a live look outside the white house, love yet park and pennsylvania avenue. things have returned to normal, folks are out on the streets on a beautiful saturday in washington. we'll see you tomorrow. kelly: a fox news alert, secret service agents drawing guns at the white house just a short time ago as another person attempting a security breach at the white house in as many weeks. hello, everyone, i'm kelly wright, welcome to a new hour inside america's news headquarters. laura: and i'm laura ingle. today's breach comes as the secret service is admitting that last week's intruder was running free on the white house grounds for nearly 20 minutes. that suspect even approaching agents hours before declaring his desire to get inside the executive mansion. the agency also admitting a laptop was stolen this new york saying, quote, the u.s. secret service can confirm that an employee was the victim of a criminal act in which our agency

issued laptop computer was stolen. secret service issued laptops contain multiple layers of security including full disk encryption and are not permitted to contain classified information. an investigation is ongoing, and the secret service is withholding additional comment until the facts are gathered. kelly: well, president trump holds a working weekend at the winter white house in florida. and we're just minutes away from vice president mike pence, who's also in the sunshine state this weekend, stepping up the administration's push for the gop's health care overhaul. ahead of a crucial vote in the house coming up next week. the president also blasting what he's calling fake news concerning his meeting and joint news conference with germany's chancellor angal merkel -- angela merkel yesterday. kristin fisher is live at mar-a-lago in palm beach with the very latest details. >> reporter: or hey, kelly.

first, president trump declined to shake the german chancellor's hand x then at least two sources described the meeting as contentious. today president trump is pushing back on those kinds of characterizations which were widely reported across the media. this morning he said on twitter, quote: despite what you have heard from the fake news, i had a great meeting with german chancellor angela merkel. nevertheless, germany owes vast sums to nato and the united states, must be paid. expensive defense that it germany. in addition to pressuring chancellor merkel to contribute more to nato, the president also used their joint press conference yesterday to double down on those unsubstantiated wiretapping claims by reminding chancellor merkel and the world that her phones were tapped >> as far as wiretapping, i guess by, you know, this past administration, at least we have something in common, perhaps.

[laughter] >> reporter: well, yesterday the department of justice complied with the house intelligence committee's request to hand over any evidence to back up those claims. the committee's chairman said that he is satisfied, but he wouldn't say if there was any evidence in those documents to do just that. but more answers may come on monday when fbi director james comey testifies under oath on capitol hill. now, in terms of health care, right now president -- excuse me, vice president mike pence, he has just landed in jacksonville, and he is expected to be speaking in defense of the american health care act. this republican health care plan be, he's going to be speaking about it and defending it a little bit later this hour in jacksonville, and then he's going to be coming right here to palm beach where he's going to be speaking at the annual club for growth conference. this is a gathering of a lot of conservatives, a lot of conservative lawmakers are going to be there. and, kelly, that is, of course, exactly the kind of crowd that

the trump administration needs to win over if they are going to get this bill through the house. and some are saying that that vote could be happening as early on thursday. so right now the trump administration in full deal-making mode. kelly: kristin fisher reporting from mar-a-lago in florida. thanks, kristin. lauer and republican leaders facing a make or break moment ahead of next week's expected vote. house speaker paul ryan crediting president trump for some final deal making with conservative lawmakers who have been critical of the bill. >> the president of the united states is the one who's been mediating this. the president of the united states is the one who's sitting around a table hashing out our differences so that we can get to a consensus document. laura: daniel halperin is the washington bureau chief for the new york post, he joins us to talk this through. welcome to you, thanks for being here today. >> thank you, laura. laura: president trump has said this week that the bill is going to be passed. the freedom caucus, the more

conservative branch of the gop, saying there's not anywhere close to the votes that they have for the bill to pass as it's currently structured. so who's right? >> well, the truth is we don't actually know, right? we'll find out on thursday. obviously, by scheduling the vote, house leadership is trying to project the confidence that they have the votes, so we are led to believe just by scheduling the vote that they will have the votes. obviously, they don't want it to be embarrassing and hold a vote that they would lose, but sometimes they do these things as a show of strength, and so sometimes they schedule a week ahead of time, and we'll see closer to the day that they don't have the votes, and they pull back the vote or they delay it or somehow, you know, reschedule it. that would suggest that they problem, of will, the senate where already he doesn't have the votes. the president and the republican leadership to pass this through, something has to change in order for this health care bill to go through. laura: right. and we're not in those meetings,

