to defend in 2020. 2018 was a year where the dccc was mostly on offense. beating republicans who were rubber-stamps for donald trump. 2020 will be a cycle where the democrats are mostly on defense. defending those frontline incumbent cans in republican districts. the first job is, shoring up those new members of congress so that they can withstand a challenge in 2020. the sec thing they need to do, second -- second thing they need to do, second challenge, recruit immediately. there are some districts that the dccc can win in 2020. i have knowledge of this. they have already reached into those districts. they are talking to democrats who lost by a very narrow margin, and recruiting them to run in 2020. those are the two political challenges. then of course in substance, which i hope counts more than politics, the democrats need to deliver to the american people on things like infrastructure and reducing prescription drug costs, and cleaning up

washington, d.c., through campaign reform. host: last thing, have you take us back inside the room again, things have changed over the last 10 years owe soar with the availability and accessibility of social media. we're following a lot of the events today via tweets, etc., from members. is that frowned upon in the caucus room there? do they ask members to refrain from letting the media and public know what's going on? guest: i'm smiling because i so vividly remember sitting in those meetings where members were implored to please put down their iphones or blackberries, whatever it was. you could could follow along with those meetings just by reading tweets from inside those meetings. there was a debate at one point about requiring members to leave their personal devices outside. that didn't end up very well for those who believe it shunts be on the inside. host: i think that debate is loss everywhere. steve israel former member of

congress now an msnbc contributor joining us from new york today. thanks so much. leadership elections resuming on capitol hill over at the longworth house office building. looking live at the u.s. capitol, the house itself will be back in session this afternoon around 4:30 eastern we expect. house democrats now considering the speaker designee nomination, nancy pelosi. we'd like to hear your thoughts on the leadership elections under way. democrats only. stern and central time zones 202-748-8920. mount-and-and pacific time zone, 202-748-8921. ex mo of nbc, speeches nominating for nancy pelosi as speaker. those speaking on her behalf, joe ken difficult massachusetts, placing her in nomination. speaking secondary speeches, seconding speech, kathy castro of florida. congresswoman elect angie craig of men mfpblet congresswoman

elect monica escobar of texas. congresswoman elect katie hill of california. adam schiff of california. joyce beatty of ohio. and congressman john lewis of georgia will close out the seconding nomination. lots of speeches under way. it may be some time before we hear the results of what we understand will be a secret ballot for democrats this afternoon. let's get to your calls and comments. your thoughts on the democratic leadership of the 116th congress. we go first to east peoria, illinois. hello there. caller: yes. this is jo ann, i fully endorse nancy pelosi. host: what do you like most about her? caller: she's got a long history of standing up for the people. she speaks very eloquently. she really knows her stuff. she's just well-rounded and very seasoned. total respect for her. host: democrats only. we hear from greg next in baldwin, missouri. good afternoon.

caller: good afternoon. i'm in favor of nancy pelosi. but i'm not in favor of democrats using republican talking points in an effort to try to oust nancy pelosi. and that's the point -- that's the problem with the democrats. nancy e going to get pelosi, but they have nobody qualified to go up against her. host: give us an example of those -- you said republican talking points. give us an example of that. let's get rid of nancy pelosi was orchestrated by michael steele during the, i believe back in 2008 or 2010 when they were running for mid terms. that was the message that the republicans ran on. and the democrats picked it up

and ran with it. that's not developing the message. just piggy backing on the other party's message. host: ok. thank you for your call. david, democrats only. we hear from narrows, virginia. hi. what do you think about the leadership choices for the next congress? caller: well, she's the only choice now. i'd like to see somebody else to get an idea who to compare to. i listened to her whole talk you had on before. it was fascinating. there are two points i have to make. i like the fact that her father was the mayor of baltimore. it shows that she has a lot of experience with the family. the family education has -- is as important or -- from what i have seen in the past, more

important than even a college education. the other thing i saw when she spoke was she talked about her relationship with her husband. where he asked her, well, when he -- when she spoke that she was going to the laundry, to pick up some laundry, and then he said would you please pick up mine. and she never told him that she wasn't going to do it. but she didn't do it. and that to me is not a team player. i worked with the japanese at yokohama tire, the importance of team player is so important. i want more women to be a part of this because i want to see an end to warfare. because i feel that women vote against warfare for the united states. but here it is. i think she voted -- not sure.

i don't know. but i think she voted for the invasion of afghanistan and that other country, which were twice they invaded wrong country after all. it was saudi arabia. we know that. do i support her? well, i'm waiting to see had is going to run against her. i want more women. i think it's great. i think it would be wonderful if there was more women. host: david, as far as we know, and the meetings are happening behind closed doors now as you may have seen a short while ago, the ways and means committee room in the longworth house office building, as far as we know she's running, nancy pelosi running for the speaker of the house. this is the democratic choice for speaker candidate. that final decision will be made january 3 by the whole house. she'll need 218 votes, a majority, to be elected speaker.

there is a look at that closed door and the room where it's going on just beyond those doors. eduardo in lakewood, california. hi. caller: hi. how are you? host: fine, thank you. caller: i'm a firm supporter of nancy pelosi. i think she's the only one capable of standing up to trump. and hope that -- make sure that trump doesn't meet his dictatorial tendencies. host: you said that she's the only one capable of standing up to trump. in practical terms what do you think that means? in terms of -- do you think they'll work together on some legislation? caller: yeah. they should work together on some legislation. that would benefit the majority of americans. but also she must be firm and try to find out what really is happening with the russia investigation. and make sure it goes through. host: if you are just joining

us, we're covering the democratic leadership elections for the 116th congress. already hakim jefferies of new york elected as the conference chair -- caucus chair for the 116th congress. he is chairing the meeting that's going on behind those doors you just saw in the longworth house office building. we're getting your thoughts, democrats only, on the leadership choices. what's ahead for leaders in the 116th congress. the speeches we understand are under way for nancy pelosi. this is pasadena, california, morning. hello. caller: hi. i'm not a huge fan of nancy pelosi's. the problem is the democrats allowed her to be pillried for all those years. she's done some wonderful things i think they could have run ads supporting her. she helped with the health care and clean air. she's done a lot of great things. she just doesn't come across great when she's on tv, when she's interviewed. she kind of tainted smile sometimes i don't like.

and her eyes are -- get real wide. i hope she wins and i know she'll do a good job. but i hope they'll let others come forward in front of the press and -- like hakim jefferies who comes across terrific. let them take more of the press position. i think joe crowley was great at that. i also hope once she's re-elected to help out some of those democrats that said they'd have to vote against her, i hope it doesn't come back to haunt them. i hope they'll do a campaign where they put ads up showing what a great leader nancy pelosi's been, what she's done for the average american for that red state guy that for some reason thinks she's horrible and all the good things. host: do you think the choice of hakim jefferies gives an indication wrt caucus may be heading? caller: i hope so. steny hoyer's a little too blue dog for my taste. i hope that maybe he'll be replaced. i'm from maryland, i am he from

baltimore. -- i'm from baltimore. i know steny. i think we need more progressives and younger people below nancy. i'm proud of that. host: as you are seeing on the screen, thanks for the call, steny hoyer now the democratic whip running for majority leader unopposed. jim clyburn would be majority whip. and ben ray lujan would be the step-up and be the assistant democratic leader if all goes as anticipated. again running unopposed. back to calls in st. louis next. elaine, hello. caller: hello. thank you for accepting my call. enjoy your program. i, too, am for nancy pelosi. i think as the previous caller stated she was able to navigate the affordable health care act, which has impacted my life personally tremendously. and i'm ever grateful for her

for that. seniority e that does have merit. i believe that she's -- she knows the ins and outs. she can help everyone. incoming legislators, and those who have been there for quite some time. i think she does an excellent job when she holds press conferences. one of the callers said she has something going on with her eyes. i don't know what program he's been looking at. i think she would be a dynamic leader. host: i want to show you an observation by "new york times" correspondent emwill i crock ran from jackie speier. the observation from jackie speier. leaving the vote, she suggested that agism, sexism could be among the factors surrounding barbara lee's defeat. again the congresswoman from california losing the democratic caucus race to hakim jefferies.

close vote there, 123-113. next is milwaukee. we hear from patty. hello. caller: hi, there. i got whoever the democratic leaders are, we really need to start listening to the needs of this country. the constituents and a lot of us all over this country, this has nothing to do with politics, it has to do with air, water, and food. we're experiencing more sicknesses, i believe, a lot of the cancers and things that are coming about are coming from contamination. these leaders need to wake up and realize we better save this planet and protect our resources and quit running pipelines along fresh water areas, rivers, whatever. it's overwhelming. i'm 62 and in my neighborhood there's a lot of young voters who came out. that blue wave was a signature of telling people that the

future of this country is in our hands but also in the again xers and millenniums. host: a democrat feeted scott walker for the governor's race. caller: yeah, he sucks. host: who are you referring to? scott walker or the democratic candidate? caller: scott walker. he ruined our protections up here. he has been dismantling with his republican friends. and elitists. our natural resources up here. he's done a darn good job of that. i'm happy he's gone. we have to fix this stuff. we have to turn around and go backwards and fix laws again. host: hear from lisa, ohio. hi. caller: hi. yes, i agree so much with the lady that was just now speaking. and, no, i don't believe that nancy pelosi should be in office let alone the speaker. i just -- i have watched her several times. she cannot even keep up with the

president. she calls the president somebody else all the time. the lady that spoke before, yes. i agree with her. with sickness and our environment. it is awful. especially with the kids. the younger kids. i have seen so many young kids being sick. host: that's thanks for that. a couple can more calls. fort collins, colorado. we hear from bob, your thoughts on the leadership elections under way. what's ahead for democratic leaders in the 116th? caller: i'm kind of concerned with nancy pelosi. it wouldn't be bad if she became, not if she started listening to the -- younger people they got elected. my issue is things like she wants to be a little bit too bipartisan. after everything that's going on, my concern is she won't make

sure that donald trump will get put in check. i hear about well we're medicare when a lot of people were saying about medicare for all. another thing i was hearing bout is the taxes. checking trump's taxes. then i was hearing they are not going to be doing that. i'd really like to see a lot of steps that need to be done getting done. host: ok. bob, just want to bring us an update from daniel newhowser with national journal. stephen lynch who signed an anti-pelosi lettered over the weekend said he may vote for pelosi. he spoke with her in the caucus meeting and set to meet with her later today. said she's gettable. wants assurances on policy direction, thrick on infrastructure. stephen lynch from massachusetts. what's happening is the meeting's under way, showing you video outside. more crowded hallway this time over at the longworth house office building. hear from william next.

