under our first amendment to express themselves and people avail themselves of that opportunity on a daily basis in this country, but they need to do it within the confines of what's lawful. well, it's an executive order. my guess is that it will be the subject of probably multiple lawsuits, and i think the courts will probably have something to say about it. but all i've said before, and i don't think there's any new anything new in this proposal as in many of the other proposals the president has made. this is something he passionately believes in. it's something he's talked about for a long time. and so you know he's trying through executive order to make some headway on lowering the drug prices for people in this country, particularly seniors, and again we'll see how it plays out, but i'm quite certain that there will be lots more to say about that because i suspect that it's going to be the subject of litigation for some time. thank you.

[indistinct chatter] >> ok, good afternoon everybody and thanks for being here. a special thanks to senators wyden, hassan, welch for joining us. now this weekend we got news that president trump will be accepting almost he will be accepting almost a half a billion dollar jet. from the qatari government.

this just isn't naked corruption. it's also a national security threat. donald trump isn't just blurring the lines between public service and personal profit, he's erasing it. that's not just speculation. in fact, it's backed by overwhelming evidence. he is jeopardizing america's national security to line his own pockets. that's why this morning i announced i will be placing a hold on all political doj nominees until we get more answers on this so-called deal. until we learn the truth about this deal, i will do my part to block the galling and truly breathtaking politicization of doj. we've never seen anything like it. in other heinous news for americans this weekend, the house republicans unveiled their plan for the largest cut to medicaid in american history,

the largest cut to medicaid in american history. 14 million americans, at least 14 million, would be ripped off, ripped off of their health insurance under this proposal. why? tax breaks for billionaires. it's appalling. to take people's health care away to make them sicker. to give tax breaks to billionaires is just appalling. it's not what america wants and it's not what america needs. not only will millions of americans lose coverage, for many others, their premiums will skyrocket. talk about lowering costs. this ain't a way to do it, that's for sure. and hospitals, rural, urban, and in between. we will close. many, many people will lose their jobs and many more will lose their health coverage.

states will scramble with their budgets, and american families will be left out to dry. for months the republicans claimed that their tax plan wouldn't touch medicaid. now we know that's a bold faced lie. they were afraid to admit it, but now they can't avoid it. it's slashing medicaid more than it ever has been slashed before. it's cruel. it's heartbreaking. senate democrats will continue to expose this devastating plan and fight for american families to keep their hard earned benefits, senator whitey. >> thank you, leader. and let's be clear about what the republicans are up to on health care. they're basically gaslighting. the american people telling folks that fraud, waste, and abuse are everywhere, and the democrats are simply going along with all of it.

now we have the congressional budget office, which is the go to arbiter of the facts in this area, say that 100% of the cuts have nothing to do with waste, fraud and abuse, nothing. they're basically terminating coverage, denying services like home care, which seniors see as precious, and also in rural areas, making it harder to get hospitals and nursing homes and providers to cover care. and the second point that i want to mention is when you look at the entirety of the republican response on health care, what they are doing is everything possible to keep eligible people from being able to get coverage. they put them through so much red tape. that's essentially what some of these new things are all about.

they are bureaucracy requiring steps that ensure that it's hard to be eligible for services. so we feel that health care is basic to american families. nothing is more precious than to be able to go to bed at night knowing that you're going to get decent healthcare. and what the republicans do in their health care provisions in the reconciliation package is walk back health security for millions and millions of americans, all to make sure that folks at the very top of the ladder can come up with another package of benefits, benefits that so many instances defy common sense and are only there in order to give yet more privileges to the people at the top. we're for a tax code that gives everybody in america the chance to get ahead, and that's what we're going to battle for in this process. >> thank you. well, thank you, leader schumer. look, this week president trump and congressional republicans are pushing forward with their plan to give billionaires and corporate special interests more

tax breaks, all paid for by taking health coverage away from millions of americans and by the way, by adding trillions to the national debt. it is wrong. it's dangerous, and it's devastating to people, our small rural hospitals, our communities, our economy. millions of families count on medicaid and the affordable care act for essential healthcare, and this republican bill to take coverage away from many of our constituents will result in untreated diseases, packed emergency rooms. if you think wait times are long in emergency rooms now, they will get worse and even higher prescription drug prices because this bill exempts more drug products from negotiation with medicare.

