and we've gotten our arms around a big part of this fire. and we've set up some, some great perimeter control. >> the fact that the winds have died down for the last two days, that that's given firefighters and their 5300 firefighters in, in the palisades alone. >> alone, 500 engines, 115 crew camps, all of that. so we've got a ton of work going on as we speak right now. they're going to work all night long. anytime the wind is low like this, our air assault, our air attack has just been incredible. it's been relentless. >> i mean, i we were watching them with his hat because they they are relentless and they haven't stopped. i watched it thursday and friday up around topanga. just unbelievable. the air assets just coming in one after the other. >> they're the best at what they do. and it's it's amazing to watch. but boy that sure has helped us. and then like the winds pick up big tomorrow. >> that's i mean that's going to be a real that's a concern. >> so they they do that by looking at the ridge that they're on and they've really taken care of that. but they look a couple ridges ahead and they

impact for a number of information on organizations that are doing good work here in the los angeles area. that's cnn.com forward slash impact. that's it for us. kaitlan collins and isa soares starts now. >> breaking news from the source tonight. the national weather service issuing the most extreme fire warning that it can. hurricane force winds powerful enough to trigger explosive fire growth. as los angeles is bracing for the next 32 hours ahead. and a new fight is erupting late this evening here in washington, just hours before donald trump's pentagon pick is going under oath before congress. democrats are up in arms over what's in or should i say not in pete hegseth fbi file. i'm kaitlan collins, and this is the source.

as we come on the air tonight, fire ravaged southern california is getting another dire warning from officials tonight, with the national weather service calling it a, quote, particularly dangerous situation. that's a warning level that is rarely used. it starts overnight tonight and goes until wednesday evening. and what that means is hurricane force winds in combination with dry conditions and no rain in sight, which forecasters are warning that combination has the potential to trigger explosive wildfire growth. we are talking winds that could exceed 70mph. that makes authorities concerned that new fires could start while they are still battling the old ones stretching already strained manpower not just on the ground, but also in the air across los angeles and ventura counties. it is a tinderbox and is bracing for a couple of white knuckle days ahead. for many people on the ground there. cnn's erin burnett is on the ground in hard-hit malibu. and, erin, obviously,

as you've been reporting there, these most dangerous winds that that officials are watching for are expected to to start hitting within hours. do officials feel that the fire crews, that they are ready to go for this they do, but they know everything is at stake. >> caitlin. and we are starting to feel those winds pick up here, even just over the past couple of hours. we're starting to really notice it here in malibu. and you talk about that particularly dangerous situation, what they call the pds. that's only happened three times this fire season. and in those three times you got the eaton fire, you got the palisades fire. so those days have led to the massive fires that they are battling right now. and as we're feeling the winds pick up here, you've got we are within the palisades fire zone where we are in malibu. they are trying to protect areas that haven't burned where we are. you can see behind me complete devastation, but there is other parts of malibu here that have not burned down, and they're worried about the wind fanning the flames. obviously, that's the biggest concern with fires

that have not been contained. this palisades fire right now is only as of right now. caitlin, about 14% contained. and a lot of that is because of what's behind the house behind me, which is the pacific ocean. so they're worried about the wind, and then they're also worried about the wind bringing those embers to far flung places. some of the most populated areas in los angeles. so that's the real concern. they've had a bit of a reprieve, right? they've used that to fly more aircraft. they've done as much as they can, but now it's really going to be a matter of seeing what these winds do. >> yeah. and of course, that's what the authorities, what they're worried about, people whose homes have not burned down. we're still just hearing so much, though, from people who have lost their entire livelihoods as a result of of the fires that are already that already exist. what have you been hearing from? from people? is they're just processing all of that. >> i mean, it is incredible, caitlin, because you've got this, this ongoing crisis, right? this marathon that is a sprint every day and that is what's happening next. and

battling these fires, even as people are already feeling and suffering from complete devastation, you know, today i was in altadena and seeing people who, you know, their livelihoods are completely gone. i mean, you've got people displaced, staying in hotels. some of them do have jobs. they can go to them. others, though, are losing their jobs because the small businesses that are at the heart of a community now don't have customers. so that means they can't make payroll. and i was talking to one woman who had a bakery for 17 years, she said. during covid, there was a year she had to not send her kids to college. she had to pull them out because she couldn't afford it because of what was happening. but now this is worse. and this is the first time in 17 years, she said. she woke up and realized she couldn't make payroll because she didn't have any enough customers. here's what she said. just a little bit ago when we met her at her bakery. >> we're not making payroll today for the first time in 17 years, and i've spoken to a lot of friends that are also struggling with the fact that

