ugly week. worst week in seven years. [closing bell rings] thanks for watching "countdown to the closing bell." connell mcshane and melissa francis pick it up now. the "after the bell" starts right now. connell: we're dealing with selloff on wall street on this friday. major averages deeply in the red. third day in a road. government shutdown fears play into it. melissa: i don't know about that. connell: well, well the uncertainty created maybe? i'm with you. i don't think it is the top concern. melissa: okay. connell: china trade concerns came into the market late in the day. we'll talk about peter navarro. dow settling in here 422 points to the downside. extending a week of losses. i'm connell mcshane. melissa: i'm melissa francis. this is "after the bell." s&p 500 also ending in the negative but the tech-heavy nasdaq the biggest loser, ending in bear market territory. all three major averages seeing

the worst week since 2011. that's not good. connell: no. melissa: more on big market movers. here is what is new this hour. scrambling to strike a deal. the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown just hours away as the senate struggles to bring the house approved spending bill to a vote on the senate floor. the latest from capitol hill. surprise resignation of defense secretary james mattis sending shockwaves through washington. the announcement coming just one day after president trump's move to withdraw all u.s. troops from syria. will other pentagon officials follow suit? the blame game on capitol hill everyone loves the blame game. senator chuck schumer slamming president trump for the recent market volatility. who is really to blame? coming up, steve forbes joins us. he will place the blame in the right spot. connell: we'll talk to steve. back to the markets. the dow ending certainly in negative territory. we had another huge intraday swing.

today more than 800 points. so it's a lot for gerri willis to keep track of. she should get paid extra these last few weeks on the floor of the new york stock exchange. more craziness, gerri. >> getting tired of using the word brutal. that is what it has been today and this week. look at the dow down 415 points. just then the s&p 500 keeps bursting through levels. lots of things contributing to that, as you guys were saying. look at some dow laggards here. goldman sachs, boeing, apple. remember we used to talk about trillion dollar market cap for apple? not anymore. boeing, goldman, count for half the dow's losses. goldman sachs the investigation into the malaysian stock fund scandal link that is what is going on with that stock. seen a ton of selling in the last few weeks. meanwhile look at the nasdaq, tech-heavy, right? it has been trading lower. it is now in bear territory.

look at google. that stock bursting through the 1000 point, the 1,000-dollar level. google, apple, amazon, facebook, all in bear market territory. there was this afternoon, along about 3:13 p.m., headline with navarro saying that the trade pact with china, navarro which is president donald trump's trade advisor, that the trade pact with china has been under discussion will be difficult to finalize, the one we expect in 90 days may not happen. that took the market down another leg. as you can see here we're trading even lower now. back to you. connell: exquisite timing for peter navarro. thank you, gerri willis. melissa: the fight on capitol hill continues. congress searching for compromise as the budget deadline to shut down the government ticks closer and closer and closer. blake burman at the white house with more. blake. reporter: as we approach the possible shut downs time and time again around this time you see biggest movement, late afternoon on the last day.

not saying that is happening right now but there is some possible and i do stress possible developments up on capitol hill right now we can tell you inside of the office of chuck schumer, is the vice president, mike pence, incoming chief of staff mick mulvaney. jared kushner are meeting with the top democrat in the senate. this comes as the senate is taking up the house bill that would include just shy of $6 billion of border wall money and border security. something that schumer said today, an has been saying for a while now, is dead on arrival in the senate. >> there is a very good chance it won't get passed. it is up to the democrats. so it is really the democrat shutdown. now it is up to the democrats as to whether or not we have a shut down tonight. i hope we don't, but we're totally prepared for a very long shutdown. >> that is obviously not chuck schumer. that is president trump who said earlier today that it would be the democrats to blame for all of this.

remember though just last week president trump had said if it got to the point of government shutdown involving border wall money he would carry the man tell for that. essentially saying he would endorse it. president already this week as well-said he would not sign a senate bill that would keep the government open seven weeks because that bill does not include border wall money. all of the politics, all of the last-minute discussions here back and forth. but when you strip all of that aside, take away the politics, take away the fingerpointing, et cetera, right now, what we're dealing with, eight hours until potentially 25% of the government shuts down and that would affect hundreds of thousands of employees all across this country. connell, melissa. melissa: blake, let me drive you back to the main point you had there. you say inside schumer's office right now is pence, jared -- reporter: mulvaney. melissa: and mulvaney. reporter: right. melissa: that sounds like horse trading in there. is there alexis, a net, any

