lauren: and you're on the road. connell: and i'm going to pittsburgh, at a u.s. steel plant right in the middle of the trade war. the ceo will join us in pennsylvania, that's tomorrow. thanks for joining us today, the "bulls and bears" starts right now. ♪ ♪ david: hi, everybody. this is "bulls and bears" and a very busy day. i'm david asman. joining me on the panel in this busy hour is jonas max ferris, liz peek, heather -- [inaudible] and gary b. smith. president george h.w. bush is returning home. you're looking at live pictures of ellington field in houston where the aircraft carrying the president's casket along with members of his family and special guests will be landing within the next hour. we're going to bring you more on the celebration of his life and legacy today in the nation's capital and in houston coming up. but first, to the breaking news. general motors' ceo mary barra

on capitol hill meeting with ohio congressmen under pressure for announcing plans to close plants in the state the, this meeting following one with ohio senators. edward lawrence is standing by with all the details. what do we know about what was discussed? >> reporter: david, i can tell you nothing unifies both republicans and democrats like job cuts. gm has announced 15,000 jobs cut as well as four plants in the united states cut and one plant in canada. i can tell you that the two senators -- senator rob portman and senator sherrod brown -- pushed mary barra to try and get her to reverse her decision or at least try and maneuver her or in order to make those plants or at least the plant in ohio still workable and usable. now, i asked mary barra specifically about the president's comments, because the president also has spoken out against gm. i asked her if the president cutting the subsidies made her

nervous at all, she ended up saying she was defending her company when she made her answer. listen. >> you know, right now we are in an industry that is transforming faster than aye ever seen in my 38-year career, and we're trying to make sure that general motors is strong and that we're in a leadership position and the technologies like electrification, autonomous vehicles, like connectivity because that's what customers want, that's where the industry is going. and a strong general motors is the best way for me to provide and maintain the, you know, 90,000-plus jobs that we have across the united states and not -- in addition, all the people who have retired from general motors and their pensions. and so we're working very hard to make sure general motors is around for several decades in a leadership position, can provide jobs and support the communities and the stakeholders involved with the company. finish. >> reporter: now, senator portman and senator brown said they had a very frank conversation with her. they said that ohio was there

when gm needed a bailout, and they helped gm out, so gm now needs to step up and help out ohio. listen. >> we're trying everything we can to insure that those workers at lawrencetown get the support they deserve now to be able to build another product. we're not asking for charity. what we're asking for is to give the community and the work force the opportunity to once again show what they can do. >> reporter: and they talked about retooling maybe in the future, bringing some new renewable or energy efficient cars. the new technology, battery-operated cars coming into that plant possibly. they did push and say they wanted to try and, obviously, keep the jobs. barbara says she'll -- barra says she'll try and find other employment for those workers. she says she's going to try for most of the folks. however, she says that she has to make this decision for the survival of gm itself. now, after the ohio congressmen,

which she's meeting with right now, she's going to meet with the senators from maryland to discuss why the plant's closing in that state too. back to you, david. >> edward, question for you. were there any specific proposals made by the senators to keep gm active in those plants or, conversely, did she ask for any particular help that she thought might bridge the gap between what they need and, you know, what she's going to save by closing down? >> reporter: i take the second part of that. she did say that -- she defended her decision and laid out the reason why she needed to make that decision for the senators. beyond that, she didn't go into much detail. the senators, when i asked them specifically about what types of pressure they're going to put on her other than just asking her to go back and hire those folks again or at least not fire them, they did say they would like to see possibly a retooling within the company, maybe bringing some other lines, maybe bringing a plant or work from mexico back up to the united states to come out of that plant.

