demand. deep -- keep up with floor proceedings the court, campaigns and more from politics all at your finger tips. you can stay current with the latest episodes of "washington journal" and find scheduling for tv networks and c-span radio plus podcasts. c-span now is available at the apple store and gag -- it google play. c-span now your front row seats to washington any time, anywhere. c-span is year unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more including comcast. >> you think this is just a community center? it is more than that. comcast partners with community

centers to create wi-fi lists so families can get the tools they need. comcast supports c-span as a public svice with these other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. ". join the conversation. host: this is "washington journal" saturday, november 9. former president donald trump will return to the white house after a decisive victory over vice president kamala harris. in addition to holding onto his base, the republican presidential elect picked up votes in key blocks that have traditionally supported democrats. to start today's pogrom, we are asking republicans only why did you support donald trump? here are the lines. if you are in the eastern or central time zone, (202) 748-8000. if you are in mountain or pacific, (202) 748-8001.

if you are a first-time gop voter, we have a line set aside for you, (202) 748-8002. you can text your comments to (202) 748-8003. be sure to include your name and city. you can also post a question or comment on facebook at facebook.com/cspan or on x at @cspanwj. good morning. thank you for joining us on "washington journal." we will get to your calls and comments in a few minutes. first wanted to show you some headlines, this from the washington post. it says from coalition marks a transformed republican party. the article says donald trump's return to the white house was powered by historic realignment of the american electorate that upended decades of traditional coalitions as he maintained his majority support of men and white voters without college degrees but made dramatic inroads with latinos, first-time

voters, and middle and lower income households, according to preliminary exit polls. in key swing states, that decided the election. trump also cut into traditional democratic stronghold, urban areas, and high income suburbs in pennsylvania, black voters in wisconsin, and arab voters in michigan. he dramatically expanded his margins in rural counties in georgia and wisconsin, easily overcoming vice president kamala harris' advantage in metro areas, including atlanta and milwaukee. trump outperformed his 2020 margin in more than 9 out of 10 counties, where at least 90% of votes have been counted, a stunning rebuke of democratic leadership over the past four years and's an embrace of some of trump's hardline policies, including a crackdown on undocumented immigrants. also looking at a piece from

newsweek, the headline trump splits first-time voters. we mentioned -- it was mentioned briefly in the washington post or coal the newsweek piece says president-elect trump secured more first-time voters than four years ago. according to exit polls, taking away the democratic party's majority with the group. among the voters asked by nbc, 56% of first-time voters chose the republicans over 43% who selected vice president kamala harris. four years ago, 64% of first-time voters picked joe biden, while trump only attracted 32%. although the group made up only around 8% of all voters in 2024, numbers show a shift and appeal for trump, who also fell behind former secretary of state hillary clinton with the demographic in 2016. those articles talking about some of the key voting groups

that former president trump and now president-elect trump picked up during this year's campaign. taking a look at exit polls, where he gained 42% of latino voters backed trump come up seven points from 2020. he won lato men 55% to3%. 16% of -- 60% of black oveters -- 16% of black voters supported trump, up eight points in 2020. and 64% of rural americans supported trump, up from 57% in 2020. former president trump did speak to his supporters after being called the winner wednesday night. here is a portion of that. [video clip] >> i want to thank you all very

much. this is great. these are our friends purely have thousands of friends in this incredible movement. this is a movement like nobody has ever seen before, and, fr ankly, this was, i believe, the greatest political movement of all time. there's never been anything like this in this country. and we are going to reach a new level of importance, because we're going to help our country heal. help our country heal. we have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. we need to fix our borders. ew' -- we're going to fix everything about our country. we made history for a reason tonight, and the reason will be just that. we overcame obstacles nobody thought possible, and it is now clear that we have achieved the most incredible political --

look what happened. [cheers] [applause] it's a political victory that our country has never seen before, nothing like this. i want to thank the american people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th resident. [cheers] and every citizen, i will fight for you, your family, and your future. every single day, i will be fighting for you. and with every breath in my body, i will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe, and prosperous america our children deserve and that you deserve. this will truly be the golden age of america. host: that was a portion of

president-elect trump's speech from earlier this week. looking at where the race currently stands, he has won 301 votes. 270 was the number needed to win. he increased his electorate count after nevada was called recently. arizona is currently the only state still outstanding. he does lead in that state. we are talking to republican voters only for this first hour, asking why did you support former president trump. cindy in connecticut is first. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. my children are in their 20's, and they are really struggling. i want them to have the same opportunities the rest of us had. they just can't get ahead.

things are too expensive, housing's too expensive. that was a part of it. they really were losing hope. and they turned around, and to see the difference of how things work economically for them. what's -- it was out there on the table. i didn't like all the -- the way we just picked, the left seems to divide us on race, on gender. everything got too extreme with them. i want our children to remain innocent. it was just too much. we used to agree on basic moral tenets, and we don't anymore. it didn't matter who was president, who was elected, if

it was your guy or not 20 years ago. we all knew we were going to be ok. and now we don't. we need to just have more common sense in this country and realize we love everybody and we want everyone to succeed. we don't care what you do as adults. you took god out of schools but then replaced it with a different religion. i don't buy this -- you know -- it's a lot. i could go on all day. i just believe we are going to be better off -- host: you were talking about your children. it sounded like they also supported former president trump? caller: i have one that now is sort of -- she would have hated his guts four years ago, but now, they are all like, i don't like this

--they just did not like all the division. they're very compassionate about migrants, but yet, they saw a lot of their friends, people of color, suffering because of the migrant crisis. i do believe they did not like the switch, with joe biden and kamala, without her getting any votes. that raised a lot of eyebrows. i do think covid changed a lot for people. you know, how we couldn't even come together as a country like we did after 9/11 after covid. we couldn't come around the president and support him. everything he did was, you know, wrong. everything -- this was something covid -- i do not think anybody would have handled perfectly. this was an unknown coming out

as that nobody knew anything about. you try to do practical things like try to curtail travel and stuff, the spread, and it was just name-calling. it was all name-calling -- host: got your point. john in new jersey, good morning. caller: good morning. cindy, she hit it on the nose. very nice. biden gave us -- immigration was so important and was so central to trump, back in the other election. and he walked in and opened the door. the biggest thing trump was for. the country was overflown. i gotta tell you, the men of the year was governor abbott, who, by his tactics, spread the problem all over the place and

impacted democratic-run cities. it was brilliant. i think that gave us the election. the other part, economy is always shaky, it can go either way. i'm not sure president means a lot, generally, in narrow points one way or the other. i think trump, deregulation, drill, baby, drill probably has an impact. we will see what tariffs will do, which is an interesting problem we have had since the founding. to me, the biggest issue was in terms of maybe my minorities -- of maybe minorities. the culture war. people don't like a lot of things, including they don't like men in women's sports. it's obvious. the democrats -- she was not a good candidate, she really wasn't it.

they handed it to us on a platter. host: lynn in oregon. caller: hi. i voted on policy basis. my most important policy was views on abortion. it was evident that kamala harris had very, very liberal views on that. also on transgender, putting men in women's sports and not realizing that there are two distinct sexes, and we are created different. men have different muscle mass, even when they undergo all these hormone treatments and etc. you can't change. after that, there was the policy on immigration, which was really just invasion, allowing so many

to come in unvetted. even early back in -- even back in the early 1900's, on ellis island, if you were sick or anything, you were turned away and they sent you back, which was virtually a death warrant to go back on the ship after you had been, for so many weeks, on one. even then, they vetted people coming into our country. with this policy, we have not in doing that, so there were just so many policies that, as a christian, i voted for policies that more were super bowl -- were biblical and least offensive in the eyes of how my faith works. host: dahlia in miami. caller: good morning. i was born in cuba.

i came to this country when i was 14 years old. the democratic party has become almost like they wanted to push us into socialism, which i do not agree with. miami-dade county, for the first time, voted republican. we are the biggest county in florida. the reason all the people have before, those are reasons i am a republican and i am proud to vote for donald trump. my entire family voted for him. i have a 50-year-old granddaughter who plays -- i have a 15-year-old granddaughter who plays soccer. thank god she goes to catholic

school. i would never want her to play in a field with men in there. thank god our governor does not allow that. the democrats have gone so far to the left that it's unbelievable. i've been here since i was 14 years old. i'm 78 now. and i've never seen anything like it. they wanted to make us, like the cars, you have to buy an ev. no. no. you have to give the people the choice, whether they want that or not. it became all you have to do this, you have to be this way. no. no. the abortion, the same thing.

we, here in florida, we had a proposition or thing to pass on abortion that would move it all the way up to nine months, no parental guidelines or anything. it did not pass. people did not vote for it. and i'm very happy. host: that was dahlia in miami. dalia mentioned former president trump flipped dade county. the headline in the new york times, an earthquake. trump splits south texas. it says nowhere in the united states had strictly democratic counties shifted so far and so fast in the direction of former president donald trump as they had in the texas communities along the rio grande am aware hispanic residents make up an overwhelming majority. its support for mr. trump along the texas border provided the

starkest example of what had been a broad national embrace of the republican candidate among hispanics and working-class voters. that shift has taken place in rural communities as well as in large cities like miami and in parts of new york and new jersey. but texas stood out. 8 of the top 10 democratic counties swung towards mr. trump tuesday or on the texas border or within a short drive. one of the biggest swings came in starr county, a rural area where sections of border wall have been rising, incomes are low, and many travel long distances to jobs in oil fields. the county flipped republican tuesday, backing mr. trump by about 16 percentage points. he lost the county to hillary clinton by 60 points in 2016. concerns about inflation, the large number of unauthorized border crossings in recent years

dominated the campaign in the county. voters who voted for trump said they had done so mostly for practical reasons. back to your calls. steve in california. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. why i voted for trump, it was very scary, the law, especially from judge marchand, things that were done to trump that had never been done to a defendant before. the gas lighting from not only the news media and the government, the outright lying. the gas lighting, inflation was

transitory, the borders were secure, the twisting and the taking out of context comments trump made. harris' refusal to answer questions. the trans issue. where the obvious solution is to have trannies compete against trannies. when i found out the democrats, when they got into power and they just happened to control power, they wanted to abolish the electoral college, they wanted to stack the supreme court, they wanted to abolish the filibuster, they wanted to create two more states, puerto rico and the district of columbia. that would solidify their power. it became apparent to me they

were only after power. flooding the united states with illegal immigrants to change the next census to give them more representation in congress. i got very, very scared. i would like, real shortly, i would like to make a recommendation so that we can somewhat avoid what took place. i trust c-span to be fair and blaanc -- balanced, just like a lot of americans do. and i would like to see a debates, hosted by c-span, on a prearranged topic once a week

