good evening. i'm mehdi hasan. joe biden has been spending the weekend at home in delaware before he heads out on the road this week to sell the $1.9 trillion american rescue plan. he has a lot to work with. it is difficult to overstate what a big win this piece of legislation is for the president. it's the second biggest economic stimulus in american history, giving cash direct to the poorest americans. and if you want to know how much our politics has changed, here is the great irony. the joe biden of the 1980s and 1990s would probably have voted against it. don't take my word for it. take his, from 1984. >> what happens if every tax dollar that we pay, 50 to 60% of it is just going to pay the interest on the debt? he will be paying for what we lived on. we should be investing to allow him to be able to live on something. >> here he is in 1988, decrying, quote, stories of welfare mothers driving luxury cars and leading lifestyles that mirror the rich and famous. biden's words at the time echoed those of the hugely popular republican president back then. >> the nine most terrifying words in the english language are, i'm from the government and i'm here to help. >> yet the joe biden of today says the exact opposite. the white house actually called it imminent full court press the help is here road tour and joe biden says his government is here to help. >> we have to continue to build confidence in the american people that their government can function for them and deliver. help is here and we will not stop working for you. >> $1,400 relief payments are going out to tens of millions americans with more expected every day. there has never been a bill like this before in its sheer scope and scale for support for children, renters, subsidies for health care, taxes on the super rich. yet republicans want you to be afraid. they complain that the money isn't just exclusively for covid treatment or vaccines. and they're kind of right. it isn't. but they're crazy if they think that's a bad thing. then again, i get why they're so upset. they're so used to having everyone accept their view of the world, their guiding ideology. the american rescue plan has turned their ideological world upside down. it seems like this could be the end of the reagan era, the end of welfare queens and trickle down economics and the neoliberal consensus. there's a new consensus in town. the government is here to help and there's no reason to be afraid of that. a $1400 check or $3600 child tax credit is hugely popular, totally affordable and backed by the best available economic evidence. studies suggest it's going to cut child poverty in half. in half. i said it before, and i will say it again. the americans are cue plan is the most progressive legislation of my lifetime. it's a huge win for a left that, to be honest, isn't used to getting any kinds of wins. you have to go back to lbj's great society in the 1960s to come anywhere close to what we've seen signed into law this past week, but -- and there's always a but. much of lbj's great society was permanent. medicare, medicaid, fair housing act. these are still with us today. much of the contents of the american rescue plan are time limited. the checks are a one-off. the child tax credit expires in a year. health care subsidies, in two years. what would be the ultimate game changer is if a biden presidency can make some of these changes permanent. there's no point helping child poverty if it's only for a year. how does he do that facing a 50/50 senate in which republicans can block anything they like because of the damn filibuster, which requires 60 votes to get anything passed? for more on all of this, who better to speak to than the white house chief of staff, who hases been credited for much of the progressive direction and tone of the new administration, long-time joe biden adviser and confidante ron klain, who is being referred to as the left whisperer. ron klain, thank you for joining me tonight. i know you have a very busy schedule. you've known the man for decades. how did joe biden change and become this president signing landmark legislation in his first 50 days? some say it was thanks to you. others say it was pressure from bernie sanders and elizabeth warren. others say it was the pandemic, plus the experience of being burned by republicans during the obama years. what explains this new, different joe biden? >> i fundamentally disagree, mehdi with, that read-in. he has always been a fighter for working people, a fighter for people who are in trouble, for people who need help. we're faced with one of the most grave situations we've seen in this country really since the great depression. record levels of unemployment. obviously, the great consequences of the pandemic. food lines miles long. so, what president biden, previously senator biden, vice president biden, joe biden has always believed is rising to the moment and doing what the government needs to do to help those people in need. we may disagree on the premises here but we could agree on the fact that the american rescue plan is a solution that comes to the moment and is a solution that helps deal with the crises we face in this country right now. >> yes we do agree on that, even if we differ on how we evaluate joe biden's journey to this point. personally i've gone from believing biden would be hillary 2.0, to thinking he could be another lbj, at least domestically. lbj's great society featured permanent progressive victories, medicare, medicaid, still with us more than 50 years later. the $3600 child tax credit is a radical policy but expires in a year. there's no point in harboring child poverty for only a year. will the white house be pushing to make it permanent before it expires? >> we're certainly going to work for that, mehdi. some parts of this bill are temporary by design around the pandemic. extension of unemployment insurance. we're hoping to get people back to work. that's the goal. as you say, some of the policy hopefully lays a groundwork for what follows. dealing with child poverty problem on a permanent basis is an important objective for us. doing some of the things the bill does to strengthen the veterans' health system, strengthening small business job creation, that's an important long-term objective. by the way, the thing that i hope is a permanent change is the past four