nd cast your vote. elector, please step forward nd cast your vote.

elector, please step forward nd cast your vote. elector, please step forward nd cast your vote. inaudible]

>> elector, please step forward nd cast your vote. ecretary shirley mccome.

actually it's both your battles. - ballots.

>> perhaps my instructions were not clear. if you only submitting your ballot or president, would you please step toward now and submit your ballot for vice president. if there is anybody who only submitted rather than two come forward and submit your second allot.

chairperson, please step orward and cast your ballot. >> all the ballots having been cast, the will now tally the votes.

>> it's my pleasure to announce that hillary clinton received 20 electoral votes for president of the united states. each eelectric tor is now required to sign six copies for the certificates of votes which will be distributed on to the proper authority. staff will begin the distribution. we should be at ease while the necessary signatures are athered.

>> the certificates of vote

have a been received. having been completed the chair now recognizes elect tor costello for the purpose of a motion. >> i second that motion. >> elect tor costello has moved that the meeting of the 2016 elect trorl college be adjourned and it's been seconded by elect tor gately. those in favor signify by saying aye. aye. those opposed the ayes have it. i would like to thank scoket of state jesse white and the illinois house of representatives for hosting these proceedings as well as is the electoral college for their participation. i would ask all to please remain in the committee room for a group photo following adjournment. this meeting is hereby adjourned. thank you very much. >> thank you, everyone.

if the delegates -- rise or eated? >> coverage continues now with the gathering in new york, the empire state has 29 votes. hillary clinton won the popular vote in the state last month. one of the voting electors was bill clinton.

>> i am proud and honored to stand with you today. you, the elect tors, represent the diversity of our great state. it is a solemn and essential duty we have been chosen to perform today. a duty that is part of the fabric of our constitution and our democracy. a certified list of elect tors has been delivered to the do state. i will now call the roll of this eelectric torl college. please signify by saying aye when your name is called. > roll call.

>> let uzz proceed to the

filling of the vacancies created by the absence of electors. the chair will entertain a motion to fill the vacancies. the chair now recognizes the honorable kathy sheehan of albany county. >> madam secretary, i move that the following substitutions be made. > roll call. >> thank you. the chair now recognizes the honorable scott stringer. >> madam secretary i second the motion that the substitution be made in the manner describe. >> thank you. are there any further nominations? none being offered the nominations are now closed.

i ask those in favor of the substitutions as described to signify so by saying aye. opposed. the motion is carried. will aaron stevens, meredith shepherd, teresa schwartz and eve gilligan please stand and raise your right hand so that i may administer the oath. do you solemnly swear to support the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of new york, and that you will faithfully excute the duties of this office as electors of president and vice president of the united states of america to the best of your ability so elp you god? ok. you may be seated. the next order of business is the election of a president of the electoral college. i now call on the honorable lieutenant governor of new york

for the the purposes of a nomination. >> madam secretary, it is my pleasure to nominate as president of this electoral college someone i've had the great privilege to work with over the years, a truly progressive leader with great the , our governor honorable andrew m. cuomo of westchester county. >> thank you. the chair now recognizes the honorable byron brown. >> it is my pleasure and honor with the children of buffalo's hamlin park school, looking on, to second the nomination of the honorable andrew m. cuomo of westchester county as president of this electoral college. >> thank you, mr. mayor. are there any further nominations? there being none, i ask those in favor of the election of the

honorable andrew m. cuomo as president of this electoral college to signify so by saying aye. aye. opposed. i declare the honorable andrew m. cuomo of westchester county unanimously elected as president of this electoral college. [applause] will the president please come forward to accept the chair and the gavel. >> thank you very much and good

afternoon to all of you. first, to maddle secretary of state. let's give her a round of applause for convening this meeting. it is my pleasure to preside over this very important constitutional function. the electoral college, as you know, is the mechanism by which this country makes one of the most important decisions which is the election of the president. we are also honored to be at this proceeding with many elected officials from all across the state, important citizens, involved citizens from all across the state. and one very special new yorker who we all call friend, former president william jefferson clinton. it is my honor to welcome him ere today.

we have a custom of switching seats in the federal government, which i'll explain at a different time. and i'll have more words about president clinton in a mome. the chair now recognizes the honorable lovely warren of monroe county for the purpose of making a motion.

mayor. >> thank you, mr. president. i would like to nominate the honorable byron brown of erie county and mark of new york county as secretaries to the electoral college. >> thank you very much. the chair now recognizes gary la barbara of nass awe county for the purposes of making a motion. >> thank you, mr. president. i would like to second the otion. >> thank you. are there any other nominations? there being if you know, i ask those in favor of the election of the honorable byron brown and margaret garretto of new york as secretaries to this electoral college. signify by saying aye. those opposed. here being none, i now declare the honorable byron brown and

margaret of new york as secretaries of this electoral college. will you please take your seats on the dais. let's give them a round of pplause, please. having filled all the elected offices of this college, the chair will now proceed with designating the tellers of this electoral college. will ms. maxine out ridge of richmond county and al seea williams of bronx county please come forward and take your seats as tellers. thank you. let's give them a round of applause for their service. [applause]

having now filled the remaining offices of this college, the the chair will now entertain motions for the balloting for the president and vice president of the united states. the chair recognizes the honorable andrew suret cousins of westchester county. >> thank you, mr. president. it is my honor to move that we now proceed with the balloting for the president the of the united states. >> thank you. the chair now recognizes anstashea simosea of new york county. >> thank you, mr. president. it is my honor to second the motion to proceed with the balloting for president of the united states. >> thank you very much. it has been moved and seconded that we proceed with the balloting of the president of the united states of america. all those in favor please signify so by saying aye.

opposed. seeing none the motion is carried. the chair now recognizes the honorable leasha james of kings county. >> thank you, mr. president. it is my honor to move that we now proceed with the balloting of the vice president. >> thank you. the chair now recognizes the honorable ruben diaz, jr., of bronx county. >> thank you, mr. president. it is my honor to second the motion to proceed with the balloting for the vice president of the great united states of america. >> it has been moved and seconded that we proceed with the balloting of the vice president of the united states. all those in favor signify by saying aye. opposed. the motion is carried. there having been carried motions for the balloting of the president and vice president, we may now proceed to voting. i invite president clinton to join us in casting the first

allot. [applause]

>> it appears that all ballots have been cast. -- tellers please count the votes. vote.nounce the >> 29 votes have been cast for the honorable hillary clinton of new york for president of the united states.

>> mr. president after counting the ballots i find that 29 votes have been cast for the honorable tim kaine of virginia for vice president of the united states.

>> thank you. the chair announce that is the entire membership of the electoral college has now voted for president and vice president of the united states. and that the certificates have been duly signed by each elector. the chair recognizes randy wine garden of sufffocks county. >> thank you, mr. president. i move that the secretaries be authorized and directed to file through the department of of state the certificates which we have signed with the president of the united states senate, the secretary of state of the state of new york, the new york state board of elections, the chief judge of the united states district court for the northern district of new york, the national archives, and the records administrator and the rare book and man script library of columbia university. >> i think you got it all in.

thank you very much. thank you. the chair recognizes the honorable tom denaply of nass awe county. >> i second the motion that the certificates be filed in the manner so well described. >> thank you very much. it has been moved and seconded that we file the certificates in the manner described. all those in favor signify by saying aye. opposed. the motion is carried. the chair now recognizes the honorable karl hasty of bronx county. >> thank you, mr. president. i now move that the electors of this college unanimously agree to forego their compensation and have the money designated o an organization which as assists the brave men and women who wish to make the united states their home the new york coalition. > thank you very much.

hank you, mr. speaker. >> mr. president, i second the motion that the electors of this college unanimously agree to forego their compensation as electors and have the money designated to go to an organization which assists the bray men women and children wishing to make the united states their home, new york immigration coalition. >> thank you very much. it has been moved and seconded that the electors forego their compensation and instead donate it to the new york immigration coalition. all those in favor signify by saying aye. the motion is carried. the chair recognizes the honorable william deblasio of new york county. >> thank you, mr. president. i move that the proceedings of the electoral college of the great state of new york be printed and bound.

>> thank you, mr. mayor. e chair recognizes eve guilogon. >> i second the motion that the electoral college of the great state of new york be printed and bound. >> it has been moved and sebbeded that the eproceedings be printed and bound. the the motion is carried. before i ask for a motion to adjourn, please allow me a personal point of privilege. many of the people in this room have longstanding personal relationships with president william jefferson clinton and madam secretary hillary clinton. my relationship began in 1992, when i went down to work on the transitions committee for the

president -- incoming president william jefferson clinton and vice president al gore. 1992. it was just like yesterday. i was leaving new york because i was going to go out and see the rest of the world. and rid myself of standing behind my father's shadow. i worked in the transition. the president was gracious enough to offer me a position at housing urban development. i was a 100% new yorker with the new york style and the new york rhythm and the new york cadence. i started going around the country and the the new york style and cadence was slightly out of rhythm with other parts sort of untry, and like my cousin vinny, came and the president took me aside one

day and he was explaining to me how sometimes you want to just low down, it's more about just hospitality and just chatting with people, not always about finchings -- function. nd he said usual go -- he said go down to arkansas and visit with these people. i said, ok. now, i had never heard that term before, visit with those people. i said, mr. president, what do i do when i visit with those people? he said nothing, you just visit. i said what does that mean? what is the purpose? he said you're not there to accomplish. you just visit, you just chat, you just talk. but for what purpose? what do i want to get accomplished? i don't think i ever fully internalized the process of

visiting. but the president was always kind, always generous, and i know that many people in this room feel exactly the same thing. and the president taught an entire generation of elected officials what it means to be a professional and effective elected official. he showed that government mattered and he showed this nation that government mattered. he showed us all that change is hard and the good fight is a fight and when you go to change things the status quo will fight back, and your job, if you believe in the change and the reforms will carry through. he taught us that cooperation is always better than conflict. and that bringing people together is always the goal. public service is about accomplishing things that make people's lives better. it's not about the process.

