maria: welcome back. we are just 30 minutes away from the opening bell for a friday. want to thank you, rebecca walser and todd piro, for being here. markets after off of the worst levels of the morning. final thoughts, remember is saw. >> all i want for christmas is border panels only. merry christmas. maria: todd. >> have yourself a merry little christmas. maria: "varney & company" picks it up now. stu, take it away. stuart: good morning, everyone. speaker johnson is about to submit plan c to fund the government and prevent a shutdown. plan a was thrown out wednesday, plan b went down to defeat last

night after 38 republicans refused to go along with lifting the debt ceiling. plan c, reportedly, does not include that debt ceiling. there could be a vote at 10 eastern this morning. this whole debate underlines the difficulty of trump's tax cut extension. how will he get that through the house when the republican party is split and holds only a razor-in majority? all of this is worrying to investors who have seen the market rally on the expectation of tax cuts. the selloff continues although we'll see what happens on wall street when the result of the votes are n hopefully later this morning. we did receive some fairly favorable inflation if news, and that is cutting the losses, with but the dow is down 170, nasdaq down 184. look at bitcoin, all the way down to $94,000, 94,8, to be precise. all the way down. interest rates at elevated

levels. the 10-year treasury right at 4.5 %. the 2-year right around 4.25%, 4.26 this morning. on the show today, we'll be watching the vote and the market's reaction. it is a fast-breaking story. expect frequent and maybe dramatic developments. there's another remarkable story, and it's from the "wall street journal." how the white house functioned with a diminished biden in charge. 50 people interviewed, its in-depth coverage of senior officials covering up the truth about bind's decline. it was a well organized cover-up, and it lasted nearly four years. we're left wondering if the president was so out of it, who was running the country? friday, december 20th, 2024. "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ ♪ ♪ joy to to the earth, the

savior reigns ♪ stuart: i like it. i do like it. that's real celebration of christmas. lauren: just five days away. the clock is ticking on my shopping. [laughter] stuart: you know, we've got a full show, lauren, and we'd better get on with it. lauren: then i'm going to the store. [laughter] stuart: a very fast i moving story about funding the government. we're expecting a vote at 10 ten this morning on another funding plan. this one does not include an end to the debt ceiling. earlier this week two other funding plans were shot down. last night 38 republicans voted no on a slimmed-down spending plan. they objected to the debt ceiling provision. well, now that provision is out, and the speaker is hoping he can win support despite the president-elect's displeasure. with a razor thin majority of republicans in the house, it will be very difficult to push

the trump agenda through. that that's not what wall street wants to hear. there's more selling on the stock market this morning. all right. now listen to j.d. vance, what he a had to say last night after plan b failed. >> the democrats just voted to hut down the government even though we had a clean c.r. because they didn't want to give the president negotiating leverage during his first term -- sorry, the first year of his new term. and, number two, because they would rather shut down the government and fight for global censorship [bleep]. they've asked for a shutdown, and that's what -- stuart: guy benson joins me. guy, does the republicans' very slim majority in the house threaten trump's agenda? >> yes. i mean, i don't know how else to put it, stu. and with all due respect to the vice president-elect are, i understand this is a desire to blame democrats for what

happened yesterday, but dozens of republicans voted against the republican bill blessed by the president-elect, right? so the democrats can stand off to the side, wait to see what happens, see if the republicans can pass something out of the house that they nominally control. maybe we'll see passage of something this morning, maybe9 no, right? there is a very slim margin. but to your point, i think more importantly -- because this is going to get resolved whether there's a short, temporary shutdown, or whether they get something clean and very short term punted into the next year within the next couple of hours, i'm looking ahead to next year. and it gets harder. because the republican majority at the moment feels comfortable compared to what they're going to have in january, especially with some of those vacancies due to trump picking members of the house for his cabinet. they're going to have a 2-seat majority for months. and there's, i think, this baked-in expectation in markets and political circles, stu, that the reuping of the trump tax cuts and preventing a huge tax

increase on the american people is going to get done because the republicans are can do it with a simple majority, they've got both houses. but if the house majority is in turmoil and people peeling off and they're trying to saber rattle about getting rid of speaker johnson, all of that drama and just two defections can consume the whole thing on anything. and that, i think, is a concern that the republicans have to reckon with ahead of next year. do they want to govern and be effective for president trump, or do they want this type of thing again? stuart: will republicans get the blame no matter whether this vote is a yes today or not? republicans get the blame for this mess, will they? >> i think so. that'll be especially true next year when they control everything. i know technically the democrats, it's hard to remember, the democrats do control the senate and the white house right now, but the actions in the house, if the republicans can't pass a republican bill in the republican house, the

