behind for the taliban? how many americans were left behind? the origination of covid-19. we all know someone personally who lost their life during covid-19. they deserve answers to what really happened in that lab in wuhan, china. those of us who had kids in the public school system can testify that our kids have lost a year of their education because of the forced virtual learning that so many of our schools put our children through during the covid pandemic. congress ran the debt up, at least $3 trillion, in the name

of covid-19. yet, as i mentioned earlier, there has not been a single hearing in the oversight committee to deal with potential waste, fraud, or abuse of the covid funds. not a single hearing. and we all know, despite what dr. fauci said, american tax dollars were sent through ecohealth alliance to the wuhan lab in china for gain of function research. but yet dr. fauci hasn't come before congress in the house of representatives. the american people deserve answers on covid-19 and speaker kevin mccarthy has given the republican majority the tools necessary to make that possible. the democrats have spent the past six years investigating a

president for potential wrongdoing in ukraine and russia. now let me say this loud and clear. the republicans will also investigate a president for potential wrongdoing in ukraine and russia as well as china. the american people have a lot of questions for dr. fauci, christopher wray, merrick garland, secretary mayorkas. we can't have those questions, we can't ask those questions, until we get organized and elect our speaker. the role of the oversight committee under speaker pelosi was a full-time committee to harass the previous president, a committee to advocate for wage, social issues, which the oversight committee had absolutely no jurisdiction, and a committee totally uninterested in the american taxpayer.

in a republican majority, under speaker kevin mccarthy, and many of my friends embedded in these negotiation, the house oversight committee, with strong members, strong members, like byron donald and andy biggs and jim jordan, will return to its original mission of identifying waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the federal government and holding unelected bureaucrats accountable. in a republican majority, under speaker kevin mccarthy, the forgotten working men and women's voices will finally be heard and represented, and in a republican majority under speaker kevin mccarthy this broken congress will finally be fixed and we will return to regular order and drag those senators kicking and screaming along with us every step of the way.

we will return regular order and get the backs of the american taxpayers. this is the people's house and let's get to work. madam clerk, i am proud to nominate kevin mccarthy to be the next speaker of the united states house of representatives and i yield back . >> for what purpose does the gentle woman from texas rise? >> madam clerk, i rise to nominate a great leader a unifier, not a divider, hakeem jeffries, for speaker of the united states house of representatives.

>> the gentlewoman is recognized. >> we are on day four, the 13th vote, and house democrats continue to stand united with hakeem jeffries, with him, and for him, because he is a uniter not a divider and a positive force of nature. two days ago during the fourth, fifth, maybe the sixth roll call, a nominator claimed this process should not be considered dysfunction. madam clerk, their process didn't begin this week. they've had months to figure this out. americans should have profound concerns about what this portends. as we gather here in this chamber on this solemn day, the second anniversary of january 6th, when members of law enforcement were under siege, when there was an attempted coup, an insurrection that will

live in infamy, what we lived through was an assault on our republic and on our democracy from within. on that day, when my colleagues and i were trapped in this gallery, the terrorists who assaulted our police officers could be heard banging on these doors, breaking these windows, and they were here to prevent the certification of a free and fair election. i shuttoulder to think what an inability to govern would have meant on that day and what it could mean in the future for those who believe in defending our democracy abroad, and now more than ever, here at home. on this painful anniversary, thankfully, the honorable hakeem jeffries, made sure that we came together to mark the moment, to honor our law enforcement,

recognize the lives lost as a result of that day, honor the families and the survivors, and to ensure that we recommit to our republic and our democracy. that is the kind of speaker that our nation needs . >> we are now four days into what should be the 118th congress and the house of representatives has no committees, no rules, no classified briefings, no members who have taken their oaths to serve our country. there are no debates happening on this floor about addressing the challenges we face at home or around the globe. no votes on legislation to tackle the challenges facing the

american people. madam clerk, they told the american people they wanted to win the majority to fight inflation. the only thing they're fighting is each other. these four days have tested house republicans' ability to govern, and they have failed. with hakeem jeffries as our speaker, congress can continue to deliver common sense, bipartisan solutions for the american people. instead, what we've seen unfold before our very eyes is exactly what's in store for the country over the next two years under republican control. and this should be deeply concerning to the american people who expect us to do our jobs and fulfill even the most fundamental functions of this institution. like voting on the debt ceiling to fund expenditures we've already made. what if this happens then? what if we default on our debts because of the republican majority's inability to govern?

