needs to get this done. >> julie: matt schlapp, thank you simon roseburg. let's listen. >> shepard: good afternoon from fox news in new york. those of you watching on fox television stations and fox news channel around the world, this is fox news coverage of the motion to proceed, the motion to take up debate on the new healthcare bill. john mccain has just entered the senate floor. diagnosed with brain cancer and treated and made his way to the capitol and will speak after the vote is complete. that applause for john mccain who our viewers on fox news channel know just walked into the senate chambers. the vote on the republican side is all but complete. they're now voting -- the democrats are now voting. here's what happens. the republicans have gotten on

the record and voted on the motion to proceed. this would be the new healthcare bill. trumpcare, if you will. there's two no votes. senator murkowski and senator susan collins of maine. those are the two republican votes in the negative. there are two more republicans yet to vote. senator ron johnson, the senior setter from wisconsin and senator mccain from arizona. john mccain is expected to be a yes vote. senator ron johnson we're not sure. i've been told by our capitol hill producer, chad pergram, who is on the floor now, that senator johnson has been on the sidelines with senator mcconnell that leads the senate. they're having a discussion. let's go to chad pergram who is on the floor now. what are we to make of this? >> right now we'll have a 50-50 tie with vice president pence to cast the deciding ballot.

john mccain came in just a couple moments to a standing ovation after his cancer surgery. he voted aye and ron johnson and the whip, john cornyn voted aye. democrats that have held their powder dry here are casting their votes. what we'll have here if all democrats vote no, that will tie this at 50-50. vice president pence is presiding in the chamber right now. he would be poised to break the tie here on a 51-50 vote. so far, mike pence has broken four ties already. one to confirm betsy devos as education secretary, he broke two in one day a couple months ago and significantly in his entire eight years as vice president, joe biden was never called upon to break a tie. so they should get the votes to proceed here presuming vice president pence does in fact break the tie in a few moments.

>> unless there's confusion, this is not the death of obamacare. this is a vote on a motion to proceed, which means in laymen's terms, chad. >> this is like back in the old days where you would have a bride's hand in marriage and they would go to the father first. that's a motion to proceed. you have to get permission. the senate agrees to go to debate or something like that. the key here, shep, they're considering this build under budget reconciliation. don't worry about that term so much. know what it does, it shuts off filibusters. they were worried about the democrats keeping them from bringing the bill to the floor. it shuts off filibuster. under a garden variety build, you need 60 yays. this lowers it to 51. and it's not been democrats blocking this but members on their own side. they couldn't cook up 51 votes just to get on the bill. it looks like all they were able

to do today with senators murkowski and collins voting no is to get 50 votes on the motion 0 to proceed. they're dancing on the head of a needle here and get vice president pence to break the tie. >> shepard: in the next couple weeks, debates will be offered. amendments can be offered by anyone and the republicans have to keep the 50 votes and the one from the vice president to be able to not repeal obamacare because this would be a defunding of obamacare. nevertheless, the structure would remain there. obamacare as a law would in essence be dead. but to keep shelly moore capito on board, it's hard to come up with based on her public utterances thus far, it's hard to imagine how they get her to a yes on the bill itself. >> look at someone like dean heller from nevada. the republican senator. probably one of the most embattled that faces a tough

election. he voted for the motion to proceed. mccain expressed reservations and would try to work to amend the bill. senator mccain says he almost always votes yes on procedural motions. on the final product, that's the key. i want to point out something that is very important. i'll come back to the term "budget reconciliation." what it does, it robs the senate of its basic glory, which is unlimited debate and unlimited amendment process. so once they get on the bill, they have 20 hours of raw debate. that means this will probably be settled one way or the other just this week. that doesn't count against actual voting time and things like that. so as soon as they get this vote complete and we're told there's a request for senator mccain to speak on the floor as soon as this vote is complete, the clock on debate will start. that's limited to 20 hours and amendmented are limited not to policy, it has to be fiscal.

