joining me is host of "notiinsi politics" john king. hn, all this reporting that he's just furious over how last week played out. what are you hearing that's happening inside the white house? ro >> reporter: kate, this also gives us a glimpse into the president's state of mind. he believes, we are told, and you're right, he lashed out friday at his staff in an obviously office meeting in the white house. when he got to florida, he lashed out some more. he routinely at night picks up the phone and calls old friends outside of government and tells them he thinks his staff is getting in their own way. he believes the leaks are part of a broader effort to undermine his presidency. some friends say he seems to be a little paranoid, other friends say there are leaks to support this. he's in this mood and at a key moment in his presidency. key moments are coming in obamacare, key debates on tax reform, and he's consumed by this, partly at his staff, partly at the leaks, and partly by the sense, he believes, kate, and the ceo of newsmax went on

it is remarkable on john king's point that two nights ago, the president was standing there in the house chambers giving a speech that was well reviewed and the story was well, this is a page turning and now he's got some forward momentum and he can go out on what he did and look where we are 48 hours later and this is a self-inflicted wound. i'm sure many people are wondering now what is it about this guy that causes everyone to forget meeting with him in the trump administration? [ laughter ] >> and i don't think this thing is going to die. i think this is building momentum. >> i want to play you gauys wha the president said about this. he was looking at an aircraft carrier. jim acosta caught up with him and fired questions at him. listen to how he responded. >> do you still have confidence? >> total. >> investigations -- >> i don't think so. >> when did you first learn session spoke to the russian ambassador. >> i don't think -- >> when were you aware. >> i wasn't aware at all. >> should he have spoken truthfully about -- >> he probably did. >> so there is a lot there, david gregory.

i'm john king. thank you for sharing your day with us. a day of busy breaking news in the nation's capital. take two of the trump administration's controversial travel ban. six nations on it this time, not seven. the united states and is had aides standing by the president's stunning allegation over the weekend that president obama wiretapped the presidential campaign. a lot to discuss in the hour ahead. we begin with the brand new revised trump administration travel ban. >> to provide the information we need to vet them responsibly, all when those government actively support terrorism. this executive order responsibly provides a needed pause to review how we scrutinized people come here from these countries of concern. >> with us to share the reporting and their insights, cnn nia malika, henderson, and karen of the washington post. a conversation about the politics of this, and the other big story in washington state. let's go first to our senior legal analyst. >> does the president have a stronger

joining me is john king, former education secretary. welco welcome. of a cold so powering through today before we can get some rest. tell me about this act particularly. it was a 50-49 vote, party line vote in the senate with one switch i guess, and what does this mean when you get down to the school level to the local level? >> the key thing is every authorization of the original act of 1965, civil rights law and the federal role in education has always been to protect students civil rights to keep a focus whether or not all students are getting access to opportunity. by removing the regulations, we're jeopardizing that civil rights legacy. congress has made it easier for states to ignore the performance of low performing students, made it easier for states to avoid intervening when schools are struggling and providing the supports that are needed. so now it's incumbent on all of to us make sure that we are vigilant and getting organized in states insisting states can't ignore the success of students who are most vulnerable. >> what is the justificat

john king is "outfront."t presidents at this time? >> erin, not so well is the quick answer when you look back at the most recent previous presidents. let's take a look, the past six presidents their approval rating on the night of their first address, president trump at 44%. you can see looking across the board, lower than any of the past six presidents. ronald reagan was at 55%, george h.w. bush 51%, president obama at 59%, despite the big financial crisis back then, so the president, the numbers don't lie, remarkably, historically unpopular as he prepares to speak to the american people on this big night. now, obvious, that makes it more difficult, a, to convince democrats to come his way, and, b, to keep republicans on the fold on issues like health care and tax reform. this is a disadvantage for the president, something he hopes to improve on tonight with his speech to congress and the american people, but he does have one big thing working in his favor, the economy. look at the unemployment rate now, 4.

