♪ host: members of congress return to washington today with a full agenda of items to finish before the end of the lame-duck session

in the end of unified democratic control of congress. in early january republicans take control of the house and no matter who wins next tuesday's georgia senate runoff, democrats will retain a governing majority in the senate. the 118th congress will be politically divided and perhaps unlike years of previously divided government, the party goals, policies, and proposed legislation seemed further apart than ever. how will that work, will it work? what do americans expect? good morning, it's monday, november 22. it is a divided congress good or bad? for america. the lines to use, (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. for independents and all others, (202) 748-8002. you can text us at (202)

748-8003. we are on facebook and you can let us know your thoughts on twitter and instagram, @cspanwj. part of that question of whether it is good or bad for the u.s. is what do you hope the 118th congress will get done. this poll is about how americans feel about the prospect of a divided congress. some of them, the polling was done a bit before the full outcome was known. pretty much the house has been decided now as well. key questions they ask, do americans prefer a united or divided congress. is it a better idea to have the same party or different party control? about a third of all americans think it's a good idea for the same party to control both chambers of congress. democrats feel that way by 42%.

republicans by 39%. the other question i ask is the effects of a divided congress. the question is actually which of these comes closer to your view about a divided congress in which different party controls the house and the senate. is it a good thing because one party can provide checks on the other party? 38%, nearly 40% of republicans think that. far less than that think democrats -- far less in terms of democrats think the divided congress is good. a bad thing because it results in gridlock or into most democrats. a liberal columnist in "the washington post," his opinion piece this morning, divided government demands creativity and he says here are three ways to get things done. he writes that the past two

years deserve to be seen as a time of progress and the 2000 22 election that a ratification that voters noticed that even at the pace of high inflation they kept the senate in democratic hands and rejected far right candidates at the state level. he says that number one, make progress without legislation. presidents can do a lot through executive order. biden will certainly try. there are other avenues available to changemakers. first, much of the legislation of the last two years on infrastructure, investments, technology and green energy involves substantial spending between now and the end of the first term. democrats should be aggressive in claiming credit for what's been built. he also says number two, announce a campaign for american families. tired of people who speak of a devotion to family values yet do nothing to help struggling

families? three measures that would make a big difference for families and especially women who typically assume the largest responsibility for child rearing. progressives and moderates should get together behind a family package including expanded childcare assistance and universal pre-k. one way from this article and the three things for a divided congress. create an agenda for the next generation. young voters are changing the country for the better and were central to holding back the red wave. he says the new generation has come of age in a complicated time, starting with stock market and housing market collapses of 2008, continuing through the pandemic. biden made a good start with student loan forgiveness but policymakers should be working on a larger collection of policies dealing with problem's faced by younger americans. is a divided congress good or bad for the u.s.?

let's go first to pennsylvania and hear from christopher, democrats line. caller: i think it's a bad thing. it's going to be really frustrating coming off the covid pandemic. we really don't need it at this time. host: florida, gordon on the republican line. morning. caller: thanks for taking my call. i remember my good friend alan called in, the student loan justice guy. before i make my comment i want to remind you that we are close

to getting our copyright. the reason i think there's a bad idea for a divided congress, when my republicans take over congress, they no longer respect the uniformity clause of student loan bankruptcy that's not a free hand out but it is required that there is a clause and liberal democrats are cracked for students needing relieved -- relief. businesses get tax breaks all the times? there's a better reason than if the student loan bankruptcy bill isn't passed, there will be no conservative free-market check on the department of education, who will continue to lend trillions. students have repaid the taxpayers well more than borrowed. host: is that the role of the majority in the house and the 118th the check that you talked about on what the president

tends to do? 6 i don't personally like the cancellation executive order but the president is under the authority of the act and student loan bankruptcy bills that republicans should some work if they support a free-market check on the department of education, that's probably irresponsible lending. the only thing that's going to stop the department of ed's if they directly fund education the costs tax plate -- taxpayers less. republicans will not honor the uniformity clause of the constitution and it will eventually result in the cloud -- the crash of the constitution. the department of ed will think twice before they were lend out trillions upon trillions. taxpayers have repaid more than they been borrowed.

host: george in bradenton, same question, divided congress, good or bad for the u.s.? caller: bad. worse. with what the president wants in other country, dictators, that's what they want. it's a dream come true, a wet dream, whatever you want to call it. host: this is the tally in the u.s. house. it's just about been called by the times in their account. 213 democrats, 220 republicans, two undecided seats leaning republican, one in colorado, one in california. jeff on the independent line. your view on divided congress? caller: i think that it is definitely the wrong approach

for the house and the senate. it divided congress. the goal of the politicians and elected officials is to do what's best for the country. it's not about whether somebody is a democrat or a republican. we seem to get caught up in those titles. i know there is a motive behind all of that but it's not really about that. it's about the american people. the american people are going to have to decide whether or not they want a country that is united against tierney. that is united against foreign and domestic enemies. we gonna have to decide. there are things that we can do in this country. politicians really are playing us from an emotional standpoint by getting us caught up in whether somebody is a democrat

or a republican. it's about the person. it's about the person and what they stand for, what they do, if they are honest with the american people or tell lies to the american people. as the american people we need to wake up. russia, china, everybody is watching us. they are watching how foolish we are. how consumed we are with, with, with things that cause division in this country. and in the bigger picture, the children suffer the most. at the end of the day the children suffer because we as adults and politicians are not doing what's best to protect their future. host: i can hear the frustration in your voice, jeff. how long have you been an independent voter? caller: for the last 10 years.

my main reason for being an independent voter is i didn't like the titles. once someone knew i was a republican, they acted as if they couldn't have a conversation. i would have to explain to people yes, i was a registered republican, but i don't vote the party, i vote the person. if there's good ideas coming from the democratic side, i would vote the person under the democratic ticket. as i said before, the main goal in the country is to keep the country and the citizens safe. keep the citizens of the country safe. people outside the united states don't have our best interests at heart. we have to be mindful of that as a community. host: reporting on the sunday

shows, on the hill, adam schiff removed from the senate intelligence committee, hitting back on the house minority leader for vowing to oust shift for his handling of the investigation into alleged ties between the former's campaign and russia. on the program, the cnn state of the union yesterday, he addressed what he considered the credibility of house congressional investigations in the 118th congress. [video clip] >> the incoming oversight chair told punch bowl that i don't believe congressional investigations have a lot of ability and i blame adam schiff for that but both parties are to blame for the investigations of the past and i want to change that. what is your response? >> he doesn't believe in the ukrainian investigation, the russian investigation. why?

they are investigations of the serial abuse of power by donald trump. komar, jordan, mccarthy do nothing but carry donald trump's water. someone who as you pointed out is sitting down for dinner with anti-semites and bigots, won't condemn them. this is common cause for them. they will do and say what they need to get along with donald trump. >> out of time but i have to ask, if they are's -- you are subpoenaed by republicans to take over, will you comply? >> i would view my obligation in the administration to follow the law and the fact that they have disrespected the law is not a precedent i would hope would be broadly followed but we would have to look at the legitimacy or lack of legitimacy around what they do. host: divided congress, opening question, good or bad in the

u.s.? comments on social media and on twitter in particular, it depends on who is controlling congress. if you have a capitulating leader like mccarthy trying to appease motto members, except places like new york where they barely have power. absolute power corrupts absolutely, divided house avoids autocracy. u.s. is a constitutional republic. bc says the republicans are coming in with a vendetta, how was that good? tony says that it's funny that mr. dion is coming for more executive authoritarian rule. is that how democracy is supposed to work? map is up next in each and rapids, michigan. republican line. caller: thank you for receiving my call.

my concern is that this battle is related to the secondary and tertiary concerns. the primary concern is what woodrow wilson did to the senate when the family -- the founding fathers, a deliberative intellectual body should have members not picked by the public but by the state legislators. this is a fundamental foundational thing that was the strength of the founding fathers . we have a democrat mass on both sides diminishing what this country can do. i think, again, the primary issue is repealing the 17th amendment. that would cure many ills and i thank you for your opportunity for me to speak. host: that special election is december 6. raphael warnock said that the

republican nominee, herschel walker, -- defeated herschel walker in the general election but neither broke the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. early voting in georgia started saturday. next, chattanooga, tennessee, democratic line. caller: good morning. i guess the general precept is a house divided can't stand under any circumstances. this is a situation we have had in this country for the last two years. it's based on a division in the country that's based on a lie and on situations that the american public have taken away from the whole process of why people are elected. the republicans that have not denounced donald trump in his effort to rob an election, it

divides the house the wrong way. division in the house is one of the biggest guarantee years of transparency and the check and balance system. it works well in that respect. not based on what we are dealing with right now. thank you. host: all right, we are hearing from james on the republican line forest. james, go ahead. caller: real quick what i hear about people talk about insurrection and donald trump taking over the government, that is what happened, why isn't ray apps, the only guy on video saying we need to go over there and take over, only guy on video, and he's home at his ranch as he was paid to do it.

the democrat elected officials -- not the people -- the people don't know what they are voting were, that's for sure. if the government wants to destroy the country, it needs to be divided. if the democrat government right now wants to destroy and is destroying this country, republicans believe, and we've got some bad guys, to. we believe in the constitution. we believe in god. we believe in liberty. we want to save this country and if we had the power right now we would try to fix the country and pull it out of the itch of the democratic communist chinese party. host: texas, brownsville, tony.

democratic line. caller: yes, sir. i hope that trump wins the nomination so that he can lose again. so that the fascist party, like happened to hitler's, he was a loser who lost. i'm going to vote for trump so that he can lose again. host: power lines for you, (202) 748-8000 free democrats, (202) 748-8001 -- four democrats, (202) 748-8001 for republicans. independents, (202) 748-8002. divided congress, send us your comments.

