CSPAN - Washington Journal 05/05/2025

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May 5, 2025 07:00-10:00 - CSPAN

02:59:54

Washington Journal 05/05/2025

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Main

jasmine wright

cspan 07:45

john mcardle

cspan 47:31

Appearances

brian lamb

cspan 00:45

cory booker

sen/d 01:39

donald j trump

admin 02:14

kristen welker

nbc 01:11

robert gaylon ross

01:52

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jim marrs

00:08

louie gohmert

rep/r 00:07

patty murray

sen/d 00:09

rachel maddow

msnow 00:15

rep jim guest

00:06

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dawn in colorado

callers 00:33

dennis in north carolina

callers 00:06

linda in denver

callers 00:08

roger in pennsylvania

callers 00:04

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Speaker	Time	Text
unidentified		Washington Journal will take your calls and comments live.
		Then Punch Bowl News Congressional Reporter Mika Solner discusses the latest in the House Republican budget reconciliation process.
		And notice, White House reporter Jasmine Wright previews the week ahead at the White House.
		Afterwards, a discussion with author Rachel Slade on her book, Making It America, about the history of manufacturing and labor in the United States.
		Washington Journal starts now.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Good morning.
		It's Monday, May 5th, 2025.
		A three-hour Washington Journal is ahead.
		We'll take a look at the week ahead in Washington and talk about the state of manufacturing in America.
		But we begin with a question of trust.
		New polling has shown a declining level of trust in government institutions, with six in ten Americans now saying they have little or no trust in Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court.
		So this morning we want to hear from you: which branch of government do you trust the most and why?
		Phone lines split this morning by branch of government if you trust the legislative branch the most.
		It's 202-748-8000.
		If it's the executive branch, 202-748-8001.
		If it's the judicial branch, 202-748-8002.
		You can also send us a text, that number, 202-748-8003.
		If you do, please include your name and where you're from.
		Otherwise, catch up with us on social media on X, it's at C-SPANWJ.
		On Facebook, it's facebook.com/slash C-SPAN.
		And a very good Monday morning to you.
		You can go ahead and start calling in now.
		We're asking about your trust in the branches of government.
		Which branch of government do you trust the most?
		This question stemming from recent polling on this topic: it's the Annenberg Public Policy Center out of the University of Pennsylvania.
		Their report from last month, noting that when the American people are asked how much, if at all, they trust different organizations and professions to act in the best interest of people like you, they express a great deal of trust in medical scientists and the military and scientists in general.
		By contrast, there's much less trust in the U.S. Supreme Court, just 41% saying they have some or a lot of trust in that institution.
		40% saying they have some or a lot of trust in the presidency, followed by the Congress, just 32%.
		Business leaders, they note, are at the bottom of those groups at just 30%.
		There's the chart there.
		We're going to dive more into it in this first hour of the Washington Journal.
		But we want to just hear from you, which branch of government do you trust the most and why?
		As you're calling in, the executive branch and constitutional issues stemming from an interview yesterday on Meet the Press.
		President Trump was asked about due process and the Constitution.
		It's making headlines today.
		Here's that moment from the interview yesterday.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		Well, you say you have the power to bring him back, though.
		Your attorney general says, quote, that's up to El Salvador.
		Just to put a fine point on this, do you have the power to bring Obrego Garcia back as the Supreme Court?
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		Well, I have the power to ask for him to come back if I'm instructed by the Attorney General that it's legal to do so.
		But the decision as to whether or not he should come back will be the head of El Salvador.
		He's a very capable man.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		Well, you know, and your Attorney General has said the issues with that word facilitate.
		Will you seek clarification from the Supreme Court?
		Do you need to go back to the Supreme Court?
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		We may do that.
		I was asking about that.
		We may do that.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		Your Secretary of State says everyone who's here, citizens and non-citizens, deserve due process.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		Do you agree, Mr. President?
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		I don't know.
		I'm not a lawyer.
		I don't know.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		Well, the Fifth Amendment said.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		I don't know.
		It seems it might say that, but if you're talking about that, then we'd have to have a million or two million or three million trials.
		We have thousands of people that are some murderers and some drug dealers and some of the worst people on earth.
		That is some of the worst, most dangerous people on earth.
		And I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		But even given those numbers that you're talking about, don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as President?
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		I don't know.
		I have to respond by saying again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said.
		What you said is not what I heard the Supreme Court said.
		They have a different interpretation.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		President Trump on Meet the Press yesterday, here's some of the headlines stemming from that interview.
		This is today's USA Today.
		Trump says he doesn't know if he must uphold the Constitution from the Washington Times this morning.
		The headline there, Trump says he doesn't know about due process, unsure if migrants have the same rights.
		Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, sending this out on X yesterday in the wake of that interview.
		President Trump has just admitted that he doesn't know whether he needs to uphold the Constitution.
		This is as un-American as it gets.
		That's some of the latest headlines this morning.
		We are asking you about which branch of government you trust the most.
		202-748-8000, if you say it's the legislative branch that you trust the most.
		202-748-8001, if you say it's the executive branch that you trust the most.
		And 202-748-8002 if you say it's the judicial branch that you trust the most.
		Here's that chart again from the Annenberg Public Policy Center taking a look at trust in institutions.
		The question, how much, if at all, do you trust various institutions to act in the best interest of people like you?
		Medical scientists are at the top of that list.
		13% of Americans saying they have a lot of trust, 25% saying a great deal of trust, 35% saying it's a moderate amount, and much lower percentages saying little or not at all.
		When you look down at the presidency, that would be this line down here.
		A full 50% of Americans currently saying they don't trust the president at all to act in the best interests of people like you.
		17% saying they have a great deal of trust in the president to do so.
		10% saying a lot, and another 12% saying a moderate amount.
		We can go through that chart this morning, but we simply want to know from you which branch of government do you trust the most and why.
		Deborah in Wisconsin, good morning.
		You're up first.
unidentified		Yes.
		Hi.
		I know I don't trust the president at all.
		The other, and I don't have faith in either of the Congress or the Senate because actually they're never in, never, you know, they are always gone and they don't get anything done.
		And it's just I don't have faith in the, you know, anything anymore because of what they've done to the country.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Deborah, when was the last time we can't work together?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		When was the last time you had faith in any branch of government?
unidentified		Probably when Clinton was in, because at least he tried to get some stuff done.
		He at least tried to straighten out the budget.
		He, you know, he at least tried, you know, to get a few things done.
		I mean, you know, he was not great either, but he was, you know, at least he got some stuff done.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		The budget and budget reconciliation is something that Congress is expected to work on as they return this week.
		And we'll see if they make a Memorial Day deadline for one of their big budget votes coming up.
		We'll talk more about that in the week ahead in Washington.
		Meanwhile, asking you, which branch of government do you trust the most and why?
		This is Ray who says it's the executive branch.
		Why, Ray?
unidentified		Well, I trust President Trump because he's doing what he promised to do.
		He's trying to get all the illegals out.
		He took care of the flaws and chans and saying there's only two genders.
		He made English the official language of the United States.
		He's doing what he said he would do.
		Just because people don't like that doesn't mean that he's not trustworthy.
		That seems to be foolish.
		And I think it's much more he says what he believes and believes what he says.
		And that's something that's, I think, is a good thing.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Ray, did you hear that Meet the Press interview and the headlines?
		Trump says he doesn't know if he must uphold the Constitution is one of the headlines that came from it.
		What did you think of that interview?
unidentified		Well, I thought what he was basically saying is he was turning those any kind of legal questions because he's not a lawyer over to the Attorney General and to his lawyers.
		And he doesn't want Mr. Garcia to come back because Mr. Garcia is an MS-13 or at least it appears to me that he is, that he was involved in human trafficking.
		And also it looks like he had beat up his wife a couple times and he doesn't really want him back.
		I think that's the decision of El Salvador.
		And I kind of am seeing the decision the same way that Stephen Miller is that they have to facilitate if El Salvador wants him to come back and they don't want him to come back.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Ray, you mentioned Stephen Miller.
		Did you hear over the weekend he's in consideration to be the next national security advisor for the president?
		It seems like that might be something in the works.
		What do you think of that?
unidentified		I would love that.
		I think he's one of the best guys in the administration between him and Tom Holman.
		I think he's fabulous.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What did you think of Mike Waltz before he left that post?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Now head to the UN?
unidentified		I think Mike Waltz is a good guy, and I think maybe the UN might be a better fit for him.
		It's going to be a tough confirmation hearing.
		The trouble with Mike Waltz is obviously he had the reporter on, and how did that number come in?
		It was either him or his staff.
		And that is a problem.
		That was a major mistake.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Why do you think it'd be a better fit for UN versus National Security Advisor?
unidentified		Because everything in the UN basically is going to be transparent.
		It's not the, it's everything with the effort right with the president.
		He's going to be supporting what the Trump administration wants him to do.
		And again, he's going to have to go through that confirmation hearing and kind of make his case.
		But I think overall he's a decent guy, that a guy that I like, but did make a mistake.
		And I think he's also kind of accomplished what they think that he can.
		And it's time to kind of move on.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Ray, thanks for the call.
		Out of Ithaca, New York, going to head to Baltimore, Maryland.
		Leroy.
		Leroy, the question is, which branch of government do you trust the most and why?
unidentified		I trust the individual branch the most because they are set on the law.
		They're going to follow the law.
		And President Trump is trying to find ways to get around things to get things done.
		But the law is the law.
		These guys are there.
		They've been there.
		And that's just my reason.
		Look, the company just wants to do what he wants to do and he wants to get around the law.
		And that's not the way.
		That's not the way it works.
		It just doesn't work that way.
		I have to follow the law.
		You have to follow the law.
		It's just that simple.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Leroy in Baltimore.
		This is Victor out of Columbia, Maryland.
		Good morning.
		Which branch of government do you trust the most?
unidentified		Yes, for me, I'm going to trust the judiciary branch.
		And the reason is because despite the recent decline, you know, it's still often seen as the most trustworthy than the political.
		They polarize, as that you say, if you know.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Victor, you're going in and out a little bit, but you agreed with Leroy on the judicial being the branch that you trust the most.
		Let me come back to that Annenberg Public Policy Center poll.
		It was in the field in late March, the report coming out at the end of last month.
		They focused a lot on the Supreme Court in that poll and presidential power as well.
		Here's what they had to say about trust in the Supreme Court.
		Trust in the Supreme Court has continued to sink.
		In March of 2025, 59% of those surveyed reported having little or no trust in the court to operate in the best interests of people like you.
		Just 41% expressed confidence that the court is operating in their best interest, 27% saying a moderate amount, 11% saying a lot, and 3% saying a great deal.
		The number of those with no or low trust has risen over the past 10 months to 59% from 55% in May of 2024, while the proportion of those with high to moderate trust has continued to fall from 45% in May 2024.
		The Annenberg Public Policy Center has been surveying this question since 2005.
		Back then, 75% had a high or moderate level of trust, just 22% had low or no trust in the Supreme Court.
		Earlier surveys found that trust in the court has plummeted since the 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
		There was 68% in 2019 in the trust in the court, and it fell 27 percentage points after that.
		The survey numbers and the chart there showing trust over time, the blue line there being a high level of trust.
		You can see it falling since 2005.
		The yellow line being a low level of trust, specifically for both of those in the Supreme Court.
		Asking you which branch of government you trust the most.
		202-748-8000.
		If you say it's the legislative branch, 202-748-8001, if you say it's the executive, 202-748-8002, if you say it's the judicial.
		This is Tony in Connecticut.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Hey, good morning.
		I like this here, the trusted institutions.
		Personally, I like the Congress because they have more elections.
		They have chances for turnover, et cetera.
		And that was my opinion of it.
		I kept what I did was as soon as it came on, I froze the trust in institution chart that you have up.
		And it gave me a chance to look at it.
		And one of the things I've always been very cognizant of is journalists, all types of journalists.
		And I noticed that, geez, if you sorted this by the blue, the dark blue, you get another type of response here.
		Like journalists are four.
		Look at the president is 17, the military, 18.
		But journalists, like what we're supposed to be, I would think that that could be the number one question is journalists, journalists in general.
		And that's whether you're from the left or the right.
		That should have been right up there, like, say, with religion.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		So for journalists, just for folks who these bars can get kind of confusing, let me just dive into journalists.
		24% of Americans, and again, this is the Annenberg Public Policy Center poll that was in the field in March.
		24% saying they have no trust at all in journalists, 27% saying they have a little bit of trust in journalists.
		33% saying they have a moderate amount of trust in journalists.
		12% saying a lot, and then 4% saying a great deal.
unidentified		Correct.
		And now, if you add the, I'm looking at it as we speak.
		I'm looking at 4 and 12 for a great deal and a lot.
		That comes out to 16.
		You got the president at 27 for that.
		I mean, it's really, you guys really need to do a thing on journalists because I bet you you get a whole lot better different answers than what we got.
		We watch this day in and day out.
		It's Trump bashing.
		It's bash this, bash that.
		It's like the person can never do any good.
		I guess it's what they say in newspapers, when it bleeds, it leads.
		And if it's something good, you don't put it out there.
		And I tell you, that to me is a biggie right there.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Tony, can I ask you, before you go, you started by saying the Congress is who you trust.
		There's more elections, so you feel like there's more trust there.
		Does that mean that you trust the House of Representatives more than the Senate because they're up every two years versus every six years?
unidentified		Yes, I do, because they have to, they're fighting for the state, for whatever level they're elected at.
		We're talking federal government.
		They're only in there for a few years.
		The things change more.
		It's almost like saying that we should have term limits.
		It's almost like a sort of a term limit to them because, hey, you could say whatever you want to say in the Senate, and you're there for six years.
		So you just get elected a couple of years ago.
		You're safe for four years.
		And what do they say?
		The public has a very short memory, just like we have a short memory of Biden.
		I would say to journalists, anybody, the first time you have anybody on for a journalist, say, look, what did you say?
		When did you come out about when Biden was known for having dementia?
		When did you see that?
		And when did you actually say it?
		I mean, even C-SPAN, when did you guys ever say Biden had dementia or whatever?
		You went through that whole thing for four years.
		Tony, did you do anything till it came out?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Did you watch the White House Correspondents Association dinner a week ago Saturday?
unidentified		I watched the highlights from it.
unidentified		I really don't get into that.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		I asked because one of the reporters from Axios was given an award for his coverage of the Biden White House, and the award noted that he was one of the first to talk about Biden's mental acuity in the White House.
		And he got up there in his speech and said thank you for the award.
		But he also said that we as the media, and he was speaking to the entire room, we as the media missed this story.
		We could have done better on this story and that we need to admit that mistake for people to trust the media more.
unidentified		They didn't miss it.
		They didn't miss it.
		That's a lie right there.
		They didn't miss it.
		They knew.
		Everybody knew.
		Come on.
		When you have people, there's so many people in this country that have family that have, or relatives, whatever, that have dementia or Alzheimer's.
		It was, you could see it.
		You can see the plane is that the nose on your face, and yet the honesty and the media, they can't even, they didn't even delve into it, not even delve into it.
		Like the press secretary said, she got spanked for even bringing it up before the election.
		It's not.
		There's no trust in the media.
		This is more like a third world country or like a communist thing.
		You guys can't be trusted.
		Really?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Thanks for the call.
unidentified		Have a nice day.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Thanks for the call from Connecticut.
		Homer, Kansas City, Missouri.
		Good morning.
		You are next.
		Which branch of government do you trust the most?
unidentified		Hey, John, you're my favorite.
		I've been calling in since Brian Lamb.
		And to that last caller, I guess these guys, these worshippers of Trump just blow my mind.
		Only one person could lose $9 trillion in a month, gain back five and decree victory.
		It's just so ridiculous.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		So for you, Homer, which branch is it?
