known -- price -- was known to make stocks go up. >> it is legal if you are a member of congress but it is unethical, to have inside information, to speak directly to the companies, influence ledgelati legislation and own or trade the stocks. >> you or i would be jailed, but members of congress are allowed to do it. >> jailed. >> hallie jackson is traveling with the president and joins us now live from manila. hallie, have you had a chance to talk to anybody or figure out what is behind this appointment? >> reporter: it's roughly midnight here in manila, so the parking light tweeting this out just about an hour ago. interesting he did on an overseas trip. announcing this new, potential cabinet secretary. alex azar, former bush era deputy in the hhs agency. also involved in the fa pharmaceutical company. this is an interesting moment in time for the president to be naming him as the pick. he's now talking about -- president trump that is -- in the recent tweets, clearly looking ahead to getting back home, which he will be midweek. looking ahead to not just the tax cut battle, the tax cut fight happening on capitol hill, but trying to tie that to some kind of health care reform. even as he's been talking about health care reform, he has nobody in hhs to lead the agency on a permanent basis. obviously, it is changing now with his naming of alex azar as his pick to lead the agency. tom price, of course, resigned after you know the weeks of questions and controversy over his private charter, government and military air travel. got him in hot water. he ended up resigning. the president accepted the resignation after, frankly, one of the bigger scandals we've seen from the cabinet perspective here. it raised questions about other cabinet agencies travel, too. you have that going on with alex azar. i think when you look at the confirmation fight, you may see some questions about the president talking about, in the past, drug companies and his concerns that the drug prices in this country are too high. versus alex azar, who has been a member, obviously, of the pharmaceutical companies in the past. >> i have to point out to you, ali velshi, think about this for a moment. while people are going to be furious this guy came from eli lilly, we shouldn't be surprise. he is a republican. critical of obamacare. he was part of the bush administration. you'd expect president trump would choose a guy like this. >> except the president has identified very specifically, as have we, that one of the single biggest problems with our out of control health care system is the opaque system that the pharmaceutical industry uses. they lobby more than any other industry at all. >> this is massively important. it hasn't changed. the first quarter of this year, when president trump was in office, you still saw the lob lobbying efforts from big pharma, that includes eli lilly, significantly higher numbers than any other industry. that hasn't changed. one other thing to point out though, you will see the trump administration make the argument, because he comes from eli lilly, he understands that side of the argument. he'll be able to regulate. i'm not saying we buy that. >> but it is an interesting argument. >> hallie jackson, before president trump announced this new hhs secretary, a lot of the attention this morning, of course, you know what it was, you've been focused on it, his controversial meeting with philippines authoritarian leader duterte. >> reporter: well, controversial to people on the outside watching. the two of them seem to enjoy it. when you look at the comments that were made publicly, the president talked about the good relationship that the two of them had. same with rodrigo duterte, as he dismissed the media and sent them on their way after the two of them spoke. then after the summit there. remember, you know this, duterte, very controversial. bloody crackdown. this controversial drug war happening in the philippines. extrajudicial killings by the thousands. this is a guy who talked about the assassination of journalists, if you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to worry about getting killed. this has raised real questions among people who wanted to see president trump say more about the human rights abuses here and raise that with duduterte. not just privately but also publicly. they definitely didn't get it publicly. the president made no mention of this when he was side by side with duterte, in the comments he made here at the asean summit in manila. the white house saying they're focusing on common ground like isis. the filipino government said it didn't come up at all in this conversation. it was sort of touched on and moved on, basically. it is raising questions from human rights advocates. you had an opportunity on the world stage to say something. why didn't you? the administration's retort, and in conversation with senior administration officials i've had, they say, we believe it is more productive to have the conversations on the sidelines and not out in public. they don't think it gets the job done more. something we heard in saudi, too. >> so is the truth of what happens inside the meetings. >> he didn't do it in china, which all presidents have. he didn't do it in saudi arabia. he doesn't bring it up with sisi in egypt. doesn't bring it up with vladimir putin. this isn't really his thing. but, yeah, have it somewhere. >> someone is lying about it. the white house said that president trump touched on it with duterte, human rights. the philippines said, no, didn't mention it. even if you're discussing it behind closed doors, when the doors open and you tell us what happened, tell us the truth. >> tell us what happened. hallie, the president also said he is going to be making a big trade announcement when he returns from his asia trip. what do we know about that? >> reporter: so we know that's set to happen, the president says, on wednesday. this is interesting. typically, you'd see -- remember, the two things the president came to asia to talk about, the two big things, north korea and trade. normally, if those were your two big things, maybe on a trip, you'd want to make the trade announcements while overseas. that's not been the case. while the president talked a lot about trade and the trade imbalance here, there haven't really been any tangibles, any concrete action when it comes to trade. yes, there's