>> i'm wolf blitzer and it's 1:00 in washington. wherever you are watching from around the world. thanks for joining us. we are following breaking news. we are on the brink of historic reforms to the tax system. this hour we expect a vote in the house of representatives. the tax cut bill, a bill that one third of americans approve. that according to a brand-new cnn poll. more than half of those surveyed said they oppose the bill and 11% are unsure. let's go to capitol hill. we are watching the latest

developments. where do things stand right now? >> as you know in about a half hour, the house will be taking their vote and make very clear they are on the right track. behind closed doors, paul ryan telling his conference to soak it up saying this is the moment after a year of legislative frustration that they have been waiting for. the democrats are opposed unanimously in the house and senate, but they don't need any help. the house will pass the bill in short order and move over to the senate and mitch connell wrapped up all the votes he needs to move it forward. in terms of the timeline, earlier today he said he expects to have a vote later tonight. the timing is fluid, but one thing is certain. republicans have the votes for the $1.5 billion tax overhaul. it will be a legislative win and will it also be a political win. you talk about the numbers.

they brush it off and haven't told the bill well enough. in short order, americans will see their paychecks change. it's a gamble they are taking and one they are willing to take and believe the policy is the right direction. more importantly they believe they need to do something on the legislative side after a frustrating year as the imperative they need to push it over the top. by tomorrow afternoon, president trump will have a tax overhaul bill on his desk, something that a few months ago they thought was not possible within the year of 2017. >> it will be a major, major win for the president and the republicans in the senate and the house of representatives and a change to the tax structure. phil, thank you very much. in our new poll, we also asked who benefits the most from this legislation. two thirds of americans, 66% said the wealthy get the most out of this bill. only 27% said the middle class. paul ryan said it's a matter of

people until people come around. listen. >> when we get this done, when people see the withholding improving and the jobs and bigger paychecks and a fair and simpler text code, that's going to produce the results. results are going to make this popular. >> joining us now from capitol hill, mark meadows from north carolina is the chairman of the house freedom caucus. thanks for joining us. >> it's great to be back with you. thanks so much. >> it's 570 pages. this legislation you are about to vote on on the floor of the house of representatives, some of it is extremely complex and hard to understand. have you gone through this entire tax bill you are voting on? >>. >> i have. maybe you see the bloodshot eyes i have. i was up late. i started on friday and was up late last night finishing it up to make sure that i have read the bill that i will be voting on here in a few minutes. you are right. it is extremely complex. i'm not a lawyer.

as you look at the referrals here and there, it goes to more important on what is in it and it is about cutting taxes for the american people and indeed this bill does that. i feel comfortable with that. it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. in the next day or so, we will be working on legislation to improve this and we hope that democrats will come across to help us on that. it will be a historic day for americans from coast to coast. >> the independent scores or the analysis said it could be around 1 or $1.5 trillion added to the nation's debt to the deficit. i want to play an exchange i had with the former budget director, leon panetta. listen to what he told me. >> this bill is going to add not just $1.5 trillion, but with the gimmicks that are part of it, it

could add in addition other polls congress is working on, almost $4 trillion to the national debt. >> just curious where he came up with that number because the congressional budget office and the joint committee on taxation say one trillion or $1.5 trillion. i know you are a former chairman of the house budget committee or former white house chief of staff. where did you come up with the $4 trillion? >> it adds up this way. the tax bill itself is about $1.5 trillion. it has temporary provisions in the bill that involve tax cuts. if the temporary provisions are extended, that will add $2 trillion to the debt. >> heed adds in other spending disasters that congress is

preparing to act on right now to get to what he calls $4 trillion added to the nation's debt. the freedom caucus is adamant about not growing the def sis. how do you scare this huge deficit increase with your ideals? >> we are deficit hawks obviously. i have been honest with you, wolf. in the short-term this will increase the deficit. leon there is using that d.c. math. he is not counting any of the growth thatty woo a we are goin for the hardworking american taxpayer. he is only looking at one side of the equation and not the other side. as we look at this, i think the key is here. as we start to become more competitive as a nation and make sure the corporations are bringing jobs here instead of taking them to china, we make sure that wages go up and we put pressure there, we will see a gdp growth we have not seen in

