House of Cards (2013) s01e02 Episode Script
Chapter 2
You know what I like about people? They stack so well.
Let me get this for you.
- Want the paper? - No.
This is too much.
It's not half enough.
Thanks for opening up for me.
Any time, day or night.
You know that.
In a town where everyone's so carefully reinventing themselves, what I like about Freddy is that he doesn't even pretend to change.
Ooh.
I'm late.
Every Tuesday I sit down with the speaker and the majority leader to discuss the week's agenda.
Well, discuss is probably the wrong word.
They talk while I sit quietly and imaging their lightly salted faces frying in a skillet.
Vasquez must be shitting herself.
Shitting herself, or Walker is shitting himself and shoveling his shit on her shit.
Bob, I'm planning on eating.
Do we have a backup on the docket? You're on that, right, Frank? Yeah, I'm working with my staff-- Republicans are gonna ram this up our ass.
I would if I was them.
Why, even if we squeak it through the house, watch them mangle it in the senate.
- Or filibuster.
- Why, sure, if it looks anything like this.
I don't know why Walker's trying to tackle a charging elephant.
It's madness.
Congressmen, sorry to interrupt, but I saw you sitting over here-- Remy.
Gentlemen, this is Remy Danton.
Remy, this is Speaker Birch and Congress-- I'm well aware.
Mr.
Speaker, Congressman.
Remy just made partner at Glendon Hill.
Glendon Hill? Great team over there.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
When was the last time they added a partner? It's been a while.
Well, they know a winner when they see one.
Remy was the best press secretary I ever had.
Why did you let him go? I didn't.
They stole him away.
What accounts do you have? San Corp Industries is my main one.
I run that account now.
Anyhow, I'll let you get back to it.
Sorry again to interrupt.
No problem.
Very nice to meet you both.
- Nice.
- Lobbyists keep getting younger and younger.
He's probably making more than all of us combined.
Gentlemen, this one's on me.
I'm gonna track down that check.
Glendon Hill fronts San Corp Industries.
San Corp is deep into natural gas.
I don't give a hoot about natural gas, but I have 67 deputy whips, and they all need cash to win races.
San Corp helps me purchase loyalty, and in return they expect mine.
It's degrading, I know, but when the tit's that big, everybody gets in line.
Tell them I'm on top of it.
I need more than that.
You are well aware that I do not drop the ball on things like this, Remy.
Promises, Frank.
Secretary of State, Argentine and offshore drilling contracts-- talk to me when I've solved the problem.
Don't waste my time when I'm working on solving the problem.
When there's billions on the line, I can't not show up.
Fine.
Thank you for your diligence.
Eight figures to you and the D triple C.
of yours in your name.
- I know.
- Don't make them throw money at your challenger next cycle.
You've made your point.
Have I? I hope so.
Such a waste of talent.
He chose money over power-- In this town, a mistake nearly everyone makes.
Money is the McMansion in Sarasota that starts falling apart after ten years.
Power is the old stone building that stands for centuries.
I cannot respect someone who doesn't see the difference.
What am I looking at? The Williams register.
- Williams? - College.
September '78.
And why am I looking at it? The editorial.
Not that interesting.
Michael Kern went to Williams.
Check out the masthead.
And then there's this.
It's thin.
The guy's a unicorn.
He pisses rainbows.
- You think we can get traction with this? - I think you could.
Linda Vasquez is on the phone.
Ah, I'm surprised it took her this long.
It's only 6 past 9:00.
Which means she read the Herald 3 hours ago and spent the past 2 1/2 getting reamed by the president.
Tell her I'm on my way.
You were supposed to keep Donald in line.
You assured me that you-- this particular agenda.
We got between the mother bear and her cub.
It's a setback.
That's all.
On our first day in office.
Linda, I've worked with four presidents.
Setbacks are a dime a dozen with a bill of this size.
Frank, if you can't control this-- I don't take well to being micromanaged, Linda.
You want to do my job for me and run the White House? Good luck.
I won't stand in your way.
Okay, Frank.
Fine.
This is yours now.
If this thing can't make it to the floor in the first 100 days, then I'll let you explain to the president why he lied to the American people.
I'm gonna get back to work.
Please do.
Well, we really should be doing this on a Friday instead of a Wednesday.
If we do it on a Friday, - people have the weekend-- - Fine.
We'll do it on Friday.
Is all the paperwork ready? Some of the more senior people are trickier.
There's severance.
But we shouldn't run into any legal issues.
No, no.
We use at-will employment contracts across the board.
Well, get started first thing Friday.
I want all of the exit interviews done by lunch.
Claire, I just can't help but think that this is a mistake.
We've discussed this already, Evelyn.
I know, I know, but I just have to say it for the sake of my conscience.
I think that you are dismantling what we have built over the past ten years, and I-- and I think the way you're handling this isis cruel.
It's not easy, Evelyn.
But it's necessary.
You have always asked me to be honest with you.
It's how we work together.
I disagree with something, I say it.
Well, I disagree 100%.
Please, Claire, don't do this.
I respect your opinion, Evelyn, and I appreciate you sharing it with me, but I'm not going to change my mind.
Friday, then.
If that's what you want.
This is major reform, a complete overhaul.
That would usually take months.
Well, we only have days, not months.
But think about the process.
We can't just change-- When I ask my colleagues, your bosses, who are the smartest minds in education, out of hundreds, we arrived at you-- the six of you in this room.
Now, I realize it is a difficult task, but we have the opportunity to make history here.
And I want all of us to make it together.
So good luck.
We're counting on you.
Page 1.
These bullet points reflect the key planks at the center of our bill.
Get comfy.
This is your home until we have a presentable first draft.
Donald, what a morning.
I have no idea how they got this.
I specifically told my staff to destroy everything.
I can't imagine-- It doesn't matter how it happened.
We can't make it unhappen, so we have to adapt.
Don't they realize that this is a first draft? All we have here really is a perception problem.
We don't get a second chance at a first impression, Donald.
You know that.
Now, look, I'm on your side, but Linda is furious.
What's she saying? They want to point fingers.
At me? I told her we cannot do that.
I mean, you are vital to this process.
I'm up to here with them, Donald-- for lying, for turning their back on you.
You know, I'm of a mind to say screw it.
I'll fall on this grenade myself, just to piss them off.
Give me John king at CNN.
Wait, Frank.
This is not your fault.
No, we have to protect your reputation.
But you're the man that needs to get the bill through the house.
I will-- hang on.
I will assign it to one of my deputies, quietly manage it, and help guide you through the process.
I am not comfortable with this.
Well, then what do you suggest we do? What a martyr craves more than anything is a sword to fall on, so you sharpen the blade, hold it at just the right angle, and then 3, 2, 1-- It should be me.
It was my bill.
No.
Impossible.
