game, thank you. >> with a name like waltz, do you know how to dance? >> i do. but if anyone is shooting at me, no one has, so that is a good day. >> no were harmed in the making of this. have a great weekend, everybody. "happening now" now. >> jon: fox news alert, trump administration taking more steps to vet those coming into the country. >> said to give the state department the authority to demand more information from people applying for u.s. visas, to make good on the presidents campaign promise to tighten security on our borders. we are covering all of the news "happening now" ." >> jon: the g.o.p. bill to repeal and replace obamacare now heads to the senate. >> i don't think the hospital necessarily produced it is in the senate bill, there has to be consensus. >> jon: lawmakers say final passage could take months so what does the future hold for president trump's promise to americans? we are alive on capitol hill.

plus, art to u.s. adversaries sharing intelligence to expand their nuclear weapons program? what fox news is learning about ties between north korea and iran. and body cameras now at the center of a major court case. should police officers get to review their own footage before stating their side of a story? it is all "happening now" ." ♪ >> jon: but we begin with a big victory for the g.o.p. in its fight to repeal and replace obamacare. the american healthcare act passes the house. now it moves onto the senate. welcome to the second hour of "happening now," i am jon scott. >> l1melissal0 : i'm melissa francis in today for jenna lee. >> 213, the bill is passed it without objection, it is moved to the next table.

>> l1melissal0 : passing with zero democrats support yesterday. president trump and house republicans celebrating their first major legislative win, but the battle is far from over. >> jon: chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is live on capitol hill. is it safe to assume the senate is going to need some time to complete its work on health care? >> that is correct even though the senate has been talking about healthcare for months, i am told by senate sources to expect a lengthy process. the senate health chairman says his number one priority is welcoming millions of americans trapped in obamacare with zero or few healthcare choices. here is more from that chairman, lamar alexander. >> number two, i second goal is to lower premium costs. premium costs have increased and in some states are going through the roof. under the affordable care act. number three, to gradually transfer to the states more flexibility. >> other senators have described

it as writing their own health care bill if they can pass something like that, then the house and senate would go to conference to work out the differences. >> jon: we noted there were no democrat supporters in the house side, what about the senate, any sign of democrats being willing to work with republicans on healthcare? >> so far, a couple of them are not willing it out. montana senator jon tester is an interesting one. he told neil cavuto he is willing to work on improving obamacare or repealing and replacing it with something better. he is up for reelection next year in a state won by president trump. another key democrat is also talking about at least working at the table. >> it is important to get it into the senate. if we take healthcare seriously, we will put the bill of the committees, get the cbo information about it, bring the stakeholders in like the american cancer society, hospitals and doctors to talk to us about what they think and then embark on a committee process to try to make it better. >> make it better is what we

hear from a lot of democrats. improving obamacare in terms of repeal and replace, many democrats are not interested in that. >> jon: mike emanuel on capitol hill, thank you. >> we are going to get this passed through the centage. i feel so confident, but the insurance companies are fleeing. it's been a catastrophe. this is a great plan. i actually think it will get even better. this is, make no mistake, this is a repeal and a replace of obamacare, make no mistake about it. make no mistake. >> jon: president they are taking a victory lap along with house republicans after their big win on healthcare in the house. now it is onto the senate where republicans seem far less unite united. >> fundamental premise of obamacare is capped. there's hundreds of billions of dollars that will be transferred to the american taxpayer to insurance companies. i don't think that is going to be an alternative so we will see what comes over, read through

the final transcripts of what the bill was then make a decision on how we try to make it better basically. i am for trying to make it better. i am fair repealing obamacare. i'm not giving up, but i don't think that the hospital necessarily predicts what is in the senate bill. we don't have a score. it's hard to understand what is going on with the score. does it lower premiums? by law, the senate has to have a slew a score. >> what you think about the house letting before they get a cbo score? >> i don't approve of it. >> jon: the score is the cost estimate of all of this pure joining us now for more, leslie marshall, syndicated radio host and fox news contributor and jamie weinstein, political commentator and host of the podcast the jimmy weinstein show. you first, jamie. there was a lot of pomp and circumstance, a lot of high fives yesterday in the rose garden when president trump was there with house republicans who got this thing passed. but it is far from a done deal and even republicans in the senate are not necessarily

onboard with what the house has done. was that celebration of premature? >> certainly a good day for donald trump, he got through -- the bill through the house but i am reminded of what winston churchill once said. thisisnottheend,noteventhebegin ningoftheend,perhapstheendoftheb eginning" there's a lot of things going on, a lot of ideological divisions, even among republican senators up in 2018 who are afraid to upset the apple cart and might get taggede losers as every bill always does even if it is better for most people. there is a long way to go on the senate, and then even if you have to move left in order to get some democrats on board, what happens when you bring it back down to the house for a vote? well the freedom caucus stay with you? there's a long way to go before the process ends, so yes, yesterday was good for donald trump, but this is far from over. >> jon: leslie, democrats have been critical of this process saying that republicans are short of heading down a blind