they said -- they made a big point of saying that the tax cuts should have helped gm, and as they get their rebate, basically, from the taxpayers or from the federal government, then they should reinvest that in the company and keep those jobs in ohio. >> edward, jonas ferris here. were you getting a sense who's -- which side of the aisle was giving gm more advice on where they need to have factories to make the cars of the future? was it the republicans or democrats this time around? >> reporter: when you talk to the ohio senators, it was both of them. in fact, it was senator portman who specifically said that he mentioned the electric vehicles to barra in the meeting, saying that he would like to get that into the plant. it seems like at least in ohio it's both republican and democratic senators who are very concerned and very interested in getting that kind of technology into the plants there. >> why did -- . >> you know, i'm just going to -- oh, i'm sorry. i'm going to throw this out for everyone. this whole dog and pony show

really bothers me. on the one hand, i don't think gm should have ever been given any money. but the fact is they were. they paid it all back. the government had a loss -- david: they didn't pay it all back. >> -- because they sold some shares. but the problem now is that gm has to go up there and kowtow to these senators and congressmen. i'll throw it out there to everybody, i think barra at some point should say, look, take back all the money you give us now for subsidies and the -- you buy cars from gm, and we're going to do our own thing. i guess that'd be my stance. what does the rest of the panel think? >> i'm with gary 100%. first of all, this isn't the first time general motors has been brought before our politicians. this whole thing reminds me of 1953 when the president at the time, wilson, was asked why was

he given so many of the shares, and he says what's good for america is good for general motors and vice versa. and when did that stop becoming the thing here? this is why i was asking about the republicans of democrats. general motors needs to be in the business of selling cars. i know the politicians are in the business of getting votes, but they need to decide what kind of cars to make to compete against tesla and european car companies. and they're been putting factories abroad since the 1920s. they opened up in shanghai in is 1929. that's how they bill became the best in -- became the best in the world. and i don't see how the government is going to decide where these factories should be for jobs. if they wanted to do that, they should have kept the shares they sold a few years ago -- >> exactly. david: sherrod brown came out with a fax or a tweet saying instead of celebrating the ground breaking of their new mexican plant, gm should use the 100% expensing tax break to retool its wardstown plant and

save the jobs of 4500 workers. i mean, the point is do we really want congressmen and senators dictating the tax investment plans of a company? i mean or, we have been there. i don't think it works. >> yeah, yeah. >> i don't think it -- >> not only that, not only that, david, but when i was reading through some of the transcripts, and i can't remember if it's a senator or congressman dingell that used to be, actually, a gm executive. i don't know how long, i don't know what she did, but she said i want to go through and review their product plans. [laughter] the hubris! that some senator or some government representative is going to go through the product plans of a company and make sure that they're to her liking. incredible. >> so, edward, is there any clarity -- >> [inaudible] david: go ahead, heather. >> i can -- >> any clarity -- >> senators here did walk that line a little bit. they absolutely walked that line in trying not to tell gm how to

make their cars. senator portman saying they need to decide what's best for their business model. however, he says, what would be best, he believes is opening that plant or keeping that plant open in ohio. >> so, edward, is there any clarity on the president making the statements to withdraw the subsidies? has he had any recent tweets on the backs of this? >> reporter: well, i can tell you that i actually have two sources on this, and there are at least two departments within the prime minister -- presidency or within the administration, the d. of energy and commerce departments are looking at what subsidies they have and what they could possibly back out of or not continue going forward. and i have a from a source inside the white house saying he's directed the appropriate agencies in order to look at this. now, nothing's happened as of yet, they're just looking to the see what they need to do right now if they take that step to try and end subsidies or not go forward with more. david: again, there's that $11.2

billion to be paid back by gm. the president has tweeted about that. edward, thank you very much for the breaking news. we have ohio congressman bill johnson, he's in the meeting right now with mary barra, but he will be running to our camera the moment that meeting ends to tell us how it all went down behind closed doors. and the trump administration wants to give the u.s. post service its blessing to raise taxes on package deliveries. why that means bad news for amazon. that's next. ♪ ♪ over 100 years ago,

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essential or prescription drugs are essential. the second thing they said to focus on was to cut costs, and that means compensation. get rid of collective bargaining. and then they didn't say anything about removing retirement obligations, and that is what seeps out so much of that cash from the postal service. and then last but not least, the board of governors right now, they're suggesting that the board of governors needs to get more involved when it comes to negotiating these deals with the likes of amazon. we know the president has been very vocal about amazon saying that the postal service has become amazon's delivery boy and that they're providing too much service, giving too many discounts to amazon. however, others like economists, analysts like callen and co. are saying amazon's going to turn elsewhere. they're going to go to the competition like ups or fedex. i had one viewer watching earlier on in the day, and he said in his local -- in his town there's an amazon warehouse, and amazon itself already delivers to his front door.

