i would say this, i would say the only sign of optimism i think it's likely the leader that comes next would be less confident because mitch mcconnell is good in the same way he saw with kevin mccarthy. he was great at his job like mike johnson. >> right, as the house went to kevin mccarthy to mike johnson so does the senate go to mitch mcconnell -- >> to someone named john. >> michelle goldberg, thank you for helping me ride the chairimate tonight. "way too early" with jonathan lemire is coming up next. a surprising decision from the supreme court could have a massive impact on the 2024 presidential election. the justices will hear arguments on donald trump's immunity claim, which will delay his federal election interference

trial. we'll have expert legal analysis for you on that in just a moment. also ahead, the end of an era for senate republicans. the party's longest serving leader in the upper chamber is stepping down at the end of the year. we'll take a look at mitch mcconnell legacy and who could replace him. and that comes as congressional leaders now have a deal to fund part of the government for a few more weeks, giving lawmakers a little more time to get a lot done. o get a lot done good morning, and welcome to "way too early" on this thursday, february 29th, a weekday, just what we needed this year to be a little longer. i'm jonathan lemire, thanks for starting your day with us. and we begin with some massive news that broke late yesterday. the supreme court has agreed to consider former president trump's claim of presidential immunity in his federal election interference case. the conservative court's

decision to hear the case will further delay a potential trial. the high court has scheduled arguments for april 22nd, and a final ruling might not come until months later. if the court rules in favor of trump, the special counsel's charges would be dismissed. if some supreme court rules as the u.s. court of appeals already unanimously did, that trump does not have absolute immunity, the delay could push the start of the trial to the fall. that would set the stage for the promative republican nominee to be on trial in a criminal proceeding right before the presidential election. there's also a possibility the trial wouldn't start until after the election. meanwhile, an appeals court judge has denied trump's request to temporarily delay payment of the $454 million judgment in his new york civil fraud case. trump offered to post a $100 million bond instead while he

appeals the penalty, but that offer was rejected by the judge. trump's lawyers admitted he does not have the cash for the full bond and would like have to sell-off properties to raise the nearly 5s$00 million required. this as interest on the judgment grows by tens of thousands of dollars each and every day. the judge, though, did pause other parts of the ruling, issuing a stay on trump's three year ban on obtaining a loan from the new york bank and allowing him to continue running businesses in the state. trump's lawyers argue the ban on loans made it impossible to secure a bond for the full amount. the decision temporary, a five-judge appellate panel will consider trump's request to delay payment on an expedited basis. that ruling expected in a few weeks. if the delay is not granted and trump does not post a full bond by the march 25th deadline, new york state attorney general letitia james could start the process of seizing trump's bank

accounts or possibly even taking control of some of his properties. >> joining us now former u.s. attorney barbara mcquade. she's also an msnbc legal contributor. barbara, thank you so much for starting us off this morning. let's start with the supreme court in this very consequential decision to take the immunity case. let's give you a two parter on this. first, what's your reaction they're taking it at all, and secondly what is your best guest if they agree with the lower court and allow the case to go to trial, when do you think it could happen? >> yes, so my reaction was april 22 nd is getting awfully late in the calender to be able to hear the case, decide the case, and allow the case to go to trial. i don't think this is all doom and gloom. i'm hearing a lot of negative reaction that it's all over because i do think that there is time for this case to still go

to trial before the election. i don't think we'll get a decision before may or even june, and judge chutkan has already said to donald trump that he is going to still employ the pretrial time for preparation he would have had. in other words, he's still going to get i think almost two months of pretrial preparation before we begin so the trial not beginning probably until late summer or early fall. still i think this probably a 6 to 8 week trial and even with the late start we now see occur. >> certainly lots of discussion about the political fallout here, because, of course, were this trial to be pushed back beyond the election and trump were to win, he could just make it go away. barbara, let's talk about the other legal matter we just mentioned trump's lawyer acinformationed, he does not have the funds to pay for his new york fraud trial, so if he's

