this is what to do without tearing apart the affordable care act. they don't want to hurt the american people. maria: they don't want to hurt the overall agenda. we'll leave it there. an important show and we continue our live coverage with stuart right now. stuart, over to you. stuart: good morning, everyone. here is the state of play. no deal yet on obamacare. there's supposed to be vote today, but it will only begin when the republicans know they have the yes votes they need. there are meetings on capitol hill. there will be meetings at the white house. there's plenty of arm twisting and a lot of pleading. you'll be hearing progress or no progress all day long. high stakes indeed, the president and republican party face their first legislative test. investors are waiting on every word. the dow is pretty much flat. you can expect the stocks to move on any news about the

obamacare vote. here is my opinion, my opinion. stocks up if it's a yes vote, stocks down if it's a no. the state of play on london terror. prime minister theresa may says the attacker had been british born. he had been investigated for ties on islamic extremist rism. one man brought chaos. and trump tower surveillance, yes it happened says the chair of the committee. wrap it up. you have a live action news day. follow it with us. "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ >> let's be clear here. actually we can be clear, it's a fluid situation. last night, we thought the rblts were close to a deal on obamacare. this morning, it is not quite so clear.

the deal, in fact, is in limbo. it is possible that there will be no vote at all. this is a bit like a horse race, no clue as to how it turns out. watch it with us, politics and money, that's what we do. joining us now is marsha blackburn, republican from tennessee. marsha, can you give me a vote count as of right now? >> stuart, i would be afraid to give you a vote count. i will say i think we're a few votes short when it comes to passage of the bill, but i have to tell you, the white house and the leadership, the whip have worked with many of us. i have language on the halting the medicaid expansion, that has been included in the manager's amendment. that's a good positive step for conservatives and we've got to get this over to the senate and see what happens there. stuart: but, are you laying on the pressure to your fellow republicans, and saying, look, what's at stakes here is a

potential failure of president trump's first foray into the legislative arena. the failure of the republican party to come together, the potential triumph of the democrats if they get this to no vote. i take it you're making it clear to your fellow republicans? >> i think we all are aware of the consequences if we're not able to agree and get something across the finish line. that's why we're still working this morning, trying to find agreement on addressing the mandate of essential benefits, looking at again, and working with secretary price on what he can do through the rules, and through the administrative processes and then teeing up continued work on what we call phase three, the legislative side. we did association health plans yesterday. we did the small business protection act. and next week, we have a hearing on my bill, hr 314

which is across state line insurance purchase. stuart: i just want to bring you up-to-date on what we perceive a slight change, a slight shift here. i'll start with congressman mark meadows, he leads the freedom caucus. he did not hide his objections to the replacement plan. here is what he said at 1:00 yesterday afternoon. roll tape. >> they don't have the votes to pass this tomorrow, we believe that they need to start over and do a bill. >> we believe that we need to postpone the vote and get it right. stuart: you heard it very clearly there. no sign that he's going to vote yes whatsoever, however, here he is six hours later after meeting with president trump. roll that tape. >> obviously we're encouraged tonight, is based on the real willingness of not only the white house, but our leadership to make this bill better. stuart: marsha, he think you heard that. i think there was a clear shift

and i should point out that we believe that the freedom caucus meets again with president trump mid morning today. do you see-- do you see movement towards a yes vote on the part of some conservatives? >> yes, this is all the work that's continuing to take place as we look for ways to move this bill in a more patient centered friendly manner and, yes, there are meetings that took place through the night, there are meetings taking place this morning, and the additions that are going into the managers amendment that work is ongoing. and stuart, everyone wants us to have a win on this issue, they want the president, who has been incredibly engaged in this process, as has the vice-president, to have a win. the point is, it needs to be a win for the american people. so, that's the goal. stuart: are you in the yes column? you're a firm yes voter? >> i am continuing to work

toward getting to a yes, as is everyone else. let's make this bill the best for the american people. stuart: i'm not quite sure how to read that, marsha, forgive me for pressing. are you in the yes column? >> i am moving into the yes column and working with my colleagues to get them to a yes column in a conservative, patient-centered way and stuart, that's exactly where we need to be. this has to be a win for the american people, we want the administration to have a win, we want republicans to do our part, here in the house, to get obamacare off the books. stuart: okay. >> and to end this. stuart: marsha, forgive me for calling you by your first name, you've been a frequent guest. >> i love it by calling me by my first name. stuart: and calling you congressman.

>> it's not gender specific. stuart: marsha blackburn, congressman. now, look at this, this is dow futures, i'm not suggesting that the market is responding to what marsha blackburn said a couple of minutes ago. we were down 10 and now we're down 28 points pointing that way for the opening bell. again, i'm going to express the opinion, if a no vote takes place and it's a no vote, i think the market goes down first thing tomorrow morning. we'll discuss in a moment. how about the health insurers? premarket, they are, as you can see, doing absolutely nothing. move on. now, i want to discuss my opinion here. liz: yes. stuart: ashley. ashley: yes. >> i'm saying if the market-- if there's a no vote today. ashley: right. stuart: that market takes a big hit tomorrow morning. ashley: absolutely. stuart: several hundred points, anybody in doubt?

>> undoubtedly. liz: can i just-- the sticking point about the package of benefits, that's what they're fighting over. if that stays, this is what the house freedom caucus is fighting about, they're saying it raises the cost when you have pediatric services and maternity services in the cookie cutter plan and you can't do that with reconciliation with 51 votes. if you go to 60 votes on that, the democrats wipe it out. stuart: i want everybody up to speed. all house republicans are meeting at this hour meeting on capitol hill. got that. around 10:00 this morning, mid morning, eastern time, the freedom caucus is due to go to the white house and how many members thereof, they're going to the white house and negotiating with president trump. we had a cancellation on our program, jody, a member of the

freedom caucus, she has cancel canceled, probably to be in that meeting. that's the background, endless meeting, sausage making going on throughout the program today. we'll keep you up to speed. next big story of the day, earlier this morning, britain's prime minister theresa may addressed the issue of the london terror attack. ashley, we know about the deaths and arrests. ashley: we do. what do we know about the suspect? i thought the prime minister today gave a lot more information today than is normally forth coming in a situation like this, but she did say without naming the individual. he was british-born. he had been investigated by mi-5 the domestic counter intelligence unit in the u.k. nor possible links to extremism. violent extremism. he was considered a peripheral figure. we do find out that some 2000 individuals, stu, in the united

kingdom are considered dangerous and a threat for the public. for policing and authority, how can you cover these? this individual was considered a peripheral figure and some eight people arrested and four in the british midland town and rented the car, also in the midlands. they're getting a picture and the point is, is there such a thing as a lone wolf attacker? he had to have friends. >> what gets me if you've got 2000 people on the watch list, extremely dangerous. >> 20 people to surveil one person, 24/7. you don't have the manpower, you're overwhelmed. >> that's why this particular individual was not covered. >> you need extreme vetting of this ideology. >> more coming up, i promise you there. >> the futures up 18, 19 points, check this out, please. a three-year-old girl from atlanta, georgia, she's in

rome, she gets to meet the pope. watch this, watch this, watch this! . [laughter] c1 she grabs hthis mighter-- >> what's that? it it's-- more trouble for youtube, three more companies pulling ads from the site. they do not want their products link today what they call offensive content. all hear what alpha pet's eric schmidt is saying about this. and you're going to find less time watching commercials next season. of course, we're all over that, aren't we, ash. ashley: we are indeed. >> back in a moment.

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let's be clear about that. take a look at sears. yes, we put this company on death watch. retail ice age indeed. a huge drop yesterday, down another 1%, these premarket as of today. still at $7 per share. several of the biggest advertisers have stopped spending on youtube over concerns that their ads would run alongside offensive videos. eric schmidt, the executive chair of alphabet was on with maria. roll tape. >> important, what we do, we match ads and the content, because we source from everywhere, every once in a while somebody gets underneath the algorithm and puts in something that doesn't match. we've had to tighten our policy and increase our manual review time so i think we'll be okay. stuart: eric schmidt says they've got to do something about it. i don't think that it hurts the

stock or affects the stock in any way, shape or form, does it? >> i don't think so. they're going to figure out this is a major part of google's business and major advertisers, at&t and johnson & johnson, think about the demographics of what they're delivering on youtube. about 81% of all internet users use youtube. clearly the marketplace is vast and google is going to have to figure out a smarter way to deliver the ads. stuart: do you think they will? >> yeah, they have to. i mean, you know, if they don't and they lose the advertisers they're going to be in big trouble. stuart: would you buy google? i keep going it google, would you buy alphabet stock around 8350 -- 850 a share, straightup since the election. >> it's always google to me, i'll tell you why, the reason, they are the dominator, heavy cacheflow company and leaders in the tech sector, with the

market so high and pricey, you want to buy the leaders like google, apple, facebook, all of those we own. stuart: a lot of people have done just that. scott martin, we'll bring you back when the market opens. how about this? low ratings for the nfl. they're trying to do something about it. details, ash. ashley: they're trying to speed up the games. stuart: really. ashley: what are they looking at. part of the plan is to change the structure of the commercial breaks, include a play clock that goes into effect after an extra point. the action has to get going again within a certain time not this lolly gagging about. and also, a play clock after a touchdown, having a standardized time for halftimes, apparently there is no standard time they wander back out at a convenient time for them, i presume. they're cutting down the number of commercials because you come back from a commercial break, watch a kickoff and guess what, another commercial break and even nfl commissioner roger goodell says, i hate that, too.

the problem being, who pays a lot of money to advertise on the nfl. they don't want to cut off their nose to spite their face. it's difficult because alot of money comes through commercials. stuart: thank you, ash. glad we got that in, sports fans. on capitol hill, the house g.o.p. has canceled its meeting for this hour. okay? because they are no changes to the bill. they were supposed to discuss changes and there are going to be no changes. take this or leave it, so the meeting has been canceled. i believe that the freedom caucus is going to capitol hill, more negotiating and rm a-- arm twisting. let me be clear here, we're waiting on a guest, we'll be back in a moment.