so you have these proposals going forward. not necessarily full privatization, but definitely asking the postal service to act more like a company. [laughter] david: what a novel idea. thank you. so, panel, should we taxpayers be happy that amazon's kind of joyride from the post office may be coming to an end? >> i don't know if it's a joy -- >> i definitely think so. i think that, you know, as kristina alluded to, they should move closer and closer to a private model. i'd like to see them privatize the postal service. and to that end, kristina, two other things i wondered if they were in the proposal that i know, actually, the postal service wanted to start doing sunday deliveries, and they wanted the ability to close unproductive branches which keep getting stopped by because they're in some congressman's district. did that come up? >> reporter: yeah, they were talking about real estate. nothing that i saw about closing or reopening sundays, because today is acting like a sunday

because it's a national day of mourning, but they're still delivering amazon packages today which did get a lot of people upset about that as well. >> yeah. the usps was created in 1788, so to gary's point, we needed it bakken then, you know? we needed -- back then. we needed a postal service backed by the government, horse and buggy to deliver from one state to across the country. they couldn't ever foresee all the internet technology we have nowadays. and the postal service, from my understanding, makes most of their revenue from letters, postcards in the mail. nobody writes letters anymore. everybody pays their bills online. and so they really haven't been able to adapt to changing times, and i think that's why $4 billion worth of losses for fiscal year last year, and it's going to continue unless they do. >> well, heather, the world -- okay, they don't have the pony express anymore, but the world hasn't totally -- i mean, at the end of the day, there's a lot of people living in rural areas, and the post office is providing

the money-losing service just like the phone companies are by decree. because you can't -- fedex is never going to open up a branch in small town america because there's not enough package volume there. it would be a money loser. but those residents need a post office there. so the question is, is who's going to subsidize those loss ares. unfortunately, the rest of their business is so not competitive with ups or fedex in quality, that they have to charge a discount in order to get the business of amazon. the real issue is how does the government engineer this to let them raise their prices and not have the business go to fedex and ups. that's the fine balance we need to get. >> i think that's right, but that does not mean this could not be a privatized organization that has a mandate that it has to maintain service in those underserved, expensive places you're talking about, remote areas, rural areas, etc. but to have taxpayers on the hook because of mismanagement -- >> liz. >> -- because of -- >> just to be, just to be clear,

like, a phone in a rural town that's on is not the government, right? it's provided by verizon -- >> i know, that's what i'm saying. >> who's paying for those losses? my parents grew up in a place where they had ten telephone poles going to their house. that private company loses money every day serving that house. it's being subsidized by the other customers and the free market -- >> yes. but, jonas -- >> but, jonas, you're -- >> taxpayers right now are subsidizing not only those services which everyone deems essential and are essential, we're also subsidizing bad management and that is, i think, where i am totally onboard with some kind of massive change in the way this thing's been run. it's been proposed any number of times, but basically, you can't get the unions onboard -- david: by the way, the unions are the elephant in the room. there's a $43 billion unpaid bill to the union pension fund. >> yeah. david: if it is privatized, who's going to buy it? >> there's more ups trucker

workers that are million power ins than postal workers. the fact that managers can make more money is one of the problems, it's not competitive. david: all right. we've got to move on, gang. china break its silence on the u.s. trade deal. what they are now saying that could move markets tomorrow. ♪ ♪ your insurance rates skyrocket after a scratch so small you could fix it with a pen. how about using that pen to sign up for new insurance instead? for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise their rates because of their first accident. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ ♪ ♪ this holiday season, families near you need your help. visit redcross.org now to donate.

