mitch mcconnell and henry clay. well, i'm not sure anybody would call senator mcconnell the great compromiser, which is what people called henry clay. that said, senator mcconnell has reached a lot of compromise over time. i interviewed senator angus king of maine and. he said the problem for mitch is, is that his obstructions are notorious and people don't really see his compromises. but even lately in the biden administration, you could see that. you could see that in the infrastructure bill, you could see that in the chips act. you could see that in the gun safety bill. those are all the products of compromise that he put together when he needed to obstruct. what was his mindset when he thought he needed to obstruct? well, that he when after president obama was elected, the republicans were really on their backs. you know, they for a while, the democrats had 60 votes. and so senator mcconnell told his conference, you know, we still have a lot of power here. really, the power they had is the power of no, because it

watch c-span wednesday at endicott pima eastern as we explore the life of mitch mcconnell. 17 years ofand plans for his remaining two years in office as well as other topics. michael tackett, deputy washington bureau chief for the associated press and author of the mcconnell biography, "the price of power." join us wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> witnessed democracy in action with c-span, experience history as it unfolds with c-span's live

and when you have susan collins and mitch mcconnell, those are two voices who have not been hesitant about pushing back on trump in the past and they could use their way to do that. host: what is mitch mcconnell's role going to be now that he is not majority or minority leader in the senate? guest: that is a good question and one that we are watching very closely. he's made it clear that he continues to push for american strength of the world stage, he plans to push for boosting defense spending. that is really his number one priority that he has said over and over again. he will be chairing the subcommittee, so he will have a lot of power in deciding how much money and where money is spent when it comes to u.s. defense. that will be a key focus for him he's also made it clear he stands by john through to fight to keep the filibuster in place. last time around trump didn't demand that the filibuster be ended to get things done easier, mitch mcconnell said no, released it is grounded in the first ministration. john thune has indicated that he plans to protect the filibuster and we kno

susan collins, lisa murkowski, mitch mcconnell now that he is not in leadership anymore. mitch mcconnell has a singular focus for the remaining two years on his senator which is to continue to advance his national security doctrine, his foreign policy doctrine, how he sees the world, and that involves of course pushing back against what he sees as a more isolationist streak popping up at his party. in one of the ways he is thinking about doing that is on these nominations. so you have to really consider is mitch mcconnell going to vote for someone like tulsi gabbard or someone like pete hegseth? a lot of it depends on what they say during the confirmation hearings and how they lay out their case in terms of who to watch on the senate floor, i think those three. young that, some senators to have their pet issue they like to focus on when it comes to certain subject matter areas that cabinet nominees could have jurisdiction over. so again, it is nominee-dependent that i would say those three are the ones to focus on. host: c-span collars also have their issues like to focus

>> yes, thune watched mitch mcconnell for a long time, he was a top mitch mcconnell sort of acolyte,nd mitch mcconnell is still around and a lot of his leadership team is up in the air, but some are still around. a lot of the experience will still be around john thune. he has a leadership team already that's been in the room sort of knows how to deal with not only the schumer team and that operation, but also just the senate in general, the way that the floor works, so, i think that they'll probably hit the ground running, it's not like, you know, when speaker johnson became speaker after kevin mccarthy was without-- he had no experience at all in leadership, so it's not that type of situation. >> what role will senator mitch mcconnell play in the 119th congress? as noted he's still serving and representing kentucky. >> he'll still have a voice in leadership and still obviously a lot of folks look at him as somebody who has a ton of experience and he's going to be on the subcommittee on appropriations for defense and a lot of say over defense spending which is obviously a huge priori

mitch mcconnell was still condemning him months after on the floor. nancy pelosi decided to use january 6th as political gain. she refused to allow mccarthy to appoint republicans to the committee, she didn't let them put january 6th committee with republicans -- >> the january 6th committee had the republican of all republicans, liz cheney and she was booted out of your party. >> good republican. >> let me ask you this, maria, attorney general merrick garland put out a statement saying he's proud of the -- the public servants of the justice department have sought to hold accountable those criminally responsible for the january 6th attack on our democracy with unrelenting integrity. they have conducted themselves in a manner that adheres to the rule of law and honors our obligation to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of everyone in this country. but, you know, maria, and i don't have to tell you this, a lot of democrats are just totally disappointed in merrick garland and think he botched this. did he botch this? >> i think way too much ti

