>> we cannot let petty partisan angry politics get in the way of our responsibilities as a great nation and cannot and will not let hamas and tyrants like putin win. i refuse to let that happen. ♪

host: good morning. it is friday, october 20. the president addressed the nation last night the oval office, arguing that u.s. security interest require supporting israel and ukraine. he is asking congress for more funding for military support for those countries, and in the house, presented of jim jordan said he would temporarily suspend his bid to become speaker but then reversed course and says he will make a third run. the house gavels and at 10:00 a.m. today, and we will keep you updated. we are taking your calls on either or both of those topics. republicans, (202)-748-8001. democrats, (202)-748-8000. independents, (202)-748-8002. you can post to social media, we are at facebook.com/c-span and x

and instagram at @cspanwj. welcome to today's "washington journal." list start with the oval office address last night. here's a portion where president biden makes the case that we should send funding to israel in ukraine. [end video clip] -- [video clip] president biden: tragedy inflicted on the people of ukraine, people who were very badly hurt since putin launched his all out invasion. let's not forget the mass graves, the bodies found showing signs of torture, and thousands and thousands of ukrainian children forcibly taken into russia, stolen from their parents. it is sick. hamas and putin are present different places but they share this in common, they went to annihilate neighboring democracy.

hamas' stated purpose for existence is the murder of jewish people. hamas does not represent the palestinian people but uses palestinian civilians as human shields and palestinian families are suffering greatly because of that. meanwhile, putin denies ukraine ever had statehood. he claims the soviet union created ukraine in two weeks ago, he told the united states that if they withdraw, our allies will, as well. military support to ukraine would have "one week left to live," but we are not withdrawing. i know these conflicts seem far away and it is natural to ask, why does this matter to america? let me share with you by making sure israel and ukraine succeed. history has contest that when terrorists do not pay a price for the terror i dictators do not pay a price for

aggression, they cause were chaos, death and destruction. they keep going, and the cost and threats to america and the world keep rising. [end video clip] host: we are taking your response to that speech, as well as the house speaker battle. on that note, representative jim jordan will hold a press conference today at 8:00 a.m. you can watch that on c-span.org and are free mile video app called c-span it now. we will keep you updated on that and what is going on. we are hearing your comments on that. we will go straight to the phones. andrew is first up, independent, alexandria, virginia. caller: good morning. first of all, i would like to say i like your new desk, and i like the fact that the rug is not the deep-sea. besides from that, i do like the president's speech last night.

i was glad to hear that he delineated the claims of hamas and palestine. i was glad that he stated that israel had a right to defend itself and he also spoke about the humanity and dignity of the palestinians. i was glad that he hoped that both sides had a right to live with freedom, to have freedom of mobility, and i was just glad he spoke to both sides, and i was glad to hear that, and also about how he pushed for peace between the sides. you know, both sides, he not only asked for peace but asked for them to show restraint and

if at all possible, just stop. host: are you in favor of sending more military aid to israel? caller: yes. i think, like you said, they have a right to defend themselves, and they need just as much as they need, but i also think we need to show restraint also. what they need, but nothing more. host: got it. let's talk to walter next, washington, d.c., line free democrats. hi, walter. caller: good morning. how are you today? host: good. caller: excellent. i am calling about biden's speech. i watched that, and i now have serious buyers remorse. we all made a mistake voting for biden. he is going to come embryos to

world war iii, we cannot afford that. biden's policies like giving iran billions of tax dollars is why the hamas terrorist attack on israel took place in the first place. we do not have these problems under trump. we had peace. host: walter, just to clarify on the $6 billion, that is not american money. caller: i am not talking about the $6 billion, i am talking about 2021 from ronnie johnson. he has been giving money to iran and turning a blind eye to them selling oil. i do not like donald trump. i cannot stand him. he is a pungent and annoying. however, when it comes to foreign policies, the economy, pre-pandemic, industry policies and his negotiations with our allies, trump was a better president than biden. we do not have these issues when

trump was in office. he makes a mess of everything. i wish biden did this, he should have left trump's policies in place and did what he did in 1987, take credit for other people's work. have a wonderful weekend. goodbye. host: janice is a detroit, michigan, republican. caller: hi, how are you? host: good. caller: student biden's -- didn't provide insight and log over to israel and -- student biden's son over to israel? how come that has not been brought up? host: are you talking about president trump son-in-law, jared kushner? caller: yeah, when they went over to israel and they made this big thing about it, and they just ignored the

palestinians. that has not been brought up. i think that is important. host: let's talk to trina in warsaw, indiana, independent line. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: my comment would be, i am very concerned about what is going on with israel and palestine and i am concerned. we need to be careful that we are not pulled into that confrontation. giving aid, yes, definitely, giving aid to the palestinian women and children who are in need of basic necessities for life, definitely. also, ukraine, we have a standing obligation to them and made promises that we were going to be there for them, we were not going to engage in their war

, and putin's world ukraine, but -- war on ukraine, but we cannot renege on our commitment ukraine. i know there has been talk about that on the republican side, and we just cannot allow that. also, in the speaker how startled, they need to get their act together. it is very disconcerting. i am really concerned about -- yeah. it is just really concerning that we need strong leadership, we need, you know, we need to work with everyone, but the parties need to work together. there are differences. that is fine, they can hash them out and discuss them, but what is going on now with the divided government is not making us look strong, and putin is talking to

president xi of china, talking to north korea, and they just need to get their act together and to be responsible adult statesman. that is my comment for today. host: thank you. let's check in on social m. we have this firm jen on facebook, "a i heard biden say is the rest of the world needs her money for more war, war, war, from the same crowd that always wants to raise our taxes and the crowd that wanted to shut down our country for two years as they spent more money, the crowd that will not protect our own border? i am not 100% for republicans, bu i am 100%ever voting democrat." on x, hocks is electing a speaker is a definin moment, ttg a speaker in whose beliefs are against what many believe is what wi rg true,

and election denier and a trump supporter with that much power would be dangerous. how does that 30% rule all? mary lou says, bllnt speech, president bid's experience in foreign policy was shown in his moral crity was on display, so unlike the republicans who have shown their lack of integrity or ability to govern. and back to the phones, arthur is in florida, republican. caller: yes ma'am. i can agree 100% with sending aid to the israel to defend themselves. that, but at least are talking about humanitarian aid. we do not want to be filling in both sides because this money is going to go to the warlords who

can sell whatever aid we send. another point is just like a previous caller, we cannot continue to be involved in everybody else's wars when our nation is in very serious financial problems. host: we have to talk about the speaker race, we have a congressional reporter for the messenger, stephen you come. can -- stephen, can you hear me? guest: i can. host: thank you for joining us. where does jim jordan's bid for speakership stand at this time? guest: it is on shaky ground. we will hear from him in one hour. he will have a press conference. there has been no indication that mr. jordan is going to drop

out of this race, and, you know, i think it is more likely that he uses this opportunity to sort of rally the troops for his speaker bid. he is very clearly not in position or within striking distance of being the next speaker, facing significant detractors from the moderate side of the republican party. he had 20 republicans voted against him on the first ballot, 22 on the second, and if we have a third today, which is the plan at 10:00 a.m., there were some republicans who are predicting there could be 30 or more gop lawmakers to vote against mr. jordan on the house floor. host: you mentioned rallying the troops, so host is going the wrong direction? is he convincing people the wrong way? guest: he has slipped some moderates who initially did not

vote for him on the first ballot. he has flipped one or two, but a lot of these folks are pretty dug in to their positions against mr. jordan and have not spotted very well to what they say is the pressure campaign for mr. jordan and his allies, even allies in the media, people who want to see jim jordan elected speaker, and the pressure that was put on them to try to vote for mr. jordan, that includes things like death threats, and these are all things mr. jordan has publicly condemned, but they did not take well to that campaign and the last week as it has gone on has gotten more and has been more and more turmoil in this race, so, yeah, things are not moving exactly in the right direction for jim jordan.

host: has the republican kind of abandoned this idea of empowering the temporary speaker, esther mchenry? guest: for the time being, that idea is not dead, but on the back burner for sure. things change quickly. jim jordan told us, told his colleagues yesterday morning that he was going to back that idea to support patch mchenry and make him temporary speaker and give him extended powers as temporary speaker and then continue to run for speaker himself for what would presumably be a vote in january and then four or five hours later after a closed-door meeting, mr. jordan and republicans emerged from that meeting saying, actually, we are not going to offer this patch mchenry resolution. the argument was that there was

no support therefrom the republican party and they said a majority do not support empowering mchenry a speaker, so as of yesterday, mr. jordan left the meeting and said he planned to continue running for speaker. yeah, that resolution to empower patrick mchenry at least for the time being is taking a backseat to the campaign of jim jordan is full-time speaker. host: what was to move closed-door meeting -- move od coming out of that closed-door meeting? guest: definitely tempers behind closed doors but they have been in this pressure cooker situation for four to six weeks now, sometimes going into the weekend. tempers are going to flare.

many moderates wanted to throw their support behind the idea of empowering patrick mchenry and, obviously, they emerged from that meeting frustrated and jordan's allies emerged invigorated, hoping that they can somehow, someway get mr. jordan across the finish line to the votes he needs. that is displayed split in the republican party right now. and on today, friday, we will continue to see that play out. host: what we know about the democrat's strategy and the possibility of power-sharing? guest: the democrats sort of have extended their hand to republicans and have made known that they are willing to negotiate on some sort of partisan compromise here to find a solution to the speaker impasse. that is not necessarily mean

power-sharing. they have made that clear. they made clear that they know they are five votes short from being in the majority and they do not want to empower democrats, but they want to open the house i. whoever they would lend their support to, if it was a republican speaker, would have to give them concessions on things like ukraine and israel in other important votes. the time being, they are a partner that is waiting to have a partner across from them at the negotiating table. host: what are you watching? what is the potential offerings and solution to the standoff? guest: i think a bipartisan compromise of some sort. whether that is patrick mchenry having power, whether that is a different republican nominee who kim gardner sufficient enough

democratic support and also republican support to get it at that 217 threshold. the problem with that is if there was a republican speaker was elected and can give part of the power to however many democratic votes they would get to become speaker, that will not be viewed favorably by many republicans, and we have already seen this motion to vacate, so they could be more turmoil if that is the offramp taken by republicans here. host: you can find his work at the messenger.com, thank you for joining us. guest: thank you for having me. host: we will go back to your calls about the speaker battle for about the president's speech about israel and also on ukraine. let's talk to helen in washington, d.c., democrat. caller: how are you today?

host:. good. caller: first of all, you are not the one who was on with the guy, and you had a republican on. i believe he was an ambassador to russia and/or ukraine, and he told america, everybody was listening. everybody was listening. everybody was listening, and he gave the facts about biden is doing the right thing as far as going to get money to pay for israel and ukraine. also, now you got information today that korea, china, russia and iran -- well, not un, but korea -- she ran, but korea and russia our meeting, and, also,

the cato institute was on, and trump is only using jordan. there is a whole bunch of stuff going on and people are not listening. they are not listening. that is all i have to say, but trump -- how can a person who has been convicted -- well not convicted but alleged to have committed all these crimes, how are you going to be a president and how are you going keeping with the secret service and whatnot? that does not make sense. host: let's talk to bruce, lexington, kentucky, independent. caller: i should sleep better at night knowing president biden and vice president harris is in charge. what is this country doing? funding wars on both sides? what is going on with our foreign policy?