>> all right. look at this. ford motor company says it's looking forward and it's staying it's going to make less money, less profit than it thought in the first quarter of the year. the stock is down 2 1/2% with that projection. let's gets to the obamacare vote in the house. let's bring in senator mike

lee, republican, from utah. senator, welcome to the program, sir, it's very good to see you again. >> thank you. >> may i express an opinion? and i'll just throw it at you. i would rather have this deal in the house today say yes, than no deal at all. i know you disagree with me. make your case, sir. >> i respectfully, but very strongly disagree with you. what we need is a bill that repeals all of obamacare, and brings about cost controls, so that we bring down the cost of health care, which is spiked sharply in the last seven years since obamacare enacted. this bill doesn't do that, we need something that does that. this bill can be changed and reformed and necessary adjustments to the marketplace. we've got to make sure we get this right. seven years ago today obamacare passed. republicans have been campaigning against it ever since then. we've got to make sure they follow through with this punch and get it right. stuart: doesn't this bill get

rid of mandates, gets rid of taxes, and change obamacare taxes, that is and changes the funding of medicaid, the structure of funding in medicaid? that goes quite a long way to getting rid of some of the worst parts of obamacare. couldn't you take the 80% and let the other 20% that you don't get, let it go by in the name of giving the president a success, keeping the republican party united an and keeping the president's legislative schedule on track? >> first of all, it doesn't get rid of altman dates and that's probably the number one problem with it, the insurance regulation in obamacare, or markedly responsible for the spike in health care costs that we've seen over the last seven years. this adjusts some of those, but it leaves a whole lot of them, most of them, some would say fully intact and what that means is that in the end, this isn't going to bring down the cost of health care. and it does try to get rid of the taxes, but it doesn't get

rid of them immediately and some of them, it postpones for a long time. so, this is one of the reasons why, i think we've got to get this right. we've got one big shot at this and momentum to do it and no reason we have to decide it's this bill or nothing. those who are presenting that are presenting a false choice. stuart: couldn't you say the mandate you've got to cover this, that, couldn't that be adjusted in phase two? essentially it's a rule that doesn't require legislation, it's a rule, hhs could do that later, couldn't they? >> a great question. i'm glad you brought that up hhs, department of health and human services has some power to adjust some of the way the insurance regulatory provisions of obamacare are implemented. a couple of problems, it takes time to do that, and number two, those regulations could be changed down the road when there's a different president running the administration, perhaps eight years down the road or something like that. number three, there's no reason

why we can't do that right now. there's no reason why we can't enhance the ability of hhs to bring about those regulatory changes in the bill. so, when people talk about bucket one, bucket two, with the regulations, bucket three with allowing people to buy and sell insurance across state line. why not putall three buckets in one bill. stuart: hard break coming up at me. senator, we appreciate at you being with us. the market opens, and it will be down slightly lower, 18, 20 points. we'll be right back. yes? please repeat the objective. ♪ thrivent mutual funds. managed by humans, not robots. before investing, carefully read and consider fund objectives, risks, charges and expenses

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>> it's 9:30. we're off and we are running. trading has begun and we're on the down side, not by much. this is very much a wait and see market as of today. wait and see what happens with that house vote on obamacare replacement and repeal. the whole day's trading is all about health care. so, as of right now, with 20 seconds into the trading session, we're going to bring you some of the health care stocks. look at health insurers to start with and i bring you this news. rules committee chair, pete sessions of texas, he just said, we did not have all the pieces of the puzzle together on the health care bill. he says information is

necessary for us to make an informed decision. the horse trading continues. that sounds to me like a negative for this-- for the yes voters on the obamacare deal. look at hospital stocks not much changed, don't expect much change there. how about the drug makers, pretty much the same story, anl a totally mixed bag until we get firm news on the house vote. even if we do or do not have a house vote. it's a complicated day, but look who is here to help, ashley webster, liz macdonald, mike murphy and my first question, what happens to the market tomorrow morning if there's a no vote. >> a big selloff on the markets. there's a lot of reasons for it. it's not just this one vote, it's the implications for what it could mean for other parts of the administration. it's not what the market is looking for, i hope it doesn't happen. ashley: tuesday we dropped 1% on the dow with the fear it happened.

if it happens, it brings into play the entire trump administration policy agenda and the ability to get it through congress. liz: i'll take the other side, i think unity. we saw brexit, we saw the trump victory, i think that people come in and buy on the dip. stuart: buy on the dip, but there will be a dip. liz: yes, i think there will be. stuart: scott martin, if there's a no vote on the reform deal, what happens to the market it drops, but i'm on team e-mack. i think the market is getting ahead of itself with respect to talking now, tax reform doesn't go through, the regulatory reform doesn't go through if we don't get health care, today and tomorrow. that seems kind of crazy. mike is right, there's a crisis of confidence going on in d.c. and trump is getting a hard lesson with working with congress and trying to be the deal maker and trying to appease a lot of the house voters now. stuart: it could be exactly 24 hours from now, the market, this could be the market opens down and scott martin and

elizabeth mcdonald will be buying like-- >> you could say that. >> and a buyer for sure. liz: you can say the word banshee, it's fine, don't worry about it, you're allowed, don't worry, who cares. [laughter] >> out of my depth on this one. how about sears? huge drop last session. the stock this morning has rebounded to the $8 per share level. scott martin, are we going to see sears go out of business? we did put them on death watch. >> they're on death watch. they're barely walking at this point, stuart. it's a matter of time. i have got to feel bad for the retailers trying to hang on and see what they can clamp onto as they slowly fade away. amazon is killing them. that's the stock to own. we have for a long time. retail and technology, amazon is the one to go with not sears and other ones like kohl's and macy's.

stuart: when i came to america, sears was everywhere and used it all the time. >> i think that sears was going undereven before you saw amazon taking market share from the retailers. there's been mismanagement there and didn't keep up with the times, i think this is the longest running saga in retail and i think we all know how it ends. stuart: got it. the dow industrials down 26 points after four minutes' worth of business. earlier this year, starbucks said it would hire refugees. now it says it will hire veterans. is this damage control? >> absolutely. the initial proclamation was in response to the travel ban that mr. trump put in place and has since abouten challenged. got a massive pushback on that, saying, okay, so you want to hire refugees? what about americans who desperately want work, homeless people, military veterans, they could use the work. now we're seeing starbucks, saying, yeah, okay, good idea. stuart: starbucks is a politicized company, seems to me. >> it's politicized and

shouldn't be, because a company this size that's held by so many different people, by republicans, by democrats, the former ceo, i believe, shouldn't taking such a hard stance on the left or the right for that matter, should be more in the middle. stuart: i agree, when you want to have a conversation about race when you're lined up for coffee. liz: it's a reason to go to mcdonald's and get your coffee. stuart: in your company? [laughter] >> that's the irish wing. stuart: and we're down 28 points. everybody is going to be watching for any kind of statement about the vote count for the obamacare deal later on today. that's what will move this market. ford motor company is moving. it's going to make-- it says it will make less money in the first quarter than it previously thought and the stock is now down 1 is%. 11 a share. conagra, sales down, they make chef boyardee pasta and a whole

bunch of more up. they're at $40 per share on conagra. nike down big yesterday after reporting weaker sales, a modest bounceback today. up back nearly 2%, 5, 6% yesterday. look at big name technology stocks, you can never get enough of these things, all of them on the down side today. so, if we've got a little bit of a dip in the amazon, apple, facebook, alphabet, netflix marketplace? mike murphy, which of them would you buy? >> all of them. now, look, let's go back, in recent history, netflix pulled down to $86 and it's almost doubled from there. applebee low -- apple spies below $100. and this isn't the send, apple, facebook, netflix, these are the wave of the future. that's where you're getting

growth and they're rell telephone -- relatively expensive. if you get a dip. stuart: even though they've had a phenomenal run already? >> if you're looking for growth, that's where you want to look. stuart: scott martin, will you come in on that, too. i'm saying the companies on the screen right now had a fantastic run, gone straight up for years. do you think they've got more room to go up some more? >> i do, stuart. mike is making some good points. i think, one thing that's interesting, when you look at facebook and google and apple, you know, guys, they're kind of cheap of the everybody talks how expensive the market is and why not to buy stocks because it's at 21,000 or 20,500 today, but the reality is, some of these tech stocks that we're talking about here are pretty cheap versus their peers and historical averages. for me that's where you want it place new money. stuart: scott, by the way, the

dow just turned positive, very suddenly, i suspect that someone, somewhere made a comment about the health care vote today that was positive and bingo, we were down 30 and now we're up 10. next case. and this may be an argument in favor of netflix. millennials watch an average of six episodes per binge sitting. and three quarters of us all, millennials and everybody else, binge watchers these days. that's an argument for netflix. liz: it is and it's an argument for amazon. what are they doing? nearly 100% of them are multi-tasking. they're shopping on-line, browsing the web, they're texting, reading e-mails, so, you know, they're binge watching. i would say it's also an argument for chiropractors if you're sitting there for five hours. stuart: why do you say that? >> i don't know. >> stuart, if i could add, a positive for youtube. that's owned by google, youtube is a great growth area and also facebook, people are going on

facebook, spending time looking there. the way people consume content has changed and it's not going back to the old way. stuart: the way you look at a screen is totally different than what you're looking at and coming from, it's totally different, but we're glad you're still watching cable tv. 1,000-- wrong, 17,000 at&t workers in california and nevada are on strike. what's the strike about? >> they're really mad, they haven't had a contract for years. and you, at&t, the jobs to mexico and philippines, those are middle class jobs that we like. at&t says we're a union friendly company, more full-time union workers than any other countries. and union workers aresaying, why should we install land lines and phone lines when you tell us to the about ut in internet and tv stuff. stuart: the stock is down 11 cents, got it.

pepsi is killing 12-packs and two-liter bottles in philadelphia, because of the soda tax now imposed on the city. and the cold, dead hand of government, do you want to step in? >> pepsi had a great run and continued to move higher. be careful, pepsi is not moving higher because of soda, but because of healthy snacks, back to the growth theme, that's where you'll find growth. liz: and pepsi is saying that this tax cost pepsi jobs at their distribution centers and hundreds of jobs were lost. ashley: and that's unintended consequence of doing things like this. we're going to protect people's health, the government knows better. what happens, people end up losing their jobs. stuart: it doesn't work when you try to manipulate what people eat and drink, it does not work. i don't think it does. we're out of time at least for the opening part of the market open. scott martin and mike murphy, thank you, gentlemen, we appreciate you being with us.

check that big board, another reversal, two minutes ago we were up 10 and now we are down 11. next case, elon musk's spacex now working with nasa to find a place to land a rocket on mars, of all places. that's what they're talking about. and gridlock over the obamacare replacement bill, will it put president trump's tax cut this year in jeopardy? we're on it in a moment. ♪ ♪ this bad boy is a mobile trading desk

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>> ladies and gentlemen, we have a stock market that hangs on every word spoke been the obamacare vote, that may take place today. any insinuation it's a yes vote, the market goes up. insinuation that it's no, that's the state of play. another look at snap. a couple of buy recommendations and that stock is up over 10% in the last couple of days, bounced back up to $22. spacex and nasa teaming up, looking for landing ground on mars. why should i care? >> because the president wants nor deep space explore ration and elon musk says we'll launch somebody to mars. stuart: somebody? >> a person. stuart: to mars? >> yes. he's taking landing colonies to get there.

