>> "washington journal" continues. host: joint is brett stamos, has reporter for "the hill." looking ahead, what are some of the key events that the president is headed to this week? guest: the president is back from a weekend in delaware. he will be headed this week to los angeles. the u.s. is hosting the summit of the ninth iteration of this event, with leaders from south america, central america, and north america all getting together to discuss climate, immigration, the economy, all sorts of things. the president will be the host in los angeles this time around. he will be headed there wednesday through friday.

it will be interesting to see who in fact actually attends. that is one of the big questions around this event. who will be on the final guest list? the u.s. has boxed out a few countries, much to the dismay of mexico and some others. it will be interesting to see if the white house is able to turn this event into a success. host: the ones they boxed out, is it cuba? guest: cuba, venezuela, nicaragua. there have been some countries, like mexico, that have potentially said that everybody should be invited to the summit. but the white house has been a little pickier, a little choosier about certain governments. we will see who is attending and if there is any stretch among leaders, and whether that overshadows the agenda. host: he had a headline "five things to watch when biden and harris attends the summit of the

americas." why is this event important to the white house, and light of domestic for receipt -- domestic policy challenges and foreign-policy challenges with the ukraine war? guest: immigration and migration is something that republicans are certainly very keen to talk up and criticize the white house over. that sort of goes hand-in-hand with the refugee situation in ukraine. it has only exacerbated that issue. there may certainly be some talk about migration, the issue of refugees, whether they can broker a deal among some of the attendees of the summit. on top of that, there are a fence on climate change. vice president harris will be attending a summit on reproductive rights and promoting women-owned businesses. there is an opportunity for all kinds of agenda items that the white house wants to promote and show they are able to collaborate with allies on, at a time when ukraine certainly is

put in the spotlight, whether the u.s. can work with allies and get the agenda done. host: the president spoke last week about these mass in texas and buffalo. the house has moved forward on legislation and will vote on that legislation this week. there is word of seneca negotiations behind closed doors on a possible deal. as the president satisfied to let congress work it out and sign whatever may come through, whatever may pass through the house and senate? guest: at the end of the day, the president may not have much choice but to accept what the senate was able to get done, just because with the 60 vote filibuster requirement, needing to get 10 republican votes, needing joe manchin and all 50 democrats on board, i think the reality is him of the things he laid out in his speech last week , like extended background

checks or raising the age of purchasing assault weapons, some of those things are not going to get the votes they need in the senate. ultimately, i think if the senate group is able to come to a deal and pass something, even if it is a governmental, i think the white house will certainly accept that and take it as progress, even if it is not quite what the president laid out or really hoped for as a best case scenario in response to the shootings. host: we welcome our viewers calls and listeners as well. (202) 748-8001 is the line to republicans, (202) 748-8000 free democrats, and for independents and all others, (202) 748-8002. brett samuels is a reporter with "the hill," talking about the foreign policies and the nagging domestic policy issues. gas prices, inflation in general, but gas prices in particular.

the headline from "the headline from "washington times" this morning, "gas prices have doubled since biden was inaugurated." according to averages, it is now $4.84 per gallon it nationwide. guest: heading into the summer here, driving season, a lot of families wanting to go on vacation, that is only going to remain a concern for a lot of families. the white house, the president, they have tried to show that they are taking action, whether it is encouraging releases of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve, there is talk now that the president may go to the middle east and meet with the crown prince of saudi arabia, which is a complex decision on their part. they are certainly trying to show that they are working on this, but ultimately, as you said, nagging is a great word. it has been a persistent issue that, even as they take steps here and there that may immediately lower prices just a

little bit, in the long term, it has just been an issue that has hounded them. host: is the press office indicating what the president is hearing from democrats up for reelection that would be all democrat house members and many democratic senators? guest: yeah, they have sort of tried to temper talk about campaign season and midterm season. i think they are aware and trying to project that they are aware of the kitchen table cost of this, the fact that this is a direct impact on families and families are the ones paying for this at the pump. they tried to play it as this putin price height, as a result of the war in ukraine. ultimately, i think americans are just frustrated. as you said, gas prices have doubled in little over a year. they seem to be setting new records every day for high prices. i think there's just this frustration and the white house is aware of that.

