the power and the purpose of american diplomacy. any second now we could hear from secretary of defense lloyd austin in germany. he's been hosting a meeting of nato defense officials. he wants russia weakened, his overarching message, ukraine can win with the right support. >> nations of good will from around the world stand united in our resolve to support ukraine in its fight against russia's imperial aggression. we're going to keep moving heaven and earth -- >> heaven and earth. hanging over all of this russia's foreign minister warns the threat of nuclear war, quote, should not be underestimated. also developing, democratic senator joe manchin of west virginia who chairs the senate energy committee just organized a climate meeting with progressives and moderates. ahead i'll talk to actor and environmental advocate mark ruffalo who is part of a new campaign pushing the biden administration on clean energy. also this hour, the trump administration's remain in mexico policy is at the center of arguments before the u.s. supreme court. and more text messages involving former trump white house chief of staff mark meadows in the aftermath of the 2020 election. let us start with the war in ukraine. joining me is nbc's raf sanchez in lviv, hannah hop co-chair of the democracy in action conference. she's a former member of ukraine's parliament and chaired the foreign affairs committee from 2014 to 2019 and rick stengel, former undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs during the obama administration. he is now an msnbc political analyst. raff, i do want to begin with you, the u.n. secretary-general says he hopes to explore a cease-fire with russia. he thinks one eventually can happen, or at least he hopes it can. i wonder on the ground there, what are people saying about their belief in vladimir putin's desire to negotiate? >> reporter: katy, we're not hearing a lot of optimism about the u.n. sec general's trip to moscow. he's appealed to vladimir putin several times at distance for a cease-fire, ignored every time. he's going to try again today, face-to-face inside the kremlin. we'll see if he has anymore luck. i'll tell you expectations are not high here. the working assumptions among ukrainians both in government and people on the street is that vladimir putin has absolutely no desire to negotiate with any seriousness. we are hearing some frustration here in ukraine that the secretary-general of the united nations decided to go to moscow first and then head to kyiv tomorrow to meet with president zelenskyy. a lot of ukrainians say this trip should have gone the other way around, the secretary-general should have walked the streets of bucha. he should have seen the devastation in borodyanka and then he should have gone to the russian president to explain why a cease-fire is so badly needed. a lot of people saying it really should have gone the other way. katy, as you said, secretary of defense lloyd austin is convening a meeting of 40 allied nations talking about the flow of weapons to ukraine forces as they fight the russians along that enormous eastern front in the done barks some 300 miles of fighting going on. the secretary of defense seems to have returned from his weekend visit to kyiv inspired by what he saw. he saw the allied leaders they need to move heaven and earth to get the ukrainians the weapons they need. germany today is pledging new antiaircraft systems to the ukrainians. that's a big move. katy, we've talked in the past about how germany, with its post-war passivist constitution has been reluctant to supply weapons to anybody. they are really stepping up now, supplying the ukrainians. the russians have been furious all through this two-month war at this supply of weapons going to ukraine. the russian foreign minister now accusing nato of effectively -- >> raf, i apologize for interrupting you. secretary of defense lloyd austin is being introduced by john kirby at ramstein air base in germany. let's listen. >> we've got a bit of a tight timeline this afternoon. with that, mr. secretary. >> thanks, john. good afternoon everybody. -- >> it seems everybody is having issues with this feed right now. we're looking for other sources. we do want to hear the remarks from secretary of defense lloyd austin at ramstein air force base in germany. he's talking about what is being sent to ukraine from western countries. you just heard raf sanchez talking about germany sending heavy weaponry to ukraine which is a big move for germany in the years post world war ii after everything germany did. they had taken more of a passivist position, not wanting to get involved in warsz, especially on the european continent. here they are under pressure from the west doing more. it comes as secretary austin is saying he's going to move heaven and earth. we heard the cia director in the recent past say he's worried about nuclear arms. the rhetoric is ramping up. let us listen. we found a better source for this. >> -- so that's important progress. we're seeing more every day. i applaud all the countries that have risen and are rising to meet this demand. we don't have any time to waste. the briefings today lay out clearly why the coming weeks will be so crucial for ukraine. we've got to move at the speed of war. i know that all the leaders leave today with more resolve than ever to support ukraine in its fight against russian aggression and atrocities. i know that we're all determined to do even more to better coordinate our efforts. so i was especially glad to hear general walters encourage us all to make more determined use of ucom's coordination mechanism. now, to ensure that we continue to build on our progress, we're going to extend this forum beyond today. i'm proud to announce that today's gathering will become a monthly contact group on ukraine's self-defense. the contact