we've lost our beautiful town, our customers are suffering, and now our businesses are suffering i mean, it's suffering, caitlin. >> it's just such a profound sense of grief. as one person said, just this weight and the weight just does not go away. and that is even as they are starting to feel these winds. and really everybody here is on sort of, i would say pins and needles, a bit of a precipice waiting for these winds. we do anticipate they'll pick up with some of those hurricane force gusts that you were talking about up to 70 miles an hour at times over these hours of the night. and then it's just going to be touch and go for the next couple of days. president biden is i know, you know, has been briefed on the status of the winds. but right now it is the second largest city in america at the mercy, complete mercy of mother nature. >> yeah. and i know there's been so many questions still about, you know, not just how these next fires could start. obviously, we've seen the conditions here, but there are active investigations underway

into the past, fires different ones into into different fires that started last week. what is the latest that officials are saying about how those are developing and and how quickly they could see answers here. >> yes. so they're worried about obviously new fires starting. and they're also looking at what what caused the fires. the atf caitlin is here on the ground now from washington. and they're they're looking into this palisades fire whether it was started by accident, whether it was arson, there are real questions about that. they don't yet have answers. they don't have answers with the eaton fire either. at this point. they do believe that. they say that they're going to actually get answers as to what caused it. but i will also say, you know, in an area like where we are now, there's also real concern. and we've been seeing this, you know, there have been all these lines that we've been showing you, caitlin, where people line up for 12 hours to try to get up to see their homes. and that stopped today. that stopped. they said they weren't even able to bring people into their homes. so still, most people haven't been able to see if their homes have been destroyed, even in the fire hit areas. and they're

also dealing with they have had looting and some of the national guard. we've seen a lot more presence of national guard on the ground, and they've been telling us that people are trying to get into these areas. they're posing, whether they're posing as reporters like like us or firefighters to try to get in to loot. so the situation is really on edge, and it is a it is a dicey moment when you when you look at what law enforcement is dealing with. and as i said, you are seeing a. presence by the national guard. >> yeah. i mean, it's obviously just the lowest of humanity. people who would go in there and loot at a time like this. but but on the escorts that they were providing for people to be able to go in, whether it's to see if anything is left of their homes, maybe they saw it on on social media, but to see if anything, is there any mementos or anything or even just for insurance purposes, what is the reasoning that they that they stopped that? >> i think they just basically were saying that they were overstretched and that the lines themselves were becoming

a bit they they thought of a concern and a problem because people were parking. i mean, you were essentially not able to get anywhere near any of these areas because they would just just line up for, for 12 hours. and i mean, sort of a sense of resignation and desperation in those lines. at one point, caitlin, when the yesterday in a line, someone came up to me and said, what's it like up there? and there was this sort of look of hope and sadness in their face. and i mean, you know, and it was bad. it was bad where, where they were trying to go. but it is a great frustration and a tragedy in this situation that people haven't been able to get up into their homes. they're also, of course, worried now with the winds and their need to use resources, all resources on deck over these next 24 to 48 hours as these winds come through to try to control the perimeters of these situations as best as they can. but you have right now more than 100,000 people still under mandatory evacuation orders. you've got a lot of hotels full. you know, it is really an entire metro area that is not just on edge, but also completely disrupted, is not operating the way that it would

normally operate. and and it is also very incongruous on a day like today, even here in malibu, and you're in the palisades fire zone, you look up, it's a beautiful day. you don't necessarily see the flames and the fire. that depends on which way the wind is blowing. so there is this, you know, palpable feeling of nervousness and fear, even though it almost looks like things should be normal. and i think that's one of the strangest things about it at this time. >> yeah, erin, it's just it's remarkable to see this. and of course, thinking for all those people so much erin burnett on the ground in malibu. thank you for that. our source also on the ground tonight, captain eric scott. he is the public information officer for the los angeles fire department. and captain, it's great to have you back. obviously, you know, you've been joining us in these touch and go situations. i know you all are very busy. as you're joining us on the phone tonight, we've been talking about these red flag warnings that are now in place through wednesday evening. what is your biggest concern about that tonight? >> the wind is kicking. it always has been. and we saw it

