everyone. he wrapped up today speaking to thousands at a rally in pennsylvania. this weekend the president also engaged with some long time allies in southeast asia who are on the front lines against the fight against isis and other forms of terror to calls with the president of the philippines, the prime minister of singapore and the prime minister of thailand. today, a start of another big week here. after signing a proclamation on law day, he stopped by the kennedy garden where around 100 members of the independent community bankers of america kicked off their capital summit. smaller banks are one of the driving forces behind economic investment and development in our community. they've been harmed by the dramatic increase in regulation since 2008 declining in number by 30% since 2008. the president's pro growth agenda includes instituting what he is calling a 21st century glass seal will allow these banks to spend less time

complying with unnecessary requirements and more time in seizing the community and local small businesses with capital. it's also the start of small business week. today ivanka trump will be participating in a talk with sba administrator linda mcmahon. and the vice president will deliver remarks to the national small business week awards program later this afternoon. back to the president's schedule. after speaking with the community bankers members, the president had lunch with vice president pence, secretary of state tillerson and secretary of defense mattis as well as national security adviser mcmaster before meeting separately with secretary tillerson. i also want to mention that this morning fema held a severe weather coordination call to discuss impacts on the remaining threat for continued severe weather across parts of the southeast, to the mississippi valley, which has already killed five people in texas. secretary kelly participate d on

the call and the white house is in contact with local governments in these affected areas. we'll have those communities in our thoughts and prayers and encourage everyone to follow the direction of their state and local officials to stay safe. finally, let me run down what we're expecting for the president's schedule this week. tomorrow he'll present the commander in chief trophy to the air force akadmy. on thursday he'll host a national day of prayer event. as i mentioned last week, he will then attend commendment aboard the uss intrepd and meet with the prime minister of australia. i'll continue to update you on the schedule throughout the week. with that, your questions. jill? >> thank you very much. go back to comments made the president made on health care regarding preexisting conditions. he said the bill he would want to sign would mandate that

preexisting conditions be covered. can you talk whab about what he went there. was he talking about the language that's already in there? >> i think both. in the sense mcarthur meadows amendment ensures that preexisting conditions are continued to be covered. that obviously is the bill hopefully passes the house this week or whatever it does and then goes through the senate and house. this is an issue that is important to him. >> how does he ensure those people are treated affordably. there was an estimate from aarp that if you're in a high risk pool, could be as high as $25,000. what is he doing to ensure that doesn't happen? >> there's two things. i think he mentioned in the same interview, just to be clear, right now under obamacare, as it collapses on its own weight, people who have preexisting conditions are really the most vulnerable. if you have an insurance system that no longer is able to provide care to those who need it, then we talked about this before.

you have a card without coverage. so what the president's doing is ensuring going for war as we attempt to repeal and replace it, that coverage of preexisting conditions is at the core of that. so that is something that he is insured that is in the current bill and will continue to push for to make sure coming out of the senate is there as well. john? >> couple things for you. first off, what do you say to conservatives who feel like they didn't get a whole lot out of this spending bill. there's no money for the wall, no cuts to sanctuary city, funding for planned parenthood was maintained. what do you say to those conservatives? >> i think the president got a lot out of this bill. most specifically $21 billion to help rebuild the military. that is something that he was very proud to campaign on and is delivering on. that's probably the biggest thing. with respect to border security got $1.25 billion under the current language that's posted. that's significant.

remember, i think people have to keep it in context. we're talking about 2017 funding. so this is something that most presidents would walk into office and that would have been done. because the last congress didn't do its under president obama, we have an opportunity to get some of the president's priorities infused for the last five months of 2017. that's a big step forward and something he'll continue to fight for in 2018. when the fiscal year starts the end of september, we will have an opportunity to infuse the president's priorities. there's a lot there. there's also dc school choice was something we felt very strongly about, making sure it was back in. there's no obamacare bailout. there's -- the coal miners, something the president felt very strong on, making sure they got taken care of. that happened. there's a lot in this bill that i think of the priorities he put forward on. >> you did give up some things. >> on the planned parenthood thing in particular -- but,