alley, they have no idea what the legislation is they have passed. couldn't the same thing be said of the original obamacare legislation? nobody had any idea what was going to come out of all of tha that. >> i don't disagree with you at all. i was against that in the beginning. i'm against it then, against now pushing through anything that is going to affect so many millions of people's lives, not just now, but think about anybody born in the future with a pre-existing condition as an example of that. one of the things i like that is going on in the senate is i am seeing far fewer republicans willing to walk the plank, if you will, which i think they did in the house. i'm seeing democrats and republicans saying that we want to work together because there's one thing democrats and republicans in the senate agree on, that is what the president originally promised which is nobody would lose their coverage, everyone with pre-existing conditions would be covered now and going into the future and premiums would be lower. you cannot do that without a cbo score, and quite friendly come the office he don't even know in this current form if any of that

is in their and some empty promises perhaps. the president, i do should have got the votes of some of those in the house. >> jon: the president was out there promising that premiums are going to go down. a lot of people might wonder if that is like saying if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. >> i think that's the problem with the debate on both sides. they talk to the american people like we are children. on the republican side right now, they are saying that everything is going to be great, no losers, only when their spirit that is impossible with this type of legislation. even if it is a net benefit, there will be a lot of losers. they ought to tell the american people who was going to be the losers in who's going to be the winners because that is the adult way to do it. you cannot have a poly and it still appeared on the democratic side, they act as if obamacare had no losers at all, it is all great and nothing to correct, and by the way come healthcare is a right even if they cannot define how that is the case if you cannot pay for it. i still think the american people need a more serious

conversation by both republicans and democrats on a serious issue like healthcare. >> jon: it is such a conundrum, leslie. as you well know, healthcare becomes a very personal issue, and yet it is so big. they are trying to design this huge set up that is going to handle one-sixth of our economy, and yet individual people's lives. >> this is part of the problem. i do agree with jamie. first of all, medicare, social security, those are government-funded programs that a lot of people don't seem to talk about, i don't see left or right anyone and congress giving those checks back now or when they retire. when we look at what happened with healthcare, one of the things we needed a reformation for west because emergency rooms were being cramped. we did not have enough and still do not have enough healthcare providers to take care of that ever-growing senior population, it we do get sicker as we get older. this is problematic because this bill does not address that.

going forward, i fear that we are going to be going right back to the beginning of why we needed the reformation in the first place. i know that is very troubling for those in the medical community, which is why so many organizations like the ama, aarp are against this. >> jon: leslie marshall and jamie weinstein, we have to leave it there. thank you both. >> melissa: fox news alert, that trump administered an asset to give the state department new authority on visa applications. rich edson has the story, what are some of the details? >> good afternoon. this is the state department's official regulation to fulfill the extreme vetting executive order. the state department wants this to be official, to be approved by may 18th. just less than a couple of weeks. they are using an emergency request to do so. visa applicants who have been flagged according to this order who warrant additional scrutiny and connection with terrorism or other national security related visa ineligibility's would have

to provide much more information than previously. it includes address travel, employment history over the lass paid for the applicant travel. names and birth dates of all current and former spouses, civil or domestic partners, siblings and children, and the state department would also request social media platforms and identifiers like your twitter handle, your facebook page and go through that as part of this evaluation process. the state department says included in this would affect about half a percentage of all people applying for visas to come to the united states, amounts to about 65,000 visa applicants. it notes that much of this information it already collects but does so over a shorter time period. so for those who are flagged to provide more information, instead of providing five years of information as to your travel history or your employment history, that is now 15 years. but the social media component, that is new, and also new as

part of this is siblings and children, that is typically not requested. all of this i get is a proposal from the state department trying to fulfill the extreme vetting executive order and the state department and trump administration want this approved and finalized in less than two weeks. back to you. >> melissa: we will see, thank you. >> jon: right now, the pentagon is eyeing possible military ties between two of america's most dangerous enemies. iran and north korea. two members of what president bush once referred to as "the axis of evil" peer u.s. intelligence officials say north korea and iran may now be sharing to military technology, including ballistic missiles. the pentagon says iran tried to test eight cruise missile, launched from a midget submarine earlier this week in the straits of hormuz appeared the launch failed, but the design is north korean. >> the very first missiles we saw and iran recently copies of north korean missiles peered over the years, we have seen

photographs of north korean and iranian officials in each other's countries and all kinds of common hardware and design approaches. >> jon: foreign policy experts have long warned that whatever is in north korea, iran can have tomorrow for the right price. both countries have recently conducted band ballistic missile tests. using nearly identical missile designs. >> melissa: we are awaiting the daily white house briefing set to start just minutes from now. we are going to bring it to you live when it begins. plus, the new healthcare bill heading to the senate after republicans came together to get it across the finish line in the house. house majority whip steve stegall joins is next. y282uy ywty