between the news media. liberal news media on one side, conservative news media on the other. that would give them time to prepare for it, you could have rachel maddow and maybe laura ingraham. you could have joe scarborough, maria bartiromo. people actually intelligent in their view. once the people know the facts, they can make an intelligent decision on what is right and what is wrong. and if the liberals will not do it, then that will tell you a lot about what their intentions are. they do not have the facts to

support their views. they do not want to be exposed. host: that's steve in california. i met -- annette in alabama. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. along with the majority of americans that spoke forcefully november 5 -- it was a landslide. what we were against was the democrat failure to do no harm. when harris and biden continued to say biden onyx is working, the border is sick -- bidenomics is working, the borders secure, crime is down, and they were smiling while they said it. the people knew better that that was a monstrous lie, and we knew it because we were living it. apparently, democrat political leaders didn't care. this was not because she was a woman or a woman of color. this country has come a long way

from major discrimination. trump won in a landslide because we knew we were headed the wrong way and harris would continue these barriers, and we had to do something different. again, thank you so much for this program. i am a c-span junky. host: last month on "washington journal," former trump administration official jeron smith inscribed what he called a new realignment of the republican party. here's a clip from the interview. [video clip] >> what we did at our firm was established a research report. we looked at the poorest and medium an average income households and we found, under the poorest households come from some of the most polarizing caucuses and members of congress. for example, the four poorest median incomes were blacks, and

hispanic and the members who support those district are members of the freedom caucus. on the left, it was numbers of the hispanic caucus and the congressional black caucus. we also found, and some of the highest median income average incomes come from some of the wealthiest districts, which are usually some of the bipartisan caucuses, some of the groups that are pushing for by the -- bipartisanship. what we found with that is some of those poor districts, the reason why you are seeing such polarizing reaction is because people are really trying to push the current establishment to do more for their constituencies, because things have not changed. what we're arguing is a real

realignment. i've seen this stuff built out. i was part of the people party movement. people do not know that jim jordan started the antipoverty caucus. or the original person who started talking about the opportunity economy was tim scott. it was not until we had a president like president trump, who started to work on issues that helped working-class voters, and so you see a different republican party than the party i came into. it is now a party of the working class, and you are seeing a different democratic party, that is rep resenting more of the elite individuals -- representing more of the elite individuals. we are seeing less trust in big as a media, big corporations. even jeff bezos came out with a news article talking about how people do not trust newspapers anymore, like the washington post. what we are seeing in front of our eyes is a real political realignment where you are seeing more working-class voters want to vote republican.

host: we are hearing from republicans this morning on why they voted for donald trump in the election. we are taking your calls, also getting reaction on social media. this from ellerby ss listens to americans. s agenda is for the people. he doesn't u "i" and "me" in talking about attacks from opponents by his choice language in policy are "we" and "us." skybeck said because kamala said there was not a single thing she would have changed over th last four years and set her only weakness was that she liked having a good team arounher. barbara says the policies he ran on, i.e. the economy and immigration, courage, and his successful leadership during his first term as president. stephanie says common sense, family values, morality, and sick of media censorship and

brainwashing. sarah says because we need a strong leader for our country, someone that would put america first. one more, charlene, says common sense. there's more important things to worry about then abortion and transgender surgeries for children. back to your calls. patrice in south carolina. caller: hi. thanks for taking my call. i love trump's policies and attitude towards changing things. everything seemed to be shoved in our faces. he went up the same group of people trying to overthrow america. kamala never answering questions, telling lies, and not giving policies -- liberal propagandized media.

men in women's sports. rockefeller school protocols. illegal immigrants crossing the border. and a politicized court case, all the politicized court cases. that's why you saw a red wave, and you're going to continue to see a red wave, because people are finally waking up. we don't get the news anymore, we get propaganda. people's opinions, who are supposed to be journalist that people depend on, but most of us have gone outside the box. we look at youtube and other news sources that are better at spreading the news. also, we are sick and tired of news celebrities. we are sick and tired of celebrities that got a hidden agenda. people with a certain discernment, they see through everything going on. i'm so glad 135 million people

got out to vote for change. host: can i ask you a question? caller: yes. host: you mentioned policy. what was the most important issue for you this campaign? caller: everything. i have a grandson, and the school system is so jacked up. trump is going to go in there and turn this thing around. everybody is going to be able to have the type of education that can push america forward from now on. it doesn't matter what the color of your skin is. everybody has a chance now. and i advise everybody to take it. host: tim in wisconsin, first-time gop voter. good morning. caller: yes, ma'am. the last caller took all of my

talking points. i do not really consider myself in either party, but i had to vote gop this time, because the democrat party, their child mutilation policies, there abortion policies, all these illegals in the country without being vetted, people being murdered by illegals, children being molested down in kentucky or tennessee. scores of other people you do not hear about, that the mainstream media sensors -- censors. i do not put my faith in the government, but i have to agree -- i cannot remember who said it on youtube. i used to vote democrat quite a bit. they just turned into a demonic death cult, and i agree with that man completely. abortion at any time.

even after the baby's born, they can let it die on the table in tim walz' state. i think the democrat party lost this race more than trump won it because of all their hopeless, godless policy they try to pursue. thank you very much. host: you voted gop for the first time. what about your down ballot elections? where they also republican? caller: yes, yes they were. like i said, i couldn't -- there's no democrats i could vote for anymore purveyor also far left radical, it is just incredible, in my opinion. host: this in today's new york times, an article. control of the house and three senate seats remain in balance. it is a little outdated. wanted to mention the pennsylvania senate, dave

mccormick, the republican candidate, has a lead in that race. this article from the new york times, they have not called it, but the associated press has. however, bob casey, the democratic incumbent senator has not conceded. it says the candidates remain about 39,000 votes apart, a difference of just more than half a percentage point. thursday, the state reported some 100,000 provisional military overseas and election day ballots were still uncounted. counting the ballots could stretch into next week, local officials said, if the margin winds up with and have a percentage point, their race could go on to a recount. the nevada senate race has been called. that has gone to jacky rosen, the democratic incumbent. currently, the only senate seat still outstanding is arizona.

that has yet to be called. looking at the list of house races, there are 23 house races that have yet to be called. that includes the alaska at large race. nick begich, a republican, is currently ahead, but the at large seat, which was flipped by the representative two years ago. also in washington state, the representative is ahead of the votes in washington's third district. it says her advantage to -- stood at 11,000 votes. there was a significant number remaining to be counted, an estimated 50,000 as of late thursday, not counting ballots postmarked before the election that have yet to arrive. back to your calls.

glenn in pennsylvania, good morning. caller: good morning, good morning. the reason why i vote democrat for the last 50 years, c-span, is you can give me a republican president that everyone in the white house for the last 50 years that never gave us -- that's why i vote democrat for the last 50 years. every republican president that goes into the white house, we have chaos, mayhem, the country in a recession -- host: who did you vote for? caller: i vote democrat, and -- host: ok, we will let you go, because we are talking with

republicans this morning. rick in iowa. good morning. caller: hey, excuse me. good morning. sorry about that. i guess, for me, it started right off with the keystone pipeline. i recently heard a trader on one of the business channels. this -- they said this is when we might seek gas price spikes, and they said, if this happens, we have two things that could happen. we can tap the spr or call saudi. i like trump's idea a lot better about using our own fuel to take care of issues like that, so there's one. afghanistan, an utter debacle. i served close to 25 years. i came in at the tail end of

carter. it reminded me of vietnam, that exit. it was terrible. i felt so bad for those folks. the trans issue was a thing for me, women competing against men, that's wrong. immigration. you know, legal immigration, that's the way forward for me. i don't understand the illegal portion of this, just letting folks into the u.s. without vetting them. that was a huge thing for me. ukraine, my thought on that was there's an enormous goodwill at the front end of ukraine. i think, had we really pushed on russia, that this is not going to happen, and fed them the weapons they needed up front,

especially when the american public was behind ukraine 100%, that would have given them pause. however, -- i think we're where we at right now with ukraine. inflation, that was affecting, super affecting the very low end of the economic tier in the u.s. , i think. and i don't think they were spoken to by the democrats. i mean, seeing all these folks on tv that are making millions talking about voting for the democrats, and nobody is saying anything about these folks down there struggling with 30% increases when they go to the grocery store. i think that was a massive issue for them. all those folks noticed it and voted trump -- host: we are going to go on to

clearance in tennessee. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. i voted republican, as i always have. i was much more comfortable voting this time as a republican that i've been on some other occasions when the party seemed to present nobody else other than the chamber of commerce. mag -- my biggest thing about the election was the legacy media. at this point, all the press is wanting to blame biden's late withdrawal. i take it back farther than that. i take it back to the fact that they elected biden in the first

place, who falsely promised all this get togetherness, yet he kept most of the obama people in washington and has been anything but conciliatory or pull togetherness -- host: i will bring it back to why you voted for president trump this time. you mentioned this election it was easier to vote republican that it has been easily -- previously. what was different this year? caller: well, the fact that he was representing someone other than the main policies as were often the case last time. i'm sorry you don't like

microsystem of the media -- host: no, i'm not, i am try to get other bit more out of you when you say those main policies. give me an example. caller: well, the main policies are the economic policies. secondly, it's the entire news of the democratic party, who want to make it all sorts of issues and not the other. and as far as influence in this election, again, it's all the attacks they have made for 10 years against trump, which i thought were mostly made up. the current race, without the

oprahs and others who were entertaining the audience out of love of the party and candidate, but, in fact, oprah winfrey, a billionaire, was paid $1 million, this appearance she made for the harris campaign. i was shocked to hear that. then i find out most of the other entertainers were not there because of love of candidate or party but were also being paid. so that's how you spend $1 billion and windup still in debt. host: ok, that was clearance in tennessee. we have about 15 minutes left talking to republicans about why they supported donald trump. rodrick in virginia.

caller: good morning. i am polish by birth. i believe you guys are understanding me, because i have an accent. what happened is i voted president elect donald trump, first time in my life, because i become a u.s. citizen just not long time ago, and there were several items that basically trump presented contrary to the harris administration. one of the items is it to me many years, me and my wife basically waited in a line, patiently, with a ton of money, 60 thousand dollars plus, to become -- to get a green card.

and what i see is a pouring crowd of people to the united states, getting my application, basically, to the bottom of the stack. that was one of the items that i agreed with the policy of the president-elect. number two, the economy. that was on the agenda. because i am a civil engineer who basically suffered a lot of problems, financial problems, during the big slide in 2008, 2010. we didn't pay for the markets for 8 months. we didn't know whether we were going to be living in a house.

