good to be with you. i'm katy tur. let's go right back to capitol hill, where the 13th vote is now starting. james comer of kentucky is now nominating kevin mccarthy once again. >> what really happened in that lab in wuhan, china. those of us who have kids in the public school system could testify that our kids have lost a year of their education because of the forced virtual learning that so many of our schools put our children through during the covid pandemic. congress ran the debt up at least $3 trillion in the name of

covid-19. yet as i mentioned earlier, there has not been a single hearing in the oversight committee to deal with potential waste, fraud, or abuse of the covid funds. not a single hearing. and we all know, despite what dr. fauci said, american tax dollars were sent through eco health alliance, to the wuhan lab in china, for gain of function research. but yet dr. fauci hasn't come before congress in the house of representatives. the american people deserve answers on covid-19, and speaker kevin mccarthy has given the republican majority the tools necessary to make that possible. [ applause ] >> the democrats have spent the past six years investigating a

president for potential wrong doing. let me say this loud and clear. the republicans will also investigate a president for potential wrong doing in ukraine and russia -- >> just to set the scene here, we are watching the 13th round of voting. the 12th round of voting just ended. there was some major movement for kevin mccarthy. 14 votes flipped for him. 14 of the so-called rebels flipped for him, meaning those that are still standing against him are feeling more and more pressure from the majority of the republican conference to do the same. david shrone of maryland, a democrat who was not there because of a surgery, a pre-scheduled surgery, that surgery appears to be over because he is back in the chamber and that changes the math for kevin mccarthy.

without david, he only needed three more of those rebel votes, as steve kornacki has been explaining to me. with david, he needs four more votes. we will watch to see if he gets that. there are i believe seven left who are still voting no for kevin mccarthy. so four of those seven is what kevin mccarthy needs. let's go back into james comer nominating kevin mccarthy. we'll see if anybody gets up to nominate somebody else within the republican conference. will we see lauren boebert again try to nominate kevin hern? let's watch. >> a republican majority under speaker kev, this broken congress will finally be fixed and we will return to regular order, and we will drag those senators kicking and screaming along with us every step of the way. [ cheers and applause ]

>> we will return to regular order. we will get the backs of the american taxpayers. this is the people's house. let's get to work. madam clerk, i am proud to nominate kevin mccarthy to be the next speaker of the united states house of representatives and i yield back. [ applause ] >> for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? >> madam clerk, i rise to nominate a great leader, a unifier, not a divider, hakeem jeffries, for speaker of the united states house of representatives. [ applause ] >> the gentlewoman is

recognized. >> we are on day four, the 13th vote, and house democrats continue to stand united with hakeem jeffries. with him and for him. because he is a uniter, not a divider, and a positive force of nature. two days ago, during the fourth, fifth, maybe the sixth roll call, a nominator claimed this process should not be considered dysfunction. madam clerk, their process didn't begin this week. they have had months to figure this out. and americans should have profound concerns about what this portends. as we gather here in this chamber, on this solemn day, the second anniversary of january 6th, when members of law enforcement were under siege, when there was an attempted coup, an insurrection that will live in infamy, what we lived

through was an assault on our republic and on our democracy from within. on that day, when my colleagues and i were tracked in this gallery, the terrorists who assaulted our police officers could be heard banging on these doors, breaking these windows, and they were here to prevent the certification of a free and fair election. i shudder to think what a republican majority's inability to govern would have meant on that day and what it could mean in the future for those of us who believe in defending our democracy abroad and now more than ever hear at home. on this painful anniversary, thankfully, the honorable hakeem jeffries made sure that we came together to mark the moment, to honor our law enforcement,

recognize the lives lost as a result of that day, honor the families and the survivors, and to ensure that we recommit to our republic and our democracy. that is the kind of speaker that our nation needs. [ applause ] >> we are now four days into what should be the 118th congress, and the house of representatives has no committees, no rules, no classified briefings, no members who have taken their oath to serve our country. there are no debates happening on this floor about addressing the challenges we face at home or around the globe. no votes on legislation to tackle the challenges facing the

american people. madam clerk, they told the american people they wanted to win the majority to fight inflation. the only thing they're fighting is each other. these four days have tested house republicans' ability to govern and they have failed. with hakeem jeffries as our speaker, congress can continue to deliver common sense bipartisan solutions for the american people. instead, what we have seen unfold before our very eyes is exactly what is in store for the country over the next two years under republican control. and this should be deeply concerning to the american people who expect us to do our jobs, and fulfill even the most fundamental functions of this institution. like voting on the debt ceiling, to fund expenditures we've already made. what if this happens then? what if we default on our debts because of the republican majority's inability to govern?