Donald, education has been your life's work.
The truth is my heart is not in this fight.
You know me.
I'm not a wheeler dealer.
I can put my mind to policy, but I'm no good at this brand of politics.
Well, if not you, then who? It should be you, Frank.
You're formidable.
People respect you.
They will follow your lead.
Let me-- let me be on the sidelines for this.
Well, I could only consider that as an option if I knew that I could still come to you for counsel.
Of course.
Whatever you need.
Part of me is glad this got leaked.
Well, it would have been better if it hadn't, but at least people know where I stand.
Thank you, Donald.
Happy to do it, Frank.
He has no idea we've got six kids in the next room already working on a new draft.
Stamper! But why dampen his mood by telling him? We just gave him a great gift-- a chance to fulfill his destiny.
Write up a statement for Blythe-- stepping aside, fresh ideas, et cetera, et cetera, and make it dignified.
He's a good man.
Oh.
And bring me that Williams editorial.
After careful thought and discussion with my staff, I am relinquishing my management of the education reform act.
I hope to remain a part of the process, but I won't be working-- Why did you leak the draft? I'm not exactly sure how it got leaked, but, uh, it does represent-- it came from your office, though, correct? Uh, we wrote it, but I don't-- Who'll be managing the bill now? Frank Underwood.
Was that your choice, or did the administration-- I feel very confident placing the bill in Frank's capable hands.
Ms.
Barnes.
How very deep throat of you.
Well, I can't help you dispatch a president.
How about a senator? The editorial on the Camp David accords.
"It is the opinion of this newspaper "that President Carter demand Israel "withdraw all its citizens from the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
" "Which it has illegally occupied since 1967.
" Illegally occupied.
That's quite an incendiary quote, don't you think? For an administration that says that the Middle East is its top foreign policy priority.
Michael Kern? Did he personally write the editorial? He was the editor.
But did he write it himself? Then there's no story.
I'm saying it's a question worth asking.
And if he denies involvement? He will.
Let him.
This is a man trying to be confirmed as Secretary of State.
Everything is a story.
There's no direct link.
I can't get this past Messerschmidt.
Remember this moment when you resisted me, when you said the words "Then there is no story.
" Get a good night's sleep, Ms.
Barnes.
You have a big day tomorrow.
Francis? What is this? What does it look like? But the basement is mine.
I know.
It's not for me.
So who's it for? For you.
There's a gym in the Capitol.
Which you never use.
Because I'm a tad busy running the country.
But not at home, so now you have no excuse.
I want it out.
Give it a try first.
Is this your subtle way of saying that I'm out of shape? No, it's my way of suggesting you could be in better shape.
That sounds both passive-aggressive and condescending.
Just plain aggressive and true.
Don't wait up for me.
Are you going running now? Yes, because I couldn't this morning.
I had an early meeting.
Use the monstrosity.
It's freezing out.
You break it in.
It looks positively medieval, doesn't it? And to turn my only sanctuary into a fitness dungeon.
I won't have it.
It's a stretch.
We're not misleading anyone.
- He was the editor.
- Did you call for a comment? I tried three times.
The press secretary said he'd get back to me.
- He didn't.
- What about research? You couldn't find anything to echo the editorial? No quotes, no op-ed pieces? Don't you think if something like that existed, someone would have printed it by now? Nobody else has this, Lucas.
I don't think there's a story here.
I'm not saying there's a story.
All I'm saying is that there's a question that needs to be answered.
This is a nominee for Secretary of State.
We have an editorial on Palestine and Israel.
Which he didn't write.
Which we don't know he didn't write.
Exactly.
We don't have to print it.
I could just scan the thing, stick it on a site, and tweet the link.
But if I did that, some other paper might-- Whoa, whoa.
Don't be a bitch.
I'll talk to Tom.
That's all I was asking.
We simply can't afford to allow the-- We got a guy who's almost perfect.
He's a libertarian drug fiend - marinating in a mobile home.
- Shh.
I didn't agree with President Reagan on many things, but there was some merit to the notion of trickle-down economics, and I feel there is much merit to the idea of trickle-down diplomacy.
Those are my lines.
Vasquez must have given them to him.
stalemate between Israel and Palestine, that success will trickle down to a hundred other diplomatic dilemmas between Muslims, Jews, Christians-- I'm glad you brought up Israel and Palestine because just before we came on the air, I received an advance copy of an article that's going to be in tomorrow's Washington Herald's front page and was written by Zoe Barnes, and in it she quotes an editorial that ran in the Williams college register when you were editor back in September 1978, which called the Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, quote, an illegal occupation.
- Can I see that? - Sure.
Did you write those words, "illegal occupation"? No.
I have no memory of this.
But you were the editor of the paper.
Yes, but-- So it couldn't have gone out without your approval.
No, of course not, but my staff-- somebody else usually wrote the, uh, the, uh-- and then we'd vote, and if-- Did you vote for it? Honestly, George, I can't remember.
It was 35 years ago.
So you're not sure whether or not you supported these words-- I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt I did not write these words.
But were they in line with your thinking at the time? This is ludicrous.
That's all we need-- him laughing.
I know it was a long time ago-- Nancy, get me Dennis Mendel of the ADL.
The Middle East is a vital American interest.
What you think about the Middle East is relevant.
You can look at my voting record.
Every single vote has been in defense of Israel-- So when did your views change? What I'm saying to you is my-- What's important now, George, is how I have voted while I have represented the great state of Colorado-- I understand that's your position, but a lot of other people are going to look at it and think what you thought then is relevant as well.
Have you ever changed your views - since college? - I'm not the nominee for Secretary of State.
Uh, even if I did have-- It's golden.
This has not been my views-- It's a bull's eye.
What were you saying when you came in? So, ahem, I found a guy who was on the college editorial staff when Kern was there.
This burnout, still pumping mimeographed manifestos out of a trailer park in the Berkshires.
You're not planning on talking to him.
Peter Russo.
Good.
Sounds like a perfect match.
Dennis.
Any chance you're watching Stephanopoulos? You look sexy when you're improving the lives of hardworking Pennsylvanians.
Is it the improving lives, or is it these fetching sweat pants? Move that computer out of the way.
Let me see what that looks like.
Yeah, it's better with the laptop.
Fuck off.
You're not paying enough attention to me.
I pay attention to you all day at the office.
Hey, you know, I don't think I've ever seen you brush your teeth before.
- Sure you have.
- No, I don't think so.
I know that you do brush, but I don't think I've ever actually witnessed it before.
Well, here it is in all its glory.
Is that my toothbrush? I don't know.
Is it? Yes, it is.
- You left it here.
- Peter, gross.
Oh, come on.
We've exchanged plenty of fluids.
Ohh.
Hey, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
No.
Toothpaste.
It's not toothpaste.
