follow the senate on c-span2. the white house briefing when it starts here on c-span. house coming back we think at about 4:00 eastern or so. while we wait for the white house to get under way, part of this morning's "washington journal." ms. sanders: good afternoon, as you-all saw the president delivered remarks at the latina coalition summit this afternoon. the people in attend are proof that the american dream is back stronger and better. last year hispanic unemployment reached the lowest level in history. it has now remained below 5% for

the longest period ever recorded. latino owned businesses are thriving like never before contributing nearly a half trillion dollars for economy last year alone. with the president's pro-growth policies, this is only the beginning. the last couple weeks we have been highlighting senate democrats historic efforts to obstruct the ability of the government to function. a stunning 43% of the president's highly qualified nominees are still waiting for confirmation in the senate. start schumer's tactics have led to 102 fewer confirmations than the next closest administration. as i noted before, blocking rick from serving as ambassador to germany is putting our national security in jeopardy. today i'd like to highlight it's been almost 150 days since dr. pobli tefment has been nominated for secretary of state for arms control. she worked to verify compliance of arms control including disarmament agreements and missile defense cooperation. we need her in place so she's

able to fully represent the united states at upcoming international meetings to discuss syria's use of quems -shall-chemical weapons. and yet senator schumer is holding her up putting the safety and security of the american people and frankly the entire world in danger. senator schumer is blocking nominees indiscriminately. he forces time wasting procedural votes on nominees and then eventually votes in support of them. just yesterday the senate had to waste precious floor time on a universally respected nominee. terry doddy, confirmed 98-0. even senator schumer eventually voted in favor of the nominee yet still demanded the senate go through archaic senate procedure that delays votes and wastes the american people's time. it's a disgrace, dangerous, and must come to an end. with that i will take your questions. research on the tariffs --

reporter: sarah, on tariffs, is the president expected to sign that tomorrow. and other countries are they expected to have a pathway to get an exemption? ms. sanders: we expect the president will sign something by the end of the week. there are potential carve outs for mexico and canada based on national security. and possibly other countries as well. based on that. reporter: specifically what would they have to do? ms. sanders: again that would be a case by case, country by country basis. it would be determined whether or not there is a national security exemption. reporter: so far this year six top white house staffers have resigned. the president says, why are so many people leaving? ms. sanders: this administration is -- has had a historic first year. we're going to continue to do great things. this is an intense place. as is every white house.

it's not abnormal you would have people come and go. but we're continuing to do great work. we're continuing to focus on the president's agenda. and that's what we're all here to do. reporter: it is actually abnormal. no administration in recent history has had this much turnover. ms. sanders: it's not abnormal to have turnover. reporter: if this is not the definition of chaotic, how would you describe what's happening? ms. sanders: if it was, i don't think we would be able to accomplish everything that we have done. the economy is stronger than it's been in ages. isis is on the run. the remaking of the judiciary. jobs are coming in record numbers. there are historic things that have taken place in the first year. sounds like a very functioning place of business to me. reporter: potential carve outs, are you also talking about nato allies as possibly getting this exemption? ms. sanders: it would -- it will be a country by country, and it will be based on national security. reporter: today the president tweeted china has been asked to develop a plan for a $1 billion

reduction in the trade deficits. what's he talking about? did he make this recently? has he been talking to the chinese? ms. sanders: conversations with officials last week. we're going to continue those conversations with them. the president's been very clear that he wants to address the trade imbalance that the united states has with a number of countries. he feels like the united states has been taken advantage of for far too long. and he's not going to allow that to continue under his watch. reporter: have they responded? ms. sanders: we're continuing conversations with them. reporter: you said repeatedly we have addressed our feelings on that with regards to stormy damages. did the president approve of the payment made in october of 2016 by his long-time lawyer and advisor, michael cohen? ms. sanders: the president has addressed these directly. and made very well clear that none of these allegations are true. this case has already been won in arbitration.

