so the negative press is obviously bad for scott pruitt. but what i'm hearing is trump isn't necessarily upset with scott pruitt. and that's what adds a fascinating layer to all of this, because usually it's easy for trump to build sort of an attack campaign against someone in his administration who he doesn't like and wants to fire. we're not seeing that with scott pruitt and that's telling, in light of this necessary press coverage. that's not to say that all this negative coverage won't eventually get to trump. what could change all this is how conservative media handles this. what we're seeing is conservative media sort of defending scott pruitt and allowing pruitt to say things like, well, you know, the obama administration spent a million dollars on all these things and i've only spent $100,000. but that's not an equal comparison, obviously, it's been a year for scott pruitt and eight years for the obama administration. until conservative media points out the fact that scott pruitt is perhaps wasting taxpayer money which is something

so scott pruitt is in-krcredibl expensive and he is not the only one. you had all these other public officials who don't seem to understand that they can't just sort of use taxpayer money to find these things. >> and the context of this, how long does scott pruitt last with this continued grip, grdrip rkt drip of headlines? >> i've been living in washington for about 20 years now. $50 a night hasn't been the market rate since good about 19. isn't pass the laugh test. if i had a lobbyist friend, no way that i would get a price that good. for scott pruitt, this is only the latest as amanda pointed out in a long string of scandals. he was flying to the vatican, meeting with the pope, flying around the world all on taxpayer dime and with the security detail in tow. he built a $43,000 sound proof booth inside his office which included $18,000 for pouring two foot slab of concrete in order to sound proof -- for what reason? i can only imagine. we're talking about pretty egregious things. and i don't know what happened with his health scare, i hope he is okay,

so i think that scott pruitt is in hot water. i know that the white house hasn't faced many questions on this, because we haven't had a briefing since wednesday. when the new story on scott pruitt's housing arrangements broke, i believe it was on thursday while we were in ohio, the press secretary didn't have to field many questions on it. i think it will come to renewed light on monday when we're back in the briefing room. i think what you're hearing behind the scenes is this is one of the cabinet secretaries where the white house is confused in the judgment here. i think you'll see that kind of spill out more publicly when they have to actually answer questions about all right what happened here and what's your take on this. >> so betsy, your take? an official statement notwithstanding, are there any indications that pruitt is going to be fired? >> i haven't seen indications of that. i've heard pruitt's name previously, maybe several months ago bounced around as a potential hypothetical replacement for attorney general jeff ses

but you have to start to consider how many lives that scott pruitt, for example, has left. the security, travel. he's been doing what the president wants cutting the environmental regulation, the size of his department. he's a hero in conservative circles. it's possible that he has more leeway. but you come to a point i think when the damage that someone is doing, the administration from these repeated scandals and stories, outweighs what he brings the administration. you think that the white house might start to consider if somebody else there can do the same job with less controversy. >> i have to get to this other story. abc news reporting that pruitt's protective detail broke down the door of that condominium that we've been talking about all morning on capitol hill because they believed to be unconscious. this happened a year ago. abc reporting that the epa is being really kind of silent, mysterious, they're not answering questions about this. what do we know happened? >> yeah. apparently scott pruitt left work early one day feeling unwell, and he went back home to the

now we're talking about scott pruitt again. listen to a trump supporter about what she had to say about that a little while ago. >> president was elected to be a disruptor. and when things are not working as he wants, as he expects them, i expect him to make changes that will work. that's what he wants to be successful. remember, this is a man that gave up his private life to do this. he's not receiving any pay. he's doing it for the better of america. he wants to make america great again. and we know the president does not like to fail. so i trusted him that he's doing the right thing and he will make the right decisions. >> so, lynn, is this disrupting the swamp, so to speak, or is there something deeper here? >> well, i think it's a little of both. there is no reason that no matter what your intent and regulations, to deregulate, to wipe out everything obama did or bush did or clinton did, that is still different in the essential ethics question that you don't take gifts. you don't do extravagant travel. let's put that in on

it's a breakdown between the white house and scott pruitt's epa. as these spending stories are starting to mount and be an increasing pr scandal for the epa and administration, the white house requested that scott pruitt's epa turn over comprehensive travel logs in related numbers with regards to that spending so the white house could see what it was dealing with. as we reported at the daily beast a couple of weeks ago, they completely slow walked that and essentially refused to hand over what the white house was asking for, which is something that they could have done, perhaps, in the span of an afternoon, having one or two people work on it. it was because they weren't confident that the white house would do right by them, if they handed overall these documents. quite frankly, as white house and epa sources described it to us, it completely underscored the friction that is going on between those two places that, frankly, should not be there in a well-oiled machine of an administration. >> friction for sure at this point. julie, very quickly i wan