the last decade. probably not in the last two. in the short-term deficit increase which obviously if we can do it any other way with democrat support, i would be all in favor of that. we are going to start to see a real growth and increase in the paychecks. not just for the top earners, but for the average person that is making a wage here in america. more than $2,000 a year back this their pocket. it's krill critical that we trust the american people to spend their dollar more wisely than d.c. because they always do. >> part of the plan to help offset this huge increase in the nation's debt, this massive deficit that is about to unfold and it's huge to begin with. almost $20 trillion as you know. a part of it is future steps from down the road. we heard from the speak they're

there should be sig thnificant s to entitlements like social security and medicare and the president is adamant about not cutting these programs. listen. >> save medicare, medicaid and social security without cuts. have to do it. get rid of the fraud. get rid of the waiste and abuse but save it. people have been paying in for years and many of the candidates want to cut it. >> i'm not going to cut social security like every republican. i'm not going to cut medicare and medicaid. >> you clearly and your supporters clearly believe you have to deal with the entitlements, but the president at least as a candidate was adamant. no cuts at all. >> we believe there needs to be reforms in the programs, but a lot of those as candidate donald trump said he was not going to

touch those. i have been in the room with him a number offa times and he is firm on those. what we are trying to do is look at the waste, fraud, and abuse and slow it down. if we look at slowing the growth of government down instead of allowing it to grow at 5%, grow at 2.5%. over a 15-year period, you balance. the president was consistent and he is consistent now that he is at 1600 pennsylvania avenue on that front. as much as i try to encourage him to look at it differently, he is adamant that he is going to stay firm with that. >> he told me on several occasions he doesn't want any cuts to social security, medicare and medicaid. people have paid in and don't want to see cuts. there is a different perspective that speaker ryan and others have in congress. let me get to the other point.

you heard your colleague, the congressman kevin brady that will break the current bill. he admits there has to be several follow-up bills to clean up the problems that you are about to create in this bill. there has to be -- and you remember that even in 1984, i assume you remember with the reagan tax cut bill which was historic. there were 180 technical changes that had to be made immediately after it was passed. are we going to see what you call connection tal changes to the current legislation within days? >> i don't know that we see them within days. we are looking at a spending issue that we have in december of 22nd. some of them we may see. rodney davis who is a member from illinois is working to make sure the individual cuts for the moms and dads on main streets

and the small businesses that those are made permanent. he is making a leadership you may see a vote on that. but those technical changes that you are talking about, we have already been making a list in our office and hopefully we can find democrats and republicans to help with that. anything that is this historic and major needs to be something that we actually address the technical aspects as we see it. i'm very optimistic not only can we get that done, we can get it done in a bipartisan way to address that on behalf of the hardworking american taxpayer. >> you have to run because you have a vote coming up, but will you vote later in the week for the spending bill to keep the government open and avoid a shut down even if it includes measures you are not necessarily thrilled by let's say $81 billion for disaster relief in texas, florida, and puerto rico.

>> i just came from a meeting with the speaker and some of the other leadership staff to be out here with you. we are discussing that right now. i don't see any danger of a shut down, but i see a whole lot of changes in the way we approach the spending whether we do the supplemental as a different stand alone bill with a number of items. even if we have to stay through christmas to get it done to do what's right on behalf of the american public. >> congressman mark meadows, thanks as usual for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> merry christmas to you and happy new year as well. the house will begin voting this hour on the massive gop tax bill. we will bring it to you live coming up straight ahead. also president trump's private lawyers preparing to meet special counsel robert mueller as the president remains confident he will be cleared of any wrong-doing pretty soon.

