>> book tv on c-span two has to nonfiction authors every weekend. the book "the plot to change america workout on sunday at 9:00 p.m. eastern on afterwords, deputy chief of staff are former democratic senator harry reid of nevada talks about his book "kill switch or cup -- "kill switch." watch book tv this weekend on c-span2. >> brendan buck served as a top staffer for the two republican speakers and a variety of other roles, joining us to talk about the republican agenda and the

house republicans split over trump impeachment. what was the more important factor this week, the number of house republicans that join democrats to vote for impeachment, or who came out and joined those numbers? guest: the most important take away for me or were that there were any. having been in that, working in the house republican conference for so long, i cannot tell you how big of a switch there is that there is now a willingness to cross the president in the biggest way that you can cross a president. it shows in both ways that he has a lot of sway, that it was only 10, but it's also the beginning of a new era, where members are starting to think about what life in the house is after him when he is not the dominant figure. the members who took of the vote

are less surprising, it is the one to are typically more critical of the president. i was interested that there was even a member of the freshman class, that is quite a hefty first vote to take. it was the usual suspects you might expect, but it is remarkable to me that we got to the point where despite the enormous popularity with the president with republican voters, some people felt that what he did cross the line so much, they were willing to put their political future in jeopardy. host: when liz cheney came out and said she would be voting, were you expecting more republicans to come out, and what is her future? guest: i did not expect that, and i got a little worried for her, because as someone who felt that the president crossed that

line into impeachable level, i was proud of her for doing what she thought was right, but i was worried because i knew that was going to be a minority position in the house. a lot of people talk about what is liz cheney up to, and i try to remind people, that does not make sense because it is not popular in the house republican conference to be against the president. i think she was just doing what she thought was right. this is what the leaders told members, this is the conscious vote. they were not going to try to get anyone to vote one way or another. she did what she thought was right. obviously, that caused some blowback in the house. some of her colleagues have called for her to be removed from her position -- i do not believe she is in any real danger. one, it was a conscious vote, people were told to vote however

they think is the right way. secondly, i think it is a lot more than 10 house republicans who believe that what donald trump did is impeachable, i think there were members who were impressed, but their personal-political issues back home made it impossible for them politically to do it. i think she earned respect from people who said, that is someone who is willing to throw away her job to do the right thing, and that is something that they all say they want to do, but rarely do. you have kevin mccarthy saying he does not support removing her. i think she will be just fine, there needs to be a private conversation among members to hash it out, but i do not think you can remove somebody, and it might be a real disgrace if the only person who gets removed is

not donald trump, but liz cheney. host: how much credence to you gifted these reports saying that some republicans privately said they wanted to vote for impeachment, but were fearful of physical harm from trump supporters back home? guest: i think it is real. people should not dismiss the threats that members of congress face. it is an always present issue and member that the take it seriously. we saw clearly last week that there are people who will do bad things. particularly in this environment, you need to be worried about it. at the same time, i do not think that as an excuse for changing how you vote. that basically says that those people who storm the capitol have the veto over your vote, and we cannot let that happen. we cannot let threats of violence the rewarded for voting

a certain way. on a personal level, i get it. if someone is threatening you or your family, or your loved ones, that is scary. a lot of them are empty threats, but some of them may not be. but if you are so worried that your life is in danger and that you are going to change your vote and vote differently than what you actually believed, i think that is a reason to get out of congress and i do not think there is any shame in that, but you cannot outsource your voting card to the people that were terrorized in the capital. our guest, longtime capitol hill worker, working with john boehner and paul ryan. taking your phone calls. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002.

they are also seeing your partner at seven letter. what is that? guest: the lobbying we provide the communication device to nonprofit programs. host: what kind of contact do you have with members there still? guest: i keep in touch, particularly on a staff level. i have a good sense of what folks are thinking and doing, a lot of friends who still work there. i wouldn't say that i miss it up there, but it is good for me to stay in touch and get my advice and hear what they are thinking. host: explain what it is. guest: anybody who works for john boehner is forever a part of a boehnerland, a community of staff that worked with them. john boehner really respected staff and understood the value they bring, and always made his