I'm ravished.
No.
Mm.
Go get it.
- I have to take this.
- Ohh.
This is Russo.
Yeah.
Right now it's 12:53.
Okay.
Okay, okay, okay.
I have to go.
Is everything okay? It's work stuff.
What kind of work stuff? Congressman Wallinski.
He wants to go over the tax incentive stuff we sent him.
Peter, it's 1:00 in the morning.
Hey, Peter.
I have meetings tomorrow.
I have a committee hearing.
Congress will survive without you.
Address, directions.
There's an e-ticket in your name.
Your flight leaves at 6:30.
- You should head to the airport.
- This is coming from Frank? No.
This is coming from no one.
You have the flu, and you're calling in sick.
- What's that? - What's what? Is that a hickey? Are you whoring around again? - No.
I have a girlfriend.
- Mm.
You mean your little office romance.
What do you know about that? When it comes to your life, Peter, and what I know about it, you should assume that there's no such thing as a secret.
Stay in touch.
You call me on my cell, never at the office.
Good luck.
Knock 'em dead, tiger.
How are we? Overtired, under-caffeinated, but we're making progress.
- Less than a week to go.
- Yeah.
We'll do our best.
- You'll what? - We'll get it done.
Somebody open a window.
It's rancid in here.
That is what happens when six people don't shower for half a week.
Anything you need other than deodorant? Yeah, this performance standards thing.
- The teachers unions are gonna-- - Leave it in.
- But we could delete it.
- I'll handle the unions.
What else? Anything? Conjugal visits? I'll get back to work.
Nancy.
- Coming.
- What do I have next? Constituent calls from 2:10 to 2:35, - fundraising until 3:50, deputy caucus at 4:00.
- The call list? - It's on your desk.
- My briefing for the caucus? - Next to the call list.
- Have you been in the conference room? Have it steam cleaned over the weekend.
In the meantime, get those poor kids some Febreze or something.
It's like a petting zoo.
You gotta see this.
But were they in line with your thinking at the time? We do not consider the issue of Israel and Palestine a laughing matter.
And he calls Israel illegal.
Well, he's an anti-semite, and he is wrong.
We would have grave, grave concerns about appointing such a man our next Secretary of State.
It's too easy.
Roy, hi.
My name is Peter Russo.
Congressman Russo.
I'd like to just speak to you for just a Sir? Either you're lying, and you can fuck off; or you're telling the truth, and you can absolutely fuck off.
I saw your web site.
I'm a fan.
And I brought you something.
Hey, babe, put some clothes on.
- What? - We got a guest.
So? Hey.
Put some clothes on.
Ice or no ice? - Uh, no ice.
- Good.
We don't have any.
Fuck.
Echo, I told you to put the-- It's okay.
It's okay.
I'll keep your secret if you keep mine.
A congressman, you say? Right now, I'm just a drinking companion.
Well, all right, companion.
Have yourself a drink.
Come on in.
$10,000.
What will that get me? I mean, I'm kinky, but I don't know if I'm the girl you're looking for.
You're definitely the girl that I'm looking for.
Excuse me.
All I want for that money is your silence.
My what? The guy you were with the other night, the one who was arrested, do you know who he was? You mean the congressman? There was no congressman.
There was no arrest.
None of that exists.
All that exists is the money sitting right there in front of you.
Do you understand? Yeah.
Good.
Open your mouth.
Last little bit's for me.
You're scolding me.
Am I? You are, silently.
- Is it the rowing machine? - You tell me.
It's the rowing machine.
- You haven't used it.
- How do you know I haven't? Francis.
You know I don't like to be managed.
I'm not trying to manage you.
I just don't want to outlive you by 25 years.
I must walk three miles a day around that Capitol.
I'm constantly on my feet.
And do you know how many calories the brain burns? I'm not worried about your brain.
It's your heart we're talking about.
Use the machine.
She's right.
I should take better care of myself.
But it's the principle.
I won't be a slave to anybody or anything you can order with a toll-free number.
We share the wealth in this republic.
I thought the whole editorial team pitched in.
Sometimes.
Not that time, though.
But he must have written some of it? No.
That was all me.
What if people thought he wrote it? Oh, fuck that.
He's a fraud.
Nah, he's worse than a fraud.
He's a fucking farce.
I'll tell you something.
He used to be even more of a maniac than I am.
- Chemicals? - No.
Politics.
Oh, we had some nights, man.
Long conversations, dangerous fucking notions.
- Like what? - You name it-- OPEC, Pinochet, the fucking Food Stamp Act.
Then the motherland sang her mating call.
O say can you-- Next thing, he's cramming for the bar at Bryn Mawr and snapping on a flag pin.
Does Bryn Mawr have a law school? My point is, he started goose-stepping in the marionette parade.
Left, right; red, blue; Democrat, Republican.
We're all dangling from the same strings.
Take a sledgehammer to the whole fucking Punch and Judy show.
- That's what's required.
- Thought you were a patriot.
Fuck, yeah.
One of the few.
- So what's wrong with public service? - Public service? Come on.
You gotta get a grip on who your masters are.
The I.
M.
F.
, the World Bank, the Rockefeller Trilateral Commission.
You bankroll their fucking death squads.
It's called FEMA; it's called alcohol, tobacco, and firearms; NATO; Border Control.
You think Katrina was incompetence? That was highly orchestrated negligence.
Look at Waco, Amnesty International, the A.
C.
L.
U.
Smokescreens-- all of them.
Blood on their hands.
Well, exactly.
You want me to lie to the people.
I want you to spare the people another hypocrite.
What's in it for you? Poetic justice.
Oh, come on.
You're one of them.
Can a corporate sellout roll a joint like this? Lord knows, I can't change If I wanted to do this thing, how might I go about that, precisely? How did it go? There were a few tears here and there and some anger, but nothing unexpected.
I'm going to need you to leave us today, too, Evelyn.
I'm sorry.
I just can't have any doubt about the direction I'm taking.
You just had me fire 18 people.
I know.
I sat across from them in this room, and I had to tell each and every one of-- I know.
I am 59 years old.
Nobody hires anybody my age.
I will write you any kind of recommenda-- To do what, bag groceries? What am I supposed to tell my daughter? I'm sorry, Evelyn.
I truly am.
No, you're not.
You don't give a fuck.
Eighteen people, Claire.
Nineteen, if you count me.
I have to I have to call my daughter.
I know today has been tough.
A lot of your colleagues have left, and I owe you an explanation.
Many of those who left us today helped build the C.
W.
I.
from the ground up, and I'm grateful to them.
But it is time for us to evolve, and to accomplish this, we had to make hard choices and bring in new people.
That's what today was about.
You have any questions, my door is always open.
I'm all good for national and metro.
We've got space for political if we need it.