that was basically the item, the economy. what was the main item for me. the other item is i came from a communist country. and this election was basically, the harris administration basically pulled too far to the left. i came to the land of opportunity, the land of hope. and i didn't nkow there's a homegrown situation like this. those three major items made me vote for president trump, first time in my life. host: how long have you been in the u.s.? caller: 27 years. you know, those applications, it is a tedious process. the employer does not want to

sign the application, and you have to pay and you have to beg to stay in the u.s. suddenly, somebody comes in front of the line and gets the privilege, and i pay the taxes -- host: that was rodrick in virginia. congratulations on your citizenship. joel in arkansas. good morning. caller: good morning, ma'am. you know, i get emotional about this. i voted for trump both times. are you there? host: yes, i'm listening. caller: i voted for trump both times. this man didn't have to take thi sjob. the man, at his age, he outran

harris. he outran her. he just has so much energy for his age. harris, she never answered a question. she was lost. her brain was scrambled. it's mind-boggling that the party picked her. and she wasn't selected. she was given the party. if i was a democrat, that would have kept me from voting her right there. trump and his family loves this country and everything. he took two attempts to try to kill him, and a mark against him again and everything. most of the people that's called in today, they had all my

points. the food crisis went up, though open border, and you can't buy a home. i was about 37, 40 years old when i bought my first home, and i bought three since them. i am in my last home now, i am 83 years old. harris would not be able to debate these people like russia, china, iran, north korea. she were just not be able to do something like this. she was not serious. for a party to run on abortion, that's just terrible. that's god's gift to a family. if you would try to search it, there's been so many -- i bet our country has aborted more babies but maybe china.

that's all i've got. and you can see, he won as much as ronald reagan did. that's how far i go back. i'm 82, but i would like to tell you a story -- host: we will go on. we only have 10 minutes left and i want to get other voices in here. kathleen in los angeles. caller: good morning. i am so excited to answer this question. i'm a black american woman living in los angeles. black americans are 40% of the homeless in los angeles. as soon as trump came down the escalator in 2016 and said immigration -- he is deporting illegal aliens. it's like, oh my god, i have to vote for trumpcare this is the issue for black americans. it has been the issue for black americans since the 1800's. mass immigration, illegal aliens. for every 10% increase in

immigration, high immigration, black americans lose 1% and 1.5% of their wealth. cesar chavez, caretta scott king, they were all against high immigration and illegal aliens. i don't know why black americans don't support trump. they don't know the data. frederick douglass -- they all talk about how mass immigration adversely impacts black americans economically. so i don't understand why so many black americans are against trump. it makes no sense. they don't know the data. the other thing, other than immigration, is how the democratic party has destroyed black america. we have been voting for this party for decades, and now, we

are at the bottom. black americans at the bottom economically. we are now facing zero median wealth by 2053. how can black americans support the democratic party? it is absurd. they don't know the data. we had 87% two parent households in the 1930's. the father is the most important member of the family, the head of household. two parent households are very important. since we have been hanging out, rolling with the democratic party, we are down to now 25 percent two parent households. i mentioned this before, and one woman, a black american woman, called in and set it is because of white supremacy. it is not right to privacy, because in the 1930's, we had 87% -- we had more two parent households than white americans in the 1930's. ever since the civil rights

movement, black americans have been going backwards, ok? right after the civil rights act of 1965, the democrats pushed the immigration act of 1965. so it's like for every step forward, we go two steps back, ok? more of my people, my group need to learn the accurate history, need to learn the accurate data -- host: got your point. edward in new jersey. good morning. caller: good morning. i have a unique point of view on this. i believe there was some sort of a cabal between donald trump and an organization that is a

fear-based organization known as the catholic church. i think they are the reason that he was able to accomplish what he was. sort of hidden in the background. they got their people to go out and vote against the -- host: edward, who did you vote for? did you vote for former president trump? caller: no. host: we will let you go. again, we are talking to republicans. tom in colorado. caller: good morning. i won't waste a lot of your time. i'm not as well those -- well-versed as most of your callers. i did vote for president trump for the third time, and i

believe that the way they weaponized the judicial system and tried all the underhanded tricks -- come on, this is america. wear a white hat, lead from the front. don't push from the rear. then, the specifics of the politics here is just down to the schools for me. we've got our children being influenced by less than leaders. they want to indoctrinate our children. come on, guys, you are being paid to teach them how to read and write. now look across the table from yourselves and asked, can they read, can they write? why are you graduating them if they can't do either one?

you have not done your job. beyond that, i do not feel qualified to waste your time anymore, but thank you for listening. host: that was tom in colorado. kathy in michigan. good morning. caller: hello. everyone has spoken eloquently. i voted for president-elect trump three times. i would have liked to have heard the 82-year-old man's story. he should call back another time. the democrats went after president trump during his first four years with that fake russia hoax and wasted $30 million with a hillary clinton fake dossier.

all this law fair in new york, all the trials he has to go through, fake. you give the office of the presidency respect. no one respect president-elect trump -- i mean, democrats don't. the media, they still have not learned a lesson. i still listen to msnbc and cnn, and they are still telling their lies. the lies of the bloodbath was a lie, the bleach was a lie, the fine people on both sides was a lie. there's so many lies they told about him ;. -- about him. and the abortions. i wish democrats would call a movie called "unplanned," and then call a movie called "god

now." dr. gosnell is in jail because of him -- i do not know what you call it, when the child is born and you just let it die on the shelf, like that other man said. dr. gosnell was put in jail for that. the governor of virginia even was on tape saying that they would let the child be born and then they would talk between the mother and dr. about whether they should die. the democrat party has become too extreme. i just hope the rest of america, or democrat america, wake up and

realize that this is wrong. we're headed -- we were headed in the wrong direction. host: our last call for this hour is stephen. he's in. new york. good morning. caller: two things. regarding kamala, i noticed her foggy mind, and i attributed it to, her -- to, perhaps, her use of marijuana. and i didn't want to have a person in the situation room deciding a nuclear decision who was stoned. that i felt strongly about her. as far as the don goes, he's a

businessman. his mind is sharp. he knows what he's saying. he concentrates. he knows how to focus. he's a superior thinker. that's it. thank you so much. host: that was stephen in new york, and th wraps up our first hour of today's "washington journal." next, we will talk about the presidential transition process with max stier from the partnership for public service. later, this veterans day weekend, a conversation with u.s. marine corps veteran travis partington about his podcast, "oscar mike radio," an issues facing the nation's veterans. ♪ >> visit this beast --

c-span.org/results for comprehensive coverage of the campaign results. get the final electoral college breakdown in the presidential race and see which stage each candidate carries. go to our interactive map to explore the outcomes of the governor races and monitor the balance of power in congress. plus watch acceptance and concession speecheon demand any time. stay up-to-date with c-span, yo unfiltered view of politics at c-span.org/results. >> american history tv, exploring the people and events that tell the american story. this weekend the unveiling of the braun centerpiece for the national world war i memorial in washington, d.c. and he remarks from the sculptor and the designer. on lectures in history, and indiana professor -- history

professor on the 1929 great depression, president franklin roosevelt's new deal and the impact it had on various populations including mexican americans. on the presidency, marcus brennan led a discussion about what is involved when the president travels involved -- abroad and speakers included the deputy chief of staff from president and george w. bush and the former chief of protocol, caprecia marshall. find a full schedule on your program guide or watch any time at c-span.org/history. booktv, every sunday on c-span two features leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books. here's a look at what is coming up. 2:00 p.m. eastern, booktv prevent -- presents couple age -- coverage of the brooklyn book

festival talking about campus free speech and more. and that it :00 p.m. eastern, a political science professor has a guide on how to discuss civics with children with "how to raise a citizen." on afterwards, the book "rights and freedom in peril" where he argues that the left is attacking americans rights and freedoms. he is interviewed by alex sawyer. watch booktv every sunday on c-span2, and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch on booktv.org. >> washington journal continues. >> welcome back. joining us now is max stier the president and ceo of partnership for public service. we will talk about the presidential transition brought -- process. welcome to the program.

why don't we start with telling the audience what the partnership for public service is and the role in that it has in the transition process. guest: it is amazing that people are getting up on saturday morning to hear this. it is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to a better government and stronger democracy. what that means is that we focus on trying to help our government deliver on the services that it is responsible for. our theory is that there is a lot of reasonable disagreement over the size of government and what government does but everyone should agree that we want an effective but -- effective government to make sure that taxpayers are getting good return on their investment and the americans are kept safe and a world with more opportunity and prosperity. we focus on getting good talent and making sure that it is well lay it -- well led and focusing

on the relationship between society and government. host: one of those topics that you talk about or cover in your organization is the presidential transition process. you call it the moment -- the transition between one administration to the next the moment of maximum vulnerability. explain what you mean. guest: for sure. as you noted it is a little bit of the olympics for us. every four years. it is extraordinary when you think about it. as a child i learned in civics class that the peaceful transfer of power was a gift from our country to the world. it has been extraordinary. what has been the focus is the peaceful part but not as much attention to the effective part. the effective piece has become more important as the world has become more dangerous, faster moving, and more complex. the transition is a moment in

which you have an entirely new team in charge fundamentally of keeping us safe and running the 450 plus agencies in our government, the 6 trillion dollar budget and 3.5 billion people including the civilian services and political -- and military workforce and then what you need to direct the large organization. we have seen in history the most prominent example of this is 9/11 where bluntly, challenges in the transition were significant contributors to risk and real disaster for our country. so, not just in the united states but many instances of broad -- abroad. we have a lot of enemies and when someone new is taking charge that is a point where there is increased risk and more focused by enemies and a point which should be front and center

for everybody as we go through the process today. host: the election was a few days ago about the transition process has already been underway. when did it begin? guest: it should have begun in the spring of this year of the election year. what i just described in terms of the scope and complexity of the federal government. you cannot take it over and be ready to run on january 20 if you have not started the transition or preparation for how you would take it over very early. it obviously intensifies after the election, but the reality is that the best administrations are those that have taken the precaution of preparing for the possibility of winning and making sure they have done everything they can to understand the government to get the best team in place and make sure they are all working together. there are 70 some odd days left before the inauguration.

i think of this as the universe pre-big bang. there is an intense amount of work for understanding what is happening in each of those agencies, what are the decisions to be made. who are the best people to make those decisions and how do they work effectively together. and then how will the president deliver on campaign promises and convert what they promised on the campaign trail as action coming through the government. host: as of thursday the trump transition team has not signed an agreement with the general services administration. what does that do and why is it concerning? guest: there are multiple agreements that the transition operation should have signed or entered into with the government and the administration today in order to get access to the critical information and resources that you need to be ready to govern on day one. the general services

admistration is the front door, the organization that helps the transition a -- activity across the entire government. that agreement should happen pre-election and it never d -- and it would've -- and it never did. it would have given them access to space, technology resources and also the protections that the u.s. government can offer against cyber attacks and other important infrastructure. and probably, the more fundamental agreement that is still unsigned or has not been entered into is the white house itself and that is really about how the transition team what access the federal agencies themselves. you cannot waltz into the defense department or cia or any federal agency without an agreement with the existing government about what the terms of engagement will be, who are the people who are able to come

in. have they gotten the clearances that they need to access nonpublic or classified information? that is more fundamental and unlocks critical national security information that an external team needs to get up to speed about the threat environment we are operating in. these are incredibly important and incredibly complex. and you need a long runway in order to be prepared to step in and not make a mistake. mistakes will cost us a great deal. those agreements are the starter pistol for all of the other action that needs to take place. and they are hoping that they still have that. they have not as of yet and they are very much delayed. host: we are talking about the presidential transmission -- translate -- transition with max stier. if you have a question or comment you can start calling him now.

