star. >> melissa: that's right. absolutely. all right. well we will see you back here in an hour from now. outnumbered kicks off right now. >> harris: we are awaiting the daily white house press briefing. it's expected to start at any moment now continued fallout over the house intelligence committee russia investigation. the panel's chairman, republican devin nunes is standing firm, refusing to step down as the first g.o.p. lawmaker joins a chorus of democrats in calling for him to recuse himself from the investigation. this is "outnumbered" i'm harris talkner. here today is sandra smith, meghan mccain, abby huntsman, today's #one lucky guy. former presidential writer for president george w. bush and founder and ceo of american majority. ned ryan ask here. is he outnumbered first timer. followed you on twitter. >> i usually behave on

twitter sometimes i don't. >> harris: that's no fun. >> sometimes i have to be myself and express my thoughts. >> harris: great writer. you get a lot into 140 characters. >> all about how to use those 140 characters to really compress your thoughts and share them. >> meghan: good to have you. >> i appreciate united states being here. >> meghan: you get more than 140 characters today. >> harris: we will begin with the chair of house intelligence devin nunes. is he taking relentless political fire for his visit to the white house grounds last week. it happened just the day before announcing incidental surveillance of president trump's transition team. chairman nunes calling the reaction overblown. he says he is going to stay put. >> why not recuse yourself from this investigation? >> i still don't know why. until you guys give me a reason to recuse myself i might consider. >> it critics say you are too close to the trump administration to lead this investigation. >> yeah. i don't know that they have actually said that. but -- >> -- and will you share your source or reveal your

source to the committee? >> we will never reveal sources and meths. >> even to the other members of the committee? >> nope, never. >> harris: chairman nunes went on to say he will provide his fellow committee members. the information once the intelligence agency provides it john roberts joins us today. john, this story has been cooking along all morning. >> reporter: yeah, harris, it's expected to be another conversation here of press briefing with sean spicer few minutes time. the white house hoped it would have been clear of this long ago. never expected to hang on for weeks like it has it keeps on leading back to the white house most recently when nunes said he was over here 21st of march looking at intelligence at the old executive office building. now the eisenhower executive office building. now a republican has come forward to say that congressman nunes has lost the credibility to lead this investigation and that it needs to go to an outside commission. congressman walter jones of north carolina signing ton a

democratically sponsored measure to strike that commission, to have them look into russia and take it out of the hands of the house intelligence committee. here is he in an interview with our chad pergram not long ago. listen here. >> when that committee's chairman is not totally upfront with the committee members, both parties, that the time has come for the speaker of the house, paul ryan, to consider talking about the possibility of starting an independent commission to deal with this issue. >> reporter: i'm told at this point by sources on capitol hill that speaker ryan still stands behind chairman nunes. a lot of republicans admit, they will acknowledge that things are looking worse for him, particularly in recent hours. the national review is calling for him to step down as the chairman. senators mccain and lindsey graham, harris, are voicing doubts about all of this. so, we will see where it goes here from the white house. they have been trying to stay out of this, to the best of their ability saying that what chairman nunes

does is up to what chairman nunes wants to do. obviously though here the political winds in washington starting to blow strongly against his sails. we will see where this goes, harris. >> harris: of the audience seeing you peeking over your shoulder. we told them as soon as that white house press secretary steps up to the lecturn, sean spicer, we will take that right await a minute and fully anticipate that he will be asked about what you are reporting on right now. i want to skip to this though. the white house pushed back pretty hard today on a "the washington post" story that claimed the administration was trying to keep former acting attorney general uniteyates from testifying befoe the house intel committee. what is the latest on that? she said her party sent a letter and they anticipated since the white house didn't respond that she was clear to talk. >> let me point out to you, harris, the reason i looked over my shoulder is a lot of photogs here started snapping pictures and i thought they were come up behind me and i was missing it sean spicer likes to joke about the fact that there are correspondents standing up doing reports when he

comes out. >> harris: i thought you meant had you your own paparazzi. >> no, no, no. we looked at the whole paper trail involving this sale yates thing. the chairman and ranking member of the house intelligence committee devin nunes and adam schiff sent a letter to sally yates saying they wanted to appear before a hearing which was sort of tentatively scheduled to take place yesterday. her attorney then informed the department of justice that in order to testify she would have to go into materials that were privileged. the doj wrote back saying that privileged material is, quote, owned by the president. so she needs to check with the white house. her attorneys check with the white house and they put in the very last paragraph, the clause that says if we don't hear back from you by 10:00 in the morning on march the 27th this past monday, we will take that as a sign that you are not going to assert executive privilege and have you no problem with her testifying. of the white house did not respond to that. so what they basically did was they said we approve of her giving testimony. and sean spicer backed it up yesterday in the briefing. listen here. >> i want to make a comment on a false report regarding former acting attorney

general sally yates. i hope she testifies. i look forward to it. let's be honest. the hearing was never -- was actually never notified. if they choose to move forward, great. we have no problem with her testifying plan plain and simpl. the report in the "the washington post" is 100 percent false. >> reporter: so the white house insists it had no problem with sally yates testify. what happened was that hearing a was tentatively scheduled for tuesday. what happened devin nunes is giving cover by not holding this hearing and alleviated the pocket that they would have a public assertion of executive privilege. i think it's beginning to go away for them a little bit, harris. by the way we should point out that the press pool just came out from what's called the pool spray. they were in there with the president. he was hosting a listening session on opioids. new commission. new jersey governor chris christie heading that you will probably get videotape of that very soon. >> harris: we are

