breaking news into cnn, the republican trifecta is official. cnn is projecting the house of representatives will remain in republican control after the gop won two house seats in california and arizona. the races were called moments ago, and it comes as donald trump makes his triumphant return to washington. president biden, hosting president elect trump in the oval office, the white house saying that trump brought a detailed set of questions to that meeting and described the talks as very cordial, very gracious and substantive. trump also visited with house republicans today, where he backed speaker mike johnson's

bid to retain his leadership position. a secret ballot vote in that race is expected at any moment. trump did not weigh in on who he wanted for senate leadership, but republican senators elected john thune to replace mitch mcconnell as their leader. thune declaring that they have a mandate to pursue trump's agenda. >> reporter: senate majority leader john thune, the incoming senate majority leader after this race had been going on for roughly nine months or so, happening behind the scenes in the aftermath of mitch mcconnell stepping aside. the longest-serving senate leader of any party in history, dominating the republican conference for 18 years, but stepping aside and paving the way for john thune, who edged out john cornyn, another rival in the republican conference by a vote of 29-24. rick scott, who was favored by some folks

in the maga wing of the party, did not make it to a second ballot of voting. now, john thune has to implement donald trump's agenda. he and donald trump spoke on the phone. thune is promised to be in line with trump, even though, he has sparred with trump over the years and criticized his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. he endorsed tim scott for the presidency, but now, thune says things will be on the same page, including over trump's call to push through his nominees. trump called for using recess appointments, pushing past the confirmation process. thune was asked about that in a press conference earlier. >> we will do everything we can to process his nominations quickly, get them installed in their position so they can begin to implement his agenda. we expect a level of cooperation from the democrats, to work with us to get these folks installed. >> reporter: meantime, the house republicans are going to

nominate their next speaker of the house in a matter of moments, this afternoon. that is going to be mike johnson, who has the support of donald trump, but there is a catch, boris. the house republicans are projected to have a majority. they will have a razor thin majority. that means that while mike johnson will be nominated by the house republicans conference to be the next speaker of the house and retain the gavel, he can't afford much dissension on the house floor to get the 218 votes he will need on january 3rd to be elected speaker. the work will still be cut out for some folks on the far right, some trying to push him out of the speaker role, some like marjorie taylor greene. johnson is leaning very much on donald trump, who wants johnson in that position. now, trump will have unified republican control of washington to push through his agenda. boris. >> we will keep a close eye on that contest. manu raju live on capitol hill. thank you so much. president elect trump got a

warm welcome during his trip to capitol hill this morning. what do you know? this was behind closed doors. >> reporter: some of it, we got to hear a little bit of, when donald trump addressed the group and they went behind closed doors. one of the things that is interesting is about how house republicans have this razor thin majority. donald trump brought that up. he was really taking a victory lap with this visit and meeting with the house republican caucus today and he said, i won big in all of the states. it's crazy that you have a slim margin, making fun of them. the point of that entire meeting, and from my conversations with those involved in the planning was that donald trump wanted to go and claim, which he did, that he had won the popular vote. i know there are millions of votes being counted, but he claims he has a mandate. really, he wants all of washington, particularly, republicans, to line up behind him and hit the ground running on his agenda, particularly,

once he takes office in january. i want to read some of what we know that he said behind closed doors. he did show his support for mike johnson. he said he was with johnson all the way. he did not weigh in on the senate republican meeting, but he did give johnson that backing. this was interesting. a source in the room told dana bash that he was joking that he could not get rid of elon musk, saying that he loves mar-a-lago. the reason i bring this up is because, one, we know that elon musk has had an immense amount of [ inaudible ] leading up to the election and the days after. he traveled with the president elect this morning. he rode with him on his plane. he attended that meeting. he was sitting front row, watching donald trump give his remarks. i think that is another sign of how really powerful elon musk is, and i can tell you, as well, i know for my conversations with people working for lawmakers and those