of course, with cameras and mics, so we don't know about these compromises, but as we current gop plan, do you see those happening or entirely scrapping it for, you know, a do-over? >> it's not clear, and that's totally in donald trump's wheelhouse. he has to do this in order -- really i think in some larger way the presidency is at stake. obviously, he'll be fine if this doesn't pass, but i think in terms of his relationship with capitol hill and with the congress, a big early win on a very difficult issue would really be great for him going forward. it would help him pass various other difficult legislation. a big loss so early in the presidency, this is really his first bill that he's pushing through that's very complex, and it's very controversial in some ways. and i think just a lot hangs on this one vote -- laura: right. >> -- and in terms of the trump presidency so early on. lauer you know, many americans who are watching this all unfold

be, right, they're listening to all the rhetoric, they hear all the news but really they just want to know whether they're going to be able to keep their doctors or their plans that they thousand have or if they're going to be able to go back to their doctors that they lost under obamacare. how do you think that part shakes out? >> i think that's a huge component here. i think people pushing the bill, the president and republican leadership haven't been so clear as to what would actually happen when the bill went into effect. i think that's one of the reasons there is widespread dissension for the bill, is because they haven't effectively made the case. maybe vice president pence later today, maybe administration officials step up and make a clear case here's what will happen, here's how your health care will be affected, here's how you may save money, here's how all these things may benefit you personally at home and whether you can support the bill or whether you can be in favor of it. right now i think one of the reasons there is this problem is that we just don't know exactly what's in the bill. of course, there are plenty of

people who do, but there are these three phases of the legislation, right? there's this big bill, and then they're saying there's going to be administrative action and then smaller bills. we know this wig -- big bill, but we don't know the next two phases, and i think it's unclear what the second and third phases of this whole repeal and replace plan really are. laura: and so much going on with this, daniel, thank you so much for being with us to break it down, and we'll look ahead and talk to you again. >> thanks, laura. kelly: all right. the justice department filing a motion asking the federal judge in hawaii to reconsider his decision putting president trump's second travel ban on hold. the federal from judge in hawaii blocked enforcement of the order impacting six countries just hours before it was supposed to take effect. garrett tenney is live in garrett tenney is live in washington with morem.huregw t@4'i garrett? >> reporter: well, kelly, the white house has been clear that it fully plans to fight for the

president's executive order in the appeals court, but that process could take weeks, if not months to play out. in the meantime, the administration is trying to get certain aspects of the order reinstated. that's what the justice federal judge in hawaii for in this latest filing. when u.s. district court judge derrick watson ruled against the order this week, he said president trump's statements on the campaign trail regarding muslims and potentially banning them from entering the u.s. made it clear this order was intended to target muslims and is, thus, unconstitutional. in their filing last night, doj attorneys argued only the temporary travel ban could be construed as targeting muslims and that judge watson should reinstate other portions of the executive order such as the temporary suspension of admitting refugees as a whole into the u.s.. that's exactly what a separate federal judge in maryland did in his ruling this week while temporarily blocking the prime minister's order. judges are meant to interpret the constitution, and this week

judge watson in hawaii has received a lot of criticism including from legal scholars on the left for using mr. trump's remarks on the campaign trail in his ruling. this morning on fox and friends alan dershowitz explained why. >> the list, although for a different purpose, was originally designed by president obama. so how can you say that the inclusion of the six countries on the list was motivated by what mr. trump said when he was candidate trump? that's just not good legal analysis. >> reporter: and the justice department has indicated it still plans to appeal the rulings of the federal judges in both maryland and hawaii but, remember, there could still be legal challenges to the president's executive order that could come up in between now and then. kelly? kelly: all right. garrett tenney from washington with, thanks. >> reporter: you got it. laura: and secretary of state rex tillerson in the middle of his tour of asia, arriving in china this morning for a couple of days.

>> since the historic opening of relations between our two countries more than 40 years ago, the u.s./china relationship has been guided by an understanding of nonconflict, nonconfrontation, mutual respect and win/win cooperation. it is important that the leaders of our two countries engage in further dialogue to develop a common understanding that will guide our relationship for the next half century. laura: as some of the big topics on the table will likely be how the u.s. and china will respond to the missile launches by north korea as well as china build, they'll be building up another island in disputed waters. now, this is going to be at least the seventh one while china insists the island will be for environmental monitoring, similar islands have been built up with a wide array of military equipment. some have military-length airfields, anti-aircraft and anti-missile guns along with naval guns. kelly. kelly: eight states are pushing

back against president trump on his plan to roll back fuel standards. those obama-era regulations. the states want to keep a guideline in place to limit gas emissions and lock in fuel efficiency for most new vehicles through 2025. they also plan to ask a court of appeals to defend the epa the states say the president's proposal represents a wrong turn in our nation's efforts to fight pollution. laura: soldiers shooting and killing a man at the airport in the paris after he wrestled an officer to the ground and tried to steal her rifle. what we know about the attacker and why he had been on a police watch list. and a fragile california dam which caused thousands to evacuate now back online in california. why residents have returned even though repairs aren't complete. >> they should be releasing water ahead of time to keep

