a 30 day deadline to improve the humanitarian situation in northern gaza or face legal action which is essentially a cut off of u.s. military aid . more than a dozen concrete measures where they want to see israeli improvement. ahead of the announcement by the biden administration we heard from aid organizations and said israel not only failed to meet their criteria but took actions that dramatically worsen the situation on the ground, particularly in northern gaza . we did hear from the state department and they believe some progress is being made. they want to see more changes but for now they say israel is not in violation of u.s. law . >> thank you to the report into our viewers, thank you for watching. i am wolf blitzer in the situation room .

news from mike huckabee, the to be his next ambassador. huckabee said "there's really no such thing as a palestinian. " and china and russia, closer than ever. and are they on a collision course with the u.s.? cnn live in moscow with a special report. let's go "outfront. " we begin with the breaking news. trump preparing to oust three and four- far generals. "the wall street journal" reporting trump's transition team is considering an order to give trump the power to oust three and four- star generals. according to a draft of this order, which was reviewed by the wsj, trump would appoint a

so- called warrior board. and that board would have the power to fast track the removal of generals and admirals that are found to be "lacking in requisite leadership qualities. " the u.s. military is so powerful in part because decisions about generals are made and promotions by a military structure. yes, as the commander in chief the president has authority to fire any officer, but this board would circumvent the pentagon's system in place. this talk of trump ousting generals at will is consistent with what trump has said. >> are you going to fire those generals? >> the woke generals at the top. >> yes, i would get rid of them, yeah. but see now i know them. i didn't know them before. i came in, what did i know? i was a new york real estate person. but i would fire them. you can't have woke military. >> thank you for saying you would fire those few woke generals who are a big problem. >> they're gone. >> all right.

this breaking news coming as one person in trump's orbit right now is a crucial voice in making decisions about hiring and firing. that person is elon musk. for the past week, he's essentially set up shop inside mar-a-lago. according to new reporting, musk is only one of a couple of confidants attending trump's cabinet selection. trump is embracing musk's ideas and musk is posting online, i'm happy to be first buddy. look, he's in the trump family photo and also in this photo with trump's grand daughter, who posted elon achieving uncle status. much of musk's wealth is wrapped in shares of tesla. investors are so bullish that tesla will benefit, and that could be the tip of the iceberg. musk has businesses in space travel, satellites,

artificialartificial intelligence, social media. take spacex and starlink. spacex has received in billions in contracts from the government and that could grow under trump. fortune magazine suggested awarding musk hefty contracts to provide broadband service. and there is the company about building underground tunnels. >> we're trying to dig a hole under a lake, and this is to create the beginning of hopefully the 3- d network of tunnels to alleviate congestion. >> he was paid $52 million to build an underground tunnel in las vegas and could be tapped for more projects. there's no issue with him winning contracts fair and square. he's revolutionized entire

industries. but one man, one one billionaire making decisions on who is on the cabinet, calling himself first buddy does raise concern. first of all, musk can feed trump's taste for conspiracy, his election claims have been viewed more than 2 billion times on x. and while musk's desire for a slimmed down government could have positive impacts for sure, his role is beginning to have the potential to be crony capitalism. or the type of political oligarchy we see in russia where putin awards his oligarchs with valuable contracts. kristen is live in washington. you have new reporting tonight about this room where musk and trump are, this war room set up at mar-a- lago where trump and musk and others are picking the new team. what you learned? >> reporter: erin, this is a room that really caters to the

president-elect, which means a lot of tv screens and information. i'm told these are rooms that have been quartered off with curtains, although i was told by one member they were able to make eye contact with the former president, president- elect trump at one point, so maybe not as private as they think. however, they are giving donald trump, as one senior adviser called it, a 360 view of every candidate. there is a reason for that, donald trump told people around him, one, he wants to be completely involved in the process. and two, there was some embarrassing moments in 2016, 2017 when he would make a public backing for a particular candidate or a potential pick, and then learned later that this person had said a number of negative things about them, about him behind his back. they're trying to avoid what one adviser said was any surprises. donald trump does not want to have anything that alarms him. so this room looks like essentially, you have these tv screens that have the pictures, the bios of each

