a 401(k) is the most sound way to go. let's talk asset allocation. -sure. you seem knowledgeable, professional. would you trust me as your financial advisor? -i would. -i would indeed. well, let's be clear, here. i'm actually a deejay. ♪ [ laughing ] no way! i have no financial experience at all. that really is you? if they're not a cfp pro, you just don't know. find a certified financial planner professional who's thoroughly vetted at letsmakeaplan.org. cfp. work with the highest standard. hello, i'm sheinelle jones at msnbc world headquarters in new york city. it's 1:00 in the east, 10:00 out west. within the hour, we're expecting to hear from vice president mike

pence who's visiting a small electronics factory. this is near columbus, ohio. we're told he'll make some remarks about the growing economy, so we'll certainly keep you updated on that over the next hour. meanwhile, a new poll out this afternoon shows a majority of americans want an independent investigation of russia. at the same time calls for house intel chair devin nunes to recuse himself from the investigation continues to grow. here's what house minority leader nancy pelosi told my colleague, joy reid, a little earlier. >> do you think he has credibility now? >> no. >> as the leader of that investigation? >> no. i think thought only has he lost all credibility, i think he's tarnished the office that he holds. he's brought discredit to a very, very serious position in the congress. >> but house intel committee chair devin nunes is standing by his decision to share information that he learned from president trump. here's what he told our local affiliate in fresno, catliforni, yesterday. >> and they're saying he's just too close to give a fair

investigation when that investigation might involve the white house. do you understand those criticisms? >> yeah, i 3450emean i do. it always goes back to who else is going to do it? there's only so many -- at the end of the day, someone has to do it. i'm sure that all the republicans in congress voted for president trump. all the democrats voted for hillary clinton. i mean that's just how it is. at the end of the day, we're accountable to our voters. and like i said, this whole issue that we briefed the president on -- that i briefed the president on had nothing to do with russia. >> senator lindsey graham this morning vowing to investigate any allegations tying the trump campaign to russia. in fact here's what he said at a town hall earlier. >> let's look at flynn. the working for turkey, i don't know -- i don't know how they missed that. so that's something we'll look at, right? and manafort, let's take a look

at him. let's see what kind of business dealings he has. >> the president has been tweeting about a few topics, including health care today. let's go to nbc's kelly o'donnell at the white house. kelly, what's he saying? >> reporter: good to be with you again. the vice president has public events today. we're looking to the twitter feed to hear from president trump, who remains here at the white house. a couple of different top ibs. he's taken on the media, including nbc news and "the new york times" and talking about the russian investigation, which definitely gets under his nerves. also talking about surveillance and unmasking of individuals, all a part of that intelligence conversation. but health care is a topic as well. we've been told the white house wants to move on from the failed attempt to repeal health care, but the president is talking about it. he's citing what appears to be a "new york times" quote. the failing new york city times, as you know he likes to brand things, finally gets it. in places where no insurance

company offers plans, there will be no way for obamacare customers to use subsidies to buy health care plans. in other words, the president says ocare, his abbreviation, is dead. good things will happen, however, either with republicans or dems. so leaving things open for the president to leave the door open to work with fellow republicans or leaving the door open to working with democrats. we've heard from many democrats that they would be willing to talk about changes to the existing health care law where it needs some fixes and some adjustments but not repealing what was a signature achievement of president obama. so health care still on president trump's mind, even if it's not something that we have any evidence is moving forward in terms of a legislative agenda in the near term. in talking with advisers to house speaker paul ryan, they say they're having conversations with members, but nothing is scheduled. and, sheinelle, it will be interesting to watch as members of congress go home on the

easter break as well as things like the town hall meeting held by lindsey graham in south carolina and other members will do this, trying to measure what do voters think after health care? are they wanting this white house to take it up again? are they feeling a victory that the health care law, obamacare, remains in place? that's part of what leadership will be looking for is how do voters, constituents, respond to all of this when their representatives either from the house side or the senate side are back home and talking about these issues. sheinelle. >> that's a good question. kelly o'donnell, as always, thank you this afternoon. with the shadow of russia story hanging over the white house, the administration is kind of struggling to stay fo focused on the trump agenda. joining me now is barbara lee, a democrat that represents california's 13th district. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> the president ignored questions at his public