again, remember, this is 2017 funding. this is something he wouldn't normally even had a shot at because it should have been done. infusing his priorities into the 2017 budget cycle is something he's been able to have a say in, which is a big deal for the remaining five months. the 2018 budget will address those things. this is a downpayment on border security. it's a downpayment on his ability to rebuild the military. and repealing and replacing obamacare will address a lot of the other health care issues. >> on the pending visit from the philippines, the president is giving his stamp of approval to civil rights abuses. what's the white house's perspective on him coming? >> i think it is an opportunity for us to work with countries in that region that can help play a role in diplomatically and economically isolating north korea. frankly, the national interest of the united states, the safety of our people and the people in

the region are the number one priorities of the president. mike? >> tax deduction. the white house talked a little about that as a way to curb big tax breaks for the rich. are you looking at any other policy changes when it comes to limited breaks for the top 1%? >> well, we're at the beginning of this process, but i think you saw from the briefing that was given the other day that focuses on this. it is really low and middle income americans. the doubling of the standard deduction means a family of four that is making right now they're getting a $24,000 deduction which means in a lot of cases you'll see a family pay 0 taxes at the lower end of the economic scale. that's a big deal for them to really help put more money back in their pocket. trace? >> on healthcare there seems to be a new optimism from the white house. how confident is the president that he will get a health care bill passed the house this week?

>> i think the president has made it clear that he's not instituting a timeline. i have said this before and i'll continue to say it. we feel confident the direction this is going. we see more and more members come on board. a lot of the changes were made, make the bill not only better but garner greater support. so we feel very good. >> on north korea, today the president told bloomberg he was open to meeting with kim jong-un if the conditions were right. how does the president define the conditions? >> under the right circumstances. and i think that is something in keeping with our policy, consistent with the policy expressed by secretary tillerson as well. we've got to see their provocative behavior ratchet down immediately. there are a lot of conditions that would have to happen with respect to his behavior and to show signs of good faith. clearly conditions are not there right now, but i think the

president's made it clear, as secretary tillerson had the other day that if the condition, if the circumstances present themselves, we will be prepared to, but they're clearly not at this time. >> thanks, sean. picking up on healthcare, it is believed possibly that you might be down, or republicans down just a handful of votes away. here we are at 2:00 monday afternoon. is this the closest that you think you've gotten? i know you don't want to talk about timelines but is this as close to getting to that magic 216 number that you talked about? >> sure. once we get 216 we'll stop counting and i think the speaker gets that. as i mentioned to tray, we're getting closer and closer every day. so i assume today we're closer than we were a week ago. but we're not there yet. and that decision's going to be only within the speaker and majority leader and the whip to let us know when they'll open that vote up. >> let me ask you ab dodd frank. the president just gave an interview in which he said i am

looking at that right now. he goes on to say, there's some people that want to go back to the old system. we'll look at that, potentially breaking up the banks. breaking up the banks, is that something he is just looking at or is that something that is a preference of his at this point? >> i think i mentioned in the opening, he's looking at a 21st century glass seal. he mentioned it on the campaign trail. shouldn't be a surprise to anybody. it is something that's being looked at. sara? >> you're saying you're not confident the votes are lined up behind the healthcare bill. this morning when gary cohn said the bill was ready to be brought to the floor, did gary cohn misspeak? >> no. i would never want to get in front of the speaker. that's up to them. we have a good whip count. i think we feel very good about where we are and where it's headed. but ultimately the speaker and the house leadership determine when to call a vote. i think that we know when the vote gets called we'll feel

confident that it will pass. >> sean t president on the campaign trail raised alarm about federal deficit, spending bill really end of the fiscal year, does it include any of the offsets the president requested. is the president -- will the president sign this agreement that does increase the federal deficit? >> i think we got a number of the president's priorities included in the cr. when we are at the final point, the president will make a decision. but right now he's pleased to see the plus to the military. pleased to see a down payment on border security. he's pleased about the dc opportunity scholarships. there's a lot that he's pleased with. the 2017 oned to john, we're funding which should have been done last year. i think that obviously, you know, this is something that required 60 votes in the senate. we couldn't have our entire way on this. we're five months away from

having a 2018 budget. i think the president's priorities will be reflected much more in that. >> you made comments when asked about the journalists are not against character assassination. did the president know about those comments when he extended the invitation for him to visit the white house? >> the president gets fully briefed on the leaders he's speaking to. the number one concern of this president is to make sure we do everything we can to protect our people and to economically and diplomatically isolate north korea. when you look at what he is doing in terms of building that coalition of countries in that region to do it, this is hopefully going to have -- i'm not gonna tell you every single thing that's in his brief, but he's well aware when he speaks with a leader, he gets briefed on a lot about what they're doing, what they've done. that's all part of brief.

