jansing in for stephanie ruhle. the war on ukraine enterss thursday 56, with the u.s. preparing to send ukraine even more lethal weapons, as russia launches a new campaign to capture the nations east. nbc hasn't learned that the white house will announce a new package later this week. it's expected this new package of security assistance will be similar in size to that 800 million dollar one announced last week. this morning, president biden held a video call with u.s. allies, to discuss next steps in their support for ukraine. earlier today, pentagon spokesman john kirby said this about u.s. aid to ukraine. >> we are doing the best we can, to focus on a, the kinds of capabilities we know they need, and they say they want, and are using. now the russians have prioritized the donbas area, that's a whole different level of fighting and type of fighting. >> today, russia did confirm the next phase of its war, the battle to control eastern ukraine, is underway. the pentagon says that russia has surged thousands of troops into that region, and a senior defense official says a ground operation says also begun. moscow continues to launch air strikes against the already besieged port city of mariupol, nbc's erin mclaughlin has the latest from ukraine. >> tonight, in what is left of the battered port city of mariupol, fear that in any hour this strategic city can finally fall completely under russian control. >> we are scared of the unknown, this woman says, this is what scares us the most. >> cut off by russian forces for weeks, people here say they like the basics to survive. how can we live without water, she says, it's horrible. >> the stunning devastation, a potentially ominous sign of what is to come, with russia seizing the city of alchemy in a, and intensify their assault on the eastern city of kharkiv. plus, multiple -- shaping operations, ukrainian officials insist they will win. alleging russian forces are too desperate and weekend to be effective. but tonight, in mariupol, ukrainians soldiers last stronghold appears to be the steel plant. late, tuesday russian state media claim that -- came out to the russian military, despite fears of a safe passage promised by the russians is a trap. >> our thanks to erin maclachlan for that report, tonight, the ukrainian commander in that mariupol steel plant, told the washington post that he refused to surrender to russia. he sent the post a video pleading for help with evacuations. -- let's begin in lviv, with nbc news ali illuzzi, can you tell us about mariupol, how dire the situation still is there. and ukrainian, forces still fighting and refusing to give into russian forces. >> good evening, chris, well, tonight, president zelenskyy in his nightly video address said the situation in mariupol remains very tough and unchanged. and by unchanged, he means that the russians have been pounding that city for 56 days, but still haven't been able to capture it. because, those azov fighters that are still hold up in that steel mill, refused to give up, they don't want the russians to take that pivotal city, but it's a cascading humanitarian disaster there, chris. as we heard from the previous reports, there are several hundred people hold up in the basement of that steel plant, because there's nothing left in that city. there is nowhere else for people to hide, and we're getting reports from the ukrainians today that the russians are using bunker busters, to hit that steel plant, to not only hit the fighters that are still trying to keep that city from falling into russian hands, but also to terrorize the civilian population there that live under the most appalling conditions for 56 days. the russians keep saying that it's only a matter of time before they take that city. but the ukrainians have defied the odds in this war over and over again. it's important to see what happens there in the coming days and weeks. >> thank you so much for that, ali arouzi with that. let's bring in experts, deputy national editor at the washington post, jason beers, leah decorated u.s. military veteran, with more than 26 experience in the army-navy. now, the executive director for the association of the navy. i will adult, or former u.s. ambassador to nato, now the president of the chicago council for global affairs. jason, can we start with what we just heard, both in that plea from inside mariupol, as well as the details that we just got from ally. there is a desperate humanitarian situation there, they're begging for help to get out. is there any way to evacuate them, anyway to negotiate some sort of extraction, as you see it? >> well, as i see it, the russians have sort of play that game before, and often used faints to draw people out in these evacuation corridors, where than they proceed to artillery fire, on the civilians evacuating. that is a psychological warfare attack, i don't look for russia to try to expedite any evacuation, but they are the sudden mind as well. mariupol has been under siege, as you said, for about 56 days. so even though russia may take the city, nominally, in the near term, this is a disaster for russia, to have been really paid the cost to take the city, it's going to turn mariupol into their form of the alamo. increasing the ukrainians will to fight, especially when you hear from the commander inside that steel plant saying, we are going to fight to the last man. near the port, near the