ultimately, how much can they do in the immediate term to lower those prices and show that they are working on this? host: has there been frustration as well that some members of the administration go off message with inflation? there is not one solid administration response to what is going on with inflation in this country. guest: i think we saw last week, the president wrote this opinion piece in "the wall street journal," laying out his plan for addressing inflation. he wants to lower the deficit, such as lowering the cost of childcare, and contrasting that with the republican agenda. then, we also solve the treasury secretary on cnn say essentially that they were wrong on inflation to say it was transitory and would go away in a few months last year. i think last week, we started to see the white house very quickly focusing on inflation, but also may be still trying a little bit

to fine-tune their message on how much to acknowledge that they got predictions wrong versus how much to say they are working on it and focus on that. they are aware that the inflations for the summer, it will be interesting to see how aggressively they push and how much they acknowledge that the last year was to blame for it, how to handle it will certainly be interesting and top of mind for voters. host: you touched on the visit to saudi arabia. they just announced this in the headlines of the "new york times" this morning. it is to help biden pool oil prices. tells about the difficulty of making that choice to go to saudi arabia. guest: the president, when he came in office, when he was on the campaign trail, he talked about the importance of human rights and making saudi arabia something of a pariah on the international stage. obviously, with its human rights

records, specifically the murder of the "washington post" journalist, for president biden to go for making saudi arabia a pariah and give it consequences for its actions, to now having to go meet with the crown prince, who is said to be involved with that murder of the "washington post" journalist, the white house is going to have to swear those two things. it is domestic politics needing to go to saudi arabia to talk about releasing more oil, getting the global supply in order. ning to go and talk about that is the political reality of the moment that they need to put that front and center, and maybe that declaration about human rights -- host: is that move kind of emblematic of the way joe biden has been as a politician through his career? guest: yeah, that is a good point. i think the white house and the president kind of realize that

the way they need to get to this moment, this is what needs to take priority. as we said, americans are frustrated about gas prices. if this is a step they think can help, they are willing to weigh the pros and cons and go forward with this meeting if they think it will generally help the domestic economy. host: let's go to college. we will hear first from paul in new york city, on the independent line. go ahead. caller: good morning. can you hear me? host: yes, we can. caller: i guess my question is, do you see any significant policy change likely to happen? going and asking the saudis to pump more oil hasn't really been positively received. i guess the other thing i have a question about is student loan

forgiveness. it is thought by others to be inflationary. do you think that they will continue with that? is there going to be any deviation [indiscernible] guest: those are all good points. on the student loan side, i think it is going with corinthian college students. there is a growing sense that the white house with wrought some kind of student loan forgiveness. they have been talking about capping it on income, potentially, maybe $10,000 in debt. that is certainly money that could be coming into the government coffers if they resume those payments. there is a lot of debate there, but i think that seems to be the

direction white house is headed on student loan payments. as far as broader policy changes, i think the administration is adamant that if the senate is somehow able to rally around senate democrats and rally around some kind of narrow reconciliation package, key parts of the biden agenda, lowering health care and childcare, these day-to-day costs for families, they are adamant that that will help lower inflation because it will lower costs, people will have more money, and so it goes. there are a few signs, at least publicly, about that happening imminently. in the meantime, it does just seem to be problems the white house are trying to take these and committal steps with big policy changes and it remains to be seen what the white house could or would do on that front. host: let's hear from brandon in california, republican line. caller: hi.

