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supports c-span as public service. along with these other television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. on mondays when congress is in session we like to take a look at the week ahead in washington. we are joined by steph kite, politics reporter with axios. from the electoral vote counting to a busy week on capitol hill, walk us through the schedule these next couple of days first. guest: today at the big day of certifying the election results. of course that will be overseen by vice president harris. she will be the one to announce that her opponent won the election, we got that going on today, and then we will see former president jimmy carter lying in state in the rotunda in the middle of the week and his

funeral will be on friday or we will see all of the former president scattering together. again another potentially awkward moment with a bunch of people who have not always been on good terms and who have been political enemies over the past several years coming together as is traditional to honor the former president's life. host: amid all of that, if they're going to be time for legislative business on capitol hill this week? guest: one thing that we will be watching in the senate is how they begin to prepare for these confirmation fights. there is a rule where committee chairs have to give a week notice before they pass a hearing. just really getting going here, they are going to announce when those are going to start taking place. we are expecting a focus on some of the national security picks. people like pete haig seth, tulsi gabbard as her intelligence leadership role.

so we are going to start seeing indications that those are going to be moving quickly and then next week is when we will see those hearings actually kick off. host: when those take place today usually let one go at a time, or are there hearings that happen at multiple times? guest: they try to avoid conflict but we are expecting quite a few on the 14th and 15th and as you pointed out, it kind of depends on which committees these nominees end up sitting before, or whether they can kind of have many going on at the same time. the members of these committees that these people are being nominated for are going to be the ones who have this hearing. some nominees, rfk jr., for example, at have to sit before two different committees in the senate, of house and judiciary. so there's going to be a lot of hearings coming up, some of

these nominees have some concerns that senators are going to want to have addressed. host: what starts happening in the house legislatively, what is the primary focus for reelecting speaker johnson? guest: the number one thing that we know that house and senate are both focused on is this huge reconciliation package for president-elect trump. officially saying just yesterday that he no longer wants this two-part reconciliation, he once son the bill that will address things like spending and tax cuts, order funding, funding for deportation efforts. it will address energy policy. it's going to be a really large bill. he's also said he wants to include a no taxes on tips policy he's been campaigning on. for a while we thought there were the two bills, one that is border focused and another addressing tax cuts.

in order to kind of corral his own conference and make sure republicans have the votes to actually pass so many of these top priorities. we are already seeing these being hashed out publicly, often hearing about it behind closed doors and that is going to really ease the fight over the next few weeks and months. host: what is a reconciliation package, why is it different from a regular tilt that may have been different? guest: it is a way to get around the 60 vote filibuster in the senate. it allows for budget related items to be passed with a simple majority in the senate. and there are rules around this. it is not just an easy way to get around the filibuster pierced it can only be used with policies that are related to the budget, and there is a process that congress will have to go through to make sure that the policy they want to get through need that criteria. it will go before the send

parliamentarians who ultimately decide whether the things that republicans want to get done can get under this process. otherwise, if it is not directly budget-related, there is a chief that it could be rejected and those are the kinds of things that would have to get done in a bipartisan way. host: for this week ahead in washington, now is the time to: with your questions about what is going to be going on in that building over my shoulder. it is (202) 748-8000 free democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. independents (202) 748-8002. i want to get into the margins in the house and senate but first, the house majority margins for votes is smaller than the senate majority margin of six votes. what does that mean for john thune for mike johnson or donald trump? guest: the number one thing that

this means is that there's going to be a lot more catering to the house in order to get things done. usually it is the senate that it is hard to get things through because of the filibuster. usually it is the senate where things end up, bills get past the house, and then they don't go anywhere. now we are looking at a situation where they are really going to cater to the house even more. john thune wanted this two-part bill for reconciliation. but because mike johnson doesn't think he can get to bills across, we assume that house republicans, a faction of them who are very willing to make things political, there are a handful of them for even into buck trump on some issues.

thomas massie was willing to still vote against mike johnson despite the fact that trump said that he was the one he wanted for speaker. so you are going to see these conservative voices continue to have power in one of their biggest things is spending cuts. it is going to be a key thing to watch. however, there is a chance that some of these republicans are going to feel more comfortable falling in line with trump. republicans are going to be even more willing to push back and not let things go through. there is a chance we see more cohesion working together when trump is the one calling the shots. host: three republicans, to members getting private meetings

behind closed doors that every vote is going to cap for mike johnson. guest: making sure everyone is in attendance will count. if you are missing one person for other reasons, that is going to completely ruin the chances of getting legislation passed. mike johnson has been you'd to give more insight into the bills, more time to look at legislation to make sure it goes to rules and not avoiding the rules committee and getting democrats to pass things. all of that is going to make it very difficult for the house to get things done. host: let me bring in a few callers. dan, independent. caller: i would like to ask ken

democracy and fox news exist at the same time? thank you. i will take that answer off air. host: a media question today. we've been talking a lot about the media. any thoughts on that? guest: one of the key elements of democracy is a free press. that is with different viewpoints with different listeners and different viewers and that is all part of what makes our democracy democracy. so yes, it is important. and there is real concern still and real distress in the media right now. we see it with elon musk posting on x very explicitly criticizing the media's coverage of trump. when i tried to do, is try to be

