ten minutes. .. i am cur >> good evening. i'm cody becker. it's been an amazing year. i first got involved in the fall of 2023. i'm currently the team leader.

mckayla served as mccarthy's chief of staff and council. i learned so much at the congressional level. having to share some rarely shared insights from the senior staff has been truly unique. growing up in seattle, i wasn't familiar with anything else than in my area. he was the representative of california from 2027-2023. he served two terms as a member of the california state assembly before being elected to the u.s. house in 2006. mccarthy served at the house republican chief deputy whip in

2009-2011 and house majority whip from 2009-2014. in 2014 he was elected house majority leader and later served as house minority leader as well. he was elected to the speakership in january of 2023. following his remarks, the former speaker will take your questions in a discussion moderated by mo, the executive director. you can join the conversation by tagging at gupolitics. welcoming please join me in welcoming former speaker of the house, kevin mccarthy. [applause] it is a great crowd this close >> good evening. great crowd at the end of the semester. on the other on the 2t

at the stamp at midnight. [laughter] thank you for being here. as we were talking about backstage a big focus on the institute this year has been around the topic of trusting democracy. we are seeing a poll after poll after poll shows americans not just americans but people across europe, latin america are losing faith in the institution, the associated press had a poll just last week that showed only three in 10 americans believe our

nation's democracy is functioning well. our own poll taken last month says 81% of americans believe democracy is actively under threat. so i want to dig into that a little bit tonight. i have got some thoughts on that that i want to ask you about. i also want to hear yours. we are going to have a conversation for a little bit and about the halfway mark we went to fight all of you should join the conversation. as always the speaker has graciously agreed to take student questions as well. but i want to start there before start throwing out my theories. why do you think americans trust in democracy? >> first of all thank you for being here. i think that's a number of

reasons. you've got to think about democracy itself. it is still the greatest form of government. because it was designed itself it's not fast, it's not overly efficient in certain manners as reasons why people have lack of trust in epic meanwhile the start happened after the pentagon papers during the vietnam war. used it really trust your government. you've got social media, no longer do we just have three tv stations that provide you news, you can go home and get your news from an outlet philosophically agrees with you. it does not matter what position you take and does not matter if you're republican or democrat or a more progressive or more far rhetoric i can ins msnbc instead

of the others. when they are providing are not providing news they are providing opinions. you're not hearing somebody and how effective has congress and the senate been the last little bit? i has been compounded. social media as a whole another aspect to it. and then i would say from this perspective there is another of other reasons it may people begin to question. you slowly have had since the year 2000 every time a publican ran or won a presidency for the first time i got challenged on the floor. then you had republicans challenge the last or present you are generally six. but you have had that go on and governor races and others. he would not pick up on it at

first then we had covid. anytime something coalbed happens is like once in 100 years or others those go to the power of democracy itself. historic study if someone is a leader and it's eight democracy you will lose. it is so changing of your self into the institution itself. the only real leader that sustains itself is inside politics. structure dictates behavior. when covid hit we didn't know what it was. and so the world didn't know what it was hard to react with policy mix at the same time. so in congress the next thing they did i was opposed to it but they would call proxy voting.

it was only going to be used if you had covid. so you did not to fly to vote but you did not want to lose your votes you can vote by proxy. you would think that's a good idea. i was opposed to it. i thought it would be taken further. then they can keep it in the rate we are pascoe in june how people would use it? it didn't matter if you had cody signed a piece of paper as a person at some movie stars wedding in france there is a guy voting on a boat on vacation and he phones in. and it took itself. but this is what happened with it. members weren't talking to each other. and then because of covid made a special rule that they don't want to go through committee in congress you work all the time to get on the committee of that jurisdiction the bill goes randyfight hard for it and peopo lose because some people are home voting another way. how serious are they looking at

it? it compounds all of that and. you do not have news provided, this is the information you have an opinion is going to go from one side to the other. if social media providing something very quickly there's no editor in charge of what somebody says. i have seen a lot of things tired. you got people challenging presidential races and others on both sides of the aisle. technically i have the right to do that. but now it just becomes aware no matter where we are united states of america refers to states is red or blue. and they define you all that weight. it's not just the trusting of democracy, you trust your bank? you trust people down the street but you judge them. how i can hear them say i don't trust them because that person is a different party that i am,