Janine, anything new on Michael Kern? The White House is dodging.
You can't get anyone on record? Not just me.
They're shutting all of us down in the briefings.
No one is giving an inch, even on background.
In the meantime, I'm working on a feature about the administration's foreign policy agenda.
How it shifted from the start of the campaign, - increased D.
O.
D.
spending, and-- - Received, Zoe.
I can link Kern directly to the Williams editorial.
- What? - I've got a guy named Roy Kapeniak who was on the editorial staff when Kern was there.
Hey, Twitter twat, W.
T.
F.
? - Wait, wait, wait.
Roy what? - Kapeniak.
A classmate of Kern's.
I have him on record saying Kern wrote every word - of the editorial.
- Let's move this into my office.
Zoe, Lucas.
Janine.
Let me-- let me, once and for all, say this definitively: I didn't author that editorial.
Not a single sentence, word, comma, or period.
If memory serves me, it was Mr.
Kapeniak who wrote it.
Why on earth he's trying to claim that I did is beyond me.
Let me further say that I'm a strong supporter of the state of Israel.
As the most stable country in the region - and our strongest ally - It's Frank Underwood for Cathy.
in any peace process, because without the stability of Israel, there can be no Palestine.
CNN right now.
"Without Israel there can be no Palestine"? - I've got it on.
- I would remind Senator Kern that there was a Palestine long before there was an Israel.
His comments are not only ignorant, they are racist.
Get ready, Cathy.
Things are about to move very quickly.
- his understanding of the Middle East-- - Okay.
- is so out of sync with reality - I'm ready.
Hey.
- Peter? No.
Stop.
- Uh, not now.
Hey.
Hey, where have you been? Oh, God, you're fucking high.
- No.
I-- - Yes, you are.
Look at your eyes.
Oh, please, just lay off.
You promised me it wouldn't be like this.
Cancel whatever I have for the rest of the day.
Kern is out.
They're tossing him? Technically, that would draw himself, but yes.
Can I say "A source close to the White House"? No.
You let this story play out on its own time.
They'll announce in the morning.
I'm sorry.
If not that, what story are we talking about? Catherine Durant.
As soon as Kern withdraws, you say she'll be the replacement.
- Is that true? - It will be after you write it.
Roy Kapeniak was you.
You might very well think that.
I couldn't possibly comment.
You found him.
You had him call me.
Kapeniak and Kern were appetizers, Miss Barnes.
Catherine Durant is the meal.
Say that name: Catherine Durant.
Say it over and over.
Tomorrow afternoon, write it down, and then watch that name come out of the mouth of the President of the United States.
This is where we get to create.
Don't miss your train, Miss Barnes.
It's the last one tonight.
Zoe Barnes with the Washington Herald now reporting, quoting a source close to the president, as saying that Senator Catherine Durant will likely be the new nominee for Secretary of State after Michael Kern's withdrawal earlier this week.
The White House has remained silent on whether the president will tap Durant for a nomination, but a national Zogby Poll shows wide support for Durant across party lines.
Catherine Durant has served ten years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made numerous diplomatic missions to South America We can place our faith in her, knowing that we have a responsible, experienced, brilliant woman representing our interests abroad.
Middle of the road, team player, strong in defense.
If there's a woman that can work with the joint chiefs, she's the one.
Durant is the way to go.
It's a no-brainer.
The president should stop this pageant and simply make the call.
Why are we still talking about, if they're going to nominate Durant? Why don't they just do it already so we can all stop talking about ifs and start talking about when and what and how Durant's going to shape up foreign policy So, history? History.
I'm very impressed, Frank.
Good.
With your go-ahead, I'll start the mock-up.
Have Birch and Rasmussen seen this? Not yet.
I wanted you to be the first to have a look.
I'll schedule a time for you to fill in the president.
Oh, no, no, no.
That is your turf, Linda.
You should do that.
- Thank you, Frank.
- My pleasure.
Thank you.
- I so apologize for everything-- - No, no, no, n-- it's not necessary.
Now for the real meeting.
So what is happening with Michael Kern? Oh, it's a total nightmare.
You know who you're gonna tap next? Frank, we still need you in the house-- No, no, no.
I wouldn't dream of it.
We've got our education bill.
I was just curious.
Somehow the rumor is flying around that we're gonna nominate Catherine Durant.
- I'm sure you've noticed.
- Is the rumor true? Well, we weren't considering her at first, but the president asked me to have her vetted in case we wanna go that route.
- Interesting.
- What do you think? Well, she wouldn't be my first choice-- Who would be your first choice? She campaigned hard against us in the primaries.
- That's my reservation.
- But you'd show yourself above party politics, and I know she'd work all the harder for it.
Decent experience, respect across the aisle.
So you think we can seriously consider her? It's not the worst idea in the world.
- Where are you getting this shit? - What? - Your stories.
Who are you fucking? - I was just-- - Nobody.
- Oh, come on.
You're a metro scrub, and now look at you.
You'd have to be fucking somebody important.
I'm just doing my job, Janine.
Excuse me.
All set.
- Is this your first remote? - Yeah, it's my first time.
Right into the camera, don't shift in your seat, and there's no reason to speak above a conversational volume.
- The mic will pick you up.
You all ready? - Yeah.
All right.
Don't forget to breathe.
Five, four We'd like to welcome Zoe Barnes from the Washington Herald.
Zoe, thank you for joining us.
I'm very glad to be here.
Thank you for having me.
You broke the education bill, the Kern editorial, and now Durant.
I'm just thrilled to be reporting news that matters.
And it's truly been a team effort.
Everyone at the Herald pitched in.
But, yes, a lot of firsts.
First national story, first Thank you.
Calling it a night.
See you tomorrow, sir.
But, yes, a lot of firsts.
First national story, first front-page byline, first TV interview.
I would wave to my mom, but the cameraman said not to shift in my seat.
What a roller coaster.
It really is too bad.
Kern was a good man.
- And now Catherine Durant.
- Yes.
Right place, right time, I suppose.
- We like her, don't we? - Very much.
Question is, does she like San Corp as much as we like her? I would say that that is a very good bet.
But then again, I'm not a betting man.
- No.
You always like a sure thing.
- When it avails itself.
- Good night, Remy.
- Good night, Frank.
- See you around.
- Hopefully less and less now.
Oh, no.
I charged the wrong thing.
- What did you have again? - A medium decaf latte.
Med lat, dec.
I don't know how to get it to go back.
- This one and this one.
- This one? No.
Let me do it.
I have to ask you to stay back, congressman.
- What's going on? - Some guy was trying to get into the building.
When we said no, he started tearing his clothes off.
Nobody can hear you.
Nobody cares about you.
Nothing will come of this.
Why don't you let these nice gentlemen take you home? Cover him up.
It's cold out here.
