marine in the film that says we're not the dominant species on the plan either because we're nice. a lot of people like to blame the military for turning people into killers, but he said i consider that only finishing school -- good afternoon. the president and the entire administration -- a many class. the president and the entire administration continue to monitor the situation in puerto rico, the united states virgin islands, florida, texas and all areas affected by hurricanes irma and harvey. fema administrator long is traveling to the affected areas today and the president will be making a trip to florida on thursday. the president's action during these times demonstrate why he's a true leader who can bring the country together and get things done for the american people. he wants to continue building unity by working on more issues supported by both parties, especially restoring fairness to our broken tax code and cutting taxes for hard working americans. last week in north dakota, he invited democratic senator heidi heitkamp up on stage to welcome her during his tax reform event in her home state. tonight he will host senator heitkamp along with colleagues of hers he from both parties senators donnelly, hatch, manchin, thune and toomey for a dinner to discuss working together to achieve real tax reform that allows americans to keep more of their hard earned dollars. ahead of the dinner, secretary mnuchin and director cohn are on the hill to continue their conversations with key members in this important policy push. the vice president also attended senate republicans weekly policy lunch today and is meeting with house leaders on the upcoming lemgs late difference agenda. 00 issues ranging from national security to hurricane relief to keeping our government functioning, the president is reaching across the aisle and to cut deals that help the american people. the president truly believes that in order to succeed and grow, we must work as one team, one people, and one american family. finally, speaking of family, i wanted to say a big congratulations to eric and laura trump on the birth of their son, eric luke trump this morning. we all look forward to meeting him soon. and with that, i'll take your questions. john. >> sarah, on tax reform, mark short today speaking in christian science monitor said that one thing you learn from obamacare is that you can't enrely on your own party to bring the votes across the finish line. but then at the same time, you haven't really been able to get much bipartisan support either. so with that in mind, what is the president hoping to do tonight with this bipartisan dinner? >> i think to start the conversation, start talking about things that we all agree are on. as i've said many times, i think most everyone can agree that americans should keep more of their money than the government. they spend it certainly far better than the government can and i think that is something that is a common goal that a lot of people want to come together on. i think by nature of them sitting down with the president, that is a very good first start. i won't get ahead of the dinner tonight. but i think that it shows and is a great indicator there both sides that we have a big agenda and a very ambitious agenda legislatively this fall and we want to work together to make sure that we can get as much of that done as possible. >> it looks like you might get bipartisan buy-in on idea of lowering taxes for on corporations, middle kit tax cuts. but democrats are drawing the line for tax cuts for the highest income earnings. account president stick a deal that sticks to his principals and also satisfies them? >> i think the president has demonstrated both in his business world and as president that he can make deals and that is certainly what he is looking to do. and he will work hard to make sure that we get the best deal possible on tax reform. and i think that starts with things like tonight and having this conversation and moving that ball forward, working bipartisan support for both sides. steven. >> -- thois morning seemed to express people living in high tax states. if the administration goes forward and congress approves a plane that eliminates state and local tax, people could see their taxes increase, not decrease. is the administration committed to doing something to help people in those high tax states? >> look, again, we're looking to work with congress to make sure that we get the best deal possible for all americans across the board and that includes people in high tax states. matthew. >> it's being reported that the malaysian prime minister on his visit here is staying at the trump tower. did that come up at all in conversations with the president during their meetings, and is it problematic for someone under doj investigation to be supporting the president's for-profit company he? >> i'm not sure about if that came up, i'm not aware that that was ever discussed.he? >> i'm not sure about if that came up, i'm not aware that that was ever discussed.e? >> i'm not sure about if that came up, i'm not aware that that was ever discussed.? >> i'm not sure about if that came up, i'm not aware that that was ever discussed. we certainly couldn't book their hotel accommodations. so i can't speak to that personal decision. >> any sort of attempt to curry favor with the president? >> no, i don't. >> steve bannon today apparently told a room full of people that he was speaking to that he talked to the president every two or three days. yesterday you said you thought they had only spoken once. so do they speak more regularly than maybe you were led to believe or can you give us any insight how often they are talking? >> certainly not that frequently. i'm aware of like two conversations that they have had and nothing i don't understand that. >> but not every two to through he a days? >> not that i'm aware of. >> and why hachbt president trump called the president of mexico in the wake of that earth quake there to offer condolences? >> they actually have a call scheduled today. it is taking place i believe within this hour and we'll have a readout for you on that this afternoon. >> apologies if you answered this yesterday, but if the president -- >> it's okay. everybody here likes to ask the same questions many times. >> is the president aware that steve bannon described firing james comey as the biggest political mistake in modern history? >> whether