good morning. and welcome to "way too early." the show that can't believe it has to say something nice about the yankees but hey, this is a cool story. i'm jonathan lemire on this wednesday, january 12th and we'll start with the news. with his most forceful speech yet, president biden is making his case for why he believes the senate filibuster should not stand in the way of moving forward with voting rights. >> i'm making it clear, to protect our democracy, i support changing the senate rules. whichever way they need to be changed, to prevent a minority of senators from blocking action on voting rights. when it comes to protecting majority rule, in america, the majority should rule in the united states senate. not a single republican has displayed the courage to stand up to a defeated president. to protect america's right to vote. not one. will we choose dem shadows? justice over injustice? i know where i stand. i will not yield. i will not flinch. i will defend the right to vote. our democracy against all enemies, foreign and, yes, domestic. do you want to be on the side of dr. king or george wallace? do you want to be on the side of john lewis or bull connor? do you want to be on the side of abraham lincoln or jefferson davis? >> despite president biden's backing, democrats in the senate still do not appear to have the votes needed to change the filibuster. ahead of the president's speech, senator joe manchin doubled down on his support for keeping the senate rule intact. >> the filibuster is where we have our rules. we need the rule change to make it in the filibuster, if you change the rules of two thirds of people that are present. democrats and republicans changing the rules to make the place work better. getting rid of the filibuster does not make it work better. >> this, as senate minority leader mitch mcconnell insists the senate doesn't need any changes at all. >> the senate isn't broken and doesn't need fixing. the voting rights act doesn't expire for years. the current john lewis bill is about a whole lot of other things unrelated to the voting rights act passed in 1965 and still the law of the land. >> but despite the long odds senate majority leader chuck schumer is publicly showing confidence in the upcoming votes. >> failure is not an option for the country. that's the point. it is so important. you heard what we said, failure is not an option for the democracy of america. we are voting on or before mlk day on the bills and on rules changes. >> leader schumer will join us a little later on "morning joe" today. joining us now white house reporter for the associated press, my friend darlene superville. good morning, darlene. >> good morning. >> thank you for being here. the president has endorsed a carveout, a specific carveout to change the voting rules. this is by far, the most forceful yet he has made that case. do you sense he's successfully got than message across and will have any impact on democrats who have been reluctant? >> i would say, yeah. he's successful in getting the message across because of that pretty forceful speech as you described it yesterday. he was very passionate about how important he feels about the voting rights bills that are stalled in the senate. but as you also said, it does remain to be seen whether what he said yesterday will change the calculus of any democrat in the senate. and that right now, that doesn't seem to be the case with both senators manchin and sinema there are much changes for debate. >> there's the ground rules pressure on the white house between democrats and republicans. we know that civil rights groups didn't even show up yesterday, explaining there's too much talk and not enough action. but if the phil buster is not going anywhere, darlene, what more can the president do? we saw him embrace the bully pulpit yesterday. i know you and your colleagues at the ap have reported he's not done as many interviews as other presidents, maybe that's the venue he can do more to raise public awareness. but talking to public officials what more can they do with the other side of pennsylvania avenue won't butch? >> one of the things the president revealed yesterday in that speech is that he has been having quiet conversations, i think he described it that way, with senators in the past month. on the issue of the bills. and the filibuster. and i think that is probably more that we'll see -- we'll see him do more of that, just trying to have private moments to convince some of his colleagues, some of his former colleagues, some of his senators, to go along with his desire for a carveout in the filibuster. he can also continue to use the bully pulpit, as you mentioned, to continue to talk about the issue of voting rights. how he sees what's happening in the country as a threat to democracy. and try to build pressure that way. but other than that, his authority here is a little bit limited, right? i mean, all he can do is talk about it, try to talk to senators. presidents can talk. but he really can't do anything -- anything to get the senate to move. and to vote, which is important. >> of course, you're right. this is a dominant story line that's coming down the horizon and democrats saying, look, voting rights need to be at the center of the agenda going forward. the ap's darlene superville. thank you for being here. meanwhile, there's more proof that