Morning Joe 2/26/25

Summary

Morning Joe Podcast Summary – February 26, 2025

On the February 26, 2025 episode of Morning Joe, hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, along with co-host Willie Geist and guest contributors, delved into several critical political and societal issues shaping the nation. The discussion spanned the Republican-led House budget proposal, the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) overseen by Elon Musk, air safety concerns, federal worker protests, and the Trump administration’s recent actions to control press access and target legal representatives. Below is a detailed breakdown of the key topics covered during the episode.

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1. Republican-Led House Budget Proposal and Doge’s Impact

The episode began with an in-depth analysis of the Republican-led House budget proposal. Congresswoman Brittany Peterson of Colorado and Congressman Kevin Mullen of California were highlighted for their efforts to challenge the budget despite personal hardships—Peterson brought her four-week-old son to the discussions, and Mullen attended from the hospital after a knee surgery (08:28).

Ali Vitale, Chief White House Correspondent for the New York Times, criticized the budget cuts managed by Doge, stating:

“This is something we have been talking about on this show since COVID… We have a crisis. We need more people, actually up in the towers. We need more people FAA, we need more people keeping the skies safe.” (08:28)

The discussion emphasized the disproportionate impact of budget cuts on Medicaid and rural hospitals, highlighting that Medicaid accounts for up to 15% of rural hospitals’ revenue, leading to a surge in hospital closures. Mike Allen of Axios supported this viewpoint, noting:

“If you're actually serious about getting debt and deficit under control… they [Republicans] are going to slash Medicaid. And they are slashing rural health care that's already in crisis.” (07:11)

Peter Baker added concerns about the $23 trillion increase in debt over the next decade, as projected by the Congressional Budget Office, arguing that the current measures are insufficient and exacerbating the national debt.

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2. Republican Lawmakers Push Back on Budget Cuts and Town Halls

The conversation shifted to the Republican lawmakers’ reluctance to hold town halls following backlash from constituents over the proposed budget cuts. Joe Scarborough highlighted the strategic retreat from traditional town halls to avoid negative publicity:

“Some House Republicans are putting the brakes on town halls after pushback over the Trump administration's cuts.” (21:05)

Mika Brzezinski and Ali Vitale discussed how this shift could harm the GOP’s standings in upcoming elections, emphasizing that Medicaid cuts could lead to widespread rural hospital closures, further alienating voters in red states.

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3. Air Safety Concerns Amid FAA Cuts

A near-miss incident at Chicago’s Midway International Airport underscored growing concerns about air safety, attributed to cuts in FAA staffing. Peter Baker detailed the incident:

“Southwest Flight 2504 nearly touched down. The flight abruptly pulls up, averting potential disaster.” (26:16)

Ali Vitale linked this incident to broader FAF cuts, arguing that reduced staffing hampers air safety:

“The last thing you would want is to do anything that could inhibit air safety.” (25:34)

The panel stressed the urgent need to reinforce FAA staffing to prevent future accidents and ensure the safety of the nation’s airspace.

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4. Federal Workers Protests Over Government Layoffs

The episode covered federal workers staging protests in Washington D.C. to voice their frustrations with the administration’s extensive government layoffs. These layoffs were portrayed as part of a broader “slash and burn” approach under the Trump administration, aiming to reduce government expenditures.

Ali Vitale highlighted the human impact of these layoffs, noting:

“Layoffs happen every day in America… But government employees are not immune from that.” (22:05)

The protests reflect growing discontent among federal employees, who fear that continued budget cuts could lead to further job losses and decreased public services.

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5. Trump Administration’s Control Over Press Pool

A significant portion of the discussion focused on the Trump administration’s decision to handpick press outlets for White House coverage, diverging from decades-old bipartisan precedents. This move effectively excludes major outlets like the Associated Press (AP) and allows the administration to control the narrative.

Mika Brzezinski and Peter Baker criticized the administration’s approach, emphasizing the threat to press freedom:

“There is a lot going on here… Intimidate the press. They’re doing that kind of successfully.” (40:04)

Ali Vitale echoed these sentiments, asserting that such actions undermine the independence of the free press and set a dangerous precedent for future administrations.

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6. Executive Order Targeting Lawyers Representing Jack Smith

In a contentious move, President Trump signed an executive order stripping security clearances from lawyers at Covington & Burling who represented Special Counsel Jack Smith. This action is perceived as retaliation against those involved in investigations targeting Trump.

Peter Baker described the implications:

“This may be symbolic… a shot across the bow at law firms all throughout the country.” (46:53)

Joe Scarborough raised concerns about the broader impact on the justice system and law firms, questioning the administration’s motives and the potential chilling effect on legal representation for government officials.

Lisa Rubin and David Rhode further elaborated on the legal and ethical ramifications, highlighting:

“There is no neutrality right now… there are no more neutral law firms.” (50:10)

The move has sparked fears of weaponizing the federal government to target political adversaries, weakening the integrity of legal protections for those in governmental positions.

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7. Air Travel Incidents and Public Confidence

Towards the end of the episode, the hosts touched upon a series of air travel incidents, including a near collision at Chicago’s Midway Airport and other recent emergencies. Peter Baker emphasized the need for robust air traffic control and proper FAA funding to maintain public confidence in aviation safety.

Ali Vitale connected these incidents back to the budget cuts, reiterating the necessity for increased investment in air safety infrastructure to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

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Conclusion

The February 26 episode of Morning Joe provided a comprehensive examination of the current political climate, focusing on the Republican-led budget proposal, the faltering efforts of Doge, and the ensuing societal and governmental repercussions. The hosts and contributors shed light on the potential long-term impacts of these policies on healthcare, air safety, federal employment, and press freedom, painting a picture of a nation grappling with significant fiscal and ethical challenges.