group will be a vehicle for nations of good will to intensify our efforts, coordinate our assistance and focus on winning today's fight and the struggles to come. the monthly meetings may be in person, virtual or mixed. they'll extend the transparency, integration and dialogue that we saw today. let me underscore another key point. we held an important session today on the long-term support for ukraine's defenses, including what that will take from our defense industrial base s. that means dealing with the tremendous demand we're facing for munitions and weapons platforms. in giving our staunch support to ukraine while also meeting our own requirements, and those of our allies and partners, but it also means redoubling our common efforts to strengthen ukraine's military for the long haul. i look forward to our discussions in the contact group and elsewhere about how to get that done right. let me thank all the countries that came together today. they've done crucial work and send a powerful signal. we're going to continue to build on the process to help ukraine defend itself. it will continue working transparently and urgently with our allies and partners. we'll continue pushing to support and strengthen the ukraine military for the battles ahead. so we leave tonight strengthened. so does ukraine. thank you and i'll be glad to take your questions. >> our first question is from sylvia. >> thank you. mr. secretary, actually i have a double question for you. moldova is stepping up its security measures after a series of explosions. do you think there is a risk of spillover of the conflict to moldova? my second question is, after this big meeting about arming ukraine, are you concerned that they will become restless and threaten again to use a nuclear weapon? >> on the issue of spillover to moldova because of what we've seen here, the recent violence, we're still looking at the cause of that, still doing analysis there. not really sure what that's all about. certainly we don't want to see any spillover, and again it's important to make sure that we do everything we can to ensure that ukraine is successful, and that's the best way to address that. your second part of the question was? >> -- >> you heard us say a number of times that that kind of rhetoric is very dangerous and unhelpful. nobody wants to see a nuclear war happen. it's a war where all sides lose. so rattling of sabres and dangerous rhetoric is clearly unhelpful and something that we won't engage in. >> next question goes to suzanne from zdf. >> mr. secretary, what military aid do you now expect from the german government, and do you think the delivery of jepford tanks is sufficient? >> you mean cheetahs? >> yes. >> let me just say, and i think you probably heard me say this before as i visited germany, i consider germany to be a great friend and an ally. i served in germany as an officer and worked with german forces, and it's always been a real pleasure to work alongside our german partners here. now, i think it's significant that germany announced it was going to provide 50 cheetah systems. i think those systems will provide real capability for ukraine. in terms of what else germany will do going forward, that's a sovereign decision, the one that german leadership will make. i don't want to speculate on that. i just believe that based upon everything that i've seen in my interaction with the minister of defense and how intently she's been focused on making sure she can do everything that she can to help and work alongside her partners and allies, that she'll continue to look for ways to be relevant and provide good capability to the ukrainians as they continue to prosecute this fight. >> next question to john ismay, "new york times." >> mr. secretary, yesterday you mentioned that one of the united states' goals in ukraine now ruz to see russia weakened. can you explain more fully what that means and specifically what do you want to weaken and how you would measure success in that regard. >> john, i think we've been pretty clear from the announcement, we do want to make it harder for russia to threaten its neighbors and leave them less able to do that. if you look at what's transpired here in the 62 days or so that ukraine and russia have been involved in this struggle here, russia has -- in terms of its land forces, the land forces have been hit in a very significant way. casualties are pretty substantial. they've lost a lot of equipment. they've used a lot of precision-guided munitions. they've lost a major surface combatant, so they are, in fact, in terms of military capability weaker than when this started. john, it will be harder for them to replace some of this capability as they go forward because of the sanctions and the trade restrictions that have been placed on them. and so we would like to make sure, again, that they don't have the same type of capability to bully their neighbors that we saw at the outset of this conflict. >> next question goes to ute spangenberger from ard. >> how can we go into a safe and secure ukraine in the future? is it possible that ukraine becomes a member of nato? >> again, that will be a sovereign decision. i think nato will always stand by its principles of maintaining an open door. i don't want to speculate on what could come. i do believe that in the future, if the possibility exists, i think ukraine will seek to once again apply to become a member of nato. but again, that's probably a bit down the road, and speculation at this point is not very helpful. i think the first step is to end this conflict, and i think what needs to happen to cause the conflict to come to an end is mr. putin makes a decision to end this conflict. he's the person that started it. it was unjustified and, of course, it will be his decision to deescalate and then go back to the negotiating table. we really all