dagen: thanks to lea, kevin and steve and happy anniversary to lea's parents, love you all. that does it for us, varney & company, stuart. stuart: we will take it. dagen, thank you very much. remember this day december 20th, in a couple of hours the tax cut package will be on the president's desk. a long-time coming but it's done. good morning, everyone. start with the market, going up right from the opening bell. half hour from now, the dow will show a gain of, what, 97, 98, 100 points. this is interesting. it appears investors are not selling on the news that the tax deal is a done deal. we don't know how the market is going to close but it is green arrows when we start. the senate vote went strictly along party lines, 51 republicans said, yes, all 49

democrats said no. the house will have to vote on the deal again. it's a formality. biggest tax shake-up in generation. the winners, in my opinion, business, low-taxed states. wall street journal says it is a return of the politics of growth. democrats hate it, senator schumer says it's a disgrace, absolute disgrace. elizabeth warren calls it a tax heist and bernie sanders says it plays to the billionaire class, but it is a win for president trump, maybe that's what the left just can't stand and the president tweeting that he wants to hold a news conference this afternoon. today december 20th, 2017 historic, merry christmas, everyone. varney & company is about to begin. ♪ ♪ >> with further amendment, the tax cuts and job's act is

passed. stuart: bit more applause -- confetti, why not? we added that. not that much applause and cheers from exhausted senate last night that. was the scene on capitol hill when the bill passed the senate. for technical reasons the house has to vote again, as we said, that's a formality, politics and money is a very big day for both. stocks will be up at the opening bell and gary cohn, president trump's point guy on tax cuts, says that they are not even price intoed the stock market just yet. that's exactly what he just said. come in market watcher -- what's the name again? [laughter] stuart: i'm so excited. >> you should be. stuart: you have been right fore entire year, is this the start for another leg up for the stock market? >> yes, it is. the tax deal isn't done and hasn't been signed but it's done for the market, it's done deal, it's going higher. this is what the market is looking for.

plenty of momentum, the tax deal, wasn't a done deal till it's done, now it's pretty much done, it's going to get signed, momentum for the market. companies are going to save a lot of money, repatriation will get a lot of buybacks. stuart: you called it all, you've never backed off. all right, where are we going now? >> to the moon. stuart: 26, 27? >> 26 easy. we will see 25 by tend of this week if not today. 50, 40% gain in the market next year. that's pretty strong gain considering the gain that we've already had. market has momentum, earnings are there, there's nothing holding the market back. there are no serious headwinds. stuart: i want to bring liz and ash to confirm what i just said. he has been right. ashley: absolutely. stuart: guy on election day or the next day after, you were --

>> i was here on that day. stuart: straight up. liz: two dow stocks that are negative territory since the election, right, mercka and ge. the volatility is a calm market. since the beatles debuted on ed sullivan. [laughter] >> investor sentiment is high, volatility is low, they are happy and like the gains and power the gains higher by buying more. stuart: part of tax deal involves repatriation deal, a couple trillion back from overseas, where does the money go? >> into share repurchase. hundreds of billions to share repurchases which is another reason the market is going to go a lot higher. the next leg will be on the heels of the signing and second and third quarter we will have momentum.

liz: when companies expand they are doing it to create jobs, right? other companies, fedex, southwest, at&t are going the take the money from corporate tax cut and expand business. southwest said it's going to refresh airlines, at&t is going to plow money into 5g. it's not all buyback, right? ashley: that's huge. that's a big incentive. stuart: plus for building new plant or buy new equipment but repatriation money, i think, it's a disdistinct boost for shareholders. ashley: absolutely. to the market. >> also with the tax cuts, that takes time to work its way through the economy and into the prices of stocks. i think the share purchase programs are going to be announced on the heels of tax cut. it will give a boost. stuart: he said it, he said it many times. as i mentioned, the house will have to vote again. joining us from the white house blake berman. look, i think this is a formality, but tell us again, blake, why on earth we have to

go through this? >> paul ryan described it as bizarre senate rules earlier today, essentially when this house bill, remember they voted on it first yesterday, passed over to senate, the senate parliamentarian and now has to go back to the house. a formality at this point. the house will take this up soon. it's believed in noon hour or so. once they do, it will match with the senate and then it's done. all of this over that republicans have been talking about for years and decades and what this administration has been trying to get through for the first 11 months of this administration. then at some point will president will have to sign the bill, when he actually does that, remains an outstanding question. it's a possibility he waits until the beginning of 2018, he won't actually be able to physically do it for a few more days because of how large this bill is so it has to be enrolled, so maybe he does it down in mar-a-lago.

either way, we are expecting a celebration of some sort with the president. stuart: okay. we will be there when it happens, not necessarily on this show but certainly on the fox business network. blake berman, thanks very much, indeed. >> you got it. stuart: i'm a little confused here. i want to talk bitcoin. do we have peter smith? we do have him, okay. i thought he was running a little late. peter smith is the ceo and cofounder of block chain, that's the technology which people use to buy and celibate coin. peter, welcome to the program. >> thank you for having me. stuart: okay, are you coming to -- i think you have a slight delay. here we go. i want you to give us 20 seconds on how the block chain technology works, go. >> it's underlying protocol that enables you to do high-value transfers in low-trust environment and the way it's used today in the market is for digital car insurance ice.

stuart: you are the building block so to speak of crypto currencies. if bitcoin goes away, you're still there, is that accurate? >> that's probably true. we support really every major crypto currency and we really offer a platform for individuals and businesses to make use of digital currencies as long as the idea of digital currencies, underlying technology is a powerful idea that people are having value from will be there. stuart: you're not a public-traded company; is that correct? >> privately held. we have investors like google, but privately-held company. stuart: any intention on going public? >> some day, i think. right now the industry is pretty nasant and have a lot of work to do and customers to acquire before we go public. stuart: you charge fees to use your technology, is that how it works? >> that's right. we charge fees on trades in

between digital currencies and underlying transactions as well. stuart: okay, peter, i'm sorry to cut you short you like this but huge day for cuts and tax cuts but, peter, come back again and we will have you back, thanks very much, indeed, peter smith, i appreciate you for being here. check the big market, we are up, 90 points higher when the market opens, i have more news on how companies may use or will use the money, the extra money they get from the tax cut. fedex, they say that when the tax deal passes, they will invest more in businesses and they will hire more. fedex out with earnings this morning, up 6 bucks, that is premarket. this fits your deal, isn't it? >> strong economy, strong sales, specially the sales have been huge this season and even dead retailers are doing better this season. sales are generally great and,

of course, fedex is doing well. they need to expand. ashley: yeah, they do. stuart: check blackberry. everybody remember blackberry, they are making money and the stock is up 7 and a half percent. they are not making money by selling phones, they are leading the charge in software for self-driving cars, who knew? what a turnaround, the ceo of blackberry, john chen with us. a man from washington state fed up with having packages stole from the front of his house. you hear that. it's called blank box. [laughter] >> a booby trap disguised and a 12 gauge shotgun, fires off. the bad guy is scared and runs off and leaves the scene, the man behind blank box coming up this hour. let's see that again. liz: a woman. stuart: hold it.

[laughter] >> good-bye. liz: get out of here. stuart: is that legal. we will ask the founder of the company. don't ignore the tax bill, historic day. first time we have seen a major overhaul in decades. you want to smile this morning, look at your 401(k), merry christmas, america, you're making money. more varney after this. ♪ ♪

stuart: main republican susan collins voted for the tax deal but she is not happy with what the media said about her yes vote. what did they say? liz: new york times said she's n duped. now she's ripping into the cover saying it's unbelievably sexist.

you don't see same comments made about jeff flake, you fell for this, susan collins, misled into voting for it. she's really going after "the new york times" hard here. they also said, new york times story she didn't cry over removal of mandate. can you imagine any new york times, any other writer of any other press saying that about a male senator. boy, she is livid. she was outraged last night. they ignored all of my work to keep medicare, to keep the salt deduction, to keep the retirement account deductions and coverage in place. so she's really going after them good time. stuart: good report, lizzie, thank you very much, indeed. staying on tax cuts, let's bring columbus university glen. >> good morning. stuart: i say a big win primarily for business and the

stock market, are you going to take me on? >> no, you're exactly right, stuart. i think the corporate tax cut itself is a huge accomplishment. i think it will continue to boost share prices, it will raise investment, it will raise wages and employment. it's very good for the country. stuart: not too long ago gary cohn was holding a meeting with room of ceo's, are you plan to go invest more money in planted equipment when we get the tax cut deal through, only handful, only a few hands went up and cohn said, hey, what's going on, why aren't you doing more of this? i do have an answer to that question, what do you think will happen to the money when it comes backseat to america and corporations get more money? >> i think several things, there will be payouts to shareholders and shareholders are people too with spending decisions, there will certainly be more investment more importantly with expensing.

this is a big deal with the cost of capital, i expect the same ceo's sharpen pencils, they will invest more. workers will benefit with more jobs and more wages. it's really all of the above. stuart: what's your prediction of rate of growth for america's economy next year when we have this thing in concrete? >> i think we could easily see growth in 3% range with tax reform because not only do we have tax reform, a lot of it is front loaded with expensing. stuart: just 3%? we are already growing 3%. i would have thought that we would have added growth on top of that, no? >> you might. given that many official forecasters are saying 2%, i think 3% is a very big deal for the economy. if we can grow at 3% in sustained basis, that's a game-changer. stuart: how many new jobs because of this tax deal? >> i think it's hard to say. i think a bigger deal in the job market is going to be higher

wages. the economy is close to full employment as it is but that doesn't mean workers can't be paid more and will raise wages. stuart: am i also right in saying that every taxpayer, everyone who pays a federal income tax will get a bigger paycheck come february, i guess, is that right? >> well, i think most people will. there's some issues in high-taxed states with state and local tax deductibility but you're right in the country as a whole. stuart: can i ask you a question about me, i know that you don't know me, i'm going to be paying a whole lot more extra, i live in a high-taxed state. i am going to be paying for from the tax deal but i support it. >> and i will too. stuart: you will too. but i support it 100% because i think it restores america too a feeling of prosperity and i think that's what we all need, what do you say? >> i agree, it's not just a feeling of prosperity, i think it's actual prosperity. the corporate tax reform is what the country needs.

if i have to pay a little bit more, sobeit. stuart: glen, good stuff, indeed. thank you, sir, appreciate it. >> pleasure. stuart: get back to fedex and check the stock again. it's going to be up about 6 bucks, 7, 8 bucks this morning. big gain. the cfo say that is tax bill going through will be huge for the economy. it will add to gdp growth next year and because of that, fedex will invest more in new plants and equipment and hire more people. that's right on your play book. >> it is. part of what the growth is, the nt, dutch delivery service, they are doing very well with that. again, they are going to have to expand in europe and in the united states, it's about expansion for them, hiring for them, making more money. stuart: more on that in a moment. yes, we will be back, historic day, your money is in play, we will be back.