from "the washington times," gop to expose shady schemes of hunter biden. "republicans expected to start an intense politically charged investigation into the biden sun's moneymaking schemes. in pursuing deals with china, energy tycoons and reportedly profiting by more than $3 million from a russian businesswoman and widow of a former mayor of moscow, hunter biden's far-flung business deals have raised eyebrows for years about potential influence peddling and other possible crimes and all of that is changing as republicans aim to expand the investigation of hunter biden and look at whether the president has been compromised by former governments in connection with his son's overseas is this

ventures. leading the investigation would likely be the incoming chair of the oversight committee, who was on meet the press yesterday. >> you have got one investigation. i know you've got a bunch you want to do, but what's the one? >> well we are going to investigate between 40 and 50 different things. we have the capacity with 25 members on the committee. we have the ability to investigate a lot of things. let's face it, over the past two years democrats on the house oversight committee that investigated anything in the administration. they investigated the washington commanders. oversight committee, things they have had nothing to do with like abortion. we believe that there have been hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars wasted over the past years, spanning two

administrations, in the name of covid. we won hearings on that. we want to try to determine what happened with the fraudulent ppp loan fund and the money that's being spent for state and local government. these things will be priorities us as a committee. waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement be the goal. host: comments on twitter, i used to be fine with divided congress but with the magda authoritarian gop, they are more interested in show trials then governing and will be quite happy if they close government down. this says divided congress will not make the changes needed for needs. this one says that going into the 2018 election democrats called for investigations into the president when he took

power, why is it not ok for republicans to want to investigate the president? this one says there's a difference between obstruction and investigation and it's been in place for years. how long would you be working if you refused to do your job. neil is calling next from scranton on the democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning. we have a good system of government and a good election process but right now we have a lot of bad people in office. marjorie taylor greene, kevin mccarthy, these diehard trump supporters, a lot of these republicans failed the rule of office and instead of honoring the oath of office to protect the country and the constitution , they honor and protect donald trump and his lies. thank god we kept of the senate because if they had control of

everything, it would be a disaster. that's all i have to say. thank you. host: in new york city on the democratic line, james, go ahead. caller: the divided congress? i agree with the first caller. let's face it, all the gop, that's what i call it, the pessimistic party, let's look at this. biden with a narrow margin, ok, got the affordable recovery act, got the infrastructure act that was bipartisan. shots in the arms. inflation reduction act. the chips act. the republicans are doing nothing. you have got ron johnson and rick scott who want to get rid of social security with some sort of sunset because affecting all republicans, independence, and democrats.

what i am asking republicans, and i'm a democrat, honestly, if you are middle or lower income republican, ask yourself a question. what have they done for you? if you are a wealthy republican i understand what they have done for you. giving you tax breaks and everything. for middle income republicans, democrats, independents, they do nothing. they do nothing. i'm praying that people will wake up and make sure that herschel walker does not win. they need a wider, wider margin. look at what biden did with a narrow margin. could you imagine if he had a wider margin? he's looking out for the mass populace of human beings. do you want your parents to be kicked out of nursing homes?

they don't stand for health care. they don't stand for contraception and they want to tell women what to do with their bodies. it's all negative pessimism. so, i really, really feel sorry about the divided congress. thank the you know what that democrats held onto the senate. host: what do you think of the presidential strategy to hold on the house? caller: there is still going to be a lot of fighting but the reason he needs that process is because we have two people, kyrsten sinema and joe manchin that, let me put it to you this way, kind of mean a little bit to the right. so everything they get can help a little bit.

so i mean it's not going to be a perfect world but at least biden has been trying to reach out to the republicans. but all i hear, like in the beginning, hunter biden and all of this, it's a get even. and one thing to say in closing, i love to watch television, ok? i didn't like the tv series taxi . but i didn't write to the net work and say take taxi off. i just turned the channel. don't tell me what to do with my body, with my choices and all that. host: we are going to kelly on the republican line. west virginia is next. caller: i have listened to the other callers and it's absolutely absurd.

[indiscernible] for the large part we have very uneducated people and it worries me more than anything. the democratic party is crooked. it's crooked. they are not interested in this country. ok? they don't care about our foreign relations. biden is in bed with china. obama and biden destroyed the country. that's what they want to do, i have no idea why. it's a capitalist country and it needs to stay that way. they have no idea how to run a country. these people are not very intelligent. that's why they can't debate. they have no merits. they don't know anything.

they have no policies to speak of. they haven't done a thing since they been in office. donald trump has done more than any democratic president has since reagan. donald trump was a fine president. he's gotten a lot more done. he did enter norma's amount. -- and enormous amount -- an enormous amount. host: what is your expectation now? caller: a democratic party that doesn't want to work with the american people. they are not interested in that. what they want to do isn't going to work. nothing's going to get done. it's going to be a lame-duck session. investigations. hey. these people have to show some

responsibility for all the terrible things they have done in this country. host: well, early in the new congress they will elect a new speaker, republicans and democrats. kevin mccarthy will need pretty much all of his caucus to get elected as speaker. this is from "the associated press," the mccarthy pursuit of the speaker's gavel comes at a high-cost, kevin mccarthy is in the fight of his political life, grinding through the promises, proposals, cajoling and de-milk -- dealmaking needed to win over the elected colleagues whose support he needs. every new commitment could be seen as a potentially strategic move intended to quell skeptics on his right flank as he reaches for the speaker's gavel. the gop leader must solidify his ranks as he looks for votes coming at a costs with no room

for error. we will get there, mccarthy said, in accepting the nomination to run for speaker. on the independent line, this morning we are asking if divided government is good or bad for the u.s., california, go ahead. caller: love the show, love the suit. it's all wonderful. a divided congress is what the people voted for. so there is nothing that is going to get done. they are going to do investigations. ok, so be it. investigate one and other. i'm curious to know, the republicans said they were concerned about fraud inside the elections. well if that's really true. if they got such a problem with that, why don't they try to also

find out why lindsey graham was calling around to georgia and arizona like he was rall steen or somebody, saying we need to fix this, you know? i want to know why ron johnson is running around with false electoral votes to try to give to the vice president. these people have no morals. no honorable -- honorable ability but they have these senate jobs. so let the senate investigate them. just like the house is going to investigate people. why can't the senate investigate people? that's what i have. host: arizona county says

glitches didn't block anyone from voting but that in maricopa county they faced a storm of criticism over their handling for the election and in a report issued sunday they said problems with printers on election day did not violate the arizona constitution or other guidelines sure free and fair elections, instead limning prominent republicans for making their own supporters suit -- suspicious of a secure alternative. the report comes in response to a request from the arizona attorney general's office election integrity unit or an account of election day problem's before the county is set to certify results on monday. state certification is set for december 5. the maricopa county civil division and a lifelong republican broken a five-page letter that voters were provided with reasonable, lawful options for voting but some republicans

might have spurned one option, the secure vox known as door three because gop leaders told voters not to use it. the county response aims to undercut claims circulated in recent by republican candidates in arizona who have or use to accept the results of the election. los angeles. when dell. independent line. there you go, good morning. >> to speak on the last caller speaking of the democrats, it's amazing that this guy, donald trump, was able to go to a foreign country, not just a foreign country but he went to russia, russia. you hear what i'm saying? this young lady is telling us we don't have no morals? that democrats have done nothing for this country? that may be true, ma'am, but if you are going to tell me that you are going to tell me that donald trump is right for this

country? it's amazing to sit there and listen to this. i don't get it. what is it they don't see in the sky? this guide is the worst thing that could ever -- i'm telling you, ask what, if he could say that national anthem to me in front of my face on national television he would get my vote. that's it. if you can do that, i truly believe that he would know the first word of it. host: all right, to the republican line, next. tim, rock hill, south carolina. caller: i think that divided government is a good thing. we need to get the special interests, the lobbyists, we need to get that money. they need to take care of the people. the money, greed, and power in washington, d.c. is destroying

this country. that's all i got to say. have a good day. host: a divided congress, good or bad for america. (202) 748-8000 is the line for democrats, (202) 748-8001 is the line for republicans. independents and all others, (202) 748-8002. send us a text if you like. this one coming here, set -- stop sending comes our money to the ukraine war. this one, the problem will be the barrage of misinformation resulting in wasted time. and from this one it says divided government is bad because republicans have been outspoken in planning a government shutdown. one more here says divided government is great for maintaining the status quo, maintaining the power and privilege of those who currently hold it.

this is the headline from "the washington post," democrats pressing gun control after high-profile shootings. christopher murphy of connecticut addressing the biden wish to pass an assault weapons ban before the end of the current 117 congress. here's what he had to say. lexi listed a long agenda from here to the end of the year. we've got to keep the government open and operating. i'm glad that president biden will be pushing us to take a vote on the assault weapons ban. the house has already passed it. does it have 60 votes in the senate right now? probably not. but let's see if we can try to get that number as close to 60 as possible. if we don't have the votes we will talk to senator schumer and maybe come back next year to see if we can do better.