he is or not, i think that everybody knows exactly where the president stands on that issue. the president is proud of the decision that he made. the president was 100% right in firing sdwrams come firi firing james comey. he knew it could be bad for will imhim politically, but i think he knew that he was doing what was right. koemg by his own self admission leaked privileged government information weeks before the president fired him. comey testified that an fbi agent engaged in the same practice, they would face serious repercussions. so he set his own stage. his actions could likely have been illegal. comey leaked memos to the "new york times." he politicized an investigation by signaling he would exonerate hillary clinton before he ever very happy with the decision he made, and i think he's been fully vindicated by a lot of the new things. >> where is the president going, and what is he going to be doing down there? >> we'll keep you posted on the travel. >> did the ongoing doj probe come up in the conversation with the president today? and next week, the president is going to new york for the united nations general assembly. what will president trump's theme be? >> in terms of the united nations general assembly, we'll outline some of the plans more at the end of this week, as we've done in past practice on those types of meetings. we'll do that by the end of this week. >> and you said the actions of james comey could have been illegal. the doj is not commenting, but would the president encourage to doj to prosecute comey? >> that's not the president's role, that's the job of the department of justice. >> is that something he would like to see? >> if there's ever a moment when we feel someone has broken the law, that's something that should be looking at. >> and is this administration determined whether north korea did test a hydrogen bomb? >> i'm not sure. >> and talking about james comey, you mentioned he gave false testimony, do you still stand by that? >> i did say that today, yes. and he did. >> separately, when it comes to steve bannon, the "wall street journal" reported that they did speak the other night in hong kong. has the president said it's something he would like to discuss with steve bannon? >> he hasn't said that to me on that front. john? >> two questions, if i may. first, going back to john's original question regarding the christian science monitor breakfast this morning, mark was asked about whether the president still supports senator luther strange. when i asked you that question, you said legal constraints kept you from answering. he said this morning he's standing by senator strange, and fully supports him in the runoff september 26th. is that the white house's position? >> i'm not allowed to comment on ongoing political elections. i'm not going to weigh in, i'm not in a place where i can comment from behind the podium about an election that are upcoming. >> my other question, a political question as well. two united states senators face spirited primary challenges, state representative justin simmons, a strong supporter of the president in pennsylvania, declared his candidacy, will the white house back challengers to sitting republicans in primaries? >> again, i'm not going to weigh in on elections that are ongoing from the podium. i'm prohibited from doing this. >> james? [ inaudible ] >> wh-- what's not a big deal? >> it's a small step in the process, but the ultimate goal is a denuclearized korean peninsula. at the same time, we know the very parties that voted to do that all have to do more. the president has called on them to do more, and we continue to hope they will. >> is the president comfortable with donald trump jr. testifying publicly on capitol hill? >> this administration has been very clear. we're going to be transparent and cooperative with this process. no wrongdoing took place, and we want everybody to see that. the president is comfortable with us being fully transparent and cooperating with this process, as we've done every day. >> and one quick little follow-up question, jared kushner, was there any discussion about him stepping aside? >> no conversation i'm aware of, and certainly no presentation as both the president's attorneys have gone on record to say. [ inaudible ] >> what i'm saying, it seemed to leave the impression that the administration would be open to a bill for the daca recipients that would legalize them -- >> i think what we're saying is what we're saying all along. we want responsible immigration reform. that hasn't changed. the president is committed to the wall, and some other principles we've laid out, and none of those have changed. john? >> just a few questions about the dinner tonight, and your efforts at tax reform. three democratic senators are up for re-election next year. how were they chosen? >> by their willingness to sit down and have these conversations with the president. certainly something we're looking forward to, and hopefully will be very productive steps in the process. >> the senator indicated that he was not invited, but he was open to talking about tax reform. does that mean that he perhaps could be a future guest for dinner with the president? >> the administration has been clear, we want to sit down with anybody who will be serious about real tax reform for the country, providing real relief for middle-class america, and making bold changes. those are the conversations we want to have, and we would certainly be willing to have that conversation with the senator. >> last year, t-- so why the ch heart? >> i think the president has spoken out clearly, he wants us to make this decision based on a variety of factors, but number one, responsible immigration reform. >> what convinced him to want responsible immigration reform? >> i think the president has always wanted responsible immigration reform, and wants to make sure american jobs are protected, american citizens are protected. that's why it needs to be comprehensive. >> earlier, you said james comey, the leaking of information could have been likely illegal. and something that could have been looked at. is the white house encouraging the department of justice to investigate james comey for leaking information? >> no, this is anybody that breaks the law, whatever that process is that needs to be followed, should certainly be looked at. i'm not here to ever direct doj in the actions they should take. >> and a