>> coming up on "washington journal," your calls and comments live. also, roll call budget and appropriations report. latest effort to defund the government before friday's deadline and we diusd president biden's meeting today with the chise psint darin lahood darinahd, with illinois republican congressman and texas democratic congressman marc veasey. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning. wednesday, november 15, 2023. house returns at 9:00 a.m. eastern after passing a funding measure yesterday. we will talk about the fate of that bill in the senate begin on

a series of incidents yesterday with members behaving badly. in the wake of a shoving incident, a near fistfight and name-calling on capitol hill, we would like to know your thoughts on civility in congress. is it important to you? phone lines are open, split by political parties. democrats, (202)-748-8000. republicans, (202)-748-8001. independents, (202)-748-8002. you can also send a text, (202)-748-8003. if you do, include your name and where you are from. otherwise, catch up with us on social media, that x, @cspanwj. a spec.com/c-span. -- on facebook, facebook.com/c-span. the new york times writes the former gop speaker, one of the

republicans who voted to oust him, republican senator rose to challenge the labor leader to hearing and across the capital, a chairman compared a member of his committee to a cartoon character. the headline on that piece, skirmishes and heated exchanges erupt on capitol hill. the first that happened yesterday between kevin mccarthy and tim burchett, a fellow republican. tim burchett describing the incident yesterday in an interview with cnn. this is what he had to say. [video clip] >> i was doing an interview with claudia from npr, a lovely lady. she asked me a question. at that time, i got elbowed in the back. a copy off guard because it was a shot to the kidneys. i turned back and there was kevin. for a minute, i was kind of shocked and then i chased after him, of course. he is a bully with $70 million

in his security detail. he is -- $17 million in his security detail. he is the kind of kid who throws a rock across the fence and runs behind his mama's skirt. i thought the way we handle things in east tennessee, we have a problem with somebody, i am going to look him in the eye and talk to him. >> so he walked down the hallway and hit you with his elbow. >> yeah, you can go on claudia x's account, it is accurate. >> explain, so you chased him? >> i ran after him like, what the heck? why did you do that? like i said, if you have ever been hit in the kidneys, it is a little different. you don't have to hit hard to cause pain. of course, as he always did, does, he just denies it or blames somebody else or something. it was a little heated, but i

backed off. i would not gain anything from it. everybody saw it. it did not really matter. >> he responded to you? >> yeah, he acted like, what are you talking about? who are you? that kind of thing. it is symptomatic of the problems i have seen he has had in his short tenure as speaker. [end video clip] host: tim burchett yesterday, interview with cnn. they also spoke with kevin mccarthy to ask him about the incident. here are his remarks. [video clip] >> i did not kidney punch him. >> [indiscernible] >> no. you guys line up along the way. i and walking out -- i am talking out, i did not know it was him, i guess my elbow hit him when i walked by. when i walked back further, somebody was interviewing him, talking to me, and he comes

running up, why did you hit me? i did not even know something transpired. [end video clip] host: kevin mccarthy yesterday on capitol hill. the headline in "time," today, lawmakers almost came to blows at the capitol twice. the second incident on the senate side yesterday at a hearing, markwayne mullin, challenging the head of the union to a fight during a back-and-forth. here is that exchange. [video clip] >> let's talk about mr. o'brien's behavior. last time, i had a back-and-forth. appreciate your demeanor today, quite different. after you left, you got excited about keywords. you tweeted 1, 2, 3, 4, five times. let me read what the last said. it said, "green ceo who pretends like he is self-made." i was she

was in the truck with me when i built my plumbing company myself and my wife was running the office because i should remember working pretty hard, long hours. but then says "he is self-made. -- "pretends he is self-made. what a clown, a fraud. always was, always will be." "quit the 10 facts in the senate hearings. you know where to find me, anyplace, anytime." sir, this is a time and place, if you want to run your mouth, we can finish it here. >> that aside, perfect. >> want to do it now. >> let's do it now. >> stand here butt -- stand your butt up then. >> you stand your butt up then. >> you are a united states senator, sit down please. no, sorry, -- you will have your time.

this is a hearing. god knows the american people have enough contempt for congress. >> i don't like you. >> hold it. you have the mic and let's do this -- >> i accepted your challenge. and you went quiet. >> no, i do not go quiet. you challenged me to a cage match, acting like a 12-year-old. >> hold it. >> i will say -- >> senator molen, i have the mic. if you have questions on economic issues, go for it. we are not here to talk about physical abuse. [end video clip] host: that was yesterday from the u.s. senate hearing. we are talking this morning on "washington journal" about civility and congress. is it important to you in those incidents and in the wake of headlines like this this morning on rollcall media, it is time for thanksgiving.

tensions flare as fights break out in congress. give us your thoughts. democrats, (202)-748-8000. republicans, (202)-748-8001. independents, (202)-748-8002. otis is first out of orange park, florida, democrat. caller: good morning. good morning. you know, i was sitting here watching the show you just, this pc just showed. it seemed -- this piece you just showed. these guys should be better leaders. i know back in the day, these guys make laws. they should set an example that we don't fight on tv just because of words. guarantee you this, this senator that stood up do not spend not one day in combat boots.

yet, he is a tough guy. and the other guy, he is a tough guy. it don't make sense. you don't have to show how bad you are by fighting. use your head. but we are making ourselves look immature. we are supposed to be the leaders of the world, and we allow any citizen or appointed person who they think got their back because they talk to us. here's the true fact, you don't have to talk tough to be tough. you can be as quiet as a mouse, but then when somebody jumps, you can respond. do not ever misunderstand thinking that just because you want to talk tough, it makes you tough. you might be a little coward tried to put up a front to keep people off of your behind. that is not right. we need to do better for these kids. it is not fair to this country or to the world to have leaders

like that in these positions to act like they are five and six-year-olds. host: otis from florida. al in massachusetts, republican. caller: good morning. i think we need to roll this back a little. with 16 l -- with the 2016 election, the left-wing media complex. hillary clinton had it. let's remember the deplorable's, that donald trump was the first president in history not to have a honeymoon period. so they have been shot since the 1960's. they were the ones who are angry. they no longer have full control. we can see that $33 trillion in debt that they have run up. where's the utopia they promised us? you talk about this heightened banter back and forth. it is because the democrats, the liberals are losing power.

they are losing their control and the left-wing media complex is falling right along. in closing, let's remind you of the summer of 2020. all the riots. this is the message that the democrats have been saying, they are willing to stay in power. they are the problem. host: that is al in massachusetts. david, west virginia, democrat. caller: yeah, the way these people are acting in washington, why don't you give each one a pacifier when they go home because they are acting like a bunch of little babies. they need to grow up and be men and do right in this country right. that is what is wrong with this country now. they are not acting like men, they are acting like a bunch of babies. host: in west virginia, the headline from "the huffington post" this morning, elbows, petty gop fights and in congress.

the headline referring to an incident at the house oversight hearing with james comer, the chairman of that committee, talking about the financially illiterate democrats that were spreading fake news stories about finances and trying to discredit his ongoing investigation into the biden family finances. james comer leading that impeachment probe. this is the back and forth with jerry moscowitz yesterday and oversight hearing. [video clip] >> i am one of the largest landowners in my home area. i went to bank and borrowed money, and i bought that land. i did not get buyers from romania, china. my family does not get wires. never loaned my brother money. do not have an llc. but you and goldman, who is mr. trust fund, continue -- >> i am reclaiming my time. >> i am not going to give you

your time back. we stop the clock. you are like a smurf fear, going around -- >> mr. chairman, if we are not on time, you have said [cross talking] >> why should they believe you? why should they believe you? is there a different rule for the president and you? why should they believe what you are saying, mr. chairman, way? do you go on fox news and say loans and evading taxes, we don't know if that is what you are doing. we are supposed to take your word for it. >> you have already been proven a liar. >> who? you? >> yes. go to my hometown. there is a camera crew there today doing research. >> mr. chairman, it seems to have gotten under your skin.

