Meet the Press NOW — April 11

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Conditions apply. Offer includes 1% loyalty rate reduction for qualifying customers. Visit hyundaicanda.com or your local deal for details. If it's Tuesday, new revelations, new fears and new demands for answers as the Biden administration faces the fallout from a massive league of highly sensitive intelligence documents.

Plus, America's gun problem again in the spotlight as new details emerge in yesterday's mass shooting in Louisville and one of the lawmakers expelled following the mass shooting in Nashville is reinstated. And the Biden administration races against the clock as it tries to prevent a nationwide ban on a widely used abortion pill following that decision by a federal judge in Texas. Welcome to the press. Now I'm Chris Welker in Washington.

The Biden administration is scrambling to deal with the fallout as we're learning more about the scope of the classified Pentagon documents that were leaked online and top lawmakers are now demanding answers. The full impact of the leap remains unclear, but could be the most serious reach of US Intelligence since Edward Snowden. Right now, Secretary Austin and Blinken are holding an event here in Washington where they are excited to take questions. We will be keeping an eye on that for you.

The top Republican Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee issued a joint statement saying they are deeply concerned about the leak while demanding more information from the White House and the formal briefing. NBC News has obtained more than 50 of these documents. Many of them are top secret. The Pentagon says they are reviewing the documents, but they're also cautioning some of them appear to have been altered.

The State Department is warning about the added risk of misinformation. Fake information being out there can, of course, still be a threat to national security. U.S. officials across the agency are engaging with allies and partners at high levels over this, including to reassure them of our commitment to safeguarding intelligence and the fidelity of securing our partnerships.

So as for what we are learning on the war in Ukraine, two documents appear to show that Ukraine launched attacks inside Belarus and Russia. Other documents appear to warn Kyiv could run out of crucial air defense missiles by May, and if Ukraine does not bolster its supplies, Russia could secure air superiority. According to the Washington Post, Some of these leaks also paint a brief assessment of Ukraine's planned spring counteroffensive. These documents also call into question actions by some of America's allies.

The Washington Post reporting Egypt, a major recipient of USAID, plan to produce up to 40,000 rockets to be secretly shipped to Russia. And according to the ap, the documents appear to show Russia and the UAE are deepening ties, including in the intelligence sphere. All of this coming as the Pentagon and DOJ try to figure out who leaked these documents and why. Joining me now is NBC global security reporter Daniels and senior congressional correspondent Garrett Hate is on the Hill where lawmakers are demanding answers.

Dan, I want to start with you. Every day we seem to be learning more about what was in these documents and a lot of it incredibly complicating for the Biden administration. What is the Pentagon saying and doing? And are they trying to minimize the impact?

Well, they are definitely taking this seriously. You will not hear people here playing this down. And the first step they're trying to take is to limit the pool of people who have access to to some of this very sensitive intelligence. So going forward, trying to narrow that universe of people that get access to this.

But there's another question here, which is why they didn't spot some of this earlier. It was apparently circulating in some of these gaming platforms weeks or months earlier. One of the answers you will hear from former intelligence officials is that it is legally challenging to track some of these things on chat rooms with the US Audience. There are legal limits to what the US can do when it comes to, of course, spying inside the United States.

So that's also a limiting factor. But as far as who was behind this, still no working theory. The criminal investigation continues in the Justice Department and of course at the Pentagon, they're still trying to evaluate the damage here. And it is very, very bad at the moment.

It's not a good outlook. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of confusion and questions swirling around why the administration, why the Pentagon was caught so off guard. How much concern is there about that? As a Pentagon tries to do an after action report about how this happened, it is a very painful exercise.

You know, we've been here before. This is slightly different in the sense that instead of a leaker giving information to, for example, a media outlet or maybe another government, it was through this kind of obscure gaming chat room forum. So that is different. And then also you have very timely information about an ongoing war on the ground as we speak.

And this is some very sensitive detail in here. And then the other thing that's worrisome for the Pentagon and the government is that there's all this mention of electronic spying. Some of this information came from signals intelligence. That is really a highly, highly valuable intelligence.

And the danger now is the Russians will be able to go back and look at this and cut it off. For future reference, Garrett, let me turn to you and what you're hearing on the Hill. You have Chuck Schumer calling for a briefing for the entire Senate House Speaker McCarthy also calling for a briefing. Do you expect this to happen and how soon?

Because obviously they're not in session right now. That's right, Chris. They are back next week. And the concern is widespread here on the not just in the intelligence committees that oversee this kind of information, but also the military oversight committees, foreign affairs committees in both chambers.