borders of russia, close to resupply lines in crimea, take a look at that as a strategic blow for russia, not a victory. >> so ambassador evil adult oh, earlier today michael mcfaul talked about what it would mean if putin was able to capture mariupol. here is what he said. >> if he has that whole place, that has giant negative financial implications for ukraine, and for the global economy. >> explain to us those negative implications. >> well, i mean, mariupol is a port, and lots of very important materials that the ukrainian economy produces, among them wheat, about 17% of the global supply of wheat comes from ukraine. it's shipped out of mariupol. the good news is that odessa, another major port, remains, of course, open. at the same time, the russian navy is blockading any shipments of economic means, commodities, and everything else, exports out of ukraine. so the immediate impact, i think, is going to be relatively minor, in terms of the economy of ukraine. the longer term impact is, this is the major city that, once the russians capture, it allows a land bridge between russia and crimea to be controlled by the russians. that's really what this is all about. >> so let's talk about the immediate situation, ambassador, which is the fact that these folks are in there. we don't know exactly how many. we know it includes children, the elderly, we know it includes the family of the incredibly brave fighters have decided that they are going to stay and do everything they can to oppose russia. how do. you see this going? >> i don't see it going in a good way for any of these people the russians have had 12,000 troops more or less, pinned down for 56 days, to try to take the city. there are clearly not going to allow anybody to escape they've had plenty of opportunity to allow civilians free passage. they have every single time, they have shut those escape ways down. so i fear that what we are going to see is really fighting to the very end by the ukrainians. but as jason said, i think this is a strategic to feet. not a strategic victory for the russians. even if they control it, they spent a lot of energy, a lot of material, a lot of man power. that is not available for the fight anywhere else. and those who are dead, and the equipment that has been destroyed, won't be available for anything else, and that i think is what the ukrainians are trying to do. can these forces down so they can't do anything else. >> it does take away any efforts they have to make from their stated territorial mission, which is now the donbas. tell us a little bit more about what we know about this new package from the biden administration? >> chris, it's a significant development here in washington, with the biden administration committing what is expected to be, you know, in the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid, additionally, on top of what has already been committed from the u.s. in past weeks. that's to keep up with the expanding pace of the russian offensive into the east of ukraine. this is, as pentagon officials outlined to reporters today, a different kind of war, and a more intense kind of four in the east, than what we've seen already in this conflict. so, that is going to require a different kind of military assistance. we can look for the u.s. and for eller allied nations to be providing more advanced weaponry, perhaps even tanks, sort of the weaponry that would be required for the ukrainians to hold their cities and towns for a long period of time, over the long haul of this conflict, as opposed to the weaponry that is thought to be needed in the immediate first few weeks of the war. so, we are hearing from biden and other senior administration, a real emergency to step forward, to provide the kind of help the ukrainians are asking for, and to keep up with the pace of the intensifying conflict from the russians. >> give us your take, jason, on this shift, now. because obviously, there is this feeling in the beginning, russia was gonna go, in there is gonna be a blitz, they're gonna take everything and it's gonna be over. simple, we all know now that that hasn't happened that way at all. there is an analysis from a lot of western military experts say, this is going to be very methodical now. having said that, are any of the circumstances on the ground really changed. is it significantly different, the will of the ukrainian people, the morale problems within the russian military, and maybe most of all, the organizational problems that they have. how do you see this playing out? how does this look to you? as we see this moving forward to the donbas. >> well, chris, i think you mentioned some very important variables here. one, communications, the coordination and control of disparate elements inside the east, is still very challenging. general dvornikov got the mission kind of consolidate them. ideally, they would have great communications in the field, but so far we've seen that russians are not good at that. the logistic slowed ply lines have been hampered and beleaguered, they're not very mobile on a wet, muddy terrain. the concentration of armor in the east is going to provide for what the biden packages allowed for. the massing of artillery by ukrainians. those artillery pieces are challenging in themselves, they're sort of a double edged sword, it takes time to get them in place. they have to counter artillery batteries, which