apartment for the president's epa chief scott pruitt. his landlord with is a lobbyist whose husbands represents clients in the energy industry which pruitt regulates. it is a strange deal because ethics watch dogs might see it as potentially buying influence with people connected to energy companies or pruitt potentially selling his influence to win points with his landlord. either way, as president trump might say -- >> i don't like the optics of what you just said. >> but guys, this is an administration reif with deals with questions about buying and selling of white house influence. the optics are rarely good. the president's personal business has been enriched by taxpayer party and foreign money, take the d.c. hotel for instance. and jared kushner personal business secured giant loans from companies after he met with them at the white house. even the president's son don jr. has rubbed shoulders with foreign leaders as he was promoting trump real estate projects. and that doesn't include spending controversy involving the president's

epa administrator scott pruitt reportedly paid $50 a night to live in a washington apartment partially owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist last year under terms that allowed him to pay only for the nights he stayed there instead of a monthly rent. and late this afternoon another revelation. according to abc news, last year pruitt's security detail broke down the glass panel front door of that condo when the administrator was not reachable. earlier this year pruitt came under fire for flying first class on official business with his staff, a move he defended. >> i don't make any of those decisions. they place me on the plane where they think is best from a safety perspective. >> reporter: now democrats are pouncing. >> if scott pruitt doesn't resign, then president trump should fire him. this is not good for citizens' confidence in our government. >> reporter: government watchdog groups say it all raises red flags. >> every dollar that's wasted on travel or security that's unnecessary is money that's not going to protect the health and environment for the american people. >> repo

the epa administrator scott pruitt, a former oklahoma attorney general. so he has that in his resume. the problem becomes if he's named as acting attorney general, that's a position that eventually the president would need to name him to on a permanent basis. once he does that, he can no longer be the acting a.g. pruitt has not been without controversy. democrats have been concerned about how he's run the epa. of course, all these conversations are happening in the white house. it seems at the moment that almost no one knows exactly what president trump is going to do and when he's going to do it, alisyn and chris. >> abby, thank you very much. let's bring in a.b. stoddard, editor of realclearpolitics and cnn political analyst brian care rem. a.b., you can get into the weeds about what it means to slide over from one cabinet member to another, acting versus permanent. the idea that it would be easy and they can avoid a revetting of pruitt if he were to take out sessions may not be simple in the minds of the senators who would make the decision. here is se

do you think that scott pruitt is on his way out? >> well, it's difficult to know right now. and we've seen this in the past. someone like a hud secretary ben carson really tried to navigate the murky waters of trying to weather the storm. there's no question from a conservative standpoint, this stings. wasteful spending, government spending, wasteful money, government money. all of that is stuff republicans had campaigned on they would get rid of. and so this really does kind of hit to the core of it. but then you put it in the broader context of the trump administration and this of course with the revolving door swinging round as fast as possible. you know, these shakeups are rumored to be every other day. >> and does this make it harder for president trump to promise to drain the swamp or do his supporters actually see this differently? >> absolutely, it does make it harder for president trump to drain the swamp. this isn't only hard from a conservative standpoint, the president trump's entire campaign was based on getting rid of stuff like this and getting rid of official

let's talk about scott pruitt. the epa administrator, it's not a good look for scott pruitt. it's not a good look for the epa. democrats as you heard in tara's piece calling for him to step down and pruitt reportedly a favorite of trump, so do you expect the president to push him out, matt? >> you mean it's not a good thing to go couch surfing on a top energy lobbyist's condo? that's not a good thing? i think what we've seen is it totally depends on whether or not his relationship, personal relationship with donald trump, if he's a sycophant and he sort of deals with donald trump and compliments donald trump, i think he stays. but if there's some break in that relationship, i think he goes. donald trump got elected to say he was going to drain the swamp in washington, d.c. but as we've seen with the epa administrator, it's almost become a superfund site. the toxicity of the culture there has gotten so much worse than it was a year or a year and a half ago. so, i don't know if he's going to fire him, but as i said, i think it totally depends on his personal relationship with d

reports today the white house isn't happy about scott pruitt's living actors. is the epa chief the next to go? g is helping the new new york rise higher than ever. as the world leader in unmanned aerial systems, we're attracting the world's best talent to central new york. and turning the airport into a first-class transportation hub. all while growing urban areas into vibrant places to live and work. across new york state, we're building the new new york. to grow your business with us in new york state, visit esd.ny.gov. to grow your business with us in new york state, when you have something you love, ♪ you want to protect it. at legalzoom, our network of attorneys can help you every step of the way. with an estate plan including wills or a living trust that grows along with you and your family. legalzoom. where life meets legal. i'm all about my bed. this mattress is dangerously comfortable. when i get in, i literally say, ahh. introducing the leesa mattress. a better place to sleep. this bed hugs my body. i'm now a morning person. the leesa mattress is de

