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comcast support c-span aa public service as well as these television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. cable satellite corp. 2022] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ host: good morning, it is saturday november 19, 2022. it has been an eventful week with nancy pelosi stepping down from leadership after two decades. former president trump announcing he will run in 2024 and the justice department meeting -- appointing a special counsel to lead investigations. we are asking you today what is your top story. give us a call on our lines by party affiliation. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. you can send us a text at 202-748-8003.

sandia first tournament city state. we are on social media, facebook.com/c-span and twitter and instagram @cspanwj. before we started taking your calls, i want to show you the article from the wall street journal about that special counsel. it is a jack smith's name to special counsel to lead the doj probe of donald trump. attorney general merrick garland appointed a were comes prosecutor as a special counsel friday to oversee investigations into donald trump. check smith once d justice department unit that investigates public corruption. since 2018, he was the chief prosecutor at the hague more crimes in kosovo. he will be the third special counsel in five years to examine issues involving mr. trump. over here it says that mr. trump

replied on his truth social platform, "here we go again." he added that he thought the 2020 election was a dead issue and that the document hopes issue was dead -- document hoax issue was that. the department of justice had nothing but trouble haters -- nothing but trump haters so they appointed special prosecutors. let's look at the attorney general's comments yesterday. [video clip] >> the department of justice has recognized that an extraordinary cases it is in public interest to appoint a special prosecutor. based on recent developments, including the former president's announcement that he is a candidate for the next election and visiting president stated to

be in contention as well, i have included -- i've concluded it is in public interest to appoint a special counsel. such an appointment underscores the commitment to support accountability in sensitive matters. it allows prosecutors and asians to continue their work expeditiously and make their decisions guided only by facts and the law. the special counsel will conduct parts of the first investigation and mentioned. investigation into if any personal --interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or with the certification of electoral college votes held on or about january 6. this does not include persecutions pending in the district of columbia were prosecutions of individuals for offenses committed while they were present on the capitol grounds.

those investigations and prosecutions will remain under the authority of the u.s. attorney for the district of columbia. 's special counsel will also conduct the investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records as well as the possible obstruction of that investigation. today, i signed an order appointing jack smith to serve as a special counsel. the order authorizes him to continue the ongoing investigation into both of the matters i described and to prosecute any federal crimes that may arise from those investigations. host: that with the attorney general yesterday announcing a special counsel for the trumpet investigations. we are asking you what is your top news story of the week. other stories are the former president anuncing a 2024 run. speaker pelosi stepped down from house democratic leadershi

vin mccarthy and mcconnell win leadership in the senate. overseas, there is the clash between ukraine and allies over the poland missile strike. let's start taking your calls now. we will start with tyrone in new york, new york. hi, tyrone. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am glad of the attorney general put special counsel in place. if we don't have democracy, we will lose our country. if they don't stop this lawlessness that has gone on in this country, the same mindset that got abraham lincoln killed, is the same one that got our capitol building ransacked. we have to uphold our laws and make sure we hold this ex-president accountable for what he is done to this country. he has erected this country and

we have to get back on track. host: iris is calling us from southland, michigan on the independent line. caller: good morning, you look lovely today. host: that you. -- thank you. caller: nice dress. i don't know where these pictures come from of this special prosecutor assigned by mr. garland. i must have seen 15 different views of this jack smith. we have never heard of him before and now he is a public figure. i just don't get it. why all of this publicity in showing different pictures and reviews of jack smith. it is kind of undercover work he is doing. i fear for him and for all of us. do any of us have a private

life? seriously. host: take a look at cnn.com, they did an article about him. it says cut dish it is "who is jack smith -- it says, "who is jack smith? 's background goes from prosecuting a u.s. senator to prosecuting -- gang members. he is prosecuted warm -- or crimes at the hague, his experience at the justice department and international courts has allowed him to keep a low profile in the often brassy legal industry." let's talk to glenn, democrat in lakeland, florida. caller: good morning, how are you doing? host: good. caller: here is what i am looking at.

everybody is talking about what happened this week. republicans need to realize donald trump does not have executive privilege power. he has zero. everyone thinks he is going to get the benefit of the doubt. that is not going to work. . the crabs that they committed, he stole classified information, he started the riot at the capital. he is never going to make it to 2024 because he will be indicted on charges by the. everybody needs to stop thinking about his opportunity there is not going to be one. he already committed the crimes and this is going to go down the way it is going to go down. everybody thinks he has a magic wand to make this go away. it is not going away. if it was you and me, we would be in jail yesterday. people think there is an opportunity for him to become president.

is not going to happen. except the fact -- accept the fact that the new special counsel is going to do his job. we don't have to. know him. there are plenty of lawyers and people in this government you have never heard of but they are great at what they do. host: let's look at one of the other stories which is a gop leadership in the house and senate. here's a portion of kevin mccarthy's remarks after tuesday's election. [video clip] >> we know the task will not be easy, we have a close majority. we have to work together but we will work with anyone who wants to make america stronger. we want to work with anybody on the other side of the aisle if you want to make america energy independent, if you want to give parents a say in their kids' education, or stop defunding the

police. there are challengers -- challenges around the world. we are listening to the american public and we are ready to lead. they don't hand a gavels out in small, medium, and large. you get the right size gavel and we are going to use it. let's open it up for questions. >> do you will have the vote by january? >> yes, paul ryan at this time lost 43 votes. nancy pelosi had 32 votes and no one was running against her. we have our work cut out for us. we have a small majority, we have to listen to everybody. i thought it was productive last night in our rules debate. what i propose to do is handle have the rules tomorrow and keep those open through thanksgiving. we will work together and we will get there. the american people expect us to govern and to keep our

commitment. one thing i will say, i respect each and everyone. i respect them equally at we will find a way to make it happen. host: that is representative mccarthy set to become speaker of the house. we are asking you what is your top news story of the week. we will hear from fred in michigan, republican line. caller: how are you doing? the hypocrisy of the democrat kills me. look when of this started. the two-tiered adjusted system -- justice system they have running. paid for agents for the dossier the fbi leaked and used two do a 2.5 year investigation. then we go to the muller stuff. none of that worked. then they had two impeachments. yet, there is a laptop that has been covered up by the media,

the fbi, the cia, and the security people that has way more evidence on it. 20 bob linsky, the -- tony, the partner of hunter biden, his business partners, and 10% help for the big guy whichever buddy knows his joe biden -- which everybody knows is a joe biden. and yet all we hear about is donald trump. none of these people should be able to touch donald trump because they lost the ability when they got one guy convicted of changing a warrant, lying on it, so they could use it to go after trump. host: let's take a look at texts we got. this is from carol in panama city, "merrick garland is passing the buck. there's no need for special

counsel. trump is guilty as sin. garland has to sign off on what smith finds it is a waste of time. indicted trump now -- indict trump and." "there tried to punish trump. not going anywhere." and mike, "after all of the fraud, midterms, the people are still willing to follow trump over the cliff which will lead to the destruction of the republican party. unbelievable." here is the new york post that says, "trump's would be 2024 rivals together in las vegas at a major gop forum. they will be assembling this weekend in what is being viewed as the first major gop power in

the race for the white house. a hand full of republicans including ron desantis arts cited to speak at the republican jewish coalition's annual meeting after president trump launched his bid at mar-a-lago at ron desantis, mike pence, mike pompeo, and former ambassador to the you -- to the united nations nikki haley are said to address the gathering." we will have that for you on our website, c-span.org, and on our video app, c-span now. let's hear from david, fort lauderdale, florida. independent line. good morning. what is your top news story -- top news stories? caller: merrick garland is the right person for this job and i

cannot believe people think trump is actually going to run for president. all he is trying to do is extract money from his maga colt. host: that hear from david in memphis, tennessee. caller: i would like to talk about authoritarianism. back to trump's announcement, he claimed directly he had strengthened our military and that appeals to me. i think that was something that let go -- and that was let go in the obama administration. but it is an element of authoritarianism. he talked about voter restrictions, every vote had to be done the same day in person and counted by midnight. voter restrictions is another aspect of authoritarianism. he counted on our bloodlust. he wanted to see a death penalty

for drug peddlers. that drew me into my own understanding of he wants to have an external enemy, an element of authoritarianism. he talked about a conversation he and president xi jinping had ever she said you are the king, he said i'm not freaking -- he said i'm not the king, but trump said you are president for life, you are a king. he has aspirations for being president for life. host: you did mention former president trump's announcement so let's look at a portion of that. [video clip] >> i am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the united states.

[applause] thank you, thank you. all of you. thank you. so many incredible friends and family here tonight. it is such a beautiful thing. people say how do you speak before so many people all the time? when there is love in the room, it is easy. you ought to try it sometime. together we will be taking on the most corrupt forces and entrenched interests imaginable. our country is in a horrible state. we are in grave trouble. this is not a task for a politician or a presidential candidate, this is a task for a movement that embodies the courage, confidence, and spirit

of the american people. this is a movement. this is not for anyone individual. this is a job for tens of millions of proud people working together from all across the land, young and old, black-and-white, hispanic and asian, many of whom we have brought together for the very first time. if you look at the numbers and what has happened with hispanic, african-american, asian. look at what is happening. this is a party that has become much bigger, much stronger, much more powerful. this is a job for grandmothers and construction workers, firefighters, doctors, and farmers who cannot stay quiet any longer. you cannot stay quiet any longer. you are angry about what is happening to our country. our country is being destroyed before our very eyes. it is a job for every young

person, every hard-working parent, every entrepreneur and underappreciated police officer who is ready to shout for safety in america. the police are being treated so badly. these are great people who can straighten out crime. we have to give them back their respect and their dignity. [applause] this will not be my campaign, this will be our campaign, altogether. host: that was the former president announcing he will run in 2024. we are asking you about your top news story this week. let's hear from delia in miami, florida. caller: good morning. i wanted to speak about the biden crime family. you people will not touch that,

no no. in that sense, there is a lot more evidence of what they are up to, what they have been doing. something influence, especially to china. but biden, no. that creepy old man in the white house. he has sold this country to the devil. the forces that be refused to accept it. i am so happy they're going to do investigations and bring out witnesses. real people that know what we are up to. thank you very much. host: when that happens, we will cover it on c-span. let's hear from florida's. governor, ron desantis. . [video clip] >> one of the things i have learned in this job, when you

are leaving and getting things done, you take incoming fire. that is the nature of it. i rolled out of the bed, i have corporate media outlets that have a spasm just because i'm getting up. this is just what has happened. i don't think any governor attacked more by corporate media than me over my four year term. what you learn is all that is just noise. what really matters is are you leaving, are you getting in front of issues, are you delivering results for people and standing up for folks? if you do that, none of that stuff matters. we have focused on results and leadership. at the end of the day, i would tell people to check out the scoreboard from last tuesday night. host: that was the governor of florida. we are asking you about your top news story of the week. let's check in on twitter who

has this top news story, "the gop not addressing problems they campaigned on will use their majority to do nothing except run investigations against enemies of the people and ensure trump is not held accountable for his crimes." lisa says this, "ftx dark money campaign and money-laundering, all of that money donated to dem politicians. i'm guessing few callers will mention this." let's talk to sandy in germantown. good morning. caller: i have a couple of comments to make. as far as mr. mccarthy, the man is not even know how to go to the bathroom by himself and last -- by himself unless daddy donnie tells him.

