we will be back tomorrow at noon eastern time. "happening now" starts right now. >> jon: it is a lovely wednesday. fox news alert on capitol hill. a vote on a bill that would repeal obamacare. the vote was scheduled earlier this morning but postponed until 3:30 p.m. eastern. >> republicans trying to put together a bill that would dismantle obamacare. the president issuing a statement saying he he applauds the senate for taking a giant step against this nightmare. >> i'm very happy to announce

that zero of the democrat votes, a motion to proceed on health care has just passed. and now we move forward towards truly great health care for the american people. 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. >> jon: there were two republican holdouts. the president called out those senators by name. saying they really let republicans and their country down today, too bad. fox news contributor, this president does a lot of unusual things. what do you think about calling

out a senator by name? >> he's done that before with varying degrees of success. and mitch mcconnell pulled a rabbit out of his hat. in order to begin amendments and perhaps a final vote on legislation. i think there were other republicans who voted in motion to proceed while telegraphing very serious concerns about what comes next which is the next clip to climb up for mulligans. republicans republicans. >> jon: what does a skinny repeal mean?

>> the next few days are an exercise that mcconnell felt needed to happen. they are taking all these different options for repealing and replacing obamacare. nine republicans voted against that which is very hard for them to reach any agreement on replacement. now they vote on a repeal. at the end of the day they might be left with a skinny repeal. which would repeal small parts of the law. the question is as a going to go far enough for conservatives. the centers to watch on this will be several.

the>> jon: it seems they all wat their own prescribed requirements. >> for now that has been true. we saw a bill that failed which is a negotiated compromise. it only got not enough votes needed which was 43 votes and not 50. we will see effectively the same bill that was passed by the senate in 2015. i will expect to see a lot of republicans vote against a very similar measure here today because there is no replacement. repeal it without replaces very unpopular. i don't think it's going to get to 50 votes. if republicans are a scaring act

emma the option of passing nothing or coming together with democrats, or a skinny bill that improves the situation. which option do they take? all or nothing or somewhere in the middle? it looks like mcconnell and some of the other centers are drifting towards that question. >> jon: the skinny repeal would result in some number of millions people losing their coverage. >> there or be millions of people choosing not to buy health insurance. president trump wants to sign a

bill on his desk. with faced with the option of not doing a repeal or passing a leaner bill, many people think conservatives will come on board at the end of the day. >> jon: this thing yesterday passed by the skin of its teeth. the house struggled mightily. what are the chances for both parties or both legislative bodies to get together and get something to the president's desk? >> that's the key question. let's say we end up with some skinny repeal bill being the final option. let's say mitch mcconnell is able to get 50 votes and pass the thing. then there are few options.

does that skinny bill go to the house and then to the president to sign, and saying we done something on a obamacare repeal and move on to taxes. ordered a hash out a new bill which goes back to each house for a brand-new vote, that's a tactical and strategical decision that leadership needs to make. i'm still not convinced that a leaner bill will pass. i don't think we should rule that out, but getting to step four in this process is premature because we are still at step two. >> jon: we are about to get

some inside information. thank you. >> melissa: joining us as a republican from south carolina. thank you for joining us. what can you tell us about the latest that's going on? >> we are aware we wanted to be which is on the bill. this is a major victory for the country yesterday. our goal now is to figure out how much of obamacare we can dismantle. according to current law, the question is how much replacement can we accomplish? >> melissa: let's talk about some details. insurance premiums will decrease by 30% by 2020. in terms of how you get there, a

bill would provide 200 billion to cover out-of-pocket costs. that's been criticized as a huge phone for insurance companies. >> its federalism at its best. we believe local elected officials should have an much flexibility as possible. one of the criticisms of obamacare is that we put decisions in the hands of federal legislators. we are given choice back to the states where people have the opportunity to get affordable coverage and governors have flexibility for somebody out-of-pocket spending. >> melissa: one of the

problems is that we are people using health insurance separated from making the deal for how much things are going to cost. it does no incentive to lower the price. that doesn't create an incentive to bring prices down. it's the prices of care, how to tackle those costs? >> there are two points, health insurance and lower health care costs. we should've started started with that debate. how do you lower insurance cost costs? give states flexibility necessary. we were going to keep things as they were, that's why prices did not go down. >> melissa: how do you see them going down by 30% hashtag