appearances. in your opinion how crippled is an administration mired down by controversy? >> they're very crippled. my heart goes out to those individuals who supported and voted for donald trump. when you look at their agenda and what they have tried to do, immediately they have tried to take away their health care. the majority of people who would have been affected by the repeal of the affordable care act would be donald trump supporters. when you look at the wealth and the power and the background of those individuals who he has appointed as cabinet members, as steve bannon has said, they're there to deconstruct the administrative state. and when you see their huge budget cuts that will affect the most vulnerable people, low income, working people, the middle class, many of donald trump supporters, they're going after these individuals. so their agenda is an agenda that's very scary and very dangerous. >> it's interesting that you say

that because you say your heart goes out to them but we've done so many stories and so many voters who voted for trump are still happy. they still say the jury is out. they're not complaining. and then i think about it, a lot of them are looking at the democrats of the in fact president trump now saying he's got this willingness on health care for bipartisanship, if you will. are democrats like yourself, are you willing to work with him? a lot of his supporters are now looking at you guys. what would you say? >> the first thing that he has to say and the republicans must say is that we're not going to repeal the affordable care act. where we can improve it, sure, we want to bring down the cost of prescription drugs and make health care more affordable, but my goodness, when you talk about taking away the essential benefits such as emergency care, maternity care, all of the essential benefits that were a part of the affordable care act, we're not going to let that happen. and so the president and speaker ryan should start out by saying, okay, we've come to the

realization that this is going to hurt too many people if we repeal the affordable care act. let's see how we can improve it. >> let me get your take on what lindsey graham said about working with democrats. this was just this morning at a town hall on his home turf. >> i told president trump yesterday. i like paul ryan, but when paul said -- i like paul ryan. but paul said something that i don't agree with. there are a lot of people watching on tv, let's get this out. so paul ryan said if the house freedom caucus doesn't watch it, you're going to force trump to work with democrats. you know what my answer would be? i hope he does. >> what do you think about that? he seems to be saying, listen, i'll work with democrats. >> we don't know who he's willing to work with because the president every day comes up with something new. and i just have to tell you, they're in total disarray. when you look at the fact that president trump -- he cannot tolerate dissent and so he goes

from one caucus to the other, when in fact there are those who oppose him. moderates oppose him, the freedom caucus oppose him. of course the democrats don't want to move forward on any repeal of the affordable care act. so we don't know where he is every day, it's something new. so they're in disarray and who knows where this is going. >> so how will the health care failure affect any legislation going forward, like tax reform? >> well, we have to see because in fact part of the affordable care act strategy and part of their bill included a $600 billion tax giveaway to millionaires and billionaires. they needed the repeal so that they could pay for the $600 billion for millionaires and billionaires so i don't know how this moves forward because their overall agenda is about looking out for millionaires and billionaires, the very wealthy, and giving them more tax cuts. we can see this through the

financial statements of his administration, through the cabinet officials, they're very wealthy, they're millionaires and billionaires and that's their agenda. >> tell me if i'm right about this. it seems if there's one area democrats can get on board, with perhaps it's infrastructure. what would you like to see come out of a plan for rebuilding the country's roads and bridges and tunnels and airports? >> let's hope that we can come to some agreement on infrastructure. our roads knees rebuilding. it includes broadband and technology for low income communities. they need infrastructure in that aspect. many of our ideas are good ideas that would put people back to work. but we've got to determine how to pay for that. and to this date we haven't heard the president come forward in terms of his willingness to invest public dollars in creating jobs and that's what an infrastructure bill is about also, not only helping to fix

and repair bridges and roads, but also creating good-paying jobs through public investment. this administration has never said anything about that. so we'll see where they want to go with this, but we are willing to help create jobs in our country to help american families. >> i have to wrap, but do you have any optimism or at least any hope that we'll get some things done or things that you would like to see accomplished over the next four years? >> i have to be optimistic because american -- american people are relying really quite frankly on democrats to get something done. we've got to get past this cloud, though, of corruption and the investigations with regard to russia's influence in our election. we've got to have a bipartisan commission to look into what has transpired -- >> but if that cloud -- let's say the cloud lingers, worst case scenario, for two years. does that mean americans watching right now don't get any progress because of this cloud that continues to hover? i mean can we work through a cloud? i don't know the answer, i'm

