♪♪ okay. speaker nancy pelosi with some of her patented shade as she forgets the name of the senator she's criticizing. good morning and welcome to "morning joe". it is friday, february 26th. it's friday! along with joe, willie and me, we have nbc news and msnbc national fairs analyst and host and executive producer of show time's "the circus" and host of "hell and high water" podcast. and jake sherman, msnbc political contributor. so, willie, a lot going on on this friday morning with more threats that we're hearing toward the u.s. capitol, as if we haven't learned our lesson. and republicans still thinking these are something that can be worked out. active threats in the days and weeks ahead >> yes. we cannot let the miami vice theme song pass. coming off the don johnson remark. crockett, tubbs and the rest of them. >> it was very nice. we love the pop culture references early in the morning, mika. don johnson, ron johnson. don't exactly go together too much. i wonder if ron even understood shade was being thrown at him? probably not. >> probably not. all right. let's get to the news. the acting chief of the u.s. capitol police testified earlier on the intelligence failure leading up to the january 6th riot. chief pittman, who was not in charge of the department on the day of the riot, addressed the controversy. it warned that militia groups were, quote, preparing for war and targeting congress. . >> it was shared with task force agents that are imbedded from capitol police with the fbi. they, in turn, sent that email they received to a lieutenant within the protective and intelligence operations side of the house. that information was not then forwarded any further up the chain. so that is a lesson learned for u.s. capitol police. acting chief pittman also said that the enhanced level of security around the capitol will remain in place at least through president biden's first official address to congress. and here she is explaining why. >> we know that members of the militia groups that were present on january 6th have stated their desires that they want to blow up the capitol and kill as many members as possible with the direct nexus to the state of the union, which we know that date has not been identified. so based on that information, we think that it's prudent that capitol police maintain its enhanced and robust security posture until we address those vulnerabilities going forward. >> you know, willie, first of all, crockett and tubbs, if they had gone word that a disco was going to be blown up and they were preparing for war, you better believe they would be there sockless and ready to defend. we talked about this yesterday. you just wonder when you get the warning that you have got a riot coming your way and to be prepared for violence and that extremists are talking about war against the united states capitol, you just have to, again, this question has to be answered over time by this commission. why did they not respond to that in a meaningful way? also, i'm glad we heard the testimony yesterday because i'm tired of people complaining about fences up around the capitol, how long are the fences -- oh, this is a threat. no, it's not. no. we have to keep defending members inside the capitol. the building was built for the members to do their jobs. and it's really quite telling that there are still threats out there while ron johnson is saying this was all much ado about nothing, nothing to see here, rand paul whining it's time to move along and others whining that it's time to move along. we still have threats. their lives still in danger. people still talking about coming to the capitol, blowing it up, killing as many members. >> i think we can believe them now. . >> we got the answer why the fence is still up from chief pittman who laid out pretty clearly, whenever this joint session is held, whenever president biden gives the first address to congress, there are threats. and it's another date now circled on the calendar by the groups that carried out the attack on january 6th. so anyone, as you say, like senator johnson or anyone who continues to perpetuate lies about what happened january 6th and why, is feeding into this, is giving license to the people who chief pittman told us yesterday are planning, as we sit here right now, to attack the capitol again. . >> yeah. it's unbelievable. john heilman, what's the -- where do republicans go with this? the party seems a bit divided. the further they get away from january 6th and almost pretending like nothing happened, spreading the sort of lies that -- well, kevin kevin mccarthy is spreading too. kevin's own video blaming donald trump. so it seems like the amnesia is short. yesterday, again, should have been a reminder that the capitol is still in danger. this country is still in danger. and more specifically, they are still in danger. and yet they're living off a completely different set of alternative facts. >> right. guys, i can't get the miami vice out of my head. i've got to know, joe, in the day, did you or did you not own a peach suit? >> i never owned a peach suit. . >> oh, my god. >> i must admit, i was a northwest florida guy. i didn't watch miami vice much. >> you're lucky. >> but i'm a florida guy. i just didn't wear socks until my children started telling me to. >> go ahead. you have the floor. you're an l.a. guy. . >> is willie an crockett guy or tubbs? >> i come down on the side of tubbs. i watched that at nine or ten years old. some of the thaoeplts it was probably intense for a fourth or fifth grader. but incident was a different time, though, wasn't it, the '80s? >> joe, to come back to your question, we will learn the answer in a few days. the group of these leaders, much of the republican -- what constitutes the leadership of the republican party is now down in florida where they are going to all gather on donald trump. many of the people on that speaker's list at cpac are people who fall into the category of outright deniers of joe biden's legitimacy, many of whom have a side car set of beliefs or in the camp that you're talking about right now, the ones minimizing what happened at the capitol january 6th. what is going to get set the next three days. you will get a good taking of the temperature where the party is. you mentioned ron johnson, don johnson, whatever his name is, as nancy pelosi said. but mitch mcconnell stunned in the last couple days when he gave that scathing speech at the end after the verdict had been rendered in the trump impeachment trial laying the entire thing at donald trump's feet, even though he voted to acquit. even the legal culpability, encouraging law enforcement to take donald trump and press criminal charges effectively and then was asked would you support him if he was nominee? and he said of course i would support donald trump if he was nominee of the party. it's not just the cranks, not just the ron johnsons, the matt gaetzes. it is the desire on one hand to exonerate the president in a way let's forget about what happened january 6th. a lot of the republicans their motto seems to be let's forget as fast as possible. what happens at cpac will add up to a collective window where this party is with respect to what happened on january 6th. not just what they think about donald trump. they know that already. they are devoted to donald trump. they are in his pocket. but their lives are at stake. but then their lives were in jeopardy january 6th and they didn't seem to qaa i about that either. >> i mean, you listen to what kevin mccarthy said after his life was put at risk and report some other republican members of him screaming at donald trump. and he was lying about it being antifa instead of his own supporters. and you listen to kevin mccarthy now, and he's completely whitewashed that. you listen to lindsey graham. said he was tired of carrying the president's water. and then two or three people talked to him in the airport and he freaks out. now he is golfing and flying around with donald trump. my god, lindsey scares really easily. as far as mitch mcconnell goes, i think mitch mcconnell is making the calculation that a lot of republicans are making. they think he's going to either be in jail or he's going to be charged or he's going to be fighting so many lawsuits that he's never going to come up for air to run for president of anything. that is his own fear himself, that he will be fighting lawsuits and running from the law the rest of his life. >> his tax returns are being called through as we speak. i don't understand that deal with the devil at all. i guess i could understand it when a few votes hung in the balance. this is a strange balance they were calling, having it both ways and putting the foundation of our security in danger yet again. >> i thought you said that actually he had so much power and he abused it and used it to bring the people in and attack our capitol. but now you would vote for him again? wow. your wife left in disgust during the insurrection. okay. so we'll move on to this. dealing a severe blow to democrats looking to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour in the next covid relief package. elizabeth mcdonough, nonpartisan arbiter issued guidance saying she didn't think the effort complied with guidelines of reconciliation, the fast track process that democrats are use to go pass the bill. despite the parliamentarian's decision, house speaker nancy pelosi said lawmakers in the house would not remove the provision before the vote, which is set for later today. jake sherman, what does this all mean? >> it means there won't be a $15 wage will not happen soon. nancy pelosi is smart. they want to see this policy and they don't care that the senate is not going to want to pass it. they want to vote on it. it's very popular in the democratic caucus. it has almost unanimous support. we pointed this out in punch bowl news this morning. i think it seeps its way into literally every legislative debate from here on out. this is a widely and broadly popular provision. the minimum wage hasn't been raised in some time. it will lend credence to blow up the filibuster, something that caught out on the left. doesn't have the votes at the moment. joe manchin and kyrsten sinema. let's be clear. if there were no filibuster, they could raise it to $11 or $12 or something in that range. this is not the end of the story. it's just the beginning. for the broader covid package, what does this mean? joe biden wants to pass a $2 trillion bill by march 14th. that is just a couple weeks away. a very, very steep hill to climb. they're going to have to move quickly. they're going to have to move efficiently. now that the $15 minimum wage is out, will they be able to pass this through the senate. i think yes. to be determined. now joe manchin and kirsten kirsten cinema will vote. >> if they peel that off as a separate piece of legislation, you started to answer the question. but even with that, republicans don't like a lot of the other stuff that's in the 1.9 trillion package. so how do they push this through? do they get manchin and sinema on board before the march 14th deadline get this money out to people? >> yeah. that's exactly what they do, willie. they move the package without the $15 minimum wage. frankly, i think on the minimum wage provision, it is certainly possible to pass an increase of the minimum wage with republican support. i just don't think it will be at $15. nancy pelosi remembered yesterday, i think this is when you were in congress, joe. the minimum wage was increased in 2001, in early 2001. and george bush signed it. it got support on capitol hill from both parties. i do think it's possible to get this done. i don't think it's possible to do it at $15. it will likely pass. it will be on an almost strictly partisan basis. every package in the trump administration tasked with bipartisan support now. in the biden administration, no bipartisan support. down the road a compromised minimum wage package could be in play. not exactly sure how they will get that done. perhaps it will happen in a later jobs package or even as a stand alone. i have to imagine nancy pelosi will move it as a stand alone in the coming weeks or months. . >> yeah. john heilman, a lot of democrats might not like the parliamentarian's ruling. chuck schumer has the votes he needs to pass the covid bill without any republicans. and he can still claim it just like joe biden can still claim it to be a bipartisan bill. when 75% of americans support your bill, guess what? by definition, it's bipartisan. whether the republicans want to be out of the mainstream or not, well, that's their decision. but it looks like joe biden and now senate democrats are standing on the high political ground. >> yeah. that's right, joe. i was over at the white house yesterday. look, let's be clear. the biden administration wants to raise the minimum wage to $15. that's why they put it in the package. they were hoping about that. but they knew if the parliamentarian ruled it in on reconciliation, there would be a messy fight between progress if's, who wanted it to be $15, manchin wanted it lower, sinema wanted it lower. they could have gone in there and found a compromise. but it would have been trickier. this is a better outcome in that limited respect. it makes it clear. sickly from the house, as jake suggested, progress if's in the house would say this is the reason we got the a filibuster. ron klain made it clear. joe biden has no intention of overruling the parliamentarian under any circumstances. they need to work in the senate to do big, big things the next four years. they're not going to get on the wrong side of the parliamentarian. he is an constitutionalist. that's not going to happen. and this makes it with this off the table, the house will vote. the house bill will come out when it comes