worry around the coronavirus pandemic builds. his coronavirus advisers were grilled on capitol hill today. instead the president choosing to focus on an issue he hopes unite and invigorate his political base. at least right now the votes aren't there. and progressives are skeptical. in fact, one of the leading progressive adds vo cats for voting changes who happens to be from georgia, snubbed the president, electing not to show up in atlanta today white house correspondent peter doocy starts us off tonight live from the north lawn. good evening,. >> peter: peter good evening, bret. the president isn't even back here yet the naacp is already pressuring him to back up today's big talk saying in a statement voting rights should not simply be a priority it must be the priority. it's not the only thing on the president's plate as covid continues to spread more than ever. >> it's worldwide. it's not slowing up very much. >> peter: covid cases in this country climbing higher, 1 and a half million new positive tests on monday. a new world record. still -- >> i'm confident we are on the right track. period peter president biden is looking for a dual track. >> i'm tired of being quiet. >> perfect. >> peter: pivoting from the pandemic to voting rights. >> for the right to vote and have that vote counted is democracy's threshold liberty. without it, nothing is possible. but with it, anything is possible. >> peter: the president has failed to contain the pandemic as promised. failed so far to advance his build back better plan. the democrats will try, instead, to focus on voting rights. >> the senate is going to act as soon as tomorrow. >> democratic leaders are looking to change senate rules doing away with the filibuster to try and pass voting rights legislation with fewer than 60 votes. >> let the majority prevail and if that bear minimum is blocked we have no option but to change the senate rules including getting rid of the filibuster for this. [cheers] >> peter: progressive voting rights ad activists boycotted biden. >> we don't need another speech and have him come to georgia and another prop what we need is work. >> peter: one who lives in the city biden spoke in a no show citing a scheduling conflict stacey abrams. >> i spoke to stacey this morning. we have great relationship. we got our scheduling mixed up. >> long lines in this country this month haven't been at polling places but, instead, covid testing sites. >> i think it's obvious that the administration has failed the american people on getting enough tests. >> peter: now the feds can't snap their fingers and make tests appear but they can update guidance according to "the washington post" to recommend n-95 or kn-95 masks. something that even the most pro-mask politicians struggle with. >> does this look stupid? >> peter: the president made an off camera comment this evening very quickly where he said it seems like yesterday the first time he got arrested now, joe biden has previously told stories about being arrested in south africa at the u.s. capitol and at the university of delaware. he has since walked all those stories back. bret. >> bret: what have we learned, peter, about the confusion over this comment the cdc director made about covid deaths? >> peter: bret, it turns out that the comment that got so much play online and on tv had been edited by abc who did the interview with rochelle walensky in a way that made it sound like she was saying that 75% of covid deaths are people with at least four co-morbidities and she thought that was encouraging in the context of omicron. what was missing, what had been cut out is she was referring to vaccinated people. so basically she was saying that the vaccines are so effective only people with four co-morbidities people very sick already are dying of covid. bret. >> bret: i asked the broader stats and she did not have that stat as of yet. peter doocy live on the north lawn, thanks. republican senator is accusing the biden administration of using taxpayer money intended to provide covid-19 tests to deal with the southern border crisis, instead. this comes as the country endures a critical shortage of those tests. dr. rochelle walensky and dr. anthony fauci appeared on capitol hill today to answer questions about the lack of tests available and confusing messages on health policy. congressional correspondent chad pergram shows us tonight. >> can't find a odessa? congressional located more than 80 billion for testing. but g.o.p. senator susan collins says the biden administration diverted test funds. >> our staff's investigation found that $850 million out of the testing budget and another $850 million out of the allocation for the stockpile were, instead, used to deal with the crisis at the southern border. >> senators from both sides admonished cdc director rochelle walensky and dr. anthony fauci about inconsistent messages about boosters, and ice labor relation. patty murray says her constituents are frustrated in year two of the pandemic. >> tests are hard to find and costlies. >> duo of criticism. >> people across the country are worried this will be another year of uncertainty. >> the communication efforts are a mess and