johnson city, tennessee. your thoughts on the elections happening today. caller: i think we need to realize that workers pay 70% of the income tax. small business pays the other 30. corporations don't pay any because they get corporate welfare. what o. makes 680 times the average worker makes and there is no way to justify that. and i think what we need to do is tax derivatives at 1% and use that money to end homelessness in america. we have already spent $20 is in n and that money the pockets of bureaucrats and despots. host: johnson city, tennessee, thanks for that. on the issue of taxes, we stay live looking at the reporters

watching their watches. waiting for spokes to come to the microphone. on taxes, republicans are planning to debate this week a measure that would expand and extend some of the tax breaks in last year's tax legislation. on live house coverage this afternoon. we expect them back at about 4:30 eastern. sometime this afternoon we're expecting them to -- republicans to file the rule for debate on that tax measure. that's still to come this afternoon. deborah's in jacksonville, florida. go ahead. caller: yes, i'm calling about nancy pelosi being the speaker. i would just like to say that nancy is a great leader. and also that the younger one that is are coming in now, there are always going to be somebody following us. and they should follow nancy pelosi because she's better able to handle the situations there. and that -- the ones coming in now can absolutely learn from

nancy. and i would believe that nancy would be more than happy to give them all the information -- the ins and outs on the campus. that's what i want to say about that. i'm excited about the new congress that's coming in. yes, i am a democrat. and i feel that nancy has a better hold and outlook what the country needs at this time. host: debra, who is your representative there in jacksonville? caller: my representative here in jacksonville is -- now is senator nelson. i'm sorry, senator -- host: the outgoing senator -- caller: rick scott now. host: senator elect rick scott. caller: how about the in the house? do you know your congresswoman or congressman? caller: i don't know at this time. there was a lot going on here in jacksonville. host: thanks for your call. we may see comments from members. we'll stay here live just a bit longer and go to north carolina.

rhoda, hello. caller: hi. host: you are on the air. listen to your phone and not the tv. mute your television set and go ahead with your comments. caller: turn my tv down? host: that would be great. caller: ok. host: all right. you are on the air. caller: yes. i think nancy pelosi would make great leader. she's certainly competent. and she's a powerful lady. she's an experienced lady. i'm a staunch democrat myself. but i question her loyalty in certain instances. .oing back to the obama era i feel that she sort of betrayed he was sense where proposing to reach out to the other side and maybe that was a

bit foolhardy, but i think she deserted him, my opinion, and went to the other camp, so to speak. that hurt him even more. because he didn't have the support, i feel he didn't have the support of his speaker behind him. and she did not, you you know, at least publicly toe the party line. host: the shoe's on the other foot a little bit. the roles have been somewhat reversed. she's the -- she will likely be the speaker of the house of the 116th congress with a republican president. how should she work with president trump? caller: that's a good question. go back -- myould

opinion is go back to what -- not it turn back time, but you what the democratic party has stood for in the past. basically the working man, the disenfranchised. you get what i'm saying. you seems that trump, know, thinks or tends to neglect those people. he gives an appearance to not give them any credence. i think that she should go back to our base and, you know, try to o work from there. host: thank you. thanks for your input. i just want to let folks know we're live here waiting for what we expect will be some comments from members coming out of the democratic caucus meeting.

leadership elections happening this afternoon. we'll continue to take your calls. we hear from patrick next in woodbridge, new jersey. good afternoon. caller: hi. i just wanted to call in and say that i'm very happy that a lot of democrats are calling in today and voicing their approval for nancy pelosi. for speaker. i think it's really important now that we have unity in our party. all these candidates in the different districts they ran, we took back 40 seats, they all ran on health care and so it's only appropriate that nancy pelosi be architect of the affordable care act, you know, get that respect and gets the speakership. i think she will be a great negotiator. and she's proven time and time again with the affordable care act and with the children's health insurance program, with passing fair pay for children -- not for children -- for women, rather, the lilly ledbetter fair pay act, she has

a really great experience on the hill and she will be a great speaker and i also want to say, my representative here in the sixth district in new jersey, frank pallone, he will be voted, since he's the ranking member right now, on the energy and commerce committee. host: yeah. caller: yeah. i just want to say i support him for that because he's done a great job in our district and he will be a great chairman on that committee. host: and many leadership for committees is not done. republicans have also already chosen their leaders being in the minority in the 116th congress. wanted to bring out a tweet from john covering capitol hill for abc saying --

host: jerry is in fox lake, wisconsin, as we stay live on capitol hill. jerry, hello there. caller: it's gary, thank you. i've been on previously. i was -- i'm for nancy pelosi because i voted for her while i could because she was -- and then i think she can outdo paul ryan and do things more in one week than he did for his complete stint. the only thing that came up over there was how to destroy the health plan for the people that need it. and i think we live in a world, there's a lot of other countries in the world that have health plans for all their citizens. i think nancy will be a leader. once she gets the young people

behind her and they got a lot of grandparents and stuff, talk to them, see what they need, they'll certainly get it and hope she gets that. in fact, i know she'll get it. she's just -- i don't know of anybody else that speaks like her. she's the most intelligent person. she got attacked on by the republican party but i don't know what they were talking about, all these people are against her. host: ok, we're seeing some members leave. perhaps the initial bit of voting for speaker is over. not sure but we're staying live. we might hear from members as they come out. peter defazio. let's go to la mesa, california. stephanie, good afternoon. caller: good afternoon. i pretty much agree with the previous voters -- excuse me -- yeah, voters, regarding nancy pelosi. i think it's been at least a

good 10 years that republicans have worked hard to tarnish ms. have 's image and may some effect on democrats and they may not realize it. i think we need someone steady at the helm right now. our country is in a precarious place, and i think that she is the best person for it. however, i do agree that she needs to take in some of the younger members in the house now and groom them for the future of this country. and i think that that's very important. i think jeffries is a good person to lead the caucus, and we'll see where this goes. there will be some tumultuous times, i'm sure, but democrats have to stay dedicated to our purpose and not necessarily the

personalities. we have to keep that in mind. so i'm wishing ms. pelosi the best and that we can do some things that are governing good for this country. host: on hakeem jeffries winning that post 123-113 over barbara lee of california. one tweeting this. some of his comments there before the microphones after the earlier session of the vote wrapped up, nola tweeting this -- jeffries says democrats are dealing with the trump administration, quote, mitch mcconnell and the boys in the senate and some of trump's co-conspirators in the house. quote, why in the world would pelosi or anyone lame-duck themselves as we're approaching some tough negotiations? the other elections are under way. we understand the election now, the voting happening for the speaker designee. the final -- the full house will vote on the speaker in

january, on january 3, and the other democratic elections, leadership posts will be voted on this afternoon, we expect as well. let's hear from valerie in tampa, florida. go ahead. caller: hi. host: you're on the air. go ahead. caller: valerie from tampa. host: you're on the air. go ahead. caller: yes, -- host: go ahead with your comment. go ahead. caller: yes. i think nancy has been a great leader. she has been. her work speaks for her from the years' past and she will even lso bring us further. democrats and republicans. and jeffries, i think he'll do a great job also, although i like the other lady, too, but he won it. and also now everyone, democrat and republican, look at the senate. the far a vote on

justice and tim scott was the last vote and he voted yes to confirm him. and also, then, of course, you know, the vice president had to -- because it was a tie. he had to come in and break the tie. so next time we will all, democrats and republicans, will look at the senate. we got to start with both where this country has to come together. we cannot be split any more. we got to come together. and i'm talking to -- and i am a democrat. for many, many, many years. host: that's valerie in tampa, florida. thanks for that. pointing out the vote in the senate advancing the nomination of thomas farr to be a judge in

the eastern district of north carolina. a seat that has been open for many, many years with tim scott, as she said, casting the deciding vote there. we're live on capitol hill. the democrats are electing leaders for the 116th congress. they are now, we understand, voting on the speaker designee. we should be hearing from members shortly. we continue to take your call. democrats only, eastern and central time zones. 202-748-8920. for the mountain and pacific time zones, 202-748-8921. there were speeches for speaker pelosi. john bresnahan said adam schiff wept as he helped nominate pelosi for speaker. according to sources. to bill in west sacramento, california. hi, there. caller: hi. how are you? host: doing fine, thank you. caller: well, i'm for the -- like the lady had before you, i

agree with her 100%. it's too bad we have a president that has -- in the position that he is. maybe he'll be gone in a few years. but pelosi is smart. she knows what she's doing. i'm sure she'll do an outstanding job. she'll get my vote. thank you. host: to cleveland, ohio, barbara, next up. good afternoon. caller: good afternoon. i'm a democrat and i strongly support congresswoman pelosi because she has proven herself leader.very effective she was instrumental in helping president obama get the affordable care act. she helped pass the ledbetter

act to promote equal pay for women. and i just strongly feel that it's important for the democrats to unite, come together behind the leader. host: ok, barbara, we're going to stay here live on capitol hill. keep our eye what we call the stakeout position here. reporters gathered. expecting to hear from democratic members. after the vote, we understand, for the speaker designee. nancy pelosi running unopposed for the democrats. and we will bring you live comments and coverage as it happens. until then we'll show you some of the remarks by incoming leader pelosi, majority leader -- incoming likely speaker pelosi. this was a week or so after the elections. again, we'll come back live as events warn. ms. pelosi: good morning.

while it is snowing here we have great sadness in my state of california. just unprecedented number of people dead in the high 50's and many missing. it's just -- we had these fires again and again, but these seem to be particularly deadly. so our thoughts and prayers and resources need to be with california at his very sad time. much discussion about fires about causes and the rest but our prayers with those who suffered, lost their lives, lost their loved ones, lost their homes, impossible to be made whole so, again, it's a very sad time for us in that egard. on the other hand, here, we are celebrating a great victory for he democratic party but more

importantly for the american people. every place i go, people say -- and not even go, just coming in in every means of communication, thank you for saving america. and i convey that gratitude to my colleagues, to the grassroots people who are so effective getting out that vote and particularly to our andidates. they had the courage to run, stamina to win and they are here now in what is one of the most new transformative new members -- body of members of congress in our history. the biggest victory for the democrats since 1974 when the watergate babies came in. i don't know if this congress will name itself, but we're almost close to 60 new democrats. around 40 to the red to blue. e are awaiting final results

from california, georgia, maine, texas, places where we have a question mark, even new york state. but we will have won 40 seats. it may be lower because of two seats that we did not win. but we'll see what the number is. i should have said from the start that winning 23 seats and -- in a voter suppressed gerrymandered map was a wave. was a wave. now getting up to 40, that's really a very big -- almost a tsunami. the thrill of it all is half the members, new members in our democratic class are women. one on the republican side. happy for that one person, but sad to say just one. we are on track -- again, it's

transformative. they will decide what their priority is. they have given us one already. and i'll talk about that in a moment. they will decide how they want to proceed, what they want to proceed with, in the manner which they do that. they are entrepreneurial. they are enthusiastic and they want to make progress for our country and we want them to do so in the most open congress. the american people talked about a better deal and then we talked about for the people agenda. for the people, we will lower health care costs, we will grow the paychecks and we will bring integrity to government. nd to that end, this group has decided -- 100 candidates wrote and said they want h.r. 1 to be our priority and our agenda as we go forward. fortunately, we're ready. under the leadership of john sarbanes who has been working

with an array of co-chairs on his task force, we are ready with that legislation and how lovely it will be so early in this congress to pass h.r. 1. all that it does, including passing finally the restoration f the voting rights act. largely what has been proposed by congresswoman terri sewell of alabama. again, we will be opening this congress in a very open and transparent way. what we said we were going to do. we were going to defend our protections for people with pre-existing conditions, lower drug costs, protect social security, medicare and medicaid by taking them off the chopping block. we will increase workers' benefits -- wages by building the infrastructure of america and all that implies in the

greenest possible way with the most worker training so that everyone participates and that -- in that success for our country. we will clean up corruption, 1, , as we'll have h.r. will make washington for the people and reduce and role of money in politics and advance the election by strengthening, again, the voting rights act. again, transparency, that openness, so essential to engaging the american people in what is happening here and how it affects them. ne of the reasons we were so successful in this past congress on health care issues was because of the outside groups, their mobilization made all the difference. many of them participated in the campaign around one issue, health care. the affordable care act. issues that relate to medicare and medicaid and that was a successful issue. but again, openness,

