a.m. eastern tomorrow here on c-span. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. >> and head of his cabinet meeting, president trump spoke with reporters. he said his administration is looking at welfare reform because of people taking advantage of the system. he also addressed health care, immigration, the iran nuclear agreement and the federal response to wildfires in california. this is just over 15 minutes.

pres. trump: thank you very much. we are here to discuss critical domestic was the issues. i would like to provide you with an update as to how we are doing for the american people. we are doing a lot of great things. the unemployment rate is at an almost 17-europe low. record levels. we just did another new high on friday and i think we had another new high today because there is tremendous opportunism country.sm and our phenomenal. i think we will do very well. something will have to be taken up because of the tremendous problems of the massive hurricanes that we had to endure and now i guess you can probably at the wildfires in california.

at the economy cannot take off like it really has the intention to do a must we reduce the tax burden on the families, businesses, and workers of our country and we will be able to do that. think we're getting tremendous receptivity from the people and i hope we get the same tremendous receptivity from congress. we're getting tremendous accolades for what we're doing having to do a three form. the largest tax cuts in the history of our country. we are one of the highest-taxed nations in the world right now, right now costing us trillions and trillions of dollars. it cuts our competitive edge. at one point in gdp, we will be $2.5 trillion. think of that. at one point we go up from three to four.

now the last quarter, 3.2 percent. we're going up higher. trillions of about jobs. we want to reduce excessive government spending. that is what we are working on today. cabinet meeting i have asked director mulvaney to come up and find various savings and all of the departments. to work withinet director mulvey need to fight these spending cuts. fight for them. make sure they happen. we want to make the department as lean and efficient as possible. at the same time, there will be departments with lots of heart. lots of heart. we're looking at welfare reform. that is becoming a very, very

big subject. people are taking advantage of the system and then other people are not receiving what they need to live and some people are really taking advantage of our system from that standpoint. we will be looking very, very strongly therefore at welfare reform. it will be a big topic under administration. started already. we have a lot of recommendations we're going to be making and you will hear about them very shortly. the other thing we're doing that relates to people's lives is the prescription that places are out of control. -- prescription drug prices are control. if you look at the same company, made in the same box, sold someplace else, sometimes it is a fraction of what we pay in this country. is taking advantage of the united states. setting prices another countries. the drug companies are getting away with murder.

we want to bring our prices down to what other countries are paying or at least a close and let the other countries pay more. they are setting such low prices that we are actually subsidizing other countries. that is not going to happen anymore. that has been going on for years. just 2% were, we're paying double, triple, quadruple. it is very unfair to the united states, as usual. we sent a letter to congress outlining my administration stop tyler nase. immigration reform. a bottom-up effort driven by law enforcement officials and they our a chance to protect nation. the justice department is doing a fantastic job at the border immigration.to more than anyone has ever seen before from make justice department. thank you very much.

it has had a positive impact. now we will take it five steps further. our proposal closes dangerous loopholes. illegal immigration, silent fraud, visa overstays. you talk about numbers, nobody knows what they are they are so out of control. we're going to take care of that. when you look at what is going on in mexico, mexico is -- right now. what we need right now is the wall. we have drugs literally pouring throughout the southern order. we have to have a wall. we're going to have a wall. if you look at what is going on over the other side of the border there is tremendous crime. i have a very good relationship with mexico. there have been a lot of problems. we do not want the drugs and the crime but we need the wall.

actually, we have asked congress than any proposed immigration ends the change of migration. one person comes in then brings everyone in with them. we have to and chain migration. -- we need a nation that is the american worker and taxpayer first. i probably nominated thurston nielsen to serve as secretary of homeland security. i urge the senate to quickly confirm this really tremendously qualified nominee. i also asked for my other nominees. we have approximately half of the nominees confirmed by the senate is frankly, the democrats have terrible policy. terrible. " but they are very good at really, obstruction. well.what they do there are pros is no good and i

am not even sure they are good petitions. that could be because of their bad policy. they are great at obstruction. we have happy nominees president obama had at this time. it is very unfair! cases confirming with tremendous majorities but they are bringing them out purposefully. with people totally qualified. they are going to pass but they are going to have to wait a long time because this is total obstruction. i can say the same thing with judicial nominees, our judges. we have some of the most people.d the wall street journal wrote about of the other day, these are some of the most qualified people ever and they are waiting forever in line. it should not happen that way. it is not right. it is not fair. actingto thank the secretary for her leadership responding to the catastrophic storms that are struck our our territories.