candidate, but they are also playing tightly edited clips of each of these candidates. one thing that donald trump cares a lot about is television presentation. can this person present in a way that is receptive or able to be received by outsiders? is this somebody that can communicate my message? that's one thing they're looking for. not all of these tv and podcast clips are positive. some have a negative thing that people have said about donald trump, but it's just one indication of just how seriously they are take thing process, and just how involved the president-elect is this time around, compared to what we saw in 2016. >> although interesting in that context how fast and furious all these appointments are coming out, even with all of that as you report. kristen, thank you very much, with all of those new details. general wesley clark is "outfront" now, a former nato commander and former presidential commander. general, i have to ask you this evening, as a former -- as a four-star general, you heard

kristen's reporting, first on elon musk. the power that he has been getting increasingly in trump's inner circle by trump's side, weighing in on major decisions on that call with trump and ukrainian president zelenskyy, which they said was a short, social call. it just shows the influence and the presence that he has. does that concern you at this time at all? >> look, this is entirely the prerogative of president trump. the american people elected him. he's responsible to the american people for his performance in office. he has unparalleled power by virtue of the supreme court, the senate, and probably the house of representatives. and he's going to run the government the way he wants. that's democracy. >> well, you also -- i guess you're referring since it's not just the supreme court's composition, but the immunity ruling, although i know that is still being sorted out, sorted out for sure. but when it comes to this --

this transition team, "the wall street journal" reporting that they are reportedly considering an executive order to create what they're calling a warrior board, general. to be able to fire three and four- star generals that trump doesn't like. of course, he has the authority to fire generals, that comes with the territory. he can do that. you're a four-star general, you knew that. but many respective people are raising concerns, say thing board could be referred to as a vigil vigilantehit team. do you have horries like that? >> sure. if you don't like diversity training in the armed forces, just say there will be no diversity training. if people in the armed forces insist on it, then they follow the order or they leave. if you think certain generals didn't perform their duties inin the afghanistan evacuation, which is one of the items carried

in "the wall street journal" article, do an investigation. but remember, when you're looking at the actual performance of generals in complex operations, you have to look above the generals, because they're taking from a policy level. so it's not always the general's decision that leads to the bad outcome. and then if you simply don't like these generals, what are the criteria? what is it based on? and i think, you know, that's remaining to be defined when president trump says a rogue general in response to a question, what is that exactly? there's a selection process in the armed forces. these people have all been vetted numerous times at each level of promotion. someone has said they're very competent. so if there is going to be a review of their -- of their record, then let it be a review, publish the criteria, and let's look at it.

diversity training was put in the armed forces for the benefit of the armed forces. i was part of that armed forces in vietnam where there was a lot of racial up rest and incidents and a lot of problems. we put in the equal opportunity human relations training in the 1970s. some people let it lag. some of it has been put back in. it's really about the effectiveness of the armed forces. so that's what your ultimate criteria should be. >> right. effectiveness. of course, to your point, we don't know. maybe that's the whole point of a board like this, that there would be no accountability on that. but it is that sort of -- that checking the boxes and knowing what has made the u.s. military so great, that transparency that exists. it does come in the context of cnn's reporting that the pentagon is bracing for trump to call up troops possibly inside the united states to use for mass deportations. he's talked about this. so the pentagon has met to

talk about what that would mean. do you think they're right to prepare for such a scenario? >> first of all, if they are preparing for it, it's under the current secretary of defense and chain of command. secondly, if it's a legal order, if the order is issued, it will be checked for legality. if it's a legal order, they're obligated to obey it. if they choose not to, they resign from their positions. or they could be court- martialed for refusing to obey a legal order. >> all right. general, i appreciate your time. thank you so very much. general wesley clark, as i said, four-star general, former commander of nato. thank you. president- elect trump choosing mike huckabee for the job of u.s. ambassador to israel. now, this is a decision that would have huge ramifications. we have a very different view on policy that huckabee has put forward than any other ambassadors who served in that role.