be so devastating last week, tuesday and wednesday. so we've been getting breaks and then she comes back and it's been very difficult. so uh, the area of major concern for the palisades burn perimeter remains the northeast area and mandeville canyon. it's a lot of homes, very narrow hairpin turns that we had to proactively enact parking restrictions to keep vehicles out of areas that turn to choke points in case there's additional evacuations. but right now, we got a lot of firefighters lined up there, and our air assets are continuing to do a wonderful job. >> yeah, i mean, we are looking at live pictures right now in l.a. this is from kcal and kcbs. you're showing firefighters trying to contain a fire. i mean, you can see how close it is to to a neighborhood on this map as, as we're looking at this, you know, the biggest concern we've heard is, is new fires starting as a result of of this warning, this particularly dangerous situation warning that is that is so rare. if

they do. are you prepared for that? >> yes. we've battled these incidents in the past, particularly dangerous situations, but they are significant. we take them very seriously. so we have a ton of resources here. over 5000 firefighters that remain on scene, and we have over 40 helicopters that are assigned. we have a very large contingency of fixed wing, including c-130s from national guard that's here, very large dc ten. so some of these will drop water on target hazards to protect property. others will be more defensive and drop retardant to stop the flames at what we call the three r's, the roads, rivers and ridges. so they're doing a wonderful job and we continue to expect night operations to continue. >> are you worried that the winds could get so bad, though, that that those aerial flights have to stop again, which was, of course, the issue at the

beginning of these fires? >> yeah, that's that's more of a worst case scenario. if that happens, it makes the so much more difficult to stop the flame front. so i was talking to our chief pilots today and some of the thresholds are around 40mph. but at the ridges it could be cut even in half. it's really up to the discretion of the chief pilot. the main thing on their mind is safety, of course, safety for their members. that aircraft goes down now. you have loss of life and they can't do anything. plus, if the wind is so significant, the water dropping out of the bottom is vaporized. the targets not hit. so we have to consider that. but right now, again, we're really proud to say that boots are on the ground and the birds are in the air. >> yeah. i mean, it's just remarkable what we're looking at now to see how close these firefighters are to to this fire. this is in riverside, california, that we're watching right now. i mean, and obviously dealing with a lot of the brush there and vegetation, i mean, one, this is just amazing to watch. i know we've

expressed i mean, they have chainsaws in their hands as they are cutting down these trees as we're watching this, you know, as we look at this. and i was just talking to aaron about the investigations underway into the origins of this. the atf is actually taking the lead in figuring out what caused the palisades fire. from your experience, do you think it was caused by by humans or what is your do you have any a hunch as you're looking at this i if i were betting yes. >> you know, many people are surprised to learn that over 90% of wildfires are caused by us humans. and i think that's really important to sit and think about for a minute, because one less spark, one less wildfire, we need to be cognizant of that. this is right near mandeville canyon right now. a few years past, we had a well intentioned individual performing proper brush clearance. they used a weed whacker, hot exhaust put down a light, flashy fuels like grass, and it took off. they couldn't catch it. so people need to think, if you're going to do that, not be doing that

during windy time periods. and when it calms down, of course, have an extinguishing agent nine one cell phone to call if needed. >> and as we look at this, i mean, it's really just remarkable to to watch this effort and what this looks like and just how much they are putting their their lives in harm's way, trying to contain this, trying to to put it out. you know, we reported on friday that that the l.a. fire chief kristin crowley had met with the mayor, karen bass. they had been kind of publicly contradicting, not kind of they were publicly contradicting each other on, you know, budget cuts. and if they affected the response here, do you when from what you've heard from with your colleagues, are is the mayor and the fire chief are they on the same page now from from your understanding, you know, i think they're going to continue to talk about that behind closed doors. >> it's safe to say that the lafd is facing significant challenges due to previous budget cuts. chief crowley has been on statement to say three

things repeatedly. we're underfunded. we're understaffed. we're under-resourced, and it makes it a real strain on our resources. it limits the ability to expand operations, to modernize. you know, los angeles is you got 4 million people that live, work and play here. so there's a lot going on. us firefighters, we're not asking for a raise in money. we just want to be fully funded to do the best job we can for those we serve. we live in this city. the incident command of this lived and works in pacific palisades, where we're holding the hands of the people who are shedding the tears, who say, hey, that's where i got married. that's where my kids go to school. we just want the team, the tools, the training to do our job. no politics. firefighters just want to do a good job. >> yeah, we're watching them do a great job right now and just amazing heroic work. captain eric scott, as you know, please pass along our gratitude. thank you for for taking the time to join us