i think the american people have lots of questions. perhaps you should sit for a deposition. >> i will sit with hunter biden and joe biden, and we can go over our llc. >> i will make sure that the ranking member -- >> i make a point of order that we should return to rank of order. [end video clip] host: that incident also yesterday on capitol hill. we are talking about civility in congress, whether you think it is important. if you do, we are taking your phone calls. john, lake geneva, wisconsin, independent. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. let me back up a minute. everybody saw the march on the national mall yesterday for israel. that is what we would call, you know, there was not yelling,

screaming or defacing of property statues. everybody gets were i am going. just a nice, peaceful, people getting along. i think we need to get back to that to some extent. that was a childish exchange. a lot of the people on the left and right, firesides, do the same thing. they have 20 people in the squad. grand they are always yelling and screaming and shoving and microphones, typically, in my opinion. i just think, you know, the thing with the senator, he previously was a mixed martial arts fighter. so, the other person who is just sitting down there, he was not going to get up and fight that guy. he does not have a chance. and that is not the point. back in the day, you probably

are little up in your ears, like i am -- i am 60, and used to settle things by good old fistfight. you put down the guns and go to for sites. do you ever taken my call. host: that is john in wisconsin. this is alvin in washington, d.c., your thoughts on civility in congress? are you with us this morning? i think the last alvin. go ahead and keep calling in. democrats, (202)-748-8000. republicans, (202)-748-8001. independents, (202)-748-8002. do you think civility in congress is important today? that is our conversation this first hour of "washington journal." as you are calling in, we want to talk about the spending bill passed yesterday in the house that now moves over to the senate.it was funny to the government passed the friday

at midnight deadline. joining us to talk about it is the budget appropriations reporter at roll call, up early this morning on zoom. .good morning guest: good morning, thank you for having me. host: take us through the package that passed the house yesterday. what is in this package? what would it do? guest: the package that passed the house yesterday is pretty much a continuing resolution with a kind of big caveat that is not that straightforward, which it is split up into two end dates. it continues the funding level from the last fiscal year, 20 trade three -- 2023, but it does extend funding for agriculture, energy, military construction, v.a. and transportation hud bill to january and all the other appropriation bills to february 2. speaker mike johnson believes that this will prevent a massive, you know, year-long

spending bill before christmas, which is what we have seen in previous years. instead, reefs the negotiations between the chambers about these first four bills and later the remaining eight as packages. host: the strategy of splitting it up this way, does it set up the potential for a partial government shutdown in january and another partial government shutdown in february? what is the strategy behind that? guest: that is a big point of concern by democrats, who oppose this. they could unnecessarily complicate it, and a quick shutdown in the new year. republicans believe this is an opportunity to shake things up and get out of the standards that is of massive -- and

instead of fighting these battles, with a hard christmas deadline, they will not be talking about that new year. host: the bill passes yesterday, 136-90 5,209 democrats with 127 republican supporting this -- and hundred -- 436-45, 209 democrats with 100, 7 republican supporting this. guest: a lot of republicans do not like stopgap spending measures. they are not happy that this was negotiated. they do not like the policies that continue to, so those are the two big things that cause republican opposition from a wide range, but democrats wanted

to support it and they said essentially as long as they got their levels continuing at the same level and there were no policy matters the republicans wanted, they could continue to support this. obviously, they ended up carrying this with all but two democrats, who wanted to see ukraine money in this package. host: and it was a continuing resolution that passed with more democratic support than republican support. during kevin mccarthy's speakership, is there talk about concern of mike johnson's speakership in the wake of the vote? guest: the big points that they have been making is that they had -- that mccarthy lost their trust but they still trust mike johnson. it is a similar dynamic, but

there were a lot of personality differences between the eight republicans who joined the democrats to making the speakership earlier this year. i think we are not anywhere close to that yet, but there are some who are upset about how this wind and they thought that johnson may take a different path on government spending at this point. that would be -- it would be very difficult for johnson to do anything and avoid a government shutdown based on the control in the senate and the white house, so johnson decided he did not want to shut down the government as his first active speaker, and in his eyes, this is what he had to do. host: you mentioned the senate and white house. what is the path for this continuing resolution in the senate and to get president biden's signature? guest: i really do not want to jinx anything, but it is looking

good over in the senate. both chuck schumer and mitch mcconnell are saying that they thought the package looks like the democrats will get on board and there will be more than enough republicans to pass this when it comes up. with timing, government spending going down friday night at midnight, they need to pass it soon, and anyone senator can hold it up. at this point, it is not appear to be that it would be them yet, but with thanksgiving around the corner, i think we will see a speedy passage of this in the senate and we will be out of here tomorrow or friday with the government fully funded to the new year. host: we will keep watching the senate and clock. if you don't mind, just your thoughts on these incidents of members behaving badly between a shoving incident, a neophyte and

senate hearing, the name-calling across capitol hill and in committee hearing. you are up there. what are your thoughts on what happened yesterday? did it just happened to happen in front of the cameras more than it usually does? guest: that is a part of it. tensions are high overall. the house especially, the speaker reelection, it has been a high stress environment for them. not to excuse the bad behavior, of course, but i think a recess over thanksgiving where everybody can go home and spend time with their families hopefully will kind of quiet every thin down. host: aiding quickly is a budget appropriations reporter for roll call -- aiden quigley, is a budget appropriations reporter for roll call. thank you. host: we are talking about

civility and congress. members of possibly going home and spending time with their family. this is the commentary section of today's "washington times,"an delete pieced -- and the lead to by mike pence and the former vice president is encouraging americans to save their families and save america in his piece, noting that democracy depends on civility, but today, our civil discourse has weakened us as americans, and we are losing the art of discussing issues with one another. he says it is not just contributed to our lack of connection but the result of it, saying a good way to find that connection and family is to spend home around -- go home and spend time around the dinner table. that is the vice president washing today's "washington times," "go home for dinner." mike in huntington, indiana,

independent. caller: a yeah, im 78 years -- yeah, i am 78 years old, and i have heard this story about the democrats spend too much money, cannot balance the budget, yet, they have got all this ground. they should have to sell it off, and until they balance that budget next year, not 10 years down the road, next year, that is what everybody else has to do if they run into problems. host: i will take your thoughts on the budget, but any thoughts on the civility in congress and the tensions that flared up yesterday? did you see any of them? caller: yes, they are all babies.

host: mike in huntington, indiana. newman in san antonio, texas, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. i am listening to people calling in and i am sick of excuses for the congress and senate. these are supposed to be our leaders, and children saw themselves, if i was to do the things that we have seen the senator's doing, i would not have a job. i am sick of these politicians up there. what would you bring up a tweet when you are supposed to be handling the business of the people? i am sick of everybody making excuses for these people. this is no way to run your country. i don't know what this country is coming to. everybody is trying to act like donald trump, bullying people,

and sometimes, there are no words for some of these, but you all can decide. have a nice day. host: this is sean out of baltimore, maryland, independent. your thoughts on civility on capitol hill? caller: good day to you. [indiscernible] to be honest, i don't think it is going to get any better. last i was watching, i was thinking, really? you are trying to start a fight in the senate customer that is ridiculous. even if they had start a fight, it would have got broken up. [indiscernible] at the end of the day, i don't think it will get better. [indiscernible]

she is crazy. then you have the far right. i really do not see it getting any better. as you see in other countries, how they are fighting in their congress or parliament, i am not saying that is a good thing, but it is inevitable the way things are going with the country. you will see congresspeople start fighting. host: it has happened here before. it was joanne friedman, author and professor, who went viral yesterday after these incidents, the author of the book, "the field of blood: the violence in congress and the road to civil war." she is quoted on today's "washington post" and there wrap up of today's incidents.

