Transcripts For MSNBCW Andrea Mitchell Reports 20190110 : vi

MSNBCW Andrea Mitchell Reports January 10, 2019

Federal workers do not agree. Were not a waste of time. Were people who want to help. I had to go out and find another job because unemployments just not going to cut it. We want to work. Were not pawns. Were not bargaining chips. Coming up, well speak to the number two democrat in the senate, dick durbin, who will take us inside the room with the president. And to russia with love. The president s former Campaign Moneyman and current treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin gets hauled before Congress Today to try to explain what a notorious putin oligarch got and why he got a sweet deal on sanctions. Something just doesnt smell right about this transaction. I would also like to know whether the Treasury Department and the people that enforce these sanctions were of one mind about this or whether there was internal dissent or opposition to this decision, because it just doesnt quite add up to me. Good day, everyone, im Andrea Mitchell in washington. This is day 20 of the shutdown showdown with no end in sight. President trump is on his way to the texas border at this hour. Before he left, Still Holding occupant the threat of declaring a National Emergency to get around congress and pay for his wall. I have the absolute right to their a National Emergency. The lawyers have so advised me. I havent done it yet. I may do it. If this doesnt work out, probably i will do it. I would almost say definitely. The president also saying today mexico is indirectly paying for the wall through higher tariffs. But that new trade deal with mexico has not yet been approved by congress and the money from tariffs does not go directly to the government anyway. Nbc White House Correspondent Kristen Welker joins me now. Kristen, lets talk about the shutdown and how they can find a way out of this mess other than the Emergency Declaration which would breach all sorts of constitutional requirements and require a court fight for sure. That exact question, andrea, was put to the president. Was that essentially his only way out at this point . President trump indicating hes not yet ready to declare a National Emergency. But he sure made it sound like hes inching closer, andrea. He said his white House Counsel has assured him 100 , he said, that he has the authority to do it, essentially to use preexisting funds to order troops to build a border wall a long time u. S. Southern border with mexico. As you point of out, andrea, democrats have been very clear. Theyre prepared to challenge that if President Trump takes that action. They see it as president ial overreach and they dont think he has the authority to do that in part because they disagree with his categorization with what happens happening at the border as a crisis. So it is a move that could potentially be tied up in the courts for quite some time if he did in fact take that action. Again, the president saying hes not quite there yet. But its hard to see how these negotiations move forward when they cant even agree, andrea, on what happened at that meeting yesterday between the president and Democratic Leaders, and Democratic Leaders Chuck Schumer and nancy pelosi say he stormed out of the meeting, he slammed the table. President trump firing back today, saying he doesnt have temper tantrums like the one that leader schumer described that he had yesterday. So that back and forth i think just underscores how far apart these two sides are. President trump not moving away from his demand for money for the border wall, and the democrats not giving an inch, not giving him one dollar, frankly, to fund his border wall. And at stake of course those 800,000 federal employees whose fates are hanging in the balance. Tomorrow marks the day that they wont receive a paycheck. I asked the president when does the human pain outweigh this fight. And he quickly pivoted to the pain of those who have been impacted by what he refers to as illegal immigration. I think its also notable, andrea, i asked him if the buck stops with him when it comes to this fight. He says the buck stops with everybody. So a real departure from what we have heard from president s in the past, andrea. Going back to harry truman, who joined the phrase. Democrats dont go to republican luncheons, president s dont usually go, they send Vice President s. So that was unusual. He went because he wanted to shore up their spine and not have them break away. Here is what he said about what some republican senators have been saying. We have tremendous unity in the Republican Party. Its really a beautiful thing to see. I dont think there will be any breakaway. Im worried about what the end game is. This cannot be allowed to go on forever. Uh, the meeting with the president . Mmhmm. I wish we had a little more clear direction as to how were going to get there. Youve got at least three women senators that we know of, republican senators, plus cory gardner, who are not happy about this, want some resolution of it. We dont know how many others. What is your take on how serious the situation is up