what abc news has learned about the epa administrator, scott pruitt. the sweetheart real estate deal involving an nra lobbyist, and a senior white house official calling the situation beyond frustrating. >>> plunging to earth, the space junk crashing toward the earth's atmosphere. we have new timing for that possible strike, and what are the chances someone gets hurt? >>> and breaking news out of hollywood. arnold schwarzenegger undergoing emergency surgery. >>> and the miracle on ice. the accountant pulled from the stands, called in to play professional hockey. how he saved the game. > >>> and good evening. welcome to "world news tonight." i'm tom llamas in for david. and we begin with the results of a private autopsy on stephon clark, the unarmed black man fatally shot by police in sacramento. an infrared camera and helicopter, you see it there, showing clark running through his neighborhood into his grandmother's backyard. a police bodycam then recording officers firing 20 times. tonight, that new autopsy revealing that clark was struck eight times,

what abc news has learned about the epa administrator, scott pruitt. the sweetheart real estate deal involving the wife of an energy lobbyist, and a 911 call. a senior white house official calling the situation beyond frustrating. >>> plunging to earth, the space junk crashing toward the earth's atmosphere. we have new timing for that possible strike, and what are the chances someone gets hurt? >> reporter: the breaking news out of hollywood. arnold schwarzenegger undergoing emergency surgery. >>> and his miracle on ice. the accountant pulled from the stands, called in to play professional hockey. how he saved the game. >>> and good evening. welcome to "world news tonight." i'm tom llamas in for david. and we begin with the results of a private autopsy on stephon clark, the unarmed black man fatally shot by police in sacramento. an infrared camera and helicopter, you see it there, showing clark running through his neighborhood into his grandmother's backyard. a police bodycam then recording officers firing 20 times. tonight, that new autopsy revealing

i would say if this scott pruitt goes on and on, scott pruitt could also be worried about his job. back to the method how he fired his va secretary, imagine as reporters are always asking sarah sanders does this person have the confidence of the president, she's always saying they will know if they've lost the confidence. in that case the person lost the confidence and the president himself couldn't say that. when we think about how the other cabinet secretaries feel about their jobs, none of them probably feel at all some sense of comfort from the president because they don't know who could be next. >> it is friday, so jeremy, might we hear a new communications director today? hope hicks' last day i guess was yesterday. the president feeling very "home alone." he's down in mar-a-lago. could there be other changes today? >> we just don't know until they pull the trigger. but the problem with this president is he's so reluctant to pull the trigger. the big misconception of this presidency is, is trump is this aggressor, decisive and he pulls the trigger with ease. he sin credibly pa

this time it's epa head scott pruitt under fire for how he's spending taxpayer dollars. sources tell cnn that aides are frustrated pruitt has been renting a condo in washington from the family of an energy lobbyist. cnn's rene marsh has the details. >> reporter: two days after firing one cabinet secretary, the white house is growing increasingly frustrated with another cabinet member, sources tell cnn. the focus now on epa administrator scott pruitt following two damning stories in less than a day. first -- cnn reporting that pruitt went to the rose bowl, the college football semifinal featuring his home team the oklahoma sooners. >> the best game in cheollege football. >> reporter: then took his family to disneyland. both personal trips with his security detail in tow. he also used that security for trips home to tulsa, oklahoma. all that accord to senator sheldon whitehouse, after the democrat said he viewed documents that backed up the claim. whitehouse has been a fierce critic of pruitt. >> this god-awful nominee. clearly this is an epic ram job. >> reporter: senator

the focus, now, on epa administrator, scott pruitt, following two damming stories in less than a day. first, cnn reporting pruitt went to the rose bowl, a college football semifinal featuring his home team, the oklahoma sooners. >> the best game in college football all yearlong. >> reporter: then took his family to disneyland, both personal trips with epa security detail in tow. pruitt used that security for trips home to tulsa, oklahoma. all that according to senator sheldon whitehouse after he viewed document that is back up the claim. whitehouse has been a critic. >> this god awful nominee, clearly, this is an epic ram job. >> reporter: senator whitehouse recently sent a letter to the e.p.a.'s inspector general laying out details about the round the clock security detail. the letter, which cnn reviewed, raise zs questions about the unprecedented epa funded security. >> let him go to disney land. put on a baseball cap and sunglasses. nobody knows who he is. he's not that famous. >> reporter: because of the threats, administrator pruitt follows the same protocol, whether he is in per