it's not about the politics. it's about what you get done for the people you serve. president william jefferson clinton's record is unmatched. 22 million new jobs, lowest unemployment rate, highest home ownership, sweeping gun legislation, lowest poverty rate in 20 years. likewise, secretary clinton has been a great friend to this state and has done a tremendous -- has accomplished tremendous good for this nation and for this state. what she did as senator after 9/11, helping us get $20 million to rebuild new york, the way she stood up to the gun industry, supported child health, the way she worked as secretary of state to lead to the capture of osama bin laden. she's a role model for women all across the country and all across the globe. i know she is for my daughters

and an entire generation of young women. mr. president, your philosophy is possibly more important today than ever before. your philosophy that the spirit of community, acceptance and love is always the path forward. as secretary clinton said, there's much more work to do, my friends, and everyone in this room and everyone in this state will join you in the next chapter of your work. we're honored to call you a friend and we're honored that you call new york home. thank you william jefferson clinton.

the chair recognizes the honorable chris tin quinn for the purposes of making a motion. >> i move that the 2016 electoral college of the great state of new york be adjourned. >> thank you. the chair now recognizes melissa sclars of queen county. >> on behalf of all transgender new yorkers, i second the 2016 electoral college of the great state of new york be adjourned. > thank you. >> thank you. it has been moved and seconded that the 58th meeting of the electoral college of the state of new york be adjourned. all those in favor signify by saying aye. opposed the. the motion is carried.

please welcome the reverend sedgwick easily of union baptist church who will now offer a benediction. >> might we pray. almighty god it is with reverence and joy that we call upon your name. woe thank you, almighty god, for this wonderful privilege to have gathered in our state's capitol and in this majestic building. as you have been with us in the past, we are sure that you will guide us into the blessings of our future. today we honor and remember those who have sacrificed so much for this empire state and this great nation that we love. we ask today that you will guide our hands, our hearts, our minds, and our steps as we strive to live out your purpose in our lives. in this season of joy, hope, and peace, we pray that you

will grant us your joy while teaching us to have hope so that we can live in america, in peace. in your name we pray. amen. >> thank you very much. it is now my pleasure to welcome back albany high song, god bless america. >> god bless america ♪ land that i love ♪ stand beside her ♪ and guide her ♪ through the night with the light from above ♪ from the mountains ♪ to the praires

to the ocean white with foam ♪ god bless america my home sweet home ♪ god bless america my home sweet home >> thank you very much. let's give a big round of applause. [applause] this will now conclude the proceedings of the 2016 meeting

of the electoral college. i thank the electors. i thank the students. i thank the teachers who have all joined us here today. you have seen history happen. thank you all. this meeting is now adjourned. >> c-span's coverage continues now with the gathering at harrisburg, pennsylvania. the keystone state has 20 electoral votes. donald trump won the popular vote. this is about an hour, 10 minutes. >> good afternoon.

it is my honor to welcome you to the 58th electoral college. please turn off all cell phones and other communications devices. at this time would you please ise. i would like to present to you the honorable pedro a. tort ezz, secretary of the commonwealth -- cortez, secretary of the commonwealth. the honorable robert gormon, deputy chief of staff to the overnor of the commonwealth. the reverend cannon david w. ovely. the honorable thomas g. sailer chief justice of the supreme court of pennsylvania.

and a temporary officers and members of the 58 electoral college of pennsylvania. >> please be seated.

as secretary of the commonwealth it is my honor to preside over electeeting until the oral college has organized according to section to article one of the united states. you must create a formal document to submit to the congress of the united states, this being the day and they our participation and the laws of the united states and of the commonwealth of pennsylvania for the electors to give their votes or the president and vice president of the united states.

the electors of the commonwealth of pennsylvania will come to order. , caitlin holland, -- pleasepril team -- rise in the pledge of allegiance. >> i pledge allegiance to the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, individual with liberty and justice for all. >> thank you, pages. our -- i now call upon the reverend and ask him to invoke god's blessing on these proceedings. >> let us pray. almighty god, we give you thanks for this good land which we have received as our inheritance. we pray that we may continue to be good stewards of all that has

been entrusted to our care. as a nation, we have a history of sound government established by our founders for the sake of all who dwell in this land. and the freedom to choose those who occupy leadership positions. at all levels of the government, filled with wisdom, those who trust to leadership and authority, that we might seek justice to all people. we proceed now with the 58th electoral college of the commonwealth of pennsylvania as they fulfill their constitutional duty in the election of the president and vice president of the united states. grant them was to, courage to thede that which serves welfare of all united states citizens. may each of us, as citizens of these in united states, take seriously our responsibility to one another and for the

well-being of the society of our own generation. and all that we do. grant us grace to serve and honor your most holy name. we pray. amen. >> thank you. please be seated. chief justice saylor, deputy chief of staff corvallis. anna lovelace, distinguished s.ectors and honored guest as secretary of the commonwealth and temporary presiding officer of pennsylvania's 58 select electoral college i , welcome you to the chamber of the pennsylvania house of representatives. it is an honor to convene the electoral college in this remarkable setting. this is the third electoral college i have had the privilege to temporarily preside.

today's proceedings remain consistent with the procedures followed when the first electoral college convene in consulting 227 years ago. electoral college convened in when the pennsylvania 227 years first ago. it is my belief that our commonwealth has one of the best electoral colleges ceremonies in the nation. before the end of the day, 530 electors will will cast their votes to select the president and vice president of the united states. the electoral college was established by the framers of our constitution in philadelphia as a compromise between those who advocated the election of the president and vice president by the state and those who support appointment by congress. under our federal system, the people of the united states vote for electors who, in turn, vote for the president and vice president. the votes you cast today will be rtified and sent to the u.s. congress and the national archives.

on january 6, 2017, they will be counted along with the other 49 states and the district of columbia in front of a joint session of congress. in accordance with the 20th amendment of the united states constitution, the president-elect will be sworn in on january 20, 2017. in 1788, james madison stated , while arguing for the adoption of united states constitution "we may define a republic to be , a government which delivers and derives all that's powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people and is administered by persons holding their offices during good behavior. today's electoral college proves once again that the citizens of the united dates are once again able to establish their government by choice. america's continuing history

testifies to the enjoying viability of our grand experiment in self-governance. as we know, president abraham lincoln and his gettysburg address stated that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from earth. we are still here today, ayers -- we are still here today, heirs to this lofty ideal of elected governance. today, the will of pennsylvania as expressed by the majority of , the 6 million citizens that voted on the november 8 general election is in the hands of 20 , members of the electoral college. we continue to invest our faith in you, esteemed electoral wars, -- esteemed electoral wars that you will honor the voters, this commonwealth and our nation by adding a new chapter to america 's story of free representative democracy under which we live. let us now proceed with the

appointment of temporary officers. for the purpose of carrying on the business of this meeting, i will appoint, without objection, the honorable marian k schneider and the honorable peter speaks, deputy secretaries of the commonwealth as temporary secretaries. the honorable jonathan marks, commissioner of elections of pennsylvania as chief sergeant at arms. and the honorable deputy commissioner michael moser and assistant sergeant election at arms. please be seated. the chair recognizes the honorable deputy chief of staff to the governor of the commonwealth of pennsylvania. >> mr. secretary. i have the honor to present communications in writing from his excellency, the governor of the commonwealth.

>> thank you. deputies chief of staff corps most. secretary schneider will read the communications. >> pursuant to the laws of the united states, i tom wolfe, , governor of the state of commonwealth of pennsylvania do hurt by -- do hereby certify that, in accordance of the provisions of the pennsylvania election code, upon receiving the returns of the elect doors -- returns of the light source of the president of the united states and vice president of the united states from the election held november 8 2016 as laid before me by the secretary of the commonwealth. i have ascertained that the --electorslect doors

for donald trump and micheal r. pence. asher, michael downing, theodore christian, margaret gleason,christopher joyce haas, ash khare, james mac ,eally, elstina pickett patricia poprik, andrew reilly, ,arol sides, gloria lee snover richard stewart, lawrence tabas, christine toretti, carolyn sunny welsh, they have received 33 votes constituting the

greatest number of votes for the persons voted for. they are therefore the person a duly elected and appointed the president and vice president of the united states to meet at the seat of government in this commonwealth being in the city of harrisburg on the first monday after the second wednesday in december, being the 19th day of december, -- 2017-- ade, 26 agreeably to the laws of this commonwealth. and of the united states. where the respective terms prescribed by the constitution of the united states to begin on the 20th day of january 82,017. 2017,th of january, a.d, as perform such duties follow-up on them under the

constitution and laws of the united states. signed, tom will, governor. -- signed, tom wolfe, governor. >> thank you. a certificate of ascertainment will be printed in full under -- in full under the journal of the proceedings of the electoral college. secretary speaks will call the role of elect doors. as your name is called. please rise in your place and answer, present. >> honorable robert asher. honorable mary barket. honorable robert bozzuto. honorable theodore christian. honorable michael downing. honorable margaret ferrero. honorable christopher gleason. honorable robert gleason. honorable joyce haas. honorable ash khare. honorable james mac really.

honorable elstina pickett. honorable patricia popper. honorable andrew riley. honorable carol sides. honorable gloria lee over --gloria "lee" snover. honorable lawrence tagus. honorable christine toretti. honorable carolyn bunny welch. thank you, secretary speaks. 20 electors, having answered to their names, we shall proceed with the business of the 58th presidential pennsylvania college. pennsylvania electoral college. we are pleased to have one of distinguished ju rors to administer the oath of office at this time. the honorable thomas g saylor, chief justice of the supreme

court of pennsylvania. a bible or holy book has been supplied. the oath will now be administered. >> would you please place your left hand on the bible or holy book and raise your right hand? do you and each of you solemnly swear or affirm that you will support, obey and defend the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the commonwealth of pennsylvania? and that you will discharge the duties of your office with fidelity? so please say, i do. thank you. secretary? >> thank you chief justice saylor. please be seated. the next order of business is the election of the president of

the electoral college. the chair recognizes the honorable richard stewart of cumberland county for the purpose of offering a resolution. >> thank you mr. secretary. resolved that the honorable robert a gleason jr. of cambria county be chosen president of this electoral college. >> thank you. >> are there any other nominations? if not, nominations are closed. those in favor of the resolution will except by saying aye.