covid vaccines will protect you against severe illness. of 100 infected five were hospitalize. the state says unvaccinated are 13 times more likely to end up in the hospital, 13 times with the omicron variant spreading quickly, new york is now requiring all health care workers to get a booster shot. meanwhile, new york city mayor eric adams continues to push his message that we must learn to live with covid. in his most recent interview with bloomberg, adams said schools need to stay open. he said that businesses need to bring more workers back to the office to help in the city's economy. saying, quote, you can't run new york from home. dr. anthony fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert was forced to defend himself again yesterday, from personal attacks during a senate hearing. what has become a sadly common occurrence, kentucky republican and former eye doctor rand paul, he grilled dr. anthony fauci on his handling of the pandemic, this time, accusing him of stifling other medical opinions. >> a planner who believes he is the science leads to an arrogance that justifies in his mind using government resources to smear and destroy the reputations of other scientists. >> in usual fashion, senator, you are distorting everything about me. what happens when he gets out and accuses me of things that are completely untrue is that all of a sudden that kindles the crazies out there. and i have life -- threats upon my life, go to rand paul website, and you see fire dr. fauci with a little box that says contribute here. you can do $5, $10, $20, $100. so, you are making a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain. >> after another line of questioning and a hot mic moment, dr. fauci was heard sharing his unflattering opinion of republican raja marshal of kansas as well. a canadian was roasted on twitter for this post showing his wife shoveling his driveway after she did a 12-hour nursing shift. but his wife is defending him and says there's more to the story. i hope so. later on in the show, white house press secretary karine jean-pierre joins us live to talk about president biden's voting rights and the quiet conversations he's been having with senators and more with the administration. we'll have that news and more with a check of the weather when we come right back. of the weatn we come right back (vo) this year, t-mobile for business is here to help you hit the ground running. when you switch to t-mobile and bring your own device, we'll pay off your phone up to $800. you can keep your phone. keep your number. and get your employees connected on the largest and fastest 5g network. plus, we give you $200 in facebook ads on us! so you can reach more customers, create more opportunities, and make this the best year for your business yet. visit your local t-mobile store today. super emma just about sleeps in her cape. but when we realized she was battling sensitive skin, and make this the best year for your business yet. we switched to tide hygienic clean free. it's gentle on her skin, and out cleans our old free detergent. tide hygienic clean free. hypoallergenic and safe for sensitive skin. amazing. jerry, you gotta to see this. seen it. trust me, after 15 walks... gets a little old. ugh these are the faces of listerine. the face of millions of germs zapped in seconds. the face of clean. the face of whoa! some are of intensity, others joy. all are of... various: ahhh... listerine. feel the whoa! nyquil severe gives you powerful relief for your worst cold and flu symptoms, all are of... various: ahhh... on sunday night and every night. nyquil severe. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, best sleep with a cold, medicine. now an incredible survival story. with a helicopter carrying an infant. everyone made it out alive. thank to the pilot. nbc news national correspondent gabe gutierrez has the incredible story. >> it's a helicopter. >> reporter: it may be hard to believe, everyone including an infant in this mangled helicopter is alive, and incredibly no one is hurt. >> i literally see the chopper in the sky right there. so, i'm sad. but then there's a moment where i realize this is going to hit the ground. that's when i put it in reverse. >> reporter: this man was driving his family west of philadelphia this afternoon and barely dodged a catastrophe. >> this is absolutely a miracle. >> reporter: a miraculous landing near a church. >> absolutely, no debris, no wires down. >> reporter: the chopper was flying to a hospital in philly carrying two crew members, a nurse and an infant. all four able to escape the wreckage even before emergency crews arrived. >> everyone is out of the helicopter. >> reporter: no word yet on what caused the crash. the ntsb will investigate. >> it was absolutely insane. i've never seen anything like this. >> reporter: authorities here are crediting the pilot. >> miraculous landing. >> reporter: and perhaps a higher power for a remarkable landing against all odds. >> we're so grateful everyone is okay. our thanks to gabe gutierrez for that report. a canadian politician's post of his wife has gone viral and sparked outrage but his wife said that's not the whole sorry. jon reyes shared this photo writing after a 12-hour shift at the hospital my wife has the energy to shovel the driveway. god bless her and all the front-liners, time to make her some