♪ host: good morning. it is tuesday, january 2. the house and senate meeting

today fothe first, the new year. we're asking for the new year's message to lawmakers on the president. what issues do you want washington to take owhat do you want washington to take on? -- take on what do you hope congressill take on? democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can send us a text at (202) 748-8003. if you do include your name and where you are from. catch up with us on social media. on twitter or x, @cspanwj. on facebook at facebook.com/cspan. a good tuesday morning to you. call in with your message to washington in the new year. here are some issues before congress in the early months of 2024, including the upcoming government funding deadline.

funding for military, veterans programs, agriculture, agencies and transportati and urban development. that runs out on january 19. finance expires for the state department, defense department, commerce, labor, health and human services among others on february 2, just 17 days until the first of thpartial government shutdown. also on the list of congress's dues, border security. the biden administration asked for the emergency aid package totaling $110 billion, including $61 billion for ukraine, $14 billion for israel, $14 billion for border security. congress also taking up the impeachment inquiry, the formal vote formalized the inquiry happened at the end of 2023. the investigations continue in various house committees. those of the issues before

congress in the early days and weeks of 2024. we are asking what your message to washington is in the new year. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. we will get right to it. danny lling from denver on the line for democrats. good morning. caller: happy new year. host: what is your message to washington? caller: i thi the president should implement a crisis on the price of gas as a matter of national security. the world is a war right now. nixon implement it a price freeze back in the 1970's. i think the president should be able to come up with a price for gas that is profitable for the oil companies and what is best for the country as far as keepin our national security

and keeping the supply chain flowing. host: what does a gallon of gas cost you in denver? caller: right now it is about $2.50. it was $3.50 last year but started dropping. about two dollars 75 cents would be the perfect price to freeze gas at sot is profitable for the company's. a couple of refineries should be built somewhere strategically around the country to give the price of gas down. what corporate america has to do is realize if they don't make joe biden look better by bringing inflation down and making him look better of the two choices we will have we will get stuck with trump. corporate america has to realize this and make biden look better. they are the one to control how good the president looks. in ukraine, we should have given them air force planes and superior and they would've had the war knocked out a long time ago. they don't have air superiority.

i don't know if they have airplanes over there. have we given them airplanes were not? host: that is danny in denver. the editorial in the washington post. russia's deadly new salvos are challenging congress to respond, noting that the wave of bombs and missiles unleashed on friday was one of the largest aerial attacks on ukraine since russia's invasion 22 months ago. ey write to mr. putin's latest destructive salvo for congress in the white house to buck down and strike a compromise that will allow aid to ukrai and israel and a package othe southern border. the total is a small fraction of the u.s. economic output but a sible investment in ukraine's survival which is an investment in deterring wider aggression by russia and others. the lead editorial in today's washington post. nick in indiana. what is your message to congress

and the white house? caller: my message is i would like to see congress,he house passed some kind of bill to get to t senate and the president on immigration. it seems to me like all they do is complain, complain, complain. they have not passed -- done much of anything that i ca see. takes all three branches of government to find a cure for this immigration problem. host: victor -- which party is better on immigration? caller: i don't think either one is doing good to tell you the truth. i think they are just going to have to have a limit. you ve to have a limit on each

country. if there were a lot of people coming from venezuela, you can't let everybody from venezuela in and not let anybody in for most lly or somewhere around there. -- not let anybody in from australia or somewhere around there. host: former president trump making immigration one of the key aspects of his campaign. a new ad featuring the immigration issue released just before the new year from the trump campaign. [video] >> while the world burns joe biden has created a violent threat in our own backyard. biden's open border opened flood gates and raises the possibility of a hamas attack. president trump our borders secured and held to it again by building even more walls and

stopping people from terrorist countries from ever entering. >> i'm donald trump and i approve this message. host: a trump campaign address before the newear. we are asking for your new year's message to washington, asking you to call on the phone lines as usual. democrats, republicans, independents. gary from virginia. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i'm an old-time republican so i think a of us at c-span should show congress how to lead the way. we ought to do something that is common sense. everybody should call the 800 number on the milk and juice carton and tell them to get rid of the plastic cap on top. it's a waste of high quality plastic. it's an impediment to easy living. if your fingers are wet, you

have to get up flyers. if you break the safety seal ring, you have to punch it out with needle nose -- host: you think that is something everybody can agree on? caller: i think it is. we ought to call the 800 number and tell them to go back to the old way where you pulled the ears back and popped out the center of the jug and have a perfect spout. it saves you time. host: got your point, gary. gary on the milk issue. julian mississippi, democrat. -- julie in mississippi, democrat. what is your message to washington in the new year? caller: every countryn the world outside of america chooses a prident. we are all supposed to follow him. one country under god that we swear to. i think we don't do that.

we are not supposed to be one party against the other. that is not right for the country to be led likehat because the country cannot std. if the repubcans don't respect the democrats. we need to come tother as one union, because we are the best couny in the world. we are falling apart. even russia, like putin, his people don't go against him. every country in the world,he leader is chosen to lead the country at that time, they respected. we are the only disrespectful untry in the whole wide world. we are in for a fall. host: chris, kansas city, missouri. independent. caller: good morning. i started out as a republican. i'm now an independent.

that happened because of the distraction of the values that defined assess republicans. they got back to one thing all created equal requires a font to practice civil rights, i have to honor my neighbor as having eal civil rights. what i'm arguing for is the president needs to talmore about what american values really are. we have the heart of a parent wards her country, towards our children, towards our neighb. we practice forgiveness and repentance as skilled social and political skills f a be able to just to have a neighbor to be able have a country, to be able to have a citizen. i would like the president to talk about the family values that defined ameri, which are values that say we care about our count. we care about go we care about our neighbor.

we practice that in such aay that the civil rights that we have we share with one another and we do not get reduced to rhetoric the way it is used right now. if wlook atrump, he is the antichrist. he's e opposite of what we need. we need to getack to the values of america. host: who was the last prident who talked about the values of america in your mind? call: to be honest with you i have not got one in recent history. i'm 75 years old. that really disappoints me. i have written five books. the last was restored to family values. i'm calling for america to recognize the leeway weave a country where civil rights can be shared is when we recognize all are equal and we have to share those with each other. that means we share that heart. we make the space in conversation and o politics.

our president needs to speak to those values that can bring us back together rher than emphasizing all the differences that we have and the problems we have. we need to find common solution to engad other and reason with each other in a diffent way that can produce possible solutions that are not available now. host: that is chris and kansas city. tom out of broken arrow, guam. good morning -- broken arrow, oklahoma. good morning. caller: i think all these immigrants that are eligible that are coming across the border should be put into the military for a couple of years rather than on welfare. we can help our country by doing that. we can keep it as a separate military if you need to. just to have them pay their price. that is all they have to say. thank you very much. host: al in bakersfield, california. independent.

caller: i don't think ere is a solution for the political problems in the country. a few decades ago we had the marshall plan. we supported the entire economieof western europe. now we can barely support our own economy. host: we need a new marshall plan is what you're saying? caller: no. i think there is no solution. we -- back then we had low taxes, low deficit. now we have moderate taxes and we c barelsupporour ow economy. host: y are fm bakersfield, california. is kevinccarthy your congressman? caller: i believe so. host: what d you think of kevin mccarthy? ller: i don't really have an opinion on him. i'm glad he gotemoved. i think he was milquetoast. host: this is leroy in baltime.

good morning. caller: good morning. it's a tricky question. let me give a quick example. ion't think we are ever going to come together, both sides. we have distand ourselves so far apart. you see the movies. an alien comes to earth. all of a sudden we are all the same race. we are human beings. we speak together. outside of something extreme like that we are never going to come together. it takes a disaster to actlly bring us together. it's terrible to say but that's the way i feel. host: alien invasion is the only thing that brings the country together? caller: it has to be something dramatic. let's say there's a national earthquake and the earth is going to split in half. then we are all united because we are tryg to figure ouhow to stop this. on a normal basis it is rare for

us all to come together. has to be somhing extreme to bring us together. extreme. host: th is leroy out of baltimore. jim in north carolina, republican. caller: how are you doing tod? host: what is your message to washington in the new year? caller: i understand the question. i just wanted to say hello to you. my message free democrats is quite simple -- for democrats is quite simple. people are rejecting all these leftist policies and theories about this, that, and the other thing they are coming up with. i really hope they understand that. a couple of years ago before the red wave they did not come, i was on the bandwagon for that. i was a little bit ahead of the curve. republicans, my simple message to them would be keep doing what

you're doing in congress. all this -- these issues that we have in our country, they need to be exposed. i realize that democrats are never going to get on board with trump. tds. it is that simple. i mean, i'm not sure i believe everything about the polls. just simple attacks on the man. he has not been convicted of anything. anything. they keep spewing lies. my message is, how about live in the world where you operate on truth? that is both parties. dependents, whoever. how about we live on what the

truth is? that is all i have to say. have a great day. host: you thought there was going to be a red wave in 2022. caller: we spoke about it. you brought up a question about -- you questioned me about, well, it was kind of along these lines. host: what is the lesson for republicans as we go into 2024? you were nothing lewin who thought there would be a red wave in 2023. -- 2022. caller: just keep doing what you're doing. i believe it is working. i think there will be a change in this country in the next election. i'm looking forward to it. host: jim in north carolina. 7:20 on the east coast. asking you for your message to

washington in the new year. asking you today as the house ansenate get set to meet in pro forma sessions. the house will be coming in at 9:00 a.m. eastern. we will go there briefly at 9:00 a.m. to show you theavel to gavel coverage on c-span. afterwards, we are back on the washington journal for our final hour. we ask for your message to washington, a reminder of some of the key jua dates facin not only washington but the presidential candidates as we. january 4, later this week on thursday, the deadline for the supreme court to intervene in that 14th amendment case in colorado the decision treo remove former president trump from th primary ballot january 9, arguments scheduled in the d.c. circuit court of appeals on the former president's community claims when it comes to federal election interference cas.