close to trump that elon musk has been calling up lawmakers and they have been calling him, trying to jockey and boost their profiles in donald trump's eyes. i thought it was fascinating that he joined him today. >> he is the guy next to donald trump trying to get his ear. thank you so much for the report. boris. joining us now is republican senator kevin cramer of north dakota. thank you for being with us. first and foremost, congratulation on your re-election last week. i want to start asking you about john thune as senate majority leader. you endorsed him for majority leader. i found it interesting that a number of republicans endorsed rick scott, including some like elon musk, who slammed thune by calling him a top choice for democrats. what did you make of that? >> elon musk has never been in the united states senate. i don't know that he knows john thune or john cornyn, or how many senators he knows, but one thing about senators, we all got elected, as well as

everybody else, and we all have our own responsibilities and we have these personal relationships. we know everybody very well. i don't think senators are easily persuaded by somebody that doesn't have -- by somebody that's not a constituent. elon musk is an entertaining fellow and i appreciate his willingness to step up and express himself. i applaud it. i even enjoy it, but it only gets real persuasive with senators. i have not met my first wimpy senator, if you know what i mean. yeah, i think it comes from a place of apprehension among those, who see themselves as maga acolytes, about someone like senator thune, because he is seen as someone, who has criticized donald trump in the past. specifically, on the potential for dissent when it comes to appointments to trump's cabinet. we heard him

say that he would do everything possible to get donald trump's pics through. i'm wondering what your thoughts are on the potential of seeing recess appointments , to get folks through. >> first of all, i am on the armed services committee and i will do everything i can to have a successful pete hegseth hearing, and to get a markup and pass it the old-fashioned way. the reason it's important that we do everything we can within the advice and consent , the responsibility of the senate -- as, by the way, the constitution, is that it makes for stronger secretaries. if you go into the department of defense and you have the backing of the united states senate and the president of the united states, it's much better than a recess appointment. having said that, recess women is valid. it can be then and it has been done to great effect in previous administrations. however, the first thing we need to do, when

we have a united government like this, we need to have the senate and the president on the same page. i think it's much better if we get to the job quickly, stay late, stay longer weeks, and confirm as many of these people as we can with the full advice and consent of the united states senate. >> senator, despite your enthusiasm for hegseth, he is seen as an unorthodox and controversial pick. given his previous statements about women in combat, also, reporting has indicated that he has been a driving force in donald trump pardoning people accused and suspected of war crimes. i wonder if you agree with him on the idea that women should not be serving in combat roles in the u.s. armed forces, and whether you think getting him confirmed is going to be an uphill battle. >> you know, i don't, boris. there are going to be policy disagreements for sure, but i

think most republicans, frankly, a lot of democrats -- and i know republicans have supported democratic nominees that they didn't agree with because they think it's the president's prerogative and they wanted to respect that. in the case of pete, this is the perfect face of peace through strength, and somebody, as a warrior, who has gotten his hands dirty in battle. that carries a lot of weight, and it ought to. now, he's going to need a lot of help around him. obviously, a great leader surrounds himself with even greater people. that is what i would advise him to do. i think pete can get, at least, 53 republicans to vote for him, and maybe some more. the sense of the past, i think we are well past that being a disqualifier for public office, and rightfully so. everybody likes a redemption story. >> i'm also curious about your thoughts for dni. as you were speaking, senator, i got word for my producer that president elect trump has announced his

choice of former congresswoman tulsi gabbard as the director of national intelligence. she is also a controversial figure, someone accused of being a russian asset. are you comfortable with her and her track record, having access to some of the nation's most sensitive secrets? >> first of all, tulsi gabbard and i were classmates in the house. i know her pretty well. she is also a warrior. she has donned the uniform. frankly, as a member of the house of representatives, tulsi had access to the deepest secrets in the country, as well, and the only thing she had to do to earn that was get more votes than her opponent. it's kind of a funny system, but having said all of that, once again, tulsi is an illustration of peace through strength with an understanding of a populist view, a maga view, that is what the american people elected. she is very articulate and she knows who the enemy is. i have

full faith in her, and i think most of my colleagues in the united states senate well. frankly, i think we take tulsi, and pete, and mike wallace as a national security advisor, you are seeing the picture. this is a president that wants to deter the enemy, not simply by better weapons systems, but by attitude and reputation but kristi noem, for dhs, similarly. you might argue about particular experiences or credentials, if you will, but at the end of the day, they are all strong leaders, who represent that peace through strength attitude, not just a weapon system. i think it's a perfect picture of what donald trump has been talking about throughout the campaign. >> senator, i have one more question about how certain generals might fit into the picture you are describing. the wall street journal is reporting that trump is weighing an executive order that would establish a warrior board to review high-ranking generals and their fitness for service. the trump campaign was