let's bring in our panel, john king, david axelrod, he knows what this is like in the obama white house. galore gloria borger, jeffrey lord, jen psaki, rick santorum, jennifer granholm. anyone else? anyone? we've also got dana bash monitoring developments from the capitol. we can check back in with sara murray. we've got two hours. john, postponing the vote is obviously not the same as losing the vote. this isn't where the white house or house leadership wanted to be, but they could still get there. >> this has happened before in washington under democratic and republican presidents, votes have been postponed. so take a deep breath, no question it's crunch time for the president. no question it's crunch time for speaker paul ryan. let's see what happens tomorrow. what's interesting is the white house going into this meeting and saying, this is it. if you pass this or you're stuck with obamacare. a, that's spin. but b, they need to spin it that way right now. the house leadership has repeatedly said to the president, at some point, you have to say, we're done. thank you for your help and

i'm john king. remember that one? one of the many different ways president trump said there was no there there. >> during the election? >> no, nobody that i know of. >> so you're not aware of any contacts during the course of the election? >> look, how many times do i have to answer this question? russia is a ruse. >> a ruse, the president said. in the past 24 hours we've learned a handful of trump associates including his son-in-law had previously undisclosed meetings with a russian ambassador. they say these meetings were about policy, courtesy and nothing more. >> this is just totally unacceptable. and the very idea that they're making excuses and splitting hairs, this and that. this is -- we have not seen the end of this. the recusal is an admission that something was wrong. >> as you can see, democrats are a little skeptical about that. but the attorney general's recus recusal of himself yesterday makes prosecution far less likely. >> and more debate over how to replace obamacare, but house speaker paul ryan says

communications adviser and clinton campaign press secretary john king.dinary day here in washington. >> donald trump defied every rule in politics and we should not put anything in cement tonight, however he failed at his first big test. the point that you played the sound and his announcement speech. i know the politicians and if you can't get a deal with them, you are not very good. i'm the guy who does deals. his words. he couldn't get his party to follow him on the first big test of the trump presidency. he could second-guess, but he made the decision. i am uniquely qualified and i have my friend mike pence and tom price and i brought inside washington guys and they will help me with the inside game and we are going to get this done. what is the lasting effect? who knows. the factions of the republican party is a preexisting condition. they were there before. this idea that he didn't know. who knew health care was so complicated. who knew. anyone who did their homework would know that. this was going to be incredibly hard from day one. they had deepl

i'm john king. remember that one?ays president trump said there was no there there. >> during the election? >> no, nobody that i know of. >> so you're not aware of any contacts during the course of the election? >> look, how many times do i have to answer this question? russia is a ruse. >> a ruse, the president said. in the past 24 hours we've learned a handful of trump associates

inside politics with john king starts right now. >>> thanks, kate. welcome to inside politics.nks for sharing your day with us. a snow day in most places in the northeast. it makes for beautiful images and more than a little disruption. >> the storm will bring heavy snow. the kind of snow you want to stay ahead of. i want to emphasize, this is on the heavier side. be careful out there. >> good advice from the governor there. be careful out there. disruption on a different sort here in washington. a new report card on the new republican health care plan says the government will save a fortune, but it will add 24 million americans to the list of uninsured. >> the cbo has reported that the republican bill pushes 24 million people out of health

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your sunday morning. president trump is mad, and he is lashing out. in a stunning series of tweets saturday morning, mr. trump accused his predecessor, president obama, of wire tapping the phones at trump tower during last year's campaign. the president offered no evidence nor have his aides since the remarkable tweet storm. it's described by a mix of aides, advisers and friends and angry and very frustrated after a week that started well. remember his big speech to tuesday and then spiraled out of control. acknowledged meetings with russian ambassadors after months and his team denying any such contacts and, of course, there was this. >> i have now decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matter relating in any way to the campaigns for president. united states. i feel like that i am -- i should not be involved in investigating a campaign i had a role in. >> that recusal happened just not long after the president said he didn't think it was necessary. with us to their the