just asking. >> well, certainly we're trying to work through a cloud. excuse me, i'm on the appropriations committee and the budget committee. when you look at these extreme budget cuts, for example, deconstructing the administrative state and that's what these budget cuts do, democrats are trying to make sure that people aren't hurt and that the most vulnerable don't -- we don't create more havoc in the lives of low income and working families. and so right now we've got to play defense and offense and try to make sure that we do no harm and they do no harm so we have to be hopeful an optimistic. i tell you, it's the american people, it's the resistance movement, it's people really beginning to come forward and raise their voices and make this democracy work is what is going to help us defeat this very unamerican trump agenda and move forward and help americans live the american dream. >> i have to leave it there. congresswoman barbara lee, thank you for your time on this saturday. >> thank you. still ahead, speaking of clouds, rising above it all, how

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president trump marks his 100th day in office four weeks from today. opportunities for him to check items off his to-do list by that time are fading. investigations into russia, the fractured republican party and all of this hampering his agenda. with me now, we have seman media along with katherine rempel. i'll ask a question to both of you. we have a month left until the first 100 days are up. what can the president do in your opinion, what can he accomplish in that time to turn the stories of controversy and scandal and partisanship around. >> i think he has an amazingly

difficult challenge ahead of him because the kinds of skills that made him an effective deal maker in the private sector and his own business have not translated into government, into being the leader of the free world. he hasn't confide learned that lesson. rather than bringing various factions closer to him, he has alienated people on both sides of the aisle. so i don't exactly know how he can check any of those things off his bucket list at this point, given that he has very few friends left. >> seema, before you answer here, can i just acknowledge the fact, and i mentioned this a little earlier today, we say these things and i sit here and talk with journalists and experts, but when i go out into the, quote unquote, real world, i'm from kansas, for example, there are so many people who are not fazed by any of this. they voted for trump. at this point they're not complaining. >> right. if you look at what he's tried to do, he has tried to do what he said he would try to do during the campaign. he hasn't been successful, but he did try to do the travel ban.

he did try to repeal and replace obamacare. the thing is, has he learned any lesson. i think obamacare is the perfect example. did he learn any lessons on how -- something republicans have been talking about seven years. did he learn about why he was not able to do that and is he going to be able to unite the republican party? what we saw was a fracturing of the republican party. in the days that followed since then, he's sort of gone to war with the house freedom caucus. so is he going to be able to accomplish anything in congress if he's anchgering a section of republicans an alienating democrats. it's hard to see how he accomplishes things on his agenda. his supporters so far see him trying to do exactly what he said he would do on the campaign trail. >> catherine, i want to mention your writing on some pending action by the president that could force hundreds of thousands of immigrants out of this country. how can you explain it to viewers. if you could keep it simple, what would you say? >> to the extent that trump has the ability to make good on any

of his promises, his best route is actually through getting congress, for example, to repeal the kinds of rules and regulations that the obama administration put in place. in this particular case, this doesn't require congress, but basically the obama administration two years ago instituted a rule that said that the spouses of people who were here on high skilled visas waiting for their green cards, basically they had been approved for green cards but there was a big backlog for people from certain countries, including india and china, those people could work because for many, many years these people were here, they were in many cases highly skilled, but they were legally barred from having any kind of paid work. so a couple of years ago, the obama administration said, look, the system is broken, the green card system is broken. for now if you've been preliminarily approved for a green card, you're allowed to work here and allowed to start a business. that particular rule was challenged in a court case and that court case is now on

appeal. and one easy solution for the trump administration to basically revoke the ability of these hundreds of thousands of people to work is just to say we're going to stop defending this case and we're waiting for monday actually, monday they're going to announce what they're going to do, whether they'll continue defending case or not, but this is a back doorway of preventing legal immigrants, mostly women, mostly high skilled, from continuing to work an own their own businesses. >> so these are wives, for example, let's say their husbands are highly successful, they moved here to the states and the wives couldn't work. >> i've talked with a number of families where the husband is here on what's called an h-1b visa. they have been preliminarily approved for a green card but there's a decades-lock backlog to get a green card. the wives had given up their careers but thought that would be temporary. you know, they have masters grows, they might be teachers,