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♪ kelly: welcome back. gop lawmakers facing fierce backlash at constituent town halls over their plans to repeal obamacare. this as a key house vote is looming on the replacement plan next week. let's bring in republican lawmaker who's been in the trenches, knows what's going on and has taken the time out to talk to us even though facing some heat on the issue. florida congressman ron desantos, good of you to join us today. >> good to see you. kelly: tell me what you do or don't like about this particular plan that president trump endorses and some of your republican colleagues want to see passed not only in the house, but the senate as well? >> so the key flaw in the bill is this, if people -- if you ask people what do you not like about obamacare, the two things that i think the average middle class taxpayer doesn't like about it is, one, it's government telling you which

plans you and can't have. you remember millions of people lost their plans through cancellations that were triggered by obamacare. the other issue is the rising cost of premiums ands deductibles which are just killing people's family budget and making it hard to even access health care. the problem with the bill is it doesn't do anything to address those two core problems. in fact, it leaves the architecture of obamacare in place for things like mandated essential benefits, does not repeal that at all. and so while there are surgeon things that i think in the -- certain things i think in the bill that are good, if we're not delivering lower prices to people and making it more affordable, i don't think the bill's going to be a success. there was a lot that was made of the cbo report on monday about the number of people who wouldn't have insurance. what was less discussed was that the cbo said over the next several years you could see a 15-20% increase in premiums over and above the obamacare increases under this bill. the if that happens, that would be disastrous.

kelly: you know, at the top i was saying you've taken a lot of heat on this issue as well, and some of your constituents are, obviously, calling for a different plan just as you're doing as well, but you said something early in the week about cancer patients, how they might have been better off going to the emergency room. was that a gaffe? how would you like to address that right now? >> oh, yeah, i just misspoke. clearly, that's something that requireses very specialized treatment, and i'm somebody -- i'm one of the most fiscally conservative members of the house, but i voted for bills like the 21st century cures act a because i think if you can knock out some of those diseases, not only do you save lives, but i think you save trillions and trillions of dollars in the long run, and that could be a silver bullet for the health care system so, absolutely, very important thing. kelly: is the president delivering on his promise with this particular bill? can it provide more coverage and also bring down the prices or the cost of health care?

>> i don't think the bill as currently structured is going to wring down the cost of -- bring down the cost of premiums, i don't think it's going to arrest the rise in deductibles. i know the president's committed to that, and i 100% want to work with him to achieve that. but if you look at the way the bill is structured, it's hard to argue how consumers are going to have all these great choices when so much of obamacare still remains intact. kelly: forgive me for the alliteration, buts it is march madness and people are talking about full court press, there's a method to my madness. on the hill yesterday we saw steny hoyer, the minority whip, wells kevin mccarthy, and they were talking about -- they were actually having a debate on the issue of health care and how to replace obamacare. this is what steny hoyer of maryland said. he says, what i would hope though is that we would not have march madness on this floor next week talking about the full court press to get this passed.

kevin mccarthy responding, there will be no upsets. a smattering of laughing on the floor, and hoyer saying, yeah. [laughter] i mean, has it come down to that? in all serious candor,s this is really an important bill for the president of the united states to get passed. it's his first foray into this type of politics and and this type of measure, and it's such an important measure because so many people are looking at this issue saying what do i do about my health care presently, what do i i do about my health care in terms of the future. >> without question. and so i think it's very important that we get a bill to president trump's desk so he can sign it, and it just kind of continues with him -- kelly: so let me ask you -- i'm sorry to interrupt you -- >> let me just say -- kelly: what does the bill have to look like in order to get the approval of republicans like yourself? >> that's exactly what i was going to go to. it's not just important that he sign a bill and celebrate. are you going to be able to celebrate two years from now as

the market heals, as consumers have more choices. and if there are things in the bill that will lead to that, then i think that's something that we'll all rally behind. but what you don't want to do is say, oh, just signing the bill is all that matters even though the bill may end up continuing to see what's happening in the market and maybe even hastening the decline of some of these insurance markets the way the bill's structured. so look at now and get a victory now, but also make sure that victory is a sustainable victory that you can look back on three years from now and say we did the right thing. people have more affordable health insurance. kelly: i hear you loud and clear, but i'd like to know what's going on in your hometown with the constituents. they're talking to you. what are they saying to you, and what are your concerns in terms of to your response and how you can respond to them as it comes down to health care? >> well, i'll tell you, it runs the gamut. i mean, we have folks who will come to town halls, and they want the government to basically take over, single-payer system.

