mr. wilke has been twice confirmed by the senate, most recently last fall by unanimous consent for his current position as under secretary for personnel and readiness at the department of defense. during the hearing mr. wilke not only demonstrated he has the leadership and experience to lead the v.a., he also spoke in depth about how he shares the president's vision to put veterans first. senators isaacson and testor, the committee chairman and ranking member respectively, have expressed their support. the white house expects the senate to move quickly to confirm robert wilke as the next v.a. secretary upon his return. with that i will take your questions. >> sarah, you call on me before my husband? >> it's a tough battle. i did. yeah. record, let the record show. >> ok. >> i will say i'll take a question. >> you got it. >> i think this is a big moment. so i had to give it to -- yeah. >> if the president would tweet about it then it changes the whole dynamic. i digress. during the campaign, the

not a lot said by mr. wilke and the president did not answer questions at the end. robert wilke taking over immediately. at the live desk, i'm could the macfarlane. now back to you. >> a surpriseisit by former president barack obama and vice president joe biden at a local bakery. a bakery is a nonprofit thans business fellowship program for disabled vets and their the program director said obama and biden met with some of theo fe there as well. >> i wonder what pastries they ordered. yeah, i'm sure that poem are thinking little bit more than that. amelia is joing us now. >> rain has i moved and we'll deal with rain moving in a around midnight mostly dry conditions. same tomorrow as we startdrff early on and then maybe a rumble of thunder increased. take a look outside. the yellow is moderate range and oranges and wins and this, of course, pushing into the district and imcting the eving commute. 66 and doling with 70 right now so it's going to be b a of a slow go out there tonight. here's a closer picture of the beltwayidhere you still see for the most part showers ar

mr. wilke was nominated to replace david shulkin was fired in march. live coverage of the debate begins monday at 3:00 p.m. eastern. with a confirmation vote at 5:30 p.m. . you can always watch the senate on c-span2. >> here's a look at our prime time schedule on the c-span networks. starting at 8 pm eastern on c-span, highlights from today's national governors association summer meeting. including discussions on racial equity and women in leadership. on c-span2, national intelligence and homeland security officials look at how to protect consumer data and infrastructure from cyber attacks. and on c-span3, acting veterans affairs secretary, peter o rourke testifies unimplemented the va accountability and whistleblower protection act which was signed into law june 2017. also tonight, health insurance experts talk about state responses to the individual health insurance market. the event is hosted by the alliance for health policy. it airs tonight at 9:30 p.m. eastern here on c-span2. >> c-span washington journal. live every day with news and policy issu

mr. thompson is leaving a lasting legacy on the city. mainly he'll be remembered for owning and operating the famous miss wilkes boarding house restaurant which served some of the best home style southern cooking in savannah. ounded by his grandmother- in-law, miss wilkes, he did a seamless job of may taining the quality of food and restaurant which he worked with for 40 years. he was spotted often in downtown savannah enjoying coffee with friends, attending the st. patrick's day parade, and making other people's day brighter. he met his wife at the age of 12 and spent a great deal of time on the island in later years with his grandchildren. a u.s. marine corps veterans, long time savannahan, small business owner, husband, gather, grandfather, and overall genuine person ronnie thompson will truly be missed. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. villa, for five minutes. mr. villa: thank you, mr. speaker. it is with a great deal of regret that i cannot join my family and friends of jessie thomas rhodes, known as tom, as he's laid to rest

mr. wilke brings to this position a firsthand understanding of the mental and physical demands of military life. the son of an army commander wounded in cambodia during the vietnam war, he said his farmer's recovery was at the forefront of his mind when he was offered the position at the veterans administration. he himself is an air force reserve officer who spent three decades helping to shape military policy. in fact, he started out his career in this very chamber and worked most recently for our friend from north carolina, senator tillis. he holds a law degree and multiple masters' degrees, but he's had real-world experience as the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness as assistant secretary of defense and as senior director of the national security counsel. those are positions of great responsibility and great importance. my home state of texas is home to one in 12 veterans. so having a well-functioning veterans administration is crucial to my state. mr. wilkie, i believe,