it cannot add to the deficit. you don't have the usual free wheeling unlimited debate, unlimited amendment process under reconciliation. this is the all way this gambet that republicans used to get this across the floor. i should note something from a historical standpoint, if you don't mind, shep, this is the same trick that democrats used in 2010 to pass the final version of obamacare. they lost unexpected the massachusetts senate seat and went down to 59 votes add had to go to 51. >> shepard: thanks, chad. for viewers just tuning in, we're in the middle of an enormous news day. as you heard, john mccain will speak while in recovery from brain surgery, from surgery on a cancer on his brain. john mccain has made this triumphant return to the senate today to cast that final 50th vote. without him, this would not have

been possible. he's flown in arizona for this purpose with the okay from his doctor. we're expecting him to speak up to 15 minutes. in the lower right-hand corner, the president is about to hold an event in the rose garden. the president expected to comment on this matter. make zero mistake, this is an enormous win for leader mcconnell here. this was something that just two days ago was flat dead. they did not have the votes in the republican party to even proceed, to pass the motion to proceed. that's what they've done today. now i'll that proceed to the rest of the process to get a bill to get 50 votes on. whether that is possible remains to be seen. it's unlikely. mitch mcconnell's ability to wrangle votes is yet to come to fruition. there's enormous news in washingt washington. for a third day, the president

of the united states has taken aim at his own attorney general. yesterday he was beleaguered. now he's weak. the president's new communication director, scaramucci, said this morning that he believed that it was going to be necessary for sessions to go and then said he didn't want to speak for the president on this matter. it appears to be a cat and mouse game between the attorney general who was the president's first major supporter in the united states senate, first to endorse him. now appears to have his job very much in jeopardy. there's media reports that the attorney general is furious over this matter. we'll see how this proceeds. will he resign? his friends say no. will the president fire him? we shall see. right now vice president pence speaking on the floor. >> the vice president votes in the affirmative. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the bill. >> calendar number 120, hr

16-28. an act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title 2 of the concurrent resolution of the budget for fiscal year 2017. >> the senior senator from arizona is recognized. >> i thank you, mr. president. i stood here many times and addressed many presiding officers. i've been so addressed when i sat in that chair. that's as close as i'll ever be to a presidency. anyway -- [laughter] it's an honor we're indifferent too. in truth, presiding over the senate can be a nuisance, a bit of ceremonial bore and usually relegated to the more junior members of the majority. i stand here today looking a little worse for wear, i'm sure. i'm have a refreshed appreciation for protocols and customs of this body and for the

other 99 privileged souls that have been elected to this senate. i've been a member of the united states senate for 30 years. i had another long if not as long career before i arrived here. another profession that was profoundly rewarding and which i had experiences and friendships that i revere. make no mistake, my service here is the most important job i've had in my life. i'm so grateful, so grateful to the people of arizona for the privilege, for the honor of serving here and the opportunities it gives me to play a small role in the history of the country that i love. i've known and admired men and women in the senate who played much more than a small role in our history. true statesman, giants of american politics. they come from both parties and from various backgrounds. their ambitions were frequently

in conflict, they held different views on the issues of the day and had serious disagreements on how best to serve the national interests. they now however sharp and heartfelt their disputes, however keen their ambitions, they had an obligation to work collaboratively to ensure the senate discharged its constitutional responsibilities effectively. our responsibilities are important, vitally important to the continued success of our republic. and our arcane rules and customs are intended to require broad cooperation to function well. the most revered members of this institution accepted the necessity of compromise in order to make incremental progress on solving america's problems and defend her from her adversaries. that principle mindset and the service of our predecessors who

possessed it come to mind when i hear the senate referred to as the world's greatest deliberative body. i'm not sure we can claim that distinction with a straight face today. i'm sure it wasn't all deserved in previous eras, either. i'm sure there's been times when it was and i was privileged to witness some of those occasions. our deliberations today, not just our debates, the exercise of all of our responsibilities, authorizing government policies, appropriating the funds to implement them, exercising our advice and consent rule are lively and interesting. they can be sincere in principle. there's more of the time than at any time that i can remember. our deliberations can still be important and useful, but i think we would all agree they haven't been overburdened by