unidentified		The legislative branch has to take over.
		This guy, who controls the purse strings?
		I believe it's Congress.
		Do they not?
		I mean, somebody's got to have some spine.
		This guy is the biggest criminal we've ever had in office.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Homer, who do you think has some spine in Congress?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Specifically, what members of Congress right now?
unidentified		Well, it's certainly not mine.
		Sam Graves represents my district.
		And obviously, he has no spine.
		But I mean, even like somebody like Hawley, my senator, one of my senators, is like, you know, we've got to tax the rich.
		That's all there is to it.
		If you want to go to, and that I'll tell you what, his big, beautiful bill, that thing's DOA.
		There's no way that thing's going to pass.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		One member of Congress who's gotten a lot of attention, specifically after standing on the floor of the Senate and speaking for 25 hours, Corey Booker, with plenty of criticism of Donald Trump's first 100 days and throughout these 100 days.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What do you think about Corey Booker?
unidentified		I mean, I like the guy.
		Don't get me wrong, but we're going to need somebody like Fetterman.
		I mean, it's going to be somebody like Fetterman that's going to shake it up on our side.
		And it's just like, we are like the children of Israel in the wilderness looking for the locust.
		You know what I mean?
		I'm serious, too.
		I mean, the whole debacle with Kamala Harris, look, she finished last in the primaries when she ran for president.
		And this is who we were going to put up against Trump.
		It was just the biggest debacle.
		And I will agree with the last caller on this point.
		Biden was obviously not in his right mind.
		And that should have been dealt with after the midterms.
		He should have stepped down after the midterms.
		And the legislative branch of my party should have stepped up and said, hey, you got to go now.
		But no, that did not happen because I believe if Dr. Jill Biden is the one that enabled this current abomination that we have for an administration.
		John, you do a great job.
		And I hate it when people call in and say, you know, try to step on you guys.
		Because, like I said, I've been calling in since Brian Lamb.
		I think the first person I talked to or asked a question to was Lucian Goldberg.
		And that was about prisons.
		But anyways.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Homer, appreciate your calling in over the years.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		We'll talk to you probably in about 30 days or so.
unidentified		Yep.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Homer in Missouri.
		Let me come back to Donald Trump's first 100 days and how it was received by Democrats in Congress.
		We mentioned Corey Booker.
		This was Corey Booker from last week on Donald Trump's first months in office.
cory booker ▲ ● ▼		And so again, the American people have spoken.
		He has set a record in my lifetime and beyond for fantastic failing in a way that truly has even Republicans standing now against him on his policies.
		We are in a crisis moment.
		This president is out of control.
		And the question is not what Democrats are going to do, but what the Republicans in Congress will do.
		They know it is wrong, this tariff war he has unleashed on the globe.
		They know it is wrong when the Secretary of Defense violates our national security with his use of a public app.
		He knows that the Republicans here know it is wrong.
		What he is doing in undermining bipartisan spending plans.
		They know it's wrong when he's impounding dollars that go to help local communities.
		The question is, what will, after 100 days, Congresspeople do as we now see a bill in this work period that is threatening to cut health care for millions and millions of Americans?
		Why?
		Why gut Medicaid, which he promised he wouldn't do?
		Why is he pushing to do that?
		Because he wants to give more tax cuts to the wealthiest in our country.
		It is time for more people to step up and say this is not left or right.
		It is right or wrong.
		This is not about party.
		This is about patriotism.
		It's time to recall the conscience of all Americans, Republican or Democrat, to say no.
		Stop the lies, stop the corruption, and do not keep your hands off the Medicaid of millions and millions of Americans.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		I was Corey Booker last week on Capitol Hill.
		Congress is back this week, and we'll talk about the week ahead in Washington, the budget playing a key role this week.
		And we'll talk about budget reconciliation and the process for the fiscal 2026 budget.
		But this first hour, the Washington Journal, we've set aside for your phone calls asking you which branch of government do you trust the most and why.
		If you say the legislative branch, it's 202-748-8000.
		If you say the executive branch, 202-748-8001.
		If you say the judicial branch, 202-748-8002 is the number to call.
		Here's a few of your comments via social media.
		Ray in Colorado saying, I trust the judicial branch the most, considering Supreme Court justices and the district court and the appellate judges.
		I can count on them to respect due process, which also means respecting procedures.
		With lifetime appointments, they have nothing to lose.
		This from Joan in Milwaukee, I trust the Supreme Court the most.
		Thank God for a lifetime appointment, she agrees.
		And Larry from New Jersey also saying it's the Supreme Court has been by a few of its members compromised, though.
		And the other two branches as well, they're much too easily swayed by money.
		I don't fully trust any branch, is what Larry says in New Jersey.
		Willie in Texas, good morning.
		You say it's the executive branch.
		Why?
unidentified		Indeed, in the executive branch, only because Donald Trump is the president.
		He is the executive branch.
		Really quickly, Corey Booker.
		Corey Booker is a liar.
		Everyone heard what he was talking about.
		President clearly said he is not touching Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security.
		So Corey Booker is a liar.
		Now, really quickly again, I say that the executive branch is, to me, the most important branch and is the best branch right now because of Donald Trump.
		Why?
		Because he's doing everything he possibly can do to make America great again.
		And he's promising, he's going on forward on his promises to do so.
		Really quickly, I just want to say one thing.
		You know, you put out some of the clips from the interviews that the president got from ABC and NBC.
		And it's very interesting because, you know, he basically blew up and bodied those folks.
		You know, they had no chance with his intellect.
		I would say this.
		I just wish if somebody from the executive branch is listening, I would say, listen, let's try and get, here'd be a great thing.
		Let's get President Trump, okay, to invite some of just select interviewers from different agencies and let him ask the questions.
		You know, and they can answer based on their CEO or the editor's wishes.
		But, you know, it'd be interesting for them to do that so they can show exactly what their agencies are all about.
		And basically, it's about, you know, in my opinion, it's about all Democrats.
		Last thing, really quickly.
		Yes, good question about which branch is the best.
		I would like to say which branch is the worst.
		And right now, it's the judiciary only because of the lousy judges they have and what they're trying to do with law, with lawfare against this president.
		Thank you.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Willie, you say lousy judges.
		Yes.
		The appointments of the judges coming from the executive branch.
		That's how the system works.
		How much do you blame past presidents for lousy judges?
unidentified		Oh, I blame every judge that goes against it.
		And this is Democrat, Republican, whatever.
		I blame every judge that would do what they have done to the president, to this particular president.
		If it was Joe Biden and they were Bush appointees or Trump appointees for that matter, and they did to Joe Biden what they're doing to Trump, I would say the exact same thing, that those judges are absolutely lousy.
		Not only are they lousy, but they're crooked.
		And, you know, I can't, to answer your question, it all depends on the appointee and the judge.
		They're there to handle the Constitution.
		They're there to back up and let everybody understand exactly what they're doing constitutionally, whether it's right or whether it's wrong.
		And that's the only thing.
		That's why I say that.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Willie, got your point.
		That's Willie in Texas.
		Let me head to Lafayette, Louisiana.
		Tom, good morning.
		Which branch of government do you trust the most and why?
unidentified		Oh, good morning, John.
		I would say that I distrust the judicial branch less than the other branches.
		And the reason for that being that there are some Supreme Court justices that I think are following the Constitution and others that are self-interested.
		But at this time, the Congress is not doing its duty.
		It's not providing oversight.
		It's relinquishing everything to the guy in the White House.
		And I wanted to comment about the man that said that the press covered up Joe Biden's mental ability or acuity.
		You can see the man.
		You could see Joe Biden was having problems.
		I don't need a newspaper or the television to tell me that.
		Because that guy, he's criticized.
		He said everybody knew it.
		So he refuted his own point.
		You could see it.
		You don't need somebody to tell you that.
		You have to think for yourself.
		You don't rely on somebody else to tell.
		You can see, he said his own family members, you could see it.
		So, you know, that was, to me, was foolish.
		But anyway.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Tom, same question to you that when we were talking about that same issue, about Joe Biden's mental acuity.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Did you watch the White House Correspondents Association dinner?
unidentified		You know what?
		I tell you, I eat my breakfast here when I'm looking at C-SPAN for a few minutes.
		By the time I finish my oatmeal, then I go over and listen to jazz because I can't handle all of this, you know, all this critical negativity.
		But I'm really concerned about our country.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And I think that to what you were just saying, it was Alex Thompson of Axios.
		who said to the reporters in the room, to all the people gathered at the White House Correspondence Association, we bear some responsibility for faith in media being at such lows.
		He was saying that talking about the Joe Biden mental acuity story, and that's Kristen Welker introducing him for his award from the White House Correspondents Association.
		He comes up in a minute here.
		But he said to the room, we missed this story.
		We could have done more on this story.
		What do you think of him saying that to the gathered journalists, the D.C. journalists that were in that room?
unidentified		Well, if there was a deliberate effort to not report it, I would have a concern about that.
		But, and I mean, I appreciate his candor on that to say that if there was something that was newsworthy that he thought that the American people should know about these candidates, it should have been reported unless there was some kind of a concerted effort.
		But I mean, how could you cover up somebody's mental acuity when you saw the way that he performed in that debate with Trump?
		I mean, it was obvious.
		But anyway, I'm really concerned very much about the institutions in our country, that the Congress is not doing its job.
		I have no faith in Congress.
		They spend time, they get re-elected every two years.
		They spend all their time worried about getting more money to run for re-election.
		And I believe half of the country, they don't even believe in the Constitution.
		So, and Trump, all he's been doing is undermining all of our institutions, the FBI, the deep state, all this other conspiratorial nonsense.
		And Americans, we have to respect the Constitution.
		That's the foundation of our country, the rule of law.
		Without it, we're just like these other countries that really don't believe in our foundation, democracy, freedom, freedom of the press.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		We'll take your point from Lafayette, Louisiana.
		One more note on Biden and mental acuity, and this is a story in today's New York Times.
		There's been plenty of books coming out about election 2024, the deep dives, behind the scenes books.
		So this is a note from one of those books that's coming out in July.
		Months before President Joe Biden Jr. was forced to abandon his reelection campaign, his top White House aides debated having him undergo a cognitive test to prove his fitness for a second term, but ultimately decided against that move.
		That's according to this new book.
		The account illustrates the degree to which Mr. Biden's top aides harbored deep fears about how voters viewed his age and mental acuity.
		The book, 2024, How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America by Tyler Pager of the New York Times, Josh Dawsy of the Wall Street Journal, Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post is set to be released in July.
		The story notes, Mr. Biden's aides were confident that he would pass a cognitive test, according to the book, but they worried that the mere fact of his taking one would raise new questions about his mental abilities.
		At the same time, Mr. Biden's longtime doctor, Kevin O'Connor, had told aides that he would not take the 81-year-old president's political standing into consideration when he was treating him.
		That story appears in today's New York Times.
		This is Ned out of Annapolis, Maryland.
		Ned, good morning.
unidentified		Hey, how are you?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Doing well.
unidentified		Well, it's a tough question, and I have a minor point.
		And it's a splitting hairs point.
		I do prefer the legislative branch.
		I think all branch well I trust all three branches.
		What I don't trust is the people currently in those branches.
		But the constitutional government itself and the structure is very, very good, and it's trustworthy.
		The reason why I prefer the legislative branch a bit more is because of what other people have said, that regular elections every few to six years, that kind of thing keeps especially the House of Representatives close to the voters and theoretically reflecting their concerns.
		The Congress also, you know, the two houses of Congress have oversight capacity.
		They are the source of accountability along with the journalism, as someone else pointed out.
		So I like all three branches.
		I think the legislative, I trust it the most in its structure and the way it's set up.
		What I don't trust is the current mix in that Congress.
		That's basically my point.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Ned, do you believe that there should be term limits for members of Congress, of the House of Representatives?
unidentified		I never did when I was young, but I do now.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Why?
unidentified		I also, for two reasons.
		Well, I think you've got a lot of, honestly, I think you've got a lot of people my age or older who are clogging up the top of these parties and not really giving younger people a chance to come up.
		You know, we are seeing people like Corey Booker or Senator Booker emerge, but it's important that they path be clear for these people.
		The other reason for term limits, the pace of change has accelerated so greatly that it doesn't take too long for someone you're to be out of touch with the wider culture.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Ned, thanks for the call out of Annapolis.
		This is Steve out of the Garden State.
		Good morning.
		Which branch of government do you trust the most?
unidentified		Good morning.
		How are you?
		I just love how the same people who covered up Biden are now writing books.
		It's just wonderful.
		Talk about Chutzpa.
		They're writing books saying, meanwhile, they're the ones who covered it up.
		But in terms of trust, I mean, how do you measure trust?
		You measure trust, but when someone says they're going to do something and they do it.
		I mean, so right now I trust the executive branch because everything Trump is doing, he said he was going to do.
		I mean, that's the basis of trust.
		You know, when you, you know, I voted for Obama because Obama said he was going to move the capital, he was going to move the embassy to Jerusalem.
		That's why I voted for Obama first time.
		He never did that.
		Everything Trump is doing, he said he's going to do.
		You like it, you don't like it.
		You know, that could all be debated, but trust means doing what you said you're going to do.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Steve, did you feel like in Donald Trump's first four years in office that he did what he said he was going to do?
unidentified		I think in his first four years of office, he tried to do what he was going to do, but he was subverted more.
		So now with executive actions, he's able to do exactly what he was going to do.
		I mean, compare.
		Just take the border.
		Didn't we have Kamala Harris and Biden say they can't do anything, they can't do anything unless Congress does something, right?
		And the reporters all agreed.
		Yep, he's right.
		He's right.
		In a few executive actions, the border is now down 99%.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Steve in New Jersey.
		This is Sally out of Washington.
		Good morning.
		Which branch of government do you trust the most?
unidentified		Good morning, Steve.
		I trust the legislative branch.
		I choose to trust them the most because of Bernie Sanders, still working hard in the legislature to get money out of politics, which is what has polluted our whole system.
		AOC and Jasmine Crockett.
		And I'm an old woman, and I'm a woman who has lived through and listened to C-SPAN since early, Brian, probably 2, well, 97 or so.
		I've been listening to C-SPAN.
		So that is who I trust the most in government is that branch.
		Corey Booker did a fantastic job.
		And if the money never gets out of politics, we will end up with the king because that's the way this, I mean, talk about mental acuity.
		President Bush, excuse me, President Trump has is very comically listened to the Japanese prime minister.
		I mean, it's not worth our time to waste on that particular leader with people in his Cameland like Stephen.
		Oh, what's Stephen's last name, Doug?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		You're talking about Stephen Miller?
unidentified		Yeah, he's evil.
linda in denver ▲ ● ▼		He just comes across as evil, the things they're saying about people, about our immigrants.
unidentified		We all listen to Stephen Miller, and that's it.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Got your point.
		That's Sally in Washington.
		It's 202-748-8000 for you to call in if you say you trust the legislative branch the most.
		202-748-8001.
		If you say it's the executive branch, 202-748-8002, talking about the judicial branch, if that's the branch you trust the most.
		The caller just now talking about Donald Trump's cabinet and members of Donald Trump's cabinet.
		Scott Besson is a member of Donald Trump's cabinet.
		He's U.S. Treasury Secretary.
		He has a column in today's Wall Street Journal.
		Trump's three steps to economic growth is the headline.
		Here's part of what he writes.
		The president recognizes the critical role that Wall Street plays in financing the American dream, but it's Main Street's turn to share in the prosperity.
		And this is the guiding ethos of this bold economic agenda.
		The president wants to ensure working families aren't left behind in the next era of economic growth, as many were in the last.
		In the first hundred days of his presidency, we have laid the groundwork, he said, to rebalance global trade, restore America's industrial base, and build an economy that allows Wall Street and Main Street to rise together.
		It's a three-step plan, he notes.
		First is renegotiating global trade.
		Second is making the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent and adopting the president's new tax priorities.
		And third is deregulating the economy.
		He dives into that three-step plan in his column today in the Wall Street Journal, if you want to read it.
		Back to your phone calls.
		This is McAllister, Oklahoma.
		Tim, good morning.
unidentified		Yes.
		Hello, I am for Trump.
		He did what he said he's going to do.
		Why does the Democrats want criminals, killers, rapists in this country?
		He's getting them, Trump's getting them out.
		And they don't want him out.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Why?
louie gohmert ▲ ● ▼		Trump is doing what people like him to do is get the damn criminals out of here.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Tim in McAllister, Oklahoma.
