i am just saying. >> it is just fake. >> they're allergic to the truth. then you need more shade because you have a rash. thanks for watching. "america reports" is next. >> i don't know if we have a thing going round and round. he knows where we are. this deal won't solve all the problems. the president took a lot of things off the table but this will put us in the first step. >> that was house speaker kevin mccarthy, giving an update on where debt talks stand today. we are seven days out from potential default. any moment press secretary karine jean-pierre is set to brief reporters. i am sandra smith in new

york. john, hello to you. >> john: hello to you, sandra. i am john roberts in washington. this is "america reports." president biden and speaker mccarthy are working to nail down a deal. mccarthy says that could be any day now. despite both sides struggling to find common ground. >> sandra: the stakes couldn't be higher. rating agency putting the country's aaa rating on negative watch now as we approach the deadline. house majority leader steve scalise takes us inside the negotiations when he joins us live next h hour. let's go to the hill. what's the mood there? >> hey there, we are closer and closer to a deal, probably won't happen today according to folks that are close into the meetings and negotiations. this is all about leverage. and we are seeing clearly now that democrats don't really have much of it. a progressive chair woman

a mill a eye a pal wouldn't admit to tanking a supposed bad deal if presented by the white house, and that is a huge take away because we are talking about more than 100 members in the house. they've been throwing their weight around, do not want work requirements for government assisted programs and don't want any spending caps at fiscal year 2022 levels. and jay pal said americans may protest if there were items in a debt ceiling deal. i asked her point blank if that were included in a biden deal, would she tank it. watch. >> you're willing to tank it if it's not? >> they are willing to tank it. >> if the president, the white house and republicans come to an agreement tomorrow, let's say, and there are one or two items on there that you are not happy with,

are you willing to vote against that? >> we don't draw red lines about what a final bill is. what we have said is there are three proposals that republicans put on the table that are unacceptable. >> so no red lines. that's good news for negotiators. meantime, progressives would really like the president to use the 14th amendment instead to raise the debt ceiling. i asked him if that's perhaps undermining ongoing negotiations and they told me they actually don't think republicans are trying to come up with an agreement. democrats, sandra, are happy to blame speaker mccarthy if we do default, but they will not be willing or won't say if they're willing to give him credit if we avert a default. >> okay, isha half knee keeping track of it. thank you. >> john: the white house will face tough questions over an irs whistle-blower who claims there was preferential treatment in a high profile investigation believed to

be the hunter biden tax probe. gary half lee, 14 year veteran of the irs revealed his identity in an interview. a congressman is here on what democrats are saying about the latest revelations. we begin with david punt at the justice department. before we get to that, you have breaking news for us. >> that's right. following several stories on the justice beat. the first seditious conspiracy sentence has now been handed down from the attack on the capitol, january 6, 2021. that's for stewart rhodes, leader of the oath keepers. we can confirm he was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison. this came down just moments ago from federal judge meta. i want to read notes from producer jay gibson who was in the courthouse. according to the judge, he told stewart rhodes you celebrated it, meaning january 6th, you thought it was a good thing. your only regret is you

thought you should have brought the weapons and if you had, you would have hung nancy pelosi from a lamppost. that's from the judge. this trial went on for weeks. he was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for seditious conspiracy, a rare charge. the other story we are following from the justice department, folks here are watching closely at what's happening across the street at irs headquarters. that's where the wi, gary half lee, spoke with cbs news. take a listen. >> that was my red line meeting. it just got to the point where that switch was turned on and i just couldn't silence my conscience any more. >> he talks about an october, 2022 meeting with department of justice investigators. the commissioner of the irs wrote to republicans and democrats, says he has not been part of any retaliation plot regarding

any investigations. he said i want to state unequivocally i have not intervened and would not interfere in any way that would impact the status of any whistle-blower. i reached out to doj, they are not commenting on the allegation. he will appear object capitol hill tomorrow for a tribed behind the scenes interview. to be clear, john and sandra, he won't confirm he is speaking out about the hunter biden investigation because he is still an irs employee, has to follow certain rules. but multiple sources confirm that's exactly what he is talking about. another one we are watching, fbi christopher wray, director christopher wray faces a tuesday deadline to produce a document that republicans say contains an allegation that then vice president joe biden accepted a bribe for a policy change. he missed the subpoena deadline a few weeks ago. james comber admits he hasn't seen the document, says if he doesn't produce

