Transcripts For MSNBCW Andrea Mitchell Reports 20230106 : co

Transcripts For MSNBCW Andrea Mitchell Reports 20230106

0 good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. it's january 6th. the anniversary of an insurrection that almost destroyed our democracy. today the white house and the nation commemorate the civilian and law enforcement heroes and the victims of that terrible day, even as the house chamber is no longer a literal battleground, it is now torn apart by political combat. a divide among republican factions creating a new crisis of government. on this date in 2021, lawmakers were wearing gas masks and taking cover as thousands stormed hallways fuelled by former president trump's false claims that the election was stolen. if the house had not chosen a speaker and had not sworn in its members two years ago or two years from now, the electoral college vote would not be counted. america would not have a new president. this hour, there is some movement according to multiple republican sources with kevin mccarthy giing away more power and picking up some votes. he still does not have the now 217 to close the deal with one member having to fly home. nbc's senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake joins me now. as the house gavels in, it seems kevin mccarthy has made progress towards reaching the votes he needs. what concessions is he making to his opposition? how close could they get on this next vote? >> reporter: progress. but i think this next vote will probably look like deja vu all over again. there's no indication the progress made behind closed doors is sufficient to change any votes just yet. the republicans emerged from this conference call meeting they had this morning largely singing from the same hymnal. they are making progress on an agreement to give some of the speaker's power back to the conference, to allow for broader diversity of ideological viewpoints on some of the committees, giving seats to freedom caucus members or their allies on committees like the rules committee, the most powerful committee in the house. beyond that, details are sparse. that's part of the challenge here is coming up with the right equation here to balance out the needs of the 200 members who voted for kevin mccarthy consistently and the perhaps 15 or so who might be compelled to do so now. mccarthy is about to come to the floor behind me. mr. leader, how are we feeling today? >> i feel good. i think you are going to see an improvement in the vote today. we have a couple members, unfortunately, out. >> reporter: what can you tell us about this emerging deal you were discussing with your conference earlier today? >> things we have been talking about. i think it makes us stronger. >> reporter: do you feel there's certain -- are you triaging some votes? do you think there are some members less serious, perhaps, about getting through than others? >> i think everybody wants to get there. they run for office because they want to be able to accomplish things. we will accomplish our commitment to america. >> reporter: do you worry the message this might send to the country that republicans aren't ready to govern? >> no, no. my father told me one thing. it's not how you start, it's how you finish. >> reporter: thank you. there you hear it from kevin mccarthy. it's a lot of the same kinds of things we have been hearing from him the last couple days. he is dug in, trying to project optimism and confidence that he can get there. you heard discussion about the rules package. part of the challenge for mccarthy is, as we have been talking about, congress has to do the speaker vote first and then any rules vote to adopt any disagreement comes second. we talked about the trust deficit he has with some members. they would rather see that rules package locked in first before they would be willing to vote for mccarthy. it doesn't work that way. convincing the members that an agreement that they discuss behind closed doors is an agreement he will stick to all the way to the end is part of the challenge. i think part of the reason why he is willing to talk about it publically. >> garrett, talk about getting it from the horse's mouth, hearing it from kevin mccarthy as he was walking on the floor. you could see a little bit of progress, as you were reporting from all of your great sources. garrett, stay with us. let's bring in steve kornacki, chief white house correspondent kristin welker, robert gibbs, michael steele and brendan buck. kornacki, let's talk at the big board. 217 because one member had to go home. they still -- he still can only lose four. >> yeah. what he just said to garrett was interesting. if i heard right, he said there's a couple of members who are out today. we are aware of one whose wife gave birth who had to fly home. we are told ken buck from colorado, who missed a couple votes yesterday, reporting he is coming back today. my understanding was that there would be one absence. if i heard mccarthy right talking to garrett there, he was saying they might be missing a couple. that could complicate the matthew little bit, especially if it's more than one and they have been voting for mccarthy. you could get in a scenario where the threshold gets lowered in terms of what he can afford to lose from four to three. if you get a couple of absences. >> that's assuming -- that's his number, of course. we are assuming, of course, that the democrats are going to hold, that they have their 212. >> yeah. the democrats have on all 11 previous ballots all been present, all voted for hakeem jeffries. as long as they continue doing that, the bottom line is this list -- this is list of the 21 republicans who have not been voting for mccarthy. 