and no corporate amt. there's the vice president, mike pence, who is joining the president on his closing argument for tax reform. stay here. we'll bring it live. i'm dana perino. here's shep. >> shepard: and good afternoon from fox news in new york. i'm shepard smith. on fox television stations and news stations. a live like at the winter wonderland where we're set to hear from the president about his final push for the gop tax plan. we've just gotten word that house and senate leaders have reached a tentative deal for the biggest proposed changes to the tax code in decades. they say it's an agreement in principle and that lawmakers are still making changes behind closed doors. we don't know about everything. we're learning some information about the agreement. the corporate tax rate is expected to go to 21%.

both the house and senate had that rate at 20%. down from its current level of 35. the individual income tax rate, the percentage paid by the wealthiest americans is going down by something around two points. it's expected to be 37%. a change in the mortgage interest deduction. it's set to be $700,000 for new mortgages. anything more than that to be taxable. will state and local taxes be deductible on federal returns? at this moment that's unclear. nobody has read the final version because it's not been completed. republican aides say they expect a final vote next week. the senate and the house need to hold separate votes on the same bill before they get it to the president's desk. during a lunch with gop lawmakers, the president said they're close to what he calls a historic win. >> the massive tax cuts that we're planning that hopefully

within a very short period of time we'll have signed into law, it will be bigger than anything ever done in this country. >> shepard: passing the tax overhaul would give the president the first major victory in congress but not everything he campaigned on is in it. democrats are accused of rushing through the process. tax accountants love a rushed process. for the nation, the devil could be in the details. we don't know. here's the president with his final push. >> the president by college students, young entrepreneurs, families, workers, mothers and fathers from all over our nation, you make this country run. it's an honor to be with you and it's an honor to have you at the white house. thank you for being here. really fantastic. thank you. [applause] great people.

as a candidate, i promised we would pass a massive tax cut for the everyday working american families who are the backbone and the heartbeat of our country. now we're just days away, i hope, i hope -- you know what that means -- from keeping that promise and delivering a truly amazing victory for the american families. we want to give you the american people a giant tax cut for christmas. when i say "giant", i mean giant. [applause] as we speak, congress has reached an agreement on tax legislation that will deliver more jobs, higher wages and massive tax relief for american families and for american

companies. the typical family of four earning $75,000 will see an income tax cut of more than $2,000 slashing their tax bill in half. it's going to be a lot of money. going to have an extra $2,000. there's more than that. our plan expands the child tax credit for working families. you'll hear the numbers very soon. they're even larger than anticipated. even nearly doubles the amount of income taxed at the rate of zero. i don't know if any of you are paying zero. i hope you're not. i hope you're paying above that, but a lot of people who are having it's a little tougher will be paying zero. it closes special interest loop holes. it lowers tax rates for families. and our plan also cuts taxes on businesses, which is expected to raise income by an average of

more than $4,000. so your income goes up. it's like having a $4,000 increase, which isn't bad, which isn't bad. it's a lot of money to spend, a lot of jobs will be created with the money that you spend. very special. it makes america competitive again so we can bring back that simple but beautiful phrase -- you've heard it before -- made in the u.s.a., right? i don't know if they have heard it, but you've heard it. [applause] our current tax code is burdensome and unfair. it's exported our jobs, closed our factories and left millions of parents worried that their kids will have less opportunity than the last. our factories have left. so many gone. they're all coming back. you see it ever before we do

this. they're starting to come back. our country is starting to do really well again. as a country, we're being respected again. we're being respected again. i'm here today to tell you that we will never let bad things happen with respect to the economy of our country. we're not going to lose our businesses again like has happened over the last number of decades. america is coming back bigger, better and stronger than ever before. they'll see it and they're going to see the result. america isn't content just by getting by. america is about getting ahead, about finding the best in ourselves and in each other. we're reclaiming our destiny as americans, a nation that thinks big, dreams bigger and always reaches for the stars. we didn't become great through

massive taxation and washington regulation and by the way, we're cutting regulation at a rate never seen before in the history of our country. we became great because our people, our families and because of our freedom. we became great because of our drive to find the next horizon, to unlock the next mystery and to begin the next adventure. you know what i'm talking about. and that's who we are. a nation of strivers and builders and dreamers and doers. people that treasure their independence and don't know how to quit. never quit, never ever give up. never ever. i say that also to our great cabinet. and they have done a great job. a lot of things have happened. nobody has done the job that we