the document by tuesday, he will begin contempt of congress proceedings. we know director wray and chairman comber are expected to speak next wednesday. curiously, john, sandra, that's one day after the fbi deadline. certainly multiple stories we are following. that's a big one we want to watch. >> busy week at the doj. david, thank you. sandra? >> sandra: let's bring in democrat california congressman on the committee. thank you for joining us. he became so concerned about prosecutors' handling of a high profile controversial investigation he felt duty bound to sound alarms. how concerned are you about the allegations? >> i supported whistle-blowers coming to congress. i support this gentleman's right to speak to the committee. i hope he would also speak to the senate committee. my understanding is he has been unwilling to speak to the senate committee where

democrats will also have a say being in the majority. >> that he be treated fairly? >> i do, i think we take on a bipartisan basis whistle-blowers very seriously. we respect their right to come forward. but he should not be partisan about it. he should do it at the house and at the senate and on both sides, we'll take seriously what he has to say and give him the respect that we would any whistle-blower. >> here is the whistle-blower in his own words on why he's decided to come forward. listen. >> when i took control of this particular investigation, i immediately saw it was way outside the norm of what i have experienced in the past. >> why do you want to navigate these waters? >> i don't want to do any of this. i took an oath of office. when i saw the egregiousness of some of these things, it no longer became a choice for me. it is not something i want to do, it is something i feel i have to do.

>> i immediately saw deviations from the normal process. way outside the norm of what i experienced in the past. i get that you say you always supported whistle-blowers, you want him to go before the senate committee as well, but how concerned are you about the seriousness of what he is saying there? >> well, i need to hear his entire testimony to make a determination. i will say in regards to the hunter biden case that you have a trump appointed attorney looking into the matter, and i have confidence in david weiss, i said we -- shouldn't poll i'm sorry size it, but i don't think we can assume that he doesn't have the right incentives given he was an appointee by donald trump. >> okay. david spunt from the reporter at the justice department wants to make

it clear that shapley's attorneys said it is not true that he refused to speak before the senate. he has offered according to his attorneys. >> that's good, maybe we are making some news here. that would be terrific if he speaks to both -- >> where did you get the information that he refused? >> it is what i had heard from people. >> that's a big statement to just hear secondhand, to say he has refused to speak before the senate and hearing from his attorneys that he is willing to and has offered. >> well, if he has that posture, good for him. my understanding was that he wanted to come to the house, not the senate. but like i said, i have no issue with the whistle-blower. i would always treat a whistle-blower with respect and i'm glad he is coming and would also go to the senate, but the underlying issue is that i have full confidence that

david weiss is doing a diligent job in his investigation. >> i want to get jim jordan's words in on failure of the fbi to turn over certain documents involved in the durham report. this is also on the biden whistle-blower. here is jim jordan. >> we are going to continue to investigate the fbi. mr. durham found no problemable cause, no predicate, no evidence. the key line in the report is the fbi failed in its fundamental mission of fidelity to the law. they didn't follow the law for goodness sakes and they're the top law enforcement agency in the country. this pattern, this mind set that i think existed way too many of the top people in federal agencies. >> okay. so obviously the report uncovered fbi wrongdoing. you have continued concerns about the direction of the fbi and failure to turn over

documents. we are about to get a white house briefing. what do you think the white house should be pressed on with these revelations in mind? >> first, i have a respectful disagreement with representative jordan in that i think that the fbi and law enforcement serve and protect our country. i have great admiration for people who wear the fbi uniform to protect us and i don't think that we should be politicizing that. in terms of transparency if there are documents that are appropriate, they should be turned over to the committee, but let's first have the documents before casting innuendo or aspersions on anyone. i would say that against a republican or democrat. >> finally on the debt ceiling talks and the latest on that, krarizona is claiming that the president is always wanting to negotiate with the gop. we will see if that's yet to happen or is happening.

but before i throw to this, what is the risk to your party with the upcoming presidential elections if the president doesn't ultimately work with republicans on this issue and come together on it. >> well, the risk is to the country. and we cannot have a default. everyone agrees on that. it is patriotic for america to pay our bills. it is patriotic for america to keep our word. we also agree that we need to figure out how to reduce the deficit. we can have a parallel conversation but we should talk about the price gouging at the department of defense with defense contractors that "60 minutes" did a report on, $100 million plus, talk about expenses in the health care system. talk about where the real costs are and find bipartisan ways of reducing it. >> so you think this is going to get done? we are about to hear from the white house on where things stand. >> i do think it will get done. i believe it will get done because at the end of the