stuart: how long does it take to get there? >> 40 years. the yes is why and do they come back. stuart: that would be my question. let's get to obamacare and replacement vote. and the senator is a member of the finance committee. always good to see you, sir. >> nice to see you. stuart: can i posit this? if there is a no vote on the bill in the house today or no vote at all if it's just defeated, does that mean that tax cuts, tax reform, and you're on the senate finance committee, is that all slowed down and pushed back? >> no, i mean, i think that whatever happens today, and i believe it's going to pass in the house and that we're going to be dealing with it here in the senate next week, tax reform is very much on the agenda, stuart. we all realize to get the economy growing at a faster rate, wages up, better paying jobs in our economy we've got

to reform our outdated tax code and make us competitive in the marketplace. tax reform moves and it's a question of when because of health care, timing is such that it will follow after that, but we will use another legislative vehicle later this year after we deal with health care and on the floor of the senate, the supreme court nominee, which will come up the week right before easter. stuart: now, you said just a moment ago that you think that the house bill today will pass, there will be a yes vote. why do you say that? because at the moment we understand that the vote is six, seven, maybe eight votes short of the number it needs to pass? >> i think they'll pull it together. i have a high level of confidence in the leadership in the house and i think the president is very engaged, which makes a huge difference. these big votes, when you have a white house that is actively pursuing trying to get members on board, it does, in the end, help bring people together. so, it's not going to be easy, i know that, and i think they're trying to work with members and address their concerns and their issues, but

that's part of legislating. this is a complicated issue and any bill of this consequence where you're trying to get to 218 or in this case, 216 votes in the house to pass is no easy feat. but they are working aggressively at it and i think by the end of the day when it comes time to vote if they put this bill on the floor, it will pass. stuart: i just, i just can't see this being defeated. i mean, from-- it would be a huge defeat for president trump. it will be a huge defeat for the republican party. i think it would derail the legislative process going forward and i think it would be a disaster. i can't imagine republicans not uniting in some way, shape or form passing this thing. >> i think you pointed this out earlier, stuart, it's important in legislating, you're not going to get 100% of what you want. everybody comes here with different viewpoints and ideas and different parts of the country. at the end of the day you have

to get the majority in the house and senate something signable by the president. if you can get 80% of the way there and get most of what you want in there, that's a pretty good day in terms of legislating. i think our members are going to have to realize we're not going to get to perfect, but perfect shouldn't be the enemy of the good. we should get this process moving forward, other steps will follow, actions that can be taken by hhs secretary tom price, as well as other legislation that could follow on later in the year, so it's piece by piece, step by step, we'll get there. stuart: you said the senate could take this up next week. could you give me a realistic time frame through the senate, through the house, to the president, back to committee and sientd? a couple months, a few weeks, what are we talking here? >> it depends how it comes out of the house and when it comes to senate things that we have to do to make it comply with our rules. there are certain things we can't do in the senate that

they can do in the house, the way the process here is set up. so the leaders goal has been to take a house bill, put it on the floor of the senate next week, pass it out and send it to the president and i think that's still the goal, but i think we have to look at this realistically, know we want to get this right. the senate would have an ability to have their voice heard, and offers amendments and build on what the house is done and hopefully make it a better product and product that can be signed by the president. to your point and your question directly, i'm not sure exactly at this point, but i know we're ing to movvery quickly, expeditiously, we legal -- i think we realize this is the thing that we have to get done. stuart: i don't think you moved the market, but-- >> that was the goal, stuart, you know that. stuart: i'm sure it was not. a pleasure. >> thank you. stuart: dow jones industrials going no way, wait and see on the vote, what's the outcome.

we're down 9 points, 8 points. split one third up on the dow, two-thirds down. new reports that north korea could be behind a $81 million cyber theft from a federal reserve account. more varney after this. ♪

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>> pbh. a big winner, up 8%. it's the parent company of tommy hilfiger and calvin klein. they've made a lot of money and the stock is up nearly $8 at 98 a share. north korean hackers could be linked to that multi-million dollar cyber theft, targeting bangladesh's central bank. what's going on. ashley: could be linked. they got away with $81 million and something that was so simply done. basically they used a global payment messaging system to persuade the bank to send four separate payments to four accounts in the philippines. done in a matter of seconds. how did that for a theft? now, who did this? there are theories out there that north korea was behind it. there are no charges. they believe that chinese middlemen could be the ones responsible. the only reason we're getting a north korean connection is the code used by the thieves was similar to the code used in the sony hack. stuart: okay. ashley: so there's like, oh, maybe north korea is behind it,

but others, investigators say we don't believe it's north korea. either way, whoever did this just like that made $81 million. stuart: i wonder who made up that money to the bangladeshies? did the federal reserve because it's in their account because it's in their account and make it up to them. ashley: insurance maybe. stuart: could have been. should have been. and a study finds a majority of people die in debt. on average people die with, look at that $62,000 worth of debt at the point of death. so, here is my question, e-mack. does the debt die with the person? connel connell:. >> depending on the state you live in. the estate would cover the death. if you live in community property state, your wife may be hit with it. the estate would have to cover the debt. stuart: that's legit. >> if there's debt left, family members don't get hit. depending where you left.

stuart: if you did die with your debt, you'd run up your debt before death. assuming you knew. buy that rolls royce. liz: it's behavioral. look at what senior citizens are doing, 50,000 of this is mortgage debt. they're saying we're going to live well in a nice house and have the debt canceled after. ashley: i guess. stuart: we've got this one. this is a historic day. the repeal of obamacare could be on the cards. it's being debated right now on capitol hill. i'm going to editorialize. i'm going to tell you exactly where i stand on this. top of the next hour, two minutes away. at angie's list,e there are certain things you can count on, like a tired dog is a good dog. [ dog barking, crashing ]

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stuart: on this historic day i want to be very clear where i stand on the obamacare vote. i spoke only for myself. i would rather have this deal than no deal. i want to see a yes vote. here's why.

a no would be a terrible start for president trump. a no would be a disaster for the republican party. you can't pass your first piece of legislation when you run both the house and senate? a no would be a triumph for democrats. and they are the party which got us into the obamacare mess in the first place. but most importantly, a no would hold up the rest of the president's growth agenda. what happens to tax cuts, deregulation and infrastructure if we have to spend months on obamacare. you can't grow the economy if the growth agenda goes off the rails. the ryan plan gets rid of mandates and obamacare taxes and rearranges the funding of medicaid. that is not enough? i understand the principles which conservatives are fighting for. i sympathize. i to want to the government out of health care. but at this point is pure politics. it is not what we would like. it is what we can get. this is not popular with many of

our viewers. that is where i stand. better this deal than no deal. the second hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ dare i say this is an absolutely dead flat market? yes, i dare say it. dare i say this is a wait-and-see market? yes, it is waiting to see what happens with the obamacare vote in the house. wait a minute. we are getting breaking numbers. this is important for homebuyers for the real estate industry. have we got the latest? ashley: 4.23% is the average on the 30-year. that is down from the week before, 4.30. down a little bit though tough for first-time homebuyers to get a mortgage right now because prices are going up. because there are not enough homes for sale. stuart: we're still living with

the death and destruction of dodd-frank. which means getting a mortgage from a bank, getting a loan from a bank is extremely difficult. ashley: yes. stuart: extremely difficult indeed. ashley: so coming down just a little bit. stuart: no impact on the stock market. by the way we're up four points. dow industrials 20,666. let's get to the gop health care plan, shall we? the house freedom caucus is meeting this hour. next hour they go to meet the president, mr. trump, president trump i should say. there is no timing as to when this vote might actually start. listen to congressman kevin brady earlier this morning. >> i don't know the timing on this but i know we're getting have he close. i know we still have work to do to make sure members concerns are heard and we're always improving this bill. stuart: may i interpret that? no vote until they're sure they have got the votes to pass it. they're still working on it.

they don't have the votes yet. i think we can say that from kevin brady right there. joining us, brian beamburg, the guy from king's college, economics professor. take me on. >> you were bold. laid it out there what you want. stuart: i say, give me this deal because it's much better than no deal. and you say? >> i say make the deal better. i don't think house leadership pushed hard enough to get the right things in this bill. talking now about repealing obamacare coverage mandates, the essential benefits. that is what the house freedom caucus is calling for. that is with conservatives in the senate are calling for. i think that can get done, if you get that in the bill you might have a bill worth doing. stuart: would you actually vote no? would you sink president trump's first attempt at legislation? would i sink the republican party? would you actually say no, walk away from this thing? >> i would push it to the very

end, if we delay it, delay it. stuart: if push comes to shove you don't get your way, do you vote no. >> do you want a bill that doesn't work, stuart, if you doesn't work you pay now or pay later. stuart: only you says it doesn't work. >> if you don't get rid of coverage mandates you can't bring prices down because you're forcing everybody to buy coverages they don't want. stuart: you can adjust the coverage mandates in phase two. health and human service. you can do it. >> is phase two going to happen? if you can't get one through do you think phase two will 457, do you think phase three will happen? this is the problem, stuart. stuart: when push comes to shove brian brenburg would vote no, you would sink it because you're not quite sure that we will get the mandate removed from coverage? >> you don't have to sink it. you have to push hard to get the right things in this bill. stuart: you delay you destroy it. >> i'm with you, tax reform, tax reform looks very suspect if you

don't get health care reform through. if you can't do this, why in the world will republicans agree on anything having to do with taxes? i agree it has to get done, doesn't mean do the wrong bill. stuart: means you have to do it! >> keep pushing. they're pushing until the last minute. stuart: you still do it. >> that is what they're doing. stuart: this is where we differ. i say, push, push, push, until the very last minute. i'm with you all the way. >> good. stuart: if you don't get what you you want you still vote yes and you're going to vote no, you would vote no, wouldn't you? >> i want health care -- stuart: don't mess around with that. liz: obama care tweaked ad infinitum? they adapted obama care, fixed obamacare, incessantly. >> do you want to do that with this bill? liz: that would got it done. >> i don't want to do that with this bill. best reforms come in the last three days. liz: perfect is the enemy of the good. >> it is no the enemy of the good. stuart: ronald reagan said if

you get 80% of what you want. >> are you sure this bill is 80%? stuart: absolutely. taxes are gone. mandates are gone. >> not all the mandates. no. almost. stuart: you can rearrange them. look the mandate that says you, brian brenburg have to have insurance, that's gone, right? >> of the mandate, if i buy it i have to buy things i don't want is still there. stuart: the mandate says you must buy insurance is gone? am i correct? >> that's true but it is not the only mandate. it is not the only mandate. stuart: the mandate which says you must buy this and must cover that, that is growing to be adjusted. and you have the chance to say how it is going to be adjusted. why is that? >> do that right now. don't leave it to chance. liz: okay. stuart: if you don't get it, i still say vote yes. liz: we have new home sales by the way. ashley: thanks, emac. stuart: calm down, stuart. liz: 592,000, up 6% year-over-year, as new home

prices came down by about 5% year-over-year. so new home sales up annualized up 592,000. home prices for them came down. stuart: okay. i have calmed down. that was relatively good news from new home sales. brenburg, be quiet for a moment. >> is that an order? okay. stuart: listen to this, i wish i could move on to a less serious story, but i can not, the terror attack in london. a man driving a car ran over pedestrians on the westminster bridge. this was yesterday. we covered it on the show. then he headed to the gates of parliament, crashed, jumped out, stabbed a policeman who died later. the attacker was shot by armed police officers. three other people dead. army vet and fox news contributor pete hegseth is with us now. now, we've gone through the details of what happened. we got that. it seems to me that one man with a set of car keys and a knife