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♪ ♪ david: of course, markets are closed on this national day of mourning for president bush, but futures are pointing higher after yesterday's 800-point drop on the dow over concerns of a trade deal with china or a trade deal not happening. today beijing breaking its silence, affirming there is, quote, a clear timeline and road map on trade negotiations with the u.s. president trump tweeting out that there are, quote, very strong signals being sent by china and that he believes president xi meant every word of what he said at their long and

hopeful, historic meeting. so will investors believe china's going to stick to some kind of deal? what do you think? >> well, i tell you what, david, i think they'll believe it until the very next tweet. [laughter] david: it's a roller coaster. >> i think, maybe -- i don't know if i speak for the panel or not, but i am honestly so confused now as to what may or may not be true with these tariffs. but here's my takeaway, i'm starting to ignore any tariff talk. one, i can't get a bead what is actually happening, when it's going to happen, when these 90 days start, when they stop, what's agreed to, what's not agreed to. here's the bottom line: we are growing now faster with tariffs than we were at any time under the obama administration. gdp's still at 3.5%. even if every single tariff that trump proposes was put into effect and collected, a long shot, the effect on the economy

is only like .2%. so i ask, why are we worried about this? i say put your head in the sand if you're a long-term investor, just buy what you like and ignore everything else. >> gary, the point gary's bringing up is interesting. there's only been 10 billion or so in extra tariff revenue over the year before. that is not enough money to move this economy on any stretch of the imagination. it's a fraction of the advantage corporations got with the tax cut recently. so it's not -- that said, and tariff man, the president's, correct, the chinese do not like these tariffs, and they want them to go away with. it's going to be hard to keep those in effect, and, for example, they'll let more payments from us into their country. they've won that by keeping us out in visa is and mastercard. i think we have to start focusing more on protecting, on helping our businesses the way a the chinese help theirs to grow them so we can be more competitive with, essentially,

what they do. >> i think the most impressive thing that's come out over the last 24 hours is peter navarro saying that president xi at that dinner went through 140 different issues that the united states had made demands about and basically went through the particulars of how china was -- david: i don't think that's possible, by the way, do you? i think there was a little exaggeration there. >> maybe, but i don't think so. i think this was a serious two-and-a-half hour conversation. i think the chief news agreed to a great many things. what they cannot do is look like they're losing face. they cannot give in publicly to each of these demands. but already they have lowered tariffs, they have begun to allow financial services companies into their country, they have begun to back away from the required forced transfer of technology through joint ventures. a lot is happening, and i thought investors just sort of went crazy because of this hack of specificity about the 90-day holding period or waiting period. i think this is actually going

well. i think it'd be great if president trump stopped tweeting about it -- david: good luck. >> -- and definitely stopped taking kind of a winning lap or whatever, a victory lap. this has to go forward. >> but here's the problem, chinese officials have even complained about the differences and voices on the u.s. trade team. you have lighthizer and navarro on the one hand that are very much protectionist, and then you have kudlow and steven mnuchin who are free traders. so when you have navarro saying china can't be trusted at times, he's said that in the past, and you have president trump then tweeting today that perhaps he hopes he's not being naive, that he thinks we're making progress with china talk, i think it would be better if we had one voice. who's leading the u.s. trade team, as the president -- [inaudible conversations] david: yeah, but that's not the way trump president trump rolls. he loves to have these competing voices not only from his team, but from himself. >> yeah. david: and don't discount, as

jonas said, the effect this is having on china. xi is in a lot of trouble. there are a lot of people in the politboro saying, wait a minute, workers are being laid off, i mean, there's trouble in china -- [inaudible conversations] >> yeah. >> i'm curious about one thing. look, the whole reason, most of the reason that we put these tariffs in place was to punish the chinese for stealing technology. they can say they're not going to do it, but does anyone really believe that after all this is said and done and the chinese do this and that they're really going to stop stealing technology? david: well, there are other things, gary, besides that. i mean, there were the tariffs -- >> impossible to stop them. david: that's something that the president tweeted out, that the 40% on our cars going over there may be brought down significantly. there are other issues as well. >> and, gary, if they begin to relax these rules about having to have a 50/50 joint venture, we all know business leaders who

have opened up in china, and they find their intellectual property gone immediately and, basically, put to work by their competitors overnight. so that's serious. david: we want to take another live look at ellington field in houston where the aircraft carrying president george h.w. bush's casket along with members of his family and special guests will be landing there within the next hour. we'll have more on the celebration of his life and the legacy today in the nation's capital and in houston as well. that's next.

