Madam Secretary (2014–…): Season 6, Episode 1 - Hail to the Chief - full transcript

Elizabeth must fend off a baseless investigation into her past that threatens to derail the first major legislation of her presidency. Also, First Gentleman Henry squirms after his ...

I don't know.

I feel like...

I feel like these shoes are
at a different party.

You know? One where fun goes to die.

So less corporate, more red carpet?

I think so. Great.

Thanks, Roxanne.

I really appreciate you jumping in.

Ali usually helps me with big events,

but she's doing
an internship abroad and...

No problem. Okay.



These should put the fun
in fundraiser.

Oh, yeah. See?

Now, look.

This is why women
have a thing about shoes.

They do?

Well, that's news to me.

Oh, hey, handsome.

I love you in that old thing.

- It never gets old.
- That's why it's a classic.

It certainly is.

Okay, I got to go over
and work on my remarks.

No, d-don't touch.

All right. Good seeing you, Roxanne.

Well, I think we got a winner.
What do you think?



Yeah.

There's just one other wardrobe issue

we should discuss moving forward.

It's about your husband.

So you'll at least want to
get a drive-by with Senator Wagner.

He has a sweet tooth, so
target the dessert table.

And, uh, Senator Langston might
be a little harder to pin down.

Oh, Sydney and Louise Winters's winery

had a great harvest coming off
an award-winning year,

so you can lean on them
to up their grant.

Just for one night,

can we not think about
fundraising or votes?

Come on. This event actually
has the potential to be fun.

You might be
in the wrong profession, ma'am.

I said "one night," Blake. I'm
not having a vocational crisis.

- Good to know.
- But this is Henry's night to shine,

so I am perfectly justified
staying out of the spotlight.

Yes, ma'am.

Oh, it's the McCords,
in glamorous formal wear.

- I feel itchy.
- Oh, you feel itchy?

Well, y-you look really g...
that looks great.

You have on writer's face.

What...
No, I had writer's face before.

This is public remarks face.

Oh. Well, okay.

- Let's do this.
- Okay.

Thank you.

Okay.

Ladies and gentlemen,
President Elizabeth McCord

- and First Gentleman Dr. Henry McCord.
- _

Madam Secretary,
it's a pleasure to see you.

And you, too, Madam President.

Is Minister Chen playing nice
on the Taiwanese negotiations?

Oh, I've got his number.
I think he misses you.

Excuse me.

- Hi, you.
- Senators Windbag

and Expediency are here as expected.

Good to see you.

Good evening, Mike.

Not if we can't get your
wildly unrealistic,

giving-me-palpitations
legislative meatball

- over the finish line.
- Thank you.

You have votes to whip,
lady. I mean, Madam.

- President.
- I was sort of hoping

to take the night off.

So, Wagner likes to feel important.

So just act like you're there
seeking his brilliant counsel

and actually give a crap

about his spectacular blowhardery.

That and he likes to brag
about bringing home the bacon

to his constituents.

Langston is an idealist
but responds to power,

so just pummel her.

Isn't it a bit unseemly
for the president to pummel?

Failure is unseemlier, and your
hundredth day in office looms.

Now, see, that's something that
we can all reach consensus on.

We ought to chocolate-cover every bill

that comes to the floor, Madam President.

Thanks for coming out tonight,
Senator Wagner.

Any chance to hear that
scholarly husband of yours talk.

Well, that's nice to hear.

Be even nicer to hear if I had
your support for the ESI bill.

I support the infrastructure piece,

but some of my colleagues and I
have concerns

about the education handouts.

Well, we can't have
next-gen infrastructure

without innovations in science,
and we can't lead in science

without investing in education...

The hip bone's connected
to the thigh bone.

I've heard your pitch, ma'am,
but the people of Alabama

don't care about the body politic.

They care about runaway spending.

Do you think

that those concerns
might be allayed if we make sure

contracts for rebuilding
Alabama's schools

only go to local
construction companies?

That might be just the chocolate
fix they need, Madam President.