to conference when they get it together. they will have it in now. it makes it a clean shot now. there are 50 votes once you take it out, you have democratic unity and it makes it a lot easier. . >> i always believed politically the best move was put out the bill with 75% approval rating, the covid relief bill and get your republican opponent to vote against that. then put out the $15 minimum wage bill and have that be another no vote. and if you want to know how popular raising the minimum wage is, look to the state of florida, which everybody is saying is turning bright red. that donald trump won easily. well, you know what, the voters of florida passed a constitutional amendment to raise the minimum wage over time to $15 an hour. costco announced yesterday they were they are raising their minimum wage to $16 an hour. this is something republicans are out of step with. if i have a choice, if i'm a democrat, to get one bad vote out of a republican or two bad votes out of a republican, i'll get the two bad votes out of the republican every time. that makes for a pretty good campaign ad down the road. and i'm doing everything that i wanted to do in the first place. so expect the democrats to come back to this $15 an hour minimum wage. i just think politically it would be smartest to have republicans do an up or down vote. have them vote no against that like they voted no against this covid relief bill that, again, is supported by 75% of americans. they are the radicals. they are out of step with working class americans. they are out of step with middle-class americans. they are out of step with small business owners. they are the ones that are painting themselves into the corner of extremists. this will only -- >> this is how they were with health care. i don't know what the republican brand is right now. i really don't. . >> let me help you -- no, can i help you?. >> tell me. . >> defending donald trump and forgetting about the worst attack on american policy from the inside in u.s. history. >> there you go. >> that's their brand. those two things. good luck with that on your 30-second ad, fellows all this going on, plus president joe biden took his first known military action yesterday authorizing air strikes against iranian-backed fighters in syria. it involved two u.s. aircraft that launched 6:00 p.m. eastern yesterday 2:00 a.m. friday local time t. the air strike was in response to recent attacks against american and coalition personnel in iraq, including an attack in erbil. it wounded a u.s. service members and killed another. a transit hub used by militia fighters at the border and multiple facilities were destroyed. here's defense second lloyd austin speaking last night. . >> we're confident that target was being used by the same shia militia that conducted the strikes. we encourage the iraqis to investigate and develop intelligence. and that was very helpful to us in refining the target. >> can you say why it was important to do -- was this your recommendation? >> it was my recommendation. we said a number of times we will respond at, you know, on our timeline. >> let's bring in the president of the council in foreign relations, richard haass. first, richard, give us background on this region where people may not be aware of what was at stake and tell us what this was in retaliation for. >> morning, joe. what's at stake is the continuing presence of terrorists, in large parts the middle east. and particular also iranian support for 'em this. iran emerged as a critical country not only within its own boards obviously but iraq and syria and lebanon and both directly and indirectly through various militia groups. it is putting pressure on governments, u.s. forces. what you saw here was an american attempt to send several messages and thread the needle. in the aftermath of this iranian-backed militia attacks the last 10 days, the international contractor i think he was from the philippines against u.s. forces and iraq wanted to tell the iranians, you do not have a free hand. if you are going to use force against us, we can retaliate even though we want to negotiate a nuclear agreement. that is not going to tie the administration's hands. this was a limited response. they know the middle east can't be the center of u.s. strategy. much more concerned about the asia-pacific where china is. this is an attempt to thread the needle saying we're willing to use force. we're going to target terrorists, not give iran a free hand but we will do it in a fairly measured way so long as we can. . >> people wake up and see the headlines u.s. strikes in syria. where do you draw the line there? >> well, again, this was quite modest. the united states is not planning a major reentry into the syrian war. it controls most of the territory backed by iran and russia. it is near the iraqi border where the kurds are. it's really got -- at the basis of this is largely for foreign policy. the united states kent a few hundred forces on the ground in syria. a few thousand in iraq. this is a modest attempt to keep terrorism at bae and keep iranian support also at bay. >> talk about joe biden reaching out to saudi arabia yesterday. what can you tell us about that phone call and what's at stake. stphrl he made the phone call to the king not the crown prince, and that's important. today we will release a report that will implicate the crown prince, the most powerful man in saudi arabia, for the murder of jamal khashoggi. i used the phrase a moment ago we are going to try to thread the needle. this is another needle thread. they are important in the energy space. it's obviously important against iran. at the same time, the united states have real concerns about the support of the word on yemen, human rights, this targeting of saudi citizens. so, again, the administration is looking for a way to push back against this leadership of saudi arabia. you to protect this relationship which still matters. what sort of details are going to emerge in our response, we'll have to see. but i think they are looking for a middle frowned to basically send a message this can't continue. you can't target your own people the way you have done. but we don't have the luxury of walking away from one of the most important countries in the region. let me just sort of say, i think it's going to get very interesting. one of the questions, will saudi arabia use the fact that they are going to be to the defensive. let me throw up one out there. whether this could bring them closer to israel, the administration might find a defense of saudi arabia gives them something to work with israel and the palestinians. the report is not the end of the story. i think in some ways it's the beginning of the story. . >> and i was going to ask you how we move forward with the relationship with them. i know all of us were so deeply shocked by the actions of the crown prince. at the same time we're shocked by what china does with concentration camps. we have no choice but to try to deal constructively with them every day. whether you care about climate change, arms control. whatever you care about, that is going to be impacted by the united states and china, figuring out a way to move forward. staple with russia. we're trying to talk to iran again, epicenter of international terrorism since 1979. so the question is how -- what does saudi arabia do to move this relationship forward and when is it okay for joe biden and the biden administration to start dealing more constructively with the saudis. >> you're right. we did it with the khaoeu knee 30 years ago at the time of tiananmen square. we're doing it now what they are doing against the uighers. we call it genocide. yet the president picks up the phone and calls xi jinping. we have saudi arabia. so this question of how you manage these complicated relationships, they are not one dimensional you to look for ways to react to the human rights and rules issues. you can't put all your eggs in that basket. >> richard haass, thank you very much for coming on this morning. and still ahead on "morning joe", how should democrats move forward on the minimum wage? we'll talk to two house democrats, progressive row cana and tim ryan. >> and those giving reconnaissance tours of the u.s. capitol to alleged rioters before the january 6th attack. we'll talk about that. you're watching "morning joe". we'll be right back. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching ...the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™ with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™ janssen can help you explore cost support options. ♪ for every idea out there, that gets the love it should ♪ ♪ there are 5 more that don't succeed ♪ ♪ and so are lost for good ♪ ♪ and some of them are pretty flawed ♪ ♪ and some of them are slightly odd ♪ ♪ but many are small businesses that simply lack the tool ♪ ♪ to find excited people who will stop and say 'that's cool'♪ ♪ and these two, they like this idea ♪ ♪ and those three like that one.♪ ♪ and that's 'cause personalized ads ♪ ♪ find good ideas for everyone ♪ as a cement mason, i use the dove bar... because i work with a lot... of dust and dirt. just washing... the dirt and the grime off... and just bringing you... back...to you. you see the glow? 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what's the song? what are the lyrics to this song? . >> also, they're singing the same song -- >> we don't want you to have any money, health care. >> that song is we're against everything. >> exactly. >> john said it's not 2009. he's right. it's not 2009. in 2009 and 2010 you had republicans that were opposing the relief package. and also started opposing obamacare. started opposing the affordable care act. well, we're 11 years into that opposition where they have been promising they were going to do something. they have been promising they would put together their own bill. can you believe it, 11 years has gone by and the republican party is still not been able to put together a unified bill. they're against everything. they're the do knowing party. minimum wage going up? no. let's do nothing. give relief to americans. do nothing. fix our broken health care system. no. let's do knowing. >> justice after an insurrection, nah. let's not do anything. let's give them a mulligan. in they are the do knowing party. and you can really see that american people are catching onto this. republicans are deciding we're going to be on the 25%. . >> let's bring in democratic congressman ro khanna and tim ryan of ohio. first introduced last april, which would provide a temporary $2,000 monthly payment to every qualifying american over the age of 16 who has been impacted by the covid pandemic. ro khanna, i'll start with you,ing how exactly would this work and what's the potential that you will get it through? . >> well, we spent $4 trillion on covid relief. but not enough has gone to working class and middle kaoz class americans. back in march we said we need to do $2,000 a month because people's rent comes due every month. they need help. when there is a disaster, that's when the government is supposed to help. there is a broader coalition of progress if's and moderates in the house that are pushing for this, at least for some kind of monthly relief. >> it's willie. good to see you this morning. let's talk about the minimum wage that you are going to vote on and pass through the house today. it's dead on arrival in the senate pause of the parliamentarian ruling yesterday. what are you hearing in ohio? in youngstown, for example. small business owners, because there is the argument for many of them if you put me up to $15 minimum wage, it will cost me a couple seats in my barbershop or a couple waiters. >> it has been so tragic for 30 or 40 years. iffed minimum wage was an index for inflation, we would be at $22 an hour right now. and that's why we need to address this. at the end of the day, it's going to build supply. and that supply that, money will go to those restaurants. now, we've got to phase it in. we don't want to crush anybody overnight. so it needs to take some time to get in. and that's exactly what we do. this is extremely popular. it will close the gap around income inequality. the vast majority of people in ohio will support this, do support this. >> congressman khanna, where do you go on the minimum wage? are you looking at a stand alone bill that might have a better shot of making through. . >> it is not going to go through, as joe put it, a do knowing senate. look, we're in an amazing place in american democracy. 