♪ host: food morning from washington on this thursday, november 2. for more than four hours on the

senate floor the gop senators pushed back -- pushed to force a vote on nearly 400 nominations with military -- of military officers held up by tommy tuberville. we want you to be part of the debate took place last night on the senate floor. you can join us by dialing in. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents 202-748-8002. you can also text us, include your first name, city and state to 202-748-8003. or join us on facebook.com/c-span or post on x with the handle @cspanwj. the washington post headline this morning, health crisis puts

new pressure on two brazils military freeze. the war in gaza and a serious medical emergency -- emergency force into the opens months of simmering republican frustration with senator tommy tuberville's hold on president biden's military nominees driving several of his colleagues to publicly denounce the gambit and urge senators to take immediate action to end the impasse. the associated press this morning reports to prevail of alabama objected to each nominee 61 times total last night during the more than four hour debate. extending his hold on the military confirmations and promotions with no immediate resolution in sight with the extra neri conversation -- confrontation boiling over almost after nine months after he first announced the hold over

a pentagon abortion policy escalating a standoff as officials have repeatedly said it could endanger national security. this morning we want to get you part of this debate as well. start dialing in or send us a text or tweet or you can join us on facebook.com. let's listen to senator beille's argument on why he has put this hold on the nearly 400 military nominees. here he is on the floor yesterday. [video clip] >> i cannot simply sit idly by while the biden administration injects politics and our military in our military from the white house and spends taxpayer dollars on abortion. the only power that a senator in

the minority has is to put a hold on the nomination. the only thing. i'm not the first person to do this. hold on nominations happen all the time. hold on military nominations have happened many times before. typically they don't last this long because administrations will work in the set -- with the senate until the issue is resolved. that has not happened this time. zero negotiations, abortion is the most important thing to the democrats that they have and they won't negotiate. one more time. abortion is the most important thing the democrats have and they will not negotiate. this has been going on for nine months. every day this continues is the day the democrats think abortion

is more important than the nomination and our military. i support many of these nominees and i agree that these are very important jobs. but we could have been voting on these nominees the entire time -- entire nine months. the senate has had more than 90 days off this year not including weekends. each nomination could take as little as two hours. in fact tomorrow we will be voting on three of these important nominees we force the leader of the senate to bring to the floor. but nominees at the very top ought to be voted on anyway. these jobs are two important not to receive the advice and consent of the senate. host: senator tommy tuberville making his argument for why he is holding up the military

nominations. it was his republican colleague though that cnn said lashed out at him and came to the floor yesterday for debate into the evening, it ended around 11:00 p.m. eastern time where republican colleagues tried put forward nomination after nomination from the military and tommy tuberville stood up to object. we want you to be to part of the debate as well. what do you think? >> as a veteran i am disgusted by this guy from alabama. and i am surprised that the people from alabama have not started a recall for the senator. because he is about as un-american as you can get. it is disgusting. to do this is just, it is so

wrong. i'm glad other republicans are standing up over in the house, they could not even get rid of george santos. but this guy is just, he is affecting the readiness of our military. we have this whole disaster in israel with hamas, we have ukraine going on, and he is going to legally damage the readiness of our military. i cannot believe he is doing this, it is just wrong, it is so wrong and i can't believe the people of alabama especially those that support the military, conservatives supposedly support the military but the people in alabama seem to think football is more important than having an

effective military leadership. host: he also mentioned what happened in the house last evening. represented of george santos survived an effort to expel him from the house but still faces an ethics report from the associated press. senator george santos easily survived the vote to expel him from the house, republicans and 31 democrats while both his criminal trial and a house ethics committee investigation proceed. you can find that debate on our website c-span.org where you can find the highlights, the points of interest from last nights debate in the house over whether or not to expel george santos. let's go back to the calls. john in bridgewater, new jersey. what do you think about the second debate over the military nominees -- senate debate over the military nominees. caller: good morning.

interesting. i like to prevail's -- i like tommy tupper bill -- his stance because it only with the federal government is doing by pushing these issues into the mainstream of our institution. it's not right. i think they should stick to the military. i'm also confident even though we cannot fill these appointments, there are plenty of people there who are confident. as one who by the way back in 1970 probably dutch first abortions in new york city

, i like tuberville's stance. >> democratic caller. >> thank you for taking my call this morning. i think this is just music to pruden -- putin's ears. everybody in the military says this is just a vladimir putin, donald trump play. without those people we are nothing. that's what people fear is our military. this is a way to weaken it down. thank you for taking my call. host: making the argument this impact military readiness. tommy tuberville responded to that argument on the floor. here is what he had to say. [video clip] >> i respectfully disagree with

my colleagues about the effect of my hold. my hold is not affecting -- . the biden administration is been saying this for month puts -- but no one has an explanation. the fact is no jobs are going unfilled. every job, every job is being done. in fact general mark milley said is the best it has been in years. time and again generals and servicemembers have assured me that they are ready to go. i believe them. so i'm going to keep my hold in place. if senators want to vote on these nominees i am happy to do that. but i will keep my hold in place

until the pentagon follows the law or the democrats change the law. >> senator on the -- senator tuberville on the floor having -- that he is been holding up for the past seven months. we want you to be part of the debate that took place in the senate yesterday evening. it went four plus hours. andrew with punch bowl news had the scoop yesterday. what precipitated this incident. republicans clashed in -- at a lunch after they heard about how they have no strategy to deal with the hold about to force a rules change. coming up here on the washington journal.

who's in the military himself, republican of alaska. here is what he had to say about the question of the military readiness. [video clip] >> we can go in and out of readiness. my colleague is 100% wrong. the readiness has been impacted when you have i will just give a couple of examples here. this is from one theater. the deputy chairman of nato, it is empty. the deputy commanding general really important job, empty. like i said, that's the big marine corps combined force that fights anywhere in the world 25,000 marines commanded by a

three-star is a two star. we understand this is a problem. this is just from you,, european command. 72 officers are unable to assume their new positions. these include 52 that cannot move because they have been nominated but require senate confirmation as well as other officers to be assigned to a new position held by one of the previous 52. it is creating a giant blockage in the way in which the military operates. to say there is no ready dish -- readiness issue. there are readiness issues and that's the whole point. we have a really dangerous world. host: senator dan sullivan, the ap noting he is a colonel in the u.s. marine corps reserves.

