senator cornyn: thank you. senator grassley: before we go to senator whitehouse, the people have asked -- members have asked me about our break, and if it's ok with senator sessions, it would work out about 1:00 if we have three on this side and three on this side for the one hour -- >> you can watch the rest of this confirmation hearing as it continues live on our companion net

senator feinstein: i'm delighted that senator cornyn is here. i quoted him directly from the floor that the hyde amendment would not prevent the distribution of these funds. and so i hope you would agree to that and that's certainly most important to me because congress has spoken. and the bill is law. senator sessions: i understand that. and we would follow the law. senator feinstein: ok. as you know, the constitution also protects a woman's right to have access to health care and determine whether to terminate her pregnancy in consultation with her family and doctor. i'm old enough to remember what it was like before when i was a student at stanford and thereafter. in the early 1960's, i actually sentenced women in california convicted of felony abortion to state prison for a maximum sentences of up to 10 years, and they still went back to it because the need was so great, so was the morbidity and so was the mortality. this right passed now by the constitution as recognized in roe, planned parenthood v. casey, and the supreme court's recent de

i'd like to start by thanking senator cornyn, our senior senator from texas for being here to speak on behalf of our nominee. always good to have you before our committee and also our fellow committee member, senator manchin from west virginia is prepared to also offer introductory remarks for our nominee. governor perry, i would like to extend a warm welcome to you and to your family. know that i appreciate your desire to serve, your willi willingness to become our next secretary of energy. i've enjoyed the meeting that we had together learning more about your leadership as governor of the state of texas including your accomplishments in the area of energy and environment. i will withhold this morning in any reference to texas size versus alaska size. we've had that discussion. >> you won. >> i won, yes. but in all seriousness, we know you are seeking to lead the department of energy at both an interesting time and a critical time. doe has helped make our nation a global leader in research and development by supporting basic research, by encouraging scientific exploration and fosterin

you can ask paul ryan, john cornyn.'m about how do we get power to the patients, patient-centered care, and the state capitals running the show instead of washington, dc. >> one of the big criticisms all along, and you know this, senator, when democrats passed obamacare, was that it was jammed through by democrats, it was all one-sided. how is this, what we're seeing right now, not the same thing, republicans jamming through a repeal and it's all one-sided? >> again, i can best speak to the plan we're putting forward. i have co-sponsors in those. under our plan, we would give power back to the states. now, republicans say that you can keep your insurance if you like it but we mean it, unlike obamacare where you end up losing it. under the plan we have, if you're in california, the legislators in sacramento could choose to stay on obamacare. i think it's a bad idea but let the californians do what they want to do. >> will you get any democrats to sign on? >> in that case you have democrats in the state legislature saying

on the senate floor, senator cornyn discussed the hyde language and said, and i quote, everyone knows the hyde amendment language contains an exception for rape and health of the method. so understand this act, these limitations on spending wouldn't have anything to do with the services available to help those victims of human trafficking. in short, senator cornyn asserted that the hyde amendment, which contains an exception for rape, would not affect the availability of services for these victims. the domestic trafficking victims fund will be under the jurisdiction of the department of justice. here's the question. will you ensure that these grant funds are not denied to service providers who will assist victims of human trafficking in obtaining comprehensive services they need, including abortion if that is what is required for a young girl impregnated during this horrific abuse? >> senator feinstein, i appreciate that question, and i do appreciate the fact that our country has been talking, and i believe taking action for a number of years to deal with sex trafficking more effectiv

senator cornyn: in general. admiral rogers: since the 1990's thisd senator cornyn: really is a long-standing effort by nationstates including russia to hack into our networks, correct? admiral rogers: yes. there have been long-standing effort. perhapscornyn: this was unusual, perhaps i should ask you in that there was a coordination between the hiking and the proper gander efforts of russia in order to try to undermine the genesee of the election process. director clapper? director clapper: yes. is this theyn: first time you have seen this, or is this a new normal? director clapper: it is a progression of capabilities as they have acquired them and use them, and they certainly have long-standing practices like that against european countries senator cornyn: what has the united states done. what have we done to respond to the hackings that have in occurring in u.s. networks since the 1990's to discourage and deter that sort of activity? director clapper: we have tried to up our game defensively. responded,ectivel