day we are americans, we are patriots. we are not going to let the greatest country in the world default on its debt. that would be the best way of giving china leg up. >> before i let you go, is it somehow your understanding that that's what the gop wants here, that the republicans are aiming to default? >> my sense, i said that earlier, there was a consensus, including senator mcconnell that says default cannot be on the table. we can't afford default in this country. >> we are told cakarine jean-pierre is talking about it now. appreciate your time. here is karine jean-pierre at the white house. >> these discussions about two very different fiscal visions for our country and our economy. the president's plan, invest in america and grows the economy from the bottom up and the middle out. and it does that while reducing the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over ten years by asking the

wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share, and by slashing wasteful spending on special interests. house republicans proposed and passed a very, very different plan. they want to slash programs millions of hard working americans count on while protecting tax breaks skewed to the wealthy and corporations that will add 3.a $5 trillion to the debt. that's where the negotiations began. so the president and his negotiating team are going to continue to fight for the president's vision and for his priorities and they're going to do that in good faith. at the end of the day, everyone understands that the only way to move forward here is with a bipartisan reasonable agreement on the budget that can win support from both sides, from democrats and republicans in the house and in the senate. so there's no alternative to this. this is the path that we need to take and that's what we are focused onto

make sure we're getting things done for the american people. so before i go into questions, i just want to say a couple words about george floyd. today, three years after the murder of george floyd president biden paid tribute to george floyd, his family and advocates who fought tirelessly for reform and accountability measures. the president also vetoed a congressional republican led disapproval resolution that would have nullified crucial police reforms, many enacted in the district of columbia on an emergency basis in 2020 after george floyd's murder, such as banning chokeholds, setting important restrictions on use of force and deadly force, improving access to body worn camera recordings and requiring officer training on deescalation and use of force. the president has repeatedly said we have an obligation to make sure that all people, all

americans are safe and that public safety depends on public trust. it is a core policy of this administration to provide law enforcement the resources they need for effective accountability for community policing. last year, the president signed an executive order advancing effective accountability, accountable policing and criminal justice practices to enhance public trust and safety which requires federal law enforcement agencies to do the following. ban chokeholds, restrict no knock warrants, mandate use of body worn cameras, implement stronger use of force policies, provide deescalation training, submit use of force data to fbi use of force data collection, submit officer misconduct records into a new national database, and restrict transfer of military equipment to local enforcement agency. the administration made

significant progress implementing these goals in a white house fact sheet issued just this morning. we know achieving comprehensive and lasting change at the state and local levels requires congress to act. so today once again president biden is urging congress to pass meaningful reform legislation, including the george floyd justice in policing act. it is up to congress to send this to his desk. once they do, he will sign this law. okay. with that, josh. good to see you, my friend. >> good to see you. how are you doing on the deadline? >> a little better. how are you doing? >> i could be doing better. >> jet lag is real. >> two questions jacqui heinrich gi-- congress and prescribe will be in d.c. this weekend? >> i have this question, i can only speak for the president, i can't speak for the speaker, how he chooses to move forward

with congress. what i can say is that the president could deal with this issue anywhere he is. so i'll leave it as that. >> secondly, the supreme court said in a ruling today that wetlands can only be regulated under the clean water act if they have continuous surface connection to a larger regulated body of water. does the white house agree with this? >> a couple of things. i know this decision was clearly made as you laid out today. look, the way we see it, it aims, the court decision aims to take our country backwards. it will jeopardize the sources of clean drinking water for formers and millions of americans. look, the clean water act is the reason why america's lakes today are swimmable, why we can fish in streams and rivers, why safe drinking water comes out of our tap. it was passed as we know by a bipartisan majority

in congress back in 1972. it has since been used by republican and democratic administrations alike to protect our nation's land and water, so our legal team as you can imagine as you all know is carefully reviewing the decision and will have more to say on this soon. but know this, that president biden will use every legal authority available to him to ensure americans in every state have clean water and so clean water and not just clean but certainly safe to drink. so that's going to be a priority. go ahead. >> couple of questions on the debt ceiling. we're seven days out from treasury date. what is the white house message to americans who rely on payments from the government to pay their own bills? should people be worried there may not be a deposit for things like social security or military paychecks? >> our message continues to be and has been very clear that we are standing, this is a president standing up against what republicans themselves are saying is a

hostage taking and threatening default that would cause a recession, cost up to 8 million jobs and increase costs for all americans. that's what the president is fighting for. that's what we want to make sure americans know, this is what we have been trying to do the past couple weeks and we are fighting against republicans' extreme, devastating proposal that would slash as you heard me say law enforcement, education, food assistance, all these things are critical to american families trying to make ends meet. what the people should know that we are not taking hostages here, default is not an option, we want to reduce the deficit which is why the president made sure to make that a priority in his march 9th budget for physical at that 2024, which was decreasing debt, deficit by $3 trillion on