have only made things worse. now, i admit it, i'm at the end of my rope. >> the hearing featured yet another round of verbal jousting between kentucky senator rand paul and fauci. >> there you go again, you do the same thing every hearing. >> that was your response. >> senator, you are incorrect almost everything you said. >> you deny but the emails tell the truth of. this fauci accuses paul of putting him in danger. >> what happens when he gets out and accuses me of things that are completely untrue, is that all of the sudden that kindles the crazies out there and i have threats upon my life. >> paul wasn't the only one who challenged fauci. >> do you more damage than good when it comes to educating the public on covid. >> i believe that's a real distortion of the reality. >> the perception is reality and you are hurting the team right now. >> fauci was later caught on a hot mic muttering about marshall after questions regarding his financial disclosures. >> what a moron. >> congress often reflects society. covid cases at the capitol are spiking. 71 members have now tested positive, 10 in the past four days, bret. >> more on this with the panel. chad, another topic from another hearing. several senators asking fbi officials today about whether the federal agents, any federal agents were involved in last year's capitol riot january 6th. >> ted cruz pressed sand born encouraged the riot at the capitol. >> this is a question of a public accountability. did federal agents or those in service of federal agent actively encourage violent and criminal conduct on january 6th? >> not to my knowledge, sir. >> fbi is not commenting those on the right contend the fbi had informants on the ground. one name which keeps appearing is ray epps. the 1/6 committee interviewed epsz. the committee says epps says he was not working for any law enforcement agency around the time of the riot. >> bret: he also has not been charged, correct? >> correct. he has not been charged on that front. >> bret: chad, thank you. a new unit in the justice department to address domestic terrorism. senior national security official telling the senate judiciary committee today it is a response to the january 6th capitol riot. the much criticized letter from the national school boards association comparing protesting parents to domestic terrorists was solicited by education secretary miguel cardona. that is according to an email exchange referencing cardona's request for information obtained by the group, parents defending education in a freedom of information request. the letter suggested using the patriot act against parents critical of their school board leadership there has been no comment from the education department or the school board association as of yet. the dust up between chicago public school teachers and their bosses over covid safety is over for now. correspondent garrett tenney tells us tonight no one is particularly pleased with the outcome. >> i'm pleased to report that the chicago teachers union house of delegates voted to end their work stoppage. >> chicago public school teachers are back in their classrooms today after their union's leadership approved a deal to end their week long walkout. >> agreement but it's something that we can hold our heads up about. we felt like much as we could get right now. >> with this deal the increase weekly student testing for students and when individual schools can decide to go remote. the agreement includes several items cps agreed to before the walkout such as providing kn-95 masks and schools bring back health screeners if they like. absent from the proposal are several of the biggest command remote learning next week. requiring students to opt out of testing rather than opting. in and metrics for district wide shift remote learning. some members are not satisfied with the deal and are frustrated they gave up four days of pay for so little. one teacher reportedly told the reporter for the "chicago sun times," i just paid $3,200 for two kn-95 masks. the union's vice president wasn't happy about the deal either. calling it pathetic that teachers had to walk out to get the very little that they did and slammed mayor lori lightfoot for not giving up more. >> why would anyone be happy about sacrificing pay for face covering? this mayor is unfit to lead this city and she is on a one woman kamikaze mission to destroy our public schools. >> the proposal still needs to be approved by the full union membership and that's expected to happen as soon as tonight. if it goes through, mayor lightfoot says she is hoping there won't be any more disruptions to schools. at least for the rest of this school year. clearly leaving the door open for potentially another standoff with the union this fall. bret? >> bret: garrett tenney in chicago, thanks. many are leaving permanently. few are faced the negative effects of the pandemic like education. tonight senior national correspondent rich edson looks at what the numbers are telling us. >> a superintendent in boston had to teach a fourth grade class, new mexico is working to raise salaries and school boards are cutting standards and increasing pay. school districts across the country