anticipating all of it happening during this happen. we will cover it when it happens. john roberts. let's bring it out to the couch. ned, senator chuck schumer is calling for the senator to replace devin nunes. paul ryan. >> first of all the thing frustrating about all of this the story being about recusal when it should be about unmasking. we are being distracted from what the real story is. that the obama administration did conduct surveillance did monitor the trump team, trump and his team, that, you know, while the intel had nothing to do with russia. you know, pique pete hoekstra who used to be chairman of the intel community wrote a piece in the "wall street journal" he thinks some of those raw intelligence reports made it into obama's senior white house staff hands. my thing is let's not get distracted by. this keep pushing ahead. it sounds to me like he is not going to recuse himself and get back to what this real conversation is about. it's about unmasking. about the intelligence and abuses of raw intelligence

reports. >> harris: one of the thing i brought up on the couch yesterday and louder drum beat about this if republicans had kind of looked ahead and said this could be a problem. nunes could have headed us off at the pass with an explanation. all right. i will cut myself off for the breaking news of the white house press secretary sean spicer at the lecturn now. let's watch. >> i have got to get through. this get some questions and then got to move on. but we have got two more on camera briefings the rest of the week. so, this morning the president just wrapped up or it's continuing to, i know some the pool just left, but the president is currently hosting an opioid and drug abuse listening session with senior administration officials, governors, experts in the psychology of drug addiction, recovery awareness advocates and others who have been affected by the opioid crisis. drug abuse has crippled communities across this nation. in 2015 more than 52,000 americans, that's 144 people a day died from a drug overdose with 63% involving an opioid.

according to the cdc. drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death in our country. as the president discussed with the group this morning, we won't be able to address this epidemic with a single solution. first, we must get struggling americans the help that they need. too many families have seen first-hand the destruction that drug abuse can bring. we must also focus prevention on law enforcement. chiecheap heroin is flooding into our communities as cartels set across the country. setting off a chain reaction of addiction that spreads person to person and from family to family. president trump is already taken executive action to strengthen law enforcement and dismantle criminal cartels. he and his team will continue to discuss how best to root out this threat to american communities with drug enforcement experts as we continue this fight. stopping this epidemic is not -- is an issue that every american, ladderless of your political background, can and must get behind. we must work together from

the leaders to the most local -- from most local and community recovery and support programs all the way to the white house to solve this problem. the white house took a big first step this morning in our battle to combat drug addiction. and the opioid crisis by meeting with these individuals which included new jersey governor chris christie who has been a leader on this issue. attorney general sessions, education secretary devos, veterans administration secretary shulkin. homeland security secretary kelly and others were in attendance. a full list of participants has been provided. i will say i know the pool was just in there. it is some of the stories from some the individuals who have been involved in this with the family member are unbelievably compelling. their desire to see and to work with the administration to get this problem addressed is one that is plaguing communities. and i know the president places it at the highest priority. there was a mention by the

drug -- the acting administrator of the dea that they have a program where twice a year they gather unwanted drugs. last year they gathered over 1 million pounds of unwanted drugs. 5,000 sites in which people across america can drop off stuff in their medicine cabinet that is no longer yoursed to get it out of their house. the next dropoff will be on april 29th. i think the dea will be putting out more information. when you see. so action that was taking place in this report, it is truly a call to arms for crisis that is plaguing our country. this afternoon the president will drop by the women's empowerment panel that the white house is hosting led by florida attorney general pam bondi. education secretary betsy devos, small business administrator lind is a ada mcmahon. u.s. ambassador to the united nations nikk nikki haley. senators nor medicaid and murder care services investorma.

talk about the challenges women and young girls face today. vice president pence and the first lady will also be in attendance. the president is proud that his administration is full of so many female leaders for whom will be on stage this afternoon so that their incredible work doesn't always make headlines but certainly felt across the federal government and across our nation. women's history month is coming to an end but the trump administration is committed to empowering women in the workplace. the work that we started this month will not end at the end of this month. it will continue. the president made women's empowerment a priority throughout the campaign. speaking out on affordable child care and paid family leave. investing in women's health, and the barriers faced by female entrepreneurial and business owners. in february, he and prime minister trudeau from canada launched the united states-canada council for advancement of women entrepreneurs. this month the first lady hosted an event for international women's day in the east wing. cms administrator burma hosted a panel on women and healthcare. his daughter ivanka held a

round table with women business owners with sba administrator mcmahon as well as other round table with latina business owners. just earlier today the first lady joined the under secretary of state for political affairs tom shannon to present the 2017 secretary of state's international women of courage award at the state department. the president believes as the first lady said this morning, quote: wherever women are diminished the entire world is diminished with them. however, whenever, women are empowered, towns, villages, schools and economies are empowered and together we're all made stronger. the trump administration will continue to work to ensure that the american economy is a place where women can work and thrive. later this evening the vice president will participate in the swearing in of david freidman the next ambassador to israel. the president is glad that ambassador freidman will be officially on board as we strive for lasting peace in the middle east. mr. freidman's strong relationships in israel will be a tremendous asset to the president in furthering that mission. finally i want to speak about judge neil gorsuch in

the blatantly political obstruction of his nomination to the supreme court by senate democrats. yesterday the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell said that next friday the senate will vote to confirm neil gorsuch to the supreme court. we welcome this news. unfortunately estimate democrats have begun justifying by claiming a 60 vote standard for his confirmation. that standard doesn't exist and these claims continue to be false. a party line filibuster by the senate minority is not a fair up or down vote. you don't have to look further than the voices of many of these same democrats to see why in 2013 senator tom udall said and i quote in full some of us may disagree with justice scalia on judicial philosophy but is he a qualified nominee. he received an up or down vote and he was unanimously confirmed. likees with, he said judge ruth bader ginsburg was considered a aclu general council. many on the other side may have disagreed with her views there was no filibuster. she was confirmed by a vote of 96-3. end quote.