>> is there any action on guns that's possible? >> the assault weapons ban is the piece of legislation that has passed the house. biden is right, if we passed an assault weapons ban there would be less shootings in the country. yes there are already tens of thousands of assault weapons on the street in no one is talking about taking them away from individuals we are just talking about stopping new sales. host: next we are hearing from ricky in philadelphia. democratic line. caller: hey divided congress is bad for this country. it's been bad ever since like bill clinton was in office, you know? when newt gingrich was the speaker back then.

a divided congress, pretty much there will be no laws available to be passed. it's like a tit-for-tat, you know? like i get even thing going on. what the democrats do, republicans want revenge. what the republicans do, the democrats want revenge. bills will be passed for the people. on the way the bills that will get past, like for donald trump and joe biden. they've got the pass agendas with a privilege on it. some people saying about be good. but it's like if the house in

the senate work together to get those laws passed, but now you know, but now there will be no laws getting passed in my book, you know? for the people in america, you know. because like you got laws now, you know what i'm saying, sitting in congress and not getting passed, you know? that is bad, bad for this country. host: all right, ricky. zachariah is next in kerala, texas. caller: a divided congress is a concept for me is a good thing. as a reality because a father of

seven who lives their life in this crazy world, when i say it's not that important if it's divided, what i mean is no matter what someone's going to make decisions. together or separate, you know what i'm saying? when they come together to make these decisions for all of these laws, like the guy in illinois, for example, where they passed all these easy things. that's just the state. cops not being able to take people off land after 48 hours of pursuing warrants and so on and so worth. for the world, our job economy has changed. unless someone can show me the numbers, our job economy has tanked faster than it has in

years. don't matter if it's republican or democrat. we were rolling and then trump came in and saved us a little bit. biden gave us a little money in our face and said i will be the guy. as a working american who is trying his hardest, i'm a suffering american. i can't live. i've got three kids to take care of that i can't care of now because i have to struggle each day. i live in the desert in the middle of texas. this is one of the hardest trials i've ever had my life. i have to sit back and just watch it happen. i think that we the people should be able to have more of a word into it.

dividing the congress is pretty stupid, honestly. excuse me. but coming together, finding a solution and then finding people. we are talking about border patrol and problems with other things. how much of it is focused on people? why all these homeless and job problems? why so many people crying on the streets waiting for someone to lend them a hand just to hear that there are no more chances? i'm tired of living a life in which there are more national more chances. sometimes as a human we need to be able to accept help. host: what kind of work do you do? caller: by trade his mechanic. i worked all the way through covid. i didn't him -- get a stimulus check. i didn't get unemployment or none of that. i watched all my friends, they

lived off unemployment checks. $700 a week. that's not an exaggeration. my buddy made $724 a week. he didn't work. he worked at a restaurant for two weeks and then quit and got unemployment. i couldn't believe it. i worked my, i work my butt off. i have nothing to show for it. this is years now. we are just a couple of years into it. last month here at fort worth, i tell you what, not a day that goes by that i wake up and i kind of cry little. i don't care what anybody thinks about that. as a father i try, i'm struggling, to figure out what i can do. by the time 2030 comes i can have a stable life for my children and a good education for my children.

for them to not -- like i'm preparing my children for a cruel world. i don't want to prepare them for a cruel world. i want to prepare them for a comfortable life or they can work and earn everything they need but that's not a viable option at the moment. host: zachariah, congratulations on your new baby. thank you for calling in this morning. protests spread in challenge to the xi regime and a photo with an allusion to censorship according to "the wall street journal," protests interrupting over xi jinping's zero approach to covid-19, an unusual show defiance in the country as the economic and social costs from lockdowns and other restrictions escalate the demonstrations occurring throughout the weekend in beijing and shanghai and according to eyewitness accounts there were test in managing and

in wuhan, the original center of the pandemic. let's hear from arlo in venice, florida. independent mine. caller: hey i'm really glad to talk to you. i'm glad the democrats are in charge. i'm glad that he's doing such a fantastic job with our country. i really believe that, you know? being a former marine, i'm really glad that, you know what it is? the democrats of the street fighters. the republicans are the file clerks. so there's no match for that, you know? the republicans are not going to do anything about anything and the democrats are going to do whatever they want to do and i think it's a good king -- good thing to take the police out of the question.

defund them. you know i think it's good that biden, you know, with the chinese, i would rather give joe biden to the chinese then give up my country. host: st. charles, missouri, democratic line. caller: good morning. longtime listener. i used to listen in 2001. callers would call in and talk about conspiracies in now -- if you would hang up on them. no people call in with these ridiculous stories. they go on and on and they talk about other callers. that's a fact. in the 1960's, racism was rampant. but there was landmark legislation passed. nothing is passed today. they have no interest in doing

things for the american people. should have been thinking a long time ago, made in america. how to keep our jobs here. congress should have passed reparations. blacks would have had no excuse now to say anything. but letting that slide? trump has yes brought racism back. can congress do something about it? in the early 1800s, nice things went away from the bible. there was no spirituality. there shouldn't be lobbying and money given to other jobs. they are just making a mockery of the constitution and the bible. made in america, reparations. missing black women and

children. look on that as well. host: house and senate returning this week. 3:00 eastern on c-span two they will take up the day to resume consideration of the marriage equity act, the vote on that is likely before the end of the lame-duck session. this is the lead editorial from "the washington post," congressional representatives might be the real threat to democracy according to opinion writers with a dozen senators, richard burr, shelley o, the romney, dan sullivan, rob portman, todd young, joining their democratic colleagues to vote to proceed to a final vote on the ill named respect for marriage act. leaving aside the underlying substance it essentially extends federal protections to same-sex marriage while exposing religious or -- adjacent organizations to litigation.

what makes the legislation and those who voted for it worth noting is the process by which it's about to become law. the opinion writers say that this legislation was introduced in the wake of the supreme decision in dobbs v jackson, women's health organization, sensibly designed to prevent the supreme court from revisiting their 2015 decision in which they truncated the ongoing electoral political and legislative effort through decisions of the united states to decide to -- how to address same-sex marriage. the times says there has been talk recently about threats to democracy but the real threat to workaday democracy is when representatives explicitly and knowingly engage in legislation subterfuge so that they can vote for their own preferences rather than represent the will of the voters. reggie is in cleveland on the republican line. good morning. reggie, go ahead.

caller: good morning to you, think you for taking my call. i have to say it's been a very good, informative conversation that you have each morning. i love the people who come on before me. i do feel for everyone. i would say it would be good if a divided congress could work for the people. and i mean really the people. you really got to show me how this hunter biden thing is going to benefit the people. i do like president biden. i'm a republican but i like what he's done and is trying to do. i don't feel that he's giving us to china. i would like the queen to explain to me how he's tearing up america and how obama is

tearing up america. i do know what donald trump did to america and i don't like it. but hey, i try to deal with it. i don't believe in trying to stop gay marriage. i'm not gay, but hey i don't have the right to tell anybody what to do with they body. mine or so. i believe in america. i believe in it in a land of the free. but i wish they do practice what they preach and i do i liked that color you had from st. louis or st. joseph. yes, we deserve reparations and everything. thank you. hey, i do feel for democracy. host: oklahoma, newkirk, chris,

go ahead. caller: i was just going to say that the oligarchs have us right where we -- where they want us. by keeping us perfectly divided down the middle, it simply means fewer boats that they have to buy. i'm 55 years old in the whole time i've been here, republicans have done nothing but declare war on their own citizens. that's all i got to say. host: what do you mean by declared war? caller: well, they are constantly trying to -- everything they do is demonize and criminalize. the war on drugs. look at that. i would love to see the body count on the war on drugs. it's killed more people than the drugs themselves.

host: all right, this is the headline from "the hill," "more voices of reality are needed to move beyond the trump era." here's what he said yesterday on "state of the union." [video clip] >> mike pence, mike pompeo, the secretary of state, chris christie, and nikki haley. what is your reaction out to seeing them criticize trump? you have positioned yourself like that pretty much from the set -- the start, coming on the show many times. >> well, i think it is the right thing to do into me, predictable in what we need. as you see, the party is moving away from donald trump.

as you see us understanding the costs of the last midterm election. we can't have candidates that win a primary and lose november. can't have a candidate that cannot attract suburban voters and independent voters. everyone has recognized that. i applaud vice president pence and the others that you mentioned, chris christie, who has been very outspoken. we need more of those poses, not fewer. and this shouldn't be in a harsh tone. it should be in a voice of reality that this is exactly where we are as a already and this is where we need to go to reach out to the independent voters and expand the base of the party and move beyond the trump era. host: looking at our programming coming up on the c-span networks today, at noon we have a senate intelligence committee conversation with mark warner and former u.s. trade officials

talking about solutions to the alleged chinese predatory trade practices hosted by the information technology and innovation foundation here on c-span. also on our free mobile app, c-span now, streaming at c-span.org and later today secretaries of state from michigan and georgia will talk about elections, protecting the integrity of the democratic process and voting, hosted by the knight foundation live at 4:00 and on c-span now and c-span.org. got a few more calls in our opening our question about a divided congress. is it good or bad for the u.s.? ship is next in clarksburg, west virginia. democratic line. good morning. caller: good morning. it's bad. there's a three minute video on youtube, if you go to youtube and go to the search. type in george carlin.

it's called awareness act. it'll give you the truth about this country and everything that is going on. thank you. host: next is jean in carthage, missouri, republican caller. caller: i have one thing to say. i'm sad that the republicans didn't totally take the senate but there is nothing there. we are ecstatic took the house and they can put a house to all -- a halt all the spending that biden and his crew have been doing on inflation. the suffering of the american people. that's all i have to say. thank you. host: kim, independent line,

pittsburgh. caller: yeah, this is jim. the people did indeed elect those congress members. that would be the only way i would be supportive of the biden caucus. as long as we the people voted for those congress members. host: do you feel pretty secure about that in the wake of the 2020 two elections in pennsylvania? >> i may not like the results but if we the people voted that way it has to be acceptable. host: all right. here is greg on the republican line in richfield, wisconsin. >> regarding a divided congress i find it interesting that when congress actually comes together

to agree on something, which tends to be in times of, you know, national issues, you know, foreign wars, whatever it might be, how is it we need to and then it's divided otherwise? well in my opinion the division is very political. ok? we can take a look at what's going on now, politically, with some of the things that joe biden's party is doing. whether he is really involved with it were simply being handled. some of these things are ridiculous. the number one thing being the border of the southern united in my opinion the division is very political. we can take a look at what is going on now with some of the things joe biden's party is

doing, whether he is really involved with it or simply being handled. some things are ridiculous with the number one thing being the border on the southern united states. number two is energy. why are we divided? it is political. let's look at things logically. are there powers behind the scenes, george soros and other people trying to direct one party? it is all political when we are divided. when we are united we are the best country in the world that has ever been. host: greg, we appreciate your call, and all your calls this first hour of the program and we will have more conversation about congress and politics ahead on washington journal. the christian science monitor's linda feldman will join us.