not able to pay up, if he's not able to secure the bond and so on, what would be the potential repercussions? could indeed the attorney general seize let's say trump tower? >> yes, not necessarily that one, but seize assets, and that happens all the time. here people were paying attention to just because it's such a high profile case. for example, in my former office we had a whole staff of lawyers whose job it was to recover assets. take the deposition of a person who was accredited and they would find out where their assets where, if there were sources of income. they might garnish wages. but if there are real assets they could seize them and then liquidate them to make good on a debt. the reasons bonds are required for appeal for putting up the full escrow is to prevent people from simply stalling and while i pursue my appeal even if an appeal is frivolous. unless donald trump gets relief

from this court, i think we'll see letitia james make good on her promise and begin seizing assets. maybe there are lots of other assets could go force and trump i sell them or letitia james can go in and take them. >> barbel rumcquade, thank you for starting us off this morning. we of course want to mention her new book, attack from within, how disinformation is sabotaging america is on sale now. we'll have much more on the supreme court decision and the legal and political fallout a little later in the show, but we have a lot of other things to ghet to as well including senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who announced he'll be stepping down this november and leaving the senate at the end of his term in 2026. explaining his decision, the 82-year-old mccomsaid this on the senate familiar. >> one of life's most under-appreciated talents is to know when it's time to move onto

life's next chapter. so i stand before you today, mr. president and my colleagues, to say this will be my last term as republican leader of the senate. i'm immensely proud of the accomplishments i've played some role in obtaining for the american people. i still have enough gas in my tank to thoroughly disappointment my critics, and i intend to do so with all the enthusiasm in which they've become accustomed. >> first elect today the senate in kentucky back in 1984, mcconnell has led the gop caucus since 2007, making him the longest serving party leader in the senate's history. the jockeying to replace mcconnell has already begun with senators john cornyn of texas, and senator minority whip john thune of south dakota all expected to seek the position.

joining us now congressional reporter for politico, daniela diaz. momentous moment, one speculation would occur considering mcconnell's health issues in recent months. let's take a minute and weigh in on his legacy, what he's leaving behind, an imprint on the upper chamber to be sure but also the judiciary. >> that's completely correct, jonathan. i mean he's been the leader of the senate republican conference for nearly two decades, and he's been the longest leader that the republican conference has ever had, that is why the news yesterday, which, we of course expected at some point he would announce his future plans for his role in the conference, but we didn't know was going to happen yesterday came unexpectedly and really sent shock waves through the republican conference, and he only started calling some of his republican colleagues yesterday morning to tell them the news. so it's really a huge day, and it's hard to overstate what the

news means for the future of this body. >> so let's talk about the race to succeed him. you know, we mention the three johns, that's sort of the shorthand for those who are favorites to come next. what do you think, how is this going to play out, if you had to name a favorite who would it be? right now it's not very clear who the favorite is. and whoever becomes the next leader of the senate republican conference needs a majority, so it's not really like the house speaker's race where it's going to be 218. in this case it's going be the majority of how many republicans are in the senate after november's election. but the bigger picture here is this time we're probably going to see former president donald trump have a major say in who's going to be chosen. remember mcconnell was elected in 2007 way before trump entered the political scene, now he's the republican presumptive nominee -- republican nominee for the 2024 election for the republican party, and we expect him to weigh in on who he would

like to see especially considering mcconnell and donald trump haven't had the smoothest relationship. they've had their bickering in the past, and so now we expect trump to weigh in just the same way we saw him weigh in on the house speaker's house multiple times as we saw it happen in the lower chamber. even though he hasn't weighed in just yet on mcconnell, we do expect him to play a role iphow this shapes out. >> give us, mcconnell has stood up at times and he did not vote to convict in that second impeachment trial and suggested he's willing to endorse him again. >> and he's probably not going to endorse him again, and that is maybe a decision as well as his health issues that led up to his decision to not continue leading this senate republican conference considering that trump could be president again. i mean they've had a really contentious relationship over the last eight years, and i

t see that changing any time in the near future or nine months as trump tries to weigh in. >> mcconnell's ultimate legacy, of course, might be the merrick garland pick the way he helped shape the supreme court and so much there to pour over in the months and weeks ahead. daniela diaz, thank you for joining us this morning. still ahead we'll have much more on mcconnell and the supreme court decision and also get to hunter biden's day on capitol hill and what lawmakers are saying about his closed door deposition as part of the gop led impeachment inquiry into his father, president biden. plus the latest from capitol hill as congressional leaders strike a deal to temporarily keep the government running. those stories and a check on sports and weather when we come right back. e right back