those are more of the liberal protesters we've seen. got other conservative activists who said, hey, you guys said you would repeal these things, what you're doing now is not living up to your word. then we have other people who say, look, just do something so that i can afford it. it's too expensive. so i think it runs the gamut, and i think it's reflective of health care touches so many people in a personal way, and our system is very complicated. so anytime government starts moving around with it, it does have far-reaching effects. kelly: congressman ron desantos from florida, thank you very much, sir, for sharing your personal insightings. obviously, you've got a very busy next week to deal with this, and we'll follow it and see what happens. by the way, i love florida. [laughter] >> it's a great place. nice and warm down here. thanks for having me. kelly: all right. laura: we need that warmth up here. kelly: we sure do. harris harris an accidental shooting injures two children outside a chuck event cheese in

ft. worth, texas. a boy was playing with a gun after finding it in his parents' vehicle in the parking lot. the gun discharged injuring the boy in the hand and striking his 3-year-old brother in the back. doctors say they are expected to be okay. kelly: california cautiously opening the floodgates, so to speak, on the damaged oroville dam. we told you about it last month, the main spillway had been shut off for nearly a month after a massive crack appeared in the dam wall. a massive amount of boulders and debris then filled the space, they actually flew it in with helicopters which shut down the power plant, and it's a short-term fix for now with more repairs slated for this summer. authorities there forced thousands of evacuations after a rush of show and heavy rain. laura: and two people including a georgia middle schoolteacher arrested in a $6 million drug bust. authorities say two women were

arrested in a home where officials found 61 kilograms of cocaine, one kilo of heroin and two semiautomatic assault rifles. they're charged with trafficking and possession of firearms and drugs. officials are also looking for the brother of one of the two women in connection with this incident, he is wanted on similar drug and weapon charges. kelly: and paris is on high alert after a man attacked a soldier at an airport before he was shot and killed. a possible motive behind that attack next. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ laura: and time for a quick check of the headlines. the battle between the libyan national army and isis militants continues in western benghazi. city. the army says the militants appear to have run out of am in addition and drinking water -- ammunition and drinking water. in syria, opposition

fighters and their families leaving the last rebel-held area in the city of homs. this is part of a russian-backed evacuation deal signed earlier this week. pope francis planning to visit egypt next month. the egyptian government says the pope is expected to heat with the country's top muslim cleric during the trip. the pope's visit is scheduled for april 28th and 29th. ♪ kelly: thousands of travelers evacuated a busy airport in paris after french soldiers shot and killed a man. authorities say the man wrestled a female soldier to the ground and tried to steal her weapon. john huddy is live many this our middle east bureau with more details about this. >> reporter: well, kelly, people screaming, people running, gunshots, those were some of the descriptions of today's airport attack in paris, and tonight, kelly, we're starting to learn more information about the attacker including the fact that french officials say that he was suspected of islamic

radicalization. now, officials say that he was a 39-year-old man born in france who, as he -- you mentioned, tried to wrestle away a female soldier's weapon as she was on patrol. she managed to resist, and two other soldiers also on patrol with her opened fire killing the attacker who was clearly intent on causing damage and harm. that's because about 90 minutes before the attack, the man used a pell be et gun to shoot a police officer at a checkpoint north of paris, but then he car jacked a vehicle before heading to the airport. the airport was evacuated for several hours with flights suspended or diverts to charles de gaulle airport disrupting travel for some 3,000 people. the airport, we're hearing, is back to normal tonight. french officials called the attacker a, quote, radicalized muslim whose home was among the many that were raided after attacks in paris in 2015, and he had reportedly had a long rap sheet, arrested in the past for

armed robbery, for drug trafficking, and now france's president says that they're looking into his background to see if he, quote, had a terrorist plot behind him. kelly? kelly: john huddy, thanks for the update. a folk news alert right now -- fox news alert right now. the secret service just releasing a statement about an incident where agents had their guns drawn a short time ago detailing what happened. on manufacture 18th -- on march 18th, 2017, an individual jumped over the bike rack on pennsylvania avenue in an apparent attempt to get to the white house fence. the individual was immediately apprehended by united states secret service uniformed division officer before reaching the white house fence. as standard operating procedure, secret service personnel increased their posture of readiness. criminal charges are pending. the breach happened a week after another suspect breached the white house fencea week ago and

