he has a leadership team already that's been in the room sort of knows how to deal with not only the schumer team and that operation, but also just the senate in general, the way that the floor works, so, i think that they'll probably hit the ground running, it's not like, you know, when speaker johnson became speaker after kevin mccarthy was without-- he had no experience at all in leadership, so it's not that type of situation. >> what role will senator mitch mcconnell play in the 119th congress? as noted he's still serving and representing kentucky. >> he'll still have a voice in leadership and still obviously a lot of folks look at him as somebody who has a ton of experience and he's going to be on the subcommittee on appropriations for defense and a lot of say over defense spending which is obviously a huge priority for him throughout his career, but you know, how much does he get out of the way and sort of let thune be john thune. ... ne be john

thune? i think the parallel is hakeem jeffries and nancy pelosi in the house for democrats and if you talk to some house democrats they will tell you they are frustrated nancy pelosi is not all the way out of the picture to let leader jeffries do the job. we will see how that plays out on the republican side. host: >> host: she will be here today even after she has to undergo surgery after a fall. she said last night she's going to be here today. talk about the agenda for the democratic leadership in the house and their ability to keep everybody in line. our viewers will note speaker pelosi was masterful at that. republicans in san wished the republicans would be like that. as i continue under hakeem jeffries? >> guest: he did it pretty much in this congress the last congress, in the 118. he did it pretty effectively again, somebody who learns closer from nancyed pelosi.

their agenda is tryingda to pick their spots, figure out where you have the most leverage to message against what they think of the most egregious trump agenda items, message and publicly to the t american vote. the is an election in two years. they're going to try to take back the house. it's also try to find who your new superstars are. there's been a generational change in house democrats. a lot of the elder folks are leaving the ranking positions atop the committee's and more junior members are coming in. who are your superstars? who would you lean on to communicate the w democratic message. >> host: stephen neukam writes up the hill leader newsletter, co-author of it for axios. we appreciate you and your reporting. >> guest: appreciate it. >> host: back to our calls with all of you this morning. we're asking you what's your message to lawmakers at the beginning of the 119th congress? we t to curtis who was in des moines, iowa, independent.

curtis, thanks are hanging on the line. what do what you w say to these decision-makers? >> caller: first one i want to say is even the a lot of their constituentsof are either very scared overexcited about what's going to be passed in the upcoming session, i think there's not really going to be anything getting done because we've seen in the past years even in this last session that congress can't really work within their own parties, let alone reach across the aisle to pass something meaningful. we've seen the house pass a few things but i think the senate is going to be again as usual a lot of those bills go to die because republicans have slim majority and they think their chances of getting the democrats to agree to pass a bill with them are even more slim. >> host: and the senate you are talking about?

>> caller: yes. >> host: 50 the republicans, 45 democrats, two independents, bernie sanders of vermont, angus king of maine who will be caucusing with the democrats. there's speculation you could see j. d. vance sitting in the chair of the senate chamber breaking tie votes as vp harris has done in the 118th congress. congress. raqqa in georgia, republican. good morning to you. >> caller: good morning. how are you? >> host: doing well. good morning. >> caller: we are in a very critical juncture in this country. the enemies of our country look at everything that we do. if you look at the calendar we have a a presidential funeral coming out. we had a presidential inauguration coming up and a presidential parade coming up. which means millions of americans will be exposed and

all the bad decisions that joe biden has made over the past four years areom coming to fruition now at the same time the events in new orleans over the weekend shows how expos that we are. they have not, they cannot play games today. you can't let perfect be the enemy of good. we've got to take it step by step, get the speaker and get things done as you go along. but to delay everything it's just putting americans security and safety at risk. >> host: what do you say to republicans like chip roy, thomas massie for upset about how washington works? the want to see more control over how spending is done here, more control over the purse strings. that is the responsibility of congress. >> caller: i understand that but at this juncture when things change all of the sudden your

perspective should change get when youou see americans getting ran over by a truck because the security was not there, you know your enemies of this country and all your complaints doesn't bring any of those 15 15 peoe back that were killedd in new orleans. it justho doesn't. >> host: raqqa in georgia tiger all events happening in washington today picked opening day of the one of 19 congress. as he says, certification of the election is supposed to take place monday janeway six. that follows a busy week, that proceeds a busy week in washington when there are few memorials services for the late former president jimmy carter. we will have coveraged of all f that as on c-span. follow along on c-span.org, on our free video mobile app c-span now app it will have coverage of the remains of thee late president as they make their way

from georgia to washington. he will lie in state here in washington next week. we will see the public as well as dignitaries coming through the nation's capital to pay their respects. you can watch it all on c-span. sue in grand rapids, michigan,,, and independent. your message to lawmakers. >> caller: well, first of all your gast just said egregious trump agenda. so i guess we know what his axios agenda really is. former democrat. and he want to say it has been horrible the last four years, and i'm all for president trump's agenda to protect this nation of ours from enemies that are even internal as well as external. i guess what i want to say is i don't like the leverage that can

be had by the big money over all of the representatives of our come supposed to represent the people but, in fact, are not. i want to see marjorie taylor greene become speaker. she would be excellent and she is not afraid to speak and she isak representing actual policy tremont . >> host: sue, she said she's going to support speaker mike johnson today. do you think she should do that? >> caller: no, i don't. i think she is, i think that's a leveraging issue. i thinksu that if your body is strongly represented with a dual citizens, that is a big problem because we're no longer representing the u.s. pirg where representing outside interests, of the countries, big money, bankers, , people that have

leverage. this is the l problem. >> host: sue in grand rapids, michigan, independent caller. we have less than two hours away from that speaker vote. pedro has more. >> host: will they or won't they came all morning. there's been some congressionalo media reporting on maybe where people are. this iss michael schnell of the hill reporting today that when it comes to rich mccormack of georgia telling her quote looks like they will support johnson, looks like when he asked if you vote for johnson saying mccormack spoke toohn to yesterday said quote i feel like he's listening to i don't see a better alternative right now. we have a lot of work to do. we stop wastingte it getting ino the infighting, we at last and will be right back where we started and that's a very weak position to come from. the moreil we realize it's about the congress and not just a speaker the fashion will get the job done. michael schnell.

chad whose reporter for fox has this on tim burchett people get of tennessee was one of those that is not yet committed to speaker johnson. this authority is in a recent interview saying when it comes to come i'm not committed to eaker johnson fixed away on conversations i hadik to think if we canet on that we could go. get on withh american agend which is why people elected us to do going on toay every time the speaker meets with us it's productive it sws he cares. he's listening and he sensitive. is at 435gos has to deal with so i get it. that chad-frank we should your picture of the former offices o senator mitch mcconnell now a new namla on that office saying senator john thune name is place on the leader suite by the architect of the capitol workers replacing mitch mcconnell which a been there

for 18 years. >> the plaque is up ons. a sensi pick a change in leadership over in the upper chamber. senate majority leader john thune will take over the majority for the senate for the republican party over there. that happens today at noon eastern. where simulcasting "washington journal" this morning here on c-span at noon eastern time when the senate gavels in. we will bring you over to the chamber on c-span2 here on c-span one weevils stick with the house floor because c-span cameras will be in the room when the vote takes place. it's the first order of business. the house and only the house needs to elect a speaker today for business tor get underway. no votes, no debate, no governing until they get a speaker. we will see a speaker mike johnson has the votes to do it in one round. michelle in niagara fallsar new york democratic caller good morning. >> caller: good morning.

