring in chief White House Correspondent for the New York Times peter baker. Compared to past president s, trumps turnover rate is double the record that was set by reagan in his first year. What is behind the constant revolving door . Well, its a mark of this white house that you have a lot of people who are burning out fast. You have vacancies that arent filled. You have a real recruitment and retention issue. You have a president here who doesnt want to hire people who are in any way opposed to him or said things about him in the 2016 campaign. And then youve got a republicans who are very wary of going on the inside. Theyve seen whats happened to the people who did. Theyve seen people chewed up and spit out. They worry about their future career. Youve got a lot of turnover right now. Youve got a lot of turmoil right now. Thats what the rob porter incident i think last week kind of brings home in a lot of ways. One reason they dont want to get rid of him, why they were kind of willing to overlook the red flags being put up is because there are so few people in that white house who seem to be reliable and competent and professional and can be depended on to do the job. Ironically, few who have the necessary clearances. Nearly 40 people in the white house do not have full clearance. This is not something that was out there in the ether. We didnt really realize some people have been working in some cases a year without full clearance. Often you start the job without full clearance. You get a temporary clearance and then it evolves as the fbi investigates. But talk to me about whether this problem is part of the turnover issue. Well, certainly, of course, you have people who are starting their jobs, doing the jobs and leaving the jobs before they even ever get a full security clearance. Add to that people, you know, this is a president whos on his second chief of staff, his second National Security adviser, his fifth communications director. People are coming and going so fast. And the background checks and security clearance process not keeping up with that. So it limits the amount of work that some of these people can do. Some people have left because they were a beble to get full security clearances. Its a sign that the system in some ways hasnt worked. And thats something that john kelly presumably you would want to adjust. There are several positions that have not been subject to turnover or the security clearances. They just havent been filled from the beginning. In your article you say the bucket director is doing double duty as the acting head of the Consumer Protection agency. The personnel director is also overseeing the offices of Political Affairs and public liaison. How does all this affect the presidency . Look at the state department, you have three undersecretary positions, ten assistant secretary positions, no nominees named yet. That does affect an administration. First of all, you have a lot of you cant impose a president s will on a massive bureaucracy like the federal government unless he has people who are loyal to him in these positions. You cant have a coherent policy a lot of the times unless you have political appointments who are providing leadership, direction and vision to these departments and agencies. Its hard i think for a white house to gel, to create a team atmosphere, especially with all the arrows coming in from the outside, if people are coming and going quite so frequently. Peter baker at the New York Times. Coming up, at least 63 children have been killed by the flu with no signs of things slowing down. Well tell you how you can help protect yourself and your family from the worst flu season in nearly a decade. And any moment now, the nations spy chiefs will testify before the senate intel committee. And sometimes, i dont eat the way i should. So, i drink boost. Boost high protein nutritional drink has 15 grams of protein to help maintain muscle and 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d. Boost high protein be up for it we are the tv doctors of america, and we may not know much about medicine, but we know a lot about drama. From scandalous romance, to ridiculous plot twists. gasping son . Dad we also know you can avoid drama by getting an annual checkup. So were partnering with cigna to remind you to go see a real doctor. Go, know, and take control of your health. It could save your life. Doctor poses dad cigna. Together, all the way. There are seven continents. Dad seven seas. But at at Celebrity Cruises, wed argue. More than seven wonders. For a limited time enjoy two free perks, like complimentary wifi and drinks. A savings for everyone in your stateroom when you book now, during the Celebrity Cruises sail beyond event. And i am a senior Public Safety my namspecialist for pg e. My job is to help educate our First Responders on how to deal with natural gas and electric emergencies. Everyday when we go to work we want everyone to work safely and come home safely. I live right here in auburn, i absolutely love this community. Once i moved here i didnt want to live anywhere else. I love that people in this community are willing to come together to make a difference for other peoples lives. Together, were building a better california. Welcome back. Time now for your morning primer. Everything you need to know to start your day. Lets begin with President Trump laying out a 4. 