Ramps up today. This morning, well see legal briefs from the house Impeachment Managers and trumps legal team. But we already have a preview from mr. Trumps newest lawyer who says the trial is completely unconstitutional. And there are new warnings from one Prominent Senate republican who claims next weeks trial could lead to delays in President Bidens agenda and cabinet confirmations. Were going to begin with new reporting on the pandemic relief talks. Joining us, john harwood and aisha roscoe, a White House Correspondent for npr. John, i want to put on the screen this picture, this remarkable picture of people actually having a conversation, a civil conversation about substantive issues. President biden with nine inperson republicans, one on zoom, and when i saw this, john, i realized what you had been trying to tell me patiently about your reporting and your analysis. That sometimes bipartisan is the way you go about doing things, even if what you ultimately agree on isnt 100 unanimous. So that picture is important. That picture is very important. Even if the white house decides to go this alone, explain. Well, look, that picture that you referred to amounts to a victory for both those republican senators and for joe biden. They are both displaying that we can have a congenial conversation. However, it has not so far changed any of the fundamental dynamics of this investigation. It would be one thing if you had an offer that went onethird of the way to the new president s total from, say, the republican leader. Mitch mcconnell proposed that, that would have more gravity to it. But here you have the bare minimum number of republicans needed to overcome a republican filibuster, a number that doesnt come anywhere close to the president s proposal, that omits a core democratic demand which is aid for state and local governments. Thats simply not an offer serious enough to put pressure on biden to seriously negotiate. And the statement we got from the white house last night after that congenial picture was taken was, yes, we want to move fast. We want bipartisan support but we have to go big. Thats a message that were not feeling any pressure because of this offer. Could that change . Yes. If they if the republicans want to demonstrate seriousness and come up with an offer that generates pressure on, say, joe manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to say, well go with those republicans and side with the scale of their offer, but they havent done that yet and theres no particular reason to think theyre going to, democrats remain confident despite that furor over the Kamala Harris interviews with West Virginia television, they remain confident they can hold all 50 Democratic Senators behind their proposal and that appears to be the track theyre pursuing. Im not as fluent in washington double speak as you and john are. So when susan senator Susan Collins came out last night and gave a gracious statement to the press and said weve had a wonderful conversation. And conversations will continue, i think she said, at the staff level, does that mean the chasm is too wide to bridge or does it mean that some compromise might happen in the next couple of days. Well, what stood out to me from what senator collins said was that she didnt talk about anything specific that they actually agreed on. And either side did. The only thing they said they agreed on was they care about the american people, which is a pretty low bar for compromise. I mean, you know, we hope that all lawmakers care about the american people. So when they come out kind of issuing those sorts of platitudes but not talking about specifics, then thats what makes it seem like there is a large gulf here between them. And also, now granted oftentimes they dont want to negotiate in public, but there wasnt any sense that there had been any Common Ground and that statement from the white house really there were a lot of buts in it. But, you know, we appreciate the bipartisan, but we have to be bold. And we have to move fast. And were not going to compromise. And that seemed to be a signal to President Bidens base that hes not going to give in to these demands to cut the package, you know, down to almost onethird. But i do think that i have no reason to doubt that Susan Collins was genuinely pleased to have the chance to make the case. And you got the sense rom the republican senators they were genuinely pleased to make the case. And it may very well be they dont agree at the end. Its likely they dont agree at the end. But this may be progress in how things get done Going Forward in washington. Absolutely. And i think theres been this big question when it comes to President Biden and this new administration, what does he mean by unity . What does he mean by bipartisanship . And what he seems to be saying is that what he means is not necessarily that he is going to, you know, that republicans and democrats are always going to see eye to eye, but that they can have these conversations. They can be cordial with each other. They condan hear each other out lay out whats important to them without namecalling and people storming out of the room and slamming doors. I think that that is what President Biden has been trying to say when it comes to unity is that its that theyll be able to have these conversations and maybe they can find areas where they can work together. Hey, john, i just wanted to add to that. There are definitely going to be changes in this package. Joe biden himself has signaled hes open to more narrowly targeting those checks so that people at higher Income Levels dont get the checks. Theres a good chance that that 15 minimum wage comes out of the package. The democratic chairman of the Budget Committee says it may not be able to move under those accelerated budget rules. You could even see the size of state and local government aid coming down because there have been estimates that show the amount of aid exceeds the amount they have suffered. The package is going to be close to the 1. 