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lawyers are planning to meet with special counsel robert mueller and his team this week. the trump team is hoping to hear that the president is free and clear of any accusations of collusion. let's discuss this and more. we have the security correspondent and what are you learning about the face-to-face meeting between white house lawyers and muller's team? >> this is not the first time they met, but the timing here is key. white house lawyers are hoping for an update or indication that the investigation as it relates to the president nearing its end. the reason they are doing it now, as soon as this week is because robert mueller wants to speak to inside the white house. he could add to that list later or ask for more documents, but because he came to the list of what he expected so far, lawyers to get an update with an

expectation perhaps, a hopeful expectation that mueller will indicate that the investigation is coming to an end or will soon come to an end. >> there is a lot of pressure in the house intelligence meeting. for them to wrap up their investigation, right? >> there is a lot of concern among the democrats on the house committee that this is what republicans are setting up for. from the beginning you had the house investigation and the senate investigation because of the numbers. the greater republican majority in the house. a greater majority in the house along with a republican sharemanship here. the democrats have not had as much power to influence and they are not allowed to subpoena witnesses. now that the last interviews at least are going to come to an end on friday, they have fear that this is in effect the end or the near end of that investigation. the current acting chairman said that's not the case.

i can tell you that we have spoken to the committee and that is their concern on the pace of things. the fact that there were no interviews scheduled beyond the end of this week and some will be in new york when the committees are no longer in session. we will see if that's the case. there have been partisan concerns for sometime about how long it will go and how bipartisan that probe actually is. >> reporting for us, jim, thank you very much. let's discuss the russia probe with the panel. joining us is analyst mark preston and senior analyst and correspondent for the washington examiner. the associated editor and columnist for posting no labels radio. let's talk about andrew mccapbe. the republicans are dopely concerned about him. they think he is biased.

>> right. they have been out for him for a while because his wife ran as a democrat in virginia. there has always been this stink around him in republicans's eyes that he is somehow connected to the clintons and he's a partisan. they refer to it as an insurance policy. i go back to two weeks ago with sarah huckabee sanders, she said the rank and file are fine. good men and women. it's the political leadership. you can tell that there is a likely push to clean house. the president has been open about that and he might start getting rid of people in the fbi. andrew mccabe is in a spotlight and rod rosen stein as well.

>> kellyanne conway, counsel to the president, she said in an interview that all the texts that have come out showing a bias against president trump and all those words indicate that the fix was in against the president. >> i think this is something that the president's allies felt from the beginning and they have constantly raised terms like deep state and soft coup as a way to suggest that the russia investigation is an fbi hoax and a way to get at the president because they don't like or trust him. it's important to understand that the real danger here is that a lot of people on all sides of the spectrum don't trust the fbi. with democrats insisting that the fbi was functions out of bounds and unfairly in pursuit of hillary clinton. the house republican committees

helped make public because of their request and that late letter from jim comey in the last 10 days of the presidential campaign and democrats believe are responsible for hillary clinton losing a lot of her leads. >> hillary clinton leads them. >> everybody is upset at the fbi. i don't think it's helpful for an administration to act as though it has no control and b, there is a rogue element running things when they have an opportunity to do things. i think the other thing is that we would all be better served if everybody were able to have trust again in how the fbi operates. nobody really does. if hillary won the election and republicans go after her, i'm sure everyone would be singing a different tune. >> a couple of things, the tax on the fbi from both sides are politically motivated. no question about that. just like any organization, you are going to have problems. there is no question.

they had somebody who is investigating. that has worked. that's how the government works right now. talking to the rank and file so to speak who live in and around washington, d.c., there is a level of frustration. don't to use the word depression because that's going too far. when you have the president of the united states constantly attacking and needling you and you pair it with what was said about the intelligence agencies and the work they are doing, there is not a whole lot of respect, i would say, or con confidence in the commander in chief when he said he has no confidence. >> we have more we need to discuss. we are awaiting the lawmaker who is are expected to begin voting any minute on major overhaul of the u.s. tax system. the bill is clear. it should pass the house. why do so many americans dislike it? we will talk more about that on the panel. stay with us.

