page. host: senator patrick leahy you re doing something that is hard for a lot of senators to do, and that is to retire voluntarily. what made you decide toe do th? guest: i never thought it was i would be her this long. and the only democrat elected in vermont history, the youngest at the time, and everybody said i would be a one-term senator. it was quite possible, but then got a little easier easier getting reelected. i did not expect to be here this long. and my wife and i talked about it right after the last election. we ve pretty from a decided it be the last one. i knew from the polls and everything else i could easily be reelected this year but i am 82, one of of to go home. what have more time with the kids and grandkids. we both like to scuba dive. with more time for that. but also it s time for someone else to come in there, and i wanted to be able to do things but university of vermont, other places to all people. what s happened in the last half-century? h
information for every house and senate member, important information on the presidents county, federal agencies and stakeholders . to preorder your copy for early spring delivery is 2995 repurchase support our nonprofit operations at c-span shop .org. .. i knew from the polls that everything else, i could easily be reelected this year, but i wanted to go home. want to have more time with my kids and our grandkids. but also, it s time for somebody else to come in there, and i able to do things but university of vermont, other places to help people. what s happened the last half-century? host: you are not, in fact, you re the president pro tem of the senate majority not the oldest senator. there are four others are older than you, senator feinstein is 89. she was just elected to another term. senator grassley is 88, is in the middle of a reelection campaign. why is it so hard for so many senators to do what you have decided? guest: well, each one has to answer theirof ow
unprecedented scenario. you know, we all remember, at least from history books if not living through it that back in the nixon administration when richard nixon was equally unhinged, publicly unhinged or at least privately unhinged and could be seen to be unhinged by people around him, talking at the paintings on the white house walls, drinking excessively at the time, that jim schlesinger did a very similar thing to what general milley did which was to go and say, guys, there needs to be a fail-safe here. there s got to be a process, a procedure. we cannot get into any unprovoked or ill tempered or certainly deranged kind of foreign policy conflicts. i m going to take it upon myself to make sure that does not happen. this is not even unprecedented. there s a very strong echo of the nixon era in what general milley did. peter baker, let s turn to a subject slightly less exhaustive and that s california politics. a large number of people who
obey the commands of the chief without bringing it by them. he was drinking and he was under astonishing pressure, and it was by jim schlesinger s lights a measure to take, although outside the chain of command that we d like to consider sack sanctand respected. there is of course also i mean, yes, it s outside the chain of command, but we have this system of guardrails, and we ve seen how close we came as a country to the guardrails, meaning nothing. if somebody else if general flynn had been chairman of the joint chiefs instead of mark milley, if there had been different individuals at the secretary of state, at the gubernatorial, at the canvassing board level throughout the country, there could have been what was essentially going to be