huckabee said "there's really no such thing as a palestinian. " never mind a state. huckabee making comments on this topic when he was running for president in 2008, and andrew joins me now. in the context of the war and the fears that it could become a much, much bigger war, this reporting is so crucial. what more do you know what mike huckabee has said? >> this nomination of mike huckabee has ambassador to israel, this is an extremely hawkish pick by president- elect trump. he has a track record of highly polarizing comment on the israeli/palestinian conflict. these views go back years with him repeatedly questioning the legitimacy of a palestinian state with israel. he has said that if a palestinian state were to be created, it should not be created where it is now, it should be created with land from the neighboring countries, syria, jordan, egypt. he described the palestinian identity as "a political tool to try and force land away from

israel. " i first obtained these comments we're about to hear when he ran for president in 2016. take a listen to them right now. >> basically, there's really no such thing, i have to be careful to say this, as the palestinian people. [ inaudible ] there's really no such thing. that's been a political tool to try to force land away from israel. >> obviously, hugely significant. you talk about if anything, he would take land from neighboring countries for israel to annex the west bank, which is obviously seismic, if true. andrew, obviously, this suspect the only time that huckabee has talked about this issue. this is an issue that he feels is deeply personal. >> that's right, that's right. he takes trips to israel. this goes back all the way to 2008 where he played that initial clip from, but

this is the position that he has consistently had. it is far from the only time that he has said it. he has said consistently that he opposes a two- state solution. he has said, there's plenty of land outside israel and the rest of the world for a palestinian state. take a listen to him going a little bit further on that in 2015. >> the two- state solution, if we mean two governments holding the same piece of real estate is irrational and unworkable. if there is a two- state solution, the palestinian state needs to be outside the boundaries of the nation of israel. there's plenty of land in the world that we could find a place and say okay, let's create a palestinian state. >> so we did reach out to huckabee personally. we reached out to the trump transition and asked him if he stood by those comments. we did not hear back. it will be interesting to see how this plays out, especially with the conflict going on right now in gaza.

>> and raises questions of the et voers and voters who voted stein in opposition to kamala harris how they may feel. >> and some them voted for trump, as well. >> well, this is what you would have thought trump is consistent with his words from before. andrew, thank you very much. significant to hear that now. and more breaking news. just as we were speaking, former president trump announcing he's tapping pete hegseth to be next secretary of state of the united states. what more are you learning about this one? >> this goes to some of what we were just talking about, which is donald trump really wanting people who can put forward his message on television, and he likes the way that pete performs. i do want to note that he has a very long record in the military. he was an army combat veteran. he served both in afghanistan and iraq. and this is what we got from a statement from donald trump. he said pete has spent

his entire life as a warrior for the troops and country. he's tough, smart, and a true believer in america first. with pete at the helm, america's enemies are on notice. our military will be great again, and america will never back down. he goes into his biography. i talked to a number of advisers in the last few minutes, as this was unfolding. they said pete has been an unformal adviser to the former president, now president- elect, for a number of years. he did that while he was in office and while he was out of office. the other thing i learned is that he was considered for a number of positions back in 2016, eventually got passed over. now he is going to serve as defense secretary. this is a critical role for the president-elect in this administration. we know that mike waltz was also up for this job. he is now going to be the national security adviser. this adds to this level of who is going to be serving as the

pentagon intelligence and foreign policy. >> thank you very much. in context of the reporting just out there that this warrior board that trump's looking at by executive order where he will remove three and four- star generals that he doesn't like, what andrew was just reporting from k- file about the nominee for ambassador to israel saying there is no such thing as a palestinian, just puts the influence, the crucial nature of the defense secretary position in stark light. that will be pete hegseth from fox news. next, trump tapping christy nome. is she qualified for the job? and the new mayor of one of the most liberal cities in america. how he won his race, sometimes is sounding like a republican. and officials now sounding the alarm in the pentagon. china is fast- tracking plans to build a nuclear reactor for military use.