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stuart: look at this, we are going to be up 90, maybe 100 points. i have news on microsoft, yes, i do own a thin sliver of the stock. has joined deutsche bank in raising price target to $100 a share. right now it's at 86. that's premarket. that would be another -- ashley:

they had at 92 bucks. stuart: now up to 100. you like that? >> for a company that size, kind of gains that they are making, fantastic. stuart: why do you think you're on the show? i have to mention fedex, when the tax deal passes, they are going to invest more in business, in its own business and expand and hire because of tax cut deal. we started market coverage early, we have jeff sica this morning and shah gilani, microsoft fan and ashley webster and elizabeth mcdonald. now, i'm using fedex as economic indicater and as indicater of what business is going to do after the tax deal, are you with me on this, sica? >> fedex is economic indicater. the one thing that's proven companies that have horded cash

and saving money on taxes is crucial. fedex has done a lot of things right. they've -- they've accurately predict what had the holiday season is going to be like. i think it's a -- stuart: hold on one second. for the benefit of radio listeners, look at this. we have on the screen, facebook, alphabet, amazon and apple, all of them on the upside as we go into today's trading session. ashley. >> if you take fedex as belt weather, smith was asked, would you raise wages based on this and he said, absolutely. not only are they hiring and expanding but raising wages is better for the u.s. economy as a whole. liz: southwest said it's going to refresh fleet. it's not just stock buybacks, remember, we went through this worst recovery because of lack of capital investment. we were on a sugar high from the federal reserve's money printing, we are back to organic growth and what are ceo's saying, not fed chair saying about the forecast of the

economy. stuart: very good point. what are the democrats saying? they say, no. liz: we are all going the feel it. i'm not rich but we are in the upper bracket. drops the income threshold. democrats, go read the bill, it does hit upper bracket but it's about growth, economic growth. stuart: that's the whole point. >> government worker pensions. stuart: wall street journal says this is a return to politics of growth, you need that more than anything else in america. you've got to have growth. where am i going wrong, sica? >> no, you're not. a lot of the ceo's i talk to will say they are not willing to spend their cash, now they are. fedex building all the different distribution centers throughout the country, that's a big thing. it even affects positive the real estate sector.

stuart: back to big five-technology companies, shareholders, i'm one of them, the major beneficiaries of the money coming to america from the repatriation, they are the ones that are bringing the money back. >> they will do very well. a lot of the money in my belief in share repurchase program. the stocks will continue to lead the market higher. stuart: okay. liz: this is a river vote gamble. negative polling before reagan tax cuts, 20% approved back then, just the same approved in this. are you infancy land, is that what michael bloomberg said. >> the company is going the hire people, consumers are going to do better, spend more. ashley: the economy is already moving. stuart: two and a half minutes, less than that to the opening bell this wednesday morning.

this could be historic day. well, it's a historic day in politics because we are going to get signed a tax deal. it's going to happen today. president trump is talking about holding a press conference later this afternoon when the house has repassed. has gone all the way through congress. i guess he will sell it at that point and pound the table and sell the tax deal if he holds the news conference that he's promising. two minutes to go. we will start from, this is where the dow starts from, 24,754. that means, we are 255 points away from dow 25,000. if you are just joining us, earlier this morning gilani who has been right in the past, told us that we might hit 25,000 today or tomorrow or friday. >> i expect it by friday at the latest. stuart: 26, 27 by? >> i'm looking for 2018. i think easily.

>> 10% up. >> that's the baseline. [laughter] stuart: very quiet with one minute to go to the opening bell, jeff sica. you don't think this is a second leg up? >> i just hate -- there's so much optimism here. i hate to say, the reality for me, yes, i think the economy will do better, i'm so happy, i could do a back flip right now, but the reality is, is that this price despite what gary cohn said, i believe the tax cut has been priced in, 5 great tech stocks but too narrow, 50% of the gain in the five tech stocks, i'm not comfortable with this -- with the higher-level predictions. complacency is overwhelming to me right now. [laughter] stuart: okay. lizzie. liz: what do you make of the fact that ubs and jpmorgan are

saying that tax cuts are not fully priced in. stuart: gary cohn is saying that. >> there's no surprise that wall street is saying that. i believe that you have to separate the economy. stuart: quiet on the set. we are about to make history. 9:30 eastern time and this is wednesday december the 20th, that's right. we are up 85, we are up 90, 86 points. you're listening on the radio, i will read it out to you, we are up 87 points, 24,844, up 89 -- 90, 91, 92 points up on the dow jones industrial average. on our viewer screens it's a sea of green. i only see one dow stock loser and that's wallet -- walt disney. show me the s&p 500, where is that this morning? up 3.5%. we are off, we are running.

tech stocks, the nasdaq, where is that? right now it is up. .3%. 24 points higher. looks very close to 7,000. bit technology, all of them up except google which is down a fraction, facebook is now down just one cent. microsoft is has now turned south, 3 cents down. mixed bag we have here. now they are actually trading, it's a mixed picture. blackberry, whoa, booking businesses, making money, blackberry's main business these days, cybersecurity and the software for self-driving cars. this ain't the blackberry you remember. [laughter] ashley: no. stuart: we have the ceo. okay. now, we are just getting this in. breaking, the president will hold a bill passage event, that's what it's called, it'll be at the white house. it's at 3:00 o'clock this afternoon.

members in the house and senate will be there. it's not a signing event. it's a bill passage event. [laughter] stuart: pretty much the same thing, i would say. maybe they won't have the pen around to be used by countless people. 3:00 o'clock this afternoon. obviously we will be carrying it if our cameras are lowed in, i'm sure they will be. we are up 76 points, pairing the gain, just pairing the gain a little bit. i want to talk to shah gilani. gary cohn, the president's point man on tax cuts, he just said that the tax cuts which are about to be enacted are not just priced into the market. you agree with that? >> i think they are partially priced in. we have good ways to go. this is all about the repurchase of shares programs that will be announced once tax cuts are enacted. i think that's what's going to push the market. principal moment piece that's going to push the markets. tax cuts will also add to buybacks. i think he's correct, it's not

priced in. maybe a quarter in my opinion, we have a long way to go. stuart: he's agreeing with you. >> he's correct. stuart: okay, the wall street journal, let's not ignore this. headline from yesterday, throwing cold water, little bit on the tax plan. the headline is u tax plan strikes at tech giants foreign profits. okay, i'm not sure the way that works out but there was a negative for the big tech stocks yesterday. liz: if they bring cash home, they would have all-in tax rate from state and local and federal taxes, so apple could get hit $7 a share by some analysts. when they do bring that cash back home. stuart: okay, by my count tore that is shareholders in these companies will benefit because that repatriated money will go for share buybacks and extra dividends. the shareholders win, that would be my opinion. >> there's also -- a lot of the tech companies rely on making

cheaper components out of -- out of the country, that is going to affect them because there's a part of this that those profits made from out of the country will be taxed at higher rate. so you have to really look at how much does it cost to make the iphone in the u.s. versus in china, in méxico there's a lot to be considered. stuart: they are not going to build iphones in america. >> well, a lot of -- some of the profits that they make from the companies who make the components, offshore, are going to be taxed higher. stuart: well, look, before the market opened this morning, the big tech stocks, all of them across the board, they were up, now the market is opened and it's really a mixed picture for the big techs, we have facebook and microsoft down, amazon, alphabet, apple up. not much movement for any of them at this point. we are now up 73 points for the dow jones industrial average. couple of individual stocks making news, here we go. home depot hit an all-time high

earlier today. still right there, 187 on the home depot. higher sales and upbeat outlook for the future from general mills, they are the cereal people, cheerios, among many others, up half a percent. chip maker, micron, rosy outlook. the stock is up nearly 5%. better profit at -- where are we going here. we have -- had the ceo the other day. actually down 30 cents. already had a nice run. stitch fix, stitch fix, sends you a box of items, you buy them or send them back, first earnings report since going public, investors don't like what they say, the company is spending a great deal of money and the stock is down 13.17%. all right, fedex, let's get back to that.

record high, i think that's a record high. $250 a share. up 8 bucks, 3 and a half percent, if you are just joining us, fedex made news this morning, their chief financial officer says the tax bill will grow the economy next year and we are going to hire more people and invest more money because of that growth in the economy. just what the trump people wanted to hear. blackberry, making money. now they are focusing on cybersecurity and self-driving technology. did anyone hear -- we all remember blackberries, right? ashley: i loved the keyboard. stuart: took me a while to drag myself away and get to the iphone. liz: app to call up robot taxi instead of calling uber with a driver. that's the wave of the future. they likely could be pointed that way. stuart: i have a shock this morning, i thought -- i know what they are, now they have the software for self-driving cars. ashley: they had to do something.