later, erin -- aaron mehta will talk about defense issues coming up. and consideration of additional aid to ukraine. ♪ >> congress gets back to work in the wake of the midterm election. watch in the next weeks as the 118th congress elects its new leaders, greets its members, and to set the agenda for january 2023.

the outgoing 100 17th congress uses its last week -- 117th congress uses its last weeks to address the budget. watch anytime onlin on-demand at c-span.org. >> cyber monday, the sale you have been waiting for starts today at c-span shop.org, c-span's online store. save on their latest collection of c-span sweatshirts, buddies, and more -- sweatshirts, h oodies and more. shop today and tuesday at c-spanshop.org. ♪

listening to programs on c-span through c-span radio just got easier. tell your smart speaker, " play c-span radio app," and listen to washington journal daily and weekdays at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. eastern, catch washington today. listen to c-span anytime. just tell your smart speaker, " play c-span radio app." ♪ >> be up-to-date on the latest publishing with book tv's podcast. you can find about books on c-span now or wherever you get your podcasts. >> washington journal continues. host: linda feldmann is the

washington bureau chief for the christian science monitor. she is also their moderator for the regular monitor breakfast. here with us this morning to talk about what is ahead for the 118th congress. there is a pile of work to get done in the last five weeks, four weeks. one of the top priorities? guest: the first thing is keeping the government-funded. the last resolution went through december 16. they have to fund the government. there is talk of kicking it down the road another week to the 23rd, but i think members might be looking at staying here right until christmas, if not through christmas. host: they have this deadline they set a couple months ago,

but this is for spending for the current fiscal year we are in. is there a possibility they kick it even further down the road to the 118th congress? guest: republicans won the house by a narrow majority. host: what else are you looking at? guest: in terms of -- the national defense authorization act needs to go through that funds order defense capabilities are important. other things coming up in the lame-duck is the respect for marriage act, which is an effort to lock in same-sex marriage and interracial marriage. that is a top priority. additional funding for the war in ukraine, which can be a

little tricky because some republicans and some democrats\ are saying ," why are we spending so much in ukraine?" host: for that white house request, is there a chance that might not get done i the lame-duck session? guest: -- done by the lame-duck session? guest: it is possible, but this is nancy pelosi's swansong. she is a leader with no peer in terms of corralling her caucus. she has a wide range of views within her caucus, including the progressives. nancy pelosi enjoys a lot of respect and since she was

stepping down from party leadership in the house, we will watch her in action. host: i want to ask you about the upcoming leadership elections for the democrats. we will open up our phone lines to listen to our callers. (202) 748-8000 is the line for democrats. for republicans, it is (202) 748-8001. and for independents and others, (202) 748-8002. we are talking about the lame-duck session ahead and the 118th. after midterms does anybody have a mandate? you talk to a number of people, independents, republicans, democrats. what was your sense in that article? what is your take away on a

mandate? guest: there kind of isn't. the sense out of the midterms is that the democrats one, which they actually didn't -- democrats won, which they actually didn't. republicans won the house. the democrats beat expectations, and the reality is that we have divided government. the question is what can get done in divided government? often times it is nothing. in the first 2 years of the biden presidency, egot a lot of things passed with help from the republicans. that cost of the american taxpayers a lot of money. actually the markets like that. you saw when republicans locked

in control of the house, the markets went up because of inflation. what i liked about talking to jason gourmet is that he is an optimist. a lot can get done with the other party. a lot of bipartisanship can take place, even when control of a house is very narrow. next two years, maybe not so much. host: where are both wings of both parties in terms of those moderate members, the problem solvers caucus, if you will. what does it look like for the 118th? guest: they will have a lot of sway. we tend to hearing a lot of voices, whether it is -- we tend to hear the strongest voices, whether it is joe manchin or the progressives. any group can demand attention

because they are majority killers. i willt be interesting to see in the next congress who rises as the new voices and the existing voices who use the cot they have to block what they do not want. host: this is what we know so far, it was almost all decided in the house. 220 republican members and 2 races undecided, likely to go republican. 220 to 213. what does that mean for potential house speaker kevin mccarthy? guest: he has to channel his inner nancy pelosi and corral the voice he needs. there are five house republicans

on the record saying no to kevin mccarthy as speaker. it does not mean they will not flip. it does not mean that, therefore, kevin mccarthy is not the next speaker. there is no clear alternative to kevin mccarthy. they are using their leverage to win over their vote from mr. mccarthy. host: we will go to mike on the independent line from circleville, ohio. caller: i am ticked off without congress and senate. we have 2 house bills that need passing by the 21st. the first one is protection -- forgiveness for protection backed student loans. i am a truck driver. i serve rural ohio. i have been hauling medical

stuff all through this pandemic. going in these hospitals where they have the covid stuff, they need to get off there but send do something for us for once -- off their butts and do something for us for onces. if these loans were done, we would have a better economy. these politicians need to get off their butt. host: what is the status of this bill? guest: i'm not sure but this is a huge issue. joe biden announced loan forgiveness on student loans a while ago, and he has been kicking the can down the road,

having a moratorium on student loan payments. he has done that through june 22, i believe, conveniently until the end of the current supreme court session term. so i think that is where this issue will be decided. joe biden wants to wipe out up to $20,000 on student loans. this is a hugely divisive issue. there are many who believe this is unfair to those who didn't go to college because they couldn't afford it or to people who paid for their children, they paid that money, and the people who have paid their student loans off. i see this at once as an important issue, but not an immediate concern. i see this ultimately being

defended by the supreme court whether president biden has the constitutional right to wipe out billions of student loan debt. host: let's hear from our next caller in new york, republican line. caller: previous caller on your show was toting the achievements of biden, and i wanted to make a comment on that. something came to my mind about john kennedy. " ask not what your country can do for you. ask what you can do for your country." i go all the way back to reagan. that was the best time in the country for me. looking back on the achievements, and when he said government has come to micromanage our lives.

all of the issues coming up on your show, i will deal with that. it is time to take a step back here. i think hopefully they can stop this insanity coming out of the white house. they are taking on everything. you get nothing done when you were doing everything. they have to get back to the basics and do those well. guest: can you be more specific? give me some areas where you feel the government is telling you what to do. caller: go to the border, stable currency, my progressions, transgenders. everything is in the political realm. it does not need to be there. education, they won that.

it is their monopoly, and they have done a lousy job with it. there is a lot of stuff that could be done outside of government. host: we will hear from linda feldmann. guest: it is an interesting question. we have the republicans gaining some power in the house. they have promised to lower inflation, lower crime, border security. border security is a government function. the real question is " do you want the government to act or not?" it is, " what do you want the government to do?" , with border security that is there. in terms of education, it is these culture war policies. a lot of those are in the states. i have spent a lot of time in florida in recent years, and the governor there, ron desantis, is

very strong on this issue, and it helped him to a lawn slide victory -- landslide victory in the midterms. it is all about what you want the government to do and not do, versus government acting period. host: part of the focus of the incoming republican leadership and caucus's own oversight hearings in the 118th congress. what are some of the potential windfalls of focusing on that? guest: the republicans have made clear, including the incoming committee chair, james comer, jim jordan, they want to investigate the biden. hunter biden, joe biden himself, and what they think he might

have derived from his international business dealings. they are also going to investigate covid origins. anthony fauci, the messy withdrawal from afghanistan. we can expect investigations. the question is whether republicans will overdo it., this is a question for both parties. each party has their agenda items, and do they do stuff to energize their base voters heading into the 2024 elections, or are they doing what is more common for congress, which is to pass legislation or not. host: you have covered congress for a while, so the rise of these oversight hearings has been notable. guest: it is huge. obviously the january 6 hearings we just had, benghazi, impeachment hearings,

impeachment hearings. you have these congressional committees that have a lot of power, a lot of subpoena, power and they can be quite dramatic. if that is all they are doing, then the public gets really upset, or enough of the public. host: you mentioned january 6. when is that committee expected to release its final report? guest: sometime this year. that committee, suffice it to say, will cease to exist after republicans take over. host: let's hear from springfield,, massachusetts david,, independent line. caller: this congress talks about the constitution and what we are guaranteed, which is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. my whole problem this year has been the abortion issue.

why we still would allow people to kill unborn people, and especially with women, why would they think it is ok to kill unborn women, if they are women themselves? i know you are a woman, so what is your opinion on this? we have gone so low to not respect the least among us? host: tying it into legislation, will we see if all abortion proposal come out of a republican house? guest: no. there might be an effort for a nationwide abortion ban. there are republicans who want that, who believe what the caller believes, which is that life begins at conception, and even an early abortion is the killing of a human being. i do not know anyone who thinks this issue is going anywhere in the house.

it is interesting to see congress taking the dobbs decision, which sends abortion rights back to a state-by-state patchwork, and their reaction is to pass protections for gay marriage and interracial marriage because of what clarence thomas said in his opinion. when does life begin? for many that is a religious question. it all comes down to who decides. is it up to the woman, her doctor, her family, or is it what kind of role does the government play? when roe was the law of the land, the government did play a role. they mapped out a system by which the states would set limits and the court allowed restrictions and requirements to obtain an abortion.

