will not be the final witness in the civil fraud trial against his business organization. we'll go through the last-minute reversal from the former president. also ahead, we'll bring you the latest from the middle east. israel continues to strike what it calls hamas strongholds in southern gaza. it comes as we are learning more about some of the hostages still held by the terrorist group. plus, a controversial ruling in the state of texas. that state supreme court is blocking an abortion for a woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis. ♪♪ good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this monday, december 11th. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day and week with us. we'll begin here. former president trump will not, after all, testify in his own defense at his$250 million fraud trial. he was scheduled to take the stand today, but in a last-minute reversal, it was announced late yesterday he would not testify i his defense at all. he was previously called to testify for the prosecution. he did that a few weeks ago. a professor who has testified as an expert for the defense for two days already will be their final witness. that plan seems to have changed quickly. a trump lawyer said as recently as thursday after trump attended that day's trial that he was looking forward to testifying today. >> don't forget, though, he's going out on monday with the judge's gag order still in place. so he can't speak about certain things. he has to be so careful. that's a concern. we have . those are all being violated. and he still wants to take the stand even though my advice at this point is you should never ta stand with a gag order, but he's so firmly against what is happening in the cot. >> things he chand. chris kise says this. there is really nothing more to say to a judge who has imposed an unconstitutional gag order and thus far appears to have ignored president trump ice testimony and that of everyone. the judge who is overseeing the case has said he estimates it will take him a few weeks to issue a final ruling. remember, of course, this is the penalty phase. the organization was already meanwhile therump ornization and the trump's save america super pac are paying out serious legal fees for trump's courtroom battles. that same accounting professor revealed in court on friday that his $900,000 in fees was paid by the former president's company and super pac. according to campaign finance reports filed in july with the federal election commission, trump's save america super pac spent more than $20 million on legal fees in the first six months of this year. now, while it is not unusual for a defendant on trial to pay expert witness fees, the trump organization's use of campaign funds highlights the large amount of money being spent on trump's pac on legal battles. it accounted for two-thirds of his political operation's total spending in the first half of this year. joining us now to help make sense of it, former u.s. assistant attorney for the district of columbia, now an nbc news and msnbc legal analyst, glen kurkjiankurkjian. let's start with the breaking news. do you believe that's the right move for the defense? >> jonathan, i don't think i've said this much in recent years, but that was a smart decision by donald trump. th reason i say that, it's really two-fold. one, donald trump wouldow be in a position to be cross-examined by lawyers, even about some of his own witnesses. letitia james put out a statement saying some of trump's own witnesses supported her, letitia james' case. donald trump could be cross-examined on whether he, one, agreed with those concerns expressed by his own witnesses, which would kind of be an admission against donald trump's interest, or, two, disagreed with some of his own witnesses including expert witnesses which would undercut the credibility and relight of his own witnesses. he would be in a bit of a trick bag. the second part of why i think it's a smart decision, remember, his organization, the trump organization was criminally convicted of a 15-year-long criminal spree as was allen weisselberg. donald trump could be questioned about the relationship between his valuations, his assessments, his statements of financial condition and that 15-year criminal scheme to defraud. and anything he said p under oath while being cross-examined, could be packaged up, provided to district attorney alvin bragg, and could be used to investigate any further criminal exposure trump might have in relation to the criminal scheme to defraud. >> you've been following the trial very closely, and as you said, the judge said it would probability take him a few weeks to come up with a final ruling. based on the evidence and what you're seeing day in and day out on this trial, what do you think the decision will be? >> after judge engoron was able to resolve the reliability question, that is whether his sons engaged in long-term systemic financial fraud, once he could resolve that based on the papers in summary judgment before even a single witness testified, i suggest now that the witnesses have testified, you're going to hear about just how much trump and his sons should be made to disgorge, which is a fancy word for paying back some of their ill-gotten gains, and whether they should be barred from doing business in new york going forward. i think judge engoron has already tipped his hat when it comes to reliability and