. >> plus, we talked to the top democrat on the security committee, congressman bennie thompson, and trump ally, james lankford. and a rare rebuke. >> it was a total, phony story. >> the special counsel disputes parts of a buzzfeed investigation claiming there is evidence the president instructed his former lawyer to lie to congress. were democrats too eager to embrace the story and threaten impeachment? >>> we'll ask the latest 2020 candidate hoping to take on trump, senator kirsten gillibra gillibrand. >>> plus, the latest analysis from our powerhouse round table. >>> good morning and welcome to "this week." today marks the official halfway point of president trump's first term. exactly two years since he took the oath of office. today also marks day 30 of the government shutdown, the longest in u.s. history, and after weeks of stalled negotiations and ten days since his last meeting with democratic leadership, president trump once again took his message directly to the american people, delivering a televised address from the white house yesterday, offering what he characterizes as

house homeland security committee bennie thompson gathered former da sets -- dhs formerls including homeland security jeh johnson to discuss the impact of the government shutdown on the agency and its employees. mr. johnson joined a bipartisan group of former homeland security secretary's to offer a letter to president trump and congress calling for full funding for the department. this is one hour and 50 minutes. [applause] . >> thank you very much. good morning. i em of that same religion you have to talk back. since the trump shutdown has been going on for over a month remember this is his shutdown because on camera he said directly to the american people he would take pride in shutting down the government. 800,000 of the federal employees still have no paychecks since last year they will miss anotr

congressman bennie thompson himself called that program himself a "grave ands expensive disappointment thompson was right about that. what's changed is that democrats now support grave and expensiven disappointments. they specialize in grave and expensive disappointments. they're pushing one now. that is shortsighted. leaving the politics aside, it's not a good idea because our southern border is one of america's most dangerous vulnerabilities. it is not a talking point. it is literally true and here's why. as of tonight, mexico is an intact country. will it remain an intact country? maybe but maybe not. mexico is a deeply unstable place. it's not an attack on the mexican people. it's an acknowledgment of what anyone who knows anything about the country will tell you. the national murder rate in mexico is five times ours. since 2006 more than 250,000, a quarter million people have been murdered in mexico. that includes hundreds of politicians and judges. there is a war going on there. it is spurred by drug cartels that reach into the highest levels of the mexican government, not an exa

benny thompson about he has oversight of that committee and has worked very hard and long on issues that relate to domestic security and domestic terrorism and he agrees that we should go forward in this way. it isn't a question of are they professional enough. why should we take it there? the question is should they be paid? as secretary of any agency, that person should be advocating for her employees to be paid instead of saying it's okay for them to work without pay. >> if the president comes back to you and says no, i want to give the state of the union at the capitol on the date we agreed to, what will you do then? will you allow it to go forward? >> we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. >> we haven't heard. very silent, more than 24 hours to your question that you ask me every time i step out of the office. have you heard? no, we haven't heard yet. >> thank you, madam speaker. >> i know you have concerns about the security and considering how everyone is so amped up on both sides about this shutdown and the president is amped up, but not doing this at this stage, this is an

okthis evening i with representative bennie thompson of mississippi. he is the new democratic chairman of the house homeland security committee.by i startesking whether the country is less safe result of the shutdown. >> well, you know, the men and women who perform the job every day do a t good job, think it's a bit much to ask them to work and not be paid. i have talked to them, i've talked to the t.s.a. administrator, a number of other individuals, and they've all assured me that the standards will continue to met, but i know it's a problem if mortgages are due, if utility bills are due. it's a problem when you don't have the money to do it. d.h.s.of our employees at work from check to check because some of them, likeur t.s.o.s at airports, are some of the lowest paid federal employees.% >> woodruff: one of the arguments the administration is making, and i know you've heard it because they've said it over and over again came yesterday again from the secretary ofla ho security kiirston nielsen. she said the smug lick taking -- the smuggling taking pl

