as we mentioned at the top of the show, the house is taking votes late into the night tonight, planning not to be in session tomorrow for security reasons. they are voting tonight on their big for the people act, democracy and election reforms. also the george floyd policing act that just passed. there were initial reports that one republican voted for it. which would itself be news. it turned out he voted for it by accident and is going to change his vote. oh, well. that's it for us. now it's time for "the last word

with lawrence o'donnell." good evening, lawrence. >> good evening, we're going to be joined by beto o'rourke because today the texas governor decided to forget about masks, fill up businesses, all restrictions lifted, he's going to give us reaction to what that means for texas. >> excellent. and, you know, the thing about -- i was just speaking with the mayor of jackson, mississippi, where the mask mandate was also rescinded by governor. and jackson has all these troubles in terms of water and everything else. but to put people in jobs where they have to be face-to-face with people and have no defense in terms of protecting themselves. it's one thing for you to want to go out, but people where that's their job, it's an impossible imposition on people's public health. just crazy. >> and i was glad to hear your

interview with the mayor, because texas does command the attention in this story but same stuff is happening in mississippi, it is good to focus on that too. >> yeah. >> thank you, rachel. >> thanks, lawrence. as rachel said, house of representatives will be voting on hr-1, the democrats' answer to the most important governing challenge of our time, the preservation of democracy in this country. that's what that bill is actually about. it is a 21st century version of the voting rights act, designed to counter republican attempts to deny you your right to vote. every bill introduced in the house gets a number. based on the order in which it was introduced. the house is also voting tonight for example on hr-1280, the george floyd bill. that designation means that 1,279 bills were actually introduced before that bill this year. the designation of hr-1 belongs exclusively to the speaker. speaker pelosi decides which

bill will be first bill introduced in the house and given that designation hr-1. that's speaker pelosi's way of saying this is the most important thing we will do, the most important thing for the future of democracy in this country. and as the voting proceeds in the house tonight, we'll be joined by freshman congressman jones with his view of what is at stake for this country and the future of democracy in the passage of hr-1. we also have breaking news developments in the criminal investigation of donald trump by the manhattan district attorney, andrew weissmann will guide us through tonight's episode of defendant trump later in the hour. the senate will take up the biden covid relief bill tomorrow. republican legislative jaywalker senator ron johnson has promised to step in front of that

legislative vehicle, to create the most ridiculous possible form of delay, he will exercise the right that every senator has but most never use once in their entire careers, the right to require senate clerks to read aloud the entire bill. and so tomorrow senate clerks will be forced to read all 600 pages of the legislation aloud. that will delay progress on the bill by a few hours but it won't be enough to delay the day when you will actually receive your $1,400 covid relief check that ron johnson will vote against and that the texas republican senators will vote against, at a time when texans need that money more than ever. now that many are facing utility bills of several thousand dollars for just a few days' worth of heat in their homes thanks to the republican designed power grid in texas

that completely failed during a winter storm. beto o'rourke will join us from texas in a moment after the very good news that the biden administration has secured enough supply of covid-19 vaccine to vaccinate every adult in america by early summer. we're within sight of the finish line now of the major threat of covid-19, the threat to our lives. if we all continue to maintain safety protocols while we're all waiting for the vaccine, then after we get the vaccine, we can more safely return to activities that have been and remain unsafe. but texas governor greg abbott has lost patience. with the finish line in sight, the texas governor has removed a statewide mask mandate and is allowing all businesses in texas to be 100% open with no restrictions whatsoever. the governor made that decision without consulting anyone on his team of medical advisers

according to the austin american statesman, texas' top health official said he did not speak with governor abbott before he announced tuesday he would end the mask order and open texas 100%. two of the other four medical advisers also said they were not consulted ahead of the governor's decision. peter alexander asked president joe biden about that today in the oval office. >> i think it's a big mistake. look, i hope everybody has realized by now these masks make a difference. we are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way in which we're able to get vaccines in people's arms. we have been able to move it up to end of may to have enough to get every adult american a shot. and the last thing, the last thing we need is neanderthal

