senator lankford. senator lankford: i would ask from our committee and from our family that you continue to express the condolences to agent morales and his amily. that is a heartbreaking for all of us to see that kind of news and difficult for your entire team. it has reminded me this week as i have gone through the hearings this week how many times your department has been a lead player in a lot of the conversations and the conversations that i had this week on the hill, whether that be ms-13 gangs and the movement of those gangs from central america to the united states, fentanyl and trying to interdict it, cyber issues as china is engaging with cyber protection for all of our u.s. government systems or whether it be immigration. you have people on the front lines of just about major issue we are facing as a nation right now. i thank you for the work and he encouragement you can put on the men and women. i'm going to run through as many as i can. i mentioned the cyber issues. d.h.s. has government s

and that's why pastor lankford's story is so inspiring.e see over and over that overdoses are preventable, addiction is treatable, and we can do better. >> and we can go on your foundation site and learn more information. >> absolutely. we have a lot of resources, and i would love to see people visit and learn what we're doing. >> thank you so much, and thank you for the work you're doing, too. >> thank you. >> all right, and we have so much more to talk about, but for now, we have a lot of information about our guests and the resources they shared for you on today's program. just go to our website, abc7news.com/community. we're also on facebook @abc7communityaffairs, as well as @cheryljenningsabc7. and please follow me on twitter @cherylabc7. thanks so much for joining us. have a great week. we'll see you next time. >>> gunfire in san jose where officers get into a shootout with an armed man. what police say went down. >> and what a surveillance camera captured. >> a little bit indefinite about everything. >> the only thing >>> live where

lankford: it is. there are so many things flying around that keep getting left and it has been for years left and we need to figure out how do we find that to has got the ball under to behold be hold accountable to help us work through this, or is this something we need to be able to work through? i read to your report, which was excellent, on worldwide threats, every section of the report, every section, had a section on iran. every part of it. in one section, you wrote -- iran continues to be the foremost state-sponsored terrorism. whether it was cyber, act of terrorism, involvement in every different nefarious action, it circles back to iran in some way of facilitating this, so this is one of those areas that we have got to be able to figure out how to deal with. just in a broad question on it, and maybe general stuart would be the right one to -- general steward would be the right one, but my concern is we seem to be concerned with isis in syria we re losing track of movement of iran through iraq

pence: reverend graham, senator lankford: sen.lunt: ,ongressman, leaders of faith public life across this country and the world. my brothers and sisters in christ -- [applause] v.p. pence: i often say when people have asked me over the iars what my philosophy is tell them i'm a christian, a conservative, and a republican in that order. [laughter] [applause] v.p. pence: it is a distinct honor and frankly a humbling privilege to join you today. at this first ever summit in defense of persecuted christians. let me bring greetings from my friend, a champion of the freedom of religion and the freedoms enshrined in our bill of rights, the 45th president of the united states of america, president donald trump. [applause] i am here on behalf of the president as a tangible sign of his commitment to defending christians and frankly all who suffer for their beliefs across the wider world. i stand here today as a testament to president trump's tangible commitment to reaffirm america's role as a beacon of hope and light and liberty to inspire

lankford: i'd like to ask for the quorum call to be vis rated. -- eviscerated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lankford: we have a lot of issues we are working on, some include the budget conservation. they are asking how we will get back to balance. there will be a lot of controversy about aspects of the house and senate proposals. but for the first time in a long time, the beginning of the conversation is, how do we get back to balance? that's a good place to start and i'm pleased to see that's a part of the conversation again. there's a tremendous number of things that have to be dealt with and i will bring up two quick ones and i will talk about some of the small business issues we're facing. when we go through the budget process, i encourage my colleagues to deal with the budget gimmicks that are still in place in the budget process. there are areas that seem to bring down the deficit, but we all know actually do not. those don't help us as americans. that may help some sort of scoring issue, that doesn't help where we are. the second aspect i