the lines, democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001,. and independents, 202-748-8002. max, what does the 2024 trump team's approach to the transition to for from the 2016? guest: in 2016, first and foremost the trump team started out as i mentioned at the right time in the spring of that election year. governor chris christie was selected to lead the effort and he did an admirable job. they treated it very seriously and thoroughly. unfortunately, two days after the election, not only was governor chris christie fired, but more importantly the large part of the work that his team had put together was effectively pushed to the side.

and they knew trump team fundamentally was unable to either catch up or really understand key processes that would have enabled them to again, take charge of the government more effectively and quickly. the end result of that was the slowest vetting selection and nomination of an incoming administration in modern history. and we, thankfully there was no obvious national security risk that occurred, but it could have happened. that is 2016. fast-forward forward to today, the trump team did not announce its leadership until much later, essentially the end of summer and the beginning of fall. this was a different situation because you had two competing operations in the nonprofit sector. heritage and project 2025, and

the american first broad -- policy institute that they were doing in addition to the typical policy development they were doing things that were more traditional for transition planning. there was activity but not by the campaign and that is a very important distinction. really importantly the biggest distinction is that in 2016, as a transition effort entered into all of the agreements with the governmental entities necessary and engaged at the front end thoroughly with the government in ways that were important to access information that they needed. that has not taken place. and that is the issue that is the most concerning. there are other questions around the use again of critical government resources like security clearance for the fbi. there have been reporting that there are questions from the trump team about whether they want to continue to do that work move that to contractors.

that would be incredibly problematic and, honestly, very bad choice. the real issue right now is that they need to engage with the governmental entities and entered into the agreement for critical resources to run our government. the metaphor for me is that we have a new airline flight -- pilot and we are flying in the same airplane. we have a strong interest in making sure the airplane does not crash. we need the pilot and the larger team up to speed and ready about all of the risks that are in play and the decisions that they need to make and they need to work effectively together. that takes time and engagement with the team in place right now. host: we have callers waiting to talk with you. we will get to them in a second. we want to follow-up up on the agreement. are they a legally -- a legal requirement? guest: that is an interesting question because transition activity is still private.

it is not governmental. but the bridge between the campaign and the ultimate public sector work that has to be done. and so, there are really -- like the ethics agreement and all of the other things that the agreements require, they are not actually required by law and less the transition team will engage with the federal government. i think that should be a no-brainer. you absolutely have to do that. but, they are not but they are independent of that. it is confusing because of what government sources are needed for what agreement. i mentioned the agreement for the general services administration. you may not enter into that and still enter into the white house agreement and get access to agencies and etc.. you are still -- you could still

enter into agreements with department of justice and get security clearance. you should do them all, but they are separate and somewhat complicated by the fact that no one else has pushed the system like this to my knowledge ever before. host: tim in kentucky on the line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. you've answered most of my questions about the legality of it. it looks like he is trying to just push in all kinds of people and nobody things as far as security clearances and all of that. so, i think you answered my question. it is not exactly legal, but it is just as legal, but not -- but nothing can be done about it. is that correct? guest: largely correct what you just said. you know, i am still hopeful

that the transition will enter into the agreement. i know that the biden administration is very serious about trying to do everything they can to encourage and enable the trump team to get these resources that i think there are legal limits on what in fact is possible. yesterday the department of justice had a statement saying that they ready and they want to do security clearances. not that long ago the general services administration reached out and said post election that they are still interested in trying to help in every way they can. you cannot force the trump team to do this. it is the right thing to do and i think it is the correct vote for the perspective of the responsibility and stewardship of the future. but it will help them get their promises executed more

effectively. i think the interests are aligned and i am hopeful that we will see movement soon, because there is a real risk to all of us. host: angela in virginia, line for republicans. caller: good morning and i am calling because i was on -- i was part of the trump administration the last time, and i was sworn in seconds after the president was sworn in. i am very interested in serving them again in the american people again. and i am trying to find out how to i make sure that i am part of that process, will you all be using the plum book and you will find my name there. are you all doing it that way? how is the process working to choose people and what are my chances of being a former

appointee for the trump administration? guest: first of all, thank you for your service and it would be interesting to hear a little bit more about your experiences up -- as a part of the team. for other listeners it means that you came in and day one in the first wave of trump appointees and the answer to your question about what is the process for service going forward, these things are pretty opaque. you know, so my advice to you is to communicate to the people that you worked with in the trump administration to see whether they have connectivity with people in the transition. i will say it is a complicated moment because while the transition operation was started late. they are leaving it and my understanding is for the most senior positions that they have been soliciting names from a

whole variety of senior republican figures, a lot of this is about relationship and, therefore, people who have served before are being viewed as a natural place to be pulling talents back in. i would try to network as best as you can through all of the people you worked with previously to see who might be connected in the process. the interesting challenge historically and it will be true here as well, the transition operation pre-election might have to merge with campaign operations. and that could be a messy process. honestly, the likelihood is that this is the first time the candidate is engaging in its in a real way. it will be bumpy as they figure out what the process will be now that they won. i would be networking as best as you can. there is a lot of incoming and

it is my view, too many political jobs and that is another story. there are way more people who want that they had jobs. it is a matter of finding your way in a process that is not clear. host: teresa in rhode island. for independents. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am listening for this and i think my first thought is trump has a big problem with trust. given the transition the first time around it seems to me that that is not unexpected. so why would you believe he would be first in line to reach out to all of these bureaucratic departments and give them the playbook given at the risk of being disrespectful, sleepers and all the departments trying

to undermine him the first time around. so you are asking him to give the playbook away on the first day, given everything this man has gone through? i think it is a reasonable assumption and from my perspective as a layman on the outside looking in, trust is a big problem with me and by government. i would imagine that is the case for his administration and campaign. the second part of this and i am listening to this and trying to be objective in listening to everyone calling in and reporting. this seems disingenuous to the extent that it is following the same narrative that trump is rolled. and that -- rogue. and that none of the stuff he is doing is being done with precision and thoughtfulness and an understanding that he is

working inside a system that does not want him there. that is my only point. guest: look, i think you raise a really important issue in trust and a couple of different ways because we have more fundamentally in our society distrust of institutions and of our government. although our research shows that when you ask people you trust the government they are thinking about bickering politicians in washington more than the career civil service. coming back to your point about is it simply a question of the trump team not trusting the government so why would they work with them? it is a fair point and it is a good observation. what i would say is that whatever trust or lack of that exists right now, the reality is that donald trump and the team that he brings in is ultimately responsible to the american people.

it is not possible to deliver on that responsibility of keeping us safe and running our government effectively if they do not engage with the government. there are plenty of opportunities for president trump elect and his team to try and make changes, but in the here and now they need to use the resources that are there to make sure that they are ready. this is not giving away a playbook. there is nothing that they need to share. this is all about learning about what is happening in the world and what is happening in the agencies so they can make better informed decisions when bluntly, the shit hits the fan. so, they do not have to set aside their distress. but they do need to engage if they are going to frankly do their jobs effectively. host: deborah in west chester, ohio.

line for republicans. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for this wonderful subject matter. the previously -- the previous caller stated one of my concerns. but another major concern that i have is the fact that the general public has lost interest in foreign policy. my father fought in world war ii and my grandfather in world war i. there was a general interest in our nation's position. today, the news media rarely ever covers foreign policy. and i do not believe it is the fault of the american people, because like this particular discussion, it is tedious. and it is very important. but i will give you one example in covering foreign policy. the framework for the treaty to

north korea that had two nuclear power plants. president carter and president clinton but that together but they did not go through the full senate process to have it ratified. and then, what happened is that north korea had nuclear power and all battle in our bright had -- madeleine albright could say was we had been duped. i can give you many examples of how the american people are not paying attention to foreign policy. host: do you have a response? guest: i will admit that the organization that i run is for policy agnostic but fundamentally does care about, as i said earlier, the relationship between our society and government. and i think the caller underscores understanding why this matters. you know, why an effective government is not something just in washington but impacts lives

globally in all kinds of different ways and is incredibly fundamental. on a personal note i will say that you know, i started off caring about our world through reading newspapers and foreign policy. so, that speaks to me personally. that is as close as i can get to you right now. host: this is the first transition process under the esidential transition act which man states -- mantes federal support for both candidates to begin transition and it continues until " significant legal challenges that could alter election outcomes have been resolved." remind us why this legislation was put in place and what impact

this could have? guest: i will try to do so and i will note i think i heard the prior caller say that this conversation was a little tedious so this might get even more tedious for those who find it so already. this is a classic example of fighting the last battle. it is important. something happens and you hope that congress will respond and try to address it. the new problems come up and this is what we are seeing in the cycle. as you ask, the issue that came up in 2020 is that the incumbent administration and one of their responsibilities, the head of the general services administration, the organization that manages the stuff of the government. the buildings, acquisition of technology and etc.. the head of the agency had the responsibility of what in that

time was called ascertaining. that just meant deciding if in fact somebody had won the election. in 2020, the head of the agency did not make the decision and did not determine that joe biden had won the election and the result of that there were several weeks in which the biden team did not have access to all of the things that we are talking about right now. and that delay was problematic for them as it would be for the trump team as well. and congress i think looked at that and said we need to solve for this problem because if it happens once again. and their solution and i would admit that this was our proposal that was ultimately adopted was to say let us not try to figure out if someone decides the election, but whoever ultimately is going to be president is ready to get access to all of

the information they need as quickly as possible. if that means we need to allow two teams access to that information as the process winds through, that is better than no one getting the information so that no one is actually ready on day one. that was a major change made in 2022 to the presidential transition act. and we do not really know whether that was a good choice because in 2024 it never became an issue. president trump won handily. as a result there was no question about who won or needed access to the information. vice president harris conceded. it is a single team now and access to the information. what was not addressed was a situation we are in today for that team again has not entered into the agreements necessary to access the information. and we have not talked about detail what is required.

one of the core elements is an ethic plan to demonstrate that they do not have conflicts or apparent conflicts of interest. and a very important provision that was added in 2020 that actually requires a provision that describes how the president would deal with conflicts of interest as president. and i think that might actually be one of the issues at play right now. but having to talk further up -- but i am happy to talk further about that if your listeners want to know more. host: sandy in ohio. line for democrats. caller: thank you for taking my call. i wanted to know if he knows anything about the project 2025, that trump is going to put immediately into -- and what deep cuts so many programs that is going to hurt the american people. is that true?

