while gearing up for the next big battle, trying to corral all 50 senators to pass his social safety net legislation in the house next week and send it to an uncertain future in the senate where it will almost certainly be dramatically trimmed. u.s. has reopened borders to international travelers today after nearly 18 months of overseas travelers being banned from coming into the country. the biden administration is vowing to push ahead with its vaccine mandate for employers despite a court temporarily blocking the measure, which was set to take effect in january. the administration is appealing. and also this hour, the latest from the deadly astroworld concert in houston. police have now opened a criminal investigation into the concert headlined by rapper travis scott, which left eight people dead. and we'll speak to the former top u.s. diplomat for haiti, daniel foote who resigned to protest against the president's policies in haiti. joining us now nbc news capitol hill correspondent, leanne caldwell, "new york times" chief white house correspondent, peter baker, douglas holts e kin, and american action forum president and -- excuse me, and also david jolly, former republican congressman from florida. doug, i didn't have all of your titles straight with my head, but first let's start with leanne. the president getting personally involved, leanne, to get this done after the bruising loss in virginia. how do they do it, and why are progressives so confident that they can get the build back better portion also passed? >> andrea, things almost fell apart friday. things were not looking good, and then ultimately the progressives and the moderates, there was a lot of shuttle diplomacy coming and they had to come together. progressives are still skeptical that the moderates are going to come back on board on this build back better plan. the moderates put out a statement saying that they would support it if the congressional budget office score says that it's paid for and that it's good for the economy, but ultimately, there's a lot of trust still that the moderates and the progressives have to have for each other in order for this to move forward, especially because those moderates are going to start to be hounded by republicans. we heard majority -- or minority leader mitch mcconnell say how devastating this bill will be for the economy. let's listen. >> the other bill they're trying to pass could best be described as the reckless tax and spending bill. a massive addition of another $2 trillion, the country's not asking for and doesn't want and we had a referendum on what they're doing last tuesday in virginia and new hampshire -- and new jersey. i don't think the american people are interested in seeing this go any further. >> and so there's still lots of obstacles for these democrats and it is going to be a huge challenge for pelosi and schumer and president biden to keep this party together over the next few weeks of trying to negotiate this out. >> and one of the big problems, as you just alluded to is the congressional budget office. so douglas, let's go through where the gimmicks are. now, we know that we -- we should point out, let's posit that the trump tax bill in 2017 wasn't paid for. they didn't even pretend that it was paid for. they just said that it would be paid for with, you know, the economy bursting out of the seams, if you will. but this they claim is paid for, every penny. that's the president's argument, but you can see plenty of gimmicks. is it worse than the usual? >> no, it's not worse than usual. we've seen both parties do this for a long, long time. the biggest, quote, gimmick that's in play right now is to have a program that you really do want to be permanent, something like the child tax credit and pretend it will end after two or three years, and thus you have seven years of zeros at the end that makes it look cheaper. so if you do the scoring based on that, the ten years of taxes will cover the spending that's in this bill. that's the expectation, but if you really have all the programs be permanent in the way they intend, it doesn't come close to covering that big spending bill. you have put in place an additional structural deficit in a federal budget that already has yawning financial problems, and so i think there's legitimate reason to be concerned about how this adds up over the long-term. >> peter baker, we've seen the president beleaguered for the last couple of months with the delay on getting the infrastructure bill through, still, no real clear path for victory on his second bill. afghanistan, other things that have happened, the election last week. saturday he was so much in his game, just watching his demeanor, the way he cut questions off when he didn't want to answer them. he seemed completely in charge and clearly very happy. >> well, he certainly ended the week better than he started it, absolutely. he was overseas when these elections went against him and returned to find a country that had not endorsed or embraced his presidency in effect the virginia race which went to the republicans and the new jersey race came close, much closer than anybody expected were seen as repudiations about his governance and the democratic governance. he would like this to be a momentum builder, you can take this, move from here, and there is some glimmer of hope beyond the