officials going for the gold? it's "way too early" for this. ♪♪ good morning. and welcome to "way too early," the show that also won't make it to the olympics, although for entirely different reasons. i'm jonathan lemire on this wednesday, november 17th. let's start with the news. most adults across the u.s. could be able to get a pfizer booster shot as early as this weekend. "the new york times" reports that the fda is expected to authorize the dose as soon as tomorrow for all adults who received their second dose of the vaccine in the past six months. currently, boosters are only available for people at higher risk of severe infection including those over age of 65. last week, pfizer showed clinical trials that the dose was safe and effective. however most states have authorized the booster shots including one from moderna without the approval. the cdc advisory committee will be meeting friday and they could approve the shot. meanwhile, pfizer has asked the fda for emergency authorization of its covid treatment pill. the agency says the antiviral pill cuts hospitalization by 89%. it's the second pill behind merck's that demonstrates effectiveness for treating covid. the biden administration plans to buy enough of the pill to treat 10 million people. president biden will travel to detroit to visit a general motors electric vehicles plant. it comes as he faces new democratic resistance to the much bigger spending plan. nbc news' washington correspondent peter alexander has the details. >> reporter: president biden showcasing an arcane 89-year-old bridge thanks to the infrastructure package. >> when you see the projects start in your hometown i want you to feel what i feel, pride. pride of what we can do in the united states of america. >> reporter: the president's trip an effort to demonstrate real results for voters whose polls show are pessimistic about the economy. impacting everything from gas to groceries. >> your life is going to change for the better. that's literal. >> reporter: still many projects are not likely to begin for months if not longer. it comes amid a pending showdown of the president's $1.3 trillion spending place. house speaker nancy pelosi is urging to vote on the bill this week. >> a hear it when i go to the grocery store or if i go to the gas station, they say, are you as mad as i am? i say, absolutely. >> snow flurries there in new hampshire. president trump is rolling out new efforts in order to unseat lawmakers who voted for his impeachment or supported the bipartisan infrastructure deal. trump is backing alex mooney to voted to investigate january 6th. and congressman gibbs who voted against peter meijer. over the weekend, the former president called the primary challenges against several other republicans he referred as sellouts, and known losers. for months, divisions within the democratic party have been front page news, but after the passage of the infrastructure program, it's republican infighting that's taking center stage. at a closed-door meeting at the gop conference yesterday, minority leader kevin mccarthy urged republicans to focus on democrats not each other. but nbc news reports that colleagues closely aligned with former president trump have begun attacking fellow republicans who voted for the $500 billion infrastructure package. publicly, mccarthy who has been trump's loudest defender has struggled to hold together a caucus that has feuded over the former president. joining to us talk about this and so much more, reporter for "the washington post" eugene scott. good morning, eugene, for being up with us today. let's start there, trump is targeting republicans, but he's done that for years, but now it seems that others closely aligned with him are doing the same? where are the republicans with this and what if anything is kevin mccarthy doing to quell the gop violence? >> well, the party could be headed to losing more seats that they would be more likely to win if they remain unified. that's the message that mccarthy is trying to communicate to his former caucus members. the reality is there are some republicans had who supported this bill because many people in their district do. we know this is a bill that was popular with most americans. so those 13 republicans actually who voted against it were out of step with many people in this country. mccarthy wants them to know if they continue to fight with one another, it's very possible they could open the door for democrats to remain in power in the house and possibly even increase seats. >> now, the white house over the summer relieved criticism even from close allies for not getting out there and selling the new infrastructure bill and not really touting, hey, the components of this bill, these are popular, americans like this, both of them, instead of getting bogged down in the drama of capitol hill. the president is out there now, he was in new hampshire yesterday, michigan today. but still a lot of uncertainty, even selling the first part of the bill, a lot of uncertainty he can get the second part through. can democrats hold together the build back better act? >> this week, it doesn't seem likely, as you know, joe manchin isn't completely on board and there's other concerns that some democrats