james lankford of oklahoma would makecolleague a mistake to underestimate the senate. she shows surprising political strength in the primary fight after compiling a record and rapidly raising the profile after two terms in the house. objected sharply to recent reports moving at a plodding pace. marco rubio of florida, saying he almost did not return to the senate but a change of heart surrounding the selection of the republican primary rival an appearance on face the nation, a suggestion that they were not plant with the republicans did that how they did and what it means for the future and what we should you doing about it. adding very few members of members make it into leadership in the house and the senate. the former house majority leader is now the fifth ranking republican in the senate and has in russian meddling books to find out what happened and to allow congress and the white house to move beyond it. more profile of republican senators available this morning at the new york times. from atlanta, georgia, democrats line. caller: i want to respond to your last

i talked to senator lankford pennsylvania republican yesterday on the program who actually met in inhe white house with the president yesterday and asked him face-to-face, about why comey was fired ands the explanation that the president gave senator lankford a man on the senate committee investigating. >> and i did have a side by side time with the president just to be able oh ask him perm my question was the question i've had all along in the last 24 hours why right now why this moment i understand there's been controversy about director comey that's about been there for months it depends on the week whether republicans or democrats who wieks who rates him the controversy ench understands why right now. >> because one of the things you said the american people need clarity and deserve explanation for comey's firing did you get clarity. >> i did he didn't hesitate at all he said it was rosenstein. >> so he tells the senator who is on the committee investigating rosenstein with you now he tells the lester holt rosenstein. >> my theory. my theory is that maybe that did play a role in

senator lankford asked to leave so i will yield my position to senator lankford. >> mr. chairman, thanks very much. gentlemen, thank you for being up for the preparation come for this time, but incredibly compelling testimony and the issues you bring and the complexity of what you do everyday. we appreciate your work very much. all three of you mentioned the interaction between ms-13 and what's happening in central america. several of you mentioned specifically the coordination efforts between central america and law enforcement here both the federal and their law enforcement. what can we do to help facilitate greater cooperation, whether that the fingerprint sharing, identity, background information between individuals being deported here back there as their kind received gang members back there, but also individuals who are moving in this direction as well. what coordination is missing because ms-13 obviously is a strong central american salvadoran and especially presence there, what can we do? >> i would just say you touched on a couple things we need to do. first, ou

. >>> james lankford is a member of the intelligence committee. he joins us from oklahoma city.> where is your investigation and who do you expect to call next? >> i won't say who we're calling next. we're pretty thorough in our investigation. we've already done about three dozen witnesses already and we'll be able to work through process consistently. we do have documents that you just mentioned through michael flynn that we're working for. we did an initial subpoena of his records. we went back and subpoenaed his business records. we're getting those and we're working through the process to get that. we're going to go wherever the facts go, that's the key thing. . what are you looking for? >> i would say we've got t key areas. the most obvious one is what did the russians do to try to interfere in our election. the second one, was there any american involved in helping the russians into meddling with our election. third one deals with classified documents and the leaking. so the fbi has an investigation. they're working on criminal probes. we're working on oversight of the fbi

lankford: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. lankford: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lankford: mr. president, we're still dealing with some of the same issues we dealt with before. it's interesting to me the number of people have said is congress obsessed right now with all the press reports and all the things that are happening around the presidency and everything else. i said that is one of the things on our list, but that's not what we're talking about the most. we're working on issues like tax reform and health care issues, regulatory issues. i just had three bills that went through the markup process just yesterday dealing with small business regulation, how we're going to be able to manage getting things back in order. we spent all day at lunch on tuesday. we spent all day at lunch on wednesday with our entire conference doing a working lunch together talking about health care policies. we're still working on trying to finish these issues that absolutely need to be do