the $250 billion in business deals agreed to by u.s. companies and chinese companies. as you know, i don't need to tell you, it is going to take years to come into fruition. these were memos of understanding, essentially. it is very, very preliminary. the president seems to be wanting to say, look, i have some deliverables. i'll tell you about them when i'm back in washington. it does sort of put caps on when you look at the overseas part of the trip, heavy on the symbolism. not so heavy on the substance, at least when it comes to the two big topics at the top of the president's agenda coming into the trip. >> thanks so much, hallie jackson, in manila. at the end of the day, this america first message is going to look like america alone. we didn't want to get involved in tpp. guess who loves that? xi jinping. >> china loves it. >> china is saying, keep on trekking. >> they didn't have to push america out of the way. america walked out of the way. >> remember, when xi jinping went to mar-a-lago, we were supposed to investigate for 100 days, wilbur ross and china, about opening up trade. the only thing that happened at the end of the 100 days, we're sending over a bit more beef. >> yeah. >> besides that, where is the real beef? the united states is also sending a message to north korea. it's got an incredible, incredible show of military force. right now, three u.s. navy aircraft carriers are taking part in joint exercises off the korean peninsula. >> it is the first time in a decade these enormous ships have sailed together. nbc's matt bradley has the details. >> reporter: we've been watching these f-18s flying by, taking off and landing all day. this is meant to coordinate between these different aircraft carriers. straight routes and between the u.s. navy and its allies. the japanese, they have their own aircraft carrier strike group out here in the sea of japan. it is also meant to put north korea on notice. we talked to one of the senior officers here on board. here's what he had to say about why these kpexercises are happening right now. >> united states is in a unique position to be able to put together this kind of military power. to just show folks out there that the military power exists, if it becomes necessary. we want to reassure our allies and partners in the region, we are here for you. we've been here for you the next 70 years and will be here the next 70 years. that's probably the most important thing we can do. >> reporter: some have been saying donald trump has been dialing back his rhetoric on his trip to asia, but a lot of what you're seeing here, this is going to show no matter how much bark donald trump has against kim jong-un and north korea, he still has quite a lot of real bite behind him. >> that is a serious group of ships coming in there and, of course, all the associated ships. quite a visual and impression. >> how would you feel if you were one of the men or women who are on those ships, and the president is tweeting that kim jong-un is short and fat? >> right. >> there you go. >> these are families who understand the job they signed up to do, but they're hoping there aren't unnecessary wars or accidental wars or things that are triggered by this type of rhetoric. the president, while sometimes he gets off and seems to listen to his generals, other times he goes back to the twitter insults. i think we all understand, kim jong-un is not the most predickabpredic predictable player in the world. every general and diplomat we've spoken to says there's just nothing they can see about this strategy that makes sense to them. >> john mccain, it was tom brokaw who asked him, what is your one piece of advice for the president? it was, get off twitter. it was stunning when we learned general kelly said he doesn't follow president trump on twitter. one of two things. >> maybe he should. >> web -- one of two things. sean spicer said consider the president's tweets official white house statements. >> yeah. >> that being the case, why on earth would the chief of staff of the president not follow those official white house statements that come out all day long? >> right. >> i'm going to say, i don't actually believe him. >> you think general kelly knows what he is tweeting? everybody knows what he is tweeting. >> come on. we're digging into other big stories from overseas. president trump says he believes vladimir putin's claim that russia did not interfere with the u.s. election. u.s. intelligence agencies say they have proof. we're going to break that down for you next. stay with us. you're watching "velshi & ruh ruhle," live on mississipsnbmsn. hundred years of heritage, craftsmanship and innovation. today we're bringing you america's number one shave at lower prices every day. putting money back in the pockets of millions of americans. as one of those workers, i'm proud to bring you gillette quality for less, because nobody can beat the men and women of gillette. gillette - the best a man can get. the medicare enrollment deadline is just a few days away. changes to medicare plans could impact your healthcare costs. are you getting all the benefits available to you? call healthmarkets and we'll help you find the medicare plan that's right for you. hi, i'm doctor martin gizzi. it's a new medicare year. that means more changes ... and more confusion. the key question is: what can you do now, to ensure you get the care you need in the coming year? call healthmarkets today. we have access to thousands of medicare options from leading insurance companies nationwide. plans that may... cost less... cover more ... with more choices... like dental and vision care ... and freedom to choose your own doctors, all at a price you can afford. we help find the right plan for you. and we do it at no cost. make sure you have what you need to get the care that's right for you. if you miss the deadline, you may have to wait another year before enrolling. call healthmarkets now! [ click ] [ keyboard clacking ] [ clacking continues ] good questions lead to good answers. our advisors can help you find both. talk to one today and see why we're bullish on the future. yours. talk to one today and see why we're bullish on the future. anyone who calls it a hobby doesn't understand. we know that a person's passion is what drives them. [ clapping ] and that's why every memorial we create is a true reflection of the individual. only a