breakfast. the post went viral, with thousands giving opinions. many criticized the politician for taking pictures of his wife instead of jumping in to help. but the woman in the note, cynthia reyes is pushing back with her own social media statement saying she wanted to clear the snow and that her family was still sleeping when she got home early from work. cynthia wrote this tweet probably would not have gone viral if the gender rules were reversed. we share rules basically who's available to do it. know the whole story before passing judgment. i agree. i'm not going to say anything else. still ahead, georgia's quarterback becomes a star overnight and into the morning. the interview that might have been way too early for him. also ahead, novak's never-ending drama, the tennis star tries to clear up what he calls misinformation about him being maskless in public after getting covid and being contagious. g covid and being contagious gles doesn't care. because 1 in 3 people will get shingles, you need protection. but, no matter how healthy you feel, your immune system declines as you age increasing your risk for getting shingles. so, what can protect you? shingrix protects. you can protect yourself from shingles with a vaccine proven to be over 90% effective. shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. ask your pharmacist or doctor about shingrix. shingles doesn't care. but you should. aughter] slurping don't pay for water. pay for clean. it's got to be tide. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible... with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or 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 the possibility of lower a1c with rybelsus®. you may pay as little as $10 for up to a 3-month prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. staying up half the night searching for savings on your prescriptions? just ask your cvs pharmacist. we search for savings for you. from coupons to lower costs options. plus, earn up to $50 extra bucks rewards each year just for filling at cvs pharmacy. inner voice (kombucha brewer): i'm dramatically holding this bottle, so the light hits it just right, and people think... wow... ...he knows what he's doing... ...when i'm actually pretty lost with my payroll taxes. intuit quickbooks helps you manage your payroll taxes. cheers. 100% accurate payroll tax calculations guaranteed. fresh off the college football platform, the georgia's huge win over alabama, mvp stetson bennett is joining us live. stetson, good morning, my friend. how are you feeling my friend, after that incredible performance last night. have you had a chance to get any sleep? >> you know, a few hours. not many. been wondering about -- no, not many, man. >> a groggy morning television appearance by georgia quarterback stetson bennett yesterday hours after the bulldogs beat the alabama crimson tide in the national championship game. i'm sure he's sleeping well upon his return to athens. joining us now, college hoops in the fall of the last two undefeated teams. in waco, texas, number 19 texas tech pulled off an upset with a 65-62 win over top-ranked baylor after beating kansas on saturday. last night's victory snapped baylor's 21-game win streak, two games shy of tying the longest in big 12 history. and out in california, the unranked stanford cardinal knocked off number 5 usc. 75-69 last night. it locked stanford's first win over a top-five team in more than a decade. southern california had won 13 straight before last night's loss. stanford, meanwhile had not played since before christmas due to covid trouble. university of michigan's men's basketball team has remained idle as it deals with its own covid outbreak. michigan's matchup against seventh-ranked purdue was called off because the wolverines had less than 67 solarship players left to play. speaks of the coronavirus, novak djokovic admits he knew he tested positive for covid-19 when he attended a newspaper interview and photo shoot at his tennis center in serbia last month. the tennis star made his admission in a lengthy statement posted in his instagram yesterday, in an effort to clarify ongoing misinformation about why he repeatedly appeared without a mask at public events after he believed he'd been exposed to the virus. djokovic claims he took rapid tests that were negative and was asymptomatic before he received a positive result from a pcr test he took he took, he says, out of abundance of caution. after attending a basketball game in belgrade on november 14th, djokovic said he received the positive pcr test late on the 17th and scrapped all of it, except for a long-standing interview and photo shoot. djokovic explained he felt obligated to conduct the interview but admitted the decision not to reschedule was an err of judgment. there are pictures of him standing very close to other people not wearing a mask. djokovic also blamed human error on the mison the travel document that he used to enter australia where his visa was revoked and then reinstated on a covid-19 vaccination overshadowed by that tournament. it's not a sure thing he'll be allowed to play. now, to hopefully movement on the major league baseball lockout and the sport's first work stoppage since 1985. the ap reports the league of the players' union are scheduled to meet tomorrow, ending a 42-day break in negotiations since the last