the effort by senate republicans , lashed out against their own colleague senator tommy tuberville's hold on military nominees. bradley in texas, independent. your turn. caller: good morning c-span. i want to congratulate tommy tuberville for taking a stand. i served myself in the marine corps as a crewman and a sergeant when i got out. one thing i learned out of it was a lot of officers from the rank of colonel and above, it's all political, all of it. tommy tuberville is right. we shouldn't be paid to have abortions -- we shouldn't pay to have abortions in the military. to move forward and get beyond it and get it off the table. host: how do you respond to the

argument by his colleagues who say these nominees have no say over this policy. it has nothing to do with their position and the argument by senator lindsey graham that the senator from alabama has a problem with this policy he should pursue it, challenge it through the court. how do you respond to that argument. caller: chuck schumer's offering to change the rules in the senate. over half his colleagues in the senate are a bunch of rinos. that's the way i look at it. >> on the rules change your talking about. a group of senate democrats aiming to sidestep a republican blockade of hundreds of high-level military promotions by allowing the senate to vote

on all the nominees at once. a resolution crafted by democrats and independents senator kyrsten sinema would use 10 -- senate tools to bypass tuberville's hold which for month has -- months has prevented a quick vote in protest of the defense department's abortion travel policy. the measure, spearheaded by jack reed of rhode island, richard blumenthal of connecticut and sinema is a temporary process change that would only be in effect through the end of next year. it also includes an exception for members of the joint chiefs. a position that typically involves -- due to their importance. temporary change the democrats have crafted, this prompted the debate for some senate

republicans to decide to come to the floor last night and bring up some of these nominees one by one. tommy tuberville standing up and objecting to each one of them. harold you are now part of this debate, go ahead. caller: i agree with senator tuberville's position. basically every major may -- command position for being selected is based on their wokeness. environmental climate change and joe biden. i have -- a granddaughter's husband who is a field grade officer.

he voted for donald trump and they know it, they are about to boot him out. di, esg is a real problem. and i agree with senator tuberville. host: danny, who do you agree with? caller: there were a couple of callers earlier mentioned there something deeper going on with senator tuberville, i am inclined to agree with that. on the 20th he wanted to move 100 million dollars from palestine to israel. israel is a country that does allow abortions, they have universal health care. i really think there's something more nefarious going on. my question is what happens to those officers after 18 months? who is he working for? thank you. host: danny's thoughts in texas.

senator from indiana had this to about his colleague. tactics -- his colleagues tactics. [video clip] >> my friend, and he is my friend, he is a genuine friend. i have a lot of respect for this man. but the number of holds is certainly extraordinary. i think he would concede that because he is also a smart colleague. the length of the holds is extraordinary as well. but the tactics here, this is something that senator sullivan has showed great leadership on this issue. senator ernst, myself and many other colleagues have questioned. i'm fervently, passionately, i am unapologetically pro-life in

conviction and in deed. my reputation is untarnished and it is unambiguous in that regard. so i have every interest in seeing that west assume a smart game plan if you will. and to hold responsible effectively 300 nominated patriots who ought to be pinning on another star right now, to hold them professionally responsible for this and by extension to undermine the safety and security of the american people just doesn't make any sense to me. instead it makes more sense for us to hold accountable someone who the president has nominated to fill the policy position at the pentagon who would actually

oversee implementation and administration of this policy. i have said that publicly. and to the extent mr. tuberville would remain open to put it in delicately to taking that hostage. i would be open to that. host: senator todd young, republican on the floor talking about his colleague and this whole he's had on military nominations. this morning and our first hour of the washington journal you get to join the debate. good morning. >> thank you for taking this call. i do have to agree with senator tommy with his policy on holding out for the pentagon stopping

some of the taxpayers spending. i do have to agree with a lot of what he is saying. however i also agree are nominees should be moved forward so it is a terrible pendulum they are working with, i do believe that we have to stop a lot of the power from the pentagon, this abortion is absolutely uncalled for. so i am standing for tuberville on his holding out on the nominees. i don't agree with all of it, but i do definitely applaud him for holding out for the abortion and the overreach of spending the taxpayers money. host: if senate democrats try to

change the rules temporarily to allow a vote on all of these nominees at once as a way to bypass senator tommy tuberville, what do you think his republican colleagues should do? diana? caller: wow. i do believe that a lot of these nominees need to be pushed through but how do you stop the overreach of the pentagon. it is a pendulum swinging. i don't have a solution, but i am very proud of them for standing his ground on the abortion. i'm sorry that these nominees are on hold until we can resolve this issue but it definitely needs to be resolved. host: nbc's reporting the revolution sought by democrats to get around this hold would go

through the senate rules committee. it would also require 60 votes to pass the senate floor. no senate republicans of come out and said explicitly they would support such a move. john in springfield, virginia. >> just a couple of things. i think everyone is advocating for his hold saying this is exactly what we need to do needs to step back and think about what were talking about. the hallmarks of the military is it is a political, it's not supposed to be drawn into political debates going on in the different chambers of the house and senate. he's making a political issue by holding these officers and absolutely is affecting this. the senate's job is to make sure they are command and fit for duty. using them as a political tool is going against everything the

senate is supposed to stand for. anyone calling and saying this is a good thing, you'll republicans coming out against their own members, that alone should speak volumes to how much it's affecting the military. second point, everyone needs to understand what's happening. there are specific rules the require a person nominated cannot do the job, cannot fill that role until the confirmehe g military officers all over the country because the person whose nominated can't fill the role and the person who is retiring has to leave. we have all of the standings and the idea of those that can make the decision they made, they won't make certain decisions because they're not the person is been nominated for the job. it's the same thing being a cr in the budget. it comes to a complete

standstill until that person gets into the role. that doesn't even start to talk about the families moving from station to station to make sure these jobs have somebody in their. host: you seem to know a lot about this, what is your background? caller: i am in the military but don't want to go anymore than that. this is absolutely affecting. there's a big difference between holding political appointees and holding military nominated officers. if the senator wants to hold the biden administration's political appointees, who would be actually implementing his policy, that's understandable. and if republicans are still than a come out against it, there's a difference between that and holding military officers from in a political organization. i'm unapologetically pro-life as

well. still this is the wrong way to go about it. he needs to write a law and put it on the floor. >> concerns about general eric smith cardiac arrest on sunday with fast developments in the middle east repeatedly this week as officials taken off ramp to the bitter political dispute between senator tuberville and the biden administration that centers on the pentagon's travel policy for troops seeking an abortion. caller: absolutely. thoughts go out to the general and his family as they go throh this difficult time. now you have a three star in the marine corps, i think the source reporting is the lieutenant general is filling the role. now we have no deputy commandant and potential offramp to confirm

the appointees and nominated officers. host: john there in springfield, virginia. more on this exchange between senator top rebel and lindsey graham. [video clip] >> this is about our constitution, the rule of law. that's what we are about here. it's about the integrity of our military in keeping politics out of the military. i did not put it in the military. joe biden and secretary austin put politics in the military. and it's about the right to life. these are some of the most important things in the world to me. and so mr. president i object. >> the president -- the objection is heard. >> let me respond to my colleague.

if you think they've done something illegal, go to court. that's how we handle these things. the pentagon has issued a legal opinion i disagree with, this doesn't violate the hyde amendment. here's what's can i happen. you've just denied this lady a promotion. you did that. all of us are ready to promote her because she deserves to be promoted. she had nothing to do with this policy. let me say it again. everybody in this body can find an issue with any administration they don't agree with and what we are going to do is open up pandora's box. today it's abortion policy. if we take back the white house will go back to the mexico city policy, limiting dollars, some pro-choice people don't like

that. what happens if they put a hold on all the officers because they don't agree with the republican administration. there is a reason this has not been done this way for a couple hundred years. this is doing great damage to our military. i don't say that lightly. if this keeps going people are going to leave. you have 18 months from the time your promoted and if you don't make that your time kicks in. there are some people waiting to be promoted that if they don't get promoted soon they will be out of the military. how does that help anybody if they are qualified. there's not one senator in here that cannot find a reason to object to an administration policy. in the military. we could all find something. i just hope we don't do this

routinely because if it's the norm and the hill wants to serve in the military when you promotion can be canned based on something you had nothing to do with. >> from wednesday evening's debate, senator lindsey graham arguing this hold on military nominees nearly 400 of them by senator taber ville is setting a precedent. we are getting your reaction and thoughts and want you to join the debate on the senate floor live on c-span2 and we will get to more of your calls, your texts and posts as well. joining us first is michael schnell, a congressional reporter with the hill to talk about what's happening on the house side. is there going to be a vote today on aid to israel? guest: that is still an open question but the house is expected to begin debate on that