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♪ ♪ david: we are awaiting the arrival of the casket of president george h.w. bush. the family is with him on air force one. they're going to be landing at ellington field in houston. they will then make their way to st. martin's episcopal church in houston where casey steagall joins us now live. >> reporter: we're about 30

minutes or so from the plane carrying the former 41st president of the united states from touching down at ellington field. it is about 30 miles or so from where we are. there will be a special ceremony on the ramp there once the plane gets on the ground with members of the family, and then they will motorcade it to the church back here and pull up just directly behind where i am standing, and there is going to be another big arrival ceremony that will happen at that time. and then about an hour later, the church will open its doors to the public where the former president will lie in repose here through the overnight hours for locals to stop by. and that is going to end at 6:00 in the morning. then at 11:00 tomorrow morning a texas-sized funeral here at st. martin's. another emotional day. it's been one motional day already at his state funeral in d.c. earlier. a lot of people saw this, george w. bush getting pretty choked up

at the end of his father's eulogy. watch. >> so through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you, a great and noble man, the best father a son or daughter could have. and in our grief, i just smile knowing that dad is hugging robin and holding mom's hand again. >> reporter: tough to see him get emotional there. from the service tomorrow at st. martin's, then the president's body and his family will ride on a special train from this area up to his presidential library and museum in college station, texas, where he will be laid to rest next to his beloved barb and his daughter robin they lost at a young age of leukemia. and that will happen at a private ceremony up there in college station. david? david: okay.

casey, thank you very much. for more now on the remarkable, and it really was a remarkable life. you think of everything he did from the age of 19, let's bring in congressman louie gohmert who attended the funeral today, and jane hampton cook, a white house staffer for president w. bush along with our panel. congressman, i want to start with the texas side of the whole thing. he wasn't a texan. he was a northeast guy born to a famous and well-off father, but he moved to texas, gave it all up and sort of became a texan. i think the fact that he had that can-do spirit really endured him to a lot of texans, no? >> he fit right in. you can't go to odessa in west texas without becoming a texas any time at all. just the fact that the day he turns 18 he goes and enlists and is going to be a pilot and served in the country, in our

military, was shot down. i mean, it's an amazing story. and then all of the things he did, and yet as the different speakers pointed out, there probably wasn't a day that went by when he didn't wonder, you know, why me, lord? why was i spared? but we all know and we can look back at the road he traveled and see he made a difference. some said, you know, he was the perfect president. perhaps nobody could have handled it as well, the reunification of germany after the fall of the iron curtain. but, you know, being a baseball fan and a baseball player, of course, he played at yale, but houston was his home, and that's all we ask in texas, you love texas, you declare it home, and he did all of that. and he made the state a better place. and that included through his son george w. as governor and then as president. but, you know, and the funeral, you know, two hours you might

think that would be too long, but it was like a good book or a good movie. it makes you laugh, it makes you cry. there were great lines that were really funny. alan simpson did a great job. meacham, the historian, did a terrific job. but i loved simpson's line, i believe he said he was a man of great humility, and when you try -- when you travel the high road of humility in washington, you don't see heavy traffic. [laughter] >> congressman, i thought it was a very moving funeral and saw james baker sobbing -- >> yeah. >> we just watched the son get very emotional, george w. bush. was that the feeling? it almost seem like we were celebrating the end of an era or the passing of a generation with this funeral, not just the passing of a wonderful man. >> well, you're right. and you would know, but meacham pointed out that this was

perhaps the last warrior statesman to be president. and, obviously, he was. but you nailed it. i mean, that was the feeling. and, of course, when there is so much tension and emotion and even where a tough guy like jim baker is sobbing, it takes everybody with 'em. i didn't see anybody, i don't believe, that at some point didn't have tears rolling. it was just, it was a great tribute and eulogy to a great man. god was glorified, and for a christian that's as good as it gets. >> jane, i've got a question about b.w. and the influence of his father on him -- g.w.. when you asked him invariably what he was most proud of, it was maintaining the dignity of the office which had gone through a trial in the year of the clintons. that, clearly from my perspective, seemed to come from

