sunshine today. the clouds are back. summary doesn't come until june june 1st. >> bill: have a great day everybody, see you tomorrow. bye-bye. ♪ >> jenna: avenue followed from the budget deal to get the government running and dramatic new developments over the g.o.p. push to overhaul obamacare. hello everybody, welcome to happening now. >> jon: i'm jon scott. action on capitol hill this morning, there is no reaction to the bipartisan budget agreement were both democrats and republicans declaring victory. while pressure is on the g.o.p. to pass a revised health care bill which republicans are now scrambling to get the votes they need. john roberts is live with more on how that's going. >> it's a full court press, the republicans in congress say here at the white house, defending their actions over the spending bill after coming under fire

from conservatives before giving far too much away to democrats in a bill. here are some of the things i didn't get. no funding for the border wall, no cuts to sanctuary cities, no cuts to planned parenthood, a lot of other things as well. too numerous to mention. sean spicer at the briefing trying to put his best face on the way to the negotiations unfolded. >> this is 2017 funding. this is something that we normally would and have a shot at because it should have been done. in choosing his priorities for 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 president himself getting out there and defending negotiations and apparently, embracing the idea of a government shutdown tweeting just a few minutes ago, "the reason for the plan negotiated between the republicans and democrats is we need 60 votes in the senate, which are not there. we either elect maury public and senators in 2018 or change the rules now 251%. our country needs a good

"shutdown" in september to fix the mess." republicans are doubting what they say are victories in the spending bill, delinking the obama era dollar for dollar parity for defense every time the dollar would be added to the defense spending. that doesn't exist in this bill. there is no csr payments for obamacare in this bill and there is money for coal miners. the white house, meantime, still optimistic about the chances to get a vote in the house on health care this week. the timeline, they initially hoped would be wednesday is not looking like thursday, i'm told that republicans are four-5, as much as seven votes short, hoping to bring those votes on board for the next couple of days. the president said he is feeling good about his chances, though he says, there is no rush to do it, just as long as i can get it done. listen here. >> it's going to be very good. i don't want to set deadlines.

i think it's going to be approved, it could be soon, but it could be not so soon. it's going to happen, but remember this, i've been really focused on this for like, seven weeks and 17 months. >> the president did lay down a marker that that big rally in harrisburg, pennsylvania, had republican members of congress not get this thing pass. just to give you a little glimpse behind the curtain of how things unfold here at the white house sometimes, nick mulvaney was holding a conference call to brief us all on the so-called wins in the budget when some prankster put the call on hold and increasingly loud patriotic music began to override the call and the whole thing sort of devolved into a catastrophe. >> jon: at least you got your patriotic fix this morning. >> as to be all.

>> jon: john roberts, thank you. >> jenna: hopefully we won't be interrupted and our next interview. former house speaker newt gingrich, i'm so curious as to your take on this. whether or not you think man, i wish i was back on capitol hill, how to fix these issues, or whether you think, man, i'm so glad i'm not on capitol hill anymore. what's your take on how you see a couple of these dramas playing out? whether it's health care, the budget, or tax reform? how do you see republicans behaving with your assessment? >> i think it's pretty normal. they are getting use to a new president, they're getting used to a new role. they're now the governing majority. there used to being the opposition party against obama. it takes a little while to learn the new techniques. reagan had a pretty good role, he said if you can get half this week, he'll take it, come back next week and get another half.

i think the president got some things he wanted, he didn't get everything, he's not going to unless they have a really good 2018 in the u.s. senate. we need to pick up more senate seats to go with the president wants to get done. he did gain some ground. i think by september, he'll have a better position to allow some parts of the government to close of necessary and have a real fight. they were not positioned right now to go through a government close. i think it was a big mistake. i give him some credit, they got as much as they could while moving forward. >> jenna: hold on, let me just pause you there. it was a little unfair to put them all together, if you will. let me ask you about the budget really quick and then we'll talk about health care. "the washington post" today said this in one of their articles. democrats are in the driver's seat when it comes to budget battles, even with trump in the white house. because of the president that was that with age negotiations, but there was some give or take