mara? >> about the future work. can you tell us why he is doing that? >> there is no personnel announcement at this time. i have no belief that he is currently leaving the white house. so there's nothing to update you on with respect to that. we wouldn't comment on personnel matters at this time. mara? >> i have a question on health care. when the president talks about a guarantee. current law said you have to something to sell it to people with preexisting conditions and they can'ted charge them more. is that the guarantee the president wants? >> so, the bill does not remove obamacare's guaranteed issue requirement. that's it. on the community ratings, the bill would allow states to wave obamacare's community rating requirement if certain conditions designated to sprefrb access to coverage to people with preexisting conditions are met and there are reduced average premiums, increase enrollment, stablize the market, stablize premiums for those with

preexisting. the bottom line is to give the states flexibility to get that premium down. >> but preexisting conditions would continue to get access but not at the same price? >> the idea is to create a system where it gets the premium down for them as well. >> they could still be charged much more. >> when i say the whole goal is to give states the flexibility to get lower premiums. that's the goal all around. to make sure the system that we employ gets it down. >> sorry about that, sean. the president turned to president netanyahu. does he think netanyahu is snubbing him? >> i'm sure we'll continue to have conversations with the prime minister and -- >> are you aware of that? >> that is something the president will continue to

discuss. >> john. >> thank you. >> let me go first. >> quite a negotiation. [ laughter ] we may need you. >> the art of the deal. thank you, sean. i wanted to ask about some news the president made this morning in an interview he conducted with bloomberg. in that interview he talked about the possibility of raising gas taxes to pay for the construction spending. of course the president put forward the idea of a trillion dollar infrastructure spending plan. can you talk more about this possibility of raising gas taxes? >> yes. what the president said during that interview is folks from the industry had come to him and expressed to him how the deteriorating roads were affecting their ability to deliver goods and services throughout this country and that they had expressed a willingness to see something like that as a way to possibly pay for an repair the roads and bridges and that he said, out of respect, would definitely listen to them

and consider it. >> as it relates to this idea that the gas tax in america hasn't been raised for some time, what makes the president believe that now is the time that republicans who have been opposed to this idea would be open to this idea? >> i think you're missing -- he did not express support for it. he expressed that a group that had met with him expressed support with it and that he, out of respect, would consider their request. that's it. there was no endorsement of it or no support of it. he was just relaying what another industry group had shared with him about how to pay for the roads and bridges that need to be repaired and the impact that deteriorating roads and bridges are having on their ability to operate and deliver goods and services. frankly, the cost that it is having on their truck, on their infrastructure. >> you have not foreclosed the possibility of raising -- >> people ask the president all the time, please consider the following policy.

he has an open mind. there are people on both sides of the aisle, different back tkpwroupbs, that come to see the president and ask him, would you please consider this? would you keep an open mind on it? i think that's, frankly, what the president was doing. john. >> thank you sean. thank you, john. i have two questions. one foreign policy and one on domestic politics. first, last wednesday, the kremlin outlawed the open russia movement. the premiere opposition group to the ruling regime in russia and the following day security forces were forcibly closing down open russia's office in moscow and other places. does the administration have a statement on this? >> i do not. i would refer you to the state department. >> all right. my second question is, on sunday congress woman ileana ross laid a 14 term veteran of the house, past chairman of the house, announced her retirement.

her statement comes on the heels of a similar announcement by congressman chaffetz and before that only a few weeks ago then generjenkins of kansas. that's three respective republican house members all calling it quits. is the president concerned about the number of republican house members who do not want to be on the ballot next time and are leaving congress? >> no. respectfully i would say there are two groups of folk. in the case of congressman ross, she's been here 35 years. 28. and so she's just decided it is time to retire. in the case of congressman chaffetz he announced -- i don't think there's any belief that you have to stay here for 20, 30, 40, 50 years. there's always going to be turnover of people who decide for a number of reasons to go

back home. that's a healthy part of democracy. that's something our framers saw. so to some degree that's a healthy part of it. we feel very confident about where we stand. jennifer? >> sean, the president opted not to continue obama's tradition of pulling an easter prayer event. was that a scheduling issue? what was the thought process there? >> i really don't know. i know we wanted to do this national prayer breakfast this sunday. i think you're gonna see a lot of folks represented. i don't know enough about obama, how far back it went. each president will have their own traditions. this is one that the president -- that morning after you got the easter egg roll and there's a lot going on. this is his way of starting a tradition here at this white house to bring faith leaders from a variety of backgrounds here to the white house. david? >> thanks, sean. president's comments are getting