. >> kentucky senator mitch mcconnell has spent 40 years in the u.s. senate, 17 as leader of his republican colleagues, the longest any senator has been at the top of the leadership wrong in either political party. senator john thune was elected a few weeks ago to head up the republican majority in the senate in 2025. journalist michael tackett's book, a profile of senator mcconnell, is called the price of power and subtitled a mitch -- how mitch mcconnell mastered the senate, changed america and lost his party. mike tackett conducted over 50 hours of interviews and was granted access to never before released oral histories. >> journalist michael tackett with his book, the price of power on this episode of book notes plus with host brian lamb. book notes plus is available on the c-span now free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> democracy. it is not just an idea, it is a process shaped by leaders, elected to the

join us for the career and legacy of senate leader mitch mcconnell tonight at 8 p.m.n c-span. ♪♪ >> the house will be in order. >> this year c-span celebrates 45 years of covering congress like no other. since 1979 we've been your primary source for capitol hill providing balanced, unfiltered coverage of government, taking you to where

. >> next, a look at the career of senator mitch mcconnell, who is stepping down at the end of the 118thongress. c-span interviewed michael

guest: thune watched mitch mcconnell for a long time.e learned form -- from him and was his number two. mitch mcconnell is still around. a lot of his leadership team is up in the air. but a lot of the experience will still be around john thune. he has a leadership team already that has been in the room, sort of knows how to deal with not only schumer, but the senate in general. i think they will probably hit the ground running. it is not like when speaker johnson became speaker, after kevin mccarthy was ousted. he had no experience at all in leadership. it is not that type of situation. host: what role will senator mitch mcconnell play in the 119th congress? he is still serving and representing kentucky. guest: serving. a lot of folks look at him as somebody who has a ton of experience. he will be on the subcommittee of appropriations for defense. he will have a lot of say over defense spending which a a huge priority for him throughout his career. how much does he get out of the way and let john thune be john thune? i think the parallel

mitch mcconnell has said democrats would attend saint think. looking at it in terms of the institution, let me begin with you, senator blunt. your thoughts have impacted the politics of the senate and the supreme court. >> well, in the end of the first two years of the bush administration i think once you get to your three, democrats are in control of the senate. senator schumer was not the majority leader and he led this particular fight and he announced that a supreme court vacancy yet but if there is i just tell you we're not going to fill it and so after this presidential election. so there's no question that both sides would look at those late things that way if there in the majority. if you're in the majority and there is an opportunity to fill a vacancy, they would both try to do that as well. you could argue that changing the rules to wear 51 could do that clearly made a difference. but once those rules get change they don't get changed the back, which is why when senator reed changed the rules to 51, senator mcconnell at the time said

mitch mcconnell and people like him facilitated this, absolutely.pinpoint something important. you talk to people in the republican party and i talked to the people in washington. there were not the votes to confirm headset. it seemed like he was going to go the way of matt gaetz then you saw whipping people into shape. we saw maga activated through steve bannon. if they're going to deliver someone who is so clearly unfed into that position, the existential things that we cannot afford to lose over the course of the next four years, the politicization of the military and the justice department. i do not know how you want to do that. the fact that john thune is so quickly, you know, telling trump, i will get you the votes for this, it shows who he is following this line and the republican party is acting like nationalists parties we have seen around the world that with her own self interests and tap into these dark recesses of nationalist politics ahead of any kind of national interest and i think that is what is alarming. we are operating without a

to head the republican majority in the snot a book of mcconnell is the profiles of power how mitch mcconnellred the senate and lost also party. he connected over 50 hours of interviews and was granted access to never before released oral history. the price of power howitch mcconnell mastered the senate on book not blues. it is valuable on the c-span now fee mobile app. attention middle and high school students it is time for the student cam 2025. your chance it create a documentary to inspire change and mac an impact. it should answer the question your message it the president what issue is most important to you or your community. whether you are passionate about politics, environment or community. it is your platform. with $100,000 in prizes. this is your opportunity to not only make ran impact but be rewarded for your crty. enter your submissions today. the deadline is january 20, 2025. the c-span bookshelf podcast makes it easy to listen to the podcast to discover new authors. discuss history, biography, current events. bock not plus and q&a. lesson it the book shelled in consist today. i