republicans might get the blame. that's my thinking. stuart: guy benson, what a day we're going to have. thanks for being with us. we'll batch it together. thanks, see you later -- we'll watch it together. heavy selling yesterday, more selling this morning. down 160 on the dow, 171 on the nasdaq. it's friday, so kenny polcari joins maine ken first i think all of -- joins me. ken first i think all of this is worrying to investors on the expectation of tax cuts. now they're in some doubt. do you have the same analysis as me? if. >> yeah, you know, i think there's some nervous ifness over the tax cuts, whether they're going to happen or not happen. yes, the market rallied, i think, on a bunch of things, the tax cuts are certainly one of them. but fit looks like the tax cuts are not going to end up being what the market thought, sure, it's going to cause the market to reprice itself. i'm not going there yet. i think that the tax cuts are come. might be -- will come.

i think they'll succeed. stuart: so you think this selling at the moment is a bit overbrown? >> so, new york look, i think the selling is not necessarily overblown. i think we got really stretched. i think this was, you know, right after the election everyone went in, the momentum guys took stocks in bitcoin and everything you could think of to new heights i think on too much you foryam so actually having it back off a little bit is actually healthy for the market, filling that gap that was created on november 6th right after the election needs to the happen. i think we might actually see it happen today, and that's a benefit. look, the s&p's 3.5% off the highs. this is not a disaster by any stretch at all. stuart: okay. are you buying anything today? >> so i'm probably not buying anything today. why? because i still think we're going to get a little bit more weakness. look, we're at the end of the year, there's seven trading days left. a lot can happen. moves have been amply find because people are way from

their desk. once we get into the new year, once the inauguration happens, once the house and senate are rebalanced, then we're going to take a look. but at the moment i'm happy to kind of let it ride, and if it wants to basic, i'm good. stuart: i'll tell you what, kenny, if i've got any spare cash, it's going into a 2-year treasury. i'm back to that same old story. >> 100%. look, you could put it in my fidelity money market fund's paying me 4.25, and i can take it and use it as i want. but it's the paying 4.25%. you're exactly right, especially now when it feels a little bit still anxious and nervous. stuart: yeah, it does. ken nicker you have a wonderful weekend, and i wish you a merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you as well. thank you. stuart see you later, kenny. we have the latest read on inflation. the personal consumption expenditure report, the fed's preferred inflation indicator. what do we know? lauren annual numbers, 2.4% in

november. lighter than expected but more than the previous month. that is the number, as you said, that the fed pegs their 2% inflation target to. and at 2.4%, it's still above 2%. if you look at the core pce price index, 2.8%. that's same as the prior month but, again, less than expected. bottom line, inflation coming in lighter, more favorable, however, still sticky and too high. stuart tiewfort got it. let's have a look at bitcoin, shall we? well below 100 grand this morning. lauren: hit 108k week, now it's the at 94. some are calling this crypto bloodbath. that's harsh. i think it's really just getting caught up in this broader caution on risk assets especially after the ned fed's -- after the fed's hawkish tone. cathie wood is thinking this price of bitcoin hits a million dollars by the year 2030. the enthusiasm is still there, but an incredible run since the election when it was the about 68, 699 ,000.

hit 108k this week, now you're at 94. not that big of a deal. stuart: thanks, lauren. all right, coming up, biden's supporters went to bat for him during his re-election run, remember? >> start the your tape right now, because i'm about to tell you the truth. this version of biden intellectually, analytically is the best biden ever. not a close second, and i've known him for years. stuart: you know, that really is laughable in the hindsight, isn't it? we're learning now, of course, behind the scenes there was a massive effort to keep biden's mental decline fully hidden. tammy bruce on. that's but first, mr. wonderful himself, kevin o'leary, he's here to react to the latest spending bill that we're looking to vote on at 10:00 this morning. we'll be back. ♪ are you reeling in the years, stowing away the time? ♪ are you gathering up the

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stuart: futures in the red this morning, down 160 on the dow, down 170 on the nasdaq following on from yesterday's heavy selling. elon musk may be up for a new role in government. some republicans want him to put his hat in the ring for speaker of the house. peter doocy joins us. has musk responded to that? it's not going to happen, is it? >> reporter: look, let's not rule out anything, but there is growing support for speaker musk as in yesterday there was none, today there's at least some. >> it's two of the most successful business people i know. they would do well in anything. if they would want that job, let them throw their hat in the ring are, and we'll see what happens.