instead, people are talking about scott pruitt running for president. it's nuts. >> hey, phil, we all remember president trump saying he was going to bring the best and bright of the to washington. and a year later a white house that's stretched thin with several vacancies. what can we reasonably expect from trump's 2.0 cabinet? >> well, i think he's going to look for a reset here and start to take action. i was talking to a number of senior administration officials this morning about this very subject. and they said, look, he's tired of playing the waiting game. he is tired of deliberating over these issues. he has some gut instincts, things he wants to do on trade, on immigration with the wall, on some other measures. and he feels confident enough to be able to just make those decisions largely on his own and in the moment. that could be alarming to a lot of experts who are used to a more traditional washington process and we'll see how that plays out. but that's his mind-set at this moment. >> jim messina, deputy chief of staff to president obama. do

scott pruitt, head of the epa, frames this as a way of making vehicles more affordable. it is one way of describing what is otherwise a big win for the auto manufacturers and for the fuel industry. some states like california tend to keep current standards in place. theirs are the strictest in the country and have been. next secretary of the interior is caught apologizing of a ceo of a mining company. video of a listening session of secretary ryan zinke shows his apologizing on behalf the united states after the ceo complained about permit restrictions. the last company that guy ran a company that cost the government tens of millions to clean up pollution and is considered a bad actor in the eyes of the u.s. government officially. and at the department of housing and urban development, the new york city reports under ben carson, hud scales back fair housing enforcement, citing 20 current department officials say the move is meant to roll back the obama administration's attempts to reverse decades of racial, ethnic and income segregation in federally subsidized housing an

pruitt. scott pruett's unusual housing arrangement during much of last year. they talk about it in detail. he paid a lobbyist a modest sum each night for staying in a capitol hill condo she coowned. it has generated a new round of scrutiny about the financial decisions of the environmental protection agency administrator. speak of protections, scott pruitt has been in the news for the security detail and the extraordinary arrangements he has around him including but not limited to his desire to sit in the pointy end of the airplane where the seats are wider. >> at least he's not icing anyone that we know of. >> there you go. no icing. >> look, this has been a problem for any number of the white house officials, the cabinet department officials. should sort of -- this self-dealing, this comfort with the old ways of washington that president trump says he was going to clean up, he said he was going to drain the swamp. to the extent it's been drained, we're just seeing the crocodiles and the alligators in there in a lot starker relief. i live on capitol hill. a $

scott pruitt took a trip last year, and part of the reason it cost the taxpayer so much is because it wasn't just scott pruitt, it was first class tickets for himself, his head of security, and staffer, all on the taxpayer dime. it sounds like that should be the worst part of the story but keep reading. the reason pruitt went to morocco in the first place was to pitch the benefit of liquefied natural gas imports on morocco's economy. he's the epa administrator, that is so far out of his lane he's driving on the wrong side of the road. what we do know is at the time he's waxing poetic about natural gas, there was only one in the united states owned by shaner energy and we know scott pruitt was living in shaner energy's lobby's house. the lobbyist firm specifically lobbies on issues related to the export of liquefied natural gas. so today he was living in his house while he was traveling on your dime to go pitch liquefied natural gas imports. i wonder what he was paying for in rent? i wonder if his rent was paid by now it's time for "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." >> that's a l

is the white house turning a blind eye to scott pruitt's ethics and all the issues of that because he champions the trump jeagenda? >> alex, they may be turning a little bit of a blind eye. but i don't think it's because of those reasons. i actually think it's because of what he's done with the epa. if you look, there was a common practice in the epa of sue and settle. it's a horrific process. and he has actually gotten rid of that and he's making great strides in the epa. you've got to realize people on the opposite side, they're out for him. the epa is a big pet project among, you know, liberal democrats. so anyone in this position, anyone that takes on the epa and tries to regulate it and tries to get it to rein in some of the bad practices that were going on within the epa, anyone is going to be scrutinized. i think they're putting him under a microscope. but i don't think -- you know, while some of the things he has done, they are shady, i'll give you that. but i do not think they're looking at him and saying they're going to dismiss him and get rid of him for these incidents alo

growing concerns on capitol hill following new details of spending by epa administrator scott pruitt. this coming days after v.a. secretary david shulkin was fired over his own ethics violations. here's democratic congressman of virginia. >> if scott pruitt doesn't resign, president trump should fire him. this is not good for citizens is's confidence in our government. >> well, the epa is firing back amid new ethics scrutiny of praou wit. he leased a room for $50 a night from the wife of a lobbyist whose firm represents clients regulated by epa. the report raised question about paying below a market fee could constitute an improper gift. a speaksperson said his housing arrangement for both himself and family was not a gift and the lease was consistent with federal ethics regulations. all right. let's bring in the pam. msnbc political analyst maxwell, msnbc political analyst, rick tyler. my saturday morning family. thank you all. >> good to see you, alex. >> rick, the epa response, is it missing a point here? aren't ethics rules also about avoiding the appearance of impropriety? this i