she is in american studies professor at yale university. i the person who wrote that book -- and the person who wrote that book wrote on her x account yesterday, please stop providing fodder for "field of blood: volume ii." that book is coming out in 2019, featured on c-span's book tv. she sat down to talk about it, as well, in c-span's "in-depth" program, all available on book tv on c-span2, online at c-span.org, if you would like to read more about her book. "the field of blood: violence in congress on the road to civil war." we will take your phone calls as we talk about civility in congress. constance and, democrat. caller: hi, thank you for taking my call. host: what are your thoughts on everything that happened yesterday? caller: it is an embarrassment. the republicans are imploding.

if we elect donald trump, this is what we are going to get. they are their leader with the rhetoric he is spewing on a daily basis, and it must stop. this is not america. we are better than this. host: charles -- that you were done, constance. charles is in arkansas, republican. caller: hey, i just had an idea that since they are running the political system the way they are, i think we could do better if we vote on things ourselves. in the sense that we should vote on money to israel, we should vote on referendum votes with all of us, and since they are not running it well, i know they

could do any worse, and i think we would feel are presented and we could represent ourselves. we don't need to send somebody to washington to represent us since we have a telephone, a computer. you can bet in real time on a ballgame, and i can bet on again that is going on in real time. i do not know i cannot vote on things. i don't understand the system. host: do you trust members of congress previously, decades ago, was there a time when you had more trust and confidence in their ability to be civil and to be able to take those votes and represent you well? caller: oh, yes. back at those times, i was naive. i was told that absolutely we are not. it would have been better off if

i had voted myself on these issues. they are not voting in my entries. voting is not an exercise of power, it is how i give my power away. if i got to vote on actual things, then it would be exercising power. but the way we have voting set up, it is a way for me to give all of my power away. this is not represented government. host: what would you have like to see happen when it came to that continuing resolution, defunding the government, -- of funding the government, a fight going on for four months, likely to be extended into january and february next year? caller: we have to do it eventually. these republicans are right. we have to bite the bullet. donald trump, god bless him. he opened everybody's eyes up to a lot of things. he is a great individual. he thinks he has all the answers and knows what to do. he does not ask anybody.

that is the shame of it all and of our system. we have got no say. host: that is charles in arkansas. this is read out of washington state, independent r --eed out of washington state, independent. caller: i do believe in civility in congress. it is important. it is nothing new as far as violence in places of democracy. in canada, they still have carpets read in parliament because of all the bloodshed and violence that happened in parliament. i think the historical reference you bring up with freeman's book is great and everybody should remember that as far as our bar is pretty high as far as what we consider violence in congress right now. host: the historical records on congress began on the platform previously known as twitter, on x, npr reporter claudia, who was

talking to congressman tim burchett, republican of tennessee. that incident with kevin mccarthy, here is how she described that incident and the ensuing interaction between the two numbers of congress. she writes, "i have never seen this on capitol hill before. while talking to tim burchett, former speaker mary walked by and shoved bridget. brgelunged towards me. i thought it was a joke, it was not, and a chase ensued. burchard's back was to mccarthy, and burchard responded jokingly as he said, sorry, kevin, did not mean to elbow. kevin, why did you elbow me in the back? kevin, do you have any guts? then he asked, jerk, and i asked if bridget had done that before,

and he said no. and i just behind with my microphone. after catching up with mccarthy, hey, kevin, why did you walk behind me and elbow me in the back? mccarthy said, i did not. burchard, you have no guts. what kind of chicken move is that? burchett continued, you have no gut, the reporter said it rit there, you are a pathetic man. burchett tells me, what a jerk, and then he says, you need security, kevin." burchett vot h mccarthy's house back in october. "he is just a jk, he is just a childless little blank, blank, b nk. burchett said, did you jt see that? he will not follow up with mccarthy on what happened. he said, that is pretty that

lists -- gutless of him, and i am disappointed with him." by the way, one follow-up yesterday, matt gaetz, the publican of florida, also leading the effort to oust kevin mccarthy tweeted out that he has filed an ethics complaint against speake mccarthy for assaulting, as he puts it, tim burchett. that was yesterday on capitol hill. this morning, we are asking you about civility in congress. do you think it is important? democrats, (202)-748-8000. republicans, (202)-748-8001. independents, (202)-748-8002. janet in new york, democrat. good morning. the head, janet. -- go ahead, janet. caller: can you hear me? host: yes ma'am. caller: my take on the whole

thing is it may be a little different than others. i agree with your previous caller who said that in canada, the carpets are red and there parliament, i did not know that. i feel like this is a natural outpouring of the division in the country, and we are going to see it fight itself out in ugly ways, but it is almost necessary. i work in a public library as a librarian, and we have noticed that when one person in the library behaves badly, it makes everybody behave better just out of shame for the other person like, wow, we do not want to be seen that way. i hope it will make our other senators and congresspeople behave better and just one thing from "the flood" by robert

frost, the first thing i thought when you played that before, blood will out, it cannot be contained. i always come up with poetry for everything, and that is my thought today. host: thank you. from new york, kevin in north carolina, republican. caller: good morning. can you hear me? host: yes or. -- esther. -- yes sir. caller: ever since trump came into office, he hijacked my party. he has brought hostilities to the republican party. you look at marjorie taylor greene, matt gaetz, they have a level of hostility and it does not bode well for us and it will not bode well for us, and we will continue to lose to the democrats as long as we have this hostile energy in our party. i don't know. i am disappointed in our party,

and i wish we could go back because these people now, they are totally different. they are on thismaga movement and it is destroying us. nobody can see it. it is ridiculous. host: what are your thoughts on the leader of your party in the senate? mitch mcconnell? this you have a responsibility here to step in, specifically when it comes to markwayne mullin challenging a witness to fight? caller: of course he should. he is the leader of the senate and he should come in and talk to them and tell him not to be so hostile. he should have not let them get away with it. they are destroying our party, and i am disappointed. and unless something changes, our party will totally be losing to the democrats.

i don't see it getting nowhere as long as trump is head of the party. host: that is kevin in north carolina. this is kentucky senator and minority leader mitch mcconnell asking about these incidents of members behaving badly on capitol hill yesterday. [video clip] >> as a leader, what spots ability do you have to lower the temperature in the building right now? senator on your site challenged a witness to a fight, former speaker of the house cold caulking a fellow republican in the hall. what is your responsibility as leader to lower the temperature in the environment? >> frankly, i had not heard what you indicated. >> one member called another member a smurf. >> it is difficult to control the behavior of everybody in the building. i do not view that as my responsibility. that is something that they will have to deal with. [end video clip] host: mitch mcconnell yesterday talking about the members in the

united states capitol, several incidents yesterday. we are getting your thoughts on civility in congress, is it important to you? bernie in pennsylvania, independent. caller: thank you. i hope you give me time to talk about civility in the budget. it is like layers of the onion. most of these people, it does not make a difference because they belong to the same club. in order to distract us from realizing this, they have put on a show. most of them have taken an oath that they don't do harm to their fellow brotherhood, so this is all of the show. host: you think this is all a conspiracy and acted out? caller: it is all a conspiracy and is the definition of conspiracy when two or more