would like to see that happen. >> the last question today, mindful of our time, goes to uva driesen, tv2 in denmark. >> mr. secretary, the russian foreign minister has warned there's a danger of a third world war and a real danger of nuclear weapons being used in the present situation. are you not afraid that the conflict will somehow spin out of control and we'll have this nuclear confrontation? >> well, we certainly will do everything within our power, and ukraine will have the same approach, do everything within their power, to make sure it doesn't spin out of control. the international community is focused on that as well. again, i think this -- any bluster about the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons is dangerous and unhelpful. nobody wants to see a nuclear war. nobody can win that. as we do things and as we take actions, we're always mindful of making sure we have the right balance and we're taking the right approach. so there's always a possibility that a number of things can happen. but, again, i think it's unhelpful and dangerous to rattle sabres and speculate about the use of nuclear weapons. thanks. >> thank you all. that's all the time we have for today's press conference. we appreciate you all coming. thank you. secretary of defense lloyd austin at ramstein air force base in germany taking questions, asked a couple times about the comments from russia today, warning about nuclear weapons and engaging with it on the second question more so than the first, but saying i'm not going to engage with it because it's not useful and nobody wins a nuclear war. he was there to announce that the west is sending more to ukraine, and they will keep sending more to ukraine, coordinating on that, to make sure they both can do that and also provide for their own defense. each country's own defense. germany again sending 50 cheetah antiaircraft systems. we've been talking about how this is a big move for germany, which had been in a passivist position up until what was happening in ukraine. also getting eight armored vehicles from canada. the defense secretary talking about how ukraine is going to need a lot more, especially in the coming few months, a lot more munitions. they're using a lot of bullets, frankly, every single day. and one important thing: he said this is all about gathering every month so that ukraine has enough of what it needs for its own self-defense, again, reiterating there that the west is not going to get involved other than sending weapons and trying to weaken russia with sanctions. hannah, i want to get your reaction to the defense secretary. >> i'm very thankful to the u.s. leadership. i think it's really important to have this united front against the evil empire, the totalitarian regime. the more weapons we receive, the faster we could see ukrainian victory. a ukrainian victory creates a safer world and also a way to protect democracy, the way to help moldova, to help them to restore -- i think for the u.s., it's very important to see ukraine winning the war because geopolitical, it creates better conditions to stop authoritarianism. it's essential to stop putin regime and other authoritarian regimes who commit war crimes and genocide. >> rick, a lot of the sanctions the west levied against russia have been directed towards the defense sector. lloyd austin saying russia might have what it needs at the moment, but it can't replenish what it needs because of what we are stopping from being shipped into russia, all the various little parts that go into the technology or these weapons. when do you expect those sorts of sanctions to really start showing on the battlefield? >> well, they're showing already. not only sanctions but import/export controls which prevent russia from importing the kinds of technologies and microchips that modern weapons use. sanctions are kind of a noose, and they just get tighter and tighter. they don't work right away. but i do want to, katy, mention the most important thing that happened with secretary austin. it was something he said the other day, then "the new york times" reporter questioned him about it. there's been a real extension in the biden policy regarding russia where secretary austin said we want to degrade the russian military to the point that they cannot do something like this again. that's going much further in terms of policy than the u.s. has gone before. more confrontational with russia. not that secretary austin dialed it back. he didn't really engage with it. he said the quiet thing out loud. that's the subtext that's going on with sanctions, with the west with ukraine, to degrade russia's military, to prevent them from doing things like this in the future. >> you jumped the gun. that was going to be my second question. i'm wondering, with secretary austin saying that, degraing them for the future, with the cia director a couple weeks ago talking about the nuclear threats, with germany sending heavy weaponry, i wonder if there's talk behind the scenes among western nations, if they have seen intelligence that makes them feel more confident about vladimir putin's ability or desire to move this war beyond the bounds of ukraine. >> well, katy, from secretary blinken, secretary austin in the last few days, we've had a little more optimism about ukraine's chances. again, i agree with hanna, that a ukrainian victory is something that's important to the west, that's important to the future of drats democracy and countries remaining sovereign and making their own choices. i do thinksubtext, and i hope i'm not leaping to your next question, is the u.s. wants to kind of create round rules, a foundation for what they hope will be event negotiations between ukraine and russia. by making the war as painful for russia as possible, by at attriting russian forces, we hope it will make putin more willing to