this is crazy. i am really worried. i am scared to death that we are going to take a hit. this ukraine war, they are just trying to pull the u.s. in so they can get on us. russia ain't showing all they got right now, they are playing dumb trying to pull us in so china can come in and do the rest of the world. this has got to stop, and the border needs to be closed. i am scared to death. host: let's take a look at what congressman j.d. vance said yesterday on fox news following the president's speech about linking aid to ukraine to israel aid. [video clip] >> right now, america does not need client states but allies, and if europeans are not going

to carry their fair share, they are not real allies and are depending on our generosity. right now, we just cannot afford it, and we cannot support the weapons necessary to fight a two or god forbid a three front conflict if china invades taiwan. we know right now that the artillery shells the israeli state for the operation in gaza, we have sent to the ukrainians, why have we allowed our capacity to get to the point where we don't make enough artillery shells to support our friends and given that reality, why is joe biden going on national television and selling people on the ukrainian going use talking about -- he should not use did israeli

children to do it to so the people on more h2o the war in ukraine, it was disgusting. host: we are taking your call on the house speaker battle that continues to play out. j.d. vance is one of several republican senators who se a letter opposing linking israel and ukraine aid. here is a portion of the letter that went to senat leadership. it is considerable, we give any request based on the breath of responses from members of congress. there is a shared urgency to consider such a request. that being said, we know that e wi no doubt to be efforts to israel and the more aid to ukraine in excess o the $113 billion congress has provided to ukraine, these are

two separate conflicts, and it would be wrong to leverage support of aid to israel in an attempt to get additional aid for ukraine across the finish line. and back to the phones, steve, a republican in anaheim, california, good morning. caller: first time i have called the show, and i am also streaming now, anyway, as far as biden's speech goes, i thought it was disgraceful myself because i think the constant march two war has got to end. it seems to me that all the killing over there in the middle east should be -- the palestinians should be allowed access to the world court instead of having a military option, i think we should have a political option. our constant stopping them from

becoming a state and stop what is going on over there because they live under martial law, -- host: i am confused about what you mean from a stopping them from having a state, can you elaborate? caller: in the united nations and the security council, we always vote against them allowing them to create their own state. the same way we stop them from having access to world court. now, you could have the christian view of how israel says the second coming comes up, or you have the aipac view where israel has its own state and anybody who knows the history of palestine, the palestinians are getting the short end of the stick for 40 years. it is time that we stop trying to kill them and have them have

access to a legitimate way to hear their grievances. that is my opinion on what is going on. host: all right, steve. let's talk to michael, philadelphia, pennsylvania, line free democrats. caller: hello. host: go ahead. caller: how are you doing? yeah, you don't know the strengths, listen, i am a political consultant for the democratic party or used to be. listen, i have been with the democrat party since 2002, and i have been there since kerry edwards. so much stuff going on with people spending money, that's the problem. philadelphia city council, i have been called to city council , and i send letters to biden, the justice department, the officials that i know that i work for, nobody has not done

anything about my complaints. i have brothers who died in 1971 -- host: houses related to the president's speech at the speaker battle? caller: i will get to it. i worked the campaign, the biden campaign when he came to love field and 2020. you don't know the hallow i have been through, dealing with the party, but we still are trying to get them elected. obama talked about me but never used my name. since people want the positions of power, but it is what they do with the power, and i have been telling the governor who worked with them, and the people that i know, and when they reach out to republicans, you know, both sides got entries -- host: michael, i am not really

getting your point, so let's go to john in wisconsin, independent. caller: good, thank you for taking my call. president biden speech last night, one of the things i noticed was when he was bringing up russia, north korea and iran, he seemed to leave out china out of everything. i don't know why he did not include them. and that as the speaker of the house goes, i'm sorry, with what president biden said, we need to come together, and you cannot have a loose partisanship, and i agree, but he needs democratic members and tell them that some of them are going to have to come across the line to vote for

speaker because israel will not get funding, nothing -- host: do you think the democrats should vote for jim jordan? caller: you know what? if they don't, then there as much as fault for not having a speaker and the government not being able to pass any bills. just because you cannot get extreme republicans online does not mean some moderate democrats cannot come across the line. you don't need 100 of them. host: but what about speaker mccarthy vacated from his position because he worked with democrats? to keep the government open? caller: that was just it, that is washington, d.c., politics to the core, so the republicans, they said he was going to do this, and then he passed the short-term spending bill with democratic votes, but then democrats said, he lied to us

about something else and we will not support him either. they have short-term funding in the government, and, to me, the federal government to me, if they will not protect the border and keep the military strong, all the bills they passed, in my mind, will not matter to me very much because i don't receive any government assistance, and this will affect government assistance. host: let's get a couple of meerosts from social media here on x, senator marsha blackbur a republican, "joe biden's ov office address was a week speech that did not spend enough time addressing the thatacing the jewish state. once again, biden failed to hold the ran accountable to freezi 6 billion to iran or pledge to withho a to hamas echo percent of mark gen -- hamas." mark green said the president is providing zero guarantees to

ensure 100 million and a does not get to the hands of hamas. this is extremely responsible here's representative of debbie schulz, who says,proud to follow your lead. this moment demands your experience, compassi a resolve. the u.s. must spatter allies in israel and ukraine and both lines of defense versus tyranny, and hatred, their fight is our fight. i trust joe biden to keep these threats from our shores. let's go to interested, a republican in louisiana -- let's go to tristen, and republican in louisiana. caller: i am proud republican and saw that donald trump said that prime minister benjamin netanyahu commended them for being prepared, and a lot of jews in louisiana --

host: let's go to lee, charleston, south carolina, good morning. caller: good morning. i think the president had a pretty good speech. i don't understand the whole problem was what is going on in the world, but from my point of view, we have people here we have to watch, the north koreans, iranians, russia. we have issues here, people that are living here, they are supporting terrorists, they support dictators, and i just do not understand what is going on with this country. people, the way they have been raised and rot up -- brought up, i just think that we are going to get nowhere.

thank you. host: john in washington, d.c., independent line. caller: good morning, america, c-span listeners. i will make a comment on joe biden's speech last night. so many people are saying that he is flaunting aid to israel and ukraine, aren't we giving money to both of them? by definition, that is giving aid to both, so let's close that. about the speaker situation, i would think, and i know we have moderate republicans will say to this show, i like to appeal for five of them to vote for ms. cheney, and i would like to appeal for the democrats who are listening to the show to put your vote behind those five

moderate republicans and bring ms. cheney and their, that is a neutral individual who would bring a whole bunch of closer to this nonsense going on. my last statement is this, i am sick and tired of -- like einstein said, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. i would appeal to the american people, this time around, let's all vote independent that way we can claim spots and get rid of so-called republicans and democrats out of their and get a neutral party in there so we can start moving the country forward because on the neutral party votes, it will be like the majority. that is what we need in the united states of america. thank you for listening. host: thank you. let's take a look at another portion of the president speech from last night where he outlines his foreign aid proposal. [video clip] president biden: i will send to

congress an urgent budget request to fund america's security needs and to support our parties, including israel and ukraine, it is a smart investment that will pay dividends for american security for generations and help us keep american troops out of harm's way, help us build a world that is more useful for our children and grandchildren. israel can make sure they have what they need to protect the people today and all days. i asking congress for an unprecedented commitment to israel's security that will sharpen israel's qualitative military edge which we committed to, and we will make sure that the skies over israel are guarded, we will make sure other actors in the region know that israel astana than ever and can prevent the conflict from spreading.

at the same time, president netanyahu and i discussed yesterday the critical need for israel to operate by the laws of war. that means protecting civilians in combat as best they can. the people of gaza need medicine. yesterday, discussions with leaders of israel in egypt, i secured an agreement for the first shipment of humanitarian assistance from united nations to palestinian civilians in gaza. hamas will not steal the shipments. we will provide an opening of saving assistance for the palestinians, and as i said in israel, as hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace or on a two-state solution. israel and palestinians equally deserve to live in safety, liberty and peace. [end video clip] host: we are taking your calls until the top of the hour at

8:00 a.m. eastern about the president's speech and the house speaker battle, but i wanted to show you on the screen what the breakdownf the request from th president to congress is. it is 105 billion, and ts is reported by the associated press. there has no been an officl white house announcement yet, but it is expected sometime today. six 2 billion for ukraine, 14 billion for israel, 10 million for unspecified humanitarian effort, 14 billion for managing the u.s.-mexican border and fighting fentanyl trafficking, and then 7 billion for the indo pacific region, including 8:10 want -- aid to taiwan. let's go to the republican line in aurora, indiana, robert, good morning. caller: yes ma'am.

unless these people call in, biden did not write that speech, when does he get time? he is sleeping on the time. i i'm telling you, if people do not realize, we are coming to a one world government, they tried to get rid of god, they have already gotten rid of god in this country, nobody believes in the bible. you will see that all that is left of happening is coming too, and christ did not die on that cross for us to be the idiots that we are. he died because he loved us, and until we get back that we love this country and we love each other and work together, the democrats and republicans -- trump, i don't know why he is running because he has taken so much prep, all the time that he has run for president and has still not been indicted on anything. he has never been proven that he is guilty of anything.

you people wake up. host: kevin and virginia, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. supporting biden on his speech, i think it is a very good speech. it seems like republicans have forgotten that american leaderships in the world, when it is well played, it is vital to democracies across the world. republicans knew this. i don't recognize the republican party anymore. you can see tyrants across the world and they think this is a great way for us to do it. and talking about president biden's speech from the last caller, he could have written that in his sleep.

he has done it his entire career. host: let's look at what mitch mcconnell said about aid to israel and ukraine. [video clip] >> people of israel have a right to defend themselves in the u.s. has an interest of our allies in the middle east, rooting out terrorists like hamas. ukraine is a right to sovereignty in the united states has an interest in europe, our largest trading partner and strongest ally, not facing [indiscernible] taiwan and other democracies have a right to self-determination in the u.s. has an interest in helping asian partners stand up to chinese aggression. we need to remember, america is a superpower. our interests are global, i was

global interests, global responsibilities. our allowances matter. our credibility matters. our friends on the front line do not have the opportunity and america cannot afford to do it either. in the coming days, it will be the senate's responsibility to take decisive action with maximum support behind israel's self-defense, and help one deter -- taiwan deter growing threats. the prosperity in america they have known for a better part of a century is the direct product of our leadership, preserving it means standing with our friends and investing in our own strengths.

