Morning Joe - Morning Joe 1/9/25

Episode Date: January 9, 2025

More than 100,000 told to evacuate as L.A. blazes leave 5 dead and threaten Hollywood landmarks

This is unbelievable. Never thought it would happen to us. And all you see is this raining hellfire. So many neighborhood houses are burning. It's so upsetting. It's so heartbreaking. It felt like I was catching on fire a little bit. I do want to go back because I'm hopeful that I will find something in the rubble. Just incredible images, incredible moments, emotional moments for victims of the raging wildfires burning across Southern California still this morning.

The winds have died down a bit. They did that overnight, but firefighters may not have much time to take advantage of those new weather conditions. We'll have complete coverage of a catastrophe in Southern California with live reports from across the area, as well as the latest forecast. We'll also be joined by the director of FEMA as that organization tries to begin to get its arms around this. Plus today is the official state funeral for former president Jimmy Carter in Washington. He will then be laid to rest in a private ceremony this evening in his hometown of

Plains, Georgia. We'll bring you live coverage from the nation's capital. Good morning, welcome to Morning Joe. It is Thursday, January 9th. I'm Willie Geis. Joe and Mika will join us in just a moment from the Washington National Cathedral as we cover that funeral service for the 39th president. But we begin this morning with those wildfires scorching Los Angeles County. At least five people have died. More than 100,000 people now have been forced to evacuate. Over the course of just 36 hours, the fires have burned down an estimated 2,000 structures across the area. Five major fires currently burning across LA County, with three, the

Palisades, Eaton, and Sunset fires at 0% containment. The Los Angeles Fire Department, however, confirms it is making progress on that Sunset fire. That's a new one last containment. The Los Angeles Fire Department, however, confirms it is making progress on that Sunset Fire. That's a new one last night. The two others, Lydia and Hearst, are at 40 and 10% containment, respectively. The largest of the fires, Palisades, has burned more than 17,000 acres now. Officials calling that fire the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles. The second largest, the Eaton Fire, has engulfed more than 10,000 acres of land and is responsible for the five deaths so far. Hurricane-force winds and dry conditions have fueled the fires and low water

pressure is hampering efforts to fight the blazes. The fierce winds did begin to die down a bit last night, but the Santa Ana winds are expected to return later this week. We are hearing stories from local residents about how the wildfires have ravaged their neighborhoods, their schools, and local landmarks, leaving many of them in rubble. At this hour, thousands of people have lost their homes, leaving entire communities burned to the ground. Childhood photographs burned in the fire. Decades of memories now wiped away. We're getting a sense of how residents are coping with the aftermath following their harrowing escapes. This is the best neighborhood. Everybody knows each other. Everybody helps each other out. Before he left our neighbor Brad here, he was putting out little fires on,

you know, before he felt like he just had to go, he was putting out little fires on our property and who knows, maybe that saved our house, but that's the kind of neighborhood we have and it's, you know, most of it's gone now. All the stuff that's here is replaceable. People are not. So happy the family is the most important

thing. I drove with the kids and the dogs down to Luguna Beach. I mean what are the answers? They say mommy where are we gonna live? Where are we gonna go to school? What are we gonna do? And I don't have answers to those questions right now. One day you're swimming in the pool and the next day it's all gone. But she came out with her little yeti piggy bank for us to rebuild our house. We lost all our things. I was part of their smaller photographs and all of my grandpa's antique jazz and all that kind of stuff. I'm going to break down again.

That's what I feel. It's my whole life. Everything was in there. I lost everything. You shape up. You're supposed to be a support. Anyway, I'm okay. I'll be okay.

I'm tough and we'll start over. Even though I'm 91 years old, I'll start over again. 91 years old. Just a handful of what are thousands of stories like those. A woman from Houston who is from Pasadena describes how the cemetery where her mother, brother, and several family members are buried is now completely burned. Joining us now from Altadena, California where the Eaton fire continues to rage NBC News correspondent Dana Griffin. Dana, good morning. What are you seeing on the ground? Well, good morning to you and And I gotta say, just listening to those stories, they're just heartbreaking, they're touching.

And there are several more out there just like it. Here in Altadena, where the Eaton Fire, as you mentioned, has burned some 10,000 plus acres, five people have been confirmed dead in this fire. We're seeing neighborhoods that look just like this. Those embers during those hurricane force winds, we're pretty much playing hopscotch to vehicles and homes. You have some homes that are standing, but in this neighborhood that we're walking through right now, almost every single one looks like some of the, we'll show you those images in

a second because we're in front of a vehicle right now. But all of the homes have been leveled in this neighborhood. And we kind of pan over here I want to show you. There's not any active flames in this particular neighborhood concerning the wildfire itself, but we are seeing these blow torches at almost every single home. These are fires that are starting from the gas line because officials have not come in and shut it off so that we don't see these blowtorches here. You do have a tree stump that is smoldering in the area but again every single home has been burned mostly to its foundation at this home. The only thing you can really make out are the mailboxes. You see the numbers 309 that's the only thing that you can

still see here and there are even power lines that are hanging over. We drove over some that were in the road. We usually wouldn't stand this close to these, but these have been de-energized. But you've got several power lines that are strewn everywhere. And in this vehicle, there's actually a cat that we heard moments ago meowing,

obviously badly hurt our photographer and producer kind of got underneath the car to try to get a look at it they put some water down there for the cat we're not hearing it at this moment but obviously several families had to flee in such a hurry so their pets some have lost them others have tried to find safety and the only thing that they could a vehicle that was untouched and it's just sheer devastation. We're still trying to determine what caused this fire. We know the Palisades fire started in someone's backyard.

