evaluated. there's lots of controversy going on in the public. we sat down and thought what affected us at our age as we're heading into college next year. the 26th amendment, we were to get in contact with some people here in iowa and around the country. it really clicked for us. we got working as soon as we could. >> the top 22 winning entries will air on c-span in april. and you can watch every student cam documentary online at studentcam.org. >> at the white house briefing, press secretary sarah sanders announced that president trump would sign an executive order concerning tariffs by the end of the week. which will include exemptions for certain countries based on national security criteria. she also addressed questions on the white house staff departures as well as the lawsuit by adult film actress stormy daniels against the president. this is about 20 minutes.

ms. sanders: good afternoon, as you-all saw the president delivered remarks at the latina coalition summit this afternoon. the people in attendance are proof that the american dream is ack 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 effts to struct the ability of the government to functi. 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. yleem poblete 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 chemical weapons. and to participate in april's nuclear nonproliferation treaty preparatory committee meetings. say that really fast. 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. reporter: sarah, on tariffs, is the president expected to sign that tomorrow. and other countries are they expected to have a pathway to et 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. -- daniels. did the president approve of the payment made in october of 2016 by his long-time lawyer and advisor, michael cohn? ms. sanders: the president has addressed these directly. and made very well clear that none of these legations 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 address specifically the cash 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 michael cohn about that? has he talked to michael cohn bout that this week?

ms. sanders: i'm not sure. reporter: this administration's now imposed sanctions on north korea after concluding that kim jong-un's government assassinated his half brother. now we have authorities in britain announced 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 cha tweet. is there any chance that it if china did respond on that reduction plan that that could

aswadge or effect 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. among friends here. [laughter] how much of a role is gary cohn himself going to have to make he 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 making that decision. reporter: gary cohn, republican senator cornyn said today i'm concerned the president will 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 decision maker. i think that everyone can rest assured and the american people's choice on that front. and that they made the right one. eporter: 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 eleases. 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 hit? ms. sanders: the president is prepared to protect our country. that is the number one priority he has as president is to protect our economic and national security interests. the president is to protect our economy and national security. i'm not going to get ahead of the president's announcement who will replace gary. reporter: follow up on gary cohn. 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 strong economic policy. 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 we. reporter: isn't the message from the market theare concerned about gary cohn'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 -- i'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

up where 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 saying the u.s. -- intellectual property. should we understand that the 301 report is imminent? can you give us some detail about whether it might damage his intellectual property? ms. sanders: something certainly mr. sarbanes: we have talked about it extensively. and no going to get ahead of poteial announcements reporter: referring matters to agree to look into fisa. mr. sarbanes: the president has de concerns about the fisa concerns and the democrat and the republican memoshat outlined the f.b.i. used political campaign warrant to

spy on american citizens and failed to disclose to the judge and the d.n.c. and spy on people. obviously, those details alone show that the process needs to be looked at and reformed to make sure we protect the privacy of americans. >> i want to follow up and the payment the president, you said not that i'm aware of. have you asked the president that question. you asked whether the president knew about his payment the lawyer made to stormy daniels, you said not that you are aware of. have you asked that president? mr. sarbanes: i had conversations with the president. and the case had been won in

arbitration and no knowledge from the president and has denied these allegations. reporter: you are not actual the question on the payment itself. mr. sarbanes: i have addressed this question pretty extensively and i'm not going to comment on it further. reporter: veterans care and secretary shull kin was a part f failed leadership. mr. sarbanes: secretary shull kin has done a great job and a number of the things that have been improved upon at the v.a. we are proud of the work we have done and do everything we can to protect the veterans and help veterans and something that the president talked about extensively on the cpaign and directed secretary shull kin to .ake an aggressive approach

reporter: i wanted to ask you and come guidance that down to the president he has suspended the trophy ban and collecting frofeys. what does the president think of this ban? mr. sarbanes: prums' on trophy hundreding remains the same. it is the response to a court decision how applications are reviewed and anything i refer you to fish and wildlife

service. the president has been clear what his position is and has not changed. 'm a little scattered today. >> what's the issue here? mr. sarbanes: that is why the first year of the administration has been so successful. as many people have outlined, we have accomplished a great deal of what the president campaigned on and set out to do and we have been here for over a year and there isn't an issue but a debate deal of success and a great deal to talk about. reporter: you have a lot of eople, 10-13 people --

[indiscernible] mr. sarbanes: that's what the american people voted for and that is what we have seen enacted in the first year and a half. reporter: look, we heard from the president and now we hear about stormy daniels and you say it is not true, what should the american public believe and after hearing that before the election and now this? mr. sarbanes: there are two different things. the president has denied these allegations. we have addressed this and american people voted for the president and i don't have anything more to add. reporter: has any country notified the american country to tariffs?lainlts on the

mr. sarbanes: i'm not aware of any plaints. reporter: michael cohen said he wasn't reimbursed by the trump campaign for the $130,000 that he paid for stormy daniels and at the same time he is being rurmed by his legal fees. they paid $21,000 in the legal fees to a firm that is representing. i don't want to get you in trouble with the hatch act but do you know why they are paying the legal fees? reporter: why is it taking so ong to visit california? mr. sarbanes: the president does plan to visit california. he is creating jobs and remaking

the judiciary. i would be happy to name off other successes, but that is enough. the president will be headed to california. alex. reporter: the white house's conway did not violate the hatch act that would be a vote against tax cuts and how do you see that s not advocating against a candidate. mr. sarbanes: she simply expressed the president's president's position to policy and people in the house and senate that would support his agenda and shouldn't be a secrete that the president wants people in the house and senate to push forward policies and his agenda. her intention and desire to

comply with the hatch act as she declined to encourage the people to vote for that republican. [captions copyright national satellite corp. 2018] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org

>> 1968, america in turmoil starting march 18. look back 50 years which includes the vietnam war and the presidential election. this weekend on book tv, live coverage from the 10th tucson festival of books and viewer call-in segments from the university of arizona starting saturday with a columnist who talks about his book. and then a discussion about the trump administration with

journalist, author of "it's even worst than you think." . scott kelly talks about space exploration, a year in space, a lifetime of discovery. on sunday, our live coverage continues with women in the military featuring an author and her book "code girls." and then a discussion on the republican party with his book "citizen newt." and there is talk about imcombration with his book "talk about where you came from." watch our life coverage of the tucson festival of books on c sparn