9 trillion. Biden has the strength to insist on that. John harwood, lets move on to former President Trumps Impeachment Trial. His lawyers, his new legal team, have come out and said their defense is going to be this is completely unconstitutional. You cant try a former president , they claim. Is that a surprise . Isnt that what we were expecting since weve already had that vote from the republican senators, 45 who have tried to make that claim. Thats exactly what weve been expecting. That is the path of least resistance toward getting the result that republican senators want, which is an acquittal for President Trump. As you mention, 45 senators have already voted to say that. Thats a disputed legal point. The consensus i think of legal scholars, as mitt romney has said is that it is constitutional to have this trial. Nevertheless, that is a safe harbor, much safer for republican senators than saying, well, donald trump didnt have going to do with that interaction insurrection because we can all see what happened and we followed the building tension surrounding this lie the president was pursuing since the election. Thats likely to be where theyll go and is any lawyer going to stand up and try to make the case that donald trump wants to make which is that the election was stolen from the president by fraud . Obviously, it was not. And anyone with sense will be to look at the evidence honestly can see that it was not. Republican leaders, Mitch Mcconnell, has said that its not. So they got to go some place that is defensible and i think they think this is a constitutionally defensible argument to make. Mitch mcconnell, the Senate Minority leader doing something ive never seen him do, which is to attack or go after a republican member of congress. Albeit a house member, with really harsh words calling Marjorie Taylor greene loony, a cancer on the party, in great detail. This has to do with lies shes told about school shootings, about jewish space lasers. I mean really vile stuff in this case. But the question is, why is Mitch Mcconnell saying this and why does he want Kevin Mccarthy to actually do about Marjorie Taylor greene . Well, i think he wants to make sure that Marjorie Taylor greene, that she is marginalized and if not taking in the way that has happened like with congressman steve king where he was taken off of his committee assignments. I think that what you are hearing from Mitch Mcconnell is the result of seeing what happened with that insurrection. That if you allow these big lies to stand, it leads to violence. And that if you continue and if the Republican Party continues to feed these Conspiracy Theories and wink and nod at them and let these people become leaders or just become people who soak up all the attention in their party, that that is not sustainable. That there are real consequences to that. And thats what, you know, this country saw when the capitol was overtaken. John, how can this be a tough one . How can this be a tough call for leader Kevin Mccarthy . Marjorie Taylor Greene cant be on an education committee. She cant be anywhere near schoolkids. The last time that we have evidence of her near a schoolkid, she was chasing david hogg down the street who is a survivor of the Parkland School shooting. She cant she has no qualifications. Shes not a critical thinker in any way. How is this a tough call . Of course shes not a critical thinker. Of course shes not capable of being a serious legislator, as weve come to expect members of congress. However, the reality is, and Republican Leaders have shown that they understand this reality, that their party to win elections in 2021 relies on the energy and the intensity of people that Marjorie Taylor greene speaks for. The feelings of anger and bitterness and fear of people who think the country is moving away from them culturally, racially, economically, that anger is a Critical Force in republican politics. Remember, the Republican Party had a Convention Last year. They did not adopt a platform of any kind. They rallied behind trump who is the tribune for that anger in the Republican Party. He continued to be after the election. It finally blew up in all of their in his face, in everyones face. Cost the lives of five people or a couple of suicides since then. So its been very consequential and damaging event for American Democracy internationally as well as at home. And now theyve got to come to grips with it. But they still know if they turn off a significant chunk of those people that she is speaking for, they are going to lose. That may be the smart play for them in the short term and Mitch Mcconnell is looking at the long term. He wants to win his majority back. He understands that