bipartisanship where we can. you have heard me say it over and over. bipartisanship where we have a responsibility to find our common ground where we can. where we cannot, we must stand our ground. thomas jefferson said like a rock. but we must try. i have urged the freshmen to reach across the aisle and we respect every member and respect the people who sent them here. then, again, all of us are committed to beater future for america's working families. that's our common denominator in the democratic party. that's what unifies us and that's where it connects us to the aspirations of the american eople. while that's happening, on the other side of pennsylvania, the president continues to wage an all-out campaign to obstruct the mueller investigation. this morning, the president

took to twitter to try to discredit the investigation tweeting, a total witch-hunt like no other in american history. this is the president of the united states. resident trump installed matthew whitaker for acting a.g. for one purpose, to end the investigation. there is bipartisan consensus this appointments violates the appointments clause of the constitution which trumps any statute that the administration lawyers have cited. as george conway and a former solicitor general wrote in "the new york times," mr. whitaker's installation makes a mockery of our constitution and our ounders' vision. bipartisan. ouse democrats once again that in our negotiations on the omnibus bill that the g.o.p. leadership include -- join us

in including language that would say the special counsel -- to protect any special counsel, the special couple cannot be fired without cause. he or she would be granted a three-judge appeal panel if fired. could only be removed by a -- replaced by a senate-confirmed attorney general or top senate justice department official. this is very important. whitaker would not qualify because such an appointment must be made by someone confirmed by the congress -- by the senate. that's a fact and has to be re-emphasized. and very importantly, the preservation of all the documentation so that the people can know the truth. i don't know if you saw an op-ed the other day by former leader daschle, jointly, democrat and republican, saying that the starr documents was released -- the starr report was released, big vote in the

congress to do so. so, too, the mueller documents be released. any questions? reporter: i wanted to ask you, inaudible] there has been pushback on that idea. are you going forward with that idea and what do you think of the criticism that there should be new climate legislation? ms. pelosi: as you may not recall but i will remind, when i was speaker of the house, the climate issue was my flagship issue with president bush in the white house. by the time president obama came, we moved the health care of course. it was my flagship issue. we established a select committee that you referenced, for now, headed by ed markey of massachusetts. he did a spectacular job of shining the spotlight on the crisis that we are facing and to do so in a way that has full documentation from the generals.

hey said it was a national security issue -- from health care providers, that this is a public health issue, clean air, clean water. n our economy that we must remain preeminent as number one in the world on green technologies and that it is a moral issue. if you believe this is a right and this is god's creation and evangelicals certainly do and we must be good stewards. then we must act upon it. even if you don't share that religious belief, if you understand that we are -- have a moral responsibility to the next generation to pass the planet on in a responsible way. ut it is urgent. it was urgent when we established it in 2007 and even more urgent now. it has always been a challenge with these standing committees

and we will have conversations about some of the objections they may have. but there is tremendous interest on the outside for us to return to that place where the climate issue is preeminent. what we did then is under president bush, we passed the biggest energy bill in the history of our country -- do you have some water? the biggest -- sorry. please. the biggest energy bill in the history of our country by -- thank you -- taking tens of millions of cars off the roads. uch of the authority used by president obama in this regard tems from that legislation. o it's very important it was bipartisan. he wanted nuclear.

i wanted renewables. we came to agreement. again, we have to sit down with our ranking members. but i believe an array of ranking members has broadened since then because not only is t energy and commerce, for xample, that you referenced, ut also homeland security, because this has become such an issue hitting home by way of hurricanes, forest fires, so many different ways. natural disasters affecting people. very directly in their lives. so we do believe that it's about stewardship of our planet, and we have to find the best way to engage the public to make the change that is necessary to put us on a different course of action. live with the deniers in that regard. reporter: what do you tell members who say they want leadership change? what can you offer them? and might you back primary challenges from the -- [indiscernible]

ms. pelosi: i always have. i always have. i'm largely responsible for most of the resources that went into those campaigns. hat didn't matter to me. i you said just win, baby. does anyone have a question in this regard? reporter: there are 17 members that signed letters saying they will not support you on the floor. ms. pelosi: have you seen the letter? reporter: i haven't seen the letter. ms. pelosi: you haven't seen it. ok. reporter: there are more, apparently, who are willing to vote no. you expressed total confidence in the vote. ms. pelosi: i do. ok. next question. reporter: how can you feel comfortable? win the gavel -- ms. pelosi: never. go ahead. reporter: [indiscernible]. reporter: bottom line, madam leader -- ms. pelosi: ok. reporter: if the election were he today on the house floor, do you have the votes elected to be speaker? ms. pelosi: yes.

let me just get back to your question. [inaudible] this is what we have. we have a farm bill that we have to deal with. >> let's go live over to capitol hill now to hear from democratic congressman jim cgovern. r. mcgovern: [inaudible] eporter: [inaudible] r. mcgovern: [inaudible]

we need our a-team come january 3. there is nobody more effective, better prepared to lead in the house of representatives than speaker pelosi. so i'm excited about the fact she will be our next speaker and probably good for the institution. reporter: [inaudible] r. mcgovern: [inaudible] new generation of leaders. he's already assuming the votes as caucus chair. i think he will be great. reporter: [inaudible] r. mcgovern: [inaudible] host: jim mcgovern of massachusetts, possibly the incoming chair of the rules committee. votes are continuing on capitol hill. the democratic caucus meeting. their leadership elections under way. we understand the votes are being counted in the election

for the speaker designee. that will be nancy pelosi. she's running on unopposed. however, she will face a full house election for speaker on january 3. we'll continue to take your calls and watch for other comments from leaders and observations from reporters on capitol hill and members of congress. 202-748-8920 is the number to call. this is democrats-only. 202-748-8920 for those in the eastern and central time zones. 202-748-8921 for mountain and pacific. we go to montgomery, alabama. bob waiting quite a bit there. thanks for that. go ahead with your comments. caller: thank you. i waited about 23 minutes, which is ok. would like to see -- hello? host: you're on the air, bob. go ahead. just listen to the phone. you are on the air, sir. the floor is yours. caller: all right. thank you. i waited about 23 minutes to

talk. i would like to see a younger speaker of the house, somebody about 40 years old. host: we're hearing you, bob. hold on a sec. let's hear what nancy pelosi as to say. good afternoon, everyone. and i do believe it is a good afternoon. session t unifying just now in the house democratic caucus. the new house democratic caucus the most diverse ever, and it was so inspiring to hear my colleagues place my name in nomination. once again, for speaker of the

house. how moving it was to hear joe kennedy place the name in omination, to be seconded by kathy castor, a colleague that has been the lead in climate change legislation and the rest. joe, a friend for many years, but a leader in the congress, making his own mark. and then to have joyce beety speaking her own -- beatty speaking her own right but to quote president obama, office moving. adam schiff, when he talked about leadership and the challenges facing our nation was a joy to behold. and the new members, to have the new members speak out with us now is congresswoman veronica escobar, one of the new members who spoke, and placing my name in nomination about our shared -- our shared values. a member, joined by

a member of this class, but she's also a returning member, ann kirkpatrick of arizona, a woman of great courage, who voted for the affordable care act, didn't come back, said it was worth it, and is here again. thank you, ann, for joining us. and, of course, nobody could ever have an honor quite like having this display of friends place my name in nomination than to have john lewis be the -- he wrapped it all up in such a beautiful. not about me but about our challenges and about our need to be unified for the future. so i'm very, very -- just so inspired by it all, and i'm so grateful to my colleagues for what they have done to place my name in nomination. in the course of these last days and weeks, my -- has been my privilege to listen to new

members, listen to our members who have been here a while, hear their views about how we go forward, convinced that everything we said in the campaign about a congress, a new congress that is open and transparent, that is accountable to the people, that is unifying in how we do our work and therefore bipartisan to the extent possible is something that i think that we can with great dignity present to the american people as we effect our agenda for the people. lower health care costs, bigger paychecks, dignity and integrity in government and some other issues as we move forward. we're going to have a congress -- sessions of congress that are like -- that are like america's town hall meeting where the miracle of technology will enable us to communicate

very directly in social media, help us engage the public, be responsive to them, and also to mobilize around the issues of importance to us. massive resources, intellectual, political. to re-elect this spectacular class as we move to, again, winning the white house in 2020. i couldn't be more honored -- that is a figure of speech but is a fact in this case true as any statement anyone could ever make, to be honored by the nomination for those who placed my name in nomination and the sport i have from our colleagues in this caucus. we will, as i say, our diversity is our strength, but our unity is our power. we will use that power, again, in a unifying way for our country. i'm very proud.

we look forward to the results, whatever they are. they will be intense and they will be a vote of confidence to send me -- my name to the floor that i'm proud to be the nominee of the house democratic caucus, once again, for speaker of the house. again, in a congress where the -- we will observe the 100th anniversary of women having the right to vote. a very special honor. so thank you, all. reporter: [inaudible] ms. pelosi: i think we're in pretty good shape. again, i don't speak -- i don't want to make other people's announcements for them, but we go forward with confidence and humility. so -- reporter: kathleen rice put a statement -- ms. pelosi: if you have questions about our plans -- reporter: she made a statement she met with her and you [inaudible] ms. pelosi: let me say

something. i'm talking about scores of members of congress who just gave me a vote -- giving me a vote of confidence. that is where our focus is. are there dissenters, yes, but i expect to have a powerful vote as we go forward. any other questions? reporter: when you went to the white house that one time, you came back and said, do women get to talk around here, how do you think president trump is going to react to having to work with a woman in such position of power as you would hold as speaker? peleds pelosi -- ms. pelosi: i will say this, when i was speaker and president bush was president, he treated me and the office i hold with great respect. he would jovial call me number three. he's number one. the vice president was number two. i was number three. he never began a meeting unless the president -- the speaker was present. we worked together on many issues relating to energy,

passing the biggest energy bill in the history of our country. pepfar. he wanted pepfar. we had pepfar. this related to tax policies that gave refundabilities for people in our country. the list goes on and on. i would expect nothing less than that from this president of the united states. we are a co-equal branch of government. my power there springs from the vote of the members of the house of representatives. i think that the president will be respectful of that. reporter: madam leader, you've been a leader for a long time. what was different about getting the vote this time? ms. pelosi: this is all the same. one time i didn't have an opponent. i always had -- not opponent but opposition. today it didn't materialize into an opponent. but, no, every -- every congress i spend a lot of time

listening to members, new members and members who are returning, to hear what their prospects are for the future. so when people say you're so busy, i say no busier than ever because every congress i listen, i learn, we incorporate, we are invigorated by new members coming in and new thinking of our members. this was no different than anything before. it is different we have an historic -- historic freshman class by dent of their experience, their diversity, their gender. it's something very, very special. let us take a moment to dwell around the fact that we are in the majority. majority, majority, majority! [applause] ms. pelosi: and that our ranking members in a matter of weeks will be madam and mr. chair, and that is a great thing for the american people.