on january 10, the gop primary debate in des moines ahead of the caucuses there. january 11, closing arguments set in the former president's civil fraud trial. the 15th of janua, the iowa caucuses take place. the 16th, the trial begins in e. jean carroll's second lawsuit for defamation. a primary debate in new england, new hampshire, ahead of the new hampshire primary on january 23. a lot to talk about this month and in the coming weeks. as we start out the new year we are asking you your message to washington in 2024. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. 02) 748-8001 for republicans. independts, (202) 748-8002. also looking forour text messages and social media posts. david in baton rouge on the line

for democrats. caller: hello? host: go ahead, david. caller: i'm trying to figure out what's going on with government benefits. i'm a 17-year veteran. i can't get -- can barely get out of my bed. i stilcan't receive benefits. they are spending l this money -- what is going on with the world. them animals killed the country. -- the man almost killed the country. what are y'all doing? host: rich in texas, independent. caller: good morning. i think we should attack entitlement reform because i

think it is the office of management and budget that has said that regardless of which party is in charge that we are going to have $2 trillion a year in deficit spending for the next 10 years. that will take us over $50 trillion in debt. we really need to save sial security and medicare before it gets right up to the deadline. that is my messageoday. host: it's a big question but how do you save social security and medicare? what is the answer here? caller: well, i think we cover too many experimental drugs and so forth with medicare. we are bankrupting that system. the other thing is with social security i think we need to ise the cap. eliminate the cap and that will

help to alleviate the problem. the social security problem is not as serious as the medicare problem. host: medicare and medicaid account for about $1.5 trillion in spending. that is in this year's spending by the u.s. federal government. social security, about $1.4 trillion. $835 billion on defense. those numbers from u.s. debt clock. the national debt just shy of $34 trillion. thiss thomas inhode island, republican. caller: good morning. how are you? host: doing well, thomas. caller: basically i'm calling because i look around me and i see how americans are livin

i see how the influx of illegals coming across the border and i'm dismayed of the fact that president biden seems to be from other world. he does not seem to be aware of what is happening. i would like to give an example picture a beautifu day. you are on a lake. you are in a boat. you are out there fishing. you hit an obstruction under the water. your boat begins to take on water. the first thing you do is you throw down your fishing pol you turn your boat around, he

headed towards the shore and you pray to god that you will make it. button biden -- but in biden's case, his boat hits an obstructiounder the water. water begins to pour into his boat and he just sits there and continues to fish until finally his boa goes underwar. host: what is thebstruction that the ss biden has hit? caller: the obstruction is from the standpoint of y obstruction, but i think the reaction -- the reaction is that president biden has reached a pinnacle in hisolitical career where many times he's giving a presentation on stage and he

oks like a lost soul. he does not know his left from his right. he does not know left. his up from his down. we have to look at that and say enough is enough, president biden. do not expect to get reelected for another four years. that is my presentation. host: that is thomas in rhode island with his advice. here is some of your comments from social media on this question, your messageo washgton in the new year whever viewers says do more drug prevention. vertise more on the horrific effects of drug addiction and stop the millions of illegals crossing our border. pey says quit stealing from taayers. it iawful. the taxes this old woman is

paying. i have to work it almost age 70 to be able to survive and then you steal from me. mike says and citizens united. st the freedom to vote act. jason says prices are too damn h igh. no more wars that go for proxy wars and end the two-party duopoly. we will also look at text messages at (202) 748-8003. your calls as well. grover at a virginia, democrat -- out of virginia, democrat. caller: good morning. how are you? happy new year to you. host: same to you. caller: i don't understand these people seem to get amnesia. trum on that hd close the border. mexico would pay for it. ele think he did was build

a little bit of wall down there. he sent one of his goons down there and thle all the money. how long are they going to live wis guy? his -- his niece tells us what he'sut and they don't listen to her. he will bring his children and the government and help than steel. they always talk about hunter biden and a few million dollars, but they don't say anything about trump's son-in-law who got $2 billion. at happened to that? that man is a thief and a liar and a racist. host: that is grover -- caller: and in virginia, he got

all these charges against him. he could not be a police officer and not a leader of the whole country. host: grover on the topic of the former president. peace the subject of congresswoman debbie dingell's column today in the new york times. the member of the house for michigan for how to stand up to donald trump. this is what she writes in her column. "mr. trump's disrespect and prejudice and name-calling and the malice swept aside as has calling it as sees it makes healthy debate and discussion virtually impossible. congress needs coming together. government should not be about who can make the most noise. 's about working together to findolutions. t mr. trump is doi is not honesty or candor. it is ruthlessnd deliberate viciousness." congresswoman debbie dingell today in the new york times. this is lorin north carolina,

independent. caller:ood morning. i have a brief quote from thomas jefferson and benjamin franklin that i would like to read to you. this is for all of congress. "we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. that they are endowed by their creator withertain and a-level rights. among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it and institute new government. laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to affect

their safety and happiness. but when a lg train of abuses and usurpations pursuing an variability -- an variability designed to reduce them under absolute depth is him, it is their right and duty to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security." host: july 4, 1776. what lessons should congress take from the declaration? caller: i think that it is the right that they are not -- they are not governing the people in a proper manner. therefore losing a lot of the consent of the governed. that they have committed multiple abuseand usurpations.

that they have used their absolute nepotism -- despotism against them. host: who is they? congress? caller: the congress, yes. congress passes laws. congress passes -- ey ps bills. they pass aid to foreign countries at the expense of the american people. we the american people are just not being heard. host: unlike king george, we get to vote on congress every two or six years depending on the chamber. why do you tnk people keep getting elected? caller i just don't think the american people are educating themselves as to what these people a doing.

the definition of insanity is to keep voting the same people in over and over and over again and expect a different result. host: that is lori in north carolina. elijah from hilton head, south carolina. democrat. caller: how are we doing? host what is your message to congress? caller: happy new year to the congress, the president and all. get to work. stop messing up the country. stop stealing, stop lying. be rea do what john f. kennedy said. ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. right about now they are destroying the country. china and every other country is payi attention. it is not their fault that congress will not do their job. they want to be obstructionists. one site is about everything.

reblicans in congress, nothing gets done. when it's a republican president, nothing gets done. the same thing with joe biden with barack obama. people that help the country they want to destroy because they are not in favor. it is all about the rich and the greedy and forget the needy. the problem is that. host: eliza and south carolina. from t shores of lake huron. caller: thank you so much for taking my call. ok. i have been watching u guys for years. i'm a first time caller. i study a lot of history. what i'm saying that needs to be done -- when the republicans get controof the house theneed to file bankrupy to th

federal reserve and all these international bankers that control and own it. that is basically what needs to be done. file bankruptcy. get all these trillions of dollars. host: when republicans get control ofhe house -- they are in control right now. are you talking about election 2024? caller: 2024. it is going to be a landslide trump is going to win by a landslide. that is what i see. all these immigrants that are flooding, we will be in a war. who is going to feed them? they have no money, no jobs. ey will be coming to people's houses and all these guns that we have we will have a war here. host: vern in michigan on the u.s. senate in 2024 and the

battle for t senate. level 3 journal looking ahead saying republicans -- the wall street journal looking kid saying republicans are well-positioned to retake the senate. e manin's retirement opened west virginia up to republicans. governor jim jusce expected nominee. the fight for the senate likely to come down to the states of ohio and montana. democrats sharad brown and jon tester running for reelection and facing tough reelection battles. a varro nearly split sena again. dan in phoenix, independent. good morning. caller: i'm calling you from my hospital bed here. i should be out of here today. if you hear a beep or an interruption. my message to washington would be to declare at the tot --

that's not --detante on these handful of issues we have been beating each other up for decades now. we have not moved the needle in either direction in convincing the american people to change their minds. i'm thinking of abortion. thking of tax rates. i'm thinking of, you know, gun safety legislation. we do not agree on tse things. it is very clear, yet there are many things we do agree on. there are many issues or we have 70% or 80% agreement. we need to address some of these issues. we need to focus on those for little bit and set aside those issues that are 50-50ivided for the last 30, 40 yea. a couple of issues i can think of that would match that would

be cybersecurity. i hear daily from elderly people that theare beg hacked. facebooks are being hacked. their social security numbers are being stolen. you have to pay private security firms to make sure your identity does not get stolen. you have to pay private security firms to make sure it does not get stolen. if you get your instagram or facebook account hacked and your personal data is leaked, there is no police. there is no law enforcement agency you can call. a third would be repealing outdated or ineffective laws. we has spent the last 50, 75 years, 100 years just enacting new laws.