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your sunday morning. if you're president trump and looking for a silver link you have to think that this week can't be worse than last week. >> with respect to the president's tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, i have no information that supports those tweets, and we have looked carefully inside the fbi. >> and this was friday. >> i smoke to the president just a little while ago, and i told him that the best thing i think to do is to pull this bill and he agreed with that decision. >> trademark to say the least that after the new republican president failed at his first big legislative test a republican-only effort to repeal obamacare he blamed the democrats. >> i think the losers are nancy pelosi and chuck schumer because now they own obamacare, they own it, 100% own it. >> with us this sunday to share their reporting and their inspigts margaret talbot, cnn's manu raju and cnn's jeff zenl any and jennifer jacobs of bloomberg politics. donald trump won the presid

john king, an extraordinary day. >> it is and donald trump has defied every rule in politics so don'tut anything in cement tonight. however, he failed at his first big test. to the point you played that sound and from his announcement speeches, i know the politicians, i can get a deal, if you can't get a deal, you're not very good. hi words. i'm the guy who does deals. he could not get his party to follow him on the first big test of the trump presidency. to maggie's point, he can second guess the sequencing but he came to washington, i'm uniquely qualified to do this, plus my friends, brought in inside washington guy, i'm the outsider, we're going to get this dope. what is the lasting effect, who knows. but the factions in the republican party he inherited is a pre-existing condition. they were there before. this idea that he didn't know, who knew health care was so complica complicated, who knew there were different parties within the republican party, anyone who did their homework would know that. this is not all politics. they had deep political divides, philosophical divides how

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us.riefing scheduled to begin momentarily. we'll take you there live. the president also this hour in a meeting with a lot of cabinet officials. new jersey governor chris christie, a listening session on the opioid crisis. we'll bring that to you too in just a few moments. one likely question for sean spicer, after the obamacare debacle last week, where did this come from? >> and i know that we're all going to make a deal on

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us. day 42 of the trump administration and high drama. democrats say attorney general jeff sessions did not tell the truth in his confirmation hearing and should resign. >> jeff sessions, the attorney general of the united states, lied under oath to his colleagues in the senate and to the american people about his communications with the russians. the fact that the attorney general, the top cop in our country, lied under oath to the american people is grounds for him to resign. >> because the department of justice should be above reproach for the good of the country, attorney general sessions should resign. >> republicans reject talk of resignation but there is a gop split on whether the attorney general must now recuse himself from the investigation into russia election meddling. many influential republicans say, yes, sessions should declare now he will recuse himself. but speaker paul ryan moments ago pushed back. >> if he himself is a subject of an investigation, of course, he would. b

john king here. you know, jim acosta talked about the drip, drip, drip we have seen. you know, first it was the attorney general. then the meetings in august we learned about today. then the meeting with jared kushner. a lot of meetings with russians. specifically the russian ambassador. >> john, there's a serious case of jitters among republicans because of this. number one, they got surprised by the man who was supposed to be their friend, jeff sessions, the attorney general. two, u i don't understand there's a playbook for dealing with these things. everybody knows, the trump administration knows blaming democrats for this. yes, it makes sense. try to rally political supporters making it all political. democrats didn't invite them to the russian convention. they didn't invite him to trump tower. democrats didn't set up the meetings we are learning after the fact t. president's statement doesn't quite add up or address the facts. here is why republicans are worried. they are happy he recused himself. they think that turns the temperature down momentarily. there's a

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us. day 42 of the trump administration and high drama. democrats say attorney general jeff sessions did not tell the truth in his confirmation hearing and should resign. >> jeff sessions, the attorney general of the united states, lied under oath to his colleagues in the senate and to the american people about his communications with the russians. the fact that the attorney general, the top cop in our country, lied under oath to the american people is grounds for him to resign. >> because the

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us. the white house briefing scheduled to begin momentarily. we'll take you there live. the president also this hour in a meeting with a lot of cabinet officials. new jersey governor chris christie, a listening session on the opioid crisis. we'll bring that to you too in just a few moments. one likely question for sean spicer, after the obamacare debacle last week, where did this come from? >> and i know that we're all going to make a deal on health care. that's such an easy one. i have no doubt that's going to happen very quickly. >> a lot of other people do have doubts. plus, that same reception for senators rare and optimistic talk about recent actions in the war against isis. >> we're doing very well in iraq. our soldiers are fighting and fighting like never before. and the results are very, very good. >> and yes, it's been awhile. hillary clinton returns to the public stage and says democrats must do a better job organizing. >> we need to resist actions that go against our values as