-- us feel like home. whether you worked for him, whether he was chairman, or work for him at the end of the speakership, there is forever some paternity of former staff who worked there and our friends forever. host: what did john boehner have to say about the impeachment vote and what happened last week on capitol hill? guest: i didn't talk about the impeachment. he sent a note to all of us after the capital with siege, telling us he is thinking about us and that it is a reminder that all of us need to set an example for what is right and what is wrong, and how to carry out politics in the best way, in the best spirit of our democracy , and with our heads high. a lot of us, this was a painful moment for the country, but for those of us who worked in that building, who revere the

building and the business that gets done there, you come in and romanticize what it means to have a legislature where people come together and try to solve big problems, and to see it tore down in such a violent, destructive way was painful. it was painful for him, painful for former speaker ryan. all of us have been very hurt, and it is not something that goes away easily. a lot of the conversations that have taken place have been about comforting folks, making sure they are doing ok. the images were painful for everybody, but particularly those of us who called that building home. host: have you been on capitol hill since last wednesday? guest: no. the images of the barricades there are startling. one thing i loved so much about the capital before covid was it was so open to the people and there was a buzz of energy coming through, people coming through to sit in the galleries and watch the lawmaking take

place. i really hope we are able to get back to a place where after the pandemic, then we have a secure situation where people continue to come back. it is their house, the people's house, and in my opinion the most beautiful building in washington. i hope we can back -- get back to where it is not just a police state and people can enjoy the wonder of walking around, and seeing their lawmakers do their job. host: harold in east alton, illinois, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning, c-span, thank you for taking my call. i would like to ask your person on there if he thinks that republican parties dismissed his for just first impeachment is risk -- first impeachment is responsible for any of these actions today? i called in after the first impeachment and told them

anything happened after that was on their hands, especially mitch mcconnell and lindsey graham, that went along with everything. they say that we have been adding since day number one. since day number one he has been doing wrong. comey went to prison for something he did before the election, during the election. host: brendan buck? guest: i think there's a lot of things that led to what happened. obviously, the president was not convicted on the first impeachment, and i think it would be silly to dismiss the idea that he potentially learned there are no consequences for his actions, and he has such control over republicans that they that he will never face consequences. -- he will never face consequences. if you are looking to draw a direct line to what happened, it was of course the president

misleading people about the outcome of the election, but i do think there were a lot of republicans who bear some of the responsibility for perpetuating the misinformation about the election. a lot of them will say, they are just asking questions or just giving voice to people who are concerned, and i think to a person, they know those concerns are largely unfounded based on facts. not to dismiss that people have concerns, but i would argue that the right response is not to amplify those concerns, but to explain why the concerns are not justified, to explain why the election was not stolen, to explain why joe biden was the legitimately elected president, and instead of doing that, they went along with the president's lie, frankly, and perpetuated this notion that there was some foul play here when there really wasn't, and there is no evidence of it. i understand people believe there was, but it was the job of

the responsible leader not to just tell people what they want to hear or no matter what they say, their concerns are valid. am times it is having the right conversation and explaining, here is what happened. i believe if more republicans in congress had been willing to be direct and honest about what happened in the election, we would have been able to potentially take the temperature down a little bit. but of course, to me, the president himself is most responsible for what happened. he has the biggest megaphone and he is the person people listen to the most, and he acted completely irresponsibly. host: michael in illinois, independent line. caller: i have a brief statement and then a question, and i want to complement mr. buck. he seems very reasonable in his presentation, which is so unusual from anybody who has

anything to do with congress. here's what i don't understand. i voted for trump in 2016 because i wanted -- he disappointed me, i voted the green party. i wouldn't vote from biden because he is another guy who came from nothing, goes to washington, and is a multimillionaire. but for the future of the republican party, how is it that we have a covid epidemic that is really not under control at all? we have probably 30% of the population underemployed and stretched to the limit. and yet the stock market, amazingly, is at all-time highs. this, in my opinion, is because the 1% are really controlling both parties, and there is no future for the republican or