we have been jeopardized to be a check and balance on the president and other branches of government and we will do that with dignity. thank you, all, very much. thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] host: house democratic leader nancy pelosi likely to be the next house speaker. that vote in the democratic caucus is under way. behind the closed doors that leader pelosi came out with her leadership team to talk about the nomination, her nomination and that vote continues. remember that the full house will vote on speaker in january when the 116th congress convenes on january 3. here on c-span we're standing by for further updates on that

vote, in particular, for speaker and for all the other leadership positions and getting your reaction too. 202-748-8920 is the number to call for those in the eastern nd central time zones. 202-748-8921 mountain and pacific it is democrats only. we hear back to bob in montgomery, alabama. bob, are you still there with us? caller: yes, sir. host: you are the most patient caller in television. you've been hanging on for a bit. we wanted to get the leader on. go ahead with your thoughts. caller: i understand that. i appreciated her comments. you know, she's been there for quite some time, and my personal opinion is i think we need new leadership such as somebody like the kennedy guy standing on stage with her here or eric swalwell from california. we need younger people with new

ideas. when we get older, such as she is, our ideas stem to fade such as myself. i'm older too, such as she is, and we need some new younger ideas up there and if anybody has any questions about how to run the congress, they can consult her. and all the democrats need to join together, march to the white house, and demand every congresswoman -- person from congress needs to march to the white house and tell donald trump how this country is going to be run because he has no idea. i'm a live-long democrat, but this is the worst president we ever had in the history of the united states of -- life-long democrat, but this is the worst president we ever had in the history of the united states of america. host: you talked about younger leadership. do you think if the democrats were to retain the majority in the house in the next elections, in 2020, that that would be a time for likely

speaker pelosi to step down and pass that responsibility onto another younger member? caller: i certainly do. i certainly do. host: well, thanks, again, for waiting. we appreciate your input. let's hear from lisa in the nation's capital. go ahead. caller: hi. how are you? host: doing fine. thank you. caller: ok. so i was calling. i will try not to be redundant what everybody else has said that's pro-nancy. but i want to say that the g.o.p. during this last election did so much attacking on her and i'm wondering why. who are they talking to? they're not talking to anybody who can actually vote for her, vote against her, so it didn't make any sense. so i was thinking about it and i'm like, they're trying to -- they're pretending to play chess and there are' trying to take out the queen because they know she is so smart and wise

and -- she knows what she's doing and they're trying to spin on her before she gets there. host: there's clearly a lot of negotiation going on in the advancement of nancy pelosi as the likely speaker of the house in the 116th congress. one from bloomberg tweets this -- house democrats and the problem solvers caucus say they'll support nancy pelosi for speaker after she agreed to these procedural changes, including every member gets a voice. they want bipartisan amendments. modernizing committee transparency. and other issues. granite falls, washington, we say hello to walter. caller: yes. i definitely feel that democrats should come together and support nancy pelosi ecause she's the only possible candidate for speaker of the house that has the experience

and she will stand up to mr. trump and read him the riot act. we need someone like that that's not going to buckle in to trump's whims and we need that experience that she brings forward. host: walter, you're still on the air. go ahead. caller: yes. i'm still here. anyway, i just thought that i'd let people know i feel she is the most qualified candidate right now as far as knowledge, the way the house -- host: well, you can see those doors are still closed so the voting still must -- the votes must still be under way in terms of the counting. democratic leader pelosi came out just minutes ago and spoke with reporters. earlier today, the elections happened for democratic caucus chair. joe crowley, the outgoing caucus chair.

and the incoming is hakeem jeffries. he beat barbara lee of california in that vote in the democratic caucus by 123-113. and as kind of a swan song, joe crowley, the outgoing democratic caucus chair, got up before members because keep in mind he was running the meeting until he was voted out there, as he's retiring -- leaving congress after the 115th. this is an instagram post from the incoming congresswoman from minnesota, representative-elect omar, and here is joe crowley singing to the caucus. take a look. . crowley: ♪ [cheers and applause] host: that of course joe crowley beat in the primary by alexandria ocasio-cortez and she is now the representative

from that district, representing bronx and queens in new york. we'll continue with your calls. we'll show you the comments from joe crowley and from hakeem jeffries in just a bit as we wait for results. additional comments from members to josef in san antonio, texas. it's democrats only. go ahead. caller: yes, sir. i was listening to your call, the earlier calls. earlier in 2015, 2016, there was -- it was very apparent to everybody that whoever is on he right has been pushed [inaudible] slightly off center to the left or to the right. but the republicans read this very well after the trump wave came in and they just -- they resisted at first. they started getting the numbers they needed to win over and over again. at least in that election. but on the democrats' side,

trump, as president and as head of the republican party, he is now representative of the majority of his votes. now, most of the democrats -- who voted democrat in the mid-term and voted in 2017, i can't say the vast majority -- everybody i know, and a lot of people i see online, had to -- just had to do it because the other guy was trump and we -- it was just -- it's only way to save the situation. it's been like this over and over again. it's no longer -- the callers that we're talking about younger people, i'm 100% with that. the democrats keep resisting that because they know we have no other choice. they push the -- what's his name -- perez to be the d.n.c. chairman. when there's a lot of good candidates back then. now nancy pelosi. and even chuck schumer in the

senate, all these faces are the same people that not only are the democrats -- the voters are also it was -- mainly -- host: joseph from texas, we lost you there. hakeem jeffries of new york, now the caucus chair for democrats, he's 48 years old. continue with your calls, where things stand. hakeem jeffries elected earlier. they're voting now, counting the votes for the speaker designee. that is likely to be nancy pelosi. then additional leadership posts will be voted on. we continue to stay live on capitol hill with cameras covering members' reaction, comments on twitter as well and your thoughts, too. brian is in charlotte, north carolina. hey, brian, make sure you mute your television. go ahead, turn down your tv and go ahead with your comments.

caller: ok. great. am i on now? host: you are, yeah. caller: great. i -- you know, i am a big fan of the show. i am happy to be on. i'm only 22 years old and i think when i see today that nancy pelosi will be the leader or the likely leader for the party, i just -- i question why we are not looking towards the future and i have a lot of respect for nancy pelosi's service but i think if you look at the example in europe, you know, when politicians have unsuccessful runs, when they lose majority of seats like we did in 2010 and 2014, those political leaders are forced to step down. but in the united states, we seem to hold on to our political leaders for a very long time. host: hey, brian, can you hang on just a quick second? let's hear what delegate holmes

norton has to say. ms. norton: this one wasn't. reporter: do you believe the party has been unified going forward? ms. norton: very much so. reporter: is the party going to be unified? ms. norton: of course. [inaudible] there was nobody that rose in his meeting against her. inaudible] are there other nominations at this time? i don't think it's the best way to begin majority. but i don't think it will have [inaudible] reporter: what are your thoughts on hakeem jeffries becoming caucus medicare? ms. norton: you know, i think e will [inaudible] reporter: what would you say to

those who didn't want to vote for pelosi going forward? i norton: i would say respect people's right to oppose pelosi. i don't respect the right to oppose [inaudible] reporter: thank you. host: that is d.c. delegate eleanor holmes norton. while she doesn't get a vote on the house floor, she gets a vote on the democratic caucus, as do all the delegates to the u.s. house. democratic caucus under way. they're counting the votes in the leadership race. and here on c-span, continuing with your calls. we were talking to brian in charlotte, north carolina. brian, back on the air. go ahead and continue your thoughts.

charlotte, north carolina, brian, are you there? maybe i'll try -- brian in charlotte. i think we may have lost him. we'll go on to austin, texas, and hear from lori, go ahead. caller: hi. this is lori from austin. i'm just so pleased that nancy will be speaker and she's always a pleasure to watch. she's just a wealth, a treasure trove of knowledge and information. i really -- as far as age goes, i'm middle age and i don't believe a younger person would necessarily make a better speaker or anyone of that sort. we all have different minds and age really doesn't determine that as long as someone is healthy and she is very viable woman and i am just so pleased to have her. host: ok. let's go to karen. karen is in schwartz creek,

michigan. hi, there. caller: hello. thanks for taking my call. yes, i want to speak to those out there that are worried about nancy still being in there. she did surround herself with some great people, some new young -- couple new young freshmen people. as she did win -- i mean, she got a lot of people elected. people keep talking about what we didn't do in 2010. we have to start looking towards the future, and i'm very excited and i hope everybody backs her. thank you for taking my call. host: you bet, karen. we'll continue to get your calls and reaction. just a quick update from our capitol hill producer, craig kaplan. this is an organize time for the 116th, not only caucus, but the various different caucuses and other organized groups on capitol hill. he tweets about california democrat karen bass elected today to chair the congressional black caucus for the 116th.

she won her fifth term to represent west l.a. and also ro khanna, congressman from california saying -- host: barbara lee losing the race for the caucus chair to hakeem jeffries. the vote was 123-113. mr. jeffries is running the meeting now. earlier after they broke up the earlier meeting, joe crowley, the outgoing chair and hakeem jeffries, the incoming chair, spoke with reporters. we'll show you that. back to hear from members. mr. crowley: i just want to congratulate my colleague, hakeem jeffries, being elected chair of the house democratic caucus for the 116th congress. no matter what else happens, i

know the country is in great hands, the caucus is in great hands with hakeem. he's a wonderful gentleman from new york. one of the quickest wits in the house today. and someone i know will do democrats proud. a wonderful, tremendous future ahead of him. i want to congratulate him. i want to congratulate barbara lee for having won such a wonderful campaign as well. it was a good race. i think the love for both was expressed in this vote. i congratulate them both. especially hakeem jeffries on his big. thank you, all. thank you for being so good to me for these past five months. i appreciate it. mr. jeffries: good afternoon, everyone. let me first thank barbara lee, again, for her tremendous service to this nation, for all that she is, all that she does, all that she represents. from the very beginning through the very end, this was a

friendly contest of ideas. and now that the race is over, i look forward to working closely with her on behalf of all of the people in the united states of america. i'm thankful to my colleagues who listened and thought about and discussed and took seriously this caucus chair race, those who supported me and those who supported barbara. we have an opportunity now to come together, to move forward, to fight for the people in the united states of america. not for the wealthy and the well-off and the well-connected. that's what the other side does. house democrats, we are' going to fight for the people. we're going to work hard to lower health care costs, protect people with pre-existing conditions, increase pay for everyday americans, work on a real infrastructure plan, clean up

corruption in washington, d.c. there are several other leadership elections that will take place over the next few days, and once that's concluded, we all will be in a position to come together and focus on the business of the american people. let me also just thank joe crowley, my friend, my mentor. i stand on his shoulders. he served this congress in a phenomenal way for 20 years, served the city of new york, served communities in queens and the bronx, and we know that while this chapter closes for joe crowley, there will be other chapters that open and he'll continue to contribute in a mightyful way to the united states -- mightiful way to the united states. with that i can take questions. reporter: you're calling for unity but there are still some members of your caucus who wanted [inaudible]

becoming speaker. how problematic would be for your party to show unity if the same members prevent her from getting the speaker on the floor of the house in january? mr. jeffries: well, every member has an opportunity to do what they feel is best on behalf of the communities they represent. the first order of business when we reconvene at 1:00 p.m. will be to take a vote on our speaker designee. as of the moment, nancy pelosi is the only candidate who has submitted her name and we'll see what happens when the meeting reconvenes if someone emerges, but, again, these are all contests of ideas. working through the process of preparing to transition from where we are to the house majority and once we do that, we'll all come together. reporter: a number of freshman members who have ambitions to be on pretty powerful committees. it's not usually the case freshmen get those kinds of seats. what is your view on how those

