What started as a field of seven is now down to just one. Republicans in Congress Nominating minnesotas tom emmer as their third Speaker Designate in the past two weeks. But can he succeed where Steve Scalise and jim jordan failed and get the votes to become speaker . Plus, one by one, members of Donald Trumps inner circle are flipping on their former boss. Today, a fourth trump codefendant, jenna ellis, pleading guilty to charges in georgia. But the biggest gut punch may be yet to come. Just moments ago, trumps former fixer, Michael Cohen, took the stand in new york and very soon well get our first view from inside the courthouse because theyre on break right now. And as Israel Ratchets up the pressure on hamas and pounds targets inside gaza, Secretary Of State blinken warns the u. N. That the world stands at a crossroads. His plea for peace and a twostate solution. But are other countries, notably israel and iran, willing to listen . But we begin on capitol hill, where right now believe it or not there actually is a Speaker Designate. Their third in three weeks. It took five rounds of voting Behind Closed Doors with House Majority whip tom emmer winning the vote. Now the question is whether he can get to the finish line with a floor vote that could come later today. Well have to wait to see. But after 21 days without a speaker, fair to say frustration is building. Im just wondering if we get to see Punxsutawney Phil or seven more weeks of winter. We dont want any more. It is no different today than last week or the week before, that would be a foolish idea. We need to do our job, get a speaker and get to work. Joining us on capitol hill is correspondent ali vitali. Peter baker, New York Times chief White House Correspondent will be with us in a moment. And former republican congressman Carlos Curbelo of florida, also an msnbc analyst, is here on set with me. Okay, ali. What do we know . How close with the vote . Is there anything to indicate that tom emmer is actually going to be the speaker of the house . Reporter no. I want to disabuse you of the notion early if you thought maybe a weekend away would bring back any kind of efficiency or maybe functionality to this House Republican conference. But they are the same as they have ever been. Because even though emmer is the speakerelect Behind Closed Doors, my conversations with members just in the last few minutes is that as they did a Roll Call Vote in the room, which was effectively just asking members will you or will you not vote for tom emmer, there are anywhere between 20 and 30 people who say at this point that theyre opposed to him. This is just the reality of this conference. It is why people say no one can get to the magic number of 217. And it is because every new coalition that forms against a would be speaker is always some new disparate group of individuals. We dont know the key people inside the room just yet. Those names have not come to us. Not all members have left the room, but my understanding, chris, is that right now theyre still Behind Closed Doors for yet another hour of this, and theyre talking amongst themselves. We also have seen them be in this phase before, where theyre always talking, trying to figure out what the path forward is, my understanding is that tom emmer wants very much to have a vote today and certainly there are a lot of members who want that too. But this is still where they stand again, where the majority might want something, but a small percentage of the conference can still hold it up. And thats where we are right now. Thats where we are. And it is where we have been, frankly, carlos. So congressman, youve been in those rooms, what is that conversation like right now, do you imagine . Well, chris, there is just so much frustration and anger in the House Republican conference, some members have told me that if emmer cannot make it through, cannot get the 217, there is a group of them who are prepared to move to empower Patrick Mchenry and that is going to require some democratic support, but, House Republicans are getting to the point where they understand that this is hurting them politically, where they understand that the house has to reopen, the house has to function americans are fed up. They dont think they dont think their electeds are doing anything for them right now. Theyre saying, if we do this, it is going to result in a civil war, but it is getting time where some of them are saying, well, lets go ahead and have the civil war. We cannot is that not where they have been . Theyre kind of in the midst of it. Some of them dont want to accept it, but certainly i think if emmer cannot make it, were going to see some dramatic action in the u. S. House of representatives. Well, i mean, there has got to be some drama. Let me bring in monica alba, one of our White House Correspondents. Look, there is real stuff that needs to get done here, not the least of which is fulfilling President Bidens request for urgent funding for israel and ukraine. How worried is the white house about where this is going . The white house is concerned, chris, and would like to see some action and they would like to see it fast. They have been following this along with the rest of us and know that none of that is insured at this point, that that is what theyll continue to call for. That supplemental request amounts to Something Like 105 billion, much of it going to new funding for the war in ukraine, that, remember, was supposed to be a part of the Spending Package that kept the government open, but instead was left out in the shortterm measure to be discussed later and now that were heading towards that deadline, that is why the need is ever more urgent. And the words of the white house, they