Before you all knew him

as the First Gentleman
of the United States,

he was known in many circles
for other things.

Fighter pilot, religious
scholar, acclaimed author,

White House advisor.

Clearly, he did the best he could

with the limited talents he had.

Please welcome Dr. Henry McCord.

Thank you, Patricia.
Thank you very much.

Well, it's true, I've had
a blessed and weird life

and I've pursued
some challenging paths.

But what you probably don't know
is that I could never have been

any of those things without poetry.

I mean, here I was,
this goofy, working-class kid

from Pittsburgh without a single
interesting thought in my mind.

And then, in high school, I had
this great teacher, Mr. Eastman,

who made me read Gerard Manley
Hopkins and Emily Dickinson

and Langston Hughes and Blaise Pascal.

These were theologians,
philosophers, innovators

and artists.

And suddenly, my mind caught fire.

I... the way they used words
just lit up my imagination

and expanded my concept of the divine.

They ignited all my passions
and put them in one place.

In his poem "High Flight,"

John Gillespie Magee Jr. wrote,

"Oh, I have slipped
the surly bonds of earth,

And danced the skies
on laughter-silvered wings."

When I read that passage,
I instantly knew two things:

I wanted to study theology
and I wanted to fly.

Artists have inspired me
to do everything

that's meaningful in my life.

I may have even leaned on
a little Keats and Shakespeare

when I was wooing my beautiful wife.

There is nothing that drives

our world-leading economy
like creativity,

and there is nothing that drives
creativity like the arts.

It is vital that we foster them
and invest in them.

Thank you very much.

Don't tell people this, but...

Thomas Aquinas walks into a bar...

I'm so sorry to pull rank, but
the first gentleman is needed

for an emergency dancing situation,

- and it can't be helped.
- Sorry.

Can't say no to the chief.

- Well, hello.
- Hello.

We haven't danced like this
since the inaugural ball.

We haven't danced at all since then.

Well, there was
that midnight Macarena moment.

Okay, that was fun.

You know, sometimes I just can't
believe this is all real.

Right?

The only way I know this isn't a dream

is because I can still work my phone.

What?

You can't work technology
in your dream.

- You're crazy. Yes, you can.
- No. You can't.

- I can. Yes, I can.
- No, you can't.

It's scientifically proven.

- Oh, yeah? What... who are the scientists...
- Yeah.

that did this experiment?

Well, I'm going to get somebody on it.

I love you, Henry McCord.

I love you, Madam President.

You can't beat this commute.

No. From now on,

let's only have jobs
that are in our house.

I agree.

Well, I go left here.

Okay, have a good day.
Keep an open mind.

About what?

Anything that comes up.

Elizabeth...

It's just all-around
solid advice. I love you.

- Uh...
- Morning, Dr. McCord.

Good morning, Evan.

Last night's speech
already paying dividends.

- Well, let's hear it.
- Two more senators and five House members

signed on to your increased
NEA-funding push.

My kind of dividends.

And you're confirmed for
Colbert this afternoon.

Cool. And terrifying.
Flying out of Andrews at 1300.

Um, and Jason's definitely
coming with, right?

I'll make sure he's got a seat.
And you have a visitor.

Roxanne.

- This is a surprise.
- Really, Dr. McCord?

I convinced the commander in chief.

Meet your new wardrobe.

Oh, hey.

Good timing.

I know I haven't brought this up
lately, or today,

but this is day 98, which
means only two more days

- until I can quit.
- I know. I know, Mike.

Do you, though?

Yes. I-I have
your shortlist on my desk.

Actually, here it is again,

because I fished it out from the pile

and gingerly blew the dust off of it.

You haven't brought
any of those people in.

I will.

Yes, you will, because the
leader of the free world

would not go back on her word.

No, she wouldn't.

Look, I don't want the
job Jay Whitman rejected.

I want the job you promised me:

counselor to the president.

Behind the scenes, under the radar.

Cracking heads and crushing enemies.

But you're so good
at being my chief of staff.

Acting chief of staff,
and of course I'm amazing at it.

But I hate it.