big turnaround. the ceo is on the show, by the way. stuart: what do you say about this? >> we all counted blackberry dead, but what it says about tech, they were the front runners but look at where they are now and i think people should use the blackberry example to decide what technology they are going to invest in now because the technology today maybe obsolete in five years from now. stuart: interesting stuff. blackberry at $12 a share, up 11% this morning. the consulting firm pricewaterhouse, number of people who subscribed to netflix is now about the same of the people who pay for cable. how about that? that's a tipping point, isn't it? >> it is. stuart: if netflix goes up, cable will go town. ashley: i cut cable. stuart: you work in cable television. ashley: i can still all i want to get, fox business on roku,

absolutely. stuart: you have not turned those off? lizzie, have you cut the cable? liz: no, but i like it when ashley did. stuart: new data suggest that is apple is slowing down iphones with old batteries. tell me. liz: this is a black market, the word was that apple was deliberately slowing down older iphone 6 or 7 so you would upgrade to get a new phone, now they took a look and said, what if you replace the battery, $79, you don't pay hundreds more for iphone, guess what, apple was deliberately slowing the processors and software in the older iphones because all of a sudden randomly shut down the entire phone when the battery hit 30%. they did it to preserve battery life but purposely slowing down the iphone. get a new battery, faster phone. stuart: jeff sica wants to say

something. >> i'm jumping out of my seat. i'm no fan of am, no need to remind me of that. the fact is apple keeping rolling out new versions of old products and now it shows that tim cook doesn't have a lot of innovation and because of lack of innovation, they are slowing down old phones and they are trying to convince us that we need facial recognition, we are going the pay $500 more for a phone that gives us facial recognition and a little bit faster operating -- stuart: hold on a second. look at the market now. we are only up 34 points. we opened with a gain of 96, 97 points. is this because there are some selling on the news? i mean, we were buying beforehand, the news is that we are going to get a tax cut deal. is this selling on the news? >> everybody has to realize we have been anticipating for months and months and months. the fact that we got it, there's a lot of traders that may use it to take short-term profits.

that doesn't mean the market is not going to go up from here but there's a lot of trading and momentum mentality and they may just take advantage and take money off the table. stuart: what do you say about that? >> they do tend to go down once in a while. people do take profits. this is nothing but profit taking here at the top. ashley: still up. >> still up. the day is young. stuart: 25,000 this week? >> by fred, yes. stuart: 25,000 this week? >> yes. stuart: sica says yes. i thank jeff sica and you shah gilani all the work you have done for the whole year. thank you, gentlemen. check the big board now. 31 points higher. 24,786. senator chuck schumer blasts the republicans for passing tax bill. the colleagues on the other side

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stuart: all right, we turned negative very briefly. now we have gone back to upside. it ain't much. we are up about 12 points. 24,768. ii want to stay on the tax cut deal. bring in nicole from the exchange. what are traders saying about the tax deal down there? >> they are loving it. that's obviously all about the economy, boosting everything for the american people, that was the platform that president trump ran on for the american man and women, working class and

middle class and this will put more money in the pockets. when you look at stats, two-thirds of people don't have $300 for emergency. january 1st, we are going to wake up and have a whole new tax plan. they will have more money in february. that's ultimately good news. the traders like that. they know, new york, new jersey, california may not see quite the benefits that other states might, bigger picture we will see growth plan and american plan. stuart: we all know about new jersey, new york, california, illinois, itself, itself, but thanks for reminding us there, we appreciate that, nicole, thank you. mr. trump, the president -- ashley: president trump signing of the tax bill could be delayed into january according to a white house aide. why would that be when we are expecting it to be signed, sealed and delivered today. stuart: the president is holding an event at the white house, 3:00 o'clock eastern time this

afternoon, it's called a bill passage event. joining us now is corey lewandowskiu coauthor of the great book, let trump be trump, i think that's the tiet to -- te of the book. this is just breaking. the white house aide says they may delay to next year. >> they are going to take a victory lap for what they accomplished. they have to enroll the bill and make sure all the legalese is done. whether he signs it on january 2nd, or 3rd, people will see the results in their early tax -- paychecks. stuart: look, i'm a supporter of the tax bill, it will hurt me financially but i support it because i think we will get prosperity out of this. that's not going down very well if you get the deal signed --

not signed but has gone through congress today and you don't sign it until next year. that's a disappointment. >> well, look, i think you have to remember how much work has gone into this piece of legislation to make sure it's done right. we saw procedural with the house. they had to vote on it twice. i'm sure the administration and the members of congress don't want to have any mistakes. they want to get it done right so the american people can benefit. stuart: i will chunk red meat in your direction. >> please. >> stuart: democrats do not like the bill, here is senate minority leader chuck schumer. roll it. >> this tax bill will be anchor around the ankles of every republican. if they haven't learned it yet, they will learn it next november. republicans will rude the day when they pas the bill and the american people will never let them forget it. stuart: american people will never let them forget it. >> i hope they never forget when they get more money in checking

account and savings account during the week because that's what donald trump is doing. lowest unemployment in hispanic community ever measured. real wage growth. 5,000 points in the market, right, almost $6 trillion in value in the last year. what donald trump is doing is fulfilling the campaign promises and what the democrats have done, they want to go back todays of barack obama, 1.2, 1.4gdp, we are at 3.3, 3.4, maybe we get to 4 this quarter, right, that is real economic opportunity that creates jobs, plus, you have a small business tax cut coming now from a big tax rate, 35 to 21, that's going to create jobs. it's going to create value, schumer doesn't want to help the small businesses. stuart: the last thing you want that republican party or the president wants is surely a government shutdown over christmas. are you going to avoid a government shutdown? >> it has to be avoided.

this is a political football that republicans cannot win on. you need to keep the government open. there's a way to do this but -- stuart: to make sure you don't shut down the government, you probably are going to have help from the democrats and they're not -- they don't want to give it to you. >> you have to remember, there are ten members in the democratic party that are up for reelection that are in states that donald trump won last cycle. joe manchin, montana, missouri. if they think shutting down the government will help in reelection campaign, they are surely mistaken. stuart: you are going to target the ten democrats. >> florida, montana, dakotas, these are places where donald trump does very well and those incumbent democrats need to go back to constituents and go back -- stuart: why did they do that? >> they have put partisan politics in front of american people. people want on outsider, someone

who will bring change. stuart: i think you're wrong, actually. [laughter] stuart: democrats would primary the senators if they just said, they would be primary in the states next year. that's the threat held over. >> it's possible. it's very hard to beat an incumbent democrat in primary, they have a much more difficult general election campaign in state like missouri and florida. we have good conservative candidates who are trying to support the trump agenda and that's more money in paycheck every week starting in february. stuart: all right, upbeat and positive. >> always. stuart: for a change. >> i try. i'm selling a great book, i'm happy about everything, the economy is going forward. we love it. stuart: every copy sold through this program is commissioned. >> barnes & noble. stuart: corey lewandowski. see you again soon.

check out the dow. o -- we opened 95. we are up 4, i call that barely neutral. winners and losers among even in dow 30. if you've ever had a package stolen from your porch, you want to see this. a new way of getting back at the crook who is swipe your amazon boxes. anyone who tries to steal the package, gets real loud and scary surprise. the full story after this. [laughter]

stuart: jeremy was fed up with crooks stealing packages from his porch so he designed a blank box, you pick it up, you're a crook, the shell goes off. [laughter] stuart: it's called blank box, by the way. the first thing that crossed my mine, but b, is this legal. >> there's no projectile, it's like any alarm system, car alarm , deter theft. stuart: you have liability insurance with this product in some way? >> i do, yeah. stuart: you do.

okay. it's legal, you have insurance. how many have you sold? >> i do. last week on wednesday it was six and now 600 and counting. there's definitely a need for this kind of product. stuart: what's it called blank box, right? >> blank box, yes, sir. >> you sell this online? >> i do. stuart: okay. let me go through this. i think we have video of you setting it up. you have a fake box, doesn't say amazon or anything, it's a fake blank box, i take it, and you put 12-gauge gunshot shell, if i as crook picked it up and bang off it goes, that's the whole nature of this thing, correct? >> correct. stuart: how much? >> 60 bucks. [laughter] stuart: okay. am i right that it doesn't say amazon or anything else on the outside? what does it say on the outside?

>> so the first one i had, i did repurpose amazon box, now that i have my own company i changed that obviously for copy right reasons, i didn't show what the label looks like and that's why the crooks don't catch on. stuart: you can't get a patent on this thing, you could probably have competitors pretty soon? >> yeah, it's in the works, but, yeah, it's a lengthy process. stuart: where are you based? >> at tacoma, washington. stuart: are porch pirates common in washington? >> i think they're common everywhere. it's the nature of the world we live in now. everything is delivered to us and we want the convenience, normal 9:00 to 5:00 job. stuart: great idea. i'll be interested to see how many you sell after the appearance on this program. blank box guy, thank you very much, indeed, sir. huge day for politics and big

day for money, the final vote on the tax bill expected a little over an hour from now. then the gop has to make sure they keep the government open, steve scalise on that, he is is guy who whips in the votes. we will be right back. s . . . .

stuart: it is the biggest tax shake-up in more than 30 years. it is historic. the big winners, in my opinion are, i will give them to you in order. business, the economy, the stock market and low tax states. let's deal with business first. the tax rate cut from 35 to 21% will significantly increase profits. that frees up money for hiring and investment. fedex said exactly that is what they're doing because of the tax deal. which brings to us the economy. it will grow more because of the stimulus that tax deal provides. follow the money. more of it will flow into the private sector.

that means growth. with that comes the feeling of expansion, opportunity, dynamism, we haven't seen, or felt that in years. another winner, the stock market. we've already seen enormous gains. more profit, more growth, should give us another leg up for the market. wait until those trillions are brought back here. a lot of money will go to share buybacks, dividends, very good for shareholders. finally low-taxed states, florida, texas in particular. high income earners in those states will get a there have no local income tax in those states. they will get influx of wealthy refugees from high of it-taxed states. "wall street journal" says this is the a return to the politics of growth. bree sighsly. personal note, i live in a high-taxed state, and with this

tax deal i end up paying more because i support it, because what our country needs it is return to prosperity. that is the glue that binds america together and that is what this tax deal will do. i'm for it. the second hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ all realtors, heads up. new numbers on existing home sales. ashley: not bad. jumping again in november, up 5.81 million on an annualized basis much better than expected. up 5.6% month over month. median price, $248,000 is the annual price or average price that is up nearly 6% year-over-year. stuart: i don't think that had much market impact. ashley: no but good sign for housing market. liz: home depot just hit a record high.