an area that senator lankford and i've been focused on is federal hiring.st congress i introduced a flexible higher act to help the federal government hire and retain vibrant and effective federal workers. i think that's critically important to supporting the work of the government does. this idea came along with challenges we had during the balkan explosion and then taking a look at the challenges that we have hiring border patrol and customer border protection folks on the northern border. so my bill would give federal agencies a toolkit i think of resources to make hiring and human resources more flexible in improving recruitment and retention. i think jean, questions for you, ensuring that agencies have the resources they need, i think it's absolutely critical to addressing the federal hiring challenges. i was really great to hear opm logic of higher excellence campaign. how do we make an effort like that? what you see in terms of federal hiring duplications improvements we can make in the hiring structure that won't get as people who pay attention to d

senator lankford. >> thank you. secretary kelly good to see you again. >> sir. >> glad that you're here. i would ask from our community and our family that you continue to express the condolences to agent morales and his family. >> sure. >> that is a heartbreaking for all of us to be able to see that kind of news. and is difficult for your entire team. it has reminded me yet again, though, this week as i've gone through just the hearings this week how many times your department has been a lead player in a lot of conversations and just conversations that i've had this week on the hill. whether that be ms-13 gangs and the movement of those gangs from central america across all of the united states and what is happening, fentanyl coming into the united states, and your customs and border patrol folks trying to intradict that in the mail as it comes from china, cyber issues as dhs is engaging with cyber protections for all of our u.s. government systems or whether that be immigration. have you people on the front lines

lankford: senator: let me run -- senator lankford. senator: let me have some high , you have theirm resources you need for the russian investigation, correct? limitations,not you have what you need? the actions about james comey has not curtailed the investigation from the fbi, it is moving forward? dir. mccabe: absolutely. senator: no agents have been removed that are the folks doing the investigation? dir. mccabe: no, sir. senator: visit your impression the fbi is unable to complete the investigation in a fair and expeditious way because of the removal of james comey? dir. mccabe: it is my opinion and belief the fbi will continue to pursue this investigation vigorously and completely. senator: do you need someone else to do it? dir. mccabe: no, sir. senator: as i go through the report in tracking the worldwide threats that was put out, there is a section on the products and the movement of illegal drugs -- section on narcotics and illegal drugs, and there are tens of thousands of illegal pharmacies online is to be day. 18 to 20 go o

senator james lankford, member of the senate intelligence committee, said in a tweet, it is mike flynn's right to plead the 5th. we'll get to the truth one way or another. we need facts, not speculation and anonymous sources. so important to point out, katy, invoking your 5th amendment rights does not assume guilt, this is done to protect certain people. of course president trump has suggested otherwise in several tweets in the last couple months, but flynn's lawyers saying, look, there was this escalating public frenzy. there were all these calls from members of congress for osecution, f investigation. according to a source close to flynn, and that that is part of the reason why they wanted to invoke these 5th amendment rights in this instance. katy? >> kasie hunt, and for all you watching, she was on her honeymoon. that's why she was not here for two weeks. don't give her grief, everybody needs a break. great to see your face. >> nice to see you, too. >> we haven't heard from flynn on the decision to invoke the 5th amendment, but here is a little bit of what he had to say during the ca

. >> senator lankford. >> let me run through some quick questions. here's some things i heard already. you have the resources you need for the russian investigation, is that right? >> sir, we believe it's -- >> there's not limitations of resources, you have what you need? the actions about james comey and his release has not cure tailed the investigation from the fbi, it's still moving forward. >> the investigation will move forward, absolutely. >> noing agents have been removed that are the ongoing career folks that are doing the investigation? >> no, sir. >> it is your impression at this point that the fbi is unable to complete the investigation in a fair and experiod die show us way because of the removal of james comey >> it's my opinion and belief that fbi will continue to pursue this investigation vigorously and completely. >> do you need somebody to take this way from you and somebody do it? >> no, sir. >> as i go through the report and tracking through the worldwide threats that was put out, that director coates put out there's a section on t

