unfortunately, though, it won't happen during this show. anyway, that's all the time we have left this evening. by the way, cop, new york city cop shot, healing, hero, let's give it up for him. laura's got you covered for the rest of the night. let not your heart be troubled laura is next covering the house vote. have a good weekend we'll see back here monday hopefully with a speaker monday ♪ >> laura: i'm laura ingraham, welcome to this live edition of course of the ingraham angle. chaos on capitol hill. the inmates are running the asylum. the far right! it's holding america hostage. you've heard all of it today, right? and yesterday and the day before. do not believe any of it. that's what i'm telling you tonight. this is the same media spin that told us that russia collusion was real or anyone against the

covid lockdowns was anti science. tonight i can tell you that democracy is grinding through its process and there could be a speaker of the house elected tonight. now, i know that's a change from what you've heard all week but we can report that in the next few hours, it could actually happen. the house is reconvening any second, and the ingraham angle is hearing from a high level source kevin mccarthy does have the votes to get elected. let's go live to capitol hill, things are very fluid they can change but senior congressional correspondent who has been working very hard this week, chad perfect gram is standing by. chad what can you tell us? >> laura good evening, kevin mccarthy gained support as speaker on two roll call votes today. he did not gain any support on 11 votes for speaker over the previous three days. the question is whether mccarthy can close the deal tonight. we are told he should have the votes later on and be sworn in as speaker. two of his supporters are back.

they were absent earlier, wesley hunt of texas and ken buck of colorado however there could be other absences and it's possible other members could vote present. lowering the bar could help mccarthy if members don't cast ballots. if mccarthy is elected the dean of the house, the most senior member, howe rodgers of kentucky will swear in mccarthy. mccarthy will then swear in the entire house en masse. this is the longest speaker's election since 1859, that went 44 ballots. the record was 133 ballots in 1856. the house is coming into session right now. we will see if they go to that next roll call vote, ballot number 14, laura. >> now, chad, i was reading i think in politico tonight that, while some of the freedom caucus's demands about spending and spending caps are getting conservatives very excited, that some of that is more aspirational than reality-based.

can you explain what that's all about? >> absolutely. they're talking about a budget. a budget is a list of proposals. they talk about a 10-year proposal to balance the budget, that is all federal spending. it deals with what we call discretionary money which is money congress actually appropriates each year and non-discretion area which they don't, that's entitlements which is about 70% of all spending. what you do, similar to paul ryan more than a decade ago when he was the budget committee chairman is he would put together these programs, ideas, to balance the federal budget in x number of years. it's the same process here. but the issue is that budgets are not binding. you are firing with live ammo when you deal with appropriations. and that's a smaller section of spending. and there's going to be a big fight over defense spending you saw a statement from rose a delaura the top democrat of the appropriations committee also something i put out earlier from

a key republican source tied to the appropriations committee saying they can't lower defense spending that much. you know, that's going to be a fight over defense spending because defense spending is more than 55% of what i talked about. that discretion area spending that congress has control over that will be a fight and you can see a coalition of anti interventionist, republicans and do haveish democrats who don't want to spend money on the military who get together and don't want to spend that money. and others aligned with the military like don bake and say that dog is not going hunt. >> laura: another thing i think people don't quite understand, and you live and breathe this, is why the rules committee, chad, is so important in bringing bills to the floor, setting the terms of the debate. why the changes that may be put in place after, if, indeed, kevin mccarthy a sends to the speakership, that could return the process to what used to be a

more traditional process of including more voices. can you explain that for us? >> the rules committee is the gateway for bills to get to the floor. it's often called the speaker's committee. the speaker kind of controls that committee and the idea that every day that they come into session you're going to debate a bill. it's like playing baseball. today the distance from home plate to first base is 90 feet. today it's going to be 95 feet. it's going to be five balls to get a walk versus four balls. you set the terms of debate. so, in other words, if you have a bill coming to the floor, the rules committee first adopts a rule which says, this is how we're going to handle this bill. this is how much time we're going to spend on the bill, this is how many amendments we're going to consider. we might not consider any. and republicans frankly over the past couple years under democratic control and republicans used to do this to the democrats when they were in the majority a few years ago, they would say we're going to lock down bill, it has to be as is, no amendments, no proposals.