greatness lately. right now they aren't producing much for the american people. both sides have let this happen. let's leave the history of who shot first to the historians. i suspect they'll find we all conspired in our decline either by deliberate actions or neglect. we've all played some role it in. certainly i have. sometimes have let my passion rule my reason. sometimes i made it harder to find common ground because of something harsh i said to a colleague. sometimes i wanted to win more for the sake of winning than to achieve a contested policy. incremental progress, compromises at each side criticized and also accept, just plain muddling away to keep our enemies from doing their worst isn't glamorous or exciting. doesn't feel like a political triumph but it's usually the

most we can expect from our system of government. operating in a country as diverse and quarrelsome and as free as ours. considering the injustices but autocratic governments and how corruptible human nature can be, the liberty and justice that it preserves is a magnificent achievement. our system doesn't depend on our nobility. it accounts for our imperfections and gives us an order to our individual strivings that has helped make ours the most powerful and prosperous society on earth. it's our responsibility to preserve that and even when it requires us to do something less satisfying than winning. even when we must give a little to get a little. even when critics on both sides

denounce us for tomidity for our failure to try up -- triumph. stop listening to the loud mouths on the radio and television and internet. to hell with them. [applause] they don't want anything done for the public good. our incapacity is their livelihood. let's trust each other. let's return to regular order. we've been spinning our wheels on too many important issues because we keep trying to find a way to win without help from across the aisle. that's an approach that's been i'm employed by both sides with

out all the parliamentary rules it requires. we're getting none done, my friends. we're getting nothing done. all we have really done this year is confirm neil gorsuch to the supreme court. our healthcare insurance system is a mess. we all know it. those that support obamacare and those that oppose it. something has to be done. we republicans have looked for a way to end it and replace it with something else without paying a terrible political price. we haven't found it yet. i'm not sure we will. all we have managed to do is make more popular a policy that wasn't very popular when we started trying to get rid of it. i voted for the motion to proceed to allow a debate to continue on amendments we offered. i will not vote for this bill as it is today. it's a shell of a bill right now. we all know that. i have changes urged by my state's governor that will have to be included to earn my

support for final passage of any bill. i know many of you will have to see the bill changed substantially for you to support it. we tried to do this by coming up with a proposal behind closed doors in consultation with the administration. springing it on skeptical members, trying to convince them that it's better than nothing. it's better than nothing? asking us to swallow our doubts and force it past a unified opposition. i don't think that will work in the end. probably shouldn't. the administration and congressional democrats shouldn't have forced through congress without any opposition of support of social and economic change as massive as obamacare. and we shouldn't do the same with ours. why don't we try the old way of legislating in the senate? the way our rules and customs encourage us to act. if this process ends in failure,

which seems likely, let's return to regular order. let the health education labor and pensions committee under chairman alexander and ranking member murray hold hearings. try to report a bill out of committee with contributions from both sides. [applause] something that my dear friends on the other side of the allow didn't allow to happen nine years ago. [applause] let's see if we can past something that will be imperfect, full of compromises and not pleasing to partisans on either side. that might provide workable solutions to problems americans are struggling with today.

do we have to do to try to work together to find those solutions? we're not getting done much apart. i don't think any of us feels very proud of our incapacity. merely preventing your political opponents from doing what they want isn't the most inspiring work. there's greater satisfaction in respecting our differences, but not letting them prevent agreements that don't require abandonment of core principles, agreements made in good faith that help improve lives and protect the american people. the senate is capable of that. we know that. we've seen it before. i've seen it happen many times. the times when i was involved even in a modest way with working out a bipartisan response to a national problem or threat are the proudest moments of my career and by far the most satisfying. this place is important.

the work we do is important. our strange rules and seemingly eccentric practices that slow our proceedings and insist on our cooperation are important. our founders and vision, the senate has a more deliberative careful body that operates at another body from the passions of the hour. we're an important check on the powers of the executive. our consent is necessary for the president to appoint juris and powerful government officials and in many respects to conduct foreign policy. whether or not we are of the same party, we are not the president's subordinates. we're his equal. as his responsibilities are onerous, so are ours. we play a vital road in shaping the judiciary, the military, the cabinet supporting foreign and domestic policies.