he he'ded, quote. a bhirnt in the senate should not be able to block qualified no, ma'am niece, end quote. we could not agree more with senator udall. he has adopted a new party line obstruction blocking up or down voted on blocking judge gorsuch. it's both sad and unfortunate. we encourage all senators from both parties to fairly evaluate the judge's eminent qualifications and grant him an up or down vote with that i would be glad to take your questions. april? >> thank you, sean. >> how are you today? >> i'm fine. and how are you? >> fantastic. >> [laughter] >> well, sean, going back to heard on the news, nunes is not going to recuse himself. in the midst of all of this back and forth, what does the white house say about that? >> well, april, the white house, i think i mentioned this yesterday. is he conducting an investigation. he is the elected or appointed -- i can't

remember how they do it over there. appointed confirmed or however they. but by his colleagues in the house and the speaker. he is the chairman. he is conducting an investigation. it is up to the house and the representatives and the speaker and the house republican to determine it. there is nothing that i see that is problematic in him conducting an investigation. we asked both the house and senate intelligence committees. >> reporter: conversations happening with paul ryan about this to include dems and republicans are talking about what looks like impropriety in the intelligence chief handling of this so far. particularly as there is not a hearing. >> well, i would take issue -- i think you are right that there may appear to be certain things but i don't think there is any actual proof or sustaining allegation about anything that's done. again, i mentioned this yesterday. if you look at what chairman nunes has done, he has met with people who are cleared

to discuss classified information regarding a review tha is conducting. that's how it is supposed to work. and, again, i understand that when things are leaked out in the media, that somehow that is a stashed that's acceptable. but when two people who are cleared to discuss classified information or three or however many discuss classified information, somehow that's wrong because it's not being leaked. he is conducting a review which we have supported on both sides of the chambers. and i think they should do this. but i think to start to prejudge where this thing is going, we have been supportive as you know. i think let's let that process bear itself out and see what happens. i will tell you that i have seen reports from the media that the nsa has that they are supposedly trying to get to the house intelligence committee that have been requested. we think that's a great thing. if that's, in fact, what's happening. but, again, i think part of this all gets back to that

there is a process. i get that sometimes it's frustrating to us. i believe that we want this over as much as i think some of you. but we recognize that there is a process that has to take place. and that process is taking place. the chairman and the house intelligence and i know that senator burr and senator warner are talking about the process that are going to go on the senate side. some of these things take a little bit of time. and to the extent that they are gathering the appropriate documents and looking at those things, then that's part of the process and the review that is being undertaken and we're find with that. >> second topic. tax reform and infrastructure reports saying going to do it together. aca, obamacare going in to trump care, tax reform infrastructure some of the reasons why you did not come up in the budget with eliminating the debt. do you have cost estimates as it relates to tax reform and freezing rain structure? >> no. because i think you need to have plans laid out first. i think part of this is that we are in the beginning

phases of both of those. and so to have a score or cost when we don't have those formalized yet. afternoon i think we are in the beginning phases of having those discussions with both stake holders and members of congress on both sides and obviously internally the formulation of those plans is continuing. so, until that happens i don't see it having a formal cost or a score. >> cbo now? >> it's not a question of trust. remember, i want to be clear about what i said before. i think when it comes to cost estimates and budget issues, which is what the cbo is charged to do they are the congressional budget office. and while i think sometimes they are a little off on that, that is what they are charged with doing. i think there is a score. where i think is not a question of trust, it's a question of accuracy. and i think that the issue that we previously brought up was when they had scored people and coverage, which isn't necessarily their wheel house. they have been way off. again, i don't think it's a

question of us trusting or not. it's literally a question of saying they believed that 26 million people would be on obamacare. 10.4 were and falling. i think that's not a question of whether we trust them or not. it's a question of those are the facts. and those facts bear out they were off by more than 50% when it came to counting people. i just want to be clear that it's not a question of whether we trust them it's a request of whether that's what they are supposed to be doing. major? >> a couple things that we talked about on monday. monday you said to us from the podium you would look into how chairman nunes was cleared here and with whom he met. we tried to ask you that yesterday as you walked out. do you have any information to live up to the commitment you made on monday to provide more details about how that happened in a process you just told us. again, that is above board and totally appropriate? >> i don't have anything for you on that at this time. but, again, -- >> -- have you looked. >> i have asked some preliminary questions. i have not gotten answers

yet. i think there is -- but, so, no, i don't have anything further on that. but, again, i would argue, major, it's interesting and i brought this up the other day that there seems to be this fascination with the process. it's how did he get here? what door did he enter as opposed to what's the substance of what we're finding. not from you and i'm not trying to be -- but some times i get these calls that we have an unnamed in2e8 source that says the following substance occurred, do you admit it or do you deny it or whatever? we have this argument over substance. in this case the fascination is what door did he come in? who did he meet with? as opposed to what i think it should be and ironically it's not. the shoe is on the other foot. what's the substance. just yesterday, just to be clear, we started this day with "the washington post falsely posting a story saying the white house blocked sally yates. right? by the end of the day it's officials blocked sally yates. they were wrong. and they jumped to a conclusion based on whatever unnamed sources. and i think that what we're trying to do is argue that there should be a process.