what impact will that have on our economy or on the global economy? and in less than nine months in september, we have a vote to fund the government, to pay for our military, social security, medicare and other obligations. what happens on september 30th when government funding runs out and they're in charge? with hakeem jeffries as our speaker, we can continue to advance an agenda that puts people over politics, just as we did in the 117th congress, with a majority as slim as theirs. [ speaking non-english ] >> madam clerk, as co-chair of the house democratic policy and communications committee and in accordance with the vote of the house democratic caucus, i'm honored to present for election to the office of speaker of the house of representatives for the

118th congress, the name of a man of integrity and intellect, who is bold and brilliant, and most importantly, a man who leads with love. the honorable hakeem jeffries, representative from the state of new york . >> the reading clerk will call the roll .

>> adams. >> jeffries. >> jeffries. aderholt. aderholt. >> aguilar. jeffries. alford. >> kevin mccarthy. >> and it has begun with the announcement of alma adams of north carolina voting for hakeem jeffries, the 13th ballot has started. the question, can kevin mccarthy, who finally came in first, although not with enough votes to become speaker, can he pick up any more votes? he needs -- we're not sure whether it's three or four. i believe it's four more votes to become speaker of the house from his 213 total right now. can he get any of these seven holdouts to change?

right now there is, obviously, a huge effort going on, as dana bash says, arm twisting, also i'm sure some encouragement in terms of re-election races and fund committee posts and every possible tool at their disposal. i'm told congressman patrick mchenry of north carolina who is a kevin mccarthy deputy is doing owemans work out there trying to convince some of these reluctant individuals. there's congressman barr who was one of the big flippers. and we'll see what happens. i am not hearing right now of any news from my sources about any potential flips, but i guess for the mccarthy camp hope springs eternal. >> it's happening. whatever you want to call it. call it good old-fashioned bribery. it's happening on the floor right now. i got a text from a republican lawmaker in the mccarthy camp as

this was starting saying, finally, now we just grind it out. >> yeah. >> i can't say this is going -- >> i think they want us to listen. >> mccarthy. >> biggs. jordan. >> that's a critical one. >> that was one of the seven we're looking at. >> we're keeping an eye on and one that they really feel like they need to flip if they're going to get where they need to go. >> mccarthy. >> i can't say this is all going to plan. it was certainly at least a few days -- >> jeffries. >> bishop of north carolina. mccarthy. >> the ones we're looking for now after congresswoman blunt is lauren boebert, will she flip? let's listen in. >> boebert. jordan. >> jim jordan. right now two of the seven rebels have stayed rebels.

bonamici. jeffries. bost. kevin mccarthy. >> bowman. jeffreys. >> we're going to listen in to see if congressman-elect josh brecheen is going to flip? >> mccarthy. >> he has. >> brown. >> so the next one is going to be crane, alphabetically, who is a holdout. >> we have a little bit. >> we have a little bit to go before him. >> let's cloud will be the next one. >> cloud already turned for mccarthy. >> we're double checking. >> we're double checking to see if they're sticking with their flip, yes. >> i think the one thing that is true, look, there are these seven holdouts. let's see if the blood oath that we heard some members talk about yesterday holds. but the fact that today mccarthy

won over 14 is extraordinary, and i don't think they expected 14. i kept hearing this will go until monday. >> it still might. >> i think this vote might be just buying them some time to continue to work. they probably don't have the votes to recess. they just need to hold the status quo, maybe another vote, maybe more, while they work behind the scenes to get a couple more holdouts. this is what they had hoped would happen, was that they could divide and conquer -- >> and they have succeeded in that. >> they have succeeded. >> in the 21, including congresswoman victor spartz voting present, they have. he still needs four more, and we can see what's going to happen. eli crane is the one we're all keeping an eye on right now

because cloud and clyde that we're going to listen to in a second, they already flipped. eli crane is still a holdout, despite being a freshman, despite being somebody that kevin mccarthy helped get elected. >> jeffries. >> case. >> jeffries. >> casten. >> jeffries. >> this morning, the 20 hardliners, i'm told, let's not kid ourselves that's the reason they're voting, the deal making that happened overnight, maybe they were offered something and a last minute push with the former president could be part of that. i am told this morning trump was making calls to these lawmakers. >> that is an interesting comment from mccarthy this morning who was talking to reporters who asked whether steve scalise could get to 218, and he said i'm not so sure.