		Let me dive back into that Annenberg Public Policy Center report that we're basing this question on.
		It's out of the University of Pennsylvania.
		Their poll was in the field at the end of March.
		This report came out in April looking at trust in various institutions of the United States government.
		Let me dive deeper.
		A caller brought this up earlier into the presidency numbers.
		Donald Trump, or I should say the presidency right now, because that's what was polled on, had some of the highest numbers of people saying they had a great deal of trust in the presidency.
		17% of those responding said they had a great deal of trust in the presidency.
		That's only, if you go by just those who say a great deal of trust, that's only topped by the 18% of those who have a great deal of trust in the military.
		And it's close to the 16% who have a great deal of trust in climate scientists.
		But the presidency right now, also that category that has the largest number of those saying they have no trust at all.
		50% of those who responded to the poll saying they have no trust at all in the presidency.
		Next closest is the Congress at 42%.
		You see that the Supreme Court not too far behind at 32%.
		ICE, also interestingly, at 32% of Americans saying they have no trust at all.
		All these numbers, these bar charts are available at Annenberg Public PolicyCenter.org if you want to dive into it.
		The focus of this report mostly on presidential powers, checks and balances, the judiciary, but they did poll on Americans' trust in a variety of institutions in the public sector and the private sector.
		You can dive into that at Annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org.
		This is PJ out of Baltimore.
		About 15 minutes left here, asking you which branch of government you trust the most and why.
		PJ, are you with us?
unidentified		Yes, who is this?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Hey, PJ, it's John.
		You're on the air.
		What branch of government do you trust the most and why?
unidentified		Judicial.
unidentified		This is Peaches Smith from Baltimore.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Peaches.
unidentified		I definitely go along with Donald Trump.
		He's very well respected and he speaks the truth.
		And when I think about I'm retired from public health and with all of those people used to come in, we had to go to their homes and they'd be sitting there and they're healthy.
		They don't want to work.
		They get Medicaid.
		They get food stamps.
		They can work.
		They have their boyfriends there.
		Yes.
		Only give those who really need.
		We are giving out too much to liberals in this United States.
		Yes, I go along with him 100%.
		And all of these drug problems and all this killing in this country is because the Democrats continue to let them come in there for votes so they can vote.
		So as far as I'm concerned, I'm so happy and I hope he will run a third time.
		Thank you.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That is Peaches out of Baltimore.
		Donald Trump batting down the idea of running a third time in that Wall Street Journal interview yesterday.
		It's a topic that has come up several times when it comes to the president's future plans.
		This is the story on it in the Wall Street Journal.
		President Trump on Sunday said he expects to leave the White House at the end of his second term without trying to run again, which of course is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.
		The 78-year-old had indicated in late March that he could be open to a third term, saying he was not joking about the possibility that there are methods in which you can do it.
		But in that NBC News Meet the Press interview yesterday, the president said he knows it's something, quote, you're not allowed to do the third term barred by the 22nd Amendment.
		Trump said that many of his supporters are asking him to consider it, but he isn't planning on extending his stay a third term is, quote, not something I'm looking to do.
		This is Tony out of Bieber Falls, Pennsylvania.
		Good morning.
		Which branch of government do you trust the most?
unidentified		I tell you what, Donald Trump probably will not run again, hopefully.
		But I bet you any money, there's going to be some type of civil war before he gets out of here.
		Donald Trump is an ignorant clown, and anybody that supports him are also ignorant clowns.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		All right.
		This is Marie in Michigan.
		Good morning.
		Marie, are you with us?
unidentified		Yes.
		Hi.
		Yes, I trust the judicial branch more than I do any of the others.
		I don't trust the executive branch at all.
		And the Congress and them, they can't get anything done because they're, you know, the Democrats are trying, trying, but the Republicans are very much afraid of what Trump's going to do with him, like the rest of the United States is afraid of what Trump's going to do.
		I just think.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		When you say you don't trust the executive branch at all, is it solely because of the person who sits in the White House today?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Did you have trust in the executive branch last year at this time?
unidentified		Yes, I had more trust last time, yes, because at least the person that was in there, at least they had some heart.
unidentified		They looked at, you know, they looked at what they were doing first and made decisions, you know, what the people want, what the people might want, and they didn't hurt people.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Do you think that the nine people who sit on the Supreme Court have heart, or is that something they should even consider when they are making their decisions that impact the entire country?
unidentified		Yes, I think that they do have, you know, I think they do have heart.
		I just think that they, no matter what this guy in the White House does, I mean, he doesn't even listen to them.
		You know, when they make a decision, he doesn't listen to anybody, and he just does whatever he wants.
		And everybody in the world is afraid of him.
		And he's like a king.
		So I really think that, you know, we're in a lot of trouble.
		And I think what they need to do in the Congress and the Senate, or at least the Senate, anyway, is to make it so that they have to have at least 60 votes or something on every single thing he passes.
		I mean, everything.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		So, Marie, the filibuster rule is still in place.
		We can talk about budget reconciliation and how that gets around the filibuster.
		But the check you're talking about is there in the Senate.
unidentified		Right.
		I know it's there, but they should use it on everything.
		Every vote that comes up, they should use it because that would make it a little more difficult for the king to go ahead and stop it, even though he can veto it anyway.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Marie, they do mostly use it.
unidentified		Well, they use it a little bit, but most of the times, the Republicans get to shut it down.
		They shut everything down.
		And they keep saying, the Democrats keep saying, all we need is three or four Republicans to come on our side.
		Well, if that's the case and they have the Philip rule on everything, why isn't this happening?
		See, that's my question.
		And they're not going to do anything as long as they're afraid of him because he'll just veto everything.
		So I'm telling you this, we are in a lot of trouble.
		And, you know, I don't know what we can do.
		And I'm worried about what he's doing to the other countries and everything else.
		I'm just, you know, it's a pretty sad situation.
		But I thank you very much for taking my call.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Marie in Michigan.
		We'll stay in the Wolverine State.
		This is Catherine.
		Good morning.
		You are next.
unidentified		Yes.
unidentified		Hi there from Michigan also.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Go ahead, Catherine.
unidentified		Hi there.
		That lady is almost laughable.
		I'm for Trump all the way.
		At least he's getting something done.
		The last president, I feel, was sleeping through his whole presidency.
		They kept him in the basement most of the time.
		The executive branch is working for the people.
		He's doing what we should have been doing years ago.
		And other presidents wanted to do it also.
		But I think they were afraid to do it because of the economy and just what's happening right now.
		But I think eventually it will be to our advantage what he's doing.
		And another thing that I've been calling for years, I've been listening to C-SPAN for years.
dawn in colorado ▲ ● ▼		And something comes up all the time where they criticize Trump that he's lying, that he's a liar, and that he's going to take our Social Security away and Medicare.
unidentified		And he's only going to take those that are on Medicare illegally, that they really don't need it, and they're taking advantage of the United States.
unidentified		I guess that's what he's trying to do all the way around.
dawn in colorado ▲ ● ▼		He's trying to get these things that are not good for us, people who are taking advantage of us, countries that are taking advantage of us, and he's trying to turn it around.
unidentified		And the same with the illegals.
unidentified		He's trying to get the illegals out so that our country will be safe.
dawn in colorado ▲ ● ▼		And I just can't understand why people can't see that.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Catherine in Michigan.
		A few more of your comments via social media in the few minutes we have left here in this first hour, the Washington Journal.
		Mimi saying, today it's only the judicial branch that she trusts.
		The Congress has laid down their responsibilities, and the executive thinks that he has unconstitutional powers is what Mimi says.
		America Inc. says, when politics are less divided, I trust all three and I trust the judiciary to make sure that the laws are applied are constitutional.
		It is not a perfect system, but it is one of the best in terms of checks and balances and our Constitution.
		And one more saying, I only completely trust the executive branch resulting from all of our votes.
		The judiciary and Congress have too many liars and thieves and America haters who obstruct anything that helps the U.S. to make themselves richer.
		And that's one of our viewers from Michigan.
		And this is one of our viewers from North Carolina, Rocky Mount Lancey.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
unidentified		How are you doing?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Doing well.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Which branch of government do you trust?
unidentified		Well, I trust the executive, I'm executive most, you know.
		I mean, you know, not the executive, the legislator more, because the Democrats, they are crying, but they can't do anything.
		And when it comes to Mr. Trump, you know, like he's just there, really, because of the fact all these executive orders, you know, like he's not trying to help anybody.
		He don't ever think anything too.
		And, you know, like smart people surround themselves with smart people.
		And all he has done is surround himself with the worst of the worst people, people that don't know nothing about nothing.
		And would you want your foot doctor working on your heart?
		You know, I mean, you go out and you get somebody that has less military service to be head of the military that has been drunk most of their life, you know, like would you want that doctor working on you or whatever, you know, like, I mean, and then if for immigrants, people forget that everybody here just about is an immigrant from somewhere.
		And if you, and if all the immigrants were to be taken away out of America, you know, like, you know, like food price, every type of price would go up.
		So, you know, like everybody has tended to forget that the only people that had a real serious right to be here is the Indians.
		Columbus didn't discover America.
		You can't find something that's already here and occupied.
		Yeah.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Lancy.
		This is David in Larchmont, New York.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
		Yes.
		The branch that I trust the most right now is the judicial branch.
		And I'm not talking specifically about the Supreme Court itself because they can come up with some fairly unique judgments.
		But the overall federal bench is having to measure themselves by the Constitution.
		And so they have to come up with rulings that fit with the Constitution.
		The president right now is pushing the boundaries of legal rule with his executive orders, actually in many cases, flouting the amount of powers that he has and challenging the Constitution itself.
		And the legislative branch right now is controlled by the GOP, the Republicans, and they are enabling the president to flout the Constitution.
		So we haven't seen the end of this, but it's notable that Trump uses executive orders rather than going through Congress because the issue of trust is not there between the executive branch and the other branches themselves.
		So that's my opinion on that.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's David in Larchmont.
		This is John in Connecticut.
		Good morning.
		You're next.
unidentified		Hello, how you doing?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Doing well.
unidentified		Go ahead.
		Let me start by saying very angry and nervous.
		So I might get out of him, but I'm not going to curse.
		Trump's an idiot.
		If you can't see that, you're un-American.
		You got bought News Max and Fox News sold you a project sold you a lot of nonsense.
		And you people are fools.
		Fools, just plain fools.
		They're Republicans.
		They're madmen.
		And they have no idea these Trump followers, that they're fascists.
		All right.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Johnny Connecticut.
		This is James in Weaverville, North Carolina.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
		I'm an independent.
		I call it on Democrat lines, but I've been a Democrat most of my life, but I think I'm going independent now.
		But I've lost trust in all levels of government now, especially the Supreme Court.
		They're letting Donald Trump use executive orders, and they're supposed to – most of these orders are against the Constitution.
		Like the tariffs that he's trying to raise is that is money he's trying to raise to prevent the tax relief that he gave back in 17 from going dead.
		And he's trying to save the rich from paying more taxes.
		And I think the rich people have got control of the country.
		And our fate is really in their hands.
		And I'm hoping they'll not put us in a depression.
		But I've really lost faith in the judicial and all three levels, actually.
		But I just pray to God that they won't destroy the nation.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's James in North Carolina, our last caller in this first segment of the Washington Journal.
		Stick around, though.
		Plenty more to talk about this morning, including later today, a conversation on manufacturing in the United States.
		Rachel Slade will join us for that.
		Making it in America is her 2024 book.
		And after the break, we'll be joined by Mika Solner of Punch Bowl News.
		We'll preview the week ahead on Capitol Hill as budget battles ramp up and the president's legislative agenda is on discussion.
		Stick around.
		We'll be right back.
unidentified		This week on the C-SPAN Networks, the House and Senate are in session.
		The House plans to vote on legislation by Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, codifying President Trump's executive order into law.
		The Senate will vote to confirm Frank Bizignano to serve as Social Security Commissioner.
		Also, for the first time since taking office, Trump cabinet members will testify before House and Senate committees on their respective departments and agencies.
		On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noam testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee conducting oversight on her department.
		And Treasury Secretary Scott Besant will appear before two committees on Tuesday before the House Appropriations Oversight Subcommittee on the Department of Treasury and on Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee for his annual testimony on the state of the international financial system.
		Also Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gives a press conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
		And Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will participate in a fireside chat to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.
		Watch live this week on the C-SPAN networks or on C-SPAN Now, our free mobile app.
		Also, head over to C-SPAN.org for scheduling information or to watch live or on demand anytime.
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		Washington Journal continues.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		On Mondays when Congress is in session, we like to take a look at the weekend ahead in Washington.
		And to do that this week, we're joined by Mika Solner, Congressional Reporter at Punch Bowl News.
		And Mika Solner, lots of budget talk on Capitol Hill right now, some of it in the form of budget reconciliation, some in the form of fiscal 2026 budgeting.
		So for folks who don't follow this every day, sort of orient us to what's happening right now.
unidentified		Yeah, so House Republicans are in a very pressured spot, I guess if you want to put it that way, to pass President Trump's agenda quickly.
		I know that Speaker Johnson has laid out a really ambitious timeline of wanting to get this one big beautiful bill, as the president has referred to it, done by Memorial Day.
		So right now there's a lot of roadblocks in the conference, including pushback from moderate, more vulnerable Republicans when it comes to cuts to Medicaid and other issues related to what could potentially be in this bill.
		So there is basically a stallment right now within the committee level of where things are at.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		This is how it's put in today's Punch Bowl News for subscribers.
		During this past week, several dynamics have emerged that make us wonder not only if a reconciliation deal is close, but whether Republicans can even pull it off at all.
		Explain.
unidentified		Yes.
		So in the last several weeks, there's been a lot of developments.
		You know, we saw a lot of vocal pushback from a group of about a dozen moderate Republicans who are very, very concerned about Medicaid cuts.
		They basically view a vote that substantially cuts that program as political suicide for them.
		And we saw Speaker Johnson push back markups for key committees that are tasked with key portions of the reconciliation bill.
		That's the ways and means in charge of Trump's tax cuts, as well as campaign promises like no tax on tips.
		There's the Ag Committee, which is going to be tasked with SNAP and food stamps, as well as the Energy and Commerce, which is going to be in charge of Medicaid.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		How unusual is that to have a hearing scheduled and then get it pushed back for a week?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And what does that do to the timeline that the speaker is working on here and what the president is expecting?
unidentified		I don't think it's particularly unusual when there are issues, when there are issues in terms of what it actually, if it goes to a markup, we'll be able to pass on the floor.
		Essentially, the markup is the first step to get that passed.
		And those changes are going to come when these get taken up in committee.
		So whether it gets amended or what provisions are going to be.
		And I think that this is potentially going to be chaotic for the timeline with such a short timeframe, about two weeks away.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And then one factor that you note in Punch Bowl this morning, the White House is also now finally getting engaged in this process, which has both upsides and risks.
unidentified		Yes, so we saw White House engagement has upped drastically.
		I know that there's been key members of Congress, including Majority Leader Scalise, Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, that have met with President Trump last week.
		And, you know, it looks like Trump's really getting involved.
		We saw the White House put out its own budget proposal last week that has had some issues with the Hill.
		So we're going to probably see a lot more engagement and a lot more involvement from the President and his allies, as well as his liaisons and staff that he's deploying to get this bill through.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		We're talking about the week ahead in Washington.
		We do it most Mondays when Congress is in session.
		Mika Solner is with us of Punch Bowl News, taking your questions on this topic, any of the topics that they're going to be addressing on Capitol Hill this week.
