that grow with your business. at&t, not so much. we give you 75 mbps for $59.95. that's more speed than at&t's comparable bundle, for less. call today. welcome to "inside politics." i'm john king. thanks for sharing your time on this giant breaking news day. president trump tweets that missiles will soon be targeting syria, and he slams russia's alliance with a "gas killing animal who kills his people." we'll have a live report from syria as it prepares to be atta attacked. the president debates firing the special counsel. but some warn that would cross

the line. and paul ryan announces he will not seek re-election. >> it's been a little bit of a difficult marriage from the beginning. they're very different in terms of temperament and character. but he's somebody who recognized that president trump presented an opportunity to get some things on the agenda done. and frankly they have. i think you have to look at the record what they've been able to get done together. but in terms of their personalities, they're very different people, and i think that's been true and everybody has known that from the beginning. >> let's begin the hour right there with that leadership change in the republican party. the house speaker paul ryan will not run for re-election. >> look, you all know me. i didn't take this job, this was two things. i have accomplished much of what i came here to do, and my kids respect getting any younger. and if i stay, they're only

going to know me as a weekend day. that's something i consciously can't do. >> now, that's not just spin. ryan began telling friends after thanksgiving break last year he wasn't getting home enough and was thinking about calling it quits after 2018. but there's more to this decision, and make no mistake, the speaker's exhaustion is part of it. a friend says he's frustrated by a president who is not a conservative and frustrated by a rowdy conference with too many members not serious about the work of governing. there's also the midterm election climate. democrats now confident they can take back the house. though ryan, always the optimist in public, says the 2018 climate did not sway his decision. >> i'm proud of what this conference has achieved. i believe its future is bright. the economy is strong. we've given americans greater confidence in their lives, and i have every confidence i'll be hand thing gavel on to the next

republican speaker of the house next year. >> with us this big day to share the reporting and their insights, julie pace of the associated press, phil mattingly and dana bash. this is a, you know, so much happens. we just have all these days full of breaking news. this is the third most powerful man in the united states government, the speaker of the house of representatives. mitt romney, just a few years back, i was say in the 20 years of paul ryan in the house, we've seen the evolution of the republican party. a guy that used to work for jack kemp. always an optimist in public. now the speaker, the leader of republicans in a party, where even paul ryan does not feel he's at home some days. even though he's in the leadership. why now? >> i think a couple of things. first, you reported this last year. the expectation was never that paul ryan was going to be in the 116th congress. the expectation was, he would at least run for re-election, help with fund-raising, to keep the

nasty leadership battle out of the way. why now if this decision was made over the weekend. he was leaning towards running and leaving at the end of this congress. and then made the decision with his wife that, one, that wasn't fair to his district to run and then leave. and two, that he wanted the conference to be able to start working through what is ostensibly going to be a knock down, dragout decision for what is going to replace him. look, the reality is twofold here. you mentioned what the speaker represents on a policy side and politics side, is a very different republican than is now running the show in washington, d.c. i think that matters. and i think with that in mind, the things that he cares about most, entitlement reform, when you have a president that doesn't want to cut entitlements. a certain posture on foreign policy. and the fact that week after week after week, he's almost had to sprint over to the white house to try and get the president to come on board with

things everybody was supposed to agree with. add that to the republican conference that's pretty rowdy, it was just time. >> or to get the president back onboard. >> it's not as though he hasn't been able to forge a good relationship with the president. they do seem any something of a bond. but from ryan's perspective, i think this relationship is just incredibly frustrating. he never know it is the president's word means much. he never know it is the president is going to back what he has to do a lot of work behind the scenes to get in front of him sometimes in terms of rallying his caucus. so it's been interesting, because i think there was some expectation that they would be at odds with each other when president trump took over. that hasn't happened. but as a day-to-day relationship he has to manage, this is quite a burden. >> it's true. it's almost a teacher/student relationship, which is odd, because paul ryan could be the president's son. i mean, he's young enough. i was talking to a republican