phone we can hack. reporter: we're not saying we would like a wiretap in there but -- melissa: do they have their ear pressed against the wall to hear what is going on inside, what offer is being made? reporter: we obviously don't know the offer. we know what the senate is voting on, $5.7 billion of border wall security which the senate will not pass. they don't have the votes. they need 60. there is 51 republicans. everyone knows that. the question might they talk about a different figure? numbers of 1.3 and 1.6 billion had been floated around, been making its way up on capitol hill earlier this week as well. but the president didn't take that deal. so it remains to be seen. this is some of the criticism from republicans, they have been waiting for the president to say when he wants. now he has said what he wants, which is, significant amount of border wall money. are they working on that number? we'll see. melissa: this is a golden opportunity for chuck assumer to get whatever wants.

if he blows this, passes up his opportunity i have lost faith in the government as dirty horse traders. blake, thank you. connell, over to you. connell: we have a great market panel with us. jack hough from "barron's" where he is senior editor. veronica dagher from "the wall street journal." jack lot of faith years ago. we started right at the top of the show wonder whether this back and forth had effect on markets. melissa says it doesn't. melissa: no. connell: i agree. it may be one. top three concerns for investors. we been through these things many times before. on average the market is flat on last 20 shutdowns. is this year different because of all the other things in the background, china trade, rest of it? >> like you said we've been here done that with the shutdowns before. gotten them through it. this is just another overhang on a bunch of issues focusing, distracting this market. obviously china and trade and also strained relations with saudi arabia also are affecting

investors point of view. not to mention interest rates. so there is these issues. also some of these bigger issues, such as the mull per investigation and, you know, what is happening in syria. that is sort of a you know, a thing that happened last minute, that took a lot of people by surprise. i think at the end of the day this creates more uncertainty for investors. and it makes it tougher for business to make decisions. investment decisions. connell: throw it in the mix with everything, else's jack. which know uncertainty rules the day. peter navarro did interview with japanese service, nikkei service, far be it from me timing of interviews, mr. navarro's interviews after 4:00 p.m. eastern might be advisable here on out, when he said a deal will be tough to get done in the 90-day period, seemed to push stocks lower. what do you make of that? >> we have 45 different things to worry about right now. it is global trade uncertainty, it is rising interest rates all

of this government suddenly become a big headwind for markets. people don't usually really care. i will be honest with you, people look at government over the past year, people said to themselves i see a mixture of grime and growth. there were unsavory things i don't like to see, we have growth in the economy, we've got low unemployment, we have the tax cuts but now they're looking ahead to next year, saying the growth next year, if the growth gross away, you have grime and growth what are you left with? connell: i don't want to answer that. melissa: it sounds disgusting. u.s. consumer sentiment rising to decent in 98.3, up last month from 97.5 according to university of michigan index. jack i may end up agreeing with you on something on this one. >> uh-oh. melissa: i no. when planets collide. if consumer confidence is this high, it has to be time for everything to fall off a cliff? >> what are consumers into?

they want jobs above everything else and the job market is still strong. they loss don't mind when gas prices come down. the average joe and sally out there is not a big share owner, not a huge participant in the stock market. so we have had a wobbly stock market for a couple months. eventually if this continues that could have negative wealth effect and continue to affect some other measures but for right now consumers are still feeling pretty good. melissa: veronica, what do you think? >> it is a lagging indicator. we need to remember that what is interesting about these latest numbers though, actually for the past three months or so, consumers expectations about the future have dropped. so while they're still spending, while still feeling good within the immediate month, looking forward, some of this news is affecting their point of view. melissa: because they watch tv and listen to the fed, all debbie downers. nice, thanks. connell. connell: if we wrap up the market especially for the week,

talk about oil. 52-week low for the price of oil. if you look at the price, it just for the week this, week alone, it was down something like 11%. phil flynn at cme for us as usual in chicago. what do we say about this week, phil? >> we say i wish it never happened, we start over again. this is what i say. this has been an incredibly bad week. we look at the stock market. we see this turmoil, all these unanswered questions and it led to one of the worst weeks we've seen in the stock market in many, many years. so you look at that then you look at oil, oil is actually trying to find a bottom. there is a lot of news out there generally would be pushing prices up. strong consumer confidence, they're driving their cars. we're hearing from opec that not only is saudi arabia going to adhere to production cuts, they will overcut. they're trying to say things to stablize the market and the oil just cannot stand up when you look at all this other turmoil. they're fearful of a slowdown. they're pricing in a recession.