his father, no? >> absolutely. i've been reading a lot of his letters from the 1970s, george h.w. bush's, and you can see that leadership was really what drove him. dignity, public service was a noble calling. he told his son during watergate don't get discouraged. i want you to at some point in your life give back. and he said i want you to crank it back in. and i think upholding the dignity of the office was really the driving philosophy. for reagan it was about, what, we're going to lower taxes, limited government. but for george h.w. bush, it was how to lead. here's a leadership style. and i think george w. bush brought that to his own presidency, the style of leadership, dignity, returning dignity to the office. and i think that was really beautiful. and i'll just say today was very historic. when john adams died, john quincy adams was president. he couldn't get back very quickly to massachusetts. so today was the first time

we've had a son who was also a president eulogize his father who was the president. very historic day. >> it was. >> congressman -- >> jane, this is gary smith in florida. two questions. 20, 30 years from now how do you think president bush will be remembered? and maybe you kind of alluding alluding -- alluded to that with some very nice remarks. and do you think a president like him could get elected today or tomorrow? >> well, i think that, you know, the grace and the dignity and that leadership style, you know, he was very well-mannered, george h.w. bush. as was george washington. i think historians will look and see that there's a parallel. i think there's always a time for good americans, and i think what's challenging is that republicans have taken it so hard from the press over the years. after watergate, george h.w. bush hoped that the press would

return to fair play. and i think that one reason why we have president trump is just this exacerbation with wanting fair play, so he counterpunches, hard -- >> right. >> -- because of the way the media is now. so i think there's always room for a george h.w. bush at the table and his leadership style. i think that the context is just different right now. >> congressman, i have a question, congressman. >> sure. >> do you think all this remembrance, because there was a real economic legacy too with this president that's very different from the ways things have evolved. do you think we get a swing back to a pro-globalization typical to the kinds of policies that happened in that era? >> well, i don't think you're going to see it in the next two years, and hopefully not for years to come because the best thing that could happen to the world is that the united states gets stronger. i've been, i've heard that from people in nigeria, togo, the middle east, egypt, i mean, all over the world. you name it.

a strong america is good for the world. and i think that's what you're going to need to see for a while. but i to think there will be -- i do think, i mean, everything's cyclical. but you'll see a time when another warrior statesman, with emphasis on the statesman, will be able to be elected. but, you know, in the last couple of days i've heard over and over -- and so often it's from people that want to make a slap at president trump -- about how gracious president h.w. bush was. and he was. he was an amazing man in that regard. but people have, in their effort to slap at trump, have failed to give him the credit finish they've talked about, yeah, he enlisted and all that, but this guy's a fighter. i mean, he got knocked down, and he got back up. that always happens in the oil business. and he was able to go down and get back up.

he was shot, went up, shot down even at the early age. and then, you know, he ran -- i believe it was against lloyd benson, and it sounded like this george h.w. bush was probably the most qualified guy to ever run for the senate, and texas didn't elect him that time. he got shot down. he comes right back up. this guy was a fighter, but he could do it well gans and grace, and that's -- with elegance and grace. that's what usually missing. the mention of george washington and the parallels there, washington was a fighter. he would sometimes run down at the front, he wouldn't leave them by themselves. so people sometimes neglect that fight -- david: he was a real historic figure. >> he certainly had it. david: he sure did. congressman, thank you so much for being here. jane hampton cook, great to see you again. >> thank you so much. david: ohio lawmakers on both

sides of the aisle coming together to push gm's ceo mary barra to stop plant closures and layoffs in the state. we'll have republican congressman bill johnson who just left the meeting behind closed doors. he's here to tell us what happened coming next. ♪ ♪ but some give their clients cookie cutter portfolios. fisher investments tailors portfolios to your goals and needs. some only call when they have something to sell. fisher calls regularly so you stay informed. and while some advisors are happy to earn commissions whether you do well or not. fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management.

