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
do any so that option presented to the president, he decided to take the option griner now versus not having griner and clearly not paul whelan. and now that deal is completed, it was not, it was almost not completed in the sense that when cherelle griner was brought to the white house, it was not done. but finalized now, and britney griner s hours for being back in the u.s.. there is some of the intelligence community who worry about this trade. victor bout of course the merchant of death, it was difficult release him no matter how just griner s cause was, but also it fueled this idea of trying to make it a two for one, but as you detailed could not happen. but let s talk about paul whelan now, has there been any moment over the last year or so where it was realistic to bring him home? without ever on the table, and where can we go from here? what cards does the biden
things they initially set out to do four years ago. there was no word that there was bipartisan support for both of those bills, but of course before we get to january 1st, before republicans move in the majority and the dems shift to the minority, there s stuff that the lame duck session needs to get done. give us a sense as to what the next couple of weeks could look like in the building behind you. there s a sense in the lame duck session they can still get some of their legislative priorities done. and they have some of the most important congressional committees on there. next week, one of the ftx, the ceo of the cryptocurrency, the second largest crypto exchange, he s expected to testify at a hearing that s set by the house financial services committee, and you see them setting their legislative priorities and agenda by having more hearings in the upcoming days while still until the lame duck session. that s something to be on the
on this vote, the yays are 258. the nays are 259. president one, the motion is adopted. that was house speaker nancy pelosi joyfully gaveling in the passage of the respect for marriage act yesterday. a bill that will enshrine protections for same-sex marriage. every house democrat and 39 house republicans voted to back it. it will now head to president biden s desk to be signed into law. the house also passed the national defense authorization agent yesterday. the bill overwhelmingly cleared the lower chamber, 350 to 80. roughly 45 billion more than president biden had requested. the ndaa will reveal the
russian national. so, at this point, it is wholly unclear what will actually bring paul whelan home. certainly the biden ministration will continue to reference today, and it certainly is good news story. brittney griner, almost back in the united states. one of the best or reporters in, washington post goes alex ward. negotiating brittney griner s release is just the latest in a recent string of win for the biden white house. just days after democrats added on to their senate majority, and hours after griner s release, the house fulfilled a legislative goal of the president yesterday, passing a bill that protects same-sex marriages. we re gonna have more on that little later in the show. and all these winds come at a time when most first term presidents are reeling from what is usually a resounding defeat in the midterm elections. that is not the case for biden. gas prices are at their lowest levels in the year, averaging $3.33 on the gallon yesterday. the white house is still boost