coming up in 45 minutes, a look at the federal reserve open market eating, and potential interest rate increases by the fed. our guest is jon hilsenrath of "washington journal "the wall street journal." at 8:40, ron kessler. host: good morning. it is friday, march 20. today marks the first day of spring and the end of another busy week on capitol hill. among the stories we have been tracking on "washington journal" are the release of the congressional republicans' 2016 spending plan. congressional leaders rolled in iranian nuclear negotiations, the fight over attorney general nomination of loretta lynch. we're here to talk about the top

issues of this past week. if you want to talk about any of those topics or have another on your mind, give us a call. host: you can also catch up with us on social media on twitter, facebook, or e-mail us. host: a very good friday morning to you. the top issues of the week of become the top issues of friday morning papers. here are a few of the headlines from the national papers around the country. here is front page of "the washington times" -- republican budget plans will be a tough sell even within the party. a story about the iranian nuclear negotiation -- "democrats join ranks against

iran nuclear deal." "islamic state claims attack in tunisia that kills 20 tourist." congress is debating use of military force against isis. "the wall street journal" talking about that high-profile federal reserve meeting this week. "currencies go on wild ride, fueled by fed" is the headline there. "new york times," two stories on the israeli election this week. one is a political analysis piece on how it could reverberate and impact of potential clinton election. we want to hear from your viewers and what are your top issues of this past week as we begin the spring here on washington journal.

host: a couple tweets and comments from facebook and twitter. kathy says the top issues are " israeli election, hillary getting attacked again, being retired, and having to pay both federal and state tax checks." on our facebook page facebook.com/cspan anthony says "same as last week, secure the borders," and carolyn below that, "increase in violence and hatred. civil society is disappearing." a big issue this week on capitol hill the release of the congressional budget plan by house and senate republicans. here is one chart on that budget plan. spending projections through 2025 is the chart in today's

"washington times." here's president obama's budget plan that was released earlier this year. by 2025, $6.17 trillion a year spending plan. for the senate republicans $5.03 trillion. earlier this week, the gop budget committee held a press conference and committee chairman tom price summarized the gop 2016 spending plan. here is a bit of what he had to say in that news conference. [video clip] rep. price: it gets to balance within 10 years without raising taxes. we responsibly laid out a plan for a healthy economy, an opportunity economy, one that opens the doors to for people, not subjects them to the dictates of washington, d.c.

we strengthened medicare and medicaid instead of allowing them to continue on their pastor insolvency, which apparently is what the president's plan is. we recognize providing for our military men and women in a families, and to respect their service. our budget spends more on national defense that the president's, and we do so in a responsible way that lays out a path to address the ongoing concerns of the military so they are better able to plan and prepare and meet current challenges and those in the future. host: that was republican leaders talking this week about the budget plans in the house the budget plans in the house and senate released this week. we will be talking about it all next week on capitol hill. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell plans to proceed to debate on that budget resolution beginning next week in the house is also expected to take it up.

sally writes that the budget plans are her top issue of the week. a headline on that on the opinion page of "washington post." this by robert kagan today. "republicans need to back up their prodefense top with funding." noting that president obama is proposing an increase in the budget, $38 billion above the sequester, robert kagan writes that "the editorial writers and columnists beating up obama and cheering republicans need to tell republicans and their own leaders that national security costs money and letters and speeches are worse than meaningless without it. those calling for a tougher approach as they run for president need to say loudly and frequently while traveling to iowa and new hampshire and florida that a central plank of their candidacy and a central goal of the presidency is breaking sequester and increasing spending on defense."

one of the many pieces written about the budget plans this week. what is your top issue of this past week on this friday morning on "washington journal." cap, florida, our line for independents. good one, john. caller: yes, here we go again. the same neoconservative mindset that got us into iraq, that wrongfully got us into iraq, is being executed by these 46 republican senators. they basically want us to now attack iran because that is the only option they are presenting us with. basically, their motivation is to serve the likud party of israel. why not support the labour party of israel, the peaceful people the good party of israel? i think it is terrible that these hawks, whether they be israeli or american, they first one is to attack iran, they got us into iraq, that was a disaster, and now they want to get us into another disaster

iran. thank you very much. host: john in tampa florida. baltimore, maryland, our line for democrats. caller: good morning, sir. my question -- why is the republican, each time they need the presidency, they become very hostile and begin to attack and attack and tear down the president? why do they behave like that? during the time of bill clinton, president bill clinton, they shut down government, continued to do every havoc to the government. now obama -- they keep shutting down government. why do they behave like that? is there a way to sanction

republicans from being crude and hostile to government? host: are you talking currently this past week? have you been watching the impasse over the nomination of loretta lynch and how it has affected some of the legislation moving in the senate this week? caller: which one are you talking about? i don't know about that. host: is that some of the gridlock you are talking about your and your concerns or are you just talking much shutdowns in general? caller: shutdown -- every time, shut down -- each time they don't have their way they shut down government. host: up next and other mobile row, maryland, staying in maryland, line for democrats. jen, good morning to. caller: good morning, this is jen. host: what is your cap issue on capital hill?

caller: the mistreatment of the office of the presidency specifically mr. obama. i believe these republicans are behaving as they are because he is black. there is no other way to look at it. and we forget that when he was elected, they all got together and took an oath that they would do nothing to aid him in his success as president. it is horrible how they treat him. it is disrespectful of the office of the president for them to continue to behave as they are doing. host: jen, do you think it could be a disagreement in his policies, why republicans are trying to block him? why do you think it is specifically because of his race? caller: well, because when we go back to the beginning, they said they would not do anything for him to be able to pass any bells.

if there were any successful bills passed it would get credit on his presidency. in addition to that, when you look back at history, other presidents because of how democracy is set up, they are supposed to debate and all that but they go out of their way to block him, everything he wants to do. we try to pass one bill, they get their topic, their issues past. host: race starting to be injected into the fight over the attorney general nomination of loretta lynch after some comments from senator dick durbin on the floor of the senate this week. here is the headline from politico on this. we will talk more about this in our final half hour of today's show. just a bit of the headline from politico, "parties dig in on a loretta lynch confirmation

fight." the story noting that despite her qualifications and reputation as a fair-minded prosecutor from the eastern district of new york "lynch's nomination has generated growing criticism from the right. the opposition mostly stems from her assertion that president barack obama acted constitutionally in differing deportations of roughly 5 million illegal immigrants after the election in november." we will be asking callers in the last half-hour of today's show specifically about that confirmation battle, whether you think she should be confirmed. for the next half hour our phones are up and on your top issues for the past week in capitol hill. adam is calling in from michigan on our line for independents. caller: hey, how is it going, mr. mcardle? host: good, go ahead. caller: i just want to say that i was kind of -- i don't want to say disgusted, but offended by the speeches, senate

republicans, tom cotton, marco rubio, had on the senate floor yesterday. i think these guys are really unreasonable. they use really illogical arguments to get their points across. i think they are like -- some of the reasons why people really don't like politicians especially marco rubio. i think that guys just an idiot, man. host: that is adam calling in from michigan. bringing up tom cotton, among the members that he disagrees with. tom cotton was the lead author of that letter that was sent to the iranian leaders ended the nuclear negotiations that garnered so much attention. on monday, tom cotton took to the senate floor and offered his maiden floor speech as united states senator, freshman senator. he talked about the nuclear deal and an armed iran.

here is what he had to say. [video clip] sen. cotton: the threat of terrorism brings us to iran, the worst state sponsor of terrorism. my jackson's to the ongoing nuclear negotiations are well-known and need not be rehearsed here. i will civilly note that the deal foreshadowed by the president allowing iran to have nuclear capabilities and exiting an expiration date on any agreement, to quote prime minister benjamin netanyahu, does not block iran's path to the bomb. it paves iran's path to the buffet if you think, as i do, the islamic state is dangerous and nuclear-armed islamic republic is even more so. host: if you want to watch that speech by senator tom cotton, go to cspan.org and watch the entire event. one where headline -- "obam

to iran -- seize the moment." the president's comments came for the persian new year celebration as the talks entered a critical stretch. the president said "nuclear talks have made progress with gaps remain and iran's leaders have a choice between two paths ahead. kerry is up next in kansas city, missouri, line for democrats. what is your top issue in the past week from capitol hill? caller: well jen from a while ago said almost word for word what is it for me. i would like to see c-span have two great historians on and discussed by comparison how ronald reagan was treated with so much respect and dignity, and

examples of how our president has been treated with disdain. i think 30 years from now when the books are written and there will be a whole lot of them written about this president the that -- this presidency, that it will prove that statements like "we disagree with him on policy," those are code words for "we disagree with him because we don't want a black president." there is a racial element. i am a white person, but there was a racial element going on with this presidency that is historic. just like anything else, time will tell. i appreciated jen. i thought, well, that is exactly what is on my mind, that these historians who will write these histories and gather the news magazine topics where they show the quotes, "you lie" and all that stuff, and put them side by side with quotes from

the other presidencies and show how this president has been treated, it will show the disrespect that has a racial element to it. host: terry in kansas city, missouri this morning. this coming up amid the debate over the nomination of loretta lynch. cnn -- "some black leaders say race is playing a role in the delay." congressman g.k. butterfield of north carolina is the head of the congressional black caucus, joined other black leaders in a press call tuesday morning this week, calling on black media outlets and members of the public to wrap up their pressure on senator mitch mcconnell to bring lynch's nomination to the floor. "i speak for the congressional black caucus and i can tell you that the cbc is disturbed and that is putting it mildly. we are greatly disturbed that this confirmation is now taking more than four months to work its way through the senate.

the sad thing is that votes are there today to get her confirmed . there is no question about it. if senator mcconnell would put this nomination committee report on the floor she would be the attorney general by the time the sunsets this afternoon." that from cnn.com and their reporting on it. comments from senator dick durbin of illinois also bringing this issue up. they caused senator john mccain to take to the senate floor yesterday to respond to some of dick durbin's comments print here is a bit of senator mccain's statements. [video clip] senator mccain: perhaps my colleagues and senator from illinois in particular need to be reminded of their own record. in 2012, janice rogers brown, an african-american was nominated to serve on the u.s. court of appeals for the district of columbia, a court that had never included african-american woman judge. the senator from illinois voted to filibuster her nomination in

2003 and again in 2005 when she was finally confirmed after waiting 684 days. the senator from illinois voted against the historic nomination. i would never suggest, even with veiled rhetoric, that judge rogers brown's race was the reason for the senator from illinois' opposition to her nomination. and he should extend -- i say to my colleague from illinois -- he should extend the same courtesy to me and my colleagues. host: we will be talking more about that in the last half-hour of today's "washington journal." the snow starts to come down this morning on capitol hill here in washington, d.c. our phone lines are up and to talk about your top issues of the week from capitol hill. pennsylvania, life for republicans. -- life for republicans. caller: my coming through clear? host: yes you are jay.

caller: john mccain just stole my thunder. dick durbin was race baiting and saying that she was pushed to the back of the bus, which is a racial statement designed to inflame racial hatred, which is what the democrats do. he also voted against condoleezza rice, i believe. the lady from missouri was hilarious. ronald reagan was treated with respect? i was alive back then, i was a teenager, i remember send donaldson -- sam donaldson stalking him, screaming him. the media was aligned against him, hollywood was aligned against him. he was going to destroy the world. yet in 1984 he want everything the state except minnesota -- won every single state except minnesota. it was because of democrats, they called them reagan democrats. he won massachusetts, believe it or not. when it comes to obama being

black, this crap's got a stop. there is a lot of guys i respect who i only found out later they happen to be black ok? people like walter williams, thomas sowell, incredible conservative minds that i would love to support as president. they are getting up there in years. allenan keyes, was a great guy christian, pro-life, patriot yet he was mocked by the media destroyed. it is all about ideology. let's put it this way for the lady from missouri -- if barack obama was a charming articulate, pro-life pro-american, conservative republican, democrats would have been terrified of him and they would've destroyed him. they would've done like they did to alan keyes, they made him into a fool, called him an uncle tom. not this crap -- knock this crap

off that it is about his race. it is the democrat party which is obsessed with caller, -- color, hyphenated americanism. it is the republican party which believes in individual liberty first an individual's first and groups. also wanted -- that is basically all i wanted to say. my issue this week was the starbucks coffeehouse ceo who wants us to go to starbucks and talk about race, which is really ridiculous. #racetogether they're going to print on all their starbucks -- there is very few starbucks, i think, in inner cities. maybe you should build some down there. host: jay from pennsylvania. on that starbucks issue, a full-page spread in today's "usa today" about that. we will be talking about that issue this weekend in whenever our opening segments of "washington journal."