are reporting major teacher shortages. full time and substitute. as the great resignation hits education. >> i'm not a teacher anymore. goodbye and good riddance. woo. >> i have been so unhappy. it's unfair to me and it's unfair to the students in my class. >> i quit teaching. yesterday was my last day. it was very bittersweet. more sweet than bitter i will say that. >> department of labor says in november there were 320,000 job openings in local education. a year ago, there were fewer than 210,000. and there are also concerns as teachers leave there may be fewer interested in education. beth philabaum spent decades as a choral teacher. she left the classroom to earn a masters in business said this pandemic only made a bad situation worse. >> you can't fathom the physical toll, the emotional toll and the financial toll, i know, we'll continue to see more and more people not even pursue teaching as a career. >> one expert said there have been unfounded warnings about mass teacher shortages before and concerns about large scale exits now may also be exaggerated. >> we now have today suggest that teacher was lower than the second year in the pandemic than it had been prior. so the shortage that was discussed did not pan out. s. >> some experts say any teacher shortage would likely be worse in those specific areas that are hard to fill like special specil education. increase in local and state education hiring as compared to a year ago. possibly showing the teachers are leaving one district and getting jobs in another. bret? >> bret: rich, thank you. the head of the federal reserve says his group will raise interest rates faster than planned if that's what it takes to rein in inflation. jerome powell threat goal of getting everyone back to work. strong labor market is vital to the u.s. economy. the senate banking committee is considering powell's nomination for a second four year term as fed chairman. investors apparently liked what they heard today. the dow gained 183. the s&p 500 finished ahead 43. the nasdaq jumped 211. up next, just in time for the beijing olympics, another health crisis in china. we'll bring you there first, here is what some of our fox affiliate around this country are covering tonight. fox 5 in new york where gooden jr. asked a judge to dismiss a $6 million lawsuit accusing the actor of rain. the actor sued gooden in 2020 for allegedly raping her in 2013. gooding denies those claims. fox 29 in philadelphia where four people are recovering from non life-threatening injuries after a medical helicopter crashed in a residential neighborhood. the helicopter was flying to the children's hospital of philadelphia with a child on board. officials say those on the chopper were able to exit on their own and the child was rerouted to the hospital. unclear what caused that crash. and this is a live look at tampa from our affiliate fox 13. the big story there tonight, city officials prepare to welcome large crowds for gas gasparilla. tampa's mayor says the show will go on later this month but urged those in attendance to be vaccinated and wear a mask. that is tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report," we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ if i am a pirate ♪ 200 years too late ♪ welcome to the next level. this is the all-new lexus nx. with intuitive tech... (car sfx: beep beep) (car sfx: watch for traffic) ...and our most advanced safety system—ever. ♪♪ real cowboys get customized car insurance with liberty mutual, so we only pay for what we need. -hey tex, -wooo. can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ see blood when you brush or floss only pay for what you need. can be a sign of early gum damage. parodontax active gum repair kills plaque bacteria at the gum line to help keep the gum sealed tight. parodontax active gum repair toothpaste >> bret: u.s. sending more than hundred million dollars in humanitarian assistance, aid to afghanistan. the aid from the u.s. agency for international development comes as the country edges towards a humanitarian crisis follow the taliban takeover nearly five months ago. the president of kazakhstan says a russian-led security alliance will start withdrawing its troops from the central asian nation in two days after completing its mission. the troops were deployed to kazakhstan last week to respond to the worst public unrest in the former soviet republic since it gained independence 30 years ago. some very untimely bad news tonight for china as it prepares to host the winter olympics in a few weeks. another major pandemic related lockdown is forcing millions to remain in their homes. and there is still another health scare there as well. here is correspondent alex hogan. >> a third chinese city locking down just weeks ahead of the winter olympics, the roughly 5.5 million residents must stay home after the city reported just two cases of omicron on monday. because of a delta variant, the 1 million residents of and 1 million people who call home can no longer walk out of their front door. china's zero tolerance policy ramping up before the winter games in beijing which is set to begin on february 4th. >> china giving no answer on the