, it's a $14.3 billion bill, that a will go to israel, one of the controversial parts of this piece of legislation is it includes an equal amount in cuts to the irs and that funding that was provided under the democrats inflation reduction act. that was signed into law last year. that provision sparked some howls from democrats arguing this is emergency funding and offset by spending cuts and it goes against one of president biden signature -- that would be an interesting debate on the house floor later today. it's not exactly clear yet. the expectation would be either today or tomorrow. >> why include cuts to the irs? paying for some of this aid to israel. >> traditionally democrats --

republicans are typically wanting to make sure we don't add to federal spending. they are very frequently pointing out the federal deficit and they see that as a problem. the notion here including those cuts in the legislation would offset that spending. it's actually not the case here. the congressional budget office scoring agency came out and said the house gop israel bill actually adds to the deficit. the number is around $12 billion. money is being cut from the irs is meant for enforcement. supporting that for enforcement is being cut and taken away in the process of sending this aid to israel. the cbo saying the legislation would end up adding to the deficit. >> we understand speaker johnson is behind doors with the senate colleagues. what does he tell us? >> he told senate colleagues he

is going to go ahead and pass this piece of israel legislation without the ukraine aid because support to ukraine has become a polarizing topic. there is really a growing contingency of republicans who have become skeptical of sending more aid to ukraine. there was a litmus test vote where the house voted on sending that to ukraine as a stand-alone bill. more republicans voted against that legislation rather than for it. it was an interesting data point when you talk about the grand scheme of things with potential aid to ukraine. speaker johnson told republicans that he will have to move israel aid alone and if he wants to get ukraine across the finish line it will have to be later. host: what did he tell senate colleagues about what they do in

their chamber and what it means for him over on the house side? >> right now the senate is moving forward with something similar to president biden -- moving forward with president biden's 100 billion dollars supplemental request which includes funding for ukraine, for israel. border security money in addition to funding for allies in the indo pacific. the belief among the white house, democrats and several republicans, mitch mcconnell included in that group is that aid for israel and ukraine needs to come together. folks are saying the key objective in those battles and the fight for democracy or similar in the u.s. cannot leave this on the sidelines if they work through these battles overseas. that's been a factor of the senate and that clashes directly with house republicans.

the house is going forward with that bill and it's already setting conditions for ukraine legislation. some republicans chief among them has been spending -- has said spending for ukraine is a redline for them. this concern they want to know where this money spent overseas to ukraine. they want accountability. they want to know where those funds are going and there is a clear end plan from the biden administration on how they see this conflict coming to an end. >> represented of marjorie taylor greene says more aid to ukraine is a redline. what did speaker johnson say about sending more aid to ukraine. >> speaker johnson did interview last week and said we can't leave ukraine on the sidelines as they are a close ally. and that you can't let russia win this conflict when this war

would have serious and massive complications for the entire world. the difference speaking for your congressional district in louisiana versus speaking for the house republican conference. it will be fascinating to see if speaker johnson at all sees that on ukraine aid or softens his tone. there was that vote in the house last month. and more republicans voted against it than voting for it which was a flashpoint as we talk about this conversation with house republicans and their attitude towards ukraine. >> what about the looming deadline to fund the government passed november 17? >> that is creeping up upon us. another government funding deadline. the speaker said he is looking to pass a continuing resolution. the thought there was it would

be giving lawmakers more time to continue through the regular order just last night. the house passed its sixth appropriation bill. it got that minibus over the finish line. which includes two important points of progress in the government funding process. not enough to get us to the finish through regular order. so continuing at this point is going to be needed. johnson is eyeing an continuing resolution that lasts around mid-january and the strategy there is to avoid an omnibus at the end of the year which the term is used for a massive piece of legislation that includes funding. republicans really don't like when they have to pass an omnibus. they say they are getting jammed at the end of the year. so the strategy is it wouldn't

be able to let the senate jammed the house. >> finally let our viewers know what they missed on the house floor last night. >> there was a lot of action on the house floor. the most urgent, newsworthy piece of information was that the house did not expel congressman george santos from the chamber. there was a republican led effort to expel him. that resolution fell short of the two thirds vote necessary to oust a member of congress. this is coming off one day after the house ethics committee said they will announce their next course of action in their month-long investigation. by november 17 which is roughly two weeks away now. one of the sponsors of the legislation, a republican said

it was his belief that announcement from the ethics committee led some of his colleagues to vote against the expulsion resolution which is wide fell short of the votes necessary. a lot of the votes i will note are now saying they will wait until the ethics committee comes out with its update. a lot of folks expect it will be a final report. there's a lot of concern that expelling george santos out of that guilty plea or without official word from the house ethics committee a conclusion going forward. >> what about the effort to censure to members on the floor. >> last night or rather the only resolution last night was an effort to censure congresswoman rashida to leap for pratt -- past comments she had made particularly in the wake of hamas unprecedented attack on israel.

it's part this war between the two sides. another portion of that resolution, participating in insurrection or a protest she took part in. she spoke at a rally as part of protests on the lawn of the capital. and then afterwards some of those rally goers ended up going in to the house office building and having a protest and demonstration in the house office building. some of them ended up getting arrested. marjorie taylor greene was the sponsor of this and in the text of the legislation said representative to leave took -- the reps under took part in an insurrection. we are now passed the two-year mark of that event and so there's some republicans and democrats, notably republicans who said that language went way

too far. ultimately a democrat led effort was successful with the help of 23 republicans watching that effort to censure youngest woman to leave and then immediately after that vote it became clear that the house would not put out a second resolution. an effort to censure marjorie taylor greene. she moved to force a vote on that legislation last week in a move that was seen as tit-for-tat following green's decision. they wrote in a long statement where the main message was republicans join with democrats to quash these resolutions. as a result i'm not can bring this resolution to the floor right now. there's a lot of political games being played in the house.

the congresswoman was not censured. marjorie taylor greene was not censured. congress and george santos was another day. host: you can follow her reporting, thank you for all of that information. we appreciate it. guest: thank you for having me. host: marjorie taylor greene responded to some republican colleagues joining to oppose that censure of representative rashida tlaib. this is why republicans never do anything to stop the communist democrats or hold anyone accountable. if you missed any of the house debate you just heard about, you can go to our website, c-span.org. hit the video player and you will see yellow stars indicating the points of interest during

those debates and you can watch it quickly there spending -- instead of spending hours sifting through the debate. conversation in this first hour. the senate debate last night pushed by republicans against their own senator's hold over military nominations. hn in pennsylvania, a democratic caller. go ahead. >> one thing i can't understand is and i read this in a magazine, i'm not sure which one, they were doing abortions in the military long before roe v. wade was even a twinkle in someone's eye. none of the military people brought this up about the fact abortions were done even though when it was illegal it was done in the military for females that had gotten pregnant and wanted an abortion.