thinking that everything is fine, take off your mask, forget it. we won't have everybody vaccinated until sometime in the summer. we have the vaccine to do it, get the shot and second shot, they're going to take time. it's critical, critical, critical, critical that they follow the science, wash your hands, hot water, do it frequently. wear a mask, and stay socially distanced. and i know you all know that. i wish the heck some of our elected officials knew it. >> leading off discussion tonight, former democratic congressman beto o'rourke of texas, the founder of an organization to elect democrats in texas. thanks for joining us. get your reaction to governor abbott saying forget about it, take off your mask. on the same day the president of the united states is wearing a mask in the oval office after

he's been vaccinated, received both shots of vaccinations, he is still wearing a mask in the oval office and calling what the governor of texas is doing a neanderthal mentality of republicans. >> whatever you call it, it is going to kill people. and this is in a state that's already lost 44,000 people due to the ineptitude of our governor failing to meet the moment and the challenge and to follow the best public health advice. the very botched rollout of the vaccine, there are 254 counties in texas, there are 254 different systems to distribute the vaccine. in some counties you sign up on a list, in others, good luck if you can find out how to get a vaccine to save your life. it is the people who have been disproportionately impacted, black, brown, communities of color, lower income zip codes in texas that will be on the front lines of this disaster of greg abbott's making.

i was listening to you talking with rachel maddow. she said think about the workers who are making $7.25 an hour. they're working a second and third job. they are going to be on the front lines of this disaster. we are deeply disappointed but we are also not sitting around and waiting for this to happen to us. many of us are organizing. our group powered by the people is one of them. to go canvas on the doors in those poor zip codes and find those who are eligible for vaccine and get them signed up. folks who may not speak english, may not have internet in their home or own a cell phone, know the secret handshake necessary to get protected. we are going to help them out. as so many texans were when they lost power, heat, and water and saw damage from busted pipes because the government decided they just weren't going to be

there for us. as you said, he's given up when we can see the finish line. i can see may from where i sit, where joe biden has promised there will be a vaccine for every adult in america. why you would give up now when you're so close after having lost so many is beyond me. we can't accept it and we must act in the face of this failure. >> you know, there was a time not that long ago, before texas had a senator named cruz, where i could imagine texas republican senators opposing a bill like the covid relief bill saying it's too expensive, we don't want to spend that much money. but then texas gets hit with this storm, which creates the man-made disaster of the power failure. it was not a natural disaster but a man-made power failure. then the texas republican senators say, well, things have changed and my constituents need

those $1,400 checks now in a way they didn't before because they suddenly have utility bills bigger than those checks, and you could imagine texas republican senator coming around on this bill. but that seems impossible with the two senators you have now. >> unfortunately so. we've got people in government who literally believe that government is the problem and don't believe in government at all. and in the case of our junior senator, sought to overthrow the government of the united states of america. those are the people in positions of public trust at a moment that the state of texas is literally failing, cannot guarantee that lights will stay on or water is running. there are still hundreds of thousands of my fellow texans can't get dependable, clean drinking water because the damage is so severe, and the help is not there. in the same state, lawrence, it is 49th in the nation in terms of vaccine distribution. i think 6.5% of the 30 million people of texas have been

vaccinated at a time that the governor is calling it quits. it's the pandemic, it's the recession, as you said, the man-made power and water outage, and everything that flowed from that. the deaths that we saw numbered in the dozens, people freezing to death in their own homes, dying of carbon monoxide poisoning, dying because their medical equipment failed without power, all because of decisions that this person made and this is what he does next, and this is what we face. i hate to say this, i believe in the power of government, i know it's there to do things none of us on our own can accomplish. but government has decided that they're not going to be there for us, at least in state of texas. so thank god for the people of texas, neighbors checking on neighbors, volunteers stepping up to be there when government isn't. that's where we're left tonight, lawrence.