opposed, no. the eyes have it. the resolution is adopted. the honorable robert a gleason jr. is a unanimous choice for president of this college. [applause] >> the chair request the chief sergeant at arms to escort the president to the restroom. the chair has the honor to

present to you your president, the honorable robert a gleason junior of cambria county. [applause] >> thank you. chief justice saylor, secretary cortez, honorable electors, distinguished guests and governor wolf who will be joining us shortly. thank you for participating today. thank you to all who helped organize and execute today's event. and the governor for hosting us at his residence later this afternoon. we want to thank the elect doors -- we want to thank the electors for choosing me to serve as the president of this electoral college. it is an incredible honor that i will never forget. today, we walk through history together. pennsylvania has always had an important place in american history as the keystone state. future generations will remember this election as unconventional and beer sleep competitive.

in the end, history placed the commonwealth at the forefront as the election would be decided here. now, we sit in this magnificent , majestic house chamber as the first republican electors in pennsylvania since 1988. to give some perspective, our youngest elector was four years old at the time. we are just moments away from completing the electoral will of the people of pennsylvania and casting our ballots for the 45th president of the united states, donald trump and the 48th vice president of the united states, mike pence. when donald trump and mike pence are sworn in on january 20, they will be the president and vice presidents of all americans regardless of political affiliation or background. it is a good reminder that we

serve as the peaceful assembly that will lead to another peaceful transfer of power between two rival political parties that continues to be the envy of the world. i know that donald trump and mike pence will be working to make america great again. for everyone. and they look up to each and everyone of us to help shape the future of our country. for me, this ceremony is the completion of a dream that is more than a decade old as a republican chairman. the hard work of volunteers, staff, party officials and two outstanding candidates who made this dream come true. let usow electors, always remember this shared moment when we stood up for our constitutional system, followed our conscience, answer the call of pennsylvania voters, did our part by electing the next president and vice president of the united states, donald trump and mike pence. thank you and may god bless the united states of america. [applause]

>> all right, the election of the vice president of the electoral college will now proceed. the chair recognizes the honorable mary barket from northampton county for the purposes of offering a resolution. >> thank you, mr. president. resolved that the honorable joyce haas of centre county be chosen vice president of this electoral college. >> thank you. >> are there any other nominations? if not, nominations are closed. those in favor of the resolution will give their assent by saying aye.

the resolution is unanimously adopted. the chair request the assistance argent of arms to assist the vice president to the roster and -- rostroom. the chair has the honor to present to you your vice president, the honorable joyce c half of -- joyce haas of centre county. president.u, mr. good afternoon. i would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to all of the dignitaries and to the special guests. the importance of what we do

here today cannot be overstated. in a few minutes, we will make the voices of pennsylvania voters heard loud and clear. when we cast our vote for the next president and vice president of the united states. donald trump and michael pence. as it has been previously stated, the road to this moment has been intense and competitive. however, just like with all elections in our great country, now is the time to come together and we will unite around our new president and vice president. the voters who have elected a team that has given hope to pennsylvanians from ambridge to wilkes-barre, we all have

stories of people who became engaged in the political process because of donald trump. last week, we welcomed our president-elect and vice president-elect back to pennsylvania to thank us for our support. but now, as we cast these votes, our country takes one more step towards a new era. it will be an era filled with possibility and opportunity. for all americans. it will be an era in which men and women regain the pride and solace that comes with the family sustaining employment. and it will be an era in which our nation, once again, leaves battle against the dangers facing freedom and our country and in our world today.

my fellow electors, i am deeply humbled to have this chance to serve as vice president of the 58th electoral college and i thank you for that honor. may god bless you and may god bless the united states of america. [applause] >> thank you. the chair now recognizes the honorable gloria snover of northampton county for the purposes of offering a resolution. >> thank you, mr. president. resolved, that the honorable theodore christian of bucks

county be appointed secretary of this electoral college. >> thank you. those in favor of the resolution will give their assent to by saying aye. the ayes have it. the resolution is unanimously adopted. the chair recognizes andrew reilly for the purposes of offering a resolution. >> thank you, mr. president. resolved that the honorable lawrence tagus of philadelphia county be appointed parliamentarian of this electoral college. >> thank you. those in favor of the resolution will give their sent by saying aye.

those know? the ayes have it. the resolution is unanimously adopted. the chair recognizes the assistant sergeant at arms to escort the secretary and parliamentarian to their chairs. the chair extends temporary officers the thanks of their colleagues for the able manner of their presiding during these proceedings. thank you.

without objection, the college of electors will adopt the form proceedings of the 2012 electoral college of the commonwealth of pennsylvania insofar as it is applicable. the 2016 electoral college of pennsylvania is now organized. and in keeping with tradition, will so advise the governor. without objection, the honorable ash khare of warren county and the honorable elstina pickett of warren county to call upon his excellency, the governor of the commonwealth, to inform him that college of electors of the commonwealth of pennsylvania is organized and ready to receive any communication he may wish to make. and also to extend an invitation to him to address the college. the committee of escort will now proceed in the performance of its duties.

the chair request the chief sergeant arms and committee to escort his excellency, the governor of the commonwealth of pennsylvania, to the house chamber. the governor is awaiting this call. he will be with us momentarily. the members will be at ease awaiting the committee waiting to escort the governor. at this time, while we are at ease, i would like to recognize the governor's who is here, we greatly appreciate you being here. secretary theresa osborne from the department of aging. secretary russell redding as the department of agriculture. secretary robin wiseman as the department of banking. chief of staff mary eisenhower. , secretary gary tennis for the department of drug and alcohol prevention. secretary patrick mcdonald, department of environmental

protection. general counsel denise smiler. secretary kurt topper, department of general services. director marcus brown for the department of homeland security. commissioner teresa millard, department of insurance. secretary kathy mannarino, department of labor and industry. general anthony bareilly from the department of military affairs. physician general, dr. rachel levine. fully -- sarah out secretary elaine mcnulty. department of revenue. the commissioner of the state police. i want to thank you for being here and also you secretary.

and also you, secretary. and i missed one. the director, richard, of fema. thank you for being here.

everyone, please rise. the electrons will come to order. members of the electoral college, his excellency, the governor of the commonwealth of pennsylvania, tom wolfe. and the first lady, frances wolf. [applause] >> welcome, governor. >> thank you. please be seated. thank you very much for that nice introduction and thank you for being here. i want to thank the president, i want to thank the vice president of the electoral college, the officers of the

college, and all of the electors for having me here today. i want to congratulate you all on your role on this historic day. i would also like to take a moment to thank secretary cortes cortes, and the department of state for the job that they did, once again. the employees and the staff of the department of state have done a really good job of hosting the selection. during a season of scrutiny for the department of states across the nation, pennsylvania, once again, delivered a safe and secure and convenient voting experience or the people of pennsylvania. secretary cortes and his team are to be commended and thanked by all the people of pennsylvania, and could we give them a round of applause, please? [applause] >> so today. today we are here to honor a tradition that is at the heart of our democracy the selection , of a president to lead our

country for the next four years. peacefulrocess of transition. the united states is unique around the world. it is special. we don't need armies, we don't need uprisings or violence to change our country leadership. all we need is 538 people in rooms just like this all across the country, doing what you are doing today. 57 times before today, once every four years stretching back fact, to the time of washington and adams and jefferson and hamilton, the presidential electors of pennsylvania have come together to vote and certify an act upon the will of the citizens of pennsylvania. today is the 58th such occasion where article two, section one of the constitution comes to life right here in this room. it is a truly humbling experience for me to witness.

and you should all be proud and honored to be here, as well, as electors of pennsylvania. because the actions you take today, they are historic. as prescribed by the constitution on the first monday after the second wednesday in december, we gather to follow through on the mandate given by the people on the first tuesday after the first monday in november. election day places the power in the hands of those in this room. and that is you. today, you will officially select the next president of the united states. you will follow the will of the people of pennsylvania. you should be honored to have taken part in this bit of history. so i implore you to savor the walk you take to the ballot box. enjoy it. and know that you are performing an act that echoes back through out american history. it is the same action that has

been carried out by pennsylvanians for centuries and brought to the american stage people like george washington, thomas jefferson, abraham lincoln, theodore roosevelt, franklin roosevelt, dwight eisenhower, john kennedy, ronald reagan, and barack obama. it is a very very important act. congratulations on your participation in this rich tradition, and thank you on behalf of all pennsylvania is for doing what you have done. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, governor wolf, for your message. we are grateful to you for honoring us with your presence today. the chair request the committee of escorts to accompany the governor to his chambers. please rise as the governor is

escorted from the chamber. [gavel] please be seated. we are ready to proceed with the balloting for president and vice president of the united states. the chair recognizes the honorable -- of indiana county for the purposes of operating a resolution. >> thank you mr. president. electors of the commonwealth of pennsylvania here assembled in the chamber of the house of representatives at the state capital in the city of harrisburg, pennsylvania, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and the laws of the united states and the commonwealth of pennsylvania do now proceed to ballot for president of the united states. >> thank you.

those in favor of the resolution will give their consent by saying aye. the resolution is unanimously adopted. the chair appoints the following five individuals to act as tellers of the electoral college. -- honor roll -- honorable megan sweeney, the honorable charles the row and the -- the chair requests that the assistant sergeant of arms assist the tellers to their seats.

the chair directs the tellers to see that a ballot for the president of the united states is now distributed to each elector. let us proceed now to the election of the united states. te on histor shall wri or her ballot the name of the person for whom he or she votes for for the president of the united states.

ok the ballot for vice president , of the united states. the chair request the electoral college to preside over the election of the vice president of united states. joyce. haas: the chair recognizes the honorable robert asher of montgomery county for the

purpose of offering a resolution. chairman, madam vice resolve that the electors of the commonwealth of pennsylvania, here assembled in the chamber of the house of representatives at the state capital in the city of harrisburg, pennsylvania, in accordance with the provisions of the constitutions and the laws of the united states and the commonwealth of pennsylvania, do now proceed to ballot for the vice president of the united states. haas: thank you. thank you, mr. asher. those in favor of the resolution will give there is sent by saying aye. no opposed. the ayes have it.

the resolution is unanimously adopted. the chair directs the tellers to see that a ballot for the vice president of the united states is distributed to each elector. each elector shall write on his or her ballot the name of the person for whom she or he votes for the vice president of the united states. >> thank you, vice president for directing the election for the vice president of the united states. the chair directs the chief sergeant at arms to clear the ballot box.

as the roll is called, each elector will come forward and deposit his or her ballots into the official ballot box for president and the vice president of the united states. the secretary will call the roll. secretary: beginning with the

roll. the honorable robert gleason. the honorable joyce haas. the honorable lawrence tabas. the honorable robert asher. the honorable mary barket. the honorable robert bozzuto. the honorable michael downing. the honorable margaret ferraro. gleasoorable christopher n. hare.onorable ash k

james mcerlane. ickett.orable elstina p the honorable patricia poprik. the honorable andrew reilly. the honorable carol sides. honorable gloria "lee" snover. the honorable richard stewart. ti. honorable christine toret y"e honorable carolyn "bunn welsh. theodoreonorable

christian. >> the chair directs the tellers to count the ballots. once the count is completed, the tellers prepare the written report. they will advise the college of the results. i want to thank our electors for being here today. the chair recognizes loretto llano, cody harbaugh, mike earp, google bernstein, and joel dukas.

the chair recognizes the head teller. the honorable david urban.

