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Isa Soares Tonight
Republican to Have Majority in U.S. House; John Thune New Senate Republican Leader; Biden Meets Trump in the White House; Trump Taps Fox News Host Hegseth to be Defense Secretary; Protests in Israel Over Gala Controversy; Blinken Calls for Pauses in Fighting in Gaza; U.N. Says "We are Witnessing Acts Reminiscent of the Gravest International Crimes". Aired 2:00-3p ET
Aired November 13, 2024 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I will say that this is a topic obviously the American hostages being held in Gaza that President
Biden, President Trump covered today. But we have not had the opportunity to engage with the incoming team yet. I'm only expressing standing here
today as I did to the hostage families yesterday. We are very much willing to do so.
And we've sent a signal to the incoming team that we're prepared to work with them on this issue as with every other issue, because President
Biden's cardinal direction to us is, ensure a smooth and orderly transition.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On that, are you finding the Israelis as responsive to the Biden administration inquiries or requests, given that we know that the
Prime Minister is in pretty frequent touch with the President-elect?
SULLIVAN: I had the opportunity to sit down yesterday with the Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer. We had a detailed discussion
about every element of the current situation in the Middle East, and it was a constructive discussion. We are still actively working in support of our
common efforts to push back against our common adversaries, to try to deal with the situation in Gaza, in Lebanon and directly with respect to the
Islamic Republic of Iran.
And just to give you an example, we are working on an ongoing daily basis to try to increase the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza,
given the suffering of the innocent civilians there who are trapped amidst the crossfire between the IDF and the terrorist group, Hamas.
We have made some progress in that regard. I -- we extracted further commitments from the Israeli side over the course of the past couple of
days. We want to see those commitments followed through on. So, we believe that we can continue to work across the board on all of the relevant
issues, whether it's humanitarian assistance or it's ensuring the defense of Israel against Iranian attacks or it's working on ceasefire efforts and
a hostage deal in Gaza, or it's ultimately bringing a diplomatic resolution to Lebanon, which we're actively working on. We'll continue to do that
every day that we have remaining in office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jake, I know you can't speak to what happened in this - - in the meeting earlier. We'll ask Karine about that. But eight years ago, then President Obama explicitly warned incoming President Donald Trump
about the urgent threat posed by North Korea. He said it was the most urgent national security threat the U.S. was facing at the time.
What would you communicate to your national security adviser here who is going to be following you in this job? What is the most urgent national
security threat facing the United States today as Donald Trump prepares to take office?
SULLIVAN: Well, I would say two things in answer to that question. The first is that if you look out at a strategic level, the competition with
the People's Republic of China is going to be defining for what the world looks like over the course of the next 10, 20 and 30 years. And so, that
has got to be a paramount priority for the incoming administration.
And the person who's been named as my successor, the person who's been floated as the Secretary of State, these are people who have very much
focused on that challenge and we'll look forward to talking to them about how we've approached it and obviously pass on the current state of play.
Then there's the most immediate issue which is Iran and its proxy groups continue to take actions that directly threaten Americans and American
interests in the Middle East, and that has to be dealt with on an urgent basis. Now, that's at the macro level and the micro level. In between those
two, you have an ongoing war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine, representing a larger threat to European security and therefore global
security.
And you've got North Korea coming behind to provide troops in that war. So, these are all issues for which we have clear approaches working in
coordination with allies and partners, and we are going to try to ensure that we pass off each of these areas to the next team in a way that is as
smooth as possible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last time --
SULLIVAN: Yes --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last time he was -- just to follow up quickly. Last time in that same meeting, Obama told Trump that he had real concerns about
the hiring of a national security adviser Mike Flynn. Donald Trump ultimately hired Mike Flynn. Do you have any concerns about the names that
you have heard mentioned so far and announced so far by Donald Trump to serve in his administration in the national security role?
SULLIVAN: I know some of them. I've engaged with some of them. And people like for example, Congressman Waltz who's been named to be my replacement.
He's somebody that I have engaged with in the past, I respect his service to this country in uniform. He's put his life on the line, I respect his
service in Congress.
He and I obviously don't see eye-to-eye on every issue, but I am very much looking forward to engaging him over these next 60 days, as I said, so that
we can have this smooth handoff. There are other people that he's named who I just don't know. I haven't met and therefore can't comment on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you --
SULLIVAN: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You talked about wanting to engage, wanting to smooth this transition. Why hasn't it happened yet?
[14:05:00]
Is there -- is the signing of the MOU as an actual issue that is preventing you from coordinating with the Trump -- incoming Trump team?
SULLIVAN: So, I'll defer to Karine to kind of go into the nitty-gritty. What I'll say at a broad level, though, is the MOU creates the opening for
the landing teams to arrive at the agencies to include the NSC. But that doesn't mean that we can't reach out and get, you know, and express our
willingness to engage with our counterparts or incoming counterparts.