		Here's how you can call in.
		It's 202-748-8000 for Democrats to call.
		Republicans 202-748-8001.
		Independents 202-748-8002.
		Another topic, not budget reconciliation, that will be talked about this week is renaming, officially renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
		It's Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's legislation explain the timeline here and whether it has the votes.
unidentified		Yeah, I mean, I think it's going to be interesting to see what Democrats might actually vote for that bill.
		But I will point out one thing that's really interesting about this whole Gulf of America push is that you see people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose bill is going to be taken up, but we also see members like Dusty Johnson, who's considered more moderate from South Dakota.
		He chairs the Main Street caucus, which is seen as more of a pragmatic group of Republicans, the governing wing, if you want to call it that, also introduced similar bills that advocate for that.
		So I think it just shows that more Republicans within the House conference want to get aligned with Trump and really want to build a relationship with the president.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		So what else are you going to be watching for this week outside of the budget fights that you're tracking every day?
unidentified		Yeah, outside of the budget fights, I think it's worth watching House Democrats.
		I know that in the last few weeks they've had a couple, I guess, shake-ups when it comes to the oversight committee.
		I know that that fight is still ongoing in terms of who's going to come after interim ranking member Lynch after Jerry Connolly stepped aside, as well as some of the internal banners that they're having there.
		I know that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said at town hall that there's more trips planned to El Salvador.
		So that's one thing that I'll be watching as well.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Stay on the Oversight Committee for a second.
		This is one of the more high-profile committees, mostly because they can investigate most anything they want to investigate.
		Jerry Connolly stepping aside for health reasons, announcing that.
		Why is this turned into an internal battle to watch for Democrats?
		What are the specific dynamics here?
unidentified		Yeah, so I think this is just kind of the classic generational struggle that the Democratic Party is facing.
		So Connolly essentially tapped Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, a more senior member of the committee who is really citing his experience as why he is fit to serve in that role.
		But a lot of these, the committee, which is known for being bombastic at times, they're more of a combative committee that often they have viral moments and things like that, is made up of a lot of younger progressives and some of these new members of Congress.
		And their argument is that they want someone that's more of a fresh face.
		And they're also arguing that putting Lynch in that position, he was the third senior member of the committee, actually bypasses two black women ahead of him, which was Eleanor Holmston of D.C. and then Jasmine Crockett, who was fighting ranking up.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Who put him in that position?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Was this Leader Jeffries' call?
unidentified		So Lynch disclosed that Connolly had talked to leadership, so leadership had basically agreed to Connolly's wishes.
unidentified		So I think that there's a little bit of a leadership struggle there that progressives feel.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Has minority leader Jeffries gotten involved here?
		Is he going to get involved in this?
		And what does it say about kind of the future leadership of House Democrats?
		Or are we reading too much into one committee fight?
unidentified		He has not publicly gotten involved.
		I know that there's likely some strings behind the scenes, but I think that it kind of speaks to the relationship here between leadership and progressives, not publicly.
		I know that Jeffries is really trying to work on his image and his visibility now that there's been some pushback in previous months.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		The Punchball News known for its coverage of these sort of relationships on Capitol Hill and how it affects the power dynamic.
		So you just did Jeffries.
		Do Speaker Johnson right now, what's the most interesting relationship to watch as he tries to navigate the Republican conference, as he tries to wrangle all these various members and get them on board for one big, beautiful bill as it's been described?
unidentified		Yeah, I mean, I think that the Johnson-Trump relationship is extremely interesting.
		And right now, it's on really, I guess, good grounds.
		He's built a strong relationship with the president.
		I know that the president has backed him a lot and supported him on social media.
		And I think that's pushed some of his members to support bills that they were cautious about in the past.
		And so I think that that dynamic is interesting.
		But if he can't, for some reason, get this bill through, I wonder if that dynamic is going to shift as well.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Mika Solner with us for about another 10 minutes or so this morning on the Washington Journal, taking your phone calls if you have questions about the week ahead in Washington or these various budget issues that they track every day on Punch Bowl News.
		If you haven't signed up for their newsletter, a great way to start your morning and stay on track with everything that's happening on Capitol Hill to call in, to chat.
		It's 202-748-8000 for Democrats to call.
		202-748-8001 for Republicans.
		And Independents, 202-748-8002.
		Let me switch to a different topic, the debt limit.
		Where are we on that?
		How much time is there to fend off going over the edge, as it's been called, the ex-state as it's known?
		Where are we on raising the debt limit right now?
unidentified		Yeah, I think that timeline is still a little bit wonky just because it's being very overshadowed by everything else that's going on.
unidentified		So, you know, I think that's a question that I can ask lawmakers on the Hill this week.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What else are you on that?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What else are you going to be asking this week?
unidentified		I think that we'll be looking at these meetings that Johnson is supposed to have with these vulnerable Republicans.
		I know that there's been nothing reported yet or nothing that's come to light.
		So we'll be tracking a lot of these.
		It's a lot of incremental reporting right now in terms of who's meeting with who, what progress is being made.
		So it's slow but steady.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		These things slow until they become very quick, it seems like, on Capitol Hill.
		A couple questions from social media from viewers who've been watching.
		One viewer, clown, is the handle.
		Talk about tax cuts for corporations.
		That's all I want to hear about.
		Where are we on tax cuts for corporations?
unidentified		You know, I haven't followed the tax cuts for corporations as closely, but I do know that that's probably something that Ways and Means is swaying right now.
		I know that they're very focused on passing the Trump tax cuts as well.
		So we're going to see where they are on that.
		But right now, it's pretty stolen.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What is the timeline for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and passing those and getting those renewed for years to come?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What's the timeline here?
unidentified		Yeah, well, they really want to get this put into the bill.
		That was one of the main issues between House and Senate Republicans is whether or not to include this in one bill or do two.
		And I know that the Ways and Means chair has been pushing for this and he's been having conversations with the president.
		So we're going to see.
		I know right now I think they're making progress, but things are still kind of in flux.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		John in New Hampshire, the Granite State, Republican, good morning.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		You're on the air with Mika Solner.
unidentified		Yeah, thank you.
		A couple things.
		The word oligarchy is a big word these days.
		We seem to hear it all the time.
		And to me, the oligarchy of the judges.
		So I was hoping to maybe see an article or something like that on the oligarchy of what the judges are doing, because several times now they haven't even pointed to law in their decision.
		And the other thing I wanted to mention, the Supreme Court, they're about to hear a case from Harvard, most likely.
		Four of those judges graduated from Harvard.
rep jim guest ▲ ● ▼		So I'm wondering why we haven't seen one article yet on if those judges should recuse themselves.
unidentified		Thank you for taking my call.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's John in New Hampshire.
		Happy to have you talk about the Supreme Court, but I know Congress is more your beat, but there's plenty of efforts on Capitol Hill to rein in the federal judiciary.
		Where are we on those efforts, if you can start there?
unidentified		Yeah, I think that's another thing that's been overshadowed.
		But in recent weeks, I know that there's been a lot of discussion, and especially in the House Judiciary Committee, I know that Chairman Jim Jordan has been really pushing on this.
		There's been a lot of broad efforts, whether that's curbing it through the appropriations funding for judges.
		And then there was a failed impeachment effort, of course, for Judge Boesberg, who Trump called for his impeachment.
		But that's not going to fly with moderates.
		So I think that House Republicans are still kind of weighing options as to how to rein in the judiciary.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		I know every fiscal year, all the various agency heads come to Capitol Hill and testify.
		But also, we usually get a couple members of the Supreme Court to come and talk about the judiciary's budget.
		Has that happened yet?
		Or do you know when that's going to happen?
		It's always interesting to see which it's usually two justices that come over and testify.
		I don't remember having seen that already this year.
unidentified		Yeah, I don't believe that's happened yet, but I think when it does, it'll be interesting given how some of the more conservative justices have voted on some of Trump's agenda.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		When they do that, is it usually a liberal and a conservative justice that they send over?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Or do you know anything about how they pick who gets the job of having to go before a congressional committee and testify about the judiciary's budget?
unidentified		That I don't know too much about.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Maybe a Supreme Court reporter might be one of those to chat about that.
		Let me get to John Dewing in Dry Ridge, Kentucky.
		Republican, good morning.
unidentified		Hello, good morning.
		Good morning.
		I won't take long.
		I just have something to say quickly.
		I've been a Republican for 50 plus years.
		Good morning.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Johna, we can hear you.
		Just listen through your phone.
		You've been a Republican for 50 plus years.
unidentified		Yes, I've been a Republican for 50 plus years.
		I've mingled with Donald Trump back in the early days of my life.
		I knew Rudy Giuliani.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And so what do you want to say about Agenda?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Although I'd be interested to hear how you've mingled with these folks and how you know them.
unidentified		I knew them through working on various campaigns.
		I worked on Rudy Giuliani in particular, his campaign.
		I've been to his home a few times.
		I knew his first wife.
		And I just want to say, I said it already.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		You just want to say what, Jonda?
		Tell you what, you've got to listen through your phone, Jonda, not your television.
		I'll let you work on that as we go to Robert in Arkansas.
unidentified		Yes, I'm Robert in Arkansas.
jim marrs ▲ ● ▼		I'm calling on the Democrat line, but I voted for Ross Perot.
unidentified		I heard the sucking sound when we were losing all of our jobs.
		And now many of these people that are talking about the tariffs and everything, they were what was called free market, free enterprise capitalists.
		They're the ones that made China most favored nation trading status.
		And now we're dealing with these tariffs.
		And as we look at the tariffs, I believe every product that comes in that is involved with the tariffs should have a stamp on it, just like the way we do sales taxes.
		And what we're being deceived by, when they cut income taxes, that money then has to be made up some way, and it goes to state sales taxes.
		And a sales tax, every person pays the same amount.
		If you're a billionaire or if you're barely getting by, you go to the store, you pay the same tax.
		And the other thing, when Donald Trump is going after these student loans, we should remind him he's had six bankruptcies.
		I am been a Democrat for years because of my grandfather.
		He said it's not for bankruptcy.
		It's your word.
		It's not an accounting.
		I mean, it's an accounting principle.
		Bankruptcy is your word, and any time you can pay, you should pay.
		Thank you very much.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Robert, before you go, you might be interested in about less than an hour, about 45 minutes, our final segment of the day.
		We're going to be talking with Rachel Slade.
		She wrote the book, Making It in America, the Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the USA and How It Got that Way.
		She talks a lot about NAFTA in that book.
		Stick around for that conversation, Robert.
unidentified		I'm going to try, but I understand that point.
		But we are so older.
		I'm in Arkansas, and Sarah Huckby has put some of the most horrible regulations on us.
		Electrical labor OSHA is stacked a mile high.
		And many times it's not enforced until something happens, and then it becomes a real liability.
		So thank you.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Robert in Arkansas.
		Mika Solner, he brings up tariffs, regulations, and student loans.
		Anything you want to talk about on any of those topics?
unidentified		The tariff debate is always interesting.
		You know, no matter what direction it's going, I think that it's changed quite a few times now.
		And I just think it's, you know, the reaction from Capitol Hill was astounding when Trump first announced that tariffs.
		And obviously, we saw the markets, you know, swing drastically.
		And now that he's walking back, and I think yesterday the president put out something on true social wanting to tariff foreign films.
		But, you know, I think that there's a little bit of frustration in terms of what Trump actually wants to do.
		But I do think that this is also an administration that tends to walk back things, to put forth ideas.
		But it has real impact, as you can see, on Wall Street and Capitol Co.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		One more question.
		This from Hollywood legend is the handle on X.
		I know you're not in the White House briefing room, but most reporters probably have thoughts on this.
		What does she think of Donald Trump opening the press room in the White House to social media and to podcasters and to catching up with the real world is how the poster describes it.
unidentified		You know, I think it's interesting because the way that a lot of people consume media is changing.
		And I know that people are getting it from different platforms.
		So, you know, I'm personally more, I'm always open to having more voices.
		But also depends.
		You know, I've noticed at times the Trump White House tends to call on people with more favorable questions first.
		But I think that every administration has their way of doing things.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Have you ever had a chance to be in the briefing room?
unidentified		Under Biden, once.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		This week, coming back to the week ahead in Washington, anything else you're watching for or a particular member you're interested in talking to this week on your beat right now?
unidentified		That's a great question.
		You know, I have a few people that I think I will keep an eye out for.
		I'm interested in looking for moderates like David Valadeo who are really pushing the Medicaid push.
		And on the Democratic side, I'll be watching all the oversight members.
		I think Alexandria Casi-Cortez still hasn't said whether or not she wants to actually maybe try and go back to that committee to run for ranking members.
		So she'll be a big one to keep an eye on.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		You can read all about it this week in Punchbowl News.
		Punchbowl.news is where you can go.
		Mika Solner, congressional reporter there, and appreciate you starting your week with us in the Washington Journal.
unidentified		Thank you.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Later in our program, as we said, it will be author Rachel Slade will talk about her book, Making It in America: the status and future of manufacturing in this country.
		But first, it is time for your phone calls.
		It's open forum.
		Any public policy, any political issue that you want to talk about, now is your time to call in.
		Numbers are on your screen.
		Go ahead and start calling in and we'll get to your calls right after the break.
brian lamb ▲ ● ▼		After a career in investment management and some time as a credit risk specialist at the U.S. Treasury Department, Jill Eicher has written her first book, title, Mellon vs. Churchill, the untold story of treasury titans at war.
		It's all about collection of war debts from World War I, which was fought between 1914 and 1918.
		Andrew Mellon, a wealthy industrialist, served as Secretary of the Treasury for Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover.
		11 years total.
		Mellon took on Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Churchill.
		Jill Eicher tells a story that will be new to most readers.
unidentified		Author Jill Eicher with her book, Mellon vs. Churchill, The Untold Story of Treasury Titans at War.
		On this episode of BookNotes Plus with our host, Brian Lamb.
		BookNotes Plus is available on the C-SPAN Now free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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		Washington Journal continues.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		It's time for our open forum now.
		Any public policy issue, any political issue that you want to talk about, now is your time to call in.
		This is when we let you lead the program.
		It's 202-748-8000 for Democrats to call.
		Republicans 202-748-8001.
		Independents 202-748-8002 will be in open forum for about 40 minutes or so this morning on the Washington Journal.
		I also want to, as you're calling in, keep you updated about what's happening on the C-SPAN networks today, including a discussion with Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Milken Institute Chair Michael Milken about the state of the global economy.
		You can watch that discussion live, 11 a.m. Eastern.
		That's going to be here on C-SPAN, along with C-SPAN.org and the free C-SPAN Now video app.
		Also at 11 a.m. Eastern today, foreign policy experts discuss U.S.-Iran relations and whether it's possible for the Trump administration to strike a deal with Iran over its nuclear program.
		That's from the Cato Institute.
		Again, 11 a.m. Eastern.
		That one's on C-SPAN 2, but also on our website at c-span.org.
		And also today, a look at ways to improve access to veterans' health care through modernized scheduling technology.
		3 p.m. Eastern is when that's happening.
		It's the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee hearing that's taking up that topic.
		That's on C-SPAN 3 today, also on C-SPAN.org and the free C-SPAN Now video app again at 3 p.m. Eastern.
		With that, your phone calls, Open Forum.
		David, Riverside, California, Republican.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning, John.
		It's nice to be the first open forum caller today.
		Israel was attacked by trained and funded Iranian terrorist group, Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.
		And now we know they are making several nuclear bombs, some of which could reach America and Israel.
		This is a country that has stated death to America and death to Israel.
roger in pennsylvania ▲ ● ▼		They shot that, but they also claim that that is their policy of their country.