You heard the congressman.
Cover him up.
Francis?
Let me get this for you.
- Want the paper? - No.
This is too much.
It's not half enough.
Thanks for opening up for me.
Any time, day or night.
You know that.
In a town where everyone's so carefully reinventing themselves, what I like about Freddy is that he doesn't even pretend to change.
Ooh.
I'm late.
Every Tuesday I sit down with the speaker and the majority leader to discuss the week's agenda.
Well, discuss is probably the wrong word.
They talk while I sit quietly and imaging their lightly salted faces frying in a skillet.
Vasquez must be shitting herself.
Shitting herself, or Walker is shitting himself and shoveling his shit on her shit.
Bob, I'm planning on eating.
Do we have a backup on the docket? You're on that, right, Frank? Yeah, I'm working with my staff-- Republicans are gonna ram this up our ass.
I would if I was them.
Why, even if we squeak it through the house, watch them mangle it in the senate.
- Or filibuster.
- Why, sure, if it looks anything like this.
I don't know why Walker's trying to tackle a charging elephant.
It's madness.
Congressmen, sorry to interrupt, but I saw you sitting over here-- Remy.
Gentlemen, this is Remy Danton.
Remy, this is Speaker Birch and Congress-- I'm well aware.
Mr.
Speaker, Congressman.
Remy just made partner at Glendon Hill.
Glendon Hill? Great team over there.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
When was the last time they added a partner? It's been a while.
Well, they know a winner when they see one.
Remy was the best press secretary I ever had.
Why did you let him go? I didn't.
They stole him away.
What accounts do you have? San Corp Industries is my main one.
I run that account now.
Anyhow, I'll let you get back to it.
Sorry again to interrupt.
No problem.
Very nice to meet you both.
- Nice.
- Lobbyists keep getting younger and younger.
He's probably making more than all of us combined.
Gentlemen, this one's on me.
I'm gonna track down that check.
Glendon Hill fronts San Corp Industries.
San Corp is deep into natural gas.
I don't give a hoot about natural gas, but I have 67 deputy whips, and they all need cash to win races.
San Corp helps me purchase loyalty, and in return they expect mine.
It's degrading, I know, but when the tit's that big, everybody gets in line.
Tell them I'm on top of it.
I need more than that.
You are well aware that I do not drop the ball on things like this, Remy.
Promises, Frank.
Secretary of State, Argentine and offshore drilling contracts-- talk to me when I've solved the problem.
Don't waste my time when I'm working on solving the problem.
When there's billions on the line, I can't not show up.
Fine.
Thank you for your diligence.
Eight figures to you and the D triple C.
of yours in your name.
- I know.
- Don't make them throw money at your challenger next cycle.
You've made your point.
Have I? I hope so.
Such a waste of talent.
He chose money over power-- In this town, a mistake nearly everyone makes.
Money is the McMansion in Sarasota that starts falling apart after ten years.
Power is the old stone building that stands for centuries.
I cannot respect someone who doesn't see the difference.
What am I looking at? The Williams register.
- Williams? - College.
September '78.
And why am I looking at it? The editorial.
Not that interesting.
Michael Kern went to Williams.
Check out the masthead.
And then there's this.
It's thin.
The guy's a unicorn.
He pisses rainbows.
- You think we can get traction with this? - I think you could.
Linda Vasquez is on the phone.
Ah, I'm surprised it took her this long.
It's only 6 past 9:00.
Which means she read the Herald 3 hours ago and spent the past 2 1/2 getting reamed by the president.
Tell her I'm on my way.
You were supposed to keep Donald in line.
You assured me that you-- this particular agenda.
We got between the mother bear and her cub.
It's a setback.
That's all.
On our first day in office.
Linda, I've worked with four presidents.
Setbacks are a dime a dozen with a bill of this size.
Frank, if you can't control this-- I don't take well to being micromanaged, Linda.
You want to do my job for me and run the White House? Good luck.
I won't stand in your way.
Okay, Frank.
Fine.
This is yours now.
If this thing can't make it to the floor in the first 100 days, then I'll let you explain to the president why he lied to the American people.
I'm gonna get back to work.
Please do.
Well, we really should be doing this on a Friday instead of a Wednesday.
If we do it on a Friday, - people have the weekend-- - Fine.
We'll do it on Friday.
Is all the paperwork ready? Some of the more senior people are trickier.
There's severance.
But we shouldn't run into any legal issues.
No, no.
We use at-will employment contracts across the board.
Well, get started first thing Friday.
I want all of the exit interviews done by lunch.
Claire, I just can't help but think that this is a mistake.
We've discussed this already, Evelyn.
I know, I know, but I just have to say it for the sake of my conscience.
I think that you are dismantling what we have built over the past ten years, and I-- and I think the way you're handling this isis cruel.
It's not easy, Evelyn.
But it's necessary.
You have always asked me to be honest with you.
It's how we work together.
I disagree with something, I say it.
Well, I disagree 100%.
Please, Claire, don't do this.
I respect your opinion, Evelyn, and I appreciate you sharing it with me, but I'm not going to change my mind.
Friday, then.
If that's what you want.
This is major reform, a complete overhaul.
That would usually take months.
Well, we only have days, not months.
But think about the process.
We can't just change-- When I ask my colleagues, your bosses, who are the smartest minds in education, out of hundreds, we arrived at you-- the six of you in this room.
Now, I realize it is a difficult task, but we have the opportunity to make history here.
And I want all of us to make it together.
So good luck.
We're counting on you.
Page 1.
These bullet points reflect the key planks at the center of our bill.
Get comfy.
This is your home until we have a presentable first draft.
Donald, what a morning.
I have no idea how they got this.
I specifically told my staff to destroy everything.
I can't imagine-- It doesn't matter how it happened.
We can't make it unhappen, so we have to adapt.
Don't they realize that this is a first draft? All we have here really is a perception problem.
We don't get a second chance at a first impression, Donald.
You know that.
Now, look, I'm on your side, but Linda is furious.
What's she saying? They want to point fingers.
At me? I told her we cannot do that.
I mean, you are vital to this process.
I'm up to here with them, Donald-- for lying, for turning their back on you.
You know, I'm of a mind to say screw it.
I'll fall on this grenade myself, just to piss them off.
Give me John king at CNN.
Wait, Frank.
This is not your fault.
No, we have to protect your reputation.
But you're the man that needs to get the bill through the house.
I will-- hang on.
I will assign it to one of my deputies, quietly manage it, and help guide you through the process.
I am not comfortable with this.
Well, then what do you suggest we do? What a martyr craves more than anything is a sword to fall on, so you sharpen the blade, hold it at just the right angle, and then 3, 2, 1-- It should be me.
It was my bill.
No.
Impossible.
Donald, education has been your life's work.