>> yeah. >> i wonder how much conversation has been happening behind the scenes about what that number for a mccarthy alternative would look like and whether that would be a way out of this. >> let's listen in. we want to see if michael cloud and andrew clyde are going to stick with mccarthy from their flips. >> cline. cloud. mccarthy. >> cloud, mccarthy. stuck with the flip. >> clyburn. jeffries. >> clyde. mccarthy. >> congressman andrew clyde of georgia, sticking with his flip to mccarthy. so right now i think all -- i think it's fair to say all eyes are on congressman-elect crane of arizona we're going to come to in a minute or so because he seems the most likely to flip of

the seven rebels being the most vulnerable, being somebody that actually owes kevin mccarthy. >> he needs something. he's new here. he can either be in the fold or out of the fold. i think that for someone like him, threats might be actually quite effective for someone who needs to prove that he's doing something in washington, given that he just got here. >> i think that's a great framing in the sense that for some of these new members -- >> sorry to interrupt. let's listen to congressman-elect crane. >> crane. jordan. >> there's the choice. these -- the new members who ran as sort of trump accolades, who ran as rebels and different, they come into the club, been here a few days now, and everyone is trying to tell them, that's not the way to succeed here. you have to join the club. you have to make the trades, and

congressman-elect crane saying not yet. that's the choice for the new members. do i join boebert and gaetz or realize i want committee assignments, i want a courthouse back home, go to ribbon cuttings, i better make friends. he has decided to stay in the outcast. >> these are different flavor republicans to say the least. >> that's a good way to put it. >> the next people we're going to be listening for are bob good. does anybody here think he's going to change his vote? >> never. >> he described himself -- >> and then andy harris. the -- i think one republican maybe there are two republicans now, from the state of maryland, and the question is, whether or not he is going to flip. i would look at him maybe more than any of the others left on the holdout list. the other thing i think we need to -- we don't know exactly right now, but we are going to have to keep focusing on what else did mccarthy promise?

>> that's the huge deal. >> yeah. >> melanie ze nona on the hill is reporting about a promise to cap defense spending. >> cap it or cut it? i thought it was cut $75 billion? >> which would be -- >> to cap it. >> which could be a cut. >> represent a cut. >> right. let's listen to see if congressman byron donalds, a former rebel, is sticking with his mccarthy -- >> donalds. donalds. >> apparently not there. >> not currently in the room. >> he's been involved in the negotiations. you've seen that. some of them are in the meetings, realize their name is called and cast their vote. one is, jake, you made the point earlier, chip roy delivered his group. >> yep. >> he said he had them. they wanted substantive policy rules changes. kevin mccarthy has made huge progress today.

another way is why didn't he, you know, if he did the math, if he had a good sense of the math, why weren't those deals negotiated between election day and the new congress convening? there have been miscalculations by the mccarthy camp as to this, you know, 10, 12 humiliations. however, with significant progress today, you hope all that's in the rearview mirror in the kevin mccarthy camp. the question is, if you have the good, boebert, gaetz, crane, and a couple other never, is there any way? how do you do the chess? does never mean you will always vote for somebody by name or convince them, we get it, vote present, lower the numbers. play the chess. that will be the next negotiation. if they refuse to come over, is there any way to negotiate for them to go out of town or vote present or do something that might sound ridiculous, but it might be the only way to get kevin mccarthy to the number.

he has made progress today but he has not made enough. he is not speaker. >> this is part of why the next couple hours are so incredibly critical for kevin mccarthy here because if, be for whatever reason, he cannot make movement here, we are going to learn more about the concessions that dana was talking about. what has been given away, and that risks angering all of these people that have stood with him so far through all of this. right now, it seems like the ball is rolling. if they can keep it rolling, there's still a chance. again, we're waiting to hear harris to be called. we're currently in the "f"s. he would be the last one i would expect to potentially change on this vote. the others seem to be absolutely never. gaetz, obviously, at the top of that list. if there's no movement on this vote and these holdouts still are refusing -- >> hold on. let me interrupt.