it's our son, he is always up in our business. it's the verizon 5g home internet i got us. oh... he used to be a competitive gamer but with the higher lag, he can't keep up with his squad. so now we're his “squad”. what are kevin's plans for the fall? he's going to college. out of state, yeah. -yeah in the fall. change of plans, i've decided to stay local. oh excellent! oh that's great! why would i ever leave this? -aw! we will do anything to get him gaming again. you and kevin need to fix this internet situation. heard my name! i swear to god, kevin! -we told you to wait in the car. everyone in my old squad has xfinity. less lag, better gaming! i'm gonna need to charge you for three people. tonight, nepotism. donald trump's allies want his appointed a senator. sources close to ron desantis say he's being

pressured to name lara trump to the seat. it comes as another of one of trump's defenders, governor kristi noem is picked for homeland security secretary, which means she'll 260 employees. >> reporter: trump loyalist kristi noem. >> we have a very special woman who as hot as a politician. >> reporter: being rewarded as president- elect trump's choice for secretary of department of homeland security, sources say. >> when these election results came in, they clearly said they want a secure border, they want their streets to be safe. >> reporter: a messy job putting her at the helm of a sprawling agency, overseeing everything from u.s. customs and border protection, immigration and customs enforcement and the u.s. secret service, in charge of a $60 billion budget and hundreds of thousands of employees. >> on day one, i will launch

the largest deportation program. >> reporter: placing her at the center of helping her to deliver on some of the president's most critical and controversial priority, executing his plan for mass deportation. >> the united states of america is in a time of invasion. >> reporter: the south dakota governor has closely aligned with trump on some of his most hardline immigration policies and rhetoric in the past. >> democrat- run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs. >> reporter: her expected elevation is now completing a transformation that has been years in the making. >> mr. president, when you were in the white house, and i was governor of south dakota, every single day i got to get up and be in office. >> reporter: recalibrating her public image, mimicking trump's style -- >> he's the toughest man i have ever met. nobody has endured more than what he has gone through. >> reporter: becoming more flashily and brash.

>> the team here was remarkable and finally gave me a smile that i can be proud of and confident in. >> reporter: getting smash scrutiny for this infomercial style video in march, lavishing praise of her dental work, and seemingly unafraid to shock people, even flaunting in her book an incident where he shot her hunting puppy which she described as untrainable. ises that book is filled with hard decisions. >> reporter: she says it's to get the attention of trump. >> starting controversies on social media, saying incendiary things to get attention and using that attention to get more attention. keep stoking the outrage machine and just build and build and build on that and raise your profile. >> reporter: a calculation of loyalty, paying off for now. >> i attribute that entirely to the rise of donald trump, a realization that she could attach

herself to trump and rise nationally with him. >> so kristi noem will be part a bigger team. as you can hear from your report there, immigration really is the core of it. >> reporter: it certainly is, erin, and she's expected to be working with twoer immigration hardliners, stephen miller, a name we know very well. he was president- elect trump's top immigration adviser and tom tollman, former acting i.c.e. director, will become the border czar, moving very quickly to get this very core group in place to deliver on some of his top immigration promises. >> thank you very much. we now have more breaking news. 14 house races still not called. so what that means is that here we are, right, and it's been a full week, but we do not know the balance of power in the house. republicans have 215 seats,

democrats 206. obviously you need 218 for control. and this is so crucial, because if republicans control the house, then they have the house, and they have the senate, and they have the white house, and of course, in terms of conservative versus liberals, also the supreme court. it comes as this nation's biggest and most liberal cities are part of the reason why we have seen this push to right, including san francisco. the progressive mayor london breed voted out, replaced with my guest in a moment. but first, harry, it is historic what we are seeing here. you know, these maps of the united states with the red arrows, with the shift. i mean, my gosh, it's like -- >> all over the place. >> all over the place. >> renovation. >> you see them in the cities. the biggest, most liberal cities. >> exactly right. donald trump, you remember back in 2017, you know, the liberal cities wither the core of the resistance. what happened in 2024?