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west virginia. emergency crews and officials are still investigating what caused the plane to crash as it was landing in clear weather. officials are porting the plane hit the runway hard, causing a wing to detach before going 150 feet over the hill. >> you vote for this bill, you have walked the plank from moderate to radical. you're walking the plank for what? a bill that will not be accepted by the united states senate. why are you doing this? do you believe in what is in this bill? some of you have said, they will fix it in the senate, but you have every provision of this bill tattooed on your forehead. you will glow-in-the-dark on this. >> jon: that is house minority leader nancy pelosi criticizing her colleagues across the aisle, as the g.o.p. healthcare bill moves to the senate,

speaker ryan remains positive about its future. >> it is a big day, but it is just one step in this process, in important step. we still have a lot of work to do to get this signed into law. i know our friends in the senate are eager to get to work. they are. we are going to see that work through. you know why we are going to see this work through? because the issues are too important. the stakes are just too high. the problems facing american families are real. the problems facing american families as a result of obamacare are just too dire and too urgent. >> jon: so the bill is out of the house come over to the senate. while senate republicans united around the belt the way their counterparts did in the house? house majority whip steve scalise joins me now. it was a squeaker of a vote. you are the one responsible for counting all of the votes apparently. what do you say to nancy pelosi, who had all of those dire warnings for republicans?

>> anyone who takes political advice from nancy pelosi would be relegated to political extinction, so she can continue to try to defend obamacare. it is feeling the american people. we have promised for years that we would get rid of this law, replace it with reforms that actually lower premiums and put patients back in charge of their healthcare decision instead of washington bureaucrats. i can understand why she wants to continue to hold onto this sinking ship. but we are providing relief for families. we are going to follow through on this promise. it's going to be really important in relief for lower premiums. >> jon: there for an awful lot of questions about people who have pre-existing conditions. are they going to loose some kind of coverage or the ability to pay for their healthcare under this new proposal? >> no, they are not. in fact, we put multiple layers of protection in this bill for people who have pre-existing conditions. in fact, i think if you look right now under obamacare, if you've got a pre-existing condition, in many cases, you are paying exorbitant amounts and a lot of people i get

letters from, families say they have $12,000 deductibles. they are paying a really high premium. every time they go to the doctor, they are paying pretty much everything out of pocket because of the high deductible. this law does not work for them. they want relief. we going to give it to them in this bill by making sure that they actually have protection in multiple ways with -- we put in place risk pools that actually lower premiums for people with pre-existing conditions. >> jon: the previous iteration of the bill, the one that was never actually presented for a vote, it was suggested that 24 million people would lose their health insurance under that earlier proposal. does that include people who are now covered under obamacare because they have to? they are required to buy it and under this new proposal, they said we might opt to go without insurance? >> that was one of the many flaws in the cbo report. they are the referee that you have to use, but at the same time, look at the report. in just the first year, they said 10 million people will lose

coverage. of course, i read through that and said that is not possible because we have a transition in the first two years. all we do is give people freedom to buy whatever they want, they don't have to buy obamacare. so they call that lost coverage. i call that freedom. in fact, many of those people will get much better plans than obamacare so ultimately, that is what people want is the choice to buy their own plan at a lower cost and better options for their family. >> jon: what about tort reform, do you see that coming? the problem is doctors are falling out of the program because malpractice insurance is so high. >> a lot of these doctors who run tell you it has nothing to do with the health care of the patients, it is the fear of frivolous lawsuits that jacks up the cost of healthcare by estimates in some cases of over $100 billion a year. so we have a bill to actually do real medical liability reform. unfortunately, that takes 60 votes in the senate unlike 51 with the one we passed yesterday. your going to bring the bill anyway, bills to allow people to

buy insurance across state lines, sending that is a really powerful tool to lower cost. we just passed the bill to the senate, allowing people to pull together to get the buying power of a big company. >> jon: -- steve scalise, thank you for being here. ♪ whoa that's amazing... hey, i'm the internet! i know a bunch of people who would love that. the internet loves what you're doing... ...so build a better website in under an hour with...