dignity memorial professional can celebrate a life like no other. find out how at sanfranciscodignity.com. being forced to clarify comments he made about vladimir putin and intelligence agency. on saturday, he was asked if he talked to putin earlier about russia meddling in the u.s. elections. trump said, quote, every time he sees me, he says, i didn't do that. and i believe -- i really believe -- that when he tells me that, he means it. stephanie, how can you not take a guy at his word? >> namaste. he then described some of the agency intel leaders as political hacks, saying, quote, you have brennan, clapper, comey, comey is proven now to be a liar, and he's proven to be a leaker. after outrage from democrats, not just democrats, and republicans, trump softens his tone. >> surprised that there's any conflict on this one. i said that i believe he believes that, and it is very important for somebody to believe. i believe that he feels that he and russia did not meddle in the election. as to whether i believe it or not, i'm with our agencies, especially as currently constituted with their leadership. i believe in our intel agencies. >> i believe that he believes that, and it is really important for someone to believe. >> one thing, too, ali, president trump's criticism was that they were liars and leakers. >> yeah. >> president trump regularly tells lies. this is a very leaky white house. let's point that out. >> a lot of the evidence here, let's talk about the russia leaks. much of the evidence proving russia interfered with the election is classified. let's take a look at what we publicly know. on june 14th, 2016, the "washington post" reported that russian hackers got into the democratic national committee servers. it is the first public report of the breach. june of 2016. this is right after that all-important meeting that happened at trump tower on june 9th. january 6th of 2017, the office of the director of national intelligence, dni, released a declassified version of its analysis into russian interference, which included assessments from the cia, the fbi and the nsa. remember, the dni oversees all of the other intelligence agencies, which is what led to everybody saying that all the intelligence agencies concluded this. a lot of the intelligence agencies in the united states, for instance, coast guard intelligence, they don't study this stuff. that's why they didn't have to do with it. the white house is saying all the intelligence agencies didn't include it. that's a bit of a red herring. this investigation said, putin ordered and influenced campaign in 2016 aimed at the u.s. presidential election. russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the u.s. democratic process, denigrate secretary clinton and harm her electability and potential presidency. that campaign included covert intelligence operations such as cyber activity with over efforts by russian government agencies, state-funded media, third -part intermediaries and trolls. on june 5th of this year, the intercept published a leaked nsa documents showing how they dealt with companies selling voter machines. no evidence was found of voting being changed, but on june 21st of this year, department of homeland security official d disclosed during an intelligence committee hearing there was evidence that russia targeted election-related systems in 21 states during the campaign. on november 1st, also in front of the senate intelligence committee, facebook admitted more than 150 million americans were exposed to russia-linked propaganda on facebook and instagram. and during that same hearing, twitter announced that it found about 37,000 russian-tied accounts, which generated 1.4 million election-related tweets, which got about 288 million impressions. stephanie, i mean, tell me they weren't involved. that's a little weird. >> nice way to put it. joining us now, nick ackerman, legal analyst, and former assistant special watergate prosecutor. nick, president trump told reporters he couldn't stand there and argue with putin because he'd rather be able to work with him on other issues like ukraine. >> yeah. >> what would have happened if president trump would have taken this moment to come out and actually say something forceful? >> nothing terrible would have happened. i mean, every president before this has actually dealt with putin and dealt with the russians in two different ways. one is to make sure that they protect the u.s. interests, that they stand up for the united states, as trump obviously didn't do in this circumstance. at the same time, in the world of real politic, try to work with the russians in the areas that you can work with them. but you can't back down from this election meddling or human rights. those are two areas that are non-negotiable for the united states. >> is there some sort of cooperation happening right now between the united states and russia that wasn't happening during the obama administration? >> no. >> that is now. >> no. >> that the president needs to protect? >> not particularly. the point is, we can -- as sarah huckabee sanders likes to say all the time, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. we can deal with russia while saying we understand what is going on. to that end, brennan and james clapper, former director of national intelligence, here's what they had to say as to how trump is handle this. >> mr. putin is clever, in terms of playing to trump's interest in being flattered. >> putin is committed to undermining our system, our democracy and our whole process. and to try to paint it in any other way is, i think, astounding and, in fact, poses a peril to this country. >> i think president trump's generals should speak out. if you don't want to make this political, because you know president trump is going to say, his generals, who have taken the post because they put country over party, what do they have to say about this? >> well, and i think you have to ask the question, why is donald trump taking putin's side on this thing? >> right. >> we know for a fact he called both clapper and brennan political hacks. >> yup. >> he's gone after senators, republican senators like john mccain, who is really above repoach, r reproa reproach, in terms of being a loyal america. he's gone after his secretary of state. what is going on here? i mean, it is one of a number of things. one, he's either crazy like the north