i'm honored to have the backing of senator cornyn and senator cruz from my home state of texas. i want to thank senator nunn for his dedication to nonproliferation, and secretary gates, for his service to eight persist and his own leadership of the boy scouts of america. chairman corker, ranking member card cardin, and members of the committee, it's an honor to appear before you today as president-elect trump's nominee as secretary of state for my confirmation. i come before you at a pivotal time in both the history of our nation and our world. nearly everywhere we look, people and nations are deeply unsettled. old ideas and international norms which were well-understood and governed behaviors in the past may no longer be effective in our time. we face new threats in this evolving new environment. china has emerged as an economic power in global trade. and our interactions have been both friendly and adversarial. while russia seeks respect and relevance on the global stage, its recent activities have disregarded america's interests. radical islam is not a new ideology but it is

you can see senator cornyn, kowskir mikulski -- mur from alaska. the talking points memo this story, senator joe manchin is doing everything he can not to be labeled as a liberal in his upcoming election in 2018 and so today, he will introduce rick perry at his confirmation hearing. up for the been job himself, but announced he would stay in the senate. he is gearing up for what is going to be one of the toughest election campaigns of the 2018 cycle. you will see their today, senator manchin at the table in front of his fellow senators introducing rick perry to be the next energy secretary. c-span 2,ge on c-span.org this morning and the free c-span radio app. a couple of callers have mentioned those that are boycotting tomorrow's inauguration. a front page of "the washington times" says "the number of house democrats that have said they are staying away has risen to roughly 60 and the reasons range from russian hacking to president-elect donald trump's dispute with don lewis up -- john lewis of georgia." a third of the democratic caucus will not be

this was today in texas to john cornyn's office in austin, texas. hundreds of people chanting and calling on senator cornyn to vote no on the president's cabinets nominees. that is texas today. in philadelphia, pennsylvania, over 300 people showed up for what has now become a weekly event they're calling "tuesdays with toomey." today they told senator toomey to vote no on the trump nominee to be education secretary, betsy devos. you can hear them chanting here, they were saying "no devos, no devos." these are all local manifestations of this national movement that has sprung up around something called the indivisible guide. it's basically an effort to build a tea party-style movement against trump and we've been following the progress of that movement on this show and it's interesting the key insight that these former congressional staffers who wrote the guide share is that you have to target your own member of congress. you have to target the members of congress, the senators and representatives for which you are their constituent or they will not

. >> senator cornyn. senator cornyn: mr. chairman, i remember senator specter when he was chairman of this committee a few years ago. made the observation. thank goodness we don't try people in the courts of law based on the sort of flimsy and incompetent and hearsay evidence we use in order to make public policy arguments here in the senate. i guess you could call them alternative facts. our friends on the other side seem to be upset about the outcome of the election on november 8. i guess you could say they're going through the stages of grief, denial, anger. i think that's where they are right now. they haven't yet come to bargaining, depression or acceptance. so they're angry. that's their right. but they don't have, i think, the freedom or the right to make up or to characterize motivation in the way they have. either of the nominee or the administration. you know, 37 democrats voted for the omnibus appropriation bill in 2016. the reason i bring that up is because it had a travel ban, a travel ban for people from iraq,

welcome, senator cornyn. signature and murkowski, ranking member cannot well, colleagues, thank you for holding to the secretary of the department of energy department of energy and made the opportunity of introducing him. i want to just also introduce his wife, and nita, who is here today. he has his extended family, including some of his adopted family here with him today and i'll let him introduce the rest of them. i got to know sandy and i pay my wife and i got to know rick and anita when we ran for statewide office in 1990. it's been a few years now. rick had heard he served in the air force. they served in the state legislature before being elected as agricultural commissioner of texas. i got elected to the texas supreme court that same year. later in december of 2000, rick assumed the office of governor of the state of texas becoming as chairman murkowski noted along with serving governor of state. serving in public office alongside someone that line gives you a chance to assess their character and abi

