house republicans rejected mccarthy. house republicans rejected scalise. house republicans rejected jordan. house republicans have apparently rejected mchenry. this can only be done in a bipartisan fashion. and we're serious about partnering with house republicans in a reasonable way to do the business of the american people. reporter: -- [indiscernible question] mr. jeffries: we have not discussed concessions because our view is we want a partnership in the best interest of the american people. that simply requires the house to reopen and function in a bipartisan way so that bills that we know have support from republicans and democrats get up or down votes on the house floor and can't be blocked by a band of extremists on the hard right. that's all we want. that's a reasonable ask. can we govern in a bipartisan way to solve problems for the american people? it's not about the individual, it's about the interests of every day americans and integrity of our institution which house republicans have broken at this moment. reporter: two questions, have you he

but we are back here 22 days into this republican manufactured chaos and house republicans have brought us to the exact same position that we were back then. all of the infighting, all the disarray, just to end up where we were three weeks ago. these past few weeks we have been left wondering if republicans were truly intent on solving our issues, reopening the house of representatives and rallying around someone to lead this chamber. or has this been about something else? has this been a focus of house republicans to find the person who can pass their extreme litmus test to oppose marriage equality, enact a nationwide abortion ban without exceptions, gut social security and medicare, and support overturning a free and fair election. a fair question. a fair question. nowhere in that candidate questionnaire is it about growing the middle class, helping our communities, keeping the cost of health care lower, and making life for everyday americans better. the gentle woman said it right. this has been about one thing. who can appease donald trump? house republicans have put their names behi

republican tim cane. all three republicans are in challenging districts, swing districts. we are going to listen to george santos talking to reporters. >> that's up to jim jordan and for time to. i think he should stay in and the conversation should be had. it comes down to the point of if we don't have a real family conversation, the tough ones we have at thanksgiving dinner. not shouting, no disrespect. ask questions that haven't been asked. thanks, guys. host: george santos on his way into the republican meeting and see if we hear from more of them as they make their way behind closed doors. karl from north carolina, democratic caller. caller: i don't think he cares about anything. they should go empowering -- [indiscernible] host: you are a little muffled and i'm going to leave it there. ralph norman. [indiscernible] mr. norman: we profoundly support mr. jordan. he has been true to his word. everyone's got an opinion but we are strongly voting for jordan and told him that on the floor. keep voting unt

washington is a democrats republican, donald trump, the maca republicans -- maga republicans. nothing substantial for the american people. guest: there are certain -- certainly in number of concerns americans have in situations we are living through right now. inflations are high. many people are hurting. part of that comes through the devastating pandemic that uprooted the endemic. all of the -- uprooted the epidemic. those concerns are being heard. we will see how those various concerns that you laid out play, 2024 at the -- played out in the 2024 election. caller: good morning. that sweet gentleman just spoke. he is a wonderful man. god bless him. he speaks the truth. the, this morning was about a previous caller who said that mike johnson --. host: we are not hearing you clearly. you are going in and out. i'm going to have to ask you to call back on another line. joyce. portland, oregon. independent. caller: can you hear me? host: we can. caller: i have a question for the men of they are. mike johnson, so he made it as speaker but he is also a -- person. if you want to thr

but he will not have 218 republicans. that is the magic number. who can get 218 republican votes? at the moment, nobody. especially if mccarthy runs again. so many questions about what is next. mccarthy is not answering questions. he's meeting with his advisers, close allies in his office at the moment. we'll see if he makes himself a candidate for speaker, if he's ready to fight it out. but a lot of these members just don't want to give matt gaetz a scalp. they don't want to give him a victory. they are furious at gaetz. they believe he has thrown this institution into disarray, and the last thing they want to do is give him a victory. but that can only mean if mccarthy runs, things will be bogged down and paralyzed for some time. >> so the republicans could be meeting tonight, this evening. could you just talk about what you are hearing from democrats about the democrats' decision not to throw a lifeline to kevin mccarthy? >> reporter: yeah, this was an interesting moment, because we have been reporting up until today about the deliberations that were happening behind the scenes

it was a republican argument. the concern of the economy part of it can go back to history and you will find out how the republican party how'd just how they diss a mental the -- they dismantled the economy and the democrats had to repair it. i would suggest that republicans have an argument within their own party. it's deafly not the democrats arguing -- argument now and i think hakeem jeffries should be the house speaker. host: what are the chances of that happening? guest: not high. hopefully he will be speaker in 2025. he has incredible grace and capacity since he become the democratic leader. i want to reflect them one other thing. i think democrats field kevin mccarthy did a bad job. he capitulated to the extremist in his party and was unable to keep things on an even keel and did something that was unprecedented and threatening to blow up the economy with the debt ceiling and use another extreme tactic in the last few weeks of shutting the government down. this was not slow and steady and sober leadership.