i don't know why this wasn't brought up. why the military people in these hearings it's common knowledge. i don't understand why tommy tuberville is not educated on this. that's all i want to say. host: angie and centerville -- andy and centerville -- in centerville, virginia. caller: we are talking about tuberville holding the nominee. is he holding it absolutely from being voted on or a matter of accelerated process. my understanding is there still can be a process to vote on each of these but the senate is just not letting that happen. it's not like the senate is doing a lot right now. there's not a lot of legislation going out. regardless, i don't see what the issue is with debate on each of these senior leaders.

thank you for your service c-span. host: the senate yesterday did pass a three bill spending package to fund the government. they had that debate and a vote on the so-called minibus in washington. >> hello. i had a different look on something with regards to mr. tuberville's stance. what i was thinking is would it be best if he looked at it in a football light. does he really want to send his football team out as coordinator or offense of coordinator. defensive captain or quarterback? this is what he's asking our military to do is to function at not quite the full pace of what we can be. in that respect if we were to

work a little bit on the left and right side of what we want to achieve america would be at strongest. will we sink and rise like a runner on the left and right sides or in conjunction with each other. i think that's the route we can be on. and look at it to where we are, who we are. the united states. we can help a world of people like that. host: bringing football language to the former coach, tommy tuberville served as the former football coach at auburn university before entering politics. >> good morning and thank you for taking my call. i have a couple of things i want to mention. i have a nephew who is in the military who just got promoted

to sergeant and he was based in europe and has been deployed. i cannot tell you where because we don't really know but he told his parents and me the morale is not very good because his company is one of the companies wooden for their new commander. this is a very stressful time. our world is on fire right now and we need our military to be the best it can possibly be. i don't understand how a man in the military can take erectile dysfunction pills considered health care but not an abortion. this is not a religious state. there should be no religion in the marital -- military and mr. tuberville needs to get a grip on this and stop holding up our military. we need to be -- and i'm sorry,

thank. >> colonial heights, virginia. independent. caller: greta, give me a minute please. i will give you my perspective from a retired senior government -- spent 20 years on active duty during the vietnam era from the late 1960's to the late 1980's. this is what happens when you put a person like tuberville in the senate. the man has no experience, the only experience he has is is a football coach. look at the state he represents. all those people in alabama care about is football so i guess if you are a football coach you qualified. they are one of the poorest states, one of the most uneducated states and one of the

most uninformed states. so this is at the feet of the voters in alabama for putting a person like him in the senate. that is a problem. these people should have to take a test. he is a football coach and probably -- that's my opinion from a retired noncommissioned officer. host: sherry in laurel, mississippi, republican. >> thank you for taking my call. former military and i can tell you that abortions have pretty much always been legal and quite easy for a woman if she can receive one there she can go to another to receive it.

just a matter of taking leave. but with the other things that are going on in the military i don't believe in people being transition from one gender to another at taxpayer expense. thank you. >> john in massachusetts. let's hear from you. caller: how are you today. i'm going to throw this out there. as far as the abortion thing goes, you listen to the republicans, there's a bunch of other things going on. meanwhile they want to take away food stamps and all this. somewhere somebody has to go build a town somewhere. if we are not going to have abortions and get food stamps, we are going to have a homeless population that's going to be huge.

i get we are talking about the military and all that but we are not. we are talking about abortions. it's ridiculous. republicans i am not talking about january 6, i'm talking about before january 6. adam kinzinger was about the only republican that was in office. we talked about the military and its readiness. tommy tuberville said it's the best we've ever been but that's because biden is in office and i hate to admit that. but here we go. if we are really good at talk about abortion someone has to figure out where we will put all of these people. caller: tuberville is not commander-in-chief. how dare he. military women should not be raped. that's all.

host: perry in south dakota, republican. caller: thank you for taking my call. i wonder if this problem would go away when that young lady wants to get into the military if you get pregnant and want to have an abortion that is on you, not the government, it is on you. you should take care of your own problem abortion is a moral thing and that's the way it should be. just put a piece of paper in front of her and say sign this. i think that would take care of the problem if the young lady can have it or something like that she should probably not be

in the military. host: more from the debate on the senate floor last night here is retiring senator mitt romney calling the senator's tactics and abuse of power. >> we each have things we might disagree with in the military and someone can come in with deep personal convictions about their morality but if each senator felt empowered to hold up all promotions in our military unless we got our way on those issues, our military would grind to a halt. this power is extraordinary we are given as individual senators but is incumbent on us to use it in a reasonable way and not abuse it in such a way that we end up putting in harm's way the capabilities of our military and their well-being of our men and women in uniform. senator tuberville pointed out i believe it's absolutely right that what secretary austen did

was a contravention of the hyde amendment, against the law. we have a process for pursuing things that are done by an administration that are against the law. it's the court process. i am happy to join with an amicus brief and have even filed legal action to reverse the pentagon's policy, that is the process we should follow in the circumstances. not one that's being exacted upon 350 men and women who we need to have in service and whose lives are being so badly disrupted. i would also offer this. senator tuberville, if the department of defense, secretary of defense said we would no longer pay for the travel of these individuals but instead allow a private charity to do so , would that be acceptable, you would allow this to go away?

so if secretary austen agrees we will eliminate this policy but allow a private charity to provide for the travel for someone who wants to receive an abortion in a state where the procedure is legal, would that satisfy you and allow this catastrophe to resolve? >> that was the type of negotiation i've been looking for. nobody, zero has come to me with any alternatives to get this done. >> would that be an acceptable alternative? >> that would be a good start, we can work this out. we can do it without negotiations. -- cannot do it without negotiations. there's been no deal. one minute calls since june. there's been no more conversations so how do you work out a problem without communication.

>> i have ways of doing that. i will pick up the phone and have that conversation. but we have to make sure that we do not continue to hold up 350 plus people from being able to get promoted. that's essential to our military. host: after nine months of military holds, the senate, pushed by republicans, held debate for four plus hours last night. tommy tuberville had to stand up each and every time his senate republicans put up nominees. we are letting you in this first hour join in on this debate. anthony in kentucky, independent. caller: i don't understand why they have this one man from alabama holding up military nominees, which is the most

important aspect of our country. i don't understand why the most high-ranking member in the senate and cannot be voted out in the process of blocking the nominees. he needs to remove completely from office. understanding sense about themselves. we have all these kinds of things. we have all this mess going on in the world and we have this fool up in the senate holding up nominees, the most capable military people who have that experience of how to put things forward. host: if you missed any of last night's debate, live coverage, c-span2's live coverage go to the website c-span.org.

house republicans $14 billion's role -- is relayed package could get a vote without aid to ukraine. we will talk with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on how they will vote. stay with us. >> monday, watch the c-span series in partnership with a library of congress, books that shaped america. we will feature a novel their eyes were watching god. it takes place during the gym grow your it and explores life in the african-american community, race relations, gender roles and female empowerment. the book written in 1937 is considered a harlem renaissance classic and has been highly influential on african-americans in women's literature. tiffany ruby patterson will join us on the program to discuss the