we have newt gingrich in the mix whose wife had cancer and said i am leaving you, i am screwing somebody else. is to mccarthy, let -- mr. mccarthy, let's go back to him. his family claims they are of a native tribe. also, that tribe is not listed anywhere. he owes american probably $20 million with taxes and fines. he cannot keep a story straight because he lies to everybody. he is probably the weakest candidate for even looking stuff off the ground. the irs agents, i guess all of them should come to his house. be stealing, lying, he is just like his daddy. 's daddy -- his daddy talk about

genitalia but uses his favorite word for cat. host: banners on the independent line -- ben is an indiana on the independent line. caller: i look at the corruption in washington, you have one guy investigated, another guy will never get investigated. you have hard evidence against the bidens. the irs is being weaponized with 87,000 agents with guns. is our support matters and they are turning them into policing. the american people are going to suffer. look at the inflation, the food prices, the gas prices. it just really makes no sense. everything is investigated and turned over to the special counsel. when is someone going to look into the sitting president? he is as dirty as any criminal

that has been in this country. al capone is running the country. his son is a crackhead. it is ridiculous. host: bill is next in massachusetts, republican line. caller: how are you doing? i want to ask some questions first and then i have remarks to say. how come there are no republicans that work for c-span? host: is that your top news story of the week? caller: how come there are no republicans that work for c-span? host: c-span is nonpartisan, bill. is there anything else you would like to say? caller: how come the quid pro quo is not working when joe biden said to the saudis to hold off until after the elections before you raise the price on

gas? it was something like that. don't raise the prices. it was something about the saudis not raising the price were not doing anything about the amount of oil they were going to send to america. host: so lester is next in woodbridge, virginia. caller: i am calling because i am sick and tired of watching legislators try to be investigators. the gop came out this week and said they wanted to investigate laptops and private citizens. these guys make $175,000 a year and they are doing nothing for the american people. they should be trying to help us get bread and butter issues taken care of.

instead, they wanted to investigate for 10 years at 100s of $5,000 each. that is a lot of money to waste. i think we need to continue to get gop folks minimized as best we can so they can realize the democrats are not trying to investigate investigators and investigate laptops. that is all. host: let's look at a portion of former president donald trump's response to the appointment of a special prosecutor. [video clip] mr. trump: this is the latest in a series of witchhunts that started long ago. about the investigation of the document hoax was dead or over and that the investigation into january 6 and my very peaceful and patriotic speech, was dead,

especially after the record setting loss of liz cheney in wyoming. i thought that put the final nail in the coffin. only to find out that the corrupt and highly political justice department appointed a super radical left national council, better referred to as a special prosecutor, to start the process all over again. one of the top people in the justice department, lisa monaco, a major trump-hayter -- trump-hater is in charge. have you ever heard of andrew wiseman? he is an even bigger trump hater. and something a fair deal, do you agree? he worked tirelessly on the molar collusion -- on the molar

investigation which proved no investing -- which proved no occlusion. they want to do that thanks to me, but i have gotten used to it. it is lucky. a lot of people would not get used to it so easily. this is a rigged deal just as the 2020 election was rigged. we cannot let them do it, we cannot let this happen. i have been dealing with this since coming down the trump tower. enough is enough. host: we are asking you about your topewstory of the week. ao announced his run for 2024. nancy pelosi has stepped down

from house leadership and kevin mccarthy and mitch mcconnell win leadership in thhoe and senate. the is ukraine clashing with allies over the missile strike that killed two civilians. let's hear next from rudy in california. caller: how are you doing today? host: good. caller: i don't know what the republicans' plan is for fixing these problems, they talk about information at high crime and the immigration issue. they never have a solution. now all they are going to do is go after hunter biden's laptop. that is their agenda. washington needs to be cleansed. they are doing no good for america.

if trump was to get back in office, all he would need to do is to go after adam kinzinger. that is all i have. host: whenever it is in, wyoming -- winfred is in casper, wyoming. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. you are on the air. i can hear you. caller: i am from casper, wyoming. mi the only one from casper? host: right now you are. what is your top news story? caller: my comment is if they have all democrats on the council, it is not fair. they should have half

republicans and have democrats -- half democrats. they should not refuse any republicans that wants to be put on because they don't have the ideas they have. i believe they also ought to have two people overseeing it as that of just one and one should be on the republican side and one on the democrat side. otherwise, it is not going to be fair. they may argue a lot in that way , but there will be no need to have a counsel if it is going to be composed of democrats. host: randy is next in san bernardino, california. good morning. caller: good morning. you do look lovely.

my topic for this week is that donald trump says we are in a horrible state. i agree with that. putting in place justice is overturned women's rights -- justices that overturned women's rights. so i agree with that. i am sad how he sold this vision against this great united states. my prayers go out to everyone. yes, they should do this. i have a problem no one has mentioned. two weeks before the justice went to his place and he denied having those documents, he entertained a golf tournament

for one of the people who killed our american reporter. i have some strong problems with that. i agree with garland -- i agree with merrick garland for putting this in place. he is neutral, he is not a democrat nor republican. i hope the times change so we can continue getting back to a great united states of america. this is coming from a 68-year-old woman who has seen it all and heard it all. i have never seen nothing like this before. let's get our country back on track. host: linda is in mooresville, north carolina. independent line. caller: what puzzles me very much is that the people who call in and talk about the

republicans going to do investigations, what they do not realize and what they cannot see , i cannot believe they are so blindsided. before trump was elected, and i am not necessarily a trump fan, he was investigated even before he was voted in as president. i don't understand where they're coming from. can they not opened their eyes and ears and see and hear what is going on in our country? they don't want democrats to be investigated for their coolness and yet they will spend seven years investigating, investigating, investigating and not accomplishing anything. our border is wide open, there

are millions of people coming through our border. the democrats have been in office over two years now. biden did away with the catch and release. he put that back into place. now we are overrun. i don't understand some of the mentality i am hearing and seeing. that i appreciate you taking my call. host: other news, the situation in ukraine and the missile strike in poland, nbc news says, "that is not evidence. ukraine clashes with allies over evidence in a rare public split. they say the missile launch comes at a crucial moment as winter approaches with russian forces in retreat."

i wonder what is your top news story for the week. we will hear from richard in louisville, kentucky. caller: they just had a vote, the gop did, for the leader of the senate on the monarchy side. and they voted for -- on the minority side. and they voted for mitch mcconnell. i am a kentucky boy and he has done some good things for us, but i am looking at this election and wondering, what went wrong? mitch mcconnell came out and said i knew there was not going to be a red wave. this was after he was elected. in there was not going to be a red wave -- i knew there was not going to be a red wave. this was before the election, he said i don't like candidates running for senate. so he keeps the money away from those candidates who needed it

to try to find this socialism and communism going on with the democratic party. i want to know from a mitch mcconnell, if he knew this wasn't going to be a red wave, why did he not come out screaming to the mountaintops, republicans, this is not what is going on? you need to realize this is what my polling shows. but no, he kept quiet. it is just like a snake. i am a conservative but this man is not have a conservative bone in his body unless it is to get a dollar bill. i am so sick of it. you have kevin mccarthy in there who is nothing more than a john boehner. paul ryan slipped out from underneath his rock. host: we have a clip of senator

mcconnell talking about that. [video clip] >> your decision to not have -- that they did not with the stand for anything. what is your response to the president that you are partially accountable? sen. mcconnell: every candidate said what they are for. it is pretty obvious what happened. we underperformed among independents and moderates because their impression of people in our party and leadership roles is that there is chaos, negativity, excessive attacks. it frightened independent and moderate voters. we saw that. that is why i never predicted a red wave. we never saw that in any of our polling in the states we were counting on to win.

it was not a wave. we had national issues set that was favorable. as far as the perception that many of them had that we were not dealing with issues in a responsible way and spending too much time on negativity and attacks and chaos, they were frightened. they pulled back. in two states, for example, they were crushed by independent voters, arizona and new hampshire. we learned some lessons about this. i think the lessons are clear. senate races are different. candidate quality is important. in most of our states, we met that test and in a few of them we did not. host: senator mcconnell,

minority leader of the u.s. senate. we are asking you about your top news story of the week. we will hear next from cindy in florida, democrats line. caller: i am wondering why nobody talks about the real reason why desantis won by a landslide in florida. he won by a landslide because of the hordes of people for -- hordes of people flowing into florida our republican. they said on the news over and over again most people pouring into this state are republicans. they are voting republicans. we used to be a swing state but because of these hordes of people pouring in here that are slaughtering florida with their human bodies is the reason why

ron desantis won by a landslide. host: i've talked to eli -- let's talk to eli in florida. caller: i am also from florida, i have lived in florida over 40 years. ron desantis won because most people in florida know our constitution. i was once democrat. john kennedy caused me to become a democrat. but because of the constitution that we believe in has been graded by these republicans. we are owned by china.

what happened this week are the very acts of anarchy against citizens of this country. president donald trump, former, has never been given the authority to have administration as the president and head of interstate -- the doj that was under him should have been against him. host: let's go to new jersey, republican line. good morning, pat. caller: the attorney general merrick garland is the leader of the department of injustice and the american people have to pay for this. joanne hunter biden need to be arrested -- joe and hunter biden

need to be arrested. senator mcconnell is a traitor and kevin mccarthy is a democrat arm. host: let's look at a tweet from sandy. "hakeem jeffries announced his bid for democrat leader. he is a man of integrity and will be a greater placement for nancy pelosi." speaking of nancy pelosi, here is a portion of her remarks announcing she will be stepping down from leadership. [video clip] rep. pelosi: when i first came to the floor, i never thought i would go from homemaker to house speaker. [applause] i never intended to run for public office. mommy and daddy taught us that public service is a noble calling and we all have responsibilities to help others.

my brother, became mayor of baltimore -- my brother tommy became mayor of baltimore. it was my part carving progress for the american people, i've worked with three presidents achieving investments in clean energy with president george bush. [applause] health care reform with president barack obama. [applause] and forging the future from infrastructure to health care to climate action with president joe biden. [applause]

now we must move boldly into the future, granted by the principles that have propelled us this far and open to fresh possibilities for the future. scripture teaches us that for everything there is a season, it time for every purpose under heaven -- a time for every purpose under heaven. no matter what title you have bestowed upon me, there is no greater official honor for me then to stand on this floor and speak for the people of san francisco. this i will continue to do as a member of the house, speaking for the people of san francisco, serving the great state of california, and defending our constitution. with great confidence in our caucus, i will not seek

reelection to democratic leadership in the next congress. to be the hour has come for a new generation to lead the democratic caucus that i so deeply respect. i appreciate that so many are willing to shoulder this responsibility. host: that was the speaker of the house. we are asking you about your top news story of the week. we will talk to james in virginia beach, virginia. caller: i just want to say that nancy pelosi -- i heard a bunch of people talk about hunter biden, investigating them. they want to waste their time investigating the democrats and the hunter biden situation. nancy pelosi has done great things for this country and i don't think she gets enough credit. she went into congress when she was 47 years old.

the woman has been phenomenal for this country. host: we lost james. kevin is next in windsor, connecticut. caller: good morning and happy holidays. i'm surprised with t republican party that midterms. inflation and the police department and all of those scare tactics. once they got in, all of those are gone. as an independent voter, i want people that solve problems, not just drag problems out. i hope this country gets back on the right tra. the worst thing that could happen iwhen they got liz cheney. she is principles and rals.