what impact will that have on our economy, or on the global economy? and in less than nine months in september we have a vote to fund the government, to pay for our military, social security, medicare, and other obligations. what happens on september 30th when government funding runs out and they're in charge? with hakeem jeffries as our speaker, we can continue to advance an agenda that puts people over politics. just as we did in the 117th congress with the majority as slim as theirs. madam clerk, as co-chair of the house democratic policy communications committee, and in accordance with the vote of the house democratic caucus, i'm honored to present for election to the office of speaker of the house of representatives for the

118th congress the name of a man of integrity and intellect, who is bold and brilliant, and most importantly, a man who leads with love, the honorable hakeem jeffries, representative from the state of new york. [ applause ] [ applause ] >> the reading clerk will call the roll. >> as you can see, they are going to call roll, which means they will roll right into this 13th round of voting. no other nominations officially

other than kevin mccarthy and hakeem jeffries. kevin mccarthy got a lot closer in the last round and he could stand to potentially win this right now. let's go to steve kornacki. steve, break down the math for us. >> yes, so again, the key difference on this round is that the democrat from maryland is present and voting this time. he wasn't before. so that means 432 we expect votes here, meaning the magic number would be 217 for mccarthy to win on this ballot. search holdouts. remember mccarthy finished the last round at 213. if he could win over four of these, that would get him there. there is also some combinations that could potentially win over a few losing two, get some present votes, it gets very complicated but that maybe something that his team is working toward, and tell some of these members, maybe vote present, you don't have to vote

for mccarthy, but yes, the key is if he loses four, if four defect and vote for somebody else, then he loses on this round again. biggs coming up. the first name from this holdout list. we're about ten away from biggs and that obviously is one of the toughest ones for them to get. that would be very telling if biggs were to actually vote for mccarthy here. >> let's go back in. we're going to listen for a second and wait for andy biggs, and boebert will come after that, and eli crane has some reporting, probably not someone who might move, it will come pretty quick after that and then a break and then talk about what is going on at the white house. but let's listen for a couple of minutes. >> bentz? mccarthy. bera? jeffries.

jordan. bilirakis? bilirakis? mccarthy. bishop of georgia? jeffries. bishop of north carolina? mccarthy. blumenauer? jeffries. blunt rochester? jeffries. boebert? jordan. >> okay, so andy biggs, jordan,

lauren boebert, the next one, we're watching for, is eli crane and steve, if he votes jordan we will need some present votes in order for mccarthy to win. >> i think it is over if he vote force jordan because gaetz, given the posture, unless gaetz did something that would shock the world, that would be four votes against mccarthy, even if he got the other three, he would be short. just in terms of where crane comes up in the order here, taking a look here, we got a little bit of a ways to go. we're probably about 35 names from crane right now. but yes, crane looms large. if crane were to flip, gaetz and good have looked like two of the most dug in here, you know, then harris and then rosendale, it would be a, it would take a big surprise for mccarthy to pull it out on this ballot but crane obviously would be a big flip if they can get him. >> as we await for eli crane, an

what that might portend, let me tell you what is going on at the white house right now, because the room is filling up. the president, president biden, is marking the other big day that's happening in washington. it is january 6th. flip of the calendar. two years from the insurrection. and he is going to be marking this by awarding the presidential citizens medal to 12 people who stood up to protect democracy two years ago. including election workers like ruby freeman and rusty bauers and jocelyn benson, and police officers like harry dunn and daniel hodges and brian sicknick who will be awarded posthumously. we cannot divorce what we are watching from one another, what is happening in the house, the mess surrounding this vote for speaker, and the honoring of those who protected democracy two years ago, as harry dunn, officer harry dunn put it this morning, on this network, the irony is that what we are

watching in the house right now, this raucous debate for speaker, done free from the threat of violence, is exactly what he and his fellow officers were fighting to defend two years ago. and also joining us is steven sund, the former chief of u.s. capitol police. he's got a new book called "courage under fire" under siege and outnumbered, 58 to 1 on january 6th. i want to talk to you just for a couple of minutes before we get to crane. tell me what this is like for you, watching this, and also seeing your officers be awarded by the president today? >> again, this is politics at its best. this is, you know, what we have to deal with. my concern is you see this, anywhere, anyone that may be associated with this. people in the country, a divided country, they see this and it make them unhappy with their government and i'm concerned, my office will get stuck in the middle. as far as the awarding of the police officers, i think those officers what that were out

there are shedding their blood, sweat and tears protecting the capitol and they need to be awarded. and people don't realize all of the law enforcement agencies, metropolitan police department to the new jersey state police, every one of them were heroes and they were out there to save the day. >> a number of the people who had been stopping mccarthy from becoming speaker, the republicans, the rebel republicans, so-called rebel republicans, are election deniers, are people who said that 2020 wasn't fair, and some cases they defended the january 6th rioters. what do you think of that? >> you know, the people weren't fired up and sent upon the capitol that day, if the president hadn't brought them to washington, d.c., under the pretense that he was going to provide the evidence of a stolen election, which he never provided the evidence of, and use the rhetoric and sent them up to the capitol, we wouldn't be here. the officers wouldn't be here getting the awards. we wouldn't be dealing with the deaths of officers.