right? are my kids would come back know you just didn't do it right, which one is it? >> i will be upset if my child married outside my film the blank. faith, race, political party political party exceeded faith and races. i guess that is progress. [laughter] but i find that nuts in many ways. to your point people have that visceral reaction. >> given you took people within their own party and define what your party stands for you if they couldn't agree. and they would fight among

themselves. to five or six parties in congress. if i just had my own party that eight people not in it i would still be speaker. [laughter] were going to get to that. [applause] you touched on a lot of things that i want to get to hear. let me start. you talk about people challenging elections. let's start with trust in elections in our most recent poll about 60% of people have some level of doubt the 2024 election will be held fairly and about half of those i feel completely certain it will not be held fairly. and so let's go back to 2020 for a moment.

do you believe joe biden won that election? >> can you explain the rationale behind your vote on january 6 regarding certification of the election? >> and report certification of election is and remember 2020. what happened prior to 2020? covid. have we ever had in election during covid? what transpired states just like congress started during their balloting different. right? you had california said i'm going to send everybody a ballot. you people making decisions is it fair when let you correct the

ballot in another does not. the only time you have a question which are very honest with everyone else. if i was successful and my vote for challenging the last election, who would be president today? joe biden. we get elected by electoral college. we never objected to enough vote that would change the outcome. but that's not the same case to the election a transpired in 2000. or 2006. the problem being you see this progress over time. what would nancy pelosi tell you when they first objected? she said this was your only time to do it. it is to rule the government. but you have covid on top of it. we didn't challenging california of europe from there and everyone got a ballot and they moved so often the lesson for families they do not clean up the rules. if you look at l.a. one point to million more people on the ballot then who are old enough

to register to vote there. because they don't clean the roles. when you transfer what happened in 2020. in 2020 if you look at that election you look at how close it was biden won that election by 48918 votes. 48918 votes. a lot of the states were very close. so to me that's not a problem especially when you're living in the world of covid and people are making others. at your only time to question did it happen? and in a democracy where the cornerstones of the democracy is your ability to question something. and if you don't question it are you more likely to believe it or not? if you are denied that ability then you're really going to assume. we're coming off of also come you got bush/gore in florida.

you have got georgia. you have got the challenge of the 2016 race. you got hilary clinton who said she one. you had jimmy carter said that hilary one. you have hakeem the democratic leader said trump is an illegitimate president. you had invited and who agreed with that. you had it built upon all of this and then you have an unbelievable covid experience people literally change election laws. legislatures could not meet. when else would you be able to raise the question? >> in 2,002,016 it's no surprise there were here there were folks who challenged the election very quickly challenged ohio. >> with democratic nominee had already conceded the race.

and it was a few people. it was not a majority of the democratic conference doing it. i bring up that distinction because in 2020 the income but was still actively trying to make the case that it was not over. and it fueled some of that number that i read. it fueled some of people's distrust in the election. winds everyone said it was hunky-dory. that show of force the income but is still pushing it does that not lead to some of the distrust? >> would hilary push it to she conceded progress note, she will say that i will read your quotes were she said you could run the best campaign, you can win and get the most votes in that whenn party of former president jimmy

carter. joe biden was in 2016 was delivery had a race for georgia for governor who said no but yot the former governor of virginia whose the dnc chair questioning that answer. the one point i would raise to you -- mike those who question the race when george bush won challenged ohio. had they been successful bush would not be president. had republicans who challenge the 2020 race been successful in their two challenges joe biden will be president. when i have the same electoral vote that came out but challenging something doesn't mean you're overturning something. a challenge is a challenge. is there something wrong here? that's the point. a member of congress is elected

by themselves but does not matter if someone says something else. i'm sure all of that helps i'm e short brought more votes. but, remember where the country was that as well. we had been at this point i don't bush/gore you remember them storming into the belt to remember looking at the guy within bible with a hanging chad went to the supreme court to make the decision. these are all added into the question where are they so close? and, having covid on top of it raise the question higher. what's let's talk about what happened in the middle of that day. the assault on the capitol, the insurrection. i guess one of the things i still struggle with as i look at that day reaction ever since honestly even until today are the number of people who are