infrastructure bill that things could get better for biden and the country in the sense that the economy produced a lot of jobs numbers last month. this new covid vaccination for kids and the new antiviral drug that will be used to treat covid patients could mean that you're breaking the back of the pandemic at last, maybe in a few months started to see things really get better. that would be obviously better for the president. in the short-term as leanne said, there's no real path forward on the biggest priority of his administration. if we thought it was hard to get to here, we haven't yet gotten to the really hard part where we have to actually count the votes all in their own party, have to get almost 100% of all the democrats because we're not going to get any republicans this time. how they get there is still kind of a mystery. >> david jolly, certainly what mitch mcconnell said yesterday is a big signal to the senate republicans to close ranks, and that means that they still have to get manchin and sinema. you did have 13 house republicans in the house voting for it, kinsinger, yes, liz cheney no, but when they get to the senate, you know, with reconciliation, they need to have 50 votes. >> yeah, sure, andrea, very importantly this base infrastructure bill, this hard infrastructure bill is the bill that got 19 republicans in the u.s. senate, including mitch mcconnell. it got 13 in the house. you know, historically not seen as a very controversial measure, but in today's politics where you've got to beat the other side, we didn't see the bipartisan caucus we would have otherwise seen. i do think you would have seen more house republicans vote for this bill had it be deficit neutral. the hard infrastructure bill was not. it added about a quarter of a trillion dollars to the debt. to peter's point and to your question, i think the most important thing for democrats to realize is there will be zero republicans in the senate or house to pass the second more than, the build back better measure, and even more so in the weeks it takes to get to that vote, republicans in the senate and house and the outside groups are going to target their districts with a message saying do not let your moderate democratic representative vote for build back better. there's going to be a lot of pressure on these moderates. it may well get out of the house, but that does not mean it will be able to pass the senate nor the senate would send back the same bill to the house a few weeks from now. there's a long way to go for democrats. >> peter, is the party, the congressional party just too progressive, too liberal for the rest of the country? >> well, you know, you heard abigail spanberger, the democratic congresswoman from virginia tell one of my colleagues last week that, you know, biden and some of his allies may have missbrerpted his mandate. the mandate was to get rid of trump, get him off the tv screen and restore some version of normality. not necessarily to be fdr or usher in a new deal or a new great society. there's that question about what the mandate for this society really is. it's a diverse coalition. that's the problem for biden, if you only have 50 votes in the senate and not that many more of a majority in the house because you have to bring those progressives and moderates together on everything you do assuming you're not going to get any republican votes. that coalition was held together last year largely out of shared an at this time pi for trump. it's going to be a challenge on this bill and on every other bill he has in mind between now and next year's midterm. >> and you still hear criticism from black voters in particular in virginia saying, you know, whatever happened to voting rights? whatever happened to police reform? they feel left behind by the things that are not being done and the things that, you know, still leanne would rely on changing the filibuster, which still hasn't been done, and leanne, before i let you go, and it's wonderful to have you here on set in the studio now that you're not running around the hill this week when they're not there, but honestly, the amount of training that probably goes into covering the hill, i just want to show everyone this picture, this is marathon coverage that leanne and her colleagues. there's leanne trying to stoop to get out of the way of the camera crew, the pool camera that was taking the pictures for everybody of jayapal during one of the scrums last week. it was friday actually. it was friday. >> it was friday. >> what was going through your mind? how do you get -- how do you do the training to be a congressional producer and correspondent right now? >> andrea, the dirty secret about covering capitol hill is a very physical job. we stand on marble floors for hour and hours. i had just taken a bite of my dinner, which i was eating in the hallway outside that meeting. try to eat whenever you can. so yeah, we -- you have to stay fit mentally and physically to do the congressional job. >> well, i used to do that job, and i have never physically been the same since, so i can only imagine what it's taken out of you. great coverage and thanks to all of you. and coming to america, u.s. border is back open to fully vaccinated travelers after nearly two years. the president's vaccine mandate for u.s. workers facing potential delays. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." this is msnbc. reports. this is msnbc. you need an ecolab scientific clean here. and here. which is why the scientific expertise that helps operating rooms stay clean now helps the places you go too. look for the ecolab science certified seal. as a dj, i know all about customization. that's why i love liberty mutual. now helps the places you go too. they customize my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ as i observe investors balance risk and reward, i see one element securing portfolios, time after time. gold. your strategic advantage. today foreign visitors are rushing into the u.s. after it reopened the borders to travelers from dozens of countries including most of europe, china, and india. the change ends more than a year and a half of restrictions that separated families and cost the global travel industry billions in lost revenue. under the new guidelines, international travelers must be fully vaccinated and provide a negative covid test to enter the country. joining us now is nbc's rehema ellis from jfk airport in new york city, and dr. vin gupta, a critical care pulmonologist. rehema, so this is the first time a lot of international travelers can come in nearly two years. what are people saying? >> reporter: we're hearing a lot of people talk about how happy they are, andrea, and not just those who are business travels, but particularly those families who are reuniting after not having been able to see each other for nearly two years. i want to play a little sound with you from one woman, isabella, from brazil. her mother is now holding her 2-year-old granddaughter, who she had not been able to see. and beside them is her son-in-law. this family's extremely happy. take a listen. >> who cried the most when you saw -- when you all saw each other? who cried the most? >> she did. grandma. >> what was it like for you for your mother to be able to see your baby? >> oh, it's so -- i'm so thankful. i'm so thankful for this opportunity to see her. >> reporter: and her husband was who standing beside her he was beaming as well, i have to tell you, andrea. he said his wife was so happy, you know what they say, happy wife, happy life. and he's just so happy that these vaccinations are possible, that the ban has been lifted and they're all back together again. andrea. >> it's so exciting to just imagine being a grandma and not being able to see your new baby grandchild for almost two years. thanks so much rehema, and dr. vin gupta, what does it signal to you about where we are in the fight against the pandemic? should we see similar rules for domestic flights? >> andrea, good afternoon, great to see you. i do i've long believed that the department of transportation should move towards mandating proof of vaccine for domestic in flight travel. this is really a positive step. this is a movement towards us accepting from foreign travelers a w.h.o. approved vaccine or at least emergency listed vaccine. so that's really great for all those travelers who have received two doses of a non-pfizer, non-moderna vaccine, which still appear to be very effective against preventing hospitalizations. so this is a great move towards standardizing what it means to be safe, whether you're living here in the united states or elsewhere and how we can travel safely. >> and let's talk about the challenge rehema, this fifth circuit which has bedevilled the administration on so many issues, the abortion issue in texas, a conservative appeals court has now said their new mandate for larger companies which face, you know, covers, a huge portion of the workers in america cannot go into effect in january. obviously the administration is going to appeal, but the legal background on this is whether osha can really mandate that vaccines are part of health safety for the workplace. rehema. >> reporter: that's a big question -- yes, andrea, you're right. it's a very big question. it's going to be a question that's going to be litigated. of course the biden administration is saying that osha mandates so many things for people to be safe on the workplace, and they think that this should not be a challenge, but it most definitely is. particularly changes that are coming from governors who are republican governors in states. they are pushing back on this hard, so we may be looking at some not just days but weeks down the road before this kind of thing is resolved, andrea. >> and dr. gupta, we've talked before about people with compromised immune systems and covid-19 before, now we see research that suggests that one effective way to protect them is through routine injections of the monoclonal antibodies. can we talk about that? >> for all your viewers out there that might have a serious underlying medical condition that weakens their immune system, what we're seeing, regeneron is coming out with new research suggesting that periodic infusions or subcutaneous injections so like a vaccine, you just inject one of these therapies into your arm or into your thigh every three months, for those who are very immunocompromised who may not mount the strongest response to vaccines, perhaps this might be a strategy to keep these people protected. the issue here is supply and demand. there's many more people, 3% of the country, andrea, that qualify as having these serious underlying immunocompromised medical conditions. we