>> reporter: marjorie taylor greene makes the case like this: i'd be open to supporting elon musk. doge can only truly be publishey reining in government efficiency. this could be the way. donald trump, though, still trying to be the one in control of the gop posting on truth, if there's going to be a shutdown in government, let it begin now, under the biden administration, not after january 20th under trump. this is a biden problem to solve, but if republicans can help solve it, they will. and that's got democrats now taunting trump about gop hierarchy. >> i'm to shocked by the speed with which donald trump has ceded control to elons musk. i mean -- elon musk. i mean, this is a real crisis, in my mind, for donald trump. who's the president right now? who's gonna be the president? if or who's the president-elect, i should say, and who's going to be the president come the new year? i don't know who we negotiate with.

are we now negotiating with elon musk? is mike johnson not the speaker anymore? >> reporter: as soon as trump weighed in on the continuing resolution, it was dead. but his influence is not absolute, because the c.r. that he backed lost 38 republican votes. stu. stuart: yes, it did. peter, thanks very much, indeed. kevin o'leary's joining me now. kevin, before we get to talk, sources are telling us that the vote on this new funding plan, supposed to be at 10:00, that's in some doubt. it might not be ready by ten. just want to get that around here. kevin, this new plan, we're told, does not contain a debt ceiling provision. what do you make of this plan even though it might not be voted on at 10:00? >> well, this is classic shutdown government, bad christmas movie. we've seen it so many times. this is the how sausage is made in washington. i like this political theater. i love it when there's propanty

on the floor during -- profanity on the floor during speeches and everybody's ranting and raving. here's what's going to happen, stuart, they're going to punt for two to three weeks because they want to go home for the holidays. that's the solution. so whatever gets, you know, through the i sausage maker in the next few hours probably doesn't have a debt ceiling provision, probably is only a very short-term solution, but it does let washington go home and open some presents and come back and fight again. stuart: but what will happen next year when there's a debt ceiling deal, something's going to be done, there will be a debt ceiling next year and chuck schumer's going to exploit it bigtime, isn't he? >> yes, of course. but if there was ever a government that had a mandate to rein in spending and keel with the deficit, it's this mandate. it's the next two years. trump is close to supreme power on this, so he should take advantage of it until the midterms happen. there's a lot of conservative republicans in the classic sense that are basically, and excuse

my french, just pissed off, and they don't want to see any more spending. you can actually cut some spending. we haven't done that for a while. why not just rein in all these bills we don't need anymore. if there's anything left in the infrastructure act, shut it down. chips and science, shut it down. this stuff is waste of government money, that's my p. i'm one of the few people that you talk to that read this stuff. there's a lot of waste in there. those things are telephone the books, and i was just looking for ton for small business, there isn't any, and that's 62 of job creation. shut 'em down and save billions. what's wrong with that? stuart: tech leader, loads of 'em, have been flock to mar-a-lago to meet with trump. want the ask if you were a ceo of a tech tie tap, would you visit trump -- titan, and what would you ask for? >> so 0 -- 100%. why wouldn't you want to talk to the commander in chief anytime you could to understand what is on his mind? i mean, trump is pretty

transparent about this. but it shows a new trump 2.0, to me, because none of these people would ever in the first mandate, ever have asked to go to the white house. but they're reading the tea leaves like everybody else. this is a majority mandate with a popular vote win, and for the next two years trump reigns supreme. so, of course, you should go suck up there. why not? and they're all doing it. stuart: the supreme court's going to hear arguments on january the 10th on tiktok from the upcoming ban. we hear hat investor, frank mccourt, he's got $20 billion to buy tiktok to. are you looking to the buy as well? >> yes. i think there'll be, you know, he's what we're waiting for -- here's what we're waiting for. they've try thed everything they can, the supreme leader, because i don't care who you think is running tiktok, it's the supreme leader of china, and it is spyware. congress is going to shut it down the evening, midnight of jan 19th.