i suspect he's not going to be all that favorable to them once he issues the final decision in the case. >> glenn kirschner, thank you for joining us this morning. we will talk to you again soon. another development, rudy giuliani will appear in court to determine how much he'll have to pay after he was found liable for defamation earlier this year. the pair of women sued giuliani te the former trump lawyer amplified false conspirac theories that they were atng to change ballots in the 2020 election. "the new york times" reports after fighting the case for months, giuliani reversed himself this summer, and seeking to avoid crippling legal fees, abruptly acknowledged his serial attack against the two georgia women were false. we should be clear. giuliani appears to be on the edge of ruling. they're asking up to $43 million from the former new york city mayor. he's also being sued by dominion voting systems and a previous attorney. he's not allowed to work as a lawyer himself. he's likely to be disbarred and has been indicted in the fulton county election case. still ahead, we'll turn to some of the morning's other top headlines including a subtle hint that another democrat might jump in to the 2024 presidential race. plus former house speaker kevin mccarthy seems to think he can get donald trump to stop focusing on revengerevenge. good luck, kevin. those stories and a look at sports when we come back as we take a look at a predawn capitol. dawn capitol. remember the things you loved... ...before asthma got in the way? fasenra is an add-on treatment for asthma driven by eosinophils. it's designed to target and remove them and helps prevent asthma attacks. fasenra is not for sudden breathing problems or other eosinophilic conditions. allergic reactions may occur. don't stop your asthma treatments without talking with your doctor. tell your doctor if your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. get back to better breathing. ask your doctor about fasenra. - bye, bye cough. - later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing? hashtag still not coughing?! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season. 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(smelling) ew. gotta get rid of this. ♪tell me why♪ because it stinks. ♪have you tried downy rinse and refresh♪ it helps remove odors 3x better than detergent alone. it worked guys! ♪yeahhhh♪ downy rinse and refresh. first time i connected with kim, she told me that her husband had passed. and that he took care of all of the internet connected devices in the home. i told her, “i'm here to take care of you.” connecting with kim... made me reconnect with my mom. it's very important to keep loved ones close. we know that creating memories with loved ones brings so much joy to your life. a family trip to the team usa training facility. i don't know how to thank you. i'm here to thank you. welcome back. we turn to politics now and new polling from "the wall street journal" finds that former president donald trump is beating current president joe biden in a hypothetical 2024 election matchup. according to these latest number, trump leads biden by four points, 47% to 43% among registered voters nationwide. now, let's be clear. that is within the poll's margin of error. but when third-party candidates are included, trump's lead grows to six points, which is just outside that margin. it's unclear, though, if all of those candidates will be on the ballot next november, and one of them, democratic senator joe manchin has not even entered the race. and finally, 49% o those surveyed say they have been personally helped by trump's policies while 37% say they have been hurt by them. for biden, however, just 23% say they've been helped by his poli policies, while 53% say they've been hurt. again, it's a national poll 11 months out. there's a limit we can read into it. but again it's a hint the survey will be very, very close. meanwhile senator mitt romney of utah criticized both president biden and former president donald trump while on "meet the press" yesterday. however, he made it clear who he'd like to vote for in 2024. take a listen. >> when he called people together on january 6th, that was not a random date. he called that on purpose. there's no question he has authoritarian rulings and interests and notions he will try to impose. that was dangerous for the country. it was dangerous then. lives were lost. we were embarrassed around the world. i mean this was a tragedy, and a number of things he did in the last months of his presidency suggests what he would do if he were elected again. i would like to vote for joe manchin, but i'm not going to tell you who i'm going to vote for. >> do you think joe manchin is going to run? >> i don't think so. but there are a number of others who would be better than president biden. >> just to prove a point, you're not ruling out voting for president biden. >> i'm rule out. you have a setting where you have someone who's too old and someone else who's a little too nutty, and where are you going to vote on that basis? and, by the way, in my view, bad policy we can overcome as a country. we have in the past. >> yeah. >> bad character is something which is very difficult to overcome. a line of severe storms swept across tennessee over the weekend, bringing deadly tornadoes and causing significant destruction across the region. nbc news correspondent marissa parra has more. >> reporter: shrouded in darkness, tornados twisted their way through tennessee neighborhoods. >> oh, my god! whoa! >> reporter: sparking violent explosions. >> that's a tornado because those are power lines. >> reporter: taking down power lines with it. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: he took video as the night sky lit up. >> i heard a winl tunnel, something like a train, and then a big explosion happened. i couldn't believe i saw that. >> reporter: the twister spinning up as a line of severe storms ripped through the southeast friday night. emergency officials say six people were killed, two of them young children. this twister, a powerful ef storm with winds of 150 miles an hour hit clarksville, tennessee. and at the local post office, workers running for cover as an apparent tornado swept through the parking lot. >> close the door. >> i hope nobody was in those houses. >> reporter: daylight lays bare the destruction from overnight that left 60 people in the hospital, this mayor getting emotional saying the response he saw was nothing other than heroic. >> i've never been so proud to be mayor as of right now. >> reporter: this woman was lifted into the air. >> i was trying to go to the closet when i got the alert. i remember opening the closet door and turning around. the wind just took me and i remember waking up on this side of my house. >> reporter: in madison, another hard-hit town near nashville led to tragedy. a child was killed and a mother as well, throwing the mobile home. he's left without a wife and son, and as he tells us in spanish, big pain in his heart. just down the street, misty saw her neighbor buried under the roof. >> she was screaming, help, help. >> reporter: as first responders check the rubble for anyone trapped, homeowners look through their houses for anything they can carry. >> we'll have to rebuild one step at a time. >> that was nbc's marissa parra reporting. >> still ahead here on "way too early," we'll bring you the highlights from an entertaining sunday of nfl football. plus the wide-winning play that didn't count and has one of the best quarterbacks absolutely livid on the sideline. we'll bring you those highlights and a check of your weather forecast straight ahead. your w forecast straight ahead. reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine 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coventrydirect.com. there's something going around the gordon home. good thing gertrude found delsym. now what's going around is 12-hour cough relief. and the giggles. the family that takes delsym together, feels better together. browning dumps it off underneath. he's the speedster. he's got daylight. inside the 30. one man to beat. oh, he makes a move into the end zone! touchdown! they're going to snap it. flacco throws. open man. could go. david bell, touchdown! 35 seconds, mayfield, to the end zone. it is caught. touchdown! third and goal. and caught for the touchdown! they get good field position here. wallace from the 25. he breaks out of a tackle. takes it down the sideline. he stays inbounds. he stays on his feet. he takes it all the way and ends the game! there are no flags. blitz coming. picked up. has samuel wide open. he's got it, touchdown! wilson has all day here. now he's going to take a deep shot sudden in the end zone, and cortland sutton with a flag down makes the catch. second and goal to go empty. designed play and spinning, driving, turning those legs into the end zone for a touchdown. >> some highlights from the winning teams across the nfl yesterday including a walk-off punt return for the baltimore ravens in overtime and a new york jets win that was stunningly good. everybody's talking about the buffalo bills' win over the kansas city chiefs which had this wild finish. the chiefs were down three when patrick mahomes completed that pass to travis kelce. as buffalo defenders swarmed him, travis kelce laddered the ball across the field in what appeared to be a game-winning touchdown. but hold on. take a look. it turns ought tony was clearly offside when the call was made. then the touchdown was taken off the board. the bills would stop the chiefs on the drive to win the game. after the possession you're seeing here, mahomes was really heat odden the sidelines, yelling at the refs. he and the coach andy reid whined afterward. folks, i know it's disappointed, but he was clearly offside. a penalty. not a great look for the chiefs. let's go to texas for the sunday night matchup between the philadelphia eagles and the dallas cowboys. >> prescott looking, escaping. throwing it down. it's caught. takes it to the end zone for a touchdown. >> an early touchdown from dak prescott and the cowboys never trailed in this highly anticipated show down. prescott threw for a pair of touchdowns and brandon aubrey had a big night for the cowboys including four field goals. they rolled over their rivals. we have a "monday night football" doubleheader, but we do. time now for the weather, and let's go to meteorologist michelle grossman, an eagles fan. i saw you avert your eyes. >> thumbs-down. it was a tough one. thumbs-down for the weather in the northeast. we're already seeing an improvement. we had rain up and down the eastern seaboard. into new england, that's where we're going to see this area of low pressure as we go throughout the day, and we're going to see gusty winds, heavy rain, and also