>> take a look at this. the house floor looks like they are getting ready to vote on the tax bill. we are also awaiting comments from the speaker of the house, paul ryan. we will have live coverage coming up. an historic day here in washington. the bill, by the way, had more than half of the american public thinks is a bad idea. just one third of the people serving approved of this tax reform bill. these numbers, the poll numbers, not just ours, but other polls suggest there is limited public support for this tax bill. >> well, you know, i don't think it's a good idea to put the voters down and watch this debate. it's to meet a christmas deadline. they have learned that the

corporate rate cuts. the middle class cuts are modest and last seven or eight years. they're a little nervous about the end of the deductions and they are looking at republicans that are looking nervously at the polling on this. it's almost always in that range. the opposition of mid 50s support. low to mid 30s. these are worse than obamacare numbers in 2010. president trump's approval numbers are worse than obama's in 2010. >> everyone remembers in mid-terms what happened to the democrats. >> unless we see 6% growth, what does it mean for the defense of the republican majority? >> in november our poll had opposition to the tax bill at 45%. it's going up 10 points since november at 55%. they think it's not necessarily a good idea. >> this is one of the aspects of politics now. everything is partisan and

everything is commit. this is a republican enterprise. half the country will be predisposed to not trust it and not like it. one of the challenges that the republicans face is to convince the right voters in the right places and the battle grounds that this is good for them. specifically suburban voters in upscale communities that like tax cuts and worry that the provisions are going to hit them in the wallet. that's the work republicans have cut out for them. when i talk to them privately, they understand what they are facing. publicly they are boy ant because it's a big win for the president and for them. where they started with a failed effort to repeal and replace obamacare. >> the new poll as the president's job approval number is around 35% right now. that's a historic low in modern times at this stage, first year of a new president. it's surprising only because the

economy seems to be doing so well. look at the stock market and the unemployment and the growth. things are moving well in the econo economy, but his numbers have sunk. >> gangbusters in the economy. you can look at his approval rating at 35% and lay the blame squarely at the doorstep of the white house. he decided to be a divider and not a uniter. he is more focused on his supporters and trying to make them happy. look at the tax cut. this is a republican bill. this was crafted by republicans on capitol hill and if you go deep into the numbers. 77% of them support this bill. he is not concerned about what the democrats or independents are thinking. he is more concerned about thinking i want to please those who got me to the white house. to your point, how can he go into the new year with a 35%

approval rating. pew's rating was 32%. he needs to change a little bit. i don't think he is going to do that. he is so combative and he has a good chance of losing one or both chambers. >> why are the numbers so low when the economy is moving along very nicely? >> people are pleased with the economy, but they are upset with president trump about other things. mark is right. he plays to a 35% portion of the country. he spents a lot of energy on culture wars and trying to get nfl players fire and tries to distract away from the subjects that everyone has bipartisan support in the 80s and 90s on inf infrastructu infrastructure. he rarely talks about policy and how republicans are going to save the day and democrats are obstructionists. he had a chance to be more popular than on election day. he could have moved to the middle, but he didn't do it and continues to enjoy this game of

everything being a base play. >> plus the low expects that everyone had for him and his policies are more popular than he is conceptually. that's a total reverse from obama. people liked obama, but not so much his policies. he never moved away from a campaign. whether it be a twitter or periodic campaign rallies. he goes after the democrats like we are in the middle of a campaign. he is planning to engage in more of that if republicans will have him. it will be difficult for the president to ever be in a different political situation than now. republicans will need heavy turn out and enthusiasm. we will have seen all that was with the democrats. you surprised with the conservative leader how uncomfortable they are in voting for a bill that is going to significantly raise the national debt. hold that thought for a moment. nancy pelosi is speaking and i

want to listen in briefly. >> little class families have tried to present the delusion that it's a middle class tax cut. is there justice in the bill that has a breathtaking 83% of its benefits to the wealthiest 1% of americans. 83% of its benefits to the top 1%. is there justice in a bill that explodes the national debt to give the wealthy and well connected a break and sticks the debt with our children? is that justice? i don't think you thought so. i wish our republican colleagues would join us. this gop tax scam is simply theft. monumental brazen theft from the american middle class and from every person who aspires to reach it. the gop tax scam is not a vote

for jobs. it is to install a nation. it does violence to our founders and disrespects our men and women in uniform who are a big part of our middle class. if detrays the future and betrays the aspirations of our children. it demands, it morally demands a no vote from every member of this house of the people. that i yield back. >> gentleman from texas. >> that's nancy pelosi giving the democratic view and you heard her say this is monumental theft what the republicans are about to do. monumental theft. let's get back to what i raised with you. the uncomfortable nature of these conservative republicans, deficit hawks and voting now for