It's all relationships and people.

So many people... in person.

Well, I'm gonna need some more time.

No. No, that was not the deal.

I agreed to filling in
for the first 100 days.

We shook on it.

Don't punish me because Jay
had a mental breakdown.

It wasn't a breakdown.

- Total breakdown.
- It was love.

What's the difference? The kid
walked out on his dream job.

For what? A chess player?

- To be happy?
- From Holland?

- That's sexy.
- To start a family?

To not end up alone?

Oh, what's that?

Clearly, things you don't care about.

- Yeah, and I cannot care about those things...
- Exactly why you are perfect

- for this job.
- ...when I have the job that I want.

Okay, I hear you.

- Until then?
- Whip count is 58

after you secured Langston
and Wagner last night.

- Well, that's great.
- It's great-adjacent.

We're still two votes shy
of a filibuster-proof majority,

so start thinking about which kid
you're willing to sacrifice.

Good morning, ma'am.

- Good morning.
- Lemon poppyseed.

What did you call me?

- You really need to calm down.
- And see? He's back to being an assistant.

Uh, ROTUS. Receptionist
of the United States.

- That's worse.
- That's a promotion.

That's how she gets you.

Okay. Ma'am, Ephraim Ware
and FBI Director Banks

are in your office.
They say it's urgent.

More urgent than passing

the most ambitious
legislative tour de force

- of the century?
- Morning.

New intel on the Knights
of Western Freedom or...?

No, ma'am. It's Iran.

That's never good.

Madam President, yesterday morning,

I received a call
from my counterpart in Mossad.

During an Israeli
counterintelligence operation,

agents came across court documents

from Senator Beauregard Miller's
divorce on a VAJA server.

- Which documents?
- Same ones

about Miller cheating on his wife,

fathering a child with
one of his staffers

that were leaked to a
reporter during the campaign.

And Mossad thinks
the Iranians hacked them?

Yes, ma'am, and the
Bureau's own metadata

and friends at code analysis
confirm Iranian origin.

Let's not panic. Valerie Guillen,

from The Chronicle,
she broke the story.

What does she have to say?

She's not giving up her source.

But she denies

receiving the documents
from the Iranians.

She could have gotten them

through a third party.

If I may, ma'am.

Our working theory is that Iran
targeted Miller's campaign

because of his aggressively
anti-Iranian positions,

and because he was a harsh critic

of your role in
landing the Iran peace deal.

Okay, now we can panic.

I want to know exactly
what happened, and who

in the Iranian leadership
was responsible. Thank you.

- We're on it.
- You bet, Madam President.

Gather the NSC.

I want CYBERCOM

to draw up severe countermeasures.

If it gets out that Iran tried to tank

your biggest rival's campaign
in order to help you,

it could taint the
legitimacy of your election.

This is much bigger than my election.

Our democracy was attacked
by a foreign power,

and we have to defend it at all costs.

Really, the... the AC is up _

full throttle?

Afraid so, ma'am. _

Whew.

Oh, my God. What is that smell?

- Is somebody sick?
- No, no, no, I think

somebody left some, uh,
egg salad on the, uh...

under the seats last night.

They're working on it.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna go check.

Here's some good news, ma'am.

I just heard that Sprinkles is going

to name a cupcake after you.

Polls are that bad?

Ma'am?

If the cupcake thing
is the good news...

No, actually, Hubbard dropped
a point or two today.

You held.

So I'm only fourpoints behind Hubbard?

Yes. And Miller's spread

is all over the place,
depending on the poll.

Give me Quinnipiac.

Fourteen.

Geez!

He got that big of a bump
from The View?

- Well, he made salmon tacos. They look good.
- Hello?

Welcome to the best day
of your lives so far.

What is that smell...
it doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

I got a tip from my Chronicle guy.

Story breaks tomorrow. Miller...

cheated on his wife

and secretly fathered a child
with one of his staffers.

- What? Wow.
- Wait-wait-wait, wait-wait.

Wait, did I say staffers?
Sorry, I meant intern.

