republicans, that's good for us. that's a russian speaking. if you're being celebrated by russian propagandists, it might be time to rethink what you're doing. history -- history will judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom's cause. >> that's president biden yesterday calling out republicans for blocking critical aid to ukraine. we'll have much, much more from volodymyr zelenskyy's high stakes trip to washington straight ahead. meanwhile, on capitol hill house republicans are choosing partisan politics over finding a compromise for that foreign aid package with a vote today on an impeachment inquiry into president biden. and also ahead we'll go through the president's harshest criticism yet of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and the far-right members of the israeli government. good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this wednesday, december 13th. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day us. our apologies about yesterday's technical difficulties. we'll get through a whole show today. and we'll gen with the latest from ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy's visit to washington where yesterday president biden announced $200 million worth of pre-approved aid that will go straight toward ukraine's fight against russia. in the mornings zelenskyy walked side by side with the highest ranking members of the senate before speaking to a closed door meeting of every u.s. senator urging them to standby ukraine. their meeting coming as supplemental funding for ukraine before christmas now seems very unlikely. with senate minority leader mitch mccomsaying yet yesterday that it would be, quote, practically impossible to get a deal done. after visiting capitol hill zelenskyy went down pennsylvania avenue for an audience with president biden at the whousz, i he was urged not to ge up hope on receiving the aid his country needs. asked yesterday about where republicans in congress stand on funding for ukraine, house speaker mike johnson told nbc news they'd approve it if, quote, they give us the border. in a joint press conference yesterday, president biden stood alongside zelenskyy and talked about the importance of supplemental funding for kyiv while the ukrainian president described his meetings on the hill as productive. >> the american people can be and should be incredibly proud the part they played in supporting ukraine's success. we'll continue to supply ukraine with critical weapons as long as we can including $200 million i just approved today in the critical needed equipment, additional air deficient interceptors, artillery, and ammunition. but without supplemental funding we're rapidly coming to the end of our ability to help ukraine respond to the urgent operational demands that it has. putin is banking on the united states failing to deliver for ukraine. we must -- we must -- we must prove him wrong. >> it's very important that by the end of this year we can send very strong signal of our unity to the aggressor and the unity of ukraine, america, europe, the entire free world. everything we talked about today will help us in the year 2024. today's discussions in the white house, in congress, across both parties and both chambers with a speaker, and i thank you for the bipartisan support. >> now, there's some new reporting that reveals the white house may be open to significantly stricter immigration and border policies in order to get that deal in order for exchange for aid to ukraine and israel. cbs news citing four sources familiar with the matter reports that the biden administration has informed senate democrats it would be willing to support a new border authority to expel migrants without asylum screenings as well as a possible dramatic expansion of immigration, detention, and deportations. the goal behind such a move is to win over enough republicans to back the president's emergency funding request that includes military aid for ukraine, israel, as well as taiwan. and that funding would bolster border enforcement and hire additional immigration officials. in recent days the white house has intensified its talks with lawmakers over reiching an immigration enforcement deal with homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas joining in with negotiations with senators this week. that's also according to cbs news citing three people with knowledge on those talks. the republican white house is expected to vote later today to formalize its impeachment inquiry into the president. the gop led house rules committee voted to authorize the probe yesterday, and house majority leader republican steve scalise of louisiana said that a full floor vote on the resolution will indeed take place before the day is out. the move would give the gop additional powers in its ongoing investigation into the president and his family, which has so far failed to find any evidence of wrongdoing by president joe biden. for more on all of this let's bring in congressional reporter for the hill. very busy day. thanks for starting it with us. first let's talk about these negotiations for border security in exchange for aid to ukraine and israel. first question is do you think zelenskyy's visit yesterday had any impact whatsoever? and then give us an update on the talks. what's the white house willing to give? >> i think a lotf folks hoped, jonathan, the visit from zelenskyy yesterday would give a shot in the arm from negotiations that has stalled for weeks. but it didn't appear like it did. you have senate minority leader mcconnell who's one of the foremost proponents for supporting kyiv throughout its battle with russia saying it's virtually impossible to get ukraine aid over the finish line by this krs recess noting it's because the house and senate are scheduled to leave this week. speaker mike johnson said he's not going to leave if there's no deal on the border yet and those negotiations like i said have stalled. mcconnell asking president biden to get involved. you mention that cbs report. it appears the white house may be giving in a little bit on those