possibility of a postponement. >> it is our goal of prevention and control measures. if the mass cluster transmission hans it, will impact the games and the schedule for sure. >> covid is not the only concern. china is treating my cases of memo raj jik fever often caused by a virus ha which tends to pick up around this time of year. while the early symptoms look much like the common cold severe cases can cause organ failure or bleeding from the mouth, eyes or ears. the virus is spread maybely through rodents. transmission from human-to-human is rare. officials say preventing covid-19 remains the main priority. hong kong announced it will shut down all kindergartens and primary schools until at least after the lunar new year next month. and by that point we will start organizing vaccination programs at the schools. >> as far as these restrictive city lockdowns, there is no timeline for how long they could last. bret? >> bret: alex, thanks. up next, big money politics in georgia, a republican former senator putting her own money on the table to take on democrats. first, beyond our borders tonight a couple of stories, russian troops hope live fire military drills near ukraine. thousand troops were equipped with hardware including tanks and armored vehicles it comes one day after russia and the u.s. held security talks in geneva. the kremlin say those talks have given little reason for optimism. this is a live look at dresden, germany from earth tv. one story in that region tonight veterinarians work to save a brown bear cub in poland. the young male could be suffering from exhaustion or infection. the cub appears to be showing signs of improvement after taking medication. eating a couple of meals and resting in a warm hut. cub news there. just a couple of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we'll be right back. ♪ ok, let's talk about those changes to your financial plan. bill, mary? hey... it's our former broker carl. carl, say hi to nina, our schwab financial consultant. hm... i know how difficult these calls can be. not with schwab. nina made it easier to set up our financial plan. we can check in on it anytime. it changes when our goals change. planning can't be that easy. actually, it can be, carl. look forward to planning with schwab. schwab! ♪♪ cough cough sneeze sneeze... [ sneezing ] needs, plop plop fizz fizz. alka seltzer plus cold relief. dissolves quickly. instantly ready to start working. so you can bounce back fast with alka-seltzer plus. now available for fast sinus relief. ♪ ♪making your way in the world today♪ ♪takes everything you've got♪ ♪ ♪taking a break from all your worries ♪ ♪sure would help a lot ♪ ♪wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes you want to go ♪ ♪where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪ ♪and they're always glad you came ♪ [♪♪] ♪ if you have diabetes, it's important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. try boost glucose control®. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains high quality protein to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost® today. >> bret: kelly loeffler is putting her money where her politics are tonight. she is spending 7 figures to fight democrats in general and democratic candidate stacey abrams using several voter registration efforts on the other side of the aisle. aishah hasnie has the story tonight from atlanta. >> your voice is heard in the fight against biden. >> on the phone and in the war room. >> working to dismember election in georgia. >> georgia conservatives are in the middle of a big strategy shift. and at the forefront is former senator kelly loeffler. >> we saw that we were being out organized, out raised and we needed to flip that equation. >> loeffler lost her seat in 2021 to raphael warnock in part because she didn't have a strong ground game. so she put down 7 figures of her own money to build greater georgia grassroots organization year around infrastructure to take on voting rights activist stacey abrams who is once again running for governor and helped grow voter turnout for georgia democrats. >> why have the highest turn out of young pima state. >> loeffler's fight comes with major challenges like trying to win back trump supporters who stopped voting when the former president claimed election fraud? when you win in a landslide and they steal it and it's rigid, not acceptable. >> key to convincing those voters that it is safe to vote lies in the state's new election laws passed by republican controlled legislator. but those laws are exactly what president biden is in town to fight against. >> him coming here, really puts a point on how important it is for conservatives to be involved. if we don't organize on the ground, the path to the majority will not run through georgia. >> political analysts think levy loeffler can and will use to her advantage but saying it's the former president who can single-handedly turn georgia around. >> they need help from president trump to tell voters that elections in georgia are trustworthy and that georgia republicans should vote in the next election. >> so, bret, former president trump remains the wild card for georgia republicans