unidentified		They are the leading state sponsor of terrorism, and they need either to be overthrown as a government or their nuclear program needs to be destroyed.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		So, David.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What are your thoughts about striking some new deal with Iran over its nuclear program and efforts to that effect?
unidentified		Well, we tried with the JCPOA that Barack Obama had, and it didn't solve anything.
		I mean, they're still working on, you know, they're still working on enriching Iranians.
		You know, this has reached the point where, you know, since 1979, they took our hostages, and we've been taking their terrorist abuse all these years while they're threatening America and Israel.
		How long can we put up with that?
		They need to be stopped militarily.
		You can't just talk to these fanatics that are determined to kill Israel and America.
		It's not enough just to talk about going to war.
		Yes, absolutely.
		We went to war with Iraq a while ago, and that was not the best idea.
		Iran is the real enemy, not Iraq.
		We picked the wrong one.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's David in Riverside.
		This is Linda out of Norwalk, California.
		Good morning.
		You're next.
unidentified		Okay, thank you.
		I'd just like to ask your audience: can they tell me what impeachment is?
		And, well, what are the facts about that?
		And also, what do you mean?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What are the facts about impeachment?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Is that something that you support impeaching the president of the United States right now?
unidentified		What does it mean to them?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What does it mean to you, Linda?
unidentified		It means to me that you don't go after a man and woman living there, a husband and wife.
		It means that the president is out of office.
		It doesn't mean that he stays there.
		Okay.
		To me, that's impeachment.
		To get him out.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Okay, that's Linda.
		This is Michael out of Philly Independent.
		Michael, good morning.
unidentified		Morning.
unidentified		How are you doing?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Doing well.
unidentified		So, you know, I've been kind of out the loop of what's been going on since the presidential election.
		And from what I've heard from friends, and obviously news tabloid, we see the tariffs in China.
		We see the different wars that President Trump is enacting on Americans.
		And I'm kind of confused as to why DEI was such an important topic for this presidency to attack, considering how that has helped to shape the next generations to come after these parents are done with their jobs, them training up their children to be able to go and pursue a college degree or a trade.
		I feel as though, I know I'm speaking mumble jumble, but I felt as though DEI is very important, not only for the African American, but for the Indian American or important for the Mexican American in order for them not to infiltrate, but to be a part of the different jobs that have been offered generationally past us to, say, the white American, and we've been bypassed for those things.
		I don't know.
		I just wanted to figure out why that was important for this administration to dismantle.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Michael, can I ask you, you say you've been out of the loop since the election.
		There's a lot of people who might consider themselves news junkies watching this program.
		How does one get out of the loop on the news for six months?
unidentified		So I've been keeping up with what's going on, but it's been through hearsay.
unidentified		So since I haven't been able to really watch C-SPAN as much as I was during the Biden administration, I've been out the loop, being as though that C-SPAN offers so much information for the average Joe like myself.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		We're here, Michael.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		You just been busy?
unidentified		Yeah, with that, and then I'm currently at work, and I get a lot of the bulk of my news during this time while I'm at work.
unidentified		Our TV went down, and we recently purchased a new TV, but we still don't have access to C-SPAN without having cable, which is a problem.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What line of work are you in, Michael?
unidentified		So I'm in social work.
unidentified		So I work with individuals who are transitioning from mental health institutions back into the community.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And how is that work for you, Michael?
unidentified		I mean, it's fulfilling work.
		It doesn't pay enough, but it's fulfilling work.
		There's opportunity for me to help, again, just individuals not only here who I work with, but also outside of this job, because I understand better the condition that most people are in.
		How'd you get into it?
		I'm sorry, what did you say?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		How'd you get into this line of work?
unidentified		So I got into this line of work going to community college.
		I didn't finish community college, but during the time I was studying psychology with the hope of becoming a marriage counselor.
		And the credits and classes that I picked up and passed offered me the ability to apply for this job here.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Michael, is it with like city government or is it a private group?
unidentified		Yeah, this is the private sector.
unidentified		This is JFK Behavioral Health over here in Philadelphia.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Michael, thanks for telling us about it.
		Thanks for what you do.
		This is Clara in Tennessee.
		Republican, good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
		I'd like to make a statement about the Supreme Court justices.
		Recently, Justice Brown went to France, I think it was, and let her bias towards Donald, our president, be known.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		You're talking about Justice Katanji Brown Jackson?
unidentified		Yes, that's right, Justice Jackson.
		And in my opinion, she should have to recuse herself for anything that would come before her that would involve President Trump because some of the stuff that she talked about, it clearly showed her bias.
		And I'd like to also answer the question about what does impeachment mean to you?
		To me, it means that our president is being harassed, that they're trying to take away my vote.
		Somebody that I voted for to do exactly what he's doing, which is clean up a mess.
		So I don't think impeachment should just be thrown around.
		Oh, well, let's just impeach him.
		So those are my comments.
		But I don't think that I don't think that any judge should be allowed to listen to a case when they have such bias towards the person that's coming before them, and especially the Supreme Court justices.
		And I think, well, I'll leave it at that.
		Thank you.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Clara in the volunteer state back to the Wolverine State.
		This is Randy Democrat.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning, John.
		John, I talked to you last month.
		You know, last time I talked to you about our drug problem here in Michigan, this year, in 2024, excuse me, we had 8,817 alcohol-related accidents in our state.
		We had 2,251 all drugs, all drugs, illegal and non-legal.
		Now, we've been doing some figures here.
		We've got 27,009 in the last 36 months of drunk driving accidents in our state.
		27,009.
		All drugs together, 6,692.
		Now, out of that, just in 2024, we had 29,000 treatments for alcohol, just for alcohol.
		That was $264 million.
		Every four years, we're spending over a billion dollars in treatment for drunks.
		When are we going to address this problem, John?
		I mean, I'd like to hear.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		How do we address that problem?
		This country has done prohibition in the past.
		There are age limits for alcohol.
		How do you address it?
unidentified		We got to direct this by we got 6,692 all drugs.
		Now, we've got 27,009 alcohol.
		Don't you think we need to even this out?
		We did things like to potheads, like take their children, take their houses, take their land.
		I mean, can't we at least make it so that we can detect alcohol in their system for 70 days like we can for pot when they go to jail?
		So they can't just get out of jail in three days and make sure they got a job on Monday.
		Everybody else goes to jail and pays for their treatment.
		And that's the whole thing.
		That's the reason why it's that way.
		It's so that a drunk's got a job on Monday and everybody else goes to jail and pays for it.
		That's the whole truth of it all, John.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And we've talked about this issue in the past.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		You're passionate.
unidentified		Yes, we have.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Hold on, Randy.
		You're passionate on this issue.
		Where did that passion on this issue come from?
unidentified		Over that law.
		Half of everything I owned, I lost over that life.
		Now, I've never been a drunk ever in my life.
		Why am I paying for a bunch of drunks?
		Right now, I've never did no drugs in my system my whole life.
		I have worked for the government.
		I pissed in a cup my whole life to prove to a drunk that I didn't have my system, not other drugs, pot, because they're so scared they can't meet against a pothead at anything.
		That's what it's about, John.
		A pothead doesn't wake up in the morning and say, how did I get here after getting brought home off the street from the sheriff?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Randy, do you think we should legalize marijuana in this country?
unidentified		Yes, that is a very important thing to do, but we've got to also even out the laws.
		70 days for a person to get a trace amount of pot out of their system before they can get out of lockdown when they go into jail.
		A drunk gets out in three days.
		My brother can be so drunk he can't even say his name.
		Two days later, going and piss for the probation officer, and his clean.
		How is that possible?
		I'm sick.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Randy in Michigan.
		This is Jack in Tallahassee, Florida, Independent.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning, John.
		Good morning, C-SPAN.
		You had a segment on your first hour, I guess it was, about who do you trust, the government, which govern agency do you trust.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Which branch of government, Jack?
unidentified		All of them.
		If you can't trust one, you can't trust any of them.
		That's my opinion.
		It's not my observation.
		Excuse me, it's my observation, not my opinion.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Why do you think that?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Why do you think that you can't trust any of them if you can't trust one of them?
unidentified		Well, that's just how I see things are going.
		We have a liar in the White House.
		We have a person that had bankruptcy six times in the White House.
		And that's where this country's heading and my observation.
jim marrs ▲ ● ▼		And I feel very strong about that.
unidentified		And the fella that you just had on about the alcohol and all that stuff, yes, legalize marijuana, legalize prostitution, and then you can have control over everybody, just about.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Jack in Florida.
		This is Rita in Pennsylvania, Brookhaven.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
		You know, I just want to talk about the Republicans.
		They keep talking about Joe Biden's mental health.
		But I figure like this, Trump isn't any better than Joe Biden is.
		He acts just like somebody that has dementia.
		He says the same thing over and over again.
		Every time he has a speech, he talks about his big crowds and things like that.
		And, you know, people don't want to hear that.
		They keep saying the same thing over and over again.
		Who cares?
		And I believe the only way that he passed that mental health test is because he probably told the doctors that they didn't pass him, that he probably would threaten to fire him, just like he threatens everyone who doesn't do what he wants.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Rita, do you watch many of President Trump's interviews these days?
unidentified		No, because I get tired of hearing the same lies over and over again.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Did you hear about the Meet the Press interview yesterday?
unidentified		No, I didn't.
		I mean, but like I think I said he's about the worst president we ever had because he's just tearing the country apart.
		He destroyed all our allies with his, you know, might as well say, I guess, siding up with dictators and everything like that.
		So I think like he doesn't deserve to be the president.
		And the sooner he gets out of there, the better off we'll be.
		Thank you.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Rita in Pennsylvania, that Meet the Press interview with Kristen Welker getting a lot of attention because of headlines like this.
		Donald Trump says he doesn't know if he must uphold the Constitution.
		That's USA Today's page two.
		It made page one of several papers as well.
		It was this exchange yesterday on Meet the Press.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		Well, you say you have the power to bring him back, though.
		Your attorney general says, quote, that's up to El Salvador.
		Just to put a fine point on this, do you have the power to bring a Brego Garcia back as the Supreme Court?
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		Well, I have the power to ask for him to come back if I'm instructed by the Attorney General that it's legal to do so.
		But the decision as to whether or not he should come back will be the head of El Salvador.
		He's a very capable man.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		Well, you know, and your attorney general has said the issues with that word facilitate.
		Will you seek clarification from the Supreme Court?
		Do you need to go back to the Supreme Court?
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		We may do that.
		I was asking about that.
		We may do that.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		Your Secretary of State says everyone who's here, citizens and non-citizens, deserve due process.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		Do you agree, Mr. President?
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		I don't know.
		I'm not a lawyer.
		I don't know.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		Well, the Fifth Amendment says.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		I don't know.
		It seems it might say that, but if you're talking about that, then we'd have to have a million or two million or three million trials.
		We have thousands of people that are some murderers and some drug dealers and some of the worst people on earth.
		But it's some of the worst, most dangerous people on earth.
		And I was elected to get him the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it.
kristen welker ▲ ● ▼		But even given those numbers that you're talking about, don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as President?
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		I don't know.
		I have to respond by saying again: I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said.
		What you said is not what I heard the Supreme Court said.
		They have a different interpretation.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Donald Trump on Meet the Press yesterday, getting responses from Democrats on Capitol Hill in the wake of that interview.
		Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, saying President Trump has just admitted that he doesn't know whether he needs to uphold the Constitution.
		This is as un-American as it gets, his ex posting from yesterday evening.
		Back to your phone calls.
		It's open forum, just about 30 minutes left in open forum.
		This is Deborah Lee in Black Mountain, North Carolina, Independent.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Yes, good morning.
		Good morning to everyone in America.
		I first would like to say I'm not a Trump.
		I don't hate Mr. Trump.
		I pray for him.
		Bless his heart.
		But what he's doing, it's so tragic.
		The first thing I'd like for the people that support him to stop and consider that in going after waste, fraud, and abuse, the very first thing that he did was eliminate all the inspector generals whose job it was to do just that.
		And they were doing, they were recovering millions of dollars.
		So I wish people would think of that.
		One more thing is this is so tragic to me.
		NPR and PBR, I mean, PBS?
		Our public PBS and NPR are national treasures, treasures.
		And he has just eliminated funding through an executive order.
		I'm praying.
		I don't know if Congress can stop him.
		I don't entirely understand the limitations of an executive order, but what he is doing is so sad.
		It's just tragic.
		And the people that he appoints to all of these high offices, they're entirely unqualified.
		It's mind-blowing.
		It really is.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Deborah.
unidentified		And I'm praying that he will be impeached and removed.
unidentified		Yes, sir.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		So you've mentioned that you're praying multiple times.
		You said at the beginning, it sounds like you don't support him, but you pray for him.
		Is it okay to ask when you pray for somebody that you fervently don't agree with?
		How does that prayer go?
		What do you say?
unidentified		Well, I pray for his, like, his soul, you know, for him to wake up to spirit, actually, is what I mean.
		But I mean, just because I consider myself a Jesusonian.
		I don't call myself a Christian because I actually follow Jesus' teachings, which I don't see Christians doing a whole lot of.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Do you belong to a church?
unidentified		No.
		No, I don't actually.
		But the whole world is a church.
		We're all one family.
		We really are.
		And as soon as we wake up, and war, dear God, dear God, war, the money we spend on war, we're stopping meals on wheels.
		We're stopping free school lunches for hungry children.
		But we want more.
		We want more for the military, more for death and destruction, and these tax breaks for the richest while we're cutting.
		It's just tragic.
		And I am praying.
		And thank you for listening.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Deborah Lee in North Carolina.
		This is Kathy out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
		Republican, good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
		I'd like to talk about the chemtrails that cross our skies daily.
		And I guess.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		I tell you what, we'll hold off on conspiracy theories just because there's plenty of other topics we can get to today.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Rick in Boston, Democrat, good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
		Yeah, I just want to make a couple of comments about this bum that we got in the White House.
		No, this bum should have been in jail the moment that Biden stepped into the White House, him and that garment sat up there for over a year and a half, did nothing, and let the bum run around scot-free.
		He got the Supreme Court sticking up for him.
		All these judges, all these court cases he had.
		He should have been tried and sentenced to jail, all these delays, waiting for what the Supreme Court for us today.
		They're the one that was in charge of sentences.
		And they needed to decide what the Supreme Court needed to do.
		They should have put that bum in jail.
		He's trying to overthrow the country.
		He's trying to dismantle the whole government and whatnot.
		You know?
		And the thing is that everything's going to catch up with him because he started this tire thing the first time he got in office.
		It didn't work.
		It ain't going to work this time.
		When all those people start losing their money in the stock market, it's going to be too late to throw that bum out of there because he's going to have to finish his term unless they're going to say he's incompetent or something like that.
		But like I said, in this Ukraine thing, let me tell you something.
		That ain't number criminal enterprise too that he's getting himself into.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Rick in Boston.
		Nikki, Rockaway Park, New York, Independent.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
		I commend that woman from North Carolina.
		You asked her that what you prayed for.
		And I'm not listening.
		I can't hear you right now, John, but I'm going to tell you.