seats should be allocated? mr. jeffries: that's a discussion we will have as a caucus and we anticipate in the next few days as we turn away from the leadership elections to the organizational rules for the next congress that we'll work through those discussions. reporter: put in their -- mr. jeffries: as chair i have to preside over those deliberations so i won't state an opinion right now. eporter: [inaudible] mr. jeffries: well, again, it was a friendly contest of ideas and the members of the house democratic caucus worked their will. i look forward to awful us coming together and moving forward on behalf of the american people. reporter: congressman, nancy pelosi said she will get a transitional figure, what does transition mean for you, one year, two years, time frame for a new generation? mr. jeffries: the only determination that can be made in that regard is the

determination that needs to be made by leader pelosi. i think she has correctly said if she's the next speaker that she is not going to lame-duck herself, particularly because we're dealing with the trump administration, we're dealing with mitch mcconnell and the boys in the senate, and we're dealing with some of trump's friendly co-conspirators in the house of representatives. why in the world would she or anyone lame-duck themselves as we're approaching some tough negotiations? reporter: mr. jeffries, a lot of your colleagues say [inaudible] you could fulfill that, you could be speaker one day, is that something you aspire to? mr. jeffries: not at all. this was an incredibly close race. it's a heavy burden now in terms of serving as chair of the house democratic caucus. as of 1:00 p.m., i have to preside over all of these elections. it's like the shortest transition in american history. and so i'm focused right now on

that job and focused on making sure we bring the caucus together and that we can move forward on behalf of the people of this great country. reporter: what does it mean to have two c.d.c. members sitting at the elected leadership table for the first time ever? mr. jeffries: well, i stand on the shoulders of people like jim clyburn and john lewis and emanuel cleaver and maxine waters and charlie rangel and shirley chisholm. i'm proud to represent a district that was once represented in brooklyn by shirley his om. there is a great legacy of the congressional black caucus. this is not the first time that two congressional black caucus members have run for a leadership position. it will be the first time that you will have two african-americans within the top five in the united states of america. i'm sure it's a proud moment for our community. but i'm focused on standing up for everyone -- white, black, latino, native american.

every american deserves us here in congress to work, democrats and republicans, on their behalf to make their life better. one more question. reporter: you, i understand, made the call about whether to delay the [inaudible] mr. jeffries: we're having a conversation with leader pelosi, with steny hoyer, with jim clyburn, informally with other members of the house democratic caucus and then i'll sit down with the three dccc candidates who are here and then i'll also have a conversation with sean patrick maloney, get everyone's input in terms of the candidates, hear what the members of the house democratic caucus has to say and then we'll proceed from there. thank you, everyone. . host: 48-year-old hakeem jeffries elected late this morning at the chair of the democratic caucus in the 116th congress. he's chairing the meeting under way now, voting for leadership positions. they're counting the votes in

the speakership race. our cameras live outside the meeting room in the longworth house office building. we'll continue to wait and watch and hear from you. 202-748-8920, for those in the astern time zones. 202-748-8921 for the mountain and pacific time zones. we're taking calls from democrats only. wichita, kansas, we hear from wilma. caller: hi. i'll say that pelosi, if she wins, because she has experience that we need right now over trump. you know, i've been through all the newcomers but we really don't know if they're wearing their feelings on their sleeve.

pelosi, she's -- she's seasoned, she's been there. and she know house to deal with trump. because he has no respect for women. under their ks clothes, the senate sit there, they didn't want another democrat in anybody but a democrat and a woman. and now look what we got, trump. >> do you think president trump has respect for nancy pelosi? >> no. because she's a woman. no. i don't think he'll ever have respect for any woman. and it's sad to say, and i don't want to say, but you know, we all know how he was treated by his mother and father. you the, his brother died an

alcoholic and who knows, maybe the dad gave the mother more attention than him. that's why he wants all the attention for him. host: ok ewe continue with call, valencia, california, liz. >> thank you for -- caller: thank you for taking my call. i agree with the last caller. people who think we need younger leadership are overlooking the magnitude of the win pelosi just preside over and as the previous caller said the unusual times we're in under this particular administration. i don't think this is the time to make the big change. i think clearly pelosi as the grit and experience we need for getting this country back to a representative democracy which i think is under severe threat right now and she's proved in the past that she's able to get some major bills passed. such as the affordable care act. i feel a lot better knowing that for now our government will be managed by mancy pelosi and i think she's a perfect

counterbalance to donald trump who doesn't have respect, in my opinion, for anyone except himself. host: show got billed passed in the past as speaker with a democratic congress and democratic president, how well do you think she'll do getting bills passed with a republican senate and republican president? >> i think obviously we've got some problems in that there is so much partisanship and people are silent and they are, you know, in their corners, largely, i think as a result of the atmosphere that donald trump has created. so it's worse than ever. but it started with newt gingrich. these things have been brewing for a long time and that's another reason, she was around, you know, to see what gingrich did and tried to do. she's been around long enough that i think she know house to reach across the aisle. i think now that there was such a resounding win for the democrats in the house that the -- the republicans will have to realize that they're better off compromising than opposing her.

i think she's easy to underestimate if people don't look at her background from baltimore who her dad was, the way she was raised. i think she can do this. it won't be easy. but then that's exactly why i want her. because it wentent -- it won't be easy and i think she's already been,, she's run down all the rabbit hole, she knows which will work and which won't. and we don't have any better options than to give it to her and let her try to deal with these people while they're in the mood they're in. host: 7 -year-old nancy pelosi likely elected here by the caucus as their speaker designee. she'll need 218 vets january 3 to be elected speak ore fer the house. continuing with your calls and comment, democrats only, to new jersey, hello to grace. caller: yes, thank you for taking my call. am very, very pleased to hear democrats are not going to fool around and let this opportunity pass us. we need to gather together and

be with nancy pelosi. she is battle ready, she's been through all kinds of ifficulties in her past. she has proven she can do the work. that's why many republicans don't want her as speaker. we do and we cannot allow them to determine for us who gets to be our speaker. person as a ible republican, mcconnell. anybody be any worse elsive seen over the years. -- else i've seen over the years. the young people can sit and watch and see how she operates she's been there she gave us affordable care act. it was tough to get. it was tough.

and we cannot allow this opportunity to pass. we cannot allow the young people to determine how the place should run. especially with a man like this president. he has no respect for anybody. and nancy can deal with him. host: ok, grace in new jersey as we continue, our c-span cameras throughout the day outside the meeting rooms on capitol hill, now over at the longworth office building. some got lunch but apparently not everybody did. paul kaine tweets, pizza has arrived at house democrat votes. we continue to get your thoughts an actions again. the way things have set up so far. earlier the house electing hakeem jeffries as their caucus chair for the 116th congress. now voting for leadership positions. understand they're counting

votes in the speaker designee race with nancy pe he see running unopposed in that race. a couple of followups to the leadership election too, on twitter, this is scott wong, senior writer for the -- for "the hill," fellow bay area representative jackie speier, barbara lee had the votes and some people flip. elections for open so members can't pledge their vote to a candidate and then flip-flop. speer says there may have been geism and sexism involved. it was a fairly close vote, the vote was 123-113 with hakeem jeffries winning the chairmanship of the cawcoufs the 116th. in euless, texas, we hear from richard, go ahead. caller: yes, hello. thank for taking my call.

i'm just -- i hope that these younger crowd that's coming in now get behind nancy pelosi and learn something. i'm glad a bunch of young people are coming in, but they need to get you know, get a little time under their belt to learn, you know. don't come in all high strung, ready, i know -- ready to hit the ground and you know, take care of business but they need to learn something. she did show -- she can sure teach them, i to believe. >> let's hear from chicago, this is mike, hi there. caller: thank you for taking my call. this is the first time i've been able to get on c-span, this feels really good, thank you. i agree with all the callers who come before me including mr. jeffries, this is not the time for the young people to come in and cause disruption.

the last caller, the caller before, are absolutely correct. this is the time for the young people that's come in to learn. learn and see. because nancy pelosi before she leaves she's going to groom one of those young folks who come in and -- come in mind her. so when 2020 rolls around and we have control of the house, at that time republicans will be up for a lot of positions in the senate, there's a possibility we can take the senate. and at that point, we'll be oking at nancy pelosi from california and the president from california. host: all right. here's lawanda in tyler, texas. your thoughts on democratic leader shipe -- leadership, the race under way, votes being counted. what are your thoughts? caller: i'm just so happy because as the other caller

said, i agree with them 100%. we need somebody that's going to stick up to donald trump and is not scared to fight with him and nancy pelosi is the one that can do it. also, as the other caller said, the younger ones that's coming in, they need to learn. because if they stand by and listen at nancy pelosi and see how she work and do things we will have it going on, the democrats will have it going on. just give her time to get in and do the right thing because she has helped pass a lot of things for us and i just feel like it's great things coming for the democrats. and all the poor people, the low wages like me, myself, you know, where she going to come in and help us, you know, get all of that and so i just hope that, you know, that they just stand back and let her go on and be house speaker. host: looks like they're going to just -- going to do just

that. this from "roll call," the word is nancy pelosi has won the democratic caucus nomination for speaker. that from "roll call." we're expecting additional confirmation of that. expecting also to hear from members and possibly even hear again from democratic leader pelosi, the, we're now reporting the nominee for speaker. keep in mind that the speaker election for the whole house will happen when the 116th congress gavels in on january 3 of 2019. as we wait for more reaction from members and other the -- details on the vote, we'll bring you leader pelosi a short while ago she came out during the vote to speak with reporters, here's a lookment

ms. pelosi: good afternoon, everyone. i do believe it is a good afternoon. session ost unifying just now in the house democratic caucus, the new house democratic caucus, the most diverse caucus ever, and it was so inspiring to hear my colleagues place my name in nomination. once again for speaker of the house. how moving it was to hear joe kennedy place the name in nomination to be seconded by kathy castor, a colleague who has been in the lead on climate change issues and the rest. of course joe, a friend for many years, but a leader in the congress, making his own mark.

and then to have joist beatty speak in her own right, but to quote president obama, it was very moving. the emotion demonstrated by my colleague, atam schiff, when he talked about leadership and the challenges facing our nation, was a joy to behold. and the new members, foff the new members speak out with us now is congresswoman veronica escobar, one of the new members who spoke, placing my name in nomination about our shared values. we are also joined by a member who is very special to me because she's a new member of -- a member of this class but she's so a returning member, ann kirkpatrick of arizona a woman of great courage, she voted for the affordable care act, didn't come back, said it was worth it, and is here again, thank you,

ann, for joining us. and of course nobody could ever have an honor quite like having this display of friends placing my name in nomination than to have john lewis be the -- he wrapped it all up in such a beautiful way, not about me but about our challenges and about our need to be unify for the future. so i'm very, very -- just so inspired by it all and so grateful to my colleagues for what they have done to place my name in nomination. in the course of these last days and weeks, it has been my privilege to listen to new members, listen to our members who have been here a while, hear their views about how we go forward, convinced that everything we said in the campaign about a congress, a new congress that is open and transparent, that is accountable to the people, that is unifying

in how we do our work, and therefore bipartisan to the extent possible. is something that i think that we can with great dignity present to the american people as we have our agenda for the people. lower health care costs, bigger paychecks, dignity, and integrity in government and some other issues as we move forward. e're going to have a congress, sessions of congress that are like america's town hall meetings. where the miracle of technology will enable us to communicate very directly in social media, help us engage the public, be responsive to them, and also to mobilize around the issues of mportance to us. and amass the sources political and intellectual to re-elect this very spectacular class as

we move to again winning the white house in 2020. i couldn't be more honored. that is a figure of speech but it's a fact in this case as true as any statement anyone could ever make, to be honored by the nominations of those who placed my name in nomination and the support that i have from our colleagues in this caucus. we will, as i say, our diversity is our strength. but our unity is our power. and we will use that power again in a unifying way for our country. i'm very proud. we look forward to the results, whatever they are, they will be intense and they will be a vote of confidence for sending my name to the floor that i proudly -- proud to be the nominee of the house democratic caucus. once again, for speaker of the house.