one on december 1st. that's when the lockup began. we've got five weeks to go before the start of spring training. look, i speak for baseball fans, spring training, about that can be delayed. we don't want that, but that's okay. you just cannot miss regular season games. the sport will not recover. get this done. meanwhile, new york yankees will make history with a new hire, rachel balkovitz, the affiliate of the yankees first hired by the organization in 2019 as a hitting coach in the minor leagues. she's believed to be the first woman hired as a full-time hitting instructor by a big league team. and now the first manager in this job. very cool story. we are wish her luck. time now for the weather and bill karins for the forecast, bill what do you got? >> a lot. if you have plans for this upcoming weekend, we've got a big storm track moving through the country. let's begin with today, the end of arctic outbreak in the northeast. a frigid morning out. d.c. is not too bad at 25, windchills at 16. once you get to boston northward it is still very cold. boston negative 2. look at caribou, maine, negative 30. not too bad in the great lakes. we will see improvement, 40 in new york city, boston at 39. if we get through the morning, it will return back to what we typically expect for this time of year. but that chill returns this weekend, especially in new england on saturday. temperatures only in the teens we're going to have a very sold katd with the patriots in buffalo. the game time around 7 degrees. that's going to be like an ice bowl-type game. the other story we're watching, the storm that will move across the country it's beginning to affect the northwest. a lot of heavy rain in the pacific northwest. we do have flash flood warnings in the mountains of the olympics. and we will watch the heavy rain continuing through today. eventually, as i said, this storm will move through southerly canada and then through of the middle of the country. friday that snow in the central plains then the storm dips to the south. rain and storms mississippi, alabama and georgia. snow possible, missouri through kentucky, possibly the ohio valley. and then on sunday, a snow and ice storm, possibly even a very significant snow and ice storm for the east coast. we will track that up to the northeast. jonathan, if you have weekend plans don't go cancelling them yet. pay attention to this forecast. this could easily be the biggest ice storm and snow of the winter. >> bill, we know you'll keep an eye on that, we're always happy to start looking for the weekend when it's only wednesday. bill karins, thank you. ahead, new subpoenas and a debunked conspiracy theory. the house select committee gives an update into the investigation into the capitol attack. plus, the key trump ally who appears to be next on the committee's list. before we go to break, we want know why are you awake? email your reasons to msnbc.com or tweet me @jon lemire. use the #waytooearly. we'll read a few answers later on in the show. answers later on in the show 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. emerge tremfyant® with tremfya®... ask you doctor about tremfya® today. are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks? now they can. downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh waaaay longer than detergent alone. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load. and enjoy fresher smelling laundry. if you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks make sure you have downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters. shop online for downy unstopables, including our new, lighter scent. can dove stop 98% of daily hair damage? sandra treats one lock of hair with dove. glowing areas represent hair damage. dove precisely repairs so there are almost no signs... of visible damage. dove intensive repair. number one beauty brand not tested on animals. ♪♪ welcome back to "way too early." it's just about 5:30 on the east coast. 2:30 out of the west. i'm jon then lemire. the january 6 select committee subpoenaed documents and testimony from two strategists, andrew strait and ronald schwartz who have said to have communicated with donald trump jr. about the rally that proceeded the attack. and chairman bennie thompson was asked yesterday if former new york city mayor and onetime trump attorney rudy giuliani is also being sought by the panel. here's his response. >> he's an integral part of whatever happens. he's on the list of a lot of people we'll be talking to. >> so you do want to talk to him at some point today? do you think it's a matter of time before you do a subpoena for mr. mayor giuliani? >> well, you know, it's a process. >> joining us now, co-founder of punchbowl news and friend of the show, jake sherman. jake, good morning. let's talk about the new subpoenas to start, what kind of information is the committee hoping to glean there? and in your estimation, how likely is it that rudy giuliani is also going to face a subpoena? >> almost certain that giuliani is going to face a subpoena, jon. there's no doubt about that. the larger question is will he testify? we don't know, what's going on quite consistently, it doesn't matter that a lot of these people testify because they have a lot of information. now on the other two, the two outside advisers or outside aides that are close to the trump family. a