We've done that. And so, I expect that in a matter of days here, we should be able to have some engagement. Of course, that depends on whether the
incoming team wants to engage, and that will be up to them. But for our part, we are more than willing to do what is our responsibility as directed
by the President, and frankly, as dictated by the constitution which is to ensure the peaceful transition of power --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a China-related question as well. You know, the Biden administration largely left in place the Trump-era tariffs on
China, the policy hasn't been towards China, it hasn't been wildly divergent. Do you see the potential for bipartisan agreement on the
relationship with China in the next administration or going forward?
SULLIVAN: I think for us to succeed in the long term competition with the PRC, it will require a bipartisan foundation. The best traditions of
American foreign policy have always had a bipartisan element, and many aspects of the policy that we have pursued in this administration with
respect to the PRC and with respect to the Indo-Pacific, have been bipartisan.
By the way, the same thing is true with respect to Ukraine, where there has been strong bipartisan support and votes in both the House and the Senate
for the resources and the strategy for Ukraine. So, from our perspective, we would like to see that continue. Now obviously, we don't know what the
incoming team is going to do, how divergent they will be. Those will be decisions they take.
Not for me to comment on. All I can say is that when it comes to investing in our alliances, the sources of strength at home, the protections of our
advanced technologies, these are things we're going to advocate, continue because we think that they are not political issues, they're American
issues that can serve all of the people of this country. Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will the President raise this alleged hack by a Chinese hacking group when he meets with President Xi? And are you planning
any kind of consequences for that hack?
SULLIVAN: It is a significant issue. I expect that the FBI and CISA will have an update in terms of their investigation which is ongoing into the
hack soon. We here at the White House have stood up at the -- at the NSC, what's called the UCG, a unified coordinating group in order to coordinate
the entire U.S. government to be able to deal with this hack.
Which is a hack of private telecommunications providers, but private telecommunications providers that provide services to U.S. government
personnel among others. So, you will hear from the FBI and CISA on that. I do expect this will come up in the meeting in Peru, and I'm not going to
speak to consequences from this podium.
I will only say that we have made clear over time that we will respond when we see actions taken in terms of cyber attacks, cyber espionage, cyber
intrusions that has been a feature of our policy to date. It will remain a feature of our policy going forward. I'll take just a couple more and then
let Karine take over. Go ahead --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Jake. Can you give us a sense of what else President Biden said to President Trump about Russia in their meeting? And
also with regard to China, will he pass on any tips or color from his meeting with President Trump to President Xi when they meet, and what will
his message be to President Xi?
SULLIVAN: I've already mildly violated the not-reading-out the meeting --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keep going --
SULLIVAN: Proviso, so, I will pass that off to -- I will pass that off to Karine. Mild violations. But with respect to his meeting with President Xi,
I don't expect him to pass messages. Obviously, President Trump, when he comes into office will have his opportunity to engage directly with
President Xi. But I will observe that transitions are uniquely consequential moments in geopolitics.
They're a time when competitors and adversaries can see possibly opportunity because you have this change in government here. And so, part
of what President Biden will communicate is that we need to maintain stability, clarity, predictability through this transition between the
United States and China.
And he will also really reinforce the point that in order for us to manage this competition responsibly going forward, we have to sustain over the
long term the channels of communication at every level, particularly the military-to-military level. And then, of course, he will look to try to
consolidate progress on areas where we can work together, for example, on counter narcotics and fentanyl coordination, and on trying to manage the
safety risks associated with artificial intelligence.
[14:10:00]
So, it's an important meeting. It will not be just a valedictory, although there will be an element of reflecting over the course of their long
relationship. There is actual work to do in this critical moment between the U.S. and China, to ensure that we don't run into any problems in the
next two months in this transition of power. Last question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you sort of explain the strategy for the remaining draw-down authority for Ukraine? And also, if the administration is going
to ask for any additional draw-down authority in like end of the year CR or spending plan?
SULLIVAN: So, the President has made clear, and he has directed his team to ensure that every dollar that the Congress gave to him, authorized him
to spend, he will spend on behalf of Ukraine before he leaves office. Now, again, these are not dollars he's putting on an airplane and flying across
the ocean.
These are dollars he's investing in the American defense industrial base. As we provide weapons to Ukraine, we make new weapons to give to the U.S.
military. All of those dollars will be spent, will be obligated by the time he leaves office on January 20th.
Therefore, it only stands to reason that in the next two months, the administration will signal to Congress that we would like to see additional
funds for Ukraine for 2025 so that they can be in the best possible position, the strongest possible position to negotiate, to ensure they
achieve their objectives, that they win at the negotiating table.
Now, what form will that take? CR, et cetera, I'm going to not get myself in trouble by turning into the OMB director up here. I will just say that
the administration very much sees the necessity and the logic of seeking additional resources for 2025, since we are doing what Congress asked us to
do, which is dispersing the funds they gave us for 2024.
And with that I'll turn it over --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About the same question --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jake, on the Amazon --
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Thank you, Jake.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulate -- congressional spouse.
(LAUGHTER)
JEAN-PIERRE: I just have one more thing and then I'll go into your questions. So, today, the President and the first lady welcomed nearly 200
education and workforce leaders to the White House for the Biden-Harris administration's classroom career summit. The administration's investing in
America agenda is creating millions of good-paying jobs, many of which do not require a four-year college degree, and its investments will continue
to drive job creation for years to come.
