washington journal continues.

host: our first guest alayna treene with axios. host: our first guest from axial serving as our congressional reporter with congress has come back and the things they have to do thank you for giving us your time spent thank you for having me. >> the way you frame that yesterday is that when it comes to congress there is a year and sprint can you set that up quick. >> yes. the next few weeks and really until the end of the year will be a lot of chaos on capitol hill that democrats in particular and lawmakers in

general have to get done and it starts with the reconciliation package the massive social spending package that president biden democrats are putting together for several weeks or months is hitting a crucial time. so with democrats there is a lot of sticking points like prescription drug reform a lot of things they need to work out and the deadline they want to get an agreement by the and of the month and pass that which would be very difficult given how many details they need to iron out the infrastructure with the house needs t to pass they are still waiting to be passed in the house so roughly the $2 trillion social spending

package to be passed first in so that may not pass and be held up by the other bill and then there is other things after staff government funding and that pushed it off until december so will have another governmentnt also the debt limit problem depending on how long it takes with that short-term. this is a lot they need to get done it will be crucial to of course also the midterms are

creeping up just over one year away and that is key for a democrat. >> with the reconciliation bill you said no topline figure has been made but what the president wanted because of a reduction of numbers so what is on the chopping block so to speak? >> there is a a few things that are discussed in this is hard because if you ask progressives and then you ask moderates may have different answers so with the medicare expansion someone like bernie sanders or other progressive those are things we are hearing in the background potential things they may have asto put aside their be a lot of

climate change provisions that are in the bill and certain ones congress are really hoping to get cut house speaker policy has been hinting he made to do less so what i wrote in that story i published yesterday as it was laid out it is something better than nothing people say don't let a few good things are a few small things go against that good and that is what we're looking at here. they may need to settle for a smaller package to get it across the finish line. host: the current things we have to wrestle with before the end of the year.

the hurdles that you have mentioned how much of that deals with senator manchin and senator sinema? >> several. we hear about senator manchin all the time. they wanted to be smaller with those provisions are two overreaching and i should say we talk about them together and that is one thing worth mentioning they have two different ideals and something that senator manchin ones or vice versa like drug reform senator sinema is someone who

generally is fores prescription drug reform but not as the ambitiousth proposal were somebody like joe mansion does not mind as much but climate change is something senator sinema is for she wants a very bold climate change section were senator manchin is focusing negotiations on that. that's just one thing to mention but they are the two holdouts in the senate and it matters because they need all 50 democratic senators and with the reconciliation process on the hill that essentially is complicated really need a sample majority that we see from major legislation they need for that

to pass and they are very clear that it will take a lot of work to get those votes so we've seen this in there is a time when senator sinema was at the white house four times in one day meeting with enpresident biden. they are key and negotiations are ramping up its a huge week to decide if they can meet the end-of-the-year deadline and yes those two will need the most coaxing to get it over the line. host: you write pennsylvania avenue is frustrated by the whole process what is the strategy coming from senator schumer? >> from what i am hearing by conversation with their aides

on capitol hill they are returning this week, they are frustrated and want to get it done. they want to make sure that it is inn a way that that is a big thing. you don't want to go through all of the work especially control the house and the senate and the white house, and not to fill this agenda. so the strategy is the need to make sure everybody is on the same page so that congress works best under a deadline to speed up the process and get it done and this week i spoke with a lot of people over the weekend on both sides of the aisle but in particular for leadership that say this is the week they really need to find out consensus what

provisions to pass the deadline and that's what they are looking for now. host: talking about deadlines but nothing in washington happens before the deadline and in this case is just before the midterm elections. there is plenty of time. >> that is an argument people are making. why are we pe. rushing? the argument democratic leaders make is americans need the programs now. they need to make the economy ramped up again that create jobs and of course a lot of important projects for child care and families. that is the argument from the white house and democratic leadership but at the same time there are smaller things

