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tv   Washington Journal Natalie Andrews  CSPAN  May 6, 2024 11:09am-11:42am EDT

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we are funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> you think this is just a community center? it is more than that. >> comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers so students from low income families c get the tools they need to be ready for anything. >> comcast supports c-span aa public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. natalie andrews joins us, in congress for "the wall street journal," thanks for joining us. let's start with the house. what are they working on this week? guest: it is one of those weeks where you could have a normal week, but we are looking maybe on the level 10 bananas side of the house. i like to say that the house is going to house and this maybe be one of those weeks.
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host: why is that? guest: they are going to go after some home appliances, a partisan issue for republicans. they don't like the biden administration regulations on home appliances and feel it is a winning issue for them. we expect johnson to talk more about the protests on college campuses. hanging over everyone's head is whether or not marjorie taylor greene executes a motion to vacate and throws the schedule out. host: what brought us to this point when it comes to this attempt? guest: detractors will say three things, which are not a ton of people, there are three people signed on to the motion to vacate, they point to the appropriations process which frustrated them. they felt that johnson didn't hold true to what he said he was going to do when he became speaker. then they point to the fisa reauthorization. they wanted an amendment on being warrants for all searches
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and johnson was that a five -- deciding vote against that. that upset them. then they pointed to the $95 billion in aid that included healthy portions for ukraine, which marjorie taylor greene said all along, if ukraine aid comes to the floor for a vote, she will execute a motion to vacate. so, those three things are what a lot of detractors and critics -- there are two groups, people signing onto the motion to vacate and a group of two if asked to vote for johnson on the floor, what they do it? maybe, maybe not. host: one of those critics, bob good, i want to play a bit of what he had to say. >> i doubt that, she has been hearing, as the rest of us have in our district, the time for a speaker battle visit in november after the election. let's focus on reelecting
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president trump. if she moved forward there would be a motion to table, motion whether or not to move forward with a vote to vacate the speaker and i think that would likely fail and i don't think we would actually vote on whether to vacate the speaker. >> that sounds like a know from you. ok. but congressman thomas massie, go ahead. >> i just want to clarify, just because you don't believe it is time to take the action with a two vote to three vote margin, more narrow than a year ago when she was criticizing those of us who challenge the speaker back in january were voted to remove the speaker in october when we had a nine vote majority and worked six months away from an election, it's interesting that none of us who were a part of it called for the action, we realize it's more dangerous, reckless, risky to do it now. host: so, if both sides approach. what did you get from that? guest: the folks that voted to
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oust key in ousting the earthy and have really faced blowback. he's not wrong about that. several are facing primary challenges, including bob good. there is an interesting place there in the conference and they aren't fans of it. now there is the question of whether johnson survives another day right now, but it seems that the real russian's who do they elect to be speaker early in january? that is mostly what the detractors are saying. host: marjorie taylor greene was one of the leaders. who else is leading this? is it just a general dislike or are there? guest: it seems that there are some process issues. matthews is big on process. he likes things to go the way he things that he has to we he thinks they should and his objections were tied to obsess over fisa, that's when he joined on and go sare joined on shortly
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after. host: you can call into join the conversation. the numbers are (202) 748-8000 for democrats, (202) 748-8001 for republicans, and independents, (202) 748-8002. you can text questions to our guest at (202) 748-8003. how is it that the democratic party in the house is supporting johnson in the position? guest: they want to not deal with another three weeks of chaos. they said that the man you know did what they asked and that's what they did all along and it's different from when mccarthy was ousted. democrats are willing to vote on the motion to table that's likely to pass and the motion to vacate vote will likely not happen because democrats have said that they will support the motion to table because they said if you put ukraine aid on and do the things we are asking were, it puts your job at risk
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and we will help you out. that has never happened before. some democrats wanted to do it for speaker mccarthy. but it's different in that mccarthy had burned a lot of bridges. he had, democrats felt that they had tried to extend trust to him that had been burned several times. with johnson, they didn't know him as well. he's unknown. what he's done so far has been very transactional, done what they asked, they would vote for the motion to table. if it came up again, i would expect their patients to wane. host: as far as the senate is concerned, what are they concerned with this week? guest: deadline to reauthorize the faa. the key debate, it is one of those trains leaving the stations. a lot of lawmakers try to get some things that are not related
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to jump on. when -- one of the key debates here in washington is over allowing more flight to come into reagan airport. the local lawmakers from virginia and maryland are very opposed to this, but members of congress that fly back and forth each week want their direct flights. they are pushing for five round trip flights, 10 new flights to the airport. it will be interesting to see who wins on that. host: theresa, tennessee, you are on with our guest, natalie andrews. good morning. caller: good morning. i support the motion to vacate for speaker johnson. i think he has been the worst speaker of the republican party has ever had. he gave in to every whim that the democratic party wanted. we can't trust him to go forward on these bills that we are
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facing now. i mean, i know it's not going to pass, we aren't going to get rid of him. we will get rid of him in november. we will not vote for any republican to hold the house. we won't do it. the republicans have not earned our vote in november because of the house. all i want is a recorded vote. i want to see the vote. i want to see the democrats vote who they call a white nationalist over their african-american speaker that they want. i want the proof that they have sold out completely. i want to see which republicans vote against it. they are not going to keep the house. i hope mike johnson doesn't keep his job in november. guest: to clarify, you are ok if the house loses this fall? caller: how could it be worse than what mike johnson does?