now, another one was john king, the education secretary. i asked president obama to appoint him or somebody, so i thought we needed, we needed an education secretary for a year, even though i have great differences with john king. i respect him greatly, but i have dirnses with him. i asked the president to do it as chairman of the committee. i saw that he had a prompt confirmation and then i made sure he had enough votes to be confirmed, not by much. when it came to cloture -- i maybe even voted for him when it came to it just because i thought -- i thought the president deserved to have his own appointment. then there was attorney general lynch, cloture was invoked with 66 votes. i voted to end debate and have a vote on her. secretary of defense chuck hagel, there was opposition to him. i voted no there, but -- but i voted to make sure that there was a vote. i voted for cloture. three national -- two national labor relations board members cloture was invoked by 64-65 -- 64, 65, 62 votes. i thought that we ought to respect the fact that we

inside politics with john king is next. >>> a big test for the deal maker president. appealing obamacare is a republican mission, but the replacement is messy. >> members have to pick a side. nancy pelosi or president trump. >>> and halfway to 100 days. the economy is on the upswing. still no proof of a stunny charge. >> the scandal of the u.s. sitting president saying his predecessor took part in up lawful conduct. that's also a scandal if the allegations prove to be false. >> "inside politics," the inside stories sourced by the best reporters now. >>> welcome to "inside politics." if you are expect iing the othe, you forgot to set your clock ahead. settling a republican feud. >> we are going to repeal the mandates and taxes and penalties of of obamacare. we are going to give americans more choices. we'll expand health savings accounts. we'll give americans a tax credit that will help people buy plans they need at a price they can afford. most significantly, my view, will jif states like kentucky the freedom to meet your most vulnerable. >> vice president pence on th

here is what cnn john king said about spicer. take a look. >> i hate to say this but in a sense, just pay no attention to the man at the podium to a degree. i hate to say that. there's a credibility problem in the white house briefing room. >> i thought that was fascinating. pay no attention poth mto the m behind the podium. that's impossible for you. >> he's paid to lie. >> i'm not going to say he's paid to lie. he's paid to spin. i saw manafort in a significant role. we have seen him in a significant role. i don't care how long the period was. that knocks his credibility. the statement said he had a limited role. that knocks the credibility of who manafort was and his administration. >> speaking of spinning and lying, i heard you jumping in there. it brings us to russia and this issue about russia during the hearings that we were all watching on monday. you tweeted out saying that all these lawmakers complaining about leaking, you were saying their hypocrites because a lot of them have leaked to you and other reporters in the p

. >> "inside politics" with john king is up right after a quick break. thanks for being with us.made it through many market swings. sure we could travel, take it easy... but we've never been the type to just sit back... not when we've got so much more to give when you have the right financial advisor, life can be brilliant. ameriprise >>> the buck does not stop here. >> you shouldn't be talking to me. you should be talking to fox. >> 60 days in, the trump white house faces a credibility crisis. >> the president only has so much political capital to expand and so much moral authority as well. >> plus, testing time. at home, a big health care boat. >> i want people to know i'm 100\% behind. >> and on the world stage openly discussing a preemptive strike against north korea. >> if they elevate the threat of their weapons program that option is on the

john king is off. fridays tend to be sleepily here in washington, members of congress are home in their districts, the white house heads to mar-a-lago. but today on the trump administration on the healthcare front, they don't have the option of a quiet friday. they're trying to scramble to repeal and replace the healthcare bill. tom price was on early this morning and the president himself is twisting arms in the oval office. president trump is planning another weekend at mar-a-lago, we should say, but first he's doing something very important as we speak. he is holding probably the most important meeting to date with a foalo world leader, the president is hosting angela merkel, you see her arriving at the white house. german chanceler angela merkel who had a simpatiko relationship with donald trump. during his presidential campaign he was not a merkel fan particularly when she beat him in 2015 for the honor he thought he deserved. he tweeted, i told you "time" magazine would never pick me as a person