have done. when government loosens its grip, there is no summit we cannot reach. our tax cuts will break down, and they'll break it down fast, all forms of government and all forms of government barriers and breathe new life into the american economy. they will unleash the american worker. they will tear down the restraints on discovery, innovation and creation and they will restore the hopes and dreams of the american family. millions of middle class families will win under our plan. and today, we're honored to hear from a few of those wonderful and truly great families. bryant and ashley glick, right? they're from lancaster county, pennsylvania. i know it well. they have two beautiful third with a third on the way. bryant manages a farm equipment store.

ashley works in healthcare. this year they were in the 15% tax bracket. under our plan, they will drop to the 12% bracket. it's a big drop. instead of itemizing their deductions, they can file their taxes on a single little beautiful sheet of paper. that's good. [applause] and instead of paying $2,600 in income tax, they will get it down to $2,000. they've save at least $600 and probably more than that. bryant, ashley, how about saying a few words? you want to? come on. >> thank you, mr. president. it's an honor to be here. on behalf of the good people of lancaster county, my family and specifically my grandmother, linda martin, well-done.

many of your predecessors promised that this reform was coming. but you did it. that we are greatly excited about this. with the tax savings that we'll see, we are going to put that money into home renovations. i'm excited that you were the one that got it over the finish line. thank you, mr. president. [applause] >> the kovacs family also joins us from ohio. a great state. a lot of success in ohio. adam is a veteran that works in telecommunications. lindsey works in administration, admissions at a university, and they have two beautiful children. this year they're currently in the 25% bracket and pay nearly $14,000 in taxes. our plan gives them their time back, because they won't have to

itemize and gives them nearly a third of their money back, more than $3,500 for one year. i'd like to invite the kovacs to explain what our tax cuts will mean for them. they've studied it closely. these are very smart, sharp people. they know what we're doing here and they like it. come on up. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, mr. president. it's truly an honor that you invited the kovacs family to the white house today. this is going to be great for our family. we have home renovations that we want to take care of. hopefully save for our two children to go to college. thank you so much, mr. president. [applause]

>> and the giamomolo family is here from. anthony is a 911 emergency dispatch officer. when they're not working protecting their citizens, their hands are full of four wonderful children. this year they were in the 25% bracket. they have done everything they can. they itemized deductions. they paid more than $19,000 in taxes. thanks very much, by the way. a lot of money. i like it. under our plan, they will file on a single page and save $2,700. anthony, maybe you'd like to say a few words. come on in. [applause] >> just want to thank president trump. education is very important to our family. under this bill, our family will be able to save a lot of money. we have a lot of people going to

school. my wife and i are in graduate school finishing up and still have three other -- four other kids to get through college. it will help out a lot. [applause] >> leon and marie benjamin are pastors of new life harvest church. it's a beautiful church in richmond, virginia. they have three wonderful children. under our plan, they will get a larger tax refund. they will receive a tax refund of $3,000 this year. leon and maria, i would love you to discuss your middle class tax cut a little bit with the millions of people watching right now on television. you do very well. we're very proud of you and it is indeed a beautiful church. i got to see a very nice picture. we'll have to get there some day soon. come on in. [applause]

>> to god be the glory! thank you, president trump for inviting us here. on behalf of the benjamin family and richmond, virginia, we represent a qadry of many families across the nation. african american families, urban americans. we need it now. it's time for a change and time that we recognize that our president is making good on his promises. [applause] thank you, mr. president. god bless you and we'll continue to keep praying for you and your team as you move forward and forge ahead with this new future in america. god bless you. [applause]