[applause] [chanting] >> the chair directs the secretary to require that in the open meeting of this electoral college in the commonwealth of pennsylvania, the honorable david urban certified, on behalf of the tellers, that the vote for president of the united states was 20 votes for donald j. trump, and the vote for vice

president was 20 votes for michael r. pence. [applause] >> the chair also thanks the tellers for the efficient performance of their duties. in accordance of the law, it becomes our duty to certify the results. the chair recognizes the o, fromle margaret ferrar for theton county, purposes of offering a resolution. ferraro: thank you. resolved that this certificate to vote for president and vice president of the united states replaced on the table and signed by the electors. [yelling]

[protests] >> resolved that the certificate for the vote of president and vice president be placed on the table and signed by the electors. thank you, ms. ferraro. those in favor of the resolution will give there is sent by saying aye. the resolution is unanimously adopted. there are six advocates to be signed by the electors certifying the votes cast by them for president and vice president. the electors will come forward and signed in the way that their name is called. secretary thank you, mr. : president. we will begin the roll. the honorable robert gleason. the honorable joyce haas.

tabas.orable lawrence the honorable robert asher. the honorable mary barket.

the honorable robert bozzuto. the honorable michael downing. the honorable margaret ferraro. the honorable christopher gleason.

the honorable ash khare. the honorable james mcerlane. the honorable elstina pickett.

the honorable patricia poprik. the honorable andrew reilly. the honorable carol sides.

the honorable gloria "lee" snover. the honorable richard stewart. the honorable christine toretti. the honorable caroyln "bunny" welsh.

and the honorable theodore christian.

>> signed documents must now be directed to the appropriate authorities. the chair recognizes the

honorable carol sides of lycoming county for the purposes of offering a resolution. sides: thank you, mr. president. resolved that the president appoint one elector to take charge and ensure that one package of all legally required documents is directed to the president of the senate of the united states in washington, d.c., by delivering them by registered mail. >> thank you, ms. sides. those in favor of the resolution will get their assent by voting aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the resolution is unanimously adopted. the chair nominates robert bozzuto to deliver these documents. the package will be opened with

the other 49 states, the district of columbia on friday, january 6, 2017, in a joint session of the united states senate and united states house of representatives for the purpose of determining the national electoral vote for the president and vice president of the united states. in addition to the signed documents must be distributed , for the purpose of maintaining the public record. the chair recognizes the honorable richard stewart of cumberland county for the purposes of offering a resolution. stewart: thank you, mr. president. resolved that the president designate one elector to take charge and ensure two packages of all legally required documents are directed to the secretary of the commonwealth of pennsylvania, one of which will be held subject to the order of the president of the senate of the united states, the other to be preserved by the secretary for one year and shall be a part

of the public records of his office. that one package, each of all legally required documents, is directed to the archivist of the united states in washington, d.c. and to the honorable , christopher c connor, chief justice of the district court of the united states for the middle district of pennsylvania, by delivering them by registered mail. be it further resolved a copy of this college be filed with the secretary of the commonwealth. >> thank you, mr. stewart. those in favor of the resolution will give their assent by saying aye. the opposed, no. the ayes have it. the resolution is unanimously adopted. the chair appoints michael downing of cumberland county. to deliver this in accordance of the resolution. the chair requested the electors reported an charge with the responsibility to seal and deliver all legally required documents meet here in the house , chamber with the secretary of the commonwealth designee for

further instructions as to their duties immediately following adjournment. the chair recognizes the honorable caroyln "bunny" welsh of chester county for the purposes of offering a resolution. welsh: thank you, mr. president. resolved that the president name two electors to settle the accounts and expenses of this college of electors. >> thank you, ms. welsh. those in favor of the resolution will give their assent by saying aye. the ayes have it. those opposed, no. the resolution is unanimously adopted. the chair appoints christopher gleeson and james maca lane of chester county to settle the accounts and expenses of the electors. the chair now recognizes the honorable patricia poprik of bucks county. ms. poprik: thank you.

resolved that the secretary of the commonwealth be directed to have published in pamphlet form copies of the proceedings of the 58 college of electors of the commonwealth of pennsylvania and to be delivered to and distributed by the secretary of the commonwealth. >> thank you, ms. poprik. those in favor of the resolution give their assent by voting aye. opposed, no. the ayes have it. the chair recognizes the honorable elstina pickett of purpose county for the -- pickett: thank you, mr. president.

as all that the appreciation of the electorate be extended to the secretary of the commonwealth, president, and other officers of the college of other electors, the pages, and all others for the efficient and satisfactory performance of the duties of their appointment. be it further resolved the college of electors extend their sincere appreciation to the governor of the commonwealth for his participation in this proceeding. be it further resolved the extend theirectors sincere appreciation to the speaker of the house and others and the members of the pennsylvania house of representatives for allowing us to hold this historic meeting in this magnificent chamber. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. president. >> thank you, ms. pickett. those in favor of the resolution will give their assent by saying aye. opposed, no. the ayes have it. the resolution is unanimously adopted.

we have come to the end of the se official proceedings. does the secretary have any announcements? >> [inaudible] >> thank you, mr. secretary. the chair recognizes the are for thesh kh purpose of offering a resolution. khare: resolved that the college of electors of pennsylvania, having met in a chamber of the house of representatives at the state capitol, in the city of harrisburg, pennsylvania, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and the laws of the united states and this commonwealth, and having completed the business for which they were elected do stand adjourned upon the pronouncement of the pronouncement of the benediction. >> thank you, mr. khare.

those in favor of the resolution will give their assent by saying aye. opposed, no. the resolution is unanimously adopted. will bediction presented by -- please rise. [gavel] >> let us ask god's blessing. god, of unchangeable power and might, we give you thanks for the blessing of this day and for all who serve faithfully in the name of this nation and this commonwealth. we pray your continual blessing upon all of us. we have many very traditions and backgrounds path to celebrate during these days of early winter. may we find encouragement and strength in the transforming love made known to us in a variety of ways. may our hearts be gladdened and filled with hope as we celebrate a new year, and may your god, be upon us

this day and guide us always, we pray. amen. >> the chair declares the 58th session of the electoral college of pennsylvania adjourned. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] and after, and with that, they unanimously cast their votes for donald trump. the votes in pennsylvania were tallied shortly before 1:00 p.m. eastern. voting across the country today, including still going on in texas, with a number of electoral votes with "the dallas morning news" saying at least one elector will vote trump, at donald so-called faithless elector, who

says he plans to vote for ohio governor john kasich. going ont of what is in texas this afternoon. next up here on c-span, we will take you to lansing, michigan, "the detroit three press" saying they cast their 60 votes for donald trump and vice president elect mike pence shortly before 2:00 p.m. eastern. let's watch what happened in michigan.

>> we probably should go. maybe afterwards. good afternoon. provided under the constitution of the united states, the laws of the united states, and the laws of the great state of michigan, the 2016 meeting of the electoral is now convened and will come to order. please rise for the pledge of allegiance, led by the state representative, tom. convened and will >> thank you. -- edge allegiance >> to the flag of the united states of america, and to the flight for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

>> if you would remain standing, thank you, tom -- at this point, i will invite another to come forward to sing the national anthem. can you see. by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed gleaming?light's last and bright stripes stars through the perilous fight watched ramparts we streamingllantly

glaree rockets' red the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night thereur flag was still oh, say, doees that star-spangled banner yet wave freehe land of the and the home of the brave? ♪ [applause]me of the

>> well, thank you for that wonderful rendition. that was outstanding. if everyone would be seated please, our invocation will be delivered by bishop ira. bishop: this time, if i may ask you to stand again for the invocation in honor of our governor and the lord and savior of our nation, who has made this nation great. almighty and eternal god, el shaddai, supplying the needs of your people by the way of the our heads in the

spirit of humility, giving thanks, praise, and adoration to you for the blessings of peace, tranquility, and prosperity you have bestowed on our great nation. we sincerely appreciate your divine intervention in america's most recent national elections and the clarity with which you spoke through the voice of the electorate. as we gather on this historic, magnanimous, and momentous occasion, to consummate the business of the electoral college and close the books on the controversial past and open a new chapter to open america's exceptionalism, did president-elect donald j. trump and vice president mike pence and the cabinet members to be wisdom, stability, foresight, and wisdom to govern with humility and to appoint with conviction based on our traditional values and the constitution very blessed their families, loved ones,

colleagues, and peers. our governor, members of the senate and house, electoral college, and the totality of our nation as a whole. god bless america, and let roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. all of the people say amen. >> amen. again. say "amen" >> amen. >> thank you, bishop. nominations are now in order for the 2016 president of the electoral college. forll now recognize hank the purpose of making a nomination.

