Rachel Maddow Show we connected 90s turn on MSNBC. It is April 1st, which is always kind of a special day here at The Rachel Maddow Show because April 1st as you may know is the birthday of Paul manafort's which for our country is at least ought to be perhaps an annual for the following Civic reminder that the immediate former president of our country had to Pardon his campaign chairman and he had to Pardon his campaign manager and he had to Pardon his longest-standing political adviser and he had to Pardon his National Security adviser and he had to pardon the deputy chair of his inaugural and his Deputy campaign chairman went to prison and his personal lawyer went to prison and his other personal lawyer is under Federal criminal investigation, and he himself personally is named by prosecutors as.

Unindicted co-conspirator co-conspirator in multiple Federal felonies, and he himself personally is now today as a former president actively under criminal investigation into different states.

We've never been in that kind of a situation before is a country.

Mazel Tov you might have seen the obituary this week for G Gordon Liddy the Watergate conspirators Durand legendary blowhard who went to prison for burglary and illegal wiretapping among lots of other things a lot of the obituaries of G Gordon Liddy because of cuz of his role in Watergate and because of how much time has passed since those are the obituaries about him a little mini history lessons to tell the obituary writers are sort of a dog at the criminal misbehavior of G Gordon Liddy and all these other clowns around President Nixon during the Watergate scandal.

But honestly, I mean come on. We got to take a moment to appreciate we have to let our chests swell a little bit in knowing that we are generation us. We just live through it Administration. That was so.

It makes the Nixon Watergate scandals look adorable in retrospect.

This is why we celebrate Paul manafort's birthday every year April fools. We made it America.

And after his presidential pardon from Donald Trump in the in the waning minutes of the Trump Administration Paul manafort today is busy trying to see if he can reconnect some of his seized assets from the justice department. No, happy birthday convicted felon Trump campaign chairman. Congratulations to us for surviving what brought you to the public for us for surviving at least this far.

What does happen next in the Republican party after that administer shipment? They just brought us. It's very possible 2024 cook theoretically top all the same campaign staff and Senior advisors. We can stay the newspaper ink by listing them in campaign covered by their federal prisoner ID numbers instead of by their names. I know when they leave new headshots, we have the Bureau of Prisons mugshots for all of them.

Honestly Watergate is cute in comparison.

One very strange offshoot of the 2016 campaign came back up in the news today on this of all days, you might remember that alongside the scandal of the Russian government intervening in 2016 to try to help Trump get elected and the questions about what the top people in the Trump campaign like Paul manafort. We're doing sharing confidential data with one Russian intelligence agent while the Russian help for the Trump campaign was going on remember that alongside that particular streak of treachery. There was also a Russian agent who was arrested tried and convicted for secretly working in the United States in the lead-up to the 2016 election to infiltrate conservative political groups like the NRA and to make inroads into Republican campaigns include.

Of President Trump.

Or indictment defined the objects of the conspiracy in her case this way quote to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign government specifically the Russian Federation quote to exploit personal connections with us persons having influence in American politics in an effort to advance the interests of the Russian Federation and to infiltrate organizations active in US politics and an effort to advance the interests of the Russian Federation. That was from her indictment. Her name is Maria butina.

She stands out among the many many Trump campaign related mugshots for a number of reasons for one thing. She's the only one who's not a dude while she was locked up in federal custody ahead of trial and after her convictions. Well, she didn't of course have helped in consultation with the Russian government. She's a Russian citizen. Ultimately. She was deported. She was released to the custody of the Russian government. She was flown home to Moscow after she got out of federal federal prison in the US upon her arrival in Moscow as a in a convicted for an agent sent to the US by the Kremlin Dental infiltrate infiltrate conservative American politics Republican campaign.

They offered her position in the Russian Parliament since she got back ultimately they gave her a TV show on Russian state-controlled TV on on Russia Today.