top of what he has been able to do, $1.7 trillion in the first two years, again, a historic number. we are negotiating with republicans in good faith. and as i mentioned yesterday and as the president mentioned sunday, we offered an additional cut to spending of $1 trillion on top of 3 trillion that we mentioned in our budget on march 9th. and on top of what we have been able to do the first two years. that's our focus. we are fighting for the american people, that's what we are going to continue to do. >> americans hear default is not an option and hear a guarantee from the white house the government will be able to guarantee their deposits. >> we are going to do everything we can that default is not an option. we heard from all four leaders this week from speaker mccarthy as well as the president say default is not an option. so that's what we are moving towards. >> has the president spoken to speaker mccarthy since the meeting tuesday? >> i don't have a call to preview at this time. >> why haven't they talked? >> the president is giving negotiators the space and the time to negotiate. we see if their

conversation is productive, i can let you know and some of you may already know, they met virtually at 11:30 this morning and we see this as a productive conversation and it is moving forward and hopefully in the path we would see a bipartisan reasonable bunch of negotiation. >> as negotiations progressed there's concerned from progressive lawmakers on what they can get. we don't negotiate with terrorists globally, why are we negotiating with the economic terrorists here, the republican party. very concerned that the president will give into republican demands for cuts. what assurances do you have for democrats across the country concerned that the white house will allow spending cuts. >> here's the thing. the president is fighting to protect clean energy manufacturing, fighting to protect health care, fighting to protect student debt relief and lower costs for prescription drugs and save the government money.

that's what the president is fighting for. that's what you saw in the march 9th budget. that's what he is going to continue to do. he is fighting against a proposal to take away health care and increasingly put people in poverty, american people in poverty. you saw this, when the president said this sunday, he is not going to agree on a deal that protects a $30 billion tax break for big oil which made $200 billion last year while putting health care for 21 million people, 21 million americans at risk by going after medicaid. he is not going to agree to a deal that protects 200 billion in subsidy for big pharma, and cuts over 100,000 school teachers, 30,000 law enforcement officers. we have been clear about that. we laid out what the president is fighting for and he is going to continue doing that. >> i am not hearing that another not ruling out cutting spending beyond

this current -- >> what i have said, we have been clear, we're not going to read out, i am not going to negotiate and read out conversations we have from here. what i can say is layout what the president said sunday, he is clear what he is fighting for, health care, clean energy, manufacturing, fighting to make sure student debt relief exists. all those things are really key to what the president is fighting for. he is not for taking away people's health care, talking 21 million people. he is not for that. and pushing people into poverty. no, he is not for that either. i'm not going to get into specifics of the negotiation but that's what the president has been clear on. >> is the president confident he can deliver the necessary democratic votes on any deal he agrees to with speaker mccarthy? >> look, a little bit about that. look, i'm not going to get to speak to exact number, right, that's not something i'm going to do from here, but the president and speaker have said the only way forward is to have a bipartisan reasonable budget agreement that's going to

mean leaderships and democrats in the house and senate. you look at votes during the trump administration, 70 to 200 house democrats voted to prevent default each time it came up in donald trump's tenure as president. of course, the senate requires 60 votes as we all know which will be, of course will mean you need a bipartisan vote in the senate. we know the vote will require again democrats and republican votes, which means that when you negotiate, when these negotiations happen, both sides have to understand that neither side is going to get everything that they want, so that's what we're working toward. that's what you can see from the negotiation team. >> treasury secretary janet yellen said she would provide more precise x date for default. has the white house gotten any indication from treasury what that could be? >> we have not.

that's something for the treasury department to answer. >> is the white house operating under the assumption a deal needs to be approved by june 1st? >> what i can really say about that, i can refer you to secretary yellen who said it would be as early as june 1st and today said -- and recently said it would almost certainly be june 1st. i can only refer you to what she has said. previously, most recently, i think earlier this week she has been pretty much communicating with all of you what the x date is to the american people. that's all i can share. >> the deal needs to be approved by june 1st. >> she said the likely x date is june 1st. we are trying to make sure we get the budget negotiation done as soon as possible so that we can make sure that we avoid default. again, default is not negotiable, it should be done without conditions. of course, we are working

towards this budget negotiation. >> thanks. he believed a deal to raise the ceiling was likely by friday afternoon. >> i don't have a tim timeline. we want this done as soon as possible. that's why the negotiators have been working around the clock, 24 hours practicely to get this done. they mentioned at 11:30 virtually, this is a priority, and we certainly see the urgency of getting this done as soon as possible. as relates to the debt limit, it can be done as had he land a young said, you can write this up in five minutes and get this done. you can write a piece of legislation in minutes and get this done. make sure congress does its constitutional duty. it is not a hard thing to do. >> can you give a sense whether negotiators are getting close? >> it has been productive. clearly that means there