lot of conversations here in washington about the midterm elections in 2018. what role is the president looking to play in the 2018 elections? will he be supporting certain candidates, and will he be using that as leverage for members of congress to support his domestic agenda? >> in terms of specific elections and whether or not he's going to weigh in, as i've said today, i'm not going to be able to weigh in from the podium on that. >> two topics. can you talk to us about the meeting tomorrow evening, and what's the crux of it? and also, it's supposed to be about charlottesville, and the african-american perspective. what will take place? >> i'll be happy to provide information after the meeting is over. but at this point, it's a conversation that senator scott wanted to have with the president, and the president wanted to meet one-on-one with the senator. >> is the hbcsu conference happening? >> it is happening, and will take place at the white house. >> and how does the president receive and get calls from his cell phone? there's been a lot of controversy about how the president is being handled by general kelly, and how he keeps certain people in, and people out. then you're hearing steve bannon saying that he's getting calls, and you're saying you're not aware of that. leads us to believe, the phone thing. is this during the day, after hours, or what? >> there have been a lot of things written, but the president has access -- he can make calls from a land line, too. i'm not sure what the question is. >> the calls from the white house are logged, you have a log, versus a cell phone, it's his personal phone, correct? >> i don't sit in on every single call he makes. i'm telling you about what i'm aware of at this point. certainly, we'll keep you posted on numerous calls he makes. >> the president's top adviser said -- the president appeared to back out of that demand for 15%? >> the president is prepared to push for as low of a rate as we can get. we're going to work with congress to get the best deal possible. >> would he accept a 20%? >> the president is focused on getting the best deal possible. we're going to continue working to get that done. >> the president tweeted january 2nd, it won't happen, north korea just stated it's in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon. it won't happen. does he stand by that assessment? >> the president is committed to taking every step, keeping all options on the table in order to have a denuclearized korean peninsula. hunter? >> does the president believe he needs to secure funding for a border wall before daca? >> as mark said, it would be premature for us to make those determinations at this point. but certainly something we want to make sure happens is there is a wall. something the president is committed to. but we also want comprehensive immigration reform. >> will the president be reading hillary clinton's book? >> whether or not he's going to read hillary clinton's book, i'm not sure. but i would think he's pretty well versed on what happened. and i think it's pretty clear to all of america. i think it's sad that after hillary clinton ran one of the most negative campaigns in history and lost, and the last chapter of her public life will be defined by propping up book sales and attacks. >> i have two questions. first, the treasury secretary said this morning, janet yellen is being considered for reappointment as fed chair. how close is the president to making that decision? >> when we have that announcement, we'll make sure everybody knows. >> and the president said that the u.n. security council resolution was nothing compared to what will ultimately have to happen. is the president considering cutting off chinese banks from the u.s. financial system? >> we have all options on the table, and the president wants every country involved to step up and do more. this was a small step in the process. we're hoping they will all take a greater and more active role in putting pressure on north korea. >> and a moment ago, you used the language responsible immigration reform, and also comprehensive immigration reform. >> we want to use the principles we've laid out here accomplished. so, responsible immigration reform. >> you talked about cutting deals with the president. mark shore said you can't rely on 50 to 52 republicans, and you can't say we'll get tax reform done strictly on a partisan basis. does the president think you need the democrats in the senate to get it across the finish line? >> we want to have bipartisan support. the goal is to have everybody come together and help provide tax relief for americans across the board. >> what mark shore said, what we learned from health care reform, even though people have been talking since 2010 about doing one thing, that's not necessarily what they will do in 2017. >> it's about what we need, and what the american people deserve. they should be able to keep more of their money, and they're focused on working with democrats and republicans to get that accomplished. >> do you know of any democrats that are close to supporting their framework? >> i think we're in the beginning of those conversations, and hopefully a lot of those people will come onboard. >> and the idea of democrats coming aboard to support the president's tax reform. can you give us one or two examples of elements of the deal that the president could put into the deal that would attract the votes? >> these conversations are just starting with the democrats coming to the table, and as those take place, we'll certainly provide more information on that front. but this is just the very beginning, the first step in this process. thanks so much, guys, we'll be around the rest of the day. thanks so much. rick scott joined jacksonville's mayor and members of the national guard on an aerial tour to assess damage from hurricane irma. if you're a teacher of social studies to middle and high school students, try our classroom resources at the c-span.org website. with new content added regularly. many teachers across the country use these resources so you should, too. two house arms services sub committees held a meeting on the collisions of ships in the navy. this is two hours. >> this joint hearing of the house armed services committee to order. we're here in memory of the seven uss fitzgerald sailors. douglas, hernandez, nok, martin, reim, rigsby,

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