the Major NationalPolitical Party that has a significant chunk of it thats manifestly crazy, thats not going to be viable. But how you get from here to there is the challenge for the Republican Party and Republican Leaders. Yeah, very quickly, one more time, Marjorie Taylor greene, according to all the local georgia press, she has a multimilliondollar company she was given from her dad, a construction company. So the fact that she speaks for sort of disenchanted or impoverished people or whatever is a myth. John, ayesha, thank you very much. Lawyers on both sides of former President Trumps second Impeachment Trial face a big deadline this morning. So what we already know about the case that the Impeachment Managers plan to make, next. Liky Supplements Neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. Memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. Try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. Wanna build a Gaming Business that breaks the internet . That means working night and day. And delegating to an experienced live bookkeeper for peace of mind. Your books are all set. So you can finally give john some attention. Trusted experts. Guaranteed accurate books. Intuit quickbooks live. Were hearing for the first time from the former president s new impeachment lawyers. And shortly well hear from the Impeachment Managers about how they will present their case that the former president incited the insurrection at the u. S. Capitol. Joining me now is democratic congresswoman Sylvia Garcia. She was a House Impeachment Manager in the first Impeachment Trial against the former president. Thank you so much for being with us. What case do you think that the new House Managers need to make . Well, i think its going to be a very strong case, and a case that, quite frankly, the whole world watched all the facts as they unveiled that day, everything from the inciteful words that the president used at the rally to all the video and all the photos and tweets and all the activity on social media that happened that day. And then theres all of us who are there on the floor who were there as witnesses, as victims, as Congressman Garcia appears to be frozen temporarily. Well wait and see if we get that video back up and running. Were going to try to get her back in a second. While were waiting and trying to get her back, i want to play for you, she was saying the video of the riots, what happened that day. We did hear for the first time from the former president s new impeachment lawyer david schoen. Does this country really need to see videotapes . We know now that mr. Swalwell and the other managers tend to show videotapes of the riots and people calling in people being hurt, Police Officers talking. Why does the country need that now . Wed stipulate there was a riot that went on that day. It was a tragedy. President trump has condemned violence at all times. Read the words of his speech. Calls for peacefulness. This had nothing to do with President Trump. This has nothing to do with President Trump. That is the argument that will be made from his new impeachment lawyers. But but we, of course, do have the former president s own words from before the capitol was attacked. Listen. Were going to walk down to the capitol and were going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and were probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because youll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength. And you have to be strong. Youll never take back the country with weakness. Well discuss what message was received by those attackers, and were going to try to get the congresswoman back, next. Also, theres still no deal as the threat of a Teachers Strike looms in chicago. The mayor of chicago joins us. F. What a great day what an ok day. What a messed up only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Hey malcolm, your podcasts are on audible right . And your new audiobook. With everything from mel robbins to blake griffin, is there a more fascinating place than audible . No. And ive done the research. Of course you have. Audiobooks, podcasts, audible originals. All in one place. New years resolutions come and go. So give your business more than resolutions. Give it solutions, from comcast business. Work more efficiently with fast internet and advanced wifi. Make your business safer with powerful cybersecurity solutions. And stay productive with 24 7 support. Make this years resolution better solutions. Bounce forward with comcast business. Get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just 64. 90 a month. Plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a 500 prepaid card when you upgrade. Switch today. We are back with congresswoman Sylvia Garcia who was a House Impeachment Manager in the president s first Impeachment Trial. Were talking the case house Impeachment Managers need to make. I played sound from the former president s new lawyer who says basically, we dont need to see video of the insurrection. We will stipulate that there was an insurrection or riot at the u. S. Capitol. The argument that were making, this attorney says, is that the former president is not responsible for it. So how do you prove that he is . Well, i, number one, i disagree with him. I think you do need the video because you take the words of what he said at the rally. You t