you think there might be a few laws that need to be repealed th we can agree on at outdated, ineffective. edation. host:hat isn outdated law, dan? ller: an outdated law? i would like to say any law congress passes should have a sunset clause. without naming a few off the top of my head, i can guarantee there are thousands at have passed that don't get revisited. civieducation. gettinpeople to understand american history, to know american history, to want reserve this country because they know something about it. partnering with an organization like braver angels that are committed to unity in this country. maybe partnering with them and

congress to sit down and do a workshop and get people to understand how to listen to each other and empathize with one another. they don't have to agree on abortion. you don't have tagree gun rights. you don't have to agree on tax rates. can you release understand where the other person is coming from? that would be my west itch -- message to washington. host: you are calling from the hospital. this health care costs fall under that 70% agreement or divisive issues? ller: th's under th agreement. i spent o nights in the hospital. we all know my bill is probably going to be $14,000, 20,000 dollars fotwo nights in the hospital. that' crazy. the answer to that problem is that it is partly that the government is toonvolved in

health care. the are monopoly intests that are driving up the costs. there's a handful of people getting rich while americans have $90 billion worth of health care on theicredit cards. we are sending $100 billion to ukraine to fight their war. we have to spend thousands of dollars to spend a night in the hospital. that is pretty strange. st: y mentioned the las one. four and eight specificay to ukraine -- forei aid specifically to ukrainin israel. decisive issues or agreement? caller: although we have foreign inrests d there are some situations we should be providing foreign aid when we can, if you can explain to the make and their fellow citizens arufferingnder mounting

debt bause they cannot afford the cost and you puthat into perspective, these large figes of money, these tens of llions and trillion of dollars, is hard to comprehe for a lot of americans. if you can put it in that context that this is health care debt, not just foolish behavior. this is health care debt. i think it does become -- righ now ukraine is a divisive issue. you need to put in context. dublin eight -- illuminate the health care debt of americans. that would be a better creditor. i think he would become a 70%-80% issue. host: thanks for that call from phoenix. we hope you are out of the hospital soon. talk to you further down the road. that is dan. th is bill in diana, democr. caller: good morning. host: go ahead si

caller: my complaint is weon't have democracy and we never will because newt gingrich -- we ner had campaign finance reform and term limits. we have the best government money can buy and the have the filibuster. that is where democracy is. it's on mitch mcconnell's desk. they will not vote because if they show their trueolors they will not get reelected. thats we have 80-ye-old white guys running the senate. we need toake up and realize fox news is the hanoi jane. it is like rupert murdoch. he's not even american. he is poisoning the minds of americans. we are in a sad scenario here and things are not going tget better. that is all i need to say. ank you. host kat from new york, republican. just about5 minutes lefin this segment asking for yo message to washington in the new year. caller: good morning.

i'm from wethersfiel i would love it they can stop lying. that would be what i would ask for. about everything. inflation is not going down. the rate may be going down but it is gas fighting to save his goingown because you think you pay ls. so many her subjects like the border. the borders not sealed. there is an existential threat. so much lying going on. i would love to only have them tell us the truth. host: who was the last politician who told the whole truth and nothing but the truth? caller: i don't think any ever have. at is what it is my fanta statement of washingn. host: that is kathy from wethersfield, new york. mary, north carolina, independent. good morning. are you with us?

thomas in kentucky, democrat. good morning. ller: y. i would like -- mysf. you sure don't geit from trump. he lied about paying for the porn star. he lied about the russians. it'ridiculous. people can see all this going on and nobody says nothing about it. he says he wants to be a dictator for a deck. most dictators start out for day. why anybody sits back and listens to this matell all these lies and that's it. he is putin's puppet and has been since day one. how these people sit back and listen to the lies and take over this meant, he acts like a

maniac. how inhe world can you sit back and watch this? they are ashamed of him because they driving vehicles with blacked out faces. they back a -- you are going to call that a stng meant? -- man> this -- man? host: juan from texas. caller: i want people to know if we don't go back to changing electi laws we will never have our country back. it is just a mess. you look at the election when you go vote and by the end of the night somebody has found 300,000, 400,000 votes somewhere. i live in a democrat stronghold. a democrat area for over 100

years. never public it could ever win in this area -- no republican could ever win in this area. now people have moved to the republican party. politicians go to washington and don't do their job anymore. they become friends with the politicians that have been up there for a long time. they are just lookg at all these programs and all the money, where it's at. that's what i'm going to do for me, not for the country. we have got to go back to voter id. we have got to go back to when you go to bed you find out who got elected for the different positions in our country. we go on and move forward. host: when do you think we shld do mail-in ballots in this country? caller: we should not use them. that is something that ivery dangerous. there's a lot of corruption with the mail-in ballots. you don't really know who did it

and how many people did it. i'm not in favor of mail-in ballots. you should go and vote in person, present your id and you would have we used to do it. there should be more accountability. host: there are some states that haven't using mail-in ballot inc. for years -- balloting for years? should they stop using it? caller: i think they should because it has gotten out of hand. on the border, i do a job or i have to punch in a code to get the other side of the border. we have a pump on the river. we pump wateinto a district where i live. i do a job with that company where i have to visit the border once in a while. there is a border wall in parts. i think the border wall was something that needed to continue. i live about 15 miles from the border towns and it's getting bad.

we used to hear about it in el paso. we used to heaabout it further up in arizona. now it is getting down into south texas. i recently read an article where i believe george soros has pumped $100,000 into the democratic party of south texas. south texas is turning red. there are a lot of people in my family, about 30 people voted republican this past election. some of them had never voted before. my mother, the less president she voted for was clinton. after clintonhe never voted for nobody. she moved from one county to another so she had to reregister to vote. she had not for probably over 20 years. we have seen were people are fed up. we are looking at it. it is not just democrats. it is republicans like mitch mcconnell and these people. the elite is what i call them. they have taken over this

country. together witforwarders. they are -- with foreigners. they are trying to turn us into a third world country. a lot of people are happy with getting up and going to work and getting their starbucks coffee. they are trying -- we are one of the less countes in the world that has armed citizens. if you look at the other citizens that have disarmed their citizens, they have lost all their rights. that is where we are headed. host: juan in santa rosa, california. on the election integrity issue. i want to point out the shington times. there piece -- their piece calling on states not to ignore election integrity. the actions for main areas based on the lessons othe 2020 election. they want stateso clean voter rolls. three years ago, states conducted checks to make sure

only eligible people could cast votes. states like florida and iowa and north carolina have taken steps to right this wrong. election officials should check voter rolls against local state and federal databases on an annual basis up to 90 days before an election. every state should enact that policy sowell eligible voters are caught before election day. secure the ballots. the explosion in absentee voting has created loophole in voter id laws. they don't require absentee voters to prove identity. a handful of states including georgia, missouri, ohio, and texas have closed the loophole but most have not. fewer than 10 states includi arkansas, missouri, ohio have either prohibited dr boxes are required they be placed in government offices or other secure locations. since 2020, a further six states suchs north carolina have acquired all absentee or mail-in ballots be received by election date. every state should take up those policies to prevent tampering

with ballots. if you want to read more that is today's washgton times. time f a couple more calls. lesshan 10 minute left in is first segment. asking for your message to washington in the w year ben in woodstock, connecticut. ller: good morng. thanks for taking myall. i wod like to say leroy in maland, u are right on. the guy in michigan, all tt stuff has been done. that is what we are going through now. the main thing we could is to resubmit or reinforce or whatev you want to call it, they said under obama they took that out. that was to do with propaganda to the american people. ey were not supposed to tell you ppaganda. obam took that out and now that is all you hear.

anher thg theyught to do is to break apart all the news stations, like they did with at&t. you can go all over the country and you hear the same thing. only six people own all the new statns in the world. that would solve lot of the problems. host: ted in florida on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. my message to washington, congress and senate, is that stay on message. what is your policy? it is all about policy. to me every congressperson -- they are good people in there that really want to deal with policy. they need to get out and talk about things like voters rights. things like women's rights.

things about all kinds of different policies. i think for one thing that i would really like for them to do is get on more media. i don't see a lot of people getting on media unless they get on favoritism media. get on tiktok. get on facebook. get on everything and preach your message for your policies that you believe in. help the american people. that is my message to them. get on policy. this is what we need. if you are against or for immigration, you know, just do that. if you are for anything that has to do with migration, talk about it. solve the problem. that is what you are there for, this all -- to solve problems. forget the politics. host: cornelia out of idaho.

caller: good morning. i would like to ask -- exceeds cuse me -- congress and the president to remember their roots. remember god who created them. the honest and be truthful to the american people. it just seems like politics here. people in congress and the fed and the presidency are there to enrich themselves. they go to congress with an average income and they are there for years. they come out multimillionaires, including past presidents like mr. obama and mr. biden. they have got to work for the macon people and be true to

their -- the american people and be true to their calling, which is to serve god and love people and seek wisdom. seek wisdom from god how to govern. be an honest person. cannot be there for their own welfare or their own advancements in life. how many congresspeople have become multimillionaires after years in congress? maybe we should consider term limits, although i don't think that is the tota answer. yes. voter id, for sure. we need to have a good system. we need to remember the declaration of independence. the right to life, lerty, and the pursuit of happiness. god bless america. god bless all of washington and pray for our politicians. pray for our country.

host: that is cornelia in the gem state. alicia, st. paul. good morning. caller: goomorning. thank you for taking my call. i'm calling because i get ted of hearing the politicians reporting that it is the president's fault that the border is not sealed. it is time for the people in this country understand the congress, their number one job is to find our government -- fund our government and right 12 appropriations bills each session. i don't know why they don't seem to be able to do that anymore. the thing that bothers me the most when i'm watching their interviews on different talkshows and they are all blaming the policies that are failing on the president.

it is a team effort. it is the congress. the senate and the house of representatives and the president and the supreme court. if people understood that is how things worked we would not be blaming the president for the war in ukraine are what is going on in israel, things like that. that is what i needed to say. i hope that somehow we can get past all this dishonesty in politics. than for taking my call. host: john did a segment from the buckeye state, line for democrats. caller: good morning. two points this morning. your backed up, you need to update it. there are no leaves on the tree in january. you asked a question earlier. who was the last president to tell us the truth. remember that? host: yes or.