anything beyond that i would refer you to the president's outside counsel. reporter: when did the president express specifically the capped payment made in october of 2016? ms. sanders: the president has denied the allegations against him. and again this case has already been won in arbitration. anything beyond that i would refer you to outside counsel. reporter: did he know about that payment at the time? ms. sanders: i have addressed this as far as i can go. reporter: did he know about the payment at the time? ms. sanders: not that i'm aware of. anything beyond i have already given you i would refer to the president's outside counsel. reporter: has he talked to ichael cohen about that? has he talked to michael cohen about that this week? ms. sanders: i'm not sure. reporter: this administration's now imposed sanctions on north korea after conyou'd cluding that kim jong-un's government assassinated his half brother. now we have authorities in britain anournsed a nerve agent was used to try to kill a former

russian double agent and his wife. obviously moscow, the prime suspect. what does this administration have to say about this attempted assassination in the u.k. and are sanctions against russia likely as they were in the case of the north koreans? ms. sanders: this is currently under review and i'll keep you posted as we have further information and developments. reporter: quick clarifying question on the china tweet. is there any chance that it if china did respond on that reduction plan that that could assuage our affect the shaping of the tariff plan? in other words, is china's piece of this tariff thing negotiable? or are we only talking about canada and mexico and e.u. countries? ms. sanders: let me address that. the president's been clear that he wants to address the trade imbalances and unfair practices. and certainly we would take anything into consideration.

but as of right now we're moving fully ahead and anything that would change would be done so on a national security basis. reporter: obviously you're going to take your time and space on making the decision, but can you give us sort of a scope of the short list and two names in particular i wanted to bounce off you in this room. mong friends here. how much of a role is gary cohen himself going to have to make the pick? ms. sanders: i'm not going to get into any naming or list, but the president has a number people under consideration. he's going to take his time aking that decision. reporter: garey cohen, republican senator corn yirn said today i'm concerned the president will tern turn to for advice. should he be concerned? ms. sanders: no. the president's got a number of

very accomplished, smart, capable people around him. and he's going to continue to lean on a lot of those people. at the end of the day, the american people voted overwhelmingly for president donald j. trump, they voted for his policies, agenda, and for him to be the ultimate decisionmaker. i think that everyone can rest assured and the american people's choice on that front. and that they made the right one. reporter: they are telling us you bring in new people every day. ms. sanders: i refer you back to the press releases of nominations and personal announcements that have gone out. there have been at least three. i would be happy to forward those to you if you not receiving the white house press releases. reporter: the european union's being very shrewd in its threat to retaliate against the tariffs saying they would have tariffs on bed linens which would

include ohio, pennsylvania, and georgia. chewing tobacco, which includes north carolina. cranberry, the leading producer in wisconsin. orange juice, florida. is the president concerned that he could hurt his political fortunes in some of these swing states if he goes ahead with the tariffs? ms. sanders: the president has been talking about this for a long time. it shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody. other countries have created unfair trade policies for decades that have harmed our national and economic security. the president wants a strong economy and a strong national security. and a strong u.s. economy benefits all americans, particularly by helping us maintain a strong military and he's going to continue every day to fight for making sure that we have strong both national and economic security. reporter: he was going to hit him where it hurts. is he prepared to take the snit ms. sanders: the president is prepared to protect our country. that is the number one priority he hasegawa president is protect our economic and national security interests.

to e has-s the president is protect our nick and national security. i'm not going to get ahead of the president's announcement who will replace gary. reporter: follow up on gary cohen. the president touted the strength of the markets. there's been volatility today. the u.s. markets opened down, the asian markets. is he concerned about the volatility in the markets? ms. sanders: the president is focused on long-term economic goals. the economy is still infinitely stronger today than it was when the president took office. we're going to continue to fight for strock economicpolicy. job growth, wage growth, and certainly an increased number of people that are working in this country, again, specifically some of the action that is you're going to see through the announcement later this week. reporter: isn't the message from the market they are concerned about gary cohen's departure what it might mean for the stability of the white house and u.s. economy? ms. sanders: if you look at the