the chairman of the house intelligence committee and others are going through a review. we support that review and so as i -- as much as i understand that everyone wants to jump to how did everyone get in? what did they do? they are undergoing an investigation. >> i have a substantive question about that. >> okay. >> i'm just asking about you about something you told under the circumstances. >> know said i would look into it. >> continue to look into it. >> i will. >> and live up that obligation. >> the obligation i said i will look into it and i will continue to do that. >> okay. so you said yesterday about sally yates show what you show know. one of these reasons question about chairman nunes he hasn't told his own committee members what he knows, how he learned about it, and what the substantive importance of that is. so we are also curious about that. and among the things that might be or might shed light on that is how he got here and who he met with and what he learned. trying to figure that out as well. >> i understand that. those are questions for him. but i think that, major, there is a slippery slope that we're talking about

here. because if we start looking into certain things, and the accusation the next day is going to be we don't -- you looked into this, can you look into that? why didn't you ask this person or not? a couple weeks ago stories about whether or not we called certain people and we didn't. so, we are damned if we do and damned if we don't on this stuff. because, on the other hand you want certain answers on the other hand you want involved. we ask for an investigation. and at the same time, we have tried to make sure that we allow that review to go on, that both the house and the senate intelligence. so, we can't cherry pick every time that you decide that a piece of information is relevant to what you want. i think that we know that they are undertaking a review. hold on. >> going on and the members of the very committee themselves say they don't know. >> fair enough. right. >> how is the process going forward? how is that a workable process? >> what i'm say something the answer to that question is. that's a question for chairman nunes. i don't have any authority over how the house intelligence committee conducts itself.

that's a question. >> you do have authority about whether he gets into this building and can review secured information on this site. >> how he conducts himself with his members, when and where he shares things, et cetera, are issues for him and the committee and house of representatives. not for us. that's it. plain and simple. john? >> reporter: sean, we know that members of the house freedom caucus study study group up on the hill to trito see if they can come to some sort of agreement to find a way forward on healthcare. how real does the white house think this possibility of resurrecting healthcare is? >> well, i think the president from the early days of his campaign talked about repealing and replacing. it's a commitment that he made. i think he would like to get it done. but he also understands and i don't want to be -- i want to be completely consistent with two things. one is he understands that in order to get to 216, we have to make sure that it does what it says it was going to do, achieve those goals of lowering costs and creating more options.

so we're not going to create a deal for the sake of creating a deal that ends up being not in the best interest of the american people. you've got to know when to walk away from a deal that is going to end up bad. and he wants to have a good deal. and so the deal that he is looking for is willing to have members come and talk to him and engage with -- on this whole area and figure out what it would take, what their ideas are to get there to grow that vote. if they can do that and get to an area where we will have a majority of the house and can move it to the senate, then we're going to engage in that. but we have seen members of both sides of the aisle engage with the white house on ways that are potentially -- ways to get there so, it's a conversation. and then we are not trying to jam that down anyone's throat right now. it's ongoing discussion. >> reporter: does the white house share the frustration that many republicans on capitol hill and the sentiments that the house freedom caucus, quote, botched this? >> i think the president's comments on this speak for

themselves. >> i just have one more and on the same thing. the president, members of the white house have suggested that maybe we could get some democrats on board. >> um-huh. >> healthcare reform. the fact that no democrat, not even one democrat supported the last attempt and given the desires of the freedom caucus versus what the democrats were be looking for, is it reasonable to think that even one democrat would come on board this? >> no. i mean, i think it is not unreasonable. >> i said is it reasonable? >> i think it depends on what they -- how they want to get there i mean, again, there is a balancing act. it's not about just picking up one. enough picking up 216. what does that take without compromising the principles that you want to achieve. so, is it possible? sure that there is a handful or so or maybe more democrat that are will to engage or thwart the conversation. but, again. >> isn't this a ba boehner okay

if you are not going to work with us freedom caucus -- >> -- it's a math tactic. it's how do you get to 216 in this case. and it's engaged with whoever will get to you that number. now, as i mentioned yesterday over the course of 17 months, obamacare, you know, failed and started multiple times. went off on multiple different tracks including single payer until it ultimately came back and on scott brown's election they jammed it through and did it so quick to make sure that the secretary of human services. but i get it so we are 21 days into this process. 22 probably today. so, we'll see. but i think the idea that the president has put out there is that if people want to float ideas and suggestions on how we can grow this vote and get to a majority, he will entertain them. tamara? >> i have a lightning round about opioids. is a commission being created, is chris christie the head of that commission? he was sort of talking about it but i haven't seen anything on it what sort of

time line will that commission have in terms of presenting findings? what's the goal? >> i think it's easier to start with the goal. i think if you see the round table and i know the pool will have a readout of this afterwards. the goal is to figure out i think governor christie has been a leader. it's an issue that plagued countless communities more and more. and so, you know, whether it's new hampshire or other places in the midwest, it's sitting there and figuring out best practices and how can we get it down and how can we provide the treatment. i mean, i think the d.e.a. administrator was noting in the discussion that they -- we have gotten really good at law enforcement, right? but the question is how do we focus on the treatment? how do we focus on the prevention? how do we look at things that happened in the past to deter drug addiction from starting in the first place and deter young people in particular from starting with drugs. to now how do we help families to cope with it. there is a lot of it.