- Wow.
- Hey. Is there

more, Mike? Why, yes. Yes, there is.

There is a tape of him making a deal

with his deputy chief of staff
to claim paternity.

Holy crap.

Are you sure?

Above the fold tomorrow.

- This is it for him, right?
- Oh, absolutely.

Now it's just a five-point
spread with Hubbard.

I thought it was four.

The-the point is, it's winnable.

- We're in this thing.
- Sorry. Who do we think leaked this?

Oh, I have no idea,
but I want to kiss them

straight on the mouth.

I never do this, let's do this.
Let's do it.

- No, Mike...
- Bring it up.

No. It's... sad and sordid.

You're right. You're right,
we'll take a moment.

Celebrate when the smell goes away.

Be thinking about VPs.

No more eggs on the bus, people!

So the idea is, you cannot have
high-tech infrastructure

without some serious
science behind it.

And you can't have
the best scientific minds

without education.

Basically, human infrastructure

begets physical infrastructure.

Okay. I got to say,
I rarely hear the word

"begets" outside of the Bible.

Um...

So... so go back. What is
"human infrastructure"?

Do we have to make human pyramids?

Do I have to take iron supplements?

- What is a human...?
- Well, only if your doctor tells you.

I... You are a doctor.

Of-of philosophy.

Uh, and a-a fighter pilot,
uh, an ethics advisor

to former President Dalton,
a religious scholar, an author.

Now you're championing, uh,

arts in education. There's
a word for guys like you:

annoying.

I mean, you're married to the
president, for Pete's sake.

Why can't you just finally retire?

Well, I-I-I can't because
what I really want

is to have my own talk show.

Really?

Really? You might be disappointed,

because here are some words
you rarely hear on a talk show:

"I read your book on St. Francis."

- You're the guy, thank you.
- Yeah,

you're welcome.
I had no idea that St. Frankie

was such a playa. I mean...

The guy... the guy partied.

Yeah, well, once you start
talking to birds, you know...

Yeah.

This is funnier if you're
Catholic, by the way.

I-I thought you were gonna say

- it's funnier if you're a nerd.
- That, too.

Okay, so, uh...

you're pretty busy.
I happen to know, uh,

your wife, uh, has a few
obligations of her own.

How do the two of you manage
to make time to see each other?

Well... you know, it's tough.

And sometimes it feels like we
can go weeks without,

- you know...
- Oh, I know. Yeah.

No...

- Oh. Oh, boy.
- Really? Weeks?

- Wow. No.
- Oh, boy. Oh, boy.

Seriously, though, uh...

Cohabitating with
the first female president,

uh, I mean, she's off
on Air Force One all the time;

that makes the White House
your personal man cave.

So, we wanted to help you out.

We-we got... we got you a present.

Here-here you go.

- There it is. We got you...
- Oh, wow.

- Wow.
- We got you your own...

We got that...

Your-your own FGOTUS beer helmet.

Oh, that's just what I need, yeah.

Uh, now if you... if you
push, uh, the button...

There you go, see? Classy.

There you go. We also...

You should know...

we also made...

we also made a nuclear version,

but you can only push the button once.

There you go. First Gentleman

of these United States,
Dr. Henry McCord, everybody.

Give it up for the FGOTUS!

We'll be right back.

Thank you, sir.

Whoo!

Attack option one: A DoS strike

shutting down
Iranian government websites

and disabling the civilian Internet.

Option two: Knock out the power grid.

And all comms, radio,
phone and satellite.

Option three: A direct attack
on the Revolutionary Guard.

We fry every piece
of military hardware

with a data connection.

From SRBMs to main battle tanks.

Any of these would send
a clear message.

Prepare to execute all three.

Yes, ma'am.

Susan, I want to follow

with sanctions that go right
up to the line of what

we can do given the peace deal.

I'll have a plan on
your desk in two hours.

If I were to declassify all of this...

would there be any operational risks?

Mossad says it was a pure hack.

No human assets in play.

The Israelis are good
with declassifying.

Thank you, everyone.