The summit highlighted the record progress to expand career pathways to these good-paying jobs and infrastructure, clean energy, advanced
manufacturing and so much more. With that, Josh, it's good to see you as always.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to see you, Karine. Regarding the meeting --
JEAN-PIERRE: Yes --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Biden has given a lot of statements about his concern for the U.S. democracy. Did he share any of those concerns with
President-elect Trump in their meeting about what he feels should be done or needs to be done?
JEAN-PIERRE: So, I'm not going to go into granular detail of what was discussed in the meeting. What I can say -- that it was indeed very
cordial, very gracious and substantive. And I mentioned at the top, national security was discussed, domestic policy issues were discussed. I
had an opportunity to speak with the President in the Oval Office right before coming out to do this press briefing, because I wanted to make sure
that I got what the President wanted to share with all of you.
So, certainly, that everything that I'm saying is, is sanctioned, if you will, by the President. He wanted you all to know that the President-elect,
again, was gracious, came with a detailed set of questions. It was again substantive, but I do want to take a little bit of a step back here,
because it's really important to note, and you hear it -- you're going to hear me continuing to say this over and over again, the importance of
having a smooth transition and importance of having an orderly transition.
The President respects the will of the American people and wants to make sure that occurs. That is what he believes the American people deserve. And
so, that is as far as I can go. That is what I am sharing with you from the President directly -- and look, we're going to make sure as Jake Sullivan
was saying, that his team has what they need, right?
They want to make sure that it is indeed an efficient, effective transition so that we can -- so that we hand over the people's business so that they
can continue the people's business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you say how President Biden answered some of those detailed questions?
JEAN-PIERRE: I will say that the President certainly looked forward to -- look forward to the meeting, appreciated the conversation and answered any
questions that the President-elect had, offered up his thoughts, but I'm not going to go any further than that. OK, Mary(ph).
[14:15:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said gracious, cordial --
JEAN-PIERRE: Yes --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Substantive. The President obviously hit on a wide range of issues, but --
JEAN-PIERRE: Yes --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he get a sense that the issues that he was impressing upon, that any advice he was giving was being well received?
JEAN-PIERRE: I think so. I think that's why the President was saying -- was wanting me to let you all know that there was a -- you know, a very
good back-and-forth, and it was substantive as I mentioned before, and I want to be mindful it was a private conversation. So, I don't want to go
into specifics or details, but look, they met for more than two hours.
They met for a very long time -- or nearly two hours, pardon me. And I think by the length of the meeting tells you that they had an in-depth
conversation on an array of issues. And so, look, the President reached out to the President-elect, wanting to make sure that he gave an opportunity to
the President-elect, afforded him that opportunity to have a meeting with him, to talk about the different issues that matter to the American people.
But nearly two hours says, I think says a lot about how the meeting went.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any plans to keep a line of communication open.
JEAN-PIERRE: The President is always going to obviously keep that line of communication open to the President-elect. We got to remember, this is not
about the two presidents. This is not about President Biden or President- elect Trump, this is about the American people and what's right for the American people.
And if anything, the President has led by example right over the last week or week now on making sure that we have this cordial transition of power.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, just one other topic --
JEAN-PIERRE: Yes --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President-elect Trump's nominee for Defense Secretary has questioned whether or not women should serve in combat roles in the
military. Wondering what the administration makes of that. Is there any concern about women's ability to serve in certain roles going forward?
JEAN-PIERRE: I think we've made ourselves really clear, I'm not going to speak to this pick. That's not -- the President's -- the President-elect is
going to lay out his -- certainly, his personnel and who he wants to fill these cabinet positions, who he wants to be in the White House with him,
and we will give them the space to do that.
But I think we've been very clear about how we see the importance of gender equality, the importance of women in the workforce. I think we have been an
administration that has led on that issue, and certainly, we do not agree with those views, but that is for obviously, the President-elect to speak
to his picks, and I'm going to let them do that. OK, John(ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said the President-elect came with a detailed list of questions, that's surprising to me. What was on his list?
JEAN-PIERRE: I'm not going to go into details of what was on the list. I wanted -- I shared that and the President wanted you all to know that
because we want to be very clear, it was actually a substantive meeting, nearly two hours. There was a lot discussed. There was a lot of back-and-
forth, and I'm not going to go into specifics.
I think if the President-elect wants to share his set of questions to President Biden, he certainly can and will if he chooses. But wanted to
give you as much information as I could without you know, going into too much specifics on a private conversation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was the list typed out on a piece of paper?
JEAN-PIERRE: I don't have -- I appreciate the effort there, Jeff. I don't have anything beyond that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the issue of -- the fact that President Trump did not acknowledge President Biden as the winner in the 2020 election come up
today?
JEAN-PIERRE: What we want to do is move forward. We do --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?