4 trillion budget proprossal on monday. The budget would boost defense and National Security spending while slashing social programs. Attorney general Jeff Sessions is facing criticism this morning for calling sheriffs a, quote, critical part of the Anglo American heritage of Law Enforcement during a speech monday. The comment is being interpreted as racially insurance sensitive. Investigators say they were fired at as soon as they entered the building. Donald trump jr. s wife vanessa was rushed to the hospital after opening a letter with a suspicious white powder inside. Law enforcement officials tell nbc news the powder appears to be cornstarch. Amazon is laying off hundreds of employees from its headquarters in seattle and worldwide. The Worlds Largest zwr esst on retailers is shifting businesses into work that is growing. Now to latest on the worst flu season since the swine flu pandemic in 2009. Officials say 63 children have died from the flu this season compared to just 20 last year. With three months left in the flu season, the cdc warns that 34 Million People could get infected by the end of the season. Want to bring in msnbc medical correspondent dr. John torres. John, good to see you. This is not a new strain of the flu. One might think since we know of this flu and weve had the vaccines, this should be more effective. It should be more effective but what happened this year, the strain, even though its not new, it did mutate just enough to get around the vaccine. Were saying probably about 30 effective. Well find out more in the next day or two. But that having been said, even though the flu shot isnt as effective as wed like it to be, it still does offer some protection and as most experts say, its the best thing we have going. So you get a flu shot, does that mean i have 70 chance of getting the flu or if i get the flu it wont be as bad . So if you get the flu shot, what theyre saying is for that strain, the h 3 n 2, its only 30 effective. As popposed to 100 . Theres no 100 vaccine. The type b flu is coming into play now and its more effective against that. Were about halfway through the season. The flu shot takes a couple of weeks to take effect once youve had it. Is it still worth getting, you know definitely worth still getting the flu shot. Were about halfway through. They suspect ten more weeks to go. Type b is moving in now. So this is going to be a prolonged season. If you havent gotten it, get it now. Parents, weve seen stories about kids who have died and in some cases its kids who were misdiagnosed or told not to worry about it. What should parents do if they think their kid is getting the flu or is showing symptoms . First and foremost for the vast majority of children, theyre going to recover at home no problem whatsoever. But for some children, you definitely want to take them in. If theyre young, under 5, particularly under 2. If they have fevers that wont go away. Or if theyre just acting different than youre used to them acting, get them checked out because those are warning signs. Especially those breathing problems. Those are the ones that tend to have the worst problem. If youre keeping them home and its under control, what are you supposed to be doing . Whats the best thing you can do for somebody whos sick with the flu . Keep them hydrated, try to keep the fever under control. That hydration is important especially for the younger children because if they dehydrate, that sets them up for a cascade of things to happen that could cause problems and thats when they end up getting hospitalized. Thats when a lot of them end up dying. Doctor, thank you. The Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing is now under way on capitol hill. We have been watching them all assemble. Now the senators are taking their seats. You can see senator, the chair richard burr there. Mark warner. Theyre not under way yet but were obviously ready to get started and we will follow this all morning. Top u. S. Intelligence officials are testifying before the senate intel committee. Were going to hear from fbi director chris wray and the director of National Intelligence dan coates. I want to bring in nbcs intelligence and National Security reporter ken dilanian. Ken, good morning to you. You are always paying attention to this stuff but as they get ready to actually testify, what specifically are you going to be listening for . Theres some Big Questions that are driving u. S. Foreign policy right now. Big intelligence questions. In particular, im going to be listening for the latest assessment on how close north korea is to putting a Nuclear Weapon on a missile that can reach to the United States. As you know, the Trump Administration has said they are willing to go to war to prevent north korea from gaining that capability. Ill also be listening to what the intelligence chiefs say about whether iran is complying with that obama Era Nuclear Deal which is supposed to prevent war with iran. You can imagine the big political issue is going to be russia. My sources tell me the intelligence assessments will say russia intends to meddle in future elections. And of course were going to hear a lot of questions to these spy chiefs about what exactly are you doing to prevent this and how can you prevent it when the president of the United States does not seem willing to acknowledge the problem or lead from the oval office or explain to the American People why this is a very important issue. Theres cite wright, hes standing there. He will be the first to testify. Theyre getting some photos right now. Looks like senator mark warner and senator richard burr are going to greet the people who are going to be testifying. Theyre shaking hands with them. Ken, is chris wray going to be pushed or is he going to push to try and fix the fbis reputation after hes come under attack by this administration and by members of the House Intel Committee . This is a great opportunity for democrats