>> host: we are listening. what is message to lawmakers? >> caller: i hope, , well, my junta does not get though treatment speaker of the house because he tends to just do what the maggot and the president-elect wants and oftentimes that's not what's bestof for america. and i feel the republican party is breaking into two maggot and regular republicans which is a good thing. because the regular republicans aligned align more with the center leaning democrats which will finally get our country together and stop all this side, that side. and i feel america, that will help get things done right for the people. i also want to say rest in peace to jimmy carter. >> host: cheryl in alabama, republican. cheryl. >> caller: good morning. >> host: good morning. >> caller: i like to say

representative john tremaine speaker. american spoke loud and clear and we want work done so there's no time to waste. getting a new speaker. so leave johnson in and let's not put the law and vivek ramaswamy and and let them do with those boys. >> host: ever goes past the first round you would have your represented say the name elon musk? >> caller: maybe after couple rounds, yes, if you want to play let's play. another issue i have is with all these illegals. i'm looking forward to them being dealt with. and i think what the government needs to tell them is unique, if you were here illegally you need to contact a legal representative and say this is where i'm located at. so if the come has to come search for them, they should

lose any chance for ever of ever entering or becoming a citizen. if they turn them since in say this i am, then they leave that door open. >> host: cheryl smith to lawmakers are on this opening date of theon 119th congress. we with her from sean next who's in jacksonville, florida, and independent. >> caller: hey. >> host: good morning, i have to tell you four years ago i was sitting where you're yous a c-span staff member. >> host: sean, former c-span or on capitol hill? , yes, that's right. anyhow, getting down to business. the one thing i've noticed in congress recently the last several years you don't hear much talk about a balanced budget amendment anymore. i know there was a business cycle balanced budget amendment introduced last year by the chairman, of the committee, but i but i would love to see that get some strength. i think our deficit is at such a

point where we've got to start addressing the deficit. and even president trump only talks a little bit about paying down the debt. it's like an afterthought. i just don't see how we can move forward as a nation if we don't address this. i think our debt is at 98% of gdp. >> host: sean, that's his message he wants lawmakers to do with the debt and deficit. today's opening day of a 119th congress, the first thing is lawmakers have to do is elect a speaker. the republicans are in the majority. they have the majority in the house. there's a dozen or so republicans we don't know how they're going to vote. one hard know from thomas massey. the democrats expected to vote for their leader, hakeem jeffries. let's listen to what he had to say in december talking about republicans and their tactics are passing legislation.

>> what we've seen repeatedly amongst my extreme maga republican colleagues is a a y one thing to the american people before the election, and then do something different after the election. the house republicans said they were going to protect sources get a medic inserted their presidential nominee. and now we learn after the election that house republicans are planning to try to cut medicare and social security and in it as we it. house republicans said before the election that they were focused on improving the quality of life of working-class americans, but after the election they are focused on tax cuts for the wealthy, , the well off and the well-connected. for years up until this election

the incoming president-elect has said that we're going to build a wall and mexico will pay for. but now after the election house republicans are planning to use the budget reconciliation process to force everyday american and hard-working taxpayers to pay fory their so-called border wall. we all support on the democratic side a strong, a safe, and a secure border. we have a broken immigration system and we need to fix it. we need to enhance our border security, and we need to do it in a sensible, bipartisan way, a democrats are prepared to do just that. >> host: hakeem jeffries democratic leader in the house back in december talking about the republican majority. republicans take over in

washington in the 119th congress for both thegt house, e senate at the white house. we are live from capitol hill on the "washington journal" and joining us is congressman adam smith democrat of washington at the top democrat on the house armed services committee. let's talk about these terror attacks, the terratec whistle in new orleans and the bombing, the explosives that took place at las vegas. both of these gentlemen with militarybo background. your reaction to that. >> guest: with at the threats to country by sometime macbride a different sources. i think we don't yet know what the motivation was behind the las vegas attack. it was pretty clear radical islamistam extremism was a motivation behind the new orleans attack. we also had i think they call themselves -- where we discovered a cache of weapons larger than anything have found this year in someplace at a virginia from someone who's also intending to do harm.

we have radical ideological extremes all across the spectrum with images we need law enforcement and the fbi to be tracking that to make sure we fully fund and fully support their efforts to protect this country. keep in mind at various times republicans including kash patel, the guy who was picked to be the head of the fbi, have undercut the fbi can talk to defunding it, talked about how they are part of the deep state. look, they are part of what protects us. we need to support the mystic law enforcement to root out these extremist before the attack which by and large they did a pretty good job of stopping a number of attacks. but as a oversight the terrorists only have to be right once. so it's going to be a major challenge going forward for this country. >> host: is a problem in our own military that folks who have served can become extremists? >> guest: i don't know for sure.

99.99% of those who serve military never have this problem, , okay? we had a large number of attacks, shootings that have had anything to with the military. making a link to view was servicemembers, i don't think it's worth it. i think we need to root out this type of extremism all across the country and indeed across the world, whatever threatens us. >> host: you are the top democrat y on house farm service can become you served served initial as chaird for many yea. what is on the agenda? what does your committee need to tackle inur the 119th congress? >> guest: we have a clear agenda. obviously it's going to be challenged by what'sha going onn the white house and was going on with the budget reconciliation process, but it's really four items. number one, the pentagon has got to get better at buying new innovative technology. we've seen in ukraine as the pace of warfare has picked up, drones, the ability jeff

incoming missiles, it's basically security medications, information, drones, counter drugs, missiles and missile defense, ai, machine learning all of its new technologies are crucial. pentagon is too slow to buy that. you can't be innovating -- chairman rogers and i are in complete agreement when did to speed up the process. that's never won. number two, it's become clear we need to be able to produce critical munitions in much greater quantity and much faster. we had figured out how to speed up the process. number three, recruitment. we have to be able to recruit and retain the best servicemembers so that we can contend that the best military in the world. that's been challenge in recent years. how get people to join and stay so we can meet the numbers we need? lassa, partnerships and alliances. we cannot do this on her own. the threats are coming from multiple places, , russia, china and north korea and various transnational organizations.

we need partners and allies on whether it's nato, south korea, japan, where we can find partners and allies to meet these challenges. those are the priorities we have on the armed services committee. >> host: when it comes to support for ukraine, additional weapons or money to buy them, what your confidence level that happens in the 119th congress with republicans controlling washington? >> guest: it's not high. i'm really worried about the approachi' donald trump and his support setup taken from this. look, we need indigo should settle in ukraine, i completely agree with that. this war cannot go on forever. it is been devastating to ukraine and devastating to the broader role in many ways as well. but you don't get to a negotiated settlement if you don't fund ukraine pic if you don't give ukraine the power to defend itself if putin sees a defenseless ukraine, he will not stop. so when candidate donald trump said he opposed an additional supplemental to support ukraine,

he was basically handing ukraine to the russians and putin. has he changeded his mind on th? is he going to give ukraine the power to defend themselves? ifms ukraine is straw, if ukraie has security guarantees, then i think that forces putin to the table. it forces them to negotiate. and then donald trump the great dealmaker, good friend but there will be noke deals to be made if we don't't give ukraine power to defend itself. >> host: you are not going to vote for speaker johnson today, but mr. speaker mike johnson and senator john thune the best leadership for republicans to enact, to get eight to ukraine? >> guest: oh, gosh, that's a very low bar you just set in the question. the best compared anybody else. i mean certainly both speaker johnson and majority leader thune have said they support ukraine. i that many, many conversations with speaker johnsonco about ths and really pressed him on this