>> mitch mcconnell is stepping down this week. he shares the use seven, fellow republicans and other topics. our guest is michael tackett for the associated press and author of the biography the price of power. join us wednesday night on c-span. >> in 1976 jimmy carter won electoral votes defeating gerald ford. he was sworn in. in his speech he talked about hopes for america and urged democracy in other nations. >> governor carter, are you prepared to take the constitutional oath? when you place your left hand on the bible and raise your right hand and repeat after me. i, jimmy carter do solemnly swear, that i will faithfully execute the office of the president of the united states, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the united states. so help me god. congratulations. [applause] ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. [applause] >> for myself and for our nation, i want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land. [applause] in this ceremony

mitch mcconnell would have done the same thing, just looking at it, in terms of the institution, let me begin with you senator blunt, your thoughts on how that impacted the politics of the senate and the supreme court? >> in the end of the first two years of the bush administration, i guess once you get to year three, democrats are in control of the senate, senator schumer was not the majority leader, but he led this particular fight, and he announced, there is not a supreme court vacancy yet, but if there is, i'm telling you, we will not fill it until after this presidential election. there is no question both sides would look at those things that way, they are in the majority. if you're in the majority, there is an opportunity to fill a vacancy, they would both try to do that as well. you could argue that changing the rules to where 51 could do that clearly made a difference, but once those rules get changed , they do not get changed too, which is why when senator reid changed the rules to 51, senator mcconnell at the time said, you will be sorry you did this, and you may be sorry

mitch mcconnell had polio as a child.pete hegseth, who, you know, has said repeatedly in interviews that he did not think women should be in active combat roles in the military. and after he had several discussions with joni ernst, who is a combat veteran, he has since been clear and said that he does support women being in the military. so these are just three examples of ways where some of these controversial, controversial picks recognize that they have some issues with some of these senators, even when they're facing a majority in their own party, that they feel the need to kind of tailor some of the stances they've taken in the past. >> i have a question for you, stephanie. just a second. but on that note, molly, just let me ask you quickly if someone says something, what if it turns out to be lip service during a confirmation hearing and then they get put into office and they're able to do their thing? how much can they be held to what they had said in a confirmation hearing? i know you said that. is there anything

. >> after becoming the longest-serving party leader in senate history republican mitch mcconnell ofdown from his leadership position this week, watch c-span tonight at 8:00 pm eastern as we explore the life and career of senator mcconnell. he shares his views on the importance of the senate, 17 years of leading his fellow republicans and plans for his remaining two years in office as well as other topics. our guest for the program is michael tackett, bureau chief for the associated press and author of a new mcconnell biography, the price of power, join us for the career and legacy of senate leader mitch mcconnell tonight at 8:00 pm eastern on c-span. >> witness democracy in action with c-span. experience history as it unfolds with c-span's live coverage as republicans take control of both chambers of congress and the new a new chapter begins for the swearingen of the 40 seventh president of the united states which on friday don't miss the opening day of the one hundred 19 congress, watch the election of the house speaker, the swearingen of new members of congress and the senate and

look at mitch mcconnell for example part both are perfect examples of why we desperately need term limitst. but i digress. [applause] i said that to say it is up to us. we, t the people, to hold our leaders accountable and make sure they doo it they say they are going toay do. because seldom do people do the right and moral thing unprovoked. my last thing for yoo not forget. don't forget the people who touted "follow the science," while tell you that man can become pregnant and breast-feed. do not the people forget who cheered on and have swooned over a deranged murderer yet wanted to imprison for life a hero and marine daniel penny. [applause] do not forget the people who posted a black square to their instagram social screaming black lives matter yet have stayed totally silent to the largest genocide this world has ever seen, which is disproportionately killing black babies, which is called abortion. abortion. do not forget those that say that tram sensorineural give lent to hitler and will weaponize the doj against his political opponents when that is exactly what they've dope for near