-- she has principles and morals. i wish everybody a happy holiday. host: don is next on the republican line. hello. caller: the biggest story for me is the democrats once again are using government time, money, and resources to persecute their political enemies. that last the midterms, the last congress, january 6 was all trump's fault committee will be swept under the rug. what do they do? they pass the baton to a merrick garland and now we have a special counsel who will sit there for the next two years leaking out little bits of information and never coming to any conclusion, just putting out dirt every so often to hurt president trump. we sent through trump russia,

through trump taxes, through trump impeachment, through trump impeachment two, now this january 6 committee and now merrick garland. america is sick and tired of this. when are you people in the media who are supposed to be objective were to say why are the democrats prosecuting everyone under the sun they don't like? why aren't you asking this question? they are abusing power. quality people who are decrying democracy in danger, democracy is in danger. if you are a citizen and you say something against the democrats, your history. host: elizabeth is on the democrats line from thibodeau, louisiana. caller: america is my country.

both my country and our country is being raped and robbed by one man, trump and his mob. half of the people in this country stand around saying he is my president. his brains were put in backwards and he does not know from here to there. host: delray beach, florida, is next on the line with thomas. caller: my concern is international men's day. there are a lot of issues that affect men and boys around the world. boys are behind an education and are less likely to go to college but have less scholarships. men die younger but have less affordable health care programs. male victims of domestic violence find it difficult to find justice and to be taken

seriously. men are sentenced to longer jail terms for the same crimes, and even bigger disparity. for international men's day, if you want to get involved, look at the national coalition for men and hashtag #internationalmensday. host: jeff, good morning. caller: i am 65, and moderate republican, i was raised in a democratic family. i am a native californian working for the federal government. i will soon retire. my complaint about this whole session is that it is a slugfest between democrats and republicans. we need to unite. forget this craft that has happened in the past -- this

crap that has happened in the past. my story is about haiti. there's a massive humanitarian problem there. cholera is uncontrolled. we need to take charge. the u.s. cannot afford to ignore this problem any longer. host: what you think needs to be done? caller: i worked at the coast guard headquarters at a policy level. i think it was 1994, they were deconstructing houses to make boats to come to the u.s. now we are going to have patience coming to the u.s. on rafts with cholera. does that make sense? no, it does not. they called it the white picket fence back then.

they had to deploy the entire west coast ships, coast guard ships, around haiti and prevent them from coming to the united states. i don't necessarily think that is the way to solve this problem. i don't know what the way forward is. but we need to get more involved that we have been in the past -- were involved than we have been in the past. host: thomas, democrats line. good morning. caller: my top story is merrick garland appointed the special masters -- host: special counsel? caller: yes, special counsel, i'm sorry. i thought that was a good decision. trump definitely did not work with the archives to return

those documents. he should be treated like anyone else. because he was the president, he should have definitely held more accountability for himself and showed the country for how to be accountable for what you do and make it more of a positive interaction. i felt like what you did like right now with the speech he gave was conduct more violence, more hate, more confusion. i felt like that is what he has been doing his whole presidency. that is why the fbi was attacked, the irs, all of these different entities after he was rated because of the things he puts on his platform. i feel like we don't need that in our country, he should be more of a representation of what the country stands for.

he does not embody that. host: let's hear from ben in woodstock, independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i find it ironic that trump is a real estate mogul. he owns a lot of empty lots in democrats' heads. my story is about ftx. he want to know how these politicians go into office making $174,000 a year, running two households and all of that and come out $150 million they own? ftx shows you how they do it. give money to ngos and get big donations back. anybody who had anything to do with getting money from that should be removed from office. they are illegal contributions and they are coming from out of the country which is against the law. host: let's go to teddy in

arkansas. republican line. caller: i voted for president trump he ran the first time -- trump when he ran the first time. he did a lot of good and i figure if he runs again he will win the election. i think he should have a second chance at it. prices of gasoline were down during his presidency. i think it ought to be back like it was. i will support him when he runs again. host: men will is next -- manu

el is next in houston, texas. caller: good morning. if trump ever steps in that white house again, i will tell you what will happen. he is going to do away with the constitution. is going to declare himself dictator, authoritarian. dictators cannot have free speech. dictators cannot have citizens owning guns. dictators cannot have free press. dictators cannot have the right of assembly. he will element our bill of rights. -- he will eliminate our bill of rights. he will never step on the white house again. people need to wake up to what is happening in this country. thank you for your time, you will have a blessed day. -- you all have a blessed day. host: tye in north carolina.

caller: thank you for having me on today. my story of the week is this fiasco happening with ftx. if you follow the money, the crypto money tied into there, it runs deep. -- was the second largest donor to our president's campaign. you have that going on. i don't know where the rest of the money went. we have a lot of figureheads outside of politics tied into this whole ordeal. several celebrities who are tied into crypto, who endorsed it. now a lot of the general public are out of a lot of money we put into a good place in good faith.

it is all tied to these wrong things. it is unregulated trade of 2008 all over and this is what happens, apparently. it gets abused. host: i want to fit in one more caller. caller: thank you for having me on. i am very, very upset about the way things are going right now. the big thing that really gets me is the way the democrats did our judge, president trump did his utmost to get him in there. what upsets me about that is

people are not thinking about that and what they did to him, and what they put him through. kavanaugh just went through pure you know what. people cannot look back and see, especially the republicans look back and see these types of things, they should realize we did the right thing. i am very proud to be a republican. i was a democrat until that happened because i supported trump and i will support trump again. i think he was a great president and can be still the greatest president the united states has ever had. thank you very much. host: that is all the time we have for this part of "washington journal." we will have open forum later at 8:45 eastern time. up next is axios reporter stef

kight. she discusses border policy and the future of alejandro mayorkas as republicans retake control of the house. later, it is our weekly spotlight on podcast series. we will be joined by sarah stewart holland and beth silvers. they are hosts of a podcast and authors. we will be right back. ♪ >> there are a lot of places to get political information, but only at c-span do you get it straight from the source. no matter where you are from or where you stand on the issues, c-span is america's network.

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keep up with the day's biggest events. white house events, the courts, campaigns and more from the world of politics, all that her fingertips. stay current with the latest episodes of "washington journal" and find scheduling information for c-span's tv network and c-span radio. c-span now is available at the apple store and google play. downloaded for free today. c-span now, your front row seat to washington, anytime, anywhere. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back to "washington journal." i am joined now by stef kight. she is a politics reporter for axios. welcome to the program. guest: thank you for having me. host: i want to start with title 42. texas governor greg abbott tweeted this. he said federal judge blocks

federal authorities from using title 42. this will further signal to cartels, human smugglers and illegal immigrants that the border is wide open, inciting more lawlessness. remind us about title 42 and what is going on. guest: title 42 is a policy initially implemented under president trump. it was supposed to be tied to the pandemic. as covid was spreading, they wanted to provide border officials more tools to quickly push back migrants who cross the border. the thinking was it was a way to prevent covid from coming to the u.s. and spreading across the southern border. it has been continued to be used by the biden evidence trade and long past the concern of covid coming over the southern border. this has been a controversial policy on both sides of the aisle. republican say it needs to stay in place. immigration advocates and democrats have criticized the biden a ministration for

continuing to use it. it was going to end earlier this year and then they were not able to end it and now they are being told they have to and it despite the fact they have continue to use it. there is a long history going back and forth. there is concern on the right that this do change will insight more people to come across the border. officials cannot quickly expel them the way they have, they will have a chance to claim asylum. we expect smugglers to take advantage of this news and tell people now is the time to cross, it is unclear if we will see a big surge beyond what we have already seen. the numbers have been so high already on a weekly and monthly basis. host: i want to ask you about those numbers. what is going on right now at the southern border? guest: we are continuing to see higher than normal numbers at the southern border. we saw the data released on border crossings from october

and the numbers are higher than last october and october before. the last two years have been record years when. . it comes to border crossings. one thing to keep in mind is when we look at the numbers, they are border crossings, not individual people. when you see the hundreds of thousands of people coming across in a month, that is sometimes people multiple times. people have been critical of title 42 because they say it makes the numbers seem larger. when people are turned back, they are able to try again and each time, it is counted. host: last week, there was an issue with the head of customs and border protection. the secretary mayorkas asked him to resign and he said i will not until the white house asks me to. what happened? guest: ultimately, he did resign from his position. as you pointed out, there was

some back-and-forth. there was some internal drama around him and we asked mayorkas ask -- we saw mayorkas ask him for his resignation. in the end, he did end up resigning. it was something we heard mayorkas talk about this week. part of this was the fact the numbers have been so high. the number of people and the number of crossings at the border has created a political problem for the biden administration. that is one reason why we saw magnus pushed out and resign. host: if you want to call in and ask, you can do that on our lines. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. i will also be keeping an eye on

social media. can you tell us about what is going on in haiti? guest: on the migration front, it is a situation that did is being paid close attention to. we have seen the gang violence increase on haiti. that has created problems with access to fuel, food, water. i spoke with a u.n. official who works with haitian migrants. talking about the situation on the ground making it more difficult to do their jobs. there is concern we could see more migrants taking to the seas to try to escape the island and had toward the u.s. when they see ships they suspect have illegal immigrants on it trying to leave the island and had toward the u.s., the u.s. can stop those ships and return the haitians back to the island.

those returns have been complicated because of the situation. the u.s. has had to fly migrants rather than return them to seaports. the u.s. is preparing for more migrants if there is a surge of migrants taking to the seas. preparing in the case that we have hundreds of migrants who needed temporary place to stay before they can be returned to haiti. host: i will show you a clip of senator rob portman questioning secretary mayorkas about the encounters at the border and that i will ask you to comment on it. [video clip] >> this has been the worst year of apprehensions ever, the second worst year was last year. these numbers speak for themselves. more than 2 million people apprehended between the ports of entry and 2022.