he insists he does not want to abandon ukraine. i guess it gives us an opportunity. the bass, i don't know about that but there is an opportunity with the both of them to make suredo ukraine doesn't get defunded. we will press them on that issue. >> host: what else do you want to see this committee to? sounds like a good relationship with the chair. given the agenda that you outlined do you think you can put something on paper and get on the house floor quickly? >> guest: we've got a shot. there is a challenge. look, the great thing about the armed service committee both in-house and assent is where bipartisan and with passive olivia. 64 straight yearsy now. we are the most bipartisan committee in congress, the only comedic august that gets its work done every single year. and it's because we understand the importance of national security and we see it as a bipartisan issue. and there's a culture within her

committee. the culture is we workmm together and we get it done. you'll see other committees whether colleges seek every partisan advantage you can get come in so deposition every single day. we don't really do that. believe it or not matt gaetz served on the armed services committee and even matt was originally production a -- productive member. he did blow things up like we did elsewhere. he adapted to the culture we have onn the committee. i believe c that culture is houseg because on the floor the freedom caucus is insisting on a partisan defense bill before the even consider voting for. will we be able to maintain that bipartisanship? the bill that wee passed this year i did not vote for because it included partisan poison pills at the insistence of the freedom caucus. mike rogers didn't want those things in the. he didn't think theyy need to be in there speaker johnson caved to the radical right wing

freedom caucus that water to be partisan for the sake of it being partisan. which one of those things wins out this year? i don't know. we arewe going to work very, vey hard to maintain that bipartisan tradition but it's going to be tested as it is never been tested my 20s in congress. >> host: you said your committee passes a bill of you. it's no small bill though. describe, i mean it takes hours for your committee to market this legislation. what is it? >> guest: it's's the national defense authorization act which is basic oversight and authorizing funding for the pentagon. this year is like $888 billion, roughly. and then a whole lot of policy provisions. and because thehe defense bill passes every year we typically take on authorizing legislation from other committees, the intel authorization bill, frequently the coast guard authorization bill, foreign affairs committee authorization bill was in there. and host of other issues. typically about 4000 page bill

that is put together exactly in how a bill becomes a law thing, schoolhouse rock thing. go through committee, have long markup. we mark the bill, goes to the fore, offer limits, the senate most of the time does the same thing. occasionally they don't pass about the full floor but them a conference what have weon got ad we produce a product that is bipartisan by camel and the president signs it. so it is the legislative process the way the legislative process was supposed to b work, sometims into the wee hours of the morning this committee have been marking up the legislation. let's end with politics. you said after november you told the washington newspaper the democratic brand party brand is broken every ghastly to fix it if the parties have agreed of any hope of appealing to majority of the people in this country. explain. >> guest: 100%. please understand that there still a democrats didn't win the election like they should appear

i basically think there are four. i think the biden-harris campaign, and biden's decision to try to run against unsolicited was obstructed. certainly the way they push it put us in all. i also don't we use the new speed as effectively as republicans to add also don't believe that we hadan sort of desperate donald trump does a better job of presenting some as an outside can let you said that. he does it in a is our sort of but the democratic party has become thought of asde too muchf status quo. all that beingbe true, the fourh reason is becausese the extreme left of our democratic coalition has come to dictate too much policy that is out of touch with the american people, on immigration come on, just as come on drugs, on homelessness, on radical identity politics. these are ideas pushed by the far left. they insist the rest of the coalition go along with them. sometimes we do sometimes we don't. we do we really need a

significant charge of the country will be don't we and unit that collision. think of the number of six can the democrats are no longer -- montana, iowa, ohio, florida, okay i'm not talking about states like michigan, pennsylvania and wisconsin where it's difficult winter i'm talking the state that barack obama one barack obama one indiana. do you see any democrat winning a statewide race in india and in time soon? with take ourselves out of our billy to be competitive at the think a huge part of that is because of a far left agenda that has really poison the brand of the democraticth party. we had to fix our brand if we're going to be a a win election. >> host: abba smith top democrat on house armed services committee, as always we thankat you for your time and spending some of with our c-span audience. >> guest: happy to do it. thank you. >> host: we live on capitol hill talking about the opening day of the 119th congress.

when getting your message to lawmakers that will continue with that conversation but first an update on today's events from pedro. >> latest news and political reporter this is notices riley robberson, it's me by representative tomas either he someone alone no vote that is been registered of these reported on when it comes to the speakers though. massey tells reporters he expects more members will commit to voting against johnson. jake sherman a punch bowl speaking with the congressional with tom emmer leaving johnson's office to his part of the back-and-forth started saying i think he gets it on the first ballot. jake respond why? what are we missing? i think is can be fine. your job is to report all the stuff that i don't think you missing anything. there's a bunch of people jake sherman says are saying they're not for him not sure about in. can you tell me someone who is said no? jake sherman says i can't tell

you some of the said no besides tom massey. tom emmer finishing off by sayingid yeah,o is going to be fine. against that is jake sherman. billy from bloomberg with a shorter back-and-forth with tom emmer, republican whip saying he's confident comed- he's confident johnson has about. yeah, , oh, yeah. and then this from matt gaetz, former member of congress saying this and putting this out on x say mike joss will be elected speaker today on the first vote. people might like ore dislike that. i'm just reporting the news. , matt gaetz former congressman now with his own show reporting saying that he believes mike johnson has the vote. we will see as pedro was just telling all of you, it sounds like it's up in the air. does he or does he not have the votes? what happened on the first round or not? will there be more rounds of voting today keeping cameras in

the chamber will capture all, the 119th congress will gavel in at noon eastern time. we live on capitol hill before all of the action begins simulcasting the "washington journal" here on c-span and c-span2 and your message to lawmakers in the 119th congress is a question for all of you and part of our conversation. huntsville, alabama, republican. >> caller: how are you today? good morning. i would like to remind the house of representatives that what i will knows president trump was given a mandate to execute his agenda, the house and all the other elected officials were also given a mandate to support that agenda. i think sometimes after elections the house seems to forget what the primary objective should be. so the message i have four thomas massey is, please stop

this silly theatrics like you can put my fingernails out and i'll still not get behind my johnson. my johnson is the only representative who can possibly get elected in a timely basis. i want mr. massie to remember that the fourth district of kentucky will remember how he votes and how he behaves here. and in 2026 he will have to account for his behavior. , tommy massey, , chipboard they say they are doing exact what they believe the voters intend to washington to do. that the opposition to my johnson is reflecting their voters because they are upset with the washington spends money. how do youse respond? >> caller: by abstracting this hope they're not going to change anything because i don't think there is another representative up there could possibly get votes to become the speaker in any kind of timely matter,

managed to start working on this agenda. and to the democrats come can they give a message to the democrats will quick? >> host: go ahead comic i think the democrat congressman who would rather see trump fail that america succeed, they need to please rethink that attitude, and there are lots of cases in which they can work with republicans and try to do what's best for america. and i would ask that they about that. >> host: mitzi in huntsville, alabama, calling on all republicans in the house to put their support behind mike johnson. she says she believes they rescinded a washington to do just that. punchbowl news reported that all the freshman republican members of congress, the republicans elected in november, they are all behind speaker my johnson. that's from punchbowl news this morning. the dozen or so that right now havedo not said how they're goig to vote, we will see what they

do when they gavel comes down at noon eastern time. c-span cameras will be in the room. you can watch it right here on c-span, c-span.org for our free video mobile app c-span faq t you can watch the senate gavel in for the beginning of the 119th congress over on c-span2. market about democratic caller. >> caller: good morning. >> host: good morning to you. >> caller: how are you doing? >> host: i'm doing well. your message to lawmakers, i'd like to see them but to make bills on the floor. the first one is to put a flat tax on all campaign donations from school board line right up to president. and the second thing i would like to see them put a flat tax on all religious communities, all religious entities. they get away with not paying taxes for all this time. it's not fair, parks message to the lawmakers here as they are