donald trump put up the best republican performance for a republican nominee for president in at least 20 years, if not the entire 21st century. we're talking about chicago, los angeles, new york city, san francisco, across the map donald trump put up historically strong numbers for a republican candidate for president in places that truthfully if you asked me eight years ago i would have never thought possible. >> it is really stunning. so what exactly is driving it? >> what's driving it? i think immigration, one of the things you mentioned earlier on, is part of it. but crime is a big part, as well. if you look at gallup polling and ask democrats nationwide are you satisfied or dissatisfied with our efforts to bring down the crime rate, what you see is the dissatisfaction number now versus a decade ago. the unsatisfied number from 35% to 58%, the number dropping by 20 points. my goodness gracious. that's part of the reason why you have seen these

liberal d.a.s being ousted in places like san francisco and alameda county, places like los angeles. the crime rates have moved a lot of these voters to the right. >> you know, look, obviously we're sitting here in new york. >> yes. >> talking about this in manhattan where there was a string. when you look at new york city, biggest city in the country, the big swings right, yes, it was in manhattan, but also in other parts of the city, and that gives you a real sense of who it was driving the ship. >> exactly right. it was in the bronx, queens, brooklyn. if you break it down by racial areas, you look at the assemblyassembly that has the most asians in it, you see a massive shift, a massive shift. donald trump gaining 27 points versus where he did four years ago. the highest hispanic percentage in the district, a 25-point shift. highest black percentage, a six-point shift. if 2017 or 2016 was the election, the white working plas moving over to the republican ranks, the 2024 was trump doing well with minority voters.

>> i mean, it is incredible. those numbers -- >> they're amazing. >> if that doesn't give you pause if you're a democrat looking at this, i don't know what will. thank you very much, harry. so daniel is "outfront," he's the mayor- elect of san francisco, although, of course, mayor-elect, i know you are a registered democrat. i have so much i want to talk about, but when we look at what harry was just presenting, republicans seeing their best numbers in decades. and those swings, it's unbelieve an, right, just to think about it in the liberal strong holds of new york, chicago, and your city of san francisco. so mayor- elect, how big of a wakeup call is this for the democratic party? >> well, erin, first, thank you for having me. i am a life long democrat, but we don't think of ourselves as progressives or moderates or conservatives here in san francisco. we just want to get back to common sense. we have to deliver the basics, and that's my plan,

that's the mandate that i was elected to fulfill. we have to make sure that we have a fully staffed police department. we have to get our behavioral health and drug crisis under control in our city. we need to make sure our small businesses can thrive, our big businesses need to be coming back to san francisco. we need to be open for business again. i don't believe that's a rightward swing, that's a common sense approach. >> well, interesting that you put it that way, but mayor london breed, she is one of the most prominent progressive democrats in the country, and part of the reason she fell out of favor with voters where you are was, sure, rising crime, but slashing the police budget. you talk about you need to fully staff your police department. that seems common sense, but it only seems that way in the context of what you're dealing with where you are, slashing the police budget, the growing number of homeless tents in the city. that's what we heard from you and your campaign, zeroing in time and time again and here you are.

>> i will be a candidate that prioritizes safety here in san francisco. you can't just be for public safety during an election year. we need more police focused on our hospitality so that our convention heres, our shoppers, our tourists feel safe. >> i know you're calling it common sense. it would appear that way to most people, but nonetheless, you're the current mayor, your predecessor led differently. how much do you think your win came down to this, to saying something as simple as we need a fully staffed police department in san francisco? >> i think people want results, and they were not seeing that. erin, there's nothing progressive to have 806 people die of drug overdose in our city last year, property crime is rampant. our small businesses are struggling each and every day. they want a mayor that