compromise. that is in many ways the end game. wars always begin with some negotiation. what we want is a negotiation with ukraine in a position of strength. >> all right. let's also talk, hanna about what the ukrainian morn minister said about russia's actions on the battlefield this morning. i'll play the sound bite from "morning joe." >> unfortunately russian people share responsibility for this war, for all the massacres, for crimes, rapes, tortures, looting. i'm sorry to say this, but russia will have to undergo the process of deputinization at some point. it's not only the russian leadership to blame. the russian people have to wake up and atone their sins. >> hanna, what do you make of that? >> besides deputinization, it should also be destalinization. let's remind that genocide was organized last century by totalitarian leader stalin. now putin is continuing this genocide-style practice against ukrainian nation because the ideological regime of putin's regime is to destroy ukrainian nation, not just to return control over ukraine. i think every inch of ukrainian territory -- this is the real way how ukrainian victory should be celebrated. so we have to restore territorial integrity of the whole ukrainian, including donbas and crimea and recognize ukraine. this is our goal. this is the only way to see victory comes for us. for nine years of russia deploying military aggression, we do not trust in any security guarantees or appeasement or type of diplomacy. so this is the only way, every inch of ukrainian territory without russian troops, plus compensation and international -- not just for putin, but also for his regime and his ministries, generals and soldiers. >> hanna hopko and rick stengel, thank you very much. right now the supreme court is hearing arguments about the biden administration's push to end the controversial trump-era policy that makes migrants wait in mexico while they seek asylum here in the united states. we'll get an update on what is happening in court. also, i'm going to talk to actor and climate activist mark ruffalo about his new clean energy campaign. what action he wants the white house to take ahead. you see, son, with a little elbow grease, you can do just about anything. thanks, dad. that's right, robert. and it's never too early to learn you could save with america's number one motorcycle insurer. that's right, jamie. but it's not just about savings. it's about the friends we make along the way. you said it, flo. and don't forget to floss before you brush. your gums will thank you. -that's right, dr. gary. -jamie? sorry, i had another thought so i got back in line. what was it? [ sighs ] i can't remember. when it comes to tech, what was it? everyone wants the next best thing. now with xfi complete from xfinity, you can get updated wifi technology with the new tech upgrade program. plus, protection from cyber threats at home and now on the go. so staying up to date is easier than ever. you look great by the way. right? unbeatable internet. made to do anything so you can do anything. only xfinity will upgrade your tech after 3 years for a more reliable connection. get that and more with xfi complete. upgrade today. trump administration's so-called remain in mexico policy is now before the supreme court. right now the justices are hearing arguments over whether the biden administration can officially terminate the controversial program. it's formerly known as the migrant protection protocols, mpp, and requires people seeking asylum at the southern border to wait in mexico while their claims are evaluated. president biden pushed to end the policy but border officials in texas and mississippi sued. a federal judge in texas ruled in the state's favor. joining me now is alan orr, president of the american immigration lawyers association. it's great to have you. what actions are you taking next? >> thank you for having me. right now we're waiting for the supreme court to reach the right decision that it's clear that the biden administration has the right in the foreign policy arena to end this remain in mexico policy which we actually call the persecution in mexico policy. it deals with international law. this is a little different than some of the issues before the supreme court and immigration cases. it requires mexico to take a certain action and involves foreign relationships. therefore, we're hopeful the supreme court will reach the right decision that biden will have the authority to end this policy. >> tell me about the conditions for those waiting at the southern border. >> it's very poor conditions, lack of housing, tent city, cold weather, rape. women are abused. multi foreign languages are spoken at that place. it puts all those individuals in danger. it's not what we as the united states represent when we say we welcome refugees to this country. it also doesn't mean what congresses hag already passed, open asylum laws. when we think about crossing the southern borders, all the other borders are open. why can't we help process these individuals at the southern border? it's a choice. >> the state is arguing that the policy has drastically reduced the number of migrants coming over the border. others argue, hey, they're just coming over in different ways, coming over illegal, not crossing at a checkpoint. if this policy does stay in place, what will be needed at the border to keep people safe while they wait? >> i think a lot of things will be needed. most importantly to have access to lawyers. this policy can't remain in place. the problem we have today is congress isn't doing their job and causing the other branches to fight this problem out. this cannot continue. it didn't work before with the trump administration. it isn't a deterrent. none of these policies are a deterrent at all. they're xenophobic policies. two policies, remain in mexico