continues to be a path forward. i am not going to get ahead of this, get ahead of the negotiation process. as i have said many times, they are productive, they continue to talk. negotiation, you need to have a conversation. that's continuing. that's an important step forward that we are seeing. >> we have reporting showing both sides are close to a deal. >> i'm not getting into details from here. >> a quick one on russia. russia moved ahead with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in belarus. do you have a comment on that? >> we have seen the reports of the russia belarus arrangement. i will continue to monitor certainly the implications. we haven't seen reason to adjust our own nuclear p posture, you heard us say that before, nor any indication russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons for belarus, speaking to that issue, this is yet another

example of making irresponsible and provocative choices. we remain committed to collective defense of the nato alliance and i'll leave it there. >> when you say that default is not an option, is that equal to saying to guaranteeing that there will be a deal or is there a viable plan b? >> so what i can say is there is no -- there really -- this is the only option is for congress to do its job and deal with the debt limit. that's the only option in front of us. that's the best option for the american people, the best way to make sure our economy doesn't get turned on its head, that we don't get a situation where we lose up to 8 million jobs, devastate retirement accounts. that's not an option. we are being consistent here. we have been saying though need to do their job. it is their constitutional

duty. been done 78 times since 1960. as relates to the negotiation, those are continuing. we want that to get done as soon as possible as well. it is important for the american people to see what we value and see in a bipartisan way that we will present to the american people and clearly to congress so it can get democrat and republican votes. >> so if there's not a deal, there's no plan b? >> what i can say is the only option right now is for congress to do their jobs without conditions. that's the way we need to move forward as relates to the debt limit. >> and one more on what the president said in his news conference, he suggested maga republicans may use default for political gain. does he include kevin mccarthy in that? >> we are working in good faith with kevin mccarthy right now, with his team. the hope is that we continue, that continues, good faith conversations to deal with the budget,

to deal with the budget negotiations. that's something that i would say as it relates, you heard me talk about specifically about what some house republicans were saying yesterday and what we wanted to make sure is we laid out the facts. that was coming from the freedom caucus, and you heard them argue against preventing default and against negotiating for bipartisan budget agreement in violation, that's actually in violation of what the speaker has said he wanted and what the speaker has said he is committed to, so we're going to flag that for all of you, flag that for the american people, but the speaker was very clear last week. he said when it comes to default, it is off the table. >> thanks, careen. first of all, few days since we heard from the directly on the state of negotiations, wonder if we may hear from him in the rose garden or later today to offer update. >> stay tuned, my friend.

>> and the former president is in the area, he was spotted -- >> which one. >> former president trump. >> a few formers out there. you have to be clear. >> he was spotted across the river at the liv golf tournament coming up. a reporter from the "new york times" spoke with him and the former president showed that he had recently spoken with speaker mccarthy, said they had a little quick talk and he predicted the talks would be getting a deal would be harder than people were expecting. i wonder if the white house has reaction to the fact that the current speaker is speaking to the former president. >> the speaker is allowed to speak to whoever he chooses and wants to speak to. i'm not going to certainly dive into that, step on that. what i can speak to is what the speaker has said very publicly himself just this week that default is off the table. we are continuing to have

productive conversations. negotiations continue. again, i just mention how two teams met this morning virtually at 11:30. that's a good sign that those talks are certainly continuing. we have said we think there's a path forward. there's a path forward to a bipartisan reasonable budget agreement, and as long as both sides understand that no one is going to get everything it wants, then we can get there. this is about the american people, about american families, making sure we are meeting their needs and that should be the focus. >> not an indication that the -- >> i don't know what the speaker said to the former president. i cannot speak to that. you would have to ask the speaker directly. what i can speak to is what we heard from the speaker directly and what his team is doing. we are continuing to have these good faith conversations. that's what's important. the negotiations continue. and so i think that's

what's important here. i cannot speak to a conversation, a hearsay conversation that's occurring, occurred. >> another topic, i was following twitter during the announcement of ron desantis and his candidacy. it appeared there were members of the president's team doing the same, enjoying a little of the glitches that appeared to be happening. >> was there a glitch? >> also to the fact that elon musk is offering his platform to a potential leading republican candidate for office. would the president consider doing the same on that platform? >> look, i am not going to speak to twitter and their operation as a private company. just not going to do that from here. as you know we follow the law here, this is an administration that cares about the law and certainly not using taxpayer money to campaign from here. that's something we have been consistent. also got questions from your colleagues about the president's policies, his agenda, how he sees moving forward, especially on the economy. honestly, we haven't had

time to take in any rapid unscheduled did i emblees. i will add that the president's focus is on middle class americans, making sure we deliver an economy that works for them, that doesn't leave them behind, builds the economy from bottom up, middle out. >> okay. >> tour where spending cuts may effect ukraine? >> you heard us say many times, the president -- >> some interesting moments in the press briefing room coming off the interview with the democratic, ro khanna, sounding optimistic there will be a deal and that it will get done.