is a electronic warfare. they are vulnerable to air cable visibilities are the russians, so they're gonna need some intelligence from the u.s. or some ground based radar systems. just as importantly this is new for the ukrainians have been fighting a mobile guerrilla warfare style tactics so far. now, they are going to have set pieces in place. how do we defend the artillery pieces? how do we move them? how do we get them in proximity to the russian armor and russian artillery pieces? this is a much more difficult sort of strategy. but, the advantage still goes to ukraine, because they're defending on their home terrain, they can move those pieces a little bit quicker, and they still have guerrilla tactics like they can employ. those are the things like the switchblade drones, that will be used to go in and sort of strike these artillery pieces. things like the toes and the javelins and stingers. so, the advantage still lies with the ukraine. a point out, as you did, chris, the russians are having a terrible time in this war. they've had their senior military leaders on the ground decapitated, so general, after general, after general has been killed. this is not a good prospect for them, and ukraine has done a tremendous job, of resorting to will and creativity. >> and ambassador, jason mentioned something very critical, and there's this ongoing debate in washington circles on how much of it to provide to ukraine. is the u.s. doing enough in terms of providing intelligence? >> in part because it is intelligence we don't really know what they are providing. but by every indication, we are providing them with the kind of intelligence that you want in order to fight this fight. to identify targets to be able to help ukrainians know where the enemy is. know how to strike it. we are providing them with the military capability to do so, but also the intelligence capability. i think that is all being done on a realtime basis. on a consistent basis, 24/7. and i think it is one of the reasons why the ukrainians are doing as well as they have up to this point. yes, the equipment is important, yes of course the morale is a really important, because these are people who are defending their own territory. but the kind of intelligence we are giving them, allows them to pinpoint where the tanks are, where the offense is coming from and to react accordingly. and i think that is one of the reasons that we are seeing the success of today. and we hope that will continue in the days ahead. >> all of this of course, strategy, what's happening on the ground, amounting kind of weaponry that the united states is providing, all critically important. but you cannot remove the politics from this. so biden did meet with u.s. allies today to talk about the war. but he does it as the drumbeat of the midterm elections is getting louder. what is the white house weighing as this war shows no obvious signs of ending? >> i think chris, the most important political question for the biden white house is what is the effect on the domestic u.s. economy and specifically on inflation and gas prices. we have seen the white house try to react to what has been a spike in gas prices the last few weeks and months. and they are keenly focused on that inflation figure and creating an economic environment between now and the november midterm elections, where voters feel like things are sort of under control and that the inflation has subdued. and if it continues to rise, and we continue to see crisis go up, that could spell a lot of trouble for democrats because remember, democrats are in the majority. a slim majority in both houses of congress and so voters are going to naturally fault the party in power. >> philip rucker, jason barrett's b and evo doled are, thanks to all of you. a look at the allied response in ukraine as fighting intensifies in the east, why our next guest says we need to be prepared for a very long conflict. and later, the president hits the road to sell his infrastructure funding and address surging inflation. our friends david plouffe and jim miller are here on joe biden's midterm messaging. the 11th hour, just getting underway on a tuesday night. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? 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>> i think that is coordinated well-timed aid. but i also think chris, importantly, this is shifting into different types of needs for the ukrainian military. so when russia was trying to undertake this kind of blitzkrieg strategy where they would decapitate ukrainian government and take kyiv, there was a lot of defensive weaponry that we were pouring into ukraine. anti-tank missiles, anti aircraft missiles, small arms. the kinds of things that would allow them to fight off an invading army that is trying to move in and encircled territory like around kyiv. now that the action is shifting over towards eastern ukraine, where keep in mind, there has been a grinding conflict since 2014. you have had the frontlines shifting a little bit back and forth east and west between ukraine and russia. you have had major ground combat, thousands of casualties in that conflict. at this point, ukraine is matching russia on the ground. and they are going to want to be taking back territory if russia moves into a town. ukraine is going to want to take that back. what does that mean? it means that you are not just talking about