0 practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day. >> republican leaders of the house and senate get tonight's last words. the 11th hour starts right now. do good evening, i am stephanie ruhle, day 358 of the biden administration. the day the lawmakers investigating the capitol riots set their sights on what may be their most significant target yet. late today, the january six committee at the top house republican and close trump ally, kevin mccarthy, for a voluntary interview. the house committee six-page letter to mccarthy asked for details about his communications with trump during and after the right. the lawmakers also want to know about mccarthy's contact with white house chief of staff, mark meadows, in the days that led up to january six. >> he's made significant public statements about what occurred on january six and we'd like to hear from him. full he gave a statement on the floor about president trump bearing some responsibility for what occurred. >> if he doesn't cooperate with the voluntary requests will use subpoena him? >> well, let me say will consider it. well tonight mccarthy issued his own statement, saying he will not comply with the committee, quote, i have concluded not to participate with the select committee's abuse of power that stains this institution today and will harm it going forward. but here's the thing, this past may, mccarthy was singing a very different tune. >> would you be willing to testify about your conversations with donald trump on january six if you were asked by an outside commission? >> sure, next question. >> you didn't hear that? he said, sure. and here is some of the floor speech, chairman thompson referred to, that was made one week after the insurrection. >> the president bears responsibility for wednesday's attack on congress by mob rioters. he should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. these facts require immediate action by president trump. except his share of responsibility. quayle the brewing unrest. ensure president elect biden is able to successfully begin his term. what we saw last week was not the american way. neither is the continued rhetoric that joe biden is not the illegitimate president. let's be clear. joe biden will be sworn in as president of the united states in one week because he won the election. >> yes, that was clear. but then things changed for kevin or kathy just weeks after the attack. weeks after that floor speech, he had announced. which sure looked like a cozy meeting with trump. here's what one january six committee member said, tonight, about mccarthy's refusal to cooperate. >> he's hiding from the trump base. he also maybe hiding the fact that he was implicated in the political coup in the mansion of the day's activity. that means, he may have been totally with the program in terms of trying to get vice president mike pence to unilaterally reject electoral college votes. >> mccarthy, now, the third republican congressman to be asked and to refuse to cooperate with the committee along with ohio's jim jordan, and scott perry of pennsylvania. today, the committee did meet virtually with former trump white house official, kayleigh mcenany. she was originally scheduled to give her deposition back on december 3rd. and while she did participate, there was no word on what she actually said. meanwhile, the current president is continuing his fight for the right to vote. tomorrow, biden heading to capitol hill to meet with senate democrats earlier this evening, vice president harris made it clear. all of them need to back the white house when it comes to passing voting rights legislation. >> i will not absolved. the 50 republicans in the united states senate from responsibility for upholding one of the most basic and important tenets of our new democracy which is free and fair elections and access to the ballot for all eligible voters. >> what about senator manchin? what about senator sinema? >> i don't think anybody should be absolved from the responsibility of preserving and respecting our democracy. especially, when they took an oath to protect and defend our constitution. >> but, this afternoon, the senate gop leader, escalated the battle over voting rights in his own scorching floor speech which attacked joe biden and the possibility of any filibuster reform. >> well, 12 months ago, this president said that this agreement must not leave to this union. but yesterday, he invoked a bloody disunion of the civil war. the civil war. to demonize americans who disagree with him. he compared, listen to this, a bipartisan majority of senators to literal traitors. how profoundly, profoundly unpresidential. the presidents rant, rand yesterday was incoherent, incorrect, and beneath his office. you cannot invent a better advertisement for the legislative filibuster and the president abandoning rational persuasion for pure demagoguery. 52 senators and millions of americans are racist. unless he gets whatever he wants he is proving exactly why the framers build the senate to check his pal >> well, chuck schumer, the democratic leader, he is not listening to that in hopes to just start the process by bringing the stall voting bills to the floor and force a conference station over the senate rules. there's been a debate over voting rights and the reform is just one of the many challenges facing this white house. the administration is trying to help schools stay open during the omicron surge, by now promising 10 million free covid tests every month. federal officials are also looking at a new program to offer high quality mask to everyone in the united states. then there is the country still showing in facing problem. prices are rising at the fastest pace over the last year. that is up 7% from the same period a year ago. >> i think we've seen a number of unanticipated outcomes. when it comes to prices, this is a global phenomenon. it is connected to the pandemic. it is issues that have raised the supply change challenges that evolved over the course of time through the delta variant over the course of the fall. there have been issues where we had to go and tackle head on. but i think that we find ourselves in the position, now, where