problematic because of where we get the components for them. they have a chance to vote to make that situation better. so let s give them a chance to put their money where their mouth is or put their vote where their mouth is and in the meantime that will reduce the deficit. it is earned praise from economists, people who aren t always supportive of the administrative policy coming together to say yes, this is good legislation and border line no-brainer territory and in washington that means at best we re hoping for it to pass with 50 votes which is exactly what we think it is on track to do. we are live at the top of our fourth here on morning joe. just after 9:00 on the east coast, 6:00 a.m. out west. we re talking to transportation secretary pete buttigieg. mr. secretary. speaking of major legislation, it was just nine months ago that the united states senate passed and president biden signed that $1 trillion infrastructure package that you pushed so hard to get throug
andrea mitchell picks up our coverage next. right now on andrea mitchell reports, president biden signing an executive action to seal the southern border. he criticized the trump administration for a similar crackdown. he slams his predecessor as a convicted felon. opening statements at the president s son hunter. merrick garland fights back as house republicans question him. did you have a family member profit off of the notoriety of any case you sat on? yes or no? you are asking me to comment on a case it se seems you are connecti the dots. israel ramping up strikes in gaza as president biden is asked if prime minister netanyahu is prolonging the war for his own political self-preservation. mr. biden s blunt response coming up. plus, the families of american israeli hostages meeting with the national security advisor today. they will join me here to talk about their hopes for a cease-fire so their loved ones can finally come home. good day, everyone
but she s testifying, will be testifying according to the prosecution under immunity. this is not the campaign family portrait you want to put out on a video. charlie? no, not at all. it is incredibly complicated and incredibly messy as peter has described. knowing what a devoted father joe biden is, this has got to be immensely painful. but it is also politically fraught because it certainly is very, very possible that by the time the first debate, that his son will be a convicted felon and you know that donald trump and the republicans will weaponize this. but i also think it is an opportunity to point out that the criminal justice system has not been weaponized just against republicans. you have this trial, that is going ahead against hunter biden, the trial against senator menendez, a trial against a democratic congressman from texas, and i think this is a point that people need to make because it is very difficult to
republicans in the house are conducting this hearing in an effort to bolster claims by donald trump and his allies that the justice department is weaponized against donald trump and republicans and merrick garland to the extent he can discuss cases at all have been vehemently defending that, saying he would not be intimidated by these claims. some of the things that have come up is the fact that not just hunter biden is currently being this trial being prosecuted by the justice department for these federal charges, but so are two sitting democratic lawmakers. senators menendez and congressman cuellar. he says it s done without favor, and that s what he is trying to persuade the republicans, if that s possible. mike, kimberly, thanks so much to both of you. pressing ahead, 242 days after their loved ones were