. >> that was the chair of the house homeland security committee, democrat bennie thompson today.oining me now, representative john gare mendy, a democrat from california and a very good friend to us here on msnbc. recently you said you are also not opposed to some kind of wall in some parts of the border. so tell me what this stalemate is really about. >> this is about the president and the president's base. you go back -- just take a look at this last year. the congress of the united states was willing to appropriate $1.6 billion for border security. that was in the legislation. that was available through the continuing resolution for both november and then it was extended to december, $1.6 billion for border security. and then at the final -- then there was this little meeting in the oval office with the leadership and the president said i want $5 billion or else i'm going to shut down the government. well, that was back in december and guess what? he didn't get his $5 billion and he did shut down the government. i will tell you this, i'm on the transportation committee where w

bennie thompson is looking for the homeland secretary to show up. there's a lot to talk about there. there is apparently an agreement between the judiciary committee to have the acting attorney general, whitaker, show up, even if he is no longer the attorney general by february 8 and talk about his tenure as the acting secretary. and the issues that have come up there. there is a lot of pushing there, and i imagine that like secretary mnuchin there are a lot of folks looking to push that off, particularly in the middle of a shut down because they will become the punching bags for this conversation. jenny, ons hear from the republican line in ohio. go ahead. caller: i have a question, was it gerald ford, the first president in office when the shutdown began and what was the reason behind the first government shut down? i would really like to know. and say they go for four months, with the government help their -- help them keep their house? is there a law they could pass for that? about thenly tell you shutdowns i have covered, i want theay i covered

. >>> let's go to congressman bennie thompson of mississippi and he's the chairman of the house homeland security committee. he is joining me by phone. congressman, i wonder what you make of the fact that the president of the united states mentioned rape and crime and drugs in speaking of the migrants who are desperately trying to seek asylum in the united states. he mentioned those things repeatedly. but nothing about the federal workers to include tsa workers, air traffic controllers, people responsible for the national security of the united states, say nothing of his own secret service. >> well it was unfortunate, joy. as you know, the president is notorious for using that kind of language when he's referring to migrants. more importantly, for a lot ever us, he said nothing about the 800,000 federal employees who are, at this point, without a paycheck. and it appears that he does not care. so today was a messaging effort, a messaging stunt and nothing more. so it is unfortunate. i wish the president -- we have democratic leadership. he can't pick the democratic leadership to talk to.

bennie thompson homeland security show up.there is apparently an agreement between the judiciary committee to have acting attorney general whitaker short evening is no longer attorney general, , but i think the eighth, sometime in early december 2 talk about his tenure as acting secretary and love issues that come up there. a lotot of pushing there, and i imagine like secretary mnuchin there may be a lot of folks are looking to push them off, particularly in the middle of a shutdown because they will become the punching bags for this conversation. >> host: lecture from ohio, republican line. good morning. you were on. go ahead. >> caller: thank you thank you. hey, i have a question. was it gerald ford the very first president in office when the shutdown began? and what was the reason behind the first government shutdown? i really would like to know. and say that this is the longest conflict said they go for four months without pay. with the coming help them keep their house or with the present summer is a long? thank you. >> g

bennie thompson of mississippi chairs the homeland security committee. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm hope goens the staff director for the homeland security committee thank you for coming to our panel discussion, funding the front line hosted by chairman bennie thompson. today's moderator is miss tiffany cross. tiffany cross is the editor on cofounder of the beat dc, a daily news publication highlighting diversity in the nation's capitol. welcome within ms. cross. >> good morning, everybody. >> good morning. >> i'll try that again. i grew up in a baptist church. good morning, everybody. >> good morning. >> i know these are dire times. but we want to have an energetic conversation this morning. and members have votes at 10:00. so while the chairman has an introduction that could easily go on for 30 minutes i'm going to be brief and thank the kmarm for having this important conversation and i'm delighted to be here. again my name is tiffany d. cross i'm the cofounder and managing editor of the beat d.c. if you don't subscribe i hope will you after today. without further ado i will

. >> congressman bennie thompson has reclaimed the gavel in the home insecurity commission and he is our guest. thanks for being with us. >> thanks her having me. >> we have reporters here to ask questions as always. for returning to us. mr. thompson, we are taping friday morning. we are on day 21 of the government shutdown. how do you see this ending? >> there is no end in sight at this point. have 800,000we federal employees who will not get a paycheck. nonetheless, they are working. many of them are keeping america safe. right to have people working and not getting paid. >> i went to ask you, in the absence of any kind of breakthrough, it is looking increasingly likely that president trump will declare a national emergency so he can use funds from the army corps of engineers to start opening this wall without congress. view, does he have the legal authority to do that, and regardless, what steps will be democratic house take took -- to try to curtail that action? >> first of all, i hope the president does not declare an emergency declaration. access to the corps of engineer funds

bennie thompson of mississippi chairs the homeland security committee.