minnesota, line for independents. stephen, good morning. caller: hey john. i have a suggestion and a comment. i would like to see the national debt clock every morning at least for 30 seconds so i can look at that and see it. host: you want that on "washington journal" every morning, stephen? caller: yeah, even when you are talking, just show it up so people got to see. it doesn't make any difference what these democrats or republicans are doing. if we don't get this controlled, it doesn't make any difference. my suggestion is, i've been shutting c-span off after the first 45 minutes. i watched c-span when we had a republican and a democrat. now they don't want to be together with each other. and they live, they don't tell you the truth, so i just shut it off. host: you want the members we

invite to come on at the same time -- caller: the democrats -- that used to be -- you would have them on together, both of them. they laughed and they told us the truth. now it is ridiculous. doesn't even make any sense a lot of times. you have a good day, john. thank you. host: good suggestion, stephen. we will take those from you this morning and do our best to give you as many members of congress when they are in town so you can ask a question to them. parkersburg, west virginia, line for democrats. good morning. caller: the guy from pennsylvania is like most -- republican, i think he was? close minded. they need to get their heads out of the sand. i had a comment on monica lewinsky coming up in the news now. host: ok. caller: if you have common

sense, you will see with the elections coming up, all this nonsense. i hope it stops and people just bucket buckle down and use common sense and decency and electronics president. host: what you say it is a coincidence, or not a coincidence? caller: hillary clinton getting ready to run. she has a chance of winning. i hope she does. we finally have a decent president in their and they take him down every chance they get the republicans. they speak from i don't know where. it's just really sad. thank you, everyday. host: kay calling in from west virginia this morning. on the topic of hillary clinton of course the e-mail issue, the use of private e-mail when she was secretary of state continuing to be a topic of debate on capitol hill. headline from "the washington

times," that the chairman of the senate committee on judiciary order on thursday to review the secretary of state's e-mail practices to determine if her use of a personal server ran afoul of laws protecting classified information. another piece on a potential hillary clinton run is in the editorial page of "the washington times" this morning. "hillary clinton's haughtiness threatens her dreams of the presidency." "she claims special treatment which may be worse than the suspicious motives are critics ascribe to her. her assertion that she didn't follow the rules that apply to everyone because it was inconvenient is the behavior of a spoiled royal, not a candidate for president." of note, hillary clinton came up

at a hearing of the financial service -- financial services hearing this week in which the secretary of the treasury, jack lew, appeared before the financial services committee. at that hearing, new jersey congressman scott garrett, who was on this program earlier this week, talked about secretary lew's role as deputy secretary when he served under haley clinton at the state department and asked about his responsibilities for enforcing e-mail policy when he was deputy secretary. [video clip] secretary lew: i don't recall being involved in policymaking. rep. garrett: did you discuss whether policies prohibit her from using private accounts? secretary lew: i don't recall any discussion. rep. garrett: do you recall approving her request? secretary lew: i don't recall

any discussion. punishment the state department is going through all this material. rep. garrett: i have the right here so i'm asking you the question. secretary lew: i was aware that she was e-mailing with people. i do not pay attention to what e-mail she was using. host: that exchange one of many hearings this week and we are reviewing your top issues on "washington journal." phone lines are open for the next 20 minutes or so. paul is waiting in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, line for republicans. caller: good morning, how are you? i have been listening to c-span probably since in succession many years ago. -- since its inception many years ago. it is upsetting in the recent past when i turn on in the morning and it is like listening to the worst of talk radio. this constant bashing of

republicans and anybody who is opposed to the president is labeled a racist, which is just a terrible thing to say. and i also agree, i like your old system when you had a democrat and republican both together and the dialogue and it is refreshing to see that they can treat each other like human beings. my concern is the negotiations with iran. i think this is crucial. it is interesting to see that director clapper came out with his list a day or two ago of state-sponsored terrorists, and they conveniently left iran and hezbollah off the list. that is crazy. iran is probably the most state-sponsored terrorist group in the world. if they get the nuclear weapon,

then you are going to have saudi arabia, you will have egypt, and it will just become a hotbed. these are important discussions and i would be -- it would be helpful if the administration could work more closely with congress and consult with them on these issues, because this is what is missing in this administration. those are my comments. host: paul in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. he was the front page of "the washington times." "democrats joined ranks against nuclear deal." "resistance surged on thursday even as details emerged about a potential agreement that would allow iran to retain up to 6000 uranium enrichment centrifuges well getting immediate relief from international sanctions." if you want to be that story, it is in "the washington times." the deadline for the deal taking down to the end of the month.

arkansas, line for independents. what were your top issues this week? caller: yes, i am a retired veteran. i was an administrator under the budget administration -- bush administration. the thing i have to say about race within this country is that minorities and caucasians don't seem to respect each other's ideology. and they look at things differently because the way they live in the values they are taught -- and the values they are taught. if that is true, why we still hurting each other? why are we still doing that things to each other? and causing tensions and stuff like that, and causing people to lose their lives or whatever,

instead of just talking and doing the writing? -- the right thing? i was told in the military that i had to be schizophrenic ok come in order to, you know what i'm saying, live a good life. you know what i'm saying, be able to actually have a good job or whatever like that. i didn't have a good job when i was out of the military. and i worked at a church in arkansas. i did the best i could, you know what i'm saying? as a low minimum wage worker, you know what i'm saying? i never government it or anything like that, but i made the people around me better -- i never got promoted or anything like that, but i made the people around me better.

anytime government going to say ok, you can work for the army, ok, you can work for the military but if you've got good ideas and you are -- show good leadership skills, and i find that out -- for example, on september 11, i called another african-american lady and told them we was at war after the first plane hit on september 11. and then i got on the phone when we went over there to afghanistan, and i know someone was on the other end because there would have been no doubt. saw me on the phone that day. host: elroy talking about his

view of a in this country and his experience from little rock arkansas. the issue of race and police and young black males is in the news again after an incident at the university of virginia. that story making the front page headline of "the washington post." "violent arrest of black uva student sparks scrutiny of virginia abc."that is the alcoholic beverage control. the law enforcement officers were members of the virginia abc that arrested the young man there. it included some graphic video and pictures taken at the arrest scene. let's go to anna waiting in athens, ohio, line for democrats. good morning to you. caller: yeah, good morning. i hope i get as much time as some of those fellows who

were on and had great things to say or interesting. i have aggressively deep respect for president obama -- incredibly deep respect for president obama and secretary kerry, negotiating with iran based on actual facts, not the unsubstantiated claims of netanyahu and the israeli lobby in the u.s., based on the fact that iran signed the nonproliferation treaty, has the legal right to enrich of two, i think, 20%, if it is for peaceful purposes. the most ludicrous thing i find and i know many others find is that israel, the very nation that sits on massive stockpiles of nuclear biological, and chemical weapons and refuses to sign the nonproliferation treaty is the nation screaming about iran. andrea mitchell's interview with netanyahu yesterday was absurd because she sits there and she doesn't challenge him, saying "why don't you guys signed the nonproliferation treaty?" and

allows him to repeat unsubstantiated claims or false translations about what iranian officials have said about israel. they have never said we want to wipe israel off the map. professor juan cole speaks five line which is, one of them is persian. many people have accurately translated with the iranian official said, the former iranian president. she sat there and do not challenge israel about why didn't they signed the nonproliferation treaty. we need to watch what netanyahu does, not what he says. he has proven that through his actions that he does not support the two state solution by continuing to build illegal settlements. host: anna, on that topic, the interview you are talking about making a lot of the front pages of different national papers around the world. "the washington post,"

"netanyahu backtracks on pled ge." this topic and what it means for the united states was the subject that congressman adam schiff, top democrat on the house intelligence committee talked about in our "newsmakers" interview this week. i will -- that will air tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. later in the day. he talked about the prime minister's remarks about the two state solution and what that means for the united states. [video clip] rep. schiff: i'm very concerned about some of the things the prime ministers said during his campaign, particularly walking away from the two state solution. that has great implications for the united states as well as the region. if that was more than a campaign pledge that the prime minister does not intend to follow through on, it means there is going to be a serious breach between the u.s. and israel on policy in terms of a second

state. in addition to the iranian nuclear issue, it holds out the potential of a serious disagreement between the vital allies. i think we will get some sense finally in the near future. was this something said expediently in the heat of battle? i would be very concerned that reflects new israeli policy. host: the interview airing on sunday, 10:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m. in our usual "newsmakers" time. congressman adam schiff. florida, our line for republicans. harold, good morning to you. caller: i just want to make two slight points. look, i was a democrat all of my youth because i lived in the south and my father explained to me at a very young age that in

the south you had to vote democrat because the republicans had no power and there were no real republican parties of any consequence. they couldn't win anything. in order to influence the primaries you had to be a democrat. as i grew up, i noticed who said things and who did things, and the restrooms that had certain names on them, and how people were treated. and now to hear the democrats jump on the other side of bandwagon, after they were the ones that fought on the southern side in the civil war and after reconstruction, and all of that. we can finally have a republican party of consequence that stands for values. to hear the democrats like this, it is just rather odd. it is almost heartbreaking. the other point is you were listening to the young lady talk about, you know, the unsubstantiated statements about iran. look, with all the respect, i'm

sure there are some fine people in iran, but there are also -- but they are also the people that think we are the great satan. they are the founders of supporters and -- founders and supporters and biggest of directors of hamas and hezbollah. you can't let them have the atomic bomb because they will have other people -- that is just reality. it is just unbelievable to hear people try to defend their right to get to that stage where they can just let these things loose to terrorist groups. the ali thing you can say now is israel would never give them to a terrorist group and neither would any of the other people who have the bomb except perhaps north korea. we are desperately trying to contain both of these situations. again, i'm sure there are fine iranians but letting them have it in facilities -- hated facilities -- hidden facilities

under mountains and all that kind of stuff, it is not feasible if we want this world to survive. host: harold calling in from florida this morning. the nuclear negotiations should be a topic next week and the week after as well. we are asking about your top issue of the week from capitol hill. victor also calling in from florida, saint augustine, line for independents. what is your top issue? victor, you with us? victor might have stepped away from his phone. we will go to larry, calling in from tennessee, line for democrats. good morning to you. caller: good morning. i would like to see a draft of some sort that would reflect president obama's nominees for the different parts of the government. the directors was presented and

how long it took for them to be dominated, be put in position -- to be nominated, be put in position, and how many places still after six years are still open without directors in their. how long it has taken. if that is not reflective of obstructionism, whether it is fueled by race or whether it is fueled by hatred of just the democrats, or maybe it is a combination of both that is being fed unreasonably, by the republican party. i have to look at public radio that is fueling this hatred.

i feel like at least half or more of citizenry of the united states -- host: i don't have that chart for you but i can read you a little bit from the "potomac watch" column by kimberly strassel in today's "wall street journal." "the laughable claims that the middle ages waited longer than any nominee since -- that loretta lynch has waited longer since any that any nominee since edward meese. it ignores that mr. reid spent weeks locking down the senate over homeland security funding and now over human trafficking." that is the story in today's

