they? mennifer: it is on rollcall.co or on my twitter handle. host: we appreciate having you. jennifer: thank you. announcer 1: c-span, where history unfolds daily. a 1979 c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. we continue to bring you unfiltered congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington, dc and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. " continues. host: we are here with leo shane, the deputy editor of "military times" here in washington, d.c. we will talk about the past year in military and veterans issues. good morning. so let's start with current news. guest: it feels like a year's

worth in the last two weeks. host: james mattis will wrap up his tenure monday. guest: yes. the deputy will take over january 1 day of quite the --ople -- up people upheaval. host: so what were his successes and failures? guest: he leaves as a popular figure as defense secretary. he was beloved by the military. we had a poll that set up to 85% of military folks respected him. he was someone viewed on capitol hill as being an adult in the room, someone who moderated some of trump's more impulsive habits on military issues. he successfully got a larger military budget he has talked about needing to rebuild the military. we saw the military budget rise

in fiscal 2018. but there was a fight between him and the president over his plan to withdraw troops from syria and afghanistan. some of the ways the president has talked about foreign allies. so he leaves with a mixed legacy paid a lot of respect, but in terms of things he has accomplished and how much you moderated the president, we will president decides to undo the half steps and cautious steps mattis put in p lace, we will see if that disappears. host: you already mentioned this, but patrick shanahan comes in behind secretary mattis. what is that transition going to be like? guest: it will be interesting to see how long he is in the role. when secretary mattis announced his resignation, initially he said he would -- wanted to stay

in place until the end of february 2 ensure a smooth transition. next year, we are going to have a new chairman of the joint chiefs, a fair amount of regular military turnover anyway. thepresident, after reading resignation letter, did not like that plan and told secretary mattis he was getting out within a couple of weeks. now the deputy secretary is stepping in. he is known as someone who is high on talking about pentagon efficiency, about ways to cut waste at the pentagon, ways to make it run more like a business. he will be looking to put that stamp on the pentagon. the question is how long will you be there? -- he be there? we are not sure when the president will announce a nominee. we saw from the department of saga, whenfairs

randy jackson was nominated and it ended up being two months of scandal -- controversy. so a lot of folks in the military community are hoping it will not be for months until we have a permanent replacement for mattis. assuming that as someone who was not controversial. shanahan, heick got confirmation already. he is respected on capitol hill. but whoever comes up, there will be a ton of questions about the syria policy change, about strategy.oader there are a lot of issues to be worked out. we will see how that shapes military policy. host: we will put you on the spot. if not shanahan, who's up? guest: there are a lot of names.

jack keene was one of the names thrown out. he has publicly said he is not interested in the job anymore. a lot of buzz around tom cotton. there is a lot of controversy around him as well, at least with some of his colleagues and how he would go through the con permission process. heather wilson, the current air force secretary, could come the first woman to become defense secretary, but she has sparred with the trump administration over the creation of a new space force. the one thing we have learned from this administration is expected the unexpected. there are probably a few names out there that none of us in the defense reporting community have even thought about what the president is seriously considering. if you are making bets today, the best bet is patrick shanahan. we have seen the president put acting secretaries in and then eventually rollover that job to the permanent job. host: that's let callers join

in. we have some special lines. we are going to have active military, so if you are an active military member, we want you to call (202) 748-8000. veteran, retired military, we want to hear from you at (202) 748-8001. either oneot fit in of those categories, we have a line for you as well. we want you to call at (202) 748-8002. and you can always reach us on social media come on twitter, @cspanwj, and at facebook, facebook.com/cspan. the president went to visit the troops in iraq earlier this week. that was his first visit to troops in a combat zone. how are you hearing that night? guest: this was a point of controversy. earlier to pay

respect to the troops and get a better understanding of what was going on. as many things do, with president trump, there was a fair amount of controversy. he made comments about military pay that were inaccurate when he was there. there were concerns about units taking pictures with "maga" hats and trump re-election stickers. some of this is just a normal controversy that surrounds trump on just about everything. what we heard from a lot of the folks were saying that he needs to get over there was that it was good to get that out of the way, good to get perspective. and it is good to see troops -- for the troops to see that the commander-in-chief would offer that level of support. we will see if that is a one-off trip. we know president obama and president bush did not just make it a one-off thing. they wanted to show they were still connected to the troops and aware of that.