it's not just the democrats, look at mitch mcconnell. perfect examples of why we desperately need term limits. i say that to say it is up to us. we the people, to hold our leaders accountable and make sure they do what they say they are going to do because seldom do people do the right and moral thing. my last thing for you. to do not forget the people who touted follow the science while telling you men can become pregnant and breast-feed, don't forget the people who cheered on and frankly have swooned over a deranged murderer, wanted to imprison for life a marine and a hero named daniel penny. do not forget the people who posted a black square screaming black lives matter yet have stayed totally silent to the largest genocide the world has ever seen which disproportionately killing black babies called abortion. do not forget those who say that trump is equivalent to hitler and will weapon eyes the doj against his political opponents when that is exactly what they have done again for nearly a decade now and know that trump is not their f

tacket's book, a profile of senator mcconnell is called "the price of power" and subtitled how mitch mcconnell mastered the senate, and lost his party. the bureau chief of the associated press conducted 50 hours of interviews and granted access to never before released oral histories. >> michael tackett, "how mcconnell mastered the senate an lost his party." book notes is available on the free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. democracy, it isn't just an idea, it's a process, a process shaped by leaders, elected to the highest offices and entrusted to a select few with regarding its basic principles and where debates unfold and decisions made and the nation's courts is charted. democracy in real time. this is your government at work. this is c-span, giving you your democracy unfiltered. >> a conversation now on think tank funding with ben freeman.

they did last time they targeted things like bourbon, pressure on mitch mcconnell.aliate here. tariffs are also, of course, a tax paid by the importers. so trump's tariffs are paid by american companies, absorbed by the companies selling them in other countries. but then reciprocal ones the canadians are reportedly looking at tariffing oil on the way out if trump exempts it. in other words, making it so americans pay more at the pump even if trump tries not to make that the case. this could get messy real quick. guest messy with your number one customer, it could get messy with with everyone. >> we were both covering trump when he wanted to buy greenland. now tonight after it was reported that his son donald trump jr. is going to visit and people were raising questions, which his team said was just about recording for his podcast. but trump posted, quote, i'm hearing that the people of greenland are maga. my son and various richts will visit the most magnificent sights before making greenland great again. i think this is something that everyone is watching as trump

. >> mitch mcconnell spent 40 years on the u.s.ate, 17 of those as leader of his republican colleagues, the longest any senator has been at the top of the leadership wrong in either political party. john sagan was elected a few weeks ago to have a of republican majority in the senate. michael tactics book is called the price of power and subtitled, a mitch -- how mitch mcconnell mastered the senate, changed america, and lost his party. he conducted over 50 hours of interviews and was granted access to never before released histories. >> journalist michael tackett with hisook, the price of power on this episode of book notes plus with our host, brian lamb. book notes plus is available on c-span now or wherever you get your podcasts. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2025] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

look at mitch mcconnell, for example. are perfect examples of why we desperately need term limits, but i digress. i say that to say -- [cheering and applause] -- i say that to say, it is up to us, we as a people, to hold our leaders accountable and make sure that they do what they say they areo going to do because seldom do people do the right and the moral thing unprovoked. and my last thing for you, do not forget. do not forget the people that touted followed the science all while telling you that men can become pregnant and breast-feeding do not forget the people who cheered on and quite frankly have swooned over a deranged murderer yet wanted to imprison for life a marine and a hero named daniel penny. [cheering and applause] do not forget the people who posted ack black square to their instagramst social screaming lis matter get have stayed totally silent to the largest genocide this world has ever seen which is disproportionately killing black babies called abortion. [cheering and applause] do not forget those that

