call or go online and switch to x1. only with xfinity. hello i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. in washington. where ever you're watching from around the world, thanks for joining us. a showdown over gun control playing out in the united states house of representatives. these are live pictures coming in. nancy pelosi expected to hold a

news conference on this sit-in that's happening on the house floor. congressman john lewis is leading the sit-in. lewis and other democratic lawmakers are demanding that republicans address the sensitive issue of gun control and gun violence. >> we have to occupy the floor of the house until there's action. >> rise up democrats. rise up, americans. this cannot stand. we will occupy this floor. we will no longer be denied a right to vote. i yield to our majority whip leader. >> we sit down -- >> the gentleman's time expired. >> so we can stand -- >> recess hour of 12:00 noon. >> just moments ago the white house press secretary josh

earnest responded to this very dramatic sit-in. >> they are showing the kind of frustration and even anger that people around the country have about the inability of the republican-led congress to take common sense steps that would protect the american people. >> talk a bit about what the lawmakers are demanding. this is a pretty extraordinary move. >> something you don't see very often. >> what democrats are pushing for are votes in the house. also deny folks who are on a terrorist watch list the ability to buy firearms.

republicans agree with that blue there's a disagreement between republicans and democrats about how to identify who should be on that watch list and who should be denied a gun. that's one reason why things are bogged down in the senate right now. the house has not taken up anything on this issue now, which is why house democrats are launching this pretty dramatic protest. the house, we're not seeing any pictures or video from inside the house because the house is on recess right now. one reason, is big reason why is because the house is considered out of order. speaker paul ryan press secretary put out a statement saying that the house cannot operate without members following the rules of the institution, so the house has recessed subject to the call of the chair. what's happening in there right now is about 30 or 40 house members sitting on the house floor. democrats giving speech, chanting, demanding actions for vote. sitting on the aisle and the well around the house floor chanting things like no bill, no

break. i'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. we shall not be moved. we'll see how long this lasts and see if republicans try to stop this. some support from the hillary clinton campaign. bill clinton tweeting support for john lewis of georgia, the congressman leading this effort. said this is leadership. democrats sense an advantage on continuing this fight, wolf. >> do we know the last time there was this extraordinary move, a sit-in on the floor of the house of representatives? >> it's been some time. republicans mounted a similar type of offensive during house speaker minority leader nancy pelosi speakership when she was house speaker. democrats didn't have any recourse then. they did turn off the lights. we'll see if that's what republicans decide to do. >> we'll get back to you.

congressman, i want to listen in briefly because we're hearing this from the house floor. listen to this. >> another one on the way. she kissed her husband good-bye one morning. he never came home that night. what words are there to console a newly single mom. >> you get a flavor these democrats are speaking. congressman, what are you trying to accomplish here? >> well, we're trying to get the house of representatives to take up a bill that the majority, 80% plus of the american people support. it would be a very simple, very straightforward, common sense way to make the country safer by banning people who are on the terror watch list not allowing them to purchase weapons. in the wake of orlando, with all these shootings, democratic members are just exhausted by

one more moment of silence followed by days and weeks and months of inaction. the american people are sick of this, and we are too. we're following the lead of john lewis, sort of the spiritual leader of the democratic caucus and we're just not going to let this happen. we're going to sit down until we get a vote. >> the spokesperson for the house speaker, paul ryan, issued a statement. i'll read it to you. the house cannot operate without members following the rules of institution so the house has recessed subject to the call of the chair. why are you violating the rules of the house of representatives? >> well, we're just getting in the way. when the republicans see the rules being followed, and they don't like the outcome, they change the rules. speaker ryan just changed the rules as it relates to

appropriations bills. the regular order that they talk about is an order that they change at their whim. in our view is this, the american people want us to take action. the rule of the house should be react o on the big questions that the american people face. not that we hide behind the rules in order to not act. democrats are just tired of that. we're going to force the republicans to deal with the fact that they have created this dysfunction and they need to stand up and be responsible. they don't have to vote for the bill, but they ought to let the american people and their members of congress vote on a piece of legislation that the vast majority of americans represent. that's all we're asking for. >> you know, congressman, the criticism that you'll face is the u.s. constitution says there should be a majority in the house of representatives. it's a pretty impressive republican majority, if they