slated to begin the 119th congress. johnny, granite falls washington independent. your turn. >> caller: good morning. i'm calling about i'd like to see congress do something about the elderly homelessut epidemic. it's the fastest going democrat the in the homeless community and people 55 and older are just mean displaced from their homes whether their own or rented. because they can no longer survive thiss housing market. it's not because of immigrants are ending like that. it's because of corporate ownership of property. there's point of housing space available the people can't afford it. it's a personal thing with me because i'm going to be joining their ranks at the end of the month and it's terrifying. i've been renting the same place for 30 years and has never been a w problem. i worked for 40+ plus years and paid into social security but aa simple one bedroom or studio apartment here would take my

entire social security check. as far as getting subsidies, it's almost impossible. the wait list is five to seven years and those of us that are as old as i am, i'm 73, we're probably not going to live that long. some places as far section eight they're not even taking new applications. i would like to see congress addressed the issue. >> host:es housing is top of the agenda for johnny. william in sparta tennessee republican. william, what do you want the 119th congress to work on? william in sparta tennessee, are you there? [inaudible] you have to listen and talk through your phone. can you mute that television? , yes, ma'am, i did. >> host: all right. go ahead, yes, this is william.

i'm calling for unity day in the gop. i'm calling for unity and for them to step up and be strong as a republican. and i have a backbone and stand behind our president to be. >> host: y, william, would you like that to happen today? why is it important to you? >> caller: it's important to me because i have two children that we are raising, and i want to see their future bright. igh feel like this turmoil thats going on, this day in our time, it's not good for the country. it's not good for the future of our country. >> host: william in sparta, tennessee, a republican wantso his party to get to work, and to get to work they have to elect a speaker it's a first order of business with the house gavels and at noon. nothing else can happen until

they elect a speaker. no debate, no votes, no coding. they can't even put the rules in place for the 119th congress. the members of congress who were reelected or elected for the first time and those that continue to serve in the senate, the incumbents, that all are supposed to be sworn in today took on the house side though if you don't elect a speaker those that are returning in coming to washington for the first time do not take the oath today. the families have all come to washington to watch that happen to be part of the experience. some of them will be in the house chamber today t as well. c-span cameras will capture it all. travis in texas, democratic caller. >> caller: how are you today? >> host: where listening to you.. go ahead. >> caller: yes. my suggestion is johnson is not elected as house speaker because

he's unreliable. and i don't know who else might be available, but i ask the democrats not support anyone who is radical like that because their agenda is only for the rich, and the poor is going to suffer. >> host: travis, democrats have said that all 215 will be here today, including the former speaker nancy pelosi who just underwent surgery. they say the party will show up in all of the numbers, 215, and according to news reports and democrats that they are united and do all these saying the name of hakeem jeffries when democrats are individually called in alphabetical order to stand up and say how they vote for speaker of the house back. deborah in mesa, arizona, and independent. good morning to you.

>> caller: good morning. i have, when i think about this and i see that chip and massey and anybody else who wants to have, wants to not vote in johnson for speaker, seems like it's because we want to be the speaker. and it seems like pride is getting in the way of a lot of things that need to go on there and it would just be nice if they would set aside their own wants and desires because johnson has been a good speaker so far. i just appreciate what he's done. thank you. >> host: okay. there is a deborah voting for speaker mike johnson. the vote will take place at noon eastern time. we are simulcasting the "washington journal" here on c-spann and c-span2 when house gavels in for the 119th

congress. here on c-span will bring you c-span camerasas on house floor. on c-span2 we will bring over to that chamber as they gavel in for the 119th congress. speaker mike johnson, if all republicans show up today for the voting, he needs 218 votes, and outright majority is what he will need. if all republicans and democrats show up. democrats have said they are alh here. we will see how many republicans vote and we will see how many vote for mike johnson. stay here on c-span, c-span.org, or a free mobile video at c-span now to watch the boat unfold. staff in your republican caller. your message to lawmakers. >> caller: good morning. i just really hope, i live in one of the national swing districts this year. we've spent a lot of time with people like congressman amer,

the web, and speaker johnson appear. i think speaker johnson has shown he can work with a complex and is sometimes problematic caucus. he can enumerate come he can handle it. he's also shown he's willing to put investments in places like new york where weve can and we have seen -- along with a great county chairman in nassau county. i just hope republicans will come together, will make sure get through on this first ballot, no longer and not again we have to have 15 rounds last year, in 2023 and again we had to dispose of of the speaker. i think it'ss problematic. i think we voted for this republican congress a cousin ofu the sense of urgency of things, whether it's the economy, immigration, continuing turmoil in the middle east, seems to be changing every day there. i just hope that we can start

january 3 in this new caucus with the legislative might to make sure we can address these issues and i hope allies listening to hakeem jeffries before talk about border security, we have a new member of congress from our south shore, a one-time supervisor who spend a lot of money and the one thing the left seems to be able to do is is how this big tent and none of them are threatening to not vote for hakeem jeffries. we see people like aoc go up to districts in your click withup t ryan and campaign with it. i think that's the same type of mentality and method and offensive tactics we need in this congress that mike johnson will continue to invest in races across the country will be can grow and hopefully grow the majority from two years that we deliver a lot of bills to president trump's desk.

>> host: back to aid russian maria for more on this new congress -- back to pedro for more. >> the last couple of days memo, the one from you.gov take a lk at what people think about the effectivenes of congress in the next two years despite what's happening with the current speaker's race when asked 32% said this congress coming up with accomplishment in the next two years, only 17% say the same amount, 31% say they're not sure. not surprised in the cuts on 10% said this congress will accomplish more come since 4% of republicans say it will accomplish more. independents, 23%. also the pew research center put out information taking a look at the religiousus composition of e 119th congress coming up. they highlight the fact krishan to make up 87% of voting members in the senate and the house of

representatives combined in the 2025-2027 congressional session, down from 88% in the, down from 88% in the last session and 92% a decade a ago. further highlights the fact the would-be 461 krishan members of congress when the 119th congress meets compared with 469 the previous congress, 69 the previous congress, and 491 during the 2015-2017 session, the lowest number of christians since the start of the 2009-2011 congressional session which the pew research conducted analysis. >> host: congress by the numbers will live on capitol hill this morning here for the "washington journal" and a conversation with all of you. we want to know what is your message to lawmakers as we are less than two hours away from the gavel come down on a new congress. we're approaching the top of the hour on the east coast. we will continue with the conversation they gavel in doubt, that account on the and

then they will officially gavel in at noon eastern time, the 119th congress. until then we continue with all of you and your thoughts on washington and the 119th congress. lawmakers watching. then gathered on capitol hill. many offices tuned in to c-span and c-span2 watching us. what is your message to these lawmakers? >> caller: i guess its going back to basic civics lesson in that the congress is not there to just serve the president. it's there to serve its constituents. i find the wind at 18th was probably of those ineffectual congresses at least ongr the hoe side. where i would like to avoid that repeat. i would love to see more of the moderates, left or right, come to the center. i'm not confident about johnson.