you know, in the realty is, if the question is, is it a market event or is it an oil event? right now i think it's a market event. if it turns into an oil event with a a big drop in demand then we'll have problems. connell: demand held up, you made that point number of tiles. thank you, phil flynn out there. what a week. 45-dollar oil. melissa: time is up at the stroke of midnight. new reaction from lawmakers as potential shutdown looms. why president trump says the democrats are to blame if the government closes for business. the latest on capitol hill next. connell: divided on latest military shift. james mattis announcing his resignation, as officials warn more departures from the pentagon are on the way. what president trump's foreign policy could mean for national security. that is coming up.

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>> we'll work hard to pass something in the senate. there is a good chance it won't get passed. it is up to the democrats whether or not we have a shutdown tonight. i hope we don't. we're totally prepared for a very long shutdown. melissa: hours from a potential government shut down. the president standing strong, blaming democrats if congress cannot come to decision by midnight tonight. where do we stand? joining me from capitol hill, chad pergram, fox news senior capitol hill producer. take me inside of the meeting. chuck schumer in his office. jared kushner, mick mulvaney and the vice president. now i know i know you slipped an a lex is a in there and stuck a

lampshade on your head and standing in the corner. >> we tried. we asked if they were trading offers. they indicated to me there is nothing that formal. the vice president remains in the capitol. he is in his ceremonial office on the senate side of the capitol. he is the president of the senate. what this procedural vote to take what the house did last night, where they put in the border wall money, just to pull it up in the senate has been open, going on for hours now. this started at 12:31 this afternoon. they don't even have the votes to even get the bill up. the vice president is here mostly to try to break a tie. they're trying to figure out a way to keep the government open. they're not exactly exchanging offers during what you see during this type of crisis moment in government. the problem if they can't bring the bill up, the bill passed by the house of representatives is toast. the longest vote ever in house history, senate history i should say was five hours 15 minutes on the stimulus bill in 2009. sherrod brown, democratic senator from ohio, his services

were needed to pass that bill. his mother had died. this has been open now, pushing four hours. just how long this will ride out nobody knows, melissa. melissa: hey, guys. put that picture up of the senate floor again, because i want to show our audience, when you look at this photo, there you go. this is what is looks like when the government is open. that is open. what does shut look like? i mean. come on, 25% of government shut down. chad pergram we're mocking it over here. seems like amounts to a hill of beans. >> this would affect 800,000 workers. half would be paid and, half would not get paid, other half would not be working at all. at the end. day. melissa: but people don't get paid, they will get paid later. >> right. melissa: if you were chuck schumer this, is golden opportunity, chuck, people in office desperate to do a a deal.

this is the hour. i hope he has wits to ask for something that he wants. >> maybe a little more money. there the rattling we heard on capitol hill, go from 1.3 billion, to 1.6 billion, there has been a little bit of talk about that. again you have to go back to the house of representatives and sync up. would they balk? i don't know. people in the last hour are usually looking for an exit ramp. i would look in the next seven hours to see if people start to find an exit ramp to prevent a government shutdown and start to exchange offers in earnest. melissa: yeah. i think kind of that is going to happen. i'm the only one. everyone else is on record saying we're headed toward as shutdown. there is always a deal to be made, chad pergram. d.c. has to learn that thank you my friend. >> absolutely. anytime. melissa: work on getting some listening device. >> i don't have an alexa. i need to have that here. melissa: i will send you one.

see you soon. connell: stick with the lampshade. defense secretary james mattis is on his way out. what that departure from the trump administration might mean in terms of practical matters for our strategy in the middle east. that is coming up next. ♪ add on advantage. only when you book with expedia.