but it was powerful symbolism someone that high up pay their respects. you brought up a couple controversies, one, the bag of hats. paradeith the military guest military pay raise, what happened? leo: we have been tracking that for a while. he told troops he has given a pay raise with the first time in 10 years, and it is not true. the military gets pay raises every year. just how much it keeps up with inflation, but the president has been saying i gave you the largest pay raise in 10 years which is inaccurate. then he said, the first pay raise in 10 years. then he said he was pushing for 10% a raise, it will actually be 2.6%. no evidence the a ministration

is pushing for 10%. a lot of confusing statements, how it is parsed out, if he got carried away, but it is a pattern that has developed since last may. we are saying a lot of administration officials repeat and trump supporters repeat that before he came into office, the military did not get a pay raise for 10 years. the military has gotten a pay raise reliably since the 1980's, every year. host: let's run that tape. gotident trump: you just one of the biggest pay raises you have ever received, unless you do not want it. willing to give up the big pay raise you just got? raise your hand please. i do not see many hands. do not give it up. it is great. nobody deserves it more.

you have not gotten one in 10 years. 10 years, and i got you a big one. [cheers] there are plenty of people who said we can make it 3%, 2%, i said no. make it 10%. make it more than 10%. it has been more than 10 years. there andurselves out your lives out there, so congratulations. you are saying that his statement that it is the largest pay raise -- pay this is the largest raise in 10 years, but not the first in 10 years. last year there was a 2.4% pay raise, this year it will be

2.6%. he is implying it will be more than 10%. i do not want troops who get their first paycheck next year and find out it was 2.6%, and not 11%. again, it does not seem like something he needs to exaggerate . it is a good a compass something republicans have been touting, to provide enough funding. they have gotten a pay raise for the last 37 years. let's let some of our viewers enjoy the conversation. from san antonio texas. good morning. joseph.this is i am a vietnam veteran. i have been listening to c-span for a long time. i want to congratulate that to

you guys. to be a veteran , i listen to cnn, msnbc and i listen to fox. the points i want to make, with haveall they do is military, the president loves the military, all the stories about the military, which i find repugnant because mr. trump, we find out a couple days ago he had a doctor that gave him a deferment on bone spurs just because of his dad and a building. my point is, i do not like the president speaking for all people in the military and all veterans, because it is just a

lie. he just lies and lies. thank you for having this gentleman on. host: thank you for the call. what issues does president trump have to face this year? leo: really quick for the caller, because he brought up this point of the military and if they like trump. we have done polling and have seen mixed results, but i think a lot of folks when they think of the military think of a conservative block. what we have seen in our polling, there is more nuanced. there are folks who have concerns, and folks who support his issues. one of the big things his supporters love was the appointment of secretary mattis. it will be interesting to see if his popularity goes up and down. on veterans issues, the biggest

issue of 2018 was the firing, resignation, it became difficult to figure out what it was of secretary david shulkin. about trump'sries business associates in mar-a-lago having undue influence on policy. robert wilkie comes in and promises to clean up the .epartment we entered this year where we were last year, folks feeling good about the future of the ca and that there has been -- future of the va, and when will you inject new leadership and drama into the position? host: from alexandria, louisiana. good morning. i am a vietnam veteran, and is privatization of the va