today is the first step of bringing some of these stakeholders together. you know, but, like i just mentioned on the other thing, i appreciate that everyone want the answers but i think that there is a reason that you're looking at two things. a whole of government and a whole of person. right. it's looking at how do we look at people to help them get the recovery stay clean. not start in the first place. help them get into treatment center. help them get a job afterwards. i mean, there is a lot of whole of person but whole of government. you are looking at around that table today, you have got families and parents and individuals who have been personally affected in one way, shape, or form. governor christie has dealt with it at a state level. pam bondi looked at it state level. secretary kelly looking a at it from homeland security. dea looking at it from law enforcement. then have you got secretary devos looking at it from education and prevention it is a big, big issue that is

plaguing our country, plaguing our communities and plaguing our families. i wish i could give you an answer and say this is how we're going to solve the problem. the first step is understanding the problem, the magnitude of it and looking at how we approach it holistically. >> the time line for them coming back with findings. and then, the president when he was campaigning seemed to endorse the stop act which would prevent fentanyl -- help prevent fentanyl being imported from countries like china. would he use his presidential bully pulpit to sort of push for that legislation now which is not really gotten off the ground yet over in congress? >> that was one -- not the specific piece of legislation, not the stop in particular but there was a lot of discussion about fentanyl and rise of it today. i think the attorney general brought that up and was talking about the escalation from that from the 1980s until now. there is there is a look at it. again, as i mentioned, have you got the attorney general there. law enforcement education, part of this is to really

look at this and figure out what are the ways that we can address it at -- from coming into the country. and the d.e.a. administrator was talking about it especially the flow from the southern border. but then you look at it from the law enforcement issue a prevention issue and treatment issue. i wish i could give you easy answer and say here is the silver bullet that's going to stop this. we recognize the growth of this problem and this epidemic and how do we solve this going forward? john. >> thank you, sean. yesterday prime minister theresa may signed the letter that began the process for brexit. a week ago friday, sean junker, who is the president of the european commission used some unusually strong language about the president saying that his comments encouraging other brexits could lead to war among the balkan countries. and he also said in the end, and is he quoted on page 1

of the final times that the president does not know a lot about europe. what is the president's response to that. >> to brexit in particular? >> to the comments by president of the european commission to brexit. >> i think the president is very well steeped in world affairs, especially europe, nato, all the issues. he was a leader in the effort to call brexit as you know. and obviously with respect to that, we respect the will of the british electorate and her majesty's government in taking steps of departing the european union. whatever future the uke relationship looks like. we want the u.k. to remain a strong leader in europe for both the eu and europe to remain strong leaders globally. i think both on the eu and that. veronica? >> sean, thank you. i have two questions or topics. just the first, what's the white house reaction today to the shooting today at the capitol? >> well, sounds like a very troubled individual. obviously i will let law

enforcement mete that out. i don't want to get ahead from. what i understand and what i have seen, it's very troubling incident. i think, again, i don't want to get ahead of this. it looks like law enforcement. i appreciate the efforts that capitol police and the others took. you literally watch people put their lives in harm's way today to protect tourists and other citizens and so i want to commend the work of the capitol police and the work of law enforcement to continue to protect us at this time when washington is in its glory with the cherry blossoms out and some people are coming here to visit. the title titled basin and house of representatives in the senate and walk around washington, d.c. it's reassuring to know so many brave men and women are will to put their lives on the line to make sure the city stays safe. >> second topic. last weekend the president spent the weekend here, not in mar-a-lago. i'm wondering was that in any way in response to some the push back he has received about the cost associated with those trips. part two of that, does he

plan to be here again this weekend? >> so, no. yes. the president wanted to be here last weekend. he wants to be here this weekend. he will be here. and then i will have updates on where he will be going forward. >> does he feel any concern about that push back. >> no. he feels great. hunter. >> thank you, sean. president trump is expected to sign legislation that would allow internet service providers that would allow internet activity and sell that information without user's permission. will he be signing that legislation and why does he think it's good for america? i'm wondering who this benefits apart from isps and their executives? >> the house and senate have just passed that. when they enroll it then we have further updates on that. when we have -- i know that -- i believe we have a statement of administrative policy on that bill out and further updates on signing ceremony. i will let you know. >> doesn't this erosion of protection create major risks for people to use that information for nefarious

purposes also hostile nations potentially looking at what congressman are browsing online. is that concerning to the white house? >> i think -- as i mentioned, we have a statement of administration policy on that bill that we'll have further update. when we do, we sign it, i'm sure we have further details why. zeke? >> two topics for you. [inaudible] earlier today and testified that government believes that russia has been supplying materially the -- i am wondering if the white house has any response to that testimony. >> i'm sorry, who was testifying? >> sanders -- constructive effort on the part of russian government in that region? >> there is several entities looking into this and i'm not going to -- i will say that dod's response speaks for itself. we understand the intelligence on this. the president has been briefed on it. i'm not really sure what specifically. >> [inaudible] that action on the part of thegovernment ri?

>> i think the commander, cencentcom's commander's testimony speaks for itself on that. >> about a month from now the government will run out of money. the president talked about in his campaign campaign budget request border wall on the southern border for mexico is that a deal breaker for the president in any sort of government funding measure in the next month or so? >> so, on april 29th, the cr expires, the continuing resolution. and we are going to be working with congress on that. on the fy 17 budget that needs to go forward. i know director mulvaney has talked about that. i'm not going to get into the specific details. i know if you saw the budget put out 1.6, or $12.7 billion he has put in. fy 17 for the beginning of that wall and 2.5. that is our request. we will continue to work with congress on how to move

forward with the rest of fiscal year 17's budget. blake? >> yeah, sean. pick off where left off on healthcare. the president here last night speaking with senators i know they are all going to make a deal on healthcare that is such an easy one. i have no doubt that it's going to happen very quickly. what is the renewed sense of optimism and what exactly is "very quickly?" >> i think there is a little bit of sound that needs to go with that i think he was having fun with previous comments that were made with respect to how easy it would be to get healthcare. so, but there is a renewed sense because i think, you know, the comments and the calls that the president has gotten, as well as the vice president and other members of the senior team that have come in and said we believe that there is a path forward. we have some ideas we would like to talk to you about that. i have seen some of the reports that have been put out. regarding. so individual members of the senate and the house that have been up here meeting with our team. and i think there is a lot of people who have some ideas about how to move