now we are in a completely different landscape. host: we will get to democratic leadership elections and a moment. it is a significant change at the top, the speaker leaving, also the majority leader and majority whip james clyburn. what do you think of their legacy will be as leaders in the 117th congress? guest: their legacy will be to hold together an extremely small majority. on any vote, then say pelosi and her deputies could only afford to lose a handful of votes, and they got a lot done, spent a lot of money, starting with the american rescue plan, the big $1 trillion covid relief package, they did the chips and science act, which subsidizes federal

subsidies for chip production in this country. when history books are written, this will be seen as nancy pelosi's swansong, but may be her best performance yet in her ability to lead with such a small majority. host: what is your view on why james clyburn said yesterday? he said one of the reasons he wanted to stay in power previously is southern reputation. [video clip] >> why do you think it is necessary for you to stay in power? do you think the next generation needs you to guide them? >> there is a healthy respect -- we need a healthy blend of stress and knowledge --

strength and knowledge. look at the leadership. the south is left out. i want to make sure that we do not tilt too far to the east or west. there is no other southerner among them. we need the south. where is the georgia? georgia is south. host: james clyburn yesterday. they potential, though i claim the leadership of the democratic caucus could include hakeem jeffries from new york, aguilar from the west, and katherine clark from massachusetts. guest: he makes a good point. there are only 3 positions, there are only 3 people in that

upper tier of leadership. that is not to say they will not listen to people from the south. the south is important. no one knows better than jim clyburn how to wield that power and how to make the south matter. he was essential to joe biden's democratic nomination in 2020. what we have now, what we are likely to have going forward is hiking jeffries is black, katherine clark is a white woman, and pete aguilar, a hispanic male. there is diversity right there. they are smart enough to know they need to consider the needs and desires of the south when they are steering. host: faraway new jersey, this is merrill on the independent line. caller: i want to make a comment about same-sex marriage. i wanted to ask, the lady

according to the bible jesus confirmed that those yoked together in marriage it should be male and female. god intended marriage to be a permanent, intimate bond between a man and a woman. it does not matter what congress votes on. this is what god says. host: what did the senate do in terms of accommodation for religious views in the proposed legislation coming up in the senate todaym as a matter of fact? guest: they had to take into account the sincerely held religious beliefs of many americans that marriage is between a man and a woman. new legislation takes into account people who have that belief, and that has been applied to the law that will be dealt with this week.

we have had some important supreme court cases dealing with that issue. can a customer force a baker to bake a cake that has a probe gay marriage sentiment expressed on the cake? the answer is no -- pro-gay marriage sentiment expressed on the cake? the answer is no. host: wendy republican senators -- that number, were you surprised by it? guest: that is huge. my sense is bad gay marriage in the main is so accepted now, it is remarkable to see how thought has changed on that issue. it has not been that long since bill clinton signed the defense of marriage act, which was anti-gay marriage, and we have now done a 180.

for a number of reasons, most americans feel, even if they are personally uncomfortable with the idea of gay marriage, they seem most people do not believe it really hurts anybody else. if 2 men are married, if 2 women are married, they can have children. thought on gay marriage has shifted dramatically. host: you pointed out president clinton signing the defense of marriage act. newt gingrich takes control of the house. the majority was big. after that though clinton began to tap towards the center. there was they were a form for example. the defense of marriage act was

defense of where a republican -- was the defense of marriage act an example of a president tacking more to the party in power? guest: they realized they could stand apart and get nothing done, or they could each come to the middle and get a lot done, which is what they did. host: in a similar -- are there issues in a similar situation with joe biden and a likely speaker of the house kevin mccarthy? guest: i don't know. it depends on what kind of deals kevin mccarthy has to cut to when the speakership. he -- to win the speakership. he already has marjorie taylor greene in his camp, but there are a bunch of others we do not know. it is too soon to say what

coming to the middle we will be able to see. since bill clinton was president, this country has become more polarized. we saw that under barack obama. when he lost control of congress after his first midterm where he was shellacked, his mantra was pen and phone. i will sign a lot of executive orders. i cannot work with these people. it is not completely has fault. it takes two to tango and if the republican house is not willing to work with joe biden, and vice versa, then they will not do anything other than what they have to. host: a question for you via text, " who are the members in congress in both parties you

believe deserve your attention,?" may be focusing on a few key members for the 118th. guest: the new members. this is such an interesting election. the republicans who won, won house seats in new york, estate that caught rest of the country off guard. who is -- a state that caught rest of the country off guard. who is going to be the problem in the gears? we will see the -- the 2024 election has already started. this group of five saying they will vote no on kevin mccarthy, they will be interesting, people like paul gosar, the group and

the marjorie taylor greene camp. host: this trail ought to get some attention, they already have from politico. " bipartisan band of brothers -- the west point brides coming to congress. john james and -- the west point grads coming to congress." let's hear from brooklyn, maryland. nicole is on the independent line. go ahead. caller: i have a lot of scattered questions real quick. first is to address the issue of the bible. why is king david emphasizing gentiles hanging out? why did the constitution say no discrimination against marital

status? lastly, going back to my original reason for calling was for loan forgiveness. does that mean presidents too? only white americans who served got their loans erased. how about those of us people who were discriminated against for speaking out against things in our neighborhoods but because of coalitions, we have bad grades to reflect their numbers. " we gave minorities a chance, but they could not meet the grades." host: we talked about student loan forgiveness. guest: it is interesting she feels it is discriminatory against people of color. a big impetus for this student loan forgiveness proposal is it

helps people of color who have had a hard time paying their loans and their life prospects have diminished because of that. i know the intent of the white house is to help all people who have found themselves under crushing debt, and they want to be able to have a family by a house -- buy a house. it is interesting she feels this is aimed at helping white people. host: linda feldmann a washington bureau chief for the christian science monitor. (202) 748-8000 is the line for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. and for all others, (202) 748-8002. our next caller is dave in lindbergh, new york. caller: it was in response to

hawaii allowing same-sex marriage the year before. if your guest knows anything about the hideous has to rule and what mccarthy -- how he feels about that because i saw something on c-span, a roles meeting about majority, which is a terrible rule that discourages bipartisanship, discourages the house, especially when run by republicans, to take out bipartisan measures in the senate. pelosi was more ok with it, but i was wondering if you knew if they are going to try to use it to discourage -- it is not the 2013 immigration bill because it did not have adequate support. thank you. host: that has stirred role--

guest: the majority of the majority. my sense is that right now this is a matter of trench warfare. kevin mccarthy has to win the speakership. if he thinks his conference should go along with legislation, say, something the senate passes, he will do whatever he has to to. thing for something he does not want past. i cannot see something like the pastor droll, which is not cast in stone -- host: it is part of the conference rules. what do we know kevin mccarthy, leader mccarthy's plans legislatively? what is their plan for the next congress?

guest: they have identified three things. they want to bring inflation down, although it is not clear what a republican held house with a democratic senate and democratic white house can get done -- lower crime. he has been vague. , the border of course -- the border, of course. a lot of this will be sending messages rather than passing legislation. kevin mccarthy is trying to keep it all together. you have the presidential race gearing up. donald trump has already announced he is running. you have a lot of republicans acting like they will probably run. he can attempt to be an island of stability within that whole circus. whether he can pull that off, i don't know.

h hase attempted to become speaker in the past, but has not out there. i'm not sure he has the skills to accomplish anything significant, besides allow his congress to have a lot of hearings and block legislation. host: on the lame-duck, the headline is " congress returns to packed agenda." the majority whip said on sunday that one of his priorities is passing the electoral count act, governing how congress handles presidential election disputes. well that make it across the -- will that make it across the finish line? guest: i don't know.. last year when you had people storming the capital, claiming the election was stolen -- the electoral count act was written

in such a way that there is some swishing us. they want to make it clear that the role of the vice president's ministerial -- some swishiness. they went to make it clear that the role of the vice president's ministerial. you cannot have alternate slates decided by the state legislature. the aim here is to make sure we do not ever go through that again, and it is clear when the votes have been cast and counted, we know who the next president is. host: william in buffalo, new york, democrats' line. caller: is there any possibility that the members of the congress will give up the notion that

they are there to win arguments with one another and begin to employ what i would call, a candy store rule, where if you want something, you have to give something? that is the way you pass legislation. that is the way you keep the promises you made to your constituents when you won your election, whether you are a democrat or a republican. winning arguments does not get you solutions to problems. the people who sent you -- guest: that is a good question. i actually like partisanship. that might sound counterintuitive, but partisanship is a good thing. people have different views about things. people should feel free to express their opinions and have different policy proposals.

we need that kind of debate in addressing the issues of the day. if that is all it is, that feels like a waste of time. after everybody has said their piece, there can be a coming together to pass something. what we're seeing now is the return of earmarks. earmarks has been banned for a couple of years, but low and behold, we have discovered that earmarks, which are plums embedded in legislation to win votes. that adds grease to the system, grease being a good thing like the oil in your engine. we used to think earmarks arbat, that it would release -- are bad, that it would result in

spending in certain districts. host: the monitor breakfast went quiet during covid. it is back. it always seems like a very civilized way to hold a press conference. how do you determine your guests and reporters who get to sit at that breakfast? guest: i'm aiming for the people who can draw a big crowd of reporters. i what congressional leaders, committee chairs. they are largely political events. it has to be, i want a bipartisan mix, usually have one at a time. people have thought maybe i should do a common ground thing where i have one from each party and have them shout an issue -- hash out an issue. aiming for people of color,

women. i have had nancy pelosi, eric holder, bill clinton, now an activist on gerrymandering. i want people who are interesting who will draw a crowd of reporters and attract c-span to come videotape. host: the ground rules -- guest: and the ground rules for reporters. the reporters we invite are up to us. host: do you mix it up? guest: we have a mix of everything, including point of view. we have reported is conservative outlets who come. i have had guests who tell me -- we send them the list of who is coming in advance, and they tell me " i do not want so and so there, " and i say, " i'm sorry, you cannot come."