we are looking forward and most forecasters are projecting that the price increases will moderate. >> has the white house struggles all of these issues? there were some more troubling out. the poll today puts joe biden's approval at just 33%. that is a new low for his presidency. with that let's bring off our lead off guests jacqueline alemany, political reporter for the washington post and arthur of the papers mourning these letter. the early tool. two former u.s. attorney, joyce alene vance, who spent 25 years as a federal prosecutor. and cohost to the podcast, sisters in law. and peter baker, chief white house correspondent to the new york times. jacqueline alemany, i want to share what's kevin mccarthy shared to fox news on january six as the capitol riot was happening. >> this is still un-american. i condemn any of this violence happening on the capitol right now. i already talked to the president. i called him. i think we need to make a statement. make sure that we could calm the individuals down. >> so what's the goal? make him testify, play that tape, show the audience what he said at that time. and compare that to his absolute silence now? >> yes, stephanie, kevin mccarthy has had an evolution since january six. and it's happened to be a very public one that's played out before the cameras. but i think lawmakers on the committee investigating the january six insurrection are currently, and still, debating how they are going to proceed and getting potentially, keep to testify as they wrap up the final phase of their investigation before they pivot to the public face. but, it is not just kevin mccarthy that they need to get to compel and comply with the investigation in some way. it is also congressman jordan and scott perry as well. these three lawmakers are currently, again, under discussion with the committee on how, if they do ultimately end up sipping him, how they will actually enforce that subpoena. which is uncharted territory. and lawmakers are being cautious and careful so as to not unnecessarily start a fight in order to get this information that they do really need. and that is what they will say privately if they do want to get a full comprehensive picture of the former presidents mind set in the days leading up to and on january 6th and after january six. these are three guys who were in close touch with the white house, or conduits. back and forth down pennsylvania avenue. as lawmakers and this political coup, as jamie raskin referred to it as, we're trying to come up to ways to overturn the results of the 2020 election. >> joyce, let's remember, hillary clinton testified about benghazi for 11 hours voluntarily. and all these big tough guys, they are hiding under their desk. we don't know what they're hiding. but what does the committee, what can the committee do to pull these boys out from under their desk and get some answers? >> it's uncharted territory. the committee has some options. of course they could take the path that they took with steve bannon and mark meadows and abject failure to cooperate to the justice department for prosecution. but it's possible that doj could decline to get involved in a dispute between members of congress. and so ultimately, the committee may have to consider whether their internal mechanism, there are ethics mechanism for dealing with members of congress is something that could be used in this sort of a setting. that i think why we heard benny thompson, who's been very firm in talking about enforcement of subpoenas in other areas really step back from saying he would obtain a subpoena hearing. but there is an additional criminal question lurking here, stephanie. maybe more than one. and we see this evolution that mccarthy undergoes. and it's very clear that he says one thing very firmly before he meets with trump. another thing after he meets with trump at the moment just before the impeachment trial. listening to that with prosecutors ears, i immediately want to ask questions and look if there's been obstruction of a witness ahead of that impeachment process. and whether mccarthy is a coal conspirator, or whether he wants the position himself as a victim and witness. i think there's a lot more to come here. >> peter, this white house is trying to help democrats hold on to the majority in the house. this committee is largely democrats with a couple of pretty unpopular republicans. if democrats lose the house, what is it going to be like for the biden administration to work with congress? >> well, that will be the end of his legislative agenda, or this time of his presidency if he runs for another term. they could take back the house. that will be one thing. but there won't be any major legislation if president biden loses his party, loses his house in the fall. unless there is some sort of unforeseen, you know, emergency that brings the party together. as covid did for a short time. it is hard to see any agenda going. if everything is on the line here, that is why this midterm are so important. and here we, are at the beginning of this election year, with a president, as you point out without poll. and may be an outlier, maybe a low-end of the other, polls but it's pretty, you know, big red flag for this white house. we've got a weak president. he's not helping his party at a time when they need his help desperately. they only have a 50/50 split in the senate. one seed, they lose in the fall, they're done. not mitch mcconnell's majority leader again. they only have i think a three vote margin in the house. they lose those, boom, there in the minority. and your speaker kevin mccarthy. he's already made clear, he's going to take retribution if you become speaker. he, said in the last few days, he's going to kick off democratic congressman like adam schiff and others who angered him off of the committee. so this is a really toxic moment on the hill where members are going at each other. and the parties are in full-throated contact with each other. and where we head will be determined by the election in the fall. >> okay, but then peter, should the presidents message to democratic members and congress help me, help you? they need his help in holding