and thank you, leader mccarthy, senator cornyn, congressman scalise, congresswoman cathy mcmorris rodgers and congressman messer for your leadership as well. it has been terrific. this congress is going to be the busiest congress we have had in decades, maybe ever. think of that. think of everything we can achieve and remember who we must achieve it for. we are here now because tens of millions of americans have placed their hopes in us to transfer power from washington, d.c. and give it back to the people. so important. [applause] pres. trump: now, we have to deliver -- enough all talk, no action. we have to deliver. this is our chance to achieve great and lasting change for our beloved nation. since taking office, i have taken major contractual steps to restore the rule of law and to return power to everyday americans. [applause] president trump: even though it is only a few days, we have done it in record numbers. we have issued executive orders to build the keystone and dakota pipelines. [applause] president trump: and issued a new requirement for american pipelines to be made with am

cornyn: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, as you know, this week we'll take up the nominations of men and women that president-elect trump has selected for his cabinet. i have to say for myself, looking at the quality of the people that the president-elect has nominated gives me quite a bit of reassurance about what his administration will be like starting with the vice president, mike pence, somebody well known to us who have worked here in the congress, served 12 years in the house of representatives, then went on to the governor of indiana for four years, a person imminently qualified to help the administration and the president-elect navigate the perils and pitfalls of the legislative process here in the senate and in the house. and then you look at the other people who have been nominated and whether it's for secretary of state, secretary of defense, department of homeland security, i would say literally across the board these are in some cases unconc

for their leadership and for inviting me here today, thank much.ry mccarthy, leader enator cornyn, congressman and congresswoman rogers and ongressman messer, for your leadership, as well, it's been terrific. be thengress is going to busiest congress we've had in decades, maybe ever, maybe ever. think of that. think of everything we can who we mustremember achieve it for. tens of e now because millions of americans have in us to ir hopes transfer power from washington, .c. and give it back to the people. so important. [applause] trump: now we have to enough all talk, no action, we have to deliver. achieve ur chance to great and lasting change for our beloved nation. since taking office, i have contractual steps to to ore the rule of law and return power to every day americans. [applause] even ent trump: and though it's only a few days, we've done it in record numbers. issued executive orders to build the keystone and dakota [applause] - president trump: issued new pipelines to be made with american steel and fabricated in the united states. and i was sitting at my desk and i'm getting ready to

john cornyn is here, senator. where is john? thank you, john. john was always raising money for the senate. he had a way of asking for a lot. i didn't even know it, right? once a year i'd get a call. i'd say, oh, no, it's john cornyn. and he'd walk in, hi. >> i said, okay, john. how much is it? >> could you go 250? >> i don't even know you. but for years i didn't know him. then when i ran, he was great. that's the way politics is. but he's good to me now and he's a good guy and i think we'll have a fantastic relationship. and i appreciate it, john. thanks for being here. where is cory? i saw you on television yesterday. thank you, cory. kevin mccarthy. where is kevin? there's my kevin. called me in the heat of battle, right? i love paul. i don't know if paul is here. he's out writing legislation. he's got so much legislation to write. never had it so good. and he's actually got somebody that's going to -- really, really love paul. we're doing very -- i just want to let the world know we're doing very well together. we agree. and he called me up.