right now. and the question is, would he hold, perhaps, a counter rally to biden's speech today and auto would he tell his supporters here in georgia that it is now safe enough to vote ahead of the midterms? that remains to be seen. we reached out to team trump and have not got an yes or no just yet. bret? >> bret: aishah hasnie live in atlanta. thanks. there is a nasty fight brewing over free speech between the national labor relations board and whole foods. the concerns that company's order prohibiting employees from wearing logos or slogans pertaining to the black lives matter movement. correspondent david spunt has specifics tonight from the justice department. >> in a politically charged battle over free speech, whole foods is going head to head with the national labor relations board. after the company in 2020 banned employees from wearing black lives matter masks on the job. >> i expected more from a company that i admire. i think they should let us support any kind of movement that is human rights. >> but there is no indication executives at the amazon owned chain are against the movement. instead,. >> they are following a broader company policy reference a statement to fox news. our dress code policy does not single out any one message or slogan. it is designed to create a workplace and shopping experience focused entirely on excellent service and high quality food. we do not believe we should compromise that experience by introducing any messages on uniforms regardless of the content that shifts the focus away from our mission. >> they are simply saying if you work at our grocery stores, you are not going to be wearing political speech clothing. and that's a knew actually applied across the board. >> but the national labor relations board and general counsel jennifer abruise zoya biden appointee argued in a recent complaint that whole goods should specifically allow black lives matter on the face of employees,. >> the nlrb accept political speech black lives matter mask at the workplace. that's really the headline to this story. the extraordinary overreach by federal bureaucrats in an area of very settled law. >> both sides argue first amendment rights are being stifled. prompting a now 18 month debate about a company typically embraced by liberal customers. >> i feel completely uncomfortable giving them any of my dollars. so we stopped shopping here. >> we reached out to the national labor relations board for an interview. the request was declined. a hearing is set before a judge in march. bret? >> david spunt at the justice department. david, thanks. updating a story we brought you at the top of the show. education department spokesperson is now denying that secretary miguel cardona solicited a letter from the national school board association comparing parents who disagree with education leaders to domestic terrorists. this comes despite an email obtained by a parent's rights group. we showed you suggesting that he did. the department of education spokesperson says, quote: while the secretary did not solicit a letter from the nsba, to understand the views and concerns of stakeholders the department routinely engages with students, teachers, parents, district leaders and education associations. the university of georgia bulldogs are college football national champions. georgia defeated alabama 33-18 last night in indianapolis to end the school's 41-year drought without a national sch p. congratulations to the dawgs. ♪ fair and balanced. the biden administration big guns on the coronavirus pandemic on the hot seat on capitol hill. we will get reaction from the panel. >> what we are all trying to do here today is get our arms around the epidemic and the pandemic that we are dealing with. >> omicron is likely not to be the last curve ball this virus throws at us. ♪ , the surprises they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines, and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. 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don't bring it up. bring what up, kayak? excuse me? do the research, todd. listen to me, kayak searches hundreds of travel sites to find you great deals on flights, cars and hotels. they're lying to you! who's they? kayak? arr! open your eyes! compare hundreds of travel sites at once. kayak. search one and done. ♪ >> the american people don't trust the words coming out of your mouth. every day you appear on tv, you do more damage than good when it comes to educating the public on covid. >> i am disappointed, as i said, by the testing challenges that we're facing, tests are hard to find. they are costly, people are unable to find the at home tests. >> this administration has time and again squandered its opportunities, you ask the american people to trust you, quite frankly, you have lost their trust. i'm at the end of my rope. i think you will see today that most of my colleagues are as well. >> bret: republicans and democrats in the senate questioning doctors fauci and walensky and being very critical and some of the substantive answers that came back on specific quells also were confusing, here is senator mitt romney. >> we're in a room right now. i'm sure someone