-- sir. call: it was john fitzgerald kennedy five months prior to his death. he told the people we have a shadow government that is undermining americanism, selling us out to one world orders, and five months later we know now, 60 years later,hat our own government might've had a very good hand in killing him to shut him up. look at the state of our country 60 years later. we are on the verge of bank reps he -- bankruptcy and one world order. he was not lying, was he? we have a government that has covered this out my entire life. i have wanted to know the truth, because i think he was a good prident. i think martin luther king would have made one of the greatest presidents. bobby kennedy could have possibly went down as the

greatest president of the last part of the 20th century. there is what i have to say. god bless america and folks, it is going to get rough. it is not going to get better. thank you. host: our last caller in the first segment of the washington journal. stick around. we are joined by scott macfarlane of cbs news who will talk about the year ahead when it comes to the various legal proceedings that are facing former president donald trump. later, we turn to the year ahead in politics and campaign 2024. we will get a preview with larry sabado from the center for politics at the university of virginia. we will be right back. ♪

>> bank in the new year for the start of the second session of the 118th congress. congress convenes january 8 and the hoe untangling i. the first ending i-19 and other on february 2. lexi away for the other side, the other chamber to come up with a number we can agree upon. >> followed the progress on c-span now or anytime time online at c-span.org. your unfiltered vi of government. you can find c-span coverage

online. featuring markers. these markers appear on the righhand side of your screen when you hit play on videos. scroll through. listening to programs on c-span just got easier. tell your smart speaker, play c-span radio and listen daily. important congressional hearings throughout the day and weekdays. a fast-paced report for the stories of the day. just tell your smart speaker, play c-span radio.

traveling over the holids? make c-sn's bookshelf speed part of your holiday c-span bookshelf features multiple critically acclaimed authors, biographies and q&a. listen to the podcasteed this holiday season. you can find it wherever you get your podcasts and on our website. >> c-spanshop.org is-span's online store. apparel, books come home to core d accessories. there is something for every c-span fan. shop now or anytime at

c-spanshop.org. >> washington jourl continues. host: our viewers are familiar th our guest. the mt recent legal challenges facing donald trump. 91 total charges to state cases. why do we stand with the roadmap ahead? it is -- guest: we are talking about the federal case brought in washington dc. of those four, cases, that is the first one on the trial can do -- trial calendar. but there is anything in the

intervening week. the appeals court will hear trump's challenge. he is arguing that he cannot be commonly prosecuted in the case and that all charges should be dismissed and everyone should go home. presidential immunity sounds like a get out of free -- get out of jail free card. it is a preposterous notion that someone can be immune from bei held responsible sply because they were president at the time. for those who care about such things, it is one of the rare courts that live streams the audio of the arguments. it could impact the trial date.

maybe stays on march 4. starting the process is missing the case. host: the decision was onhe lower court. what is the appeal court taking up her gues distrt court judge is trying to rent -- she tossed aside this argument and used the phra i invoked. that decision was appealed. the supreme crt was asked to intervene. this is headed your way anyways.

they said they are not ready for us. we have a pretty expedited argument. a pretty nimble calendar that having this argument next week, a week from today is an ambitious timeframe. host: talking about the expedited argument and calendar. there is more neede. that decision could come early this week. guest: you have different states coming up with different rulings about whether trump should be on the ballot. looking at whether it would prohibit trump from getting on the ballot.

they are both being appealed, so his name remains for now. we cannot have a patchwork of decisions. host: what civil cases should we be keeping an eye on? guest: trump's is stealing is still out there as well. he was there in the courtroom, seemingly viscerally connect did. shington with the injured police officers and the members of congress. the same one we talked about having a hearing last week.

they ruled that trp can be -- sued civilly for damages on january 6. that is still out there there are the other three criminal cases that you referred to. host: c-span viewers are very familiar. questions o comments. as folks are calling in, all these different -- guest: let's start with t election interference case. the case in washington is scheduled to go to trial 24 hours before super tuesday. there is a remarkable -- it is shaping up for the first week of march where you have the jury selection in a trial for a

former president happening 4 million of voters can go to the polls. just almost bullet juxtaposition of a historic, the first week of march. there is one in new york city, a local criminal case about the legend hush-money payments. itiall that was scheduled for trial in march asell. we expect that to shift. another federal crimin case with the legend's ndling of classified documents by donald trump. that is scheduled r trial in late may. the are challenges that could delay that one.

a broad, sweeping case with many codefendant. he has many codefendant's. that trial could go on the calendar this year. host: if there is a trial expected to be wrapped up before voters go to the polls in november, which one is that most likely to be guest: the washington election interference case. it alleges that donald trump use the insrection as a cover to further press lawmakers on that day to overturn results. that trial because it is first on the calendar. it reduces the risk of variables and delays. the judge of the case has been

diligent about keeping things on schedule and on track, pushing away, sliding away all the requests f delaythat trump is making in that case seems to be likely to go before the election. host: we talked about 91 cases. this is the narrowest four step on piece guest: four felony charges and no codefendant. just donald trump. and yes, it was brought ficiently whout the complicated, sweepingature. host: talking about these criminal and civil casesith amendment challenges as well a good tim if you have challenges about the various legal challenges.

this is mary. caller: i just wanted to speak on the subject of slavery. i wanted to say that america need to repay these atrocities. america needs to write the wrong. host: certainly an important topic to talk about, but not the one we are focusing on in this segment. do you have a question for him? caller: well, no. i just wanted to make a comment and then i wanted to comment on president trump. host: let's talk about trump because that is the topic we are on right now. caller: i think trump is the worst thing that ever happened to the united states of america. i think people need to realize that.

trump shows us the condition of our country today. which is divided and full of hate. that seems to be ok with a lot of people, but that will be the downfall of america. host: that is mary in north carolina. focusing in on the 14th amendment case. his argument for removing donald trump on the ballot. he says we do not live in a democracy if the losing is to stay in per. he shod never be lowed to be in power again. removi him i undemocratic, saying that is nonsense. democracy is not just elections. it is norms here. what is the trump response to these moves by the secretary of state? guest: they are calling it election interference and a

biased effort to reme a candidate who has the backing of his party. he had -- every indication that he is an overwhelming favorite, but they are arguing that it is symmetrical and they are arguing -- we spoke with one of them about the ethics and washington. and the litigantaid the point of the 14th amendment provision is to prevent somebody who engaged in insurrection from running again. some people are arguing that the voters have their 20's. let the voters decide. the response of the litigators is, the voters had their choice in 2020 and donald trump funded to it by allegedly seeking to overturn the results of an election. host what role havthey pyed

on the 14th amendment challenges? guest: multiple roles. but also messaging on this. making the argument that this is bigger than just letting voters have their say. there are legal protections and constitutional perception against havi someone that that running again. if you do not utilize those production, there is no use in them in the first place. mary use the phrase that trump would be the downfall of america. i appreciate the sentiment she is communicating but some people may be in the jury pool. in these different jurisdictions in fort pierce, florida and fulton county, georgia.

they share herentiment. trump has argued that in washington dc, there is a bias that they would not be able to produce a fair jury. some might agree with mary's sentiment. they have had the same a classmate of them that they need to move these cases out because thjuries are too loaded against trump. others say there is a jury section process and we expect the same thing will be te in march. there is a vibrant jury selection process. host: where is the place in their mindthat they can a fair trial? guest: many of them bring the

cases their home areas. some have moved outside of the area including the eastern district of virginia and the western district. defendants may appreciate the difference, but the judges have been diligent saying there are nearly one million people. therare fair juries. host: this is peggy on the line foremocrats. caller: ok. if the appellate court decides that trump is not immune prosecution, does that mean that everybody can go on with the trial? or can the supreme court refused to take up trump's case on

immunity after the appellate work assigned? guest: that is the critical question. if the appeal court decides no, you do not get presidential immunity from crimes, it is likely if not certain that he will appeal that decision. will the supreme court pick it up? will it pick it up promptly or at its own leisure? if the supreme court makes a move one way or the other, it could affect the timing. but no, we are going to leave this with the lower court. host: is there anything that can be read from them doing that? guest: they did not give an explanation for picking up that petition. but they might.

if this goes to them a second time or if jack smith wants to appeal taking or rejecting that appeal. host: shira, republican. you are on. caller: good morning. i have a question about the insurrection. how come he has not been charged with that? how come they have not found him guilty of that? guest: my question has been one that has been persistent. it is common -- critics of the prosecution have said that nobody has actually been charged with insurrection. there has been conspiracy and

the peaceful transfer of power and it was quite notable when the indictment w released in august. there was no charge, but the only reference comes late in the document, making an allegation that donald trump used the capitol riot as a cover to continue to pressure members of congress not to certify the result of the election. it is a question to bring to the special counsel. it has been stated that they complicate the case and the efficiency with which the case can move and the breadth of the case. host: when jack smith is referring to what happened, he

calls it a riot or an attack on the capital? what is the verbiage that he uses? guest: we'll find out, but it gives any indicatn -- it will come up. you can get a sense from the pretrial filing. heakes this cursory referce about witnesses and impacting the speech and debate clause. it is relevant to members of congress. in because he specifies inhe indictment that january 6 is relevant to the charge of obstruction of a proceeding, it

is quite clear that there will be a lot to talk about. how he phrases it. host: is it sething we should even be doing right now? guest: it is aittle bit of a dangous game. not only have members of -- some people credit it as the antedent to this criminal case, but it is also an investigation into what communication they were having onanuary 6 and some of tm were stonewalled. there are all kinds of different directions of curiosity. host: maryland, independent.

you are on. caller: it looks like you ran headlong into the buzz saw there. he said never mind what the media calls this. all these cases are based on the fact that he is guilty of one or the other case. insurrection was the civil war. the civil war did no happen january 6. i did not vote for trump. but what his opposition is dng is making his case. it is like when he was elected the first time, they could not stop talking about him and now you have charged him with all these differen things and making up a wordgiving it a new definition. january 6 was the failure of the capitol poce to defend the capital during a protest that turned into a riot.

it was aatastrophic failure and a disgraceful thing that people are wandering around the capital and slapping people with sticks. it was disgraceful but not in insurrection. all of this is based on him being guilty of something prior to entering the courtroom. guest: he is speculating some of the arguments that we have heard. he makes a good point about what we are talking about. the allenges that we are seeing across america will be kind of a wash test. but litigants challenging to get trump off the ballot believe that it precludes trump from being on the blot. we saw the supreme court rule in their favor.