Really, everybody's got a little bit of skin in the game here, and nobody has very many answers, and that's incredibly frustrating to lawmakers. We catch up with Mark Warner, the chairman of the Senate Intel Committee, earlier today. He's had a preliminary briefing on this, but you can tell from this conversation he's frustrated. They don't even know the scope of the problem yet.

Listen to a little bit what he told us earlier today, when the community discovered that these documents were gone when they started to appear on the Internet, even if it was in a remote site or not, a site that's followed that often. You know, I expect to get those answers. I'm on this. We're on it in a bipartisan way.

We're going to get answers. But I do want to give them both the Justice Department, the FBI, and it appears time to give us the answers as quickly as possible. Listen, Congress tends to get these briefings when they really request them. Warren Particulars got pretty good track record, including lately pushing for classified briefings on those other classified documents, the ones taken from the homes of Joe Biden and Donald Trump late last year, earlier this year.

So I do expect those briefings will happen. The question will it be soon enough to satisfy the curiosity of members of Congress? Is an open one. Yeah, I think you're absolutely right about that, Garrett.

So much of what you and I talk about relates to the divisions on Capitol Hill. But I'm wondering, is this a moment where so far you are hearing a bipartisan, unified response, or are there cracks starting to form? I think so far is the operative phrase there, Kristen. Right now the concern is so broad across members of Congress.

Again, to Chairman Warren's point, we just don't know how deep or how serious this problem is. Are There more documents coming. So addressing the immediate threat has been, you know, the main concern we've heard from lawmakers. But no, these kind of national security consensus have split in the past on any number of other issues.

And they may split further here when we learn who the leaker is, how they got access to this information, and what, if any, political motivation might be ascribed to them. All of those are things that could turn this back into a partisan issue from what is right now, I think, more or less a purely national security issue. Absolutely. So much urgency to get answers to those questions and lose Garrett.

Hank, thank you for your great reporting. Really appreciate it. Joining me now is John Brennan for CIA Director and an NBC News senior national security and intelligence analyst. Director Brennan, thank you so much for joining me.

I really appreciate it. Sure. Question can you take us inside what you would anticipate the investigation into these leaks? Looks like you just heard Garrett lay out the list of unanswered questions.

Obviously, there is immense urgency to try to get answers here. Well, yes, Chris, I think Dan and Garrett played out pretty well the depth and extent of the concern about what already has been revealed in public social media fora but also what might in fact come out. And so there are a number of actions that are taking place immediately and simultaneously. First thing is to staunch the flow of this very sensitive intelligence from getting out into the social media environment.

And that's the counterintelligence investigation that's going on, trying to find out who leaked it and then making sure that we're able to stop any further flow of this intelligence that's out there. That was point. These things have been out there for quite a while. So I'm sure that the various authorities are looking at what else might have been out there for a while, and that has not even been uncovered yet.

Secondly, to make sure that we are able to understand what potential compromises to source the methods human source networks around the globe that provide us this very, very important sense of intelligence to keep our security, but also the technical collection systems that we rely on heavily around the globe. And some of the press reports that come out about these documents that have been floated now seem to reveal these sensitive human source networks as well as technical collection systems, and then also to try to reach out to our partners and allies around the globe, to try to assure them that we're doing everything possible to mitigate the damage, but also to express our regrets. Unfortunately, when I was director of CIA, I had to make some calls to our partners and allies around the globe when they were these unauthorized disclosures, because they're very concerned that this could, in fact, damage U.S. intelligence.

And they rely heavily on U.S. intelligence and wondering what the impact of this is going to be on the Ukraine battlefield, on relations with partners and allies, as well as our collection systems and capabilities. This is something that I think everybody, including especially the Oversight Committee in Congress, is very worried about. Director Brennan, let me follow up with you on a couple of the really good points that you make.

You talk about sources and methods. You told my colleague Andrea Mitchell just yesterday you are concerned that lives could be at risk. Now, one day later, do you have any sense whether the concern is growing about that or has some of the risk been mitigated? Where do you think that stands?

Well, I think there's a process right now trying to understand what that risk is and to see whether or not any of the information has come out is source revealing? Because some of this is very sensitive and it could be single source threaded. And so therefore, if there are any lives that represent risk, you want to try to make sure that you get people out of harm's way. If their technical collection systems are at risk, you want to maybe shut them down temporarily or take other actions to try to protect them for future collection capabilities.