again in a congress where we'll observe the 100th anniversary of women having the right to vote. a very special honor. hank you all for your support. porter: [nauble] ms. pelosi: i don't want to speak for other people bebut go forward with confidence. reporter: kathy -- she said she met with you and you dismissed her concerns outright. ms. pelosi: i'm talking about scores of members of congress who are giving me a vote of confidence. that is where our focus is. are there dissenters? yes, but i expect to have a powerful vote as we go forward. any other questions? >> when you went to the white

house that one time you came back and said, do women get to talk around him? how do you think president trump is going to react to having to work with a woman in such a position of power as you will hold as speaker? ms. pelosi: i think that -- i will say this. when i was speaker and president bush was president, he treated me and the office i hold with great respect. he would jokingly call me number three. he's number one. the vice president was number two. i was number three. he never began a meeting unless the speaker was present. we worked together on many issues. relating to energy, passing the biggest energy bill in the history of our country. pepfar. e wanted pepfar. issues that related to tax policies that gave refundability for people in our country. the list goes on and on. i would expect nothing less than

that from this president of the united states. we are a co-equal branch of government. springs from the vote of the members of the house of representatives. i think that the president will be respectful of that. >> madam leader. ma tam leadering you've been a leader for a long time. what was different about counting the vote this is time? ms. pe he see: this is all the ame. .'ve always had an opponent one time i think i didn't have an opponent. i spend time listening to members, new members an members who are returning, to hear what their prospects are for the future. when people say, you're so busy, i say no busier than ever because every corning i listen, i learn, we incorporate, we are

invigorated by new members coming in and new thinking of our members. so this was noo different than any ever before. it is different in that we have an historic freshman class. by dint of their experience, their diversity, their gender. it's something very, very special. let us just take a moment to dwell on the fact that we are in the majority. majority, majority, majority. and that our ranking members in madam r of weeks will be and mr. chair. that's a great thing. we are deputized to be a check and balance on the president and other bramplings of government and we'll do that with dignity. thank you all very much. host: democratic leader nancy pelosi, just before her caucus

approved her for speaker. members are coming out, i believe that's congressman brian higgins of new york, let's listen in. [inaudible] i think 03 votes and look, all of us ane -- [inaudible] we'll see pportunity to negotiate. i think negotiations are going on today. i think they went on this morning. i think they'll go on this afternoon. i think they'll go on for the next few weeks. it's a variety of things. medicare fix, very important ill to me.

it's a good faith effort, some members are looking for a chairman. there are new issues every the last year or so. there's a variety of things. >> how do you think she should number?ut the 203 mr. higgins: it's a good number. >> [inaudible] >> i think every democrat should want the speaker to negotiate on behalf of democrats when dealing with the white house and the senate majority leader. i think it would be short-term , but i think it's

important to come out with the majority in a united conference. this is all very normal. i think in the end it's done. she's been very resilient and we should want that as a democratic caucus in negotiating with the white house and the senate majority leader. thank you. host: brian higgins, congressman from new york a member initially opposed to the nomination of nancy pelosi. she has won the nomination by democrats to be speaker of the house. we continue live here on c-span waiting additional word from members, possibly even nancy pelosi once again. we'll continue taking your calls as well. 202- 48-8920 for those of you in

the eastern and central time zones. 202-748-8921 for the mountain and pacific time zones with the caveat this is for democrats only. here's a look at the vote from the perspective of some capitol hill reporters.

host: and one more, moving to majority leader race which hoyer will win. let's go to a caller. caller: i want to say how delighted i am to see that pelosi is getting a nod. i know there's another step to go. what i would like to comment about was in looking at the folks opposing her in the letter, for example, and some of the nubies, the websites they were talking about more transparency, more diversity,

although it look like we got a lot of diversity in this last election and i suspect that some of the money pelosi raised helped those wins happen, but when i looked at things like, you know what, somebody says i want more transparency. well, there was absolutely nothing, not on the website, not on his -- their representative sites for the government, that said well, here's what transparency means, this is what we're missing, this is what's weak, here's exactly what we need to do to add what's miss, strengthen what's weak, how we can implement it, what steps have to be taken and how to make it happen. nothing. when i was working as a research scientist, if you came with a complaint to your manager and said we need to fix something, you were expected to have a plan laid out. it's called completed staff work. and not one of them, not one, had anything that could remotely

be considered completed staff work to offer people to justify what they were concerned about how they'd fix it. nothing. host: have you found this to be an issue not just in this recent leadup to these leches but a past issue for democrats in terms of what you're calling transparency and information about what they plan to do? caller: you mean completed staff work? host: yes. caller: i would say yes. the -- i'm not sure why they're reluctant to put themselves out and say this is what i think needs to be done, this is how we make it happen, this is why it's important. it's not like this is rocket science by any means. 4-h something you learn in for god's sakes when you're 10. i think that was unfortunate. if you're going to complain about leadership you need to have done your homework. you need to have a put together -- have it put together so you

can hand it to anybody and say this is why i held this position. this is why i have this view of this. this is what i want done. it is unfortunate that people getting in positions, these kinds of positions at the national level with the paychecks they get and the benefits they get all complement os -- compliments of the taxpayers and can't be bothered to lay it out there or are not brave enough to put themselves out there except with one or two-word slogans. host: one more thing, you said you were a research scientist, what kind of work do you do? caller: i work primarily in risk, prnlt and programmatic risk. started out in chemistry and worked my way up. host: appreciate you checking in with us this afternoon. democrats only, we go next to kitty hawk, north carolina, paul, hello there. caller: hey, how are you, sir? host: doing fine. caller: what i would like to say s that she talks about

unification, nancy pelosi, i'm a conservative democrat, i'm a blue dog, i come from the macon family and i've had ancestor as speaker of the house, senator nathaniel macon who held that position longer than anybody in u.s. history. i am disgusted with our democratic leadership and i'm afraid for this nation right now as a whole and the progress that they will not make inside of the house because they're going to try to war with our president. maybe we don't agree with every single policy or anything that he tries to push forward but for the benefit of the american people, anyone stepping into that office needs to find resolutions and start working on issues that benefit the american people and not the democratic party nor me republican party. they can't.

-- host: paul, give us an idea, a thought on what you think, maybe one or two initial issues that they should work on with the resident -- once the 116th comes in? caller: flst a lot they can work on. one is raising wages for american workers. two is health care for our elderly. our social security. prison reform. substance abuse reform. we're wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on programs set forth by former administrations that are draining our deficits an putting us farther down. host: that's a good list there from paul in north carolina, called himself a blue dog democrats. e blue dogs held their

ections, they tweeted, congratulations to our new blue co-chair for administration, stephanie murphy, our new co-chair for policy, representative o'halloran and our new co-chair for communication, represent correa. back with us on the phone is scott wong, senior staff writer with "the hill" who covers hill leadership. no surprise in the final vote, 203-32. tell us a bit more. scott: the 32 number is very significant because while pelosi overwhelmingly won the vote today within the democratic caucus, all she needed was simple majority, she will need a much bigger number, 218 votes, or half of the total of 435

house of representatives members, on january 3 in the public vote on the house floor. and so the fact that 32 -- she suffered 32 defections means shea has a little more work to do because just 18 defections could defeat her on the house floor so she is going to reaching out to a number of those folks who rejected her today. and try to find out their needs and what they want. obviously she's not going to be able to turn all of them or flip all the votes but if she can keep those defections under 18 she will be the next speaker of the house. host: let's talk about one of those group they patched things up today, max hill reporting this, the problem solvers coalition this bipartisan group, tell us about the group and what

was the agreement reached today and why does that -- how does that vote for -- bode for nancy pelosi's chances on january 3? scott: i think it's a good sign. she wanted to have some sort of agreement this hand heading into today's vote. essentially with the bipartisan problem solvers -- what the bipartisan problem solvers caucus wanted was a commitment that she would stand with them an try to reform some of the house rules that govern how legislation comes to the floor. what these moderate republicans and democrats wanted was an easier path for burn legislation to go through committees and to come to the floor so for example if a certain bill offered by one of these members gets a certain amount of co-sponsors, it would

automatically get a vote on the house floor. there's a lot of specifics that probably haven't read yet but these are the types of things they wanted. so that they don't get cut out of the conversation and so it's not just the liberal wing of the democratic party that is basically dictating what types of legislation goes to the floor. host: before we let you go, nancy pelosi nominated by her caucus, aproved in the vote as we talked about. in the election in january, after that election, assuming now that she takes over as speaker of the house, how will she take on the role differently than the first time around or will she? scott: i think the party is much more liberal than it was perhaps the last time she held the speakership. e saw a number of, you know,

young, dynamic female candidates win elections across the country and so she is going to have a much more diverse caucus, she'll have a younger caucus than she previously had, and a more female caucus. so i think she will be reaching out, bringing a lot of younger members, a lot of the female members, into the fray, perhaps create manager types of leadership positions for them. giving them plum committee assignments, high profile committee assignments, perhaps creating special commissions that they could serve on. i think she's willing to try to demonstrate that this is the party that really, you know, reaches all corners and so that's probably one of the ways she will be doing things differently than she did 10 years ago. host: scott wonk, we appreciate it, you're probably in the scrum

we're seeing in the longworth house office building. thanks so much for your reporting and your tweets keeping us abreast of the story. we'll read more at thehill.com. thanks. scott: thanks so much. o host: staying live here on the hill, nancy pelosi elected as the nominee for the speaker of the house. they're doing other leadership election the election for house majority leader, likely steny hoyer, he's running unopposed. those votes happening now. and the other leadership positions as well. we'll continue to take your calls and thoughts, democrats only, 202-74 -8920 for the eastern and central time zone. 202-748468921 for the mountain and pacific time zones. caller: if nancy loses i hope the democrats get their policies , strong policies and work on

them. social security. for one. they take all the benefits oout of social security and hurt older people. i would like to see yeah, i'd pay. o get more i've been retired 20 years, i don't get more in my pension, but the company pays for insurance, but i have to pay more, i have more co-pays. host: an update on the election happening behind closed doors, our producer greg kaplan saying, steny hoyer elected majority leader unanimously by house democrats for the next congress. in california, go ahead. caller: hi. congratulations to nancy, she's terrific. she's got a good leadership

style. and what i'm afraid of is dealing with our unusual president, trump, he's a power house. and she's very disrespectful, disrft respected hillary so many times in so many different ways. and that's what i'm concerned about. nancy, i hope she's tough enough to deal with him. as far as wit is concerned, as far as working for the american people as she's done over the years, and she's fantastic, we wouldn't have gotten the affordable care act if it wasn't for nancy's leadership. host: thank you, robert, back live to the longworth house office building and listen in. >> this leadership team plans to

turn over the reins. we elected the most diverse group of members ever elected to the house in our history. they deserve to know when leadership is going to change. >> did you vote -- >> there was discussion about timelines but i understand, i'm a practical person, i understand the downside to saying this is what i'm going -- this is when 'm going to leave. it has the ability to affect your ability to get things done. that's not what we want either. but there has to be some succession plan, there has sob some transition because the voters have spoken loud and clear. e need to protect our members. we didn't agree on the direction we needed to go in.

