these people are working 24/7 to get paul whelan out. the russians until the end make the decision. it s kind of a misnomer when we say that the russians are negotiating. the russians are not negotiating. they get a line from vladimir putin about what they will do, and they stick to it. that s what happens in an authoritarian country. whelan s family expressed disappointment he wasn t released but were happy that brittney griner was heading home. rick stengel. great stuff this morning. your new podcast mandela, the lost tapes is available exclusively on audible. check it out. the house shores up funding for the nation s annual defense budget. important move there. and coming up on morning joe. brittney griner is believed to be back on u.s. soil after ten months as a prisoner in russia. we ll hear from one of the administration s top national security officials, john kirby