stuart: thank you very much, indeed. show me the big tech companies. we had a mixed picture. earlier on. now they're all down. not much but they are down. as we said from liz there, there are three dow components hitting all-time highs. yes, home depot at 186. yes, on boeing at 298, awfully close to 300 bucks, and caterpillar at 151. fedex, also all-time high. it says when the tax deal passes it will invest, fedex will invest more in its own business and it will hire more people. blackberry, yeah, they're making money. remember that blackberry's main business these days, is, getting the software for self-driving cars. how about that? who knew? i will be talking to the blackberry ceo in our next hour. back to the tax bill. i say the big winners are the economy, the markets, business, low-taxed states. tim phillips, americans for prosperity guy joins us now.

i say look, business and the economy and the market are the big winners. do you agree? >> i think the american people are the big winners. even "the washington post," stuart, is reporting this morning, it must be painful, according to the studies eight out of 10 americans are going to see an absolute reduction in their tax bill beginning in 2018. i think the american people are winners here. we're starting to see the economy, this thing will pick up and accelerate in coming quarters. stuart: tell me how companies, which repatriate their money from overseas, how are they going to use it? i'm talking particular i in terms of the apples, microsofts, the big techs of this world because they're the ones with trillions parked overseas? when it comes back, what do they use that money for, do you think? >> they will have to decide that for themselves but history tells us they will probably be reinvesting. this is a time when americans will have much more money in their pockets, at least according to all the studies.

history tells us that is what happens when you have a big tax cut. i think we'll see reinvesting that. we'll see continued job growth. stuart: wait a second. >> we have to see wage growth. stuart: when you say reinvesting let's spell that out. i don't think apple is going to be building a factory in cupertino, california, to reinvest building iphones in california. i think they buy back their own stock and increase the dividend. >> might be investing i do think they will be put more aggressive projects into research and development to bring out what is the next iphone. because right now, i don't mean to just focus on apple, right now much of their profit is determined by one product. i think they want to expand, divest and broaden out. that is what i mean by that. >> okay. now we got to fund the government. we run out of money i believe on friday night. i believe it is midnight. >> right. >> the republicans and president trump, i think, would get a black eye if they don't keep the government running.

if they shut it down, or if it is shut down over the christmas period i think that is bad for trump, bad for republicans. you say what? >> they did the right thing to prioritize tax cuts and tax reform first. that was the right decision. they're going to get this thing done this week. no one want as shutdown. no one, everyone realizes that is a bad idea. stuart, it will get done. i think it will get done in the next 36 hours. stuart: what do you think the growth rate next year for america's economy when these tax cuts to into effect? >> it is interesting, some of the estimations this last quarter is growing at 4%, which is magic number, stuart. we haven't seen that in a long time, well over a decade. we hope, we think we see 4% growth in the coming quarters t may happen this quarter. imagine if we have that 4% in this quarter, and then you have the tax cuts kicking in beginning in january. we hope and think it can get to those levels. we need it for this country, stuart. we need it.

stuart: we do. tim phillips, thanks for joining us. much obliged. we bring in gary kaltbaum, kaltbaum, capital management. before we begin i am a huge aid meyerer on mr. kaltbaum. i watched him for years on the fox news channel. this is his first appearance on the varney shoeff. welcome to the show, gary. >> about time, stuart. stuart: well-said, young man, stuart, well-said. now is the tax plan, big picture here, is the tax plan good for investors and if it is tell us why? >> long run absolutely, profits will go up for companies, if profits go up, valuations go up, stocks go up. in the short run, the biggest worry i had, last 13 months we had four years of market gains, in some instances five. i would not be surprised for a little moderation here, maybe even a correction, but longer term this is nothing but good news. when you hear people like fred

smith of fedex, gary kelly, of southwest they will invest a lot of money going forward that means jobs, jobs, jobs. more people with jobs, means more money in their pockets. more money in their pockets means more spending and you go into a virtuous cycle. stuart: gary, reason we invited you on the show because you're one of the principle debunkers of the bitcoin thing. i was particularly curious about your article about, they changed their name and the stock went through the moon. went to 38 bucks now. give me the story on riot block chain, gary. >> it is not just riot block chain. how about sky juice people.com, that sold juices, changed their name, somebody on another business channel mentioned it, it went from a dollar to $6 in five minutes. it is this type of activity as far as speculation froth i

really do worry about. there was a company called crypto company, that never traded. it was a blind pool, and they started to changing their name. it went up 6fold in three days. the sec shut it down for trading because of accuracy from the company. all i'm just saying to people is, pick your poison and know if a stock is up 50 fold you may have a little bit of risk, and i say that because i'm getting questions on my radio show from people should i buy this, should i buy that, after it is up 15 to 20 fold. i don't think people understand the risk of these things. and look, maybe this is the next greatest thing in the history of time. all i know is, just smells bad. it smells of 1999 when anybody put a dot-com next to their name and went up tenfold and a lot of those things went back to zero. i would be very, very careful. stuart: would you say the same thing about investing and buying a bitcoin itself as opposed to the companies which change their

name to the blockchains of this world? >> yeah. look it was $1000 seven months ago. i think it is 18,000 now. if you don't recognize or investor, trader, something up 18 fold in less than a year has risk you're in big, big trouble and maybe it goes to 50,000 first. all i know, when all is said and done, when the music stops and there are no chairs left and nobody's left to buy, this thing is going to come down big and there will be some, big, big losses. i'm not worried about people making money right off it. i'm talking about what happens in the end. i'm hearing aunt mary and uncle bob and grandmas, grandpas asking about bitcoins, talking about selling apple stock because bitcoin is moving faster that is the type of stuff that will get people in trouble financially as you move forward. stuart: well-said, mr. kaltbaum. last one for you, just a few, about an hour ago, gary cohn, the president's point man on tax cuts, he said look, these tax cuts are not priced into the stock market yet.

do you agree with that? if you agree with it, you're basically saying this market still has aways to go on the upside? >> i think a lot of it is in priced in. you don't get a 6,000-point move in the dow in 13 months and not say it is. that said we may get moderating or forbid a correction which we're way overdue. longer term, i care about the long term for me, my kids and their kids this is great. the fact that the economy will keep trillion, trillion 1/2 dollars out of washington, d.c., in the hand of companies as well as businesses and people, is nothing but great news going forward. i am in hopes they don't stop here. remember reagan did a bunch of tax cuts over time. i would love to see that i would love to see more. stuart: yes, sir. you know, gary, you shouldn't be such a stranger to a show like this. don't you feel at home? don't you? >> stuart, just ask, my friend. stuart: i might just do that be

careful. gary kaltbaum, everyone, a genuine good man. and he will be back. thank you, gary. we'll see you again soon. >> thank you. stuart: yes, sir. check this out, splash data, a security company releasing its annual list of the most used passwords. liz: look at number one. stuart: wonder people don't get hacked more. number one most used of course, 123456. liz: that was hillary's password. stuart: number two password, the number 7. let me in. number nine, i'm not sure i get all of this. password is number two. seven is letmein. number fine is football. liz: funny. stuart: should try them. deputy fbi director andy mccabe grilled behind closed doors yesterday for eight hours. congressman chris stewart was there. he warned us last week there would be more evidence of

anti-trump bureaucrats burrowing away inside of the bureaucracy. he will tell us what he heard at the hearing yesterday. republicans one more hurd deal before christmas, funding the government. the freedom caucus could be standing in the way. house whip steve scalise is with us later this hour. he will tell us how he will avoid it because he has to whip together all the votes. second hour of "varney & company." you're watching it. ♪ time to take care of my portfolio, but.. well, what are you doing tomorrow -10am? staff meeting. noon? eating. 3:45? uh, compliance training. 6:30? sam's baseball practice. 8:30? tai chi. yeah, so sounds relaxing. alright, 9:53? i usually make their lunches then, and i have a little vegan so wow, you are busy. wouldn't it be great if you had investments that worked as hard as you do? yeah. introducing essential portfolios. the automated investing solution that lets you focus on your life.

stuart: all right. now we're up what is it? 51 points. we got some positive news from the housing industry at top of the hour. existing home sales, 5.81 million for the year. ashley: a 11-year high. stuart: that helped market. price of oil not going very far. $57 a barrel. the price of gold, same story, not moving that up.

$1267 per ounce, up three bucks. pack to the tax plan. look what senator elizabeth warren tweeted after it was past, quote, sooner or later a reckoning is come, and i promise you this, the politicians to leave this congress and voted for this tax heist will be held accountable for turning their backs on the american people. joining us "washington times" political columnist, fox news contributor, charles hurt, the man who always smiling. you are smiling today. the democrats are taking a risk here. a universal no vote will come back to bite them in the midterms next year. what say you? >> absolutely. especially if it boosts the economy the way we think it will but a lot of democrats are remembering their catastrophic vote for obamacare back when they controlled after obama won, during that two-year period when they controlled everything in congress. it is kind of a form of ptsd because of course what they didn't know at that point is,

after they jammed that through, it led to over 1000 losses for them. the only democrat who managed to win again after that was obama himself. the difference here is that obamacare was fundamentally unfair, unpopular and unfair, and tax cuts, american people love tax cuts. the only question that remains, do these work as we expect they will? stuart: if you're joe manchin, senator manchin from west virginia -- >> you can't defend. stuart: you voted no on a pay raise for everybody who pays federal tax. you voted no on growing the economy. what do you do when you're facing re-election in november of next year? claire mccaskill in missouri, joe manchin in west begin, there are others dotted around, 10 democrats up for re-election, in trump-winning states. it will be tough for them, isn't it? >> it will be tough for them. obviously first midterm after a new president comes in is always very difficult for that, for the

party but i do think especially in the senate, because of exactly those seats that you just noted, it is going to be very difficult. especially if the economy roars after this, people feeling much better about things, people have more money in their pockets. you're right, it will be very difficult to defend. gee, do you think donald trump might visit some of those states, and i don't know campaign for republicans in favor of tax cuts? i'm thinking he probably will. stuart: i think you're on to something there, charles, sir. how about this one though? it would be very bad news if the government runs out of money and shuts down on friday night. i think it would be bad news for the president and bad news for the gop. you think they can stop that happening? >> well, and i think it is bad news for somebody else too. for the first time we actually see democrats, i think, worried about that, because they're not sure -- they're very good at, in every government shutdown, even though it doesn't hurt republicans usually, they're very good at pinning the blame