in the more left wing of the party have expressed and showed that they are anxious about whether or not they will remain a part of this bill. and so, i think what the white house will want to do is make sure more democrats are on the same page to build on this victory that occurred earlier this week, as they move forward. >> and what's your sense, eugene, in terms of the pressure campaign that might be on senator manchin right now? we saw senator sinema was at the white house monday as part of the celebration by the bipartisan bill. she was even a speaker, manchin was there, too, expressing some disapproval, we know that he and the president talk a fair amount. we know that senior leadership there at the white house are on the phone with manchin and his aides. what would can they do to prevent this drags into 2022? >> well, he continues to communicate that one of his main concerns is inflation and high costs. and so what the white house is going to have to do is somehow figure out a way to communicate to him that this will not lead to excessively more spending that he has said that he's concerned about. there's pressure on manchin from the white house. but there's also pressure on manchin from his donors and also from his voters, most of whom back president trump. so, you have to remember that biden is not the only voice speaking, not the only voice that's speaking and which voice is going to have the influence and what he decides to do. >> as manchin is fond of saying, hey, i am with democrats that can win in west virginia. eugene scott, we'll see you again soon. still ahead, a $750,000 lawsuit has been filed in the wake of the astroworld tragedy. we'll look at the details. plus, we'll look at a company facing major shortages with the holidays right around the corner. those stories and more when we come back with a look at the u.s. capitol before the sun is up this morning. - oh...oh. - what's going on? 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[upbeat music] if you're 50 years or older ask your doctor still fresh ♪ in wash-scent booster ♪ downy unstopables people with moderate to severe psoriasis, or psoriatic arthritis, are rethinking the choices they make like the splash they create the way they exaggerate the surprises they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not an injection or a cream it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. my hygienist cleans and if you're pregnant with a round head. so does my oral-b my hygienist personalizes my cleaning. so does my oral-b oral-b delivers the wow of a professional clean feel every day. psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen, painful. tremfya® is approved to help reduce joint symptoms in adults with active psoriatic arthritis. some patients even felt less fatigued. 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. the u.s. appears to be considering staging a diplomatic boycott of the winter olympics in beijing. according to "washington post" columnist josh rogin who cited several sources familiar with the plans, the white house is expected to announce that no government officials will attend the game in a move intended as a response to the chinese government human rights abuses without impact. although the administration technically has not finalized this decision, rogan writes, a form decision has been made to the president and he's expected to approve it before the month end, house speaker nancy pelosi called for a similar boycott in may and a march times op-ed, the republican senator of utah also argued for a diplomatic boycott of the olympics. the white house has not commented. we should node that nbc universal and nbc parent company is the media rights holder for the olympics. the iconic arena towndown los angeles which is home to the clippers, the nhl sparks and kings will be renamed christmas day. it will become -- wait for it -- crypto.com arena. that just rolls off the tongue. that's because of a singapore cryptocurrency exchange and the a.g. according to the los angeles, crypto.com has paid more than $700 million for the 20 years of rights, 20 years. this is one of the biggest names deals in sports history. the arena's new name will debut december 25th. all staples center signage is expected to be replaced with a new name in june. amid the reports of renaming, the widow of lake kobe bryant with this, with the caption, forever known as the house that kobe built. fenway sports in advanced talk to purchase the nhl's pittsburgh penguins in a deal that could be finalized this week. the deal needs to be approved by the fenway board and any potential deal must be signed off on the nhl board of governors. it includes the red sox, liverpool and roush racing. the penguins expected to stay in pittsburgh, i don't know, do i have to get a sidney crosby jersey? we'll see. and the top college football rankings, georgia, alabama, oregon, ohio state all top four spots, cincinnati at five, followed by michigan and cross-state rival michigan state. meanwhile, oklahoma drops from number eight out of the top-ten down to 13 after saturday's loss to baylor. baylor, they jump to 11. they're the second-highest ranked team in the big 12 find number 9, oklahoma state. and moved up one spot after blowing out tcu. but history shows we're close to how things might look on selection day next month. 