defensive weaponry, you are talking about are we giving them artillery, are we giving them howitzers, are we giving them tanks, are we giving them helicopters. are we giving them the kinds of things that in a ground war, they can go on offense and reclaim territory that russia has occupied in eastern ukraine. that is a different kind of aid package. and it is also the kind of a package that is not just a one-off. this could be many months of intensive fighting on the ground. and a stop and start fashion. and so part of what we are doing is coordinating not just the types of assistance and heavy weaponry and offensive weaponry that might go into ukraine, i think the question is, how do you sustain that if this is a many months, even years long endeavor? >> years long, ben? >> keep in mind chris, this conflict in the donbas region of eastern ukraine began in 2014. the most intense fighting was in 2014 2015. you have had a stop and start nature to that conflict. you have had cease-fires negotiated. so it is possible that we are not talking about constant fighting, but there is not really a light at the end of the tunnel. like a diplomatic resolution to this conflict. so we have to recognize that while things may not be as intense as they have been in recent weeks, there is a possibility that this becomes a grinded out, protracted conflict. in which ukraine is going to need a significant amount of assistance. and the kinds of things that have felt like emergency measures. sanctions, military assistance and millions of ukrainian refugees who need safe haven. those kinds of policies, the white house is going to have to shift to how do we sustain those over a long period of time? so that they are not just emergency measures, they are just part of the landscape. >> let me ask you about sanctions because there has been conversations as recently as today apparently among the allies about additional sanctions. how many more options for example does the biden administration have? is what we have imposed so far having the intended effect? >> yes and no. it is having the impact of putting a dent in the russian economy. it is having impact in denying inputs to the russian of khanna me that they need. to keep their factories running, to keep their supply chains running. what we have not yet really done is strangled off the revenue sources for russia. because a lot of that is the hundreds of millions of dollars that russia is pocketing every day from the sale of oil and gas into europe. and so i think the big question becomes, at what point are you really trying to deny russia the revenue to sustain its war machine? we have taken a hit on that. we have definitely managed to set back the russian economy, but at the same time, you still have some business as usual in terms of money flowing into russia in exchange for the oil and gas that it is flowing into europe. the u.s. has cut off those experts, so in this case it is less about what we can do and more how far is europe willing to go in absorbing an economic impact on their own populations, in order to cut off the revenue to russia. i think it is also the case for the united states of going around the world and enforcing those sanctions. part of what happens over time, when you have a sanctions regime in place, is that the country finds ways around what you are doing. finds ways to shift trade in the united states and europe and make up for it elsewhere. that is another piece of this long term puzzle that the biden administration i'm sure is thinking about. >> you know ben, speaking of finding ways around it. one of the questions i get and i'm sure you get, is about, does putin ever feel anything? does he ever get held responsible for what he has done? and one example tonight is that two employees of the kharkiv zoo, they stayed behind to care for the animals and were shot dead by russian soldiers. their bodies were found barricaded in a room. more innocent slaughter. we have seen in bucha, seen in kramatorsk, all across ukraine. genocide, war crimes, whatever you want to designate. does anyone ever pay for what is happening? >> i think that the big question that this will raise is, in the long run, are the people going to pay for this who are guilty of these war crimes? clearly, in the short term, vladimir putin is going to be sitting in the kremlin. and he enjoys support inside of russia. but this is why in the long run, yes. the reason it is so important to document these war crimes and send a message from putin on down to the people carrying out these orders. down to the people committing those war crimes, that those people will be pursued for the rest of their lives. if they leave russia, they will fall into the arms of international justice. it has to be a message that we will never relent in bringing those people to justice. what is at stake here, is whether or not in the 21st century, that kind of behavior is rewarded or that kind of behavior is punished. that is why in the long run, ukraine has to prevail in this conflict and maintain their sovereignty. and that is why the people who have carried out these kinds of war crimes have to know, that the world is not going to rest, so long as they are alive and so long as there is a possibility of bringing them to justice. >> ben rhodes, appreciate you coming on the program tonight, thank you. coming up, president biden is on the road, selling the