they have not brought forward a deal for anybody to look at in the data that room, but every day my phone lights up. the only advantage i have, stuarts is the 7 million people that actually give it its revenue, the small businesses, those are the shark tank people. they all know who i am. so i'm going to play my card to keep them onboard, and i want to do it by offering them equity at the same price i get it through equity crowd funding. seven million american shareholders owning tiktok, i'll make tiktok wonderful again, it's that simple. i can do that. stuart: got it. i hope you win. kevin o'leary, have a wonderful weekend, and i wish you a merry christmas. >> take care. stuart: liz claman has an exclusive interview today with a tiktok starks the rizzler. "the claman countdown" 3 p.m. eastern today. now this, biden just announced, that, another round -- aha, another round of

student loan handout toes. lauren: across nearly 55,000 borrowers. it will focus on public service workers ors so if you are keeping track, president biden has now issued nearly $180 billion in loan forgiveness for 4.9 million people. he's got one month left left in office. i think we can likely say has the last of the loan forgiveness for now. stuart: we can but hope. thank you, lauren. check futures, please. it's friday morning. where are we going? we're going south at the opening bell, down 100 on the dow, down 150 on the nasdaq, and we will be back. ♪ i'm just happy as a christmas tree ♪

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business which is kind of their twitter-like service. and the day after they officially announced that they had reached 300 million monthly users for threads, that means that probably within the next month or two they're going to surpass twitter or x in terms of monthly users. now, they don't have the engagement or ininfluence of twitter or x, but i think that's a high probability that they clips that. to me, that's an interesting new business for meta. it's a new service like they had reels, they had stories, that's at the top of your news feed, and now they're rolling out and getting more traction behind threads. a company like that can also, is very good at monetizing through advertising new services which is what threads is. so, yeah, they just gave us and we just learned a new reason to be long meta. stuart: are i your three top large cap picks still uber, am, doordash? yes? >> yes, that's it.

and the most controversial of those, i know you're going to ask me about it, is uber. i'll stick with it. the stock is very close to a trough multiple. fit doesn't work as a stock, it's because prorobotaxis come in and destroy the uber market. i think that's highly unlikely. uber has such a scale advantage, and i think over time you're going to see robotaxis, more robotaxis on the uberer -- uber america, and people are going to look back and say, well, why didn't i realize uber could be a long-term winner from robotaxis? i think some people will take them, some people won't. stuart: hope you're right, because i have a thin sliver of uber. next you've got three small cap picks. they are grab, mag night and wix.com, pinterest. >> yes, yeah. i don't think too many u.s. investors know about grab. grab is the uber of southeast

asia with. they're headquartered in singapore. so there's a lot of regional risk. i'm no expert on that that region, but where i feel i've got some expertise on is the mobility business. you had this big move up in the stock because the company was a able to reach profitability, and i think that's where grab is now. you look at that stock chart, it's starting to take off. i think this is a lot of upside to what i think is the southeast asian winner in mobility, ride-sharing, good delivery, restaurant delivery and also financial service services. it's kind of the super-app of southeast asia, and it just turned profitable a few quarters ago. i like the stock. stuart: we're after -- watching it. have a great weekend, mark. see you soon. the market is about to open. okay, it's 9:30 eastern time. we've opened up -- we've opened down, i should say. the dow is off 137 points, about one-third of 1%, and we've got a

preponderance of red over the green in the dow 30. s&p 500 also opening lower this morning, in percentage terms quite sharp,own another half percent. 29 points. the nasdaq composite, down again. in percentage terms, again, pretty sharp, down . 96 -- .96%, 186 points. you're back to 19,188. all right. big tech, i presume that is all in the red. yes,es the in the red. meta, apple, alphabet, microsoft, amazon, they're all on the downside. let's have a look at nvidia and super micro. they're facing a new probe from the commerce department. lauren: so the information is reporting how did their chips end up in china despite the export controls? so the commerce department recently askedhem, look into this smuggling of your chips the china over the past year. so nvidia asked big distributers like super micro, also dell, do some spot checks of your customers in southeast asia. the companies did adhere to all

export regulations, but still this stuff could happen. stuart: micron. they're down again today. they had a bad day yesterday. lauren: another 2% on top of the 16% drop yesterday after they said, surprise, we have a weak sales outlook because there's been a major slowdown in what they traditionally do. chips for pcs and smartphones. i think the question for investors today is, was that a blip, or is micron a bellwether for a larger slowdown that includes artificial intelligence where micron is still doing well, but the old tech part of hair business is struggling? -- their business is struggling. stuart: this is a big story. novo nordisk, king of the weight loss people, down 19%. why? lauren: a late stage trial of another obesity drug given once a week to patients helped hem lose 22.7% of their body weight. that's great. but n if ovo wanted 25%. they want to supercharge weight