		Am I still here?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Yeah, Nikki, you can just listen through your phone and not your television.
unidentified		I shut my television down.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Gotcha.
unidentified		So, John, what I wanted to ask you, your role as Non-Cease fan, as all others, you are a moderator.
unidentified		Is that correct?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's what I'm here to help facilitate the discussion and get to your phone calls, Nikki.
unidentified		Yes, okay.
		So is there a difference, John, between a reporter and a journalist?
		Because a reporter, there's five W's, right?
		Who, what, why, when, and the last one is the key, the why.
		Because people will give you different reasons.
		For what happened on January 6th, they will say that the FBI instigated that.
		Other people will say.
		So the four things, the what, where, when, and why, that is reporting.
		Not the why.
		But when you put the why in there, then you have journalism involved, don't you?
		You have somebody giving their opinion about the facts of the matter and why it occurred and when it occurred.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		So, Nikki, where do you go for your journalism?
unidentified		Most, I go just to my straight-up news reporting.
		Journalism involves somebody putting an opinion on the facts of the matter.
		Don't you think so?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		So what newspapers are giving you the straight news opinion, the straight news as you describe it?
unidentified		Straight news, I get, I go from, I don't watch cable because those are, except for you, except for C-SPAN, because you are a moderator.
		But when I go to, I don't, I never see Sean Hannity out there reporting on a plane crash.
		I never see Jake Capper reporting on the floods.
		I never see people.
		All I see is people sitting on their butts and pontificating and explaining to me.
		I speak good English and I understand when somebody says something like, I'm going to be a dictator on the first day, I don't need a translator.
		I don't need any Republican.
		I don't need anybody.
		I don't need Sean Hannity or Jake Capper telling me what that means.
		I was taught as a child to learn the source of my information.
		So there's a difference, a distinct difference between reporting the actual facts and then giving the reasons why.
		The FBI was involved in January 6th.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Got your point in Rockaway Park, New York.
		This is Jack in the Steel City Republican.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning, John.
		Thanks for the call.
		A couple callers back, you brought up the Welker interview with Trump, and you showed a few clips.
		I haven't watched it in entirety.
		I've only seen the clips so far, so it's pretty long.
		But I guess it's a question.
		The question came up of constitutionality and what needs to happen with illegal aliens that have been deported.
		The one in question seems to already have two deportation or two court hearings and subject to deportation, but a administrative error with that.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Questions were sort of about due process, rights.
unidentified		Right.
unidentified		But I think the crux of the issue, is there any question left that our border was intentionally opened after the 2020 election?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Intentionally opened, Jack.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Explain.
unidentified		It was a question.
unidentified		Do you think there's any question left that illegal aliens were welcomed by the millions after our 2020 election?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What do you think, Jack?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Do you think they were welcomed by the millions?
unidentified		Yeah, I think the evidence was overwhelmingly clear and proven by being able to seal the border after, what, a couple weeks once Trump was back in office?
		I think, you know, we had an admitted 10 to 11 million.
		It was probably more about 15 million.
		And now we're having, what, 1,000 apprehensions a month or something?
		I think, yes, it was an intentional act.
		And nobody talks about the constitutionality of that.
		I think it created an unbelievable crisis that this nation's in.
		And as far as we know, only illegal aliens have been deported since Trump is in office.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Jack in Pennsylvania.
		This is Al in Brunswick, Missouri.
		Good morning.
		Line for Democrats.
unidentified		Good morning.
		Yeah, you had a caller from Tennessee earlier talking about Katanji Brown.
		Catanja Brown is one of the first black women.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Justice Jackson.
unidentified		Yeah, Katanji Jackson.
		Yes, sir.
		She was the first black female to be elected on the Supreme Court.
		Okay, where does she come from?
		She's under Stephen Breyer, right?
		Was she her hit law clerk?
dennis in north carolina ▲ ● ▼		Okay, so she's one of the brightest ones of all the three court justices.
unidentified		That tells you how smart and brilliant she is.
		So she knows the law better than who Trump.
		This is what I have to have to have to say.
		You know, it's just the first black congresslady to be elected, right?
		Back in 1968.
		So it shows you how great that we have black people in the office, too, coming up.
		So that shows you that's smart people, too.
		So but doing the doing these colleges too in Carolina, that's all I have to say, you know, but she's doing it crazy.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		All right, that's Al.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		This is Rich back in Tennessee, Kingsport, Independent.
unidentified		Good morning.
		Good morning.
		Good morning, John, from the great state of Franklin.
robert gaylon ross ▲ ● ▼		And we talked a couple of months ago, I think, and I've done some research since then.
		And I hope you have someone on to do a segment just on the state of Franklin.
		Fascinating, many rabbit trails that cover everything from Kings Mountain and early American history to constitutional changes just because of the state of Franklin.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And Rich, forgive me, what is the state of Franklin?
robert gaylon ross ▲ ● ▼		That was the early lost state that existed for just a short time where North Carolina voluntarily gave up some territory that they couldn't govern because it was too westernmost.
unidentified		And John Sevier, oh, great stories about John Sevier and his trials being put on trial.
robert gaylon ross ▲ ● ▼		Anyway, lasted for just a short time and then was taken back by North Carolina, but eventually became East Tennessee.
unidentified		So it's fascinating history, but that's not what I'm here to talk about.
unidentified		Suggested topic.
robert gaylon ross ▲ ● ▼		Recently, The Hill and some other, I think it was last week, maybe early last week, talking about the new strategy of using cursing in advertising that has been intentionally employed by mainly by Democrats and how this is just a curiosity to do this in public and that it seems to be a strategy that's being employed.
robert gaylon ross ▲ ● ▼		And I think maybe having someone on to speak about that and how that affects civility, that might be an interesting topic that we haven't seen.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Do you think a member of Congress swearing can be more convincing?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Do you think it's been happening more and more?
unidentified		Oh, yes.
unidentified		It's documented the articles that came out listed specifically.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And I think this is the one from the Hill, Rich.
		Tell me if I'm wrong.
		Democrats embrace the F-bomb is the headline of the Hill article.
unidentified		That's it.
		And there were several other, I think, some other related stories from other sources, too.
		So very interesting.
		But if I could quickly mention two things.
		One about Congress.
		Speaking of Congress, it's just very hard to trust Congress and the media.
		I'll use one quick example.
		Corey Booker in February appeared on The Source with Caitlin Collins.
robert gaylon ross ▲ ● ▼		And during the interview, about the two-minute mark, he says that five officers or five police officers died that day, talking about January 6th.
		And she did not correct him.
		I mean, and I thought that is just a blatant falsehood that easily debunked.
unidentified		And there are many such things that come out, and Snopes just shoots them down.
		And yet we keep hearing these things repeated from leaders in Congress.
		We hear them from your callers.
		And it just gets tiring after a while to, and the myths just keep being repeated.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		But Rich, on the cursing being repeated, this is how that Hill story begins.
		Democrats are embracing the F-bomb in congressional campaign messaging as they seek to tap into their party's anger.
		In recent weeks, a number of newly launched Democratic hopefuls for key House and Senate seats have pledged to un-F our country or have urged their party to drop the excuses and grow an effing spine.
		The ads are indicative of the Hill rights of the rising temperatures in American politics generally, but they also underscore the ways politicians are trying to resonate with base voters, many of whom have expressed frustration with Democratic leaders.
		That's the story in the Hill newspaper, and that came out at the end of August.
		Julia Mueller is the reporter on that story.
		So you can read it there.
		Back to your phone calls.
		This is Elizabeth in Plainfield, Illinois.
		Republican, good morning.
unidentified		Yeah, hi, good morning.
		I just wanted to call and talk about some concerns that I have, too.
		And I know a lot of people are talking about everything that happened on January 6th, but I still think it was a farce.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What was a farce about January 6th, Elizabeth?
unidentified		Well, there's a lot of misinformation out there.
		And that's like the biggest argument that people are having because it was set up.
		You had Antifa there.
		You had BLM people there.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Why do you believe it was set up?
unidentified		He's been funding all this crap too.
		And it's just like upsetting that people will not wake up to how compromised our government is and has been, you know.
		And I'm sorry, I'm like nervous.
		I'm like shaking a little bit talking about this.
		But my concern, too, is like all the child trafficking that no one's addressing either, because I think our government is like behind it.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		I think our government is behind child trafficking.
unidentified		Yeah, because like all those kids from the border disappeared.
		I mean, maybe you weren't keeping up with it, but first it was like 350,000, then it was even more than that.
		And then somebody has found some of those children, but no one talks about that.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Why would the government be behind child trafficking, Elizabeth?
unidentified		Because our government's involved in it.
		There's a lot of people in our government that are into that satanic worship.
		All right.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Elizabeth.
		This is Willie in Georgia, Democrat.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
unidentified		How are you this morning, John?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		I'm doing well, Willie.
unidentified		You know, I've heard callers from Tennessee talking about all kinds of topics that just don't resurrect with this band's audience.
		We've got a state of the economy in hooray.
		We have a situation where a president of the United States have just literally destroyed any kind of commonality there is in the United States of America.
		Then you have callers calling in about the trail, calling in about the theory, calling them about this and that.
		What about all of the employees that have been lost their jobs in the government?
		All the employees that have lost stock market investment in the 401.
		What about the president of the United States have never filed taxes and always said he's on the audit that the lady talking about lying and the gentleman in Tennessee talking about Corey Booker and the theory?
		What about all the things that the most lying guy ever served in the Oval Office is in the Oval Office now?
		We have lost so much accountability, worrying about other things than all the jobs that we are losing.
		The economy that some folks say is so good now.
		Day one, I have the eggs gone.
		Day one, I have the Wall Star.
		Day one, I'll do this.
		Here's 100 days now.
		When is day one coming?
		This man have literally tore up the commonality and the humanality of the United States of America.
		And let me tell you something.
		All the call of the coroner talking about all these different theories about this, about the fake attack on Washington January 6th.
		It doesn't matter now.
		What about the folks that have lost their jobs because Elon Musk and them creates one come in office and literally have destroyed the common sense of the United States of America?
		John, I thank you for taking my call.
		I'm a C-Pan nut.
		I've been a C-Fan nut for years, and I will continue to watch C-SPAN.
		And that statement, have a good day.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Willie in Georgia.
		We're going to get back to more of your calls in just a few minutes.
		But we want to take you now to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, to the 1600 block for a look at the week ahead.
		The White House notice reporter Jasmine Wright joins us from there.
		Jasmine Wright, last week, the focus over there at the White House was the president's first 100 days.
		What is on the president's agenda this week?
jasmine wright ▲ ● ▼		Yeah, well, the president will be talking up trade big time here at the White House.
		We know that officials from Canada will be visiting.
		That PM that was just elected will be visiting.
		There'll be other discussions, really, as the White House is searching for a win on the economy.
		They recognize, despite all the bluster that we heard from President Trump over the weekend and his allies, they recognize that the American people are looking for some answers when it comes to the economy.
		And so they will be focusing on trade as they try to push through these trade agreements that started after those tariffs were put in place and pause, those reciprocal tariffs.
		Now, I asked the White House yesterday to talk about where they were on them.
		And Scott Besson, the Treasury Secretary, was in the briefing room last week.
		And he said that it was the Asian countries like India, like Japan, like South Korea that were actually showing the most progress.
		And so asked yesterday in an interview when those trade deals will be, they'll be able to be announced, Donald Trump, wasn't exactly forthcoming, but we know just talking to people inside the building that they're working on it and that some of them are actually relatively close.
		The question, John, is going to be, what's in the details?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		So let's delve in more into Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit from Canada.
		That's tomorrow at the White House.
		Are we going to get one of those joint news conferences and what will be considered a successful visit in the eyes of the Trump administration?
jasmine wright ▲ ● ▼		Yeah, it's unclear if we're going to get a news conference.
		Actually, I think if you look at the past, a few times when foreign leaders would come in to talk specifically Specifically about trade.
		There haven't been press conferences that we saw in the first few weeks of the administration, but they have been those kind of extended Oval Office visits where reporters get to go into the Oval Office and ask both of the leaders of those countries different questions.
		And so I think that we can probably expect that.
		No word on a news conference.
		But I think what amounts to a win, frankly, for this administration is kind of a nice visit.
		Obviously, Carney and Trump have traded kind of striking words in the past.
		There is some thought that Carney is only in office because of this mandate that the Canadian people gave to him to basically obstruct Donald Trump after the president has been talking about making Canada the 51st state, that America doesn't need to give money to Canada and obviously putting in all these tariffs when it comes to auto tariffs and other issues, tariffs on fentanyl.
		And so I think kind of just a nice visit where they can talk about trade in a positive and professional way would be a nice visit for these two.
		Obviously, this is going to be the second time that they've spoken since Carney was elected into office, but it'll be the first time that the two gentlemen meet in person.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Do you think that there's some pressure here from back home for Mark Carney to be somewhat on the offensive in this Oval Office interview?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		I mean, on issues like trade and not offensive, but to have an aggressive posture here?
jasmine wright ▲ ● ▼		I think absolutely.
		I mean, if you just look at the trajectory of the Canadian race from two months ago when Mark Carney's or when the party that did not win was actually more favored to win versus now, a lot of people trace that trajectory due to Donald Trump and his rhetoric and those tariffs that he put in place, that 25% tariff that he put in place, really punishing Canada for not doing enough on issues like immigration and fentanyl.
		And so I think that you're going to see the prime minister come in and maybe more of an aggressive stance, maybe more of an offensive stance.
		But of course, still though, despite the fact that Donald Trump says that he wants Canada to be the 51st state, Canada is still one of the U.S.'s closest allies.
		And so there has to be some sort of camaraderie between the two gentlemen to make these two countries function and rely on each other as they have for decades.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Let me shift to the president's cabinet, the shake-up last week with Mike Waltz departing that National Security Advisor position.
		And now the idea that Stephen Miller might take over that role.
		What's the latest that you're hearing?
jasmine wright ▲ ● ▼		Yeah, listen, every time I talk to a source about something in the White House, John, they talk about how Stephen Miller is involved.
		He's an integral part of this White House.
		People liken him to the prime minister of the White House, to the mayor of the White House, and frankly to somebody who understands Donald Trump's thinking.
		He speaks for Donald Trump.
		I asked one White House official on any given topic where Stephen Miller is or how often they're using Stephen Miller.
		And they told me that they go to Miller when they want to know what Trump is thinking.
		And so I think it is only natural for Stephen Miller to rise in this way.
		Of course, he's been a part of every section of this White House.
		And even if Donald Trump was asked about it yesterday, he said that he was a top choice and that he kind of already had the job.
		Now, Stephen Miller took those four years when Donald Trump was not in office after that 2020 election and he studied things.
		Obviously, he's the architect of this immigration policy that we're seeing roll out and the deportation policy we're seeing roll out from the White House.
		And so I think that as long, you know, for instance, he can continue to do that, which is known to be kind of his pet project, his favorite project, you know, he's certainly a top contender, as Donald Trump said, for this new role.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And then staying on the cabinet for just a second, these next couple weeks are going to be key for budget reconciliation and the president's budget plans on Capitol Hill.
		Are you expecting members of the cabinet or the president himself to head this way on Pennsylvania Avenue?
		How involved are you expecting them to be this week and in the couple weeks to come?
jasmine wright ▲ ● ▼		Well, absolutely, members of the cabinet.
		We know the Treasury Secretary Scott Besson is making an appearance on Capitol Hill this week.
		Other folks will likely shep on as they talk to the Hill.
		This is a White House that likes to have close coordination with the leaders on the Hill.
		We saw just a Senate Majority leader, John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson, here at the White House last week before they unveiled that budget.
		And so I think you're going to see that coordination.
		Whether or not Donald Trump goes is still an unknown, but certainly he is not a stranger up to the Capitol Hill.