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okay, what do we got? okay, watch this. do the thing we talked about. what do we say? it's going to be great. watch. remember what we were just saying? go irish! see that? yes! i'm gonna just go back to doing what i was doing. find your awesome with the xfinity x1 voice remote. >> melissa: right now, the 2016 election is back in the headlines after fbi director james comey's bombshell testimony on why he alerted congress to newly discovered hillary clinton emails less than two weeks before the election. >> look, this is terrible. it makes me mildly nauseous to think we might have had some impact on the election. but honestly, it would not change the decision. everyone who disagrees with me has to come back to october 28th with me and stare at this and tell me what you would do.

would you speak or would you conceal? i could be wrong, but we honestly made a decision between those two choices that even in hindsight, and this has been one of the world's most painful experiences, i would make the same decision. >> melissa: ready me now is fox news media analyst howard kurtz. there was that moment, also the moment where he said that he thought the justice department had no credibility because the capper in his word was that meeting on the tarmac. what did you make of that whole scene the other day? >> first of all, comey, hillary, wikileaks, russia, seems and we are in a time machine reliving the 2016 election. i have to say, james comey with the testimony seems to have made just about everybody in washington mildly nauseous. people on the left mostly are upset with him because they did not feel he had a very good explanation as anguished as he seemed for making public the renewed investigation of hillary clinton's emails in the final stretch of the campaign, turned

out to be nothing. people on the right, commentators and others still upset with him for not bringing an indictment in the email case in the first place. >> melissa: it is amazing. if i can bring you some breaking news that catherine herridge is reporting right now. comey also pressed for the anti-trump dossier in a classified russia reported that he wanted to include that he considered it to be so important that he insisted the document be included in january's final intelligence community report. what do you think of that? >> i would like to know more about why he was not able to included, whether he was overruled. this speaks to the fact that comey had two very big hot potatoes on his hand, hillary clinton email investigation where he said she was reckless and so forth but chose not to bring criminal charges, but also we now know, did not know at the time that during the campaign come the fbi was also looking into alleged possible improper contact between trump associates in

russia that still remains kind of murky and a lot of people on the left are unhappy that did not become public, the fbi part of it at least until after the election. >> melissa: what do you think? you're someone who studies and reports on the media. one of my big questions in the wake of all of this is what do you make of what i now think of as the chartist fbi director of all time? we have heard more from him that i feel like in my lifetime was heard from another fbi director, do you think that is a good thing or bad thing? >> i used to come to the justice department and covered many prosecutors. usually, they do not talk much unless they bring charges and have a press conference. the fact he had this extraordinary press conference where he decided not to press charges was unusual, to say the least. if he is called to testify on the hill, obviously he has to, but it doesn't seem comey occupies an odd space right now where he's trying to salvage his own reputation, that if the fbi,

made a series of controversial f whether you like it or not did impact the campaign. i'm not saying it through the election one way or another, then hillary clinton this week at a public appearance saying that i would be your president if it was not for james comey, said she took full responsibility for the loss, did not talk about the lack of a message, michigan, pennsylvania or wisconsin. she prefers to point the finger again james comey. looming very large, and she said, much more talkative than most people who run that bureau. >> melissa: let me ask you about that real quick before we go. she sat there and said she was on her way to becoming president then two things happened. i wonder as i watch this interview that she did that it is very painful for everyone to watch and about or what side you're on. if you were rooting for her or not rooting for her, watching this interview sort of made you want to rip your hair out. what is the point of doing this? >> i think she's trying to vindicate herself for losing a race that most democrats thought she would easily win against

donald trump. it seems to me, sure, comey's announcement dominated the news coverage and stopped whatever momentum she had, but her real problem is she had no core economic message, no ability to speak to the working-class voters in this rust belt states won by republican candidates and does not seem quite able to admit that. >> melissa: we have to go. thank you so much. we will be watching you on sunday "media buzz." >> jon: the podium is empty now but sarah huckabee sanders will be holding a white house daily briefing any moment now filling in for press secretary sean spicer. we will bring you there as soon as it begins, plenty to talk about after yesterday's big republican win in the house. and as president trump counted a big victory for republicans, is also getting attention for praising the healthcare system of one of our strongest allies. john roberts explains.