what some of these holdouts were doing, these people who were not voting for kevin mccarthy initially, they wanted certain people put onto the rules committee. not individual people by name, but people who are affiliated with different caucuses like the freedom caucus and so on, and also a commitment to have what we call an open rule. so those rules aren't locked down. you request say okay, today it is 85 feet to first base, it's 70 feet to first base and then you vote on that proposal on the floor. otherwise, it just comes from the speaker's office and they lock it down. that dictates how the legislation is on the floor. >> laura: and, chad, just so again people understand this, and this is the same with a lot of republicans, too, if the speaker didn't want a bill to get to the floor, nancy pelosi, that bill was not going to get to the floor, correct? and that's what these people don't want to happen with the republican speaker. so the speaker's power would be somewhat diminished, correct? >> absolutely. and here's the trick, though. okay? you might be widening this out

to more members, but it might make it tougher to pass the bill on the floor because if you, you know, make those amendments in order and then those amendments on are adopted order the floor it changes the bill. and then you have congressman a who says i was for it before but you changed the bill i'm against it now but then you brought on board congressman b who liked the amendment there and says i'm for it now. so it's hard in this majority when you only have five votes to keep track of who's for it and who's against it and make sure you have enough votes to pass it. that's where if you lock down the bill at least administratively it's easier to pass the bill but that's not what they're going for here. >> laura: well, chad, you just gave us a good education in the legislative process. which, again, most people don't follow, it can be very neuare, a, lgic. thank you chad. >> and i'm looking for something on the floor, patrick mchenry. >> laura: they're nominating

him. >> republican from north carolina we're going to the 14 vote here, we thought there might be an effort to adjourn at this point, that's not the case. so he is going to place a nomination, the name of kevin mccarthy and here in the next 10-15 minutes we should go to that 14th vote. >> laura: 14, lucky 14. chad, great to see you. thanks so much. we'll did ininto the coverage on capitol hill just to give you a flavor of what's happening as we begin this 14th vote. [cheers and applause]. >> and on this day and a source of charity we'd even thank the capitol press corps for sitting on floors. that too is funny on paper than how it delivered. i don't know why you asked me to do this kevin. the president has called this process an embarrassment. talking heads have labeled this chaos and a mess and some would

call i will shambolic even. it's called democracy and this is the hall mark of a free society where every voice and vote counts. [cheers and applause] >> we know it's messy. we know it's messy but open and transparent debate is what sets up apart from authoritarian regimes. in order to out-compete our adversaries we must adhere to the principles that make our nation, this nation, our constitutional republic great and that starts with a free and open exchange of ideas and that's exactly what we've done this week. to some, it may have felt like congress was on hold. but alternative, a government that assembles with no input from the representatives elected by the people is a far worse alternatives. in these constitutional principles we're adhering to in this complicated process of setting up the house.

over these last few days, kevin mccarthy has allowed this process to work among house republicans and he's empowered members to come together to find consensus on behalf of conservative policy and a greater involvement of all voices throughout our conference. we've all played a part. we have all played a part. whether it's the dean, or members who have just been waiting for four days and voting loyally. it's kevin's leadership style, leadership style that's been lacking in this institution for too long. the same style kevin employed with each of us as we developed our policy proposal, a commitment to america. a plan that works to secure our border and stop the flow of fentanyl into our communities, to give chairman comer and chairman jordan the tools they need to hold the biden administration accountable for their failures, and to take

china on and end the president's covid emergency powers that have been abused far too many times. to finally reopen the possibly's e d empower -- >> laura:. >> laura: we'll dip back into that in a moment as the 14th vote kicks off. but let's also check in with south carolina congressman ralph northam. he voted against mccarthy 11 times. congressman this is wild what's happening. i know you stepped away from floor, very nice to come on with us tonight. what's going to satisfy the remaining holdouts or are we going to have a few present votes, which will change dynamic of this 14th vote? >> you could have present votes, laura, but bottom line, kevin mccarthy will be the speaker. and, you know, as you hear, we've been gavelled in and this is a great day for this country. the changes that we made. and i want to give my 19 other colleagues, who really held their votes out until we put the changes that would balance this

budget, the changes that would give us time to look at bills instead of getting them the day of, and as chad was talking about, the rules committee which will be controlled by conservatives that will allow the bills not to be in secret in committee meeting but on the open floor and have an open process where you can put amendments on it. it's interesting, all the ones that said during this week particularly the commentators that, you know, we were withholding government, we were -- some people said we were basically terrorists and now they're praising what's going on, which is balancing this budget and getting this country back on track. everybody agrees that the process is broken. this goes about fixing the problems that we have. >> laura: congressman, how important -- or how del tearius to people's trust in government has this omnibus bill process

been in our government where everything, the kitchen sink, is dumped into one bill. it's basically agreed to by minority leader and majority leader in the senate, nancy pelosi gave a winken a a nod and then there were lots of background, yeah, kevin mccarthy's for it you heard that on various media accounts and then it was just passed. $1.7 trillion with election issues in it, and all sorts of things that have nothing to do with the priorities of the day. how damaging was that to the public's trust in our government? >> laura, i mean, that's what takes away the trust. i mean, get this. it was 4,154 pages long we got 24 hours before. even if you're a speed reader you can't read that. and the senate i blame the 17 senators that voted for it. you had nine house members, republicans who voted for it. it should never have passed, the house -- it should have been