lot of people have come out in the last 12 to 16 hours saying they had nothing to do with the january 6th rally. one of the organizers said they couldn't think of anybody less involved that sarabhai and arthur schwartz. we'll have to see, people like that, it's interesting, jon, a lot of people like that might be compelled to testify or willing to testify or leaning towards testifying because they don't think they have anything to hide. so is that will be/interesting to see. >> jake, let's talk about the president's speech in georgia yesterday. obviously a strong push for voting rights and one that democrats wish he had made earlier. you obviously know the senate as well as anyone. do you see any movement here at all, now that the president has brought the full force of the bully pulpit down? and whether that happens or not, let's say that stall still, do you think the president has done enough to silence the critics of his approach? >> those are two key questions, right, has he done enough to silence the critics? probably. there's questions both way. there's questions whether it makes sense to use the bully pulpit for something that you have no chance of getting into law. because there is no chance, at this moment, based on everything that we know, in my probably hundreds of conversations with joe manchin over the last couple months there's no chance he's going to vote to change the rules. that he's going to want to get rid of the filibuster because he's say supporter of the filibuster, why would he vote to get rid of it. the question, has he quieted his critics. i think he has. he's quieted the people that said he's not done enough to the filibuster and push voting rights. listen, he can't twist joe manchin to a point where he's going to abandon a long-held belief. that's not going to happen. that's not politics, especially in a state where donald trump won by 40 some points, that's west virginia, the state that joe manchin represents. so, you know, it's a difficult calculus for biden. i understand why he did what he did, i don't anticipate that it will make a big difference. >> president biden, of course, a longtime man of the senate, endorsing carveout voting rights is a big deal. one wonders if that opens the door for other groups to ask for a similar carveout. we shall see. jake sherman of punchbowl news, we'll be coming back to you for sure. thank you for being here. still ahead, we're live for an early look on the cdc with a look of the data later on this morning. plus, the girls scouts are making it easier to break your new year's resolution of eating healthier. the new way to get your cookie fix. this might be bad news, folks. "way too early." we'll be right back. folks. "way too early." we'll be right back. can dove stop 98% of daily hair damage? sandra treats one lock of hair with dove. glowing areas represent hair damage. dove precisely repairs so there are almost no signs... of visible damage. dove intensive repair. number one beauty brand not tested on animals. [music: “you can get it if you really want” by jimmy cliff] feeling sluggish or weighed down? dove intensive repair. it could be a sign that your digestive system isn't working at it's best taking metamucil everyday can help. metamucil psyllium fiber, gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. it also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic metamucil. support your daily digestive health. and try metamucil fiber thins. a great tasting and easy way to start your day. trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high ♪ ♪ you know how i feel ♪ (coughing) ♪ breeze driftin' on by ♪ ♪ you know how i feel ♪ copd may have gotten you here, but you decide what's next. start a new day with trelegy. ♪ ...feelin' good ♪ no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. and save at trelegy.com. i'm greg, i'm 68 years old. i do motivational speaking ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. in addition to the substitute teaching. i honestly feel that that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i think most adults will start realizing that they don't recall things as quickly as they used to or they don't remember things as vividly as they once did. i've been taking prevagen for about three years now. people say to me periodically, "man, you've got a memory like an elephant." it's really, really helped me tremendously. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. time now for business. and for that, let's bring in cnbc's julianna tatelbaum who joins us live from london. good morning. great to see you as always. let's talk about the markets and investors keeping a close eye on the fed. jerome powell, of course, appeared before congress yesterday. >> absolutely, jonathan. that was a big event for investors and interestingly, we saw u.s. equities rally on the day that we heard from the fed chair. the s&p 500 breaking a five-day losing streak. the dow jones and importantly, the tech-heavy nasdaq all trading higher. now, in his nomination testimony before the senate banking committee, fed chair jerome powell pledged to get a handle on inflation. and notably, he did not push back against the notion that we could see a rate rise in march. investors appearing increasingly confident that the federal reserve will be able to tame rising prices. and that could be why we've seen the