. >> congressman bennie thompson of mississippi has reclaimed the vel on the homeland security committee. he's our guest on "newsmakers" this week. mr. thompson: we have 800,000 federal employees who won't get a paycheck today. nonetheless they are working. many of them are keeping america safe but it's not right to have people working and not being paid. >> mr. chairman, i want to ask you, in the absence of any kind of breakthrough in negotiations, it's increasingly looking likely that president trump will declare a national emergency at the boarder to use funds from to the army corps of engineers to start building this wall without congress. in your view, does he have legal authority to do that? and if he gos ahead with it, what steps can a democratic house take to curtail that action? mr. thompson: i hope president trump doesn't declare the emergency declaration. accessing corps of engineers funds would put communities at risk that are already being ravaged by wildfires, floods and what have you and many of the projects associated with those natural disasters being limited with those

. >> congressman bennie thompson of mississippi has reclaimed the gavel

. >> congressman bennie thompson of mississippi has regained the gaft in the homeland security committee in the house of representatives. he's our guest on c-span's "newsmakers" this week. thank you very much for being with us. we have two reporters with us this week. we have two reporters in the studio to ask questions. nick sanders and stephen diamond. thank you for returning to our program this week. mr. thompson, we are taping on friday morning and a run 21 of the government shutdown. how do you see the sending? >> there's no end in sight at this point. as you know, we have some 800,000 federal employees who won't get a paycheck today, but nonetheless, they are working. many of them, keeping america safe, but it is just not right to have people working and not eing paid. >> mr. chairman, i want to ask you, in the absence of any breakthrough in negotiations on capitol hill, it is looking likely president trump will declare a national emergency at the border so he can use funds from the army corps of engineers to start building the wall ithout congress. in your view does he have the an

bull benny thompson says they will only allow taxpayer money be spent on border security measures that will make a difference. lawmakers were feeling the pressure on the shutdown and seeking a way out. >> the real ramifications of the shutdown are starting to be seen. i think you will see a cascading effect. reporter: back pay should start flowing to employees in two to three days. other agencies like the coast guard may take longer, so employees are urged to check with their bosses. lou: the mueller witch hunt at work early this morning. officers in assault gear raiding the home of roger stone and hauling him off to court. he's facing a seven-count indictment for the release of hacked dnc emails in 2. >> 16. catherine herridge has the story. catherine: he waves a peace sign as booze and cheers were heard. he says the special counsel indictment is baseless and politically motivated. >> there is no circumstances whatsoever that i will bear false witness against the president or use lies to relieve the pressure on myself. catherine: the special counsel circulated the 24-page 7-count indi

benny thompson says he supports a barrier saying he would not rule out a wall in certain instances. senator joe manchin and congressman don beier says they will support calling a national emergency. and james clyburn says yes. democrats negotiate a deal and get something more permanent for dreamers. what does ralph norman think of this? he's live on the arizona border. congressman, democrats are saying it was president trump who ripped up daca to begin with. what do you think about what's going on now. >> it's just word they are saying. it doesn't make sense. if they were on the border to see what we are seeing. it's not manufactured. it's a national crisis, a humanitarian crisis. we are talk about securing this border with a fence. it's not concrete walls the whole way. it's a fence, and it's exactly what we need. we talked to agents on the ground and ranchers who have examples of what they are facing. this is a fight we have to win. the president is right. is it perfect? no. but it's a step in the right direction. if they can't fund the wall, we'll sit as long as it takes. liz: re