Meanwhile back home her American boyfriend a man named Paul Erickson Republican political operative who would help her as a Russian government agent get into the upper echelons of the NRA high-level Republican politics President Trump. Pardon, Paul Erickson, Maria butina boyfriend. Paul Erickson was convicted of defrauding to the tune of millions of dollars since Trump pardoned for him apparently means that he won't have to make his restitution payments anymore for the people he was convicted of defrauding.

Presidential Power of clemency is very solemn thing. It's solemn Grand power given to the president by the founding fathers who wrote the Constitution convicted felon con artist boyfriends of hostile Russian agents. I'm sure that's exactly the sort of pardon the founding fathers had in mind to entrust to you know, infinitely sober-minded and trustworthy American presidents.

We do Corso have a new president and with Russia as with everything things have been very different for these last couple of months that he has been in office. And is there something to keep an eye on this much attention yet here in the US but this week the US European command, which is the regional command for the US military in Europe this week. They went to their highest alert level.

I'm after what appears to have been a Russian attack killed Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine this week that effectively could mean that the ceasefire after Russia invaded Ukraine that ceasefire has started to fail after those Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the past week Russia then started massing military equipment on the Russian border with Ukraine.

Today NATO expressed concern about Russia's recent large-scale military activities near Ukraine in the last 48 hours the Biden Administration Secretary of State Anthony blank has had a cold with his counterpart in Ukraine as has Biden's National Security advisor, Jake Sullivan as has the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General mark milley.

Even though Biden is only been in office for a couple of months. The Biden Administration is already put new sanctions on Russian government officials, including specifically in response to the Russian government using a band military grade nerve agent to try to assassinate the top opposition leader in Russia, a man named Alexei navalny after navalny recovered from the attempted nerve agent assassination Russia arrested him in January. They convicted him basically instantly and now have sent him to some long but indefinite term in a Russian penal colony and more than a hundred Russian cities and towns there have been major protests in support of navalny demanding the Russian government.

Let him go that is the sort of thing that absolutely terrifies the Russian government and its leader of Ottoman.

Putin took meetings this week on Tuesday with Emmanuel macron, the president of France and Angela Merkel the chancellor of Germany, they too are pressuring him on the vale. They pushed him about treatment of navalny in prison.

The US government has repeatedly including president pardon himself has repeatedly insisted the Russian that they've got to let navalny go President. Biden has made multiple public statements about it. He says he also put it to Putin directly in a phone call State Department pressures them about it all the time including today. Let navalny out of prison.

Well yesterday after some increasingly worrying recent reports from his lawyers and supporters talking about what appears to be a deteriorating physical condition of Alexei navalny in prison yesterday navalny announced that he is starting a hunger strike that he will stop eating until he can see a doctor who can treat him for whatever mysterious medical ailment. He's got now in prison that is causing him extreme unexplained pain. He says that he is losing feeling in his legs entirely and worries that he soon will be able to walk and he started hunger strike yesterday saying it would no longer eat until he can see a doctor that announcement came from Alexei navalny yesterday today the Russian government did send someone in to see him in his prison cell.

Guess who they sent.

They sent Maria butina.

And her camera crew from RT Russia Today where she has a TV show now, they sent her to Alexei navalny present to bring him in his cell and tell him how good he's got it and put it on Russian State TV.

I forgot to mention that Trump just pardon her. Pardon. Her boyfriend is one of his last acts as president.

That's what the last Republican president did and tears the way he fits into this this current.

Set of affairs with Russia and what they're doing to the lead opposition figure in that country's politics.

Are at-home things remain unpredictable and a little unnerving in trumpland and therefore in Republican Politics the most vocally Pro Trump Republican member of Congress. Matt gaetz is still proclaiming his innocence afternoon, multiple news organizations have confirmed that he is under Federal criminal investigation for allegations of child sex trafficking Federal criminal investigation that reportedly started during the last months of the Trump Administration and was affirms and approved by Trump Attorney General William Barr. CNN is reporting tonight. And in this is not confirmed Federal criminal investigation into Matt gaetz is examining among other things weather Gates may have used not just money, but drugs in his dealing with young women the way they didn't put it in there laid tonight investigators examining whether Gates engaged in a relationship with a woman that began when she was 17 and whether his involvement with other young women Broke Federal sex trafficking and prostitution.