host: that is senator mcconnell. there is another story that one to make sure you are aware of, and it is the u.s. military shoots down missiles and drones as it faces growing threats and volatile middle east. tensions spiking in the middle east, forces are facing increasing threats as a navy warship shot down missiles, appearing to head toward israel on thursday and american bases in iraq and syria were repeatedly targeted by drone attack, and u.s. officials said there had been a rocket attack early friday morning on u.s. coalition forces at a diplomatic support center near the baghdad national airport. initial assessments indicated that it was intercepted by a counter rocket system and a storage facility. let's look at what the pentagon press secretary said about those. [video clip] >> this action was a

demonstration of the integrated air and missile defense architecture that we built in the middle east and that we are prepared to utilize whenever necessary to protect our partners and our interests in this important region. there were no casualties to u.s. forces and none that we know of to any civilians on the ground. information about these engagements is still being processed and cannot say for certain what these missiles and drones were targeting, but they were launched from yemen heading north from the red sea towards potential targets in israel. our defensive responses when we would have taken for any similar threat in the region. this maybe ongoing, so if you have any information to share, we will. [end video clip] host: we will go back to the phones, monty is calling, phoenix, arizona, independent. good morning. caller: good morning. what i would like to say is that our american military, can you

imagine if they were not getting paid and worried about their families being taken care of at home? the other thing is, congress is shut down, so all of this stuff that president biden is going to send over is not going anywhere. they made a big mistake. of course, they did not get exactly what they wanted. now they have no chance to do any kind of saving money for the american people at all. host: how do you think that situation should be resolved in the house? caller: well, there are really only two ways to do it. they can either vote in a speaker or give mchenry power. that is really the only way it can happen right now. host: is there somebody you would like to see a speaker? caller: i would like to see them bring mccarthy back because he

got the job done. he just got through a cr, so if they could go back and do trimming in the budget and stuff that needs to be done, america better wake up, especially the democrats because you are going to have to cut spending, even if it is on the discretionary side because we cannot sustain this continuing to borrow money and that type of thing. srs israel, or ukraine are concerned, yes, we need to support both of those efforts. i think congress really ought to have a hard look at bidens package because he has unspecified humanitarian care and there, what is that for? twos pocket is that going to go into? and the people -- whose pocket is not going to go into? and the people of ukraine, in my

mind, they were like how we were in the 1700 with our fight for freedom. we need to stay with our commitment there support them. host: let's go to the republican line in brown's field, texas. hi, arnold. caller: hello, good morning. i would like to say that it is pretty clear that it was passed biden's bedtime last night. 15 minute little speech there, and he ought to be in jail from all the fentanyl coming across the border that has killed many american people. i think the republicans ought to shut the house down, go on a six-week recess, -- host: let the government shutdown?

that would take us past a november 17 deadline. caller: that's right, let it shut down. host: democrat line, kennesaw, georgia, ivan. caller: good morning, how are you? host: good. caller: i hope that you would allow me to speak on three things. the first one, trump is a narcissist, and i, for the life of me, cannot understand how a two time impeach president -- host: can we stick to the two issues, the house speaker bottle and the president speech? caller: i am going to get there, he is no longer the president, how can he have that much power over the republican party to dictate to them what to do? i don't understand that. it is crazy.

host: you are talking about his support for jim jordan? caller: no because he was a part of the capitol thing, no, no, he should not be. i just do not understand, i am sitting back watching c-span, cnn, all of this and say to the republican party, are you happy and getting what you wanted? are you enjoying the show? because they said they know how to run it, look how they are running it. the one that is going on over there in ukraine, israel, and all the money you just spoke about them spending over there, yet they still cannot pass the hr party bill for reclamation for my people who have been enslaved in this country? it is bs. i am no longer a democrat and was never republican. i am voting independent and i

advise all my black brothers and sisters so stop getting their votes to these presidents. host: let's talk to ben next in woodstock, connecticut, independent. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. this money that they want to send over is another slice fund for the democrats and some republicans to buffer their political urns. and i have a question for everybody, the only country since world war ii who has invaded another country, think about it and then tell me where you are. host: samuel is next, republican, south pasadena, california. caller: good morning. thank you for having me. i listened to the speech last night. it was so weak, 18 minutes?

what kind of a president is this? i don't even think he is running this country. whoever is in the white house giving him that information, they are running this country. when he goes out to talk to the press, why does he need the teleprompter? what is wrong with him? we are going to get into world war iii, we are in a lot of trouble. we don't even have a house speaker and they cannot vote anybody in. i don't know what is going on but we are in trouble. i worry that if the president passes away, god forbid, you know what will happen? mainstream media will say, he was sick at the time i did not know what he was talking about. he knows what he was talking about. host: i have a question about the substance of the speech. did you think of the substance? do you support america supporting israel and ukraine? caller: yeah, i do, but he is asking too much money, when he gives the money over there to

the people over in israel and the palestine, the terrorists are going to take that money. they cannot even take those supplies into egypt now and when biden said they made a deal with egypt, they don't like joe biden. they know how weak he is on account of what happened in afghanistan. that is all i have to say. i feel sorry for the president and country because when trump was in office, nobody attack nobody, thank you. host: go to concord, north carolina, democrats, robbie. caller: good morning. i have a statement. first of all, i think the republicans need to realize the way we have gotten government done over the years is that we have the far left and far right, and we come to the middle, and they don't think we should have to work with democrats at all, and the true republicans need to stand up to matt gaetz and his

band of disruptors and let them know that they are not in charge, and that to the republican party over jordan, they need to realize that albert einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and inspecting -- and expecting a different result. that is all i had to say today but i appreciate you all being here. host: jackie is next, florida, independent. caller: hello. how are you? i just want to give my opinion. i do like with the president said, but i want to know why one country is getting more than the other and why can't we just give an equal amount of money to each country that is in need of aid? we have a lot of things going on in this world and i feel like if each country gets the same

amount of money and eight, nobody will be [indiscernible] there are 435 u.s. congress members, so if you divide that by two, it is 217 votes, and power is money, and for the ones who do not want to vote, i think that will make everything a little bit easier for everyone and resolve our issues in the house. host: ok. lester, houston, texas, republican. caller: hello. the last caller said that power is money, i think other people need to learn about that, especially when it comes to voting. i served in the military. i concern is how this will affect oil costs. host: let's go to jeannie north carolina, democrat. caller: i think the democrats

missed an opportunity with kevin mccarthy. i know they are hoping to get something out of the deal and they want their house bill to be introduced but they are forgetting that 2024 is around the corner and there was an opportunity to make a play for the next election. to isolate ultra ma members and make themga -- maga members and make them powerless, and they could have pulled an independents 2024 and given us back the house. at this point, it is on the republicans to make that deal with the democrats. of course, they are worried about losing their base, so i concerned about november 17 and having to mess up, and they have to realize that their party is broken and they need to come to democrats with a deal. as far as the aid goes, i am not sure what everyone thinks the alternative was with ukraine, allowing putin, a dictator and aggressor, to take ukraine with an open invitation for china to invade taiwan. i think depression should be put

on our allies, europe, to increase their support, but if china sees russia's detrimental economic and political effects, it will make them think twice before they would go into taiwan because china does enjoy and they mourned to be that core member of the global society, and to decimate their economy is not a good plan. host: let's go to mary, washington, independent line. caller: good morning. i just wanted to say i am so tired of people saying or thinking they know what the president is going through. yes, he is an older man, and they talk like they know what he is doing, he is reading the prompters, he is doing this. at least we are not a

laughingstock like we were when we had the last president. if you even want to call in the president -- call him a president. i know that will anger a lot of people at home, but the caller who said they were christian, why don't they just pray for our country to come together? i don't ever hear anybody talk about that. i really do not want jordan in there because i think he is one of trump's puppets, and i don't have a lot of good things to say, but i feel like president biden, and maybe he is older, but the thing is, until you walk one mile in his shoes, you don't know what he is feeling. god bless you all, happy holidays. host: let's go to pennsylvania, gary, republican line. caller: good morning.

i have a question may be of the callers can answer, i understand the need to help other countries. however, with all this money that we give, shouldn't it be a loan with some kind of payback principles and interest? host: payback principles and interest? host: willie, democrat line. caller: some callers are calling in, i do not think they understand the your church. some think we just need to go to the fed and send a bunch of money to these countries. that is not the factor. what we are doing now -- good morning. people think we are sending money. we are not sending money to

these countries. we are sending equipment that might add up to money. they need to understand that politics goes into this. for the caller who called in and said joe biden should have went to sleep and do not use the teleprompter, every president who goes up there uses the teleprompter. to have joe biden who was more adept and understanding of foreign domestic -- foreign countries around the world. the republican party is in disarray. they are in disarray because they do not understand the part of running this country. they thought they had the majority and went four to 17 -- went for 217. thank you for taking my call. host: representative jim jordan

is expected to come to the podium soon to give a press conference and let us know what his plans are. we are watching this and will bring this to you when he approaches the podium. in the meantime, we will talk lon in arizona. independent. good morning. caller: i am concerned about the israel conflict. i do not think people understand that america should not be the world police. we should not send funds to israel. they can't handle their own issues -- they can handle their own issues. i do not think we should be involved in that conflict and i do not think we should be involved in the ukraine conflict

either. i do have major issues with the president, who is more concerned with the borders of other countries, and not our country. it is very concerning. host: all right. sorry, thought you were done. cj, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. just a thought project for the listeners out there. i am a democrat and i have never voted for a of the can, except maybe john mccain in primary, in my food -- my 40 years of voting. wouldn't it be nice at this point for a responsible x

republican -- ex-republican? i will name a few. someone like john kasich. even chris christie, someone who is still in the game, so to speak. their only crime was they were anti-trump. but they were certainly mainstream republicans. i will throw in a sick hatchet's and -- in asa hutchinson. the guy seems like a civilized human being. i don't like his politics but let the republicans take out a group of people to play out until january 21 to be a temporary speaker of the house. the democrats can trust those people because they are institutionalists. it would call out the republicans for being the literal bomb throwers that they

are. then we could get what we need to for the next -- could get done what we need to for the next 30 days. they are not a voting seat so nobody wins and nobody loses. the number stays the same. let the republicans think about, who is a reasonable person? host: jim jordan is approaching the podium now. we will take you live. >> i got a call from some friends. they asked if we were free to go to dinner with them. they said, sure. they said, if we are going to go to dinner, we are going to tour their home. i said, let's learn about these two americans. we went there. i gave the lady at the door five dollars for the historical society.

you go inside and learn about the wright brothers. you learn about the bicycle shop and gadgets and gizmos. the last stop on the tour is o rville wright's bedroom. they tell you something about the particular right other and then close the tour by showing you two pictures. the first is a picture in 19 oh three in city hot, north carolina with a thing you call a plane. the first body you see, you think, how did that get off the round? the truth is it barely dead. it got about 100 feet off the ground. then you see the picture they showed you in school and you think, that is amazing. they put that picture down and then hold of a second picture. 44 years later, chuck breaking

the sound barrier in a jet. i was like, wow, that i did not know. that is amazing. and then 44 years later, in other american breaking the sound barrier in a jet. they put that picture down and polly and i start walking out. as they are walking out the door, i think, why did they stop there? i represent ohio, a hometown of neil armstrong. 22 years after chuck yeager breaks the sound barrier, he stepped on the moon. in 66 years, one lifetime, we went from two guys flying 108 two putting a man on the mode. it is a great country. the greatest in my judgment, made up of great. those people, i think, are starting to doubt and wonder

about our government and where their nation is headed. they see an open border and gas prices increased. they see our strongest ally israel and what is happening there and the help israel needs. they see a government that has been weaponized against, the. i think the american people are thirsty for change. they think they are hungry for leadership. frankly, they know the white house cannot provide it. they know the senate will not lead. they are looking for house republicans to step up and make change on these important issues. we have important work today. we need to help israel. we need to get the appropriations process moving so the key elements of our governments are funded and funded in the right way,

particularly our military. we need to get back to the oversight work i think is important. we need to do what we said we were going to do. we need to do what we told them we were going to do when they elected us. we cannot do that if the house is not open. we cannot open the house until we get a speaker. my save -- my favorite scripture verse is 2 timothy 7. paul is given advice by timothy. he says "fight the good fight, keep the faith." americans are not timid folks, they are people of action. this fits the american spirit. americans expect their government to fight for them, they expect us to finish our work, and they expect us to keep