koreans say he is. two, he is totally incompetent. three, he's in business like his secretary, if commerce is in business with russians. or four, the russians have blackmail on him. yesterday, it was acknowledged that he was offered five prostitutes during the miss universe pageant. leads do you to believe the entire story is true. so what is the truth? that is what robert mueller has to get to the bottom of. >> i don't know if it leads you to believe the entire story is true, but it takes me back to the op-ed "wall street journal" article that said, come clean. >> no more drip, drip, yet another person in your orbit who had contact with russians and weirdly didn't remember they had contact with russians. >> if i were the prosecutor, and i heard that part of the statement, i'd ask, who else was present? who else overheard? my guess is there are other people who overheard that statement who could testify to that fact. so then you're left with the bodyguard, going back to donald trump's hotel room, where the only potential witnesses are a bunch of russians who are never going to testify in this case. >> right. and it is important to all those people who keep on saying, no votes were changed, that this influence campaign has been proved. we've got facebook saying it. twitter saying it. we have the dni and three other intelligence agencies saying it. >> that's right. and you have really two items that really involve this. one is the microtargeting of hillary clinton voters to suppress that vote. there's no question that that happened, and it happened with facebook and twitter. >> and that's the thing. nobody is going to put the toothpaste back in the bottle and say, you know, let hillary and bill move in tomorrow. acknowledge what happened and move forward. figure out how we can protect this country moving forward. >> exactly. the other thing that is astounding here is that the russians basically act as a boiler room for the trump campaign. whether they did it whitingly orca leo or colluding with the trump campaign. but after the information came out on the "hollywood access" tape, what did the russians do? they had wikileaks leak all of those e-mails that they stole from the dnc. >> yeah. >> i mean, that's what a legitimate campaign might do itself. here is the russian government acting. >> that's the distinction. >> nick, good to see you, as always. mississipsnbc legal analyst and prosecutor for watergate. some people took a couple days off last week for veterans day. bob mueller did not. another accuser is set to come forward with new claims again gs senate candidate roy moore. some in the gop are still sticking by him. some republicans voting for party over ethics? if so, what does the party stand for? the scandal is hitting the bottom line at fox, after sean hannity asked viewers to give moore the benefit of the doubt. companies pulling ads, keurig, realtor.com, 23 and me, natures bounty. you're watching "velshi & ruhle," live on msnbc. my experience with usaa has been excellent. they always refer to me as master sergeant. they really appreciate the military family, and it really shows. we've got auto insurance, homeowners insurance. had an accident with a vehicle, i actually called usaa before we called the police. usaa was there hands-on very quick very prompt. i feel like we're being handled as people that actually have a genuine need. we're the webber family and we are usaa members for life. usaa, get your insurance quote today. searching one topic. that will generate over 600 million results. and if you've been diagnosed with cancer, searching for answers like where to treat, can feel even more overwhelming. so start your search with a specialist at cancer treatment centers of america. start with teams of cancer treatment experts under one roof. start where specialists use advanced genomic testing to guide precision cancer treatment... ...that may lead to targeted therapies and more treatment options. start where there's a commitment to analyzing the latest research and conducting clinical trials-to help each patient get the personalized cancer care they deserve. start at one of the cancer treatment centers of america hospitals near you. the evolution of cancer care is here. learn more at cancercenter.com/experts pepsoriasis does that. it was tough getting out there on stage. i wanted to be clear. i wanted it to last. so i kept on fighting. i found something that worked. and keeps on working. now? they see me. see me. see if cosentyx could make a difference for you- cosentyx is proven to help people with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...find clear skin that can last. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting cosentyx, you should be checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms. or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. if you have inflammatory bowel disease, tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. never give up. see me. see me. clear skin can last. don't hold back... ...ask your dermatologist if cosentyx can help you find clear skin that lasts. firstthen you put yourselfareer. through school. got the degree. you've given it your all, to reach the goals you've set. don't let student debt hold you back. refinancing student loans with sofi can save thousands. so you can get where you've always been headed... sooner. see how much you can save with sofi. the leader in student loan refinancing. welcome back. you're watching "velshi & ruhle." this afternoon, another alabama woman is set to come forward with a new accusation against republican senate candidate roy moore. her attorney says she will allege moore sexually assaulted her when she was a minor. we'll have the latest on that later today. >> her attorney is gloria allred. this comes in the wake of the bombshell report in the "washington post." moore is threatening to sue the paper after it reported he molested a 14-year-old girl in 1979. and pursued rels d relations wie other teenagers when he was in his 30th. >> three days ago, the "washington post" published another attack on my character and reputation in an attempt to stop my political campaign. these attacks that i was involved with a minor child are completely false and untrue. and for which they will be sued. >> didn't president trump say he was going to sue his accusers? >> yup. but it is an effective threat when you're somebody