Tuition laws again. This person ends not NBC reporting. We have not confirmed this but the CNN saying that investigators are looking at whether he used drugs in addition to cash in his dealings with young women. That is that is new as we reported last night the house Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy has now confirmed after initially saying otherwise is not confirmed that if and when Congressman Matt gaetz is indicted Republicans in the house will remove him from all his committee assignments and otherwise relieve him of his Congressional responsibilities presumably they'll move to expel him from Congress if he's convicted unless he quits first.

But we shall see. Still happening in Gates has consistently been among the most prominent proponents of the craziest Pro Trump stuff in the Republican party, including him aggressively promoting the conspiracy theory that maybe somehow Venezuela, or maybe it was Cuba or something, this anyway. Got into some of the voting machine somewhere and dead Hugo Chavez stole the election for bidinger. Maybe it was China. It's hard to keep straight anymore on the Fox News Channel or Congressman gaetz spent a lot of time espousing them at one point.

I you can't hear that stuff very often anymore on Fox News Primetime not since Dominion voting systems started suing the Fox News channel for 1.6 billion dollars for the news organization consistently promoting that crazy sauce after the election.

But even if it is now now has to be watered down on the Fox News Channel the inspection there is really sort of deeply taken hold.

Why the stories were looking at tonight? For example is news out of Arizona or Republicans in the Arizona State Legislature in their Infinite Wisdom have picked a qanon conspiracy promoter to get taxpayer funds in Arizona to conduct an audit of the actual ballots cast for president in one Arizona county Republicans in the Arizona State Legislature are still really sure that like she was on our Mike Flynn are Navy Seals in Germany are dead people in Pennsylvania are Fidel Castro or something. They're sure of it hard to keep track of what they wear that explains the real truth about how Joe Biden secretly isn't president.

He's really a lizard lives on a movie set.

Republicans in the Arizona legislature have hired a qanon guy to audit the vote officially on behalf of the Arizona State Legislature paid for by the taxpayers of the great state of Arizona.

Good luck, Arizona. Your States was voted for two Democratic US senators and for the Democratic candidate for president, but Arizona Republicans, what do they have to offer?.

Arizona Republicans you do you you just keep keeping on I'm sure it'll work.

Texas to that Republicans, there are some new headwinds as well. And this ball is on an interesting way from something we reported on last night show last night. Shall we we can we talk about the fact that two huge corporations and employers headquartered in Georgia the Coca-Cola Company in Delta Airlines what came out yesterday in strong terms denouncing the anti voting rights law that just passed the republican-controlled legislature and was signed by George Ezra Publican Governor those actions. However late they were by Delta and Coca-Cola. They seem to have rung a bell for some other corporations are finding themselves in similar circumstances as Republicans try to attack voting rights all over the Country Tonite American Airlines and Dell computers with big corporations.

Both major employers go headquartered in Texas. Do they do an American Airlines came out tonight to express similarly sharply word objections to a copycat anti Voting Rights bill in Texas that Republicans in the Texas legislature have already.

After the Texas Senate and it looks to be on its way through the Texas House 2.

A really interesting development Republican legislators in red states trying everywhere all over the country to roll back voting rights as far and as fast as they can in the process though, they are making outspoken and aggressive enemies of the biggest corporations and the biggest Employers in their states.

That's probably not good for them for now or for the long run and if these corporations have legitimately got religion on the issue of protecting voting rights. Now if this is not just lip service and trying to stem off a boy, but they have discovered that actually they are on the side of democracy and working big headquartered in operating in a democracy is better than the opposite if they really do have religion of protecting but he might have decided that this is something that's important to them as corporations and they want to work to defend that fascinating to watch what happens next year.