the end of the month is not an arbitrary deadline per se but a lot of them are self-imposed and october 31st is when service transportation programs expired we saw that at the end of september with a 30 day extension to keep those programs running with the bipartisan infrastructure bill to make sure they stay afloat but then you need to have consensus on the other bill. but they are arbitrary deadlines but they do want to get this done as soon as they can. host: in the senate is waiting in the house. when can we see possible action? what they are looking for at the end of the month. and they are always talked

about in there is a time when republicans try to say they are not late were linked but they are and always have been. the house can take that up anytime that they want it's just leading passage in the house but progressives view that billui as leverage for the broader social spending package. so to passas the infrastructure bill. and then to ensure that it passes allowing the other bill to pass so that moderates may withdraw their support is

important for their face as well. so that's when it needs passed by the end of the month. host: axios joining us for the conversation : powell rate leadership help to has passed away from complications of covid-19. eighty-four years old german joint chief of staff passed away this morning due to complications of covid-19. we have lost a remarkable loving husband, father, grandfather and the great american. he was fully vaccinated. go ahead.

i'm a democratic socialist i like all othert programs president biden is promoting but half a loaf is better than nine. and the good faith from the progressive democrats is to pass infrastructure bill then negotiate on the other then you can get something on both possibly. >> that is a great point they don't understand why they have to hold up the infrastructure bill in order to pass the broader reconciliation package. but to your point, there is a

lot of people who would agree from the point of you but a lot of people who say no we have to pull this up and we saw this all come to a head at the end of last month when the speaker promised to have atr vote on the infrastructure bill and essentially it took president biden coming to the house to say now we will hold that and hold out the biggest package first and then hold them together to change the narrative around when the bill could pass. so at this point progressives are staying for a have to vote in the house for the infrastructure bill without getting that agreement on the broader bill and they are not changing from that position it is a great point but it's

something progressives as of now are not taking from their fellow colleagues on the hill and went to make sure they can pass the bar bill before they do anything for restructure. >> so hearing the homeland security secretary can you give us an update on what we can expect happening in congress? >> yes. so two big ones this week bidens ambassador nominee and other ambassadors and that very contentious before the senate foreign relations committee and other ambassadors will have their confirmation hearings so if you're interested in foreign

policy with these nominees that will happen another big deadline is tuesday we saw last week the former trump administration official advisor has been defying a january 67 committees subpoena so they will have a contempt vote to decide if they want to hold him in contempt that will be a huge moment we were not sure what would happen or if these officials and others related to the january 6 rally would be held in contempt or go that far to hold these people in contempt. but adam schiff in particular that theyy were planning to

take with those subpoenas. and then thursday attorney general garland will be before the house judiciary committee for an oversight hearing of the justice department. and there is a lot of issues he will be grilled on that day from january 6 committee but also on abortion more generally and texas abortion law. immigration is a huge one that republicans are pointing to there is a huge range ofs topics. a lot is happening this week at the hearing level that we haven't seen. sometimes a play out in the background to dominate the news coverage and we will see what else. host: independent line go

ahead. >> number one i don't like either one of the's bills they are full of things we do not need. why aren't they talking about getting the deficit down instead of spending all this money? >> thank you for that. a lot of people are talking about getting it down. democrats in particular but also they had been saying we cannot be spending as much as we have been with these two packages together will be trillions of dollars. the argument from the white house is they are really trying to make a broader social spending package. now if they actually pay for

it completely over the next eight or ten years, that is the plan and a huge part of the negotiations holding up the process of how to pay for the package over the next several years. but it is a key issue republicans are driving it t will be huge from the messaging standpoint. we are seeing inflation. it is a topic we haven't seen in a long time to dominate coverage and to be an issue that lawmakers are definitely worried about. extending is big with roughly one.2 trillion with the american rescue package earlier in the spring and the covid relief package that congress passed one.2 trillion bipartisan bill and then i say roughly 2 trillion we don't know for the reconciliation package but that comes into