guest: so, you know, you asked the question if i do know and the answer is i do not. i said earlier that there were two primary efforts by nonprofits, the heritage foundation which produced the project 2025 and the america first policy institute which was chaired by linda mcmahon who is one of the cochairs of the transition operation. the project 2025 effort has received a lot of media attention and that is probably why president trump and his campaign tried very hard to distance themselves from that work. we do not know what is going to be adopted from that blueprint. what we do know is that many of the people who worked with president trump in his first term were affiliated and created the policy agenda that is

outlined in project 2025. i mentioned earlier the partnership for public service is not about policy, it is about the operation of the government. there is one element in project 2025 and it is something that president elect trump has said that he wants to do that is in the wheelhouse of what we work out -- work on which is to end the current system of government where we have a career professional, apolitical civil service and convert that in some significant measure into more political appointees and more of a spoils system. our view is that is a huge mistake. for 140 years we have operated with a system of government that came out of the spoils system from the 19 century for which we had president garfield

assassinated by a disgruntled job seeker and the lesson learned was that the spoils system was not a good way to run the government. what spoils system means is giving jobs to loyalists rather than people who are the most expert and capable and who are committed to the broader probably good rather than specifically to the person elected of the day. so that is an element of project 2025 that appears that the trump team might pursue. and in our view that would be enormously detrimental to the capability of our government and to the services that we receive as americans from our government. the broader question of what else is still an open question. a lot of that depend on the people who are picked to lead the different agencies. a lot of policy is run by the president but a lot of the

activity of government since it is so broad is defined not just by the president but by the broader leadership team that he puts together. host: nicole in new jersey. line for republicans. caller: good morning and thank you for allowing me to ask a question. i appreciate this discussion and i think that the country is poised to see how the transition team will affect this bridge to january. one of the things that i was hearing from mr. steir is the fact that there is a concern and anxiety that the trump team is not doing things the way normally an incoming administration would and i am wondering if there is any kind of thought about the fact that mr. trump and some of the people on his team like elon musk are so used to doing things at the speed of for-profit corporations

where upper management makes a decision and middle and lower management execute. it sounds like from what he was describing about the traditional civil service bureaucracy that that might be something that is and different and a culture that they are not necessarily used to. and i do want to say that since the trump administration coming in did receive the popular vote, i hope that there will be more flexibility, if you will understand that if there is a new pathway that this administration wants to affect that people who are in those jobs will be more flexible this time around, potentially because that was something that we did here in the last go around.

that there was an internal resistance to change and i want to hear his thoughts on that. guest: what a great question. and lots of different elements that i think are important. i think the earlier caller talking about trust was really important and your proposition that the operating model that president-elect trump or elon musk or folks from the for-profit world and private industry are used to is quite different from what you see in the federal government and what that interplay with the current organization is, it is something that is at play right now. there is so much that you raise which is helpful and interesting and i do not have the time to deal with it all but i will be quick to hit the high points. my first point is that our government does not run like a business and cannot run like a business. you need to apply business

principles but you cannot run it like a business because there are all sorts of constraints that exist that are not around. a good example is congress. the last time that congress passed all of the appropriations, the money that actually funds the government on time in 1996. no private sector organization would be able to run with the restraint of not knowing what money you have available to run. the way the government pays its workforce was set up in 1949 and has largely has not been modernized since. the list goes on and on in terms of the difficulties. it is not in my view the traditional service that is the problem but leaders have not modernized the government over a long time. so there are plenty of disney's leaders that have parachuted into government because i will fix this and treated like a private business because they fail miserably.

the best example that is relevant is at the state department. very successful ceo of exxon mobil and was a very in my view poor leader in the state department and a lot of that was that he could not contextualize his significant skills in the private sector into a different context. this does not mean that we just have to operate the government exactly as it is done today because i agree with the proposition that it should change and it should be modernized and more agile and the workforce should be held accountable for delivering better results. all of that is true but the question is how do you get there. the proposition that i started with is that you cannot actually change the government and really anyway unless you take it over effectively. and you cannot take it over effectively if you do not use the tools to do that and that comes from the government.

i will say that another aspect of what you are asking about is the nature of the workforce. there is no doubt that there are some individuals in that career civil service who perform at the level that they should. that might not follow the policy directors -- directives of their bosses that they are a tiny minority. the vast bulk of the civil service they are there and they understand they are there to take the lead of the people who are ultimately selected by the american people. and the smart political appointee comes in and does not comes in with spect is a skepticism about the lawyer -- the loyalty of the workforce they understand that the goal should be to engage that workforce so they can better achieve the agenda of the president of the united states. that is rarely the case that a political appointee doesn't and it is to their own failing.

the saddest story that i see is that the new political appointee comes in and they are skeptical about the broader workforce and loyalty and confidence. they alienate those people not because they have policies that they do not like because they treat them poorly and push them out. you soon realize that you cannot get anything done without that larger workforce going with you. they try to rebuild bridges and they give a speech on their way out saying that i have never worked with a greater group of people in their life. that is a problem. and it helps explain the experience of that career workforce and why they are at risk because they have these leaders who do this again and again. i really appreciate your question and i hope that was a useful response. host: charles in florida. line for democrats. good morning. caller: yes. my question is related to people coming into the white house such as -- you just made the lady who

has been with him a long time his chief of staff. and if what i read is right, she is involved -- not involved, but she has information about top-secret documents that trump had stored in his bathroom at mar-a-lago. my question is this and others like this -- is she going to be vetted because of that? it seems like it would be a conflict that had somebody who right away is involved in a possible case? and then there are others like steve bannon is a convicted felon. will he'll be allowed to walk through the front door. i will remind people what he was a convicted felon, if i am not wrong. he was taking money out of the fund, the build the wall fund and put it in his pocket.

that is my question. is there going to be a beeline with felons coming into the white house because birds of a feather flock together. if i was a convicted felon, i could not get a job as a janitor in the white house. that is my question. is there anything that will slow it down like the vetting process? guest: so, to the point -- to the first point on susie, i do not know her personally but there is a couple of positives. one is that president-elect from dust trump announced a white house chief of staff quickly. it is important to get that up and running. it is job number one. and doing it during the transition enables that -- enable susie to get the team that she wants so they can create the right process. it is usually what we should see

across the board. not just for the white house but agencies in general. about security clearance, a really important question. by and large security clearance is an area that is controlled by executive order so the president has an enormous latitude and there is not a lot of legislative guardrails around it and i think that is a problem. so, right now president-elect trump and he is not president trump. he cannot give clearances to every -- to anybody until he is president or order that they are given. ordinarily you should have as you noted a vetting and security clearance process for everybody being put into positions of trust. one check on that in terms of the nature of pho -- people selected as a senate confirmation process. it applies to the 1300 people that are the largely the leaders

of the agencies and not the white house. the president has way more latitude to bring in what whoever they want for the white house operation. this is an area of real importance. one of the issues are public trust jobs. and we do a lot of leadership training and we have a leadership model and we think that public sector leaders need to do that special and it is the idea of if you are leading in government responsibility is for public good and not for your own personal interests. that distinction is fundamental and one that we need to keep an eye on, especially for issues like changing up the civil service and moving towards a spoils system. i think you are raising a good question. and the reality is that they are going to be very few checks to

ignore concerns around things that would otherwise be raised in a security clearance or the security clearance process. and frankly that happened in the first trump administration, there were 25 people who did not meet the clearance requirements but nonetheless were pushed aside. this is an issue of real importance and i mentioned earlier that there is some conversation that will come out not using the fbi to do this but to seek private contractors. that would be a profound and big mistake. host: the inauguration is 70 days away. if anybody from the transition team is watching this, what advice do you have for them? guest: three things. the first is move forward immediately on mou's and get engaged with the transition process and there is so much work to be done in that it is so

meaningful for us with our safety but fundamentally for them to be successful. number two the most important thing is to choose their people and appointees. i hope very much that they prioritize capability, people who can actually not only have great skills from the private sector but now how to apply them into a different context and people who can follow that to be committed to the public good. number three is work with that career workforce. yes, hold them accountable to meet the directions that they are receiving on policy, but the best way they will make the government work better is to have a positive working relationship with an incredible asset. frankly, there is a lot of work to be done to make it better but my metaphor is that we want to modernize the government but not blow it up and burn it down. host: our guest is max stier,

the president and ceo for the partnership for public service. you can find them online at our publicservice.org. thank you. guest: have a good weekend. host: still ahead, it is veterans day weekend and we will have a conversation with travis partington about his pcast "oscar mike radio," and issues facing the nation's veterans. first more of your calls during open forum. you can start calling now with the lines on your screen. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. s, 202-748-8002 -- and independents, 202-748-8002. we will be right back. >> next week on the c-span networks, the house and senate return for the first time since the election for legislative business and votes as they prepare for the 119th congress in the new year. house and senate republicans are

holding leadership election the house gop will select their nominee for speaker and senate republicans will replace mitch mcconnell in the senate. also newly elected house members and senators will be in d.c. for orientation. watch next week live on the c-span networks or c-span now. head over to c-span.org for scheduling information to watch live or on-demand any time. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> join booktv saturday and sunday november 16 and 17th for the texas book festival live from austin. the coverage began saturday at 11:00 a.m. eastern and sunday at noon. highlights include "we are home" on immigration in the process of becoming an american. liza monday discussing her book "the sisterhood."

glenn fine and his book " watchdogs" on the role of the inspector general. and "the fall of rome" on post-roe america. watch that on booktv. to see the full schedule visit our website, booktv.org. >> the house will be in order. >> this year c-span celebrates 45 years of covering congress like no other. since 1979 we have been your primary source for capitol hill providing balanced, unfiltered coverage of government, taking you to where the policies are debated and decided with the support of american cable companies. c-span, 45 years and counting, powered by cable. >> washington journal continues. host: we are in open forum for

the next 25 minutes. we will start in fredericksburg, virginia the line for republicans. good morning, rip. are you there? we will go to him -- jim, in missouri. line for independents. caller: how are you doing? host: well. caller: that interview was a little rich. he kept harping about selecting people based on their qualifications. for the last four years with this current administration while we have had our dei hires. i wonder where he was when all that was going on and was he mentioning it back then. the other thing i want to mention and i think you maybe

should have jumped in. he said that steve bannon was convicted of a felony, one of the callers said. that is not true. that case that he talked about has not been tried. he was convicted of a misdemeanor for contempt of congress and that is what he went to prison for. when you have these guys coming in and saying things on the caller line that is just not true, factually, it is incumbent on you guys to correct that. i was disappointed that you did not. host: one of the things you started the call with was saying that all of the current administration's hires were dti. do you think that that is factual? guest: i think -- caller: i think there is a focused all might be an overstatement. obviously there is a great deal of focus on that. host: ok. michael in florida. line for republicans.