So this is a lot going on. I'm sure my former colleagues throughout the intelligence community and Department of Defense, FBI are working around the clock to mitigate the damage of this, what I think has been almost a nightmare scenario. Do you have a sense at this point, Director Brennan, about whether you think this seems to be more of a hack or a leak? And do you have any idea who might be behind it based on the conversations, based on what you've seen and heard and read?

Based on what I've seen, it appears as though these are documents that were at one point folded up and then photocopies made of them that were pushed out onto these social media chat rooms, folded up in the case. To me that somebody concealed them, maybe on their person or their bag or whatever, as they left a secure facility and then made copies of them, photocopies of them, and pushed it out. So I do think it's individual. I don't believe it's a hack.

It doesn't seem like it's a hack. Obviously, these documents were in a unsecured environment where these actions could be taken. But it looks as though it's malicious. Actor.

Whether it's one actor alone, a lone actor, or whether or not there's several people involved here, whether or not they were doing it behest the direction of our adversaries. I think these are things that the FBI, DoD and others are looking at right now. Also, I should point out that I think, as was pointed out by Gary Dan, that probably there are actions being taken now to reduce the dissemination of this very sense of intelligence and to take other actions to try to prevent a further seepage of this outside of classified channels. So reducing the number of people with access to it, maybe also reducing the number of printers that can print out classified documents.

I think all these are measures that they're taking right now. And we know, Director Brennan, there are some officials who have said some of these documents appear to have been doctored. Do you agree with that assessment? Is that a real possibility?

What I've heard so far is that the casualty figures in the Ukraine conflict seem to have been doctored. They have reduced the number of Russian casualties and inflated the number of Ukrainian casualties. And so I think the point that the state corporate spokesman was making is an accurate one. We have to be concerned about disinformation.

Will our adversaries try to take advantage of these documents that are out there? And all of them are changing. A great concern to the national security officials that I know are very worried about what has happened. Director Brennan, thank you for powering through.

We had a little bit of technical glitch at the end there, but we got the last bit of what you were saying. Thank you so very much for joining us this afternoon. We really appreciate your insights on this really critical story. Now I'd like to welcome retired Lt.

Gen. Seth Twitty. He is also an NBC military analyst. Thank you so much for joining us.

Really appreciate it. Good to be with you again. I want to get your big picture take here on what the real world impact could be of these leaks. How much damage do you think this does to the US Relationship with Ukraine in the middle of Russia's war in Ukraine?

Yeah, first of all, this is a tremendous embarrassment for the U.S. you know, we've had this happen a couple of times before. You just mentioned Snowden. So first is an embarrassment in terms of Ukraine.

What bothers me most of number one, you never want to reveal certain things like vulnerabilities, weaknesses, troop movements, how much equipment they've lost and where their next battle plan might be. In this case, I think that's what we've done with this leak here. And it's going to cause the Ukrainians to alter some of their plans. And so I think in terms of whether or not this had a tremendous impact, I don't really know, but it appears like what I've seen that it should provide have some type of impact in terms of Ukrainian movement.

You take me to my next question, Lieutenant General. I mean, could this actually undercut President Zelensky in his effort to win this war? It could. But what I've noticed over the past year that I watch the Ukrainians, they are extremely flexible and adaptable and I anticipate that they are now changing their battle plans to be able to continue this fight.

And so I think they can adapt to it. I think what we have here now is we just have to be careful going forward. As you heard Director Brennan talk about triage this, figure out what we're wrong, correct this is the problem and let's move on with it. But let's definitely correct this problem.

Yeah. Well, NBC News does have some reporting that some of the documents indicate that Ukraine launch operations inside Belarus and Russia, which, as you know, goes against US And Western allies wishes. Do you think that could undercut support within European allies? I mean, obviously you've seen President Biden try to rally support.

Could this unwind some of that support? I don't think so. And I don't think it's really been a secret. Most people have really thought as much as some of the operations that have happened in the past have been executed by the Ukrainians inside Russia, inside Belarus.

So I really don't think that this is a big surprise. If anything, it validates it. But one thing that the Washington Post reported on today is that the documents appear to cast doubt on the Ukrainians spring offensive based on what you know about Ukraine's capabilities. Does that surprise you?

Is that consistent with what you know, I think in a big scheme of things, what you're really looking at here, there are 800 miles of Russians that are down in the south, southwest and east. And oh, by the way, you also have Crimea as well. And so when we're talking about this counter offensive, it's going to have to be more than just one counter offensive to defeat the Russians and kick them out of Ukraine. So this war is going to last a long time.