years at least we've had economic strategy as a country that's focused on making the rich richer and hoping that trickles down. the fundamental message of the american rescue plan is that the economy grows, we help people at the bottom work their way up and we help people in the middle to grow from the middle out and that's the philosophy that this legislation captures. >> a 20% boost for some of the poorest americans in terms of income as a result of this legislation. undeniable and very welcome. one thing progressives are deeply disappointed by, though, ron, is the absence of a $15 minimum wage. it was taken out by the senate parliamentarian. the white house didn't fight that. will we see a $15 minimum wage bill being pushed by the administration this year? >> we will. we're in the fight for the 15. we're disappointed it got pulled out on a parliamentarian point. we thought we had a way to get the minimum wage raised for decades. raised in the first 50 days, that would have been quite incredible. we are going back at it to try to get the votes together to pass the minimum wage. we'll start work at that this week at the white house. we'll start talking to our allies in the broader fight for 15, how we line up the votes and move it through the legislative process. >> let's talk about that legislative process and the blocks and obstacles you face. one in particular. black americans, especially, democracy and justice, we can both agree, they need hr-1, voting rights bill passed by the house and the george floyd policing act, also passed by the house. they need those bills to pass in the senate. the 60-vote requirement that joe biden supports, they won't be passed. have a thereon -- listen to we'll be right back talking about that filibuster at john lewis' funeral last year. >> and if all of this takes eliminating the filibuster, another jim crow relic, in order to secure the god-given rights of every american, then that's what we should do. >> why on the filibuster, ron, is joe biden right and barack obama wrong? >> well, you know, president biden served in the senate a long time. and he believes that if we could leave the filibuster in place, that's what he prefers. filibuster is a senate rule. the question is, do senators want to change that rule? some do. we'll see how that debate plays out over the next several weeks. our focus, mehdi, is producing progress on whatever rules the senate put in place. we want to try to find bipartisan support for some of these things and try to move them forward. the george floyd act is very important. we need progress on voting rights, whether that's the john lewis act, hr-1, some combination of the two. a lot of proposals coming over from the house. we'll work closely with the senate to see what we can do to move these proposals forward. >> ron, that's a great sentiment. you and i both know the reality. mitt romney is the most moderate reasonable senator in the republican party. he said he will never vote for hr-1. he thinks it's a disastrous bill. there's no way you get it through with mitt romney let alone ten republicans. so the choice facing the biden administration, do you support the filibuster or the bill. which one is it? >> obviously, we support hr-1, but i think the senate needs to do some work on hr-1. we need to make sure we have the votes in the senate for hr-1. the senate just got this bill last week or the week before. >> 51 votes not 60. 51, not 60. >> there's a legislative process that needs to move forward here, mehdi. we're going to work with the legislative process, talk to senators, talk to our democratic senator allies and move forward on these important pieces of legislation. >> just to be clear, by my count, 47 odd democrats either support getting rid of the filibuster or open to reforming it. feinstein, sinema, manchin. they support the filibuster. you're saying joe biden is in that manchin/sinema/feinstein camp? is he open to any kind of reform? talking filibuster. >> again, mehdi, the best way to move forward on the question of senate rules is let senators work on the senate rules. we're working on progress for the american people under whatever set of senate rules are in place. we've made amazing progress as you, yourself, acknowledge in these 50 days under these senate rules as they are now, we'll continue to work to move forward. >> no, no, come on. ron, ron, let be -- >> no, mehdi. give us credit for what we've done. >> i am, and you did it with a budget and reconciliation process. you didn't do it with the filibuster. you used a different rule because you know it would not have gotten the filibuster american rescue plan. we both agree on that. >> mehdi, we have made progress. we're going to continue to make progress. people should measure us by the progress we make. >> okay. and i want you to continue progress. i don't see how you can do that with a filibuster in place. we can agree to disagree on that. let's talk about immigration, another big issue you want to get through the senate. not just a reform bill. again, you may struggle to get 60, probably will. but what's being described as a new crisis at the border. more than 3,200 migrant children are being housed in border protection holding facilities, the highest number ever and more than half beyond the three-day legal limit. the associated press is reporting this weekend that children are being held in packed conditions with some sleeping on the floor, some have to wait five days or more to shower. your administration is blocking lawyers from accessing those facilities. it's an outrage and unacceptable, is it not? >> yes. it is an outrage. we inherited a government that had allowed the number of beds to safely, humanely house these children administered by the department ofh health and human services, office of refugee resettlement, allowed it to shrink to a record low number. now children are arriving at these border stations with no facilities, no safe, legally licensed facilities with legally licensed staff to house the children. and so we are working night and day to increase that capacity that had been allowed to shrink, to create enough safe beds for the children, to create places where they can stay until we can reunite them with relatives here in the u.s. or with safe sponsors for them to stay permanently in the u.s. until they have their asylum