good morning. caller: my comments are somewhat similar to the caller that just spoke. i caught just the tail end of the interview with the public service guy. and i was kind of struck by his comments about making sure that they are focus and the concern is the public good. i guess the question i had when he was saying that is how does he define that. and he said that his agency, one of the things they do is conduct leadership training. and again, you know, kind of along the lines of the last caller, it just sounded awful wonky if you will. all of this dei crab that we have heard from the administration. if that is the leadership training we are doing we will get more of that. the bottom line is that is not what the election results are telling all of us. it is time to change direction, and hopefully we can do that in

a positive way working together collaboratively. host: diane in indiana. line for democrats. good morning. caller: i am concerned about the fact that trump is transactional and that he is also shown places in his first presidency where he was vindictive. and i am also concerned with perception of the common good. i think there is run -- one thing that runs through a lot of agencies is a commitment to finding the best information onto -- on which to make decisions and having a clear understanding of what is good data and not so good data. and, i think that -- i am a former schoolteacher and retired. a lot of the students i know who were in ap silence -- science

could have answered some of the questions put to the gentleman who gave up his run for the presidency, mr. kennedy. when he was interviewed recently on camera. he was talking about fluoride in the water and quoting a recent study. i do not know of anyone -- i am 77. i do not know of anyone that even remembers the fluoride controversies that drove a lot of conversation when they put fluoride in the municipal water supplies where the groundwater was lacking fluoride. and how it significantly reduced rotted teeth in children early in the formation of their new teeth. you know, one study is not a

change in policy make. i am also concerned about just things that i hear from you know interviewees that say things like wait until our scientists got in. i heard that during covid. and having lost my husband in 2020 during the november surge to covid, i was struck by that perception that you can just change scientists and change science. and i am just really worried about the link between giving someone a perk for having done something, you know. host: we got your point. we will go to massachusetts. line for independents. good morning.

caller: thank you. i just wanted to reply to a couple of things that mr. steir said about the transition into government. it is astonishing to me that people -- that he would say -- i would not say people but he would say that president trump should look at the fbi as if they are all here working for the people when you know it has been discovered over this past administration that there is a lot of corruption within the fbi. whistleblowers, not just people from the other side, pointing fingers but actually whistleblowers who appointed things out. and yet he says you should come into it not as a businessman but as somebody that respects the tools that he is going to be given and use them. i worked for hud when i worked in new york. the chills that you are given -- the tools that you are broke --

are given our broken tools. you cannot build a decent house with broken tools. they are so ingrained in the system. where i worked people would come in in the morning and would go to a file cabinet and open up a big file and put it on their desk and leave it open and walk away and you would not see them until it was time to clock out. that was not everybody of course, but there needs to be a culling system and the fact that it is impossible to fire people in government in other words, the people working there seem to be in charge more than the actual people that are being put in charge by the citizenry. and, with the amount of deception and things that have been thrown about donald trump. as the last point i will say that the democrats did a great job in poisoning the well when it comes to that 2025. people say that more people knew the term 2025 more than kamala

harris when they did polling after the complete attack job that was done. i just wanted to say that. host: that was dee dee. robert in wisconsin. line for republicans. good morning. caller: thank you for the line. dee dee on the independent line crushed it. she has right on the money with that. they guessed that you had, i do not -- guest that you had. i understand that he wants to make it sound like a rite of passage when it is another layer of burbach -- bureaucracy that is so important that the trump administration has to jump through that hoop. and when he talks about security clearances in the white house to the point where callers call in and think there will be a lineup of criminals waiting to get into the white house, and makes the reference that in the last go

around there were 25 or so people without clearances in the white house you are out of your depth. when you come to talking about security clearances, leave that to the professionals. you do not just sit there and say there were 20 or 25. john and caroline did not have security clearances either. you cannot go and blanket it like it was some kind of free-for-all in the white house, which it was not. there is an order for things. when it comes to some of those references and career government workers that might have self ambitions that might say i will not do what the boss says, those same people were the ones that nothing to say to this administration. they won the election, let them

call the shots. host: that was robert in wisconsin. this headline in the minnesota star tribune, goal line walz back gives a speech to learn more defend the way of life. he spoke to supporters yesterday. here is a clip from that speech. >> i know there's a lot of folks worried about the in connection four years -- next four years. the agendas is different from the one we know is right. we have already seen the damage a president can cause when he is in it for himself. we know what is come down the pike. we know because they told us. we are going to have to be ready to defend the progress we made in un-- minnesota. they promised they would leave

things up to the states. i'm willing to take them at their word for that. but the moment they try to bring a hateful agenda in this statele be ready to fight for the way we do things here. host: edna in chicago line for democrats. caller: good morning, c-span. i watch the show, it is very educational. anybody who wants to learn something about politics should watch you. but i want to say something about the economy. these people realize these floods and all of these storms are destroying our farms and produce. that is why grocery prices are high. that is the only excuse we can give.

they bring in food from other countries but we raise most of our food in this country. but the floods and storms have destroyed everything. that is why our economy is the way it is. every democratic president that we have had left a good economy. host: susan in fort wayne, indiana, republican. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: my time it was on your speaker of federal bureaucracy of employees. memos have been liked from fema where their works were instructed not to give aid to homes that had trump flags

flying. that was from the director. so, when there are legitimate questions of our federal bureaucracy how they have been working against the american people i believe that is why trump won by the electoral vote and popular vote and it is good we will have elon musk looking at these agencies. going back to the question of science with the fluoride, i didn't see any democrats questioning the new science of what is a man or woman or other genders. so i guess they are open to new science when that applies for their issues they want to promote i guess i would say. then for tim walz and other governors speaking about state agencies or state regulations, i

guess we would have to question why we need to bring back -- dismantle the department of education and bring back education to the states where it can be handled locally and they would have to answer to the funding and test scores as well as cities, which is awful. that is my questions. host: that is suzanne in tennessee. greg, coral springs, florida. independent. caller: i didn't get to see the entire segment with max stier but as an independent i have voted in the past for both democrats and republicans so i have to ax to grind. i try to see what fits my policies and decide which way i feel i should go. one thing that is very

concerning that should be concerning to both democrats, republicans and independents is a conversation donald trump will about the federal reserve that he would like to have a say on the federal reserve. i want to remind everybody that when he was president at one point the federal reserve started raising interest rates. it was before the election, it was early in 2020 or late 2019. at one point he was upset that the rates were being increased and he had made a comment that by raising those rates he felt it was wrong and was ruining his chances of being re-elected again so he was thinking of himself at that point and not the good of the country. and then, more recently, when the rates were being reduced by the federal reserve he made a comment that the federal reserve

should not be doing it at this time, that it is wrong. so it seems to me that he doesn't want to do what is right regarding federal reserve policy on the economy and that is dangerous and when he talks about wanting to be involved in the decision making i question that because we are already $36 trillion in debt and i believe it was 7.6 trillion were added during his administration. so i'm concerned what he will do the next four years because we cannot afford to let the federal deficit continue to increase. i will admit that both democrats and republicans have let everybody down regarding running the economy efficiently. host: you are calling on the end line. did you vote in the 2024 election?

caller: i did. i voted for donald trump in 2016, i didn't vote for donald trump in there past within -- one and i feel you need somebody that is going to be financially ready to run the country and he is getting involved by wanting to be involved in the decision making at the federal reserve level. getting involved in policy that has never allowed either party to move or decide any kind of matter regarding the policy. that is something people should think about the person in charge can actually say something to the federal reserve and force them to do it. host: that was greg in florida. louise in massachusetts line for democrats. caller: good morning. host: you are on. caller: i had an idea that i

want to suggest about gun safety and especially in schools with children afraid to go to school because they are afraid they will be shot. we should -- or even the local government could do this. they could have metal detecors at the entrance of every school and that way you could not get a gun into the school. i know that that system is in place in ington, d.c., and knock on wood we haven't heard any shootings in washington, d.c. inside the school because you cannot take a gun into the building and you kaepbtsdz --

cannot take one into the library either. if you can't get a gun in, you cannot shoot it. now with the gun lobby in charge of the government, you accountant ask them to -- you cannot ask them to pay for the metal detectors. but the local governments, the state governments, could do this, could require that all the schools have these metal diagnosticsors and i -- detectors. i don't know how they pay for it but i know it would cost something. but how much does the death toll cost. host: leslie in new jersey, alone for republicans. caller: i'm calling to say our country is in very, very bad shape and there is too much hate

in this country. until the hate is resolved and maybe from both sides, we will never have peace in our country. i respect the democrat voters and i'm a republican and there's no respect. we the people have spoken, this is what we want, not what the democrats want, and they hated this man from the day he came down the escalator and it continues and has to end. host: that was leslie. michelle in maryland, line for independents. caller: i want to talk about two things today. number one -- i'm hearing it on your callers that the disinformation campaign in federal workers and we see that

with the chevron decision our supreme court is owned by big business. the federal government, these bureaucrats that you say are standing in the way that don't do anything, which is a lie, because sense -- sincen 9/11 spending has going to the defense department, domestic programs cut and federal staff attrition through retirement and not backfilled. so the career people there now are not lazy bureaucrats who are doing nothing. we are overworked and understaffed to support the domestic side and with the chevron decision there's a push on big business to weaken the federal government in oversight and that will affect the american people is i want to

guard people against the dose information -- disinformation campaign. i think the new administration with big business taking over they will try to do it and if we allow them to the american people will be hurt. elderly in hospitals, disabled, just our education, our domestic programs that actually serve people are going to be cut and weakened and it will hurt people and people will wake up and see and there will be a push to strengthen the government again with regulation so let's get ahead of that and guard against the disinformation against federal staff. host: are you a federal employee? caller: i am. i'm not going to say i work, but i have been there over 30 years and i have seen it with the

reinvention of government and money shifting from domestic programs. no president wants to be responsible for cutting defense so increasingly it is flowing to defense. obama tried to look at the defense program and cut it and see bad are we spending. let's make sure we are getsing a bang for our buck. he was criticized. the other thing i want to mention is that again pollsters forgot the christian vote and same with the bush election and re-election, pollsters do not account for christians. trump won in a landslide at the electoral college but only won by 4 had million votes -- 4 million votes and the republican

parties won for the same reason i left the democratic party years ago because whatever we call cultural issues but what we will say is a christian view. it is ungodliness. what i will say in this go round i voted for harris because i think that what happens is you have democrats who will vote for ungods lyons but -- ungodliness but republicans votes for ungodliness and they call it gods and i think god spoke with the election because we need to get back to the center right. this is a center right country. but i think he is not finished

speaking. a lot of things the republicans looking to trump to do he won't be able to do and you can't change the heart of man with government policies. host: patricia in minneapolis, minnesota, republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm hoping this go around with purchase c-span do not in the on every day two or three segments of pure negative disinformation, hoax stories like the russia collusion. you read and sort from the mainstream media that has covered trump over 80% negatively so there is no way you could be biased. and the lack of criticism of biden for the last four years

you avoided anything about him having dementia which was clear to the rest of us normal americans. we could see that he was bumbling and couldn't get off a stage. but you didn't have a drum beat every day about it like you would do with the mainstream media put out about trump. so if you folks really want to represent us cable viewers, be fair this time with president trump. you were spewing nothing but negative. he filibustered right before greta and he went on and on and on about negative stories about trump. i never once saw anything like that in comparison about harris so you need to check -- you have a lot of people poll that you're unbiased but i know you are not.