and title 42, both have to go away for asylum to work for people coming from central america and the rest of the world. just last month they were able to process 10,000 ukrainians in the united states. it's not a matter of processing. it's a matter of will. >> allen orr, thank you for joining us. we'll watch to see how the supreme court decides this case. we have new details about text messages some of former president trump's allies sent on january 6th. what we've learned from those messages and what the january 6th committee will do with them next. ggs in so many delicious ways. eggland's best. the farm-fresh taste you love. plus, superior nutrition. only eggland's best. ♪♪ does daily stress leave you feeling out of sync? new dove men stress-relief body wash... with a plant-based adaptogen, helps alleviate stress on skin. so you can get back in sync. new dove men. a restorative shower for body and mind. (vo) verizon is going ultra! and now, you can too with the offer you just can't miss. for a limited time, get a 5g phone on us! (mom) delightful. (vo) with no trade-in required. (dad) i love it. (vo) what's not to love! verizon is going ultra, so you can get more. this is... ♪♪ this is iowa. we just haven't been properly introduced. say hello to the place where rolling hills meets low bills. where our fields, inside and out, are always growing. and where the fun is just getting started. this is iowa. so, when are you coming to see us? ♪♪ a massive trove of text messages shed new light on just how far the trump white house and its allies went to try and overturn the 2020 election. the messages were or tand and first reported by cnn and nbc news has not independently verified the more than 2,300 messages. that's a lot. one getting a lot of attention sent by georgia congresswoman marjorie taylor greene just days before president biden's inauguration. it says, quote, in our private chat with only members, several are saying the only way to save our republic is for trump to call for martial law. she spelled it that way, marshall law. we reached out for comment. i want to bring in kimberly atkins storer, senior columnist at the emancipator, a new publication on racial justice that just launched this week. so the other day during her court testimony, marjorie taylor greene said she couldn't remember anything about these text messages. she didn't recall advocating for martial law, but then we saw this message where she very clearly states he should declare martial law. >> yeah. each bit of this is just painting a clearer picture of what we already seem to know which is the deep understanding and the planning that involved members of congress leading up to january 6th just like that particular message there. one thing that's unclear how problematic this can be for her. if you take the stand and say you don't remember something that you do, that technically is perjury, but it's also very difficult to prove. i'm not sure that any sort of charge that cannot be made to stick against a member of congress would be brought. it certainly paints her to be seemingly untruthful when she took the stand in a public hearing, and it's something that the january 6th committee is certainly taking into account, too, as they prepare to present their public case to the american people in the weeks ahead. >> the case about marjorie taylor greene running for re-election. if she can't remember something, it's not contingent over whether she remembers doing it, it's contingent over whether she actually did it. a court would rule that disqualifies her. these text messages, remember them or not, they're painting a picture themselves. >> they are. they are certainly painting a picture about her involvement on this day. the problem with this procedure to try to remove her from the ballot is that it's complicated and untested. it involves both local rules and using the constitution, a provision designed to keep confederates from running for office after the civil war together. i don't have a lot of faith that local officials in georgia are going to want to break new ground and try to knock her off of the ballot. i don't think it's going to happen here. it's certainly important to the voters of georgia. i think it would be. it's definitely important to the january 6th committee. >> staying on the subject of georgia, mark meadows texted georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger in november and december asking him to get on a call with the white house. this was right before donald trump got on a call with brad raffensperger and asked him to find the exact number of votes he needed to win that state. >> yeah, again, just painting an even clearer picture of members of congress. we talked about what we don't know. at this point leading into the end of the committee's investigation, the final parts of it, we're painting a very clear picture that members of congress had knowledge, were aware and were participating in efforts not just to spread disinformation about election fraud, but to actively try to find ways to keep the election results from being certified. that is hugely problematic. it's against democracy. it's up to this committee to make that case to the american people. it's also up to merrick garland to decide if laws were broken here. the doj is simultaneously conducting their own investigation. we have a lot less sunlight into that, but all this evidence is weighing in. >> one other question: with all these text messages coming out, the number of lawmakers and aides imploring mark meadows to get to donald trump to say to him please call off the people at the capitol who are rioting and the insurrectionists, he's the only one that can do it. after that all the text messages on how to overturn the election. how might that affect the january 6th committee's motivation or conclusion to refer donald