now there is special counsel that and they are getting a lot of praise and you heard senator lankford, republican, he praised this decision as well. what are you hearing? >> republicans didn't want to be the ones who call for a special counsel. not necessarily that they didn't want a special counsel. that is born out to be true. the real surprise they are receiving this news with, not heads-up, just a short one at the white house, and on capitol hill. having said that my top calls with republicans, it is a sigh of relief. especially given what happened yesterday with this news of the comey memo and so forth. there was much, much more pressure on congressional republicans to take their investigation further. even to appoint a th9/11 type commission. select committee. ala watergate. they don't have to coudo that, because it is just a special prosecutor but someone who democrats even on this program. coming on one after another. telling our team in the hallways and capitol hill one after another how pleased they are with bob mueller. that doesn't happen much in this current washington cl

we've seen james lankford from oklahoma, another conservative, say the american people deserve an explanation into the timing and reasoning behind this. and practically a uniform wall of democrats and the consensus it boils down to three things on the side of the democrats. i know you were just talking to blumenthal of connecticut. they're outraged. they want a special prosecutor, and they are very much regretful of the 94-6 vote for rod rosenstein, the now deputy attorney general who was just installed. blumenthal was one of the few that voted against it. so a mounting wave of outrage coming from democrats and a lot of disappointment and consternation even from some republicans. >> thank you so much. i think you're going to know the democrats think he's d on the mat. i know schumer moves when he he soos the opportunity. he's very politically swift, and he sees a guy on the deck. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. >>> tonight on "all in." >> the fbi, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the russian governmen

oklahomaepubcan james lankford insists the senate's version will be much better. he notes individual premiums in his state rose nearly 70% last year. >> we have to deal with that. we've pot to be able to make some corrections. >> the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell appeared to lower expectations for a final bill. he said republican senators are meeting behind closed doors to hash something out but says, quote, i don't know how we get to 50 votes at moment. norah? >> nancy, thank you so much. >>> a new report says there are more deaths. they predict more than 400 people could be killed in crashes this memorial day weekend. anna werner is at the george washington bridge with a report ha safety may depend on what you're d >> reporter: good morning. researchers analyzed fatal crashes for the u.s. government. what they found is the overall smaller vehicles don't protect occupants the way large vehicles do. mini and small cars topped the list of vehicles with the highest number of driver deaths. >> with the safety, i don't see any pro to having a small car. >> re

particularly james lankford mentioned some of the nations still aren't doing their share. they're not third world nations they're not third world. must be some which we can incentivize them. >> one thing weld ask support support around our strategy to target, focus in on targeted countries right so we understand that that part we we look at the whole picture for us four our strategy has been to stay focused where we see the largest volume coming in. that's where we're looking for that cooperation certainly. to take that step as was noted here one of the concerns is some of the conditions that we might find in some of these other developing countries. but for us, our strategy really is going to be to stay very focused and prioritize. and what he to wg the pilot at jfk we we could push this along. >> you haven't answered my question. all right i asked both of you same question. what does the congress need to do to help move this along to expedite this what do we need to do. >> well one other thing i might ask is certainly around the passage of comprehensive post the reform f

i would like to introduce to you robert lankford. [applause] robert: good morning. it's great to be here. i really appreciate you asking me to participate in this gathering. the way we talk about mars, you'd think it was actually something we're interested in doing, huh? i was at a summit last week with the aeronautics and space exploration board, engineering board over at the academies. this was a topic that came up quite a bit in terms of civil space and destination for civil space in general. it's always interesting to see the different opinions and the different thoughts. i think the nice thing about it is that everybody believes that this is our horizon goal as an agency. to get to mars. if you think about it, humans, clearly we're already there. from a scientific perspective with the rovers that we have on the surface now. but i think ever since viking, we've kind of said, we need to get there. we need to be there as humans. frankly everything we've discovered since then just has driven us even more to think about getting humans there. the current administrati

of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable james lankford, a senator from the state of oklahoma, who will perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: the senate majority leader. mr. mcconnell: as obamacare continues to collapse, a new gallop poll out showed, quote, health care surges as the top problem in the u.s. it's not hard to see why so many americans feel this way. they turn on the tv and hear that there will be even fewer options on the obamacare marketplaces in state after state. they pick up the newspaper and see that even more double-digit premium increases are proposed for too many of the obamacare plan options that still remain. they know what these stories mean for their families. they'll be left to pick up the pieces as obamacare continues to crumble all across the country, that is, unless we act. obamacare will continue to increase across the nation, pushing this law on the back of hard-working americans. we saw this last year with rate filings, which left many states