What caused it exactly? Officials have not released that cause. But there's still a lot of unanswered questions, how this happened and why this happened. I mean, obviously we know we had those hurricane force winds that really drove this fire. There were issues with trying to get helicopters and aircraft up to dump water on the fire and that is usually such an amazing tool to try to prevent fires like this from happening in Los Angeles County. As you mentioned I've spoken to so many people who say the same thing. We did not think that this could happen here.

Really? You know, Dana, just reading the accounts and listening to some of the briefings from the LAPD and the Los Angeles fire department, it's clear they've never seen anything like this. And they see a lot out there in Southern California, uh, the fire department saying we are doing everything human path, humanly possible, all hands on deck. It's just overwhelming. It's too much to get to every call.

It's too much to get to every house that's on fire. It's too much to let people back into these neighborhoods to see if their homes are still there because they're not sure that it's safe to be there. So what is your sense of how authorities are attempting to get their arms around this? Well, I think they're trying to do the best that they can. The good thing is those Santa Ana winds,

or at least the strong gusts that we saw yesterday, are not the winds that we are seeing today. So we have seen some helicopters up above, which has been amazing. And we're just gonna walk a little bit more over here so you can see more of the flames behind us. They're doing the best that they can. We did have a sheriff's deputy drive past us and we got this warning to be careful and we thought okay maybe he's talking about the smoke because the air quality

is so poor that's why we're all wearing respirators and masks. He said no be careful because there are looters out here. He said, we've already arrested someone. And I asked, well, how many? And we're trying to get some more information. He says, it couldn't give me that information. But the fact that they, this morning, have already arrested people, it just

goes to show that people are taking advantage of an already devastating situation. So that's another element that they're dealing with out here here is trying to get the flames fully out where we are. We're not seeing any active flames and that could be because it's in such a remote area so it's hard to get that vantage point but hopefully the fire can burn out in those remote areas and hopefully not spread anywhere else. We did have another fire pop up in the Hollywood Hills. They issued evacuation orders. A lot of those evacuation orders have been lifted, which is a great sign, but we are not out of the woods yet. There are still

major wildfires still burning in Southern California and the threat really is not over. Dana, good morning. It's Jonathan. Yes, that sunset fire came within a couple hundred yards of some of the most major and famous thoroughfares in the city. We hope indeed it stays and firefighters are able to keep pushing it back. I want to ask you about the response that firefighters have been able to do there in the region where you are, but also throughout the city. There's a lot of questions about whether there was water in the hydrants, whether they had

the appropriate resources to deal with these fires. What are you hearing from fire officials as what they will do from the ground and from the sky, from helicopters like the one we're seeing now? Yeah, so that's a really great question. And officials addressed that yesterday. They admitted that we did not have the water pressure in order to fight the fire on the ground. And the reason that happened is because they have about

three one million gallon tanks that they have in the Palisades area. And the reason you fill that up is so that you have the water pressure. And so they were pumping out so much water over about 15 hours, about four times the capacity, they could not keep up with the demand. So that water ran out and around three o'clock in the morning, four o'clock in the morning, they had no more water. That was the critical time of this firefight yesterday because that's when the winds were the highest overnight and into the morning. On top of that, you also had the aircraft which were not flying. They had to be grounded because of those strong winds. So when you have

no water coming from up above or on the ground, That's why you see more than a thousand structures that have burned because there was no way to fight this. And also you had those whipping winds that carried embers up to a mile or two. So it was really the perfect storm that created this mess. Dana, Altadena is a vibrant community. I've enjoyed spending lots of time there. as a vibrant community, I've enjoyed spending lots of time there. Right now, does it just seem like an evacuated ghost town, a hellscape? But do you still see anyone wandering around or has everyone fled? That's a great question. We are seeing absolutely no one on the streets, except for that sheriff's

deputy that drove by and reminded us to be safe while we're out here. It's, it's a ghost town. We have not seen anyone out here except for the patrol vehicles that have shut down the roads. Again, it's hard to see cause it's so dark right now. We've tried to light this as best as we can, but once the light, once daylight comes up, you may get a better scope, but every home on this street looks just like this. I haven't seen one home that is standing yet.

So when you talk about communities that have been completely wiped off the map, those words are not exaggerations. This is something that people did not think could happen in Los Angeles County that's so populated and you know usually these wildfires decimate remote areas or communities that are very spread out but these are neighborhoods and communities that our friends stay and loved ones and co-workers and to see this much widespread devastation, it's really hard to wrap your head around it. Guys?

Dana, stay with us for a moment if you can. We want to swing over to meteorologist Angie Lastman for a look at how things may look today where these fires are now. Angie, good morning. What are you seeing there? Good morning, Willie. Well, Dana said the winds are a little less than they were yesterday, but I want to stress that they're not diminished completely.