this summer, when the chief of border patrol was questioned by the state of florida, he gave his answers under oath. i would ask unanimous consent to place a transcript of the testimony into the record, mr. chairman. >> without objection. >> secretary, i will ask you the same questions the chief of border patrol was asked to see if you agree. please give me a yes or no answer it like he did. is the southern border currently in crisis? yes or no? ranking member portman, the entire hemisphere is suffering a migration crisis. we are seeing unprecedented movement of people from country to country. it is not restricted to the southern border. we are seeing an unprecedented movement of people throughout the western hemisphere. i think the case of venezuela is

the most compelling example. with a population between 25 million and 28 million people, approximately 8 million of them have left that country. colombia is hosting 2.4 million venezuelans. >> i would ask you for a yes or no answer. >> i have been to colombia and i am aware of what is going on. nicaragua, cuba, but the question is all the more pressing. what do we do about it? should we be changing our policies at the border question my question to you again, is the southern border currently in crisis, yes or no? >> we are seeing a significant challenge at the southern border. host: what do you think of that, stef? guest: it is showing us the way republicans are viewing the situation at the border that have long been trying to get secretary mayorkas to say the word "crisis."

we have seen unprecedented numbers. it is a hemispheric issue and that is correct. the shift in the demographics we have seen arising at the u.s.-mexico border has been significant. we have seen increasing numbers of venezuelans, cubans and nicaraguans arriving at the u.s.-mexico border. it had been migrants from honduras and el salvador. that ships matters because it is more difficult to return migrants to countries like venezuela, cuba and nicaragua because our relationships with the governments. it puts us in a difficult position because when they come across, if they are not granted asylum there are very few options for us to return them. host: let's look at it text we got from bakersfield, california. he is an independent voter. he says does stef kight know why

the biden administration is not working with the leaders in central america, as corrupt as they may be, to provide employment opportunities for their citizens? guest: they are working on a few policies around that. the vice president has visited some of those central american countries and has talked about ways she is working with the private sector to provide jobs to migrants there. as the texter pointed out, it is difficult for the u.s. to work with the governments there. the leaders in those countries, there are some difficult situations. host: let's talk to some viewers now. texas, republican line. caller: it is amazing to me, the people you have on have not

lived on the border. i was born and raised in texas, on the border. i am going to tell you, you are not catching half of the people who come across. mayorkas came down here, "there is no problem on the border," and same with harris. they said the border is closed, that is a lie. more people are coming across and destroying the countryside. we are not catching them, even if they are, they are not sending them back. if you think covid is bad, wait until you get colorado and other diseases -- colera and diseases other countries have. you expect us to take care of them when we are having a hard time now. you send our money to ukraine to fight a war and then you want to get us involved.

my question is, why has the president not gone down to the border and visited? he can go to ukraine and he did, but he did not come to texas. let's hear some really, really good truthful questions answered. i am tired of hearing this, "poor people," yes, you know they are coming, you see pictures of them on boats coming from other countries and they are told they will get all of this. host: let's get a response. guest: i do not live on the southern border but i have visited. it is something that uniquely impacts people who live in those communities. i want to point that out. we have heard from may years and local leaders -- we have heard from mayors and local leaders who have said it is difficult for them to care for that many people who come across the border. that is one of the reasons why

we have to pay attention to this issue because it does impact people who live along the border and migrants trying to seek asylum lawfully and who need support in these communities. that is a concern as to why we have not seen the president visit the border. there are critical calculations. maybe we will see him there at some point. there are a lot of things the president needs to focus on and we do see many officials go to the border. mayorkas has visited the border multiple times. i appreciate the question. host: i want to show a portion of democratic senator kristin cinema of arizona. she was at a senate hearing and talked about the challenges. [video clip] >> a record number of -- over 2.3 million individuals. the current system had multiple

points of failure throughout the summer. in arizona, local governments stepped in to provide emergency support and took staff from other important roles to manage the release of migrants. border areas outside of arizona have seen significant releases, some coming in recent weeks. these releases onto city streets are inhumane and leave migrants vulnerable to the elements. the administration's continued failures on the border places arizona communities and our nation's security at risk. the ongoing influx of migrants put strain on our resources and forces border patrol agents out of the field and into processing and administrative roles. with the sudden announcement that title 42 will be terminated in december, i am worried that dhs is not ready and migrants

will suffer for this. the strategy being implemented at our border is not working and changes necessary. host: stef, she is saying dhs is not ready for title 42 to go away in december. guest: of course the secretary said -- thought title 42 would be ended earlier this year. homeland security did put together a plan for dealing what they expected to be a surge of migrants coming across the border in response to the end of the policy. they have plans they hope will work. whether or not those will still be effective at this point in the game are unclear. as i mentioned earlier, there is debate just how big the surge will be. we have already seen the number so high. we have seen number surpassed the level they were anticipating post-title 42. i have spoken to some sources who are in the administration who say they are not sure we

will see as big of a search at this point. something to watch is we have pushed back so many venezuelans and mexicans across the border in a new policy that uses title 42. if they are still in mexico recently pushed back and then they hear that title 42 is no longer in place, those other situations where they can turn around and try again. host: let's hear from harold in florida, democrats line. caller: good morning, stef. it is nice to have you on. i am hearing a lot of people complain about it open border and that president biden should visit down there. i personally do not think that is the answer or will do anything. what do you expect him to do when he gets to the border? my concern is i hear a lot of people complaining but nobody offering any tangible solutions. one thing i have noticed is there seems to be a huge backlog

in the court systems for judges. when an illegal immigrant comes across and claims asylum, it can take five years for their court case to move forward. why are there not more judges in court to handle this backlog? where are these people staying while awaiting their court hearing? i will listen to your answer. guest: thank you for the question. you are right. the backlog in our immigration court is a serious issue and a contributing factor to the situation we are seeing at the u.s.-mexico border. a lot of people will say the fact migrants know they can cross and claim asylum and they are guaranteed to stay in the u.s. for a few years while the case is playing out is a reason for people to cross. they know even if they do not qualify for asylum, they will have a period of time to work and live in the u.s. while the case is going to the court system. the court backlog has a lot of

impact and that is something that does have bipartisan concern. it seems like it could be an issue that congress could look at. it is also complicated. hiring judges could be a part of that but that is something the trump administration did and there are issues at the kinds of judges were hiring ending the funds to hire additional judges is something else you get congress to get involved in. to your point of their not being a lot of solutions, part of it is our immigration system is outdated and needs congress to actually act and change our laws to better suit the migration situation around the world. host: rick is next in tacoma, washington, independents line. caller: my question for stef is, are they sending enough money to these countries south of the border?

are they getting enough for that money back for political campaigns? guest: we provide aid to many of the countries where people are fleeing from and that is a part of this administration's focus on immigration. if they want to invest in countries to make it easier for people to stay in home countries as well as looking at our own domestic border policies and ensuring we are keeping our own border secure. the money has a big role in it. at the same time we know many of these countries are lower income countries. people are sending their children, brothers, uncles, aunts to the u.s. to make money and send it back. the money flow is a huge part of this very complicated situation of migration. host: robert is next on the

republican line in covington, kentucky. good morning. caller: good morning. i wanted to ask stef, of the 230,000 that entered the u.s. last month, how many were sent back? also, there is a definition of asylum and i wonder if someone would put up on the screen the definition of asylum, because one of the things that it talks about, if you enter illegally, other than a point of entry, you are not eligible for asylum. if you are not eligible, you should be sent back, not wait for five years in the u.s. for a court appearance because you are not eligible. guest: to your point about how many people who were returned to mexico, there were roughly 80,000 last month who were

returned under the title 42 policy. it is not a huge percentage but a significant number turned back using the policy. when it comes to formal deportations back to home countries, that is a process that takes time. we do not know how many of that roughly 230,000 that crossed in october have been deported because the court process does take time. yes, to claim asylum, to actually be approved, you have to prove you would face persecution in your home country because of your race, your religion, your political beliefs or being part of a specific group. it is a specific qualification to gain asylum but we provide the right for people to claim asylum. they have the opportunity to claim fear and go through the full legal process. this takes time for a lot of different reasons. host: let's talk to larry in california on the democrats

line. caller: good morning, ladies. one of the biggest problems we have with immigration is people use to hire them to build buildings. donald trump had them at his golf course in his hotels. i want to remind republicans that this is their continent. your continent is europe, england and russia. when the white people were coming to america, the native americans were here. i wish there was c-span so they could say, why are these people coming? i would like white people in america to realize this is not your country and if you cannot share it with everyone, leave the country and go back to your country. that is why your family left europe. this country is for everybody. if you do not like it, leave.

host: of course -- guest: of course immigration has long been a part of u.s. history and our demographics. we are changing as a country, including because of our immigration flows. that is not for the worst, it is often for the better. we need people to fill jobs to continue growing as an economy. we need our population to grow. we need more people to serve in many different industries. immigration will be a part of our growth as a population and economy. host: kirk is next on the independents line in oklahoma. good morning. caller: good morning, morning, morning. my question, i got deported and came back legally. i was in texas for two years i

know a lot about it. the bulk of money spent on immigration is from the federal government. texas has some huge detention centers where they keep the immigrants. texas is not paying for it, it is federal. the crying i hear from these people talking about, that money is not coming from that. do you understand? basically, immigration policies. republicans think that is the

way you solve the immigration problem. no. title 42, these people get $10, it is not considered a deportation. they can come back immediately, the next day because it is not a deportation. host: let's get a response. guest: thank you for sharing your personal experience with the immigration process. it is complicated. while the federal government does own the immigration law enforcement in this country that are most involved at the u.s.-mexico border, there are also state resources sometimes used to support migrants after they have crossed the u.s.-mexico border. there are roles state governments play. the federal government oversees the u.s.-mexico border.

you raise some well-known criticisms of title 42. people criticized it is no longer a public health policy. they point to the reasons why it was not ended earlier. some of that was because of court rulings. the fact it has lasted for so long even as concerns around covid have declined, it points to this as more than just a public health service. host: larry is in massachusetts, republican line. caller: let me be very candid. as an african-american, i am appalled that no one has said we do not need illegal immigration. we have enough poor people here. we do not need immigration. why do we not say we do not want any refugees or asylum-seekers?

we can fix employment. we do not need immigration. i am looking for a president to say immigration is done with. we do not need that. i have been blessed to travel. it should be closed. host: ok, larry. guest: a lot of people would say we do need immigration in the u.s. if you look at some of the population demographic trends in the u.s., women having fewer children. we are seeing in many nations, fertility rates declining. countries that do not have welcoming immigration policies, they are watching their populations as a country decline. it is dangerous for many

reasons. the economies of these countries depend on workers. having people there to work and support the dependent populations, the elderly, retired and children. a healthy workforce is critical for having a healthy economy. we need immigration for the fact that people are having smaller families and if you want to see economic growth, immigration will play an important role. host: at a hearing, clay higgins of louisiana pressed secretary mayorkas on a couple of issues. take a look. [video clip] >> secretary mayorkas, for the record, are you aware or have you authorized agents to release illegal aliens into america without identifying, screening or vetting them properly? >> congressman, sovereignty

stands strong. our brave men and women in the border patrol -- >> have you authorized agents to release illegal aliens into america without having properly identified or collected at least basic fingerprints? you have millions coming across. >> allow the secretary. >> it is my time, mr. chairman. if i want to reclaim my time, i will. i will move on without an answer. are you asking me to yield time? >> i am the chair. >> i will reclaim my time. secretary mayorkas, are you interrupting my time, mr. chairman? >> i am trying to make sure that we conduct. >> you are interfering with my five minutes, mr. chairman. if you request me to yield my

time, i will give you time. >> that is not the procedure. >> that is the procedure. >> it is not. >> yes it is. >> i reclaim my time and i want this time back. you use your authority to -- >> mr. secretary. >> agents that have come under public attack and condemnation by the biden administration. have you used your authority to suppress evidence presented by agents who come under public attack and condemnation by you and the biden administration? >> two points if i may, in response to your second question, i do not know what you are referring to. >> i take that you are on the record as saying no, you have not used your authority to suppress evidence. if you are an honorable man, you should be able to say no to that.