The truth is my heart is not in this fight.
You know me.
I'm not a wheeler dealer.
I can put my mind to policy, but I'm no good at this brand of politics.
Well, if not you, then who? It should be you, Frank.
You're formidable.
People respect you.
They will follow your lead.
Let me-- let me be on the sidelines for this.
Well, I could only consider that as an option if I knew that I could still come to you for counsel.
Of course.
Whatever you need.
Part of me is glad this got leaked.
Well, it would have been better if it hadn't, but at least people know where I stand.
Thank you, Donald.
Happy to do it, Frank.
He has no idea we've got six kids in the next room already working on a new draft.
Stamper! But why dampen his mood by telling him? We just gave him a great gift-- a chance to fulfill his destiny.
Write up a statement for Blythe-- stepping aside, fresh ideas, et cetera, et cetera, and make it dignified.
He's a good man.
Oh.
And bring me that Williams editorial.
After careful thought and discussion with my staff, I am relinquishing my management of the education reform act.
I hope to remain a part of the process, but I won't be working-- Why did you leak the draft? I'm not exactly sure how it got leaked, but, uh, it does represent-- it came from your office, though, correct? Uh, we wrote it, but I don't-- Who'll be managing the bill now? Frank Underwood.
Was that your choice, or did the administration-- I feel very confident placing the bill in Frank's capable hands.
Ms.
Barnes.
How very deep throat of you.
Well, I can't help you dispatch a president.
How about a senator? The editorial on the Camp David accords.
"It is the opinion of this newspaper "that President Carter demand Israel "withdraw all its citizens from the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
" "Which it has illegally occupied since 1967.
" Illegally occupied.
That's quite an incendiary quote, don't you think? For an administration that says that the Middle East is its top foreign policy priority.
Michael Kern? Did he personally write the editorial? He was the editor.
But did he write it himself? Then there's no story.
I'm saying it's a question worth asking.
And if he denies involvement? He will.
Let him.
This is a man trying to be confirmed as Secretary of State.
Everything is a story.
There's no direct link.
I can't get this past Messerschmidt.
Remember this moment when you resisted me, when you said the words "Then there is no story.
" Get a good night's sleep, Ms.
Barnes.
You have a big day tomorrow.
Francis? What is this? What does it look like? But the basement is mine.
I know.
It's not for me.
So who's it for? For you.
There's a gym in the Capitol.
Which you never use.
Because I'm a tad busy running the country.
But not at home, so now you have no excuse.
I want it out.
Give it a try first.
Is this your subtle way of saying that I'm out of shape? No, it's my way of suggesting you could be in better shape.
That sounds both passive-aggressive and condescending.
Just plain aggressive and true.
Don't wait up for me.
Are you going running now? Yes, because I couldn't this morning.
I had an early meeting.
Use the monstrosity.
It's freezing out.
You break it in.
It looks positively medieval, doesn't it? And to turn my only sanctuary into a fitness dungeon.
I won't have it.
It's a stretch.
We're not misleading anyone.
- He was the editor.
- Did you call for a comment? I tried three times.
The press secretary said he'd get back to me.
- He didn't.
- What about research? You couldn't find anything to echo the editorial? No quotes, no op-ed pieces? Don't you think if something like that existed, someone would have printed it by now? Nobody else has this, Lucas.
I don't think there's a story here.
I'm not saying there's a story.
All I'm saying is that there's a question that needs to be answered.
This is a nominee for Secretary of State.
We have an editorial on Palestine and Israel.
Which he didn't write.
Which we don't know he didn't write.
Exactly.
We don't have to print it.
I could just scan the thing, stick it on a site, and tweet the link.
But if I did that, some other paper might-- Whoa, whoa.
Don't be a bitch.
I'll talk to Tom.
That's all I was asking.
We simply can't afford to allow the-- We got a guy who's almost perfect.
He's a libertarian drug fiend - marinating in a mobile home.
- Shh.
I didn't agree with President Reagan on many things, but there was some merit to the notion of trickle-down economics, and I feel there is much merit to the idea of trickle-down diplomacy.
Those are my lines.
Vasquez must have given them to him.
stalemate between Israel and Palestine, that success will trickle down to a hundred other diplomatic dilemmas between Muslims, Jews, Christians-- I'm glad you brought up Israel and Palestine because just before we came on the air, I received an advance copy of an article that's going to be in tomorrow's Washington Herald's front page and was written by Zoe Barnes, and in it she quotes an editorial that ran in the Williams college register when you were editor back in September 1978, which called the Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, quote, an illegal occupation.
- Can I see that? - Sure.
Did you write those words, "illegal occupation"? No.
I have no memory of this.
But you were the editor of the paper.
Yes, but-- So it couldn't have gone out without your approval.
No, of course not, but my staff-- somebody else usually wrote the, uh, the, uh-- and then we'd vote, and if-- Did you vote for it? Honestly, George, I can't remember.
It was 35 years ago.
So you're not sure whether or not you supported these words-- I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt I did not write these words.
But were they in line with your thinking at the time? This is ludicrous.
That's all we need-- him laughing.
I know it was a long time ago-- Nancy, get me Dennis Mendel of the ADL.
The Middle East is a vital American interest.
What you think about the Middle East is relevant.
You can look at my voting record.
Every single vote has been in defense of Israel-- So when did your views change? What I'm saying to you is my-- What's important now, George, is how I have voted while I have represented the great state of Colorado-- I understand that's your position, but a lot of other people are going to look at it and think what you thought then is relevant as well.
Have you ever changed your views - since college? - I'm not the nominee for Secretary of State.
Uh, even if I did have-- It's golden.
This has not been my views-- It's a bull's eye.
What were you saying when you came in? So, ahem, I found a guy who was on the college editorial staff when Kern was there.
This burnout, still pumping mimeographed manifestos out of a trailer park in the Berkshires.
You're not planning on talking to him.
Peter Russo.
Good.
Sounds like a perfect match.
Dennis.
Any chance you're watching Stephanopoulos? You look sexy when you're improving the lives of hardworking Pennsylvanians.
Is it the improving lives, or is it these fetching sweat pants? Move that computer out of the way.
Let me see what that looks like.
Yeah, it's better with the laptop.
Fuck off.
You're not paying enough attention to me.
I pay attention to you all day at the office.
Hey, you know, I don't think I've ever seen you brush your teeth before.
- Sure you have.
- No, I don't think so.
I know that you do brush, but I don't think I've ever actually witnessed it before.
Well, here it is in all its glory.
Is that my toothbrush? I don't know.
Is it? Yes, it is.
- You left it here.
- Peter, gross.
Oh, come on.
We've exchanged plenty of fluids.
Ohh.
Hey, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
No.
Toothpaste.
It's not toothpaste.
I'm ravished.
No.
Mm.