from the parties and with the government majority in donald trump in the white house, the democrats got some of what they wanted. do you see it the same way? >> that's "the washington post," that's their job. that their cheerleaders for the left. this was a mutual win. the president got some of what he wanted, democrats got some of what they wanted. this is not the time for a showdown. this is not set a precedent for everything to make anything. every negotiation is unique. if they want to, they can pick and choose where they want to fight and how to fight. i don't see this as a one-time thing. i think the post is exaggeratin exaggerating. >> jenna: that's why we brought it up so we could have more context for our viewers. do you think -- when our viewers are thinking about government and how government is functioning now under president trump, that our lives

are being improved or not? when it comes down to these issues, whether tax reform or the spending or health care, this is a bottom-line issue for most people whether or not things are better or worse. >> if you're talking about job creation, the things that he's been doing that move us in the right direction are rolling back red tape, fighting for better trade deals, developing -- i do apologize. i think it's allergies, but i don't really know. anyway, he's been fighting for a better trade deal, that's going to gradually take effect. he's really rollback regulations, that's already taking effect. he's proposing tax changes if you want to create jobs, that's already sending a signal, i do see some things happening that are very positive from this standpoint. i think the country sees the same thing.

if you look at a ceo approval, if you look at small business confidence, all these things are moving in the right direction. where trump has power, he is moving very effectively. or he doesn't have power, which is mostly the legislative branch or obama judges, he's had a more difficult time. over time, he'll figure that out and i think he's a very smart guy and i think this fall, he'll be much more dominant than he is now. >> jenna: you're saying this this is a learning process and in a lot of ways, this is an evolution that we are watching. some people have patients and some don't. i have a quick, final question on health care if we can get through it. i understand if a some water. i'm curious about your assessment on health care and the divisions that we are still seeing within the republic and party. as of the party that's evolving, as we talk about evolution, or

is it personal politics that's going to overhang the policy and the go by the g.o.p., which is to repeal and replace obamacare? >> health is the hardest thing we try to do. it's 1 out of every five dollars of the economy, it's life and death. i think they went way too fast, they're not ready for this. i think they are in better shape now. i would urge them again, don't rush to a vote until everybody's read the bill, everybody stalks through the bill, and are sure you've got 224-226 votes. >> jenna: we'll see what happens this week, if they actually go to this vote. speaker, thank you very much. we wish you well, hope you feel better. by the way, he is the author of a new book "understanding trump." that comes out in june.

was to be on breaking now, north korea, accusing the u.s. of pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war. it comes as china urges the two sides to negotiate as soon as possible. president trump says he would be willing to meet with north korean leader kim jong-un if appropriate. the president coming under fire for those controversial remarks. jennifer griffin joins us live now from the pentagon. >> the president actually said he'd be honored to make kim jong-un. the chinese foreign ministry spokesman said today that china would welcome direct talks between president trump and north korean leader, kim jong-un. the message from china, avoid further escalation and allow the situation to cool down. the chinese spokesman welcomed president trump's pronouncement he's willing to meet the north korean leader, who he called a smart cookie in a recent interview. >> under the right circumstances, i would absolutely meet with him.

>> to mike under the right circumstances, i would meet with him. >> tensions are high, announcing that antimissile defense systems are not operational. this is a defense showed that could shoot down short and -- north korea and china has detested. north korea said on tuesday that the pentagon's decision to fly to supersonic bombers close to the demilitarized zone between south and north korea was a provocation, putting the two countries on the brink of nuclear war. the flight of the b-1 training mission was first reported by fox yesterday. meantime, the philippine president is weighing in on the north korea tension with some advice for president trump. >> i do not think the president

will run scared. our greatest challenge over getting something done with north korea would be an succession of china. >> president trump called this weekend is accused of thousands of extrajudicial killings of drug users and dealers. president trump has received backlash for inviting the philippine leader to the white house. >> jon: jennifer griffin at the pentagon. thank you. >> jenna: airline ceos drilled at a congressional hearing after months of terrible p.r. for the airline industry and terrible experiences for those in the middle of that.

also, new details and the disappearance an american man and his girlfriend. will tell you about it coming u up.