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welcome back. as we turn to some of the morning's other top stories. hunter biden struck a defiant and emotional tone during closed

door testimony as part of the republican-led impeachment inquiry into his father, president biden. at his deposition yesterday hunter condemned the investigation as a partisan political pursuit that was based on a false premise and fueled by lies. hunter also reiterated his stance that he never involved his father in any of his business dealings while also acknowledging the mistakes he had made himself, pointing to his long baltal with addiction. we're told during the nearly 7-hour long closed door deposition there were heated moments and, quote, kerfuffles. here's what democrats said went down behind the scenes. >> i think it is extralaem disturbing to see the lack of professionalism, the lack of grounding and the abuse of public resources and abuse of public power in order to pursue something that truly wheres whose points at this juncture is very unclear.

>> this whole thing really has been a tremendous waels of our legislative time and the people's resources. >> i cannot believe that they have found a new low. it is so embarrassing to sit in the room for an hour while they try to weave conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory that only embarrasses them further. >> it's very clear that there's no there there. >> after the testimony hunter biden said his deposition went, quote, great. so far let's be clear. republicans have yet to turn up any evidence in their impeachment investigation. and while that circus was going on, congress did get some actual work done. they reached an agreement to avoid a partial government shutdown that would have begun tomorrow night, friday evening. congressional leaders announced in a statement yesterday, they will pass a stop gap bill that will fund multiple departments through march 8th. the deadline for the rest of the departments also moved back a couple of weeks now to march 22 bld. the move will give legislators

until next friday to put the finishing touches on some of the bills that will fund the government's departments for the rest of the fiscal year. congressional leaders say both chambers in congress will vote on the measure before the friday evening deadline. this delay pushes the shutdown deadline beyond super tuesday, beyond the president's "state of the union" address, but a lot of work still ahead. >> still ahead, we'll turn to sports and another record breaking performance from college basketball phenom kaitlan clark. plus nba legend lebron james puts on a show, but was it enough to lift the lakers to a comeback against the clippers? we'll be right back with that. g? we'll be right back with that. e. with its customizable options chain, easy-to-use tools and paper trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. e*trade from morgan stanley power e*trade's easy-to-use tools make complex trading less complicated. custom scans help you find new trading opportunities,

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that three-pointer from katelyn clark gives her the

major college women's basketball scoring record. she passed the kansas legend. clark who had 33 -- a 33-point triple-double during last night's win against minnesota set the season three-point record. she's now just 18 points shy of breaking the combined ncaa's overall scoring record. i'm sure she'll do it soon into her next game. she is truly the story in college sports right now. let's move to nba and the battle for los angeles thanks to a huge fourth quarter from who else, lebron james. >> lebron rocking it. step back, three on the way. lebron james with five threes here in the quarter. >> lebron had 19 points in the fourth quarter alone, outscoring

the clippers by himself in the final frame and leading the lakers back from a 21-point deficit. he also assisted on 11 of the lakers baskets and either scored or assisted 11 of the 13 baskets in the final period. the clippers did have a chance to tie the game with under 10 seconds to go. the lakers made a couple free throws. meanwhile dallas mavericks star luka doncic celebrated his birthday with a 30-point triple-double. that is a obscure fact, but we give it to you anyway. the mavs beat the raptors 136-125 bouncing back from tuesday night's loss in cleveland. meanwhile, college football playoff season could be expanding again. the 12-team format will debut the upcoming season but officials are already discussing a 14-team format that could

potentially start in 2026. under that system there would be 11 automatic bids. the acc and big 12 will both get two, and there would be one guaranteed spot for the highest ranked team for the other five conferences. the remaining three spots would be at large. college sports. time now for the weather and let's go to meteorologist angie lassman for the forecast. as you predicted much colder this morning than yesterday. >> it was a wake up call for folks that i think didn't pay attention to the tore cast yesterday. if you're heading out you're going to notice how chilly it is for the east. we've got the exiting one that of course caused so much trouble across the country over the past few days. one across portions of of the southeast -- portions of of the south rather. and in the north west another couple of storm systems really going to back the punch for folks out west. here's the deal with the south. we're going to see much needed rain over areas recently dealt with wildfires and see that