maga republicans. these are the people who really have the heart of the patriots and the american people who want to see a change. if you want to change something, you've got to change something. mccarthy was weak. ok. the only ones i would rather seo see trump as speaker. wouldn't it be security for the american people to know that our former president was third in line to make the decisions that knead to be made right now with our world in such upheaval bawd of the biden administration. host: ok. that's dee ann there in arkansas. again, anybody can be nominated to become speaker of the house. doesn't necessarily have to be a member of congress. most likely will be a member of congress. you've probably seen that play out over the last few, couple of weeks as this process has played out. democrats line, sheryl in virginia. hello. caller: hi, good morning. i'm so concerned for what i'm hearing. are people absolutely brain dead when they say they support jim jordan? the man denies the last election. he h

these are all republicans.se are republicans who have either indicated opposition to jim jordan, an intent to vote against him on this first ballot, or who haven't said anything. some of them we expect will end up being with jordan. they just haven't made public pronouncements. the list we have got here is nearly 60 members long. it's going to be very interesting to see how many of these nearly 60 republican names you see here actually do publically vote against jim jordan on this first ballot. in terms of the math, the way this works here is, to become the speaker of the house, you need a majority of all members who are present in the chamber and critically who cast a ballot for somebody by name. they are called upon. they could vote for anybody they want. they could also vote present. if they vote present, it affects the math. coming into today, there are 221 seats held by republicans. 212 seats that are held by democrats. there's news that one florida republican, who is a supporter of jim jordan, will be abs

that the republicans are playing. and let's work together and become america and let's make america great. host: thank you, denise. reporter michael shnell tweets out that mchenry says it's his expectation the g.o.p. conference will meet tomorrow he didn't commit to having a noon vote but says, quote, we wanted to have the option to go to the floor. asked why they wouldn't go to the floor, he said, lot of reasons. this is in the speaker-designate's hands. vicky in highway. give us your views. caller: i think it's an atrostism i think it's smaw. and abslutly it's all when donald trump got elected. he's ruined, absolutely ruined the world and people, you better wake up. do you not believe in god? host: that's vicky in ohio. a couple of texts. jim in illinois. comment on the results of second speaker's vote. i am extremely pleased that a small number of republicans continue to reject jim jordan. jordan's hard line antics disqualify him without a doubt. jordan is a thug without integrity. that's jim in illinois. this is c

does the house elect a republican speaker with only republican votes?s that even possible and that coalition is the one that's going to decide what gets done in 43 days with government funding. what gets done later in the year. permitting reform. all of these questions are up in the air and the coalition that forms after this storm we're living today and it seems clear what the aftermath is going to like look right now, the coalition that forms is going to be in the unique position to either continue the status quo and have a republican majority that's held hostage to a handful of members or include some democrats and find a way forward in the house which isn't as authoritarian as it has been historically that meets the needs of the american people and of an overwhelming majority of its members. we have to zoom out here, chris, and take into account that 335 members voted for the bill that kevin mccarthy put on the floor the other day. when he put another bipartisan deal, the debt agreement on the floor, over 300 members voted for that. so this, you kno

there are 221 republicans at this point so there is not a lot of room for house republicans. host: team in alabama, lets you -- tim in alabama, let's hear from you. caller: about speaker of the house, with all of the chaos, the mage republic -- maga republicans and everything, i don't think anyone whether it is mitt romney or anybody else could go in and get the votes to be speaker of the house. the other thing is i would not be surprised if jim jordan has been in conversation with donald trump. he is going to keep running. it is wasting time when some other way of getting the house in order -- he is waiting time. host: let's pick up on that point because how does that help the republican party the 2024 election? are there republicans concerned about that? guest: there are republicans that are concerned about speaker jim jordan and swing districts with trump at the top of the ballot. house republicans are nervous heading into next year and there is fear that speaker jim jordan would cause some headaches to them when it comes to the campaign trail. host: aaron in huntsville, a