here has omicron. are we all exposed? and, therefore, need to get tested? what does it mean to be exposed and when do we need to get tested? >> if you are exposed to an individual with known -- if you are in a period of 15 minutes at a time or a total of 15 minutes over a 24-hour period, in a situation where you have come into close contact. >> in terms of who should get tested, you should get tested if you have symptoms of covid-19. >> bret: okay. so which is it? bring this our panel syndicated radio host hugh hewitt. morgan ortagus former state department spokesperson and harold ford jr. former tennessee congressman. hugh, what was your take of this hearing today. >> this was a low moment, bret, for dr. fauci. he has had an honorable career. he has been much honored. but when you are calling the senator from kansas a moron, did he that with dr. marshall and you are arguing with dr. paul senator paul you have lost the two doctors on the committee. i thought it was particularly inappropriate for dr. fauci to bring up the assaults and threats on his family. look, it happens to everyone in public life. dr. paul was on the softball field in june of 2017 when bernie sanders supporter tried to kill dozens of republicans. he enwas subsequently assaulted by his neighbor. dr. paul doesn't need to be told that it's tough to be in public life. i think dr. fauci has reached the end of his productive ability to persuade americans. if can he not even engage with his critics. >> bret: here is some of ethics change between senator paul, dr. paul and dr. fauci. >> the idea that a government official, like yourself, would claim unilaterally to represent science, that any criticism of you would be considered a criticism of science itself is quite dangerous. >> you are distorting everything about me. you keep coming back to personal attacks on me that have absolutely no relevance to reality. >> more people have died now under president biden than did under president trump. you are the one responsible. you are the architect. >> i would like to make something clear to the committee. he is doing this for political reasons. >> bret: harold, dr. fauci went on to show senator paul's website that says fire fauci and raising money on the side. there is a question about trying to get specifics and how we get forward as a country through this. and you know, people looking at this hearing could say this is why they hate washington. >> well, first, thanks for having me on. i watched part of the hearing and share some of hugh's thoughts about it. having been in politics and still a little bit in public life and having had my life threatened i understand the concerns of dr. fauci has. but having never been shot like representative scalise, there is certainly a gap. that being said, public health experts have become today's politicians. i remember a time when you used to go a doctor and if the doctor prescribed you and gave you a diagnosis and prescribed you medicine, you believed him or her. we have reached a point now where we are assigning political labels to the kind of public health advice we get from public health experts. if relike them they are probably generally in our party. if we don't like them they are generally advising on things we think the other party may be doing. that's a low low moment. particularly when you hear today that north korea has tested a second missile that travels 10 times the sound of speed. the russians are amassing troops, hundreds of thousands, maybe on the border of ukraine or at the border of ukraine and obviously china is preparing to treat parts of the south sea and others in the world differently than we would like for them to. we need to stop politically kneecapping each other. the one thing public health experts all agree on we should all get are vaccinated and boosted if your help allows you to do that that will reduce hospitalizations and reduce deaths. i think the one thing that came out of the hearing, bret, that i found incredibly interesting and i am hearing more public health experts say this. some say omicron is fading and receding. dr. walensky was not challenged today when she said this is just the latest variant and we should all expect another variant in the near term. >> bret: oh, joy. morgan, this is susan collins from maine particularly trying track down the money. >> our staff's investigation found that $850 million out of the testing budget and another $850 million out of the al low occasion for the stockpile were, instead, used to deal with the crisis at the southern border. i think that this is a problem that has contributed to the shortage of testing. >> bret: yeah. and you have got $1.9 trillion that was pass in the covid relief bill. tracking down where all that money goes when you have chicago saying, you know, the public teachers union saying we are not going back to school is quite something. >> yeah. and senator collins was right on the money in that exchange in her line of questioning. i think it's very simple here. that president biden should be held to the same standard that he asked president trump to be held to in the 2020 campaign. in march of 2020, president biden then candidate biden