legislation that will dramatically increase the nation's debt. >> my general rule of thumb, wolf, is the party that cares about the debt and deficit doesn't have the power to spent any money. when you have the power, you have to make choices. what is notable here, we heard nothing for eight years, but the republicans speak against president obama and all the debt he was racking up. they were faced with a choice and they give the compromise and they govern and show faith in the philosophy that we needed tax reform and it will generate economic growth that will take care of that deficit. or they can fold and have nothing to show with the complete control of government and not show they believe their own rhetoric and they made a choice. >> it was a disruption in the gallery in the house of representatives. they were about to evict folks who are protesting. that slowed things down. paul ryan, the speaker of the

house. he will be the final speaker before the actual roll call begins. we will watch that closely. not a surprise that there has been disruptions. for this, your thought. >> republicans had to make a choice. were they going to take tough votes and govern and pass something imperfect that is the only legislation that passes on anything or will they make the perfect the enemy of the good? it's a cliche, but if you need to pass something being you need to make a choice. the house freedom caucus which disrupted the republican house majority's ability to do anything when president obama was in power after the health care failure understood he was going to be either a session of failure with nothing to show for it or have to ban and compromise with their own principals and do something and hope it worked out. >> i understand that you have a compromise to get things done. for years, the conservative republicans are saying you have to pay for these cuts and there

is not going to be an increase in the nation's debt. we are not going to force our children and grandchildren to pay for what we are doing right now. >> short-term memory. they are in power and feel like they can get something done. in many ways the logic behind allowing this bill to go through in ballooning the deficit is very similar to the idea of let's just support donald trump even though we don't necessarily agree with him or like him, but we will get behind him. the reason being is they see him in the vehicle to get something done. they are now at the water's edge on this tax cut. they are going to get it through. politically, heading into next year, the tax cut doesn't necessarily generate enthusiasm. it is going to generate enthusiasm with liberals who will try to lose it going into november. >> the mid-term elections are coming up soon. what do you make of the notion that you hear from the democrats. once this passes, it is going to

pass and the president will sign it into law. the next step will be what the president adamantly opposed doing during the campaign, cutting entitlement spending, social security and medicare and medica medicaid. >> i find it hilarious. in a mid-term election when the party is divide and they face head winds and wave numbers. they are going to after passing a deficit fund and tax cut make it up to the freedom caucus bypassing the entitlement reform. these mean republicans cut your entitlement programs that you paid into and i'm never going to do that. they have enough trouble getting through the week without fighting with president trump or each other. the idea that they will get pushed off and when they wonder how they will find the support to turn enough voters out i think is the craziest thing i

have heard this entire year. >> especially going into an election. >> you heard mark meadows and the congressman just tell us that what they would like to do, the president is adamantly opposed and they cut the rate of growth on social security, medicare and medicaid. not necessarily cut the bottom line. is that something -- >> i'm going to laugh because the house freedom caucus used to call that a fake cut that didn't do anything about the problem. i will say this. at end of speaker ryan's press conference, he went on to talk about the opportunity he sees in the first part of next year. politically it will be way too difficult and president trump won't want to go there. they might want to make an attempt to do this around welfare reform and republicans don't have the time to get on. we use words like entitlement

reform, but for everybody out there in tv land, they are saying we will cut back on your social security and that's what they are talking about. they are talking about taking something away. that's why we haven't seen it. >> if you listen to the conservatives, that's where the money is. >> absolutely where the money is. they will never address the debt and deficit problem if they don't do it. these seniors would be impacked or believe they would. they tend to vote republicans. why they are going to take a chance i have no idea. i don't think for that reason that anything major will happen. >> how did they do it in the senate. two or three or four or five senators who had serious concerns, but all of a sudden once the house passes it, there will be a debate. it will pass. mike pence is there and if there

is a tie and i suspect there won't be, he is the president of the senate and he can break the tie. the president may get this bill even though there were a handful of republican who is seriously thought of killing it. >> the tax reform is different. it's a signature policy prerogative going back decades and they waited to get a republican president to do this. on health care the debate shifted. the trump voter who helped him get into office and medicate expansion and they have shown this as popular. they couldn't repeal it. they will start fighting about cost cutting and daca and they will fight against. not one of the senators wanted to invoke the vote. it was too much of a republican goal. >> they did it and they are refusing to do it on this. >> tax reform is the goal. they never meant to cut taxes for the middle class.