trump for criminal prosecution? >> i think it could be a big motivator if they think that is clearly the right way to go. it's important to note again, the doj doesn't need a referral from congress. but i think this committee speaking in a june need voice calling for that is something that merrick garland would have to take very seriously as they move forward to determine what charges are brought and against whom and that includes the former president. >> kimberly atkins, always good to see you. thank you very much. gas prices are soaring. scientists are saying we're now at a moment of now or never to limit global warming. what more can the white house do to tackle it? i'm going to talk to actor and activist mark ruffalo about his new campaign for the biden administration to take action on clean energy. that's next. n on clean energy that's next. you know liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need? oh, like how i customized this scarf? wow, first time? check out this backpack i made for marco. oh yeah? well, check out this tux. oh, nice. that'll go perfect with these. dude... those are so fire. [whines] only pay for what you need. ♪liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.♪ we hit the bike trails every weekend only pay for what you need. shinges doesn't care. i grow all my own vegetables shingles doesn't care. we've still got the best moves you've ever seen good for you, but shingles 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. ♪ ♪ aleve x. its revolutionary rollerball design delivers fast, powerful, long-lasting pain relief. aleve it, and see what's possible. exploring the heart of historic europe with viking, you'll get closer to iconic landmarks, to local life and legendary treasures as you sail onboard our patented, award-winning viking longships. you'll enjoy many extras, including wi-fi, cultural enrichment from ship to shore and engaging excursions. viking - voted number one river cruise line by condé nast readers. learn more at viking.com. waxed. natural. sensitive. new dove ultimate antiperspirant. our unique water based formula and 6x more glycerin. helps restore skin to its best condition. new dove ultimate. ♪ ♪ there is a brand new effort on capitol hill to reach a deal on climate legislation, and democratic senator joe manchin is leading the way. sources say he and republican senator lisa murkowski organized a bipartisan meeting of senate and house members last night. manchin, who chairs the senate energy committee, told nbc news the meeting was to, quote, find out if there is a pathway to a bipartisan climate and energy security package similar to the way they did the infrastructure law. meanwhile president biden is also facing new pressure to act on clean energy. a group of military veterans, clean energy workers an activists are urging the president to take action himself by using the defense production act to expand clean energy production. they just launched the clean energy freedom campaign and here is part of their message. >> president biden can use his emergency powers to ramp up clean energyproduction, lower our energy prices and address the climate crisis. and together, we can win. >> joining me now is one of the activists behind that campaign. you might recognize him. mark ruffalo, he has been a clean energy advocate for more than ten years, and kevin johnson, board director of the clean energy entrepreneur and iraq war veteran. both are with the clean energy campaign. mark, using the dpa, we know the dpa, because that's what president trump used to ramp up production for fighting the pandemic in the early days. this would be a controversial move in some circles for the president. why do you think it's necessary right now? >> well, i think one most exciting things about it is i'm sitting here with kevin johnson, who is a veteran and someone that probably you wouldn't find me in a room with as far as the things that we are fighting for. so i think that speaks a lot to this moment and how this particular issue is bringing together a lot of different kinds of people, including the pentagon. clean energy independence is the only solution to protect national security, lower our energy prices and create huntds -- hundreds of thousands of jobs. you are ticking a lot of boxes that address a lot of problems that we're facing today. i think this is less controversial than it would appear on the face it of. >> kevin, let's talk about whether anyone from your organization is getting on the phone with anyone from the white house. have you been able to lobby anyone directly or to maybe get a meeting with president biden on this? >> as mark highlighted, it's tremendously exciting to bring this coalition together of veterans and advocates like mark that have been working for decades to advance the topic of climate action and energy security. as a veteran myself, it's important to myself. call on the president and the administration to take further action. the president just recently invoked the defense production act to increase the domestic supply of critical minerals and materials to support our battery storage technology. we're calling on the administration to go further, to increase production here at home for critical technologies like heat pumps, like solar panels and wind turbine components. we are trying to follow the lead of the pentagon. a lot of folks wouldn't know the department of defense has been leaning to climate for many years. just recently, the defendant of defense called for $3 billion to act on climate under the recent budget. >> that's true. they have done multiple studies and have set that climate change is one of the biggest national security threats we face in the future. given that and given your experience as a veteran, i wonder, are you getting in front of the president to say, this is a -- i'm sure he