And we're going to kind of see these swings of winds elevated, winds coming down. The Santa Annas are going to stick with us here, at least for the long haul. We could have a couple more events here, even as we get into next week. Here's what we've got right now. Those 17 million people still under these red flag warnings. Winds are coming offshore. Remember, that means that we're not adding in a whole lot of moisture with the winds coming off the water.

Instead, they are going offshore at about 40 to 50 miles per hour through the day to day. Tomorrow, those increase. We're talking a range of 50 to 70 miles per hour across this region. So let's talk about exactly where they currently stand. You'll notice closer to the coast, less. Five, 10, maybe 20, 30 mile per hour winds.

You get up into the hills and you get up into parts of the mountainous regions and we've right now got 40 plus mile per hour wind now got 40-plus mile per hour wind gusts, 20-plus mile per hour wind gusts. That's going to be the situation for this morning. As the day goes on, we'll go in a flux. We'll start to see things winding down a little more as we get into the afternoon hours. Then, they ramp up as we round out today and we head back into tomorrow. Still, the gusty winds, they're going to be there. I do think that these will be wind speeds where air relief can be started up again and can continue across this region. That's at least one specific thing that we'll watch

for a positive. But again, those weekend and maybe next week Santa Ana's will return. In the meantime, we've still got the potential for significant fire growth, especially with any new fires that do start. Um, and notice how widespread it is. One thing that you're not seeing on here. Yesterday we had a good chunk of this same kind of region right here under the extreme version of the fire weather threat. Today it's the critical risk, but again, it's just a minor improvement. It will of course help those firefighters when it comes to battling these. We've seen a lot of these wind advisories expire and then come back up and now the wind advisory that's in place for parts of

Ventura County and LA County that's going to last until 6 p.m. and we've got a total of 13 million people under these wind alerts at this time. This is going to stay with us so again as we get through the day today we've got still this high pressure and this low pressure kind of sandwiched to the north and the south of this region. That is essentially what's in play for the Santa Ana winds to continue. Now, one thing to note, these are really strong high and low pressures, so that means that we've got these strong winds. This low is going to be on the move here, and this is why we've got a weakening situation

with the winds as we get through tomorrow. You'll notice they get farther apart. There's not as tight of a pressure gradient. That's going to leave us with positive, of course, a positive influence when it comes to the winds. But we're still going to kind of go through these fluxes as the day goes on. And guys, we've been talking for the past couple of days about how the lack of rainfall in this region has just added to that really intense wind event.

And we're running way below normal, less than 10 percent of normal since October 1st. So we really could use some rain in this region. Unfortunately we don't see a lot of relief in that way so it's going to be those strong winds the dry conditions as far as the vegetation goes. But one positive is we do see that relative humidity kind of coming up by the time we round out this week and we'll see it in flux as the day goes on as the days go on and we get into next week. So Angie, Southern California sees wildfires, Southern California sees drought, Southern California sees high winds, but it does feel like they all came together in the last few days.

What are the conditions that have made this unique and so devastating? Yeah, so basically what happens is when you have these Santa Ana wind events, which you just said is common for this region, we've got a high pressure and a low pressure that I just mentioned. The difference with what happened in this scenario is that we have a much stronger low pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere. Why do we care about this? That means that we've got this extra kind of punch when it comes to those winds coming

down the mountain. So a lot of that influence gives us a lot of speed, a lot of o lot of when the winds are coming up over the mountains and then they come down and when you have just a little more of that going on in the upper levels the atmosphere. These winds are 80 to 100 miles per hour and the National Weather Service 24 hours in advance knew that this was going to be a destructive kind of wind event and we're prepared for this with the setup in the atmosphere. So this is what makes it so different. We also Willie had a couple of seasons where we had a with the setup in the atmosphere. So this is what makes it so different. We also, Willie, had a couple of seasons

where we had a lot of rain in this region. That means that the vegetation was growing at paces that we didn't see in previous years when we had those prolonged droughts across the state of California. So that now, of course, means that we've got lots of vegetation that eventually, as we're dealing with drought conditions in this season,

is now basically just fuel for all of these ingredients to come together and create basically the situation that we've seen. By the way, we've seen now more than 2000 structures damaged from this. So that not just makes it one of LA's most destructive, but we also have seen it enter the top five of California's most destructive in, you know,

when we're looking at the numbers of structures devastated. And still burning as we speak. All right, Angie Lassman, thanks so much. We'll be back to you this morning. We appreciate you talking us through that. Joining us now, the national spokesperson for the American Red Cross, Nicole Mall. Nicole, thanks for being with us on a difficult

and busy time for you there in Los Angeles. What are you all seeing and what efforts are you making to help? Well, being here right in Los Angeles, right at the center of all of the activities, I'm actually outside one of the shelters that the Red Cross has opened up. And for context, for anyone watching,

it's three in the morning right now here in Los Angeles. That means there are dozens of folks who have evacuated their home that are now having the chance to rest their heads. And hopefully for a moment, they can get well-deserved rest. You know, really during a time that's been quite chaotic, potentially traumatic for what they're facing, right? And so now these shelters are open to cross Los Angeles. And for anyone who is still in need of safe shelter,

I can't stress enough. Everyone is welcome at these shelters. And folks may never have thought that they've needed the Red Cross services, but I can tell you now's the time if you need a hand, we are here to help. So Nicole, we're hearing that hotels across the area are at capacity. We saw people literally yesterday having to just get out of their cars and traffic and start walking, being told by some police just go to the beach at least for starters. So what can people who do need shelter expect when they get to a Red Cross one? When they make it to a Red Cross shelter,

folks can come as they are. We know folks may be arriving in different states, and that's okay. So when you get there, you're going to meet some of the friendliest people around. These volunteers who are staffing these shelters are from the area. They've potentially been impacted themselves, especially from knowing from conversations I've had with fellow Red Crossers.

