fauci. we're discussing the news from pfizer as well as the surge in cases from the u.s. from the delta variant. welcome, thank you for being with us. >> let's begin with your action that this is a preliminary study from pfizer, it still has to be gone over by all of you, but what are you, the scientists here in the u.s., thinking about this? first, it's a laboratory data that would project what you might see clinically. so the proof will be what they think, but it projects accurately what you would see and one of the things that were a concern is would it be protected by the antibodies, and the initial study showed that the effect of the antibodies would diminish substantially. and that was a concern. the pfizer data shows us important information that even though there is an effect of a two-dose vaccine, when you get a booster you get projected protection by about 25 fold. that means people that get boosted off their two-dose mrna should do quite well. that's what we're projectings clinically. even people who have the two doses, they likely will still have a degree of protection against severe disease leading to hospitalization and death. the bottom line is for those unvaccinated, please get vaccinated and for those fully vaccinated get that booster shot. that makes a big difference. >> let me break down the gaf yachts that we expressed, you mentioned mrna, not just pfizer, can we hope that this will inclue data from moderna? >> thus far everything that we said about the effectiveness, they're really quite corporable. but have not done a head to head comparison, but i would be surprised if there was not the same sort of effect if as is now being reported with pfizer. >> does this indicate to you, does that tell you that the definition of fully vaccinated should include the booster dose? and would you go on to think that we should be thinking in the future about a three-dose regimen? >> i think the latter of what you said is certainly true. the definition for regulatory and requirement purposes is still a two dose. but there is no doubt now that to be protected you need a third shot of an mrna and a sect shot for j&j. the question of whether or not fully vaccinated should include a third shot in the definition is on the table. right now we're sticking to the definition of fully vaccinated. should we now not wait the sixth months? >> we were discussing that a little bit ago. right now we're going to look at what available data we're having. the israelis are doing it at five months. we're going to try to see the data that we have as fundamentally related but that is certainly being discussed. that is a very good and very appropriate question. >> there was some initial concerns from south africa from their data, but the talk about the variant in children, is there anything that would change your vaccination suggestions for children? >> no, right now i would not change anything. i think we have a task, we have 28 million children from five to 11 that are eligible. we vaccinated over three mill of them. we have to do better than that. right now let's focus on getting those children fully vaccinated before we talk about boosters. >> yeah, i want to shift the focus to the deal ta variant. the seven-day aj for cases is moving in a really bad direction in this country. how worried are you going into the winter? what more can we do other than vaccinate and do something about delta? >> i'm quite concerned, i said that multiple times in our previous discussions. you're dealing with the colder months of the winter, a season with a lot of travel an communal gatherings. i'm not surprised ta we're seeing an increase in the cases now as you mentioned we have over 100,000 on average per day. we have 1,000 or more deaths per day and hospitalizations are going up. vaccination is an extremely effective tool and we still have 60 million people in this country not yet fully vaccinated or vaccinated at all, and we have people that need to be boosted. there is a lot that we can still do. >> doug: -- do to dampen what hooks like's surge. in con gre gate settings, if you don't know their vaccine status, you should be wearing a mask around them. it confirms yet again how effective masks are in preventing trance mission and acquisition. there is a lot of things that we can do. also common sense, public health measures like masks where appropriate. >> i have to tell you that i know you travel, i was just in sweden and lafayette. and in sweden, people were not masked. so travelers have to be concerned. the answer for me was, of course, masking and testing repeatedly since we have been back, but not everyone has that option. >> that is true, there is a great deal of variations in the policies. masking in appropriate places and testing also. we should not under estimate the important of testing. as the weeks go by we're going to get many, many more tests available. many free or reimbursable at the level of the point of care. and that would be an important adjunct. if you want to make sure your symptoms are a cold and not covid, those things should all be imimplemented. >> the president's mandates on vaccinations, there is so much opposition now in even in democratic states, the governor in michigan and other pleases, this is becoming a political test and the outlook like the point system. is there any thought in backing off of that and trying to avoid all of the outcry against it. >> we really have to get people vaccinated. i understand and we all understand how people don't like to be told what to do. they want to make their own choice, their own free will. i get that, i respect that, these are unusual times. and you can't think only of yourself and your own personal opinion, but you have to think about your communal responsibility to get yourself and your family and indirectly then, the community protected. so i would prefer, and we would all prefer, that people be voluntarily getting vaccinated. you have to do thing that's are directed at the communal good. and that's what we're talking about when we talk about requirements. >> it is such an important warning. maybe there would be a better word than mandate, but i don't know what it is, thank you so much. thank you for having me. >> and the senate stalled. the president's build back better plan as congress strikes a deal to avoid a government default. this is "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. this is "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. 