faith with principles and values that made us the greatest nation ever. made as the nation that could go from the wright brothers to -- made us the nation that could go from the wright brothers to neil armstrong. the quickest thing is to get a speaker elected. that is why hope we can do today. i will take your questions. >> lay out your path. will you just call vote after vote today, tomorrow, and the weekend and try to --? host: we will leave the press conference now but you can watch the whole event on c-span.org. we will go to our next segment. laurin-whitney gottbrath joins us, world editor from axios. and joyce karam is the senior editor for al-monitor. welcome to both of you. let's start about the situation

right now. i want to ask you about casa. guest: great to be with you. it is a devastating situation. the numbers coming from gaza and -- from gaza indicate at least 4000 are dead. the wounded is above 12,000. the hospitals -- the united nations said they have 24 hours before running out of fuel. we are looking at a very dire situation and unprecedented catastrophe in casa. the israeli airstrikes have identified and are hitting harder & gaza. -- harder inside gaza. the trucks at the border of egypt are still waiting. host: they were supposed to start moving this morning, local time. guest: they have moved but not entered. now, i have spoken to people on

the ground and the expectation is they will start moving tomorrow morning. guest 2: the british prime minister, rishi sunak, is in israel. this says israel's netanyahu warns of a long war. what are the implications and what are people saying about how long this could be? guest 2: in terms of the implications more locally, it undoubtedly would be much much higher death tolls, particularly in gaza, but also among the israeli military. i think that is part of the reason netanyahu continues to warn the public about how long this war could be. part of the reason we do not know exactly how long it will be -- we know it will likely be quite long. we know hamas has extensive

tunnel systems and other systems in place that the israeli military have said it is their goal to destroy. urban warfare is never easy. we also do not know what the is a raley's -- what the israeli's endgame is. we know they want to destroy and dismantle hamas, but we do not know what they plan to do if they achieve this goal in the way they are hoping to. they said they have no desire to "reoccupy gaza," but they have not made it clear to what an exit strategy would look like. that is one thing that made it very concerning to people watching this closely and to biden administration officials and european officials too. the longer this goes on, the heightened chance it could turn

into a much more regional conflict. that is something officials around the world are trying to prevent. host: we are seeing satellite images of troops and armored vehicles amassing on the border with gaza. it is a really jet -- israeli generals have been saying they are preparing to send troops inside soon. what do we know about israel's plans for a ground war? guest 2: the israeli defense minister today spoke more about attentional grounds offense. he describes it as a three-phase war which is obviously airstrikes and getting into gaza . we know they will likely focus a lot of efforts on gaza city. they very much want to destroy what they say is hamas infrastructure.

this includes really extensive tunnels. but we also know hamas is preparing for this ground invasion. in terms of when it will happen, that is a big question that a lot of people have. obviously, we got more signs it could soon, with some comments from israeli officials. we also saw that israel started evacuating a town that is very close to lebanese orders. this could be another indication that they are preparing for something quite soon. at the end of the day, we know the ground invasion is coming. when it comes is a big question mark. it will likely cause the death toll to continue to rise as this war progresses. host: let's talk about the organization hamas itself. what are its resources? i think the extent of their

weapons surprised the world and israel. how difficult would it be to dismantle the group completely? guest: hamas is entrenched in gaza. hamas came to the scene in the early 1980's. it is part of the muslim brotherhood ideologically. they rely on charity and outside funding. they have huge resources on the ground as far as services for people, whether it is hospitals or schools. militarily, a lot of the weapons they used in the october 7 massacre in israel or home produced -- in israel were home produced. you are looking at things they would produce in their tunnels and hikers together.

the other support is coming from iran but that has been limited since the blockade in 2007 on gaza after israel left. they are very resourceful as far as producing weapons in-house. host: and also getting materials to produce those weapons, given the blockade. guest: they have been getting them through tunnels and from egypt and through the sea. we have seen reports some have come through that. overall, they have remained creative. they are powerful inside gaza. we have seen, so far, four incursions from israel into gaza . hamas has only gotten stronger.

there are a lot of questions now about whether this can be different. it is a big question mark. as far as hamas is entrenched in gaza, whether it is public support, or even for humanitarian aid to come in. we heard from the white house that they are communicating indirectly with hamas to let the humanitarian aid in. this is their place and their torn tory -- and to their territory. they will fight tooth and nail. this is shaping up to be an ugly and long and difficult war. host: i will invite our viewers to ask a question. to laurin-whitney gottbrath of axios or joyce karam of al-monitor. give us a call. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000.

independents, (202) 748-8002. joyce, if someone has not heard of al-monitor, can you tell us what it is? guest: we are an american website focused on the middle east. we have many sources including three in the gaza strip. we have lost touch with one of them. we are waiting to see if he has made the evacuation. the other two made it from north to south gaza and we are in touch with them. please check our work at al-monitor.com. host: it is a very small area. where are people supposed to evacuate you? -- evacuate to? guest 2: that is a good question.

in israel gave the order, it was to evacuate from northern gaza. there is a line and people are supposed to evacuate to the southern part of gaza. it is an incredibly small area and so densely populated. you have more than 2.2 million or 2.3 million people packed into this small area and there is not a lot of leases to go. on top of that, continue to see israel to airstrikes and air raids to the southern parts of gaza where they told people to evacuate. we are hearing reports over the last few days that people did evacuate our finding nowhere to go, so they are moving back up north. at the end of the day, they are unable to escape the strikes happening now, whether in the north or south. that is a big worry, obviously for palestinians but also

countries in the region. we should remind viewers that palestinians cannot leave. it is not just a that cannot get in, but they also are not allowed to leave. it has always been hard to leave gaza, regardless if there is a war. that is an important aspect. it is another reason why humanitarian crises like this are so dire. it was already dire. and now, in terms of what you and and local hospital staff are saying, it has moved onto dyer. -- dire. host: what have other arab countries said? egypt, jordan. not only supporting palestinians but allowing them to come into their country. guest: the area is very toxic. we have seen an influx of arab

refugees throughout the conflict since 1948. jordan and egypt made clear they do not want refugees because they do not know if they would return. they do not want another turkey situation with 4 million -- another turkiye situation with 4 million refugees. they do not want camps to become radicalized over time. this is a very sensitive subject for everyone. not just to the west, but mostly egypt, because this is the only passage for gazans to leave. this is part of an negotiation. how much egypt can take. what are the terms? any guarantees they would come back. in the history of the arab israeli conflict, they don't come back. we should be clear with our

viewers that they do not combat. the 800,000 that left after 1948 are still gone. this is a very big issue. and one that jordan and egypt have drawn a redline on. they do not want refugees. they do not take refugees. host: the president talked last night about palestinians. i want to play a short clip and then get your reaction. pres. biden: i also spoke with the palestinian authority and reiterated the u.s. remains committed to the palestinian people's right to dignity and self-determination. the actions of hamas to not take this right away. like so many others, i am heartbroken by the tragic loss of palestinian life, including an explosion at hospital in gaza

, which was not done by the israelis. we mourn every loss of life and cannot ignore the palestinians who only want peace and to have an opportunity. host: your response to that and the entire speech. guest 2: it was clear what president biden was trying to do. he was trying to make a case that the u.s. needs to continue supporting both ukraine but also israel. that is not just a matter of world stability, but also, in his view, a matter of national security. in doing that, he is hoping there will be more pressure on congress to get this aid package we are expecting the president to request as soon as congress starts functioning again. in terms of the palestinian elements, i spoke to several palestinians.

both palestinian-americans and also palestinians in the occupied west bank. they pointed something out to me. when he was talking about palestinians, he did not ever use the word freedom. he did use the word freedom at the end of his speech in a grandiose way. for them, that was a huge disappointment. at the end of the day, israel is the occupying power of the palestinian territory. that is one thing palestinians are continuing to call for. while determination sounds great, it is not necessarily -- while self-determination sounds great, it is not necessarily a quick thing to freedom. people want the president to express more in terms of not just the suffering palestinians in gaza are experiencing at the moment, but also the decades long occupation that has

happened. and the fact that the peace process gone away. at the end of the day, people are happy that you mentioned palestinians. it was not something we saw in a previous speech. but they also are disappointed, particularly palestinian-americans, at the american government approach to the war. host: what do we know about the popularity of pub boss among palestinians before october 7 and after? guest: we do not know much after october 7 because there is not a lot of resources on the ground. but before october 7, hamas was a popular movement. when you look at the west bank as a president that is 87 years old and has not called for another election in over 10 years and that --

host: but hamas has also not called for reelection since they were brought in. guest: but hamas has used the criticism of that and the disenchantment of the palestinians to say that we will represent you better. we started to see, before october 7, crews up in the west bank that were more aligned with hamas. the entire dynamic was being explosive. with people we speak to on the ground when there is a war, they tend to be against israel and leaned more on hamas, because they see this as the power that can defend them. this is a situation we get into. the same with the 2006 war in lebanon and israel -- in lebanon

when israel hits hezbollah. the goal is still unclear if the operation succeeds to uproot hamas from gaza. maybe the authority can go back and establish its power in gaza. as far as the situation, hamas is a popular movement in the gaza strip. host: jimmy on the line for democrats. maine. caller: we can really not accept. we never saw it coming. now, you are presenting this supposedly determinative evidence that a stray rocket from a military group did a hospital bombing. and neither of these assertions is really believable, while we

are still attempting critical thought. host: all right. what do you think? what do we know about the hospital explosion? guest 2: we do not know a whole lot more than we knew when it happened. the palestinian militants continue -- and palestinians in gaza continue to blame israel. israel continues to blame islamic jihad. israel has prevent -- has presented what it says is evidence of the fact this was a failed rocket. some evidence has already been debunked. we know israel has a history of immediately denying something, and then as independent investigations, normally by news organizations, move forward that they have to walk back or change their narrative. but that does not necessarily

mean that islamic jihad's account is incredibly believable. but you have to remember, just like palestinians in gaza cannot get out, there are a number of journalists there that are doing an amazing job. others cannot get in. not just journalists but also investigators. it is hard to discern what happens with the hospital bombing, but it will continue to be a blame game. we know that is something that is sadly a normal thing in this conflict and the broad scale. host: tom, republican. caller: good morning. this is not a republican or democrat issue. i have been in counterterrorism for 30 years and have studied israel and islamic jihad.

i know their capabilities, but none of this is relevant because with hamas -- it is of horned to anyone -- is abhorrent to me that anyone would put dust ification for what they did. let's put this into perspective. they went in the morning, pulled little kids out of their beds in day cares, and topped their heads off. they hide behind kids and women. all of the adults in gaza knew this attack was going to come and no one calls the israelis and told them they were coming to kill their children. they specifically went to their children. these are murderers.