Because I said I was a little late.

When it came to what we heard from Delta and Coca-Cola.

Georgia Republicans already passed that bill. It's already a Law & Order Republicans are about as likely to repeal their anti-voting bill as I'm likely to get a birthday card of my own from Paul manafort, and they're just not going to roll that thing back.

I'd in Texas. I mean, Texas Republicans will see but they are well on their way to passing their conion anti Voting Rights bill as well because they can.

Which is going to put these big powerful influential corporations like Coca-Cola American Airlines Delta Airlines Dell computers going to put them in the position of having to decide to decide what they're going to do next.

Because just speaking out against Bad bills and bad laws and republican-controlled states after those bills become law or when they're inevitable lay on their way to becoming law that's actually do anything to redress voting rights, except put your statement on the right side of the Ledger for history.

If in fact Republicans in these states keep passing me the anti voting rights rollbacks. The only thing that's really going to say voting rights in those States and elsewhere and in fact all around the country is.

Senate Bill 1 the for the people act which is a voting which it would set a voting rights floor for the whole country which no State could go below and blocks past as HR 1 through the house passed the house. It's now Senate Bill 1 in the Senate. It needs help passing the Senate if the heaviest hitters in Corporate America have decided they are in this fight on the side of voting rights and they don't just want to say so they actually want to make that happen and show up that could be a big deal and that's worth watching not in the distant future but in the next few days, I will tell you I mean it since I have been on the air tonight, we just got word that Southwest Airlines which is also headquarters in Texas Southwest Airlines has also put out a statement basically telling Texas Republicans do not do what they are trying to do to voting rights.

I got it was Delta Airlines in Georgia yesterday was American Airlines earlier today in Texas now tonight since we've been on the air it is Southwest Airlines in Texas.

As well and also tonight again. This is just within the past hour or so. We're also came from AT&T a huge corporation also headquartered in Texas. They have also put out a statement telling Texas Republic back off what they're trying to do with their new voting rights rollback the statement from AT&T. It's not quite as blunt as what we got from the other corporations today, but still.

This is happening quickly now and is worth watching.

And again in terms of what's going on with the Republican party and Republican party post Trump part of what's important here is that in these republican-controlled states. This is Republicans in the legislature are being cleaved from the biggest Venture business interest in those days and they would very much like to see themselves on the same side as those big business and trust but they can't as long as these corporations have decided they want to be on the right side of history on voting rights and Republicans the opposite.

Because punching a lot of weight and this of course happened one day after he rolled out his next big legislative effort to trillion dollar infrastructure bill. That would be the biggest investment and American infrastructure since World War II because did Alexandria ocasio-cortez here on the backs Progressive wing of Democrats in the house saying that while she logs President Biden and his administration putting together what she described as a very is positive and very positive spell told us here and there last night said as far as she's concerned in a lot of other Progressive so I can sign the bill could be much much bigger.

Checkpoint exactly one last thing to say about Republican land as it relates to that today.

I'm Democrat. I think I actually got a huge boost today a huge help today toward the goal of making that infrastructure thing actually happen and potentially turn Progressive getting their goal of making it happen and even bigger terms when they came out and said unequivocally that there will be no Republican vote for the infrastructure bill.

I'm sure he meant that to be bad news for Democrats, but honestly for Democrats that is a blessing because it means there's now no reason for Democrats to waste time trying to do the ultimately futile thing of reaching out to the Republicans and meeting with Republicans and a seating to Republican demands to take things out of the bill. In order to try to make Republicans happy to chase may be a republican voter to Meanwhile in all the while making the bill smaller and less ambitious and less Progressive.

Put an end to that today. He laid it there there will be no Republican votes no matter what?.

So don't bother asking thank you. That means at least it should means the Democrats can now move ahead.