i think he is just a puppet of the current, i mean of the incoming president. it scares me a little bit. i just hope the president can cynically apply what the job is there. which is to represent us and best represent us, and that may mean going against thehe presidt at times. >> host: annie wanted to see some bipartisanship legislation passedis and sent to the president's desk. a busy washington in january. he begins today with the opening day of the 119th congress. on monday, january 6, they are slated to certify the electoral resultss in congress. it's written out as part of the responsibility here for the federal government. that cannot happen though until a speaker is elected. no business happens in the house ofou representatives until they have a speaker. following today, if they elect a

speaker and following the certification of the electionn results, then you have in the comingin weeks nomination, confirmation hearing for president donald trump's pics to serve in his cabinet. you have the inauguration of president-elect donald trump on january 20. and in between all of that, services for the late president jimmy carter happening in georgia next week and continuing here in washington when his casket willl lie in state here n the nation's capital. here on c-span coverage of everything, all of that wall-to-wall and you can find it online at c-span.org and our free mobile video app c-span now. glenn is in california, and independent.ep glenn. >> caller: yes. >> host: morning, good morning. how are you? >> host: doing well. your message to lawmakers, i really would not vote johnson and as speaker, sorry.

he was horrible. he held up all the financing. he is just -- nobody trusted him. i don't trust him. i was republican i am now an independent and i would never vote for the myth. >> host: so you were a republican, that went independent. what made you switch to be an independent? >> caller: donald trump. sorry, i cannot support an insurrectionist i just can't. would really love to see democrats and independents do an insurrection on donald trump trump all right. we will go to lee leave in rome, georgia, a republican. good morning to you, that's less trauma sorry, less. , what you want to see this year, finally i want to see some unity in our congress. the one thing the democrats have always done they work together no matter what, , whether it bey strong arm from nancy pelosi or whoever but they do when they

vote they vote in unity. i want to see the republicans were together that way this year and to geter something done with the majority they been given, and to support our president's agenda that would be great for this country if they will support it.rt but you got folks like chipboard that her this morning talking about he was sent there to make change. but when you have two or three people like him and want to make change, do they not realize that when they do the things they're trying to do now to stir the pot to cause of problems that when they want to get these items through, that they want to make the change, they've got to have the support of these people are going against today? to buck the system. >> host: hang on the life am going to go back to page of the gets an update on chipper and i'll come back to you and get your reaction. >> thanks for the segue on-chip what this is from kristin holmes with cnn.

she puts on her feet, ahead of today's vote tmp tells me he's confident in my johnson success, he's been in touch with repuic holdouts including representative chipboard, ipboard chip will do what's rhtor this country, trump sai in in a bf interview. also he said he's not i mean what else for the speak position. that's christian homes. also a conversation with representative don bacon sayinga quote, this is in light of calls from some say chipper should be the head of the rules committee, don bacons quoted saying voting chipper in crge of the rules committee is like putting stalled in charg of amnesty and diplomacy. so there's an idea of how unpular chip roy rules committee chairman would be amongst moderate members. back to you, greta travel back to our call in rome, georgia. you just heard there

president-elect trump predicting he believed chip roy fall in line. what do you think? >> caller: i sure hope he does. and the others, too. this is a one-time because like you say, to we get a speaker nothing happens. we got to have a speaker that works with both sides of the aisle. he can do that and be an effective leader if they will just workl with him and get things done and that's i just when we went through this fiasco that we went through the last time trying to elect a speaker and we put up with all of that. and i sat and watched it time after time after time, and the frustration that as a voter that i see that the party i've been supporting for many years can't work together to get things done in our congress, , that's what i want to see this year. i want to see some unity in the republicans and to be able to work with some of the democrats to get things done to make this country a whole lot better than

it has been over the last four years. >> host: he says he wants speaker my johnson to get the gavel today when the house gavels in at noon eastern time. c-span cameras will be there to capture it all and show you the conversation happening on the floor. during that first round and any rows that may follow, if they cannot elect a speaker on the first vote. adrian in new york, democratic caller, your message to the 119th congress. >> caller: goodd morning. i don't, i stand with chipboard, although i'm a democrat. a few months ago -- chip roy. a few months ago he asked the gop name one thing you have done. name one thing. gop could not name one thing they have passed. and i feel like he needs to stand by his decision by not voting for my johnson. i don't think my johnson would

be a a good speaker. he's a puppet from the previous caller, the agenda which is not pass. and the stand with my democrats, okay. that was adrian in new york saying she stands with chip roy. let's listen to what chip roy had to say earlier this week laying out his concerns about my johnson as speaker. >> i've remain undecided as a number of my colleagues because we saw some of the failures last year that we are concerned about that might limit or intimidate our agenda. let's consider what happened the week before christmas. we t violated the semi-tolerabl. why? because we didn't have time to readul a builder we wanted -- te present njd to come in -- [inaudible]

down to 100 pages. he still, still spin $110 billion and to my colleagues say that's called discussions been a? we also passed $200 billion that is taking money out of social security tour transfer it which will hasten the bankruptcy of social security by six months. that was all the week before christmas. that's a problem. that's not how we should do business. we spent $1.7 trillion last year with more democrat votes from republican votes. we gave another $61 billion to ukraine. my friend is from ukraine. she understands, , giving 61 billion to ukraine after my johnson promised to secure the border first, that's a problem. we need to have a plan before chandler third. the speaker needs to speak to it once have all of our support. >> host: congressman chip roy earlier talking that is concerned with electing speaker

my johnson and the top post yet again for the 119th congress. you heard him say we need a plan before january 3. here we are part it's friday, january 3, 2025, opening opening day of the 119th congress. chip roy we don't know how he will votee today. he has expressed opposition to mike johnson serving as a speaker yet again in the 119th congress. we know thomas massie is a hard know. there could be a dozen or so republicans who are opposed to mike johnson serving in that top post. it all unfold at noon eastern time right here on c-span. this morning on the "washington journal" we areto live from capitol hill just a few steps away from the capitol dome. we are in one of the house office buildings, the canon rotunda. the bd has gathered. it's getting noisier and busier appear on capital because lawmakers have arrived. their staff, and beatty as i

said all watching washington and capitol hill to see what happens with this speaker vote. we are getting your thoughts on the 119th congress, the speaker vote and youres messageo the lawmakers will go to peter who is in massachusetts, and independent caller. go ahead. >> caller: i'm on. am i on? >> host: you are. we're listening to you. >> caller: thanks for having me on. like the previous caller there should be some unity first off to get a good conservative speaker in their in place of my johnson. challenge yourself, seek you can do it, congressman, and get going. because the thing that's got to stop is this chaos marketing all these cabinet members that are being submitted by humpty dumpty trumpy is just not good. get great people and that that do the job like liz cheney and get everybody to watch servant

of the people netflix tells the story of zelensky. because that is what's happening to our country. >> host: you are a conservative? >> caller: yes. i am an independent, formally democrat years ago and and s raised around a bunch of republicans. the values having these days are absently nuts. i liked with way the democrats work. they get things done. they should just cleanup all these chaos marketers and get moving, do the jobs are reciting that every time i see a congressman in my state i say please get into into your job. that's all i want congress deeperar i hope and would hardly say this. >> host: peter, formally a democrat, independent independent. were watching this morning from capitol hill. what happens with this speaker

vote. the house will gavel in for the 118th session in just a few seconds. we will bring you to the floor when they do so. there is the house floor door so we were going to go. we expect is to be quick and we'll come back at pick up our conversation with all of you if you're watching us on c-span2, you'll get life house coverage as well here on c-span. ..