>> he can be my minister any time. [laughter] the howard family lives in washington. isaac owns an espresso machine service company and emily takes care of their four beautiful children. they're currently in the 15% bracket and pay $2,500 in taxes. our plan will wipe out their tax bill and they might even get a refund of substantially more than $700. i'd like to introduce them. come on up. [applause] >> i'm going to speak for us today. we are absolutely blessed to be here. so thank you, mr. president. our joy to stand before you guys. what this means to us as a family is that we will be able to pour out into our community, whatever that looks like, giving away to families in need or

setting them up for success in any way that -- whatever god has planned for our family. that is our goal. we're blessed to have such an amazing president and what a good steward he is of our country. thank you, mr. president. [applause] >> thank you all. it's critically important for congress to quickly pass these historic tax cuts. it's going to take place i think even before the media -- i used the word media, you notice? as opposed to fake news media. i don't say it. because today is a very important day. we want everybody to be covered very accurately. i excited to announce if congress sends me a bill before christmas, the irs -- this is just out, this is breaking

news -- has just confirmed that americans will see lower taxes beginning in february. just two short months from now. [applause] just got that. [applause] we just got that. 55 years ago this week president john f. kennedy, a democrat, launched a historic effort to pass sweeping top to bottom tax cuts. a half a century later, we were reminding that lowering taxes is neither republican or democrat idea, but an american principle and an american idea. the goal of my administration is for every american to know the dignity of work, the pride of a paycheck and the satisfaction of a job well-done. we want people to love waking up in the morning and going to work just with that incredible enthusiasm that we have in this country. that's what we're going to be doing, and that's what's going

to be happening. today we stand on the verge of a new economic miracle. our economy has already surged to 3% growth, far ahead of schedule, far, far ahead, in each of the last two quarters. if we didn't have the hurricanes, we could have hit 4 last quarter. 4. a number that was unthinkable two years ago when i started the campaign. even my first month in office. that was an unthinkable number. i'll tell you what, it's going to go higher than that. we've created 2.2 million jobs since the election. unemployment is at a 17-year low. the unemployment rate in the manufacturing business is the lowest in recorded history. consumer confidence is a 17-point high. pensions and retirement accounts are soaring as the stock market hits 85 new record highs since

the election. how are we doing? are we doing okay? not bad. [applause] if congress sends me a tax reform, this is only a small beginning to the incredible things that our people will achieve over a very short period of time and the tremendous heights that we will reach economically and so many other ways in our country. every day, as this victory draws closer. we're so close right now, so close. in fact, almost -- i don't want to talk about it. maybe we shouldn't talk about it. the people that opposed tax cuts grow smaller and weaker and the american people grow stronger. i heard one of our opponents stand up the other day and say this is for the rich. they didn't even see the final bill. i haven't seen the final bill. this is for the people of middle income, this is for companies

that are going to create jobs. this is for very, very special people. the great people of america. every day hard-working americans know that the future of this nation will never belong to those who say you can't. it will always belong to the american people who will say we will. it belongs to people like the glicks, the kovacs, the benjamins, the howards and the millions of americans just like them across our nation who pour out their hearts and souls every day to take care of their families and the country they love and that we love. we are going to have a country that celebrates you again. hard-working, great people. you're being celebrated again. remember that. because you were a little bit forgotten.

we have called at this time forgotten people. somebody else called me and everybody else the deplorables. have you ever heard that term? we're proud to be the deplorables and we're doing well. we're going to make our tax system work for you again. we're going to make our economy work for you again. we're going to make the american dream. that's the real dream. that will be the dream that you want for your children and your grandchildren once again. we need your help to get congress across that finish line. we'll have very look democrat support, probably none and that's purely for political reasons. they like it a lot and they can't say it. they don't like what is happening. but they can't say it. some day we have to come together and do bipartisan and hopefully it can happen soon. [applause] right?

if you make your voices heard, this moment will be forever remembered as a great new beginning, the dawn of a brilliant american future, shining with patriotism, prosperity and pride. with your help, we will bring back our jobs, we will bring back our wealth as a country and for every citizen across this beautiful land, we will bring back our great american dreams are. thank you and god bless you all. thank you very much. [applause] thank you. >> shepard: the president speaking at the white house regarding what is not a completed deal. we can't confirm that bit about the irs, but we can tell you the house and senate still have to vote on separate bills before they can be sent to the president's desk. leaders say they have a tentative agreement. analysis begins now on fox news channel on satellite and cable. those of you on fox television