of means and your accusers are not. it is a hard thing. it's been useful the last several months for us to understand the mindset of an accuser and how difficult it is to be one. >> think about all the women who came forward, the dozens in harvey weinstein's situation, who knew they were assaulted, who knew they were mistreated but they said, this is a guy who is king of the hill. >> right. >> what could i do? >> right. >> if you're a 14-year-old girl in the state of alabama, remember, she met roy moore when she was a child at court over a custody hearing. >> right. >> she was the person -- she was the child in the case. >> about whom the hearing was, yeah. >> when moore went on record and he said, back then, he always asked for permission from the parents, we have to remember, he wasn't a teenager asking for permission. >> 30-year-old assistant district attorney. >> 32-year-old, actually. moore says he's unveil more information about the context of his accusers claims in the coming days. he's denied any sexual misconduct. a purported friend of one of the accusers said she heard of the allegations in the '90s. >> in a facebook, mary joe west wrote, the national story about moore and corfman is true. i've known it over 20 years. during moore's political assent, i almost called leigh's mother multiple times to exploit moore. but this story is leigh's to tell and no one else's. why has not not exposed him before now? perhaps because no one likes being called a liar. she is being called that now. whatever it is, it is not a political conspiracy. >> just 29 days left before the alabama special election against democrat doug jones. not all republicans are urging moore to quit the race. that's what's really stunning here. >> for more on this, we're joined from birmingham, alabama. i want to put up on the screen the republicans who have come out against roy moore's senate run. this is different from those who have said if, you know, this is true, he should step aside. these are people asking him to not run. bill cassidy, corker, steve danes, governor john kasich and mitt romney. a smaller list supports his run. representative mo brooks of alabama. ed henry of alabama. and state auditor jim ziegler. >> isn't that what happens, ali? you have all these republican leaders who are not from the state of alabama. they don't influence people from that state. >> correct. >> when you have mo brooks, ed henry and the state auditor, isn't that more important to locals? >> the question is, where the governor stands on this. because there have been those who proposed delaying the senate election until early next year. >> yeah, the governor said she is not going to delay the election. it is happening one month from now, december 12th. you also have to take into account there is no republican that announced a writing candidacy. there is chatter about luther strange doing as much, but there has been no announcement. i patalked to paul reynolds, an he said the gop could, a 21-member committee, could remove roy moore, but he said unless there is irreputab repur evidence, that's not happening. if anyone in the republican party were to mount a write-in candidacy, he said they should be prepared to move north of the mason-dixon line. >> wow. >> in alabama today, you have two polls with different outcomes. jmc suggests doug jones is in the lead. emerson shows moore winning. neither of the rolling organizations meet nbc's polling standards. but at the very least, they've all showed the race is tightening here. >> exactly. the question is, what we're hearing from the party leaders here in the state who have known roy moore for decades, they believe him torre a m be a man nature and good will. the man portrayed in theal gag l allegations is not the man they know. we're in the suburbs outside of birmingham. i got off the phone with a gentleman, bob vance, who ran in 2012. he lost by three points. where does doug jones, he told me, if he wants a chance to win, these suburbs are what he should target. particularly, women millennial voters. this is connie thomas, one of the voters that doug jones, the democrat, if he wants to win this race, he needs to win over. >> i'm going to vote against roy moore. i'm going to vote for doug jones. i think he is a good man, a man of integrity, and i can't say i feel that way about roy moore. >> you've never voted for a democrat? >> i've never voted for a democrat. >> i think it is just people are attacking him because he is a christian. >> i know there are some allegations out there. w i want to hear more about those, investigate a little more. at this point, i'll keep my eyes and ears open and see what's going on. >> the next month will be interesting. both candidates are in the run from questions. i was denied an interview with doug jones. he is lying low, letting the allegations run their course. the campaign official says he wants to focus on jobs, health care. amid the headlines, it is difficult to do such. >> good to see you. you have to finish this. i sit here stunned by it. stunned. >> you know how many times we heard the last week people saying, maybe he did it, maybe he didn't, but i'm certainly not voting for a democrat. even if roy moore did it, it is better than voting for a democrat. >> there are great republicans out there today. great republicans in history. >> absolutely. this is not about republican. this is not, generally speaking, about republicans and democrats. but it is interesting that among a certain proportion of voters in alabama, roy moore's support has increased since this news came out. we'll leave tlit there. >> silver lining, this is all on a national stage and we're paying more attention. >> that is the silver lining. about to get gop reaction to some of the biggest headlines of the day. next, we're going to speak with oklahoma congressman cole about taxes, russia, and i'll ask him about his fellow republican roy moore. you're watching "velshi & ruh ruhle." w i want you to give it to the friend that you think is most dependable. ohhhh. ughh. wow. that's just not fair. does she have to? she doesn't have to! oh, i don't? no, but it's a tough choice, isn't it? yes. well luckily, chevy makes it a little easier. cause it's the only brand to earn j.d. power dependability awards for cars, trucks and suvs - two years in a row. that's amazing. chevy's a name you can trust! and my brother ray and i