every one of you folks is a democrat. i want you to be fair this time if you really care about healing america, quit demonizing trump every day like you did his first term. host: that is it for our open forum. up next is veterans day weekend and we will be joined by travis partington to talk about his podcast "oscar mike radio" and the issues facing the nation's veterans. we will be right back. >> sunday on q&a stewart eisenstadt and ambassador to the european union shares his book in which he discusses his career

and impact the civil rights movement had on him. >> you go to eat and black students from north carolina central are sitting in. being google this. that is when the sit-ins started. i said naively what are they doing this. they said because they can't be served. it was like somebody lifted a veil. i became very active in the civil rights movement and when he was with president carter we supported affirmative action. these transformative events when you are young can sometimes carry over in your career and they did for me. >> the art of diplomacy sunday

night on q&a. being listen to q&a and all of our podcasts on the c-span now app. >> the past 10 years extremism has been covered, disinformation an politics for several nationally known public indications. in the october 8, 2004 issue the title was inside the patriot wing and talked with several of the january 6 defendants who have been spending time in the district of columbia jail. this is how she got to know several men who were convicted of violent crimes. we asked how did she get access to them. >> tess owen with her new york magazine article inside the

at way with brian lamb. is available on the c-span now free mobile app or wherever you get your podcast. washington journal continues. host: it is veterans day weekends. joining us to discuss to issues facing veterans is travis partington the host of "oscar mike radio" and u.s. marine corps veteran. welcome back to the program. guest: thank you for having me back. why why don't you reminds -- mind your viewers about your military background and podcast. >> i served from 1995 to 1999 a rigor operator for the hawk. then i went on with my civilian legislative. in stick i started "oscar mike radio" to be on the move for

veterans, people who support our military and americans for doing great things. host: your podcast focuses on veterans issues. the name "oscar mike radio" how did that come about and what is the mission of your podcast? that is military speak for we are on the move or on mission. we will be in a certain place and they will say we are oscar mike, trying to move to contact. that was kind of the basis of my show. then the purpose is it tell the stories of people who serve or country, who are serving now, and then in a real nice twist there are so many people in our country who are civilians who support military and veterans with offering jobs, having nonprofits, making sure there is

advocacy for americans. host: when you talk with veterans and hearing their stories, what kinds of topics are you getting into? guest: i get into their service history, what they did, how the transition was because no veteran will have same transition story. so there's a lot of interest around that like what was it like going from being in a high tempo environment to becoming a environment. how did you fiend person with going to business, creating a new company or product. there are so many amazing stories and the common theme is what the veteran learns from being in the military. >> we are coming out of the presidential election this past tuesday. what have you heard from your listeners about the election? have they been engaged?

guest: they are most certainly engaged as i have been. when don't know what to think is within sides better than the other -- is one sides better than the other. what we want to see is are american lives being used properly to defend our countries. are we purchasing defense systems that will work. are we going to take care of veterans if they gets hurts serving our countries in a way that unequivocally says you served our countries we are going to make sure you have what you need. a lot of us don't really care who is in office. we want to make sure those three things are being done for veterans. host: an exit poll data is shows former president trump won the veteran vote by 31 points 65%

compared to harris at 31. does that surprise you? guest: it does not. the afghanistan withdrawal and how it played out soured a lot of veterans as to what that leadership did for those people serving in afghanistan. americans are left behind, things are not done properly so a lot of veterans have resentment of how that was executed. host: we are talking with travis travis a u.s. marine corps veteran and host of "oscar mike radio" a podcast about veterans and life stories. you can call. our lines are a little different for this segment. if you are a veteran or family member of a veteran 2202-748-8000. if you are currents military

202-748-8001. all others the line is 202-748-8002. you mentioned one of the issues you are talking about is the transition from active military to civilian life. what are you hearing in veterans if the biggest challenge they face when that transition comes? guest: for a lot of us it is having shelters, take care of yourself and have purpose in the community. that is to say you get out and find a place to live, find a job and be able to thrive where you are. i'm pleased to say that there are many companies -- i spoke with one yesterday -- who are working to make sure their company can provide a pathway to a veteran to thrive. there's a flatter landscape where a veteran doesn't feel so isolated when they get out like

i did. i moved from arizona to the boston area not knowing anybody so there were some adjustments i had to make. the great thing is more people are aware of what the veteran experience is and are working to meet those needs. host: talk about the different needs for veterans who have just left the service and those that are longtime veterans. >> somebody who just left the service will have to fits in. the terminology is different, business works different than the military. if they had gone back to their communities their community has contained. the average veteran it two to three years lined -- behind. for the veteran or vietnam or korean war veteran, the benefits have changed, the pathways have

changed. the va has the mobile app which allows almost instant access to benefits. the veterans that are older have it retool themselves to plug into what is out there for them. host: when we talk with this transition what resources are available? where can they go in the public and private sector to get what they need? guest: that is a great thing. 10 or 15 years ago it was hit-or-miss. now companies, almost every company has some kind of veterans group they can use and lean on to help a veteran coming into the company to get a job, understand how the culture works and gives them peer support. companies that are doing that now, great job, keep it up.

we feed you. state -- we need you. states, towns make sure there's a veterans service officer there to serve that veteran. in the commonwealth of massachusetts each city has a veterans officer to make sure the veteran is getting what they need. other states do it at the county level but go to that resource and gets plugged in. then in are special organize like v.t.w. amvets there to help you succeed. as veterans we have to understand what is out there and pursue the opportunities. but they are there for you and people are waiting it help you to succeed. host: you had your podcast a while. what episodes are you up to? guest: i'm up to episodes number 420.

host: congratulations. it is also a resource for veterans. tell us about some of the people who have been impacted as maybe a nontraditional way to find resources. guest: great, i love this. one of the things that happened this year i got to talk to people who are not veterans but created ways to advocate and serve veterans. two examples are susan mcclellan with mission vigilant and another with 22 zero. both didn't serve in the military but both women have experienced loss from ptsd. they took this sense of loss they carry with them every day and created organizations to serve veterans where they are, how they are and it is interesting understanding this perspective from women, from a mother, a wife, who went through this to help that veteran right

now. it is one of the best things because people tell their stories and connect veterans in needs right now to a person that has helped that pain of loss. host: we have callers waiting. bill is in the florida keys on the line for veterans. caller: hi, good morning. here is my question. i know the military has been some difficulties recruiting. do you think it would be a positive or negative for our country if we had two years of mandatory military service for both men and women? do you think it might change our views of getting engaged all over the world.

what would you think would be the political derivative of doing such a thing? guest: me personally, i like the concept and aspect of an all volunteer force. several countries are not like that. other countries have the con description and they make -- conscription but there's something about the american military where you volunteer, you volunteer, you raise your hand and swear to defend our country from enemies foreign and domestic. that is unique to our country. recruiting wise this year the army and navy and marine corps have hit their numbers. i don't know about the air force. but i would rather us work on being a better unit as a military than getting conscripts

because it historically atlanta worked that -- hasn't worked that well. host: line for vets and families, steve from ohio. caller: good morning. good morning, sir. i want to ask you if you would say on air about president-elect donald trump, his comments about john mccain being a loser because he was captured. what about president trump in arlington and john kelly four star marine general saying that donald trump is a fascist and joint chiefs of staff saying donald trump is a fascist. he disrespects us. i took the over the to support and defense the constitution. i'm still here and i'm still fighting and i'm not going to let this country go down. i cannot respect a commander in chief or elected commander in

chief and so you can you comment and say it on c-span for all of us. well, whether he did it or not i look at it like this. i served during the bill clinton years and i didn't necessarily like everything that president clinton did during that time with somalia and personal conduct. whether it was said or not, i salute and serve the title, the rank, not the person. i served the american people, not the person. again, i have to look at the actions for military. president trump opened up va care for all veterans to use their private care with v.a. care which revolutionized how the va is done. he had the pact act which

president biden implemented. so i won't agree with everything everybody says or does but i served the american people and i continue to advocate for my veterans regardless of who is in the office. host: donna in louisiana, line for others. caller: good morning. i was wondering if the jonnu anything about what trump wants to bring back all the service members that biden kicked out of the service because of covid and he is talking about bringing them back in, i guess if they want to come back in with back pay. also, my brother-in-law came in the country -- he was from honduras -- he was not a citizen when he came in. this is way back in vietnam. and the government told him you either go back to year country or you join the service. he joined the marines, he was on the front lines in vietnam as a

non-citizen who is now a citizen of the united states. but maybe that is a way of bringing some of the young men that come over the borders. i just want to see what your thoughts are on that. guest: i have heard talks about service men who were kicked out during covid being let back in. i think there's the question if he this want to come back and can they meet the same standards. i don't know how that would look. i wish that will not happened but it did. i don't know enough to answer that in an authoritative away. as to your brother semper fidelis and when i wpts to boot camp there was a person who was not a citizen and he was serving in the american corps and he was proud that when he became a

marine he would be a citizen so if you are not a sit of -- citizen of the country and you want a fast track i would support that. the french foreign legion does it in a way. i don't see why we can't. host: it is veterans day weekend and there are a couple holidays that honor and celebrate veterans. reminds us of the differences between veterans day and memorial day and how you would like to see people either celebrate or remember the holiday come monday. sure. veterans day we are in right now is to honor people who have served in the military. it goes back it worlds war -- worlds war run, remembrance day and it celebrates those that served. memorial day is to honor those who decides in service to their country. there is and forces day in june that is there to honor those who

are currently serving. for all three of them, i want the american people to enjoy the freedoms they have. all i ask you take a minute or two on each day with by yourself and raise your glass, have a moments of silence for those who served and to live life. a lot of us serve because when want or communities to be -- want our communities to be safe so live that life. be engaged with the government process, vote. it is a right all of us have worked hard to defend. vote when you have a chance and mac -- make that change. but be independent, be american and be proud of the great country we've. host: mike in oak grove, missouri, veterans and family. caller: thank you for taking my call. my dad died carrying metal from

the world war ii. my uncle had a hole in his thigh for the rest of his legislative -- life. my brother james had agent arrange -- orange poisoning that the government wouldn't admit to 30 years. my son was in the marine corps. my youngest grand son just graduated from bat -- boot camp and donald trump calls them suckers and fools and all the things the man from ohio said he stood as arlington cemetery and asked what did they get out of it. i don't understand how the veterans could go for this guy. he's a disgrace to our country. no one in also family ever

