days, the american people have witnessed earth-shaking revelations about the outrageous behavior of president trump. the appointment of former fbi director mueller as special prosecutor is a good first step. the action shows the urgency of investigating trump/russia possible collusion and interfering in our election. it also recognizes the gravity of the president's abuse of power in trying to shut down the fbi's investigations. former director mueller is a respected public servant of the highest integrity. everyone respects him. the trump administration must give former director mueller's investigation the resources and independence it needs. i'm concerned that director mueller will still be subject to the supervision of the trump appointed leadership at the justice department. we must remain vigilant to protect the integrity of the mueller investigation. a special prosecutor cannot take the place of a truly independent outside commission that is completely free from the trump administration's meddling. a commission is also necessary to address the broader vulnerability of our elections to foreign interference in the future. the investigation that what do we call him now, special counsel mueller is undertaking is about what has happened and is there wrongdoing. we're saying we've got to prevent this from happening in the future. that is one of the reasons we need an outside independent counsel. the justice department commission, independent outside commission. the justice department has a role to play and we respect that. the general counsel will continue to fight for vigorous congressional review investigation, as well. the senate is doing a bipartisan investigation. the house is moving forward. we have an important role to play. but with investigations inside the justice department and investigations inside the congress, it is necessary for us to have an outside independent commission, as well. yesterday, house democrats filed a discharge petition to force a vote on the bipartisan legislation launching that commission. hr-356. protecting our democracy act. already, more than 176 members have signed. we expect to have well over 190 by the time we have the vote later today. the president has nothing to hide, then he and the republicans in congress should welcome independent investigations to remove all doubt of a cover-up. the american people have a right to know the truth. there is reason to believe that the president's pandering to russia is endangering our national security, our economy, and our democracy. in a few days, we'll be marking the first four months of the trump administration, the 20th. the 20th of may. nothing. he has nothing to show for it. we haven't seen any evidence of a jobs proposal. president loves to talk about the election. but the election was about jobs. slow us the jobs. where is his initiative? we were hoping to be working with him on an infrastructure bill right from the start. no sign of one. the president's budget will be coming down next week. we'll see the president's budget proposal and all the broken promises to the american people that president trump's budget represents. instead of creating good-paying jobs, investing in infrastructure, he's ransacking education and job training, cutting the department much transportation with a budget that is especially cruel impacts on rural communities. reports suggest the cruelty of trumpcare which some people are now calling the death care, the death panel bill, will be amplified by new cuts to nih medicaid, social security disability benefits snap and other crucial social services. the president is gutting the epa and slashing funding for cleaning up hazardous substances and for enforce cutting funds for clean air and clean water. why do people even think public policy is important? as a mother, what do i need government to do for my children and my grandchildren? clean air, clean water. that you can't do for yourself. clean air, clean water, food safety. forget about it in the president's budget. the budget is you've heard me say over and over our national budget should be a statement of our values, what is important to us as a country should be reflected in how we allocate our resources, our investments for the future. president trump has shown that he does not value the future of our children, our seniors and working families in our country. with that, i'll be pleased to take any questions. okay, michael. >> reporter: thank you, madam leader. >> he comes around now, right? va >> the current political trajectory is not good for republicans. do you anticipate a scenario where you will once again be speaker of the house in two years? >> we don't really talk politics around here that much. but if you want to talk politics, you can talk to our chair of our dccc lujan. i will say this going back to '05 and '06 when president bush was re-elected president, at that time when we started our initiative to take back the house for the american people, president bush was at 5%. everybody said you don't have a chance because be ready for a permanent republican majority. 