rise in equity prices. and now turning to the inflation report due out later today and the key here is looking at whether inflationary pressures are spreading monday the sectors hit hardest by the pandemic, beyond the pandemic-driven disruptions and whether we see rising prices in places like the services sector. and whether the rise in wages is having an effect on prices in those parts of the economy. so a big report due out for investors later today. here's a stunning statistic, the world health organization said that more than 50% of europe's population will be infected with the highly contagious omicron co-individuals 19 variant over the next two months. you're in london. what's the response to that there? and how alarmed should other continents be about this report? >> well, jonathan, that prediction, stunning. and it is getting a lot of attention here. in particular, because there's a lot of controversy, a lot of debate, within europe right now, around the way forward for the pandemic. the warning from the world health organization comes as many leaders within europe are calling for the pandemic to be treated more like an endemic situation. now, the latest being spain's prime minister who came out yesterday and said that it is time we learn to live with covid-19. similar calls from the uk government, where the stance has become learning to live with the virus. and an interesting comment came out overnight from the former chairman of the public health england service. she said that the united kingdom may in fact be the first country in the world to emerge from the pandemic, given the high levels of immunity circulating now. more than 95% of people in the uk have antibodies against covid-19. so, there's a lot of debate, jonathan, those numbers, prediction more than 50% of people in europe getting infected in the coming weeks definitely getting a lot of attention. on a significantly lighter note, girl scouts cookie season kicked off with virtual cookie booths and drivedthrough contactless cookie stands. it appears to be different this year, tell us why and tell us your favorite girl scout cookie. >> well, i'll save my favorite for the end. but what's different for this year, too, and every year in the past, is that you're not able to get girl scout cookies through doordash, the girl scouts have been toying with different approaches over the last two seasons as they grappled with the pandemic by hosting these virtual cookie booths in the fast. they've gotten familiar with the whole food delivery process so much so that they've teamed up with door dash. jonathan in doing research for this segment i learned the flush one best-selling cookie in america are thin mints. mute, jonathan, i'm a samoa girl. apparently i'm in line with other people from massachusetts, my home state, apparently it's samoas. >> we're in lockstep. samoas my favorite. i'm not a thin mint person. caramel had yeah, samoas mine. still ahead, did president biden wait too long for a call for filibuster to change for voting rights? we'll ask that question to white house deputy secretary secretary karine jean-pierre, we'll have that interview. "way too early," right back. ba. (vo) this year, t-mobile for business is here to help you hit the ground running. when you switch to t-mobile and bring your own device, we'll pay off your phone up to $800. you can keep your phone. keep your number. and get your employees connected on the largest and fastest 5g network. plus, we give you $200 in facebook ads on us! so you can reach more customers, create more opportunities, and make this the best year for your business yet. visit your local t-mobile store today. are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? and make this the best year for what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks? now they can. downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh waaaay longer than detergent alone. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load. and enjoy fresher smelling laundry. if you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks make sure you have downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters. shop online for downy unstopables, including our new, lighter scent. strom thurmond. in 2006, the voting right passed 393 in the house of representatives and 98-0 in the senate. with votes of 16 current sitting republicans in this united states senate. i've been having these quiet conversations with members of congress for the last two months. i'm tired of being quiet! >> that's president biden delivering a strong message to congress yesterday, during his speech on voting rights in atlanta. joining us now to talk about it, white house principal press secretary karine jean-pierre, karine, thank you for being here as always. in the spirit of what the president said, that he's tired of being quiet. he indicated that he had had conversations with members of congress over the last few months on this topic. can you tell us who have the conversations been with and what's been the outcome? >> well, here's the thing, jonathan, you know, as we -- as we tend to say and we do say, is that we keep those conversations private. but he's -- he was very clear. what you saw the vice president and the president do yesterday is forcefully defend the fundamental right to vote. and also call on congress to take action. to take