engineers themselves. when they got here, they thought there would be only a brief period where they were barred from the labor force. many of them have ambitions to work. some of them wanting to stay home, but many of them want to have paid work. they thought there would be a temporary delay and then they got stuck in this backlog. again, the obama administration said, okay, while you're on the wait list, you've passed all of your screening and everything, you're allowed to get a job or to start a business. and jeff sessions was vehemently against this when he was in the senate. trump appears to be against this. as i said, one kind of back doorway of undoing this rather than going through the really long and arduous process of create a new regulation or new rule is just to say, hey, we're just going to stop defending this particular rule in court because the rule has been challenged by basically an anti-immigrant group. >> you'll have to keep us posted on what happens there. i want to squeeze in another topic here, something coming out overnight are the financial disclosures from white house

staffers. jared kushner, ivanka trump. though filings show they're worth near low $800 million and ivanka has a substantial stake in her father's hotel in d.c., perhaps as much as $25 million. seema, i'll bring you in here. why should people in des moines or cleveland care about how much money these folks are making? >> trump ran as a populist so it's interesting to see how much wealth he's surrounded by. he also ran just talking about draining the swamp. the disclosures close four people with ties to goldman sacks. this just shows how difficult it is to unwind their financial interest with their jobs which raises questions about conflict of interest. if they had wealth they could simply put in a blind trust, that would be different. even if they're no longer directly involved with these businesses, that hotel that you mentioned, people know that this is a trump hotel. people know that it's connected with their family. so people who might want to influence them and curry favor, they might stay there, they might have events there.

so it's really difficult for them to disentangle themselves from these entities, even if they officially have no role in them anymore. >> all right. i have to leave it there. thank you for your time. they may be fields of dreams for farming families in the nation's bread basket, but could they become a nightmare and is it all a result on president trump's stuff stance against mexico? that's next. yeah, so mom's got this cold. hashtag "stuffy nose." hashtag "no sleep." i got it. hashtag "mouthbreather."

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bread basket. still ahead, a report card on his presidency. a letter grade for president trump, next. i realize that ah, that $100k is not exactly a fortune.

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welcome back. i'm sheinelle jones here at msnbc world headquarters in new york. happening now, vice president pence is visiting an electronics maker near columbus, ohio. he's expected to make some remarks about the economy shortly. meanwhile, president trump has no scheduled public events so he could be spending the day at the white house and the president's report card in a new poll finds growing discontent. nearly one-third give the president an f, nearly half give him a d or f. 37% give him an a or b. protesters in paraguay of stormed the country's congress after its senate secretly voted for a constitutional amendment allowing the president to run for re-election. several politicians and journalists have been hurt in

the unrest. we'll keep you posted on that. in the last hour you just saw senator lindsey graham rapid up another contentious town hall meeting in south carolina, his third one this month. let's go to vaughn hilliard who's in north charleston where it all happened. what stood out to you this time? >> reporter: sheinelle, i want to play you a sound bite of lindsey graham, who's been one of the fiercest critics of donald trump, particularly on russia and the potential trump campaign's connections to russia during the campaign last year. but i want to play a sound bite for one issue in which lindsey graham got a lot of boos and it was over the supreme court and the confirmation process of judge neil gorsuch. this is what lindsey graham said. >> the democratic members of the senate who want to filibuster this guy, you're taking the senate down a very dangerous path. don't do it. so i will vote to report him

out. and if i have to, i will vote to change the rules because i'm not going to allow president trump to be denied the same opportunity that every president has had for 200 years because you're mad and you can't accept the outcome of an election. >> reporter: sheinelle, republicans need eight democrats to move forward with the confirmation process. unless they change the senate rules, which is what lindsey graham was referring to there. right now they only have two democrats. he was suggesting a simple majority could move that confirmation process along. how about this, half the time was focused on russia and much of the conversation of folks waiting in line was on russia. first i want to take you to west virginia where i was at democratic senator joe manchin's town hall. i've been in oklahoma, kansas, west virginia, michigan, much of