here's matt gaetz. >> jordan. >> jim jordan. keep going. >> no, no. it's -- i mean, that's exactly to the point that we were just making here. i mean, i just think that the next couple hours are so critical. if they let this congress walk away from washington over the weekend as there's going to be pressure to do, i think all bets may be off in terms of what we've seen kind of unfold today. >> what is striking to me about what we do know, what little we do know frankly, about some of the concessions, some of these are not things for kevin mccarthy to giveaway. he cannot unilaterally decide what defense spending numbers are. he cannot unilaterally decide whether there's going to be a clean debt limit increase. he's kind of giving away maybe the case that he's going to fight for these things on their behalf, but he cannot really promise some of those things, which might be a great loophole if you're kevin mccarthy or a

straightjacket. >> you can tell them, i'll support it. that's not to say the senate won't put that money back. >> there are things he can say that he supports. >> let's listen for bob good, a never kevin, from virginia who comes after vicente. >> good of virginia. jordan. >> jordan. so that's it. already mccarthy has lost five votes and we believe he's only able to lose four to become speaker of the house. it looks like he will lose on the 13th ballot, although he has made some progress. it looks as though the people who flipped in the 12th ballot are staying with him in the 13th ballot. still, no indication that he has picked up any of these seven rebels, and he needs at least three or four of them to become speaker. i believe it's four, although the math depends on how many people are actually on the floor of the house at any one ballot.

>> green of texas. >> i cast my vote for [ inaudible ]. >> next is harris. >> yeah. harris, who flipped last time, we expect him to stick with mccarthy. while we're in this chasm of predictable votes, let us throw us to our friend anderson cooper back in new york. >> jake tapper, thanks very much, as we continue to watch the counting of the votes. doesn't seem like -- obviously, he's got enough against him on this vote. what happens next? >> well, i mean, look, this is where -- this is the point we always thought we might reach, which is that there were those who were gettable and there were those who may not be, and, you know, you heard gaetz earlier representative gaetz, we don't

know, you know, how much credence to put in this saying he will not have the votes today, tomorrow, next week, and the question is will they hang together. >> what just happened? >> harris flipped. >> i see. >> that's going to have to be the strategy for the rest of the day to try to pick one by one. >> grinding down. >> chairman harris. >> there may be some subcommittee chairs and committee chairs born in the next 48 hours. >> one guy i'm watching is rosendale of montana. i think you can't downplay the significance of the senate primary politicians going on. zinke and rosendale from montana, the two are circling each other. if i were ryan zinke and wanted to be a mischief maker i would get on the phone with montana media and say every time rosendale casts a vote to

prolong this he's voting with the democrats to protect joe biden for our subpoenas and our investigations. of all the issues motivating to the republican base, the notion of somehow delaying or not investigating joe biden would be the most agitating. get hyper local and how to twist the knife here, in montana that's a way. >> yeah. that's the drum marjorie taylor greene is leading. the leader of the mccarthy force. >> would argue that is what the american people voted against. again, we're going micro to macro. you're right, that's a smart senate strategy running in montana, but again, i think this is a misreading of the results of the election. no surprise by marjorie taylor greene and others, and the issue becomes in terms of a negotiation, it's not just how do we get to yes, but the question is for the seven, what does a win look like? >> do you really think the american people want no

oversight of the administration? because i -- while i hear you on is it the only thing you do, i think voters expect congress a coequal branch of government, to do something, which the democrats have done nothing for two years. don't you think some of it is real? >> actually, i would challenge you on that and say that the january 6th committee has actually completely reestablished what it is to do oversight by holding a series of hearings where we actually learned fundamentally new information that changed our understanding of what happened. i do not think that we're going to hear that in any hearings regarding hunter biden's laptop nor do i think it's going to be when we're looking at whether or not the fbi is looking into white supremacy. >> i think america want to have an exposition and a full-throated explanation of our withdraw from afghanistan. that's something that america deserves to have. i think there's you know you can't throw out the baby with the bath water. there is oversight. >> look, i agree. i think oversight is legitimate

and important if it's entered into in good faith. if it becomes sort of a search and destroy mission, then i think people -- this is what people fear and -- >> when we had a house of representatives that was republican that conducted an oversight in the last administration, the benghazi oversight, run by trey gowdy, a responsible lawyer who had respect from both the extreme wing of the republican faction then and the moderates, we saw where that led. you've got an entirely different makeup of the republican house of representatives coming into this congress and you're going to get a very different caliber and quality of exposition and, frankly, oversight, which is going to be, you know, on steroids in terms of its performative value, in terms of its seriousness, or lack thereof. you're going to see a very different kind of, quote, unquote, governing, and that is, frankly, going to play into y'all's hands in a positive way.