[applause] thank you, hank. do we have a second? we have got a second. hearing no other nominations, the nominations are closed. thank you. all in favor of governor rick snyder for the chair of the 2016 electoral college, signify by saying aye. all opposed, say nay. is unanimously elected as the president of the electoral college. thank you. [applause] thank you, and thank you for that honor. please be seated. you are a little out of order, but, john, what will you share with us? [inaudible] if you have a statement you

would like us to enter? ok. ok, we have a second. all in favor of having the statement read, say aye. >> aye. >> all opposed, say nay. you may read your statement. >> whereas the signers of the constitution understood the natural instinct to man to govern in such a way to benefit himself, their loved ones, and those who may profit from them, and, whereas our founding fathers decided to create a system of checks and balances document called the constitution of the united states of america, and whereas no president in the united

states of america has ever been elected by direct popular vote but by a system described by the constitution of the united states of america and whereas 1 states in section such a manner majorette the number of electors equal to whole numbers of senators, to which the state may be entitled in the congress, but no senator or representative or person holding office of trust or profit under the united states shall be appointed and collector and where is the state of michigan has 14 -- michigan is allowed 16 electors, from the state convention with the party having positions, and whereas republican donald j. trump won michigan by the narrowest margin in history,

winning 206 of the electors -- electors, we hereby thank theand following electors for their willingness to serve in the electoral process and congratulate you for being bestowed the honor of representing your citizens of your district and the citizens of our great state of michigan. thank you. [applause] thank you. thank you. if you could please provide a copy of that to the secretary for the minutes. i would like to appoint the lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, the attorney general as assistant chairs. thank you for your service. [applause]

stand up? the senate majority leader is secretary, a representative as the assistant secretary, and the speaker of the house as statementarian, and a representative as the assistant parliamentarian. thank you for your service. stand up. [applause] i am not known such august people to be as shy as they are today. thank you, and thank you for your assistance. the role of the official for the president and vice president of the united states will because called. stan here when your name is called. uhs.tor hank f hank. man.tor at large joseph guz

first district, john haggard. second district, jack holmes. mitchell.rict, kelly fourth district, judy rapanos. fifth district, henry hatter. district, robert weitt. seventh district, wyckham seeling. ensign.istrict, ross nice district, michael banerian. fairbrothict, brian er. 11th district, ken crider. 12th district, mary vaughn. rhoades.rict, jim

rauwdistrict, william erdink. -- allalthough there's electors are present. the chief justice. chief justice: thank you. than this.oignant will the electors please stand ?nd raise your right hand it looks like all of you figured out the right hand. good. [laughter] chief justice: now, do you solemnly swear you will support the constitution of the united states and the constitution of this state and that you will faithfully discharge the office of all elector of president and vice president of the united states, according to the best of your ability? congratulations. [applause]

>> i would now like to appoint the sergeant of arms for the 2016 a electoral college. from the 11th congressional sixrict, and from the congressional district, from the fourth congressional district, and henry from the third congressional district. please be recognized. [applause] thank you for your service. in order forre now the office of president of the united states. anerianecognize michael b for the purpose of the nomination. latest andn: gentlemen, i have the privilege of standing before you for those that carries the hopes of democrats, republicans, and

alike on his shoulders, a man who has been given the opportunity to restore the american dream, which has been out of reach for so many americans for far too long, so i ask you to stand with me for such a man and stand with me as a -- as i nominate donald trump for president of the united states of america. [applause] >> thank you. thank you for that nomination. do i have a second? no seconds. very good. are there any nominations for president of the united states? hearing on, i call for a ballot.

to facilitate the ballot, i call for our sergeant of arms to step forward and distribute outlets for the office of president of the united states. -- and distribute ballots for the office of president of the united states. please indicate your preference.

[crowd noise] sergeants, will you please collect the ballots and tally them? [crowd noise]

thank you. donald j trump received 16 electoral votes from the state of michigan. [applause]

[cheers and applause] governor snyder: it's very exciting. we have more work to be done. nominations are in order for the office of vice president of the united states. i recognize joseph guzman for the purpose of nomination. >> mr. chairman, it is a to nominateor to governor mike pence for vice president of the united states.

i appreciateat, that. do we have a second? we have a second. are there any other nominations the office of vice president of united states. hearing none, i call for a vote ballot. sergeants, would you please step forward and distribute the the office of vice president of the united states. thank you.

vote byndicate your writing the name of the candidate of your presence. collect thelease it's good we have

it's good we have the next generation of democracy up here with us. mike pence received all 16 votes from the state of michigan. [applause] [applause continues]

governor snyder: congratulations to donald~j. trump and mike pence for their elections. thank you for your good work. [applause] governor snyder: we're going to put you to work again. it's now time to sign the certificates of vote for president.nd vice each official elector must sign six certificates to certify donald~j. trump for the office of president of the mike pence fornd the office of vice president of the united states. i invite all electors to come sign thend certificates. the sergeant-at-arms will begin releasing the electors one by one. we'll ask you to come forward six times and the sergeants will come get you, put down.ignatures

[applause]

governor snyder: thank you, electors, i appreciate your patience. i believe we completed the process. the 2016 electoral college will send one certificate by registered mail to the president the united states senate and one to chief judge robert yonker the united states district court for the western district of michigan. be certificates will delivered to the michigan secretary of state and two deliveredes will be to the archivist of the united states, national archives and records administration in washington, d.c. all electors to come forward and sign the envelopes. sergeant-at-arms will begin by releasing electors one at a

time. you've signed those six, we have to put them in the appropriate envelopes with your signature we we're asking you to get up and make another trip. this is in line with healthy michigan. steps intting your today. [applause]

governor snyder: thank you, electors, i appreciate your patience. i appreciate your patience in the gallery. it's great to have such a great of people here today to moment.this historic our ben -- benediction today be by bishop isaac combs. -- for yourr invocation. you'll have a strong close here. bishop: as we all rise in the spirit of humility, let us give lord a round of applause for this great victory this evening. foryour hands together donald~j. trump, vice president, pence. bow our heads at this time. now, lord, our heavenly father,

again and inads thanksgiving we reflect on this and transformational victory that you have wrought in the politics of this nation that had, lord god, an amazing experience on all of the continents of the earth. strengthen, now, the to carry out the planks and the platform of his that he's promised to the american people. give us all the fortitude and with himion to stand jobs,executes the same -- a strong border, a stable economy, cut in taxes and of the life of the unborn. now, oh, god, we ask that you help from your sanctuary and bless our governor. look on the members of law enforcement. en the rule of law. those in the military, protect engender their families and as we close this session,

celebrate the holiday season with an attitude andppreciation thanksgiving, world without end, the name of christ jesus, everyone say amen. >> amen. say amen again. >> amen. [applause] governor snyder: thank you, bishop. we're almost done with the official business. act.ore the chair will now entertain a adjourn. i have a motion, do i have a second? there has been a motion to adjourn and a second. signify by saying aye. >> aye. governor snyder: ole opposed, say nay. the 2016 presidential electoral college is now adjourned. all official and honorary electors please move to the front of the chamber for purpose

taking a commemorative photo of michigan's 2016 electoral college and i thank you for your service today on electing a new president and vice president. much.you so >> donald trump goes over the top winning the 270 -- more than 270 electoral college votes to officially become the president-elect. it was texas putting donald the top, about 15 minutes ago or so, he wins 36 of 38 electoral votes in texas. donald trump getting 36. went to rand paul and one to john kasich. according to the constitution, article two in the amendment,

votes will be counted officially by a joint session of congress on january 6. we will have live coverage of on spanoulis. also -- cspan. if you missed any of today's electoral college voting across the country, we will replay a good bit of it tonight beginning .t 8:00 eastern of presidential inauguration donald trump is friday, january 20. cspan and on cspan.org and listen live on the app.cspan radio on q&a, journalist

robert strauss. about his book "worst buchanan ever," james and the legacy of the least of the lesser presidents. strauss, author of "worst. president. ever." i want to read your dedication. strauss,her, samuel who made me read every historical marker we've ever assuring me of a lifetime of winning trivia edna,ts and my mother, for teaching me how to laugh, especially at myself." father connection. guest: my dad -- vis-a-vis this when i was little that i would pick up the sports page and read every little on it and so he bought me this book called "facts about

presidents." it's still my favorite book in a certain way and it was like "moneyball" for presidents. it would have ever last line, long they lived to the day after their inauguration, long their mothers lived, where they came from. guy for the "moneyball" presidents as a little kid and they'd show me off at parties father, whenever we'd drive, there will be some thatese historical markers still exist and we'd have to stop and read it, whatever it was. sometimes he'd make me read it my kidsd i've plagued the same way. that, of course, gets you to "jeopardy!" level, thin but long, the top. host: what about about mom teaching you how to laugh? guest: that's really important.

because i don't think you can successful unless you can laugh at yourself. thought is, especially writing a book like this, you the to sort of take opposite view. you have to sort of take the say, notn's view to everybody was an amazing success. has to bebiography about washington and lincoln. do reason why i chose to this, forget about why i chose why i chose to do this is i do think you can learn from failure. president the next wants to aspire to be like somebody, they'd probably want to aspire to be washington or lincoln. can't recreate the country and you can't have the civil war. what do you do next? aspire to be james monroe? you can aspire not to be james buchanan. host: what number president was buchanan? guest: he was the 15th.

host: where were you born? guest: where was i born? i was born in philly and he was from lancaster, 60 miles away. host: when was the first time you went to his grave or his home? thet: i did a story for "philadelphia inquirer" weekend section on what you can do in there for if you went the weekend, part of the amish country. and i took my daughter who was school so it's not that long ago, really. she's a senior in college now so five years ago. host: you give a lot of credit in your book to a guy named clark. there's a great quote in here what hetrick clark and says did james buchanan. who is he? guest: patrick clark is the keeper of the goods there. -- buchanan's home that he bought when he was middle-aged. go to wheatland, if you homes, period

furniture, it's great, too. but he was really helpful to me. writing thes not most favorable biography of spent hours we together and what's funny about is he sort of acknowledges that not the greatest president in the world but once again, he's of the mindset you from anything. host: what does he do? wheatland, the estate, and the buchanan legacy. host: who supports it? guest: i believe it's a private lancaster but it's history -- it's all tied in there. patty stevens also came from lancaster and there's other historic monuments in and around there. into yournt to dip book and have you tell a story of somebody. this is a non sequitur but the story was so unusual. daniel fickle. guest: it's a great story. about history and of course you've interviewed many historians, is that we forget it. mean, even people who are

relatively interested in high school or college, you go washington, founder of the country -- jefferson, independence, lincoln freed the slaves. you remember one thing of but we forget that years pass and many things happened. daniel sickles was a congressman from new york but prior to that, buchanan was ambassador to england, he was his right-hand man. just before they just before they left, he was in his early 30's, married a 15-year-old woman in washington and got her pregnant and then left to england. going to england, he took a prostitute with them, a famous prostitute. i do not know how famous prostitutes were, but he even introduced her to the court. anyway, time passes and he omes back.