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This summary captures the essence of the discussions held during the episode, providing insights and notable quotes to inform those who did not listen to the full podcast.

Transcript

[Rachel Maddow]

Subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts New episodes of all your favorite MSNBC shows now ad free plus ad free listening to all of Rachel Maddow's original series, Ultra Bagman and Deja News and all MSNBC original podcasts are available ad free and with bonus content including why is this Happening? Felshey Band Book Club and more. Subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple podcasts the first 100 days bills are passed, executive orders are signed and presidencies are defined. And for Donald Trump's first 100 days, Rachel Maddow is on MSNBC five nights a week.

[Joe Scarborough]

Now is the time, so we're gonna do it.

[Rachel Maddow]

Providing her unique insight and analysis during this critical time.

[Joe Scarborough]

How do we strategically align ourselves to.

[Mika Brzezinski]

This moment of information, this moment of.

[Joe Scarborough]

Transition in our country?

[Rachel Maddow]

The Rachel Maddow show, weeknights at 9pm Eastern on MSNBC.

[Mika Brzezinski]

I knew that my vote could make the difference.

[Joe Scarborough]

And however hard it was, I wasn't gonna let their denial of my ability.

[Mike Barnacle]

To vote by proxy get in the way.

[Joe Scarborough]

So Sam and I took a trip across the country. I had a knee surgery and a blood clot, an infection in my knee.

[Ali Vitale]

Two clean out surgeries.

[Peter Baker]

I've been in the hospital for the last 10 days.

[Rachel Maddow]

This is a centerpiece of Trapezetta and.

[Mike Barnacle]

I wanted to get my vote on the record.

[Joe Scarborough]

All right. Democrats doing everything they can to challenge the Republican led House's budget proposal. That was Congresswoman Brittany Peterson of Colorado who brought her four week old son, and Congressman Kevin Mullen of California who traveled to D.C. after being released from the hospital. On Monday. We'll go through what comes next for that bill. Plus we'll have the latest on all things Doge as the White House finally reveals who is legally in charge of the task force and the new reporting from the New York Times on Doge's inaccurate savings claims. Meanwhile, some Republican lawmakers are backing away from town halls after contentious meetings with constituents. We'll tell you why and we'll have an update for you on the near miss at Chicago's Midway Airport after a Southwest Airlines jet ditched its landing just in the nick of time. Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe. It is Wednesday, everybody, just so you know, informing you. Wednesday, February 26th. Along with Joe Willey and me, we have MSNBC contributor Mike Barnacle, the host of Way Too Early, Ali Vitale, chief White House correspondent for the New York Times, Peter Baker and co founder of Axios. Mike Allen is with us this morning. Joe, we have so much to get to Today, as we do every day.

[Ali Vitale]

We really do do. And I mean, you look at the near miss in Chicago, you look at all the other problems that we're having right now, this is the last time. This is, this is the last thing you'd want to do right now is cut FAA workers. The last thing you would want to do is do anything that could get, inhibit air safety. You can go out, you can talk about D all you want to. This is something that has nothing to do with the, this is something we've been talking about on this show since COVID about, about right now. We, we, we have a crisis. We need more people, actually up in the towers. We need more people faa, we need more people keeping the skies safe. And Willie, just really quickly, we're, we're going to talk about Doge. We have Mike Allen, who along with Jim Vande Hei wrote an extraordinary column talking about how Doge. They didn't say this. I am. It's mainly when it comes to budget issues, it's smoke and mirrors. Think about this, that from the founding of Our Republic through 2001, it's the year I left Congress. So I know over those 220 years, the United States accumulated $5 trillion debt in the last 20 years, 5 trillion over two centuries. Over the last 20 or so years, we've accumulated up to $36 trillion. Now, the congressional Budget Office says that if these Republicans pass what they're about to pass, and if they move forward with tax cuts and they move forward with massive spending increases in defense, and they move forward with all the things they're talking about moving forward with the budget. Let me get this number right. The budget is going to increase another $23 trillion over the next decade. Over the next decade. And this is something I've been warning about my entire adult life. Let me tell you something, though. There are no warnings for this. We are in meltdown mode here. And they're sitting around talking about, you know, passing legislation that's going to increase the debt another $20 trillion over the next decade. And not even. They're talking about Doge. It's smoke and mirrors. You're talking about a small, small percentage of what actually drives the debt. What drives, what they're going to do is they're going to slash Medicaid. And they may think that only hurts minorities in inner cities. They are so wrong. The people who were most devastated are those who live in red state America, those who have watched rural hospitals around them shut down when governors wouldn't accept Medicaid expansion. They slash Medicaid. They are slashing rural health care that's already in crisis. So everything seems backwards here. They may think it's all smoke and mirrors and not to go on too long, but I am obsessed about it. Neil Ferguson talks about Ferguson's law. Not, not, not his law, but, but someone else from the 1800s. And Ferguson's law states that any great power that spends more money on servicing their debt than on defense risk ceasing to become a great power. The United States is doing that, Willie, right now. We spend more money on interest on our federal debt than we do in defending this country. And it's only going to get so much worse because of the nonsense that's going on in Washington, D.C. right now.