>> let me ask you a question about the politics of governor abbott's calculation today. i'm wondering, did he see himself as governor in trouble because of the stories you have told about a vietnam veteran dying in his truck because that's where he went to try to get heat, that the power failure that he was very much a part of designing, that that has him in a tough situation in texas, and so he reached for a republican kind of popularity move of saying, throw away your masks and that's part of a way of trying to restore an appeal to that side of the politics of texas? >> yeah, this is like a wag the dog moment, where you seek to distract attention, in the case of that movie, it was go to war in another country. in the case of texas, it is to go to war on your own people, and with all certainty because the science says so, to guarantee the deaths of those

who otherwise would have been spared if we just followed the public health advice. these masks are the best things short of a vaccine, in a state where only 6.5% of us are vaccinated, to save our lives and the lives of others in our lives. so you never know a man's motive, only greg abbott knows, but it sure looks politically convenient to drop this news in the wake of his man-made disaster. and lawrence, we haven't heard all the stories yet. and i urge you and other journalists to follow the money. when you look at what was paid into the greg abbott campaign war chest, and not small checks, $200,000 checks from encor, seven-figure checks from the energy companies, and price for

megawatt-hour from $36, the average, to $9,000. jerry jones' company described making out like bandits, they hit the jackpot in this one. so i think there's a lot of corruption involved, we need to follow the money and the facts, let us not stop on this story for the benefit of the people of texas and for the accountability and justice that we deserve. >> thank you very much for helping us cover this story, beto o'rourke. thanks for leading off tonight, really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. and coming up, there is breaking news on the manhattan district attorney's investigation of donald trump and today trump was served was lawsuit at his florida hotel where he lives now for his role in inciting the attack on the capitol. as the capitol is under heightened security because of another threat from those people you see right there, the most

deranged trump supporters in the country are still threatening the capitol. congressman jason crow joins us next. this is wealth. ♪ ♪ this is worth. that takes wealth. but this is worth. and that - that's actually worth more than you think. don't open that. wealth is important, and we can help you build it. but it's what you do with it, that makes life worth living.

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defendant trump is living in fear tonight of being judged by juries in washington, d.c., new york city, and atlanta. the new york and atlanta cases are criminal investigations. we'll discuss those later in this hour. today donald trump was served in lawsuit at mar-a-lago. donald trump is a defendant in a washington, d.c., lawsuit brought by congressman bennie thompson and targets donald trump, rudy giuliani, and members of the proud boys and oath keepers. it says the insurrection was direct, intended, and foreseeable result of the defendants' unlawful conspiracy, it was instigated as part of a common plan. pursued since the election held in november, 2020. the threat to the capitol

continues tonight. u.s. capitol police announced they received evidence of a possible plot to breach the capitol by militia group tomorrow, march 4th. that threat forced speaker pelosi to schedule votes tonight instead of tomorrow. march 4th is the day on which many dangerous trump fanatics who have lost connection to reality actually believe that donald trump will somehow magically become president again. that is what they believe. such people are incapable of rational thought and desperately in need of serious help. but until they can get that help, some of them remain homicidally dangerous as they proved on january 6th. the insane mob that attacked the

capitol was first encouraged and incited by donald trump and then allowed to continue to do their damage by the trump administration. in senate testimony today major general william walker, the commanding general of the d.c. national guard, said that the trump administration refused to allow him to rush his troops to the capitol. >> the secretary of the army's january 5th letter to me withheld that authority for me to employ a quick reaction force. additionally, the memorandum to me required that a concept of operation be submitted to him before the employment of a quick reaction force. i found that requirement to be unusual. >> general walker detailed how the trump administration gave the attackers of the capitol three hours, three hours to do whatever they wanted to do, including killing a capitol police officer. >> at 1:49 p.m., i received a

frantic call from then-chief of the united states capitol police steven sund, where he involved me that the security perimeter of the u.s. capitol had been breached by hostile rioters. i alerted the leadership of the request. the approval would eventually come from the acting secretary of defense and be relayed to me by army senior leaders about three hours and 19 minutes later. >> you put them on the bus, ready to go but couldn't let the buses go? >> yes, senator. i just came to the conclusion that eventually i'm going to get approval and at that point, seconds mattered, minutes mattered, and i needed to be ready to get them there quick as possible. so i already had a d.c. national guard vehicle in front to help get through traffic lights. so we were there in 18 minutes.

