the president's base, or did it? as the head of the nation's top evangelical magazine calls for the president to be removed from office arguing he's profoundly immoral and president trump firing back today. the latest on this divine confrontation ahead. fireworks at last night's democratic debate from wine caves to crystals, the candidates pummel surging mayor pete buttigieg, but he hit back. as the dust settles this morning, the major takeaways including who might stand to benefit the most. let's start with the issue that loomed over last night, the impeachment of president trump. right now on the hill, lawmakers heading home and the standoff over the senate trial is at an impasse. msnbc's garrett haake is standing by on capitol hill where the halls are looking awfully empty behind him. nbc's kelly o'donnell joins us from the white house. garrett, no sign of any compromise, neither side appears to be budges here. as everybody heads home to their districts for the holidays, is there anything you see that could happen in the next couple weeks? will there be any real conversations behind the scenes? >> reporter: mostly holiday tour groups here today. here is how mitch mcconnell left things on the senate floor before they closed for business for the year. take a listen. >> we remain at an impasse because my friend, the democratic leader, continues to demand a new and different set of rules for president trump. the house democrat prosecution seems to have gotten cold feet. other house democrats seem to be suggests they'd prefer never to transmit the articles. final with me. >> chris, they're stuck on this question of witnesses. chuck schumer says he wants four, john bolton, mick mulvaney and two budget officials involved in the withholding of that money. in the clinton impeachment trial there were witnesses. in the andrew johnson impeachment trial there were witnesses. at least in the clinton trial the witnesses weren't guaranteed up front. what you had was the start of the trial, presentation of evidence by the impeachment managers, some defense by the president's attorneys and then a vote to call those witnesses, and somewhere in that process is where we are stuck right now. but the party who tends to win these showdowns tends to be the party most united. right now schumer and nancy pelosi are in lockstep agreement on this and they have a two-week grace period. the trial was never going to start before the 6th of january anyway. >> who is not united on the republican side? what's the big headache for mitch mcconnell right now? >> reporter: this is exactly the point. there are members of mitch mcconnell's conference on the republican side who may want to have witnesses called or feel as though they should vote yes if they're taking their jobs seriously as a juror if a motion is brought up to call for witnesses. by the way, it's not clear the president is on the same page. he's been agitating for witnesses and a much fuller trial along the way. it's only now that he started to align himself with mcconnell's version of a speedy trial. >> that leads us, of course, to kelly o'donnell. we're wondering what page the president is on at this very minute. he's always subject to change his mind. how is the white house managing where things are? and what about reports the president simply wants to know what is nancy pelosi up to? >> reporter: well, the president has not yet left town. he has a working day with some events behind the scenes and we'll see him later in the day. plenty of time for him to ruminate on all this. the move by the speaker is something that supp prirprised president. we've come to know that one of the methods when something is on his mind is to phone a friend about it and ask. one of the questions we've heard he's really raising is what is the end game for nancy pelosi, what does it mean about holding back on transmitting the articles of impeachment passed by the house over to the senate, all of these things, trying to get a handle on the dynamics here. one of the questions really is about how should this play out. we have heard that the president is saying he will adhere to what senate republicans are suggesting. we also know by just track record that the president is not always able to stay in that one lane when he announces his support for something or his intentions about something. so a couple of weeks until this really gets going is probably more of a headache for mitch mcconnell concerned about what will the president say, tweet or do. we got a sense of this. i was with the president when he was on the road during the time of impeachment with his big rally, and he expressed then and expressed here at the white house this sort of surreal sense, almost an impeachment denial in terms of his own experience of it. here is how the president described his frustration or perhaps bewilderment at the situation he's in. >> i don't feel like i'm being impeached because it's a hoax. it's a setup. it's a horrible thing they did. you know what? it's a phony deal and they cheapen the word impeachment. it's an ugly word, but they cheapened the word impeachment. that should never again happen to another president. i think you'll see some very interesting things happen over the coming few days and weeks. >> reporter: so there's a bit of fatigue in the president's expression there i think you might be able to perceive. his campaign is saying much more robustly they believe this generated revenue for them with donations and energizing some of the president's supporters. so they're trying to turn to campaign mode in the face of this adversity and the question marks that remain. >> kelly o'donnell, garrett