this is a goal. >> republicans were put on this earth to support tax cut bills. that's why this was a little easier. >> we are waiting to hear from paul ryan and the roll call will begin. we will continue our extensive coverage after this. ♪ ♪ give a little bit ♪ ♪ give a little bit... -hello. ♪ give a little bit... ♪ ... of your love to me oh, haha. ♪ there's so much that we need to share ♪ ♪ so send a smile and show that you care ♪ ♪ i'll give a little bit of my love to you ♪

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>> i want to thank my predecessors, dave camp did a lot to help get us where we are. >> i want to most of all commend and express my profound admiration to the architect of this measure, chairman kevin brady. his endless patience and his persistence and his great demeanor have seen this through and gotten us to where we are today. my colleagues, this is a day i have been looking forward to for

a long time. we are about to achieve really big things. thing that is the cynics have scoffed at for years, decades even. ideas that have been worked on to help hardworking americans who have been left behind for too long. today, today we are giving the people of this country their money back. this is their money after all. mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the chair knows this contravention of law and against the rules of the house, the sergeant at arms will identify the person or persons responsible and have them escorted from the house chamber before proceedings will resume.

>> i notice since there is a disruption in the gallery, they cut the audio, but apparently they just restored it. >> guests of the house and any manifestation of approval or disapproval of the proceedings in the house are in violation of the rules of the house. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin, the speaker of the house. >> i have to remind my colleagues that it will last as long as i want it to last. as i was saying, mr. speaker, today we are giving the people their money back. the bottom line is the typical family making the median income in america will get a $2,059 tax

cut next year alone. what this is is real relief for families who are living out there paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet. you know they hear about the economy getting better. they tush on the community and country who are struggling see their own personnel economy getting better. we have to understand times are tough for a lot of people in our country. today this is about how much better things can be. this is about more jobs, fairer taxes. it is about bigger paychecks. it's about faster growth and upward mobility. it's about a strong economy that makes all of us stronger and healthier. those are the effects. those are the benefits of tax reform. here is the heart of it.

and here is why this is so vital that we do this. here is what it speaks to. and what i truly believe is a generational defining moment for this nation. our tax code is so broken, that it under mines the very thing that makes our nation exceptional in the first place. it punishes hard work and discouraging our entrepreneurial spirit. limits our own people. when americans see good jobs go aw away. when americans wake up and see companies going away. they wonder if we have lost something bigger. the mission that drives us here today is to restore this beautiful american idea. what is that idea? that the condition of your birth does not determine the outcome of your life. you can work hard, play by the rules, get ahead and make a

better life for yourself and even better one for your kids. it's that sense of possibility. we want people to be free to strive, to make the most of their lives. we want a country with the resilience to endure and tackle all of its challenges. mr. speaker, economic growth and job creation will not solve all of our problems, but it will help make all of our problems much easier to solve. this is the direction that we are choosing here today. because we know exactly where the status quo leads us. for years, the powers that be have blocked and stone walled reform under the umbrella of an arrogant, condescending and ideology. an ideology that makes us accept less in our lives.

view in the world that sees life in the economy as zero gain. your gain comes at my loss, therefore we can't do it. look at where this got us. the worst recovery since world war ii. flat wages, and an economy limping along. stagnation is a breeding ground for a class based society where elites predetermine the outcome of our lives. they will tell you this. just hand over more freedom to the bureaucrats and they will figure it out. they know more. we'll be okay. hand over more of your hard earned dollars to the irs and it will be okay. there is your scam right there. we know, given the opportunity, there are no limits to what our people, our fellow citizens, our brothers and sisters can do. yet for years now, this tax code

has been skewed to the well connected, full of special loop holes. meanwhile, the hard working family in america has to to jump through all the hoops that the ir irs can muster. we clean out the loop holes so people can keep more of what they earned in the first place because it's their money in the first place. no special favors, just basic fairness. reform means simplification too. nearly 9 out of 10 americans will still be able to do their taxes on the form the size of a postcard. that is amazing. and given the opportunity, there are no limits to what our workers and our entrepreneurs can do. yet while the world has changed, while the world has become more competitive, closer, smaller, our tax code has not.