on republicans, and republicans being republicans are scared of that. they have a hard time with it, what we're seeing this time, i think chuck schumer are not so sure they can do that again. they're being very careful. that is why i think you're seeing chuck schumer and republicans working behind the scenes to prevent that from happening this time. stuart: real fast, charles, this tax bill will mean that i actually have to pay more in tax, but i still support it, flat-out, i support it, because i think it delivers prosperity. how about you, on a personal note? >> on a personal note, i wish it was much bigger. i wish that they did something huge like completely eliminate the income tax but i understand, you know this, is washington. you kind of have to take compromises. i think this is probably a pretty good compromise. stuart: dream on and keep smiling. charles hurt, everyone, he is all right. thank you, charles. good to see you. apple finding a new way to get us to upgrade our phones. this could anger a few people. we'll tell you all about it in

one moment. ♪

stuart: apple's stock this morning is down, not much, down 75 cents. there is a story about apple that might make some iphone people a little angry. tell us. ashley: some testing revealed that replacing a battery in an old iphone can boost the speed of the, and performance of the phone. what does that suggest? that perhaps apple is limiting the processing speed on the declining batteries in order to force you to buy perhaps a new iphone. in other words they're messing with the processing speed as the, as the battery degrades. you can replace it for 79 bucks, which is a whole lot cheaper

than buying, brand new, upgraded iphone. you will see the difference according to researchers, if you put a new battery in your old iphone it will zip, whereas the battery gets older it starts to shut down. stuart: ah. they want you to upgrade. it's a ploy? ashley: forcing people into the next phone. liz: people feared that for a while and now geek bench discovered this. ashley: they did testing and said, yeah. stuart: i honestly don't care that much. who, i don't care. liz: you can save money buying a battery. the dow industrials up only 1points. i say only, because we were up 95 when we got the trading day started. we're barely above water. i'm a little surprised at that. because every single analyst who appeared on this program is gung-ho, saying that the tax cuts are not yet priced into market. we have another leg up. liz: ubs, jpmorgan chase said exactly that, they are not

priced in. are they selling on news or selling on details? this is riverboat gamble by the republicans to get the economy growing to quote howard baker. liz: i like that, back in the days of riverboats. fbi deputy director andy mccabe grilled behind closed doors. congressman chris stewart was there. he wanted us last week that there would be more evidence of anti-trump bureaucrats promoting their agenda from inside the bureaucracy. he will tell us, i hope what he heard at the closed meeting yesterday. ♪

♪ stuart: on the day when we got

the final vote on, yes, we're going to get a tax cut, i would have expected the dow to be up a bit more than that it is up 21 points, that's all we got but we are at 24,776, 22 points away from 25,000. we should point that out. here it comes the latest read how much oil we have in storage. not quite got the numbers the why. the price before we get the numbers is $57 per barrel. see what we've got here. liz: down 6.5 million barrels less in storage. that is almost double what the drawdown was expected. stuart: i see that as a positive economic indicator. ashley: yes, exactly right. stuart: we're using oil. that is the way i'm taking this. price of oil still at 57 bucks a barrel. move on to the stock market. show me those big tech names please. they were all down a few moments ago, and they're still all down, not by much, all of them down less than 1%. but all of them down. bitcoin, keep saying this, no financial report is complete

without a bitcoin quote. we're below $17,000. i will table the tax cut discussion for a moment and talk about the fbi. second-in-command andy mccabe, he testified to the house intelligence committee behind closed doors for eight hours yesterday. congressman chris stewart, he was one of the people asking the questions and he joins us now. can you, it was a closed-door meeting. it is house intel committee. you're on it. can you tell us anything about what mr. mccabe said? >> the testimony itself is actually confidential and classified. i can tell you this, if you have read the dossier, the steel dossier, as you know about, as i am to tell you, that is bs. so much of that has no credibility at all. to wonder whether the fbi or the department of justice used that as a justification for some of their actions, we simply have to get the answer to that we have to, we have to tell the american

people that this is extraordinarily troubling if they did that. stuart: is that the nature of the questioning about this russian dossier and who created it and who used it? that was the nature of the questioning, right? >> i mean that was a large part of it. it wasn't the only thing that we questioned him about, but the thing i'm most interested in. the look the fbi is full of dedicated, committed public servants. that is not the thing i'm questioning of the thing i'm question something some of the leadership of the fbi and or some justice department officials. and did they essentially take a very political partisan position, completely inappropriate for someone in their position of responsibility and authority, and did they do it with the justification of some intel that we know on its face, anyone who read this is, looks at this, would know on its face, this is not credible. then were they honest with us about that? that is, again that is kind of the questioning that we're pursuing now.

stuart: was there some questioning about the that meeting in andy, andy mccabe's office, lisa page, peter strzok, where one of them, peter strzok was suggesting, can't take the risk of a trump win, was there questioning about that meeting? >> yeah. i'm not going to talk much about that. i don't think i can but, from what you have reported and others have reported, when you read those texts, for example, and the people that they were, you know, collaborating or talking with, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions, and that's what we were focusing on last night. stuart: when the full extent of the questioning and closed-door meeting, when it is revealed, if it is revealed, are there any bombshells in there? >> well, there is some things that we've alluded to, that the press already is reporting on we have to follow up on. by the way, we won't necessarily be able to reveal the transcripts or release the transcripts last night or some other closed-door hearings but the house intel's intention to a

great degree to report to the american people. there are many of us on the committee who would like to declassify much of this. much of this doesn't deal with sources or sensitive ways we got the information. much of it deals with law enforcement activity, and we think by it is nature it should not be classified. we're going to report to the american people in a full way and when we do, i think people are going to be extraordinarily, or should be extraordinarily troubled by it. i think some people that have to be held accountable and we have to ask the question, why are you still serving in this condition if you did what we now know that you did going back over the time of the campaign and early days of this administration. stuart: okay. that, sir, is extraordinary stuff. we very much appreciate you coming on air to tell us a little bit about it. good stuff. thank you, congressman. >> thank you. stuart: thank you. get back to tax reform. first of all, just look at this. this is the amount of money that the big tech companies keep overseas. you're talking an enormous,

hundreds of billions of dollars, led by apple and microsoft. andy puzder is with us. now, andy, these companies will be bringing that money back to america, because it is a deemed repatriation tax. they will get taxed on it whether they bring it back or not. they will bring it back. what do you think they will use that money for? >> i think use for a lot of things. one, they will buy back stock, which will get money back into the economy. they will rye invest in their business. you have to be, they would have to be insane not to take advantage of the ability to invest and totally expense your investment, which, for viewers who may not know what that means is, you can deduck, if you build plant, invest in plant and equipment, you can deduct that from your profits, from your income before you compute taxes. that is a huge advantage. that is in place for five years. so we'll see that kind of investment. i think they will pay down debt. a lot of these companies borrowed money because they couldn't bring earnings back to the united states.

some will use it to reduce their debt which should strengthen companies which should help the stoke market. i think they will use it for various things but the important thing is reinvestment. business investment drives gdp growth. that is what we didn't see during the obama years. we've seen gdp go back closer to the traditional 3% level. i think we'll see more of that going forward and that will benefit middle and working class americans. stuart: can you see an apple, for example, building a factory, that produces iphones in america? using the money that they bring back from overseas to build factories like in california? are they going to build a computer plant in california? >> why would you build anything in california? taxes are so high. they have taken labor costs, minimum wage is going up to $15. i can't imagine, i moved from california a year-and-a-half ago, thank god, i did, but am in zero state income tax state, tennessee, bybut my oil home is in evacuation area out of santa

barbara. i'm very glad i got out of there. why would you build in california. why wouldn't you build in tennessee, texas, california? you might do that. i don't really know or understand about the cost structure. you save money transporting goods back to the united states. would you save the transportation costs. if you could get labor at reasonable cost, no reason why you wouldn't manufacture products in the united states. particularly if you, you can keep income in the united states. your tax rate is lower. but you know, i don't know whether apple will build here or not. i know they wouldn't do it in the high income tax states. stuart: that is guaranteed. i have to raise the issue of fedex. their chief financial officer says look, tax cuts, tax reform, we will hire more people. we'll like expand our business in america because we got more money to do it. seems to me, andy, that fedex is doing exactly what president trump wants american businesses to do? >> they are doing exactly what he wants american businesses to

do and i wish i would have invested in fedex. when i started to see all the boxes my wife ordered on the front porch, i should have seen years ago this would be a great investment but that is a very good company, that is a very positive sign for america. i think, look, like i said business investment that is what is going to drive economic growth. economic growth spreads prosperity, unlike low interest rates which cause stocks and real estate to increase in value an benefit wealthy people, this tide that lifts all boats as president kennedy said. it will help wealthy people and working middle-class americans. they are the ones who haven't been participating in growth and this is exactly what we need to get them back in the economy, back involved in the american dream and seeing brighter future this is a very, very positive bill. president trump has done a marvelous job. even his critics are saying how well he has done is it is his legacy. from tennessee, andy puzder, thank you very much indeed.

zero income tax. thank you very much, sir. we're less than two months away from the super bowl. a third of the country will be watching. i want to know, will players on the biggest stage in sports kneel for the anthem? joining us is jason whitlock, host of "speak for yourself" on fox sports 1. i think this could be a very big embarassment for football. what do you say, sir. >> i'm not sure we're going to say that. if the seattle seahawks were a threat to make the super bowl, if they advance to the super bowl i think you could see some players on the seattle seahawks do it. you by think of the teams that are serious super bowl contenders i'm not sure you will see that at the super bowl. stuart: do you hope we don't see it? >> i definitely don't want to see that again, i think there is a better way, if you have a problem with the police, you know go protest at their headquarters. why do it in the middle of a football game? i think these players have been

reminded, i'm sure executives and ownership have been reminded, it's a television show. and that, that kneeling hurts the television show, it hurts viewership, it hurts product. it is off script. football is attached to the the greatest values of americana. it's a patriotic event. we put our differences aside, come together to watch people compete. i think that message has finally gotten toes move players. most of the players understood that i don't think we'll see that at the super bowl. stuart: carolina panthers up for sale. p. diddy wants to buy them. what do you say to that, jason. >> p. diddy, loves football. his son played at ucla for a brief time. p. diddy is worth $800 million. i'm sure he has friends and could put a group together to buy a team.