		He went a lot during his first term, and I expect that he's going to go a lot this term to really try to shepherd this bill through, particularly if it looks like it's in jeopardy.
		But I think one thing that we have to recognize here, John, is that these budgets are, or a skinny budget, as this White House likes to call it.
		They're just a wish list, right?
		They're what they want the Congress to do.
		It's not necessarily how it's going to turn out.
		But I think one thing to note about this budget is that it really is Elon Musk's wish list.
		It is a lot of what he has done, focused on on Doge, putting or codifying some of those cuts, obviously slashing things like health care and other kind of social net issues, not Medicare or Social Security, but some of those social issues, while bolstering the defense part of the budget and also DHS.
		And so this is kind of a Doge-esque budget, a skinny budget.
		But I certainly think you're going to see not just members of the Secretary, but also more formal White House officials here, more senior White House officials schlep to the Capitol Hill as they try to get something more favorable for the president done.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		I know you've done a lot of stories on the president's first 100 days.
		Viewers can read those at notice.org.
		But focus on Scott Besson for a second.
		You mentioned him likely coming to Capitol Hill this week.
		He's got an op-ed on the pages of today's Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump's Three Steps to Economic Growth, a full half-page op-ed there.
		His position inside the Trump cabinet in these first 100 days, how have you seen that change and grow?
jasmine wright ▲ ● ▼		Yeah, what to recognize is that everybody in Donald Trump's cabinet is MAGA-aligned.
		They are American first and they believe in those tariff policies that Donald Trump put in place.
		I think the question is whether people want them to be more aggressive or whether they want to be more slow building.
		I think Scott Besson has always been in the category, according to people that I've talked to over the past few months, of having more slow-growing tariffs.
		Now, of course, when we saw those tariffs put in on Liberation Day, April 2nd, those reciprocal tariffs really high on some various countries, it was Scott Besson that kind of talked Donald Trump, along with Howard Luttnick, the Commerce Secretary, into putting a pause in and focusing more on negotiations with countries as that is the win.
		And so I think that Scott Besson is a pivotal part of this trade strategy, of the overall economic strategy.
		He is somebody that Wall Street have a lot of confidence in, even if it's been a little bit shaky over the course of the last weeks.
		And so I think you're seeing his evolution grow within this White House, but also the way that Donald Trump trusts him grow within this White House.
		Remember, Scott Besson was not in the first term.
		A lot of those first term economic people that were leaders and that did the first initial trade policy for Donald Trump aren't here anymore.
		And so Scott Besson, I think, is one of the people that we focus on when we're talking about trade.
		But it's also United States Trade Representative Jamison Greer.
		His stock is really rising in the White House too as he's focusing on the nuts and bolts.
		And then, of course, we always see Howard Luttnick, the Commerce Secretary in the White House.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Jasmine Wright, I always appreciate you orienting us on the White House and what's happening.
		Do appreciate your time.
		Thanks for starting your Monday with us on the Washington Journal.
		So much back to your phone calls.
		Just a couple minutes here left for open forum, taking your public policy calls, your political calls, anything you want to talk about.
		Phone lines are yours.
		This is Steve out of Tucson, Arizona, Independent.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
		I would like to talk about bringing jobs back to the United States.
		The question I would first pose is: why did those jobs leave the United States in the first place?
		And from my experience in industry, the main reason was labor cost, particularly in labor-intensive industries.
		Now they want to bring them back.
		Okay, so we're paying, let's say, $2 an hour for someone to sew our shoes in Puerto Rico.
		What happens when those come back to the United States and we're paying $20 an hour?
		Cost will go up.
		The same thing for any labor-intensive industry.
		Garment industry.
		Automotive assemblies industry from $2 an hour to $20 an hour.
		Who's going to pay that cost?
		The consumer.
		It's inflationary.
		And they think it's all great now, but will they think it's so great when inflation goes up?
		I got it.
		Thank you.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Steve, I took some notes on your comments, and I am going to bring up what you talk about in our next segment.
		Rachel Slade is joining us to talk about manufacturing.
		And her book is Making It in America: the Almost Impossible Question to Manufacture in the USA and how it got that way.
		We're going to talk about that in our next segment.
		So I promise I'll bring up some of what you brought up here, Steve.
unidentified		Thank you very much, and I'll be sure to watch.
unidentified		Thank you.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Billy, Crockett, Texas, Democrat.
		Good morning.
		You are next.
unidentified		Good morning.
		I just want to say that I love C-SPAN because they let people like me speak.
		And I just want to say that America is the world's leader because not because of the craziness that we see going on under Donald Trump, but because we got American people.
		We got people of God.
		We're a nation of God.
		And I see it improving the world.
		And people come back here to work because they love America.
		And Americans can go to foreign countries to work because they be those nations.
		We're the world's leader because we're a nation of God.
		And if you don't think C-SPAN, but let me speak.
		God bless you all, David.
		Amen.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's Billy.
		This is Rudy in Georgetown, Texas, Independent.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
		You know, in response to Jasmine Wright, White House reporting, I guess the question is: America, are you better off today than a year ago?
		But I also wanted to comment on.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Rudy, are you better off today than you were a year ago?
unidentified		I'm not.
		I'm not.
		You know, my stocks are not good.
		Prices of eggs are high in the supermarket.
		My grocery bill is higher.
		But I want to go back to something that you had discussed earlier regarding the question Trump said about the Constitution.
		He said he doesn't know if he has to uphold the Constitution.
		When he was sworn in, he was asked to uphold the Constitution.
		But I noticed, and I don't know if you picked up on this or not, but he didn't have his hand on the Bible when he was swearing in.
		I'm sure you have videos of that and you could bring it up.
		I don't want it to comment on it.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Yes.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And Rudy, you just have to finish your thoughts through the phone and not listen to the TV.
unidentified		Yeah, I'm trying to turn that off.
		I'm sorry.
		Anyways, let me just pause this.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		That's all right.
		And we're actually out of time for our open forum.
		That's going to do it for this segment.
		About 45 minutes left in our program and in that time, a conversation about the history and future of manufacturing in the United States.
		Rachel Slade, author of the book Making It in America, is our guest.
		She'll be with us in just a few minutes.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		As Mike said before, I happened to listen to him.
unidentified		He was on C-SPAN 1.
		That's a big upgrade, right?
		But I've read about it in the history books.
		I've seen the C-SPAN footage.
		If it's a really good idea, present it in public view on C-SPAN.
rachel maddow ▲ ● ▼		Every single time I tuned in on TikTok or C-SPAN or YouTube or anything, there were tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people watching.
unidentified		I went home after the speech and I turned on C-SPAN.
unidentified		I was on C-SPAN just this week.
patty murray ▲ ● ▼		To the American people, now is the time to tune in to C-SPAN.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		They had something $2.50 a gallon.
unidentified		I saw on television a little while ago in between my watching my great friends on C-SPAN.
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		Washington Journal continues.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		A conversation now about the history and future of American manufacturing.
		Our guest is Rachel Slade.
		She's the author of the 2024 book, Making It in America, The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S. and how it got that way.
		Rachel Slade, why do you describe it as almost impossible?
unidentified		Thank you for asking that question.
		Thanks for opening that way.
		We actually have 13 million Americans right now working in factories, working in manufacturing, and they're contributing about $3 trillion to the economy.
		That is not a small number at all.
		So I just wanted to remind everybody that there are people going to work every single day making things in America.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		It's not a small number, but it used to be a lot larger number.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Explain how we got here and what it used to be.
unidentified		Oh, well, that's a big ask.
		How we got here.
		How we got here is obviously offshore.
		It was a decision that we all made together.
		We did it through our corporations.
		We did it through policy.
		We lowered the guardrails and allowed American corporations to start using labor from abroad.
		And that meant we didn't just offshore the actual labor of our economy, but we also offshored all the ingenuity that we had developed right here through making.
		And I really love driving that point home because manufacturing isn't just about making things.
		It's about innovating.
		You can't innovate unless you make.
		So I always like to drive that point home from the very beginning.
		This isn't just about making widgets.
		It's about making widgets better.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Offshoring.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Offshoring and NAFTA often said in the same sentence, is offshoring all NAFTA's fault?
unidentified		NAFTA accelerated it, but actually offshoring started to happen earlier.
		So what NAFTA was, was bipartisan legislation that allowed companies to use labor abroad without tariffs, without penalties.
		And that was super tempting.
		They could make things cheap, but that had started actually way before NAFTA.
		You know, companies were starting to realize that they could set up factories all around the world and get around the labor laws and the environmental laws that Americans put into place to protect each other and our assets, which include, you know, our air, our water.
		So that meant that manufacturing was more expensive in the United States.
		And if companies were pushed to make more profit, then they had to find ways to make things cheaper.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		For our viewers who like the numbers, two sentences from your book, since NAFTA's implementation, more than 60,000 American manufacturers permanently shut their doors.
		5 million American manufacturing jobs vanished between 1994 and 2013 in textiles alone.
		More than a million manufacturing jobs evaporated between 1990 and 2019.
		Speaking of textiles, what is American Roots?
unidentified		American Roots.
		So I didn't know a lot about all of this, this entire landscape.
		And in 2020, when the pandemic suddenly made us very aware of the delicate nature of our supply chain and how we're dependent we were on imports, I decided to find out what is manufacturing in America?
		What does it look like right now?
		And I went to a company in Maine.
		It's called American Roots.
		It was started by a husband-wife team in 2015 outside of Portland, Maine, which is the state capital.
		And they began with this vision that they could use union labor to create apparel.
		I loved their company and I really wanted to investigate American Roots specifically because it seemed so impossible to make apparel here, to use union labor.
		But also, they didn't have any private equity backing.
		They weren't rich.
		They had actually cashed out their retirements.
		They had mortgaged their house to start this factory.
		And in 2020, what did they do?
		When they saw that everybody around was suffering because we didn't have protective clothing for first responders and for other workers who needed to come into work every day, they pivoted from making apparel to making protective gear.
		That was an incredible story, and that's where I was starting.
		So American Roots continues today.
		They have 85 employees now and they are making all kinds of apparel.
		And actually, they just created, they just established a partnership with women's professional soccer to make all of the fan gear and all of the uniforms for women's soccer.
		So it's just an amazing story.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		The story of American Roots and American Manufacturing laid out in the book, Making It in America, the Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S. and how it got that way.
		Rachel Slade is the author, our guest, until the end of our program today.
		And she's taking your phone calls on phone lines split this way.
		Democrats 202-748-8000.
		Republicans 202-748-8001.
		Independents 202-748-8002.
		And then a special line that we have set up for this segment.
		If you work in the manufacturing sector, we would especially love to hear from you and your questions.
		202-748-8003 is that number.
		Go ahead and start dialing.
		And Rachel Slade, as folks are calling in, what would it take if we've lost 60,000 American manufacturers since 1994?
		What would it take to get them back to create 59,999 more American Roots type business to make it in America?
unidentified		Yeah.
		Well, these folks need a lot of support.
		They need access to low-interest capital.
		That's really important.
		Where are they going to get the money to rebuild?
		They need trained workers, which if they're going to do the training themselves, again, they need capital.
		They need machines.
		Where are they getting the machines?
		Can we develop a machine industry right here to support these folks?
		They also need a level playing field.
		And if other countries are doing currency manipulation or are providing cheap labor, which produces cheap goods, then we need to level that playing field.
		And I do believe in tariffs, but the tariffs should be on finished goods, finished goods.
		That's really important to distinguish from raw goods, which of course all manufacturers need.
		And we are part of the global supply chain.
		So we need to understand that intrinsically, that there are different kinds of imports coming in.
		But what American companies really need to compete is a level pricing playing field, which does require tariffs on finished goods.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		We had a caller in our last segment, Steve and Tucson, and he was talking about manufacturing, job losses that have happened in this country, and onshoring, jobs coming back to America.
		And he says, if we do this, if we try to onshore, what happens when these jobs come back?
		People who are currently being paid, and he said, $2 an hour to manufacture an item in another country.
		What happens when they come here and they have to be paid $20 an hour?
		Who's going to pay the cost of that?
		What would you say to Steve and Tucson?
unidentified		Well, so the people who would be making the things here would be earning $20 an hour.
		It's not people coming over who were making less before.
		So the question is, what happens when you have labor making more money to produce domestic goods?
		And the answer is domestic goods will be more expensive.
		Absolutely no question about it.
		However, when we think about the incredible cost that we are paying for cheap imported goods, suddenly things start to make sense.
		So if you have people here in America making good wages, producing things, then we are creating a whole new ecosystem, a whole new tax base of makers, of innovators, of people who are contributing finally to a growing economy.
		And instead of what I see now, the service economy, which is an extraction model, the service economy is designed to take dollars out of our pockets instead of the manufacturing economy, which is about producing, which will then grow the entire economy.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Can you explain what planned obsolescence is?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And if we make these items in America, are we certain that they're going to be better quality items?
unidentified		That's a great question.
		The whole idea that Americans produce better goods was certainly true at one time and can certainly be true in certain sectors.
		I'm not sure that that is the strongest argument for bringing American manufacturing back.
		However, if you treat workers well with respect, you pay them a living wage, you give them time off, you give them time flexibility, you give them opportunities to grow within the industry through training programs and other things, and you also give them the right to organize so that they can protect their own labor, then you have an economy where people are being taken care of,
		where people feel good about what they're making and they have pride in the products that they're producing.
		And then they will give back to the economy by innovating, by supporting the very companies that are supporting them through good work.
		That's the idea.
		And that's what I've seen in the factory in Portland, Maine, and all around the country.
		I've spoken to small producers all around the country.
		And that's what they see.
		When you take care of workers, they take care of the product.
		They want the companies to succeed because they're invested in it just as the companies are invested in them.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Let me let you chat with a few callers, including folks on that special line we're setting aside for those who work in manufacturing.
		That number 202-748-8003.
		And John is on that line out of Wisconsin.
		John, you are on with Rachel Slade.
unidentified		Hi, thanks for taking my call this morning.
		I worked in manufacturing my entire career, and it was a non-million plan.
		And I'm only 61 years old, and I've been retired for only six years.
		I was lucky enough to enjoy a pension to a non-union plant.
		And so I don't really know if it's as big of a deal as far as organizing, like you were saying, that you need to organize and have union labor.
		Like I said, there are companies out there that will treat people that are employees right, necessarily without having to pay the union dues or that type of thing.
		I think the union is more to protect people that didn't do their job efficiently.
		But my main question, too, is people nowadays talk a lot about the people in China and other countries where they pay such little wages compared to what we do here.
		And that's because they treat them terribly, in my opinion.
		You know, they don't have anything to do with any backing or safety things.
		And I was just wondering what your thoughts on that were.
		And also, it's funny that people I retired from six years ago are now making the same amount of money starting as I was after working there for 26 years.
		So the costs have greatly increased since inflation happened in 2020.
		So I just wanted to give your thoughts on that subject.
		Thanks a lot for taking my call.
		Yeah, John, thank you so much, first of all, for being in manufacturing.
		You mentioned pensions.
		You're lucky you got one.
		I would love to see pensions come back.
		And by the way, I would love to see pension plans, especially union pension plans, have mandates to allot some of their investment in companies that actually support workers.
		But that's a whole different discussion.
		We can talk about that if you want.
		But the question about how are workers being treated in other countries where they're getting paid so little, you nailed, you hit that nail right on the head.
		I mean, that's the cost of offshoring, right?
		That's the cost.
		And we all, you know, pay an ethical and moral cost to being addicted to very, very cheap goods.
		There is a cost to those goods, and the cost is in exploitation of people and places.
		Do you know that Bangladesh, which is where almost all of our apparel comes from, in Bangladesh, I believe they have two or three major rivers that are classified as dead.
		Dead.
		That means that nothing can live in those rivers because of the apparel and textile industries there.