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connell: more shake ups in the nation's capitol. the latest defense secretary james mattis resigning after clashing with president trump over the withdrawal of u.s. troops from syria and afghanistan. so what will this mean for the administration's foreign policy and our national security? we have david sears with us, retired navy seal to comment on that. first your reaction or thoughts on james mattis leaving? >> well, he is greatly respected throughout the community, entire defense department, inneragency. he is an extremely intelligent man. with that said, i think he did the exact right thing. he figured out that his world view and where he is trying to

go no longer match up with the president's or came to a point where they didn't and he chose to leave which is the right choice. connell: he said as much in his resignation letter. doesn't that make replacing him difficult? some of the names thrown around, general keane and others would agree with general mattis on these issues, especially syria? >> it is. it is not the president's national security staff. the department of defense confirmed cabinet member by the senate. so you may not align with exactly with president trump but they definitely know what they're coming into. connell: how do you think it affects morale or how much matters in your experience being in the military? i don't know how long you served but i assumed was long enough you served under administrations on personal level, some you may have agreed with or disagreed with, but personal decisions you may have agreed or disagreed, polling backs this up, with the

military, he was very popular, general mattis. >> he was. i served 20 plus years, over multiple presidents lots of different leadership. it is resilient. the system is very resilient. will people be somewhat demoralized? absolutely losing someone of that stature that has that reputation of warrior, poet, who has been on the battlefield but also a great intellectual, friend of the enlisted and officers, it is demoralizing but that doesn't last. guys know they have to move on and do their jobs. this happens. connell: this strategy, pulling out of syria in particular, i know afghanistan we're going to withdraw some troops there as well. this strategy of pulling back the president talked about a lot during his lifetime and the campaign. that is not surprising to people. maybe the abrupt nature how it was announced. whether secretary mattis was consulted on this it this week surprising. what is your personal view on that? a lot of people come out say we're less safe, that type of

thing? are people going too far in their analysis of it? >> they are. i think you look at this through a very singular military lens. we have a lot of other elements of national power. if we decided the military run its course in terms of what it can do, not that we're abandoning syria or our efforts there, but there is other elements of national power can be brought to bear as well. economic, diplomatic, all those pieces. making causal connections this will lead to the next 9/11 are ridiculous. connell: that is lindsey graham comment. people are record of saying i was tough on president obama for getting out of iraq, i have to be the same on president trump because that didn't work out so well. this won't either. is that a fair statement or thought? >> no. they're different, they're different places. they're different times. you're at different stages of the fight. they're different governments. we were involved in the iraq governor heavily, helping them re-establish to restore the

country. syria we're there as, you know questionable legally, uninvited guests in a section of their country that is all oil-heavy. so what our initial mission was to take raqqa, get rid of isis in raqqa, we did that. then it morphed to countering iran and morphed to protect kurds that helped us. now it is morphing, where are we going with this? what are 2,000 troops doing? i don't think you can make any causal lines linear this will lead to the next 9/11 at all. connell: lindsey graham was saying that about afghanistan and syria. i believe. david sears, thanks for the analysis. we appreciate it. >> thanks, connell. melissa: we're seeing mick mulvaney and kushner cut through the rotunda. they're with meadows on the house side. something is afoot my friend. connell: you're building this up. we got until midnight. maybe there is. melissa: more on the possible government shutdown what it

could mean for you and your home. i don't know. i see horse-trading happening. volatility on wall street continues. what is behind the wild swings? will it carry into the new year? no one better to discuss it all than steve forbes. he joins us next. ♪ make its own insulin. and i take trulicity once a week to activate my body to release it, like it's supposed to. trulicity is not insulin. it comes in a once-weekly, truly easy-to-use pen. and it works 24/7. trulicity is an injection to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. don't use it as the first medicine to treat diabetes, or if you have type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't take trulicity if you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, you're allergic to trulicity, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away

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jordan, the group, full screen has grown. they have gone back over to the house side. they are at speaker ryan's office now as a government shutdown looms. here to excuse, steve forbes, forbes media chairman. i'm so jealous i'm not there to be in on the negotiation. they're just back and forth. if the democrats let this go without getting, without agreeing and getting something ridiculous, that they really want, they are bigger idiots than anyone thought. isn't this a golden opportunity there, steve? >> there is to cut a deal. melissa: yeah. >> the deal should be, get the dreamers, fully legalized. there has been talked about. the president is for it. democrats advocating it for years. up the border a little amount of money for the waa, you have a deal. trump getting the wall. dreamers get their legality which they should have had years ago. everyone says merry christmas.