negotiation. we're talking about something as tickly as the border. border reform, immigration reform it's never as easy in washington. as the stalemate continues it was clear something was going to have to give. it appears the white house may be willing to do that now. >> the white house has been fearful of alienating parts of the base with stricter policies, anything that evoked what donald trump put in place. the president has suggested he's willing to deal here. let's talk time line now. if this isn't done this week and then the christmas holiday comes up, when will this move further, but when can we expect a deal? because once everyone is back in january there's also a governmenttia showdown on the horizon. >> this is tough for congress. this month was sort of meant for this ukraine aid it was going to be for the bipartisan negotiations in the senate to strike a deal and get it through congress. that's not going to happen by christmas and you mention next year. we have a january 19th funding deadline and then a february 2nd funding deadline. lawmakers in both chambers very far away in consensus on those government funding bills. speaker johnson has said he's done with short-term spending legislation meaning we could face a partial shutdown as soon as january. navigating the government funding and a political land mine along with a potential deal on ukraine aid that's going to be difficult. when we see it come up i think the odds it's going to pass at all are going to significantly decrease and the beginning of next year is really busy. >> and the white house has been clear the money to ukraine is going to run out in a matter of weeks and that will soon have a real effect on the battlefield. let's turn now to this impeachment inquiry. remind viewers exactly what this means, and it does not necessarily mean impeachment but what does it mean about in the inquiry? >> essentially what house republicans here are saying because remember back in september speaker mccarthy opened this inquiry on his own accord. speaker johnson and republicans are saying they need a vote to authorize this inquiry because the white house is saying we think this impeachment inquiry is ilijutimate. it was not back up by a formal house vote. it was just created by speaker mccarth pewords, so house republicans are concerned as they head into a more combative phase trying to land these high profile witnesses and enforce subpoenas and get various documents, they're going to need some legal weight behind the probe. now you ask the question, will it pass? i think we all have to be careful with predicting vote outcomes in this very slim house republican majority while assuming everyone votes. republicans can only afford to lose three, and that's assuming all democrats are running against this. right now it seems poised to pass. ken buck is the only one that's expressed with this impeachment inquiry. it can come down to absences that can change the outcome. >> house republicans are also preparing to interview hunter biden for a deposition today. but it's still unclear whether the president's son will appear. a source familiar with the committee's work told nbc news as of tuesday morning the panels have not heard from hunter biden's team about whether he will appear, but they are prepared for the deposition if humter is no-show, republicans will threaten to then hold the president's son in contempt of congress. hunter biden's lawyer, abbe lowell, originally offered to have him sit down only in a public setting so his words won't be taken out of context. there's a sense he likely won't if it's going to be behind closed doors. give us the latest you've heard about that. but it seems like hunter biden's's request to testify in public is going to strike most americans to be very reasonable. >> will he show up? reporters are going to be waiting at that stake outicide the door for that deposition to take place. he's not expected to. his lawyers have said he wants to testify in public. he's concerned about testifying behind closed doors, having lawmakers then be able to spin this in any way possible. i will note the testimony and transcript from that closed door deposition would be released afterwards but there's a concern it could be spun. republicans are essentially saying we'll have hunter biden come in publicly after that closed door deposition but we need that behind closed door tuesday parse the impeachment inquiry and get into specifics. there's concern in a public congressional hearing when you're ping-ponging and going back and forth 5 minutes there, 5 minutes there they won't be able to get into the meat and potatoes of the matter here. it's a bitter battle right now and republicans are threatening contempt of congress charges. there's going to be a lot of eyeballs. >> a busy, busy day on capitol hill. thank you for covering so much ground for us this morning. congressional reporter for the hill congressional reporter as always. we'll take a look at the morning's other top stories including the latest from gaza. israel has said hamas' operations in the northern part of that territory are on the verge of collapsingch it comes as israel facing global pressure to pause its military campaign and sharp words from president biden. plus we'll bring you new polling on the 2024 presidential race as well as the latest endorsement for republican candidate nikki haley. those stories and a check on the weather when we come right back. weather when we come right back. - 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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(vo) it's your last chance to turn any iphone in any condition into a new iphone 15 pro with titanium and ipad and apple watch se - all on us. that's up to $1700 in value. only on verizon. a few years ago, i came to saona, they told me there's no electricity on the island. we always thought that whatever we did here would be an emblem of what small communities can achieve. 