hope -- hopefully we'll have more conversations. >> what about the 203 that voted for her? >> there were twice as many people voting no for nancy pe low shea than we need to -- on the floor. there was no one running against her. so it's pretty obvious why there weren't as many votes against her this time, there was no one running against her. look, again, this is all about moving on to the next generation of leadership and we need to get there. we need to get there. that's what voters want. they're sick and tired of the same kind of establishment politics going on with all the getting people, all these kinds of things. there's a reason people have lack of faith in what we do here in washington. i have said from the beginning this is not personal about nancy

pelosi. it's not about her, it's the team. but there was no opposition to them but i think any conversation has to include the top three positions. no question about it. >> if not her, then who? >> i have no intention of running. never been about me running but about agitating for change. that's what we need here. miss rice: my feeling is if it does get to a floor vote, if we work something out before, i believe there are other people tothis caucus who should get try. there's so much talent in our caucus. the new class of people coming in are going to be incredible in our party. we have to get there these are not easy times. but listen, the voters went and did some extraordinary things they went out and knocked on doors, made phone call, theyage stated -- agitated for change. if we don't take that message and do the same here, shame on

us. >> 40 seats, that's right, that's great. that tells you that there was a real sea change out there. voters wanted new people here, hey had a great group of candidates running, speaking directly to voters they were not taking their marching orders from the leaders is washington. they spoke directly to their constituents. and they won. very difficult races. they'll have a difficult race two years from now. it'll be made that much more difficult if we don't show we heard the voters and you know, elect different people. >> republicans tried to make this about -- ability pe he see. didn't they kind of say ok and vote for democrats, knowing that pelosi was the option they were being given for speaker? miss rice: people support candidate bus a lot of candidates said i'm not going to vote for her.

so that's -- that's a strong message right there. this has always been about listening to voters. we can't forget about the entire middle of the country. we need to get back to listening to voters and what they have to say. a lot of that has to do with allowing the next yield back the balance of my time ration of leaders, of which there are many, to step up and do their part. how confidence are you that enough of those members will ontinue not to back her. miss rice: there are more than 16 people who said they won't vote for her on the floor. i don't want it to come to that. this is not an easy position to be in but we have to have this

onversation. we'll see. my hope is we'll continue the conversation because i think that the more we talk, the more productive we can be. but i for one think we have to put a focus on listening to voters. thank you. host: congresswoman kathleen rice speaking to reporters outside of the meeting room where democrats are fwathered to elect their leaders for the 116th congress. they've approved mancy pe he see. let's listen to elijah cummings. mr. cummings: it's going great. ancy pelosi was elected as the nominee for speaker. i said this before, i'll say it again. she is a phenomenal person and leader.

i'm also pleased to see steny hoyer who just got elected, i and you all know that, that's great to me as a marylander. one thing i said when nominating steny hoyer was that we as democrats do not have much time to show the nation good leadership. over the last two years, we've been blocked in every way. n my own committee, reform and oversight, we -- the republicans have basically aided and abetted our president in a number of hings he's done.

so now it's our chance to lead. i think that nancy pelosi and steny hoyer, jim clyburn, will put us in that position where we can not hit the ground run bug hit the ground flying. e don't have a choice. i guarantee you nancy pelosi will have the votings. i don't have any doubt about that. but to answer your question, i don't anticipate that. i think you've got to keep in mind what we're dealing with. we have dealt with a republican party that is no longer the republican party. -- what we've ty got to do now is we've got to reclaim civility, number one. why do we need reclaim civility?

so we can be effective and efficient. the american people have been very quick, even the people who are big-time trump supporters, what they said is we want youing democrats, to hold our president accountable. and so we're in a position to do that. but we're in a position to do something else. not going to spend all our time in issuing subpoenas. we want to spend our time trying to address those problems that affect the american people on a day-to-day basis. that's what the american people want. they want us to be able to address things like drugs, make sure we have affordable health care, making sure that we deal with issues like voting rights. by the way this evoting situation in our country has become in system instances just

very, very sad. we go around the world trying to get people to adopt democracy but we've got people standing in line for five and six hours to vote. booths ing the voting outside the town so people can't vote. in north carolina, as the judge said, went against people trying to prevent people who would normally vote for democrats from voting. so we have got a lot of work to do. we have very little time to do it in. that's why i think it's so important that we have -- i on that's why sometime january 3, she'll have the votes then. >> what do you want the democrats to -- what would youcy

to democrats who do not want to support nancy pelosi despite her being the only choice here? mr. cummings: in a way there was a choice to get a clear picture. but what i would say to them is that here we are, a woman who has given her blood, sweat, and tears, who has sacrificed other hasover and over again, who had some of the most phenomenal accomplishments of any speaker, ver to serve in the house. nd then at a time when she has led us to have one of the greatest -- greatest number of women we have ever had, i would say to them what do you want? at a time that this woman has done all of this, then it's --

and she -- it's not just that she's a woman, she's a great woman, a great leader, and to -- it would just seem, i just can't imagine taking her out when women are emenching as -- to their rightful places in our congress. keep in mind i'm the son of a female pastor, all my life, i'm used to women in leadership. again, i hope that going back to your question, what i was pleased with our members to do -- plead with our members to do, even the ones that are against her is to look at what she has done with regard to bringing in new people. she's done all kinds of reforms. done a lot of good things. and the door is still open to them. but one of the things they need to understand is that she's been

through a lot. she's seen a lot. i think that we need to mix the older with the middle and the new. as far as leadership is concerned. i think we're beginning to see that happen. again, we've got to lead right now. >> [inaudible] mr. cummings: no, no, i don't -- -- nancy pelosi watching her, i don't mind her being in leadership for a long, long time. because she's able to take a diverse caucus and get people to do things that maybe they may not normally do. and i've seen people come up, i

remember when we were dealing with the affordable care act, someone from iowa got up and said you know what, if i vote for this bill i know i'm going to lose my seat. she knows her members, she understands them. and she makes sure that she places people in positions where they can be successful. so again, i think that's when all the -- i think when all the will ettles, nancy pelosi be speaker, i think that will be good for us as a caucus. because it will allow us to go in there and get things done and get them cone fast. and then the thing is, this is my last statement -- you know, that het trump has said

wants to make sure that we have infrastructure. he also said that wants -- just before the election sea he said he wanted to make sure that people were protected with regard to pre-existing conditions. well what we're saying to the president and i think nancy is the one to deliver that message, mr. president, you want to do these things, let's do them together. and let's make it happen. so i think we have a golden opportunity now hopefully to get something done and now that we don't have the republicans in the congress blocking us from everything we want to do, i think we'll be in a better position to get things done. hopefully the american people will see the democrats lead this country. all right.

thank you all. host: the likely incoming chair of the house oversight an government reform committee, elijah couple offings maryland, speaking with reporters, going back into the room where democrats continue to vote on leadership for the 116th congress, earlier approving the nomination of nancy pelosi. now their speaker-designee for the 116th. that vote 203-32. lso by consent agreeing to steny hoyer's nomination as majority leader in the 116th. we heard there from congresswoman kathleen rice of

new york. in case you missed part of her comments, matt fuller from huffing tennessee post tweeting this. she says that members deserve to know when nancy pelosi plans to leave that now seems like the big fight. whether pelosi will have to announce a date of retirement. if she did a crucial number of the anti-pe he see democrats would support her. paul kaine from "the washington post" with a look at the vote ahead on january 3, this is when the full house will vote on the speaker nomination. pelosi's math she got 203 votes, four of those likely from delegates. eleanor holmes norton, etc., who don't vote on the house floor on january 3. sean patrick maloney was abseptember , he supports nancy pelosi. that's 200. she now needs to peel off 18 of the remaining 35 who didn't vote for her today. we continue to get your calls and comments. we think the house coming back in about 35 minute or so at 4:30

eastern to take up a couple of bills and we'll go there live obviously when they gavel. in but we'll continue with your calls and comments as democrats continue their votes over in the house office building there. 202-748-8920 for those in the eastern and central time zones. 202-748-8921 for mountain and pacific. democrats only. larry is in potomac, maryland, go ahead. caller: hi. it's larry. my family owned a business in east baltimore, my father was -- with with speaker the speaker designate's father, i've known her a long time. i can only tell you that the smile on her father's face has to be unbelievable. the pride he must see in this occasion.

and i only wish nancy the very best and she's going to have a i served o do and almost 7 1/2 years as a gunnery officer on a destroyer, i want to wish nancy the best knowing that we're behind her and steady steny also and i want to say thank you for letting me speak. host: thank you, larry. kuyper tino, california, good afternoon to joe. caller: good afternoon. thank you for taking my call. i'm happy nancy got this far. i'm thinking we can just pick up and move forward. it's good to have some resistance hear. i'm proud of the democrats, let them come forward. there's a sharing of ideas here and some of those things we have to pay attention to, one of which is, maybe it is time that she finds her replacement,

brings that person to the front and then has a gradual changing of the guard. as we see in the senate. diane needs to be replace bud d it gradually but nancy will be able to do things, she -- we took 40 seats back, think of the possibilities. i'm really grateful. i hope we do this in a dignified way. i hope we do it showing that we can chew bubble gum and walk at the same time as we continue to pursue whatever comes from mueller and whatever comes in the near future, we'll do it together, united and she's a great leader. thank you. host: some news from one of the three outstanding house races, this is from bloomberg, tweeting the a.p. story, associated press story, democrat anthony brindisi defeats claudia tenny in upstate, settled three weeks

after the leather. brindisi's victory in a district of dairy farms came after an actry moan youst contest with representative ten nee. in about a half her the house will gavel back in, they've got several bills on the agenda, we'll continue to watch and wait outside the meeting room on capitol hill as democrats continue with their election. let's hear next from brian in berlin, connecticut. host: brian, you are on the air. caller: thank you for taking my call. i'm upset about all these people pelosi. bout nancy she is too old and has to get out along with steny hoyer and cummings and all those other people there. time for new blood.

and i think it's time for them to go and get some new people in there. new fresh face going into this house of representatives. and go from there. host: brian in connecticut etting another word to clyburn elected majority whip in the 116th congress, approved. our producer is keeping track of things. ecky is in phoenix, arizona. caller: thanks for taking my call and i wanted to congratulate nancy pelosi, absolute supporter of hers. i supported -- i have a republican representing me in he house and i'm not too fond.

but i have and i know others support people in other districts because we want to see a consolidated forceful democratic party in the coming years because we need to turn this nation around and bring civil ti and bring the american dream back to america. nancy pelosi is a proven leader and things she has done for this country and things she has done to bring diversity to the house of representatives is phenomenal. she is the right woman and right leader for her time. and i have supported these people with a few dollars here and there and i would be disappointed if we fractured our own party for the sake of a few people who want to rise to power instantly. nancy pelosi has a proven long-term resume that makes her

the right person for this and i'm thrilled she has been nominated and absolutely confident she will have full support on the floor in january. thank you very much. host: we go to bash in troy, illinois. our cameras live in the meeting room. across the street from the capitol. aller: thank you for taking my call. i do think nancy pelosi is the right woman for the job today. now in 2020, i don't think she will be. but i did hear her say that she thinks with president bush, she worked well with him. she is not going to work well with president trump. that man doesn't work well with anybody. and she's a woman.