Thank you, Madam President.

Brief Daisy. I'm holding a
press conference in an hour.

Let's just take a beat.

- No. No political considerations.
- This could kill the ESI bill,

hobble your administration
before it's out of the gate.

- The American people deserve to know, Mike.
- And they will.

Just give it a few days.
Get ESI on the books.

Brief Daisy now.

Good afternoon.

Earlier today, I received
an intelligence briefing

about the discovery of a hack

by the government of Iran last year

that resulted
in confidential information

about Senator Beauregard Miller
being leaked

during the presidential campaign.

And that's why
on my first day in office,

I will bring Congress my education,

science and infrastructure plan.

So please join me. _

And let's get it done, America.

Thank you so much. Thank you, everybody.

Ugh, these ribs are so good,
I might have to move here.

It may not be a problem.

What now, Chicken Little?

The scandal didn't
hurt Miller in the polls.

He could eat a baby
on national television,

and his base wouldn't care

- as long as he panders to their fears.
- Well,

- I've been thinking about a major speech.
- On what?

Your opponent knocking up interns?

Unity.

I'm telling you,
it's what people want.

It's what they're yearning
for, more than anything.

No,

it's what they say
they're yearning for,

but really, they just want to
bash each other's heads in.

Do a speech on that. It might
actually be a crowd-pleaser.

Oh, my God.

- The mac and cheese...
- Okay, I'm glad you're enjoying your lunch,

- but we need to talk VPs.
- Oh! I've been thinking about that, too.

Me, too. Todd Everlane,

progressive young mayor
of Austin is trending.

Gets the youth vote and
whatever, but also Texas.

Yeah.

Susan Thompson,
strong in foreign relations,

uh, making a name for herself
at the State Department.

- You like her.
- Yeah. I love her.

Okay.

I was thinking Carlos Morejon.

You were thinking that
right about the time

the gummies kicked in?

Why is it crazy?

Because he would
never leave his party.

- He wouldn't have to.
- And you guys are on the opposite sides

of, I don't know, everything?

- Not everything. We...
- I-I also have it on really good authority

that he's on the top
of Miller's shortlist for VP,

like, the tippy-top.

No.

Carlos is principled.

- He'd never do it.
- That's adorable.

But nobody says no.
They all act like they will,

but no politician's ego ever met
a principle it couldn't crush.

Which is why I'm already
gathering oppo

to wound Morejon
before they can even announce.

We just have to hope it's enough,

and that's way too much
mac and cheese.

...that an attack by a foreign power

threw the election in her favor.

She spent years improving
diplomatic relations

with a sworn enemy
of the United States.

This was a direct attack
on our democracy.

Those responsible
must be held accountable,

even if they reside
at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

For the sake of the nation,
we will leave no stone unturned

in our investigation
into President McCord's campaign

for any sign of collusion
with the Iranian regime.

Hey, here's a neat feature.

Oh.

I can't believe Mike
was right about this.

We shouldn't have had
that press conference.

I didn't think that people
would be willing to use this

as a pretext to go after us.

Mike's trying to find a way
around this investigation,

but I think that we should
fully cooperate, don't you?

- I think that if...
- I mean, we have nothing to hide.

And I don't want to give

even the slightest
appearance of a cover-up.

- True, but if you...
- Right? How do you win a fight

where your opponent is willing
to hit below the belt

and you're not?

Henry?

Oh, you're really asking?

Yeah.

Get out of the ring.

Focus on the fight that
you really care about.

- The ESI bill.
- Yes.

Don't let anyone distract your team

from getting it over the finish line.

Well, now this investigation
is providing enough cloud cover

for some senators to waver.

It's gonna be tight.

All the more reason to stay on point.

Give the public something else
to talk about.

Yeah. Maybe they'll be too busy
talking about our sex life.

Okay.

That is so not what I said.

Colbert jumped on a moment
and he twisted it around...

Trust me, I know.

But you did hesitate.

I was thinking.

About how we did have more
sex before the election?

We've had plenty of post-election sex.

Are we losing steam?

