Today on Velshi, President Biden is taking on a policy issue that Republicans have been trying to turn into a dangerous political weapon.

The president is heading to the southern border this morning and then on to Mexico City.

We'll have a live report from El Paso coming up.

Plus, what history tells us about what might be next in a bitterly divided U.S. Congress

and why the days-long speaker fight is not

democracy at work, as some would have you believe. And she received one of the highest civilian

honors in the United States on Friday for her role in protecting democracy in the aftermath of the

2020 election. But today, the Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, is here to tell me about

the battles that still lie ahead. Then, today's Velshi Band Book Club feature is a novel about

racism, police brutality, and white allyship that one teacher suggested should be taught alongside

the classic to kill a mockingbird. Others, though, wanted banned. We'll talk about why this book

is so important

and the incredible story of how its two co-authors met.

Velshi begins now.

And good morning.

It's Sunday, January 8th.

I'm Ali Velshi.

For many over the past week,

Kevin McCarthy's prolonged bid for Speaker of the House was a captivating story to follow. It was

dramatic. It was unpredictable. And unlike anything we've seen in modern history on the House floor,

which is because a contentious battle for Speaker just hasn't been part of modern American politics.

That doesn't mean that the votes

...