But these are the folks who are working day in day out, even in the middle of the night right now to help make sure folks are cared for, whether it's a warm meal, someone to talk to, a sense of community, and just knowing that someone has your back, I think that really goes a long way in addition to that safe shelter. So Nicole, can you tell us more, people who are watching at home who want to help,

what's the best way they can, whether they live in Southern California or not? Absolutely. Well, I would suggest there's two really prominent ways you can support folks. First, I would suggest there's two really prominent ways you can support folks. First, if you feel so inclined to supporting the American Red Cross in our disaster relief efforts, it's because of folks who've supported us financially in the past that we were able to mobilize so quickly to help the folks of Los Angeles. But you know, disasters can happen in any community,

and you might actually have a heart for this, right? you might be ready to roll up a sleeve and say I want to help my fellow neighbors during a time of uncertainty during a time of disaster and becoming a volunteer is a great path to do that and you can get started both ways at redcross.org. National spokesperson for the American Red Cross Nicole Mall. I know the people there so appreciate the work you're doing right now and we'll let you get back to it again. This is a good place to start if you're sitting at home and wondering how you can help somehow the Red Cross is a great way to do it. Nicole, thank you very much.

Let's go back to Dana Griffin reporting for us from Altadena, California this morning. So Dana, we're still a few hours there from sunrise, but we'll get a new look at some of the destruction wrought overnight. What are you expecting today in terms of fire and in terms of a response here? Well I think the response is still trying to put out fires in neighborhoods like this. You just missed it, there was a fire truck that came down this road. It stopped for a second. We thought maybe it was going to come down, but there are also power lines that are down that we can walk over just so you can see. These are some of the conditions which are possibly hampering those firefighting efforts because you've got these lines that are across the street. You've got a street light that is on the ground, like you can tell that this broke. This was likely during the windstorm

or possibly the fire that cut through this wooden pole. So they're still responding, but the fact that we're still seeing these torches, as I like to call them, almost at every single house, like this entire neighborhood is aglow. They haven't, usually you get the the gas company to come out shut those off But they haven't gotten to that step yet So that tells you that they are still in the active phase of this fire because they say the priority is first saving lives

Second property and a lot of these homes have burned down so there's not much that they can do but there are still some areas that need to be there's still some areas that need to be visited by the firefighters hopefully when the Sun comes up we get a better chance a better look at some of the areas where maybe there is the act of flame still happening I was watching our local affiliate KMBC and the only image that they had was at the Palisades fire But they could only see it from their chopper because it was burning in a remote area So it's very smoky in this area

So there is still some residual from the fires that rolled through here And the major concern right now is the air quality a lot of us are wearing Respirators or masks because this air is so dangerous and very toxic to breathe in. That's going to be a major concern. A lot of people are probably wondering when can I get back inside my home? When can I get to my neighborhood to see if my home is still standing? Those are questions that we always get during these fires, and there's never a timeline for when that will happen. It just depends on how quickly firefighters can mop up this fire and get it

under control and they also have to make sure the neighborhoods are safe for people to come back through and a lot of times they keep people out of the area for several days just because firefighters and trucks are coming up and down these roads constantly and having people in the way only inhibits their ability to continue to work on these fires. So again it's a very smoky mess out here and just kind of getting a look at the devastation I can't imagine what it was like for people who had to evacuate. And actually we'll walk over here because, Willie, there is a cat that is stuck inside this Jeep. This is one of the vehicles on this road that is untouched. And it was meowing a little bit.

Let's check on it to see if it's still there. I don't know if you can hear it. We're not hearing it anymore. Our producer Giselle put some bread, some water. Our photographer Sarkon went under there, tried to get the cat out. We heard it meowing and it was doing that for several minutes throughout the morning, even during some of our earlier live shots. We could hear it, but we're not hearing that cat right now.

It appeared to be injured according to our photographers so that's the other part of this devastating story so many people evacuated and did not have a chance to take their cats and many of them have died or are hiding in vehicles like this yeah people racing to get their their pets Dan and we want to get you and your crew to safety and get you out of some of that air right now. We so appreciate your reporting. We'll be back to you later in the morning. NBC News correspondent Dana Griffin live

in Altadena, California for us. Dana, thank you so much. John, we all know people. We've all got friends out there to the point that Dana was just making. We've got dear friends who grab their pets, grab their dogs, get some prescriptions. If there's a photo album, great. Otherwise, get out and are expecting the worst, haven't been allowed back in.