to have an officer commit suicide the day after, the night, i'm sorry, that's just, you know, it's sad, it didn't have to happen. >> let's listen as they get to crane. >> >> >> jeffries. craig? jeffries. crane? jordan. crawford? mccarthy. crenshaw. >> 55 names away from -- >> mccarthy.

crockett. jeffries. crow? jeffries. >> on this ballot, we're about 50 names away from him. he seems the most dug in of everything. and if there's a second place in that category, it might be bob good who comes shortly in the order every gaetz. you already have three names who have continued to be against mccarthy. if gaetz does indeed vote against mccarthy, which we have every reason to believe that he will, that will be four and it will make it mathematically impossible for mccarthy to win on this ballot. the for the first ballot, the magic number 216 because there was an absent democrat, he has tweeted that he is back and here is here to vote again. so his presence is going to change the math. it will raise the magic number to 217. mccarthy had 213 on the first vote. so you can see, with 217 as the magic number, you got to pick up four from this list. he's already lost his first three chances. there are only four left on here. the next one he loses means we

head to another ballot. gaetz, good, harris, rosendale. i think you're getting the point here. where if you're mccarthy's team you would be happy if you could get one more on this ballot, just to show some continued momentum. >> i wonder what's going to happen next after this vote, whether they will try to adjourn for the day or potentially for the weekend to work on pressuring these holdouts, seeing what they can potentially offer them, if there is anything, what they can convince them to maybe even vote present, or if there are threats that they can make, threats to take them off committees. to get them to turn. is there anything that kevin mccarthy will be able to do to get four of these seven to say yes to him, and whether lauren boebert is one of those people? ali vitali a moment ago was talking about whether it would be lauren boebert, whether she was not ideologically rooted in this fight, whether she

actually, despite her rhetoric, is somebody that could be convinced. "politico" is reporting that a key part of the agreement that got us to where we are right now, watching as kevin mccarthy inches closer to the speakership, is an agreement for house gop to present a balanced budget, over ten years, using the 2022 baseline, that's according to multiple sources who have spoken to "politico," we don't have that as of now, but he certainly is giving a lot of concessions to the other side, and some might argue that a lot of these concessions, maybe not the balanced budget one, but a lot of the others are going to hamper, if not paralyze the speaker, and make his job all but impossible, especially when it comes to giving up seats on the rules committee. there was talk about potentially giving up three seats on the rules committee, kevin mccarthy picking one from the house freedom caucus, and then matt

gaetz and these holdouts, presenting him with a number of other options, and allowing him to pick two more from those options. the rules committee is important, because the speaker can say i want this legislation brought to the floor, and the rules committee can hold it up, because they don't agree with it. garrett haake is with us, who can put all of this more eloquently since he covers this body in focus for a living. garrett, where do we stand? how close are we? >> well, sometimes congress is like your high school cafeteria, and that's a little bit of what happened in between these two votes, the mccarthy flippers come out and speak to reporters and talk about the framework that they have chosen to get behind. and while they were out here talking about why their votes changed, i was inside the chamber watching some of the members whose votes did not change. biggs, gaetz. rosendale. congresswoman boebert. all sitting together discussing almost entirely amongst themselves something here.

and here is gaetz voting now. voting for jordan. they have sat together throughout. they seem to be working together throughout. and while they chose not to place a name in nomination this time, think it is pretty clear that at least that core four have decided they're going to hang together at least a little bit longer and gaetz's vote for jordan here, i think we're once again pretty stuck with unlucky number 13 here, not being the vote that is going to put kevin mccarthy over the top, unless something else crazy happens in the back half. and rosendale, being kind of the missing number of that group who dug in together and seated together, not really allowing themselves to be whipped by other members, has yet to vote. i have a hard time seeing him flipping as well. >> steve, when we come back, and the republicans who are currently out come back to session, say the vote gets adjourned today and we start again on saturday or sunday or monday, and there's a full house present, how many does kevin