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if there is a debit that in the seat, i think maybe the republicans might fight against it, maybe, but they have all sold out, they have all sold out. host: gotcha. guest: part of the problem for johnson is he has these detractors standing so staunchly against the elements that as speaker you often feel you need to bring to the floor. we want to keep the lights on. he has had a hard time unifying his party around the actions to democrats. we seen this problem with republican speakers for years. john boehner worked with nancy pelosi. nancy pelosi became masterful at this. she knew the republicans couldn't pass key bills through the house, even with bigger majorities than what mike johnson -- mike johnson had a very small minority.
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i mean, i don't know if we have ever had as small a minority as mike johnson has right now. so, pelosi became masterful at this. he can offer the state must pass none. if johnson could muscle it through with republicans, he would be able to argue for more conservative wins, but because he can't he has to bring the bills to where he can get democrats through. if he doesn't want to keep the lights on, he could go and face the republicans. host: that idea of republicans being ok with losing the house, is that ok in the republicans you talk to? guest: not the ones i talk to, they feel majority is very important, however you do get a lot of them worrying that this chaos could cause them to lose the majority, which is why i
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think some of them want to get the motion to table out of the way and they want to be done with it to show that they can govern. host: let's hear from louise. democratic line, thanks for calling. caller: i think that speaker johnson did the right thing. votes like marjorie taylor greene and all, they don't want to see anything happen in this country that is good for this country. i'm glad that the democrats did help, went on and voted together. that's what they are supposed to do. compromise. the republicans in the democrats. so, they need to learn that. to compromise. thank you. host: that's louise in north carolina. goodwill for johnson, how long does it last? host: exactly.
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it seems that when you talk to republicans they are already gearing up for a leadership race and we will see if johnson continues the job or not. even if you are not joining in the motion to vacate, they see the position as possibly opening up in november. host: last week we saw the representative from texas coming in. guest: a democrat on the border, he has a key district in laredo. he was indicted. this is something that has been speculated on for two years, his home was raided by the fbi two years ago. it looks like the indictment accuses him of accepting bribes from azerbaijan and a bank in mexico. it's fairly detailed. i think it's over 50 pages of how they have track is bribes
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and idem to henry cuellar and his wife, ml the. it basically outlines a theme where he offered to -- allegedly offered to support different legislation or try to grease the skids to get things done in order to accept bribes. host: he is up for reelection? guest: he is up for reelection in the house. he has said that he will stay up on the ballot. this is a district republicans have had their eyes on for several challenges. a lot of the texas primary is already over but the republicans that are trying to challenge him made it to a runoff later this month when they will vote for that. depending on the candidate, it could make republicans spend more money there. he has aligned himself as a
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centrist and appealed to republicans. the last remaining antiabortion democrat in the house of representatives, so he has been able to kind of thread the line for democrats as a centrist, someone who speak to pro-business republicans. if he is under a scandal, voters in the district may look for a different candidate and get frustrated. do they worry that he is going to, you know, not be there if they elect him? he has stepped down from a powerful position in the appropriations committee, something that he could talk about a lot in texas in terms of bringing money and advocating for texas. he is not in that position and i could hurt him there as well. host: republican line, joe, long island. caller: how you doing? it's not just mike johnson where people are saying that he's a failure and this and that.
