mayorkas' nomination is being needlessly stalled. my friends on the other side don't have to agree with mr. mayorkas on the finer points of every policy. i'm sure they don't share the exact views of every appointment to a democratic president's cabinet, but that is not a sufficient reason to oppose a nomination, especially one as important as homeland security. you don't have to take my word for it. listen to michael chertoff, president bush's former d.h.s. secretary. he said, quote, if members of congress want done test elements of biden proposals they are free to do so but hostage taking is not an appropriate way to do this, particularly if the result of that is to put the lives of the american people in jeopardy. chertoff went on to say that actions to thwart mayorkas' nomination were, quote, irresponsible and unconscionable. irresponsible and unconscionable. that president bush's -- that's president bush's former secretary of homeland security. not a democrat. well, the senate is not going to tolerate this irresponsible and uncon

. >> reporter: alejandro mayorkas, nominated to lead homeland security, said he'll immediately halt constructionpresident trump's border wall. >> would you tear down parts of the wall? would you stop the construction that's going on? he oked a forward to studying thatwall thr question, understanding the costs and benefits of doing so. >> reporter: secretary of state nominee tony blinken is a longtime biden foreign policy adviser. >> what would you tell the people in a caravan coming toward america? >> i would say do not come. >> yeah, i think that's a good message. >> reporter: former federal reserve chair, janet yellen, tapped to lead treasury, argued the best remedy under a covid- wracked economy is more stimulus. >> right now, with interest rates at historic lows, the smartest thing we can do is act big. >> reporter: defense pick lloyd austin vowed to root out any extremism in the military. >> the job of the department of defense is to keep americans safe from our enemies, but we can't do that if some of those enemies lie within our own ranks. >> reporter: democrats say their top priority is

cabinet nominees-- rhode island governor gina raimondo as commerce secretary, and alejandro mayorkas', nominated for homeland security secretary. he won committee approval, moving him closer to confirmation. the senate also worked on its own mission-critical business. minority leader senator mitch mcconnell dropped his demand that democrats guarantee they would keep the filibuster rule, which gives both parties power on most votes. this after two democratic senators, joe manchin of west virginia and kyrsten sinema of arizona, stressed they would not vote to dismantle it. >> we ve a higher calling than endless partisan escalation. we placed our trust in the institution itself and a common desire to do the right thing. i'm grateful that's been reciprocated by at least a pair of our colleagues across the aisle. >> reporter: now all sides expect an agreement allowing the new 50-50 senate to fully function. majority leader senator chuck schumer. >> i'm glad we're finally able to get the senate up and running. my only regret is that it took so long because we have a great deal we need to accomplish ov

mayorkas nomination was reported out of this committee on a strict partyline vote. with no republicans support. he was later confirmed by the senate in the same way partyline with no republican support. today we have the findings of that inspector general report and the are concerning. the dhs inspector general found that in three matters in eb-5 program and i quote, mr. mayorkas communicated with stakeholders on substantive issues outside of the normal adjudicatory process and unity with career uscis staff in ways that benefit the stakeholders. in each of these three instances but for mr. mayorkas intervention, the matter would have been decided differently. further, the ig found again and i quote, the juxtaposition of mr. mayorkas communication with external stakeholders on specific matters outside the normal procedures coupled with favorable action that deviated from the regulatory scheme designed to ensure fairness and evenhandedness and adjudicating benefits created an appearance of favoritism and special access, , in court. that's from the ig. the stakeholders

president biden has nominated alej mayorkas. he submitted his name for a hearing appeared for a committee of congress. why isn't he being approved here? one senator, the senator from missouri has a hole on his nomination. why cannot he may disagree with him on some policy, he said, publicly i'm sure he disagrees on many policies. that's enough? enough to say this critical agency will not have a leader because the senator from missouri disagrees with him on a policy? occasionally i tune into fox to see what folks are saying there. the other night last week when i tuned in, there was this breathlessrecording of a brown skinned envision our border . thousands avin caravans destined for the united states over and over again we heard that story but what agency is responsible for making sure that their ly arrival on our border is o orderly? that they do not cross the border improperly western mark it's the department of homeland security. the same agency being denied leadership by one senator on the other sideof the aisle . it's time t