heavy snow. this is what it looks like on radar. you see most of the heavy rain moving off the coast. it's going to be a few more hours. boston, you're seeing reds, yellows, oranges. behind it, you're going to see cold air. there will be a temperature drop, 20 degrees compared to yesterday. we're seeing snow in the interior parts of the northeast into new england. we're going to see heavy snow into portions of maine. still 25 mill uppeople impacted by flood alerts. where you see the green, we have a flood watch. you have fled threats that are imminent here. 6 million people under winter alerts. pink is your winter storm warning. we're going to pick up snow as we go through the afternoon into the evening hours. in terms of rainfall, not a whole lot left. jonathan, we could see winds gusting up to 70 miles an hour. concerned about power outages there as well. >> we'll keep an eye on that as the day goes on. still ahead on "way too early," we'll turn back to politics. the texas supreme court ruled that a woman who has a nonviable pregnancy cannot get an abortion in that state. we'll break down what that means for her and the country as a whole when we come right back. a whole when we come right back. welcome back to "way too early." it is 5:30 a.m. on the east coast, 2:30 out west on this monday morning. i'm jonathan lemire, thanks for being with us. the texas supreme court put a hold on a lower court's ruling that approved an abortion for a pregnant woman whose fetus was given a fatal diagnosis. on thursday a judge granted a temporary restraining order that would allow texas resident kate cox, who is 20 weeks' pregnant, to have an abortion under a narrow exemption to the state's outright ban. cox's fetus has a condition that will likely end in a miscarriage or stillbirth, according to the cleveland clinic. cox's doctor warned her that if she continues to carry the pregnancy, it will likely jeopardize her health and her future fertility. despite this, the texas attorney general asked the state supreme court to step in, arguing that cox does not meet the criteria for a medical exemption. the state's highest court then issued a temporary stay, which will block the woman from obtaining an abortion in that state. the court did not say when it would make its final decision. joining us now, health care reporter on capitol hill for "politico," alice miranda olstein. she's been following this story and so much on the abortion landscape since the overturning of roe v. wade. we're so glad you're here for us now. can you start by breaking down the attorney general's arguments? does he have any medical expertise to back up what he's advocating, or is this simply pure politics? >> so there are a lot of complicated issues at play here. the texas attorney general is arguing that this woman does not qualify under the state's medical exemption. he says the doctors could go through certain steps to prove she's disqualified, but they haven't done so yet. i think this illuminates just how difficult these exemption are to use in practice. almost every state has some sort of life of the mother or life and health of the mother with the abortion bans if they have an abortion ban, but the wording of those bans is often very vague and unscientific, and it's up to individual doctors up to threat of incarceration, losing their license, being bankrupted by fines to interpret that, and so the texas law talks about the risk of a substantial impairment of a major bodily function. well, what is substantial? what is a major bodily function? those are open to interpretation. and if a doctor's interpretation clashes with the attorney general or court, it could land that doctor in peril. so you really see this chilling effect at play here. >> so where does that leave this woman, kate cox, but also other pregnant women in texas who may be facing similar challenges? what recourse do they have? and you started to go there a little bit too. tell us some of the consequences these health care professionals could face. >> absolutely. i think this really illustrates, you know, what is underpinning the new era we're in where when the supreme court overturned roe versus wade, they sort of put forth this theory you can ban so-called elective abortions but preserve people's rights to obtain a medically necessary one. this shows it's not always a clear bright line between the two. impacts to one impacts the other. and so this woman and others like her in texas with those bans are really trying to navigate this new land scape, and her attorney stressed in a press call i was on that this is not at a viable option for most people in her situation. not everyone can wait for a court to rule before they can obtain health care that might save their life or preserve their future fertility or their health. so it's not like this is a solution for each individual woman in this situation to bring a lawsuit like this. so i think, you know, this is really a key test of this new era. >> and certainly in texas and other states as well. health care reporter on capitol hill doing really point work. alice miranda ollstein. thank you so much. still ahead, we'll take a look at the u.s. futures. plus, taylor swift. she saw the chiefs lose yesterday, but she's making history once again. the record that herreras tour just broke for the first time when we come right back. ime when we come right back. (crowd cheers) sore throat got your tongue? mucinex