Go get it.
- I have to take this.
- Ohh.
This is Russo.
Yeah.
Right now it's 12:53.
Okay.
Okay, okay, okay.
I have to go.
Is everything okay? It's work stuff.
What kind of work stuff? Congressman Wallinski.
He wants to go over the tax incentive stuff we sent him.
Peter, it's 1:00 in the morning.
Hey, Peter.
I have meetings tomorrow.
I have a committee hearing.
Congress will survive without you.
Address, directions.
There's an e-ticket in your name.
Your flight leaves at 6:30.
- You should head to the airport.
- This is coming from Frank? No.
This is coming from no one.
You have the flu, and you're calling in sick.
- What's that? - What's what? Is that a hickey? Are you whoring around again? - No.
I have a girlfriend.
- Mm.
You mean your little office romance.
What do you know about that? When it comes to your life, Peter, and what I know about it, you should assume that there's no such thing as a secret.
Stay in touch.
You call me on my cell, never at the office.
Good luck.
Knock 'em dead, tiger.
How are we? Overtired, under-caffeinated, but we're making progress.
- Less than a week to go.
- Yeah.
We'll do our best.
- You'll what? - We'll get it done.
Somebody open a window.
It's rancid in here.
That is what happens when six people don't shower for half a week.
Anything you need other than deodorant? Yeah, this performance standards thing.
- The teachers unions are gonna-- - Leave it in.
- But we could delete it.
- I'll handle the unions.
What else? Anything? Conjugal visits? I'll get back to work.
Nancy.
- Coming.
- What do I have next? Constituent calls from 2:10 to 2:35, - fundraising until 3:50, deputy caucus at 4:00.
- The call list? - It's on your desk.
- My briefing for the caucus? - Next to the call list.
- Have you been in the conference room? Have it steam cleaned over the weekend.
In the meantime, get those poor kids some Febreze or something.
It's like a petting zoo.
You gotta see this.
But were they in line with your thinking at the time? We do not consider the issue of Israel and Palestine a laughing matter.
And he calls Israel illegal.
Well, he's an anti-semite, and he is wrong.
We would have grave, grave concerns about appointing such a man our next Secretary of State.
It's too easy.
Roy, hi.
My name is Peter Russo.
Congressman Russo.
I'd like to just speak to you for just a Sir? Either you're lying, and you can fuck off; or you're telling the truth, and you can absolutely fuck off.
I saw your web site.
I'm a fan.
And I brought you something.
Hey, babe, put some clothes on.
- What? - We got a guest.
So? Hey.
Put some clothes on.
Ice or no ice? - Uh, no ice.
- Good.
We don't have any.
Fuck.
Echo, I told you to put the-- It's okay.
It's okay.
I'll keep your secret if you keep mine.
A congressman, you say? Right now, I'm just a drinking companion.
Well, all right, companion.
Have yourself a drink.
Come on in.
$10,000.
What will that get me? I mean, I'm kinky, but I don't know if I'm the girl you're looking for.
You're definitely the girl that I'm looking for.
Excuse me.
All I want for that money is your silence.
My what? The guy you were with the other night, the one who was arrested, do you know who he was? You mean the congressman? There was no congressman.
There was no arrest.
None of that exists.
All that exists is the money sitting right there in front of you.
Do you understand? Yeah.
Good.
Open your mouth.
Last little bit's for me.
You're scolding me.
Am I? You are, silently.
- Is it the rowing machine? - You tell me.
It's the rowing machine.
- You haven't used it.
- How do you know I haven't? Francis.
You know I don't like to be managed.
I'm not trying to manage you.
I just don't want to outlive you by 25 years.
I must walk three miles a day around that Capitol.
I'm constantly on my feet.
And do you know how many calories the brain burns? I'm not worried about your brain.
It's your heart we're talking about.
Use the machine.
She's right.
I should take better care of myself.
But it's the principle.
I won't be a slave to anybody or anything you can order with a toll-free number.
We share the wealth in this republic.
I thought the whole editorial team pitched in.
Sometimes.
Not that time, though.
But he must have written some of it? No.
That was all me.
What if people thought he wrote it? Oh, fuck that.
He's a fraud.
Nah, he's worse than a fraud.
He's a fucking farce.
I'll tell you something.
He used to be even more of a maniac than I am.
- Chemicals? - No.
Politics.
Oh, we had some nights, man.
Long conversations, dangerous fucking notions.
- Like what? - You name it-- OPEC, Pinochet, the fucking Food Stamp Act.
Then the motherland sang her mating call.
O say can you-- Next thing, he's cramming for the bar at Bryn Mawr and snapping on a flag pin.
Does Bryn Mawr have a law school? My point is, he started goose-stepping in the marionette parade.
Left, right; red, blue; Democrat, Republican.
We're all dangling from the same strings.
Take a sledgehammer to the whole fucking Punch and Judy show.
- That's what's required.
- Thought you were a patriot.
Fuck, yeah.
One of the few.
- So what's wrong with public service? - Public service? Come on.
You gotta get a grip on who your masters are.
The I.
M.
F.
, the World Bank, the Rockefeller Trilateral Commission.
You bankroll their fucking death squads.
It's called FEMA; it's called alcohol, tobacco, and firearms; NATO; Border Control.
You think Katrina was incompetence? That was highly orchestrated negligence.
Look at Waco, Amnesty International, the A.
C.
L.
U.
Smokescreens-- all of them.
Blood on their hands.
Well, exactly.
You want me to lie to the people.
I want you to spare the people another hypocrite.
What's in it for you? Poetic justice.
Oh, come on.
You're one of them.
Can a corporate sellout roll a joint like this? Lord knows, I can't change If I wanted to do this thing, how might I go about that, precisely? How did it go? There were a few tears here and there and some anger, but nothing unexpected.
I'm going to need you to leave us today, too, Evelyn.
I'm sorry.
I just can't have any doubt about the direction I'm taking.
You just had me fire 18 people.
I know.
I sat across from them in this room, and I had to tell each and every one of-- I know.
I am 59 years old.
Nobody hires anybody my age.
I will write you any kind of recommenda-- To do what, bag groceries? What am I supposed to tell my daughter? I'm sorry, Evelyn.
I truly am.
No, you're not.
You don't give a fuck.
Eighteen people, Claire.
Nineteen, if you count me.
I have to I have to call my daughter.
I know today has been tough.
A lot of your colleagues have left, and I owe you an explanation.
Many of those who left us today helped build the C.
W.
I.
from the ground up, and I'm grateful to them.
But it is time for us to evolve, and to accomplish this, we had to make hard choices and bring in new people.
That's what today was about.
You have any questions, my door is always open.
I'm all good for national and metro.
We've got space for political if we need it.
Janine, anything new on Michael Kern? The White House is dodging.