wreaked havoc with central london and closed down parliament. i put it to you pete, you can't stop this kind of thing from happening in the future. >> no you can't. what else is he armed with? ideology, dedicated ideology he believes in. if you can find a car and an open gate you can kill people. that is exactly what happened. until the uk and west radical es lame is at war with them and truly understand that, infiltrating silently their society. they will never infiltrate this problem. they say he acted alone but they arrested other people. this is religious network in mosques where they preach radical islamism and in the london and in the uk. until you understand that -- stuart: we have to start thinking about immigration of muslims? that issue is raised in europe. there is study from somebody called the chatham house finds seven out of 10 europeans countries, majority of people want total exclusion of all

muslim immigrants. seven out of 10 countries in your pop. i suspect that argument will now start to be made elsewhere. >> of course it will. it already is. this is populist way. stuart: that is religious test. >> consider this fact. the most popular boy's name after newborn boy in london, three times over is muhammad. the most popular name of a boy. demographics of that city and that country are fundamentally changing. the question will they stay committed to values made london and uk what they are? not clear that first generation or is being generation muslims are committing that society. they are bringing intolerance in the middle east with the west, women, homosexuals. stuart: what do you do? >> you got, extreme vetting things like that in the united states. make a heck of a lot of sense. pausing from countries you don't know where they're coming from. they're behind the curve in london. behind the demographic curve. have to demand allegiance and a simulation from populations there. they knew this guy was radical

islamist. yet they didn't boot him out at first-cent -- scent much it. you should be kicking these people out of your country. if you're at war, war is being waged against you, exactly what this guy is doing. this guy pledged allegiance to ice s if you're at war can you let the enemy live among you expel these people. religious test are dangerous. radical ideology larger than people think. stuart: do we do that? is that us? >> we never confronted this type of threat. the cohesion which radical islamists believe and think and commit is something we're not used to. this is not like the nazis. written in a book 1300 years ago. they read it, study it, find validation in it. and propagate it from the youth that if they die they go to heaven with 72 virgins. it is not just a job. when obama said isis needs jobs,

no, utterly defeat and discredit their ideology. stuart: pete hegseth, thank you very much for joining us. appreciate it. check the big board. dead flat. that the way it is i think we're up three points. two points up. that's barely any movement at all. everyone waiting for news on the obamacare vote in the house. got it. by the way, the horse trading, oh, it's going on big time on capitol hill. the freedom caucus is meeting right now. then whether they're done with that meeting amongst themselves, they're off to the white house. they will meet with president trump. we're all over the story, following it all the way through. back in a moment. at fidelity, trades are now just $4.95.

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stuart: now today, is all about the health care plan, the vote there on, coming up in the house today. let me give you an update. here's where we are. as of right now the freedom caucus, conservatives within the house republican party, they're meeting among themselves on capitol hill. two members of the freedom

caucus, jody hice, louie gohmert had to cancel their appearances on this program because they're involved in this very important meeting. that is happening whether the house is debating whether a vote can take place today, if there are changes to the bill as it currently stands. that is very much a procedural thing. that is happening now. no vote is currently scheduled, okay? they don't have a time when the vote will actually start. but which do have this. speaker ryan was supposed to have a news conference in the 11:00 hour. that will be at 3:30 eastern time this afternoon. you could stay a state of flux, arm-twisting, sausage making, all going on as we speak. ashley: not pretty. stuart: it is really ugly. ashley: it is. stuart: but if you want to get something done in legislative fashion this is what it takes. liz: we're 20 trillion in debt. stuart: but every single word that comes out of anybody

involved ithese mein the market will react to it. ashley: headline-driven. liz: good point. stuart: the big board is absolutely going nowhere. we haven't heard anything concrete about the no vote. the dow is up five points. it is roughly 50/50, winners and losers among the dow 30. health care negotiations are still underway. again i'm going to repeat what i said at the top. hour. i hope it passes. i think this deal, however flawed, is better than no deal at all. that is my editorial position, and i speak only for myself. former republican senator from massachusetts scott brown is with us and no doubt he will take me to task about my opinion. i don't know where you stand on this. i say, give me this deal, it is better than no deal at all. you say what? >> stuart, first of all i want to thank you. i thought today's show was great. you had on obviously senator lee, a good friend, a great guy, senator thune, and you had a house member as well.

you kind of nailed it, put it to them, the last guest, when push comes to shove are you going to actually pass it or not. he wouldn't answer you. that is the problem. i think people republicans forgotten what it is like to lead, to have the presidency, senate and the house. it is a long time. they actually forget and still fighting amongst themselves over the scraps instead of taking the bull by the horns and doing exactly what president reagan would have said, listen, give me 80%. we'll fix in committees we'll fix it with secretaries. you asked mike lee directly, he said it was true, that the secretary price could actually fix a lot of this stuff. he said, well, but they can fix it, they can change it back later. i'm not worried about later, i'm worried about it rue no. getting savings from health care, parlaying into savings on tax cuts. get the economy moving. you're spot on. stuart: it is inconceivable to me, i guess we have to conhe sieve of it if it happens, but i would be he amazed if the

republican party can not unite on this, their first test in front of the house on a very important bill, extraordinary, would be really surprised if they walk away from president trump and his first test in the legislative process. scott, i just can't believe it will happen. i think you're with me on this. >> i'm with senator thune. ultimately see it pass. it will be close. you have a situation with the freedom caucus folks meeting right now which is appropriate. hasn't been brought up, still working until the 23rd and a 1/2 hour. that is school. the president will get involved and allay their fears, what do you want, what do you need? don't forget senator thune nailed it, what the house passes it make sure it falls within the reconciliation rules of senate. the house can do a lot more, but if you can't pass it in the senate it is for naught. they have to be careful or would be ruled out of order.

it is in the weeds, don't forget how the senate passed it. that is the vehicle. you can fix in the second phase with secretary price and third phase because you still have majority in both houses, you can actually push things through, especially with "the nuclear option" in the senate which may happen. stuart: exactly. the voice of common sense from massachusetts. scott brown, so glad you're on the show today. you're all right, son. >> stuart, always love to be on. stuart: thanks, appreciate it. see you real soon. check the market still go nowhere. down seven points, that's where we are. 20,654. i will repeat it. it is all about the health care vote, whether there is a vote later on today. that is the center of attention. meeting in the white house shortly. freedom caucus and president trump, we're on it all the way through the day. ♪ the mercedes-benz of tomorrow will transform

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stuart: another look at ford motor company. the stock is down 1.7%. clarify something we said earlier. the stock is down afford released its profit guidance for the first quarter, lower than what wall street thought it would be. we said ford would make less money. that is not the case. it is their profit guidance pulling that stock down. and now this, police in israel arresting a suspect for making threats against the jewish community here in america. ashley: kind of a strange tale but it was a 19 yielder suspect, taken into custody in israel on suspicions he made security-related threats and publishing false reports, caused authorities say, fear and panic in jewish communities in the united states but also around the world. motivation we don't know.

but, it is all been linked back to this one individual in israel who was making these false threats, that included synagogues in the united states and elsewhere. in one case he forced an air liner to make an emergency landing because of threats he was calling in. stuart: that is a serious thing. ashley: it is. stuart: got it. new this morning, something else for you, ash. ashley: yeah. stuart: china's military issued a warning to, the u.s. air force. they don't want the american air force flying over the east china sea. wait a second, ashley is that around those islands? ashley: around the disputed island chain. china because they claimed those islands that they have, it is their airspace. the u.s. air force had a b-1 bomber flying through that particular area on military exercises through south korea and japan, they got a warning from the chinese to the pilots flying that bomber saying get out, this is our airspace around pilot said, no it is not, this is international airspace.

completely ignored the chinese threats continued on mission without changing course at all. stuart: another provocation. ashley: you could say the tensions are raised in that part of the world for sure, another example. stuart: oh, i think you could say that. definitely say that. ashley: i'm saying it. stuart: market still going nowhere. we're up five, six points. that's where we are. anytime, anybody says over the, anything about the house health care bill, that market will move. happening in just over 30 minutes from now the freedom caucus, they're the republicans against this current health care bill, they're conservatives, they're going to the white house, the whole group, the president trump, the deal maker in chief, continuing negotiating with the freedom caucus. we're on it and all over it. more "varney" returns after this. of the ♪

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stuart: going to update you now on that dreadful terror attack in london yesterday. details now, one of the victims. ashley: one of the victims is an american, 54-year-old curt cochran from utah. he was touring europe with his wife to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, oh. ashley: they were both appears hit. his wife suffered just a broken leg, i say just a broken leg and rib. she survived. he was pushed off the bridge, down on to a concrete floor, i know exactly where it is, it is a good 25 feet drop. he did not survive that fall. stuart: on a related item, related note here, we have another development. this is coming into us from belgium. liz: this is breaking news.

french man of north african descent in custody. charged with driving at high speed, attempting to plow into a crowd in a busy shopping area of the port city of antwerp. army officers tried to block him. he broke free. he ran a red light. police then blocked him. when they arrested him, took him into custody, they found knives, shotgun and a gas can in his car. should be noted this is about the first anniversary of the twin bomb attacks in brussels that killed 32. ashley: yesterday was the actual anniversary. there is belief all of this could be related. stuart: one small point. in germany, they're going to expel a young man who is born in germany, of algerian parents. born in germany. got mixed up in terror. even though he is a german citizen. he is out. ashley: that is really interesting. stuart: same young man of nigerian descent, born in germany. parent came in from nigeria. he is being expelled.

born in germany. german citizen he is out. liz: for what? stuart: mixed up in terror. ashley: born in that country. that is interesting. takes it to the next level. stuart: the guy in england was british-born. ashley: absolutely. stuart: i wonder if they were considering something on those ground. we don't care where you are. you're out. liz: what is the breaking point for the british people? stuart: i really don't know. you're right to question where is the breaking point. i want to move on to capitol hill, the freedom caucus meeting with themselves. next hour they go to meet president trump at white house. a lot of arm-twisting here. one of the members of the freedom caucus, jody hice was supposed to be on the program. as of now he had to cancel, called away to far more important meeting. come in washington examiner columnist lisa booth. hi, lisa.