haake, thanks to both of you. i want to turn to jennifer rubin from t"the washington post" and mara gay members of "the new york times" editorial boards. you just wrote about pelosi, jennifer. the question is president is asking reportedly is what's she up to. if you were to put yourself in speaker pelosi's shoes, how long does she hold on to the articles? what's her play here? >> first of all, i think we have to appreciate how upset president trump is. lindsey graham went to go talk to him and he was very upset. i think "the new york times" has been reporting he's very agitated about this. remember, he has impeachment over his name right now. he wants exoneration, acquittal in the senate and he's not get it. nancy pelosi hopes, frankly, playing on his anxiety and some of the nervousness of the senate republicans that she can perhaps force them to agree in advance to witnesses and/or documents. they are going to resist that with every in ch of energy they have. they don't want people like john bolton, mick mulvaney and the rest coming to testimony. those people have firsthand knowledge of president trump's attempt to extort ukraine. so nancy pelosi has to decide if there's a point at which she can say, well, we're going to decide this the way we've done in the past, we'll have votes as they come up or whether she'll hold out there until an kplauexhaust point. >> i think there's concern, march rarks on the democratic side, that this makes the president more determined than ever. look, if it's going to be problematic for me to get an acquittal and if we all know this goes before the senate, when it goes before the senate there will be an acquittal, i need to do that at the ballot box in november, and as you heard from kelly o'donnell, they're fund-raising off of it and getting a lot of money. >> the president's base are motivated, but the rest of us not. the speaker has to put the onus on republicans and say show the american people you're going to give the president a fair trial, not just that he deserves, but that the republic deserves. as long as that's the dynamic, she does have a little time to play that out. i also think it allows democrats to negotiate with republicans in the senate. there are several republicans like mitt romney who actually have shown interest in taking this seriously and not just grandstanding the way we saw republicans in the house do this week. >> in your paper, kamala harris, who of course will sit as a juror at the trial wrote an op-ed. her article about mitch mcconnell is, let's be clear, mr. mcconnell doesn't want a senate trial, he wants a senate coverup. i've been been in a courtroom where the accused can block witnesses from testifying and prohibit prosecutors from asking questions. you and your colleagues on the editorial board have argued that mcconnell is really doing a disservice to the constitution. this is not going to be some normal courtroom trial anyway. we know this. we know what the mood is on the hill. mcconnell has said very clearly he's not going to be impartial about this. others have said they haven't read the article. >> jennifer is absolutely right. the story right now, the narrative is the president has been impeached. it makes no sense for speaker pelosi or any of the democrats to want to move beyond that. that's going to be the story over christmas, the president has been impeached. moving to the point where the president might be acquitted by the senate, in his words, exonerated, that doesn't really help democrats. this is a moment where they're going to kind of -- i don't want to say enjoy it, because it's a sad day when we have to impeach a president, he certainly deserved it. this is actually not a bad time for democrats. >> jennifer, on one side we know what's going to happen if and when the trial takes place. the "wall street journal" notes that in that trial the focus will turn to the chief justice of the supreme court who will preside. as the piece notes, the trial rules will be written by the jury, the senate, whose republican leadership who has already pronounced the defendant not guilty. like kamala harris, roberts knows what a fair trial looks like, and he has sided with liberals often enough that more than a few conservatives consider him a turncoat. is there any way he's a wildcard here? >> i would like to think he'd intervene and inject real fairness in the process. he really doesn't have the power and i would be very, very surprised if he intervenes in some serious way. >> not expecting an eye roll from john roberts at some point? >> i think he'll defer to the senate. the senate has the right to try the case. he is the presiding officer. that gives him some ceremonial power. perhaps he will encourage the parties to work things out, to expedite matters or to agree on a certain set of facts, perhaps. but i do not see him, for example, issuing a subpoena to john bolton. i just don't think that's going to happen. he's very concerned at this moment about the pollicization of the court. he doesn't want it to be seen that somehow the court was out to get trump or out to defend trump. >> jennifer rubin, mara gay, thanks for coming in on this friday. the president firing back, but could it impact how a key part of his base votes. from wine caves to purity tests, last night's democratic debate was full of fireworks including this moment that's getting a lot of attention this morning. >> billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the united states. >> this is the problem with issuing purity tests you cannot, yourself, pass. ) where am i? 