mccarthy need? how many of these seven does he need to win the speakership? >> that's the other variable here. because you just saw how david trone, the democrat, how his return to the chamber raised the magic number to 217, and as we say, mccarthy has to get four from this list. what if that happened with one of the other two republicans? and what if ken buck from colorado came back, if he came back later today. and hunt, whether he came back. if only one of them comes back, okay, then there's 430, if one of those two republicans comes back, there's 4333 total voting member, and the magic number doesn't change. it stays at 217. so this is a little quirk here. it would be better for mccarthy if one of those two, huntz or buck, came back, because they both have been mccarthy supporters, and if one of them came back and voted for

mccarthy, he would be up to 214, and the magic number would remain at 217, and then he would only need three from this list. now, if they both came back, there would be 434 voting members, and the magic number then would rise to 218, okay, and then actually, we have 215 votes, so he would need three anyway. i just talked myself out of that today. either way, it brings him one step closer to get those members back. if he can get one of them back, at least he only needs three from this list. >> doing math on live tv is always a risky proposition, even when you're good at it, like you are steve core knack yichl we saw bob good come in while you were speaking. he is for jordan as well. let's go back to garrett haake if we still have him with us. these are still, if these members remain in transigent and they refuse to vote for kevin mccarthy, if they really truly are never kevins, how much

longer before the conference goes to kevin mccarthy and says we've got to find someone else? i'm hearing cheering. i assume that's for jeffries? >> one for mccarthy. >> there's a flip. >> yes, he was getting worked by chris smith in the back of the chamber here during the start of this vote, another member, kind of the pro-mccarthy camp. andy harris was a surprising no vote for many of us when this first started. now kind of back ironically where we thought we'd be in terms of who we thought the anti-mccarthy folks are. the events of today make it more likely this goes even longer if mccarthy can't get the votes on this vote or a subsequent one because he has been able to demonstrate to the 90% of republicans who supported him from the word go that he is able to get movement and force some kind of consensus, even with the folks who have been the most dug in. and the biggest challenge, i think for folks who, you know,

maybe that group of five, if that is, or six rather, if that ends up being what it, for the never kevin caucus, is if not him, then who? they have been unable, across the scope of this week to demonstrate that there is anyone else in the republican conference who can get them where they want to go. and i think it really is coming down to a group of five or six lawmakers, for whom any policy concession, any rules concession, is not enough. it's purely personal. and i actually have a much harder time imagining the republican conference, you're right, this 6% of the conference should overrun the thinking of the other 94% of us, because you just don't like this guy. i think it goes the other way. i think the pressure campaign ramps up. i think the efforts to squash the descent go up, because those members have had, in many cases, a harder time articulating their complaints about mccarthy, up until this point and if they're formally aligned ideal logical

peers like a chip roy or a scott perry, and we're on board and looking at the other direction, where do those six go? so i think the kind of white knight scenarios here of somebody else who is not kevin mccarthy, but believes all the same stuff he believes coming in to lead this conference, those chances got a lot lower in the span of the last couple of hours. >> all right. so let's bring in brendan buck, former adviser to john boehner and paul ryan, both speakers. brendan is there something that kevin mccarthy has up his sleeve that he can use to pressure any of these holdouts into voting for him? if he's not going to get there with carrots, does he have sticks? >> i mean his sticks are the pressure of the colleagues. i mean the walls are closing in on now six people. effectively, when you get full attendance, just need to flip two more. i mean this is, excuse me, four more. this is getting to a point where it's going to start feeling

inevitable, it's going to start being where people were really dug in can turn to some of these people. i'm looking at this list, and you have andy biggs and eli crane from arizona, and maybe paul gosar, a big hold jut, also from arizona, can start working those numbers. this is a very gettable list. i think some of these people may need to take a moment and realize that this could be over very soon and realize they're just delaying the inevitable. at this point, maybe there are a few small things that they can get, like a fig leaf, sometimes people need that off-ramp and get something to declare victory and it might be small but mostly a peer pressure campaign from here on out. and it feels very much in reach. >> so do you go through the weekend, or do you wait until monday? what do you do to keep the pressure up? >> all day i've been harping on this attendance question. it is really important. it is clearly the people who are dug in aren't going anywhere. so kevin mccarthy just runs into this issue where if it stays, if they stay through the voting, there are a number of people who