we've also issued a disaster declaration in california. response to the devastating wildfires like we have never seen. we mourn the terrible loss of life. we have fema and first responders there. we have our military hopping. it is very said to watch how rapidly they move and how people are caught in their houses. it is an incredible thing. caught in their houses. so we have a lot of people in california, lovely government. we've made a a lot of progress in the last couple days but we are really subject to the wind and what happens in nature but it has been a very sad thing to watch. we also continue to pray for the victims of the mass shooting in las vegas. we cannot erase the pain of those who lost their loved ones but we're working with them, very much so with the fbi and

law enforcement, the department i guess a and it is lot of people think they understand what happened, but he was a demented, sick individual. the wires were crossed three bradley in his brain. extremely badly in his brain. and it is very sad. and in the image of these tragedies witnessed the tremendous strength and heroism of our people. each tragedy, we have witnessed such strength and heroism. when americans are unified, no destructive force on earth can even come close to breaking us apart. with a lot of work to do on behalf of our bags them slip country and extraordinary citizens. the great trust that has been placed on each member of our cabinet. there are those saying it is one of the finest people assembled happen a cabinet and i

to agree with that. was, i should agree with that. i think we have an extraordinary this of people around table. this is a tremendous amount of talent. i would not say i was necessarily looking to be politically correct, although i and a dumping politically correct because it was the right thing to do in every sense of the word. however, we have just gotten really, really great people. i am really proud of them. so we're going to work at all of those things i just outlined in many more. you know we have the array on deal that right now is a study. deal that the iran right now is a study. i'm tired of being taken advantage of as a nation. nation has been taken advantage of for many, many years. for many decades, actually. i'm tired of it.

the iran deal was something that we had to do. it might be positive, it might be negative. negative.e a total it also might turn out to be very positive. we will see what happens. iranianthe tone of the leaders was very modified and i was happy to see that but i don't know if they were great negotiated negotiating a good deal for themselves but a bubble deal for the united states but we're going to see what happens. health care, as you know, is moving along. we knocked out the subsidy to the insurance companies. a gift that was frankly, with they gave the insurance companies, take a look at this. take a look at where it was one obamacare was originally approved and what it is today. you'll see numbers that if you invested in the stocks, you would be extremely happy and they have given them a total

gift. they have given them, you could almost call it a payoff. it is a disgrace. that money goes to the insurance companies. we want to take up our people. of people take care who need help and health care. that is what i am here to do. i am never going to get campaign contributions, i tell you that, from health companies. take a look at the money that has been spent by democrats and health companies. take a look at the coffers of the democrats. the csr payments has actually brought republicans and because weogether got calls, emergency calls, from the democrats and i think probably the republicans also calling them saying, let's come up with at least a short-term fix of health care in this country. and, the gravy train and it the

day i knocked out the insurance companies money, which was last week. hundreds of millions of dollars a month handed to the insurance companies for very little reason, believe me. to thethe money to go people. i want the money to go to poor people bad needed. i want the money to go to people that need proper health care. not to insurance companies, which is it is going. ended that.eek, i so, we a lot of interesting things to do. i am meeting with mitch mcconnell in a little while for lunch. i think we will say something to the staff after that. pretty much, and enjoy yourselves, folks. we'll be out there with mitch mcconnell. thank you very much. >> about the wide mitch mcconnell? president trump: he is a friend of mine very committed to getting things done. relationshipsreat

with actually many secretaries but in particular with most republican senators. i am not going to blame myself, i will be honest. we have had health care approved. and then you had a surprise vote by john mccain. with had other things happen. it had, they are not getting the job done. and i can understand where that is coming from and i can understand, to be honest with you, john, i can understand where a lot of people are coming from because i'm not happy about it. a lot of people are not happy about. we need tax cuts. we need health care. now, we're going to get health care done. in my opinion, republicans are meeting with democrats because of what i did. i cut up the gravy train. if i did not cut the csr, they would not be meeting. they would be having lunch and enjoying themselves, all right?

there are now having emergency meetings to get a short-term fix of health care. it will not dublin trouble every year. obamacare is finished. dead. gone. there is no such thing as obamacare anymore. it is, i said this years ago, it is a concept that could not of been worse. we're working on some kind of a short-term fix paler to the republicans making with a fix for health care permanently. so i think will have a short-term fix with republicans and democrats getting together to after that we're going have a successful vote, because as you know we were one-vote short and i think we have the votes right now. whether it is to block grants or something else, block granting the money back to the states, which seems to make sense, let states wanted because it is a

smaller form of government, they can be individually sensitive. that will happen fairly shortly is and is the next reconciliation i think will get the vote for health care. i am confident of that. i think we already have the vote for health care. i do believe will have a short-term fix because i think the democrats will be blamed. this is an obamacare mess. when the premiums go up that has nothing to do with anything other than the fact we had health care delivered orally, written poorly, approved by the democrats. it was called obamacare. but i think will have a short-term fix then we will have a long-term fix and it will take place in march or april. it will be probably 100% republican. no democrats. but most people know that will be it. ok? any other questions?

thank you john. >> thank you john. >> there are some republicans frankly that should appreciate it. most of them, i tell you what. i know the republicans. most of them are really, really great people who want to work hardening and do a great thing for the american people but you had a few people that really disappointed us. they really, really disappointed us. so i can understand. thank you very much, ok? thank you. announcer: tomorrow we're rock

live from jefferson missouri for the next stop. j ashcroft will be our guest on the bus during washington journal starting at 8:00 a.m. eastern. >> president trump in the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell spoke from the white house rose garden talking about legislation. the president said he will look tom a recent report about marino's relationship with drug companies. he was also asked about contacting the members of foreign service members killed in --. this is 40 minutes. >> thank