strategist before coming on here who was frankly lamenting the fact that ryan didn't go with plan a, which is, as you said, run for re-election, win in november, and then retire. which he said today was not fair to his district, which is the sort of stand-up guy thing to do. but in terms of the raw politics, the strategist i was talking to said it is proof that he doesn't have the greatest political instincts, because he is going to be linked up. ryan says there is recent history of a lame duck leader in the senate, harry reid, saying he was going to retire and staying on. but it's a very different kettle of fish when you talk about the speaker of the house saying that, particularly when you say you have this caucus, you have people that are going to go at each other. he says that the leadership elections aren't going to happen until after the november election. >> we'll see if that holds. >> exactly. >> there are people pushing this morning saying to do this after

memorial day, do it quickly, because they think any the competition to replace them throughout the election will cause further disruption. i want you to listen to the speaker again. part of his trade park is no matter how bad the rain is, pretend it's a sunny day. here he was asked whether he was relationship with the president, whether there was dysfunction in that and whether that had a role in his deciding to call it quits. >> not at all. i'm grateful for the president to give us this opportunity to do big things to get this country on the right track. the fact that he gave us the ability to get this stuff done, makes me proud of the accomplishments i've been a contributor to. makes me satisfied that i've made a big difference, and he's given us that chance. so i'm grateful for that. that's really how i see it. >> yeah. that was the part that was not really believable in terms of what he was saying. here's a guy with a deal with cleaning up after trump, answering to trump's tweets. the fact that he might support

the repeal of obamacare the way the house wants to do it one day. so that kind of thing. you coined what might be a new phrase, trumpsautian. sure, there were these backgrounds with his family, his kids are teenagers. but imagine if he was having a little more fun and a little bit more success on those big ticket items like entitlement reform, he might want to stay around. >> the president tweeting, paul ryan is a good man and he will leave a legacy of achievement that nobody can question. we are with you, paul. they did pass the tax cut plan and the speaker did work with the president. but the house voted to repeal and replace obamacare. the house is going to vote this week, unless they pushitff, on a balanced budget amendment, which is just laughable. the same house and senate, controlled by republicans, and a

republican president, just signed into law a spending bill that president obama could only dream of, and it blows a hole in the deficit. so when it comes to deficits and entitlement reforms and other structural, traditional republican principles, speaker rye man has not been able to get that through. they're missing a lot of just say if marco rubio or jeb bush or mitt romney were president. >> and the question now is, with the remaining time that he has, when he is a lame duck, whether he is going to try to find a way to do things that he feels are right. entitlements, i think that's a bridge too far, or at least maybe it's a hill too steep to climb. but what about immigration? you know, it's still dicey, very dicey for his caucus. because there's a very big split there. but in his heart of hearts, just like his predecessor john boehner, he wants to deal with

immigration. so maybe he'll push to be -- push a more bipartisan approach to it. >> we'll have to see what kind of role ryan plays. what we've seen when high profile lawmakers have made decisions they're not going to run for re-election, they feel much more free to be critical of the president, to push back on some of what they see is the more destructive behaviors. ryan has been cautious while he's been speaker and while this question of running again has been an open one, i think it will be fascinating if he follows the corker example or not. >> if he stays the speaker, it makes it harder in that regard. he does say he'll keep fund-raising for the important. nancy pelosi on the democrat side, paul ryan on the republican side, most important when it comes to fund-raising. we'll talk more about the race to replace him. just more on the moment today.

