politico. thank you. sarah: thank you so much. >> the c-span bus continues its capital tour with stops in raleigh, and montgomery. each visit will speech with -- will speak with state officials. join us on wednesday at 9:30 a.m. eastern for our stop in raleigh, north carolina. our guest is north carolina attorney general, josh stein. >> ahead of martin luther king junior day, president trump signed a proclamation honoring the civil rights leader. at the end of the ceremony he was asked about comments he made about haitians and african-americans during the meeting with lawmakers. he refused to give a response. from the white house, this is 15 minutes.

president trump: i want to thank secretary carson along with the distinguished guests joining us here today. it is a great honor. earlier this week i had the privilege to join isaac to sign into law legislation redesignating the martin luther king junior national historic site to the martin luther king jr. national historic park. the new law expands the area, protect it, and historic sites for the future. generations of americans are becoming so important, and this is a great honor for us. and a great honor to dr. king. today, we gather in the white house to honor the memory of the great american hero, the

reverend dr. martin luther king jr. on january 15, 1929 martin luther king jr. was born in atlanta, georgia. he would go on to change the course of human history. as a young man, dr. king decided to follow the calling of his father and grandfather to become a christian pastor. he would later write that it was quite easy for me to think of a god of love mainly because i grew up in a family where love was central. that is what reverend king preached all of his life, love. love for each other, for neighbors, and for our fellow americans. dr. king's faith and his love for humanity led him and others to stand up for civil rights and -- civil rights of african-americans.

through his bravery and sacrifice, dr. king opened the eyes and lifted the conscience of our nation. he stirred the hearts of our people to recognize the dignity written in every human soul. today, we celebrate dr. king for standing up for the self evident truth americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin, or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by god. this april we will mark a half-century since reverend king was so cruelly taken from us by an assassin's bullet. but while dr. king is no longer with us, his words and his vision only grow stronger through time. today, we mourn his loss, we celebrate his legacy, and we pledge to fight for his dream of equality, freedom, justice, and peace.

i will now sign the proclamation making january 15, 2018, the martin luther king jr. federal holiday, and encourage all americans to observe this day with acts of civic work and community service in honor of dr. king's extraordinary life. it was extraordinary indeed. and his great legacy. thank you, god bless you all, and god bless america. with that, i would like to ask a great friend of mine, secretary carson, for remarks. then we will be signing the very important proclamation. thank you very much. ben? secretary carson: thank you mr. president. it is an honor to be here honoring the solemn occasion.

i thank you for signing this legislation to designate the birthplace, church, and tomb of dr. martin luther king as a national historic park. his monumental struggle for civil rights earned these places in his life, faith, and death the same honor as mount vernon, and the famous humble log cabin in illinois. this april we will observe the 50th anniversary of dr. king's assassination. i remember so vividly that day as a high school student in detroit. far from silencing his dream, death brought him immortal in the american heart. this message of equality, justice, and the common dignity of man redounds today. urgently needed to heal the divisions of our age.

today, we honor the legacy of the man who marched on washington for jobs and freedom, achieving both for millions of americans. of all races and backgrounds. his legacy also calls us to remember where these ideas, equality, freedom, liberty get their power. our good efforts alone are not enough to lend them meeting. -- to lend them meaning. by what should i be called equal to another man? it cannot be my wealth, for there will always be one richer than me. it cannot be by strength, there will always be one stronger than me. it cannot be by success, or happiness, or beauty, or any other pieces of the human condition which are distributed through providence. so, perhaps providence alone is the answer.

we hold these truths to be self evident. that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and a pursuit of happiness. with these familiar words, our declaration of independence recognizes the true author of our common dignity. one that is beyond every human law and institution. if we forget this source of our fundamental equality, then our fight to recognize it in our society will never be fulfilled. this is a truth that dr. king carried with him from selma to montgomery, from a pulpit in atlanta to the steps of the lincoln memorial.

from a cell in birmingham to the entire world. this year we will not recover -- we will not remember his slaying as an ending, but a beginning. as a moment when his truth rose stronger than hatred. and his cause larger than death. as a moment when he called a new life with his creator before all men shall one day stand in equal rank, bearing with them no riches, but the content of their character. if we keep this conviction at the center of our every word and action, if we look upon our countrymen as brothers with a shared home and common destination, then instead of meaningless words rolling off our tongue, we will truly create one nation.

indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. we are going to have a word from mr. isaac newton farris, deaf nephew of dr. martin luther king. [applause] isaac: president trump, vice president pence, and all assembled here, if my uncle were here today, he would say, what are we or what are you doing for others? that is why it was so important that my aunt chris scott king -- coretta scott

king returned to congress 10 years ago and asked that the meaning of the holiday be changed. we did not want the king holiday just to be a day of hero worship. as his nephew, i think he was one of the greatest americans that we produced. but it should not be a day of hero worship. that is why the congress agreed with my aunt. it also made it a day of service. so, that we, on that day, as a matter of fact at the king center we refer to it as a day on, not a day off. not a day to hang out in the park or pull up the barbecue grill. it is a day to do something to help someone else. that can be as simple as delivering someone's trash or picking up the newspaper for that elderly person who cannot get to the end of the driveway. bottom line, you're doing something that benefits someone other than yourself. that is the proper way to remember my uncle, and the proper way to celebrate the king holiday.

president trump, thank you for taking the time to acknowledge this day. thank you for remembering that we are all americans, and on this day we should be united. thank you, mr. president, think you, mr. vice president. [applause] president trump: this is a great, important day. martin luther king jr., federal holiday. a proclamation. congratulations. [applause]

>> mr. president, what you give an apology for the statement yesterday? >> mr. president, are you a racist? >> mr. president, will you respond to the serious questions about the statement? >> mr. president, are you a racist? >> this monday, on martin luther king jr. day, we will show members of the congressional

black caucus paying tribute to the civil rights leader on the house floor. among the speaker, john lewis, of georgia, who spoke about the first time he met martin luther king jr. >> one day, 15 years old in the 10th grade, i heard martin luther king junior i heard rosa parks in 1955. the action of rosa parks, the words and leadership of dr. martin luther king jr. inspired me to find a way to get in the way. two years later, i wrote a letter to dr. martin luther king jr. in 1957. i told him in his letter that i wanted to attend a state-supported college, known as troy state, now troy university.

they did not admit black students. dr. king wrote me back. he invited me to come to montgomery to meet with him. in the meantime, i was accepted by a college in nashville, tennessee. he said, when you are home from spring break, come to see me. bus andd a greyhound traveled from troy to montgomery . been young lawyer, who had a lawyer for rosa parks and dr. martin luther king, met me at the first baptist church in abernathy. see dr. martin luther king and reverend abernathy. dr. martin luther king said are you john lewis? said, dr. king, i am john

robert lewis. he still called me the boy from troy. this man inspired me to stand up to find a way to get in the way. you can watch the rest of man lewis' speech here on c-span. was created byan your local satellite provider and is brought to you today. >> facing a challenge over whether the policy of removing an active voters from ls is aation rol violation of federal law?

who does not respond is removed from the rolls. this argument is just over one hour. your argument in this morning -- we will hear the argument this morning versus the randolph institute. mr. murphy? >> may it please the court. congress passed to serve competing goals. increasing the number of registered voters but decreasing the number of in notable ones. this congressional compromise is evident in the mandates. it requires states to undertake programs to remove ineligible individuals but place limits on those federally mandated removal programs, including the