host: and that is all on the record with the reporters. guest: my dear leg colleague gottfried sperling started this -- late colleague gottfried sperling started this. it was 12 reporters, all white men, sitting around a table having a conversation with a congressman from illinois. host: one more question for you. we will go to arlene in new smyrna beach, florida on the independent line. caller: good morning. hopefully, things will come back together like the united states of america was several years ago. due to the lack of moral values we are having a problem with, a lot of this -- if anyone listening would look

up huhac, harry truman started this. it is the house of something of human activities. just look up huac. it was a court. they would put people in court when they found out people were with the communist party. if you open your eyes to communism and marxism, you will see this. my grandparents, got bless their souls, they would roll -- god bless their souls, they would roll over in their grave if they saw a man and a man or a woman and a woman in a marriage today. host: which do you think will come out first? guest: probably the hunter biden

investigation because that goes directly to president biden and his ethics. a lot of people say there is not anything to see their, but it has not been investigated. president biden -- hunter biden is under investigation for tax issues, but hunter biden flying on air force two to china. it is a huge question. will the republicans be levelheaded about this? will they overreach and go over the top and allow the democrat -- host: it sounds like, from things that james comer has said, that the republican side has already begun that investigation in the minority. guest: the republicans i know

say they do not want to hear about hunter biden. they want this to be about joe biden. the republic -- the public does not really care about hunter biden. host: read linda feldmann's reporting online at christianmonitor.com. coming up we will be joined by arun mehta -- aaron mehta. we will have open forum and let you weigh in on issues we have talked about this morning or political and news items you are following. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. and for independents and others, (202) 748-8002. ♪

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do not be afraid to take risks. there is still time to get started. the deadline is january 20, 23. ♪ >> washington journal continues. host: it is open forum so if there was something we talked about this morning that you did not get a chance, feel free to call in now. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. and for independents, (202) 748-8002. " walmart gunman bought nine millimeter that morning. the man accused of killing six people in virginia, legally purchased a gun that morning. officers found a note on the

man's phone that may help them determine motive. they suspect illegally purchased to the gun involved in the shooting from a store. he had no criminal history and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. virginia does not require a waiting period between the time of purchase and the actual physical transfer of a firearm to prevent gun violence." let's go to your calls in open forum. stephen is up in wisconsin, democrats' line. caller: good morning and thanks for taking my call. and response to your previous guest, linda from the christian broadcasting network -- host: christian science monitor's. caller: thank you.

she mentioned the incoming house speaker mccarthy channeling nancy pelosi to some degree. i get her actual quote mistaken. my point or comment is, i'm wondering what everyone would think if president joe biden was giving the state of the union and mccarthy stood up and tore up the speech on live tv like nancy pelosi did. are we a divided country are not? why is that acceptable for her, but if mccarthy did it it would be very trump he and -- did it, it would be very trumpian? host: in medicine, wisconsin -- madison, wisconsin, james on the independent line. caller: have an idea for thei

student loan forgiveness thing . why don't they have people volunteer at $50 an hour to get your loan forgiven? i got a good idea. there probably wouldn't be very many takers on that. instead of forgiving it, how about some civil-service or some military service at $50 an hour? host: casey in illinois next -- casey bill, illinois next on the line is edward. caller: i was wondering if anyone else is having problems being audited by the social security administration.

the last election i said contributions to nancy pelosi a little over two weeks after they told me i was being audited and i owed $30,000 for overpayment. host: the social security administration said you had been overpaid by $30,000, and you of that money back to them -- you owed that money back to them? caller: yes. i took my retirement at 62. after -- i worked at a union

construction company. i was involuntarily extended in the vietnam war. they are taking money out now because they wanted me to send the check immediately, and it wouldn't be no problem. they are taking it out now. host: they are taking it out of your social security? caller: yes. it is pretty much of it. host: open forum here on washington journal. (202) 748-8000 is the line for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. for independents and others, (202) 748-8002. this is from politico this morning -- " house democrats on

the gop's thin majority -- 'welcome to hell.' things could get even worse. kevin mccarthy and his team are set to take over in january with the kind of margins that vexed speaker nancy pelosi, but lacking the two decades of experience she brought to the task. the house gop will have to steer legislation through with 4 votes to spare while its members deal with an emboldened freedom caucus, internal finger-pointing over a disappointing midterm cycle, and a looming brawl over a 2024 presidential primary that features donald trump back in the mix. 'i do not lie awake thinking about the bad legislation they will pass, because i do not think they will pass it,'said

congressman byer of virginia. maccarthy will have this barest margins of any congress since 1931 -- mccarthy will have the sparest margins of any congress since 1931. our next caller is in going out, maryland -- glenoaks maryland. caller: we as un-american people, we need to step up and -- we as an american people, we need to step up and work together. our nation is looking at us -- other nations look at us like a beacon of freedom. it is a shame.

sd the american -- as the american people, we vote them in. they are not doing the job we voted them into do. the american people do not need this kind of trouble at all. i am so disappointed right now, i have to turn to my faith. that is the only way i make it right now in life. to be honest, there is a lot of wickedness in that congress. it needs to be cleaned out and it needs to be cleaned out right now. if the people who went out and voted, i give them applause for doing what they did. thank you for my call. i appreciate it so much. host: to holland, michigan on the republican line, tom, go ahead. caller: just kind of commenting on what the lady just commented on, i agree with her, but not

from a democratic side, from a republican side. we need to clean the house out, which we have done and now we michigan on the republican line, tom. go ahead. caller: just commenting on what the lady just said to. i agree with her, not from a democratic side, the republican side. biden was supposed to be the one to unify the country. he has pretty much not done any of that. he has destroyed the unification that he said he will try to do. from a republican standpoint, i voted both ways.

when it comes to the policies that we have going on right now over the borders, mi wrong in saying that we have a huge problem -- mi wrong with saying we have a huge problem with immigrants coming in this country? the reason i think they do not see that is all they listen to is mainstream media or cnn be asked --cnbs. how can we bury our heads and the sand and say there's not a problem. i guess i am asking the question because i think it is real and imminent. host: steve is next on the republican line.

caller: can. i was calling in reference to the color you had back is -- caller saying that social security is be retracted from what it should be. social security does not call you and tell you anything. i think he is being scammed. he must have given his account number to them. just want to pass that along. listening to c-span, i do that every morning. is there anyway we can check the facts, so erroneous comments that are made people will not believe in them. there must be a way to do that?

host: it is not to be a programmer effect check what everybody -- program where we fact check what everybody has to say. the headline is, the dumpster fire that is the rnc, if you're giving your money to the rnc, you are wasting it. despite losing ground nationally in 2018, 22 and your own state of michigan in the presidential contest in 2020, republican national committee chair ronald mcdaniel is running for reelection. it is reflecting on past performance motivation for change perhaps thinking about what lies ahead will.

other republicans planning to running for president, that the rnc will not be neutral in the 2024 race. he writes, truly mr. trump is not aware of this. these will be most useful in running for president or setting up electoral runs for the next generation of a family. that is why he endorsed in 2020 and likely to endorse her again. michael mckennitt says it bears repeating. if you are giving your money to the rnc or cognizance, you are. you might as well liked it on fire -- light it on fire.

. democrats line. good morning. caller: i am just wondering your opinion on the revolution arriving the next year. especially with ndaa having to be passed. there is a 61 year history having to be passed. just the history on what can happen there. host: our previous guest, in terms of the deadline is currently december 6, she indicated that may be expressed to the 23rd. they have to get it done by the year because and new congress -- a new congress is coming in january. bruce is next in florida. independent line. caller: i would like to pick up

on the comment by the previous caller talking about those people. i think we need to change our minds that appeared the big set. the big problem is polarization. we are not already, we are not all blue. we need to think about what -- we are not all red, we are not all blue. we need to think about what is best for this country. keep an open mind. the more charitable, soft, listen. host: i have a text from martin in connecticut on the divided congress ahead. divided congress is never a good thing. george washington warned of a two-party system resulting in nothing getting accomplished. ronald's next. democrats line.

caller: i believe that the open forum could use some improvement. the survey of time for people to call and voice their opinions and you and others go through the program, you spend some of the time reading articles from the paper. in addition, it is time that is taken for things like, advertisements for products. host: there aren't any at this programs --ads on this program. caller: you should leave very

limited time for people to call in and it just hasn't call in and nothing else. do not read articles from the washington post. host: i appreciate your opinion. we try to leave as much time for that as possible trying to get as many calls as possible. we do fill it is important to tie in what is actually going on in washington in terms of public policy and other news items. birmingham, alabama. democrats line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i'm going back further. right now we are arresting all

of the people who went into the capital. they really have not attacked the people who created the whole thing. we had congressman from also the house and the senate going over there to implement this thing. when are they going to be punished? that is what i want to know. is the special counsel going to address the group, not just trump. host: glenn rush is writing about that, the new york times. the justice department grapples with trump inquiries, he says merrick garland intends on restoring order at the justice department gradually came to smp we need to appoint a special counsel to investigate donald trump, if the former president

ran for the white house again. that did not mean he liked doing it. he made clear from the start he was not implying outsiders run investigations. according to several people familiar with the situation. the appointment of a special counsel, jack smith on november 18, a rollout of the announcement signaled a significant, if subtle shift in the approach. investigating mr. trump, a top contender for the 2024 nomination, of a party who is increasingly against the charge. this is jim on the line.

republican line. caller: yes. with all of these illegals coming in, how many of them coming up are going to end up on welfare? host: next up in new york. democrats line. caller: thank you so much for taking my call. i wanted to say that, the question that was post earlier about a dividing congress, is that going to be beneficial for america? my personal opinion? , partisanship is what is causing division. i heard a guy earlier sake biden was supposed to unify the country. he ran on that message. do not think a single leader, biden, trump, dissenters, no

politician is going to be able to help us -- desantis, no politician is going to help us solve these differences. we have to continue the cycle that is divide and conquer, or we can work together to try to protect the rights that are guaranteed in our constitution like the bill of rights. this is the first time where we are actually seeing rights being taken from us. voting rights are under attack, abortion rights are under attack in this country. whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, you have to understand that these issues have kept all of us one way or another. it does not matter if you're voting for second amendment rights, it all comes down to the . that is what it is supposed to be. -- it all comes down to, we the people. that is what it is supposed to

be. we have to get back to a place we do take that duty seriously and not be so volatile with each other. we can discuss the issues at hand without having to be adversaries. i just hope that we can come to a place in america where unification is not a impossible dream but a plausible reality. i do not think we will survive if we do not try. [indiscernible speaking] this is a tweet from steve. host: i am a middle income american. bill is next in texas. democrats line. go-ahead. caller: my name is gail. i live in texas. i have a stroke.