20 of them have been voting for somebody else. one of them has been voting present. if the magic number, let's say, is 217 -- this magic number can change depending on absences, if people start voting present, that sort of thing. if the magic number is 217 and you have that one republican who we know of who is not going to be there today and the republicans start out with 221 present and the democrats with 212 present, if all 212 democrats continue voting for jeffries, then, yes, it's four defections at maximum, four voting for somebody else that mccarthy can afford. anything more than that, voting for somebody else and he loses -- what's interesting about this vote, obviously, we are looking to see if anybody has changed their mind. it sounds like the bar is lowering from what we heard last night in terms of expectations from republicans. they vote alphabetically. this list is front loaded with some of the most dug in or dug-in seeming republican opponents of kevin mccarthy. andy biggs is first up. lauren boebert is the third to vote in terms of those who have been against mccarthy. don't have to get that far down to get to matt gaetz. you are looking at bob good from virginia. good was saying, you never have to ask me the question again. i'm always going to be against kevin mccarthy. if the number there is four that would do him in, that number -- it's not hard to see him reaching that real quick here. the other question is, if he does fail again on this ballot, how much progress has he made? has he made any progress? >> what we are watching, the fact it's front loaded, we will know early. but we are also watching what's happening -- they called for a quorum call. this takes a while. they are stalling for time. they have come out of meetings. they were in meetings last night. brendan, how do you read reports from kevin mccarthy's own comments that they have made progress, maybe narrowing a gap, but clearly not there yet? >> projecting a little optimism. one thing we know is this is not over today. we can be confident this will continue. the question is, this deal -- we don't know if it's a deal. we know they have been talking about things, putting things on the table. are any of the members biting on it? i have a sense that we're going to see a similar vote to what we saw before. chip roy, congressman from texas leading some of these conversations, has suggested that he wants a global deal where everybody comes along. i don't know if that's possible. you have people who are never going to vote for him. if that's the bar they are setting, he is in big trouble. i think the meeting this morning was important for one reason. that's for kevin mccarthy to keep his people in place. there's a deal being discussed, but he needs to make sure his people aren't ready to back away from him while they're having these conversations. >> if the deal goes over too far towards the freedom caucus on rules and the motion to vacate being only one and everything else that they are giving away, if they give away subcommittee chairs, things like that, you are taking away from some of kevin mccarthy's stallworths waiting to be a chair and then be told it's going to boebert. >> that's what he was trying to extinguish. he wanted to say, i'm not doing that. i'm going to put some of the people on committees and they may -- maybe they didn't earn the right. they haven't put in time. that's going to cause some angst. he told people, i'm working on it. >> we are about to hear the gavel come down. let's listen to what the clerk is saying. >> the chair counts 275 members present. a quorum is present. >> let's see if she goes to a nomination. >> the question occurs upon the election of a speaker. the tellers will please come forward and take their seats. >> brendan, as they get organized with the tellers who are counting along with the congressional members counting along with the clerk so everybody knows they are on the same count, as i was saying, if it goes into the weekend, isn't that just not only a bad look, but you are delaying the payroll for another week. nobody is being paid. staff isn't being paid. they can't go to intelligence meetings and there's no -- i was asking this question at the state department yesterday. there's no critical issue right now. but you don't have key players, because there's no member of the house. >> the longer this goes, the more pressure points are going to pop up, things congress is expected to be doing. that's something kevin mccarthy is hoping puts pressure on some of the people. there's no question this will last into the weekend. the question is whether they are voting into the weekend. kevin mccarthy has a strategic question. does he keep them here in voting or does he try to come up with some deal where they can break for the weekend? send people home. i don't know he wants to do that. i don't think he wants to give people a breather. he needs maximum pressure. you get into a tricky situation in weekends where you don't know who will show up. you have people on the republican and the democratic side who may just not be able to be there over the weekend. that's a reality you always have. keeping perfect attendance is very difficult. sometimes you have big votes and you want to make sure everybody is there. those only happen every few months. here you have big votes several times every day, making sure your attendance is perfect is difficult to do. if he loses some of his allies, it could have a meaningful impact on this. >> i rise to nominate kevin mccarthy for speaker of the house. [ applause ] >> the gentleman is recognized. >> this is what we have seen, speeches, nominating speeches each day. we will follow. >> kevin is a good man, a man of god, a patriot, a leader who led this conference to our current majority over the last four years. those things are unassailable. this isn't about him. this isn't about kevin mccarthy. i put no single human being on a pedestal and certainly not before god and not before the gift that he has blessed us with with this grand experiment that we call the united states of america. this isn't about kevin mccarthy. but the matters before us are of stupendous magnitude. a federal republic such as ours, it's a dynamically unstable one. it's a wobbly top that's just a few mere revolutions away from falling down at any given moment. except for the exertions of men and women willing to serve her with pure and selfless intent, just as our founding fathers did, just abraham lincoln and ronald reagan did with pure and selfless intent. as our nation today and over the last two years has seen, we are certainly a wobbly top. today we have a southern border that's wide open. as a result of that and our executive branch policies, today 200 fellow americans will die of fentanyl poisoning and roughly 5,000 illegally immigrants will be victims of human smuggling. today our nation's debt is $31 trillion, and that will go up just in this day alone by roughly $2.1 billion. today we are seeing one of the worst crime spikes in our nation's history, our law enforcement are underfunded. they are hurting. on that topic, i want to thank our law enforcement. i want to thank the capitol hill police for what they do. we thank them not only for what they have done -- [ applause ] our police serve with that pure and selfless intent. they do it every day. we should thank them every day. today the chinese communist party will orchestrate theft of intellectual property from american companies. they are still not being held accountable for the deaths of millions of people around this planet. deaths as a result of a genocide within their borders and deaths as a