is focused on delivering results. that's the mandate i was voted in with. i don't believe that is anything more than -- those are progressive values, and so i understand i'm talking to a national audience here. this is not liberal, progressive conservative. people want to feel safe walking down the street. we had so many instances of anti- asian hate on our streets. those are things that we need to get addressed. >> all right. so let me ask you one other thing. you talk about you're a life- long democrat, but you served in office before and you have chosen to do this before. you ore a philanthropist, not a politician. you found a tipping point, which is a major nonprofit in california. so primarily you focused on anti- poverty initiatives. you happen to also be an heir to the levi strauss fortune. so that helped you put your own money behind this campaign, $9 million of it. i mentioned that, not usually in the context of someone's

wealth, but because mayor breed, on election night, reportedly said, it is really -- she said, it has been one of the most sad and horrible things i've seen in politics in san francisco, that someone could take their wealth and basically buy this office. it's really unfortunate and pretty disgusting. she has conceded and said she'll have a smooth transition. but how do you even respond to something like that? >> well, listen, the election is over. the mayor has been incredibly gracious during the first few days of this transition. i thank her for that. we're going to hit the ground running. i grew up around an iconic company, levi strauss, my stepfather was part of that. business can be a force for good. taking care of community is everything i've led with my entire life. i was born and raised here, erin. my two children were born in the same floor, at the same hospital that i was born at.

i have a deep sense of pride in our city, and i know you're sitting in the second best city in the world. san francisco, when we are at our best, is the greatest city in the world, and i look forward to bringing our city back, because i know we can do this. >> all right. mayor-elect, thank you so much for your time. >> thank you for having me, erin. and next, the breaking news. trump tapping fox news host pete hegseth to serve as the country's next secretary of defense. congressman goldman is next to respond. plus, should new york's governor pardon trump from the state charges? why are some democrats saying absolutely yes?

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all right. the breaking news, trump naming his pick to head the department of defense, pete hegseth. here he is back in 2020, a lock- time staunch trump defender. >> this is a president who has said i want to make america great again, and he's up against the forces of the left

who believe america was never great. >> you can see where he stands, and he has been consistent in that. he's an army veteran who served in iraq and afghanistan, and comes as "the wall street journal" is reporting that the trump transition team is considering an executive order that would establish a warrior board with the power to remove three and four- star officers that they want. "outfront" now, congressman dan goldman of new york. he's on the committee for homeland security, and we were going to talk about governor kristi noem and her role there, but ten minutes have passed, so the world has changed in a few days. first is pete hegseth. trump choosing him, the fox news host, for defense secretary. what do you think? >> i'm shocked, truly. this is exactly what we worry about and warned about donald trump, which is that he is going to appoint unqualified

loyalists to shape this government into his own personal thiefdom, and get revenge on generals and put essentially really unqualified people. i appreciate mr. hegseth's service in our armed forces, but being a serviceman does not make you qualified to lead the department of defense and to have access to our nuclear weapons. i'm very disturbed by this, and i'm very concerned about what it demonstrates about donald trump's priorities, which now seem to be coming true as many of us warned. >> we really just have had this news for just a few moments, and so we've been obviously he's a fox news host. can we just play a little more what hegseth has said, congressman, about trump and what i'm going to play now is from 2019. >> don has used imperfect people forever, because we're

all imperfect. but what he has withstood is unlike what any other mortal could understand. >> so that's pete hegseth talking about god has used imperfect people, referring to trump. look, he's a television host, there's going to be thousands more of those sorts of things, but what do you hear when you hear that? >> look, that was 2019. that was before january 6th, right, before donald trump tried to overturn an election. that was before donald trump hid classified information in his bathroom and refused to give it back while he was having phone conversations with vladamir putin. this guy is clearly a sycophant for donald trump, and has been his biggest cheerleader on fox news, the biggest cheer leading network. that is not what makes one qualified to be a cabinet secretary and secretary of defense. the fact that donald trump thinks that is

appropriate is very dangerous for our national security. it's bad enough that you have kristi noem, who has zero experience with the border, with homeland security, being a governor from south dakota, heading up our department of homeland security. now you have a fox news host who has got his finger on the nuclear weapons. it's very dangerous. >> so when you think about the hegseth selection as secretary of defense in the context of "the wall street journal" reporting, i want to ask what you think. that reporting is that vivian saum has been reporting they've been working on an order that would give a warrior board the power to remove three and four-star officers. so that's a draft, be you that's the context here, and you have now defense secretary with a name on it, pete hegseth from fox news. what do you think is going to happen here with the defense department? >> i think pete hegseth is clearly going to do