he has gotten various jobs in the government here, and he gets a letter from somebody saying that his wife is having an affair with philip key. that was francis scott key's son. everybody is related when there are only 23 million people in this country. nyway, he is also said to be he handsomest widower in washington. well, anyway, at some point he sees philip key in the park where he lives.

it was another park nearby, but he runs to lafayette park and he shoots him, kills him. right there in front of everybody, however many people were there. he runs to the house of the attorney general and surrenders. so, they locked him up. he is sort of freer than many people, and he gets to meet with dignitaries in the wardens lounge. one of the dignitaries is the sitting president, james buchanan. who can imagine the president going to see somebody in jail like that, but he did. anyway, he secures as his defense attorney edward stanton, who eventually becomes secretary of war under lincoln. he tries a new kind of defense called the insanity defense. he gets him off. he gets taken from the courtroom on the shoulders of his friends. he reconciles with his wife, becomes a general at gettysburg, ambassador of france and has a distinguished career. brian: he gets the medal of honor? in the civil war. mr. strauss: right. brian: he originally went to great britain as an aid to

james buchanan? at what point was he the ambassador, the minister to great britain? mr. strauss: here is the thing about buchanan. he is the most common in a certain sense, qualified man to ever run for president. he was a state legislator in pennsylvania and that he was in the u.s. house, the u.s. senate, ambassador to britain an prior was ambassador under polk. he had a long career in government service. pretty unusual, and so he was ambassador to britain and not a particularly crucial time, but he was that. brian: what have you done in your life? what was your career? mr. strauss: i went to a small school in minnesota and studied philosophy, which was great

preparation to become a sports writer, which is what i worked in. i worked in magazines and television. at some point i decided to freelance about 20 years ago and teach writing, nonfiction writing at penn, as an adjunct, not a full-time staffer. it worked out pretty well. brian: you were teaching when you discovered a president had gone to the university of pennsylvania. who was that? mr. strauss: william henry harrison. i was teaching his class and i said, well, you guys are not like harvard, yale. there are no presidents from penn. this girl pipes up, we have a president from penn. i said, what you talking about? she said, harrison. i said, really? we looked it up. his father had been in philadelphia a lot, even though he was originally from irginia.

william henry harrison became a soldier but his father said, no, you are not, you are going to study medicine with my friend, benjamin rush up in ennsylvania. he started studying. a month or two into that his father dies. he says goodbye to benjamin rush and becomes a soldier. mall case. brian: you say, and you just went through this list in the beginning of what james buchanan has done in his life, that he ran for president how many times? mr. strauss: he was a serious candidate for president three times prior to becoming the ctual candidate in 1856. he was always at the top echelons but the cliché of

"always the bridesmaid, never the bride." there was always someone had he ear of the bureaucracy that runs the party. eventually in 1856, he is the last one left standing and the 16th ballot in cincinnati, he becomes the democratic nominee nd what i would say is about -- the recent elections hold no candle to the 1856 election. transformational in a way. brian: why? mr. strauss: in 1853, we had a president from the whig party, fillmore. he succeeded on the death of zachary taylor. they were still the whig party. by 1854, it had broken apart. they lost in the 1854 election to franklin pierce and they just broke apart. they essentially became two

other parties. the know nothing party, and to think we had an election that the people that were in it called themselves the know nothing party sort of says a lot. and the republican party, the name taken from the democratic republicans of the jefferson's time. the know nothings, their big platform was anti-immigration, which of course sounds familiar today, except they were anti-catholic immigration. they thought the pope was going to come over here and, i do not know, take up a seat on capitol street, but they were against irish and german's taking our jobs. they did not quite have a candidate, but they found one in millard fillmore who wanted badly back into the white house. he never learned a thing about being anti-immigration, anti-catholic or anything but he wanted to be in the white

house so he took up their ause, so to speak. the republican party was supposed to be northerners, was entirely northerners who do not necessarily believe slavery should be abolished but that it should not expand into the territories. as you know, during the years preceding, we tripled the size of our country. they were looking around for a candidate. the obvious one was william seward, who was a senator from new york but he says, well, this is a new party. i do not know. i will wait my time. this is not really going to work out this year. so they picked a celebrity, john fremont. he was sort of nothing more than a celebrity. he had been a military governor in california for a little bit. basically, he was called the pathfinder. they mapped out the west. they had for -- four or five

expeditions. he had married a 17-year-old belle of washington, the daughter of the longest standing senator at that point, thomas benton, democrat from issouri. she is sort of the kris kardashian to his bruce jenner. she sees something in him. she is going to make him something. she gets this journal, take some -- takes him around to all of his father's friends in washington and becomes what would be today a bestseller. he is suddenly a celebrity, and republicans say, we could do all ride with this guy, and so he is the man to run for president for the republican party. brian: the word that popped out to me that you described james buchanan was obliviousness. what were you getting at? mr. strauss: you have to start somewhere when you're researching something, so i

started at the library of congress to research this. you know, you mess around the internet and you find a page that comes out, and letter from the candidate to lincoln, presumably the only letter she wrote to lincoln. whether it is the only one, will have to be because i love the goofiness of history. it is a letter written in ctober of 1861 after lincoln had been in office and the civil war had started, a lot of fighting in northern virginia, on the particular day that the letter gets written, so maybe buchanan did not know this, one of lincoln's good friends in illinois, a senator from oregon dies in battle. the only sitting congressman to die in battle. mrs. lincoln was always prone to blue periods, probably was at this point, but even if she

was not, would be ill prepared for this. a war is going on. but this letter says that he forgot a few books in the white house, could he get somebody to return them? i was thinking, oh, my god, he is not even thinking. to abraham lincoln. this is the first thing lincoln should be worried about? brian: you talk about a party that buchanan had when he was being considered for the supreme court? mr. strauss: yes, he was always waffled. waffled about everything. he was waffling about the supreme court decision but he is known as the best partier in washington. he had a great party with a celebrity chef for everybody to come over and he keeps giving little parties to to supplement it.

at the end, he decides he does not want to be on the supreme court, so in a certain sense he has done all of this for nothing. brian: where did he get the money to put on parties? mr. strauss: he was a good lawyer. he was a star student at dickens college. he was always a top student. he was always very sure of himself. he goes to lancaster because it was then the capital of pennsylvania, the largest city -- inland city in america was 6000 people. he becomes the best lawyer there and even when he moves to harrisburg, he decides to stay in lancaster. he defends a lot of people and makes a good buck. brian: he was generous with his niece and nephews. did he ever marry? mr. strauss: he never married. there was speculation of whether he was gay or not.

this is an amazing story too and how do we not know this? he gets engaged to his friend's wife's cousin, anne coleman, her father was one of the richest men in america. he was an older man and this was his youngest daughter, next youngest daughter, but he was -- he looked after her very well. did not sort of approve of this relationship with james uchanan, but he let it go. at some point, buchanan comes up from philadelphia to visit his friend. his friend's wife's cousin is there, and beautiful woman. he goes up toward lancaster. anne coleman accuses him of, who knows what he is accused of, breaks off the engagement, sends a note, breaks up the engagement.

he says, if i let it go for a couple of weeks, it will all blow over. in that time, she goes off with her younger sister to see her older sister in philadelphia. they get to philadelphia. she does not feel well and the other two go out to the theater. by the time they come back, she was in convulsions and dies. presumably suicide. that is the speculation that she killed herself over this relationship not working out. whether she killed herself or not, the idea that a guy that eventually runs for president has his fiancée dying when he is young, that is a big story somewhere. brian: the cover of the book shows us, why did you name this book "worst. president. ever." mr. strauss: of course, i have to bow to my editor who is the one that thought of the title.

it is sort of the way young people punctuate themselves now, to have these great pauses in the way they talk. if you said, worst president ever, somehow it does not have the residents of "the worst" or emphatic. i wanted to make a point about how we rate things in general n our discourse. rian: how do we? mr. strauss: polling has become ubiquitous. people poll about everything. you did not have to watch the election to know that there was going to be a new poll out. that became the topic of the day, who was ahead, how many points, this day, that state. there are basketball polls, football polls.

i point out each week on monday morning, there comes out two college basketball polls and people move up and down depending on how the teams do, win or lose, but at the end of the season there is a 68 team tournament that decides everything. they do not need the polls because in the end you are not -- going to get the champion. graduating from davidson college, so they are on the fringe, the bottom, making up 24 points in one day. i will email my wife and my ids. we are just insane about ratings. presidents are no different. brian: let's pick five, you pick five presidents you could put on the bottom besides buchanan. mr. strauss: ok. in the book i do try to make a case for buchanan against these people. my next to worse, and i assure

you i'm not going to write a book about him, his predecessor, franklin pierce who did virtually every stupid thing that buchanan did. i should not say stupid, but bad decisions, except the civil war did not start on his watch. he was able to forestall that. just for that one thing, he rates ahead. a lot of people will pick herbert hoover, the great depression started under. hoover made great attempts to ameliorate it. they were not successful, but he had ideas and he was trying to do something. buchanan's great fault was he tepped back. at a time when he should have been stepping forward, he was stepping back. hoover tried to do things.

he brought good people into the government. he forestalled any hostilities. i realize that mussolini and hitler were moving along. he was able to see away through peace. another person that people pick would be jimmy carter. i could never put him at the bottom of the list. first of all, he negotiated the almighty middle east peace settlement that exists between srael and egypt. he brought consciousness to nvironmental situations. people laughed at him wearing sweaters. at least there was some sort of consciousness. he had a bad economy and screwed up on iran but he had a marvelous post presidency. so, i couldn't pick him. richard nixon, it depends on what you think. if you think that having to resign in disgrace is worse than starting the civil war, i cannot argue with you.

also nixon did a number of things that lasted. opening china, starting the epa. he has his good qualities, too. if i have already done five, the sixth president would be warren harding. one of the things about warren harding is he came to the presidency wanting to continue the business, the good business cycle that had started and he was able to do it. in his administration, he had in -- an illegitimate child and died in office, but still, he did what he said he was going to do which is at least something. brian: how did you decide to write this book on the worst president in your mind? mr. strauss: thinking about presidents, i play early morning basketball in philadelphia.