there with republicans wanting a solution . I do think its significant, andrea. President trump today said the Republican Party has never been more unified over an issue. And yet you are seeing those republicans there, susan collins, lisa murkowski, cory gardner who you cited, up for reelection in 2020, who are saying we want to negotiate, we dont think that this is smart politics. So its not the media saying it, andrea, it is republican lawmakers who are essentially starting to break with the president. How long can he hold out . Thats the key question here, andrea. And again, thats why it looks like declaring a National Emergency may be increasingly likely, andrea. Thank you, Kristen Welker. And that of course brings us to the president s claim disputing senate Democratic Leaders saying that the meeting broke up over the president s walking out, slamming his hand on the table. That was of course denied by the white house. We saw a temper tantrum, because he couldnt get his way and he just walked out of the meeting. I dont have temper tantrums. I recall dont. Then a few minutes later he sort of slammed the table. I didnt pound on tables. I didnt raise my voice. That was a lie. I very calmly said if youre not going to give us strong borders, byebye. I didnt smash the table. I should have. Dick durbin was at that meeting, of course. And he is the number two ranking democrat in the senate. What say you . I can tell you that halfway through the meeting, which lasted about 17 minutes total, halfway through it, President Trump says, i dont know why were here. They told me i had to do this meeting. Were not getting anywhere with this meeting. So it didnt start off on a very positive note and it went downhill from there to the point where at the 17th minute the president announced this was a waste of time, turned around and left the room. I will tell you it was a disappointment. There are so many lives at stake here, 800,000 federal workers, because of this shutdown the president is so proud of, are going to miss a payday. Its going to create a hardship they should never have to face. Nancy pelosi said today she thought it was a setup, the whole meeting was held so he could walk out. I think so too. It appears a walkout is part of his meeting strategy. That doesnt bring us to a conclusion or solve the problem we face. The Vice President pointed out he was speaking quietly and calmly, that he even offered you candy. Lets watch. Well, the president walked into the room, passed out candy. Its true. I guess they werent jelly beans, weve seen that before in meetings from the white house. But candy . He came with a handful of candy bars, dumped them in front of Chuck Schumer and said, i thought you might like these, pass them around the table. Thats a fact. But, you know, i dont consider that to be a substantive indication of anything. If we want goodwill, we know how to achieve it, and that is, open the government, stop penalizing these innocent workers, give them their payday that theyve worked for and deserve, and provide the protection and security the American People expect from this government. There are some people on the hill in both parties saying, now the only option might be his fallback, which is to declare an emergency. He has broad powers legally to declare an emergency. It will be challenged in court. But while that is happening, you could then go ahead, open the government, maybe he would sign something, maybe Mitch Mcconnell would bring it to the floor, saying its not new spending, hes opening the government based on taking the money from the pentagon or elsewhere. Mitch mcconnells problem as the republican leader of the senate is that hes worried about the support if he calls a spending bill that reopens the government. Thats why the president showed up yesterday as the shutdown cheerleader at the republican lunch, begging republican senators to keep the shutdown going forward. I can tell you from my personal, private conversations with republican senators, theyre sick of it. Theyre embarrassed to face the tsa agents at the airport who are protecting them who are working without pay. They want this to end. The president knows it and so does Mitch Mcconnell. Thats why he refuses to call a bill on the floor. So what is the way out . I dont know what the way is at this moment. But i will tell you, a Government Shutdown cannot be part of the answer. There are plenty of things we can discuss when it comes to Border Security. Democrats support Border Security. The president has changed his position, as you noted, from previous footage here. This 2,000mile concrete wall from sea to shining sea paid for by the mexicans, we havent heard that in a long time, have we . We now hear about steel fencing and how much it will be. We can reach a point once we reopen the government where we have an honest conversation about a stronger border using technology, people, and where necessary, fences. Weve been reporting exclusively, well get you some more pictures of that in a moment, but that the prototype that he is now blaming on previous administrations was actually in 2017, under his watch, at dhs, and that a