JEAN-PIERRE: No, seriously. What we want to do is move forward. We respect the will of the people. There was an election, as you know, last week, and
the American people spoke. And so, the President is going to make sure that he puts the American people first. He's going to make sure that we move
forward in this process and this transition process in a way that is respectful to the American people and to lead by example.
And so, that's our focus. That's what we want to do. I think the President has shown that in the past week of that leadership, and so, that's what
you're going to hear. That's what we're going to continue to do in the 68 days that we have left in this administration.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you saying that --
JEAN-PIERRE: Yes --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That just seems like a piece of unfinished business between them. Did it come up at all?
JEAN-PIERRE: Look, that is something certainly that I would leave for the President-elect to speak to. What I can speak to is this President wanting
to focus on the American people, wanting to focus on issues that matter, domestic policy issues, national security issues that are critical and
important in how we move forward as a country.
That's what the President wanted to focus on. Again, it was gracious, it was substantive, and I think that's what's important, and what we are
showing the American people is how you do this.
[14:20:00]
How do you have a peaceful transition of power? How it looks and leading by example, and that is quintessential Joe Biden, I believe. Go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, thanks Karine --
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
LYNDA KINKADE, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade, thanks for joining us. We are just getting this news in. CNN projects that
Republicans will have a majority in the U.S. House, meaning that they will now control both Houses of Congress. Well, CNN's Betsy Klein is tracking
all the developments and joins us now from Washington. This is a huge development.
So, the Republicans have taken the White House, they've taken the Senate and now projected to take the House.
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: That's exactly right, Lynda. And it was a -- not a surprising development, but certainly a welcome one
for President-elect Trump and his team after he met with those House Republicans just earlier this morning, and expressed the expectation that
this would be happening and giving him a major tool as he seeks to enact his agenda in the coming months.
And moments from now, House Republicans are expected to elect their leadership. House Speaker Mike Johnson receiving a bit of an endorsement
from Trump earlier today, and the fact for Democrats is, however, that there remains a very slim margin, that divide between Republicans and
Democrats is very small, which gives them some power and leverage here to continue to hold a little bit of fire over Republicans.
But they also discussed the expectation that Republicans were going to retake the House and their meeting today. They're expected to hold a series
of listening sessions in the coming days on how their party moves forward. But overall, a very welcome development for the Trump team.
KINKADE: Indeed, we are just getting those numbers as well. Betsy, 218 wins for the Republican, 208 for the Democrats. Still nine races to
predict, but certainly looking likely, the Republican Party will control the House. Quite significant, and of course, the other major story today is
that Donald Trump came to Washington the first time since winning this election.
He sat down with the President Biden in a meeting that was described as gracious. We just heard the Press Secretary there. Describe what else you
know about that two-hour long meeting between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
KLEIN: Well, Lynda, by all accounts, it was a courteous and professional meeting. The two of them just trying to project that there will be a
peaceful transfer of power, about 68 days from now in January, when President-elect Trump takes office. But as we heard Press Secretary Karine
Jean-Pierre at the White House podium describing the meeting as gracious, she said it was a substantive exchange of issues.
They talked about domestic and foreign policies, and said that Trump notably brought a detailed set of questions for President Biden.
KINKADE: All right, Betsy Klein, we will continue this conversation. I want to bring in Annie, who is with us right now I believe. Is Annie there?
Doesn't look like we have her. I'm going to -- Annie, if you can hear me, we've just -- CNN has just projected --
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN REPORTER: Yes --
KINKADE: That Republicans --
GRAYER: I can hear you --
KINKADE: Will control the House. This of course, is after taking the White House and the Senate. What more are you learning?
GRAYER: Well, this is a Republican trifecta. Now, Republicans have control of all levers of government in Washington. This is huge for Donald Trump
who has a big agenda that he wants to enact here, and now he has allies leading both chambers, both the House and the Senate. Donald Trump was in
Washington D.C. today, he met with House Speaker Mike Johnson and the entire House Republican conference.
It was a big boost of support for Johnson. Republicans just separately elected their new leader to lead their chamber. Senator John Thune, which
is the first new leader that the Republicans are getting in 18 years. So, lots of changes happening in Washington. Republicans are all falling in
line behind Donald Trump.
KINKADE: Yes, it's a significant news today, a lot of moving parts. Good to have you there, Annie, we will come back to you shortly. But I do want
to welcome our political panel, we've got CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, as well as senior political
commentator and conservative columnist Scott Jennings. Good to have you both with us.
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey --
KINKADE: Significant day --
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey, Lynda, good to be here --
KINKADE: So, I will start with you first, Scott. I mean, this is a huge day for the Republican Party, right? We've just projected that the
Republican Party is likely to take the House after already securing the White House and the Senate. It doesn't get -- I mean, President Trump
really doesn't have a stronger mandate than that, right?
JENNINGS: Yes, he had a great election. He won the popular vote, Republicans with 53 votes in the Senate, it will be a narrow majority in
the House. But when you have the White House and you have such a strong party leader like Donald Trump will be, it will help Speaker Mike Johnson
keep everybody in line.