overall message of the markets if that were doing much better under president trump before he took office. reporter: he called him a rare talent. does that mean he's opened to having him come back? perhaps a cabinet level role? ms. sanders: they maintain a strong relationship and they are going to continue that relationship and certainly continue to -- gary will continue to be an advocate for the president in a number of -- 'm not closing the door. [inaudible] reporter: the news report that a number of staffers have had their -- ms. sanders: i'll have you pick you left off. reporter: you said there is arbitration that's already been won? by whom? when? ms. sanders: by the president's personal attorneys. for details on that i refer to you that. reporter: you are aware of them. ms. sanders: can i share that arbitration was won in the president's favor and i would refer you to the president's

outside counsel on any details beyond that. reporter: tomorrow the president will be meeting with video game executives. what does he hope to accomplish? why is he bringing them in? ms. sanders: the president wants to continue the conversation on every different area that we can to help promote school safety. i'm not going to get ahead of the discussion that they are going to have tomorrow, but we think it's an important discussion to have and one that the president looks forward to. reporter: does he think that video games are too violent? ms. sanders: certainly something that should be looked at. and something that we want to have the conversation about. reporter: i was wondering the president tweeted earlier by aying the u.s. -- intellectual property. should we understand that the 301 report is imminent? can you give us some detail bout whether it might damage his intellectual property? ms. sanders: something certainly that we have considered and

talked about extensively. i'm not going to get ahead of any potential announcement. reporter: can you give -- giving the president's criticism of the attorney general in the past referring matters to the i.g., does he concur with several of the g.o.p. congressmen looking for another special counsel to look into fisa. ms. sanders: the president has made clear he has significant concerns about the current fisa process. nothing makes the problem of more clear than both the the democrat and republican memos that outlined the f.b.i. used political campaign material to get a warrant to spy on american citizens. they failed to disclose to the judge that the dossier was funded by the clinton campaign and the d.n.c. even as it was being used to spy on people associated with the trump campaign. obviously those details alone show that the process needs to be looked at closely and reformed to make sure that we're doing everything we can to protect the privacy of americans. reporter: i want to ask you about the v.a. do i want to follow on something

you have said twice this week. the payment to the president you said, not that i'm aware of. have you asked the president this question? ms. sanders: i'm sorry. can you be more specific? reporter: you asked about whether the president knew about this payment, his long-time lawyer made to facilitate stormy daniels. you said then and today, not that you're aware of. you have asked the president this question? sarah: yeah. i've had questions with the president about this and as i outlined earlier, this case had already been run in arbitration. and that there was no knowledge of any payments from the president and he's denied all of these allegations. reporter: is there a reason why you're not answering the actual substance of the question on the payment itself? it's come up a few times now. sarah: i believe i've addressed this question pretty extensively. and ongoing litigation, i'm not going to comment any further than i already have. reporter: -- the new i.g. report coming out, this is an issue that the president has been passionate about. veterans' care.

secretary shulkin was part of failed leadership at the v.a. so why is he still a part of this administration? sarah: secretary shulkin has done a great job as i outlined on tuesday, a number of the things that have been approved upon. at the v.a. under his leadership. we're proud of the work that we've done and we're going to continue to do everything we can to protect the veterans and help veterans in this country. it's something that the president talked about extensively on the campaign. and has directed director shulkin to take an aggressive approach and he's done that since becoming seg secretary. reporter: i want to ask about -- [inaudible] -- reporter: imse always polite. sarah: i didn't suggest otherwise. i'm sure there will be some sort of terrible comment about how i was abusive to the press otherwise. go ahead. reporter: me in particular. but go ahead. reporter: i wanted to ask you about elephant trophies. the u.s. fish and wildlife service put out new guidance on

evaluating all permit requests on a case by case basis. this comes down to the president has suspended the previous guidance, lifting the trophy ban. the president calls the practice of collecting trophies a horror show. so i'm wondering, what does the president think of this latest policy in relaxing the ban and did he sign off on it? sarah: the president's position on trophy hunting remains the same. the fish and wildlife's announcement is a response to a court decision impacting how trofey import applications are reviewed. anything further i'd refer you to fish and wildlife service. reporter: does the president want them to further curtail that, given his thoughts about -- sarah: the president's been clear what his position is and that has not changed. april, i'm sorry. i'm a little scattered today. reporter: this president was a businessman before he became a politician. and understanding this, the high turnover in a business is considered a management issue.