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♪ ♪ david: well, general motors' mary barra is facing a barrage of criticism this afternoon. she met with ohio representatives on capitol hill to explain why the automaker plans to close four u.s. plants and lay off nearly 14,000 employees. joining us now is ohio republican congressman bill johnson who just finished meeting with barra. congressman, what can you tell us about what happened in the room? >> well, i can tell you that, first of all, david, thanks for having me. david: thank you for being here. >> you're welcome. it was a pretty somber meeting. there was -- it was a bipartisan meeting. of course, i represent a district that borders the district with representative tim ryan. many of my constituents work at that lordstown facility that has been identified by gm as unallocated starting in 2019. and, you know, mary barra, the ceo, was very forthcoming in

explaining what she believed to be the rationale that she and the gm authorities went through to make this decision. i'm not going to tell you that it satisfied us. i can't speak for the other members, but there's still some things, you know, that i question about how this decision was made. her main point was that they have an overcapacity and that they've got capacity that they've got to shrink in order to maintain their profitability and prepare for products of the future. and, you know, you don't get over capacity overnight. how this happened over a period of years without some corrective action being taken is beyond me.

i was in the automotive industry before i came to congress. and as a supplier to all of the big three automobile makers and other transportation manufacturers throughout the country. and so i know what those operating reviews are like, and i know how much planning and market analysis goes into business decisions. >> congressman -- >> so how they wound up at that point -- >> excuse me, i'm sorry to interrupt you. >> that's okay. >> but what is the possibility that we find a way forward here that satisfies gm's issues, and why don't they just bring these cars that they want to build, the self-driving cars and stuff -- i'm sure you went over that with her -- is there any chance that these conversations taking place is going to make a difference in their plans? >> well, i don't know if it's going to make a difference. she couldn't commit to that because they have union contract

negotiations that she has to be sensitive to. so i'm not going to tell you that she gave a lot of hope. in fact, she said she didn't want to give false hope. she did mention the future of autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles. i can tell you that in the case of lordstown what is frustrating to me is that the big reason why i'm being told that they can't just drop another product line into that very, very capable facility with a very, very capable work force is because of the size of the paint booth. and it appears that when they decided to make the cruze some 8-10 years ago and put a new paint booth in there, they invested millions into a paint booth that'll only work with one automobile. david: but, congressman, let me just ask you a simple question here. >> yeah. david: do you really think politicians inside the beltway

know more about how to run the business than she does? >> no, no, no, no. and i wouldn't suppose that. now, you to -- in all fairness, and i get that. i think that's a very fair question. i don't think the federal government ought to be running gm or any other company. but you do know the federal government, at the taxpayers' expense, bailed gm out. and this is sort of a slap in the face of the people in ohio that were some of those taxpayers that participated in that ballout. david: yeah. >> so you've got -- >> yeah. but, congressman -- >> yes. >> -- the money has been paid back. the government invested in gm and sold those shares, i guess at a loss. i think that's the money that president trump wants to get back. but to david's question, i understand as a resident and your constituents are losing jobs. i definitely understand that. but beyond that, the fact that gm is free now, why is it the

government's business what gm does? i understand their interest in what gm does, but why should you be calling barra or any other executive of an ohio industry in for hearings? >> i didn't call her in for a hearing, she volunteered to come in for a hearing. >> okay. but you understand -- she volunteered for a reason, obviously. >> listen, wait a minute, wait a minute. you just got through saying that the shares were sold at a loss. >> right. >> and that is true. that's a matter of record. that's -- the american taxpayers bailed out gm, and now gm -- you don't see any other automotive company doing what gm's doing. why isn't ford doing this? why isn't chrysler doing this? [inaudible conversations] david: congressman, we've got to leave it at that. i wish with we had more time, but we don't. we thank you very much for coming in. congressman bill johnson, great to have you here. we'll be right back, stay with us.

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dave where there is the line at ellington field. it's the casket of george hurt bert walker brush and his son

george w. bush and their families. as moving as today's ceremony was in washington, tomorrow's is suppose to be just as moving. thank you for tuning in. a poignant day for us and i hope for you are as well. thank you for watching bulls and bears. liz: it's a national day of mourning for our 41st president george herbert walker bush. the plane carrying his casket at ellington field, houston. there will be a private service tomorrow. hundred ches