[14:25:00]
So, I think for the Republicans for the next two years before we get to the Midterms and see what the voters say then, it will be a chance to enact
Donald Trump's agenda, whether that's on economic issues, on the border, you know, those two things were really the animating core of what he ran
on. I would expect quick action and also quick action on building the government, frankly, you know, with Donald Trump obviously moving
decisively to send up qualified nominees for all these offices.
So, it's better to be on offense than defense in the United States Congress, and right now, the Republicans are fully on offense.
KINKADE: Right, that is certainly the case. I want to get to some of those picks in just a moment. But first to you, Maria, I want to ask you about
this meeting today between Donald Trump and Joe Biden at the White House. Certainly, a far cry from what we saw last election.
CARDONA: For sure, Lynda, and I got to tell you, I felt so much pride in our President Joe Biden who actually was demonstrating what a real peaceful
transfer of power looks like both to his predecessor, who was not able to do the same thing, as well as to his successor. And so, I think it showed
the country, not just the country, but it showed Donald Trump and the Republican Party what real leadership is, and what a real leader needs to
do in these times.
I am glad that the meeting was substantive from the reporting that we're hearing was cordial, that they did talk about some very serious issues
facing the American people. And look, you know, this is now Donald Trump's government, and he is focused on doing some of the things that he talked
about.
I think he as well as Republicans have to be very careful with overreach. The country is still very divided. It looks like Donald Trump at this
moment does have the popular vote, though, my understanding is when all is said and done and the counting is done in California and in the western
states, it's going to be probably 50-50.
And so, you know, he can call it a mandate, but he is still going to have to govern for the whole country, not just for the people that voted for
him. And some of his picks, some of his picks for the cabinet are kind of concerning because they seem to be focused on loyalty and not so much on
experience and expertise.
But he has an opportunity to show that he is willing to govern for all Americans, not just those who voted for him. So, we'll see. My hope is that
that will be the case, but you know, Democrats will be watching and we're going to certainly hold him accountable if that doesn't seem to be the
case.
KINKADE: I want to also welcome our reporter into the chat, Annie Grayer, who is outside the -- is in D.C. right now. Annie, just give us the latest
what you're hearing in terms of this vote. So, in terms of CNN is projecting that the Republicans have taken the House. But there are still
nine races, right? To be -- to be projected.
GRAYER: So, now that we know that Republicans have the majority, the question is going to be by how much? I mean, we saw Republicans had control
in the last Congress, and they ruled with a very narrow majority, and they're pretty divided, they're pretty divided conference.
And it was very difficult for House Speaker Mike Johnson to keep the government funded and pass key legislation. That was big parts of the
Republican agenda. So, the test will be can Johnson continue to lead this group, which is an even smaller majority potentially than what they had in
the last Congress.
So, those last races that you mentioned is still to be called are going to be crucial to figure out how much cushion Johnson really has.
KINKADE: And Annie, I just want to ask you about this leadership, this leadership vote. It's a secret ballot for the role who will likely lead the
House. It is expected to be Mike Johnson, right?
GRAYER: It is expected for Johnson to be Republican Speaker of the House. The vote that's going to happen shortly behind me is a secret ballot --
Johnson only needs to get a simple majority of his conference. So, a threshold he will easily clear. His real challenge is going to come in
January when he has to get 218 votes on the floor, where Republicans will be standing up one-by-one and voting for him.
But today, we saw Donald Trump throw his support behind Johnson. That was a huge boost for Johnson. For any of the Republicans who maybe have been
questioning him, but once the Republicans got through to today and now knowing that they have the majority, the next couple of months are going to
be about the behind-the-scenes negotiations of what Johnson can offer and what Republicans will need to hear in order to secure their -- in order for
Johnson to secure their votes.
So, that is a process that's going to unfold in the next couple of months, and Johnson is hoping that he is going to be able to lock down all of his
members by January.
KINKADE: Right. I want to go back to Maria, because we did hear earlier from the new Senate Republican leader John Thune, who will take the reins
from Mitch McConnell, who, of course, is the longest-serving party leader. When we heard from John Thune, he said that we have a mandate for the
American people to not only clean up the mess, but also deliver on Trump's policy, which includes streamlining bureaucratic -- the bureaucratic
machine and restoring energy dominance. What are the expectations around his role?
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND U.S. DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, so that's a great question because let's remember, while Republicans
do now have a majority in the Senate, they don't have 60 votes, right? And let's remember that in order to pass a majority of legislation, you need 60
votes. So, the Republicans are going to have to learn how to work with the Democrats, how to compromise.
I know for so many in the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, which is frankly the majority right now, that is a bad word. And if they approach it
like that, they're not going to accomplish anything. And I think that the country is ready for folks to go into Washington, D.C. and to work
together, which is frankly what President Biden did for the four years that he was here in D.C. He accomplished a lot because he was able to work with
both sides of the aisle, compromise with Republicans.
I hope that Donald Trump and John Thune are going to be able to do the same thing, because if they refuse to do that, they're not going to be able to
get anything done. And then in two years, like Scott said, they're going to be held accountable for what they said they were going to do. And if what
they said they're going to do is way to the extreme of what the American people voted for or want, then they're not going to be able to do that.