le you, o god, made the moon to made the moon to mark the season in the sun knows the time of the setting in this 118 congress steps down and the journals are sealed, we give you thanks and in your mercy you've allowed us your goodness to pass

over us and i'm privileged to call your name for the strength to sustain us. you have shown us your steadfast lovingkindness time and again. all those who gave of unwavering energy received your own well done. the armed staff and capital police. the on held men and women whose patience and dedication to the people who kept the nation's businessur blessing on the leg - reward of your blessing on the - legacy of this 118th congress. in your eternal name we pray. amen. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 3-z of house resolution 5, the journal of the

last day's proceedings is approved. the chair will lead the house in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. under clause 5-d of rule 20, the chair announces to the house that in light of the resignation of the gentleman from north carolina, mr. jackson, the whole number of the house is 429. the house lays before -- the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, as i prepare to be sworn in as governor of puerto rico, i hereby make my official resignation from the u.s. house of representatives effective 11:59 p.m. on wednesday, january 1, 2025. enclosed is the letter i

transmitted to governor pedro r. per lucy of puerto rico. it has been an honor to represent the people of puerto rico in congress for the past eight years. it has also been a privilege to serve with you and our colleagues in the house during this time. i look forward to continuing working together in my new role as governor. signed, sincerely, jenniffer gonzalez colon. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess subject to the call of the chair. host: we are in the closing minutes of the 118 congress. we will gavel and at noon and then close out, they will gavel back in for the beginning of the

1/19 congress. live on capitol hill, awaiting the beginning of the 119th congress. first-order business is electing a speaker in the house, only the house votes for speaker. will mike johnson have the votes? you will hear from members, how many are in the chamber. c-span will be there to capture the faces and voices as they stand up to elect a speaker. what name do they shout? mike johnson? in unity from the republican party? democrats in unity, 215, will say the name hakeem jeffries. we are watching in washington and around the country to see what happens. before that, we are getting your thoughts on this 119 congress and want to know what your message is to this congress?

david, democrat. caller: historic narrow margin the democrats, minority, have a chance to influence legislation. unity is important. i have concerns as a centrist who became a democrat preceding the 2016 election. i am still a centrist and have concerns over the squad and their allies in the house that sometimes make it difficult for democrats in other areas of the country like iowa. i would like to have them and others in the party of that persuasion to hold down the rhetoric. if we don't, i am afraid four years from now, we will be listening to a president elect jd vance. host: what do you mean hold down the rhetoric? which rhetoric?

caller: we have heard from various members of the squad. when they start spouting something very left of center, it turns off the people, particularly in the upper midwest. specifically, i remember when representative omar said defund the police prior to one of the elections. specifically i can point to certain congressional districts in the upper midwest, wisconsin and iowa where democrats lost seats because of that statement. host: david in cedar rapids, iowa, democratic. more calls coming up on washington journal. mike johnson in december spoke with reporters about the mood in washington and the legislative

road ahead. >> palpable sense this is a new day in america. we sense that everywhere. american families are ready to see america first agenda. we are excited. you hear talk about the agenda. we are working on that now. house republicans are working to enact that agenda. last week we brought elon musk here to discuss how we cut waste, fraud and abuse from federal government. it was very productive. we had a small group and a larger one and the congressional auditorium. thank you for being here for that. we are laying the groundwork for our aggressive 100 day agenda in congress we have been planning for a long time. host: speaker johnson in december. live on capitol hill, joining us

, the chair of the appropriations committee. you are close to leadership and support speaker johnson. does he have the votes? guest: he will get more votes than any other republican could. if you cannot vote for johnson, you are saying you are not going to have a republican speaker. everyone knows mike, likes mike, respects mike. can't vote for him, i don't know who you would vote for. host: does he get the votes on the first-round? guest: hope so. some people may reverse on the second. in the end, there is one possible alternative. we are not going to elect a democratic speaker. if you cannot vote for johnson, you will push us toward a coalition speaker. host: what do you mean?

guest: you would have to have someone who could get democratic votes. republicans who cannot vote for johnson do not have a candidate. there is no one they are pushing. you are saying i want a republican, i won a coalition. that would be in a norma's mistake. -- that would be an enormous mistake. i would urge colleagues on the fence to recognize and vote accordingly. host: what's happening behind the scenes? guest: people are trying to leverage the speaker, attract concessions for themselves personally or some ideological point. the speaker has been consistent, saying i am not making backroom deals with anybody. this is different from two years ago.

. that's the appropriate stance. you've had a year plus to see johnson is speaker. he's delivered and gotten things done and kept the government open. he's prepared to work with the president. the president said this is the guy i want. i don't know what else you need unless you are holding out for yourself. host: chip roy and others opposed, some would like him to serve as chair of the rules committee. guest: the speaker, i trust the speaker. he said i'm not making backroom deals. i don't think he has. he will make that decision after he is elected. that's appropriate. any advice i have for speaker, i deliver in private. host: what about spending? guest: we have a spending problem. no question.

most of it on the mandatory budget. social security, medicare, medicaid. rerms. doesn't mean we need to cut. i think doge will give us good suggestions. long-term we cannot balance the budget, it's not large enough. $1.7 trillion, crazy to say only, but we spend roughly $6 trillion per year, most of that on social security, medicare and medicaid. it's not in the appropriated budget. the appropriated budget, half of it is defense. i don't know anyone who wants to cut defense. a big chunk is on the southern border, don't know anyone wants to cut that. most people think we ought to keep our commitment to veterans. host: some of those opposed to

speaker johnson say it is the way he passed legislation for spending in washington. they want to see appropriations come to the floor one by one and get voted on individually. guest: we had all of them out of committee. they were all at the fiscal responsibility act level. somewhere below that. the package was less spending than speaker mccarthy agreed to. people still couldn't vote for that. at some point you have to decide if you want to be part of the solution or the problem. i suggest people who cannot commit to voting for mike johnson have decided they would rather be part of the problem. host: why do they always pass continuing resolutions and take it to the 11th hour? guest: they are not following the rules of the congress they belong to.

these things are supposed to be settled. there is nothing wrong. host: who is not following the rules? guest: the republicans? that's right. we picked our nominee. he got overwhelming support. you are supposed to express disagreement. if you disagree, fine. put up a candidate and vote. once we make a decision as a congress, you are obligated as a member to support that decision on the floor. we have members that don't understand that this is a team sport. when the team makes a call, the president has made a call, you want to be supportive. host: what do you mean they don't understand? guest: it's relatively new. we've seen it beginning with speaker boehner, when we had people trying to use the motion to vacate as leverage against him.

the majority didn't want to do it. same thing with speaker ryan. eventually took out speaker mccarthy. people have to decide, and my part of the team or not? if you are part of the team, you vote for the person the team overwhelmingly want and the incoming president said he needs. simple. if you are holding out after that, you are asking for something special for yourself or something the majority of the conference has not agreed to. that's inappropriate. the conference gives you your committee assignment. if you're going to be successful, the conference has to buy into it. we will honor the rules of the conference and the conference is selecting mike johnson. host: tom massey says he is a hard no. victoria spartz, republican from indiana said i don't want a committee assignment. guest: they have to make their

individual decisions. i respect that. they are there decisions. on the other hand, if you are going to run for office, as a republican, you ought to respect the rules of the republican congress and vote accordingly. if you don't want to be part of the conference, you should tell that to your voters ahead of time and say i don't want to serve on any committees. you're giving up the influence of your district on important areas of legislation. i don't understand the approach. the numbers are small enough, a few characters can exert a lot of leverage. we will see what happens. mike johnson is the overwhelming, has the overwhelming support of republicans. republicans ought to adhere to that. host: it's a small margin today when the boat takes place. -- vote takes place.