play. it is a huge issue that is why we have seen the deficit these so potent this time around but then to raise the debt ceiling because it is for packages and money spent in the past republicans voted for a lot of the debt that they are refusing to extend the debt ceiling that this will be a huge issue when it needs to be extended. and i think they are paying attention to it and one that i think is effective in the midterms. >> republican line farmington missouri. infrastructure bill

it hass. 1 million pages to it and they are stuck to the bill it makes your job drop what the heck is going on? that illegal aliens want to get 200 million for amnestyut but desert fish and then flies? it doesn't make sense. what is going on with that? >> i am not sure. with the amnesty aspect, is not amnesty they are giving undocumented immigrants. that is something that actually democrats in particular with the broader package wanted to create citizenship for dreamers and they said it's not possible that they can't do from the

immigration that they want to odo through that legislation process. but talking about the one.2 trillion bipartisan bill and there is a lot in there. so to remind everyone there is a bipartisan bill it got 19 or more republicans inn the senate to vote for it and of course there is a time of republicans toto help draft the package. but this is what we see with any bill and it is a huge argument from lawmakers particularly with bills with the size and scope there are those in the bill that they don't agree with that they think are unnecessary or superfluous. i am not sure about the total level which kind of provisions you are speaking about. but that is something restart

a lot of and would be passed with those numbers passing in the senate. host: we heard as far as the immigration portion the parliamentarian pushback with dick durbin and others saying they would approach it in other ways is there a sense of what those ways might be quick. >> yes. senator schumer and urban have said this also walking some of that back it would be tough to find a way around because they did try to go back and find another way a path for citizenship and different order provisions and different laws of how the crackdown on the border is being handled. and as of now it looks very difficult anything the senator

from california as well has been very involved in this fight and increasingly they are trying to get creative but at least from my conversation with senator durbin those working on part of the package they are feeling less confident on —- less confident they can do it this is where they gather some of the folks that are very much focused on immigration and then to see a meeting between them to see what they can come up with they are being a little less confident in their strategy. >> good morning i haven't heard anybody talk about the view.

why isn't there a governors review. host: we have to pause you but you are breaking up a lot. try giving us a call to see if we can get a better connection. dallas georgia republican line. g>>caller: the problem is we haven't had a budget and 25 years. we need to take that away from congress. host: to that point passing budgets through regular order is the way that financial markets go passing budgets on capitol hill. >> we have seen increasingly and has become completely partisan exercise. of course there is a budget

the white house has a budget that the house and the senate passed the budget framework. that is what we're looking at that broader social's spending package and one of the big questions i want to know and i am interested is whenever the next change comes in republicans are in control, particularly in the senate, if they tried to use the same tactics that then it is very rare to control both chambers of commerce in c the white house that gives them the abilities that will be very difficult that they cannot do that if republicans can go over the majority of the house and senate that they cannot continue using the reconciliation process the way that they have if biden was

elected. host: one of the things they will work on is a proposal for voting rights offered by senator manchin. can you explain? >> yes. voting rights has been a key priority for democrats this year and one of the number one issues they ran on 2020. and then to get across the finish line the support the people act building off during the trump administration years and they tried to pass it and it failed. but they need both to get that across and in the filibuster where we are talking about with that reconciliation process to have the 60 vote

threshold and democrats while they control both chambers of congress and to b blow off the filibuster to pass the voting rights package like senator manchin and senator sinema are more moderate democrats that this particular package that is something senator manchin and then to have a lot of negotiations that he thinks he could get republicans could sign up on and having negotiations over the past several weeks but senator schumer announced last week that we have to vote on this

we promised our voters we would havehi the vote but now it doesn't seem like they will get those that ten republican votes in the senate for that to breakak the filibuster. so it looks like if it is anything to not have the support . . . .

texas democratic congressman castro chair of the house foreign affairs subcommittee talks about u.s. global engagement at an event hosted by the atlantic council. it's 45 minutes. >> good afternoon and thank you all for joining us today. i'm a senior fellow in the new american engagement initiative a part of the scowcroft center for strategy and security at the atlantic council. this event is part of the future for a policy series that seeks