growing concerns on capitol hill following new details of spending by epa administrator scott pruitt. this coming days after v.a. secretary david shulkin was fired over his own ethics violations. here's democratic congressman of virginia. >> if scott pruitt doesn't resign, president trump should fire him. this is not good f

scott pruitt took a trip last year, and part of the reason it cost the taxpayer so much is because it wasn't just scott pruitt, it was first class tickets for himself, his head of security, and staffer, all on the taxpayer dime. it sounds like that should be the worst part of the story but keep reading. the reason pruitt went to morocco in the first place was to pitch the benefit of lick kwi fied natural gas imports on moroc morocco's economy. he's the epa administrator, that is so far out of his lane he's driving on the wrong side of the road. what we do know is at the time he's waxing poetic about natural gas, there was only one in the united states owned by shaner energy and we know scott pruitt was living in shaner energy's lobby's house. the lobbyist firm specifically lobbies on issues related to the export of liquefied natural gas. so today he was living in his house while he was traveling on your dime to go

scott pruitt faced criticism for expensive travel funded by taxpayers. he said it was done for safety reasons, so he could be schoars to the exit. pruitt now says he will switch from first class to coach seats. he announced this in an interview with our major garrett. >> the security detail that i had, they wanted me on a position in the plane to exit expeditiously if an incident arose. i instructed those same individuals to accommodate those security threats, in alternate ways, up to and including flying coach. >> reporter: it might happen. >> look, it is-- there's a change coming and that's going to happen on my very next flight. >> glor: you can see scott pruitt's interview on major garrett's podcast takeout. now take a look at what happened to this house in miami. a canadian air force helicopter on a training commission yesterday accidentally dropped an 80-pound life raft that crashed through the roof. the homeowner thought it was a bomb. she escaped with minor injuries. the canadian air force says it will find her a place to stay while her house is

>> steve mnuchin, ryan zinke and scott pruitt would seem to prove that's not a fireable offense. >> the fbi has been investigating donald trump's attempts to do business in the soviet union longer than we realized. in 2010 he went and explored the possibility of building a trump hotel, trump abandoned it after some were questioned by the lat vie jann authorities. the guardian is reporting that latvia made a request in 2014 to investigate. it was described by two sources who have reviewed it but were not permitted to disit. the authorities asked for trump himself to be interviewed for their inquiry. at least one tromp organization executive did speak with officials. and the company provided written answers to additional questions. and the u.s. did not formally respond until september 2015. by then the latvian investigators were close to concluding their case and appear not to have pursued the link with trump any further. and by 2016, trump was running for president. and "reuters" is reporting that the special prosecutor is trying to find out what jeff sessions and sergey kislyak said in

it has a list of the next firing including ben carson, bed betsy devos, scott pruitt, ryanzinke and john kelly. and the press secretary just tweeted this. just spoke to potus and general h.r. mcmaster contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the nsc. jonathan kapart you're biassed you're employed by "the washington post." but if you have to pick for credibility, "the washington post" or the press secretary. >> that's a tough one. >> on h.r. mcmaster's future? >> i'm continuing john's laugh. look, when you read the story by ashley parker and my colleagues at "the washington post," the key line in there is that they talked to 19 sources in the administration and people who talked to the president. so yes, lawrence, if i have to choose between the president of the united states and "the washington post" i'm going to believe "the washington post." >> i have five people with direct knowledge of the plan. >> with direct knowledge and then 19 overall. >> so the sanders tweet might just delay this somewhat when she says just spoke to potus, there are

but at least one democrat is calling for pruitt to go. >> if scott pruitt doesn't resign then president trump should fire him. >> pruitt has been under fire for spending at his offices and first class air travel that he defended last month. >> they place me on the plane where they think it's best from a safety perspective. >> this comes days after the firing of veterans affairs reck setear david shulkin. trump long promised high ethical standards. >> we are going to drain the swamp of government corruption in washington, d.c. turning to new provocation from russia where the president has said nothing publicly. putin gave no advance warning to the u.s. when russia tested a new missile friday that it claims can carry multiple war heads and evade current u.s. defense systems. the state department had russia was not required by treaty to advise the u.s. and considered the demonstration to be the early stages of a missile program. >> reporter: and the president has not talked about that, but his administration has expelled several dozen russian diplomats joining other western countries who h