"wall street journal" if you want to read more from kimberly strassel. lawrence is in north carolina on our line for republicans. good morning. caller: i want to agree with some of the callers on race and disagree with some of them respectively. obama is biracial. he chooses to check that box as black. stephen a smith, a sports commentator, said something the other day at a university, that he would like to get all people of color, black people or people who have grown up as democrats come to vote republican. if you fact checking the 1860's, lbj was a democrat, and the democrats disagreed with the selma and equal rights for blacks, but the congress was republican and they passed legislation that gave the pathway to blacks to further

equal rights and everything. as far as some of these land disputes and every thing there are land disputes that go back that we can't even fathom, like the british giving back taiwan to the chinese a certain year, us giving the panamanians the canal. i wouldn't be surprised that they would give mexico back half the west because of some old land agreement -- host: i don't follow you on the land disputes. where are you going with land disputes? caller: well, i'm saying like if you get back to the middle east, who is to say with israel and the palestinians that this is not something that has been a long time ago that the year is coming where we have to give the west bank back? host: talking about the two state solution and the debate over that. gary is in san antonio, texas, line for democrats. your cap issue of the week on capitol hill. what are your thoughts? caller: i would like to make some comments about reagan and what he did when he was in

office. host: ok. caller: he -- well, actually, richard nixon started this whole thing. they don't ever talk about that. richard nixon went over there messing with iran back in the 1970's, and that he tried to take tehe shah and the more radical side of iran, and he tried to make it a democratic state at the time. he should have just left that alone, and then we wouldn't going through this. iran is really our friend. they really want to be our friend. but people want to keep talking about how terrible everybody is. the republican party is not the same republican party of the past, like the gentle just mentioned with johnson -- gentleman just mentioned with johnson.

with of this republican party, it is like it is switched around to where the old republicans of the confederates and the confederates are the republicans. host: san antonio texas, this morning. we are asking about our viewers' top issue of the week on capitol hill. our phone lines are open. democrats can call in host: as we said, lots of discussion this week on budget debates over military funding military spending. members of the u.s. military and the new secretary of defense were on capitol hill this week talking about spending projections and budgets for the military. here is the new secretary of defense, ashton carter, at the

house armed services committee hearing talking about the dangers of sequestration. sec. carter: which is set to return in 197 days, our nation will be less secure. and mr. chairman, as you and your colleagues have said, sequestration threatens our military's readiness, it threatens the size of our war fighting forces, the capabilities of our air and naval fleets, and ultimately, the lives of our men and women in uniform. and the joint chiefs have said the same. in the great tragedy is that this corrosive damage to our national security is not a result of objective factors logic, reason. instead, sequester is purely the fallout of political gridlock. host: busy week on capitol hill this week and we are asking viewers your top issue of the

week. phone lines are open. connie is up next calling in from illinois, line for independents. caller: good morning. i have been listening just for a little while here but, my good gosh, don't people know -- don't you listen to the news? iran is now saying they want to an island america -- they want to i and i a late america just as well as they want to annihilate israel and they say that every day, over and over and over. and israel gave up the sinai desert. they gave it up for peace. they gave up the gaza strip. they gave it up for peace. but after giving up the gaza strip, hezbollah moved in.

hezbollah has bombed them after day after day after day. they not only take care of the ones, the israelites that are hurt. they also take care of the palestinians that are hurt. they take them into their hospitals and patch them up and fix them up. dick durbin being on the senate floor and going out on all that racism and stuff, get over the races and. -- get over the racism. durbin voted against condoleezza rice when bush condi in. and he also voted against another black lady that bush put in.

israel -- however israel goes, that will be how america goes. host: connie from illinois this morning on the subject of israel. here's the front page story in "the new york times" today. "israel result reverberates for clinton." talking about how that election could impact of potential clinton candidacy. "prime minister netanyahu's victory in the israeli elections has reverberated through american politics, reinforcing republican faith in the wisdom of a hawkish foreign policy, worsening his relationship with president obama, but mostly it has complicated the life of hillary rodham clinton." we are asking your top issues of the week. this week on capitol hill a very busy week, in which some of the topics include the israeli elections, of course, and the

iranian nuclear negotiations. several high-profile hearings including a hearing on the secret service -- two hearings on the secret service in light of the alleged drunk driving incident by secret service agents on capitol hill. of course, the federal reserve meetings also happened this week, making a lot of news on the potential interest rate increases and stories about when that might come. federal reserve chairman janet yellen was in a high-profile press conference in which she talked about that. he was a bit about that press conference. [video clip] chair yellen: the committee reaffirms its view that the target range for the federal funds rate remains appropriate. but with economic conditions improving, and with further improvement expected in the months ahead, we have begun to

modify our forward guidance. in december and january, the committee judged that it could be patient in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy. that meant that we considered it unlikely that economic conditions would warrant an increase in the target range for the federal funds rate for at least the next couple of fomc meetings. while it is still the case that we consider it unlikely that economic conditions will warrant an increase in the target range at the april meeting, such an increase could be warranted at any later meeting, depending on how the economy evolves. host: the headline coming out of "washington journal --"the wall street journal" on that meeting and conference "said puts interest rate hikes in play." we are asking what your top

issues of the week were on capitol hill. tennessee, line for republicans. caller: good morning. first time caller, but a really long time listener. i would like to talk about the lynch debacle, pretty much. it is not being held up for anything to do with race at all. what it is is the democrats aren't getting their way with this abortion issue that is in the bill for the trafficking bill. the wording has been in there for 29 years. it has been established policy since then. i don't know why all of a sudden they're calling this race card on it except that they are just not getting their way. if they can remember back to the budget problem that we had the fiscal cliff and all of that, we were held hostage as republicans over that until we finally got obamacare, which was kind of forced down our throat. now we are living with that and

people are pretty much suffering because of it. you had the fines and fees for the young people if they don't join and it makes the whole system suffer because of that. you don't hear anything about race on it, either. it seems like every morning when i turn on c-span, which i watched daily and hourly until it is gone, it primarily concerns race for about the first hour. it used to not be that way but now in the dwindling years of the obama administration, it seems like it is a prominent issue that every time something comes up with republicans, they want to push through, the democrats don't like it, they just play this race card. it seems like the whole show anymore for about the first hour is nothing but race. we need to get off that topic and get back to the politics. get to the issues at hand, like with the iran issue. with the iran issue netanyahu

i think, has a better hold on his country than what obama can figure out on his own. and now to threaten our alliance with israel i think is really foolish. it is our only ally in the area that we can really rely on. that is really all i had to comment on. host: appreciate first time callers here on the "washington journal." our phone lines are open and happy to hear from first-time callers or longtime viewers and colors this morning. you are talking by the trafficking proposal that has been held up in the senate. here is the headline from the national journal -- from the "national journal." "despite bipartisan proposal senate leaves trafficking bill and lynch nomination unfinished." we we will be interviewing the reporter who wrote that story at about 9.30 this morning to talk about the latest on both those issues, if you want to stay tuned.

in the meantime, we are asking about your cap issue after a busy week on capitol hill. josh is in rockford, illinois, line for democrats. caller: good morning, how are you? host: i'm good, josh. caller: the conduct of the republican party -- if things weren't as serious as they are right now -- would actually be laughable. they have such an opportunity to put through legislation, to get things done, and they are holding themselves out for the same way they held up immigration last year. they could put the human trafficking through. they just have to take off the abortion part. it could go right through. they are trying to put through a budget right now and they're going to repeal obamacare so therefore it will be vetoed. it won't go through. they won't put through the loretta lynch nomination until this gets in. all these things are bipartisan. they could be getting it done and looking good right now. but they are holding themselves up, just because they don't want

it to look like the democratic party is getting anything done or they have any corporation. it is absolutely laughable. for them to continuously say oh well, we won the last election, anybody who was any sp smarts whatsoever knows that midterm elections, a very small part of the united states goes to the polls. wait till the next election when everybody was for president and congress and senate. there will be a real shift in the tide. host: on the loretta lynch nomination, chris in alabama writes "let the nomination drag on. i like having eric holder as attorney general." we will be talking specifically about loretta lynch's nomination in our last half hour this morning. top issues of the week, feel free to continue to call in. george is in california, line for republicans. good morning, george. caller: good morning, how you doing?

i would like to suggest two guests and then make a statement on the iran military spending issue. number one, i would like to see dr. charles krauthammer as a guest. i really would. he is such a brilliant man. and whatever happened to reverend wright? if you could have reverend wr ight, i think that would explain a lot of the character about president obama. back on military spending, i think we are just going to have to do it. everybody hates to have to have a giant military, but with iran going to bomb israel, it looks like things might blow up here pretty good. i don't know. i hope they don't. but yeah, we have to spend on military spending. i wouldn't trust iran -- i mean, how can you possibly think that you can negotiate with people who are cutting up children's heads? it's barbaric. you cannot negotiate with these

people. the sanctions must say and any pressure we can put on them, we should do so. host: george, charles krauthammer has a piece in today's "washington post." times talking about what has happened in the wake of the election of benjamin netanyahu. his comments are there. next story in the same opinion page of the "washington post." his piece on why republicans need to back up their prodefense talk with funding. a call for fiscal courage is the title of his piece. sally is in michigan. the line for independents. caller: hi. host: hello. i am here, sally. caller: my issue was going to be about how the self proclaimed most transparent in history, the

white house has now removed access to the freedom of information. that is really -- i am very concerned about that. host: in what way, sally? what stories are your friend to? caller: because it is more secrecy. oh, well, the white house's office removed access under the freedom of information act. there needs to be transparency. there is already too much secrecy going on. i just don't trust any of them. i really don't. but for the caller that was talking a lot having obamacare shoved down our throats, i couldn't agree more. people are suffering. and it is also -- it is a lack of liberty. what is going to happen -- you know it happen when you have those penalties? don't just day the same price, the add-on. the fees will increase and it

will gain interest. it will hurt the poor people first, but it will come for everybody. and they will enforce it. and then everybody is just going to -- they are going to start seizing paychecks, properties over taxes. it is just -- i am concerned with the whole gosh strong country. host: sally in michigan this morning. the freedom of information act lawsuit in the topic that came up amid the stories last week about reporters trying to get access to hillary clinton's e-mails during her time as secretary of state. will is up next. holland, ohio. the line for democrats. caller: good morning you sound good to me. host: thanks, will. caller: i am calling this morning to try and clarify the raised -- race issue first, and then talk politics. race and america -- and you guys need to have people on to

educate your callers about race. when they say democrats and republicans, the democrats used to be the conservative until barry goldwater called for the conservatives to all get in the republican party. this is not the same republican party of a blink in. it is the ronald reagan republican party, who ronald reagan and barry goldwater were staunchly against civil rights. they hated martin luther king. that is the first thing about why blacks go towards the liberals, not the conservatives. it is not democrat and republican, liberals have always supported our freedom and supported our rights. conservatives have always been against it. they hate barack obama to this day. partly because he is black part

because of his policies, but they still hate his guts and everything he stands for. host: that is will and holland, ohio. here is a story from today's "wall street journal." organizations and commercial products for the state through a line when the sons of confederate veterans proposed a plate bearing the confederate battle flag. the story goes on to note that on monday, the united states supreme court will hear arguments over the states -- state's projection violates their groups -- group's free-speech right. all 50 states in the district -- and the district of columbia interest special interest takes charging a premium over the standard registration fees and splitting the revenues with private causes. that is in the "wall street journal." jeff, a forgot guest here on the

"washington journal." joe, good morning. caller: good morning. i am calling about some of,'s that have made -- have been made about the republican party being pro-civil rights. i would go back to the election of 1876 when daniel actually one the election. in a deal, a political deal, between democrats and republicans that reconstruction would and in the south and republicans would -- end in the south and republicans would take the white house. it took almost 100 years for that to switch around. and the gentleman who just called in and said that when goldwater ran for the presidency after president johnson -- johnston and the president -- democrats begin to support -- is when barry goldwater took the house red. and it has remained so. and one last comment on this

racism. yes? host: go-ahead. i don't want to jump in on you. caller: one last comment on this racism. i was just recently the case name in south carolina, and president obama had gone to visit in columbia. the governor of south carolina went out to meet him and greet him as a governor would do in a state when the president visits. the governor's book was filled with hatred that was directed towards the president. and then towards the governor for actually having the audacity to go and greet the president of the united states when he visited the state. the -- host: it bring seven issue that has been in the news this week. talking about top issues of the week. online bullying and comments on social media. in the wake of some comments from famous actors and actresses who have made this a campaign of theirs.