nominated? 0 -- mr. mayorkas: no. sen. portman: do you know anything personally that would prevent you from what you have been nominated? mr. mayorkas: no. sen. portman: you you have any comments to testify before any duly committed committees of congress if you are duly elected? mr. mayorkas: yes. sen. portman: i look forward to speaking about some of the challenges we face and your puzzles to deal with those. but let's go straight to the issues raised by the dhs inspector general's report on decisions you made during that time you were director of the u.s. citizenship and immigration services. the report document and how you intervened with the cases related to the eb five visa program. these are people given a visa with the understanding they will come to the guided states and create jobs. the inspector general in the case of l.a. films regional center involving ed rendell stated you and i quote "created a deference review board staffed with individuals you hand-picked to review a separate series of time warner movie pro

alejandro mayorkas, his nomination remains in a holding pattern after republican senator josh holly expressed concerns about biden's border plans. in addition to getting biden's cabinet secretaries confirmed, the white house says the president will continue to push for a new 1.9. trillion dollar economic aid package. the white house is also expected to lift restrictions on transgender service members in the u. s military as early as tomorrow. this would reverse and directed by former president trump the wall street journal reports. the move was expected after president biden, on his first day in office, signed an executive order to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. on capitol hill, lawmakers are gearing up for their second impeachment trial in less than two years, but some congressional republicans are at odds over whether it is constitutional. fox news christina coleman has more. former president trump's second impeachment trial doesn't officially start until february, but the process moves forward monday when the house sends its impeachment article to th

following his nomination to serve as department of homeland security secretary i wrote to mr. mayorkasagain on january 15 to raise my concerns and to provide him yet another opportunity to answer my questions. he sent me a short response on january 9 that can you believe this? it still failed to answer most of the questions that i was trying to get answers for it was very important for nominees confirmed by this body to be responsive to congressional oversight requests. mr. mayorkas consistently refused to respond my questions and that should concern all of us in the united states senate because no senator should be denied answers to these questions doing proper oversight of the executive branch and furthermore we now know the whistleblower allegations made to my office were accurate andse many whistleblowers who approached my office raised similar concerns with john roth the obama appointed inspector generalba at the department of homeland security s at that time who released his offices report detailing its investigation into these matters way back in 2015. in that 2015 report inspec

senators will consider the nomination of alejandro mayorkas, a vote set for 1:45 p.m. eastern. that requires a simple majority. now live to the senate floor. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. lord, we look to you for refuge. you are master of oceans, earth and sky. every good thing we have comes from you.

to consider the nomination of ada hunter mayorkas to be homeland security secretary.c-span3 at 10:45 a.m. eastern, nancy pelosi speaks to reporters about the legislative agenda. the biden white house held its first virtual coronavirus response briefing on wednesday morning. the white house covid-19 response coordinator was joined by national institute of allergy and infectious disease's director, dr. anthony fauci. the cdc director and other team members. this runs one hour. >> ok. thank you, everyone, for joining us today. i am the white house covid coordinator. i have the privilege of being joined by four of america's leading doctors and health experts today to conduct our first covid-19 briefing. i will keep my comments very brief. yesterday, we met with

president biden has nominated ali mayorkas. ali mayorkas turned in his paper work required by law, submitted his name in a hearing and appeared before a committee of congress. why isn't he being approved here? one senator -- the senator from missouri -- has a hold on his nomination. why? well, he may disagree with him on some policy, he said publicly. i'm sure he does. i'm sure he disagrees on many policies. is that enough? is that enough to say that this critical agency will not have a leader because the senator from missouri disagrees with him on a policy? occasionally i tune in to fox to see what folks are saying there. the other night, last week when i tuned in, there was this breathless reporting of a brown-skinned invasion at our border. thousands in caravans destined for the united states. over and over again we've heard that story. what agency is responsible for making sure that their arrival at our border is orderly, that they do not cross the border improperly? it's the department of homeland security, the same agency

majorkas but now missouri senator josh hawley says he still has questions unanswered about the nomination of mayorkas and says he wants questions answered. as for general austin, he needs a waiver from congress because he left the military fewer than seven years ago and the house of representatives is set to vote on that waive on thursday. shep >> kayla, thank you. >>> as we wait for the last-minute pardons we're getting a clearer sense of what he sees as his legacy. the president laid it out in his departing message, a nearly 20-minute video previously recorded and posted to the white house youtube channel this afternoon. it's a departure from recent presidents whose farewell addresses have been delivered live in primetime. cnbc's eamon javers is in washington tonight eamon, please tell our viewers how the president describes his time in office >> reporter: yeah, he describes it as a success, shep. the president ticked through a number of what he sees as his greatest accomplishments in his first term in office, his only term talking about the pre-pandemic economy, of course, his trade negotiations,