to score political points by confronting chris wray with the very aggressively hostile things that the president of the United States has said about the fbi and ask him to respond on behalf of his workforce. But im told that democrats are in a quandary about this because they like chris wray. They want him to remain as head of the fbi. They dont want to make his life miserable and put him in a difficult position with the president. So i think well see some of that with wray. But not as much as you might imagine because there certainly is a huge opening. Theres obviously a giant rift between how the president has been talking about the fbi and how the director of the fbi would want to discuss it. All right, ken, thanks very much. By the way, this is about to get under way. We are going to not take all of this hearing, were going to be monitoring it for those parts that are news making. And well bring those to you as the morning goes along. Lets listen to richard burr just introduce it. Director of National Intelligence dan coates. Director of the central Intelligence Agency mike pompeo. Director of Defense Intelligence agency general Robert Ashley. Director of the federal bureau of investigation chris wray. Director of the National Security agency admiral mike rogers. And director of the geospacial Intelligence Agency robert cardila. Well bring that to you as news is made at this hearing. Coming up, the Republican Party appears to be cozying up to deficits after years of attacking president obama over that issue. Now President Trumps just released Budget Proposal has a price tag in the trillions. Were going to break it down next. I needed legal advice for my shop. Thats when i remembered that my exex exboyfriend actually went to law school, so i called him. He didnt call me back if your exex exboyfriend isnt a lawyer, call legalzoom and well connect you with an attorney. Legalzoom. Where life meets legal. 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Com for savings. If you cant afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. Good morning. Im ali velshi in for stephanie ruhle. The white house has unveiled its 4. 4 trillion Budget Proposal. The plan would ramp up spending for President Trumps top priorities, the military, a border wall and National Security. While making deep cuts to entitlements. The budget would add 7 trillion to the deficit over the next decade and thats with generous assumptions of growth. I want to bring in the reporter for nbc news digital. You call it a frozen image of the moment when the federal government abandoned all pretense of balancing its books. Look, in fairness, the president s Budget Proposal is never anything more than a blueprint. But it is kind of interesting that conservatives at least like to put forward the idea that they will move towards managing spending and getting revenues to match spending in some fashion. Were not even talking about that anymore. In fact this budget does not claim to balance over the next ten years as President Trump not only had promised open the campaign trail, he actually said he was going to eliminate 19 trillion in debt over the course of eight years. Thats not going to happen. I think what you get in this budget, ali, is a sort of push from the white house, a declaration of values, and what theyre saying is the things within the budget, the things theyve done, and the things theyre going to do, are more important than that balance. For some, thats going to be true. For others, theyd like to see more responsibility. Because all of this is deficit finance. One interesting way to look at it is when the president s budget came out last year, they showed deficits in the range of 400 to 500 billion over the next few years. When this years budget came out reflecting whats been done over last year, those deficits are now in the trillion dollar range. So basically doubling what the expectation was from last years budget. I can only imagine what next years budgets when i talk to people in the white house, when i talk to republicans about it, they dont have this acknowledgement that its deficit finance. They say it will stimulate stuff remarkable Economic Growth that it will overcome most of this. Or that congress is in the future will have to extend the tax cut. I mean, all sorts of stories about how this is going to work. Ultimately, there are two problems. Were increasing deficit at a time when the cost of financing that deficit is going up. And number two, there arent even optimistic economists who think that it will stimulate growth to the degree that the white house says it will. Right, the underpinnings of this budget are basically youd have 3 growth across the next ten years. Youd have 2 inflation. I dont think youve got very many people making the argument youre going to see both those things happen. To the point, that impacts how much americans have to pay for that debt. The argument tax cuts pay for themselves by growth are fighting math. Let me ask you about a kaiser poll that found only 17 of americans say the deficit is the most important issue going into this years midterm elections. This issue comes in sixth behind health care, the economy, north korea, immigration and tax cuts. That sort of plays to the republicans hands at the moment, right . Because there are moments in time, and theyre not consistent, where deficit becomes the biggest issue. Like when we had the sequester and shutdowns in the past. Thats just not the case. Thats right, ali. The politicians are following what their constituents want, what their constituents demand. If its the sixth most important issue, the members of congress are going to treat it