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store, browse through our latest collection of products, apparel, books, home decor and accessories. there is something for every c-span fan and every purchase help support our nonprofit operation. shop now or anytime at c-span shop.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back. for the next hour, we will to members of congress about aid to israel and ukraine, the debate happening in washington. we will be joined by members of congress on capitol hill during this first hour. we want you to join this debate as well. (202) 748-8000 four democrats, republicans, (202) 748-8001, an independents (202) 748-8002. text us with your first name,

city and state at (202) 748-8003 . let's go up to capitol hill and joining us from their is congresswoman ilya ramirez was a democrat from illinois and serves on the homeland security subcommittee on border security enforcement. thank you for joining us. guest: good morning. host: i want to start with president biden who had a closed-door fundraiser in minnesota and he responded to a heckler who called for a cease-fire between israel and gaza and hamas. the headline from abc says -- did the president go far enough? guest: as you hear from people all over the country, all over the world, the pope himself is said we need to be able to save hostages and get americans out, minimize any casualties with

civilians. what we've seen is the opposite over the last two weeks. i am grateful that the president is beginning to get closer to making the call that ultimately needs to be made which is a full cease fire and use diplomacy and to really focus on humanitarian aid. the desperate calls we are getting from constituents who have family and gaza, people who don't know and have not been able to connect with their families for days is gut wrenching. i think we are seeing that we have a moment to decide the history and what the world will look like for us over the next few months and years and cease fire to me is ultimately the solution to minimize the casualties. host: you have a resolution urging the biden administration for immediate de-escalation. how is this different from other resolutions? guest: look, part of it for us and their priority is we have to

de-escalate the situation to be able to ensure that every single civilian in gaza, in the region is protected. secondly, de-escalation means it gives us an opportunity to be able to work with other international partners but using the u.s. as a world leader to be able to begin to negotiate and be able to lead with diplomacy. more important than anything is to prevent a long-lasting war in the region which at this point, we are headed that way. the de-escalation will allow us to lead with diplomacy, something in this moment we certainly need desperately. host: your resolution also describes palestine as occupied. define that. guest: i've been in the region. i've been there before we state

legislator and before i was a congressperson. the reality is there is a lot of area in the palestinian territory that has been occupied. when i was there, there were 67 security points in that space. there is an impasse and challenge when you see netanyahu lead with words of inaction to incorporate mass evictions. we have seen that which is escalating the tensions in the region and we have to be honest, there is issues we will have to deal with that are really nuanced and certainly started before october 7. host: over 1400 israelis killed and 30 americans killed by hamas. does israel have a right to self-defense? guest: israel has a right to self-defense and i condemn hamas. what happened on that day is unacceptable and we should do everything we can to address

hamas but the palestinian people and palestinian children are not hamas. that is where i think we have made the distinction that war crimes are not going to resolve this, the violation of international law is unacceptable today, tomorrow and every single day. when 4000 palestinian children have died, many of them, shame on us for allowing that to happen and this is why i tell you and i continue to say we have to lead with diplomacy. we are closer to getting americans out now but it's been almost a month that americans have been in gaza starving. many of them are wondering if they will live through the night. host: what has the hamas decision on october 7, what has that done to the palestinian movement? guest: what hamas has done has

truly been a monstrosity. what they have done to the israeli people in the region and to all of us, has real impact. the anti-semitism around the world has shown us that how we move really has consequences. hamas is condemned and i continue to condemn them but i also have to say the way we have moved in the way the israeli government has moved and how slow we have been in some cases to call for a pause, to get americans out has also had a significant impact around the world. this is why you see the majority of americans are asking for a cease-fire. the majority of americans are saying we have to address this and we have to look at this at from a place of justice and we have to lead with peace and diplomacy as our outcome and their objective long-term.

host: how will you vote on the aid to israel which includes cuts to the irs and does not include funding for ukraine? guest: i think you know the answer to that. that proposed budget is irresponsible and immoral. you are saying you're going to send $14 billion of military aid and cut the irs and you're going to leave the country in deficit, more deficit. my colleagues the republicans are saying we are the people that are going to get us into the green and we will get out of the threat and be able to bring the country to an economy that works for everyone. this is the opposite of that. if we have any morality, how do you send $14 billion and save the palestinian people -- and save the palestinian people, they don't deserve our aid?

it's unacceptable and i will be voting no. host: congresswoman ramirez, thank you for your time this morning, we appreciate it. guest: thank you. host: now is your term to react -- your turn to react to the congresswoman we will talk to members of both sides of the aisle on this debate in washington. and whether or not it should also include aid to ukraine. a democratic caller, good morning to you. it's your turn. caller: thank you. i think we need to give aid to israel. on ukraine, we need to look at the other countries and we've given them $115 billion. the united nations should give them 150 billion before they get another penny. as far as the palestinians, they showed hostages being taken that

day and the palestinian people cheering hamas on for taking these hostages. there is 2 million palestinian people. five or 10,000 hamas fighters, there are hamas fighters in the united states and see how the american people react. when you have 2 million people in five or 10,000 fighters, israel needs to get rid of them while they are in there because if they don't, in four years, it they will be right back and we need to put our foot down on iran and china and all these other countries that promote this. russia, all of it. host: does that mean giving aid to ukraine so they can fight russia? caller: if these other countries give $115 billion like we have, yes, if not, no. host: we get your point, let's go to shannon in florida, republican.

caller: the way i see it is politicians words said a mouthful. hamas and the bombs and the weapons they used, where they left over from iraq? if they were, then shame on joe biden. hamas will always be there. they have grown up. they are laughing at our charity. israel needs to defend itself and we need to stand behind israel because the bible says anybody draws arms against me, we don't want to go in that direction. when you hide behind a baby carriage and a bunch of children, and then you blame the other person, that's like the

2020 election where you stay in the basement and you have a voting machine that is rigged. host: from the washington post reporting --

you can read that in the washington post. independent, north carolina, good morning. caller: it's funny how the republicans can pass legislation to pay the bills they ran up but when it comes to israel, they are trying to push the money out the door. people should know that israel, if you average the money we give israel every year, that are given out to the israel citizens, it's about $13,000 per person. they are one of the richest

nations in the world. they have plenty of weapons. this is all political right here. the main thing i wanted to tell you is that i don't understand why biden dealt with netanyahu. the guy is a tyrant fascist in the israeli people were already against him and wanted him to go. why didn't they push him out? host: we will go back up to capitol hill and joining us from there is representative john rutherford, republican of florida, a member of the appropriations committee. let's begin with the possible vote on aid to israel. how will you vote and why? guest: i will vote yes on that. i think the pay for it is significant in the house bill. we really need to stand strong

with israel. having sent to carry groups into the area, in the red sea, we are trying to send a strong message to those bad actors around gaza. they should not extend this war outside of where it's at now. host: what have you been told about why this vote may or may not take place today? guest: i think there is some discussion about whether the pay for is the way to go. i believe it is. i believe speaker johnson is spot on with his concept and we should pay for this. i heard you earlier talking about the cost. this is a pay for, we can pull this -- we don't need 87,000 new irs agents going after the middle class. we can simply move that money to