asked about this. they did not deny it was being considered. in your mind, what would be the criteria to determine the fitness of certain generals for service , and are there any three or four star generals you believe are currently unfit to serve? >> i know a lot of three and four star generals. being on the armed service committee, i don't know of any that are unfit. i don't know why they would be unfit. i get there is a woke thing going on in the military, but i don't blame the generals for that. even a four-star general salutes up to the secretary, who salutes the secretary of defense, who salutes the president of the united states. blaming political policy positions and decisions on the generals is a long -- the wrong direction. the president has a prerogative, if you see somebody he doesn't like , or he puts criteria forward that they don't meet, he can fire people. we are putting a board together. i think it sends a

bit of a wrong message to the generals, and frankly, to those warriors that would aspire to become a general. i would caution him on that, but having said that, again, he is the commander-in-chief. what i would rather do is have him personally, or his pick to be secretary of defense to talk to the generals themselves, ask pointed questions about their views on dei, but to blame, for example, an admiral for the attitude of the secretary of the navy , i think is grossly unfair. on one income you have a guy that thinks the climate change is more important than china as a threat. you just can't reconcile that, i don't think, with somebody who is wearing the uniform. i'm not going to judge that. i would just caution the president. the other thing is, it wanders over into a separation of powers. generals are confirmed by the united states senate after they have been recommended by the leadership. again, up the

ladder. let's get the republican senate in place and get the house in place, and get president trump in place and start working on those things in a more traditional way. i think you will find that we have a lot of great generals that have been poisoned, if you will, in reputation, by the people they salute up to. >> senator kevin cramer, we appreciate you sharing your point of view. thanks for the time. >> always a pleasure. still to come, donald trump is back in the white house. less than four years ago, he left under a cloud, and today, he returned as president elect. we have much more on this historic meeting with president biden. stay with us.

turning now to breaking news, donald trump is named tulsi gabbard as his pick for director of national intelligence. this is a controversial choice, not the first for the incoming administration. kristen holmes is here with us now. tell us more about what you are hearing. >> there is going to be a lot of back and forth over tulsi gabbard. a bit of background on her, she served in the house is a democrat from hawaii. earlier this year, she transferred parties, joined the republican party, has been out there slamming democrats saying that they are pro-censorship, anti-freedom, and essentially, campaigning for donald trump. it's not that surprising that she got a position in the administration. we know she had been helping behind-the-scenes with the transition, in terms of intelligence, helping with

personnel, helping with policy, but again, we expect this to be a controversial pick. the other thing to point out, and one of the things i reported yesterday is that donald trump is doing a lot of his picking based on how people present on television. tulsi gabbard has been a fill-in anchor on fox, and has been on the airwaves for months, talking about donald trump's talking points, trying to articulate his message. she is a known entity when it comes to articulating that message on television, which goes to show you, with the announcement of the secretary of defense yesterday, who is also a television personality, that this is something donald trump is weighing heavily. just quickly, i want to read part of the statement donald trump put out. "over the past two decades, tulsi has fought for the freedoms of all americans, as a former candidate for the democratic presidential nomination, which i did not mention. she has broad support in both parties. she is now proud republican. she will bring spirit that has defined her illustrious career to the

intelligence community, championing constitutional rights and securing peace through strength. she will have some people on both sides of the aisle, but she's going to have a lot of detractors. >> then, there is doge, more of a -- a department of government efficiency. this is what donald trump is tapping elon musk and vivek ramaswamy to run. >> yes, they put her name on it, but it looks more presidential commission. we knew that elon musk was not going to join the administration. he was not going to give up his lucrative contracts. he was not going to leave x or tesla, but this is a way of donald trump giving him oversight into something. the question is, how much power is elon musk going to have in this position? it seems very hard to imagine vivek ramaswamy getting confirmed for any administration post, which is likely why he also got slated into this section. i can't say