loss. so that a missed the expectation, telling investors that, hey, this drug is likely not the next blockbuster, so you can see the stock is down 20% on that news. so if you're taking eli lilly's zepbound. you'll lose 22%. novo's wegovy, 17%. so when novo said let's do 25 and it didn't happen, you've got a problem for shareholders was the market is extremely competitive. and this was not a pill. stuart: my favorite subject. down 20% almost. or all right, move on. trump, i believe he made some kind of move with his shares of djt. he's not selling them? if. lauren: no, he's not. he's moving them into a trust. he transfer thed his entire stake, which is worth over $4 billion or just over half of the company. djt down today, it's more than doubled this year because the president-elect will be president in a few days. stuart: address bitcoin, because that's having a rough day.

>> lauren: it's at 95,000 now. it hit 108 just a couple days ago. cathie wood, her ark fin-tech fund offloaded almost $4 million of coinbase, the largest crypto exchange. stuart: and that's gone down too. the tesla rally. man, that's lost some steam, hasn't it? if look at it, another 3%? lauren: between bitcoin and tesla, this is the trump trade. and if djt at that too. so tesla's down 3%. it's been on a air since the election because of the relationship -- on a tear since the election because of the relationship between elon musk and donald trump. so close that senator rand paul suggests maybe musk be speaker of the house of representatives. that's a distraction for tesla shareholders because their ceo is being pulled in so many directions. he does have outsized influence many in washington d.c. that could be a positive, it could also be a negative. one more thing, they're recalling about 700,000 vehicles

in the u.s., issue with the warning light9 and the tire pressure. [laughter] stuart: okay. fedex. i think that thing's gone straight up. i think it was -- it is. they're spinning off one of their operations. which one? lauren: frame. it'll be become a -- freight. it allows fedex to focus on its core and eventually merge their express and ground division. that unlocks maybe $20 billion in value for shareholders. that's why the stock is up 4%. stuart: what's the latest on starbucks. lauren: another strike. starts in three cities, los angeles, chicago and seattle. and the union says heir going to escalate that -- they're going to escalate that every day, potentially reaching hundreds of stores nationwide by christmas eve. stuart: aren't they nice. lauren: they're in the middle of a turn-around, and it's stalled. the ceo, brian nichol, wants to simplify the menu. the baristas say it's so complicated to make all these drinks. hay want better hours, better

pay, and they're not getting what they wan. stuart: it reminds me of the amazon strike right before christmas. lauren: it's annoying. what's the message that unions are sending to americans -- stuart: not very nice. nike, they reported after the bell yesterday. lauren: all right. down 2%. so in the quarter, sales did fall but not as much as we thought. the issue is the forecast. the forecast is pretty bad. the new ceo, elliott hill, he's saying, look, we're in the middle of a turn-around, but it is going to take some time and and some, quote, short-term pain. the company lost the obsession with sport. that's what he says. and if there are just way too many discounts. if you're looking on the year, second worst perform behind boeing, down 29% this year. stuart: winnebago -- lauren: pandemic winner. stuart: -- after the bell, i think, and they're up. lauren: relatively flat. revenue was down 18%. stuart: yeah. i thought be down, but, no, they're up. lauren: oh, now they're up --

okay. stuart: gaining some ground. lauren: wasn't a good report card. stuart: move on. where are we now? lauren: we're teasing. stuart: this is where we're tease teasing what's coming up. christmas day, new year's eve almost here. as the year comes to an end, we're looking back at some of our favorite and funniest moments on the show. watch this. the -- [laughter] i was just eating a chocolate valentine, okay? i put the chocolate in my mouth, and the floor manager said 10 seconds. i made a real mistake here. [laughter] okay. what's that? stay tuned for a lot, for more, the entire highlight reel coming up in the 11:00 hour. democrats and the media raging over elon musk's recent influence in politics. >> an up elected oligarch governing -- unprotect ared s. >> president elon musk ifing -- [laughter] over the house republican conference than any president in the white house would. stuart: looks like they're

trying to drive a wedge between musk and trump. we'll talk about that with joe concha. the. the house failed to pass the federal funding bill last night. there was another vote. expect them on at 10:00 this morning. we're not quite sure what happens next, but we're going to hear from pennsylvania congressman dan meuser. he's next. ♪ ♪ meet the traveling trio. the thrill seeker. the soul searcher. and - ahoy! it's the explorer! each helping to protect their money with chase. woah, a lost card isn't keeping