and then youee federal prosecution of donald trump and d.c. ande do not charge him with excitement. an argument against insurrection. the failure of the capitol police has been referenced by members of congress. the capitol police were outmanned by 1000. there has beenn investigation into security failures. thatas been an investigation into what went wrong hd of january 6. that all being said, to release or publicly post all 43,000 hours of video. as of today, dozens of hours are

there. but there has been no indication of something captured on cera, no silverullet that video that will show anything otr than what we kno already that they were manned by a mob. some of them were carrying stolen police riot shields. dozens of them assaulted or resisted police officer's visit. more than half othem have pled guilty or have been sent to trial. host: they want to know who is in charge of security at what all the speaker of the house plays. can you run through that? guest: u.s. capitol police

reports to the leadership of congress. the speaker of the house and the senator cash in the majority. there has been this argument that donald trump has perpetuated. nancy pelosi, responsibility for failures to be six. the most primary of which is mitch mcconnell was the senate leader and shared responsibilities with nancy pelosi, so both parties had oversight january 6, 20 21. if you want to ascribe laying to the leadership of congress for what happened that day. host: good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. the -- this is very interesting. what trump did with those

writers, letting them go peacefully, he uses the word one me. if you listen to the word, the antagonistic word -- he uses those words muiple times. i think he can be charged for aiding and he also uses words of comfort. but last but not least, but i want to say about the judges that will be hearing his case coming up, his argument is that he is immune and has presidential immunity, but that means can do whatever he wants. which one of the judges are willing to suppo that idea

when the preside can then order the judge that he does not like anybody in e government he does not like and then get aw with it? which judge is willing to pport that idea? guest: these are all points at are quite relevant to arguments that we are going to hear. he made a january 6 20. having been in the courtroom, we have heard defendants through defense lawyers. the argument has not secured the equivalent trial. you e your own manager own woman in the last court system. 100%.

100% of the defendants to go to jury have been convicted. some of them have made that gument. the other issue is the issue of, if you have presidential immunity, can you do just about anything? it sounds like a preposterous notion, but the most recent filing brings up those kinds of contingencies, if a president gets immunity from criminal prosecution. if he is not convicted at an impeachment trial. jack smith paints a picture. one if that president who commits a crime in the future bs the capital to kill members of congress so that the impeachment vote ends up differently. he lays out the scenario in his

latest appeals court filing. it see intuitive to me that he would make that. these are all thretical at this point. theoretical and the distant future. he is makinghat concept. if you have presidential immunity, does that ensure future presidents to do what they want? host: before we leave the january 6 prosecution, remind the viewers what we are talking about and are there one or two that your keeping an eye on? guest: three years mark for january 6 is on saturday. it would have been impossible. 1200 criminal cases in three

years time into one courthouse in america. they do not see that tonnage of cas. they have secured guilty pleas in roughly 700. they have gone to trial against dozens of defendants. everyone who has gone trial by jury has been convicted. note that last charge. obstruction of an official proceeding is the same charge that donald trp faced. a unique type of charge that donald trump or the defendants charged with that crime obstructed the certification of the electoral camp, the congressional meeting to certify the election. dozens of guilty pleas or convictions on that charge, but the supreme court has agreed to review that charge.

the supreme court has agreed to review that. in the meantime, there have been defendants to ask that their sentencing be put on hold. that been defendants who have asked to be released from prison while the court revis that charge. they have put some cases on hold and it is noteworthy for several reasons. donald trumps facing that charge. it is likely the -- likely before june, but it could be until june that the supreme court hammers that out. host: are there arguments in the courtroom that we can hear afterwards? guest: there could be oral arguments but the review process can take different forms. but it could take time. could that complicate the

prosecution of donald trump? he is accused of different things. one of the things that we noted was that he is bringing a januar6 charge against donald trump because so many januy 6 defendants haveaced the same things and been convicted or pled guilty for the same thing. host: what are the cases that you are watching? guest:hey have been litigated in their convictions. late 20 thirtieths wire 20 40's. huge case is looking next, who is next? the department of justice has brought an unprecedeed number of charges and looking for hundreds more peop. there are hundreds more possible. this could go past the next presidential election and donald ump isn the same defendants, which will be a distinctive

issue as we get closer to the election. a mass release of defendants and one other note, i mentioned this, three year anniversary of january 6. who puts the pipe bombs outside the headquarters? which police and knowledge was a significant and painful distraction to them on januar 6. they seem toe nowhere on that. host: what was the latest on that? guest: the last interview that talked about the pipe bomb -- they stop taking interview requests on that. they stopped releasing new videos, ringing that bell again. no indication of any leads. it was such an impactful thing. it was discovered as the rightist mom -- mob was attacking the capital.

just in a vacuum. if somebody puts pipe bombs and u.s. capitol in that case has not been solved, it is a pretty big thing. host: ohio, republican. thank you for waiting. caller: i have lot on my mind. i think all these trials, they are trying to get donald trump out for some reason or another. i'm just wondering why there is a double standard. joe biden had classified documents when he was a u.s. senator, but had no business having them. ey just -- donald trump won in 2020 and you have hillary clinton, joe biden, all these top-ranked mcgrath. trump stole the election this and that. they are not charged with any of this.

they know most of these trials are going to be overturned at the appellate level. they just want to drag this on to make sure he does not get elected again. as far as jack smith, jack smith, the high rcentage of his cases are overturned because of things that he did during trial that were questionable. i want to know why there is a double standard. host: we will take up those questions. guest: there is a lot there. i will try to keep my thoughts straight. taking the argument that it is an attempt to get him out of there. every indication so far is anecdotal, but these appearances and the mugshot of donald trump have been campaigned in the polls. that is the intent tompact trump politically with a boom

impact for donald trump. the classified documents investigation -- that is still under investigation. by a different council that used to be the u.s. attorney in the district of maryland. that case is not closed. a judge was going to have him or not have him because it is still oning. it is a special counsel who decides it. he questions jack smith's accessories d a high percentagehat are overturned on appeal. but he might be alluding to is donald trump's criticism that a big jack smith case was overturned on appeal. that was the corruption case of the then governor mcdonald was convicted in trial along with his wife for trading favors for

gifts. that was oveurned by the u.s. supreme point. i have not seen any metric. host: out of indianapolis, independent. just about five nutes left. caller: i have a question. i wonder, do you ever he any ill eling about keeping a man like donald j. trump? all of these trials and stuff, i think it only keeps them relevant and keeps him in the news. how i see it is, it is very simple. of course he did it. of course. but you have to prove in a court of law, which is going to be the same, that most importantly, as long as people make him stay

relevant, men like mr. mcfarland, men like youeep him in theews. host: you wanto see the prosecution happened, but you do not think the media should cover it as much as they have or at all? caller: i think you should just showim in the courtroom. he cannot control the narrative. as soon as he gets out of that courtroom, the first thing he is going to do is grab a camera or a microphone and attack everybody. guest: there are a few things to unpack there. so of the cerage of criminal

cases is just oxygen for a political candidate trying to crystallize his image as a disruptor. it is the donald trump mantra. each time he ces out of the courtroom -- sigh. he gets the o.j. simpson caravan news coverage where we follow his cavalcade back. is that oxygen to donald trump? channeling the voices of some americans when he says that. there is a peculiarity with coverage of kona cases and to a degr donald trump. he recognizes that.

the january 6 cases are part of a larger prosecution in american history. they are hisric by nature and a warrant cerage. they are happeningnside the federal court system where audio feeds are prohibited. they have to capture any glimpse ofhat is happening. we are speaking to ameca about a casehat otherwise would be invisible. we spent a lot of our time raising th profile of what is trying -- what is happening. host: it is not one of theost high-pfile trials. how ofn is theublic there? how often are they watching one of these run-of-the-mill cases?

guest: there is a handful of fos diligently attend these things. there are those who recognize the scope and size. there is a group of family members who have made it their mission, making an argument. they believe these people are overcharged. they are going to track what is happening and argued that this is going too far. holidays, weends included. they are in court each day. we cannot watch the federal courts in amica. you have toe on the wooden

bench tsee justice happen or not happen. it is a real vnerability. host: line for democrats. thank you for waiting. caller: this is very informative. i want to review an argument out january 6. that only trump could have called in the national guard. when he got back to the white house, it is going down. he could have treated right away, everybody stand down but he sat down, eat his popcorn and watched it all transpire in front of him. you are correct about him having the power.

not nancy pelosi or mitch mcconnell. he could have wrought in the extra guard and ended it quickly. guest: the committee that investigated did a whole hearing before donald trump released a video telling followers to go home. what happened during that has tarnished democracy acrosshe worl they made that argument unequivocall host: congressional correspondent you can follow him on social media. we always appreciate your time.

coming up in about 30 minutes, we will be joined by larry, the director of the center for policy. we will take a look at campaign 2024. just over 300 days away, but first, more of your phone calls. any political issue he went to talk about, the phone lines are yours. the numbers are on your screen. ♪ >> c-span's campaig2024 coverage continues witthe presidential primaries. watch on c-span network as the first votes are cast in e upcoming election along with candidate speeches and resul, beginning with the iowa caucuses . campaign024 on c-span, your unfiltered view of politics.