But at places like Pacific Palisades is all but burned to the ground. Some well-known people, Billy Crystal among them, reporting yesterday, he put out a statement that the home he and his wife have lived in since 1979 is now gone. Said all the memories of our kids, our grandkids, have taken place in that home. They can't take those memories away from us, but everything else is gone,

and he offered his great thanks and prayers for first responders. But this is just impacting so many people, and they're still trying to get under control this morning. Yeah, and there were a number of celebrities who said they lost their homes, John Goodman, Paris Hilton, among them, whether they are a boldface name or not, the idea of losing everything you have. And in a matter of minutes, this again, this is a fire, sort of small fire in someone's

backyard in the Pacific Palisades and exploded within hours to consume an entire neighborhood. And then we have seen these other fires, you hop, skip, the embers flying, surround LA County right now. It is extraordinary. And thankfully, there's a little break in the winds today that should help. We saw some remarkable footage last night,

particularly that sunset fire burning in the Hollywood Hills of these helicopters able to drop water and other chemicals on there that were able to suppress it somewhat. But it is a forever changed city right now. And at least two words we haven't said yet this morning, but we need to, is climate change. The extreme droughts, these extreme fires have become only that much more common in recent years. And there's no sign that that will abate anytime soon.

About a week ago I was in Arizona over Christmas break and a friend told me that there hadn't been any rain there in over a hundred days in the place we were at and that temperatures in the summer that it had been over a hundred degrees for over for months on end and what can we do to combat this and to keep people safe and to make the Los Angeles area and Southern California a safe place to live in light of all of these challenges? It's just heartbreaking. My best friend has left. All of my friends in LA have fled.

Her little sister's house in Brentwood on the edge got completely overtaken and is gone. In a heartbeat, these communities, the schools that children go to, everywhere that you've made your life, it's just gone. It's heartbreaking. It's hard to fathom. We should just know President Biden was in Southern California the last couple of days. He did leave yesterday. He had to cancel some events because of this fire. He did go thank some firefighters at a firehouse there in Santa Monica. There's obviously a major federal response to this. Also, President Biden was originally, after today's funeral for former President Carter,

was supposed to leave tonight for Rome. What would have been his final presidential trip, including an audience with the pope, he has now canceled that trip in order to stay back in the United States and to oversee the response to this terrible fire. The president approving a major disaster declaration for those fires and saying the federal resources in order to stay back in the United States and to oversee the response to this terrible fire. The president approving a major disaster declaration for those fires and saying the federal resources are there and that California has the support. More than 100,000 people evacuated these fires this morning, still burning.

The Palisades fire more than 17,000 acres, flattening to rubble. Pacific Palisades, the Eaton fire more than 11,000 acres, the Hearst fire and that sunset fire burning up into the Hollywood Hills appears to have been contained somewhat, but not completely. The fight continues this morning and we will be covering it all morning.

Also ahead on Morning Joe, the National Funeral Service for President Jimmy Carter will take place a bit later this morning at Washington National Cathedral. We'll tell you what to expect as the nation's 39th president is laid to rest. Morning Rio, back in 30 seconds. This is a live look at 630 in the morning at the Capitol Rotunda. Just a stunning shot from above there. President Jimmy Carter lying in state.

Just a few hours from now, Carter's casket will depart for Washington National Cathedral, where his funeral service is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern time. President Biden will deliver a eulogy there. Also in attendance, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, and all living former presidents. Let's bring in NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent from the east front of the Capitol, Julie Serkin. Julie, good morning. What are you expecting to see today? Good morning, Willie. Well, first of all, the crowds to pay tribute to Jimmy Carter are still streaming in.

The windchill is making it feel like nine degrees here. They've been coming overnight to pay tribute, to pay respect to the 39th president over the last two days since that emotional procession that we witnessed on Tuesday here at the east front of the Capitol. You see police and military units, the Navy band as well that just made its way into the Capitol. That is because in a couple of hours from now they will begin the moment of processing Jimmy Carter's casket in a hearse to the National Cathedral, the Washington National Cathedral, which has held funerals for many presidents in the past, including General—President Ford, Gerald Ford, who was a close friend

of Jimmy Carter's. In fact, his statue has been looking down at his casket here in the Capitol, as Carter's body has been lying in state here in the rotunda. They had a close bond. The son of Gerald Ford, Stephen Ford, will be paying tribute to Jimmy Carter. You mentioned that all five living presidents will be in attendance there. That is going to be a special moment, including President-elect Donald Trump, who paid tribute last night with Melania Trump to Jimmy Carter when he visited the Capitol.

And it was such a beautiful moment here on Tuesday, Willie, you know, all week, really, from Georgia to D.C. in his final trip here to Washington, just to see the family, the friends of Jimmy Carter and people who worked for him. On Tuesday, they actually followed his casket, as it was in the case in that military wagon coming up the hill from the Navy Memorial, which of course Jimmy Carter was famous for establishing. There was a law that he had signed establishing that memorial. He was of course a graduate of the Navy Academy. He was a lieutenant in the Navy as well and that was a really powerful moment because of course they

replicated the walk that Jimmy Carter and Rosalind Carter made in 1977 during his inauguration so so many unique tributes just dating back to his legacy as president especially his legacy in his post-presidential era and of course all of those moments were touched on by speaker Johnson and John Thune and Vice President Harris here behind me a couple of days ago. As you say President Carter will leave the Capitol for the final time around nine o'clock this morning and make his way to the Washington National Cathedral for a brief arrival ceremony at 9 30 and a funeral service at 10 o'clock this morning. NBC's Julie Serkin outside of Chile United States Capitol. Julie thanks so much. Joining us now is Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Senator, it's great to see you.