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so you can manage your diabetes with confidence. ♪ after last month's massive solar flare added a 25th hour to the day, businesses are wondering "what should we do with it?" i'm thinking company wide power nap. [ employees snoring ] anything can change the world of work. from hr to payroll, adp designs for the next anything. stuart: 12 minutes into the trading session, and we have a turn-around for the dow. it was down sharply, now it's the up 58 points. the nasdaq though still with a 100-point loss. aishah hasnie joins us from capitol hill.

is there still a vote expected on a new plan at 10:00 this morning or has it been delayed? >> reporter: stuart, good morning to you. things change here by the minute, so this morning it sounded like we were going to have a 10 a.m. vote, now it's sounding like we might not. a member just came over and told us he has no reason to to believe that it's actually going to happen at 10 a.m. he thinks there are certain members in the republican conference that don't want the vote to the happen, so we're waiting and watching. that meeting between speaker johnson, house freedom caucus members, people who voted no last night to that skinny c.r. and trump's o to mb director nominee, russell vought, is still ongoing. and if you're wondering what the hang-up is, gosh, we don't know for sure, but i have not heard a concrete answer yet on how long this new plan for a clean c.r. would be. so that the might be the problem that they're inside if discussing. speaker johnson walked in this morning saying they had a plan,

there will be votes, multiple sourcessed said it was going to be in the form of a short, clean c.r. with a vote at 10 a.m. again, a short c.r. but, again, we don't know how long that c.r. would last. it does not include the debt ceiling to vision that president-elect trump had been calling for even as recently as one a.m. this morning when he posted on truth social that that they is have to get rid of this or at least extend it out to 2029. and without it, he would never be willing to the make a deal. that was his position overnight. we're not sure if it's changed, but certainly russell russell vought is in there as his representative in these negotiations. it all comes after trump and elon musk's c.r. got tank thed haas night on the house floor -- tanked. 38 house republicans voted against it saying that it did not offset raising the debt ceiling. johnson last night needed democratic votes, hakeem

jeffries wasn't willing to provide those. he might need democratic votes again if some of these house freedom caucus members don't go for this clean c.r., so we don't know. there may not be a 10 a.m. vote because if they haven't left the speaker's office yet. stuart: aishah is, you're in a difficult position pause if -- because you don't know exactly what's happening, but you're doing a great job, and that's a fact. see you again soon. a member of the house financial services committee, dan meuser, he's with us now. congressman, can you give us any detail about what's in this new plan that may or may not be voted on early this morning? >> sure, stuart. hey, great to be with you. you know, just to back up a little bit, the entire problem began because we received almost 1500 pages on tuesday evening, and there was a lot that was anytime that was unexpected, and there were things that were not in it that were expected apparently, particularly the president's request for a debt ceiling. now we, we're here at the 11th

hour. there's a couple of options on the table, but i think we can make it real simple. the president was elected by the people. what was on the ballot was the america first agenda. the president's plan is what we should be backing. we should be looking to enhance it, support it, not change it, not alter it, not add to it, to enhance it. we can make it better from an efficiency standpoint and a growth standpoint. in the short term which includes the debt ceiling. and if how our members, particularly republicans, are not getting onboard with what the president's first step, day one hasn't even happened yet, but this is a first step so we can start out of the gate strong, it's just wrong at this point. stuart: but, yeah, but you're split. house republicans are split, and you can't pass a government funding bill. that's the pregreat, situation that you -- regrettable situation that you find yourselves in, and that's bad news for next year because without a debt ceiling, chuck schumer is going to exploit the situation of dramatically. >> well, the american people --