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>> andrea, the biggest pitfall is it needs 60 senate votes on the front end. they're worried it sets a precedent to suspend the filibuster on other issues. why not issues like voting rights and gun control. i spoke to senator cruz who said it would set a disturbing precedent. now elizabeth warren said that democrats should use this precedent to extend the filibuster. but she said it sets a temperature bait for them to ignore the 60 vote at least hold and to try to get things done with 50 votes in the senate. >> and what about build back better? any heady hope for chuck schumer's wish to get it done by christmas. >> there is real hope, and what they have to do is resolve some policy issues, things like paid leave, and their currently in the process of running everything by the senate parliamentarian but the goal of democratic leaders is to get that done this week or next. that leaves one week before christmas, and the holiday deadline has a way of helping them get their act together so they can get home and be with their families. >> and you, too. thank you for joining me. and now we have a congressman who has just announced he is retiring after 36 years. why have you decided not to seek reelection. >> 36 years is a good measure. i figured out i spent 200 45 hour workweeks commuting across the country. not exactly the policies i wanted, but it is still a work in progress with build back better, and it just felt like a good time with nothing major looming in front of me and more than three decades. >> but is it another signal that you're jone joining another growing group? that you expect a republican house takeover? >> i think the republicans are measuring the curtains a little early here. it is good if they are over confident. my seat has gotten bluer. we will keep it, pick up seat in oregon, and they have not done that well around the country so far. so it is not a done deal by any means. >> let's go back to build back better, he is certainly not agreeing to that legislation. >> he had some changes in the rescue package. people forget how historic the rescue package is. in establishing the tax breaks. what we did to save hundreds of thousands. >> and there has been so much stalemate, it has been difficult to say the least. looking back what do you think changed congress as much as it has since the days i was up there full-time, and when people got along. people could be partisan and still compromise every day on what they want today get done? >> the first big bills i ever got done was with working with the wet lands. those days unfortunately seem pretty extinct. they get vilified, they get threatened with losing committee assignments, and they get death threats. i started with newt gingrich and it went downhill from there. i hope there is a turning point with this next election. >> and is social media part of the equation? as well as the outrage of january 6th? >> of course, donald trump was the worst, did the most damage, and unleashed many of these people and certainly aleashed -- unleashed them during the attempted coup. i was here, they wanted to steal the ballot boxes and keep him as president. that was a very dark day for america. >> congressman, i know we will be talking again in the year to come. thank you for being with us today, happy holidays to you. >> thank you, same to you. >> thank you, the russian threat, the president's warning of sanctions possibly getting putin to back down. possibly ge putin to back down having someone else do your books for you. i'm linda, your quickbooks live bookkeeper. let's do this linda! sounds good! a live expert bookkeeper who understands your business. felipe, i've categorized last month's hair gel expenses. steve, i just closed your books. great, how are we looking? profits are up! on to next month. on to next month, linda! get your books done for you by trusted experts. intuit quickbooks live bookkeeping. get your books done for you by trusted experts. when our daughter and her kids moved in with us... our bargain detergent couldn't keep up. turns out it's mostly water. so, we switched back to tide. one wash, stains are gone. 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>> as president biden and jake r sullivan said questioned, these would be a lot difference. they talk about crippling the ability to operate in the financial system. other types of things that would have a direct impact on russia's ability to carry out their economic activities. so i think this is something that putin would not want to get involved in. and i think to press the pause button on what had been an sanctions and increased u.s. troops along the earn and european countries as well as direct military assistance, i knee these are things that they will want to avoid. >> all of the other leaders are saying they're in lock step with the u.s. that germany under their new leader would not back down, would take the pain. do you think they would when the rubber hits the road? >> the signs are that the europeans are more serious than they were in the past. i noted with interest today that according to the russians, french fighter jets were intercepted by russians over the black sea and turned away along with a french refuelling tanker. that is a sign that the french, like the united states, are showing russia they are capable of responding aggressively if the war should happen and should widen. so i think we have more buy in from the allies. so i think that is significant for putin. final point i would make in addition to what director brennan said about the severe economic sanctions is surely they're realizing that an invasion of ukraine would not be a short, quick hybrid war in the grey zone, this would be a real war. i wrote this morning about the possibility of a protracted partisan war against russian forces that are in ukraine and are invinvading. so it is a lot, and i think there could be repercussions at home, and i just, you know, more than putin may have imagined when he began this. >> i noticed that in the column today. it is intriguing because the conventional wisdom is that ukraine, even better armed with the u.s. could not stand up against russia especially with so much influence internally in you crane. and the secretary of state was