people get together to deceive somebody. i am not deceiving you, they are deceiving us. ok? they cannot pass a budget for the american structure, infrastructure, the american way of life, but they have money for israel and ukraine? this is nonsense. who are they representing? not us. there representing a foreign entity for a better finances and -- to fund their finances and reelections. host: denver, colorado, democrat, good morning. caller: do not count on mitch mcconnell to do anything. listen, the whole list of these jokers is unbelievable. i don't know why the people elected her to office, but they need to get her out of there. it is a good thing she does not have a gun up there. you have mitch mcconnell, joe

manchin, jordan, the republicans do have control of the house right now, so the republicans are winning that part, so when they see the republicans are losing, no, they are not. the democrats are not able to take advantage of the way these people carry on. they have control. you have jordan who carries on. these people who are in control of these committees are outrageous. they carry themselves unbelievably. host: i don't know about winning or losing, but what does it mean when there is a bill that a republican speaker puts on the floor yesterday that passes with significantly more democrats than republican votes? 209 voted for the stopgap, 127 republicans voted for it, only 57% of the republican conference. caller: if donald trump was a

democrat, they would have made sure he looked terrible. corporate america controls everything, and people fail to see that when joe biden got into office, there were going to make things look as bad as possible for him, and that is what they continue to do. there is a lot of rhetoric. fox news shows a picture of the border being open. the only people saying the border is open republicans. that is why things happen because of the lies they put out there for everybody. that electoral voters, these are people we put in office, and the electoral voters cannot see what they are doing. they put these people in office and carry on this way. with these people, when they get in office, oh, i represent my constituents. no, you represent the united states of america and the people of america. conduct yourself properly.

imagine if herschel walker would have gotten elected to office and the way these people would carry on then? host: that was danny in colorado. out of florida, republican, ben, your thoughts on civility in congress and the incidents yesterday? caller: good morning. civility, i hope you don't mind me going off track a little bit, but we need to be talking about honesty. we need to be talking about how these people lied to us continuously. we need to be talking about term limits to stop this kind of business. i don't care if they fight with each other. i want them to get things done. i want them to be creative for this country, but for the people who live here, what we have seen here is an epidemic of what is going on in society. why shouldn't it trickle over

into the government? and it has, for years, this is how they have talked to each other. that is normal, and that is civility. i am sorry, i disagree with the terminology. term limits. get these people out of here. all they are is fanning their own business. they don't care about us anymore. truth coming out where they will lie to us and say, believe what i tell you, and if they say it over and over again, they have the template right now that they think they are successful. thank you. host: the house is in at 9:00 a.m. eastern, so it will be a two hour "washington journal" today. the senate is in at 10:00 a.m. eastern. a couple of programs to be aware of today at 9:00 a.m. eastern,

as well, on c-span3, we will bring you a house-homeland security hearing, christopher wray and i'll hundred mayorkas will testify -- and alejandro mayorkas will testify on global threats facing the united states. c-span3, c-span.org, and the free c-span video app. this afternoon, the house means and means committee on c-span3, a hearing on free speech and anti-semitism on college campuses amid israel-hamas war. witnesses include an israeli actress, activist, a cornell university student, presented of scrum the foundation of defense of defensive democracies, and the antidefamation league. 2:00 p.m. eastern time on c-span3, c-span.org, and the free c-span out video app. 10 minutes left in this washington journal. we focus on the issue of stability in congress. at 8:00 a.m. eastern, we go to

open forum and talk with members of congress ahead of is this on capitol hill today. from mitchell, south dakota, david, independent. your thoughts on civility in congress. caller: yes. i was watching yesterday, and it does make you wonder what kind of people we are. they are supposed to be adults, it is a joke. and both parties can act the same way. the senator is supposed to be a leader from our country, protect us and make laws for us, and i -- and the union representative could have kept quiet, too. they are there to make laws and discuss things, not to call each other out. they act like a bunch of two euros.

-- two-year-olds. they need to be voted out. people who act like that do not belong in our congress. i have one other thing, i heard people talking a lot about ukraine and funding. i just wonder what people think, if we stop funding ukraine, they are fighting our battle, and if we let russia take ukraine, they are not going to stop at ukraine. we are going to move to underground. i do believe firmly that if we do not back ukraine, we will have boots on the ground because russia will not stop. and we do have nato over there, so that kind of stuff worries me. i just think that they act like a bunch of two-year-olds.

that, thank you for your time. host: david, whose job is it to sit in the corner? -- to sit them in the corner? caller: [laughter] i really cannot tell you, but we have higher leaders. we have got cooper, mcconnell -- cooper, mcconnell, and i do not know if they can set them in the corner, but at least tamp it down, and house republicans, it is a mess right now. i don't know who is leading over there, period. i don't think they have a leader . let, i really cannot say. i think they come up, we them, and the at -- they have a bigger responsibility to us than the

way they are acting in congress. i cannot tell you, but we do have mcconnell, schumer, leaders in the house of representatives. i would think somebody could talk to them. i saw where they said where you had matt gaetz said he was going to censor mccarthy now. i am not a big fan of mccarthy. host: he said he would complain about what he did. caller: as far as i am concerned, he is a joke. i could not tell you. if we do not get our country back together, all of us, i grew up -- there is not red and blue and all of this stuff, and we are still americans but we have to start getting along. host: thank you for the call from mitchell, south dakota. 10 minutes left.

this is joe, waiting in washington, d.c., democrat. good morning. caller: good morning, can you hear me ok? host: yes sir. caller: great, two quick things. one, i driving into work this morning, if i physically threatened any coworkers or people i worked with where the clients we serve, i would be fired. i would not get the grace of another year or two to get my act together and see if i win reelection. no. i would be fired. this seems like we have lower standards for the conduct of the people running our country than we do for the average american, but i guess that is nothing new. the second thing, you know, i hear people calling in and saying, when somebody accept, we stand up straighter and act better. i don't think that is the instinct that a lot of republicans have. january 6, if it showed us anything, it showed us that there is a faction of the republican party that is maga

faction, and i think to them, violence is the answer. they have been told this lie that the country is being stolen from them. i suppose if i believe the same thing, then, you know, i would feel passionate about it, too. i don't know that i have that in me to physically threaten somebody. i don't think i've ever done that in my life, but it seems like a large portion of the electorate that supports these candidates or they sting about congresspeople that does have it in them, and it would make sense to people in congress to resort to physical violence or solve their issues. host: to west virginia, william, independent. caller: hey, john, how are you doing? host: well, go ahead. caller: yeah, i will echo a few colors -- callers. i believe you are asking who are the leaders, and i believe we

are. i think we have to have better choices on who we elect in office. host: are we talking about putting them in a corner, you are saying it is the voters job? caller: yes, absolutely. it is our job. we have got to have better choices out there. i cannot imagine it being 280-year-olds on the ticket -- two 80-year-olds on the ticket next year, that blows my mind that we don't have a few more choices, and people getting traction, as well. i mean you have seen on both sides, nancy pelosi ripping up the state of the union, and then these jokers now, elbowing each other. they are acting like drunken 10-year-olds. as americans, we have to do better on who we put in office. it is very simple, simple as

that. host: william, how do americans make better choices on people they put in office? caller: you listen to them, and you go back to your moralities and how you were raised, and the people, the people who sound good to you, that is where you make that choice. you have got to do your due diligence. you cannot just watch fox news and msnbc and make a choice. they will indoctrinate you, and many of the callers have the same talking points over and over. i can sit here and tell who watches msnbc and fox news. they are so easily indoctrinated that they do not do their homework on a candidate. host: thank you for the call from west virginia. with five minutes left, let a bring in some of the text been receiving.