don't have that much in the way of supply. can we get these people access? it does seem like this is safe and effective if we were to give periodic subcutaneous injections and that this would keep people safe frchlt a preexposure standpoint, meaning we give the antibody and even if they get exposed they're protected. >> we've just seen and we don't know what really happened in his case, but we've just seen the loss of colin powell who was under a protocol for multiple myeloma, which compromises the immune system and then succumb to covid even though he was fully vaccinated. for so many, many people who are immune challenged, this could be a big boost. thanks so much, dr. gupta and as always, rehema ellis, thank you. and a huge congratulations today to nbc's willie geist who completed his first new york city marathon sunday, 26.2 miles, of course, in under four hours. that is an astonishing 3.58 hours to be exact. his inspiration, of course, his father, the legendary cbs newsman bill geist who has been battling parkinson's disease for nearly 30 years. willie ran for him, and there he was presenting his medal to his dad. geist raised more than $377,000 for the michael j. fox foundation. it's ground breaking research work. willie geist and michael j. fox embracing briefly along the marathon route, and willie today telling "morning joe" that it was not sweat that he was wiping from his eyes. it was surely an emotional moment. he was so happy and proud. look at that. willie geist. thanks, willie, for all your work for parkinson's. it's such an important cause and with thoughts about your father, one of our heroes, the great bill geist. and out with a blast, the top diplomat for haiti challenging what he calls the administration's deeply flawed policies. ambassador daniel foote joins me after the break. this is "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. we believe the future of energy is lower carbon. and to get there, the world needs to reduce global emissions. at chevron, we're taking action. tying our executives' pay to lowering the carbon emissions intensity of our operations. it's tempting to see how far we've come. but it's only human... to know how far we have to go. 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the biden administration has reportedly seen proof that at least some members of the american based missionary group kidnapped in haiti last month are still alive according to a report from reuters. 16 americans, one canadians including five children were ab did you wanted after visiting an orphanage. the leader of the gang is demanding a $17 million ransom, this as the administration's policy is in disarray. the top diplomat resigning with a fiery letter, deportations of 175,000 haitian migrants. joining me now ambassador daniel foote the former u.s. special envoy to haiti who resigned in september in protestagainst those policies. thank you very much for being with us. ambassador foote in your resignation letter you dated it september 22nd, you write our policy approach to haiti remains deeply flawed and my recommendations have been ignored and dismissed. this is a drastic step, why did you take it? well, we have to ask you that, you know, why take it? what was your tipping point? what led you to resign? >> good question, and thanks for having me on today, andrea. it's a great pleasure to be here. i didn't come into this looking to resign. when i saw the del rio, texas, situation with the 15,000 haitian immigrants on the border there, i inferred pretty quickly that u.s. was looking to deport all of them, which i thought was totally counterproductive with haiti, which cannot feed its own people or care for or provide services to its own people. and also, the united states has backed the interim prime minister dr. henry since ten days after the assassination, and haitian society and opposition political parties believe that dr. henry's party is responsible for many of haiti's problems and maybe should not be part of a solution moving forward. the u.s. was about to back that, and the only way i could see to avoid that was by resigning. >> the white house press secretary said that you had proposed policies that were contradictory to, you know, what was needed in haiti or democracy, i'm just paraphrasing very, very loosely, obviously. is she referring and is the state department referring to your proposal that some small number of u.s. troops be sent in? is that what they were resisting? >> well, certainly deputy secretary wendy sherman mentioned that i was looking for a military intervention to send troops, and what we're looking to do, what we were talking about doing is to support the haitian national police boosting their capacity by training, advising, equipping and assisting them. i propose sending a couple of platoons or a company or special forces personnel to haiti to stay with the police and train them. we're talking about 30 to 60 personnel probably to help them train and develop a skills, redevelop the skills they need to be able to take on this terrible gang problem that they had. >> now, the law and order is completely -- it was never great, you know, i was there in the '90s during the coup then and the aftermath with the u.n. police force that was sent in, but it is now just completely gang warfare, hostages have been taken, obviously, for ransom, and what