No. We've got steam.

We have... w-we've got plenty
of steam.

We're fine.

Is there maybe a power imbalance?

Like, you can't take charge
with your commander in chief?

I mean, on some subtle,

psychological level.

My subtle psyche can boss
yours around any day.

I find it sexy
that you're my commander.

Please tell me what to say.

Senate intelligence
committee chairman Mark Hanson

has officially opened an investigation

into the McCord campaign.

Good morning.

Not for your legislative agenda.
The Iran scandal's blowing up.

You know, even Nixon

accomplished lots of big
stuff during Watergate.

Title IX, opening China,
creating the EPA.

Yeah, but all anyone
remembers is Watergate.

All right, Nixon's not
the best example,

but why am I worried
about your feelings?

I don't know, maybe because
you made me take a job

I didn't want, and now
I'm managing a crisis

I told you not to create,

and if ESI gets flushed as a result,

every dinner party I attend for
the rest of my natural life,

I'm gonna have to hear theories

about how I should've
saved your presidency

over a scandal that never
should have happened.

Feel better?

Little bit.

Good. Because we are getting ESI done.

I want you to make me appointments

- with all the undecided senators. I...
- No, no, no.

POTUS gives marching orders,
POTUS doesn't march.

When the president shows up
at your door,

that is the nuclear option.

It shouldn't be used lightly.

Okay. How about this idea?

- Okay.
- I was thinking

about leaning on tech CEOs from
states with wavering senators,

- That I like. Yes.
- That I can...

- Madam President, excuse me.
- Yeah.

This was Senator Miller
five minutes ago.

Now we know why I lost the election.

Because Elizabeth McCord
colluded with the Iranians

to sabotage my campaign.

Her election is illegitimate
and so is her presidency.

I support my colleague

Chairman Hanson's
righteous investigation

into this grievous matter.

If he were any more
righteously grievous,

- his hair would catch fire.
- This just put

the scandal on steroids.

Look, as long as he's with us

on ESI, Miller can call me
a war criminal.

No distractions.
Let's get to work, okay?

_

Interesting place to meet.

Well, thought it might be best

to do this privately.

I appreciate that, I guess.

I hear you're considering

joining Miller's ticket.

Considering. He has not asked.

Miller?

He rode a wave of nationalist bullpucky,

picking up right
where Callister left off,

with his disgusting attacks
on migrants, the media.

He's not fit

to be president.

- He won the nomination.
- That doesn't mean

that honorable people
should get behind him

and validate his worst impulses.

I get on that ticket,
I can mitigate those impulses.

I can be the adult in the room.
It's my way

- of serving.
- That's the bar?

Serving by keeping
an unfit president in line?

Come on, Carlos.

Wouldn't you rather be on
a ticket you really believe in?

What are you talking about?

I want you to be my vice president.

You must be joking.

I'm not.

My position on immigration alone
would make it unt...

We worked together on immigration.

That was an extreme circumstance.

Land mines.

You discovered
that I have a soft spot in me

- when it comes to children.
- You also broke

with Callister to support
the sanctions on Poland.

No. No.

This would not work. This is crazy.

Why?

You and I have more in common
than you and Miller.

His politics will divide
this country even further.

But you and I can show America
that people can disagree

and still work together
and get things done.

I'd never give up being a Republican.

I'd never ask you to.

I wouldn't support
all of your policies.

All I'd ask is that you hear me out.

And I'd do the same with you.

And when we disagree?

You'll never have to publicly support

a policy you don't believe in.

As long as you don't
publicly disagree, either.

Look, I-I'm truly honored

for this offer, Elizabeth,

but no matter how you spin this,

I would still be abandoning my party.

No, I appreciate the courage

that it took you to ask me,
but I'm not that courageous.

Good luck out there.

You, too.

Yeah.

All I ask is that you lean

on Senator Sheehan, Zack.

Okay, thanks for your time.

Who's next?

Ma'am, General Kohl wants you to know

the countermeasures
against Iran have begun.

Tell him I want a progress
report in an hour.