warning about this yesterday. in line with what you were saying, let me play that for you. >> there are many, many reasons why none of us should want a war. it will be extremely bloody and difficult for ukraine and for russia. >> when you see the true build up, and that it is right on their border, that nato would be at a disadvantage giveen the proximity, what do you think this matchup would look like? >> clearly the number of russian forces on the ukrainian border, they could move very quickly into you crane. it would be a very bloody, bloody fight. i think they would see body bags goes back and forth, and i don't believe that people talk about putin bluffing. i think he is keeping all options on the table. he is trying to under score the seriousness with which he views the possible ukraine with nato. so i think he is trying to get an understanding with president biden that there will be no nato push early on for the president, however they are stating their objective is to join nato. there's not an immediate process. i this i that putin is saber rattling with the intention of understanding how seriously he looks at the situation. he is clearly demonstrating that he has the ability to do so if he so chooses. >> they are saying that it is absolutely up to nato if ukraine becomes a member. so what is the diplomatic way off of this ramp if we're not going to let russia decide who can be in nato? >> well, i, again -- >> if that is a question -- >> the president's position for the united states to say whether or not they want to apply for a member. this is something that stands with nato, they should try to deter any kind of russian aggression at this time. but i think there is no way they will give any type of reliable guarantee to russia that you crane will not join nato at some point in the future. >> it is great to have both of you on, thank you so much. and contempt of congress, a former chief white house chief of staff and a former congressman stiffing the january 6th committee. will he have to face the music? and this is the sound of better breathing. fasenra is a different kind of asthma medication. it's not a steroid or inhaler. fasenra is an add-on treatment for asthma driven by eosinophils. it's one maintenance dose every 8 weeks. it helps prevent asthma attacks, improve breathing, and lower use of oral steroids. nearly 7 out of 10 adults with asthma may have elevated eosinophils. fasenra is designed to target and remove them. fasenra is not a rescue medication or for other eosinophilic conditions. fasenra may cause allergic reactions. get help right away if you have swelling of your face, mouth, and tongue, or trouble breathing. don't stop your asthma treatments unless your doctor tells you to. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection or your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. this is the sound of fasenra. ask your doctor about fasenra. ♪ ♪ well would you look at that? 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this or that doesn't map again. you cannot erase that. >> tough words from nancy pelosi moments ago. mark meadows failed to thousand up for a deposition today. it comes after roger stone became the latest to send the committee a letter saying he planned to plead the 5th? . how striking is this that mark meadows, head of the freedom forum, is being referred to the justice department for contempt of congress. >> it is striking and it is hard to separate the 180 he took with the rollout of he is book. mark meadows had been participating in this process and showing up and provided documents and of course this week he puts himself in bad graces with trump, with trump and his book that is full of lies. and all of a sudden he turns around. it shows you how important donald trump is to mark meadows. he is willing to go to jail over contempt of congress just to stay on donald trump's side. i think that is obviously very striking. and look, there has been a number of people that said they're not going to cooperate and figured out a way around this. going in and pleading the fifth. mark meadows feels like he has to go to this extreme. they moved very quickly to show what they indicted for him. you have to imagine that's the future that mark meadows is facing now. >> and peter baker, it's so striking that mark meadows is switching and flipping on this. and you have mike pence's former chief of staff cooperating now and they're getting a lot of information and they're building cases with a lot of evidence of what actually happened in the white house. >> yeah, they are. they actually already have some information about what mark meadows could talk about, for instance. there is these reports of text messages that he shared with a member of congress on november 6th. right when the election was being counted. already suggesting some sort of a switch of electors by states that went for biden, something that would be incredibly controversial. so you can see what it was about a whole series, about ten weeks of actions, that were meant to discredit the election and embodyen their supporters to take action. i think it is striking that they switched sides. the one thing that seemed to switch is his book that seemed to have got him on the bad side of president trump if is not meant to be a book taking on president trump. it is over the top praise, but even just a few details ta came out and exposed the president's cover up in the case of his covid test, obviously putting the president in a very sour mood toward his former chief of staff. >> i want to switch to republican congresswoman bobert being criticized for her anti-muslim comments. she was speaking about the republican leadership's need to punish their own members. >> it's an intensification of their negligent of honoring rule 23 which says we all have a responsibility to honor the house of representatives and serve in a way that brings honor to the house. it's their responsibility to deal with the people. how we deal with addressing the fear they have instilled in the islamphobia and the rest is hopefully something we can do in a bipartisan way. >> she posted a picture, i believe, on twitter with her children well armed, an imitation of what congressman massey did with his. after what happened in michigan last week it's really part to understand. >> yeah, not really in the holiday spirit. i have no affection for congressman