>> a healthy democracy does not just look at this. it looks lik this where americans n see democracy at work. our republic thriv. get informed, straight from the sources on c-span. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word from the nation's capil to wherever you are. the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. in partrship with the cable industry, c-span has provided complete coverage. c-spanives you a front row seat to how issues are debated

and decided with no commentary, no interaction and completely unfiltered. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> c-span documentary competition is back on the celebrating 20 years. looking forward while considering the past. addressing one of these questions. and the next 20 years, what is the most important change he would like to see in america? or over the past 20 years, but has been the most important change in america? yeah giving away $100,000 in total prizes with a grand prize of $5,000 and everyeacher u.s. students participate has the oppounity to share aortion. the competion deadline is january 19, 2024.

visit our website at studentcam.org. >> friday night, wch the campaign trail a weekly roundup of campaign coverage providing a one-stop shop about what candidates are saying to voters. this alo with firsthand accounts, fundraising ta and campaign acts. watch friday night at 7:00 eastern come online at c-span.org or download the podcast on c-span now. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. waington journalontinu. host: it is time for our open forum, the time where we let you lead the discussion.

the phone lines are yours. its (202) 748-8001 for republican coming up at 9:00 a.m. eastern, legal taking briefly to that floor of the house o representatives. meeting for the first time in 2024. it wil be the prayer, the pledge of legian and not much else. the senate session ischeduled for 11:45 a.m. eastern today. you can watch that on c-span two. until the house comes in, the next 10 mites, your calls. april out of glendale, california. morning. caller: thank you for taking my call and happy newear.

host: what is on your mind? caller: what is on my mind is that president trump. wasn't he convicted of abuse, sexual abuse? host: he is facing another defamation trial. what do you think happens with all of these trials when it comes to donald trump? we have the criminal trial, the civil trial, the ballot access trial -- what you think happens in all of these cases? caller: i believe that we just let the quiet do its process. i would see him go away because he is dramatic. but if you have been convicted

of a sexual assault, physical, verbal, how is he able to continue trun for any office, especially president of the u.s. ? that is my question. host: we are talking about the difference of criminal trials and civil trials. there are very few requirements to run for president. theyust be 35 years old. they must be born in the united states. there not much more that can be said. caller: so if you committed a felony, you can still run for president? i did not know that. my other thought was we need to find out the truth about israel,

the military and what is going on ovethere. the deaths of innocent women and children. i sit here and the other day, someone rode past my building screaming death to israel. that is really close to home. i am a 60 three-year-old woman of color. that concerns me. that is about all i had to say. host: here is the latesusa today notice. thousands of soldiers in the gaza strip. the october 7 attacks launched the war.

the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu pledging over the weekend that the war with hamas will continue for many more months, despite growing calls for a cease-fire and concns about the growing humanitarian crisis in gaza. next caller from kansas, independent. caller: i normally want someone to be able to defend themselves, but your last guest seems to be a rather smug poster boy for cbs. there is so much to unpack what he said. for one thing, cvs covered and said that trump was accused of russia collusion. they are pretty much still saying this. he seems like he grifies all these charges against american citizens that re protesting.

no one has been chard with insurrection. president trump has not been chard with insurrection. here we have a photographer taking videos, being killed. they did not charge him. cnn paid him $70,000 for the video. nothing has been said about t members he broke the windows out in the first place. if mcfarlane was going to give all the information, thos protesters had no right to break windows. that is vandalism. how can most of these people be charged? 700 or so for criminal trespassing. host: 1200 people were charged and 700 have pled guilty at this point. any case on trial has resulted in being found guilty.

who do you think should be charged? you said they had no right to break windows. who should be charged for what happened that day? caller: let me unpack this. the sun defend hundred pled guilty, possibly yourself would plead guilty just to make it go away. some of these people committed suicide because they were charged. they went home, waiting for their trials -- you asked me who should be charged. the guest talked about it. how come they are not saying anything about pipe bombs? why are they not talking about the fbi agent that said to go inside the capital and most of the protesters were saying, he is a fed. the kremlin said something about

protesters in the capital, obstructing proceedings. they have been several protests in the capital since then, where they could not get them out of the rotunda. they were assaulng the police and throwing shoes from the upper balcony to symbolize the oppression of israel against palestine. what is going on with the charges against the prisoners without a trial is nothing but a third world banana republic communism. host: we got your point. terry on the republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am a registered republican and honestly, i just want trump back

in because life was much better then. i believe this man is there for the american people, hever, i am just in all that this country is allowing it to work against it. these people are coming in with sex trafficking. this ijust happening and it seems like we have no way of stopping it because the administration is taking over. i just hope and pray that if trump gets in, something hato be put in place. we cannot allow this to happen again. i am in all. i'm worried about my grandchildren. what if he does not get in? then we are lost. it just takes one generation for things to change. host: cal thomas in today's

washingtonimes saying president biden is not faithfully prosecuting immigration laws. that was in today's washington times. we will have a brief pro forma session please stick around. we will get to you after the house comes in it is gavel-to-gavel coverage beginning now on the house oor.

each challge is an opportunity at you strengthen us to overcome. each disappointment is a siren to return to faith in your mercy. and each encounter is a grace gift given that we would share the unconditionable love you offer us all. as we step intoour design for this new year, we pray to be faithful stewards of your boty. just arbiters of your commanents, compassionate witnesses to your kindness. and worthy disciples to your spel of love. we offer our hopes and fears f this new year, and our whole selves to your keeping. praying in the strength of your name. amen. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 3-z of house resolution 5, the journal of the last day's proceedings is approved. the chr will lead the house in the pledge of allegiance.

i pledge allegiance to the fla of the united states of america and tohe republic for which it stands, one nation under g, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. under clause 5-d of rule 20, the chair announces to the house that in light of the rignation of the gentleman from californ, mr. mccarthy, the whole number of the house is 433. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of reesentatives. sir, pursuant to section 4003-e of the 21st century cures act, public law 114-255, i am pleased to appoint mr. daniel j.risken ofalo aalto, california, to the health information

technology advisory committee. signed, sincerely, hakeem jeffries, democratic leader. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 3-z of house resolution 5, the house stands adjourned until 11 a.m. on wednesday, january 3, 2024. for democrats (202) 748-8000,

for republicans (202) 748-8001 for independents (202) 748-8002. we hav bill from jacksonville, florida. what is on your mind? caller: happy new year's everybody. i want to make an observation. president trump make a lot of charges about weaponization, i don't think so. i want to give trump and the magas high marks on the weaponization of ignorance. from ohio, kathleen, a democrat. caller: you have an earlier caller who was talking about the massacre of palestinian women, men and children in the thousands. i want to encourage her to watch

pbs, bbc and dw because they have been doing the best job of what our tax dollars are doing in regard to what we give to israel. their slaughr of palestinians in the thousands. and again, hamas should be held responsie but not by massacng thousands. and i hope you give the amount of time you gave the guy talking about shrub. i hope you have the directors of humanitarian groups. avril benoit, the heaof doctors without borders and the headf the palestine relief

fund, there have been humanitarian groups on pbs, bbc, democracy now and you have not had any ofhem on to have them talk about what they are witnessing on theround a i believe that all americans should beorced to look at pictures of the childrene are killing and the men we are killing with our tax dollars. we should be forced to look at those pictures because that is what your tax dollars are doing, killing innocent children. i hope you have those guest on along with colonel wilrson to talk about israel tryingo hook us into attacking iran. and i hope you have palestians on. host: we appreciate the

suggestion of my producer was writing down those names of suggestions. we always appreciate suggestions. is there anything you want to add? caller: i am going to be working againspresident biden. i had questions about his foreign poli expertise. he is completely blowing it and i will not support innocent people being killed. i pushed back against iraq, vietnam in this letter. i hope you guys do international reports that were done on apartheid israel. thank you. host: this is ic out of california, an independent. caller: good morning and happy new year. i really feel for what is going

on in gaza. it is a horror. i truly believe that if anybody can do something trump can. the same wh ukraine. as far as everyone being so angry, once one side does something the other side does something. we see this with impeachment if we do the criminal thing with trump same thing will happen. after january 6 i was there with him but after all of this i'm with him again. host: the associated press a

former member of congress passing away. trailblazing long time congress woman who helped to bring millions of dollars to the dallas region she died it 88 many issued statements about her death after her son posted it on facebook president biden hailed her courage and called her a icon and mentor. eddie bernice johnn at aged 88. allen, from oregon, a republican. caller: i saw when they were doing trump on january 6 and they had national grds in the

basement of a parking garage. he told them he didn't want them to come out and help why did nay pelosi have them in the parking garage in the basement? that's what ias calling to say. host: pat, pennsylvania. caller: i wanted to address thingseople call it. immigration, our fnding doments all anyone to come here to seek asylum. those are in our founding documents. the other thing is about hunter biden who has no association with the white house. on the other hand, trump violated the annulments clause and ivanka got i forgot how many

patents in china and costar got 2 billion from the saudi arabian's for financial cpany. that is never mentioned. i thinkhese people need to be aware of it. host: in pennsylvania, tina, and independent. caller: happy new yea and boy i hope it's going to be a better one. i would like to ask my fellow americans to remember what america is built on. the lady who called in on the constitution andmmigration, they have to come legally. they are pleadg our communitie, drugs are rampant. at we need to do is go back to the way it was when you commit

the crime you do the time. i am tired of hearing of trump. i changed my party to independent. but ter i have seen what they have done to this man unnecessarily, so unconstitutionally, i am right back on it. i would have voted for someone other than, but n he is the only one who got us t of the mess. he got us into a couple but did a good job foamerica. host: did you vote for him in 2020? caller: no sir, i did not. host: did you vote for president biden? caller:es i did. as far as hunter biden goes, he should not be flying overseas on

a plane i pay for to get money from burisma. there is not one piece of evidence showing any of these llcs were doing anything. biden has been in office since i have been born. joe biden used to be a very good man. was a moderate. he cld be trusted. i don't know at happened to him. host: our last caller from raleigh,orth carolina. caller: john, i don't understand how we can be talking about anything else while the united states and israel are committing a genocidal holocaust on t

ihink it is going to deroy the democratic party and i kno it's hurting the repuican party. i think it'goingo destroy the lockstep support for this locaus i n'know what else you could call it. 15,000 childrehave died. 's disgusng. host: in rth carolina, r last caller. we will be joined by larry sabato the director of the university of virginia is center for politics. we will speak about the 2020 four election day. stick around, we will be right back. >> with the senate at recess we will be back with the

reconvening on january 15. they face budget funding deadlines to avoid a shutdown on jaary 19 and february 2. appropriationare ready to do the work that were waiting for the other team to come forward with the number we can agree upon. >> leader mcconnell and i will think of a way to do this quickly. neitheof us want to shut down. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. this yearbook tv marks 25 years of shunning a spot line o leading nfiction authors and books with tas from more than 22,000 authors, 900 cities of

festivals visited and 16,000 events. but dv has provided viewers with 92,000 hours on the latest literary discussions on history, politics and biology. you can watch book tv live online at book tv.org. book tv, serious televion for serious readers. nonfiction book lovers c-span has a number broadcast for you. listen to nonfiction authors and interviewers on afterwards and on q&a here wide-ranging interviews with those who are making things happen. in the about books podst takes you behind-the-scenes of the nonfiction book publishing

industry. find all of our podcasts by doloading the free c-span now app or wherever you get your podcasts. c-span.org/podcasts. c-span's mpaign 2024 coverage campaign begins with presidenti primaries and caucuses. where the first votes are cast in the presidential election along with candidate speeches anresults. the iowa caucus and new hashire primary, campaign 2024 on c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. a healthy democracy dsn't just look like this, it looks like this. where americans can se democracy at work.