24 of them ranked in the top four, and 26 have been ranked in the top six. no team to make the playoffs has ever been ranked lower than ninth. college football remains top-heavy. college hoops, though, had a historic upset on the court an ann arbor, michigan. seton hall stunned rallying to a 67-65 win. over a nonconference ranked in the top five and the first against a top-five team since the second round of the 2008 ncaa tournament. now, to world cup soccer in kingston, the u.s. men's team settled for a 1-1 draw against jamaica. escaping with a point after canada beat mexico. that became provided the best moment of the day. let's watch. >> from the foot. delivers in the box! score! >> not only do we get an iconic "goal" by the announcer, but it's followed by the celebration in the snow. finally, major league baseball, sinaguard goes to the angels. dave kapler spent one year as a co-owner in my fantasy league. he may have won last night, the year he played with us, his team finished well under .500. clearly couldn't handle the big leagues, had to settle for major league baseball. time now for bill karins. how's it looking out west? >> things are improving in the west. torrential rains, flooding, people trapped, communities cut off because of rivers, washed-away highways. so it's going to take months to try to fix the areas. these are aerials that we got from watkins county, around around the bellingham area, you can't tell where that river is supposed to be, a lot of land flooded out. interesting, in british columbia, some of these areas were 120 degrees, had epic floods two days ago. so that storm system is following through the midwest. very windy in the dakotas i'm sure you heard it howling overnight. and that system will slide eastward. there's not a lot of wet weather, and we'll see winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour. we'll track that cold front. st. louis on the ride home, chicago during the middle of the day. and then that system should slide to the east. we should some a rainy d.c., roanoke, new york city and boston it won't rain until later on thursday evening. for that forecast today, some of that warmth sneaking up the east coast and landing in d.c., after a chilly start a nice afternoon. i'm still holding with my forecast, this will probably be the warmest day until next spring for areas of the northeast. enjoy it if you can. >> yeah, bill, my substitute host there be here tomorrow. still ahead, congresswoman gwen moore will join me with more on that. and where things stand on social spending plans. before we go to break, we want to know why are you awake? email us @nbc.com. or tweet me @jon lemire. we'll read all of our read favorites later on in the show. for sure. seriously? one up the power of liquid, one up the toughest stains. any further questions? uh uh! one up the power of liquid with tide pods ultra oxi. the best things america makes are the things america makes out here. the history she writes in her clear blue skies. the legends she births on hometown fields. and the future she promises. when we made grand wagoneer, proudly assembled in america, we knew no object would ever rank with the best things in this country. but we believed we could make something worthy of their spirit. hi, my name is cherrie. but wei'm 76 and i lived make on the oregon coast. my husband, sam, we've been married 53 years. we love to walk on the beach. i have two daughters and then two granddaughters. i noticed that memories were not there like they were when i was much younger. since taking prevagen, my memory has gotten better and it's like the puzzle pieces have all been [click] put together. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. instantly clear everyday congestion with vicks sinex saline. for fast drug free relief vicks sinex. instantly clear everyday congestion. and try vicks sinex children's saline. safe and gentle relief for children's noses. ♪♪ welcome back to "way too early." it's 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. i'm jonathan lemire. house democrats are ramping up their efforts to advertise the bipartisan infrastructure package. between now and end of the year, democrats are planning to hold 1,000 events across the country to promote the legislation just signed by president biden this week. chairman dnc announced the new initiative yesterday. >> there will be 1,000 events between now and the end of the year, describing why this work that we've now completed on the infrastructure bill, and soon to be complete on the build back better act will give people a better country, give them more breathing room for their families and a future they can look forward to. we're going to stick together, we're going to get it done, we're going to tell them who did. and we're going to tell them who the other side is. >> the bills, of course, will give democrats something to run on for next year's midterms but joe manchin remains concerned about inflation and he's unsure whether president biden's infrastructure spending plan will actually lower costs. here's what he said yesterday on capitol hill. >> my vote is a lot different. my voters are very much concerned. inflation has hit them extremely hard. they have to drive. their mileage for driving to work is quite onerous on them, and the cost they see every day, every day they go to fill up it's a dollar more a gallon. 