32 million americans are being denied a raise because of a decision of the parliamentarian. she has incredible integrity. she is not to blame. some progress if's believe the vice president should do the same thing that vice president rockefeller and vice president humphrey did in not accepting the advice of the parliamentarian. we believe we still need to push for systemic reform to get this through. . >> all right. and ro khanna, curious, we heard mitch mcconnell saying earlier in the show that progress if's are making it impossible for nancy pelosi to operate. are you? >> no. and i don't think the speaker would say that. yes, we fight for our convictions. we at the end of the day support the caucus. our records show that. i think senator mcconnell is trying to deflect blame. here's the aarony. more people support the covid relief package in this country than actually support joe biden as a legitimately elected president and that number should scare mitch mcconnell. . >> tim ryan, the reconnaissance tours that were given at the u.s. capitol at the leadup in the insurrection at the capitol. who gave the tours? what do we know about them? . >> well, we know the u. s. attorneys' office here in d.c. is investigating that. not long after january 6th that there had been members of congress who may have been giving tours to people who may have been involved in the insurrection. that was turned over to the u.s. attorney. it is like a black box. we don't know where it is or where it stands. it is important we know it is being investigated. that's critical. because if members of congress were in some way given some insight into what the capitol looked like, two people who are going to cause an insurrection and be part of a terrorist attack the next day, that's a serious allegation. that's why the u.s. attorney is looking into it. . >> and suggest potential criminal prosecution. what did you think when you heard from chief pittman that some of the people who carried out the attacks of january 6th are thinking and plotting again looking at the capitol, which sort of gave us a window into why the fence is still up and the national guard is still mobilized there. what do you say as the level of security around the capitol right now? . >> i think the security that is there is necessary. it's really sad. in high school i remember walking up to the capitol, visiting members of congress or senators' offices, riding the trolley. now you go and it's barbed wire fences. i respect the people who are protecting the building and us. but it is sad that it has come to this. . >> congressman ryan, you have a question from jake sherman. >> do you still have confidence in the chief of police who the police union is now 90% against? and i know my colleague asked about her the other day. you said you wanted to hear from her. now you have heard from her. what do you think? . >> it's tough, jake. she was part of the leadership on january 6th. we're in the middle of a question here because the chief has left. i think she brings some value here because she was there and she can help us understand. but there's a lot of questions on january 6th. the equipment that the rank and file didn't have was a tremendous problem for them. the fbi memo that never made its way to her and she was head of intelligence for the capitol police. and even having good intelligence. they had good intelligence. they just never acted on it and never really fought for the resources they needed from the national guard to prevent what was happening. so we have some serious questions. a lot of people will be involved in that decision. but i think a lot of people are associating themselves with the rank and file members. >> tim ryan and ro khanna, thank you both for being on this morning. keep us posted. and let's turning to former treasury official steve rat nor who has a different take than we just heard from the congressman on the proposed $1.9 trillion american rescue plan. steve, what do your charts show? >> well, mika, as you guys have been talking about yesterday and today, it's an enormously popular package. we could hand out $100 bills on the street corner. that would probably be popular as well. let's look at the size of this and how it compares to other rescue efforts and the need we have out there. as this first chart shows, it is comparing what we did during the great recession. on the left we spent $1.8 trillion to combat the great recession. i will talk whether that was effective or not. on the right, you can see we would be at $6.1 trillion. we have passed $4 trillion of addressing the covid program. now the rescue package $1.9 trillion. let's look at the next chart which compares what we did then to now in terms of the need. on the left, the first part of the rescue package was $755 billion. people are now saying with justification was too small. because if you look at the red dot, that is the amount of output gap, the amount the economy needs to recover through this kind of package. you can see we were way short in 2009. if you look at the right side, you can see that red dot has moved all the way down. that is in large part because of the $4 trillion we have already appropriated. so this is substantially enormously in excess of the economic gap we are trying to make up. and the result of that can be inflation. it can be money that's not well spent. yes? >>. >> so when we look at the red dot in the center of the $1.9 trillion bar, you are saying it is how much has been taken out since covid and that we're more than doubling the amount of money we're throwing at the problem than what we need? >> yes. that's actually close to tripling it. yes, that is exactly the point. the gap that we have in the economy between what it would have been absent covid and what it is now is that red dot. and we're throwing almost three times as much money at that problem as the size of the problem. >> okay. do you have another chart. >> i have one more for you, joe. let's look at one of the specific provisions in terms of what the needs might actually be. there's -- sorry, there's $515 billion of money for state and local governments and education, which essentially is the same thing. it flows through. you can see that in the blue bars on the right. on the left are three different estimates by three different think tanks as to what the need is. the american enterprise institute as we know, which is somewhat right leaning, thinks there is no need. state and local deposits have done a good bit better than we thought they would. tax revenues are better than we thought they would be, especially for states like california that benefit from these huge run up in tech stocks. then you come to moody's, on the line, nonpartisan group, moody's analytics. they put the need at $61 billion. and then you come to the center on budget and policy priorities, a very responsible but left leaning liberal group. they put the need at $300 billion. it's worth noting we have already spend $360 billion on state and local government aid and education, which of which hasn't made its way all the way out yet because of the process. this is an example, this is an example of where this package could be substantially greater than the need. and and the $1,400 checks, which are enormously popular but essentially would send money to almost 95% of americans regardless of what their need is or isn't. >> we were talking about the minimum wage and it is currently $7.25. eight hours a day, 40 hours a week, $15,000 a year. scratch out on the back of an envelope and figure out how you would live on that. there is a case that the cbo pointedut million jobs, raising the wage to $15 an hour. the congressman from ohio talks about facing that in a couple of years so you don't slam small businesses with it. what is the reality of raising it to $15 an hour? >> economists have been studying this for a long time and have different opinions. the better argument, the larger group of economists believe moderate increase, especially if over a matter of time, won't have such an affect. yes, we should be facing in a much higher minimum wage and doing it responsible. one of joe manchin's issues are wages in west virginia are a good bit lower. there are regional differences in minimum wage, things like that. but the concept that it needs to be higher sooner, i don't think anyone would disagree with it. at least i wouldn't. steve ratner, thank you very much for coming on this morning. >> and coming up, we'll hear directly from the white house. when one of president biden's top economists joins us. directors of the white house national economic council joins us. "morning joe" is back in a moment. 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. >> the nominee of the party? absolutely. >> what a difference a few weeks makes. welcome back to "morning joe". along with joe, williete editor "washington post" and msnbc political analyst eugene robinson. washington bureau chief for "usa today" susan page joins us. and donnie deutsche is with us as well. good to have you all on board this hour. . >> you know, donnie, with everything that's going on in cyrus vance's office, with everything going on in the with what's going on in prosecutors' offices, all the civil lawsuits going on with donald trump all across america, all the business problems donald trump is having one fight after another with one organization after another, someone saying they are going to vote for donald trump in 2024 has about as much impact as me saying i'm going to fly to mars on a rocket ship that you build in your backyard. nobody thinks he's going to be running for president in 2024 anymore than inside the united states capitol. they all know he is going to be buried in lawsuits, possible criminal charges for sometime to come. things will look radically different even from a year from now than they do right now. >> yeah. look, donald trump is going to go to jail. i really believe that. if you understand just spending time with michael cohen, absolute bank fraud,s absolute bank fraud. you have every one of these republicans who somehow believe this is the holy grail. if they move away, they won't get elected one year, two year, three years from now. and they're not wrong. 75% of republicans think he should be the man. 87% think he had nothing to do with the insurrection. if you want to know where the state of the republican party is, look at cpac this weekend. josh hawley, ted cruz versus six, seven years ago where you had toomey, jeb bush, mitt romney, paul ryan. it is the radical republican party right now. and it's the republican party of cowards. they are just right now paying homage to this false god, false idol of donald trump. it's not more complicated than that. >> it is just cynical saying you are going to be supporting donald trump if he runs in 2024. you saw it during impeachment. it seemed like one republican after another was saying, you know, let the criminal process play out. that's the better place to address all of this. they of course are trying to have it both way. they are playing to the trump base knowing he's never going to make it to 2024 in a position where he could run for anything. . >> yeah. and he's not alone in that. mitch mcconnell is not alone in his hypocrisy. lindsey graham, on the night of january 6th pounding the rostrum, enough is enough. i'm walking away. i've had it. and now he is down at mar-a-lago playing golf most weekends. kevin mccarthy not backing away from his criticism of liz cheney that stepped from this exchange on wednesday. >> do you believe president trump should be speaking -- or former president trump should be speaking at cpac this weekend. >> yes. he should. >> congresswoman cheney. >> that's up to cpac. i have been clear about that he should not be speaking at cpac. >> that walk away is from wednesday. mccarthy was asked about it. he initially launched in a more broad commentary about cancel culture before tying that back to congresswoman cheney. >> look, i can't believe in cancel culture, whether it be republican or democrat. the idea that a republican would join with the cancel culture i just think is wrong. it's beyond just having a difference of opinion. >> joe, the suggestion there is that liz cheney is engaged in cancel culture for speaking out against president trump, perpetuating a lie. as they are talking about cpac, today, this morning, sometime before noon, senator ted cruz will be addressing cpac on the subject of cancel culture, perhaps referencing the fact that he was criticized for going to cancun while hist state was in the middle of a crisis. >> do they get paid money every time they say those words, cancel culture? how stupid can you be? they're blaming everything on, quote, cancel culture, even when it doesn't apply. if somebody trips over their shoe lays and falls down, they will blame it on cancel culture. here you have kevin mccarthy accusing liz cheney of cancel culture? i don't really understand when it was kevin mccarthy who was on the phone screaming at donald trump when he feared for his life. kevin mccarthy begging the terrorists that donald trump call down the terrorists and stop the terrorists from attacking. and donald trump refused to do it. when kevin got angry, he said, well, i guess those attackers, i guess they're more upset about the election than you are, kevin. and mccarthy goes to the floor attacking donald trump. and then, like lindsey graham, gene robinson, gets scared, scared of his own shadow and flies down to mar-a-lago and makes picture with donald trump. just like nikki haley. she dares to tell the truth about him for about three seconds. and now she's going to try to get back in with donald trump because he's refusing to meet with her at mar-a-lago. it is extraordinary that these people want to meet with a man. keep that picture up. donald trump, in case you haven't been watching lately, the guy on the left led an insurrection against the united states capitol where his own vice president was being shouted out with chants of, hang mike pence. when donald trump, the guy on the left, knew that mike pence's life was in danger, knew that mike pence's wife's life was in charge, knew that mike pence's family's life was in danger, what did he do? did he call off his terrorists? no. he tweeted attacking mike pence to try to stir the crowd up even more. senator ben sasse said he got reports from inside the white house, the oval office, that donald trump was gleefully looking at terrorists abusing police officers with american flags. so my question really is how sick does a political party have to be? how gutless and directionless does a politician have to be to actually want to be within 100 miles of that guy on the left who gene robinson will forever be remembered as the only president ever to call for an insurrection against the united states of america to try to stop a peaceful transition of power and stop the constitutional process of counting electoral votes. >> you ask how sick and gutless does a politician have to be. and you just put up the picture. you see them right there. michigan pheufrbg connell, certainly