what you hear from people is saying, hey, republican, we want to focus on the broader agenda of donald trump and the russia issue is not the most -- i want to play a sound bite from yesterday. >> first republican president i ever voted for in my life and i will vote for him again. he's one of the best presidents i've ever seen. he's for the working man. i'm a 100% joe manchin man. anybody is crazy to not vote for him. he's for us, just like donald trump. >> reporter: this isn't to suggest that the potential enormity of trump campaign connections to russia to minimize the potential enormity of it, but at the same time it'sment to, you see in these places there's still a focus on donald trump's broader agenda and their support of him. but republican lindsey graham,

here at this town hall today, he said, though, that he supports full investigation by both the house and the senate and the fbi into those potential connections. he said nunes, the house, they're off into a ditch, to quote lindsey graham, and he said it's becoming weirder by the day. the michael flynn situation, he said the senate should continue to investigate paul manafort, his potential ties to russia and his business entities over there. but sheinelle, again, lindsey graham is one of those few republicans that has been an outspoken critic of the trump administration and been calling for full investigation into it. >> i like the range that you've had. you've talked to both sides there. thank you for your reporting there. many of the voters at that down hall were democrats, but he did talk to some trump supporters. we decided to hear from one today. for that we're going to bring in carl higby who ran for a connecticut congressional seat in 2014. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> i want to get your take on some of the news of the week. let's start with mike flynn, his

attorney saying, listen, he has a story to tell, he wants immunity or floating that around around. president trump backed him on that. what's your take on what will happen on all of this? >> i know mike flynn. i think he's an enormously honorable man. if they don't grant him some sort of immunity, who knows what they'll stick to him so he's probably going to plead the fifth. if they want to get to the bottom of this case, give him the immunity. >> i want to get your take on what sean spicer said yesterday at the white house press briefing about the focus boy the media. let's listen an then we'll chat. oh, we don't have that sound bite. >> not this time. >> essentially he was just saying that he feels like sometimes -- you know it already, that the media, we're going after the wrong things, that we're not focusing on the issues at hand. do you think that there's something to that, that the media is biased or we're not fair or focusing on what we should be focusing on? >> absolutely media bias. and we've seen it during this

election, we've seen barack obama hated fox news. me and frankly everybody else hate the rest of the media networks. but the issue here is it's the same story perceived completely different ways by different networks. >> so you're in connecticut, a very blue state. do you talk with trump supporters? what are they saying? i bring this up because quite often our viewers who are watching are saying trump is horrible, how can people support him, look at all of these scandals. then we talk to people all over the country who are trump supporters who don't have a problem with what's going on. so as a trump supporter, what do you make of all these scandals and the questions about russia? >> i live in the bluest county in connecticut, which is fairfield county. people who voted for hillary clinton are coming out, you know what, i like what trump idoing of the he got rid of tpp, he got the keystone pipeline, he's brought in hundreds of thousands of job commitments. tax reform has to get passed this year. people who were on the fence who

didn't vote for donald trump are actually in favor of his agenda. they think this russian crap is all fodder. >> i was just going to ask you about that. so if we're here in the media saying the russia ties or what have you, does that bother you at all? do you think there is an issue there? >> no. and the people who are touting this agenda have consistently failed to put forth exactly what happened. >> don't you think they should at least investigate what's going on? >> they have been crying out loud on every single media network, they have been investigating. they have found no conclusive connection to the trump campaign, to russia. what they're doing is trying to allow some sort of narrative to be progressed in the media on all networks to say that, hey look, donald trump has all these problems in connection with russia. show me the money. show me where he is connected to russia. this is the same intelligence community who said the russians did intervene. it's the same ones that told us the benghazi attacks were caused by a stupid video. >> when we talk about nunes, for example, going to president

trump or going to the white house, what is wrong with just keeping the information in the intelligence committee without even bringing in the white house and even whether your intentions were positive or negative, regardless of intentions, just the poptic of it in this political environment, was that the best move? >> there's certain things in certain areas that can only be accessed through certain networks. and the reason they cancelled their hearings is because this intelligence was not available outside of that network at that time. so he needs to provide that to the rest of the committee and then they can all see it. until they do, i think they should postpone any hearings. >> we talked about health care. the president willing to reach across the aisle. i thought it was interesting in boston yesterday, elizabeth warren and bernie sanders calling for continued opposition, citing voter push back at those republican town halls. a lot of people are talking about that. and they say that's their reason to oppose all of this. what's your thought on this opposition, it just seems like