i would like this young man to help educate me on these toxic chinese solar panels through green energy put on all of our aquifers out here in california. host: is there one in particular you're talking about, brandon echo in terms of one company that is doing this or what? caller: yeah, toxic solar panels, all of them made in china with their toxic waste, the silver cyanide. what if we were attacked by china and those things were falling apart? it would create a superfund site because it would poison our groundwater for the rest of eternity. host: let's maybe rot in that out with the president's green energy agenda right now. guest: the white house is

expected this morning to announce that they are going to try to ramp up the import of solar panels, boost green energy and solar energy. one step that the white house is taking here to try and boost the green energy agenda, renewable energy -- i don't know our caller would be happy to learn that they are lifting tariffs on those panels. they will be bringing in more solar panels, trying to make it easier to do that. as far as the broader climate agenda, that is something that just seems to be gummed up in the senate. senator manchin has the issues with some of the tax credits that the administration proposed. again, another example of seeing if they can find a more narrow kind of agreement there. in the meantime, it seems to be a wait and see game there. host: an is calling from north carolina. go ahead. caller: i don't think that the democrats in the administration

talked enough about inflation as being global, even though there are some things they could do to help your. but inflation is global and it is in the other large developed countries. in fact, one country will be looking at given -- giving a stipend or stimulus to help their citizens with energy. i think democrats need to make sure that people understand that this is not just happening in the united states, it is happening because of the pandemic and the war. i think that is very important, to keep saying that there is something that the administration can do alone to fix it, it doesn't seem possible because it is happening in other countries. republicans have not done this because that is their line, that

inflation was caused and there were things that could be done differently. democrats need to explain that this is a global problem. thank you. host: thank you. brett samuels. guest: i think that is a good point. lastly, we saw the white house roll out this idea that june is going to be the month that they are going to talk about the economy. they want to address inflation head-on, they want to talk about what their plans are, what they have done for the economy and these different investments. as far as the point about talking about inflation being global, i think that is absolutely something the white house would like to focus on more and probably should focus on more. we see here and there that they talk about gas prices specifically being the sort of ripple effect on the war in ukraine and effects on supply chains. certainly, whether it is food shortages, meet experts because of the war in ukraine, these have also cause prices to go up. i think that is definitely something the white house probably needs to talk more about or educate the public

about better because, to the caller's point, the president can only do so much to single-handedly bring down prices or single-handedly bring in -- rein in issues. i think that is something the white house would like to focus on more, probably will focus on more, but i think they need to educate the public to a degree on that. host: you have been covering the white house for "the hill" for a number of years. one of the changes is at the party. is that pretty typical, 1.5 years into the presidency seeing some major changes? guest: it has been pretty contained to the press office. timewise, it is not unusual to see after about one year. some of these folks worked on the campaign, so three years of their life. people do want to kind of ck change.

it is interesting that a few of these trip -- these press aides, like jen psaki going to msnbc. the deputy or more system-level press aides, they are shuffling to other spots in the administration. they are not leaving the administration, but going to the treasury department and such. host: in terms of the way they move, is there any difference between the weight jen -- the way jen psaki briefed and the current press a gecko --press aid? host: i think she is been very level -- guest: i think she has been very levelheaded. so far, she has upheld the old tradition from jen that she brings just about every day. i think the press corps is probably still getting into the rhythms of the new briefing stock, but so far, yes, she has certainly made an effort to be

out there just about every day one we have been in town. host: to missouri next up, independent line, this is mark. mark in missouri, you are on the air. caller: hello and thank you for taking my call. host: thank you. caller: it is really apparent of course that joe biden is having some domestic issues, as well as foreign issues. i would like to know what mr. samuels thinks about joe biden's mental acuity. for him to handle these types of situations, it is very apparent to all of the people that he has made several gaffes and misstatements along the way. he has that she needs cards with talking points on them, he care member peoples's names, he is calling on predetermined reporters. he is really not calling on press conference to answer questions.

what do you think about joe biden's mental acuity to handle these problems and to really do the job that the american people wanted him to do? guest: i think that is something that the white house is sort of used answering those questions and what they would frequently say is that you can just watch joe biden and watch him deliver these speeches, watch him meet with foreign leaders. we saw him in asia a couple of weeks ago meeting with various foreign leaders. i think he is able to handle the rigors of the job. obviously, he keeps up with his schedule, does all of this travel and meeting with foreign leaders. certainly, as a member of the press, i would agree and advocate for more press conferences. he hasn't held a sort of extended press conference at the white house in quite some time. we did see while he was in asia, he did hold two abbreviated