>> we provide more resources according to the cruise amendment. we wanted rates to go down 60%. when you look at obamacare, you have monopolies. >> melissa: you going to let people -- >> one-third of the country has a single-payer option. >> melissa: for the people that use a lot of insurance, how do you deal with those costs? >> you can use those dollars to stabilize the market and is one of the goals we have. if you haven't more folks in the market, you will reduce the costs for those folks that are

healthier. and give waivers to states to find ways to lower costs in several states. my final point, three states, account for 40% of the overall resources from obamacare. >> melissa: what's your point on that, make them pay for themselves? >> california passed recently going to a single-payer system. where they want all folks to be in one category of health insurance. >> melissa: would you give them a federal dollars or deny them money to do that? >> we would make it equitable for all americans.

>> melissa: for the very expensive people with pre-existing conditions, what's the mechanisms to pay for that? like flood insurance in florida or how do you pay for that? >> we have great confidence that 50 states, will provide an option that takes care of a lot of the high risk people on the plan. >> melissa: i appreciate you trying to answer those questions. >> jon: we are waiting for a white house briefing expected to begin soon. we continue to await the next

round of senate votes on health care. we spoke with one republican senator about the plan. reaction from the other side of the aisle about the plan. plus the tsa rolling out new procedures at airports. now expanding to travelers flying domestically, stricter screening policies. (vo) pro plan bright mind

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>> jon: and fox news alert, we are waiting for the senate to vote on the health care bill. repeal and replace was voted down last night. they almost didn't make it that far. mike pence voted to break that vote. >> senate republican leadership rights health care proposal trying to win the support of 50 centers. 50 senators. >> we want to get 50 senators to get something on the president's desk for signature. we know moving beyond obamacare is the right thing to do.

>> jon: so they are voting on amendments putting senators on the record. some calling for straight repeal and having to go years for replacement. and there is a plan that allows insurance companies to sell stripped-down plans. debate over the future of american health care is the hot topic on the senate floor. >> democrats will be here fighting for as long as it takes. to take back these shameful health care bills. we hear you and we are on your side and we will never give up. >> one option is the skinny repeal which would do very

things. if they can pass that, then it will go to congress to try and strike a deal. >> jon: interesting times there in that building. thank you. >> melissa: the president and the military, who he is borrowing from service. growing support for jeff sessions on capitol hill. some republicans warning trump not to fire him. how the standoff and? >> the president doesn't look like a typical president. the reason why the american people love this man so much, he's direct to the citizens.

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>> melissa: president trump barring transgender people from serving in the u.s. military. he discussed with generals and military about this decision. men and women were able to serve openly in the military since last year. there is an estimated 15,000 transgender individuals serving. this comes as a bit of a surprise. considering the tweet a year ago saying thank you to the lg tv community where hillary will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.

the pentagon was caught off guard by his announcement today. the pentagon is working with the white house to address new guidance from the president. >> i have a lot of respect for jeff sessions. i know him well. he's a man of integrity and he has a lot of respect for his colleagues. what goes on between the attorney general and the president i'm not privy to. he's a man of integrity, purpose and substance. he would be hard to replace and i hope he stays. >> jon: that was republican from alabama richard shelby. he was defending his colleague. he is part of the growing g.o.p. support for sessions.

including lindsay graham who says he doesn't want him to quit. >> i do not think humiliating him in public is good which is a sign of weakness. i appreciate your service but you need to be fired. he's trying to get sessions to quit, and if the president wants to fire him, fire him. >> jon: if a president is unhappy with somebody, this president has chosen to publicly humiliate jeff sessions.