on to power. and he needs their help in getting any more of his legislative agenda done. >> well, you can certainly argue that they have been helped him by blocking his build back better social program. that has been, you know, a singular failure of this administration. >> and voting rights -- >> he had everything packed into this one program. essentially a whole new deal. a whole society in one piece of legislation. and in fact, it seemed to be stuck, if not completely dead. it's a major failure on the part of the democrats to deliver. but they promised to. last year and if they don't figure out a way out of that they're not gonna have a chance because it's gonna go down. a little later in the year we, get it harder it's gonna become, and if this midterm changes the majority than that's over. threaten to strip january six committee member, adam schiff from house committee, should republicans win control of the house and he become speaker. i want to share what schiff said about him, tonight. >> mccarthy is a very weak leader. he really is the -- of the qanon conference, or base within his conference. as you demonstrated with that -- to trump, after the insurrection, he'll do whatever he thinks will advances admission. that's the person we're dealing with, and i think we recognize it. we're just gonna have to figure out the best way to secure's cooperation -- whether that there is inadequate. >> what is mccarthy's standing, among republicans, with trump. when he's going to the political calculations for himself. how does this all add up? >> yeah, so i think from a reporting perspective, if we take a step back here, it's hard not to look at his trajectory over last year, and the shifting and changing public statements that he's made. and, look at some of his statements and -- what to stay in power and manage what's become quite frankly, an unruly house conference for him. he has called it, deemed it, tried to label it as he just has a big tent party, and he's trying to keep all of his members happy. to some extent, he is getting some praise from people within his party, but people on -- who are more moderate, and people who are all the way on the right, the more extremists, muggy, caucus, lauren boebert, paul gosar types, neither of those are particular thrilled with him. that's why we've seen him again act in certain ways that have been mushy when it comes to actually calling things as they are. i do think he is looking towards november midterms,, all signs are pointing towards -- and he's doing everything he can to protect a future speakership and maintain that power. >> joyce, despite what mccarthy said months ago, it's really no surprise that he's not playing along now. does the committee's request reveal anything about what their strategy is? >> the committee's request is really detailed, stephanie. it provides a lot of background for why they want to listen to what mccarthy has to say, if you will share with them. but, one of the most interesting pieces in the letter they sent to mccarthy, in light of recent developments in the news, is this request to talk with him about his conversation with chief of staff, mark meadows, in advance of january six. and the committee kamara fires that saying, they're trying to understand what the -- and with the plan was for january six. it's fair game now, and certainly legitimate, now that we're seeing this news about fake slates of electors being submitted in at least seven states, with this appearance of cohesion. because each of those submissions look remarkably similar. it would be legitimate for the committee to talk with mccarthy about that, whether he was aware of that, whether that was a conversation the white house -- and whether there was any sort of planning on what you are secure call conspiracy, and that regard to the run up to january six. that's very serious, it involves, at a minimum, submitting the false statements to the government. there could be a lot of implications of that conduct. mccarthy could be fairly questioned about that. >> peter, how is this white house going to address this drop in his approval rating. they've got some areas that are winds, we have a winning economy, we are clearly in recovery. unemployment is low. all of these people quitting jobs means they can go out and get better ones, but then we got inflation embers today. prices are soaring on everything, from me to, cars to, homes. that's got the american people fearing very lousy about money. if they don't feel good about money, despite a good economy, how does biden tell a story? >> it's a really interesting conundrum. and so many, ways the economy is good as you pointed out. the markets set more records in biden's first year than they did in trump's first. you're growth is booming, here, compared to what it has been in years. wages are going up. there are so many things that are obviously positive, but that inflation thing has got a lot of people worried. it's highlands ever been in 40 years, and that is a lot of people in the pocketbook. they go to the stores, right now, and they're seeing empty shelves, because of supply chain issues, it's created this our mood. whether it's his fault or not, he will be held responsible. that's how it always works. now, the positive possibility for the president is that some of this begins to change in the next few months. if there is some pollack back of inflation, with omicron wave receding, and they get their handle on testing, in some of these other issues on the virus, you can see a scenario where things get better by -- and things are looking out for democrats. right, now they're not feeling it. the public is feeling quite down about things, very frustrated about where things are going. they're taking it out on the. presser >> things are dark in cold, on this january evening. jacqui, joyce, peter. thank you all so much, we're gonna leave it. they're coming up, the top senate republican is not budging. no surprise on voting rights. so, can democrats alone get the job done? later, one doctors revealing story of trying to test and care for a family member with covid. the 11th hour is just getting underway on this wednesday night. a mom saw lot