tonight as well. >> our pleasure. >> caitlyn. >> and you can see how desperately needed help is. i should note tonight here in washington, the house speaker is signaling there could be a fight in congress about getting aid to those who need it the most. right now, i think there should probably be conditions on that date. >> that's my personal view. we'll see what the consensus is. >> we're going to speak to a member of the republican conference next. plus, hours away from what could be an explosive confirmation hearing for the president elect's defense secretary pick pete hegseth what democrats are doing tonight. we're going to speak to a democratic u.s. senator tonight. >> kobe believed in himself at the youngest possible age. >> people who may never even know what a baseball looks like felt his presence. >> he wants the opportunity to make his own mistakes. he's going to end up making them. >> that's when the black mamba was born. >> it's one of the most remarkable stories in sports

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>> president biden was briefed today on the california wildfires, a briefing that included details from the head of fema on how displaced residents are going to get money for hotel stays or essentials like gas and baby formula. that comes as some republicans say, that they do now believe any new aid to californians should come with conditions attached, including the speaker of the house. there has been water resources management for us. >> management mistakes all sorts of problems. it appears to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty, and in many respects. so that's something that has to be factored in. i think there should probably be conditions on that aid. that's my personal view. we'll see what the consensus is. >> my republican source tonight is the iowa congressman zach nunn. do you agree with speaker johnson that conditions should be attached to to the new aid to california? >> well, i think first of all, we need to recognize that there are dozens of people dead. there are going to be more who are found here. there are thousands of homes that have

been utterly destroyed. and we have a state that is reeling right now. and i think it's a fair question to also say, how can we get the best aid there? i'm from a small farm state. when we get decimated by tornadoes, we expect the rest of the country is going to come to our assistance. i believe firmly in talking with the speaker tonight that this is where we want to be as a nation. i also recognize that there are challenges. we have a california situation where state and local leaders, as was highlighted, have been derelict in their responsibility. i think we can do two things. first and foremost, look, i'm a military guy. we need to have a plan to be able to help. the immediate challenge going on right now. and that means getting the immediate resources both at the local, state and federal level to help these families who are hurting. but we also need to be asking, we don't want to continue to pay hundreds of billions of dollars to a situation that finds itself consistently in a challenge to be able to do forest management, water management. i mean, we just heard right now the leadership in l.a. is looking at making l.a. into a sanctuary city in violation of federal law. but they expect that the federal government is going to come and help bail them out when they're

openly flaunting their responsibilities. so there needs to be a clear conversation on this. we also need to recognize this has got to be a bipartisan solution. if it's going to move forward, and we're going to be able to get this aid, it means republicans and democrats are going to have to work together. we've got 15 democrats in trump won districts, meaning they need to come to the conversation as well for solutions. >> but you're not saying that single handedly. it was the democratic elected leaders responsibility for this fire. i mean, we've heard from from we're going to speak to the fire chief in orange county in a minute. who said this was unstoppable? i mean, this is a force of nature. >> yeah. caitlin, you're absolutely right. >> that were just. >> but i also want to say, yeah, i also want to highlight here, as we heard from our own fire chief here in l.a., there's a situation right now where they felt like they were chronically underfunded. they didn't get the training and the resources they needed, and they don't want to be political about this, but they felt like they were left in a lurch. i think this is tragic. when we have a situation where we're pulling in 900 conscripted prisoners to help fight a fire in a situation which is truly historically massive in magnitude. but we also have a state which has

just fallen flat in its responsibility, because this is not the first time this has happened. and we've seen in other states. i was a keen example of this, where we know we're going to have tornadoes. we put $1 billion into a rainy day fund. so when these emergencies strike, we're ready to respond. >> yeah, but i think what the concern that we've heard from democrats who say is you're creating a really bad precedent here because aid typically doesn't have conditions on it. i mean, north carolina didn't have conditions when we saw how devastating that was for people who live there who say this is a slippery slope, republicans are going down where i mean, you could be in a disaster prone state like louisiana, where mike johnson is from, or like florida or even iowa, and something happens. and then how would you feel if democrats are saying, well, actually, we don't like how your republican governor is handling that, so we're going to put conditions on. >> and caitlin, i gently push back on that and say that there have been conditions placed on aid before, particularly when it comes to emergency aid. look, we've got a $36 trillion national debt and the inability for the insurance commissioners in california to be able to keep insurance companies in country or in the state are a