>> returning to our discussion, congressman jason crow. we all remember your story of being in the house chamber and thinking what you might have as a weapon to defend yourself against these people, and during that threat to you, the national guard was 18 minutes away but the trump administration wasn't letting them go. >> yeah, you know, there was a phrase in there that stuck out to me, and that was, seconds matter, minutes matter. in combat situations or crisis like we were dealing with here, seconds seem like minutes, minutes seem like hours and every moment matters. so we're going to get to the bottom of this. you've heard me say this, we're going to find out what happened. we're going to piece this together, we are already doing it with remarkable speed. and there's going to be accountability, we're going to get the picture of what happened

and we will tell it to the american people. >> one of the things we've been learning is that the admitted felon michael flynn, pardoned felon michael flynn, his brother, general flynn, was actually involved in the conversations and was part of the delay. let's listen to that. >> the army senior leaders did not think that it looked good, that it would be a good optic. they further stated it could incite the crowd. >> do you remember who was mostly talking about the optics, the questions that senator peters asked you? >> yes, during the phone call with the district of columbia leaders, the deputy mayor, chief sund, dr. rodriguez, who was talking about optics was general flynn and general pyatt. and they both said it wouldn't

be in their best military advice to have uniformed guard members at the capitol during the election confirmation. >> so, congressman, the pentagon lied about this. they said charles flynn was not involved in these discussions at all. >> we'll piece it together. but i want to make something clear here. i don't have any reason to believe that charles flynn, acting general within the pentagon was doing anything incorrect here. we'll find that out. we have an independent obligation to put the facts together. but just because he's the brother of michael flynn, a convicted felon and supporter of donald trump doesn't mean that he did anything wrong. we're going to get the facts. he does have a honorable background, we've to look at the facts and not just conjecture. >> but the pentagon was concerned enough about the optics of flynn's brother being

involved, that they lied about it, which casts further shadow on charles flynn, when he may not deserve it. what about the threat to the capitol tomorrow? >> i've long said, this is an extremist movement. it didn't start january 6th, we've been dealing with this for decades. the right-wing extremist movement has its roots in early 1990s and it's continued. it's dramatically increased because donald trump has given it license, he has romanticized it and given them permission. and they are pointing to this as a catalyzing moment. fbi director wray this past week said the movement is metastasizing, it is hardening within the country right now. so we're at a critical juncture, we have to deal with this aggressively and appropriately,

and that means taking the measures we need to take to secure the capitol, our national defense, and the american people, but also not responding in a way that gives in to those terrorists, these extremists. what they want, lawrence, is us to change ourselves. they want us to change our behavior and who we are. so we can't give them that power. we can't give them more power than they deserve here. we need to protect ourself, do the right thing, but we also have to make sure we're not changing who we are. >> congressman jason crow, thank you very much for joining our discussion tonight. >> thank you. >> thank you. we have breaking news in the investigation of donald trump by the manhattan district attorney. the investigation is reportedly focusing on trump accountant and chief financial officer alan weisselberg to flip him to testify against former president trump. andrew weissmann joins us next.