a lot of attention on wall street. can we be very clear about this. does the president favor breaking up the big banks? >> he talked about it on the campaign trail and he's mentioned it before this idea of a 21st century glass seal. we're not a point where we're ready to roll out details. it's something the president said he is actively looking at options, considering things. he ear not in a position to make any announcements on this at this time. >> any step toward that? >> he's obviously been briefed by his adviser. secretary mnuchin and others have given him thoughts to ponder. we have nothing to announce at this time. todd? >> thanks, sean. so the lack of border wall funding raises a question of just how serious the president is about getting the border wall constructed. is it not urgent? is it not an emergency anymore to build this barrier? what is the timetable and deadline he has and why? >> well, make no mistake, the wall is going to be built. the president's made it very clear. we have five months left in this

fiscal year. we're getting $1.52 billion for border security. there's a lot that can be done for that. we've got a lot to happen before the wall is built in terms of planning, technology, gates. there's a lot of things that can do to prepare for that wall being constructed. our big -- this is a down payment for 2017. and as we get ready for fiscal year 2018, that will start in the beginning of october, this will be a major priority. >> is there a time? is there a deadline by the end of 2018? >> that it will be completed? the president wants it done as quick as possible. there are bids that have been put out. part of what the homeland security department is reviewing now. not just the kofcost, but the timetable. the president wants this done as soon as possible. jonathan? >> going back to north korea,

the president didn't just say he would be open to getting kim jong-un under the right circumstances. he said he would be honored to meet with him. this is something who has starved his own president. he threatened to destroy the united states. he put out a video showing the capitol getting destroyed. how can he be honored to meet with kim jong-un? >> the president understands the threat that north korea poses and he will do whatever is necessary under the right circumstances to protect our country from the threat that they pose. >> how could he be honored? >> i guess because he is still a head of state. it is sort of -- there's a diplomatic piece to this. the bottom line is the president will do what he has to do. right now he's building a coalition to isolate north korea to get the threat, to take that threat down. and so -- but that is his number one priority is protecting this country and our people. >> what did he mean by one smart

cookie? >> he went over this in the interview. he assumes power at a young age when his father passed away and there was a lot of potential threats that could have come his way. he's obviously managed to lead a country forward despite the obvious concerns that we and so many other people have. he is a young person to be leading a country with nuclear weapons. and so that set aside, i think the president recognizes the threat he poses and is doing everything he can to isolate that threat and make sure we bring stability to the region. margret? >> on north korea and the philippines, on north korea, both of the president's comments about kim jong-un and what secretary tillerson said, you seem to be making the offer that we could have direct talks with north korea. who's going to -- >> no, no. please, again, i think that you -- the key part of the president's staple was under the right circumstances. and that is the key. those circumstances do not exist now. this is consistent with what

secretary tillerson said the other day. but i think that if north korea continues down the degree of provocative behavior, then those circumstances will never be there. but we want to hold tout possibility that if north korea were ever serious about completely dismantling its nuclear capability and taking away the threat that they pose, both to the region and to us, that there's always going to be a possibility of that occurring. that possibility is not there at this time. we're so far away from that possibility existing. to start identifying an individual would be highly premature. >> when you have been asked about -- the effort is to isolate the philippines from north korea. part of this coalition. are you suggesting the philippines have some sort of inappropriate contact with north korea? are you suggesting we are requesting greater access to their military base?

what exactly is it? >> there's an economic piece of it as well. i'm not going to go into it. that's part of the reason the president wants to meet with him. i'm not going to get ahead of their discussions. what i would suggest to you is there are multifacetted ways and areas in not just the philippines but other countries in the region can help play a role with economically diplomatically and otherwise to help deter the threats they pose. >> are you suggesting they are trading or conducting some kind of -- economic peace. >> i'm going to let -- the president will have an opportunity to speak with him ab those objectives. at this time, i'm not going to get ahead of that discussion. >> sean, two quick related questions. you just described kim jong-un as somebody who led his country forward in an early age. the president talking about assassinating journalists. the president put out a statement congratulating him.