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as a republican, i'm going to tell you, the republican party is a failure. right down to got to look at it this way. the democrats, they opened up the border. they did this and that in the recession. i mean, where is the power of the republicans, you know? it's true that they are fighting among themselves, but i was worn -- i think it was truman who was president. he would be spinning in his grave right now over what has happened to this country. where is the leadership on either side? as far as getting rid of johnson, the only person with backbone is taylor green. but they failed, too. look at the country, where it is ? how do you do it where the open borders have the world coming through. they could have impeached joe biden, but you had the
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republicans going against that. i have no more confidence in it. host: thanks for calling, joe. miss anderson? guest: that sentiment is something a lot of voters feel around the country they are looking at presidential elections. the two choices from 2020, for a lot of folks they don't feel the world has gotten that much better. they feel like they are just frustrated. as they gear up for campaign, it's fascinating to get out of the washington bubble and talk to folks where you get a sense of how frustrated people are feeling. even if the numbers show the economy doing better, even if we look at the stats and can see the economy is doing better, a lot of folks feel like the country is headed in the wrong direction. host: part of his frustration was the house republicans to do anything regarding this impeachment against president
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biden. what has happened to that? host: if you don't have -- guest: if you don't have the fuel, you know, they didn't have enough votes and it sounded like they couldn't really make their case. they could have in the larger majority brought an impeachment onto the floor. you have a lot of republicans who don't feel the charges are actually there, so they will not it. comber and the folks leading were not able to make their case to all the republicans. the to be a vote that they would have to be united on host:. is there -- on. host: is there a sense that this issue will fight for go away? guest: it seems that the senses they vote against biden in november and that's what they do. host: herber, bronx, democratic line, you are next. go ahead. caller: you know, i am watching
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c-span and you know what i would like for you guys to do as journalists? combat the stupid things republicans are saying. they don't know and don't care what's going on. here donald trump says he wants to be a dictator. a dictator. these people, they are americans who love their country, they want to be dictated by a politician? donald trump says he wants to be a dictator. what part of the words don't you understand? dictator. hitler's, mussolini, genghis khan. all of these people, you understand me? they are the ones who are the dictators, the murderers. donald trump says he wants to be that. and they still say they want to vote for him. this mass, you have, how many crimes have been committed?
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host: herbert in the bronx. is he still influence in congress among the republican party? why does that exist? guest: i think that they have wound up behind -- lined up behind donald trump. there was a time magazine interview last week that came out where donald trump outlined in two interviews what he wanted to do and several people found it quite shocking that he would be willing to have panels against women who seek abortions. things that democrats especially don't want to have happen. we are seeing republicans lining up with their man. they are all in on trump for 2024. they see this as their team. we have two teams in american politics and they are firmly behind donald trump. host: ryan joins us from houston, republican mine. caller: quick question. several times i've seen on
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twitter, x, there is a reputable account that i follow that has shown documented treats -- tweets from hakeem jeffries. denying the 2016 election saying that trump was legitimate. even nancy pelosi did. is there anything you are hearing behind the scenes about republicans losing the house trying to use that against jeffries regarding the 2016 election? evidence from jeffrey's own profile on those results? host: stopping you there because you are fading in and out, but thank you for the call. guest: there were several lawmakers after the 2016 election calling trump illegitimate, allegations that he worked with the russians. that seems like so many years ago now, but certainly if the party switches and we seek
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congress where they are on january 3, sixth, or whatever, whatever the transfer should be in congress to certify the election. a lot of people are watching what happens there. host: your focus was on ted cruz, what took you there? guest: i was just thinking about that, having gotten back from houston. i am covering ted clute -- ted cruz this cycle. he's trying to rebrand as bipartisan, talking about how there are two sides of ted cruz. intrigued me, the ted cruz that we all see on c-span, on tv, is the one who often has strong points of argument against democrats. he just came out with a book that i read that argues that emmett kratz are really cultural marxists at this point.
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he doesn't generally have kind words to say about democrats, but he is on this cul-de-sac tour taking him to various neighborhoods around texas, the suburbs, areas that may be kind of his, but might be swinging more suburban, those voters that we always talk about. i watched him pitch a kinder, softer ted cruz. they had hoagies and cookies and he took questions. the crowd that i went to outside houston, he was in a county from 2018, a precinct that he was the winner of near a precinct where he didn't. he was trying to talk, presenting a very calm ted cruz. he had the crowd laughing, eating out of his hand when he made jokes. they were into it. none of the questions were extreme. i spoke to people afterwards. they were heartened to have a more intimate gathering with a few dozen folks. it's interesting, he's doing
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that in a few places. they are also making these little video clips that he is putting on his social media. you know, the next day i went to see him speak. he stood on stage and the kinder softer ted cruz was gone. he called bernie sanders crazy uncle. calling democrats all socialists. these two sides, he's going to see if it is ok to present a split personality. host: how much of a threat does ted cruz face? guest: polls are split. in some calmer ed has been close but there's also a large chunk of folks not into voting for ted cruz and are willing to hear about another candidate. if he can make a pitch to them, he has represented dallas since he was the winner of that seat
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in 2018, so if he can make a pitch to the wider swath of voters, he might have a chance. ted cruz was the winner by 3.5 points in the last election. a democrat has not been a statewide winner in several decades. it is a tough hurdle. host: there's a story on their website about ted cruz and that recent reporting. going back to your calls, james, battle creek, michigan, go ahead. you are on. caller: hello. i just want to know about the supreme court. i feel like marjorie taylor greene and donald trump -- host: watch the language. appreciate the call, nonetheless. house republicans were headed to college campuses in the area to talk about anti-semitism.