he wouldn't. obviously, republicans have control both the senate and the house, but this is an opportunity to give them some power in washington, and they both have been very loyal to the former president. and now, the president-elect, without having to go through congress. >> thank you for the insights. right now, we are learning new details on president joe biden and president elect donald trump's historic oval office meeting today. the white house said that trump brought a detailed set of questions to the two hour long face-to-face. let's take you long -- live to the white house. what are you hearing about this meeting? >> reporter: this was a meeting that in the end, ended up lasting just about two hours. just four people were in the room. donald trump, president biden, susie wiles, and jeff stein, their chiefs of staff. karine jean-pierre just told reporters, as you said, but the former president had brought a detailed set of questions for president biden, though, she

did not elaborate on what some of those questions might have been, and said that the meeting had been cordial and gracious, and that the two men spent their time discussing a number and a range of domestic and foreign policy issues, and that president biden, for his part, reiterated to president trump in this private setting, the importance of a peaceful and smooth transition of power. donald trump, for his part, after leaving the white house, told the new york post in an interview that the two men really enjoyed seeing each other, and that we got to know each other again, is what he told this reporter. as for president biden, this was, clearly, a moment where he decided to, briefly, set aside some of the harsh criticisms and words he has used it to describe the former president, including calling him a fascist, obviously, for a number of years. he has talked a lot about how he sees his predecessor, and now the

incoming president, as being a threat to democracy. as for just the scene at the white house, this was a day when a lot of the staff and the aides working here were released still reeling from the election day results from last week. i was told by a number of people that their focus was to try to keep everything as business as usual, even though, the man visiting the white house today is the person that they would rather not see coming back to the white house for another four years. boris. >> thank you so much. still ahead, senator john thune selected as majority leader, beating out the maga choice. what this could mean for how the senate and white house work together.

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some major breaking news into cnn moments ago, posted to social media. president elect donald trump has nominated his pick for attorney general, and that is florida congressman matt gaetz. a republican firebrand, a lightning rod for controversy. these confirmation hearings are going to be intense, to say the least. let's go to paula reid, who has the latest on this. paula, wow. >> reporter: this is only a surprise. i have been speaking resources about the potential options for attorney general, and congressman matt gaetz's name has not surfaced. one of the reasons this is surprising is that the congressman has

been under investigation previously. he was under investigation for possible sex trafficking and obstruction of justice. this was an investigation that was opened during the trump administration, overseen by bill barr, and went on for several years and was eventually closed. the congressman was not charged, but that is something likely to come up during any potential confirmation hearing. he is also currently facing an ethics probe in congress over similar conduct. look at the truth social post that president elect trump posted. he described gaetz as a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the college of william and mary law school, who distinguished himself in congress by achieving desperately needed reform at the department of justice. we know that the president-elect has been frustrated with the fact he has been the subject of multiple criminal cases. congressman gaetz likely has empathy in that regard, because

he too has been under investigation at the justice department, but this is a surprise. he has not been among the names floated by people familiar with these talks , and it's unclear if this will be a successful nomination. again, this would be an attorney general, who within the past two years, had been under criminal investigation, an investigation, not started by his political adversaries, but by the trump appointed attorney general, bill barr. as you said when you talked to me, this will be an interesting confirmation hearing. it comes as quite a surprise, even those of us who have been talking to sources about who trump could select for this key position. >> you are saying that as you have been working your sources and reporting this out, this is a name that had not surfaced before now? >> reporter: that's exactly right. i have been talking to people about who trump would select as attorney general for three months, long before he was elected president. certainly, a name that came up

again and again, radcliffe, and even in recent days, talking to people, the texas attorney general paxton. his name has come up repeatedly, but matt gaetz's name has not come up in any of the conversations i have had with sources. this is a surprise. we did note that the president-elect was little frustrated with some of the people he interviewed, because we know he is looking for someone that will go into the justice department and likely do his bidding, go after his political adversaries, do what he wants done. it appears that congressman gaetz, he believes he has found that person. he says, gaetz will be a champion for the constitution and the rule of law. >> so many fascinating angles to this, not the least of which, republicans are currently holding onto a very slim majority in congress. this is one less republican that will be there, at least, until a special election is held to vote for the president-elect 's priorities. let's talk about this with our panel.