no one is giving on either side. >> no, they're not. here's the thing. let me hit paul ryan pretty hard on this un with. look, they passed a repeal for obamacare i think it was 60 times under barack obama because they knew it would get to his desk and he would veto it and it would be dead. why didn't they pass the same exact repeal they passed 60 times. they have been campaigning on this for seven years. why didn't they have a ready to go bill january 21st that is my question to the u.s. congress. >> that's a fair question. so while we're talking, we're juggling here, i want to let you know we mentioned that vice president mike pence is today in ohio. he is touring reynoldsburg manufacturers speaking with small business owners. he's touring an electronic manufacturing plantin. do you want to listen in for a moment? let's listen in and you stick with me. >> no problem. >> and thank you to mayor brad mccloud for being here today and for your great leadership of this great community. it's a privilege to have all of you with us today and the

president and i are grateful for your support. and finally, thank you to gary james and the whole team here for hosting us today. dynalab is a true american success story. since 1981, you all have been doing here what our country does best, taking big ideas and bricking them to life on the factory floor. it's amazing to see what you've accomplished. over 300 employees in a state-of-the-art facility, a great reputation. congratulations to the whole dynalab team. you are the american dream and we congratulate you on your success. it's just so great today to be with all the job creators that we met with for conversation earlier today, many of whom are still with us. people like the flag lady are here. mary from the flag lady store and ray from tommy's pizza, i can personally testify that that is a great business and all

these great business leaders, thank you for coming out today and sharing your perspective on the challenges and opportunities we have to turn this economy loose. so let me say, you know, it is the greatest privilege of my life to be vice president to president donald trump. it's humbling for me to say it. the president of the united states is my friend. he loves his family, he loves this country with boundless energy, optimism, courage and determination. president trump has a three-part agenda. i hear about it every day. jobs, jobs, and jobs and it's happening right here in ohio already. it's just amazing, the first two jobs reports under president donald trump are already out showing that nearly 500,000 jobs have been created this year, including more than 135,000 new

jobs in construction and manufacturing. i mean thanks to our new president, it's been a great week for american jobs. on monday, ford motor company announced it would invest $1.2 billion right here in america to protect and create nearly 4,000 jobs. on tuesday, the president signed a historic executive order to put america on the path to energy independence and give american job creators the kind of low cost power that they need to grow. and yesterday the president took decisive action to level the playing field on international trade. under president donald trump, trade will mean jobs, but it's going to mean american jobs and put american workers first. and, you know, american businesses are railroalready ge the message. the president and i just yesterday were joined by the

leadership of the national association of manufacturers, and they announced that manufacturing companies haven't been this optimistic in more than 20 years. i mean get this, 93% of manufacturers are excited about what they have in store under president trump's leadership. and so are the american people. the people of this country haven't been this confident about our economy since the year 2000, and they should be excited. because president trump knows what all of you know, that when manufacturing is strong, america is strong, and he's fighting every day to bring american manufacturing back. president trump meant it when he said on tuesday that we believe in those really magnificent words, made in the usa. manufacturers are the engine of our economy, and thanks to president trump, that engine is

about to roar. it's not just this past week, but since day one president trump has been fighting to get our economy moving again. he's been signing bill after bill to roll back excessive regulations enacted in the closing days of the obama administration. he ordered every agency in washington, d.c., to find two regulations to get rid of before issuing any new red tape on american business and american job creators. just last week, president trump authorized the keystone pipeline, creating tens of thousands of american jobs and strengthening america's energy future. he's taken decisive action to protect american jobs and american workers as well, by enforcing the laws of this country for the citizens of this country and illegal immigration is already down by 60% since president trump was elected.