join us for the career and legacy of mitch mcconnell tonight at 8:00 p.m.on c-span. >> witness democracy in action with c-span. experience history as it unfolds with c-span's live at a new chapter begins with the swearing in of the 47th president of the united states. do not miss the opening day of the 119th congress. what's the other should have the house speaker, swearing in of new members of the house and senate, and john thune as the new senate majority leader. witness vice president kamala harris certified the vote to officially confirm donald trump as the winner of the 2024 presidential election. on january 20, tune in forever all day coverage of the presidential inauguration as donald trump takes the oval office, becoming the 47th president of the united states. stay with c-span throughout january for

let's talk about, with the eyes on how mitch mcconnell has run things in the past, which is, say things out loud to road test. it and when the public relations of it is a disaster, then you can say, we can't do it this way. >> it would be an enormous piece of legislation. i think it's within the realm of the possible. i think if it comes out of the house, which is no small feat given the margins, this is usually when these things run into the senate parliamentary, they get trimmed up a little bit. but i think it's possible. what he's proposing to put in there is exactly what he ran on, immigration, energy, which is of heightened importance, because of joe biden's executive order today, on his way out the door, his staff's executive order, banning offshore drinking. you've got to deal with all of these things that he ran on. if you can get it done in one vote, that's far better than dragging this out. it's an ambitious idea. i wish them well. i hope they get it done, but it's what the people voted for in the election and what every republican member of congress ran on. people shouldn't h

can we see mitch mcconnell?ghter ] reminds me, i need to make a a note for myself, "buy frozen turkey." [ laughter ] well switching gears, this is from the national toy hall of fame just announced this year's inductees are my little pony. [ cheers ] that's great. the card game, phase 10. >> steve: ooh. [ audience ohs ] >> jimmy: and transformers. [ audience ohs ] yep, they all made it into the hall of fame, but a lot of less popular toys got left out. i'm going show you some of them right now. >> steve: really? >> jimmy: yeah, for instance, there's short jenga. that's interesting. [ laughter ] i love that. >> steve: that was left out? that didn't make it? >> jimmy: that's a tricky game, it's not easy to play, yeah. up next, there's pre-dropped silly putty. [ audience ooh] >> steve: hairy putty. >> jimmy: yeah. next up, we have mr. potato head. "oops, all arms." [ laughter ] here's another one, this is mean magic eight ball. oh, that's terrible. [ audience aws ] >> steve: aw. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: next up, we ha

lindsey graham to kevin mccarthy and mitch mcconnell on january 6th, 2021, knew it was wrong and settv. the fact that their political party and they themselves decided to wipe their own memories clean, what does that say about that party and a country that we still went ahead and allowed donald trump to run for office and go right back into the presidency? >> it says we have a terrible problem historically with not only did you have the wilmington riots of 1898, then you had the springfield rights, you had plessy versus ferguson that happened in the supreme court in 1896 and then you had woodrow wilson allowing black people to get some of them to vote for him and once he got in office in 1914, he rolled back federal legislation on immigration. he played birth of a nation, that lauded the clan and said the black leaders doing reconstruction were bad for the country and were like vampires sucking the blood out of our politics and our economy. what we are seeing is not un- american. it is in fact upon the american story and then when you get to the 1960s it happens again when dr. king i

one, mitch mcconnell. when he asked for personal favor to not impeach president-elect donald trump, that was the case we would not be here right now. secondly, the american people. the people that did not think it was enough. they did not think what happened on january 6th, president-elect donald trump's comments before, during, and after january 6th, was enough. me and my coworkers went through a lot on january 6th. it was not enough to disqualify him from returning to office. you know, i have a lot of faith in the institutions above congress and the senate and the courts, and they all failed us. it was one more, you know, failsafe to stop us from president-elect donald trump and that was the american people. that field also. it is kind of disheartening, like a gut punch. i feel like this country let us down. there are millions and millions of people who stand strong and against pressand against what happened on january's asked, but it is truly a gut punch. but we knew this was coming. president-elect don