want to change the rules, they can change the rules. when the majority, they could change the rules. you're violating those now. >> when the house is not in order, they adjourn, and they did adjourn. it's a little difficult for us to be bound by these traditions when people are being killed in the street of the united states and the republican leadership and congress wants the hold 60 seconds of silence and then move on and forget about it. i understand people feeling like this is stretching our authority. my god, if there's ever a time for us to push past what the norm would be and to do something that's extraordinary, it's now. we're just fed up with a

congress and leadership in congress that won't allow us a vote. if they want to stand with the nra, let them stand with the nra and go home, but they ought not have the privilege of being able to ignore the will of the american people and hide behind the rules that they continuely change. >> how long are you prepared to continue this sit-? >> we're going to go as long as it takes to get action. >> was this congressman john lewis' idea or did someone else come up with this idea? all of us remember his leading role in the 1960s in the civil rights movement where there were a lot of sit-ins.

>> i think we were all fed up and looking for way to try to force this issue. we were inspired by john lewis' words when he went to the floor of the house this morning. in that way service somewhat spontaneo spontaneous. >> the democrat leader is on the floor. i want to see what she's saying. >> a moment of silence, a moment of truth.

so many names to remember. >> no vote. no bill. >> no break. no break. no vote. no break. no vote, no break. no vote, no break. >> no. >> all right. you see nancy pelosi with john lewis. they were holding hands during that moment of silence. they're continuing the sit-in now. they want a vote on the floor of the house of representatives to expand gun control here in the united states. the speaker has decided that for now that's not going to happen. we'll continue to watch what's going on on the floor of the house of representatives. you heard some of the activity

there. this video we're getting courtesy of periscope, the official video you see from the floor of the house representatives not available because the house, technically is in recess. let's take a quick break. we'll be right back. most of the show. (woman) and there's no way to restart it. (jon bon jovi) with directv there is. ♪ you see, we've got the power to turn back time ♪ ♪ so let's restart the show that started at nine ♪ ♪ and while we're at it, let's give you back your 'do ♪ ♪ and give her back the guy she liked before you ♪ ♪ hey, that's the power to turn back time. ♪ (vo) get the ultimate all-included bundle. call 1-800-directv.

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nancy pelosi has left the house floor. she's now outside explaining why democrats are staging this protest, this sit-in, violating the rules of the house the try to get a vote on gun control. i want to listen in to what else she's saying. >> over 150 people have died from gun violence in the streets of our country. we want to address that issue as well as to deeply pray for those who lost their lives and their family members in orlando and all the the mass shootings before that. also remembering those who lose their lives to gun violence every single day. with that i'm pleased to yield to distinguished assistant to the leader, many jim clyburn of south carolina. >> thank you very much madame

leader. rast frida last friday, all of us paused around the country to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of nine of my constituents. three people survived that night. two by playing dead and one because the killer walked up to her and said i'm going to spare you because i want you to carry the message. that young man made it very clear that he was not about any foreign issue or any kind of international terrorism. he said that he was doing what he was doing in order to start a race war. now, the interesting thing about this, is that young man was not eligible to own a gun. the background check has been

undertaken. the leader said, we want reasonable, effective background checks. we have a big loophole in this law that because of this incident is now called the charleston loophole. that loophole is simply this, if within the three-day period the background check is not completed, the gun sale can be consummated. because wrong information was keyed in, either purposefully or by mistake. the fact of the matter is that the expiration of three days, the background check had not been completed and it was some two days after that. by this time, this young man was in possession of the firearm and went to emmanuel ame church to carry out his threat. we want effective background

checks. we want the list, the no-fly list to be honored in such way that potential, dangerous, demented people will not be able to so casually purchase firearms. i thank all those gaerted with us today for being so effective in their pursuit of reasonable constraints on a constitutional right, the second amendment. just as we have reasonable constraints on the first amendment and all others. with that, i'd like to yield to d dan gross to speak in whatever manner he wish. >> thank you so much. >> all right. we're going to break away from this part. you see there's a demonstration on the floor of the house of representatives. democrats are staging a protest,

a sit-in to try to get a vote in favor of gun control legislation. the speaker of the house has made it clear that's not forthcoming, at least not now. he said the democrats are in clear violation of the rules of house of representatives. he's put the house in recess until they can figure out how to go forward. the protest is continuing, at least for now. we'll take on stop of this breaking news. there's other news we're following as well, including donald trump. a major speech he delivered today claiming hillary clinton's deepest, darkest secrets may be in the hands of u.s. enemies. we'll update you on that part of the story. a lot more after this. hmmmmmm..... hmmmmm... [ "dreams" by beck ] hmmmmm...