press conferences, where he called on a few reporters. certainly, to the colors question -- caller's question, i think it is something republicans will bring up repeatedly. especially in the run ups to the 2024 election, with some speculation about whether president biden runs for reelection. he has not given any indication so far, but if he is able to do the job and keep up, i think as far as the gaffes, that is something people of grown accustomed to with joe biden. he is able to keep up with the day-to-day of the presidency. certainly, these questions are going to go away. host: your colleague had an article last week about the baby formula shortage. the headline of that piece was " biden compounds his formula problems and was unaware of the problem just before it became widely known." why was that and what was the fallout from the echo -- from

that? guest: this was joe biden kind of speaking off-the-cuff, saying that he didn't know the baby formula shortage was going to be a full-blown crisis until april. essentially, it was all hands on deck publicly to respond to this. he said this in a meeting where the formula manufacturers essentially said that back in february when this recall happened -- host: after the closing. guest: right. the manufacturers when that plant closed in february, they knew at the time that it was going to create a crisis. there is some disconnect over, why didn't the president know for two months after that echo -- after that? host: do you think he was kept in the dark? guest: they won't have any answers for that. they won't say who specifically was working on this, who was talking to the president on this, did he not want to know,

did they intentionally keep him in the dark? i think this is an issue where the white house has been shown to be reacting to problems, instead of proactively working. they say they have been working on this around-the-clock. the president showed that he was maybe not aware of it, which begs the question, who was working on it, why didn't he know, was he kept out of the loop, was it just lost in the shuffle? he was dealing with all kinds of issues in europe and domestically, but certainly, this has been something of an issue to show that they are on top of it and not just reacting to it as it gets worse. host: we will get a couple more calls with our guest, brett samuels. georgia, republican line. caller: good morning. you need to explain to president biden that gas is priced on the futures market. it is what gas prices are going to be in the futures market. every policy since he has

brought in has been a war on fossil fuels. i heard a farmer the other day who said that for every acre of land he plants, he has to put into hundred pounds of fertilizer, 100 pounds of phosphate, 100 pounds of ammonia. these farmers [indiscernible] they have to have diesel fuel to haul these things to market. biden's policies are going to kill thousands of people in africa because they can't afford this to plant their crops. they use a lot of nitrogen. those are some of my colleagues -- comments. he has to wake up. host: ok. samuels. guest: i think like what an earlier caller talked about, which is sort of the global connectivity of some of these issues, i think the white house is trying to get across and

needs to do a better job, to an extent. a lot of these issues are connected. certain crops come from europe, but those supply chains are rattled because of this war in europe. on the domestic side here in the u.s., i think the president is going to continue to show that he is trying to work on this, but certainly, he will need to juggle both the domestic fuel side, the gasoline prices, which are this global issue of supply chains and making sure they have enough supply of these various fuels, materials, etc. host: one more call. missouri. it is the democrats line. wilhelm, go ahead. caller: yes. why not do the keystone pipeline? that would help bring down gas prices some more. that would do it right there. that is all i have to say for

now. goodbye. host: we will end with a question about the russia-ukraine conflict, this challenge of getting gas prices down. the challenge for the administration, balancing both the conflict and the president's own domestic demand here at home. guest: certainly. to the keystone pipeline, the white house has had and will say that fuel wasn't running through that pipeline yet, so to just turn it on, that doesn't mean there would suddenly be fuel and prices would go down. to the 100 days of russia-ukraine, we have seen weekly, if not every other week, the u.s. announces some kind of new aid package, usually new security aid. they are sitting new weapons, oftentimes bigger weapons that have longer-range or greater capabilities. we have seen the biden administration continuing to show they are willing to provide the support for ukraine, willing

to help them in their fight. they still don't want to send u.s. troops, they don't want to be in a hot war with russia, directly fighting russia. 100 days in, the biden administration has certainly shown they are committed to helping ukraine through this. it will be interesting to see, as ukrainians continue to plead for americans and the world to not look away, to not forget about what is happening here, i think that will be kind of the question as this drags on, because experts and officials in the government say that we are in this for the long haul. there is no quick into this, it doesn't seem. it will be interesting to see how committed the public remains how front of mind this remains, especially entering host: his ar.