have to leave and maybe that is the case on the democratic side and maybe there are five or six democrats who can't be there this weekend so it adds a level of unpredictability which is why i think they're probably going to push really hard to try to resolve this this afternoon. i don't know that they can. and we may be here for a while. some of these people may be really dug in. but time and pressure can make people change. and the weekend thing, about attendance, it is just really, really hard to sort out. >> and it's a gamble, it is not like the democrat, and you correct me if i'm wrong, but it's not like the democrats will go to them and say we plan on having five people out. >> yes. >> no, they won't know. and maybe some pressure points can figure out who is going to be where but they are not going to help them out in any way. >> garrett haake, let's talk about concessions. what has so far been offered? is there anything put into wrighting? i know there was a conference call. have we gotten anything down in writing that these holdouts were asking for that kevin mccarthy has now consented to? >> the only thing that i think we're confident about that is in writing and is part of these

concessions are really the two big pieces, one is that motion to vacate the chair that we have talked so much about. lowering the threshold to just one vote. by any member who brings forward this idea of getting rid of the current speaker. scott perry in the break between these votes talked about that this is oversight for the speaker. and making the case that speaker, he or she the most powerful person in congress, and needs constant oversight, okay, you're going to get it. by the way, if it is attendance problems, it makes it that much more important every single day of your congress going forward, because there is also no more proxy voting so you better have all of your butts in all their seats if you want to make sure that your speaker isn't accidentally voted out on a day where you're not paying attention. the other part of it is the composition of the rules committee. and an agreement appears to be in place where members of the freedom caucus will be guaranteed seats on the rules committee. who picks those members? still mccarthy. one of those picks would be unilateral. the other two we believe would be based on a list presented to him by the freedom caucus from

which he could make his own selections. that is a little bit of insurance that other discussion items that may or may not be in the final framework agreement about how those come to floor, whether in is open rules or not. and having the people on the rules committee means you don't have to trust the word of the speaker quite as much as you might otherwise. and as we talked about at some length, a lot of these folks who voted against mccarthy are against him because they just don't trust him. the language about what has been agreed to here, to get these members who have been anti-mccarthy, to become pro, they keep describing it as a framework, and that's giving me, bbb flashbacks to last year's discussions among democrats about what could be in an agreement, a framework agreement, what could give moderates and progressives on board for a piece of legislation, and a framework, isn't a rules package in this place, and isn't necessarily

worth more than the paper it is written on and that's why i think while mccarthy has all of this momentum today, i do think he does. it is tenuous, because the lank that he agreed to is important and the exact kind of thing that we will continue to try to suss out while the votes continue. >> we have this little box in the corner of the screen showing the white house where the president will be giving these medals to the folks who fought to protect democracy two years ago. it's scheduled to start, well, before now, and i imagine what they're doing is probably at the white house watching this vote and waiting until it's over. this is my guess. before we begin this ceremony. we're obviously going to go there immediately once it begins. you can't divorce these two things from one another. because they are intimately related. garrett, i want to go back to one thing you just said a moment ago, and that's the motion to vacate. and how much that will weigh on attendance. so you're saying that at any moment, if this is one person, or five people -- >> no, this has been, this has

been the understanding, and over the course of these negotiations, since republicans took back the majority, it progressively lowered that number to get more people on board. not sure who we're cheering for. it sounded like a mu mccarthy vote. i can't talk and listen at the same time. it is a real problem. >> we're watching the board. and if mccarthy shows up under matt rosendale, we'll interrupt and tell you. >> sure thing. hold on, hold on. we're a ways away from rosendale. not quite sure. that could have been mccarthy voting for mccarthy. >> it very well could have. >> that's what it was. >> garrett, go back to motion to vacate. so we've heard this discussion, where it went from, you know, in the neighborhood of dozens of members, down to five members, who initiate a motion to vacate, down to one, that seems to be the agreement in this framework and regardless of how many it takes to start it, this is a very powerful tool, in the hands of members who are not happy

about the direction of their party. it doesn't guarantee anything but it forces a vote. if you force a vote in a situation up against a deadline we see in congress, where members are here or gone or traveling back, and the exact time frame by which the vote can be forced gives the speaker and his or her allies time to get organized. with the combination of a one vote threshold to force a vote, and the end of proxy voting, it means if your people are not here, you could easily lose a vote by a snowstorm or a traffic jam on i-95 or pick your other unforeseen circumstance. your margins are narrow. we've already demonstrated in this congress that there are essentially three working factions. not just the two parties. and it doesn't take a lot of, you know, funny business on the math in one direction or another here, to put the speaker's job in jeopardy. >> or a pre-scheduled surgery. if the democrat says i want to