With plans to pass this thing on their own terms with just their own boats. It means that the negotiations over what's going to be in the Bell are only going to happen among Democrats, which means there will be some difficult negotiations Democrats to have different interests and different tolerances for spending in different the philosophies about what sort of government involvement there should be in different things that are named in the infrastructure Bill sure, but it means that there will be equally difficult negotiation with some conservative Democrats who might want to take some stuff out of the bill and it'll be equally difficult to negotiate with that message is to negotiate with the Progressive Democrats who want to make the bill even bigger and more ambitious.

All the negotiations happen now within the Democratic caucus what McConnell did today means it should mean that none of us also have to endure months of Beltway commentary nonsense about how this really ought to be a bipartisan bill.

And isn't it a tragedy that no Republicans are coming along to vote for the bill. Doesn't that say something bad about the bill shouldn't Republicans be more included in these conversations. We now do not have to listen to that nonsense from us because the Republican leader in the Senate said at the outset today the day after Biden rule that the bill there will be no Republican votes no matter what is it? Okay, then this bill isn't for you guys and none of the discussion about it will involve you if you guys can go back to worrying about the stuff that you really care about.

Spike who is q?.

And who you going to run for president in the Republican primary for 2024 against the guy who might have to run from prison, but he's probably still going to run.

Happy Paul manafort's birthday Republicans.

It don't start working on something. That could be a really big deal.

Got more on that next.

Look at that. This was the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer today to the right of the big story about baseball's opening day. We get this above the full 700 word story about local bridge and how Biden's new infrastructure plan could fund it quote state and federal officials plans aligned this week to bring the Greater Cincinnati region closer. Maybe the funding its biggest single Public Works projects a new bridge over the Ohio River.

That's what local papers have been like across the country for the last 24 hours Houston Chronicle today Biden's infrastructure pitch aims at Texas is the Times-Picayune the New Orleans hailing the White House specifically mentioning the Claiborne Expressway Inn in their town is the Indianapolis Star that says yes, please in all caps. Yes, please and tractor puzzle with new Indianapolis Roots has people talking kind of cool to see local papers like this right excited about the prospect of big really over do potentially awesome investment in their area and things that'll benefit everybody right new train lines tearing down blighted old infrastructure that mess up your town building new bridges in places where you really need to bridges of the old ones are falling down at this is the kind of stuff that has tons of local support and you can see the excitement around the country is people start to realize that if this infrastructure bill passes,.

Lightning for their town to their city for their state the plan also just has really broad support among voters a couple of weeks ago. There was a data for Progress invest in America poll that found support for a large infrastructure plan among likely voters Nationwide with almost 70% that includes 50% of likely Republican voters.

Still today, the Republican leader of the Senate said that no matter what's in the bill is 0 Republicans will do for it.

Which means Democrats won't have to expend energy which means if anything this to trillion dollar package might get even bigger. It also means that this package this bill this plan from President Biden is popular with Democrats in congress with Democratic voters with Republican voters and just not with republicans in Congress. The republicans in Congress represent. No one on this, but what the president is trying to do has brought they support including from Republican voters who disagree with their own members of Congress on this.

That seems like a pretty solid political foot how much to move forward and here's the part of it that I think it's counter going to seem counterintuitive to a lot of people but is also more jet fuel on this providing President Biden is proposing to pay for this investment by raising some taxes by raising the corporate tax rate on the biggest most profitable corporations in the country mini, which famously paid no federal taxes at all, but that only makes the bill more popular literally the bill is more popular when you tell people it's going to be paid for by new corporate taxes that it is if you just don't tell him anything about how it's going to be, okay.

Recent Politico morning consult poll found that voters by a two-to-one margin support paying for the plan by raising taxes on corporations and the highest earners.

This bodes well for the Democrats looking to pass this play on the way by month pass it potentially even a bigger version of it. But I think I'd be remiss not to notice that the only politics surrounding this issue under Republicans standard austerity governments around this issue are not even convincing their own Motors anymore. So does that mean now that something new is possible that wasn't possible before we got to this point board of directors at color of changed. She's also the author of what is probably the most influential block on the American left right now.