willing to excuse it. to apologize for it. with many of them some very high profile people referring to those people as hostages, the defendants as hostages. at a time will we are spending a lot of time talking about the rule of law is that normalizing that kind of political violence? that kind of rhetoric? >> set insight of january 6. i got removed from the capitol. they broke into my office. i did not leave my office until they were coming through the window. what happened on generally sixth was wrong. i don't apologize for any the people did it. it was not right in any way, shape, or form. it was not right we had a couple

months before people protesting appointment to the supreme court and pounding on her door and trying to get into the supreme court. i do not like the idea that after the fact they tried to politicize it and screen into the weight of their own beliefs in their own style. if it was truly you believed it was as bad as that why it wouldn't you, as speaker from house with everything you have ever done let the minority leader appoint the republican to investigate just as you let them appoint a democrat. for the first time in history will move it to perform. he was the first person to ask to have a bipartisan commission to look at what happened on january 6? me. due to its interesting? and it's another reason i have a problem break the eye was the minority leader at the time. the sgt of arms. the sheriff of the capitol have ever met that man?

no. on that day they had warnings with the fbi and everything else to think he came to tell me for that members this could be a problem that day. nope. but with members can talk in front of the capitol the parking attendant told the members there could be a problem. the sgt of arms did not warn us. when this transpired, they literally had the guards move me out the sgt of arms ever call me? maybe two days later, no. he reported to one person. he made the policing of the capitol to be political. drive down structure dictates behavior. that should not be the case. just like speaker pelosi told me i cannot appoint certain members to the committee to investigate she would pick who could be. how are you going to the bottom know it's true or not? how do you start the premise was saying everything is open except the speakers communication with

the sgt of arms that day. what type of answer are you going to get? if you really want to know the answer. >> so would you say to folks today who are downplaying what happened on that day? or defending the people storm the capitol quest request on the defendant people storm the capitol but defending the due process for how long if we are now sitting almost four years later, or the city in jail in not having the ability to go to court? are they being treated fairly? i think that is a greater question that i hear from people on the other side. >> i don't to spend we have a lot of material to cover and i keep getting the signed were going to move to student questions. i want to talk a little bit -- reckless talk a little bit more about congress. the gallup approval rating last month showed 12%.

>> at the lowest it has ever been. >> i'm no longer speaker. consider that would happen. [laughter] make in the institution one of the few institutions that's less improper than major party nominees for president right now. >> is kind of hard. talk about your experience. upon winning the majority, running for speaker in that marathon. was it good tv? affect first felt when we tie this i served 17 years i loved every single day. i serve speaker i looked every everyone. the highest and the lowest. there's two philosophies i have every day want to learn something new and i could never activity friends. i am a republican but is not born into a republican family is born a democrat out my center to georgetown i had no ability to get into georgetown.

my family did not have great wealth. my father was a fire fighter and priest of his days off. i was the youngest but we got out of high school couldn't go away to college i went to junior college. they instilled in me a work ethic. i never give up. i met this guy he had a liquor store was selling beer under hb had a car dealer's license 11 the city in california i talked him into an lp a 100 bucks if you take me to the l.a. car auction. you got to be a dealer to get into the big auction. i started buying and selling cars and flipping them to pay met with your college it's illegal but i don't know when i'm doing it. we go to junior college you visit your buddies a bit because my best or was it stanford i go to the grocery store to cash the checks of money for the week. lo and behold as i'm cashing this check the day before the lottery started in california so i bought a lottery ticket and i won the lottery. could you believe that?

put yourself in my place as 1985 was 5000 don't distort before bided so there is money. just a joke. [laughter] brightman 5000 bucks and you spend time until what i come back and get my brother and sister each a hundred bucks i put the majority of the rest of the money into one stock i do pretty well any 30%. next semester take a break from school. i go on and tried to buy a franchise no one will sell me when i'm only 20 years old. i open my own deli and i do pretty well. so about two years i have enough money i can pay my own way through college. so i go to cal state the local paper sit entered in washington d.c. at my local college. i don't know the man i thought he be lucky to have me. so i applied regina what he did?