. ♪ >> kentucky senator mitch mcconnell has spent 40 years in the u.s.nate and 17 of those as leader of his republican colleagues. the longest any senator has been at the top of the leadership wrong for either party. senator john thune was elected a few weeks ago. journalist michael tackett's book, profile of senator mcconnell is called "the price of power" and subtitled mitch mcconnell mastered the senate, changed america and lost his party. mike tackett the washington bureau chief of the associated press conducted over 50 hours of interviews and was granted access to never before released rural hit -- oral histories. >> michael tackett on his book on this episode of book notes plus with brian lamb book notes plus is available on the c-span now app. >> c-span's washington journal, our live form involving you to discuss the latest issues and government, politics and public policy from washington to across the country. coming up friday morning, bloomberg's so preen court reporter greg store discusses the supreme court decision as to whether donald trump's

that playbook comes from a rather unlikely source, senator mitch mcconnell.go down in history as an infamous obstructionist. he opposed warmer president obama's agenda at every turn he refused to call out russian meddling in the 2016 election and he failed to follow through on his own condemnation of president-elect donald trump's role in inciting january's now, imagine if democrats use mcconnell's playbook of simply saying, no. for good. rick wilson and molly jong-fast are with us. molly, they told democrats that when they go low, we go high. but even she is now repeating that catchphrase, where she campaigned for kamala harris -- isn't it about time that democrats sort of learn how to get into the mud with their opponents or do you think that democrats may have kind of missed the boat on that ends and too long on some imaginary moral high ground >> >> yeah, i think that is a really good point. look, democrats just ran on the idea that this was an election about democracy, that this was incredibly important, so the question is, if this is true, if what they

. >> kentucky senator mitch mcconnell has spent 40 years in the u.s. senate, 17 of those as leader of the republican colleagues, the longest any senator has been at the top of the leadership in either political party. senator john thune was elected to head up the republican majority in the senate in 2025. journalist michael tackett's book, a profile of mcconnell, is called the price of power and subtitled how mitch mcconnell mastered the senate, changed america, and lost his party. he conducted over 50 hours of interviews and was granted access to never before released oral histories. >> journalist michael tackett with his book, the price of power on this episode of book notes plus with our host, brian lamb. available on c-span now or wherever you get your podcasts. >> c-span, democracy unfiltered. we are funded by these television companies and more, including sparklight. >> what is great internet? is it strong, is it fast, is it reliable? at sparklight, we know connection goes way beyond technology. from monday morning meetings to friday nights with

they targeted things like bourbon, to put pressure on mitch mcconnell. they will retaliate here.tax paid by the importer. so trump's tariffs are paid by american companies. they're absorbed a little bit by the companies that are selling them in other countries. but then reciprocal ones, the canadians are even reportedly looking at tariffing oil on the way out if trump exempts it. in other words, making it so americans pay more at the pump even if trump tries not to make that the case. this could get messy real quick. and if it could get messy with your number one customer it can get messy with anyone. >> we were both covering trump when he wanted to buy greenland when this came out in the "wall street journal," vivian slumber reported the story. now tonight after it was reported his son donald trump jr. is going to visit and people were raising questions, which his team said was just about recording for his podcast, trump posted "i'm hearing that the people in greenland are maga. my son and various representatives will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent area

[applause] [applause] >> mitch mcconnell is stepping down this week. he shares the use seven, fellow republicans and other topics. our guest is michael tackett for the associated press and author of the biography the price of power. join us wednesday night on c-span. >> in 1976 jimmy carter won electoral votes defeating gerald ford. he was sworn in. in his s

and just a few weeks after that i got a call from speaker john boehner, and he said, mitch mcconnell and i have been talking, and we'd like you to give the response to the president's state of the union. i was completely caught off guard. but it was quite an honor to do so. and i remember him saying, he said cathy, just be yourself. which, anyone who has been in office or been in a position where there is a lot of critiques, on social media go to my facebook account, there are a lot of critiques. to hear the speaker say just be yourself when you are forever just i need to look and talk different, that was a defining moment for me and obviously that was quite an honor to be able to represent the republicans on that national stage, to be able to give the response to president obama's state of the union. it was a year after marco rubio had given the response, and he had taken a drink of water from the bottle, and that is what people remembered about his speech. so, everywhere i went for weeks people were like, cathy, are you hydrating, are you drinking water? the day of the state of the