they know where all the titles are and that is why they are blowing up buildings in gaza, because they hide their tunnels in schools, hospitals, and day cares. i get that they are angry but it does not excuse the butchering these people conducted against an incentive in israel. -- against innocent people in israel. guest: i agree with tom. i am not justifying going into civilian houses in broad daylight and massacring people. the images we saw our horrific. i have friends over there. it is horrific, the devastation is horrific. but what do we do next? what is the day after? what is the plan? is a collective punishment on the gaza strip and a siege and

blockage of water and fuel the answer? i am not entirely sure. and looking at the history, prime minister netanyahu is known to have the concept of strengthening hamas to weaken the palestinian authority and weaken the moderate palestinian side. host: in what way? guest: in allowing, for example, money to come to hamas. after israel left in 2005, it was clear who was going to take control of the gaza strip. while there was a blockade in place, money kept flowing into hamas. the netanyahu concept was, if i am against the agreement of the 1990's and against the negotiations, then i do not need

a palestinian partner. and with hamas. there is a lot of questions and stakes that got us here. but absolutely, what tom is saying is the massacre of october 7 is horrific. host: laurin-whitney gottbrath, your response. guest 2: i agree with joyce, as well. in terms of -- i cannot speak on behalf of palestinians, obviously. but in terms of palestinians i have spoken to, they have also expressed dismay over the violence that was witnessed on october 7. at the same time, they want the world to know that you cannot necessarily separate october 7 from the entire history of this

conflict before october 7. for a lot of palestinians, of course, -- a lot of palestinians i have spoken to have condemned what hamas did. but they want the world to know that when it comes to the war and conflict, it does not start on october 7. this has been decades long war. there has been great suffering on both sides. they expressed, over and over again, that until the occupation ends, until there is a palestinian state -- what that looks like, a big question mark -- but there were always be big threats like this -- there will always be big threats like this. the blockade devastated their

economy and young people do not have jobs and did not have jobs. we know that not just in gaza, but around the world, those folks are prime for radicalization and joining groups are giving them something. it does not excuse what happened on october 7, particularly the violence against civilians and young children. but palestinians want the world to know that at the end of the day, what happened on october 7 is horrific in so many ways. they also say what happened to palestinian people over the last 75 years -- over the last 56 years of occupation, has been incredibly horrific. it may have been on a slower and often a smaller scale, but if you put it together, it is a much bigger scale than the

horrific images we saw in israel on october 7. host: earl on the independent line in florida. caller: good morning, good morning. you know what amazes me? i have been listening to this program for years. most of the people who give their calls are -- their comments are very ignorant of the fact there is religious freedom. the israelis believe the territories should be jewish. the muslims believe the territory should be muslim. so people do not even know about this. i remember during christmas the leader of israel went into the church and surrounded it and they would not let him leave. so you find all this confusion.

i would tell these people, if god was behind them returning to that territory, they were not lead -- would not be the military of the u.s. to provide them. these bumper sticker christians continue to watch as these people are slaughtered, and then want to pray for them and pray for them. act in harmony with your prayer. you can pray until the sun turns green but it would not work. host: all right. the religious aspect and the plight of palestinian christians. guest: i am not sure. particularly, in the last year, we have seen more attacks on christians. whether it is in jerusalem. there was an attack of a jewish

extremist spitting on christians in jerusalem. this is a complex concept and religion plays a part of it. hamas is an islamic movement. the government we have now in israel has far right religious cabinet members that do not even believe the palestinian people's culture exists. so there are many components that play into this. i was just reading this morning that there was a strike yesterday that hit an orthodox church in gaza. this is not a good time for any religious minority in the region, and definitely for palestinian christians in the holy land. host: let's talk to jill, a

democrat, in columbus, ohio. caller: i am really concerned about the hostages that hamas has taken. i worry about them livestreaming their executions and torture. i know that israel cut off water and a because they just want the hostages back and safe. do you know what the status of that is? because they have a nine month old baby and small children. i think it will make tempers flare even worse. host: go ahead. guest 2: in terms of the hostages, we don't have a life information. we did start to see some of the first images hamas release of israelis who have been taken over the last week. in terms of what we know and as

to exactly where they are, hamas early on puts hostages in some of these tunnels. in terms of what their status is, at the moment, there is not a lot of information publicly from the government and biden administration. we know there is a number of americans also being held hostage. i think the caller was right. this is a huge concern and is also an incredibly driving factor, not just for israel in terms of their next move. they are also calculating how they might be able to get hostages out. but also for western governments. that's is another reason why you are seeing ironclad support for israel. this is really an unprecedented

situation when it comes to this,, where you have a high number of hostages being held by hamas. we have seen wars started after some is a really soldiers were -- some israeli soldiers were taken. we do not have a lot information at the moment as to their status. serious devotions are underway to get hostages out. host: do we know what hamas has asked for? have they made any demands? guest 2: stopping this defensive is one big thing and not during the ground invasion. but hamas also wants to end the occupation. there is a number of things hamas wants.

in terms of what might be the thing that gets them to release some of the hostages, if not all of them, is a big? as to what would be a serious thing or something the israelis could give for hamas to do that. at the end of the day, the hostage crisis is a big one. we do know that americans have teams there. the israelis are also trying hard to determine where a lot of the hostages are. when we see this ground offensive, i would not be surprised if -- we know this is also a goal of israel to rescue folks who are in this really horrible situation. host: ok, your comments on the hostages. guest: we know that turkiye is

meeting in a back channel with hamas for a prisoner swap. hamas wants a palestinian woman and other prisoners that are jailed in israel, and in return to release civilian children and a woman they have from the october 7 massacre. i agree with laurin that's it has not progressed enough, but that is the equation we are looking at right now. israel said yesterday there are 203 hostages with hamas. that is higher than the number given early on which was 190. host: in virginia, republican. good morning. caller: good morning.

god bless c-span. thank you for everything you do. i do not think we need to reiterate how atrocious the attacks were on israel. what is the responsibility of the civilians and the country housing these entities in terms of terrorists and the response at this point? if there was a terrorist in the u.s. that was operating in the country and rating canada or mexico, taking civilians captive, but cooperating with other governments, and then produce the terrorist in the end, they should be tried according to their crimes. the palestinians are not doing that. how complicit are they at this point? do they deserve to die? no. are they risking this as the result of helping terrorists? i would say that yes, this seems

very reasonable and appropriate. i have heard your guests several times acknowledged how horrific these atrocities for -- these atrocities were. the next word after that is always "but." there should never be a but. i encourage all listeners to question those who acknowledge these and then say "but." how can anything justify what transpired? guest: the problem we have in the situation between the palestinians and israelis is there is no palestinian state. the palestinian authority is barely surviving and does not have a military. it's institutions are weak. the territory has been under occupation since 1967.

this is what we have to deal with. it is an unprecedented situation where a massacre on this deal has been done by a nonstate actor. we do not have an international mechanism to deal with it. the regional countries do not want to go in. i cannot see egypt going that they will -- egypt saying they will go in and take over gaza. no. i know our caller will not appreciate me saying but, but there are 2 million civilians stuck in there. this is a question for everyone. what do we do about this? there has to be protective measures and humanitarian measures in place before embarking on this operation. host: a quick comment on that? guest 2: i completely agree with joyce. in terms of, not just regional

governments, but you have to remember hamas is the governing -- the political wing of hamas is the governing power of gaza. while hamas has different wings, the militant wing and armed wing is the one that carried out october 7. at the end of the day, they are hamas. you definitely will not see palestinians in casa, or hamas, the government, inviting israel in because they are also hamas. at the end of the day, there is a charter. that is one thing in terms of answering the caller's question that folks have to keep in mind. they are the ruling power and there is a lot of support for hamas. palestinians view hamas in a different way than a lot of other countries.

i think joyce puts it really well earlier. hamas gained popularity, particularly in these wars, because palestinians saw they were defending them. that is not an excuse for october 7 but it is important to get into the mindset of palestinians in gaza and around the world as to what hamas is. again, like i said, a lot of palestinians have condemned what happens on to verse seven and that is important to keep in mind as well. host: california, independent line, kim. caller: hello. i am calling. i am pro-palestinian. i want to say, first of all, an earlier republican said

terrorists are not murderers. terrorists are murderers, first off. but asking a civilian in palestine to rise up against hamas would be like creating a civil war. one of the things the occupation has done is they fight for food every day, they fight for electricity, they fight for gas to keep their home -- to heat their homes. the occupation has devastated them economically so they are fighting for survival every day. unlike america, every civilian is not weaponized. they do not have a fighting army to even call upon. they barely have police. hamas is there army. yes, i would never condone killing babies on any side. but when we talk about the 300 -- let's take for granted the hamas's bomb ended up in the

hospital. that is 300. let's talk about the 4000 in gaza that have already died. innocent civilians, 90% of them, women and children. let's say it is only 2000. why isn't the world as outraged about them as they are the 300 hamas killed? and let's say that is true. we do not even know the truth because the u.n. is not in there and they are not able to operate. but i am so scared for the palestinian people. this is a fight that has reached my heart for the last 30 years of my life. all i can say is viva palestina. host: she mentioned world rage reaction. what have we seen on that front?

guest 2: a lot of protests erupted after the hospital bombing. we continue to see protests since then. i also noticed, in terms of world leaders, we are seeing a number of world leaders -- particularly in the region, but also we saw the u.n. call for a cease-fire. this was a word, at least in the u.s., was not being used early in the war. the escalation and those types of things. the worse the humanitarian crisis gets, the more pressure there is on israel to do something to relieve that. at the end of the day, israel is in control of gaza's border, the airspace, and to be sea. with the much more intense seeds

they put on at the beginning of the war, that has made it even more -- like a lot of viewers said, israel controls the water and fuel going into gaza. which would be the reason why gaza would have electricity, at least from is one coal power plant. i think all of these things continue to build as images continue to come out of gaza. there will be more and more world leaders and folks around the world, but particularly in the region continue to put pressure on israel to either allow more humanitarian aid in or turn on the water for a longer period of time. host: sorry to interrupt. on the other side of this, how many other countries besides the u.s. have pledged support to

israel and also humanitarian aid to the palestinians? guest 2: in terms of support to israel, dozens. the west in particular has really stood a hind israel in many ways. a number of countries are pledging support or aid to the palestinians. president biden, during his trip to israel, announced $100 million in aid for the palestinians. obviously, a lot of regional governments are also pledging aid and funding in hopes that the aide can get into gaza. that is another huge question, obviously. but hopefully this will happen in the next 24 to 48 hours. at the end of the day, the longer this goes on, the more pressure there will likely be on israel to potentially either

reassess its operation, or at the very least, continue to allow aid once it -- to get into gaza. host: new york city, democrat line. caller: i have a couple quick actual question -- actual questions for your guest. the hostages are safe and being protected. they are more in danger from the israelis who want to sacrifice them. i want to ask, is an idf general a sacrifice or hostage? of the people that are dead, that never seems to change. of the 1400, how many might be that hamas fighters? i saw idf forces, special forces, in bala clubbers --

balaclavas. of the 50 dead u.s. citizens, how many are dual citizenship soldiers who died fighting for the idf? i think that is being covered up. this is a massive military failure and the idf and israel wants to paint it as a civilian nasa curve. at the festival, i did not see more than 100 around. they are claiming the hospital was caused by someone who could not shoot straight. they have set allies who know exactly where that came from. they are fiddling around because they do not want to say it because israel would be so guilty of a war crime that they could not justify what they are doing. host: go ahead. guest: lets me start with two and three.

in terms of the death count in israel, it stands around 1400 at the moment. we know this includes soldiers. the israeli government has not been incredibly clear as to how many children. this includes how many women and civilians. we know about how many soldiers there are. and we know high numbers of civilians were killed in israel. there has been no indication that this number includes hamas fighters. in terms of the hostages, we do not know a lot about their status and how they are being treated. i do think hamas particularly treats the is a they took

hostage -- the israeli soldiers they took hostage as part of a military operation. i am not sure whether i can answer or not whether all the hostages would be considered prisoners of war. there are civilians involved who would not have been involved in any sort of war whatsoever. this question is a little difficult to answer. you will see both sides viewing it differently. i just want to stress that we do not really know exactly how the hostage is our. -- the hostages are being treated. can you remind me of the fourth question? host: that is ok. we are running out of time. gordon. caller: a few callers already asked the same question or stated the point i would make.