system bring a whole lot of rain across portions of of southeast as we get into tomorrow. this will be a bit of difficult kind of travel in the afternoon hours for those commutes. and then temperature-wise, what a difference. just as jonathan mentioned, into the 40s for your high today in new york, 30s for pittsburgh and lexington in the upper 30s. spring like temperatures in the great lakes, parts of the plains, 50s, 60s, even high 60s in some spots and back to the 70s by the time sunday, monday, rolls around new york ends up in the 60s. we're, again, still on this roller coaster ride when it comes to temperatures. meanwhile, out west a much different story and hoppestly going to be impossible travel and dangerous conditions for folks in parts of the mountainous regions here. we're going to see a cup of systems going to bring just impressive snow. we're talking the highest snowfall totals of the year so far. good news is for parts of the sierras, that's where we need

the snow. they're well below this time of year. but, jonathan, we could be talking 5 to 10 feet of snow by the time the storm rolls around. >> next up here on "way too early," we'll have a preview of the dueling visits to the border today, both president biden and former president trump heading to texas. we'll also dig in a new poll that takes a look how voters feel about immigration. "way too early" will be right back with that. "way too early" will be right back with that the lungs and lower airways. but i'm protected with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can be serious for those over 60, including those with asthma, diabetes, copd, and certain other conditions. but i'm protected. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions.

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welcome back to "way too early." it's 5:30 a.m. on the east coast, 2:30 out west on this thursday morning. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for being with us. we want to quickly turn back to our top stor story of the morning. the supreme court has agreed to consider former president trump's claim of presidential immunity in his federal election interference case. in a brief order the supreme court said it will hear arguments in april but it could take months to issue an opinion. in the meantime jack smith's case is on hold meaning no trial can take place. and even if the snoert ultinately rules against trump, this intervention puts the trial start date in question potentially past the election. we'll have much more on this later in the show. but elsewhere on the political front, polls show growing concern about america's immigration system. and while that's happening the two leading 2024 candidates will both visit the southern border today. in brownsville, texas, the white

house says that president joe biden will meet with border patrol agents and local officials to discuss the need for bipartisan border reform legislation. look for him to point at republicans. meanwhile, about 330 miles away in eagle pass, texas, donald trump is also scheduled to give remarks. earlier this month senate republicans blocked a border security bill crafted by one of their own shortly after trump came out against it. joining us now white house and politics team leader for bloomberg, mario parker. mario, bloomberg has some new polling you're bringing to us this morning that gives us some insight into who swing state voters blame for the repeat surge of migrants at the nation's southern border. what did you find? >> yes, well, no surprise that, jonathan, voters in those swing states largely blame democrats, president joe biden for the problems at the border.

it's an albatross that hangs around the president's re-election prospelkts. given what you outlined that's happened in the last month in terms of trump urging republicans to torpedo the immigration deal that was on the table, there was a slight uptick and blame to republicans, about a 5% uptick. but, again, the lions share of voters are blaming biden, and that's the political gambit that trump is betting on with this whole play. >> and white house aides and biden campaign officials say their job now between now and november is to change that narrative and say, look, we support this deal, it's the republicans who blocked it who blame that. mario, tell us more about your new polls here because they also asked swing state voters who they choose in november's likely matchup if it's the match we all anticipate between trump and biden.

>> as of right now trump leads in all seven of those swing states. he has about a 5 percentage point lead over president biden there in that regard. the concerns that hangover biden's re-election prospects, the main one, of course, is his age, some of which is his handling of the economy, immigration as well. now, the poll also found, though, some glimmers of hope for biden, right? the white house as you know, jonathan, has been essentially licking its chops for its rematch with trump for the last two years. they always invoke maga republicans, et cetera. the poll found 6 in 10 americans view former president trump as dangerous, right? so for the white house you just want to drive that number up. in terms of the age question about biden, we saw him starting to address some of that. he was on a late night talk show earlier this week in which he cracked some jokes about it. injured he got a clean bill of health from his physician as