hearing. so, we're working very, very hard on this problem. we inherited a real lack of capacity. it's hard to ramp up that capacity. you can't just take children and put them in a hotel room. they need to be in a place where they are safely protected, with staff. the staff needs to be trained. the staff needs to be licensed. these are very, you know, challenging needs we are rapidly moving to accelerate. no question at this point in time -- >> understood. >> we have too many children in these border patrol stations. >> exactly. it's the border patrol stations that's the issue. hhs facilities are separate. they're not supposed to stay longer than three days. they are. the white house didn't respond to ap's request. can you tonight guarantee on this show, to our audience, that the white house will allow lawyers to access those border protection holding facilities to check on those kids who haven't showered for five days? >> mehdi, i'm unfamiliar with that issue. i'll look into it tomorrow morning and seeing why there's any problem with lawyers having access to children in border patrol stations. >> i hope you can, because it is a big issue. i have to ask a couple of last questions for you. i know you're very busy. foreign policy, janet yellen said, and i quote, those involved in the abhorrent killing of jamal khashoggi must be held accountable. we know, thanks to you, the crown prince of saudi arabia was behind that killing, but yet you haven't held him accountable. why? >> we released the document that said mbs was responsible. we have reset and recalibrated our relationship with saudi arabia. we imposed sanctions on his elite force that conducted this event. we imposed sanctions on high-level official saudi intelligence. it's been our government's longstanding policy not to personally sanction heads of state, leaders of government in countries where we have diplomatic relations. >> he's not head of state, though. he's not head of state. >> he's very -- well, he's a very senior government official and we need to work with the saudis to solve problems like the crisis we have in yemen. we have to balance the desperate needs for accountability here, which we have taken important steps on with -- for this horrible, ghastly, awful, inexcusable crime with, unfortunately, our need to work with the saudis on problems like we have in yemen. >> we're almost out of time and i do need to get to the white house position on a big story. governor andrew cuomo in new york. senator chuck schumer, majority leader, called for him to resign over multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. does president biden agree with senator schumer? >> what the president said is that there's a process. these charges are very serious charges. they ought to be investigated and that process ought to run its course. and, you know, i think it's up to the people of new york about governor cuomo's continuing ability to govern there. right now, we're focused on making sure that the women who brought these serious charges are heard. they have a right to be heard, and that the investigative process that attorney general james has under way is allowed to move forward. >> okay. so, no resignation call? we're 20 seconds left. the chief of staff of the white house, who are you most like, leo mcgary from west wing, cyrus bing from scandal or douglas from the house of cards? >> mehdi, i don't know. i go to work every day, try to do my job, try to make sure that what joe biden wants to happen in the white house happens. i don't know. i don't have a good answer on that one. >> no, no, i had to try. appreciate you taking time out. thank you so much, ron klain, white house chief of staff. appreciate it. >> thanks for having me, mehdi. appreciate it. >> still to come, there are many ways to do your part and make a difference during the pandemic. we'll be joined by one pharmacist taking it to the next level later on in the show. plus, more than 3200 migrant children are being detained at the southern border. how can that be justified? we'll ask julian castro next. first, cori coffin is here with the latest news. duke university administrators issued a stay in place order. the outbreak is likely connected to recruitment parties for selective living groups. more than 2,000 flights have been canceled in denver due to a winter storm. many states are bracing for dangerous driving conditions, power outages, and increase in avalanche risk. >> our very own rachel maddow has won a grammy for best spoken word album for her book "blowout, rogue state russia and the most destruction industry on earth." she tweeted her reaction saying, wait, what? congratulations, rachel. more of "the mehdi hasan show" after this break. of "the mehdi" after this break the sun is incredible. it makes our lipton tea leaves better. which makes the smooth tea taste better, and time together even better. and drinking lipton can help support a healthy heart. lipton is a proud sponsor of the american heart association's life is why campaign. trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ it's a new dawn... ♪ if you've been taking copd sitting down, it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. and save at trelegy.com. tonight, i'll be eating the al pastor burrito from boca burritos right here in aurora. (doorbell rings) excellent as a local access show, we want everyone to support local restaurants. right cardi b? yeah! eat local! (trill sound) ♪ you can go your own way ♪ yeah! it's time you make the rules. so join the 2 million people who have switched to xfinity mobile. you can choose from the latest phones or bring your own device and choose the amount of data that's right for you to save even more. and you'll get nationwide 5g at no extra cost. all on the most reliable network. so choose a data option that's right for you. get nationwide 5g included and save up to $300 a year on the network rated #1 in customer satisfaction. it's your wireless. your rules. only with xfinity mobile. the biden administration is deploying fema to help manage the record number of unaccompanied migrant children at the border. on saturday homeland security secretary mayorkas announced that fema will be helping. texas lawmakers responded on the sunday shows this morning. >> is the biden open border policies that are inviting even more illegal immigration and h