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what more is planned on that front, if anything? guest: they have had good luck doing these investigations, republicans feel like. house republicans, they felt glad and happy that they were able to interrogate college campuses and ivy leagues. two of them resigned. they definitely feel as though they can make a dent to there. they feel like this issue is a good one for them. it's interesting, especially as the biden administration talks more about student loan forgiveness, they feel the issues go hand-in-hand. they want to highlight students on college campuses getting their student loans forgiven by the government, tying that together. host: mike johnson, i want to play a bit of what he had to say about this and get your response to it. [video clip] >> congress has an important
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responsibility of oversight there's also the person of the funding streams going to these universities. billions of dollars in the ivy league alone, they don't deserve taxpayer funds to support these institutions if they can't uphold the basic constitutional rights, freedoms, civil rights of their students, maintaining their safety, it's a basic responsibility failure. these administrators have allowed the chaos. allowed the violence and all the things that we have seen and we need accountability. this past week we announced we would be doing this in the house of representatives. we have the jurisdictions working on this, this united effort to look at their funding streams for federal funding, all the various streams that they receive. looking at the student visas that allow for these foreign students, these terrorist sympathizers, they don't need to be there, they don't have a right to do that.
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host: how do you think that will play in the house itself? guest: they feel that this is a great issue for them. the visuals of students protesting, being in tents, they were interesting stories over the weekend about how the student trained and learned to protest. which is common. students tend to learn these things from other groups that have been there before. house republicans want to make this an issue in an election year. they see it as akin to 2020 with democrats and other members of their party saying defund the police, focusing on police work. they have since tied that to a rise in crime in some cities in america. they see this as what could be there 2024 defund of the police. host: massachusetts, independent mind, good morning.
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guest: -- caller: ok, my name is luis, like i said. i don't want to say my name in the air, i'm an immigrant. i'm here in the cities. host: what's your question? caller: not a question, comment on republicans in this country. johnson. johnson can be a republican and never a republican, but what sunday the country, it has a problem. some people are against him. but they should not do that. republicans are not good for the country.
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until the republicans have power, the country never, never works towards helping the other countries in the world is watching. host: that was our viewer in massachusetts. guest: it's interesting to watch the house become this kind of coalition government. you are seeing them be able to pass bills that might have more of a chance of getting through the senate because you have to be so bipartisan. that has typically, we saw it in when nancy pelosi was speaker previously. they passed a lot of messaging bills that they knew were not going to go anywhere. they called mitch mcconnell the grim reaper of the senate. they knew these bills were not going to go anywhere. with johnson, these bills that he needs bipartisan support on, you ask him to make an agenda each week, he has a coalition of democrats and republicans willing to vote for the bills.
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ideologically it is not what johnson would necessarily want, but either bill might have a chance of making it through the senate. host: a vier on x with the high-cost of medical care, credit card debt, these kinds of issues, especially heading towards summer break? guest: probably not. it's hard for congress to do anything big right now. in terms of the debt, it wouldn't get the support that you need. with credit card debt or consumer debt, one thing we have seen from the faa bill is the effort to -- i think they are looking at amendments. it's something biden talked about, airline fees, something broad to help consumers. host: i don't know if this is a direct question or tongue-in-cheek, but is congress
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working for the entire week, "for a change"? [laughter] guest: because of the faa deadline on friday, you might see them on friday, which you are right to be a change. they are not typically here on fridays. but yes, they are typically on a late monday thursday afternoon schedule. host: you can see the reporting fr
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>> this and it tomorrow at 3:00. the senate returnsrow at 3:00. wo will continue on ation to reauthorization farograms for five years. current programs are se to expire friday at midnight. watch coveragee house on c-span and watch the senate on a reminder you can watch all of our congressional coverage with our free c-span video app or online at c-span.org. >> if you ever miss any of c-span's coverage, you can find it anytime online at c-span.org. events feature markers that guide you to interesting and newsworthy highlights. these appear on the right hand side of the screen when you hit play on videos. it makes it e

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