bennie thompson who's chair of the homeland security, he understands the security threat for a statef the union. he also understands the magnitude of a bringing people in. i just noticed today they're bringing in people to the agriculture department. this was the right move to make. if the president would like to put it in writing, i'm sure your fact checkers will get an opportunity before it's delivered. it was a shrewd move, the right thing to do. >> it wasn't politics. >> of course everything -- >> the second highest ranking republican in the house blasted speaker pelosi for essentially blasting the president. she's in fear of the truth coming out about what the president wants to do to secure the border. adding i'd encourage the president to still come. we'll find a place for him to spook. there's only one joint session of congress. it's an occasion when the congress by resolution of both houses, house and senate, invite the presidents to come in. he could go anywhere. >> mr >> mai trgs a iergs. >> no, this is not about security. it's a very shrewd muf to escalate in this particu

host: democrat bennie thompson for mississippi, new chair of the house homeland security committee. online anytime at the span.org. dual, the the reporting of volleyball with house speaker nancy pelosi. the president of the united states as both sides continue to stand firm. no new negotiations scheduled. senate returns tomorrow. the house coming in on tuesday. the shutdown now entering week for, the longest shutdown in u.s. history. arcadia,oining us in louisiana. caller: good morning. kidney a moment or two because i'm really upset. let's be truthful and clear. this is no crisis. trump ben mcconnell are responsible for this continued shutdown. they want to be dictator. republicans of the and democrats have agreed to open up the government and do it without wall funding and debating it at a later date but mcconnell will not bring it to the floor of the senate. mcconnell is not doing his job. the solution is to impeach this criminal trump and put him in jail. the democrats have repeatedly nuttyto work with this president from day one. he said he would take responsibility for this sh

the democrat response came from benny thompson, who chairs the homeland security committee. he wrote it would be completely inappropriate for president trump to further deplete the agency's resources and man power for the sole purpose of having an hour of uninterrupted prime time television coverage. the president is required to submit a state of the union in writing to the congress. but in theory he could give this televised address at any place, any date, any time of his choosing. so far, no response from the president to pelosi. back to you in new york. cheryl: we'll watch the twitter account for that. house democrats passed an emergency disaster relief bill that includes an amendment funding the government you through february 8th. the measure is not expected to be taken up in the senate. majority leader mitch mcconnell said he will not bring any bill to the floor unless he is assured that president trump will sign it. the president has said he will not support any plan that does not include funding for a border wall. lauren: he's holding firm. the new chair woman of the

when you talk to the democrats, hoyer and bennie thompson, the chair of the homeland security council in the house of representatives, they talked about a package that would match the president's dollar request were dollar for dollar $5.7 million, immigration judges, drones, port of entry issues, dealing with other types of border security but staying away from the term wall. that's where a lot think i might be semantics and is this just a game back and forth. it's hard to believe when you have 800,000 people not being paid but this is the question as to who is taking this seriously and who is not. david: it's a game with severe consequences. that's for sure. great to see you. >> can i drop the sword? david: go ahead. >> they have to fund the government now and then they get to do it all over again by september 30th. david: here we go again. >> that's my birthday. david: thank you for that, chad, i think. >>> elizabeth warren wants to do more than raise the taxes on the wealthy. now she's talking about wealth con ficonfiscation. latest developments on this story. you don't want to hi

meanwhile in the house, when security committee chairman bennie thompson says, he plans to introduce bill that contains billions for border security but nothing for a while. it is a brand-new idea he is telling us. he said he can security border with the marvels of technology, he told pbs that cutting edge machines can help us identify those vulnerabilities on the border. his plant expects enthusiasm and support me congressman from tech land, nancy pelosi, here is her most recent. watch. >> the positive, technological wall that can be built is what we should be doing. technology to scan the cars coming through the ports of entry and that is to detect gun guns, like an electronic dog. it can detect drugs, other contraband. >> tucker: it is like an electric dog, that is hilarious. we laughed about it before but it is also patronizing. you have to be totally ignorant of what is happening on our southern border to believe that more surveillance is going to solve the problem. we have an awful lot of surveillance technology there already, drones, cameras, sensors, radars, we have it there