guest: depends on how many people show up. i suspect most will show up. if you don't get sworn in, you don't get paid. that's a powerful incentive. i assume each side will have all its members here or most of them. if they are not here, there is probably a good reason. illness or crisis in the family. we have to live with it the next two years. the magic number is if everyone is here, probably 217, because we don't have a receipt filled. we cannot afford to lose more than one member. host: if thomas massie is a no, who are you watching? guest: it's the usual suspects. the people that like drama, like to be on tv, want to exert leverage. it's the same group. congress didn't work as well as it should have last congress

because of that. i hope this is different. if we are going to pass an aggressive agenda by president trump,, we have to work together. sometimes you have to vote for things that are not 100% what you would like. i have never seen a bill 100% what i would like. that is part of the nature of the beast. you have to learn that. you don't accomplish anything positive as a loan actor. you can do a lot of disruption but you cannot do any good for the american people or your constituents. you owe your constituents and the people better than that. host: congress cannot get to the agenda until they elect a speaker. guest: we don't have a speaker, we cannot do anything else. that was one of the dangers for three weeks in the last congress. shortly after we vacated the chair, we had the attack on israel.

literally, we couldn't do anything to help israel for three weeks. it took longer before we knew. we got things done thanks to speaker johnson. same thing could happen now. we live in a dangerous world. the inability of congress to act is a danger to the republicans. anyone should want to have a speaker. host: will leadership call a meeting before the vote? guest: a lot will depend on what happens in the first ballot. the stakes couldn't be more obvious. you either support president trump or you don't. you support the conference you are part of and abide by its rules and its chosen leader or you don't. if you don't, you owe an explanation to the people as to why you cannot do what is expected of you and tell us who you think would be better. no one has done that. honestly, whoever it is, they

will not get as much support as mike johnson. it's blindingly obvious. you would have to be deliberately obtuse not to know what to do. host: the agenda. what will republicans in the house to? you have the majority. guest: we have a national mandate expressed through the presidential election. president trump, the first republican to win the popular vote in 20 years, the first republican to win this level of electoral votes since. 1988 he said clearly what he wants to do. secure the border, i suspect that is job number one. he has people in place to do that assuming the senate act, and i think they will. he wants to be reconciliation that will secure the trump tax cuts from 2017. he wants physical discipline.

in the end, that will take not just dealing with appropriations but the larger issue of mandatory spending. the people looking at that on doge and in congress know that it will take some tough decisions. it will have to be bipartisan. long-term those are things the president wants to accomplish. host: emily brooks saying with less than one hour to go, one well-placed source says if speaker johnson doesn't win on the first ballot, the house will likely move into one more vote. guest: i would hope so. that would give people who did not vote. this is the republicans problem. give them an opportunity to do the right thing and hopefully they will do that. it would be easier if they did it on the first ballot. host: tom cole, thank you for talking to c-span. guest: you guys are the best.

thank you. host: thank you sir. back to pedro with an update on what's happening in the senate today, day one of the 119th congress. host: part of the job of the vice president on days like this is to swear in new members of congress and other members, this is from time magazine as of today, kamala harris swearingen senators, who don't even say her name right. when vice president kamala harris arrives to swear in the new class of senators, many of the smiling politicians will be the same ones who for months have been telling crowds that she was a threat to the american way of life, falsely claiming she wanted to ban christmas or rig the election by undocumented immigrants.

of the four senators taking notes, they spoke at the republican convention in milwaukee last year, they took moments to ridicule her. it is a reality every vice president faces and their role as president of the senate, still particularly raw. there is more there from time magazine. other events on the senate side, we told you how chuck grassley, republican from iowa will become president pro tem. "i will be sworn in once again as president pro tem. la te and i went was president pro tem was senator

cummings, 1999-19 25." as of today tim scott, republican of south carolina becomes the longest-serving black senator in u.s. history, appointed to the senate in 2012 by governor nikki haley. he was the first black republican senator since 1978 and the first black republican senator from the south since reconstruction. senator scott putting out his own comments onheilestone saying this milestone reinforces the progress wha made in amic soh carolina, people consistently judge not on the color of one's skin, but by the content of your character." host: live on capitol hill, we heard from emily brooks about the latest on the speaker race. she is joining us now.

thank you for being here. what have you learned? guest: going into this vote, which will happen in a little over an hour, we still don't know if speaker johnson can lock up the vote. it seems likely he will fail the first ballot, barring some surprise on the floor with these dozen holdouts. they are looking for concessions on spending issues and process commitments, even throwing out the idea of making chip roy chair of the house rules committee, which speaker johnson said he doesn't want to wheel and deal like speaker mccarthy did two years ago. with that in mind, it's highly likely he will fail the first ballot. if that happens, i'm told likely it would go to a second ballot immediately. leadership would have a better idea at that point if this was

someone needing to voice their opinions or is this going to require more negotiation and then we will figure out where to go from there. host: c-span will be in the chamber to capture the vote, then the movement after if they go to a second vote, who would you be watching in the chamber? where should our cameras be? what should they be showing? guest: chip roy. he is looked at as the house freedom caucus member who historically has been a negotiator on tricky issues with leadership. somebody elevated by the house freedom caucus. house freedom caucus chairman andy harris, he has an important position there. victoria spartz is another undecided who has not committed to speaker johnson. she is the biggest wildcard.

we don't know how they will be voting. she's had a history of taking positions that are a little bit odd. has a history of making a decision, and then reversing decisions later. she is hard to predict. host: there are a dozen. are there more than 12 possibly against speaker johnson? guest: it's possible. these are people who we haven't gotten an answer one way or the other however it was just holiday break. members left after being frustrated by the short-term spending bill. maybe there are members who have not said specifically they would vote for speaker johnson but they are still unsure.

the 12 mostly the freedom caucus along with victoria spartz are the people going in and out of speaker johnson's office yesterday. there are some members of the freedom caucus who say they will support him on the floor, including anna paulina luna who was one of the members two years ago who withheld support for speaker mccarthy. that's probably a good sign for the speaker. host: marjorie taylor greene will back speaker johnson. she threatened to oust him earlier this year. guest: her support for speaker johnson now, she not only made, tried to force a vote to oust him, she was extremely critical of him for months. she was one of his biggest antagonists, even bigger than thomas massie at one point. her support for him now is an

indicator of the influence president elect trump has on this process. above all else, marjorie taylor greene will be a team player for trump. she put out a video on x last night reiterating her desire to stop infighting, have republicans coalesce and not delay republicans taking control of congress in implementing the trump agenda. host: how deep does that influence run with folks in the freedom caucus? define with the freedom caucus is. talk about their influence. guest: the freedom caucus created in 2015 was designed to be an antagonist to leadership and get the most conservative policies possible but not through other tactics like being more of a think tank or exchange of ideas, but using aggressive

legislative tactics to try and put pressure on leadership in order to extract those concessions and things they want. historically, the freedom caucus has done things like been leaders in negotiations on spending issues. they were key in pushing out speaker john boehner many years ago. and of course, many of them would help support speaker kevin mccarthy two years ago. that group is very individualistic. there is a lot of variety of the members when it comes to what exactly they are looking for. it was concessions kevin mccarthy made to folks in the freedom caucus that put in a rule that allowed just one member to offer a motion to

vacate. now, this rules package for the 119th congress, if they get to it today, and if it passes with republicans because the democrats won't vote for it, now it would take how many republicans to provoke an ouster of the speaker? guest: the threshold would increase significantly to nine members. it is to get nine members willing to trigger a vote to and -- oust a speaker and with the margin now it would mean the speaker was automatically ousted. host: how did that come about, the nine? you guessed: the number was --guest: the number was negotiated. there were more governance minded anti-chaos republicans in the republican congress who for

a long time after speaker mccarthy was ousted wanted to raise the threshold to prevent that exact kind of situation from happening again. in november, when, after the election, there were a number of internal house republican rules, suggested anti-chaos measures to do things like punish members by taking them off committees, things like that, if they went against the vast majority of the conference on things like leadership, or voting down a procedural vote. the house freedom caucus and the main street caucus leaders along with speaker johnson negotiated this agreement concession to raise the threshold to nine members. it's very interesting. two years ago, as you mentioned, this was a very key ask of the holdouts on speaker mccarthy. this time it seems like a settled matter. every what i am talking to a

saying that the nine seems pretty locked in. speaker johnson doesn't want to change the rules package or deliver any kind of side deal. host: what sort of concessions is he willing to make? he did tell reporters he was open to ideas. guest: it is difficult because it is a lot more nebulous. speaker johnson doesn't want to do things like committing to changing the motion to vacate threshold. he does not want to do things like committing to put chip roi as chair of the house rules committee. but what the members are asking for is things like commitments on spending reduction. if you have new spending, offset that with a vote on spending reduction. if you have votes that are controversial, do not rely on democratic support to push them through. if there is a big bill coming and being designed, these members want to be more involved with the process.