does your answer no? >> i do not even know what you are referring to. >> you will. secretary mayorkas, have you used your authority to retaliate against agents who served on special details during the trump administration? agents identified by your administration as conservatives or trump supporters? >> i do not even know what you are referring to? >> i will take that as a no. host: that was a contentious hearing. republicans are taking control of the house. what if this setting the stage for? guest: we are expecting house republicans to investigate, secretary mayorkas has made it clear that it is a space they hope to investigate, the issues of the u.s.-mexico border. they have made it clear they want to bring secretary mayorkas in for questioning on multiple occasions. it is something the white house

is preparing for. they have spoken about trying to impeach secretary mayorkas from his position. at this point post election, republicans will have pretty slim majorities. it is not clear if they can move forward on something like an impeachment. we have heard from moderates that have been elected and moderates in the house that are less willing to get on board with something like that. we can expect more questioning from higgins and other republicans along these lines. host: jamie in pennsylvania, democrats line. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. why does the mexican government prevent the illegals from guatemala, why do they allow them to come to our border? do we have an agreement? why are so many coming unchallenged? guest: we have seen the mexican

government increase its efforts at the border with guatemala as well as throughout the country. they have to allow mexican nationals to move about their own country as they would like to. they do allow people to seek asylum in mexico and move toward the u.s. there is only so much the mexican government can do. it has been a part of u.s. and mexican discussions that the government crackdown on illegal immigration throughout the country and at their border with guatemala. just because they are trying to enforce immigration laws does not mean nobody gets through. there can be somebody people that i can overwhelm the mexican government resources. there are a lot of reasons why that is a complicated issue. the u.s. works with mexico and other countries and have asked them to increase their own law enforcement actions. host: los angeles, california, independents line. caller: good morning. i would like to make a statement

and then after question. the u.s. immigration policy is racist, period. no people in this country have been done worse than black people. know people have been denied health care like black people. you bring in 300,000, 400,000 a month into our community that do not speak english. you have built infrastructure for them. and now you blame it on children for smash and grab when they have to learn how to speak spanish to get an entry-level job. what you have done, and it is so racist -- question, when have they ever done a study on the effects of illegal immigration -- and they are racist -- illegal immigration in the black communities? guest: i do not think i have seen a study particularly along

those lines. when it comes to issues of immigration, questions around race are a part of the conversation. if you look at immigration policies that have been in place in the u.s., there are some that are very targeted toward certain demographics and races and ethnicities and there have been efforts to make sure that europeans and white immigrants have an easier pathway to the u.s. there are concerns there. . those are things that have been studied. i am sure you can find studies online and experts that can speak to some of those things. this is not something i have reported on closely or studied on closely. host: andy, kentucky, republican line. caller: good morning. i have so many questions. i could talk to you forever on these things but i know you will not allow me. when you send money back to

mexico, the people who come up your from other countries, not just mexico, it creates inflation in those countries for the poor that do not have people to send money back. is that the population increase we need? why do we need that population increase? as bill maher said, 21% of our population is homosexual. where are the spreadsheets about how many we need in here in the future? do you have an estimation of how much population increase we need to sustain our elderly when they get old? we are taking these people away from the elderly and other countries. there will be a terrible existence. nobody will be there to take care of them. we are suffering these people to come up your and take care of us at our old age and leave those

poor people to suffer down there in a miserable existence. you people are so terrible. you are people. guest: you raise one of the concerns that population experts have. in some countries like the u.s., fertility rates are declining, we could reach a point where the smaller workforce trying to carry the economy and care for a bigger elderly population in addition to children who do not work and that its a situation people are concerned about and want to make sure we have a healthy, thriving workforce that can care for elderly populations. immigration will increasingly be a key factor in ensuring that is the case for a variety of reasons. generally, people are having fewer kids. this is a demographic trend we are seeing in high -- countries.

it can be a good and healthy sign when you see fertility rates decline. there is good access to health care, women do not feel like they can have a lot of children because they are confident their children will grow up healthy. declining fertility rates in and of themselves are not necessarily a bad thing but it can pose a problem in high income countries with a bigger elderly population and aging population and that is where immigration will be critical. host: scott, wisconsin, democrats line. caller: good morning. i am in seattle, washington, closer to the canadian border than the mexican border. the problems caused up as far as the southern border are pretty big. on the northern border, we have problems with a lot of indians and chinese coming down from

canada to have babies and staying their entire pregnancy in fancy places on the east side. the main problem seems to be that they never did enforce the verified deal to make sure people are legally here before they offer them jobs. then, for the ones who have farming experience, in washington, i was reading that less than 20% are farmers. there are all kinds of different legal ways to come here if you have farming experience and a farmer were to sponsor you, you would not have to try to sneak in across the desert with your family in the middle of the summer. that is not good. also, the previous caller that spoke to the idea that this is their area to roam around freely, that is not the case. after guadalupe head doll go

that caused -- wide lupe hidalgo , that was a most like a second louisiana purchase. for the country to buy parts of kansas, colorado, arizona, big chunks of california. host: we are running low on time. guest: you raise questions around the employment of immigrants in the country, people coming across the u.s.-mexico border looking for jobs in farming. you are right, there are legal options with temporary and long-term jobs for immigrants looking for such jobs but it is also complicated. people leave for a lot of reasons. there are economic reasons, and they are also fleeing dangerous situations in their home country. sometimes they do not have time to wait to go through the legal process. farmers themselves and small business owners see the profits

of going through short-term visas. they can take too long. they need workers now. sometimes the easiest option is to hire someone who might be in the country unlawfully but it is a complicated situation. people have raised the need to verify and make sure people are here legally. it is a complicated situation. even undocumented immigrants have long been a part of our economy. many people coming across the u.s.-mexico border are applying for asylum which does come with a legal work permit. people are allowed to work while they are waiting for the case to move through. host: we got a tweet that says this is not the single biggest thing that can be done to curtail illegal immigration, it would be aggressively prosecuting employers that hire undocumented people. guest: that could be one way to tackle this issue. especially on the right, there are people who think that needs

to be the focus. people would say it is better to focus her energy on employers rather than the undocumented immigrants themselves who are in that situation. that is one option to crack down on that. there are a lot of reasons why people migrate and i do not think focusing on employers will necessarily change people's will to migrate. host: anthony in pennsylvania, republican line, can you be brief? caller: yes i can. i just want to make a comment but i do have a question. my comment is, mayorkas perjure's himself regularly in front of congress. he is not enforcing the constitution by defending the country. the border is wide open. my question is, how to the people who go through the process of asylum who are supposed to go through show up?

after they are denied asylum, do they head back to their country? i would like to see a number. guest: one reason why you have not seen that number is because it is a difficult number to find. i do not have off the top of my head how many people do not show up. most people show up for their initial hearing for asylum. as the process continues, people do not show up for a lot of different reasons. sometimes they are not told when to show up. sometimes they can move the neck and complicate communications. asylum is a difficult thing to actually be approved of. asylum rates have not changed a ton. it is much easier to be allowed to pursue asylum than it is to be approved for asylum. the removal numbers, because of how long it takes to go through this process, it is hard to gauge what percentage of people

come across the u.s.-mexico border have already been deported but those are important questions. host: that is all the time we have. thank you very much, stef kight, politics reporter for axios. thank you for joining us. guest: thank you for having me. host: at 9:15 this morning, we will hear from sarah stewart holland and beth silvers, they are podcast hosts and authors. first, more of your calls. you can start calling right now. ♪ >> be up to date on the latest in publishing with book tv's podcasts about books with

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generation we did get environmental protection agency and an endangered species act. nixon signed a clean air act in 1970 that made a difference. we had the clean water act in 1972. this silent spring generation i am writing about had a lot of people in it. the three presidents were responsive to the public and that is what great presidents do. kennedy, johnson and nixon were all truly good, if not great environmental presidents. >> his book sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. you can listen to q&a and all of our podcasts on the c-span now at. ♪ >> preorder your copy of the congressional directory for the

118th. congress it is your access to the federal government. important information for congressional committees, the president's cabinet, federal agencies and state governors. preorder your copy today. $29.95 plus shipping and handling. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back to "washington journal." it is open forum. i will be interested to hear your thoughts about what is going on in washington, anything to do with politics. caller a couple -- a couple callers mentioned ftx, crypto exchange. here is an article from cnbc. ftx seeks court relief to pay critical vendors.

it has launched a strategic review of its global asset and is preparing for the sale or reorganization of some businesses. ftx also sought relief to allow the operation of a new global management cash system and payment of critical vendors. the other news is about the special counsel named to t leadwo -- to lead trump inquiries. taking over two major criminal investigations involving former president donald trump, examining his role in the events leading up to the january 6 attack on the capitol and having sensitive documents at his home in florida. the person named is jack smith, former head of the justice department's integrity section and veteran war crimes

prosecutor. i am interested to see what your thoughts are. beth, independent line, washington. good morning. caller: good morning. i find that very interesting. this whole ftx thing has another component that is pure fraud. that is where they should attack ftx. i have been watching your program, i found that it is very casual when i listened to the lady before, who talked about being -- my grandparents came from europe. i understand this is about immigration and it balloons

the population and we have more workers and taxpayers. the point i am making is these people who are hispanic and -- a lot of people from the southern hemisphere are here. we are all friends. the problem with an open border is to have no idea who is coming. my friend was from cuba, you have no idea who you are letting through the border. apparently, biden and mayorkas do not care, either. what i do not understand is why is everyone so cavalier about not following the laws of this nation? i find that very, very troubling. here we are, they do not seem to care. they failed to advance the rule

of law. they do not care about it. host: let's hear from linda next, oceanview, delaware. caller: i would like to know why nobody ever investigates the fact there were 20 cia agents embedded in the january 6 march on washington, d.c. no one ever looks into that. i was wondering if someone could look into that and why those agents were embedded in the march. were they leading the people? host: where did you hear this? caller: i heard it on fox. host: ok. let's go to dave, long island, new york, independent line. caller: i am calling about the new house leadership we are told will take place in the democrat house.