. >>> the white house not happy with scott pruitt over his controversial living arrangements and his security detail. is the epa chief perhaps the next one to go? >> i think he should resign. if he doesn't resign, the president should fire him. >>> good morning. glad to have your company as always. i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. good saturday to you. we're starting this morning with the shocking new video of alton sterling's final moments and also the officer who shot and killed him. we know he has been fired more than a year and a half, nearly two years after pulling that trigger. >> july 5th, 2016, when sterling, a black man, was shot six times by a white officer. the officer responding to a call about a man with a gun. you might remember the cell phone video ignited outrage just hours after sterling's death. the new video that you're about to see gives a clearer account of exactly what happened that night. >> now we want to warn you that this video is disturbing. cnn's ka has more for you. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. now with the help of both officers' bod

scott pruitt faced criticism for expensive travel funded by taxpayers. tr said it was done for safety reasons, so he could be closer d the exit. pruitt now says he will switch from first class to coach seats. he announced this in an interview with our major garrett. >> the security detail that i had, they wanted me on a position in the plane to exit expeditiously if an incident ifose. i instructed those same individuals to accommodate those security threats, in alternate inys, up to and including flying coach. >> reporter: it might happen. >> look, it is-- there's a change coming and that's going to happen on my very next flight. >> glor: you can see scott pruitt's interview on major garrett's podcast "the takeout." now take a look at what happened to this house in miami. tecanadian air force helicopter on a training mission yesterday accidentally dropped an 80-pound life raft that crashed through the roof. the homeowner thought it was a bomb. she escaped with minor injuries. the canadian air force says it will find her a place to stay while her house is

scott pruitt is currently the name being discussed inside the white house as a potential replacement. why? he's another cabinet member and could be named acting attorney general without senate confirmation. if he were to actually be named attorney general, nominated to that position, he would need to endure senate confirmation. it is part of a broad shakeup that the president has previewed in recent days. we heard him talk about the need to get rid of dead weight as you mentioned earlier. already we're seeing some of the headwinds he's beginning to face as he looks towards that broader shakeup. two of the nominees he's already put forward to the senate this week, mike pompeo for the state department, gina haspel for head of the cia. gina haspel oversaw part of the cia's torture and rendition program during her time at the cia. senate republicans are already warning the president and the white house that they're overloaded with a backlog of nominations. and they're not reiger to see more members put before the senate for confirmation. there's also talk of shakeup inside the west wing w

pruitt from the epa. he would -- you know based on his performance at the epa he would do everything he could short of being caught in -- obstructing justice directly, to try to undermine that mueller investigation. >> and the big thing about removing sessions and putting anybody else in his place is that that person would presumably not have to recuse themselves from the ru-- rugs investigation and negating the need to have rod rosenstein who the president doesn't like and has been outspoken about on twitter and could encroach on the mueller investigation or rein it in. i don't see a situation where democrats roll over easily for any sort of confirmation -- for any confirmation for anybody else. >> and remember, we've also got mike pompeo to be confirmed and gina haspel at the cia. >> and ronny jackson -- no one was saying -- and we talked about kobe cosgrove and a number of different people. but ronny jackson was on no one's radar. so in a similar way we have to be careful in terms of saying, i think pr

is scott pruitt in danger of getting the boot? >>> and a cry for justice. new information and new questions about the police shooting of an unarmed black man. >>> a very good saturday to all of you. i'm alex witt here at msnbc world headquarters in new york city. it's just past 1:00 p.m. in new york city, 10:00 p.m. out west. new details are emerging from the president's latest feud with amazon and dragging "the washington post" into the battle, all happening on twitter today while the president is spending the holiday weekend at his mar-a-lago estate. let's go right to nbc white house correspondent geoff bennett joining us from west palm beach. geoff, with a big smile on your face because i know you're loving being in florida, it's chilly here today, the latest in the war of words on amazon. what's the latest in the shot fired by the president on twitter? >> reporter: hey there, alex. amazon has long been president trump's favorite corporate punching bag. he was going to his private golf course this morning from his mar-a-lago estate. he wrote, it is repor

house to potentially replace jeff sessions with scott pruitt, very controversial epa administrator. and it is uncertain whether the president is going to go that route because pushback among republicans -- republicans very significant to replacing or getting rid of jeff sessions. just talking to a number of senate republicans over the last couple of days, you hear the pushback, the concern about replacing their former senate colleague for a number of reasons. one, republicans are concerned about this would reopen the controversy over the president's handling of the russia investigation, something that is very difficult to deal with in this election year. and also very difficult to get the votes to pass -- to confirm any replacement to jeff sessions even if particularly scott pruitt, someone who is riled up democratic opposition over his tenure at the epa and it is uncertain whether or not the republicans would move forward with confirmation hearings, have a vote on the floor, chuck grassy told me last year his agenda was full and did not want to move on a replacement. he stopped sho