3.29 gallon of milk is now $4 in a lot of places. it's taking a toll. i hear it when i go to the grocery store or when i go to the gas station, they say are you as mad as i am? i say absolutely. >> do you think that it makes sense for your party to move forward with the $1.5 trillion now? >> i think in that scenario, we need to look at what the real score is. it's coming back in a week. to be fair to everybody, let's see what the score is and what they're intending to do. >> joining us now msnbc contributor shannon pettypiece. thank you for being here. we're hearing from democrats and president biden who, of course, is going to detroit today, who continues his national tour to tout what's in the infrastructure bill. telling americans, hey, you like this stuff. we just passed it. what do you expect to hear from him? and what is the strategy here to selling the public on this bill and trying to build momentum for the next one? >> well, part of the issue i've heard from democrat strategists and pollsters while this bill is really popular, it does very well in polls. infrastructure is not one of the top issues people say they're focused on and concerned about. everybody might like roads and getting rid of lead pipes and more broadband, sure those are things that people like to see. the main concerns are the economy, obviously, inflation, you heard that from senator manchin. health care, things like the pandemic and getting under control. that's what people's focus are. the challenges for the white house not just to tell them what to build, but to tell them this is what you really need. you saw president biden on tuesday going to a bridge in new hampshire that he recalled structurally deficient, talking about how trucks, 40-ton trucks can't go over it anymore. now 20-ton trucks can. telling you how if the bridge were out of service, ems and fire would go ten miles up the road, so giving very specific examples telling people this is something you need. he's going to be at the plant in detroit making electric vehicles, expect the examples of how this bill is going to add electric charging stations and going to fit with gm's goal of going all electric in the coming years. those are what we expect to hear from the white house, but telling people not that they like this stuff, but they need this stuff. >> you're right to highlight the climate portion of this. that's a big one as well. we know democrats are out there selling it, these bills received some republican support. some in the house, some in the senate. mitch mcconnell, the house minority leader, he voted for this. to back that plan, even though he's come under fierce attack from president trump and other republicans. what are you hearing in terms of on capitol hill, how nervous are republicans about the innerfiring squad, mcconnell can brush off criticism, but others are more vulnerable. what happens next? >> well, certainly, a continuation of this party infighting that we've seen for well over four years now. i think it was notable that there were 32, i believe, a number of republicans in the house and senate who voted for the infrastructure bill and only six of them attended the event at the white house. among those six were people susan collins, senator mitt romney, people who are well-known to be moderates by all of their constituents. that's part of their brand. so, you didn't see a lot of the mitch mcconnells goes to the event, even though he was not in attendance, president biden thanked. even though there were a lot of republicans who voted for this, i don't know if that's going to be an issue that republicans go after themselves in 2022. but it's several being leveraged by that far right wing of the party now torsion put pressure, and turn the screws on some of those members, like you mentioned, who might not be able to withstand that type of attack the way a high-profile senator like a mitch mcconnell might be able to. >> yeah. of course, ohio senator rob portman, he, of course, not running for re-election. therefore, that matters less to him. this certainly may have been the one moment of bipartisanship that we've seen in the first two years of the biden administration. nbc's shannon pettypiece, thank you so much. still ahead, we'll go to cnbc for wall street. "way too early" is coming right back. ♪ when you have nausea, ♪ ♪ heartburn, ingestion, upset stomach... ♪ ♪ diarrheaaaa.♪ try pepto bismol with a powerful coating action. for fast and soothing relief. pepto bismol for fast relief when you need it most. 