on the senate floor, senator cornyn discussed the hyde language and said, and i quote, "everyone knows the hyde amendment language contains an exception for raipe and health f the mother so on this this act, these limitations on spending wouldn't have anything to do with the services of women. in short, he concerned the hide amount p amendment would not affect the availability of services for these victims. the domestic trafficking victims fund will be under the jurisdiction of the department of justice. here's the question: will you ensure that these grant funds are not denied to service providers who will assist victims of human trafficking in obtaining comprehensive services they need, include being abortion if that is what is required for a young girl impregnated during this horrific abuse? >> senator feinstein, i appreciate that question and i do appreciate the fact that our country has been talking and i believe taking action for a number of years to deal with sex trafficking more effectively. i i don't know that we've reached a level of actual effectiveness we need to but congre

>> i can, senator cornyn. i'm familiar with how that plays out in had the real world. my best judgment, colleagues, is that properly enforced, the federal gun laws can reduce crime and violence in our cities and communities. it was highlighted in richmond and project exile, but i have to tell you, i've always believed that, when i was a united states attorney in the '80s and into the early '90s, we had, we produced a newsletter that went out to all local law enforcement called project trigger lock, with the federal law enforcement, too, and highlighted the progress made by prosecuting criminals who used guns to carry out their crimes. criminals are most likely the kind of person that will shoot somebody when they go about their business, and if those people are not carrying guns, because they believe they might go to federal court, be sent to a federal jail for five years perhaps, they'll stop carrying those guns during that drug dealing and other activities that are criminal. fewer people get killed. fewer people get killed. so i truly believe that we need to step tha

senator cornyn discussed the language and said i quote everyone knows language contains an exception for rape and health of the mother, so these wouldn't have anything to do with the services available to help those victims of human trafficking. in short, senator cornyn assert that had the hyde amount md, which contains an exception for rape, would not affect the availability of services for these victims. the fund will be under the jurisdiction of the department of justice. will you ensure these funds are not denied to service providers who assist victims in human trafficking in obtaining services they need including abortion if that is what is required for a young girl impregnated during this horrific abuse? >> i preeappreciate the fact ou country has been talking about taking action for a number of years to deal with sex trafficking more effectively. i don't know we've reached a level of actual effectiveness we need to, but congress and you and other have been v yoet spoken about this, so it's a very important issue. i was not aware of how the wanlg has been established. it's a ma

. >> senator cornyn? >> senator sessions, coratulations to you and your family on this once in a lifetime honor to serve as the head of the department of justice. sitting here listening to the questions and some of the comments that have been made, both by the protesters and others, it strikes me that many people have been surprised to learn more about your record. your outstanding record as a prosecutor, somebody who treated that responsibility to uphold n enforce the law and the constitution without fear or favor. some people listening here today have been somewhat surprised by your record in complete context. those of us who served with you in the senate, some as many as 20 years like senator shelby and senator collins testified to your character. but i like to think that those of us who served with you most closely in the senate, particularly the judiciary committee, know more about you than just your record and your character. we know your heart. we know what kind of person you are. you are a good an

i'm honored to have the backing of senator cornyn, senator cruz from my home state of texas. i do want to thank senator nunn for his commitment to nuclear nonproliferation, something he remains as steadfast today as ever. and as secretary gates for his service to eight u.s. presidents and his own leadership as president of the boy scouts of america. chairman corker, ranking member cardin and members of the committee, it's an honor to appear before you today as president-elect trump's nominee for secretary of state. and seek the apruprove alf this committee and the full senate for my confirmation. i come before you at a piv ol time in the history of our nation and our world. everywhere we look, people and nations are deeply unsettled. old ideas and international norms which were well understood and governed behaviors in the past may no longer be effective in our time. we face considerable threats in this evolving new environment. china has emerged as an economic power in global trade, and our interactions have been both friendly and adversarial. while russia seeks respect and

but jon cornyn, the republican from texas, the number two republican in the senate, he told cnn tonight that the senate does not plan to pass a big comprehensive bill. he said it's a far wiser idea to do a series of smaller bills along the way here so it doesn't collapse under its own weight as he says the affordable care act did. but anderson, so many ideas here, and president-elect trump when he becomes president on january 20th, he has yet to weigh in with his exact ideas for this. he says republicans and democrats must work together. there are few signs of that so far at least in the opening week here on capitol hill. >> all right. jeff zeleny. jeff, thanks. republicans are carrily on a fast track to make good on their promise to repeal obamacare. but with what specifically that is of course the question. tonight tom foreman has more. >> reporter: on the campaign trail the trump plan to replace obamacare was for many months a study in generalities. it would be cheaper, it would be better. >> it'll be a beautiful thing to see. >> reporter: but now more details are emerging and it loo