i am retired from the military and worked 22 years. my wife died four years ago. i need somebody to help me. i am paying $8,000 a year. thank you. host: jerry in broadway, virginia. republican line. caller: good morning. i would like to talk to the first topic about divided congress. what we had in the past two years is a dictatorship. that is called communism, one-party rule is communism.

pack up your belongings and move to china and russia. there is not one person in the house of delegates. that is called communism. host: that is our open froum. still to come, eric will talk about defense issues, the fate of the authorization bill, also congress considering additional aid to ukraine is next. also, your phone calls our next. ♪ >> the sale youave then

waiting for, starts today at c-spanshop.org. shop monday and tuesday and save 35% on our latest collection on c-span hoodies and more. there's something for every c-span fan. every purchase help support o authorization. op cyber monday deals. shop today and tuesday. >> to people who know him well -- is first and foremost an accomplished storyteller. he has been for 25 years the chief of the library of congress is special collection division. the library has over 850 items in the collection, including charles dickens book published

in 1640, the first book printed in what was to become the united states and abraham lincoln's pockets when he was assassinated. >> library of congress, on this episodes of book notes fly. >> c-span now is a free mobile app featuring your unfiltered view on what is happening in washington live and on-demand. keep up with live streams of floor proceedings of hearings from u.s. congress, white house events, court, world of politics all at your fingertips. you can also "washington

journal". c-span now is available at the apple store in google play. download it for free today. your front row seat to washington anytime, anywhere. "washington journal" continues. host: the editor-in-chief avenue breaking defense publication and focused on defense news and industry, the pentagon and here with us to talk about defense issues related to congress, and particularly defense authorization bill and more. the big issue, what is holding up as of that? guest: it is one that has been

for six years and did not pass. the assumption is, once the election is over, we will move on and get this thing passed quickly. then what became clear, republicans are on track to get the house, kevin mccarthy, who is expected to be speaker of the house, going forward said, i think we should wait to do this until we take over. host: as it passed the senate? guest: it was june or september i believe. it is a reconciliation. we are working on this, we expect this to happen. the mccarthy is saying we should not do this until we take the house in january.

they both say we need to get this thing done and talk about this and move forward. host: remind us what the defense authorization bill does. it is not the money part of the equation. tell us more. guest: it is the policy bail. a lot of those things are specific to military. they do things such as paying benefits for members of military . what different services can spend. or authorizing training, testing, the core of the military and how it operates.

this is why the ndaa has always managed. host: there always seems to be a wrench thrown in policy consideration when the ndaa comes up. now there's talk about joe manchin reflected in the headlines. he is determined to advance energy legislation is expected to add to the spending bill. guest: the but it to be the guy. they often see situations where people try to attack things on. these are seen -- in national security.

nobody really wants to mess around with that. he often see people try to add to that. this case -- in this case, it changes the way their environmental studies are gone. the fact that he is trying to attack this on, it is something he has been working on for a while and have support on both sides. the other thing, getting traction. host: then an additional $38 billion request nearly $22 billion for weapons and equipment. 14.5 for humanitarian and budget support.

626 million for nuclear security support. is it likely that congress will take up and pass additional defense and other spending aided to ukraine before the end of the 117. guest: the ukraine situation has had very strong bipartisan support. we have seen over the last few weeks, russia targeting energy and site have ukraine. it the thing that we are going to have to keep an eye on is less about defense money for ukraine. it is the nondefense spending in ukraine. i think it is going to be politically difficult to manage. personally using nondefense spending is always something that the republicans say we have to cut back or becomes a trade-off.

i think we expected something similar here. we are seeing pressures inside the gdp. donald trump has set something along these lines. there are some members of congress on the republican side saying where we supporting ukraine, why are we doing this? we will see those political lines act up the next years. host: aaron mehta, their calls are welcome. . democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. mike charter yesterday in ohio had michael paul talked about

the potential for the republicans would make things difficult. here is what he said. [video clip] >> the sole purpose of telling president zelenskyy that he has a contingency support. we do not need to pass $40 billion large democrat bills and 8 billion dollars to ukraine. it has been frustrating to hear large numbers in the united states and a little amount of aid they received. you saw it. the other thing they need is air defense. our air defense systems is so complex. we want to make sure we work with partners and pull together our defense system to send to kyiv to defend their infrastructure. >> we know what leader mccarthy

has said about this, he is not going to write a blank check. your colleagues are unlikely to support more. >> i think the majorities support this effort. everybody has a voice in congress. we are going to provide more of a transparency and accountability. we are not going to write a blank check. host: where did you hear there? guest: there is good to be some politics to come into this. there's a wind in the republican party -- i think there's others who are saying maybe we are giving too much aid and not being smart about it. i expect that the phrase will be catered going forward.

there's a lot of questions about what actually the u.s. is capable of producing but obviously the situation in poland two weeks ago. host: mike turner talked about working with partners, is the focus likely to be on the republican side asking more of nato countries to contribute? guest: i think that is something we will see a lot of. it is something that the biden administration has been doing. host: let's go to callers. democrats line. go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. the defense bill included funding for the pentagon. the pentagon has not been audited.

thank. you very much. . guest: it is a really interesting thing. we cannot be audited, we are too complex and too many systems. even though congress is saying you need to be audited. in the first or second year in the trump administration, they did launch an audit. the way they have been doing it is going system by system. the defense department is not like other government agencies. there are a million other sub agencies and departments to think about. there is a lot of different systems that have not been talking to each other in the last four years. they just completed the first audit two weeks ago. they felt again. auditors are saying they expected to be a couple of years before they can reach a

agreement to be a clear audit. host: what daily with the system is clear? guest: --host: what do you mean when the system is clear? guest: where the money is going. wishful confident that they're actually on top. host: who conducts the audit? guest: they hire firms that do the day-to-day. host: next up is john in oregon. independent line. there you are. go ahead. caller: very good. nice pronunciation. my question to you, there has

been talk from our eastern european nato allies and from ukraine themselves for the need for jet planes, advanced air capabilities right now. ukraine is being thrown into a freezer. i did not know how many people are going to die on that. i will say that the republicans cut off the ukrainian people who are fighting to preserve their independence in rule of law system, they will regret it. it is good to have wise oversights and spend money well. we have two super people that are trying to preserve their independence. thank you very much.

guest: the ukrainians and have since day one says, give us everything he can. tanks, planes, have all been top of the list. a lot of countries are not comfortable with sending fighter jets to ukraine. we are concerned that will somehow cross the redline in terms of conflict. ukraine has a political offensive on that system. aircraft system is a lot of -- another area. a lot of the countries do not have a ton of material to send to ukraine, especially in european countries that will have to worry about keeping their borders secure. while countries are trying some stuff, it is not something necessarily to turn the needle.

ukrainians are really pushing more. host: how much this our aid in the vehicles, weapons, we are sending a terrain of our armory as it were. guest: it is that something where the u.s. is going to run out of equipment anytime soon. the u.s. is careful not to send everything right away. the u.s. is operating around the world at any point of the day. they can't afford to send all of the equipment to ukraine. at the same time, there is also older equipment. i think you will see more and more pressure on that.

i do not expect that trend to cap anytime soon. host: democrats, host:. (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. caller: the american public should be confident that the plan is a sound one. where i hear all of the dispiriting on whether or not it is worth saving the lives of the ukrainians, i wonder whether or not these people who are disparaging ukraine have any loyalty to the country.

are they actually try to set up the budget so that we will buy a bunch of worthless stuff, rather than have two be able to have a sound arsenal. i guess in a quicker way to ask it, out of the social contract, it is when we the people know when we are getting our moneys worth from our taxes. can you describe any of these republicans that have any loyalty to the social contract? guest: one of the few bipartisan things we have seen is actually ukraine in washington. a lot of republicans have supported and there is a push for some to give more. i think this is the reality

for washington country. the next two years are going to be about 2024. the question of how presidential contenders differentiate themselves between president biden. i do think we will see a question of, should we continue giving aid and can we continue to give aid at the large levels of ukraine or should we be pulling back and force other countries to step. host: are there any notable policy changes or new things we should be aware of in 2023 ndaa? guest: it is generally a bill that continues what we have seen. i think you will see interesting fights going forward on ukraine, site from the big question of continuing to support the aid.

questions like, should the -- and escalate the war. i think we will see something like that. drones being sent. that is where i think we'll see going forward. host: do you know how many military personnel are involved in support units for the efforts in ukraine along with nato? guest: the certify number has came down. the only american forces in ukraine are the security embassy forces there. we know there is a number of people throughout europe during training. anytime you have equipment coming, you have workers. just a logistic of a u.s.-based to europe, transfer of the border, training on that.