>> wait a minute -- >> the thing about mccarthy is, he is very good at some elements of this job, which is why, you know, he is where he is right now, at least in a position where he might become speaker of the house. he raises money. he takes care of the needs, the political needs, of his people. the question -- and nancy pelosi was very good at that as well. there's also a leadership dimension. the ability to kind of tamp down things when they get out of hand, to put together the votes when you need to put them together and so on, and so the question is, did he just give the keys to the asylum to the inmates here in order to become speaker of the house? i think that's what we're going to -- that's what we're going to find out. >> on this oversight business, you called some of it performative, are you saying that some of the democratic oversight of trump wasn't purely performative? there's a measure of performance in all of this. i think you're going to be surprised by the chairman of the oversight committee who we heard

from earlier, comer, he's a measured guy and knows what's important and what's not. there are individual members who are going to go off the reservation from time to time, but i'm telling you guys, karen, i think you raise a fair point about january 6s. it needed to be investigated but there's a range of stuff that needs to be investigated. the border, afghanistan, as david said, inflation, there are covid questions, and there are reasonable people who voted democrat and republican in this country that would agree, sure, congress should look into this. >> i don't disagree that oversight is critically important, but again, i think what we have seen unfolding over the last three, four days, and over the last 13 votes, is that you have a very destructive, i don't want to call them rebels, because that suggests there's righteousness to their cause which i disagree with, that there is a destructive nature that is going to put a level of pressure on any reasonable,

responsible republican who may actually try, i will grant you that, to do reasonable, thoughtful investigations. that is part of -- we talked yesterday about hostage taking. that's part of what we've seen unfolding over the last few days. >> you mentioned the benghazi hearings. one of the reasons kevin mccarthy didn't become speaker in 2015 was because he acknowledged publicly what should have been -- what should have stayed in his bubble box, that the purpose of the hearing was to try to damage hillary clinton, and he said that we succeeded in doing that. that's what people don't want. that's what people suspect. >> people want legitimate oversight, and there may be partisans in both party was see it as an opportunity to damage the incumbent, but the danger here is that the people who are the most strident voices really do see it as an opportunity to damage the incumbent, are now running the show. >> let's listen to see if anna paulina luna stays for mccarthy that is coming up.

>> mccarthy. >> luna. luna. mccarthy. >> all right. >> she had changed over in the last vote, so she has stuck with mccarthy. they're not losing anybody and they've gained harris. >> what you pointed out, david, and this is something that right has to contend with, as much as the left, but it is an asymmetric problem on the right, is mccarthy has demonstrated he is not good at curtailing the extremes in his own conference. and that is -- that is the problem, is that he has a conference. if he had won by wider margins he would have more leverage to weald the power and isolate the extremes within the party. >> we sat here on election night and said that. 222. it's going to be a tough vote for him. >> yeah. >> here it is. this is the elections have consequences. >> he needs george [ inaudible ]

vote. >> he is dealing with an untenable and unwielding conference what is going to make it harder. you friend comer may run oversight but he still has marjorie taylor greene. maybe he's better at mccarthy -- >> the attention on him is going to be great because, you know, legislatively, i don't know here, they're going to have to walk and chew gum at the same time, but the demand in the republican party, the immediate action demand, is oversight. that's what people want to see because they believe i think correctly nothing that's happened for the past two years has had any oversight whatsoever. you're right, january 6th did, but there's been nothing. we have problems all around that need to be looked into comber is ready for it. he's going to be one of the most famous because of the demand on this to get this moving. >> don't forget the math in the senate. we're still -- nowhere close to being able to pass a bill in the

house. it's going to passes in the senate. in terms of performative actions and performative art and things, this is going to be a congress that's full of messaging. hopefully not too far to the extreme to cost republicans seats in '24. >> let's listen in for mary miller and see if she doesn't change her vote again. >> miller of illinois. mccarthy. >> she stayed there. >> miller of ohio. >> mccarthy. >> next up the question is rosendale, one of the holdouts we've yet to hear from him. we'll dip back in. >> yeah. rosendale is key because of the montana senate race implications. there are a number of republicans in the chamber who may be running for the senate in 2024 and sparks from indiana maybe was looking into the