whatever donald trump wants him to do. and donald trump has made it very clear that he's going to politicize the entire executive branch. the entire federal government. and i'm just hearing about this news now. i'll have to look into this executive order a little more, but if it is as you say, you have retired generals selected by pete hegseth, who is essentially an arm of donald trump, to target three and four- star generals, who do you think is up first on that list? john kelly, other, you know, mark milley. these are people who have stood up as patriots for our country and confronted and opposed donald trump, and this is what donald trump will do to get revenge and retribution against them. and pete hegseth is clearly the pawn in trump's scheme to do that. >> now, as we were speaking, there was just another development, so let me share that with you. this is new to me, as well. that is that trump has announced that elon musk and vivek ramaswamy are going

to lead the department of government efficiency. so that's what trump is calling it. it's unclear what that will entail. but they have been named. so, i guess on this one take a step back. we know elon has been talking about it on social media. do you think a concept being run by someone like musk from the business world could have the potential to be helpful? >> i think in the abstract, yes. i do think that our government needs to be streamlined, that we need to make it more effective and more responsive. i do agree with that. i think the conflicts of interest that elon musk brings to any government job are beyond the pale. how can we be sure that elon musk is not going to be making everything efficient for his own companies? if he's not going to divest and separate himself,

and we know he's not because donald trump didn't do that as president of the united states, how can we be sure he's acting in the interest of the country and not in the interest of himself? so, i think elon musk is a brilliant businessman. i don't think he belongs running our government, and that appears to be what he's doing right now. >> all right. congressman, i appreciate your time. thank you very much as all this news is coming out for being with me. >> thank you. i'm going to go straight to ty cobb, a former white house lawyer during trump's first term. so obviously we had a whole conversation planned here, but fox news host pete hegseth named as trump's defense secretary. does that surprise you? >> oh, yes, of course it surprised me. i don't know mr. hegseth well, and i do know that he's a veteran with a distinguished service record and obviously deserves our thanks for that. but i think we're seeing, you

know, not across the board, you know, you have some excellent, capable people like marco rubio, who is well qualified to be secretary of state. yes, he's conservative and republican, but elections have consequences. but i think in some of these lower down -- well, that's not really lower down. you didn't get much higher than defense secretary. but some of these subsequent nominations, we're seeing a lot of lebron james, and not many steph curries. >> in the context here of -- you talk about elections have consequences. this is what the american people voted for, to give trump the ability to do this. mike pence spoke out today publicly, and he was more direct than usual. he doesn't -- he often chooses not to be, but now he is. he specifically said that he is urging trump not to pardon

january 6th rioters. he said, i don't think the president should pardon anyone who assaulted a police officer at the united states capitol on january 6th. now, obviously as i said, the chance among some of those rioters saying "hang mike pence." trump has said he's going to pardon most or all of the january 6th rioters. he's called them hostages, posting free the january 6th hostages on social media. what do you think he'll do? >> well, i don't think anybody in our history has, you know, more tarnished the rule of law than donald trump. and i don't think -- i don't think it restrains him at all, the concept that he might do that again. i think it's highly possible that he will go forward with these pardons. i would join the choir with the former vice president, who i

respect and who loves his country, i think this would be a tragic event. further demeaning the rule of law to those of us in this country, and it's not going to go unseen around the world. i mean, this -- this is the type of conduct that, when viewed internationally, makes it impossible to distinguish the united states from, you know, from a third world country or, you know, a south american dictatorship. this is, this is really lawlessness of the highest order, and there's no principled basis for it. i think it would be a very sad event. >> so, ty, let me just ask you about the new york hush money case. i know there's a development there. >> sure. >> the judge just announced he's delaying trump's sentencing and hasn't decided whether he's going to wipe the conviction away all together.