our obligations depend on cooperation among ourselves. the success of the senate is important to the continued success of america. this country, this big boisterous, brawl, beautiful, bountiful, brave, good and magnificent country needs us to help it thrive. that responsibility is more important than any of our personal interests or political affiliation. we are the servants of a great nation. a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. more people have lived free and prosperous lives here than in any other nation. we have acquired unpreshe debted wealth and power because of our governing principles and our government defended those

principles. america has made a greater contribution to any other nation to an international order that is liberated more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. we have been the greatest example, the greatest supporter and the greatest defender of that order. we aren't afraid. we don't covet other people's land and wealth. we don't hide behind walls. we breach them. we are a blessing to humanity. what greater cause can we hope to serve than helping keep america the strongest, aspiring, beacon of liberty and defender of dignity of all human beings and their right to freedom and equal justice? that is the cause that binds us. so much more powerful and worthy than the small differences that divide us. what a great honor and extraordinary opportunity it is to serve in this body.

it's a privilege to serve with all of you. i mean it. many of you have reached out in the last few days with your concern and your prayers. it means a lot to me. it does. i've had so many people say such nice things about me recently. i think some of you must have me confused with someone else. [laughter] i appreciate it though. every word. even if much of it isn't deserved. i'll be here for a few days. i hope managing the floor debate on the defense authorization bill, which i'm proud to say is again a product of bipartisan cooperation and trust among the members of the senate armed services committee. after that, i'm going home for a while to treat my illness. i have every intention of returning here and giving many of you cause to regret all the nice things you said about me. i hope to impress upon you again, it's an honor to serve

the american people in your company. thank you, fellow senators. mr. president. [applause] >> shepard: that may go down as a speech for the ages from the adult in the room on a very difficult day. blood clot removed, cancer diagnosed, surgery performed, ufr are -- a recovery begins. now the adult in the room says amendments are coming, success is not expected. this body should return to regular order, that the servants of the people should do their jobs, that they're not the

president's subordinates, they are his equals. and now the president is himself to speak. the president will be speaking in the rose garden and holding a news conference just a short time from now. it was scheduled to begin like ten minutes ago. what happened at the white house? to the microphone came none other than sean spicer, the former press secretary who has resigned by is staying on his job through august and it was he who came to the microphones to tell us that the president of the united states is waiting for john mccain to finish his speech and then he and his guests would be out in the garden to hold this news conference. the president has presumably, we're led to believe, been listening to this as he received a bit of a lecture one might have to say from john mccain up from his hospital bed. two questions from each sets of media to be taken.

this should be fascinating. >> please, i'm very happy to announce that with zero of the democrats votes, the motion to proceed on healthcare has just passed. now we move forward towards truly great healthcare for the american people. we look forward to that. this was a big step. i want to thank senator john mccain, very brave man. he made a tough trip to get here and vote. so we want to thank senator mccain and all of the republicans. we passed it without one democrat vote. it's a shame, but that's the way it is. it's very unfortunate. i want to congratulate american people. because we're going to give you great healthcare. we're going to get rid of obamacare, which should have been terminated long ago.

it's been a disaster for the american people. thank you very much. good afternoon. thank you all for being here. it is my honor to welcome prime minist minister assad from lebanon to the white house. we just concluded an extensive conversation about the challenges and opportunities facing lebanon and its neighbors. lebanon is on the front lines in the fight against isis, al-quaida and hezbollah. the lebanese people of all faiths are working together to keep their -- you know this and we've been discussioning this -- their country safe and prosperous. they love their country and they're going to keep it safe. mr. prime minister, i want to commend you and your people for standing up for humanity in a very troubled part of the world.

the ties between our two countries stretch back more than a century. long, long relationships. in 1866, american missionaries founded the american university of beirut. now more than 150 years later and with ongoing american support, this university continues to educate generations of leaders in the region. today our two countries seek to strengthen our relationship in many ways. including the pursuit of stability, mutual prosperity and peace. what the lebanese armed forces have accomplished in recent years is very impressive. in 2014, when isis tried to innovate northern lebanon, the lebanese army beat them back. since that time, the lebanese army has been fighting

continually to guard lebanon's border and prevent isis and other terrorists, of which there's many, from gaining a foot hold inside their country. the united states will help in that fight and will help continue to do so. america's assistant can help assure that the lebanese army is the only defender lebanon needs. it's a very effective fighting force. threats to the lebanese people come from inside as well. hezbollah is a menace to the lebanese state, the lebanese people and the entire region. the group continues to increase its military arsenal, which threatened to start yet another conflict with israel. constantly fighting them back. with the support of iran, the