again, it's -- we don't see this all that often. the third most powerful man, the third man in line to the presidency of the united states, deciding i'm done. i'm going to walk away. he's a young man. he can go home, run again in the future. but in the context of this, what was the reaction on the hill? >> surprised at the timing. not surprised that he's going to leave. it hasn't been a secret that he was likely going to leave. everybody knew that he was going to accomplish everything he wanted to. he has been in washington for a long time and we all nod to it, but the family stuff is real. it simply is real. so the expectation was he's going to leave. the element is how quickly everybody is moving on to, what happens next if >> remember, he is an accidental speaker. he didn't want the job, john boehner begged him to do it. boehner told me he gave him guilt, saying god wants him to do it. he didn't want to do it because of his family and because frankly it's odd to think that the person who is second in line

to be president is in a job that's in a political dead end. but when you look at white house aspirations, it kind of is, and he realized that. so do it for a short time. and go home. it is not a usual thing for somebody to voluntarily give up power. but he has been an unusual man in this position from the day he took the gavel. >> we'll continue the conversation as we go forward today. we should note speaker ryan will be a guest on "the lead" at 4:00 p.m. eastern. when we come back, what in other days would be the top story. the president of the united states on twitter, telling the russians and the syrians, the missiles are on the way. ♪ come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away. ♪ ♪ come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away. ♪

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comcast, building america's largest gig-speed network. welcome back. get ready, russia. that language, part of a remarkable message from president trump this morning, who is publicly warning a u.s. missile strike is imminent in syria. the president tweeting -- >> again, that language from the president this morning. certainly noticed not only in washington but around the world. fred pleitgen is live for us in damascus. you're seeing syrian forces reacting to the president's warning, right? >> reporter: yeah, you're absolutely right. we've seen additional military

convoys in the damascus area moving around more than normal. it's unclear if that's directly related to what the president has been tweeting. we're getting reports of the syrian air force removing jets from some air bases, presumably also in anticipation of possible u.s. strikes. the syrian government has also reacted, they're calling the president's language reckless saying it's a threat to international peace and stability. and of course, the russians themselves have reacted. they're not only saying they'll target missiles flying towards syria, and target the bases where they're fired from, potentially meaning u.s. ships and planes, as well. being on the ground 20 times in syria, including with the russian military, and they have a lot more hardware here in syria that many people know about. also surface-to-air missile systems and a lot of ships in the mediterranean, as well. >> fred pleitgen on the ground in damascus. fred, stay safe.

just listening to what fred went through and what the president -- the president's tweet, the russian reaction, the president says the missiles are coming. russia says, we'll see if they carry through on this. russia says it's prepared to shoot them down. russia says it's prepared to target where they come from, which would be u.s. warships and maybe other bases in the region. the french are involved in these conversations. the tweet takes you into the area of, what is this? but the substance of this is beyond grave. >> it's pretty dramatic. you have to, i think, take both sides at their word in a situation like this. it is just rhetoric at this point, but the consequences of following through on that would be so grave, that i think we do have to take it seriously. the president obviously is tweet thing without any irony about the fact that he has been highly critical of what the obama administration did in terms of either forecasting military moves or signaling to adversaries, draw down dates or

military plans. the russians have responded in kind, now that the president has put it out there. the idea of a u.s./russia military conflict over syria has had pentagon leaders worried for literally years on this. if the president does push forward and russia does respond, we are in truly unchartered territory. >> it heightened -- they're worried about a misinterpretation, but an honest human mistake. matt, on this point, the president tweets this morning, which makes it sound like something is about to happen. remarkable that a president of the united states on twitter saying here come the missiles, which poses the question to the defense secretary, are you ready? >> do you see enough evidence to blame the assad regime on this most recent attack? >> we're still assessing the intelligence ourselves and our allies. we're still working on this. >> is the u.s. military ready

right now to conduct a retaliatory strike? >> we stand ready to provide military options, if they're appropriate, as the president determines. but thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. >> that's normally the posture of the united states government. normally including the president, say nothing or say little until you do something. but interesting, that secretary mattis says we're still assessing the intelligence. meaning you have to make a case to the world. you want to make your case to the world that we have a legal or moral right to do this. here's the evidence that this was a chemical attack. here's the evidence it was launched by the assad regime. and if you can make the case, here's the evidence that russia knew about it. >> that's the most surprising part about mattis' comments. you expect some degree of caution forecasting military efforts, but the idea that they have not totally conclude, when there are lamonts in tmovements,