often criticized president trump and said where are the tests? he tweeted this several times. he talked repeatedly about how he thought trump had no plan to deal with covid-19. when, in fact, when president biden came into office, he had multiple vaccines available. and he should have spent year one making sure testing was right on the money. that is something he spent the campaign criticizing president trump for. and he should have made sure in year one to continue operation warp speed to get more vaccines and therapeutics available to tackle the variants that we all knew were inevitably coming. here we are three years into a pandemic, and we have seen all of our institutions, over the past, i would say, five, six years. all of our institutions have been politicized. bret. we have seen the intelligence community politicized. we have seen the department of justice politicized. we have seen the defense department politicized and now public health has been politicized. dr. fauci, the performance today was just below the expectations we have of a nonpartisan civil servant. if he wants to run for office he should file and run for office. >> bret: hugh, harold mentioned china very quickly. getting ready for the olympic games yet they are locking down cities in china. >> it's crazy. it's crazy to go to the olympics. not only is genocide underway in china. 62 miles to 114 million person city that's been locked down now. sending our athletes there when china routinely lies about every aspect of this virus from the time it came upon us until the moment of yesterday, is just nuts. the games should be postponed. >> bret: up next, president biden makes a push for voting rights reform. ♪ ♪ nd's got his moves back. an alternative to pills, voltaren is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel for powerful arthritis pain relief. voltaren, the joy of movement. 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(vo) hello business on the go. bye-bye public wi-fi. 5g ultra wideband is faster and safer. would you look at rhea's real estate game? closing in low lag, crystal clear hd. it's a new day for more businesses! 5g ultra wideband is now in more and more places. verizon is going ultra, so your business can too. superpowers from a spider bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance. ow! i'm ok! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ only in theaters december 17th. ♪ >> so i ask every elected official in america, how do you want to be remembered? consequential moments in history, they present a choice. do you want to be on the side of dr. king or george wallace? do you want to be on the side of john lewis or bull conner? do you want to be on the side of abraham lincoln or jefferson davis? >> bret: well, president biden making a pitch for voting rights reform saying it's essential saying so essential he would give up the filibuster, eliminate it or put it on hold in the senate, something he fought for as a senator back in the day. making a construct there of an interesting pitch to elected officials. we are back with our panel. harold, that was quite a close from the president, either you agree with my pitch on this voting rights bill or you are george wallace or bull conner or what did you think of that? >> >> harold: joe biden that i know from 20 years ago would have not have framed it quite that way. i don't think if you are opposed to some of the things that are being proposed around voting rights that you are bull conner. here is how i would have advised him to do it. i think three pillars to protecting voting civil rights, one is you want to make it possible for every american to vote, make it easy, number two, ensure and enforce voter eligibility. the foundation of that is voter i.d. law, three, make it where have you impartial referee to help settle disputes before you go to court. not a partisan state legislature. there will be democrats in charge at times and republicans have know o. meet those people where they are. i'm not sure you convince senators sinema and manchin with the speech that the president gave today. as much as i agree with him we need a voting rights restoration and renew the voting rights act and i would pass the john lewis act to do that i'm not sure he accomplished that today. >> bret: that's the bottom line, hugh, is the number of votes you have. and you don't have them. no matter what the speech was today in atlanta. and political politico says dem's filibuster conundrum it's not just manchin and sinema. mark kelly one of a handful of democrats allow what to do to allow sweeping to afraid 60 threshold. hesitance reflect the gravity of the debate. for a caucus that prides itself on unity there is plenty of nuances in the democrats' views some like senator jon tester of montana. like a talking filibuster but are, quote, not crazy about making an exception for voting rights. meanwhile senator jean shaheen of new hampshire says reform is needed but is promoting more modest changes. they had problems in voting in the senate not necessarily how it's phrased in atlanta. right, hugh? >> you know, bret. this has been a dead issue since december 19th when joe manchin told you on "fox news sunday" he would not vote to change the filibuster. it's all theater. i was watching the president today and thought he was doing a pretty good job with his speech until he went way off the rails. ended up calling everyone concerned about voter security jim crow 2.0. when you go off the rails that suggests to me desperation about his numbers, desperation about the outcome, desperation about his base. that desperation is deserved. they have not moved the needle a bit. mitt romney gave a speech in defense of the filibuster today which was very good. he is the center of the senate this is a doomed effort. >> bret: meantime stacey abrams running for governor on the democratic side, morgan, did not show up for this event today. the president was asked about that. take a listen. >> stacey abrams had a scheduling event. her car is getting a tune-up so you can understand. >> she is realizing georgians aren't buying what he is selling she is try attorney general void him because of his faltering poll numbers. >> she also agrees with the civil rights groups who all think this thing is phony. >> we're all on the same page and everything is fine. >> are you insulted she is skipping the speech. >> i'm insulted you asked the question. i spoke to stacey this morning. we have great relationship. we got our scheduling mixed up. >> bret: scheduling mix-up. if the president is coming, you fix the schedule, don't you, morgan? >> listen i have it on good authority stacey abrams called something called bidenitis that's a political allergic reaction when you are running for governor especially in the state of georgia. i kid. but that is what stood out to me today in addition to what hugh mentioned about the political desperation, listen, you have bottom barrel polling numbers, inflation through the roof. supply chain issues. americans costing exorbitant amounts to fill up the gas tank and can't get the basic grocery items you need. this is what you do. you don't try to pass legitimate bipartisan voting rights. they haven't tried to do it. they haven't worked on this it from a policy perspective. they aren't working with republicans or moderate democrats. in fact, i guess moderate democrats who vote against this will also be considered racist by president joe biden as well. that doesn't even seem like a smart strategy for going in to '23 and '24 if you are trying to get anything done. this is a political exercise today and a bad one. >> bret: interesting to watch. panel, thank you. when we come back, tuesday tweets. ♪ it lowers blood sugar from the first dose. and you could lose up to ten pounds. trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. it's not approved for use in children. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, changes in vision, or diabetic retinopathy. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. taking trulicity with sulfonylurea or insulin raises low blood sugar risk. side effects include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. ask your doctor about once-weekly trulicity. ♪ ♪ i was not expecting to learn about my heart health from my genetic reports. but now that i have this info it feels like i can take even more control of my health. it's the most meaningful way to start the new year. now just $129. ♪ ♪ (judith) in this market, you'll find fisher investments is different than other money managers. 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(judith) yep, we do better when our clients do better. at fisher investments we're clearly different. shhh... you think she's still awake? don't worry. the lexus rx, built for a modern families. get $1,500 lease cash toward a 2022 rx 350. ♪♪ . >> bret: time for tuesday tweets go to the wall. first from dan. do you think the democrats using the events of january 6th and voting rights is key midterm issues will make them lose competitive races in key swing districts where inflation and crime are bigger issues. morgan just talked about this. it is a risk if they go down this road and it doesn't pass it could frustrate the base and not win over any independents. we will watch that next from liker, no question: just a proud alum nist and "special report" fan who wanted to say go dogs live from the big game last night. i am from georgia. it was awesome to watch. 41 years in the making. go dogs. finally from brendax are you taller than gutfeld? >> yes. i am. i'm technically 51'1. my kids say i'm 510 and a half. my one kid at 14 is 6'1. stop congressional lawmakers from holding or trading stocks in reaction to house speaker nancy pelosi. that's it for us, fair, balanced and still unafraid "fox news primetime" hosted by rachel campos-duffy starts right now. hey, rachel. >> rachel: thank you, bret. i'm 5'1 and i am shorter than greg gutfeld. good evening and welcome to "fox news primetime." i'm rachel campos-duffy. and tonight the democrats' power grab has hit a fevered pitch. joe biden is now leading the left's call to destroy our democracy. >> i view it as a threat to our democracy so grave that we must find a way to pass these voting rights bills. debate them, vote, let the majority prevail. and if that bare minimum is blocked, we have no opt