said kind things about putin during the campaign. said kind things about sadam hussein. does the president have a thing with these totalitarian leaders? does he admire the way they conduct themselves? >> the president understands the threat north korea poses. i think someone with the potential nuclear capability to strike another country, potentially our country at some point in the future, is something the president takes very seriously. and so the idea that he is doing everything diplomatically, economically and militarily to consider every way to prevent that threat from taking on the united states -- >> what about the whole package? >> unfortunately those are the neighbor. those are the countries that can be helpful to try to prevent the threat that they pose. >> one final question. on sunday, chief of staff talking to this gentle man right here says with respect to the

libel laws and the first amendment, quote, talking about news outlets that printed false articles, quote, i think it's something that we've looked at. how that gets executed or whether that goes anywhere is a different story. is that a project that is currently being worked on by the council's office? can you just tell me the status of that? who is pursuing that? >> i think the chief of staff made it very clear that that is something that is being looked into substantively and hro gistically how it would happen. that's nothing new. something the president talked ab on the campaign trail. >> is the council -- >> i will not go into it. >> sean, come on. >> two points. just to clarify on north korea. were those conditions that you laid out to the earlier question, are those conditions would have to be met before there was any meeting ie that north korea would have to totally disarm its nuclear program, stop threatening their neighbors? are those the conditions? >> i think those are some of the conditions.

there's going to be a whole host of ones that we determine that the state department determines in consultation with the president that has to be met. we are so early into this process that i don't see it happening any time soon. but i think as the president said, under the right circumstances. those circumstances are present today. they would have to be significant change for that to be a possibility. >> on a separate subject, the chief executive of united airlines will be on the hill tomorrow. is the president at all -- does the president think congress should pass any laws after the incident last month where the passenger was dragged off? should there be some -- should there be more done to protect passengers on airplanes from those types of incidents? >> i think there's two things. one, i think the industry probably needs and have said they have taken a look at how they're handling a number of issues within that, both in terms of compensation, how they're handling passengers who

are on planes. there's an industry component. then i'll leave it up to congress to decide whether or not it is appropriate to address it legislatively. once there's a piece of legislation, we would have an opportunity to weigh in. >> asking you to clarify something else the president said. said i don't stand by anything. how is the american public supposed to digest that, supposed to trust what the president says, when he con sugts of his own comments, i don't stand by anything. >> what are you referring to? >> a cbs interview from the oval office. >> it was about wire tapping. he was asked if he still believes president obama is a bad or evil guy. do you still stand by those comments? the president said, i don't stand by anything. >> that was a long back and forth exchange. that's why i'm asking for the context. he clearly stands by that. that is something he made very clear. >> sean, first, doesnt trump comfortable with support

of -- [ inaudible ]. >> there's a human rights component that goes into all of this. it's a balance. we want to make sure our country, our people are protected. this isn't a simple yes or no situation. you got a country in north korea that possesses a nuclear weapon and is looking for the appropriate delivery system to potentially do harm. the president recognizes that the number one priority is the protection of our people, the safety of our people and the safety of the people in the region. it's not just a question of either/or. it's a question of priorities and balance. there's a lot that the president talks to these leaders in private about. i think you saw that case in egypt where sometimes that kind of diplomacy privately talking about them, building a relationship with achieve results not just for our people, but for their people in discussing how the human rights issues. i think it would be a mistake to assume that the president, because we don't put out statements publicly chastising

leaders at every call, means that the president -- hold on. let me answer the question. i think the president understands the value. he understands the balance. and the reason the president is building an effective coalition, getting results from around the globe, reasserting america's place is because he understands the type of diplomacy and negotiating, deal making that gets real results for our country. so i think it's not a balancing act for the president getting real results. cheryl? >> looking at, there are three patents with the government. one from trump trying to get the trump patented to from ivanka trump, her clothing line. how do you respond to concerns about potential conflicts? >> i think the president and ivanka have done everything in compliance. made it very clear. i would prefer you to the trump organization. >> is there a possibility that the president would not sign this spending agreement? >> he's very pleased with the

priorities. i want to wait until it's presented to him. he's pleased with how his priorities were addressed in the cr. let's just wait until it's on his desk. >> are you still on track to issue the full fiscal year '18 budget? is it mid may or do you have a date for that? >> my understanding is it's still midmay, but i'd want to consult with director mulvaney. >> first want to ask you what's your expectation for the meeting with president obama. secondly, is president still considering moving the u.s. embassy? >> that is still being discussed by staff. and then what was the first question? >> the first question your expectation going forward -- >> the president's ultimate goal is to establish peace in the region and so i think that's