leadership democratic party, but also today, house homeland security chairman representative benny thompson said, you know, that's not enough. he said while he and other democrats won't rule out a wall completely, they will go for barriers. he also says the president keeps changing, you know, the game. listen. >> i'm saying that we will sit with the chief, the president or whomever and we'll work through it. >> so you wouldn't rule out a wall? >> i would not rule out a wall in certain instances, but clearly democrats are for border security but we're not for this constantly moving the ball just for a talking point. mr. president, democrats will work with you, but you can't pick what democrats you work with. we have picked our leaders and you have to work with our leaders. >> so he's essentially saying it's back to square one. let's start over, do over and begin with leadership talking to leadership. >> certainly the white house -- the president, certainly he can pick off any democrat he wants. any white house would try to do th that. the democrat that holds the most power is nancy pelosi, a

congressman benny thompson earl y ier said you have to reach out to the leadership. so where are we seeing the art of the deal, the president being the great negotiator? >> we're not seeing that on behalf of this president at all. one reason i was told democrats were unilaterally opposed out of the gate on this offer from the white house was that they weren't consulted at all. this is not something that chuck schumer and nancy pelosi were huddling with vice president pence and jared kushner on. rather, what they had been told over the last two, three weeks is that the president wouldn't entertain anything related to daca when it comes to finding a compromise to reopen the government and solve what he believes is a humanitarian crisis at the border. in many ways, they were caught flat footed when earlier this week vice president pence told reporters the president is not interested in making daca part of these talks to suddenly seeing donald trump at the podium saying this is part of his, you know, grand bargain. >> so ron, does it appear as though the president is mor

bennie thompson is the chairman of the house homeland security committee, democratic from mississippi. he's put out a statement about savation security and the long lines at the airport. thompson says "it could have a negative impact on aviation security." in other words, if they don't start to work this out. this is a real problem, shep, when they're not talking. j.f.k. in his inauguration speech said you shouldn't be afraid to negotiate. they can't get to any resolution, any compromise if they're not negotiating, shep. >> shepard: anything from the senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell? he's the one in the past that has said i get you out of shut downs. any luck? >> that's what people have been confounded by here. mitch mcconnell is one of those folks that has this really good inside game. he's good working out deals with the other side. he has virtually fallen silent. he's been very critical of the democrats here. but he hasn't taken some of these bills that the house of representatives passed last week. in another universe he might say let's try to amend the bills and get to 60

if you look at previous votes and what democrats are arguinar, i put this to benny thompson, the chairman of the committee and house that overseas the u.s., mexico border funding. and he said it is a game of semantics because the propels that are coming out from the democrats, they are to have some type of border security there and finally, i mean, i actually would disagree with the panel respectfully this is a pause button this is a pause button because three weeks from now, the president said at the white house on friday, freezing cold, but he said essentially in the first sentence, he would declare a national emergency. >> sarah sanders doubling down. >> right i think -- >> yeah, but good luck proverin it's an emergency. that's the point i was making. one of the things that made this shutdown so horrible is you had this attitude coming from administration, let them eat cake you had the commerce secretary wilber ross say i don't understand why people are going to food pantries what it just doesn't -- you know, there is a disconnect and i think what people saw, what americans saw is we h

i want to go to the chairman of the house homeland security committee democratic congressman benny thompsonour time, congressman. were democrats too quick to reject the democrat's proposal before he announced anything? >> well, clearly, it was nothing new. this is the trump shutdown. he owns it. let's put the workers back to work. they are not rich people. they have mortgages. they have obligations, and to put them in this situation is untenable. president trump put those american citizens back to work. then let's sit down like adults and work through these situations. you can't do it on twitter. you can't do it on saturday. let's do it together around the table and that's the democratic message. the wall is a non-starter. let's put the people back to work and then let's sit down and talk. >> so, you know, some of the president's supporters see this obviously very differently than you do. in fact, they think he is giving away too much in his offer. ann coulter, she's influential with the president, she said he shouldn't. we voted for trump and got jeb. what is your response to that? >> well