. >> "inside politics" with john king starts right now. >> a stunning republican failure. >> i will nota disappointing day for us. >> the speaker mans up, but the president passes the buck and the blame. >> the losers are nancy pelosi and chuck schumer because now they own obamacare. they have own it. >> plus, more trouble with the truth and the fbi has a giant cloud. >> investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the trump campaign and the russian government. >> just ten weeks on the job and giant questions about the president's political sway and the gop's

let me play this clip and john king is with us right now. listen to the speaker reacting to the news. >> obamacare is the law of the land. it's going to remain the law of the land until it's replaced. we did not have the votes to replace this law so we'll be living with obamacare for the foreseeable future. >> that is a dramatic statement. >> they ran four election cycles in a row. this was the foundation of the republican message it was we will repeal the obamacare and then it became the repeal and replace. then it was the message in 2012, 2014, when republicans took the senate back, 2016 when they won everything. to hear the speaker of house who made this his number one priority who helped convince president trump saying obamacare is the law of the land. >> it shows the power of the fangts on the ground. the reality is you have 20 million people who did not have it before the law. you have developments in place to respond to the nudges in the law. it's difficult to think of another legislative loss this big this early. i was talking to dav

i'm dana bash, john king is off. we begin with breaking news. as we speak, president trump is meeting with key house committee about the issue dividing his party, the gop plan to replace obamacare. healthcare is a first fascina fascinating look how president trump will operate when it comes to thorny complicated legislation. will he be a deal-maker or arm twister? successful presidents have to be a bit of both. what is tricky is on healthcare many conservatives who represent the reddest districts with the most trump voters are asking him to slow down the process and change the bill to answer conservative concerns. >> if we can't agree on this, let's do what we agreed on last year. after all, all the republicans voted for it just 15 months ago, we were able to put it on president obama's desk and he vetoed it. we know president trump won't do that. >> as mentioned we know the president is meeting with republicans from the house. we just got some tape of that meeting. let's listen. >> hello, everybody. mr. vice president. >> mr. president. >> i wa

i'm jim accosta in for john king. conservatives republicans in congress are calling it obama care light, and i don't think they mean it as a compliment. while president trump is warning of a bloodbath in the 2018 midterm elections if it fails. right now two house committees are holding their markups on the new health care bill. the president has vowed his full support behind the effort and repeal and replace the affordable care act. >> i think really that we're going to have something that is much more understood and much more popular than people can even imagine. >> what the president may not have bargained for. the fierce opposition from his own party. >> this is not the repeal bill that we've been waiting for for all these years. this is a huge opportunity. it's been missed. >> president trump's stunning allegation that then president obama wiretapped his manhattan headquarters last year, but where is the proof? i asked sean spicer yesterday, and here's what he told me. >> it's not a question of new proof or less p

i'm dana bash, john king is off. we begin with breaking

. >>> welcome to "inside politics" i'm john king. on capitol hill a hearing on russia's meddling election and a promise to be bipartisan those democrats to make clear. >> i will not prejudge the outcome of our investigation. we are seeking to determine if there is an actual fire, but there is clearly a lot of smoke. >> the fbi wants to answer that collusion question too and the director promises the unvarnished truth. >> we're not considering who's ox will be gored by this action or that action. we just don't care and we can't care. >> and some sharp new voluntarilies. the president attacks the freedom caucus and the republican speaker warns there will be a price if the president decides to make a deal with democrats. >> translato >> the democrats aren't for repealing bo repealing obamacare. they're not going to help us repeal obamacare. that's my point. and so if we're going to do what we said we would do, which is repeal and replace obamacare and save the american health care system, something tells me the democrats aren't going to

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us. was a big campaign stam like economics and border security in the president's address last night. >> by finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions and billions of dollars and make our communities safer for everyone. we want all americans to succeed, but that can't happen in an e

inside politics with john king is next. >>> a big test for the deal maker president.ing obamacare is a republican mission, but the replacement is messy. >> members have to pick a side. nancy pelosi or president trump. >>> and halfway to 100 days. the economy is on the upswing. still no