it's all premised on this idea that there were chemical weapons used by the assad regime. so the idea that that is not fully decided or a sin tilla of doubt about that is striking. >> i think donald trump's non-serious tweet, he's almost treat thing like it's a video game or something, it fuels concerns whether or not there's a larger plan for syria, right? obviously, a similar thing happened about a year ago, and the u.s. responded. what happens here, is there a response to that? so far it's been about degrading isis, but is there a broader geopolitical strategy for syria? >> to that point, the president of the united states, who this morning tweeted the missiles are coming, tweeted this, there's a tweet for everything. august 2013, why do we keep

broadcasting when we're going to attack syria. why can't we just be quiet and catch them by surprise? this just in for vladamir putin. he says common sense will eventually win in a situation that's becoming more chaotic. but listen to the united nations ambassador. a missile strike, any military action inside syria is a big deal. but the growing escalation with russia is quite important. here's nikki haley. >> my parents always said you should see the good in everyone. and you should always see the good in everything. so i've been trying to figure out what the good is with russia. i think that they are very good at being consistent, and i think they're very good at playing games. >> now, if it's words, it's one thing. but if it escalates, especially with missiles in the air, it is striking to see -- nikki haley has been a hawk from the beginning, but the president is

with her with the tensions with not just the united states and syria, but with moscow. >> this is what i hear with lawmakers on the hill, when the president said it was time to leave syria last week, raised a lot of concerns internally. you have ambassador haley, who has always taken this position in the administration. she's always been the hawk and the tough one on russia. she's made no secret for her disdain for their posture throughout everything. which serves a purpose if there's some broader strategy behind it. if this is a stick and a carrot type of deal. there's no sense right now, these on capitol hill, in terms oh of what is the broader plan here? if ambassador haley doing this, what is secretary mattis doing, what is john bolton doing, and what is the president ordering people to do? and as long as that remains an open question. to julie's point, you read the tweet this morning. you were like, man, you've got to be kidding me. and then you think of the gravity of what they're talking

about and how important this is. this is a very, very serious situation, where things could go sideways very fast. and while things like haley or mattis or bolton may have an idea of where they are, if the broader administration doesn't have an overall plan, that's what concerns a lot of republicans. >> also hard to communicate in a global way when you're doing it this way. we'll talk more about this. president putin's spokesman says the kremlin will not be participants in "twitter diplomacy." up next, is the president, yes, even as he considers military action, is he mad enough to fire the special counsel?

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welcome back. a warning shot on twitter. the white house says the president has the power to fire the special counsel. the president says, blame the

bad blood on russia, what he calls blame it on the fake and corrupt russia investigation. the president ruminating about firing the special counsel, and it's noteworthy, his team at the white house now claiming he has the power to do so, instead of just saying it's the boss venting. the president is also talking again about maybe firing the deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein, who oversees the mueller investigation and authorized an fbi search warrant targeting the president's personal lawyer. a reminder, these threats to fire people are hardly new. in today's "new york times," details of how the president tried to fire the special counsel back in december. so he does this a lot. the question is, some people around him believe that going after michael cohen, his personal attorney and long-time fixer, that might push the president to actually do it. there are some who say, well, we'll talk him out of firing mueller, but he's really pumped up about rosenstein. is this real? >> it's interesting this week. you definitely see a change in

posture from white house officials as you discuss this with them. they say while he has long felt like mueller was on a witch hunt, obviously he's said that publicly, the fact that mueller is going after his personal attorney, and to put this in context, a personal attorney who was working for trump organization, who knows everything about trump's personal finances, about his business finances, one of the things he east most sensitive about, and who knows we're aware of any kind of arrangements the president might have been making with women or others who he was trying to keep quiet. so this is personal for trump. and white house officials are more rattled on this issue than probably ever. because they just don't know and aren't confident that the president will listen to anyone around him who is saying you don't want to take this step. >> which is what made this all the more interesting. this question comes up a lot, never before have we heard this answer from sarah sanders. >> does the president believe he has the pow tore fire special counsel robert mueller?