host: tom is on the republican line. caller: good morning. i think we need to back ukraine. it probably would help quite a bit. nato needs to step up. the money is there. that is my comment. host: we will hear from donna in

louisiana on the republican line. caller: i definitely feel that the money should be audited. following the infrastructure of ukraine possibly might freeze to death. i do not understand why the ukraine's cannot go over and bomb some of russia's infrastructure. thank you very much. host: the equipment given to them would be used for defense of use only? guest: that is correct. some of the equipment does not have the range to set eight strike into russia. obviously you got a crimea situation. the american stance seems to be, we can see the ukrainian

territory. there is a big air based strike months ago that took out a significant chunk of russia, their power in the area. the big concern from day one have been, we do not want this to escalate between russia versus nato conflict. there has been a drawn line between what causes -- what is the line of combat. we have seen u.s. change its posture on that and russia. when this all started, sweden and finland joining nato at the redline. vladimir putin said, we are not concerned with that. things are constantly shifting. the spectrum pains over everything is nuclear weapons -- the spectrum that hangs over everything is nuclear weapons. host: the caller mentioned the

pentagon audit. there has been a call from requisite of marjorie taylor greene. guest: i didn't think it will get a ton of traction because of who is introducing it. the reality is also, i do not know how you could audit some of the stuff. russia is constantly bombing civilian centers. there is no way to get in and try to check out the stuff. people from day one have been saying, we are just loading these weapons off and sending them to ukraine without anybody checking them. the biden administration says since then we have settled down

and sent people to try to keep eyes on that. host: logistically, how does that work? you mentioned training. where do they get trained? in ukraine, out of ukraine? we do not want our personnel in ukraine during a active war zone. guest: there are other countries where this training is happening on. have ukrainian forces come in for a two-week training and move back to the front. others are larger systems, depending on the capability. the u.s. is very careful. the biden administration does not want troops in the ground. that is a redline for russia.

president biden came in and said u.s. forces should not be out fighting other people in wars. he has seemed to held onto that at this point. host: we have a caller from lynnfield, massachusetts. mark, there we go. you are on the air. you are on the air, go ahead. caller: good morning. i have two questions. are we paying the civil servant salaries for everybody in ukraine? guest: now. caller: i thought we were. all of the ordinance that russia has launched is a lot to. i'm wondering if they would have used those weapons on

the front lines, without have made a difference? guest: i think it is a interesting question. there was not necessarily a single frontline. some have said that is a key point russia has made in the beginning. . nobody had realized -- many people had not realized that ukraine is not actually a real country. if leadership took out ukraine, people would say bring russia back is what we really wanted. of course that strike was defeated. what i think russia has learned now is that the ukrainian people are willing to fight fiercely further homes. th w not a part of their strategic calculus from the go.

using all of the artillery, because they have broken all of the lines? it probably have. you got to remember, the russians did not think it was. going to be a long fight they do not think they would have to commit all of their artillery early on. host: how stretched are they with troops? guest: demobilization that they did it several months ago where you could see on social media, a number of videos of people being dragged out. there are people yelling at their commanders saying you give us a week and they're going to send us at the frontline. russia has to go to iran. it is a great power to have to go to iran to help get weapons.

we know that there are supply line issues, production issues. one of the big questions that we will be keeping an eye on, are they going to run out of equipment at some point? they are using traditional nuclear carrying missiles. host: he is their editor and chief. renee is in seattle, washington. independent line. caller: i am curious about what the role of cyber -- the use of cyber attacks is happening over there.

can't they defend themselves or attack russia too? guest: when the war started, there was a widespread assumption that russia would be able to wipe out the internet, really just do a lot of quick and damaging things toward ukraine. russia's hyper capabilities have been boosted up. we have not seen that much of it. there has been some and ukraine has been able to beat them that. that appears to have been successful. ultimately, we talked to leaders

. i talked to secretary defenses from different european nations. i asked this question. they'll kind of shake their heads and go, we do not know. we do not know why it is not being used. host: a question for you from james in ohio. is it true, we sent more in like ukraine one year ago then we did 20 years in afghanistan. we legally declare war in one country and not the other. the amount of money we sent so far -- spent so far past march this year to another 40 billion of may of this year and september 13. again, 38 million. how does that stack up with our spending in afghanistan? guest: sure, more than that.

it is worth noting that what we have spent a significantly more than most nations would spend. i think it speaks to the part that often gets raised. why isn't the nato nations doing more? a country like belgium, they do not have the defense that we have. they are donating five tanks. that is something people need to keep in mind. would it be great if the other nations get more? some countries have fallen short on that. it is important that 2% from one country is not 2% from the united states.

host: which committee will lead them? what should we look for in them? guest: this comes back from the politics where this is going to be about can we damage the biden administration in 2024. there's a lot of satisfaction on both sides of the aisle with the afghanistan withdrawal. we have seen the hard question asked, secretary lloyd austin has come before the committee. we have seen them get asked hard questions on both sides about this and was at the right move. what is going to be interesting is to see how much it affected the american people. ukraine has taken a lot of that

oxygen over the years since the withdrawal has happened. how many hearings will make an impact on the public. host: let's hear from richard in augusta, georgia. democrats line. caller: i am a veteran. i am a strong advocate of us dividing the airplanes that ukraine needs in order to -- defense even more, especially to be able to attack the russian ships. our government needs to send a strong message to iran, stay out, get out, behave. guest: what has the u.s. terms of messages to iran?

guest: we have seen suicide strikes against civilian infrastructure in ukraine event. so far there has not been any specific extra sanctions because of this. iran is sanctioned as it is. i am not sure if there's any more room to add sanctions to this. the discussions about whether to renew the iran and a nuclear deal. the u.s., russia in a bite of this investigation and iran has had on and off discussions. at one point it looked like it is a big deal. that fell apart. with iran, you have to remember there are multiple factions inside of iran. right now iran is involved in a

civil unrest, which we have not seen in, certainly, my lifetime. host: in north carolina -- william blake north carolina. democrats line. caller: my question is this. isn't russia committing war crimes? all i see on tv is russia is tearing up a lot of civilian places and civilian homes, older jewish people, destroying them. that is what hitler's did. -- hitler did. then they try to claim that the ukrainians are hitler's.

if people cannot see that in this country, something is wrong with them. they aren't destroying those people in ukraine. nobody else is getting involved with it, why? guest: social media and television has made it more, we see so much more video of every aspect of the war seemingly, including the atrocities that have been committed of war crimes. that is a specific chart that is handled by a organization. it is something that has been referred to them. i think it is safe to call them atrocities from independent sources and ukraine's government. massacres, forced migration. we have seen a lot of reports

about how russia is taking ukrainian kids, kidnapping and repopulating ukraine. think think it is a safe assumption that there are were crimes committed. the reality is, what can actually happen from that is a big question. you can charge vladimir putin of work crimes, unless you're going to get him to the court, which is unlikely, there is not much you can do about at that point. host: let's hear from stefan on the independent line. caller: real reporters went to go talk to the ukrainian people, they said they do not care which government. they said they do not care. it is the same government and same style. russia cannot be your boogie man

forever. i remember as a little kid, russia is our boogie man. a couple of years ago, ukraine was corrupt. stop the games, stop with the billions of tax dollars. billions of tax dollars. please stop. thank you, have a good day. guest: i think there's a aspect to this that people do not want to talk about. ukraine is not perfect. ukraine is a country that has issues and questions. whether that is about politics. i think going forward but is going to be an issue that comes up what happens to a wartime government, how they react, if they're going to crackdown on freedom of speech and things like that. at the same time, russia engages in ukraine. that is no question about that.

there were russia -- world there was no question whether there was russians in ukraine being threatened, russia can make these claims. ultimately, one country against the other. c can't be perfect, it can make mistakes, it is also the victim in theall of a larger country. host: we thankfully do not have u.s. troops involved in war prayer -- warfare in ukraine. there were assisting countries involved in conflict. guest: the u.s. is everywhere. there are a number of special operation forces. iraq, middle east.

we have sources in saudi arabia that have come under attack. u.s. forces are engaged around the world in come back -- combat operation. in some places acting as beekeepers or in japan where they are a huge force there. host: lee is on the republican line. caller: hello. i was concerned about the taking of the crimea hillary clinton the reset button. president obama said to come on

during my second term i will have more flexibility. then the russians took over crimea. then we gave them two people who conquered. then when president trump came in, the russia's -- russians did not invade ukraine at all. then biden came in and we have these invasions. thank you. host: do you think it was always russia's intention going back to tony 14 to take over ukraine? -- 2014 to take over ukraine? guest: the question is, that he have this long-term plan were crimea is the first step to use that and build up in many years, or did he say, we can take it

right now and get this leadership out, let's just do it, given the strategic blunders that we have seen from russia in terms of how it is profiting this war, i think there is a greater consensus. he knew that the u.s. is trying to prevent more toward the pacific, which every administration seems trying doing. put in said ok, i can take crimea. he was successful with that. he was a lot less successful with the ukraine action. that goes to the question, strategy or opportunity? host: one more call from jim in west virginia. caller: i was listening to your guests. . i want to have some perspective

from my perspective. i have explained it to people like this. as from what i read about as far as corruption in ukraine, trump was saying that all the time i'm sorry to say for my republican friends out there, that -- propaganda essentially. the only real corruption, like the guest was saying, every country has corruption cleared russia and who wanted to control the resources in ukraine and the government positions in ukraine and starting back during the obama administration, president biden was tasked with trying to offset the control out of ukraine to hit russian influence and control out of ukraine's government, out of ukraine industries.

that all profited putin, profited russia. trump didn't mind that outcome. he saw that as being -- and therefore republicans had to see it as being -- the way things go. in ukraine wanted its independence. host: final thoughts. guest: this is a conflict that is complicated. it doesn't need to be complicated going forward. we are going to see a lot of pressure in the next couple of month for ukraine's government to continue to support and it is going to be very interesting to see how russia approaches the next couple of months. we've seen president zelenskyy, he doesn't want to do that because he sees russia as trying to gather for a push down the road. but maybe now is the time to take a break and try to set new boundaries. there's just a lot of moving parts here. it is not a conflict that is

going to end anytime soon. we are seeing that obviously across washington. host: the editor-in-chief, you can read more of their stories and their coverage. thanks her being with us this morning. that will do it for this morning's "washington journal." we are back tomorrow morning at 7:00 eastern and we hope you are, too. have a great day. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] announcer: here's what is coming up live today on c-span. senate intelligence committee chair martin warner along with former u.s. trade officials

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