So, where is going -- where is the middle ground here? What is the compromise? The American people and Democrats are ready to work together to
solve all of the issues. And Scott mentioned immigration, and yes, immigration is a huge issue. But if, for example, the first thing that they
want to do is focus on mass deportation, I don't believe that mass deportation was a mandate that was given to him by the American people. And
if that's what they start with, and you're going to see images of families being ripped apart, there's going to be a fast and furious backlash the way
that there was in 2017 when Donald Trump imposed family separation.
And he has, right now, at the helm of the border czar, the person who was the architect of family separation. So, that is going to be something that
Democrats are going to have an eye on. But let's think positive. Let's hope that Donald Trump and Republicans really want to work with Democrats to get
things done, because that is still the way that you have to do it in order to accomplish anything in Washington.
KINKADE: Well, he has picked some hardline immigration people on his team so far. We're going to continue this conversation after the break. If you
can stand by for us, Maria Cardona, Scott Jennings, Annie Grayer. We'll be right back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I want to recap our breaking news. CNN projects that Republicans will have a majority in the U.S. House,
which means they'll control both Houses of Congress. With nine seats left to call, we project that Republicans will have at least 218 seats to the
Democrats' 208. It's back to single party rule in Congress in Washington. That gives the GOP a full trifecta winning the White House, the Senate, and
the House. The White -- Mike Johnson says he is confident that he will remain the House as speaker.
And for the first time in 18 years, there is a new Senate Republican leader. John Thune won the leadership after two rounds of secret ballot
voting. And he has promised to work closely with President-Elect Donald Trump. Thune will replace outgoing leader Mitch McConnell, who held the
spot for nearly two decades.
And earlier, it was a two-hour long meeting among U.S. presidents, outgoing President Joe Biden from the Oval Office shaking hands with his predecessor
and now successor, President-Elect Donald Trump. Today's White House meeting is part of Trump's momentous return to Washington after sweeping
the swing states in last week's election.
In stark contrast to the insults exchanged on the campaign trail, the two were friendly, polite, and it was very brief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Donald, congratulations.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: Thank you.
BIDEN: And looking forward to having a, like we said, smooth transition. Do everything we can to make sure you're accommodated, what you need. And
we're going to get a chance to talk about some of that today.
TRUMP: That's good.
BIDEN: Welcome.
TRUMP: All right. Appreciate that. Thank very much. And politics is tough. And it's, in many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world
today, and I appreciate it very much. A transition that's so smooth. It'll be as smooth as it can get. And I very much appreciate it.
BIDEN: You're welcome. Thank you all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Moments ago, we heard from John Thune, who has just been elected to serve as the next Republican Senate leader.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), INCOMING U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER: It's a new day in the United States Senate, and it's a new day in America. The
American people have loudly rejected the failed policies of the Biden- Harris-Schumer agenda. And this Republican team is united. We are on one team and we are excited to reclaim the majority and to get to work with our
colleagues in the House to enact President Trump's agenda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: A lot to digest right now. I want to bring in our panel, CNN Political Commentator and Democratic Strategist Maria Cardona, as well as
Senior Political Commentator and Conservative Columnist Scott Jennings, both are in Washington, as well as our Annie Grayer, who is also in D.C.,
covering the new developments, breaking news right now that CNN projects that the Republican Party will take the House.
To you, Annie, this is the trifecta, essentially, the Republicans taking the White House, the Senate, and on track to control the House. We know
that there is a secret ballot underway right now for speaker of the House. How soon will we have an answer?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN REPORTER: Well, Republican members are still coming in and they're going to start voting. And we're expecting Speaker Mike Johnson
to clear this hurdle easily. He only needs a simple majority to become the speaker-elect for the next Congress. His real challenge is going to come in
January when Republicans have to vote on the floor, and he needs to get 218 votes.
[14:40:00]
Now, we are -- we called the House for Republicans, but we're still waiting on a handful of races which will determine how big of a majority Johnson
will have, and that will be huge in determining how easy it is for Johnson to get re-elected and also how easy it will be for Republicans to enact
their agenda.
I mean, as we saw in the last Congress, Republicans are often very divided on a number of key issues, and Johnson has had a lot of trouble corralling
his members in one direction. But Republicans are trying to turn the page here. President-Elect Donald Trump met with House Republicans this morning,
pledging this idea of unity. Republicans seem excited. But we'll see what happens after this secret ballot, what kinds of deals Johnson needs to cut
with some of his members who maybe aren't as happy with him to keep everyone on the same team.
KINKADE: And I want to go to you, Maria, because we saw Joe Biden and Donald Trump meeting in the White House today, but notably absent was the
next first lady, Melania Trump. She -- her team actually posted on X saying that her husband's return to the Oval Office to commence the transition
process is encouraging and she wishes him great success. It certainly sounded like quite a distant sort of a statement to make. And we really
don't know what scheduling conflicts she had today that meant she couldn't be at the White House.