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donald trump on the attack right now. he unleashes a withering barrage of attacks against hillary clinton calling her a world class liar. he took direct aims at her position on economy, trade and foreign policy. the republican nominee blasted clinton over the e-mail controversy and the dealings of the clinton foundation. he accused hillary clinton of being in the pocket of special interest groups. >> they totally own her. that will never, ever change, including if she ever became president, god help us. [ applause ]

this choice is a choice between taking our government back from the special interests or surrendering, really, the last scrap of independence to the total and complete control of people like the clintons. those are the stakes. hillary clinton wants to be president. she doesn't have the temperament or as bernie sanders said, the judgment to be president. she does not have the judgment. she believes -- [ applause ] she believes she's entitled to the office. her campaign slogan is i'm with her. you know what my response is to that, i'm with you the american people. hillary clinton's message is old and tired. her message is that things can't

change. my message is that things have to change, and that this is our one chance and maybe our only chance to do that change and to -- if we don't do it now folks, i don't know that we'll ever, ever have another chance. we have to have change, but real change, not obama change. >> clinton's campaign pouncing on the speech even before trump delivered it. the campaign put out a statement that accused trump of rehashing and recycling more tired and old nonsense. the campaign said instead of defending his own record, he goes to peddling yet more discredited attacks from his look over there campaign playbook. we heard some of his attack on hillary clinton leveling several serious charges against her. how accurate are his claims?

our resident reality check expert is joining us to take a closer look. what are you finding out? >> he hit her on a lot of broad fronts but on some specific things. her plan to bring in more syrian refugees. listen. >> under her plan, we would admit hundreds of thousands of refugees from the most dangerous countries on earth with no way to screen who they are, what they are, what they believe, where they come from. >> he seems to be talking about syria or mostly about syria. let's look at the reality. president obama has a goal of bringing in 10,000 syrian refugees by the end of september this year. she said she wants a huge increase, 65,000 in the near term is what she's aiming for. however, she's also said none of them should come in without the most stringent scrutiny and background checks. it's worth noting there are security analysts out there who

said it can be very hard to do these checks on some of these people particularly from syria where civil war has created so much chaos on the ground. you have to consider that trump's claim, the idea she wants hundreds of thousands is, which is not true and no checks, that's simply false. one of the other areas he went after her is the idea she used the office of secretary of state to enrich herself personally and to draw money into the clinton foundation. listen. >> hillary clinton accepted $58,000 in jewelry from the government of bruni when when he was secretary of state. >> it is true she did get a gift. it was worth a lot. she did exactly what the law requires. she declared it as a diplomatic

gift which means it was a gift from the government of brunea that became a possession of the government of the united states of america. she did not keep it. she was the officer who oversaw that transfer of a gift between governments. what troubles a lot of people a lot more is the government of brunea did give 1 to $5 million to the clinton foundation. that does worry a lot of people. because donald trump con flflat the claim, we have to say it's true. you can find out about all of it by going to cnn.com/realitycheck. >> all right. we will stand by for more of that. thanks very much. let's bring in our panel. dana bash is with us.

is this the kind of speech republicans have been hoping for? >> it certainly is in that you just described what he did which he hasn't been doing until now. he has, despite, disparaging hill clinton for using a teleprompter, he's used them for the past handful of speeches. most importantly, he laid out in a cogent way what his arguments are and are going to be against hillary clinton and in favor of his own candidacy. he really hasn't done this kind of speech to date. he had a lot of catch phrases. she said i'm with her. i'm going to be with america.

a lot of memorable lines but most importantly, he began to lay out why the american people should distrust her and completely feeding into one of her vulnerabilities which is trustworthiness and honesty. we saw those numbers yesterday in our own poll. the other thing i thought was fascinating is he went back to basics from the primary campaign. the things that work so well for him. he's an outsider. she's an insider. he talked about corruption and the rigged system. the really is the kind of thing that connected with voters. they're sick of washington and sick of feeling like they are left out of economy. he described all of that as rigged and that he's the person who can come. whether or not that's going to resonate, but it's a first step that republicans who i talked are breathing a bit of sigh of