bobert and what she said was reprehensible. the think the challenge that kevin mccarthy is facing is the tools they have to really affect change with members is limited. i think they would love to have republican leadership attacking her. they really love the victim hood narrative. they don't plan on doing something in the first place. what they can do to stop this, it is not easy to get them to stop because they like the attention they're getting. and the more we feed into it the more likely they are to get it. i'm worried about the slippery lope, and i fear when 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should they be doing more? is there more they can do? >> that would involve creeping deep into the brain of vladimir putin. something i can't do and have no interest in doing. i think this is ultimately our best shot to prevent what would be a catastrophic mistake by the kremlin. if russia does invade ukraine, that is going to be a years if not decades long counterinsurgency because there is a deep sense of nationalism and patriotism that exists in ukraine right now that will simply not allow the russians to occupy that country unimpeded over the long term. and so this is not in the interests of russia to move forward with a war that will ultimately bring death and destruction to ukraine but also to russians. our best shot, though, as you mentioned is making clear to the russians that there will be absolutely crippling heretofore unseen in american history sanctions on the russian economy and on the political and economical leads that surround putin. so i know that the president communicated that to putin yesterday. it's also important for our allies to stands with us and make a joint signal right now this week to the russians that their economy will be absolutely devastated if they make this move by ukraine. >> i know the secretary of state was just today speaking to the eu president. but do we have to hear from germany's new leader importantly? i know they have been promising nato, but it's a new government as of today? >> well, we certainly need the germans. we need the eu to be united here. i am sure there is some element inside european political circles that believe this is one big bluff from the russians. i've seen the intelligence. this is serious. i think we cannot say whether vladimir putin has made up his mind. you don't move this number of forces to the border of ukraine if there is a very good chance that you are going to engage in a conventional invasion. back to our politics here, we don't have an ambassador to the eu right now. we don't have an ambassador to germany, to france, because they're blocked by ted krez and republicans in the senate. so it is difficult to engage in the diplomacy we need to save ukraine if tony blinken and the president have to do it all themselves some we need to get these ambassadors toulouse. republicans need to stop blocking them or we will be handcuffed to achieve a diplomatic solution. >> you anticipated my question on that very subject. not on this instance, but we don't have nick burns in china yed yet. we have people that haven't had their hearings yet. i've never seen anything like this and what the impact is over there. i can tell you. >> no, that's right. you haven't seen anything like it before because it's never happened before. donald trump's foreign policy was offensive to me both from a moral sensibility and a strategic sensibility. but i never blocked every single one of his nominees, because i believe that it was so important for the united states to have a diplomatic presence abroad. what republicans seem to be prioritizing right now is global chaos. republicans seem to believe that if the world is less stable that will mean joe biden's approval ratings sink and, thus, it becomes the goal of the republican party. it used to be that as a body the senate cared more about the world's stability than we did about the prospects of our own political party. but today's republican party puts their hatred for joe biden ahead of the security of this nation and that is unprecedented and it is deeply deeply terrifying. >> and do you see anyway out before the christmas break? >> i mean the only way out is for the senate to stay in session 24/7 every single day from here to the end of the year to process these nominees. what ted cruz' and republicans are requireing is that we go through this long process available to them under the senate rules on every single nominee the senate has never done that we have always expedited the non-controversial nominees, especially the career public servants. the time that it would take, even if we stayed in session 24/7 would only allow us to process a hand. of these nominees before the ends of the year, there would still be lots of key post vacant, which is why the only real solution is for the republicans in the senate to care about the country, the security of ukraine more than they care about the approval rating or disapproval rating of joe biden. >> thank you so much, senator, chris murphy. we'll be right back. you love. plus, superior nutrition. only eggland's best. ♪♪ is. opening statements today in the closely-watched trial of former minnesota police officer kim potter charged with killing daunte wright, a 20-year-old man during a traffic stop. krad, what do we expect today? >> reporter: right now the defense attorney is giving his option statement and he's rebutting what we heard from much of the morning from the prosecutors. the defense is saying this is about adopt wright's actions, rad he surrendered he would still be alive today. you heard the prosecution saying this is about officer potter betraying public trust and her trade and it's about right and wrong and knowing left from right. officer potter says she was reaching for her taser, instead, fired her weapon. they have first and second degree manslaughter. they carry up to 15 years in police finance she is convicted. andrea. >> thank you so much to you. that does it for us. chuck todd starts right now with mtp daily. >> if it's wednesday, pfizer says it's booster is effective against omicron as the white house faces more pushbacks from congress and the courts to mandate the nations. the president's political and legal struggles, what they mean in a moment. plus new fallout with putin, bind says he warned of severe consequence in russia and ukraine.