[Mike Allen]

Yes, so much of what Doge is doing is performative, as we said yesterday, literally, sometimes with Elon Musk wielding a chainsaw. But even these cuts, if you're actually serious about getting debt and deficit under control, which so many Republicans have spent their careers talking about, calling themselves hawks, that went away, of course, in the first Trump administration when he added more debt than any president had previously. And now you're exactly right. The outlines of this deal that Republicans struck, barely by the skin of their teeth, by two votes in the House. And we'll get into some of the details, it does extend the Trump tax cuts from 2017, blowing a massive hole in the debt. Again, those cuts, of course, going to the wealthiest Americans and trying to find the savings. As you said, in places like Medicaid and food assistance, 72 million Americans rely on Medicaid for their health care. That is not, as you say, just inner city minorities, as perhaps they think. So that is health care for people. That is food for people across the country, urban and rural. So, Mika, what Elon Musk is doing might feel good to the base. It might look good, like he's finally getting some efficiency in the government, but it doesn't actually do anything to get to the core of our debt and deficit.

[Joe Scarborough]

We'll get more on this later. But the backlash also continues. A group of 21 civil service employees whose team was folded into Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, all resigned yesterday. That's according to a letter posted online and shared with media outlets. The letter stated the career staffers refused to use their technical skills to, quote, compromise core government systems, jeopardize American sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services. A person familiar with the letter confirmed its authenticity to NBC News. The news was first reported by the Associated Press. In a social media post, Musk called the AP report more fake news and added, these were Dem political holdovers who refused to return to the office. They would have been fired had they not resigned. Okay.

[Mike Allen]

The White House now finally has named the person it says is officially in charge of Doge. It comes after lawyers for the Trump administration could not tell a judge on Monday who is running the task force created by Elon Musk. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt was asked about that yesterday.

[Joe Scarborough]

Elon Musk is overseeing Doge. There are career. There are no. Elon Musk is a special government employee, which I've also been asked and have answered that question as well. There are career officials at Doge. There are political appointees at Doge. I'm not going to reveal the name of that individual from this podium. I'm happy to follow up and provide that to you, but we've been incredibly transparent about the way that Doge is working.

[Mike Allen]

Except we won't reveal the name, despite making it clear that Musk is overseeing Doge. That was a quote there. The White House, shortly after that briefing, said Amy Gleason now holds the title of acting Doge administrator. The White House did not say when Gleason was appointed, but the decision appeared rushed because Gleason is on vacation in Mexico. According to the New York Times, she told associates she was not aware ahead of time that the White House planned to make public her role. Her LinkedIn profile has her listed as the senior adviser at the U.S. digital Service, a department that Musk folded into Doge. Meanwhile, Musk will be a part of President Trump's first Cabinet meeting later today. The billionaire is not a member of the president's Cabinet. Levitt yesterday said Musk will be there because he's working alongside the president and the administration's Cabinet secretary. So, Peter Baker. It's pretty clear and frankly an insult to most Americans intelligence to say that Elon Musk is not the one making these calls and running Doge. He's going to be sitting in that Cabinet meeting today. But does the White House have a sense that the clunky way in which these cuts are being made and then being withdrawn, in some cases, emails threatening employees are being sent out and then departments are saying, no, actually, you don't have to abide by that email. Is the White House worried about this at all? It doesn't sound like it. From the president's point of view. He says Musk should be more aggressive.

[Mike Barnacle]

Yeah, I don't think they're worried too much. About it. I think some of the confusion and chaos is baked in. I think it's kind of, in some ways the goal. They're trying to keep people off their, you know, trying to keep people confused and off their back heels. You know, I think that if you look at this Department of Government Efficiency, the name that they have chosen for themselves, the trick is it hasn't been all that efficient. Right. So they had a list up, for instance, of the largest cuts that they say that they have made to government programs. Well, the five largest savings that they claim now been deleted from the site after reporters, including some of my colleagues, point out that they were riddled with error. So they're trying to get their feet planted on something that's very complicated. The government here is a $6 trillion a year operation for outsiders to come in with no experience there and just suddenly be able to make the kind of sweeping decisions that they're making without any kind of background in it. I think you're going to have the kind of screw ups that we've seen so far.

[Joe Scarborough]

Well, meanwhile, some Republican lawmakers are starting to push back against the Department of Government Efficiency. This is their constituents are complaining about the federal government layoffs. Lawmakers are now publicly raising those concerns, toeing the line between criticizing the department and supporting its efforts.

[Mike Barnacle]

I think that any process you undergo.

[Mika Brzezinski]

Where you're trying to find efficiencies and if that involves some reductions in force, it needs to be done in a respectful way. Obviously that's respectful of people involved.

[Mike Barnacle]

But I do think as they go through this process, the objective of DOGE is to try and figure out ways.

[Mika Brzezinski]

To make government run more efficiently, more effectively and reduce its cost and make.

[Mike Barnacle]

Sure that the American taxpayer is getting a good deal on the tax dollars.

[Mika Brzezinski]

That they put into the federal government.

[Joe Scarborough]

I'm all for trimming together.

[Mike Barnacle]

I'm all for also doing it in a deliberate manner that allows people to.

[Ali Vitale]

Adjust in their lifestyle.

[Joe Scarborough]

Do you believe that Elon Musk and Joe should have a little bit more compassion? Is that what you're saying?

[Ali Vitale]

I think the messaging has to be more along lines of, look, this is good for America, but also we need to do it in a little bit more. In my opinion, and I understand you.

[Joe Scarborough]

Always have to visit, but in my.

[Mike Barnacle]

Opinion we have to be a little.

[Ali Vitale]

Bit more, give people more time to adjust.

[Mike Barnacle]

Things are happening a little bit too.

[Joe Scarborough]

Fast and furiously, I think, and that's.

[Mike Barnacle]

Why we've had some of these unintended consequences. We also saw the National Park Service.

[Joe Scarborough]

Some seasonal hires that being reversed as well, to reinstate those individuals.

[Mike Barnacle]

So instead of doing this in a.

