Hello, im kate bolduan. Im john berman. Well show you live pictures right now of capitol hill. Thats our studio. And there is live pictures of capitol hill. High drama this morning, the kind that only happens every few generations. Uncertainty in the race to be House Speaker, House Republicans meeting behind closed doors, voting in minutes on who they want to replace john boehner. Kevin mccarthy, the current House Majority leader, hes the odds onon favorite but Jason Chaffetz has been getting a lot of attention but the Freedom Caucus has they have thrown a wild card into the race for speaker. By throwing support behind congressman Daniel Webster of florida. So, who will win out . The question matters very much because were talking about a position in line to succeed the president. Chief Political Correspondent dana bash is on capitol hill, talking to a lot of members, especially some of the members who want that seat. Dana, where do things stand at this hour . Reporter were an hour awa
The president s announcer at inaugural parades dating back to harry truman. Hes one of my favorite people, this guy. Youre going to love him. This year the thing is the Trump Inaugural Committee went in a different direction, surprising charlie and all of his fans. More on that coming up. Lets get to business with the the business to attend on capitol hill at this hour. A pair of important hearings for trumps cabinet picks. Were talking about Steve Mnuchin for treasury secretary, rick perry up for top position in the department of energy. A department he once said he would eliminate. Heres how he explained that today. If confirmed, my desire is to lead this agency in a thoughtful manner, surrounding myself with the expertise on the Core Functions of the department. My past statements made over five years ago about abolishing the department of energy do not reflect my current thinking. In fact, after being briefed on so many of the vital functions at the department of energy, i regret r
United states and around the world. Im isha sesay. And im john. Were following two elections for you. The other major headline the soninlaw, Jared Kushner a lot more on that Major Development this hour. But first lets get to the republican gianforte will win the seat in the house of representatives. Gianforte with 50 on the board. Gianforte was the overwhelming favorite before his confrontation with the report on wednesday. He apologized in his victory speech just a few moments ago. But the newly elected congressman has actually been charged with a misdemeanor assault. Joining us are two senior political reporters. Also cnn commentator. We have a very full house here. Lets get to our guests there and get your reaction to this win. Are you surprised that gianforte pulled it out of the bag . Not particularly. He had been a heavy favorite going into this. This just happened last night. And by the time this happened, about half the people in montana had already cast their votes by mail. Ok
By the way. He made a recommendation, but regardless of recommend, i was paul Michael Mukasey served as the 81st attorney general of the United States. Thanks for coming in. Good to be here. Paul first point, is there any doubt in your mind that as a legal matter the president had the right, the authority to fire james comey . None. Paul none. None. The fbi director is a part of the executive, the president is the head of the executive. Regardless of whether the fbi director is appointed for a term or not for a term, the president has the authority to fire him. Paul thats despite the tenyear term he was supposed to yeah. Paul all right. In the chain of command at the Justice Department, some people seem to believe that the fbi is independent. That is not true. It is not true. The fbi director is supposed to report to the Deputy Attorney general who then reports to the attorney general. Thats the way its supposed to work. Paul okay. And the fbi is not some independent branch of governme
Bay. But, no, one lap of race to go. Just one lap of racing to go. And he thinks hes won the world title. Oh, wow, that is one way to look at it. Might be tempting to celebrate. But President Trump and republicans still have one lap to go. Can they Muscle Health care reform through the senate, too, joe, what do you think . Well, i dont know. A lot of the senators certainly are skeptical, they certainly arent going to come close to a bill that has beaeeen framed ready as taking Health Care Away from 24 million americans, many of them the most important swing voters in the elections coming up in 2018 if morality doesnt matter to them, maybe just pure all politics should. 24 Million People losing their Health Care Insurance according to the message that has been sent out to americans and on top of that, mika, all of the money saved by taking away those Health Benefits all go to the richest americans in tax cuts. That is not it seems to me something to be celebrating in the rose garden, bu