and some in the democratic leadership, bennie thompson and jim clyburn who i know you'll have on have talked about the potential for democrats offering something, a package with more money. maybe not for the wall, but more money for other things that the president likes. that could begin to break the impasse. >> i think that's a good point. because back to tone, maybe there is a cooling, maybe there's a cooling. maybe there -- maybe democrats will be more in the mood to offer something conciliatory towards the president because of all of this. i mean, i don't know, you're laughing at me. >> i'm laughing -- >> at my pollyannaish take. >> i'm stepping back and wondering why we know voters hate washington. they're going to take two votes that we know will fail. it's legislation that's laxative, right? that's exactly what it is. and we wonder why voters like kind of turn their -- just roll their eyes and throw up their hands. >> voters? how about if you're out of -- i mean, you're tsa employee and not getting paid and you see, you know, this back and forth over the state of the union and

i interviewed the chairman of the house committee benny thompson who oversees the issue of border security and i asked him point-blank, it's not that democrats are against border security or security at the u.s./mexico border. they're against the wall and even yesterday, the president's remarks, he went through great lengths at one point during that long remarks to talk about a smart wall and fencing and drones and what not and all of that was an effort i think many would argue that in this three week period should he not be able to get what he originally wanted to be able to reframe and to recharacterize this because there's no way -- as i point it to chairman thompson, is this a game of semantics and he said, in a way, yes and that's really where we're at. >> that seems to be the norm for washington. >> welcome -- yeah. it's different up here in new york. i got to get up to new york more often. >> yes, you do. thank you all. >>> roger stone is ready to fight the charges and even thinks he'll be vindicated in court. just look. he even has a teacher to support it. rt even has a t-shirt to

"sorry, benny thompson. saying, "maybe there is some room for this." and listen and respond. >> i would not rule out a wall in certain instances. the notion that we can't have barriers is just something that is not true. again, martha, you have to have a plan. the plan that the president initially started with is not where he is now. so we don't know where he will be tomorrow. >> melissa: okay, so i have heard that exact phrase. that must be in some talking points. >> capri: i never read talking points that are said to me, that's pretty clear. >> melissa: that we don't know where he will be tomorrow. >> capri: the argument is, he said on the campaign trail that mexico would pay for the wall. all this other stuff. okay, that very will they be the case, we live in the reality now and we have direct what that is. nancy pelosi and chuck schumer are going to face just what we saw from this member of congress, that the rake and file members -- particularly those democrats that are in districts where trump was successful -- they are going to start to defect a

if you also take that and listen to what benny thompson or jim cliburn today was saying about this notion of $5 billion or plus in border security, not appropriations for the border wall, that the president wants, to me, to my ears as much as nancy pelosi didn't want to talk about that because sheen doesn't want to talk about anything until the government's opened, to me, hearing democrats say, there is this idea that we could put this $5 billion in border security as apart of this, that to me suggests well maybe that is the beginning of a negotiating position even while the government's still closed right now or at least a telegraphing what they're thinking. i do think there are some cracks here that indicate a possible pathway forward. >> yeah. maybe that is -- maybe that is a way forward potentially to compromise and here's hoping that the president's tweet last evening, you know, quickly and politely acknowledging that he would not give this state of the union until the government is reopened stays that way. david, don't go too far. let me go to kaitlan collins who is keeping track of

let me show you what congressman benny thompson, chair of the homeland security committee, on abc, what he had to say this morning. >> so you wouldn't rule out a wall. >> i would not rule out a wall in certain instances. now, the notion that we can't have barriers is just something that's not true. clearly, democrats are for border security. but we are not for this constantly moving the ball just for a talking point. >> so, cristina, the democrats are willing to talk. they're willing to even talk about some barriers. so to rick's point, they seem to be willing to compromise. but the president says, my wall or nothing. >> right. >> how do we break that deadlock? where is mitch mcconnell? because the senate and the house did pass a bill that included money for border patrol and border security over $1 billion. why isn't mitch mcconnell stepping up, saying we passed a bill. let's go with that bill, mr. president, my fellow republican? >> right. we know that we can't count on mitch mcconnell to behave in any manner other than a sycophantic senator. the president's painted himself into a cor