. >> in a bipartisan act can we all agree with senator cornyn that is a huge distraction. let's bring in our panel tonight. margaret, from bloomberg news, you saw her in the briefing room and the express on her face. long-time talk radio host charlie sykes and michael waldron is with us, you can tell why he's here. margaret, first to you. i saw you first nodding no and then your face lit up when sean said from the podium that maybe we will investigate this. is there anything at work here beyond what has -- the psychoanalysis that's already been attached to this president? >> brian, i really need to work on my poker face. i was hoping jonathan's head from the a.p. was mostly obstructing it. duly noted. this is the second time in the span of two days in the house when a debate over numbers has proved difficult for sean spicer to express. sean's done a really good job of getting around the room, asking a diversity of questions and it's a strategic problem they need to figure out, the com shop and president's top advisers. because obviously, if there really was a rampant voter

on the senate floor, senator cornyn discussed the language. everyone knows the hyde amendment language contains an provision for rapt. under this act the limitations on spending wouldn't have anything to do with the services available to help those victims of human trafficking. in short, the senator asserted the hyde amendment would not effect the availability of services for these victims. the domestic trafficking victims fund will be under the jurisdiction of the department of justice. here is the question. will you ensure that these grant funds are not denied to service providers who will assist victims of human trafficking in obtaining comprehensive services they need, including abortion, if that is what is required for a young girl impregnated during this horrific abuse? >> i appreciate that question and i do appreciate the fact that our country has been talking and i believe taking action for a number of years to deal with sex trafficking more effectively. i don't know that we've reached the level of actual effectiveness we need to but c

cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, let me start by offering my congratulations to my friend and colleague, senator schumer, the senator from new york. he is a worthy adversary when we see things differently, as we frequently do, but he's also somebody who i've found that you can work productively with. and i understand he's got a new role to play as the democratic leader, and i am sure we will see a lot of that worthy adversary part of his character in the forefront, but i do hope that we can in this new year, with the new congress work together. i'm a little -- i'm a little concerned, though, as i heard him go on, he had already declared the trump presidency over, and it hadn't -- he's not going to even be sworn in until 17 days from now by my calculation, and of course we just swore in the new members of the 115th congress. so let me also congratulate my colleagues across the aisle who were elected to join us here in what historically has been known as the world's greatest deliberative body. but if there's

>> i will, senator cornyn. and thank you for your hard work and leadership on these important issues. >> let me ask you about the freedom of information act. i don't know whether senator grassley had a chance to ask you about this or not. as you may know, senator grassley and i are -- excuse me, leahy and i are kind of the odd couple on freedom of information act reforms. as a conservative, i've always felt that the best antidote to abuse or waste is sunlight, where possible. and you don't have to pass another law or another regulation where people change their behavior because they know people are watching. senator leahy and i have worked closely together to see a number of reforms passed and signed into law, many of which i know you have supported and consulted with us on. it's not a blank legislate. it's -- sometimes you have to be careful about disclosing information that ought not to be public information, or it is law enforcement sensitive or classified, or the like. but i just would hope that you would c