sent to the house to debate it in january and february because we're in control yet we're saddled with it until september 30th which is when a new budget season is upon us. so it's very damaging. and, again, this country's broke and we've got to fix that. economic security is national security. and that's the great thing about what we're doing today and the process. it took a while but it was democracy in open view for the american people to see. >> laura: well, congressman, one of the big sticking points is the defense budget. you know, i've been someone who, over the last many years, have said that, look, you know, we're funding a woke pentagon, spending across the board has to be cut. and if you want to add to some budget you have to cut from somewhere else. are your goals there reachable or are they aspirational. >> well, it's a step in the right direction. before, for as long as i can

remember, we didn't even get to debate nor did the public get to see the spending that took place. now, the appropriations bills will be put on time for us to vote on, we'll see it in open session. both the spending and the cuts. and we're on a 10-year budget plan to balance the budget, and that's what's great about it. the entire defense budget, which i think is around 51-55 billion dollars, interest alone will exceed that in the next few years. we can't let that happen. and we've got to fully fund our military and this administration, with their discretionary expenses that they spend money on that should not be, and they neglected the military which has got to stop. so i'm excited about what happens as a first step. >> laura: well, congressman, we appreciate your joining us and this has been a wild week but i think an education to a lot of people who don't really follow the nitty-gritty of all of this stuff. thank you so much >> joining us now is bret baier

anchor of special report and fox news chief political anchor. bret, what are you hearing tonight, your sources. you've been on this all day. we watched special report earlier tonight. a lot of people thought we might not get here and it looks like kevin mccarthy is perhaps on the threshold of taking the speakership finally. >> laura, good evening, his allies on the floor inside, and i just got a text, believe, and i'll quote here, reliably, the plane is going to land tonight. they don't know how it's going to look, whether it's present votes of the 6 who are remaining, or where they fully support and vote for, in other words, change their vote to mccarthy, but they believe with the two representatives who have come back, buck and hunt, that they'll have the numbers to get mccarthy to the finish line. that's a big moment. because, you're right, this on the 14th ballot, there were a lot of people who said this was not going to happen, there's no way it's going to happen.

and just to give a little history here, there have been 53 men and one woman who have had this position. kevin mccarthy backs the 55th. the first speaker of the house was sworn in april 1st, 1789. so you think about the history of this moment for a guy that was really trying to get this job for a long, long time, tried to get it in 2015. he's the first speaker back-to-back to be from california, obviously nancy pelosi from california. and the question is how he's going to be able to govern. that's the next thing tonight is the debate and the vote on the rules package, and that could last late into the night. >> laura: well, bret, chad just gave us such a great education on why the rules committee is so critical, and the membership of the rules committee. again, people watching, their eyes probably glaze over, but that actually changes the way legislation moves in washington. if you control the rules

committee, you control ultimately, under this new scenario, what bill gets to the floor, correct? >> what bill and how it's dealt with. you control whether there are amendments to the bill. in other words, representatives could add and have voted on amendments on the floor. you control how many minutes are debated, how many -- what the threshold is, what the quorum looks like. if you control the rules committee, you control everything in the house of representatives as far as bringing legislation up. i think chad did a great job describing it in his -- only the way chad can because he's a big baseball guy saying it's 85 feet or 90 feet to first base depending on what the rules committee says, and that's true. so the debate on the rules tonight is really important. but i just didn't want to overstep the historic nature of this moment for kevin mccarthy. and, you know, longest serving speaker was sam ray burn, 17 years two months and two days.

the shortest was thomas pomeroy, one day, he was elected as kind of a go away present from his colleagues. we're hoping the republicans are, that on the floor, they tell me, they've got -- they're hoping kevin mccarthy makes it past tom pomeroy. >> laura: bret, this is just -- i mean, i love this because it's fascinating, but people are actually kind of into this so it's really cool and we really love having you on. thanks so much >> and joining me now, maryland congressman andy harris. he flipped his support to mccarthy on the 13th vote. congressman i saw you on the air earlier today. you were so articulate again and so clear laying out the issues that i think got really obscured in some of the personality battles of the last few days, but in the end, why did you flip your vote from against to for mccarthy? >> well, laura i think we hammered out what's going to be

an historic agreement. it's going to change the way washing top and congress does business in the house of representatives. well worth the three days. democracy is ugly sometimes but in the end that's the way things work. this agreement is a great agreement for the american people. >> laura: well, the concern that some are raising is that, you all in a temper tantrum have now diminished the speakership. that you held america hostage for your pr or to raise money. i know andy bigs was sending out fund raisers, everybody does that so i don't know why that's a big deal. this is about individual pr and getting on the tv and you say. >> absolutely not. the bottom line is nancy pelosi epitomized the problems with the powerful speaker. show brought two 4,000 page to the floor of the house in december with less than 24 hours each time to read the bill, no chance to amend it, up or down vote. that's what happens when the