organization is also fuelling humanitarian catastrophe in syria. hezbollah likes to portray itself as a defender of lebanese interests, but it's very clear that its true interests are those of itself and its sponsor, iran. i have repeatedly emphasized that syria's neighbors in the middle east must take responsibility for helping syrian refugees until they can return home and rebuild their country. the lebanese people have led the way accepting more syrian refugees per capita than any other nation. it's not even close. i want to thank the prime minister and the lebanese people for giving shelter to those victimized by isis and the assad regime and pledged support to

lebanon. since the start of the syrian crisis, the united states has help lebanon support syrian refugees with clean water, food, shelter and healthcare. our approach, supporting the humanitarian needs of displaced syrian citizens as close to their home country as possible is the best way to help most people. america is proud to stand with those that have the courage to stand up to terrorism and take responsibility for affairs in their own region. the reliance and resilience of the lebanese people in the face of war and terror is extraordinary. we honor the citizens of lebanon working to secure a future of peace, stability and prosperity for their children. mr. prime minister, i'm grateful you're here today. it's a big day in our country because of the vote you just

heard about. we stood and watched the results on television before coming out. you found it very interesting, i hope. >> yes, i did. >> and very important. i look forward to working with you to strengthen our partnership and the enduring friendship between the american and lebanese peoples. thank you very much. mr. prime minister? >> thank you. good afternoon. i have the honor and pleasure and the pleasure to hold a very good meeting with president trump. i appreciate his leadership and the united states leadership in the world today. we discussed the situation in our region and the efforts with in lebanon are making to safeguard our stability while combatting terrorism. i thank president trump for his support to our army and security agencies as well as support to

fulfill maintaining peace and stability along our southern border. where our government is committed to the united nations security council resolution 1701 as well as all resolutions. we also discussed the pressures lebanon is facing as a result of 1.5 million syrian displaced in our country. i outline to president trump, my government's vision, for dealing with this crisis with the support of the international community. we also discussed economic prospects in lebanon and our government's effort to jump start growth with the particular emphasis on job creation. i thank president trump and the united states of america for their support to the lebanese

people. striving to keep their country a level of moderation, dialogue, co existence and democratic governance in our region. thank you. >> thank you very much. margaret, please. >> thank you. >> hello, margaret. >> hi, mr. president. mr. prime minister, i'll have a question for you also in just a second if you'll bear with me. you spoke earlier today, the "wall street journal." we've seen the comments. everybody here probably is hoping that you can talk a little bit more about this. you have called your attorney general beleaguered. you've criticized his decision to recuse himself on the russia matters. and you're kind of catch phrase or motto before the white house was "you're fired." would you talk to us about whether you lost confidence in jeff sessions, whether you want

him to resign on his own? whether you're prepared to fire him if he doesn't and why you're sort of letting him twist in the wind? >> i don't think i am doing that. i am disappointed in the attorney general. he should not have recused himself almost immediately after he took office. if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me prior to taking office. and i would have quite simply picked somebody else. so i think that's a bad thing not for the president, but for the presidency. i think it's unfair to the presidency. that's the way i feel. thank you. >> thank you. mr. prime minister, could you tell us what you think about the saudi-led blockade of qatar? this is something that has been of great concern to the u.s. as well in terms of resolving. you think qatar is doing enough on terror and if so, would you

like to see president trump increase the pressure on the saudi coalition to ease their blockade and mr. president, if you would give us any more of your thinking on going forward on the path of attorney general sessions and your timeline for making a decision. thank you. >> thank you. i think there is an effort by the kuwaitis. they're leading this effort. i think they made some progress. we believe that dialogue is the best way in improving this relationship between saudi arabia and qatar. i believe that maybe the united states also could help in this -- unsolving this issue in the gulf. denise? >> i have one question for the president and also for prime minister. congress introduced additional

sanctions against hezbollah last week. what is your position towards the sanctions and on the role of hezbollah's playing in the region and syria? >> i'll be making my possession very clear the next 24 hours. we're going to see what is exactly taking place. i have meetings with some of my very expert military representatives and others. i'll be making that decision very shortly. thank you. >> and about his role in syria and the region? >> hezbollah's role. >> i'll be talking about that tomorrow. >> prime minister -- [speaking foreign language].