your thoughts on the best way to try and stop that sort of social media bullying? caller: well, that is a very difficult thing to do because the internet is its own system. i was suggest that all we continue to do is address bullies with, you need to stop. having been a schoolteacher, i know that the best way to combat bullies is to call the amount and to say, you are bullying. and this is not the appropriate behavior. and you need to have anti-bullying programs. i think what we need to understand is that if you keep pushing and pushing people, you create greater divide. host: that is joe from pennsylvania this morning. our line for democrats. a few minutes left to talk about your top issues of the week. lots of hearings and committee discussions i capitol hill including, as we said, a house

and senate hearing on the secret service and how to address some recent allegations about secret service agents driving drunk on the white house complex. the subject of today's lead editorial in the opinion page of "usa today." secret service needs more than a good start talk is the headline the opinion of editorial for their. will be talking more about that topic in our next segment of the "washington journal," when we are joined by author ron kessler . but in the meantime, your top issues. vince is up next. california. for republicans. vince, thank you for getting up early with us. caller: thank you. i just want to state a fact about obama care. before obamacare wasn't stated, people that couldn't afford in church would just walk into local clinics or hospitals and be treated. that was paid for out of the general fund. now, with obamacare it has been

a gigantic tax shift to the middle class. i don't understand people thinking how great it is to have obamacare when really the great tax burdens upon the middle class. my rates have gone up. and my health care has gone down. so, you know, it doesn't make any sense to me why people are so happy about this. really, we have had a lowering -- the ability of spending on the middle class. one more thing about race. host: do think congress is focused enough on the affordable care act in its first couple months of this new congress? caller: it is a non-issue. you don't hear anything about it at all. host: why do you think that is? it seems to be very important to you. caller: well, i don't know why. the media is not focused on it. i don't know what controls the media stories and why they choose what they do.

the 24 hour news cycle has to be so fast. the shock and off factor. i think the whole obamacare thing has just kind of worn itself out. host: health care vince's top issue. we are asking about your top issues from this past week. the lot for democrats. keith, good morning. caller: hey, how are you doing? host: i am all right, keith. caller: i have a couple things. the first thing being i am kind of curious about how the relationship between obama and benjamin netanyahu is going to be now that he has won the presidency. and obama was running for his opponent. that is going to be kind of interesting to watch for the rest of the year. i would also like to talk about a news report that i have been reading on the alternate media. basically, i'm not sure -- i know for a fact it is not being shown on regular nbc, cbc, -- cbs.

but soldiers have been found inside communications bunkers working for isis. so i kind of curious as to why that is not on national tv. host: keith, you read about this on a website? caller: whatreallyhappened.com. host: talking about president obama, keith was talking about his relationship with prime minister netanyahu. here is a poll with the president's relationship with -- and the percentage of americans who see him as a strong and decisive leader. that is that 53% according to the new poll of 1000 adults from march. 21% say he can get the economy moving again. 52% of independents, and 81% of democrats. 47% said that he is a strong world leader.

12% of republican saying that, 40 prefer -- 44% of independents, and 82% of democrats. 46% approve of the job was to obama has done as president. just a percent of republicans. just some of the polling numbers on the president. haines city, florida. the line for republicans. maria, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you, thank you very much for taking my call. i just wanted to say on the secret service driving drunk -- any other american or me or you we would have been arrested and put in jail under -- and probably cost us $10,000 to defend ourselves. these guys are getting away with this. as far as hillary clinton is concerned, she wasn't honest about benghazi, what makes you think she is going to be honest about her e-mails? you know?

born and raised in texas as a democrat. became a republican in 1980. that is all i have to say for today. thank you. host: that is maria calling in this morning from haines city for -- haines city, florida. will be talking about the secret service issue. the reports this week about the alleged drunk driving i capitol hill. the subject of to committee hearings this week, one in the house at one in the senate. in that house hearing, there was an exchange between committee chairman rogers and director joe clancy about the use of vulgar hall by secret service agents -- about the use of alcohol by secret service agents. [video clip] >> it is not working right, mr. director. we have to have some changes. and you have to be the one that makes those changes. and i don't sense at this moment that you have the determination to make that happen.

am i wrong to echo> -- wrong? >> sir, i would disagree with you on that, with all due respect. there is an element within our agency that does cope with the stresses that many of you have mentioned today by using al capone. there is no question, we have that element. we also have other elements in our agency that go different routes. some good exercise, religion, family to cope with the stresses. what we do have an element that goes to a golf -- alcohol. three weeks ago, we kicked off the worklife initiative to look at the stresses that our people are under. and there are considerable -- they are considerable. there are no excuses. the has to be self accountability, but we have got to find a way to help some of these people that are going towards alcohol to solve their -- as a coping mechanism. >> i am concerned about their health, as well.

but i'm more concerned about the president of the united states and who is protecting him from harm. host: that was one of the high-profile hearings this week i capitol hill. we will certainly be talking more about that with author ron kessler in just a few minutes here. but a headline from the "washington post" on this topic. much of the video was a raised. the surveillance video that was taken during the march 4 incident, according to the agency, has been erased. it was blamed on agency practices of recording surveillance video every three days. clancy says his -- to try and recover the loss -- lost footage. it was a discussion he had yesterday in his senate hearing. you just saw a clip on the house hearing earlier this week. we want to hear about your top issues of the week. barbara is up next. chicago, illinois. the line for independents. caller: good morning.

i just wanted to verify something for people who don't understand the a foot book air act and obamacare. host: ok. caller: i would like to explain to people who don't know that when you go to the emergency room, they don't check to see if you have cancer. they don't check if you test to see if you -- if you have a terminal illness. you would have to have a doctor and have coverage -- insurance covers to go to your doctor to have your preventative care. and the emergency room does not do that. so, for those people who are fortunate enough to have insurance, which i was until i retired. i got it through my job. but the affordable care act is saving lives. there would be many, many people dying -- more people that are dying now from illnesses -- if

we didn't have that act. they couldn't afford the care that is needed for the illness. they wouldn't even know they are ill because they would be going to the emergency room. and they are going to pat you up and tend you home. so i just wanted to clear that up. host: barbara in chicago, illinois. we are asking about your top issues of the week. that was related to a call earlier about the affordable care act. jerry is calling in from portsmouth, rhode island. the line for democrats. jerry, good morning. caller: good morning. i wanted to make a comment about netanyahu upon's election. -- netanyahu's election. and it kind of goes back to when he appeared before congress. and wondering if it was like he political point for him to get elected -- ploy for him to get elected. the other comment i wanted to make with some of the republicans -- rand paul -- i'm

not sure -- and a couple of other republicans that actually wrote to the president of iran and interfered with -- it is kind of a, you know, tough thing for me to discuss because i'm aggravated that they should try to control a foreign policy of this country when the president is, you know, conducting foreign policy. and i think in the future, there should be guidelines for that. in the past, i don't agree had that problem. you know, it is can the aggravating that one country -- host: sir, do they congress should have any role in something they disagree with? orme numbers -- or members of congress think makes america less safe? caller: they should have a role in it, but not while foreign

policy is being conducted. in the past, when henry kissinger, you know, people looked down on him. to me, he was one of the best foreign policy people secretaries of state that we had. i studied political science and international relations. when you're dealing with other countries, other countries are looking at our policy with israel. and we have to have people that are politically astute to be able to not just save the one country. it seems like we are a favor -- favorite of israel. host: jerry bringing up rand paul is one of those members of congress that he was talking about. rand paul, of course, considered a potential president to contender. there is a future piece in today's "new york times" about another one of those potential republican contenders in 2016.

that is ohio governor john kasich. both skeptics and admires a he must find a way to distinguish himself from an already crowded pack, but he will almost certainly and live in the debate and give a measure of instant credibility because of ohio's status as a key swing state. that is in today's "new york times." let's go to richard from california. the line for independents. richard, good morning. caller: yeah, i am glad to talk to. i think everybody in this country is missing the point here. you are talking on the surface. what you got here -- and i worked for 15 years for a police agency, and worked with juveniles. and the rest of my life -- i am going to be 70 here in august -- i spent in the music field. the people who are calling the shots, especially in the

republican party, they do not know what they are talking about. they -- they read the book in college. they watch tv. they think they know, but they don't have a clue about what is going on in the people's brains. -- thinking we can just take over the arab population in iraq . the same thing in vietnam. we have got people making choices -- not even half of them know how to run the internet. on the republican side, they are talking about the things -- there is no question that 10 years from now, we are going to have to do many, many things that are needed, but the republicans see their whole financial status, everything crumbling. host: you are calling in on her

life for independents. you, obviously, have these views about republicans. why aren't you a democrat? caller: because it is real simple. i like to keep my choices wide open. because you never know what you are going to get look at this walker guy. forgive me, i don't know what state that is. host: wisconsin. caller: yeah, he went out there and said the right things that he thought the people wanted to hear. and then he gets an office and all of a sudden he reverses every single position. and he has the, you know, the state capital full of crazy people. host: could use years of ever voting for a republican as an independent? caller: if -- i can consider myself voting for anybody that i know is -- keeps the lying down to a minimum, and whose policies make sense. host: that is richard's voting

philosophy out in california this morning. richard, our less color in a for segment of the "washington journal." up next, we will be joined by author ronald kessler to talk about secret service director joseph clancy's appearance on capitol hill this week. after those reports of agents driving drunk on the white house grounds. we will be right back. >> now isis rears their ugly head. in this army is very shaky. we should not be surprised by that. you can't undo decades of soviet era and saddam era stuff with eight years. especially when you have taught them and they're going to have

u.s. advisors and partners with them. afghanistan, according to the president announcements, we currently have about 10,000 troops there in a and advisory role, but we will dry -- drive down to 5000 by next are. i would want we will probably see a similar result to iraq when isis attacked. that afghan army will be very shaky without the army's help. >> on the failed u.s. strategy in iraq and afghanistan. and what we should have done differently. sunday night at 8:00 eastern pacific on c-span's "q&a." >> here are some of our featured programs for this weekend on the c-span networks. i'd c-span2's "booktv," pulitzer prize winning historian eric phone or -- foner. and the formation of the underground railroad. and so tonight at 10:00, and would be based journalist -- on

the rise and leadership of isis in the middle east. and saturday morning, starting at 9:00 eastern, and throughout the day on c-span3, "american history tv" joint historians and authors at the abraham lincoln symposium. live. and sunday evening at 6:00 on american artifacts, a visit to the national museum of health and medicine to view items from their civil war collection. including artifacts related to president lincoln's assassination. find a complete television schedule at c-span.org. let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. call us at (202) 626-3400. email us at comments@c-span.org. or send us a tweet @cspan #comments. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. >> washington journal" continues. host: after two days of scrutiny

of secret service by lawmakers on capitol hill, we welcome to our desk and expert, author, and former investigative reporter, ron kessler. mr. kessler these allegations of aged misconduct stemming from the secret service alleged drinking and driving incident. this as director joseph clancy's first big test. how do think he did in those hearings this week? guest: you know, he came across as pathetic. he had all the wrong responses. he started claiming that there was a culture of drinking in the secret service. there isn't. in this case, they went to a party. they should not have gotten into a government car. they should not have gotten into the compound. that is not common among the agent. the agent overall are brave and dedicated. the problem is the culture within the management. the management has this attitude of covering up, of laxness, of

corner cutting. and agents who report problems or threats are punished. our retaliated against. and in turn, those who pretend that everything is fine are promoted into management. as one example of the culture of fear, when gunshots were fired at the white house in 2011, a uniformed officer reported that. but then her supervisor said no, it is just a construction site noise. she said later she was afraid to pursue that because she feared that should be criticized by management. that is the culture. clancy represents that culture. he is from within management. you saw that when he testified a few months ago on the hill. on the house side about the fact that the secret service issued a statement when groans i'll is, the intruder got into the white house. host: the fence number.