forward. and we're entertaining those. i think the interesting thing is that despite the set back that we got last friday, i think there is a renewed willingness from a lot of members who made commitments to the american people and to their voters that they want to see this done and they understand that not getting this done means that, as i said, and the president echoed when he went up to the house republican conference there is going to be a consequence to this. people need to be taken at their word there are a lot of members that made a commitment to their voters to their constituents, that they were going to get something done on this. and repeal and replace and address the healthcare situation and that hasn't gotten done. that's a concern for them. >> let me ask you real quickly. you say that you embrace the house intelligence committee review. john mccain said earlier today that because of the potential schism within that committee there should be a select committee that goes from this. would you embrace that if that happened and what would you -- >> -- yeah. again, i'm not going to get

into house and senate matters. but i don't -- as i mentioned at the outset to april, i believe that people -- look, all -- how they conduct themselves internally is up for them. that's not up for us to decide. the question that is still outstanding is what has happened a review was called for that part of it was already ongoing from what i understand especially on the house side. the chairman of that committee has gone and sought information and individuals who believed that information to further the review. i'm really not sure how that is anything other than what you are supposed to do. and i think that is consistent what he has talked about. dave? >> two questions. you mentioned senator udall opposing the gorsuch nomination. he was here at that party last night. did the president try to work with the room and other democrats about the nomination last night? >> i know he and the first lady and others spoke to a variety of senator. i wasn't keeping tabs on everybody that he spoke to. but i do know that he had an opportunity to speak to a

lot of different senators. and he has talked to a lot on the phone. i don't know about senator udall himself. >> secondly, two thirds of the democratic senators did not attend the party last night. did that disappoint the president? >> i think we were excited to see the one third that did. i know senator chuck schumer was there, senator durbin. i hope i'm sure the president will continue to do things like this. this was an amazing opportunity to have a moment free of politics and enjoy some collegial moments with each other in the white house and listen to some -- the united states and marine corps bands play some amazing music and bring people together. i think the president has talked about this. you know, he has mentioned this a bunch of times that there used to be a time when you could sit down and share a meal together. that's what he has been trying to do is bring groups back in and at least have a conversation and get to that

human side a little bit. so tonight, yesterday was a good start. i think. john? >> sean, the president has in his inbox a letter from senate democrats a and they say -- democrats say they are ready and willing to work with the president on improving obamacare. they just have a couple of conditions. first the president has to abandon his efforts to repeal the law and rescind the executive order. this letter is signed by the vast majority of the democrats in the u.s. senate. what does the president say? >> i think as the president has noted we are willing to engage with people. i think they understand his principles. we need to repeal the law and replace it with something better. i understand. >> they are saying they want to take full repeal off the table. >> i understand. i have seen part of the letter. i think what we need to do is figure out who wants to engage that constructive conversation. i understand what they want. but, again, it's not just a one-way street. i think the i president has made very clear what he wants to do. to the extent that some of them want to have a

conversation. we have a 502 seat majority in the senate. if there are individuals in there that want to have a constructive conversation achieving the goal we can do it. i think they also need to understand the president's red lines. >> but they say it's a first step repeal executive orders. is that something he is willing to do. >> i think the president is admitted to make sure he continues to go down the path he has gone down. there are ways if they want to join him that they can. i think there are some areas that they may want to engage with him on that we have seen so far. and so, look, i understand they have a right to put out a letter and draw their signs in the stand. the president is committed to going down the path he is and obviously first step is to get to 216 in the house and address the concerns in the senate. he had has continued to have conversations with the senate. and i think that as obamacare continues to struggle, which it is, the premiums continue to go up and up, i think the question is, you know, will those 40 people understand that they are the ones who are going to be responsible for owning the current policies that are making so many americans

struggle? >> would he be joking when he said that making a deal on healthcare would be an easy one? >> i think if you watched the tape, it was a light-hearted moment, jonathan. he was having -- >> -- he didn't think it is easy. >> no. watch. he was having a fun time the with senators there jim? >> you know, the other thing that the president said last night was our soldiers are fighting like never before in iraq. as you know, sean, u.s. troops there are in support role and advise and assist role. what does he mean? what does the president mean when he said they are fighting there like never before? doesn't take into consideration what happened during the bush administration and the obama administration. >> no. no. >> obama administration. house to house. >> i think there has been some progress, particularly mostly thmosul. for a long time there was a lot of concern about iran moving in and dominating parts of iraq. and i think with the advise

and consent of u.s. military advisors, there has been tremendous progress in moving iraq forward to an area of stability and continuing to see the troops there in iraq stand on their own. he is very pleased with the action that general mattis and our soldiers and sailors and airmen and marines are taking to do that. >> if you couple that comment with the comment on healthcare, it being the easy one to get that done, it sounds like -- you probably have heard this come across this nation that is he just detached from reality in making those comments. >> first of all, i think that -- again, i would respectfully ask you that you review the tape. he was having a light-hearted moment. it's on tape. everybody wrapped it. he was poking fun and making a joke. comment before how he didn't get it he was joking before how far easy it was. it was a light-hearted moment. it was ton tape. the idea that there is this -- trying to make it look like he was being

utterly serious at the time is a little bit of a stretch. >> one quick thing on chairman nunes. just so we're clear. i'm sorry. he was very proud of the work that our soldiers and sailors are doing over there in iraq. there is a lot of work and a lot of progress being made and the updates is he getting from general mattis on a daily basis. >> he didn't think they are in combat. engaged in combat. >> no, again, the process being made in iraq and the fight against isis is going extremely well and he is proud of. >> it i was going to ask you very quickly on chairman nunes. do you personally know who the source of chairman nunes information is. >> no. jeff mason? >> two topics. first on healthcare. does the president want to start a new healthcare bill or tweak the one that did not go last week? >> i think we are starting with where we are in trying to move that forward. i think that is the current vessel. >> separate topic. of the president did not mention the paris agreement yesterday when he went to the e.p.a. can you update us on his