do a motion, or pull the motion to vacate and there are more democrats in the chamber than republicans, could we see a democratic speaker or am i -- >> i wouldn't go that far, katy, but i think it is one of the things under discussion. for example early on in the process, mccarthy made the argument and came out to the conference and said do you want eric swalwell, that's the name he chose, to start every day with a motion to vacate? because that is what you would get. he apparently backed away from that argue. and i don't know if they found a way to codify that own members of the majority can call for a bhoegs motion to vacate. i don't know if that is possible. but if that is possible, every congress starts with a prayer and a pledge and a motion to vacate. we could be looking at that as a baseline scenario. >> we knew this next two years was going to be wild, i don't think any of us anticipated it would be quite this wild. a two-minute warning for the

president to start this award ceremony, for those who protected democracy two years ago. we still have steven sund with us, waiting oh, so patiently to talk to us about what we are going to see. this is a president trying to mark what these people did, to insure that what we are seeing right now on other screen, this vote for the speaker, can happen faithfully, that democracy can continue. >> i think that is very nice he is awarding them. and viewers are watching this and the frustration that what they're seeing is rising. keep in mind that those people are the same ones that provide oversight for the capitol police. >> okay, well talk to me about that. because you write about it in your book and you say that is a problem. because that meant that your hands were tied on the day of january 6th. >> yes, before january 6th and on the day of january 6th. when you look at it, any time you have critical oversight

aligned with political parties, i think it is a recipe for disaster. 30 years in law enforcement experience, i have a lot of experience, let me do my job. when you have political pressure, affecting how i make decisions, that's a recipe for disaster. >> so that meant that the national guard couldn't get there sooner. >> because it was structured with the capitol police board, the federal law at the time, that required to go to them to get the national, the police board approval, to bring in the guard, to get backup, it created one of denial on january 3rd and a delay on january 6th? >> why is that? why is this the only police force in the country that has to go through this? >> that is what congress wanted. they passed a law. the only police chief in the united states that has a federal law to bring in police forces. >> do you expect that to change at any point? >> they changed during an emergency, the chief of police can bring in federal resources, they did that in december 2021 but they made it revocable. >> you've written a book as the head of the national guard at

the time apologized to you. what did he tell you? >> it is, general walker, it was a very distressed phone call, he called me up and saying i felt so bad at the time, i pulled up my men, we pulled up at 5:44. my men and women finally got approval and pulled up to get sworn in and the new jersey state police had arrived there before us. the national guard headquarters less than two miles from the capitol police headquarters. think about it. the new jersey state police chief was almost in tears. >> i was covering this live at the time sitting in this chair in new york and i remember, i get chills thinking about it, and i remember watching it and just screaming, where are the reinforcements? how are these officers left alone? how can we see lawmakers running, hiding in the chamber for cover. with guns drawn in the chamber. how can that be? for the people in power, for the national guard, for the

pentagon, were they not watching? >> people need to realize, there are 1700 officers helping us regain control of the capitol. the people of the pentagon had to be watching the same screens that i was watching, that my family was watching at home and my police officers of the battle in the front, and they weren't sending support and they are sitting there thinking delay after delay after delay, i was on the phone with the pentagon 2:34 begging for help and they wouldn't send anybody and the troops were within eyesight of the capitol and they wouldn't give them authorization. >> it was a chilling day. how did you hear about the january 6th committee? >> again, you know, i think it was an extensive committee, that had come out with a number of recommendations, and you had the d.o.d. ig come out and dhsig come out and looking at with the issues with sbejs and didn't

really find any fault. the january 6th committee finds some security issues but not to the extent that needs to be corrected. >> your book is called "courage to fire under siege, 58 to 1 on january 6th," you detail what happened that day, and the calls made and the responses and if you want to understand more on january 6th and what we can do better i encourage you to pick up this book. steven sund, thanks for joining us for joining us. we will continue to watch this house vote for speaker. we're hear can kevin buck, republican coming back to the chamber, that will change the math. excuse me, ken buck. that is ken buck. and we will hear from president biden awarding a medal to 12 people who protected democracy two years ago. >> vandalized sacred halls. hunted down elected officials. all for the purpose for the attempt to overthrow the will of the people and usurp the peaceful transfer of power. all of it, all of it was fueled

by lies about the 2020 election. but on this day, two years ago, our democracy held. because we the people, as the constitution refers to us, we the people, did not flinch. we the people endured, we the people prevailed. and on this day of remembrance, joined by the vice president and the second gentleman and all of you, we honor a remarkable group of americans who embody the best before, during, and after january the 6th, 2021. for the first time in my presidency, i'm bee sfoe stowing the presidential -- bestowing the presidential citizens medal, one of our nation's highest civilian honors and wrecks quote, citizens of the united states of america who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or fellow citizens, end of quote. in a few moments, in a few

moment, the full citation of their exemplary deeds will be read by a military aide. but this is who these people, these extraordinary americans are. heroic law enforcement officers. as congressman benny thompson said, a man of immense honor and eloquently said about these officers, he said, quote, you held the line that day, and what was on the line was our democracy, and history will remember your names. and history will remember your names. they will remember your courage. they will remember your bravery. they will remember your extraordinary commitments to your fellow americans. not hyperbole. that's a fact. that's a fact. folks, history is also going to remember your instincts to respond to do something, as you did, as we all watched, this is the irony of it all, all of america watched it. watched it on television. saw it repeated and repeated.