[laughter] he turned me down to it of the into the story? i got elected i cannot he had entered before i begin the 55th speaker of the house but only in america could that happen. [applause] i got to be leader for five years. they were tough year for republican. in those election years republicans lost the presidency. they lost both the cycles of the sentence we lost governors in the statehouse. but in congress we won both times but i tell you the moment i became a leader. paul had left, president trump did state of the universe i go and i walked out on the floor and at the state of the mcgill republicans on one side, democrats on the other. everybody wears a certain color one side stands up, the other side stands up and i am sitting

there there side stands up it looks like you, looks like america every different walk of life. i look over it as we stand up we look like the most restricted country club in america. and i kind of slumped down i'm either going to be the leader of the climbing party or have to open this party up somewhere else. i'm very proud of the fact those two election cycles were elected most republicans minorities ever before. that's our ability to wait in places. what i got elected leader pelosi got elected speaker. we both come from the same state of california donald trump lost california by 5 million votes. how many congressional seats did pelosi add to her majority when she became speaker from california? not when she lost five we 15. new york, arizona, washington.

the parties found something different. how i come to this party is relieved abraham lincoln, teddy roosevelt and reagan. he will find in d.c. i walk alll the way down to lincoln i walk up i always read the gettysburg address trip for score seven years ago our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation. conceived in liberty and dedicated proposition that we are all equal. in the end fleet of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish. think for one moment what lincoln was saying. we were fighting one another but he knew we would sustain ourselves with the democracy of we the people it is more powerful than anything else would he act out about democracy remember but the most important thing when he writes in their

and dedicate the proposition we are all equal. name me one other nation in the world goes conceived in liberty. we strive to be a more perfect union. we are not perfect. we have an ability to do it is not pretty. so when something goes wrong we shouldn't say the whole system is wrong. we have a system that allows us to correct that to improve and that. we should be honest about what is wrong with the system and honest about getting to the bottom of the answer. and if you have a democracy don't think it's elected officials that are going to solve the problem that's all those combined. >> you made a lot of concessions from the negotiations. quickset is such a misnomer and life. let me give you the truth. [laughter] gave the truth while i am not speaker. because one person, and member

of congress when we to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17 year old an ethics complaint was started before i ever became speaker that's illegal and i'm not going to get did he do it or not? i don't know but ethics is looking at it but there's othere in jail because of it. and he wanted me too influence it. they come out and say because like they cap government open i do it all over again. not going to pay our troops you can't do the job. when it comes to the concession the motion to vacate one person to make that motion how long is that been in the rules? forever. the only time it changes on pelosi became speaker the second time. she put the power with the minority leader. i think it is wrong. let them govern. it takes 218 for that rule packets are something i could do there. i have five people who never voted for me anyway in the

process. at eight at the end. everyone had to live by it, i lived by it i think today if you go back to the people who voted they think that's a smart boat? i don't think so. i had the choice of having that motion to vacate would put the cards and walk away, no i made everybody stand up. i think historically it will be viewed as a very sad thing to happen to our congress. >> is now talk it could happen to the speaker. >> no, two things. the dems would never let it happen. do you want another inside story? what's not this crowd. i knew i needed to in the majority by 20 what's right have a problem. so i knew on election i had a problem i had tried for speaker before i made a bet interviewed had to pull out. i'd never lost the race.

i thought i was best prepared for the job. so, people trying to come and push it and i kept going. pelosi was speaker at the time the election was over we are having a meeting and she said but the votes i said no i've got this problem they want to come back with a motion to vacate her just give it to them, just give it to them. we will never vote for that we will table that every time. when it became time she changed her mind. when you went through the fight i had to go through 15 rounds. it's okay. i think it was a point if 96% of the conference decide this is the person why are you allowing for percent?

his son about me being gone but because those eight that partnered with the democrats the conference is in disarray. there is no consequence and no rules. 96% of the country said this person won the election but for people set of never going to support them. in eight democracy and a republican who has the power. two standing mics, start to line up. were going to put your questions very shortly. i have a lot more that i have not gotten to i may try to sprinkle them and periodically. as you guys are lining up staying on this thread for a moment marjorie taylor greatest threatening to try to do is to speaker johnson the same thing and it's around ukraine finding my question is should the house

fund is speaking of democracy should devote to give aid to ukraine if they don't presidents linsky said the lose the war and if they do to speaker johnson lose his job? >> is what we should have started with. what marjorie taylor greatest of the same thing as what matt gaetz did there's no inside thie politics as to voice introduce that you make it privileged what has to come up. merger taylor green did not do that. it's not exactly the same for what she's doing is raising an issue. which as a legislator has a right to do if you read through what she is saying and i've always found this with marjorie you should sit down and talk to her. she is not rigid. you come to an agreement.