[Joe Scarborough]

Very broad way and then having to.

[Mike Barnacle]

Retroactively, you know, reverse your decision, why don't we take a little time, do.

[Joe Scarborough]

It more thoughtfully and thoroughly, making sure we're actually addressing, you know, the waste of mismanagement and the unnecessary overhead as opposed to making these rash decisions and then having to backtrack.

[Ali Vitale]

My district is firmly behind what President Trump is doing and what Doge is doing to right this ship before that.

[Rachel Maddow]

Ship crashes into a reef of despair.

[Mika Brzezinski]

And we go broke as a nation. I do think there are some valid.

[Rachel Maddow]

Concerns about the speed that this is happening.

[Ali Vitale]

Layoffs happen every day in America when companies are bought out through consolidation and.

[Mika Brzezinski]

Automation and other things that no longer.

[Ali Vitale]

Require services of sometimes hard working people. But that's what happens. And government employees are not immune from that. Just because you have a government job, it's not a lifetime appointment like the Supreme Court over there. Well, I mean, I think we all agree on that and we all agree on waste, fraud and abuse. But again, I must correct the congressman what he said at first. We have to do this to somehow save our ship from crashing onto the shore, you know, because of public debt. Again, I would hope he knows. And if he doesn't, I would hope he'd read Axios in the newsletter they put out or just look at the Congressional Budget Office. Because, Mike Allen, the news, the column that you and Jim Vande Hei wrote a couple days ago really clarifies everything. And his follow up, I followed up on it this morning with what I was saying about, about the debt. This is, this is, as you say, right here, trimming the fat is harder than it looks. 37% of the contract terminations aren't expected to save any money. And you also, you talk about how actually the interest that we accumulate on the debt is more than they're going to be able to ever cut at Doge. And that's the interest we accumulate on the debt every day. This is, we've heard of no pain, no gain. Well, Republican members are going to soon find this is all pain, no gain. It does nothing to get us closer to being fiscally responsible and not see this government and our economy melt down under a pile of debt.

[Mika Brzezinski]

Yeah, Joe, I've heard you talking about these issues for years, including when I had to call you Congressman. And this is what we explain in our column. Hard truths about Trump's budget cuts. And those are putting out examples of silly government programs, mistaken government programs, contract excesses but what we show with the math is that these are drops of water in the leaky bucket of the US budget. And you look at the numbers, 60% of what's in the budget is going to programs the government absolutely has to spend. Throw in defense, throw in interest, you're left with 16% of the budget, like very little for Doge and the government to work with. Now, Joe, it's super important to say the idea of Doge and what Doge is doing is super popular both in polls and in my conversation with friends, relatives coast to coast, even New York City, they like the idea.

[Ali Vitale]

It's always been, it's always been popular, hasn't it? As you, as you point out here, when Proxmire had the Golden Fleece Award, what was that? Back in the 60s and 70s, Al Gore went on David Letterman to talk about rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. We've been around. But I will tell you this. What I found, and I'm not talking about those two gentlemen, but what I found when we were trying to do the hard work to balance the budget, we did it four years in a row. When people started talking about things like this, it was to distract from the fact that you have to find savings in Medicare, in Social Security, in defense spending in these other areas that take up 85 to 90% of the budget. So they go, oh, look over there, look at the bird over there. And then they can wield a chainsaw. And yet they do nothing as again, the Congressional Budget Office, the Congress, the Congressional Budget Office says our debt's going to go up another $23 trillion over the next decade. That will cripple America. Mike.

[Mika Brzezinski]

That's right, Joe. And you can add Senator Alan Simpson, who Peter knows very well, to that list. I remember, like growing up in Orange County, California, hearing about the Bill Proxmire Golden Fleece awards, government excesses, the sort of Paul Harvey stuff, Ronald Reagan, of course, who on the after dinner circuit really played those up. But what we point out in this column that's up now on Axios, is that President Trump is hemmed in by three things. One, political reality, including his need to keep House Republicans, who Ali knows so well. Second, he's hemmed in by what he has said about what he's not going to touch, including recently in his interview with Sean Hannity, he talked about what he would not touch. And of course, three is the math that you've been talking through.

[Joe Scarborough]

So one of the things, Joe, you've always shared with me about what you loved about and learned the most from during your time in Congress was town halls that you did every time you went home to learn about whether or not you're doing a good job for your constituents. And now some House Republicans are putting the brakes on town halls after pushback over the Trump administration's cuts. The decision comes after a number of lawmakers faced angry crowds in their home districts last week. Republican leaders are urging lawmakers to stop engaging in them altogether or to do tele town halls to avoid similar incidents. GOP sources tell NBC News the new reluctance to hold them indicates there are bubbling concern, concerns about the impact the cuts could have on the GOP's chances of holding its thin majority in the House next year. The viral nature of video clips are spreading from one district to another means a bad confrontation in safe Republican territory could influence voters in battlegrounds. And Mike Barnacle. At the same time, aren't the town halls where you as a public servant get feedback from the very people who voted you into office?

[Ali Vitale]

Well, you know, the furor at the town halls over the weekend with Republican congressmen, that's a window of opportunity for the Democrats. The Democrats best hope is what is going on right now Today in Washington, D.C. i was stunned yesterday talking to a member of the Ways and Means Committee who told me that 20% of the revenue that goes into the United States treasury goes to pay off debt service. And the Republicans are talking now about perhaps cutting Medicare benefits, Medicaid benefits, some Social Security benefits, some VA benefits, a lot of benefits that people are used to getting and have been used to getting for years, decades actually will now be cut in favor of a $4.5 trillion tax cut that they will propose that will largely go to billionaires and millionaires and large corporations. The corporate tax rate will be lowered, perhaps even more than it was lowered. This is a disaster in the making for the Republican Party. But worse than that, Mika, it's a disaster for the United States of America.