his stability in congress important to you in the wake of those several incidents yesterda this is tony in florida saying at the house issue with mccarthy and burchett is more gasmanship than civility. the senate incidt s a disgraceful lack of respect and a quorum by the senator and witness. it was a sad day for america. eddie same civility and so-called courtroom are codewords for ignoring the real problems. carol barbee saying our congressional representatives and all leaders should behave civilly, as they are role models our children are watching. this from cat, saying,he people are not children. theyren the chambers to conduct business, not a fake reality tv show. respect the process and the laws of this tion. this is kevin saying, yes, it is very important, as well as working together for the benefit of the amecan people, it used

toe at way bore trump. jason same, although it would be preferable, to be honest, i am all four watching a slap fight erupt. just a few of your comments this morning as we are talking about civility in congress. (202)-748-8000 free democrats. democrats -- (202)-748-8000 for democrats. (202)-748-8001 republicans. independent, (202)-748-8002. verna, thank you for waiting in new york, republican. caller: hello, john, good morning. host: good morning. caller: with all the things happening in the world, why is c-span covering this this morning? this is something that we don't even know what goes on behind closed doors. civility? do you ever watch msnbc and cnn, how they constantly go after president trump and his

followers? host: do you think there is a larger issue here of not just civility in congress and how they treat each other, but what it means for us as a country? caller: i don't think we can control what goes on for this as a country. these people are working, leaving their families, getting up early, staying late at night, you are concerned that the democrats voted for this bill. they are supposed to. that is what they are supposed to do, work together. i just do not think c-span should be using this topic at all this morning when this is done by msnbc and cnn. thank you for listening to me. host: appreciate the feedback. this is robert in western mass, democrat, good morning.

caller: how are you doing today, john? host: well, what are your thoughts on the incident yesterday? what do they mean? caller: all that is going on right now, my heart and my soul are with ukraine, and my heart and my soul are with israel. i cannot understand that the world is not going on with what is going on. netanyahu is not well loved in israel. i think what happened in israel with netanyahu, he let hamas attack his country so he could stay in office, like donald trump. if donald trump gets elected, we are going to be attacked, just like israel.

this is my fear of my nation, and i love my country, and i 75 years old, and i just do not get it. 1965, vietnam, he was part of the infantry, my father, thank god my father is not living today to see what he fought for. i thank america and c-span for your contribution to try to save this country. thank you. host: we talked more about ukraine, israel, efforts. a couple of members joining us next segment. let me try to get an mike, independent, go ahead.

caller: thank caller: living in oklahoma, i was embarrassed. i was embarrassed since he got there so yesterday was a good example of what's going on. thank you for taking my call. host: that's our last caller "washington journal." hour before the house comes in, we will be joined by two members of congress, the republican of illinois, a member of the committee on u.s.-china cooperation and the democrat from texas, member of the armed services committee. stick around for those conversations and as we have those conversations, it's our open forum and you can call in with your conversation and your thoughts and any public policy issue or political issue happening now. democrats, republicans and

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this is what democracy looks like. c-span, powered by cable. . >> "washington journal" continues. host: it's open form and any public policy or political issue you want to talk about, the phone lines were democrats, republican and independents as usual. as you call in, we will go up to capitol hill from the house side and we have the republican from illinois, member of the committee on u.s.-china competition, good morning to you. guest: good to be with you and your viewers. host: i want to start on the step -- the stopgap funding bill that was passed last night setting up to funding deadlines in january and february. you voted no on this bill, why? guest: i was concerned on the approach in spending in the u.s. house. we are $34 trillion in debt and

we can continue to govern by continuing resolution in this inefficient way we run government. i don't fault mike johnson for that. he's only been on the job for three weeks so people are willing to give him flexibility on this to get through this next phase which will be in january and february laddered approach but we have to get back to physic -- fiscal responsibility in this country. my constituents have to meet a family budget every month as well as small businesses and the federal government can't do that and we continue to add to her debt. we will bring in $5 trillion this year but we will suspend -- we will spend $7 trillion and we can continue to do that. host: 50% and of the republican -- 57% of the republican conference voted on this. this is the headline today.

you think questions like that are overblown? guest: i do, i think people are willing to give mike johnson a chance. these problems are not created by him. the problems in our republican party for years but mike deserves a chance to govern and lay out his vision. i think members are willing to give them some runway to do that into next year. host: this bill does not include emergency spending for ukraine and israel. where are you on those issues? guest: after the thanksgiving break, the senate will send this over a bill that will address a number of things like the southern border, funding for israel which are supported in the past including $4.5 billion that was offset, we will address funding for ukraine and funding for taiwan. we need to have a conversation about all those things. when it comes to ukraine, i think there is collective

support for making sure putin doesn't win in ukraine. i think will have -- we will have a serious conversation about how taxpayer money can be spent, where it should be spent come about transparency and what victory looks like there. that's a hard conversation we have to have within the congress. host: do you think it should result in more u.s. dollars going to ukraine? guest: we all agree putin can't win. he is a dictator and a thug and he's an authoritarian. if he wins in ukraine, i've no doubt he will move on to moldova and romania and poland and others. we have to make sure that stuff but having that conversation about taxpayer money will be part of what we will do when we get back. i serve on the house intelligence committee. i think the u.s. is willing to step up but there has to be more transparency, more openness, more vision on the clear victory ahead for where the u.s. dollars are going. host: i noted earlier, you are

on the select committee of u.s.-china competition. the asia-pacific cooperation summit is happening in san francisco today and we expect a meeting between president xi and president biden. what should the president's message be to the chinese president? guest: i think the meeting today should be looked at through the lens of whether we can trust jeezy and ping and china. -- trust jeezy inc. paying just xi jinping. it's whether he is trustworthy. it's their engagement in fentanyl production and having that sent to mexico and across our southern border. maybe the balloon that flew over the united states or getting to the origins of covid and the deceit that was used there.

actions speak louder than words. we will see what china will do to take action on these issues so they been untrustworthy. host: what do you focus on in the committee for u.s.-china competition. guest: it was created in january and over 100 democrats supported it. we want to explode -- expose the malignancy of the ccp and separating that from the chinese people. there is a lot to expose there. how do we win the strategic competition as it relates to china. i think we do that on the economic front and i serve on the ways and means committee. we need to have a more robust trade agenda in the asia region

and china has a plan to replace the united states and they work on every single day. working up to that recognition and figuring out how we collectively put pressure on china and work with our allies, that's what we are doing and what the ccp fears the most is bipartisan support against china and that's what we are focused on. host: i know you have to run but great to have you back on the "washington journal." we would be happy to come -- to have you come back and take calls. it's our open forum and the houses in at 9:00 a.m. "washington journal eastern so it's a shorter "washington journal" today. until then, your phone calls in any public policy and political issue or state issue. democrats, (202) 748-8000, republicans (202) 748-8001 independents (202) 748-8002. this is craig out of sacramento, republican.

caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. that was a great segment. we got california just down the road where the president of china will be. it's a golden opportunity and i fully agree with the statements made. we've got to get back to a bipartisan method to be together on our votes and put china ahead of personal vendettas, these schoolyard tactics, things like that. they don't help anybody. if you can get together like it was 40 years ago and make the votes where it counts, focus on china because they are the dominant one that is trying to take our artificial intelligence

and many things and put it to use and perfect it. we will be on the losing end of that if we don't get with the game. thank you for the call, i appreciate you listening. host: more on china and this was president biden's remarks yesterday to reporters talking about the meeting today. this is the president yesterday. [video clip] >> to get back on a normal course of corresponding and being able to pick up the phone and talk to one another during a crisis, being able to make sure our military still has contact with one another. as i told you, we are not trying to decouple from china. what we are trying to do is change the relationship for the better. from my perspective, if in fact the chinese people who are in trouble now economically, if the

average citizen in china is able to have a decent paying job, it benefits all of us. i will not continue to sustain support to invest in china, we need to turn over all our trade secrets. host: that was president biden yesterday and we will hear more from him today. 7:15 p.m. eastern is when the press conference will take place and you can watch it on c-span.org and the free video app. this is wayne in connecticut, independent, good morning. caller: how are you doing? first time, long time but i don't know if they mentioned that. i've been trying to call you guys for 30 years and i got through for the first time.

i like the open phone segment the best. you pick out a topic and its relevant but this way people can talk about other things going on. i like that but you always throw in inter-cues or statements by people. i know you're trying to do that but it cuts into the open phones. that's the only thing. i think it should be at least a half-hour every day. host: if you watched us for 30 years, we've been doing more of this open forum in the past year or two then we did previously. we did a lot of it during the covid crisis and got a lot of reaction from people about what's happening in their part of the country and their reactions to responses by

congress and state governments when it came to the pandemic. we have been doing it a lot more but is the republic policy issue you want to talk about? we always appreciate the feedback. caller: i guess let's go with the military aspect. i think it's a disgrace what this country did to afghanistan and the women there. military people join the military and they realize they are going to die and to talk about no one was killed in 18 months. i bet if you talk to the men in uniform, they would say we are there to do a job, we are here to help these people out and that's their sacrifice. i talked to one person -- i am a veteran myself so this person was saying that she joined up

and didn't sign up for that. i said excuse me, that's exactly what she signed up for. host: you think we should still be in afghanistan today? caller: yes, we should be at bagram. it would have stopped them from doing all the shutting down of schools and also we would've had a quick response base in the area and we could've also had years and maybe eyes on china, pakistan, you know? i think it's a shame the way we left. we literally shut the lights out and left all of our equipment at bagram. we didn't even tell our allies we were leaving.

biden's last speech, he said the quiet part out loud and all the people who run this country must have been cringing when he goes, hey, we are giving them all this money but they are going to give it right back to us because they will buy all the weapons from us. they must've gone, oh my god. that's basically why i think kennedy got eliminated because he was going to pull out of vietnam. they did not like it. host: a this isnna in alameda, california, democrat. caller: yes, thank you for taking my call. i think i've been calling for a lot of years and this is the first time i've gotten through

but i would like to talk about the normalization of relations with china which is going on right here in san francisco. i agree, we need to start as a world finding ways make peace, to make a difference. yes, it's convoluted. i'm not being naïve, but we have to start somewhere. we do have to start somewhere. normalizing relations is a start. i think there is other places in the world to come to terms and

come to normalize and look at our human condition, our climate change, how can we deal with that, not independently, not isolationist, not nationalistic the way so many people feel in so many people believe me first come our country first. host: you talk about normalizing relationships with china but at the same time, the white house is pushing for additional funding that would go to taiwan to beef up their defenses. there is concern about a potential chinese invasion of taiwan at some point in the future. caller: and i agree. i absolutely agree that there are authoritarian nations that don't want to give the other

nations like china and taiwan. my origin is from venezuela. i am a first generation venezuelan. you can understand how i worry for countries like venezuela who are authoritarian but have sanctions. where is the talk to see where we can -- where can the nation get together? we have to fight climate change as a world. we are a small planet. yes, it might be something to

look -- we have to start somewhere. we have to start somewhere. host: (202) 748-8000 for democrats to call in, (202) 748-8001 republicans, independents (202) 748-8002. minneapolis, good morning, open forum. caller: good morning, just like to make a statement. you've got a former president talking about policies and people in general being vermin. i think it's time for america to wake up. i'm an independent. i voted republican for donald trump and now, heat it scares me to see what i voted for their. everything is changed. everything that's american, he's only for one person and that is donald trump. host: did you vote for him in 2016 and 2020? caller: 2016 but not 2020.

the other thing i'd like to mention is term limits on these congressmen and senators and lobbyists. the lobbyists are killing america right now. it seems they had a gentleman on from virginia that got elbowed by mccarthy last night. it just surprised me when he came on set and said i don't know if the american people are listening but he says when mccarthy gets through, he will become a lobbyist and is already worth $70 million and when is this going to end? no one seems to be fighting for the american people anymore. it's over groups of people, people with large sums of money and large corporations. that's all i have to say. host: that's ted in minneapolis. this is jerry in manchester, iowa, democrat, good morning. caller: [inaudible]

i want to talk about the mason-dixon line. host: not quite sure where you are going because the phone line is bad. this is perry in north carolina, republican. good morning. caller: good morning. host: co-ahead. caller: one thing i think is important and i know you are getting everybody's opinion on everything that's going on, but the biggest thing is the election. if nobody knows whether the election -- you had the people that think it was stolen. congress has done nothing to either say it was true or not true. here we are going to another election but we don't know if

the election will get rigged again. that's my opinion but no one has proven me wrong. host: have you heard of the election assistance commission? caller: no. host: the eac is an independent bipartisan commission to help elected officials improve the administration of elections and they been doing a lot of work on this front ahead of the 2024 election on election integrity, helping states if they want to do updates, a best practices. the head of that agency came on the "washington journal" last month and we did 45 minutes taking calls and he took several calls from folks who had concerns about election 2020,

about the integrity. he addressed all of those calls. it might be worth it to go back and watch that segment. this is a congressionally funded independent agency that congress set up after the 2000 election to help improve public confidence in the election and they been doing a lot of work since 2020. perhaps that's a place you can go if you are interested. caller: absolutely, i could. i think they need to -- i'm talking about the common person that's out there. if i have the ability to call and get this information, how many people are out there that don't have that ability and won't seek the information? if there's been nothing nationally publicized to all the constituents who either prove or disprove those elections.

if it was a fraud and scam, needs to put it out there and if it was legit, he needs to be put out there. host: if you're looking for the person on the program and want to take a look, hoaglond, ben and he promised to come back and take calls throughout the final year of the 2024 election. this is earnest in philadelphia next, democrat. caller: good morning, good morning. my thing is about retrospective corona. obama let the situation where the pandemic came up and there were things in place and president in his administration eliminated them.

the way donald trump reacted to the pandemic and how he covered up things and is running for president and i don't know what percentage of the people that died from corona could be put on him. it seems all thing has been whitewashed, not talked about. a lot of people died because they followed his belief system. that's all i have to say about that. host: how much do you think the reaction to covid will be part of the debate about the 2024 elections? caller: i think it should be top of the game. we have amnesia about things. the way it was handled at the time, we just reflect back on that. this president of ours, he recovered from covid in the

first thing he did was put on mask -- was take the mask off his face. how he reacted to a life-and-death situation for a lot of people, that needs to be talked about a little bit more in the campaign or amongst people. host: this is jennifer out of the sunshine state, republican. caller: hi, i tried to call on your independent line but you guys didn't answer the phone. host: i promise we are answering the phones but many folks are calling now. glad you got through. caller: i am thankful to be able to call in. host: try to stay on the lines the best suit your political views. go ahead. caller: thank you. i also want to say that i want to stay on the topic. i want to make a comment -- a