and we're just getting started. since the day the president was elected, he's worked tirelessly to keep his promise to repeal an replace obamacare. the president and i know what all of you know, that every day obamacare survives is another day that the american people struggle. we all know truth about this failed law. higher prices, lost plans, fewer choices. obamacare is a burden on the people of ohio and it's a burden on ohio's job creators. that's why the president has worked so hard to keep his promise to the american people to repeal and replace obamacare with something that actually works. i've been incredibly inspired by the president's hands-on leadership on this issue. and the president and i are so grateful, we're so grateful to speaker paul ryan and all the house republicans, like congressman pat teabury who stood with us over the past

month to begin the end of obamacare. thank you, congressman. but as we saw about a week ago, congress wasn't quite ready. with 100% of house democrats, every single one, and a handful of republicans, congress basically said that they weren't ready yet to begin the end of wa obamacare. it really is a shame. but as congressman teabury just said to me a few minutes ago, it ain't over yet. obamacare is going to continue to explode, putting a great weight on millions of american, but the president and i have faith. we have faith that congress is going to step up and do the right thing. even as we speak, i'm told the members of congress are forging ahead working to craft legislation that will usher in the end of obamacare. be assured of this, folks here in the buckeye state, when

congress finally decides to repeal and replace obamacare, president trump and i will be ready to work with them hand in glove. you can take it to the bank. president trump is never going to stop fighting to keep the promises he made to the american people. and we will make america great again. we will repeal and replace obamacare and give the american people the world class health care they deserve. and once obamacare is gone, we're going to cut taxes across the board for working families, small businesses, manufacturers and family farms. we're going to work with these great leaders in the congress to pass the biggest tax cut since the days of ronald reagan. we'll make the tax code flatter and simpler and fairer for everybody. you know, there's an old joke about how the tax code is ten times the size of the bible. with none of the good news.

well, here's some real good news. president trump's plan is going to put more money in your pocket and make american businesses competitive again. we're going to cut the corporate tax rate in america, one of the highest in the world, so that companies an american jobs can invest and create opportunities for america's workers right here in ohio. and president trump is going to keep slashing through the red tape that's strangling ohio's small businesses and manufacturers. the truth is the bureaucrats in washington, d.c., are too often standing in the way of job creators, making it harder for them to grow and thrive. complying with federal mandates actually cost businesses like this one here over $13,000 a year for every single employee. all told red tape from washington, d.c., actually costs the economy over $2 trillion a year. that's enough money to create more than 24 million new good-paying manufacturing jobs. but it's wasted on pushing

papers and jumping through government hoops. folks, that's just not right. that's why president trump is getting government out of the way. he's reining in unelected bureaucrats so they can no longer cripple ohio's economy from the comfort of their taxpayer funded metal desks in washington, d.c., and we're going to keep that fight going. and as president trump announced just this week, a new era of american energy has begun. the war on coal is over. you know, it's really heart breaking to think that nearly a quarter of ohio's coal miners have lost their jobs in the past few years and that nearly half of the state's mines have shut down. countless ohio families have been forced to watch good-paying jobs disappear from their communities. but now they have hope. from the first day of this administration, president trump has been fighting for ohio and fighting for american energy. the executive order president

trump signed on tuesday will end washington's assault on affordable energy and give hard-working americans and manufacturers the relief they need. and president trump is going go put coal miners back to work as he likes to say, we all like to say, president trump digs coal. we're going to unlock our country's amazing natural resources. not just coal, shale, you name it. lower energy costs more jobs, growth and more opportunity for american families and american businesses. and folks, under president donald trump, we're also going to rebuild america. if you haven't noticed it, the american people elected a builder to be president of the united states. and with his hire american/buy american strategy, we're going to give our nation the best roads, the best bridges, the best highways and airports that america has ever had.

thanks to president trump, we're going to have jobs and growth and prosperity like never before. but you know, making america great again isn't just about our economy. it also means standing with those who are protecting our communities, our nation and protecting our way of life. you know, i can tell you, i'm with him every day, president trump has no higher priority than the safety and security of the american people. that's why the president every single day is standing with the men and women in law enforcement here in ohio and all across this country. there's a fair number of men and women in uniform with us today. would you all mind getting on your feet and showing these men and women in law enforcement just how much we appreciate the job they do protecting our families each and every day.