. >> senator mitch mcconnell has been for years in the u.s.e. 17 of those as leader of his apology colleagues, the longest any senator has been at the top of the leadership running either political party. senator john fetterman was elected a few weeks ago in 2025. journalist michael tackett's book is called the price of power, and subtitled how mitch mcconnell mastered the senate, changed america and lost his party. the deadly washington bureau chief of the associated press conducted over 50 hours of interviews and was granted access to never before released histories. >> journalist michael tackett with his book "the price of power: how mitch mcconnell mastered the senate,hanged america and lost his party" host brian lamb. booknotes+ is available wherever you get your podcasts. washington journal continues. >> welcome back. here to discuss some of the foreign policy changes facing the country in the incoming administration, we are joined by the executive director of the mccain institute at arizona state university. good morning. as well as the

founding partner of reach global strategies and former staffer for president george w bush and mitch mcconnell. we willjoin our panels shortly. a big night in washington. first, the latest headlines. the republican congressman mike johnson has narrowly won re—election to the most powerful seat in the us house of representatives. mrjohnson was donald trump's pick for house speaker but in a tense first round of voting, three fellow republicans cast ballots for someone else. at the very last minute, two switched their votes to support him, just before the gavel went down. the white house says us presidentjoe biden will travel to new orleans on monday. a vigil has been set up on bourbon street for the 1a people killed in the new year's day attack. the family of the man who carried out the attack say they are struggling to understand what motivated him to do it. severe weather warnings have been issued for parts of england and wales over the weekend. there are amber warnings for snow and ice which could bring "hazardous" travel conditions. up to 30 centimetres of snowfall is expected in some places

for the first time, they will not be led by mitch mcconnell.tead, it's john thune of south dakota who will be the senate majority leader and lead the way to navigate president-elect trump's legislative priorities or immigration, energy policy, and tax cut extensions. this is going to be a big few weeks ahead for republicans in washington, d.c. >> vaughn, thank you so much. >>> kristen welker is the moderator of "meet the press." the president-elect wants to accomplish a lot the moment he is back in office. those margins are so tight. how hard is this going to be? is there any room for compromise at all across the aisle? >> well, joe, i think that's going to be the big question. vaughn did a fantastic job of laying out just how tough the road ahead may be for speaker johnson and for republicans. look, on friday, when that drama was unfolding in the house around the vote for speaker johnson, president-elect trump had to call the holdouts from the golf course, two of them to get them to flip their votes. he was able to do it. it underscores the fa

. >> what role will senator mitch mcconnell play in the 119th congress? as noted he's still serving and representing kentucky. >> he'll still have a voice in leadership and still obviously a lot of folks look at him as somebody who has a ton of experience and he's going to be on the subcommittee on appropriations for defense and a lot of say over defense spending which is obviously a huge priority for him throughout his career, but you know, how much does he get out of the way and sort of let thune be john thune. ... ne be john thune? i think the parallel is hakeem jeffries and nancy pelosi in the house for democrats and if you talk to some house democrats they will tell you they are frustrated nancy pelosi is not all the way out of the picture to let leader jeffries do the job. we will see how that plays out on the republican side. host: >> host: she will be here today even after she has to undergo surgery after a fall. she said last night she's going to be here today. talk about the agenda for the democratic leadership in the house and their ability to

kevin mccarthy and mitch mcconnell both spoke up very loudly on the day after and condemned and blamed president trump for what happened at the time. and then they changed their tunes over time. i just want to quote you because i thought this was was important. you have said i like to live by the phrase until there's nothing that can be done. there's always something that can be done. what will you do if trump pardons the very people who attacked you and your fellow officers? >> well, i won't remain quiet about it, you know, um, just sitting here in silence is what a lot of people are doing. um, i'd love to know what the fop thinks about this. the fop was allowed to endorse donald trump for his presidency, and that's fine. they can talk about policies all they want, but when it comes to putting people who attack police officers back out on the street, i would love to know their thoughts on it or if they condemn it. i was glad to see that, uh, my former chief chief manger put out a statement saying that he's against the pardons of former capitol police chief steven sund did the same als