i would like to start with senator lankford. >> appreciate that very much.ell me about where we are as far as moving and advanced electronic data and for developing countries why this is taken so long when there are straightforward solutions. why can't they get the data. >> thank you for your question. we have been working with the upu to develop this more quickly but the issues we face in developing countries, i would say previously there was lack of will and lack of understanding for them to catch up with their business models and take part in the e-commerce boom, the major advance we made, it is a change of mindset that countries regardless of their level of development, and enhance their economies by taking part in this. >> the encouragement from this congress would be to say packages don't come in behind it. it isolates a lot of people. the most straightforward way we can deal with that is to put a clear deadline out there and say we don't allow packages to come into our country unless there is more data in advance. >> as described in my testimony the g

ranking member of the house oversight and subcommittee on government operations, i join with james lankford, now senator from oklahoma, to investigate the abuse of foreign nationals employed by government contractors. together we introduced the end trafficking in government contracting act, which was enacted as part of the fiscal 2013 national defense authorization act. whether it takes the form of forced labor or sexual exploitation, every case of human trafficking deprives an individual of their basic human rights. more than 20 million people fall victim to this heinous crime every year. a disproportion share of the vic -- disproportionate share of the victims are women and children. only a very small fraction will ever see their traffickers held accountable. we must and can do more to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i will give -- it will give law enforcement a proven method to help finally bring an end to this modern day slave traffic. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the

i would like to start with senator lankford. >> thank you, mr.hairman, a ranking member, appreciate that very much. tell me about where we are as far as moving on advanced w electronic data and why for developing countries this has taken so long when there are some straightforward solutions. if they can get the mail to the spot skill to get out, like advocate the data? >> -- why can't they get the data? >> thank you for the question took we been working very closely with the upu to try to move this process among very quickly but the issues we face in developing countries, i woula say previously the was a lack of will and a lack of understanding that for them to catch up with their business models and take part in the e-commerce boom that is occurring worldwide. there wasn't an understand that aed was a key to that. i think the major advance weed s have made, and it's not a statistic but it is a change of mindset within the upu that countries now understand regardless of their level of development, they have a lot ton learn and a lot to gain and t

lankford: i'd like to ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. lankford: mr. president, it's a busy day. it's -- there's a lot going on in washington, d.c. quite frankly at home, there's a lot going on in families and lives. but today is also a unique day for america as well. it's one day a year that we as a nation have called something called the national day of prayer. it started in 1988 with an official day, this day, the first thursday of may. but in the 1950's, harry truman started this process of a national day of prayer. it far precedes that. the nation has a rich and beautiful history in prayer. members of the house and senate as you know open the day every day with a prayer. it's been that way from the very beginning. even the first continental congress on september 7, 1774, opened in prayer. tonight americans will gather in statutory hall in the united states capitol to celebrate the national day of prayer. statutory hall was once the house of representatives. it's where the hous

. >> reporter: oklahoma republican james lankford insist the senate's version will be much better. he notes under obamacare individual premiums in his state rose nearly 70% last year. >> we've got to be able to deal with that, but we can't deal with what the house sent us. we have to make some corrections. >> reporter: the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell appeared to lower expectations for a final senate bill yesterday, in an interview he said that republican senators are meeting behind closed doors to hash something out but, quote, i don't know how we get to 50 votes at the moment. norah. >> wow. nancy, thank you so much. >>> a report says the improving economy has a downside. more traffic deaths. the insurance institute for highway safety says a stronger economy fuels more driving. the national safety council predicts more than 400 people could be killed in crashes this memorial day weekend. anna werner is at new york's ga george washington bridge with a report on your safety may depend on what you're driving. >> reporter: researchers analyzed fatal crash data for the gover