Thanks, Willie. What are your thoughts this morning as President Carter will be laid to rest tonight in Plains, Georgia? The outpouring of support for President Carter and what he stood for not only as a president, as a peanut farmer, capturing the nation's attention, winning the presidency out of nowhere, but also what he stood for after the presidency. I think it's astounding. You saw at the Capitol the Republican leaders, Senator Thune and Speaker Johnson, give beautiful remarks earlier this week.

And now you're going to see, as you noted, all five living presidents from President Bush and Clinton and Obama and Trump and Biden all there to pay tribute today. Jimmy Carter was a relentless force for good in our nation and the world. And I can't think of a better time of this divisiveness and what we're facing right now than trying to ground ourselves in the life of Jimmy Carter. Senator Klobuchar, good morning. You're right. A rare moment of bipartisanship in Washington there

as Republicans and Democrats alike unite to remember the former president. Tell us a little more about your personal connection to the Carter White House. You interned for then Vice President Mondale, a fellow Minnesotan, of course. Tell us some of those reflections, what that time meant to you.

Yeah, my first job in Washington, you know, thought I'd be meeting President Carter, which I got to do, but I did do the furniture inventory. But what I do remember is the relationship between him and Vice President Mondale, and then how that relationship continued after their presidency. It was Mondale's words that are emblazoned on the Carter Center in Atlanta. I got to visit there when I went to Plains and met with Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn, and those words said, we told the truth, we obeyed the law, we kept the peace. We told the truth, we obeyed the law, we kept the peace.

And I can't think of a better word and sort of a mantra for us to think about as we go forward. But when I met with them in Plains, and once I went to the Bible study and prayed with Jimmy Carter, and then on this other time went to his house and Rosalind made pimento cheese sandwiches, one of their favorites. And he related to me his own run for president. He said one of the reasons he picked Walter Mondo, among many, was that Walter Mondo had done the research and could say Rosalyn's name Rosalyn instead of Rosalyn, unlike some

of the other nominees. So his memory was incredible and his advice was always so good for so many candidates. I think it was Bob Dylan and I guess I'm thinking about Dylan because I love that movie, Complete Unknown, but he of course and other musicians spent a lot of time with Carter and in the interview at one of his rare interviews he said Carter was the kind of man you don't meet every day and that you're lucky to meet if you ever do. I think that pretty much sums it up.

Senator, President Carter made human rights the forefront and just a cornerstone of his foreign policy vision. How has his emphasis impacted foreign policy within American politics in the decades that followed his presidency? In a big way, you know, American policy, foreign policy has its moments, and there are moments that involve human rights and others that don't. But Carter looked at the world and said, you know, America should stand for being an economic power, yes, but also being a human rights power, because that's

what our democracy is based on, respecting people's rights and freedoms. And so you saw him elevate that. And I think you're still seeing it today. You see it with the bipartisan support that you saw against the actions of Vladimir Putin when he imprisoned journalists, including Evan, the Wall Street Journal journalist, when you see the action that's made to take on sanctions and other things against nations that are violating human rights. Again, we are not a perfect foreign policy, and sometimes there's other reasons that

intervene. But clearly, human rights is mentioned more and more and more and as a reason for siding with a country like Ukraine because of the violation of human rights by, in this case, Russia. By the way, Senator, you're representing Minnesota very well this morning with mentions of both Walter Mondale and Bob Dylan. Very impressive. Come on.

It's early, but I'm good. Should we get to the Vikings or are you okay as it is? They look pretty tough. Walter Mondale and Bob Dylan. Very impressive. Come on. It's early, but I'm good. Should we get to the Vikings or are you okay as it is? They look pretty tough. They look pretty tough. You get prints into the conversation, you will have hit the trifecta. So we'll see this bipartisanship today as we talked about. You have the five living presidents, ex-presidents there at the funeral, but shortly thereafter

it's back to business in Washington, as you know, and President-elect Donald Trump is calling on Republicans to pass his legislative policies, though it appears he doesn't really have a strategy for that. He did hold a closed-door meeting with Republican senators yesterday with their colleagues. President-elect calling for one big, beautiful reconciliation bill that tackles his top priorities on taxes, energy, and the border. A move House Speaker Mike Johnson supports, but Senate Republicans think that's going to be too tough to pass, suggesting instead two separate bills. Trump, for now though, appears to be staying out of the strategy debate.

Whether it's one bill or two bills, it's going to get done one way or the other. I think there's a lot of talk about two, and there's a lot of talk about one, but it doesn't matter. The end result is the same. We're going to get something done that's going to be reducing taxes and creating a lot of jobs and all of the other things that you know about. So, Senator, what's your take on how this is all going to play out? Your Republican colleagues in the Senate, appearing a little frustrated yesterday in their most polite terms possible because Donald Trump was there saying, this is going to be a little tough to do in one big, beautiful bill. How's this going to go?