real world benefits of his bipartisan infrastructure law. we will ask our political experts if it is enough to overshadow recent setbacks for his party. when the 11th hour continues. tough stuff i'm dan o'dowd and i approved this message. you are watching actual videos of the tesla full self driving technology as recorded by the drivers. from turning too tightly and hitting a pylon... [ expletive ] to swerving toward a pole. jesus. watch the bicyclist on the right almost get hit before the driver takes over. sometimes it seems the tesla doesn't want the driver to take over. i'm trying. this driver had to hit the brakes when the tesla didn't understand a detour sign. ok. here it almost hit a truck. obviously, i had to take over. and here it swerves into an oncoming lane. look at that! often, the tesla doesn't know what it wants to do. what is it doing? or just doesn't know how to turn. jesus, oh my god! tesla's full self driving software for drivers and pedestrians, it's unsafe at any speed. in new hampshire are in poor tell congress to shut it down. condition. that's a 776 dollar hidden tax on new hampshire drivers. look, thanks to the infrastructure law, we're making the most significant investment in our roads and bridges. >> president biden talking up the new hampshire infrastructure perks, in today 's top in the granite state, to sell voters on his administration's legislative victories, but as james pindle of the boston globe points out, while he may be there to talk about infrastructure, not campaign politics, it will serve as a planning at the flag, and warning to any potential challengers. the president is at least looking at reelection. david, plug former campaign manager, an adviser to the president. and stephen miller, communications director for jeb bush. david, you've got this ongoing message in your party, biden doing the, look, we've done a lot thing, driving home to folks where you stun, why it matters. some other members of the party want a larger legislative agenda, including canceling student low dent. if there's any hope of keeping the house and senate, two democrats, a, want to get on the same page. and is joe biden going around the country, i think he's got two more stops this week, make a difference? >> i think it does. presidents still tend to get local news coverage on the issues they're talking about, so when we are in the white house, i was found those trips to be incredibly valuable. i think there is debate elizabeth warren had an op-ed my view on this is i hope the democrats retain our majority. but there is a decent chance they may lose one or both chant houses. so you want to do everything you can to help people, while there's a majority. -- i think the big thing, chris -- >> don't you have to get it done david? you can't just pursue things that you know have no chance of passing, do you think that's wasted energy? >> i would definitely tilt at windmills, so if there's a few things -- 18 votes in the house, and biden's signature, you do that. i wouldn't waste any energy, because if you're wasting time on, that you're not doing two things, you're not selling things like the infrastructure plan, and democrats aren't creating the contrast of republicans. which to me, is the most important thing, because the political environment can improve, but is still not gonna be great in november. you have to turn this to a choice. -- you should not waste time on things that aren't going anywhere. you've got three things to do, get done what you can get done remaining. so what you've already done. and i think the most important thing is a searing contrast between the democrats and republicans, about where they take the country. >> well, if you want to contrast, all you have to look at is ted cruz, who sent twitter into a tizzy defending ron desantis, florida's governor who, of course, when after disney for their pushback to his don't say gay bill. somehow, for ted cruz, it became about mickey and pluto having sex. here it is. >> there are people who are misguided, trying to drive disney stepping in saying that in every episode now, they're gonna have mickey included going at it. like really? >> thank you for that image, senator. >> it's just like come on, guys. these are kids, and you know, you could always shifts in a max if you want that. >> so tim, look, you know there are republicans for whom this causes thanks, who are crazy about these culture wars. but big picture, is it effective? >> i don't know why you made me watch that, chris, just having to hear what he said about mickey was enough, i didn't have to see it as well. look, ted cruz was kind of a weird guy, i don't think he's the best at executing this message. i think that there is potential for republican overstep here. i think the governor of colorado jerry police when cruz and descendants today -- which is basically saying that this is authoritarian and sir socialist and kind of creepy. going after these big companies over cultural issues, and making include our welcome and colorado essentially's message. i think that's right for the suburban biden voter the romney biden voter that the democrats are struggling with right now. the polls are showing that that's a good message with them. look, i think in the short term the republicans keep making these court cultural fights because they're winning them. they feel like they're on offense in these situations. i