megan hayes is a democratic strategist, also with us, cnn political commentator, scott jennings. scott, i don't think i am divulging or portraying any confidence to say that when we told you the news, you were in disbelief. >> are you not entertained? this is the most entertaining transition i have ever seen. i was as surprised as paula, because it's not a name we had seen. frankly, a lot of well-heeled, washington legal types were on the list. i am surprised as anyone. what i take away from this is that this is a president elect that is feeling his power. i mean, this is someone appointing people to things, whether it is gaetz or anything else we have seen, who is feeling his power, feeling his influence, does not feel like he's in a mood to negotiate with the people in washington, d.c. he is here to do what he wants to do and is going to expect the republicans to fall in line. all these people, whether it is gaetz or

anyone else have to go to confirmation and go through committee hearings and prove themselves like anyone else, but it is apparent to me that trump is in a decisive mood and is not someone interested in picking things that he would consider to be watered down. that is my initial reaction. we learned about it two seconds before we came on here, so pretty wild day. >> it is on trump's truth social account. it is coming from his mouth, from his account. megan, your reaction. >> yesterday, we had a bunch of conventional picks and people felt good about where we are going, and thought he would be a little more moderated, and today, brought a whole new set of people to confirm, so i think it's shocking with this, with tulsi gabbard, with dni. it's interesting to see what tomorrow brings, but who knows how many of these people will actually get confirmed? >> who do you think will have the most trouble being confirmed , and do you expect there will be some who are not?

>> look, for the most part, these people, they do have qualifications. matt gaetz is a lawyer and he has been in congress, and is a supporter of the president's agenda. they all get a chance to go and compete and prove themselves. >> he has been on both sides of the legal system. >> he, like everyone else, they have to go up and prove themselves. you can't underestimate donald trump's influence over the republicans in the senate on this. he is going to be insistent that he get his government and his administration. look, here's the thing, he won and he won the popular vote and he believes he has a mandate, and i believe he does too. some of these picks are conventional. marco rubio, for instance. a well-known name. some of them are designed to shake up washington. i'm assuming that is what donald trump believes he is doing with a few of these folks. i'm not here to pick the washington people, i'm here to pick the people that will shake up washington.

>> i also think these picks are irresponsible and i believe the senate may be looking to the midterms and next presidential and realize that maybe we can't always be with donald trump on these confirmations. >> the senators you may be looking for, people who are not running for re-election, people that are not up for a couple more cycles. the people that are been around for a long time, who predate donald trump. when you get into a controversial confirmation, those of the people you start looking at, are they going to be influenced by trump? >> if they have political aspirations of their own, if they want to run in 2028 -- >> it will be interesting to see how susan collins, and lisa murkowski, or broken but trump shake out. that was trump's plane, trump force one landing at palm beach airport, after he spent the day here in the nation's capitol, not only meeting with president biden, but with house republicans as they vote on a new speaker. we are going to take a quick break and give you a few minutes to regroup. we are going to

regroup ourselves and be back with the breaking news that donald trump is nominating republican congressman matt gaetz to be his attorney general.

just some huge breaking news, as the trump cabinet is taking shape. at least, the one he would like to be coming in with him in this new term. he is picking, he has said, congressman matt gaetz as attorney general. this is, perhaps, his most controversial

pick of all of those we have seen announced or reported, so far. joining us now is a democratic colleague of matt gaetz, congressman jared moskowitz from florida, as is matt gaetz. your reaction to this? this news just broke. it's out on trump's truth social. is the hill abuzz with this news? give us a sense of what is going on? >> yeah, look, this is what the american people voted for, right? trump was not shy about what he wanted to do in this country, and in matt gaetz, he is not only going to get someone who is fiercely loyal, but fiercely competent. matt gaetz knows exactly what to do with the attorney general's office. he will turn that into being the most powerful attorney general in american history. i know matt well. we served together in the legislature in florida. in fact, matt was the one that was part of the transition team of ron desantis, who helped get me appointed as the director of

emergency management in the state of florida. trump was very clear on what he wanted to do with government, in matt gaetz, he's going to get a very competent, very powerful attorney general. >> what do you think he's going to do as ag?, if confirmed? >> i don't know. obviously, he has a boss in donald trump, but anyone thinking that donald trump was ready to move forward, that is, clearly, not the case. at the end of the day, this is what happens. elections have consequences. we talked about this during the election, but at the end of the day, matt was a former attorney in private practice . he is a fierce donald trump loyalist. matt has prosecuted the case in congress for donald trump for years, and now he's going to get to do that on behalf of the american people, if he gets confirmed. >> i have heard from some of your democratic colleagues in the house that are concerned.