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>> jon: the white house daily press briefing set to begin any minute now. there is plenty discuss after president trump's first major legislative victory. chief white house correspondent john roberts is inside the briefing room for us. >> good afternoon. we have a guest this afternoon, sarah huckabee sanders, daughter of former arkansas governor huckabee will be taking the podium and public for the first time today. she's feeling and because sean spicer is over at the pentagon, detailed to the joint chiefs office as a naval reservist from he holds the rank of commander. he has to spend a couple days a month over there doing that so

sarah will be taking over for him. she will be talking today, i imagine, but the next phase of the healthcare debate, getting a lot of questions on where it goes from here to the u.s. senate. president rooting out this morning that if you like phase one come you're going to like phase two, but have to get phase one through the senate first and a lot of talk there and this senate particularly by people i kentucky senator rand paul that maybe they have to go back to the drawing board and start from scs because he does not like the way that this bill was shaping up. he wants to make sure that obamacare is fully repealed before they go forward with replacing it. senator bill cassidy of louisiana who himself is a doctor is suggesting that the process and the senate could take weeks, so that would really push back the schedule for doing tax reform because the president wants to get healthcare done first to free up the trillion dollar plot of money so you can attach that to any tax reform plan that comes out of the white house here. yesterday, the president last night in new york city meeting with australian pay minister malcolm turnbull, saying that he thinks the process and the senate will actually be a

positive one. listen here. >> i could change a little bit, could be may be even better, very good bill right now. the premiums are going to come down very substantially. the deductibles are going to come down. it's going to be fantastic healthcare right now, obamacare is feeling. >> the president actually getting some praise from bernie sanders for some and he said during that bilateral meeting with the australian paint minister last night, saying that australia's got much better healthcare than the united states does. australia has the same set of universal healthcare that canada does, and it is the sort of thing that gives republicans, particularly conservatives, hives, but bernie sanders pointing out in a tweet this money in an interview last night to say i appreciate the fact that the president is onboard with universal healthcare in general i will make sure to mention that on the floor of the senate during the healthcare debate. >> jon: you cannot make this stuff out. john roberts. >> he was in a particularly gregarious mood. >> melissa: they you go. >> jon: we understand the briefing is about to begin. we got the two-minute warning while you were talking so we

will let you take your seat and get ready for sarah huckabee sanders. >> melissa: students in puerto rico will be experiencing the economic crisis firsthand. officials say 180 public schools will shut down at the end of the month, which is expected to save millions of dollars. this is the largest mask school closure in the islands history. and another historic move, the u.s. territory declared bankruptcy a few days ago. officials say the 27,000 students whose schools are closing will all be relocated. >> jon: to the white house briefing room now we go, sarah huckabee sanders. >> for any one politician or political party. it's a win for the american people. democrats always claimed that they are in favor of choice when it comes to healthcare, which is weird to me because obamacare is the opposite of choice. obamacare imposes a one-size-fits-all will of so-called policy experts in

washington, d.c., on estates instead of allowing those closer to the communities to tailor their health care system to the unique needs of their people. the american healthcare act returns of flexibility and accountability back to the states where they can make informed decisions about their own populations. we look forward to seeing the senate take up that bill and short order so that we can move even closer to giving the american people the healthcare system they deserve. we've got a few things going on, as usual here in the white house and across the administration. this morning's jobs report showed that the president's economic agenda of serious tax reform, slashing burdensome regulations, rebutting our infrastructure, in negotiating fair trade deals is targeting jobs across the country. we added over 2,000 new jobs in april, and unemployment fell to a 10-year low. we especially saw expansion in the sectors of the economy the president had a particular focus on, construction, manufacturing, and mining. we've made some very important

progress over the last ten days, realizing a bold plan for tax reform, moving the healthcare bill through the house, and funding our government. the president and his entire team will continue this laser focus on growing jobs and growing the u.s. and the iraqi economy. it is also cinco de mayo, a chance for us to subway the extraordinary contributions that mexican americans have made and continue to make in this country. yesterday, at the president's personal request, the vice president joined labor secretary acosta, mexican ambassador to united states and many others for a celebration reception. the vice president closed his remarks by echoing the president's promise to show great heart as we move forward with real and positive immigration reform and sharing the story of his own grandparents who themselves took a chance by leaving ireland for the land of opportunity and freedom. finally, on a much lighter note, i wanted to make sure to note

that everyone at the department of the interior is having their first ever bring your dog to work day, becoming the first federal department to go dog-friendly. according to second ryan zinke, having dogs in the workplace can help reduce stress and so if anyone is up for a field trip later, let me know because i am pretty sure that everyone here could use a little bit of a stress reliever appeared with that, i will take your questions. >> reporter: sarah, welcome to the podium. >> thank you. does that mean you're going to be super nice today, right? >> reporter: on the process of getting the american healthcare act through the senate, there is some talk that it may have to go back to the drawing board. as you know, it's an awfully heavy lift getting the ahca through the house. as the president expect the process to be even more difficult? >> i think the one thing you can be sure of is to never underestimate this president. i think he has shown time and time again that when he is committed to something, it's