you see kevin miracle kaerbgt. look, with the exception of liz cheney and others, yes, they are scared of their own shadow. they are scared of their own party, their own party's base. they are scared of donald trump. what we are going to see at least for the next year or so begin to play themselves out, we will see donald trump using the republican base as his sword and shield. that's the only thing he's got influence and control over right now. the smaller, no less passionate base of the republican party, including the state republican party officials, when they go against trump, immediately censure that person. these people are still with him. and so he will use that. he will try to use that to protect him. he will pretend he's going to run new 2024. he will paint it as political persecution and try to get that echoed by his loyal following base. and these republicans are going to sit there in the middle and waiver. i don't see them growing courage or doing the right thing, most of them. they're going to follow this guy and in the hopes, and i hope it's the main hope, they can take back one or both houses of congress in 2022. >> what is completely vexing to me and hard to understand, joe, is these republicans are following him while we have still an active threat to blow up the capitol by trump loyalists. we're not looking at horrible events in the past. we're still in an active situation where the u.s. capitol is surrounded by fencing and armed guards because of the fear of these people. yet there is a strange conversation happening with mitch mcconnell saying i would vote for him in 2024. are you kidding me? are you kidding me! attacks that mitch mcconnell, as you heard said were prompted by donald trump. >> it's also something kevin mccarthy said. there were a group of republicans right after the attacks who said we need to move on. rand paul, right after the trump terrorist attacks, right after rand saw police officers getting their brains beaten in by american flags, right after rand paul saw police officers getting their heads jammed into doors, after he saw them being beaten and dozens being hard. >> they are following someone they blamed for that. self mutilation. >> they are saying let's just put it behind us. . >> no, they can't. it's in front of us. >> lindsey graham said let's be done with this guy. three people chase him in the airport and suddenly he said we need to move on. several of them are saying we need to move on. >> to the next attack? >> when you talk about let's move on from the last terrorist attack because they understand thaeuft was a trump terrorist attack and they want people to forget about that. now we find out that of them want to come together and blow up the united states capitol when they're all in there for a joint session of congress. . >> okay. what are we, not going to believe them? let's take a pause and move to neera tanden's hopes of leading the office of management and budget. chuck grassley will vote against her nomination if it makes it to the senate floor. republican lisa murkowski seems to be leveraging her vote for concessions for her state. texas senator cornyn said they are looking for a deal. she figured this would be a good time to have a conversation with the white house about some of the things that are important to her and important to her constituents. i haven't been privy to those conversations, so yan exactly what's being said. but i know she was interested in using this as an opportunity to have that conversation. for now, the white house is sticking by the president's pick. here is press secretary jen saccy when pressed on past remarks. >> when she tweeted that a vampire has more heart than ted cruz which she compared senator mcconnell to voldemort, did those meet the president's standards of treating everyone with dignity and respect. . >> she apologized for her past comments and she would be joining a high bar of civility and engage. . whether that's on social or in person. we certainly expect she would meet that bar. >> and why mitch mcconnell wants to vote against her nomination. >> she is excessively partisan. she tweeted frequently. we're accustomed to that these days. but she took shots at everybody. she has taken offensive shots to almost all of my nominees. >> they did not have any problem of getting through a confirmation vote. but more importantly, critics of this holdup say, you know, with people. >> yeah. i think a lot of my members chose not to comment on the president's daily tweeting. i was among them. we concluded that was not a constructive use of our time. >> so you don't think there is a difference there as far as holding one side accountable or not? . >> well, i think when it comes to being confirmed, your record is before the senate. the senate is in the personnel business, versus the house. when they come up for confirmation, their whole record is before us. in this day in age, tweeting is part of the record. >> there the white house is still dug in on neera tanden despite the fact it's increasingly clear she's not going to get in. and there is someone behind hadar in that lesson da young. she is the nominee to be deputy director of omb. so where is this headed? >> i think the white house is not quite ready to give up on neera tanden, even though the news has not been good for her so far. lisa murkowski would be key. if she agreed to support neera tanden's nomination, that would off jet joe manchin's vote to oppose her. it's not quite over. she's definitely the biden nominee who is in the biggest trouble. very annoying, distressing to some democrats that there is a double standard when it comes to the ferocity of tweets between tanden and president trump. there is really no comparison. and people like mitch mcconnell were willing to countenance donald trump's tweets but find neera tanden' unacceptable. it is a double standard the biden white house doesn't want to be abide by the standards of civility common with the last administration. >> all right. a "washington post" reporter seung min kim has been targeted with sexist and racist abuse from parent supporters of omb nominee neera tanden. kim received a wave of ugly online comments after huffington post reporter igor bobik posted this image of kim showing senator murkowski an old tweet from tanden. "the daily beast" reached out to tanden. because protocol states they cannot speak to reporters until confirmed, she declined to comment. tanden did retweet the denouncement of the attacks. they write in part, no one to deal with the hate that has been directed at seung min. she did her job well, like she always does. we could not be prouder that she is our colleague and a reporter for the "washington post". so, gene, your colleague was doing her job. this story is so frustrating on many levels. what do you make on this? >> first of all, seung min was doing her job. she was asking lisa murkowski about a tweet that was about her. she said, well, i hadn't heard it or i'm not aware of that. what was it? so she showed it to her. she was there to get comment from senators and find out where they were on this nomination. it's not as if lisa murkowski, if she wasn't aware of the tweet at that moment, it's not as if she wasn't going to be made aware of it at some point by someone. it was out there and it was at issue. that said, there are a lot of people in the general public who legitimately don't get that reporter in that role, creating the news in effect. i would argue, no, she's not. this was on the record. it was just a matter of when lisa murkowski would be made aware of it. i think there is genuine confusion out there. there are people out there very quoted to the tanden nomination and real fans of hers who were kind of using this as a -- kind of pitched a fit over this to a fabulous reporter for the "washington post". >> are yeah. really the racist and miss sopblg tpheus particular attacks for a reporter doing her job is deeply offensive. by the way, whether she is showing her a screen shot of an old tweet or not, that's what reporters always do. i would walk off the house floor into the speaker's lobby and somebody would say, hey, did you see this quote that pete said about, you were barefooted at a tent revival? and i would say something. and then they would go to pete and say, hey, did you see what joe scarborough said about you in roll call? they are so deeply offended that a reporter is doing her job? this has been happening for hundreds of years. this is what reporters do. . >> of course it is. by the way, pete king brought that up literally every time he ever came on the show. about you and the tent revival, joe, are you wearing shoes now? seung min kim is one of the most respected reporters on capitol hill. we heard reports from kasie, jake sherman and people who worked aside her for years and years and years. she was asking for a comment on a quote against her. many of the people attacking her, partisan hacks are some of the same people who will appreciate simultaneousously about inclusion and representation and everything else but going after her in a sexist and racist way for doing her job is appalling. i'm glad to see she is getting so much support. president joe biden took his first known military action, authorizing air strikes against iranian-backed fighters in eastern syria. a senior defense official telling nbc news the attack involved two u.s. aircraft that launched 6:00 p.m. eastern yesterday, 2:00 a.m. friday local time. it was in response to recent attacks against american and coalition personnel in iraq, including an attack in erbil that wounded a u.s. service member and killed a contractor. it targeted a transit hub used by militia fighters near the iraq/syria border. let's bring in senior fellow at the council on foreign relations. gail, good to see you this morning. >> thank you. . >> lay out for our viewers what exactly happened yesterday, who the target was and why the biden administration thought it necessary to take action at this moment. . >> so this is the u.s. sending a message saying we know where you are. we can hit you any time. but we are not looking to escalate. and it's really noteworthy they struck a response to the attack in syria. and they did not strike an ire ran yann direct targets but instead iranian-backed militias. they have been running their own train and equip for the past number of years. they have used the syrian civil war to expand their influence across the region, including certainly in syria and in iraq. and what they are trying to do is continue to expand their footprint. this is saying you have gone this far and no further. let's get back to the table >> this take place at the same moment when the biden administration has been clear it wants to reengage on some level on the iran nuclear deal. what are the implications of this attack on that conversation? >> this is definitely designed not to escalate but send a message. it's something because this is a new administration. this is not a new problem for most of the people in it. there is this moment where they say they need to make sure they know that attacks on u.s. targets will not go unanswered. we're trying to get everybody back to talks. >> gael tzemach lemmon. her new book "the daughters of kobani" is now a "new york times" best seller. mika? >> and it should be. it's an incredible book. still ahead on "morning joe", the house is set to vote on president biden's massive stimulus package today. but will it achieve democrats' goal to raise the federal minimum wage? we'll speak to the direct of the white house national economic council brian deese next on "morning joe". we'll be right back. e next on "morning joe". we'll be right back. we'll be right back. hi sabrina! >>hi jen! so this aveeno® moisturizer goes beyond just soothing sensitive skin? exactly jen! calm + restore oat gel is formulated with prebiotic oat. and strengthens skin's moisture barrier. uh! i love it! aveeno® healthy. it's our nature.™ the holidays weren't exactly smooth sledding this year, eh santa? 