So we shouldn't hinge on this one kind of offensive to to be able to provide success, total success to the Ukrainians. I really do think that that's what these documents are getting at. We do so much appreciate Lieutenant General Steph Twitty and John Brennan before him joining us with their insights and their analysis. Really appreciate it.

Coming up, new developments and investigation into yesterday's deadly mass shooting at Kentucky bank as we await the release of police body camera footage from the incident. We're live in next. Plus, NBC News sits down with three Republican women senators fighting for top of border policies and new ways to combat the trafficking of women and girls. That's ahead.

You're WATCHING me, THE PRESS now. Welcome back. In the coming hour, we expect mobile police to release the body cam video from yesterday's deadly bank shooting. Tragically, another victim of that shooting died last night, bringing the death toll to five.

Three people remain hospitalized, including one police officer who remains sedated in the ICU in critical condition after being shot in the head. Local officials briefed the public earlier today revealing that the deceased gunman, an employee at Old national bank, bought his rifle legally last week from a dealer. The Louisville mayor make an emotional plea for stricter gun laws while noting that 30 people have now been killed by gun violence in his city just this year alone. We have to take action now.

We need short term action to end this gun violence epidemic now so fewer people die on our streets and in our banks and in our schools and in our churches. And for that, we need help. We need help from our friends in Frankfurt and help from our friends in Washington, D.C. you may think this will never happen to you, never happen to any of your friends or loved ones.

I used to think that the sad truth is that now no one in our city, no one in our state, no one in our country has that luxury anymore. NBC's Morgan chassis joins me from Louisville covering yet another mass shooting. Morgan, thank you so much for joining us. I know that you were there for the press conference.

What more are we learning about the shooter, about what was behind this horrific incident? Now, Christian, certainly a disturbing picture coming into full view here in Louisville today with this press conference. We've learned that he purchased that AR15 legally from a dealership here in Louisville. And we're told that he entered the building here at Old national bank yesterday morning, began opening fire.

But prior to that, authorities did confirm that he left troubling messages, a voicemail, a text message with a friend admitting that he felt suicidal, saying that he wanted to kill everyone inside the bank. We've heard that being discussed on dispatch audio here as officers responded to the scene. Kristen were told that the first crews arrived here within just three minutes after those initial 911 calls went out. A quick check on one of the officers who was critically injured, who's been identified as Officer Christopher Wilty, remains in critical but stable condition after taking a gunshot wound to the head.

Chris we know that he got to go emergency brain surgery, but we're told that right now, again, he's in stable condition. And I think important to note here, this was his fourth shift on the job as a Louisville police officer. Remarkable. And how the entire community has their thoughts with him as he is recovering in the hospital.

We're going to know that. You also heard from a doctor today, an ER doctor. What is that doctor saying? Throughout this entire press conference, this account from the doctor at nearby local hospitals, perhaps one of the most powerful, Kristen.

He talked about how his team handled the influx of patients as they came in. And he became emotional in detailing how it's become all too common to deal with this type of violence here in the city that he's called home for more than a decade. Oh, he'll let you hear what he to say in his own words. For three shooting victims and plus the other that came in is not enough frequent day for us.

We barely had to adjust our operating room schedule to be able to do this. That's how frequent we are having to deal with gun violence in our community. It just breaks your heart when you hear someone screaming mommy or daddy. It just becomes too hard day in and day out to be able to do that.

If there's any silver lining here at all, Kristen, it's that that doctor also confirmed that several of those injured were released from the hospital today. However, that one officer still remains in critical condition prison. So much emotion from everyone speaking out. Morgan Chesky, thank you so much.

Really appreciate your being there for us. Well now from Louisville, Nashville, where ousted state legislator Justin Jones has been reinstated to his old post. The National Metropolitan Council voted yesterday to return Jones to his old seat. Less than a week after Republican state lawmakers voted to expel him and Justin Pearson, both of whom are black, from the legislature over demonstration they held inside the State House.

Jones returned the house floor after being sworn in and addressed the chamber. Take a listen. I want to welcome the people back to the people's house. I want to welcome democracy back to the people's house.

Then on last Thursday, members of this body tried to crucify democracy. But today we stand as a witness of a resurrection of a movement for a multi racial democracy that no unjust decision will stand. Meanwhile, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, which will choose Justin Pearson's successor, will meet tomorrow to consider reappointing him. Up next, as politicians on both sides of the aisle reveal personal connections to recent mass shooting victims, new polling shows the overwhelming number of Americans who've been directly impacted by gun violence.