well. you're seeing the white house try to figure out how to message now on the fact that, yes, he's 81, but here's the alternative. >> so briefly back to those polls there in february, we're still a long way away from the election. many of those states within the margin of error, a few though he's got a more substantial out and that includes north carolina and the one state on the map where democrats think they can pick up and also arizona and georgia, which those close to the president's re-election bid acknowledged would be harder to win this time around than they would in 2020. >> yes, those sun belt states, those southern states, the southwest states, those are the ones most tricky for the president. he flipped georgia for the first time in decades in 2020, north carolina is something they have been eyeing as well and of course arizona is the swingiest of the swing states. there's a lot of work to be done in those places particularly among the democratic coalition, black voters, young voters, et cetera. >> democrats, do, though, have a long time to do it.

white house and politics team leader for bloomberg, mario parker, thank you. and thank you for bringing us those new polls. still ahead on "way too early" we'll tell you what's driving the markets this morning as stock futures drop ahead of new inflation data. we'll be right back with that. we'll be right back with that.

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actually ended up just a for brief moment. that's a massive mark, the first time it reached that mark since november 2021. let's remember in the middle of january you had the sec approve bitcoin etfs and even the price actually dropped off below $40,000, but it's actually surged massively. 60% since that mark, and it's up 40% in february alone, then, to reach that high of 64,000 u.s. dollars. at this point it's around 63,000 u.s. dollars, but a clear and significant gain and an up tic there. overall in the market picture, yes, we're looking downwards in today's trade but all nervousness ahead of that pce data. the personal consumption print does mean it's an inflation gauge then for the federal reserve, and it could determine the rate increase or rate cut path then outlook and what that exactly means. also have jobless claims out a little later on today. all of that is certainly going to be crucial for the market.

>> and we'll be watching for all of it. >> also boeing and fallout continues for a couple of scary incidents in the skies involving their planes. the manufacturer received a scathing report from the faa yesterday. what did the agencies find? >> twrau, so the agency saying, listen, you've had problems for quite a large amount of time. in fact, they're saying to them for the decade long problems you've had, you've got 90 days ultimately to fix everything, and it really is stark reminder how troublesome things have been for boeing, of course having seen alaska airlines flight 21282 have that fuselage blow out back in january. that's a big part why we're here right now, but of course there have been previous issues at play. the ceo actually saying we have a clear picture of what needs to be done and that prance paerns prevailed and all these discussions boeing will develop a comprehensive action plan with measurable criteria in order to meet all the demands then of the

faa. so 90 days to go. the clock is ticking. >> all right, cnbc's arabile gumede live from london, thank you as always. next up here on "way too early," we'll turnover seas as the united states considers getting aid to gaza in an unconventional way as the united nations warns that a portion of the residents there are on the verge of famine. we'll be joined by a democratic congressman who was just in the region when we come right back. k dracula, let's fight back against discomfort. with new poligrip power max hold & comfort. it has superior hold plus keeps us comfy all day with it's pressure absording layer. time for a bite! if your mouth could talk it would ask for... poligrip. here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost.

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the chameleon is the power of all my old nemesis. [ chuckling ] neme-si. neme-si? we have to get an army of the best crooks and criminals. oh, you're adorable. ♪ violence makes our tummies tingle ♪ it's disturbing. but it's awesome. we can take down the chameleon together. oh. welcome back. we're look at live images from moscow where russian president vladimir putin is delivering state of the nation address about continuing that operation even threatening significant reprisals with the west to do something with russia's borders. we'll keep an eye on putin and dlifb any updates of note later in the morning. elsewhere overseas the white

house is considering airdropping aid into gaza. four u.s. officials tell axios the biden administration is looking into using its military planes because deliveries by land are becoming increasingly difficult. restrictions put in place by israel has led to a bottleneck of trucks at the egypt-gaza border. israel's air strikes are also making harder for aid groups to continue their work. the amount of aid reaching gaza fell by half this month. officials are warning at least a quarter of residents are close to failing. joining us now democratic congressman greg landsman of ohio. congressman, thank you so much for joining us this morning. you visited the middle east in recent days including rafah, that border crossing there that prime minister netanyahu has suggested could be next in term of the israeli military's targets. give us a sense of what you -- of what you saw and what should be the right approach right now