we see the congressional democrats have been abusing their power the past four years by beating up on republicans when they could not hit back. now the republicans have the majority and they can hit back. we see the so-called democratic leadership stepping down. it looks a lot like they have been running scared. they have been abusing their power by hitting the republicans when they could not hit back. now that the republicans can hit back, they say they do not want to play anymore. young, progressive leadership we are told, but it looks like this is being installed as their punching bag following their abuse of power over the last four years. host: let's take a look at what is happening with twitter. the new york times says elon musk's twitter teeters on the edge after another 1200 leave. mr. musk asking about technology

as key infrastructure teams have been decimated. there is talk about twitter -- it says twitter is -- teetering on the edge. the billionaire has pushed relentlessly to put his imprint on the social media, slashing workforce, pursuing subscription products and putting out a harsh message that the company needs to shape up. he is 51 years old and the question is whether he has gone too far. on thursday, hundreds of twitter employees resigned after mr. deadline to decide on whether to leave or stay. good morning. caller: hello. this is carl from kansas city. i am an 80-year-old

veteran. i've earned my right to an opinion. my basic complaint is a lot of scandals and news breaking stories hit the media and they seem to have a lifespan of two seconds and then they disappear and you hardly hear anything about them. a good example would be this biden guy. we need to hear more about from an objective position what they are doing with him. here is my main pitch. please do not cut me off. when trump was campaigning in iowa and they were beating on him in the debates because they were all against him, ok. he did not go to the debate and held a rally for the veterans. he supposedly collected $6

million plus he supposedly donated $1 million of his own money. turns out to be a scam. nobody that i know of has said where the $6 million to the veterans went. i am a veteran so i take personal offense when people collect money in my name. they actually penned his electoral hope for doing that. it was atrocious. my complaint is not on trump. he has a lot of good things that i support. he is a crook from the marrow of his bones. what i want to communicate to americans is we do not have the follow-up on these stories so please, what happened to the $6 million he supposedly collected for the veterans, the $1 million he supposedly donated himself? they followed it up and there

was a hem and haw and the story sort of died. news media, follow-up on these stories. host: let's go to newark, new jersey. independent line. james, good morning. caller: good morning. i have been following for many years. back in 2000 never i was getting paid $4.50 an hour. i got mad. in 2002 i made a phone call.

people should be getting paid at least working so they can have the dignity to go to a job and get paid minimum wage. host: let's go to the democrats line. eugene, oregon. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you very much for letting me speak this morning. i have been really anxious when i first merrick garland announced he was bringing on the special prosecutor. i knew it was right. i started looking into it. jim jordan is going to be head

of the judicial committee. that is a given. he's got blood in his eyes. i'm trying to organize it to be really quick. scott perry, his phone has already been confiscated from the fbi. they have been looking into it. there is scott perry. there is biggs, gosher, marjorie taylor greene. all these people are involved with january 6. we also have two newly highly elected people that are named santos and orden. they were involved with january 6. they rallied on january 6. now they will join congress. special circumstances is what merrick garland quoted. well these are special circumstances.

imagine, jim jordan goes to merrick garland and says i want to know what is going on with the investigation. well, that is not going to happen because he is going to be investigated. so you either have to get, go all the way for letting the doj do their job, the special counsel smith has a fantastic reputation and let them try and mess around with him because that is who. this is going to go a lot quicker. i am really really pleased with how president biden has stayed out of this and all of the projection from the gop where all of this is biden's government, his department of justice and all of this. no. we spent four years with trump

telling his thugs what to do and who to go after . gop, suck it up. host: there is some news on the "wall street journal." cop27 agrees on loss and damage fund for formable countries. officials say government for more than 190 countries struck a deal to set up a fund that would pay for climate related damage in vulnerable countries. charles is next, west virginia, independent line. good morning. caller: yes. i would like to say that this special counsel hopefully will be the last step before the actual trials and tribulations of this era. also i am independent because i do not believe in everything the

democrats or the republicans do. i think that in the case where there is a school shooter that kills a bunch of children, he should never spent his life in prison. there should be a death penalty for such stuff that is totally against anything we live in america. that is all. thank you. host: jeffrey in north carolina, democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. please let me get my points out. just listening to this program this morning, there are a few callers that really hit some important matters that resonate with me. the situation pertaining to january 6, one caller from origin was saying about the special counsel.

it is very disturbing right now knowing how this is very much a high-level stress initiative right now whereas the gentleman that really put his voice in motion and people very much paid attention to his words to go out there and be in this form on january 6 so where there is undisputedly no separating. there were circumstances that transpired, as violent as it was, there will be other responsibilities and legal issues going on with a different group of people. it is the fact. it is sad i have to express that. but america is scarring themselves greatly nationwide. there should be no excuse for donald trump to be able to put whatever legal position that he

needs to say i'm going to run for united states president again with the chaos that is attached to him. follow the dangerous people that are following this gentleman at the highest level of responsibility, i do not understand why america would permit him to accept this gentleman without all of the investigations to be finalized and lawsuits. it makes no sense. is confusing. it is sad. it is a scar that is going to ruin lives and generations, behind them. the people that are following and making excuses for that dangerous insurgents, those writers, terrorists, those that made a decision to violently disrupt america for a fair and partial voting system that has

been significantly successful for years. host: let's hear from curtis. he is in mississippi, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to talk on the same lines of the guy before me. he was not listening to other news channels. we know for a fact that it is not being reported on the mainstream media. there are at least 20 fbi agents that were standing at the main place where it happened on the

sixth that they were enticing people to go in there and tear up stuff. the democrats really wanted that to happen. how come they would not take the 20,000 troops that trump said he would put up there to avoid any kind of confrontation? he is standing down while it is going on and telling people to walk down there patriotically and express yourself. i do not understand the way people are talking about that because they are hearing one news that is totally against trump and another one that is casually bringing on the news what happened. the 20 fbi people that were there to entice people to tear up windows and knocking doors.

please don't cut me off because i'm really nervous and i am mad about what is going on in our great country. this is not the way it is supposed to happen in our country but the news media is not printing the whole truth about what is going on. cnn, abc, nbc, cbs, bunch of them are in cahoots. i am looking at the tv and you are laughing about it right now. host: i was laughing about don't cut me off. we just have to get other callers. russell is in washington, d.c., independent line. caller: good morning. listen, i have heard many callers over the years especially the last few years call into c-span and criticized c-span for always bringing articles out of the "washington post" and "the new york times."

c-span has not done anything about it before and the wall street journal. i think your producers have to do a little bit of work but you should pick a week, any week and for that entire week you should pull from publications all around the country. different publications, different newspapers and geographically disparate sources. you will end up with more right wing opinions but you will also end up with different left-wing opinions than just what is in the "washington post," "new york times," and "the wall street journal." your producers will have to do some more work. host: they are very hard-working, by the way. i just have to say. here is something on a much lighter note, mpr is reporting that naomi biden, the president's granddaughter, will

be getting married today at the white house. also some news on cnbc about theranos founder elizabeth holmes. she has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison. and that is for defrauding the company that she owned. a lot of people that she had told her company could do a lot of things that it did not do. rob is next in kansas, democrats line. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: i wanted to reflect on the last caller. we never have divisions like this like people creating their own facts before trump came to office. we had differences but what we have now is people creating their own reality bubble and trying and wondering why no one

else believes them. it is disappointing to think we live in a first world country and part of the population pretends they are living in russia and they get news from fox news and all of these channels that distort facts and present it to their viewers and their viewers think this must be god's word. i don't know who needs to hear this but we need to pass a law that if you lose an election and you have no proof, no evidence of fraud or rigged elections or stolen elections, that you are barred from going out and saying that that is what happened and if you do not cease and desist, you go straight to jail. thank you so much for letting me have my comment. host: catherine is in michigan, republican line. good morning. caller: hello. thank you for taking my call. please don't hang up on me because a couple of months ago

you hung up on me before i was finished with what i wanted to say. i agree with a lot of the people today are news media is so out of touch with what the public needs. we need truth. we don't need speculation. we don't need lies. we need the truth. and this gentleman that just called, he says all this started with trump. no, this started years ago. i am 72 years old and i have gone through a lot of different presidents. trump is the only one calling out the truth. it just amazes me how the democrats can keep these lies going. from day one, they had him investigated. where have you ever heard of a president coming in and being

investigated the way that trump was? i don't know how the man really continued in his presidency with all of the hate that the democrats had against him and all of the investigations that they had against him. and i really think the republicans need to stand up now and they need to do some investigations on their own. as far as the immigration think, i try to get in with the immigration thing. we need people here to do the job that other people don't want to do. my family came from italy and we had hard times coming over here too but they came legally. they had sponsors. this is the way it needs to be. the people coming over here need to be vetted. we need to know who they are and get back to doing things so that

we don't have criminals coming over here and we don't have to spend money on unnecessary things. law enforcement is so stressed with all of these illegals coming in here. that's all i wanted to say. host: that is all the time we've got for open forum. coming up, our weekly spotlight on podcasts segment. sarah stewart holland and beth silvers our cohost's a podcast called pantsuit politics. they are also authors of a book, "now what? how to move forward we are divided about everything." stay with us. ♪ >> the up-to-date in the latest in publishing with book to the -- book tv geltzer podcast about books and trends through insider

interviews. you can find it on c-span now, our free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. are you a nonfiction book lover looking for new podcast? this holiday season try listening to the committee podcasts c-span has to offer. on q&a this into interesting interviews with people and authors writing books on history and subjects that matter. learn something new on book notes plus through conversations with nonfiction authors and historians. afterwards brings together best-selling authors with influential interviewers with wide-ranging conversations. on "about books," we talk about the business of books with news and interviews with the publishing industry and nonfiction authors. find our podcasts by downloading the free c-span now app or wherever you get your podcasts.