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>> jon: right now, new information on some crime stories we are watching. an american man and his canadian girlfriend who disappeared during a vacation in belize have been found dead. they were last seen on thursday. police have not released any details on what might have happened to them. closing arguments begin to name murder trial. the 26-year-old is accused of killing sierra lamarr, a 15-year-old girl in 2012. he did not testify in his own defense. if convicted, he could face the death penalty. border patrol officers in arizona pull over a hearse for a routine check. inconsistencies in the driver story led them to bring in a drug dog and that led them to 6n

inside the casket. >> jenna: after month of bad p.r. might get the attention of congress. the ceos of united and american airlines are being grilled today. it all started with the viral video of a man who everyone now knows as dr. dowell. kristen is llama capitol hill with more. >> he warned the witnesses that this will be pleasant. he said any time you see a passenger being treated the way dr. dao was treated, something clearly has broken. united ceo told the committee that he has spent every day of the last three weeks ticking about how he got to this point. >> i'm personally sorry for the fact that my immediate response on the response of our airline was inadequate to that moment. no customer, no individual, should ever be treated the way mr. dao was, ever.

we understand that. >> united ceo says several changes have already been made since dr. dao was dragged off that flight. including protecting passengers, already on the plane. if they don't want to give up their seat, they don't have too. another change, united is promising to reduce the amount of overbooking. that issue, overbooking, has been one of the dominant issues in this hearing. the most contentious exchange so far happened when congressman asked about -- >> how much does it cost you to change someone's booking? your targeting people 200 or $300. it seems really inefficient if it cost that much. >> the cost is not about the actual change of the ticket. >> it's about -- i would observe that united gets $800 million in change fees last year.

$800 million. that is a lot of money. >> a lot of tough questions for the airline today. i should point out that is not just united ceo in the hot seat, but there's also executives from american, alaska, and southwest airlines. this hearing as is scheduled to last summer more hours. >> jenna: kristin, thank you. >> jon: some new details are emerging about a man arrested in a deadly stabbing attack at the university of texas. raising new questions about possible motive. will tell you about that. plus, north korea, accusing the u.s. of pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war. how can washington de-escalate the situation? a counterterrorism expert weighs in next to dig a hole to china. at&t is working with farmers to improve irrigation techniques. remote moisture sensors use a reliable network

to tell them when and where to water. so that farmers like ray can compete in big ways. china. oh ... he got there. that's the power of and.

>> jon: right now, investigators searching for a motive in a deadly stabbing at the university of texas. authorities in austin say a student with a large hunting knife calmly walked around the plaza near the school gym, stabbing for people before being tackled by police. school officials say a freshman was killed and the others were seriously wounded. the suspect, identified as 21-year-old kendricks white. classmates described him as a friendly guy who is an active volunteer with many school organizations. >> jenna: our state department today issuing a travel alert. the alert warns the terror attack threat. ed urges -- for more on this, we are joined by michael wallace. he was an advisor to vice president dick cheney. i'm curious on your thoughts on this as a busy travel season the

summer. >> we've had a series of attacks over the last couple of years and every american needs to be vigilant. that's anywhere, not just europe. that doesn't mean that you have to be afraid. that would give the terrorists a victory, ices, al qaeda and others who want to make a statement by attacking americans and getting credit for it, but you just need to be vigilant. use common sense, keep your head on a swivel, as we say in the military, and not have your head stuck down in your phone or in a map and not be aware of your surroundings. that's the best we could do, but every american should still travel abroad, enjoy the sights in europe and not give the terrorists a victory. >> jenna: is anything you do when you travel that's a little different? i like the head on a swivel. my dad used to say that, he was a military guy, it was great advice. is there anything would change about your normal habits? >> i find myself just looking at

whether it's a police presence, whether it's barriers, its concentrations of people who them themselves aren't paying attention and would create a target themselves. i find myself just constantly naturally assessing the situation, the environment around me. years ago in europe, all you had to worry about was criminality, now we have much more to worry about. i don't think we can let that deter us. we just have to use some common sense. just being completely aware of the security environment and frankly, we need to do that here in the united states with a lot of these homegrown terrorist attacks, not just in europe, that's the best form of security and any security permission will tell you. >> jenna: so many of us, including myself, looking down at their phone the whole time. turning to north korea, i'm really curious about this issue as well because the book that you wrote -- it seems that's what it attempted to be done.