instead of leading, we have been falling behind. to the point where we now are the worst in the industrialized world how we tax our businesses. we tax our businesses a whole lot more than our foreign competitors tax theirs. they win, we lose. that's not fair. it is basically open season for our competitors to come in and take our jobs overseas under the current tax code. reform means we go from back of the pack to the front of the pack. so instead of the slow growth that we have been going through for years, we want to get back to real sustained economic growth. we want to build an economy where there is more demand for higher paying jobs. that's the whole purpose of all this. make sure people can grow up and reach their potential. make sure the jobs are there to give people the opportunity to reach their potential. this is why we are doing this. this is without question the

single most thing we can do to, once again make america the best place to do business. you know, there is more just than that in this bill. with this bill we are finally doing by repealing the individual mandate of obamacare care we are giving back the freedom to buy the health care that's right for you and your family. and finally we are doing something to put america in the lead. we are doing something historic to develop our own energy resources. some people have been working here since i've been in the second grade on this project. after decades and decades in this chamber, we are opening up a small, nonwilderness area of the alaska wildlife refugee for responsible development. it is the most greatest step in years to secure our own energy future this is one of the times

to take a step back. let's take a minute, collect ourselves, and step away from the noise. we talk a lot in these jobs about turning points. there is no doubt that we are at one of those turning points right now. and this one will determine the kind of country we'll have this century. but too often we have seen before how doubt creeps in. how the tyranny of short term thinking takes over and history fails to turn. there is, after all, a reason this has not been done in 31 years. this really is a generational defining moment. and let's let this generational defining moment be defined by oppism, not fear. not the doom and gloom we have become so familiar with. this is our chance. this is our moment. let's turn at this turning point. let's reclaim the prin press

th pels principles that have guided us so this beautiful story of the american ideology is passed onto the next nation, more prosperous, and, mr. speaker, more free. pass this bill. i yield. [ cheers and applause ] >> speaker of the house, paul ryan urging his colleagues to pass the tax cut legislation. let's get a quick shout. what do you think? >> he's been working on this for a long time, so reporting that he is considering stepping down at the end of this cycle as speaker. and it was a really, a moment of leadership for him, not only this policy goal, but that speech was very aspirational and

positive. a different tone. >> since the republicans won back the house in 2010 they have not had a moment of accomplishment like this. so it's a very big deal for them. the challenge now is to sell this politically to the voters. and they do have a bit of an uphill climb. >> that's going to be a tough sell, at least in part. >> in doubt going into 2018. soaring rhetoric from paul ryan saying that is going to be a generational defining moment. i would argue that happened back when president trump sworn into office. he talked about optimistic and we shouldn't live in fear. i would argue the country is living in fear right now. not necessarily because of paul ryan but because of the leadership in the white house. and republicans have a lot to do, as do democrats in the knew year to try to restore trust. >> can only imagine how president trump will respond once the house and senate pass, he has the legislation 5050 pages on his desk and he signs it. >> it will be triumphant. they've been very frustrated all year to repeal and replace obamacare. they needed to win. it's a big one.

and the president is a salesman. heesz going to call it a middle class mir kale and go on and on. this is a big accomplishment and a big rescue for them. >> and it is a big accomplish. they were desperate to get a major legislative win. they are about to get it right now. and our special coverage continues with brooke baldwin right here on cnn. > . all right. wolf. thank you so much. i'm brooke baldwin. let's take you to the live pictures on capitol hill as huge, huge win for republicans is just in sight here. quickly, on the other side of pennsylvania avenue, the white house briefing will begin in a little while in shaping up to be the biggest day of the trump administration thus far. the house is set to vote on this final version of the massive republican tax bill. the same one that the president promised by christmas. it will overhaul the nation's tax code as