newsmakers this week. >> as i mentioned before, i never felt the urge to make money. what turned me on was to make policy. that'alwayss what drove me. >> tonight on "q&a," a two-part interview with mark green, author of "bright, infinite future: a generational memoir on the progress of rise" in which he talks about his life and career in public office. >> you've got to have a drive that may be undesirable to espouse, but you have to wake up and go to sleep thinking, i want this so much. if you do everything, you win. >> part one airs tonight at 8:00 a.m. eastern on c-span's q&a. c-spano airs tonight on

2. >> c-span's "washington journal," live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. ad coming up monday morning, discussion on the concepts of freedom and liberty with terry , andey, editor in chief washington correspondent from "the daily beat." and then michael preachin, discussing the retaking of falluja by iraqi forces, u.s. airstrikes, and what's next in the war with isis. be sure to watch "washington journal," beginning life at 7:00 a.m. eastern. joined the discussion. >> now, a look at three u.s. senators who might be on the vice presidential shortlist of

donald trump and hillary clinton. we will show you recent remarks by republican senators jeff sessions of alabama and joni ernst of iowa. you an will show interview with the minnesota senator. first we talk with the editor and chief of "the hill" about the running mates. >> sec, editor in chief. the trump stakes in overdrive. let's talk about what you are reporting on, the top candidates as of today. >> donald trump values loyalty. this process can take a lot of twists and turns, but at the moment, there are indications and reports that these two are

at the top. but i wouldn't be surprised if he goes in another direction. >> the house is doing the vetting, the same person who worked with john mccain and sarah palin. >> that's right. and apparently the vetting back then had to be rushed, because the decision that mccain made with last moment. but he is the same person, and that took some criticism after some things came out after she was announced. >> what are the lessons? >> when you are vetting, you have to know everything. you have to have long discussions with the candidate about any skeletons in the closet. you have got to hire talented people to look into their background, because all the media is going to be looking into their backgrounds once they are announced. there can't be any surprises, and i think that is the lesson learned from any vetting. you have to be prepared before the press knows.

twoet's talk about the top candidates based on your reporting. governor chris christie was matted in 2012 and was not selected by mitt romney. what do you think prevented wrongly from selecting him back then? >> i think a lot of it is relationships. romney felt more comfortable with paul ryan on his ticket. keynote also gave the at the 2012 republican convention, and that speech was widely panned. he said "i" or "me" 43 times. trump; that backed was a big endorsement for him at the time. he took some flack for it christhout a doubt, christie would serve as his vice president if asked. issues, so-called bridge gate, and hiis popularity. it's why it's odd he has gone to the top.

but maybe it is about being comfortable about governing, this is someone i can trust. but the bridge gate issue is an issue. issue never really dropped on. there was a lot of investigation and it hurt him politically. also, tacking donald trump has hurt him with some new jersey voters. you mentioned his approval ratings. democrats are big favorites to win new jersey. chris christie isn't going to help you with that state. >> newt gingrich, let's talk about his personal life. he is on his third wife.donald trump has been married three times . to these issues matter? >> i think they matter, but not as much as they did in the past. newt gingrich is someone who knows the legislative process, was the speaker classed with president bill clinton, and that is what he needs. he doesn't need an outsider; he know someone who knows the legislative process. gingrich's smart, however there are a fair amount of lawmakers who are not fans of gingrich and

who endorsed-- romney over gingrich. callertainly -- you could gingrich not an insider in some ways, because a lot of insiders don't like him. but he has been around washington a long time, and he would give that legislative experience to the ticket. >> we sat down with him just a few weeks ago; it's clear that he would accept the nomination, he's interested in being vice president. chris christie made it known he would be interested. there are other names to have been mentioned who may not want this position. who? >> susana martinez, governor of new mexico. she would potentially be a very good pick, a woman, hispanic, and donald trump needs to improve his numbers with women and hispanics. he was negative about her a few weeks ago, and you wonder if they had a conversation. it came out of the blue, his attacks on her, mitch mcconnell

tried to trump her.another one is nikki haley , governor of south carolina. she indicated she did not vacuum in the primary. i don't think she would take it. there are some -- people who genuinely don't want it. joe biden said i don't want to be vice president but he ended up being vice president, but there are republicans who don't want to join the ticket, period. >> one elected official who endorsed donald trump early on, sen. sessions: alabama. how likely is that? but think he is in the mix, i don't think i would put him down as likely. he will turn 70 on christmas eve, and two 70-year-old on the ticket, at least after the election -- >> gingrich's 73. >> that's true, and that's another drawback. you want to have some use on the ticket, but at the same time, the matchup between hillary clinton and donald trump will be the oldest in presidential history.

senator sessions is someone who backs donald trump, a hardliner on immigration, critical of illegal immigration, he has talked his party on a number of issues, including immigration reform. i don't think he is likely. we don't know if he is being vetted; we asked him and he dodged the question. but i wouldn't be surprised if he is being considered, but i wouldn't call him in the top tier. >> when you say being vetted, what is the process? >> that is looking into everything you have done; your past, past controversies, bank statements, interviews with the campaign and the rnc to find out anything in your past that could come out. it's a rigorous process, because they are looking into everyb bit of your business, especially her finances. if they are really not interested, they say no. >> bob cusack.