delayed because of the delay of the nomination of the, confirmation i should say for nominating homeland secured alex mayorkas has been priority of then candidate joe biden and also president biden and first lady dr. jill biden. >> he's personally committed to his wife personally committed and invested in and he will plan to make the announcement next tuesday. the task force will be led by secretary of homeland security. once he's confirmed, alex mayorkas. david: the president wait if for mayorkas to be confirmed. clearly president biden wants homeland security with them. one of the orders, mike, the president plans to sign on tuesday would establish a traffic force that would basically reunite families separated at the border under the trump administration of the last 4 years. then candidate biden talked heavily about this issue on the campaign trail. president biden also expected to increase refugee admissions. he said in the past, he wants to boost the number significantly from 15,000 at the lowest point of the trump administration to 125,000 admissions per year. that plan alone, though, has some republica

the clerk: nomination, department of homeland security, alejandro nicholas mayorkas, of the district of columbia, to be secretary. mr. schumer: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of alejandro nicholas mayorkas to be secretary of the department of homeland security, signed by 18 senators as follows, schumer, peters -- mr. schumer: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask the mandatory quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i just ask unanimous consent, mr. president, that my motion be made after senator merkley finishes his statement and not be interrupted in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. and i thank my colleague from oregon. mr. merkley: thank you very much to our majority leader. we nee

given his stellar work and his own personal story as an immigrant from cuba, president obama nominated mr. mayorkas in 2009 to be the director of the u.s. citizenship and immigration services. in that role, he administered our immigration laws while preserving our legacy as a nation of immigrants. ale successfully implemented the deferred action for childhood arrivals program known as daca. this played a critical role and remains critical for hundreds of thousands of young people in this country. after four years, at uscis, he was confirmed in 2013 to be deputy secretary of homeland security when he faced a broad array of challenges and he led the dhs response to the epidemics and oversaw the agency's efforts to combat terrorism and enhanced our border security. he also worked to facilitate trade and enforce our immigration laws. critically given the threats we face today, he also oversaw and coordinated the government's efforts in cyber security. mr. chair man, the united states faces substantial security concerns and threats, and i would like the committee to know this senator has full confidence

biden homeland security alejandro mayorkas is in holding pattern, josh hawley fast tracking nominationt's talk about what you were just talking about, president biden speaking with mexican president by friday, the white house was productive as the two leaders agreed to work together on several different issues, but mexico's president said in his own statement that the biden administration plans to allocate some $4 billion to central american countries where people may be trying to migrate to the u.s. from. now this weekend the president continues to hold calls with world leaders, we know we had a chance to speak with the british prime minister british johnson yesterday and both men hope to meet in person soon but the new date has been set, we expect more phone calls in the week ahead as well. also the administration very eager to get congress on board with $1.8 billion stimulus structure something the president says is need to combat the pandemic. >> see what we can get done as quickly as possible, we certainly think the minimum wage is part of urgent relief package. mark: some republi

nomination. monday a confirmation bill is set for alejandro mayorkas to become homeland security secretary. day senators boat on confirming pete buttigieg to head the transportation department. other possible pending cabinet nominations including veterans affairs and commerce. the house meets monday on 3:00 p.m. eastern for a session only. the first vote of the week are expected tuesday. members are planning to take up a budget resolution and covid-19 relief legislation. two items that the senate may consider. watch the house live on c-span in the senate on c-span2. >> the mayors of miami and oklahoma city and stockton california discuss education policy, job creation, income inequality and other challenges facing their cities from the american enterprise institute this runs one hour. >> my name is ryan i'm the director of domestic policy study ahe

is a professor at u c berkeley along with jennifer granholm is nominated to run the department of energy and california's alejandro mayorkas as the nominee for secretary of homeland security california is far more progressive than the rest of the various policies, but don't think that it's so far to the left trade it's more of a pragmatic aggressive bid progressivism. >>and even then there is some areas policy areas where california has fallen quite sure professor william rash points to the recent failure of prop 22 in california, which is gig workers such as uber and lyft drivers remaining as independent contractors. >>and illinois base republican strategist pat brady notes the rest of the country is much less influenced by california. >>the property taxes are crazy income taxes are crazies invited guests in california it's about going to have more expensive than anywhere in the country itself when you enact regulations, no matter if it is a good public policy argument navy that actually drive people out of your state that's getting way too radical for the rest of the country some ideas will be picked up and applied prett