from the u.s. government in terms of both what israel's doing but also trying to help those palestinians in harms way. >> yeah, thanks. you know, i -- i remember the '90s when, you know, we got very close to a peace agreement, and it was u.s. leadership that helped us get there, you know, etched in my mind is this image of clinton and ravine and it unvalved, and we need u.s. leadership to step up again, so on this trip we were focused on, you know, how this war is going to end, getting these hostages home, obviously a cease-fire agreement is key, was rejected by hamas, but they're still at the table. that would make a huge difference in terms of, "a," getting the hostages home, but the humanitarian issue addressed

in a much more meaningful way. we also, you know, had a big role to play in this humanitarian crisis. the fix here is opening up additional crossings. there are two crossings in southern gaza. there need to be more. we've communicated that to everyone involved not just the israelis but those others in the region, and then creating these humanitarian corridors and safe zones where folks can get out of harms way and get the humanitarian aid they need. ultimately, though, there has to be an end to this conflict and a post-conflict vision that, you know, leads us to a sustainable peace. >> yeah, certainly prime minister netanyahu has poured some cold-water on the idea of a two-state solution which is the u.s. government's position which needs to happen. we also note the gaza health ministry run by amaus, but has

the number of dead there over 30,000 people. what sort of pressure can they place on netanyahu to get to that post-war future you just described? >> yeah they -- it's a lot of pressure. you know, it's a sovereign country, and we're putting pressure on egypt to jordan, others. there's a lot we can do, but, you know, we can't tell them exactly what to do and have them go do it despite the fact that many of us would love that. you know, the administration has been very engaged in getting the israelis to the table and -- and the egyptians with hamas, the challenge right now is hamas has rejected the cease-fire agreement. hopefully that gets turned around because a pause in this conflict is -- is critical.

but, you know, at the end of the day, you know, putting the pressure and staying in the room is going to be critical in getting this humanitarian crisis resolved. and that does require us among other things to pass this national security global stability supplemental that provides funding for ukraine and the middle east, and it includes a ton of humanitarian aid. >> that package of course won't even get a vote right now, congressman. but your colleagues there did get something done yesterday. congressional leadership struck a deal to delay a government shutdown not by a lot but pushes it a week or so. how hopeful are you a full spending bill we be passed in time? >> i'm a hopeful guy. i think you have do bree in this business, but, you know, it's very frustrating because there's a bipartisan majority in the senate that wants to get the budget done, that wants to get this bipartisan border fix done,

pass the supplemental. and there's a bipartisan majority of us in the house, that want to get all of those things done, too. it's being delayed, held up by the speaker who is worried way too much about trump and the chip roys of the united states congress and not about -- and not worried enough about the country. there is this deal, but we've had -- we've had a deal in the past. so we just got to hold people to their commitments and get this done. >> all right, democratic congressman greg landsman of ohio, thanks for morning. we appreciate you being on. >> thank you. up next on "way too early," as the reproductive rights fight heats up, senate democrats attempted to move forward a bill that would have protected ivf access nationwide, but one republican blocked this. we'll tell you where the debate stands. on "morning joe," the supreme court agreed to decide whether donald trump is immune

from prosecution on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. our legal experts are standing by with what this means for his other legal cases. plus, delaware senator chris coons and independent senator of maine angus king will be our guests. they'll join the conversation. also ahead, we'll speak with the mayor of san antonio, set to meet with biden during his trip to the border today. "morning joe" a few moments away. listerine is 5x more effective than floss at reducing plaque above the gumline. for a cleaner, healthier mouth. ahhhhh. listerine. feel the whoa! here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost.

welcome back. a republican senator has blocked the passage of a bill to protect access to in vitro fertilization nationwide. hyde-smith of mississippi objected yesterday. the bill was introduced by tammy duckworth of illinois who sought to pass it by unanimous consent in the light of the alabama state supreme court ruling. hyde-smith said the bill goes too far. take a listen. >> i support the ability for mothers and fathers to have total access to ivf and bringing new life into the world.