mitch mcconnell came out the next day and said it was wrong and why we cannot get them and have it televised on tv to where they will public can take it in and then we will have the truth. because in court you cannot just come up with some kind of theory. you have to have facts. that is what the country is lacking, facts. guest: let me speak to the issue of when congress has voted on the -- voted to reject or not reject electoral slates. he saw that in 2021 with the house and senate separated to vote on at least two state electoral slates and in each case they voted to accept them by overwhelming majorities. we also saw it in 2005. i believe it was 2005 where george w. bush was reelected. there was an allegation raised that ohio's electoral votes were in some way corrupted and voting machines had been rigged by republicans, so democrats in the chamber objected and we had a democratic representative and senator so they had to break and go separately debate ohio. that ohio slate was excepted. the votes were not rejected and then there was the peculiar 1960 situation where you had two different

bush and mitch mcconnell. we will talk to abel and attica shortly. big night in washington.bring you the latest headlines. the republican congressman like johnson has narrowly won reelection for the most powerful seat in the u.s. house of representatives. mr. johnson was donald trump for house speaker but in a tense first round of voting, three fellow republicans cast ballots for someone else. at the last minute, two switched their vote to support him just before the gavel came down. the white house says u.s. president joe biden will travel to new orleans on monday. a vigil has been set up on bourbon street for the 14 people killed in the new year's day attack. the family of the man who carried out the attack said they are struggling to understand what motivated him to do it. severe weather warnings have been issued for parts of england and wales for parts of the weekend. amber warnings for snow and ice which could bring hazardous travel conditions. up to 30 centimeters of snow fall expected in some places and temperatures could fall as low as -10 degrees. apple has agreed t

watch c-span tonight at 8:00 eastern as we explore the life and career of mitch mcconnell. 17 years ofading fellow republicans and plans for his remaining two years in office and other topics. our guest is the deputy washington, d.c. bureau chief of the associated press and author of the new mcconnell biography. join us tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. ♪ >> witness democracy in action with c-span. experience history as it unfolds with c-span's live coverage this january. as republicans take control of both chambers of commerce and the swearing in of the 47th president of united states. do not miss the opening day of the 119th congress, the swearing in of new members and the first day of leadership and the new senate majority leader on monday, january 6, live from the house chamber witness kamala harris -- historic session will confirm donald trump as the 2024 presidential election. on january 20, tune in for all-day coverage of the presidential inauguration as donald trump takes the oath of office becoming the 47th president of the united states. stay with c-span for live unfilt

and when you have susan collins and mitch mcconnell, those are two voices who have not been hesitantut pushing back on trump in the past and they could use their way to do that. host: what is mitch mcconnell's role going to be now that he is not majority or minority leader in the senate? guest: that is a good question and one that we are watching very closely. he's made it clear that he continues to push for american strength of the world stage, he plans to push for boosting defense spending. that is really his number one priority that he has said over and over again. he will be chairing the subcommittee, so he will have a lot of power in deciding how much money and where money is spent when it comes to u.s. defense. that will be a key focus for him he's also made it clear he stands by john through to fight to keep the filibuster in place. last time around trump didn't demand that the filibuster be ended to get things done easier, mitch mcconnell said no, released it is grounded in the first ministration. john thune has indicated that he plans to protect the filibuster and we know mc

. >> senator mitch mcconnell has been for years in the u.s.ate. 17 of those as leader of his apology colleagues, the longest any senator has been at the top of the leadership running either political party. senator john fetterman was elected a few weeks ago in 2025. journalist michael tackett's book is called the price of power, and subtitled how mitch mcconnell mastered the senate, changed america and lost his party. the deadly washington bureau chief of the associated press conducted over 50 hours of interviews and was granted access to never before released histories. >> journalist michael tackett with his book "the price of power: how mitch monll mastered the senate, changed america and lost his party" with host brian lamb. booknotes+ is available wherever you get your podcasts. washington journal continues. >> welcome back. here to discuss some of the foreign policy changes facing the country in the incoming administration, we are joined by the executive director of the mccain institute at arizona state university. good morning. as well a