stations, we'll return yo to your local programs. i'm shepard smith, fox news new york. with that, let's get to john roberts here on fox news channel who is live with us at the white house. big statement regarding the irs, john. i can't pin that one down. >> yeah, we have not been able to confirm that just yet, shep. we're working on it. the president clearly in a good mood today. i was also inside the cabinet room earlier today. i went in there. he was huddling with the republican house and senate conferrees, the people trying to hammer out the details to go before the house and the senate. the president seemed to be in a great mood, particularly given the results of the alabama election last night. almost want to say there was maybe a little bit of relief on his face that he didn't have to deal with the fallout of a roy moore win. perhaps that's not what he was thinking but he appeared to be

in a good mood given the results of the election. he said when it came to tax reform, it's close. he's feeling optimistic about it. i don't want to say confident but feeling optimistic. he did joke with the conferrees in the lunch to say first of all, we have to have a vote, right? now it's almost critical for the president to get a vote in the house and senate next week, early next week. if he doesn't get it, it gets pushed through the holidays and the margins are even slimmer for getting it done. as you'll hear from mike emanuel this hours, shep, there's some folks on capitol hill on the republican side that are not really sold on tax reform just yet. arm twisting yet to go. the one thing we did learn today is that the president is happy, thrilled, he said, with the 21% corporate tax rate. he wanted 15 initially. he settled on 20. he said 21% is lower than 35%,

so he says i'll take that. we'll see if they can get it to a vote next week, shep. >> shepard: john roberts on the north lawn. beautiful day. >> it's not warm. >> shepard: i'm sure of that. the top democrat said the republicans should hit pause until doug jones is sworn in. >> the governor didn't appoint him. he won an election. it would be wrong for senate republicans to jam through this tax bill without giving the newly elected senator from alabama the opportunity to cast his vote. >> shepard: president trump says he wants republicans to vote on the plan next week before republicans lose that seat? the senate. our chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel is live on capitol hill. as john roberts mentioned, it's very close. >> that's right, shep. you have senators and house members meeting this hour here on capitol hill in a conference committee.

democrats are fired up saying this conference committee is a farce. they say the deal has been cut so they're trying to shut down the meeting and they're blasting the republican process. >> it did not have to be this way and it is not too late for bold members on either side to reject this reckless partisan process. work on a bipartisan basis as ronald reagan did. >> so bottom line, democrats are frustrated that the republicans are moving forward with a bill that they have not seen yet. republicans say it's not 100% done. democrats feel like it already has been cut, shep. >> shepard: so they say they're going to vote on a bill next week that still isn't written? >> well, we expect the bill will be rolled out probably friday. we're hearing there won't be scribble in the margins. here's more from paul ryan a short time ago. >> they're going through the process of dotting the i and crossing the ts and making sure

the numbers work to bring a bill in final shape to get it going. we're very happy. >> republican leaders hope the house and the senate will approve the tax reform compromise next week. >> it provides a modern tax system that is tremendously competitive. one that will leap frog america to the lead pack among our global competitors and unleash the growth of jobs and paychecks here at home. >> speaker ryan says the goal is getting it done by christmas so taxpayers can have a new tax code in 2018, shep. >> shepard: thanks, mike. the deal that the house and senate have tentatively agreed upon would lower the tax rate for the wealthiest americans. this is a change the last few days. i believe it was 39.6%. >> correct. >> shepard: and now 36. >> 37%. so you're talking about 2.6 percentage points, this is a

decline. they're saying now that you can have $10,000 worth of property taxes and/or income taxes sheltered. that's a little tweak there for people wealthy. a little benefit for the wealthy. >> shepard: if you pay -- for instance, you're in a high tax state. texas, connecticut, new york, new jersey -- >> new jersey, california. >> shepard: if you pay a lot of state taxes and local taxes and borough taxes -- >> on and on it goes. >> shepard: is any of that deductible? >> my understanding is the big kahuna here are the income taxes. that is why they added this bit about both of these things in one combined deduction. because california has such high state income taxes. there's other states you don't think about like texas that has high property taxes. people there complaining about that. but i'm going to tell you, 2.6 percentage point cut is a big

deal. the major benefit goes to major corporations. they're going to bump it up to 21% from 20. cut 35%. that's a huge cut. that's not the only benefit the corporations are getting. remember, they can write down immediate expensing only solve only their equipment, bring money in from overseas at a one-time low rate. these are big benefits for corporation. the administration is betting and it is a bet, not known for sure, that these companies will expand and they will hire more people and do it right here in this country. >> shepard: the stock market has been thriving. it is at levels we've never dreamed up. >> that's an understatement. >> shepard: and that means the corporations have a lot more money. have they been using that money to hire people and give people raises and expand or not? >> the economy is growing. growing at a good pace. what was interesting, the federal reserve hiking interest rates today. why? the economy is doing better in part. but even they don't see the kind of growth that we have at this