democratic party other than this political theater that we are seeing going on right now. instead of talking about impeachment, they should be putting in tax raises against the 1% to clawback some of the $50 trillion that has been transferred to the 1% from the middle-class since reagan's time. i want you to explain to me, is the republican party up to doing anything like this? host: brendan buck? guest: i reflect -- respect sentiment. i will show my republicanism and say i don't necessarily support raising taxes, but what he is getting at is something that i do see a shift in the republican party, and that is to be focusing more on regular folks, working americans, and providing help to them. what you see that with, the start of that was the conversation around direct

payment in the last coronavirus relief package. surprisingly, the biggest cheerleaders for direct payments to americans were marco rubio and josh hawley, two people you consider as very conservative. they are not talking about -- in the way republicans would typically approach this. they are talking about direct aid to families, people with kids. there is a populist sentiment, and that is what the caller was saying. you are starting to pick that up in the republican party, what it wants to stand for. you are increasingly hearing it wants to stand for working folks. host: what is the strategy for working republicans in the 117 congress, a house that is a lot tighter margin than expected, and now a 50/50 senate so the democrats with the vote breaking

vote with the vice president. guest: the first job is always to see if you can find common ground. when you are in the minority, you don't control the floor schedule. nancy pelosi decides which bills come up. i think there are enough people of goodwill he would like to find areas where they can work together and accomplish something. i am not particularly optimistic that there will be a lot of bipartisan cooperation, frankly because i think they will probably bring up legislation that is intended to cater to her progressive base much more than finding common ground. finding common ground has never been her strong suit. she knows how to negotiate legislation when you have to, but her focus is going to be certainly a large coronavirus package, climate change legislation, potentially health care, and the direction they will go will not be a lot of republicans for that.

there is an old adage on capitol hill that the job of the minority is to become the majority. you cannot do a whole lot when you are in the majority -- minority, so what house republicans will try to do is find common ground where they can, and try to provide contrast and demonstrate that the democratic party has gone too far to the left, and is out of step with the mainstream. one thing that is missing for republicans is the alternative vision of the policy. the trump era has probably, the post policy era, it was more of a cultural spike than a policy spike. there has whole lot of focus on policy. you don't really need it too much in a minority because you not setting the agenda. i think they will be looking to set a contrast to the democrats and make the point that they are out of step with average americans and that republicans are more mainstream. that will be really their

political focus for the next couple of years. host: this is mike in houston. caller: good morning. in 2020, i remember when there were riots for over 90 days. i remember hearing that over 1000 americans were put into hospitals because of the riots. i remember storefronts being destroyed and buildings being burned and streets being taken over and blocked. commerce being ended. this is during a pandemic. you have not mentioned any of those high temperatures. you have talked about trump raising the temperature, but you have not talked about nancy pelosi. i'm surprised there are not uprisings all over the country. she said that, not me. maxine waters is says that in their faces. how can a congresswoman, how can they say that and no one has even breathed a word of it?

a bernie sanders supporter goes and shoots a softball team. you are going to accuse everything that trump does is wrong. i'm not sure what you did not see in 2020. host: let me give brandon a chance -- brendan a chance to respond. guest: i was on capitol hill the day ski -- steve scalise was shot. i know what that felt like and what the outpouring response was. my response would be that i don't hold my own standards to what other people do. my standards are that you should not inside orion on capitol hill. if democrats are promoting violence elsewhere, that is obviously really problematic and there was a lot of outrage about some of those riots. i'm not going to lower my standards about what is ok behavior based on what other