>> hi, stuart. stuart: you're right there in the middle of it all. you have the capitol building behind you. can you give me the state of play on the vote count as of now? >> they obviously still don't have the votes. that is what they're working on right now. i spoke to congressman mark meadows yesterday, full disclosure i used to work for, they're trying to get rid of essential hello benefits. a lot of conversations are underway you point out beginning of this segment. ultimately i don't think speaker ryan will bring the bill to the floor unless he is confident he has the votes. i don't think they do. stuart: can i interrupt you for a second. you used to work for mark meadows. >> i did. stuart: yesterday, 1:00 in the afternoon, he was almost vehement adamant, the votes are not there. they just don't have the votes. about six hours later, 7:00 last night, after a meeting with president trump he was much more conciliatory. there is work still needs to be done but we can see -- more positive.

is there a drift in that direction by the conservative people at the freedom caucus? >> i think there are conversations that are happening. so i think, you know, obviously, each member of congress is going to represent their districts. if you represent a very, very conservative district, you want something to be able to take back home. a lot of conservatives the way they view this bills at least in its current form not really going far enough. we heard that from senator rand paul. stuart: do they folks understand if you turn this down, the very, very first attempt at legislation by the republican party around the first attempt at negotiating a deal by president trump, they turn this down, the implications of that -- if mark meadows has to go back to his constituents i tried the good fight and we failed and everything is off, will that go down as well? >> stuart, there is a dance. there are problems for moderates for speaker paul ryan.

it is not just the house freedom caucus. we're talking about 1/5 of the united states economy. here in washington d.c. and outside, we have tendency, people have tendency to over sensationalize things. the reality this will get done. no point in rushing something. they need to make sure they get it right and have the votes. there is mo point bringing the bill to the floor if they simply don't have the votes. what a lot of house members making sure something will get done in the senate. the last thing you want to do, let me finish, real quick, stuart, if you don't mind. stuart: go. >> the last thing a house member wants to do is vote for something that will die in the senate. these are all the things, i'm explaining to you all the different things that members of congress are looking at right now. ultimately this is going to get done. we can oversensationallize and freak out in washington, d.c., what we have tendency to do but this is going to get done. stuart: look, i don't -- when it is going to get done. >> it will get done. stuart: you can't, it will get done. everything else is put off and

delayed. if you're spending months getting something done on obamacare -- >> i don't think it will be months. they're very close. stuart: are you sure of that. >> i can't assure of anything in life. i honestly think this will get done very soon. i don't think speaker paul ryan will bring it to the floor unless they have the votes. he realizes a defeat on the floor look as heck of a lot worse than just simply delaying the vote. this will get done. i wouldn't be surprised for some reason they can't get it done during the work week this week, hold people over this ultimately is going to get done. there is no point in rushing it. a lot of members have a lot of different considerations regarding their districts. these are the conversations people are having. stuart: i'm becoming the most unpopular guy on the program. >> not to me, stuart. even if you disagree with me, i still like you. stuart: in which case you can come back. lisa, thank you very much indeed. >> all right, stuart. stuart: next case, dan holler, action for america

vice president who is vehemently against the bill i'm sure but let me repeat my editorial at the top of the hour, i'm sure you heard it. i would rather have this bill now than no bill at all because i don't want to see the first legislative effort by the president, the first legislative effort by the republican party go down to defeat. that is my case. >> stuart, what i would say to you we don't want to see the first legislative effort by president trump and by the republican congress result in higher premiums for the american people. that is ultimately what this is about. are we going to pass a bill that keeps premiums high because we don't want to repeal obamacare's regulatory structure or take our time, get it right, make sure the bill we pass, that republicans run on in 2018 and president trump runs on in 2020 -- stuart: that is what it is all about? you're prepared to refute the president, refute the republican party leadership, turn down this bill on the grounds that you

think it will not lower premiums? >> stuart, this bill leaves obamacare's regulatory arc it being ture in place. that is what is driving premiums up so high. if we don't get that fix, premiums will remain high. i don't want to see president trump campaigning in 2020, i repealed obamacare and replaced it with something great and american people look at premiums, say, no you didn't. this is still awful. that is the worst policy and the worst politics. stuart: wait a minute. earlier this morning we had senator mike lee on the show. he is adamantly opposed to this bill. i said it takes away mandates. he says no, it does not take a way mandates. there is stillman date you have to have this particular kind of coverage. look, can't you adjust that in phase two? can't you just wait and adjust it in phase two? he said yes, we don't want to spend the time waiting. i don't find that a particular attractive argument. i'm quite prepared to wait to change that mandate if it means getting a yes vote now.

not you? >> stuart, secretary price can only do so much. he can only use authority given to him by obamacare. he has to operate within the confines of obamacare, even under this bill paul ryan will put on the floor. that means that premiums will still be too high. we want to make sure premiums go low. if it takes a little bit longer to get the policy right in this bill, that is worth waiting for. stuart: okay. if push comes to shove and right up -- i know you're laughing, you know what's coming, right up to the very last second, the voting has begun, and you would say vote no if i don't get that 20% that is, we want in that bill? , push comes to shove, you would vote no, would you? >> stuart, on the bill that paul ryan has right now, it should be voted down if he is not willing to make changes to it. stuart: you would say no? you say no? you would? >> stuart, president trump and the republican congress should not have their name on a bill that keeps health care premiums

high. we want to do the right thing and get premiums low. if it takes extra week to do that, that is okay. we can still do tax reformulater this summer. there is plenty of time to get these things done. it will be worse off, the country will be worse off, republicans will be worse off if we don't get health care right and actually drive down these premiums. stuart: can you guarranty if you say no today, and it goes on for example whatever length of time, you will guarranty we will get tax reformulater this summer, yeah? >> stuart, i think if we get health care done right there is a lot of momentum heading into tax reform. tax reform is incredibly important thing. stuart: i think you're -- >> we also need to take, we also need to get to health care premiums up. stuart: you destroy the momentum. if you fail your first test, you have destroyed your momentum. >> passing bad policy with president trump's name on it is failing the test. that is what we need to stop. stuart: only you think it is bad policy? >> no, stuart. it is not.

a whole bunch much conservative health care policy experts around the country think it is wrong way to do it. not just conservative groups. not just a handful of conservative members. there is a lot of consensus around the conservative health care policy community that this bill with will not drive premiums and leave obamacare's regulatory structure in place. stuart: i'm still the most unpopular person on this program. you're smiling about that. dan holler, thank you very much indeed. it's a good debate. we appreciate you being with us. >> thank you. stuart: get back to your money as in technology stocks, okay? first of all apple and microsoft, both of them are, they're lifted the nasdaq yesterday. where are they today? i'm not quite sure. i can't tell on the screen. tech stocks are still at an all-time high or very, very close. check that big board now. we're moving up a little bit. not sure why. maybe somebody said something about a vote count that looks

positive. maybe. that is what the market is watching. we're up 25 points as we speak. how about this? a story that could involve north korea. $81 million theft and federal reserve the united states of america is involved in all of this. full story. ♪

♪ ashley: now this. negotiations over the republican health care bill are underway, we know that stuart says the deal is better than no deal at all. senator mike lee disagrees. roll tape. >> what we need is a bill that repeals all of obamacare and brings about cost controls so that we bring down the cost of health care which has spiked sharply in the last seven years since obamacare was enacted. this bill doesn't do that. we need something that does that. now this bill can be changed. it can be reformed in a way that will bring about those necessary adjustment to the health care market place but we have to make sure we get this right. look, seven years ago today, obamacare passed. republicans have been campaigning against it ever since then. we have to make sure we follow all the way through with this punch and we get it right.

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stuart: modest gain, i will call it very modest indeed. 30 points up for the dow industrials. everybody, and his brother are telling me to relax. ashley: yes. >> relax! stuart: i am indeed a little up tight about this vote today. ashley: a little? stuart: yes, a little.

look at this. i got this text, relax. liz: who is that from? stuart: a friend. ashley: a friend. stuart: relax. trump is using the whole day to negotiate. that's why he is such a good negotiator. he can't cave now. he still has the day. ashley: that's a good point. stuart: okay. so relax, relax. ashley: don't go down the road. stuart: you don't get a yes vote by the end of the day, we're in the show tomorrow morning, that market, are you going to doubt me on this? that market pose straight down. that market goes straight down. ashley: you're right. stuart: stop yawning. liz: your anxiety over tax cuts is preexisting condition. stuart: people think i want a tax cut for me personally. i want a tax cut to make this country produce produce again. liz: yes. stuart: i want to see growth, tax cut, grow the prosperity. liz: you know why democrats you don't get growth to have the tax revenue to pay for all entitlement programs you love. stuart: you sound like me with

an american accent. i shall relax. mercedes schlapp is with me. she will relax me. thank you very much. >> my 10-year-old would say chill lax. which is chill with relax. stuart: i remember having a 10-year-old many, many years ago. >> there you go. stuart: i don't know whether you heard my editorial. >> oh, yes. stuart: give me a vote and it has to be a yes vote. i would rather have a yes vote on this than nothing at all. what say you? >> i say you're right. i think they do, republicans need to come together, you know, figure out this family dispute between these lingering questions that are in this health care bill and vote forward and move forward on the bill in the house. everyone is panicked about today. the vote has to be today. the vote does not have to be do today. it would be ideal today. i think they will definitely

have a vote before the easter break. gives them a couple more breaks to hash this out. i think we're out of place, stuart. they're getting closer. he seeing people move, republicans who have been in the no category slowly shifts to maybe, maybe yes. i do have to say that congressman mark meadows really has stood strong in saying we need to make necessary changes to this bill to get it to a good place. we all agree that obamacare is failing. we all agree that we need to repeal it and we need to replace it. so i think they're moving forward with these provisions and these little details that need to be agreed upon. i'm telling you, you're worried about the house. i would say you better worried about the senate. stuart: i'm worried about senate as well, for sure. wait a second, if president trump is negotiating right now with the freedom caucus, there is a lot of give-and-take here, if president trump bend too far towards the conservatives annoys the moderates, who may then say, i don't like this new version either.

at some point, probably sooner the better, got to get them all together just pass this thing. >> that's true. that is actually the biggest challenge for speaker paul ryan, if you move the bill too much to the right you have a chance of losing those moderates. let me tell you that conservative coalition is strong. i think where moderates are calm, the fact there is refundable tax credits which they like. conservative don't like. if you look at the medicaid expansion that is sticking.on both sides of the aisle. moderates want the transition to move slower. you want conservatives pushing that end of medicaid expansion quicker. they have to come to a middle ground. stuart: yes. >> you can't move it to quickly for medicaid expansion. republican governors don't want that to happen. you can't leave poor people out to dry. it is important that the transition is flawless and move and make it a bill that is

conservative enough but at the same time it's, the freedom caucus will not be 100% happy with where this bill will end up. stuart: mercedes, you heard me read out the text from a viewer who said, look, relax, relax, president trump has the whole day to negotiate. that is why he is such a good negotiator. we got a subsequent message from the same viewer, who now says, that is why you, stuart varney, are not a good negotiator. you show your hand. really the most unpopular guy on this entire program, am i not? >> no. not at all. i think you're saying what needs to be said which is that the political capital right now of the republicans is at its highest. if they show they can not govern. if they do not deliver legislative victory for president trump, it becomes problematic. do we need to address problems and premiums don't continue to rise? do we need a replacement for obamacare? absolutely. this is the legislative process. they have to include amendments.

have to ensure all voices both conservative and moderate voices are heard helping to create this bill, shaping this bill and somehow there has to come to a point there is a middle ground where it is about compromise, a key word out there. stuart: come to that point now, ladies and gentlemen! around vote yes now, get on with it! >> am i not happening on stuart varney's timeline. i can assure you stuart, it will happen. stuart: you're on tape saying that. >> i'm confident. i am confident. i think it will pass the house. remember when you this by the senate. stuart: hard break, they're killing me. got to go. her sides sees, thanks. >> -- mercedes, thanks. >> thank you, stuart. stuart: freedom caucus heading back over to the white house, with the president trump, the deal-maker-in-chief. more "varney" after this.e' ashley: we'll see. r. i've found a permanent escape from monotony.