instasoothe sore throat medicated drops. uniquely formulated for rapid relief that lasts and lasts. that's my babyyy! -ow! get mucinex instasoothe. it's comeback season. my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose new neuriva ultra. unlike some others, it supports 7 brain health indicators, including mental alertness from one serving. to help keep me sharp. try new neuriva ultra. think bigger. for that let's bring in cnbc's sylvia amara. good morning, sylvia. great to see you. investors are looking to the final federal reserve meeting of the year for any signs of potential interest rate cuts. give us a preview of what we know there, and how's the market shaping up this morning? >> so at the moment, futures are pointing to a relatively flat start to the trading session today, but, of course, this comings after the s&p, dow, and nasdaq ended friday's session posting their sixth straight week of positive gains. naturally the big market event this week is the federal reserve meeting. market expectation suggests that the central bank will keep rates and change for the time being, but, jon, the conversation will be very important for market players as they look for clues on what to expect for 2024. >> so there has been a $6 billion offer to buy macys, the iconic department store. give us the information there. >> what we heard from is a real estate firm and asset manager making a bid for $5.8 billion for macy's. this comes at a time the department store is facing a drop and facing online competition. let's not forget, some would rather deal with consumers directly rather than via department stores. so far, though, macy's has declined to comment on these developments, but let's see how the story will shape up and whether this will prove to be a worthy deal really. so taylor swift has accomplished just about anything one can in the year of 2023 including being named "time's" person of the year. yet she's reached another milestone. tell us about that. >> that's right. the latest development, according to data, the eras tour has become the first to cross the billion-dollar mark. to give you an idea of ticket sales so far, they've come in at $1.04 billion, and that's thanks to selling more than 4.35 million tickets. that's u.s. and worldwide. i don't know if you've been to any of the concerts, jon, but i'm very much forward looking to seeing taylor swift in london next year. >> i missed out this time around, but those of you in europe are in for your a treat. hopefully she comes back soon another and we'll take a look. thanks for joining us this morning. coming up here on "way too early," current and former european diplomats are now worried that donald trump would pull out of nato if he's reelected to office. we'll discuss the growing fears with former nato supreme allied commander admiral james tra sri as the, and what a trump return could also mean for ukraine. we'll be right back. ukraine. we'll be right back. trying to give a better life to people that don't have the means to do it. si mi papá estuviera vivo, sé que él tuviera orgulloso también de vivir de esta viviendo una vida como la que estamos viviendo ahora. es electricidad aquí es salud. there's something going around the gordon home. good thing gertrude found delsym. now what's going around is 12-hour cough relief. and the giggles. the family that takes delsym together, feels better together. nexium 24hr prevents heartburn acid before it begins. get all-day and all-night heartburn acid prevention with just one pill a day. choose acid prevention. choose nexium. first time i connected with kim, she told me that choose acid prevention. her husband had passed. and that he took care of all of the internet connected devices in the home. i told her, “i'm here to take care of you.” connecting with kim... made me reconnect with my mom. it's very important to keep loved ones close. we know that creating memories with loved ones brings so much joy to your life. a family trip to the team usa training facility. i don't know how to thank you. i'm here to thank you. to the middle east, israel continues to battle hamas in gaza's largest city. the israeli military claims hamas has strongholds in the region and believes the terrorist group's leader is there as well. officials say they've struck 200 targets in the past day including several underground tunnels. meanwhile prime minister benjamin netanyahu has claimed 20 hostages have died in hamas' custody. they claim hamas is still holding onto the bodies. israel is working on a rescue operation for the people believed to be held captive, but it was unsuccessful and left soldiers wounded.now any detail this and we're not able to verify any of these claims. elsewhere there are growing fears a possible second donald trump presidency could mean the gutting of nato. that's according to current and former american and european diplomats who spoke to "the new york times" in a piece that ran over the weekend revealing that european officials were mostly out of ideas for howo deal with trump if he ws again next year. amid tse swirling doubts, one thing is likely. the first area where trump's potential return to the white house in 2025 could provoke a foreign policy crisis is for ukraine and the alliance of western democracies that have been supporting its defense against russia's invasion. joining us now, former supreme allied commander of nato, retired four-star navy