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joining me, neera tanden from the center for american progress and former adviser to president obama and hillary clinton and former democratic congresswoman donna edwards. great to see both of you. neera, you were at last night's debate. i wonder if you were surprised by how heated some of the exchanges got or would you be surprised it didn't get heated given how close iowa is now? where does this leave the race for the nomination? >> we're getting close to the iowa caucuses so i'm not surprised it got a little punchy. being in the audience, i think a lot of people thought biden had a very good performance yesterday. i think that's a central element of this race which is you have candidates vying for the iowa lead. i think senator warren and pete buttigieg were doing that yesterday. when you walk away from this, biden still seems strong. >> someone tweeted yesterday that what appeared to them, because joe biden was so steady in a way he hadn't been in a previous debate, this was about who was going to be his main challenger. is that taking it a step too far? >> i think people are focused on iowa. more people were protecting someone other than joe biden which has been the case in previous debates. >> that candidate who got in and there landed punches is the one who could stand up to donald trump? is there a danger of crossing a line for a weary electorate? that's been amy klobuchar's take on this, we're all pretty much on the same page. >> i think it did help to illustrate the fighting styles of these candidates. here is the thing. most of these candidates are pretty much in the same range on issues. they have to do some things to make them stand out. joe biden actually had a really good debate. we've been judging all these debates on whether joe biden performed well or not. but i actually think all the candidates in a smaller, more contained platform had really strong moments. amy klobuchar had strong moments. >> we just heard from her campaign, raised $500,000 in the hours after the debate last night. that's big money from her. >> it is. i'm not surprised about that. i also would say i think this m argument over money and politics where you've got a couple multimillionaires and raising money from small donors and big donors is an important debate to have. those are legitimate debates. i wouldn't describe it as a brawl so much as illustrating where these candidates are or not both on issues and on style. >> here is my question. i'm sure you saw this report, neera, in "the new york times," there were questions about whether trump would even debate a general election candidate. you do wonder if he's sitting at home last night or his team is sitting at home last night and watching some of those folks who, look, it takes a little while to come into your own on the debate stage. it's not something most people go out and hit a home run the first time. does that make that hesitate? objectively, understanding what your politics are, what do you think? do you think there's a chance trump really wouldn't debate? >> i honestly think if donald trump refuses to debate the democratic nominee, whoever that nominee is, i think most people will recognize that that is not an act of strength but an act of cowardice. >> he's going say it's because it's not fair. >> fair over what? that the person is better, a better debater? >> he doesn't like the rules. >> that is exactly what he says. he says that about everything. i think the majority of the country -- maybe not his base, but the majority of the country will recognize he will be the only incumbent who has not debated an opponent, a general election opponent in american history really. i think he will look pretty pathetic. so i do think it makes sense for the democratic lack toelectorat look at someone who can weather the punches. even if it's not on the debate stage, it's the day-to-day of the campaign. a lot of the candidates last night showed they can. >> neera tanden and donna edwards, thanks for coming in. happy holidays. president trump hitting back after the evangelical christian magazine calls for his removal from office and encourages their christian backers to reconsider their support. will it make a difference? a big change is being implemented 45 days from the iowa caucus. while some call it a step in the right direction, does it do enough to update an aging system? hear what some caucus-goers told me about the process. for small prices, you can build big dreams, spend less, get way more. shop everything home at wayfair.com mornings were made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis. when considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz xr, a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis or active psoriatic arthritis for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. it can reduce pain, swelling, and significantly improve physical function. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra can increase risk of death. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. as have tears in the stomach or intestines, serious allergic reactions, and changes in lab results. tell your doctor if you've been somewhere fungal infections are common, or if you've had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. don't let another morning go by without asking your doctor about xeljanz xr. ♪ without asking your doctor about xeljanz xr. dana-farber cancer institute discovered the pd-l1 pathway. pd-l1. they changed how the world fights cancer. blocking the pd-l1 protein, lets the immune system attack, attack, attack cancer. pd-l1 transformed, revolutionized, immunotherapy. pd-l1 saved my life. saved my life. saved my life. what we do here at dana-faber, changes lives everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. a magazine just called for president trump to be removed from office. the evangelical magazine founded by graham, "christianity today" took this bold stance. editor-in-chief writing, the impeachment hearings have illuminated the president's moral deficiencies for all to see. this damages the institution of the presidency, damages the reputation of our country and damages both the spirit and the future of our people. none of the president's positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character. the president fired back on twitter today saying a far left magazine or very progressive as some would call it which has been doing poorly and hasn't been involved with the billy graham family for many years, "christianity today" knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a routine phone call and would rather have a rod cal left non-believer who wants to take your religion and your guns than donald trump as your president. i want to bring in republican strategist rick wilson and "new york times" columnist and msnbc contributor brett stephens. rick, in the scope of endorsements, editorials, where would you put this one? >> i've been sort of a skeptic about the impact of this editorial because i think evangelicals have entered a phase of their political behavior where they seek the political worldly ends through whatever modality we can get them and they've made their deal with the devil in the form of donald trump. i don't think they're going to abandon trump over this article, although i think the article speaks eloquently and powerfully to a lot of his deficiencies from the perspective of believers. >> it's worth noting, brett, what his power was with the evangelical community in 2016. 81% voted for him. david remnick just wrote this in "the new yorker" about the president's rally in michigan. he was now impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of congress, but he had his base, he could not be touched. so to sort of pick up on what rick said, does this make any difference? is anybody in the republican party or evangelicals listening? >> i'm not an evangelical christian, but i think it's a day late and a dollar short. if anything, trump's moral character was fully on display in 2016 and most evangelicals voted for him anyway on purely partisan reasons. by the way, character, which was every bit as questionable as the character they destained in the character of bill clinton 20 years earlier. i'm glad the editorial was written. it will set a marker. they should have been shouting from the rooftops back in 2015 when the trump bubble was only starting to float. >> i do think a lot of people have wondered, rick, is there a mark at which, if he crosses it, then he'll lose some of those folks? i know you know during the debate before the impeachment vote republican congressman laud milk compared it to the days leading up to jesus christ's. >> during that sham trial, pontius pilate afforded more rights to jesus than the democrats have afforded this president in this process. >> can you imagine what the blowback would be if a democratic compared nancy pelosi to mary. this is the president who won't apologize for suggesting john dingell is in hell. is there any line at all that, if he crossed it, he would lose those folks or is everything baked in? >> chris, this is a degenerate gambler who owned casinos, cav vortded with porn stars. he's the "avatar" of the grievances and anger of a lot of the folks in the evangelical community who decided, they feel as if their lives are so under threat that they have to make this enormous compromise with a man who is fundamentally, auft most definitionally -- he's not a religious person. he's a guy who, as he said, reads the bible and couldn't quote a single passage from it for his life. >> was it 2 corinthians. >> they made this decision a long time ago. >> i want to get in, brett, your argument in your latest opinion piece in "the new york times" which is headlined "the conservative case for impeachment." quote, that trump didn't get away with it is a relief, not an exoneration. he continues to insist the call was perfect as he did tuesday in his letter to nancy pelosi means he intends to do it again. he threatens the separation of powers in a ways that will haunt a future republican congressment you laid out a case about the damage that could be done by not removing him from office. what is the damage that you see could even potentially happen in the next 11 months? >> look, we are defining dom nancy down. democratic conservatives like to quote, which is that we are taking what used to be political and cultural norms and trump is taking those norms and pushing them down. what happens when a democratic president sometime in the future simply starts to apply the trump standard to his or her own actions. that ought to worry anyone who takes a long view of history. >> brett stephens, rick well son, so great to have both of you on. much appreciated. happy holidays. up next, democrats addressing years of complaints about the iowa caucus by allowing people to vote at satellite locations around the world. will it work for everyone who would like to participate? i'll bring you what i learned straight from the caucus-goers themselves. any comments doug? yeah. only pay for what you need with liberty mutual. only pay for what you need with liberty mutual. con liberty mutual solo pagas lo que necesitas. only pay for what you need... only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ at chevy, we're all about bringing families together. this time of year, that's really important. so we're