very minute. their outlook for growth is much less. it's 2.5% for next year compared to what we're doing now, which is in excess of 3%. so yeah, we're doing better. the thing that is still missing -- i know you're concerned about this -- are wages. we don't have the wage growth that we want to see where all of that benefit goes to your bottom line and you go out and you spend and you save and you invest. >> shepard: the only other thing that i wonder if we won't be paying a lot of attention to in the next year or so, laws come with unintended consequences. when you put something together quickly as the detractors from this budget are arguing, you miss a lot of things that the corporate tax lawyers and tax accountants and tax attorneys will go in and find and give the rich people who are already getting a bit of a break here more of a break and more loop holes and they find themselves billions short. how much of a concern is that? >> i think that's an issue.

look, this is not tax simplification. -- >> shepard: they say it is, but it's not. >> when you start peeling away what it is for small business, lord, have mercy, it's the most complicated thing's ever seen. it's super complicated. once the tax attorneys get in there, it will be more complicated. another thing to keep the back of your head that is so interesting here and one of the things the federal reserve chairman was talking about, hey, we can get this big boon in growth. it can be pretty hefty and swift. then we'll have interest rates coming higher and higher. what does that in the end going to mean? >> shepard: inflation. >> can we get inflation that we're not expecting. >> shepard: we haven't had inflation in so long we don't remember what it was. >> that might be an issue. maybe we do need to remember what that is. >> shepard: my mother word kill me for saying don't hardly. she was a grammar teacher. didn't go well. >> i don't believe that.

>> shepard: everything was well for he. great to see you. >> good to see you. >> shepard: thank you. the republican roy moore refusing to call it quits despite returns that give the win to doug jones. we'll look at what is next. stay with us.

>> a fox report now. police say a truck slammed into a packed school bus seriously hurting two students. happened in central florida south of sebring. nobody died. a sheriff's office tells reporters, it's about as good as it can get when a semi hits a school bus. firefighters in california gaining ground against a huge wild fire in santa barbara. look at those flames. now they're bracing for stronger wind gusts that could whip them up. this is video they recorded last night. the thomas fire is one of the largest in state history. it's already burned more than 900 homes and buildings. would you look at this? a sheriff's deputy catching an

inmate that jumped off a second floor inside a jail. oops! happened in las vegas. cops say the inmate was threatening to leap off the railing. one tried grabbing him but he fell into the arms of another. in the end, nobody was seriously hurt. patrick woke up with a sore back. but he's got work to do. so he took aleve this morning. if he'd taken tylenol, he'd be stopping for more pills right now. only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain

for up to 12 hours with just one pill. tylenol can't do that. aleve. all day strong. all day long.

>> as republicans try to pass their tax bill before the christmas holiday, they're working against another deadline because their majority in the senate is about to sink. roy moore lost to doug jones in the special senate election. it's a major defeat for president trump in a deep red state. >> a lot of republicans are happy with the way it turned out. but i would have -- as the leader of the party, i would have liked to have had the seat. >> shepard: yeah, he endorsed him. luther strange will stay in the seat until the end of the year according to mitch mcconnell. luther strange took that seat that belonged to the current

attorney general, jeff sessions. in january, alabama will get their first democratic senator in a quarter century. when doug jones does take over, republicans will have a one-seat majority. 51-49. senate republicans have struggled to pass a major legislative achievement under president trump despite holding 52 seats this year. so their work will not get any easier. the president has congratulated doug jones on twitter and said he knew roy moore would lose. the president tweeted the reason i originally endorsed luther strange and his numbers went up mightily is i thought roy moore would win the general election. i was right. roy worked hard but the deck was stacked against him. after luther strange won, he joined steve bannon in endorsing roy moore. that marked a major split for republican leaders called for roy moore to quit the race after

accusations of sexual misconduct with teenagers. roy moore denied all of the sexual harassment claims and beyond. the president tweeted his support for the republican candidate. he called doug jones a puppet of democratic leaders and record add robo call for roy moore. he held a rally a few miles away in pensacola where he urged supporters to vote for roy moore. in the end, educated women went heavily for the democrat. african americans turned out in numbers similar to president obama's first white house victory. doug jones is a bona fide civil rights hero. yesterday african americans showed their thanks. let's get back to john roberts who is live at the white house. quite a night. >> it was certainly. you know, for the president, too. he was stuck in a box. he had to support roy moore. he couldn't say look, don't vote for the republican or, you know, write in some candidate there that they knew was going to lose.