is the state of -- is there any government? we've now just appointed a new ambassador or rather not an ambassador i should say, mr. merton, who is also controversial, is he not with some people in haiti? >> well, ambassador merton was my ambassador, i was his deputy shortly after the earthquake of 2010. haitians see u.s. partnership as having been very meddling over the years, and ambassador merton understands haiti as well as any american. he has taught me a ton of what i learned, but haitians are clamoring for their own self-determination this time. you asked if they have a government. the ruling party, phtk or bald head in english since 2011 has been power, i left in 2012. haiti's at least 100 times worse since then, and this ruling party has been in charge the whole time. democracy has eroded. they developed government ties with the gangs, and at this point i'd say it's a failed state. the government in place right now is unable to provide services, security, normal food and water and health and vaccines, economic opportunities. they haven't been able to do anything. president moise was assassinated four months ago yesterday, and the interim government in haiti has not really taken any steps forward to put the country on a path to improve and to begin to resolve some of its numerous crises. >> ambassador merton clear ly has his work cut out for him as haiti, as you point out is basically a failed state and still the poorest country in the hemisphere. thank you so much and thank you for your service. >> thank you, andrea. and the terrifying accounts of that fatal crowd surge at the packed music festival leaving eight people dead, the latest on the criminal investigation coming up next. plus, president obama back on the world stage taking on climate change and donald trump. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. watching 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help. >> as scott and the concert's organizers now facing multiple civil lawsuits, but scott and his girlfriend kylie jenner insist they were not aware of the severity of the situation or any deaths during the show. he says that he's devastated and is working with authorities. police also investigating disturbing reports of a security guard picked in the neck with a needle before falling unconscious. medical staff saved him with a drug used to revive overdose patients. morgan chesky joining us for houston. morgan, this show went on for almost an hour despite pleas for it to stop. what took so long? >> that is a question police are looking into right now. they are interviewing hundreds of witnesses, examining hundreds of different camera angles here on this concert trying to build a time line that will tell the real story of what happened just a few minutes after travis scott went on that stage. initial reports were about 9:15 was when that crowd started to surge toward the front of the stage when things started to take a deadly turn here. about 50,000 concert goers in that crowd, and that added another problem, another layer to trying to get this scene undercontrol. we heard from houston's police chief who said when you have that many people in that confined and area, they have to act rather methodically. you cannot be a rush to get out so they can get in. it did take about 45 minutes, he said, before they were able to kind of clear that scene as best they could. that said, as you mentioned, despite pausing that concert multiple times, scott did continue performing for the better part of an hour right there. i've had a chance to speak to several concert goers who said that being inside that crowd, they could tell something was wrong, but it was so packed they didn't know the severity of what took place until nearly 24 hours later when that death toll came out at eight people, 25 others hospitalized, nearly 300 treated there at the scene. first responders in nearby medic tents very easily overwhelmed. andrea. >> what a tragedy, thank you so much. obviously a huge investigation to come. and at the glasgow global climate summit, former president barack obama criticizing active hostility against science by the trump administration, telling world leaders that people should vote like their lives depend on it because it does. >> there is one thing that should transcend our day-to-day politics and normal geopolitics, and that is climate change. it's not just that we can't afford to go back ward, we can't afford to stay where we are. the world has to step up, and it has to step up now. >> joining us is anne thompson from glasgow. so what was the effect of obama's speech? we don't hear from him that often? >> reporter: well, andrea, he had two messages, and he had two audences in this speech. one is the audience behind me, the people here at this climate summit. he urged them to do more to combat climate change. he says he knows it will be hard, but we are way behind. we need to do more. his second audience was congress and the american people, and he urged congress to pass president biden's spending bill that includes a half trillion dollars in clean energy investments. >> can we go right to the e? >> convince that president biden's build back better bill will be historic and a huge plus for u.s. action on climate change, but keep in mind, joe biden wanted to do even more. he's constrained by the absence of a robust majority