this was before matt gaetz was the pick, that a trump doj might target them, but they could be investigated. do you think that is going to be part of gaetz's repertoire? is he going to be settling scores? >> i don't know, i don't want to speak for matt or the trump administration. i'm pretty sure, with this pick, they are not just going to go around and shut down puppy mills. this is a very serious pick and donald trump is, obviously, telegraphing that he means business. matt gaetz is one of his best weapons in congress. he is taking him out of congress and giving him the attorney general's office. again, i have known matt for 10 years. matt is very good at what matt does in congress, and now he's going to bring that to the attorney general's office. i don't want to get ahead of what their plans are, but donald trump is very clear on what he plans to do with doj, by giving it to matt

gaetz. >> you are on the foreign affairs committee, and you, obviously, have an eye on those issues. when you look at some of the picks , also, another controversial pick is pete hegseth, who does not have government experience, a former fox news host and a veteran, who is the pick for dod. tulsi gabbard for director of national intelligence. what is the most concerning ? what are the most comforting picks, for you, when it comes to the issue of national security or foreign relations? >> look, i think the meeting of all these people is going to be fascinating and problematic. you have marco rubio and mike waltz, those folks are very serious about policy and protecting america. they are tough on iran, tough on china, tough on russia , and then in the dod picks and in

intelligence, you have folks on the opposite side of that, and so, i think it's going to be fascinating to watch the power struggle, the power balance between all of these folks, but we are also acting like everyone is going to get through senate confirmation, and we will have to see which ones do and which ones don't. some of these folks, are, clearly, more five. mike waltz and marco rubio are more qualified than the other folks, but again, donald trump told everybody what he wanted to do. this was not a secret. the fact that this is now playing out in real time, elections have consequences. >> congressman jared moskowitz, thank you for your time. we do appreciate it. we have much more on breaking news ahead. congressman matt gaetz chosen by president-elect trump to serve as his attorney general. stay with us.

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some breaking news to cnn, a flurry of picks, donald trump making some critical announcements to fill out important cabinet roles, including florida congressman matt gaetz as attorney general. we are beginning to hear from some of his colleagues in the house, and their reactions. congressman don bacon of nebraska, who was narrowly re-elected, telling cnn, " i got really no good comment." take that for what it's worth. i think he probably speaks for many people on the hill. our panel is with us again, megan hayes and scott jennings. i want to play a sound bite from kevin mccarthy in may of 2024 and then we will talk about it as we get some live pictures of trump's plane in florida. this is about why he lost the speakership. >> i will give you the truth why i'm not speaker, it's because one person, a member of congress, wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17. an ethics complaint that started before i

ever became speaker, and that's illegal. did he do it or not? i don't know, but ethics is looking at it. there are other people in jail because of it. >> he is talking about the ag pick of trump. >> yeah. i think it's safe to say that opinions vary, and kevin mccarthy will probably not be coming around. he has been a strong supporter of trump, and obviously, has been offering some advice on the transition. probably did not advise on this one, so much. something that moscowitz said that sticks out to me, truthfully, is, gaetz is a smart person. he thinks three ways to make people's heads explode here in washington, d.c., which is probably something trump is drawn to in this case. this is not a bumbler. this is somebody that is going to show up with a plan, if he makes it through confirmation. i think what moskowitz said is 100% true.

>> this is making everyone's heads explode, right now, as we are watching it in real time. >> do you imagine that democrats will approach some of those republicans in the senate, that have previously broken with trump to talk them out of a vote for gaetz? >> there were some others, like tulsi gabbard, the democrats will try to get not confirmed. >> i do believe that trump deserves a chance to build his government. some of these people are conventional, some are less conventional. he did win and i believe he deserves a chance to build his government. i think the senate is going to give him some latitude on these picks. he is the president, and these people are -- >> that's why we have a confirmation process. it's the senate's responsibility to confirm them. these folks need to go make the case, but it's up to the senators to confirm them, and i would assume that some of these are not going to be confirmed. >> it's going to be a wild ride, nonetheless. megan and scott, thank you. the lead with jake tapper starts after this short break.

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