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. first time i connected with kim, she told me that the family that takes delsym together, 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. new 2024 polling shows a neck and neck race between president joe biden and former president donald trump. cording to the latest numbers from reuters and ipsos, trump leads biden by 2 points. that's well withinhearge of error. it's a toss up. reuters adds this in the seven states where the election was closest in 2020 wisconsin, arizona, nev, north carolina, and michigan, biden a 4-point lead among americans who said they were sure to vote. that has some significance, but reuters adds when robert f. kennedy jr. is on the ballot, trump's lead over biden exnds to 5 points overall, 36-31 while rfk jr. nets 16% of the vote. reuters also notes when rfq jr. is an option trump takes a 5-point lead then seven swing states. in the republican primary field republican governor chris sununu is officially backing nikki haley for president. the popular republican state leader made the endorsement last night during a town hall event in manchester. his support comes as haley has climbed in some national and state polls recently. the former south carolina governor has had a strong showing in new hampshire in recent days, polling second to trump. support from sununu could provide a boost for haley in a key early voting state. >> i say this a lot, a lot of people have heard it but it means so much. it is the heart of what we are here. it is about low taxes and limited government. >> haley joined governor sununu on stage at the town hall after the endorsement to thank him and speak directly to voters. >> i mean it doesn't get any better than this. to go and get endorsed by the live free or die governor is about as rock solid of an endorsement as we could hope for. >> republican presidential candidates ron desantis and chris christie both down-played sununu's endorsement. elsewhere new york's highest court has ordered the state to redraw its congressional map, a ruling that significantly improves democrats' chances of taking back the u.s. house next year. new york democrats are expected to use the opportunity to alter the boundaries of two to six republican held districts that president biden also won. with only minor changes. state dems are hoping to avoid any questions of gerrymandering. those same questions caused the state's court of appeal tuesday throw out the party's last map which caused a special master to redraw the districts that favored republicans in multiple seats in 2022. the court ruled the new map will only be temporary and require the democratic state legislature to restart the process for permanent congressional districts in the future. still ahead we'll turn to sports and the stunning report on what could be the end of an era for an nfl franchise. we'll bring you that. plus the latest big money free agent signing in major league baseball. "way too early" is coming right back. baseball "way too early" is coming right back from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. 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. just picked up his third foul, and now green runs over, and he'll be called for the foul. and they're going to take a look at this. >> golden state warriors for draymond green was ejected from last night's game against the phoenix suns after receiving a flagrant two foul for hitting -- in the head. this mark's green's third time being tossed already in the season and comes just two weeks after he returned from a five-game suspension from putting rudy gobert in a choke hold. green how faces a likely fine and another suspension. as the for game the suns beat the warriors dropping golden state to 10 and 13 on the season. the reining women's champion lsu tigers set multiple records last night in a is 133-44 win. it marks it highest point total and largest margin of victory in team history all tallied while attempting just eight three pointers in the game. >> to baseball now. another top free agent appears to be off the board. the san francisco giants who have been striking out sign stars have reportedly signed south korean out fielder jung hoo lee on a six-year $113 million contract. lee's season was cut short by an a broken ankle. he was named that league's rookie of the year in 2017 and won the mvp award in 2022. now to the nfl now. a story of particular interest to yours truly. bill belichik's daywise the new england patriots could soon be over. there's new reporting that suggests belichik will likely not return as the team's head coach next season. with reports that owner robert kraft decided to make the change after new england's week 10 loss to the colts, a game that was played in germany. the split could include a trade of belichik to a new team, which would explain the decision not to fire him during the season and chargers, commanders among those rumored. we'll see. there's been conflicting reports on belichik. this is a good reporter, though, who knows the beat. six super bowls to new england, but it could be a very tough way to go out. time now for the weather and let's go to meteorologist angie lassman up there at 30 rock for the forecast. >> you and have alarm clocks but some other folks might want to set their alarms in the overnight hours because we get a nice meteor shower. maybe 75 to 80 per hour. so it the conditions if they're ideal where you are as far as the forecast is concerned you could see some nice meetiers. a system we're watching over the next couple of days. but if you're in places like southern california, the midwest, north east, even most of the southeast you'll have nice conditions for the northern plains, too. along the gulf coast we will have cloudy conditions, so not great there. meanwhile that system i mentioned cross the southwest is going to pump out a whole lot of rain and even some good snow for parts of the rockies. we'll see some heavy rain for parts of texas, especially central texas could see the potential for texas the next couple of days. and notice this lasts with us the next few days. this is look at friday. we'll see nice and sunny conditions across the eastern hfl of the country, but by the time we get into the