started searching for answers. (vo) when it's time to navigate in-home care, follow that bright star. because brightstar care earns the same accreditation as the best hospitals. and brightstar care means an rn will customize a plan that evolves with mom's changing needs. (woman) because dad made us promise we'd keep mom at home. (vo) call 844-4-brightstar for your free home care planning guide. he's a nascar champion who's she's a world-class swimmer who's stared down the best in her sport. but for both of them, the most challenging opponent was... pe blood clots in my lung. it was really scary. a dvt in my leg. i had to learn all i could to help protect myself. my doctor and i choose xarelto® xarelto®... to help keep me protected. xarelto® is a latest-generation blood thinner... ...that's proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots from happening again. in clinical studies, almost 98% of patients on xarelto® did not experience another dvt or pe. here's how xarelto works. xarelto® works differently. warfarin interferes with at least six blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective... ...targeting just one critical factor, interacting with less of your body's natural blood-clotting function. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor as this may increase risk of blood clots. while taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you've had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle-related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures and before starting xarelto® about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. you've got to learn all you can... ...to help protect yourself from dvt and pe blood clots. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. there's more to know. welcome back to "velshi & ruhle." let's get to the breaking news. president trump's nominee for health and human services secretary. alex azar. >> joining us is congressman cole of oklahoma who serves on the appropriations and budget committees. let's start with alex azar. former fapharmaceutical company executive. former member of the bush administration. we know he is a critic of obamacare. do you think he is the right pick? >> well, he certainly seems to be an excellent pick. i haven't had a chance to meet him. i actually chaired the subcommittee that funds health and human serservices, so i'm s i'll have the opportunity after he's confirmed. by everything i can see, the credentials are excellent. he clearly has experience within the department. we has professional knowledge in an area that is critical, having headed a pharmaceutical company. looks to be a very good pick by the president. >> i guess you might be right. he's either really well qualified or entirely the wrong guy, given that even the president has admitted pharmaceuticals are the biggest lobbyers this year in washington. they're the opaque piece of the puzzle when you're looking at health care. one could say, he knows the inside of the system. maybe it is the best guy to solve it. or is this the swamp getting back in again? what do you think? >> years ago, former president roosevelt, franklin roosevelt, chose joseph kennedy to head up the securities and exchange commission for that reason. he'd been shrewd in the stock market, knew all the tricks, and the president at that time said i think he is a guy that will make sure it doesn't happen again. turned out to be an excellent appointment. the senate will go through and look at his credentials. we'll get there. >> sure. >> looks to be like he's very, very well qualified and experienced. >> well then on that same note, the president has, as the new acting head of the irs, a lawyer who has made a career of working with companies who set up illegal tax avoidant shelters. we know that robert mercer, who just stepped down from running renaissance technology, his hedge fund is in dispute with the irs to the tune of $7 billion in unpaid taxes. so there's a lot of concern when you make a choice like this, like president trump's choice for the new acting head of the irs, has a specialty in avoiding paying taxes and protecting those companies who do so. >> well, i'm not familiar with that particular choice. i don't interact with the irs much. again, we have a confirmation process for those very points to be made. but i don't think you can automatically exclude people simply because they have expertise in an area. actually, quite often, you want that expertise. so, look, whoever the lawyer is, he was working for his clients. i assume he did so in good faith. you know, lived up to his fiduciary obligations to the people paying him. but you go to work for the government of the united states, we're the people paying him. your client changes, so to speak, and you take an oath and you have an obligation to do the right thing. so, again, he'll go through the fire of a senate hearing. if he is the right person, we'll see. i'm not going to disqualify people because they have an expertise in an area we're asking them to serve? >> congressman, let's talk a little about the topic we were just discussing before you came on. alabama senate candidate roy moore. we're hearing another accuser is coming forward today. we heard mitch mcconnell say he believes the woman. the governor of alabama saying she has no reason to doubt the accusations. what do you think the right thing is to do, both for roy moore and for republicans in general? >> well, let me preface, i'm not from alabama. i don't have a vote or a voice there. i find these stories extremely troubling. frankly, with mounting credibility. i find the fact that mr. moore on two different occasions had to give up, was effect iiveivel removed from the highest office in alabama, disturbing, as well. the best thing to do would be for him to step aside. this race isn't about the issues anymore. it really is now a referendum on a single individual. that's regrettable. we've got some big issues in front of us. that's an important seat and a very evenly balanced united states senate. you know, as a pretty good party guy, i would say, let's step down and give the republican party the best opportunity it has to win. i don't think this debate is particularly helpful in that regard. >> congressman, i want to talk about the president and his trip to asia. his overwhelming message has been america first, america first. but he's taking some