where your diplomacy, if you will. we now have north korea warning that we, we are the ones that are pushing them to the brink of nuclear war. what do you think that reaction from north korea and what's our cap relation here? >> i don't make too much of the reaction from north korea. they make those types of statements every time we hold joint reactions. what i'm focused on now from a diplomacy standpoint as china. we put a lot of weight on what china can or can't do with the north korean regime. we've given up a lot, we backed way off in terms of our demands for currency, equalization, and declaring them a currency manipulator. we backed way off in terms of calling china out for militarizing the south china sea. if you look at language and the upcoming shangri-la dialogue which is an annual meeting of asian defense ministers, that

language really is kind of calling china to task for putting military bases on islands all along the south china sea. it's been removed, at least in the drafts i've seen. we put a lot of prioritization on what china can do a north korea and when i would like to see is holding their feet to the fire. changes. when i don't want to see is the united states get strung along for years and years like we did in the bush administration, to be candid, well north korea continued to develop its missile and nuclear capabilities. >> jenna: i did that happen? what was part of the thinking -- strategic patience is used for president obama commented could also be applied to the bush administration as well in some aspects. what was the thinking about waiting and waiting and waiting and what would you do differently? >> the thinking, at the time and the thinking now is that the military options are so bad and

there are so catastrophic. the north korean regime has been preparing for confrontation with the united states and south korea for 15 years. they have thousands of artillery pieces dug into the sides of mountains, deep into caves that can pop out. imagine raining artillery and on a city twice the size of manhattan. that's what they're able to do to the capital of south korea, seoul. i think there's a lot of options still on the table before military action. there's covert action, there is a cyber, there is intercepting the supply chain and terms of how north korea is building these missiles, i don't think it's a coincidence that we've seen every one of them fail in the last several months they've tried to test fire their missiles, and there's a sanctions regime is really sweeping the north korean economically. that's not putting more sanctions in place, it's pressuring china to enforce the ones that are already in place. >> jenna: interesting.

one of the things were walking away from is giving too much leeway to china and being careful about that and really pay attention to that relationship. great to have been the program as always. thank you so much. >> thank you a lot. >> jon: will talk to one of the most respected leaders in the senate about what's it going to take to get the g.o.p. plan across the finish line. nearly may day protests are falling by yearly may day riots. a map of the chaos in the pacific northwest next. you don't let anything

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for the strength and energy to get back to doing... ...what you love. ensure. always be you. >> jon: president trump is urging congress to vote this week on a health care bill. house republicans leaders say they are making progress, they hope to vote as soon as thursday so they can move on to trump tax plan next week. one of the most important voices and getting that legislation passed joins us live now. utah senator orrin hatch. he's -- you've been in the u.s. senate now for 40 years. that put you back there in the reagan years when we last passed a tax reform. is this president stand a chance of getting his proposal? >> i wouldn't put anything past him. he's got a lot of guts. he may very well be able to get this done. right now, the democrats i'm not

cooperated on one thing and they've said they're never going to cooperate with him. it's going to have to be a republican effort and will do our best to get it done. >> jon: you said it requires presidential leadership. do you believe president trump is exercising that? >> yes, i do. he's very, very smart. he's got tremendous people with him. i've met many times with gary cohn whose one of the economic advisors, with steve mnuchin and also with wilbur ross. these are people who are brilliant, have a world of experience, and commend a great respect for themselves. >> jon: "the new york times" took a look at the proposal and said it's basically a tax plan to benefit the rich. do you dispute? >> yeah, i sure do. no matter what you do, they'll