result of covid outside them. we are today losing on multiple fronts against china. today isn't about a single human being. it's not about kevin mccarthy. it's about the 13 gold star families who still suffer today without closure and without accountability after the unnecessary loss of their loved ones in afghanistan over a year ago. today, speaking of our military, today, roughly 40 active duty and veterans of our military will commit suicide. these are the matters of stupendous magnitude. this isn't about a man in a suit in the halls of congress. it's about 330 million americans. it's about the preservation of the constitution and the liberties guaranteed therein. it's about the 246 years of pride and providence we have enjoyed as a nation. above all things, it's about ensuring that this beautiful journey exists for generations to come. that doesn't happen if we don't address and rise above the multiple existential crises that we experience today. we must be victorious in this cause. victory begins with allowing this body to get to work. it begins today. winning isn't easy. okay? winning isn't easy. but winning is necessary. i know that winning isn't easy. i represent a district where only 29% of my voters are registered in the same party as i. i engage and i communicate with the other 71% because it's the only way that we all win. in the end, it's the only way that the nation wins. it ain't easy, but it's necessary. the noble wins, the most important wins never are easy. we take on these missions as passionately at colonel chamberlain did. we must hold this line because if we don't hold this line, the entire union is at stake. we don't hold the majority for bragging rights. we hold the majority to govern responsibly. we hold the majority to protect the american people, to coalesce around the foundational constitutional principals that i have been willing to give my life to defend since the age of 18. my democrat colleagues across the aisle, i want to make sure you understand and make no mistake, we are, in fact, on the verge of a very important victory. a victory for the people, a victory by the people and most importantly, a victory for the future of our nation. it dawns on me as i look across the aisle, after being here nearly three years, i haven't had the pleasure of meeting many of you because you have chosen to stay home and not vote here in person, electing instead to proxy vote. >> the member elects is reminded to direct his remarks to the chair. >> it's a pleasure to see 212 of you here today. it's also a pleasure to see the end of the proxy voting. let me end with this. let me end with this. i'm extremely proud of my colleagues on this side of the aisle. the last four days, they haven't been ideal. they have been difficult. i do see fighters. i see patriots who love this country and want to make things better. i see folks who are willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure that we better serve the nation. i see men and women who are willing to serve her with that pure and selfless intent, even if that service means undergoing the dentistry that we have experienced over the last four days and in the wake of the last 20 meetings over the last two months. let me be clear. these are not concessions to the rules. these are critical evolution of the rules for the good of the nation. i'm proud that we as a party have decided and been willing to extend the time so we can get to a solution, a product of compromise, but also a product that will fix the ills induced by the democrat majority over the last four years. this product will hopefully end the multifacetted legacy of toxic behavior in the swamp. this isn't about kevin mccarthy. it's not about the 434 members in this chamber. it's about the 330 million americans across this beautiful land. it's about our nation's future. the person who will lead us on that journey will be kevin mccarthy. he has earned this position. i have the honor of nominating him at the direction of the republican conference as the speaker of the house of the 118th congress. god bless the united states. [ applause ] >> for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? >> madam clerk, i rise to nominate my friend, colleague and leader of the house democratic caucus, hakeem jeffries, for speaker of the united states -- >> the gentleman is recognized. [ applause ] >> madam clerk, i want to begin by thanking you for your contribution to maintaining the dignity and honor of this body. the eyes of the country -- [ applause ] the eyes of the country are on us today. let us consider what they will remember. i often refer to this hall as america's classroom. the proceedings we undertake in this body and our actions should serve as lessons for those who may be watching and are listening. hopefully, that which they see and hear will help them gain understanding and appreciation for the greatness of america and the goodness of the american people. this body has a unique role in this government. what we do and how we do it will determine whether our pursuit toward a more perfect union can continue in ernest. no day in recent history underscores the importance of that pursuit more than january 6, 2021. exactly two years ago today, our resolve was tested with a violent mob of insurrectionists attacking our capitol. threatened the integrity of this democracy and undermined our constitution. the greatness of this country and the resdil -- resiliency of our democracy was put at peril. but we survived. the preamble of the constitution explains that the document was established in part to secure the blessings of liberty. not just for ourselves, but also to posterity. every two years the american people evaluate our stewsteward and render a verdict. last november, they invested their time and resources going to the polls and casting their votes. they expect and should get a just return on their investments. for a minute, maybe most americans, this is only investment they will ever make to help preserve the greatness of this country. for the first time in over 200 years, after 11 rounds of voting, we are unable to organize and begin to work on behalf of those who elected us to serve. democrats are offering a candidate for speaker, hakeem jeffries, who is not just prepared to lead, but committed to preserving this democracy and enhancing this body. madam clerk, there is some dispute among historians as to whether it was said. but i consider it to be true regardless. america is great because she is good. if america ceases to be good, america will cease to be great. the greatness of america lies in the goodness that exists wi

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