get informed,traight from the source. on c-span, unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. from the nation's capital to wherever you are. this is what democracy looks like, c-span powered by cable. "washington journal, continues. st:he best way to kick off an election year is to welcome larrsabato at the university of virginia center politics. what can the crystal ball tell us about the election that will take place 307 days from today? guest: i think we can say there will be a great deal of chaos. we have chaos in nonelection years. if it turns out to be biden versus tromp,e will be looking

at a third-party candate because depending on who they are and how many state palisade get on. just jumping in doesn't mean all that much. it depends on where you get on the llot and in some places it's not that easy. we will be looking at third-party candidates very carefuy. as to everything else, i would guarantee you that there are all nd of major eventse can even imagine today. althoughhe voting begins in many places in late september. host: if it is bin and tromp, on the republican side the caucuses begin this month. what are his chanc at this point? how overwhelmingly the favorite is he? guest: he is the clear farite. you can underline clear

many times. the polls often very far ahead in the contest to come. people say well ose contests will be dramatically affected by those in iowa and new hampshe. may be but not necessarily iowa is in predictive of who will be the republican nominee. the democrats are no longer using iowa as the jumping off point so we don't discuss them. and new hampshi is more predictive than iowa historically. but they also have not had a perfect record. all 50 states get to vote and sometimes the decision is made when the final primaries are

held in early june. you don't want to rule out any reasonable possibilities. it's extremelearly days of the election year. host: donald trump is 50 points aheaof his next opponent. which opponent interest you more , ron desantis or nikki haley? gues between those two i would say nikki haley has had more momentum. at least in new hampshire. the governor there, chris sununu who is retiring but has maintained his popularity. he is strongly supportive of nikki haley. she is still not leading donald trump, she is 10, 12 points hind. in iowa, brent desantis -- ron

desantis is popular with kim reynolds and she has bee pumping arms for him. he does not want nikki haley finishing second and iowa and winning new hashire. that would be thworst combination for him. then there is chris christ. he has that everything on new hampshire. and by the way, people need to remember, polls often change dramatically in the last 48-72 hours. somemes they don't catch the last minute trend. but that's very important in eay contests because those participants in iowa and in new hampshire are inclined to

surprise us. i think they enjoy suppressing us. i think they also enjoyaking the posion outside of iowa. if you view the position with the historic record. and maybe wehouldn't. maybe we should turn the page and have a whole new chapter. host: at the outset of the republican primary there is some thought that the non-tromp portion of the party would consolidate around the candidate. it that going to happen? is there any sign that is

happening? is there any preside to that happening? guest: it should've already happened. back in 2016 when heon the nomination he had 16 opponents. there were 17 at one point and not many of them dropped out in the first half of the prary. that is what gave him the nomination he had a very solid base wit38% of the vote in th competitive part of the primaries and that was mo than enough in the field that was chopped into pieces. this still applies. this is very important the democrats and republicans have a different theory of nomination. mocrats are a sticklefor representation so if there is a real contest it takes longer to

consolidate the majority of legates you would need to get the nomination a i don't think that applies this year. because biden is the incumbent and will probably win handil onhe republican side they still have winner take a and that means relively quickly, you can have a candidate get a majority of the delegates and you could certainly have thought by the time the votes are counteon super tuesday on march the fifth. i believe there are 15 states that are electing that day and i don't want to leave out american samoa. you have a lot of delegates early which alls the candidate to wrap it up if the candidate is winning solidly. you look at the two rties and you realize there are very

different conditions prevailing but the substance of their nominating process is very different. you have to nominate each party on its terms. host: larry sabato founder and chief of the crystal ball at university of virginia. for republicans (202) 748-8001. for democrats (202) 748-8000, for independents (202) 748-8002. let's assume it's joe biden, is the biden coalition in 2024 at the same as 2020? guest: no. we have a long time to go. an eternity to the start of voting until september.

right now, biden is having problems with minorities, problems with the youth vote because of the middleast situation. he is seen as being much more pro-israel young people tend to be more pro-palestinian. the coalition this not the same but it is also true th the incumbent president has an enormous number of opportunities during the election year to reconstitute his coalition or at let the vast majority of it and i throw in independent and third-party candidates. if they can get on ballots on states that are competitive. the tragedy of modern america we

can call 40 states. you will have candidates campaigning in 10 states. georgia, arizona, wisconsin and maybe new hpshire nevad is very close, it could be michigan. if we don't have competitive politics. our system is state based, that is a shame. we used to have much more mpetitive polits and far more states. one electi i have studied a lot is the race between kenned and nixon.

you had more than half of the states considered to be competitive in up for grabs. both candidates were everywher in the matter. it doesn't anymore. candidates will gto the final determinative states to rn money. they will suck out money from california but california is not competitive. host: there are lots of calls for you this morning. we will start louisville, kentucky, on the line for democrats. caller: it's good to talk to you. a couple of things here. number one, and 1988 there was no elector for west virginia that road in michael dukakis as vice president and he lost an

electoral vote there. and vice president gore lost an electoral vote in 2000 and in 2016, hillary clinton lost six or seven unfaithful electors and donald trump lost a couple. those could have an impact on his win. there is a very real possibility that if the democrats win all the states that won the last four elections were looking at 269 tie and i was hoping you could comment on that. guest: that's very good question. a lot of parts to it.

we can talk about electoral college reform and i would like to see reform. if you can't abolish the electoral college there are ways to reform it to make it more representative and prevent thankless electors because they can make a difference. it is so arrogant from an elector to put his or her view ahead of millions of people in their state. that have taken the time to vote and express themselves and arbitrarily they will vote for anything that comes into their head for a rationale that doesn't have any power to it. 2000 was important because bush had 271 and you need to 70. he did not have any faithless, is easy to imagine a circumstance where even one a lot better and very closrace

could determine the presidency based on their win. that is insane. t that is the system we've got. let me comment briefly on 269, 260 nine. this is a ticking time bomb in the constitution and most people in the united states have no idea that if we have a tie in the electoral college. there are lots of reasonable ways to happen, its going to happen in some future year. then it es to the house of representatis in each state getsne vote. california would have the same vote as vermont. rhode island would have the same vote as tes or florida. it's actually worse than that.

the delegation tries to resolve based on their party idea who they will vote for. there are a numr of states that have a tide deletion. they probably n't be able to agree. that entire state will be disenfranchised. you have to get 26 states out of the 52 agree on the wier. usually that favors republicans they usually have more delegations because more of the states with a single member of theouse a republican states. there are lotof disadvantages to the system including legitimacy of the person who is actuly elected. you would think everybody would be concerned about that.

we so need to change pieces of our system. need to reform them and i will certainly die without them being reform. i don't s any prospect of this being done since it requires a constitutional amendment to chge the electoral college. a change in the constitution to change the tie vote. we are stuck with these things because we a so divided. you have to have a near consensus to get any constitutional amendment through. host: this is tom, a republican. caller: a couple of minutes ago you spoke where early voting starts as early as september. guest: late september. caller: i don't understand how

at is possible because they start counting these votes and find out who is ahead here and there and by the time they get to california, they can do anything they want. and it looks like that is what has been happening? . guest: this been happening gradually for years andhere are various ways to vote early. we have always hadbsentee ballots and people who are going to be away on eltion day could get an absentee ballot to vote. if you ce under one of the tegories passed by your state anallowed to cast an absentee

ballot. when i started out in politics in the 1960s you would have maybe 2% supplied by absentee ballots and at thatime, y were not even allowed to open the absentee ballots until pol are closed on election day so the was no way to know what the unt was. that is still the case of many states but in other states, they will allow the early voting totals to be opened or counted privately. doeshat ever think out i can't think of an example where it has but i also don' know if someone is making a call tonother person.

during the pandemic we had a tremendous increase in the number of absentee voting, early voting at ts pointmany voters, proportionally older voters have gotten used to voting early. most of the early voting comes in at that last week or 10 days. but like i said in some places it starts in late september. but folks trickle in, not a whole lot of votes are coming in and there is a reason for that. we are divided by ptynd most people know who they're going to for already. but if you vot early, you are missing a big chunk of t campaign. if revelations occur, new information.