the adult palestinians that you want to call civilians, how many of them were already working in israel when this attack happened ? like the one man stated, someone has to know what hamas is doing in this area in gaza. digging tunnels, bringing supplies down into whatever basement, of a school or a hospital, what did they think they work for? air raid shelters? i don't think so. nobody that even worked in israel said anything like hamas is building multiple titles here and there in civilian -- multiple tunnels here and there in civilian places because they hide behind civilians. and why does gaza need an army or police force when they elected a terrorist group? i don't understand that one.

guest: these are good questions. when hamas came to power, they were elected in 2007. it was an election that many in the west. the palestinian authority would win but it -- the west thought the palestinian authority would win but it did not. to your point, yes, many gazans and palestinians work in israel. some have actually helped build the wall that is a detriment to the palestinian state. that is true. the problem for these civilians on the inside is they do not have a choice now. they are trapped. many would like to go out. they do not know where to go. they cannot go to israel.

the crossing is still closed. they cannot go to egypt. that's is closed. the sea is blocked by israel. where do they go? in wars like this, safe zones are created for humanitarian measures. get civilians out and do your thing. the problem is they do not have this option so we are looking at a long, ugly, and war were casualties will be in the thousands. host: one were called. illinois, independent. caller: wonderful program. i do not unfortunately these hostages are poker chips. they are never going to get home, ok. secondly, if trump were president none of this would happen. on october 7 it was the day of

our lady of the rosary. if more people prayed, this conflict would not have transpired as it has. praise to god. protect this world. that's the only way we are going to come out alive. thank you. great c-span. host: last word, quickly. guest: sure. in terms -- i think the caller has definitely -- one thing right is i think a lot of people around the world really want this conflict to end. and as to what that looks like, it always and has been for decades a big question mark. i think, again, like the caller said, a lot of people around the world don't want to see more people die. i think as we go forward that's unfortunately probably going to be the reality. host: all right. lauren whitney. world editor for axios.

and joyce is a senior news editor with al monitor. find her work at al-monitor.com. thanks for joining us. in about 20 minutes we'll take a closer look at congress' role in foreign policy as the white house prepares to send its approximately $100 billion supplemental funding request for aid to israel and ukraine. that conversation is with jordan tama of american university school of international service. first, more of your calls on this and other topics related to theresident's foreign policy address lastig and the ongoing speaker battle on capitol hill. you can start lling right now. we'll be right back. ♪

>> diana is the author of five previous books, including the wizard of lies. bernie madoff. and the death of trust. originally from brian, texas, and roanoke, virginia. she spent 22 years as a reporter with "the new york times." in her latest book, taming the street, she writes in her preface, quote, my mission is to describe just one of the new deal's most significant achievements. clearing out the vicious jungle that was the nation's financial landscape in the 1920's. and replacing it with a well tended terrain where ordinary americans could save and invest with confidence. >> author diana enriques. available on. c-span now free mobile app or whereverou get your podcast.

>> as part of our new series, we are asking you what books do you think shaped america? >> the book is the fury by william faulkner. >> to kill a mockingbird. >> join in the conversation by smithing your pick for the boo you think helped shape this country. go to our website, c-span.org/booksthat-shaped-amer ica. select record video. in 30 secos or less tell us your pick and why. be se to watch books that shaped america live every moay at 9 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> a healthy democracy doesn't just look like this. it looks like this. where americans can see democracy at work. when citizens are truly informed, our republic thrives. get informed, straight from the source.

on c-span. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. from the nation's capital to wherever you are. because the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back to "washington journal." we are taking your calls for about the next 15 minutes or so on those two issues that speaker battle and also the president's speech last night on aid to israel and ukraine. we'll start with representative jim jordan, about an hour ago, we showed you a bit of his press conference. and when he talks about his bid for the speakership, he said he'll remain a nominee. reporters asked him about the potential he could lose more support with another vote. here he s. >> we are going to lose between the first vote and second vote. you said we were going to lose

10 to 15 votes. we picked up a few. i think the ones we lost will come back. look, there's been multiple rounds of votes for speaker before. we all know that. but our plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected to the house of representatives as soon as possible so we can help the american people. host: and the house will be coming in, gaveling in at 10 a.m. eastern today. we'll see that live here on c-span. and you can watch that full news conference on our website c-span.org. it's also on our free mobile video app. c-span now. here are a coue of posts on x fromapol hill reporter starting with jake sherman. heays, house republicans, jordan supporters, and opponents are completely betpudled bthat press conference. i have gotten a number of what is he doing calls in the last 20 minutes. and here is -- not sure why that's not working.

we'll go to your calls while we figure that out. christian is in charleston, south carolina. democrat, good morning. caller: hey, i just wanted to say that the whole debate over who started israel war, hamas, whoever started the war is irrelevant when people are dying on both sides. we just get to the reason of the conflict and get a cease-fire. cease-fire is the most important thing that we can do. host: all right. here is a post by emily brooks, a capitol hill reporter. who says, representative thomas macy says there is a 30 -- massie there is a 30% chance the house selects a speaker today. scott wong says one jordan supporter, representative erickson for fact-finding mission in israel. as house remains paralyzed.

and next call is walter, beaumont, california. republican. good morning. caller: hi. how are you today? host: i'm doing ok. caller: good. i'm calling for the speaker conference debate. press conference today. and i think that he's right on. i have been a republican all of my life. and republicans need to have some backbone and fight. and our speaker jordan is making that point. and anyone, he has 90% of the votes, if anyone can get more than 90% of the vote they should come forward and be nominated. and until that time they should keep voting until until the

rino's in the republican party realize they are just helping the democrats. host: wisconsin, independent. go ahead. all right. jim in urbanna, ohio, good morning. caller: good morning, ma'am. how are you? host: i'm doing ok. caller: i would like to say that the biggest mistake they can make is putting jim jordan in there. we would have a lot of trouble. you got to work with both parties. and i don't think that he wants to do that. and as far as the israeli war going on. and the ukraine war. i think the united states should do all they can to help. thank you very much. host: jim, about the speaker

election, is there -- is there a republican member of congress you would like to see as speaker of the house? caller: you know i know it's not going to happen, i wish ms. cheney would come back, liz cheney. host: any current members? caller: not that i think of right off. i used to be a republican and now i'm a democrat. and i can see the difference. the republicans just don't want to work with anyone. the democrats are always trying to put their hand out. i just wish they could work together. host: all right. austin, texas, next. republican. john, good morning. caller: hi. i have a question on the atrocity being committed by hamas. i have been checking out just

other worldwide news sites, they said for the life of them they can't find any babies with their heads cut off or naked women being dragged through the streets and murdered. maybe they are and all that. but their side is constantly saying this is not true. show us the pictures. they claim that one female reporter said that she saw 40 babies with their heads cut off. amended it by saying she heard two israeli officers talking about it. she didn't see it herself. can't recall the israeli officer's name or anything. they are trying to make it sound like ginning it up. 1200 people died for sure. it sounds worse to say babies with their heads cut off. and women are being raped and drag around by their hair naked. have you seen any of that? i can't find it anywhere on the internet. host: all right.

jack in champaign, ill now. independent line. caller: hello. after listening to jim jordan's brief statement this morning, it reminded me of a quote from winston churchill. and he stated, i no longer listen to what people say. i just watch what they do. behavior never lies. and i hope people pay attention to what's going on and just forget the words because they can say anything. but what the behavior says as winston churchill mentioned, behavior never lies. that's all i got to say. thank you. host: on front page of "usa today" this morning about this very horrible incident. make sure you are aware of it. palestinian americans report rising hostilities. stabbing of boy among incidents since the war.

americans are seeing two fronts in the israel-hamas war. one is blood shed in the middle east, the other is emotional backlash from bigotry and hate in the u.s. a u.s. department of justice hate crime investigation into the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old palestinian american muslim boy in illinois is one of several incidents of alleged hate being directed at palestinian americans, al whrao*eus, and people who look like -- allies, and people who look like them since the war began. his mother was also stabbed. and mary is in albuquerque, new mexico. democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. i'm calling about the israeli conflict. what i'm concerned about is the one we always had for the israelis i believe it's because we used them for our own

political aims in that part of the world. if you notice, for instance, we -- israel tried to keep it a secret. they have developed nuclear weapons. they put the whistleblower in jail for life, in prison. we did nothing about it. we have watched this fatwa against the palestinian people go on for years. and basically it's the israelis' fault because they re-elected netanyahu who is the criminal and far right-wing extremist who would actually go in, throw palestinians outs of their homes, and put -- allow israelis

to move right in. we did nothing about that. we have stood by while nothing was ever done to halt this. these atrocities. in the meantime he's been slowly, slowly pushing the palestinian people further, further into the open air prisons. as far as the two wars go i do not support israel. but ukraine is a different matter. because ukraine, we could end up with world war iii. if the russians continue to get more ground and if the -- are moving forward also. host: all right, mary. let's go to paullet, washington, d.c.

independent line. go ahead. caller: i'm calling two concerns. when we first lost the speaker, i thought the republicans said they would get together, they would get candidates, they would elect those, they would vote on t whoever got the most votes, everybody would vote for them when they came to the house. and that was scalise who got the most votes. and many republicans reneged on what they said they would do. that would have settled everything then. and i have a question for somebody because it seems like we are -- we are telling all the palestinians to leave gaza and go to egypt so we can bomb gaza to smithereens so they won't have any place to return. what are we planning on doing with the palestinians? i understand and i sympathize what happened in israel. i also remember a couple years ago, israel was bombing the

palestinians, they were bombing hospitals and everything else. even though there was some pushback, it wasn't enough. those are my comments. thank you. host: dave in mckinleyville, california. republican. caller: good morning. one of your guests previously pointed out, the palestinians elected hamas. and what's the old adage, elections have consequences? i'm going to say something that's not politically correct, but maybe it's time we confronted reality. all these terrorist organizations, whether you are talking about hamas, isis, al qaeda, jihad, boca had a ram, *el sha pwab -- elsha bob, the list goes on and on. they all have one common denominator.

they all pledge allegiance to islam. they all hate anyone who doesn't share their religion. we don't hear of people who claim to be christians or jews or hindus or buddhists or any other religion committing atrocities against their fellow human beings except for one. i wouldn't even have to name which one that is because we all know what it is. there is a passage from the bible that says, you shall know them by their fruit, a good tree does not bear bad fruit. that principle applies to religion, too. i think it's time we take a good hard look at reality. thank you. host: florida, democrat. renee, good morning. caller: good morning. i'm calling about jim jordan and the whole situation.