making it easier than ever to become part of our family. that's why our chevy employee discount is now available to everyone. the chevy price you pay is what we pay. not a cent more. family is important to us. and we want you to be part of ours. so happy holidays. and welcome to the family. all: the chevy family! get the chevy employee discount for everyone today. i was on the fence about changing from a manual to an electric toothbrush. but my hygienist said going electric could lead to way cleaner teeth. she said, get the one inspired by dentists, with a round brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's gentle rounded brush head removes more plaque along the gum line. for cleaner teeth and healthier gums. and unlike sonicare, oral-b is the first electric toothbrush brand accepted by the ada for its effectiveness and safety. what an amazing clean! i'll only use an oral-b! oral-b. brush like a pro. in just 45 days the first democratic primary contest kicks off. this year the iowa caucuses will see a big change, from madrid, iowa, to paris, france, come february 3rd, iowa voters who can't make it to a traditional caucus site will be able to participate in the first ever global satellite caucuses. party officials hope it will increase voter turnout and address on going complaint since iowans can't caucus by mail. here is a look at the hows and whys beginning on the streets of downtown los angeles. >> who have you gone to see? >> it's a long list. elizabeth warren, klobuchar, bernie sanders, pete buttigieg. >> allison keeps a list of the candidates she's met. 13 of them from the iowa state fair to the town halls. >> a day doesn't go by that i don't get three or four texts from one of the presidential campaigns. >> she's invested countless hours to make absolutely sure she makes the right choice. >> but then you can't go to the caucus. >> which is really unfortunate. >> here is iowa's problem. like hundreds if not thousands of iowans, allison flees here for warmer climbs. to caucus you have to be in your precinct on a specific night. >> troy price has heard years of complaints that the caucuses are unaccessible to large numbers of voters. >> some folks who are shift workers, some folks who work or live or serve outside of the state or outside of the country, people with disabilities and people in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. >> so this year for the first time ever, another option, allowing satellite caucus sites wherever groups iowa democrats need to organize them. applications flooded in. 136 were considered. this week 99 approved including three outside the u.s., france, scotland and the republic of georgia, plus 13 states and d.c. 71 sites within iowa alone, including one from emanuel smith, a disability rights advocate. >> i have brittle bones disease which carries a lot of different barriers that prevent me from being able to access the traditional caucus. it's very loud, it's very packed, often very chaotic. people o on the spectrum might have issues with crowds. for me, a safety concern. having a smaller more intimate caucus is a really nice alternative. >> when you talk to them is it yes, yes, yes, yes? >> yes. people are excited. >> back in california, allison is ready to go, spending $160 of her own money to rent a room in the palm springs library for a satellite caucus she estimates could bring in up to 50 people. >> so many people we know on a scale of one to ten are a ten. they put in a lot of time volunteering, putting up signs, knocking on doors, having field organizers living in their basement. >> you want to be a part of this process. >> that's exactly right. joining me the iowa editor-in-chief for states news room. it's great to see you. i talk to a lot of democrats, and pretty much everybody i talked to there believes this is a good step forward, but it's also far from answering the concerns of everyone who can't caucus. i wonder what are you hearing on the ground about this. >> you're exactly right about that. i have heard for many, many years concerns about the accessibility of iowa caucuses and the difficulty that the party has is trying to thread the needle between making these events as accessible as possible to anybody that wants to participate while maintaining the nature of the iowa caucuses which is necessary for iowa to keep its first-in-the-nation status. new hampshire has the lock on the first primary. iowa can't have a primary and still be in the important position that it is in this primary process. so iowa has to keep the nature of the caucuses. they've tried a couple of things. there were some satellite caucuses as a pilot project four years ago, just a very few sites. it went okay. iowa had a telephonic caucus four years ago for overseas military and also other people working overseas. actually that process went fairly smoothly. they wanted to expand that as well but the dnc shut it down. they had concerns about the security of that and whether it possibly could be hacked. so iowa did just have to default to expanding their satellite caucus process which is an improvement. as you said, it won't solve all the questions or all of the concerns. >> and even beyond that, there's a big picture argument i've heard from many people who want the caucus system gone altogether. as a party they say democrats have been fighting hard to make voting accessible to anyone and everyone who is eligible. and yet they argue iowa holds on to a system that by its nature disenfranchises people. is that a fair argument and is there any chance at all that at some point the caucus system goes away? >> well, the caucus system won't go away voluntarily. it will