>> certainly believes he has the pow tore do so. we've been advised that the president certainly has the pow tore make that decision. >> a lot of lawyer also tell you no, he doesn't, that only the attorney general, in this case mr. rosenstein, because jeff sessions recused himself, can do that. but what kind of signal is she sending by putting that on the table? the president thinks he has the power to do that. >> and he's been advised of that. they're taking it to a different degree of severity that they're considering this. in the past, there's been the idea that the president of him fuming in the oval office and being talked down by advisers. this time it does feel like it's taking a different step. and the other thing is, this feels like more personal to the president, because the investigations are broadening. it's not just russia and it's not just collusion. it's women and payments to women. it's michael cohen's medallions. it's going in different

directions that i think the president feels like he's backed further into that corner. and so he's ready -- >> it's an interesting point, because this conservative voice today, as the president vents, we do know the search warms war included looking for payments the president may have made. the question is, did the president know when he says he didn't know. this is andrew mccarthy writing, this particular scandal was not caused by the russia investigation. much as trump seems determined to connaflate the two. none of them had anything to do with the porn star going public. it was trump's conduct that caused this mess. it was the scheme to cover up the mess that brings us to this pass. it's been hard to convince the president he might have some responsibility in all of this. >> the national review isn't being read by this president. he's listening to people on fox news who are saying fire

rosenstein, fire mueller, fire sessions. also the senate, folks in the senate wanting to maybe introduce this bill that would protect mueller. it's tom tillis, it's lindsey graham. that's something of a new thing, as well. before they were like, we don't really know, they don't have a sign that mueller is in any danger. that will go nowhere, but it is a little bit of a difference from what we've heard from him previously. >> something to keep an eye on. up next, paul ryan saying he won't run for re-election. remember john boehner as the speaker? john boehner has a very interesting new job. xible meal plans... ...and 24-hour room service a place where seniors get the care they need in the comfort of home. home instead senior care.

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topping our political radar today, paul ryan might be leaving. but republicans can find some solace in this new poll. just released survey from quinnipiac finds the democrat's advance on that so-called generic ballot question down to

just three points. that 's inside the marnlen of error. remember this? well, instead of offering up cigarettes to president obama, the former house speaker john boehner wants to sell you legal weed. the former speaker announcing today that he's joining a cannabis company. it's a big reversal for boehner, who said he was opposed to legalizing marijuana. a warning from the department of homeland security. the secretary says border crossings spiked in march and spiked by a lot. he said at a hearing that the numbers, in her view, scary. >> the current statistics from march 2018 tell a dangerous story. overall, the number of illegal aliens increased more than 200% when compared to this same time last year. perhaps more troubling, the

number of unaccompanied alien children encountered has increased over 800%. and the number of families encountered increased over 680%. we have also seen a 37% increase in drug seizure at the border in march alone. >> secretary nielsen did acknowledge the jump is similar to previous years, but still justifies the need for greater border securit. up next, new legislation to protect the special counsel. some republicans fracture now over the question of how the president should treat robert mueller. ♪ get ready for the wild life ♪ complete multivitamins with key nutrients that address 6 concerns of aging, including heart health, supported by b-vitamins. your one a day is showing.

welcome back. important new information just in. james mattis will be heading to the white house for consultations with president trump. as the president mulls his

options to respond to a suspected chemical weapons attack inside syria. the president tweeting, get ready, the missiles will be coming. secretary mattis will now go to the white house, so we'll keep an eye on that. senator chuck grassley of iowa says he plans to hold a committee vote on new legislation designed to protect the special counsel. now insiders on capitol hill say that legislation stands little chance of going anywhere, but that it's been reintroduced exposes a fresh republican divide over robert mueller's investigation and whether the president should be able to fire him. most republicans say the president should not do that, saying mr. president, leave the special counsel alone. >> the president would be better off to leave mueller alone. let him continue to do his work. don't fire him. don't give everybody a reason to try to create another independent counsel.