help israel fight the hamas terrorists and hezbollah who seems to be wanting to get into this as well. host: the congressional budget office says this proposal to israel, could drive up the deficit by 12.5 billion dollars, how do you respond? guest: that money is already been appropriated. it was in the ira. we've got to move that money back so i disagree with that. host: but the congressional budget office at the inflation reduction act would reduce debts would cut the deficit by more than 100 billion dollars by improving collections and enforcement by the irs. guest: that's debatable. also, when you look at the fact that this has already passed, the appropriation is there and

we need to pull it back to use that as a pay for to protect our allies in israel. host: this is the front page of the washington times this morning about speaker johnson meeting behind closed doors with your republican colleagues in the senate. would you agree with that approach check guest: yes i would and i would add this, i don't think the robust border issue is about more money. i think it's really about changing the policy. the situation we have the southern border in america is not a budget issue. it is strictly a policy issue. in fact, if they would change their policies, they wouldn't need as much money. host: if speaker johnson brings

to the floor aid to ukraine and ties it to more money for the southern border, do you think he can get all the republicans to vote for that? guest: no, i don't believe so. there would be some issues with that i believe. we want a strong southern border but as i said, is not about money, it's about policy. i know there are some policy changes in their but i would have to see how the house speaker balances that between policy and funding. that issue is more policy driven than it is funding. host: giphy made the move to bring the ukraine aid to the floor, do you think that could jeopardize his speakership? guest: no, i don't believe that would hamper him. at least for me, i understand that we had to support ukraine. we have to stop where we are at. i explained to my folks back home that we can either stop

putin in ukraine using american dollars and ukrainian blood or we can stop some other nato country using u.s. dollars and american blood. i would rather stop them in ukraine. host: you are a member of the ethics committee, how did you vote on the question to expel one of your colleagues, george santos and as a member of the ethics committee, what is the work you are doing behind closed doors and why can't you publicly talk about it? guest: thank you for asking that. we had a vote on that issue and there is an investigative subcommittee report that will be out november 17. that was announced in a letter out of the ethics office. we will have our conclusions about that point and that's when i think we should bring any kind of censure or expulsion of

representative santos, bring that to the floor then when we have due process. as an ethics member, i had to vote present. host: why did you not vote against the expulsion resolution? guest: i cannot predispose my answer before the investigation is complete and reported. ethically, we should not do that. host: representative john rutherford, republican of florida, thank you for your time. guest: thank you. host: back to calls, sean and north carolina, democratic caller. what is your take on the debate in the house about eight israel and aid to ukraine? caller: number one, we should be funding israel and ukraine.

everybody is missing the point here of what's going on. this whole thing that was created in israel, the attack on israel was created by vladimir putin through iran's proxy. this was to get relief because he was losing the battle to ukraine. and it has worked. the next thing that needs to be done is every single politician needs to be vetted upside down, inside out of where they are getting their money. our new speaker of the house is funded by oligarchs from russia. there are over 300,000 kang stirs illegally in our country. what is going on? host: where did you read that about the fundraising for mike johnson? caller: look at what happened

with trump. they were funneling money from the nra from russian oligarchs into every single politician they could get to take the money. this is a story from long ago. it was on russian state media and they were lauded as heroes. host: key might be referencing the newsweek headline from october 27. that is the newsweek story and you can go read more at

newsweek.com. north carolina, democratic caller. caller: yes, i'm so upset because they are not doing nothing about you what you just said. what the difference between laundering money for human trafficking, what's the difference between laundering money for fentanyl. the fbi put it on the news a few years back. our biggest problem is we are pushing fentanyl for the russians and we can't keep the bikers in jail. our politicians are owned by the russian oligarchs and it's truly sad. something needs to happen. host: albert in new jersey, republican. caller: the clueless democrats started with president biden taking the sanctions off of iran and nobody wants to tell you the truth. they all got the money from the

oil. that started the ball rolling. our borders are wide open. if you think those people are here already? they are already in the country. there are bad things that will happen, president trump did his best and they didn't like what he was doing and i don't -- and i think trouble is down the road in the last thing i would say is thank god we got mike johnson in there, somebody who will help shore up what's going on because i don't think nobody knows all the billions of dollars we sent to ukraine. i say no more money. who knows where that money is going. host: look at the front page of the washington times this morning.

what do you think? speaker johnson is saying he would support more aid to ukraine. caller: ok, that's a smart idea, let the money go to ukraine and the border and get that taken care of. israel has a lot of money. the poor people in palestine are suffering and help them poor people. that's about it. i think we will just do the best we can and mike is a smart guy and it sounds like he knows what he's doing but i don't like all the money that went to ukraine. they needed but there was no accountability. where the money go? host: jerry in kentucky. caller: if you want to solve this palestine-israel war, i don't care if you are religious or not, you have to read the first six chapters of joshua and pay close attention.

they talk about the boundaries given there because a lot of israeli people still consider all the land inside those boundaries their land. thank you for your time, c-span. have a good day. host: thank you. back up to capitol hill and republican of south carolina is joining us. let's begin with the vote possibly today on aid to israel, do you have concerns the congressional budget office said this could drive up the deficit by over $12 billion? guest: two things about the cbo, i don't trust anything they come out with. the a2 israel is based on a pay for which is taking money away from the 80,000 irs agents that joe biden wanted to put on the streets. they want them to harass

americans. the fact that it paid for in the fact it's going to her only friend in the middle east is a great thing and it's separate from funding for ukraine. host: the cbo also said the additional money to the irs that was part of the inflation reduction act would reduce the deficit by $100 billion by improving collections and enforcement. guest: that's just a codeword for harassing the american people. they are carrying a gun and no, i don't trust anything out of this administration, why should we trust them now? that's just words. host: how will this be resolved, because president biden said he would detail a plan for israel. but he wants to see an aid package that includes money for

israel, ukraine, taiwan, and the southern border. >> that is not surprising. guest: he is going to vote against or veto against everything we have that is good. you cannot combine the two of them. there are strong feelings on both sides about ukraine. the democratic way to do it is have -- if it is going to be borrowed, like the funding for israel, let's vote on it, up or down. i would not expect anything less from him, to veto it. host: johnson also said he does support more money for ukraine come he wants to tie it to money for the southern border. would you say the same rationale should be applied to that proposal, given an up or down vote on the house floor? guest: the doubts i have on this

administration and anything. he is asking for money for border patrol agents come up all they are is processing papers to get people in quicker in this country, so they can go on the payrolls and vote for the biden administration and liberals. it does not surprise me. i would look at it. it has to have accountability to it. under this administration, i do not trust anything would have accountability, nor what i trust it would be paid for. he is intent on borrowing it. we are paying the price for it now. host: would you advise bigger johnson not to bring more aid to ukraine to the floor? guest: there is a feeling of those who have supported ukraine to vote on it. i do not mind to vote on it. but where is the accountability? we will all vote our conscious. host: why not, or you said he

would look at it, but why would you be opposed to it? would you support it? guest: look at the dollars we have already spent, $100 billion has been given to ukraine. i want them to succeed, they need to beat russia. i would look at it, everybody ought to look at it in to make sure the money is going where it is supposed to go. it is just under this administration where there has been no accountability. that has to happen sooner rather than later. from everything we do from here on out, particularly with speaker johnson, i think he will insist on no more borrowing, paying as we deal with things and a boot on them. i think he will do that. the numbers do not lie about where we are financially in this

country. host: do you think if speaker johnson brings more aid to ukraine to the floor for a vote, that it could jeopardize his speakership? guest: absolutely not. we deal with things here, where some low-pass, some won't. that is the democratic process. he is a breath of fresh air. you can trust him. it is a different day in washington now. something -- nothing is going to deter him. he has a great record. and we will get behind him. host: how did you vote on the resolution to expel george santos, your republican colleague from the house? guest: let the people of new york decide that. i voted against it. he is being debated in the ethics committee now. i do not want to go down that road with george. he should face the voters, let them make the decision.