guest: the fence jumper. the secret service said at the time that he was apprehended at the door and he was not armed. that was a total lie. they knew very well that he penetrated the white house and that he was armed. plenty was asked, is anybody going to be held accountable issuing those lies? and he said, no, those were not lies. that he was asked, how do in error? he admitted that he didn't even know how this arose. so that is the culture that is leading to all these coverups. host: clancy saying, not that nobody is going to held accountable for this latest incident, but that the investigation is ongoing to what exactly happened there. some pushback from him especially yesterday in that senate hearing, about the reporting of a gatecrashing was exaggerated. that it was a cone. what we know about the facts of that incident from march 4? and when will this investigation

that he is having conducted be completed. guest: the "washington post" has had it exactly accurate. host: an organization used to work at. guest: that is right. not always right, but in this case, they are. these two high-ranking supervisors went to a retirement party, presumably jake. when a to this compound -- the white house compound in the middle of a crime investigation did there was a suspicious package that had been thrown in. they thought it was a bomb. they drove their car into this area. and hit a barricade. you know, clancy is making a big deal out of, well, some media organizations -- not the "washington post" but others -- said it crashed into the barricade. so what? it is a minor discrepancy. he should be focused on fixing the agency, not whether the

media got something a little bit wrong. host: the agents taking and cut hena -- in cartagena was a story you broke before you were a full-time author writing about these issues. that was april 20 sell -- april 2012. we are all most three years later, intriguing among agents continue to happen. -- and drinking among agents continue to happen. why hasn't that changed? guest: and going back five years, you have the party crashers at the state and her. that was also part of the systemic problems because agents and officers feel that they will not be backed by management if they turned someone away. it turned out that these glamorous people shouldn't have been on the guest list. they turned them away. and they feel that they will not be backed by management. the answer to your question is one person is responsible for all of this. and that is barack obama because every time one of these things

happened -- happens, he says he has for confidence in the secret service. he should have replaced the director at the time when they did their intrusion, along with the third intruder. another story i broke. and brought someone in from the outside. that is what this panel of four really highly respected individuals recommended. it was his own panel recommending they bring in some of from the outside will not be part of this culture. who will shake things up. who will not be beholden to interest with him. for example, one of these supervisors who was involved in this incident is a longtime colleague of clancy that had been on the presidential detail together. and clancy, you know, really has no idea, as far as i can tell, of what needs to be done. host: just one of the statements from the white house this week, backing up agency management and

showing their competence in -- confident in planted. here is white house spokesman john ernest. [video clip] >> he is someone who has a sterling reputation inside the secret service, but also outside. he has had a very high -- for himself. that positions him well to serve as a leader for that organization and to the boom in some of those changes that he has a knowledge are badly needed. host: can you talk a little bit about director clancy's background, for those who are less familiar with him and his history? guest: well, he had been an agent for a most 30 years. and he became head of barack obama's protection detail. that is when barack obama, you know developed trust in him and understand, of course, that he

felt -- that obama felt positive towards him because he protected him. that doesn't mean that he knows how to manage the agency. clancy has put out the word that he removed some top managers who are part of this whole culture. host: a very high profile time right around the end of last year when it happened. guest: in fact, the real story is that he replaced them with -- with managers who have the same culture. one of those i have interviewed for one of my two secret service books. and he made her system -- assistant director. i have never, never come across anybody more pathetic in a position of responsibility. literally. she shouldn't have been in charge of a drugstore. i have done books on the fbi the cia, and the secret service. and i was just appalled. she was so afraid to say anything to me. -- had to answer most of the

questions. what can of the manager is that's? -- is that? you cannot imagine how screwed up this agency is. all of these incidents are not accidents. when clancy was appointed by obama, i did an op-ed saying obama guarantees more secret service problems. and that is what has happened. host: the two books you have done on this the first family detail in the resident secret service. to some of the 20 nonfiction books about the secret service. that you have written. ron kessler is with us to talk about the committee hearings this week, and the latest incident at the secret service. the phone lines are open. joe is up first. new york. joe is an independent. joe, good morning to you. caller: good morning. i am very confused. i have been aggravated about the story that happened, i don't

know, a year or so ago. a woman was -- and she got confused and bumped into a gate near the white house. and she made a u-turn and went the wrong way. she was chased down the c -- street. it was live on television. we see the secret service and the washington police shooting at her car. she was shot dead. the time i turn on the 6:00 news, the story had vanished. i am indicting that only the secret service, but the news media for not following up on the story. how closely they come to killing her child? if it is a cup to run into a gate of the white house, how come these two secret service agents were not shot? guest: this woman, you know, had mental problems. she would failing into the barricades at the white house. at a high rate of speed. and then continued towards the capital and 80 miles per hour. agents feared that she would be

-- she had possible explosives and the simple he couldn't take a chance. she was using lethal force mainly -- namely her vehicle to cause a threat to the white house and to the capital. that was followed up on, but you know, it is unfortunate when people resist arrest or threaten something as sensitive as the white house. you know, we don't want another assassination. and that is what is involved here. they tell me because of the quarter cutting -- quarter cutting, it is a miracle that there has not already been an assassination. that is a real danger. host: you talk to these agents a lot. how would you respond to admire -- anne myer on twitter who says i think it is a lack -- it is a moral issue due to lack of respect for the documents of the white house. guest: these agents are brave

and dedicated. they would take a bullet for the present. even for the repentant. let me tell you, in the book, i go into detail on what these people are like behind the scenes. hillary is so abusive to agents. being assigned to her detail is being considered a form of punishment. host: what are some examples from your book? guest: she would just fly into a rage over nothing. criticize agent, even if the limo goes over a bump. it is just a nightmare working with her. and yet, yes, they will take a bullet for her. on the other hand, barack obama and michelle are very considerate of agents. this is a nonpartisan book. so that tells you something about character. character is reported when it comes to -- you know -- hiring someone, choosing a friend. you never hire someone who treats people so badly. and, of course, when choosing the president. instead, voters focus on how

they smile on tv, how they promise, as opposed to what they should be looking at which is victor and track record. host: phoenix, arizona. the light for republicans. tom, good morning. caller: good morning. i have a question about the incident with a guy jumped the fence and ran into the white house. he got inside, came in contact with the first secret service agent. and from what i understand from the reporting, that agent was basically tossed aside. party may? host: that he was tossed what? tossed aside? caller: tossed aside. and they continued on into the white house. when they came in contact with the second agent, that is when they were subdued to i am curious -- subdued. were they fired or were they promoted? guest: no action has been taken

so far as i know at this point. and that is a problem. in the case of the intrusion there was just a series of screwup's, which to illustrate the laxness and corner cutting beginning with the feds which is only seven and a half feet high. it doesn't have a curvature at the top, which would make it difficult to jump. it has a horizontal bar at the bottom, which makes it easier to scale. that is an example of secret service laxness. and then what's this individual got in, the walkie-talkies -- no one could hear anything. they were talking over each other. the acoustics were terrible. and then you have a uniformed officer with a k-9 unit -- one of whom i interviewed for one of my books -- and he was on a cell phone talking on a personal call. obviously, he should have been

probably fired. but at the same time, i think that is reflective of the fact that management cuts corners. so he figured, i can do whatever i want. the same as the agent to hire prostitute. host: amid all this, the secret service requesting a $1.9 billion budget. that is an 18% increase. do you think they needed to go and that they can spend that -- need it? and they can spend the money wisely? guest: they definitely need it. that includes money for the new campaign which means protecting all these different candidates but also $80 million for upgrades to the white house security, for example, and training. the secret service has this attitude, as part of this terrible culture of we make do with less. so they haven't been spending money where they should to keep things at the right level. as opposed to the fbi, which has increased its budget immensely. hey, the result is we have not

had a successful terrorist attack since 9/11 because the fbi does have a good culture would never tolerate this kind of cover-up. i have proposed in my op ads appointing a former high-ranking fbi official to run the secret service. but, of course, obama went with an insider. host: i want to get your specific thoughts on the $8 million that is in their to create a replica of the white house for agents to turn on. is that needed? guest: oh, yeah. that is long overdue. the fbi and the military do it all the time. they have these fake towns where armrests -- arrests are made. if they don't have the white house itself, they are really spinning their wheels. host: oceanside, california. the line for independents. kelly, good morning. caller: good morning. i do think that the blue line is going to always protect the blue line regardless of who is in

office and what is going on. that is pretty much my statement. as far as protecting the border of the white house to prevent people from jumping the fence, i have been at junkyards or whatever, and they have electric fences at the top of those places. so if they can protect a junkyard with an electric fence they should be able to protect the white house. host: before we let you go, you said that bringing in somebody from the fbi to -- isn't going to make much of a difference here in your opinion? caller: i think it needs to be an appointed position. something that is appointed from outside of law enforcement. host: ron kessler. guest: to say that the blue -- what is it, the blueline? that is just prejudice. that is like saying all blacks are criminals.

or all jews are whatever. you know, to just have a blanket statement like that about people who risk their lives to protect is really reprehensible, in my opinion. host: stephen is up next. texas. life for republicans. stephen, good morning. caller: yes, sir. i am just trying to figure out -- i did not book for him, but nobody should be put in the position they are put in. but he did choose the secret service man to cover him, protect him. however the way it works. [indiscernible] outside sourcing, as far as navy seals if secret service can't do it. why can't they all work together? i have a lot of respect for the

secret service but i cannot understand why they throw secret service under the bus. i mean, everybody is stressed. the secret service is on 24/7. host: ron kessler. guest: as i said, there has never been an assassination. and that is how important it is to fix the secret service. really, in assassination nullifies democracy. i lived through the jfk assassination. and i cried for days. it was a terrible blow for the country. that is what is involved here. when it comes to who should run -- and outsider, such as a former fbi person, i think is better than a military person because former fbi alreadyare a lot spent. a military prison would be an improvement over clancy, but you know, there will be a very steep learning curve. host: the caller brings up the

call -- alcohol issue. your thoughts on director clancy talking about agent using this as a coping mechanism and how they need to be helped? guest: i think those part of clancy's cover up. trying to blame everything on stress and having thinking problems. you know, every organization has some people who engage in excessive drinking it these agents, you know, when to a retirement party. they drink the way all of us do. but then the problem is they got into a government vehicle, when into the compound, they were belligerent. essentially disrupting a crime scene. so it goes far beyond drinking. and by claiming that there is a cultural problem involving drinking, clancy is diverging attention from what he should be

focusing on, which is this corner cutting culture. and the fact that it took five days before he even learned of this incident did to an anonymous -- incident through an analysis -- and anonymous incident. that shows the cover-up mentality continues. that agents are afraid to report problems. and, you know, this hearing seems to be predicated on the idea that clancy has just taken over. that is not true. he has been acting director since october. on day one, he should have taken action to make sure it is very clear that anybody who does not report problems or bad news or threats is going to be removed. it doesn't mean they have to be fired necessarily, but certainly removed. but he didn't do that. what he did was he imported these -- he imported -- appointed host: these new people at the top. the house appropriations hearing on this, congressman chris do it was on the open -- "washington

journal" earlier this week. here is a bit of their exchange. [video clip] >> when you say i had to set the example, dude, you don't have to in their trust. you are their boss. they are supposed to earn your trust. and heaven and your trust. and the way to earn your trust as you hold it -- them accountable. and then the others who aren't of their drying -- driving through barricades and link drunk in hotel corridors and overseas locations, those guys know that they are going to be held accountable. so, i made, i have gone on for a while and i am not reading you i'm parading this culture that has been fostered there. if you like to respond, please do. >> thank you, sir. we have had incidents, obviously, in the past. and previous directors have -- after due process -- have moved these people off jobs. they are gone.