We'll show you those staggering numbers of what it could mean for our politics and policy. You're WATCHING ME THE PRESS now. Welcome back. Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee is taking action on guns following last month's deadly school shooting in Nashville.

Governor Lee signed an executive order aimed at strengthening background checks for firearm purposes and is also calling on state lawmakers to pass a red flag law. Lee and his wife were friends with several of the Nashville shooting victims. We also learned the Kentucky Democrat Governor Andy Beshear and Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott both had close ties to someone killed in yesterday's shooting in Louisville. Whether you are an elected official or not, proximity to gun violence is now part of everyday life in this country.

A new poll shows some astounding statistics. 21Americans say they've been personally threatened with a gun. 17% say they've witnessed someone get injured by a gun. And 19% say they've had a family member killed by a gun, either by homicide or suicide.

And among black adults, that number doubles to 34%. Despite these numbers and the daily headlines about mass shootings, in fact, there was a mass shooting at a D.C. funeral home today that killed one and injured three others. Congress does not appear to be considering action.

Joining me now on Saturday is Miami News colleague Michelle Sendor, former New York Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley, and former Virginia Republican Congressman Barbara Comstock. Thanks so much to all of you for being here to discuss this. Let me just start with you and those statistics which are staggering. And here we are discussing yet another mass shooting.

There was a shooting again today right here in D.C. and it doesn't seem like there's any real conversation about anything happening on Capitol Hill. It doesn't. And it's in some ways really remarkable.

I remember covering the scandal shooting and thinking the world is going to change because these were six year olds. These were children who were just going off their schools. And now we have a Zuvaldi and other school shootings that are just sort of mimicking that. You have nine year olds who are learning how to self evacuate themselves from schools.

This is an issue that Congress just simply is deadlocked on. And there doesn't seem to be the political will there to change something. I was struck by the fact that today at the Louisville press conference, there were these doctors who were talking about how this was not they didn't have to shift a lot in order to deal with these gun violence, these gun victims, that they were able to sort of deal with the same things they've been doing and that in some ways become routine for them to deal with these gunshot victims. And it was heartbreaking to hear the medical officials talk about it.

And it was really in some ways a reminder how much this is both a medical problem but also a political problem and how they we've all just sort of become accustomed to it. It was so remarkable to hear the emotion in the voices of everyone in Louisville. Barbara, talk a little bit about this. I mean, why is this an issue that is so divisive in Congress?

Why can't anything get done on this? Well, because so many of the members are from these really red districts that don't support these bills. It is really hard. I mean, when I was in, we did and we, we did support some of the legislation that you saw passed in 2018 in Florida.

Remember, you had red flag laws and other bills that actually Governor Scott at that time signed. We wanted to do that in Congress. It didn't get passed. But it is encouraging that Governor Lee is now saying let's look at something like red flag laws.

Let's do something on background checks. Listen, last year we did see legislation pass that Republicans did support. It wasn't something that everyone wanted. I would have supported that.

You saw Republicans support for it. I think we need to keep pushing to have more done in the states, on the federal level, whatever can get 50% plus one. Let's have that discussion. Doing nothing isn't working.

We know there needs to be more done. Joe, it's such a good point because you've already really seem to a tipping point. And the question becomes, after each one of these mass shootings, is this yet another tipping point? Are we there again or what do you think?

Probably not. I say that, you know, not wanting that to be the case, but probably not because time is on their side. If there's enough time that goes by, people forget or it's not as pressing as other issues. Right now they have to go to Manhattan, hold a hearing on crime in Jerry Daniels district because that apparently is most importantly that they have to do right now.

I mean, going back to what you mentioned before in terms of the polling, and I'd rather say it like this, one in five Americans has had a family member who's been killed by gun violence. One in six Americans has witnessed a shooting that is incredibly disturbing. And yet it still does not resonate enough to, you know, it goes to the rules of the House, of the Senate too, quite frankly. You know, who's in charge, who's control.

And even when Democrats control everything, there's resistance to really want to move too far because they're concerned about losing the charge. Young people, you saw the leadership in Tennessee, young people, and these young men who obviously made such a strong statement, they just wanted to speak. They just wanted to have a discussion. Now we're having a national discussion.

I think young people, you know, independents, Democrats, but also Republicans, young Republicans have different views on this because their kids are in school. They're having a different experience than our children had or, you know, older people had. And they're not standing for this anymore. And they at least want to have a discussion.