host: how did you go on the censure resolution of your democratic colleague? guest: i have voted to center her, that is different from expelling someone. what she said, pro-palestine, pro-hamas, is outrageous. center her, yes. would i vote her out, no. but i will vote to censor her. she has to face the voters as well. particularly now, to say that, it is so inflammatory. look at what is happening on college campuses. it is an outrage. host: some republican colleagues of years -- yours joined democrats to not censure her, citing her first amendment rights. how do you respond? guest: the first amendment, we are free to exercise free speech, however it is inflammatory -- when you have

people being beheaded, when you have a massacre that happened in israel, it is beyond the pale of speaking your mind. that's light yelling fire in a theater. that people are trying to watch a film in. what she did was wrong. she should not have said it. and we will live to fight another day. host: amid the debates we have talked about with you, there is also the looming deadline to fun d the government passed in november 17. walk us through the plan and you supported? -- you support it? guest: we have passed five bills. we will deal with labor this week. the big one, we will deal with next week. but what my job has done is put these on the fast track. a a lot of these things could have been out months ago, but

they were held up for whatever reason. but we have lost a couple weeks -- it will be quickly made up. this week we will deal with three, which many of them have cuts. and many of them have pay fors. host: we always appreciate your time. thank you. back to calls. fred in pennsylvania, a democratic caller. hi. caller: the reason i am calling is i have never heard anybody speak about what would happen if vladimir putin took over ukraine, the breadbasket over the world. if he got a hold of that, he could dictate w -- that, he could dictate who to give the grain to. he could give it to china, to wrong, north korea for -- teh ran, north korea, for weapons

and technology. if they lose the war in ukraine committed the atrocities we have recently seen in israel would be happening every day in ukraine, just as bad. if not worse. so, we have to protect ukraine because we cannot let putin get a hold of the agricultural giant of ukraine. host: fred, you think that the senate has the right approach, tying that aid to ukraine 282 zero -- to israel, taiwan and the southern border? caller: yes. if we go step-by-step, we will run into -- we are giving aid to ukraine, where is the money going? most of what we are giving them is not money, but weapons. and ammunition. things of that nature, and

technology. we are giving them some to rebuild because whole cities have been destroyed. and their infrastructure is being destroyed. and, we also have to protect israel from the attack and onslaught there. if we break these up, it will be debates back and forth and it will take time. and it will be a waste of time and energy that we could be spending on helping these two nations protect themselves from terrorism. also, one of the things i have never heard anybody talk about with israel and gaza, could we use united nations troops from pakistan to work in coordination with israel to protect the people of gaza. they do not see a muslim face. they see the jewish face of israel attacking them. and if they had a muslim group

come in, an army, to help protect them, and i am sure they do not like hamas any better than israel does, that would be a big help too. that is my viewpoint, we cannot let putin get a hold of an agricultural giant. and we need to protect the people of gaza, as well as the people of israel. host: a story in usa today about the demand for ammunition and weapons made in america is key to biden's aid proposal. thanks to the need for u.s. artillery overseas, an ammunition plant in southeast iowa that turned out bombs for world war ii, is getting approximately $1.5 billion in an upgrade. congress has sent military support to ukraine.

biden is pushing for tens of billions of dollars in additional support for israel and ukraine. he has emphasized the missiles and artillery shells are made in america, providing a local economic boost. that's in the usa today. nancy in covington, louisiana. a republican. hi. caller: good morning. i have to say that i am new to this politics stuff, but democrats or republicans -- ca'' t you see that joe biden has caused all this? it makes me really sad. his aid to all who need it, i'm watching the southern border and it is really -- it's horrific. somebody needs to help this border crossing. that's really all i have to say. host: but what do you think

about the possibility that speaker johnson ties more money for the southern border to aid for ukraine? caller: what do i think about that? i say give aid to all that needs it. host: you are for that idea? caller: right. what needs it right now the most is the southern border, it is horrific. host: understood. a couple of stories from capitol hill yesterday. three house lawmakers announced they will not be running for reelection. republican representative can but from colorado announced he will not seek reelection next year. saying that the republican party's election denial and january 6 narrative are part of his decision. he was first elected to congress in 2014 to represent colorado's fourth district. you also have congresswoman

granger also deciding she is not going to run for reelection, the republican of texas. and blumenauer, a democrat from oregon. then there is this from the new york times. new jersey's first lady is positioning herself to run for menendez's senate seat. at the wife of governor philip murphy of new jersey, who has never held an elected office. that's the story in the new york times. a democratic caller from ohio. what are your thoughts over the debate for aid for ukraine and israel? caller: good morning. good morning, america. i'm on the fence about it all, because all of these countries

are corrupt. and they need have a corruption meter if they are going to do things like this. but my bone this morning is with c-span. you guys are supposed to be educating the masses. nobody has ever mentioned hitler and germany in this conversation. now, hitler is the reason why we are here. in 1948, they decided after the war that killed 6 million jews, that the jews deserved a home. now, they were scattered everywhere living their lives, how come they could not go back to poland, go back to yugoslavia

or russia? no, somebody came up with an idea that in israel jews have a home. then what did they do? they took the jews and put them on top of the palestinians that where living on that land. why? why did they do that? i do not understand it. the thing that really gets to me is we have been giving israel billions. since 1948. are they going to pay that money back? host: i am going to move on. go ahead. caller: my issue is how long are we going to put up with the

republicans trying to take us down? to dictatorship. why are the people are not paying attention to donald j. trump, who he is a wannabe dictator? he supports putin. he has been supporting dictatorship the whole time he was in as the president, and getting away with it. now our congress -- host: i'm sorry, i thought that you were done. frank in florida, and independent. caller: hi. i was reading this hearing. it is called the colonization of the west bank territory by israel. and the hearing was in 1978.