- Yes, ma'am.
- Sixty.

- We got to 60.
- What? Wait. How?

Son of a bitch Girardi came
around after getting beaten

like a redheaded stepchild
by Kristi Daniels.

Not an hour after you talked to
her, she threatened to pull LCD

and battery production out of Florida.

Boom!

Mmm.

Doesn't this make you want to
just stay being chief of staff?

Have you no shame, Madam President?

- No.
- It's a big deal, Bess.

- I know.
- Especially with all the Iran noise.

- I know.
- Mmm.

Thanks, Mike.

Hey. This is a surprise.

I've got 15 minutes
till my next meeting.

Yeah, I got ten.

I love this jacket.

Oh, well, it's a two-button
basket weave wool,

which is very versatile.

Are you mad at me about Roxanne?

I just thought she had
some neat ideas,

and y-you can always say no.

But you do look good.

How good?

Follow me, FGOTUS.

Yes, ma'am.

Well, I hope that was fun,
because the good times are over.

I was gone, like, ten minutes.

Miller's threatening
to withdraw his support.

That leaves us with 59 votes.

And with that stupid
investigation going on,

the lack of his vote
looks like retribution.

Okay. I'll get into it.

- No, I'm on it, I'm on it.
- No.

- I have to do this myself.
- Madam President, I really wouldn't. I...

I know. I'm supposed to give the
marching orders and not march,

I go that, and I've been doing it,

but now it is time for the
nuclear option. I'm not...

I don't disagree, it's your
shirt's on inside out.

I'm...

I'll call the motorcade.

Thank you.

Valerie Guillen,
the reporter at The Chronicle

who originally broke
the Senator Miller scandal

is refusing to give up her source,

- but she denies receiving...
- Senator Miller,

I'm so sorry to interrupt.
The president just...

Senator.

- Got a minute?
- Oh.

Madam President. Of course.

...ever since President McCord's
press conference...

Four TVs. Thorough.

I like to stay on top
of current events.

- Yeah.
- Ma'am,

would it be wrong to tell you
how ravishing you look?

You mean because I'm your president,

or because it's creepy?

Well, I just want
to get a good look at you

because the Oval Office ages you,

especially with that
whole Iran business.

You won't look the same
come next year.

I got to give you credit.

You are just as vulgar in
private as you are in public.

Why are you here, ma'am?

I need your vote on ESI.

There are 40 other senators

that you could be begging
to flip their vote,

and you chose me?

Those 40 others are opposed
for ideological reasons.

You supported the bill
up until an hour ago.

And you expect me
to be your white knight

when your administration's
under a cloud.

You must be pretty desperate, ma'am.

Prostrating yourself
instead of dispatching

your little pit bull, Barnow,

like you did to get
the Iran deal done.

Losing hurts, doesn't it?

You accused me of collusion with Iran.

I wanted to tell you
face-to-face, that's not true.

Well, forgive me if I'd rather wait

for the results of the investigation.

I know you've been cozy with Iran

for years.

Sometimes I wonder
just how cozy you got

with Minister Javani.

God, how low can you go?

The lies you've been spewing
about that deal these past years

have done nothing
for American security...

- I resent that, Madam.
- Too bad.

Get your facts straight.

Now, I'm not here
to relitigate that deal.

What do you want?

My reputation back!

Committee assignments.

That's up to your party.

I want to be right by your
side for the bill signing,

and I want to be the first person

whose hand you shake and thank,

and then I want you to personally

lobby Ramirez and Hopkins

to restore my committee assignments.

Well done, Madam President.

That's how the sausage gets made.

Enough to make me want
to go full-on vegan.

You got it done.
Next order of business,

updated shortlist of the
new chief of staff options.

Who do you like?

I like this.

I-I don't want to break in anyone new.

Tell that to Jay.

- You got to let that go.
- If you will let me go.

Ever since Gordon died,
I've been reevaluating things.

He was the only totally pure
and honest part of my life,

which, being in D.C.,
isn't saying much,

but still.

I just accepted him for who he was.