what's the issue here? sarah: i don't believe there is one. that's why the first year of the administration has been so successful. as many people have outlined, we've actually accomplished a great deal what have the president campaigned on and set out today and we've only been here just over a year. so we certainly feel like there isn't an issue but actually a great deal of success and a great story to tell about the president's first year. reporter: you have a lot of people, 10 to 13 people, in top positions, leave. sarah: i think the confidence should be in the president. and the policies that he's outlined. and the agenda that he's laid out. that's what the american people voted for and that's certainly what we've seen enacted over the first year and a half and i think that's been a tremendous success. reporter: we heard a tape of the president with billy bush and now we hear about stormy daniels and you're saying that it's not true. what should the american public believe? and what does this president

want the american public to that after hearing before the election and now this? sarah: the president's denied these allegations. we've addressed this. the american people were aware of this, voted for the president. i don't have anything more to add. reporter: two quick questions on two separate topics. has any countries notified the administration of their intent to file complaints with the w.t.o. regarding the imp position of these steel and aluminum tariffs? sarah: i'm not sure of any specific complaints. reporter: the owe other question, michael cohen has indicated that he was not reimbursed in any way by the trump organization or the trump campaign for the $130,000 that he paid to stormy daniels. at the same time, he's being reimbursed for his legal fees by the trump campaign. they've already paid $214,000 in

legal fees to a firm that's representing mr. cohen. i don't want to get new trouble with the hatch act, but do happen to know why it is that the trump campaign is paying his legal fees? sarah: i don't. i can't speak on behalf of the campaign. i'd refer you to them. reporter: can you confirm this trip to california next week and why has it taken so long for the president to visit california? sarah: i can't confirm the president does plan to make a trip to california next week. why it's taken so long, i think it's because he's been busy growing the economy, creating jobs, defeating isis, remaking the judiciary. i'd be happy to name off some other successes. but i think that's probably enough. but, yes, i can confirm the president will be headed to california next week. we'll take one last question. reporter: john's question on the hatch act. the white house is reasoning that kelly anne conaway did not violate the hatch act when she said that a candidate in alabama would be a quote, a vote against tax cuts, weak on crime, weak on borders, strong on raising

taxes. how do you see that as not advocating against a candidate? sarah: she didn't advocate for or against the election of any particular candidate. she simply expressed the president's obvious position specific to policy that he have people in the house and senate who would support his agenda. i don't think it should be a secret to anybody that the president is going to want people, both in the house and senate, that are going to help push forward policies that he supports and push forward policies and his agenda. in fact, kellyanne's statement shows her intention and desire to comply with the hatch act as she twice declined to respond to the host's specific invitation to encourage the people of alabama to vote for that republican. thanks so much, guys. we'll see you tomorrow. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national able satellite corp. 2018] >> today's white house briefing, want to remind you the economic advisor, kevin hassett,

testifying at this hour. that's over on c-span3. here on c-span, the u.s. house will be gaveling back in this afternoon. we think around 4:00 eastern. when they return, the first of two emissions bills this week. this bill dealing with e.p.a. emissions standards for brick and clay kilns. we'll have that when they gavel back in. majority leader kevin mccarthy, meanwhile, said this week the house next week will vote on the stop school violence act offered by florida republican john rutherford. a bill to provide grants to train students, teachers and school officials and local law enforcement. that's next week. live house coverage here on c-span when they return. in the meantime, senate democrats from earlier today held a news conference unveiling an infrastructure proposal. we'll show you as much as we can until the house returns.