it was talking about how the israelis imprisoned, and tortured innocent people, palestinians, and no way that they control them. i watched, this year, a woman walking to a checkpoint with her hands up and she was shot in the back by an israeli. these people go through this all the time. when that person was talking about world war ii, when we had the warsaw ghetto uprising. this is the same thing in palestine. you know, the palestinian people are sick and tired of being killed and tortured, just about daily, by these israeli people. they have to stand up. what do people want to do? have than wait like the jews -- them wait like the jews did and

be exterminated or are they going to stand up? host: matt in virginia, we are talking about aid to israel and ukraine, the debate in washington. the house is slated to vote on aid to israel only, it would not include aid to ukraine. and it would be offset when it comes to the irs. what are your thoughts? caller: two comments. one, i think where we are is kind of a microcosm of where politics are in this nation. in the past, something like providing aid to israel and to a country that was fighting a communist regime would have been easily bipartisan support, it would not have been mixed up in extraneous domestic issues. and the second issue is, and i

think it is hard to avoid, it cause out hypocrisy on the republican side -- they have continually talked about reducing the deficit to reduce spending, yet the bill that they posed for israel would offset the cost of that aid by cutting funding for the irs. it would actually increase the deficit by more than $12 billion. on one hand you cannot talk about the need to reduce the deficit, then introduces something that should get bipartisan support, that otherwise if it was a bill to israel would fly through the house with bipartisan support, and than the president would sign it into law. instead, because it is tied up with other issues, it will be sent to the senate, changed probably, adding aid to ukraine, then you are back to where you started. so you are going through this whole process that is completely unnecessary.

it is frustrating, because this is something that should easily get bipartisan support. there is low hanging fruit. but it shows where we are politically in our country, that something that should get bipartisan support is kind of in this position where it is. host: matt in virginia, a democratic caller. yesterday, the president, before delivering remarks on the economy in minnesota, provided an update on efforts to get americans out of gaza and provide humanitarian relief in the region. pres. biden: today, thanks to american leadership, we are in a situation where safe passage for foreign nationals has started from gaza. american citizens are part of the first group of probably over 1000. and we see more of this process in the coming days. working nonstop to get americans

out of gaza as soon possible. this is a result of an intense and urgent american diplomacy with our partners in the region. but first, we spent time speaking with the prime minister of israel, and others, to make sure we could get people out. i want to thank our partners in the region, particularly qatar, who has worked closely with us to support negotiations to facilitate the departure of the citizens. at the same time, we are continuing to work to step up the flow of critical humanitarian assistance in gaza. at the number of trucks entering gaza continues to increase significantly, but we still have a long way to go. the united states is going to continue to drive humanitarian support for the innocent people in gaza who need help. and we will continue to -- who

has the right to respond to tear, and it needs to -- terror, and it needs to do so under a law that prioritizes the protection of citizens. host: president biden yesterday talking about the administration's efforts. those remarks ahead of a possible vote today in the house on aid to israel. republicans in the house, who control the chamber, have tied the aid to israel -- it's a standalone package, excuse me. james in charlotte, north carolina, a democratic caller. we are talking about that and the debate over the aid to ukraine. caller: good morning. i hope you are having a pleasant morning. i tell you, this whole thing has me so upset. number one, this palestinian army, which is not an army, but people breaking the u.n. charter

that says occupied people have the right to resist. i do not see anything that shows they have the right to get -- then i find that about 85% of our administrators in this administration have dual citizenship. then you see with all the money to israel, we are giving them $3 million a year. and biden is going to have us stumble into world war iii. yesterday, the saudis reduced oil output by 2 million barrels. so gases going to go up. and nobody is going to know why here because we do not know it is really going on around the world. host: we are going back up to

capitol hill. congressman gabe of ask as -- ve squez is joining us, and member of the agricultural committee. thank you for your time. we will start with the headline from abc about president biden's remarks during a closed-door fundraiser last evening, when he responded to a heckler who called for a cease-fire. he said there should be a pause in the conflict to get hostages out. what is your reaction? guest: i think we have to uphold our american values in this country, and it applies to israelis and palestinians. we need to protect innocent lives. so we have to do what is necessary, working with our partners, especially as we are discussing in congress one of the largest aid packages to foreign country and ally. it is important for israel to defend itself, but we have to be accountable for those dollars

and make sure that folks are kept safe in gaza who are in the crossfire. host: should there be a cease-fire? guest: i think there needs to be a pause. we need to better understand, especially as members of congress, what the end goal is for israel when it comes to this attack -- this response to gaza. we need to make sure we protect innocent lives. host: how will you vote on the $14 billion aid package for israel? guest: i said this yesterday, this is a serious proposal during a very serious and intense moment that will define -- for years to come. republicans should come to a bipartisan agreement, that the administration can agree to. unfortunately, i feel like republicans, by taking $14 billion from the irs, which raises revenue from the government, they will increase the deficit and one not accomplish the goals we are looking to do.these packages

should be tied to aid for ukraine as well, something republicans have not talked about with democrats yet. host: is the caucus divided over u.s. policies for israel? guest: no, i think we are on the same side. the same way we were united in voting for speaker johnson. i think that people have different worldviews of how we should deal with these conflicts in the middle east, especially the only democracy in the middle east, an important ally. i think we agree on that. however, we need to make sure that as we are supporting israel, that we are doing it in the right way. we have to bring republicans to the table to put forth a proposal that makes sense to the american people, and that it is viable in the senate and white house. host: how do you think or what is your reaction to what speaker johnson has said, what he is considering doing too fond of the government after november

17? there is a possibility of january 15 or april 15. guest: this is what chaos looks like. the republican is in dysfunction. i do not believe there is a real leader right now. i think it is controlled by a fraction -- a faction of extreme republicans who at any moment could vote to get speaker johnson out of his seat. that is incredibly harmful to the country. when you are taken hostage by the most extreme element in your party, it makes it difficult to come up with a continuing resolution. so he continuing resolution is the best thing we have to move forward, the bills we will uptake in the next couple months. it we have missed three weeks of work because of this dysfunction. and a continuing resolution at this point to get things done in washington is going to be necessary for us to continue doing this work. but it should have been done in the first place. host: let's talk about the a.d. ukraine. it seems speaker johnson has --

aid to ukraine. it seems speaker johnson has said he would bring up if it was tied to more money for the southern border. your district is along the southern border. you have introduced your own bills to deal with the issue there. would you support tying ukraine aid to aid for the southern border? guest: just this week i spoke with secretary mayorkas. and i spoke with border patrol agents in my district on monday, as well. i think that is solution -- that this solution is a start, but it has to be a conversation that takes place in the hispanic caucus. many of us represent border districts. to be able to tie a security package and immigration aid package that makes sense, not just for border districts, but for also like communities in denver, los angeles, please is experiencing the brunt of the

asylum-seekers crisis, we have to have the right solutions on the table. so, i propose more funding for border security, but we have to have a conversation, a productive conversation on the house democratic side with the administration, to make sure the funding goes to the right places. and i believe i have those solutions, that is why i proposed a package that addresses the issues at the border. bu wet are looking forward to continuing those conversations with the administration. yes, we should be able to tie ukraine and israel together, because our national security depends on our allies, and those are two important allies we must protect. host:host: real quick, would yoe to see a for the border tied to your proposals? tick them off beyond more security. guest: one of the things we have to deal with his human trafficking and coyotes, the

folks who put, especially women and children, in harm's way. one of my bill addresses that issue, increasing penalties for people found to be engaging with minors in human and drug trafficking, and we need technology at the border to help protect illicit substances like fentanyl. it is a proposal i have, and it is not just about technology but it is about custom and border protection agents who use the technology. i saw that technology this weekend that is incredibly important. we have to address those two things. host: congressman vasquez, thank you for talking to our viewers and telling us about your thoughts this morning. we appreciate it and hope you come back. guest: thank you. host: we will bring you up to the house floor. they are gaveling in early for their legislative session this morning. live coverage here on c-span.