current thinking about that? if he want the united states to stay in? and if he does, how does he expect the united states to meet its commitment without the clean power plant? >> i think the paris agreement is still under discussion within the administration. >> do you know when you will know. >> i can try to look into that. i don't have one at this time. >> thank you, sean. early voting has begun in the georgia special election to seat secretary price. some democrats are building this as a referendum of the president on the early days of the presidency. what does the white house think about that? does the pump plan to be involved at all in this race. >> honestly, i have not even thought about it. i think that if needed the president has always been very clear that he wants to support the team and help the team. honestly, i have not tried to really focus to try to shed that previous life a little. i have not looked into the race in georgia. i'm sure refer tout rnc on

the state of that race. thank you guys very much. we will see you tomorrow, thursday. take care. i do owe you one tomorrow. i'm sorry. >> harris: all right. so the questioning that we were waiting for happened throughout, actually. that was press secretary sean spicer holding his daily press briefing. daily i say this week because he has promised five of them. he started with the new opioid push from the administration and the appointment of governor chris christie of new jersey to lead that effort. and then the questions began. he started with april ryan, which i don't know if you know the story of this but yesterday a little back and forth between them. as he was telling her to stop shaking her head at him. he started with her on the light heartedness off the top. she wanted to know right away about whether or not devin nunes who is the chairman the house intelligence committee would consider recusing himself after being found out to have been on the white house grounds scooping up or not scooping up but collecting private and secret information in his investigation. why there was the question. why weighs on the white

house grounds even though he said he didn't see the president during that visit. that's where we started there were many questions about that. and then it got a little chippy as he took some questions from major garrett. how did it happen that nunes was on the white house grounds gathering secret service? and, again, it seemed a little interesting to me and i will bring it out to the couch. ned, that sean spicer said that he did not know that he would go back and that he would still be looking at this issue. this is not a surprise, this is going to be asked about. >> it's not a surprise. north the greatest answer. again, they are not driving the narrative. and i will go back to what i started with. this is not about recusal. this is about finding out what actually happened with these surveillance with the monitoring, with the unmasking of names. they are not driving a narrative and pushing it back in the press to say this is what the real story is about. and i find it a little bit disappointing that they are not driving the narrative more aggressively. hairs. >> meghan: on monday multiple reporter that continued to insist there has got to be some way you

can get this information, sean spicer promised he would come back with that information. one of the reporters in the front row there. continued to press him but, wait, you said you would have this. are you going to have this and his response is i don't have anything for you. so, what's going on here? was that a purpose? was it an oversight? was it a mistake? i'm guesting. >> meghan: meg be a be a not to mention what happened at the house. if anyone going to know what is happening there. it's a simple answer. is he going to recuse himself? what crime did he commit what law did he break? >> next question? >> meghan: his response is up to the speaker: ned and i were talking throughout. this this is really not the direct way that he should be responding to this question succinct, what law did he break? moving on. >> narrative has to be get back to the real story and you and i were discussing while we were watching, let's talk about what the obama administration did. we know they have weaponized certain parts of government when they were in the white house.

let's have that let's let that be the narrative. 4re69's let that be the story. instead, he is, i don't know, i'm not really sure. they are not driving the narrative. and at some point if they are not starting to drive the narrative and win the message every day, it's going to effect the agenda. >> harris: okay. so that's where this gets interesting because now this is during a week that you have promised five news conferences because, remember, they were going to change things up. we mite not see white house press secretary every single day. but during this week, as sandra has pointed out, you come out on an issue at least in the mainstream media right now that's growing because it has no answer. you come out and again today for the third day you say well, i don't have it but i'm still gathering it i want to move forward. our own john roberts then moved the questioning forward and asked about healthcare. how realistic is it, the possibility of resurrecting healthcare? also an interesting answer from sean spicer the president understands the bill does need to say what he would like it to say then john roberts asking isn't

this a stormer speaker john boehner way i'm not going to talk to the freedom caucus i'm going to talk to the democrats it got interesting there. >> can we go back to the whole process by which we came to this point? paul ryan should have gotten all of these groups together the week after the election he is and said we're going to have a sitdown. we're going to talk this through freedom caucus, tuesday group, rsc, some the senators, bring them in and say listen, healthcare is going to be one of the big things we're going to do. i want everybody in agreement. instead, they write this bill in secret. then they push it out and say you're going to vote for this 18 days back and forth and it's like you thought you were going to roll these people in 18 days? i actually think -- i know people have been beating up on the freedom caucus. let's talk about the tuesday group. let's talk about how paul ryan facilitated this? let's talk about trump letting ryan drive the agenda. >> harris: what do you think that was? >> that's a great question. i wish if trump was going to come out and say veterans reform bill first. feel good bill. then he wanted to do tax

reform and then we move to eric repeal and replace. i think it would have gotten him off to a much better start, easy win, nothing -- you know, success. instead we are in this -- >> harris: abby, part of what i'm reading about the timing is that you had just come out of enrollment period and now you are facing another one. right? >> yeah. >> harris: trying to get into the sandwich. mandated fees and trying to change the scope of things. i can sort of understand why they tried with obamacare first. what do you think? >> i think we are all going back to this problem of communication that you are left with the american people not understanding what is going on, whether it's with these million investigations going on. i don't think people understand half of what is in these investigations. we don't have any answers yet on those. but with healthcare, most importantly, people are wondering what w. this paul ryan bill how does this impact me and what i need right now. i don't think many people understood that let alone the lawmakers that had to sign on board with that or not. it's a huge problem.