go away when candidates stop wanting to come to iowa and the media stops covering it. the dnc could at some point say iowa, you're not going to be first anymore or we're not going to allow caucuses. that will not stop iowa from having caucuses. it won't stop iowa from having an event. it's really going to be the candidates and the media who decide that. here is what iowa brings to the process. let's say we had a national primary. what kind of candidates would be competitive in that? probably not pete buttigieg. four years ago probably not bernie sanders. what iowa does, and this process which is a little more arduous than just going and casting the vote or mailing in a ballot, it gives us stronger voice to the progressive activists in the party, gives a stronger voice to the conservative activists in the party. they're willing to get a chance and a voice and a hearing to different kinds of candidates. it also gives an opportunity to candidates who aren't the billionaires in the field, who don't start with national name recognition. it gives a run for the money and makes the candidates like joe biden, national establishment candidates, make them work for the nomination. >> i think there are certainly pluses in the new system. for the first time ever, some iowans will be caucusing at mosques. that's never happened before. i went to a mosque in des moines. here is what they told me about why they're excited about this. >> there's this language and cultural barrier that we would be able to resolve with that, and individuals would feel more comfortable to be able to come out and caucus. >> my parents actually are talking about coming here. i don't think they voted before. >> ever? >> ever. >> that's a big deal. >> it is. >> there's no doubt i think people who couldn't caucus otherwise or would be uncomfortable doing it would get to do it again. they had to fill out an application, somebody had to maybe pay for a hall like the woman in california. they'll have to do training. but the head of the democratic party in iowa told me he's confident about how this is going to go. is that the general sneelg security is going to be final, organizationally it will be fine, even if there are a few hiccups? >> i think the bottom line is are they going to be able to confidently say who won at the end of this process. i think iowa does have a little bit of experience with satellite caucuses. there may be a few glitches or may have to wait a little longer for the results from paris, although a number of my iowa reporter colleagues have put their hands up already to say i'll cover paris, i'll cover that caucus. >> me, too, by the way. >> yeah. so i think it will be worth it, however, to have that expansion and more accessibility to people. >> kathie, thank you so much. good to see you. dyeing into one of the only issues that republicans and democrats actually agree on this year, criminal justice reform. i'll talk to a woman who is out of prison thanks to the first step act passed a year ago tomorrow and to an expert about the meaningful reform that the law left on the table. 're walkig into a trap. your orders are to deliver a message calling off tomorrow's attack. if you fail we will lose sixteen hundred men. your brother among them. we need to keep moving. come on! there's only one way this war ends. last man standing. ♪ ♪ the calming scent of lavender by downy infusions calm. laundry isn't done until it's done with downy. with pronamel repair toothpaste, we can help actively repair enamel in its weakened state. it's innovative. my go to toothpaste is going to be pronamel repair. my go to toothpaste thenot actors, people, who've got their eczema under control. with less eczema, you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin. and, had significantly less itch. that's a difference you can feel. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. so help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. one of the only high profile issues to pass into law with support from both parties this year is criminal justice reform. but activists say the first step, signed a year ago tomorrow, does not go far enough. listen to senator bernie sanders from the debate last night. >> an economy in which african-americans are exploited, where black women die at three times higher rates than white women, when we have a criminal justice system which is racist and broken, disproportionately made up of african-americans, latinos, and native americans who are in jail. >> close to 1,700 inmates have had their sentences for crack cocaine reduced under this year-old law. 3,100 inmates were released from prison altogether. after president trump signed the law, a mom was released from prison after 16 years behind bars. she joins me now. happy holidays. we appreciate you coming on, it's good of you to do it. tell us how the first step act helped you personally, what is it like to be having potentially your first christmas at home in 17 years, 16 years? >> thanks for having me. it's a delightful blessing that i bask in, to be home for the holidays after 16 and a half years, with my family. it's given me the physical connection i've been waiting so long for with my family and friends. >> as someone who obviously has been affected so profoundly by this law, a year later, what would you want politicians to know, both about why you think there was a good move and anything else you think that still has yet to be done? >> well, because the criminal justice so long has stigmatized african-americans when it came to certain laws, and for them to take that step to change the criminal justice reform to let out thousands is a big step in itself. in