cant have a single day lapse here in terms of what would happen for some of the critical weapons and ammunition that goes to ukraine if there is an issue in the weeks to come. We know right now they have enough for the moment. But that is something that they for weeks before the israelhamas war started had been saying they were very, very worried about and wanted to make sure that was done. So, linking that to this aid for israel was a way to ideally try to get both priorities done and across the finish line, but there is no guarantee that this package as it stands right now, which we should mention, it also includes things like border funding, it has also for the indopacific and taiwan some money there that had been a request of some bipartisan lawmakers, so the hope is they can get enough lawmaker support behind it, but they know that there is nothing they can do in a completely rudderless house as they wait to see if a speaker can emerge. The white house said over the course of these last few weeks that theyre not going to get themselves involved in it. They just want to seeing some happen quickly because of all of this, and because they know there is this looming deadline just a couple of weeks away. Just the use of the word hope reminds me of when i was a little kid and taught the phrase, if wishes were fishes, the sea would be full, right . Come on. Punch bowl has a significant warning, and this is even if somebody gets elected, right, if somebody, anybody, wins the speakers gavel over the next few days, thisill likely be the least seasoned speaker in the post civil war era. None of the eight candidates for the houses top job has extensive time in a Senior Leadership role or been a Major Committee chair. They go on to say, that if you look at the combined experience of biden, schumer, mcconnell and jeffries, it is 140 years. You wonder, do republicans want to have any voice, any operational significance in this leadership . Well, chris, this is evidence and everything you just said speaks to the vacuum of power that is at the center of the House Republican conference. Tom emmer, hes a talented man, hes respected, inside the House Republican conference, but he just im sorry, let me go to ali vitali. You have Kevin Mccarthy with you. Same opposition you faced, the same people who ousted you that are no, i only had eight against me. Is this the beauty of the conference, any number of people can come together to form an opposition . It feels that way. Should he wait until he has 217 votes to go to the floor . I would. I would have that discussion here. Thats what hes doing now. What if that doesnt happen today. Youre in a very bad place. Why do you think youre in a bad place . We have been three weeks without a speaker, we let eight people work with every single democrat to put us in here to go directly against what our conference riles say, that if you do a motion to vacate, you need 50 of the conference, now were in a situation where remove the speaker, remove jim jordan from being speaker, every Single Person that has won and we have got through a battle with elections of nine people, one won and now we have a Roll Call Vote, to get to 217. Have you heard from Anyone Thinking what is the option now . 26 members who are against tom emmer. He has it what is the option for you guys . Lets not be so negative. Youve been three weeks without a speaker. But i won 15 rounds. He had the first round. Hes answering whatever questions somebody has. And i think some of the questions people have, they havent given tom the opportunity yet to even ask them and have him answer that. I think this is the best way to go about doing it. Let whoever has that opinion come to the microphone, go to tom and ask him the direct and tom can anser. Theyre venting this in real time in the room in front of everyone . Do you think this moves the needle at all having this discussion face to face. I hope so. Ive been wrong on the last two. How long will that take, though, airing of grievances, getting people on board, that sounds like a long process if there is 20 plus people opposed. I dont think it is that much. I think hes making movement now. Im not the best judge. I dont know exactly. Are these jordan members who are going to get tired of this and might go and start working with democrats to get a republican speaker at this point . That very well could happen. Every member is tired of this. Every member is tired of those eight who work with every single democrat. If your question are we worried that some members might go work with democrats, thats already happened. The eight members worked with every single democrat to put us in this place. Were tired of that. Of why were here now by those eight who worked with every single democrat. That is why were where we are. What is your option if this doesnt work . I dont have the option. I dont control it. Tom emmer can decide what hes going to do. But hes listening to everybody and thats what should happen. This is really just playing out like publicly in that room, people are at the mics, talking about their issues, are they policy issues, personal issues . Combination. Listen, were all individuals, and they work through i had a motion to vacate because of a personal issue because someone had an ethics complaint put against them in a Different Congress and im not going to change that. I had a motion because i kept government open so our troops would get paid and now every other person who goes up to be speaker says their answers to do a continuing resolution, which i did. Are these Freedom Caucus members, jordan supporters, how would you characterize the opposition . More than the eight. There is others. I didnt Pay Attention to how people voted, so i does