nominations. monday, a confirmation vote is set for alejandro mayorkas to become the homeland security secretary. tuesday, pete buttigieg will be confirmed for the transportation department. other possible pending cabinet nominations include veterans affairs and commerce. the house meets monday at 3:00 p.m. eastern for a pro forma session only. the first votes are expected tuesday. members are planning to take up a budget resolution and covid-19 relief legislation. two items the senate may also consider. watch the house live on c-span, and the senate on c-span2. >> coming up tonight on c-span, representative debby dingell and tom reed discuss the january 6 attack on u.s. capitol and the house moving forward with impeaching donald trump for the second time. then, the heritage foundation hosts a discussion on the state of american democracy and the current political climate. after that, robert agee of the alzheimer's association talks about the anniversary of the national alzheimer's project and the future of alzheimer's policy. >> representatives debby dingell and tom reed discussed the january 6 a

bulletin, you still have senate republicans slow walking the vote on the nomination of the next secretary for homeland security, mayorkas. so you would think at this moment they would begin to sort of re-examine their relationship with these far-right-wing groups and work with us to pass this nomination as quickly as possible. >> i wanted to play something that senator mitt romney said during an economic club virtual forum yesterday. let's listen to what he had to say about impeachment and his colleagues. >> and the people largely on my side who are saying look at impeachment trial is going to inflame passions more, i say, first of all, have you gone out publicly and said there was not widespread voter fraud and that joe biden is legitimate president of the united states? if you said that, then i'm happy to listen to you talk about other things that might enflame anger and divisiveness. but if you haven't said that, that's really what's at the source of the anger right now. >> it's hard to understand how after only three weeks later, only five senate republicans were willing to say that he should be held accountable in

senate homeland security committee will be smeegts to vote on the nomination of president biden's homeland security alejandro mayorkas, our immigration system will be central to his responsibilities and it is central to president biden's agenda as wel he'll have some allies to push through his immigration policies. they call themselves the closers, one jo lofgren, i will talk to her about that and something else she knows quite a bit about, impeachment. she was an impeachment manager in president trump's first trial. she's taken part in all four modern day impeachment proceedings. we'll get her perspective on that in a few moments. in a few hours, senators will be sworn in for the trial. this is what senate majority leader chuck schumer told my colleague rachel maddow about that. >> i hope he's voted guilty. the trial will be done in a way that is fair, but with relatively quickly. the evidence is all out there. we have not negotiated the details of the trial and we will. hopefully we can come to an agreement. we don't want to give the republicans an excuse it was unfair. on the other hand, we don't want them to dela

you to explain what's going on there and especially the hold on this nomination, but first let's hear from the nominee, mr. mayorkas. ests asked at his senate confirmation hearing about the border wall. >> when i served as the deputy secretary and i met with the border patrol, both ated headquarters and in the field, along the southern border, what i heard from the border patrol was that we need a diverse approach to border security. that in some instances a physical barrier would be effective, but that in other instances more boots on the ground would assist and yet in other circumstances, the use of technology, the use of air and marine assets would be most effective. and i look forward to studying the challenges at the border and developing a sophisticated approach to meet those challenges, to be sure that we're harnessing innovation and technology to the best of our ability. host: to our guest, what do you make of that back and forth there, those comments by the nominee, and why has senator hawley of missouri put a hold on a quick confirmation for the d.h.s. secretary? guest: yeah, you know, ultimately the hold

senate homeland security committee will be smeegts to vote on the nomination of president biden's homeland security alejandro mayorkass responsibilities and it is central

nominations. monday, a confirmation vote is set for alejandra mayorkas -- alejandro mayorkas to be secretary.ransportation secretary, pete buttigieg. the house meets monday at 3:00 p.m. eastern for a pro forma session here the first votes are expected tuesday. members are planning to take up a budget resolution and covid-19 relief legislation, two items they may consider. watch the house live on c-span and the senate on c-span two. >> former president trump became the first president to be impeached twice. house impeachment officers delivered articles of impeachment on incitement of insurrection senate with jamie raskin reading the article before the senate. >> donald john trump thus warns impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the united states, so help you god. >> the following day, senators were sworn in as jurors in the trial. republican kentucky senator rand paul requested a point of order to dismiss the impeachment charges unconstitutional. >> i make a point of order that this proceeding, which would