real management issue. it's a challenge. equally important, if we're going to put hundreds of millions or billions of dollars into helping families recover, i want to make sure they're not going to face the exact same crisis two years from now, because california has failed to take action on things they should have been taking action on decades ago. >> okay, but so, for example, if mike johnson moves ahead with this idea that's been floating around of tying the debt ceiling to to wildfire aid, i mean, is that could you argue that's anything but political? >> well, you know, we haven't even gotten to this point yet, so i won't even speculate on what the future of the debt ceiling is going to look like. would you support that? i think i want to support getting assistance on the ground right now. look again, colonel, in the air national guard and the military beforehand. there's needs that can be met right now. we should be prioritizing. focus on that. what we don't need is more of, tragically, like, what governor newsom has already done is to say, hey, send me your aid, but make sure it goes through my actblue account so that i can collect your information and use it in my upcoming election. that's the real politicalization that's going on right now in california. we've seen the same come out of elizabeth warren. i want to see an end to that. >> is it helpful when trump

attacks a sitting governor as these fires are still raging in california? >> i think he's talking about already going out there and seeing this. what i want to see is that both sides depoliticize, and it starts with the governor. he's the commander on the ground. he needs to take responsibility for this. i'd ask him, take this actblue money and give it directly to the people who are in need. don't take 4% off the top. >> congressman, thank you for your time tonight. i appreciate you joining us here on set. my political sources are also here. kate bedingfield, former biden white house communications director, and sarah matthews, the former deputy press secretary for president trump when he was in the white house the last time. sarah, this is not a position that is only held by by some republicans in the house. we're seeing senate republicans like tommy tuberville from from my home state also expressing support for this. you worked in the white house when trump was in office last time. and disasters like this hit. what is your view of this demand that is percolating? >> i think although you're going to see some republicans who agree with this sentiment, we've also seen some come out of the senate who have pushed back on this, particularly from states who understand the

importance of disaster relief. and it being nonpartisan. rick scott from florida has already said he doesn't agree with this. senator tillis from north carolina, as you mentioned, they face flooding there this year or last year. they he pushed back on that. they understand that this needs to stay nonpartisan. it's a slippery slope, sets a really dangerous precedent. and during my time at the white house, we were struggling with covid relief. and i think that it's easy to see how these things get politicized. but i think that what would be best is that we don't punish the californians who just lost everything, and instead focus our attacks on the poor management that i think we've seen from the mayor of la karen bass and governor newsom. >> well, kate, on that front, i mean, there has been criticism of mayor bass. she was overseas on on an international trip when this happened, even though, of course, we knew the winds were expected to be bad, no one knew it was going to be this bad. she had vowed, as people are bringing up today, not to go on these trips when she was elected. and then there was that moment when, when governor newsom was confronted by a woman who was asking about the water and the fire

hydrants. i just want to show that to people, to remind them of this californian going up to her governor and what she had to say. >> just tell me what you're going to do. i'm not going to hurt him, i promise. >> i'm literally talking to the president right now to specifically answer the question of what we can do for you and your daughter. can i hear it? >> can i hear your call? because i don't believe it. is there no water in the hydrants? governor, it's all literally. is it going to be different next time? >> it has to be. >> what's your view of how democrats are handling this? >> well, i think these moments of, of of natural disaster can be really illuminating. and i would not disagree that there have been some optical stumbles. and i think obviously mayor bass being out of the country was problematic. i think that was not a great clip for governor newsom, although he does say he is. he is hearing her directly. he does say it has to be better next time, and he's acknowledging that. but i think we also have to be fair that this has been

a, you know, a dramatic event that has been impacted by weather currents that nobody can control, no democrat, no republican can control. but i do think i agree with sarah. i think this idea of conditioning aid or even even perhaps even more dangerously, tying aid to something as politically challenging as the debt ceiling not only sets a dangerous precedent, it's also it's just putting politics ahead of humanity and empathy in a moment where our leaders should be making sure that, you know, that citizens in california who are hurting get what they need, just as they do for every other citizen in this country who suffers from a natural disaster. so i think the idea that republicans are starting to walk down this path is incredibly dangerous. >> i will add to it. yeah, we do need to strike that balance between humanity. but then also, i think that it's okay for these citizens to have rage toward their elected officials right now. i mean, there's a lot of questions that need to be answered about what went wrong in this response. it seems like there wasn't much proactive measures taken, and this is all reactive in