CARDONA: Yes, that was disappointing. But frankly, not surprising. I mean, we've seen, sadly, that the former first lady, now to be the future first
lady, has often been very uninterested and very aloof to the things that are happening in D.C., the things that are happening at the White House.
And this, I think, underscores that she is going to continue with that disinterest in the next four years.
But look, I think, frankly, Donald Trump is probably used to that. And I really don't see that she made a huge difference in the first four years.
And I don't think, frankly, she'll make a huge difference this time around either. She'll focus on the things that she wants to focus on. She, you
know, will probably take a backseat to everything that's happening.
You know, rumor has it that she didn't want to be first lady the first time around, and she probably doesn't want to be first lady this time around
either. And so, you know, the news of what is going on with the agenda, with what Trump wants to do, with what the new Republican majority wants to
do, with, frankly, what the American people want has very, very little to do with the first lady, and I think probably even more so with this first
lady.
So, I really -- frankly, I really just don't think it matters. I think it was rude of her. I don't think it demonstrates, again, that she is at all
interested in anything that happens in D.C. or with her husband, which I think is kind of a slap in the face for her husband. But again, like I
said, he's probably used to it.
KINKADE: And, Scott, I want to go to you because Mitch McConnell is on the way at the door. There is a new Senate Republican leader, John Thune. But
we did hear from Mike Johnson who described McConnell as one of the most consequential Senate leaders in history. Trump and McConnell obviously
never saw eye to eye. In fact, when McConnell endorsed Trump, Trump said it must have been a very painful day for Mitch McConnell.
You've worked for him. I mean, how would you describe him and how would he be feeling as he looks to, to retirement?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I know him quite well, and he's feeling really good about what he's accomplished. Seventeen
years as Senate Republican leader, the longest serving party leader in U.S. history. He's the longest serving U.S. senator in the history of the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, where we both live.
And, you know, when Trump was president before, and he was the leader, they accomplished great things together. You know, three Supreme Court justices,
they cut taxes. I mean, they did a lot of consequential things together. They have not seen eye to eye on some issues.
Over the next two years -- McConnell's not up until 2026. Over the next two years, now that he's out of leadership, my anticipation is that he's going
to use his seniority in the Senate to focus on national defense, and specifically defense appropriations, rebuilding America's arsenal. I mean,
he is a hawk, and he believes strongly in sort of the Reagan model of foreign policy, that American engagement in the world is a good thing. And
you're going to hear McConnell be extremely outspoken on that, and in a way that he couldn't before, necessarily, although, he always has been.
But when you're the party leader, you know, you're sort of, beholden to the whole conference. And in the Republican Party, there are some differences
of opinion on foreign policy. And now, McConnell, I think, is going to truly sort of take up that Reagan mantle of being pro-U.S. engagement and
really be outspoken on it and fight for that, and he may butt heads with Trump from time to time on it, but that's my anticipation for the next
couple of years.
I know he's happy to have closed this chapter of his life, and he's really looking forward to the next two years of fighting for an involved America
on the world stage.
[14:45:00]
KINKADE: Well, good to have you all with us. Scott Jennings, Maria Cardona, Annie Grayer, we will be chatting again soon, no doubt. Thanks so
much for your time.
Well, in another extraordinary move, Trump has taped a Fox News host -- tapped a Fox News host to be his new secretary of defense. Pete Hegseth is
an army veteran who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. And more recently, he took up a role as co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, positioning himself
as a staunch Trump supporter.
Well, our Pentagon Correspondent Oren Liebermann joins us now. Good to have you with us, Oren. So, this is potentially the most surprising and perhaps
controversial pick so far. A Fox News personality who will potentially oversea, you know, millions of people, over a million people who are in
active service, another over a million civilians, plus an enormous number budget. I mean, he has some pretty controversial views when it comes to
women in combat, to diversity in the armed forces but also, he's so-called -- like the so-called woke policies that he speaks out. But what can you
tell us about him?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. The pick of Pete Hegseth was not just surprising to the Pentagon itself, and obviously,
there are a lot of people here who track this very closely and try to follow who's up, who's down, what are the movements. But it was also
surprising to many in Trump's orbit. His name hadn't really emerged until the last day. It popped up basically on Monday and then was announced on
Tuesday.
In terms of the policies here, as you point out, this is an enormous building with an enormous budget. So, you would expect somebody in the role
of secretary of defense to have a sort of broad and deep history on what their policy positions are, and that simply doesn't look like it's the case
when it comes to Pete Hegseth.
He has weighed in on issues like Russia and China, but he has done so in a way that is both blunt and short on details. For example, in a podcast just
a few days ago, he said this about China. He said, China, they have a full spectrum, long-term view of not just regional but global domination. And we
have our heads up our asses.
So, there is clearly more to be done here in terms of finding out what his policies are. In terms of his controversial opinions, he has said several
times that he doesn't believe women should serve in combat roles. That's something that's been allowed for them for more than a decade now.