was -- fence a week ago and was on the ground some 17 minutes before being apprehended. laura: and chief religion correspondent lauren green introducing her new book, lighthouse faith: god as a living reality in a world immersed in fog. the book seeks to answer the question where is god in my hour of need, and lauren is here with her new book. kelly and i practically had to arm wrestle who's going to do the interview today because we're both friends and fans of yours, and as somebody who works with you every day, i know this has been a labor of love for you. >> yeah. hawr lauer what drove you to write the book? i'm realizing you've been at fox for 20 years. >> right, exactly. laura: is that what drove you to write the book? >> it was really about the challenge of a sermon i heard many years ago and it talked about is god a concept to you or a living reality. a concept was something you molded to fit your life. in other words, you're kind of still in control.

god as a living reality means you mold your life to the reality of god, and that really set off a search from science and faith and other areas to see if we can hold this together. and it's called lighthouse faith because i realized from that sermon that the first commandment of the ten sitses on top of the other -- sits on top of the other commandments like a light, like a beacon. every one of the other commandments is defined by its relationship to the first commandment and its relationship to everything else and you can't break 2-10 without first breaking 1. if you take it outside the biblical sense, there's a scientific structure there of a closed system, and that began the sort of melding of science and faith. laura: and how do you hope to connect with readers and view serious and those you have met in your walk of life of to connect with the material in the book and to connect with god? >> that was really the challenge because i realized i was approaching the book from a science point of view, but that

all of these elements of the material world really had spiritual connections and were sort of our teachers out in the world, you know, buildings that are built, you know, the science, music and how it's structured. all of these things apply to our lives, so i used examples from the my own life and other people's lives about how perhaps you build things in your life and also how you grow, how life just grows in you like biological growth and how you worship. and they combined to make the element of lighthouse faith. laura: i want you to talk to us about chapter nine, the song of my heart. this is where we learn about your passion for music. and for anybody who has been around fox news for a while and a viewer, you know that lauren is a musician and that has been a very important part of your life. so talk to me about opening up about that. >> the chapter on music really was the first revelation where i saw the structure of the ten commandments in music, and i realized the whole idea that, you know, there's a seminal point and everything else in the system, and it relates to it

first and then second to everything else in the system that's so apparent in music and how the major scales are created. and that then led he to belief, it's like, my goodness, we've created a major scale not out of something we just like because of the physical nature, because of its physical vibratory nature. laura: i once of the lucky few that came to the book release party here in new york city this week. i have a picture that we took together at your book release party. it was a lot of fun. yes, there's the beautiful display that you had. and, you know, as we were there at your book party enjoying and celebrating you, you know, there were a lot of personal stories being told x. be in your book you -- and in your book, you get personal talking about your own struggles within your physical being, even calling it the brokenness of your own body. talk to us about getting personal in that regard. >> well, there are a couple kind of brokennesses that we all experience, spiritual where we're sad, we're with unhappy, you know, we're searching for

something greater than ourselveses, and then there's the physical brokenness of my own body which is arthritis. and i just had hip replacement surgery. there was a brokenness that i hadn't anticipated in my life. there was this physical brokenness that really forced me to realize that i was not in control of everything that i did in my life and that perhaps be i needed to take -- perhaps i needed to take a step back. and then i also talk about how god uses those broken periods in our lives to actually make something great, and sometimes that's when god does his best work, is when we are the broken pieces of humanity. laura: what a great read. lauren green, lighthouse faith. congratulations. >> thank you very much. hawr lauer i know this is a lay wore of love, ask we're all very proud of you, excited for you, and people can pick up the book now on -- >> amazon.com, barnes and noble. it's in the store, actually, i signed a couple copies in the barnes and noble on the upper west side. laura: you signed them and stuck them back -- >> yes, i did. laura: i lo that. [laughter] lauren green, thank you so much

for being here today. all right, kelly. kelly: an investigation underway in a bizarre home explosion that completely leveled a home in the quiet suburb of rockville, maryland, not far from the nation's capital. the blast was so powerful it shattered windows nearby and flying debris also damaged over a dozen neighboring homes. now, about 75 firefighters responded to the call. it's still unclear if the home was occupied during the blast. no injuries have been reported. laura: president trump sitting down with jesse watters talking about a little bit of everything including who he would like to see leave their jobs. >> chuck schumer, the president of cnn and alec baldwin. the if you had to fire one person right now, who would you fire? >> well, i think the alec baldwin situation is not good. chuck i'm very disappoint toed because he's a guy that should make deals for the people not as democrat or republican.