[Joe Scarborough]

All right. Still ahead on Morning Joe, federal workers staged protests across D.C. yesterday to voice frustrations with the sweeping government layoffs. What some of those employees are saying about the administration's slash and burn approach. Plus, the White House says it will decide which news outlets get to cover President Trump going forward. A sharp break from tradition. What the White House Correspondents association is saying about that Morning Joe is back in 90 seconds.

[Rachel Maddow]

As president Donald Trump returns to the White House. Follow along as his agenda takes shape with the new MSNBC newsletter. Trump's first 100 weekly expert insight on key issues sent straight to your inbox. Sign [e-mail] TRUMP100 MSNBC presents a new original podcast hosted by Jen Psaki. Each week she and her guests explore how the Democratic Party is facing this political moment and where it's headed next.

[Joe Scarborough]

There's probably both messaging and policy issues, but as you look to kind of.

[Mika Brzezinski]

Where the Democratic Party is, do you.

[Joe Scarborough]

Think it's more a messaging issue, more a policy issue?

[Rachel Maddow]

The Blueprint with Jen Psaki subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad free listening and bonus content. Get all of Rachel Maddow's original chart topping podcast series in one place with Rachel Maddow Presents, Binge the Entire Bagman Series, seasons one and two of Ultra, and every episode of Deja News, along with all of Rachel Maddow's new podcasts to come. These are untold stories of our country's past that could help us understand the state of our country today. Search for Rachel Maddow Presents and follow to listen now. For ad free listening, subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple podcasts.

[Joe Scarborough]

Welcome back 23 past the hour. Time now for a look at some of the other stories making headlines this morning. Hamas is mapping out its battle strategy for a potential return to war with Israel. It comes as mediators work to salvage the cease fire that expires this weekend in the Gaza Strip. Although the terror group has been badly weakened after 15 months of fighting, it has started regrouping its military forces, repairing its underground tunnel network, and training new recruits on how to use weapons. More than 1,000 musicians, including Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and Cat Stevens, are protesting a proposal in the UK that would give artificial intelligence firms access to copyrighted music. To push back on the proposed law, the artists released an album that is mostly silent except for white noise, recorded in empty studios. According to the Washington Post, a number of big name artists, including Elton John and Paul McCartney have spoken out against the plan, which they say could undermine the recording industry by making it more difficult for artists to protect their work. Astronomers say the Earth is no longer longer in danger of being struck by an asteroid in the year of 2032. Okay, the chances of impact have dropped to nearly zero. Last week, the odds of an impact were more than 3%. That probability was the highest ever recorded for an object of this size or bigger.

[Mike Allen]

These odds are all over the place.

[Joe Scarborough]

I know it's going to be changed course.

[Mike Allen]

We'll see.

[Joe Scarborough]

All right.

[Mike Allen]

There is new concern this morning at the nation's airports after the latest incident involving air travel. When A Southwest Airlines plane nearly collided with a private jet on the Runway yesterday at Chicago's Midway International Airport. NBC News correspondent Erin McLaughlin has details.

[Peter Baker]

At Chicago's Midway International Airport. And investigation after yet another stunningly close call. The video captured on an airport webcam shows Southwest Flight 2504 nearly touching down. The same moment a private jet crosses the Runway. The flight abruptly pulls up, averting potential disaster.

[Mike Barnacle]

I thought it was 2504 going around.

[Peter Baker]

It was surreal. Passengers Emily Novak and Kaylee Mask were on board the Southwest flight from Omaha. What went through your mind when you saw the video shock?

[Joe Scarborough]

Yeah, because we were so oblivious to what was happening because the pilot was so calm and he acted like it was just an everyday, you know, thing.

[Peter Baker]

The FAA says the Flexjet private jet entered the Runway without authorization. Flexjet released a statement saying it's investigating and adheres to the highest safety standards. Meanwhile, Southwest says its crew followed safety procedures, circled the airport and landed safely. It's the latest in a string of air disasters and mishaps. From the mid air collision that killed 67 near Reagan National Airport to the air disaster in Philadelphia, a crash landing in Toronto, and most recently an emergency landing after a cabin filled with haze over Atlanta.

[Mike Barnacle]

The circumstances have been quite different in.

[Mike Allen]

Each one of these accidents or incidents.

[Joe Scarborough]

So it's still too early to draw.

[Mike Allen]

A common thread through all of them.

[Peter Baker]

All of it rattling travelers nationwide. From a consumer confidence standpoint, are we nearing a tipping point?

[Mike Allen]

No, I don't think we're nearing a tipping point, but aviation is still incredibly safe and hopefully this is not the beginning of some long term trend. NBC's Aaron McLaughlin reporting there. Joe, just a hell of a job by that pilot to lift a commercial airline in that touch and go to have the presence of mind to get it up, circle and land safely. Obviously some bad communication on the ground there.