he wanted to keep that seat. in the end, as he pointed out, it's 51-49 in the senate as of the new year. this could present real problems for the president's legislative agenda in 2018. he couldn't get they wanted through the senate with the 52-48 margin. now it's slimmed down even more so. he has big legislative items he wants to try to tackle next year, controversial ones. immigration reform, a fix to daca. he's been going back and forth with chuck schumer and nancy pelosi over what they want as part of a fix and what he wants as part of a fix. now they have a little more leverage on him. he also wants welfare reform and he wants to take another crack at obamacare as well. you can bet as well, shep, that democrats think there's blood in the water now after what happened to roy moore and the fact that as you pointed out, the first democrat to sit there in the senate for a quarter censure try and they will hammer the president on every front

between now and next november. what we're wondering here at the white house and i'm sure the president is remembering, is this a one-off that roy moore lost because of the allegations levelled against him? if a candidate like luther strange had been the candidate, would he have won? we're not sure. there's been a wave election for next november. if the president were to lose the senate next november, that would be bad. if he lost the senate and the house, that would be an absolute disaster for president trump. shep? >> john roberts on the north lawn. coming up as republicans plan for a slimmer majority in the u.s. senate, roy moore has not conceded to doug jones. we'll go live to montgomery with a look at what happens next.

>> shepard: so what do you do

you now if you lost the race in alabama? roy moore says it's time to wait on god and let the process play out, even as the returns give the within to democratic opponent, doug jones. roy moore's supporters say they're holding out hope for the final count. alabama's secretary of state says it could take weeks to officially declare a winner. he says it's highly unlikely the winner would be roy moore. jonathan serrie has been covering the race for us. he's live in montgomery. hi, jonathan. >> hi, shep. friday state election officials will process the write-in ballots, some 23,000 of them. next week they will look at provisionable and military ballots. so once those numbers are in, if the tally shows doug jones leading roy moore by half a percentage point or less, the state would have a recount. the jones' lead is above half a point, then there would be no

recount unless the moore campaign or some other qualified party in the state wants to foot the bill. the alabama secretary of state will certify the election respects between december 26 and january 23 in which the senate-elect can be sworn in. right now jones' lead is at 1.5 points. while this is still a razor thin margin, it's comfortably above that half point threshold needed to avoid the state mandated recount. but so far roy moore showing no signs of planning to concede this election, shep. >> shepard: jonathan, what do alabama's current senators say about doug jones victory? >> richard shelby and luther strange have offered warm welcomes to the apparent senator-elect in this state. as far as richard shelby, he says that he looks forward to working with doug jones.

when asked what message last night's election sent to alabama and the rest of the world, here's what senator shelby says. listen. >> i think basically the voters -- the majority of the voters chose principle over politics. >> what about steve bannon? was there a message to steve bannon? >> i'll leave that to ya'll. he didn't win. >> the other senator, luther strange, he only held that position for a brief amount of time. he is the outgoing senator because after all, he was defeated by roy moore in the republican primary. he offered some advice to the new senator-elect. take a listen. >> my advice to him, which is to do what i have done. form a close working relationship with richard shelby. we had the closest relationship of any two senators in the country. we've been effective because of that. >> doug jones says he plans to

reach out across the aisle. gop officials say they'll be watching doug jones closely, shep. >> shepard: jonathan serrie in his new home in montgomery. good to see you. how do you like to hand over your phone so your texts can be released to the world? it's been particularly problematic for two fbi officials that have been helping the special counsel robert mueller investigate russian's meddling. their texts show calling president trip and idiot and a loathsome human. the deputy general says the investigation has integrity and director mueller has everything under control. we'll hear from that in just a moment. [ keyboard clacking ] [ click ] [ keyboard clacking ] [ clacking continues ] good questions lead to good answers.

our advisors can help you find both. talk to one today and see why we're bullish on the future. yours. do you need the most trusted battery this holiday? maybe not. maybe, you could trust the world would be just as happy without them. (screaming) or, you could just trust duracell. ♪ it's beginning to look a lot like christmas ♪ or, you could just trust duracell. when food is good and clean and real, it's ok to crave. and with panera catering, there's more to go around. panera. food as it should be.