the problem is he is trolling the nfl saying colin kaepernick could be part of his ownership group. no way nfl ownership would go for that. look, i'm someone that thinks it could be good are to the nfl to have minority african-american ownership. i don't think p. diddy is the right person, launching his bid over twitter. talking about i will do right by colin kaepernick. i think that is silly. that is against business. but if an oprah winfrey, a michael jordan or real legitimate candidates would be about the business of football and making football and bigger and more powerful, if they showed an interest, i think nfl should consider it. stuart: i have 20 section left, jason whitlock. what is with the hat? >> i wanted to give you my a-game, varney. this is my a-game. this is the real jason whitlock. i'm the hat man, this is my tom landry dallas cowboys look.

stuart: okay. he is legendary coach i understand it. are you a legendary tv performer? >> i'm legendary, broadcaster, journalist, and man about town. stuart: oh ho. unknown whitlock. you want to sit next to me. i don't want this separation and difference. you have to sit right there. is that okay? >> i want to come to new york to hang out with you in the studio. stuart: come get civilized in new york city, a wonderful place. jason, you're all right. i will wish you merry christmas sir. >> merry christmas to you. stuart: now while we're waiting on the final tax vote, congress still has time to give americans a lump of coal for christmas by shutting down the government. house whip, steve scalise will organize the votes to keep the government running. he is with us shortly. >> >> i know you heard me complain on this program about the secular christmas music we've been playing. >> really? stuart: really. my team has been playing it and

father jonathan morris will tell us if it bothers him. you have to wait for the next hour. liz: i love it. ♪ (snap) achoo! achoo! (snap) (snap) achoo! achoo! feel a cold coming on? zicam cold remedy nasal swabs shorten colds with a snap, and reduce symptom severity by 45%. shorten your cold with a snap, with zicam. when it might be time to buy or sell? with fidelity's real-time analytics, you'll get clear, actionable alerts about potential investment opportunities in real time. fidelity. open an account today.

♪ ashley: in the last hour glenn hubbard, he is a business school done at columbia university, told us the new tax bill will allow a lot of money to come back here and that is very good

news. roll tape. stuart: what do you think will happen with the money when it comes back to america and corporations get more money? >> i think several things and they're all good. there will be payouts to shareholders as money comes back to the united states and shareholders are people too, with spending decisions. there will certainly be more investment. very importantly, with expensing, this is a very big deal for the cost of capital. i expect with those same ceos, sharpen their pencils they will invest more. and then also, workers will benefit with more jobs and more wages. so really an all of the above. ♪

stuart: well, well, look at this! that, ladies and gentlemen, is another six-year low for general electric. 17.44 per share. down a bit again this morning. gop has less than three days to keep the government from shutting down. i say congress has three days to shop it from shutting down. house majority whip steve squeal lease joins you now -- steve scalise, he joins us now. you are the whip. you get all the votes to keep the government running. are you going to do it? >> stuart, we'll get our work done. today we got historic tax vote, sending tax cut and jobs bill to president trump's desk.

we'll take care of the rest of our business before we get out of here for christmas. stuart: the freedom caucus will have a go at you. they want spending cuts built into the ghost deal. you will not be able to give them to them. will we have a last minute deal going here? >> i've been talking to the freedom caucus and all members of our conference as the speaker and majority leader has, that we have package put together for disaster relief. texas, florida, california wildfires, puerto rico, we have to take care of that. make sure the defense department is properly funded. we're working through all of that. meantime, if you look at tax cuts and spending cuts, in the tax cuts and jobs bill we actually have 200 plus billion dollars in spending cuts that are built into that, between the individual mandate repeal and some of the fraud prevention we're doing on tax credits. there is a lot of good spending cuts to get us closer to a balanced federal budget in the tax cuts and jobs act.

stuart: every time there has been a government shutdown in the past the republicans got the blame. is there any reason to believe that if the government is shut down this time the democrats will get the blame? >> a lot of liberals are drooling for a government shutdown. a lot of people want to us do our jobs. house republicans clearly doing our job. today, again, one of the most biggest, historic tax cuts in our history, we'll be passing, sending to president trump's desk, that is part of doing our job for the american people, who want that kind of relief, get our economy moving. we'll take care of rest of the business before end of the week. i welcome everybody to come vote for it. there is no reason for any democrat to vote against the tax cuts and jobs act. they all lock-stepped they will block any tax cuts for middle-class families. i think they will pay a price for that but at the end of the day we'll deliver for the hard-working families who want more money in their pockets. stuart: will you be at the white house this afternoon at 3:00 eastern when the president

has, it is not a signing announcement, i'm not sure the correct expression, but he will make announcement, big speech. are you going to be there? >> i will be there. we have a lot to celebrate we're delivering something important for families who are calling on congress for years. stuart, you know this, this it has been over 30 years since we had the overhaul of tax code, simplifying code, cutting out loopholes and making it fair and our companies more competitive so they don't have to ship jobs abroad to foreign nations. that will be good to bring good jobs back home to america. president trump is critical helping us get to this point. good he will go to explain details to the american people, now that we have final bill. let's start selling it back home. when people hear about the details they actually like it. stuart: sell it. that's right, sir, on behalf of myself, all of our viewers, "varney & company," fox business network, got to tell you, a great pleasure to see you back where you belong.

>> great to be back. god's blessed me and merry christmas to our viewers. thanks, stuart. stuart: it is historic day, congress will pass the first major tax cut in decades. president trump will take a victory lap, 3:00 eastern at the white house. you will see it right here on the fox business network. we'll be back.

ashley: tax reform not quite across the finish line. a final procedural vote in the house is about to begin before we can put this to bed. blake burman standing by to tell us why. blake? reporter: ashley, they have to put finishing touches within the house now. senate rules kicked this back to the house. now there will be vote in next hour, somewhere in that time frame. we believe this is mere formality at this point. so much so they're planning on ceremony here at the white house later this afternoon at 3:00 in the afternoon with republican lawmakers. no doubt about it, especially after the embarassment here earlier this year with obamacare, this is major legislative accomplishment for president trump and republicans, however not even this president got everything that he wanted in this bill. gary cohn, his top economic advisor, saying at an event here in washington earlier this morning that if they could take out one specific thing, it would be the carried interest

loophole. >> we would have cut carried interest. we've been trying to cut carried interest, well, probably tried 25 times. reporter: now sources tell my colleague at john roberts, that is was actually republican leadership who would not allow this to happen, ashley. it according to the sources it was not allowed on the negotiating table. ashley: wow, really interesting part of the story. blake burman, appreciate it. we're following all of this with the third hour of "varney" comes up right now.

neil: throughout the program i have been singing the praises of the tax deal even though it is going to cost me a lot of money i supported because i think it will return america to prosperity and that is a wonderful thing. the deal is under attack. not a single democrat voted for

it and many used extreme language to condemn it. senator schumer called it an absolute disgrace, senator warren called the tax heist and bernie sanders says it is all for the billionaires. the media detests anything associated with donald trump and they persuaded voters it is a bad with only 24% of voters supported as of now. what should the president, the gop and the tax-cut supporters do now? sell it. sell it aggressively. deck out tens of millions will get a bigger paycheck. anyone with a pension plan gets richer. over and over. take aim at democrats up for reelection like the ten senators from trump voting states. they said no to raising the

take-home pay of every taxpayer, they said no to growth, no 2 jobs, no to bringing trillions back to america. this tax deal is historic, they will sell it and get on with the business of prosperity. the third hour of "varney and company" is about to begin. ♪ stuart: donald trump hold a cabinet meeting 30 minutes from now. any headlines you will hear first right here. the house has to vote on the tax bill again, it is expected sometime in the noon hour. we might get some of the actions this hour, looks like a formality. senior producer chad program joins us now. we heard an hour ago from a white house aide quoted on dow jones that the actual signing of the tax deal could be delayed until next year.

any idea if that is going to happen and why? >> that could be the case. we have house and senate republicans going to the white house early this afternoon for a big celebration. we could have the signing a nearly part of the year. here is a vocabulary term, it is paygo, pay-as-you-go. congress when you accumulate debt and send money out the door for spending especially entitlement spending like medicare and medicaid you have to pay as you go and if you don't sign the tax bill until calendar year 2018 the waiver to accommodate the provisions on capitol hill, budgetary things, won't have to be done until 2019. if you don't sign it right now before christmas or december 31st, do it after the first of the year. stuart: you are the only guy who can make weeds interesting. >> that a lot for my gardening habits. i wish my garden at home looked

better. stuart: great stuff, thanks very much, sorry to cut you short, a huge day. i want to bring in the heritage foundation president, tax bill is going to pass. i am saying get out there and sell it. you got to sell it. will i see heavy-duty selling? >> absolutely. we have been selling it at the president has been selling it. i talked to paul ryan, he is selling it, all systems go. when nancy pelosi said we shouldn't pass it because we would be stealing money from the government. the government own the whole economy and give us something back? this is an idiotic argument but shows liberals for what they are. stuart: i remember people speaking like that from the 1930s in england. that was the socialist position, it is not yours, it is hours. let me not digress too much. we just heard from gary cohen