If he... if he took a crap
on my bath mat

or tried to hump
the golden across the street,

I just, I always knew
he was being true to himself,

in the moment.

It was his most profound gift to me.

A lesson in how to live,

and I'm-I'm trying to honor that.

Look, I would...

I would stand in front of a
bullet train for you, Bess,

which I can now

with the infrastructure part
of the ESI bill,

but I have to trust my gut on this.

Okay, I'll stop begging.

Thank you.

Aren't you gonna miss this office?

Oh, I'm not giving this up.

The new guy can get another one.
I was here first.

What?

You just made me realize
who I want to replace you.

Congrats on your first victory
with the ESI bill.

You get two more, tops,

and that's if this Iran investigation

doesn't cripple you.

It's good to see you, too, Russell.

Lawn looks nice.

Yeah. Carol fired the gardener

so I'd have something relaxing to do.

It's supposed to be Zen or something.

Nobody tells you about weeds.

Do you realize what a
pain in the ass they are?

They never stop.
They're like lobbyists.

Well, then, I'll get
right to the point.

I'm sorry to drop in unannounced

but I knew that if I
gave you a heads-up

then Carol would run interference.

Oh.

You want me
to do something... stressful.

Just temporarily.

I want you to step in
as my chief of staff

for a transition period.

I know you've already
given eight years

of this job to Dalton,
and you may be over it,

but this moment
in time is going to determine

how effective I am going forward,

and...

I really need you.

Don't answer,
because I-I... I know you got

to talk it over with Carol,
and if it's "no," I understand.

I had to ask.

Carol?!

Call the gardener!

I also need to thank

Senator Beauregard Miller

whose decisive vote
made this day possible. _

Senator,

your bold leadership

on this historic bill

will always be remembered.

Thank you, and thank you to everyone

who came together to get this done.

And that right there is how you
do the first 100 days in office.

Congratulations, Madam President.

It's a momentous victory.

Well, I couldn't have done it
without the both of you.

- Well, that's true.
- Especially you, FGOTUS.

It's been a pleasure
making history with you.

Okay.

Enjoy it while it lasts,

'cause this Iran debacle
is gonna be a nightmare.

They are gonna pull out all the stops,

milk every bit of lifeblood out of it.

Drink, Russell?

Just a small one.

Well, I want to taste it.

Thank you.

Unto the breach.

- Oh.
- Hear, hear.

Oh, I'm taking my office back.

What?

I was here first.

The American Experiment

is about giving everyone
a way forward _

even when we disagree.

In fact, disagreement is
the hallmark of our democracy.

We respect our Constitution

by respecting our fellow citizens,

even when
we don't get everything we want,

even when we disagree passionately.

That is democracy.

Now one of my opponents,

he hasn't liked what he's been
reading about himself lately,

so he's lashed out
at the media in ways

that I believe undermine
freedom of the press,

which is enshrined
in our Constitution.

And he has engaged in attacks...

personal attacks...
against his opponents

that are not only irrelevant
to important policy debates,

but are meaningless distractions

that are beneath the dignity
of the office we seek.

Anyone running for public office

who tries to bully his opponents

is not just disrespecting them,

but disrespecting America

and the rights
and values that we stand for.

Anyone who questions
our basic freedoms

because they don't like
what's coming out

about themselves in the press

isn't just disrespecting
our Constitution.

He is rejecting it.

Eroding our core values and rights

will lead us down a dark road
toward autocracy.

Democracy means that we stand united,

even when we sit
on different sides of the aisle.

We fight for what we believe in,

but we fight fair.

With decency and dignity and respect.

Now I realize...

I realize that these are just words.

So how can I put these words
into action?

How?!

Well, I'd like

to introduce you to my running mate.

I am humbled and honored
that he decided to join me,

especially
because he and I have been known

to be political rivals.

Well, we fought
for what we believe in,

and we fought through our differences,

and we got things done.

And we will continue

to rise above our differences

on behalf of all Americans.

I am so proud

to introduce the next vice
president of the United States,

Senator Carlos Morejon.