him performing this coup on us, and he is fine not being speaker. he's fine just holding up the government. as long as it's not working, he's accomplished what he set out to do. and then -- the whole world has been in turmoil because of these authoritarians wanting to take over. and he's part of that little club with trump. why did netanyahu meet with putin during trump's administration? in 2018. that boggles my mind. i would have loved to ask those two journalists that. that's all i got today. it's pretty scary what's going on around here. host: john in naples, florida. independent line. caller: good morning, how are you. i wonder if you ever read or

heard the book by david talbot called "the devil's chessboard." host: i haven't. caller: it's a fascinating book. it covers the history of the o.s.s. and c.i.a. the way that there's been a certain element of our government that works independently of the elected official come -- officialdom in congress. and there are laws and morals. this is documented. we now know that there is a fourth estate. and we have to all ask ourselves how is this all happening? that's a whole separate issue. the wars going on. we have to ask ourselves who is directing this? who benefits from this? and go back to the speech by dwight eisenhower, his famous farewell speech of the industrial military and congressional industrial

complex. that raises the question of the speaker of the house. here we have a display of just massive dysfunction. i think the democrats are just as much to blame because they'll just vote on party lines and keep embarrassing the republicans who deserve, frankly, the embarrassment they are suffering. i wonder if it wouldn't be a prudent idea to find an independent individual, outside the house, to come in and to be able to settle down everybody and eliminate, if you will, or try to sub jew kate the radical fringe -- subjugate the radical fringe. host: talk to rob checks in chicago, illinois, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning, happy friday to you. host: you, too. caller: i wanted to say -- thank you. i wanted to say that putting jim jordan in charge would be a colossal mistake. a blunder tremendously large, an

error to take the cake, a screw up on the epic scale, the daycarer that that nation seas. to bring our country to its knees. the worst choice to be made, a miscalculation supreme, an enormous cost to be paid. putin's dream. a bully most undeserving, a surrender to the hagga hoard, a speaker beyond unserving, a fall on our nation's sword. a risk americans shus shine beyond any compare. enemy number one, a burden we all would share. thanks for taking my call. host: i take it you are against mr. jordan? caller: pretty much, question. host: constance, marathon, florida, independent, go ahead. caller: good morning. yesterday i listened to one of your guests, so far i think he's come up with the best idea yet to solve this problem of speaker.

it's my understanding that the democrats can nominate whoever they choose. with this understanding this gentleman came up with the idea for why not nominate liz cheney. put the vote behind them. if the republicans want to put a hand across, then let's see your vote for one of your old time, long time. host: we have been hearing her name a lot for speaker. on this program. thanks for calling, constance. that's all the time we have for this segment. there is more to come after the break we'll take a closer look at congress' role in foreign policy as the white house prepares to send its nearly -- approximately $100 billion supplemental funding request for aid to israel and ukraine. that conversation with jordan

tama of american university school of international service. stay with us. ♪ >> book tv, every sunday on c-span2. features leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books. at 8 p.m. eastern, jim davis and michael graham look at the decline in church attendance in the u.s. lie examining who is leavg, their reasons why, and how to bring people back in their book, "the great dechurchg." at 10 p.m. eastern on afterwards, ryan riley of nbc news shares his book "sedition00ers" where he chronicles how individuals helped. watch book tv every sunday on c-span2 and find a full schedule on your program guide. or watch online any time at book

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as you make up your own mind. campaign 2024 on the c-span network, c-span now our free mobile video app or any time online at c. spafplt -- c-span.org. your unfiltered view of politics. >> a healthy democracy doesn't just look like this. it looks like this. where americans can see democracy at work. when citizens are truly informed, our republic thrives. get informed straight from the source. on c-span. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. from the nation's capital to wherever you are. the opinion that matters the most is your opponent. this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. >> as part of our new series, we are asking you, what books do you think shaped america?

>> is the sound and the fury. >> to kill a mockingbird by harper lee. >> join in the conversation by submitting your pick for the books you think helped shape this country. go to our website, c-span.org slash books that shaped america. select record video. in 30 seconds or less tell us your pick and why. sure to watch books that shaped america. live every monday at 9 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back to "washington journal." our guest is jordan tama, he's a professor at the school of international service at american university. welcome to the program. guest: thanks for having me on. host: we don't have a house speaker right now. can you talk about the national security implications of what that means? guest: it's a terrible time to

not have a speaker from a national security standpoint. israel is at war with hamas. ukraine is at war with russia. both those countries have major needs. president biden is asking for congress to approve a major aid package for ukraine and israel. that package can't be approved if the house doesn't have a speaker. if that package isn't approved, it would send a bad signal to america's allies and partners overseas about the extent to which they can rely on the united states. countries like ukraine and israel rely on america's support. and if that support isn't forthcoming, even when the president has made major speeches calling for it, that really would suggest that america's not able to play a strong leadership role in world affairs. host: congress as both formal and informal powers when it comes to u.s. foreign policy. start with the formal. what are their duties and responsibilities? guest: congress has some very important formal powers under

the constitution. the most important is the power of the purse. the president simply can't spend money on programs whether it's defense, foreign aid, diplomacy, unless congress appropriates the money for that. we are seeing that right now with aid for ukraine and israel. president biden simply cannot provide new aid for ukraine and israel unless congress provides that money through appropriations legislation. and substantive legislation that shapes the content of u.s. foreign policy. congress in recent years has passed many laws placing sanctions on a variety of countries including russia, china, iran, north korea. right now members of congress are considering imposing new sanctions on iran because of iran's support for hamas. this is also a very important power of congress. i expect if the house gets a speaker and begins operating again it would pass legislation imposing new saxes on iran -- sanctions on iran.

host: an article here from "the hill" the headline. mccaul preparing authorization of military force against hamas and iran proxies. what does that mean? what does authorization to use military force and congress' role in outlining that? guest: under the u.s. constitution, congress has the power to declare war. and in some of america's major conflicts historically, congress did declare war after japan attacked pearl harbor congress declared war. they can also authorize the use of military force by the president by passing what's called an authorization for use of military force. congress did this in 1990 after iraq invaded kuwait. it did it after the 9/11 attacks as an authorization for the use of military force against al qaeda and the taliban. it did it in 2002 to authorize use of military force against iraq which led up to the overthrow of saddam hussein. the invasion of iraq by the u.s.

this type of authorization that congressman mccaul is talking about would authorize the president to take military action against actors in the middle east. the president might argue he can do that without congressional authorization. typically presidents say they don't need congressional authorization. as commander in chief they always have the power to take military action to protect the united states and its interests, but when congress passes an authorization for use of military force, it empowers the president and certainly suggests that congress is behind the president with regard to the possibility of using military force. it wouldn't require the president to use military force, but it would say the president can use military force if the president deems it's necessary. host: you mentioned him, here is representative michael mccaul, chair of the foreign affairs committee. from last week talking about the impact of not having a speaker on national security. mr. mccaul: we are living in a dangerous world. the world's on fire. our adversaries are watching what we do.

and quite frankly they like it. and chairman talks about how -- chairman xi talks about how democracy doesn't work and we are proving him right. we need to filth chair with a speaker. every day that goes by gets more dangerous. i was on the phone with our friends from israel. they are going to need a supplemental and aid to replenish the iron dome. they can't do that if we don't have a speaker in the chair. i see a lot of threats out there. one of the biggest i see is in that room because we can't unify as a conference and put a speaker in the chair to govern. i can't get my resolution, 416 co-sponsors condemning hamas, and supporting israel without a speaker in the chair. i can't get that supplemental aid to israel without a speaker in the chair. it's very dangerous what we are doing. host: i will invite our listeners and viewers to join the conversation for our guest.

professor jordan tama of american university. calm us on our onlines by party. republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. and independents, 202-748-8002. jordan, defense secretary lloyd austin has ordered 2,000 troops to be ready to deploy to the middle east. is that something congress has a say in? guest: not generally, no. the president as commander in chief has the authority under the constitution to move u.s. forces around as the president deems fit. it's a different matter if the president orders forces into combat. that's where congress' power to declare war under the constitution comes into play. in 1973 congress passed the war powers resolution. it was vetoed by president nixon, but congress overroad nixon's veto. this is still law.

under that resolution the president has authority to deploy u.s. forces into combat for 90 days but is not allowed to have military forces in combat for more than 90 days unless they are authorized by congress. simply moving forces into the mediterranean, or moving them around into different parts of the middle east is fully within the president's authority under the constitution. if the president ordered force noose combat and that last -- forces into combat and that lasted for more than 90 days, congress needed to authorize it to be in compliance with the war powers resolution. host: we will take your calls now until 10:00 eastern which is when the house will gavel in. rowen first in durham, maine, democrat. good morning. caller: can you hear me? host: we can. caller: the reason for my call in today, i'd like to tell you about the presidential candidate, his name -- . host: that's a little bit off our subject today.

jesse in albuquerque, in n republican. go ahead. caller: good morning. good morning, professor. i just wanted to tell you i have a niece attending american university. like meeting the professors she might be interacting with. i wanted to ask you a question about this because i'm teaching u.s. government right now. i was just going over article 1, section 8, powers delegated to congress. i'm hearing this narrative that they can't fund or they need congress to be operating in order to get this funding to ukraine and israel. i'm just wondering -- i don't see the connection to any of those delegated powers about giving aid to other countries.

i don't see the connection about why we need a house to be -- why we need congress to be operating fully in order for us to provide aid based on presidential powers. i was hoping you could explain that. guest: first of all look forward to hopefully meeting your niece at american university. always excited to hear about students attending university. on your question, the reason why congress has to act in order for the united states to send aid to israel or ukraine is because congress has the power of the purse under the constitution. this is one of the clearest powers assigned to congress. the president cannot spend money that hasn't been appropriated by congress. host: steve is next. steve of florida, independent. caller: yes. wanted to comment about israel

and ukraine. number one, ukraine is fighting for its life as an independent democratic state. number two, israel seems to overdo it every time something happens. in this case they may be justified. in the third case, the enemy of my enemy is my friend no longer exists because now you have china and you got to watch out for china because they are sitting back counting the numbers. that's all i have to say. thank you. guest: i think china is quite happy to see the united states focused on other issues outside of asia. like the war in ukraine. war between israel and hamas because china may see that as an opportunity to assert itself more in asia while the u.s. is focused elsewhere. with regard to your point about israel may overdo it, i think president biden has struck the

right tone on this. he's expressing strong support for israel while also urging israel to pay attention to the importance of protecting the lives of innocent palestinians, opening up corridors for humanitarian aid. the united states is working to achieve that. while also supporting israel strongly. host: i want to ask you about iran. this is "the washington post" with the headline, white house must punish iran over hamas attacks, lawmakers say. u.s. officials have not presented evidence that tehran played a direct role in the massacre in israel, but a bipartisan group is demanding action. can congress impose sanctions without the president? guest: congress can mandate sanctions which would then force the president to impose them. congress could pass a law that requires the treasury department, the state department, other agencies to impose certain sanctions on iran. and unless that law provides

some flexibility to the president, which laws sometimes do, then the president through the agencies of the executive branch, would have to impose those sanctions. sometimes congress passes a law that mandates sanctions on a foreign country, but says the president can waive those sanctions based on a determination of it's not in the u.s. national interest to do so. the devil is in the details in terms of what the legislation actually says. yes, congress can require the imposition of sanctions on iran or any other country. host: carl is next, democrat. traverse city, michigan. caller: hello there. thank you for all you do there. a couple things, real quick. in this conversation with the house drama and as it continues, let's not forget that one man, representative from florida caused all this. his name has drifted out of the storyline so far. to our guest here. and i think you are the man and maybe c-span could cover this a little bit more. how come these diplomats, i.e.