speakership is too strong. we decentralized some of that power. i think it is a important and i think americans want things that bills that only deal with a single subject for instance. that's going to go a long way to i think solving some of the problems we had in the house of representatives. >> laura: and congressman, we understand and we can see now the live pictures from the floor. the vote is, indeed, underway. let's listen in to the floor right now where the process has just started. >> mccarthy. errington, mccarthy. jeffery's. bob babbin, mccarthy baird, mccarthy. >> balderson, mccarthy.

val ant, jeffery's. banks, mccarthy. barr, mccarthy. >> bargain, jeffries. bean of florida. >> mccarthy. >> mccarthy. beatty. >> hakeem jeffries. >> bents? >> mccarthy. >> hakeem jeffries. >> bergman. >> mccarthy. >> buyer. >> jeffries. >> byce. >> mccarthy. >> biggs? >> jordan. >> jordan.

bill. >> mccarthy. >> bishop of georgia. >> jeffries. >> bishop of north carolina. >> mccarthy. >> blumenhaur. >> jeffery's. >> rochester. >> jeffries. >> boebert? >> present. >> present. [cheers and applause] >> laura: okay. that's the big one. lauren boebert, who was thought to be someone who would not change her vote voted present meaning that's a big plus, of course, for kevin mccarthy. we'll continue to listen in. huge reaction on floor to that. >> mccarthy.

bowman. >> jeffries. >> boyle of pennsylvania. >> hakeem jeffries. >> brooken. >> mccarthy. >> brown. >> jeffries. >> brownly. >> jeffries. >> buchanan. >> mccarthy. >> buck? buck? boushan. >> kevin mccarthy. >> ba sinski. >> jeffery's. >> burchett. >> mccarthy. >> burgess. >> mccarthy. >> burleson. >> mccarthy.

>> bush. >> jeffries. >> calvert? >> mccarthy. >> cammock. >> mccarthy. >> careveo. >> jeffery's. >> carvehal. >> jeffery's. >> dennis. >> hakeem jeffries. >> carry. >> kevin mccarthy. >> carl. >> kevin mccarthy. >> carson. >> hakeem jeffries. >> carter of georgia. >> kevin mccarthy. >> carter of louisiana. >> hakeem jeffries. >> carter of texas?

>> mccarthy. >> cartwright. >> jeffries. >> casar. >> hakeem jeffries. >> case. >> jeffries. >> cas ton. >> jeffries. >> castro of florida. >> jeffries. >> castro of texas. >> jeffries. >> chavez. >> kevin mccarthy. >> mccormack? >> jeffries? we should note here that maybe a couple dozen votes ago, ken buck's name was called in the role, congressman buck, he's a critical vote for kevin mccarthy. he was due back into town. he was out of town. we don't know exactly his whereabouts at this moment, but that is a critical vote for mccarthy in this 14th vote so

we'll be monitoring this and we're going to know one way or another by the end of this. he's now on the floor we just understand. things are happening moment by moment. so he is on the floor. let's dip back in >> cliburn? cliburn? >> jeffries. >> clyde. >> mccarthy. >> cohen. >> jeffries. >> cole. >> kevin mccarthy. >> collins. >> mccarthy. >> comer. >> mccarthy. >> connolly. >> hakeem jeffries.

>> correa. >> jeffries. >> costa. >> j e f f r i e s. >> courtney. >> jeffries. >> craig. >> hakeem jeffries. >> crane. >> biggs. >> crawford. >> mccarthy. >> crenshaw? >> mccarthy. >> crockett? >> hakeem jeffries. >> crow. >> jeffries. >> cuellar. >> jeffries. >> curtis. >> mccarthy. >> davis of kansas. >> jeffries.

>> davidson. >> mccarthy. >> davis of illinois. >> hakeem jeffries. >> davis of north carolina? >> jeffries. >> dean of pennsylvania? >> jeffries. >> degat. >> jeffries. >> delacruz. >> kevin mccarthy. >> deloro. >> laura: again just for some context here that was a bit of a disappointment for kevin mccarthy he wanted that flip from congressman crane. congressman crane did not give him the affirmation of voting for him. we have three other holdouts, gates, good and rosen dale so

we'll wait to see where they show up >> dingle. >> jeffries. >> doggett. >> jeffries. >> donald. >> mccarthy. >> duarte. >> kevin mccarthy. >> duncan. >> kevin mccarthy. >> dunn of florida? >> mccarthy. >> edwards? >> mccarthy. >> else y. >> mccarthy. >> emmer. >> mccarthy. >> escobar. >> jeffries. >> eschu. >> jeffries.