everyone gets something. melissa: democrats turned that deal down before. i didn't understand the at the time but maybe the same rule applies now? >> the democrat realize now this is issue they're not going to win on. trump will get some of the blame for the shutdown but so will they. people are disgusted letting this go to christmas eve. they will. how do you define a dreamer? i heard 700,000 up to 1.8 million. president talked about going over a million. you up the number. up money for the wall. and wrap it and call it a day. melissa: steve, by the way, how shameful is it that these people can't get together and put together a budget and do normal work, normal period of time they're supposed to. bandaid continuing resolutions. can you imagine you run a company like that? >> you wouldn't be around very long. you would be in the unemployment line. but the fact of the matter is, congress has been broken on the budget for 40 years. they can never pass a budget on

time. they have passed these massive appropriations bills. the house made some progress on it. but the senate was hopeless. melissa: yeah. >> one of these days they will have to sit down how do we start making institutions work again. right now all politics. they're, both side afraid of the extremes of their bases. that is why they have to go through this kabuki dance right through christmas eve. melissa: that picture next to you, that picture, that is government open. you see just the pace. everything they're achieving, the feverish pace. look all the work going on. you can imagine we can't shut that down? no! what will happen? meanwhile speaking of the shutdown, chuck schumer says president trump is causing chaos. this is rattling the markets. >> what rattles the market is the uncertainty. for example, if you can't agree on something as simple as a border wall and the dreamers, what will happen next year, get

a vote on china deal you might get early next year? so people don't know what the rules of the game are. they think they have a new nafta deal where the democrats insist on changes. people will hold back. that is going to hurt investment. melissa: were you concerned when the fed chief talked about two more interest rate hikes, he kind of seemed to be out of touch with what was going on in the economy? did you feel better when we got an updated word today, that maybe they were going to, you know, be more careful and more mindful what is going on in the real world, as opposed to having their faces stuck in their models? what is your take? >> fact of the matter is, the fed lost, whenever the white house goes to war with the federal reserve, the white house always wins. what you saw chairman powell of the federal reserve trying to preserve face. we'll raise interest rates next year. they already backed off from the aggressive approach they originally were going to take. they backed off again. the fed lost. the white house won. melissa: what are the main obstacles for the market?

obviously it was a terrible year. does it continue next year or what is your prediction? >> if they get a trade deal with the chinese as the president would say is huge, get nafta approved and other things no reason why the economy would do well. the stock market would be 20, 25% higher if we didn't have overhangs. profits were up. people with were hiring. people are holding back because they don't know what the rules of the game are going to be. that is what is going to hurt us all, if they don't get these things resolved. melissa: market down 414 today. steve forbes, you are brilliant. >> that's a nice christmas gift. thank you. melissa: there you go. connell: talking about the shutdown threat. gets more real by the minute. we get closer to midnight. medical list sass a sure us there will not be a shut down. melissa: i don't think so. connell: this is a partial shut down, that is true. there is some pratical impact. we'll tell you what that is next.

♪ deal.

what will it look like for the rest of us outside of congress? kristina partsinevelos. >> you say it is not going to happen. melissa: i know. >> the president said earlier today chances are very good. he did say that, according to, this is this afternoon. they have seven bills they have to still reach a deal on. that could affect obviously seven agencies ranging from agriculture, commerce department, to homeland security. what does that mean for the rest of america? and especially right before the holidays? let's start with the number of people that could potentially be affected could hit 800,000 workers in the united states. you're seeing on the screen right now, the ones that would get no work, they would have to take a leave of absence, no pay. that could potentially affect 380,000 people. those that have to work, deemed essential services, think of

border patrol, correction al officers, those are the people that would have to work without pay. so that is a lot of people. imagine, right before the holidays you have to work with no pay? 420,000 people, so what avenues, what areas are going to be blocked? what departments are going to be closed? should you decide to do anything within the next four days? let's go through the list on the screen. a lot of national parks will remain open. visitor centers, go to the bathroom taking a hike. can't go. the big portion of irs will be closed. diplomat, watching fox business, you may have issues at airport. economic reports will have to be put on hold. white house workers that with, know go through, they may not be allowed into the office until all of this deal is reached. if you're wondering what stays open? don't worry, the post office stays open. dhs, military, medicare,

medicaid, unemployment benefits, should you need any food stamps, tsa, the list goes on. we can function with a partial shutdown through the end of the year. so that's it. happy friday. melissa: happy friday to you as well. connell: i will say this we are huge in the diplomatic community here in fox business. mike johnson joins us, house judiciary committee member. thank you for making comment. i know it is crazy down there. is there a deal to be had, this meeting we're told is happening? all day we said no horse-trading. meeting behind closed doors, second in the hour, really. paul ryan in the office with mulvaney and kushner and the vice president. what do you think, is there a deal that can come together? >> we hope so. we're counting on the senate to do the right thing. here in the house we met with the republican study committee members, 150 members, conservatives in the house. we're absolutely resolved to do the people's business, do the right thing. border security is critically important for the country for all the reasons we've been