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we have breaking news from "the washington post" about the criminal investigation of donald trump by manhattan district attorney cy vance, reporting that it is focusing on longtime accountant and chief financial officer allen weisselberg. led by a former mob processor and one person familiar with the investigation said it is aimed at flipping weisselberg, trying to turn him against trump. the focus on him underscores the depth and ambition of the inquiry. investigators' questions have included what's his relationship with donald, how loyal is each person to each other. "the post" reports the investigation has taken on new

urgency since hiring of an attorney who prosecuted gambino boss john gotti's son in the 1990s. fani willis is empanelling a new grand jury this week that could soon begin issuing subpoenas for documents and witness testimony in prosecution of possible election fraud committed by donald trump. reports that willis is investigating several state crimes including solicitation of election fraud, making false statements to state and local governmental bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office, and involvement in violence and threats related to elections. no former president of the united states has ever been charged with crime, this could

be the year when willis and vance take their place in american history as the first to charge a former president with crimes. joining us now, andrew weissmann, former fbi general counsel and prosecutor. he also served in the mueller investigation. he's an nbc news and msnbc legal analyst. news of the focus on weisselberg who knows where all the money has come and gone in trump world, what does that mean to you? >> great question. it's not surprising that this is where the investigation is headed, and this is a key person to flip, to become a witness. the chief financial officer is somebody who knows where the bodies are buried, as you said, they know exactly where the money is. but they also tend to be somebody who can insulate the ceo.

so, for instance, in enron, andy fastow was critical to being able to go up to chain to see if skilling and lay had criminal liability. so focusing on weisselberg makes complete sense. we will either be defendant and fall guy or a cooperator, one or the other. >> and he did cooperate with the federal investigation of what was the initial spark for the cy vance investigation, the payoff to stormy daniels that sent michael cohen to prison. >> i think the jury is out on that, just how much he cooperated on that. i think that remains to be seen just how much he was integral to that. and i say that because if he was really fully on board at that time, i think the investigation

would be a lot further along, and there wouldn't be this focus on needing to flip him, meaning to have him be completely truthful about what he knows and doesn't know. so i think a critical thing now, and i think the main pressure on weisselberg is that president trump is no longer in office, so he has a lot less power, and he certainly has no ability to pardon weisselberg because he's no longer in office and a federal pardon wouldn't have any effect anyway. and can be pretty sure that the new york governor won't be seeking to pardon him. so if they can make a criminal case, there's going to be enormous pressure on him to truly cooperate, which i think would be key to upholding the rule of law in this country. >> fani willis is an experienced

assistant district attorney in fulton county many years, this year elected to the office of district attorney. she's in charge now. she seems to have a simpler case, this phone call with donald trump calling up the secretary of state saying i need you find these votes, this is the number of votes i need you to find. and when you read off the list of georgia statutes and laws that could have been violated in that phone call, it seems like a simpler and faster route to prosecution. >> i agree. that's the kind of case where you can build it around that tape recording. but, you know, there are other witnesses who you can imagine she's going to want to call to what i would like to say is embroider and give context and background to that investigation. but it seems pretty clear that the centerpiece will be that tape. and, you know, one nice thing is, whatever these two career prosecutors do, whether they can

make the case or not, i think the public now will know that there's been a full vetting of the evidence, and the chips will fall where they may. if there's enough evidence to prosecute, you can be sure they'll do so. and if there isn't, we'll know that the rule of law applied, which is that donald trump is treated fairly by people taking a hard look at what he did. >> and there aren't going to be any republican senators on the jury in manhattan or in georgia if there are juries, so the verdict will be all the more trustworthy. >> yeah, i'm a big fan of juries. i love to tell the story of one juror who spoke in the manafort trial, somebody who said, i'm a trump supporter and she literally said, i left my maga hat in the car. meaning she followed her oath of office and voted to convict, and it didn't matter what her political affiliations were, she

followed what it means to be an american and to sit on a jury. >> yeah, i remember that juror's public statements vividly, and i have to agree, it was a great moment for the jury system to see that kind of objective evaluation of the evidence even with a political bias. andrew, thank you very much for joining us, really appreciate it. >> thank you. when we come back, new york governor andrew cuomo answered reporters' questions about the sexual harassment allegations against him and he said he will not resign. ♪ and the radio up ♪ get 5 boneless wings for $1 with any handcrafted burger. only at applebee's.