republican line. caller: this is an extreme maga republican.e got to get along but you're going to cause all kind of names. regarding the budget, why weren't you not reporting on this jamaal bowman, that went and pulled the fire alarm yesterday? when they were getting ready to call to adjourn. i want to know why you're not reporting on this. host: you might have missed it. we talked about it with reporter daniella diaz earlier in the segment. we're going to end it there. take a quick break.. next on "washington journal," martha mckenna and republican strategists mike ricci shutdown politics, campaign 2000 24, and other political news of the day and later, migration policy institute senior fellow muzaffer chishti discusses the increased in migrants at the u.s. southern border. and d biden administration recent move to allow nearly 500,000 venezuelan migrants to obtain work permits. ♪ >> author and media theorists, douglas rush called joyce book tv to talknd take caused by the consequences of the digital revolution. his 20 books includeresident s

house democrats, house republicans, senate democrats, senate republicans and president biden. so -- so why have we spent the last several weeks here in the house of representatives trying to break that agreement and threaten a reckless government shutdown? which by the way will have catastrophic consequences for the american people. we want the american people to know that we are going to do everything possible to stop extreme maga republicans from shutting down the government. we are fighting on their behalf to put people over politics. that's why we're here. that's why we're making this fight. and we want to do it in a bipartisan way. so we're in the process of evaluating the legislation that was dropped on the american people at the 11th hour. and once we conclude that expeditious review of the four corners of the legislation, we can make a decision as to the best path forward. when we have said all week that the only path forward is a bipartisan one, a bipartisan bill working its way through the senate right now. senate democrats and senate republicans coming together to m

republican line. caller: i want to speak about congress. i am republican. i am a staunch republican but i feel bad about how republicans have been running the country, trying to run the congress for the last six months. i have been watching c-span. it is shameful. i agree with the one democrat who said liz cheney is a good person for speaker of the house. i agree with that. i think that would help get things done. host: why so? caller: i think we need to work together. all they have been doing since i've been watching tv is the extreme democrats on one fence in the extreme republicans on the other fence and they keep throwing rocks at each other and nothing gets done. host: aside from liz cheney you think it takes an outside person to achieve that, whether it be liz cheney or someone else, someone outside congress? caller: i don't know, but jim jordan is definitely not the man for the job. he is an extreme republican. he will not get anything done. all he will do is stall everything. we need somebody who will bring us back together instead of tearing us apa

of who the republicans are. the reason scalise can't get the votes and jordan can't get the votes is because they don't represent what the people want. mccarthy was a much better negotiator to get people to go with him and whatnot and that ended up shooting him in the foot and he was willing to kowtow to everybody, even the extreme. and the republicans don't have anybody that will garner enough votes to be representative of what the people want. host: what is it the people want? caller: i think the republican party has gone too far to the right. i think they've become too extreme and people want to get back to business. people want the republican party that is about jobs and the stock market, about white-collar jobs and building up the middle class and getting away from guns and abortion and all the emotional issues they try to get everybody riled up about. host: that's derrick out of california. this is stephanie, brooklyn, new york, line for democrats. good evening. caller: how are you today? host: doing well.

do you think republicans join -- how many republicans join gaetz in that motion to vacate? >> no, i don't think that was a lack of confidence in the speaker's leadership. we have a lot of people in our conference who have never voted for a cr. that's their prerogative. that's their right as elected representatives of their districts. but we have to work together as a team. we have 221 republicans. we need 218 votes to pass legislation through the house floor. putting a motion to vacate forward in defiance of conference rules, which requires a majority of the majority -- so, you know, i hear matt constantly talking about the need to follow regular order, follow conference rules. kevin mccarthy lied, he violated this, violated that. matt gaetz voted against the choice for speaker of the conference. he voted to take down rules. and now he's putting a motion to vacate on the floor in defiance of conference rules, which require asthma joe torre of the majority. so, you know, this is a guy who says one thing out of one side of his mouth and speaks another thing out of the other s

this is not -- >> like, it wasn't 9% of the american public, it was 9% of republicans. >> republicans do not support what's going on currently in the u.s. congress. the other thing i will note, beyond just what the american public is feeling, we've sort of been saying this, whether the panel here or the panel in d.c. you know, there are very few republicans that we're talking about in the u.s. house that voted, essentially, to make mccarthy go adios amigos, at least for now. there are plenty of conservative republicans who voted to keep mccarthy in power. what we're talking about is not really a left/right division in the republican party, necessarily. it's a, do we want to govern part of the republican party? and basically let's light everything on fire and laugh around the fire? >> plenty of conservative republicans are in that 210. >> right. >> a very small group. >> many very conservative republicans. >> yes. >> we're talking about very conservative republicans as if they are moderates, which they are not. all they're saying is, let's try to do something. one of the other things,

and kevin mccarthy always had those same suspicions from the republican base, from republican members despite the fact that he is a rockford conservative. but steve scalise still has the same relationships that kevin mccarthy did without the skepticism. >> scalise, they are very loyal, they will been with him for years and you need that, you need to you go ament your whipping operation with somebody like that who has the loyalty built in. >> and because he is dealing with many of these challenges. came kayla, we know the biden white house is watching this because they will have to work with whoever is ultimately selected here. and they will have to grapple with the fact that there is no sitting house of representatives right now really until tuesday which is unprecedented reality in american history. what are they looking for, who are they talking to and what do they expect at this point? >> right now they haven't really weighed into this speaker debate. they said they didn't -- or the president's word he didn't want a vote in the matter. but whoever it is, they need to work with him.