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>> we are at a very precarious moment. certainly we are all hopeful. we are 10 million jobs down from where we were when they started this pandemic. we have historic crises in terms of hunger and homelessness in this country. and as we look at the economic forecast and data going forward, what we see is without decisive action. it's going to be years before we get back to a strong and healthy labor market. so we think this is a moment where the risk of doing too little is outweighed by the risk of doing too much. that's what is behind this plan. i would say if you look at most economists would agree with that assessment. and we have to go to the particulars of the plan where getting shots in people's arms, getting schools open, getting relief out to families and small businesses we think is a sensible in effect urgently needed priority. >> the economy would grow even if no relief packages were coming from the hill and the white house. that being said, that is fairly healthy growth. given that, why do we still need to have a $1.9 trillion bill instead of saying maybe half of that? >> because we're in a historic economic hole. this pandemic has hit the economy and put us in place where the same cbo report said if we do nothing, it will take until the end of 2024 or 2 5eu to get back to prepandemic employment levels. from our perspective, letting the economy move slowly back to full employment would put millions of americans at risk of lower wages and permanent scarring for their long-term incomes. if we move quickly and aggressively now to get shots in people's arms, to get this accelerated, we can move quickly back to full employment. that's what that cbo analysis indicated. hey, brian, it's willie geist. what is the plan going forward on the minimum wage? we heard from senate parliamentarian yesterday, last night, that the senate cannot include the $15 minimum wage in the relief package. what's the strategy moving forward if it can't be in this big bill. will you carve out separate legislation to raise the minimum wage? >> we were disappointed by the ruling. president biden put it in his american rescue plan. we believe it's a justified urgently needed step forward. this is an effective way to raise the wages of low income americans with a de minimis impact on employment. we think it's the right thing to do. we're going to consult with congressional allies, leadership to talk about a path forward on how we can make progress urgently on what is an urgent issue. at the same time we need to act on this rescue plan. as hopeful as we all are about the extra trajectory of the virus, we need to act urgently now. >> people are worried the minimum wage will fall by the wayside now that it has been disallowed by the parliamentarian. >> the president has campaigned on the $15 minimum wage, believes in it, he's committed to getting it down. . >> don annoy deutsche is here with a question for you. . >> hey, brian, how are you doing? . nice to chat with you. economists are worried about the i word, inflation. it almost guarantees we would hit that dreaded "i" word. >> that is a risk among many we monitor and we take seriously. as we assess economic conditions, what we see is an enormous amount of economic pain and a very significant gap between where we were prepandemic and where we need to be in terms of getting abouting to full employment. this economic crisis is not a traditional crisis. it is driven by public health emergency. it looks more like a natural disaster. in that context, we think providing a bridge of relief to families and businesses while supporting the absolutely necessary efforts like getting schools reopened, getting child care centers reopened so we can get more parents and women back into the workforce is the right way to move back to full employment. we'll stay focused on the goals going forward. we absolutely believe that action right now to get the virus under control, get schools open, get people back in the workforce is what we need for our economy. >> susan page is here with a question for you. susan. >> brian, as you know, some progress if's are urging senate democrats and vice president harris has president of the senate to overrule the senate parliamentarian so the $15 minimum wage can stay part of this reconciliation. there is a different way forward so you would only need 51 votes for a stand alone. does this action prompt him to reconsider or think again whether the right thing to do at this point is to get rid of the senate filibuster? >> well, the president and vice president respect the senate process and will not overrule the decision in this case. while we are disappointed by it, we are resolved to find a way to move forward to on a $15 minimum wage. that is something we're going to be talking this morning and over coming days with congressional leadership on the best path forward. we're resolved to move forward. we're going to have those conversations and figure out the best way to do that while at the same time making progress on the american rescue plan. we are hopeful to see house action on that today. . >> director of the white house council brian deese. thank you for being with us. we really appreciate it. donnie, i wanted to ask you about this weekend. donald trump is going to be speaking publicly i think for the first time since he left the white house. at least in a substantial way. a lot of insults obviously will be flying. how does joe biden respond to that? how does the biden respond to that? how do democrats respond to it? >> this is a simple one, joe. they don't. president biden has really set the table when he referred to him as the former guy. you don't want to make this about you versus trump. trump is the rear-view mirror. so pivot, be dismissive. if asked about it, i'm not really paying attention to the other guy. he lost his job. and move on. you have the bully pulpit. he is the ex former guy, period. don't give him anymore oxygen than that. >> what's the word in new york from people that you're talking to about possible charges coming up against donald trump? there's been a lot of speculation in washington as to why he hasn't been on fox news more, news max more, why he hasn't been on some of these conservative outlets more and why he's backed off. what are you hearing in new york? >> yeah, he's worried. cy vance and the attorney general, they are not doing this on a phishing expedition. the feds have a 98% hit rate when they decide they're going to go after somebody. real estate guys to begin with are shady just in the way they do business, most of them. i hate to do that. sorry to my real estate friends watching. he is by far the bottom of the barrel. anything you can do playing outside the lines he has done throughout his entire life. they're going to take him apart. if you think about the mind-set of a federal person or a local person or any law enforcement type person who works at a relatively small salary, they live for these moments. here's a guy who pretended he was bigger than the house. literally he tried to take down who we are. nobody is going to approach this with a soft knife if you will. expect donald trump to spend the rest of his life fighting or in jail. i don't mean life in jail. i believe that's where it ends for him. it's hard for people to see that. i really believe he ends up behind bars. i think that is the final act of this what we have been watching. . >> on that note, thank you. have a great weekend. and coming up, we're going to play for you congressman al green's powerful speech directed at those who deny people their civil rights in the name of religion. and professor michael eric dyson joins the conversation. 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god created every person in this room. are you saying that god made a mistake? this is not about god. it's about men who choose to discriminate against other people because they have the power to do so. >> democratic representative al green in texas. we're joined by michael eric dyson author of the new book "long time coming" reckoning with race in america. great to see you. we have a lot to talk to you about. you're also a preacher. so i'm interested in what you thought listening to congressman green yesterday. . >> yeah. i think that absolutely the reverend al green made a poignant point there. the fact is we live in a name that justice and fairness derived from biblical sense that god is the creator of human beings. what al green was reminding us of is this nation has followed those precepts but often into perilous territory. they have used god to justify segregation, used god to justify slavery, used god to justify bigotry toward other human beings. and he was saying there, don't use god as an excuse for your bigotry. don't make god co sign your prejudice. and he was progressive understanding that black people have adhered to from the beginning. in slavery, black people had to appeal to a god who would work against those white figures who appealed to the divine in order to justify their dehumanization. al green is in a very noteworthy and powerful tradition. >> making the case to expand america. gene robinson has a question for you. >> michael, good to talk with you. despite what al green said on the floor and despite what you so eloquently said just now, there were only three republican votes for the equality act. talk for a moment about the moment we're living in and the republican party. is there historical context? is this the backlash against reconstruction happening again in our society? >> very well put. there's no question there's a parallel here. first you have the expression of a powerful point of freedom. you have the expression of peoples desire to want to make things real and then you have the grantings of black power where we have representatives in congress, economic freedom and the devastating backlash. the refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of those claims to the american common will. you're right. the same kind of backlash is happening here where the refusal of -- in this case the republican party, to acknowledge the humanity of human beings. it sounds redundant. it sounds ridiculous, yet that's true. the fact there are only three republican congressmen reminds us of the fact that when martin luther king jr. was alive, people are now praising him, people now embrace him and celebrate him, but a great deal of american people were opposed to the principles and practices of justice and many congressmen during that day and senators as well stood tooth and nail in opposition to the very ideals that martin luther king jr. represented. he said i represent the american dream, a dream deeply rooted in the american practice and way of life. so, yes, there's a tremendous parallel here to reconstruction and its aftermath. >> as you know, this week an independent review of the death of elijah mcclain in colorado who was placed in a hold by place who say they should not have stopped him in the first place. in 2019 mcclain was walking home after buying ice tea and someone called 911 saying he was "sketchy." paramedics were then called help mcclain and they gave him a dose of ketamine. michael, in your book you write a letter directly to elijah mcclain. it says elijah, your words that evening are heartbreaking. you tried so hard to convince the police that you were no threat to anyone and a good person, much the way george floyd tried to convince the cops that he was not a bad guy. the string of words that flowed from your mouth as the cops brutalized you is at once sad, because you tried to show your best that you were a meek and mild soul and enraging because it didn't matter what you said. they were hell-bent on smashing your body into nothingness, into no-there-ness. yesterday would have been elijah's 25th birthday as well. >> yes, it's extraordinary. the report, 157 pages i think concluded that they had no reason to stop him in the first place. he was a young man. 23 years old. arguably on the spectrum. a beautiful soul who played his violin to soothe stray cats. a young man about whom it was said a gold orb walked with him as he proceeded in life. yet 5'6", 140 pounds, three police people saw it necessary to twice render him unconscious and the emt to administer ketamine to him for no good reason. he wore a ski mask because he was anemic and got easily cold. he begged them repeatedly to stop. he said please observe the boundaries that i'm speaking. they refused to do so. more than the boundaries he was speaking that they refused to acknowledge was his utter simple right to exist without their unnecessary infraction. so it reminds us again that the police are to be the servants of our communities and not their imprisoners. they're not to go about arbitrarily denying them the right to live. if this precious, beautiful boy cannot have that right exercised for him, so many others are in peril of a similar fate, which is equally tragic. >> so, this report finds that there were several mistakes, several tragic mistakes that led to his death. what's next for the family? what's next for those who loved him? is there the possibility of federal charges being brought? >> yeah. one hopes, brother joe, that that would be the case. i think the family also wants to consider, you know, any civil litigation that might be put forward. that, of course, is a possibility. it is tragic indeed that this report took this much time and without the george floyd protests we're very doubtful that elijah mcclain's story might have seen the light of day. this is a problem repeated throughout america. how many more elijah mcclains are there? how many more george floyds are there? for those who stand in bitter opposition to a notion of reforming the police, this case begs us to take seriously the fact that the police are out of control when it comes to african-american and other peoples and serious issues must be put in place and considered on the table. >> the book is "long time coming: reckoning with race in america." michael eric dyson, thank you very much for coming on. up next, new testimony on the security failure behind the january 6th attack on the capitol. and why one top official explains why it's still not safe to draw down security. "morning joe" is coming right back. i'm draymond green with my subway sub with tender steak and melty cheese. my sub is gonna dunk all over your sub. excuse me? my sub has bacon. choose better be better and now save when you order in the app. subway eat fresh. but not jayson's sub. ♪♪ good morning. welcome to "morning joe." it is friday, february 26th. it's friday. along with joe, willie and me, we have nbc news and msnbc national affairs analyst and host o "the circus" john heilemann. and co-founder of punch bowl news, jake sherman is with us. he's an msnbc political contributor. let's get to the news. the acting chief of the u.s. capitol police testified yesterday on the intelligence failure leading up to the january 6th riot. the chief, who was not in charge of the department on the day of the riot, addressed the controversy surrounding an fbi report received by the department a day before the insurrection which warned that militia groups were "preparing for war and targeting congress." >> it was shared with task force agents that are imbedded from capitol police with the fbi. they, in turn, sent that email that they received to a lieutenant within the protective and intelligence operations side of the house. that information was not then forwarded any further up the chain. so that is a lesson learned for u.s. capitol police. acting chief