explaining. we think this is the time to do the right thing. we hope the senate will. whatever deal is worked out we hope it secures the border because we think that is the number one priority. connell: what is the magic number? is there a number under five billion, something could be worked out on at least this time around or does the president, because of pressure coming this week from his base, have to really stand firm at a high number in terms of the wall? >> you know the interesting thing is, five billion is not a high number. when you look at total cost of wall construction. connell: i know how politics of it work. do you think there is a lower, something else could be worked out? >> ultimately at the end of the day that is probably what will happen. let's face the facts this is all politics. many democrats in the senate voted for much more in terms of border security. they all said they believe border security is the top priority. now is the time to put their money where their mouth is. this is the no -- not a big at

of money in the total budget. it is not just about national security although that's important. it is about human trafficking. it is about the drugs that are coming over the border. all the reasons we know, we have to maintain sovereignty and security. we'll stand by that. melissa: what if the democrats stand really firm on their other issue even into next week? it has been suggested the real deadline, everybody talks about midnight tonight is when nancy pelosi takes the gavel and speaker of the house again. but then if you believe the experts an pundits the democrats are really in control. is that worry from the republican end, we can put up a shutdown for a few days or a week but we need to get this done by end of the december? >> we do. we need to get it done yesterday for the american people. you're right, january 3ed are is the day we come back to begin new oat of office to begin the 116th congress. pelosi will be in charge house. we hope it won't go that long that a deal will be struck

hopefully and democrats and schumer and will do the right thing this is not the fight that should shut the government down. connell: if they came up a little bit on wall money, would you go like something suggested earlier this hour, a daca fix comes back on the table, one. democrats priorities? >> ultimately at end of the day now it is the president's decision on that. i think there is room to negotiate here on number of issues. but we have to be talking about that wall funding. it is more than symbolism. more than politics. again, it really is about securing the border and our nation's sovereignty. that is why the president made it a big priority. that is why it's a big thing to the american people. i can tell you my constituents want us to take a firm stand. my colleagues feel the same way. connell: thanks for a few minutes. we'll watch it throughout the night. thanks for coming on. >> okay. melissa: pointing the finger across the aisle, that never happens. we are breaking down the political ramifications if the government shuts down. that's next.

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>> it's possible we'll have a shutdown. i say the chances are probably very good because i don't think democrats care so much about maybe this issue but this is a very big issue. it is an issue of crime. it is an issue of safety. it is an issue of, least importantly dollars. connell: that was president trump earlier today. seems like weeks ago but that was earlier today, pointing a finger at democrats over the potential of a government shut down at midnight tonight. the left blaming the right. so what actually happens and who will be blamed if we do shut the whole thing down? or not the whole thing? it is only partial shutdown. caught myself. noelle nikpour and chris at this

this -- christie setzer. christie, from your side, democrats are licking their chops, this is political winner for us no matter what the take? is that the incentive, on democratic side, shut it down or as medical list brought up, that they could get something out of the president they wouldn't ordinarily get, what do you think? >> think back a week ago or so when president trump had his oval office meeting with nancy pelosi and chuck schumer, they said to him very clearly, look, we have a couple ways you can keep the government open. that is what we would like to do. if you're not going to take those deals, i suppose that is up to you. it was president trump who said i would like to shut the government down. connell: right, so they have him on camera. now they will force, go back to that. that is the strategy, so to speak? >> republicans control all three branches of government and control house and senate. it is difficult to pin any sort of blame here on democrats because -- connell: i got it. tom bevin was on earlier real

clear politics the data supports that noelle. speaking of that, new video from capitol hill, meeting was talking about, i suppose wrapped up, so we have the parties involved making the walk, it's a beautiful building that capitol. there is vice president mike pence surrounded by his secret service detail and the like. mick mulvaney, incoming chief of staff in the white house, the budget director still, making the walk. i don't know, noel if they put some sort of deal together. to christie's point the democrats think they have a political win here? is she right? and are people speaking to on the republican side worried? >> yeah. i think a lot of people are worried. i think that we are looking at this, saying, nobody wants a shutdown here. but i'll tell you, as i was telling you before the break here, this is political football 101 like you have never seen because the democrats, their base, basically are saying hold