senate race over there. some of the votes here, not just today, but how they act in this majority over the next two years, some of that will be performative with a look ahead towards a republican primary for the u.s. senate. >> you have two members, zinke and rosendale. >> that's fascinating. >> montana is so -- >> your point on oversight is right. zinke, in fact, was subject to it when he was secretary of the interior and had to leave in a scandal. >> back to jake. >> all right. thanks so much, anderson. i'm joined by republican congressman brian fitzpatrick of pennsylvania right outside the city of philadelphia. congressman, good to see you. big day for the mccarthy team. 15 flips so far i believe, is that right? 15 individuals who had not been voting for kevin mccarthy now voting for kevin mccarthy. you're still a few votes short. a matter of math, does mccarthy need 216 votes or 217 votes to win? my understanding is with

democratic congressman david trone having come back to the house after his medical procedure this morning it might be 217? >> yeah. so just view it as a fraction, so for every two numbers that come off the denominator, 435, one comes off the numerator of 218. if 434 voting, that's how many we have here, the number is still 218. if that goes down by one it goes to 217, drops another two, through present votes or absences, goes to 216. keep in mind, we have two members on the republican side that we're missing this morning on their way back now. >> they're on their way back now? >> yes. >> it's kind of up in the air whether you need 216 or 217. how are you going to flip the remaining six? you just got congressman andy harris from maryland to switch his vote. you've got an lot of rebels to switch their votes. you still have some of the holdouts. biggs, boebert, crane, gaetz,

good, and rosendale. what is going on to get any of them -- i think you need at least two of them -- to flip? >> yeah. we're -- a handful to vote present because that would lower the number. but i think really one of the reasons we need to adjourn, it doesn't make sense to do round after round when the votes aren't there yet. we need to adjourn and we need to sit down with all of these people and try to identify what their policy concerns are, the rules change concerns are, and see if they can get there or not. >> are you going to get there? >> that remains up in the air. i think we will. i think it will happen. i don't know if it's going to happen today. i think we need to adjourn and i think there's got to be at least conversations that occur overnight and into tomorrow at the very least. >> congressman, thank you so much. i know you have a lot of work to do. a somber split screen today, we're going to go right now to show what's going on on the

floor and then, of course, on the other side, on your right of the screen, chaos is going on and then that is handcuffing, that chaos handcuffing republicans spurting towards maybe or maybe not electing a house speaker. on the left side of your screen, this is a moment marking the anniversary of a day that threatened to end the american pe experiment in many ways. president biden is paying tribute to those who put their lives on the line as the mob invaded the u.s. capitol and honoring individuals who did everything they could to maintain the integrity of the election. president biden is going to be speaking shortly and we will bring that to you live when that happens. we should note, casey, i mean, we're seeing some of the individuals that biden is going

to give medals too. a number of them really did some very difficult things that day. lost their jobs ultimately, many of them ultimately were injured. obviously, people who are not there lost their lives on that anniversary day. you see officer michael fanone there. you see some republican officials who stood up for the integrity of the election system on the left side there. >> yep, you sure do. there are also a couple of people being honored posthumously, including officer brian sicknick, who died in the wake of the events of the day, and, you know, i think this day carries pretty remarkable weight for those of us who, you know, i was at the capitol that day. obviously, members of congress were trying to do their duty. that duty was attacked. the capitol police officers were directly attacked themselves. here's biden walking in. and to have -- >> let's listen in .

♪ . >> thank you all very much. three years ago on january 6th our democracy was attacked, no other way of saying it. the u.s. capitol was breached, which had never happened before in the history of the united states of america, even during the civil war. a violent mob of insurrectionists assaulted law enforcement, vandalized sacred halls, hunted down elected officials, all for the purpose of an attempt to overthrow the will of the people. and usurp the peaceful transfer of power.

all of it, all of it, was fueled by lies about the 2020 election. but on this day two years ago, our democracy held because we, the people, as the constitution refers to us, we the people, did not flinch, we the people endured, we the people prevailed, and on this day of remembrance, i'm joined by the vice president and the second gentleman and all of you, we honor a remarkable group of americans who embodied the best before, during, and after january the 6th, 2021. for the first time in my presidency, i am bestowing the presidential citizens medal, one of our nation's highest civilian honors, and recognizes, quote, citizens of the united states of america who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens, end of quote. in a few moments, the full