claim it's always to benefit the rich. that's not true. it will benefit just about everybody in our society if we get a tax program will actually work and will not be tearing the country apart. i think actually, we can. it's hard to do any tax program without the benefits to almost everybody. >> jon: what about the deficit? are you concerned that the tax cuts, as proposed by the president would blow a hole in the budget? >> that's always a concern. but keep in mind, if we don't, the economy will never measure up at all. if we didn't do it, the economy may explode and when that happens, that could do a lot to her the deficit. if we get the right tax approach done and cut taxes and an appropriate way and we have the right presidential leadership, which i think we do, we could have some tremendously good and positive results. >> jon: let's turn our attention for a moment to the

plans to repeal in a place obamacare. there is a new gallup poll out that says 59% of americans actually approve big picture of obamacare as it is. when you dive a little deeper into the details, according to a fox news poll, 26% say they like it repealed entirely, 31% say they'd want it repealed parts of it. 25% of americans actually want to expand it and 16% say leave it as is. you say it's important to get this thing repealed and fixed. >> yeah, it will lead us alive. all the federal government will be doing is health care and a few years. that won't be any good because it will be over utilized by people -- it's an awful, awful bill. almost everybody admits it. on the other hand, can we

improve that bill? unlikely, but i would like to plainly get rid of it and start over and do it the right way. it's a long haul, no matter what we do. to keep thinking that you can expand on obamacare, you're just asking for more and more problems in this country, more and more expenses, more and more government and less control over our lives. the american people understand that. >> jon: it has been suggested that whatever passes the house to mollify the most conservative and the moderate members of the republican party, that that is going to have to be fixed by the senate. do you see it that way? >> keep in mind, both houses play very important roles. the senate's role, after the house moves on this matter to look it over and make it better if we can. naturally, there will be an effort to make it much better if

we possibly can in the senate. generally, we can. >> jon: the president has been exercising leadership when it comes to the tax reform plan. some of observers are saying he gave way too much, didn't get the things he wanted on border security. what's your take on that? >> there'll always be that kind of language and criticism. he's only been in office three and a half, four months. he is at the worst economic times of any president of history and he just keeps plotting ahead. i'm telling you, that guy is a very, very strong personality. he's not going to back down, he is not going to go and whimper on the sidelines. he's going to do the best he can to get it done. friendly, i've enjoyed working with him. i think he is one of the few people on earth who might be able to turn this mess around

that we have in this country. >> jon: it appears most democrats have not enjoyed working with him. >> they haven't even tried to work with him. they've been shutting everything down that they can. they hate trump. i can understand that. they did not think he was going to win, they thought hillary was going to be the president and they would be in charge. they are not. like little kids that want to take the candy bars and go home, they are unwilling to work with him. that's not the way this country should run. we should be willing to work with whoever is in power. >> jon: and a word, are you optimistic about this legislative session and the workload that stands in front of you? >> we've got a lot to go through, we've got a lot to accomplish and to try to get our colleagues on the other side to work with. there are some really great democrats who will work with us. i think the administration needs

to do its best job in order to get us through this process. if we can get through it, i think the country will be much better off. >> jon: i don't want to make you feel old or anything, but you are the longest serving republican senator in history. you've seen a lot of changes in the senate. is the collegiality that used to preside in that body, is that gone forever do you think? >> it's been gone for the first three or four months this year, but i believe it will come back. i know chuck schumer very well and frankly, i think very highly of him. he's got his hands full with the bernie sanders group who has risen in the democratic party. he's got to somehow try and accommodate them while still standing up for democratic principles. he's a smart guy. i think in the end, he and mitch mcconnell will work well together.

i've worked with him extensively. i think we can bring this all together, but it's going to take some effort on the part of the democrats as well. >> jon: senator orrin hatch, republican of utah. thanks very much for sharing our time with us today. >> nice to be with you. >> jon: thanks. >> jenna: from the capital to the white house, we are waiting president trump was scheduled to hand out the commander in chief trophy to the military academy who won the football competition this year. >> jon: it was an army, it wasn't navy. >> jenna: that leaves us with the air force. the president is expected to speak in just a few moments. we'll bring you back to the white house when he does. in the meantime, quick commercial break and will be back with more.