going to get done. he has made no secret that he is committed to reforming the healthcare system. you're going to see that process take place. were not going to get ahead of the legislative process. we expect there to be some changes, but we expect the principles and the main pillars of the healthcare bill as it exists now to remain the same. >> reporter: sounds like there could almost be full sale changes? i know this is a hypothetical to tell me where this is going, but if the senate substantial changes to the house, it is ever getting out of congress? >> we are focused on the big principles of the healthcare bill, lowering costs, creating competitive environment, flexibility, giving states the ability to make decisions within the healthcare system, and we do not expect those things to change it again. i feel like there will be some changes, that is part of the process. the legislative process we fully anticipate to play out, but we

expect the big piece of this is the fact that obamacare is simply unsustainable. democrats know that, republicans know that, the american people know that. we have to have change peer that is what we are going to get when we fully expect that to take place. report to the senate has to be the more deliberate body appeared how patient is the president on the healthcare bil? he honestly has other priorities, tax reform, infrastructure, does he feel like there is the need for an artificial deadline perhaps on when the bill needs to go to conference, perhaps by the fourth of july? >> not necessarily, the president is focused on getting it right, not fast. we saw the mistake the democrats made by trying to force and rush this through. we are taking the appropriate steps to make sure that the american people get the healthcare system they deserve, and that is the president's commitment, not an artificial timeline. >> reporter: is it fair to say this should be called trumpcare at this point? >> i said this yesterday, were not focused on labels. what the president wants to be

remembered for is not the name put on a but the person that got rid of obamacare and put a system in place that actually works for the american people. that is the type of legacy he would like to be focused on is being the president that actually reformed healthcare to benefit americans instead of to bankrupt them, and so call it what you want, but we are calling it reform and a system that works. >> reporter: follow-up on a question about timing. john cornyn, the center said they are not under any deadline. i heard you say in your opening remarks that you expect the senate to take this up in short order, so are you guys on the same page in terms of timing? >> absolutely. i said we expect them to take it up, meaning take up the conversation. again, this is a process. we have not put a timeline or deadline, we want to get it right, not fast, that is the focus. >> reporter: it could take months, is that okay with the president, is he willing to wait that long? >> again, we want to wait to get it right, not an artificial deadline. the administration has not laid

out a time frame on when we want this to happen. we want to make sure it gets done correctly. >> reporter: just about some of the criticism, the aarp says this amounts to an age tax, other medical organizations have expressed concerns that those living with pre-existing conditions will in fact see their premiums go up. can you guarantee american people with pre-existing conditions, seniors that they will not see hikes in their premiums? >> one of the biggest priorities of this health care plan and this healthcare bill, particularly for the president, was ensuring that people with pre-existing conditions were protected. the final bill added an additional $8 billion to go a step further to provide another layer of protection -- -- cover part of these organizations call that a band-aid, it's not enough. >> that is not the only part that has coverage for pre-existing conditions. again, the president wanted to focus on those most vulnerable whether it is people with pre-existing conditions or the

unborn, he was certainly focused on protecting the most vulnerable. >> reporter: in the president guarantee to americans that those with pre-existing conditions and older americans be guaranteed that they want to see hikes in the price they pay? >> that is the whole point of the bill is to lower costs across the board, not just for those with pre-existing conditions, but to create competition so you have lower premiums, to give states flexibility. that is the entire purpose of reforming this system is to have lower costs. so yes, that would be the goal and certainly again the priority of the president. >> reporter: really interesting, i thought the president said there is a plan by the trump admission to get the national drug control policy office, and i wonder if you can tell us, is that report correct? obviously, he cares about the opioid addiction problems and has talked about that, brought chris christie in the mix. what would be the reason for

guiding that process and is it moving somewhere else? also i have a french election follow-up. >> my first piece of advice would never be to use "politico" for a source for your story, but in terms when it comes to the opioid epidemic, i think the president has been extremely clear this is a top priority for him. i certainly would not get ahead of conversations about the budget. we have not had a final document, and i think it would be ridiculous to comment on a draft version of something at this point. >> reporter: would you address the idea that he is contemplating a substantial cut to that office and to move that sort of work outside of that office? >> i'm not going to comment on an ongoing discussion. again, there is not a final document. when there is, we would be happy to discuss that peer the bigger point is that the president has made very clear that the opioid epidemic in this country is a huge priority for him, something that he has certainly been very focused on tackling, and something i think was ignored by the previous administration that