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i was elected by the people of the state of new york. i'm not going to resign. i work for the people of the state of new york. they elected me, and i'm going to serve the people of the state of new york. >> that was new york governor andrew cuomo today, facing reporters for first time since a series of sexual harassment accusations were made against

him beginning a week ago today. last week, in a written statement, he denied the first allegations by former member of staff, lindsey boylan. but did not issue a denial when charlotte bennett came forward with allegations over the weekend or when a third woman, anna ruch, told her story to "the new york times" on monday night of meeting the governor at a wedding in 2019 where she said he touched her inappropriately, including by holding her face, and asking if he could kiss her. today in a press conference, the governor apologized. >> i fully support a woman's right to come forward. and i think it should be encouraged in every way. i now understand that i acted in

a way that made people feel uncomfortable. it was unintentional, and i truly and deeply apologize for it. i feel awful about it. and frankly, i am embarrassed by it. and that's not easy to say. but that's the truth. but this is what i want you to know, and i want you to know this from me directly. i never touched anyone inappropriately. i never touched anyone inappropriately. i never knew at the time that i was making anyone feel uncomfortable.

>> joining us now, a reporter on new york state government for the "new york times." the governor's statement today was wide ranging. he answered several questions. how was it received by the women who made these complaints? did we hear from them? >> yes, thank you for having me. so we heard from his first two accusers and it's fair to say they rejected his apology. they effectively said they didn't buy it and it was a non-apology. lindsey boylan, the first accuser who said that the governor gave her an unsolicited kiss on the lips said she didn't find it believable that the governor thought his actions were inappropriate. the lawyer for the second woman, charlotte bennett, said the press conference was full of inaccuracies and falsehoods. and it's worth noting the governor hasn't denied the remarks that miss bennett said the governor made.

she alleges he asked her whether she had slept with older men or was monogamous, remarks she took as sexual advances. he's not directly addressed or denied that. >> does it appear that this will get the governor through the next what might be a couple of months of this investigation? certainly there will be more questions from reporters, but handling it the way he's handled it so far, is this the model for him going forward? >> look, i think this isn't a governor that's going to resign on his own volition unless there's an enormous amount of pressure for him to resign. so far we haven't seen that. republicans, not surprisingly, have called on him to resign, and a small but growing number of democrats have also joined those calls. but most democrats in the state, including top democrats chuck

schumer and kirsten gillibrand have said that they want the attorney general investigation to play out before they decide what actions are appropriate. the results of the report which could be months from now could be politically devastating for the governor. and in fact today the leader of the new york state senate, a democrat, said that if it were to show that he acted inappropriately, that he had to step down. >> that was andrea stewart cousins who said that on television, that we would have to resign if the investigation reveals anything inappropriate. this is going to include more than just presumably questioning the governor, but also the governor's staff, what did they know, when did they know it. they could also face some sort of liability in this in terms of

what did you do when these complaints were brought to your attention? >> yes. this investigation, which is being overseen by the new york state attorney general, but spearheaded by an outside law firm yet to be hired, will have broad subpoena powers to request records, text messages, emails, and to compel witnesses to testify under oath, including the governor. and it was sparked by these accusations that we know about, but it could be brought out to include any other sexual harassment allegations that might surface as investigators are doing their work. now, that's going to take months. these sort of investigations take time. privately, however, some state lawmakers speculate that if one or two other allegations were to surface in the meantime that could be a final straw for the governor, and that could build enormous pressure on him politically for him to resign.

politically for him to resign. >> luis, thank you very much for joining us tonight. really appreciate it. >> thank you. thank you. and coming up, tonight house democrats are set to pass the most powerful protection american voters would have in fighting voter suppression by republican state legislatures. this is the most important ongoing political story of our time. that's next. the calming scent of lavender by downy infusions calm. laundry isn't done until it's done with downy. you can't plan for your period's... what the gush moments. but the right pad can.