that way. The president s going to treat it that way. Its interesting. I think what americans are saying here is that things other things do matter to them and theyre willing to deficit spend. Part of that is theyve been listening to people tell them about how bad deficits are for the last 20, 30 years and they dont feel that as much as they feel, say, austerity in fiscal policy making. Jonathan, good to talk to you as always. Jonathan allen, National Political reporter for nbc news digital. Were keeping an eye on the Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing on capitol hill. There are reasons we dont take the whole thing because its not all down to business but well give you the important parts. The top intel leaders set to begin testifying any moment. As soon as they start taking questions, we will bring that to you live. Plus, President Trump promised to protect safety net social programs but now calling for deep cuts to medicare. Proof of. And clearer skin. This is my body of proof that i can fight Psoriatic Arthritis with humira. Humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. Its proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. Humira is the number 1 prescribed biologic for Psoriatic Arthritis. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Want more proof . Ask your rheumatologist about humira. Humira. Whats your body of proof . barry murrey when you have a really traumatic injury,g we have a short amount of time to get our patient to the hospital with good results. We call that the golden hour. Evaluating patients remotely is where i think we have a potential to make a difference. barry murrey we would save a lot of lives if we could bring the doctor to the patient. Verizon is racing to build the first and most powerful 5g network that will enable things like precision robotic surgery from thousands of miles away. As we get faster wireless connections, itll be possible to be able to operate on a patient in a way that was just not possible before. When i move my hand, the robot on the other side will mimic the movement, with almost no delay. Who knew a scalpel could work thousands of miles away . New intelligence about the future threat of russia meddling in future eelections. Senator mark warner of the Senate Intelligence committee where hearings are under way. Lets bring in nbc intelligence and National Security reporter ken dilanian. Whats interesting here is they had one of these last year at the beginning of the Trump Administration. But this year, were seeing some new and very forceful statements about the threat from russia, in particular, election meddling. Essentially the statement says they expect, the intelligence chiefs expect russia to continue and to ramp up their Cyber Operations, to manipulate the american political system, and they expect the russians will try to meddle in the american midterm elections in 2018 and that russia will continue to amount aggressive Cyber Operations against the United States, against nato, against ukraine and other places around the world, ali. So nothing new, but one more thing we have to understand whether the president is going to take seriously. Well, whats new is the way that theyre putting it in this document, which was not phrased this way in last years document, so its a really striking contrast between the forceful and frank language of the intelligence community. On the one hand. And on the other hand, President Trump unwilling to acknowledge russia interfered in the past election and has said nothing about how he plans to stop future russian efforts to meddle in the american political system. Thank you very much. Ken dilanian for us. All right, turning back to the president s budget, during the campaign there were certain things that then candidate trump vowed he would not cut. Delanian for us. Saved medicaid, medicare an social security. Get rid of the fraud and abuse but save it. In the Budget Proposal however, those programs are on the list of cut in the white houses 4. 4 trillion budget. A. B. Ed ed tstoddard and mike pe joining us. A. B. , he said he wasnt going do it. When the budget came up for discussion you started to hear from republican senator rubio, you heard from paul ryan, the president and the Vice President about socalled welfare reform. The president made a speech in the midwest about how you might be working three jobs but the person next to you is working no jobs and on government assistance and earning more than you are which we have not been able to find that example. But the attack on the welfare state has begun. Conservatives who wanted who knew the tax reform package was going to be deficit funded wanted some sort of deep cuts afterwards. The spending bill last week has made them furious. They talk about trying to sort of fire up their base with this welfare reform which is, you know, food stamps. Theyre not going to cut medicare. Theyre not going to cut social security. Theyre not going to do it. The president campaigned against it. He has a fiscal hawk, a former Freedom Caucus member in Mick Mulvaney who when he does the math includes entitlement reform but we know from covering the president s budgets in the past it doesnt matter who the president is the minute the budget is introduced the members of congress in the majority say we have the power of the purse thank you very much, well write our own budget and they move on from there so its not really an indication of what is going to happen. I think welfare reform is a good talking point that they believe they need to tell their base but i dont see any of that happening, either. Thats especially true this year. Especially the