cartagen isa an example, where i believe we lost 10 people. they were terminated to there is an indication that -- or there is a history where we will discipline people. but again, i cannot do this on day one. i am frustrated that the agency is taking this, and rightfully so, but i have to allow this due process to take place. and then that will be our first test. our first indication of are we serious about owning people accountable. maybe this -- it is as bad as it is to say this, maybe it is good that it happened early in my tenure so we can tell the tone as we move forward. host: we want to get asked -- back to chris's for his it's there that the agents themselves do not trust director clancy. do you think that is true? guest: yeah, and the fact that

it took him five days to tell them what happened shows the culture of retaliation against anybody who reports a problem. you know clarity -- clancy's response is because. he mentioned cartagena. in the case of that, with hiring prostitutes, the secret service put those agents who were not high-ranking, the way these were, on administrative leave. that meant there guns were taken way, the badges, their credentials. they were not allowed access to secret service buildings. their vehicles were taken away. where in this case, you have high-ranking -- host: was that at the direction of the former director? guest: mark sullivan, yeah. whereas in this case, what if clancy do with these high-ranking people? one of them he was on detail with for years.

he did not put them on administrative leave. rather, he puts them in other positions -- he put them and other positions where there are not involved in operations, but they still have their gun scum of their weapons, their credentials, their vehicles. so that is the double standard that he -- he says this is his first test. i say he fails -- failed his first test. host: carolyn on the life of democrats. carolyn, good morning. caller: good morning. they said unless there was an incident 72 hours later, they eliminate the case. well, what more incident then someone throwing a package over the -- into the driveway and saying it is a bomb? that has to be an incident. and we are investigating the secret service instead of this woman who threw the bomb over. and they said they have her license number, and they don't

even explain her background. where she is from, who issued. host: at to be clear, that package was not a bomb. it turned out to be a book wrapped in a shirt or something to that effect. guest: yet. on the one hand, if it is true that the states are erased after 72 hours, it is another indication of the ridiculous corner cutting by the secret service. not spending the money to upgrade to secure the cameras that the rest of the world uses. on the other hand, -- host: host: and are the actual tapes? guest: they are, you know, videotapes. which i am not surprised about because, you know, everything in the secret service is so decrepit -- going back to the intrusion by gonzales, an alarm that was supposed to indicate that there was somebody trying to get into the white house. by the way, they didn't even lock the front door. kept going off repeatedly

giving false alarms. so the white house asked if they would turn it off, and they did. the secret service turned it off. can you imagine a bank manager turning off the alarms in a bank? everywhere you look, it is just a mess. unbelievable. host: brookhaven, pennsylvania. ken is on a line for independents. good morning ken. caller: how are you doing? host: good. turn your tv down and talk to us through the phone. caller: ok, i will turn the tv down a little bit. my question is -- the to secret service men who were accused -- two secret service men who were accused of driving drunk and running into a barrel, ok? i understand that. why have not the drivers of a car been busted for to you i --

for dui., serving for six months or more, and losing their license and all that? host: it brings up the question of whether a sobriety test was administered at the time. and the question surrounding the decision by a high-ranking officer not to do that. guest: right. officers wanted to arrest the two agents and give them a sobriety test, but according to the "washington post," which is very accurate, a high-ranking supervisor overruled them and said, no, just let them go home. another example of covering up. absolutely egregious. and with the -- the incident involving agents going in, it is -- you know, on top of all that, why did the woman who had the suspicious package getaway?

and was there -- was that in part because officers were so preoccupied with these agents who were disrupting things? you know, there are so many questions and so much suspicious activity surrounding this. and clancy's responses are so egregious that i think there should be an fbi investigation into what happened, given the fact that the grid have been obstruction of justice by the officers who said don't arrest them. given the fact that there is a raised -- erased tapes. host: so who is following up on those questions that you are asking echo is congress -- asking? is congress going to hold more hearings down the road? guest: congress is investigating. they are doing a very good job. in addition, clancy gave to the inspector general of the dhs

the apartment of home executed to investigate. but they don't have the same powers the fbi has. and i think, absolutely, an fbi investigation is called for here. host: fort pierce, florida. bill is on our line for democrats. bill, good morning. caller: good morning. my question involves, being an organization that has been around for a while, generally these problems don't pop up from nowhere. how, in your opinion, how far back to these problems go check of -- do they proceed -- problems go? do they proceed the obama administration? guest: they do. they started in 2003 when the department of homeland security took over the secret service. it is hard to really explain how it happened, but dhs had been more political. in addition, the leader was not the right leader. mark sullivan has the same attitude. i interviewed him for one of

these books, and he has an attitude of we make do with less. and turnover is bad. but look at iraq. look at the soldiers we sent to iraq. they had to sleep on the floor. how can you compare a secret service agent who can make tremendous amount in the private sector with some young guy in the army? that is the cultural attitude, again, that is just a mess. and mark sullivan diverted agents rum protecting the president -- from protecting the president to protecting his own assistance in southern maryland. the secret service has no legal authority to protect its own of -- agents number one. and number two, admits the present was unprotected, including when he lifted off in marine one. one of the functions is to look for snipers as the helicopter takes off good and what did clancy say when he was asked

about that at the hearing on the hill? he was asked, you know, what you think of this? and he said that did subtract from the security of the present. how could somebody, anybody, say something like that? host: do you think the wider public is watching the secret service here and is concerned about this? here is a treat this morning, no one cares. move on to an important subject. guest: i think people do care. first of all, they are fascinated by the secret service to begin with. they are silly fascinated by what our leaders are like in my book. in addition, i think people understand that this is one of our most important agencies. protecting the president. protecting the vice president. they engage in all the corner cutting that come in my book has not hit the press yet.

for example, the sicker service under pressure from white house staff, both under bush and obama, and other campaign staff, letting people into events without screening. it is just like letting passengers into an airplane without metal detection screening. again, the secret service what spend that money for enough screens -- screeners come and the political people said, we have to let them in. we do want to offend all these possible voters. sure enough, the managers, again, that the agent, but the managers ordered the agents to let them in. you can have terrorists go in with grenades and take out the president or the vice president. that alone is a scandal. no, nobody -- obama keeps saying he has confident in the secret service. and continues to defend these directors. host: another bill from virginia beach, virginia. a republican. bill, good morning.

caller: hi, good morning. i am calling -- i guess i have some really sympathetic feelings towards the members of the secret service. primarily because they have to deal with personalities and politics to the point that they have to stay perfectly neutral. i would think that the average person would never qualify to be a secret service representative. guarding a member of congress or a member of the white house staff. and the president. you made a comment, mr. kessler a short while ago that some secret service agents might consider being on the staff regarding hillary. my consider that to be a punishment assignment. and i am just wondering -- my

concern is that i am wondering if the attitudes of people in politics and -- in some cases could be arrogant? or unforgiving? and possibly taking guest: sure. that is exactly the point. if you don't looking these things, we will suffer. if you look at richard nixon, before he was engaged in today's ethics controversy -- we got watergate. in the rest of our lives, we look at the elusive character, and we don't deal with people like that. in the case of hillary, she shows arrogance in the way she treats arrogance, in the same way, she decided to put all of

her government e-mails on her personal server. incredible erick bennett. that can only be magnified when selling gets into the white house and they amass all of this power. host: you bring up the server issue. she said in that press conference and the u.n., when she was asked about it, that it was at home protected by the secret service. is the secret service qualified to do data protection? guest: no. they are very good at investigating that sort of thing, involving cyber crime financial crimes. she was referring to the fact that this service protects their house. well, that is not the issue at all. nobody thinks that someone will physically steal the server, or do something to the server. no. it is cyberattacks. she was diverting attention from the real issue in that case. the caller mentioned the pressure, the difficulty

of dealing with these people. as one example, and again this -- when dick cheney's daughter was under protection, she would try and convince them to take her to restaurants. they are not taxi drivers. they have specific duties to protect people. they refuse, as they should have. she threw a fate and got her detail leader -- a fit, and got her detail leader change. the uniformed officers at the white house, saying, we should let them in, even if they are on the guest list. host: a question from twitter what do you expect barack obama to do? trash the secret service that guard him and his family? guest: you bring in an outsider

to change the coulter. someone who is not holden. it is not a big deal. it should be a matter of course. obama, is either in denial, or has colossal mismanagement -- and added to that ms. manages things. he doesn't understand management, and other words. it is egregious. i wrote this op ed. more problems now that he appointed clancy. the first problem happened to we factor clancy assumed directorship, and believe me there will be much more in the future. host: that is in "the washington post" from march 15. keith is up next on the line for democrats. caller: good morning.

i just think until the secret service can get their problems worked out, they need to bring in some military ops, or something. something they already have that won't cost any money. transfer them there and let them be several lines of security until they get all this figured out. guest: that certainly would be an improvement as to someone in charge, from the military. look at the former fbi director, he came from a marine background. the previous director would punish agents who brought him bad news or is agree with them. that's why you had one general after another under him. even a case where he refused to implement polygraphs, which would have the issue some --

have stopped the issue some seven years later. then, another came in and he was having a meeting with the head of intelligence, and she lied about a specific spy case and how to handle it. what did he do? he removed here right away -- removed her right away. that sent a message. when you meet the director, he will not put up with coverups. host: jodi arias -- jody asks is the department of homeland security the problem? guest: i think switching them back would cause more chaos. what is needed is a strong leader who understand how serious these issues are, how important this job is, who will stand up to anybody to protect the president.

that means both standing up to obama and to members of congress who think that the secret service should get more money. that's just penny wise and fullest. the new budget is $1.9 billion per year, roughly the price of one stealth bomber. what could be more important than protecting the president. host: kerry is up next on the line for democrats. good morning. caller: i have been listening for about a half-hour and i think that people out here in michigan, and in the rural areas, we could care less about what mr. -- the gentleman there on your site is talking about this morning. how did he -- did he cover the hearing yesterday? host: would you like to talk

about your expense in the field. d? guest: i have interviewed a number of agents, both former and current. i went out to a training center along with my wife, a former "washington post" reporter. interviewed mark sullivan, a k-9 unit, as i mentioned before, a dog who discovered dynamite in a washer where racks for the presidential limousine are washed. i've been on this for some time. one of my books led to the sessions over the abuse of director. host: the car totagena

story. you are the author of about 20 books on the secret service and cia. mine for independence, matt, good morning. caller: i have read several of your books. i'm a history buff. i want to say that straight up. as the conversation of gun on -- i watch the whole thing -- i've come to realize that the easy way to bring government is -- great government isbreak government is complicated. the secret service had a wonderful reputation. i have a relative who is an atf agent. very good at his job, highly trained, highly sophisticated. he barely ever drinks. i also have a brother who has

taught israelis how to shoot rockets out of the sky. my home security system does not use tapes. nobody ever brings up -- and it is important -- the white house is like a museum. it is historical. there's a reason for that. there is an antiquity act that protects it. if we want to move into the smithsonian, i would agree with that and put up a fence. if we are going to destroy any more of our country, just remember the white house is an museum. host: how do you protect and working museum? guest: i think there is mythology that somehow improving the security of the white house is going to infringe on some artwork or deny access to the public -- the public to the president.