i parked at 5:36 in the morning on a certain street corner and it is a notorious street corner in philadelphia. i will not get into why but it is. but on the corner there is a historical society were many of buchanan's papers are. i thought, james buchanan. i have not thought all that much about him, but then i went and sort of studied the apers. he made this decision and that decision. they were all bad decisions. who said so? of course, me. they were decisions that started the civil war, in a sense. there was a passageway -- they were sort of non-decisions in some ways. many of his papers were there. >> as you said, he was very kind to this nieces and nephews and his family took charge of

his papers. brian: had he written stories before? mr. strauss: as a journalist, i have written a lot of stories, ut i wrote one book before, dad of a girl athlete, but it was not like my kids were the greatest. it was sort of funny and sentimental. a totally different kind of thing than this. brian: you say james buchanan did not profit financially? mr. strauss: well, because he was in his mind independently wealthy. he was not the wealthiest man in the america but his desire was to give parties. there is always a positive aspect to every negative guy, and he was -- two things about him. one, in all of his papers, he never says anything bad about anybody, publicly.

at least in the papers, i do not know what he said in verbal erms, but even people he did not like politically, he never said anything bad about them personally. like i said, he loved giving parties. the inaugural ball of 1857 was the greatest party in 19th century america. brian: how did you find that? mr. strauss: ok. here is the problem. after van buren, the next several presidents had non partying aspects to them. there was still an elite party scene. dolly madison was certainly invited to every party. after van buren, harrison dies after a month in office, the successor john tyler, his wife dies while in office. not a lot of partying. polk comes and his wife is a presbyterian, no drinking or

dancing in the white house. next president, zachary taylor dies in office. fillmore comes into office, his wife is sickly, dying soon fter his term is over. there is no first lady partying going on. the most tragic of all is franklin pierce. he was said to be the half president. he was sort of the john kennedy of his time. his wife does not want him to leave new hampshire, yet he runs and wins. he has two sons who die young and then he has a third son and he is sort of taking his victory lap after winning on the train, in massachusetts and his son dies in front of him

and his wife. the third son dies. his wife wears black the whole time during the presidency and barely appears in public. we have a long time of no parties in washington. suddenly the great party of james buchanan as the president gives this fantastic inaugural ball, putting up a huge tent on lafayette square. 000 people come. that is a lot in a country that only has 23 million. it is star-spangled, big orchestra. you can imagine oysters like that. harriet lane, his niece is the first lady. she is the jackie kennedy of her time. everything she wears, all of the young women want to wear. they have trading cards for her. they name a coast guard cutter after her. the uss harriet lane.

when she fires the first shot of the civil war from the union side, it gets captured by the confederates. they don't rename it. she is too popular. so these two together are just looked upon -- he starts out in such a favorable way. all the dignitaries calm. -- come. the stories in the new york times and other papers are just wonderful. they are wonderfully written stories about the pomp and everything in washington. but then the dred scott decision comes down. brian: before we get there, why is harriet lane known as the first first lady? mr. strauss: they sort of called dolly madison that, the first lady, because she was so prominent in society both while she was first lady -- while she

was the president's wife and afterwards, after madison's death, she was the go to person. every party, dolly had to be at. but then harriet lane is the hostess in the white house, so what are you going to call her? not the president's wife, the president's niece, so they called her the first lady. brian: he was a state representative for pennsylvania? he goes on to be a congressman to the u.s. congress from pennsylvania. he becomes a senator from there. he becomes the minister to russia, the minister to great britain. mr. strauss: and secretary of state. brian: and then becomes president. is he at that point the most qualified person? mr. strauss: if that is what you go by, yes. if you go by the number of years at major posts, he

definitely is. but here is something about him -- he never proposed any significant legislation -- or never got any significant legislation passed. he was a conciliatory man. that is why he was probably -- he was extremely good in russia. andrew jackson sent him to russia and is said to have said on his deathbed that he would have sent him further if he could. he did not particularly like ames buchanan, but he was sort of the don corleone of presidents, he micromanaged everybody. he comes to office with a long

resume. he was sort of boring, he was 65 when he was elected. nobody until reagan was that old after him. the democrats have had quite a streak in the white house with the first two federalists and won 10 of the next 13 elections. brian: he was a democrat. mr. strauss: he was a democrat. pretty good, 10 of 13, if your football team is 10 of 13 you are pretty happy. he comes to office at a crucial time, but it does not seem any more crucial than pierce's term or fillmore's term. slavery is the overhanging problem. brian: the first day that he is president, what does he do? mr. strauss: he becomes president in march, as they did then, instead of january, in 1857. he sees as his mandate to solve the slavery question. it is not get rid of slavery, it is solve the question. he was a southern leaning northerner, but he lived in washington. washington was a southern city. he was a bachelor. he went back to pennsylvania, but most of the time he is in

washington. his friends are southerners. more southerners than northerners took up residence in washington. the railroads got the northerners back a lot asier. o he is predisposed to think like his friends. he wants to solve the slavery problem to keep the union together. he sees this court case going around, called the dred scott ase. dred scott was a slave to a military man in missouri who for a time when to minnesota, then came back to missouri. dred scott said, i was free in minnesota, i should be free. the case goes around. t comes up that it could be on

the supreme court's docket, but the chief justice -- who like buchanan went to dickinson college, they had some sort of bond -- brian: you say he did not own slaves? mr. strauss: the justice did. brian: many? mr. strauss: i don't know how many, but enough. he had slaves his whole ife. he was from maryland. he was francis scott key's brother-in-law, so that everybody is sort of connected. you have this discussion before buchanan takes office and say you cannot just have a decision that is split between southerners and northerners. the court was split five southerners and four northerners. so buchanan takes it upon himself to find a northern justice that will go along with this. he finds a guy named roberts, who coincidentally enough went to dickinson college. they have this bond once again. robert says, i will go along with whatever tony does. another northerner from new

york says he will write a concurring opinion so it is essentially 7-2. now you can have a decision that might mean something, northerners going along with southerners. the decision comes out two days after inauguration. it is said that on the inaugural platform before the oath that they discussed something. buchanan had distributed a souvenir transcript of his inaugural address. there are a few lines that were not in it and a few lines allude to the decision that everyone would be happy about it. but the dred scott decision is generally thought of as the worst decision the supreme court has ever made. there are contenders for that, too, but in any case it essentially says that every state is a slave state. dred scott cannot sue in court, he is not a free man, he cannot sue, in fact he is still a slave and in fact, slavery cannot be outlawed by individual states. it re-institutes the most heinous parts of the fugitive slave law and negates the compromises from before, all the ones we remember from high

school. missouri compromise, compromise of 1850 -- and essentially makes the united states slave country. brian: you say there was something called the panic of 1857?

they are the top person. what geography, they feel they have the ultimate sales, you can't possibly agree with everything they say, and somehow you really find vitriol i know you heard about james buchan, if you had to say the four or five most interesting

presidents that you look at, studied. gone to their sites over the years, who would they about. interesting, not successful. >> right. it's funny, i start with the "new york times" on visiting sites of lesser known presidents. i put them at the top of the story. i found it that as i looked into the lesser known president, i was more interested in them. mike collage, he's an interesting character. he had this whole silent cal thing. one of the things in my statistical book, he had three hobbies, pitching hay. riding a mechanical horse and pitching. really, who knew he threw indian clubs. they are like bowling pins. so i found these sorts of people

interesting. i badgered my wife to stop at presidential sites. we live in new jersey, we drive out though her mother's house in michigan. we'd pass a sign constantly. a house. one day i thought i'll go there. finally we are driving out last year, and i said can we please go there. she looks at me and says 90 minutes. i have 90 minutes to cover it. we go to this house. it's a beautiful old house. 37 rooms. his father died, his uncle was rich and built this house for his mum and him. and anyway we were going through it. there's only two others on the tour. so at the end of the tour the woman says. would you like to see fellow

driven harps accord. i said of course. she brings it out and said as you mights imagine it's driven by the dollars at the bottom. and said would you like to play it. well, yes. >> and mozart's violin, for me, it's wonderful. i go and pump it at the bottom and play "take me out to the ball game", and i imagine him sitting there saying let's play too. >> what are some of the other presidents that you put on the list if you are going to be a visitor. >> of course the great ones. i don't care how different their politics are than yours. but come on, you know, again, george bush had the same birthday as me, the younger george bush. i'm waiting for him to invite me to his birthday party. >> same age? >> he's five years older than me, exactly.

merv griffin had the same birthday. he's not around. if he were, we could play jeopardy together. i would like to meet all of them. i went to a story with david icen houser who is writing books about his grandfather's time. he teaches at penn, david. calls me up and says will you write a story. >> i'm thinking, guys, eisenhower, do you know him, not all that well in the scheme of presidents, telling stories about them. when he tells me stories, david's father, the middle generation was ike's chief of staff. david is a young teenager, and i used to go to the little league games. can you imagine that, the president coming to the little

league games. talking baseball. that much meant a lot of pressure. i said tell you what pressure is, my grandfather loved to play golf. that is the one time he allowed the press to come and take pictures. when he invited a general or, you know, diplomat or something to go. and often there's two other guys. so come on, you have to come out and play. that's pressure. all the nation's cameras are on me, a 14-year-old trying to make a good drive. so, you know, the more you know about the people, you know that they were substantial people, even if they - i mean, i always have admonished people saying how dumb george bush was or something. wait a second, this is a guy that went to yale and harvard business school. you may not agree with his politics, he's not dumb. i would love to have dinner with any of them. >> what could the new president

learn from studying james buchanan. >> i think that the differentiation of good and bad president, watching lincoln, and ftr are at the top of what the historians could take, they were decisive men. you can't come to the top of the ladder and not be decisive. james poke hated buchanan. he went back and forth on decisions. tell me what to do. that's how he was assist president. i could go on and list the links that make him the worst president. all do with not making a decision when he had to make a decision. that is what the next president this or succeeding presidents

should learn. at some point this is the way it should be. the reason people liked regan, he made decisions - whatever they were. >> go through a couple of decisions he did not make that led to the civil war. >> okay. so the next upcoming state is kansas, they have a problem. coming in free or slifs. to the gave contingent comes over to missouri. has a constitution that allows slavery. non-slave people come to tapeka. they have a similar constitutional convention, the opposite, of course. there were six slaves in kansas, the south needed a slave state. to they were supporting the

special team in missouri. something has to happen, buchanan has to say something, choose one or the other and say there's got to be an election, something that will resolve the problem before it becomes a problem. he makes no decision, and sends several people out there to be governors of kansas, he doesn't listen to any of them. there's not many soldiers in the united states. there's only about 12,000 troops. one of the things that happens in this malmstrom is people start firing each other. john brown, who becomes famous later - he is said to have murdered several slave owners and their families. now it's called bloody kansas. still buchanan makes no decision. brown gets away. it's not like he was doing things secret.