citation of their exemplary deeds will be read by a military aide. this is who these people, these extraordinary americans, are. heroic law enforcement officers, az congressman bennie thompson, a man said about these officers he said quote, you held the line that day, and what was on the line was our democracy and history will remember your names. history will remember your names. it will remember your courage, it will remember your bravery, it will remember your extraordinary commitments to your fellow americans. it's not hyperbole. that's a fact. that's a fact. folks, history is also going to remember your instincts to respond, to do something, as you did. as we all watched, this is the irony above all, all of america watched it. watched it on television and saw

it repeated and repeated. in the past months, we've heard you testify to the nation about what happened that day, what you were thinking of at the time it was happening, what you're thinking now, the threats, the violence, the savageness of what happened. the trauma. all real. it's not exaggeration to say, america owes you, owes you all. i really mean that. debt, a debt of gratitude. one we can never fully repay unless we live up to what you did. live up to what you did. what you did was truly consequential. not a joke. if i can halt for a second and just say to you, the impact of what happened had international repercussions beyond what any of

you can fully understand. the first meeting i had of what they called the g-7, the seven leading economies in the world, democracies, i sat down -- it was in february, it was in england -- i sat next to the president of france, across from the chancellor from germany, et cetera, and i said, america's back. you know what the response was? not a joke. for how long? for how long? and i just sat there and looked, and i believe it was the prime minister of italy who said -- i can't remember for certain which of the seven said it -- what would you think, mr. president, if tomorrow you woke up and you have a headline in the press saying that in the british parliament a mob had come down the hall, broken down the doors of the house of commons, police officers were

killed or died, the place was vandalized, in order to overthrow the election of the speaker of the house? in a prime minister's election. think about it. think about it. what would we think if we heard that news today, if any of the leading democracies of the world wept through this? so folks, these people and people representing those who couldn't be here because they gave their lives for this, did incredibly cuss quenshal. that's not political talk. that's historical fact. officer daniel hodges, virginia national guardsman, eight years, eight years on the beat, his first time inside the capitol

was on january 6th. sprayed with poison, pinned and crushed, eye almost gouged out, but he didn't break. after it was over he was asked what he had been fighting for? this is a local guy, an ordinary american. he gave a simple, straightforward answer. what were you fighting for? his spontaneous answer was democracy. that's what he knew he was fighting for. he wasn't a scholar. he wasn't a historian. he was a red-blooded american fighting for democracy. the former metropolitan police officer michael fanone, i've come to know him more, 20 years on the job, veterans narcotics investigator, at a moment of

crisis, he was asked to do undercover work elsewhere, but he answered the crisis call of our nation at the capitol. you answered, michael. you always did. he was beaten, beaten, not pushed around, beaten, and he was tased. he was called a traitor as the mob shouted, if you remember, kill him, with his own gun. kill him with his own gun. but he defended our democracy, with absolute courage. ever since he's spoken out forcefully to make sure people are held accountable because he knows it could happen again. there's no guarantees. except us. all of you. private first class harry dunn from the united states capitol police, 14 years on the force,

on that day he was outside speaker pelosi's office. he stood guard protecting fellow officers who were already injured. he was fighting back insurrectionists across the capitol while being called the vialist, racist names. his own congressman, a true constitutional scholar, jamie raskin, couldn't be here today as he recovers from cancer treatments, but he called and want med he to say the following, i wrote it down, officer harry dunn acted with remarkable courage and valor to defend both our institutions and our people. he went on to say, generations to come will think of him and these officers and thank them for their service. end of quote. officer carol edwards, five years on the force, u.s. capitol police, on the front lines of the mob's first surge, she stood

there and she said -- i hope i'm correctly quoting you -- said, it looked like a movie. looked like a movie. sometimes in crisis things look surreal. looked like a movie. knocked unconscious with traumatic brain injury, she got back up to help hold the line. granddaughter of two proud military veterans, she says, it was her job to, quote, protect america's symbol of democracy, end quote. that building. i'm glad to know your name. [ laughter ]

you can call me president bidden from now on if you want. [ laughter ] a proud immigrant from the dominican republic, 16 years in the force, like my son, an iraqi war veteran with the united states military, the united states army who described january 6th as something from a meaty, evil battle, trying to keep insurrectionists from entering the tunnel entrance on the lower west terrace as he got punched, blinded with a laser, speared with an american flagpole with an american flag on it. the flag he swore to defend. he stood tall in the breach, but the deep and abiding love demonstrated for his country, officer eugene goodman, an army veteran who put himself at risk as a rightful squad leader