pittman also said that the enhanced level of security around the capitol will remain in place at least through president biden's first official address to congress. and here she is explaining why. >> we know that members of the militia groups that were present on january 6th have stated their desires that they want to blow up the capitol and kill as many members as possible with the direct nexus to the state of the union, which we know that date has not been identified. so based on that information, we think that it's prudent that capitol police maintain its enhanced and robust security posture until we address those vulnerabilities going forward. >> we talked about this yesterday. you just wonder when you get the warning that you have got a riot coming your way and to be prepared for violence and that extremists are talking about war against the united states capitol, you just have to, again, this question has to be answered over time by this commission. why did they not respond to that in a meaningful way? also, i'm glad we heard the testimony yesterday because i'm tired of people complaining about fences up around the capitol, how long are the fences -- oh, this is a threat. no, it's not. no. we have to keep defending members inside the capitol. the building was built for the members to do their jobs. and it's really quite telling that there are still threats out there while ron johnson is saying this is much to do about nothing, nothing to see here, rand paul whining it's time to move along and others whining that it's time to move along. we still have threats. their lives still in danger. people still talking about coming to the capitol, blowing it up, killing as many members. >> i think we can believe them now. >> we got the answer why the fence is still up from chief pittman who laid out pretty clearly, whenever this joint session is held, whenever president biden gives the first address to congress, there are threats. and it's another date now circled on the calendar by the groups that carried out the attack on january 6th. so anyone, as you say, like senator johnson or anyone who continues to perpetuate lies about what happened january 6th and why, is feeding into this, is giving license to the people who chief pittman told us yesterday are planning, as we sit here right now, to attack the capitol again. >> john heilemann, where do republicans go with this? the party seems a bit divided. you keep having ron johnson and others going out, the further they get away from january 6th, and almost pretending like nothing happened. spreading the sort of lies that -- well, kevin kevin mccarthy is spreading too. kevin's own video blaming donald trump. so it seems like the amnesia is short. yesterday, again, should have been a reminder that the capitol is still in danger. this country is still in danger. and more specifically, they are still in danger. and yet they're living off a completely different set of alternative facts. >> i think we'll learn the answer to where republicans are in a few days. there's the group of these leaders, much of the republican leaders, what constitutes the republican party is now down in florida where they will gather around donald trump. many of the people on that speakers list at cpac are people who fall into the category of outright deniers of joe biden's legitimacy, many of whom have, as a kind of sidecar set of beliefs are in the camp that you're talking about right now. the ones minimizing what happened at the capitol on january 6th. what will get said over the course of the next three days will give us a taking of the temperature of where the party is. you mentioned ron johnson but also mitch mcconnell, people stunned in the last couple days when mitch mcconnell who gave that scathing speech at the end after the verdict had been rendered in the trump impeachment trial laying the entire thing at donald trump's feet, even though he voted to acquit, laying the legal culpability and people saying would you support donald trump? of course i would support donald trump if he's the nominee of the party. it's not just the cranks, it's not just the ron johnsons, the matt gateses, it's the desire to on one hand exonerate the president at the same time in a way implicitly or explicitly kind of let's forget about what happened on january 6th. instead of never forget, a lot of republicans motto seems to be let's forget as fast as possible. a lot of what we will see at cpac over the next couple of days will give us a collective window into where this party is with respect to what happened on january 6th, not just what they think about donald trump -- we know that already. they're devoted to donald trump. they are in his pocket. and as you say, their lives are at stake. but then their lives were in jeopardy january 6th and they didn't seem to care about that either. their lives are at stake when that joint session takes place, i don't know if they care enough to do anything about it. >> you listen to what kevin mccarthy said right after his life was put at risk, and reports from other republican members of him screaming at donald trump. and donald trump was lying to him about it being antifa instead of his own supporters, but you listen to kevin mccarthy now, and he's completely whitewashed that. you listen to lindsey graham. said he was tired of carrying the president's water. and then two or three people talked to him in the airport and he freaks out. now he is golfing and flying around with donald trump. my god, lindsey scares really easily. as far as mitch mcconnell goes, i think mitch mcconnell is making the calculation that a lot of republicans are making. they think he's going to either be in jail or he's going to be charged or he's going to be fighting so many lawsuits that he's never going to come up for air to run for president of anything. that is the calculation that a lot of republicans at least in the united states senate are making right now. >> it's a strange calculation to me. >> that's actually donald trump's own fear himself, that he will be fighting lawsuits and running from the law the rest of his life. >> his tax returns are being called through as we speak. you know, i don't understand that deal with the devil at all. you know, i guess i could understand it when a few votes were hanging in the balance, i guess, from constituents. some people think that way. this is our democracy. this is our safety. this is their safety. this is a strange balance that mitch mcconnell is striking, having it both ways and putting the function of our democracy and the safety of the members of congress in danger yet again. trying to pretend it didn't happen. trying to pretend that trump didn't happen? he can run again? no, i thought you said there was an insurrection. i thought you said it was all because of him and his words. i thought you said that actually he had so much power and he abused it and used it to bring those people in and attack our capitol. but now you would vote for him again? wow. your wife left in disgust during the insurrection. okay. so we'll move on to this. a ruling in the senate dealt a severe blow to democrats who are pushing to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour in the next covid-19 relief package. senate parliamentarian, elizabeth mcdonough, nonpartisan arbitrator issued guidance saying she didn't think the effort complied with guidelines of reconciliation, the fast track process that democrats are use to go pass the bill. despite the parliamentarian's decision, house speaker nancy pelosi said lawmakers in the house would not remove the provision before the vote, which is set for later today. jake sherman, what does this all mean? >> it means there won't be a $15 minimum wage in the immediate. it means -- nancy pelosi's move is smart on her behalf, she has a caucus full of progressives who want to see this policy and do not care that the senate doesn't want to pass it, they want to pass it and vote on it. it's very popular in the democratic caucus. it has almost unanimous support. number one. number two, as we pointed this out in punch bowl news this morning. i think it seeps its way into literally every legislative debate from here on out. this is -- the way democrats see it, a widely and broadly popular provision. the minimum wage hasn't been raised in some time. they will try to find ways to do it. it will lend credence to blow up the filibuster, something that caught on on the left. doesn't have the votes at the moment. joe manchin and kirsten sinema are against blowing up the filibuster, but let's be clear, if there were no filibuster democrats could tomorrow raise the minimum wage to $11, $12, something in that range. this is not the end of the story. it's just the beginning. for the broader covid package, what does this mean? joe biden wants to pass a $2 trillion bill by march 14th. that is just a couple weeks away. a very, very steep hill to climb. they're going to have to move quickly. they're going to have to move efficiently. now that the $15 minimum wage is out, will they be able to pass this through the senate. i think yes. to be determined, though. now joe manchin and kirsten sinema have very few chances to vote against this. >> it's clear that president biden suspected that the $15 minimum wage want going to be in this package. if they peel this off as a separate piece of legislation, you started to answer the question. but even with that, republicans don't like a lot of the other stuff that's in the 1.9 trillion package. so how do they push this through? do they get manchin and sinema on board just without the minimum wage and finally before that 14th deadline and get this money out to people? >> yeah. that's exactly what they do, willie. they move the package without the $15 minimum wage. frankly, i think on the minimum wage provision, it is certainly possible to pass an increase of the minimum wage with republican support. i just don't think it will be at $15. nancy pelosi remembered yesterday, i think this is when you were in congress, joe. the minimum wage was increased in 2001, in early 2001. and george bush signed it. it got support on capitol hill from both parties. i do think it's possible to get this done. i don't think it's possible to do it at $15. yes, willie, the covid package will likely pass and it will be almost strictly on a partisan basis. important to remember every package in the trump administration tasked with bipartisan support. now in the biden administration, no bipartisan support. down the road a compromised minimum wage package could be in play. not exactly sure how they will get that done. perhaps it will happen in a later jobs package or even as a stand alone. i have to imagine nancy pelosi will move a minimum wage package as a stand-alone in the coming weeks or months. coming up, the u.s. launches air strikes against iranian-backed militias in syria. the first-known military action of the biden administration. richard haass weighs in next on "morning joe." research shows that people remember commercials with exciting stunts. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's something you shouldn't try at home. insurance is cool. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ plaque psoriasis, the burning, itching. the pain. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. janssen can help you explore cost support options. ♪ for every idea out there, that gets the love it should ♪ ♪ there are 5 more that don't succeed ♪ tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. ♪ and so are lost for good ♪ ♪ and some of them are pretty flawed ♪ ♪ and some of them are slightly odd ♪ ♪ but many are small businesses that simply lack the tool ♪ ♪ to find excited people who will stop and say 'that's cool'♪ ♪ and these two, they like this idea ♪ ♪ and those three like that one.♪ ♪ and that's 'cause personalized ads ♪ ♪ find good ideas for everyone ♪ (deborah) i was hesitant to get the hearing aids because of my short hair, but nobody even sees them. 