kjp a moment ago talking about the debt negotiations, john, saying that the negotiations show, quote, two very different fiscal visions for our country. a few beats later taking about both sides, there's no way both sides will get what they want, which is a bit of a different tone than the white house has struck with the president will not negotiate. not sure what to make of that, take away from that, but it was said a few moments ago. >> compromise is often solution to many problems. however, as was noted in the briefing, progressive weighing of the democratic party is getting skquirrely as to what biden may give away. the house freedom caucus according to jackie haiyan rick is weighing in with demands. >> and jackie is in the briefing room and edward lawrence from the business network. we will get back to the briefing as soon as they

can get questions in, noting that the president is about to leave town. she was asked about that, him leaving town amid negotiations and karine jean-pierre said he can deal with this issue anywhere. >> except australia or new guinea. a week ago, he cancelled that part of the trip to get home for negotiations. clearly he can't do it from everywhere. let's bring in david, former campaign surrogate. want to talk about ron desantis and his campaign last night. karine jean-pierre talked about that a moment ago. first of all, the debt ceiling crisis. there's going to have to be a compromise. can biden sell it to progressives, and can mccarthy sell it to the freedom caucus. >> that's anyone's guess. we need to see the final package. there could be a deal as early as tomorrow, which could be in place by wednesday's default deadline. listen, you have good

people on both sides of the negotiation team, you have really thoughtful people as part of the process. i am hoping the extremes in both parties don't torpedo. saw ron a mcdaniel within the last 24 hours said this bodes well if we default for republican candidates for president. that has to be stu fundamentally put down. any thought of that. you saw the press secretary, you saw mitch mcconnell, even the speaker saying default is not an option. we need to drive that message home, doesn't bode well for republicans or democrats. >> fox news poll did find mrural tee would blame the president if we go into default. i mentioned house freedom caucus, only fair i say. they want to add to measures on border security, they want to cut funding for the new fbi

headquarters, want janet yellen to show data on x date being june 1st and covid and the irs to push the x date back to end of june. already and the way the freedom caucus cast it was speaker mccarthy, you're responsible for unity of the republican party. if you want to keep it, here's what you need to do. >> reasonable for many americans, those are reasonable requests being politically -- >> thrown in at the 11th hour though. >> negotiations happen all the time, john. we don't think that progressives aren't throwing things in for the president now to try to negotiate, they are. keep in mind the big picture. politically joe biden must have a deal. you're looking at 33% of americans think he is up for doing the job of president of the united states. he must have a deal.

we can talk about the freedom caucus and progressives, but you know who he needs? he needs joe manchin. which is why what is in this negotiation, the mining reforms so there can be more oil and coal drilling. he needs joe manchin more than any other democrat in the senate. >> and with manchin facing a huge xcompetitor for his senate seat, he is not about to give up on some things he truly believes in. go to ron desantis. karine jean-pierre stole my line. i was going to say this was put on by spacex instead of twitter, it would be a rapid dis-aemplea. i would think he wants an epic launch, not the twitter launch last night. >> you don't get a redo for this. in the short term, we are talking about this. governor desantis heads out next week for a four day swing. that will be the talk of the town up there. people move on quickly. again, seeing trump and

other republican cont contenders, the president getting in on desantis's failure to launch yesterday. i think that speaks volumes. president trump is leading ron desantis by 33 points in the most recent poll, by 40 points -- >> 33 in fox apology, 40 points in iowa, must win political first state. trump up ten points since february, desantis down nine points. he has to flip that script. see if he does it next week. >> his inauguration was bernankesed only by coronation of king charles. why launch your presidential campaign like this? >> let's not forget, only thing that matters is winning and the amount of attention he is getting so ea early, this is the most insider of insider conversations. folks in iowa and south carolina, new hampshire, we're not the ones that cast votes that get to pick the nominee. and as this discussion