served in the military and ever will because they are too good. i think you are a disgrace it our country and this country is swirling down the drain getting ready to go down january 20. guest: well, you are entitled to feel that way. and certainly president trump is not a perfect person, not a perfect president. i look as things he did and shook my heads. other things other presidents have done there were certainly mistakes. a lot of reasons we are in some of the problems is because of former presidents. i won't excuse what a president does. but also i go back to my original thing. we can focus on that or as americans coming together and making the country we want. we can make sure your family's service is never forgot and those coming out have a accountant to return to. host: jacquelin in maryland line

for veterans an family. caller: good morning. my question is because i'm concerned, when we say a vet, are away including -- are away including not just those that are active but reservist. i took my over the september of 1981. i was in a field hospital which is in new york city. then i went into the i.r.r. which is individual ready reserve march of 1985 and got an honorable discharge in january of 1989. i have tried relentlessly to obtain an i.d. card so that i can continue to use the commissary, et cetera. i went it anacostia and the only

thing they said to me is i'm sorry we have had a lot of veterans that use the word veterans because a lot of people don't consider us veterans even though when there is an rest -- is unrest they call outs the reserve. i'm trying to see what am i entitled to. i gave my time also as a reservist. i went in as a second lieutenant and came out as a captain. i attend every year the p.g. county celebration for veterans. i just went tts one yesterday in greenbelt. i'm looking for somebody to give me a helping hands -- hand. i gave my time every weekends and two weeks per year and

nothing did i receive. host: kevin. guest: i would simply say the requirements for a reservist to be considered a veteran are different than active duty. for a lot of reservists is did you reserve in a combat setting i think it is 180 days to be considered victim status. if you were a reservist and never went anywhere you are treated differently. i would say anybody who has a question about that you can call the va, they will look as your records and tell you what your status is. host: mark in florida line for veterans and family. caller: good morning, travis semper fi. your composure remains intact. i was raised by animen from the

korean war so i think i was a marine before i realized it. by the time i got to boot camp in 1977 they made me a guide immediately until a 26-year-olds o.c.s. drop out then recycled but i gotta stripe. i want to let the ohio caller and missouri caller i don't know appreciate the way president trump talks. nobody in the marine corps ever in my life with talk like he does and say i'm smarter than a general. i'm not calling to bash the next president but i'm calling to understand that we have a program that incorporates 17 million currents workers organized labor. and the trades which is what i came from i was a combat engineer and guard u.s.

embassies. i'm an ex-cop. we have a program for organized labor people that want to work with their hands call helmets to hard hats. guest: yes. caller: you would do your countries a tremendous favor to push that and i can tell in your heart and soul and quickness that you responded you are aware of the program. it is a serious program. most apprentice programs are four to five years including the i.b.w. pipe fitters, i'm a carpenter. it gives people credits for serving. it doesn't wipe out the apprentice but it will move you,faster. it is just an opportunity to work hard. i'm lucky. in 1999 i wept from 10 dollars an hour to 38 dollars.

that was 20 years ago. everybody does better when they have somebody to fight for them. thank you for fighting for people and to caller from ohio, general sherman is not gone. have a good morning. guest: just to follow up that is a challenge. you serve as a look transmission or aveionics repair and get out and the medical tear -- military time accounts it apprenticeship and it is a disconnect that is there. i will reach out to somebody and find out more and promote it. host: i wanted to ask you about one of your recent episodes. you spoke with a marine corps vets garrett bliss the warrior reinvitation program. guest: he has a intriguing story as a pilot of a c130. he fought with some challenges

when he got out. then created this pathway, this foundation to say if you are having similar problems that i have, i have these steps you can take to reboot your life. here is how it works. here is the aspect is that he is lived this. i have all respect for civilian clinical practitioners and psychology and so on. but it does come differently from a veteran who lived it. garrett was forthcoming about what he encountered, how he dealt with it and what he has to offer others going through the same thing. host: lonnie in south dakota, line for veterans and family. caller: good morning. i'm a vietnam vet and i'm 100%. back in 1996 i put my claim in

back it 1970 of april and two employees i was on their case load. i'm back it 1980 now -- back to 1980 now. my wife passed away from cancer and i just quit fighting them. i would just like to say when i was in nan i was with the merikel division and there wasn't a colored line back then. we all stuck together. there was a black brother that was behind me all the time with an m79. i'm just glad that we got the young people we have now.

i appreciate you guys what you do for us vets. i'm getting choked up. guest: absolutely. those bonds of brotherhood are for real. it does not matter what colorer or the backgrounds. once you are in the fight bee -- we bleed the same color. host: robert from ohio family and veterans. caller: i would like to ask what do you think about the president-elect, mr. trump, and the relationship that he had request putin -- with putin. what is going to happen with ukraine. i as a paper served from 1961 to 1966, i had a son to serve. i have two grand sons now in the

air force, within is enlist -- within is enlisted and the other is an officer many i'm very concerned about the direction that the united states is going to do understood president -elect trump and use the military to control the people of the united states. that sounds very alarming to me. guest: well, i haven't heard that. i haven't heard that he will use the military to control people. i can tell you from looking at his first term he wasn't in a rush to get america back into combat. in fact compared to other presidents, republican or democrat, he was trying to get us out of major conflicts. certainly there is some concern around ukraine. we have given a lot of money to

ukraine, there's a lot going on this. so, i'm counting on the fact that he will get goods have it figure out how we can mitts -- mitigate that without percept one drop of american blood on fortune soil. i don't think the american people are in a rush to go back to war unless necessary. host: abbey for veterans and family. caller: good morning. host: you are on. go ahead. caller: i'm calling in regard to my father that fought in world war ii. guest: ok. host: he served in germany. came home to west virginia,

blue field, when he was discharged, white silver springs. and he never drew anything. when he started trying to get something for time he was shell shocked. he got metal out of the back of his neck for as long as i can remember. he was not able to work. my mother will to go to work it try to feed the family. they claim they never had any records of him ever being in the service and khraeupldz -- claimed there was a fire in white silver springs and the records were burned.

once leak -- like donald trump will a spur and never went to serve and none of his sons either. my mother never got anything until 1972. she finally got a loan to build a little jim walters home and i found out when i paid the house off she was paying 14% interest on the loan in 1972. guest: so, you are saying that they never had any proof your father served? host: yes is no longer on the line but that's what she said. guest: in my case i can tell you personally records do go missing. it happened to me. but there's a national archive system and several organizations and you can go to your senator and reserve and they can

petition to peruse every national archive record for information about your family member. my elected officials here did it for me. it was very quick to get that resolved. and there is a very keen interest it make sure worlds war two -- world war ii veterans especially. so if you contact your local representative you can get that going. host: howard. caller: i want to thank everyone who served or country. i'm a u.s. arm veteran first cav. guest: nice. >> i want to lift the visible scars of war we lose 22 vet as day it suicide and celebrate or center in palo alto.

you should unload that plane on their sroepb. we have it translated into ukrainian and now trying to get it in arabic so anybody surviving with benefit from some of our resources. guest: thank you. caller: len in north carolina, line for veterans and family. caller: good morning to all. i was listening to your session and my heart is always filled with even meeting people that have on hats, that acknowledges their army, navy, whatever. i always try it make it a point to go out of my way to thank them for their service. so for all the people of our military listening thank you so much for your sacrifice and i appreciate it so much.

what i would like to express my concern is with some of the callers that are calling in blaming trump. you know, this is america, it is america the free because of our veterans. it really does disturb me to see some of the administrations that come in, that pass on so much negative about someone else instead of standing up and you do it and say it and own it themselves, that it makes trump look bad. he doesn't deserve that. he said from day one that he is for the veterans. i don't like to know that the country at one point in time was supportive of illegal immigrants coming in the country and giving

them the money when we have or veterans that -- we have our veterans that need medical care that live under bridges. that is where our money should be going. thank you for being a great american. you are the people we join to take our way of life. it will take all of us to continue to advocate for veterans and make sure they are taken care of. we need people like you. host: she was saying she goes out of her way to say hello and talk to people where she sees something wearing a hats or shirt. what can others do to help and support veterans? guest: it is as simple as acknowledging we are there and exist. if you have a business or nonprofit and want to help

veterans you did make it a place where they can thrive. if a veteran needs go to a v.a. for a health care i would ask you to take the time to do that. and there are ways you can interact with people to support them whether a walk or run or building a a house. there are limitless opportunities it help. finds use what works for you are -- see what works for you host:ment our guest is travis travis. being find his work and episodes as "oscar mike radio".com. travis, thank you for taking time to be with us. guest: thank you very much. host: on monday it is veterans day and we will be having additional discussions about veterans issues. we will be joined by patricia kind and jim whaley the c.e.o.

of mission roll call. we will asks his organization. also a programming note for you on monday, arlington national cemetery will have the vets runs day object advance performances manner corps bands and navy bands and a replay ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier. that is 10:00 a.m. on c-span, c-span now and app and c-span.org. that is it for today's "washington journal." we will be back tomorrow morning with another show. enjoy the rest of your saturday.

president biden and president elect trump will meet in the oval office wednesday at 11:00 a.m.. additional details to follow. check c-span or c-span.org for coverage of the or possible comments afterwards by the participants. >> next, victory and concession speeches from donald trump and kamala harris. after that, winners and losers in key congressional races around the country including senator sherrod brown and ted cruz. >> the associated press called the nevada senate race in favor of the democratic incumbent. a senator rosen outperformed at the top of the ticket beating her republican opponent sam brown in a state vice president harris lost to donald trump. with the race called, balance of power in the senate stands at 53 republicans and 44 democrats with two democratic caucus in

independence. the arizona senate race were -- between republican kari lake and democratic representative ruben gallego remains difficult close to call. for upded information on this and all races go to c-span.org. congress returns tuesday for the first time since the election for legislative business and votes with a busy month ahead. wednesday house and sat republicans will both hold leadership elections for the next congress. house republicans wl elect their nominee for speaker and na republicans will pick their next leader aftereting that a majority in the upper chamber. newly elected members will be i washington, d.c. for orientation including secting their capital offices by lottery. the house and senate returned to anyways raising a government funding deadline and must pass additional legislation by de 22 avoid shutdown. later in the week members will

consider legislati to increase transparency of mail-in ballots by requingallot envelopes to have tracking barcodes. a bill requiring the education department to makeorms first -- for federal student a available to students each year the senate returns tuesday at 00 3:00 p.m. eastern. voting on u.s. districts and tax courtsndhe federal office of government at six for a five-year term. watch live coverage of the house on c-span and the senate on c-span t watch all our congressional coverage on our free video app c-span now or online at c-span.org. c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more including buckeye broadband.