knows it's a national security issue. but are you getting in front of the president directly to say, the time to act is now, your re-election is coming up, you are the power, do something? >> that's exactly what this campaign is designed to do. to call on everyday americans to get behind this campaign, come together with our veterans, national security leaders, climate activists like mark, and others to call on the president to take these actions. we have begun to reach out. this is the first step in the campaign to really move -- to move forward to further inform the president to take these actions. >> go ahead. >> i was going to say, the truth of the matter is we have been talking to the department of energy already about this. there's a big amount of money put aside to start to build out this transition. manufacturing heat pumps, manufacturing solar panels, manufacturing wind turbines, developing all of these technologies in the united states, putting people back to work with those technologies and then exporting those technologies to the european countries who have been relying on fossil fuels and who find themselves in this horrible crunch because of the war. >> what about nuclear energy? that's one of the areas that experts have said that europe can get off of vladimir putin's energy train? they need vladimir putin's energy to power europe. it's part of the reason why germany has been put in a hard place with the support in ukraine. are you also advocating to go nuclear? >> you know, the fact of the matter is at the end of the day, nuclear is very expensive and it's very dangerous. it might be a transition for the moment. but at the end of the day, these other technologies, wind, water, sun, geothermal, they are much cheaper, they are much safer. in the long run, they create many more jobs. we will see at the end of the day, it's economics, really. we will see that these technologies are just much more appropriate for the world we are living in today. >> how do you fight against the advocacy groups, the dark money groups that are out there that fight against climate change? the koch brothers, all sorts of dark money that has stopped solar energy in arizona. arizona, which has the most sunlight. they stopped solar energy there, even though it would be cheaper for arizonians and easier to produce. how do you, with this campaign, cut through the mis and disinformation. >> one of the key things to highlight -- >> this is a national security imperative. we are trying to follow the elite of the pentagon and national security leaders that are calling on the expansion of clean energy technologies which are local and resilient. our military bases across the country that have critical missions around the world are just as reliant on the electric grid as we are here at the -- in our homes. it's important to invest in local, resilient, clean infrastructure to support our military and military communities. nuclear is definitely a key technology, however, solar, battery storage locally installed near a military installation will help our resilience in our national security posture. that's a unifying message and theme that most conservative organizations can get behind. >> national security. kevin and mark, thank you very much for joining us today. good luck with the campaign. >> can i just add one thing? >> you sure can. >> on the koch brothers. there's dark money. that's an issue. when you look at how quickly we are actually moving on this transition, when you look at how much jobs it's created, when you look at how many people are actually finding relief in energy bills from these technologies, it doesn't matter what the koch brothers say or do. at the end of the day, we are going to win and we are going to transition over. it's just, are we going do it in a graceful way or kicking and screaming? but at the end of the day, this stuff is moving forward. as much as they fight, it's costing them millions of dollars for our every $100. at the end of the day, we're going to win. we're winning. that's how we fight, by proving it. on the ground. by giving people jobs. by bringing their energy costs down. by creating more national security. this is a moment for president biden to take our momentum, people's fear, their disgust at the war, their disgust with energy prices and use that to solidify a message to the american people that now is the time to transportation, this is where national security is, this is where jobs are. we will push him to do it. this is a gift to the president as we see it. we see him accepting it. >> we're running out of time. but if it's a national security issue, and the pentagon said such, why is it a partisan issue as well? why is it not something you hear republicans and democrats fight for in unison? >> kevin? >> it is. that's the thing. i think that we're going to find a lot of conservatives and folks on the other side of the aisle getting behind the campaign. we can all get behind supporting our defendant of defense, security our national security interests abroad and here at home. we will find a coalition of folks that come together behind this effort. >> we said the koch brothers but we should point out that david koch died a couple years. i'm leaving it here because i have 20 seconds left. thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate it. that is going to do it for me for this 11:00 a.m. hour. "andrea mitchel reports" starts right now. good day. this is "andra mitchel reports." as russia responds, appearing to redefine the u.s. mission in ukraine during the trip to kyiv, russia's foreign minister after the meeting with the u.n. secretary-general raising nuclear weapons. defense secretary austin responds hours later. >> you heard us say a number of times that that kind of rhetoric is dangerous and unhelpful. nobody wants to see a nuclear war happen