It's called the sum of us what racism cost everyone and how we can prosper together here. Thanks so much for making time.

Avenue Olympia.

Let me ask you about the premise here that I laid out that the politics that we used to think applied to government action on things like infrastructure or even things like healthcare any other things the government might do maybe don't apply anymore that the idea of austerity and government's inability to do anything right at those arguments. Don't even resonate among Republican voters anymore. Do you think that promise is right?.

I need the premises largely true because Americans are sick of worrying about what part of this country is going to fall apart. Next. We know that our infrastructure was used to be the Envy of the world now gets a C or D Gray from the American Society of civil engineers. We know that too many families are worried about what's coming out of their top. This bill needs America's needs and the only thing that Republicans have going for them in terms of a strategy is white identity politics.

That's what I've been able to pull together and maintain a majority of white voters to keep putting them back in office, even though they're delivering relatively zero on an economic agenda because of identity politics. It's it's the idea of the drained pool right the way that so many towns across the country managed to drain their public swimming pools that were segregated rather than integrate them and that's really what's been happening over the last 50 years.

How many on matney because it's been hard to get a majority support to invest in America that's becoming more diverse, but I do believe that is changing now.

And that's changing now. I mean as you talked about in the book and I think it's in a way that you argue that's really penetrate. A lot of people's Consciousness is the idea that it is a multiracial coalition of American voters coming from different backgrounds and all sorts of different ideological stripes with a drain pool metaphor that actually it'd be nice to have swimming pools again, and that it would be nice to have things in common that we all benefit from and the idea that we shouldn't have anything because we couldn't have anything if we can't have it only for ourselves only for our group.

It's an idea that's just curdled for a big enough number of Americans that even if it continues to work with some wipeouters, it's never going to be a majority again.

That's right. I think I mean that's what we have to hope right. We have to hope that this is the kind of solidarity politics that can remain but you see what the right-wing strategy is, right? The the the original coven Bell is something that you know, the Republicans felt pretty confident that they can refuse to support even though it had super majority support in the country. Why dr. Seuss write the threat that Democrats are canceling things that white Americans support and love and no because they think it's raises, you know, the whole theatrics around the running to the border that the zero-sum politics but opening schools instead of opening borders.

This is what they have is the hand they have to play and yet this bill will meet so many unmet needs it needs to be bigger right at this is going to be are once-in-a-generation shot. It needs to have a lot more green jobs. Do it needs to be more aggressive really on addressing climate change cuz we only have so many years but.

This is the chance write. This is the chance for us to say this was why people waited through high water to vote in November and again in January because of things that could transform our communities.

And if you can't do it with supermajority support and Democratic party control of the house and the Senate and the White House when he going to be able to do it how to make a chair the board of directors at color change as I mentioned the author of the sum of us what racism cost everyone and how we can prosper together, which is just Wicked smart and super influential and it deserves it have a thank you so much for your time, and it's great to have you here.

Imma, try to get to her tonight stay with us.

Storyline in the country right now isn't even while the national vaccine rollout is going great guns about 154 million shots have been administered so far 2.9 Million shots a day on average now about 30% of the US population has gotten at least one vaccine dose even while that is happening, which is good.

Please note. Rising case numbers in a majority of States. Johns Hopkins says more than 30 states have Verizon case numbers right now. It's kind of a push me pull you and worried or both about what's going on with covid-19.

What's the number of inpatient adults in the hospital in Michigan? You see how it's going up on the right side? That's now that's the most recent surge that number surging in a way that we have seen it happen time and time again following a Verizon cases. We get a ryzen hospitalizations. And what do we get after hospitalization deaths deaths in the state of Michigan also know on the case then hospitalizations up then. Stopped after the White House to help meet the surge in cases in her states with a new surge of vaccines to restate in places where we have big surges in cases races this interesting.

Can we flip those owns with even more vaccines than they might otherwise get?.