heat now for suggesting that he believed vladimir putin with regard to putin not being involved in any meddling in the election. that doesn't sound like america first. it sounds like russia first. >> well, i wouldn't go that far. >> what would you say? >> frankly -- first of all, i don't have any doubt the russians meddled in our elections. i think countries do that on a routine basis. this isn't the first time. the means are new. president obama went to great britain and told them they were going to be back of the line if they pass brexit. that's meddling in an election big time. let's not hyperventilate over this. in the end, they tried to meddle in our elections. the two things i'm certain of is one, we've seen no evidence so far, despite multiple investigations of any collusion, and i don't think it had any impact in the outcome. doesn't mean we shouldn't take it seriously. >> but whether or not -- >> doesn't mean we shouldn't send a message. >> whether or not it had influence in the outcome, we'll put it aside. do you believe trump believes they meddled? >> he accepts the intelligence agencies, and they're unanimous that they did. so i think he does. i think sometimes he worries the meddling will de-legitimize his presidency or evidence of this. i don't think that is the case. because i don't think this was successful. but i think you need to recognize when your adversaries, and they are an adversary of the united states, not an ally, are doing, you know, committing mischief, you're prepared to deal with it. again, i would like to work with the russians, as well, in syria and the ukraine and other places. i don't think you let it blow up the entire relationship. there are parts of the world where we have common interest. but in this case, there is no question that they tried. i think it did not succeed. i think it's pretty embarrassing for them. you know, at the end of the day, we need to be ready to deal with these intrusions in our lek tro -- electoral process. >> you'll want to vote on the tax overhaul bill by the end of the week. one of the things we're trying to get to the bottom of is the advantage of cutting the corporate tax rate in a place where corporate profitability is very, very high. capital is available and very cheap. the "new york times" reports this morning, we're talking about a 35% to 20% drop. in fact, most people are accepting of the fact that the effective tax rate american corporations pay is about 18.1% or 18.6%, something like that. i've got that on the screen. 18.6%. here's the issue, the "new york times" points out that in 1967, corporate tax revenue in the united states made up 4% of gross domestic product. 4% of gdp. last year, it made up less than 2% of gdp. so corporate tax as a proportion of our gdp has gone down by 50%. what do you think about that? >> well, first of all, i look at where businesses are going. we've got quite a few businesses leaving the country because other countries are offering rates in the neighborhood of what we're talking about. that costs us jobs. that costs us productivity. that's not good for our economy. i think, you know, we live in a world of competition. our rates need to be competitive with our principle economic competitors. they're not right now. you're seeing american businesses offshore. i'm supportive of what we're trying to do. i think it will -- you can look at both the market and i think the growth rate we've had this year. some of that has to do with anticipation of this. i think if you don't get it done, you're going to actually take a serious hit in the market. i think you're going to deliver a pretty serious blow to the competitiveness of american industry. >> one thing that sticks out, the corporate tax rate is being cut but the loopholes aren't being closed. the reason to cut the tax rate is because they go through all of these giant efforts to pay less taxes. if you just cut the rate but keep all the loopholes -- >> then it won't be 20%. it'll be substantially lower than 20%. >> i don't think we're going to see all the loopholes kept. that's not my understanding of what's happening. now, to be fair, i'm not on ways and means so -- >> what needs to be closeclosed? >> i'm not on the relative committee. talk to them. i know a couple of historic loopholes that benefit my state are being closed. something called the indian lands tax credit. there are, you know, particular areas that are taking a hit. i think that's the case. let's wait and see where we end up. the senate bill is different from the house bill. there are things i like in the senate bill that we don't have in the house bill and vice versa. you know, we'll move this thing out of here. the senate will do the same. there will be a conference. we'll wait and see where we end up. i think delivering real tax reform and frankly real tax relief to american workers and the the middle class and the american business community are good things. i think they'll long-term produce growth and opportunity for the average american. >> representative tom cole, good to talk to you as always. thank you for joining us. tom cole a representative from oklahoma. >> stick around. more on president trump's new hhs nominee from a man who used to lead medicare and medicaid services. and just happened to run into the nominee just a few moments ago. stick around. you are watching very s"velshi ruhle." every day, on every street, in every town, across america. small businesses show their love to you. with some friendly advice, a genuine smile and a warm welcome they make your town... well, your town. that's why american express is proud to be the founding partner of small business saturday. a day where you get to return that love, because shopping small makes a big difference. so, on november 25th get up, get out, and shop small. welcome back to very shi and rhule. right now, we are digging back flow our top story. a new nominee to lead the department of health and human services. president trump said this morning "happy to announce i am nominating alex azar to be the next hhs secretary. he'll be a star for better health care and lower drug prices." he sent that tweet from the state of pennsylvania which i don't understand. >> that's a little weird. azar served as deputy secretary of hhs under president george w. bush and currently owns a pharmaceutical consulting firm. he used to be an executive at eli lilly. joining