lot of things people are calling in about, there is one common thing i keep hearing and i hear a lot there are two sides of it. there is a political side any people side. a lot of people like the guy who just called and said people are looking for a place to find misinformation. you hear a lot of politician saying we have this information and there is information out there but the information that america has is spread out all over the place on social media and it's so confusing. you can go down this rabbit hole trying to find the information even in your own community. i think americans really need and even people in other countries, they tried to compare themselves to america. we often look at other countries

and say what's going on over there like the lady who called in and said she's worried about venezuela. there is no connection. it's hard to get together and have those talks. with people in the lower rungs of society financially and educational standpoint, people like that. need to educate themselves no one is going to take is by the hand and say let me show you where to go. i am on social media a lot and i look around at places i grew up in california and people say why can't we have good roads, why can't we have this or that? i am an educated person and consider myself pretty good at

looking for information online and understanding computers and computer science. i can find that information easily. if you look at parts of california, some periods of california, these people in the cities hapten a great job of showing the people what they spend their money on, how much these people make. i looked up last night come out some of these politicians make and its astronomical. i live in a very affluent area and i don't even think the people in our community make that much money. host: i will take your point and there are ways to look up not just to much a member of congress make but members of congressional staff as well available online. about a half an hour before the house comes in for the day. continue to call in on the open

form lines. i want to go back up to capitol hill to the cannon house office building. we are joined by congressman marc veasey, the democrat from texas, a member of the armed services committee. guest: good morning. host: can we start on the funding bill that was passed to keep the government open past friday, eight bill from speaker johnson and it got more democrats supporting it than republicans and you are one of the democrats that supported the bill, why? guest: for a couple of reasons. let me just say to the employees , the federal employees and contractors whether they work in printing and engraving or the federal office building where the capital federal office building and many other government workers that are there, we want to make sure especially during this time of year with thanksgiving coming up and christmas that people are

not furloughed. we had two of the country's busiest airports in the area and want to make sure that our tsa workers are not being forced to work for free. we didn't want to put that sort of burden on the american people. that was the number one reason why a lot of democrats voted for the bill. secondly, there was no trigg county and cuts involved. you had a lot of republicans -- there were no draconian cuts involved. a lot of republicans propose cuts that would hurt families. it would hurt a lot of their own people particular in rural areas. they would have been devastated had we made the level of cuts

they were calling for. that was never going to happen. the speaker never had enough votes to do that. we struck a compromise. i would've liked to seen a little bit more. i would like to see us free of having to work under a cr. the cr is not the ideal way we should govern this place. i voted for it because it will keep money in people's pockets and keep their paychecks coming in. it will keep our government open and it was best deal we could get the time. you do it's right for the american people. host: this bill also doesn't have additional aid for ukraine or israel. you have are a of the armed services committee membership so what will happen with that emergency funding? guest: i believe we will soon see a package put together that includes ukraine, taiwan and israel and includes aid to

innocent palestinians that have also been victimized by hamas. i believe you will see something together that includes all of those things. i believe it will happen sooner rather than later. we were not able to get it in this but i believe there is overwhelming support on the republican and democratic side. this will address all those different topics i just laid out. host: the expectation of the cr is that it will pass the senate and be signed by the president. if you looked ahead to january and february, this laddered approach, how concerned are you m aboutini-shut downs and getting into a cycle of rolling shutdowns of the united states government?

guest: i don't think we will see that happen. for right now, the way it was tiered in the way we had to for military funding will probably make it more likely we will definitely pass something in january. when that runs out, i worry about the games that continue to be played. you probably heard the speaker's comments that he can't build an aircraft carrier in a bay. what he was trying to signal to the radical, reckless republicans in his conference was that we can look at some cuts and mortar cone in things but we can't do that right now. i think he was signaling that to them. he doesn't have the numbers to be able to do that. anything he passes is going to have to have democratic support.

he does not have a working majority that way. particularly for your callers were conservatives and republicans were listening, they need to know that just because he is the speaker and republicans have majority, they do not have what is known as a working majority. they don't have the votes to be able to pass anything they want without democratic support. he is going to keep the government open and making sure hard-working government please keep their checks, he's going to need the help of democrats every single time. host: on president biden 's meeting today with presidentxi of china, what should the president's message be to the chinese leader? guest: i think the president should look for ways we can find cooperation. i think it's important for the president to convey to him that

regardless of what the chinese think of the existing world order [no audio] in order to keep that going, we need to make sure that tensions are free particularly as it relates to taiwan and anything in the seas in that peninsula. we need to make sure he understands that as trade between the two countries has been beneficial to chinese growth and if we are going to continue to be able to promote and prosper and help one another, we have to have full cooperation and he cannot see the united states as a threat for what he is trying to accomplish. for the president to convey to him that the existing world

order has been good for china, let's keep it that way. host: you mentioned tensions. we talked about that tensions in the building you work in. headlines like this in roll call -- what is your reaction to this series of incidents come a shoving match coming near fight and name-calling in a house hearing. what's going on up there? guest: i'm not surprised, i think it's a combination of a lot of things. former speaker mccarthy had still has a lot of bitterness and animosity. he mentioned that there were two members he was surprised were part of the people to oust him for speaker. merchant was one of the members he mentioned. i think there is a lot of built the panama city that the speaker has -- there is a lot of built

up animosity that the speaker has. i didn't see it happen but if it did happen, it wouldn't surprise me because there is a certain level of tension that exists there. we -- these are things that have been going on a long time. they go back to the districts and have town halls and meetings and spend time with family and with the recessperiods that a been canceled, members have been here longer. i think everyone has a short fuse. we all need to get back home and have some turkey and dressing and gravy. host: that will happen in the next day or so if the house and senate finish their work. we appreciate your time this morning and we will let you get to work. guest: host: host: thank you. back to your phone calls in his last 20 minute before the house comes in today for a morning our

fords business for the day. 9 a.m. eastern is when they come in and until then, it's (202) 748-8000 four democrats, (202) 748-8001 four republicans, independents (202) 748-8002. charles, thanks for waiting in the garden state, democrat, it's open for them. caller: i am an 85-year-old veteran. i don't understand when you keep talking about cutting social security and the government owes social security a lot of money. why don't you pay us our money back. we need to get more of a raise then two or 3%. pay us. thank you. host: this is donald in michigan , the line for republicans, good morning. caller: good morning. i really don't know why i called.

our country has gotten in such a hell of a mess. it really doesn't matter anymore what anybody does. the politicians have been there so dam long, they don't even know what the real world is and how to go about making a living and go about paying your bills. n they don't have a dam clue. they live in a totally different world up there. the guy that was just on, he said not a dam thing that made a dam bit of difference and that's with the politicians always do and you really can't blame the politicians because me and you, we vote those fools in. i can see voting in a full once but we reelect him for the next 50 years. where the hell are our brains? host: what is something you could have heard that she wanted the congressman to say that would have made a difference? caller: not a dam thing.

he can't do a dam thing that makes a difference. he's just taking up space just like the rest of them up there. they all are just taking up space. host: who is somebody who can do a dam thing to make a dam bit of difference? caller: we have gotten in such bad shape, i doubt there is anybody left. i figured the country is good for two more presidential elections. our country will no longer be the country we recognize after that. the country will still be here but it won't be the country i grew up in in the 30's and 40's. not even close. already it's not. i grew up in illinois. it was a nice town and nobody was scared to go there. a lot of people who live around there won't go out because of

all the shootings. nothing happens, it stays the same and gets worse. i'm just glad i am six years old. i figure i will be dead before he gets really bad. that's about all i have to say. i shouldn't have even called because i'm beside myself in the conditioner countries gotten itself into, thank you. host: this is elizabeth out of california, democrat. caller: good morning, c-span. to the last caller, we have one jewel of democracy and that is c-span because you provide such wonderful material for our democracy. i wanted to wait in about the instability issues. -- the incivility issues. the republican elephant in the room is donald trump. they just put forward a candidate who has called more

names to people. people have lost track of the various insults he hurls at people yet this is their candidate for president. it's also rush limbaugh and spewed out into the airways. you hear it when people call into c-span. the republicans call in and they are all angry and they are all mad at you because they think you are not being fair to them. you've even had to flip your numbers so the republicans call in first because they are so angry. host: just so you know how it works, we rotate who is on top as it were month-to-month. we go democrats, republicans and independents and the next month we flip it because some people have made comments about that. we just switch it month-to-month but not for any other reason. caller: that's a great solution.