he is the former republican whip. and his credentials as a vote getter in that job also speak to his credentials for speaker przemysl. he sur vaved a mass shooting in 2017. he was also diagnosed with cancer of the blood cells. because of that cancer diagnosis, a lot of questions have emerged as to whether scalise has the physical stamina and energy to become house speaker, especially if they're there is going to be another possible shutdown showdown. the government shutdown could emerge again, possibly next month. is he going to have the capability to handle that physically? he says he does. he feels good. and his long-term prognosis is very good. congressman tom emmer from minnesota, currently the house majority whip. the number three position overall in the house. he is a key ally of kevin mccarthy. also seen, though, as very close to congressman matt gaetz. he ned the national republican congressional committee in. he was able to win an election for majority whip. that number three position despite the fact that in

house republicans will have a choice in the

i know the republicans have fallen for many stupid tricks, but it is time for republicans to get together once and for all, get this speaker elected and get about the people's business. that is what we put you folks in there for and get our country back in shape. everything is a mace -- a mess under this president. name one thing going better today than it was when president trump was in and i will give you $100. to do that we have got to stop this. we have to unite the republican party get this country back on the right track again and get jim jordan speaker of the house today. host: 217 votes will be needed on the house floor to obtain the speaker's gavel. an internal replican conference meeting last week, 55 repuicans said they would not vote f jim jordan on the floor. he can only lose three today. if democrats stay in opposition, he will not have the speaker's gaffer -- speaker' gavel. yesterday, a trio of high-profile republicans we had no vote split to yes and did so publicly on the formerly known as twitter x platform. it seemed like momentum was in jordan's favor. mike rogers is o

perhaps some republicans want to forget about it. let's look back and compare it to now. >> we have a solemn responsibility today, we must vote to sustain objections to states of electors smutted by states that we genuinely believe clearly violated the constitution and the presidential election of 2020. this is the threshold before us, and it's an issue before us for the state of arizona. >> you helped lead the efforts to overturn the 2020 election. >> they don't want to focus on dividing them. they want to be unite d as a conference. we should sort of note why mike johnson couldn't succeed. he kind of tries to get in that middle of the republican caucus, doesn't want to be too far out there on the right side. so he voted to raise the debt ceiling, but not to avoid the government shutdown. now he's asking for a possible continuing resolution to keep the government open. here's the other thing about john sob. he sponsored more bills that pass ed than the average republican. so he has an ability to get things done. he's been able to so

republican. i am right now independent. i did not intend to vote for any republican in any office. host: part of his trip was going to include meeting with arab leaders and then the leader of the palestinian authority canceled his meeting with the president after the hospital blast that killed, according to reports, 500 people. there are headlines of happening -- of what is happening in the middle east. the washington post, "in the north hezbollah missiles flight and civilians flee. israel is preparing for conflict on that side of its border with lebanon." you have this in the world news section of the wall street journal, "muslim world angered after explosions. they are seeing widespread protests in the middle east." president biden yesterday addressing the escalating tensions in the region after the violence of the past several days. here's what he had to sit. [video clip] pres. biden: you cannot look at what happened here to your fathers, mothers, grandparents, even babies and not scream out f

eight republicans voted to remove him. and in republican world, eight republicans beats 210. which is, in its way, poetic justice for a party that believes in minority control of government. and so for the first time in history, a speaker was removed by a motion to vacate. and then, kevin mccarthy said this. >> unfortunately, 4% of our conference can -- dictate who can be the republican speaker in this house. i don't think that rule is good for the institution, but apparently i'm the only one. i believe i can continue to fight, maybe in a different way. i will not run for speaker again, i'll have the conference pick somebody else. >> the house is now closed for business, for a week. republicans are expected to try to elect a speaker on wednesday of next week. here is a sample of the last words america heard from republicans in congress, before they shut down the house of representatives for at least a week. >> there's a second group. a small group, honestly they're willing to plunge this body into chaos and this country into uncertainty for reasons that only they really under