They think some of these, this legislation is reasonable. And if Republicans don't at least have a discussion and say, yes, we will consider some of these things, they're going to pay for it, at least in some of these swing states and swing districts. And it's the right thing to do, to have a discussion on because it's. Over the past 10 years, it's changed mental health.

You just can't say, do something about mental health. These guys were bought legally. And as Governor Leah said, we have to do more because this young man in Kentucky, he bought it legally. There were no warning signs.

Now in Tennessee, a red flag law might have done something, but in Kentucky, what would have prevented it? We have to see what would have prevented it because doing nothing isn't enough. It's so interesting because to Barbara's point, it's like there's a whole generation who's being brought up. And I think of Maxwell Frost, for example, someone who was elected basically on a platform of wanting to address this issue, the first Gen Z member of Congress.

I also think about the fact that we have these stories now. People who have survived multiple gun shootings, maybe they had a family member or someone in their school, and then they grow up and they then have another shooting at their college. I mean, I remember thinking about the reporter who was reporting on the shooting in the elementary school and then said, well, actually, I'm a survivor myself. I think that that's kind of scary.

I don't think in some ways it's deepened into our American psyche. Who among us, among us hasn't been in a crowded place and for split seconds said, wait, how do I get out of here? What was that loud noise? The fact that that's continuing to happen and the fact that there's a generation that's dealing with that.

I just still wonder as a political reporter whether there's a political incentive to really have the sort of urgency that you see on the ground they're really Tennessee. They are a different generation. But they also got expelled from the House and also let them put back but they got expelled from the House because they were being so loud. And so I want to play something that Congressman Tim Burchett said a couple weeks ago after the shooting in Nashville.

Take a listen. Legislate evil. It's just not going to happen. We've got evil in this country and everybody just needs to tone down the radar for a little bit because all that does is gen it's up in both sides and then they point the finger and nothing happens.

Because if you think Washington's going to fix this problem, you're wrong. They're not going to fix this problem. They are the problem because it continue that other countries don't have this level of number countries don't have a freedom leader. Barbara, that that is not just the view of one member of Congress.

I mean he's reflecting what a number of members of Congress feel and that's part of the gridlock, isn't it? Well, sure, but if there are enough people, you know, when you have leadership say from somebody like Governor Lee, and that's why it's important when he stands up and says no, we're gonna do something different right now in Nashville, the RNC national meeting is being held in Nashville. And I think the fact that Governor Lee has said no, we've got to do something different, that message may go home to the state saying young people aren't going to stand for this. And they're just saying let's have a conversation.

We've got to do something different because what we're doing isn't working. The spike has really gone up. And last year when Republicans did vote on this, they were from a lot of conservative states. Mike Pence in Indiana when he was governor had red flag laws.

The people who voted on these bills last year, Republicans, they came back to Congress. So you can vote on these bills and you can come back to Congress. Republicans. I want to quickly turn to another topic that we've been deeply focused on recent days, which is abortion, uni search and all of this back and forth in the wake of that Texas ruling.

What is your sense of how the White House is approaching this battle over the abortion pill which now hangs in limbo? My sense is that one they want to follow whatever the court orders. They're not going to sort of fuck whatever the legal whatever the legal reality is here. But this is the White House that's going to be vocal and vigorous on saying that they support access to abortion.

It's an issue that works for Democrats on the political sense, which we look at the midterms and what happened, they're conservative states like Kentucky, like candidates, they took votes that showed that they were in support of abortion access. But also when it comes to the people, you have Vice President Kamala Harris is doing a number of events. You have, you have President Biden who sometimes sounds reluctant, but it's very clear that he is in support of abortion rights. As an older Catholic man, he is, he is standing up and saying, I am for abortion rights.

I think this is why has a deathly sentence, that this is something that can continue to talk about. We only have 30 seconds left, Joe. I also think they're going to get out of the way. You know, part of this is a circular firing squad.

And as long as these issues continue to come back, it was great issue for Democrats in the last election, and I think it's going to be another good issue for them in 2024. So part of this, to ensure that those rights are still there, to make sure that those codes are still available. At the same time, make it clear who's, who's causing the just with 10 seconds left, Republicans haven't figured out their messaging on this issue. No.

And particularly for those in the swing district, somebody like Congressman, she realizes she's on an island on her own, so she's going out and saying, whoa, this is, this is not a good idea. I thought we were going to be deciding this on a state by state basis now. This is a national ban. What's going on?