your feet to the fire. we have elected you. connell: don't give them any wall money. >> they don't want five billion on wall. connell: same way the republican base sitting president as he did earlier this week. >> absolutely. if you remember this is why he got elected. this is something he has beeng . connell: can he cut a deal less than five billion on wall? >> no. i think 5 billion is what he has in his head. i think five billion is what he wants. he is not going to look like, he doesn't want to step away from anything in the negotiation table. connell: here is the other thing, so that would mean we're shutting down. we'll see how that works out. here is the other thing, christie. if the democrats do, stay firm and to noel's point, so does president trump and we do shut down, is there kind of an opportunity lost for democrats, my early point to get some sort of concession? we were talking earlier about a deal might be say, i know this has been on the table before, daca fix, in exchange for wall money? >> looks, democrats offered a billion 1/2 for border security. not as though we're talking

about 5 billion versus nothing. it is entirely president trump's prerogative if he wants to say 5 billion, only 5 billion. he ends up one looking pig headed for doing so not for the first time. the real shame for people going to be hurt by it. we talked about hundreds of thousands of federal workers will not see the paychecks at christmas. all government services will be shut down. obviously -- connell: the argument here -- >> effect on stock market. connell: market is one thing, adds to uncertainty. market has other issues. >> also true. connell: the point that christie brings up, and i get the point, people don't get their paycheck, pointed out to me, people that don't get their paycheck, they're living paycheck to paycheck that is a big deal for that individual person. as people have said, noelle they normally get paid back. people downplay the impact. what is the impact if we're shut down for couple weeks, is it a big deal? >> no, i don't think it will be

a huge deal of any shut down. i think, my opinion is i think we're going to see a shutdown because i don't think that either side, president trump has known not to really give in or waiver. he wants what he wants. that is his personality. i think the democrats right now, they're claim to fame with all of the people that you know, ran on pretty much impeaching president trump. they will not give in. they are playing political football. connell: senate floor is very, very busy. they will solve it. thank you, noelle. what a mess. christie, good to see you. melissa. melissa: there is another network reporting that leader mcconnell and democratic leader schumer will address the senate shortly on way forward on funding. so that empty floor you see there, we may, we may, we're seeing reports that we may see two leaders come to the floor shortly and till us at that about a potential way forward. hmmm. in the meantime, americans are

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melissa: okay, shield your eyes if you're afraid. we're going to give you one more look at the markets for today. all of the major averages ending the day in the red for the third straight day, extending losses for the week. boy, it has been a very rough week. connell: you think? melissa: and kind of a rough year in the markets. there you go, connell. connell: yeah. and next week we'll see how things turn out. we do have one special announcement, we'll talk about that more in a second. i know there's been so much bad news, so much uncertainty. a very special congratulations to one of our producers, serena lynn. now, serena officially became a u.s. citizen today. melissa: nice! connell: congratulations. she's terrific. she works so hard, and she

brings a unique perspective to our show, and she's been doing a terrific job. poor thing joins this country at a time like this. melissa: well -- connell: i'm just kidding around. melissa: um, yeah. [laughter] connell: better than the alternatives. good for serena, she's great. melissa: okay. back to the shutdown. the latest news we heard so far is that we think that both sides of the house, that leader mcconnell and leader schumer are going to come back out onto the floor here, and supposedly, address everyone on a potential way forward for funding. connell: all right. we've still got time. it's not midnight. i still would say, and i don't see -- melissa: do you want to go like a buck, five bucks? i'm going to go with -- yeah. i'm going to go with no shutdown. connell: i think they'll shut it down. melissa: i think the fact that we had pence and mulvaney in schumer's office, and schumer is a clever old dog, he knows he

could get something big right now. then they went back over to the house side, then they went back to pence's office -- connell: is that our last show together for this year? melissa: yeah, i think so. merry christmas, happy new year. all of that kind of stuff. that does it for us, bulls and bears starts right now. connell: see ya. david: breaking news, stocks getting shammed once again as the senate scrambles to avoid a government shutdown just hours before the deadline. hi, everybody, this is bulls and bears. joining me today, liz peek, gary b. smith and adam lashinsky. senate republicans looking to put forth and pass the house's spending bill that includes funding for the border wall before midnight tonight. >> now it's up to the democrats as to whether or not we have a shutdown tonight. i hope we done, but we're totally prepared for a very long shutdown. >> president trump, you will not get your