Well, these bills, first of all, are never very big or beautiful, but I think they're just trying to practically get through the machinations of government and understanding there's some Republicans that have concerns about the debt and some of the proposals that the president-elect has made that would add to that debt. That being said, when he talks about results, results for who? Is it going to be results for regular people and Americans, like he promised in the campaign? Or is it going to be results, like we saw in those last tax cuts, that help the wealthiest, help them game the system, help them rig what's going on to help their

businesses or help themselves? That is where Democrats are going to really draw the line, because what we want to see is, yes, tax reform and relief for people, say, making under $400,000, but for the wealthiest people, if the past is any instruction and some of the things we're seeing out of the mouths of our Republican colleagues, there's going to be a whole bunch of stuff here that's going to set other people back and make it harder for them to get things like Social Security or housing or less expensive pharmaceuticals. And if they're ready to work with us on those kinds of things,

we're ready to find common ground. But we're going to draw the line if they're helping their wealthiest buddies to rig the system. You know, Senator, there's been so much talk since the election about a mandate for President Trump and that Republicans own Washington. They, of course, will control the White House, the House, and the Senate, but by very slim margins in both chambers.

So how are you approaching in less than two weeks from now this new administration, this new Congress? What do you think things will be like in Washington over the next couple of years? Well, I have good relationships, as you know, on both sides of the aisle. And I will, whenever possible, as I know Senator Schumer wants to do, our leader and others, is to find that common ground. We'd love to bring more housing, affordable housing in. So let's get some proposals and get it done.

Child care, let's get that done. Let's bring down health care costs. But some of the things we're seeing, including in the face of these nominees, right, where you've got Kash Paltel saying that he wants to close down the FBI headquarters when we just had an incredibly tragic attack in New Orleans or cyber attacks happening every single day. He wants to turn it into a museum and be on a revenge agenda. That doesn't keep people safe.

And so as we look at these nominees, and I'm sure we'll support some of them, but we're going to look at them and say, are they able, do they have the ability to do this job, does their background check out ethically? And then finally, are they going to be committed to the American people? So I think you're going to hear a lot of the work done on looking at these nominees, because our job is advice and consent. Under the Constitution, we take an oath to support and defend it, and that means making sure that the people who are in place that are making major, major decisions for our

country are able to do the job, up for the job, and have a mission consistent with the American people's. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Senator, we always appreciate your time. Thank you. And thank you for focusing on these horrific fires in Los Angeles. I literally, it is apocalyptic and you think about all the lives changed forever and those that have been lost and our brave firefighters. So I appreciate your coverage. Well said. It is breathtaking. We're gonna get back to that coverage in just a moment.

Thanks, Senator. Coming up, we are learning more about Donald Trump's mass deportation plan. NBC News correspondent Julia Ainsley will join us with her exclusive reporting on the action the incoming administration may take soon after Trump's inauguration. Plus, we will return shortly to Southern California, covering the wildfires as they continue to burn this morning with more than 100,000 people now evacuating. Morning Joe is coming right back. But as Democrats, their identity now as a party post-election, we'll find out if they're still clinging into that open border policy. Why are you talking about an identity crisis?

The Republican conference is filled with marauding bands of individuals who can't stand each other. And Democrats, as far as I can tell, are unified in our determination to make life better for the American people. Marauding bands. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hitting back yesterday after Speaker Mike Johnson accused Democrats of struggling with party identity after the 2024 election, not really knowing what it is.

Meanwhile, NBC News has exclusive reporting that the incoming Trump administration is actively considering carrying out a high profile raid targeting undocumented immigrants in the D.C. area. Three people familiar with the discussions reveal the raid could take place within days out a high-profile raid targeting undocumented immigrants in the DC area. Three people familiar with the discussions reveal the raid could take place within days of Trump taking office to send a message. Joining us now, one of the reporters who broke the story, NBC News Homeland Security correspondent Julia Ainslie.

Julia, good morning. So what more can you tell us about what the Trump team is considering here? Well, Willie, of course nothing is final yet, but we know that they're in discussion to try to figure out what resources they have to carry out workplace raids in the D.C. area. That could be in Maryland, D.C. proper, or in Northern Virginia. They could target a number of sectors. They're looking at things like agriculture, hospitality, and health care.

This is to carry out what would be a shock and all first operation, and it could be done, Willie, as soon as the inauguration day. This is because, of course, the incoming president campaigned on making this the largest deportation operation in American history, and he wants something to show for it when he comes into office. But workplace raids are historically very expensive and logistically difficult. They take a long time to plan so that when ICE barges into a workplace and starts arresting people who they suspect to be living and working in the U.S. illegally, they know exactly who

they're arresting and they don't make mistakes. So some current officials have spoken to say they actually worry about the risk here if they try to take an action like this too early. So Julia, we've heard from Tom Homan, who is going to be Trump's border czar or immigration czar, whatever the title is exactly, who has said we are going to target criminals, harden criminals first, that it's going to be a very difficult task to deport as Donald Trump has promised some 11 million people here illegally. But how does that work exactly?