>> estes, kevin mccarthy. >> isel. >> kevin mccarthy. >> fallen. >> laura: okay, andy biggs this was big he voted for jordan they hoped he flipped. boebert voted present that was a plus for mccarthy, and congressman crane voted for biggs, so again we need gaetz good and rosen dale those are the question marks that will have an outcome tonight. let's listen back in. >> fitzpatrick. >> kevin mccarthy. >> fleischman. >> kevin mccarthy. >> fletcher. >> hakeem jeffries. >> flood. >> mccarthy. >> foster. >> jeffries. >> fuchi.

>> jeffries. >> fox. >> kevin mccarthy. >> lois frankel. >> jeffries. >> cscott franklin. >> mccarthy. >> frost? >> hakeem jeffries. >> frye. >> mccarthy. >> fulture. >> mccarthy. >> gaetz? gaetz? >> gallagher. >> mccarthy. >> gallego. >> jeffries. >> garbarino. >> mccarthy.

>> mike garcia. >> kevin mccarthy. >> robert garcia? >> hakeem jeffries. >> garcia of illinois? >> jeffries. >> garcia of texas? >> jeffries. >> jimenez. >> mccarthy. >> golden of maine. >> laura: okay, the suspense building, matt gaetz, he didn't speak. he didn't say who he was voting for we don't know if he's actually on the floor. okay. >> tony gonzalez. >> mccarthy. >> vicente gonzalez. >> jeffries. >> goode of virginia. >> jordan.

>> gooden of texas? okay. again, matt gaetz, when his name was called, did not vote. i mean, didn't say anything. don't know if he's on the floor. we're trying to effort that. also congressman goode, a very staunch holdout against kevin mccarthy, ended up voting for jordan. we're going to continue to listen in. >> graves of louisiana? graves of louisiana? >> graves of missouri. >> mccarthy. >> green of tennessee? >> kevin mccarthy. >> green of texas.

>> hakeem jeffries. >> green of georgia. >> mccarthy. >> laura: all right. well, matt gaetz is back on floor. we're going to go to bret baier who's going to do quick math as to where we are. suspense building on speaker's vote we're on the 14th vote now. what can you tell us. >> it's like algebra and like chad said it's like math, because you have these numbers shifting depending on how many people are on the floor. you had gaetz now back on the floor. there may be some suspense that he wants to be, when they recall the people who didn't vote the first time that he's the person that votes present and puts mccarthy over, but let's just do the math. assuming that you have ken buck there and hunt, that would be 434 total. the majority then, if you had present votes, three present votes, takes you to 431, so 216

wins. hunt and buck would be the two as opposed to the last ballot he was at 214. now, that's all depending about the total number being that number. and it shifts. that's why you don't know until the very end of the vote. so we're listening. there are still some members who have not voted. they'll come back at the end after the list and they'll go through the people who they did not -- they did not hear an answer and that will be the suspense likely because you can only win one or two more before this is a 15th ballot that we go to. >> laura: bret we just panned in on gaetz on the floor. i understand, did paul gosar also not vote? a lot of people are not voting. >> yeah, and i don't know if there's a strategy here that they want to be after all of this to be the center of attention at the end to say present and that's the number that puts mccarthy over. i don't know. but they have that option. until the vote closes, to either change a vote or to not vote at

first and then vote when they call the second time. so we -- the suspense is building here because we're on a knife's edge depending on how many people are in that room. and we haven't heard any democrats who have missed votes as of yet. and, remember, they've almost hit 212 every time, every ballot, they missed it once when the member from maryland had surgery. >> laura: we're relying on airlines to get people back into town 45 minutes before they're supposed to vote. it doesn't get any closer than this. and it's not 218 if the number of the people in the chamber change. it's no 218. >> hopefully ken buck wasn't taking southwest. who knows. we think he's back in town. we've been told that he's somewhere. >> laura: he just walked in. >> but he did not vote -- yeah. >> laura: yeah, he just walked in. all right, bret, we're going to go dip back in because it looks

like a lot of people are back into the chamber so we'll dip back into it. >> jackson of north carolina. >> jeffries. >> jackson of texas. >> kevin mccarthy. >> jackson lee. >> jeffery's. >> jacobs. >> jeffries. >> james, mccarthy. >> jeffries.