cornyn: madam president, as you know, this

no he quotes senator john cornyn of texas saying this is going to take time said senator cornyn the numberwo republican in the senate. the lack of detail underscored the complexity of undoing, the biggest expansion of the social safety net in decades without interfering with health care for tens of millions of americans. additional time to shore up support for preserving obamacare in some form. continuing this morning with their calls and comments on your experience with the affordable care act. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. .ll others, (202) 748-8002 let's hear from evansville, indiana. angie is on our independent line. caller: i have been employed as a certified application counselor with the affordable care act. i have heard all types of stories. to the highest, in indiana we are the pence state. he actually refused the expanded medicaid for a long time. became to where you pay a certain premium, very low premium for medicaid if you're able-bodied. medicaid. also, as far as the affordable ,are act in the marketplace what i have heard is high deductibles.h

there are two republicans, senators cornyn and cruz.here are two democrats, you're hearing from one now, that's sam nunn, the other is bob gates. that's former defense secretary. >> yes, he is. >> former director-- >> for sessions yesterday. >> and i presume all four people are speaking for. >> i believe, and also former director of the cia. stuart: when mr. nun is finished, then it goes to bob gates, robert gates. he will have two, two and a half, three minutes to make his points about mr. tlerson, speaking, as you say, liz, in support of mr. tillerson. >> right. >> then it goes to mr. tillerson himself who makes >> yeah. stuart: i think he swears the oath first. liz: i think is had big theme will be the absence of leadership under the obama administration, ditherring over the red line head to green lights. and led to china demilitarizing the china sea. he will be a tough, tough diplomate in this office. stuart: that's interesting. because the questioning will probably zero in on russia and climate change, but this is going to be the f

senator cornyn. committee, i'mhe proud to be heard today with my colleague senator cruz to introduce a fellow texan, wrecks as the rex tillerson nominee to be secretary of state. without a doubt, rex tillerson is uninspired choice from president-elect donald trump for this edition. and a, this meant as a successful business leader and negotiator gives him a solid understanding of our current political challenges making him uniquely qualified to serve in this important office. after graduating from the -- from the university of texas, the exxonson join corporation. he moved on to assignments in asia, the middle east, and europe. in 2006, mr. tillerson assumed command of exxonmobil. whetherd exxonmobil complex geopolitical obstacles making them one of the world's most profitable companies. as a lifelong texan, wrecks -- has beenrson recognized or his humility and his altruism. one of my constituents recently wrote a piece in the dallas morning news talking about serving on a jury with mr. tillerson rec

cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, let me start by offering my congratulations to my friend and colleague, senator schumer, the senator from new york. he is a worthy adversary when we see things differently, as we frequently do, but he's also somebody who i've found that you can work productively with. and i understand he's got a new role to play as the democratic leader, and i am sure we will see a lot of that worthy adversary part of his character in the forefront, but i do hope that we can in this new year, with the new congress work together. i'm a little -- i'm a little concerned, though, as i heard him go on, he had already declared the trump presidency over, and it hadn't -- he's not going to even be sworn in until 17 days from now by my calculation, and of course we just swore in the new members of the 115th congress. so let me also congratulate my colleagues across the aisle who were elected to join us here in what historically has been known as the world's greatest deliberative body. but if there's

i'm honored to have the backing of senator cornyn, senator cruz from my home state of texas. i want to thank senator nunn for his commitment to nuclear nonproliferation, something he remains a steadfast today as ever. and secretary gates for his service to eight u.s. presidents, and his own leadership as president of the boy scouts of america. chairman corker, ranking member cardin, members of the committee, it is an honor to appear before you today as president-elect trump's nominee for secretary of state. and seek the approval of this committee and the full senate for my confirmation. i come before you at a pivotal time in both the history of our nation and our world. nearly everywhere we look, people in nations are deeply unsettled. old ideas and international norms which were well understood and governed behaviors in past may no longer be effective in our time. we face considerable threats in this evolving new environment. china has emerged as an economic power in global trade. and our interactions have been both friendly and adversarial. while russia seeks respect and re