of course the public does not have access. it much more important that we protect the occupant of the white house. this can be done in a fairly unobtrusive way. certainly, beginning with increasing the height of the fence and having curvature, a horizontal bar on the bottom. many things that can be done, many of which were in the report by the four-person panel that president obama ignored when they said he should get an outsider to leave the secret service. -- lead the secret service. host: the people on the panel where the outsiders? guest: two had served for bush and two for obama. host: in the secret service? guest: no. one was an associate attorney general under obama. another one was joe hagan then

pushes deputy chief -- bush's deputy chief of operations. very impressive. i have rarely seen such good public service, in terms of the report they turned in, and the issues that they covered. obama just the door them. host: line for democrats. caller: good morning. my theory is what these gentlemen are trying to do is maneuver obama's people out of position, so they can put their people in. host: does is go with conspiracy theories, or no? guest: my book is nonpartisan. i cite a number of republicans including mary cheney and how she went to get her agents to take her to restaurants. another item that is very relevant is back when reagan was president, the secret service

did not want anyone near him when he left the washington hilton. his own staff, all republicans, obviously, overruled the secret service. they don't in fact have authority, but the secret service caved as they usually do, and said no, let people and to see reagan as he came out of the washington hilton. sure enough, someone was able to get within 15 feet of reagan totally unscreened for weapons, and that is how reagan almost lost his life, because of his own white house staff. host: kevin is up next. go ahead. caller: the man just asked a question and you turned around and said, is this another conspiracy theory. i would like to ask you real quick, what is the definition of a conspiracy? guest: to say that i am trying

to get rid of obama people just has nothing to do with any evidence or the subject. i don't know what that means. we are talking about the security of the president. we are talking about some sort of political issue, whatsoever. host: let's go to another kevin staten island, new york. caller: good morning, c-span. thank you for taking my call. i really appreciate the program. mr. kessler, i'm sure you're very familiar with the event in cartagena. guest: i actually broke that story in "the washington post." caller: i have a solution to the problems. why won't they put paul or read in charge -- paula reed and charged? i think you know that when you are part of the old boys

network, it is difficult to enforce the rules. she, as a female and an officer that holds people to high standards, help those officers in cartagena to the standards that they need to be held two, and the marines. i think one of the solutions would to put her in a position in charge. guest: clancy did that. she named her assistant director . at the same time, even though she did an exemplary job on cartagena, she is part of this culture, i have interviewed her she is not someone who actually make the major changes that really are needed in this agency. host: you go through, in your newest book, about potential replacements. you actually name people that

you would like to see as the head of the secret service? one of these outside people? guest: i think if i started naming people, that would be the kiss of death. a lot of people in the secret service management just hate the revelations that i have brought out. part of the same culture, they think anybody who criticizes them is to be ignored. i've got a lot of e-mails with swearwords from some of these people. i do have a particular person or mine, a former fbi high-ranking agent who helped to turn around the culture of the fbi, to make it more prevention oriented. we have a track record of actually changing the culture. he knows how to do that. i mention that, when the four-person panel interview to

ed me. they were interested. i know they did consider fbi people. in the end, that was not their role. the role was to give guidelines. their chief recommendation was bring in an outsider. again, obama ignored that. it is his own life at stake. it is the lives of his own family members. i wonder if he recognizes danger. host: just one piece from ron kessler's column in "the washington post" -- obama ignored the chief recommendation of his own four-person panel. in turn, he turned to clancy, a career agent who are her earned his trust.

tough words from ron kessler march 15 if you want to read it. let's get in making. -- mickey. caller: i think is very great that mr. kessler is on there this morning. a lot of people don't know these situations, alcohol, hitting the bars in front of the white house. it should be something that should be out there. i personally did not know that. if it was anybody else, and any other town in the united states, if somebody had been drawn, and ran into anything, they would be -- guest: absolutely. caller: that is not a fair assumption of what we pay our secret service for. guest: in my book, i reveal the

dishonesty that the secret service and in. that of course is relevant to this cover-up mentality. for example, in the secret service, when members of congress come out to visit their training center, the secret service puts on the senate is to show how great the agents are. they find the explosives, and they are presented as spontaneous. in fact, they are rehearsed secretly beforehand. of course, the secret service claims credit for a rest -- arrests that the police make. additionally, the secret service will ask agents to throw out there scores on physical fitness, of course they all cost themselves. this is dishonest. to have an agency, engage in dishonesty means that you will have dishonesty all across the

board. host: one must question for you. mark sullivan left, julie peterson that, now clancy will leave. wild and wonderful wants to know, how long would it take an outsider to get up this be before start fixing the problem? guest: overnight. they understand how to change the culture, how the attitudes develop, and how to change them. that means removing people who are part of the culture. the fbi would never put up with this kind of full business, -- foolishness, believe me. they have an exemplary record, a record of success. why not take advantage of that. ?

host: you can check out all of his books, ronkessler.com. coming on the have a we will take your calls on president obama's nominee for the justice department. give us your thoughts on whether or not loretto lynn should be confirmed. first, "american history tv and booktv travel to columbus. [video clip] >> columbus is located in southwest georgia. we are 90 miles southwest of alabama. on the georgia-alabama line. we turn our line on the river -- back on the river for a while, but as he began to see that the industry was coming out with off shoring of many things come --

of peace action ring, we embraced it for a whole another era of prosperity. you see the growth of tourism here in columbus, using our area along the river. it is a city that continually reinvents itself. it is also a city with a lot of ingenuity. we are the international headquarters of aflac. coca-cola was invented here, which few people know. it was later moved to atlanta. we also have one of the largest military bases, fort benning. i think that columbus has challenges, as do other midsize urban communities. in the 70's and 80's, we basically had the super suburbanization of people moving out of the urban core. for chilly, we had some visionary leaders who again look to reinvent columbus. beginning in the early 90's, they began to reestablish our

downtown core, bringing investment back, reinvesting into neighborhoods, declaring some historian districts to bolster them c. still, we have a long way to go. there were many decades of what we now know as poor planning. communities are struggling with how we can bring back vibrancy to some of these areas that have been left behind for several decades. >> "washington journal" continues. host: in the last 40 minutes of our show, we are asking about loretta lynch's nomination. should she be confirmed as attorney general? we're taking a calls and comments during this l these last 40 minutes. here is the headline from "politico" -- the story noting

that despite her qualifications, her nomination has generated growing criticism from the right. the opposition stems mostly from her assertion that present obama acted constitutionally in deferring deportations. we want to know your thoughts during a week in which this has become a hot topic on the senate floor. one of the speeches from the german -- a senator. here are his comments. [video clip] senator durbin: the republican majority leader announced over the weekend that he was going to hold this nomination of loretta lynch until the bill, which is pending before senate, passes -- whenever that may be.

and so, loretta lynch, the first african-american woman nominated to be attorney general is asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the senate calendar. that is unfair. it is unjust. it is beneath the dignity of the u.s. senate. this woman deserves fairness. she seeks to lead the department of justice and the united states senate should be just and its treatment of her nomination. to think that we would jeopardize her opportunity to serve this nation, and make history, is fundamentally unfair. host: quick to take the senate floor in response, after those comments, was senator john mccain from arizona. here's a bit of what he had to say. [video clip]

perhaps my colleagues -- senator mccain: perhaps my colleagues need to be room minded -- reminded of their own record. in 2012, an african-american was nominated there on the u.s. court of appeals of the district of columbia, a court that had never included an african american woman judge. the senator from illinois voted to filibuster her nomination in 2003, and again in 2005. she was finally confirmed after waiting 684 days. the senator from illinois voted against the historic nomination. i would never suggest, either with veiled rhetoric that judge roger brown's race was the reason for the senator from illinois opposition. he should extend that same

courtesy to me in my colleagues. host: we want to hear your thoughts as morning in our last segment of the washington journal. phones are open. and is in washington dc, line for democrats. caller: how are you doing. we should not even be asking this question, c-span. loretta lynch is very qualified. she stands out remarkably. all of these people agree on that. this is the destruction of our country when we allow these guys are things to happen. this question should not be asked. i'm a concerned scientist. and multilingual. loretta lynch has qualifications that are so remarkable, when you look at these kinds of things. this is a political qualm and a

time because our president, the first african-american president in the white house. host: scott in illinois. life for republicans. scott, what do you think? caller: good morning, c-span. thank you for taking my call. i just have to ask a question. is it more important to make history, then to have a real good person with real good standards of law? i have a problem with someone who is trying to make race of forefront, and further ethics -- race at the forefront, and for their etiqhics to be messed up. john adams, he was there when they made the constitution, and the whole revolution. i have a problem with people

that want to make history, and yet the people that they want to put in their don't have the ethics doubled the position. host: on twitter, this conversation is happening as well. this question been asked, should the red alledge we confirm? vivian asks, does anyone think she should not be confirmed, and why? jim says, yes, me. her stand on illegals show she does not believe in the role of law. lowry had an opinion piece in "politico" on this topic. he writes that the sleight-of-hand of glitches proponents is to demonstrate -- lynch's opponents is to

demonstrate -- he goes on to say, the senate shouldn't confirm any attorney general nominee from any race, ethnicity, or gender identification who believes the president can rewrite the nation's laws at will. we want to hear from our viewers in the last half-hour this morning. betty is from new york. good morning. caller: good morning and the you for taking my call. this nomination has nothing to do with race. it has nothing to do with whether the person is qualified. i want people to go on your computers and look up how many people have been nominated, and went through the senate, and have been confirmed from the state of new york. from the state of new york. host: betty, do you have the numbers? do you want to tell us? caller: i moscow.

i was keeping track and of course i got busy doing something else. i lost track. if you go back and look at everybody from the supreme court down. how many people come from the state of new york. the fbi, the cia, numerous people have been confirmed, and they are all from the state of new york. host: you are from new york does it concern you? caller: it does. why is the president putting up all these people that come from the state of new york. people have that question. host: betty, when you think the answer is? caller: i think mr. obama is going to be very influential in york, after he leaves office. i think that the people he is leaving behind and whoever is

running for the democratic presidential -- also, you have two democratic senators in new york. i can't remember the last republican one we have had. someone has to look into it. host: betty in york. some news on this front, specifically this morning on loretta lynch's nomination. senator dan coats, republican of indiana, today announced that he will oppose the nomination. one of the few undecideds at this point now decided. ms. lynch demonstrates that she is not the person to serve as our chief justice officer. that news shook out this

morning. allison -- alice from texas. caller: hi, thanks for taking my call. they say life is unfair, but i just want you all to know this about loretta lynch. she got one of the highest scores on her sat in elementary school. the teachers didn't believe that she took it because she was black. they made her take the test again. she took it again, and got a higher score than the first time. secondly, she was valedictorian in her high school in durham north carolina -- not new york. she had to share the honor with two other girls or to other people, the first and second runners-up because they did not think the society at the time would accept a black person being the smartest one in their school.

to me, that is not fair. anyway, she went on and accepted that. she went to harvard and got a good degree. for about six years, she was in a law firm. in order to work for the government, she took as 75% cut in pay. this woman is exemplary. i think at least they should give her a vote, and not hold her up. she has been subjected to too many things in her life. this is just one more. i just wish to the republicans would play fair. thank you for taking my call. host: that was alice in texas. i want to turn now to mourn fox staff correspondent with the "the national journal"." guest: good morning. host: let's start with the

latest on the timing and the current vote count for loretta lynch. possible confirmation. guest: it is going to be pretty close. she does have support from for republicans. that's senators from arizona south carolina, maine. as we get closer, there's always a chance that support can lessen. it seems like they are devoted to voting on her. they also agree with mcconnell that they need to bring up the trafficking will before they continue to vote on loretta lynch. host: with this low on confirmation possibly delayed until april, after a two-week k recess, after next week in the senate, how much pressure will there be in that time to pick off that republican support

over the next couple weeks? guest: i'm sure there will be some movement to do so. we are already seeing pressure being put on about the republicans. i saw the in a story reported on "the hill." it is difficult to say how much pressure these lawmakers will get. they will get some. especially from outside groups that would revert that loretta alledge not be the president's nominee. we have to remember that for every day she is not confirmed, eric holder -- who republicans have a very aggressive relationship with -- he continues to serve as attorney general. host: as part of the efforts by republicans right now is there a specific strategy to buy time for pressure to build? republican rand paul, who is obviously against the

confirmation of loretta lynch, his tweet over the past 24 hours says that president obama's executive amnesty is a legal but loretta lynch called it reasonable. is there a specific strategy here to buy time to put pressure on? guest: it is unclear on whether or not republicans are trying to buy time, or if they are just trying to get leverage to pass the trafficking bill. they want to prove that they can govern, and there is a bit of frustration that this was a bipartisan bill, and it is now stuck. that is part of the trick here they're trying to use lynch as a way to move forward. host: can you bring us the latest on the trafficking bill and what will happen next week before the senate goes on that two-week recess? guest: certainly. basically, the trafficking bill is stopped until after the budget. mcconnell moved it. one of the things we have to remember is there is some bipartisan compromise.