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>> it was my recommendation. we said a number of times we will respond at, you know, on our timeline. >> let's bring in the president of the counsel on foreign relations, richard haass. first, richard, give us background on this region where people may not be aware of what was at stake and tell us what this was in retaliation for. >> good morning, joe. what's at stake is the continuing presence of terrorists, in large parts the middle east. and in particular also iranian support for them. iran emerged as a critical country not only within its own boards obviously but iraq and syria and lebanon and both directly and indirectly through various militia groups. it is putting pressure on governments, u.s. forces. what you saw here was an american attempt to send several messages and thread the needle. in the aftermath of this iranian-backed militia attacks over the last ten days against the international contractor, i think he was from the philippines, against u.s. forces in iraq, we wanted to tell the iranians you do not have a free hand. if you are going to use force against us, we can retaliate even though we want to negotiate a nuclear agreement with you. that may be the most important message. that is not going to tie the administration's hands. at the same time this was a limited response. this administration knows the middle east can't be the center of u.s. strategy. much more concerned about the asia-pacific where china is. so again, this was an attempt to thread the needle, to say we're willing to use force. we're going to target terrorists, not give iran a free hand but we will do it in a fairly limited or measured way so long as we can. >> richard, i think people wake up and see the headlines, u.s. strikes in syria. where do you draw the line there? >> again, this was quite modest. the united states was not planning a major reentry into the syrian civil war, the central government of syria controls this area. this was all taking place in the northeast area. it is near the iraqi border where the kurds are. the united states has kept a few hundred forces on the ground in syria. we have a few thousand in iraq. this is a modest attempt to keep terrorism at bay and to keep iranian support for these terrorists through their militias also at bay. >> richard, talk about joe biden reaching out to saudi arabia yesterday. what can you tell us about that phone call and what's at stake. stphrl he made the phone call to the king not the crown prince, and in some ways that's most important. today it looks as though we'll release the report that will essentially implicate the crown prince, the most powerful man in saudi arabia for the murder of jamal khashoggi. here again, i used the phrase a minute ago that we're trying to thread the needle. this is another needle thread. saudi arabia is an important country in the energy space, it's important against iran. at the same time the united states has real concerns about their pursuit of the war in yemen, on the human rights grounds, this targeting of saudi citizens, many still languish in jail. so, again, the administration is looking for a way to push back against this leadership of saudi arabia. but also to protect this relationship which still matters. what sort of details are going to emerge in our response, we'll have to see. but i think they are looking for a middle ground to basically send the message that this can't continue, you can't target your own people the way you have done. but we don't have the luxury of walking away from one of the most important countries in the region. let me just sort of say, i think it's going to get very interesting. one of the questions is will saudi arabia use the fact that they're going to be on the defensive, might they try to come up with some creative policies? let me throw one out there, whether this could bring them closer to israel. whether the administration might find a defense of saudi arabia gives them something to work with israel and the palestinians. the report is not the end of the story. i think in some ways it's the beginning of the story. coming up president joe biden tackles the question he's asked most often -- when will things get back to normal? his answer is straight ahead on "morning joe." did you know you can go to libertymutual.com to customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need? really? i didn't-- aah! ok. i'm on vibrate. aaah! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ [typing sounds] i had this hundred thousand dollar student debt. two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars in debt. ah, sofi literally changed my life. it was the easiest application process. sofi made it so there's no tradeoff between my dreams and paying student loans. student loans don't have to take over for the rest of your life. thank you for allowing me to get my money right. ♪♪ some say this is my greatest challenge ever. thank you for allowing me to get my money right. but i've seen centuries of this. with a companion that powers a digital world, traded with a touch. the gold standard, so to speak ;) ♪ hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play ♪ ♪ hey now, you're a rock star, get the show on, get paid ♪ ♪ and all that glitters is gold ♪ get 5 boneless wings for $1 with any handcrafted burger. only at applebee's. if you're looking for a real civil war, look at the democrats in the house, the progressives making it extremely difficult for speaker pelosi to operate given the narrow margin she has overall in the house. i think the biden administration is making it easy for us to get together. we unified in opposition of this administration's extremely progressive approach. president biden made it quite easy for us to get together. >> mitch mcconnell is talking about the radical agenda of the democrats, making it easy for republicans to come together. but here's how radical that agenda is. joe biden with 58% approval rating, 36% disapproval rating. kamala harris, 57% approval, 39% disapproval. mitch mcconnell, 17% approval, 61% disapproval. you're looking at -- he's minus 40-something. ted cruz is minus 30. kevin mccarthy minus 20 in this poll. we have shown other polls that show joe biden in the low 60s. so these are republicans actually talking to themselves in a bunker. if they have a minimum wage bill, they will once again be in the 20%, 25% of an issue and democrats will be 75% of it. so when he is saying that, when other republicans are saying that, it's just words. they're speaking to themselves in their own bubble. and if you look at the numbers, it is still not looking good for the republican party. >> yeah, well, look -- joe, here's the one small respect in which it's true. the small respect in which it's true is that republicans in the last few days have come together across their factions in terms of a strategy to oppose this covid relief and economic recovery package. they've got their talking points now. it's too big. it's a liberal laundry list. joe biden has been too partisan in the process. and the administration is backtracking on the promise of opening schools. this bill won't do anything to get america's kids back in schools. the republican party now has a unified songbook. mcconnell is right, they have gotten together, they're not fractured in that respect anymore. they think that will let them do what was done in 2009. this is mcconnell trying to rerun that play, barack obama got his recovery act through, but the republican arguments against it stuck and hurt the democratic party in the midterms in 2010. the problem is the circumstances are wildly different, partly because of covid and partly because of the reasons you laid out -- we've been through four years of donald trump. opinions about the republican party have really sunken into a much different place than they were in 2009. and this bill is overwhelmingly popular with not just the american people at large, but with republicans as the democrats and the white house point out over and over again. the stats show 60% approval within the republican party for this bill tells you mitch mcconnell may be right that they're unified about their strategy but their strategy is divorced from reality. and the white house thinks, hey, you know what? if the best argument you guys can make is that the economy will recover any way, maybe, maybe not. but if that's true and our package helps that along and it's there in the background in case things go wrong, either way, if the economy is looking good by next summer we'll get the credit for it and you guys will be seen as opposing vital, necessary urgent needs of the american people. you're on the wrong end of this message war, mitch, and you're running against the american people, your own constituencies, voters. the white house feels comfortable with this politics. we want to turn to another important topic for us on "morning joe." throughout february we've been celebrating black history month with special insights from many of our friends, guests and contributors. take a look. >> i'm highlighting this morning miss ella baker. she's one of my heroes. one of the most amaing practioners. >> i chose jean-baptiste desabo. >> toni morrison, she won the nobel prize in literature. >> shirley chisholm was the first black woman elected to congress in 1968. she ran for president in 1972. >> i chose my wife, she is the strongest approach to mental health anywhere in the country. >> my hero, hank aaron. hank aaron gave you something to cheer for, not only every year, every game. >> barry gordy jr. he was the founder of motown records. he gave us some of the best and most important popular music of the 20th century. >> general david fagan. after seeing the abuses of the imperial united states who betrayed the filipinos and attacked them, he switched sides and became a rebel leader for the filipinos and was one of the most influential military minds. >> poly laurie, helped write some of the defining legislation around gender discrimination. >> dr. norman francis is somebody for me and for all of my fellow citizens of new orleans is a living saint. he's somebody who represents the civil rights movement but also the quest for equality. >> i'm looking at rosa parks because she served as a spark for what was the beginning of the second reconstruction in american history. the civil rights movement. >> robert smalls, he served as a slave on a ship during the civil war. then he served as a member of that ship and eventually in battle when his captain wanted to surrender, he got that boat out of harm's way. he then went on to introduce the first bills for public schools in south carolina and eventually served here in the congress. >> barbara jordan, the great civil rights leader and congresswoman from texas. and when congress was considering the impeachment of richard nixon, she gave one of the great political speeches. she said i am not going to sit here and be an idledemunition o constitution. >> you have masses of people and that becomes a big part of the civil rights movement. >> charlotte fortin, remarkable figure in the atlantic magazine's history, she is the first plaque woman to write for the atlantic magazine. >> she is an amazing young scientist who is basically going to be part of a group of scientists that will go down in history for helping to end the pandemic. >> ralph bunch. not a well-known person but he ought to be. he was the first african-american to win the nobel peace prize for his work in dealing with israel and its neighbors. he was the first african-american who became a member of the council on foreign relations. he really ought to be a role model. he was an extraordinary diplomat. >> fannie lou hammer who organized folks all over mississippi to register to vote. she spoke detailing the injustices that were going on in mississippi. >> dr. dorothy hite. she was a phenomenal educator, leader in the civil rights movement. she was the only woman in the room at the birth of the civil rights movement. civil rights movement. lactaid is 100% real milk, just without the lactose. so you can enjoy it even if you're sensitive. yet some say it isn't real milk. i guess those cows must actually be big dogs. sit! i said sit! as a cement mason, i use the dove bar... because i work with a lot... of dust and dirt. just washing... the dirt and the grime off... and just bringing you... back...to you. you see the glow? 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i mean it... uh-oh, sorry... oh... what? i'm an emu! no, buddy! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ brushing only reaches 25% of your mouth. listerine® cleans virtually 100%. helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath. never settle for 25%. always go for 100. bring out the bold™ covid's still a threat. and on reopening schools, we know what happens when we don't put safety first. ignore proper ventilation or rates of community spread, and the virus worsens. fail to provide masks or class sizes that allow for social distancing, and classrooms close back down. a successful reopening requires real safety and accountability measures. including prioritizing vaccines for educators. parents and educators agree: reopen schools. putting safety first. cyber attacks are relentlessly advancing. to end them, cybereason built a cyber security solution so advanced... it can end attacks today -- on computers, mobile devices, servers and the cloud. and deliver future-ready protection, keeping you sharp for tomorrow. join us, the defenders, in our mission. cybereason. end cyber attacks. from endpoints to everywhere. the question i ask -- i'm asked most often is when will things get back to normal. my answer is honest and straightforward, i can't give you a date. i can only promise we'll work as hard to make that day come as soon as possible. while things are improving, we're going from a mess we inherited to moving in the right direction at significant speed, this is not a victory lap. everything is not fixed. we have a long way to go. and that day when everything is back to normal depends on all of us. >> president biden speaking yesterday as the u.s. hit 50 million administered shots. one of the unsung heroes who helped get the country to the mark of 50 million doses administered is actually country music icon, dolly parton. here she is back in november humbly discussing her contribution to the fight against covid-19. >> i'm sure you heard through the grapevine you're trending this morning online for the dolly parton research funds donation towards the covid-19 vaccine. in the midst of all of this craziness we're living, your dollars are making a difference. >> yeah, that's what i understand this morning. i have not read up enough. they told me that before i went on the air they may be asking me about that. i'm just happy that anything i do can help somebody else. when i donated the money to the covid fund i wanted it to do good and evidently it is. >> that's exactly what it's doing. >> i hope we find a cure real soon. dolly is just one of countless women who went into battle to fight this pandemic. many of these women are doing what is probably the most important work of their careers when they're well past the age of 50. more on these women over 50 leading the way in the fight against covid-19 in a moment. first, the significance of being over 50? for one, there are more women over 50 in this country today than at any other point in history. and so know your value teamed up with forbes for a special 50 over 50 list to celebrate the women who have achieved significant success after that age and showcase the women who are shattering misconceptions