-- gary cohn about this carried interest, it's days. for the benefit of our viewers, that is a special, low, low tax rate paid by hedge fund managers which he said we want to get rid of it but couldn't, never made it to the table. can you explain that? >> i really can't. this is one sausage i was not on the inside of making, that is what you should watch out for, when they get in private rooms, strange things happen. that first in first out got pulled out, carried interest should not be continued, we are trying for a flatter, simpler, fairer, more transparent tax code that doesn't comply with that but it will be a great plan, great christmas present for everybody. stuart: are we going to the government open and running beyond christmas? >> i am sure we are. sounds to me like that is going

to happen and we will carry forward until january 19th continuing resolution, hopefully back to regular order and do it for the rest of the fiscal year. particularly optimistic that things are going in the right direction. stuart: this tax deal is going to hurt me personally but i very much support it because it returns america to prosperity. are you with me on that? >> i am. it will hurt me as well. on a couple fronts. the first thing everybody does is look at their own filing and see how it affects them but real americans, little americans, americans across the country, it is going to be a great christmas president and i am so proud of the president and the majorities in the house and senate for making it happen. stuart: this may be your last appearance on "varney and company" as the president of

heritage. it is your last time. >> i'm stepping down as president on december 31st which our good friend and colleague will be starting january 1st. everybody here in heritage and washington is excited to have a real veteran and leader of the conservative movement, drinking christmas toasts. stuart: i want to say you did a good job and contributed mightily and it is much appreciated. >> you can have me back, i will be hanging around. stuart: if you are not real careful. good luck to you. >> merry christmas, all. stuart: let's get to the market, we do politics, now we do many, the dow 30, up 21 points, even split between winners and losers among the dow 30. gary -- gary cohn had a lot to say. one thing he said was the tax

cuts are not fully priced into the stock market. john layfield, i took that to mean gary cohn think we have another leg up when the tax-cut bite. what say you? >> with all due respect i respect gary cohn but they have been priced in up to now, looking at the market run-up recessed in august, the majority have been priced in but funding, fundamentals of the economy driving the market is very strong, the market is trending up, i don't think it will be trending up on tax cuts. stuart: it is growth that gets a leg up for the market as opposed to the tax cuts which are priced in. conflicting views on the technology stocks. we have a wall street journal headline that says the tax plan

could hit but also this money coming back into america which i will go towards shareholder repurchases and bigger dividends. where are you on this deal? do you think it is good or bad for big tech? >> good overall. the article is well written, when without repatriation, you have tax havens that get hurt in puerto rico, the normal tax havens, it will benefit the economy as far as big tech. look at what tech has done, apple with 750 million users globally, netflix 100 million, amazon prime 80 million, they built economies of scale, they need a content or deliverables and the ability to increase that content, they become better companies if you buy

them for the long term, still a by right here. stuart: i want to talk to you about fedex. this is a big deal, they say the tax deal when it passes, they, fedex will invest more money in the american economy and expand hiring. they are doing what donald trump wants them to do, right? >> that is a bit of an outlier because they have such a capital-intensive business, they have to compete with amazon, building up their own delivery system. the real job growth, 50% from small business. they are the ones that are seeing this large tax cut. the opposition is glossing over that. they are handing them out, adding jobs and, it is good for the economy but not from big companies but medium and small

companies which is what you want in tax cuts. stuart: would you consider buying general electric? i ask because earlier this morning it hit another six year low at 1745, would you buy it? >> i am about to wave the white flag, i bought in 18. this is a textbook case for repatriation, they have $31 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, balance she looks terrible, $83 billion overseas, their balance sheet changes with repatriation of money and you will see that, it doesn't address the underlying business but mister flannery is doing a good job with a complete reset in addressing that. stuart: let's see if john moves the markets, john layfield, back to the beach, see you soon. check netflix, price waterhouse coopers says the number of people who subscribe to netflix are on par, about even with the number of people who pay for cable. how about that from netflix? check blackberry?

stock is up 10%, they are making money but not by selling phones with keyboards. that is the old days, leading the charge and software for self driving cars, the ceo -- i didn't know that. john jen is with us next. ♪ ♪ a wonderful christmas time ♪ so... i'm hoping for good years ahead. that's thanks to research funded by the american cancer society. the same folks giving me free rides to treatment, insurance advice,and a place to stay during chemo. i need that stuff like you don't know. and now that you do, please give at cancer.org

stuart: breaking news fox reporting bruce or will testify before the senate select committee on intelligence tomorrow, the former deputy attorney general who was demoted because of meetings with officials from fusion gps. his wife worked for fusion gps. they wrote the russian dossier,

he testifies behind closed doors. more trouble for uber, it is just a traditional taxi company, not a tech company, the implication that more regulation coming uber's way, uber says it won't affect their business. when i heard blackberry was going to be on the program i thought we would be talking about phones. i was completely wrong. blackberry is now a leader in driverless car technology. joining us is blackberry ceo john jen. you bloom me away with this. i didn't know there was anything to do with driverless cars. >> most people don't know that was the iconic nature of our phones was so broad that everybody is thinking about the phone company. the more important thing we focus on on cybersecurity, safety and security and privacy

of a car. stuart: you write software, code writers, software that goes to self driving cars, now blackberry. >> not only self driving cars for autonomous vehicles but connected cars, we have 60 million cars running on the road, but for sadie's -- if we are embedded into doing this system, maps, and safety. stuart: i am supposed to know these things and you are showing me up. i'm supposed to be in touch with what is going on. this is a total surprise. when did you start this complete change over of blackberry to doing interconnected cars and self driving cars.

>> we had this technology for quite some time. eight years already, hasn't been emphasized until four years ago. we are focusing on various components, we work directly with the car manufacturer, people who provide chips, this is why we are pervasive in cars. the real push with the last four years has in something we have done well for a longer period of time. stuart: fedex said when they get the tax-cut deal that lowers the talk rate of corporate tax they get out and invest more and hire more. will blackberry do the same? you are going to get the tax-cut. >> we have a more unique situation, we have benefit from

that but not as profound as a us-based company. we have benefit that will come from it and we will be investing more, regardless whether we have the tax credit or not but investing more, f right now. stuart: i want to say congratulations, that is quite a turnaround job at blackberry and you put me on the spot because i don't have a clue what you are up to. you want to get on this program, get out there and tell me what is going on. now all of you, i am sure you heard how i feel about secular christmas music. it is okay in an elevator or a shopping mall, i don't care for it. later we have father jonathan

morris who will make the final call on christmas music. we even have a song or two from the choir of st. george's chapel. we will be back, everybody.

stuart: what is the most popular christmas present from millennials you cannot on iphone or even a puppy. according to the harris poll they want their student loans paid off. entirely understandable. >> the average is $37,000. stuart: no wonder they want it page. this is called the saddest christmas tree in the world in front of the central piazzolla in rome, local residents colony toilet brush. the 3 cost $50,000 to put on display, the city has no plan to take it down or remove it. happy birthday, pope francis, 81 years old. how decelerating? an extra long pizza, 13 feet long, children from the local hospital help blowout the single birthday candle. we have an upbeat outlook from general mills, they make a lot of cereal, betty crocker,

progresso and other brands, not much, one half of 1%. the chipmaker micron look to the future and like what they see, stock is up 4%. better profits and better sales at winnebago. we had them on the show originally, that is not good enough, they are down 7%. stitch fix, personalized apparel company send you a box of items, you buy them or send them back, you choose. first earnings reports is going public investors don't like it. they spend money on advertising and expansion and are down 10%. shortly donald trump holds his cabinet meeting. any headlines you get here first, the markets are dead flat. we are up four points, we will be back. ♪

i used to have more hair. i used to have more color. and... i used to have cancer. i beat it. i did. not alone. i used to have no idea what the american cancer society did. research? yeah. but also free rides to chemo and free lodging near hospitals. i used to maybe give a little. then i got so much back. i used to have cancer. please give at cancer.org.

>> donald from holding the cabinet meeting, any headline out of that meeting you will see right here. check the big board, dead flat, we are dead flat, up 6 points, half winners, half losers among the dow 30.

fox news contributor, capitalist pig hedge fund manager. i feel like you are all right. >> you should be cheering, not laughing. we need more people to stand up and -- stuart: it is the word pig. i don't want it in the same sentence. is that okay? 25,000 before christmas on the dow. what do you say? >> the market less than 1% from $20,000 and the trend is still up. even today, more new highs than lows in the 52-week list discontinuing a trend that has gone crazy under donald trump are continuing in its own market for the better part of 7 or 8 years was what worries me is we are late in the game, so many historic records have been broken and even the presence of the coin, the fact that there

exists wouldn't exist, somebody tells me we are a little late in this bull market. stuart: are you still telling your investors to take a little money off the table because we had such a fabulous run and don't think we will get another second leg up next year? >> optimism by many measures, multi-decade hire, investors have more money than any time, and even homebuilders, at a 19 year high. a lot of reasons i think bullishness has gone too far. and jpmorgan's advice, still down to the sleeping point. we have gone years without 5% correction so that will frighten you too much, taking a little off the table is appropriate right now. stuart: here is something i think will be good for the market and the economy next

year, fedex. they say pass this tax deal and we, fedex, we are going to hire more people, the economy going to grow. that is a plus for the economy and the markets, what say you? >> every dollar, that stays in the pockets, groups of individuals and every single american is a positive. and it is just saved and the bank goes out and makes loans for the new jobs. what worries me is spending, a little more -- spending and borrowing so that worries me, every dollar that stays in people's pockets doesn't go to the economy with large. stuart: i will call you a

cautious capitalist pig. now to be coin. is that something you wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole because it is a bubble or what? >> you can't bet on everything. bit coin although it is going to go higher isn't one of my top ideas. this is a bubble but bubbles have a way of roping everyone in. 1999 the nasdaq went up 50%, no one thought it was a bubble, they thought it was the future. bit coin gets higher from here, more like seventh or eighth inning rather than first or second. stuart: how have you invested in bit coin? block chain technology, how do you put it to work? >> i have to say i earned quite a bit of bit coin and too painful to talk about. i owned one bit coin. at some point i owned more. all i can say is could have

should have would have. stuart: capitalist pig, i am surprised at you. >> i just -- i don't want to make you angry. stuart: stay right there even though you confuse the with charles payne twice in the last few minutes, just stay there. jordan on the phone, says he has something important to say. >> an article by the gay of a meal oldinberg, in the bit coin exchange in sweden, publicly announces two days ago that he dumped all his bit coin because of the problems, it is not liquid, you can't use it and make a public announcement, this is the worst investment in the world but you should put