hospital is destroying the va hospital. host: in what way? caller: we no longer have the emergency room at the hospital, we no longer have doctors at the hospital. they said you have to drive 40 miles to get to the va hospital, you can go to public doctors. public doctors will not accept us around here because once you plus va splitare the costs. they are turning us down. the person we can go see is 120 miles away in lafayette. my neighbor did not want to drive 120 miles. cancerto have skin removed off his ear because we cannot get service. the young guys might be getting

service, i do not know. but these doctors are saying we will not take you because of your medicare. the are just destroying v.a. host: this will be the big issue to watch in 2019. last summer the president signed into law the mission act. a provision there was an overhaul of the v.a.'s care programs that allow veterans to go to a local private doctor. --ht now the a leadership right now this leadership is putting the devils's in the details in the rules. veterans groups have said it is .mportant to have more options there may be long waits but there is concern this will end up being a funding drain from the v.a. and that money will go

to private doctors, and you will get an entire generation of veterans using doctors outside of the v.a. who do not have the same level of care or monitoring . if a veteran goes into see ava a., they -- goes into see v.a. doctor, all these things they are used to seeing, somebody in the private sector, a veteran may go in for a flu shot or a broken arm, something minor. but will also complain they are having trouble sleeping or being focused network. hope --doctor you would expect the democratic house which will be run by democrats to drill into this issue in coming months and say how are we making sure the system is viable

. how were we making sure veterans do not have that as the first option before they go to an outside dr. because of convenience or perceived frustration. host: you jump ahead to my next question. how does the house changing the democratic hands affect the budget negotiations? leo: on the veterans side, it will be less controversial. a figure where both democrats and republicans continue a steady increase in the v.a. budget. on defense it will be more of a fight. the president is interested in a $700 billion budget. , he will be an increase will be negotiating with his own party. democrats have said if you keep dumping money into defense, we need to missouri increases in other -- come is

for all these other issues. income armed services chairman says he sees areas where the u.s. could cut back. see how nasty it will get. we will be facing another shutdown problem at the end of the year, the end of september when the budget runs out. host: from elk, california. good morning. i would like to know, these military people talk about the president, they should be held for treason. if these democrats do not like why doin our country they not leave, there are third

world countries who will be happy to accept them into their open arms. maybe they will give them a check and take care of them for the rest of their lives. that is all i have to say. point, you arest allowed to have opinions in the military, we have not seen anyone speak out directly against president trump. concerns were expressed about his policies, and support. back in the fall, we saw a lot of folks who said they love his military policies, the buildup of the military budget and the resources he has put on their. say, i wishks who he would put down his phone and stop reading. -- stop tweeting. if he took the role more seriously.

a lot of folks take the military as a monolithic mindless block that does as they are told, and getting to cover the military and veterans we see a lot of nuance, a lot of concerns, a lot maybe as in the public, little more conservatively based on exit polls. host: that brings us back around to president trump's trip to iraq. he also talked politics, about the border wall, and handed out maga hats. what was wrong with that at?stion mar leo: there were rules about politicking in uniform. displays that seem partisan one way or another.

the way i see the signing of the hats is different. there was one soldier who held up a flag, that seems politicking. i do not know if that is a sin. in andmander should step say there are rules about politicking. if you hold up an american flag, that is one thing. if you hold up a trump flag, that is another. as to the signing of the hats, there are plenty of times when troops that autographs. if you are wearing the hat, it is one thing, it you are holding it, that is another. the defense department has said they will remind folks that the military is supposed to be seen as separate from politics, make sure we are doing this. when the commander in chief any

military facility, there are a lot of selfies and handshaking. that part is not that unusual. trump has done a better job than previous presidents branding himself and his campaign, and that brings interesting twists. host: let's go to richard in canada. i do not know why mr. shane does not want to report that general mattis was fired without the benefit of a phone call, and the money obama gave to iran. how come that is not being talked about? is that corrupt journalism? leo: i do not think that is correct journalism. secretary mattis was forced out by the obama administration. obama was criticized in some circles. different administration, different policies.

