1 00:00:02,066 --> 00:00:04,166 HARI SREENIVASAN, PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND ANCHOR: The first public testimony of former FBI Director 2 00:00:04,166 --> 00:00:08,400 Jim Comey since his firing by President Trump captured the Capitol's attention this week, 3 00:00:10,233 --> 00:00:13,200 but there were other significant developments on the Hill outside of that spotlight. 4 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,933 "NewsHour Weekend" special correspondent Jeff Greenfield joins me from Santa Barbara, California, 5 00:00:16,933 --> 00:00:18,133 to discuss that. 6 00:00:18,133 --> 00:00:20,133 So, what did we miss? 7 00:00:20,133 --> 00:00:21,366 JEFF GREENFIELD, NEWSHOUR WEEKEND SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the entire political 8 00:00:21,366 --> 00:00:24,933 universe was focused on the Comey testimony. 9 00:00:24,933 --> 00:00:29,333 Up on Capitol Hill in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took the Republican 10 00:00:29,333 --> 00:00:34,000 repeal and replace Obamacare bill and put it on a so-called fast track. 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,533 That means it can go right to the floor of the Senate with no committee meetings, no 12 00:00:37,533 --> 00:00:41,333 hearings, virtually no debate, and it would only take 50 votes to pass it. 13 00:00:41,333 --> 00:00:43,466 There were some concessions to moderates. 14 00:00:43,466 --> 00:00:47,500 It's not clear that the most conservative senators will sign on, but it represents a 15 00:00:47,500 --> 00:00:49,966 significant step in that direction. 16 00:00:49,966 --> 00:00:54,000 On the other side of the Capitol, the House passed significant cutbacks of the Dodd-Frank 17 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,033 bill. 18 00:00:56,033 --> 00:00:59,166 That's legislation that puts significant caps on what big banks can do in the wake of the 19 00:00:59,166 --> 00:01:01,633 financial meltdown in 2008. 20 00:01:01,633 --> 00:01:06,066 That faces some tough sledding in the Senate, but what it indicates is that the Republican 21 00:01:06,066 --> 00:01:11,066 majorities in the House and Senate are determined to press ahead with the core Republican agenda 22 00:01:13,066 --> 00:01:17,166 on matters ranging from financial regulation to the role of health in the government and 23 00:01:17,633 --> 00:01:19,700 beyond. 24 00:01:19,700 --> 00:01:21,766 SREENIVASAN: Is there a pattern here on how they are going to pursue this agenda? 25 00:01:21,766 --> 00:01:26,433 GREENFIELD: Well, I think the pattern extends beyond Capitol Hill, and it indicates why 26 00:01:26,433 --> 00:01:31,233 some congressional Republicans who might have a lot of problems with Trump's behavior are 27 00:01:31,233 --> 00:01:33,533 not going to be that willing to step away from him. 28 00:01:33,533 --> 00:01:37,833 The executive branch has done all kinds of regulatory changes. 29 00:01:37,833 --> 00:01:42,833 They've granted a lot of exceptions to the energy industry, to for-profit colleges. 30 00:01:44,833 --> 00:01:48,800 They've appointed into positions of government representatives from various interest groups 31 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,133 and have given them exemptions from conflict of interest rules. 32 00:01:52,133 --> 00:01:56,466 They've clearly appointed some -- or trying to appoint staunch conservatives to the federal 33 00:01:56,466 --> 00:01:59,066 bench. 34 00:01:59,066 --> 00:02:02,333 And that suggests that for congressional Republicans looking at Trump, there's a thought that, 35 00:02:02,333 --> 00:02:07,333 well, he may have problems, but he seems to be pursuing what we conservatives have wanted 36 00:02:09,266 --> 00:02:12,033 the government to do for some time, which is why I think that they will be less inclined 37 00:02:12,033 --> 00:02:16,366 than otherwise to take sides against him in, say, a fight with the former director of the 38 00:02:16,366 --> 00:02:17,866 FBI. 39 00:02:17,866 --> 00:02:19,766 SREENIVASAN: So, where does this leave the president then? 40 00:02:19,766 --> 00:02:24,433 On Thursday, we heard basically Jim Comey say that the president in some ways lied, 41 00:02:24,433 --> 00:02:28,800 and then Friday, we explicitly heard the president refute that. 42 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,800 GREENFIELD: Well, you know, I think in the short run -- and we've talked about this before 43 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,766 - - the whole impeachment idea is a nonstarter. 44 00:02:35,766 --> 00:02:40,766 We don't have a lot of history about impeachment, but one thing is as long as the president 45 00:02:42,766 --> 00:02:46,033 retains the support of his or her party, removal from office is almost impossible. 46 00:02:48,066 --> 00:02:52,700 But when the president said publicly he'd be willing to take -- to testify under oath 47 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,666 before special counsel Mueller, he may have bought himself a world of trouble because 48 00:02:57,666 --> 00:03:02,666 once you testify under oath, anything you say that's false can be used as either a source 49 00:03:05,066 --> 00:03:08,366 of a criminal indictment or in the case of a president, impeachment. 50 00:03:08,366 --> 00:03:12,900 And under those circumstances, I think you would see congressional Republicans, particularly 51 00:03:12,900 --> 00:03:16,033 from those in the swing districts, begin to move away from him. 52 00:03:16,033 --> 00:03:20,600 The fact of the matter is, right now, whatever his overall poll numbers are, he is hugely 53 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:21,966 popular within his party. 54 00:03:21,966 --> 00:03:24,066 SREENIVASAN: Yes. 55 00:03:24,066 --> 00:03:26,333 GREENFIELD: But I do think he set himself up for a potential problem with that statement 56 00:03:26,333 --> 00:03:27,433 about testifying under oath. 57 00:03:27,433 --> 00:03:28,433 SREENIVASAN: All right. 58 00:03:28,433 --> 00:03:29,433 Jeff Greenfield, thanks so much. 59 00:03:29,433 --> 00:03:29,933 GREENFIELD: Yes.