is a professor at u c berkeley along with jennifer granholm is nominated to run the department of energy and california's alejandro mayorkas as the nominee for secretary of homeland security california is far more progressive than the rest of the various policies, but don't think that it's so far to the left rate that's more of a pragmatic aggressive bid progressivism. >>and even then there is some areas policy areas where california has fallen quite sure professor william rash points to the recent failure of prop 22 in california, which is gig workers such as uber and lyft drivers remaining as independent contractors. >>and illinois base republican strategist pat brady notes the rest of the country is much less influenced by california. >>the property taxes are crazy that's going way too radical for the rest of the country some ideas will be picked up and applied pretty easily to the rest of the country. but there will have to be some adjustment by these by these appointees to no longer a california. it's not all right does work but didn't do. >>at least we'll have live look at just one hour to senses. and i hope we saw w

is a professor at u c berkeley along with jennifer granholm is nominated to run the department of energy and california's alejandro mayorkasomeland security california is far more progressive than the rest of the various policies, but don't think that it's so far to the left rate that's more of a pragmatic progressive been progressivism. >>and even there is some areas policy areas where california has fallen quite sure professor william rash points to the recent failure of prop 22 in california which is gig workers such as uber and lyft drivers remaining as independent contractors and illinois base republican strategist pat brady notes the rest of the country is much less influenced by california. >>the property taxes are crazy income taxes are crazies invited guests and california is about have more expensive than anywhere in the country itself when you enact regulations, no matter if it is a good public policy argument navy that actually drive people out of your state that's getting way too radical for the rest of the country some ideas will be picked up and applied pretty easily to the rest of the country. but there wil

to do it this week because we had opened that ale mayorkas would be confirmed by the end of this week but because of the fill busting of his nomination we expect him to be confirmed on monday evening and the president will sign it on tuesday and secretary mayorkas will be overseeing that moving forward. >> reporter: one more question, a foreign one. can you give us just a little bit more of a timeline in terms of how much longer you think it will take for the white house to engage with iran on its nuclear program? because you had one of iran's top diplomats saying yesterday that it believes the window is closing. >> well, i'm not going to give a timeline on it. obviously it requires iran complying with the requirements of the nuclear deal. we've said previously, but i will reiterate here, that the president also sees it as an opportunity to build on the plan from here -- there, and i apologize, i just want to make sure i give you the exact language. he believes that through following diplomacy the u.s. should seek to lengthen and strengthen these nuclear constraints and address other issues of concern including iran's ballistic missi

is a professor at u c berkeley along with jennifer granholm is nominated to run the department of energy and california's alejandro mayorkasomeland security california is far more progressive than the rest of the various policies, but don't think that it's so far to the left trade it's more of a pragmatic aggressive bid progressivism. >>and even then there is some areas policy areas where california has fallen quite sure professor william rash points to the recent failure of prop 22 in california, which is gig workers such as uber and lyft drivers remaining as independent contractors. >>and illinois base republican strategist pat brady notes the rest of the country is much less influenced by california. >>the property taxes are crazy income taxes are crazies invited guests in california it's about going to have more expensive than anywhere in the country itself when you enact regulations, no matter if it is a good public policy argument navy that actually drive people out of your state that's getting way too radical for the rest of the country some ideas will be picked up and applied pretty easily to the rest of the countr

is a professor at u c berkeley along with jennifer granholm is nominated to run the department of energy and california's alejandro mayorkas as the nominee for secretary of homeland security california is far more progressive than the rest of the various policies, but don't think that it's so far to the left rate that's more of a pragmatic aggressive bid progressivism. >>and even then there is some areas policy areas where california has fallen quite sure professor william rash points to the recent failure of prop 22 in california, which is gig workers such as uber and lyft drivers remaining as independent contractors. >>and illinois base republican strategist pat brady notes the rest of the country is much less influenced by california. >>the property taxes are crazy income taxes are crazies buy gas in california it's about going to have more expensive than anywhere in the country itself when you enact regulations, no matter if it is a good public policy argument navy that actually drive people out of your state that's going way too radical for the rest of the country some ideas will be picked up and applied pretty easily

on c-span to the senate returns at 10:00 to consider the nomination of how hundred mayorkas -- alejandra mayorkas. and house speaker nancy pelosi speaks to reporters about the legislative agenda. coming up in an hour, the national education association president becky pringle on the debate over reopening