response. i mean, why wasn't vegetation or why was it overgrown? why wasn't brush cleared? why were fire hydrants empty and reservoirs empty? i mean, these are questions that need to be asked, and it seems like poor governance on the part of these california elected officials. >> and the voters are, of course, their bosses. so we'll see what happens. katie bedingfield, sarah matthews, thank you both for being here. up next, the first confirmation hearing for donald trump's defense pick is only hours away from now. pete hegseth will be on capitol hill tomorrow, where he is expected to be grilled over allegations that have loomed over his nomination. we're going to speak to a senator who will vote whether to confirm him next trump's cabinet picks. >> the candidates you've heard about for months go before the senate. who will get the votes? >> i think we have great people. >> follow the trump confirmation hearings. follow the facts, follow cnn, who has more subscriptions? >> we're a package deal, baby. and your subscription is my subscription. all right. we

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washington on the eve of what could be a dramatic showdown, democratic senators are questioning the thoroughness of pete hegseth fbi background check. >> that's trump's pick to run. the pentagon, who is, among other things, accused of sexual assault, which he has vehemently denied. but democrats, who will get the chance to question him tomorrow are raising the possibility tonight of gaps in that report. >> i'm told that they may well not have interviewed his ex-spouses or the accuser. >> i think that is a gap in the fbi report. if true, that is very unfortunate. >> my understanding is that several of the. uh, witnesses, uh, um, were not interviewed by the fbi, even though they wanted to be. >> my source tonight is democratic senator chris murphy. senator, thank you for for being here. if they did not if the fbi did not interview

the woman who did accuse pete hegseth of sexual assault. and that was at the center of that, that agreement that they came to, which i should note, he's denied. does that bother you? >> well, it certainly bothers me. these fbi reports are important, but it feels to me like there is enough information already on the record, much of it admitted by the nominee. that is disqualifying in and of itself. so, yes, we should have a complete fbi report. there are so many disturbing allegations about sexual abuse, heavy drinking that we should get the interviews from the people who witnessed or were subject to that behavior firsthand. but we have enough accounts already in the credible media that should make it pretty easy for my colleagues to ask the trump administration to find somebody else, somebody that doesn't have a history of

heavy drinking, of organizational mismanagement, of sexual misconduct, somebody that hasn't thumbed their nose at women's participation in the military, somebody that has respect for the rule of law and international agreements like the geneva conventions. um, there just seems to be plenty of evidence that this is a uniquely unqualified, dangerous nominee. and there are loads of other very. conservative defense republicans loyal to donald trump who would make a better head of the defense department. >> but on this report that so many were saying they wanted to to have this report done and that that would, you know, inform their opinion on how they vote, certainly on the senate armed services committee, the current practice is the only the chairman and the ranking member get to be briefed on that fbi report. so it's up to the trump transition team to decide if it should be shared more widely. last i heard was they do not plan to to break that precedent. does that mean you

you don't expect to see what's in that report or your colleagues on the committee don't. >> well, there certainly have been exceptions. i remember when brett kavanaugh was coming before the judiciary committee. i got to be briefed on the fbi report, even though i wasn't chairman of the judiciary committee or a member of the judiciary committee. why? because that nomination was so important to the future of the country. what what's more important than the man who is going to lead our troops into battle, especially at a moment of great peril to american security and the security of our allies? yes, of course, we should all be able to see that fbi report, and it should be done in a thorough manner. all i'm saying is that i don't know that the fbi report should be determinative. there is already enough really serious and credible allegations and reports of misconduct that i would hope that republicans would be asking the trump administration to send another name, send somebody else that will be in a better moral

position to lead our brave men and women. >> well, right now it doesn't seem like they are based on on what we've heard. even the biggest critics of him have seemed to soften on him a bit and so on. that and the kavanaugh comparison. i mean, that is what the trump team has said in their favor, to say that he was unfairly scrutinized in the way that he was over over old allegations against him. but but when this all comes down and he gets a vote a week from from his hearing or when that's expected to believe, i believe the day of the inauguration, do you expect that pete hegseth will get a a single democratic vote? will you vote for him? >> oh, no, i think he is a very dangerous nominee. i will not be voting for him. i don't know about the votes of all the rest of my colleagues, but you know, it wasn't so long ago when, um, you know, republicans would have the courage to occasionally stand up to a president of their own party