is he trying to force them to quit? >> i think so and it's a big mistake. he's angry with jeff sessions because he recused himself about russian meddling investigation. there is a federal law that requires him, for recusal's and one of those says that if it involves a political campaign, they have to recruit stomach recuse themselves. this is like bobby kennedy. he had to recuse himself. this is the same rule when john ashcroft refuses himself.

this was expected and it had to happen. this is the big important thing. if the president forces him out, you can kiss the next six months goodbye if he forces out jeff sessions. if he forces him out because of the recusal, why did you do that because he did the right thing? it would be difficult to find someone new and you can imagine with the confirmation hearing would look like. we need a nominee who is on the front pages and the president would have little or no chance to get his message through. it would be a p.r. disaster and i think jeff sessions would do the president a great favor by

staying exactly where he is. and i hope the president is convinced that is not in his best interest to go out and do this. >> jon: who would want the job if he was fired or quit? jeff sessions came out very strongly in early for a guy who was a long shot. it would make you wonder. >> any nominee would have to consider that if they do the right thing by the law and rule rules, and my going to be similarly humiliated by the president of the united states. we don't want a bad boss, but in this instance, president trump is being a bad boss to the attorney general. he will create a firestorm that

will consume his presidency for the next six months and maybe beyond. >> jon: a couple senators also had some choice words about president trump. in a some follow, listen to this. >> i'm done. if we don't get a budget deal we are going to be paralyzed. >> jon: apparently referring to the president in terms that are not so flattering. what you make of that? >> members of the senate and

house never have a high opinion of the inner workings of any white house. it's easy to find fault within an administration. i saw it during my seven years at the white house. we had members of congress who called us all idiots. it is a reminder that we live in a society and time that you have to be careful of open mics and saying what you truly believe. there might be somebody there with a phone but i don't make a lot of it because this is customary on both sides of the aisle. >> jon: they will still get invited to the christmas party.

karl rove, thank you. >> melissa: the presidents daughter ivanka retaining a attorney. we will be coming back with all of the developments. you don't let anything

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>> a hearing on the foreign agents registration act and senate committee after democrats

use a delay tactic to combat the health care vote. >> it was cut short up to two hours because of this procedural move. and we have some of the highest profile witnesses to the russian investigation here today. who was behind this trump dossier, trying to push off testimony until sometime in the fall or avoided altogether. >> the republicans try to turn the tables on democrats saying they are always trying to talk about the trump team.

they pointed to hillary clinton forgot information from a longtime confidant who was effectively on the payroll of foreign governments feeding information to her. >> the justice department did not explain why blumenthal did not have to register. if it did not require registration it should simply say so. >> is really central to the discussion of russia and whether foreign governments use americans as surrogates. the national security advisor mike flynn, took hundreds of thousands of dollars and was criticized for writing pro-turkish government.

and paul who classified his work for april russian group in the ukraine. the law and criminal prosecutions is very hard to enforce. >> we found a lot of registrations declined a lot over the last few decades. we determined that over half of the initial registrations we reviewed were untimely and that 50% of registrants filed a reoccurring supplemental registration late. >> being untimely is important because the trump team has been highly criticized for the retroactive registration.

that is really the norm with this legislation. and to get a criminal prosecution, you have to show a willfulness and that the person was being directed by a foreign government. that's a pretty high threshold to cross which is why there are several penalties. thank you. >> jon: more on russian investigations, let's bring in our legal panel. jared kirchner says that he's new to politics, got an email from his brother-in-law about a meeting with the russians. that's his version of events.