obviously, he has the supreme court's immunity ruling, but you say that the new york governor, kathy hochul, democrat obviously, could make a big play here. what is it? >> she could pardon him. i think judge merchan postpone thing asking for guidance from the prosecution, how best to proceed, if at all, you know, kicks the can down the road in a way that doesn't eliminate the ability of the trump team to appeal these convictions and try to create the perception that there was no legitimacy to the prosecution, even though they do have an argument based on that, under the law. but she can take that all away from the newly elected president by pardoning him. if pardons him, there will be no appeal. the convictions will be there in history forever with an asterisks saying he was pardoned. >> can i ask you one

quick thing before we go? the last election, it was lock her up and he did not purr so you that with hillary clinton. this time, though, he said his critics should be arrested for treason. jim jordan is saying he's not going to do that, but obviously he singled out joe biden, liz cheney, former president obama, adam schiff, the entire january 6th committee, as people who have engaged in treason. so do you think that trump will actually target them legally? >> so, i actually do not. on the other hand, you know, this warrior board is -- sounds like targeting, and it sounds very menacing to me. now, i mean, it also seems totally irrelevant, because trump already has the power to fire any general he wants. keep in mind, obama fired stanley mcchrystal. truman fired macarthur.

so this is a, a process in search of a problem. it's not necessary. trump has the power already to do it if he wants to, and i think this is -- this would have a very chilling effect within the military, and further politicize the military where, you know, one of the most important things we've avoided is having a politicized military, a military that's been under civilian rule. >> ty cobb, thank you very much. >> thank you, erin. china now beefing up nuclear forces and teaming up with putin to take on the u.s. we are live in moscow after this.

is tonight, alarm bells inside the pentagon. this about, well, war and ages

signal china is building a nuclear reactor, a stride that beijing is producing its first nuclear powered aircraft carrier. xi jinping and vladamir putin forming a new bond. fred pleitgen is "outfront" in moscow. >> reporter: jet fighters streaking across the skies at china's largest air show. aiming to show just how fast the people's republic is modernizing its massive military. china's main partner is russia, the head of the russian national security council in beijing, praising ever-closer ties. "we are not a military political lines, relations between our countries are superior to

those forms of interstate ties. " this as china shows off its brand new stealth fighter called the j- 35a for the first time ever, while the russians were showcasing their own stealth jet, the su- 57, which has already been used in combat operations. russia and china have dramatically expanded their military cooperation in recent years, with regular exercises like these major naval drills, the russians say were the largest in more than 30 years. this, as vladamir putin says he wants what he calls a new world order with less u.s. influence and more power in the hands of countries like russia and china. "russian and chinese cooperation in world affairs acts as one of the main stabilizing factors in the global arena. " and xi jinping added "in the mace of the turbulent international situation, the two sides should continue to

uphold the original aspiration of friendship for generations to come. " all this as relations with the u.s. grow ever mow adversarial, washington concerned about chinese military claims and military expansion in the south china sea. president- elect donald trump vowing to rein beijing in. >> china is the toughest of all, but we were taking care of them with tariffs. >> reporter: the u.s. faces an emboldened north korea. kim jong- il heavily courted by vladamir putin recently conducting another round of ballistic missile tests. the u.s. also believes more than 10,000 north korean soldiers are currently fighting on russia's side in its war against ukraine. russian political analyst telling me the alliance is forged by vladamir putin will be a major issue for the new administration. >> this collision is a major goal to support each

other in only one thing, and because -- it moves automatically. >> reporter: as you can see there, some big challenges coming for the new incoming administration and also the incoming defense secretary, as the russians have made absolutely clear that their relations with china and north korea are only going in one direction, towards closer economic and military ties. erin? >> thank you very much. of course, that incoming defense secretary nominee we now know, pete hegseth, former veteran and also host for fox news. thank you so much, fred pleitgen. he is in moscow tonight. crucial place only cnn can go. thanks for joining us. "ac 360" starts now.