he disrespects women. he is not going to listen to a thing she says. and i think that's going to be one of our major problems. host: let me ask you about 2020. congresswoman rice and other members said they will support nancy pelosi on the house floor if she says she will serve through 2020. do you think that is something she should do? caller: i do. we have a lot of young, freshmen coming in. and they all have great ideas. i mean, i watched a lot of the debates on the ones that i could see here in illinois. nd you know, and i watched msnbc, c-span.

cnn. i watch them all. and i really think nancy pelosi needs to go in 2020. host: you support her now? caller: i support her now if she listens to the younger people. host: i appreciate that. we did want to show you the comments of kathleen rice. here's a look. >> i think the people need to know when this leadership plans on turning the reins over. we just elected the most diverse group of members that have ever been elected to the house in our history. and they deserve to know when leadership is going to change. >> did you vote for her? mr. rice: there was discussion about time lines, but i

understand the downside to saying this is what i'm going to . there has to be some transition. because she has already spoken loud and clear. indiscernible] miss friday: we didn't agree on e -- miss friday: there were twice as .any people voting no >> there was no one running against her.

and there wasn't as many votes against her because there wasn't anybody running against her. this is about moving on the next giving on of leadership them leaderships and reason why people have lack of faith in what we do here in washington. [indiscernible] >> i have said from the very beginning not to support nancy pelosi. it's not about her but her entire team. but there was no opposition to them. but i think any conversation has to include the top three positions. [indiscernible] >> i have no intention about

running but advocating for change and that's what we have here. my feeling is if it gets to a floor vote or work something out before, i believe there are other people in this caucus. there is no question about it. there are so many talented new people. the new class, they will be incredible in our party. we have to get there. and these are not easy times -- the voters went and did extraordinary things. they went out and knocked on doors, and made phone calls and advocated for change. if we don't take that message and do the same thing here, shame on us. 40 seats. that is great. that tells you there was a real sea change out there. voters wanted new people here. they have a great group of candidates who are speaking

directly to voters and not taking their marching orders. they spoke directly to their constituents. if it will be made much more difficult if we don't show the voters. >> republicans try to make this about pelosi and ran millions of dollars of ads. didn't they say ok and vote for democrats? >> a lot of those candidates this. we can't forget about the middle of the entire country and this is a party that represents every american. we have to listen to voters and what they have to say and that

allows the next generation of leaders, of which there are many in our caucus to step up and do their part. indiscernible] >> [indiscernible] >> we have to have this discussion. and nancy pelosi said it herself. and this is what this effort is all about. but we have to have this onversation now. we'll see, my hope is we will continue the conversation because the more we talk, the more productive we can be in coming to a resolution, but we have to put a focus on listening

to the voters. host: the comments from members earlier today available on our website at c-span.org. the house coming back into session in 20 minutes or so. 4:30 eastern. will take up a number of bills. later this week, they will take up a republican tax bill expanding some of the tax breaks in last year's measures. votes continue in the democratic caucus. they are across the street. for lready voted representative jeffries as the caucus chair. he is running the meeting. ancy pelosi is approved as the speaker-designee and approved steny hoyer and james clyburn. next, democratic leadership

elections, current dccc chair, followed by the caucus vice chair race versus pete aguilar of california. we will continue until the house comes in getting any reaction from the stakeout positions outside the meeting rooms and taking your calls. courtney, good afternoon. >> thank you for taking my call. i'm sitting here and as a democrat it frustrates me that so many people are focused on nancy pelosi's age and democrats need to realize that sometimes with age comes wisdom and that's what our country needs and that is wisdom. f anybody can handle the

insults that president trump, she will be more to put him in a great place of where he will learn to respect women as a whole. they need to stop focusing on the age factor that everybody keeps factor. it's not about age but about the knowledge and all the great things that she can bring experience-wise to the united states of america. host: max in wilmington, north carolina. caller: good afternoon, thank you for taking my call. i have two thoughts, the first is my initial impression on the election of nancy pelosi for the speaker inspect and while i don't agree with that speaker-elect pelosi on policy issues, i'm more centrist than she, she is very effective.

so i think it is important irrespective of people's specific policy opinions to be a little bit calmer and respect someone's effectiveness even if they don't match your own views exactly. my second thought overall, while i think that speaker pelosi will be effective, i think it is ok in the democratic party to disagree. their tore question policy positions but being more dispassionate. regardless of if we are talking about the democrats or the republicans, most of these leaders in congress and the executive branch and what not generally have the best interests of the u.s. in mind. if we could be more respectful of each other, we would have more productive conversations.

host: max, you still with us? neal in york, pennsylvania. members are still there. neal in pennsylvania. hi. caller: thank you for taking my call. as far as nancy pelosi, i happen to believe that she is one of the best things that ever happened to the democratic party. and i can't believe a lot of these people are more or less against her. i just think she's wonderful. and that's pretty much all i have to say. these young democrats that want to get her out, they sound like a bunch of republicans to me. ok, thank you. host: taking your calls up to about 4:30. that was the originally scheduled but it's possible they will wait until all of these leadership elections are done. and then gavel in. there are a couple of bills this

afternoon on the agenda and we will have that live as we always do here on c-span. to memphis and good afternoon to lee. caller: good afternoon, sir. i would like to say this quick. think people really need to eave nancy pelosi. instead of the people -- i don't know why we as democrats want to always shoot ourselves in the foot. if you find something that's right and that is working, let it continue to go on. leave it alone. from i but a thing donald trump. but i just think leave her alone. she's good. she knows what the heck she's doing. leave nancy pelosi alone.

host: do you think donald trump, you mentioned that he thinks he is afraid or someone he can negotiate with? >> i think he sees her as a challenge. i think he knows she is smart enough to go ahead and try to get things done despite all of his lying and ignorant postures on everything that he does. and i'm sick and tired of a so-called president that is playing that i think nancy was aware of what he was doing. she knew what was going on. and then trying to deal with him, which is more than i can say any of the republican people have done. they have gone off to the side and just decided to not do anything. i think jeff flake has tried to do and bob corker, god bless his

heart. host: we just saw karen bass leave the meeting room. e was elected to chair the congressional black caucus. presentative jeffries is the democratic caucus. nancy pelosi winning the nomination for the democrats to be the speaker designee. that full house vote will be on january 3 and craig kaplan tweeting other results as well. majority leader steny hoyer and james clyburn as whip. as we wait for comments. we will show you the briefing that nancy pelosi held with reporters just before she was legitimated by her caucus.

ms. pelosi: good afternoon everyone. and i do believe it is a good afternoon. we had a most unifying session just now in the house democratic caucus. ever anddiverse caucus it was so inspiring to hear my colleagues place my name in nomination once again for speaker of the house. how moving it was to hear joe kennedy place the name in omination, to be seconded by kathy castor who has been a leader on climate change. and of course, joe, a friend for many years but a leader in the congress making his own mark.

beatty to have joyce and quote president obama. it was moving. the emotion demonstrated by my colleague, adam schiff, when he talked about leadership and the challenges facing our nation was a joy to behold. out.he new members speak we have congresswoman escobar who spoke and placing my name in the nomination about our shared values. we are also joined by members. and she is a member of this class, but also returning member . and ann kirkpatrick of arizona. she didn't come back. said it was worth it and here again and thank you, ann.

and nobody could have an honor quite like having this display placing my name in nomination and i'm ave john lewis place ired by it all and my name in nomination. in the course of these last days and weeks, it has been my privilege to listen to new members, listen to our members who have been here for a while and hear our views about how we go forward, convinced that everything we said in the campaign about our congress, a new congress, open and transparent, that is accountable to the people, that is unifying

in how we do our work and therefore bipartisan to the extent possible is something that i think we can with great dignity present to the american eople as we affect our agenda, health care costs, bigger paychecks, dignity and integrity in government and some other issues as we move forward. and they are like america's town hall meeting where the miracle of technology will unable us to communicate very directly in the social media. and also to mobilize around the ssues of importance to us. and elect this spectacular class

and winning the white house in 2020. i couldn't be more honored. that is a figure of speech as true as any statement anyone could ever make to be honored by those who put my name in omination. our diversity is our strength and unity is our power and we will use that power again in a unifying way for our country. i'm very proud and look forward to the results. wherever they are, it will be a vote of confidence. i'm proud to be the nominee of the house democratic caucus once again as speaker of the house.

we will observe the 100th anniversary of women having the right to vote, a very special honor. thank you all. [indiscernible] ms. pelosi: i think we're in pretty good shape. i don't want to make other people's announcements for them. but we go forward with nfidence and how milt -- humility. >> kathleen rice said she met with her and listened to her concerns. ms. pelosi: i'm talking about scores of members of congress who just gave me a vote, giving me a vote of confidence. that is where our focus is. are there dissenters, yes. but i expect a powerful vote as we go forward. >> when you were at the white house that one time -- do women

get to talk. how do you think that president trump is going to have to react power. with a woman in >> when i was speaker and president bush was president, he treated me and the office i hold with great respect. he would call me number three. he is number one. the vice president was number two. i was number three. he never began the meeting unless the speaker was present. we worked together on many shoes relating to energy, passing the biggest energy bill, pepfar. he wanted that. issues that related to tax policies that gave that. the list goes on and on. i would expect nothing less than

that from this president. we are a co-equal branch of government. my power there springs from the vote of the members of the house of representatives. i think that the president will be respectful of that. [indiscernible] >> what was different about the votes this time? ms. pelosi: this is all the same. one time i didn't have an opponent. not an opponent, but opposition. at no, every congress i spend lot of time listening to members, new members and members who are returning to hear what their prospects are for the future. when people say you are so busy. no busier than ever because every congress i listen, i learn, i incorporate. we are invigorated by new

members coming in and new thinking. this was no different than any ever before. it is different in that we have historic freshman class. their experience, their diversity, their gender, it is something very special. and let's drill in on the fact that we are in the majority. the majority. majority. and ranking members in a matter of weeks will be madam and mr. chair. and that is a great thing for the american people. we have to have a check and balance on the president and other branches of government and we will do that with dignity. thank you all very much. host: democratic leader nancy pelosi is the speaker-designee.

a number of the elections for leadership positions in the 16th -- 116th have taken place. and we are minutes away from the house gaveling in. just to look at the math ahead for speaker pelosi. the "washington post" tweeting this, her leadership, she got 203 votes but four of those are likely from delegates. eleanor holmes norton who don't vote on the house floor. sean maloney was absent. she now needs to peel off 18 of the 35 who didn't vote for her today. we are staying live and awaiting possible comments from members as they come out of the caucus meeting room. the ways and means committee

room in the longworth house office building. see if we can get one more call. tony in fresno, california. caller: this is tony from fresno, california. i wanted to make a comment. the democrats should be thankful to the kennedys who wanted the districts. otherwise they would not be in control. and nancy pelosi, she made that silly comment about the five white guys. that is really ridiculous. and the democrats at this point should pay more attention like ryan and seth moulton. these kind of people should be in leadership positions. that's my comment. nd the democrats should be putting these people in these leadership positions because

they are the ones that are gain control of the house. host: one of those who will ppose her speakership in the epresentative from pennsylvania, representative lamb. the house is coming in. go ahead. caller: thanks for taking my call. back in august, i was in a meeting with nancy pelosi, steny hoyer, james clyburn and sedgwick richmond with a diverse group of african-american church leaders and i watched her closely and i was amazed at the insights that she had. i was amazed at the number of ballings she was juggling at one time. and i was really