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tonight the house of representatives passed the george floyd justice and policing act, a major police reform package, the george floyd justice and policing act would prohibit racial profiling and ban choke holds and no knock warrants and create a national police misconduct registry and end immunity from lawsuits. the vote took place just five days before former police officer derek chauvin's trial is set to begin for the murder of george floyd. also tonight the house is voting on hr-1, which is titled the for the people act. hr-1 is intended to ensure eligible voters the right to vote and prevent republican state legislatures from

restricting voting rights. joining us now is a congressman jones of new york, a member of the house judiciary committee and the house ethics committee. thank you very much for joining us tonight, congressman jones. and i want to focus for the moment on hr-1 and its importance for everything that the democrats in the house and in the senate will be trying to accomplish now and somewhat in the future. the voting rights that it attempts to preserve, the preserve the right to vote by mail, make voter registration sensible, easy, automatic in many cases. and very much control how republicans decide to erase people from the rolls. it goes on and on. it really is kind of a 21st century voting rights act based on the behavior you've watched republican legislators bring to these issues.

>> well, this is as you just described transformative stuff. i mean, we have a democracy that has been under assault, and i think that assault has been clarified for people especially in the wake of what happened january 6th. that violent insurrection that i and others lived through and that americans everywhere watched on television, that began as a big lie about mass voter fraud. and of course that allegation was never meant to be substantiated by my republican colleagues. rather it was meant and is meant to lay the foundation for another decade of racist voter suppression. the modern republican party, the party of donald trump, is not interested in competing on the merits of its policy ideas but rather in winning elections through disenfranchising primarily black and brown people in southern states and also young people. and so we have to make sure that we pass hr-1. the house in fact is doing that tonight. i just voted for it.

i'm so excited about it, and then we have to pass it in the senate. we have to do things like automatic voter registration, which is in this bill, independent commissions so that people like marjorie taylor greene and other qanon conspiracy theorists cannot coast to victory. and the corrosive influence of money has led to things like people questioning the need for $2,000 survival checks. so this would set up a system of public campaign finance. >> and we've seen some model of redistricting commissions around the country in certain states that have already adopted that, and it really has taken the crazy politics out of drawing congressional borders and state legislative borders. >> it has. i mean, independent redistricting commissions have worked elsewhere including in places like california. we have in this upcoming cycle in the state of new york where i'm a representative.

so we have to make sure that we do this in every state in the country because that is how we are going to get to a place where republican controlled legislatures are not diluting black votes and packing black voters all into one district or scattering them around. this bill maintains a requirement that independent commissions keep communities of interest together and that they comply with section 2 of the voting rights act. and later this year we need to pass the john r. lewis voting rights advancement act that would revise the crown jewel of the act that was gutted. so we have to do our due diligence by creating a record. i have to tell you i don't think anyone in good conscience can look at what's happened in the last year alone and say the

record is not replete. we need a modern day voting rights act because voter suppression is rampant. and it's just going to get worse if we don't pass things like hr-1 tonight. >> thank you very much for joining us tonight. we really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> mondaire jones gets tonight's last word. "the 11th hour with brian williams" starts now. well, good evening once again. day 43 of the biden administration. there are alarming signs of a new threat from extremists bent on staging yet another attack on our nation's government and our capitol as soon as tomorrow. nbc news has learned homeland security and the fbi sent around a joint intelligence bulletin to state and local law enforcement that warns certain domestic groups have, quote, discussed plans to take control of the u.s. capitol and remove democratic lawmakers on or about march 4th.

also the u.s. capitol police issued a statement saying it has intelligence showing a, quote, possible plot to breach the capitol by an identified militia group on march 4th. that date is when qanon believers think former president believers think former president trump will return to office. earlier this evening house democrats changed their legislative schedule passing the george floyd police reform bill, scrapping tomorrow's house session because of security concerns. this new warning from the feds comes nearly 8 weeks after that january 6th insurrection and as we're learning an unbelievable delay of deployment of national guard troops on that day. the commanding general of the d.c. national guard testified before senators today that he had some 155 uniformed members of the guard ready to respond to the insurrection.