continues and desantis gets to talk about the success he's had in florida, he is going to remain a contender at least awhile. >> spacex learned a lot from blowing up rockets. maybe desantis will as well. good to see you. >> all right, thank you so much. gop lawmakers say the biden administration is punishing responsible americans for trying to buy a home making them pay higher borrower rates. and the housing mortgage hits a bump. bring in mike rowe from mike rowe works foundation. that's a bit more than a speed bump. we have gone from free money to -- it is becoming expensive for the average american to buy a home in this country. what's the goal behind invent advising bad kcredit behavior for hard working americans. we want to get some folks into a home but do you want push people into a home they can't afford and

disi disinventivize. >> i don't know what the goal is. if there's a consequence of this, i will give them the benefit of the doubt and say it will surely be unintended. i could be wrong. i don't know. improbable out of my lane a little on this one, but seems like the mind-set behind it is very similar to the mind-set that compelled peopleah, let's get electricians and plumbers who never went to college to pay off a trilliog behavior we ought to be discouraging. look, it is a macro problem. i am a micro guy. mike rowe focuses one person at a time. we're trying to do what we can in this very weird environment to make a more persuasive case for nine and a half million jobs that do exist that don't require a four-year degree that can hopefully lead to

the kind of home ownership we would like to see everybody have a crack at. >> by the way, who is to say it doesn't punish those in the lower income tier, hard working americans with good payment history who are now going to have to pay more than those who don't. this is congressman warren davidson making that case, slamming biden's proposal. listen. >> you can have someone who is low income but very responsible, manages a tight budget, pays their bill on time, could be hit with a higher fee and subsidize somebody with mrplenty of money but doesn't pay on time. it is a socialist redistribution of wealth. it is that simple. >> that's a fair point to make, mike. >> look, again, it is hard to do anything but shake your head and maybe scratch it, wonnder if you're missing something.

in my much simpler world all we can do at this point is provide the country with modest examples of people who prospered as a result of learning a skill, mastering a trade, going to work. it is discouraging to those people. it is very discouraging to those people who played by the rules to see somebody else's thumb on the scale and to see things weighted against them like this. i wish i could speak to it other than to say that we don't do that. >> you say it might not be your lane, the lane of economists, the administration likes to lean on's economists for their thoughts. we spoke to one that worked in the obama administration who advised former president obama who said on this program we get wanting to help out homeowners, get people into homes, but this is not the way to do it. here are two economic experts slamming the proposal. listen. >> it is a bad policy

step. it lacks integrity. that's not how you sheriff's department make housing policy. >> you have a high credit score you have to pay more? this could be $100 a month more, depending on the size of the loan. it makes no sense. >> perhaps we said whawe most economists look at that and say it is not possible for that to end well. meanwhile, you are taking aim at young americans and the mind-set over working in this country and the lack thereof of people going to work today. you want to show that success doesn't come from a four-year degree. you're focusing on ap appr apprenticeships, this is the mike rowe works foundation, and this is an awesome idea. we need more of this in this country, mike. you see the job openings and people not willing to fill them. >> well, thanks. we have been at it 15

years now. i am pleased to say the headlines have caught up to a certain degree with what we have been preaching from the jump which is you can prosper without going to a four year school. and circling back just a second, part of the missed perceptions and stigmas that keep people from pursuing a career in the trades inspire people to automatically assume that home ownership is the great goal and if you don't attain that goal, you're not going to be happy. these two things are linked in a way i hadn't thought about. not everybody needs to live in a home. not everybody needs to go to a four-year degree, and assume the debt that comes with both those things. people ought to set the table more even handedly and think more long term before they sign on any dotted line. >> it is a great discussion to have and a great thing to be getting out there because as we have always noted, college isn't for everyone. but work certainly can be.

there's a lot of jobs that don't require the four year degree. mike, thank you so much. we hope to continue that conversation with you. thanks for joining us. >> anytime. appreciate it. >> john: sandra, at the white house, president biden is set to nominate next chairman of joint chiefs of staff to replace mark milley. it could happen any minute now. plus this. >> a name for me? >> yolanda. >> a woman and her tv crew forced to duck and cover during a drive-by shooting in memphis, tennessee. that brave woman and that video, will be joining us live to tell us how that went down and how did she stay so calm through it all. veteran homeowners, want to lower your monthly payments and get cash? with a home loan from newday, take out an average of $70,000, pay off debts and high rate credit cards, and save hundreds every month.

♪ hit it ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a thing go right ♪ ♪ it takes two to make it outta sight ♪ ♪ one, two, get loose now ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a... ♪ stay two nights and get a $ 50 best western gift card. book now at bestwestern.com. the subway series is getting an upgrade! the new #19 the pickleball club. who knew the subway series could get even better? me, i knew.

maybe you should host a commercial then. sure, okay. subway series just keeps getting better. (vo) with their verizon private 5g network, associated british ports can now precisely orchestrate nearly 600,000 vehicles passing through their uk port every year. don't just connect your business. (dock worker) right on time. (vo) make it even smarter. we call this enterprise intelligence.