i thought he'd be a dealmaker, and instead he's just an obstructionist. laura: you can catch the rest of the interview 8 p.m. eastern tonight right here on the fox news channel. be. kelly: this is a fox news alert, vice president mike pence in florida where he's speaking about the economy and health care. let's listen to the vice president. >> more than 1.3 million jobs, one of the fastest growing state economies in america. [applause] the sun is definitely shining on the state of florida with governor rick scott. give him another round of applause, would you please? [applause] governor, president trump and i are proud to partner with you to make america great again. [cheers and applause] the same goes with all the other dedicated public servants here with us today, congressman john rutherford, mayor lenny curry are, thank you for joining us,

and sue ma verma, it is such a ridge to have you hear -- privilege to have you here. i had the honor of swearing her in as the administrator for the center of medicare and medicaid services. she happens to be a hoosier, and she's one of the leading health care experts in the country, and she's going to do an incredible job for people all across the country. [applause] thanks to all these public servants. say with confidence, seema's going to help us make american health care great again. and i want to thank you so much for your service, seema, more than i can tell you. i'm incredibly proud. now, it is a great privilege to be with all of you today back in this great sunshine state. last fall thanks to all of you, thanks to your hard work, your support and your prayers, the people of florida voted to make donald trump the 45th president of the united states of america.

[applause] florida made a difference. and the president asked me to stop by just to give his personal thanks to each ask be every one of you. hard working americans like all of you were our biggest supporters. on behalf of the president, his tamingly and on behalf of my little family, thank you, florida. your votes have set us on a path to make america great again. [applause] and we're here to say thanks. [applause] it was quite a campaign, wasn't it? it's already been quite an administration. [laughter] the greatest honor of my life to serve as vice president to president donald trump. he's my friend. he's a hand who loves his family -- a man who loves his family, he loves this country. boundless energy and optimism, broad shoulders and a big heart. and thanks, i want to express on

his behalf as well, to all the great business be owners who are with us here today. we enjoyed a great conversation today about the issue that i'll talk more about in just a moment. join me in thank these great job creators in jacksonville. thank you for sharing your candid feedback about what we can do to help you grow jobs right here in jacksonville. give them all a word of thanks. [applause] last but not least, i want to thank, i want to thank mac mcgee and the whole mac paper team for hosting us today. mac, your family now for three generations has been a pillar in the jacksonville community for over 50 years, and today you have over 600 employees spread across nine states. you only get that way when you're doing something right, and you're doing it for a long time. the president and i thank you for all that you do, and and let's give, let's give the whole hack paper team a big round of applause for the great, great success and the jobs they've created here. [applause]

thank you. and let me assure you, let me assure all the job creators, all the people that work for businesses large and small, president trump, i can assure you, president trump is going to be the best friend american small business will ever have. [cheers and applause] you know, i grew up in a small business, a small business family, actually, in a small town in southern indiana. it was a gas station business. i was a, i started working as a gas station attendant when i was only 14 years of anal. and for you young people in the room, we'll explain later what a gas station attendant used to do. [laughter] we actually both know because of our life experiences in our families, we know the sacrifices that are required to make a business work. and more importantly, we know

that when small business is strong, america is strong, and president trump's going to fight for small business america. [applause] just as he's done from day one. [applause] we want to create jobs and prosperity and growth in hurricane like never before, and small business is going to be the lion's share of that. just look at what the president's already done. on day one president trump went straight to work rolling back reams of red tape. he's instructed literally every agency in washington, d.c. to find two regulations to get rid of before they issue any new federal red tape on job creators in america. [applause] he's taken decisive action already to protect american jobs and american workers by ending illegal immigration once and for all. [cheers and applause] he also took action recently when he authorized the keystone

and dakota pipelines that'll create thousands of jobs and protect america's energy future. [applause] you know, and businesses are already responding to president trump's buy american, hire american vision with optimism and investment. from coast to coast, governor scott will back me up on this, companies are announcing that they're keeping jobs here, they're creating new jobs, tens of thousands of them. just last month the american economy added 235,000 new jobs, and we are just getting started. [applause] under president trump's leadership and working with great congressmen like john rutherford, we're going to cut taxes across the board for working families, small businesses and family farms. we're going to keep slashing through red tape, we're going to rein in unelected bureaucrats so they can't cripple the economy from the comfort of their taxpayer-funded metal desks in washington d.c.