for all the credit president trump has gotten for bringing mattis back in, that seems to be going out the window with the way he has forced secretary mattis out. secretary mattis left with his poignant letter and a respectful letter. he does not name call the president or attack the president in a direct way, but he does criticize some of the policies he has had towards u.s. allies. it will be interested to see how president trump handles that in the months to come, if he decides to go after secretary mattis as he is gone after previous cabinet members and other political foes. it will send shockwaves through the military. this is a respected individual in the military. president obama took a lot of grief for not keeping mattis around. if president trump decides he will name call and pick apart secretary mattis, there will be

a lot of folks in the military reevaluate whether support stands for the president. host: that bruce, louisiana. rouge,rning -- baton louisiana. [indiscernible] with or without the wall, we need more military. military pay is a tricky issue on capitol hill. it is hard to say troops do not deserve it. it is hard to say you do not want to give them more, but there are issues with how you balance the budget and pay for defense. if we gave that 10% pay raise to troops this year, we would be looking at the budget ballooning

significantly, on the order of $12 billion over the next five years in additional pay costs. the congress and pentagon have to do, and how do we make sure we are compensating these folks? how do we make sure they have g.i. benefits when they leave question mark also, how do we do that in an environment where they have the best equipment or training or readiness? ,hat we saw in the obama era controversial in the military discussion of pulling back military pay, making military pay below what it should be based on the .alculations and private sector for three years straight, military pay raises were a half percentage point below what the

private sector would have been expected to get. that has created a pay gap and infuriated people in the military, saying you are balancing the budget on the backs of the troops. you should be going to congress and getting more money. if the see going ahead democrats want to do that, or if the pentagon wants to. the pentagon has been a supporter of this in the past, saying we can provide better training and equipment and support programs. all of those are important in how we compensate troops as well. host: let's get one more question in from virginia. question, ite a seems like everybody is bashing president trump for whatever reasons they can find. etc. signing of the hats,

whatever.e spurs or why did nobody ever talk about obama never served, and nobody says a thing ever? and i am curious why? leo: we talked a lot about this. i would encourage you to read more military times and newspapers. obama is not president right now. we have written quite a few stories about the trend of military service in our presidential candidates, who has served, who has not. are a lot of folks who have respect for the military, respect for that service, and feel like it brings better perspective on foreign-policy issues, national security issues. there are folks who pushed back on that, and we have seen a number of candidates in his last where who served dropped

to a small percentage. we are seeing the members in congress decrease every cycle. there are about 10 folks left, seven folks left is the last count i had. as we move to a all volunteer army, there are fewer people who served. unless there is another vietnam and creates a need for a widespread draft, we will probably never get to the levels that we saw in the 1970's where 70% of congress were service members at some point, and all of our presidential candidates have been there. it is an issue. i do not know that president trump is getting extra criticism because he did not serve, but the way he got his deferment is controversial. president obama was not enough to be eligible for the draft, so that is not an issue. there is quite a bit of talk about both president bushes

military service, and when president clinton criticism for meddling in military issues without having her stand experience. we see the cycle,, we talk about the commander-in-chief because he is the most relevant person. thank you for being with us this morning. >> c-span's "washington journal news andvery day with policy issues that impact you. coming up tuesday morning, the year ahead in washington and 2019 politics with radio talkshow hosts from around the country. join the conversation with your phone calls. be sure to watch "washington journal." live at 7:00 eastern tuesday morning. >> a divided government returns to washington with the convening of the 116th congress.

democrats assume control of the house of representatives while republicans increase their majority in the senate. this congress has been described as the most diverse in history with 100 new members come in to washington including more women and minorities than ever before. join us noon on thursday at the 116th congress gavels into session. the election of a new speaker, and congress will begin its work. new congress, new leaders, live on c-span and c-span2. before her first day in congress on thursday, representative presley reflects on making history by becoming the first african-american woman to represent massachusetts, and issues she plans to work on. she spoke at the edward kennedy institute in boston.