they don't want to be blindsided by what was largely negotiated by staff on something like the continuing resolution budget agreement in december. that was very much a point of frustration for those members. those are the kinds of commitments they are seeking. it is hard for speaker johnson to fulfill those requests. if he is not going to makes ideals, -- side deals if these are more like promises and commitments about how he will operate rather than something tangible other members can go to to say yes this is something that will be happening. host: what does the conference want the speaker to bring to the floor as the first piece of legislation? what will that look like? guest: there are a number of bills that in the rules packaged will be authorized to be brought up quickly. one of those is something that representative thomas massie

said he didn't like, sanctioning the icc for how it hindered -- handled matters regarding israel and gaza. there are a number of republican pieces of legislation that passed the house of the last congress they will quickly bring up for a vote. really, it is not so much the first piece of legislation that will be the marker for house republicans. it will be the major reconciliation bill that will include a lot of trump agenda items, potentially, tax cuts, border policies. even, as they were talking about in december, potentially, a debt limit increase coupled with $2.5 trillion in spending reduction. that's a huge piece of legislation. it will bypass the democratic filibuster in the senate. it will need a unanimous republican support almost and it

has to pass there. it will be very difficult to get there. host: emily brooks, will you be out of the chamber for the speaker vote? guest: i will. host: what is it like in the chamber for a consequential vote like that today? guest: it is interesting because you can see, as your viewers can see on the c-span cameras, everybody talking to each other. i will have a pretty good vantage point of the republican side. i will be looking at who is speaker johnson talking to? i was just remembering back two years ago. kevin mccarthy was sitting in his seat as he was going through ballot after ballot. that failed. he was sitting down letting it happen. he was not looking frazzled. will speaker johnson be talking to people as he is doing that? will he have deputies or people negotiating on his bow for him? that is what i will be looking for. host: will we see arms being

twisted? guest: never say never. host: emily brooks we will follow your reporting's with the hill newspaper. follow her on x at emily brooks news. thank you very much. we appreciate it. we will continue on the washington journal until noon eastern time. we are simulcasting on c-span one and two this morning. the senate will come in quickly around 11:45 a.m. eastern time. we will go to that and then come back. then when he expected the house together in close to noon and then gavel out of the 118th congress and a few minutes later they will come right back and gavel in for the 119th. we will split off at that point with a live coverage of the house on c-span and live coverage of the senate on c-span two. follow along at c-span.org or on

our app c-span now. back to calls. dean in pennsylvania, and independent. your message to lawmakers. caller: good morning. we just have to listen to donald trump. that is the bottom line. he made the gracious decision of appointing elon musk and vivek ramaswamy. that was amazing. host: ok. you are saying get behind speaker mike johnson? caller: 100%. i come from pennsylvania, a small town called clarion. the community has my back. they would respect every decision i make. host: you think the republican party needs to be more like your community, get in line? caller: yes. but respecting the democrats. we need to respect each other and at the bottom line work together to make nation better. host: in arkansas, witton, a

republican. your turn. all right. caller, are you there? next, arkansas. republican caller. are you with us? caller: can you hear me? host: we can. good morning. caller: i agree with the other colors with regards to the 119th congress. there has to be unity with the republican party. however, i do understand where congressman chip roy and others are coming from hesitant to vote in mike johnson. congress was attempting to pass a huge spending bill a few weeks ago with money going to all kinds of absurd places. mike johnson can't let them get their way with everything. but i believe that donald trump will keep mike johnson under close observation with this and ensure they are both on the same page. having said that i are to the

119th congress to vote in mike johnson so they can get to work and certify the presidential election and swear in new members. they potentially only have two years to do so with republicans holding both chambers. host: all right. a civics lesson from our caller in arkansas. the selection of the speaker make -- must take place first at the beginning of the congress. nothing else can happen unless they elect a speaker in the house. only the house votes for the speaker. at the and it in the 119th and go about their business today. the vice president kamala harris will be swearing in the members of the senate for the 119th congress. watch that on c-span2 today gavel-to-gavel. we will have the ceremonial swearing in. coverage of that on c-span3 on the senate side. look for that as well today. the house, if they can elect a speaker, will then carry on with their business and have the

swearing in of members on the house floor it also have ceremonial swearing in, putting their hands on the bible with their families into. many of them have their families and friends here in washington on this opening day of the 119th congress. we are about five minutes away from the senate meeting to formally gavel out of the 118th congress and prepare for their new session around 11:45 a.m. eastern. the house will follow suit closer to noon. then at noon, we will split off and bring you live coverage of the senate on c-span2. stay right here for coverage of the house floor. c-span cameras will be in the chamber when they go to vote for speaker of the house. lucy in mobile, alabama, a democratic caller. good morning to you. do you have a message for lawmakers in washington? caller: yes.

thank you so much for taking my call. i agree with the other kroner a while ago. even in alabama, it's red state. i am a democrat. i have analyzed mike johnson's demeanor. he is a wonderful person trying to do his best to bring the nation together. so i think that, like the other caller, it is important democrats and republicans come together and work together for the nation. thank you so much. host: lucy in mobile, alabama, democratic caller. let's go back for more in today's agenda. focusing on the senate. what to expect when the senate does gavel in starting the work of the 119th congress. it will start with the swearing

in of newly elected and reelected senators by the vice president of the united states, kamala harris. once they establish the presence of a quorum they will adopt their administrative resolutions, their standing leaders and then the process of legislative work happens when they agree to dates when joint bills and resolutions may be introduced and then the election of the president pro tem, the senator from iowa, chuck grassley, the oldest member of the senate, and now the president pro tem of the 119th congress. host: the senate, that is what you will see when they gavel in at noon eastern. before that, in just a couple minutes, the senate will be gaveling in for the closing out the 118th congress. you are watching here on c-span and c-span two. we are simulcasting washington journal. we will bring both networks to the senate floor in a few minutes when they gavel in. we will come back and continue on in washington journal until

noon eastern time. at that point the house will gavel in and take the speaker vote. we will hear from benny in illinois, and independent. good morning. if you cannot make it quick we expect the senate to be gaveling in. we have a couple minutes. caller: i saw your interviews with mckinley and osha and they were fantastic. you got them to say a lot of things i don't think they were supposed to say. i think they should just go ahead and get johnson in and then fight down the road just so we can to get this over with. it is terrible to see them in fighting. when did we elect must and vivek ramaswamy? i don't remember talking about them before. anyway, happy new year. guest: you said you wanted to do

the speaker vote in the first round so then they can get to their business. what should be the first thing they do what i washington in the 119th congress? caller: i looked up the icc thing. host: i will leave it there because, as we said, the senate meeting to formally gavel in the 118th does gavel out the 118th conference -- gavel out the 118th congress and begin the new session. we take you live on c-span.