58, by the time we made our contrast the next six months by september, the president was at 38%. when you're at 38%, you're well under 50, it doesn't have to be in the 30s. you get a very high caliber of candidate to run. others in his own party might say maybe i'll sit this one out. so i'll be able to tell you more, that is to say, by like september. >> reporter: a follow-up question. a few of your members took to the floor and talked about impeachment. do you support a move toward impeachment at this point. >> is that a follow-up in would you call that a follow-up. >> we all get them, too. >> it's been awhile. i've got some stored up. >> the issue of where we go from here with these investigations is to find the facts for the american people. it is important because i think we're in very uncharted waters. i know family have harkined back to watergate or this or that, but this is something that has foreign intrigue. it has issues that relates to undermining our democracy by interference in our election. it's about show us your tax returns so we can see what will public policy is regarding that and do you have a russian connection, mr. president, in your dealings. and it's very serious. so in order for us to move forward in a way where we're moving forward with the american people, it's very important that we do it based on the facts. there's reason to believe that the president was engaged in some very inappropriate for the moment activity. but until you have the facts that you can present to the public in the public domain so that the american people are moving with you at the same time, i don't think that our democracy is well served. now, my -- people are representatives. that's your job title and that's your job description. so they will speak to what to express the representation that they have. and i understand -- i understand their enthusiasm. but as leader, i think we have to contain some of that in order to get the facts in a way that will be acceptable to the american people as we go forward. >> i yield. >> yield backing? he yields back. >> reporter: madam, thank you. >> question. >> reporter: the republicans are expressing some concern because of this malstrom with trump and everything about trying to move items on their agenda. granted you don't agreed with their approach on health care and taxes. that said, does that in any political or legislative buoy you that this could sideline some of the things which you view as an anathema. >> they haven't done very much and the election was i don't over six months. this would be the time of as i've said before the honeymoon, not a marriage but the honeymoon and that people would see what is the vision of our new president, what is his -- what does he know and what is his judgment on the choices he has to make. what is his plan to go forward. and usually that results in a president getting very high ratings. and the first months of his presidency. that has not happened. and because of the questions that have arisen about integrity and honoring our constitution, the republicans have been complicit in what looks like a stonewall of not wanting the public to know the facts. so i'm saying to those who want to take drastic action in terms of the president, show us the facts. we need to see the facts. and i'm saying to our republican colleagues, what do you have to hide? if you're so sure that nothing is there, you shouldn't be afraid to prove the point by having the investigations that are necessary. so we haven't seen any bold initiative come forward. we've seen a terrible what people are calling death panel bill come forth which can deprive up to 7 million veterans of their tax credit, $43 billion cut from helping poor children, the worst health bill, one of the worst bills, period, for women in the history of the congress as it increased costs, decreases benefits, has a harmful age tax, has 24 million people off coverage. and undermines medicare. so very widely unpopular in the public. where is their jobs bill? they could have introduced a jobs bill early on by four weeks into his administration, four weeks from the day of his inauguration, president obama signed the american reinvestment and recovery act. >> reporter: it would seem like they're not getting very far on any of those things and you as trying to be this back stop on your side of the aisle to them trying to move their version of health care or their version of tax reform. this is going off the rails for them. >> well, i mean, that's their problem. we have always said that we would work with them on simplify indication, fairness, review of the tax system in our country that we would talk about lowering the corporate rate. closing special interest loopholes, having a tax bill that would create jobs, create growth, good paying jobs for america's workers. we look forward to that discussion. but so far, what we've seen is something that adds $5.5 trillion to the deficit as it gebs tax breaks to the high end. frickal down has never worked. but let's go to the table with something. they can't even come to ingredient among themselves whether it's a border tax or one thing and another. they can't even come to ingredient themselves. they want to blame it on the fact that the president has acted in a way that gives people reason to believe that investigations are necessary. you'll have to talk to them about that, but they've had plenty of time to come up with something other than making america sick again. >> yes. >> given the concerns you've expressed about president trump's judgment, should our foreign partners be nervous right now about sharing sensitive information with the u.s.? >> wouldn't you? wouldn't you be nervous? this is -- as a person that's been involved in intelligencing