about gender and age. and after 50 is increasingly where the power lies. the average age of women on the forbes list of the world's most powerful women is 55. let's bring in chief content officer of forbes media and editor of forbes, randall lane. also with us for this conversation is "morning joe" producer, know your value's daniela pierre-bravo, she's the co-author of "earn it with me" and a contributor to this forbes list. daniela, on the top of the list, a woman who is winning the race to a vaccine with pfizer. who is she? tell us about her. >> the first on the list is katherine jansen, the head of pfizer's rich and development team. she's been on the forefront of developing the vaccine for pfizer. she had an enormous task ahead of her of doing it in record time and without compromising quality. she has decades of experience in vaccine development. she was pivotal to the vaccine for hpv and the work she's doing and has been doing on the vaccine front feels like it meets the moment here for what's at stake. >> that's right. two-thirds of teen girls in america now, she helped. here is something who is experienced, takes her experience and what a time to apply it. she's an immigrant. she was born behind the iron curtain in east germany. what she said about this is you have to follow your gut, you can't let anybody dissuade you. that's the wisdom of having decades of experience. >> number two today, daniela, we just mentioned her, she's one of my favorite singers. >> dolly parton. she donated a million dollars to the vanderbilt university medical center. she had a physician friend there and wanted to know what was being done to study the vaccine? so the million dollars went to the dolly parton covid-19 research fund which went towards funding the moderna vaccine, which has been incredible. she did so much to expedite those critical stages of that vaccine development. you know, this is not the first time that she has given to philanthropic causes and given back and just confirms she's the national treasure we all thought and knew she was. >> she really is. >> she gave early. that was the key. philanthropy can't solve early, but the fact she gave a million dollars in april which unlocked a billion in vaccine research, that's why she's an extra hero. >> that's jumping right in. going with your gut. the first two women we talked about, katherine jensen in her early '60s. dolly parton 75. third on the list today, daniela, just turned 50. and also formed the black doctors covid-19 consortium. tell us about her. >> she was really out there early. she was rolling up her sleeves when nobody else was reaching out to black communities, specifically in philadelphia. and what started out as sort of this scrappy sort of back of the bus operation with her colleagues, getting the access and knowledge to the communities that need it the most has been really turned into this full-fledged operation where now you have city officials in philadelphia coming to her to say how did you do it? we need your help? let's collaborate and work together. >> yeah. and randall, that's the key, getting out early on this. quite frankly it can be said the administration did not. >> she, again, took matters into her own hands. she just turned 50 a couple weeks ago. the way dr. stanford celebrated this past saturday was she moved from testing to actually vaccinating -- she vaccinated 4,000 people on saturday, which is more than philly does on a daily average and focused three quarters on people of color. >> she's also been an amazing guest on "morning joe," we hope to have her back soon. we always do an unsung hero. daniela, who are we looking at today? >> love this story. it's catalin carico, senior vice president of biontech who oversees the mrna, a single-stranded message molecule which is the basis for the moderna and pfizer vaccine. but she has been studying and researching this all her life. she is an immigrant. she comes to us from hungary, and started her research there. brought her husband and her baby daughter here to the united states with $1,000 to her name. she put the $1,000 into her daughter's teddy bear, stitched it up and went to the u.s. to study this. she continues studying and looking for ways to develop the vaccine but she was met with a lot of setbacks. she was demoted from a lab job at penn, diagnosed with cancer. she tried to start a business to develop these mrna drugs, but it just was not successful. but you see years later at 66, she is now health pioneer. the very research behind the technology that will really bring all our lives back to normal here. >> she stayed with it. she said she never doubted it would work and it did. i think it's interesting to note her daughter, you know, this immigrant from hungary, her daughter has won two gold medals asrower in the olympics. she credits mom with the per sis persistence. i would not be surprised if she gets a medal this year for the nobel prize. >> these stories bring tears to my eyes. this list is so important. randall, i think submissions close monday, right? >> monday. we're almost at 10,000. >> wow. we need to make it to 10,000. get your nomination in. >> we got -- we've seen dr. kariko, we're getting so many unsung heroes. the stories are incredible. >> forbes randall lane and daniela pierre-bravo, thank you as well. if you know a woman shattering age and gender norms and would like to nominate her for our 50 over 50 feature in forbes, let us know. nominate yourself. you can do that, you know. go to knowyourvalue.com or forbes.com and click on 50 over 50 to learn more. now to an update that will drastically speed up the vaccine rollout. the food and drug administration has now approved the pfizer vaccine to be stored at standard freezing temperatures instead of arctic levels. pfizer and biontech asked regulators to relax requirements for its vaccine last week to be allowed to be stored in less regulated conditions. the pfizer vaccine the pfizer vaccine can now be stored at standard freezing temperatures for up to two weeks and will hopefully precede the news of johnson & johnson's vaccine emergency use authorization this weekend. meanwhile, doctors are seeing one bright spot amid the covid-19 pandemic. february is usually the peak of flu season, but not this year. influenza is way down across the country. a lack of a flu season that doctors say is unprecedented. medical experts attributed the change to the covid-related precautions, especially mask wearing, social distancing and careful hand washing. that's important. that's something we'll be watching for the future beyond the pandemic. now to texas, which continues to recover. after last week's winter storm devastated the state president biden is scheduled to fly to houston this morning. he will visit a food bank there and speak at a vaccination facility. the damage from the storm, meanwhile, could prove to be the costliest disaster in state history, potentially exceeding the $125 billion in damages from hurricane harvey. every region of the state was impacted by the deep freeze that left dozens dead, millions without power, and nearly 15 million with water issues. so far texas agencies have reported spending $41 million on cleanup while local governments have spent $49 million, a number that is only expected to rise. and we'll be right back. ♪ ♪i've got the brains you've got the looks♪ ♪let's make lots of money♪ ♪you've got the brawn♪ ♪i've got the brains♪ ♪let's make lots of♪ ♪uh uh uh♪ ♪oohhh there's a lot of opportunities♪ with allstate, drivers who switched saved over $700. saving is easy when you're in good hands. allstate click or call to switch today. ♪ ♪ the chevy silverado trail boss. when you have a two-inch lift. when you have goodyear duratrac tires. when you have rancho shocks and an integrated dual exhaust. when you have all that, the last thing you'll need... is a road. the chevy silverado trail boss. ready to off-road, right from the factory. i'm jayson tatum check out my subway sub with delicious turkey and crispy bacon. it will help you hit shots from anywhere, unlike those other subs. my sub has steak. wait, what did he say? steak! choose better be better and now save when you order in the app. subway eat fresh. ♪ for every idea out there, that gets the love it should ♪ ♪ there are 5 more that don't succeed ♪ and now save when you order in the app. ♪ and so are lost for good ♪ ♪ and some of them are pretty flawed ♪ ♪ and some of them are slightly odd ♪ ♪ but many are small businesses that simply lack the tool ♪ ♪ to find excited people who will stop and say 'that's cool'♪ ♪ and these two, they like this idea ♪ ♪ and those three like that one.♪ ♪ and that's 'cause personalized ads ♪ ♪ find good ideas for everyone ♪ brushing only reaches 25% of your mouth. listerine® cleans virtually 100%. helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath. never settle for 25%. always go for 100. bring out the bold™ today i am thrilled to welcome back olympic gold medalists and know your value contributors monique morando and jocelyn davidson. it's already been excite a year for these women as they announced their retirement from the u.s. national women's hockey team. their decorated career spans 14 years where on the ice they led the women's team to win the gold in the 2018 winter olympics in south korea. off the ice they've been fighting for gender and pay equity in the sports world and beyond, which is very know your value. but this transition is hardly the end for the twins. they are releasing their first book this month called "dare to make history, chasing a dream and fighting for equity," monique, jocelyn, congratulations, we've got a lot to catch up on with you two. monique, i'll start with you, i guess first of all talk about the decision to stop skating professionally, is it a hard one? >> we've devoted so much of our time and energy to hockey and the national team specifically, for the last 15 plus years. so since the olympics we actually, within a span of about 18 months, we lost two of our grandparents and our godfather, we both became parents, and covid hit and we had had our babies, came back to the national team and were at all of our usa hockey camps last year, just life experience and going through everything put everything into perspective for us and where we want to prioritize and devote our time. so much of it has been devoted to hockey for so long that i think we were ready for the next stage in life. so although it was a very tough decision we know it was the right decision for us. >> and jocelyn, the fight for equal pay, and other related issues, will that continue to be where you focus your interests? >> yes, so our four-year contract is coming to an end at the end of march and so negotiations are currently going on. and we get to be a part of the player committee that's helping negotiate the next contract and we're really looking forward to building off the four-year agreement that we came to in 2014 and we feel like that's a great foundation to start from but want to continue to push for more for the national team and the next generation and just continue to create more equity across the board for young girls and women. >> and the book, dare to make history, monique and jocelyn, i love it, obviously, it's an amazing book. you cover so much ground that i thought i'd ask both of you what you were really hoping that readers could take away from this book. monique, i'll start with you. >> i think most people probably look at our careers and probably assume that's just been a linear success and that's just really not the case. we wanted to show our struggles and what we've been through, the adversity we've been through, inside and outside of hockey. i don't think people want to know how great and grand everything was. that's just not reality for 99.9% of people. so i think sharing our story and what we went through to get to the top of the sporting world, but then beyond i think is something that we were really proud to share. >> yeah, i think in the pursuit of, you know, chasing medals and trying to win hockey games we've learned much bigger lessons than just trying to win what you do at your sport and it's to inspire others, it's to pick people up when they're down along the way and to have that awareness that even though we're trying to accomplish something great and we're chasing dreams, that there's an opportunity to make an impact along the way. and we all have that opportunity, all that moments in life, big and small. could be every day. could be, you know, once a week or, you know, whatever it is we all have that opportunity to be a voice for positive change and to make a difference in someone's life. >> all right, monique and jocelyn, it's always so great to see you, guys, i'm so proud of you. thank you so much for joining us. the new book is "dare to make history, chasing a dream and fighting for equity," that does it for us this morning. stephanie ruhle picks up the coverage right now. hi there, i'm stephanie ruhle live at msnbc headquarters in new york city. it is friday, february 26th. tons of news to get to. so let's get smarter. as we speak the fda's outside advisory panel is meeting to discuss johnson & johnson's covid vaccine, setting the stage for emergency approval which could come within the next 72 hours. once that happens the company says it could have 4 million doses in circulation next week. millions more by the end of march and that is critical right now. because covid numbers which had been coming down in an almost straight line for the last month are now flattening and starting to tick up just a little bit. at the very same time the house is expected to take a big step towards helping americans struggling with their health and their finances during this pandemic. they will vote on the the's $1.9 trillion relief bill later this afternoon.