action on getting voting rights done. voting rights laws done. and also to call on them to -- to really call to the point of where are they going to be in history? where are they going to stand in history? because what we're seeing right now is an assault on our democracy. you know, you look at this past year, in 19 states alone, 19, we saw 34 enactments of voter suppression laws. 34. and why did this happen? this happened because of the last election, when we saw a record turnout that we should have been celebrating, that we should have been saying, okay, that our democracy is helping. what republicans decided to do across the country is push these anti-voting, voting suppression laws. so the president now, as he said, he is tired, he is tired of seeing this. but he's been working on this since day one he walked into the administration. let's not forget his joint address to congress where he talked about voting rights. where he's talked about meeting with congressional members and getting voting rights passed in the house where he's met with civil rights leaders. all of these things he's been doing for this past year. so, the question is now, for members of the senate, for members of congress. >> right. >> whether democrat, republican or independent, where do you stand, do you stand on the side of martin luther king? do you stand on the side of george wallace? do you sand on the side of john lewis? or do you stand on the side of bull connor? our democracy is in assault because of crisis we're seeing. so the president is going to do everything he can to work with senators -- democratic senators. and also leader schumer to get this done, to push this to the finish line. >> karine, let me ask you this, there's been criticism from civil rights groups that the president waited too long to talk. some civil rights groups didn't show. stacey abrams, the leading democrat governor candidate, it was a schedule conflict but what does it say in states like this, with republican-led legislatures across the country? >> well, stacey abrams, i'll take that first, she put out a tweet. and she supported and lifted up the president's trip yesterday. and also tweeted about it yesterday, again, after his speech, and the vice president's speech. and commended him for his strong support. and so, and also spoke yesterday morning, as the president spoke about that directly himself, saying that, you know, they had a continued conversation. a warm conversation about something that they really care about which is voting rights. look, when it comes to -- when it comes to what folks are saying out there, we hear them. that's why the president went to georgia. let's not forget what georgia represents. it is the home of civil rights icons. it is theof, you know, voting rights, you know, history in the past, of civil rights movement. if you think about what georgia represents. and so the president understands the power of the bully pulpit, so he used that opportunity, jonathan, to spur action. and that is what he is calling on congress to do, which he has been doing for almost a year now. >> so -- >> so now, you know, you think about the filibuster. go ahead, jonathan. >> no, your point is well twell, that he is using the bully pulpit now. certainly, groups are looking for him to do more on the horizon and, of course, the threats for voting rights looming across the country. before you go, something on the pandemic. we're seeing cases, coronavirus cases surge across the country, and there's been some preliminary discussion among lawmakers for perhaps another stimulus, including to help industries in need, like restaurants. would the white house support another covid relief package? >> well, i just want to say, jonathan, just going back for the voting rights just for a second, the president has been doing everything that he can from the moment that he walked into the white house to make sure that he puts that at the front burner. he's been working on voting rights as vice president, as a senator himself, and now as president. i just want to make that very clear. on the pandemic, look, we have been doing everything we can to make sure that we can't to save lives, which is why the president passed the american rescue plan. to make sure that we have the funding, we have all that we need to get -- you know, to keep schools open and keep businesses open. and so what we're doing right now is continuing to get those shots in arms. we're asking people to get the booster when it's your time to get that maximum protection. and we're going to continue, as it comes to funding, we're going to continue to monitor that. right now, we have the fundings that we need right now to get the job done, to continue to keep schools open and businesses open and to make sure that we're keeping -- that we're continuing to keep the american public as safe as we can and giving them that maximum protection. that's what we're going to continue to do. >> white house principal deputy press secretary, thank you so much. come back soon. up next, the potential for a political comeback for hillary clinton? coming up on "morning joe," what happens to democrats' outlook for the midterms if they can't pass legislation on voting rights. we'll hear from the head of the campaign arm, jaime harrison. plus, senate majority leader chuck schumer will join the conversation. "morning joe" is a few short minutes away. conversation "morning joe" is a few short "morning joe" is a few short minutes away in less than 5 minutes... ...so you can stay... one step ahead. clerk: hello, how can i? ...so you can stay... sore throat pain? ♪honey lemon♪ try vis vapocool drops. in honey lemon chill. for fast-acting sore throat relief. wooo vaporize sore throat pain with vicks vapocool drops. amazing. jerry, you gotta to see this. seen it. trust me, after 15 walks... gets a little old. ugh people with moderate to severe psoriasis, are rethinking the choices they make like the splash they create the entrance they make, the surprises they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. 