after that, you never know where you might see scott pruitt. but while scott pruitt suffers with the masses in coach, ben carson now says he is trying to return his dinette set that cost the public $31,000. that's thing 2 in 60 seconds. >>> hud secretary ben carson initially said he didn't know anything about the $31,000 dining room purchased for his office and had no intention to return it. what a difference a day and the house oversight probe makes. today he issued a statement the dining room is used for business lunchons with a wide variety of people and groups. the furniture is worn and characterized as unsafe. i left this matter alone to concentrate on bigger issues. i was surprised to find out the set had been ordered. i have requested the order be cancelled. the agency says they are working to rescind the order. in the grand scheme of the hud budget, $31,000 is not a massive amount. president trump is proposing a nearly $7 billion cut to the hud budget and to be fair to mr. carson, he doesn't know anything about those matters either. >>

. >>> new controversy this morning surrounding the head of the epa scott pruitt. abc news has learned that a town house near the u.s. capitol that pruitt lived in for much of the last year is co-owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist. now democrats are demanding that pruitt disclose details of that rental arrangement. they want to know if it would be considered an improper gift. >>> well, teachers in oklahoma are now expected to get a $6,000 pay raise, but they are still planning to go on strike monday. they're demanding a higher raise saying their salaries rank 49th among 50 states. they're also demanding more education funding. >>> and we're learning overnight that several of kentucky's school districts will be closed today after teachers called in sick. they're protesting a pension overhaul passed by state lawmakers. >>> time now for a look at your weather on this good friday morning. fire crews are battling a smoky 70-acre brush fire that broke out in port st. lucie friday. last night fire officials evacuated 40 homes and shut down a 14-mile stretch of a h

scott pruitt probably not sad gary cohn left, scott pruitt disagreed with gary on climate change and led the president to pull out of the paris accord. mr. pruitt is in hot water today. the associated press is reporting one of his top aides has been given permission to make extra money working for outside private clients whose identities are being kept secret. pruitt says he followed standard procedure, having served in that position. please walk me through. i've never worked in any administration. when i read this, to me that sounds crazy. what do you think about it? >> absolutely. i mean, i don't recall ever letting anybody work for an outside -- any kind of outside organization when they worked for the administration, whether it was in new jersey or in washington. it's just not done. the potential for conflict is far too great. and i think you're talking about the security detail person who also was awarded a contract or associated with a company that was awarded a contract to sweep his office. i don't know how often they do that. i don't ever recall my office being swept when i w

now scott pruitt announces even weaker regulations on coal ash disposal. we will go to alabama to look at a black community fighting a coal ash down, saying it violates the civil rights act. and we will speak with a lawyer just back from puerto rico where residents are fighting another toxic coal ash dump. the government of puerto rico is greeting health problems, and for mental problem, problem for the future in the coming generations. we want puerto rico to close the coal-fired power plant. amy: that "overlooked." obituaries have been dominated by white men in "the new york times." now they're adding the stories, to begin with, 50 remarkable women to fill in the gap. the list might surprise you. it includes the pioneering anti-lynching journalist ida b. wells, the poet sylvia plath, qiu jin, who was known as china's joan of arc, and more. none of them in obituaries in "the times" at the time of their debt. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the white house says president t

so many violations of standard kind of ethics rules -- >> well, just scott pruitt. he had to downgrade from first class to coach because there were real questions about whether or not he needed to be flying first class for security purposes and then he got in trouble because he took some people to italy and it cost 120 grand of taxpayer dollars. what do you make of this latest? >> draining the swamp. i think this administration is problematic in terms of the correction we're seeing. and, you know, for all of the projection that donald trump does when he's alleging that hillary clinton has done all these nefarious meetings and then funneled money to her cronies. he's actually doing that. he's allowing his administration to do that. jared kushner also has issues in terms of not being fully divested from his companies. now we're learning he's having meetings with foreign officials who are then giving him loans. there's blatant corruption in this administration. and i'm hopeful that the house democrats can take back the majority so we can at least start to investigate w