after that, the democrat response seemingly came from congressman bennie thompson. he's the head of the homeland security committee. he said "it would be completely inappropriate for president trump to further deplete the agency's resources and manpower for the sole purpose of having an hour of ininterrupted prime time television coverage." here's the bottom line. the president of the united states is required to submit and update of the state of our union to congress. the televised portion of this only became tradition in 1965 when president johnson started it. so in theory, president trump could still give a state of the union address, just not up on capitol hill in front of congress at a place, maybe the oval office, maybe the white house, maybe somewhere else and the date of his choosing. so far though no direct response from the president to nancy pelosi. neil? >> neil: you know this because you're a genius. the first president said it's stupid, written or otherwise. >> and there's been a lot of presidents since that wanted prime time television coverage, right

the very plan benny thompson, the chairman of the homeland security committee has laid out. we can do this with technology and a smarter, more advanced way that's going to keep our country safer. that's what we're putting on the table. if this truly was about border security, the president and his team would be open to what's been put on the table. so i'm hopeful that we can find the path forward and get this done and get the government open while these negotiations continue. >> well, what we do know from a lot of the people who are in the middle of it is they feel we are being made less secure by this shutdown. there is no doubt about that, congressman. >> i i would agree with you. we need to make sure we're making families hole, but that we're getting the government open. implications to our u.s. economy and families hurting across the country, it is absolutely unnecessary. and remember, this was started by our republicans in the majority in december. we are doing everything we can starting day one to pass legislation to open up the government. let's find a way to work tog

we heard from benny thompson, we heard from jim cliburn, there might be some kind of counteroffer. what are you hearing? >> there has been an increase in the pain level, it seems, andrea. frankly the mood up here seems to have shifted a little bit in the last couple of days, where it's pretty clear that there is now a more advanced scramble on to try to get out of this. what felt like a stalemate that was immovable now seems to be cracking. now, that doesn't mean that we have a clear way out of this. what we do know, leanne caldwell and hai have been reporting thi this morning, the democrats have been preparing a counteroffer to the president. what they say, our sources tell us, there wouldn't be any money for the wall in there but there would be border security money that would meet or exceed the president's $5.7 billion demand. so this could be a pretty classic move by the house speaker nancy pelosi, who is just walking right by here. madam speaker, your counterproposal -- she obviously, like paul ryan who has walked by this camera many time when we've been on the air, andrea, no

bennie thompson is looking for the homeland secretary to show up. there's a lot to talk about there. there is apparently an agreement between the judiciary committee to have the acting attorney general, whitaker, show up, even if he is no longer the attorney general by february 8 and talk about his tenure as the acting secretary. and the issues that have come up there. there is a lot of pushing there, and i imagine that like secretary mnuchin there are a lot of folks looking to push that off, particularly in the middle of a shut down because they will become the punching bags for this conversation. jenny, ons hear from the republican line in ohio. go ahead. caller: i have a question, was it gerald ford, the first president in office when the shutdown began and what was the reason behind the first government shut down? i would really like to know. and say they go for four months, with the government help their -- help them keep their house? is there a law they could pass for that? about thenly tell you shutdowns i have covered, i want theay i covered

bennie thompson, chair of house homeland security committee they're trying to put together something to match the president's number on border security, border security, $5.7 billion, nothing for a wall. steny hoyer in his remarks i just came from, indicated he said they would offer a healthy sum for border security. so right now the sides are still talking past each other. once again today in the house of representatives, neil, the house will move a series of six bills to reopen the government for the rest of the fiscal year. and then attached to that, will be interim spending bill for the department of homeland security through february 28th. democrats contend you have to reopen the government before you can have these conversations about immigration and border security down the road, neil. neil: chad, thank you,. steny hoyer, under nancy pelosi differed from the speaker when it came to whether a wall is immoral. listen. >> i think physical barriers are part of the solution. neil: you don't share nancy pelosi's view that a wall is immoral? >> look, i think, depends upon what a wall