does that make him legally untouchable? >> he may have been naive but the evidence does not point to a crime committed by him. the facts show that he was very susceptible to foreign intelligence agents. this is the classic way foreign intelligence officers flip a person. we have something you like and that see if they show up. and only later, they make you ask and by then they are in too deep. let's hope that he didn't get that far. >> it is illegal to lie to congress. whether he testified under oath, he can still have criminal

penalties if you did lie. there's been a lot of conversation about him not testifying under oath. going back to the previous point, one way the russians work is they put people like jared kershner where they've done something illegal like soliciting foreign contribution contributions, then they use that against them to get more information. that could have been very well the russians did. >> jon: jared kershner's wife ivanka trump has now added in a tourney. essentially using the same lawyer as the husband. what about that legal strategy? >> i think it's a brilliant

strategy. she is one the best white-collar criminal defense attorneys in the country. anyone in the administration should have their own counsel right now. in order to work through the russian investigation. ivanka does not want to appear like she's having a lawyer. that's just semantics, but legally she still her lawyer. i just gives her cover so she's not giving the impression she's doing something wrong. >> jon: jared kershner has gotten this 11 page letter out there.

seems like he controls and narrative from here on out. would you agree with this? >> i would. the way that this usually works is the last one to testify is the source of the investigation. being the first to testify shows this could be further up. it could show that paul is participating more than others even know. >> jon: good to have you both on. >> melissa: >> melissa: check t foxnews.com. tax reform next on the

president's agenda. promising to take care of the middle class. political panel weighing in on how that will go over and congress. ♪

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>> if i get what i want it will be the single biggest tax cut in american history. we really have no choice. we will have growth, everything that we have dreamed of having. it's time to let americans keep more of their own money. >> melissa: after health care his next priority will be tax reform. even if that means raising taxes for the wealthy. a former policy director with the romney campaign, and a

former bill clinton advisor. thanks for joining us. one of the things we've talked about is doing away with state and local deductions on taxes. and if you make a huge budget, you shouldn't be able to deduct that from your federal taxes. because that would subsidize the spending of those cities. what you think impact would be? >> on the republican side, it's been popular to go after because of the politics. it would affect more voters in urban areas and large states. if you look at the tax reform calculus overall, you need to do aggressive base rocking and

getting rid of deductions. >> melissa: one of the other big things they look at is lowering the corporate tax rate. we are the only country in the world, where if you do business overseas you pay tax here and there. no other country does that. talking about manufacturers. >> this debate will be about how to create a budget. if you reduce revenue or cut stuff, the deficit will go up. the republicans have some big choices to make about where to cut and how much deficit increases they will withstand. barack obama put a clear plan on

the table. they were going to reduce corporate rates. there could be areas of cooperation there. what's the overall plan and it seems in "the wall street journal" interview that things can change in the spring. >> melissa: wears that revenue will come from is the big problem. they are never able to estimate how much growth is going to come as a result of cutting taxes so it looks like so much less revenue will come in. how do you deal with that? >> the congressional budget office will come under a lot of scrutiny because of the obamacare debate. some of that dynamic effects when you look at legislation.

that something republicans will have to make the case on. if any tax reduction will have impact on growth. >> melissa: thank you very much. we will be right back. switching to allstate is worth it. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember.

>> we are awaiting a vote in the senate on a straight repeal bill on obamacare. joining us now, democratic senator from delaware. you're not happy that the senate vote was 51-52 open debate on repealing obamacare. what else would he have the senate do? >> i agree with john mccain.

john came back and i'm glad he did that. we should return to regular order and have hearings and votes on those. i would add that part of the health care system that's most challenging, is the exchanges. and i'm a big advocate of the heritage foundation. changes need to be stabilized. we need to make it clear that we have individual mandates. make it clear that cost-sharing arrangements reduce co-pays and deductibles. if you do those things, it will reduce premiums by 35%.

we will ensure we have a healthier pool of people. and then go to regular order to fix this stuff. >> jon: many republicans say they were sent to washington to repeal and replace. >> they had eight years to try and do that. the number of people that favor that is something like two: one. some things that are criticized the most, the heritage foundation is a good idea and i'm one who favors that. >> jon: we are running out of time and is hour, thank you very much. we are waiting for the

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>> melissa: thank you for joining us. "america's newsroom hq" comes up now. >> moments away we are going to go to the press briefing. no shortage of news to talk about. they are said to vote on a straight repeal of obamacare. and also the president's ban on transgender people in the military. we have correspondence live on capitol hill. >> out of the frying pan and into the