the past months, we've heard you testify to the nation about what happened that day, what you were thinking of at the time it was happening. what you're thinking now. the threats. the violence. the savageness of what happened. the trauma. all real. it's not an exaggeration to say america owes, you owes you all, i really mean this, a debt of gratitude. one we can never fully repay unless we live up to what you did, live up to what you did. and what you did was truly consequential. not a joke. if i can halt for a second and just say to you, the impact of what happened, on july 6th. had international repercussions beyond what any of you can fully

understand. the first meeting i had what they called the g-7, the seven leading economies of the world, the democracies, i sat down, it was in february, it was in england, i sat next to the president of france, across from the chancellor from germany, et cetera, and i said, america's back, and you know what the response was? not a joke. for how long? for how long? now, i just sat there and looked, i believe it was the prime minister of italy said, you about i can't remember for certain what of the search, six said it, what would you think mr. president if tomorrow, you woke up and there was a headline in the press that in the british parliament a mob had come down the hall, broken down the doors of the house of commons, police officers were killed, died, the

place was vandalized, in order to overthrow the election of a speaker of the house, the prime minister's election? think about it. think about it. or if we think we heard that news today, many of the leading democracies in the world, if they went through this. so folks, these people and the people representing those who couldn't be here because they gave their lives for this, what they did is incredibly consequential. that's not political talk. that's historical fact. officer daniel hodges, metropolitan police department. virginia national guardsman. eight years. eight years on the beat. his first time inside the capitol was on january 6th.

sprayed with poison. pinned and crushed. eye almost gouged out. he didn't break. after it was over, he was asked what he had been fighting for. he's a local guy. an ordinary american. he gave a simple straightforward answer. what you were fighting for? his spontaneous area was democracy. that's what he knew he was fighting for. he wasn't a scholar. he wasn't an historian. he was a red-blooded american, who was fighting for democracy. former metropolitan police officer michael fanone, we've become friends, i have come to know him more, 20 years on the job. veterans narcotics investigator. at a moment of crisis, he was

asked to do undercover work elsewhere. but he answered the crisis call of our nation at the capitol. you answered, michael. you always did. he was beaten. beaten. not pushed around. beaten. and he was tased. called a traitor, as the mob shouted, if you remember, kill him, with his own gun. kill him with his own gun. but he defended our democracy. absolute courage. and ever since he's spoken out forcefully to make sure people are held accountable because he knows it could happen again. no guarantees. except us. all of you. private first class harry dunn, from the united states capitol police. 14 years on the force. on that day, he was outside

speaker pelosi's office, he stood guard protecting fellow officers who were already injured. he was fighting back insurrectionists across the capitol while being called the vialist racist names. his own congressman, a true constitutional scholar jamie ras kiln couldn't be here today as he recovers from cancer treatments but he called and wanted me to say the following and i wrote it down. officer harry dunn acted with remarkable courage and valor to defend both our institutions and our people. he went on to say, generations to come will think of him and these officers and thank them for their service. end of quote. officer edwards. five years on the force. u.s. capitol police. on the front lines of the mob's first surge. she stood there.

she says, and i'm hope i'm correctly quoting you, you said it looked like a movie, it looked like a movie. sometimes in crisis, things look surreal. it looked like a movie. knocked unconscious, with traumatic brain injury. she got back up to help hold the line. the granddaughter of two military veterans she says, it was her job to, quote, protect america's symbol of democracy, end of quote. that building. >> akanino. thank you, pal. i'm glad you know their names. [ applause ] .