>> jeffries [cheers and applause] >> laura: joining us now is north carolina congressman bishop who changed his vote to support mccarthy on the 12th ballot. congressman it looks like the democrats pep rally is going to be coming to an end tonight but you met with mccarthy, i understand, right before this vote. can you tell us something about what happened behind closed doers? >> well, laura, as you may be aware, we've been working, group of 20 that were original holdouts, were working to change the way the house operates. and we've got an agreement to do that. and what we've been working on is nailing down every piece of that agreement. and we've met with leader mccarthy immediately before coming to the floor for a final conclusion of that agreement. so it is, as one person who's in position to know told me today, it's a transformational

agreement for the way the house operates and for the policy priorities and legislative strategy that's going to be undertaken by the house republican conference so we can finally stop the $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriate prayingses bills and start making this place work the way it could. >> laura: i wish it was 1.7 billion. obviously trillion congressman. >> did i say billion? >> laura: that's all right. a billion, trillion, this is washington. congressman, what i think we've seen over the last few days is the curtain pulled back on the process of washington. and most people do not follow, and i'm glad they don't because real lives, they don't follow the tonighty gritty of how bills get to the floor and why don't we know what's in these bills and why don't we have departments like veterans affairs have its own budget. why is everything so fuzzy? and is it not the case that these congressmen and senators, prefer it, most of them, to be

very opaque so they aren't held accountable for votes on immigration or votes on covid or votes on, you know, pick your poison. they'd rather say oh, i just voted to keep the government open. >> right, laura. in fact what ace a real tragedy is media all over the country that described what's going on here as being chaos and dysfunction. no. what you've seen the last 15 or more years the way this place operates, that's dysfunction. doing the same thing the same way will not produce any results. what's happening here is exactly what should happen, men and women of courage standing up to make changes so this institution functions properly and we meet our responsibilities of the american people. it's going to be tough because we've got to control spending, we've got a provision that i'm most excited about to have a genuine frank church style committee. i personally have been fighting over every detail of that to make sure that committee can get access to everything that it

needs. and it's been a tough and bruising process. but that's exactly what should be happening. and media ought to be celebrating it all over the country and the courage of not only the 20, but beg the question, why weren't there 30, 40, 50? what more could we have gotten and that's a great shame but i have to tell you it's a great celebration for me that we've achieved this result and now i'm glad to see the speaker's race concluding. obviously we're all in suspense about exactly how this will turn out. >> laura: yeah. well, congressman i'm all glad you have to work on a friday night like the rest of us. you know, congressmen are used to flying home on a thursday and getting home for the weekend. no, now you're working just like everybody else. congressman we appreciate it. i'm just teasing you. thank you >> joining me now charlie cushing founder of turning point, that harmeet dhillon and raymond arroyo. wesley hunt just voted by the way for mccarthy. he flew back tonight just for

the vote he missed earlier votes today. harmeet i want to start with you because you want to be part of transformational change in washington. a lot of people thought, well, how dare you challenge an incumbent like ronna mcdaniel. you'll never win. you have no shot. everything's already written in stone. these 19 or 20 holdouts actually did seem to get some pretty important concessionss in the end. your thoughts tonight? >> well, absolutely, laura. this is how our process is supposed to work and for too many years in dc in multiple conservative institutions, there really has been no challenge to leadership. there hasn't been challenge to leadership in the senate for a decade and the rnc for 12 years and here we're seeing some very healthy debate. so i have no problem with the house taking a couple of days to hash through all of these issues, get hopefully a package that actually does pass. so even if mccarthy wins this vote, we still have to see the

vote, which will happen in the early hours of the night, on the rules package which was the impetus for a lot of these changes. but the debate itself is very important and i think it's going to be a big improvement in the house for the conservative wing of the party and for a constitutional approach to passing legislation. >> laura: raymond, this idea that power just keeps perpetuating itself in washington with very little in put from the public. obviously mitch mcconnell has been in washington for decades, very powerful, very, very cany and very smart. but there was no real discussion, was there raymond, about whether someone else should step forward? you know, he's 80-something years old, been around for a long time. it was just assumed, no, mitch mcconnell's going to be, you know, the senate minority leader. but a lot of people say, nothing against him, but why? why? >> laura, a lot of this is about fund raising.

kevin mccarthy is a great fundraiser so is mitch mcconnell and that helps fuel the business of politics which is running again. that becomes important. but when i was listening to con manning bishop a moment ago, a little historical corrective. i covered newt gingrich's what was billed the paul pelosi revolution back in 1994. that contract with america laura was a clear to do list but it was actionable policy and legislation. okay? much of which these 20 holdouts got kevin mccarthy and this crew to agree to. my big question tonight is, why didn't they go out with this package of restraining debt, not raising the debt limit, three fifths majority vote for fax increases. this is performance stuff newt gingrich coined in 1994. this is clearly wa people wanted. and this is i think kevin mccarthy's problem all week. he laid out a very vega general