the only that, we have to realize that it is a first step and it's not a complete step. so there is a lot of work still to be done. you know, when laws change, everyone doesn't benefit from it like i have, because in the past laws have changed that i didn't benefit from. but with the first step act, i can truly say it was a blessing. and society and the politicians really need to know that things still need to be done. it let out thousands of people, but as i said earlier before, there are still many in the criminal justice system that deserv deserve a second chance. i just pray this beacon of hope that we do have, we can keep that candlelit. and the republicans and the democrats can continuously come together to work on the outdated laws. >> tanesha banister, happy holidays to you and your family. thank you so much for talking to us. ashley ellison is executive vice president of campaigns and programs at the leadership conference and education fund. shed worked as a senior policy adviser under valerie jarrett in the obama white house. it's good to see you. so this is called the first step act. some of the people who wrote it did not intend for it to be the end of the conversation. so with the benefit now of the year of experience, what's missing from the law? what still needs to be done? >> thanks for having me. i'm so delayed to hear from tanes htan tanesha and so thankful she'll be able to spend the holidays with her family. this is one step forward on a long journey to reform our criminal justice system. when we were advocating to get this law past, one of the things originally missing was mandatory minimum reform. and so while the law does have an opportunity for people, the thousands that you mentioned, that have low level drug offences, to be released from or petition to be released from prison, there are so many that are still sitting, that that law does not actually apply to. so it's a first step for a small population, thousands amongst the millions that are sitting in federal prison. >> according to a new analysis from the sentencing project, there are 4,000 inmates who would benefit from sentencing changes not in the first step act if they were made retroactive, and they have bipartisan support, so what's holding them up? >> unfortunately in washington, so many times, politics over people holds it up. when the first step act was first passed, many people who are incarcerated petitioned to have their sentences reduced, and federal prosecutors who were on the ground having direct interaction with those individuals were going in the direction to reduce those sentences. but leadership matters, and under william barr, the sitting attorney general, under his leadership, those petitions were paused and requested to go in a different direction. so the first step act does do some great things, but the leadership under the justice department has to actually want criminal justice reform to happen. >> it's a very important issue that we're going to continue to follow here on msnbc. ashley ellison, happy holidays and thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. we've got senator cory booker rallying voters at a bowling alley in iowa. i think they like them to be called bowling lanes. it doesn't matter what you call it, i'm still not very good at it. the 2020 presidential candidate will join my colleague andrea mitchell, you'll want to see that right here on msnbc. ienistg electric could lead to way cleaner teeth. she said, get the one inspired by dentists, with a round brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's gentle rounded brush head removes more plaque along the gum line. for cleaner teeth and healthier gums. and unlike sonicare, oral-b is the first electric toothbrush brand accepted by the ada for its effectiveness and safety. what an amazing clean! i'll only use an oral-b! oral-b. brush like a pro. ♪for the holidays you can't beat home sweet home.♪♪ we go the extra mile to bring your holidays home. the ones that make a truebeen difference in people's lives. and mike's won them, which is important right this minute, because if he could beat america's biggest gun lobby, helping pass background check laws and defeat nra backed politicians across this country, beat big coal, helping shut down hundreds of polluting plants and beat big tobacco, helping pass laws to save the next generation from addiction. all against big odds you can beat him. i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. as a doctor, i agree with cdc guidance. i recommend topical pain relievers first... like salonpas patch large. it's powerful, fda-approved to relieve moderate pain, yet non-addictive and gentle on the body. salonpas. it's good medicine. hisamitsu. before we go, check out this tweet that's going viral. more than a dozen black medical students from tulane university posing in front of the slave quarters at a louisiana plantation. part of the caption reads, "we are truly our ancestors' wildest dreams." that wraps up this hour of "msnbc live." i'm chris jansing. "andrea mitchell reports" starts right now. hey, andrea. >> merry christmas, happy holidays you to, chris jansing, thank you. happy friday to all. on "andrea mitchell reports," piling on pete. in the last debate of the year, the democratic contenders came out swinging and it was iowa frontrunner pete buttigieg taking most of the hits. >> the mayor just recently had a fundraiser that was held in a wine cave full of crystals and served $900 a bottle wine. think about who comes to that. >> this is the problem with issuing purity tests you cannot yourself pass. senator, your net worth is 100 times mine. >> i do not sell access to