river the government is designed one party does not control all party hacked of compromise. i am really worried at what the world looks like. and you should be worried. is anybody in here a history major? it's like 1930s. when you have access of evil partnered together to fight democracy. you have italy, germany and japan. when was the last time you had somebody? if you look at putin many of the exact same actions. hitler served in the german army and world war i. he hated his leadership signed the treaty. so much in world war ii he brought the same rail car back. what does hitler do? he created a new party and he

ran in a democracy again, and again, and again until he took the power to change it. he rebuilt his military. the world power said nothing because they thought they kept the economist at bay. what did they do? then would they do? create the access. then he told the entire world is going take the rest of czechoslovakia on a given day. world power can no longer ignore. hitler loved it equalized him to the world power. world peace for our time hitler sees weakness. and plans a year later involves poland and world war iii begins in the world is changed forever. putin does not serve in the soviet military betty serves in the kgb.

when gorbachev died two years ago he wouldn't attend the funeral. what he do? he learned military makes you strong but dependency makes you a pretty rebuilt his military base on the natural resources of russia. an old pipeline that goes through uses kgb tactics to push europe to buy more natural gas. he no longer wants by the dividends to them so what is he do? proposes a new pipeline not to go to the country to go to the ocean. local says great. the only country to put sanctions on it is america. what does he do under the offices of president bush, president obama? he invades other countries, georgia. the world power sanctions he gets away with it.

every president is going to get pressured when they commend. he's threatened. before he got the meeting he went to the olympics in china to create the access the partnership with china, north korea and with iran. and then what happened at that meeting? bite and lifted all the sanctions. he watched her fall of afghanistan would ukraine be just as fast for 2015 i went to ukraine as a member of congress. russia had invaded. i wash apart the ukrainian -- up tough ukraine people thought. the russian tanks had nothing but they're still holding them back. so went to the white house with a bipartisan group to meet with the people in charge of ukraine that is vice president biden. i set with republican democrat members and i advocated could we

sell them javelins? a defensive weapon to stop tanks. joe biden told me no, local would not like this. let's do this let's train it on him and keep it in poland so we can move it. they said no, can't do that. we should fund ukraine. the same purpose we should secure our own border. i disagree people in america city can only do one of the other. you have a government you have to find compromising. but parties want both. why can she make that agreement that we make every day? i am worried if putin is successful you're going to get the push everywhere else as well. >> was good to student questions i will sprinkle an occasional. and occasional. your name, but you are studying.

>> nice to meet you. i'm from new jersey i'm studying foreign service i'm a first year. i appreciate your comments especially just said about ukraine. my question is about bipartisanship. in particular in the senate on the house. a lot of major bipartisan members of the senate are leaving in 2024. mitt romney, kyrsten sinema, jon john chester might be on the rock who knows. my point is even though we are a very polarized country right now politically on the face of things, these members of the senate have been pushing through a lot of bipartisan legislation which might stave off the decks of polarization and the actual body at what you think the future bipartisan legislation looks like in the senate once these members leave?

>> i like everybody talk about i would work out with distance and met she's very smart does an amazing job. people leave for a lot of reasons for the number one thief don't run for reelection is when they can't win. back in your own district when you determine that. you're always going have bipartisanship. just because a bill says it's bipartisan does not mean it is good. one designed to have compromised. so what you really want, what i love i love schoolhouse rock but want the bill to go to committee. when i became speaker it was the first time in seven years we had was called an open role which you probably think happens every day but think about seven years. all four years speaker pelosi and the time of paul ryan. never did the bill come to the floor were any member and in congress could offer an

amendment. you represent all these people why can't they have a voice? i think it's more the structure the names were not rewarding that type of work. right? how we get our news is a big problem. who is your favorite people? what do you want an elected official? you say i want someone to work with both sides of the with the snow it shows up on the ballot. we also have so many races that are not competitive anymore so it's all about a primary. on both sides going for that the other way and makes it harder. our government is designed this way. it's been worse in other ways. it is more about redistricting inside the house. with the senate there is no redistricting. it will rock back and forth. if you look in her early career