>>> welcome to inside politics, i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us. we are watching the winter storm on the eastern sea board. if there's new information on the punch, we'll bring you that. it's a giant day in politics. they will give a score of the republican health plan. many republicans think the trump white house will live to regret this. >> i firmly believe that nobody will be worse off financially in the process that we are going through, understanding they will have choices that they can select the kind of coverage they want for themselves and their family, not that the government forces them to buy. >> we will parse that language and a deadline likely to be ignored. congress asked for proof by today for proof of the allegations his predecessor wiretapped trump tower. >> i have no reason to believe it is true and i believe the president of the united states could clear this up in a minute. pick up the phone, call the director of the cia, national intelligence and say what happened? >> a republican congressman tweets affinity for a right candida

i'm john king. president trump takes aim add a major obama administration initiative. rolling back an order that the new president's ep achieve says smothers job creation. >> for too long over the last several years you had certain industries, certain sectors of our economy within the cross hairs of the epa. these industries like the coal sector were under assault and so that is not going to happen anymore. we're going to have a very focused pro growth pro environment message. >> democrats disagree with that. also stoking the partisan divide, the white house vows to choke off federal funds to so-called sanctuary cities. >> that is a big day you had yesterday, too, in sanctuary cities. that was a very, veryy importan thing you did and frankly a very popular thing. so congratulations. >> a new tensions today over russia's election meddling. senators want to question the president's son-in-law about a post election meeting with a russian banker close to vladimir putin. call for the leader of the investigation to step aside. >> do you trust nunes? >> i don't trust him. i m

john king and pot cast host, david axelrod know what is this is like and chief political analyst and trump reporter and contributor jeffrey lord. obama communications director and senator and republican candidate rick santorum. anyone else? we have got dana bash and sarah murray. we have two hours. postponing the vote is not the same as losing. this is not where they wanted to be, but they could get there. author. >> this happened under democratic votes. take a deep breath. no question it's crunch time for the president and speaker paul ryan. if you pass this or you are stuck with obamacare, that's spin, but they need to spin it that bay. they said to the president you have to say we are done. thank you for your help and negotiating, but if the door is open to talk, we are never going to get this done. they had a problem with conservative members. you are a yes? we will give you this. they are moving the goal post. now we will see if they succeed. it is a defining test for the president for up to today for all the praise, the conservatives who donald trump carried the direct with 60%

"inside politics" with john king, it starts right now. >> the president of the united states!ht. >> everything that is broken in our country can be fixed. every problem can be solved. >> but a celebration cut short. >> i have recused myself in the matters that deal with the trump campaign. >> democrats are feisty. >> what are the republicans afraid of? this goes right to the republicans in congress to their doorstep. >> and it's crunch time for big policy fights. >> let me make you a promise. the obamacare nightmare is

i'm john king. back to work at the white house after a devastating defeat and as washington the blame game rages. the house speaker gets public love after a bizarre presidential tweet. >> he doesn't blame paul ryan. he thought paul ryan worked really hard. he enjoys his relationship with paul ryan, pthink that paul rya is a great speaker of the house. >> there is no conversation with regards to replacing the speaker. it's all hands on deck with regard to obamacare, tax reform, the border wall. >> never once have i seen him blame paul ryan. the folks who voted no are the folks to blame. >> the conservative group that would not help the president loses one member who says it's time to govern, but others are defiant. >> we did the country a favor because this bill didn't repeal obamacare. this bill didn't do what we told the american people we were going to do. >> and talk of post health care debate bipartisanship is everywhere. don't buy it. fights over the supreme court, planned parenthood and climat

john king is off.ys tend to be sleepily here in washington, members of congress are home in their districts, the white house heads to mar-a-lago. but today on the trump administration on the healthcare front, they don't have the option of a quiet friday. they're trying to scramble to repeal and replace the

. >>> welcome to inside politics, i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us.ng the winter storm on the eastern sea board. if there's new information on the punch, we'll bring you that. it's a giant day in politics. they will give a score of the republican health plan. many republicans think the