when somebody was sent to them that was uniquely disqualified. and it only takes 3 or 4 republicans for us to have another name to consider. so i certainly haven't given up on a handful of republicans saying, listen, you know, send us a different nominee, someone that is conservative, someone that is loyal to you as president, but somebody that doesn't have this history of widespread misconduct. >> well, when four years ago, when biden took office, you warned about delaying the confirmation of the defense secretary, you talked about how important it was. the threat of our country requires dod to have leadership in place without delay. you said we need one on the job immediately. do you still feel that way tonight? >> well, i felt that way because we had a very qualified nominee before us. of course, you know, all things being equal, you want to have a national security team in place as soon as possible, but not at the expense of putting someone so dangerous in charge of the department of defense. i know all the attention has been

on these allegations of financial misconduct. his drinking habits. but, you know, he also is someone that has said he doesn't believe in the geneva accords. he has defended soldiers who have been found guilty by their own fellow soldiers of gross misconduct. he essentially endorses war crimes as just a cost of of doing business in the military. so you know, that to me makes this country weaker. if we don't have a leader of the defense department who believes in the international rule of law. so, yeah, i think you want a team put in place as fast as you can, but not any team. you want that team to be qualified. >> senator chris murphy, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> we're also tracking new developments this evening on what may have started the deadly wildfires in l.a. why investigators are now looking at a very specific street in the pacific palisades. we'll

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time has come. >> tonight, los angeles is bracing for near hurricane level winds that are threatening to fan the flames, as we're already now getting new video of investigators looking into a specific street in the palisades, where one of the biggest fires happened, and to see where it may have originated. my source tonight is the orange county fire chief, brian fennessy. and chief, it's great to have you here because we're looking at this investigation that's underway, looking at this specific street. and, you know, i guess a question that people have is how critical it is to know how this started in order to be able to stop future fires from starting. >> well, yeah. >> you know, after every fire start, whether it's big or small, you know, the fire service does an investigation. >> the agency having jurisdiction and, um, you know, quite frankly, if it does turn into arson, uh, it's pretty tough for, for us to, to

prevent. i mean, that is a crime, you know, whether it's utility started or accidental lightning, you know, which, of course, is the case down here. um, all cases are investigated, and i imagine it'll probably be a while before we find out there. you know, the investigators are going to be very sure, um, you know, before they go public with the cause of, of these fires. >> okay. so you think it'll take some time. and i know you described the level of these wildfires as as unstoppable. you know, we've heard from a lot of critics. we just had a republican congressman on here who talked about how including the president elect himself, you know, more forest management needs to be done. brush clearing that could have maybe not stopped this, but would have helped mitigate it from your experience. is that the case? what is what is your assessment of, you know, could factors and steps have been taken to help here. >> so there's no question that, you know, the wild lands throughout the west, you know,

are unhealthy. and we need to, you know, do what we can to restore the landscape, you know, be it through beneficial fire and fuel removal, you know, a variety of different things that that that's unquestionable. we need to do that. however, when we're talking about the fires that we experienced down here in southern california, um, quite frankly, when we're talking 70 or 80 mile an hour, consistent winds with gusts of 90 to 100, you know, we've seen fires like this blow by 1215 lane freeways. i literally mean, it is unstoppable, you know, but you got to understand that, you know, for quote, unquote, normal fires, you know, even hot, extraordinary, you know, days during the summer. um, absolutely defensible space, you know, fuel treatments on the landscape, fuel breaks, you know, all the things we talk about are incredibly needed for talking about and i don't know the exact percentage, but i'm betting, you know, what we experienced with the santa ana

winds and these kind of fires is 1% or less of the overall fires. the tens of thousands that we have in the west and throughout the united states that turn into fires like this. but because of wind driven and because the humidities are so low and because we've built, you know, into areas that we now call the wildland urban interface we've developed in these places. when we have a weather phenomenon like we we. experienced, um, and there is an ignition, unfortunately, we are going to lose homes. and our job becomes rescue and keeping and moving people out of the path of these fires. um, and secondarily then becomes the property protection. >> yeah, yeah. i mean, to hear you say, even if it was a 15 mile highway, it wouldn't, it would have been able to to jump that that is just remarkable. fire chief brian fennessy, i really do appreciate you taking your time to come on, to share your expertise to to let everyone hear that. thank