he's not the same mitt romney he was today. is what i recommend you to read. adam is a professor if you have us philosophical belief is that wrong? no. that's intellectual. you should challenge yourself on that. today society someone got more information to set have a different opinion on this, the country would go after you. so thank you. >> thank you for coming and answering questions. i am setting government, i am a senior. you talk a little bit about hanging chad's and inconsistencies across the country when it comes to

elections. but under your leadership of the republican party blocked every turn democratic attempts to standardize elections across the country. you your self after generate 26yuan to mar-a-lago and stood beside a person who come after many frivolous lawsuits were thrown out you said this is still the guy who should be leading our party. do you feel you have turned your back on democracy to any degree? >> thank you for the question. [applause] we have distrust and democracy. if i let your questions stand and answer the way it was, then people would think what you said was true. so that is unfair so i have to challenge you back not in a disrespectful way.

the first premise is we denied any election changed in that answer is no. we actually proposed a lot i was in the minority at the time. we could not get through. if you look at my job's speakership we ran a whole new bill that was going through it opened up more. you said i stood as such it should i go to mar-a-lago yes i did not say that at mar-a-lago. so that's not true i have another philosophy. whether i like you or dislike you if something bad happens in your life i want to be the first person to call you. because one thing i learned in life is we have too many facebook friends we don't have real friends. the first thing it happens when something bad happens in your life everybody abandons you. i want to call you not to help it i just want to know how you're doing as a person. i do that on both sides of the do not pick i think as a person of who i am i'm going to do that.

you can say anything you want about me going to mar-a-lago. i simply got a phone call i was on the doing a fundraiser. what i can buy into the president, yes. i think all the attention would go out? no. with the back story behind that one too? i get asked if i could come by and see. i like president trump. we have good relationships we yelled each other at times, we have bad relationships at times. but, it might relationship with him i do not criticize them on tv it doesn't make any difference but i'll tell him exactly what i think. i think that's the respectful thing to do a lot of times he heard things from him i know what to do but if i'm going to be a real friend i should tell him exactly. we had had heated conversations prior to this i happened to be in palm beach at that time they asked me too come i couldn't come for dinner and come by for lunch. i say yes. like 30 minutes later the "new york times" has it.

i thought i was going to go by and no one is going to know. now the press is all rather arod trying to build something into it. i go in and sit down for months forcing the president said is did you leak this? i said no i did these integer staff leak this question said no i didn't tell my staff. to think my staff leak this? i said no is it her to think leak to? i sent you. [laughter] he looked at me and said it's good for both of us should know. [laughter] you endorse them this time you endorsed them before the iowa caucus. >> yes. >> despite everything that happened post january 6 and everything we've been talking but you still think he's the best person to leader democracy? >> he is much more than our current president joe biden but let me make my case. we can have a strong difference

of opinion. >> we do. [laughter] but let's do this. i have served under both. and i have a watch -- what happened in afghanistan never should have happened. i am in the gang of eight. at the exact same reason. the decisions that were made how we left americans behind is going to set our country back for the next two decades. it has moved our alleys closer allies closerto china and every. inflation. and i am sorry, not one of you sat in the room that i know of and negotiated bills with the current president. this is different than being the mayor. this is different than anything else. this is the leader of the free

world. i sit with other foreign leaders. i know what they say when they sit with president biden. and i am sorry. even if the entire room as democrat and they want to vote as democrat if i asked you privately you'd pick someone else too, wouldn't you? this is serious. if joe biden is elected, but can'tcarry out his entire presi. i also know who's running on our side. when i made a decision who do i think or do the best job? yes i've seen it. i know where we would be stronger. he evacuated five embassies. we have got war in europe.

one of the greatest strength is our natural resources. do you know american natural gas, how did russia become so strong? that's all there natural gas to europe. if you realize if we replace american national gas with a russian natural gas just in europe for one year we would lower emissions by 218 million-ton. 40% cleaner. this president stops our ability to sell more of it. what is that due to our economy? what is it due to the world environment? i answered with both people. it is not a hard decision for me. i think i am making my vote based upon the america i want to leave for you. and i think you'll have less opportunity. we've got a debt crisis is going to hit that we could no longer ignore. the president is making politics out of medicare and social security will not leave debated.