>> listening to programs on c-span through c-span radio just got easier. tell your smart speaker, play c-span radio, and listen to washington journal daily at 7:00 a.m. eastern. important hearings and other events throughout the day and weekdays at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. eastern, catch "washington today" for a fast-paced report about stories of the. listen to c-span anytime. just tell your smart speaker, play c-span radio. c-span, powered by cable. preorder your copy of the congressional directory for the 118th congress. it is your access to the federal government with information for every house and senate members. important information for congressional committees, the president's cabinet, scented agencies and state governors. scan the code the right to order your copy today. its $29.95 plus shipping and handling.

every copy helps support our nonprofit operations at c-span.org. >> congress gets back to work in the wake of the midterm election. watch in the next weeks as the incoming congress elects its leaders, makes key committee assignments, greets new members and sets an agenda for january 2023. the outgoing. congress uses its final weeks to tackle unfinished business such as defense spending, judicial nominations and funding for the federal government which is set to expire on december 16. follow it all on the c-span network and c-span now, our free mobile video app or any time on demand at c-span.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back to "washington journal." i'm joined in this segment of our weekly spotlight on podcasts by the cohosts of pantsuit

politics, sarah stewart holland and beth silvers. welcome to both of you. >> thank you for having us. host: sarah, tell us about the podcast. how did it start and what is it about? >> we started back in 2015. we really started because we wanted to have the type of conversations we were not seeing anywhere else, critical conversations where you could say i don't know or i think i might have changed my mind about that. we thought maybe our moms and friends will listen but it turns out there was an entire community of people that were hungry for more holistic conversations about what was happening in the news. host: i will remind our viewers that if you would like to talk to our guests, you can do so on our lines by party affiliation. democrats (202) 748-8000, republicans (202) 748-8001 and independents (202) 748-8002.

where did you get the name pantsuit politics? >> sarah had the name for quite some time. she had been heavily involved in politics for her career and was considering a podcast where she would talk to women running for office. i came along by happenstance. i was on parental leave and asked if i could post for her on her blog. she said, i am thinking about a podcast. would you be in? i was working full-time but i trusted sarah right off the bat and i knew that we had something special that would really work on me and make me a better person so i jumped in with not a lot of information and seven years later, here we are. host: you guys are on opposite sides of the spectrum. how did you get to know each other? how do you approach those differences? >> we were on opposite sides of the political structure -- clinical spectrum when we started the program. i changed my party affiliation

in 2019. i am now a registered democrat. i am more accurately an independent but in kentucky we have closed primaries. i have really complimentary personalities. she tends to run hot, i run cooler. she is passionate. i try to stay calm. it is that personality difference that has taught me the most. knowing that we care about each other, where we disagree even significantly on policy issues, we are able to talk through it and always come away more informed, having learned from each other. host: sarah, you guys have written two books together. the latest one is called "now what: how to move forward we are divided about basically everything." tell me about that book. what are you hoping readers get out of it? >> our first book was called "i think you're wrong but i'm listening."

it was the lessons we learned over several years of podcasting but it was very high-level and we have a lot of people that read that book and say, i listened and i am still frustrated. now what do i do? that is where the second book came because we realize that matters who you are talking into when talking about politics. are you talking to your dad? are you talking to a coworker? are you talking about national politics? we really try to break down those levels of connection that we share with one another all the way from family connections to global connections so that we can say when we are talking to a friend versus someone in our church congregation, how does that change the dynamic of a situation and the conversation and how can we unpack that to have more fruitful conversation. host: let's talk about the midterm election results. you have been talking about that on your podcasts. sarah, your reactions. what are your takeaways? >> it feels like our political

analysis is lagging a little bit behind our political reality. it felt like with the midterms we were having so much of these are the regular roles of midterm elections. i felt the whole time that so much is different. how can the regular rules apply? i felt confirmed in that instinct when the results came in and things are different. everybody feels it. listeners file. a word be kept using his weird. it felt weird to us. when the results were weird, it was confirming. this different reality is starting to show up in the election results themselves. host: beth, your reaction to the midterm election results and the red wave that was expected that did that really happen. >> i think it did not really happen if you were looking at the key races where the districts were competitive. i am comforted that for the most

part we had candidates cross the finish line who have not been actively trying to undermine elections and i am comforted by the turnout that voters still trust our process. i think it is important to look at the next level and see how many races are not at all competitive and when we analyze the results, we tend to forget about the seats we take for granted because of where they are located. i am hopeful we can begin to have more conversation about that slow work that candidates do in seats that are plus 15 or be plus 15. how, get more money to those candidates? how can we make sure that both parties are even more than two parties are putting forward thoughtful people who appeal to a broad segment of voters. ? host: let's start talking to some of our viewers. jessica is calling us from kansas on the democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. i have lots of worries about the

upcoming election, especially concerning donald trump running for 2024. my thoughts are scrambled about this because i have mild autism and i am very worried about our democracy concerning him and all of that. i would like to hear your thoughts about the january 6 insurrection. thank you and god bless. have a good day. host: sarah, do you want to take that one? >> yes, i think beginning to think about 2024 is anxiety-producing and we encourage our listeners to remember how rapidly things change in politics. however we feel about how things are right now, they will continue to shift and change

particularly over the next two years. two years is a long time in american politics. when i start to feel that anxiety rising, i remind myself so much could change in two years and that is not to say any upcoming campaign seriously but to put it in that perspective. as far as the january 6 insurrection, i think the wheels of justice are turning. i know that they do not turn fast of us for most of us but i feel confident the process and the justice department and that they will carry out those legal proceedings with professionalism and with transparency and that we will continue to see people held responsible for their actions. host: sarah, your reaction to president trump announcing that he will be running for president. how did you react to that? >> i thought you were asking beth.

it was difficult. it is difficult to see him stand up there and get this other chance when so many of us feel that he should be and is being held responsible. it was low energy. it was low-energy. it felt like his heart was not in it. we talk about that on our show. he even sense that the political reality has changed and will continue to change for him. host: richard in boston, massachusetts. democrats mine. caller: good morning. i have a question for beth. i was wondering why she switched parties and became an independent. and also i wanted to also point out that i've been a democrat since the 1990's.

i don't understand how people can switch parties. it is the poor people for the democrats and the rich people for the conservatives. i don't think that can change. >> i grew up on a small dairy farm in western kentucky and initialing what republican because i have the sense of needing to solve problems more locally. i saw the effect of regulation on small farms. regulations that were well intended but tough outside large context. that was my orientation. i was never into the culture war of either party. in 20 i felt that i was not representing at all to our audience with the republican party stood for and i probably never did that because my view shifted significantly from 2017 forward and it felt more honest to my listeners for me to change

my registration. here in kentucky i noticed that the candidates in my local ballot were shifting right word and they direction i couldn't support. i felt that my effort as a citizen was better on the democratic side. i am perfectly willing to change my mind again. partisanship i think is the least interesting thing about me and i hope it is about most people. i love changing my mind and seeing what is happening in the world, what question is presented by an election or a race and be honest with myself about how i feel the best direction is at the time. host: in michigan, the republican line. caller: yes. i am sitting here -- talking about. i don't understand why people say to investigate one person

and not investigate the other. we should have some transparency. it should be fair. we should start at the front end and work our way through. let's find out what is in the closet of biotin like we are finding out what is in the closet of trump. we need some transparency. host: would you like to take that one, sarah, about the appointment of the special counsel? guest: i think the appointment of the special counsel is an attempt of -- not transparency. it isn't like they are going to work in front of us the long process of investigation, but an attempt to show that there is some removal from the biden administration so that we don't

feel like there is one administration investigating another administration. i think that was merrick garland's intention. to support that neutrality. with the midterm results and republican party taking the house of representatives, it is highly likely that we will see some investigations into the biden family. i don't know if that is the investigation must be equal on both sides. i think that that implies that the actions of both administrations is equal and that is almost never true. i think that administrations are as different as the people who make them up. i think that we will see some of that in the house of representatives. that is what the caller is looking for. host: virginia beach, virginia, independent line. caller: my question is about being hung up about party affiliation and ideology. why aren't we more concerned about trying to fix problems?

why aren't we more concerned about being americans and doing what we can do to bring about solutions? why are we so caught up? why aren't we more like our parents, the greater generation that we always speak of? host: beth, do you want to take that? guest: i agree. i love a problem-solving orientation. we have a chapter in our book about trying to keep ourselves in the future oriented problem-solving space. i agree with the caller about that. i agree that i'm trying to understand as a person who is not highly attached to either party, is there something really beneficial in the work of the parties, particularly at the local level where you are recruiting candidates and training them, people who invest in the party to a great service to the country. it is the level to which we decide the party speaks to something about our identity, an announcement of our identities, worldview, and a declaration of

who we are against that we are losing our way. i am hopeful that the midterms will be an opportunity for us to say that as americans we are for each other. there is a lot going on in the world where we need to be for each other. we have many challenges to tackle. partisanship could go in the direction of building up people who can do that problem-solving for us. that would be a much better situation than we find ourselves in where it tells us who we are against. host: we have a tweet from mary lou who says, as a former republican, now independent, i will say my former party will go the way of the whigs. it attracts the worst of our country for candidates. look at their agenda, hate, take away the rights of women/girls, voting rights, would you think, sarah? -- voting rights. what do you think, sarah? guest: our two system is extraordinarily limited when it

is winner take all. some of our experiment thing with different approaches, but it is almost like we just need new names every time. it is not like the democratic party of today is the democratic party of the 1960's. we should call them something different. it is a trigger that something has changed and evolved. yes, we have these two parties, but they are different. because we call them the same thing it is limiting our debate, it is limiting people's abilities to evolve in their partisanship. we are in the two-party system, for better or for worse, at least for the immediate future, though the pace of change in american politics continues to increase. in the two-party system we almost need that trigger in our language to remind ourselves that this is a different party than it was 10, 15, 20, 30 years ago. that's true for both parties. host: patrick, maryland,

democrats line. caller: good morning to you. i would like everyone to try to listen to what i'm saying. before i do, let me say maga this, maga that, maga people. you need to say that these are americans who have concerns. at the same time latin people are not illegal aliens. for that i would like to apologize, as an american. you guys are not from another planet. this is the deal. this is what is going to happen. what i am hearing is the kicking of the can. i have been hearing the kicking of the can for the last couple of years. for those, you look at the midterms, the midterms actually exemplify the kicking of the can. i do believe that the american people, democrat or republican, are getting sick and tired of it.

young people are getting sick and tired of the election. they are getting sick and tired of no solution. especially with the republican party. what is going to happen is now that mccarthy is now the speaker what is going to happen now is two years of campaigning where nothing gets done. let's say for january 6 mccarthy is going to want to get rid of it. is going to be nothing -- it is going to be nothing but back-and-forth with immigration, the border wall, hunter biden, ukraine. what will happen also is that all of this bickering back and forth doesn't solve anything. so, no one knows about whether or not medicare or social security is going to be solved in four years. no one is going to know about whether or not your medical insurance is going to decrease,

or whether or not your pharmaceutical drugs are going to decrease or increase. in other words, americans need to understand and focus on the issues and demand that their elected representatives are held accountable. no one knows, based on this midterm election. when you are in that ballot box and you are alone whether you are republican or democrat. there is yet i hear of a poll that speaks of a republican that gets in the voting booth and votes democrat and a democrat in the voting booth who votes republican. your thoughts, please? host: sarah? guest: i want to say that i think it is very easy to become discouraged if you are consumed

in american politics because of the conflict and the investigation and the negative campaigns that take such precedents in the coverage. i think it is important to fight that cynicism and realize we just had four pieces of major bipartisan legislation come through congress. it is one of the most active congresses we've seen in the podcast. that legislation has a long time to take an impact, but we are talking about millions invested in mental health, infrastructure, climate change mitigation, new energy sources. i'm really encouraged. when i can feel myself get into the space of nothing changes, there's always fighting, all this conflict, i remind myself that there are impactful pieces of legislation. even since they have come back from the lame-duck session they have passed legislation around the nondisclosure agreement. that is important legislation. i think it's important because

that does not bubble up in the same way that the conflicts do, but there is important solutions being presented and passed all the time in congress. i think it's important to give our eyes on that so we don't get in that cynical place where we feel that it is just politics and nothing ever changes. host: woodstock, illinois, pamela on the republican line. caller: good morning. i just wanted to say really quickly, i completely agree with pamela who called in from michigan in regards to we can't pick and choose which side we want to investigate. which side we want to play the media on and give that attention to. we have to be honest as americans, as human beings. we have to get back to what this country was founded on. we need to open our bibles and start looking at what god expects of us.