you. >> you're very welcome. >> we've had a lot of people reach out who want to know how can they help? you're watching these images. they want to be able to help. if you want to be able to help wildfire victims in l.a., you can go to cnn.com/impact for a list of vetted organizations. up next here for us, the president elect threatened to fire a government official one week from today. >> on day one, i will fire, but he is going to be resigning instead. >> his warnings on his way out. that's ahead. >> now's the time to go back in time and shine a light on the family journey that led to you. ancestry can help you piece together the past with billions of records, photos, and more. memberships are on sale now. >> i was stuck unresolved depression symptoms were in my way. i needed more from my antidepressant vraylar helped give it a lift. >> adding vraylar to an antidepressant is clinically

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really into it. >> on the campaign trail, trump said this about wall street's top cop, who has been leading the crackdown on cryptocurrencies on day one, i will fire gary gensler and appoint a new sec chairman. >> i didn't know he was that unpopular. >> i should note trump will not have the opportunity to do so. that's because gary gensler is going to resign his post as the chair of the securities and exchange commission when trump takes office, and the sec chief is my inside source tonight, you know, trump has launched his own crypto venture with his family. so he's coming into office with that. his commerce secretary, his pick, if he's confirmed. howard lutnick is a very big crypto enthusiast. i wonder what your expectation is for what that looks like with an administration that is embracing it so much as you just heard from trump there?

>> well, right now the public isn't getting the disclosures. they need and are required under the law. and then the so-called crypto exchanges, crypto intermediaries, many of them are co-mingling functions we would never allow in the rest of our markets. and those conflicts are rife. and we know what happens. we know that that's when the public gets harmed. >> well, and on that front, with true social, you know, a majority of trump's wealth now coming from that. have we ever seen a president before who you know, his personal wealth will determine on the direction the sec takes before? have we ever seen that? >> well, we've been in place for 90 years, and. most chief executives of our nation commanders in chief, don't have that level of personal wealth. but what's really important to what we do is we think about everyday americans at the securities and exchange commission. it's why we did things. look, i came

into office four years ago. do you remember that the the gamestop events and the markets were and a lot of everyday investors were being harmed. and so we came in and we said, how can we help bring common sense reforms to our stock markets? that's a $60 trillion market, that crypto is much smaller than that. that's where we've focused a lot of attention. we've shortened our settlement cycles so that if you sell your stock on a monday, you get your cash on a tuesday. we've focused on the u.s. treasury market, $28 trillion market, again way bigger than crypto, and tried to reform the u.s. treasury market, which because of the deficits are growing so rapidly. >> but if you were staying on as the chair in that world, because technically your term isn't up for for another until 2026, would you be worried? do you see obvious conflicts of interest here for the incoming administration, starting with the president elect himself? >> look, all of us who have the great privilege to serve, work with the lawyers, work with the office of government ethics,

and we we really have to instill trust in our government that the public has trust that those of us that are entrusted in these jobs don't have conflicts. >> yeah. and on that front, you know, you talk about how much smaller the crypto world is. but for young men, it does disproportionately take up. they are much more invested in it than than young women are. when you look at the numbers of ages, the numbers we looked at 18 to 29, 42% of men have used have young men have used crypto. that's compared to 17% of women. trump did really well with young men. he was coming in promising looser regulations on crypto and just a more relaxed attitude. do you think how tough you were on it and the fact that he named you at rallies played any kind of role in how those young men voted? >> look, i'll leave it to political consultants to do that. and i know that many of your audience are interested in that. but this is a field that if it's going to survive and it's going to persist, it has

to do a couple of things. one, what are its fundamentals? and there are many great investors out there that say, look, there's a lot of sentiment, there's a lot of emotion, but what are the fundamentals? meaning what's the return for these 10 or 15,000 tokens. number two, it's got to comply with the law. it's got to be within something that investors trust. that's what's critical. but no, i don't think that it ultimately. was a top issue for voters in these various states. >> gary gensler, thank you so much for your time tonight. thank you. really appreciate you. and thank you so much for joining us. we'll see you back here tomorrow night. cnn news night with abby phillip is up next. >> tonight, as liberal leaders face backlash over the fires, will their handling of the crisis convert some democratic voters? >> you're going to see a lot of angry campers. >> plus, president biden sells his legacy on