today. his commitment to america, which was, i'll read four points, a nation's that's safe, an economy that's strong, a future built on freedom. that's not tactile enough. you can't run on it and you can't be the indispensable man to move that kind of agenda forward. it's too vague. and i think kevin mccarthy is today paying that price. i am glad that they have finally agreed to a rule package that's responsive to the run away spending and tries to put some reigns on it. but i wonder why didn't they do that initially and run on that package, laura? that still con found me sitting here. >> laura: yeah. i think a lot of these points are very popular, just like enforcing border is more popular than immigration amnesty, but it never comes up in legislative forum that way, it's always thrown in with some big amnesty package, that's part of the rules process as well. charlie we're going to get to you and keep with the panel. thank you for joining us but joining me now hogan gidley

former trump white house press secretary, also joining is mike davis founder and president of the article three project. mike i'm going to start with you. you say it's a shame that more republicans didn't, in the end, join this 20. why do you think they didn't. >> i think there was a lot of pressure on them. i think this was a missed opportunity for conservatives. we had a chance here, this is the only body that republicans control in washington, house of representatives. we need a bold conservative leader, principled conservative leader who can draw a sharp contrast with president biden and democrats so we can start winning elections. we keep underperforming in these elections and we keep electing the same people. and hopefully the republicans will elect harmeet dhillon as the rnc chair but we need bold leadership. and if kevin mccarthy gets speakership tonight he's going to be on a short leash. i want him to succeed because i want our country to succeed. so i hope he can draw sharp

contrasts over the next two years, hold biden accountable and care more about everyday americans, real americans in the real world rather than corporate interests in america. i hope he pays more attention to real americans rather than corporate packs. >> laura: let's go to hogan goodly. there was much made that president trump came out early for kevin mccarthy. very unequivocally for mccarthy. so the point that we're seeing raised tonight is did the freedom caucus outflank trump to populism by getting these concessions from the leadership and really showing in many ways the country the wrought in washington and president trump had a chance to throw in with them and he said no, let's go with mccarthy. does that hurt trump in the end with the populous message? >> i don't think it hurts trump because i think donald trump really has his finger on the

pulse of american people. i think there are folks across this country tonight who do care ultimately about who becomes the speaker of the house but they don't care about the drama that the media pundits and cul ant class are salivating over the last several days. what they care about is a congress that stops the radical agenda that joe biden has pushed forward and nancy pelosi and the senate have all joined together and tried to hoist on top of the american people. they want a secure southern border. they want low inflation. they want low prices for gas and for groceries. these are the things the american people really care about and so that's why they republicans in charge of congress. and i think president trump and quite frankly the holdouts, the raucous caucus as bret baier called them last night understand that intimately. so what they've done here which is fascinating to me is stood up and said, look, for so long the

conservatives in congress are the one that hold the line on all their principles and the leadership are the ones that them over the cliff. >> laura: ignore them. >> or right up to the edge of the cliff all the time. >> laura: hogan hold on, we have to dip back in to this last vote with rosendale. >> mccarthy. >> rose. >> kevin mccarthy. >> rosendale. >> andy biggs. >> ross. >> jeffries. >> rouser. >> laura: okay, rosendale just voted as you heard for biggs. congressman rosen dale was another hold out of the original 20. back with me now charlie kirk

harmeet dhillon raymond arroyo. charlie this has been fascinating to watch. i think the drama's actually good. i don't think there's anything wrong with the drama. i think it draws people in to this conversation about how the nuts and bolts of this legislative process works and how again corrupt it has been year after year after year and there's some pretty substantive changes which are on the table which look like they'll actually be put into place for at least the next two years. what's wrong with that? >> there's noning wrong with it, a huge victory. i was skeptical at the beginning of the week to get this into multiple ballots. in fact there is still a very legitimate concern out there that moderate republicans could caucus with democrats. you saw some chatter tonight with representative gonzalez say he's going to be a no on the rules package because it goes too far in favor of the flea dom caucus. that's always an understandable fear. however you have to give credit to the holdouts to negotiating for a better conservative

congress and i think they should take the victory. rosendale there saying no and some of the other representatives, i've got to ask what else do you guys want? matt gaetz said on television tonight i'm running out of things to ask for and that gives me personally as someone who talks grass roots and represents a lot of younger voters a lot of confidence this congress is actually going to be able to get something meaningful done from oversight one topic bills to real steering changes and rules committee changes. so this is on pace to be the most conservative congress in my lifetime. these holdouts i think are patriots for what they've done and now it's time to take a victory so the moderates don't strike down with a deal with democrats that could obliterate this entire deal. i hope they get this done tonight. >> laura: yeah, take the win, take the victory. let's check back in with fox news chief congressional correspondent chad pergra.m. standing by on capitol hill. chad, the math, it is changing