i've heard them complain and is such a minor thing. you guys have great solutions. you've got a candidate for president who constantly calls people names. it's unacceptable. that man is not an acceptable candidate. the republican party has brought us dark money in politics. it was brought to by the republican party. it even affects the supreme court with justice thomas and people buying his mother a home and sending him on vacations. then you have fox news. an earlier caller had not heard anybody try to prove the validity of the last election because he's watching fox news. fox news got sued by the people

who produce the machine, the voting machine because they were misinforming their viewers. host: what would you say to the first or second caller this morning on this civility topic? that caller blame democrats for the incivility and pointed back to the 2016 election, saying donald trump was never given a grace period after he was elected and democrats tried to object to him being president and that the incivility began their and also pointed to cnn and msnbc. what would you say to that person? caller: donald trump began his quest for president by claiming

that barack obama was not qualified to be president. it was subtle racism. of course, barack obama's birth announcement published in the 1960's when he was born in hawaii, donald trump in that crowd managed to convince a lot of republicans, they went off into the weeds with that kind of thing. that was uncivil. regarding cnn and msnbc, they have some of the most fabulous attorneys analyzing the events of the day. if i go up against someone in court, i want their help. they are factually based. fox news has been sued for almost $1 billion in the republicans don't know that

because it doesn't get coverage. that's for not providing accurate information to their viewers. the people that are so angry are watching fox news. primarily, they are watching donald trump. donald trump has managed to convince the republican voters he was a self-made man but he was a millionaire by the time he was eight because he had a trust fund from his father. what the republicans believe is misinformation. now they are comfortable in that space of misinformation and anger. i guess they had to prove themselves to be better than the next guy. they are looking to someone, the most unsuitable candidate for president this nation has ever had and he is a dangerous man.

they talk about 2016. if you look at the mueller report, the russians were interfering in our election. donald trump zone campaign manager was convicted of conspiring with russians. that was the essence of the mueller report. the only reason they didn't bring charges to trump was that that was the president of the justice department not to do anything with that, a sitting president. host: we've got about 10 minutes before the house comes in. gary has been waiting in michigan, republican, good morning. caller: yes, this country would run a lot smoother if we would put average taxpayers in congress and get all the corruption out.

it's full of corruption and everyone in congress is corrupted. that's all i've got to say and i'm tired of it. host: who was the last average taxpayer in congress? is there somebody you trusted? i think we lost to gary. this is danny out of california, independent. caller: yes, hi, the number one problem the caller was talking about, corruption in congress, the number one problem we have is mostly because we have to take out the money out of politics. with all these corporate tax and republicans -- corporate tax - pacs they will never be able to do the work of the people because they have to answer to their donors. taking money out of politics is the number one issue. then again, the republicans are always complaining that the

elections were stolen. it's funny because they only complain when they lose. they never complain that any corruption in elections happens when they win. the only time they are jumping up and down saying there was some type of irregularity that's the reason they lost is when they lose. there's been plenty of proof out there that the elections were not stolen. trump himself knew it wasn't. they came up to him and told him he lost. then again, they are saying a person in this country is innocent until proven guilty. it's already been convicted. he's been convicted by our system of rape and immoral acts and he's been ordered to pay an

incredible amount of money back. with the calls right now that he's been court for fraud with his company -- they already found fraud. he is already guilty of fraud but they are trying to figure out how much he has to pay back. having this in mind, how can they say he is innocent in all these charges are not true when they've already convicted him? this man cannot lead our country. he is a disgrace. we need to find candidates that want to put this country back where it was and where it's supposed to be. we need to get rid of all these people that all they do is just divide us and create more chaos. host: keith, republican, your next. caller: good morning.

i can tell you one thing, i've been in construction work my whole life, i'm 63 years old, i've never had a boss that was nice because that company wouldn't last very long. the boss had to come in and kick a few boards and tell people to get back to work. you need a tough guy. right now we have a feather. you can't even get your medications in this country. you go to the store and you got no money to buy nothing. the whole country sees it. they need to figure it out and we can get on with their lives. host: the senate is in at 10:00 a.m. and the houses in it 9:00 a.m.

the fbi director and homeland security sector rick perry will testify at a desk in the homeland security secretary will testify. today. the house ways and means committee will hold a hearing on free speech and anti-semitism on college campuses amid the israel-hamas war. there is an israeli actress and activist and other witnesses. that's c-span3 at 2 p.m. and c-span.org. the c-span now video app back to your phone calls as we await the doors to open on the floor of the house. this is ramona in edmond, oklahoma, good morning. caller: hi, thank you for taking my call.

i think we should continue to support ukraine because it's international interest. we put in is allowed to take ukraine, he will not stop there and we may end up in a third world war. as far as supporting israel, we need to force israel to make peace with the palestinians. we need to start funding israel -- we need to stop funding israel in the persecution of palestinians. they been persecuted for decades. that continues the status quo and costs american taxpayers money that should go to americans in america. it would improve our moral status on the world stage. we cannot talk about human rights and still support israel's persecution of palestinians. host: this is red creek, new

york, independent. caller: good morning. there is so much to talk about. we need to support israel. they been our ally for years. the palestinians elected hamas to meet them. hamas needs to be removed from the world. as far as ukraine, we should support ukraine but europe needs to support ukraine also. we are paying most of the bill for that war. the european union is paying a minimal amount. one thing trump did was get the nato countries to start paying their fair share and they need to keep doing that.

as far as the stability -- this ability, these guys need to grow up -- this civility, these guys need to grow. up and start acting like it host: you say countries need to pay their fair share, are you talking about a certain percentage of gdp as it is with nato funding? what is fair share when it comes to ukraine? caller: i'm not sure about the percentage of their gdp but i've seen some numbers reported how much european nations are paying to support ukraine. it's a lot less than we are supplying. we can afford to pay for everything. host: this is don in st. paul, minnesota, republican.

caller: good morning. host: what's on your mind? caller: i noticed that even on veterans day that the soldiers get no attention. i wanted to point out a history lesson. in minnesota, we're the first that sense of the were soldiers between 8-1200 in the cemetery where my relatives are buried. they have no statue for them and they give them no honor. people need to give them some honor because they actually change the course of history. have you ever heard of a war that was fought just to free another race? i haven't and they get no. credit for that all they want is more reparations in minnesota. dealing out millions to george floyd, would they have done that if george floyd, he was nodding

off at the wheel, if he got in that vehicle and killed somebody, would they make a big memorial to him? i don't think so. host: when you talk about a cemetery, where is that cemetery? caller: it is oakland cemetery in st. paul, minnesota. all they have is a statue of the fireman. they consider that a generic soldier's field and people are trying to get some kind of monument. they get nothing and they change the course of history. i believe that is why our greatest nation has been blessed because we did such a deed like that. ehrman would go and fight and die just to free another race and they became very ungrateful. host: the house is coming in for the day and we will ended there. we will be back here tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m.