It makes sense. Right at least in layman's terms. It makes sense in terms of trying to get around the epidemic trying to get on the other side of its risks of having tons of floating around having tons of copious transmission anywhere in the country. It's the same as before. We had people are getting sick and people are dying with vaccines that may be somewhat mitigated by the fact that older people are more likely to have vaccine-induced immunity now, but still the same patterns that we saw a rise in cases Rising hospitalizations rise of death is still hold it still happening.

Also though now more so than before the additional risk of copious transmission anywhere in the country with all the variants that are out there. Now be more transmissible more dangerous areas that are out there right now with all the various circulating copious transmission anywhere in the country means more opportunity for the virus to mutate and to potentially defeat someday, you know vaccines and the therapies that are currently working against them more transmission equals more reproduction of the virus equals more mutation of the virus, which means more circulation potentially development of new virulent bad variance.

So if you can serve vaccines to places that have up ticks in cases doesn't that make sense right vaccinated people don't get infected mostly means they help to stop the exponential spread. They also don't help the virus develop even more potentially dangerous mutations. They also don't get sick and they don't have to go to the hospital.

Wherever we have what I mean the vaccine all that is going great. The vaccine rollout is exceeding expectations in considerable eyes.

Is it a reasonable case that Michigan is making that places that have tons of transmission that places that have worrying surges of transmission all to be prioritized for additional searches?.

I mean, I'm not a doctor. So this is just the way it seems to me as a Layman on this Warehouse covid-19 coordinator jobs. I installed the governor of Michigan when she asked that the White House is thinking about how to address supposed so-called hotspot symptoms of transmission. It reportedly said that everything is on the table Whitmer did announced that her state is getting more doses next week, but it seems like all the states are getting doses extra doses next week. We reach out to the White House to find out if Michigan's extra allotment is result of her requesting an Administration official told us, it's not just that all the states are getting more next week.

But the White House did tell us they're working closely with the governor and her team will Michigan faces this challenge but scientifically what about that as a strategy why not state that is currently a hotspot for transmission with more vaccines. Why not lessen their vaccine eligibility? Why not go door-to-door?.

Straight hairstyles, dr. Peter hotez co-director of the center for vaccine development at Texas Children's Hospital. He's also dean of the national school of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Thank you so much for making time tonight.

Thanks so much for having me.

So I obviously am not a doctor and not an epidemiologist and not an expert in any of this. And so I just wanted to give you a chance to kind of set me straight. That's how I am. I just explain how I'm feeling about this as an issue. And what seems like a reasonable policy adaptation to consider. Is there some of this that I'm not understanding or if I got any of this the wrong way around.

Miraculous turns out you've learned a lot of epidemiology over the last fourteen months. So that's that's a pretty good assessment actually a couple of things to think about won. The major Varian overwhelmingly in the u.s. Is the b-117 farion originally from the United Kingdom. Yes, we have the other variants from South Africa and Brazil here in the California. But the one that really is accelerating right now and the one that is keeping us all up at night has to be 117 variant and that's likely accounting for the big rise in cases in Brazil and in Michigan and it's also accounting for a lot of hospitalizations now but younger people so this variant is more transmissible has higher child mortality as well and higher hospitalization rates.

The issue is the b-117 various not only in Michigan is across the Upper Midwest. It's across New England. It's across a New York and New Jersey and it's here in Texas and Florida and Georgia in a big way. So the thing.

What's happening in Michigan now is probably a harbinger of things to come in the rest of the country very soon that that's that's one big issue. And the other is a lot of states are under performing in terms of casting so dies some of that variance May reflect the level of testing prisons in Kansas. The level of Justin was recently reported to be quite low. So it might be far worse. I then we actually realized hand and then that there's the question of bandwidth, even if we supplied more vaccine to Michigan would they have the capacity to manage it be able to vaccinated and it may be the case.

So there may be some wiggle room in terms of supplying extra vaccine, but the bottom line is the b-117 fairing is just about getting everywhere now, we've got to accelerate and vaccinate the country as fast as possible. And by the way, this is all predicted in predictable and then I have to say the bite Administration did respond, you know, if you remember Rachel back in January after the inauguration to give the Hunter.