republicans are in disarray. it has been said many times before, but it is official, with him being gone as leader, it shows that even those regularly coming to his side no longer believe he has what it takes to lead republicans into what will be a very, very contentious and tough and pivotal election here for the republican party as a whole -- election year for the republican party as a whole. i know mccarthy has a secret list he sort of worked out of people he wanted to succeed him. i think a lot of people within the republican caucus are still reeling from the shock, but when they look within, they may find one of their own, like the head of the republican caucus in the house. she is a millennial female from upstate new york, and she may be seen as someone who can continue a steady hand, but again, a lot remains to be seen at this moment. >> it certainly does. thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> the judge in former u.s. president trump's multi-civil fraud trial has moved to prevent verbal attacks

eight republicans sided with 208 democrats and now there is chaos in republican leadership about what comes next. let's find out. senior congressional correspondent chad pergram is on capitol hill tonight. it's been on there all day following every movement and this is quite something. good evening, chad. >> high drama in the house of representatives today, bret. you know, kevin mccarthy, i talked to him this morning. he indicated that he was confident that he would retain the speakership tonight. he said if he lost more than five republicans, he would be out. and as you say there were eight republican nays. now, mccarthy indicated he would have the votes. he kept saying he is a survivor. mccarthy also said that, you know, he didn't want to turn the floor over to democrats. he said that would be a problem if he went with democrats. and you had this coalition of republicans and democrats teamed together on the floor. the democratic leaders hakeem jeffries, catherine clark the democratic whip, they indicated that they would not be supporting kevin mccarthy in any way, shape, or form. th

house republicans now have a choice, their only true path forward. on the one 457bd, house republicans company continue to triple down on the chaos, the dysfunction and extremism that has been visited upon the american people as a result of the house republican civil war. on the other hand, traditional republicans can break away from the extremism, partner with democrats on an enlightened bipartisan path forward so we can end the recklessness and get back to doing the business of the american people and democrats are ready, willing and able to get that done. [applause] >> i yield to our distinguished minority whip, the honorable katherine clark. ms. clark: thank you, it is an honor to be here with our entire democratic caucus, with our chairman, pete aguilar and our nominee for speaker of the house, hakeem jeffries! [cheers and applause] what we are witnessing is we have had nine months since january of chaos and two weeks of absolute parallels -- par last cyst and house republicans have a choice to move forward. they can choice us the democrats and

divided into, so to speak, classical republicans and far-right republicans. yes, there is tom emer a representative of classical conservative republicans, he himself was also nominated and supported for this position by the former speaker of the house of representatives, kevin mccarthy. as for his position on ukraine, the organization. republicans for ukraine rated him excellent, that is, the highest score according to his voting for bills in support of ukraine. in fact, tom emer voted for all the bills in support of ukraine, to help ukraine, which were put to the vote. also, at the same time, despite the fact that he is, he has strong position in the conservative, classical part of the republicans, he actually has some confrontation with the far-right republicans. in particular. this is because tom emmer voted to accept the results of the election, the 2020 presidential election, which in fact the us media is said to have angered donald trump, who believes that the results of the 2020 election were allegedly stolen, and the us media itself claims , that tom

republican voters where they on one hand do not want republicans versus democrats they want republicanso work together with a are not always thrilled with the leader republicans end up voting for so they have concerns about trump or whether they disliked mccarthy. again, the divide we are seeing with the republican leaders does seem to mirror and divide we see in republican voters as well who are uncertain what their priorities are, whether they are wholeheartedly in support of the former president or want to see a new direction, whether they want to see more moderate policies in the forefront. host: if johnson wins and steve scalise hold onto his position come it is up to louisiana. guest: louisiana will be holding a lot of power. host: let's go to mark in maryland, republican line. caller: the last caller that called and was saying republicans should vote in their own speaker. i agree with that. i do not fault the democrats for voting mccarthy out or not cooperating with republicans. i think the whole idea of the two parties collaborate with each other is kind of silly. the main reaso

republicans have the majority. republicans are in charge of the house of representatives.ccarthy had the same majority as nancy pelosi. no political party has ever behaved the way the republicans behaved in ousting their own speaker. the argument that the caller is making is an interesting one. he's basically asking, should democrats have bailed out kevin mccarthy? should they have bailed out the guy who played the role he played on january 6? the election denial, pushing for the evidence free impeachment of joe biden. it is somewhat naive to think that democrats would bailout republicans at the moment republicans have shown they are unable to present a governing majority. one of the fundamental principles of congressional politics is the majority has to act like the majority. the majority has to run the house. the republican majority cannot get the job done and now you are saying should democrats give up -- forget everything kevin mccarthy has done? should they forget all of the issues of the times when he has misled them and bail him out right now? that was asking a bit