>> meghan: we watched paul ryan get out power point like i was in college again which in fairness you sounded thrill. also watch c-span for fun. >> harris: more shame -- i love her. >> meghan: thank you. i had to get my dig in once in a while. for ned, comes from communication, so do i. i understand how on some level i knew this narrative wasn't getting across. i completely agree with you. i don't understand why this bill was pushed through without getting together every single facet of the republican party should have started right after election day. but this is a cataclysmic failure that will follow republicans around into mid terms. do you think revisiting it. >> i do. i have friends in the freedom caucus was talking with one of them the other day. they are committed to making something happen. do i think they need to get it done. the last thing i want to happen is for them to go into 2018. i think the freedom caucus actually saved republicans in the 2018 election. >> meghan: i think you are right about that too, ned. >> i'm not blaming them

entirely. >> harris: real quickly. i want to get to that video that i was talking to john roberts about that's come in now with the president at his listening session about drug abuse and opioid abuse. this is in the cabinet room. let's watch together for just a couple of minutes. >> thank you for being here with us this morning. during my campaign i promised to take action to keep drugs from pouring into our country. and i want to just thank secretary kelly. he's done an amaying job. down 61% at the border right now in terms of people and the drugs that are being stopped. it will take longer for this great cooperation with mexico and others. but, we're doing a good job. and we want to help those who have become so badly addicted. drug abuse has become a crippling problem throughout the united states.

drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death in our country. and opioid overdose deaths have nearly quadruple peld since 1999. this is a total epidemic. and i think it's probably almost untalked about, compared to the severity that we're witnessing. today we're bringing together leaders from inside our government and outside of our government. and courageous people who have been affected and really affected by this terrible affliction. in a joint campaign, we want to battle drug addiction and combat opioid and we have to do deal with the crisis. we're fortunate to have governor chris christie with us, a friend of mine, a great friend of mine, a very, very early endorser. in fact, an immediate endorser, once he got out of race. [laughter] he liked heimself more than

he liked me, but, other than that. >> thank you, sir, but that's all right. >> other than that, he has been great. and he is a very effective guy, i will tell you. to have you working on this. >> great moment, actually, if people remember was you talking about your friend. that was probably your greatest moment during the campaign for president. and it showed how much you knew about this issue. so, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> we'll work directly from representatives from state and local governments, law enforcement, medical professionals, and victims. i especially want to thank pam garazo. hi, pam, how are you? thank you for being here. pam said she lost her son, beautiful boy to drug addiction, and, pam, we mourn your terrible loss and we honor your strength and the fact that you're here. >> thank you. >> he will not have died in vain. okay? we will make sure. he will not have died in vain. thank you, pam. we appreciate it. we're also thankful to

welcome a.j. solomon and vanessa, both of him have fought addiction and are now symbols of hope and recovery. right? >> yes. >> great job. we must get our citizens to help and we need help. everybody has to help. and we will not have to go through what pam has gone through and so many other families in this country have gone through. we want to help people like a.j. and vanessa who struggle through the dark depths of addiction. not easy. not easy. and they found this bright promise of recovery. we must also focus on prevention and law enforcement, which is why i have issued previous executive actions to strengthen law enforcement and dismantle criminal cartel. drug cartels have spread their deadly industry across our nation and the availability of cheap narcotics. cheap, some the it comes in

cheaper than candy has devastated our communities. it's really one of the biggest problems our country has and nobody really wants to talk about it. vice president pence mentioned as coming into the room. he said this is a problem like nobody understands. and i think they are going to start to understand it. more importantly, we have to solve the problem. our attorney general jeff sessions is working very hard on this problem. it takes a lot of his time because this causes so much of the crime that we have to solve, that problem. so solving the drug crisis will require cooperation across government and across society, including early intervention to keep america's youth off this destructive path. we must work together, trust each other and forge a true partnership based on the common ground of cherry irising human life. so this is a very, very important meeting and maybe we will go around the room and we'll just say hello to

everybody so we all know who we are. and then the press will leave and we'll start talking. okay? >> harris: that's the president there, that's the cabinet room, talking about the drug crisis. i want to remind everybody that on october 15th of last year right before the election, he said when i would be the new hampshire primary i promised people of new hampshire that i would stop drugs from pouring in to your communities. i am not doubling down on that promise. echoing what he is doing today. a couple other things, too. you heard governor chris christie being mentioned. interesting timing because you have got with bridge gate some the sentencing coming down this very hour now with his top aides. the other thing with all of this is that this really points to an issue that you talked about consensus. who wouldn't want to be for killing the drug use in this country? so this is an interesting timing for the president. maybe one of. >> maybe a quick win. a success. >> harris: all right. it has been great to have you. you are going to stay with us online. >> excellent. >> harris: right?

>> of course i will. i don't want to leave the couch. >> harris: i don't want to leave the couch either. foxnews.com/"outnumbered" click on the overtime tab to watch us pop up also on facebook live outnumbered on fnc. great to watch you this >> fox news alert, we are awaiting information on the congressional investigation into russia's interference in the 2016 2016 election. speesecond the top democrat and republican on the senate intelligence committee are said to address that media 90 minutes from now. recovering out of the news, this is speethirty. more democrats now are stopping this up in court nominee, with this because a showdown over neil gorsuch in senate? in the white house expected to overturn internet privacy laws put in place by president obama. how that could affect you. plus... >> it was a big boom, and i thought it was a