You can't get anyone on record? Not just me.
They're shutting all of us down in the briefings.
No one is giving an inch, even on background.
In the meantime, I'm working on a feature about the administration's foreign policy agenda.
How it shifted from the start of the campaign, - increased D.
O.
D.
spending, and-- - Received, Zoe.
I can link Kern directly to the Williams editorial.
- What? - I've got a guy named Roy Kapeniak who was on the editorial staff when Kern was there.
Hey, Twitter twat, W.
T.
F.
? - Wait, wait, wait.
Roy what? - Kapeniak.
A classmate of Kern's.
I have him on record saying Kern wrote every word - of the editorial.
- Let's move this into my office.
Zoe, Lucas.
Janine.
Let me-- let me, once and for all, say this definitively: I didn't author that editorial.
Not a single sentence, word, comma, or period.
If memory serves me, it was Mr.
Kapeniak who wrote it.
Why on earth he's trying to claim that I did is beyond me.
Let me further say that I'm a strong supporter of the state of Israel.
As the most stable country in the region - and our strongest ally - It's Frank Underwood for Cathy.
in any peace process, because without the stability of Israel, there can be no Palestine.
CNN right now.
"Without Israel there can be no Palestine"? - I've got it on.
- I would remind Senator Kern that there was a Palestine long before there was an Israel.
His comments are not only ignorant, they are racist.
Get ready, Cathy.
Things are about to move very quickly.
- his understanding of the Middle East-- - Okay.
- is so out of sync with reality - I'm ready.
Hey.
- Peter? No.
Stop.
- Uh, not now.
Hey.
Hey, where have you been? Oh, God, you're fucking high.
- No.
I-- - Yes, you are.
Look at your eyes.
Oh, please, just lay off.
You promised me it wouldn't be like this.
Cancel whatever I have for the rest of the day.
Kern is out.
They're tossing him? Technically, that would draw himself, but yes.
Can I say "A source close to the White House"? No.
You let this story play out on its own time.
They'll announce in the morning.
I'm sorry.
If not that, what story are we talking about? Catherine Durant.
As soon as Kern withdraws, you say she'll be the replacement.
- Is that true? - It will be after you write it.
Roy Kapeniak was you.
You might very well think that.
I couldn't possibly comment.
You found him.
You had him call me.
Kapeniak and Kern were appetizers, Miss Barnes.
Catherine Durant is the meal.
Say that name: Catherine Durant.
Say it over and over.
Tomorrow afternoon, write it down, and then watch that name come out of the mouth of the President of the United States.
This is where we get to create.
Don't miss your train, Miss Barnes.
It's the last one tonight.
Zoe Barnes with the Washington Herald now reporting, quoting a source close to the president, as saying that Senator Catherine Durant will likely be the new nominee for Secretary of State after Michael Kern's withdrawal earlier this week.
The White House has remained silent on whether the president will tap Durant for a nomination, but a national Zogby Poll shows wide support for Durant across party lines.
Catherine Durant has served ten years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made numerous diplomatic missions to South America We can place our faith in her, knowing that we have a responsible, experienced, brilliant woman representing our interests abroad.
Middle of the road, team player, strong in defense.
If there's a woman that can work with the joint chiefs, she's the one.
Durant is the way to go.
It's a no-brainer.
The president should stop this pageant and simply make the call.
Why are we still talking about, if they're going to nominate Durant? Why don't they just do it already so we can all stop talking about ifs and start talking about when and what and how Durant's going to shape up foreign policy So, history? History.
I'm very impressed, Frank.
Good.
With your go-ahead, I'll start the mock-up.
Have Birch and Rasmussen seen this? Not yet.
I wanted you to be the first to have a look.
I'll schedule a time for you to fill in the president.
Oh, no, no, no.
That is your turf, Linda.
You should do that.
- Thank you, Frank.
- My pleasure.
Thank you.
- I so apologize for everything-- - No, no, no, n-- it's not necessary.
Now for the real meeting.
So what is happening with Michael Kern? Oh, it's a total nightmare.
You know who you're gonna tap next? Frank, we still need you in the house-- No, no, no.
I wouldn't dream of it.
We've got our education bill.
I was just curious.
Somehow the rumor is flying around that we're gonna nominate Catherine Durant.
- I'm sure you've noticed.
- Is the rumor true? Well, we weren't considering her at first, but the president asked me to have her vetted in case we wanna go that route.
- Interesting.
- What do you think? Well, she wouldn't be my first choice-- Who would be your first choice? She campaigned hard against us in the primaries.
- That's my reservation.
- But you'd show yourself above party politics, and I know she'd work all the harder for it.
Decent experience, respect across the aisle.
So you think we can seriously consider her? It's not the worst idea in the world.
- Where are you getting this shit? - What? - Your stories.
Who are you fucking? - I was just-- - Nobody.
- Oh, come on.
You're a metro scrub, and now look at you.
You'd have to be fucking somebody important.
I'm just doing my job, Janine.
Excuse me.
All set.
- Is this your first remote? - Yeah, it's my first time.
Right into the camera, don't shift in your seat, and there's no reason to speak above a conversational volume.
- The mic will pick you up.
You all ready? - Yeah.
All right.
Don't forget to breathe.
Five, four We'd like to welcome Zoe Barnes from the Washington Herald.
Zoe, thank you for joining us.
I'm very glad to be here.
Thank you for having me.
You broke the education bill, the Kern editorial, and now Durant.
I'm just thrilled to be reporting news that matters.
And it's truly been a team effort.
Everyone at the Herald pitched in.
But, yes, a lot of firsts.
First national story, first Thank you.
Calling it a night.
See you tomorrow, sir.
But, yes, a lot of firsts.
First national story, first front-page byline, first TV interview.
I would wave to my mom, but the cameraman said not to shift in my seat.
What a roller coaster.
It really is too bad.
Kern was a good man.
- And now Catherine Durant.
- Yes.
Right place, right time, I suppose.
- We like her, don't we? - Very much.
Question is, does she like San Corp as much as we like her? I would say that that is a very good bet.
But then again, I'm not a betting man.
- No.
You always like a sure thing.
- When it avails itself.
- Good night, Remy.
- Good night, Frank.
- See you around.
- Hopefully less and less now.
Oh, no.
I charged the wrong thing.
- What did you have again? - A medium decaf latte.
Med lat, dec.
I don't know how to get it to go back.
- This one and this one.
- This one? No.
Let me do it.
I have to ask you to stay back, congressman.
- What's going on? - Some guy was trying to get into the building.
When we said no, he started tearing his clothes off.
Nobody can hear you.
Nobody cares about you.
Nothing will come of this.
Why don't you let these nice gentlemen take you home? Cover him up.
It's cold out here.
You heard the congressman.
Cover him up.
Francis?