us is andy sab slab by the, a former acting administrator of the centers for medicare and medicaid services, a senior adviser at the senior policy center in washington. did you happen to run into azar. >> in line in the cab station, alex was right in front of me. >> do you know him? >> i know him. >> tell us. what happened. >> heading in line for a cab. he's about to live a very different life than tom price did. >> chartered a plane. >> can you tell us what you talked about? >> sure. you know, start with this. he and i come from different sides of the political spectrum. we're not going to agree on everything. but he's somebody who before he served in the private sector was at hhs. i think he was very excited to go back. i asked him specifically about the thoughts that he's going to get around his closest to the pharmaceutical industry. he said i know how it works. i think was pretty much close to the exact quote. he is eager to serve. he wanted to express to me that he is looking to work across the aisle. so it's hope that's true. i think a secretary coming in at this point in time has a number of challenges, a contentious agenda as we all know around taking access to care away from people. hopefully he can reverse that and i think that's what the hearings are likely going to be about. >> do you believe him when he said he's excited to work across the aisle? >> look, i think it's a good thing to say number one. number two, i have a sense of who some of the other potential choices could have been. i think this is somebody who knows hhs. is serious minded. is qualified. and for him to -- i think his priorities have to be to focus on the people, particularly the most vulnerable americans that he serves. number two, like an a jim mattis to figure out how to stand up to president trump and some of his most outlandish ideas and make gestures to work across the aisle. this political stalemate is not going to get us anywhere. supporting is murray alexander and that bill to improve the aca would be a good step. >> andy, you know a lot about medicare and medicaid. expansion was the part that really matters a lot. he supports converting medicaid from an entitlement program that goes to anyone who is eligible into block grants to states. you're really good at this. can you tell us what that means? >> well, sure. i think converting medicaid to a block grant is ending the 50-year-old commitment we have to provide care for low income people for seniors for people living with disabilities and cap our responsibility. it's not a good idea. i think we have seen that most recently in the only block grant we have in this country right now is in puerto rico. and that is proving to be an enormous challenge. this is not a policy area that i think makes sense. i hope he gets grilled on that extensively at his senate hearing and hopefully he will realize to build bridges we've got to the provide care to more people, not fewer. >> i don't know, andy. it sounds like he's on a different side of the aisle from you. but you sound pretty positive about it. >> well, look, again, you know, people coming into these roles, you know, i have no illusion president trump is going to appoint somebody who agree with me and the things i believe in. but having said that, i want someone qualified, someone who will take this seriously and who look out for vulnerable and low income people. we should push that and hope for the best. he's a qualified candidate, and i hope that you know, he indeed if he does serve serves in the way we're talking about. >> thanks, andy. >> listen, a qualified candidate. >> we'll take it seend slavitt from the centers for medicare and medicaid services. we know at least alex azar took a cab this morning which is a good start. >> it is time for monumental americans people who may be deserving of a statue to be honored in this country. today, it is mildred dressal who us. >> she's the one in the commercials you always see. >> one of the most celebrated scientists, electrical engineer of our time known as the queen of carbon science. >> and dressal haas was born in brooklyn in 1930 and showed early promise in physics is srksz earned numerous degrees and became a visiting professor at m.i.t. in 1967. she worked there for 57 years and made morning advances in the study of carbon and electrical engineering. >> she was the first woman to serve in many science leadership positions and she pushed for women in the sciences throughout her career. back in 2014, dressal haas was awarded the presidential medal of freedom from president obama. she died in february at 286 years old. that is one extraordinary american. >> if you have a monumental american tweet us as you have been doing. we appreciate it #very shi rhule. >> thank you for watching this hour of "velshi and ruhle." i'm stephanie rhule. >> i'm ali velshi. >> right now it's time for "andrea mitchell reports." >> right now, hand in hand with dictators. president trump wrapping his arms around the philippines' controversial strong man after slamming america's intelligence assessment that vladimir putin meddled in the 2016 election. >> i believe that president putin really feels and he feels strongly that he did not meddle in our election. what he believes is what he believes. what i believe is that we have to get to work. parental guidance, roy moore threatening to sue "the washington post" after initially offering this explanation to the charges that he dated teenage girls when he was a man in his 30s. on sean hannity's fox radio show. >> not generally, no. if i did, you know, i'm not going to

Related Keywords

New York , United States , Japan , Alabama , Philippines , Washington , China , Whitehouse , District Of Columbia , Togo , Russia , Ukraine , Puerto Rico , Oklahoma , Manila , Egypt , Hollywood , California , Saudi Arabia , North Korea , Pennsylvania , Capitol Hill , Americans , Filipino , America , Saudi , Chinese , Russian , Russians , Japanese , American , Sean Hannity Fox , Nick Ackerman , Eli Lilly , John Kasich , Jim Ziegler , Doug Jones , Sean Spicer , Robert Mueller , Bob Vance , Vladimir Putin , Rodrigo Duterte , Matt Bradley , Andrea Mitchell , Alex Azar , Bob Mueller , Hallie Jackson , Connie Thomas , Joseph Kennedy , Paul Reynolds , Mitch Mcconnell , Roy Moore , Andy Sab , Tom Cole , Wilbur Ross , John Mccain , Gillette , Robert Mercer , Franklin Roosevelt , Mary Joe ,