>> jenna: a fox news alert. back to the white house where we are awaiting the commander in chief. president trump will hand out the commander in chief trophy that's given to the military academy who wins the football

rivalry between the air force, the navy, and the army over the course of a football season. the air force came out on top this year. they will be receiving the trophy and the president is expected to make a few remarks to that regard. >> jon: you are partial to the navy because her husband graduated there. i like the army because my son graduated there, but i will call the moral victory since i grew up in colorado where the air force is located. >> jenna: apparently the air force has won the most times than any military academy. navys six titles. i want to bring our viewers back. healthy rivalry. we'll bring you back to the white house when we said the president. >> this is something that most presidents would walk into office and that would have been

done. make no mistake, the law will be done. the president has made it very clear. we have five months left in the fiscal year. we're getting $1.52 billion for border security. there's a lot that can be done with that. this is a down payment for my 2017 and as you get ready for fiscal year 2018 that will start in the beginning of october, this will be a major priority. >> jon: the white house and democratic leaders find common ground, believe it or not. both the sides declaring victory in a budget deal. who do you think came out ahead? joining us now, columnist of the "washington examiner" and republican pollster, also richard fowler, a fox news contributor and a radio talk show host. give us a look at your scoreboard, kristin. who won this round? >> i feel republicans are president trump to be happy right now. this is something that was looming out there toward the end of president trump's 100 days, was he going to be able to end that hundred days with a bunch of victories or would he be

facing a government shutdown? the fact that the shutdown has been averted, that's been taken off the table, huge victory will allow congress to focus and other things. you've got increased spending on things that are important priorities for republicans. on defense, on nafta, you got increased funding for things that we publicans don't oppose. it actually winds up creating a better bill in the long run. individuals will fight over things like the wall and planned parenthood, they'll come further down the road, but getting a budget bill now, taking shutdown at the table in the long run gives president trump and congress the breathing room to focus on other things like tax reform or trying to figure out what to do about health care. >> jon: human expect the most powerful democrat on capitol hill to think that his side one. richard, let me read for you what chuck schumer, the senate minority leader said. he wrote dell -- he said, we had a strategy that worked. democrats and republicans in the house and senate were closer to

one another than republicans were to donald trump. richard, how do you see it? >> i do agree with kristen where this is good that the government will not shut down. here's the good news for democrats. we've got close to about $5 billion in spending which some of the democrats have always said goes to fund and help working families sort of pull them up by their bootstraps. that's good as were democrats. we also were able to avert the first round about this border wall. democrats, like myself were adamantly opposed to this border wall. while we did get some money for border security, donald trump's wall will not happen in his first hundred days and that is a failure on the president. this is a bipartisanship. what this also points to is that

donald trump has major problems getting his caucus to do the right thing for him. >> jon: we are going to leave it there because it looks like things are happening at the white house. do i have that right? the air force academy football team is gathered there to receive the commander in chief trophy. richard, kristin, thanks very much for sticking with us. we're going to take you back to the rose garden, beautiful day in washington, d.c., to hand out the trophy to the team that won the commander in chief's trophy. >> jenna: is it just me or do they all look like there are 6'5", 250 pounds? they all look like big, strong guys. they came out on top between the navy and the army and here they are in the rose garden to accept the trophy on behalf of their school. must be a pretty interesting experience, considering every thing that's happening in the

world, as well as the new president. >> jon: the president will be handing out that trophy momentarily. you can imagine there stomach there are an awful lot of proud coaches and family members as the air force team continues to gather there in the rose garden. they are pretty excited today. >> jenna: the air force has come out on top 20 times. they've been the top military academy, beating both the army and the navy pier the navy second, 15 times winning that honor, the army has six titles. those of the stats over the years, but it's also showing how long this rivalry has gone on. >> jon: shall i point out that the army gave birth to the air force. >> jenna: i was wondering if you make the same point if you're standing amongst the crowd. it's from a distance that you help these viewers understand

what they're watching. a father of an army son. >> jon: i'm sure there would be much too polite to those air force cadets. who say anything or do anything about my lack of decorum. >> jenna: the president is expected to make a few remarks and will be watching to see whether he decides to stand script here. certainly, smiles around from the air force football team. i wonder what exactly is keeping the president. this event has been on the schedule for a while. we expect of the president a few minutes ago. he's pretty busy these days. >> jon: i should mention the president is also speaking with black men put in by telephone today. that is still to come.