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not passed, don't throw up your hands and call it a bust. give them a chance to work it out. all right, ash, liz, my opinion is very clean cut on this one. i would rather have this bill than no bill. that is what i want to see. am i so wrong? ashley: i'm very frustrated by the whole thing, they have had, seven, eight years, to pet this right. here we are, with the more conservative members of the republican party saying let's just scrap it all start again. really? after seven plus years, you can't get on the same page? it is very frustrating. stuart: throw it out again. i say pass this bill rather than no bill at all. ashley: anything is better obamacare. stuart: are you with me on this? ashley: yeah. liz: you have to do it you don't get tax reform they're both linked. obamacare reform is linked to tax reform. stuart: i'm going to editorialize on this on the program today. so be warned, everyone. we'll be back.

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stuart: without being flippant, you have to say this is sausage-making day. it's the day when the president and the republican party wheel, deal and horse trade on the plan to replace obamacare. this puts people off politics. carveout toes, side deals. you get this if you vote this way, or your district gets that project that you've been pushing for. it's ugly. we want to reform the disastrous obamacare, not fire up the congressional spoils machine. but that's the way things get done in congress. it is the way things have always been done. do you remember the wheeling and dealing by president johnson to bring in the great society? do you remember the deals nancy pelosi, harry reid and president obama had to make to pass obamacare in the first place? now, that was sausage making and, yes, it was ugly. no difference this time around. throughout the day you'll be getting updates on the vote count. later we'll find out what it

took the swing the vote. who got what? so sit back and look at it this way: getting rid of eight years of irresponsible messing with america's health care will not be easy. it will not be pretty, but it is very necessary. the third hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ stuart: on your screens right now, that is an all-star lineup that we have for you this hour. look at them. but first, get to your must mon. check your big board. now we're up 40 points higher. could it be people believe maybe we'll have a yes voted today? i'm not saying that, but maybe something's said something -- somebody's said something to raise that mark up a little.

look at the huge technology companies, always very close to all-time highs. a mixed bag this morning. facebook, amazon both of them on the upside. how about the home builders? we got nice numbers on new home sales earlier today. and the home builders are moving up this morning. how about the health unsurers? this is all -- insurers? this is all about the health care vote today, assuming there is a vote today. it's a mixed bag amongst the health insurers and drug companies, all of them. let me bring in republican from alabama, congressman mo brooks. congressman, welcome to the program. good to see you, sir. >> my pleasure. stuart: i know that you're about to leave for the white house, you've just held a meeting of the freedom caucus. can you tell us how many members of the freedom caucus are now sort of saying, all right, i can vote yes? can you tell me? >> well, i can tell you that there's still enough to where the bill would not pass if there were a bill at this moment, and

quite frankly, we need some significant changes to the legislation. by way of example, it's been marketed to the american people that we're going to repeal obamacare with the result being that premiums are going to go down on health insurance. i don't know if you're aware of this, but the republican welfare bill that is before us according to taxation and the congressional budget office is actually going to increase health insurance premiums by 15-20% over the next two years. that's not what the american people want. stuart: i've got it, but what's the trend among members? is it inching towards, okay, we can vote for this, or is it an absolute, dead no? >> there have been no changes in the bill that are significant enough to move any votes that i'm aware of. if there are senate -- significant changes that will decrease the cost of health insurance premiums for american people, that's a big plus, and i think this legislation would pass. but as long as you're looking at senate increases in health insurance premiums because of the flaws in this legislation, you're not going to get

conservatives to move against the american people like we're being asked to do. stuart: so you would vote no. push comes to shove, last minute, here it is, you would vote no and kill it. you would do that? >> well, i want a repeal of obamacare, and this bill doesn't repeal obamacare -- stuart: you would vote no? >> as the bill stands right now -- stuart: i'm sorry to interrupt you, i know you've got to go. if you vote no, then you end president trump's first foray into legislative affairs, you end the republican party's first attempt the pass legislation as runs the house and the senate, you walk away from this first attempt at legislation. you're prepared to do that? >> i don't believe that what you're saying, at least the two parts that you began with, are accurate. this battle will go on and, hopefully, what we would then do is pass the exact same obamacare repeal bill that the republican house and the republican senate passed so easily just two years ago.

that's what we ought to be doing. set the date at which the bill is effective sometime in the future so we have a window in which we can implement constructive changes that will actually force down the cost of health care premiums. this bill does not do that x that's critical to what the american people want. and right now you're looking at a 15-20% increase in the cost of health care premiums according to the cbo and the joint committee on taxation. stuart: okay. >> it's even worse if we pass bad legislation are than if we pass no legislation at all. stuart: okay, congressman. it's a great debate, and we hear you, and i know you're going to hold very similar views when you walk across the street to the white house moments from now. thanks for joining us. >> my pleasure. stuart: let's talk money now. the health care bill, let's talk about money, chapwood investments, ed is the guy. welcome to the program. >> thank you, stuart. stuart: my contention is that if we get a no vote today or if there is no vote at all -- >> right.

stuart: -- tomorrow morning that market plunges. you say what? >> it could very well. this is like eating hagges. the bottom line is nothing is going to happen that everyone's going to love, but the collateral damage to this administration is going to be enormous. and people don't understand outside the beltway, you know, how much damage is being done to this president who are republicans. they need to pass this, get on the same page, and it needs to happen because there's a lot more work to get done. he just made a very good point, they should have been talking about that. whatever it is, they've got to get this thing passed. i agree, stuart, if we don't get it passed today or a no vote, we do see that market open much lower. stuart: well, let me ask the other side of the coin. if we do get a yes vote today or late tonight, early tomorrow morning, does the market straight up? >> and it could, but this is priced into the market. people believe when you have full control of the executive office and, you know, senate and the entire congress, you will

get things passed. this just shows complete disarray in the republican party, and it's wrong. stuart: okay. thanks, ed. hold on a second. >> absolutely. stuart: press secretary sean spicer, he says tax reform will happen this year. watch this. >> wall street appears to be getting a little nervous about the possibility of tax reform this year. can you say definitively that the president will present a package of tax reforms this year? >> yes. stuart: there you have it. he just comes right out and says yes. >> i like it. stuart: well, he has to say that, because if he were to say, well, maybe we'll get around to it, you can't say that. >> also look how much troubleet ng rid of something that is basically just a pile of you know what, right? stuart: yes, exactly. >> imagine to have to get tax reform and getting all the different parties to fight off schumer and all those people, it is going to be a very difficult thing. they'd better get on to it quickly because if we get it

done, $500 billion of revenue go directly to the bottom line of the s&p 500 companies. we don't do it, this market tanks. stuart: and if we delay doing it -- >> same thing. stuart: -- that's as good as not doing it at all. >> without question. it's going to get done at some point, but if it doesn't get done this year, we have got ourselves a whole mess of trouble. stuart: real fast question. >> sure. stuart if it's a no vote and the market does, indeed, go down tomorrow morning, a lot of people on this program have said that's a buying opportunity. >> no, not at all. anybody who says that has -- you have to look at what the reason the market would go down. you're going to hit different spots where computer trades kick in, and if you see this market go down, do not try to bottom fish because this market is priced for perfection. we are 28% overvalued, stuart, and that means everything has to happen the way it's been laid out. this is the highest overvaluation in the market since 1987, and people need to understand that. if these things don't happen, this market goes down, and don't

try to bottom fish. stuart: ed tells it how he sees it, and we appreciate it. good stuff. now, back to the terror attack in london literally 24 hours ago. an american was one of -- >> yes. just been identified, 54-year-old kurt cochran, one of the people killed on westminster bridge. he was visiting europe with his wife as part of their 25th wedding anniversary, he has been identified as one of the victims. his wife survived with a broken leg. about the suspect himself who was shot and killed, he's british-born, had been investigated by mi5 in the u.k., but they believed he was just a peripheral figure. they say, listen, we try and trace more than 2,000 potential violent 'em extremists. he was not considered one of them. but we do know there's been arrests made overnight, some eight arrests, four in birmingham in the british midlands, that is where we now know he hired the car that he used in yesterday's carnage as

well. stuart: 2,000 people -- >> yep, have been identified as extremists. stuart: you cannot cover, cannot follow 2,000 people with the work force -- >> don't have the resources. stuart: you don't have it. can't do it. >> and this person, just to make the point, wasn't even on that list. stuart: all right, ashley, thanks. check out sears, please. we were down bigtime on the stock yesterday, we bounced back 2% today. we put them on death watch, by the way. the stock is higher this morning, should tell you that. later this hour we're going to be joined by matt shea, the president of the national retail federation. retail in a lot of trouble, and now they're fighting and facing a border tax not popular with them. next up, formerhhs secretary kathleen sebelius, how does she feel now that her tenure has been essentially erased? stay with us. but first, remember when bill clinton said this? >> so you've got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have health

care, and then the people are out there busting sometimes 60 hours a week wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half. it's the craziest thing in the world. at angie's list, we believe there are certain things you can count on, like what goes down doesn't always come back up.

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stuart: in case you missed it, the dow industrials are now very close to the high of the day. moments ago we were up 70 points, literally in the last 15, 20 minutes we have gone straight up. we're trying to find out if someone has said something about the obamacare vote today. we can't find any definitive statement from anybody which suggests we're going to get a yes vote. we have not seen that. i'm looking for what has moved that market up 67 points on the dow. now we're back above 20,700. left-hand side of your screen, the white house, of course, we're waiting for the arrival of the freedom caucus members who are due to arrive very, very shortly for a negotiating session with president trump. that would be interesting.

let's see how that standoff comes about and how it turns out. i'm sure they'll face the cameras afterwards. right now 68 points higher for the dow industrials, waiting for the freedom caucus to arrive at the white house. next case, we're joined now by the -- i'm sorry? i'm sorry, i'm just trying to get to grips here. okay, now we're up 72 points. you've been looking at the computers here. have you seen anything -- >> no. i'm looking desperate hi to see what someone may have said that has given the market a little more of a boost. stuart: i wonder if it's a reaction to the guest that we've had on our program who say it doesn't matter if you don't get a vote today, pretty soon we will get obamacare fixed. >> i'm not so sure that's what the markets want to hear. i've got to be honest with you, stu, i think that's a stretch. stuart: i think the markets want to hear a straight yes, that's my opinion. >> i think they're going to defensive plays right now. tech stock action, fourth

quarter came in really strong. it's a defensive play right now. stuart: they've already gone up astronomically. >> yeah, that's right. stuart: look at this, now the dow is up 80 points. i should tell you that speaker ryan was due to hold a press conference and answer questions at 11:00 this morning, 15 minutes ago. that was put off. he's now made an appointment at 3:30 eastern time this afternoon. is there any significance in putting off that timing? >> no, i don't think so. i think as we just heard from the freedom caucus group, there has been no changes to the health care bill, so what is he going to talk about? wait until they actually make some progress, and then -- he's buying time, essentially, by pushing it back to 3:30. stuart: he is. >> that's all he's doing. stuart: i don't think they'll start to vote, they will not call for a vote until speaker ryan knows he's got the yes votes that he needs. >> i know people have been coming on the show saying,

roadway lax, stuart, i think the markets are treading water because that tax reform bill is at stake right now. the two bills do overlap. they want to get both through budget reconciliation. this is a deaf is sit reduction -- deficit reduction measure. they've got to come together on obamacare and tax reform. stuart: look at out go. now we're up 84 points. i'm watching that thing go straight up, looks and looking and looking for something from the health care debate, some kind of nuance, and i can't find it. the market is up 84 points on the dow jones industrial average. quickly, let's deal with a couple of individual stocks in the news not necessarily moving that much, but certainly in the news. look at starbucks, please. they're going to hire for veterans. >> yeah. you know what happened is starbucks almost started -- well, did start a boycott called hashtag boycott starbucks when they said we're going to hire 10,000 refugees. people got really mad. ashley pointed out, hey, what about poor people in this country? what about veterans?