>> we wafrrrant to take you to the rose garden where president biden will nominate the next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. right now, he is talking debt ceiling. let's listen in. >> it is not about

default. it is about competing businesses for america. under my administration we cut the deficit $1.7 trillion in the first three years, but speaker mccarthy and i have a very different view of who should bear the burden of additional efforts to get the fiscal house in order. i don't think the burden should fall on working class americans. my house republican friends disagree. instead, republicans passed a bill that would make huge cuts in important programs that millions of working and middle class americans count on. huge cuts in number of teachers, police officers, border patrol agents, and increase wait times for social security claims. i won't agree to that. i put forward a proposal that cuts spending, freezes spending the next two years. that's on top of nearly $3 trillion in deficit reduction i previously proposed through a combination of spending cuts and new revenue raises. i propose making the wealthy begin to pay their fair share which will reduce the deficit, but it won't cut programs for

hard working americans depending on those funds to continue tax returns for the wealthiest americans. america and america's largest corporations. but we can reduce the deficit in the short and long term. a combination of spending cuts, programs that help big oil and big pharma, closing tax loopholes, making the wealthy pay their fair share. reduce the deficit $1.7 trillion my first two years without raising a current in taxes above anyone making less than $400,000. the economy is growing. the only way to move forward is with a bipartisan agreement and i believe we will come to an agreement that allows you to move forward and protects the hard working americans in the country. now for the reason we are here. i am sure you didn't come to hear that.

vice president harris, secretary austin, representative calvert, representative calhoun, calhoun is not here, mccollum. i want to thank you for joining us. chairman milley, i want to start by thanking you for years of service as chairman and for your lifetime of selfless commitment to our country. i also want to thank your incredible wife holly ann and two children, peter and mary. your family has served alongside you every step of the way and our entire country is grateful. as chairman you led our military through the most complex security environment the world has faced in a long, long time and we strengthened our alliances from nato to the

inched oh pacific and built new partnerships, anticipated new threats and domains of space and cyber, address challenges that transcend borders and responding to global pandemics by tackling the existential threat of climate change. we continue to take terrorists off the bat he will field, rallied the world to stand with the brave people of ukraine as defender of freedom against aggression. through everything, secretary austin and i have had candid and direct counsel. i value his insight. more than that, i truly enjoyed working with you. i trust you completely. completely. you helped set our country and military on a course that will put is in the strongest possible position to succeed in years ahead. i am looking forward to continuing our work as you finish your term, prepare to pass the baton to your successor. i have the honor of introducing my nominee to be next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general charles q. brown jr. he is a warrior, descended from a proud line of warriors. his father, u.s. army kernel, served in vietnam,

grandfather, u.s. master sergeant led a unit in world war ii. and command pilot general brown brings to this role more than 3,000 hours of flying experience, including 130 combat hours. he knows what it means to be in the thick of battle and how to keep your cool when things get hard. like when your f16 was on fire. and you returned to the basin florida, he had to eject more than 300 miles per hour landing in the everglades. that's a lot of fun, huh? well, i tell you what, he is back in the cockpit the next week with a new call sign, swamp thing. new call sign. i asked him inside the oval what it was like, but i'll tell you about that later. general brown is a war fighter who commanded in

europe, middle east and indo pacific. has unmatched knowledge of operational theaters and strategic vision to understand how they all work together to ensure the security for the american people. while general brown is a proud butt kicking american airman, first and always, he has been an operational leader of the joint force. he gained respect across every service from those that have seen him in action and come to depend on his judgment. more than that, he gained respect of our allies and partners around the world who regard general brown as a trusted partner and top notch strategist. no matter how complicated the mission, from helping build and lead the coalition now more than 80

nations strong to counter isis threats in the middle east to positioning the air force for the future in the indo pacific, general brown has built a reputation across the force as an unflappable, highly effective leader. someone who creates an environment of teamwork, trust, and executes with excellence. and someone who smokes a mean brisket. general brown says he doesn't play for second place. he plays to win and that's obvious. that mind-set is going to be enormous asset to me as commander in chief and to the united states of america as we navigate challenges in the coming years. over the past three years as chief of staff of the air force, general brown has become known for his signature approach. accelerate, change, or lose. accelerate, change or lose. general, you're right on. as i've often said, our world is at an inflection point where decisions we make today will determine the course of our world for decades to