this is what doge did, by the way. doge exposed what was in that bill, right? that's why the democrats are so afraid of elon musk and vivek, because he's pulling the curtain back. he showed what was in there. that pay raise, that was a surprise to me, let alone to my constituents. the francis scott key bridge, all that other nonsense in a c.r. that was supposed to have disaster funding and economic assistance for farmers, all right? so they added the garbage, we removed the garbage. republicans need to get onboard with president trump. he is the commander in chief. he is the president. he is the decider in chief, and he's the ceo. you know, our role is really to be more of a supportive board of directors so we can implement what the american people voted for, and our -- my colleagues need to appreciate that, or there's going to be trouble. then we won't be able to deliver, and we'll lose over time. most importantly, the american people will. so i think we're going to get this, but we've got to wake up, woke down -- [laughter] are which is certainly

happening, and pass something, pass a short-term c.r. with a debt ceiling attached to it, pass a bill similar to the yesterday's but with any revisions that the white house can live with, that president trump can live with. because, again, this is his plan that should be implemented. stuart: okay. you've got a very tough situation on your hands. congressman, we wish you well. dan meuser, thanks for joining us. >> real quick, can i wish a happy birthday to my mother? stuart: yes, i'll second that. dan, you're all right. see you again soon. >> thank you, stuart. merry christmas. stuart house republicans, submit. that shows how difficult it's going to be to extend trump's tax cutses, and that's what's rattled the stock market. that's my take, top of the hour. thousands of amazon workers returning to the picket lines today. of we'll have a furl report on that for you -- a full report on that for you after this. ♪ run, run, rudolph, santa's got to make it to town ♪

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stuart: just five days til christmas, house of amazon workers returning to the picket lines today.

madison alworth with us. amazon says the teamsters' union is misleading the public. how so? >> reporter: stuart, they're saying that the picketers are not amazon employees, and, therefore, there's no reason for them to sit down with the teamsters to talk. take a listen. >> there is no strike because there are no amazon employees or drivers who are involved in this activity. what we have is a protest that that has been created and manufactured by the teamsters to make a point. but i think it's really important that viewers understand that the teamsters don't represent any amazon employees, and they don't represent any of our third party drivers either. >> reporter: but that is definitely not the position of the drivers here. it's day two of this strike, and they said they're going to keep going until amazon meets their demands which is for amazon to sit down with the teamsters and recognize the union and talk

negotiations. if i want to bring in one of those drivers, i have ty reek with me here. we just heard from amazon. they say that you're not an amazon driver. what is your response to that? >> well, i, i consider myself an amazon driver. they have me wear the vest, the jacket, the pants, the shirt, and also i drive their vans and i deliver their packages. so i would consider myself an amazon dreier. >> reporter: -- driver. >> reporter: the distinction seems to be making, because you're contracted, they're drawing that line. but, obviously, we see many vests, so you feel you do deserve to be recognizedded as an amazon driver, and you want them the recognize your union? >> yes, i do. and also according to the nlrb, we are workers of amazon. so amazon needs to come to the table and discuss a contract. >> reporter: speaking of coming to the table, the plan for you guys is to be out here 24/7 until that happens. we're days away from christmas. what do you say to people at

home who are worried about whether or not this would interrupt their packages being delivered? >> i'm sorry to the customers about delays of the packages, but if amazon had just come to the table as soon as possible, everybody would have got their packages and everybody would have a good holiday, a very good christmas. but, unfortunately, they don't want to talk to us. so i'm sorry. >> reporter: all right. thank you very much, i appreciate it. so there you go, stu. day two, the plan is to be out here as long as it takes, and there have been folks out here 24/7 since 6 a.m. yesterday morning. stuart? stuart: madison, we got it. thanks very much, indeed. check that market, please. the dow is back in the red column but only just. it's down a point. s&p down 18 but the nasdaq down 150 points. dow winners, there are a few headed by amgen, goldman, jpmorgan, mcdonald's, unitedhealth all on the list. the s&p 500, that's dominate -- not dominated, but we've got eli lilly, it's up nearly 5%. there's a good story for you.

norwegian cruise lines, of course dissental -- occidental. siriusxm, amgen, broadcom, walgreens boots alliance on the nasdaq. coming up, a vote was expected at 10:00 this morning, that is now in question. the news is coming thick and fast for us. the 10:00 hour of "varney" is next. ♪ if. ♪ mamma mia, here i go again. ♪ my, my, how can i resist ya? ♪ (♪) ..

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♪ silent night ♪ holy night ♪ stuart: silent night, nice. that is the fox christmas tree. a good competitor to the rockefeller -- raqqa center tree. much better than the one in london which has a reputation for being ragged. let's get on with it. good morning, everyone