for decades here, this is a discipline. this is something that you have to be with on a regular daily basis if you're president of the united states. and you have to understand that words weigh a ton. so what the president did not only possibly jeopardized an individual, an operation, but undermined the trust that foreign countries would have in sharing information with us. he shared information that wasn't ours to give. he did so in a manner that said well, i have a right to do it. that's not the point. if you have a right to do something doesn't mean you have a right to do it wrong. and this is very serious. i'm not sure, i mean, i think if he would get his daily briefing, what i'd like him to do, come to the white house, live where former presidents have lived, be inspired by the challenges they faced. be disciplined. learn what you're supposed to learn. and not brag that you get more, you know more because you had a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing when it comes to intelligence and in terms of not understanding your responsibility. to total confidentiality. so in terms of foreign countries, of course, i just came backing from four different countries and people want to work with the president. they want to work with america. liaison relationship in terms of intelligence are long-standing, one president and another. that's the relationship that our countries and our people have with each other. what he did was very damaging. and so you have to ask those foreign governments what that means about how willing they might be to share intelligence with him. >> what does it mean for national security if they don't feel as comfortable sharing that intelligence? >> it's not -- it's not a strengthner, that's for sure. i mean, intelligence is one of the great preventers of armed conflict. when i first starred on intelligence early mid-'90s, it was about force protection. how do we protect our forces if they have to go into harm's way. became -- that's still our overriding purpose to avoid conflict if possible by intelligence, but if we have to go, to make sure that our military knows everything they need to know that is possible. so then later it became overarching issues like drug trade, terrorism, relationship between them and other issues along the way. and now that -- that was more in a bipolar world of soviet union and the u.s. even though the wall came down in the '90s. now we have asymmetric threats and you cannot, you cannot be frivolous with that. you're the president of the united states. leader of the free world. and what can i say? it places unruly, undisciplined, unreliable, and unsafe. it needs some adult supervision. >> reporter: what do you make of congressman chaffetz stepping down early supposedly to go to box news and what do you think if trey gowdy were to become chairman? would that alleviate what the democrats see as lack of oversight of the trump administration? >> i just got off a plane. last i heard he had a bad foot and couldn't serve. i don't know what's next. so i can't keep up with that. but i hope the ethics committee can because when you negotiate a professional agreement, usually you announce that when you're on your way out the door. not six weeks later. as you're leaving six weeks later. i just -- i don't know enough about it to address it, and you have to ask elijah cummings what it means in the committee. i do know this. that we're very, very proud of elijah cummings and the work that he has done on the government -- government reform committee and also of adam schiff and the work he's doing on the intelligence committee. >> leader pelosi, thank you. i want to go back to the issue of impeachment. do you worry that democrats who use the term impeachment are overplaying their hands and potentially playing into the president's argument when he says things like, this is the greatest witch hunt in the american political history which he tweeted today. >> honestly, honestly. how did you spell witch hunt? i see head council in one of his things. i didn't know exactly what it meant. i liked what senator mccain, he said this morning. no, no, i've been the subject of more -- he didn't say witch hunt but he said i'm -- didn't he say yesterday, the president something like nobody's been subjected to more criticism. really? you're telling me that? he doesn't have thick skin. get some thick skin. okay? that's -- we're talking frivolous now here in terms of what he says about how he characterizes any legitimate question about his outrageous and potentially dangerous behavior to the american people. i think that people are going to do what they do. we don't have unanimity often in our caucus. that's why we're the democratic caucus and we take pride in our diversity. and some people will it's about timing. some people will be more enthusiastic about something at some time. i hope some would curb their enthusiasm so we have all of the facts and have confidence that when the american people understand what is there, whether it's grounds for impeachment or grounds for disappointment, then they'll know. >> reporter: any concerns it could undercut democrats politically, the talk of impeachment? >> no, freedom of speech is never anything that undercuts anything. >> deputy attorney general rod rosen stein will being the house tomorrow. will you be seeking specific commitments or assurances from him and also there's been some concern