white house in the room, jeff, about 20 minutes there, we heard a fair amount from the president, walk us through a little bit more of that? erica, it was interesting the president was perhaps giving a bit of a reality show view of signing this bill, saying he wasn t going to sign it but then decided to sign it to keep his promise. perhaps injecting a bit of drama into the news programs. he acknowledged he was watching this morning on television. just the top lines, he did sign that emergency spending bill to keep the government open for a few more weeks. you know, he noted the defense spending in there as well. of course he signed the signature tax plan and he thumbed it on his desk a little bit. it s pretty tall. it s about 3 inches tall or so. he thumbed it as he signed it touting it as his biggest accomplishment. after that was over he was asked if he plans to travel around the country a lot and sell this
news. mission over, but hardly mission accomplished in iraq. so today i can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in iraq will come home by the end of the year. now president bush began the war in march 2003 with a dose of what the pentagon called shock and awe. in announcing its end, president obama used the term success, not victory, and said it was time america focused less on wars overseas and more on economic problems here at home. i would note that the end of war in iraq reflects the larger transition. the tide of war is receding. there is no doubt public opinion is on the president s side. nearly 7 in 10 americans oppose the war in iraq. but a number of conservatives, including the leading republican candidates for president tonight say, president obama is weakening america and emboldening iran. the former massachusetts governor, mitt romney, said the unavoidable question is whether this decision is the result of a naked political calculation or simp
successes here so i m told there will be a readout in more detail of that phone call coming up here in the coming hours. but all of this is coming on a day when the white house is trying to push for tax reform. the president also working behind the scenes on the phone urging republicans to not let their questions about this bill get in the way of a victory. one, two, three. reporter: president trump grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the ribbon but deep questions remain over the prospect of the signature tax plan. it will be in a very short period of time the greatest christmas present that a lot of people have ever received. it will be something special. reporter: the $1.5 trillion tax plan is in its final stages but still not over the finish line as the white house and republican leaders scramble to ease last-minute skepticism. at the capitol, senator marco rubio of florida made a