relief about. >> gloria, you note that donald trump repeated some of the criticisms we heard earlier from bernie sanders that the political and economic systems are rigged against ordinary americans. he even seemed to reach out directly to the bernie sanders supporters. listen to this. >>. >> in insiders wrote the rules of the game to keep themselves this power and in the money. that's why we're asking bernie sanders voters to join our movement, so together, we can fix the system for all americans so important. >> gloria, how likely is it that appeal to bernie sanders supporters will work for trump? >> look, i don't think it's very likely that a majority or even a significant percentage of bernie sanders voters will end up voting for donald trump, but i don't blame him for trying. obviously, the appeal of the outsider has resonance with

them. it could also resonate with independent voters who believe the system is rigged and don't like washington and like the notion of an outsider. one other thing i want to raise is not only did he hit hillary clinton on her achilles heel which is you're crooked and your a liar and her trust numbers are terrible, but he also added ineptude to this list. she was inept during benghazi. i think this will be another line of attack you'll see coming from him in the future. this appeals to republicans. >> he said very, very strong words. hillary clinton may be the most corrupt person to seek the presidency of the united states. a world class liar. he said she perfected the

politics of personal profit and theft. is this an effective strategy for him going forward? >> i don't think on the merits it is because that's going to be argued back and forth. her team will respond forcefully. i think it will be muddled for a lot of americans paying attention trying to make heads or tails. what's important is he's getting all this credit for campaign 101 which is give a pretty cogent speech attacking your opponent. it shows how far he's fallen. he wants the attention off himself. he wants it about her. this is trump on the attack against his opponent. this is the place he needs to be. he's had a horrible month. i think that's got to be a leaf to donors and the republican establishment who have questioned whether or not he can make it to november. >> all right.

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and still haveealthy, gum disease. use gum® brand for healthy gums. soft-picks®. proxabrush® cleaners. flossers and dental floss. gum® brand. donald trump not only targeted her paid speeches but accused her of abusing her position as secretary of state. listen to this. >> hillary clinton has perfected the politics of personal profit and even theft. she ran the state department like her own personal hedge fund. then when she left, she made

$21.6 million giving speeches to wall street banks and other special interests and in less than two years, secret speeches that she does not want to reveal under any circumstances to the public. i wonder why. >> all right. let's talk about this. very, very serious attack. let me get your reaction to what we just heard from donald trump. >> i thought donald trump's attacks were scandalous and slanderous in nature. i know he called hillary clinton a world class liar, but we only saw a speech filled with lies. you can't divorce the message from the messenger. he stole from students at trump university. this is the same person who

hoped for a housing crash so he can capitalize on that. donald trump is not someone who can stand up there and have any moral authority to launch these attacks. i think the american public will see right through that. >> jeffrey, donald trump said hillary clinton spent her entire life making money for special interests. he's bragged about using bankruptcy in his word, brilliantly, he called himself the king of debt. just released federal filings revealed, nearly one-fifth of the trump campaign went to his own businesses where he had an event in palm beach and mira lago. he could reimburse. how square all that? >> he's a private businessman. what he's talking about here, which is very, very powerful. having read hill clinton's speech where she attacks wall street, this is what people think is the problem.

this is a game. the party, 2 the $1 million of speeches given among other things, she's not going to release the transcripts. they play a game with this. they go out there and they denounce these people and then they take their money. they do this all the time. she's not the first to do this. when she denounces the housing crisis and donald trump on housing, let us not forget that it was president clinton's housing strategy that gretchen morganson who wrote reckless endangerment, wrote the tale of this. >> he's accusing her of not releasing the transcripts of her paid speeches to some wall street firm, but donald trump is refusing to release his irs, his tax returns. every presidential candidate has done so over the past 40 years, going back to nixon. shouldn't he release his tax returns? >> i'm opposed to this at this point. i think this has become a game.

if you remember, harry reid standing up there on the senate floor and accusing mitt romney of all kinds of things about his taxes. what people want to do is go through this. i think he'll probably release them any way. i'm definitely opposed to this. what they want to do is find something in there to embarrass him. she gave a speech, a public speech, to this group. there's no reason in the world you can't release this. this is not her tax returns. this is about public policy. >> why not release the transcripts of those speeches? >> well, i think that hillary clinton has said it from the beginning and one thing that people fail to realize and even jeffrey lord fails to realize is that before donald trump was running for president in 2000, he was bragging about these speeches. she said the exact same thing. when everyone is held to the same standards, she'll release the speeches. donald trump will not release his taxes. i hate to pivot on you.