obviously the goal and the discussions he's going to have with the head of the palestinian authority. that's going to be a relationship that he continues to work on and build. the ultimate goal is that there's peace in that region between israel and palestinian authority. alexis? >> follow up on infrastruck kphur. the president has been talking about a major infrastructure package for more than a year. but it doesn't seem very clear what the mechanism is for the structure of whatever it is that he wants to push forward. can you talk about maybe attaching to it the reconciliation packet for health care. talked about maybe doing that with the tax package. can you update us on, is that still very preliminary in its invention? does he have clear ideas? what's the mechanism getting that done? >> i think he has been working on that with his full economic and policy team. but this week we're busy with

the cr and health care and laid out the tax package last week. it is clearly still on the priority list. we'll get through this week. hopefully have some additional details moving forward. he has been very clear that infrastructure package is something he wants to get done and get moving. this year -- oh, absolutely. it's a question of when he wants to announce it. i think for this week, we're pretty focused on getting the government funded for the last five months of 2017 and getting testify -- getting health care done as soon as we can. with that, i'll see you guy tomorrow. have a great day. thank you. >> what about the comments about -- >> melissa: all right. that's the white house press briefing. hello, everyone. i'm sandra smith. just a little bit of everything there. health care, taxes, north korea. all at the top of the president's agenda. but also some focus on recent comments by the president on potentially breaking up big wall street banks and raising the gas tax. we got a lot out of this today.

president signed two orders to keep jobs and wealth in our country, the white house just said. u.s. will no longer tolerate trade cheating came out of that meeting. but on gas taxes and breaking up the big banks. a lot to get here. we've got charles payne on set with us. as well as fox news politics chris stirewald. i want to get to a lot of healthcare. the white house saying they're getting closer and closer to passing the health care bill. lot coming out on north korea. charles i want to first get to the question on gas taxes. the president did indicate in an interview that it is a possibility or he is looking into the possibility of raising the gas tax. that hasn't happened at the federal level since 1993. >> right. there's a reason for it. it is extraordinarily unpopular. particularly now where you have people driving further distances to get to jobs that barely pay them any money. it would be a regret. poorest people would be hit the hardest.

>> sandra: to be clear the white house just clarified. this isn't something on the table. sean spicer reiterated that the president has spoken to folks in the industry as he just said. his exact words. referring to truckers we're being told. he is listening to them. that is something they have interest in. >> between federal and your average state tax, truckers are paying over 50 cents a gallon just in taxes. the average person paying 46 cents in taxes. if you live in california it's higher. >> sandra: right now we're paying $18.04 per gallon. >> your average state it's 27.3 cents. we're talking 46 cents. when you start to hit that pump -- >> think about that when you're filling up today. also the modernization of glass eagle is the aim of the president when he did talk about possibly breaking up the big banks. that made big news on wall

street. and that's big news for main street. >> big news for main street. i agree 1,000%. you would have caught me two, three years ago i would have said no, no, no. yes, yes, yes. these big money centered banks are not lending money to main street. two weeks ago the two weeks put out their earning. jp morgan had record revenues, sandra. do you know what they did to mortgages? down 18%. investment banking up 34%. what about citi? the banking services are down 5%. institutional business up 16%. here's the thing. if you can trade all day long with algorithm then you don't have to take the risk of lending to main street. those people are on the edge who can pay a mortgage if you give them a shot, but they'll never get it because they never have to get it. jp morgan never has to give them the loan as long as it's set auz it is. >> sandra: chris, we just learned on healthcare, the white house saying they're getting closer and closer. we want the health care bill to

pass this week, sean spicer said, but said the president is not instituting a timeline for that health care bill. chris? >> we're back in the same mode that we were on the first round with trump care. hurry up, hurry up, nobody likes it, run away, run away. the issue here is they need legislation that not only can pass out of the republican conference, but will work and be popular. they need something here. so far we don't have enough details to understand what that is. moderates, hearing the president today, basically, indicate that he would walk away from this legislation if he didn't like it at the end. what incentive do they have to take an enormous political risk. voting for this will cause political pain. no matter what you say, you're voting to allow insurance companies to drop people or not cover people with preexisting conditions. this is a possibly painful vote. hard to see you get it over the finish line without the president getting in front,