the republicans are officially in disarray. it's been said many times before, but it is official with him being gone as a leader. it shows that even those who are regularly coming to a site no longer believe he has what it takes to lead the republicans into what will be a very, very contentious and tough and pivotal election year for the republican party the whole. so what i really want to see now is a firm hand of the wheel i. i know that mccarthy has a secret list. he's sort of worked out of people he wanted to succeed him. i think a lot of people within the republican copies are still within she really from the shop and, but when they looked with them, they may find one of their own, like congressmen, least authentic, who is the head of the republican caucus of the house. she is the millennial female from upstate new york, and she may be seen as somebody who can continue a study had. but again, a lot remains to be seen at this moment. certainly does ring a shot thanks very much for joining us. the we do a v 's from washingto

the time for republican gamesmanship is over, the time for republican partisanship is over.he time for republican brinksmanship is over. enough of the chaos, enough of the dysfunction, enough of the extremism. let's come together in a bipartisan way to get back to doing the business of the american people. questions? >> leader jeffries, what conversations, if any, have you had with speaker johnson so far and specifically about the ukraine funding? he did not make any commitments when we pressed him on this yesterday. he said he wants it to be conditional, that he has reservations about it. did he give you any assurances that he supports additional funding for ukraine? rep. jeffries: i had a brief conversation with speaker johnson yesterday, but we did not talk about ukraine funding. i do expect to have a conversation with him today at some point later on this morning or this afternoon. and i do expect that in the context of that conversation, the urgent need to support the ukrainian people will come up. supporting ukraine is the right thing to do in terms of the brutal aggre

because they are -- they're not maga republicans. they are conservative republicans. host: all right, roy. let's listen to ralph norman talking to reporters on capitol hill. mr. norman: we have got to decide who we want as speaker. he's the designee now. for however long it takes. at the end they have day jim jordan will have to decide that. he has to decide what he wants to do. reporter: if he supports this, would that change your mind? mr. norman: no, whether he supports it or not i don't think it's the right way. reporter: do you think giving him two more months to get the votes is ok. mr. norman: his time is now. reporter: but you had another speaker designee. mr. norman: jim jordan is the right man for the right time to do the right job. he's the only one that's gotten 199 or 200 votes. it's up to him to get the 17 others. i think he probably will. i have another meeting. reporter: what about having a temporary speaker while this plays out. mr. norman: the speaker drama isn't going to continue. host: ralph norman, republican of south carolina there saying, it sou

and republicans don't want that. there's a way of finding places to cut spending that doesn't impact programs. >> i talked to dave joyce yesterday. i want you to listen part of our conversation. >> should he and the other serve be kicked out of the kmps? >> i don't see how they can be part of a conference when they come on the inside and listen to what's going on and bombs in the middle. >> it sounds like that's a yes. >> i think i'm one of those who is ground up. i think it's important that everybody have an opportunity to take in what's happening and make a decision when we get back. but i would vote for it. >> if being kicking you out of the republican conference, he says talking to you eight is a waste of time. >> so there are some who say we should be expelled. i don't think they can do math really well, because we have a four-vote majority right now. if you kick eight people out of the conference, you have speaker hakeem jeffries. you don't have a republican speaker. i think it's great threats to throw around,

republicans are huddling. he just told reporters as all of you heard that 2/3 of that conference he predicts is opposed to this resolution of giving speaker pro tempore patrick mchenry temporary powers to get the house up and running again. legislation on the floor. he said 2/3 of the conference not in favor of the idea. however, supporters of it and opponents are talking about it right now. and he also said he thinks democrats would vote for t we haven't heard from democrats yet on that. stan in new hampshire. we are taking your reactions to this story on capitol hill. the speaker election. what do you think? stan, you with us? ok, we'll go on to patricia waiting in georgia, democratic caller. caller: yes. host: hi. caller: hi. how are you doing? host: fine. what do you think about all this? caller: i think -- i would like to say i don't know why they picked him. he's one of the most divisive congressmen. he's never voted for anything. passed anything in 16 years. so why pick him? host: patricia talking about