Vaccinations in a hundred a hundred million vaccinations in a hundred days and it looked was looking reasonable. But then we saw the rapid rise of the b-117 Varian the scientific Community to the Biden ministration putting myself. Hold on. This isn't going to work anymore because now that the b-117 variant we have to vaccinate by the end of the spring and they responded they put in place a plan. So they are clearly very responsive to what what's happening in terms of the specifics for Michigan. It may make sense to supply some additional vaccine.

But this is going to start going up in every state now until we can get to do more than half the country vaccinated and by the way, we're going to get there pretty soon. I think of in four to five weeks. We're going to be in much better shape. It's imagine. It's a matter of how we navigating are the next four or five weeks.

And whether or not anything can be done for places that can't get vaccinated fast enough to keep all those people out of the hospital. Keep those pay places. Pookie people from dying weather mitigation measures. We can we commit to that meeting for just a small number of weeks to the fact that we can push for the Detroit Tigers opening day today and Bentley with the reduced number of people in the stands, but they still at opening day with eight thousand people there still businesses. So there's still some wiggle room to in terms of the knot pharmaceutical intervention that could be moved around a bit.

Dr. Peter hotez co-director of the center for vaccine development at Texas Children's and Dean of the national school of tropical medicine at Baylor as always. Thank you for your time tonight clarifying as always. Thank you.

Thanks so much.

I'll be right back. Stay with us.

Breaking news tonight from The New York Times for the last couple of nights. We've been focusing on this remarkable and stomach churning story about an active criminal investigation into Pro Trump Republican Congressman. Matt gaetz significantly Advanced the story. I haven't had time to digest this. I'm just reading it myself for the first time right now, but I'll tell you the lead Justice from the investigation is representative Matt gaetz and an indicted Florida politician is focusing on their involvement with multiple women who were recruited online for sex and receive cash payments according to people close to the investigation and text messages and payment receipts reviewed by the X investigators believe the former tax collector in Seminole County, Florida.

Joel Greenberg was indicted last year on a federal sex trafficking charge another crime initially met the women through websites that connect people who go on dates and exchange a gift fine dining travel and allowances. Mr. Greenberg introduced the women to congressman gaetz who also had sex with them according to three people with knowledge of the encounters the justice department inquiry that.

Says is also examining whether Gates had sex with a 17 year old girl, and whether she received anything of material value according to four people familiar with the investigation the sex trafficking count against Joel Greenberg involve the same girl.

Types of behavior seats from cash app mobile payments app and Apple pay that show payments from mr. Gates and mr. Greenberg to one of the women and a payment for mr. Greenberg to a second woman the women told their friends that the payments work for sex with the two men and the two men here Greenberg the guy from Seminole County and the congressman and encounters during 2019 and 2020. Mr. Gates and mr. Greenberg instructed the women to meet at certain times and places often hotels around Florida and would tell them the amount of money.

They were willing to pay according to the messages and interviews. One person said the men also paid in cash sometimes withdrawn from a hotel ATM validation of drug use there's clarification from the times that is a violation of federal child sex trafficking law to provide sunburned under 18 with anything of value in exchange for sex, which can include meals hotels drugs. Alcohol cigarettes is a 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for anybody convicted of that crime. Mr. Gates denies ever paying any woman for sex or having any underage relay.

Shep's.

What the story is considerably Advanced by the X tonight. We'll be right back. Stay with us.

I told you one star that we are covering tonight was fast developing. We had Dell computers in American Airlines coming out in criticizing, Texas Republicans anti voting legislation by the time we got on the air since we've been on the air for AT&T and Southwest also headquarters in Texas. They've also come out against it now just in the last few minutes of Microsoft as well have come out and blasted his plans by Texas Republicans to rollback voting laws against growing fast going to do it for us tonight at least for now and see you again tomorrow.