you have someone talking about tax plan. he talked about his tax plan that will devastate our economy, but we know from the years we have seen tax returns, he's paid zero in taxes. i mean, this shows this person just built, we learned at his campaign is built on a scam. it's just enriching and benefitting his family. i believe his whole empire, i use that loosely, may just be built on cards. >> we're not going to resolve this. we will continue this conversation as both you have well know. we're getting live pictures right now from raleigh, north carolina where hillary clinton will take the stage. will she respond to donald trump blistering attacks against? we'll hear what she has to say. also, hillary clinton and donald trump are not the only two people in this race. gary johnson, the libertarian is starting to find some footing in the polls. he's getting national platform right here on cnn at the

libertarian town hall. up next, i'll ask ron paul, who once led the libertarian ticket, what he thinks about this. you see ron paul standing by live. we'll discuss right after this. . be the you who shows up in that dress. who hugs a friend. who is done with treatments that don't give you clearer skin. be the you who controls your psoriasis with stelara® just 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tuberculosis. before starting stelara® tell your doctor if you think you have an infection or have symptoms such as: fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. always tell your doctor if you have any signs of infection, have had cancer, if you develop any new skin growths or if anyone in your house needs or has recently received a vaccine. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems, including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. some serious allergic reactions can occur. do not take stelara® if you are allergic to stelara®

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we're following the breaking news in washington. a showdown over gun control playing out right now on the floor of the united states house of representatives. take a look at these live pictures on this sit-in. this protest movement that's happening right now on the house floor. congressman john lewis is leading the sit-in protest. lewis and other lawmakers are demanding that republicans address gun control and gun violence. president obama just tweeted his support, his tweet reads, quote, thank you, john lewis, for leading on gun violence where we need it most. we're standing by. hopefully we'll speak with congressman lewis momentarily. get an update how long this sit-in will continue. the speaker of the house has pointed out they are violating the rules of the house of representatives which is now in recess, but there's other news we're following right now including this. hillary clinton and donald trump are not the only americans who are running for president of the

united states. gary johnson, the former governor of new mexico, he's also running. he's leading the libertarian party ticket. tonight he'll take center stage at cnn's libertarian town hall to make his case to voters, the libertarian nominee believes in limited government. wants to eliminate the irs as we know it, do away with the federal department of education. when it comes to imgracious, he wants to make it easier to enter the united states legally, and on the issue of abortion he supports a woman's right to choose which he adds has been the law for several decades. recent polling, by the way, is on gary johnson's side. shows him gaining traction right now in our latest cnn/orc poll. he's polling at 9%. sometimes in other polls getting as high as 12%. so in a year that's veered away from all norms, could a third-party candidate actually attract more voters than ever? joining us now is former u.s.

congressman and three-time presidential candidate ron paul. congressman, you ran on the libertarian party ticket back in 1988. later you tried to get the republican party nomination and didn't get it and right now donald trump and hillary clinton have high unfavorability ratings. do you think this could be an election where the libertarian party is a real shot? >> i think it's a real opportunity. i don't want to be so bold as a real shot and tell people that i'm predicting that he's going to win, but i think it's a real opportunity, and who knows what will happen. you know, there may be some charges made against one of the candidates, who knows what will happen between now and election day, but, no, i think this is a year that somebody in an alternative party should do very well because the people are so disgusted. even though there's a big fight between republicans and democrats, you know, the

negatives are huge and for me as a libertarian i sort of wonder about this because strictly speaking when you look at the issues, i don't see a whole lot of difference because they both like government a lot more than libertarians do. >> i'm curious, congressman, who are you going to vote for? >> i haven't decided yet. probably -- i'm not going to vote for trump or hillary and i'll vote for the libertarian party. i'm not endorsing people because there are shortcomings there but the principles of libertarianism are very important to me, and i've been involved in politics to try to present the case for nonviolence and non-aggression principles and a foreign policy that works for peace rather than endless undeclared wars. so under these circumstances i think people who say that they want to -- want significant change. they want to protect individual liberty, concern about the constitution. they should think seriously about voting for a libertarian principle, and that's what i intend to do. >> you're a former member of the house of representatives, sir. for many years from texas.