you don't have 218 republican votes. you'll need democrats. let's start with the republicans. how many republicans do you have? >> well, enough so that when you host this show next week, if kevin mccarthy is still the speaker of the house, he will be serving at the pleasure of the democrats. he will be working for the democrats. the only way kevin mccarthy is speaker of the house at the end of this coming week is if democrats bail him out. now, they probably will. i actually think that when you believe in nothing, as kevin mccarthy does, everything's negotiable -- >> but let's -- >> -- and i'm sure he'll make a deal with the democrats. >> but if you succeed in vacating him, you also will have to make a deal with the democrats. you also will have to get democratic votes to kick him out. >> absolutely, i will make to deal with democrats and concede no terms to them. i actually think that democrats should vote against speaker mccarthy for free. i don't think i should have to -- >> so you're not going to cut any deals with them? >> absolutely not. and i don't think that any republ

the reason they control the republican party is not because the republican party is crazy. it's because they lack courage. they lack the ability to take on the extremists who really are authoritarians. so, i think it's time to see if the -- we almost have enough votes. we will have to give up on some stuff that i care about that's more on the left. i'm willing to do that for the sake of america, and i think jeffries has proven that he would be a far more reasonable, thoughtful speaker than mccarthy. mccarthy's primary problem was he had no soul. nobody believed him. and when he gave his word, it wasn't any good. and that doesn't work either on the left or the right or the center. what jeffries has proven that he does have principles and he's willing to do what he thinks is right. i think we're going to have to make some concessions, but i think a house run with a democratic majority and a republican minority, which is the only way the democrats could run the house, is worth making the concessions for the sake of starting to bring the country together. we can't go on having

would give republicans some leverage. those are the policies that will happen behind closed doors on capitol hill. whenever that gets resolved scalise will help make that decision to go to the floor. i think republicans want to avoid the spectacle 15 rounds they saw with mccarthy. a lot of attention to their internal division live on c-span. host: how many -- what's the magic number that steve scalise needs on the floor to become speaker? eric: he needs 217. he's not going to get any democrats. they are going to vote for hakeem jeffries, the minority leader. normally it would be 218. we have two vacancies in the house. very little room for error. 221 republicans. very small number could prevent him from becoming speaker. host: what do you expect that they do when it comes -- when this vote comes to the house floor, how does it look? does it look like it did in january? are there rules for how this is conducted on the floor? eric: very much like in skwrafpblt it will be a man -- january. it will be a manual vote. jeffries

this is the republican party. this is the party that donald trump is the runway frontrunner in for president of the united states, 70% of the republican voters are also election deniers and believe there was something amiss in the last election, so he really reflects the base of the party, and that's point number one. point number two, is the first principle for most legislators -- and i love adam kinzinger because he was willing to do his duty and put it ahead of his own political well being, that is unusual. there's a reason why the book "profile in courage" was a slim volume. that's not what politicians do. they calculate what they need to do to remain practicing politicians and get re-elected. the pressure campaign while it may not succeed for jordan has been effective. 55 against him going into the weekend and you've got a little more than a dozen now. now, he may not get there, and as kasie hunt mentioned before, there are members there who are institutionalists and moderates and care very much about the app

republican line. caller: i want to speak about congress. i am republican. am a staunch republican but i feel bad about how republicans have been running the country, trying to run the congress for the last six months. i have been watching c-span. it is shameful. i agree with the one democrat who said liz cheney is a good person for speaker of the house. i agree with that. i think that would help get things done. host: why so? caller: i think we need to work together. all they have been doing since i've been watching tv is the extreme democrats on one fence in the extreme republicans on the other fence and they keep throwing rocks at each other and nothing gets done. host: aside from liz cheney you think it takes an outside person to achieve that, whether it be liz cheney or someone else, someone outside congress? caller: i don't know, but jim jordan is definitely not the man for the job. he is an extreme republican. he will not get anything done. all he will do is stall everything. we need somebody who will bring us back together instead of tearing us apart

a great republican failure. again, a variety of ways you can post if you want on social media or facebook. jeff, republican line, in louisiana. hello. caller: i am from louisiana, born and raised. mike johnson is one of the sweetest and kindest men you will ever meet with a kind young family. i heard the previous caller talk about his support for protesting the election results. you have to remember what district we come from. that was the popular sentiment at the time and that was before january 6. but he is very approachable, deliberate. he was a very well-known attorney, kind man. kind neighbor. a young man and somebody who i think really would get along with both sides. he would really be a blessing for our country and for the republican party. he is a staunch conservative, but he is not a fringe conservative. i can tell you that firsthand. host: that is jeff in louisiana. c-span has a tradition of interviewing incoming freshman when they enter congress to talk about their experiences, their background, what

