mr. sternfor five minutes for the purpose of the has written testimony. >> morning, chairman harper, ranking member to get members of the subcommittee. and douglas stearn, office of the import operations and office of regulatory affairs and the acting deputy director for regulatory affairs for food safety. we appreciate the opportunity to provide you -- i'm sorry. is that better? we appreciate the opportunity to provide you with information how we oversee recalls of regulated products could fda committed to continuously improving practices to ensure food recalls are initiated, overseen and completed promptly and effectively to best protect consumers. in this regard we appreciate the office of inspector general focus on the subject and would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to report on major changes fda has made in response to oig investigation. when we learn about foot in the marketplace that may be unsafe, and must act quickly to keep people from getting sick or being harmed. f

mr. stern, and ask you some questions. the office of inspector general and government accountability office in previous audit reports dating back to 2009 has raised concerns about the monitoring of food recalls. such as verifying to make sure that retail grocery stores know about the recalls and the products have been removed from their shelves. yet the december 2017 report from oig finds that monitoring recalls is still a problem for fda. why is it still a problem? and why should the subcommittee believe that the fda is going to get it right this time? >> thank you for your question. sir, i answer in a number of ways. first we do take the issue seriously. i outlined in my testimony today a number of actions we have already taken. and those included that i just outlined in terms of establishing a group of senior lead tears and audit process, and additional procedures. i would say, too, that ht oversight of the food safety system is a large scale enterprise and we are actively working on fizz ma

you think that mr hammond‘s position is in doubt? should theresa may have a very sternit is out of the prime minister whether or not she has confidence in him. in fact, we havejust literally received a line from the lobby, from a spokesperson for theresa may, saying that she does have full confidence in mr hammond. what is your reaction to that? well, i fully what is your reaction to that? well, ifully support what is your reaction to that? well, i fully support the prime minister in delivering the brexit that she set out in lancaster house and in the conservative party manifesto. that big will bring huge benefits to the country, cheaper cost of food, clothing and footwear the poorest in society most. and if she‘s got confidence in the chancellor than thatis confidence in the chancellor than that is good enough for me. you have warned that the 50 members of the european research group, of which a chairman, could withdraw support from mrs may if she has looked for a new customs union or read their variations of customs union with the eu. you‘re shaking your head there. i

warning the president it seems and certainly lindsey graham made a very stern warning, don't fire mueller, or you're going to be in trouble, mrpresident. thank you very much charlie dent and ashley parker of "the washington post." >>> up next, the russian probe cloud hangs over tomorrow night's state of the union address. will the president avoid the issue and focus on his economic issue or will he channel nixon and use a primetime address to call for an end to the probe the way nixon did this time back in '74. this is "hardball," where the action is. whoooo. when it comes to travel, i sweat the details. late checkout... ...down-alternative pillows... ...and of course, price. tripadvisor helps you book a... ...hotel without breaking a sweat. because we now instantly... ...search over 200 booking sites ...to find you the lowest price... ...on the hotel you want. don't sweat your booking. tripadvisor. the latest reviews. the lowest prices. thisreally passionate about- i really want to help. i was on my way out of this life. there are patients out there that don't have a lot of time. finally, it was like the sun rose again and i

. >> carl stern is outside the senate caucus room and maybe can tell us more about mr. butterfield and what he is expected to tell the committee. carl? >> there was a lot of speculation. obviously something was cooking as far as what he was going to say because we were deviating from the schedule. >> we believe his testimony will have to do with white house procedures. >> that room was chock full of people. boyfriends with girls standing on their shoulders, people in the window ledges up there. cameras all over the place. >> i'd like to change the usual routine of questioning and ask minority counsel to begin the questioning of mr. butterfield. >> thank you, mr. dash. >> the caucus room was packed full of famous names and celebrities and whatnot, you know, kind of a circus atmosphere, frankly. >> mr. butterfield, i understand you previously were employed by the white house? is that correct? >> that's correct. >> during what period of time were you employed by the white house? >> i would like to preface my remarks, if i may. mr. thompson -- >> i'm sorry. go right ahead.

mr. putin's repeated attacks on democratic governments and institutions. >> well, in a related move yesterday, democratic senator dianne feinstein decided to defy the chairman of the judiciary committee and release the testimony of glen stern. in his testimony simpson explained how he came to hire former british intelligence officer christopher steel producing the dossier the republicans have tried so hard to discredit. this morning the president attacked diane fine stand. the fact that sneaky dianne feinstein who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between trump and russia has not been found would release testimony in such an underhanded way and possibly illegal way totally without authorization is a disgrace. must have tough primary. joining me is our panel. let me go to senator kunz on this. it seems to me that democrats now, if they're watching what the republicans have been up, in terms of distracting from, undermining, whatever, this probe of the russian connection are taking matters into your own hands and saying it's time to get the truth out even if the republicans don't want it out. >> that's right, chris. i support what senator feinstein on the judiciary committee did in releasing the transcript of t