will not go i ignored in this one. >> reporter: the french election, does -- we know president obama has a dog in the fight come it is president trump, if so, who? and if not, does he have a position on who's going to take over what matters? >> i have not had a conversation about whether he supports any particular candidate. i can tell you the president will work with whoever the people of france decide to elect pre-that's a decision they need to make. but the president is committed to working with leaders across the globe to combat a whole host of issues and certainly would do that with whoever the people elect. >> reporter: just address, i have two questions. the president's comment yesterday, does he really think australia's government run universal healthcare system is better than ours? >> i think he was simply being couple of entry of the prime minister. i do not think it was much more than that. >> reporter: then i want to ask you about this case out of

maryland, prosecutors have dropped rape charges against to undocumented teens attacking a 14-year-old classmate. this white house was vocal on that case, from this podium, sean spicer said a big part of the reason the president made illegal immigration crackdown such a big deal was because of tragedies like this. does this white house -- did they unfairly jump to conclusions? >> we are always looking to protect the american people. sean spicer was speaking on what he knew at the time. certainly, i have not had a chance to dive into the latest on that, but we will end get back to you. >> reporter: do you want to retract anything? >> not going to reject anything without further information. >> reporter: have you talked to sean spicer, does he have regrets about what he said? >> i have not talked to him, he's on navy duty, you do not get to carry your phone around very often. i talked to him every day, but not yet today. when i do, i will ask him.

>> reporter: is there a general danger that the white house through its rhetoric is animating too many people to jump to conclusions against immigrants and in the process administering the entire immigrant community, whether they are law-abiding or not? >> not at all. the president has been incredibly outspoken against crime in any form, fashion, certainly from his joint address to his speech last week on holocaust remembrance day. this is a law and order president. he's focused on restoring law and order. we have seen a spike in crime and rates starting in 2015 across the board, not just in any particular sector. i think that is why he campaigned and talked so much about needing to restore law and order in this country. that is why he is focused on securing our border, stopping drug trafficking, human trafficking, those are things that have been a priority for

him. i think the reason is because he places such a high value on that, and i think to call into question his rhetoric to be anything other than somebody who has condemned hate and violence and all of its forms is simply just a complete mess to do a back misrepresentation not only of who the president is but alsf what he said. >> reporter: back to healthcare, we talked about other changes in the senate, in use at the white house is open to that as long as the principles remain the same. i was wondering if we can get more specificity on specifically what principles and how they are represented in the current house bill? for example, the state's ability to waive essential health benefits and that productions, the freedom caucus negotiated so hard, does it have to stay in the bill for the president to support it? >> again, i think the biggest piece of that is to allow states to have flexibility, that the

people closest to the people getting care are the ones in helping make that decision. i am not going to litigate the details from here, but that is part of the legislative process and part of the ongoing discussion, but i know it is a priority for the president as well to protect people with pre-existing conditions. >> reporter: we heard a lot of the rhetoric about repealing the affordable care act being about job creation, nu cited those jobs numbers at the beginning, i think month 86th street of job growth. we are hearing less of the talking point about obamacare killing jobs. does the president still stand by this was a job killer and that is a reason to repeal it or has he moved on from that? >> i certainly think he stands by that comment. report of my how do you explain the consistent growth? >> other things have taken place. justse one thing may be killing jobs that doesn't mean you cannot have job growth in other sectors. primarily, the places where we

saw the most growth in this jobs report are in manufacturing, coal miners, other places so i certainly think you can have job growth even when there are job killing regulations. >> reporter: another, to the present made to the australian prime minister. are you saying that he did not mean what he was saying when he said that they have a better healthcare system? >> i'm saying that the present was because blending a foreign leader on the operations of the healthcare system. it did not mean anything more than that. >> reporter: he doesn't believe they have a better healthcare system? >> he believes they have a good healthcare system for australia. again, that is one of the biggest things that is wrong with obamacare. it's tried to be a one-size-fits-all, and that is the opposite of what the plan is we are putting in place right now. it allows for state flexibly, what works in australia may not work in the united states. i think again, he was complementing the prime minister and we are focused on putting a healthcare plan in place that works here. >> reporter: the pentagon said

today -- "inaudible question] speak of the president spoke directly with general mcmaster today, obviously, we first and foremost want to express our deepest condolences and our deepest appreciation for all of the men and women in the military and ultimate sacrifice they paid, particularly this soldier and all of the others. the president has made it certainly a major priority to protect the men and women who protect us. that is one of the reasons he wanted to put so much emphasis on rebuilding the military and that was a priority for him in the budget. again, our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to all of the men and women in uniform and particularly this family. >> reporter: and we expect a statement from him? >> from the president. i don't know at this time.