you can't do that. we've got to wake up. we are all in this together. you can criticize and have a different opinion i will respect your opinion that one thing we respect each other's opinion. based on your beliefs. remember the other comes from their belief the great thing about our country is we can believe something different but we feel that based on her own experiences. based on my experiences work with both the hard decision for a quick size bigger mccarthy plates thank you for speaking with us today. i am a senior in the college majoring in physics and classics. my question for you is in light of recent failure to pass by partisan border legislation in ukraine after four president trump oppose the bill, do you see a single individual power to

effectively derail census building is the functioning of the legislative branch of government? >> you would say trump has the power whether comes the floor or not. the speaker has the power. this is what i would do. i had a very difficult situation. being speaker was tough i knew i had the debt ceiling prevents a serious issue. we could shut government down, side big deal. you cannot fault on the debt ceiling. as speaker, you've got to have a strategy. he would also this is the best white world to bring the four leaders together and solve it, would that be nice? that's the wrong thing to do with the speaker. remember i am sitting with a majority of six. the democrats control the white house.

if you are the majority you've got to use the majority. i'm going to go negotiate with the president. that's the best young going to get paid because the press will probably agreed to things hakim and schumer's eric. but if the president agrees they have to vote for. let's not play games of this. i want to come to an agreement there are certain things i could do certain things not. let's talk about it or not but the country in chaos. good idea. i would probably do the same thing. don't do that with kevin he can't pass anything. push it up to the deadline he will fold. i said no i go to the press every day and talk about it. then i got my conference about for something. forty-eight hours later he calls. what does he do? smart move on his part he brings the other leaders, but why they

could say no and kevin can't do anything so would i have to do customer got to blow the meeting out. the first meeting of the oval three very professional leaders in most kind of a jerk. i had to get the others out of the room so i could negotiate one on one. if you look at the end of the day what we agreed to come to trillion welfare reform, have not been for years. these are the things you never would have gotten i think if you look at when you are successful usually divided government helps to be successful. if you go back to bill clinton and newt gingrich you balance the budget. they had to come together to use the other side.

now, what should have happened if i was speaker it would have happened. pretty would've cap thenext mon. i wanted ukraine but i knew ukraine was very important to the president. what i did what i did spend in the government i added disaster in there. we had a terrible fire in hawaii. remember that, and molly? i wanted that out of anybody's utilizing it. i wanted ukraine by itself with the border. i don't care where you are, the border is a problem. do you know how many chinese dissidents we've caught so far this year? just the ones we have cots, 22000. you go back two years before it be like 200. anybody here on the terrorist watch list? i would assume notes from her to get on it. do you know it last february more people in the terrorist watch list at one month and we'd caught the last four years. you don't know who's coming

across, you've got a problem. i believe democrats, i don't disbelieve it i know it because they have come to me, please do something on the border for us because we'll save me and my election. then have the willpower to vote for something on their own. if it was in a package together. the speaker should sit out the president and negotiating it out. bridget trickled to the floor. that the sign of strength in both positions and that's what should happen. >> think you speaker mccarthy my name is jason goodman i'm in both positions and that's what should happen. >> think you speaker mccarthy my name is jason goodman i'm a master public policy and fellow dodger fan. for president trump often uses rhetoric images or poison the blood of our country like hitler who i know you referenced earlier. can you explain why you believe

such inflammatory rhetoric about immigrants is the best person to lead our country? was i don't know what he said that exact quote are not going to challenge you. >> yes many times for. >> i have never heard him say that. look, my grandfather came from italy. my great grandfather. we are a country based upon immigrants. it's a strength within our in our nationthat we unite toge. you want to waive that with the president who does not secure the border at all. i've hanging in my office the ellis island papers of my grandfather coming here at age 16. he's asking for a better life. you have a system that actually works. to support somebody go through one 100% of what they said i can come back with all these things

about joe biden and you support him. nobody is perfect. i'm a member of congress. i'm able to vote what i think is proper or improper i think the country is based upon our laws or rules. so people can have a difference of opinion but i don't think that is what president trump believes. never heard of it. >> hi i am studying computer science and political science. i just wanted to ask when did you find out about trumps the fake scheme and why did you not do anything to stop it? >> when i found out the fake electric scheme? i didn't know he had a fake electric scheme. i met with him after the election. i talked about what to do -- where to put the library. he could run later the next time.