fredrik douglas, and other antislavery people. eventually comes to harper's ferry, in 1859. harper's ferry, it's a setting, a trail goes through, and looks like a disney version of a 19th century village. back then a munitions maker, other industry with 40 miles down the road from washington. not so foolish, if he gets the munition and gathers people, maybe he can have the slave rebellion that he wants. to two days buchanan does nothing, nothing. let them handle it in virginia. in a prominent sione robert e lee comes home from a post in texas to arlington. he says to buchanan, we ought to

do something. all right. take troops out and see what you can do. of course, he can tours -- captures brown. he's eventually hanged. by this time he's a mater. victor is writing about him. walt whitman is writing about him. now, and, of course, that angers both sides. exacerbating any problem because of inaction. >> when the cochrane art gallery shut down, they had to get rid of a lot of paintings, you say the national gallery of art refused to take the buchanan picture by george heely. >> one of the great things that the go-to woman in washington said, when two of her sons died

she endowed the john hop kins research lab. she had an art collection, some of which is buchanan art. and she gives it to start a national gallery of art. she essentially started the national gallery of art. and one of her favourite paintings was a portrait of her uncle. when they dispersed the art, the portrait of the founders uncle. who the president doesn't make it in the cut. >> do you have any idea why? >> it's probably a good painting. if we went into the portrait section of a lesser gallery. >> you dedicate the book to your father and mother, and making historical signs, is your father alive. >> no, he's not. >> when you think about about your dad. how old were you when you first

started to fool around with history, and what you remembered, an incident or two with your father. >> i have five or six. we didn't travel much. >> what did he do. >> he's a lawyer, a local lawyer in camden new jersey. and - he was battling with history. i have books and books and books. they always were around. we have one trip to the south. 1961. we started to go to several more sites. we instead it to stanton virginia. where woodrow wilson's birthplace is. you'd come to the door, there's a sign that it's closed. my father, who never travelled, it was the day that the second mrs. wilson died. how unlucky can we be. >> the an versery of edith

wilson's death. >> no, the day she died. so it's like who could do it that day. so we'll go to charlottesville. we will go to marachello or aceh lon where james monroe was. we go to the library at the university of virginia. he stormed up the stairs. my mother waits in the lobby. i go up with him. he has a camera. comes up to the librarian, i don't think anyone is there. he said i'm from new jersey, i'm friends of judge - makes up a name - in virginia, and i need to photograph thomas jefferson's will. the guy said no, no, no, we can't print it out. my father is berating this judge, mentioning a judge in virginia, and finally gets the guy cowering back and brings out

the paintings of jefferson's will. he photographs them, frames them in three frames, and i know that because when he died i have them in my office. i have the framed jeffer sewnian will in my office. >> that's why i want to sell the stories of history. >> go back to your wife saying 90 minutes. over time, you have been married how long now. >> 1989. 27 years. >> over time, what has your attitude been about your obsession with presidents. >> the fellowship at stanford. we drove across the country. the hover institution is well-known. along the way we go through iowa, and we stop at herbert

hoover's childhood farm, and run to the chicken coop and look at the cats. she finds her enjoyment in my bizarre nature of looking at history. >> how many kids? >> we have two kids. silvia 21, both went to davidson. where for a short time. historical marker when you go there. woodrow wilson attended davidson for one year. >> what do you kids thing of the history stuff. >> they pretend not to be like me. i know the younger one especially sort of nuances of history, and studied history. india, meaning the country. they sort of looked onit. >> a chance they can look at dan

sickles. >> i know. hamilton has sickles. >> who is your favourite character. last question in the book. >> it has to be har yacht lane. >> an ow doyan, a popular woman in washington. she would be the other. >> strauss is the guest. "worst president ever - legacy of the least of the lesser president james buchanan among them on the cover. thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me.

>> the new administration will have to look at that world and define policy that we need in order to deal with that. then develop the defense policy to confront that kind of work. >> thursday, 8:00p.m. eastern, a look at the career of vice president elect mike pence.

>> amidst the sands of shifting culture we have stood for the sanctity of life, the importance of marriage and freedom of religion. >> friday night beginning at 8 several addresses of outgoing speakers. this week in prime-time on c-span. >> announcer: tonight on the communicate katers. >> if we strike, we would be more effective and efficient agency for providers to serve consumers. >> michael orilie talks about how the administration could change. he's edited by david, senior editor for communication daily. >> there's a lot of thought about cyber security getting a

particular amount of attention now with what happened in the last few months during the campaign. will there be a role in that? >> it's a very important issue, one that they have been aggressive on in trying to find the right solutions. other agencies well going so. the f.c.c.'s role is limited by the statute. while i do believe the government has a roll to monitor and provide decisional fixes in this space, they are authorized by the law to do. >> announcer: communicate katers on c-span 2. c-span is talking with incoming freshman of congress, we caught up with them at ab orientation on capitol hill. representative elect, tell us

about your backhand. >> i'm an immigrant from india. came to the united states when i was 16. by myself. my parents had about 5,000 in my bank account and used it to send me here for college. i fee like the opportunity i had to go from that 16-year-old girl to getting to serve as the congresswoman from the 7th congressional district is the south american dream, i think it's why i devoted the last 25 years of my life fighting for other people for the opportunity. >> you are a democrat from the washington state. what impact did that experience you had as a young girl have on you today? >> it is a huge impact. it's why i spent so much time working on immigration perform policy. that's what i have done for the last 15 years. i serve on the washington senate. i'm the first south-east asian woman to be elected to the house

of representatives. it brings forward issues. in a trump administration we'll see, i believe, a lot of efforts to roll back things that we've been working towards on immigration policy. that desire of people to have the opportunity that are the founding values of this country. i feel it so strongly. sometimes i think i feel it more strongly than the person next to me, who assumed they had that other life. it's an incredible honour. >> why do you think it is that the thrived in that situation as a young girl? >> i had an incredible family, you know my parents were from india, i've never been able to bring them here or have them in the same country. they raised me with n ethic of working hard, trying to strive for - to make society better, not just for my own life, but i think i had a path into the country in terms of the

immigration system. through the visa process. we had little money. we had some money, and so some of it is what i was given. and some of it is what i was taught. not everyone has the same opportunities, and i recognise that as difficult as past has been, so many of the people i have worked with for the last 25 years have had a much, much harder path. my role is to ease that path forward of opportunity for all working americans across the district and the country. >> what do your parents think now, today, as you are licted to the house of representatives? >> well, they are so proud, and my father doesn't travel. my mother travels and is coming for the swearing in. i have to admit i got emotional thinking about this place that i'm in. the opportunity i have to represent 750,000 people. and what it means for my parents, who sacrifice so much for me to be here.

they, i can tell you, my mother will be in tears through the swearing in ceremony. but i think, you know. all mothers who are watching their kids achieve something, and when we think about the future of the country, how do we make it so all mothers another their children have opportunity. that's how i try to connect it back to the work at hand. >> how do you plan to balance your life inform united states, your family and travelling to washington d.c. to the other coast. >> we say we live in the best washington. i had to say that on camera. i think that i have done that for some time because i worked with the federal government and with congress on immigration reform. that will be different. it's every week. you know, i have supportive family, my son has grown, i don't have to worry about that. he's in college. it is important for me to go back as much as i can every weekend as i possibly can, even

if that's a long flight. for me it allows me it to stay connected to the district that elected me, to listen to the constituents, making sure they know what we are doing. i'm an organiser, and we know building people, getting in front of people, building the unit for the kind of country we see is important. i'll spend every minute i can in washington state. it's an opportunity for me to connect back with people. >> have you figured out where you'll live from here. >> i have an apartment a mile from the capital, which should give me a bit of exercise. which i'm not disciplined about. i went to college in washington d.c. in georgetown university, when i was 16. i feel i have come full circle, i an am exploring where i started my life. >> will you have a room-mate. >> my husband is my room-mate

when he's out here. i'm happy to have my own place. >> before your political career, what did you do? >> i started - i had a number of different careers, i worked on wall straight. i left that to work in the public sector. after 9/11 i started an immigrant advocacy. before 9/11 i spent 10 years working on international public health and development for an organization based in seattle called path. programme for technology and health. expanding health care around the world. i sort of had three separate careers. the legislative one is my fourth. i believe as long as we are learning and growing and continuing to try to do good for the most people possible, i'm doing right. >> where would you like to serve, what committees in the house? >> you know it's really diff, as you know, for first year members, we say what we want.

i would love to serve on judiciary. i have so much experience on immigration, justice policy. i lead the largest voter legislation drive in the history of washington state. we registered 23,000 voters to vote. that is one of the most important thing. all of those issues, so that would be an honour for me. i would like to be on workforce and education, i have done a lot of work on early education, free college. served on the opportunity in the state senate. those would be great. foreign affairs would be fantastic. we talk about select committees, it's newer that first year members get on those. energy and commerce has so many different pieces that are relevant to the district, including dealing with climate change environmental policy, we are proud to have renewable energy and businesses, so much work on hired power, health care. we have a booming health care

industry in the state. they are issues down the road i hope i have an opportunity to serve there. >> your short time in washington d.c., in that time. what sticks out to you? >> the thing that probably sticks out the most is the honour. it sounds carney, it occurs once every day. there has been 11,000 people that served in the house ever, and to be one of those people - if you are a woman or majority, there are fewer in the people's house. i think the opportunity to affect policy in a way that benefit's people's lives, the opportunity to provide a pathway for people. and in this moment, with a very divided country. and deep disappointment on our side of the il for many, many people. it's an opportunity to stand u