Yeah, really key point there. Thank you so much for a great discussion. Appreciate it. Yamiche, Joe and Barbara, thank you.

And up next, new moves from both the White House and Congress to help tackle the trafficking of drugs and people at the southern border. But first, just moments ago, President Biden landed in Belfast, where he will mark 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday agreement. The visit comes as British government officials have warned of rising terrorism threats from the Irish Republican army in Northern Ireland. Ahead of his departure this morning, Biden signaled his priority for the trip would be to keep the peace and ensure the Good Friday and Windsor agreements remain in place.

We will be right back. Stay with us. Welcome back. New moves on both ends of Penn Avenue today to combat issues of trafficking at the southern border.

The House is announcing new measures to fight the fentanyl supply chain, including new sanctions on drug traffickers. And on Capitol Hill, Republican Senator Marshall Blackburn is introducing a new bill targeting human trafficking aimed at fighting the smuggling of women and girls. That bill which now has bipartisan support cons after Blackburn and two other female Republican senators recently traveled together to the border, NBC News Capitol H correspondent Julie Circumstance spoke to all three senators together. Take a look as a mama when you look and you see those little shoes when you see a six month old baby trembling because they just out of the water.

When you hear the stories of a pregnant woman that they find in the water dead pregnant with twins, you realize that this crisis has a huge cost. Days after being sworn in as a new senator, Kate Ridge joined fellow Republican women Marsha Blackburn and Cindy Hyde Smith on a visit to the US Mexico border noticing something they say they'll never forget. You're on my do you think that's what bonds you? I think it has a lot to do with it.

I have a small shoe that's on the desk that I picked up that came out of the real grand river and I will always keep that shoe on that desk so we can remember we've got to continue to tell the story. Those are stories you will never get out of your mind. But the purpose of us going is to come back and try to do something about this. They've now introduced legislation prohibiting those charged with human and drug trafficking from receiving federal funds and benefits.

It's a topic Americans are divided on with four in 10 adults saying the level of immigration should be lowered after record high border crossings last year. The Biden administration enacting tougher policies with Republicans aiming to campaign on the issue in the next election as comprehensive immigration reform appears doubtful in this divided Congress. The senators say they heard from border patrol directly pleading for help in getting the human and drug trafficking crisis under control in each of the three of have in our communities is seeing what's happening because of fentanyl and the way that it impacts families. The DEA says fentanyl is the single deadliest threat our nation ever encountered.

Points of entry along the southern border in Texas, Arizona and California are gateways for fentanyl trafficking with over 379 million doses of the man made opioid seized by the DA last year. That's more than the entire US population. When is enough? When is the dam break now I mean this issue we look at allowing the far left to try to complete border security with then your anti immigration the truth is we should all be able to agree that we want a secure border.

Let's work together. Let's work on a bipartisan basis. Let's pass some things that are going to help secure this border. Today in the GOP led House, key Republicans are pursuing ideas that would never pass in the Democratic Senate, like reviving the Trump era border wall and cracking down on asylum seekers.

While more than 70% of Americans say funding for border security should be increased, 80% also say Congress should provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Would you support any reforms to immigration protections for Dreamers, these things that Democrats want? When I was in the House, we tried to work on this issue in a constructive manner. The Tennessee senator does have some support from Democrats on a new bill that would allocate $50 million to help prevent the trafficking and smuggling of women and girls.

One in three victims of human trafficking are children. This seems like an issue, right, for bipartisan support? Yes. Here we are, three Republican women.

Why do you think you haven't had any success in getting Democrats to support this too? I think Democrats are coming along on this issue because the American people are beginning to see firsthand what is happening with people that are coming into communities. And Kristen New Today, a top Democrat, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuch, are signing on to the bill. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security, responding to the senator's effort, telling NBC News in a statement, quote, we are reviewing this legislation from day one.

This administration has ramped up efforts to crack down on human smugglers and drug traffickers going on to say these measures are working. Nearly 9,000 smugglers are now off the streets on lawful immigration is at its lowest levels in two years and receiving record levels of fentanyl, one of the most intractable issues here in Washington. Great reporting by Julie Serkin. Thank you so much.

Silicon the Biden administration says it's bracing for a long legal fight in the battle over abortion pills. One of the president's top advisors on reproductive rights joins me next on WHERE the Fight Goes from here. You're watching Ethan Press now. Welcome back.