i also believe human life should be protected. these are not mutually exclusive. let's be clear about what the alabama case is about. this was a case brought by families whose human embryos were killed when an unauthorized individual walked into the fertility clinic through an unsecured door, removed several human embryos, and dropped them, causing their deaths. the court's holding in favor of the parents found that these frozen human embryos are children under alabama law. it did not ban ivf, nor has any state banned ivf. the bill before us today is a vast overreach that is full of poison pills that go way too far. >> joining us now, former white house director of communications to president obama and the director of communications for hillary clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, jen

palmieri. jen also an msnbc political analyst. good to see you this morning. let's talk about the politics of ivf. after the alabama decision, it seems like most republicans went trying to run away from it, but we're seeing here on the senate floor, that'll be hard to do. give us your sense of the continued fallout. >> yeah, the very first time that there is legislation involving ivf comes, a republican stands up and blocks it. it is another clarifying moment to show that, you know, i think it is going to be a huge deal in the fall. you know, every couple of months, something happens in the reproductive rights space that reminds people of just what a shocking and consequential development of overturning roe v. wade was, right? ivf, if you've been studying the issue for ten years, you saw this coming. you saw this as a goal of the more extreme elements of the rights to life movement, to get at ivf. but it was really shocking when it happened. republicans are trying to back

pedal, but, you know, people just don't buy it. even when -- i remember when glenn youngkin in virginia, the governor, tried to pursue as a campaign strategy to win republican seats in his legislature what he considered to be a moderate 15-week ban, and voters rejected that with big margins. so much so, democrats picked up seats there. they don't trust republicans on these reproductive rights issues. hyde-smith, you know, there you go, all you need to go when it comes to protecting women. they vote it away. back to the top story. so many democrats i heard in the wake of the supreme court decision to hear the trump case which could delay the trial. democrats saying, trump is going to get away with this again. how does this keep happening? but let's get your reaction to

that. also, it seems to me democrats shouldn't be banking on the magic bullet of a court case to take down donald trump. they simply have to beat him in the campaign. >> exactly. i have never -- the trials have never really factored into my calculus of how joe biden wins. and i think what it -- so i don't see this as a major setback for the election. it was always going to have to be voters turning him out. but i think it's sort of unnerving for us all. even those of us who -- you know, you saw this court overturn roe v. wade. understand it's the extreme court, but we thought they'd take this presidential immunity case seriously. for them to delay it as much as they have, that is unsettling. it gives you the sense of maybe it is already too late. maybe we've already lost the democracy. you think people will feel uneasy about this for a little month, but then democrats will continue to fight. this was always going to have to be the result on election day. >> biden campaign aides have

been clear, they weren't banking on the court case to take out trump. they know they have to do the work. >> yeah. lastly, in the last minute here, give us your -- we mentioned earlier the dueling border visits from trump and biden today. 300 miles apart. what is president biden needing to do today? >> i think he needs to show -- you know, he's team democracy. they're team chaos, right? it's the court issue for trump. biden is not going to -- it's not going to overtake trump on, you know, whether or not people think he's doing a good job on immigration. trump will always have that advantage. biden is team democracy. he goes down there to show, we are trying to solve the problem. we are facing the problem. we've done a lot to solve the problem, and they are the ones standing in the way. they are doing it for political reasons. so trump -- so biden has a different charge down there than trump. it is important that he is doing this, to show that he is trying to tackle the problem and it's their politics that are standing in the way.

you know, he has a different job to do down there than what trump is trying to achieve, which is more showboating. >> to remind voters, donald trump himself said, hey, preserve immigration as a campaign issue. therefore, the republicans made that bill go away. biden going to say, "i was going to sign it." jen palmieri, thank you for joining us this morning. thanks to all you've for getting up with us "way too early" on a very busy thursday morning. a jam-packed "morning joe" starts right now. put a fine sort of, you know, finish on this. comer is the chairman of this house oversight committee looking at hunter biden's business dealings. this went on for the better part of six hours. a lot of stuff they have on hunter. they've been trying to connect a lot of that stuff to dad. i wasn't attending this behind closed doors meeting, neither were you, though your sources are far better. i'm wondering if there's stuff they connected to dad because

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