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us. house speaker paul ryan vowing to salvage the republican health care plan insisting all is fine, even as he's forced to revamp his plan because of an internal republican revolt. >> i spoke with the president about a half hour ago. i speak with the president pretty much every day. i spoke to him twice yesterday. so we are clearly in sync on this. we're working very hand in glove on this. and the president's team. so we're working extremely closely. this president is getting deeply involved. he is helping bridge gaps in our conference. he is a constructive force to help us get to a resolution so that we get consensus on how to repeal and replace obamacare. it's been very helpful. we're working hand in glove. >> you get the message there? hand in glove? more details on that fight in a bit. >>> the first trump budget off the presses. it proposes more money for the military and deep cuts in overseas spend, foreign programs and environmental protection. >> we are proposing a budget that wil

i'm jim accosta in for john king.es republicans in congress are calling it obama care light, and i don't think they mean it as a compliment. while president trump is warning of a bloodbath in the 2018 midterm elections if

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us. another busy one in the nation's capital. the republican family feud over replacing obamacare is intensifying. house speaker paul ryan under fire from trump loyalists who say it's a mess of the speaker's making. the speaker reminding anyone that asks the president helped draft the bill and time for republicans to stop complaining and start governing. >> it's been seven years long. we got to make good on our promises. we got to make sure that we keep consensus so we pass this bill. i feel like we're in a good place but we want to listen to our members and make improvements to the bill so long as those improvements don't make the bill harder to pass. >> ever the optimist there. moments ago on capitol hill, remember those tweets from the president a week ago saturday saying he believed president obama wiretapped his phones at trump tower, both the republican chairman of the house committee and the ranking member moments ago saying there's no proof of that. >> evidence still remains the same that we don't have any evidence that t

chief national correspondent john king, chief political correspondent dana bash also with us. chief political analyst gloria borger and pamela brown. cnn national security analyst retired cia chief of russia operations steve hall. steve, i'm curious, what are you going to be looking for? >> there's so much up in the air, what jake was just going over in terms of all the stuff people are talking about. what's going on at gchq? >> the british intelligence? >> british nsa equivalent. all this stuff up in the air is mazing and complete distraction, in my view, from the critical piece of this. was there contact, cooperation or collaboration between the russian government and the trump team, trump campaign prior to the election? to me that's the central question in all of this. what russia is really about is trying to undermine western democracies and, of course, united states is the jewel in the crown for them. that's what i'm looking at. >> i don't think we're going to get an answer to that question today from comey. do you? i really don't think so. i think the most we may get out

i have to tell you -- and i want john king to weigh in on this, this hearing comes at a time when allhese other problems -- if there weren't other issues out there, including the merrick garland issue, how he was treated by the republican majority in the senate when president obama nominated him to the supreme court, he didn't even get a hearing plus the problems the president has developed largely of his own doing over these past couple months, presumably this nominee, neil gorsuch, would sail through. >> i'm not so sure about the last part just because of the climate of the last 20 years. if you go back to when he's replacing antonin scalia on the court, that was 98-0 confirmation. in that washington you aired your grievances at the hearing and you said "but the president won the election, elections have consequences, he's qualified, the president gets his guy." just like they're doing here. you lay your markers on abortion rights and business interests, democrats do that. and the flip side when it's a democratic nominee the republicans do that. washington has changed to the point n

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us.ryan vowing to salvage the republican health care plan insisting all is fine, even as he's forced to revamp his plan because of an internal republican revolt. >> i spoke with the president about a half hour ago. i speak with the president pretty much every day. i spoke to him twice yesterday. so we are clearly in sync on this. we're working very hand in glove on this. and the president's team. so we're working extremely closely. this president is getting deeply involved. he is helping bridge gaps in our conference. he is a constructive force to help us get to a resolution so that we get consensus on h

. >> congressman, i want to bring in gloria borger and john king. they have come questions. >> do you think the freedom caucus will stick together opposing this bill as it's been opposed to this bill all along, or will it splinter some for, some opposed? >> i don't know the answer to that question. only that i think that their efforts so far have improved the bill significantly. there's still much that could be done, and i'm going to hope all the way up to the deadline that we do everything that we can, either in the bill or through some type of side discussions that will improve it in the long run. >> can you describe a little bit how intense the negotiations have been with the president an reasonable manner, and i thought that it was amazing to see a president this engaged personally. and i've seen an open process in the house, and this just kind of happy days again in many ways for the process itself. now, ultimately, the real test is going to be what comes out of the final product here. and i think it's so vital instead of ever questioning each