ase's senator jeff sessions he endorsed donald trump in february of this year in alabama . >> when i talk about immigration, and when i talk about illegal immigration and all the problems of crime and everything else, i think is a great man, and i want to introduce you to him for a second. you know who i am talking about -- nobody knows because we have kept it a surprise. senator jeff sessions. >> [cheers and applause] >> wow. what a crowd this is. >> [cheers and applause] trump, this isd a campaign, this is a movement. look at what's happened. >> [cheers and applause] >> the american people are not

happy with their government. know, you just need to let the people calm down and they will forget it and let it all go. can we forget it? no, we should not. there is an opportunity this and we haveay, the opportunity -- >> [chanting] opportunitye an tuesday, may be the last opportunity we have, for the people's voice to be heard. you have asked for 30 years, and politicians have promised for 30 years, to fix illegal immigration. have they done it? donald trump will do it.

>> [cheers and applause] >> and let me -- >> [chanting] >> you, the american people, have known for years these trade agreements have not been working for them. we now have and will soon have a vote on the transpacific partnership, obama trade, and it will damage america. it will undermine our sovereignty, and it should not pass. donald trump, when he gets elected president, will see it does not pass. >> [cheers and applause] >> this movement, it doesn't

take money from political groups and lobbyists. he's committed to leading this country in an effective way. you know,. nobody is perfect we can't have everything, can we, mr. trump? but i can tell you one thing, at this time, in my best judgment, at this time in american history, we need to make america great again. >> [cheers and applause] >> all right. >> [chanting] >> thank you all. i'm pleased to endorse donald

trump for the presidency of the united states. >> [cheers and applause] are -- aeve that we movement is a foot that must not fade away. it has the potential to have the american people's voices heard for a change. >> [cheers and applause] >> the bosses are you. people in washington are public servants, they serve you. we haven't had enough of that. trump, it is great to have you in one of the greatest cities in the whole world, the madison area is fabulous. >> [cheers and applause] more ingenuitye that any place in the country. we have got the best corporate leadership of all over the world investing here and hiring people here. it's what we need for all of

america. i am proud to have you with us; god bless. >> [cheers and applause] cusack, as we continue our look at the likely, potential, possible republican running mates to donald trump, let's look at some candidates you mentioned. senator joni ernst is one of them, from iowa. >> she is a rising star, a veteran of the iraq war, elected in 2014. she has been critical of trump on his more controversial statements, but she could be a potentially good pick. i think trump has to be considering a female for his and hillary clinton good pick elizabeth warren. joni ernst, a month after she was sworn in, was given a response to the state of the union. he was also the first woman to congress,ioaw iwa in

house or senate. i think she has to be on the short list; the question is also, for her, would she take it? we don't know for sure. but she is a top-tier contender. >> joni ernst spoke at cpac last month. donald trump has said he wants somebody with federal experience. >> she is a former member of the house, and she has expressed interest in joining the ticket. but we haven't heard a lot of her name recently. she has certainly been mentioned, but at the same time, sometimes the names you don't hear are the ones that are serious. sarah palin was not a top-tier contender in 2008, and mccain picked her. i think she would qualify because she served some time in the house, but i don't think o she is a favorite. >> for those who would be interested in being donald

trump's running mate, how do they campaign for it? what do they do? >> that's a great question. joe biden 2008 was saying i don't want it,, i've never had a boss, which was true. but behind the scenes, his campaign was working to get the job. they were meeting with obama officials and noting his legislative experience, also talking about his gaffes, but saying it's not a big deal. they say you need this experience. there is a bit of the dance that the would-be candidates -- the y're tryouts. john edwards, before he was picked by john kerry, went on the campaign trail and made the case for him forcefully. those are big things. it is a tryout, because hillary clinton donald trump, they are considering multiple people, and

they are looking at them on television, what they are doing, their loyalty. it's very important. a lot of these would be vice president say, i'm not interested, but they are. >> as you well know, the bar is pretty low. the number one rule is do no harm. we saw that in 2000 it was sarah palin. >> yes, and that is they have to consider. you also don't want to outshine the person at the top of the ticket, and that was a consideration for mitt romney with chris christie. that has also got to be a consideration for hillary clinton with elizabeth warren. when ryan joined the ticket, it was clear. ok, we need your help, we are glad you are on the ticket, but mitt romney is at the top, and you are number two. that can be frustrating for some people who are in the number two slot, but they have to realize they are not at the top. they have to have some humility and do what their boss says.

>> let's talk timeline. two weeks out from the republican convention; we saw the stage unveiled, what it will look like in cleveland. donald trump has said he wants to make his announcement during the week of the convention, that he reported this past week that they could come this week or early the following week. >> yeah. the interest in this will really catch fire after july 4. who knows when it will come out? i don't think you can keep the secret all the way to the convention. it's also, how much news coverage will he get? you want to get news coverage of the convention, but that is built-in, especially a donald trump convention. so you want to win the week, and if you announce it a few days after july 4, everyone will be talking about that and maybe you can just dominate the news cycle all the way through the convention and that all plays into the thing that public and the democrats want, a convention bounce in the