that's needed to make that happen. saving the planet isn't a partisan issue. i welcome any faction within the republican party of the united states that takes climate change seriously. >> the former president also went after -- the former president also went after india, china, and russia, andrea, saying that he was disappointed on their failure to do more to cut their own greenhouse gases, and he pointed out that the u.s. can't lead by itself on this issue. it needs china, india, and russia to lead as well. andrea. >> anne thompson, perhaps the most urgent thing that any of us are facing, of course, at the climate conference. thank you. and democrats facing an intense backlash against their policies from rural voters, particularly white rural voters without college degrees. republicans are racking up such large margins it makes it difficult for democrats to win elections. democrat terry mcauliffe was destroyed in rural areas of the state, a signal to democrats as the urban rural divide is wider. joining us is chief correspondent at "the washington post" who focused on this issue, and former obama press secretary, and assistant dean at the lbj school of affairs at university of texas at austin. dan, talk to me about your column. it was a really gripping analysis of what happened and how it's been happening for decades to democrats in rural america. >> that's the really interesting thing, andrea. this is not a new problem. it's as though democrats go through an election and, you know, every time they look at the results they wake up and say, oh, we have a problem with rural america. this is now an endemic problem. it started long before donald trump, but it has gotten worse as a result of his presidency, and as we saw in virginia last week, glenn youngkin now governor elect rolled up margins and turnout that exceeded in some places those of donald trump just a year ago. and so this is a problem that the devil's the party because it puts aspects of their coalition at war with one another or potentially at war with one another, and i think that's one reason democrats have struggled to figure out what they can do to improve their standing in rural america while continuing to hold onto the coalition that they have in urban and suburban america. >> is that an insoluble problem, or are they just in different worlds? >> well, so far it has been insoluble, and i think that maybe as a result of what we've seen in this most recent election there will be a greater effort to try to harmonize this, but i think that there are some democrats who say we're never going to be able to win rural america or even substantially increase our numbers. we need to concentrate where we have the best opportunities, and that's in urban america and suburban america. but one of the problems that that results in is that it is more and more difficult to win certain states that -- and to maintain or gain in state legislatures where in a lot of these states, even if they're winning them presidentially, they're losing them in the legislature. and so it is a -- it is an issue of how you talk to people in rural america but more importantly, what you listen for from people in rural america, and there is a cultural divide between the elite part of the democratic party and the rural voters that they're trying to get. >> robert gibbs, you've seen this before, and you've also worked with candidates whoening -- who managed to bridge that divide. >> i think dan is right. there are some real differences that push and pull at this, and it takes states like ohio and iowa and makes them harder for democrats to win in. i think democrats if they're going to be successful has to put some of this argument aside between urban suburban versus rural. to pick up on a point in dan's column. we don't have to get a majority of the rural vote. we don't have to win the rural vote. it's about being present, and we have good examples of this. look, just in virginia in 2020, mark warner got 26% of the rural vote as well as doing well in urban centers and in suburban centers. now, to give senator warner credit, this isn't something that he started sometime in 2020. he's been present in rural america and in southwest virginia for years and years when he ran against john warner, when he ran for governor and so i think a big part of this is being present and having a forceful economic message, infrastructure would be a great place for democrats to start. >> and victoria, if you just look at our friends in first reporting out that even in new jersey where there were no exit polls that ciattarelli did so well in the rural areas that he came close. and as the numbers show, if you're losing 36 -- you know, 36% of the voters in virginia went for youngkin, 76 to 24% without a college degree, you know, the numbers are just so dramatic. there's no exit poll in new jersey, but we see the same trend, and if you're losing 36% after owl voters by 76-24, you have to win 65% of all other voters just to get to 50 plus one. that's what makes it so tight. >> andrea, and exactly, and we think about different identities in terms of women, the young, the older voters, latino, african-american voters. we also really need to pay as much attention to the identity of the rural voter. what is it that they care about economically? where do we meet them economically? where do we also meet them