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. as promised, earlier in the show we asked, why are you awake? tom writes this, i'm awake because today is my last trading day before i run a 5k on saturday and a half marathon on sunday. any tips? here's my piece of advice, take a day off or two. that seems like a bit much. let's move on. in a joint op-ed for the "wall street journal" entitled "hillary clinton's 2024 election comeback, a comeback," a former adviser, douglas and andrew write, a perfect storm in the democratic party is making a once in a lifetime experience for hillary clinton this 2024. she can offer a different approach from the disorganized and unpopular one the party is currently taking. if democrats lose control of congress in 2022, mrs. clinton can use the party's loss as a basis to run for president again, enabling her to claim the title of change candidate. let's bring in white house editor for "politico," sam stein, to get your reaction of hillary clinton, who has been in our lives for nearly 30 plus years, as a change candidate. feel free to ignore that. surrounding 2024 election theories, we know that trump is, at the moment, seen as the republican favorite. we might be looking at a rematch against president biden. is there any possibility that hillary clinton could jump in? maybe al gore. what do you got, sam? >> first of all, thank you for having me. secondly, we're a little worried about that guy, tom, who wrote in about running the 5k and the half marathon. i agree, that seems a little abundant. he should try to take a day off in between. secondly, i'm a little worried about doug schoen and andrew stein. i don't really understand their punditry here. there is no indication she has any desire to run or the democratic party has any desire to have her to run. didn't take much sleuther on my part, and i don't sleuth well to begin with, but doug schoen had written the same op-ed basically in 2011 when he said barack obama maybe should sit this one out and hillary clinton could be the next presidential candidate. i wouldn't take too much stock in this op-ed that he wrote. i think, look, in the end, the question is, is joe biden going to mount another election bid, and we're all waiting to see the final decision on his part, basically. >> yeah. if you could find it, not much sleuthing needed at all. all jokes aside, the president said repeatedly he plans to run for re-election if he were to remain in good health. people close to him say that's a certainty. a near certainty, if donald trump runs again. give us the latest state of play as to how they feel at the white house, as to how they're doing with concerns about covid, concerns about inflation, and what did you make of yesterday's voting rights speech? is that push going to lead to anything? >> yeah. you know, obviously the biggest question mark facing the white house is what can you get done legislatively in the next half year? there's two major components. one is build back better initiative. the other is voting rights initiative. as we sit here now, doesn't seem there is a path for either of them. both are being stymied in the form of joe manchin and, in the voting rights case, senators who are reluctant to do anything with senate rules reform to pass that type of bill. for the white house, that's a huge problem. now, can they run -- can the democratic party run in the midterms without those? yes. will it go well? no. you need to energize the base, produce for them, show them that they can -- that you can deliver, and when our colleague, laura brown lopez was talking to supporters in georgia yesterday, that was a big dynamic. they were disengaged, upset they'd gotten out in 2020 only to see their voting rights less protected today than then. with respect to build back better, if the premise of the election campaign is, look, we delivered on these tangible items, lower prescription drug costs, helping child care, things like that, and that doesn't actually happen, you have an iffy case to give to the public when you ask for their vote. >> "politico's" sam stein, i was worried when i saw your name on the guest list, but you proved me wrong. thanks for getting up "way too early" with us on this wednesday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. >> the federal government approved facebook for hundreds of new patents for augmented and virtual reality technology they've created. it is great for escaping this hellish actual reality, which they also created. according to a survey, 9% of americans said the biden administration is doing a great job handling the omicron coronavirus strain. i assume it's the same 9% who don't current