as unbiased as possible. but it is important for all reporters to do it we can to regain trust from the american people in what we cover. host: the hilt leaders newsletter, explain what that is and your coverage focus, how you cover leaders. guest: this is our newsletter we launched just a few years ago. it has been a long few weeks. we launched this to really focus on our coverage of the capital, but that the lens of leadership. because at the end of the day it comes down to speaker mike johnson and majority leader john thune to determine what gets put on the floor. her focus is really on leadership both at the very top

and also committee leaders. people who are determinative on what it's done in congress. president trump second administration, they are ambitious, they have a lot of things that need to get done and a lot of things that they need to get gone viral and have to go to congress that is something we will be covering very closely. host: who will be the key committee leaders they are focusing on? there are a lot of committees in the house and senate. how do you figure out where to focus? guest: reconciliation fight will be looking at senator lindsey graham. a love that will go through hands. he will be a key person. the other leadership we are watching our centers on the bills, senators and members who were closest with trump. we know that trump is the kind of person who makes phone calls and make things happen. he becomes a whip and he starts trying to move people in the direction he wants them to go. so people who are comfortable with the president elect, the

senators and members were frequently getting phone calls and texts from him are going to be sources of power. that is another space to watch. tom cotton who is considered for the administration now will be the number three in leadership and also chair of the intelligence committee. and lastly, the committee will be watching closely of the appropriations committee especially in the senate. so much of congress' power comes down to where money is appropriated. and when you have susan collins and mitch mcconnell, those are two voices who have not been hesitant about pushing back on trump in the past and they could use their way to do that. host: what is mitch mcconnell's role going to be now that he is not majority or minority leader in the senate? guest: that is a good question and one that we are watching very closely. he's made it clear that he continues to push for american

strength of the world stage, he plans to push for boosting defense spending. that is really his number one priority that he has said over and over again. he will be chairing the subcommittee, so he will have a lot of power in deciding how much money and where money is spent when it comes to u.s. defense. that will be a key focus for him he's also made it clear he stands by john through to fight to keep the filibuster in place. last time around trump didn't demand that the filibuster be ended to get things done easier, mitch mcconnell said no, released it is grounded in the first ministration. john thune has indicated that he plans to protect the filibuster and we know mcconnell will back him up on that. host: the sunflower state, this is sylvia, republican. good morning, you are on. caller: i have a question because you have brought up january 6 and all that.

i could go into that, but i'm not going to. my question for you guys is the way the last four years of gone, even starting with january 6 of the year before, is there a way that they could stop that certification of president trump? host: you're are talking about today? caller: yes. guest: there actually have been changes to the way the proceedings will go today since january 6, 2021. to kind of response to some of the issues at a time. so it would actually even more difficult for there to be any overturning of these election results or even objections made. in the past before december 2022 when the electoral congress reform act was passed, all it took was one representative and one senator to object to a state collector, and that would require congress to go back for

chambers to deliberate and vote on whether to honor that objection. now it takes far more than just one senator and one representative. it takes 1/5 of each chamber in order to even have a vote. procedurally, it is much more difficult now than it was even january 6 of 2021 to even object to state electors. we also have no indication that there's even going to be an effort to object. even vice president harris will be overseeing this process and she has been very clear that donald trump won the election. host: that was a great wrap up. i would just tell sylvia that we are going to die even deeper into what specifically happened today in the history of the electoral vote count at on this program. kevin kosar, longtime scholar of congress writes about her and he will be joining us. thank you for that.

this is tom in philadelphia, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. this sounds like a trivial thing but it really does have meetings. on january 6, 2021, when trump was in his office watching january 6, i think it would be nice to know what he was ordering from the kitchen. and it sounds trivial, but i'm pretty -- host: why do you want to know that? caller: i'm pretty sure he was eating food while everybody like myself was stunned. remember those 86 minutes when he didn't call? was he satiating his food, his appetite with things? that is what a real fanatical dictator does. host: tom in philadelphia.

we've had this committee on january 6, there republican committee that looked into january 6. if they're going to be another january 6 committee and the 118th congress? guest: i'm not sure that there will be, although we do know that trump has made it clear he plans even on day one to pardon some of the people who participated in the attack on the capitol who have been met with the law and who are in prison, some of them. there is a chance that there is some kind of investigation on that side of. we know that republicans want to dig into have a january 6 fallout went and how people have those investigations played out, but we also know that many republicans are trying to move past january 6 entirely, that is kind of their line when you asked him about it, they are looking forward, not to the past. at least for now i expect january 6 not to be a topic. host: less than 10 minutes left

this morning. first time on since you wrote the story back in december about the senate, about a bipartisan border deal. what have been the developments in what is the deal? guest: we know for sure that there are many democrats were much more willing now than even a few years ago to talk about border security, to talk about immigration reform. many of the people i talked to who expressed interest in moving forward with this are people who are in these battleground states, people who are either in border state or battleground states like arizona, pennsylvania, other places as well. democrats have certainly shifted what they are willing to talk about when it comes to immigration in a way that is very unique and if there was to be a separate porterville outside of reconciliation, it would be interesting to see how many democrats would be willing to actually get on that. many people i've spoken to say that first they want to try to get as much done as they can for