>> shepard: the white house has a translator, i should say interpreter, but the white house decides what audio to send out to the american news media, normally we would hear that interpreter. but at the moment obviously we're not. this is a matter that is out of our control. >> hello, blake. >> president trump, hello. thank you. indulge us here for a second to pick up -- american people would like to know, do you feel that the attorney general should indeed stay and do you intend on firing him? why should he remain as the attorney general? secondly, on a separate topic with the healthcare vote that just came about, it's still a

long ways to go. at what point do you feel that republicans, if they can't get something done should just say you know what? we gave it a go, let's move on to tax reform instead? >> i want the attorney general to be much tougher on the leaks from intelligence agencies, which are leaking like rarely have they ever leaked before at a very important level. these are intelligence agencies. we cannot have that happen. many of my views in addition to that. that's one of the very important things that they have to get on with. i told you before, i'm very disappointed with the attorney general. we will see what happens. time will tell. time will tell. on healthcare, i'm extremely happy that we got this vote. this is -- they say, if you look historically, this is the tough vote to get. now we're going to sit together and we're going to try to come up with something that is spectacular. we have a lot of options and a

lot of great options. the republican senators really went out there. it's not easy when you have 52 senators and you have a block of 48 voting against you, no matter what it is, no matter how good it sounds, it's very hard to get the numbers that we got. we ended up with 51 votes. 51 to whatever. i don't know what it is. yeah, 51-50. so we had two republicans that went against us, which is very sad, i think. it's very, very sad for them. but i'm very, very happy with the result. i believe now we will over the next week or two come up with a plan that is going to be really, really wonderful for the american people. obamacare is a disaster. it's failing in every front. it's too expensive. it gives horrible coverage. it was gotten by a lie 28 times. you can keep your door, they said or keep your plan. all lies.

the people are sick of it. and we're going to come up with a great healthcare that satisfies the needs of the people that we serve, which is the people of the united states. i will say and i said it at the beginning, healthcare is always difficult. because you have to weed a very, very narrow path like 1/4 inch wide right down the middle. if you go a little too far right, you lose three people on the left. if you go a little too far left, you lose five people on the right. it is a very, very complex and difficult task. but it's something that i actually know quite a bit about. i want to thank some of the republican senators that were really fantastic in getting us here, particularly john mccain for making the trip. i think you're going to have a great healthcare. this is the beginning of the end for the disaster known as obamacare. thank you very much. >> mr. president --

>> mr. president, how can the united states help lebanon cope with the massive number of syrian refugees, and is there a way you can help facilitate the refugees return to their home country? >> well, we are helping. one of the things that we have made tremendous strides at is getting rid of isis. we have generals that don't like to talk. they like to do. we're with general mattis last night. the success they've had against isis extraordinary. we've made more progress in the last four or five months than previous -- i can say the previous administration made in eight years. then we have to see what we have to see. i will tell you, isis in syria, isis in iraq, isis in other locations, we've made tremendous

strides. our military is an incredible fighting force. as you know, i let the commanders on the ground do what they had to do. before, they used to have to yeah in this beautiful house and speak to people that didn't know what was happening. where they were, what locations, practically probably never heard of the countries they were talking about or the towns. i let the generals do what they had to do. we have made tremendous plans. we were discussing it just before. we have made tremendous gains with respect to isis in syria, iraq and other places. >> thank you. >> what about assad? syria? >> i'm not a fan of assad. okay? he will tell you that. we had 58 out of 58 -- you could say 59 out of 59 when we

launched the tomahawk missiles. i'm not a fan of assad. i'm certainly think that what he's done to that country and to humanity is horrible. so i have been saying that for a long time. i'm not somebody that will stand by and let him get away with what he tried to do. he did it a number of times when president obama drew the red line in the sand and then he should have crossed that red line because some horrible acts against humanity took place, including gas. the killing through gasses. that was a bad day for this country. and i'd go a step further. had president obama gone across that line and done what he should have done, i don't believe you'd have russia and i don't believe you'd have iran