i know he doesn't want to get ahead of the notification process. that is still taking place at this point. >> reporter: using taxpayer money by working from new jersey this weekend instead of new york. wouldn't he save more money by working at the white house? yc making that comparison? >> this is the president's first time to be back in the new york metro area. he staying at his private residence in new jersey versus staying in manhattan. had he stayed in manhattan, the disruption would have been far greater than being a new jersey. the bottom line is the president is the president no matter where he goes. he doesn't get to control the level of cost insecurity that may come along with that. >> reporter: he does control where he works. why doesn't he work more at the white house? he's spent 14 weekends there. speaking you can play that you work too much around here and

are too tired, now we don't work enough tex-mex >> reporter: it is a cost saving for american taxpayers were just the point. >> this is the president's first time to go back home to the new york metro area, and i think he is trying to save the taxpayers money the best way he can. by taking his team and focus and being in new jersey instead of new york where it would have caused a much greater disruption and much greater cost to taxpayers. >> reporter: earlier this morning, he mentioned that jobs report and also the president's tax plan as one of the reasons for the job growth. are you saying the taxman that has not passed yet was responsible for creating jobs in the month of april? >> i think we saw from the very beginning, the minute the president was actually elected, even before he took office, use our consumer confidence go up. we had meetings with countless ceos, small business owners, people involved in tax creation come in and tell us that they

are much more confident and going out and hiring people, bur businesses and growing the economy because they have a president who actually cares about it and is focused on it like this one is. so i certainly think that the environment that he is creating is much more friendly, not just through the tax reform system but by laying out those priorities. they know what is coming down the line. they have confidence in this president like they did not in the previous one. it is not just that, it's getting rid of job killing regulations that we have seen through executive orders and again, a focus on rhetoric of creating jobs, and that has certainly added to that. >> reporter: apple announced this week it's creating $1 billion in fines to spread manufacturing job growth inside the united states. can you tell me what medications the white house has had with apple either before or after the announcement, if any? >> i am not aware, i will have to check and get back to you. >> reporter: does the president still intent to sign a spending bill today? >> yes, i believe he signed it

within the last hour. >> reporter: would he ever consider -- president obama for example got criticism over the years for adding signing statements to legislation to indicate where he disagreed with the bill he was signing peered president bush did the same thing on a number of occasions. just this president intent to review that option? >> i'm not aware of that. that is something i have to check on and get back to you. >> reporter: thank you. you were talking minutes ago about states having sex ability peered you know which states would seek a waiver on pre-existing conditions? >> not yet that is something that hh it -- hhs would have more information. reporter mike we have seen these airline incidents, delta apologizing for what happened with the hawaii flight, we saw united, earlier this week, the senate and house had ceos on the hill, does the president want affect, tsa or the other

agencies to give passengers a better idea what will happen if they get kicked off a flight? >> i have not had that conversation, it is something we have to look at, but what i can tell you is i don't think anybody in the administration thinks that they had links of some of these passengers is probably a good thing. so we want all people across the board to be treated with the utmost respect whether that is on an airline or anywhere else. i don't know that as a government regulation that should wait and to do that, hopefully that will come with common decency, but it is something we are taking a look at. >> reporter: thanks a lot. now that the house has the healthcare reform in place, they will likely take on tax reform. that is the admission have a position as to whether or not the legislation that ultimately emerges from the house ways and means committee could should be deficit neutral? >> that is something that we would probably have to look at, and i'm not ready to comment

right now. >> reporter: on the healthcare reform legislation that the senate will soon take up, will the administration play a part in what that bill looks like or just essentially be hands off and let the senate do its work? >> i think we've made it very clear that we will be hands-on in this process. it's a priority to fix a very broken system. obamacare is a disaster. this is not a president who does things hands off. he is fully engaged on the house side. i expect him to be fully engaged on the senate side and make sure we get the bill the american people deserve. >> reporter: thank you, to questions friday. i've got two questions for you. the first one on syria. about the de-escalation zones they've talked about establishing, the administration has said there is reason to be cautious about those. could you elaborate late on that one and explain what some of the resolutions are for the de-escalation zones? also how that plays into the >> the president's expressed a

desire to achieve peace in syria. that's the broader mission. and we're looking at all ways in order to achieve that. we haven't laid out any specifics any further than that at this time. two questions. i forgot. >> the other question, there was a report today that said that there's an effort at the white house to start limiting the number of people at senior staff meetings down to 15. down from 15 to 8. i was wondering first if there's any truth to that and who are in the staff meetings these days, the 15 people? or the 8. >> sometimes you have big groups. sometimes you have small groups. look, meetings vary from day to day around here. i'm not gonna comment on the hundreds of meetings that take place in the white house. >> there's no specific effort though to keep them down into smaller groups or to keep certain people out of though meetings at this point? >> i think it's ridiculous to think we're trying to keep certain people out of these meetings. one of the greatest assets of the president is