ambassadors, have not been approved through the senate? i understand i read an article there is a big backlog on this as well. the fellow jack lew, i believe that's the guy, didn't they just approve him two days ago to be the ambassador to israel? can you help us out on that story there. guest: yeah. this has been a problem for years. it's certainly been a problem under the biden presidency. the senate not approving nominations for senior executive branch positions expeditiously. there's been backlogs under the biden administration. there's been backlogs under previous administration, trump, obama, etc. and often these backlogs exist even though the nominees are very highly qualified, really should be uncontroversial. the most blatant example of this right now is senator tommy tuberville who is holding up the

confirmation of the promotion of all senior u.s. military officers, four-star generals and the like. this is really hurting the defense department, hurting the ability of the defense department to move its most senior military officers into the positions that they need to be in. and it's an example of partisan politics impeding national security. host: chris in georgia, republican. caller: yes, chris. from georgia. high hi, chris from georgia. go ahead. caller: first of all i want to follow-up on the previous caller. the appropriations for israel has already been passed. they are already getting money. on the -- on the news, on the bombing of the hospital, are we going to crack down on the news with the early calling of saying

israel attacked? then they found out the truth it wasn't? are we going to crack down on the news? guest: i don't think the united states as a government should crack down on the news. that's one of the defining qualities of american democracy and political institutions is that we have freedom of the media. certainly when the media misreports something, other outlets should call that out. and highlight for the american people that something has been prevented in -- presented in an inaccurate way. the u.s. government should not get in the business of cracking down on media outlets. regarding your suggestion that appropriations for israel have already been approved. the united states has for many years now approved an annual appropriations bill of aid for israel, about $3 billion in aid. that's what president biden is looking for is a supplemental appropriation of emergency aid to help israel deal with the current conflict.

that has not been approved by congress. it can't be approved until the house starts operating in a regular way. host: jordan, what would you say is the impact partisanship has and the lack of agreement within congress? how does that impact foreign policy? guest: it has a large impact. overall as anyone watching this program probably knows, partisan polarization is the dominant characteristic characteristic of american politics today. sometimes it seems like democrats and republicans are on different planets. and this has trickled into foreign policy. overall foreign policy debates are less polar a'sed than domestic, some have become quite polarized in recent years. issues like climate change and immigration, democrats and republicans tend to be in different places. on those issues. and more problematic, politicians often talk about foreign policy issues in a way

that's just designed to score political points. this happened right after the hamas attack on israel, some republican politicians argued that the biden administration was responsible for this because it had reached this agreement to unfreeze assets in return for iran releasing hostages. that money had not been disbursed to iran and couldn't help hamas. this was an effort to score political points against the administration. at the same time, on the substance of the u.s. policy response to the war between israel and hamas, there's been a lot of bipartisanship. overall democrats and republicans are largely on the same page in terms of supporting israel. favoring aid to israel. and even on ukraine there is still a lot of bipartisanship. there's been a lot of attention on the maga republicans who are against aid to israel. but there are other republicans, internationalist republicans, people like mitch mcconnell,

lindsey graham, michael mccaul you mentioned. and the presidential campaign nikki haley, mike pence. these are internationalist republicans who are strongly pro-ukraine they are aligned with democrats. some are working closely with democrats in congress. mcconnell and schumer on the issues of aid to ukraine, aid to israel are cooperating and trying to build a package that can go through congress. there are mixed story. partisanship polarization. but there is also still bipartisanship. host: portland, oregon next. independent. rose, good morning. caller: good morning. i feel the greatest threat to america, 250u8ly to the world, would be -- actually to the world, would be jim jordan becoming house speaker. it's very frightening to me. the potential of him being -- making decisions regarding our military, regarding our position in peacemaking, whatever. he's totally unknit and -- unfit

and appalling. those people who support him are absolutely ignorant. thank you. host: any comments on that? guest: well, i also think jim jordan has some very troubling positions. he has been a staunch defender of donald trump. he has defended the behavior of people who strorpld the capitol on january 6 -- stormed the capitol on january 6. his foreign policy positions are troubling in that he's been opposing aid to ukraine. and overall i think the country would be better off with a speaker of the house who is a stronger supporter of american political institutions, of foundations of democracy, and has more of a track record of working across the aisle with democrats on important issues. host: barbara in texas, democrat. hi. caller: hi. first in congress, the

republicans in the housekeep blaming the democrats for their problems. but i don't see them inviting any democrats into their closed door meetings to work things out. so it's kind of contradictory. as far as the foreign policy, i think about all the holy wars, the religious wars we have had in our history throughout the world. and i think we are on the verge of one here because there's so many people trying to join the government age religion together. it's just a constant bombardment. separation of church and state is on its way out i'm afraid. and one thing about religious people that bothers me, they never question their religion. why would a religion teach people to hate? people are raised up as children in a certain religion and never question it. but i think it's time for meme to look at -- time for people to look at their religious beliefs and how it ties to the hatred in the world and question why any

god would want people to go to war against each other over their different religions. guest: well, you're certainly right that religion, unfortunately, has been a source of conflict in many places for many centuries. we see religion as a powerful force in the middle east. that's contributing to conflict. of course it's not really religion itself as an inherent thing, but the way some people are interpreting religion. people who interpret their religion in a way that make them their their religion justifies acts -- them think their religion justifies acts of violence. other people of the same faith see things they differently. president biden also made very important points last night in his speech talking about the importance of countering anti-semitism and shrapblaphobi.

there is a rise of anti-semitism in the united states. as a society we need to avoid going down those directions. host: kentucky, good morning, ed. caller: how you doing. the biden administration all they do is keep promising money, and we don't have any money. you see that we are broke. we are going broke. and our economy, our gas is up. everything is up so high. everything is triple. giving money. and borrowing that money to give. and i think the maga people are trying to break down on the spending which we have to do eventually. we can't go on like this. i agree with jim jordan, who is going against the weaponization of our government against republicans, not -- the rino's

they don't go against. they go against the trump people or maga. i saw yesterday when they interrupted the capitol. i didn't see tear gas. i didn't see staging. i didn't see the cops shooting rubber bullets at them. it seems they missed all of that. host: your response to jordan? guest: from the issue of funding and where does this money come from, i would point out that the spending that president biden is requesting for aid to ukraine, aid to israel actually will go into the american economy because it's spending that goes to military assistance, to ukraine and israel. and the replenishment of u.s. military supplies to make that assistance possible. in other words, the united states in this spending effort would be investing in the production of weapons and other military systems in the united states by american manufacturers who produce these weapons.

that would be enabling the united states to provide more aid to israel and ukraine. i just want to point out i think people don't often realize that. that this is not just money that is leaving the country. it's going into the american economy to support production of weapons. that's what allows the aid then to go to israel and ukraine. host: what about humanitarian aid? nonmilitary. guest: that's also very important. especially in israel case, but also with regard to ukraine. people don't realize the united states has provide add lot of humanitarian aid to ukraine. host: does that come back into the american economy? guest: that does not come back in the economy in the same way. though some of the aid is distributed by u.s.-based nongovernmental organizations who are operating in other countries. some of it does filter through u.s. space organizations. u.s. faith organizations. the aid, humanitarian nature,

can be just as important as the military aid. it tkepbdz t*epbdz to get lost in the -- it tends to get lost in the shuffle. host: frank, independent, marion, ohio. good morning. caller: yes. what i called about is i'd like to know why we are promoting all these wars. there's two sides to everything. why don't we have peace talks instead of promoting both sides? like in israel. and calling people names like maga. that's not helping nothing. all that does is divide us. guest: the maga term is used by the trump, the republican party itself, trump and his supporters on capitol hill like marjorie taylor greene, they use that term. that's why i use it as well. on your point about shouldn't we

be pursuing peace talks? the u.s. has tried to promote peace talks between israel and the palestinians for several decades. unfortunately that has not borne a lot of fruit overall. and in recent years it hasn't gone anywhere. because the israelis and palestinians are simply too far apart in terms of their position. the biden administration has pushed in that direction to the extent they can. the conditions between the israelis and palestinians are unfortunately not conducive to peace between them at this time. it's the same between russia and ukraine. russia would be glad to have peace talks if that would mean the current state of affairs in ukraine would be frozen in time. in other words, have a cease-fire. and that means russia gets to continue occupying the parts of ukraine that it occupies. that would be great from

russia's standpoint, but not from ukraine's. what incentive does russia have to make concessions to ukraine if the current line of control, the area that's controlled by russia-ukraine is frozen in place. it's not a good time for peace talks between russia and ukraine unless you think russia will give up that territory they occupied. there is no sign that russia will be willing to give up that territory through peace talks. host: fred is a democrat. new jersey. good morning. caller: hello, good morning. professor, thank you for being on. you are an excellent guest. we are talking about the speaker's race. i was talking about this with friends. we were wondering who can get 217 votes that they need? and one of my friends carl said maybe we should get tim scott's girlfriend, she doesn't exist. do you think there is a viable candidate? guest: at this point i don't know of a viable candidate.

i hope one will emerge for the sake of our institutions. we really need congress to be able to function both on foreign policy and other issues. we need congress to pass the overall funding bills for the u.s. government. for the year that's beginning. the longer we don't have a speaker, the longer it will be to do that. host: kathy, pittsburgh, georgia, republican. caller: i just have -- pittsburgh. pennsylvania. republican. caller: i have just two quick questions i was listening to the president's speech last night. i didn't hear anything about any funding that's going to be put on to our border at the south border. and i'm really concerned about that because of the people that are coming in that aren't -- as you are looking at the different demonstrations through our country and through the cities and colleges, it's a lot of

males that are demonstrating. i was wondering, too, if the f.b.i. has been doing any face recognition on some of these people that are doing this demonstration. because i'm really concerned about any terrorist attack here on our homeland. the second thing i wanted to say was, do these representatives get paid while they are off -- like when people are on strike, they don't get paid. just a question i just was wondering. next thing i wanted, one more thing, sorry. somebody mentioned about not going across the aisle to speak to the other party. we had a really bad situation with nancy pelosi. so it's both sides. it's a shame because people in the middle here are just floundering. we don't know what's going to happen. that's it.

host: i wanted to make sure you knew that even though the president didn't mention it last night, the associated press is reporting that he's going to be asking for $14 billion for managing the u.s.-mexico border and fighting fentanyl trafficking. go ahead. guest: that's interesting. i would anticipate even if the president didn't ask for that, that might be added by congress. the senate in particular. the senate now is going to be take ago lead on putting together this package of supplemental spending since the house is not operating. i think adding border security will also broaden the base of political support for this package because there are some members of congress who are very concerned about border security. there are members of congress very concerned about israel. some members very concerned about ukraine. packaging these things together will help build a broader base of support for it. yes, the other question. most members do get paid when they are not in session.

they would argue they are still doing work. but that's an interesting thought that they might have their pay docked when they are not in session. host: jack, florida, independent. go ahead. caller: good morning. we need to just start thinking like we are americans. take the labels off. the republicans do this. the democrats do that. independents, they just don't have enough votes. it's all about the dynamics of doing government and we are failing, period. get to work. forget your labels. get your business done. tighten up the ship. get it right. these guys have had time and time to make their issues about obamacare. the republicans had years to get that straight. and when they finally had the

ball to make changes, they didn't have the package. another example republicans running government. i'm going to say the democrats have just as bad a record as the republicans. just pick your time. host: that will be the last word. sorry, jordan, for a response. thanks for joining us. guest: thanks for having me on. host: we'll take you live now to the house of representatives where we are expecting a third round of votes for speaker of the house. this is live coverage on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2023] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy visit ncicap.org]