with a special counsel, maybe comey should not testify publicly. do you still believe he should testify publicly. >> i hope that he will testify publicly. there's also some concerns that perhaps the justice department would say we're not going to release the comey memos. eventually they're going to have to. they might as well know that, right? you're going to depend it. but i believe members will have questions about the integrity and the independence of this investigation. it is within the trump appointed justice department. when we were asking for a special prosecutor, now counsel, we were saying it should be appointed by somebody not appointed by president trump. the highest ranking non-trump appointed official there. rosen stein made the appointment. i think he had -- he came in with a strong reputation. the memo he wrote was bizarre. and now maybe he said i'll appoint the prosecutor and we're back on track. but it does raise suspicions. they can control the resources that are available. they can control the scope of investigation. and that may be okaying for a special prosecutor because of that's what the law is, but it speaks very eloquently and strongly to the need for an independent outside commission. so we'll be -- i'm sure members will be asking and if they don't, i will, but i'll have other opportunities to speak with him. i'll usually allow it to be what the members wants to ask about. the most important thing is what is the independence of this commission. what is the discretion it will be allowed to have. and what is the attitude of deputy attorney general in that regard right from the start. i'm concerned. i'm concerned. yes, sir. >> reporter: do you have doubts about director muler? >> no, not about him. i don't know that he would stand for any of this. but nonetheless, he's a professional. and it's about timing and how you deal with things and the rest. no, i have the highest, as i said earlier, the highest regard for him, for his integrity, for his public service, and i think most people do. i think most people do. okay. yes,. >> reporter: the president's nafta letter. >> i'm i. >> the president's letter on nafta on restarting negotiations. you've been saying he could have started this on inauguration day. >> he could have. >> is this frivolous what he's doing with nafta or can it result in change. >> >> i think it's weak. i think it's weak. i mean, i have -- i've said that the president's vague nafta let ser a stark contrast with the aggressive promises he made to hard-working families during the campaign. for all of his rhetoric, president trump looks to be surely disappointing american workers on trade. our trade -- we've always said our trade ingredients must be judged on how they produce good-pepe checks for hard working americans. but this is like -- i don't know. it's weak. but right now, my colleagues across -- where are they? on the other side of this? i didn't know there was another side of this. you know more than i about this capitol. on the other side of this, there's a nafta press conference led by rosa delauro. i'm sure you'll get some strong views there. it's pretty sad. look, it's a 30-year-old agreement practically. everything needs to be subjected to scrutiny, everything. every bill we pass and the rest. so important to subject it to scrutiny but not one day i'm doing it, the next day i'm not and in the meantime, i'll issue this nothing 90-day statement which doesn't give that much, doesn't give that much direction. so thank you all very much. the -- again, there's nothing as exciting than a high school graduation. it's because you know, they're on to college or jobs or careers or whatever it may be. and they're so young and optimistic and wonderful. it's pretty exciting. so exciting that i'm going to have another one in texas this weekend for my grandson. one in arizona, one in texas. thank you all very much. >> congratulations. >> yeah, pretty exciting i have to say. >> how about those borders. >> well, i thought you were going to ask me if i saw you earlier in the week when i was here about mother's day and what was the best mother's day present. of course, the joy of seeing my healthy grandchildren and my five kids, nine grandkids. but i have to say that they were very happy with the turn around in the warriors game. i never had one doubt. we kept e-mailing each other, texting each other. just hold on. they're going to cut the lead. our second half is going to be like their first half. we're going to win wasn't it great? i'm now going for 12 straight. we're up to ten. up to 12 straight. we'll see. just accidental but since you asked. golden state warriors. >> as they're playing the cavaliers in the final? >> i think it's going to be a different game. i was there for that game, yeah. that was terrible. about you, but i think it's going to be a different story this year. but let's get through, don't underestimate the celtics. thank you. >> thank you. >> earlier today, house speaker paurnl spoke to reporters and took questions. most of them focused on the appointment of robert mueller to be the justice department's special counsel overseeing the potential ties of russia and the trump campaign. this is about ten minutes. >> good morning, everybody. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> well, this is another busy week as we continue to make progress on our agenda for the american people. today, the house conti