people are doing. what we saw at the capitol was one of the ugliest scenes in american history. it is worth condemning and i don't think that changing the subject to what other people did is a responsible approach. host: to massachusetts, susan. caller: hi. thanks for taking my call. it is really nice to have you this morning. since the events of last week, i have been an independent for 13 years. i left the republican party a long time ago and i rarely vote for them. i have seen this trend really starting with john mccain when he appointed someone like sarah palin as his vice president and running mate. on through the tea party, the freedom caucus and now, extremists conspiracy theories that have taken root and become the predominant constituency in

the national republican party. just the type of people they are that attack representatives and senators in airports and use profanity and are so violent in their rage. and then, add to it the invasion of iraq. that was just the last straw for me, the way the destabilization, the billions lost. i live in massachusetts, which has no republican party to speak of. there has never been a farm team, but there is now. strangely, it is the trump conspiracy. all of these people, i think populism is going to be with us for a long time. i don't know whether it is going to take hold in the democratic party, but with the different

perspective, as long as the congress -- and it has been doing this for decades, ponding off major decisions and issues to the supreme court. they don't tackle issues dating back to the industrialization. so many people falling through the cracks. neither party addresses this. host: let's let brendan address it. guest: i think the sentiment that was expressed, you hear a lot of. i think one of the reasons donald trump was able to take hold of the republican party is because so many republicans don't like the republican party. i think there are a lot of reasons for that. there were people who did not like the military adventurism and wanted more inward focusing party, a party that did not care so much about wall street and cared about working people.

immigration obviously was a really big flashpoint in a way that the republican party sort of ignored the populace views of the voters. i will admit, having ignored that wing of the party for so long, it got really energized. donald trump recognized that and took advantage of it and was able to really swallow up the party whole. what you are saying now and across the country is the new wave of republicans are trump republicans and he is probably going to have an influence on the party for a really long time. anybody who thinks that just because he is out of office means he is off the stage or gone is kidding themselves. members of congress who have been elected recently are all very trumpy. you watch the debate on the floor about impeachment and they are all singing from his songbook.

the party has really been remade in his image and i think that is going to be with us for a long time. host: press in texas. -- russ in texas. do you see younger republicans being better thinkers than the older guard? guest: not necessarily. i think we have a freshman class that came in that is much more diverse then you have typically seen. you have had some people who have demonstrated some independence. what i'm actually seeing is that more traditional republicans are being replaced every two years by trumpier republicans. i think it has become a bit more montanists in that way. certainly, you are always going to have outliers, but to me, the

house republican conference is much more the image of donald trump then any type of outside of the box, freethinking image. host: wisconsin, this is 10. -- tim. caller: i would just like to say, coming from wisconsin, we have been kind of in the eye of the storm ever since this election was held. it was completely fair. 15,000 people showed up at a speedway and rallied and chanted and he lost by 10%. johnson is a disgrace, i'm afraid, but having said that, i have a lot of family members and friends who are trump fans and i really hope they can dial it down. i put this whole thing because he should have conceded the election like he should have and this would have never happened in the first place. having said that, i have no

sense about this impeachment, but everything else in this country right now, i wish they would dial it back a little and try to get back to the basics because i think trump is going to pay for his sins in the end anyway because a lot of people are already starting to crack in the truth will come out and he has got a lot of illegal issues on his plate because i do believe he has committed a lot of fraud and money laundering and other things. having said that, i wish everybody could dial it back and we could come together as a country. guest: that is obviously a sentiment you are hearing a lot of in washington. i don't know, but i'm hoping that what happens on january 6 is a clarifying moment to members of congress on both sides who need to understand that there are consequences for what you tell people. it feels maternal estate, but people are looking to leaders in

washington to tell them the truth, to be honest with them and not just tell them what they want to hear. i hear -- i fear that has led to a place where people are so distrustful of the other side because they have been told that the other side is bad. and that they have your worst intentions in mind. it is just not true. republicans are not as evil as democrats think they are and democrats are not as evil as republicans think they are, but there is incentive structure out there that rewards people to tell. these people are not your enemies know matter what party they are in. that is what people respond to. it is a new era of politics where you can get attention, you can raise money, you can get in the media for saying these things. these divisive comments are rewarded. the old-fashioned, keeping her