think the democrats are on their back foot. and i think the democrats need to punch back and use these most extreme examples, like this ridiculousness of the type of thing that ted cruz is doing. some of the worst examples that we are seeing in red states where they really are trying to make teachers go back into the closet. bringing don't ask don't tell back for teachers. there's a lot of unpopular republican culture or things that are going on right now. i think democrats needed stuff, is to wedge against republicans going to the midterms. >> like many math books, david, are the democrats doing enough? >> not yet, because i do think, listen, the economy is the big thing. two thirds of the country living paycheck to paycheck, with inflation outpacing wages. the macroeconomic stats aren't going to matter to these people. that's the most important thing. that being said, tim is right, banning books, now teaching history. going after these companies. a lot of this is, the republican primary for president has begun. even if trump runs, they're all auditioning. you've got to make them pay the price for a thing that may work with republican primary voters in 2024. that's very unpopular with swing voters, you have to get on offense and say they're gonna bring more of this, they're gonna get on a national stage banning books, going after gain lesbian peters, not teaching history. basically, afraid of everything. it's a compelling message. i think he was strong today, i grit him on. that i think you have to take the fight to places you know you have an advantage. in all the issues we just talked about, the republicans who are pushing them, are down 20 or 30 points. there's a big delta with the general electorate. so yes, i think that south successful democratic candidates will make their republican opponents sweat on these things. and in swing districts, and swing states, those are not going to be popular issues, we should not confuse things that makes tucker carlson super giddy at night, and gets republican primary voters supercharged, we the general electorate. they are two very different cohorts. >> tim, i'm out of time, but i do want to ask you if you think that some of these more extreme republican candidates, who may well get through the primaries, are they the best possible hope for democrats? >> yeah, absolutely. i think right now, the democrats need extreme candidates, that democrats can define themselves as extreme, herschel walker in georgia are one example, in order to win this midterm, for sure. >> tim, david, good to see both of you as always, thank you so much. coming up, a closer look at how one young trumpet to point a judge can set off mask-wearing chaos all across the country, when the 11th hour continues. i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information. >> i think that is -- >> eye on the other hand i'm super happy that the mask mandate is dropped. >> i think that you are in a confined space and the variant is really strong, so i'm going to be wearing a mask. >> just an example of the national celebration and concern that followed the trump appointed federal judges decision to rollback the mask mandate on public transportation. tonight, the justice department said that it is waiting for the cdc to weigh in. in a statement, doj wrote quote, if the cdc concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the public's health, the department of justice will appeal the district court decision. that means for now, a federal mask mandate is not in effect. back with us, barbara mcquade, veteran federal prosecutor and former u.s. attorney for the district of michigan. worked with the doj for the biden transition and is a professor at the university of michigan law school. hey barbara, so the doj believes that the mask mandate is a valid exercise of authority that congress has given the agency to protect public health. so why not just appeal the ruling? why even wait, when we all know that it is causing confusion? >> this is one of the things that the justice department does. it assesses litigation risks. even if it believes the correct result, that the cdc does have this authority, they have to gauge their likelihood of success. this case was decided out of florida, the appeals court there is the 11th circuit. that is one that is populated by a number of trump appointees and other conservative appointees. and so the worry i think is, if you get an adverse ruling here, you have ensconced this ruling in president. it could even go to the supreme court. which has recently held that osha was unable to mandate even vaccines or testing as you recall. the political climate is not great for pushing this at the moment. if the mandate is to lapsing anyway, it may be last to let this one live for now, so that the cdc preserves its legal ability to act in the event of a another health crisis that may emerge in the future. >> let's say cases do go up in the doj decides to appeal, how long could that process take and with the administration's hands be tied if they wanted to impose a mandate until it is all settled in court? >> i think that in light of this court ruling right now, we have to get a judge to grant relief. they could do that if they decided to appeal and were able to get an injunction lifted. on appeal, so that in the interim, it could exist. but i think that if this judges order is allowed to stick, the authority