leave this person to what he can find, and when he's all done, make darn sure that his report comes out and says there's no collusion. don't give him an excuse to try to find another reason to do another investigation. >> now, that's one senate voice. but a vocal minority say no, that's not enough. >> i agree with the assessment that president trump should not fire robert mueller. it's a totally separate question whether he should fire jeff sessions and rod rosenstein. this is a binary question for jeff sessions. either there is a second special counsel to look into these matters, or he's not doing his job, and the president would be obligated to fire him. there is a sufficient basis to fire rod rosenstein in particular, and likely the attorney general for not doing his job. >> and we wonder why paul ryan doesn't want to stay. back to this divide. it is a divide. you have -- it's more in the house, these vocal voices saying, you know, fire rosenstein, fire jeff sessions.

they're not just mad about the russia investigation, they're mad about other things, they want documents related to the clinton e-mail investigation, the james comey tenure at the fbi and they don't think jeff sessions is doing his job. we know the president is more described as angry as he's ever been. what's happening on the hill? >> i think the interesting element is one, we saw what senator rounds did this morning. i was told yesterday by several staffers that the sheer number of senators you saw come to cameras and say repeatedly, you can't do this, this would be the end of your presidency, was designed to happen. this is their way of communicating with the president, going on tv and trying to get across to him, we might not be doing anything legislati legislatively, please don't do this. the interesting element i noticed yesterday in the past couple of weeks, mcconnell and ryan are talking to the white house about this. that's why they say he's not going to fire anybody. yesterday was the first day

where senior republican staff was pretty on edge about where everything was going. in terms of what happens next on this, legislatively, there's not a clear pathway forward and the president could veto that legislation. because of that, everybody is just sitting there hoping that this goes away. >> there's no sense that there is anyone on capitol hill or the white house who has been able to tell the president, with enough confidence, don't fire mueller and come away from that conversation this week believing that he might still not do it. that is a very worrisome place for them to be right now. >> you also sew a lot of republicans taking aim at rod rosenstein, separate from the mueller stuff, which gets to the president's ire over, you know, the southern district of new york, and them taking a different approach with michael cohen. >> and when he turns on fox news, he sees them. when we come back, paul ryan's retirement adds to the steep hill for the republican congressman who has one job this year, project the majority.

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the house speaker paul ryan announcing he will retire after this year in congress, adds to a steep hill for the republicans as they try to project their majority. these are the house democrats and republicans announcing retirement. you notice all that red? way more republicans. the speaker today also congressman dennis ross in florida, saying he's not going to run either. it's not just the speaker. nine chairman of committees on the house side. that tells you something. you're walking away from the speakership, chairmanships. this is the big dynamic. in a midterm election, where the democrats say they have the wind at their backs, only 18 are leaving, 41 republicans. democrats say this is proof it's a big blue wave here. paul ryan says no, i'm confident the republicans, even if i leave, can keep the majority.

>> again, i am proud of what this conference has achieved. i believe its future is bright. the economy is strong. we've given americans greater confidence in their lives. and i have every confidence i'll be hand thing gavel on to the next republican speaker of the house next year. >> that from the speaker earlier today. the timing of his announcement came to a surprise to many, on and off capitol hill. last week, the lawmaker leading the effort to keep the majority down played the possibility of a shakeup. i spoke to him a few moments ago. congressman, thanks for joining us on this very important day. a week ago, you said "i don't see a shakeup coming any time soon." what happened? >> well, paul ryan decided he met with his family this weekend, and he decided that it was time for him to go home to janesville, wisconsin after this congress. so it's important to note that there's not a leadership shakeup coming too soon, because he's