admiral james extra sri dis. he's chief financial analyst for msnbc. we want to talk about this. i was there at nato headquarters a few years ago in brussels in 2018 when trump nearly pulled the nation out of the nato alliance then and had to be talked out of it altogether. it seems though his tendencies are only growing more isolationist and potentially pun-ke. what are your ideas? >> one the walking away from the european union and nato. the european economy is the second largest in the world. their military budget collectively is the second largest in the world. why would we want to walk away from that? we should pressure them to spend more. you don't walk away from that kind of capability. number two, you mentioned it. putin, it's a real threat, and if we don't end up confronting him in europe, we may end up con ng him in the americas. why would we want to walk away from the geography and the gee politics of this. and number three, horrible signal to the rest of the world. talk about the u.s. unreliable, walking away from an alliance we've been in for decades. big mistake. i would say epic geopolitical mistake for us to pull out. >> let's talk about ukraine in the present day. congress still not able to come up with a deal to give funding to ukraine? the white house is warning the money we could send will run out by year's end. in an effort to try to change some minds, president zelenskyy was invited to the white house to meet with president biden and some senators this week in washington. how crucial it is, in your estimation, that a deal gets done and gets done now? >> i think it's militarily absolutely crucial. so ukrainians are digging in for the winter, and now is the time to give them that military capability so they can perform, let's hope, better in the new year, and, number two, jonathan, it's that image you're showing right now. it's zelenskyy, world leaders, it's confidence-building. it is huge. the congress needs to back up the executive branch here and back up ukrainians with the right kind of military assistance. it needs to happen now. >> white house aides have told me any time there's a significant moment in the war or zelenskyy makes a big public appearance like this, the powell numbers go up. that i hope that happens again. admiral, let's end with israel and the fight in gaza. we have this failed rescue operation. just give us your sense of where things stand on that conflict. >> incredibly intense. room to room, door to door fighting. what i would focus on is in addition to the horrific humanitarian cost here, israel has lost, killed in action, over 100 soldiers. that doesn't sound like a lot to us, except think of it this way. population adjusted basis, we're 35 times the size of israel. 35 killed in action is like 3,500 killed for the u.s. recall in 20 years in iraq and afghanistan we lost 7,000. they've lost quivalency 3,500 in a couple of months. >> two months' time. we greatly appreciate your analysis this morning. we're going to talk to you again on "morning joe." up next here on "way too early," can congressman kevin mccarthy reason with donald trump who continues to campaign on a platform of revenge? spoiler, i don't think so. but the former speaker and about to be retired congressman begs to disagree. then coming up on "morning joe," we'll take a look at brand-new iowa polling just five weeks before the republican caucus. steve kornacki will be standing by at the big board with the numbers. plus, the department of justice filed nine tax-related charges against hunter biden. we'll speak with his attorney, abbe lowell, on what prosecutors are alleging and what this means for the political battle over the president's son. also ahead, democratic congresswoman suzan delbene joins us live in studio. 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cirkul is the fuel you need to take flight. cirkul is the energy that gets you to the next level. cirkul is what you hope for when life tosses lemons your way. cirkul. it's your water, your way. my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose new neuriva ultra. unlike some others, it supports 7 brain health indicators, including mental alertness from one serving. to help keep me sharp. try new neuriva ultra. think bigger. president trump needs to do in this campaign, it needs to be about rebuilding, restoring, renewing america. it can't be about revenge. >> he's talking about retribution day in and day out. >> he needs to stop that. he needs to stop that. >> you think he is going to listen to you saying, "stop that, stop that?" he hasn't listened to anybody before. >> that's not true. he will adapt once he gets all the facts. >> he's not backing away from his calls for retribution. >> remember, you have a check and balance system. i think at the end of the day -- >> where is the check and balance on him in the republican party? >> -- america doesn't want to see the idea of retribution. if it is rebuild, restore, renew, i think he'll see that. look, that's him. but i'm not going to change who i am, and i'm not going to stop giving him the advice. i lost the job, maybe i don't have the best advice. >> former speaker of the house, now congresswoman kevin mccarthy, on trump's plans of retribution if re-elected, seemingly somewhat delusional that trump might listen to his or anyone else's advice. elsewhere on capitol hill, a bipartisan group of senators is continuing to work on a deal that