doing what his predecessor had to do to get the first version through which is make it his own, sell it. >> sandra: the message from the white house in the preexisting conditions now, sean spicer saying president trump is ensuring going forward that coverage of preexisting conditions is at the core. the president saying he would be willing to meet with kim jong-un under the right circumstances. sean spicer saying we are not seeing the right circumstances. >> this is a total absolute rehearsal of how everybody has handled kim jong-un. he said you want to talk? let's talk. it also helps if you kill people with machine guns and turns dogs on them. turns out maintaining power is easier. he is trying to get kim jong-un to take the bait and get into the discussion and come out of

the hermitage and into some larger discussion. it is a dramatic departure but maybe one with the chinese could work. >> sandra: sean spicer added to that the president doing everything they can to prevent a north korean threat. chris, charles, thanks to both of you for being here. tens of thousands of protesters expected to hit the streets in cities across the street for may day. the annual rally typically focused on workers rights world wide. but this year many of the protesters are also teeing off on the policies of president trump. allison barber live in washington for us. allison? >> reporter: organizers expect 10,000 people at this dc protest alone. hundreds are here. the main rally doesn't even begin for another hour. there are protests happening in pennsylvania, new york. a few began in san francisco.

one took place right outside of the immigration and custom enforcement building. most of the rallies including the ones here in dc are focusing on immigration. here's what one person had to say about it. >> it's a key point today that it's happening around the nation. it's a very important day for our immigrant community. i think that today we will make more history than ever especially with this. there's nothing that has changed in the past. i have faith that if we continue pushing and bringing people out, we will continue with their families. i think that we can have a good outcome. >> sandra: people here say they are standing up for immigrants and the rights of workers. organizers of this rally tell me they are also demanding action. they're going to make their way to the white house to take that message to the president.

they want congress to with hold funding for some of their key immigration policies, things like the border wall and paying for additional ice agents. sandra. >> sandra: thank you very much. all right. well, lawmakers focusing on two big votes with the health care overhaul and the spending bill. both expected to be voted on this week. our panel debates next. at angie's list, we believe

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>> sandra: a dallas paramedic shot while responding to a call about a shooting. now police are looking for a gun man they say is armed and dangerous. trace gallagher is live with more. >> reporter: happened in southeast dallas near the firefighters academy. first responders got a call of a suicidal man. when they got to the scene they apparently saw a man walking down the street carrying a rifle. he then opened fire on first responders, striking a paramedic inside his vehicle. that firefighter has since been

taken to baylor medical center and is in surgery. the dallas police union tweeting, there is another active shooter in dallas, this time a fireman has been shot. officers are pinned down by gun fire. please pray. when they say another, they are referring to the five dallas police officers who were shot and killed last summer by a sniper. nine other officers were also wounded. the deadliest incident for law enforcement since 9/11. >> sandra: all right. thank you very much, trace. well, the daily white house press briefing wrapped up with sean spicer discussing the impacts of the spending bill for conservatives. listen. >> what do you say to conservatives who feel like they didn't get a whole lot out of this spending bill? >> president got a lot out of this bill. most specifically $21 billion to help rebuild the military. that is something that he was very proud to campaign on.

and is delivering on. that's probably the biggest thing. with respect to border security, got $1.25 billion. on the planned parenthood thing in particular -- but, again, remember, this is 2017 funding. this is something he wouldn't normally even have had a shot at. >> sandra: a democratic strategist and senior director at buckle.com, mercedes slap a spokes person for former president bush. what did you make of that exchange coming out of the white house? >> i was wondering what sean spicer's excuse was going to be about the funding bill. i hadn't thought of saying this is something he shouldn't have even been dealing with when he's been talking four months about how we're going to get the funding for that walsh it's going to happen, we're going to defund planned parenthood, sanctuary cities, they're out. guess what? none of that came true. i was marvelling at the spin of sean spicer there, but i don't think anyone's buying it. it's a big disappointment for conservatives.