michael, how badly did republican screw this?ment shutdown, everything the republicans would be doing on capitol hill would have been to avoid this precise moment and instead, they spent our energy, the governments resources, and time putting forward an expert who undermined their very own argument about why there should be an impeachment inquiry? >> yeah, it was about six hours of comic relief. it started the night before, when the ways and means committee could not answer questions about the, quote, evidence, that he himself was laying out. and it was pretty bothered by it from the questions that he received from ryan nobles. but what i would say is, you know, i worked in nancy pelosi's office when we started the impeachment of president trump. the impeachment inquiry into 2019, even after we resisted many calls to impeach him, following the mueller report, which is pretty damaging itself. when we did start an inquiry, we did it behind closed doors, and we made sure that we were able to depose witnesses that would, you know, le

there are a number of republicans, ten republicans right now who are voting against putting this asidether words, they want to trigger a speaker's election. i'm going to run through the list. kevin mccarthy said earlier if there were five republicans who voted against him he would not prevail. there are ten on the board right now. i'll read the list. goode of virginia, gaetz of florida, crane of arizona, nancy mace of south carolina, rosendale of montana, davidson of ohio, sparks of indiana, burget of tennessee, biggs of arizona and ken buck of colorado. this is going to come down to the math and why it's so hard to figure out why this is going to go, because right now, that number, like i said, still ten republican nos, kevin mccarthy on a regular roll call vote would have lost right now. we don't know right now how many members are sitting on their hands, how many won't vote, there's a good chunk, several dozen who have not cast ballots, nobody to voting present. under conventional circumstances, 433 members of the house, magic number if everybody is voting is 217. kevin mccarthy is

republican. caller: yes, i was calling y'all just to say this, that i believe that instead of the republicans and democrats, you know, nominating two different people for -- to be speaker, i think it should be, you know, we the people that should be electing the house speaker just like we elect the president. host: how do you think that would work? caller: well, i'm -- i'm not too sure but i do female that very strongly. because the republicans cannot, you know, get their stuff together to even elect a house speaker. host: it's been, as we said, two weeks without a house speaker for the u.s. house of representatives. two weeks ago, eight republicans voted to ouster kevin mccarthy from that top post. today, 20 republicans voted against jim jordan getting that spot. tina in mansfield, texas. hi, tee nasm. caller: hello. i just wanted to say number one, i want to thank my representative, jake ellzey for not voting for jim jordan. ok. that restored my faith in politics. number two, i don't know how j

republican voters where they on one hand do not want republicans versus democrats they want republicans to work together with a are not always thrilled with the leader republicans end up voting for so they have concerns about trump or whether they disliked mccarthy. again, the divide we are seeing with the republican leaders does seem to mirror and divide we see in republican voters as well who are uncertain what their priorities are, whether they are wholeheartedly in support of the former president or want to see a new direction, whether they want to see more moderate policies in the forefront. host: if johnson wins and steve scalise hold onto his position come it is up to louisiana. guest: louisiana will be holding a lot of power. host: let's go to mark in maryland, republican line. caller: the last caller that called and was saying republicans should vote in their own speaker. i agree with that. i do not fault the democrats for voting mccarthy out or not cooperating with republicans. i think the whole idea of the two parties collaborate with each other is kind of silly. the main rea

karla in wayne city, illinois, republican. caller: i have been watching this since mccarthy back when he was running and said he would not cross party lines and do what he could for the american people. and past two times c.r.'s made a deal with joe biden and against the party and decided to go for the c.r. and crossed party lines. so, to me, i think it is a good thing that matt gaetz called to vacate the chair because i agree with him. everything should be appropriately and do the bills one at a time and should never be any c.r., period. host: who should the republicans elect as their speaker if not kevin mccarthy. caller: steve scalise is good. jim jordan, byron donalds. there are several that would be good. i can't seeing. mccarthy did what he did and when they made promises, you know the you write checks that your butt can't cash, that's what happened. host: all the names karla mentioned are in support of kevin mccarthy. our independent line. caller: i'm a true independent and voted for green party and will vote for cornel

and it's a very fragile majority republicans have. if you lay out your turn out on the districts democrats should win somehow comfortable. that's the model, not the real world. i don't think so. and again, i think you've got trump, you've got the chaos in the house. i think there's a lot of swing voters out there who say they don't want to return to that. and i think particularly if democrats, and i think they can make the argument, hey, if trump wins and republicans win in the house, do you really want this ship to turn. no. i think brendan's point is so important. they've created this false reality. it's a world they want to live in, which is not the world that exists. and swing voters don't really exist in that world. it's all about catering to 12% of the population which is our core maga base. >> david, just to follow up on that, it defies logic given that the vulnerable swing state republicans are the ones that have handed kevin mccarthy the speaker's gavel in the first place, right? brendan says i think rightly so the house repu