on c-span, c-span.org or listen on the free c-span radio app. ahead of the inauguration, the mayors are in town. u.s. conference of mayors annual gathering and vice president-elect mike pence will speak momentarily about how the trump administration plans to work with cities. we will have live coverage for you here live on c-span 3. a reminder, too, under way at this hour, the hearing for ryan zincy, tapped by donald trump to be interior secretary. it got under way about 20 minutes ago. it is live on our companion station, c-span 2 and is live on c-span.org as well. ♪ ♪ while we wait it hear from vice president-elect mike pence.

josh earnest gave his last speech as white house press secretary and was joined by the president. plaus. >> i'm not interrupting because he is saying nice things about you guys. because i largely concur. when i first met josh earnest, he was in iowa. i think he was wearing jeans. he looked even younger than he was. and since my entire campaign depended on communications in iowa, i gave him a pretty good once-over. and there were a couple of things i learned about him right

away. number one, he's just got that all-american good looking thing going. that's helpful, let's face it. face made for television. then the guy's name is josh earnest. which, if someone is speaking on your behalf, is a pretty good name to have. but what struck me most in addition to his smarts and his maturity and his actual interest in the issues, was his integrity. you know, there are people you meet who you have a pretty good inkling right off the bat are straight shooters. and were raised to be fundamentally honest and treat people with respect.

and there are times where that first impression tufrrns out toe wrong and you're a little disappointed and you see behind the curtain that there's spin and some hype and, you know, posturing going on. but then there's others who the longer you know him, the better you know him, the more time you spend with them, the more you're tested under tough situations. the more that initial impression is confirmed. i have now known this guy for ten years almost. and i've watched him grow and i've watched him advance and i've watched him marry and i've watched him be a father.

and i've watched him manage younger people coming up behind him. and he's never disappointed. he's always been the guy you wanted him to be. and i think that if you're the president of the united states and you find out that this is the guy who has been voted the most popular press secretary ever by the white house press corps, that may make you a little nervous thinking well maybe the guy is kind of, you know, being too solicitous towards the press. but the fact is, is that he was worthy of that admiration. he was tough and he didn't always give you guys everything you wanted. but he was always prepared,

always courteous, always made sure he could share with you as much of our thinking and our policy and our vision as possible. and tried to be as responsive as possible and that's how he trained the rest of his team to be. so you know, of the folks that i've had the great joy and pleasure of working with over the last ten years, on this incredible journey, this guy ranks as high as just about anybody i've worked with. he is not only a great press secretary but more importantly, he is a really, really good man and i'm really proud of him. so josh, congratulations. and natalie walker, thanks for wauting up for all of this. because they made sacrifices

too. >> before you go, response to vladimir putin? [ laughter ] p . >> and the final news conference with josh earnest at the white house. you can see that on-line on our video library. search white house briefing. in washington, today starts the beginning of the winter meeting for u.s. conference of mayor answers one of their keynote speakers today, the vice president-elect mike pence set to speak shortly. we will have it live for you here on c-span 3 once it gets under way. mean while, what we have been doing during the transition, keeping an eye on trump tower. the ceo of boeing met with donald trump and spoke to reporters afterwards.

annual winter ameeting. they will hear shortly from vice president-elect mike pence. meanwhile, visitors at trump tower, the ceo of boeing.

>> how you doing? we had a very productive meeting. very engaged. appreciate the president-elect's time. we continue to look at ways to provide the best capability of our country and do it most affordably and just an excellent conversation today. a lot of progress. [ inaudible ] >> we talked about a couple of topics. discussed air force 1. we made great progress on simplifying some things on air force 1. streamlining process. streamlining engagement by using commercial practices. all of that will provide a better airplane at a lower cost. so i'm pleased with the progress there and similarly on fighters, able to talk about options for the country and capabilities that will again provide the best capability for our war fighters most importantly. >> do you think donald trump's

actions on twitter are the best way -- >> i think donald trump is doing a great way in engaging in business. we're all on the same page here. we want to generate jobs in the u.s. the u.s. aerospace industry is the highest balanced trade industrial in the country. we support about 1.5 million manufacturing jobs in the u.s. boeing is the biggest exporter in the u.s. about 13,000 mid and small sized companies in our supply chain in the u.s. you want manufacturing jobs, aerospace is the place to invest. and we are proud to take on that mission. i think mr. trump's engagement with industry will help us grow manufacturing jobs in this country. >> how soon -- [ inaudible ] >> i think we are making great progress. i'm very encouraged by today's progress. i think it'll be in the very near term and again we're on the same page providing the best

capability for the lowest cost. [ inaudible ] >> together we're working on simplifying requirements and streamlining the process and commercial best practices. that will lead to substantial cost process. this is something we are working on together. i appreciate the team work on this. i think it is the right way to do business. >> thank you. >> at trump tower earlier today, you can wash some of the streaming on-line. search some of the people who have spoken to reporters or come for meetings at trump tower. search trump tower at c-span.org. we're back live on c-span 3 at u.s. conference of mayors in washington. their winter meeting. annual gathering getting under

way today, as a matter of fact. and mike pence, vice president-elect will speak shortly. he is supposed to talk about trump admin min stra trump administration plans. we will have it for you live once it gets under way. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the mayors president and oklahoma city mayor n, nick cor et. >> thank you for your patients. it is my honor to introduce the man who in just four days will be announced president of the united states. he has recently served as governor of i gove