>> sandra: what didn't conservatives get? >> i'm a conservative. i'm not entirely disappointed because of fact we are increasing 21 billion in military spending tphp is the budget that you off set that increase by increases in domestic spending like they've done in the past. and then secondly on the border security front, the $1.52 billion is also a step in the right direction in ensuring border security and increasing enforcement in that area. now, would you want to see defunding of planned parenthood? absolutely. but that's something that could be left for the healthcare bill. secondly, i think there was limited time for negotiation to get this through. i do believe on the wall which, i think, is the tougher part, is the fact that the republicans on the hill are pretty luke warm about putting money to that border wall. i think next year the president's going to have to be aggressive on that note. but president's prior was making sure the government doesn't shut down. that was fine. from a conserve teufr

standpoint, it wasn't perfect. >> sandra: how does this play out politically? >> i think the democrats will consider this a victory. i would add she is one of the more reasonable republicans out there. there are those further to the right of her that will be fuming after there were so many campaign promises that have not been coming true. the democrats will gloat. that will last us a few hours. we'll go to the next battle. we'll see what happens with the health care. the last tally i saw there were 22 nos. >> sandra: white house said they're getting closer and closer. >> the white house said that the first time. >> sandra: good to have both of you. thanks for being here. big battle on capitol hill. health care. does the gop have the votes? we will ask one of them. those who suffer from lower back pain go to great lengths to find relief. finally there's drug-free aleve direct therapy®. a tens device with high intensity power that uses technology once only available in doctors' offices for deep penetrating relief at the source. aleve direct therapy.

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>> sandra: there could be a huge vote looming in washington this week on the healthcare overhaul bill. does the gop have the votes? joining me now to discuss is a representative patrick nean, member of the house ways and means committee. congressman, thank for joining us. >> great to be with you. thanks for having me. >> sandra: not sure you heard the words coming out of the white house, but i want to talk to you about the timing of this. sean spicer just saying from the white house, we want the health care bill to pass this week, but president trump is not instituting a timeline. well, timing's everything right now. >> no, i think that's smart not to institute a timeline. they'll take the votes when the votes are there. that's the critical thing. nobody wants to put a vote up that's gonna come up short. >> sandra: i suppose from that response the votes aren't there yet? >> i suspect they're not that far away and they're working it very, very hard. but the important thing is to make sure that the votes -- washington, as you know, you have to learn how to count. you have to learn when you can

get it over the top. >> sandra: as i understand, you are a no on this? >> well, i am concerned about those with preexisting conditions and theed a quasiof the pools people may be shifted into. we made a commitment to people with preexisting conditions. clearly, they will have coverage. the question is whether that coverage will be affordable, particularly those who are very, very sick and are going to use up a lot of health care resources. >> sandra: the cbo hasn't had a chance to score that. but here's what we heard ab the preexisting conditions. sean spicer said president trump is ensuring going forward that coverage of preexisting conditions is at the core of this. what will it take to change you to a question? >> we have to be able to see that they're going to be able to work. i think that means we'll have to have an opportunity to hold down costs in a way more than we currently do. i think the risk pools can work in the long run.

but right now they're not adequately funded, consistent with what had been the problems in the past. >> sandra: is this a make or break moment for the gop, congressman? you look at, if it goes forward and there is a second failure, what does that mean politically? >> no, i don't think it's make or break. the idea that they're overpromising. we're sitting today and working extensively on healthcare, i mean funding the tax bill that's going to come up. we do have a lot of work that's gone into the healthcare. we're talking trade policy. there's a lot of important things. let's not lose sight of the fact that we just got a spending bill that was done that i think did some very good things. some people weren't happy. but i care ab opiods, i care about the funding that went into medical research. there's a lot of good things that got accomplished in that bill. >> sandra: how much do you blame democrats for getting in the way? >> democrats aren't gonna give us a single vote on things like

healthcare. you know that going in. that's why we have to be able to do this as republicans. we did get some democrat votes on the budget, but i think that was important because of the issues that we've got to get funded. we've got our fighters on the front line at critical time. we have to send a signal that we were behind them. >> sandra: best guess you can make for us, does this healthcare bill go to vote this week? >> i don't believe so, but something could change. i think it's appropriate for the president to keep the pressure on. >> sandra: very good. thank you very much for being here. we will be right back. hello mom.

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"outnumbered." after special report, it's "the story" with march this maccallum. here's jon scott in for shepard smith. >> ahead, what the na vote for means for obamacare. and the house gets set to vote on new penalties for north korea. and president trump said he would be honored to meet with the dictator under the right circumstances. plus, shooting at a pool party. >> i heard about six or seven shots, coming from the pool area. a lot of people screaming. >> a man opening fire on a