again. >> it is right here on the edge. so far we have had four members vote against kevin mccarthy. people voting for someone else by name. eli crain for andy biggs, biggs for jim jordan, matt rosendale for bigs. if all 434 members vote we're right now at the edge, the delta of how many members kevin mccarthy can lose. it comes down to 4. this could hinge on matt gaetz. if he votes, if he votes at all, if he votes for mccarthy, if he votes for somebody else by name. that's the key. now ken buck flew back in from colorado, missed the vote. i'm told that he will make it up. they'll run through those who did not vote at the end there. they can cast their ballots so don't worry about ken buck if that sense but this will all hinge on what matt gaetz decides to do. i'm told there is an intense conversation with matt gaetz and allies of kevin mccarthy in the

back of the chamber right now. this is high drama tonight laura. >> laura: well, chad, at some point i think the question will become, you've got all these concessions, you've run out of things to ask for as gaetz said, you begin to look unserious. that's the problem. after all of these concessions have been agreed to by kevin mccarthy. so you wonder why where this all ends up if it keeps going round and round on this. >> keep in mind also, you're going to have one present vote here, so that's lauren boebert. you might still have some absences, we don't know if's any absences on the democratic side. we don't know if there's going to be any absences on the republican side. can win with viewer than 218 votes that number can come down. we've had speakers, newt gingrich nancy pelosi john gainer all win with fewer than 218 votes. >> laura: all right, chad, thank you again for joining us tonight. back with me is the panel,

charlie kirk, har might dillon raymond arroyo. harmeet we have all the individuals we just named, biggs, crane, rosendale, goode all voted against kevin mccarthy. does this end up biting them on the back side given everything that's been conceded already? >> well, i think that is a risk for them. i mean, the reality is, when you go to congress, you're signing up for a process where the sausage is being made. that means compromise has to be had and if you want to be relevant to the voters who elected you to congress you have to be able to show up and make deals and that requires some good will. so i'm not sure what the end game is for those because the people they're nominating and voting for rather are not running and they're not realistic alternatives. so if this was a horse race between two capped dates and this was a debate over that, i could see that. but if you're simply obstructing, i think you're burning a lot of good will. so at some point, gaetz called

mccarthy speaker designate an hour ago so i think that's a hint where he's going to go so the ones who made a deal will be in a much better position to make deals for their constituents the next few years than those who simply refersed to deal. >> laura: great point, good faith all the way around that way. raymond, i have to touch back on the issue we briefly mentioned earlier which is the defense budget. you have all these defense hawks that say you can't touch at this time, you can't touch it, you can't touch it. but is that really realistic given the fact we have $33 trillion in debt and exploding costs of government continuing to increase year after year. is that realistic? >> well, whether it's realistic or not, this republican ma josh at this time, slim majority has agreed to sideline, you know, the defense budget. it's all the discretionary spending they'll take a look at. but laura i'm still puzzled why this wasn't all hammered out in the days after they secured the

majority. these are things basic things conservatives agree on. newt gingrich and frank luntz, they conned this, why they didn't use the same play book i don't understand. but that's where they have to get. >> laura: we have to chime in on where we are on the vote. so far it looks like we have kevin mccarthy as 201, jeffries 203. >> waters. >> jeffries. >> watson coleman. >> hakeem jeffries. >> webber of texas. >> mccarthy. >> webster of florida. >> mccarthy. >> winstrop. >> mccarthy. >> westerman. >> mccarthy.

>> wexton. >> jeffries. >> wild. >> jeffries. >> williams of georgia. >> hakeem jeffries. >> williams of new york. williams of new york. >> mccarthy. >> williams of texas. >> kevin mccarthy. >> wilson of florida. >> hakeem jeffries. >> wilson of south carolina. >> kevin mccarthy. >> whitman. >> kevin mccarthy. >> womack. >> mccarthy. >> yacum. >> mccarthy. >> zinke.

>> mccarthy. >> the reading clerk will now call the names of the members elect who did not answer the first call of the roll. >> laura: yeah. they're going to call we believe the name of those individuals who were not present. >> mccarthy [cheers and applause] >> here we go. >> gaetz. >> present [cheers and applause]

>> laura: okay. ken buck and gaetz, i believe if i heard it right, both voted for mccarthy. sam, am i right there? gaetz voted present. all right. trace gallagher. it's hard to hear i have a lot of people in my ear. trace gallagher takes it from here with the latest coverage and we're going to keep it going. we'll see what happens. ♪ >> good evening, everyone, and welcome to america's late news. we are watching right now the vote tabulation. if you missed it matt gaetz just voted present, that is two present, four for others and it now comes down to these remaining votes. let's listen in very quickly. >> carter of california. >>