secretary of state nominee, and also alejandro mayorkas, the department of homeland security nominee. they are waiting a full senate vote on their nominations. we also note that today, guys, and this is key, the house is going to vote on retired general lloyd austin's waiver to serve as defense secretary. a lot of people coming forward to say they'll support that. that is good to the biden team's ears. we'll see what happens there. >> jess, thank you for that reporting. >>> we have a lot ahead this hour. still to come, as the biden administration focuses on improving the covid vaccination rollout, it needs to be majorly improved, states are in a dire situation. doses in short supply. some doses even going to waste and a death toll that is surging. >> doses to waste. incredible. and more from the hill on president biden's calls for unity, but how far will bipartisanship really go in this new administration? and something everyone can get behind. this was the scene last night. it was just stunning. i mean, man, if you haven't seen clips of it, please do. there's one. over washington, d.c., on inauguration day. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (quiet piano music) ♪ ♪

nominations. monday, a photo set for alejandro mayorkas to become high am when security secretary. day, pete buttigieg to have the transportation department. other possible pending cabinet nominations include veterans affairs and commerce. the house meets for a pro former session. members are planning a budget resolution. >> washington journal continues. host: we are back with public radio full disclosure host roben farzad, who is here to help us decipher all the news we've heard this week about gamestop and read it in the stock market and hedge funds and making this make sense to us. guest: good morning. host: let's set the scene. tell us what happened with gamestop, reddit and the stock market. guest: revenge of the nerds is the easy way to call it. you have a group of diehard renegade retail investors. a lot of them use the app robinhood. the honor of gamestop. gamestop is a struggling mall retailer that sells video games, comic books and other things. the stock has been assailed by short-sellers, these hedge fund investors that can go in and borrow a stock and that it will fall

nominations for the biden administration. mandate a confirmation vote for alejandro mayorkas to become homeland security secretary. on tuesday senators voted in confirming pete buttigieg to head the transportation department. other possible nominations enabled veterans affairs secretary and commerce secretary. as always you can follow the senate live on c-span2. >> you are watching c-span2 your unfiltered view of government. c-span2 was created by america's cable-television companies and today we are brought to you by these television companies who provide c-span2 to viewers as a public service. >> sunday at 9 p.m. eastern on "after words" "new york times" op-ed columnist charles on his book the devil you know, black power manifesto. >> if black people had not migrated and extended think it but if they had not migrated, it is possible like people could control up to 14 senate seats to be the majority heart of the coalition to do that. it is possible that they could have controlled more electoral college votes than california and new york state combined. it is possible they would have real power on a state level. so

on c-span to the senate returns at 10:00 to consider the nomination of how hundred mayorkas -- alejandra mayorkas. and house speaker nancy pelosi speaks to reporters about the legislative agenda. coming up in an hour, the national education association president becky pringle on the debate over reopening schools during the pandemic. at 8:45, republican national committee senior for black media affairs, paris dennard on the future of the republican party. and president biden's executive order on racial equality. ♪ host: good morning, everyone, on thursday, january 28. welcome to "the washington journal." we begin this morning with a conversation about president biden's climate change agenda. yesterday he outlined his priorities. we want to know if you support or oppose them. if you agree with the president, dial-in at (202) 748-8000. if you oppose, (202) 748-8001. text us with your thoughts, first name city and state, at (202) 748-8003. or go to twitter, @cspanwj, or facebook.com/c-span. we will take your calls and comments in a minute but let's listen to president biden at the white hous

planned to do it this week because we had hoped that mayorkas would be confirmed by the end of this week. because of the filibuster of his nominatione confirmed on monday evening and therefore the president will sign it on tuesday and then secretary mayorkas will be overseeing that moving forward. >> one more question. can you give us a little more timeline in terms of how much longer you think it will take for the white house to engage with iran on its nuclear program because you had one of iran's top diplomats saying yesterday it believes the window is closing. >> well, i'm not going to give the timeline on it. it requires iran complying with the requirements of the nuclear deal. we've said previously but i will reiterate here that the president also sees it as an opportunity to build on the plan from there and i just want to make sure i give you the exact language. he believes that through diplomacy the u.s. should strengthen the nuclear constraints and address other issues of concerning including iran's ballistic missiles program and regional activity. but again iran must resume compliance with the significant nuclear constrain

nomination. monday, a boat is set for alejandro mayorkas to become homeland security secretary.e is what i -- senators vote on pete buttigieg. others include veterans affairs and commerce. the house meets monday at 3:00 p.m. eastern for a pro forma session only. the first votes are expected tuesday. members are landing to take up a budget resolution and covid-19 relief legislation, two items the senate may also consider. watch the house live on c-span and the senate on c-span2. ♪ >> c-span's washington journal, every day we are taking your calls live on the air on the news of the day and we will discuss policy issues that impact you. sunday morning, -- discusses the latest on covid vaccine development and the emerging variants being discovered. the president for the center of european policy analysis talks about u.s.-russian relations and the biden administration. watched washington journal, live at 7:00 eastern sunday morning. be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages and tweets. >> chinese president xi jinping spoke on global leader