head down, working hard, establishing yourself on a particular policy issue, becoming a subcommittee chairman, that was the old way of doing things and it seems quaint at this point. everybody is realizing you can cut to the front of the line if you are just outlandish. that is really what has been rewarded and it has an unfortunate effect on the psyche of the country and it is more divisive. i hope that people will now see if we are just more direct with people and not only telling them what they want to hear, that potentially, we can move to a new era where we are not hating each other quite so much. host: texas, pat. caller: good morning. hi. host: go ahead. caller: i understand that the riot by the republicans was bad

and should not have happened. i understand why it happened. five years, trump was beat over the head with a ball bat by the democrats and the news media. and possibly, you. i'm going to let that go by. i was up all night last night and i was watching c-span. i saw that the black caucus was on there. maxine waters giving her spiel. she heard there was going to be a big ryan and she called the mayor and was told everything was going to be fine. got off of that. host: what is your question? caller: i want to know, why

jeffries -- what committee is he on? or is appointed to? these people are actually communist. mr. jeffries -- i listen to him, mostly. host: what do you want to take from that? guest: there are a lot of people who feel that donald trump was treated very unfairly and that there are people who are out to get him. that is perhaps true to a certain degree. i think a lot of this is we get a little loose with our language when we call people communists. that means something. i don't know that that is necessarily fair. there are people who have been making the last four years really difficult for donald trump. it is absolutely true that from

the very beginning, there was a movement to stop everything he was trying to do. it is absolutely true that the broader mainstream media has hated him from the start. my view as a republican, i have been in communication and have dealt with what i would consider a left-leaning media for a long time, is to just say ok, that is just reality and i'm going to have to work a little harder and be a little better. it should not be that simple or fair, but i don't think that necessarily is any excuse for what happened. the fact that there -- if you are a republican, the media is always going to be tougher on you, that is just the way it is, but that does not mean it justifies anything that we saw in the last week. host: i know we only have a few minutes left with you, i did want to ask about this story from this past week in the wall street journal.

the headline "after capital riot, gop faces a reckoning with corporate america. the corporate -- the republican party has already seen its corporate packages shrink. what does that mean for 2022, 2024? guest: corporate packs are contributions that employees of companies make. they pool them together and then make a decision on what members of congress they want to support. typically, those past donations from corporate entities -- and they are not from a company, but from people who work at the company. they typically go to republicans because republicans have more business friendly policies. democrats want more regulation and higher taxes and want to make a business environment more difficult and republicans have typically been the beneficiary because they have a more pro-business philosophy. now, what you are seeing is a lot of people who contribute to those corporate packs are

telling their companies, i will stop doing that if you give money to those people who participated in the events of january 6. that could potentially have a lot of influence. i hate to say it, but politics and money are real. however, it is probably less real than it ever has been. while certainly not good for republicans that corporate america is running away from them, there are so many other ways now to raise money. what you saw during the middle of those debates on the electoral college, josh hawley and ted cruz were sending out fundraising emails. i promise you, they raised more money doing that then they will lose through this corporate america rethinking they are getting. it is not ideal, but probably not fatal for republicans either. host: stafford, virginia, democrat. caller: good morning.

i have a question. since trump is saying he is not attending the inauguration, i believe that is going to give an image for this country around the world and that is that there are two presidents in american now because he will not give the baton to biden. my question is, is there any breaking the law in the constitution at some point regarding his not attending the inauguration on january 20? that is all i can say, thank you. guest: no. a lot of what you see on inauguration day is just pomp and circumstance. there is no requirement to have an inauguration at the capital. i actually think the second time barack obama was inaugurated, they did it first privately in the white house.