[Ali Vitale]

Well, you know, we've been talking about this for quite some time. Last couple of years we've seen some near misses on runways in part again because increased traffic coming out of, coming out of the pandemic, but also because we need more people working for air traffic control. We need more people in the faa, we need more people in the tsa. And you're having all of these cuts and, and slashing all these expenses. I just, again, I want to go back to this Axios article, Willie. So here, here is, if you look at this, this is where the money goes. Social Security, health, net interest on the debt, Medicare. You go down all of these numbers. You know, faa, it's not even a dot here. So slashing air safety, slashing safety for, for people that make sure that that are nuclear, you know, our nuclear stockpile is safe. I mean, you could go down the list. They're not even dots on this budget. And you know, Ali, I want to take two, two quotes from this Axios article and then have you talk about what's going on in the Hill versus Doge. As Mike Allen and Jim Vande hey, write, when you consider where federal money really goes, most Doge oddities and outrages amount to rounding errors and a sea of government obligations. And they do. And those rounding errors that they're supposedly taking a chainsaw to, they're not, I mean, hardly even cutting. But what they're cutting is dangerous. And then there's an old saying, the US Government consists of a military attached to an insurance company. And that is true. Add up the defense budget, add up Medicare, add up Social Security, add up Medicaid, add up interest on the debt debt, and you're getting close to 90% of what the federal government spends every year. And so this, I mean, you've got theatrics with Doge, but nothing that's actually going to help us move closer to a balanced budget are not increasing the sea of debt by $23 trillion over the next decade, as the Congressional Budget Office Sundays.

[Lisa Rubin]

And the CBO, of course, is regularly included in these conversations as they move forward on these kinds of legislative pieces. The CBO always has a score attached to them, so we always know what it's going to look like, how much it's going to cost, and then how much it's going to add to the debt over time. So I think it's really important the way that you're highlighting this Axios piece where you basically show that Doge is nibbling around the edges. Now, one of the pieces, I think that's the common thread here when we talk about the town halls that Republicans are now so weary and wary of actually continuing with. One of the things that I heard from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle is that after they came back from being in their home districts last week, some of them having town halls that were publicized, others just having these kinds of conversations with their constituents, Medicaid was the key thing that continued coming up in these conversations. And I asked Democrats if it's that voters and constituents are at an outrage point or if they're just in a questioning and concerned point. And it is the latter, according to most of my conversations, which puts Democrats in the position of having to educate people about what's actually at play in these budget reconciliation talks. And that's why you hear the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, talking like this.

[Joe Scarborough]

Watch. The House Republican budget resolution will set.

[Ali Vitale]

In motion the largest Medicaid cut in American history. It's outrageous in many ways.

[Mike Allen]

This is a matter of.

[Joe Scarborough]

Of life and death.

[Mike Allen]

And so every day, every week, every.

[Joe Scarborough]

Month, for however long it takes, we're going to push back and do everything we can to stop this budget from.

[Mike Allen]

Passing the House of Representatives in final.

[Joe Scarborough]

Form and ever becoming law.

[Lisa Rubin]

So, of course, we saw Democrats scrambling on attendance issues that actually had been kind of a thorny issue within the caucus. I had been hearing yesterday as I was on the Hill, that Democrats were getting a little bit annoyed that there were some really close bills that attendance issues could have forced not to pass. But then, of course, we saw members flying across the country, despite health issues, to be there to try to make a show of not letting this reconciliation procedural vote pass. But look, on Medicaid, this is going to be the key issue, Joe, because the speaker says he didn't give concessions. But moderate members that ultimately fell in line with the rest of the party were voicing concerns about Medicaid. And that's gonna be a continuous conversation. Jeff Van Drew apparently had conversations with President Trump Y in his quest to get to yes. Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, also of the New York area, had conversations apparently on this issue. So it's an issue that maybe it's put away for now, but it's not going to be for long.

[Ali Vitale]

No, it's not. You're so right. And the biggest problem, if you look at this, Peter Baker, is we're talking about Doge and the problems they're having at town hall meetings in red state America right now with Doge. Listen to some of these numbers. When, when it comes to cutting of Medicaid. Medicaid and what that would do to red state America, it would lead to rural hospital closures. Medicaid accounts for up to 15% of rural hospitals revenue. And those hospitals are already struggling. As you know, over the past 10 years, 120 rural hospitals have had to close down. They're having trouble getting doctors there. And also, as you know, as you go to red state America and a lot of cities and towns in red state America, they're number one employers. I mean, I saw this when I went to Little Rock and interviewed Bill Clinton on the 20th anniversary of his presidential library opening up the number one employer health care providers hospitals, and that's in one red state after another red state. So I'm saying all this just to say if these Republicans think they're having problems now with, with cuts here and there with Doge, when they start talking about slashing Medicaid to give billionaires tax cuts, that's when, as Ross Perot would say, the rubber hits the road, and then that's when things get really tough.

[Mike Barnacle]

Well, and you understand that President Trump understands that, too, right from the beginning, ten years ago when he started running, he said Medicare and Social Security were always going to be off the table. He said just the other day that Medicaid was off the table, too. But it's obviously not. And I think that that's going to cause a lot of conniptions. I think you're right. The trick is we're in this, you know, this loop, Right. If you want to be serious about tackling the deficit and the issues, Joe, that you're talking about, you're going to have to look at the big ticket items that Mike refers to in his comp. But if you go after those big ticket items, there's a lot of pain involved. And if you think that you're paying so far with these Doge cuts, as you rightly say, this is, as you say, nibbling around the edges. The big stuff is still to come, especially if you make the deficit even wider with more tax cuts. Any rational look at the budget over the last decade or so has involved serious cuts as well as tax increases, because there's a lot of red ink there. And if you're going to try to close that red ink, you're going to have to look at a lot of different things, much of which would cause pain for people. But that's not where this is happening here. We're seeing here is a lot of gains politically because we get to give tax cuts to people that's always politically popular, and we get to showcase things that look like waste and fraud through this Doge process, but. But really don't really amount to much, although it hurts individuals and employees and science funding and all these other things that actually matter to a lot of Americans. And the bottom line is you haven't really solved the problem that you allegedly ostensibly are set out to tackle in the first place.