when we have a president, or anyone running for president, who says anything that is opposed to that truth, that is what we have to stand for. when you look at scripture, there is no hatred. there isn't. we can pretend there is, the media can try to claim that there is, they can try to make it look like it's there, but it isn't. host: what do you think? guest: i am also a christian. where i disagree with the caller is in determining that we are fundamentally a christian nation. america at its core is a place for people of all faith and no faith to exist together in community. i agree that my faith is one in which unity, love, kindness, respect for each other is paramount. i don't really need that to be reflected in my government or media coverage as much as i want to cs adhere to the principles

that we all belong together, equality and justice in the eyes of the law are important. i don't think that means everyone gets investigated equally. it is an enormous exercise of power to open an investigation in congress or the department of justice about anyone. i think it's more important a good cause exists to do that then everyone feels it is being applied to both parties equally. host: i want to show you a clip and sarah i will ask you to respond. this is fox and friends, former vice president mike pence was reacting to donald trump's announcement that he will be running in 2024 and what he thinks americans are looking for in leadership. [video clip] >> it's a free country. the president is entitled to announce his intentions wherever he desires. but i honestly believe that we will have better choices come 2024. >> better choices than donald

trump? >> i do. i don't think anyone could have beaten hillary clinton other than donald trump in 2016. i write that in my new book and i learned that on the campaign trail with him in 2016. the record we created, rebuilt our military, revived our economy, secured our border, it's something i will be proud of. as i've traveled the country over the last two years, people have repeatedly come up to me and said we want to get back to the policies of the trump-pentz administration. i think there is a genuine desire for leadership that could unite the country around our highest ideals. and leadership that would reflect more of the civility and respect that americans show each other every day. i am out of politics now. once you get out of politics and we moved back to indiana, you

realize the american people actually get along pretty well most days. it is our politics that is deeply divided. i think i have a sense of the american people. they want a new style of leadership that will reflect the way they deal with each other every day. host: the former vice president. sarah, what do you think? >> i agreed that americans get along most days. i disagree mike pence is out of politics. he is so extraordinarily careful. to move away from trump that way saying we will have better choices than him i think is a big movement for him and probably around his plans for 2024. that's why struggle with the idea that he is out of politics. he is not wrong that people are -- i don't know if they are

hungry for a new style of leadership, but they are hungry for trump-style leadership in a more careful package. especially the far right wing of the republican party. i don't know what type of leadership that independent and moderate americans are hungry for. i think that that is a tougher analysis, even with the results of the midterm coming in. i don't think that he is wrong that they are ready to sort of move on. in particular, i think from the backwards facing past elections some of the best analysis that i've read is that americans like to talk about the future in elections, not the past. host: on the independent line from bedford, new hampshire. hi, david. caller: good morning. a few questions. actually, transparency is number one for me and i'm getting upset over these elections and results

and the way they are flipping, number one. i can quote from the bedford general election in bedford, new hampshire. we have all republicans all the way there except maggie hassan, chris pappas are democrats. write down the line is all republicans -- right down the line is all republicans. we had two and those got flipped. this is a democratic town. i think we should have an audit in every town. i don't like the election results getting flipped. i don't think they are honest. i think we ought to go to paper ballots number one. what happened with arizona? what is going on with that? you have, what, three weeks and

you still ain't got results? host: beth, do you want to take that? guest: i think the caller is right to remind us that elections are administered locally and we have different processes through the united states. that's important to keep in mind when we talk about the integrity of our elections. i do think that secretaries of state have been working hard, especially since 2020, to make sure that their processes are airtight where they can be. we still have lots of volunteers. you will never have a perfectly run election. the question is usually, are we confident any errors won't change the results? i understand that it is weird when you get a mixed result. we have a very republican legislature and a democratic governor. our democratic governor and republican secretary of state have worked hard hand-in-hand to make sure our elections are well-run and secure.

anyone who has questions should talk to their county clerk to get insight on how the process works, visit the secretary of state website, but i see enormous progress in making sure that our elections are run transparently and securely. sometimes the delay in counting is making sure that those things happened. host: angie from johnson city, tennessee, republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call. listening this morning it is disheartening to hear these people talk because we have become so polarized and divided down the middle. everyone has forgotten at the end of the day we are all american. the sad thing going on now is we watch media, and media is 100% to blame for what is happening in this world right now. when i listen to all these people telling me this and that and trying to get me to go democratic -- unfortunately, due to the lack of a better word, ignorance, i was a democrat for many years. i worked in human resources and

learned how things worked in this world. we have absolutely no transparency. just like the gentleman said with the voting, it shouldn't take three to four weeks for a vote to be counted. it doesn't happen in a third world country. that we have a president that goes to a country and doesn't know what country he is and when he represents us -- it is -- i am in tennessee. i'm sure you have seen the reports. we have californians, people from illinois, everyone from blue states running to our state. these are republicans and democrats. democratic values are working so well, why are these people overrunning all of the states that primarily vote red. it makes no sense to me. host: sarah, what do you think? guest: i think that states have single party rule, california or mississippi, are fragile in a

way. when you have leadership that's not checking each other, that has veto-proof majorities there is a weakness there. you can see that in some of the policies of democratic states and republican states. i think mississippi's water crisis is a great example. as far as elections, there are countries that take a long time to count the vote and there are contested elections. there was one in africa we covered in our show. the idea that this only happens here, what i've learned is that is never true because there are human beings trying to govern themselves all over the world and they run into similar problems. it is a process run by human beings. it is not going to be perfect. there are going to be flaws and mistakes that happen. but not to be discouraged and to decide that that is proof that there is some conspiracy against us. that is true of media.

when we use the word media it becomes a vision in our head and we forget that there are human beings writing in the new york times, human beings walking the halls of fox news.i am even guilty of that myself when we were interviewed on fox news that i was surprised people were nice to me. they are human beings. of course they will be kind to me. media has become this character in our heads. we feel like it is out there beyond our control. it is not that all aspects of media are within our control, but we have seen shifts in people consumption where they are like, i don't want this i will move to this model. the media company sort of responded in turn. there is no stasis when there is human beings involved and things will continue to shift and change. if we want the sense that we are not just our partisanship, that we are in this as americans, fighting that cynicism

where we can is important. host: on the democrats line. good morning. caller: i would like to make a couple of statements and ask a few questions. i believe that the republican for the most part offer a comfort zone for the racists. i will ask this question. what did george washington and the first black president have in common? another question is, what was worse, calling cap her neck not honoring the flag -- calling cap -- kappernick not honoring the flag or january 6. and if we put donald trump in the room with nixon, would he be

accepted? george washington and obama, both of their mothers were white . host: sarah? guest: i was afraid that there was going to be a quiz. i got worried. i think that historical -- i like his historical thought experiment. what would happen if you put trump in a room with nixon or eisenhower and would he be accepted? putting past presidents together in different configurations is interesting. i think that there are aspects of donald trump, i think there are historical components of donald trump we are he stands out among our former presidents as really approaching the job differently. that is the most gracious way that i can put it. i think the caller is recognizing a historical --

ahistorical moments in the trump presidency. host: on the independent line, mike. caller: ladies, i think that we have forgotten a very important lesson from american history. specifically 1920-1933 when we foolishly passed the prohibition of alcohol. it was a clear violation of american principal that the pursuit of happiness, not the wise pursuit of happiness, is a natural right. today we have a foolish replay of alcohol prohibition with drug prohibition. alcohol prohibition, the targets were italian and irish americans. drug prohibition the targets are black and brown americans. they represent a disproportionate amount of

inmates convicted and imprisoned because of drug prohibition. their lives are permanently damaged with these prison terms. anyway, may i have your comment please? host: beth? guest: it is interesting to begin the right to the pursuit of happiness, which is not embodied in our constitution. in kentucky we have a state right to the pursuit of happiness. i like that framework for a lot of issues. with respect to drug prohibition, i favor the legalization of marijuana and i think that that is where our federalist process is working well. where you see states telling the federal government that we will challenge you because we think that it is that important. i think that it will be interesting how that expands beyond marijuana. i agree with the caller that we have written too many people off and the justice department has produced inequitable and unjust results in terms of over

sentencing and overcharging people for drug use. i think that we have to be careful as we learn about drugs, their effects, how they affect our health care system, how they affect our public safety. there is research being done on different drugs and we see states respond accordingly. i'm encouraged by the progress. it is much too slow. i am encouraged by the conversation that more people are becoming aware of how disproportionately should on the republican line. caller: i am a first time caller and i would like to tell america some of the reasons, i don't have the time to say very much. some of the reasons i voted for donald trump and phi get the opportunity, i will vote for him again. first, when he was in office, i could go to the grocery store

and buy everything that i needed. my income, i am 79. my retirement income is 18,000 a year. the price of grocery at the store means a great deal to me. since biden has been in office, i have not been able to fill my car up with gas when i need to because the gas has doubled. host: let's get a response because we are almost out of time. sarah, last word. guest: i think it is important to listen to the reason why people vote for the candidate you might not agree with. even if those reasons are difficult to hear. i think the economic argument is difficult because the president has so little control over the broad global economy you can see those prices in the global

economy and the government. all that being said, the reason someone votes is essential to listen to when we are trying to engage in conversation with our fellow americans. host: and that is the last word sarah stewart holland and beth silvers are the host of the podcast "pantsuit politics". thanks for everybody who called in. we will be back again tomorrow morning. in the meantime, have a great saturday morning. ♪

>> c-span's washington journal. we are taking your calls live on news of the day and we will discuss policy issues that impact you. sunday morning, discussing the list of elements in russia's invasion of ukraine and tensions over a missile strike in poland. george mason university's civil exchange fellow andrew jason cohen gives tips for civil discourse at thanksgiving and all year long. watch washington journal live at seven at lucky's turn sunday morning on c-span -- 7:00 on sunday morning on c-span. join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages and tweets. >> sunday on q&a, historian douglas brinkley talks about the

conservationist movement and the landmark legislation approved during the 1960's and early 1970's under the leadership of president kennedy, johnson and nixon. >> i'm grateful to that generation that we did get an environment of protection agency. we did get in endangered species act. a vigorous clean air act in 1970 that made a difference. we had a clean water act in 1972. this silent spring generation i'm writing about and had a lot of people in it, but the three presidents were responsive to the public. at is what great presidents do. on this regard kennedy, johon and nixon all were truly good, if not great and very presidents. douglas brinkley with his book, "silent spring revolution," on c-span's q&a. you can listen to q&a and our