jansen. there is news that donald trump has decided whether to run for president. he still mulling whether to announce it before or after the midterms? if his answer is yes he did not say that out right. he s merely meant to distract as to what is the hottest topic in washington. who was he trying to get in touch with when he reached out to one of the january 6th witnesses. what was he planning to tell them? what they call mark to evidence as witness tampering? it s been confirmed it was a white horse support staff member. white horse support staff according to cnn, it was not someone routinely in touch with the former president. the justice department is not in possession of that information. one of several threads they are following. the fact that they are coming to the committee for information, has led to a lot of frustration. even from committee members themselves. two they have got potent tools to get information. they can enforce their own subpoenas in a way we can.
specific request the department has made for bennie thompson, the chair. our reporters and d.o.j. experts will tell us what, if anything, we should read into that. we also know today that former trump strategist steve bannon will go on trial next week for his contempt of congress case for refusing to answer the committee s question. his legal team lost a second team to delay his trial over publicity of the trial s hearings and as the man who tried to get trump in office prepares to go before a judge, there is also news today about what that man, the one he helped get into the office, is doing in 2024. donald trump telling new york magazine he s already made the decision about whether he will run again for president and that, quote, i feel very confident that if i decide to run, i ll win. it doesn t quite match up to the new york times reporting on how the republican party feels about him but i digress. joining us now is ryan reilly, a justice reporter for us here at nbc new
debating the idea of allowing medicare to negotiate for prescription drug price, but it will mean millions of americans can actually access those prescriptions they need at lower costs. we ve been trying for decades to address the climate crisis in the way we need. what that means for families is lower energy costs, lower utility bills. this bill now heads to the house of representatives. president joe biden could sign it into law as early as friday. we will have much more on the impact of this proposed legislation in just a moment. hugely consequential weekend. president biden and the first lady headed to kentucky this morning. the two are expected to visit flood-ravaged parts of the state. they will speak with families devastated by these storms. we know at least 37 people were killed after heavy rain led to widespread flooding last week. rescue workers continue to search for the missing. let s begin, though, this morning with president biden s major legislative win.
cnn through the crime scene. plus, she s the one that we wanted and treasured. singer, actress, and icon olivia newton-john passes away. hello, and welcome to the lead. i m pamela brown in for jake tapper. we begin with our politics lead. president biden began his week on the cusp of a huge win for his party. the senate this weekend in a marathon voting session passed the democratic branded inflation reduction act strictly along party lines. every single republican voted against it. the bill now heads to the house. it is expected to pass along party lines there as well. and president biden could sign it into law as soon as friday. the massive $750 billion bill contains sweeping health care provisions, tax increases on wealthy corporations, and the largest climate investments in u.s. history. and this comes as the president and first lady tour eastern kentucky, where hellish flooding killed more than three dozen people and caused catastrophic damage to communities. presi
we appreciate it. stick around. we ll talk to you again in a few minutes on morning joe. thanks to all of you for getting up way too early with us on this monday morning. morning joe starts right now. to do something with 50 votes is rough. to do small things with 50 votes is rough. to pass such a major piece of legislation with only 50 votes, republican minority, a caucus running from bernie sanders to joe manchin, wow. senate majority leader chuck schumer after the senate passed a sweeping climate health care and tax bill, putting democrats on the verge of another major win ahead of the midterms. republicans also scored a win for big pharma. we ll explain. donald trump s republican party gathered in dallas for cpac this weekend, where the big lie was on full display. along with an incredibly ridiculous guest and this is not the one i m talking about. good morning and welcome to morning joe. it is monday, august 8th. with joe and me, we have corresponde