i don't know this i've never found out about it. so from that perspective i do not know. >> i think we have got time for one more request i will stay here longer people keep asking. i don't have a job anymore. [laughter] >> us go over here. >> i am from mchenry's district. >> good man. >> yes i have a fun question and a serious question for the fun went will be why did you pick mchenry? i this could also be fun. we talk about democracy and the threat to democracy. he of the weaponization committee you did in the beginning. can you talk about the weaponization of the judiciary system? the $98 million president trump us had to pay for legal fees and how that can be a threat to democracy? >> it is a good discussion. we can come back and have the spirit you think of a threat to democracy i imagine most of

generally six would that be fair? let me ask you this question is it upset threat to democracy if you keep somebody off the ballot? just because you don't like them. that's a big threat to democracy. that is been happening in this election. it's it a threat to democracy if you use the court system to try to stop? some could be right, some could be wrong. you would think some of these cases seemed like it's happening that way. that's the debate on all sides. the weaponization committee was created go to the heart of your first question but democracy itself. people are on all sides of believing we have got a problem. if you just ignored it gets worse. so i create a committee. then another committee i created was the select committee on china. it's been an excellent

committee. >> no, paying a million dollars. what about this, there's a major story that comes out from a major newspaper and people who serve in the government from the cia director and others tell you

it's russia's falsity right before an election and then utilize social media to say you cannot reprint or post a newspaper article, would that be a threat to democracy? that happened the last election. you know what happened after the election, everything they said they came back and said that's not true. that really is hunter biden's laptop and those 51 people who are top security clearance when you ask them why did you say that, well, the guy who is the secretary of state today who wasn't secretary of state then called me and told me to write it down. that's a threat to democracy. so when you become speaker you have to put a letter in if something was to happen to you,

right? the whole idea hang over and i had put a list in and i could rate everybody, nobody knows it, nobody sees what it is. two weeks prior i called patrick one night and i thought in a different way. i'm thinking strategically who to i want in the chair but also who do i want working but whoever holds the chair, the person that i would say what if something really did happen to that person, they would have done smart move. he's been in leadership, he's

been in chairman. if you watch in fair manner, i think most people would look back and say the exact same thing. >> something that you said remind me of something in the news over the weekend. chairman mccaul and chairman turner of intelligence both over the weekend came out and said that russian propaganda had, quote, infected a good junk of the gop base. these are two republican chairs they are seeing on conservative media and on the house floor. do you agree with them? >> someone repeats it by not checking it. that happened, there's other countries i think to that stuff to us every day. listen, there's a lot of problems right now.

ukraine is very important, you should speak to america about it. members are reflective of their district, right? the senate is like the wealthiest country club in the world. you ever two to the senate is pristine, it's like having -- [laughter] >> he should be doing in the history of america fire side chat. happened before some of you were even born. it came from a foreign land and america thought that wasn't that important to care about. if we ignore certain things, there's a reason why america

should lead, okay. there's not one american man or woman in uniform dying in ukraine. but if we allow russia to come in and take another country, why can't iran? nobody? so where does it go? the majority of the money doesn't go to ukraine. we depleted them all. so if you don't fund it, you made america weaker. so we shipped them and we have to rebuild them so we can protect ourselves. why isn't somebody out there

telling us that? why doesn't the president if he wants to talk to america every network will carry it. we told putin that we can't do that. we watched world history where wars have been created this way. you know this money that we are talking about, is to replenish all weapons so we are protected so somebody doesn't think we are vulnerable to attack us again. don't look that far back, just look back to 911 when we thought we could ignore other parts of the world, they attacked us and you know what, we shouldn't look weak at this moment.

>> thank you for coming. >> thank you. [applause] >> and i want to thank all of you for coming. we have two weeks this week continuing with the theme on dem testimoniy. tomorrow at 5:30 in auditorium with congressman maxwell on protest to power, is it gen z's time to lead and then thursday at 1:30 in gaston hall with former prime minister of the uk boris johnson.

>> tell him i said hi. >> thank you, everyone. [inaudible conversations]

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>> former presidt trumpnd speaker michaelohnson are going to give a news conference at 4:30 p.m. eastern, live here on. the house is planning to send impeachment articles against secretary mayorkas to the senate chamber next week. several republicans requested a delay. live covere xt week on c-span 2. c-spannow or online at c-span. org. >> today, watch c-span 2024 campaign trail, a weekly roundup of c-span's campaign coverage to discover what the candidates are saying to voters and first-hand

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