democrats are holding a sit-in on the house floor right now to push for gun control legislation following the orlando tragedy. where do you stand on this? >> well, i still believe in the constitution, and i believe in the second amendment, but i'm for gun control. where the real killing is going on is our guns and the our military going overseas and bombing and killing and starting wars that aren't necessary and selling weapons. we're selling -- we're putting weapons in the hands of isis, you know, in syria. those are the real guns of war that we should be dealing with, and, of course, if we're really worried about guns on the streets, why has it been totally ignored? a lot more people are dying in our inner cities. crime on weekends is just out of control so we need more, you know, police activity to try to protect some people, but property management, that is preventing the rights of an individual to own a piece of property, whether it's a knife

or a gun, is protected, and that shouldn't be the issue. i do not think it will achieve anything, and since i'm one that's very much in favor of non-aggression and violence, i would be for it if i thought it reduced the violence, but it will not, and, therefore, i will defend the second amendment. >> congressman ron paul, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> let's get back to the breaking news right now. house democrats holding a sit-in on the floor of the house of representatives demanding action on gun control. the initiative led by congressman john lewis. he's joining us now live from capitol hill. president obama, as you know, congressman, just tweeted support for you. let me read it once again. he said thank you, john lewis, for leading on gun violence where we need it most. how long do you plan to remain in protest on the house floor with this sit-in? >> well, i must tell you that i'm delighted and very pleased that the president of the united states was sending me such a message. it is wonderful.

it is very moving. we will continue to sit. you know, many years ago when i was only 20 years old, i participated in sit-ins, and by sitting down we were really standing up so by sitting down or sitting in with my colleagues in the well. house today, we'll send to the republican leadership, to the speaker and others, it is time to bring the bills to the floor and let us pass these bills and not take a break. too many -- too many of our children, too many of our sisters and brothers, our mothers and fathers, our friends, our cousins are dying by guns, and we have to do something about it. we cannot wait. we cannot afford to take a break and go home. we should stay here until we pass the bills. >> so you can stay for hours, maybe even overnight, days, is

that what i'm hearing? >> we don't have any intention of leaving any time soon. i will continue to confer with my colleagues. we'll ton plan, and we're going to sit in for a while or sit down for a while. >> the speaker of the house, paul ryan, issued a statement. i'll read it to you, congressman. he said the house cannot operate without members following the rules of the institution so the house is recessed subject to the call of the chair. he's accusing you of violating the rules of the house of representatives which is a strong accusation, a strong charge. tell our viewers why you're violating those rules. >> sometimes you have to violate a rule or law to uphold a greater law or moral law. we -- we have a right to stand up, to speak up, to speak out, and we have a right to silt down or to sit in, to engage in

nonviolent protests. it is always right to do right. >> do you think if you did get a roll call, a vote on this legislation that would prevent someone from buying a gun other in the united states, if he or she were on not-fly list or the terror watchly, given the fact that the republicans have a decisive majority in the house of representatives, would that legislation even pass? >> it is my belief that we should test the legislation on the floor. put it on the floor and almost every single democratic matter will vote for that legislation, and i think we can get enough republican colleagues to vote for it. >> because, as you know, they tried four pieces of legislation on the senate side the other day, and all of them could not get the required 60 votes to break a filibuster, 60 out of 100, so the legislation, there's some compromise moves in the senate. we'll see if that gets the 60

votes, but if there's no effort in the senate, would your effort, even if you were to succeed in the house, be in vain if it doesn't pass in the senate as well? >> let's pass it. let's try to pass it. let's do the right thing. the american people, more than 85% of the american people, democrats and republicans, want us toss do something to act and now is the time for action. >> have you discussed this with the speaker of the house, with the majority leader kevin mccarthy? have you had any conversations with those two republican leaders in advance of this sit-in? >> our leveredship is engaged in ongoing discussion and conversation with the leadership on the republican side. we didn't tell them that we were going to sit in, that we were going to occupy the well of the house. >> you did not? >> we did not. >> do you think you should talk to them and see if you can work out some arrangement? >> well, i think it's up to them

now to come and talk to us. we will move what we felt we had to do and remove what i call the spirit of history to find a way to get in the way. >> congressman john lewis, thanks so much for joining us. appreciate your joining us here on cnn. we'll continue to follow this dramatic development in the house of representatives. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. the news continues now right now right here on cnn. wolf, thank you, sir. i'm brooke baldwin. i'll pick it up in the very same spot. the tears still fresh, funerals still going and now the calls for a revolt growing louder. right now an absolutely extraordinary moment unfolding on capitol hill. dozens of members of congress staging a sit-in on the house floor, angry about the gun violence sweeping the nation just ten