when i was governor of new hampshire, we expanded medicaid with republican support because even though we didn't agree on everything, we understood that we're all better off when people are healthy. at a time when families continue to struggle with rising costs, i can think of a few ideas as ill advised as this one from president trump and congressional republicans. they are working this bill directly raises healthcare costs on millions of americans just as other costs continue to go up. but this proposal to take medicaid coverage away from people doesn't just put the families who are going to lose coverage at risk. no, this proposal threatens our entire health care system. healthcare providers all across the country, especially rural doctors and hospitals, are only able to keep their doors open. because of the care that they provide to patients who have medicaid and medicare coverage, if millions of people can no

longer afford to go to the doctor and get the care that they need, many of these facilities will have no choice but to shut down altogether. and when people have their insurance taken away, they end up getting their care in emergency rooms when their condition is acute. this drives up waiting times, costs, and look, it will drive up insurance premiums even on the private health insurance market for everyone. the bottom line here is clear. if this billionaire tax break at the expense of the middle class passes, more people will get sick. our economy will weaken. and an awful lot of people, an awful lot of our fellow americans, our friends and neighbors will be hurt. thank you. >> welch.

>> thank you. and just on that plane, senator schumer, he's kind of an old fashioned guy. he puts like national security ahead of presidential traveling comfort. shocking. you know, we're at crunch time here. and there's a lot of suffering and anxiety throughout the country, especially folks who are struggling week to week, month to month to pay their bills. and we're at a moment where that suffering is going to be intensified. by a law that congress is considering. folks need health care. and folks need it in red states and they need it in blue states. folks need health care whether they voted for trump or they voted for harris. they need it for the kids. they need it for their older parents. and we are on the cusp. of voting on a bill. that makes it legal.

to boot seniors out of nursing homes. that makes it legal to deny disabled kids. medicaid that makes it legal. to move to a different topic, to take $2 for a meal that's provided by snap off the table. this is what we're actually considering to make it legal to take away health care for kids and for seniors. that is so outrageous. and why is it? it's not because my republican colleagues don't want their folks that they represent to have access to health care. they're intimidated by trump. this is totally outrageous that we even have to have a discussion about taking away health care, not to mention all the consequences, the insecurity, the suffering, and then in rural america.

where we depend on those hospitals. they won't be able to operate when we take away medicaid. they won't be able to operate. you know what will happen. they'll work hard and that'll be in red states and blue states, and they'll keep providing services even when it's free until they can't anymore. and it's an absolute disgrace that this congress is even having a discussion about taking away health care from children, from seniors, from disabled people. we don't need to do it and the version of fiscal responsibility that the republicans have to pay for this tax cut that largely goes to billionaires and to very wealthy people. and by the way, in vermont, when i walk around, people are saying peter, where's my tax cut? they're saying what's happening to my healthcare. they're saying what's happening to my ability to feed my kids. that's what they're asking me, not about this healthcare.

the version of fiscal responsibility is to pay for it by taking away healthcare, by taking away food stamps, by taking away meals on wheels. no is the answer. >> thank you, peter. and i mentioned on the floor trump calls this a big beautiful bill. we call it the big rift, greedy republicans in favor of tycoons. questions. yes. >> do you believe david hogg remain up to the dnc? >> yes. >> what do you make of threats to potentially sanction these democratic members who went to the ice facility, even threats from the trump administration maybe to arrest them. we see a resolution now to maybe toss them from their committees. >> look, the right of peaceful protest is sacrosanct in america. the trump administration and often it's justice department doesn't seem to believe in it.

[inaudible] was that? yes, yes. on the floor today and in a letter we will be sending, we ask a whole lot of questions, a lot of serious answers, national security threats. you're going to take a plane from another country. and air force one is the most complicated piece of aircraft in the world. it needs so much, so much goes into it, a lot of which is classified. we've got a lot of questions. yes, no, no, yep, this person. ok, you get him. i thought his hand was up. >> you said in june of last year in my meetings with president biden i impressive, but in that same month, biden apparently did not recognize george clooney in a fundraiser. >> we're just looking for. forward. >> what's your reaction to president trump's proposal to direct hhs and cms to negotiate

lower drug prices, >> it's very much the same as what he said in 2020. it's all talk, no action. in 2020, he didn't get the results, and i doubt he's going to get them now. a lot of talk, a lot of hype, no action. thank you, everybody. >> alex, take you through that. i catch you later.