john cornyn had his own alternative for democrats. they don't seem to bite on that. the trafficking bill continues to be stuck here as well. host: laurent fox, correspondent for "national journal." thank you v for joining us this morning. john is up next on the line for republicans. what do you think? caller: i think she should not be confirmed. she is in the same boat -- she does not follow the constitution, at least from what i heard from her hearing. she agrees with that president and his unlawful acts. i think they should get a more moderate person in there. that is what they need. host: let me ask you, before you go, if the president is looking

for someone else do you think he would ever nominate anyone who doesn't you with him on some of these issues you have can learns about ? caller: probably not. he might as well leave eric holder there. you see, they use their race card. that's what the democrats do. i think people are getting sick and tired of here in that nonsense. host: robber on our twitter page writes that -- lynch reflects the views of the president was appointing kurt, which is the normal horse of events reflecting the constitution. ronald is next. good morning. caller: good morning. can you hear me? host: yes, go ahead. caller: i just want to say this real quick. it seems like it was a set up from when we had the chance to nominate loretta alledge in the beginning. but he didn't. i think republicans fell into

the trap. democrats did this on purpose. they really did. there was a letter that the congressmen sent to the ayatollah. that is undermining the president. for all those republicans they are running for office, they are undermining themselves. that's the way i look at it. i'm a military man. i'm a veteran, 28 years in the u.s. army. i'm not saying -- it's the truth, and the truth hurts when you are republican. host: that was ronald from oklahoma. to your point, ronald, here is hillary's column in her "potomac watch" column in "the washington journal."

republicans learn to play hardball. mr. reid, who is still running the senate, did not act on her nomination. roger is up next from texas. line for independents. caller: good morning. i don't have notes like the other caller from texas and from new york, by think is pretty hypocritical of republicans to block nominations of black people. if a republican does it, for his edges, or the public interest, they start calling them racist. and they start playing the same old games. i would just like to say that israel critical of dick durbin to be doing these things. host: after the mccain floor

statement that we showed earlier, dick durbin was back on the floor to respond to that a mccain. here's the response. [video clip] senator demint:urbin: why are we taking this important post, this important civil rights moment, when the first african-american woman in history is being given an opportunity to serve, and entailing it in the politics of the senate? a week ago, the majority leader, senator mcconnell said right outside his chamber, he was going to call her nomination this week. we breathe a sigh of t release. she has been waiting so long. then, over the weekend, he announced that she would not he called until up a bill on the floor was passed. yes, i am upset and history on her behalf. to think that she is being treated in this manner. i'm not going to use any

pejorative terms, other then to say i think it is insensitive for the senate to hold her out for such a link repeated of time, with no objections to this woman's character, fitness, and ability to continue to serve the united states. host: we are asking you, do you think laura lynch should be confirmed as attorney general? george from illinois, mine for republicans, what is your response, george? caller: good morning. i agree with the callers who indicate that loretta lynn should not be confirmed. in particular, senator durbin's comments are outrageous. he has again played the race card. he has done it more than once before. senator durbin oppose the nomination of brown to the court

of appeals. she is one of the most brilliant judges i've ever heard speak. not live, but on c-span last fall. she is absolutely brilliant. senator durbin is entirely off-base. i agree with the caller for massachusetts. and the more recent caller from texas, i believe. it is outrageous, what senator german is doing. host: i want to ask you, -- caller: that's about all i have to say. host: kevin is in missouri. line for independents. caller: good morning. i'm wondering why everyone is so surprised that the republicans would pull this kind of stunt. this is their method of governance. it is not about democracy, it is about the oligarchy.

they did not have a problem with loretta lynch on the basis of her knowledge and background it's only because they want to put a gun to the people's head for them to get what they want. whenever they want something and it not constitutionally viable, they claim that the constitution is no longer relevant, or they tried to twist it in such a matter that the president no longer has any powers whatsoever. it all lies in the congress. it keeps them talking about how the president believes in tierney, and he is trying to take all these powers from the congress, but yet, proven that congress is trying to take powers from the president. host: you disagree with the who say they are holding off the nomination because of their disagreement over the president's executive order? caller: is not even relevant

-- it is not even relevant. they are holding a gun to the american people's head. like in the case of sequester, that is their method of government. host: she is the chief law-enforcement official, or would be, if she becomes attorney general of the united dates. but you do not think it is relevant to the position she would hold? caller: if it were relevant, hold a vote. talk about her. talk with the job she has to do and how she is qualified. this bit of trying to hold the human trafficking bill of until they get the results that they want -- that's all it is. they just want their results. they want to put in their antiabortion verbiage in theirre. once we realize it is there, we say, no change that. and they say, no we will do what

we want, the gun to the head, and if you want loretta lynch push through, you have to do what we say. host: don is one of those folks who comments almost every day on twitter. in his, on twitter he says jeff flake, a senator from arizona, is smart not to oppose lynch on immigration. he knows he needs hispanic votes to hold his the. we are talking about this for the next 15 minutes or so on the "the washington journal ." in yemen, at least 46 people were killed and over 100 injured when three suicide bombers attacked to mosques controlled by shiite rebels. the attacks are the first large-scale bombings to target

mosques frequented by both shiite and sunni muslims. we will follow-up on that news if there's anything else to report and the next 15 minutes or so before our show ends. marianne is waiting from colorado, mine for republicans. caller: good morning. when i first turned on the segment and saw what dick durbin said, it was so upsetting. i have heard many callers call in and say the same thing. they seem to turn everything to race, and i'm so tired of that. actually, i think loretta lynch seems like a pretty sharp woman and could possibly get the republican vote. to do that, it turns everything upside down. i resent that attitude. host: darrell is waiting in missouri as well line four independents. are you with us?

you are on. caller: thank you, sir. i'm a first-time caller. my issue is if they have a problem with lynch, why don't they do like they do everything else. have an election. they cannot elect all of those positions that they have, like the supreme court, attorney general, so that the issue will be settled with the people. that's all i have to say. thank you. host: some tweets on this topic. one from hillary clinton. noting on her twitter page, congressional trifecta against women today, one of them blocking a great nominee the first african-american woman for attorney general. another tweet from senator bob casey, 130 days and counting

since loretta lynch was nominated for attorney general. stop the games and confirm lynch. senator alexander coming out yesterday to formally oppose lynch's nomination. he was one of the few that was still undecided. he has posted a news story about his opposition, as a protest vote to president obama's amnesty. let's go to robert. do you think loretta lynn should be confirmed as attorney general? are you there, robert? we will go to mike in akron ohio. line for independents. good morning. caller: thank you for c-span. i'm just calling to say that i think loretta lynch should be nominated -- or pass the nomination. i did not vote for president

obama the first time, but the second time. i am a retired junior high schoolteacher. i spent 30 years to teaching junior high. to compare this congress to my junior high students, would be an insult to my students, as far as maturity. when i was in college, i had a black roommate back in 1971, a he told me a story about how his parents agonize over -- i'm lucky, as a white person, to be able to breathe his face, his eyes -- he was weeping when he said how difficult it was for his parents did turn their backs on the party of lincoln and

become democrats. it did not come overnight, but they felt there was no choice. host: mike from akron, ohio. this morning story from "cnn" -- some black leaders say lynch is braced playing role in delay -- lynch's raise playing a role in delay. the group called on black media outlets, and members of the public to ramp up the pressure on mcconnell to bring lynch's nomination to the floor, and calling his office. i speak for the congressional black caucus, and i can tell you that we are disturbed. that's putting it mildly. there's no question about it, is senator mcconnell would put his nominee to the floor today she would be attorney general by the

time the sunsets this afternoon. the average american rights on our twitter page, following along, at c-span debbie j -- following along, @cspanwj. don't want democrats to play the race card? prove them wrong. we will go to our line for democrats. theodore. caller: good morning. i have few things i want to say. the first thing i want to say is why would anyone want to become a member of isis? now, if you look at what these republicans are doing -- host: we are not talking about isis in this segment, we are timeout loretto lynch and her nomination. caller: loretta lynch.

loretta lynch is completely qualified to be the attorney general. however, because she is a black woman, and she is also overly qualified for the job. they don't want her, but you think about it -- congress will not pass and immigration law. however, they don't want to do anything about immigration. basthey say the president is doing too much, but they are not doing anything. we pay them to do nothing, a whole year, and then they come back and do the same thing for another whole year . host: when a center comes out saying he will not support her because she supports the present

statements on amnesty, and you just not believe his words on that? caller: i do not believe it. because guess what, they can pass an immigration bill, and obama would be overridden. they just don't want to do a thing. they want to keep playing this game, and all these different incidents -- they are paying attention to what is going on here for us. host: james is up next from newport news, virginia. for republicans. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm calling to say that i am sure that loretta lynch may be qualified for the office for liberals. loretta lynch is not qualify for the situation that is taking place with the police departments and the young black men. therefore, i believe that the

next person who holds that position should be a young black man, who knows how to handle these types of situations with the black policeman. and with the white policeman when they have all these conflicts with the young black men. loretta lynch is not qualified for many of the situations that are taking place right now. host: market is up next from seattle, washington. line for democrats. mark, do you think loretta lynn should be confirmed as attorney general? caller: yes, she should be confirmed, john. you need someone who loves the law. i heard her testimony. she loves the law. she is dedicated to it. it doesn't matter her color. host: what does it mean to love the law?

was your interpretation of that? -- what is your interpretation of that? caller: it is your calling. it is not political game. some people actually respect and love the law. they don't care how much money they make. they want to see justice done. i believe she is one of those people. durbin and mccain, two wrongs don't make a right. let's get right. let's give her a gyyay or n ay. stuff lane again syrian majority leader mcconnell, i don't think he should be in there. he plays a lot of games. host: on her twitter page, one view writing, even if you're qualified, it doesn't mean you have the people.

sam on the line for independents. caller: good morning. i think she should be confirmed. if republicans think it is the race card, and it walks like a duck, if it talks like a duck it is a.. doc. -- duck. host: martha, good morning. we're talking a loretta lynch do you think she should be confirmed? caller: yes i do. there was a time that bush tried to get some lady, i forget some lady, and it was rejected because of something that will probably never begin and out. what i want to say is the republican party should be called the koch brothers party. they make sure that that is really president, he was elected. they make sure that everyone

they want here, republican governor or president will be elected. they have the money to do it. host: let's see if we can get and jackie from mountain home, idaho. your thoughts on the confirmation of the religious whether that should -- on loretto lynch, whether or not that should happen, her confirmation vote? caller: first off people with a high iq -- there are people sitting in prison with a high iq. the point is putting the immigration issue, which is so messed up, and apparently she agrees that the president can trample all over the constitution, and it is all right. i'm not sure i want someone in the supreme court making

decisions that doesn't follow the constitution, and that's about all i have to say. thank you. host: jackie from mountain home idaho. our last caller in the segment on the potential confirmation for attorney general. that will do it for our show today on "the washington journal." we will see you back here tomorrow. have a great friday. ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> white house coverage goes to

davenport, iowa. he will be at the scott county democratic party dinner. our live coverage starting around 9:00 p.m. eastern. an op-ed today in the "wall street journal" today. and more news about potential presidential candidates, "politico" with a story. quoting him from an event in columbia a dressing a luncheon saying we need quote a leader who looks the market people in the eye and says we will do whatever it takes to make sure radical islamic terrorism does not wash up on american soil. the governors in houston, south carolina today. you can read more at politico.c om. >> here are some of our future programs this weekend on the c-span networks. on "booktv," eric fon