		They have no safeguards.
		That is happening in Bangladesh.
		It actually at one time used to happen in America.
		We enacted laws, we, the people, asked the government to enact laws to protect our air and protect our water.
		That made things more expensive for Americans.
		But we, at one time, were willing to pay for that because this is our country.
		This is where we live.
		This is where our children go swimming.
		This is where we have to draw the water from our faucet.
		So we were willing to pay that price.
		And we need to be able, we need to, we need to have that kind of courage again to pay the price for well-being goods that don't have these inherent terrible costs, the exploitation of labor and of the environment.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Let me head to Iowa.
		This is Mark on that same line for folks who work in manufacturing.
		Go ahead, Mark.
unidentified		Yeah, I worked for a packing house.
		It's owned by Smithfield here in Iowa.
		And Smithfield is a Chinese company now.
		They bought Smithfield 20 years ago, and it used to be Connagra Foods, and they sold to Smithfield.
		And Smithfield is one of the biggest pork producers in the United States.
		And it keeps our prices low because my grandfather retired from an armor plant, which was previously Carnagra.
		And they made more money on a loaf of bread or gallon of milk compared to what I was making when I retired.
		Thank you.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Rachel Slade, any thoughts on Mark's story?
unidentified		Yeah, you know, China has actually invested.
		So we did offshore so much of our economy to China.
		What's interesting is China's not the bogeyman here.
		And I don't think it's a positive thing to blame everything, all of our problems on China.
		Like we brought this upon ourselves, did we not?
		What's interesting is that when we exported our economy to China, China did come back and invest in the U.S.
		And so China, I believe, is the largest foreign holder of U.S. bonds.
		And of course, bonds support U.S. bonds support rebuilding in America, infrastructure, all kinds of things.
		And as you mentioned, of course, the Chinese have also used their incredible wealth to buy American companies.
		There was a great movie.
		I don't know if you can have access to it, but it was called, I believe it was called Factory, which was about an auto glass factory in the United States.
		It was actually purchased by a Chinese company.
		And it was really interesting to see the cultural differences.
		But yeah, I mean, we are part of the global economy.
		I don't know what else to add to that, but I do appreciate what you're saying.
		And I think it's important to understand that American industry, you know, can be held by foreign owners.
		A lot of it is.
		I don't think that's our biggest problem.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		On China, let me come back to tariffs for a second.
		You said you do believe in tariffs on finished goods or finished products.
		How much of the tariff regime that we've seen from the Trump administration in the past couple of months, how much of it is focused on finished goods versus the raw material?
unidentified		My understanding is that these are blanket tariffs and they seem punitive, right?
		So they're based on the idea that the other countries did this to us, that they should be penalized for having trade imbalances with us.
		And from my perspective and from what I have learned through manufacturers, that's not a positive way to approach this very serious problem that Americans have right now.
		Again, if we understand that we did this to ourselves by empowering corporations to basically dictate policy and lower the guardrails so that they could offshore and make much higher profit at our expense, that means that we need to start right here at home to fix these problems through policy.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Let me head to Mike in Rice Lake, Wisconsin Independent.
		Mike, thanks for waiting.
		You are on with Rachel Slade.
		Go ahead.
unidentified		Okay.
		Thanks for taking my call, John.
		So I have a couple.
		I have one comment and then one question.
		I own a small landscaping business in Rice Lake, Wisconsin.
		And an experience I had with trying to purchase a product like a shoulder bag either in the United States or China.
		This was probably five years ago at least.
		I had to buy 500 bags.
		And they asked me if I wanted to buy them in Texas or...
		overseas, and they said, well, I said I'd like to buy them in Texas, but they said well, they'll cost like almost three times as much.
		Yeah, so they were $40 a bag coming from Texas or $15 a bag coming from China, because they had plants in China also.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Which one did you go with, Mike?
unidentified		Good question.
unidentified		Well, I went with $7,500 from China instead of $20,000 from Texas.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Mike, were the bags made in Texas any better quality than the ones made in China?
unidentified		Well, I think the sample bags that they sent me first probably came from Texas because they had a plant there at their office, and the bags that I purchased that came from China were just like the sample bags, so I would assume the quality was the same.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Mike, hang on the line.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Rachel Slade, any follow-up questions?
unidentified		No, I hear you loud and clear, absolutely so.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What are your thoughts on?
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		On that story, Rachel Slade, and business owners making decisions like that?
unidentified		Yep, I mean, that happens all the time, every day.
		It's been happening for 30 years.
		These are the decisions that we're making every day.
		I can't blame you for for taking the lower cost option.
		Again, you know, there's the moral, ethical and and political question of, is that a good idea?
		The the cost of those bags though remember, is artificially deflated.
		Right, it comes from subsidies that the Chinese government gives to all of its industries to keep those costs very, very deflated, and this is a kind of long-term picture, but it's it.
		But the idea was originally to get us dependent on those goods coming from China and put us out of business.
		And man, have they done a great job again, this wasn't punitive.
		They want, they weren't punishing us, they were merely asserting themselves into the global economy as best they could, and these are the ways that they could do it.
		And so the question is, what are we going to do about it?
		Are we going to decide that this is such a serious problem that we need to bring American manufacturing back and, in doing so, raise prices but also raise wages at the same time, or do we just give up our hands and let go?
		You know what that doesn't sound American to me.
		We put people on the moon, we develop the IPhone.
		We've done incredible things.
		We take the hard road when we decide it's important.
		This is going to be a hard road.
		This is going to be difficult.
		This is reshaping, rebuilding our economy.
		But I do want to mention that all of this offshoring happened within my lifetime.
		I am not that old.
		This stuff went away.
		We've just spoken to several gentlemen who were in manufacturing.
		They got out, but they were in it.
		They made good livings.
		They were middle class.
		We can do this again, but it's going to require weaning ourselves off of really cheap stuff because that is super tempting.
		Basically, we're being offered things that prices we can't resist.
		And so we need to level a playing field.
		The prices need to return to the level to the real cost.
		And that's the purpose of tariffs.
		Because the real cost for that bag was probably $45.
		Or, you know, the Chinese bag that you said was $15, but it was actually the price is $45.
		That's the real cost of that bag.
		But it was artificially decided.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		How much do you buy American in your own life?
unidentified		A lot, a lot.
		And actually, it's been wonderful because trying to find American-made brands, which, by the way, has been somewhat of a hobby of mine at this point since I started doing this.
		I have met so many makers, so many Americans who understand these problems fundamentally deep in their heart.
		And so we are like politically aligned.
		We care very much about the environment.
		We care very much about how workers are treated.
		And so I've met all these wonderful people around the country who are now my friends.
		And I feel good when I receive a package from them.
		But I have to say, I thrift a lot.
		Like I buy a lot of used things.
		It's just part of what I do.
		And I don't buy a lot in general.
		I buy for quality, not for quantity.
		And I do want to say that there is a statistic that says that Americans over the past 20 years spend about the same amount of money for consumer goods, believe it or not.
		They're just buying a lot more.
		So we are volume buyers instead of quality buyers at this point.
		And I would ask viewers to think about the things that they're buying.
		Are you buying more because, well, it's less expensive and you can stock up.
		You can buy poorly made things because you know that there's just this flood of poorly made things that will continue to come to your door through Amazon and others.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		About 10 or 15 minutes left today.
		Rachel Slade is our guest, Making It in America is our book.
		And Jim is in Frederick, Maryland Democrat.
		Good morning.
unidentified		Good morning.
		Thanks for taking my call.
		I'm just concerned about the practicality and realistic of these sort of long-term goals that we have, because that's really what they are.
		I just feel that a lot of things that were talked about, I know China isn't necessarily the bad kid on the block, but I do think that I always think of China as China Inc.
		And in other words, they chose certain industries, especially at the high end, like solar panels or batteries that they had to source exclusive rights to mines in Africa, for example.
		I just don't know if America will ever be able to, from an industrial level, I shouldn't say from a federal level, to say, here are things we really want to invest in because we know they'll bring high-end jobs and improve the, you know, move us away from just service businesses.
		It all sounds great on paper, but it's a free market issue.
		And I do think that a lot of Americans are, I don't want to say, you know, living paycheck to paycheck.
		And I do agree we buy too much of low quality or low price versus less.
		But I just don't know if it's ever practically going to happen.
		It takes a long-term thought, and a lot of Americans are just not, as much as we're all Americans, we all like to get more for less.
		And to get Americans to change their attitude and practicality of it, I think is just unrealistic.
		So I guess my only question then would be is how can we achieve this sort of a change in America?
		I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.
		A lot of it sounds great if you're taking a class at a university about, boy, let's lay out a plan.
		But I just don't know if it's actually going to realistically be possible here in America.
		I don't mean to sound negative.
		I just don't know how easy it will be for us to be able to live with higher prices.
		Americans, just we want to get what we want for less.
		Just our nature.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Frederick Marilyn, Rachel Slade.
unidentified		Go ahead.
		Hi, Jim.
		Well, first of all, thank you for that.
		I know there are a lot of people who think this is difficult.
		I agree with you.
		I've been saying it for a long time.
		This is not easy.
		What are the things that are stopping us from doing it?
		And then what are the reasons why we should?
		You know, those are two things that I think we need to teach each other.
		But in terms of the practicality, let's think about the CHIPS Act, for example.
		The CHIPS Act actually was about bringing high-tech manufacturing back to the United States.
		And it provided tax incentives and all kinds of incentives to get people reinvested in high-tech manufacturing here in the U.S.
		It worked.
		It worked.
		You can argue with me what it worked.
		There was billions of dollars, some of it foreign investment, coming into the United States because we're a huge consumer economy and people wanted to manufacture here.
		They wanted the products made here.
		So that worked.
		We know it can work.
		But these can't be kind of, these can't be political decisions.
		These can't be things that kind of blow with the wind.
		You know, we need policy that feels firm, that's on firm footing.
		And that will require, I think, Americans to start looking around and saying, we're all in this together, all of us.
		There's been so much divisive rhetoric that's pulling us apart, making us see differences where probably there aren't any.
		And it's turning us against each other, which then makes this kind of effort very difficult.
		So I hear your pessimism because the rhetoric right now is divisive.
		It's difficult to see how benefiting my fellow Americans in all, you know, in all colors and stripes all around the nation would actually benefit me.
		But then I remember that these are taxpayers.
		These are people who care about the air and the water because they're breathing the same air, they're drinking the same water.
		I think we need to start finding common ground among all of us and start to think about the common good.
		Why are we American?
		What is special about being American?
		I agree with you.
		These are difficult problems given the rhetoric, the level of rhetoric right now that we're hearing online and sorry, on TV.
		It's difficult to hear that stuff.
		And certainly social media elevates these angry voices, these divisive voices.
		But again, when I talk to manufacturers, when I talk to people in manufacturing, when I talk to workers all around the country, we have so much more in common than we have difference.
		And so I hope that since you're watching this program, you care.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		you give a damn and that means other people care those voices need to be elevated at this point we need to come together it can happen but the rhetoric needs to change in my opinion that's where we can start just a few minutes left with rachel slade this morning her 2024 book making it in america your previous book into the raging sea what was that about Oh, thank you.
unidentified		So in 2015, an American container ship called the El Faro sailed straight into a hurricane when it was carrying goods between Jacksonville, Florida, and Puerto Rico.
		She sailed straight into a hurricane and went down.
		She went down deeper than the Titanic, 15,000 feet of water, killing all 33 mariners aboard.
		And I was shocked that in 2015 we could lose a container ship with all the sophisticated navigation and weather reporting gear on board.
		It was a fascinating story for me, but it also introduced me to the supply chain issues and how vulnerable we are to something as fragile as shipping.
		And it also introduced me to the fact that we don't control shipping anymore.
		Americans gave up shipbuilding.
		We gave up our own shipping.
		You probably know that China has a very robust government subsidized shipbuilding and port building program.
		These are programs that Americans used to have.
		My whole realization was that when you control shipping, you control your trade, you control your future.
		And so that's where this whole concern about American manufacturing began.
		And it also raised my awareness about the importance of unions and the role of unions throughout history in supporting American workers.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		What was your conclusion on the causes to that ship going down?
unidentified		There were multiple reasons why that ship went down.
		It takes a lot to sink a 790-foot container ship.
		One of the major problems was that ship was actually very old.
		It had been built in 1975 and its life-saving equipment had been grandfathered in.
		So they had open lifeboats on that ship, just like you would see on the Titanic instead of the enclosed lifeboats.
		So that was one problem.
		These guys were working with very old equipment.
		Another problem was that the captain felt a lot of pressure to deliver goods on time.
		And unfortunately, that's kind of where we are sometimes, that American companies just put a huge amount of pressure on workers instead of considering their workers as stakeholders in this operation.
		So the captain knew the storm was there.
		He knew he was sailing into it, but he thought he was going to be like a corporate hero by doing the corporation's bidding.
		And then finally, the final question or the final problem was just climate change, where we have these major hurricanes really coming out of nowhere and then sit.
		So when you have a hot ocean, hurricanes don't move.
		They sit and they dump water on you.
		And that's why we're seeing a lot of flooding during hurricane season on the coast these days.
		And in this case, it was a small, powerful hurricane that just sat where it was and churned up the water and churned up the air and ate a ship.
		As horrible as it sounds, it was a terrible hurricane.
		And we're actually coming up on the 10th anniversary of the loss of the Alfaro this October, October 1st, 2025.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		You can read that story in the book Into the Raging Sea, Rachel Slade's latest book, Making It in America.
		Time for just a couple more calls here before the end of our program.
		This is Paul in New York, Republican.
		Thanks for waiting.
unidentified		Hi, thanks for taking my call.
		I live in upstate New York, and back in the 90s, I worked at General Electric, and we had two manufacturing plants up this way.
		And the CEO of our company was a guy named Jack Walsh, and his push was to stop paying these high wages, you know, to people that lived in the United States.
		So they moved all the plants.
		And the reason they moved all the plants, ours went to Juarez, Mexico.
		And the reason they moved all the plants is because it was profitable.
		And the way it was made possible was through Congress.
		Congress, bipartisan, passed NAFTA.
		They also passed these trade deals with China that made it possible for what's going on today to go on today.
		So it's kind of hard.
		I mean, I really appreciate you coming on and discussing this, but I don't see how the average American worker is ever going to get any kind of manufacturing that'll pay a living wage when both parties are in the pocket of big business.
		Big business is what runs this country.
		Speech is now donations.
		So, you know, that's my comment.
		Good luck.
		I'm totally with you.
		I'm totally with you 100%.
		That is the problem.
		There was a time, it's hard to believe, but there was a time when Congress worked for the American people.
		They didn't want to pass environmental and labor laws.
		They didn't want to.
		They had to, because the American people were the voice and they were working for us.
		And I completely agree with you.
		So what are we going to do about it?
		I'm asking you.
		How can we change that?
		Because you're right.
		Corporations and money have outsized power in our government.
		We need to change that.
		So let's vote that way.
		But I agree with you.
		That's a major problem.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		Many of these issues taken up in the book, Making It in America, the Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the USA and how it got that way.
		Rachel Slade is the author.
		We appreciate your time this morning on the Washington Journal.
		Come back again and we'll talk about it down the road.
unidentified		Thank you.
		I would love to.
		It's been a pleasure.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼		And that's going to do it for us this morning.
		We'll, of course, be back here tomorrow morning.
		It is 7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific.
		In the meantime, have a great Monday.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		He was on C-SPAN 1.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		That's a big upgrade, right?
unidentified		But I've read about it in the history books.
		I've seen the C-SPAN footage.
		If it's a really good idea, present it in public view on C-SPAN.
rachel maddow ▲ ● ▼		Every single time I tuned in on TikTok or C-SPAN or YouTube or anything, there were tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people watching.
unidentified		I went home after the speech and I turned on C-SPAN.
unidentified		I was on C-SPAN just this week.
patty murray ▲ ● ▼		To the American people, now is the time to tune in to C-SPAN.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼		They had something $2.50 a gallon.

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