here now, president trump. >> president trump: thank you, everybody, thank you. [applause]

thank you very much everybody, i appreciate it. those are big people behind me. a big, strong, brilliant people. please, sit down. i want to thank everybody for being here on this very special occasion. it's an honor every single day to serve as your commander in chief to the incredible men and women of the united states air force. very special, beautiful place. very, very special. i also want to welcome the acting secretary of the air force, lisa dispel in the air force chief of staff, general david goldfein. thank you. the cadets here represent not only the future of our air force, but also the future

of our country. their skill, dedication, loyalty, and patriotism represent the very best of america. thanks especially to the air force academy superintendent, lieutenant general missile stomach dumb economic [applause] developing leaders, character. so many things are developed at the academy, it's really an amazing, amazing job they do. we all join the very proud and distinguished heritage of the long blue line. you know what that is. that's a long, big, beautiful blue line. i would also like to welcome several members of congress who are here today, including maybe just stand up for a second,

doug. hi doug. tadpole, ted, thank you ted. don bacon. hi don. doug collins. and my friend, martha makes sally, who by the way can fly a plane better than anybody up here. she likes a certain plane which i'm going to mention in the minute. she likes a certain aircraft, right? thank you very much. how's health care coming? we are moving along? i think it's time now, right? they know it's time. thank you for being here. we are also pleased to be joined by the secretary of veterans affairs. they've been doing an incredible job. thank you. taking care of our veterans, for

me, this has been one of my absolute highest priorities and the highest priority just about of the administration. david is working tirelessly to deliver the care our veterans so richly deserve and it should have happened years ago, but it's happening now. thank you very much. our treasury secretary, steve mnuchin is here with us as well. stephen is determined to bring jobs and prosperity back to the united states and he is really doing some very great service with a very complicated supper of some set of circumstances. stephen, thank you very much. finally, we have to say this. we are truly and deeply proud to welcome the falcons of the united states air force academy

to the white house. [applause] congratulations to you all. coach calhoun, you and your team had quite a season. like good air force guys, you flew under the radar to victory. we are buying a lot of those under the radar planes. you can fly over the radar. they cost a lot of money, i'll tell you that. this week, all republican team had its own victory under the radar. that is a very important thing for the men and women of the united states military. it's a very important thing for the people of our country. in our new budget, and it's been a very hock week -- hot week. we have to go through a long and rigorous process, but we've ended years of painful cuts to our military and just to cheat a

$21 billion increase in defense spending. we didn't do any touting like the democrats did, by the way. not only did we achieve this massive and badly needed increase in offense, but we did so without having to put in place an equal increase and non-defense spending, breaking the so-called "parity rule" that was breaking our budget and degrading or military. that's not happening anymore, that i can tell you for sure. will get the money we need and the equipment we need. there will never be a time, i will tell you this, when we will be spending more money. we are doing the necessary money, we will have the finest equipment of all kinds. the finest we've ever had in the

history of our country. we are taking care of our military and we won't go back to what we were doing for the last long. lack of time. our military is going to be taken care of. that i promise you. thank you. with this major investment in america's national defense, a core campaign promise of mine, we are at last reversing years of military cuts and showing our determination and resolve to the entire world. believe me, the entire world is watching, and we have resolve like never, ever before. these long-awaited increases will make america more safe and more secure and give our amazing service members the tools and training resources they need and they very much deserve. to top that, we achieved the

single largest increase in border security, funding in ten years. we have more money for the border then we've gotten in ten years. the democrats did and tell you that. they forgot. in their notes, they forgot to tell you that. with enough money to make a down payment on the border wall. i think they'll go back and check. this includes a switch for the replacing effective and failing fencing and walls with an unbreakable barrier. we are putting up a lot of new walls in certain areas, we are putting up a tremendous amount of money to fix the existing structures that we have, some of which we can keep into the future. they're in good shape, but we have to bring them back to the highest level. we'll be doing that with this payment. make no mistake, we are beginning to build a wall and we will