cornyn, theo john majority leader of the senate, us.secured this room for he was a champion of the freedom of information act and i want to thank him for this. i want to thank our project director and all of those who made the work to bring this history to the present and we really appreciate the nuclear it is anitiative and fantastic organization. i thank this center, which continues the tremendous leadership and most of all, i need to thank the carnegie corporation of new york. carnegie and their visionary research onted preventing nuclear war and methods of cooperative security and it was present at the first meeting when the legislation took shape and carnegie is with and supporting this effort to understand what we did right and wrong and bring that history to now to build the mutual security and it is an ther for me to introduce award. >> thank you very much. i have the easiest job. how about that? am not going to introduce the others. but i want to tell you that this organization and the nuclear threat initiative archives are grants of the carnegie corporation and the most doortant

and standing with him was john cornyn who thinks that all of the delay and problems cause canned by democratrepublican nominees are just being stirred up because he doesn't think they have have gotten over the fact they lost in november. >> melissa: there was that. thank you so much. tom price facing another senate panel today. mike emmanuel joins us live outside of the room. what kind of questions was he faced with replacing obamacare today? >> reporter: he took a lot of questions about replacing obamacare. tom price is one of the leading faceses suggesting ideas of replacing obamacare. he told law makers he doesn't favor privateizing medicare. and democrats tried to push for more details on what is next for the health care system. >> i want your assure issance that you would not use executive order prior to a legal replacement to eliminate the man date. >> replace sxment reform and improvement of the program is imperative to be instituted. >> you will not use the executive order to by pass p the law. >> our commitment to is carry out the law of the land. >> reporter: democrats tried to get

or bob corker and john cornyn to be majority -- they're already in position, they're republican.they ignored? the expertise, why is it being ignored? why do we see joe dumfort taken off the national security council? there's a principle agents committee, he's not on it anymore. dan coates, the new head of national intelligence director is taken off of that, dumford is brilliant. incredible. nobody better in uniform out there. this has nothing to do with democrats. >> now we're in the c block. jeff, now we're in the c block. now we have gone from the b to the c. that's okay. we expect this. >> it's okay. i have your daughter's application right here. that will give me more time. >> jeff, thank you very much for joining us. >> that's a separate issue. that's a separate issue. hold on now. >> c block. >> love you, jefferson sonnenfe. >> that's low, jeff. that's low. nobody would have brought that up. that was like 5:00 in the morning. thank you, sonnenfeld. >>> much more on president trump's immigration order, the heritage foundation james carafano joins us at 7:30 eastern. he's bee

john cornyn of texas says they will not offer a bill to replace obamacare.g individual measures. he tells cnn quote we're not going to do a comprehensive bill. we will do it step by step. he adds if i learned anything since i have been here in the senate, big comprehensive bills are not the way to go. that doesn't square with what congress member chris collins who is the liason for the trump train ig transition. >> we will replace it. on the replacement plan, you see five or six different versions of replacement plans on the republican side. we will have to bring those all together to have one final product. >> as with democrats, vice president biden weighing in chastising the gop for not having really d ideas for replacement. >> let's look at what you have right now. what don't you like and let's see if we can fix it. talk to us. tell us what you're ideas are. mr. trump is a good man. he doesn't know much about the health care system. >> they are series about undoing it. >> very serious. like i said. lots of luck. undo it. see what happens. >> president-ele

john cornyn of texas told me this week that they want to do piece by piece way. there's never -- they're never going to meet what the democrats are asking for, and what obama is saying also behind closed doors is telling his democrats not to help them replace plan. if in their view it's not as good as obama care because he says it's going to be like trump care. this is a democratic starting point. the question will be whether they get enough pressure to have to cut a deal if the republicans succeed in repealing the law first. >> they have to come up with something first, and that question right now is trying to tie the republicans in knots. the president believes he is calling their bluff, and he is calling it right. they have repealed obama care dozens of times when they couldn't actually get it done, but now that they have control and they have the ability to actually repeal it, they have yet to come up with a replace plan. they can't agree on what would be in it, and they have a lot of jitters about what the blow back might be. once they repeal it, anything ba

cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: mr.president, i would just say i have had the pleasure of sitting here listening to the senator from connecticut talk about his concerns about repealing obamacare, and i would say it strikes me that their posture is we sold the american people a lemon, and we insist that they keep it. our position is that obamacare has been a failure, it's been a grand, in terms of scale, experiment, a national experiment that has failed. yesterday, i talked about the fact that my constituents were writing me, telling me that their premiums in many instances have doubled and their deductible has gotten to the point that they are effectively self-insured so that their insurance does them virtually no good. we will vote to repeal obamacare, but obviously we're' not going to leave people hanging out to dry. we're going to make sure that they have coverage that they choose and that they can afford, and i would welcome the assistance of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to try to craft a bipartisan ref

cornyn: mr. president, soon the senate will vote to repeal obamacare. this is for at least two reasons. one is that obamacare has been an abysmal failure when you look at the promises that were made to sell it and actually what has been delivered in terms of higher premiums, higher deductibles, and more challenges for the -- for ordinary americans. many americans now find that their deductible is so high that they're effectively self-insured. i remember like it was yesterday, actually it was some six years ago, that president obama said if you like what you have, you can keep it in terms of your health coverage. he said if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. and he said the average family of four would see their premiums go down by $2500. none of that has proven to be true. so obamacare was really sold under false claims, false promises. we know that many headlines today demonstrate that premiums are higher than people can afford. they can't keep the insurance plan they had and they liked and they have to go find another doctor, sometimes as

john cornyn said the senate does not plan to pass a big comprehensive bill. he said it is a far wiser idea to do a series of smaller bills along the way so it doesn't collapse under its own weight as he says the affordable care act the. so many ideas here. and president trump has yet to weigh in. he says republicans and democrats must work together. there are few signs of that in the opening week. >> this is the question. tom foreman has more. >> on the campaign trail the trump plan to replace obamacare was for many months a study in generalities. it would be cheaper, better? beautiful thing to see. >> but now more details are emerging and looks very much like a work in progress, some cornerstone ideas have been around a while such as call to modify existing law that inhibits sale of health insurance across state lines. >> instead of one company taking care of new york or texas, have many and compete, beautiful thing. >> skeptics fear lead to regulatory gaps once again leaving folks with chronic illnesses uninsured. >> obama lie. remember this. >> till his on

jop cornyn saying they'll do a little here and there and spackle it up.e trump supporters are now worried. they want republicans to think twice about doing anything at all to obamacare. you heard me right. sanjay gupta is out front. >> they wouldn't sell it to me at any price. it was not -- but i was overweight. so i was a risk. >> reporter: back in 2013, bob russko, 53 years old, was a familiar story in america. too familiar. he was more than 100 pound overweight. at risk of heart disease and diabetes. he was also self-employed and no company wanted to offer him health care insurance. he was considered too big a risk. was that tough to go uninsured? >> well, it doesn't make you warm and fuzzy. but i didn't like it, but it was the reality of the situation. >> reporter: when did you first hear about the affordable care act? >> it was all over the news. >> reporter: what did you think? >> i thought it was a good idea. even though i'm conservative. >> reporter: so when did you first sign up for obamacare? >> when it was first available. it was october, i rem

cornyn. i'm from there with how that plays out in the row world.est judgment is that enforcing federal gun laws can reduce crime and violence in our cities and communities. it was highlighted in richmond but i have to tell you i have always believed that. when i was a united states attorney in the 80s and into the early 90s we had, we produced a newsletter that went out to all local law enforcement and it highlighted the progress that was being made by prosecuting criminals who use guns to carry out their crimes. criminals are most like we are kind of person that would shoot somebody when they go about their business. if those people are not carrying guns because they believe they might go to federal court and be sent to a federal jail for five years perhaps they will stop carrying those guns during their drug dealing another two buddies that are criminal. fewer people get killed. fewer people get killed so i truly believe that we need to step that up. to compassionate thing. if one of these individuals carrying a gun and shoot somebody not only ar