emotionally? because think of what the gop has done as well. they've connected with them emotionally. they make them feel a sense of pride rather than feeling like they just don't get it. they should do what is right and stop complaining. there's also that emotional connect, and to highlight on what robert said, it's about the investment, the return on investment like with other groups. a group that i know well, you can't show up a couple of weeks before an election and expect to get that group's support. you need to be there in the long-term. you need to connect with them, engage with them, listen to them, not just tell them what they should do and what is good for them, but be there consistently, and that's how you win the vote, and that's how you start to make inroads. >> listening is so important, victoria. thank you so much. robert gibbs and dan balls, and we go to the justice department where there is breaking news. major charges against a foreign national who made millions by launching 2,500 different ransomware attacks against u.s. companies. we believe from ukraine. let's listen. >> the victims from whom they were extorted, and that brings me to our second announcement today. in addition to securing the rest, the justice department has seized $6.1 million tied to the ransom proceeds of another alleged ransomware attacker, russian national yegeni pyanin, as set forth in the public filings related to the seizure, he who we also charged by indictment is alleged to have conducted approximately 3,000 ransomware attacks. his ransomware attacks affected numerous companies and entities across the united states including law enforcement agencies and municipalities throughout the state of texas. he ultimately extorted approximately $13 million from his victims. we are also announcing the unsealing of an indictment against palyanen, he is charged with conspiring to commit intentional damage to protected computers and to extort in relation to that damage causing intentional damage to protected computers and conspiring to commit money laundering. today and now for the second time in five months, we announce the seizure of digital proceeds of ransomware deployed by a transnational criminal group. this will not be the last time. the u.s. government will continue to aggressively pursue the entire ransomware ecosystem and increase our nation's resilience to cyber threats. but while today's announcements mark important successes, i want to emphasize that we all must play a role in improving our cyber defenses. this includes the american business community, being vigilant and investing resources in cyber security should be a high profile priority for all of us. in addition, when ransomware attacks do occur, law enforcement's ability to respond depends in large part on whether and how promptly the victim reports the attack. failure to timely report also puts other potential victims in jeopardy. it deprives investigators of the information they need to forestall or mitigate other attacks. it is for that we urge congress to create a national starnld for reporting significant sign ir incidents and to require that the reported information be shared immediately with the justice department. our message today is clear. the united states together with our allies will do everything in our power to identify the perpetrators of ransom wear attack -- ransom ware attacks to bring them to justice and to recover the funds they have stolen from the american people. over the past seven months, the justice department has sharpened the tools at our disposal to investigate and prosecute ransomware attacks. we have created the doj ransomware and digital task force as directed, which includes the national security division, the criminal division, the executive office of the united states attorneys, the civil division and the federal bureau of investigation. i would like to thank all of our partners who have assisted in this effort, including the treasury department and the state department. as well as our many foreign law enforcement partners. finally, i would like to thank all those within doj for their work. this includes the u.s. attorneys office for the northern district of texas, the criminal divisions computer crime and the intellectual property section and office of international affairs, the national security division, and the jackson and dallas fbi field offices which led the department's investigation. i'll now turn the podium over to deputy attorney general monaco who will provide further details. >> joining me now to discuss what the attorney general just announced. nbc news national security analyst clint watts. clint, this is a ukrainian, they're talking about a lot of money. this is a major action against this ransomware hacker. but what about also coming down on congress for not passing legislation, because what they want are tougher standards on corporate america on our infrastructure protection to better protect against hacks. >> that's right. really two parts there. the first part which is the real good news which is we seem to after many months of getting beat up on the ransomware attacks be taking back some of the assets, really going after the ransomware hackers. you probably remember the fbi director during the summer talking about ransomware being one of the top priorities and putting resources to it. it's good news we're