Right now, the White House and drug manufacturers are working to halt a Texas abortion ruling that if it is allowed to go into effect on Friday, would pull a common abortion drug off the shelves. The Justice Department and the drug manufacturer have both filed appeals with the 5th Circuit Court. The anti abortion group that brought the original case must file a response to that request by midnight tonight. After that, the appeals court could rule anytime afternoon tomorrow.

Yesterday, more than 400 drug executives signed a letter condemning the ruling. And a coalition of 23 states intends to file a brief in support of the government's appeal as well. At least two governors of Democratic led states have ordered their states to stockpile the drug while it is still currently legal. Now, ultimately, the issue appears headed for the Supreme Court because the separate federal judge in Washington has issued a conflicting willing to keep the drug available in some states.

I'm joined now by the director of the White House Gender Policy Council, Jennifer Klein. Thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me.

So, Jennifer, as I just said, the court is considering a stay and could rule any time afternoon tomorrow. What are you expecting? What are the next steps for the White House? Well, we've been prepared for this for a long time and we are also prepared for a legal battle wherever that takes us and however long that takes.

You know, this case where the judgment that the Texas court made on Friday was not unexpected, but really is egregious. What this, what this court has done is virtually unprecedented, maybe literally unprecedented in asking the FDA to take a drug off the market that the FDA determined decades ago, 23 years ago was safe and effective and that Americans have dependent and doctors are prescribed and patients have used ever since. So, you know, we think that this, the case is clearly egregious and clearly wrongly decided and we're looking forward to having that debate in court. If the stay is not granted, what is your next move?

Does the administration have a next step it can take? Well, I think the stay will be granted for two reasons. You know, really what this case, as I said, it's unprecedented. And I think the reason that you saw more than 400 pharmaceutical companies come forward yesterday to say that this is literally an existential threat.

What is your response to this, lawmakers? Is there a universe where you would ignore the court ruling? You know, I think that as I said, this is a really dangerous case and a dangerous precedent. But what is also dangerous is ignoring binding legal ruling.

So the administration will not do that. Could the FBA FDA rather simply say going to take action to prosecute distributors for selling M. Stone? Well, I think you know what you're experiencing and hopefully we will not experience a lot of legal chaos.

And I think, you know, it's going to be worked out in the courts, as you mentioned in your, in your opening. You know, we've got the case in Washington. We've got how those two impact remains unclear. So I think that the, the best case, best path forward is this legal battle.

And again, I think that the Department of Justice will prevail. You know, it's interesting because Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre said during yesterday's briefing she believes if this matter goes before the Supreme Court, which is widely expected. She thinks that the abortion pill will prevail, that the government will prevail here. Do you agree with that assessment and why, given the Court's conservative leaning?

I do, because as I said, this case is absolutely about abortion. It's about access to medication, abortion and a way to ban abortion nationwide. But it is bigger than that. And it is about the ability for the federal, the Food and Drug Administration, the federal government to be able to, to do their job, to, you know, act independently, which is what the FDA did 20 years ago in approving this drug and assuring the American people that this is a safe and effective drug and people have relied on it ever since.

Let me just ask you, though, I mean, this is the court that overturned Roby Wade, which had been precedent for half a century. What gives you confidence? Because I feel I have confidence in, in their ability to understand and their judgment that this is about, about the ability of people to access medicines, the ability of people to depend on their doctors, the ability of doctors to depend on the fda. And you know, that I think is, is really the answer here.

You know, if this drug could be taken off the market by one job, if one drug could be taken off the market by one judge in Texas, you know, then what's next? You can open your medicine cabinet and, you know, any drug could be gone. And I think that is exactly why these pharmaceutical companies, you know, spoke out and why you see former FDA commissioners speaking out about how dangerous this president would be. And I think the Supreme Court, you know, understands that that's how the government is supposed to work, how democracy is supposed to work.

And I think that they will see that argument and agree with it. Well, we know that there is a lot of legal back and forth to come, and we await the decision that we are again expecting anytime afternoon tomorrow. Jennifer Klein, thank you so much for joining us, giving us the perspective of the White House. We really appreciate it.

Thank you so much for having me and thank you for being with us this hour. Check us back tomorrow with more Meet the Press. Now, everyone, I'm Dylan Dryer, co host of the third hour of Today and mom to three wild boys. I've learned a lot my years as a parent, mostly that I don't have all figured out yet.

And I'm not the only one. This is my new podcast, the Parent Chat. Each week I sit down with someone new for honest conversation and real world advice about parenting. I am over here just like winging it.

Hey, I'm trying not to screw my own gift. I'm not giving you advice on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.