[Joe Scarborough]

All right, coming up, we're going to take a closer look at President Trump's executive order. That goes after a law firm representing former special counsel Jack Smith. Morning Joe. We'll be right back.

[Rachel Maddow]

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[Joe Scarborough]

I do think it's worth being very clear eyed, very realistic about what's going on here.

[Rachel Maddow]

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[Joe Scarborough]

Welcome back. The Trump administration says it will now hand select next select the press outlets that will be given pool access to cover the President. Bucking years of bipartisan precedent moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House Press team. A select group of DC based journalists should no longer have a monopoly over the privilege of press access at the White House. All journalists, outlets and voices deserve a seat at this highly coveted table. So by deciding which outlets make up the limited press pool on a day to day basis, the White House will be restoring power back to the American people who President Trump was elected to serve. So the White House press pool is a small group of seasoned journalists based in the nation's capital who report on the President's daily schedule. Hand picking which outlets get intimate access to the President would give the administration more control over how it is covered. Historically, the members of the White House press pool had been chosen on a rotating basis by the White House Correspondence Association, a century old group representing the journalists on the White House beat. The WHCA responded to the change in a statement writing in part, this move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the President. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps. This comes as a federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order against the White House for denying the Associated Press full access in covering the administration. The AP was barred indefinitely from the Oval Office and Air Force One because of its refusal to change its its style on the Gulf of Mexico after President Trump renamed it The Gulf of America. This isn't the first time the Trump White House has attempted to limit press access. Back in 2018, it temporarily suspended the press credentials of CNN's Jim Acosta for what the White House called behaving disrespectfully. A US District judge later forced the White House to reinstate Acosta's press credentials. Mike Barnacle, your thoughts?

[Ali Vitale]

You know, there's a lot going on here and there's a lot going on in that story. And it's part of, I would think, a troika. If you really pay attention to what's going on. Intimidate the press. They're doing that kind of successfully. Co op the federal police force, the FBI, try and co op the military, the Defense Department through an appointed Secretary of defense who is totally unqualified to be Secretary of Defense. I'm just saying pay attention to what's happening around us.

[Joe Scarborough]

Yeah. And Mike Allen, this is a real change in tradition which will have, I think, a big response from members of.

[Mika Brzezinski]

The press corps, no question, because Jim vanahei and I are up with a column this morning on Trump's media control strategy. Pulling back the camera and looking at the fact that this is of a piece with the lawsuits, with the control of workspace at the Pentagon, with the actions against ap. And just around this table off camera, we've been talking about how there is going to be a Democratic president. And that's one of the reasons that you see some conservative news organizations backing up fox, backing up ap, backing up, signing on to protests of how this is being done. Now, what the White House told us for this column is we're trying to open up new opportunities for people who think differently, are doing things different ways, that the old system didn't serve people. And they say we're going to be responsible about this, that the legacy, traditional outlets are going to be very represented. They say we want the eyeballs. They even in our column used the phrase ratings bonanza. They say they want to leverage legacy outlets with new, different maga, nonpartisan, other outlets. But this is a massive change. Peter and I have been walking into those gates for decades now. There was always a certain way it was done. And Mika, Joe, one of the reasons was that the occupants of those chairs, the staff in there, thought the institution is bigger than us. The institution will go on after us. We are holding these roles in stewardship for the people who came before and after us. That is not the mindset of this crowd.

[Ali Vitale]

Well, Peter, it seems so short sighted. Again, you've Been going in there and out of there for a very long time. I've been in Washington on and off for 30 years. And, and you know, you don't buy the place, you just rent it. And it's not even yours at the end of the day. I remember walking around, forgive me for talking about my time in Congress again, but I remember walking around during impeachment and talking to my fellow Republicans on the floor. I said, you guys are talking and voting like there's never going to be another Republican president. We better hold him to the same standard we would want a Republican president held to. Well, that's the same thing here. I mean, we're seeing all these norms broken. And if Republicans and if conservative outlets don't think, as Mike said, that when a Democratic president comes in, he or she is going to do the same thing, they're sadly, I mean, first of all, there's a question of whether they can even do this. You remember when the White House tried to take Jim Acosta's badge, White House badge, and a judge stepped in and said, no, not, not your decision to make. But talk about this, the short sightedness of this and also how it'll be limiting to the White House actually getting its message out to voters all across the ideological spectrum.

[Mike Barnacle]

Yeah. I think first of all, the difference with the Acosta thing in the first term was, at least on the surface, they said the reason they were taking his pass was decorum. In other words, that he had behaved badly at a news conference. We can argue about that and whether in fact that was really the reason. But that at least was the stated reason. The reason that they have given as a stated reason to get rid of the Associated Press is very openly and overtly about content about what they say in their coverage. The fact that they won't use Trump's preferred phrase, Gulf of America, and they stick with the traditional phrase Gulf of Mexico, which is still recognized by most of the world. The fact is the White House is saying, we will punish you, we will take something away from you if you don't conform your coverage to what we want it to be. So they can say it's all about opening up seats to other organizations. That's fine. I think most reporters there support that. The White House Correspondents association for years has adapted and changed and admitted new and different types of media organizations in the pool already are liberal oriented, conserver oriented as well as traditional legacy mainstream media. That's been true for years. Fox is there and I remember to your point about there is you know, to Mike's point about there will be a day where this precedent will be used in a way that the Trump White House might not want it to. I remember during the Obama White House when they tried to keep Fox out of a press pool event and the other reporters, all of us said, no, that's not right, and basically forced the Obama people to back down and say, if you're going to invite, you know, all of us, then you have to invite all of us. You can't make a distinction based on an organization that you just don't like. And so I think you're right. They don't seem to understand that they want to be able to pick who asked the president questions. That goes against decades and decades, decades.