it overlap with the eight . Some of the eight voted for him. Isnt there a problem, you can solve for the policy there is a big problem. I would agree with you. You can solve for the policy. You cant solve for the personal, right . Doesnt that leave emmer at the same impasse as Everyone Else . I dont think so. I think people are tired of all this. I really go to the core. If you dont deal with the consequences of the eight who worked with all the democrats to put it in here, putting a new person up each time well be in the same place we were before. And you got to fix that to start out. The question earlier, are we afraid were at such a broken point now that some republicans may go work with democrats . Thats already taken place. That is what put us in this place. That is why eight people, 4 of our conference, worked with every single democrat to create the problem were in now. Thank you, all, very much. Chris, as we let the former speaker head down the hallway, were working in close quarters here, but it is notable what he said there, i think, that this really is a mix within this conference of you can always find people who are going to stand in opposition. And i think thats the reality when people say, oh, no one can get 217, chris, thats what theyre talking about. I think it is so striking to hear mccarthy say that the same problems that plagued him on the personal front will plague whoever comes next. I dont know if he means that emmer can solve the personal problems in a way that someone else cant, certainly there is not as much vitriol around tom emmer yet, but thats not to say hes not without his enemies and i already talked to some of them, so i think that was really one of the most stark views that we have seen of the House Republican landscape and it comes from the man who in many ways was at the center of all of this from the very moment that this congress started. Mccarthy is responsible for keeping the majority and now also responsible for all the different members that make it up, including the ones who voted to oust him and trigger this entire process. Chris . You may have heard it differently, but heres what i heard, feel free to disagree with me, ali. He says every member is tired of this. Pushing back on the idea that emmer is in exactly the same place as Everybody Else and you asked i thought the key question, is it policy, is it personal, and he said both. But if tom emmer gets elected, just because everybody is tired of this, what does that say about the republican conference . Reporter nothing good. And i do think that as much as were all working toward the finish line, were covering it, theyre working toward it actively in the room, of electing someone speaker, that is nothing to say of actually having to do the job. When mccarthy points out that he got ousted for doing a continuing resolution to keep the government open, that was the policy piece of what ultimately felled his speakership. Were halfway through that 40 some odd day cr that mccarthy helped to put in place. Thats what most of the people who want to be speaker are saying they would do if they find themselves in a similar time crunch where they cant fund the government just a few days before thanksgiving. So we could very much end up at the same odds with a different speaker as we saw with speaker mccarthy. But, again, i just cant stress enough the ways that when he talks about the eight, we know who the antimccarthy eight republicans were, and i think it is slightly disingenuous that mccarthy continues to say that it was democrats doing this to him, because the call was very much coming from inside the house, it was gaetz triggering the motion to vacate and republicans have told democrats that they agree, they never would have saved nancy pelosi if the situation were in reverse. So i think thats just a spinning Talking Point at this point. But i think the reality stands that this is a conference that can really pull themselves apart and come back together in different permutations of opposition to whoever is in leadership. And that is the problem. All right, ali, come back to us if we get anything else. Particularly about whether or not there is going to be a vote today. Let me ask you to kind of wrap this up, you know the players, i wonder how you heard what you heard, congressman, from Kevin Mccarthy. He didnt seem unhappy not to be the person making the decisions anymore, given the chaos that just keeps amping up there. Im not going to say that Kevin Mccarthy is enjoying this, but you can hear in everything he is saying the words, see, i told you so. And you can really get a sense for the contempt, the disdain that exists in the House Republican conference. The resentment that mccarthy has towards these eight. He has mentioned them every single day and every interview since this happened. And i think there is a world where mccarthy thinks that he can become speaker again. Im not sure republicans can go through this horrible wilderness and emerge on the other side to see that do you think thats realistic . I think mccarthy might have a chance to come back or i think youre going to see a group of House Republicans join democrats to empower Patrick Mchenry and allow the chamber to open. At some point, these House Republicans are going to say what do we have to lose . We havent been able to elect a leader for three weeks. With all the things you mentioned that are going on in the world, something has got to give at some point. And i think these members are going to have the courage to move forward and do that, if tom emmer cant make it. You and i will be talking again. So good to have you in studio. Thank you so much for that. Well, face to face for the first time in five years. Were bac