[ applause ] president trump is strengthening our borders. he's building a wall, enforcing our laws and, as he said in his joint address to congress, we're taking measures to remove all the, quote, gang members, drug dealers and criminals who threaten our communities and prey on our citizens off the streets of ohio and off the streets of america. we're working with law enforcement every day. immigrations and custom enforcement to accomplish that. beyond our borders, i have to tell you, i couldn't be more grateful, couldn't be more proud as the father of a united states marine that we now have a president who will rebuild our military, restore the arsenal of democracy and give our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and

coast guard what they need to accomplish their mission and come home safe. and here in the homeland, in the wake of last november's terrorist-inspired attack on the grounds of ohio state, i just want to assure all of you here in this community, under president donald trump's leadership, america is standing strong and taking the fight to the terrorists on our terms on their soil and isis is on the run. and i'll make you promise. president donald trump will not rest and will not relent until we hunt down and destroy isis at its source so it can no longer project violence around the world or inspire violence here at home. so it's jobs, it's health care, it's energy and it's national

security. and this president is also keeping his promise to appoint a strict constructist in the supreme court in the place of the late justice antonin scalia. by nominating neil gorsuch, president trump has kept his word to appoint to the supreme court a justice who will keep faith with our constitution and uphold the god-given liberties. next week, the united states senate will take his confirmation up. let me just say emphatically, as america saw in those hearings just a little more than a week ago, judge neil gorsuch is one of the most respected, qualified and mainstream nominees to the supreme court in american history. it's true. but remarkably, yesterday, your very own senator, sherrod brown,

announced that he and the obstructionist democrats in the senate plan to filibuster judge gorsuch's nomination as an associate justice, something that's never been successfully done in american history. let me say, the president and i are confident, with the strong support of senator rob portman we know for the sake of our supreme court, for the sake of our country, for the sake of our constitution, we will overcome the obstructionist and the united states senate will confirm judge neil gorsuch one way or the other. my friends, the record is clear. president donald trump is a man of his word and he's a man of action. before i wrap up, there's one other issue i'd like to address that i know also hits close to home here in ohio just as it did back in my home state of indiana. i want you all to know, as

america saw this week, from the cabinet room in washington, d.c., president trump is working every day to end the opioid crisis that's ruining lives and tearing apart communities across ohio and across america. ohio knows all about the tragic consequences of this crisis. over 2500 ohioans died from opioids. tens and thousands more still suffer in the grip of addiction. let me say, your own senator rob portm portman helping countless people through his work on capitol hill and the president and i are grateful for their strong and compassionate leadership as i know all of you are. [ applause ] on wednesday this week in the

cabinet room of the white house, president trump and i met with a group of people who have seen opioid addiction up close and personal. you've heard the inspiring stories of vanessa and a.j., two young people who courageously overcame drug addiction, found hope and healing through counseling and medication to break the grip of addiction on their lives. tragically, we also heard from a mom who lost her beloved son carlos, the light of her life, a young man of incredible promise and creativity to the isndrug addiction. he said, pam, your son will not have died in vain. that very day, president trump announced the creation of the president's commission on combatting drug addiction and opioid abuse. under president trump's leadership, we're bringing together medical servants,

community leaders and we'll find innovative solutions to stop the flow of drugs into our communities and help families who need it most. as the president said in his joint address to the congress, in his own words, we will stop the drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth and we will expand treatment for those who have become so badly addicted. those two promises will be kept by this president and this administration. under president trump's leadership, i just know our communities, our country are on the road to healing. my friends, we've really come to a pivotal moment in our nation's history. i believe with all my heart. in this moment, we need every freedom-loving american. we need all of you to stand up and to speak out. we need you to tell the world that you believe we can do better. that you know it.

that president trump and his vision can renew and restore this country and put us on a path to a brighter future. for my part, i know we're going to get it done because i have faith. you know, as your ohio state motto says, with god, all things are possible. one of my favorite verses is in the old book of jeremiah. it was given to me by my wife back in the year 2000. it hung over the mantel of our little home in indiana when i served in washington, d.c., and it hung over the mantel in the governor's residence and now these words hang over the mantel in the residence of the vice

president of the united states. it simply says, "for i know the plans i have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." those words are words that americans throughout our history have clung to and i believe they are as true today as they were throughout our history. the people of ohio voted for our president with the strength, the courage and the vision to make america safe again. you voted to give us a new leader who will make america prosperous again and i believe with all my heart that, with your continued support and with god's help, together we will make america great again. thank you very much. thank you for being here today. god bless you all and god bless the united states of america. [ applause ]