anywhere near the extent and maybe not at all in syria today. okay? thanks very much. [speaking foreign language]. >> shepard: it's the beginning of the president speaking. we had the interpreter underneath speaking in arabic. now a mat or out of our control. on blake burman asked the president should attorney general sessions resign or do you plan to fire him -- >> thank you very much, everybody. thank you. >> shepard: the president responding that he's

disappointed in his attorney general, but time will tell, time will tell. what happens with the attorney general. if this is not unprecedented in american history, i can't find a time when a situation like this was upon us where the president of the united states shows complete disrespect for the attorney general, his own attorney general and clearly is pushing him in the direction of a resignation though the attorney general has reportedly told friends that he will not resign. impass is upon us, how this is resolved. as the president said, time will tell. those of you on fox television stations across america, we'll return to our regular programming. our coverage continues on fox news channel now. i'm shepard smith, fox news, new york. now that we're back, just on the fox news channel, we'll try to hash through some of this. let's turn to john bussey from

the "wall street journal." the "wall street journal" and fox news channel share common ownership. this is extraordinary what is happening with the attorney general. >> yeah. this is an extraordinary day. we just had a remarkable vote in the senate. we had an incredible speech by john mccain. need to come back to that. >> shepard: we will. >> and this discussion of sessions. a man that the president appointed. he was immensely loyal to him. everybody realizes that this was the -- one of the very first senators to come out and support president trump during the campaign. this language that he's using, we just had an interview, peter nicholas from the washington bureau just had an interview with president trump a couple hours ago, with what he said on air just now. i'm very disappointed in my attorney general. he doesn't say look, this guy has a tough job, i'm disappointed with this or that,

but i'm backing my guy. he lets it hang out there. so what is the strategy here? is he seeking to get rid of sessions by having him eventually resign so he can later say i didn't fire him? is the point to have him out of the way so that a a new attorney general can come in who has not recused himself from the russian investigation and how can somehow or another manipulate that investigation? it's unclear what is going on here. it seems like it's a down side for president trump no matter what. >> blake burman asked him the question. he didn't answer it. his premise is flawed in that the attorney general found out about this russia information after he had already been made the attorney general. it was then that he recused himself. there had been a trial balloon floated about rudy guliani, a close alley of thing becoming

the attorney general. rudy guliani said i'm not in consideration for that job and jeff sessions did the right thing. so if this is -- it just appears at least and the appearance will be there for the president's detractors and others that will say you're interfering with the russia investigation or attempting to do so. >> at least that's right, people in his own party. the public calls them. this is the day arguably a good day for president trump. >> shepard: could have been. >> this was a vote in the senate that went his way. this was arguably a victory for him on the healthcare front to as he puts it, to basically start discussion. it's really a vote to start the discussion. >> shepard: blake burman is live from fox business. he asked the question of the president today. you gave it a valiant effort.

>> it was asked by bloomberg. the president gave the standard answer. that he was dis appoiappointed didn't go about answering, do you plan on firing the guy. he called him weak earlier today. he said i think the american people want to know, do you have confidence in the guy and do you want him to resign or be fired? again the president side-stepped this just saying that his disappointed in the decisions that the attorney general made about recusal. it's still up in the air from the white house perspective of what jeff sessions does next or potentially even what president trump might do next, shepard. >> shepard: blake burman from fox business. i know you have to do some reporting for that network. thanks for stepping by. i want to head to julie now, white house reporter for the associated press. she co-wrote a recent article about the firing of jeff sessions.