[Mike Allen]

Of tradition and the press office trying to sell this as an act of populism, giving power back to the people, when, of course, as Peter says, it just gives power to the administration to control the message. Peter, stay with us. Mike Allen of Axios, thanks so much. We've been talking a lot about your work this morning. Those pieces available online now. President Trump is stripping the security clearances of lawyers who provided free legal services to special counsel Jack Smith. The proposal signed yesterday points to staff at Covington and Burling law firm, which represented Smith before he resigned from the Justice Department last month. The move comes after Smith declared in a financial disclosure he received a gift of $140,000 of legal services from the firm while in government service. Smith brought two criminal cases, of course, against Trump that then were dropped after the election. Let's bring in former litigator and MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin and NBC News national security editor David Rhode. Good morning to you both. So, Lisa, what's going on here? Is this, as plain as it seems, a way to get back at Jack Smith?

[Peter Baker]

I think it is exactly what it seems, Willie, a way to get back at Jack Smith, not necessarily a particularly efficacious one, because if you look at what Trump signed yesterday, it revoked security clearances from Peter Koski, who is said to be Jack Smith's lawyer at Covington and Burling and any other lawyers who assisted in what they call it says, who assisted former special counsel Jack Smith during his time as a special counsel. There may be an assumption in there that is completely belied by the truth. It's our understanding that Covington and Burling provided personal services, individual services, to Jack Smith, not to the Office of the Special Counsel. So it's premised on a false premise. But the other thing that it does is it revokes security clearances. It says that the government should review contracts and that if Covington and Burling represents the government in any capacity, those should be reviewed as well. It's not clear that there are any contracts with Covington and Burling, according to the Washington Post this morning. So this may be symbolic. What it is, though, is a shot across the bow at law firms all throughout the country. Think very carefully about who you hire and who you represent in this era, because we are watching and we intend to investigate these people as part of our weaponization of the federal government Executive.

[Ali Vitale]

Order, David, the crackdown by the administration on certain people, certain lawyers, law firms, that's one thing. But it's now seemingly extended into the national security space itself. I mean, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff basically fired things like that.

[Joe Scarborough]

That's what's happening. And it's a narrative of, like, corruption, that somehow this law firm was doing something improper because they worked with Jack Smith. And again, and you talked about earlier in the week, but Dan Bongino, being, you know, this right wing podcaster who has said Trump won the 2020 election, who has said that January 6 was somehow staged, is now going to essentially run the daily operations of the most powerful federal law enforcement agency in this country. And I was speaking with a Justice Department official, former Justice Department official, yesterday, and their concern is that, you know, there is a terrorist threat in this country. There's lots of turmoil around the world. And these moves, you know, essentially someone who says things that President Trump wants to hear gets to run the most powerful law enforcement agencies in the country. Morale is terrible, and they will be distracted. And there could be a consequence. Where I was going, I wonder how much this destabilizes and weakens America in the face of what seems to be setting up sort of a pattern for retribution. It's retribution, and it'syou have to back Trump's narrative. You have to say the FBI is corrupt. You have to say that Jack Smith had no right whatsoever to investigate him, that there was no reason to search Mar A Lago. A judge issued a search warrant for that. Again, Dan Bongino has said that, you know, there never should have been that search warrant. So it's just this narrative creating a reality that helps President Trump politically that doesn't fit facts on the ground. And for effective law enforcement and intelligence agencies, you have to have a basis in reality and not just have loyalists processing the information.

[Mike Allen]

And to David's point, there's reporting this morning that the FBI is launching an investigation into James Comey, the former director of the FBI for the investigation he initiated 10 years ago, beginning to look into the Trump campaign. So, Lisa, what does someone like Jack Smith do with this? What are these people who know they're about to be targets or already are targets? How do they brace themselves for this?

[Peter Baker]

Well, I would say there is no neutrality right now. There are a number of law firms all throughout the country who I think are at a crossroads right now. Do we hire people, for example, who have come out of the Biden Department of Justice? Do we hire them, understanding that hiring them might mean indemnifying them for the investigations of them that might be coming their way? There is no more neutrality anymore. And Covington and Burling has put out a statement essentially saying, we stand behind the decisions that we've made. Jack Smith is the client of the firm. He hired us in his personal, individual capacity. But that's the line that they have drawn to the extent that other law firms throughout the country are going to try and put their heads in the sand. There will be decisions to be made throughout. There are going to be people, line prosecutors whose names we do not know, who are subject to congressional investigations, Department of Justice investigations, and the like, who are going to need lawyers. And similar to what we saw, for example, during Trump impeachment, one those people are going to need counsel. There is a large group of people who are experienced in congressional investigations, but it's not limitless. Right. And so at some point, law firms in Washington and New York and in other places across the country are going to have to have tough conversations. Are we willing to risk being in the spotlight and potentially losing some clients if we do the right thing here and offer representation to people who themselves are being targeted because they tried to follow the facts and follow the law? Will we?

[Joe Scarborough]

MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin and NBC News national security editor David Rhode, thank you both very much for being on this morning.

[Rachel Maddow]

And still the first 100 days, bills are passed, executive orders are signed, and presidencies are defined. And for Donald Trump's first 100 days, Rachel Maddow is on MSNBC five nights a week.

[Joe Scarborough]

Now is the time, so we're gonna do it.

[Rachel Maddow]

Providing her unique insight and analysis during this critical time, how do we strategize.

[Joe Scarborough]

Strategically align ourselves to this moment of information, this moment of transition in our country?

[Rachel Maddow]

The Rachel Maddow show, weeknights at 9pm Eastern on MSNBC.