He has also said in terms of not having maybe a depth of policy on Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, where we have seen him talk about the Pentagon
and is mostly attacking what he views as woke policies, DEI, diversity, equality, and inclusion, critical race theories, saying all of that has to
go immediately. He says that would start with firing the chairman of the joint chiefs. That would be General C.Q. Brown, who has been a frequent
target of right-wing criticism. And that's despite the fact that it was Trump himself who put him in his previous position as the chief of the Air
Force.
So, certainly one of the things we'll be watching for if he gets confirmed is, is do they carry out on these policies? Are they going back to a
transgender ban on service members? Are they going to fire the chairman of the joint chiefs, which would be virtually unprecedented here?
So, there -- look, a lot of these questions and part of that is simply the fact, Lynda, that we don't have a good broad sense of what his policy
positions are on a number of different issues. But crucially, he has what Trump wants, and that is loyalty to his commander in chief, loyalty to
Trump. The key question here, of course, is, can he get confirmed? Trump had floated him as an idea for heading the Department of the -- of Veterans
Affairs in his first term, but was led away from that because of questions over whether he could get confirmed.
Republicans have the majority in the Senate. It is -- it could be a contentious confirmation hearing, and that's something we'll also have to
watch very close, Lynda, as you pointed out, certainly, the most controversial pick we have seen so far from Trump.
LIEBERMANN: Yes, we will be watching this closely. Oren Liebermann for us at the Pentagon, much appreciated. Thank you.
Well, protesters have gathered in Paris in response to a gala that's being held over there, quote, "Israel is Forever." The far-right association
behind that event previously posted anti-Palestinian content on Facebook. Several groups, including hard-left party, France Unbowed, are expected to
take part in that protest. And this, of course, is ahead of the French national team's football match against Israel on Thursday, which police
have described as a high-risk event.
Well, the protests in Paris follow the unrest We saw in the Netherlands, large crowds gathering in the capital of Amsterdam, along with an equally
large police presence. And this all comes following those attacks on Israeli football fans last week, which led to several nights of violent
protests.
Well, CNN's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward joins us now. We saw, obviously, horrific violence after that game last week, Clarissa.
The question is, will we see more of it? What are you hearing, what are you seeing there on the ground?
[14:50:00]
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Lynda, we are here in Dam Square, where for the last couple of hours, I would say roughly
200 or 300 protesters have been staging a pro-free Palestine protest in defiance of the ban.
But you can see those protesters are being led away. There is an enormous police presence here. And they are being led, if you just point in the
camera that way, please, Neal, into these buses, where they're actually being taken to a different site where they have been given permission to
protest.
I will say that so far it has been relatively calm and relatively orderly, given the broader context of this moment, given the riots of Thursday
night, the anti-Semitic violence, the anti-Muslim violence and the demonstrations and violence that we have seen periodically since then. But
it is very clear that Amsterdam's authorities are incredibly serious about enforcing this ban on public demonstrations.
The people here had gathered and were protesting peacefully for roughly an hour with the police just standing back before they started to encircle
them, pushing in closer and closer into the crowd. You can see now it's really just a handful who are left as they are being systematically --
sorry -- funneled out of the crowd and onto those buses.
But certainly, tensions remain here, Lynda, as there is still an open question as to when there will be a proper investigation into what happened
that precipitated last week's violence and whether, as you mentioned earlier, we are going to see more violence in Paris with the football match
that is taking place tomorrow. Lynda.
KINKADE: Yes, certainly much to keep an eye on in Amsterdam and Paris. Clarissa Ward, good to have you there on the streets for us. Thanks so
much.
We are going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is calling for real and extended pauses in the war in Gaza to allow aid to reach those
in need. The Biden administration has decided that it will not change policy towards Israel at this time over the humanitarian crisis, despite a
group's warning that the situation in Gaza is worse now than at any time during the war.
[14:55:00]
Just yesterday, a top U.N. officials told the Security Council that the world was witnessing acts reminiscent of the gravest in international war
crimes, accusing Israel of daily cruelty that seems to have no limits. A British surgeon who recently worked in Nasser Hospital told a U.K.
parliamentary committee that all Palestinians in Gaza are targets. In a very emotional statement, he said that includes children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIZAM MAMODE, BRITISH DOCTOR WHO WORKED IN GAZA HOSPITAL: What I think I found particularly disturbing was that a bomb would drop maybe on a
crowded, tented area. And then, the drones would come down and --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please take your time. It's -- we're incredibly grateful that you're making the time to be here today. And I can only
imagine just how it has impacted you and will continue to impact you. And I feel because you can't unsee what you've seen. But being able to share that
with us really helps us hold legislators particularly to account.
So, we do appreciate the time that you're making for us today. Thank you.
MAMODE: So, the drones would come down and pick off civilians, children. And we had description after description. This is not, you know, an
occasional thing, this was day after day after day. Operating on children, he would say, I was lying on the ground after a bomber dropped and this
quadcopter came down and hovered over me and shot me. And that's clearly a deliberate act and it was a persistent act, persistent targeting of
civilians day after day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the committee chair called that testimony deeply chilling, saying it could be evidence that the international humanitarian law has
been egregiously broken.
I'm Lynda Kinkade. That was CNN. Newsroom with Jim Sciutto is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