reconciliation, get significant funding for the border, deportation efforts and infrastructure and do what they can. republicans only first, but i do think this is the space to be watching especially since the president-elect indicated that he might be willing to do something to protect dreamers, people who were brought to the u.s. illegally as children but now they are adults but don't have any legal status. host: who are the potential dealmakers here on both sides? who would be the go to for a republican looking to make a deal to start to try to bring in democrats? what republican would be leading the effort in the 119 congress? guest: mark kelly in arizona has been someone who has always been relatively moderate when it comes to his immigration proposals. he has been an advocate for border security so he would be one democrat that you could look to. center veteran from pennsylvania was one white top 2% he has maybe not been involved in conversations so far but he

would be very talk republicans and try to work some thing out on this issue. on the republican side, lindsey graham will be a key voice. he's done immigration legislation in the past so he could be a voice there. john cornyn in texas could be another one, known for working bipartisan deals. james lankford was a republican who led the last round of these bipartisan talks which ultimately ended in failure, so he could be another one. but it will be an interesting watch. host: fact the sunflower state, republican, good morning. caller: good morning. the certification in january 6, what is the thirst for prosecuting liz cheney? i think there's a lot of republicans that really would not rather move on and would like some accountability from her. i know there's a lot of deep state ghouls who would like to

not prosecute liz cheney and thompson. what do you think is going to happen there? guest: i mean, it is clear that trump has said that he would want to prosecute some of his enemies. he's also referred recently to his pick to lead the justice department, pam bondi is looking likely to get confirmed there. kash patel will be another key voice to watch, and that is something that we are all watching very closely. when we see some of these leaders kind of respond to these years of republicans criticizing the public is asian of -- polarization of the industry and whether they refuse to go after the president's critics in their own way will be something we are watching very closely. but it's unclear what the real appetite is. there are a few voices among republicans to see this aggressive action, and there are others especially on the hill who would much rather focus on getting legislative priorities done first, focus on being

proactive, getting border policies in place, and that has really been the focus from republican and two. host: just to remind the color interviewers, donald trump has asked about this last month, this is 90 seconds on that question of prosecuting potentially liz cheney. >> do you think liz cheney should go to jail? from: from what? i think everybody that voted in favor -- >> are you going to direct the fbi to center to jail? >> not at all. i think they should look at that, but i'm going to focus on drill, baby, drill. >> when you tap these people to lead the justice department and fbi -- >> they could do whatever they want. biden could give then started if he wants to, and maybe you should. just remember, a year and a half of sworn testimony and after getting all of the testimony, they deleted it and they

destroyed almost everything. there's nothing left. it is unprecedented. if you do that in a civil case you go to jail. >> you know they deny doing that and officials say that order never came in. let me ask you this event january. from: he wrote in a statement that he has destroyed evidence. >> let me ask you this about january 6. >> you have such potential. if you could be just nonbiased, you hurt yourself so badly. i'm telling you, they deleted and destroyed all the evidence, everyone knows it. and you slough it off like it doesn't mean anything. >> i'm saying they deny it, that is all i'm saying. >> if you did it you would be standing up in that chair shouting at me and you know what i would do, i would say you got me. host: that was donald trump on meet the press last month.

he mentioned bennie thompson. what you think bennie thompson's role is going to be in the 119 congress? guest: i mean, in the minority it's going to be pushing back again on everything the homeland committee and the house. i think we are soloing to see the focus of that committee really shipped again and focus on border immigration. host: skip in connecticut, line for democrats. caller: i think you're fantastic. i'm changing the subject a little bit. i had to pass the fbi check to work in these schools, but here is the thing i'm talking about.

they not $400 a month off my social security. that was money i worked for. i don't want food stamps, i want my social security plan. we are finally getting some justice on this. host: official security question. guest: that seems to not be a strong priority for republicans other trump has continued to say he does not plan to make any significant cuts to social security and despite the fact that there is going to be a lot of pressure to make spending cuts. whether it is the tax cuts or security, all these other elements that are going to cause significant money. we are talking hundreds of billions, trillions potentially for this package overall. there is going to be pushed from conservative to make significant cuts but they continue to say there will not be any cuts to social security. host: anything we haven't gotten to that you are tracking this week at axios?

guest: it's going to be a busy week. just looking at one thing after the other. i will be following pretty closely how these confirmation hearings kickoff, whether we see any republicans who decide to say no. early on it seem like there was a push backs, but lately it seems like many republicans are willing to give trump the people that he wants in these top positions. host: donald trump entre social just about one hour ago orting elon musk saying at this election not been won by dollar trump, civilization would be lost. the latest from elon musk on this trip social page. you can get the latest on axios.com. >> "washington journal" continues. host: kevin kosar joins us now, a senior fellow at the american enterprise institute and host with t u