will procure aid to ukraine and israel with new conditions at the southern border. connecticut senator chris murphy broke down where things stand when he made an appearance yesterday on nbc's "meet the press." >> we are still in the room trying to deal with republican demands. we are not going to put donald trump's immigration policies into statute. we're not going to do that. that would be bad for the country. but we do need to do something to try to resolve this crisis at the border. we have too many people crossing, too many people that don't have valid asylum claims. if republicans are serious about trying to control that crisis while also still allowing into the country people who are legitimately fleeing terror, torture, and violence, then we can come to a resolution. if we don't solve this in the next few weeks, vladimir putin is going to have an opening, an opening to march through the ukrainian lines, to make a move on kyiv, threatening all of europe. so this has to be resolved right now, which is why republicans have to be reasonable. we are not going to solve the entire problem of immigration between now and the end of the year, but we can make a down payment. >> joining us now, congressional reporter for "politico" and lead writer for "the huddle newsletter," daniella diaz. great to see you this morning. let's start there. i know you've been reporting on this for weeks. from the latest conversations you've had with lawmakers and aides, where do things stand about this bill? can they get something done before the end of the year? >> well, jonathan, someone's got to give. that's really what's happening right now with these negotiations between democrats and republicans as they try to figure out what this supplemental funding package that would include aid to israel, aid to ukraine, and, as republicans have made clear, needs to have border measures in order to get their support for this legislation to move through the senate. now, senate majority leader chuck schumer put a supplemental funding package without border measures on the floor last week. that failed to pass without enough republican support. now, they're continuing the negotiations. the six senators, gang of six, murphy part of the negotiations, trying to figure out what border measures can be included. it is difficult. murphy told us a couple days ago he was leading this effort on comprehensive gun reform, and, you know, the senate passed a bill a year ago on this, but he says this is more difficult. immigration reform, immigration changes is more difficult than even negotiating on gun reform. that's really where this lies right now. >> is there any sense as to what sort of border measures would be enough to satisfy republicans? part two of that is, how much money do we think the congress is willing to send? israel is one thing. there's bipartisan support there for the most part, but to ukraine, which is thornier? >> republicans really want changes to asylum. they want detention policy changes. democrats have said they don't want to move on that. the problem being here, they can't really meet in the middle on what this could look like. now, republicans have said that they would support aid to ukraine, billions of dollars, if that border security measure is included. they will not pass ukraine aid without border security. they think that is a red line for them. that's what we're seeing. but another thing i want to mention, jonathan, is ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy will have a chance on tuesday, tomorrow, to make his case one more time in person to the senate and the house on ukraine aid and could possibly convince folks to move forward to try to address this before the holidays. right now, both chambers are scheduled to be done with their session at the end of this week. they're not coming back next week. that could potentially change should volodymyr zelenskyy make any sort of effort in trying to convince them to support him and their efforts in the russian invasion. so lots at stake right now this week as the chambers are wrapping up. >> yeah, certainly the white house hoping zelenskyy appearance will help. lastly, you've written just the other day about how there are several other agenda items for congress that are now all being pushed and danger being pushed into 2024 when, of course, the government funding is going to run out, as well. give us a quick sense of that. >> i'll be very quick. it's a lot on the to-do list, jonathan. first of all, the appropriations bills they've conceded, the house republicans have conceded will probably not pass by the end of the year. they're waiting for top line numbers on how much to spend for funding the government. right now, that's been tabled. remember, that is why mccarthy lost his job. you were just playing the clip from mccarthy. he funded the government at the current levels and was ousted by conservative members of his conference. this will be a major priority for speaker mike johnson. also, reauthorizing the federal authorization, faa, excuse me, that is probably going to be just extended. pharm bill will also probably be punted. a lot of things this week. >> adding to the belief that congress is completely dysfunctional. daniella diaz, thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. thanks to all of you for getting up "way too early" with us on this monday morning. 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