if you want the whole story before you vote you should probably wait until electi day. ifou d't and you are a strong democrat republican, i guess it doesn'matter much. host: oyster bay, nework, ronald, a republican. caller: yes, good morning. greetings fromyster bay. teddy roosevelt's former home. i recently saw the film 2000 mules to e people dropping drop boxes in the middle of the night, enormous numbersf votes and yet the media say the

election was fair? how absurd. guest: i understand what the gentleman is sayg. millions of people believe it. there was a blowout this morng saying only 31% of republicans believe that biden was legitimately elected. i happen to believe he was an everybody in my field whether they are republicans and democrats believe there was not widespread voting fraud. that particular film has been diredited by a de variety of sources of various eological backgrounds. i would have reld too heavily on that film. having said that, nobody can be everywhere, nobody can examine

all the ballots. but i still say the 2020 election was a fair electionnd it produced a winne. you may not ke the winter. democrats did not li the winter when it was george w. bush. he lost the popular vote. he won the vote after supreme court decisi. at the time we said every country needs a president. an o line fr bob dole but we have changed. we are much more partin of people a more except about more things and that contributes heavily the situation we all face in 2024. i hope and pray that this year is peaceful.

that is how small the democratic nations should conduct election. host: less than 20 minutes left with larry sabato. ere is a bookstore oyster bay, theodor's books run by former congressman pete israel. we have covered events there. it makes me wonder which books your reading in the new year? guest: i am at thage where i have to reread books to remember them. at this point i really do go back so books that are stattically sound and present basic statistics. some of us who are older need to refresh our memories. normally, i enjoy reading

history. if fiction writers depended on me they would be starving because i spend all of my time reading history and nonfiction. and i don't watch any television except for documentaries and news shows. that shows you how boring i am. host: fran on twitter rights and, does your guest have a handle on the polls? how do pollsters believe the polls? guest: you are right to question them. almost everyone does now because so many of t polls were wrong in 26 and 2018.

there were a lot of mistakes in 2020. i am going to go way out on a limb and suggest we could have mistakes for024. everybody waits for data to hang theihat on something. i would pay a lot less attention to them. i do read them and i learn from them but i certainly don't consider them predictive the

pool we have had about the 2020 election are worthless when it comes to predicting election results in 2024. we can look at the voting history of states and do a better job the polls do. all i can say to you is read them, pay attention to them to a certain degree and then go through the rest of your day and remember them. host: from washington dc, an independent, good morning. caller: last presidential election couldn't vote for either party. when it cos to banning the president. using the 14th amendment without a conviction, you are playing a

dangerous game you are talking about suspending democracy. let's go after biden who was viously senile. he shoulbe forced to take a mandatory examination. on the second thing about legitimacy, when you go back and look athe bush administration. my brother was looking up florida at the time. they were blocking the road so democrats could not get to the polls. and they barred 60,000 people from voting. guest: again, this gentleman

rembers a great deal. i don't want to talk about any particular election but are there shenanigans that have happened in elections? i don't think the years widespread as people believe but it's important to pay attention. i don't agree with a lot of conspiracy theories about 2020 but i do think there is one positive result from all the attentn paid to 2020 and other elections. people are paying close attention and they should. the best cure fothose shenanigans is sunlight. sunlight disinfects and the more people watch and see, the better it is.

although you should not imagine things that are not there. that is one point that i think is very important to me. we have to trust one another, may be trust but verify. that could apply to everything in politics and to lie. the gentleman made some valid points there and i encourage people to pay attention. host: the 14th amendment in efforts to keep trump off the ballot, what is your take on that effort? guest: nobody can predict the supreme court, i would rather predict elections. assuming they take it up and i assume they will. they certainly dated 2000 wh bush v gore. if they do take it up and give us a definitive ruling as

opposed to sidestepping it. i suspect they are going to say for the primaries that those who qualify according to the party rules should affect be on the ballot. if you take the 14 amendment, section three. a ain reading of that section. host: i can read it right now. ction three, no person shall be a senator or presentive to congress or lecter psident or vice president or hold any office or any sta who has taken an oath as a membeof congress or a member of any state legislature to support the constitution of the united states having engaged in

insurrection or rebellion against the state or given comforto thenemy thereof. guest: to me, that plain reading says that trump engaged in insurrection. it doesn't say he has to be convicted. it also doesn't mention the president specifically t there is in the debate that occurred in the senate at the time that this ce up in 1857, 1858 right after the civil war. this question was asked by one senator to another senator following the amendment and he said, course the president is included. they specifically mentioned presidential electors. even though i think it does apply to trump. i think it is

better that he is on the ballot. governor gavin newsom, who was hardly nonpartisan, he is a democrat. he responded just last wk that we defeat candidates at the polls we don't take them off the ballot. i can argue with that based on what i just terpreted from section three of amendment 14. if you do not like trump it's better to defeat him at the polls and have millions of people participate in the decision rather than allow a small number of elites make that decision for everyone else. host: john in syracuse, new york. caller: we have 50 states in

this country in 10 states are going to determine who was going to be the president. is system sucks. the electoral llege was created to be something different than it is today. 10 states are going to decide who is president and we all know the tribe is not going to win the popular vote and he will weasel through the electoral college. we see what has happened with abortion, overturning roe v. wade. a lot of the conservative right states made their position. it is a loser for republicans. my thing is trump cannot pick a

man for viceresident because it will look like two white guys ganging upn women. to me, he has to pick a female for vice president. i think it will be elise stefanik that i think it will definitely be a woman. what do you think? guest: that is the prevailing, dominant theory especially because of abortion, because of the public outrage about the overturning of roe v. we that republicans are at a disadvantage. the electis of 2022, 2023 strongly suggests. democrats did more than expected. that is to speculation but there was some reporting that trump was asking associates about

nikki haley is vice president. though he decided something in the morning and it's fferent by the afternoon so who knows? in general, i don't know who specifically he would take. it does make a lot of sense as you have expined. host: we have an independent next. good morning. caller: why doesn't the media stressed the most days with absentee ballots, after in person votes have been coued e in boxes. you can look that up on your phone.

they can access those votes until the polls close. you can see every state that has that process, most states. just wanted your opinion on that. these people thi they have rolled all these votes and after the polls close but that is what they do. guest: just to relieve some of the stress and pressure on the election workers who have been treated terribly the last few years. they are volunteers and those who are notork for tiny sums of money. theyo the work ofemocracy for all of us. we have to tat them better. in order to increaseublic confidence, you have to have what states already have witches observers from all mor candidates watching each step

watching right there in the om. st states do it aeady, it should always include the process you have described which is taking the ballotut of the envelope, watching to make sure no one is loing how they actually voted. it is folded over so you can't immediately determine who voted for who. i think public observation b advocates for the candite who are reasonable. you don't want people in their screaming that someone is cheating when they are not. but you need to have people there so the public will have confidence. in every place that is reasonable you will have pple ying we don't know who hasne

but everything they have ne is according to the books a i didn't see any particular bias one side of the other. that is ideal and increases confidence in theystem whoever wins. just a few minutes left. host: we have a look at the house and nate election, what aryou looking for? guest: in the house, the last two congresses have been controlled by a handful of seeds and odds are this will be relatively close. how close we don't know. the presidenal election can have a major impact on one party of the other. in the senate, a friend of min was saying the other day, the republicans will clearly win the

senate. they only have to pick up one c. two seats in order to control fully in the republicans hav all the advantages. they almost have an automati turnover in west virginia. a republican is going to win that seat. wisconsin would be a competitive see, monta and ohio more so. they are right athe top of the list after west virginia and arizona which could have three-way race if senator sinema runs for reelection. you have a handful of seeds and almost all of them democratic.

her's the problem with that prediction, it was the exactly the prediction made in 2020. and in 2022 when the republicans were supposed to take over the senate the democrats won that seat. we tried to pretend that they are more predictable than they are. another reason to y attention. just as yo can't predict the polls you can predict elections. in most of all, vote. host to hear more from larry sa bato, a great follow on twitter. we appreciate your time sir. guest: i enjoyed it so much john, inc. you so much and happy

new year. host: we will be back here tomorrow and until then, have a great tuesday. ♪ >> c-span's udent cam documentary competition is back. celebrating 20 years. with this year's theme, looking forward while considering the past. we are asking ddle and high school students to create a five to six-minute sraoeudo a-- video addressing one of these questions. in the next 20 years what is the most important change you'd like to see in america. or, over the past 20 yearshat has been the most important change in america. as we do each year, we are giving away $100,000 in total

prizes, with a grand prize of $5,000. d every teacher who has students participate in is year's competition has a opportunity share a portion of an additional $50,000. the competition deadline is friday, january 19, 2024. r information, visit our website at student cam.org. >> friday nights, watch c-span's 20 campaign trail. a weekly roundup of c-span's campaign covage. providing a one-stop shop to discover where the candidates areraveling across the cntry and what they are sayingo voters. this along wh firsthand accounts from political reporters, updated pol numbers, fundraising data, and campaign ads. watch c-span's 2024 campaign trail. friday nights at 7:00 eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org. our download the podcast at c-span now, our free mobile app.

c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. >> c-span now, is a free mobile app free taourg your unfiltered view of what's happening in washington. live and on demand. keep up with the day's biggest advance with life streams -- live streams of floor he'dings with hearing from the u.s. congress, white house events, courts, campaigns, and more from the world of politics. all at your fingertips. stay current with the latest episodes of "washingto journal," and schedulin information for c-span tv networks, and c-span dio. mrs. a variety of compelng poasts. c-spanow is available at the apple store and google play. scan the q.r. code to download for free. or visit c-span.org/c-span now. your front row seat to washington. any time, anywhere. >> c-span is your unfiltered

view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more. including wow. >> the world has changed. today, fast reliable internet connection is something no one can live without. wow is there for our customers with speed, reliability, value, and choice. now more than ever it all starts with great internet. >> wow. >> wow supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. host good morning. it is tuesday, january 2. the house and senate meeting day for the first, the new year. we're asking for the new year's message to lawmakersn the president. what issues do you want washington to take