going to stay all the way through december. he's committed to helping us make sure we maintain the majority and continue our legislative agenda through the end of december. you know, he's a man of his word. i know he's going to do that, and i feel he's going to continue to help us do that. so it's certainly not an immediate shakeup. >> are you sure about that? i spoe tknow the speaker says h stay through january, but does that make sense? some people saying maybe after memorial day, you should elect a new speaker. will that hold through january? >> you know, that's what i think will happen. we'll see what the membership wants to do, what paul wants to do. there's not a vacancy until paul says he doesn't want to be speaker or people want to remove him, and i don't think that's going to happen. we need as few disruptions as possible right now, and keep moving forward. our mission to serve the american people is unabated, and

our mission to maintain our majority is unabated. we'll continue to move forward. >> this is trey gowdy from south carolina saying for those within congress who always seem any a better idea or smarter strategy, now is your chance to run for speaker. are there some members of your conference, the speaker took a lot of harpoons, but are there some republicans celebrating this today? >> i don't believe there are. i think today is a great day to thank paul ryan for his service, and to obviously continue to move forward towards serving the people of this country. that's what our service here in washington is about. it's about the people at home for paul ryan. it's about janesville, wisconsin. it's about columbus ohio and central ohio and southern ohio. that's what people ought to be thinking about, how can we serve the people that sent us here. i can't speak for any other members other than myself, but i can tell you that i'm glad that paul ryan has been our speaker, and i think he's made a huge

legacy with the tax cut and jobs act and many other conservative victories over his time. >> speaker ryan today, congressman ross from florida, 41 house republican incumbents who decided now they are not going to seek re-election. only 19 democrats have said that. mr. chairman, you look at those numbers, democrats say to them, especially now, that they have the biggest of the big names, the speaker of the house. they say those numbers prove republicans are running scared. >> not all retirements are equal. trey gowdy is retiring. that's an r-plus 30 seat. the retirements that matter are the retirements in seats that might flip. and frankly, there are now six republicans that are in seats that hillary clinton won that are retiring. but five democrats in seats that donald trump won that are retiring. so retirements respect quite a wash. it's not a big deal, or a big

change. i think it might be a seat or two. but obviously we have more people retiring, but it's in those seats that can flip that matter. when somebody retires in a ruby red republican district or a deep blue democratic district, that's not going to change hands. >> let's talk about some of those seats that can flip. i talked to some of your colleagues. you're part of crafting the plan, run on the strong economy, tell the voters republicans are doing what they promised to do. a lot of colleagues are worried that the president tweeting about tariffs at a time they would prefer to talk about tax cuts. how much blame or responsibility does the president have for what is a difficult climate the >> there is always a difficult climate out there. it is what it is. you know, our job is to serve the people of our districts. i went home for a couple of weeks in ohio. we had great conversations about

tax cuts, about job training, about things we're doing at home on things like buckeye lake that are making a difference for people at home. i know a lot of members had those same conversations. but issues like tariffs come up, and we've got to make sure we deal with those issues. but i feel confident that we're doing what matters for people, and we're making a difference. that's what people are going to decide this november is who do they want to be in charge? do they want a republican majority that's going to keep their taxes low and keep the economy going well? or a democrat majority that says they want to get rid of the tax cuts that might take the economy off kilter? we also have funded the military in our recent omnibus bill. we have the strongest military that we've had, and we need them, because we live in a dangerous world. and so i feel good about the contrast. and we've got six more months of election here. we've got to run the campaigns

and we'll see how it goes. >> congressman, appreciate your time. a big challenge for you. appreciate your time. thanks again. thank you for joining us today. hope to see you back here at this time tomorrow. secretary mattis going to the white house. a lot of news to cover. "wolf" starts right now. hello. i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. in washington, 6:00 p.m. in london, 8:00 p.m. in moscow. thank you very much for joining us. get ready, russia, the missiles are coming. that taunting message from the president of the united states, as he teases a military strike for the alleged chemical attack in syria. now russia is responding. plus, as cnn reports, the president may fire his deputy attorney general, the one in charge of robert mueller's investigation. president trump going off on the special counsel, and calling the probe "fake and