your money into bit coin cash. guess what happens. bit coin cash, down 30% or so and it starts rallying, this guy was on the level. why make a public announcement you try to create trading activity, this is how manipulation works. it is the next great thing, everyone follows him, that is going on. stuart: thanks for watching the show, very opportune moment, bit coin's price is down by $1100 as we speak. >> this is life. stuart: capitalist pig still with us, listening to that, what do you say? >> i discount anything jordan says, to be honest, proven criminal. you have to consider the source. stuart: weight a second, jordan laid out a good case of how bit

coin can be manipulated by the insiders. it is a tiny float everybody is chasing, very limited number of bit coins. >> bernie madoff laid out a great -- i don't want to be hyperbolic -- >> that is a fair point. >> and the same time. opinions about bit coin. >> and opening money. >> talking about bit coin. >> i listen to 1000 deal today. why do i listen to a proven criminal like you? >> the bottom line, you want to defuse and avoid that, you know i am right. >> talk about bit coin for 31/2

minute. stuart: i'm coming up on a hard break. jordan, jonathan, thank you very much, appreciate it, interesting discussion, didn't mean to set up a firestorm. let's get to the democrats reaction to the tax bill, listen to what steny hoyer had to say. >> the main issue is this is a bad bill, bad for our country, it will create great debt and perverse in the sense that it gives 83% of the tax cuts to the wealthiest in america. stuart: 83% of the tax cuts for the wealthiest, senator pat toomey, republican pennsylvania joins us now. >> a lot of nonsense, we have been hearing it since before the bill was unveiled, before it was written, democratic colleagues were attacking us about a bill they hadn't seen a did not exist.

it is instructive to look at what they do, as opposed to what they say, on the debate on the senate floor one of the senators offered an amendment to take our product, our tax cuts for working class and middle income individuals and families and make them permanent. of this is a bad deal for the middle class and working americans presumably democrats would vote no. every one of them voted yes, ultimate his endorsement for what we have done for working americans and middle income folks. stuart: as far as voters are concerned, underwater, in the latest poll that i saw, how are you going to turn around? >> the biggest factor, and in february, check on -- more money in it and withholding went down, and the vast majority of middle income and

lower income folks. when that happens, the debate is over and they got the pay raise, the tax-cut we said they get and at that point it is case closed. stuart: thank you for taking time out, you are superbusy and i wonder if you get any sleep. fbi director, deputy director andrew mccabe, behind closed doors for eight hours. about the hillary email investigation. and a -- judge andrew napolitano is with us. so you can get what is going on. whether it is closed doors, we ask chris stewart if he could do is anything about this. and extraordinary things came out. >> the government is the master

of service, to work to protect the constitution. stuart: he didn't want a closed-door meeting. judge napolitano: say whatever he wants because he can't be prosecuted, charged or impaired. stuart: on intel committee you should not be doing that. judge napolitano: dianne feinstein, what is left to her, if andrew mccabe abused government power and government funds we have a right to know about it. if he has been falsely accused of that and there is no evidence we have a right to know that. the republicans will say mccabe is biased, the hillary investigation rigged, mueller is biased against the president and has a right to know that. democrats will say -- it is baloney but that is the argument, the i'm -- mueller's mother teresa, we have the right -- there are two sides to

these stories, some courageous soul leaks a transcript of the interrogation. stuart: why did congressman shift say nice things? >> to give the democratic version and congressman nunez would come out and get the republican version. there is one advantage to being behind closed doors, don't have to watch the nausea of them grandstanding. none of them knows how to ask questions. stuart: we agree. thank you. merry christmas. stuart: very soon we will be joined by father jonathan morris. i want the final word from him on christmas music, final. what does he think about this song, for example. play it. ♪ ♪ i'm dreaming of a white

christmas ♪ just like the ones --

nicole: i'm nicole pedallides with your foxbusiness and brief. a lot of buzz surrounding a new corporate lobbyist for amazon. is a just about retail or the coveted headquarters too? the cities have all been battling out this newly

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stuart: republicans split on tax cuts, tax-cut tax-cut tax-cut tax plan, don't get a tax-cut tax plan tax reform, you are not worried about a tax-cut? tax tax tax tax tax tax tax border tax. we have got a tax-cut. enough. liz: that was just one so. stuart: make fun of me all you like, i say it is time to sell this tax plan, it is a good one, get out and sell it because it is underwater in the polls, only 24% of voters think it is a good idea. kaylee has a tough job and is with us this morning, you do have to sell it.

it is underwater. what is the strategy here? how are you going to sell this thing? >> it is not tough to sell putting more money in people's pockets so come february that will be a reality, not something that needs to be sold but felt by the american people. one thing about polls, if you look at the cnn poll they pull just 23% of republicans, nbc was not much better, 25% republicans. if you pull all democrats or moderates in some cases you are not going to get a fair and equitable poll. stuart: you have an uphill struggle because the media is heavily biased against donald trump, against any kind of tax cut and all you here in the establishment media is benefits go to the wealthy, benefits go to big corporations, 83% of benefits go to the rich. you have an uphill struggle. >> especially with the media, the liberal media is aiding and abetting the democratic party

and leading the american people, the fact is every tax bracket is coming down to the fact is doubling the standard deduction, for a family, $24,000 of income are taxed at the rate of 0, doubling of child tax credit, this is a victory for all americans, they cannot deceive americans when they feel it in their paychecks. stuart: what about shutting down the government? they ran out of money friday. if the government is shut down, as is usual it will be the republicans who get the blame. >> i think you are right on that and this is why it can't happen and it won't happen because republicans are busy behind closed doors coming up with a compromise and potentially land on something like a stopgap measure which will push this to mid-january but ultimately we need democrats to get this done to keep the government open. we need chuck and nancy to come to the table, time to come to the table and keep the government open for christmas.

stuart: you think they will do that? >> they realize the stakes are too high, they didn't show up for that meeting, it broke on your show, with trump to talk about keeping the government open, it will fall on them, you said it will fall on republicans it will fall on chuck and nancy too. stuart: stuart: sorry it is short but this is a huge newsday, thanks for joining us, three dow stocks hitting all-time highs today. home depot again, bowing again and caterpillar with an all-time high headlines from the cabinet meeting, donald trump confirming he will hold a news conference on the tax cuts. the market has not fully digested the tax-cut changes, that will be the stock market. he also said congress needs to fund the border wall and may visit prototypes of the wall in the san diego area soon. next up, are you waiting for this? the final word on christmas music from father jonathan

morris. first the choir of st. george's capital, come oh you faithful, that is music. ♪

stuart: here we go.

there is an ongoing debate on this program, secular versus religious music at christmas time. we will try to settle the debate. it will be settled my way. the debate is between father jonathan morris and myself. welcome to the show. >> you say it will be settled your way, i won't be involved in that negotiation. when you're not? >> if you have the ultimate say. stuart: that little drummer boy song. >> i love it. stuart: it has no place on this program. it is secular music. to the best of my knowledge there was no little drummer boy at the major. it is a creation. >> he was playing his drum for who? stuart: he wasn't there. >> for baby jesus. it is a beautiful thing but you don't know if he wasn't there. stuart: was he mentioned in the bible? >> how many sheep were there? stuart: three. >> chapter and verse. stuart: wait a second.

on this program i don't like what i call secular music. jingle bells. i don't want that but i want a christmas carol sangh i acquire from an episcopal church or any church you care to name, a christian carol, hark the herald angels thing, come are you faithful. >> there is nothing wrong with that, i love jesus. santa claus isn't so bad either. can i tell you why? where did santa claus come from? santa claus is a depiction of a bishop called saint nicholas who lived in the fourth century in turkey and was giving gifts to the poor. stuart: during the break, we were talking about an example of secular state invading christianity in your church. you told the story during the break. >> it wasn't an invitation to

start off with. there was a government agency who asked to use our church hall, the parish hall in order to give gifts to children, the politicians were there to take pictures of them. i don't like giving free stuff out, that is another question. we do it in our parish but we do it with parents giving gifts to children and writing letters. they asked for said requirement, you can use the hall. and we got a list of requirements, this is what we would ask of you. the last one is if you by chance have a christmas tree in the hall, if it could please be removed. my parish manager showed it to me, you are kidding call him back and said we would love you to use the hall, we will not take down the christmas tree. i didn't have a christmas tree in the parish hall, i brought one down myself and put it there. it is confusion, it is

ridiculous. i said if we give gifts for hanukkah, wonderful, explain hanukkah. if you give gifts for christmas explain christmas. let -- let's not pretend none of it has meaning. stuart: would you allow jingle bells to be played in your church? >> i would like to play on this program. not in my church but on this program. stuart: you wouldn't have it in your church. >> i wouldn't mind kids singing it at a christmas play, absolutely. stuart: i feel the same way. >> not as an act of worship. stuart: i don't want secular stuff on this program. i want real christmas music. >> you are puritanical. i appreciate the intention of your hatred for jingle bells. stuart: i do not hate. liz: any christmas song is great if you can sing it in a

pub. ashley: landed on plymouth rock. stuart: i totally won this debate. >> congratulations on the win. stuart: you are out of the show. thanks to all our viewers, merry christmas. here is some more music from the choir of st. george's chapel. ♪ ♪ we wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year ♪

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neil: they are voting in the next hour final vote for the tax-cut package. it is formality. it will pass. i hope they play come all ye faithful as they're voting. ashley: silent night. neil: what is your favorite

christmas song. >> good wing wencelaus. >> that is a tavern song >> neil. neil: it is yours. neil: after this tax cut goes through you wouldn't be able to afford figg pudding. >> you're right. neil: you're a good pa patriotic american. i don't know. maybe we issue a swap thing. i go to britain. you say here. >> never do that. neil: they are set to vote on the tax reform. president meeting with cabinet right now. we're expecting a spray from that room momentarily. a big white house event around 3:00 p.m. eastern time the president hopes to have the house vote out of the way. this is perfunctory. the vote is there. he will even talk to the press about that that