. >> congressman, i want to bring in gloria boarer and john king. >> do you think the freedom caucus will stick together opposing this bill as it's been opposed to this bill all along or splinter with some for, sop opposed? >> i don't know the answer to that question. only that i think that their efforts so far have improved the bill significantly. there is still much that could be done and i'm going to hope all the way up to the deadline that we do everything that we can, either in the bill or through some type of side discussions that will improve it in the long run. >> can you describe a little bit how intense these negotiations have been with the president and with his staff and what it's been like to be inside those rooms? >> you know, i don't know what other people's experiences have been. i was at the white house this morning and talked to the president yesterday one on one and i'll say to you, that the man approached me in a reasonable rational manner and i thought it was amazing to see a president this engaged personally, and i've seen an open process in the house and i mean

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us. a snow day in most places in the northeast. it makes for beautiful images and more than a little disruption. >> the storm will bring heavy snow. the kind of snow you want to stay ahead of. i want to emphasize, this is on the heavier side. be careful out there. >> good advice from the governor there. be careful out there. disruption on a different sort here in washington. a new report card on the new republican health care plan says the government will save a fortune, but it will add 24 million americans to the list of uninsured. >> the cbo has reported that the republican bill pushes 24 million people out of health care. off health coverage. this is a remarkable figure. it speaks so eloquently to the cruelty of the bill that the speaker calls an act of mercy. >> plus, silly you for taking the president literally. a november promise to a federal prosecutor meaningless in march. now, wiretapping doesn't necessarily mean wiretapping. >> he doesn't really think that president obama went up and tapped his phone personally. i think t

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your sunday morning. a defining early test this week for the president and for republican congressional leaders. a thursday vote on an obamacare replacement plan that is still short votes because of conservative objections. >> the last is really mad about it. the right is really mad about it. the middle is really mad about it, and so far it just seems to be a constituency of one which is washington insiders. >> plus an important new red line on the korean peninsula. the secretary of state says no more negotiating over north korea's nuclear program. >> the policy of strategic patience has ended. we're exploring a new range of diplomatic, security and economic measures. all options are on the table. >> first though the credibility question. >> i have not seen any evidence that this occurred based upon the briefings that i've seen. we've not seen any evidence that there was a wiretap or a fisa court order against trump tower or somebody in trump tower. my bottom line is i've seen no evidence of this occurred

john king, heard a lot of speeches like this. i can't tell you how many nights we have been here. does it really matter what he says? >> yes, absolutely. he's never done this before, he's never been in government before, never dealt with these challenges before. let's see the territory first, donald trump is winning so far in the sengs he's dominated not only the political debate around the country, but around the world. that's a good position to start in, position where he's the center of attention. now the question is, can he manage that agenda going forward, and part of that is doing something he's never done before, dealing with the outside crowd, the outside game, the people at home, trying to convince them to keep what he's got, bring new people in, and the people in the room, what are the short-term challenges? he wants a major tax reform bill and make progress on immigration, which includes building a wall, increased enforcement. on those issues he has to be a republican president. we'll be hearing talking about reaching out. his main goal is to get his campaign agenda pas

i'm john king. thanks for sharing your day with us. a very big day it is. the spy novel plot thickens. the fbi is saying they have records suggesting associates of then candidate trump worked with russian operatives on the timing of anti-clinton disclosures in last year's campaign. >> there are so many moving parts here, including the latest news this morning that supposedly there was coordination between the trump campaign and the russians for which i've seen no substantiation. but it continues on and on and on that that's the reason why we need a select committee to clear this whole issue up. >> and in london, police make anti-terror arrests and parliament is back to work. >> we are not afraid. and our resolve will never waiver in the face of terrorism. and we meet here in the oldest of all parliaments because we know that democracy and the values it entails will always prevail. >> but we begin and likely will spend most of this hour on a defining day and defining test for the president and the new all-republican washington. the house is set to vote on a