>> shepard: the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein defended robert mueller's russia investigation today saying there is no reason to fire mueller. >> have you seen good cause to fire muler? >> i haven't. we have special counsel subject to all the departments, rules and subject to oversight by the department including inspector general. i'm not aware of any violation of those rules by the special counsel employees. >> shepard: this comes after we're told that fox news obtained texts from the fbi agent peter strozk. the agent said i'm riled up. trump is a [bleep]ing idiot and unable to provide a coherent

answer. he was texting with an fbi law that worked on mueller's team and called the president a loathsome human being. president trump's oldest son, don jr., back on capitol hill. this time with the senate intelligence committee. last week he faced more than seven hours of questions from the house judiciary committee about his contacts with russians and wikileaks in the 2016 election period. robert mueller is looking into russia's meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion. the white house and russia president vladimir putin have repeatedly said there was no collusion. our chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live on capitol hill. what else did rosenstein said about robert mueller? >> he emphasized that peter strozk was fired as soon as

robert mueller learned about the anti-trump texts. he had other questions for the deputy attorney general. he wanted to learn about the composition of the special counsel team and the political donations to democrats. >> how with a straight face can you say that this group of democrat partisans are unbiassed and will give president trump a fair shake? >> congressman, it's important to recognize that when we talk about political affiliation, that all demonstrates political affiliation. bias is a different thing. we have a lot of experience managing offices in the department of justice. >> democrats warn the republican colleagues that allegations of political bias can really cut both ways. they also in one instance defended the fbi agent for simply stating what they say a lot of americans believe about candidate trip. >> i want to remind my colleagues that people are

allowed to have their personal opinions and their political affiliations. for instance, special counsel mueller and former fbi director james comey and you are life-long republicans. >> he didn't say anything about donald trump that the majority of americans weren't thinking at the same time. >> a lot of these key questions about the fbi agent, the fbi lawyer, whether the fbi paid for this dossier that was funded by the dnc and the clinton campaign, the deputy attorney general said all of these very important questions will be answered by this federal watch dog, the inspector general, who has been looking at the issues for several months and they expect the report eminently, shep. >> shepard: catherine herridge on capitol hill. thanks, cat. coming up a look back at what happened on this day in history and then top of the hour headlines from neil cavuto. don't go anywhere.

i am totally blind. and non-24 can make me show up too early... or too late. or make me feel like i'm not really "there."

talk to your doctor, and call 844-234-2424. ok, so with the award-winning our customers have 24/7 access, digital id cards, they can even pay their bill- (beep) bill has joined the call. hey bill, we're just- phone: hi guys, bill here. do we have julia on the line too? 'k, well we'll just- phone: hey sorry. i had you muted. well yea let's just- phone: so what i was thinking- ok well we'll- phone: yeah- let's just go ahead- phone: oh alright- the award-winning geico app. download it today.

looking for a hotel that fits... whoooo. ...your budget? tripadvisor now searches over... ...200 sites to find you the... ...hotel you want at the lowest

price. grazi, gino! find a price that fits. tripadvisor. >> on this day in 1918, woodrow wilson became the first sitting president to travel to europe. he went to france for peace talks following the first world war. wilson proposed the league of nations, an organization aimed at resolving conflicts through negotiations instead of war. the league of nations became official with the treaty of versilles and became the united nations after the first

president travelled across the pond 99 years ago today. there's big financial news today. the fed raised the interest rate a quarter point. cavuto will may sense of it right now. >> neil: we're on top of all of those developments and waiting for a presser by doug jones. he's providing a different flavor of an alabama representative to the united states senate. a democrat again taking over sometime in january, we're told. he's going to respond to reporter's questions and give a sense of roy moore who has not called it quits. there's talks that roy moore wants a recount but he might have to pay for itself. the loss is more than what would warrant a recount. we're going to get the read from doug jones on that shortly.