conducting combat patrols to identify explosives in baghdad. he came home. he came home to guard the u.s. capitol for the last 15 years. on january 6th, he risked his own safety to distract the charging group of insurrectionists. he said his duty is to serve or protect. he said, that day, he was protecting, and he did. he protected. all of you, i know this honer is bittersweet. on that day, more than 140 law enforcement officials suffered physical injuries, and untold numbers from psychological toll of that day as well. ptsd doesn't only occur in the military from the battlefield. others gone forever. i said earlier if i can hold a minute here -- i said earlier,

you know, for those who lost someone on that day, we're proud as a devil that their kin are being honored, but boy, is it hard. i know how proud i am when my son beau was honored on the anniversary of his death in the burn pits in iraq, but it brings everything back like it happened that moment. to all the families, all the families who have lost someone, my heart aches for you. i want to thank you for having the courage to be here today so the rest of america can know what your kin did, including capitol police officer brian sicknick who will be receiving this medal posthumously. a veteran of the new jersey air

national guard, 13 years on the capitol police force as an officer. he lost his life after protecting the citadel democracy. we're joined by his family today whom my wife jill and i met when we paid our respects in the capitol rotunda two years ago. i know you're proud of the honor being bestowed on brian, but i also know this difficult moment brings back everything as if it happened this very day. thank you for being here, and thank you for letting us remember brian. thank you. capitol police officer howard liebengood is receiving this posthumously. howard's dad was a good friend of mine. i served with his dad. his dad was sergeant-at-arms in the united states chief of staff for republican senators. we were genuinely friends.

officer liebengood patrolled the grounds outside the office on january 6th. he worked nearly nonstop over the days that followed. he lost his life after protecting the democratic institutions. he learned to revere it growing up. his family, serena is here today. she is honoring howard's memory by advocating for, quote, positive change on mental health issues for his fellow officers and other reforms. help them cope with the crisis they encounter. metropolitan police officer jeffrey smith will be receiving this medal posthumously as well. he was part of the first line of

off officers. he was hit with a metal pipe. after his death, his widow along with aaron -- his widow erin along with many others worked tirelessly to pay -- to pass in the congress the public safety officer support act which i signed into law last summer. the law recognizes death by silent injury like officer smith's and officer liebengood, so future families of officers who die in the wake of circumstances will get the benefits they deserve. it's long overdue. today is a ceremony to honor the heroes of january 6th. we also recognize late u.s.

capitol police officer billy evans. his family is with us today. three months after january 6th while we were still cordoning off the capitol because threats by these sick insurrectionists continued to be prfloated on th internet, again all of america saw what happened, but officer evans was killed defending the checkpoint they had to go through to get up to the capitol because of these god awful, sick threats that continue to move forward. and the whole world saw it. it's just hard to believe. it's hard to believe it could happen here in america. when i was a 29-year-old kid and got elected to the senate and

came down here to be sworn in after i was 30, the idea that if you told me -- [ laughter ] -- that i could hear my own voice. [ laughter ] i would be amazed. but all kidding aside, think about it. think about this. i also met the family at the rotunda to pay our respects and i was honored to sign a law, a bill awarding the congressional gold medal to those who protected capitol on january 6th to honor the officers for their sacrifices. these officers are the best among us. we're also honored to be joined by many other members of the various law enforcement agencies

here today. we're here an that january 6th, and we thank all of them as well. i want to thank you all for your service you ser service, your strength, your courage, and it's corny to say, but your patriotism. there are also five other servant, ruby freeman and her daughter shay moss. where are you guys? right in the middle. [ applause ] this were election workers from atlanta, georgia. ruby who for years has taken time away from running her own business to work an election season to honor voting rights and heritage in her beloved city. her daughter shay who learned from his grandma how older generations of her family fought so hard to even get the right to vote, so she decided to become a full-time election worker to help the elderly, the disabled,

the students exercise their fundamental right to vote. both of them were just doing their jobs until they were targeted and threatened by the same predators and peddlers of lies that would fuel the insurrection. they were literally forced from their homes, facing despicable, racist taunts, but despite it all, ruby freeman and shay moss found the courage to receive openly and honestly in front of the whole country and the world about their experiences, set the record straight about the lies, and defend the integrity of to our elections. you don't deserve what happened to you, but you do deserve the nation's eternal thanks for showing that dignity and grace of we the people. i'm so proud of you both. i'm proud of you both. albert smith, a former republican city commissioner in philadelphia, who spent a decade overseeing nonpartisan counting of votes