simple saw could cut through those steel slats. Well, listen. There isnt a single fence or wall that you build that cant be overcome with a tunnel or a ladder or some other approach. Lets be real about it. Thats why we have insisted on the democratic side on being smart when it comes to Border Security. For example, scanning and xraying trucks coming into the United States can interdict 90 of the narcotics coming into our country. Shouldnt that be one of our highest priorities . We have fewer people who are illegal showing up at the border than at any time in the last 40 or 50 years. Dangerous people who want to come in, yes. Narcotics, certainly. Were in the midst of the worst drug epidemic in our nations history. What will you do if he declares a National Emergency and tries to use pentagon appropriated funds . Andrea, i really think that raises this to a level of at least constitutional confrontation if not worse. He has to be challenged. To say any president can ignore their Statutory Authority or the responsibilities to the government and use their power unilaterally goes way beyond anything this constitution envisioned. It will have to be challenged in court. It should be. What about Mitch Mcconnell . He didnt come to that stakeout outside the white house with his republican colleagues. He has really been out of sight. A speech on the floor, yes, there with the president yesterday. But hes the missing piece of this, is he not . He absolutely is. Hes waiting for a permission slip from donald trump to exercise his authority as the leader of the senate. Thats a first. I have never seen a leader of either body, house or senate, who put themselves in this position where they wont act as theyre responsible for acting under the discussion. We believe, i believe, that when a bill, a spending bill which received over 90 votes on the floor is vetoed by the president , that veto will be overridden. Mitch mcconnell knows that. Hes trying to protect this president by failing to use his powers as a leader of the senate. But if they throw in some of the things you agreed to last february that the president then reneged on, but a deal for dreamers, some billions of dollars for a wall or a prototype, and maybe something for tps, for all those people like the haitians from the earthquake who have been here, some legally, some perhaps not legally, need some protection from deportation, things that you democrats have been calling for. Could you see a deal like that, that could lead to the government being reopened . Andrea, you know, fool me once, and so forth. We went through this a year ago. A bipartisan proposal to President Trump encompassing many of the things you just mentioned. And what happened . He totally rejected it, saying im calling my own plan on the senate. He called it and he got 39 votes. Am i skeptical of any offer by the white house that involves daca and dreamers . You bet i am. I want something thats granular, that i can feel, thats for real. Vague promises around that subject are not going to do. And ill tell you this too, im not going to sit still for keeping the government closed while we consider these possibilities. Senator durbin, thanks very much. The stalemate continues. Coming up, more on that photo obtained exclusively by nbc news showing that President Trumps border wall might not bring the security he claims. Jacob soboroff has details live from the texas border next, right here on Andrea Mitchell reports only on msnbc. On andl reports only on msnbc or even trouble with recall. Thankfully, the breakthrough in prevagen helps your brain and actually improves memory. The secret is an ingredient originally discovered. In jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. We all make excuses for the things we dont want to do. But when it comes to colon cancer screening. 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This photo obtained exclusively by nbc news shows a sample of a wall built in 2017 that could be sawed through using common tools. President trump, asked about it this morning, blamed his predecessors. What good is a steel wall if they can saw through it . Well, that was a law designed by previous administrations. Theres nothing that cant be penetrated. But you fix it. But its a very difficult thing to do. But thats a wall and they have other walls. We have many walls under consideration. It wasnt predecessors. Joining me now is Jacob Soboroff at the border in texas, who along with reporter Julia Ainsley obtained that photograph. Jacob, we see that section of law, its steel, i guess, and there are slats. Tell me about its ability to be penetrated. This is the exact type of wall or fencing or slats or whatever you want to call it, andrea, that President Trump has selected and has said the democrats have agreed to, to put along the southern border. We have known for quite some time that dhs, the trump administration, has tested eight different types of border barrier wall fencing in the san diego area. All eight of those were breached, tested by the Border Patrols tactical unit. But we havent seen pictures

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