>> you can call me president "bid-en" from now on. a proud immigrant from the dominican republic, 16 years on the force. like my son, an iraqi war veteran with the united states military, the united states army. he described january 6th as something from a medieval battle. trying to keep insurrectionists from entering the tunnel entrance on the lower west terrace as he got punched, lined with a laser, speared with an american flag pole, with an american flag on it. a flag he swore to defend. he stood tall. in the breach. with a deep and abiding love demonstrated for his country. officer eugene goodman, an army veteran, who put himself at risk as a rifle squad leader, conducting combat patrols to

identify explosives in baghdad. he came home, he came home to guard the u.s. capitol, for the last 15 years. on january 6th. he risked his own safety to distract a charging group of insurrectionists, he said his duty is to serve or protect. he said that day, he was protecting. and he did, he protected. all of you i know, this honor is bittersweet. on that day, more than 140 law enforcement officials suffered physical injuries. and untold numbers are suffering from the psychological toll that day as well. ptsd doesn't only occur on a military battlefield. others are gone forever. i said earlier, if i can hold a minute here, i said earlier, you

know, for those who lost someone on that day, proud that they're being honored but boy is it hard. i know how proud i am when my son beau was honored on the anniversary of his death as a consequence of burn pits in iraq. and it brings everything back like it happened that moment. all of the families here. in all of the families here who lost someone, my heartaches for you. and i want to thank you for having the courage to be here today. for so the rest of america can know what your kin did. including the the capitol police officer brian sicknick, who will be receiving this medal posthumously. a veteran from the new jersey air national guard.

13 years on the capitol police force as an officer. he lost his life after protecting the citadel of democracy. we're joined by his family today who my wife jill and i met when we paid our respects at the capitol rotunda two years ago. i know you're proud of the honor being bestowed on brian, but i also know this difficult moment. it brings back everything as if it happened this very day. thank you for being here. and thank you for letting us remember brian. thank you. capitol police officer howard lebengood. receive this medal posthumously. howard's dad was a good friend of mine. i served with his dad. his dad was sergeant at arms of the united states senate, chief of staff, for republican

senators. we were genuinely friends. officer patrolled the grounds outside the senate office building january 6th and worked nearly nonstop on the days that followed. he lost his life after protect can the democratic institutions he learned to revere growing up. his family, his widow serena, who are here today. honoring his memory by advocating for, quote, positive change on mental health issues for his fellow law enforcement officers and other reforms. to help them cope with the crisis they encounter. metropolitan police officer, department officer, jeffrey smith, who will be refer receiving this medal post mumsly as well. he was part of the first line of

officers who entered when the capitol was breached and assaulted many times. the last time with a metal pipe. after his death, his widow, along with aaron, his widow aaron, along with many others, worked tirelessly to pass in the congress the public safety officer's support act. which i signed into law last summer. the law recognizes death by silent injury like officer smith and officer lebengood, so future families of public safety officers who die in the wake of traumatic circumstances will get the benefits they deserve. it's long overdue. today, the ceremony to honor heroes of january 6th, we also recognize late u.s. capitol

police officer billy evans. his family is with hus today. three months after january 6th, while they were still cordening off the capitol because of threats by these sick insurrectionists continued to be provel profulgateg on the internet, and all of america saw what happened, and officer was killed defending a checkpoint they had to go through to get up to the capitol because of these god-awful sick threats continue to move forth. and the whole world saw it. it's just hard to believe. it's hard to believe it could happen here in america. when i was a 29-year-old kid,

elected to senate, came in here to be sworn in after i was 30, the idea that if you told me that i could hear my own voice -- [ laughter ] >> i would be amazed. but all kidding aside. think about it. think about this. jill and i also met the family at the rotunda to pay our respects and i was honored to sign into law the bill awarding the congressional gold medal to those who protect the capitol on january 6th and to honor officer sickknick, evans, lean lebengood, smith for their sacrifices. these officers are the best among us. we are also honored to be joined by many other members of the various law enforcement that you see here today.

and that were here on that january 6th, and thank all of them as well. i want to thank you all for your service. your strength, your courage. and a corny thing to say, but your patriotism. joining me, with these law enforcement honors, five other public services, ruby freeman and her daughter shay moss. where are you guys? sitting up there. right in the middle. [ applause ] >> election workers from atlanta, georgia, taking time away from her own business, ruby, to work an election season to honor voting rights in her beloved city, her daughter shay, who learned from her grandmom, how older generations of her family fought so hard to get the right to vote, so shay decided to become a full-time election worker to help the elderly, disabled, students, exercise

their fundamental right to vote. both of them are just doing their jobs, until they were targeted and threatened by the same predators and pedlers of lies which fueled the insurrection. they were literally forced from their homes, facing despicable racist taunts, despite it all, ruby freeman and shay moss found the courage to testify openly and honestly to the whole country and the world about their experience, to set the record straight about the lies, and defend the integrity of our elections. ruby and shay don't deserve what happened to you, but you do deserve the nation's eternal thanks for showing the dignity and grace of "we the people." presumptuous of me but i'm so proud of you both, proud of you both. albert smit, a former republican city commissioner in philadelphia, who spent a decade overseeing nonpartisan counting of votes, like so many