twoyear spending bill they just passed. All budgets are but a wish list. This is even more fanciful than most so its cheap. Its cheap for the president to put this in the budget and say, see, see tea party . But then nothing actually gets enacted. Last point, we need to reform these entitlements if we want to be solvent in the future. Lets talk about one of them, snap. This is the Food Stamp Program which arent food stamps, theyre a car. Th theyre cutting 213 billion out of snap but the program wants to provide nutritious packages instead of vouchers, comparing them to a Meal Prep Company like blue apron or something. What do you think . Well its just going to were going to have to see what is going to fly with republicans on capitol hill. Theyre not doing any bills with democrats, theyre not taking into view the minority voices on these decisions so its going to be a question of what priorities conservatives have. Theyre in the drivers seat. They wont let the president and the leadership do infrastructure because theyve spent too much money. But theres an optics problem, right . With cutting into snap and medicare or medicaids. Not to the Freedom Caucus. While we are cutting corporate taxes and the taxes on the wealth nest americans. But policing what poor people eat has long been a tradition fl that end of the Republican Party. What do you make of the infrastructure proposal throughout . People say its dead on arrival for republicans. Ironically, this has traditionally been something republicans have liked, the idea that there are big Infrastructure Projects that help their supporters and give us a stronger infrastructure for a better economy. Republicans in leadership right now and the Trump Administration are hostage to this daca debate. They cant move on until they deal with that. Theyre paralyzed by that. Conservatives and i keep mentioning the Freedom Caucus who voted against the spending bill, even though they supported the tax bill going into deficit are saying you better hold a hard line on immigration, were not spending more on infrastructure, were in the hole, weve lost our way, our fiscal rectitude so that will be the main driving influence into what they do in the rest of the midterm election. It doesnt have a funding, the rest is from private. So its hard to see the bipartisan support if this happening as a Leadership Priority this year. And every economist will tell you during flush economic times, its not the time to stimulate this economy. So he has this sclerotic view of the world or politics, he promised infrastructure, were going to do infrastructure. But when you take into account the tax cuts and the budget that passed and to give credit, the economy is going well, this is not time for it, especially the way its funded or not funded. At least were calling it 200 million, not a 1. 5 trillion. Thats accurate. Good to see you as always, a. B. , thank you for being with us. Were keeping a close eye on the Senate Intelligence committee. Right now dan coates is finishing up his opening statement. We are going to bring this to you when questioning begins. Thats always where it gets interesting. Stay with us, youre watching msnbc. Before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. Xeljanz xr is a oncedaily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. It can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. Xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. Dont start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. Tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. Your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. Tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. Xeljanz xr can reduce the symptoms of ra, even without methotrexate. Ask your rheumatologist about xeljanz xr. Oh, thats lovely. So graceful. The corkscrew spin, flawless. His signature move, the flying dutchman. Poetry in motion. And there it is, the baby bird. Breathtaking. A sumo wrestler figure skating . Surprising. Whats not surprising . How much money heather saved by switching to geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. That wraps up this hour for me. Im ali velshi in for stephanie ruhle. Coming up, news with my friend Steve Kornacki. Steve . Good morning, im Steve Kornacki in for hallie jackson. We are closely watching a Senate Intelligence committee that is under way right now. Let me tell you whats going on. Youre looking at dan coates, the director of National Intelligence. He is making his opening statement. As soon as he finishes we are expecting senators from both parties to question not just coates but the heads of the fbi, the see nay, the nsa. This is the annual global threat assessment being produced for the members of this committee by the heads of the top intelligence agencies in this country. Were keeping a close eye. Well bring you that questioning when it begins while the director of National Intelligence makes that statement. Let me check in with Garrett Haake watching the action as it unfolds. I think the headline thats emerging so far, not surprisingly, involves russia. I think thats right. I just ducked out of the hearing to chat with you and from the two senators who have given their opening remarks chairman burr and mark warner, the vice chairman, both mentioned russia, both mentioned election interference in their opening statement. Its very clearly will be something that these gentlemen who are taking questions will be asked to talk about. There are a number of issues on the table from affidavighanista iran, china. But one of the things to watch during the course of this hearing is going to be christopher wray. Hes the man of the hour