now scott pruitt annouounces evn weaker regulations on coal ash didisposal. we will l go to alababama to lot a b black community fighting a coal ash down, saying it violates the civil rights act. and we will speak with a lawyer just back from puerto rico where residents are fighting another toxic coal ash dump. the government of puerto rico is greeting health proroblems, d for memental problem, problem fr the future in the coming generations. we want puerto rico to close the coal-fired power plant. amy: that "overlooked." obituaries have been dominated by white men in "the new york times." now they're adding the stories, to begin with, 50 remarkable women to fill in the gap. the list might surprise yoyou. it includes the pioneering anti-lynching journalist ida b. wells, the poet sylvia plath, qiu jin, who was known as china's joan of arc, and more. none of them in obituaries in "the times" at the time of their debt. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the white house says presid

now rumors he could be replaced by epa administrator scott pruitt. "vanity fair" says the thinking is pruitt will have a shot at being confirmed by the senate. >> you know, we have general kelly here, four star, and he's doing a great job in washington. i think he likes what you do better than he does but he's doing a great job. our administration is stacked with marines because marines are the kind of people you want at your side and, trust me, you don't ever want to be on the other side of a fighting marine. >> you don't ever want to be on the other side of a fighting marine. like robert mueller. i want to bring my panel in. eli stockles, msnbc political analyst. ron insana, cnbc political contributor. larry kudlow you colleague from cnbc, he was giving you a shout-out yesterday when i saw hill on air. listen, he is simpatico with president trump. they've been friends for a very long time. >> larry and i have been friends for close to 30 years. the reason he gave me the shout-out, i was the first person to put him back on cnbc after his troubles in

now scott pruitt annnnounces evn weaker regulations on coal ash disposal.. we wilill go to alalabama to l t a black community fighting a coal ash down, saying it violates the civil rights act. and we will speak with a lawyer just back from puerto rico where residents are fighting another toxic coal ash dump. the government of puerto rico is greeting health proroblems, d for memental problem, problem fr the future in the coming generations. we want puerto rico to close the coal-fired power plant. amy: that "overlooked." obituaries have been dominated by white men in "the new york times." now they're adding the stories, to begin with, 50 remarkable women to fill in the gap. the list might surprise yoyou. it includes the pioneering anti-lynching journalist ida b. wells, the poet sylvia plath, qiu jin, who was known as china's joan of arc, and more. none of them in obituaries in "the times" at the time of their debt. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the white house says presiden

scott pruitt faced criticism for expensive travel funded by taxpayers. he said it was done for safety reasons so he could be closer to the exit. but pruitt now says he will switch from first class to coach seats. he announced this in an interview with our major garrett. >> the security detail that i had, they wanted me in a position on the plane to exit expeditiously if an incident arose. i've instructed those same individuals to accommodate those security threats in alternate ways including -- up to and including flying coach. >> it might happen? >> look, it is -- there's a change coming and that's going to happen on my very next flight. >> you can see scott pruitt's news-making interview on major's podcast "the takeout." it will be available tomorrow on itunes, google play, spotify, and stitcher. >>> now take a look at what happened to this house in miami. a canadian air force helicopter on a training mission yesterday accidentally dropped an 80-pound life raft that crashed through the roof. the homeowner thought it was a bomb. she escaped with minor i

at administrator scott pruitt. reports that he spent much of the first year in office in a penthouse owned by a lobbyist. no one would tell how much rent he paid, but bloomberg reviewed a lease that he would pay $50 a nighter for nights he slept there. if pruitt paid below market rates, it could be considered a gift and a breach of ethics law. the lobbyist firm advocated for the export of liquified natural gas which brewit advocated for on a trip to morocco. according to a press release, the $16,000 airfare for pruitt and his first class trip to morocco is being probed along with his other military or chartered flights which cost taxpayers more than $163,000 in his first year alone. according to a -- clincluding, excuse me, a $14,000 flight from western oklahoma to eastern oklahoma. those comments were made on a trip to new hampshire, a key presidential campaign state. the "new york times" recently reported that pruitt is believed to be eyeing a 2024 white house run noting that he took two trips in his first year t

this time epa administrator scott pruitt. interests word he lived in a condo coened by a energy lobbyist. >>. don beyer demanded epa administrator resign over failure to disclose a rental deal tied to an energy lobbyist. representative beyer writing pruitt must resign if he refuses to do so he should be fired immediately pruft lit lived in cono coowned by vicki heart her husband steven hart is the chairman of lobby i remember lobbies epa on policies like the clean air act. similar condos in the building rent for $5,000 a month but pruitt paid $$60 a night. last march they broke down the door to the condo. >> they say he is unconscious at the time. >> it's unclear what led to the panic that caused the response and the source says the epa reimbursed hart for the damage. this is not the tires first time the financing came under fire. the white house responded earlier this month about his ace other cabinet enemies spending. >> as the president has said he takes spending taxpayer dollars very seriously. all of those individual sec