[applause] and because you hired a builder to be president of the united states, we're going to rebuild this country so that florida and every other state has the resources to have the best roads, the best bridges, the best highways, the best airports and the best tush we could ever -- best future we could ever imagine with the infrastructure that we need. [applause] but making america great again doesn't just mean our economy. president trump has no higher priority, i can assure you, than the safety is and security of american people. over the past year, the american people watched in horror as terror struck orlando and fort lauderdale. our support, our prayers have been with you ever since, and so for that matter i can assure you is our resolve. rest assured president trump will continue to take steps every single day to protect our

nation, protect our way of life and protect and prevent attacks by radical islamic terrorism in this country again. [applause] your former sheriff knows in his heart what people also know, president donald trump is standing with the hen and women who -- the men and women who serve in law enforcement in this country as never before. [applause] some of you are sitting, a lot of you are standing, but would you all mine getting on your feet and thank the men and women in law enforcement who are here with us today? [cheers and applause] i promise you, under president trump's leadership, we're going to make sure the men and women who serve in law enforcement have the resources and the

training and the tools that they need t go home safe to theirs. the president has also taken steps to secure our nation, to secure our borders which means building a wall, enforcing our laws, beginning with insuring as the president said before congress that gang members, drug dealers and criminals that threaten our communities are off the streets of florida and out of this country. [applause] and while we talk about security, this past thursday president trump unveiled his budget. it's a budget that at its very heart will end the era of budget cuts for our armed forces. we will rebuild our military, we will restore the arsenal of democracy, we will give our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marineses and coast guard -- marines and coast guard the resources that they need to

accomplish their mission and come home safe. that i promise you. ms. . [applause] and lastly, by nominating judge neil gorsuch who will go before the congress this coming reek, president trump has kept -- this coming week, president trump has kept his word to appoint a justice to the supreme court of the united states who will keep faith with the constitution and uphold the god-given liberties that have been enshrined there for now more than two centuries. [applause] so we've been busy. we've been busy. my friends, president trump is a man of his word, and he's a man of action. and i believe he'll make america great again. and headache no mistake about -- make no mistake about it, the obamacare nightmare is about to end. [cheers and applause] it's amazing, really amazing to

think about it. virtually every promise that he made about obamacare when it was passed into law has been broken. we all remember what they were. remember? they told us the cost of health insurance would go down. not true. they told us if you liked your doctors, you could keep 'em. not true. they told us if you liked your health plan, you could keep it. not true. just the other day i joined president trump to listen to hard working americans who have suffered there these broken promises. they told us in visceral and emotional terms the stories that i heard from business leaders today. skyrocketing premiums, unaffordable deductibles, fewer choices, higher taxes. they it would us just like these employers did today about the hard choices that they've had to make, about how obamacare is standing in the way of not only their companies' aspirations, but the hopes and dreams of the people that work there and desire to work there. it was a heartbreaking conversation then and now.

and they're not alone. think about it. just last year premiums following obamacare spiked by 25% on average across america. millions have lost their plans, and one-third of the nation's counties americans only have one insurance company to choose from which essentially means they have no choice at all. given all the failing, it's no wonder that 400,000 fewer people enrolled in obamacare this year. now your governor, i can tell you, has been remarkable on this. he mentioned just a few moments ago we actually met when as a private citizen, rick scott was fighting against obamacare before it ever became law. and, rick, let me thank you for that, and thank you for your ongoing leadership. [applause] governor rick scott said recently, and he knew this from the fight we fought then and

every day since that obamacare was in his words sold on a lie and that, in his typical plainspoken way, governor scott said it just plain doesn't work. and he was right. you know, florida's actually a textbook example of everything that's wrong with obamacare. here in the sunshine state obamacare premiums rose by 19% last year. with some increasing by nearly 40%. over 400,000 floridians were scheduled to lose their plans at the start of this year. and nearly three-quarters, 75% of the state, has no choice at all when it comes to health insurance. the truth is florida can't afford obamacare anymore, and job creators in florida can't afford it either. [applause] i heard it. i heard it earlier today. the small businesses represented here told me obamacare hitses

them with mandates, regulations, higher taxes and higher costs. hack paper is a great -- mac paper is a great case this point. mac was telling me they've been forced to spend more than $300,000 not on jobs, not on investments that'll create more jobs, but on just trying to comply with this failed law. that's just not right. that money would have been better invested in your workers, mac, and i know that's where you would have liked to have invested it, in payroll and benefits and your future instead of being wasted on the failed policies of obamacare. men and women, this can't continue. every day obamacare survives is another day the american people and american businesses are struggling. obamacare has failed, and obamacare must go. [applause] now, since the day florida helped send president trump to the white house, i can promise you he's been focused on