what you are getting out i think is important. it is really easy to look at what happened over the last week and think of it just as in terms of partisan politics and each side hates the other. and we just argue with each other. we should remember that america and democracy and the peaceful transfer of power matter in the eyes of the world. people are looking at us. people are watching us. not just our allies and rolling their eyes, but people who don't really respect democracy. places like china and russia and authoritative places. turkey, they love the fact that in the eyes of the world, democracy is not working. that is really dangerous. we have always been the model for the world on how self-government can work and the peaceful transfer of power. they are capitalizing on that.

the deaths that happen are tragic. what happened to the building is tragic. the politics of it are tragic, but there's also the bigger issue of what america stands for. it is easy to forget that people are watching and people who may try to take advantage of us and do bad things because of it. host: time for one last call. ocean shores, washington. you are on. caller: good morning. i would like to couple of quick comments. one, is the wisconsin caller a couple of callers ago said that this election was so obviously done right. i wonder if people listening know that seven counties in wisconsin, six counties in michigan and four counties in pennsylvania that have been blood red for 71 years average between those three states, all flipped for biden. that is so illogical to think that that happens. those who want to sweep this

under the rug don't understand that if they got away with stealing this election, there will be no more free elections in the future. there are videos about this break-in on the sixth of these people that did it. host: we are running out of time. what is your question? caller: let me just say, three quarters of them, they did not show the videos of the republicans that went up on the steps to grab the people breaking in and through them into cops. that is why they ascended the steps. the questions i have for your guest is, what is private ryan -- what corporation does ryan, the republican speaker that did not support donald trump at all, what lobbyist organization is working or and you seem to comment on who is going to raise money when we need a campaign-finance change in the constitution to get money out of politics. but your swamp guest seems to think more money in politics -- host: tell you what, we will

stop you there. give you the last minute or two to respond. guest: i certainly don't think more money in politics is good, i'm just trying to explain how it does work. the former speaker is not doing any lobbying. he is enjoying life outside of politics quite a bit. to what the colleges said demonstrates that there are a lot of people who have been fervently told things about the election that are not justified. i know that he probably hates to hear that. there were places in the country that have voted republican for a long time that went to joe biden. i'm from georgia. a part of the country where newt gingrich was speaker of the house. very republican area of the state. now, it went for joe biden. that is just the way things are shifting in politics and that does not necessarily mean there was any fraud. there are irregularities in every election. it is absolutely true that they were probably some of the votes

that got counted ways they should not have in some places. but that happens every single year. every election. the issue of whether there was enough of that on any scale to throw the election one way or the other is not justified and i wish more people would be hearing that from leaders in washington. host: brendan buck has been our guest this ♪ >> c-span's washington journal. every day, we are taking your calls live on the air on the news of the day and discuss policy issues that affect you. coming up saturday morning, preparations for potential political unrest at various state capitals following the attack on the u.s. capitol, with seth jones from the center for strategic studies, and carol thompson of the lansing state

journal, molly back from the milwaukee journal sentinel and a reporter from the arizona capital times. c-span's washington journal live saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern it sure to join the conversation with your phone calls, emails, text messages and weeds. >> on january 6, rioters breached security and cause damage to the u.s. capitol for the first time since british troops burnt the building in 1814. monday, revisit c-span's the capital, for the story of the history, art and architecture of this iconic hall to the congress since 1800. granting special access into thousand six to grand, public spaces and rooms off-limits to the public. the capital, monday at 8:00 p.m. eastern, on c-span.

♪ >> wednesday, joe biden will be sworn in as the 40 sixth president of. in light of the attack on the capital and the closing of the national mall, the traditional inauguration ceremony has been modified. follow our live coverage as the day unfold starting at 7:00 a.m. eastern. watch arrivals at the capitol, the swearing in of joe biden and kamala harris, and the inaugural address. the inauguration of joe biden, beginning at 7:00 a.m. eastern wednesday, live coverage on c-span and c-span.org, or listen live on the c-span radio app. >> washington, d.c. mayor muriel bowser, federal officials and others gave an update on security plans for wednesday's presidential nomination. the national mall will be closed until at least thursday and officials say permanent, first-amendment activities will be