retired general lloyd austin to be secretary of defense, alejandra mayorkas, antony blinken for secretary of state, janet yellen nominated for treasury secretary, and avril haines as director of national intelligence. check c-span.org for specific information and our coverage plans on a very busy tuesday. the day before the inauguration. from the review section of "the wall street journal" the headline on the analysis piece, "where trump came from and where trumpism is going." he writes that "in short, the problem has been the inability or failure of the gop to separate trump and trumpism." john kasich, former governor of ohio, "the party chose mr. trump's negative populism which saw scapegoats and defined itself by what it was against, rather than a positive populism defined by what it was for. ultimately a movement born of many americans' legitimate concerns about the effects of globalization and the feelings of alienation from the nation's political, and cultural, and financial elite was overwhelmed by mr. trump's need to find grievances. the bond he chose to build with those on the outer edge of society, who shared t

retired general lloyd austin to be secretary of defense, alejandra mayorkas, antony blinken for secretary of state, janet yellen nominatedor treasury secretary, and avril haines as director of national intelligence. check c-span.org for specific information and our coverage plans on a very busy tuesday. from the review section of the wall street journal the headline on the analysis piece, where trump came from and where trumpism is going. in short, the problem has been the inability or failure to separate trump and trumpism. former governor of ohio, the party chose mr. trump's negative populism which saw scapegoats and defined itself by what it was against, rather than a positive populism defined by what was for. ultimately a movement born of many americans' legitimate concern about globalization and the feelings of alienation from the nation's political, and cultural, and financial elite. the bond he chose to build with those on the outer edge of society, who shared that tendency, the culmination on the march on the capital in which mainstream trump supporters were overshadowed by those swinging fire extinguishers at co

mayorkas to become homeland security secretary. tuesday senators boat on confirming pete buttigieg to head the transportation department. other possible pending cabinet nominations including veterans affairs and commerce. the house meets monday on 3:00 p.m. eastern for a session only. the first vote of the week are expected tuesday. members are planning to take up a budget resolution and covid-19 relief legislation. two items that the senate may consider. watch the house live on c-span in the senate on c-span2. >> the mayors of miami and oklahoma city and stockton california discuss education policy, job creation, income inequality and other challenges facing their cities from the american enterprise institute this runs one hour. >> my name is ryan i'm the director of domestic policy study at the american enterprise institute and i am delighted to be with you and joined by a group of first-term mayors facing challenges that our city is throwing at them and doing interesting things and i'm glad you're tuning and i think you will enjoy getting to know each one of them. the event today is called a new generation of mayors in cities after 2020 and i'm especially m e

mayorkas for secretary of homeland security, antony blinken for secretary of state, avril haines for director of national intelligence, and janet yellen for treasury secretary. meanwhile, biden has nominated gary gensler to head the securities and exchange commission and rohit chopra to head the consumer financial protection bureau. president-elect biden is promising to issue a slew of executive orders on his fit day office, overturningome of preside trump's most contentious acons. biden said to extend were trains on evictions and foreclosures, extend a freeze on federal student loan payments, and halt accumulating interest on those loans. biden is also planning to order a mask mandate for interstate travelers and visitors to federal buildings. in his inaugural address, he will ask u.s. residents to commit to wearing masks for at least 100 days. biden will cancel trump's travel ban targeting majority muslim nations and also plan to propose an immigration bill providing an eight year path to citizenship for undocumented people in the u.s. biden will also sign an order returning the united states to the paris climate agreement. and in an historic move, biden is expected to order the cancell

you to explain what's going on there and especially the hold on this nomination, but first let's hear from the nominee, mr. mayorkasests asked at his senate confirmation hearing about the border wall. >> when i served as the deputy secretary and i met with the border patrol, both ated headquarters and in the field, along the southern border, what i heard from the border patrol was that we need a diverse approach to border security. that in some instances a physical barrier would be effective, but that in other instances more boots on the ground would assist and yet in other circumstances, the use of technology, the use of air and marine assets would be most effective. and i look forward to studying the challenges at the border and developing a sophisticated approach to meet those challenges, to be sure that we're harnessing innovation and technology to the best of our ability. host: to our guest, what do you make of that back and forth there, those comments by the nominee, and why has senator hawley of missouri put a hold on a quick confirmation for the d.h.s. secretary? guest: yeah, you know, ultimately the hold c