people with kids who are out of work? to is they're saying, you know what? we're going to open the number of vets and military spouses we hire, we're going to hire 15,000 more of them, we already hired 10,000 of them. stuart: $56 per share, dow industrials up 76 points. i just want to go out to the break with this, okay? on a heavy news day, let me show you this. a 3-year-old girl, she is from atlanta, georgia. she's in rome. she gets to meet the pope. wait for it? [laughter] as the pope leans in to give her a kiss, the girl grabs his hat. >> that was her first day in rome. her parents are saying, what is she going to do on the second day? [laughter] stuart: moments from now, we're expecting to see the members of the freedom caucus, that's a negotiating session and a half. and then later, we'll have kathleen sebelius on the show. the news is coming thick and fast. we're on it. stay with us, please. ♪ ♪ ♪

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>> but we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it away from the fog of the controversy. stuart: maybe we shouldn't have done that, but who could forget nancy pelosi telling voters, you've got to pass obamacare to find out what is in it. kathleen sebelius joins us now, former health and human services secretary under president obama. ma'am, welcome to the program. good to see you. >> thanks, stuart. good to be with you. stuart: you cannot be happy about what's going on. you are obamacare. you introduced it. you brought it in, and now it's being wiped out. i know this is somewhat of a personal question, but you can't be happy right now. >> well, actually, my family and i have great health coverage, we always have. i'm now part of the medicare generation, and, you know, i'm in a single-payer government plan which works, actually,

extremely well. i'm very worried about the 20 million people who are now enjoying health benefits and health financial security that they've never had before, and they are absolutely terrified about what is likely to happen to them and their families. stuart: are you, are you upset? i know this is a very personal question, but are you upset? because you labored for years and years and years to get this thing going, and now it's going to disappear. >> well, i think we're a long way from disappearing. think what you're seeing right now is having made 51 voteses in the house, republican -- votes in the house, republican members are now grappling with what it is that they are going to do, how they are going to fulfill donald trump's campaign promises that everyone will have insurance, which he said over and over again, and it will be better and cheaper. nothing in this bill meets those goals, and i think that that's why you're seeing a huge debate.

are they just going to wipe out insurance for 24 million people, 14 million next year? are they going to raise premiums? are they going to go back to the old days where insurance companies could pick and choose who gets coverage? take away benefits from people? i think they are grappling with the real issues that are life and death for many, many people. this isn't a basketball game, this is about health benefits. stuart: but you could say there is great difficulty in unwinding eight years of intense regulation and government involvement in health care. that's never going to be easy. i have to ask you, why does the government have to be so involved? i mean, the launch of even just the web site wasa disaster. why should we hand over any element of health care to the government? >> well, stuart, maybe you haven't been paying attention to

how americans get their health coverage, but 70 million americans now are involved in medicaid programs, a federal-state government partnership offering insurance to lower income americans, to disabled americans -- stuart: yeah, it's out of control. >> 50 million people are in medicare -- well, that is absolutely not true. stuart: it's not sustainable. >> both government programs -- stuart, both the government programs operate at a far lower cost than any of the private health plans, far lower administrative costs, better benefits and lower per capita costs. so if we want to actually save money, having the government run everything might be the way to go. the president chose to try and have the private sector fill in this gap of individuals who purchase their own coverage and and make it look like the coverage that people -- [inaudible] when they work for an employer. stuart: is that basically the

democrats' health care policy, single payer just like the british national health care service or canada's system? that's where you want to go? >> clearly, it's not. clearly, it's not. the president chose not to disrupt the millions -- stuart: i'm asking about democrats. is that where the democrats want to go? >> the democrats passed this bill. clearly not. but if the private market can't sustain competition and offer insurance coverage to folks and if the republicans refuse to regulate the private market in a way that people will have health benefits regardless of their health conditions, then i think we will be in a situation where the private market will collapse. stuart: okay. we shall see. kathleen sebelius, thank you very much for being with us today on a very important day. we appreciate it, ma'am, thank you. i was waiting for her to respond, i'm not quite sure, i think the secretary said thanks very much. [laughter] check that big board, we are now

up 74 points on the dow jones industrial average and, by the way, you're looking at financial stocks. very nice rebound after yesterday. >> yeah, as you can see, up more than 2%. stuart: we've been grappling with this, why has the market gone up? >> no specific reason. >> it's interesting -- sorry, go ahead. >> i'm just saying i think the sum of all the parts, you know? the financial stocks, disney helping to push higher with bob iger getting a contract extension, and we're seeing a nice -- i don't think this is related to health care at this point, because that still remains very uncertain. >> goldman sachs moving higher, also watch this, the russell 2000 coming back now, and the russell was really hurting, those small caps that get hit by no reforms coming new because they're domestic companies, they need tax reform. the russell is popping, they're outpacing s&p gains right now. stuart: have we got this breaking news? >> yeah. politico reporting that the u.s. state department will approve the permit for the keystone xl

oil pipeline by monday. stuart: by monday. >> by monday. so it's on the fast track. stuart: oil is at $47 per barrel, and the trans corporation which makes it right there. okay, a little confusion with all this news coming at us, and i still don't have the definitive word on the obamacare repeal votes that is probably going to come up later on today. meetings in the white house about to start, the freedom caucus is there. this is last minute negotiations. and look who's here, after all, it is thursday, it's dan henninger from "the wall street journal," deputy editor of the editorial page. dan, welcome to the program. >> good to be with you. stuart: okay, where do we start here? i say -- [laughter] maybe you'll want to disagree with me, i say better this bill, pass it, this bill must be passed, better that than a no vote today. >> oh, i completely agree with that, stuart. i think a no vote is virtually unthinkable. i mean, that little green arrow pointing up on the stock market

is going to turn beet red if they turn this bill down. i don't think there's any question about it, because it impacts the president's ability to get the tax reform bill through after this. or even the infrastructure bill. stuart: with any sense of timing. >> with any sense of timing at all. so the question is, is the freedom caucus going to be the tail that wags the entire dog of the trump presidency. is and one reason i think the markets are still up is no one can believe these guys are going to be responsible for handing such a monumental defeat to donald trump. stuart: how on earth would a congressman who says no to this and brings it down, how do you go back to your constituents -- many of whom voted for president trump -- how on earth do you say, well, i did what you wanted me to do? i mean, how -- that's impossible to me. >> no. i mean, their names will be enshrined as the people who basically kept in place what kathleen sebelius was just describing, her president, president obama's, health care.

he'll go back to the status quo ante if that happens. there's no way they're going to repeal this bill without anything to put ahead of it. there is no plan b. stuart: what have you you got, ? >> we have the name of the london assailant, he was born in kent, most recently living in the west midlands. he's had a range of prior quiks for assault -- convictions nor assault. he's not been convicted for any terrorism offenses. stuart: but he was british-born. >> yes. stuart: he was born in kent, a southern county just outside of london. he was british born. i want to repeat what we told you earlier from germany. there we had the son of algerians who'd emigrated to germany, the son was involved in terrorist activities, born in germany, german citizen. he's out. even though he was born in germany, he's out. he's going back to algeria. same with the son of a nigerian

immigrant born in germany, involved in terror activities, he's out. he's going back to nigeria. that's what's happening there. >> new developments. stuart: i've got more on that in a second with nigel farage, but right now back the dan, who's still with us. congressman peter king says he's 99% certain that president trump was surveilled. listen to this. >> would i be wrong in saying that the obama administration surveilled the trump transition team? >> i would say from all i know, you're at least 99.5% accurate. and probably 100%. stuart: there you have it, dan henninger. is the president vindicated, president trump, is he vindicated? >> well, i don't think he's completely vindicated on the idea that they wiretapped trump tower, but fbi director comey has admitted there was an investigation going on for at least eight months and that they were looking at foreign

nationals, and devin nuñes has said, they incidentally picked up intercepts of conversations with some of the members of the trump campaign and possibly mr. trump himself. so i think we're still in this hall of mirrors with no clear idea of who was doing what to whom. but it's obvious that they have intercepted some sort of conversations involving members of the trump campaign team. stuart: and the president is going to take that as partial vindation. i think that -- >> wel i think he should take it as some. there's something going on, and why are these investigative agencies running around listening to people, you know, making these investigations with no real guidance? director comey and admiral rogers of the nsa did not make it clear what is the point of what they're doing. what is the target, what is the goal. and think at some point somebody -- and it doesn't look like the house intention committee is going to be able to do it -- i would nominate the incoming deputy attorney general rod rosenstein to call these

people in, get this ferrell on his -- material on his table and say what do you have, where are you going with this. stuart: i think the whole, i think our politics has been sidetracked by all of this. >> absolutely. stuart: i got it, it's important, but the rest is far more important. plans to grow the economy, return to prosperity, the stock market rally, the tax cuts coming and the obamacare vote that's probably going to take place today. we've been sidetracked from all of that. that's important. >> and something bad is going on here. i think public confidence in the intelligence community is being seriously damaged by this, and we need a good intelligence community, and they themselves are bringing this lack of credibility on to themselves with this open-ended investigation that seems to be leading nowhere. stuart: we need dan henninger on a thursday morn being on "varney & company." you're all right. thank you very much, sir. totally different subject but which we've expounded upon many, many times in this program, that repail ice age.

clearly, the retail industry is being significantly challenged. jc penny, macy's both downsizing. sears, kmart, they say they can't survive. maybe they can't survive. payless shoe store going bankrupt. joining us now is matt shea, national retail federation's ceo. welcome to the program. >> thank you, stuart. nice to be with you. stuart: so now you're going to go into a meeting with president trump, and this is all about the border tax. the border tax is the last thing any retailer wants, and you've already got these other problems on your plate. are you in a crisis? >> i'd say we're in a period of rapid transformation and serious evolution. i saw a chart this week that showed that the public announcements of store closings just from the first of this year are close to 4,000 stores being closed. if you add all these up, close to 40 or 50,000 people. that's substantial, and i think it represents the rapid digital transformation, the impact of technology that's happening, changing consumer preferences. i think we have to put that in a context though. the retail industry's the

largest private sector employer in the united states, employs 42 million americans, 2.6 million retail establish9ments. what we're hearing is noteworthy and substantial, and it's important we find ways to take care of those people, repurpose the real estate, keep those businesses ongoing if it can be salvaged. i think we have to put it in perspective -- stuart: but you are going to go to president trump, i think it's today, right? >> well, the health care meeting is today, and then we've got some folks in town walking around on capitol hill, various other places -- stuart: and you're going to put it straightforward to the president, don't, please, give us retailers a border tax, because it's going to kill us. you're going to say that. >> we will say that. this is bad for consumers,ed bad for the economy, bad for the people that voted for the president and for those republican members of the house and senate. they didn't vote for a tax increase. this is a $1 trillion increase in taxes on consumers in this country on everything they buy, automobiles, gasoline, drug, clothes, food, everything they buy is going to cost more.