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 the only medication of its kind 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™. j to be a thriver withxplore metastatic breast cancer means asking for what we want. and need. and we need more time. so, we want kisqali. women are living longer than ever before with kisqali when taken with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant alone. kisqali can cause lung problems, or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali. time now for business, for that, let's bring in our new friend cnbc's giuliana tuttle baum. with the numbers up, how much can we read into those with the economy as a whole? >> jonathan, good morning. thanks for having me, the retail report yesterday did get a lot of attention, is surpassed expectation showing consumers despite concern around rising inflation are getting into stores and doing their shopping. this comes as prices of goods jumped to the fastest pace since 1990. this retail report, stronger than expected report, propelled stock markets higher. the s&p 500 yesterday closed just shy of its all-time record. bringing year-to-date gains back above 25%. and u.s. futures a mixed start, nvidia, sysco and target. with u.s. housing starts and building permits with data due out. >> americans aren't happy about the economy as polling, they're spending and spending big. how are rear tailors feeling about that as they're heading into the holiday season? >> that's right, so, in line with the retail report we got yesterday on the data side, we also heard from walmart and home depot and both of those companies delivered solid results. walmart topped expectations, grocery shoppers in particular flocking to the stores as rising costs for household staples potentially triggering people to get out and do their shopping now. walmart has noted that big supply has helped to manage the supply chain better than other stores. home depot meanwhile surpassed expectations reporting a 10% in jails, as household consumers fix up their homes so strength continues in the home depot store as well. >> so, one sector where we're seeing a lot of problems with labor shortages, fast food restaurants. just having a really hard time retaining workers. what measures have they tried so far? and what might they still do to try to keep their employees, especially that sector that already, even prepandemic, was known for high levels of turnover? >> well, absolutely, it's been an unbelievable difficult time for the fast food sector. in terms of what they're doing, franchisees are increasing wages, they're cutting back on operating hours. they're cutting back on menu items, trying to simplify their restaurants. and we're seeing some of them provide managers with training on how to keep their existing crews motivated and engaged. we have seen a number of americans leave the workforce, throughout the course of the pandemic, one of the big questions economists are watching now, to what extent the workers return to the workforce, and if they do, where will they go, they open the question mark for the sector. in the meantime, they're hoping that measures ease the burden and improve profitability. >> a story we'll be certain to keep watching, cnbc's julianna tatelbaum live in london. and still ahead, a congressman takes credit for an infrastructure bill he voted again. representative gwen moore joins me. and this date in history, almost nine months before resigned in the face of impeachment and removal from office. >> in you amy years in public life i have never obstructed justice. i think, too, that i can say in my years of public life, that on this kind of examination, people have to know whether or not their president is a crook. well, i'm not a crook. i've earned everything i've got. . it's up there. hey joshie... wrinkles send the wrong message. help prevent them with downy wrinkleguard. feel the difference with downy. my nunormal? fewer asthma attacks with nucala. a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala reduces eosinophils, a key cause of severe asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala. find your nunormal with nucala. frequent heartburn? not anymore. the prilosec otc two-week challenge ask your doctor about nucala. is helping people love what they love again. just one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. because life starts when heartburn stops. take the challenge at prilosecotc dot com. small businesses like yours make gift-giving possible. now, comcast business has an exclusive gift for you. introducing the gift of savings sale. for a limited time, ask how to get a great deal for your business. and get up to a $500 prepaid card with select bundles when you switch to the network that can deliver gig speeds to the most businesses. or get started with internet and voice for $64.99 per month with a 2-year price guarantee. give your business the gift of savings today. comcast business. powering possibilities. at least one house republican is already promoting the good that the infrastructure package will do for his district despite voting against. congressman gary palmer of alabama touted funds that would go to fen his constituents. in a tweet he wrote, completion of the birmingham belt line has been a project of mine since in congress. new funding for the project has passed. the tweet does not mention that the congressman voted against the bill that made the funding possible. after writing the statement, he writes while he supports some funding of the legislation he does not back the climate change measures calling it a, quote, green deal wish list. congressman palmer is a member of the house freedom caucus. some prominent members of that caucus are