What does that look like as a practical question? Well, Willie, I think this reporting shows that they can't only target, they can only arrest the people who are the biggest threats. If they're looking at workplace raids, for example, most of the people who would be working in those places wouldn't be these hardened criminals that they want to go after. And if they're going to do a big sweep like that, of course they're going to be picking up people who have committed no other crime other than being in this country and working here without authorization.

These could be families. There could be fathers who are deported, whether children or at school, when you're talking about a workplace raid. Now, we do know that there are over 400,000 people on ICE's non-detained docket. That means they're at large in the United States. Some of them could be serving time in prison who do have criminal convictions of some kind.

So obviously they would want to start looking at that population. There are also people who already have final orders of deportation. They've exhausted all of their remedies for asylum or any other kind of benefit. And they were told by a judge to leave the country. That's who they want to target.

But this kind of discussion really illuminates the fact that there is also a very strong voice within the incoming administration to say, cast the net as wide as you can and boost those deportation numbers, Willie. Yeah, this was a key promise of Donald Trump during the campaign. It looks like he wants to deliver on it right away. Julia, you talked to the current ICE director about the Biden administration's handling of the immigration issue. What did he tell you?

Yeah, Willie, this was a really surprising and candid interview. This is outgoing acting ICE director P.J. Lechleitner, who sat down with me and told me about some of the frustrations. He thinks that the current administration could have been more transparent and forthcoming on the immigration issue, and frankly, that Biden may have taken action too late to solve the border crisis. This is someone who's been with DHS since its inception. He's a 30-year career in law enforcement, served Republicans and Democrats.

I think some of his remarks here are really enlightening. Take a listen. We saw millions of immigrants come across the border and I know you're not focused on the border, but you're focused on the ramifications of that. We're related to it. Sure. A lot of that came down.

Those numbers drastically fell, especially starting in June when the new executive action went into place. Do you think that Biden should have taken that action earlier? Yes. Why? Yes. Absolutely, yes, he should have. The administration should have taken that action earlier.

And I think the career people in DHS would have liked that. And all of us in DHS, quite frankly, I don't know if anybody in DHS wouldn't have wanted that earlier. Maybe there's some counselors here or there that don't like this kind of stuff, but law enforcement is always going to be on that side where we want some tighter controls. Because for a while there, you remember, it was 10,000 plus. Biden had an exit interview this week where he was asked about his regrets and he did not mention the border.

Does that surprise you? No, it doesn't surprise me, but it's unfortunate because I think we could have done more. What specifically? We could have put more resources to it, either at CBP and for the border itself and with ICE and we could have went and tried to get more of these individuals who are in the non-detained docket and we could have detained more people and we could have removed more people. And I think we could use more resources and support. We could have done that in the last four years.

Is it possible to increase your number of deportations under your current resources? Under our current resources, no, because we're basically at, like I mentioned before, we're burning hot. We're at maximum resource capacity. At this point, we're going to need more money and resources to increase. And with more money and resources, we can increase detention. We can increase removal operations. Listen, there's still a whole immigration process, so people have to go through and either get, you either get, you go through and get some benefit that comes out of it

and asylum, you name it, or your order removed. And it has you go through the immigration proceedings and go through there. But with more resources, with more money, we can do more. So a very candid conversation. We should say that was Lech Leitner speaking from his own opinions. That's not the view of this administration. And we're reaching out to the White House for comment.

But what this shows is that for a lot of people who are career DHS, there was some frustration and really a thinking that they were doing a lot of work that wasn't being recognized because, at least in Lech Leitner's opinion, the Biden administration wasn't doing more. And also to talk about it, and also when you talk about those resources, that's when he's looking at a new administration who's promising mass deportations. He says unless they have more money, it's really not possible.

A fascinating interview because you have an ICE director saying now publicly to you, Julia, what we've heard privately from them for several years. NBC News Homeland Security correspondent Julia Ainsley. Julia thanks so much for bringing it to us we appreciate it and we should point out Elise that border apprehensions are at lows not seen since in the Trump administration right now but too little too late for a lot of people including for the electoral hopes of Democrats. And only after the June executive order. And that interview from Julia with the ICE director was really revealing because he wasn't holding back and saying he was dissatisfied with what they had

accomplished. He felt that more could have been done. He thought the rules were too lax and he thought that, you know, asylum became a good opportunity, in fact, for migrants crossing the border. And that, I think, in and of itself is quite an interview that says everything about the 2024 election. And there's no doubt there's been a lot of second guessing on the political side of this, that the Biden team should have acted sooner on the border, you know, and that they didn't do enough to promote the idea that it was the Republicans who scuttled

the bipartisan bill over the summer. And that, as we turn the page to the incoming Trump administration, I mean, Julia's terrific reporting there lines up what we've heard about these detention camps are going to build outside major cities, you're going to have some high profile raids. The question is, do they just target hardened criminals? Well, it sounds like maybe not. If they're going to go after workplaces, and if they're going to do these deportations at these massive numbers, it's gonna change American society in some ways and

that could trigger a real protest movement. We'll have to see if they try to pair it with some border measures as well, the same measures they voted down over the last few months. The new Trump administration promising to start here in the next couple weeks as soon as they get into office.