you to explain what's going on there and especially the hold on this nomination, but first let's hear from the nominee, mr. mayorkas. ests asked at his senate confirmation hearing about the border wall. >> when i served as the deputy secretary and i met with the border patrol, both ated headquarters and in the field, along the southern border, what i heard from the border patrol was that we need a diverse approach to border security. that in some instances a physical barrier would be effective, but that in other instances more boots on the ground would assist and yet in other circumstances, the use of technology, the use of air and marine assets would be most effective. and i look forward to studying the challenges at the border and developing a sophisticated approach to meet those challenges, to be sure that we're harnessing innovation and technology to the best of our ability. host: to our guest, what do you make of that back and forth there, those comments by the nominee, and why has senator hawley of missouri put a hold on a quick confirmation for the d.h.s. secretary? guest: yeah, you know, ultimately the hold

nomination is confirmed. lisa: outside, vice president harris conducted a ceremonial swearing-in of janet yellen. committees continued moving through a stack of other nominees. gina raimondo as commerce secretary and alejandra mayorkasor homeland security secretary. he won committee approval, moving closer to confirmation. the senate worked on its own business. minority leader mitch mcconnell dropped his demand that democrats guarantee they would keep the filibuster, which gives both parties power on most votes. this after two democratic senators stressed they would not vote to dismantle it. sen. mcconnell: we have a higher calling than endless partisan escalation. we placed our trust in the institution itself in a common desire to do the right thing. i am grateful that has been reciprocated by at least a pair of our colleagues across the aisle. lisa: all sides expect an agreement allowing the senate to fully function. sen. schumer: i am glad we are able to get the senate up and running. my only regret is that it took so long because we have a great deal to accomplish over the next weeks and months. lisa: last night house members delivered the article of impeachment to the senate. senators were sworn in as jurors to

i'm optimistic is he did appoint or he has nominated a very good secretary for dhs, a secretary that understands policies affect border security. and if mayorkasokay, how are we going to get rid of the trump policies, but what policies are we going to put in place to effectuate the same thing that the trump administration accomplished. and if we can do that, then we can still maintain border security, but there is absolutely reason to be concerned. neil: you know, brandon, i don't know where you stand on this honduran caravan, they're calling this, making its way to the united states, that it was triggered by the switch in administrations. others argue that's not the case, that this was between soldiers there, guatemalans and hondurans, escalated to the point that had nothing to do with biden coming in, but everything to do with, you know, tensions and troubles south of our border that are going to escalate. so regardless who's in the white house, that will lead to more coming to the border. what do you make of that? >> there is no secret that the moment biden won the presidency that organized crime went into countries like el salvador, hondur

mayorkas. she says the confirmation delay has delayed the action actions on reuniting separated families. >> we planned to do it this week. because we hoeptd alejandroo would be confirmed. but because of the filibuster of his nominationct him confirmed on monday evening, the president signs it tuesday. then the secretary will be overseeing that moving forward. >>> with me now jess morales. the chair of families together. katlyn dickerson, a staff writer for the atlantic. katlyn, there is a lot of immigration action happening. for those not following it as obsessively as the three of us do, there has been a lot of early action in the form of executive orders. now comes a lot of the harder part, right, comes this question of whether or not there is an appetite for legislating this issue, comes the thorny and complicated issue of dealing with the families who have been separated from their loved ones at the border. what is your sense of where things stand tonight? >> well, i think the biden administration has made very clear that they are going to push for a very broad set of reforms, from a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants to the united states, to shoring up protections for the

nomination to leave the pentagon, said he supports overturning trump span on transgender people serving in the military. republican senator josh hawley announced he will block a move to expedite the consideration of alejandro mayorkas as head of the department of homeland security, delaying the installment of biden's national security team. mayorkas addressed the january 6 insurrection at the capitol during his hearing. >> i will do everything i can to ensure that the tragic loss-of-life, the assault on law enforcement, the desecration of the building that stands as one of the three pillars of our democracy, the terror that you felt will not happen again. amy: avril haines, the nominee for director of national intelligence, told lawmakers at her hearing she would release the report about the 2018 killing of "washington post" columnist jamal khashoggi. as the global covid-19 death toll topped 2 million this week, joe biden is expected to order the u.s. to rejoin the world health organization as he takes office today, reversing trump's decision to withdraw from the u.n. body last year. health experts are warning new variants of the coronavirus are -- and issues of exit supplies are threatening countries' recoveries f