making gains. separately, we have to change the way we secure infrastructure in the united states. and so those legislative pushes are really to help the fbi really help dhs be able to defend the country. that's why you heard the attorney general throw it in the in the end. if we can increase the measures, it makes it ease dwroer defend against ransomware, and the neatification is important when it comes to notifications. the longer the intruder is in the network, the more it's lost. the more the intruder hits many different networks, the harder it is to protect if they don't know what point they're hitting. really trying to build up our whole infrastructure for cyber security. >> clint watts, thank you so much for that. and under review, aaron rodgers blamed for the packer's big loss sunday and dropped by sponsors after misleading the fans and his league about the vaccination status. this is on "andrea mitchell reports". only on msnbc. reports" only on msnbc. (phone chimes) ♪ ♪ ♪ i jump up on the stage ♪ ♪ and do my money dance ♪ ♪ i throw some money up ♪ ♪ and watch the money land ♪ ♪ i do my, i do my i do my money dance ♪ move your student loan debt to sofi - you could save with low rates and no fees. earn a $500 bonus when you refi... and get your money right. ♪ i do my money dance ♪ at t-mobile for business, unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. whether it's ensuring food arrives as fresh as when it departs... keeping crews connected as they help build communities... or providing patients the care they need, even at home. we are the leader in 5g and a partner who delivers exceptional customer support and facebook advertising, on us. network. support. value. no trade-offs. unconventional thinking, it's better for business. the 7-13 loss for the packers on sunday, aaron rodgers sideline affidavit his positive covid test last week. he and the packers facing an investigation over whether they broke the league's covid rules. even off the field he was hit hard by being misleading about his vaccination status. >> it would have been nice if he'd just come to the naval academy and learned how to be honest. learned not to lie. that's what you did, aaron. you lied to everyone. unfortunately, we've got players that pretty much think only about themselves. i'm extremely disappointed in the actions of aaron rodgers. >> joining us now is nbc stephanie gosk. what is the investigation into aaron rodgers look like right now? >> well, the league wants to know whether protocols were violated. so there are different sets of rules for vaccinated players versus unvaccinated players. vaccinated players basically don't have any rules. unvaccinated players are dealing with the same kind of rules that were in place last season. and that includes things like getting tested every day. masking, social distancing, rules about how you socialize. rules about press conferences. you're supposed to wear a mask to press conferences. but the league knew that aaron rodgers was unvaccinated. the team knew he was unvaccinated. he was giving those press conferences that for the world to see without his mask on. so it remains to be seen what they discovered. they could ultimately end up fining rogers. there is a possibility that he could be suspended, although that hasn't happened to any player at this point for violating those protocols. he has been drop bid one of his sponsors. a wisconsin-based health care company sent out a statement saying prevea health remains deeply committed to protecting the patients, staff, providers communities amidst the covid-19 pandemic. this includes encouraging and helping all eligible populations to become vaccinated against covid-19. it's also worth pointing out, however, that state farm, we all know those aaron rodgers state farm commercials. state farm came out today and said they're sticking with aaron rodgers even though they disagree with some of the things he said, they believe he has the right to say it. >> stephanie gosk, thank you so much. and on the covid front, we're also seeing further evidence of how politicized this has become. even hitting sesame street. over the weekend big bird announced he was getting vaccinated against covid. the bird is meant to be six years old. he made his news just after the vaccine got approved for kids aged 5 to 11. and of course, he's an important role model. a great favorite of children in that age group. but the announcement sparked all kinds of pushback. ted cruz condemning big bird for advocating the vaccine, calling it government propaganda. big bird said his wing was a little sore, but it will keep him extra healthy. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports garrett haake is in for chuck todd right now. >> if it's monday, president biden gets a much needed victory as congress passes the bipartisan infrastructure bill. the big win is after some big losses. will this give the party and the president the boost they desperately need? we're about to find out. plus democrats debate the future of their party and the future of biden's azwren da. i'll speak with one house lawmaker who helped close the gap to get the infrastructure bill over the finish line. later, what's next in the legal fight over vaccine mandates after a u.s. federal appeals court temporarily halts the biden administration's new vaccine rules for private sector