repealing and replacing obamacare with something that actually works. we know that the core, the core flaw of obamacare was this notion that you could order every hearn to buy health insurance -- american to buy health insurance whether they wanted it or needed it or not. just a few days ago in nashville president trump actually called that obamacare's, quote, fatal flaw. the president couldn't be more right. that's why we're going to end this flaw, we're going to replace it with real solutions built on freedom, personal responsibility and state flexibility and reform. that's what works, and that's what president trump's plan for health care reform will do for the more than people. [applause] for the american people. we're going to begin, though, we're going to begin by repealing obamacare's taxes. we're going to end its mandates by eliminating the penalties. we're going to give americans more choices. we're going to expand health savings accounts for every

american. we're going to give americans a tax credit that'll help them buy the coverage they need at a price they can afford, and we're also going to do what the president likes to call it with a big heart. we're going to make sure that americans with pre-existing conditions still have access to the coverage they need and to you fellow parents out there with kids under the age of 26, i have three -- [laughter] we'll make sure you can keep your kids on your insurance until they're 26 years of anal. anal -- of age. now, folks, what i just laid out is only a small glimpse of everything our plan will do. the bill moving new the congress, the american health care act, is an important step in the right direction. we're working around the clock with congressman rutherford and other members of the republican majority in the house and the senate and with leaders here in florida to make this bill even better. president trump laid out a few key elements just yesterday with members of congress in the oval office, and we're going to continue to work with members of

congress to improve this bill. that's what the legislative process is all about. and we're not going to -- we're going to do a couple of different things with a few recent amendments that are worth mentioning and are owing in part of to the engagement we've had with congress. first off, we're going to stop any more states from expanding medicaid and adding a burden to future generations. we're going to give states the option of block grant withs of medicaid to the -- to block granted so states like florida can innovate and design medicaid around the unique needs of the people in this community, and we're going to allow states like florida to include a work requirement for able-bodied adults insuring that medicaid's benefits are are available for those who need them most. [applause] now, these are all common sense solutions added to this legislation in a vigorous debate on capitol hill under the president's leadership.

we'll continue to listen intently for ways to make this even better. just yesterday president trump made it clear he supports the bill 100%, and we all do. every day more and more members of congress are getting onboard, and as we work to pass this fist bill, rest assured our administration is also working with dr. tom price over at health and human services and with seema verma at the center for medicaid services to give states like florida the freedom and flexibility to help your most vulnerable in the ways that are going to be best for you. just this past week they sent a letter to governor scott and other state leaders around the country saying, and i quote, that a new era for federal and state medicaid partnership has begun. and so it has. [applause] you know, fact is, and i say this as the governor of the state of indiana, the fact is florida is a unique state with unique needs. and this administration knows

that state-based solutions are the best way to get better coverage and get better health care outcomes, particularly for the most vulnerable citizens across the state of florida. and under president trump's leadership lastly, just though this: we're going to give the american people the freedom to buy health insurance across state lines the way you buy health insurance, the way you buy car insurance. [applause] that's the combination. president trump and i know that the way to lower costs is to increase choices, to create a dynamic national marketplace, and that's what our will do. probably -- plan will do. probably won't be long until you see fho and some little lizard on television selling health insurance. [laughter] that's the american way. let me say a couple of things to you before i get on that plane and head back south with your governor. i want to assure the people of

florida we're going to have an orderly transition to a better health care system in america that makes affordable, high quality health insurance accessible for every american. [applause] be assured about this, be clear on this though, folks, this is going to be a battle in washington, d.c., all right? obamacare's defenders are working hard. so we have to work harder. and we're counting on florida. we need every republican in florida to support this bill and support the president's plan to repeal and replace obamacare. and president trump and i, president trump and i are confident, we're confident that with your support florida will be there, and we will repeal and replace obamacare once and for all. [applause] kelly: so you've been listening to vice president mike pence

speaking in florida about health care and the economy. we're going to sign off now. the journal editorial report is coming up next. laura and i will join you again at four. be sure you join us again on "america's news headquarters." laura: thanks for being with us today, we'll see you soon. ♪ ♪ we are proposing a budget that would strengthen a bloated bureaucracy. and i mean bloated. while protecting our national security. we see what we are doing with their military. bigger, better, stronger than ever before. >> welcome to "the journal editorial report" i am paul gigot. the trump administration blueprint on thursday reigniting a political uprising on capitol hill. $1.1 trillion budget allows the policy priorities