to enter any kind of mask mandate, even if the numbers went up astronomically, it is about the authority of the cdc, not the merits of the decision. >> i want to read to you with the washington post roe in regard to the judge who issued this ruling, quote, trump's judges have embodied his perspective on the american system of government, which is that there is nothing inherently worthwhile about any of it. there are no principles worth adhering to, know systems that should command respect, and no rules worth obeying if you don't like the outcome those rules produce. do you share that concern? >> i don't know that i want to lump all of them together. i'm aware of some judges who i believe to be very fine judges. i do think that in this instance, it does seem that the judge expressed hostility towards the authority of the cdc and other administrative agencies. there has been some push by some conservative judges against what is sometimes referred to as the administrative state. sometimes referred to as the deep state. people who have expertise and career jobs in government, who decide things like workplace safety and passenger travel safety. and so instead, this is more of the deregulation of every man for themselves kind of worldview. and so that is why elections have consequences. president trump is permitted to appoint judges that share his worldview. and that is the kind of judge that he chose to put in place and that is why it is so important to remember the range of government is a very powerful one. >> let me switch topics are quick second, a different federal judges cleared the way for a lawsuit that wants to disqualify congresswoman marjorie taylor greene for reelection because of her alleged role in the january 6th attack. any chance that you see this suit will succeed with the issues here? >> yeah, so this is really interesting chris. i think it is great that it is going to proceed in court so we can get some clarity on this. this is the issue of the 14th amendment. that she participated in an insurrection and cannot run for public office. it was passed, the 14 amendment was enacted after the civil war. the idea was that people who fought for the confederacy should not be able to run for congress. and so there is an allegation against marjorie taylor greene, filed with the secretary state of georgia to keep her off the ball there for her role in the january 6th insurrection. so first there has to be proof that she did indeed participate in that insurrection, but to, how do you enforce this provision of the amendment. it's in their, but because it has not been tested, there is really no clarity on how that process would actually play out. i think it could be a useful lawsuit for that purpose. for the moment, the legal proceeding is allowed to go forward. we will see whether the plaintiffs are able to make their case. >> it is so interesting almost qualifies as proof. does she have to be convicted of something? barbara mcquade, thank you so much as always. coming up, yet a another example of the sheer power of music and resilience in the face of on unthinkable horrors. when the 11th hour continues. when you need help it's great to be in sync with customer service. a team of reps who can anticipate the next step genesys technology is changing the way customer service teams anticipate what customers need. because happy customers are music to our ears. genesys, we're behind every customer smile. >> the last thing before we go tonight, a song for ukraine. for nearly nine weeks we have witnessed the unity and determination of the people of ukraine. and sometimes, those emotions emerge movingly and memorably in song. the latest, a new video of a ukrainian refugee singing with lithuanian's in support of ukraine. according to the u2 post, e. l. i. s. a. is a 21-year-old ukrainian singer. she had to flee her home country when russia invaded ukraine in 2014. and has been living and studying in lithuania since 2015. when russia relaunched the latest war on february 24th, her family's home was destroyed by russian occupants for the second time in their lives. according to the post, elides's mom and brother stayed behind in ukraine to fight. so she found in another way to fight back. she put out a call, asking people to join her in singing a popular ukrainian folksong, in hopes of drawing attention to the invasion into the struggles of the ukrainian people. here is the beautiful result of her efforts. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> allies are friends take us off the air tonight. and on that note, i wish you a good night from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thank you for staying up late see you at the end of tomorrow. end of tomorrow. tonight on all in, a federal judge appointed by twice impeached president deemed unqualified by the bar association overrules the center for disease control. so what happens now that the mask mandate for public transit is lifted? then as putin's war enters a new phase and the u.s. since more heavy weapons former ambassador marie yavanovich on how we got here. >> i really hope that you and president putin get together and can solve your problem. that would be a tremendous achievement. >> plus, bombshell text messages from the criminal conspiracy trial of an oath keeper. why are they so concerned about protecting donald trump's favorite doctor turned member of congress?