any more to report based on this nonanswer today, julie? >> we were all hoping to hear an answer to that question. it's a head-scratcher why the president isn't taking action on the attorney general. it's so clear that he does not want jeff sessions in this position. he has the ability to fire him. so the ball is somewhat in the attorney general's court at this point. we'll have to check back in with jeff sessions and see if yet another day of the president pretty openly dump on him has changed his mind about whether he wants to continue in this role. >> shepard: aside from the flawed premise that jeff sessions should not have recused himself from this matter because he should have told him before they made him attorney general, they can't be because all of this information came out afterwards. is there another thought trend on this from the president or is that the main one? >> i mean, that seems to be what is stuck in the president's head. he seems to be unable to get

beyond that and just beyond the basic anger that he has about that whole situation. in some ways, i feel like jeff sessions has become the scapegoat for the entire sort of russia mess that the administration finds itself in with, you know, various congressional probes going on and of course the special counsel. what is really important to remember is that the special counsel is only here because of another sort of turn that the president took in his administration by letting go of james comey. so it sort of an unending problem. it's difficult for anyone to see where this ends other than just thinking, if you're jeff sessions, you've got to be evaluating your job on a minute by minute basis here. >> thanks, julie from the associated press. thanks very much. we're in -- first he fired james comey. now he wants jeff sessions out.

there's the matter of the rod rosenstein as well. we don't know how that will sit. >> you could make an argument that this president would get some points in congress by backing his attorney general at this point. as opposed to trying to erode his credibility publicly this way. because there is a special counsel. that's going to be there regardless of whether or not sessions is attorney general and why is there a special counsel? it's because he fired comey. that resulted in the appointment of the man that is now investigating him or his campaign and its relationship with russia. >> shepard: i want to show our viewers some of the things being said by members of his own party by conservatives. i want to begin with a word from mike lee. let's listen. >> even though he and i disagree from time to time, i find him to be a man of integrity. a man who has led the department

of justice in what i regard to be a positive direction. >> mike lee. now to jim dement who is out with a tweet on this matter, a conservative himself. trump right and media's russia obsession. hope he sees jeff session is a great leader that will defend constitution and rule of law. brit hume has issued one as well. responding to donald trump's tweet that the attorney general jeff sessions has taken a weak position on hillary clinton's crimes and where the intel leakers. brit hume tweets potus at his worst and most disloyal. for republicans and conservatives, they know. mar mark la vin came out. the drudge report. sessions in dog house. republicans on brink of civil war. >> difficult for him to attract talent into an administration

when people will be questioning his loyalty to the individuals that he has brought in. to sessions particularly. will he be able to get the talent to replace a sessions or to fill the many other positions that have gone unfilled so far in the administration? there's a lot of them. >> they have complained that they've not been confirmed, but in the vast majority of cases, there's been no one put up for confirmation. vast majority. >> yeah. it's a difficult moment for an individual to say whether or not they're going to roll the dice and join the administration that still seems to be in upheaval. this is something that john mccain was talking about the senate. we have ourselves to blame for inability to pass legislation. the president at this stage of the game has himself to blame for the degree of -- that he's contending with day to day. as opposed to celebrating this moment when there has been a motion to start discussion on the healthcare bill, whether or

not that goes through is a wide open question. this is a small victory. he was claiming it was a larger one. but it is a small victory. it's a good check in his column. rather than celebrating that, he's enthralled with diminishing his own attorney general as opposed to handling it behind closed doors with a degree of civility that sessions can come out at the other end with his dignity intact. >> shepard: there's a lot of amendments to con on healthcare. repeal and replace. they don't have the votes. repeal and don't replace. they don't have the votes. skinny repeal as of this moment, they don't have the votes. the "washington post" writes a few moments ago, this is a tacid acknowledgement to repeal they cannot succeed as the republicans control the white house and both sides. a small victory no doubt. a large victory for mitch mcconnell. but what happens going forward

is another matter entirely. it will be a messy process and no one knows exactly how it will end. we must take a quick commercial break before the news begins anew on fox news channel. neil cavuto in the wings. about a medication... ...this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain... ...and protect my joints from further damage. humira has been clinically studied for over 18 years. humira works by targeting and helping to... ...block a specific source... ...of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain and... ...stop further joint damage in many adults. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas... ...where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb,

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>> neil: all right. we're focusing on democratic senators on the steps of the united states capitol. very unhappy with this largely parliamentary move to redo obamacare. it's just that, just a move. a point of order, if you will, that doesn't really change anything outside saving this for a chance to fight another day. it's quite a fight. welcome. i'm neil cavuto. you're watching "your world." a confusing police call world as republicans return with a surprise victory for mitch mcconnell, the leader of the senate. it was one that the president of the united states had to break to make possible and was seen as a speech