calling for the 13 republicans who did vote for the infrastructure bill to be stripped of their assignments. president biden carried a card in his pocket of republican senators who touted that, that didn't go on. joining me to talk about this, congresswoman gwen moore of wisconsin. congresswoman moore, thank you for being here, we appreciate it. you called out your republican colleague, congressman greg palmer, for promoting the benefits of the bill he voted against. we saw this earlier in the year. how do they do this? how does the house gop take credit for a bill that he didn't vote for? what do you think? >> well, good morning. love being with you "way too early" here. you know, it's sort of symptomatic of what the republican conference has been doing. i'm going to use catchphrases like socialism, i mean, actually, we had a member from my state call roads and bridges socialism, after not voting for it. and i think that they -- they think that by continuing to have people afraid, concerned about things like inflation, that this is their path, and road toward winning. what i say it's way too early to count democrats out. because we're going to educate people and explain to them how the build back better bill, in concert with the bipartisan infrastructure bill, are going to make their lives better. we're going to explain it to them. you know, first of all, this inflation truly is transitory. i was looking at your earlier segments, in looking at how the economy is heating up. the stock market is growing. we have great, great demand. and a part of the supply chain problem has to do with the fact that more people are ordering things. big box stores, walmart, target, amazon, and there's been a backup in the supply chain, as opposed to people just going to their local restaurant and having a meal. i know that i personally have made more meals as an adult in the last year, i think, than i have in five years when i was busy rearing my children. you know, inflation, you know, is a red herring, i think i heard my dear friend senator manchin talk about it as a reason not to support the build back better bill. but think about this, jonathan, you know, my daughter complains mightily about the cost of chicken wings. i've done ride shares where they said, what are you guys going to do about the gas prices? look, the gas prices have gone up because we have had a -- we've had extreme weather. extreme weather, climate change has really caused a spike in fashion and oil prices. and also climate change is explained, a lot of the a lot o in the price of food. and don't forget, we've had a pandemic. >> we have had a pandemic. let me ask you, you outlined, obviously, how this bill, in your estimation, can be a real economic engine, but also, of course, there are politics involved too. how does this give you and your colleagues a platform from which to run for the midterms next year? >> quick answer, child tax credit. that 300 bucks a month is going to help offset some of the inflationary -- the temporary inflation that we're experiencing. you know, we're going to provide more money to say child care workers, caretakers, this provides more money for our economy. consumers will actually be able to buy those chicken wings and to pay their rent. so the build back better bill is a way for people to deal with the inflationary costs. i mean, increase in wages is a good thing. we'd have to raise wages astronomically higher than they are now in order for increased wages to be the cost of inflation. it's a red herring. we're doing great. by this time next year, by the time we have the election, people are going to see the difference in their lives. it's way too early to count democrats out. >> i love it. congresswoman moore, we appreciate the plugs for the show and you being here this morning. we'll be watching to see if the vote does happen. we'll see you again soon. earlier in the show, we asked all of you this question, why are you awake? sophie writes, i'm up way too early to share some good news. my grandson wesley here will be getting a baby brother in spring 2022. baseball season too. win-win. dan, what do you have? >> trevor was up for a 5:00 a.m. teams meeting at work, only to have his european colleagues cancel at the last minute. >> a teams meeting. apologies to microsoft, but who uses microsoft teams? why are we not on slack, on zoom? i'm not sure about that. deborah writes, i'm up way too early because my neighbor's car alarm went off, twice. i would say this, your only course of action here, crowbar, windshield, there's not a jury that would convict you. chug 54 writes, i'm up way too early because i've been away on business all week and missed watching. the feeling is mutual. coming up on "morning joe," more where things stand with the democrats' social spending plans, when the assistant speaker of the house, katherine clark, joins the conversation. plus, the stealth jet russians call their checkmate in an escalating arms race with the u.s. that's worrisome, any time the russians are involved. "morning joe," moments away. with rybelsus®. ♪ you are my sunshine ♪ ♪ my only sunshine... ♪ rybelsus® is a pill that lowers blood su if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to what's possible with rybelsus®. ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪ you may pay as little as $10 per prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. with downy infusions, let the scent set the mood. feel the difference with downy. a mountain of toys to fulfill many wishes must be carried across all roads and all bridges. it's not magic that makes more holiday deliveries to homes in the us than anyone else, it's the hardworking people of the united states postal service. like pulsing, electric shocks, sharp, stabbing pains, or an intense burning sensation. what is this nightmare? it's how some people describe... shingles. a painful, blistering rash that could interrupt your life for weeks. forget social events and weekend getaways. if you've had chickenpox, the virus that causes shingles is already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles. the house is expected to vote today on whether to censure the congressman who posted a clip against democrats. it showed a character with paul gosar's face killing ocasio-cortez and slashing president biden with a weapon. the arizona congressman defended the video, calling it a, quote, symbolic cartoon. uh-huh. the house vote will also decide whether the republican will be stripped of his committee assignments, according to a source. gosar says he wasn't aware of the video, despite it was produced by his team. kevin mccarthy, the republican leader, said he didn't intend any harm. joining us to talk about this, co-founder of punchbowl news, anna palmer. msnbc contributor. happy to see you today. walk us through what happens here with this congressman. what would a censure mean? what consequences could he face? could he be stripped of his committee assignments? what is nancy pelosi asking for? >> yeah, i think it is important to zoom out. this is a really consequential is vote because this doesn't happen often. the last member of congress who was censured was in 2010. that was after a lengthy ethics review. the fact that this extraordinary measure is being taken should underscore how tough things are with republicans and democrats. a censure is a public condemnation of a member with unbecoming behavior. all democrats and a few republicans are expected to support this against gosar. he'd have to hear them discuss this, his behavior, why it is unbecoming of a member. also, there is the removal of committees. this measure was pushed by some members, including ocasio-cortez, that wanted it not to be just a slap on the wrist but really wanted it to have some teeth in terms of, if you do things like this, if you put a video like this out on the internet, there are consequences. the consequences are going to affect your work in the house. >> so this obviously comes the same time that some republicans are under criticism from fellow members of the gop for supporting the bipartisan infrastructure bill. how is mccarthy playing that too? is he going to cave to those in the freedom caucus and move to take assignments or somehow publish -- punish the republicans who crossed the party lines? >> republicans are getting more heat within the republican conference than paul gosar is for this video. so far, it doesn't appear kevin mccarthy is going to support the effort to strip them of committee assignments or have punitive damage against them. he's really told his conference that now is not the time for this fight. he wants them to be unified against the build back better act. the other thing to really think about here is the comments that we're hearing from republicans privately is this is a really big, slippery slope. all of a sudden, if you vote for something the leadership is opposed to, that could mean you're going to be taken off committees, what happens when kevin mccarthy wants to be potentially speaker and you have a lot of these conservative members who might not want to vote for him? are they going to face the fact they're going against leadership and have to be removed from their committees? a lot of dynamics are at play, but it seems mccarthy is saying, "keep your eyes on the prize. it's 2022. let's not be distracted by this fight." >> could have more of a chilling effect. anna palmer of punchbowl news, you have a busy week as the build back better act works through the house. thank you so much for being here. we will talk to you again soon. thanks to all of you for getting up way too early on this wednesday morning. jam-packed "morning joe" starts right now. i think what we're doing right now is not productive. it's not in the best interest of the country. we really need to sit down and evaluate where we're heading as a nation. particularly in those areas i've talked about, but also about our debt. >> that was republican congressman gary palmer on c-span last month, explaining why he stood in opposition to the bipartisan infrastructure bill. well, you'll never guess who is taking credit for legislation that he voted against. we'll talk about that. good morning and welcome to "morning joe." >> crazy. it's just absolutely crazy, mika. this happens, and when people do this, you know, whoever is running against them needs to say it. that, yes, people are going to take credit and say, oh, there's this important highway that was built here.