and i think the most, the biggest myth about this is that we need border adjust arement tax to do tax reform. we do not. in fact, the tax foundation which has scored this and supports if overall tax reform plan has said the border adjustment tax component is anti-growth. it's the other components that are bro-growth -- pro-growth. we do not need border adjustment tax to get a tax bill done, and we shouldn't let anyone tell us that. stuart: matt shea, you'll put your case forcefully, i'm sure of that. >> will do. stuart: thanks for being with us. i want to get a back to the terror attack right outside the british parliament building yesterday in london. look who's here. nigel farage joins us right now. first off, it's 24 hours since that attack took place. what is the mood of the british people right now? >> well, in a sense, i mean, london is remarkably calm, you know? people put up with this stuff. they get on with their lives. they don't want the terrorists

to win. but i would say this to you, we've had speeches today from all the leading mainstream political figures. we've had a lot said on, you know, our traditional liberal media, and they're all saying the country is more united than it's ever been. well, in one way, yes, people are getting on with their lives, but i actually genuinely believe that we are reaching a point in this country and, indeed, in many other countries in europe, you know, belgium, france or germany where we're beginning to ask questions, all of us, you know? why has this been allowed to happen? why when anybody talks about being strict about immigration are we met with protest in the street? why have we not dealt with multiculturalism and division in our societies? and i really think a lot of people are now saying, actually, it's these politicians that have caused this problem in the first place. stuart: nigel, i'm reading

between the lines, and what i'm hearing is that the british people and europeans in general are beginning to question muslim immigration. and i think there are some quarters which say stop it, all of it, right now. am i right? >> oh, no, you're right. there was a big piece of research by chatham house, an independent institute in this city, and they went to ten of the biggest european countries, and seven out of ten -- by clear majorities -- wanted the end all muslim immigration immediately on the basis we already have a problem with home-grown terrorism, why on earth would you add to it by bringing people in, you know, from afghanistan or syria or pakistan or whenevet have the ability -- we don't have the ability to vet them? public attitudes are hardening. i sense the gulf between politicians, liberal media and genuine public opinion on this question has probably never been wider. stuart: i've seen some video

from london, from the yesterday where people in the street are shouting or what are you doing here, why are you in my country. that suggests to me that you're pretty close to a boiling point. are we? be. >> yes, and that worries me hugely. and it worries me because, you know, any opinion poll will show you that 80% of the three million muslims living in britain actually want to integrate, want their kids to play football in the street with the other kids in the street, and my fear is that the public having virtually given up on our politician ands perhaps even our police forces in dealing with this start to take things into their own hands. and the ultimate disaster would be that we alienate the 80% of people, you know, muslim people. we've got to try and get them on our side. but, i mean, look, you know, we've turned a blind eye to mass sexual exploitation in the north of england, we've completely

turned a blind eye to the fact that there are muslim communities in our cities where no one speaks english. there is a lot to be done and real questions being asked about our leadership. stuart: nigel farage, thank you for joining us. see you again soon. the president, by the way, president trump meeting right now with the freedom caucus in the white house. that's going on as we speak. next up former hhs deputy secretary and former lullly usa president alex azar. he's got a lot to say about health care. ♪ ♪

>> i'm nicole petallides. after five days of selling in the dow, it could have been six. we're up 75 points led by financials, also the russell, these are some areas that have been beaten down as we focus on the health care bill. here's a look at some of the winners and losers on the dow up 73 points right now, the s&p 500 is up 8. nike, goldman sachs, don't forget nike had numbers yesterday but bouncing back some. coca-cola, intel, new home sales were revised higher, the home builders are higher along with this. disney extended bob iger's

contract to july of 2019, and you can see disney at 112.67. pbh, that's the parent of calvin klein, tommy hilfiger, a great outlook, and that is a winner, up 8.5%. start it here on fox business, fbn a.m., lauren simonetti and i will see you there.

>> if you can't get phase one through, do you think phase two's going to happen, phase

three's going to happen? stuart: look, it's up to you to fix because policy. >> no, it's not. >> i'm just explaining all the different things members of congress are looking at right now. >> i respectfully but very strongly disagree with you. stuart: come to that point now, ladies and gentlemen, and vote yes now -- >> well, it might not happen, it might not happen on stuart varney's timeline -- stuart: i'm becoming the the most unpopular guy on this entire program. may i restate my position at risk of being -- >> again? stuart: yes, again. [laughter] i say get the deal done, do it now, vote yes because that is much better than a no vote. you're still arguing? >> i agree with you. >> we're with you. stuart: yes. >> they tweaked obamacare after the fact. stuart: just get it done. the repercussions of a no vote are catastrophic, in my opinion. why don't we bring in foreman

health and human services deputy secretary and former lily usa president alex azar are. all right, alex, am i right or am i right? [laughter] a vote yes is better than a vote no? >> i agree with you, stuart, actually. i think that once they get the votes here, they ought to pass this and get it over to the senate where the real action is going to happen. i honestly don't know what a lot of the concerns are about from the freedom caucus at this point. this is, from a conservative free market perspective, this repeal legislation is quite bold. the changes to medicaid are historic. stuart: yes. >> the tax repeals are mammoth. and this is a starting point. this is not the end. any vote today or tomorrow is not the end. it goes to the senate, and they've got to get to 50 votes there. so i'm not sure why one delays the recipe is here, this is an excellent free market, conservative approach to health care that i think we ought to

get on with and see what can be done in the senate. stuart: i think the conservatives have established a very strong negotiating position. they've got a great deal of leverage because they're the ones who are standing in the way of a yes vote. they've got most to gain from the horse trading to get them to vote yes. so out may be -- i'm not going to say posturing, i'm going to say a good negotiating tactic to hold out til the very last minute. i think that's what's going on. what to you say? >> but you know, stuart? to my friends in the freedom caucus, i would caution be careful about the rhetoric because this legislation, when it does pass the house, is as conservative as it will ever be, because it'll come out of the house, and it will not get more conservative or more free market in the united states senate. to get to 50 votes, mitch mcconnell is going to be working to make deals with individual senators to appease their concerns, and they are going to have more money in medicaid, more money in subsidies, more that way than

something passes, it's going to come back over to the house, and then it's going to be must-pass kind of legislation, and they're going to -- a lot of people, that's what legislation is, left-right. you're gone to be holding your nose voting for things that are 80/20, but you'll have had your relate are rick about how god awful the obamacare-lite legislation is, and it is not that. stuart: you were deputy secretary at hhs. you know what's going on here. >> yes. stuart: am i right in saying that the health and human services secretary, tom price, he can make changes to obamacare and make changes to the whole health care system in phase two? thatthatthat is easily done, yot have to go through congress. the health and human services secretary can do it phase two, am i right? >> you are absolutely right. i was with secretary price last week, and let me assure you he is very focused on the fact that obamacare grants him over 1400

statutory discretionary authorities. and he intendses to use as many of those as possible in phase two. stuart: it's fascinating. alex, thank you very much, indeed, for applying your expertise with us today, and thanks for agreeing with me. you're all right. [laughter] >> thank you, stuart. stuart yes, sir. you'll be back. thank you, sir. [laughter] oh, check this out, this is the first look inside a hyperloop transportation capsule. >> wow. stuart: kind of like the jetsons. [laughter] more on this, believe me. ♪ ♪

stuart: we're told this is the first look inside the hyperloop transportation sap call from hyperloop -- capsule from hype hollywood technologies. this first capsule set to be officially unveiled fully in 2018. there's a pod, you can see it on the left-hand side, that's all we've got. it's a pod, it will hold 28-40 passengers and will travel at 720 miles per hour.

>> that's pretty quick. stuart: i don't get that, you are heart goes -- >> g force, the whole thing. these are vacuum-sealed to pods which i'm presuming will prevent your lungsfrommenedding up in your -- end up in your ears if you go at these speeds. to your point -- stuart: does that work? you don't feel the g force? >> right. they certainly hope so. >> you're surrounded by a cushion of air. they're saying london to edinburgh in a half hour or san francisco to l.a. in half hour. stuart: i'll believe it when i see it, but they won't let you see this stuff going by outside. >> of cozy farm animals and rolling hills that are slowed down so your eyes don't to go crazy. stuart: can you put me down as a skeptic? >> oh, i think we know -- stuart: ffl ratings low, they're doing something about it. i think they're going to cut down the number of commercials? >> those are just going to try and speed up the game itself, there'll be a time clock, one of the suggestions, a time clock

after the extra point is made. in other words, you can't just lollly gag about. football is so much of people just walking around, to they'll take a commercial break. >> soccer, is it? >> soccer is nonstop -- stuart: thank you, ashley. i'm glad you pointed that out. anything else? >> because i hear that argument all the time. look, they're going to cut down commercials. however, commercials provide a lot of money to the nfl, so i don't know whether -- they will probably make changes to the game rather than mess too much with the commercials. >> i see how much soccer means to the heart of i you two brits, and i will never touch it again. [laughter] stuart: i have some important information for our viewers. sales at conagra -- [laughter] >> oh, no. [laughter] stuart: they make chef boy with around dee pasta, orville redenbacher's popcorn. i don't know what happened, it doesn't say on the prompter. just the sale of conagra.

the stock is up 20 cents. very important. [laughter] sales are are down, i'm reliably informed, but the stock is up. nike down big yesterday after reporting weak sales, back up 2% today, 55 on nike as we speak. i promise you, more "varney" after this. [laughter] yes? please repeat the objective. ♪ thrivent mutual funds. managed by humans, not robots. before investing, carefully read and consider fund objectives, risks, charges and expenses in the prospectus at thriventfunds.com. ifover time it canr fromlead to cavities and bad breath. that's why there is biotene, the # 1 dry mouth brand recommended by dentists. biotene. for people who suffer

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stuart: 60 seconds left on this program. favorite story. ashley webster. ashley: for the love of pod, just pass it. deal with the details later. a little pillow syesque. you know what having no deal is worse than a bad deal. stuart: thank you. we're in full agreement. >> you need to he relax. stuart: even if i went off on something. stuart: lighten itup, lizzie. >> the 3-year-old girl who pulled skullcap off the pope. that was percent day in rome

zuketti. neil cavuto. you got that? stuart: i'm so sure this little girl now is going to hell. didn't you fool that. of all people, who are you doing that too? thank you, my friend. we're following up on this and whether we get a health care rework to your point, stuart. everyone is focused on the ends justifying the means. even if it perfect better than it was. republicans are being urged to go along and kind of shut up on this one. obviously whatever deal-making, late night arrangements to make this more acceptable to folks the fact of the matter is right now it is essentially what the republican party was dealing with prior.