when i interviewed the homeland security chairman of the house committee, bennie thompson, a suggested as much. they are willing to get onboard board with some type of varying type of security along the border, whether that includes fencing, drone surveillance and whatnot, but they are not willing to just give away money for a wall. but in contrast, republicans are dug in on this. i spoke with hard-line conservatives who feel that a wall, a wall or bust. now, what is interesting is a bipartisan group of senators yesterday, a group of 16, including some republicans such as senator susan collins, susan murkowski, cory gardner up for a tougher election fight in 2020 ,and mitt romney, the new senator from utah. they signaled that they would be willing to break with the president and work with democrats under the leadership of mitch mcconnell to broker a deal. that suggest the bottom line if you are watching this that there are republicans in the senate poised to break with the white house when they feel that is the better route. scarlet: thank you so much for that update. we'll be checking

mark meadows is that you are seen not just a rank-and-file members, but durbin, steny hoyer, bennie thompsonrman of the house agriculture committee. a lot of these are saying the wall is not a moralist nancy pelosi said. does serve a purpose and so the question is if we can get this outside of trump and pelosi who are just decided to go back and forth to each other and look at it more analytically by getting numbers together and saying can we agree on certain things that make common sense and then it's a product of bair versus a product of the back-and-forth between the president and the speaker we might actually be able to get something done and avoid all of this. here's the interesting thing. i think what the debate proves and this is a really interesting thing. the american people clearly did not like the shutdown, but they did show an increase in the desire for the border wall and border security. you have them agreed with the president's policy but not the overall tactic of shutting down the government. if we can take it back a step, which he and everyone has done now, you can focus on

bennie thompson is important, he is the chairman of the homeland security committee.mpediment, something on the border, they're not opposed to that i think it comes down to semantics. 17 people, house republicans, democrats, senate democrats and republicans i think they can get from here to there. nancy pelosi can take her supposed win. but at the end of the war donald trump will get a version of the wall and it will be important to america. stuart: but it might not be a wall from coast to coast. >> the president never said he wanted it coast to coast but you have to fix the existing border wall. some of it is six foot. looks like tin. and then you have got other parts where you want double fencing. it is going to be down to the semantics. and republicans have to make sure they allow the democrats have some sort of a wins and presidents have to allow the president to have some sort of a win. i do think people will get from here to there. i do think we'll have an extension of the existing border wall. stuart: but semantics, the words used will be very important. >> yes

congressman bennie thompson, democrat from mississippi, he is is the new homeland security chairman.e divided on this listen what he said. >> democrats historically supported certain barriers, certain other things to protect this country. we will sit with the chief, the president, or whomever we'll work through it. >> so you wouldn't rule out a wall? >> i would not rule out a wall in certain instances. now the notion that we can't have barriers is just something that is not true. >> i'm not for a wall. i'm not for a wall. i'm not for a wall. steve: she's not for a wall. as we detailed about 20 minutes ago. the president now, this is his fourth offer. he has been making compromise offers. he is negotiating each time the democrats have said no. when you look at it, the democrats get something out of this with daca protections for three years and the president winds up with a little south of $6 billion, which is quarter what he asked for. both sides get something but dan bongino says the president has democrats in a corner right now and it is unclear what they're going to do. >> every i

secretary of homeland security about it she'll didn't ask the secret service about it she asked benny thompsonhat do you think about security. by the way it's already been done and finished and we have experts in the audience to talk about this. kirsten nielsen said the department of homeland security and secret service are fully prepared to support and secure the state of the union. we thank the service for their mission focus and dedication and for all they do each day to secure the homeland. if it was a sincere concern for the speaker, don't you think the chairman would have known about it? steve: well, and if there is a security problem at the u.s. capitol, why are they running the government? they have passed some bills yesterday. you've got to wonder by the president has not responded yet. it's because he doesn't know whether or not she was actually canceling it or whether or not it was a political statement. buff how many people in our audience think and this is just a question. how many of you have think she does not want to give him the political stage, you know, all eyes are going to

. >> congressman bennie thompson has reclaimed the gavel in the home insecurity commission and he is our guest. thanks for being with us. >> thanks her having me. >> we have reporters here to ask questions as always. for returning to us. mr. thompson, we are taping friday morning. we are on day 21 of the government shutdown. how do you see this ending? >> there is no end in sight at this point. have 800,w, we